It always amazes me that every time I think I'm about to wind up a story, I realise I still have a dozen loose threads dangling. Thank you for your lovely comments and messages.

Chapter Nineteen

"Pa, how sure are they?"

Ben leaned against the edge of the couch and tried to steady his hands. The letter was carefully refolded and sitting back in its envelope on his desk. He had re-read it four times, trying to pull anything more from between the lines that he could.

"They seem fairly certain."

Adam stood across the room with his hat in his hand. Hoss had no idea of the momentous news he had delivered into his father's hands with the mail bundle only an hour earlier and he had left to continue on with his chores. When Adam came in to pick up some ammunition, he'd been surprised to find his father pacing the floor instead of working on the books as he had said he would be.

"Well … that certainly puts a different spin on things."

Ben straightened up and rubbed at the back of his neck. If the news was true it was most welcome. But if it wasn't, he could not afford to raise a child's hopes and dash them again.

"Roy already said that there were certain irregularities and the orphanage was already under investigation. The manner in which Walter Maddington got hold of the boys was illegal, but I never guessed they could be this cruel. I thought it was just greed, but this is a whole other level of despicable."

Adam watched his father's face as the rage that was just below the surface was barely reined in.

"What are you going to do?"

"We say nothing to Derek! That boy has been through more than enough already. This young lady has not yet made contact with the man she believes is his father and I will not raise his hopes without more substance." As Ben strode closer to his son, he held out a hand. "And we say nothing to Joe or Hoss either. I won't put that burden on either of them."

Adam simply nodded as he knew neither of his brothers could keep that kind of information a secret for long. Suddenly he thought of something else.

"How did she even know to write to you, Pa?"

Ben pointed across the room at the desk and shook his head. "That letter was addressed to Roy. He's been poking around since Joe first took the boys and Mitch told him what was going on. The investigators who have been looking into the whole … I don't even know what you would call it! … this whole sickening children for sale thing … have been trying to track down any children who were placed up for adoption in recent months and determine if they were legitimate or not. Roy sent letters off to every place he could think of trying to get information. It seems he tipped off the right person somewhere."

"So what do we do know?"

"I've got some contacts in San Francisco. We try to find the boy's father!"

The clipper had been due in to port almost a week ago and Elise was growing impatient with each passing hour. She had lived near the sea for long enough to know that while ships had a schedule, they also were subject to the forces of nature and schedules were flexible. For the sixth day in a row, she walked down to the customs office and asked to leave an urgent message. Again.

"I know, Miss. When the Windrunner puts into port, I will alert the captain of your request."

Elise nodded in thanks and resigned herself to trekking back to the orphanage. The men who had removed Henry MacAllister from his position of power, had also promised to help track down the children who had left the orphanage under his direction. A few had been found in San Francisco, but many more had gone further afield.

The uphill climb from the harbour had her puffing as she hurried back, but it was the ache in the pit of her stomach that stole her strength. It had taken some detective work, a couple of bribes and a measure of luck for her to find the ship that Gregory Miller had sailed out on. She was impatient for him to sail back in again, but she was even more concerned that so far there had been no news on either Derek or Matthew.

Joe grinned at Mitch as they waited for Matthew to finish up. It had been a good ten minutes that the boy had stood in front of Mister Cass's candy canisters and debated which ones to buy. The first time the trio had ventured back into the store, it had been behind the sturdy back of his father who had assured him that the store owner knew the details of Joe's misadventure and the truth of Derek and Matthew's situation. It didn't make the moment any easier to face as Joe had apologised profusely and promised to make amends. Will Cass was not one to hold a grudge and since he knew the real story, was more than prepared to let it go. Of course, since the Cartwrights were some of his best customers, it wouldn't do to cut off his nose to spite his face either.

"It's gonna be time to come back to school before we ever get home from school, if you don't choose somethin' soon!"

Joe giggled at Mitch's comment as he watched Matthew struggling with too many to choose from. He glanced around to see where Derek was and was stunned to see his friend frozen in the doorway. He raced over to see what was wrong and quickly saw what had his attention. Across the street, staggering along on the boardwalk, was Walter. The man was clearly drunk as he stumbled every few feet and grasped at the hitching rail to stay upright.

Joe tried to pull Derek out of sight, but it was too late. Walter caught sight of them and he shouted across the street.

"You ungrateful little brat!

Joe grasped at Derek's arm and tugged at him, but he seemed rooted to the spot. Walter staggered across the street, pointing his finger and waving a half-empty bottle of whiskey at him.

"You told all them lies and set the sheriff on me! You and that little skunk of a brother! You ruined me, you did!"

"Come on!" Joe urged the boy to move, but Derek seemed almost mesmorised as the drunk approached. Before he could do anything, Roy Coffee appeared along the boardwalk and he placed himself in between the boys and Walter.

"Now don't you go making no trouble here, Walter. Don't make me lock you up."

Walter glared at the sheriff and spat a wad of spit into the ground in front of him.

"You! You always do what them Cartwrights tell ya to do! You ain't no lawman. Ain't got no kinda backbone 'less Ben Cartwright's tellin' ya what to do!"

Inside the store, Matthew had heard the voice he had grown to hate and all thoughts of candy were swept aside. He panicked when he realised he couldn't see Derek and he began to frantically search the immediate area for him. Mitch tried to grab at his arm, but the boy slipped from his grasp and ran for the door where Derek was still standing. He stopped dead when he heard Walter's vitriolic rant and Mitch almost ran into him.

Derek finally seemed to shake off the stupor that had gripped him and he pushed away from Joe and stepped up beside the sheriff. His knees felt like rubber as he felt the weight of the sheriff's hand on his shoulder and he stared down the man who made his life such a misery.

"You don't own us. You never did!"

"You little snot-nosed brat! Nobody wanted ya 'til I took ya in. Think ya's all high and mighty standing there with that Cartwright brat. Well I don't want ya back. You hear me? You and that sniveling brother of yours! You can rot for all I care!"

Roy could feel the boy's shoulder quivering under his hand and he squeezed it for good measure.

"You get on home, Walter and sleep it off. And you leave these boys alone. You hear me?"

Walter grunted as he took a swig from his bottle and turned to slowly walk back up the street.

"I think you boys need to get on home now too." Roy watched to make sure that Walter was heading away from the Ponderosa before pushing the boys towards the door.

"Wait up! It's a long ride home." Will held out a large bag filled with candy and waved it in front of Matthew. "I think you should be in charge of sharing this out, young fella."

Joe fished in his pocket to find the coin his father had given him and Mister Cass waved him off.

"The treat's on me, boys. Now get on home."

It was a slow and quiet ride home, broken only by the occasional request for a candy. Joe still couldn't figure what could make a man like Mister Maddington so nasty, but he was sure glad that his friends didn't have to go with him ever again. Sheriff Coffee and the judge had said so.

Roy sat at his desk and grabbed at the mug of coffee that he'd forgotten was there. It was stone cold and he swallowed the mouthful and pulled a face. He held the three wires in his hand and considered what had gone back and forth for the better part of the day. Out of necessity, a wire was brief and to the point. It lacked the nuance and depth of a letter, but it was much faster in the transmission of information.

As he pondered the information he was piecing together, he was already calculating how long it would take to get the stage from San Francisco through to Virginia City. If all legs of the journey were maximized it would be three to four days. If any connections were missed, it would be longer. Either way, it wasn't a whole lot of time for Ben to prepare. Roy pushed back his chair and reached for his hat. It was time for a ride out to the Ponderosa.

Hoss smiled as he watched his protégé nervously holding a bottle filled with milk. The young calf he was trying to feed was slurping enthusiastically at the teat and almost knocking him off his feet.

"Set your feet apart. It'll keep you anchored better on the ground."

Matthew nodded as he tried and found it seemed to help. The calf continued to gulp down the milk and when it was done, his long tongue curled around the edge of the bottle seeking more. Matthew laughed as the rough tongue tugged at his fingers and Hoss gently removed the bottle.

"Now that's enough! You're a beeve, not a pig!"

Matthew giggled as he watched the calf nudging at Hoss's leg and the big man scratched behind its ears.

"He thinks I'm his mama."

"Hoss."

"Yeah."

"Where's his real mama?"

Hoss straightened up and nudged the calf away from him. "She got stuck in the creek and broke her leg. Weren't nothin' we could do to save her." He noted the frown on Matthew's face and hurried to reassure him. "But we saved her baby and he's gonna grow up to be a strappin' young fella!"

Matthew stared at the calf for a moment. "My mama died too. And my papa. I don't remember them."

Hoss watched a wistful look draw across the boy's face as he reached out a hand to scratch at the calf's head.

"My mama died too. I was just a baby so I don't remember her neither."

"Do you think I'll ever get a new mama? Like your pa said he was gonna find for us?"

Hoss hunkered down with his hands on his knees and nodded. "When my pa says he's gonna do somethin', he does it. He's lookin' real hard for the best place for you boys."

"Hoss … doesn't he like us enough?"

Hoss frowned at the tears he could see forming. "Course he likes ya! Whatever do ya mean?"

"He don't like us enough to keep us."

The trembling voice tugged at Hoss and he reached out to lift Matthew up onto the top railing. The small boy felt like a featherweight in his hands.

"My pa is lookin' for a family with a ma and a pa for you boys. We ain't got that here."

Matthew seemed to think on that one for a moment and Hoss tried again. "Pa just figured that a little tacker like you still needs a ma. He's lookin' for the very best place for both of ya. But if that's here in Virginia City you can still come visit any time you like."

Matthew brightened at the idea and he grinned as Hoss turned around and presented his shoulders to climb onto while he patted at his own shoulder. By the time Hoss charged back into the house, Matthew was squealing for his horse to go faster.

It had been almost a month since Ben had brought his family and two strays back safely from Riversbend. In that time, his son's leg and face had fully healed, but he wasn't so sure about the unseen scars. Joe had changed in his time away. While the sound of laughter filled the house once again as three boys chased each other down the stairs, Ben was still watching closely. He could not and would not allow himself to get so caught up in other things that he could ever miss the important things again. The two boys had told his son of life in an orphanage and it had been a very real and legitimate fear for his youngest to entertain. No amount of adult logic could change that and Joe needed to overcome those fears in his own way and his own time. In the meantime, his father would watch and step in where he was needed.

In the same way, Matthew had healed from his ordeal and Hop Sing had taken it on like some kind of personal challenge to see that both boys were fed and nourished.

There had been no further news from San Francisco and Ben was running out of ways to stall his son's questions. Joe had hinted, not so subtly and more than once, that Ben should consider adopting the boys. To his son, it seemed like a perfectly logical solution to their dilemma. What he couldn't tell his son was that one of the boys may have a father out there somewhere and he would have to split up the boys if they ever found the man. It was a double-edged sword that he wasn't at all sure how to handle.

As the stampede of elephants made its way out into the yard, Ben rubbed at the back of his neck and leaned back into his chair. The paperwork he was trying to finish was not progressing at all and he turned to look out into the yard. Adam and Hoss had gone into town for the Saturday night dance and that left three very energetic boys to run amok without big brothers to stop them. Ben watched as Joe and Derek swung Matthew up and over a length of railing and he was drawn back in time. Adam and Hoss had once taken great delight in chasing a feisty toddler around the same yard until he squealed with laughter.

Something else had changed in Joe since he'd been away and Ben suddenly saw it. Joe had grown up and stepped into the role of an older brother. It brought a smile to his lips as he watched his son who had gone away a boy and come back almost a man. Joe would have objected and said he was already a man, but he didn't see what his father saw. As he had once told Joe, he had a ways to go yet, but he was a lot closer than he had been.

As Ben stood at the window and watched, he was surprised to see Roy riding into the yard. Given how busy it got in town on a Saturday night, he knew it wasn't a social call.