THE PAIUTE NECKLACE
“I want you boys to be sure to check the fences while I’m gone,” ordered Ben Cartwright as he poured himself another cup of coffee. He glanced around the breakfast table at his three sons, then added gruffly, “And don’t forget to check the herd in the south pasture. If the grass is thinning, they may start to stray.”
“Doggonit, Pa, you’d think you’d never left us alone at the ranch before,” complained Hoss Cartwright, the middle and biggest of Ben’s sons.
“You’re only going to be gone a couple of days,” stated Adam, Ben’s oldest son. “I think we can manage to hold the ranch together for that long.”
“Don’t you worry, Pa,” chimed in Joe, the youngest of the Cartwrights at age 22, in a slightly mocking tone. “We’ll do everything you say. We’ll check the fences, check the herd, and make sure the barn is clean. And in our spare time, we’ll bake cookies and knit socks.”
“Don’t get smart with me, young man,” Ben growled. “I expect you boys to work while I’m gone. No taking time off for trips to town. This ranch doesn’t run itself, you know.”
Raising his eyebrows a bit, Adam studied his father. “Pa, you’ve been as grouchy as a bear with a sore head for the past two days. Are you going to tell us what’s really bothering you or are we just going to have to put up this with it until you leave tomorrow?”
A frown crossed Ben’s face as he started to bark out an answer. Suddenly, though, he sighed. “I know I’ve been acting unreasonable,” Ben admitted. “I’m just anxious about this treaty being signed, and I guess I’m taking it out on everyone else. I’m sorry, boys.”
“Pa, what’s got you so nervous?” Hoss asked. “You said the Army has made a deal with the Paiutes. All that’s left to do is get the treaty signed.”
“This treaty is so very important,” Ben replied. “If Winnemucca agrees to let the supply trains cross his lands unmolested, it will save a lot a lives. Food, medicine and equipment will be able to get through, as well as new settlers. All those small towns and ranches that are just barely making it will be able to thrive.”
“But it’s a done deal, isn’t it? Like Hoss said, all that’s left is for Winnemucca and Colonel Marks to sign the treaty and for you to witness it,” said Adam, sounding puzzled.
“Something could still go wrong,” answered Ben. “Winnemucca could change his mind. Some of his war chiefs don’t like the idea of the wagons crossing their land. He might decide that having the necklace returned to the tribe isn’t as important as protecting his land as well as keeping his braves happy.”
“I still don’t understand why the necklace is so important to him,” Joe remarked. “Gold doesn’t mean anything to an Indian. You’d think Winnemucca would want something like horses or cattle in exchange for signing the treaty.”
“It’s not the gold in the necklace that’s important,” Ben explained, “it’s what the necklace represents. The legend says that a Paiute chief was out hunting one day and came across a man in the woods who was performing some kind of ritual. The chief thought the man was a white medicine man and decided to leave him alone. Then he saw a bear coming out of the woods, ready to attack the man. The chief killed the bear, saving the man’s life. The man was so grateful that he took a gold chain from around his neck and gave it to the chief. He told the chief that if he believed in the power of the necklace, the chief would live a long time, and be considered good and wise by all men. The chief also was told that, as long as the Paiutes had the necklace, the Great Spirit would watch over them and give them good fortune.”
“The necklace has some kind of medallion on it, doesn’t it,” said Adam. “My guess it was given to the chief by a missionary and the message got a bit mixed up in the translation.”
“Could be,” agreed Ben. “But the point is the Paiutes think it’s powerful, and Winnemucca wants it back. He’s willing to agree to let the supply trains through in order to get it.”
“But if it’s that important to them, how come the Paiutes lost it?” Hoss asked. “And how did the Army get it and know to give it back?”
“I don’t know the whole story,” admitted Ben. “All I know is that it disappeared three or four years ago and somehow ended up in a museum in San Francisco. Colonel Marks is the one who recognized the necklace as the one he had heard about from the Paiutes. He persuaded the government to acquire it so he could use it as a bargaining chip with the Paiutes.”
“It must have cost the government a pretty penny,” Joe observed, shaking his head. “I heard it was solid gold.”
“I don’t know what it cost the government,” replied Ben, “but it was worth every cent. That necklace is going to stop the Paiutes from attacking the wagons. There’s no telling how many lives it will save, both on the wagons as well as in the places that desperately need those supplies.”
The sound of pounding on the front door of the house cut short the conversation around the breakfast table. Adam quickly got up from his chair and walked toward the door.
“Colonel Marks!” said Adam in surprise as he pulled open the front door of the ranch house. “What are you doing here? I would have thought you’d be heading for Spruce Meadow to get things ready for the treaty ceremony.”
“Morning, Adam,” replied Marks in an abrupt tone. “Is Ben here? I need to see him right away.”
“What’s wrong, John?” asked Ben as he emerged from the dining room and walked toward the door. He was followed by Joe and Hoss, both of whom looked at the army officer with curiosity.
“Ben, we have a big problem,” Marks answered grimly. “The necklace has been stolen.”
“Stolen!” exclaimed Ben in alarm. “Do you have any idea who took it?”
“We’re pretty sure it was a sergeant named Kelly,” replied the colonel. “He had guard duty the night before last, and was supposed to be protecting necklace in the safe in my office. When I got to my office in the morning, I found the safe opened and both Kelly and the necklace gone. I’ve got men out looking for him, but so far, Kelly hasn’t been found.”
A worried expression appeared on Ben’s face. “This is going to make getting that treaty signed very difficult,” he said with dismay.
“It’s going to make getting the treaty signed impossible,” Marks corrected Ben. “Winnemucca is going to think we lied to him about returning the necklace. He’s going to think we deliberately tried to make him look like a fool. At the very least, he’ll refuse to sign the treaty. It could even mean the Paiutes will go on the warpath.”
“Winnemucca isn’t going to be happy with the turn of events,” agreed Adam. “He could decide to take his anger out on every white man on the Washoe.”
“It’s worse than that,” Marks said bleakly. “There’s already half a dozen supply trains on their way here. I sent a message to General Taylor in San Francisco to let him know we had a deal with the Paiutes. Once the word got out about the treaty, the suppliers decided it was safe to send their wagons. Winnemucca is sure to send his braves to attack them if the treaty isn’t signed.”
“Can’t you stop them?” asked Hoss. “Turn them around and send them back?”
“We’d have to find them before the Paiutes do,” answered the colonel. “And that’s no easy task, considering we don’t know exactly where the wagons are. And even if we find them, there’s no guarantee we can get them back safely. I’ll have to split my forces to try to find those supply trains. A small troop of cavalry won’t be able to hold off a large band of angry Paiutes.” Marks shook his head sadly. “It would be a massacre, and I’m afraid there won’t be just one.”
“Couldn’t you just explain to Winnemucca what happened?” suggested Joe. “Tell him the necklace was stolen?”
“I’ don’t think he wouldn’t believe that,” Ben said in a forlorn voice. “The Paiutes have been lied to so many times that Winnemucca doesn’t trust much of what the white man tells him. The only reason he agreed to this treaty was to get the necklace back. Without the necklace as a token of good faith, he’s going to think we're lying to him again.”
“Could you make up another one?” asked Hoss. “Maybe Winnemucca wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”
“There’s not enough time,” Marks answered. “The treaty is supposed to be signed in three days. And even if there were, we couldn’t duplicate the necklace. The Paiutes have scratch symbols on it as well as adding things like feathers and beads to it. That’s how I recognized the necklace in the museum. But I don’t remember enough of what was on it to be able copy them exactly.”
“And Winnemucca wouldn’t be any happier if he thought we were trying to pawn a fake necklace off on him,” Ben added.
“What are you going
to do, colonel?” asked Adam. “Cancel the treaty ceremony?”
“Not until I absolutely have to,” Marks replied. “If I delay or cancel things now, Winnemucca is going to figure out something is wrong. He’s liable to demand the necklace right away, and is going to be angry when I can’t deliver it. That will destroy any hope of ever getting the treaty signed. If I go ahead as planned, at least we’ll have three days to try to find the necklace. There’s always a chance one of my patrols will catch up with Kelly.”
“Do you have any idea where he went?” asked Hoss.
“One of the sentries saw him riding toward the mountains,” the colonel answered. “The sentry didn’t stop him because he had no idea what Kelly had done.” Suddenly, the colonel sighed. “I hope one of the patrols find Kelly, but I have to admit the odds are against it. My soldiers are good fighting men, but I wouldn’t call any of them great trackers.”
“So you’re just going to go ahead and act like nothing is wrong until the last minute,” Joe said, shaking his head. “Whew! I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when Winnemucca finds out that the necklace is missing.”
“I’m not looking forward to it,” agreed Marks glumly. “I’ll have some troopers at Spruce Meadows, and I hope that will discourage the Paiutes from doing anything rash. But if they’re mad enough, the Paiutes aren’t going to let a troop of cavalry stop them from shooting.” The colonel turned to Ben. “That’s why I rode over here this morning, Ben. I wanted to tell you what happened, and to tell you not to come to Spruce Meadows. It’s too dangerous. There’s no telling what Winnemucca and his braves will do if I can’t produce the necklace. I can’t put you in such a risky situation.”
For a moment, Ben said nothing. A frown crossed his face, and he looked down at the floor, as if trying to make up his mind. Then he took a deep breath. “John, I should go to Spruce Meadows with you,” said Ben slowly as he looked up at the colonel. “Winnemucca is going to be suspicious if I’m not there when he arrives. And I might be able to help calm him down if you can’t deliver the necklace. He might listen to me, since I’m not a soldier.”
“Pa, you can’t!” exclaimed Joe in alarm. “If Winnemucca gets mad, you’ll liable to find yourself in the middle of a war.”
“Joe’s right,” Hoss told his father in an agitated voice. “You’ll be right in the middle of a hornet’s nest, only it’ll be bullets flying around your head.”
“I have to go,” Ben said grimly. “If there’s any chance at all of keeping the peace, I have to take the risk. There’s too many lives at stake, both Indian and white, for me to simply stay home and hope for the best.” A small smile appeared on Ben’s face. “Besides, I’ll have a troop of cavalry to hide behind if things go wrong.”
“At least let us go with you,” urged Joe. “That’s three more guns in case there’s trouble.”
“No,” replied Ben in a firm voice. “I don’t need you three to help me sign the treaty, and if there’s trouble, three more guns aren’t going to make much difference.” He looked at each of his sons in turn, then added, “I mean it, boys. You show up at Spruce Meadows, I’ll ask John to have some of his troopers escort you home. And that means fewer soldiers to help us if trouble starts.”
A look of unhappiness appeared on each of the Cartwright sons’ faces, but all three of them heard the tone of Ben’s voice and knew their father meant what he said. The young men exchanged glances and, as their expressions on their faces changed to resignation, almost imperceptible nods.
“All right,” Adam agreed on behalf of his brothers. “We won’t show up at Spruce Meadows. At least, we won’t show up without the necklace.” He held up his hand to cut off the words of protest from both the colonel and his father. “We know this country better than anyone, and Hoss is one of the best tracker in the territory. If we can’t offer three more guns, then at least we can offer three more searchers.”
“Adam, Kelly could be anywhere,” said Ben doubtfully. “You could be wasting your time.”
“If you can’t stay home and hope for the best, than neither can we,” Adam replied. He looked over his shoulder at his brothers, who nodded in agreement. “We’ve got as good a chance as those soldiers at finding Kelly, maybe better.” Turning to Colonel Marks, Adam asked, “What does this Kelly look like?”
“He’s a big Irishman, about 40,” answered the colonel, a touch of hope in his voice. “Black hair, and a small scar above his left eye. The sentry said he was wearing his uniform, and riding a black horse. He was last seen riding toward Miner’s Ridge. He probably went over the ridge and up into the mountains from there.”
“Miner’s Ridge,” mused Hoss. “You know, if I was on the run, I’d go over that ridge and head west, rather than up into the mountains. There’s some clear trails, lots of fresh water and game, and once you got through Crater Pass, you could head in any direction.”
“Well, that may be,” Marks admitted with a shrug. “I’ve got my patrols searching the mountains, though. That’s the most likely place for a man to go to hide.”
“It would hurt to check out the trails to the west of the ridge,” insisted Adam. “Kelly might have figured you’d send patrols to the mountains and headed the other way. If we’re wrong, we can always go back and help search the mountains.” He cocked his head a bit and looked thoughtful. “How much time do we have?”
“Today is Tuesday,” the colonel answered. “The treaty ceremony is scheduled to start at noon on Friday. We’ve only got three days to find the necklace and get it to Spruce Meadow.”
“Well, I guess then we’ll have to have find Kelly and drag him and the necklace back to Spruce Meadows by Friday,” Joe said with a cocky grin.
**********
Pulling his horse to a stop near a pile of large rock, Hoss peered down the hill in front of him. “This is the spot,” he said confidently without bothering to look at his two brothers on their horses behind him. “You can see the entrance to Crater Pass. We’ll get a good look at anyone coming down the trail.”
“What if Kelly has already gone through the pass?” Joe asked sourly. “We got here in less than a day; maybe Kelly did, too. We’ll be wasting our time just sitting here waiting for him.”
“We were a lot closer to Crater Pass to start with, and besides, we took the short-cut to get here,” answered Hoss patiently. “Kelly would have to ride awful hard to make it from the fort to the pass in under two days. I don’t think he’d want to take a chance on hurting his horse with a ride like that. And he won’t be rushing if he don’t think anyone is looking for him over this way.”
“I still don’t like the idea of just sitting here,” Joe grumbled. “We ought to start looking for him. There’s an hour or two of daylight left.”
“Look, Joe,” said Adam with more than a little exasperation in his voice, “we knew it would be almost dark when we got here. We agreed that we’d watch the pass until morning. If we don’t see Kelly, we’ll start looking tomorrow. Let’s stick with the plan.”
Sighing softly, Joe nodded. “I know, I know. I’m just not very good at sitting around, especially when there isn’t much time for us to find that necklace.”
“Well, if you ain’t good at sitting around, you can go get some wood and make a fire,” suggested Hoss with a grin as he dismounted. “I sure would like a hot meal and a nice warm fire while we’re waiting.”
“Don’t get too cozy,” Adam cautioned as he got down from his horse. “I’ll take the first watch, but you’ll being do the second one.”
“Let me get this straight,” said Joe as he dismounted also. “I’ve got to go get the wood, make the fire, and then get up in the middle of the night to watch for somebody who’s probably not going to be coming down the trail when it’s dark?”
“Yep, that’s it,
little brother,” replied Hoss, still grinning. Seeing the look of displeasure on
Joe’s face, Hoss turned to his older brother. “Don’t he look cute when he’s mad,
Adam?”
“Charming,” replied Adam dryly. “Now let’s get these horses out of sight and set up camp.”
**********
The twilight of dusk had faded into the black of night as Hoss walked over to where Adam was sitting by the edge of the boulders. “Nothing, uh,” said Hoss, as he stood over his oldest brother.
“Not a sign,” affirmed Adam, stretching his arms a bit. “I don’t think Kelly will try to go through the pass in the dark, but you never can tell. You keep your eyes peeled. I’m going to get a cup of your bad coffee and then get some sleep.”
Taking a step back to allow Adam room to get to his feet, Hoss looked out into the darkness. Suddenly, he frowned and stared hard into the night. As Adam started to walk by, Hoss grabbed his brother’s arm. “Look over there,” Hoss said in a low voice. Adam turned his head; he saw nothing but black.
“What?” asked Adam in a puzzled voice.
At first, Hoss didn’t answer; he simply kept staring into the darkness. Suddenly, he pointed. “There!” exclaimed Hoss. “See that light? Don’t that look like a campfire to you?”
Hearing Hoss’ voice and seeing his brothers peering out into the darkness, Joe got up from his seat on the ground near the fire and hurried to join the other two Cartwrights. “What’s up?” he whispered loudly.
Ignoring Joe’s question, Hoss kept his eyes focused on something in the night. “There it is again,” said Hoss. “That light in the brush. It’s there for a couple of seconds and then it’s gone.”
“I saw it,” Adam replied with a nod. “It could be a campfire.”
“You think Kelly would risk a fire?” asked Joe in surprise. “If I was running, I keep a cold camp.”
“He may think no one is looking for him,” Adam replied. “Besides, it looks like he’s trying to hide the fire. The wind must be moving the flames around just enough so they’re visible from time to time.”
“If he’s been on the trail for two days, Kelly is probably sick of cold beans and jerky,” added Hoss. “I sure would be.”
“You’re sick of cold beans and jerky after two hours,” commented Joe wryly. He looked out into the night and waited. A minute or so passed before Joe saw the faint glow flickering through the blackness. “There sure is somebody out there,” he stated. He turned to his brothers. “How do you want to do this?”
“I think we ought to wait awhile,” Adam replied. “Let him get settled for the night. Then we’ll work our way over there, surround the camp and surprise him.”
“If that’s not Kelly, we’re going to scare the life out of some poor hunter,” remarked Hoss.
“If it’s not Kelly, we apologize and come back here,” Adam said. “But I’ve got a feeling it’s him. He’s probably planning to go through the pass at dawn, when it’s just light enough to see. That way, if someone is on his trail, he’d be long gone before they got out of their bedrolls.”
“I hope you’re right and it is Kelly, Adam,” Joe told his oldest brother. “We’ve got to get that necklace and get it to Spruce Meadows in time. If we don’t, Pa’s going to be facing a whole lot of angry Paiutes.”
************
Moving furtively through the darkness, three figures approached the area from which the light had been spotted. The biggest one was in the lead, and he held out his arms to silently stop the other two. Hoss listened for a minute, making sure that nothing had alarmed whoever was near the fire. Satisfied that everything was quiet, Hoss nodded. Joe and Adam crept away in opposite directions, disappearing quickly into the black of night. Hoss silently counted to himself as he waited. When he reached 100, Hoss pulled his gun from his holster and started forward.
For a big man, Hoss surprisingly was light on his feet. He quietly moved toward the figure wrapped in a blanket and apparently sleeping by the fire. But the man by the fire must have heard or sensed Hoss’ presence. Hoss was only a few feet from the fire when the man whipped off the blanket and sat up, pointing his pistol directly at the largest Cartwright.
“Hold it, boyyo,” warned the man, a trace of his Irish accent evident in his voice.
Hoss was close enough to see the man clearly in the fire’s light. An Army shirt with sergeant’s strips, the black hair and the scar over the eye all confirmed the man was the missing Kelly.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Kelly,” said Hoss. “You’re in enough trouble as it is.”
Kelly’s eyes widened a bit at Hoss’ use of his name, but he held his gun steady. “I don’t know who you are or what you want,” Kelly replied, “but I think the wisest thing would be for you to turn around and leave.”
“Drop the gun, Kelly!” shouted a voice from the soldier’s left.
“You’re covered on three sides, so drop it!” added a voice from the soldier’s right.
Never taking his eyes off Hoss, Kelly slowly lowered his gun and threw it to his right. Only when he heard Joe and Adam pushing their way through the bushes on either side of him did the sergeant glance to his right and left, merely confirming to himself that he had made the right choice. He watched carefully as the three Cartwrights came together near the fire, noting their revolvers were pointed at him the whole time.
“I don’t know who you lads are looking for, but I think you’ve made a mistake,” declared Kelly in a confident voice. “I’m just a soldier, out on patrol.”
“Patrolling by yourself?” replied Adam in a dry voice. He jerked his head a bit to the right, and Joe, understanding the signal, walked over to pick up Kelly’s gun from the ground. Taking a few more steps, Joe knelt and began going through the leather bags leaning against the sergeant’s saddle near the fire.
“Now why don’t you save my brother some time and just give us the necklace,” suggested Adam.
“Necklace? What necklace?” Kelly replied, feigning innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, lad.”
“The necklace you stole from Colonel Marks office and is going to cause an Indian war if we don’t get it back,” clarified Hoss.
“I don’t have any necklace,” Kelly stated firmly. “You fellows have the wrong man.”
“He’s not lying,” called Joe from a few feet away. “There’s no necklace in his saddlebags. But look what I found.” He held up a small leather sack, obviously full of something heavy. “There must be $5,000 in gold coins here. I found it hidden inside his saddle blanket.”
“Hey, now! That money’s mine,” protested Kelly. “I saved a long time to get it.”
“On a sergeant’s pay? I don’t believe you,” Adam said flatly. He considered Kelly for a moment, then added, “You sold the necklace, didn’t you?”
“I tell you, I don’t know anything about a necklace,” Kelly declared. “You lads are barking up the wrong tree.”
“Who’d you sell it to?” persisted Adam. “Where’s the necklace?”
“You’re wrong, dead wrong,” Kelly answered, shaking his head. “If the necklace is missing, somebody else must have took it. I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Want me to shake it out of him, Adam?” offered Hoss.
Cocking his head a bit, Adam studied the soldier. “No, I don’t think so,” replied Adam in a deliberate tone. “I think a bullet or two might be more effective.”
“Bullets?” squealed Kelly in alarm. “You can’t mean it!”
Ignoring the sergeant’s cry, Adam continued in the same deliberate voice, “I think one in the kneecap might be a good place to start. If anyone asks, we can claim he was running away and we stopped him.”
Cocking his gun, Hoss nodded. “Yeah, that’s good, Adam. And if that don’t work, I can put one in his foot. He won’t be able to walk anywhere after that.”
“You boys are crazy!” shouted Kelly, the desperation evident in his voice. “You can’t shoot me like that.”
“Oh yes we can,” said Joe, who had walked over to join his brothers. “See, our Pa is at Spruce Meadows, and he’s liable to be caught in the middle of a war if we don’t get that necklace. So we don’t have a lot of sympathy for the thieving coward who might start that war. You start talking or we start shooting.”
“All right, all right,” Kelly quickly replied. “I’ll tell you what you want to know. Just…just uncock those guns.”
Slowly, Hoss released the hammer on his pistol, and lowered it a bit. He tried to hide his relief that Kelly had caved in. He knew that neither he nor his brothers would have made good on their threat to shoot the soldier, and if Kelly had still refused to talk, they might never have known what happened to the necklace.
“Where’s the necklace?” Adam asked, his tone decidedly unfriendly.
“I gave it to a man named Abe Chandler,” Kelly answered, his tone a bit sullen. “He’s the one who wanted the necklace. He paid me to steal it for him.”
“Why would he want the necklace?” Hoss asked curiously.
“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Kelly said. “All I know is he offered me $5,000 to steal the necklace and give it to him. I met him on Miner’s Ridge, gave him the necklace, and he gave me the money. Then I took off. That’s all I know, honest.”
“He’s lying, Adam,” growled Joe, raising his gun menacingly. “He hid the necklace someplace.”
“No, it’s the truth!” cried Kelly frantically. “What do I care about some old necklace? I couldn’t try to sell to a jeweler or someone like that; I’d be arrested in a minute. I only stole it because Chandler paid me to.”
“Where can we find this Chandler?” Adam asked.
“He lives in Willow Bend or someplace near there,” answered the sergeant quickly. “I was in the saloon in Willow Bend about a week ago, crying in me beer about wanting to leave the army but having no money. This fellow Chandler comes up and starts asking me about the necklace. I told him what I knew, that the Paiutes wanted it back because they thought it was magic or something. Chandler starts buying beers for me and the next thing I know, we talking about how I could steal the cursed thing.”
“You knew that necklace was important to the Paiutes and you stole it anyway?” said Hoss in a shocked voice. He knew people could be callous sometimes, but it always surprised him when they proved to him that it was true.
“I needed money and Chandler was offering me a lot,” Kelly replied, as if his words justified the deed. “It’s not like I stole the payroll or something. It was just some old necklace that those dirty Indians wanted.”
“But you knew what would happen when the Paiutes didn’t get the necklace,” Hoss persisted. “You knew it could start a war, that a lot of people – including some of your soldier friends – could get killed.”
“Well, I tried not to think about that part,” admitted Kelly. “I figured to be up in the Oregon Territory where I wouldn’t have to hear about what happened.”
“Kelly, you’re the poorest excuse for a man that I’ve seen in a long time,” said Joe in disgust. He turned toward his oldest brother. “What do we do now, Adam?”
“Tie him up for now,” Adam answered. “In the morning, we’ll all ride to Willow Bend. After he helps us find this Chandler, we’ll turn Kelly over to the sheriff there. Then we’ll get the necklace and ride hard to Spruce Meadows.”
**********
Most of the world was still sleeping as the first light of dawn filled the morning sky, but not the men in the rough camp in the woods. While Adam sipped the last of the coffee in his cup near the fire, Hoss was busy saddling Kelly’s horse as well as the Cartwright’s horses he had retrieved from their own camp during the night. Joe sat a few feet away from the fire with a rifle across his lap. His gaze was steadily fixed on Sergeant Kelly, who sat against a tree with a rope wrapped around his arms and chest, and a decidedly unhappy expression on his face.
“Horses saddled?” asked Adam as he looked up to an approaching Hoss.
“Yep,” Hoss answered as he reached down for a cup half filled with coffee that was sitting near the fire. “All we need to do is pack up the gear and get Kelly on a horse, and we’re ready to go.”
“Hey now,” called Kelly. “It’s bad enough that you boys woke me before the sun was even up for breakfast. Now you’re talking about throwing me on a horse like a sack of potatoes. That’s no way to treat an Army man.”
“Kelly, you’re lucky we even fed you,” Joe said with more than a hint of disgust in his voice. “And I have a feeling your career in the Army is over.”
“Well, that may be,” admitted the sergeant. “But still, I’d like to keep what little of me honor I have left. At least let me ride in to Willow Bend like a soldier, not trussed up like some turkey.”
“He’s got a point, Adam,” Hoss said grudgingly. “We’ve got to travel some pretty rough country to get to Willow Bend. It’ll be easier if we don’t have to lead his horse or worry about picking him up off the ground.”
Taking another sip of coffee, Adam considered the situation carefully. Slowly, he turned to look over his shoulder toward Kelly. “If we untie you, will you give me your word you won’t try to escape?”
“I give you my word as a soldier,” replied Kelly solemnly. Then a wry smile crossed his face. “Besides, how far could I get with the three of you watching me?” the sergeant added. “I don’t fancy ending up with a bullet in me.”
Adam took another sip of coffee before answering. “All right, Joe,” he said as he pour the last of the liquid into the cup over the fire. “Go ahead and untie him. But watch him.”
Nodding, Joe set his rifle on the ground, and then got to his feet. He took a few steps, then crouched to untie the knot that held the ropes around the sergeant. As the ropes loosened, Joe started to stand and pull his gun out of his holster. Suddenly, Kelly grabbed Joe’s left wrist in an iron grip and yanked it hard, pulling the youngest Cartwright off balance. Dropping the pistol, Joe fell to the dirt, landing on his hip. Moving with cat-like quickness, Kelly jumped behind Joe, wrapping his left arm around Joe’s neck. The sergeant gripped Joe’s right wrist with his own right hand, and then stood, jerking Joe to his feet as he rose. Kelly twisted Joe’s arm behind the young man’s back and tightened his forearm against Joe’s neck. “All right now, boyyos, let’s see you drop those guns before I do some real damage to your brother here,” Kelly threatened.
Adam and Hoss had jumped to their feet and pulled pistols from their hostlers when they saw Kelly grab Joe. But both men knew they couldn’t get a shot at the sergeant without hitting their youngest brother.
“Drop ‘em!” ordered Kelly again. He tightened his vise-like grip around Joe’s neck and twisted the young man’s arm a bit higher in the back. Joe gasped, both in pain and from the pressure against his neck that was cutting off his air.
“Kelly, let him go!” yelled Hoss angrily. “You’re going to kill him!”
“You kill him and you’re a dead man, Kelly,” added Adam quickly.
“Now, now, I know what I’m doing,” Kelly replied calmly. “I know just how much it takes to crush a man’s throat. I don’t plan to kill the boy unless I have to. But I’m not going to spend the next twenty years in an Army prison. So drop those guns.”
Not knowing whether to believe that the sergeant would release Joe, both Adam and Hoss hesitated, keeping their eyes as well as their guns aimed at the soldier.
Once more, Kelly tightened his grip around Joe’s neck a bit. A gurgling sound came out of Joe’s throat. The young man’s eyes were closed but his mouth was open, desperately seeking air for his lungs. Kelly pulled Joe’s twisted arm a bit harder, eliciting a small gasp of pain from his prisoner. “You know, lads, I could get this wrong,” Kelly said almost matter-of-factly. “The longer this takes, the more chance I’ll make a mistake. At the very least, I’ll fix it so the boy won’t use this arm for a long time. So stop piddling around and drop those guns.”
Almost in unison, Hoss and Adam threw their revolvers to the dirt. “Now let him go, Kelly” Adam demanded.
“Soon as you two are laying face down on the ground, away from those guns,” Kelly replied. He watched carefully as the two older Cartwright brothers lowered themselves to the ground. Both men lay on their stomachs, their heads turned to look at the soldier.
Nodding in satisfaction, Kelly gave one last yank on Joe’s arm and heard the strangled moan from his captive. Then the sergeant released his grip on both the young man’s wrist and neck. Joe fell to the ground in a heap, alternately gasping for air and grunting in pain as he landed on the dirt. Calmly, Kelly stepped over the body at this feet and walked to pick up the rifle that Joe had dropped. “I’ll leave your horses down the trail a bit,” declared the sergeant, kicking Adam’s and Hoss’ guns into the brush. “You two stay on your bellies until you hear me ride off. I see either of you move before then, I’ll be putting some bullets of me own into some bodies.”
Neither Adam or Hoss bothered to watch as Kelly untied and grabbed the reins of the horses standing near his own animal. The two had no interest in seeing the soldier mount and ride off. Both Cartwrights were watching Joe, who was laying on the ground a few feet away.
Cradling his right arm against his body, Joe was rocking slightly as he continued to suck in air. He coughed a few times, expelling the dust he took into his lungs as he gulped in oxygen. Joe was vaguely aware of the sound of hoof beats followed, by footsteps coming in his direction, but he was more concerned with catching his breath than watching the activity around him.
“Joe, are you all right?” asked Hoss anxiously as he helped his younger brother to sit up.
“I…think so,” gasped Joe, but he winced as he tried to move his arm.
Putting his hand on Joe’s back for support, Adam looked around quickly. “There’s coffee left in that pot. Bring some over,” he ordered Hoss.
Nodding, Hoss rushed to pick up the pot of now tepid coffee sitting near the flickering embers of what once was a fire. He grabbed a nearby cup and filled it with the liquid from the pot. Dropping the pot, Hoss hurried back to his brothers.
“Here, drink this,” Hoss said as he help the cup to Joe’s lips. Joe grabbed the cup with his left hand and began sipping the coffee slowly, grateful for anything that would erase the dryness in his mouth and throat.
After watching to make Joe had no problems swallowing, Adam put his hand on his youngest brother’s right shoulder and gently probed it with his fingers. “I don’t think it’s broken or separated,” he declared. “How does it feel?”
Slowly, Joe lifted his arm and moved his elbow in a small circle, flexing his fingers during the process. “Sore,” he admitted, wincing a bit. “But everything seems to be working.” He smiled a bit at his brothers. “Good thing I’m left handed though,” added Joe. “I don’t think I’m going to feel like using this arm much for a day or so.” Then his face sobered. “Sorry. I just didn’t expect Kelly to be able to move that fast.”
“None of us did,” Hoss consoled his brother. “We should have been smart enough to have one of us hold a gun on him while you untied him.”
“So much for Kelly’s word as a solider to not try to escape,” said Adam in a dry voice. “That man has about as much honor as a rattlesnake.”
“What do we do now?” asked Joe.
“You rest a bit,” Adam replied. “Hoss and I will go look for the horses. They can’t be far. Kelly wouldn’t have wanted to be slowed down by dragging three horses behind him.”
“We going after him?” Hoss asked almost eagerly.
Biting the inside of his lip a bit, Adam thought about Kelly and the necklace. “No,” he said reluctantly after a few moments. “As much as I would like to get my own hands around Kelly’s neck, we’ll have to let him go for now. The important thing is to get to Willow Bend and find that necklace. We only have a little over two days left to get it to Spruce Meadows. We’ll send the Army a telegram from Willow Bend about Kelly and let them deal with him.”
“Do you think we can find this Abe Chandler without Kelly?” Joe asked with a trace of doubt in his voice.
“There can’t be too many men in that area who can afford to pay $5,000 to have a necklace stolen for him,” answered Adam confidently. “If we ask around, I’m sure we’ll find him.”
“The what?” Hoss pressed his older brother. “We just take it from him?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Adam. “We’ll have to figure something out, though. We’ve got to get that necklace to Spruce Meadows.” He glanced at Joe and then shook his head a bit. “That necklace means a lot to the Paiutes. I just hope it’s worth what it almost cost us.”
**********
As the three riders started down the main street of the small town of Willow Bend, Adam glanced surreptitiously at Joe, as he had been doing most of the day. Despite Joe’s claims that he was all right, both Adam and Hoss were keeping an eye on their younger brother, just to be sure. Other than cradling his right arm inside his green jacket, however, Joe seemed to show no ill-effects from his struggle with Sergeant Kelly.
“Where do you want to start looking, Adam?” asked Hoss as he walked his horse down the street.
“The saloon sounds like a good place to me,” Joe suggested before Adam could answer. “That’s where Kelly met this Chandler. Besides, bartenders always seem to know what’s going on.”
“And you could get a cold beer while we’re there, right?” countered Adam with an arched eyebrow.
“Well, that could happen,” Joe agreed with a grin. He coughed slightly. “My throat is still awfully dry.”
“Little brother, your throat is dry in the middle of a thunderstorm,” Hoss complained but he softened his words with a smile.
Looking around the nearly deserted street of the town, Adam shook his head. “I think we’d do better to start with the sheriff,” he told his brothers. “It’ll be easier for us to get the necklace if the sheriff arrests Chandler for paying Kelly to steal it.” Without waiting for an answer from Joe and Hoss, Adam pulled his horse to a stop in front of a building with a sign proclaiming it to be the sheriff’s office.
“Bet we won’t find any beer in here,” muttered Joe a bit sourly as he got down from his horse.
Adam pointedly ignored his youngest brother’s complaint as he tied the reins to his horse around the hitching post. He waited a moment for Joe and Hoss to tie up their animals, and then walked into the sheriff’s office with his two brothers in tow.
As he entered the office, Adam looked at the man sprawled in the chair behind the desk with a bit of surprise. Wearing faded brown pants held up by suspenders that came up over a well-worn brown and cream checkered shirt, the man looked less like a lawman than any sheriff Adam had seen. He noted the scuffed boots on the feet the man had propped up on the desk, and the fact that the man wasn’t wearing a holster. A badge sat on the desk next to a shotgun. The man looked up from a newspaper he was reading as the Cartwrights came into the office.
“I’m Adam Cartwright,” announced Adam as he walked further into the office. “These are my brothers, Hoss and Joe. Are you the sheriff?”
“Jess McConnell,” the man introduced himself from behind the desk. “And no, I ain’t the sheriff. I’m just kind of keeping any eye on things while the sheriff and posse are out tracking down some rustlers.”
“Well, maybe you can help us,” said Adam, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. “We’re looking for a man named Abe Chandler. We think he lives in Willow Bend or somewhere nearby.”
“Old Abe?” McConnell replied. “Why you looking for him?”
Hesitating, Adam looked over his shoulder at Joe and Hoss before answering. Hoss shrugged while Joe nodded encouraging. Turning back to face the desk, Adam said, “It’s rather complicated, but basically, Chandler paid someone to steal a necklace that is important to the Paiutes. We’re looking to get it back before Paiutes go on the warpath.”
“A necklace, eh? I suppose it’s a magic charm or some such thing,” speculated McConnell. “That sounds like something Abe would want. Probably that gypsy woman put him up to having it stolen.”
“Gypsy woman?” asked Joe quizzically. “Who’s she?
“Madam Zola,” answered the man behind the desk. “At least that’s what she calls herself. Showed up here two or three years ago. She started telling fortunes over at the saloon for drinks and spare change. One day, she tells Abe that he’s going to be rich and live easy for the rest of his life. And he believed her.”
“That sounds like a prediction she’d make to about half the people she saw,” Adam remarked.
“Probably is,” agreed McConnell. “She told me that I was going to be rich, and I’m still waiting for it to happen. But in Abe’s case, the day after she told his fortune, he hit a big silver vein up on his digs. One of the big mining companies paid him a whole passel of money for it. And ever since then, he’s convinced she knows things that the rest of us don’t. He listens to whatever she says.”
“You think she told him to steal the necklace?” asked Hoss. “Why would she do that?”
“Can’t rightly say,” McConnell replied, shaking his head. “Maybe she told him it would bring him good luck or something. Old Abe always was kind of an odd duck, and he’s been acting really strange ever since he hooked up with that woman.”
“Why Chandler stole that necklace isn’t important,” said Adam firmly. “The important thing is getting it back. Where can we find this Chandler?”
“He built a place about five miles north of town,” McConnell answered. “It’s a big house, with a ten foot wall around it. You can’t miss it.”
“Will you come with us to arrest Chandler and help us get the necklace back?” Adam asked.
“Me?” answered McConnell in surprise. “No siree. I ain’t going near that place. I ain’t a real sheriff or anything; I’m just filling in until the sheriff gets back. I ain’t about to tangle with old Abe. He’s got eight or ten men working for him out at his place. Real bad hombres, they are. And those men make sure that nobody bothers Abe unless he wants to be bothered.”
“What’s Chandler got that he needs armed men and a wall to protect?” asked Joe curiously.
“Well, the story around town is that Abe don’t trust banks and he’s got a pile of gold coins hidden up in that house,” answered McConnell. “Don’t know if that’s true. I do know that the gypsy woman is the one who told him to build the place and hire the men. “
“We’ve got to get that necklace from Chandler,” said Adam with a tone of urgency in his voice. “When will the sheriff be back?”
“Can’t say,” McConnell replied with a shrug. “Shouldn’t be any more than three or four days, I’d guess. Depends on how long it takes him and the posse to catch the rustlers – or decide that they’ve lost the trail for good.”
“Adam, we can’t wait thee or four days,” Hoss said anxiously.
“I know,” agreed Adam. He studied McConnell for a minute, then said, “Look, we’ve got to get that necklace to Spruce Meadows by noon on Friday or there’s going to be big trouble. My brothers and I…well, let’s just say we’ll do whatever it takes to get that necklace from Chandler. Do you have any problem with that?”
“Not my concern,” McConnell answered with an air of disinterest. “The sheriff just told me to keep an eye on things in town. He didn’t say nothing about keeping an eye on what happens out at the Chandler place.” He cocked his head a bit, and then continued. “If you three figure on robbing the place, though, I’d recommend against it. Even if you could figure out a way to get it, those men at Chandler’s shoot first and ask questions later.”
“What about this Madam Zola?” pressed Adam. “Where can we find her?”
“She lives out there by Chandler,” McConnell answered. “Got a little house of her own in back of his big house. Abe wanted her close so he could ask her questions or something, I guess.”
“Inside the wall?” Adam asked.
“Yep,” McConnell said with a nod. “Those men protect her just like they protect Abe. Nobody gets to talk with her without Abe saying they can.”
“He does sound like a strange one,” commented Hoss, shaking his head.
“He is,” agreed McConnell. “I wish you boys luck in getting that necklace from him. ‘Cause you’re going to need it.”
**********
Sitting alone at a table in the back of the all but deserted saloon, Adam slowly sipped his beer. The only other person in the room was the obviously bored bartender who was reading a newspaper as he sat behind the wooden counter. Adam was glad of the solitude offered by the empty saloon; it gave him a chance to think while he was waiting for his brothers.
As Adam gazed idly at the door to the saloon, a small smile crossed his face. He could have predicted almost word for word the protests Joe had raised when Adam suggested Hoss take him down the street to be looked over by the town doctor. He knew his youngest brother would claim that he was “all right” and that he “didn’t need to be poked and prodded by some doctor”. It had taken Adam’s bribe of offering to buy beers for all of them, plus his suggestion that the doctor might offer some information about Chandler that they could use, to get Joe to grudgingly accompany Hoss to the doctor’s office.
Seeing Hoss and Joe come through the door, Adam loudly cleared this throat and raised two fingers, signaling the bartender that he was ready for the two additional glasses of beer he had already paid for. The man behind the bar began filling two mugs with foaming liquid as Joe and Hoss walked over to Adam’s table and sat down. Joe’s arm was resting in a sling of white cloth, but the youngest Cartwright seemed to find the sling more of a hindrance than a comfortable support.
“Did you get that telegram sent?” asked Joe as he awkwardly positioned his right arm on the table.
“Yeah, although I don’t know how much good it will do,” replied Adam. He gave a brief nod of thanks to the bartender as the man set glasses of beer in front of his brothers. “At least the Army will know where to look for Kelly. Whether they’ll be able to find him or not is another thing.” He took a sip of beer, then asked, “What did the doctor say about your shoulder?”
“Just what I told you he would say,” grumbled Joe. “It’s just bruised and a little twisted. He told me to rest in for a day or two in the sling and it will be fine.”
“Did he tell you anything about Chandler?” Adam inquired.
“Not much,” answered Hoss. “He said the same thing as that fellow over in the sheriff’s office – that Chandler was always a bit strange and has gotten stranger since he found that silver and made a lot of money. The doc says Chandler comes to town once a month or so for a check-up. The doc never finds anything wrong with him, but Chandler keeps coming anyway. “
“Evidently Chandler is afraid that something is going to keep him from living long enough to spend all his money,” added Joe. “According to the doc, Chandler’s always looking for some medicine or something that will make sure he lives a long time.”
“That explains why he wanted the necklace,” said Adam with a nod. “Chandler probably heard the part of the legend that says the owner of the necklace will have a long life. I don’t doubt that this Madam Zola also is giving him charms and predictions to insure a long life.”
“You know, it’s kind of sad,” remarked Hoss. “The doc said that in a lot of ways, Chandler was happier when he was looking for that silver bonanza than after he actually found it. Now that he’s got a lot of money, all he does is worry about living long enough to spend it.”
“He wouldn’t be the first man to find out that money can’t buy happiness,” Adam replied. “Our problem is to figure out a way to get that necklace away from him.”
“Well, if he’s got all those armed men out at his place, we can’t exactly ride in and take it from him,” Joe said.”
“He’s got the men, all right,” Adam confirmed. “The bartender told me there’s always at least six of them guarding Chandler’s place. He never lets more than one or two of them come to town at a time.”
“And even if we could figure out a way to sneak into the place, we wouldn’t know where to look for the necklace,” added Joe glumly. “It’s a sure bet he’s got it hidden or in a safe or something.”
“Maybe we could just tell him how important that necklace is to making sure there’s peace,” Hoss suggested. “I mean, if Chandler is worried about living a long time, he can’t want the Paiutes to go on the warpath and start killing white folks.”
“That would cut down on his odds for having a long life,” agreed Joe with a wry smile.
“I don’t know,” Adam said doubtfully. “If he had to choose between keeping a necklace that would insure him a long life, or giving it up to insure peace with the Paiutes, I’d bet Chandler would keep the necklace. After all, he’s built himself a fort and got armed men to protect him. He’s probably as safe as anyone could be in the middle of an Indian war.”
“We can’t just give up, Adam,” Joe told his brother with a frown. “Pa’s life could depend on us getting that necklace to Spruce Meadows on time.”
“Nobody is going to give up,” replied Adam patiently. “We just have to figure out the best way to do this. I’ve been thinking, and I think the best idea is to try to trick him into giving us the necklace.”
“Giving us the necklace?” Hoss said in surprise. “How are we going to do that?”
“We have got to convince Chandler that keeping the necklace is going to be worse than giving it back,” answered Adam. “We’ll have a better chance of doing that if we get Madam Zola to help us.”
“And how are we going to get Madam Zola to do that?” Joe asked. “I don’t think she’ll do it out of the goodness of her heart.”
“No, but she’ll probably do it for money,” Adam replied. “When I sent that telegram to the Army, I also sent a telegram to the Virginia City bank, asking them to make a wire transfer of $1,000 to the bank here in Willow Springs in my name.”
“$1,000!” exclaimed Joe. “That’s a lot of money.”
“You don’t think Pa’s life is worth a thousand dollars?” asked Adam skeptically.
“Yeah, I mean, sure, it’s worth every penny if it will help us get that necklace,” stammered Joe. He shook his head. “But how are we going to get to Madam Zola? McConnell says that Chandler doesn’t let anyone talk with her.”
“I don’t know,” Adam admitted. “We’ve got to come up with a story that will convince Chandler to let us see the woman.” Suddenly, he looked at Joe speculatively. “And I think I may have an idea.”
**********
Riding slowly, the Cartwrights approached the house surrounded by a high wall made out of rocks and cement. Only the very top of the house, which appeared to be sitting in the middle of a courtyard, was visible over the wall. The area seemed deserted; no guards were patrolling outside the wall and no activity could be seen or heard from inside the enclosure. But when Adam and his brothers approached the tall wrought-iron gate that was the only entrance to the compound, two men with rifles stepped into view inside the gate. Both were dressed in a well-worn shirt and pants, and had holsters strapped around their hips. Neither had a welcoming expression on their face.
“Hold it right there,” called one of the men. “Mr. Chandler ain’t expecting any visitors. So you three just turn around and ride off.”
“We’re not here to see Mr. Chandler,” Adam told the man. “We want to see Madam Zola.”
“Madam Zola? That gypsy woman?” said the guard, obviously taken aback. He blinked his eyes in surprise. “What do you want with her?”
“It’s…personal,” replied Adam carefully. “We need to consult with her about something very important.”
“I don’t know,” the guard said, obviously unsure of what to do. “Ain’t nobody ever come asking to see her.” He frowned for a minute, then turned to the man standing beside him. “Feeney, go get Mr. Chandler. He ought to decide what we should do about these fellows.”
As the other man trotted off, the guard turned back to the Cartwrights. “You don’t really believe in this gypsy, do you?” he asked skeptically.
“We’ve heard that she told Chandler the he would find the silver vein,” Adam answered, trying to keep an innocent look on his face. “And we heard she’s been advising him ever since. If a man like Chandler trusts her, why shouldn’t we? Why? Don’t you believe what she says?”
“Ain’t my job to believe her or not,” said the man with the rifle gruffly. “Mr. Chandler pays us good to keep him and the woman safe and to keep strangers away from them. If he wants to believe in a bunch of hocus pocus, that’s his business. I just do my job and collect my pay.”
“I assure you that we only want a few minutes with Madam Zola,” Adam declared as earnestly as possible. “We’re not here to cause any trouble.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” said a man approaching the gate from behind the guard. The man who spoke was a study in contrasts. A crisp, new-looking light blue shirt was tucked into faded black pants help up by a pair of old suspenders. Hatless, his thick black hair was visible, as well as a tanned face creased with lines of aging. Although he wore no gun, his demeanor and voice was as threatening as the men holding rifles next to him. “I’m Abe Chandler. What do you want?”
“Mr. Chandler, I’m Adam Cartwright,” replied Adam respectfully. “These are my brothers Hoss and Joe. Perhaps you’ve heard of our father, Ben Cartwright.”
“Ben Cartwright?” Chandler said, frowning a bit. “The fellow that owns that big ranch over by Virginia City? Yeah, I’ve heard of him.” Chandler cocked his head a bit. “Feeney here says you want to see Madam Zola. Why would Ben Cartwright’s boys want to see her?”
“As I was telling your man, it’s a personal matter,” Adam answered. “We’ve heard of what she’s done for you and we’re hoping she can help us. Perhaps we could come inside where we could discuss this more privately.”
“You can discuss it right there,” growled Chandler. “Either tell me what this is all about or turn them horses around and get out of here.”
Giving an exaggerated sigh, Adam looked over his shoulder to Joe, who was sitting on his pinto horse a few feet behind him. Joe’s arm was still resting in the sling the doctor had given him, and his younger brother sported a look of what seemed to be great sorrow on his face. Adam couldn’t keep a smile from his face, but he quickly erased it before turning back to Chandler.
“My younger brother, Joe, has injured his shoulder,” Adam explained. “It’s a very bad injury. The doctors have said that the only way to fix it is with an operation. But the operation is very risky. If it doesn’t go right, his shoulder could end up worse. It could even kill him. We’ve been trying to decide what to do, and then we heard about Madam Zola. We’re hoping she can see into Joe’s future and tell him whether to have the operation or not.”
For a minute, Chandler stood and studied the three men on the other side of the tall gate. Finally, he nodded and turned to the men beside him. “Let ‘em in,” Chandler ordered.
The two guards walked forward and unlatched the gate, pulling it open and then stepping back. The entrance to the compound was narrow; only one rider at a time could pass through it. The guards carefully watched the Cartwrights ride into the courtyard, their fingers firmly on the trigger of their rifles.
Once inside the wall, Adam stopped his horse as did Joe and Hoss. He looked around, and noted the large clapboard house, painted blue with white trim, and fronted by a wide porch. “Where should we go?” asked Adam.
“Get off them horses here,” replied Chandler. “My men will take care of them.”
As the three Cartwrights dismounted, Chandler suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Joe’s right shoulder. He pulled Joe’s shoulder back with a hard yank.
“Ow!” yelped Joe in obvious pain. “Why’d you do that?”
“Any fool can put his arm in a sling,” explained Chandler. “I just wanted to see if your brother here was telling the truth. Sorry.”
“Satisfied?” said Joe, rubbing his sore shoulder.
“I am,” Chandler replied. His expression suddenly changed. All traces of doubt and threat disappeared, and a look of eager anticipation appeared. “I’m glad you fellows understand about Madam Zola. Most people, they just laugh and call me silly for listening to her. But she really knows what’s she’s talking about. It’s nice to see someone else believes in her.”
“Well, we’ve heard good things about her,” Adam said in a neutral voice.
“Yeah, we hear she’s a real wonder,” added Hoss with a smile. His face suddenly grew sober, as if he abruptly remembered the reason for their visit. “We’re hoping she can tell us what to do about our poor, sickly brother here,” Hoss said solemnly.
“I’m sure she can,” Chandler assured the men. “Follow me. Her place is just in back of the house.”
“Don’t overdo it,” Adam hissed to Hoss as the Cartwrights walked behind Chandler. Hoss nodded, but he couldn’t keep the twinkle out of his eye a