Summary: This is a sequel to “Laying Tracks.”
Category: Bonanza
Genre: Western
Rated: PG
Word Count: 5800
Ben had sent Joe into town to pick up some supplies and do some banking for him. Joe had been working long hours at the lumber camp. The seventeen-year-old had been working hard to prove himself to his family.
Adam had relieved Joe the night before, telling him he earned himself some light duty, as their Pa often put it.
It was a beautiful summer day and Joe was enjoying every minute of it as he pulled the buckboard in front of the general store, whistling to himself.
“Hello Mr. Miller,” Joe said smiling, handing the list to the man.
“Good morning, Little Joe. Picking up some supplies?” Miller replied, returning the smiled. “I’ll have the supplies ready to pick up in about an hour.”
“Okay I’ll be back in an hour,” Joe said and quickly started towards the bank.
Once he got the banking done, he headed for the Bucket of Blood to grab a cold beer or two while he was waiting for the buckboard to be loaded.
“Howdy Joe, need a beer?” Cosmo called from behind the bar.
“You betcha” he said smiling. “Hey Maggie, how’s my girl?”
“Well hello, handsome, where have you been all my life?” she said planting a kiss on Joe’s cheek. They both laughed; it was an on-going joke between each other.
Mitch saw Joe just as he walked into the saloon. “Hey, Little Joe, how’s it going?”
“Pretty good, Mitch. Join me for a beer?” Joe asked.
“Wouldn’t say no,” Mitch said with a laugh.
The two sat and enjoyed their beer, talking about the upcoming dance. Each wondering who the other was going to take, as neither of them was seeing anyone right now. After several beers, they both realized they were running a little late.
Mitch had left his horse down the street in front of the feed store, so he and Joe walked together toward the store to finish their conversation before biding each other good-bye. Neither of them noticed the dark figure hiding in the alley between the general store and the feed store.
Briggs watched the two closely and continued to do so as Joe talked to Mitch a few minutes more before the two went their separate ways.
Running his finger down the long scar that marred his face, Briggs narrowed his eyes. ‘I’m gonna make you pay, little boy,’ he thought to himself as he continued to watch Joe until he was out of sight.
*****
As Joe drove the buckboard towards the Ponderosa, he had the distinct feeling that someone was watching him. He nervously looked around only to find no one. ‘Gotta stop being paranoid!’ he thought to himself.
Hidden well in a grove of trees above the road, Briggs followed Joe, watching his every move. Little did Joe realize he’d been watching him for about a week now.
Briggs was waiting for the rest of his men to arrive. He and seven other men had planned the perfect prison break. Briggs had no problem killing the guard for the brutal punishment he received from him. During the long days, the prisoners had been forced to work in the heat, and being shackled together made it very difficult to walk, causing him to lose his balance and fall out of line. The guard then pulled out the cat-o’-nine-tails and whipped him several time, slashing his face and leaving a horrendous scar.
When they made their escape, the men decided to separate and meet up a couple weeks later at a cabin on the very edge of the Ponderosa. Briggs would finish telling the rest of his plan when they all showed up, if they showed up. Most of them were there already, and they were just waiting for Mason and Dixon.
Briggs continued to follow Joe until he turned on the road leading to the house. He had no choice but to stop then or lose his cover. Narrowing his eyes, ‘Soon, little boy!’ he thought as he turned and started for the cabin.
Joe made his way into the yard to find his father standing on the porch. Ben was taking a break from the books and decided to get some fresh air.
Joe gave his father a sheepish look. “Sorry I’m late, Pa. I got the supplies, did the banking and met Mitch for a quick beer,” he stated in one breath.
Ben, giving his young son a stern look, couldn’t hold his laughter anymore. “It’s okay, son. Why don’t we unload these supplies? Hop Sing should have lunch ready by then,” he said, giving Joe’s neck a small squeeze.
“Sounds good to me, Pa; I’m starved. Oh, here’s the paperwork from the bank you wanted,” Joe said handing it to his father.
Ben clapped Joe on the back and started to unload the buckboard. Ben enjoyed the time alone he got to spend with each of his sons and that didn’t happen to often.
Usually the boys were all together or two of them would be there. With Adam at the lumber camp and Hoss down in the south pasture, it would be just the two of them until suppertime.
Until then, Ben went back to his books; Joe busied himself with chores, but he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of being watched. He just shook his head, telling himself he just being foolish and started for the house.
Mason and Dixon were high on the bluff looking down. Mason looked at his buddy. “That must be the kid?”
Dixon smiled. “Must be. Come on, let’s go meet Briggs. He’s waiting on us.” The two turned toward the cabin.
*****
Dixon sat at the small table. “When we gonna grab the kid?”
“When I say so!” was all Briggs said, looking out the open door to the cabin.
Mason just shrugged his shoulders at the rest of the gang. They didn’t care what the plan was; they were just getting anxious about the money Briggs promised them. A couple of them were skeptical about whether Ben Cartwright had that much money, but once they got to Virginia City, they found out just how big this Cartwright was. So they waited.
Joe was up fairly early; he wanted to get his chores done so he could get in some fishing in with Mitch.
Ben was coming out of the kitchen with a coffee when he noticed Joe at the table. Smiling at Joe, he said, “Well good morning, son. You’re up early this morning; thought you’d want to sleep in a little on your day off?”
Joe smiled back. “Morning, Pa; just thought I’d go fishing with Mitch today. His Pa gave him the day off also.”
“Well, sounds like you already have your day planned. Myself, I have a date with those books over there,” Ben grumbled.
“Got your horse all ready for ya, Shortshanks; you jist bring back a bunch of fish for supper ya hear?” Hoss said as he sat down.
“Don’t worry, I will. You all know I’m the best fisherman in this family. Have fun with your date, Pa.” Joe giggled when his father gave him a stern look and just shook his head smiling.
When Joe arrived at the lake, Mitch was already sitting on the rocks fishing. When Mitch waved for Joe to come over, Joe led Cochise over in the shade next to Mitch’s horse.
Joe plunked himself down next to Mitch, placing the basket of food between the two of them.
Mitch sniffed the air. “Mmmm, thank you, Hop Sing,” he said, reaching into the basket of food.
Joe laughed and followed suit, grabbing a cookie. The two continued to fish most of the morning until Mitch saw his chance and pushed Joe into the lake.
“I’ll get you for that, Devlin,” said Joe coughing.
*****
Sheriff Coffee rode into the yard at the Ponderosa at a fast pace. Ben was standing on the porch and became alarmed. “Roy what’s wrong?”
“Ben, we’ve gotta talk; I just received this cable,” the sheriff said handing Ben the cable.
As he read the cable, Ben closed his eyes. “Oh my god.”
Hoss was standing next to his father and asked, “What is it, Pa?”
“Sam Briggs and seven other prisoners escaped from the Colorado Penitentiary and are believed to be heading towards Virginia City. Roy, this cable is a week old,” Ben said frowning.
“I know, Ben; I just received it this morning. That’s why I came out here as fast as I could. I wanted to warn you to keep a close eye on Little Joe. He swore he’d get revenge on the boy.”
Shaking his head, Ben told the sheriff, “Joe’s fishing at the lake with Mitch.”
Before he could open his mouth, Hoss ran into the barn to saddle the horses.
“I’ll go with you; I want to make sure both those boys are all right. I’ve already sent Clem over to the Devlins to warn them,” said Roy just as Hoss came out of the barn and the three headed for the lake.
*****
“Hey Devlin are ya gonna sleep all day or fish,” Joe said, giggling at his friend who fell asleep while they were drying off from swimming.
Mitch sat up rubbing his eyes. “Alright, alright, I’m awake. Darn you, Cartwright, I wa…” He stopped in mid sentence when he noticed some riders coming towards them.
Joe turned around to see what Mitch was looking at and that’s when he saw them. “Can you recognize any of them Mitch. They’re coming pretty fast.”
“No, they’re still to far away,” Mitch said nervously.
Before the two knew what was happening, they heard shots being fired in their direction and the horses scattered.
“Run!” screamed Joe and grabbed Mitch by the arm, pulling him towards the lake. When they got to the edge of the cliff, they both looked back to see the group getting very close. “Jump,” Joe said, still holding onto Mitch’s arm.
*****
Ben, Hoss and Roy were racing towards the lake when they heard shots being fired. Pulling the horses to a stop, they then heard more shots.
Hoss looked at his father. “That sounds like it’s coming from the lake, Pa.”
“Let’s ride,” Ben said.
*****
Joe came up out of the water and swam to the steep rock face. Mitch came up coughing and reached for Joe’s hand. Joe pulled him towards him. The overhang gave them enough cover so the outlaws could not see them.
Joe put his finger to his lips — “shhhh” — and pointed up. He could see the shadows on the water of several men standing on the cliff above them. The overhang was only about ten feet above them but low enough so they could hear the men talking.
Dixon spat. “Well, what now, Briggs?”
Briggs growled, “We find them. You two” — he pointed to Mason and Dixon — “make sure they DON’T make it back to the ranch. The rest of you spread out; I want them BOTH found and I want them alive.”
Mitch looked over at Joe; his mouth was open as wide as Joe’s eyes were. Joe looked out to see the shadows disappear. They waited a few minutes more before either one could move.
Finally Mitch spoke in a low whisper, “We have to get out of here now. Joe, I thought Briggs was in jail?”
Joe looked over at Mitch. “So did I, Mitch, so did I. Follow me.”
The two made their way along the cliff wall until they came to a shallow part were they could climb on the rock to get out of the water. The thick brush on the side of the lake provided them with enough cover to make it into the woods.
Once they were out of the water, they looked around and saw at least eight men searching around the cliff area where they first jumped into the lake. Slowly making their way through the brush, they stopped before making a run for it.
“Okay, you ready?” Joe asked Mitch.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he answered, “let’s go now.”
The two took off as fast as they could towards the woods and were almost there before they heard shouts.
“There they are! Let’s go get ‘em!” Briggs yelled and fired some shots over their heads.
Ben, Hoss and Roy made it just in time, firing at the men, scattering the outlaws in all different directions. The firing stopped after the men escaped. The three of them searched the area. Roy found one of the outlaws lying dead by the shoreline.
Ben came up to Roy. “Well, I know I winged one of them.”
Hoss was looking around and found Joe and Mitch’s gun belts, both their jackets and the basket of food. He knew they got away but was very concerned that they had no weapons. He saw Mitch’s horse was wandering around in the meadow but Cochise was nowhere to be found. Sighing, he gathered everything up and made his way back to his father and Roy.
*****
At the lumber camp, Adam had been taking a break for lunch when he looked down the hill and saw Cochise running riderless. He jumped to his feet immediately. “Take over for me, Charlie” he yelled, grabbed Sport and raced towards Cochise.
*****
They never stopped running when they reached the woods. As they made their way down the narrow path, they could hear voices in the distance.
“Come on, Mitch, we got to keep going; we just have to make it to the cove,” Joe yelled.
After what seemed like hours but really was within minutes, Joe and Mitch made it to the sheltered area between the hills. The recess in the mountains provided perfect cover for the two.
“Do you think we could make it to the lumber camp? You said Adam was there, right?” Mitch asked.
“Yeah, he’s there. I don’t kn…” Joe stopped when he heard a twig snap.
Joe pressed his back up against the rock wall on one side of the cove and Mitch did the same on the other side. Both could see Briggs and two other men through the brush covering the opening. The good thing was that Briggs could not see in.
“Keep looking. They have to be around here somewhere,” growled Briggs.
Joe looked over at Mitch who had his eyes closed and then looked back to see Briggs and the others continuing down the path right past the entrance to the cove.
Joe finally let out the breath he’d been holding in. “They’re gone.”
Finding his voice Mitch whispered to Joe, “Let’s double back. Maybe it’ll throw them off.”
Joe waited a few minutes more before looking out to see the men farther down the path. “Okay, let’s go.”
They slowly started to make their way back through the woods and then quickened their pace. Joe was trying to decide if they could make it to the lumber camp where Adam was or if they should try to make it back to the lake where the horses were.
No, the gunshots scared the horses, Joe thought to himself. He couldn’t be sure the horses would be there when they reached the lake. The lack of cover was another issue. Frustrated Joe thought, how are we going to get away from Briggs?
Joe and Mitch walked along the trail in silence both deep in thought but neither noticed the man sitting on his horse a few feet above them on an upper trail.
Dixon smiled to himself. “Going somewhere, boys?”
Both of them froze in their tracks. When Joe looked up, he knew it was the same man who was with Briggs a few minutes ago.
Panicking, they both turned to run. Mitch ran into Mason at the same time Joe slammed right into Briggs, who grabbed him in a vice-like grip.
Briggs sneered in Joe’s ear, “Well, well, it’s been a long time Little Joe Cartwright.”
Joe’s eyes widened with fear; the more he tried to struggle, the tighter Briggs held him.
“Let’s get back to the cabin,” Briggs growled.
Lifting Joe onto his horse, Briggs mounted behind him keeping a tight grip on him while Mason did the same with Mitch.
They met up with the rest of the group on their way back to the hide out; no one noticing the dark figure watching from the far side of the lake.
*****
Once Adam had caught Cochise, he was going to head back to the ranch when he noticed several men riding away from the lake. He recognized Joe and Mitch immediately so he decided to follow them first. Adam stayed along the wood line to keep from being seen.
He continued to follow; not wanting to loose the group, he stayed fairly close. He was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to stop.
They must be heading for the hunting camp, he thought to himself and he was right.
He decided to get a closer look, hiding in the bushes he finally saw him. Briggs, damn you, Adam muttered under his breath.
He watched despite the fact he wanted to run in and get his brother and Mitch away from the maniac, especially when Briggs roughly grabbed Joe off the horse and carried him in the cabin.
Adam was having a hard time deciding what to do; he did not want to leave Joe but also knew there was no way he alone could take on seven men. He was closer to the lumber camp than the house, so decided to go back and get Charlie and some other men to help. Taking one last look at the cabin, he started for the lumber camp.
*****
Briggs pushed Joe into the cabin roughly, causing him to fall forward, slamming his head into the wall. Picking his head up, he looked at Briggs; he had an evil look in his eyes that scared Joe.
Joe scooted up tight against the wall, wrapping his arms around his legs. Mason had literally thrown Mitch on the floor next to Joe, kicking him in the stomach before he walked away.
“You okay, Mitch?” whispered Joe.
Mitch, still trying to catch his breath before he answered, gasped, “Y…yeah. Y…you okay?”
The two sat and watched as Briggs gave the men orders and a couple of them left to stand guard while the other brought in supplies.
Briggs sat down glared at Joe for several minutes and then started to write the ransom note: Cartwright, if you want to see your precious boy again, meet me at the lake tomorrow noon. Bring any law and one of the boys die.
“Johnson, get in here,” bellowed Briggs.
“Yeah, whadda ya need, boss?”
“Take Hayes and Newman with you; get this note to old man Cartwright and get back here fast.”
Briggs watched them leave and turned back to Joe. Walking slowly towards him he smiled, he could see the fear in the kid’s eyes. Mitch could feel Joe shaking next to him.
Bending down, he grabbed a hand full of Joe’s hair and yanked his head back.
“Well little boy, I’d like to see you try and get in my way this time,” he sneered in Joe’s face before releasing him.
Joe just put his head down and prayed his family would find them soon. Please, hurry, Pa! Joe thought to himself.
*****
Adam was not far from the cabin when he noticed some riders coming towards him. Not sure if they were more of Briggs men, he hid in the woods. Once they got closer, he noticed it was Charlie, Max and John.
“Charlie.” Adam let out a sigh of relief and knew the he was checking on him. Charlie had been with his father since he could remember.
Charlie jumped off his horse. “Adam, you alright boy?” he asked, checking him over. “When you didn’t come back, I figured I’d come check on ya.”
“Charlie, we got trouble. Max I need you to get to the house as fast as you can and get my father and the sheriff to the hunting cabin. Charlie, John and I will be there waiting for you.” Adam finally took a breath.
As Max raced towards the ranch, Adam started to explain to Charlie and John the situation and the three started back to the cabin.
*****
Max returned very early the next morning with Hoss. They had received the ransom note late the night before, just before Max got there with Adam’s message. As Hoss was explaining the situation, they heard someone coming out of the cabin.
Two members of the gang were taking Mitch to the outhouse that was very close to the rocks where Hoss and Adam were hiding.
Adam pointed up to indicate to Hoss what he wanted to do. Hoss understood what Adam was saying and kept low, making his way to the outhouse.
Before the three started back to the cabin, Adam jumped from the rock, taking Hayes by surprise and knocking Mitch to the ground. At the same time, Hoss came from behind the rock, knocking Newman out.
Mitch sat on the ground for a second trying to get his bearings. Just as he got to his feet, Johnson and Mason came out of the cabin firing.
Both Adam and Hoss grabbed Mitch and made it into the woods as Charlie and Max provided enough cover for the three to get away.
Briggs was purple in the face with rage and turning to his men he growled, “You idiots, what the hell were you thinking? You let them get away.”
He was so furious he turned to Joe and backhanded him, sending him into the wall, knocking the wind out of him.
Keeping his arms up, Joe tried to protect himself as Briggs struck him again before walking away. He could taste the blood coming from his bottom lip. At least Mitch got away! Must be Adam? Joe smiled to himself.
Briggs glared at Joe, grabbing him roughly. “Dixon, get my horse ready; its time to meet old man Cartwright. You and Johnson will go with me. I don’t want to lose this one.”
Joe was looking around as they started towards the lake, hoping to see Adam. Nothing he did to escape worked, only earning him more bruises. Seeing no one, he closed his eyes and prayed for some help.
Once they got to the lake, they dismounted and waited for Ben to show up. They did not have to wait long. When Joe looked up, he saw his father. Pa, he whispered as his heart started to race. He wanted to run to him but it was impossible with Johnson and Dixon holding onto him it. All he could do was watch Briggs make his way towards his father.
*****
“You two stay here with the kid; I’m gonna talk to the old man,” ordered Briggs.
They nodded and watched Briggs ride towards Ben, both gripping Joe tightly.
“Well, well, Cartwright we meet again,” Briggs said with a devious smile.
Ben glared at him with steely eyes and spoke in a dangerous tone, “Where’s my son?”
“Don’t worry, your baby’s okay for now. If you don’t bring me what I want, well, let’s just say your little boy just might have a little accident.”
Briggs glared at Ben. “Bring $50,000 here by tomorrow night; that’s five o’clock sharp.”
“I want to see my son, NOW,” Ben demanded.
Briggs laughed, looking over his shoulder where his men held Joe. “You can see him over there; that’s good enough. When you get me my money, you get your precious boy back.”
Briggs spoke in a malicious tone. “Listen good, Cartwright, you bring any law and the boy dies, ya hear?”
Ben narrowed his eyes and spoke with tremendous volume. “I hear. Now you listen to me. If you harm my boy in any way, there won’t be any place you can hide. I’ll hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands, if I have to follow you to hell to do it.”
“Five o’clock tomorrow,” Briggs spat and turned to leave.
Ben watched him leave and then turned and headed towards Roy who was waiting in the woods with a posse.
*****
Hoss was tending to Mitch’s arm. “It’s just a scratch but you need the doc to look at it.”
Adam spoke up. “Mitch, take Cochise and get to town; we need the sheriff.”
“I’m not leaving Joe, Adam.”
Adam clenched his teeth and tried speak calmly, “Mitch, we don’t have time for this.”
“No Adam, I’m not leaving,” Mitch yelled.
“Hold it, both of you. He’ll be alright, Adam; lets just concentrate on getting Joe back,” Hoss said trying to calm everyone down.
“Adam, they’re coming back.” Max spoke in a low voice as Adam hurried to Max’s side behind the rock.
“What do we do now,” asked Hoss.
Adam never took his eyes off the cabin. “We wait.”
*****
Roy had decided to send Dave Chase to find Adam and let him know what was going to be happening. He didn’t want Adam to jump the gun and get in the way or foil their plan when the ransom went down. It was getting close to meeting Briggs. Roy knew Ben was beside himself. “You ready, Ben?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be, Roy,” Ben said, taking a deep breath before heading towards the lake.
*****
Mason and Hayes were guarding the cabin when they both noticed someone riding towards them. Hiding in the thick brush it was easy for them to intercept Dave.
Mason looked up at Hayes. “You better let Briggs know about this. There may be more men out there. I’ll take care of this guy.”
Nodding to his buddy, Hayes replied, “On my way.”
Looking up when Hayes entered the cabin, Briggs narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on guard.”
Briggs patience was running out when Hayes explained what happened. He checked the time and figured it was about time to go anyway. He ordered the men to gather every thing up and move out. “Hayes, you go and get Mason back here; we’re leaving. You two come with me,” he said pointing at Johnson and Dixon.
For the second time, he grabbed Joe roughly and dragged him out side; the rest of the men were heading for the meeting place Briggs had already set up once he got the ransom.
Turning to Briggs, Johnson asked with a chuckle, “Hey Briggs, ya ready ta get rid of the kid?”
“Oh I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just keep him around; getting kinda used to having the kid around,” he said with an evil laugh.
Joe’s eyes widened with fear. He’s not gonna let me go! he thought to himself. When Briggs grabbed him from behind to lift him onto his horse, Joe started to struggle.
As Briggs grabbed him tighter Joe threw his head back, slamming Briggs in the face. Briggs instinctively let go of Joe and held his hand over his nose. That was all the chance Joe needed; before Briggs could recover, Joe threw a left hook knocking the big man down, then turning, he ran as fast as he could through the woods.
Adam and Hoss had been watching and acted immediately. Max and Charlie were on the other side of the cabin and were able to push the rest of the group back to the cabin.
Mitch had seen Briggs take off after Joe. He noticed Adam and Hoss had captured the rest of the gang so he took off after Joe.
Adam frantically looked around when all the commotion stopped, “Where’s Joe?”
Hoss’ voice was full of concern, “I saw him take off through the woods, but Adam, I can’t find Mitch or Briggs. He must have taken off after Joe. We have to get to them before that Briggs character does.”
The two looked up when they heard a group of men coming towards them. They noticed it was their father and Roy with the posse. When Briggs didn’t show up at the ransom site, they left to search for Joe. Adam explained the situation to his father while Roy took care of the remaining gang members.
Ben ran his hand over his face, “Let’s ride, boys.”
*****
Running as fast as he could through the woods, Joe jumped over a small stream, running up a fallen log; as he scrambled up the bank, he took a quick look back and noticed Briggs was right on his heals.
Mitch, not far behind the two, had stopped and noticed which way Joe was heading. He’s heading towards Twin Falls! Mitch thought to himself and continued to run towards Joe.
Sliding down the small dirt path that led to the falls, Joe went to jump over the shallow pool on the upper level of the falls just as Briggs reached out to grab him, but only managed to get a piece of his shirt. Joe’s forward momentum caused Briggs to loose his balance, landing half in the water.
Joe hurried up the bank and continued to run; looking back, he saw that Briggs did not slow up at all. He noticed Mitch on the other side of the falls; closing his eyes, he jumped off the cliff into the lower pool and swam to the other side.
Mitch saw Joe jump from the ledge and quickened his pace after he saw Briggs jump right behind Joe. Mitch prayed he would reach his friend before Briggs did.
Stumbling out of the water, Joe started to get up when Briggs grabbed him from behind, twisting his left arm behind him and delivered a powerful punch splitting his right eye open.
“Well little man, thought you could get away, did you?” Briggs hissed in his ear.
Sliding down the path, Mitch leaped at Briggs screaming, “Ahhhh!”
He landed on the man’s back, knocking him off Joe. Taking Briggs by surprise, the two rolled into the water. Joe saw the gun Mitch was carrying fall to the ground.
Briggs grabbed Mitch by his arm, flipping him over his shoulder, never letting go of his arm as he hit the ground hard.
He smiled at the boy as he lifted him off the ground. “Come to be a hero, have we?”
Slamming his fist into Mitch’s face, Briggs knocked him back in the water. Joe scrambled for the gun but Briggs dove at him, causing Joe to drop the gun. Joe was starting to feel numb as Briggs hit him a few more times.
Mitch leaped to his feet, and grabbing the gun, he screamed, “Let him go.”
Briggs smiled to himself; he could see the fear in the boy’s eyes. He slowly rose to his feet, and in one quick motion, dove at Mitch.
Joe looked up to see the two wrestling for the gun; just as he closed his eyes, he heard the gun go off. When he opened his eyes, he saw Mitch sitting on the ground in shock, as Briggs lay motionless. Neither of them moved when they heard voices calling to them.
Ben raced to his son’s side. “Joseph”
Joe continued to stare at Briggs; he was trying to catch his breath. Ben knelt down to block Joe’s view of the man.
“Joe,” said Ben as he reached for Joe. He could feel the boy shaking.
Looking up at his father, he felt every ounce of energy leave his body and fell forward into his father’s arms. “P…Pa.”
“I got you, boy, I got you.”
Hoss was checking Briggs over while Mitch’s father made sure his son was alright. Hoss looked over at his father and shook his head, then went to his father’s side.
Mitch looked up at Adam. “I…I k..killed him A..Adam. I..I d..din’t want to.”
“You had no choice, Mitch,” Adam stated as he helped Paul get Mitch to his feet.
Ben watched Adam and Hoss take care of Joe while Roy and a couple of his men were taking Briggs’ body back to town. He told Roy they were closer to the cabin; they would meet Dr. Martin there. Before he started up the path behind his boys, he looked skywards and whispered thank you!
*****
Paul Martin had checked Joe and Mitch over. “They’re going to be fine; they just need to take it easy for at least a week and get plenty of rest. They’re going to be sore for several days.” He chuckled and looked at Ben and Paul. “Those two will be back causing mischief within the week.”
They all laughed along with the doctor.
That night had been a quiet one; Adam and Hoss had gone to bed, leaving Ben and Paul Devlin sitting in front of the fireplace sharing a glass of brandy. The light from the fireplace was the only light in the cabin.
Earlier in the day Adam and Hoss had placed two beds in the sitting area of the cabin near the fireplace where Joe and Mitch were sleeping. Both men sat in silence as they watched their sons’ sleep with the firelight dancing off their young faces.
“Well Ben it’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?” Paul Devlin asked his old friend.
Ben looked over at Paul with a small smile. “Yes my friend it has. That’s quite a boy you have there.”
“Yes he is thank you, Ben. He’s still upset about killing that man.”
“Yes, I could tell he had no choice. If he hadn’t, Briggs would have killed either him or Joe. He saved Joe’s life,” Ben stated with a shudder, thinking of what might have happened.
Paul smiled at Ben. “They’ve been inseparable for a long time. He knows Joe would’ve done the same thing for him.”
Ben smiled knowing Paul spoke the truth. He poured another glass handing one to Paul, raising his glass. “Well, here’s to our little scamps.”
Paul laughed and the two sat sipping their drink, both deep in thought as they continued to watch the boys.
Neither one notice the figure around the corner. Adam had come out to see if he could get his father to get some sleep but stopped when he heard the two talking. He turned to go back into the bedroom. Closing the door quietly, he let out a sigh of relief.
He had to smile to himself; he knew the two would still be sitting there when morning came.
***The End***
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