Being in the Indian village was a welcome respite for Hoss and Joe. It wasn't as though they'd never been in one before, but this time they felt welcome. They even felt a sense of belonging due to their brother's position in the village. And after ten long days in the saddle, crossing the hot, inhospitable terrain of the desert, it was good to simply sit and rest in the beautiful clearing the Ute called home.

As they left Otetiani's lodge, Adam told his brothers in a tone that brooked no argument that they would be leaving at first light to search for Wanekia, Cameahwait and the other men. They stood together outside the lodge and it was several minutes before Adam was able to calm himself down. His mouth had grown tight as he breathed heavily though flaring nostrils. Hoss and Joe could only stand and watch, knowing their words would fall on unhearing ears. After a couple of minutes—during which Hoss crammed his hands into his pant pockets, stiffened his arms and scuffed his feet; and Joe merely stood and watched the emotions flit across his older brother's face—Adam suddenly turned to them as though he'd forgotten they were there. He let out a deep breath and beckoned them to follow him.

As they walked through the village, Joe flicked glances at his brother's profile. The rigid set of his lips and the high protruding cheeks beneath his eyes spoke of his fear over what had become of his family. In the ten days they'd been reunited with him, Adam had had but one goal: to get back to his wife and daughter. His family had been a lure, slowly but surely drawing him towards them. Only, when Adam had reached the place where the bait should have been, it had not been there. They had not been there. As he led his brothers through the village, Adam was deaf to his brothers' questions and his eyes stared into the distance without seeing. It took Hoss nudging an elbow in his ribs to bring him back to the present. Adam blinked absently before his cheeks dimpled in a resigned smile and once more he acknowledged them and the villagers who waved in his direction.

Adam led Hoss and Joe directly to a tepee where the woman who had greeted Adam earlier was sitting, stirring a pot over a fire. Adam introduced Luyu to his brothers. Although wary at first, she soon warmed to Hoss's kind sky-blue eyes. She knew from Liwanu's description that this was the gentle brother. "You are the brother who is at peace when he is among the trees and by the rivers." Hoss's head had waggled on his neck. "Aw shucks, ma'am, what's my older brother been tellin' you about me?" Luyu directed him to a place by the entrance to her lodge, sitting him down with a firm pressure on his arm, and dropped to her haunches beside him. She looked towards Adam, who was greeting a handful of villagers that had wandered over. "Liwanu would not talk of you, any of you, for many seasons. His heart was filled with a sorrow so dark the light within him almost died." Luyu looked back to Hoss. "But your brother's spirit is strong. And when he could talk of you, he spoke with great love." She rose to her feet and stepped back to her cooking pot. Hoss looked over at Adam. It seemed he learned something new about him every day, and darn, if hearing what Luyu said didn't bring a tear to his eye.

Little Joe was oblivious to his middle brother's emotions. He was surrounded by children who seemed to appear from nowhere to grab at his hat, reach up to touch his thick wavy hair or tentatively run their fingers over his holstered gun. He was dragged to a space between two lodges where the children insisted he play a game with them. After some tussling when it was clear the children were fighting over whose side Joe would be on, he was tugged over to sit with a small group of boys. They all watched attentively as a larger boy on the other side took two small bones, one marked, one plain, and put them in his hands. He swayed, jumped, moved his hands quickly, all the while trying to obscure which hand had the marked bone. After a while he was still, and Joe's team had to guess which hand held the marked bone. When they were successful, there was much cheering and clapping on backs. It was then their turn to try and trick the opposition.

During the game, Joe found his eyes wandering to his elder brother. He couldn't help but frown at how relaxed Adam appeared to be with the villagers. For the last ten days Adam had been tense. There had never seemed to be a moment—except when on horseback—when his back and shoulders hadn't been stiff, or his expression stern. But now, his whole posture seemed to have eased. Joe watched as Adam rested his forearms on the corral, his head angled towards the Ute Joe now knew was called Hanska. He saw another man approach and break into their conversation. Adam rose out of his lean, put a friendly hand on the man's back and walked with him towards a nearby tepee. There, he dropped to his rump, cross-legged, and chatted away with the family who lived there. Joe couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy at the easy-going camaraderie he was sharing with the people around him; a harmony and lack of reserve he was struggling to regain with his own brothers.

Joe's thoughts were so far away that it took several nudges from the surrounding children before he could pull his attention back to the game at hand. He laughed and smiled with them, but his smile would wane when his eyes wandered to his older brother.

xxxxxxx

It was with a heavy sigh that Joe flopped down next to Hoss.

Hoss turned an eye briefly towards him, taking in the frown that had settled across Joe's forehead. "What's on ya mind, little brother?"

Joe was still staring towards Adam, who had wandered down to the far end of the village. Hoss followed his gaze.

"Adam seems very at home here." Joe's voice was quiet.

Hoss nodded. "Sure does. From what little I seen, these look like good people."

"Ummm."

"So what's eatin' at ya?"

Joe pulled his eyes from Adam and dropped his head. "It's just…" he sighed and threw another glance towards where Adam was standing. "Sometimes he's Adam, he's my brother, but more often he's this other guy, he's this…Liwanu. I don't think we ever truly got him back."

Hoss picked at the grass at his feet. "Thing is, little brother, when we found him, we all thought everything would go back to the way it was before. Too much has happened though, 'specially to Adam, so it ain't never gonna be like it was. We jus' gotta try and accept him the way he is now. It won't be easy, but that's just the way it is."

They both stared after their older brother, lost in their own thoughts until Hoss broke the silence.

"I guess he's so deep into these people now that we're more strangers to 'im than they are."

"That's what I don't understand, Hoss. He was here for less than two years, but he was a Cartwright for far, far longer. How can one person change so much in such a short space of time?"

Hoss frowned as though contemplating Joe's question.

"You know, our brother has always been pretty restless." Hoss snorted gently. "I guess that's what comes from spending your childhood in a wagon, travellin' from town ta town. It always seemed to me like he was searchin' for somethin', searchin' but not findin'." He paused and looked over at his younger brother. "Mebbe, jus' mebbe, he's finally found what it is he was lookin' fer."

And with that Hoss heaved himself to his feet using his brother's shoulder as a crutch and made his way over to the cooking fire, a smile widening his face as he smelt the food being prepared for the evening's meal.

xxxxxxx

They left early the next morning negotiating the trail that would eventually lead them to the site of the lower village. They weren't alone, however. As the brothers arrived at the corral to ready their horses, they found three men waiting for them, already astride their mounts. Hanska nodded to Adam, who turned to Hoss and Joe. "Looks like we're going to have some company; they're good men." He pointed to the sturdy Ute who had greeted Adam the previous day. "You've met Hanska. The other men are Akando and Okomi." Adam turned back to Hanska. "Does Otetiani know you're coming?" The Ute's pony sidestepped beneath him. "Otetiani, he waits too long. I would have left many moons ago." Adam sighed. "In other words, he doesn't know." He turned to his brothers, shaking his head. "Let's get moving."

Not long after the visit to Otetiani's lodge, and while Joe's attentions had been occupied by the swarm of children, Adam had been reunited with his beloved Sport. The animal had been corralled with the other Indian ponies for the month Adam had been missing. Hoss's face had broken out into a wide beam at the sight of the chestnut. "Well, I'll be. I never thought I'd see this ol' fella again." The Appaloosa gelding Adam had been riding was moved into the corral with an appreciative slap to his rump. "He did well," said Adam, "but he ain't Sport." So that morning it was the chestnut over whose familiar back Adam threw his saddle. The horse flicked his head; he'd got used to running free without strange apparatus attached to him. "And we'll have none of that," reprimanded Adam with a smile quirking his face as he pulled the cinch tight around the animal's body.

Joe's conversation with Hoss the previous day had given him much to think about. He had still been mulling over Hoss's words as Adam had returned to the lodge for the evening meal. Joe had not been able to keep the puzzled expression from his face; it was the same look he had worn as a child whenever he was working through a tough maths dilemma set by one of his teachers. Adam had squeezed himself next to Joe—amongst the gaggle of Cameahwait's offspring—to eat the meal prepared by Luyu. Much to his amusement Yazhi had assumed her old position, standing between Adam's knees to pick pieces of food off his plate as if they were her own. Joe observed how comfortable Adam looked with his arm hooked around the young child's belly, playfully admonishing her for eating his dinner and turning to Adam had said, "You're really happy here, aren't you? I think I can see why." Joe had then turned away to tease one of the young girls sitting next to him. Adam had stared at him, but it was clear that was all Joe was going to say. It was enough for now though. Joe was coming to terms, slowly, with who Adam was.

xxxxxxx

The men had been on the trail to the low valleys for four days when they encountered signs that made Adam's blood run cold. Up until then, the journey down had been easy, pleasant even, despite Adam's obvious deep-etched concern as to the welfare of his wife and child. They'd made good time, riding beneath the cooling boughs of the pines and aspens that littered this side of the mountain and which turned the forest floor into a chequered patchwork of light and shade. Hoss had set traps near the camp on their first night, and the morning after saw the party moving on with two fat rabbits hanging from Hoss's saddle. The Ute men had silently moved off into the woods returning with several small game birds. They all ate well for the next two nights.

But then they had ridden into a dimly-lit glade, shadowy from an abundance of over-hanging branches and densely bounded by close-growing trees. All the riders had pulled up sharply at the clear signs of disturbance that greeted them. The ground was criss-crossed with wagon tracks and a great many footprints. The men dismounted with a sense of disquiet starting to crawl over their skin. Leaving the horses in the trees and carefully watching where they placed their feet, they moved into the open area. One of the Ute, Okomi, skirted the area and disappeared off into the woods.

Hoss and Joe moved to either side of the clearing, raking over the earth around the trees and under fallen forest debris. Hanska was crouching, his fingers lightly turning over clods of earth. He pointed at a print. "Soft shoes." He indicated another. "Boots." Adam lowered himself to Hanska's side and watched as the Ute peered closely at the ground. "One wagon, but many feet."

Okomi appeared at the edge of the clearing, drawing their attention away from the mass of footprints. "Our people; they walk this way up the trail."

Hanska turned back to study the soil. "See here, Liwanu, there is much confusion. Okomi is right. They walked up the trail from that direction," Hanska swivelled on his heels, pointing to the track leading into the clearing where Okomi still stood, "and they were stopped here. They have turned to face north, south, east, all around. See how the footprints are one on top of the other. Soft shoes here, all together. Hard shoes—like yours—all around them."

Adam rose numbly to his feet. "Who?"

There was a shout from Hoss. "Soldiers." He walked over to Adam. "There are spent casings over there." He held out his hand. Two long metallic cartridges clinked together on his open palm.

Joe joined them. "I've got them too. Looks to me like the ammo they use in Springfield rifles." He looked up and nodded. "Soldiers."

Adam could only stare at the shiny brass cartridges in Hoss's hand. He picked one up, turning it over and over in his fingertips. With a sudden burst of speed that surprised them all, he drew his arm back and, with a grunt of effort, propelled the cartridge with as much force as he could muster towards the nearby trees. It fell with a soft muffled thud into the undergrowth. He breathed heavily through his nostrils, trying to calm the growing sense of rage that was threatening to take control of him. He turned to face Hanska. "Is there any sign of anyone being hurt?" He repeated the question in English for his brothers' benefit. "Is there any sign of blood?" The Ute looked around him, although, he already knew the answer to that question. He replied in English. "No blood."

Adam took a deep breath. That was something at least. He turned his back on the men who were all watching him intently. He took a few steps away, put his hands on his hips and closed his eyes, striving to harness his raging thoughts. Kia and his child had been taken—captured—by the army. They wouldn't be harmed, he was sure of it, but their fate was now in the hands of a government that was raging a war against the Indians. He opened his eyes and swung around to face his brothers and the Ute.

"We track them. We find them. We get them back."

xxxxxxx

They only had to follow the tracks for a couple of days before Hanska pulled up abruptly.

"I know where they are. This way takes us to the white man's fort."

Without the need to constantly study the ground to keep the tracks in sight, the party made swift progress. And with Adam driving them on, barely letting his companions have any time for food or sleep, they reached the vicinity of the post within a couple of hard-ridden days. It was a bad-tempered and irascible group of men who reined their horses to a stop about a mile from where the fort sat basking in the midday heat.

Their first task was to ascertain that the Ute were indeed being held there. The Indians weren't even considered for the job; it could only be one of the Cartwrights. Adam had one foot in his stirrup, determined that he be the one to go. But Hoss grabbed Sport's reins to prevent his brother from riding off half-cocked. Much to Adam's irritation, his brothers decided he might struggle to keep his temper in check if he didn't get the answers he wanted. With a raised eyebrow and a huffy breath, Adam could only agree with them. And so Joe volunteered. It fulfilled his need to do something, to contribute, to help his brother; up to now he felt he'd been nothing more than a bystander being led hither and thither.

As the rest of the party rode off the main track to find a secluded site where they could wait and rest, Joe continued down the road that led directly to Fort Addington. He rode casually up to the gates, leaning over his saddle pommel to talk to the soldier on duty.

"Sure is a hot one." Joe removed his hat, and taking a large handkerchief from his back pocket, mopped his forehead and the inside brim of his Stetson.

"Don't get much hotter. What can I do ya for?"

Joe leaned back. "I was hoping I may be able to water my horse. I've been on the road since before light. Poor ol' Cooch here doesn't have much left in 'im." Joe wasn't wrong. The long days on the road had exhausted their animals, and, as if on cue, Cochise was hanging his head wearily.

The guardsman eyed Joe and Cochise for a long second. "Sure," he moved to let Joe pass, "trough's over yonder."

Joe flashed his widest, whitest grin at him. "I'm much obliged to you."

He didn't want it to look too obvious as he dismounted and walked Cochise slowly across the inner yard, but Joe was scanning every inch of the fort he could see for any sign that a large party of Indians was being kept there. Nothing stood out. He led Cooch to the trough, smiling as the animal dipped his head low and drank deeply. Joe wasn't lying when he said it was a hot day; he bent over and stuck his head in the lukewarm water. As he straightened, he could feel the refreshing fluid cascade down his neck and back, tickling the skin under his shirt. He gathered Cochise's reins and walked back to the gate.

"I'm real grateful. Truth is with all this talk of Indians I need Cooch to be able to outrun an arrow if need be."

"Indians? Whaddya talkin' about?"

"I heard there were war parties in between here and Fort Gunnison; on account of some Indians being taken by the army."

The guardsman screwed his face up. "We ain't heard nuffin about that. Damn, I'd best go tell the cap'n, he'd need to know there's Injuns up to no good."

The soldier took a step away from the gate. Joe had to think quickly; otherwise he was in danger of losing a potential source of information. He moved in front of the man, blocking his path.

"Look, I've been on part of that road for best part of the morning and I've not seen hide or hair of any Indians. I expect its trouble-makers stirring up trouble against you fellas."

"Well thing is they ain't wrong. We've got a whole pack of them savages locked up in the stockade." The guardsman's eyes grew wide. "Goddamn, I ain't supposed to tell no one that. You don't tell no one I told you."

Joe adopted his most innocent expression; the one he'd used so successfully on many an occasion with Hoss. "I won't tell a soul. Besides, I've got no one to talk to but my horse."

The guardsman grinned. "It's been more trouble than it's worth having them Injuns here. I heard tell they spit on anyone who goes to give them their grub. And you gotta keep a close watch on 'em when ya in the cell with 'em else they'd be like to scratch your eyes out. One of them started chantin' when Harry Tyce went in and now he says he's broken out in hives. Reckon he's been hexed."

Joe nodded throughout the man's account; his eyes widening in all the right places. "I heard the women are the worst."

"I don't know about that. This lot came in with a woman and her kid, and she ain't been no trouble to no one."

It took all of Joe's willpower not to whoop at the news Adam's wife and child were here. He managed to keep his expression blank. "Well, I wish you luck. Hopefully you won't get much more trouble from those heathens you got here."

The man nodded. "It won't be our trouble for much longer. Captain said that tomorra they's being moved out to a reservation down Boyd's Creek way. Cain't come a day too soon if you ask me."