~CHAPTER 14~

"It's about time you got back," he heard another voice sound from up ahead as he observed Jesse make his way around a corner of the rock face which was just coming into Adam's view. Keeping a safe distance from the small trail the man was taking, Adam had constantly kept the man in sight; but now his quarry had vanished from sight around the rock ahead and slightly above him. Looking to make sure no one would see, he darted out from cover, across the trail to the other side. Easing down onto his stomach, he worked his way up the slight incline for a better view of where the man had gone. The rock formation was typical, similar to dozens which were all over the Ponderosa. Within a few minutes, Adam was able to get a clear view of where the two men were standing in front of a rather large crevice that seemed to have formed by the splitting of one large rock formation into two. One of the men standing in front of the crevice opening was who he had been following. The other was presumably the one called Clint. Now what? Adam thought. He found their hideout; now what was he supposed to do? Wait? He couldn't go back without at least trying to discover what he most desperately wanted to know. Adam could see the two were having a conversation, but he was too far away to clearly make out what was being said. Trying to make out their words, he managed to draw himself almost to the very edge of the small leveled plateau outside the cave entrance, which was slightly above where Adam now lay among the brush and trees. Motionless, Adam could still barely hear what they were saying above the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears, due partly to the amount of physical exertion he had put forth to reach this place, but mainly due to the excitement of finding their camp and the realization of the danger he was in. Suddenly the conversation ceased, and Jesse continued on into the cave as Clint resumed his guard, pacing back and forth in front of it. It was then that Adam suddenly realized just how far up he had come.

He was actually startlingly close now. The small plateau in front of the cave entrance extended no more than thirty feet out, and Adam wasn't even five feet into the brush skirting the outside of it. With trepidation, he wondered if he could back away without being heard, now that the two were no longer talking. With eyes fixed on the watchman, he tried to ease himself back when suddenly the guard jerked his head in his direction. Adam froze, his body tensing as he stared intently at the man, wondering what he was going to do, and waiting to see if he had heard enough to cry out an alarm. Sweat pricked his palms and tediously progressed down his back as he watched the man intently through the the intricately thin lace of branches and leaves between him and the open ground, waiting for the man's next move.

He seemed to remain motionless forever, and Adam was beginning to hope he would continue on with his passes when he saw him, almost intuitively, take steps right in his direction. Had he seen him? Should he run? No. If he hadn't seen him, to run now would surely alert him as to his exact position. Instead, he stretched out his body completely flat, almost willing himself to meld in with the surroundings and thankful for the approaching dusk that was beginning to settle in the brush around him. He held his breath as he could see the man's boots approach, coming closer... closer. When was he going to stop? Any closer and he'd be sure to see him. Only a thin layer of sagebrush, tall brown grasses and a skinny tree or two were left between Adam and the guard. Just as Clint was almost right on top of him, a voice called from the cave.

"Clint, where are you?" The boots stopped, still pointing in Adam's direction a moment longer before turning about, but much to Adam's chagrin, not moving off again. Instead, he hollered from where he was, "Over here," and eased his back up against the very tree Adam was lying behind. He could feel its frail trunk move at the man's weight, and he instinctively pulled his arm away from it. As the other man approached, Adam pressed himself further into the ground, ignoring the twigs and branches that were scratching his face.

"Boss say when's the next move?" Clint asked as the new man came up beside him.

"Yeah, he just told us," the somewhat younger sounding voice answered.

"Well?" Clint asked impatiently.

"He wants to set fire to the main barn tomorrow night," the other replied with some reluctance.

"The ranch's barn?" Clint asked. The other man must have nodded as Adam didn't hear an answer.

"Good," Clint stated, shifting his weight from one foot to the other while repositioning the rifle he balanced in his arms. "We done nothin' for far too long. I want to see some action."

"Oh, you'll get your fill alright. Just hope we aren't biting off more than we can chew. We've never gone that close before. A lot can go wrong."

"We'll have all we need to know. Boss'll make 'im tell." Adam's breath caught, making him almost choke on the dry dirt at his mouth, which, along with nerves, was making his throat as dry as parchment. Make who tell? After a few moments the air in front of his face cleared, and Adam was able to breath again without fear of coughing as the two continued their conversation.

"Of course, just like always, but it doesn't feel right this time. Even though he knows everything about the place, what if something's been changed? It's been a long time. Things can happen. Things can go wrong being that close to where them Cartwrights live. I just don't like it, I tell you."

"Quit your worryin', Travis. Boss wouldn't risk everythin', not now. He's got it all figured; if anyone knows what goes on there it's the old man , and Boss'll git it out of him." Clint chuckled at the last, an evil, sadistic laugh that had a deeper meaning that Adam was quick to grasp. Not one word had escaped his ears, and the newly acquired information was almost making his head was spin. Old man... and was this Boss... He had to force himself to stop dwelling on what he had just heard for the time being as Travis started moving away, but then stopped.

"Oh, almost forgot. Boss says you're on guard duty tomorrow night while we're gone."

Clint hit the handle of his gun in frustration. "Now ain't that always how it is? Somethin' excitin's comin' and I have to stay and play nurse-maid to the geezer."

Travis spoke up again in a quieter tone. "Believe me; if I could, I'd gladly trade with you. I don't like the idea of goin' there one bit."

Although Adam couldn't see either of their faces, he could tell when Clint spoke that there was misgiving in his voice and wariness in his features. "What's the matter with you, Travis? Not losin' your nerve, are yuh? Just think, when all of this is over we'll be livin' high..."

"Yeah; well just when will that be, Clint?" Travis's voice rose in volume, but he quickly corrected it so as not to be heard by unwanted ears. "Look, that payroll money still hasn't been divided, and why couldn't we have sold that beef instead of destroyin' it? What's he really tryin' to do here, that's what I'd like to know." The man stopped suddenly, and Adam could just imagine the frightened man looking over his shoulder for a listener. It wasn't hard to tell that there were certain misgivings in the ranks, and a fleeting thought in Adam's mind wondered if they might be able to use that somehow.

"Now you best keep away from ideas like that, Trav. That kinda talk can get you into a heap of trouble, and I don't like the sound of it myself; so you better stop."

"Alright, alright, I'm stopping. It's just questions, Clint. That's all."

"The dangerous kind. You saw what happened to Sam. You want that to happen to you?"

"Believe me, I've been thinkin' a lot about Sam too. And so should you."

"Listen Trav, that fool, Sam, got what he deserved; we all know that! He put all of us in danger by that bone-headed stunt o' his. The best thing for you to do is to keep your mouth shut, and just do as you're told. Besides, with Sam out of the way, it just means there's more for the rest of us."

"I know. You can't blame a man for being edgy before a hit," Travis tried to counter.

"As long as that's all it is," Clint answered warningly. Adam could hear Travis move away and presumably back toward the cave. Clint didn't seem to have the inclination to move, however, and leaned back further, making himself more comfortable against the tree. Not that Adam, if he could've moved away, would've done so just then; his mind was in too great a state of confusion and shock. They're going to fire our barn tomorrow night. Adam tried to remember if they said an exact time, but couldn't recall them mentioning any. One of them was staying back here. To watch someone... someone... Adam didn't trust his beating heart to not be heard throughout the mountain at the realization of who that someone might be. They didn't actually say it was him. It could be someone else. But who? Adam's head began to ache with a renewed vigor as the same haunting questions from the previous night came back with a vengeance. How could it be anyone else? Just then he wished he could get out of there. He needed to get back to Hoss and Joe, needed to tell them about what he learned about the proposed sabotage. Should he also tell them all he knew, though? Stop it! He mentally scolded himself. You can't afford to think about that now. He realized his first priority was to get out of there. Nothing he had learned would amount to anything if he let himself get caught now. Adam eased his head up off the ground slightly to see the guard in almost the exact same position. There was nothing Adam could do but wait until the guard moved away.

It was not any time soon. In fact, Clint stayed there for the remainder of his watch, only straightening himself to check the path every so often and never giving enough time for Adam to duck away. It wasn't until a couple hours later, when the moon had risen high in the dark blanketed sky, that Clint had moved just a little way off. Adam felt that it was now safe enough to at least slowly ease his arm into his pocket for his watch to find out how much time he had before his brothers would start to worry about his lengthy absence. He had just drawn it out of his pocket when another man Adam hadn't seen before exited the cave to relieve Clint. Adam started to wonder just how many of them there were. He lay completely flat once again, his watch still clasped in his hand. No formalities were exchanged between the two. The new man asked if anything had been seen, and it was followed by a quick and curt "nothin'". The new guard however appeared to be more alert at his post and walked back and forth close to the cave entrance, hopefully leaving enough distance for Adam to take his leave. Quietly, he thrust the watch back into his pocket and slowly slid himself back along the ground, hearing and feeling his back, and several other places, crack in objection to the long span of time on the unforgiving ground. He did so, not even noticing the timepiece slip from the close confines of his pocket.

Slowly easing one leg back and then the other, he constantly watched the guard for any sign of awareness as to his departure. There appeared to be none, and he slowly continued to increase the distance between them. His nerves were wound as tight as a drumhead from having spent so much time in such company. All he wanted was to finally get away from them. Once he reached the trail down the hill, he was reluctant to use it and still skirted off into the brush beside it, avoiding any chance that he still might be seen. Almost in a trance, Adam worked his way back to Sport. His mind was wracked with indecision. The whole time he had been lying there, waiting for some opportunity to get away, he had been trying to bring some semblance of order to his normally well-ordered mind, which was now overflowing with jumbled thoughts. He felt as if he couldn't concentrate, a most disconcerting feeling to him. Finally reaching Sport, Adam mounted and started back down to his brothers, all the while trying to decide what he should tell them when he reached them.

LukeBryanFan: I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, but thank you for following and reviewing!

Thank you, BettyHT! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

And getting closer, BJ2. ;)