Summary: Part Twelve of The Cherry Tree Saga
Word Count: 4800
The Cherry Tree Saga
Chapter 1
Joe Cartwright halted his horse at the crest of the ridge and looked over his shoulder at the line of men and horses behind him. He gasped in dismay at the sight of his father struggling to get his horse up the steep hill behind him. Ben Cartwright urged his borrowed chestnut on until the trail reached the top of the canyon. The ground leveled out as the trail ran parallel to the canyon. The posse slowly moved forward down the rocky trail as each rider in turn struggled up the steep incline.
Ben had been too busy urging his horse up to the trail to survey the terrain carefully. So determined to catch up with the bank robbers, Ben still hadn’t given his horse a chance to stop and rest as he wanted to keep up with the chase. He was anxious to continue the search and wasn’t thinking clearly or logically. Buck would have easily climbed the hill but this horse did not have Buck’s strength or spirit.
He was going to pay dearly for this bad decision.
With another kick, Ben Cartwright urged the animal toward the steep slope. The chestnut crossed the rocky ground and started up the trail. The horse dug its hooves into the uneven ground and started to climb. It’s front legs slipped on the loose gravel and shale but the gray haired rancher urged him on.
The tired horse dug his forelegs into the slope. The hooves pressed through the pebbles into solid ground, but horse was unable to steady herself. With a few more unsteady steps, the horse slipped and tumbled side ways off the trail throwing Ben down the slope and into the rocks and underbrush.
The line of men and horses scrambled to a halt as Bill Felcher leaped off his horse and scrambled down the hill with Deputy Newkirk at his heels.
The two men ran over to Ben Cartwright. As he ran, Bill whispered a silent prayer that Hoss’s father was not badly injured.
Chapter 2
The men laid Ben down gently on a bedroll under the shade of a poplar. The heat was unbearable. Sheriff Clem Foster and Bill Felcher kneeled down next to him and checked him out and decided he had broken a few ribs and bruised himself up pretty badly. Ben winced as they touched his leg but he still struggled to get up.
“Lay still Mr. Cartwright. You’re pretty banged up.” Bill urged. Roy Coffee stood quietly watching. Clem was doing a fine job as Sheriff with the search for the gang but Roy couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Roy’s mind was on Hoss Cartwright. He had watched that boy grow up and now they had buried him.” It was a damn able shame, “Roy thought to himself and spit on the ground. The rest of the posse stood off to the side, watching the scene before them.
”I’ve got to get back up.” Ben struggled to sit up. He felt he had to continue the search for the gang who murdered his son.
Roy crouched down beside his old friend and put his hand on his chest and pushed him back onto the ground “Lay still, you old fool. You’re not going any where, Ben,” he said firmly.
“You know how I feel about Hoss. How we all feel about him…But going outside the law isn’t going to help nothin’, and it will only makes things bad for you. I’ll make sure we all do right by him, Ben. You getting yourself kilt ain’t gonna do a bit of good for no one. Let me take you home.”
Roy Coffee eased Ben back down on the blankets and handed him his canteen. “Be still. Ben, we got to do this legal and you are hurt too bad to be of any good to anyone hurt the way you are.”
Joe and Adam galloped up and jumped of their horses. “Pa!” Joe shouted. The two brothers ran over to where their father was stretched out on the ground.
”Looks like he broke some ribs and twisted his ankle when that horse pitched him off,” Billy explained to Ben’s sons. “But I really think Doc Martin should check him out.”
”Talk some sense into him, boys he thinks he is going to ride out with us. Bill and I will get him home.” Roy said
Joe kneeled down and leaned over his father as he lay on the ground. “Pa you gotta go home. You’re hurt too bad to go on with us.” Joe put his hand on his father’s arm and squeezed. “You always took care of us Pa and now it’s our turn to take care of you.” He handed his father the canteen again and helped him to take a sip. Ben’s face was pale and haggard. It was apparent to Joe that his father was worn to the nub and in pain.
Adam leaned his face up against a poplar about fifty feet from the group surrounding his father. He took his black hat off and rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand. The weary man stood with his back to the other men for a minute, his shoulders shaking. From where his was laying, Ben could see that his oldest son had been crying – this was just getting worse, he thought, he had never known Adam to cry, not even when Laurie had died.
Adam collected himself and walked over to the men gathered around Ben. His father heard Adam barely whisper, “We’ll get them Pa, I promise you.” Their eyes met and Ben saw so much of himself in those determined and hurt eyes that he said quietly, “Be careful, son.”
Adam nodded.
Joe and Dean Newkirk helped Ben up on his horse and the posse watched Roy Coffee, Ben and Billy slowly ride back towards the Ponderosa.
Chapter 3
Three days later.
Ben Cartwright was limping out of the barn with Sammy trailing a few steps behind him when the posse rode into the yard in front of the ranch house. The man leaned heavily against a cane that Doctor Paul Martin had left with him. Paul had told him that he should keep off his feet completely but knew Cartwright wouldn’t listen and left the cane in hopes that Ben would at least lean on it.
The doctor took Sam aside and told the boy to keep an eye on Ben and stick by his Grandfather’s side whenever he went out. The frightened boy needed something to keep his mind occupied and Ben needed a watchdog. No one wanted Sam, the only witness wandering off alone while the gang was still unaccounted for and known to be in the area Sam yelled a greeting to the posse and they hurried toward the riders
“Did you have any luck?” Ben asked. He was hoping he would see some gang members’ bodies tied across saddles.
Adam and Joe came riding up to their father. He looked expectantly at them. His shoulders sagged when he saw the discouragement on their faces.
Clem Foster shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ben. Same as before,” he answered. “We found the tracks of five men riding horses and leading another. We followed them for a while but they disappeared. Looks like the tracks were brushed out. We headed in the same direction, but the ground got hard and rocky. No way to follow any tracks after that.”
Sam thought dejectedly “Uncle Hoss would have been able to follow those tracks. He was the best tracker of all.”
“Pa, we couldn’t find them,” Joe said with a frown. He looked away. Joe couldn’t bear seeing the pain in his father’s eyes and the fear in his nephew’s face one more time. Sammy hung tightly to Ben clearly distressed by the news. The grandfather put his arm protectively around the boy and hugged him to his side.
“ We found where they made a fire and then some tracks going east, but then the tracks just stopped,” added Adam. “They left an empty canvas bank bag there too.”
“Looks like they head up through the dense woods up thata way.” Clem said.
“You didn’t find any sign of them? Anything?” asked Ben, his anxiety growing. He rubbed his hand on his injured leg and shifted his weight to his cane
. Joe shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. “Pa, the floor of those woods is covered with pine needles and leaves. Nothing that would pick up a horse’s tracks. Or a man’s foot prints neither. Adam and some of the men poked around for a while, then we figured we’d better head back here.”
“Nothing,” Ben said in a dull voice. “You found nothing?”
“Pa, we searched every inch of this mountain and all down the trails.” said Adam in frustration. His voice grew louder. “I’m real sorry, Pa.”
“T’ain’t no sign of them.” Roy added. “Ben, I wish there was more I could do. Hoss was like my own son…” Roy hadn’t been Sheriff for over five years but had come out to help lead the posse because of his long-standing relationship with the Cartwrights.
“Grandpa Ben, He is gonna come back and get me.” Sam whispered hiding his face in Ben’s leather vest.
Ben patted his curly brown hair. “Not if I’m here boy.”
Adam dismounted and went over the frightened boy and picked him up in his arms. The boy hugged Adam tightly.
“Now you look son, we are not going to let anything happen to you. Never. You have my word, Doc.” Adam said tiredly. “Now you just go in the house and tell your Mama to come out and say hello. It’s been along time since I saw her.”
Adam gently put his son down on the ground and patted his head. The little boy looked a bit calmer knowing Adam was around to watch out for him.
”Go on now. “ Adam gave the boy a little push towards the house.
Sam ran across the yard shouting for Kate, “Ma, Adam is back.” And ran to the kitchen door.
Sighing, Joe braced his arms against his saddle, dropping his head to rest his chin on his chest.
Joe climbed down off of Cochise and led his horse over to the water trough to drink. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. His back ached and he wished he had a cold beer. “No, he thought, a bottle of whiskey would be much better.” He could still sense the memories tucked in a shadowy corner of his mind. He missed Hoss more than he could believe possible. The pain of his loss was more than he could bear any more.
“Yup, a bottle of whiskey would be much, much better, that and a bath and a soft bed.” Joe thought to himself. He dipped his blue bandana in the cold water and wiped it on his dusty face and neck. He hoped Hop Sing had already started heating some water for a bath.
“I want to take some of the men back to Cherry Creek and have Clem take them on another sweep,” said Roy. The days in the saddle had clearly taken a toll on the retired Sheriff but there was nothing else he could think of doing to assuage his own grief at the murder of Hoss Cartwright. His son- in- law Clem, appreciated having Roy along, as he was able to dissipate disagreements among the men and keep everyone, even the Cartwrights in line. Tempers were short and men easily angered as the hot days wore on with no results
“And I want you men to get some food and a good night’s sleep. He hesitated, looking at Ben hating to say what he had to. “Now it’s getting pretty dark and we don’t want any one else getting hurt. “ He and Ben had been friends since he came to Virginia City and his Nancy and Joe weren’t even old enough to go to school. He had acted as the father of the bride to Katie when she married Adam Cartwright about a year earlier.
“How’s that leg doing Ben?” he asked gently.
Ben nodded. There was nothing he could will himself to say. His son was dead and nothing would ever be the same for him. The pain in his heart far out weighed any physical ache in his leg or broken ribs.
“Ben, I’m going to see if I can round up some more fresh men,” said Roy. “We’ll get a fresh posse and start looking again in the morning”
Ben nodded. “All right, Roy,” he said. “ I understand. “ He rubbed his forehead and looked down at the dirt. He felt totally helpless but was comforted that the law and Roy were doing all they could do for his family.
“I don’t know what good it will do, but we can try.” Roy glanced at Adam, who just shrugged. Roy mopped his brow.
“Roy I think we should just get fresh mounts and go out again now. We have a corral full of horses and we still have a little daylight left.” Adam unhooked his canteen and pulled off the cork. “Hays can have them saddled up and the men can go out again.”
“No, Adam, Everyone is done in and the sun is going down. We won’t be able to see the trail and will just disturb any marks left. I’m not going to let another man get hurt. And your wife and that boy need you around here for a bit before you ride out again.”
“Adam, Roy is right, we can’t let Pa and Sam and Kate be alone again one more night, “Joe urged.” We can’t do any more today.” He walked over to Sport and reached up to put his hand on his brother’s leg.
”We need to find the men who shot our brother.” Adam answered tersely pulling away from Joe. Disgusted, Adam took a swallow of tepid water then recorked the canteen. It gave an unsettled gurgle as he let it slide back against his saddle. “Come on, Sport.” Adam tugged on the reins, prepared to pull the horse around to the hitching rail in front of the house.
“Adam, when it is light, we can see better and maybe we can pick up the trail south of the Lake. This time, I want them to keep an eye out for anything we missed the last time we passed through. “ Joe said to Adam’s retreating back.
“It’s late, let’s go inside. There’s nothing more we can do today.” That bottle of whiskey in his mind’s eye looked mighty appealing to Joe after the three days on the trail.
Looping Cochise’s reins over the rail, Joe walked up the steps to the front porch. He was almost to the door when it opened and Kate stepped briskly over the threshold. Wiping her hands on her apron, she ran over to Adam and threw her arms around him. She had been afraid she never would see him again.
Chapter 4
The next morning
Adam and Joe both looked weary despite the few hours of sleep they had the night before. They had been up before dawn gulped down some coffee and rode out with the posse. Kate had tried to get them to eat some breakfast but both brothers refused and had joined the rest of the posse before first light.
Adam had seen his son anxiously peeping out from behind the curtains in his bedroom window as he rode out.
By midday the sun was blazing white-hot. It was going to be a hot one.
Realizing the gang may have split up, Clem divided the posse into three groups and sent them in different directions with instructions to meet in two hours near High Point Ridge.
Hours later, the men stopped searching and met at the prearranged spot. “ Did you find anything?” Adam asked Clem as the Sheriff rode up. Joe was feeling the morning after affects of the whiskey that put him to sleep the night before and sat silently on Cochise. His mouth had a sour metallic taste and his tongue was gritty. He rubbed his sweaty neck with his red neckerchief.
Clem nodded. “Found some tracks through here last time,” he said. “Looks like someone tried to brush them out, but he missed the ones in the mud. Not only that, but the men doubled back.”
“It appears as if they know the area pretty well, maybe one of them is from around these parts,” the deputy suggested. Dean’s lake blue eyes stared at the trail.
“You might just have something there, Dean,” the Sheriff agreed.
Joe pointed into the woods. “Looks like they rode off in that direction.” He pointed to a trail leading into the hills. He spit on the ground trying to get rid of the nasty taste in his mouth and took a swallow from his almost empty canteen.
I’ve been thinking,” Deputy Newkirk said. “Maybe we should try the other side of the ridge. There’s some places there where five or six men could hold up. We ought to check those out.”
“Good idea,” said Adam nodding.
“Dean, why don’t you lead the way, “Clem directed his deputy. Dean Newkirk pulled his dapple gray into the lead of the line of discouraged men and headed to the left.
A few minutes later, Joe and Dean were slowly guiding the horses down the back slope of the ridge to the left. Adam and three other men took the trail to the right. This trail curved through large, jagged tan rocks and dense, dry underbrush. The heat shimmered off the rocks.
The ridge masked the posse riders from anyone’s view. The trail led to a flat stretch of shale and hardscrabble ground that wound through the taller rocks and dry brush. Canyons, gullies and ravines were carved into the thick rock on either side of the flat ground. Not many people traveled this rough country; as there were easier trails to almost anywhere except Hades. It seemed the perfect place for the Carson City Gang to be hiding.
Joe studied the hillside above them. It was heavily covered with stubby brush and clumps of rocks. A man could climb up the hill without being seen. “Let’s see if anyone is still here. “ He pointed toward the hills.
Dean Newkirk turned in his saddle to face Joe and grinned triumphantly. His water blue eyes flashed and his white blonde hair curled around his ears. “Maybe we got ‘em now. Let’s go,”
Suddenly, a single rifle shot range out from the hill above them .The crack of the report echoed off the rocks around them. The well-aimed shot caught the deputy in the throat. Dean raised his hands to his neck and gasped. Blood poured down his dusty plaid shirt. The deputy fell to the rocky ground below, dead before he hit the ground.
The posse leaped off their horses and dove for cover behind trees and rocks. They wildly returned fire to the hill above them. After days on the trail the posse has finally found their prey, but not before the fox found the hounds.
“Hold your fire men!” Sheriff Clem Foster ordered. They all realized that they were surrounded by silence. No more shots were being returned from the ridge above them. Joe stared at Dean’s crumpled, bloody body. “You four, go over to the left and follow that gully and swing around behind where the shots were coming from, “ Clem directed. “And you four, swing over the other way.”
The rest of the men waited down below. Still no more shots were heard. The mid day heat baked down on them and shimmered off the hard ground. Billy and Adam waited behind an outcropping of rusty rock, guns drawn. Clem was hunkered down about ten yards away from them.
“We can’t leave Dean laying out there in the sun like that, Clem, “ Billy said in a pained voice.
“He’s dead, Bill and I’m not going to lose another man going out after him. Just wait until we are sure and no one else will get hurt. We lost enough men already to these bastards,” Clem said.
They heard a shout from high on the ridge. “All clear up here. We got one dead fella and the rest got away.”
“Billy, give me a hand with Dean.“ Adam Cartwright stood up and walked out to the dead deputy. Adam bent down and closed Newkirk’s sightless blue eyes. Adam had known Dean Newkirk since he was born in the foreman’s house on the Ponderosa. Joe had been the best man at Dean’s wedding. Now the deputy was dead.
One more murdered man left behind by the gang. What was one more murder to the desperados? All of them were facing a hangman’s noose and nothing much mattered to them any more.
“At least we got one, “ Clem told the other men.
“Yeah, but we still got four more from the bank to find, “ Adam took a swig of water from his canteen, swishing it around the inside of his mouth before spitting it on the ground. Slapping the cork in place with the flat of his palm. He passed the water to his brother who took the canteen gratefully.
Adam Cartwright glanced briefly towards the horizon, then turned his attention back to finding the men who murdered his brother, Hoss.
Chapter 5
For two more blazing hot days and nights the posse attempted to find the bank robbers. Time passed and there was not a single sign of the four men who had escaped. It was almost as if they had evaporated into thin air. The posse gave up all hope of finding the criminals. Sheriff Clem Foster decided they had to quit and let all them men go home before tempers flared and they started fighting with each other.
“These guys could be in Texas for all we know, Clem” one man grumbled.
Clem had no response, as he knew he could be right.
The sound of horses and riders awakened Sam from where he dozed on the porch settee with his head in his mother’s lap. Ben sat nearby on a wooden chair with his injured leg propped up on another chair. The night was so hot that they had been sitting there since dinner trying to catch a cool breeze.
Hop Sing had brought out some lemonade and cookies that sat untouched on the table. They all looked toward the road leading up to the ranch house. A dozen men were riding toward the house, led by Clem Foster. Ben recognized Joe and Adam instantly and breathed as sigh of relief at his sons’ safe return home.
“They’re back!” Kate said thankfully.
Two of the riders were leading horses. A large bundle wrapped in a dusty blanket was slung over the saddle of each of the rider less horses.
“You fellas go home,” Clem told the Cartwright brothers firmly as they pulled into the yard. “We’ll take care of the rest in town. We’ll bring Dean into the undertakers. Tell your Pa I’m sorry we couldn’t finish off the rest of this business for him.”
”Thanks, Clem.” Adam said wearily.” I’m sorry too.” He reached over to shake the Sheriff’s hand.
Joe climbed down from Cochise and walked over to the horse carrying Dean Newkirk’s body tied across the saddle. “He was a good man, Clem. I’ll go tell his folks as soon as I clean up a bit. Pa and I’ll bring Hays and Bonnie in to make the arrangements in the morning.”
“Tell them all that I’m really sorry.” Clem murmured.
Joe Cartwright lifted the edge of the blanket covering his friend’s body and took a final look. Their fathers had worked side by side for year and Hays Newkirk had become the foreman of the Ponderosa before Joe was born. Dean’s wife, Bonnie was expecting their second child in the fall.
“I’ll take your horse, Adam. Go see how everyone is in the house,” Joe offered. He knew his brother was anxious to see his wife and check on Sam. More importantly, Joe dreaded walking in the door, seeing his father and telling him that the trail of the killers was ice cold. Joe hated the idea that Hoss would not be sitting in his usual spot by the fireplace. He would do any thing right now not to face the rest of the family or walk into the ranch house.
Kate gently moved Sam from her lap, stepped down from the porch and ran across the yard to her husband.
“Adam!”
”It’s me all right.” Adam answered.
Adam reached a hand down to Kate’s face and stroked her cheek with his rough, dirty hand. He loved her more today than he had ever thought possible. She was the center of his life. Kate looked up. His dark whiskered face was gaunt and his dark eyes red rimmed.
Adam was filthy and caked with the dust of the days out with the posse. He reeked from campfire smoke and sweat and horses. He badly needed a bath, a shave and fresh clothes but Kate saw none of that as she looked up at him. All she saw was the man she had loved most of her life was finally home. She quickly stood on tiptoes up and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh Adam, I missed you so.” The waiting had been excruciating. She had secretly feared that something could happen to Adam or Little Joe and one of them would be carried home across his saddle like Dean Newkirk. She was relieved to have him and Joe home safe.
Adam knew that his wife wanted him home more than anything. As determined, as he was to avenge the murder of his brother Hoss, Adam knew he had to leave go of the search and stay with her on the Ponderosa for a while before setting out again.
The minutes ticked by without a word. Kate reached her hand up to his filthy cheek and looked up into his dark brown eyes, “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly fearing more bad news.
He smiled down at her and said, “Nothing. I thought I had a hard decision to make, but now I realize there is no decision at all, not for now.”
Chapter 6
Three weeks later the rogue band had struck again in Mesa Verde on a hot afternoon stealing the payroll at the mine and shooting the paymaster even after he had turned over the cash. They were charged with killing a rancher a few miles away and stealing fresh mounts.
A few weeks later a stage was stopped and the cash box taken. No witnesses were left to identify the perpetrators but the tracks indicated four riders had ridden off into the hills. Folks had started calling them the Devil’s Brigade or the Angels of Death as no one who saw them up close was left alive. The only exception was little Sam Cartwright.
A few days later, they struck at a Wells Fargo freight wagon was held up a gunpoint. The driver, Frank Stanley was shot and left for dead bleeding in the dusty road. Frank was only recently working as a driver again after homesteading for years north of Cherry Creek. Most of his herd was destroyed back in the bitter cold winter of ’86 and after years of struggle had finally sold out. Frank had gone back to work as a driver. Fortunately for him, not long after he was attacked, a passing peddler found him and brought him into town. While Doc Martin patched him up, he described his assailants to the Sheriff who then wired the descriptions through out the area.
Frank claimed there had been four men. One was a heavy set, sandy haired man on a bay. The second, who seemed like the leader, was tall with dark brown straight hair, a black hat and a beard. The next seemed quieter and was slighter and had curly brown hair and green eyes. Frank was sure that the last gang member was red headed Cyrus Carnigan who had been his helper years before. He was the one who shot Frank Stanley at point blank range, hoping no witness could identify him.
Despite Frank’s description there was little progress in catching the men who killed Hoss Cartwright and the bankers. The deputy was dead and the trail was going cold. The Carson City Gang had disappeared without a trace- again like the evil demons people claimed that they were.
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