Summary: Adapted From “Haunted”
Word Count: 7000
Like Her Own
(revised)
VIRGINIA CITY, 1876
The air was hot, and the open windows and door allowed flies to buzz into the church. A few of the women fanned themselves with cardboard fans advertising Howie Kotkin, Virginia City’s premier undertaker on one side and the Mercantile on the reverse. Just about every seat in the church was filled and folks crowded the back of the church.
“Look, there’s the Andersons with the baby. Squeeze over a bit and see if we can fit them in our pew,” Joe said. He stood up and gestured to the Anderson’s to join them. The young couple had recently moved into Virginia City with their baby, the child of Hannah Anderson’s cousin who had died in childbirth. Her husband, a cavalry officer, had given the baby to the Andersons saying that a frontier fort was no place for a motherless baby. The childless couple were more than glad to raise the motherless baby as their own.
All the Cartwrights slid closer together on the polished oak pew to make room for the Andersons.
“Beautiful little girl,” Ben whispered as he admired the sleeping infant in her mother’s arms. The new parents beamed proudly. He squeezed closer to Joe to make more room for the Andersons.
Phil Bartlett sat down at the organ and the choir began the opening hymn. The crowded church was filled with song as the minister walked out onto the pulpit to begin the service.
From the Cartwright pew on the left side of the church, Adam looked over at his childhood friend, Chris Newport. He was sitting toward the right side of the aisle, in a front pew, clearly a seat of honor symbolic of his important family connections. Adam hoped he was going to spend some time in town, this visit. It would be good to catch up on Chris and where the years had taken him.
NEVADA TERRITORY, 1842
It took them longer to load all the supplies and the mountain road was in far worse shape than Ben had anticipated. With the full wagon and the tired team, they weren’t making the time he had hoped. By late afternoon, the Cartwrights were still far from the Ponderosa.
Thirteen -year-old Adam wanted Ben to talk to him, but his father was silent and grim faced. He seemed to be concentrating on guiding the wagon safely home. This was only partially true. He was preoccupied with the disturbing news he had heard in while he and his boys were in Dayton.
It was all the boys could do not to ask Ben to stop the horses and let the team rest. Maybe they could stay camped out one more night, just the three of them like long ago. Hoss’ earliest memories were of traveling with Adam and his father, before they settled on the land that they built into the Ponderosa.
“Pa, one more night out will be mighty fun. Just us Cartwright men,” seven-year-old Hoss urged. “Please Pa? One more night out.”
Adam nodded in agreement. He sincerely hoped his father would take the suggestion from Hoss. He didn’t have the courage to say it himself and was very glad his younger brother had done it on his own.
The dark haired older boy was not in any hurry to get home. He was thoroughly enjoying the trip with his father and younger brother. Adam savored his father’s praise when he shot a brace of rabbits. They even taught Hoss how to roast them over the camp fire just as Pa had taught Adam years earlier.
It sure was mighty cozy sleeping on the ground next to Pa. They all curled up in a row next to the fire. Adam lay down next to his young brother, draping an arm protectively over him the same way Pa had his arm around Adam. They snuggled down under the mounds of warm blankets and quilts. Marie had insisted on Pa bringing extras. Marie said that the nights were turning cold and she didn‘t want her boys to catch a chill. Adam grudgingly admitted to himself that his step-mother had been right but didn’t acknowledge it to Pa.
Being on the road together was wonderful. The boys especially liked not being told to wash up or wipe their chin on a linen napkin or to change their dirty shirts. It was just like it was long ago, when it was only the three of them — Ben, Adam and Hoss Cartwright. There were no women or squalling babies to distract Pa from his two boys.
“Please Pa, just one last night sleeping out. Hoss and me will do all the camp chores and all you have to do is sit back by the fire and relax. I’ll tend to the team and Hoss will help me. Won’t you little brother?”
“Yes, Adam.” Hoss grinned showing the gap where he had lost his front tooth.
“We’ll both gather the fire wood and get water and cook you a fine supper too, Pa,” Adam added.
Hoss nodded enthusiastically. “And I won’t complain one bit when you snore, Pa. Please, Pa, let‘s stay out one more night.” He tugged on his father’s coat.
“Not this time. I want to be home tonight,” Ben said firmly. The shadows were getting long as he headed the wagon up the left fork of the rough road. As much as he was tempted by his middle son’s suggestion, Ben Cartwright didn’t favor leaving his wife and infant son alone an additional night. They had already been gone from the Ponderosa five days, and he missed Marie and Little Joe. The news he heard made Ben even more anxious to be home with his wife and the baby.
His sons mistook his resolve for weariness. Adam had remembered how tired Pa would get when they were traveling west, day after day, mile after mile. At the end of the day, the little boy would do the best he could to help out. Adam suddenly realized now how small he was in those days, even younger than Hoss was now and not near as big. He remembered losing his front tooth somewhere along the way just after Hoss was born. The only life he and Hoss had really known before they settled on the Ponderosa was traveling with Pa.
“Pa, talk to us. Tell me about that time you shot that six-point buck. Tell us how you sailed the Wanderer in the big storm and the mast broke. I like that story,” the younger boy pleaded. Maybe a conversation would wake Pa up a bit. His face looked weary and sad.
Ben remained silent, his eyes looking straight ahead. Hoss thought if he got Pa telling tales he would be more likely to give in to the boys request to make camp one more night.
“Tell us about the ocean and my mother and when you were a sailor,” Adam suggested. Hoss smiled at his older brother. The two boys knew Pa loved to spin a tale.
Lost in his own thoughts, Ben snapped the reins on the back of the team as they slowed on a slight upgrade. Then he turned his attention back to his sons. “What were you saying, Adam?”
“How come you and my grandfather don‘t write to each other?” Adam asked.
“What’s a grandfather?” Hoss asked.
“A grandfather is the father of your father or the father of you mother,” Adam explained to his brother. “You don’t have one, but I do. “
“I have an uncle, Gunnar. Do you? “
Adam shook his head. “How come you and my grandfather don’t write each other, Pa?”
Ben remained silent. How could he explain to the boy the mistrust he had for Abel Stoddard? “It’s a long story, son.” A cold wind swept off the mountains. Ben held the reins in one hand and lifted his collar with the other. “Now is not the time to go into it.”
“Some day? You’ll tell me some day?” Adam persisted.
“Some day?” Hoss echoed his older brother. Their father’s silence disturbed the chubby boy. He and Adam had behaved just fine and helped with all the chores Pa had asked. He couldn’t understand why Pa seemed so glum. He feared Pa might be mad at him .The younger boy was trying to do his best to please him and make him smile.
“Sure, someday, son, “Ben hesitated. The day was growing cold, and he sincerely wished he was home in his snug house with his beloved wife and his baby. “Hoss, you must be mighty tired. You can go lie down in the back of the wagon and get some sleep, son. Bet the both of you boys can squeeze in near those tools. Put your head on the potato sacks and pull the blankets over you. It’s getting mighty cold. “
“We are fine Pa. Just fine,” Adam answered for the both of them. “We want to stay right up here by you.”
“Right by you,” Hoss nodded.
“It‘s been a long day. We should be home in an hour or two. Sure you don‘t want to get in back, out of the wind?”
“No, Pa, I want to stay up here with you.” Hoss was just fine in between his big brother and his father. The little boy slid closer to Ben put his hand in his father’s pocket for the warmth.
“We don’t want you to be all alone. It’s getting dark,” Adam said. “We can camp for the night right over there Pa. It looks mighty fine.” The boy pointed to a flat spot near an out cropping of rocks.
Ben smiled despite his weariness. Adam was certainly tenacious when he got his mind on something. “Gets dark early this time of year. I was hoping we would be home by sundown. We are not stopping.”
“Let me drive a bit, Pa. I can manage,” Adam offered. “You’ve been working hard all day.”
Ben shook his head. “Not this time, son; the road is bad, and this wagon is full up.”
“Pa, why did Mrs. Newport run off? How come the sheriff had to go out after her?” Hoss asked.
Ben took a breath. “It wasn’t Mrs. Newport that the sheriff was after. It was the children. Folks want them.”
“But what could children do? The little girls aren’t even as old as Hoss. And the little boy is just a little baby.” Adam tried to puzzle out the problem. Poor widowed Mrs. Newport. First her husband dies and now the sheriff is chasing after her for some crime her children did.
“Only the baby and the big boy, Christopher are hers. The other three belonged to her husband, from his first marriage. Their mother died while they were coming west and Obie Newport married Mary. Her husband had died too. Indians killed him.”
“Like Inger?” Adam asked. Hoss’ mother had died in an Indian raid shortly after the boy was born.
Ben nodded. “They had just settled on that little piece of land they had and Indians killed him when he was off trimming logs for the cabin. Reverend Felcher introduced her to Obie when he came to church one Sunday and they got married not long after. Mary and Obie had that last baby together just before Little Joe was born. ”
“His name is Billy,” Hoss said. “Baby Billy Newport.”
“That’s right,” Ben nodded. “Baby Billy.” His heart went out to the young woman who had lost two husbands in such a short stretch.
Obie Newport’s family never kept in touch with him and didn’t offer him a lick of support or affection, even though his brother had a mining claim near Elm Creek and his sister and her husband ran a general store in Placerville. Neither came to see him when he took ill. When Mary and the children had no cash, they had to run up debt at the Mercantile or rely on the help of neighbors. When Obie finally died, Ben and Hays Newkirk came by with Adam and dug the grave for him. Ward Winslow put together the coffin that night in his barn from fresh pine boards Ben had just cut for a new smoke house on the Ponderosa. Reverend Felcher conducted the funeral and the men helped the widow bury her husband. Ben suspected that Foster Wallace worked out some deal to give the General Store a few free ads in the Enterprise in exchange for erasing the Newport’s debts from the ledger and stocking their empty larder for the up coming winter.
Between Mary and the oldest boy, they struggled to keep the place running until she figured what she would do next. With cold coming on, it was going to be mighty hard for them. The boy was not even Adam’s age and there was no way they would be able to manage for long.
A few weeks later, Obie’s miscreant relatives showed up to claim his children and a share of the hard scrabble ranch. Even though the land originally belonged to Mary’s first husband, once she married Obie, her property became her husband’s.
When Mary and the boy chased them off, the relatives went to the circuit judge and drew up papers. They came back and the boy pulled out Obie’s shotgun and threatened to shoot them if they didn’t leave. Obie’s brother claimed the boy almost killed him, but Ben had his doubts at the accuracy of that remark.
The sheriff over in Carson City came to take the children, but before he got there, Mary had packed them up and disappeared. Knowing that the Cartwrights were familiar with Mary, he had questioned Ben if he knew of their whereabouts.
“What should I do, Ben? I think them relatives are more interested in the land than those children. Now they are charging that boy with attempted murder. Don’t think that skinny boy could fire Obie’s shotgun without knocking himself on his rear end.” The sheriff scratched his head.
Ben explained how he and the boys had been gone from the Ponderosa for close to a week and hadn’t seen the Newports for more than a week before they left. “I’ll ride over with Marie when I get back and try to help settle this out if I can.”
“I would be appreciating that. It’s a shame for Mary and them kids. First one thing and now another.”
”Pa? What did those little girls do? Why is the sheriff looking for them? Did they steal a horse?” Hoss asked innocently. He remembered the two girls admiring Pa’s horses when they visited the Ponderosa. He had played with the children while the adults visited inside. Marie had been very happy to have another lady around and served tea on her best china.
“No, they didn’t do anything but lose their father. His people want to take them.”
“Lost their father? Why don’t they go look for him and round him up?” Hoss asked.
“Pa means that their father died,” Adam explained. “He died, and his family wants the girls to live with them, not Mary.”
Hoss slid closer to his Pa. “They can’t take children from their Ma. Can they?”
“She ain’t their Ma. Didn’t you listen to what Pa said?” Adam repeated. “Only that big boy is hers. And the baby that is around the same age as Little Joe, Billy. Mary isn‘t the mother of the little girls.”
“Sure she is. The children called her Mama,” Hoss said.
“She ain’t. Just like Marie ain’t our mother,” Adam snapped.
“Sure she is, Adam. I call her Mama. She is my Ma and Little Joe’s Ma and yours too,” Hoss told Adam.
“She ain’t and won’t never be neither,” Adam repeated what he had been saying since Ben had brought Marie home to the Ponderosa.
“Sure she is,” Hoss nodded. “Mama said so. “
“No, never. And you are mighty stupid if you think so.”
Tears welled up in Hoss’ blue eyes. “Sure she is. Mama said that Little Joe and me and you are all her boys, and she is mighty proud to be our mother. And she loves us, Adam. I love her too.”
Ben smiled at the genuine feeling Hoss had for Marie. His wife treated his first two boys as her own, though Adam was more than reluctant to accept her affections.
“She is our Mama, Adam. Ain’t she, Pa? She said so, and Marie don’t lie. “
“Maybe not to you she don’t,” Adam snapped rudely. He had absolutely no grounds for that abrasive remark but lashed out anyway.
“Adam, I think you said more than enough on this topic for tonight,” Ben growled. “For tonight and the next month of Sundays, too.” He put his arm around Hoss and pulled the tearful youngster into his side. Hoss sniffled a bit more and snuggled affectionately against his father. Despite his large size and older appearance, his middle boy was hardly more than a baby himself.
The three Cartwrights rode along in relative silence. The only sound was the creaking rattle of the heavily loaded wagon and the jangle of the harness. Adam was sulking and eventually scrambled into the back of the wagon to stew in his own bitter juices.
He was angry at Pa for wanting to go home to his wife and that baby instead of spending one more night out on the road with his sons. The boy was even angrier at himself for blurting out such nasty things about Marie. Pa loved her very much and so did Hoss. She was awfully nice and pretty and good to all of them, but Adam could never admit it. He even thought that the new baby was pretty cute, now that he was smiling and gurgling and not crying so much in the middle of the night. When no one was around, Adam even would hold the baby and talk to Little Joe and sing to him. The baby seemed to like that a lot and would smile a crooked toothless grin whenever Adam came near. Little Joe would even grab Adam’s finger in his little fist.
While Adam sat in self-imposed banishment in the back of the wagon, Hoss fell asleep snuggled against his father’s side. Ben drove on in angry silence and worry about the Newports.
Then the frightening thought came to the rancher. What would become of Marie and his boys should anything happen to him? What if he died and Abel Stoddard came for Adam or Gunnar Borgstrom tried to take Hoss from Marie? Could they lay claim to his two older boys and take them from his wife? Would some vulture try to steal the Ponderosa from his widow and sons? For a frightening moment, Ben pictured Adam firing a shotgun at the Carson City sheriff while a trembling Marie clutched wailing Little Joe to her breast and Hoss hid behind her skirts.
*****
Marie Cartwright sat in the rocking chair in the tiny nursery with her eight-month-old son in her lap. It was getting late, and she was quite weary. The baby had to be tired, but he was fighting sleep. “Allez dormer, mon chéri doux. Go to sleep, my sweet darling.” She rocked and sang a little lullaby to the child. Just as his bright eyes were closing, he stirred and struggled to sit up in her arms.
“Mama? Papa?” the baby called, squirming in her lap. The baby recognized the sounds of a wagon approaching in the yard below.
“Regard qui est ici! Votre cher Papa et vos frères! Look who is here! Your dear Papa and your big brothers!” Marie scooped Little Joe up in her arms and walked quickly down the hall. She was delighted that Ben and the boys had finally returned. She hadn’t expected them to arrive before the next afternoon.
“Marie!” Ben shouted as he threw open the door. He looked around the neat room. Everything was in perfect order. A fire burned brightly in the hearth; Marie’s sewing basket sat on the new settee, and a bright bouquet of wild flowers stood on the polished dining room table.
Smiling, Marie came down the stairs with Little Joe in her arms. “Welcome home, Benjamin!” she called.
“Is everything all right? Ben asked striding across the room to her. Hoss trailed behind his father.
“No ‘hello my darling wife’; ‘no, I missed you and the baby?’ Benjamin?” Marie smiled and lifted her face to kiss him. “Welcome home, husband.”
“Is everything all right?” he repeated, wrapping his arms around her. He embraced her and the baby and held them tightly. He showered her with kisses and then kissed the baby’s soft golden curls.
“Indeed. Everything is fine. Welcome home. The baby was just falling asleep, and he heard your wagon clatter up. He just knew it was his papa and his brothers and wanted to see them right away. Now Little Joe is wide awake and ready to hear all about your trip. We missed you all so!” Marie smiled warmly.
The baby giggled and crowed, recognizing that his Papa was home. He reached his tiny hands up, trying to clutch at Ben’s coat, his face, his hair.
Hoss stepped closer and hugged Marie. “We had a mighty fine trip, Mama.”
“Merveilleux! Wonderful!” She smiled and smoothed her soft hand over his chubby pink cheek.
“Where is Adam?” Marie asked looking around for the oldest boy.
“He is putting up the team. We can unload everything in the morning. I just wanted to get home tonight to you and the baby.” Ben kissed his wife again and held her close, the baby sandwiched in between them. Hoss snuggled close to his stepmother.
The baby reached his little hands up for Ben and chortled. Had his mother not had a firm hold on him, the baby would have launched himself at his father. Ben took the baby from his wife and swung his son up in the air. The baby‘s night gown billowed up around him as he kicked his tiny feet with delight. “Papapapa!” he squealed with recognition. One bootie flew from his foot and landed on the settee.
“Benjamin! You will get Little Joe all stirred up and wild. He will never ever go to sleep now!” Marie laughed. She slipped her arm around her husband’s waist affectionately.
Ben swung the baby up one more time and then gathered Little Joe and Marie closer again. The rancher was relieved to find everything was just fine at home. Home was more than fine; it was wonderful and perfect. His ridiculous worrying all day was all for nothing. He would never admit how he had worried so about her and their sons for the last two hours.
“Joseph looks like he grew a foot while we were gone!” Ben beamed with pride.
Hoss scooped up the bootie and handed it to Marie. The boy gently stroked the baby’s wiggling, kicking little leg. “Pa, Little Joe has two feet, not three” Hoss tiredly observed.
Marie smiled and hugged the child to her. “Did you have a good trip? “
Hoss nodded. “Mighty fine, Mama.” Then he yawned and rubbed his eyes. The child was clearly exhausted. “Me and Adam wanted to camp out one more night, but Pa wanted to get straight home. He was right, Mama. It’s good to be home.”
Marie smiled at her sweet middle son. “Papa is a wise man. You should always listen to your Papa. “
“Yes, Ma’am. I will.” The little boy yawned again.
“Hoss, you go right upstairs and put on your nightshirt, and I will come up and tuck you and Little Joe into bed,” Marie directed.
Hoss slowly walked up the stairs. “Good night Pa. It’s good to be home, ain’t it?”
Ben smiled “It’s very good to be home, son. Good night.”
*****
Pa really was right, young Adam thought to himself. It really was good to be back home. As he unbuckled the harness from the team, he looked up at the house. It looked awfully pretty and cozy. The downstairs windows were lit up with golden light, and smoke was spiraling up from the chimney. His nice soft bed would be far better than sleeping on the cold hard ground, and it would be very fine to have some supper that wasn’t jerky or game cooked over a fire.
Adam realized that he even missed his baby brother, Little Joe. The baby really was cute and sweet. Now that he was a bit bigger, he was even getting to be fun.
He unhitched the tired team and led them into the dark barn. There was just enough moonlight in the familiar barn for Adam to see his way inside the shadowy building to bring the horses inside. As the tall, dark haired boy swung open the barn door, he heard a baby crying. It sounded like the mewling of a cat. What was Little Joe doing out in the barn?
“Close that door,” a frightened voice pleaded from the corner. “Please, Adam. Close the door before anyone else knows we are in here. “
Adam reached up to the kerosene lantern on the nail by the door and fumbled for a match in the tin box. Striking it on the rough beam, Adam lit the wick.
In the pale light he could see a skinny, bedraggled boy huddled in the corner. It was the oldest Newport boy, Christopher. He was huddled in the empty rear stall, nervous as a long-tailed cat near a rocking chair. His baby brother Billy, wrapped in the Chris‘s tattered coat, was nestled in the straw next to him. Adam was shocked to see them in his barn.
“I was afraid it was your father. Billy is hungry, and I just couldn’t go on any more,” the boy said in a frightened, weak voice. “I’m trying to get to Virginia City, but I couldn‘t go any farther. My feet hurt and I am mighty cold.”
Why would Chris be afraid of Pa? Pa would never hurt him. Swallowing, Adam said, as calmly as he could manage, “What are you doing here? What’s wrong?”
“Everything,” Chris Newport whispered.
“Where is your mother? Why are you here?” Adam slapped the flank of the horse so it walked into the nearest stall. Adam walked slowly over to the frightened boy. The boy shivered and tried to fight off his tears.
Concerned, Adam pulled the other boy to his feet. Chris trembled in front of the taller boy. Adam reached out to pick up the baby, but Chris shook his head vigorously and pushed Adam away. Then Chris scooped up the baby and clutched him close. “No, you can‘t have him!”
“Ok, you hold him. Come over here. It’s less drafty.” Adam led him over to a crate near the lantern and made him sit.
Chris sat silently, still clutching the baby in his arms. The shivering continued, and the baby whimpered softly. His older brother’s hands clasped one another so hard that his knuckles were white.
“Chris,” Adam said gently.” Where is your mother?”
“She is dead.” the boy said softly. “Mama is dead.”
“Dead?” Adam’s dark eyes widened.
“She died two days ago.” Chris wiped his nose on his sleeve. Then the weary boy thought again. “Three days ago. The girl’s relatives come for them, and Ma was real sick. I told them they had to go away, that my Ma was sick and couldn’t talk to them. Adam, they didn’t care. They pushed by me and came right into the cabin. They pushed right in, Adam. I couldn’t stop ’em.”
“Then what happened?” Adam asked, his dark eyes wide.
“They made her get out of bed to pack up my sisters’ things. Ma was burning with fever, and… and she cried, and the girls cried real pitiful, and the next day she was even sicker. She said we had to clear out, that they took the deed to the place too. They owned our spread.” The boy was silent for a moment.
“They took your sisters and took the deed to your ranch?” Adam was at a loss what to do. He hoped Chris wouldn’t start to cry because Adam feared that he might cry along with him if he did. He would hate for some strangers to take his little brothers. He also would hate for Chris to see him cry. Adam blinked and swallowed hard trying to make the lump in his throat and the tearful feeling go away.
“My ma got sicker still, and she said if anything happens to her I should take the baby to Reverend. Felcher, in Virginia City. He and his missus should take the baby as theirs and raise him up right, Mama said that. Ma felt real bad that the reverend and his wife had no baby of their own and said that they would take Billy and love him raise him up good and God-fearing. Reverend Felcher made a fine funeral when Pa died, and he gave Ma a Bible too. She said I should take care of Billy and then run for it before the sheriff comes back and arrested me for shooting at them people that time.”
There was a long silence. Then Chris took a long shaky breath. “I buried my Ma next to Pa. It took me all day to dig the grave, Adam. I did the best I could. Could you make sure that she has a marker?”
Adam nodded, not knowing quite what to say. He remembered when the men had buried Inger and how he had helped dig the grave for Chris’s father.
“She was a good mother, Adam,” Chris said tearfully.
“Let me get my mother and my father. They’ll know what to do,” The words just leapt from Adam’s tired lips. He had never, ever before called Marie his mother. Then he caught himself. “My Pa and Marie, my step-mother, will know what to do, Chris. You’ve got to come into the house.”
“No, Adam. Your Pa will send for the sheriff. Then I will go to jail. Or worse, they’ll hang me. ”
“Pa won’t turn you in, Chris. He won’t. He’ll hear you out and figure what to do.
“They’ll hang me!” Chris shivered.
“Pa won’t let no one hang a boy. Pa and Marie will help you. Anyhow, Billy needs some thing to eat.”
Adam reached out his arms to take the baby, but Chris clutched him tightly to his chest. “My ma said for me to take care of him, Adam,” the boy sniffed. “I got to do what Ma said. I promised her. She said to bring him direct to Reverend Felcher. She said no one else. I don‘t want to go to jail, Adam. Please.”
“Come into the house with me, Chris,” Adam urged.
“You bring me something here in the barn, Adam? Don’t tell no one. Leave us in here in the barn and bring us some food and a blanket. We can sleep here and then be gone real early.”
“I… I can’t leave you and a little baby in the barn. It is mighty cold. Pa said it might even freeze up tonight. Come in the house. You need to come in and get warm. The baby needs to be inside on a cold night.”
Chris shook his head.
Adam continued to speak in a soft, resolute voice. He hoped the frightened boy would give in to Adam’s urging, if not for himself, at least to protect the baby Adam would do just anything to protect Hoss and Little Joe. “Look how cold your baby brother is. I got two little brothers and I take care of the both of them. I know this barn is no place for a little, hungry, cold baby. Billy’s wet and hungry too. And cold. Please let me take him inside to my mother… to Marie,” Adam urged. “We have diapers and clothes inside for him from Little Joe. Food for both of you and a nice warm fire.”
Christopher shook his head and held the whimpering baby closer. “No.”
Adam was at a loss. He knew he had to get that poor little orphaned baby inside the warm house and fed and dry. Christopher should get some supper too. Pa would know just what to do to keep them safe. The boy was positive of that, but he was equally positive that the moment he left the barn to fetch help, Chris would bolt into the night. Adam knew he had to bide his time and convince the boy to come inside.
“I’d better tend to this team first,” Adam said, trying to play for time. He sincerely hoped Pa would come out to the barn, wondering what was taking Adam so long. Mechanically, Adam continued to rub one horse down, his thoughts not on what he was doing but how best to help the desperate boy and tired baby.
Chris warily watched as Adam meticulously tended each horse and gave them some grain and water. He slowly tossed some fresh bedding into each stall, even the back ones that were empty. Then Adam started to rub the second horse down, casting Chris curious glances from the corner of his eye.
The boy had stopped trembling. He was fighting sleep, and once Adam was sure he was going to nod off. Just as Adam was about to go over and snatch the infant from Chris’s arms, the baby’s weak whimper alerted his protective brother. The frightened boy awakened with a start. “Don’t touch this baby,” Chris growled. “Don’t touch him, Adam.” Chris clutched the baby protectively to his chest.
Adam prayed someone in the house would come out to the barn to hunt him up. He hoped Pa or Marie would hear Billy crying.
“Go get me some food, like you said. And a blanket. But don’t tell no one, Adam. You can’t. Promise me,” Chris said.
“I can’t do that, Chris. Please, let my Pa help you,” Adam pleaded.
Chris hesitated a minute and nodded. “Promise me. Not your Pa. Only your Ma. Only let your Ma know. Just her. Swear it.”
Adam realized he might just be able to get Chris inside with that promise but he wouldn‘t swear to a lie. Pa would surely know what to do. Then Adam figured the perfect strategy to sidestep a lie. If Adam swore an oath and told Marie and Marie told Pa, it wouldn’t be breaking his vow to Christopher Newport. “I swear, Chris, only Marie.”
“Cross your heart and hope to die?”
”Cross my heart,” Adam nodded.
“Go get her,” Chris said. “Bring your Ma out here.”
Adam hesitated. In the time Adam ran inside, Chris could bolt. What if he ran off when Adam went into the house? What if he took the baby and ran off? He and Pa might never find them in the dark if they ran off now.
Adam tried one last time to convince the boy. He had to get that little baby inside and fed before it was too late. If Chris ran off with the baby, Billy could die. It was a long way from the Ponderosa to Reverend Felcher in Virginia City. There was no guarantee that Chris even could find his way in the dark. What if he fell down a ravine or a wolf attacked him or Paiutes?
“Come inside. Pa must be sleeping by now. He said he was mighty tired. Real tired. He said he just wanted to get in bed. He could hardly keep his eyes open. Marie was going to make me some supper. Roast chicken and hot biscuits with good sweet butter melting in. Nice roast chicken. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Fresh blueberry pie too. It sure is going to taste mighty fine.” Adam licked his lips. Adam had no idea what supper Marie would have for him. It could be stale bread and water or cold porridge for all he knew, but he had to tempt Christopher. If he could only lure Chris into the house, Pa would know exactly what to do.
Adam reached out his arms to take the baby. Chris was too hungry and exhausted to argue any more and reluctantly passed the whimpering baby to Adam. The taller boy cradled the infant close to his chest and held him securely. Even though he was only thirteen years old, Adam had a lifetime of experience tending babies. Billy looked sick and half starved and smelled awfully nasty.
“What if your Pa ain’t sleeping? What then, Adam?”
Adam hesitated and swallowed hard. “Pa is surely sleeping.” Adam tried to sound as convincing as he could. He had Billy in his arms, and Chris would surely come along.” Come in through the kitchen door.” If only he could get Chris inside, Pa could help him.
Chris nodded and wearily followed Adam Cartwright toward the house.
VIRGINIA CITY, 1876
“And it was the courage and determination of my brother Chris that saved my life. He was acting on our mother’s last dying wish. He made sure I came to be adopted by the Felchers. That was her legacy and Christopher’s valiant commitment to me and our dead mother and father,” Reverend Felcher continued from the pulpit. “Chris was just a small boy who took on this awesome responsibility despite adversity. I owe him my life. I would not be standing here in this church as the minister had he not persevered.”
The members of the congregation sat in rapt attention at the heartfelt inspirational testimony. The air was hot and the open windows and door allowed flies to buzz into the church. A few of the women fanned themselves with cardboard fans advertising Howie Kotkin, Virginia City’s premier undertaker on one side and the Mercantile on the reverse.
From the Cartwright pew on the left side of the church, Adam once more looked over at his childhood friend, Chris Newport. After Ben had helped Christopher straighten things out with the law, he had offered the boy work on the Ponderosa, but young Chris had refused. He had bounced around working as a miner, a prospector and a mule skinner. Now, Newport was working hauling freight for the railroad construction crews who were extending the tracks. Chris listened attentively to his brother preach. He was clearly proud of the fine man and community leader that Billy had become.
The resemblance between Christopher Newport and Billy Felcher was quite strong. The two looked far more alike then the Cartwright brothers ever did, especially around the eyes. Chris was taller, lankier, than Billy. His leathery face was etched with the lines of a life of hard breaks and outdoor work. He was clearly a man who had spent most of his life earning his way with his muscle and the sweat of his brow. Billy had the soft, clean hands and pale coloring of someone who earned his way with his heart and mind indoors. Newport was wearing a clean but worn white shirt with a frayed collar, neatly patched green trousers and a tie he had borrowed from his brother. Billy had been a chubby blond boy who had grown to a pleasant faced, husky man with thinning sandy hair. He was neatly dressed in his best dark suit and a snowy, stiff dress shirt.
“During that difficult journey, the good Lord kept watch over that frightened boy carrying a sick infant through the cold and dark. Some say, our parents in heaven watched as well.” Pointing his hand towards the church ceiling, Billy smiled at the Cartwrights and Doc Martin. “I can’t say for sure that is so, but some special, good folks along the way helped us out. Some say they were angels too. I‘m not sure of that either, but angels do come in many forms.
“And now all of you know how my brother Chris came to Virginia City and brought me to my parents, the Felchers. I suppose I was blessed to have two sets of parents. I like to think the Newports finally met the Felchers again in heaven and I hope I am making them proud that I was raised like their own son.”
“You sure are, Reverend Billy, and you have short sermons too!” shouted a drunk cowhand from the back row. He had been paid early Saturday morning, and the only thing left from his month’s wages was the quarter he had put on the collection plate. Reverend William Felcher, Sr. was famous for the longest, most verbose, most soporific sermons west of the Mississippi. Reverend Billy prided himself on inspirational brevity.
“Amen! Praise the Lord.” added his equally drunk friend. “Amen!”
“Ummm, amen?” Billy shrugged. “Amen!”
Phil Bartlett sitting at the organ nodded. “Amen,” Phil agreed and started to play the closing hymn, “I Ask”.
“Amen. I suppose I am finished now. Please stand for the closing hymn,” Billy requested. The hot, sticky congregation rose as one. As his brother beamed, Billy Felcher, earnestly but slightly off key, led the congregation in the hymn.
“I ask the gift of righteousness,
The sin-subduing power,
Power to believe, and go in peace,
And never grieve thee more,” they all sang enthusiastically.
“And please, folks, come and meet my brother Chris Newport after services. I’m mighty proud that he is here.” Billy smiled as the worshipers filed out into the fresh air.
The End
Thanks to Gwynne for her valuable proofreading!
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