Chapter Twenty-one, “The Cartwrights”, January 6th, 1882:
A quartet of riders comes around the bend. Flint mutters "Uh oh, they've come back to the scene of the crime" and begins to draw is revolver. Katherine, Nanuet and Al all recognize the four as the Cartwrights, who they had met earlier in the Marshall's Office. Ruby says "No Flint, it's alright. We saw these men earlier today in the Marshall's office. The men who killed your partner probably stole the cattle from them." Kate began to unfold herself slowly so as not to startle them, and moved to where she could be seen.
Ben Cartwright sees Katherine before him and motions to his sons. They ride up, as Flint, Nanuet and Al come out of hiding to join her. Ben says, "You're the people we saw in the Marshall's Office. What are you doing out here?" Kate consciously relaxed. "This is our friend Flint's claim," she began, waving her hand toward the Dwarf. "His partner was killed, but the law didn't seem inclined to investigate. Nanuet has been talking a look around.
You gentlemen lost some cattle did you not? Nanuet has found tracks across the stream there from a large number of cattle, and Al here saw some tracks of horses outside what seemed to be a rustlers' hideout. I think the problems might be connected. Since you're out here, I'm guessing you didn't have much luck with the County Sheriff?"
"Wasn't in," Ben replies. "The sign on the door indicated that he'd be back later this afternoon. The barber next door said that he and another deputy have been gone for the past few days, out looking for Arcade's Gang." Hoss says, "Would you mind if we stopped and rested our horses here for a few minutes?" Flint says "Fine, sounds like we'll be working together on this. I'll get a pot of coffee going."
The Cartwrights get the their horse water and fed while Flint prepares the coffee. The eight then sit down on a few logs set out as benches and talk. Ben tells them about the Ponderosa, his ranch up by Lake Tahoe, where he and Little Joe live. Adam says "When I felt I was experienced enough I headed out to California to start my own ranch. Hoss later came out and joined me. We decided to come back and help our father with this cattle drive, as it will probably be his last one."
Kate listened closely at the Cartwrights described their ranches. The idea had entered her mind at some time, she wasn’t sure when, that she might like to have a ranch someday. Not for cattle, although she wouldn't rule that out. Horses were what she wanted to raise. She knew how to train and care for them, but the business side was a mystery. As was rather disastrously apparent when Tom got sick and she was trying to oversee the livery.
"I hope you don't mind my questions," she apologized after several questions about the details of ranch operation and the costs. "My husband raised horses in the East, and ranches are of great interest to me."
Flint brought the coffee after a while. "Thank you," she said as he handed her a hot, tin cup. Flint tells about Pete and their claim, finishing with "He was my partner for a third-of-a-century. I want to get the guys who killed him."
Katherine thinks to herself, “At least thirty years Flint had worked with his partner. A person could become entrenched in your life in a much shorter time.” The Dwarf had not shown much emotion before, but having someone violently removed from your life after thirty years must have been a great shock. She would have liked to give him her sympathies, but he didn't seem one who wanted them. The best way to do it was likely to help him track down the rustlers.
They finish their conversations and prepare to move on. They pass the rock formation known as Cochise Head and continue on to the southeast.
http://hisl.tamu.edu/images/swus/pages/CochiseHead.htm .
Around a mile later Nanuet identifies the tracks of two riders that branch off from the rustler’s trial and head northeast. They follow these for a quarter mile until the tracks intersect with the main road and continue back northwest towards Promise City. They ride back and continue to follow the tracks of the other three riders and the cattle. Around a mile later these tracks reach the watering hole by the main road where Al had stopped earlier in the day.
From here the rustler’s trail heads the Chiricahua Mountains, which Nanuet knows to be the ancestral land of the Chiricahua Apache. The trail continues to be a rugged and rocky one. Flint tells the others “Not too many people go too far up into these mountains. Some of these mountains go as high as 10,000 feet.” The elevation continues and the terrain becomes rockier, making the rustler’s trail harder to find despite the large number of animals. Without Nanuet’s tracking skills they would have lost sight of it. The trail then heads back downward, into a small box canyon. Flint’s instincts cut in and he quietly tells the others to stop. “Damn, the wind shifted.”
“What?” Katherine states looking a bit confused. Adam says “We were going against the wind before but it’s now blowing in from behind us, picking up the scent of our mounts. If there are any trained outdoorsmen, Indians or even a pack of coyotes in the canyon below they’ll smell us long before they see us.” “Plus that canyon would be a perfect spot for an ambush,” Hoss states.
Flint suggests they backtrack and circumnavigate around the canyon. The Cartwrights agree. Nanuet suggest that he stay behind for a short while and watch the canyon. Little Joe doesn’t like the idea of him staying behind alone and agrees to remain with him. The other six depart.
The six make their way back down the trail and Flint ascertains the best path to get around. Flint wants to move on. Ben says that he will stay behind at this intersection and wait for “Joe and that Mexican”. Katherine says “His name is Nanuet.” Adam says “Um, maybe I should stay instead,” as he and Hoss exchange worried looks. Katherine and Al both sense that there is more going on than they have been told.
Kate took a couple of deep breaths and bit her tongue. Without Nanuet they'd have long lost the trail of their cattle, but Mr. Cartwright didn't even have the decency to call him by name. Plus, she had the feeling they hadn't been told everything. This seemed to be getting more dangerous by the moment, and she wanted to know exactly what she was helping these men accomplish.
"Flint, we can move on in just a moment, but I want to know something first." She turned to the Cartwrights. "Now, I'm not interested in learning why any of you might have problems with Mexicans, I'm just interested in you putting it aside. Nanuet is a good and trustworthy man who has no personal stake in any of this. He is not being paid, he is only trying to help people. Judge him on his own merits and I think you'll find him worthy of your respect. More importantly, I get the feeling that we haven't heard everything about the loss of your cattle. If my friends and I are going to risk ourselves to help you, I think we should know the whole situation."
Hoss rides over closer to her while Adam talks his father into moving onward a short distance. Hoss tells her "Ma'am, we have no problems with Mexicans, or any other race for that matter. Adam and I were reacting to the fact that our father forgot what your friend’s name was. That's been happening more and more lately. There are times that his mind totally wanders and he forgets where he is. That's why Joe had us come back to help him with this drive, and why we suspect it will be his final one."
She felt her face flush. "I'm sorry," she said. "I've just found that there seem to be a lot of tensions out here between different races. We even had to choose where we stayed by who would except those of my friends who were not human. I hope you can forgive me." She paused for a few moments. "Is there nothing to be done? A doctor, or a cleric?"
He replies "My father is fine most of the time. It's only every now and then that his mind wanders. At those times he finds himself living out some novel that he's read. The best thing for him is to just live out his days back on the Ponderosa around those who love him. But he insisted on joining Joe for this drive." Adam and Ben ride back to the others and Hoss changes the conversation to talking about the weather.
Adam Cartwright is the first to detect something wrong as he sits up high in the saddle and raises his hand to signal the others to remain still. Some movement is see behind the trees, which the group make out to be at least six Indian braves behind trees, all armed with firearms. Sound of horses is then heard from back behind where they had left Joe and Nanuet. The group makes it out to be more than just two horses, which they then see as eight mounted Indians come from around the clearing. Flint is the only one with a weapon in his hand and he pulls back the barrel on his revolver to prepare the gun for firing.
Further back, the others have been gone for around ten minutes when Nanuet and Joe see movement down below. A group of thirty Apache warriors move out from various hiding places behind boulders. Most have bows and around half are carrying rifles. They assemble in the middle of the canyon. Two more Indians arrive from inside of a cave near the canyon floor, leading a group of eighteen saddle-less horses. A group of eighteen Indian mount each horse and they ride off, heading towards the opposite end of the canyon. The two who led the horses both return to the cave. The other twelve warriors begin hiking up the mountain trail, in the direction of Nanuet and Little Joe. Joe asks Nanuet "Should we find somewhere to hide or head back to the others."
Nanuet pauses for a moment. Looking over his clothes and the color of his skin he says "Head back and join the others. We won't be able to hide from them. This is their land and I don't think they would take kindly to the two of us hiding here. If certain circumstances were different I would have approached them, but not without a change in appearance. Let's go now." Nanuet and Joe begin to make their way down the trail. They get around 200 feet when a pair of mounted Apache elves ride out from behind a rock cropping and block the trail ahead of them.