Chapter 10
Hoss had just rounded the corner from talking with Charlie and some of the other hands. Adam and Little Joe were already mounted and ready to head off with their small search party when their Pa came out of the house carrying some important gear.
"Alright boys, this could be a long night so make sure you've got everything you think you'll need. Me and Jipson, and Carl will take the south side. Adam, you, Hank, and Jacobsen take the east side, Joe, Charlie and Frank take the west side and Hoss…"
"I got it Pa. Phil and Freddy and I'll will head North."
"Good, good. Let's meet back here in two hours from now, at 10 o'clock we'll say." Ben and a couple of the older gentleman quickly checked their pocket watches to make sure they all had correct time. As Ben slide his back inside his vest pocket he spoke with strengthen. "Same procedure as always boys. If you find her, or track a trial, three shots fired." For anyone that has worked on the Ponderosa or has lived on the Ponderosa are well aware of the three shot strategy so all men just nodded at Ben. "Even though the moon is bright tonight, every group should have a lantern, just in case the clouds come rolling in."
"We're all set Ben. I grabbed one for our group." Charlie spoke.
"Us too Pa." Ben looked away from Adam to Hoss.
"I'll grab the one off the porch." As Hoss moved away from Chub he soon realized that the lantern from the porch was missing. He turned quickly to the men. "Anyone grab the lantern from the porch?" When there was a bunch of nah's and no's, Ben perked up a bit.
"Well, now we know two things about the child. One she's on foot and two, she probably has a lantern with her. So let's turn ours down and keep an eye out for small tracks. If she's using hers we'll be able to see the illuminating light as we approach."
"Don't worry Pa. We'll find her." Hoss stated with confidence as he was exiting the bunkhouse with a lantern for his group. He mounted up on Chub and gave him a little nudge with his feet to get him moving along with the rest of the group. Ben hung back watching his sons and his hands move along. Adam was about to turn the bend when he noticed that his Pa was still waiting in the yard. He moved Sport back around and sauntered on over to his Pa.
"Pa, Hoss said it all for us. We'll find her. She's on foot and if she does indeed have the lantern she'll be able to be tracked. And let's face it; Hoss is the best tracking around these part. If we don't find her, he sure will."
Ben pushed the brim of his hat up so he could get a better look at his oldest. "Yeah, you're right Adam; I just shouldn't have been so hard on her. She's our guest. I should have treated her like one, and not like one of my own children." Adam knew that he had to try to bring some sincerity to the situation so he spoke what was on his mind.
"True Pa. But if you would have treated her like a guest, than she might not realize how much you do really care for her. She might not think it now, but I have faith that when we find her she'll realize that you care for her more than just a guest." Adam didn't allow any more room for Ben to beat himself up so he quickly pulled on Sports reins and pushed him into a trot out of the yard and headed east.
"Ben, are you coming?" Jipsen called out.
"Yeah, I'm coming." As Ben moved Buck forward a light from the house caught his view. He stopped and looked up. HopSing had pulled the curtain back in Ephraim's room and watched as his friends went in search of the other Callahan child. Both HopSing and Ben sent a silent prayer into the starry night hoping that the prayer would be answered sooner than later.
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Gertie had no idea where she was going for it was growing darker and darker by the minute and the clouds had started to roll in over the moon that was now providing very little light to guide the little girl. She was glad that she remembered to grab the spare lantern that was kept on the front porch of the Cartwright's home. But she wished that she had thought of grabbing a blanket for the clouds that were now covering up the moon had also ushered back in a horrible gusty wind. At times it was becoming too much for the little girl to bear. She knew that she needed to keep moving, for her stubbornness outweighed any idea of retreating back to the main house. What she knew she needed was to find shelter somewhere and somewhere soon. She wasn't very familiar with this territory and when she heard a howl of a nearby coyote she started to have second thoughts about this whole journey. Gertie was soon becoming aware that this was turning into a mistake. Especially when a gust of wind rattled bare branches together, practically making the little girl jump right out of her skin. It was now that Gertie's common sense was returning and she thought if she turned around now, just maybe she could sneak back into the house before anyone even knew that she was gone. But then again would anyone really know that she was missing in the first place? In her small mind all that kept playing was how Ephraim was the center of attention right now and rightfully so. But Gertie couldn't help but feel the jealousy that was growing by the minute inside her. All she kept seeing was how Mr. Cartwright, Hoss and Adam were hovering over her big brother and taking such good care of him. In her head it was like Ephraim had already found a place in all the Cartwright's hearts, but not her. Nope she was certain that Mr. Cartwright didn't care for her in the least, and every so often her bottom would remind her of why she thought so. And then there was Little Joe, who's basically came right out and told her that he didn't like her much. That's two Cartwrights right there that could probably care less that she was missing, but what about loveable Hoss and Adam, would they be worried? Gertie didn't think there was a soul in the world that didn't like Hoss, and that Hoss didn't like back. Gertie had always admired how kind and caring Hoss was towards everything living creature, surly he would be missing her, wouldn't he? As she stopped and hugged her arms around her cold body her thoughts moved from the big teddy bear of Hoss to that of studious Adam. There was something about Adam that she admired. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she had a strong pull towards the man. In some ways he reminded her of her own Papa. Adam had a lot of same characteristics that her Papa had. To start, her Papa was only a few years older than Adam, and the way her Papa handle situation was very much like that of Adam's. They both like being in control, and often had a hard time asking for help from others. They were both very smart and had a good head on their shoulders. Both were capable of showing compassion when one needed and both were kind and caring. As Gertie wandered further into a grove she thought that both men took life way too seriously. Gertie didn't know why Adam did, but for her Papa it was because he had endured a lot in his twenty-nine years of life, losing his own parents at a young age, left to raise his younger brother on his own. It probably wasn't until he lost the love of his life, that Jack Callahan became a hard shell of a man. Even though he was capable of loving it was hard for him sometimes to pass that along to his children. Gertie sometimes thought that it was easier for him with Ephraim because he felt like it was his job to teach Ephraim things that he would need to know as a man, but Gertie was mostly left for Ephraim to care after. While Gertie was comparing Adam to that of her father she didn't see the old rotten root stump and ended up taking a hard fall to the cold, hard ground. Gertie's knees were the first thing that made contact with the ground, and the second was the right side of her head, just above the temple region. Gertie let out a low moan. She tried to push herself up but for some reason the ground seemed to begin to spin and things started to get foggy and unclear. The lantern that she was using to guide her had muffled out with the fall. Things were much darker now. As Gertie tried to move her hands around in front of her all she felt was a thin wet frost that had started to form on the ground. Gertie tried again to pull herself up for she felt the cold and wet from the frost but for some reason that she was unware of her eyes starting to get heavy and all she wanted to do was rest. While lying flat on her stomach she could feel the wetness start to seep through her leggings. She tried to reach up to her head but felt a sharp pain shoot up her arm. It was then that she felt a trickle run from her hairline down beside her ear and then down her cheek, but was too tired to brush it away. She assumed that it was just frost melting from the heat of her body. Instead of brushing it away she gave in and closed her eyes. She figured she would rest for a bit before trying to move again. Not only was the little girl unaware of the ache in her head but she also didn't notice the little pool of blood that was now turning the frozen white grass a deep crimson red.
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The riders continued their search with almost little conversation amongst each other. The only sound was an occasional yell for the little girl. Each man was lost in their own thoughts. The younger hands were not so attached to the little girl and therefore their thoughts were focused on how much sleep they were missing out on because of this escapade, but the loyal hands, the hands that had worked closely with Jack Callahan and the Cartwrights, their thoughts were strictly on finding the young girl. The men were pulling their coats up around their necks and sticking their noses deep down into their jackets to relieve their exposed faces from the brutal wind and dipping temperatures.
"Jipsen, I think it's about time to turn that lantern on. As I guessed it seems like the moon isn't going to be our friend after all."
"I've got it right here Mr. Cartwright. I'll move up to the middle so that it'll be just enough light to help, but not enough to outshine the girl's lantern."
"Yes, that'll work out just fine." Ben and his team were moving along the trail that ran along river. They hadn't spotted any sight of the little girl as of yet which made Ben become a little more tense. He paused the group of men and pulled out his pocket watch, quarter pass nine. He knew that they would only be able to move a little further before having to turn back around and head to the house. Jipsen moved up beside his boss noticing Ben checking the watch. The weather was turning unpleasant and the men were getting tired after already putting in a long day.
"It's getting late and bitter Mr. Cartwright. Should we turn around?"
"No, let's keep moving. We've got a little more time." Ben kicked Buck into a trot while Jipsen and Carl hung back.
"It's sure getting cold out here. You think that girl dressed for it?" Carl asked the older man as he pulled up his coat tighter around his bare neck.
"I don't know Carl. But if we don't hurry up and find her soon, than it won't much matter what she's wearing."
Ben continued pushing on knowing that he couldn't give up just yet. He knew that it was a pretty good possibility that Gertie was out here because of his words and actions, so he needed to push on. As he did he noticed that his team wasn't so eager to continue on with his. He pulled up on Buck and hollered over his shoulder, "Something wrong back there boys?"
"Not at all Mr. Cartwright." Carl couldn't hide the uncertainty in his expression, as Jipsen slapped his hat down over his ears. He shrugged a shoulder at the young man and the two both ducked their heads as a north wind blustered past them.
"We best get a move on." Jipsen instructed as they kicked their horses into a gallop to catch up to their boss who's was hollering for the young girl.
If there was one thing that Ben Cartwright knew for certain, that was there would be no rest for him until the little girl was found.
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"Gertie! Gertie!" Hoss yelled. When only his echo was returned Hoss slumped in his saddle. "Doggone it Gertie. Where ya at?" He whispered into the wind. The young man stopped and took a good look around. He felt something was pulling at him so he jumped down off of his horse and held the lantern down low to the ground hoping to detect some small footprints.
"See anything?" Freddy called to the young man as he jumped down beside Hoss. Hoss looked out into the dark wild and just shook his head.
"Freddy, if ya were a youngin'' where would you run off too?" Freddy ran a hand down the back of his neck and sighed.
"Well Hoss, that's a tough one. I'd probably have more common sense than that one and I would of waited for daylight to disappear. Something terrible must have been brewing inside of her to make her wander off at this time of night."
"Yeah, reckon there was." Freddy raised an eyebrow up at the young man.
"She had a little incident in town earlier and Pa delivered a consequence for her involvement in the incident, if ya get what I'm trying to say?"
Freddy knew that the situation didn't call for laughter, but he couldn't withhold the chuckle that wondered out his mouth. "You mean to tell me we're out here freezin' our asses off because your Pa delivered a tanning to the gal? This is nonsense. I thought that that something might have happen to the boy and he had taken a turn for the worse or something." Freddy started to turn for his horse when he added, "I'm turning back. She'll find her way back home. Her pride is just damaged that's all. She'll get over it." Freddy nodded towards Phil to have the man join him. Hoss could usually keep his temper in check unlike his little brother, but Freddy was just way out of line with this one.
"Where are you boys going?" Hoss shouted.
"Boys? Who you calling boys there Cartwright?"
"You! Because you're sure not acting like any man I know. Running off because you're cold and tired, that's just as childish as what Gertie's gone and done." As the men continue to return to their horses Hoss shouted, "I think you're forgetting who's in charge here."
"Yeah we know who's in charge and he told us to be back at the ranch at ten o'clock. According to my watch we have twenty minutes to get there. So if you don't mind Mr. Cartwright, we'd like to get heading back now. There's no sign of her here."
What Hoss really wanted to do is pull the cocky hand down off of that Palomino and knock his block off for saying what he had said, but in a way he was right. They had traveled at least 4 miles and there wasn't one sign of the little girl. "Gertie! Gertrude!" Hoss had to try one last time before turning back. He waited quietly and when he only heard the hoof beats from Freddy and Phil he sighed in defeat. He gave Chub a small nuzzle of his mane and climbed on back up. He turned the horse in a complete circle trying to clear all senses and hoping to get a track of the girl. When nothing came he kicked Chub into motion and galloped off back towards the house.
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"What time ya got Charlie?" Little Joe asked rubbing and blowing on his hands.
"Twenty of ten, Little Joe." The teen boy flicked his hat up so he could get a better view of the thicket they had come up upon. "What do ya think Charlie?"
The older man let out a deep moan. "I don't know Joe. We've searched high and low. The horses are getting tired, and this darn cold isn't helping matters. If I didn't know better I'd think a storms brewing. I can feel it in my bones." Little Joe's has known Charlie is whole life and he valued his opinion. The young teen was fighting the demons within him though. One part of him told him to call it a night. Another part was saying keep going Joseph, she's close by. He closed his eyes and tried to figure out what to do. With his eyes closed the picture of the little girl popped into his head. There she was with her brown dress and pigtails, pigtails that's it.
Joe cupped his hands up over his mouth and took a deep breath letting the cold air sting his lung. "Pigtails!" When there wasn't a response Little Joe tried again. "Pigtails!" Charlie moved the gelding up next to Cochise.
"Pigtails?" Charlie asked the boy.
"Yeah, it's just a little nickname I gave her. She seems to like it." Joe tried to hide the pink that was rising in his cheeks from the confession of the nickname. Charlie loved Little Joe as if he was his own. He patted the teen on the shoulder and tried to smile. "It's a fine nickname for the little gal. Just as fine as Little Joe, wouldn't you say?" The teen smirked and looked around again.
"I haven't been the nicest to her." Joe mumbled.
"What's that Joe?" Charlie questioned.
"I should know what she's been going through. I mean at least I have my Pa, she doesn't have anyone. I'm just saying that I could have been nicer that's all." Joe admitted to his old friend.
"Don't be so hard on yourself Little Joe. She knows how you feel about her. I mean you said yourself she likes being called Pigtails, right?" Joe nodded his head. The two sat in silence for a few minutes before Charlie spoke. "Joe, we need to get going." Charlie started to pull away when Joe took one more look around on the ground. He wished that there was something he could see or grasp, but no such luck. Charlie called again. "Come Joe. We'll go grab some warm coffee and warm up then we'll come back out." Joe went to turn Cochise around when the horse gave a little buck. Joe was tossed off balanced and fell off the horse landing on his rump. "Little Joe!" Cried Charlie. The old man jumped down off of the moving horse and ran to Joe's side. "Little Joe! Are ya alright Son?"
Little Joe was more humiliated than injured so his response was a bit more gruff than he intended. "I'm fine Charlie!" He grumbled while pushing Charlie's helping hand away. When Charlie didn't pull away, Little Joe gave it a swat. "I said I was fine." Charlie got the hint and stepped away, but still watched closely as the boy hauled himself up off the ground. Once Joe was up he started dusting his clothes off and as he moved from his arms down to his legs something caught his eye. Even though it was just shadowy light bouncing around from Frank's lantern he knew what he was seeing. Joe dove on his knees and picked up a piece of torn fabric. "Frank! Get over here with that lantern." Joe was still holding the torn fabric in his hand as Frank ran over with the lantern. The man pushed the light closer and Joe let out a sound of encouragement. "It's Pigtails. I just know it is."
"What is it Joe?" Charlie asked dipping his head in close.
"What does this look like to you Charlie?" Charlie reached in and took a good look at the material Joe was holding in his hand and then let a very small grin form on his lips.
"It looks like fabric from a dress Little Joe."
Joe gave out a whoop and quickly reached for his recently require pistol. He held the gun at an angel away from the small group of men and with shaky hands squeezed the cold trigger. One shoot, followed up by two more quick. Even though he was achy a bit from the fall, nothing was gonna keep him down now. Joe called Frank to hand over the lantern so that he could try to trace some tracks. It took the boy a minute to detect some very small, lightweight prints but he picked up on them and frantically started following, yelling out the girls name every now and then.
Every man out on the Ponderosa at the moment stopped dead in their tracks. Each rider quickly turned their horse around and start retracing their steps in a full trot, of course no one knew which one was alerting them, but knew that going back from where they started was a good point. The closest to the gun shots were Adam and his group. Adam stopped his men and listened again for he knew that whoever shot the alert would probably shot again so the rest of the riders would get a better sense of where it was coming from. As Adam waited patiently he heard the three shots again and instantly knew they were coming from the eastern part of their spread. He also knew that other than him and possible his Pa would be the only ones to reach Joe first. Hoss would be too far out to the west so hoping he would return back to the house and wait for the rest of them.
Adam kicked Sport and the two started flying towards the eastern part of the Ponderosa. Adam could of sworn his heart was beating just as fast as Sport's. As he raced the horse he couldn't get Gertie out of his mind. For some reason that little girl had quickly filled up a very empty spot in Adam's heart. Ever since helping in raising Hoss and Little Joe, Adam knew he liked kids. Now he's not saying that it's easy by any means, but that he enjoyed being looked up at and being the one they came to when they knew they were in trouble with their Pa, or asking for advice in the romance department and such. And he found that the two Callahan children were filling the void again, and he liked it. He needed to reach Joe and see for his own eyes that Gertie was indeed safe.
Not too far away to the north Ben was extremely relieved when he heard the shots fired. He and his team were high up on a hill and they heard the shots clear as day. He sent up a prayer to the Lord and quickly slapped Buck with his reins to get him moving in the directions of the shots. Ben knew that between him and Adam they would be the first to arrive on scene. Ben secretly hoped that it was him before Adam. He needed to see the girl and just hold her. He hadn't realized how dear the Callahan children have become in just the few days they had been staying with him and his boys. He knew that once Gertie was safe and sound under his roof he would have to have a little chat with the little girl about things, but for now he just wanted to hold her.
"Joe, have you seen anything?" Charlie hollered.
"No not yet the trail looks like it veers off here." Joe pulled up on Cochise reins halting the paint to a complete stop. Joe looked around and was disappointed when her tracks stopped. They had come upon Maple Grove where it was nothing but a wide open pasture with an occasional maple and oaks tree. Charlie, Joe and Frank sat high on their horses looking out and around the grove. It was tricky because even if Gertie came into the grove she could of ventured into the woods on any adjustment side. "Let's spread out. I'll take the right side, Frank you take the left, and Little Joe go comb the grove. Holler if you see anything. Anything at all." Each of them nodded and went their separate ways. Joe could still make out Charlie's silhouette as he rode on the edge of the right side of the grove and he could see Frank clearly because he took the lantern with him to the other side. Joe slowed Cochise down to a very slow pace as so they wouldn't miss anything. Joe had stayed pretty much dead middle of the grove until he started to approach a gathering of maple trees to the left of the grove. Joe pulled Cochise to move in the direction of the trees. As the two got closer the horse pulled up to a stop. Joe was about to question the animal when just about thirty feet away from where they had stopped Joe noticed a small figure sprawled out on the ground.
As Adam approached the spot where Joe had found the torn dress, he heard an echo of Gertie's name in the breeze. He waved his group on and they trotted to the opening of the grove where he saw three figures combing different spots. Adam's heart dropped a little for he was hoping the warning shots was a signal that Joe had found her, but that wasn't the case at all. But his little brother had to find some type of evidence that this was the direction of the little girl. Just as Adam was about to holler for Joe, he heard Joe's voice call out.
"Frank! Charlie! Come quick!" Joe kneeled down beside the little girl and instantly noticed that she was unconscious. He tried to call out to the girl. "Gertie?" Joe carefully rolled the girl over onto her back. As the teen slipped his hand in to support her head he immediately noticed how limp and cold the little girl's body was. He ripped off his own jacket and tried to tuck it in and around her. "Gertie?" He called again running his glove down the side of her face. He could hear pounding of hoofs. When he looked up he was surprised to see more than just Frank and Charlie, but that of Adam, Hank and Jacobsen. "Adam!" Joe cried. Adam was off his horse and beside the boy before anyone else could say a word. Charlie was handing Adam his bedroll to help with warmth.
"Hank, take Frank and Jacobsen back to the house. Grab the buckboard, and some fresh horses. Get back here as soon as possible." Charlie yelled orders as he watched on.
Adam pushed Joe out the way so that he could get a better look. When he turned the child towards him he noticed the blood. "Frank, ride into town and get Dr. Martin. She has a head injury!" Frank turned his gelding around and sped off to the main road. As he was exiting the grove he passed by Ben and his team.
"They found her. She's injured. I'm heading into town to get Dr. Martin. Hank and Jacobsen went back to the house to get the buckboard. Ben didn't wait for anymore information before kick Buck into another full gallop. He could see the lanterns lighting up the maple trees and a few figures huddled around some small figure on the ground, which he knew was Gertie.
"Pigtails." Joe whispered running a hand down her loose hair.
"Joe we need to warm her body. When I say lift I want you to pick her legs up and I'm going to swing her into my lap. I need to warm her up, she's cold as ice." Joe nodded and waited for Adam. Just as Adam said, "Lift." Ben was running towards the two. Adam looked up and his eyes did all the talking for him. Ben glanced down at the poor girl and noticed her eyes closed and dried blood on the child's face.
"What have I done?" He spoke as he collapsed on the ground next to the child. He leaned down and felt for a pulse, when Adam confirmed what he needed to hear.
"She's alive Pa."