NINETEEN

"She has a nice swing to those supple hips, doesn't she?" Percy remarked to Adam about Piper. "Can you imagine holding on to them as you thrust…" He never had the chance to finish his sentence because Adam turned on him.

"You mind your own business about her."

"Well, it just seems a shame, that's all," Percy said. "I mean here she is, such a lovely, beautiful, desirable woman and her husband can't even see her. How very, very sad. What do you think they do to get in the mood, so to speak?"

"I don't think about it," Adam said as he climbed up in the buckboard. Percy hurried to climb up as Adam was already backing the horse up.

"Well," Percy said, once he was seated and holding onto the side of the buckboard for he knew that Adam was going to hurry the horse. At one point on the ride to town, Percy swore that his kidneys were being damaged by all bouncing around on the rough roads. "I would think that you had thought about coitus with her before, that you had thought of it many times since you seem to know her quite well."

Adam almost asked Percy why he would say such filth about Piper, had almost allowed himself to be dragged in again by Percy's comment but he said nothing. Adam just breathed deeply. He needed to release his anger and frustration with Percy and the situation with Piper.

Percy waited but Adam didn't take the bait. "You called her by her first name, Piper, I believe. And then you held her hands to your chest, oh, so tenderly." Percy watched Adam who just continued to drive the horse over the holes and ruts in the road. But Percy wasn't fooled; Adam's jaw was working and Percy knew that he was touching Adam's sensitive spot. Percy lauded himself with eavesdropping on Ben and Adam last night-he had learned many valuable things.

"Now she's the type of woman I would want to marry, should I ever marry. What about you, Adam? Is she the type that you would like to marry? To take to your bed? I would. I would love to have her under my power, under my control." Percy waited but Adam didn't react. So Percy decided to push even harder. "Do you think she likes pain? I would like to do things to her, to torment her and then, when she was just on the edge…"

Percy stopped because he couldn't speak. Adam had pulled up the horse with one hand, causing Percy to lurch forward and when he rocked back, Adam's other hand had shot out and grabbed Percy around the throat. Percy grabbed at Adam's hand, unable to breathe and tried desperately to pull Adam's hand away but it was useless. Adam's hand held him securely and he leaned in closely and hissed at Percy, "If you ever hurt her in any way, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

Percy made an effort to nod to show he understood, his hands grasping Adam's wrist. He felt the desperation build inside him, the panic as his lungs screamed for oxygen and then the world went black while Adam watched Percy's eyes roll back in his head. When he came to, Percy found himself slumped in the seat, his head lolling and he noticed that when he swallowed, his throat ached; he realized with a sense of intense fear that Adam could have crushed his windpipe and tossed his body off the buckboard and no one would have known or even cared. Percy looked over at Adam who was still coolly driving the horse on as if nothing had happened in the wagon-as if he hadn't come close to killing his passenger with his own hands.

But Adam's seeming composure didn't reflect his inner turmoil. He had frightened himself; he could have easily, far too easily, killed Percy and taken pleasure in it. He had let Percy get to him and now Percy knew that he treasured Piper Jeffers; Adam had shown his hand. And so he feared for Piper and for himself. He never thought that he would be afraid of Percy. He had been holding him in disdain as a mere weakling but now Adam saw things differently; Percy was as dangerous as his mother had been, the Countess.

When Adam arrived at the Ponderosa, the doctor had been there about ten minutes before him and was up in Joe's room. The wait at the pharmacy had caused him to arrive later than Dr. Martin.

"How is he?" Adam asked Hoss when he entered.

"Can't say. Pa's upstairs with the doctor. Pa and I had to hold Joe down while Doc set his collarbone-snapped it right back into place. Sounded ugly." Hoss' face showed the pain he felt at seeing Joe's agony at having the bone set. "Joe passed out for a bit."

Adam turned to Percy who stepped back. "Must run in the family," he said looking at Percy. "Well," Adam continued, "I have the medicine Dr. Martin sent me for. It's supposed the keep the wound from festering. Henry said to make a poultice and to place it over the spot. I hope it works. I'm going to take it upstairs." And Adam took the stairs, two at a time.

"Well," Percy said, finally finding a certain calm since Adam had left and the soreness in his throat had dissipated somewhat, "I could use some tea and biscuits right now." Percy said and dropped into a chair by the fireplace.

Hoss looked at Percy. "You do seem a little, well, like you been scared to death. You okay, boy?"

"If I had a nice cuppa, I would be. How about you popping off to the kitchen, Hoss, and brewing me some tea and bringing me a tin of sweet biscuits. You don't need to put them on a plate. I'll forgo the niceties of tea for today. Besides, I doubt your hands are clean."

"Well, for one," Hoss said, "I ain't about to make you no tea. You want tea, you go make it. And as far as them sweet biscuits, we ain't got none and even if we did, I wouldn't fetch 'em for you."

"But I'm a guest," Percy said, "new here, and you, as one of the hosts, are to serve me."

"You claim to be a Cartwright and we Cartwrights fend for ourselves. And if you didn't go and make Hop Sing so dang mad that he up and quit, well, he'd be here to make you some tea and biscuits."

"Yes," Percy said. "I do suppose that you have a point there." Percy stood up and looked at Hoss with wide, innocent eyes. "I suppose that it is my fault that Hop Sing left-mea culpa. So, to make up for it, tomorrow I'll go find us a cook-unless, of course, someone can convince Hop Sing to return. I doubt that I would be the one to do so"

"I don't know "bout Hop sing comin' back as long as you're still here."

"Well," Percy said, heading for the kitchen. "Now that I know the way to Virginia City, I'll take it personally upon myself to find a new cook-one who 'can' cook, unlike Hop Sing. Your-I mean our father has enough on his mind. It's the least I can do." And Percy disappeared into the kitchen and Hoss went back to his worries over Joe. And as Percy began to fill the teapot from the kitchen pump, he also began to consider how he could use the situation to his benefit-there had to be a way-there always was.

Sunday morning, Adam awoke with a sense of foreboding. It was still dark outside but his ears were straining; he could have sworn that something, some sound, had woken him so he slipped silently out of bed and put on his robe, tying the belt. He slowly opened his door and seeing no one, went out into the hall. The only light was from Joe's partially opened door. Adam knew that his father was in there sitting by Joe's bedside. Their father always sat up by them-a holdover from when they were children and he and Hop Sing had taken turns sitting by their sickbeds.

Hop Sing. With everything else, Adam had almost forgotten about him. Adam made a mental note that he had to find Hop Sing and try to convince him to come back and not just for cooking their meals. Although Adam believed in science and modern medicine, he didn't dismiss the herbs and concoctions that Hop Sing brewed in his teas and made into poultices.

Adam pushed the bedroom door open and saw his father asleep in the large upholstered chair, his head lolling, and Percy stood over Joe's bed, looking down at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Adam asked in a low voice.

Percy swung around. "I was just checking in on Joe, that's all. I've been concerned, so distressed that I couldn't sleep."

Ben jerked awake at the sound of voices. "Joe? Adam?" Ben saw that Adam was there and then he noticed Percy. He stood up and pushed his way to stand above Joe. He placed his hand on Joe's forehead. "He's still feverish," Ben said. "Adam, would you get me a wet cloth."

"Yeah." Adam went to the wash stand and wet the folded cloth Ben had been using and gave it to his father who placed it on Joe's forehead.

"I can sit with him for a while, Pa. Why don't you go lie down and get some sleep."

"Or I could sit with him," Percy volunteered. "After all, I do feel as if I should have been paying more attention to my younger brother up there on that roof. Therefore, I feel a bit of guilt. I would be glad to keep vigil and change out the wet cloth and soothe his raging fever."

"Yes, I'm sure that you would," Adam said. After the doctor had left, Adam had asked Joe if Percy had pushed him, tripped him or in any way caused him to fall but Joe said that he couldn't remember, only that somehow he had lost his balance and had fallen. Adam believed that Percy was guilty but even if Joe he had accused Percy, Adam knew that the accusation could be blamed on Joe's feverish state and that Percy would declare his innocence by claiming to the sheriff, Roy Coffee, that Adam had led Joe on with leading questions.

"No," Ben said. "Thank you, Adam, but I'll sit with him." Ben reached out and pushed Joe's dark, damp curls off his forehead. "I want to be here in case he wakes up or he takes a turn for the worst."

"All right, Pa. I'll put on some coffee for us."

"And tea? Will you make some tea? I haven't developed a taste for that acrid substance that passes for coffee around here."

Adam reached out and took Percy's arm. "Let's both of us go to the kitchen and make the coffee." He pulled Percy out of the room into the hall and closed the door behind him. "Now what the hell were you doing in there?"

"I was concerned about Joe, that's all. You couldn't possibly think that I had any evil intentions. Why, Adam, you injure my delicate feelings. You keep this up, this campaign against me, and I might infer that you don't care very much for me, that you have no brotherly affection and I do so love you."

Adam looked at Percy with disgust. But Adam remembered how he had let Percy get to him yesterday and was determined not to let it happen again; he couldn't lose control again. He turned and went down the stairs and Percy lightly followed him; he was thrilled that he had forced Adam to hold himself in check. Percy knew that the strain would eventually wear Adam down. How proud of him his mother would be. He would teach Adam Cartwright what cruelty was.