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Vows of Silence (4/5)
Kacik@aol.comSat, 22 Apr 2006 15:34:53 EDT
Author: Kaci Vows of Silence 4/5 1861 Adam had ridden into Virginia City to work out some details on a mining contract. Picking up the monthly payroll for the ranch, he was on his way home when a shot rang out, barely missing him. It had been the Clevinger brothers, Billy and Bob, who had intended to ambush Adam for the money. Suddenly two more shots were fired killing the two brother's. A man appeared from the trees and introduced himself to Adam as Marshall Gerald Eskith who had been suspicious of the brother's behavior in the town. Adam invited Eskith to return to the Ponderosa to tell the family what had happened and to take the payroll home. As Adam and Eskith rode into the yard, Eskith sat up in his saddle looking around. "Anything the matter, Marshall?" Adam asked. "NO...no, it's just there seems to be a lot of ranch hands roaming around." "Oh...the Ponderosa is a large spread...it's the busy season right now." Joe stood up abruptly then hurried to the front door opening it wide. "Pa, Hoss....it's Adam and a stranger." A tremor of fear went through Joe, an immortal was near. He wanted to run and hide or maybe take a stand and fight...but he was prevented from doing both things...he had to act normal...as if the immortal was just another stranger. Ben and Hoss rushed outside to hear Adam's story about the gunfight while Little Joe hung back listening to the conversation....hesitant at first then hearing the friendly voices he helped carry in the stranger's belongings. The Marshall caught Joe's eye then nodded in a friendly way. "Joe, take the Marshall's bags to his room son," Ben ordered, then turned back to their guest. Little Joe carried Marshall Eskith's bags to the guest room and set them on the bed. Opening the bags he rummaged quickly through them but didn't find what he was looking for. Thoughtfully, he closed them tightly and hurried to join the family. "Pa, I put Mr. Eskith's bags up in his room," yelled Little Joe running down the stairs. As Gerald Eskith was talking he noticed the swords hanging on the wall of the home. "Well, one wouldn't have thought one would encounter the epee out here in the wilderness." Eskith lifted the sword from the wall hook. He ran his hands gently along the fine cold steel. "Little Joe's mother was Louisiana French. He likes to play around with it." Ben smiled. "Marie had taken lessons for years in New Orleans so when she came here to Nevada she wanted a remembrance."Ben laughed, "Of course for years we had them hanging high on the wall to prevent Little Joe from handling them." Little Joe rolled his eyes, "Pa!" Turning to the Marshall Joe smiled, "I love practicing with something my mother owned." Gerald smiled at Joe, "you mean you actually use this?" Gerald gave Joe a mocking look. "No, I fool around with it just for fun." Joe took the sword from Eskith's hand loving the feel of the cold sword in his hand. Their eyes met until Hoss interrupted. Hoss smiled, "He's faster than greased lightning Mr. Eskith. Joe, let's show him." Hoss walked across the room taking the other sword off the wall and engaging in a free for all with Joe. "On guard! brother." Joe laughed and swiped Hoss on the bottom. They danced through the room, the swords clanging with Little Joe jumping on the furniture, until he finally knocked the sword from Hoss's hand. Ben, Adam, and Eskith watched the play. "He has an admirable skill," Eskith murmured to Ben watching the sword fight, as it ended with Hoss sitting in the chair while Joe was laughing. Eskith hurried toward Joe, "Touche! Nevertheless your technique is not quite flawless. When you feint to the left you're a bit off balance." Gerald removed his coat tossing it on the chair and taking Hoss's sword from him. He felt the weight of the sword in his hand, making his grip fit the metal bracket. "On guard?"He motioned to Joe to engage. Joe replied with a grin, "on guard." Back and forth they went, first one then the other getting the upper hand, finally meshing the swords together, Joe fell back and tripped dropping his sword, while Eskiths countered with the sword to Joe's throat. Joe froze a fission of terror running through his body. Eskith stiffened, the hot blood running through his body staring into Joe's eyes. Joe reached up and pulled the sword tip from his throat, "You know you could hurt somebody with that. You lost the button off the point," Joe replied wearily. Eskith replied "so I did, this might have been fatal," and pulled away. The men took stock of each other while Joe's family who had been holding their breath, broke out into relieved smiles. Ben started a discussion talking with Eskith about the merits of emotion. Eskith remarked, "that simple word can be traced to the downfall of most artists and many human creatures, emotion." Ben raised his glass drinking his brandy, " That's a very interesting observation, I don't think I could cast you in the mould of an average lawman," Ben slapped Eskith on the back. "I've been told that."Eskith muttered gazing seriously into space. Joe listened with a sarcastic smile until he noticed Adam's glance in his direction. Joe turned away to stare into the fireplace hiding his thoughts from his brother. Adam had been watching the procedures with a distracted air. Something wasn't quite right, the air of suppressed excitement between Joe and Eskith wasn't hard to miss. It was as if they were communicating under layers of words, each talking secrets that no one else would understand. Even later when Joe told him that Eskith was right to kill the Clevingers to save him...he felt a tiny seed of doubt. After a pleasant evening listening to Gerald Eskith's tale of his travels around the world, Ben asked Hoss and Joe to show Mr. Eskith to his room. "Mr. Eskith, did you have that tiger cat by the tail, sure enough?" Hoss was heard questioning. Ben laughed, talking to Adam. "That Hoss sure makes the most wonderful audience, doesn't he?" Adam frowned turning back to the fireplace, his mind was definitely not on Hoss. Adam awoke in the middle of the night, he thought he heard whispering coming from Eskiths room. Wondering if his guest was ill he pulled on a robe and slippers quietly walking down the hall trying not to wake his Pa and brothers. Raising his hand to tap on the door, he recognized his brother Joe's voice. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he did hear Joe laugh. Then a few words..."three years ago."Hesitating he waited but then heard someone walking toward the bedroom door. Adam hurried to his room, just as Joe left Eskiths room to return to his own. The next morning after breakfast; Adam, Ben and Eskith mounted their horses for the ride into Virginia City, to meet Jason Blaine. Breakfast had been a quick affair, but Joe and Eskith had not mentioned their three a.m. tete a tete. Finally, while his father was riding slightly ahead of them, Adam leaned into Eskith asking about the night before. "Were you ill last night, Gerald?" "My dear, Adam....I slept like a baby." "I thought I heard noises last night so I checked them out...I believe that Joe was in your room last night." "Oh....that was a little ruse on my part. I wanted to ask Joe some questions about New Orleans, I hadn't realized that he had never been there before....I mean he did have the swords on the wall." "I see." Of course, he didn't see at all. Why in the middle of the night? "So, how did Joe end up in your room?" "Oh...we sort of met half way....I was going to the kitchen to get a drink....when Joe had the same idea. We took our bounty up to my room, I wanted to show Joe some souvenirs of my travel. I hope I wasn't breaking any house rules?" Gerald asked mockingly. "No...not at all."Adam resigned himself to this fairy tale but kept his feelings to himself. They parted in Virginia City, with a few words. Ben asking Eskith to go on a cougar hunt on the Ponderosa, when Eskith remarked..." Ben, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your hospitality, I told you before there is nothing in life I find as exciting as a hunt." Eskith smiled as he remembered Joe at the ranch. Maybe he would return someday for the kind of hunting he enjoyed the most. Later Adam would look back on the affair with new eyes. Now, all he could see was mayhem and tragedy in the affair with Jason Blaine and Gerald Eskith. The Marshall had turned out to be an outlaw hunting Jason Blaine to return to California to the crime syndicate. They had ended their cat and mouse game in an old dark mine shaft fighting for their lives. After Adam shot Eskith, the man murmured, "Ben, thank you for your hospitality, I never dreamed Gerald Eskith would be defeated by emotions." "I can't believe you ever had any," Adam said quietly. "Oh yes....I did. I was in love you know, I was in love with Gerald Eskith," he slowly fell back onto the ground. Adam helped Jason Blaine to his feet, remarking that he would have the sheriff out later to get the body, but for now, Jason needed to see a doctor. The three men rode off side by side. Joe had followed Adam and his father to the old mine. After he saw Adam, his father and Jason ride away he crept quietly into the mine shaft, looking for Eskiths body. He finally found it, pulling Eskith up over his shoulder he carried him to the entrance throwing his body over the horse. Mounting his own horse he rode away from the mine, trailing the other horse behind him. "Pa, I can't understand it, I left Eskith's body in that mine, dead. Now, he's gone." Adam hit his hand against the stone fireplace. "Son...maybe he wasn't dead...maybe he was only stunned...I too thought he had died, but with no body, we can't be sure." "No, I guess you're right, because who would steal a body?" Adam walked out into the yard, searching the night sky for answers, a long distance away lightening lit the clear dark night. Re-entering the great room, he spoke to Ben. "Pa, where's Joe?" "Oh, he asked to go to a dance tonight, he'll be in soon. Night, son." The two men made their way to bed. Several hours later, Joe rode into the barn, putting away Cochise for the night. Sighing, he walked into the house, straight to the brandy. Pouring himself a large glass he threw himself into the chair, many deep regrets for this night's work in his mind. 2006 The two men opened their car doors on a hot summer day in Nevada. The weather was a little hazy with the heat but it was still a beautiful day. "The ranch house looks wonderful. You've done a great job restoring it." "Thanks, it's been a labor of love, but I felt like the Cartwrights deserved it." They continued walking until they stopped at the Cemetery gate. Many graves lay inside but it was the newest grave that they had come to see. "Adam Cartwright 1830 - 1912." "I found his body in Australia. It turns out after he left Nevada in 1865, he traveled all over the world, then settled down with a wife and three children in Australia. "So this completes your project." "Yes...to have all the original Cartwright's together is what I wanted." Pointing to the graves, he marked them off. "Ben, Marie, Adam, Hoss and Joe." "So you moved Marie's body from her resting place." "Yes, the property was sold up by that area of the lake, so I placed her in the Cartwright plot." "You never told me why Adam Cartwright left Nevada in the first place. I was so surprised he decided to leave the family." "Let's get a drink, I'll tell you the story." The two men walked toward the old ranch house for a cold beer. "I remodeled one bedroom into a luxury bathroom, but that's about the only change I made inside the home. Have a seat in front of the fireplace, I know it's too hot to light the fire, but...I'm going to anyway, I love the room lit with the glow of hot coals." He laughed and went to the kitchen for the beer, deciding what to tell his friend. "Here you go." Sitting down in the red chair he cleared his throat and started the story. 1865 Adam Cartwright sat on the front porch of the house, drinking a hot cup of coffee at the table. He had many things on his mind but as usual it was Joe that was his main occupation. "Penny for them, Adam." "Oh, hi Pa. Have a seat." Ben sat down across from his eldest son, wishing he understood Adam better, he had been so preoccupied lately, it was if his son was depressed. "What's the matter, Adam?" "Oh....nothing." Adam wanted to tell his father his troubles but he was hesitant to start on a long road that maybe should not be traveled. "Adam, I can't help you if you don't help me. Now start talking." Ben used his 'or else' voice but smiled inside. "Pa...have you ever noticed that Joe....well...he's almost perfect isn't he?" "Okay...I'm getting Doc Martin out here, you are definitely ill." Ben's laugh echoed outside. "No, not that way. I mean...have you ever noticed that Joe doesn't have scars from all his adventures. I mean he's been stabbed, shot, dragged, burned and numerous other accidents too many to count. And there are no scars." "That's not true Adam." Hoss had been standing out of sight next to the house. "He has a scar at the bottom of one cheek, near his mouth. I know it's there, because I accidentally hit him with a knife one time. I was whittling and my knife slipped." "Oh...and when was that Hoss? Was it before Joe was kidnapped nine years ago?" Hoss let his mind travel back through time.."yes...it was when he was thirteen." "See...that's what I'm saying...nothing since his kidnapping."Adam took another swallow of coffee. "It's eerie. There should have been a huge scar when I shot him whilst out hunting that wolf, but it's not there. I've looked." Ben swallowed hard, he didn't want to think about the changes Joe had displayed these last years. Oh...he was normal in every way; at least it seemed so...until you looked too closely. The scars were troubling, but the air of suppressed excitement he sometimes carried..and the strange...what was it? The hardening of his expressions when they met some people for the first time...as if his whole body stiffened, he didn't understand it. "Pa...we're never going to know about Joe are we? There is a deep mystery here, but I can't figure it out." There was a sadness in Adam's voice, while Hoss nodded solemnly, but then his eyes lit up with pleasure. "But...Joe's happy, Adam. Joe and I have had the best adventures and his giggle is so contagious you can't help but laugh." Hoss smiled thinking about some of things they had done together. "Remember when Joe pushed me off that mountain so I could fly?" They started laughing just thinking about it. "Adam...I think we're imagining things. It's late, let's go to bed." Ben straightened his back, it had been hurting lately. Joe stood by the window in Ben's office. He had been listening to the conversation, his heart speeding at the mention of his scars. He rushed to leave the room, but knocked a book onto the floor making a loud noise. Picking it up he ran up the stairs to his room. Adam heard the noise walking into the great room, he saw the book he had left on the side table, now on Ben's desk. Joe had been listening. Taking a deep breath he walked up the steps slowly, he wanted to talk to his little brother, but he wasn't sure how to begin. "Joe, can I speak with you a minute?" Adam waited but no sound came from Joe's room, he was pretending to be asleep. Adam finally gave up going to his room. He wondered if Joe would ever tell him the truth. The next morning at breakfast his father was giving out the day assignments when Joe interrupted, "Pa, I have to make a trip to Carson City about some horses. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, but it's important." "Joe, oh...all right, how long will you be gone?" "Two days, I'll hurry Pa." "Fine...let's go, boys." Adam, Hoss and Ben rode out to the back pastures while Joe had Hop Sing make food for him to take on the trail. "Hop Sing, I need enough food for four or five days on the trail." "You told father you be gone two days."Hop Sing said sharply. "I know but I have a few things to take care of. Thanks, Hop Sing."