Chapter Four

The cousins were well out of town by the time lunch rolled around, and by suppertime, they were beginning their ascent into the Sierra Nevada. Though their elevation was still pretty low, there was no denying that autumn was here and winter was on the way, and Josie, Adam, and Pip slept bundled up together. It was raining the next morning, and everyone woke up damp but in good spirits. As Adam pointed out, the wet ground would make it easier for them to find tracks. Sure enough, by that afternoon, they had picked up the mountain lion's tracks and were hunting him down, deeper and deeper into the mountains.

The sun came back out on the third day of their excursion, and Adam and Josie enjoyed the chance to dry out. Adam said he thought they were closing in on their prey; the big cat's tracks were much fresher now, and Pip had obviously picked up on a scent because his nose was constantly on the ground. They were pretty high up in the mountains now, though still in the tree line, and Adam felt happier and more relaxed than he had for a long time. He was with his little sister in the clear mountain air, they were mere hours away from bagging a mountain lion, and he had an engagement ring for Molly in his carpetbag. He grinned to himself and urged Sport on a little faster.

They stopped for lunch at a stream, where they refilled their canteens and let the horses rest, and Adam said he thought they'd have a shot at the mountain lion before nightfall.

"Don't forget that I get the first shot," Josie said.

"I would never."

In the late afternoon, as Adam and Josie rounded a bend on the deer trail they were following, a brown blur shot out of the trees and darted in front of Scout, brushing the horse's front legs. The Appaloosa reared in terror, launching Josie backward. Adam pulled back on his reins to keep Sport from bolting, and he snatched out a hand and caught hold of Scout's bridle as Pip darted away after the creature that had frightened Josie's horse. Adam shouted for the dog to come back as he jumped off of Sport, wrapped both horses' reins around a nearby tree branch, and tore back down the trail toward Josie, who lay motionless on the rocky ground.

Terrified, Adam dropped to the ground next to his cousin, who laid face-down in the dirt. "Josie!" he hollered. He rolled her onto her back and nearly cried with relief when her eyes fluttered open and focused on him.

"Uuurrrrrggghhh," Josie moaned. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate horses?"

Adam laughed and gently wiped some dirt from her face. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think so. What the hell was that?!"

"A coyote, I think. What was it, Pip? A coyote?"

Pip had trotted back when Adam called for him, and he now sat next to Josie, peering at her intently as if making a diagnosis. Josie grabbed hold of Adam with one hand and Pip with the other and hauled herself to her feet. She was covered in trail dust from head to toe, and the left knee of her jeans was ripped open, the skin beneath gashed and bleeding. Josie glanced down and sighed.

"I better clean that up," she said.

"Yeah," Adam agreed, grateful that the damage wasn't worse. "Tell you what. There's a stream just on the other side of those trees. Why don't you and Pip go bandage up your leg? I'll take the horses back to that little clearing we passed a few minutes ago. It's less than a quarter mile. I'll start setting up camp."

"What about the mountain lion?"

"That cat won't go much farther today. We can catch him tomorrow."

Josie agreed and took her medical bag and new rifle off of Scout, whistled for Pip, and set off for the stream. Adam frowned as he watched her limp on that left leg, but it didn't seem too bad, so he mounted back up on Sport, grabbed Scout's reins, and made his way back to the clearing.

Firewood was plentiful in the area, and within a few minutes of reaching the clearing, Adam had gathered enough to keep a fire going all night. He guessed it was only about four o'clock, but the days were growing shorter, and it was already getting chilly. He crouched down, struck a match, and reached into his neat stack of logs to light the kindling when the familiar "click!" of a revolver being cocked behind him froze him in place.

"Put your hands where we can see 'em!" a deep voice bellowed.

Adam swallowed hard as he dropped the match and stretched his hands out to his sides, being careful to keep his right hand well clear of the Remington on his hip.

"Turn around! Slow!" the voice ordered.

Adam stood up and turned slowly around, his face a mask of loathing.

"Well!" the deep-voiced man exclaimed, sounding positively delighted. "If it ain't the hothead!"

Adam glared back at the man who had knocked into Josie four nights earlier. The shorter man – the one with the deep voice – had a .45 leveled at Adam's chest, while the red-haired man stood nearby, one hand holding the reins of a dark bay horse, and the other hovering over the grip of his own still-holstered revolver.

"Evening, gentlemen," Adam said, his hands still spread wide. "Have fun robbing the First Bank of Sacramento?"

The red-haired man snorted. "Ain't you just the funny one?"

"Eli!" the shorter man barked. "Take the hothead's gun."

The red-haired man obeyed, approaching Adam slowly and snatching his Remington from its holster. "Didn't we tell you to watch yourself?" he sneered. The man's hot breath was sour, and Adam turned his face away. He never even saw Eli raise his hand, and he jumped backward in surprise as a sharp crack set his left cheek aflame. "You look at me when I'm talkin' to you, boy!" Eli snarled.

"Easy now, Eli," the shorter man said. "Don't go roughing him up just yet. Not until we get some information."

Eli pouted. "All right, George," he grumbled.

"What sort of information do you expect to get from me?" Adam demanded.

George stepped over to Adam, keeping his gun aimed directly at Adam's heart. "For starters, where's that cute little sister of yours? She's a pretty little thing, despite the family resemblance. I'd kinda like to see her again."

Adam's eyes flashed, but he was relieved – clearly, these men hadn't spotted Josie's tracks heading toward the stream. He prayed Josie would take her time cleaning up her knee. If he played his cards right, he might be able to get these men to take what they wanted and clear out before she returned.

"She isn't here," Adam said. "She lives in Sacramento. I was visiting her for her birthday."

George waved his free hand in Scout's direction. "Who's the Appaloosa for, then? Awfully small horse for a fella your size. But just about right for a little lady."

Adam didn't flinch. "That's my packhorse."

"Liar!" George screamed as he jabbed the muzzle of his gun into Adam's belly. "Nobody saddles a packhorse! Now where is she?!" He reached up and grabbed a fistful of Adam's hair, yanking his head to one side at the same time he swept Adam's feet out from under him with a well-placed kick. Adam crashed to the dirt and saw stars as his head bounced off the ground. "Tie him up, Eli!"

Eli snatched two lengths of rope off his horse's saddle and trotted back to where Adam lay next to his would-be campfire. He wrenched Adam's arms behind his back and cinched them together, the ropes cutting into Adam's flesh. Bile rose in Adam's throat as his memory flashed back to being bound to a pole of Peter Kane's lean-to the previous summer. His heart and breathing quickened, and he fought to control his fear as Eli bound his ankles.

"Relax, Cartwright," he told himself. "You're not alone this time. Josie's out there. And even if these men take everything you have, there's plenty of food and water here in the mountains. It's a long walk back to Sacramento, but it's possible."

This calmed him enough that he was able to ask "What do you want?"

George grinned, revealing those rotten and broken teeth of his. "A horse, first of all. And those are a couple of fine animals you got over there, Hothead." He gestured toward Sport and Scout. "See, my horse broke a leg a few miles back, and Eli and I can't very well outrun the law with only one horse between us."

"So take the horses and go."

"Oh, we will, don't you worry about that," George said, kneeling on the ground so he could lean into Adam's face. "But we're also gonna relieve you of any valuables you might have, as payment for you being so unfriendly the other night." He grabbed a handful of dirt and flung it into Adam's eyes before joining Eli at the horses, leaving Adam writhing on the ground as his bound hands futilely tried to reach for his eyes. Tears streamed down his face as his eyes tried to wash out the dirt.

It was several minutes before Adam's vision cleared enough for him to see George searching his saddlebags while Eli dug through his carpetbag. Adam had spent most of his cash in Sacramento, so George came away with only twenty dollars when he found Adam's wallet, but Eli discovered the box containing Molly's engagement ring. Excited, he handed it to George.

"Well ain't that purty," George said, holding the little gold circlet up to the fading sunlight. Adam shot daggers at him but stayed silent, his chest heaving. He wanted to scream in frustration at being so helpless to stop himself from being robbed again.

"It sure is," Eli agreed. "Come on, George. Let's take these horses and get out of here before it gets dark."

"No, not yet," George said, putting the ring box in his pocket. "See, Hothead's little sister is still around here somewhere. Hiding, most like. Last thing we need is her running off to tell the sheriff which way we went."

"I told you, she isn't here," Adam said.

George and Eli shared a nasty smile, and George ambled back over to Adam. He knelt down and leaned into Adam's face again. "Oh, yes, she is," he sneered. "And when we find her, I plan to get to know her real well."

Adam's blood boiled, and without thinking, he cleared his throat and spat in George's pug-nosed face.

George leapt to his feet. "You no-good son of a bitch!" he howled, wiping his face. He hauled back one foot and kicked Adam in the stomach and then in the head. Adam vomited up all the water he'd drunk while setting up the campfire, and blood poured into his eyes as George swung his foot back again. Adam curled up in a ball, trying to protect his vital organs from George's next blow.

A rifle report reverberated through the clearing, nearly deafening everyone and blasting George's rumpled hat off his head.

"Touch him again, and the next one goes right through your skull!"

Adam looked up through streaming eyes to see Josie step out from behind a tall pine several yards away, her new Henry rifle pulled tight to her shoulder and leveled on George. Simultaneous surges of triumph and fear shot through him. Josie had never looked more beautiful, but Adam had never been less glad to see her.

George smiled. "There she is! I'm so pleased you could join us, my dear!"

"Untie my brother." Josie's rifle stayed level.

"You must be mistaken," George replied. "This man's sister isn't here."

"Let. Him. Go."

"Or what?" George sneered. "I've seen you all gussied up. You're too much of a lady to shoot anyone." He lifted his foot to kick Adam again.

"And you're giving me entirely too much credit," Josie replied coolly. And she pulled the trigger.

The Henry roared a second time as its bullet tore through George's right shoulder, and he collapsed on the ground, howling in pain. Josie let loose a triumphant smile and took two steps forward when Adam hollered her name.

"On your left!" he cried.

Josie spun around to see Eli only a few feet away, his revolver aimed at her. He must have snuck up on her while she was preoccupied with George. Josie didn't have enough time to react before Eli pulled his trigger. Adam screamed, and Josie braced herself for the searing pain of a bullet ripping through her body.

But it never came.

In the thousandth of a second before Eli fired, an enormous, snarling mass of brown fur and flashing white teeth sailed out of a clump of bushes and tackled Eli, whose gun flew out of his hand, its bullet tearing harmlessly through the tree branches above. The man shrieked as Pip tore a chunk of flesh out of his left calf.

It took Josie a moment to recover from the shock. "Pip!" she called just before the dog's massive jaws closed around Eli's throat. He turned his head and looked at Josie, Eli's blood dripping from his scruffy chin. "Sit!"

Pip obeyed, sitting down squarely on Eli's chest. The red-haired man wheezed as the 160-pound animal pressed on his lungs.

"Good boy! Guard him!" Josie grabbed Eli's gun and dashed over to Adam. Ignoring George, who was still writhing on the ground in a growing puddle of blood, she knelt behind Adam and sliced through his bonds with her pocketknife. Adam sat up slowly, dizzy from the blow to his head, and he clutched his stomach where he could still feel the toe of George's boot. Checking that George could not reach his gun, Adam grabbed Josie up in a tight hug.

"Oh, Josie, that was so stupid!" he croaked, fighting sobs. "I am so glad you did that, but oh my god, that was so stupid!" He kissed her forehead and then pulled her into another hug.

"You're welcome," Josie said with a wry smile. She wriggled free of Adam's grasp and raced back to the trees, where she had stashed her medical bag and canteen. She dropped back down next to Adam and poured water onto a rag and wiped the blood off Adam's face and then dabbed at the gash on his forehead. Adam winced but knew better than to push her hands away.

"Lucky he missed your eye," Josie said, inspecting the wound. "And it's not deep. You don't need stitches."

Adam nodded, but his gaze was focused over Josie's shoulder. "Uh, Josie? Shouldn't you do something about that?" He pointed around Josie to where George was still lying on the ground and growing increasingly pale.

Josie glanced over her shoulder at the man she had shot. "Oh, yeah. Suppose I should. Keep pressure on that." She placed Adam's hand on the rag covering the cut on his forehead and turned her attention to George. Pulling out her pocketknife again, she cut the man's shirt away. George groaned in pain. "Oh, stop complaining," Josie said. "That bullet went clean through. It didn't even hit an artery." She took a large bandage and wrapped it tightly around the wound, being sure to cover both sides. "Lie still until that stops bleeding."

George glowered at her. "What are you, a doctor?" he sneered.

Josie snorted and sauntered over to Eli to bandage his ripped-up calf before returning to Adam. He was a bit pale and still clutching his midsection, and Josie frowned. "Take your shirt off Adam. I want to check your stomach."

Adam protested, but Josie advanced on him, brandishing her bottle of chloroform, and Adam unbuttoned his shirt. Josie had just shot a man; it was probably a bad time to push her. He lay back and kept still while Josie palpated his abdomen, checking for internal injuries. He winced when she hit the spot where George had kicked him, but Josie didn't find anything that alarmed her. She shook her head at the bruise blooming on Adam's stomach. "That's going to hurt for a while, but you'll be ok. Are you still dizzy?" Adam answered in the negative, and Josie enlisted his help with George. She ordered Adam to hold him still while she stitched up the man's shoulder.

"Aren't you gonna give him any chloroform while you do that?" he asked.

"Nope."

Adam's eyebrows shot up at Josie's reply; she'd never been stingy with chloroform if using it would ease a patient's discomfort.

Josie noticed Adam's reaction. "If I had to dig a bullet out, it would be a different story, but I almost never use chloroform for simple stitches like this," she explained. "Dr. Martin doesn't either. It's not worth the trouble and possible risk. It takes a patient longer to go in and out of consciousness than it does to sew him up. And stitches really don't hurt that badly." She turned and caught George's eye. "Even my cousin Joe was man enough at the age of eight to get stitches without blubbering."

The man glared at her, and Josie took great delight in selecting the largest needle out of her medical bag and holding it up for George to admire before she threaded it and plunged it into his skin. The man bit back a yelp, and Adam smiled. As she sewed, Josie spoke again.

"Adam, if you want to help, you could start a fire and brew some willow bark tea to ease his pain." She caught George's eye again. "Although you don't deserve any pain killer for beating on my brother, unfortunately, being a doctor, I took oaths that cover even dirty, lawless, scum like you." She yanked the thread tight with the final stitch and tied it off. Adam took one look at the anger still splashed across Josie's red face and hustled away to light the fire and get the water boiling.

Josie used the remains of George's shirt to fashion a sling for his right arm. Since this meant she couldn't tie his hands, she ordered Pip to guard him while she tended to Eli. The red-headed man needed quite a few stitches – thirty-three, to be exact – to close the six-inch gash Pip had made in his leg. When she finished, Josie lashed Eli's hands behind his back, but she was kind enough to wrap bandages around his wrists first so the ropes wouldn't cut into his skin.

Adam, meanwhile, had a delightful time brewing a large pot of extra-strong willow bark tea for his assailants, and he made sure to lift a cup of it to Eli's lips while it was still near boiling. Eli scrunched up his face when he tasted the bitter beverage, but George had the audacity to use his good arm to fling his cup at Josie and call her every misogynistic epithet he could think of. Adam strode over, his arm raised to strike the man, but Josie held up a hand to stop him.

"He'll just keep yammering," she said. She filled a syringe with a hefty dose of morphine and jabbed it into George's good arm. He yowled and continued cursing at Josie, but within a few moments, his eyelids drooped, and he tipped over onto the ground and fell asleep.

"Thank goodness," Josie sighed. "I couldn't have put up with him all night."

Eli's eyes widened as he watched his partner pass out in the dirt. Adam took the opportunity to reach into George's pocket and extract Molly's engagement ring and the twenty dollars George had stolen. Adam crammed the twenty into his own pocket and popped open the ring box. He pulled the ring out of the box and examined it.

"I'm sure it's fine, Adam," Josie said with a little smirk.

"I'm just double-checking." He smiled at the ring and went to tuck it back into its box when he spotted something engraved inside the band behind the emerald. "Hey, Josie, look at this. I can't believe I didn't see it before." Josie scurried over to him and looked where Adam was pointing.

"'P.O. and N.O.,'" she read aloud. "Aw, those must be the initials of the couple who owned this ring."

"Yeah. That's kind of sad, but at least the ring's gonna be put to good use." Adam placed the ring back in the box, slipped the box into his own pocket, and turned to the campfire to start making supper.

Eli had the good sense to keep quiet, so Josie kept him awake through a light supper of beans and biscuits before cramming a spoonful of laudanum in his mouth and sending him off to sleep, too. Even with Pip there to help guard their prisoners, Adam wasn't comfortable closing his own eyes. He leaned up against a tree with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and his rifle next to him to keep watch through the night. As the temperature dropped, Josie scooted over to him and laid her head in his lap. Adam smiled, wrapped his arm around Josie, and pulled her close to his side.

"How's your head?" Josie asked as she nuzzled against him.

"It aches, but I'm all right."

"You want anything for it?"

Adam shuddered at the thought of willow bark tea and declined Josie's offer.

"Ok. Wake me up in a few hours," Josie yawned. "I'll take second watch, though those two reprobates shouldn't stir until dawn."

"Sure," Adam replied, though they both knew he wouldn't wake her.

When dawn broke, Adam still sat keeping watch over his prisoners. Josie stirred as the sun peeped up over the horizon, and she chastised him for not waking her for a shift. Adam smiled an apology and watched as Josie ambled over to check on George and Eli, Pip close at her heels. George was still out cold from the heavy dose of morphine Josie had given him, but Eli stirred when Josie nudged him with her foot.

"What're we gonna do with these fools?" she asked Adam.

"We'll tie them to their horse and escort them west. I expect we'll bump into the sheriff and his posse well before we get back to Sacramento."

Josie's face fell. "We're gonna lose that cougar, aren't we?"

"I'm afraid so," Adam sighed as he rose stiffly to his feet. He glared down at George's still-sleeping form. "Hope you're happy," he grumbled. He reached for his saddlebags to get the coffee, and he grimaced as his bruised abdomen rotated with the movement. He resisted the urge to pay back George with a kick of his own.

As Adam boiled the coffee, Josie cooked up some bacon and beans, making a little extra for Eli. George slept right through breakfast, but he woke up cursing as Josie poured iodine over his stitches to keep them clean.

"Oh, man up!" Josie said. "It doesn't sting that much!"

George spit at her. He missed, but Josie didn't try to stop Adam as he strode over and cracked George sharply across the face. Eli bit his lip against the burning as Josie cleaned his stitches, too, but he was smart enough to keep shut.

Once breakfast was cleaned up, Adam tied George in his saddle and trained his gun on Eli and ordered the red-haired man to mount up behind George. Adam tied Eli to the saddle, too, and then lashed the two men together for good measure. When Adam was certain the men were secured, he and Josie mounted up, one on each side of George and Eli's horse, with Pip bringing up the rear.

"If either of them tries anything funny, shoot them both, and shoot to kill," Adam instructed Josie. He turned to George. "As you may have noticed, my sister's a pretty good shot. Don't test her." George sneered at him but wisely stayed silent.

It was slow going as the company made its way west back toward Sacramento. George and Eli's horse couldn't pick up any speed with two men on its back over mountainous terrain, and despite Adam's insistence that he was fine, his head throbbed from the hard kick George had given him the previous night. The rough ground wasn't doing much for his aching stomach, either. When Josie had checked his abdomen again that morning, they had both shaken their heads at the angry purple bruise that spread from his belly button to the bottom of his rib cage. Combined with not having gotten any sleep the night before, Adam was downright miserable by noon. All he wanted was to be lying in his bed at home. Or, better yet, to be lying in Molly's bed in her shop's backroom while she tended to him. Josie had a soothing touch, but it sure wasn't the same as Molly's. He took a little solace in knowing that his discomfort was nothing compared to the pain that Eli and George were in. Josie hadn't given them anything stronger than tea that morning because she didn't want them too groggy to ride, and now both of them, especially George, had gone pale from being jostled around on horseback.

By late afternoon, they had found no sign of a search posse, and Adam began looking for a place to camp, crestfallen over the thought of a second consecutive sleepless night. By the time they found another little clearing, Adam was in such a foul mood that he yanked Eli and George off their horse much harder than he needed to and practically threw them under a small oak tree. He headed over to tie them up, but Josie beat him to it, and he watched in amazement as she expertly wrapped up the ropes around both men's hands and secured them to the tree trunk, ignoring George's protests over his injured shoulder. Adam strode over and inspected his cousin's handiwork.

"Where did you learn to tie a constrictor hitch?!" he asked.

"Grandfather," she replied. "Where'd you learn to recognize one?"

"Pa."

"Who probably learned it from Grandfather."

The cousins grinned at each other, and Adam glanced up at the darkening sky. "We better get camp set up." He was about to cross back over to Sport to dig his matches out of his saddlebags when he again heard the click of a rifle cocking. He shoved Josie behind him and froze in place. With one quick gesture from Josie, Pip zipped behind a large clump of bushes and hunkered out of sight.

"Hold it right there!" a man's voice called from the shadows of the trees surrounding them. "This is Sheriff Charles Hammond of Sacramento, and my men and I have you surrounded!"

Adam sighed in relief. "Chuck!" he called back. "Chuck, it's Adam Cartwright!"

"Adam?" A tall, thin figure stepped out of the trees into the clearing. He had lowered his rifle but held it at the ready in case he needed to pull it to his shoulder again. He broke into a grin as he recognized Adam. "Land sakes, Adam, what are you doing clear out here?!"

"Hunting," Adam replied, and he pointed toward George and Eli. George glared up at the sheriff, but Eli was quaking in fright. "Found a little more than we bargained for."

"That you did." Chuck stepped over to the prisoners and checked that they were secure. Satisfied they wouldn't get loose, he called to his men, and a half dozen deputies materialized out of the tree line. That was when he noticed Josie, who was still hiding behind Adam and clutching the back of his shirt so tightly that her knuckles were white. It had taken every ounce of her self-control not to pull her Colt from its holster, and the sheriff misinterpreted her reaction as fear. "It's all right, sweetheart," the sheriff said gently. His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled at her, and Josie guessed he was about her father's age. "I'm sorry if I frightened you. I didn't recognize Adam in this fading light. His father and I are old friends. I never would have pulled my gun if I'd realized it was him." The sheriff held a hand out to her. Josie took a deep breath to slow her adrenaline rush, let go of Adam's shirt, and took the man's hand, letting him pull her out from behind her cousin. "That's better," the sheriff said. "Now, let's try this again. I'm Sheriff Charles Hammond of Sacramento."

"Dr. Josephine Cartwright," Josie replied, shaking the man's hand properly.

Sheriff Hammond's eyes lit up, and he turned to Adam. "Why, this is your cousin!" Adam nodded, and the sheriff grinned. "Ben has told me all about you! Now, my dear, how about you tell me how you and Adam managed to capture these two ruffians?"

While Adam and the deputies finished setting up camp, Josie started from the beginning and told Sheriff Hammond how she and Adam had gone to Sacramento for her birthday, how George and Eli had knocked into them a few nights earlier, and how they'd ambushed Adam the previous evening. When she reached the point where she shot George through the shoulder, the sheriff's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

"She's a good shot, Chuck," Adam called from a few feet away where he was lighting a campfire. Two of the younger deputies grinned at each other at this little tidbit.

"You shot them both?" the sheriff asked in amazement.

"No, just Napoleon Bonaparte here," Josie said, waving at George. "Pip took care of Eli."

"Pip?"

"Oh! Pip!" Josie called. In all the hubbub, she'd forgotten that her loyal wolfhound was still hiding behind the bushes, waiting to be called upon. At the sound of his mistress's voice, Pip emerged, trotted over to her, and sat down at her side.

"God sakes!" one of the deputies shouted when he caught sight of the dog.

"Watch your language, Miller!" Sheriff Hammond shouted back. "We've got ourselves a lady here!"

"My apologies, ma'am," the young man said, tipping his hat to Josie. "Just ain't never seen a critter like that."

Josie smiled at him and finished her story, ending at the exact moment the sheriff drew down on them. The lawman shook his head.

"Well, you'll want to come back to town with us," he said. "There's five hundred dollars reward money waiting for you two for capturing these scalawags."

Josie's face split into a huge grin, but Adam groaned at the thought of riding all the way back to Sacramento; he just wanted to go home. Josie asked the sheriff to excuse her for a moment and skipped over to where Adam crouched next to his now-crackling fire.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "We just made five hundred dollars!"

"Yeah, that's great," Adam replied, sitting down carefully so as not to disturb his sore midsection. "But wouldn't you rather just go home? It's a two-day ride back to Sacramento, and then another four back home. Besides, we don't need the money. They can give it to the school or something."

"But, Adam, what about the Virginia City Library? Do you know how many books two hundred and fifty dollars would buy?!"

"Two-fifty? The reward's five hundred."

"I was just counting my half," Josie replied. "But I could stock the whole library with that much." She looked pleadingly at him, and Adam sighed.

"All right," he said. "You've certainly earned it for getting me out of that jam yesterday." Josie flung her arms around his neck, and Adam flinched as both his stomach and his head protested. Realizing she'd hurt him, Josie let go and brushed Adam's hair off his brow to check on the gash over his eye. Like his stomach, his brow had turned an ugly shade of purple, and Josie knew it must be throbbing.

"Let me give you a bit of laudanum tonight," she said. "It'll dull the pain and help you sleep."

"No," Adam answered, shaking his head firmly despite the ache. "I don't want to be drugged out here, no matter how many deputies we have standing guard. I'll be fine."

"At least take some tea." Josie giggled at the way Adam wrinkled his nose at the mere mention of tea. "I'll give it to you already cooled and loaded with sugar."

Adam smiled at her. "All right. I'll play the role of the compliant patient, but for one night only."

One of the deputies stood guard over George and Eli while Pip raced off into the trees to catch his supper and everyone else cooked up beans and salt pork over the campfire. One of the younger deputies, who was around Josie's age, had brought along some dried apples and made up a stew. When Josie mentioned she had never tasted dried-apple stew, the young man enthusiastically shared a dish with her. Adam and Sheriff Hammond chuckled as they watched two of the other young deputies scoot closer to Josie and begin vying for her attention. Josie soaked it up, most likely, Adam realized, because she was completely oblivious to the fact that these young men were flirting with her.

All of the men were interested in how a lady had managed to become a doctor, and, in the spirit of making the attractive young physician smile, they all roundly agreed that she was probably better at the profession than any man could ever hope to be. Adam laughed along until one of the young deputies decided to push his luck.

"You know, Dr. Cartwright," he said, stretching out his lanky legs. "I've been having trouble with a bit of swelling down below. I'd be mighty obliged if you could help me with it."

Adam and the sheriff both leapt to their feet, but before either of them could act, Josie regained the upper hand.

"I'd love to, pardner," she replied without looking up from her stew, "but I didn't bring my microscope."

All the men, including Adam and the sheriff, roared with laughter. Even Eli and George let out little snorts from their position tied to the tree. The young deputy glowered and tried to disappear inside his coat as his face shot crimson. When he got his laughter under control, Sheriff Hammond turned to the young man.

"I warned you once about your language, Miller," he growled. "You apologize to the young lady, and then you go stand watch over the prisoners. You just earned yourself a double shift."

The young man mumbled an apology to Josie and then slunk through the dark to George and Eli to relieve the current guard.

By this time, Josie could see that Adam's little remaining energy was fading fast, so she hurried to make up some willow bark tea. As promised, she served it to him already cooled and sweetened with three big lumps of sugar. Adam drained it in one gulp, shuddered, and made a production of rinsing his mouth with water from his canteen. Josie giggled at him and then, after dosing George and Eli with hefty spoonfuls of laudanum, she bid all the men goodnight. She knew Adam wouldn't go to sleep until she did, and her cousin looked ready to fall over. The lawmen were tired, too, from several hard days on the trail, and within moments, everyone except the watchman and the men tied to the tree was bundled up in bedrolls around the campfire. Pip lay down between Josie and the fire, and Adam wrapped his arms around her from the other side.

"I'm sorry you didn't get your mountain lion," he muttered in her ear as she nestled her head on his arm.

"That's ok," Josie replied. "All I really wanted was an adventure with you, and we got that, didn't we?"

Adam chuckled. "We sure did." He kissed Josie's temple and wished her goodnight. Safe again, the cousins fell asleep almost on the instant.