Thunder Rolls
Thanks again for your comments. Two more chapters...and of course, I'll be running off to the theatre later.
Chapter Four
Morning might be the best time for traveling, but when Callie awoke she decided that the trip to the Ponderosa would have to wait. Ben's shoulder had become inflamed and infected. He'd developed a slight fever. "Well, lucky for you I know my herbs and other treatments for such things as this." Callie said as she laid a poultice upon Ben's injured shoulder. Her heart went out to the man as he winced ever so slightly.
"My sons…" Ben started to try to rise only to find one very determined woman holding him down, not too hard as he was sick and did not have the strength to fight back.
"I'm sure your sons are lookin' for you." Callie sat down and wiped his forehead with a damp cloth. "Unfortunately, there' nothing we can do about it right now. Now, lie still! You won't do them any good if you go pushing yourself while you are not well!" It was the truth and she knew it; she also knew Mr. Cartwright was smart enough to know it himself.
Ben sighed and stopped struggling. He couldn't fight Callie and he knew it. He watched the young woman tend his mess of a shoulder and wondered about her past. Since she'd admitted to being unmarried, Ben looked at her closely. "I'm surprised none of your relatives fought with you about coming out west by yourself." Sure she'd spoken of a brother, sister, nieces and nephews… and cousins the night before. But he was a little fuzzy on the details.
Callie shook her head as she told her patient of her late brother's passing. "He'd have heart failure if he knew what I have done, and my sister thinks I'm crazy. I was tired of the east though, and had my own dreams to follow. It's not like I'm getting any younger." Truth was, while she looked to be no more than five years older than Adam, Callie was actually thirty-eight and the baby of her family. She finished securing the poultice to his shoulder and adjusted his covers as she went to fetch him something to drink. She knew she had to keep his liquids up; she didn't want him getting dehydrated on top of this fever.
While Ben lay fighting the fever, Callie's mind wandered back to the conversation she'd had with her older sister and their brother before he had died. "It's not right, without a husband you'll be traveling alone! That's not right and you know it! Not only that, but any number of things could happen!" The woman had continued to rant and rave obviously not taking in account just who she was talking to. Callie had never done things the acceptable way and had always been the odd one. Time and time again she'd done things that were "not right" according to society or to them.'
Now, Callie stood looking out the window and looked upon the wide open space before her. She realized at least part of the reason she'd left her only surviving sibling, all twelve of her nieces and nephews and their children, along with all her other relatives was for the simple fact that the east was just far too crowded for her. She couldn't breathe back there! Besides, even if her sister and brother in law meant well, they were far to bossy for her liking. With her never having married, the two seemed to think it was their place to tell her what to do, where to do it and why to do it. Oh they believed they were looking after her, but it was little wonder the three of them had a strained relationship. Only when Ben let out a moan was Callie brought out of her thoughts.
0000
Little Joe, Hoss and Adam rode down the long dusty road towards Carson City. They didn't like the fact that the few passengers they'd passed on the road, including the ones on a stagecoach, had not caught even the slightest glimpse of their father. A friend of theirs had found Buck and bought him into town just moments before they left. It was then that everyone was sure something had happened to Ben Cartwright. The boys didn't like it. Where on earth was he? What had happened? They wanted answers and they wanted them yesterday. It was midnight by the time the three Cartwright men sat on their horses at the edge of Carson City and hoped that they would find some answers to their questions first thing in the morning. After all, it was way too late to be bothering anyone at the moment.
"We best get a couple of rooms for the night." Adam headed towards the livery stable feeling tired and frustrated. Maybe, with a few hours sleep, he'd be refreshed enough to continue the search for his pa and some answers. Too tired to fight their oldest brother, Hoss and Little Joe followed suit. It wasn't long before Sport, Chubby and Cochise had been taken to the livery stable and taken care of. The three brothers then headed down the road towards the closest hotel in town.
The lobby was bare when Adam and his brothers walked up to the counter where the hotel's night clerk sat looking at some papers. When his customers approached the desk, the man stood up and smiled. "May I help you?" The tall thin man's voice was so high it made all three Cartwrights had to fight to keep from staring. In fact, they also had to fight to keep from laughing as his thin mustache, shaped in such a manner as to make each side stick straight out, and the high pitched voice, for whatever reason, reached out and tickled their funny bone.
"We need a couple of rooms for the night." Adam saw no reason to beat around the bush 'at this time of night'. The sooner they got some sleep, the sooner they could start looking for father. It wasn't long before they had the guest book signed and had the keys to the only two spare rooms left in the place. Hoss and Little Joe would share the double, while Adam took the only single left.
Hoss and little Joe wasted no time in getting to bed; however, sleep evaded both men. Hoss watched silently as his younger brother tossed and fidgeted. "We'll find him Little Joe," he said softly.
"Ya think so Hoss."
"I know so, short shanks, but ya need ta sleep a might. We probably got a bit of a ride tomorrow."
"Thanks Hoss."
"What fer?"
"I dunno, jist… Thanks."
Alone in his room, Adam was able to lie on top of his bed. Still fully clothed, he lay there with his arms stretched out and folded so they cradled his head. His feet, still covered in his dusty boots, hung off the side. He may have looked relaxed, but he was anything but. His body needed the little rest he could afford and the time to stop and think. There had been blood on his father's saddle and that had them all greatly concerned. After all, they had to wonder now if they were looking to find a man who was merely wounded or were they looking for a body to bury? If it was the latter, Adam swore to find the culprit, or culprits, and bring them to justice.