The battlelines drawn that night remained firmly in place. Adam and Joe were icily polite to one another, while Ben and Hoss found themselves in the uncomfortable limbo of no-man's land.
"I wish those boys would see how alike they are!" Ben confided to Hoss, as they rode along the tree line, grateful to escape the rather oppressive atmosphere of the house. "Adam looks at things logically, while Joe is more emotionally involved, but they care about the same things, they want the same things. I've always celebrated the fact that all my sons were different – each with his own gifts to bring, but now…" He sighed sadly.
Hoss thought carefully before responding. "Seems to me that things are tearing apart. You and I can't do nothin' about it. Adam an' Joe have to work things out for themselves and we've gotta trust them to do that. Ain't nothin' more we can do or say, Pa. It's up to them now."
The rest of their journey was completed in silence, as both men contemplated the challenges that lay ahead.
Joe stormed into the house, obviously in a tearing temper. "Just wait till I get my hands on Adam!" he fumed. Ben and Hoss exchanged resigned looks.
"What's happened?" Ben asked, rather dreading the answer.
Everything about Joe betrayed his mood. He glared at both men, his hands planted on his hips and his chin thrust out belligerently. "Just taken my entire crew, that's all! Without so much as a word to me. How am I supposed to get that new Army contract filled on time?" He was obviously not expecting an answer.
"Why'd Adam do something like that?" Hoss enquired. "Must've had a good reason."
"He told Fred something about the new tunnel in the mine needing shoring up," Joe admitted reluctantly, his temper subsiding.
"That could be dangerous, unless done promptly," Ben remarked evenly. ""We don't place men's lives at risk unnecessarily."
Joe grimaced. "He should have spoken to me about it," he mumbled, with a hint of petulance. The words had hardly left his mouth when he realised how childish and petty he sounded.
"And would you have listened?" his father asked.
"Maybe. Probably not," Joe admitted, regarding his feet with great interest. Things spun into startling clarity with dizzying speed. Ben had always stressed the importance of family working together and supporting one another, but now Joe realised that recently he and Adam had been working against one another. It was hardly a constructive or mature approach.
Swallowing his pride, Joe gave a small, uncertain smile. "How about I ride up there and see how he's doing?"
As he rode out of the yard, Ben and Hoss sat back in their chairs and relaxed for the first time in weeks.
"Hey, Adam!" Joe called, for the mine appeared deserted and silent. He dismounted and strode towards the entrance, just as his brother appeared, wiping his hands on his jeans. Adam looked hot, harried and preoccupied.
"I hope you've not come to complain," he started and all Joe's good intentions started to dissipate.
"Not exactly," he returned shortly, just managing to keep hold of the fraying ends of his temper.
Adam gave a small snort. "It'll not do you any good. Fact is, the tunnel shoring started to buckle and I needed all the hands I could get." He shrugged, and somehow the gesture encapsulated all the terror he had felt when he realised the imminent danger. For a moment, Adam looked quite vulnerable and Joe felt immensely proud of his brother – a trained engineer, Adam was the one man who knew exactly how to make the tunnel safe
"Fair enough. Glad you were able to spot the trouble and get it fixed. Anything I can do to help?" Joe offered, holding out his canteen. Adam gratefully accepted it and took a long draught of water, savouring the coolness after the hot and cramped conditions in the mine.
"We've got things under control now. I'll send your men back in next hour or so."
"Keep them as long as you like," Joe offered, still horrified to think of what the possible consequences might have been.
"Your men worked well as a team and their help made all the difference - I was terrified that tunnel would bring down the entire workings, but we've got the main shaft propped up and it's safe now. We'll get the side-spur secured tomorrow - but it's a new excavation and we've not gone too far." Adam looked at Joe directly, for the first time in their brief conversation. "Thanks for coming, Joe. And for understanding."
Joe nodded, relieved that this seemed to be the end of their disagreement. Then both men became aware of a low, rumbling noise, that grew steadily in intensity and was accompanied by ominous groans from the earth. Beneath their feet, the ground shook and vibrated violently and a flock of birds flew out of the surrounding trees, squawking in terror. As they looked at one another, wild-eyed with amazement, there was a series of loud crashes and behind them, a cloud of choking dust poured out of the mine entrance.
"Cave in!" Adam yelled and began to run, even as a steady stream of men appeared and started to pour out of the mine. They were covered in dust and debris, they were coughing and gasping, but they were alive.
"Is everyone here? Did everyone get out alive?" Adam demanded, frantically scanning the faces before him, trying to recognise familiar features in faces obscured by grime.
"We're all here, boss," one of the men said, between hacking coughs. "We'd just finished shoring up the entrance leading down to the side-spur. We were half-way back up the main tunnel when the spur collapsed."
"The main shaft's fine," another man added. "The props we put in held up steady and strong."
"Good call, Adam." Obvious pride and admiration coloured Joe's voice and Adam shot him a warm and appreciative smile. He realised he valued Joe's opinion greatly and that praise and recognition from his little brother was especially sweet. Was this feeling reciprocated? Were his views equally important to Joe? Adam was ashamed to remember the scant and grudging credit he had paid Joe for his successful innovations with the horse breaking.
It was obvious that no more work could be done that afternoon. The men were unhurt, but obviously shaken and gratefully accepted the offer of an afternoon off. Once the dust settled, the brothers ventured cautiously into the mine, where they surveyed the scene and were reassured to see the main shaft workings were safe and secure.
"How about I ride on home and get some new props and shoring organised for that side-spur organised?" Joe offered. "That way, things would ready for you tomorrow morning."
"Good idea." Adam smiled wryly, remembering an incident from long ago, when he was a young man, anxious to demonstrate his competence and independence. "Did Pa ever give you the "strength through unity" talk?" His mind flew back across the years and once more he was breaking the single stick with ease, then struggling with the bundle of kindling, before finally admitting defeat.
Joe laughed. "He sure did! The Cartwrights against the world! I remember wondering if he ever tried the same thing with Hoss! Might have backfired on him!" He swung up into the saddle and grinned happily. "Steadfast and united – that's us! See you at supper!" As he rode towards home, Joe burst into song, feeling happier than he had in days. Riding out of the trees, Cochise picked up on his master's mood and lengthened his stride as they sped across the flower-strewn meadows that led to home.
Chuckling to himself, Adam surveyed the area around the mine with an experienced eye, searching for any new developments. To the east, he saw a fissure newly opened up in the sandy soil, revealing the living rock beneath the surface. Crouching down, Adam peered carefully and then stifled an expression of surprise. Was it possible that the cave in had revealed a new vein of lode-bearing ore? Throwing his normal caution to the winds, Adam clambered into the opening and pulled a candle stump out of his pocket. Striking a match, he gazed at the uneven rock walls with growing excitement, stifling back a cry of delight when he spotted a particularly promising outcrop.
It took only a few moments to chisel the rock away and then Adam climbed back up to the surface. Once in the sunlight, he studied the lump of rock carefully – the size of a large potato, it bore all the promising signs of a new and profitable vein of silver.
"Just what I thought!" he whispered in awe, almost unable to believe that his good fortune. There was now no need to continue tunnelling the side-spur – the collapse had opened a new entrance that would save time and energy. He strode over to Sport and carefully stowed the rock in his saddlebags, planning to ride to the Assay Office in the morning and longing to share this news with his family. Mining was an expensive and labour-intensive operation and so far they had seen little return. Adam was sure this discovery would change all that.
A voice broke into his reverie. "Seems like you've got something real interesting there. Planning on sharing it?"
Adam turned around to find himself facing a rifle, levelled squarely at his stomach and Evan Daniels, a miner recently arrived from Pennsylvania, showed his teeth in a smile that had no warmth but held considerable menace.
"I reckon you weren't," Daniels continued. "We do the work and you take the glory. Don't seem fair, somehow."
"You get paid a fair wage!" Adam said, fighting against the feeling of powerlessness.
"But I want more! You've got plenty, Cartwright. You'll never miss that one bit of ore, but it'll keep me for a year. It's only fair I should share in that wealth!" His voice was mocking and insolent.
Adam shook his head, fighting to stay calm. Daniels gestured contemptuously with his head.
"Maybe this'll help change your mind. See, me and my buddies, we've got ourselves a little insurance policy here, in the shape of your brother."
Three other men came forward, propelling their captive before them, his head flung back at an uncomfortable angle, gulping against pressure of a revolver barrel pressed into cruelly into his jawbone. Adam closed his eyes for a second, hating this feeling of impotence. He realised that there was no way these men were about to leave two live witnesses to their crime.
"Sorry, Adam. Just wanted to make sure everything was alright."
Nodding his acquiescence, Adam thought furiously, desperately searching for the solution that would get them out of here. Nothing, absolutely nothing came to mind. How could two men realistically overcome four men holding weapons? Leaving his companions restraining their captive, the third man strolled across to Sport and removed the lode bearing rock. Tossing it from nonchalantly from hand to hand, he strolled across to stand by Daniels. They were totally outnumbered and Adam knew there was absolutely nothing he could do.
With a large and audible gulp, Hoss shrugged his shoulders apologetically and smiled resignedly. He looked up at the sky and rejoiced in the pure, pine-scented air, then squared his shoulders and looked steadfastly at Daniels, almost daring him to fire his weapon. A shaft of late-afternoon sunlight broke through the overhanging canopy of tree boughs, illuminating the scene. Out of the corner of his eye, Hoss could see a squirrel scamper over the pine needles that carpeted the sandy ground, unconcerned and impervious of the drama just feet away. The enormity of the heavens and the inconsequential minutiae of living reverberated against one another and mere existence had never seemed quite so precious. The blood pounded in his veins and his skin tingled. Every inch of his body seemed alive and expectant. Surreptitiously, Hoss glanced at Adam and raised his eyebrows in query. The look on brother's face spoke volumes. Resignation. Acceptance. Resistance.