Amen and Amen

By Krystyna

A landscape painting of the perfect winter scene. Looking down upon the Ponderosa ranch with the snow so white and crisp all around it, no one could have described it in any other way. Thick snow blanketed the roof top and spirals of smoke drifted straight up into the blue sky from the chimneys. A pale winter sun caused the snow to glitter as though thousands upon thousands of diamonds had fallen to the earth and now lay spangled upon the ranch house roof. It looked idyllic.

In the main room, with the big fire blazing in the hearth and the pot bellied stove in the study area practically pulsating from the heat, Ben Cartwright strode up and down. Any peace from without ended once across the threshold for his strong deep voice was ringing round the rafters and making Hoss wince.

“…and do you know, do you have any idea, when they will be back? Did they tell you where they were going and why? Did they? Oh no, they just go blundering off with not so much as a by your leave …”

“Pa…” Hoss attempted to interject an explanation and even stood up to make sure his irate parent could see him.

“Why do I bother?” Ben flung his arms in the air in exasperation, “I warned Adam days ago that there was a storm on the way. You’d think he’d have more sense. Little Joe I can understand going out just to tempt fate -- that would be typical -- but Adam! Hoss, I sometimes wonder why I bother!”

Hoss nodded and sighed. He had sunk down back into the chair and stared blankly out of the window. It sure looked pretty out there, he mused, with the snow on the mountains and the sky so blue. For a moment he forgot that his father was ranting on, the deep voice became a mere background to his own thoughts which ranged far and wide into the woodland.

“HOSS! Are you listening to me, boy?”

“Er…um…sure, Pa, sure I’m listening to ya.” Hoss forced a smile and opened his eyes wide to indicate how sincere his attention was, but Ben merely scowled and shook his head,

“Well, as we’re stuck here for the duration, we had best get some paper work done.”

“But I thought you wanted me to check out on some timber, Pa.”

“Timber? In this weather? Are you mad, boy? Get that idea right out of your head this instant. There is no possible way that you would be able to go and check out timber in weather like this. It’s blowing a force 8 out there just now, and from the look of it I wouldn’t be surprised if it changed to a force 10 by nightfall.”

“It’s only morning now, Pa, and the sky looks as clear as a bell out there.”

Ben inhaled a deep breath down into the cavern of his chest and gave every impression of a boiler about to burst.

Hoss stood up again, and gave a weak placatory smile. “Sure, Pa, we’ll do some paperwork if that’s what you want.”

“It’s not what I want, Hoss; it’s what I am forced to have to do seeing as your brothers have decided to wander off without informing anyone where they were going. This ranch can’t run on its own. How many times have I had to tell you boys that?”

Hoss nodded from habit. He ambled over to the study area and pulled out a chair. Ben joined him, the scowl on his face deepening as he pulled sheaves of paper from the drawer and threw them upon the desk.

“We gotta do all this, Pa?” Hoss gulped, his blue eyes widening in appeal.

“It has to be done, no point in putting it off any longer,” Ben snapped and picked up the first sheet of paper which he read through, and then slapped back down again, “Humph, this should have been dealt with days ago.”

Hoss nodded, picked it up and looked through it. With a sigh, he looked at his father, “They’ll be alright, Pa. No doubt they’re on their way home right now.”

“From wherever it is they went,” Ben growled, lowering his head with a deepening scowl and picking up his pen. He paused then and shook his head, the steam having been released by the tirade at Hoss, and anxiety replacing the anger, “I’m just concerned, Hoss. I don’t like it when the weather changes like this so unexpectedly. It can catch the most wary traveler out.” He bit his bottom lip, “I just hope they have the sense to get to some cover before the gales get any stronger.”

************

Hop Sing breathed a sigh of relief when he finally pulled the wagon to a halt in the yard. The suddenness of the snow storm had caught him just half-way home and he had gabbled a string of invectives at the top of his voice in the purest Cantonese. It did not change the weather but it certainly did him a power of good as the horses, as surprised as him, struggled against the force of the wind and the biting cold of the snow.

He had been grateful indeed when several of the cowhands, also on the way back to the Ponderosa, had caught up with him and ridden alongside the wagon. It had meant that every time the wheels had gotten locked in snow, they had hauled it free and Hop Sing had not even once needed to clamber from his seat to deal with the matter.

Heads down and huddled low, they had forged determinedly onwards until at last the ranch house had appeared before them, the snow had stopped falling and the wind had slightly abated. The cowhands waved and disappeared to the bunk house where they would be greeted by a warm dry place to thaw out, hot coffee and some flapjacks provided by the cowhands who had had the sense to stay put rather than take the journey into town that morning.

Hop Sing clambered down from the wagon seat and began to haul sacks from the wagon which needed to be taken into the house via the kitchen entrance. It took him a little time and he called some of the sacks rather unsavory words, but, all in all, he succeeded in getting the goods from the wagon to the kitchen without slipping over in the mud he was creating with his too-ing and fro-ing. He closed the door with a nod of satisfaction and rubbed his hands together.

Having checked on the stove and thrown in some more fuel, Hop Sing made his way into the big room and looked around him.

The fire was burning well; someone had recently placed more logs on it to keep it going. Hop Sing could hear a murmur of voices. With a nod that set his pig tail bobbing against his back, he hurried over to the study area and was greeted by father and son, both of whom had visible expressions of relief on their faces. Both saw in the arrival of Hop Sing some respite from the mound of paperwork that was threatening to engulf them,

“Ah, Hop Sing. Back already then?” Ben said a little over-loudly.

“Yes, back now. Ride from town very slippy. Here is mail for you.” Hop Sing pulled a wad of letters from the inner pocket of his jacket and handed it to Ben with a smile and a nod.

“You didn’t happen to see Adam and Joe in town, did you, Hop Sing?” Hoss asked, although he was looking at the mail carefully in the hope of the latest Sears catalogue would be there.

“No, but I see someone who see them.” Hop Sing smiled again, and his sloe black eyes almost disappeared in the folds of his cheeks.

“You did? Did that someone happen to mention where they were going by any chance?” Ben asked, tossing the catalogue over to Hoss who pounced on it like a cat lands on a mouse, that is, with more eagerness than grace.

“They go to see Mr. Milford. He selling off livestock, Mr. Adam say he want to go see if old hayburner for sale.”

“Why on earth would they do that? They know my views on keeping horses on the ranch that don’t earn their keep. That Kentucky racehorse will eat more food in a week than a decent animal would eat in a month.” Ben sighed, exasperated at his son’s stubbornness.

“Any chance of some coffee, Hop Sing?” Hoss asked in the moment’s peace that had fallen upon the room, “All this bookwork has plumb wore me out.”

Hop Sing’s black eyes twinkled in understanding; he bobbed his head in agreement and quickly returned to the kitchen. It was not long before pleasant smells were slowly released to permeate the other room and make Hoss’ mouth water in anticipation.

A thud against the side of the building and the sound that resembled a thousand pellets striking against glass announced the arrival of a fresh blizzard. Ben looked up from the letter in his hand and shook his head, darted a black look at Hoss as though the storm were all his fault, and resumed reading.

Hoss paused in his perusal of the catalogue as though the sound of the wind beating ten bells out of the walls of the house had at last penetrated his hearing. After a brief moment of deep thinking, he looked over at Ben. “Hey, Pa, I bet’cha anything you that they’ll be going to visit Will and Laura while they’re on the way to the Milfords. Adam was saying the other day how he hadn’t seen Peggy in nearly six months.”

Ben frowned, then looked back down at his paperwork, although he did grace the suggestion with a thoughtful nod of the head. “They probably got caught in the storm even before they reached Will’s place.”

Hoss sighed and leaned back in the chair which creaked slightly. “Last time I saw Will was nigh on eight weeks back, when we were getting things arranged for the horses to be sent back to Yuma. Remember he came on over here to talk business with you?”

“Uh-huh.” Ben nodded and, after a quick check of the figures he had been totaling, looked up at his son. “So? Whether they’re at the Milfords or at Will’s makes no difference really, Hoss. They were expected back here this evening. I needed Adam’s figures for the new contract he got fixed up for us with Jed Livingston.”

“Yeah, sure, I know that, Pa.” Hoss replied patiently, “Perhaps he got to hear something he felt needed looking into with Will and Laura.”

“For instance?”

“Wal, I dunno exactly, but I’m jest supposing.” Hoss frowned. “Adam sure was fond of little Peggy.”

“We all were,” Ben said, tapping the ledger with the nib of his pen. “But they’ve been married now for nearly a year and seem to have settled happily into married life.”

“Yeah, I know, but it don’t stop a man from wondering how things are going with ‘em, does it?”

“Somehow I almost prefer the thought of them going to the Milfords to check on that hayburner.” Ben replied with a scowl, and resumed his work on the ledger.

“Hey, Hop Sing.” Hoss turned his attention to their cook as Hop Sing bustled in with coffee for them both and a plate of cookies from which Hoss immediately took the top two. “You hear anything in town about how Will and Laura are getting along? Any problems at all they might be having?”

“Hoss!” Ben looked up at his son with his dark eyes growing darker, “Are you assuming that Hop Sing goes around town picking up useless bits of gossip just for your amusement?”

“No, Pa,” Hoss replied, spraying crumbs liberally over the desk which Ben brushed away with an irritated sigh, “It ain’t for amusement.”

“No,” Hop Sing shook his head, “No amusement in talk. Velly serious business. Mr. Will and Missy Laura. they go soon. They go to far away place back East. Mr. Will say his place go up for sale.”

“Is that right?” Hoss breathed, “When did this all happen?”

“Mr. Will talk with banker, Mr. Weems. He wants quick sale. He talk to Mr. Weems yest’day.”

Ben put the pen down and looked thoughtfully at his cook, and then at Hoss, he nodded slowly. “You may be right, Hoss. I should think that is just the kind of talk in town that would send Adam riding over to see Will and Laura. Well, let’s just hope he doesn’t forget to be tactful and discreet.”

“Why, Pa? If’n he doesn’t want them to sell up, how’s he gonna let ‘em know by being tactful and discreet?”

“Because he should remember that Will and Laura are a married couple now, and when they decided, together, to do something, he has no right to interfere. Now, get on with that coffee and then do something useful.”

Hoss nodded, looked doubtfully over the paperwork on the desk and sighed heavily. “Seems to me this here storm ain’t gonna blow itself out anytime soon. I’d best go check on things outside.”

Ben nodded, seemingly uninterested in what Hoss was about to go and check upon. It was only when the blast of cold air and swirls of snow drifted into the room from the opening of the door that he paused, raised his head and realized Hoss had gone. With a sigh, he placed his elbows on the desk and turned the pen over and over between his fingers as he gazed out into the open spaces of the big room, a slight frown furrowed his brow. After some seconds had passed by, he resumed his writing. The sound of his pen scratching across the paper was deadened by the wailing wind that hurled itself around the house.

**********

Joseph Cartwright pulled his hat lower to shield his eyes from the cold blast of wind that forced him to bring his horse closer to Adam and to shout out the suggestion that perhaps they should head for home.

“We’d be better off just carrying on,” Adam shouted back, buttoning his coat up to his throat and pulling his hat down, “Will’s place is not so far now.”

“Yeah, but…,” Joe paused and sighed. Adam had that look of fierce determination on him that indicated that nothing was going to stop him from going where he wanted to go. “It’s cold enough for snow, Adam.”

“Look, Joe, if you want to go home, then go back. If you want to carry on to the Milfords, then do so. But stop moaning on about the weather, will you?”

Joe sighed. Cochise did a quick sidestep to avoid being jostled by Sport as Adam urged his horse into a faster gallop. For a fraction of a second, Joe actually contemplated turning his horse round and heading for home, but the thought crossed his mind that Adam was right. The Milfords or the Cartwrights places were closer than the Ponderosa, and either one of them would provide warm shelter, a friendly welcome and a hot supper.

He thought back to earlier in the day when they had first heard about the Milfords sale of stock. Tom Priest had stopped them in the Telegraph Depot. Adam had just put the cable from a contact regarding the timber contract with Jed Livingston into his pocket when Tom had asked them if they knew anything about the sale.

“Is the Kentucky purebred we sold them in the sale?” Adam asked with quickening interest while at the same time ignoring the way his brother’s eyes had opened at the mention of the beast. He would set the record straight later, he mused; after all, Tom Priest would undoubtedly remember just how Joe had become the owner of the Kentucky.

“I dunno about that; Enos is sure proud of that beast. A regular hayburner if ever I saw one. Mrs. M ain’t too pleased about it, but Enos loves it too much for her to complain over loudly about it.”

“Sure would be good to see it again,” Adam mused, his eyes lighting up with the speculative fire of a regular horse expert.

“Yeah, but Pa’s expecting us back this evening, Adam. We’ve been gone from home several days now remember?”

“Hey, Joe, and since when have you minded so much about playing truant?” Adam laughed like an errant schoolboy delighted at the thought of some mischief, and Joe found the mood infectious as he contemplated an evening in the comfort of the Milfords ramshackle home.

“Well, I’m not saying that I would mind so much,” Joe chuckled. “Just that Pa did say there would be snow and I sure don’t want to get caught out in a blizzard.”

“A blizzard?” Tom Priest laughed out loud and some other people in the Depot turned their heads to survey the Cartwrights with some wry amusement at the thought, “It’s too early for snow, let alone a blizzard. There’s some bad weather on the way, mind. My corns been playing me up something rotten, but apart from some rain, I can’t imagine why your Pa should think we’d get snow.”

“There’s some cold winds blowing in,” Jethro Higgins chanced to mention, much to the Cartwright boys’ amusement.

“Oh, I doubt if that will dampen our spirits any, huh, Joe?” Adam gave his little brother a playful tap on the chest.

“If it snows, Mr. Higgins, I’ll buy you a beer at the saloon.” Joe volunteered with a wide grin.

There was a ripple of comradely laughter as they departed from the Depot and made their way to their horses. As they passed the bank, Mr. Weems collided into them, apologized profusely, and then upon realizing he had bumped into the Cartwrights, his eyes widened and his face split into a big grin. “Just the men I wanted to see,” he cried enthusiastically.

“Really?” Adam raised his chin and eyed the bank manager suspiciously. His suspicions about bank managers were never positive, and he could see Mr. Weems was about to inform him that the bank rate of interest on savings had fallen heavily.

“We’re on our way to the Milfords, Mr. Weems. Seems that they’re having a sale of stock.” Joe grinned, as excited about this venture as he would have been when a little boy being promised a day off school.

“Oh, I see.” Weems frowned now, and looked at them both, “I thought…mmm…well, no harm in mentioning it to you both as you’re family.”

“I beg your pardon?” Adam said politely, being caught rather flatfooted at this comment. He could never recall Ben mentioning a Weems in the family.

“I mean, you and Will Cartwright. I know how close you all are as family.”

“Oh sure,” Joe shrugged and laughed a little. A cold wind drifted down the collar of his jacket and forced him to pull it up higher around his ears.

“I understand he discussed things with your father a while back.”

“Yes, I recall he did come to talk some business over with Pa,” Adam said thoughtfully. “Is that what this is all about then, Mr. Weems?”

“But of course,” Weems replied, “I’d not have mentioned it otherwise. I was expecting Ben to come in today and put in an offer.”

“An offer?” Adam and Joe said in unison, their eyes widening.

Weems now looked embarrassed, and bit his bottom lip, “Oh dear, I’m beginning to think you don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?”

“Well, talk a bit more and perhaps it’ll become clearer,” Adam smiled his most patient smile.

“It’s…well…client confidentiality.” Weems dithered.

“Mr. Weems.” Adam looked at the bank manager gently, and placed a hand on his elbow, drawing him back into the confines of the building. “As you said earlier, we are family. What concerns Will … and Laura of course … concerns us.”

“That’s right, Mr. Weems.” Joe nodded, intrigued by the mystery Weems had created by his blundering.

“Your cousin came in yesterday and asked me to put the ranch up for a quick sale. He …”

“Selling the ranch?” Adam’s voice echoed his feelings; he was obviously stunned by the news. He glanced at Joe, “Did Pa mention anything about this to you?”

“No, nothing.” Joe shook his head, and looked at Weems. “How quick a sale did he want?”

“I don’t know if I should say any more,” Weems protested, but Adam shook his head slowly, and raised his eyebrows, at which Weems sighed. “Very well. I just thought … well … he said that he and his family were moving out at the end of the month. He wants to take them back East, so that Peggy can get a proper education.”

“The property belonged to Laura and her husband; surely she doesn’t want to sell?” Adam responded speculatively.

“Well, she was going to sell it once before, if you remember rightly, Adam,” Mr. Weems replied primly, as though this pin prick of a reminder would redeem his self-respect after having disclosed one of his clients dealings.

“Of course, I remember.”

“And a woman’s property reverts to her husband upon her marriage.” Mr. Weems thrust his advantage and saw the color mantle the younger man’s cheeks. “But she is in total agreement with her husband. They have written out a document to that effect.”

“And what has our Pa to do with all this?” Joe asked.

“Will Cartwright discussed the future of the ranch with Ben, who suggested that he tried the best he could for a certain length of time and if it didn’t work out, then to go in for a quick sale.”

Adam sighed and looked at Joe. The excitement of playing truant had now ebbed away, to be replaced by his determination to ‘sort out’ this Cartwright muddle. Joe could see it in his brother’s eyes as clearly as though it were stamped in printers ink on his forehead.

“Well, thank you, Mr. Weems. That information was…er… most informative,” Adam said, and gave the bank manager a firm shake of the hand before turning away and continuing on towards his horse.

Joe took no time at all in catching up with his brother and matching stride for stride down the sidewalk to where Cochise and Sport were hitched. He looked at his brother’s face and sighed. “So I suppose this puts the Milfords visit on hold, huh?”

Adam cast a quick glance at him and nodded, pulled his coat closer around him, and untied the reins of his horse from the hitching rail. Within minutes, they were galloping side by side down the main street of Virginia City.

The wind had got up in force half-way to their destination. Now as they galloped towards what had once been the Dayton ranch, Joe felt something wet and cold touch his face. He glanced up and noticed the darkness of the sky. Snowflakes were swirling downwards, a graceful scurry of white. “It’s snowing,” he yelled.

Adam said nothing. The smoke from the ranchhouse chimneys could be seen now, and he steered his horse towards it.

***********

The door opened even before they had had time to dismount. Laura Dayton Cartwright had run onto the porch and then paused, her hand to her throat and her eyes wide open in horror. Upon seeing them, she put both hands to her face and burst into tears.

Joe cast an anxious look over at Adam to note his brother’s reaction to this emotion, and saw the tension increase along his brother’s jaw line and the eyes narrow as he hastily dismounted, cast the reins over the hitching rail and hurried to Laura’s side. He had cupped a hand over her elbow and turned her into the house even before Joe had dismounted from Cochise.

Joe pulled the reins free from the hitching rail and hurried across the yard to the stable into which the two animals trotted happily enough as the warmth embraced them and the smell of oats and hay tantalized their nostrils.

A short time later, Joe pushed open the door and quickly closed it behind him. Adam had cast off his hat and coat, and was biting his bottom lip in order to harness more patience as Laura sniveled into a lace handkerchief.

Seeing his brother now standing beside him, Adam repeated the question he had asked immediately upon entering the house. “What’s wrong, Laura? Look, we can’t help you if you don’t tell us what has happened. Where’s Peggy? Is she alright? Is Will here?”

Laura nodded, Joe sighed and swept off his hat; answers to Adam’s questions would probably take a while. Laura was a one-question-at-a-time kind of gal.

A blast of wind cast snow against the window pane and another blast swept the glass clean again. Laura kept her hands over her face and sobbed some more, seeking the comfort of Adam’s shoulder and his arm across hers until she felt more able to control her tears. She gulped and pulled herself away, looked at Adam’s anxious face and then at Joe’s not so anxious features; she dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief and blinked several times rather rapidly before speaking. “It’s just that…it’s just that…” She began to sob a little more and Adam placed a steadying hand upon her shoulder.

“It’s alright, Laura, just take your time. Joe, make some coffee would you?”

Coffee? Joe sniffed loudly and looked around the room. A stiff brandy would do her more good, he reckoned, but did as he was told and ventured into the kitchen area to rummage around to locate cups and the coffee pot.

“Laura? Has something happened to Will? Where is he? Where’s Peggy?”

The deep kindly voice finally calmed her enough for Laura to blow her nose and dab at her eyes. She looked into Adam’s face and swallowed her tears. “Peggy took her pony out this morning.”

“Yes?” Adam frowned, his mind jumping from one conclusion to another and all of them fearful.

“She went out.” Laura struggled to keep breathing, everything in her chest was tight and getting the words out was hard, “She went out before breakfast. Will went looking for her. I thought it was Will bringing her back home.”

“Was there an argument? Why did she leave so early?”

Laura frowned, a little horseshoe pucker of confusion appeared upon her smooth brow. In the kitchen, Joe rolled his eyes heavenwards and shook his head. Would big brother never learn that it was just ONE question at a time when dealing with Laura?

“No, no, there wasn’t an argument,” Laura protested. “Why would you think there was an argument? We never argue.” Her voice ended in a rather high pitched vibrato as tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over once again.

Adam looked up over her head and stared at the wall. It didn’t occur to him that this was something he had often done in the past when he had been calling on Laura. It gave him time to gather his wits and quell irritation, something that he had not really noticed feeling previously either, but was certainly feeling now.

Joe made a noisy entrance from the kitchen, and pushed a cup of coffee into Laura’s hands. By now, her teeth were chattering, and when she put the cup to her lips, the rim rattled against her teeth. Joe scratched the back of his neck and looked at his brother who raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

“It’s the baby, I suppose,” Laura said suddenly, putting the cup down on the table and slopping most of its contents over the pretty lace doily.

“The baby?” Adam repeated softly, looking once again intently into her face. “What baby?”

“Our baby?” Laura sighed.

“Our baby?” Adam rocked back a little on his heels and Joe raised HIS eyebrows.

“Whose baby?” Joe asked, and glanced over at the window where the wind was making a good job of covering every vestige of glass. “I think we need some lamps on around here,” he muttered as the room darkened around them.

“Our baby.” Laura looked at Adam as though he were stupid, “Will’s and mine, of course. I think Peggy couldn‘t understand why we were having a baby now.”

“You’re having a baby?” Adam said with a slight smile.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” She shook her head slowly from side to side. “Adam, we told Peggy about the baby and I thought she understood. I thought she was happy to know there was going to be a baby brother or sister for her. I thought she’d be so happy.”

‘Here we go,” Joe thought to himself as he turned up a flame in the oil lamp, ‘more tears.’

“Hey, don’t cry now, Laura.” Adam was patience itself, and pushed another handkerchief into her hand, “You think she got jealous and decided to leave home?”

“Yes. She was upset when we told her we were going to sell the ranch and move East. But we thought that we had explained all about that, and how exciting it would be for her to go to a really good school.” She stopped in her narration then and stared hard at the patterns on the carpet as though they held the answer to her problems.

“I see,” Adam sighed and stood up. Laura wept some more into the newly provided handkerchief reducing it to something resembling a dish cloth within minutes.

“Seems to me the green-eyed monster paid a visit,” Joe muttered as he turned up the flame in another lamp, “What do you suggest we do?”

Adam shrugged, then shook his head; he walked to the window to view the situation outside and shook his head once more, “Snow’s worsening out there. Pa was right about the snow.” He pursed his lips and looked at Laura, then he looked at Joe, “Any suggestions?”

“You mean, you want me to tell you what to do?” Joe opened his eyes wide in amazement and then looked at Laura.

“I just said ‘any suggestions’; it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll follow through on any of them,” Adam retorted tartly. He took a deep breath. “Peggy left here early this morning. Will went not long afterwards. Neither of them has returned and we’ve a blizzard out there. Laura shouldn’t be left alone …” He paused then and licked his lips; he looked at Joe but his brother chose that moment to examine the cuticles of his nails very closely.

“I think we should go and look for them.” Joe suggested.

“In a blizzard?” Adam said slowly and raised his eyebrows. Then he nodded, “I think you’re right. Although it may be better to wait for it to calm down a little.”

Adam remained at the window, and after releasing his breath in a long sigh, once again stared out to survey the view -- only there was no view. There was just the whiteness of snow mantling the glass. Every window was the same. The walls of the house rocked as a gust of wind struck it sideways on and smoke billowed out down the chimney into the room.

Adam opened the door and peered outside. He knew countless stories of people who ventured out into white-outs, thinking they were heading for the stable or barn that was so familiar to them, and yet they’d missed the building altogether and kept on walking, and walking. Then, totally disoriented, they would turn, this way and that, until they would collapse from the cold and exhaustion.

Adam slammed the door shut. Laura was looking anxiously at him as though in appeal. Joe was standing fiddling with his hat and observing his brother closely, trying to fathom out a solution that would meet with his brother’s approval.

“I can’t see the horses,” Adam muttered, “It’s a total white-out.”

Joe shrugged and rolled his eyes before setting down his hat. “I got ‘em into the stable before coming into the house, seeing how you were so eager to get indoors, he mumbled. “Snow’s building up outside. We’ll probably have to dig our way out.”

Joe glanced at Laura and sighed, then carefully poured out the scalding hot coffee into their cups. He would have hated to hurt anyone’s feelings but, as far as he was concerned, digging himself out of the place was far more preferable than staying inside the house with Laura. Adam also sighed deeply and picked up his cup before walking slowly back to the window and peering out into the whiteness that resembled an artists’ blank canvas.

************

The morning air was cold, far colder than Peggy Dayton had expected as she softly closed the door behind her. She paused for barely a moment, not daring to look back in case her resolve to leave were to desert her.

There was a mournfulness to the sound of the breezes drifting around the ranch house, and the cold made her nose tingle as well as her ears. She pulled her coat tighter around her and ran to the stable. The horses all shifted uneasily as she moved quickly down to the stall where she found her pony. Stroking its nose gently, she told the fat little creature that it was time to leave,

“I know it’s nice and warm in here, Bugsy, and you’re really nice and comfortable, aren’t you?” She stood on tiptoe to get the bridle from the hook and carefully slipped it into the pony’s soft mouth. He chomped on it a little as the cold metal of the bit passed between his teeth, “I can’t stay here any more, Bugsy. Momma’s going to have a new baby and they won’t want me around any more. I don’t want to go to any stupid old school back East just because they’re having a baby. Anyhow, they won’t miss me now.”

The saddle was more cumbersome to handle but she struggled across the aisle back to the stall, and after ensuring that the blanket wasn’t crinkled in any way across her pony’s back, she slipped the saddle over it. Once the girth strap had been fastened securely, she pulled at the reins and led the animal from the stable. The other horses watched her with bemusement as she passed them before resuming their business as soon as the stable door closed silently behind them.

Only once did she allow herself to look up at the windows of the house in which she had been born. She passed the swing that was being tossed back and forth in the cold breeze, and she remembered how she had once spent so much time sitting there counting the seconds away, waiting for her Daddy to come home.

“Mommy told me lies then, Bugsy. She said Daddy would come back but he didn’t, and she knew that, and she didn’t say.” Her voice broke a little on a sob, for no matter what her father had been to other folk, to her he was a loving father and she had adored him.

Once she felt safe from being heard by Will or her mother, she mounted the pony, jabbed him gently in the ribs and set off at a fast canter away from the house. Against her knee, a small bag full of food thumped to the movement of the horse. If they wanted her out of her life, so be it, but it would be on her terms only.

She rode some distance from the house immersed in thoughts and daydreams. Soon, she knew, Will would realize she was missing and come looking for her. She didn’t want him to because she knew there was every likelihood of his finding her and taking her back home. She wanted to avoid ever seeing her mother’s reproachful eyes looking at her again. She had lived most of her life with Laura’s eyes staring at her in resentful reproach. She turned her horse to the left and headed for the woodland where the pines grew dark and tall. She never would enter here normally but she didn’t want Will to find her. He would not think of coming here, not here.

She could remember telling Will why she would never go into the woods. That was why they always skirted around them when they went to visit the Ponderosa. She shivered now, not with the cold but with fear, because she was entering the place of her greatest nightmares. She remembered now that it had only been when Adam Cartwright had come into their lives as someone important that Laura had allowed herself to show the love she had felt for her daughter. Adam would help her, Peggy reasoned. She would go and find him, plead her case, and wait for him to provide the answer.

Thinking along those lines eased her fears. It would take just a little while to ride through the trees to reach the Ponderosa, and then she would find Adam and talk to him, and then she just knew everything would be just fine.

The little pony stretched his legs as fast and as far as he could but he would falter every so often as though in the hope that his mistress would forget the reason for the journey she was on and allow him to stop. The air was colder now, and the wind was keening mournfully through the trees.

“We’ll stop here, Bugsy.” She looked about her and recognized the place, a good landmark. She dismounted and led the pony along to the stream. “Here you are; you can drink some water here while I have a drink and something to eat. Soon as we get to Adam’s place, we’ll get you some oats. You’re a good boy, Bugsy.”

She stroked his nose and kissed his sleek neck. Bugsy nodded his head. After all, she was right; he was a good boy.

“I sure wish it weren’t so cold,” she said suddenly as she munched on an apple. She had eaten a little bit of bread, some cheese, a piece of apple pie which had tasted very pleasant the previous day when Laura had served it hot, but which now tasted like sweet cardboard. She sighed and gave the animal the apple core, “I guess Will shall come looking for us. He won’t think to look here, though, will he? Do you think we should go home, Bugsy? No? That’s what I think too.”

She remounted and turned the pony’s head around. Adam Cartwright would know what to do. He wouldn’t let Laura and Will send her off to a school back East just because a stupid little baby was coming along.

The sky was growing darker and she stopped the pony to look up to watch the scudding clouds. They were gathering together into a united black mass which made the day seem just like early evening. She remembered that she had left behind her little fob watch that her father had bought her some years ago. It made her realize that she had left behind quite a few of her treasures. She looked about her anxiously for some idea as to how to proceed. Then she continued onwards, for whatever her fears and worries, Adam would know exactly what to do. Her faith in him was total, for he was the one adult who had never let her down, the one person who had shown her the truth and given her the courage to face it.

Bugsy was a willful little beast. He loved his stall and his companions in the stables. He was usually pampered and indulged by his mistress, and resented having this enormously long journey thrust upon him on a cold and blustery day. It was all very well assuming that because he was just a pony he didn’t feel the cold and discomfort of the bitter wind blowing up his tail and down his neck, but facts were facts. He detested the cold. He shook his head in an attempt to resist Peggy’s hold on the reins.

“It’s alright, Bugsy, we’re nearly there now.”

She looked up as the first snow began to whirl around them. Bugsy rolled his eyes. This was just too much and he shook his head again. The wind howled through the trees, which spooked the little horse out of his wits. Bugsy gave a wild toss of the head, succeeded in getting the bit free from its anchorage in his mouth and made a dash for it. Alright, she wanted him to get some speed up, and that was just what she was going to get.

His fat little body surged forward, missing the trunks of trees by inches. Her voice calling his name became ever shriller. His determination to return to his stall became ever more determined. He dashed on; she screamed and hauled on the reins but to no avail. He missed a tree, swerved and collided into the one next to it. It remained unmovable. Bugsy also became unmovable for he fell like a log, totally pole-axed. Peggy hit the ground hard, rolled some distance from the pony and ended sprawled out in the undergrowth.

The snow was falling heavier now, deceptively beautiful as it swirled and danced so lightly upon the air. Gradually the dance grew into a frenzy; snow whirled until there was no longer any pattern to it. It streamed one way and was tossed another. But it still fell and the child remained sprawled out -- and very alone.

**********

Will Cartwright urged his horse at a faster pace, aware now that the sky was beginning to resemble lead and the temperature had dropped seriously quickly. He had found a trail of sorts and was praying that this was the one Peggy would have left behind a few hours earlier. As he rode on, his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as he considered the reasons for her departure.

He recalled the wary expression on the little face as they had called her into the room, asking her to sit down as they had something important to tell her. Her big eyes had looked from one to the other of them and then she had sighed, as though preparing for bad news. It had all gone awry as soon as Laura had opened her mouth and stammered out the reason they needed to talk to her,

“Peggy, you know we love you, don’t you? Well, you know we love you very, very much. You do know that don’t you?” And then before the child had had a chance to agree or disagree, Laura had stood up, paced the floor, clutched her hands together nervously and then approached his side, forming a united front that must have seemed not only formidable to Peggy but defensive as well. Peggy had stiffened and blinked rather rapidly and her breathing had quickened.

Will now groaned at the memory as he wondered what must have been passing through the little girl’s mind. Laura had taken a deep breath and poured out the fact that there was a little brother or sister on the way for Peggy to play with, and the child had frowned deeply,

“But I don’t want a brother or a sister,” Peggy had protested shrilly, standing up and glaring at them both with that sullen defiance on her face that Will had come to know so well and dread equally as much.

“It will only be a sweet little baby at first.” Laura smiled falteringly.

But Peggy had shaken her head, raised her chin and shouted, “I don’t want a baby either. Babies don’t do nothing except cry and cry all day and night. I don’t want a baby here. I just want us, like we are now.” She had then turned to Will and looked appealingly at him, “We’re doing alright here, aren’t we, Uncle Will? You aren’t going to leave us behind, are you?”

“Why no, no, of course not, Peggy. Why ever should you think that?” Will had seen the look of anguish in her eyes as she had turned to look out of the window as though expecting someone to ride into the yard, someone she had loved and who had ridden out of her life two years ago.

He had knelt at her side then and taken hold of her, pulled her into his arms and held her close. “Peggy, I won’t leave you, not ever.”

“But Daddy said that -- he said it over and over -- but he did; he went away and never came back.” Then she had paused and looked at her mother, a cold appraising look that made Laura go pale, “Daddy died. He can’t never come back home now.”

“But I’m here now to look after you, and Mummy, and the new baby when it comes.”

“I don’t want a new baby. I just want us,” Peggy had sniffled.

Then Laura had grabbed at her arm and swung her around to face her, bringing her own face down to her level. “That’s enough nonsense, Peggy. You won’t have to worry about a crying baby, anyway; when we leave here, you’ll be going to school, a big fancy school back East so that you get yourself a good education and learn how to act like a lady.”

Will Cartwright shuddered now as he recalled the look that had passed over Peggy’s face at that moment. She had pulled herself free, glared at them both and ran out of the room, up the stairs to her room. The door had slammed shut.

They should have handled it better. He knew that, he knew it the moment they had asked her to sit down because he had known then that Laura couldn’t handle confrontation of any kind, especially with Peggy. And it had been a confrontation.

**********

Peggy was a sturdy little girl who had lived all her life out of doors, enjoying the rough and tumble every child out west enjoyed. She had her chores to do, and her games to play. Her father had wanted a boy, and she had done her best to comply with his wishes. Now as the snow slowly began to cover her over with its ice cold blanket she stirred, brushed the snow from her face with her mittened hands, and pushed herself into a sitting position.

“Bugsy? Bugsy?”

Her voice echoed eerily through the silent woodland. Snow sifted down from the branch of a tree and settled gently close to her side. She looked down and realized that the snow had now reached the top of her boots. It was important to move and to do so quickly.

“Bugsy? Where are you?”

She began to step through the snow, lifting her legs high in order to make each step. The snow was falling fast and she knew that soon she would find it even more difficult to move through it. She had to find her horse.

The saddle showed thinly through a sprinkling of snow. She paused, brushed aside snowflakes that obscured her view and then pushed her way along towards it.

“Bugsy?”

She sunk down upon her knees when she saw the outline of her horse.

One ear and the mound of his round belly protruded through the snow. She had seen death before; having lived on a ranch, such sights were unavoidable. The realization that Bugsy was dead brought a comprehension of her own danger to her for she had heard the stories of those who had ridden carelessly into the snowstorms in those parts and were never to be seen again. She shuddered inwardly, knowing that the only protection from the elements was some form of shelter. As she turned from the horse, she remembered the food she had taken from home, and turned back to search for the pouch into which she had stowed it away.

Hugging it closely to her chest, the child began to walk as quickly as she could through the snow to where there was some chance of shelter. Among the trees there were shrubs and saplings that had grown tightly together, and the snow now weighed upon them like so many secret little hideaways, the kind of dens children loved to claim for their own and jealousy guarded during times of play. But this was no game, not now. This was life or death, and although so young, she was more than aware of the danger in which she was now placed and the urgency of finding sanctuary.

The perfect place revealed itself to her by accident, for she had slid upon the snow and, upon falling, had reached out for something to give her balance. Her hand had brushed against the snow covering the densely overgrown tunnel that had been formed by years of intertwining twigs and branches. She slid through the narrow entrance which in times past some wild creature had made for itself and snuggled into a corner where the ground was dry and the leaves from the trees gave her some comfort from the hard ground.

And now she waited. She closed her eyes tightly, and while she waited, she began to count, knowing that when she reached a hundred Adam would come to rescue her.

***********

Will Cartwright looked above him at the leaden sky and felt the cold kiss of snow upon his face. With a sigh he turned his head towards the trail he had noticed earlier. If he was wrong, then he knew he had no chance of finding Peggy once the snow began to fall.

Once again he recalled the previous evening. The few moments before everything had gone wrong. Peggy had been ready for bed and had that rosy pink glow sleepy children often possessed when it was time to mount the stairs to the warmth and comfort of bed. She had smiled at him, a sleepy heavy-eyed smile and he had picked her up and twirled her around and around. Her giggle and protests had made him laugh, a laugh that was cut short when Laura had come into the room.

He had looked over at her and raised his eyebrows, hoping that Laura would hold back from saying anything just then because these moments with his stepdaughter were precious to him, as well as to her. They were strengthening the new bonds of affection that had grown over the year. The pleasure he would see in Peggy’s eyes as he walked through the door was something new to him, delightful in its innocence and naiveté. He never wanted to lose this special feeling that was growing between them.

Even when Laura had began to speak, Peggy had looked up at him, held his hands, smiled, a wavering kind of smile that was true. Will recalled it to mind now and bowed his head at the remembrance of the misery that filled her eyes as Laura continued to speak. Time and again Will had tried to build on the relationship that had been growing between Peggy and Laura during Adam’s courtship, and time and again he had seen Laura slowly dismantle it, clumsily, bit by bit, word by word.

What, he asked himself again, was it between them that had caused the fragile bridge to crumple so swiftly. What bitter resentment did Peggy have against her mother, and what was the cause of the ambivalent feelings Laura had towards her daughter? It was a conundrum that Will tossed constantly in his mind and about which he was now in despair.

Now, as he tried to keep the trail in sight, Will wished he had made some effort to calm the child. Had he realized this would have been the result, he would certainly have been far more attentive to her needs.

He paused now, reining in his horse and looking around him thoughtfully. He was close to the Ponderosa borders and it took no time at all for him to reason out what had been obvious really -- that Peggy would have taken her problems to Adam, as she had done prior to his arriving in their lives. It may have been six months since they had last met together, but Will knew the affection Peggy had formed for Adam. He had been the one to heal the wounds caused by the death of her father. It had been Adam who had carefully nurtured the building of that fragile bridge between her and her mother.

Will pulled his hat lower and frowned slightly as he looked down into the valley above the lake. It would be a good thing for them all when they moved back east and Adam Cartwright‘s influence could no longer have such power.

***********

Adam Cartwright turned to his brother and nodded briefly before stepping forwards to pick up his hat and shrug himself into his coat. “Time to go, while there’s a break in the snow,” he muttered. He looked up at Laura. “You’ll be alright?” It was more a statement than a question, and she drew in her breath before nodding, although Joe could see from the rigidity of her body that she was really far from all right.

“We’ll be back as soon as possible,” Adam said, and looked at Joe who nodded agreement as he pulled on his jacket.

“Adam?” Laura paused; one hand strayed nervously to her throat, her fingers twisted at the cameo brooch she wore at the neckline of her blouse. “You will find her, won’t you?”

“Certainly,” Adam replied with such certainty that Joe almost believed him.

They pulled open the door and stepped out into the biting cold. The wind had lessened now and there was a total stillness all around them. Having closed the door, they now strode through the snow to the stables, where Sport and Cochise turned their heads to observe them before snorting discontentedly at the realization that the warm stalls would soon be history.

“How much chance do you think we have of finding her?” Joe muttered as he pulled Cochise from the stall.

“Well, I was thinking that perhaps Will may have found her by now,” Adam replied, putting his foot into the stirrup and swinging his leg over the saddle, “He’s been gone long enough.”

“Think we’ll meet him on the way back?”

“Possibly. I hope so.” Adam frowned and looked over at Joe, “It would be better if he did find her, don’t you think?”

“Hmm.” Joe nodded at the realization of what his brother was hinting at. Of course it would be better for Laura’s husband to bring home the missing child; it would save any future embarrassment and Laura would think Will the hero which would keep him safely on the pedestal upon which she had placed him over a year earlier.

Saying nothing more, the two brothers urged their reluctant horses out into the snow. From the window, Laura Dayton Cartwright watched them ride out, two dark silhouettes slowly receding into the brilliant whiteness around them.

Once they were out of sight, she sunk down upon a chair by the fire and began to weep into a very limp and soggy handkerchief. Once more it seemed as though her world had turned upside down and those she loved most of all were the victims of it. She knew she was mostly to blame but lacked the courage to face up to the responsibility of her actions. As always, Laura chose the easy option and wept.

***********

Peggy felt her eyes growing heavy. She paused in her counting and then realized she had forgotten what number she had actually reached. The fact that Adam had not arrived by the time she had reached 250 did not dismay her, for her faith in him was total. But counting made her tired, very tired. Inside her little snug den, the air was claustrophobically stale, making her feel even more tired. Her eyes closed and she slipped down into a more comfortable position, hugging the pouch of food into her body and forgetting all about the snow outside and the fact that there would be those searching for her.

Will Cartwright had turned the horse around and backtracked towards the Dayton ranch. Several times he would pause and cry out her name, and in the deep silence of the day, his voice would bounce back and call out again, “PEGGY”.

Deep within the darker shadows of the trees, alert ears pricked up and sharp eyes narrowed. The air was snuffled eagerly and teeth were bared in anticipation. In silent harmony, the wolves banded closer together and then moved stealthily towards their prey.

“PEGGY”.

Will Cartwright sighed and looked up into the skies, not for inspiration, but to check whether or not the threat of more snow had waned. He was to be disappointed as the skies darkened. His horse put its head down and trudged forward in a slow canter, sufficiently slow for Will to look about him but with a little speed to keep the circulation going.

“PEGGY”.

There were six wolves. The leader of the pack was old and tired but unwilling to fall back for the younger more virile males who loped along with him towards where the lone rider made his way through the trees. When Will came into sight of them, the leader was already panting heavily and beginning to lose ground. A young wolf with silver-tipped paws and black darkening his tan coat streaked ahead of him and gave the first snarl of warning to the human being.

Will turned his head, and looked almost dismissively at the wolves before the realization of what their appearance actually meant to him at that moment. He pulled his rifle from its sheath and released the safety lock. Even as the young wolf crouched back, ready to spring, Will had the stock of the rifle at his shoulder and had fired.

The sound of the bullet being fired from the rifle ricocheted eerily in the still air, bringing with it the immediate repercussion of sounds from the wolves as they began to snarl and growl, the hair standing like ruffs around their necks and their bodies low as each of them prepared to attack the lone man.

Peggy stirred, opened her eyes sleepily and then closed them again. With a slight sigh, she slipped back into a deep sleep.

**********

Joe has lost track of time and was only really aware of the fact that he was really very cold and also very hungry. The combination of the two made him feel irritable and he spent as much time darting resentful looks at his brother as he did scanning the ground for clues to Peggy and Will’s journey.

Snow was falling again and, in his opinion, it was now nigh on impossible to track either of them down. He rode Cochise closer to his brother. “Adam, this is stupid. I think we should head for home.”

Adam cast a withering look at his brother and his lips narrowed. He shook his head, “Joe, do you really mean what you’ve just said?”

Joe gulped and shrugged. “I can’t see how we’re going to find them in this weather. The snow’s already covered any tracks they may have left here.”

“I know that,” Adam replied tersely, and he gave a slight shake of the head as though in exasperation at his brother’s comment. “But it doesn’t mean to stop looking for them.”

“But they could be anywhere,” Joe sighed, and he cast his eyes around the area in which they were standing, as the snow settled upon them in slow swirls of white.

“I know that, and I know that you’re cold and hungry, as am I. The fact is that Will needs our help in finding Peggy. We just have to think the way Peggy would have gone …” He frowned then, and twisted his body in the saddle in order to look about him, “She wanted to avoid Will, isn’t that right?”

“I guess,” Joe admitted slowly.

“Well, that means she would have gone where he would not have suspected.”

“Meaning what?” Joe shook his head and snow that had gathered in the brim of his hat scattered in a shower of whiteness.

“Meaning that perhaps she would have gone where he would have thought least likely.”

Joe thought about that for a second and then looked at his brother. “Perhaps we should go home and get Hoss. Trying to track anyone in this weather is like trying to find a footprint in water.”

“Think, Joe. Where would Peggy go to hide away from Will?”

“Alright, if you insist.” Joe sighed and bit into his bottom lip; his stomach rumbled at that moment and he forced himself to ignore it. “Like you said, she’d go and hide, someplace he would never expect to find her.”

“Over there, perhaps?” Adam indicated the dark woodlands that formed a barrier between the Ponderosa and Dayton’s ranch.

“She’s always been a bit wary of going into the woods. Told me once that she saw some Indians there and never went into them again,” Joe muttered.

“I remember her saying that.” Adam nodded and heaved a sigh. “What do you think then, Joe? Should we give it a try?”

“It’s as good a place as any, I guess,” Joe replied rather hesitantly, and glanced about him again, “Sure wish we had just gone right home from town, Adam. I don’t mean to sound unkind but …” He paused realizing from the set expression on his brother’s face that he was venturing into the ‘foot in mouth’ territory; he cleared his throat noisily. “Peggy’s going to be alright. She’s a real tough little kid.”

“I know. But …” Adam paused as they reached the entrance to the trees and he glanced, narrow eyed, into the darkness. “She was upset, and sometimes when children are upset, they do uncharacteristic things. You used to do it all the time.” He turned Sport into a gap between some trees and began to thread his way into the woodland.

They journeyed on and now there was a deathly calm as the storm appeared to ebb away slowly while the trees shielded them from the remains of the wind. They rode slowly, knowing that haste would lessen the thoroughness of their search. Adam scanned the way from the left and Joe maintained his search to the right.

“What’s that?” Joe cried suddenly. He pointed a little further beyond them so that they both turned their horses to gain the area and to find a soft imprint of a small foot. “Do you think it’s Peggy’s?”

Adam dismounted and looked at it carefully. There was only part of a heel and the edge of a child’s boot that could be seen in the snow. The rest was submerged in the muddy slime that existed around the bole of a tree. He smiled and looked at Joe, nodded, returned to his horse. Joe’s eyesight, he mused, was incredible. He knew that he would have missed it, for it was so slight an indentation. He slapped Joe’s knee in a comradely manner as he passed his brother to reach his horse; it was commendation enough and Joe felt that he had redeemed himself in his brother’s eyes now for his apparent lack of consideration for Peggy and Will’s welfare earlier.

“At least we know we’re on the right track,” Joe said quietly.

“Yes, but why had she dismounted?” Adam clamped his mouth tight and frowned as he struggled to think of what the child would have been doing. “And there’s no sign of Will.”

“There’s no sign of a horse anywhere,” Joe replied his eyes searching the ground with a thoroughness that would have brought praise from Hoss, had he been there.

“Let’s concentrate on this area then,” Adam replied, “You ride to the right.”

They parted and slowly rode around the trees and the shrubs, brushing against the snow that would trickle from the slim branches and twigs of the lower saplings and shrubs they encountered. It took little time for Joe to find Bugsy’s body, crumpled beneath the tree.

“ADAM!”

Just the one cry and his brother turned Sports’ head immediately to make a hurried return to his brother’s side, by which time Joe had dismounted, to stand beside Bugsy.

“Dead?” Adam asked, as he dismounted and walked towards Joe who nodded his head.

“Looks like he broke his neck.”

“This would account for the footprint.” Adam glanced over his shoulder back towards where the only evidence of Peggy’s disappearance had been seen. “Peggy started off walking away from here.” He paused, his eyes searching for some other sign of the girl’s passage through the trees and shrubs.

“We should return there then; I can’t imagine a little girl would get far just walking, especially as there have been several really heavy falls of snow since she left.”

“You could be right,” Adam agreed, twisting the reins of his horse round and round between his fingers.

It bothered him that they had not yet come across any sign of Will. Unless their cousin had taken a completely different route and avoided the trees, as Peggy may have thought he would do, knowing her dislike of them. He sighed and looked at Joe who was watching him carefully,

“She’ll be alright,” Joe assured him again. “She’s a bright kid.”

“So you keep telling me.” Adam smiled and looked at his brother affectionately. “Alright, Joe, as you’ve only recently left your childhood behind you, perhaps you could recall what you might have done in this situation when you were a kid.”

“Well…” Joe leaned heavily on the pommel of his saddle and eased his back. The cold was eating into his bones and he was more uncomfortable than he could rightly put into words. He frowned and thought hard, aware of his brother’s dark gaze upon him. “Well,” he said once more, “I think I would have found a place to hide, to get some shelter.”

“Sounds sensible.” Adam nodded, still twisting the reins round and round his fingers. He thought about little Peggy, and knew that Joe’s suggestion made sense.

“I remember running away from home once,” Joe drawled, lowering his hat slightly so that Adam wouldn’t see the twinkle in his eyes. “It didn’t occur to me that everyone would panic and worry that I was lost because to me, well, I knew where I was, and where I was headed. I wasn’t lost, but didn’t realize that no one else would realize that.” He sighed, recalling to mind the way Ben had held him so close he had almost been suffocated within the confines of his father’s arms.

“You didn’t do it just once, though, did you?” Adam chuckled, beginning to walk away from Bugsy, with his eyes scanning the ground over which they were walking. Perhaps, he thought with dread, they had already obscured the vital clues by trampling over them now.

“True enough, but what I’m thinking is that Peggy may be so sure of where she is, where she intends to go, that she doesn’t consider herself lost. She won’t realize we’re looking for her even.”

Adam pursed his lips at that thought, and shook his head slowly in disagreement. Even if part of what Joe had said was true, he was quite sure that Peggy would be expecting someone to come looking for her.

Joe opened his mouth to speak when there was the retort of a rifle. Its sound seemed to whistle through the air. They looked at one another, and Adam vaulted back into the saddle, turned Sport’s head to hurry away in the direction of the gun shot. It could have come only from Will’s rifle and could only have meant trouble.

**********

The wolf sprung with a snarl and its fangs opened in anticipation of sinking into flesh of some kind. The bullet creased its skull sending it falling back, whining and yelping, into the snow.

The other five crowded together, slunk around the back of the horse, which caused Will to yank at the reins to wheel the horse about so that he could keep the creatures within his vision.

One wolf darted forwards and nipped at the horse’s rear leg, which caused the animal to kick out before rearing upwards to the peril of its rider, who was near to being thrown out of the saddle. Another jumped up at the horse’s neck and its strong jaws fastened onto the animals mane while its claws clamped upon the horse’s chest ripping through the flesh as it slowly fell down to the ground. The horse, maddened by the pain, and frightened by the sight, sound and smell of the wolves whinnied aloud, squealed in frenzy as another wolf threw itself at its flank.

Will fired off another shot. It went wild off the mark and sunk into the snow. Another shot and a wolf yipped and danced away, minus one claw and leaving spots of vermilion blood in the snow.

It was hard to keep control of the reins. The horse was getting madder with fear by the minute, plunging down, rearing up, tossing its head too and fro as though as anxious to be rid of it’s rider as it was to get away from the wolves. With a tenacity born from the knowledge that if he let go of the reins he would be thrown to the wolves, Will wound the reins about one fist and clamped his thighs closer against the saddle in order to retain his seat.

He fired off two more shots. The wolf with the headache had slunk away, admitting defeat and prepared to wait for the pack to deliver the goods. The wolf with the injured foot waited, seized its chance and lunged forward with a mighty leap so that his forepaws hit Will full in the chest sending him toppling from the saddle, and because of the way he had held fast to the reins, pulling the horse down with him.

The snow softened the fall but still winded the man. His fingers voluntarily released the reins and the horse rose to its feet and fled. Two wolves made chase after it. But the remaining three closed ranks and snarling, baring their teeth, they advanced onto Will who was now doing his utmost to get away.

He dug his elbows and his feet into the snow, pushed himself along until he could get onto his feet again. He swung the rifle to the left, to the right, aiming it at one and then another of the wolves as they slowly advanced onto him. From the corner of his eye, he saw movement and knew that the other two wolves were loping across the snow to join their mates. The horse had shown them a clean pair of heels and was running out of fear, blindly, helplessly gripped by its instinct to flee. This left the man exposed, vulnerable and powerless. Impotent. The wolves could smell the fear reeking from him; the power from him was gone. He was defenseless and they knew it.

Will edged back, praying all the while that there were no wolves advancing upon his exposed back. He fired another shot, but it missed and the wolves pounced as though each one of them had been waiting for that moment to do so. In a mass, they leapt upon him and bore him down to the ground.

He had brought the rifle up across his chest; one hand gripped the barrel and the other the stock. With a frantic effort to harness all the strength he had left to him, he heaved the rifle upwards to push the creatures aside while he scrabbled once again to get to his feet. It was a valiant attempt and provided him with vital seconds in which he was able to swing the rifle round and fire directly into the massed bodies. A wolf jerked back as the retort of the rifle trickled away into the distance. It fell heavily but its death meant nothing to the other wolves that howled their vengeance and gathered in more closely around the hapless victim.

Will could see the slavering drool that dripped from their jaws, the snouts wrinkled back to expose the fangs, and the eyes that were reddening with the blood lust upon them. He fired once more but a wolf leapt forwards and its teeth clamped tightly upon his wrist. Even through the leather of his gloves and the thick wadding of his winter coat Will felt the pain of those teeth that were like a vise now, and he tried to pull away, to get a release but now another wolf had pounced upon his ankle.

‘This is it.’ The words passed through his mind as he struggled to get free. ‘I’m going to die here. I’m going to die …’

Then there was a sound of gunfire. It came from behind him, from the trees. The pain in his arm and ankle continued to be agonizing but he no longer thought of his own death, not now that he knew help was coming.

**********

Hoss Cartwright rubbed his eyes and concentrated. The snow had ceased from falling, the room was warm from the blazing fires, but the paperwork still kept coming. He glanced over at his father who had his head down, his eyes fixed to the paper as his pencil raced down the columns of figures and scribbled down a total at the bottom.

“Pa?”

“Six hundred and forty eight.”

“Pa?”

“Six hundred and fifty. Humph. Six hundred and fifty.” Ben scribbled the figure down and looked up. “Yes, Hoss?”

“Can’t we take a break now? My eyes are about to drop outa my head.”

Ben sighed heavily, looked at Hoss and then looked at the clock. He leaned back against the chair and put down his pencil. “It’s been a long day,” he admitted, “Thanks for your help, son.”

“Oh, shucks, Pa, that’s alright. It’s just that I ain’t too good with all this kind of book stuff, you know. Sure hope I ain’t done anything wrong.”

“You’ve done fine, Hoss.” Ben stood up and stretched his back. He rubbed his temple with his right hand while he rubbed his back with the other, and he sighed. “You’ve done well, Hoss, thanks. How about some coffee?”

They walked together to the hearth and settled down before the fire. They’d been sitting at the desk for hours but somehow settling down in front of the fire seemed more relaxing than anything else they could have thought of now.

Ben stretched out his legs and smiled. “I think you must have been right, Hoss; the boys must have gone on to the Milfords or Will’s.”

“Oh, they’ll be just fine, Pa. I don’t s’pose Adam will buy that Kentucky racehorse anyway. Enos is too fond of it, and he won’t sell for anything less than what he paid for it, and Adam won‘t pay out that money, especially knowing how you feel about horses that don’t pay their way.”

Ben chuckled, and nodded good humouredly. Hop Sing brought in the coffee and set it down on the table, a plate of cookies accompanied the coffee.

Hoss gave the cook a beaming smile of thanks as he rubbed the palms of his hands down over his knees, “Hop Sing, you sure know how to bring a ray of sunshine into a man’s life.” He picked up a cookie, sniffed it and then smiled widely, before dropping it into his mouth. “Mmmm-mmm, delicious.”

“Hop Sing?”

Ben’s voice stopped their friend in his tracks and he turned to face the rancher with uplifted eyebrows in anticipation of the man’s question.

“Hop Sing, did you hear anything else concerning Will and Laura? Anything that may be of interest at all?”

Hop Sing shrugged, grimaced vaguely and shook his head. “In’trest to who? Land for sale only, all for sale. You interested?”

“In buying the Dayton place? Not really. I was just wondering why the sudden desire on Will’s part to sell up. I thought from our last conversation about it that he was quite prepared to give it at least another year.”

“May be baby change things. Baby coming often make change in lives of people,” Hop Sing observed shrewdly and he nodded by way of emphasis.

“What baby?” Hoss asked, his blue eyes widening and the cookie he held in his hand crumbling into piece onto the floor.

“Missy Laura have baby. May be that make Mr. Will change mind.” Hop Sing smiled at them both and left them to mull over that piece of news. He had been wondering how and when to drop it into the conversation all day. He rubbed his hands in glee as he entered the kitchen and recalled to mind the look of amazement on Ben’s face.

“Doggone it, Pa, did you know about that?”

“No, but it makes sense now as to why they want to move East. Yes, it makes perfect sense.” Ben frowned in retrospection as he thought back to Peggy’s arrival some years before, and the way young Laura had suffered during the delivery. No one had expected either of them to survive but they had, thankfully.

“Hey, Pa, that means another Cartwright in the world, huh?” Hoss beamed delightedly. “Fancy that,” he breathed softly, and with a gentle smile on his face, Hoss leaned back against his chair and felt warm contentment steal over him like a soft downy blanket.

Ben smiled at his son and he also leaned back in his big old chair. Groping for and find his pipe and tobacco, he sighed as he began to shred out the tobacco as he recalled -- oh it seemed such a long time ago -- when a little golden-haired boy had looked up with trusting eyes into the face of his stepmother and said exactly the same words. “That means another Cartwright, don’t it, Mama?”

A long time ago… Ben sighed and clamped the pipe stem between his teeth, struck a match and drifted away on a stream of memories.

**********

A wolf turned, retreated several paces, and sprung up at the young man on the black and white horse. There was little time for Joe to aim his gun but he fired anyway and the bullet spat into snow. He fired again; the smell of the animal filled his nostrils and once more he squeezed the trigger. Saliva sprayed across his face as the wolf’s teeth snapped an inch from his nose before it fell, without a sound, into the snow.

Adam had ridden Sport straight for the wolves as they had bunch together around their victim. They had scattered and then regrouped, the one picking off Joe as its victim and another snapping at Sport’s feet as though the horse were the cause of its immediate problem and not the rider. Again he fired once; the bullet entered the wolf at the nape of its neck, and with a cut off grunt, it rolled some distance before becoming just another dark mound silhouetted in the snow.

Will struggled to his feet, fell back a little, and found himself steadied by Adam’s hand which gripped his arm so tightly that it almost made him forget the pain in his wrist and ankle. Two wolves were loping away, casting evil looks back at their enemies before disappearing into the darkness of the trees.

The brothers rode their horses closer together, which gave Adam the opportunity to cast an anxious look at his brother as though to ascertain for himself that his brother was sale and well, for he had noticed the close proximity to which the wolf had been to the youngster’s face. Joe, busy with wiping his face, did not notice and was spared the slight irritation that at times was caused by this near paternal consideration of his older brothers.

Adam was the first to dismount, and he hurried through the churned over snow to where his cousin remained on his haunches. The muddied snow was bloodied about them, and he could see that his cousin was visibly shaking, clutching at his rifle as though his life depended upon it.

“Are you alright, Will?” Adam looked at the man’s ashen face, the wide startled eyes and recognized the signs of shock; he looked over at his brother who was dismounting and hurrying over to join them. “Joe, get some water, will you?”

“I’m alright,” Will whispered through white lips, but continued to shake, “I’ve just not experienced that before, came as a shock.”

“I guess it must have done.” Joe grinned, and passed the canteen to his cousin. “Good thing we were nearby.”

“Yes, thanks.” Will swallowed water, then stared at the canteen as though he couldn’t believe his own eyes as he witnessed the way his hands were shaking. “What were you doing hereabouts anyhow?”

“Looking for you, and Peggy,” Adam replied slowly. He glanced about him, surveyed the scene of the fight with a slight scowl to his face, and then looked at his cousin,

“Did you find her?” Will cried, his eyes immediately alert and brighter than they had been before, “Is she safe?”

“She’s in there, somewhere -” Joe pointed to the trees, “Hopefully we’ll find her before the wolves do.” He pulled his hat down a little lower, shielding his eyes a little from the glare of the snow.

Will opened his eyes wide at this remark, and he grabbed at the younger man’s arm to assist him to his feet while he pushed the canteen into Joe’s hand. “We’ve got to find her.”

“Yes.” Adam nodded, his dark eyes were somber. “It’s early for the wolves to have come down so close hereabouts; we don’t usually see ‘em for several more months yet. Means they’re hungrier than usual.”

“Town’s expanding,” Joe muttered, screwing on the top of the canteen tightly. “More men out hunting for food, more trees being cut down for homes and mine shafts. Guess it has to happen; we’re messing up their natural way of life after all.”

“Look, you’re wasting time talking. Peggy needs our help. I thought … I thought she would never go into those trees, I thought she would head just straight for the Ponderosa,” Will cried aloud, the distress in his voice only too obvious as he made a brave attempt to walk towards the horses.

“Guess she realized you’d think that,” Adam muttered. He looked at Will and then at Joe, who nodded in understanding. After remounting Cochise, Joe rode over to where Will‘s horse was slowly and rather tentatively approaching them.

“How come you knew Peggy had gone?” Will said, his eyes fixed away from his cousin‘s face and checking over the rifle as though it were some thing made of glass that could have shattered in the debacle they had gone through.

“Joe and I were going to…” Adam paused, pursed his lips and raised his eye brows, and reached out to take hold of Sport’s reins, “We were on our way to the Milfords when the snowstorm broke. Your place was closer.”

“You saw Laura and she told you what had happened?” Will pulled his hat from the snow and beat it against his thigh, sending snow scattering earthwards.

“She told us about the baby. I suppose congratulations are in order?” Adam smiled at his cousin, but he did not receive a smile in return, only a sigh and a shrug,

“That’s what caused this stupidity on Peggy’s part. She had a tantrum last night, and then when we got up this morning, she had gone. Sometimes…” Now he paused, his lips narrowed and his eyes dark, he shook his head again, “Sometimes I just don’t understand what’s going on between those two. I love them both, but there are times when I just can’t seem to get them to see sense about anything. You’d think a baby would have made Peggy happy, wouldn’t you?”

Adam sighed and shrugged, and glanced away. He remembered a certain little boy who had thrown a tantrum of his own when told a baby was going to arrive at the Ponderosa some years back. He was about to say something when Joe arrived, with Will’s horse following.

“Best get started,” Joe muttered, pulling his hat lower, “We had better start looking from where we left off, Adam.”

Adam nodded, and without looking at his brother or cousin, he mounted into the saddle and headed towards the trees. He allowed himself a slight smile, however, at the thought that, well, babies grow up!

*********

Peggy had woken at the sound of the gunfire and had frozen with the usual fear such sounds would naturally bring to a child. As she curled into as small and tight a ball as she could, she stared wide-eyed at the narrow, almost invisible entrance to her shelter. She remembered now that she was in the dense timberland that she had always previously avoided. As she shivered in fear and tightened her grip on the food pouch, she remembered the time she had stumbled upon the Paiutes. They had not seen her but she had frozen to the spot and watched as they had taken shots at a deer. They had looked wild and angry, and in her young mind, she had feared that had they known she was there, they would have taken shots at her instead.

Her father had laughed at her when she had told him, and then very seriously had told her never to go there again - just in case. She had asked him, ‘Just in case of what?’ in a very quiet little voice and he had shaken his head and looked around the room with big eyes as though several Paiutes were about to jump out from behind the armchairs that very moment. It had left Peggy with the memory of fear so imprinted on her mind that she had nightmares many nights afterwards. Of course, it had been the cause of yet another argument between her mother and her father.

So now she cringed back, and hugged the small package of food against her chest, and waited. Almost by instinct she began to whisper ‘One. Two. Three. Four…’

**********

Laura Dayton Cartwright paced the floor of her sitting room with her hands clasped tightly, so tightly that the knuckles were white. She had pulled a shawl about her shoulders, for despite the fire she was feeling cold. Several times she had mounted the stairs and entered Peggy’s room, knowing that it would be empty but needing the reassurance that this was Peggy’s room and that Peggy would soon return to it.

She had even picked up the do