"What time is it?" Kate murmured sleepily.
"Just past one," Brisco replied, pulling off his boots. He'd tried to be as quiet as he could, but she woke when he sat on the edge of the bed. "Marty Macklin went on a bender again. Big as he is, it took three of us to get him into a cell. Good thing CJ knows the way home." Kate could tell by his voice that he was smiling. "I remember getting on him in town. I must've fallen asleep, 'cause the next thing I knew, CJ was rubbing me against the barn door, trying to get me off."
Kate reached out to touch him, finding him shirtless. "Where is your shirt?" she asked.
"Marty threw up on me," Brisco said in disgust. "I tried to rinse my shirt out best I could. I left it on the porch railing. It's pretty rank." He slid under the covers, sighing with relief to finally be home.
"Brisco!" Kate shook him. "Brisco! Wake up! Something's wrong with the horses!"
Brisco moaned and tried to ignore her, but she was persistent. He finally got out of bed and stumbled to the window, trying to get his sleep-fogged brain to cooperate. The room was lighter now; it must be close to dawn. The horses were screaming and kicking in the barn.
The horses were repeating the same thing, over and over. Ground shake? Brisco swore and grabbed Kate. "Get the boys and get out!"
Kate's eyes went wide with fear. "What is it?"
"Earthquake." Brisco pushed her down the hall ahead of him. In the boys' room, Kate scooped up Daniel as Brisco grabbed James and Will and carried one under each arm.
Once outside, Brisco told Kate to stop in the middle of the farmyard. He looked wildly about, trying to judge if they were far enough away from the buildings for safety. "Stay right here," he commanded. "Don't go near the house."
"Where are you going?" Kate cried.
"To get the horses out," he called over his shoulder. Brisco wrenched open the barn door and ran inside. He opened the stall doors, bellowing at CJ to get the herd down to the meadow. The panicked horses charged out of the barn, crashing into each other as they ran outside.
Brisco almost made it back to his family when the quake hit. The tremor sent him sprawling. Kate screamed and clutched the sobbing boys. Brisco scrambled to all fours and crawled to her. They watched in horror as shingles slid off the roof of the house and part of the chimney crashed to the ground. The earthquake roared like of dozens of locomotives, all at once.
As quickly as it began, the quake stopped.
Brisco and Kate were afraid to move for a moment. Kate looked around in stunned amazement. "We're alive," she said.
"Yeah," Brisco stood carefully and helped her to her feet. "We made it." He lifted Daniel to his shoulders and put a reassuring arm around James. Kate helped Will to his feet. Together, they circled the house, taking in the damage. One of the support beams in the back had collapsed, causing the roof to crash down into the parlor.
"I think, just to be safe, we'd better set up the tent in the yard," Brisco said. "There's bound to be aftershocks, and I want to shore up the roof in the back."
The barn had lost some shingles and most of the hay bales had bounced out of the loft, but it was miraculously unharmed. Brisco got a rolled-up tent from the tack room and set it up in the yard. He sent the boys looking for rocks to make a fire ring, cautioning them to stay away from the buildings and the trees.
"We've got to have clothes, Brisco," Kate said, watching the boys working in their nightshirts. "Do we dare risk going in the house to get them?"
"I'll get them," Brisco said. "We need a cooking pot and bedding, too." He cautiously entered the house. He looked first at the damage to the parlor. The mantle clock lay shattered on the floor. Brisco winced; the clock had been a wedding present.
But we're safe, he reminded himself. The rest of the house didn't seem that bad, only messy from objects spilled from shelves and cupboards. In his bedroom, he pulled on his boots, wondering how he managed to loose the horses without being stepped on. He pulled a shirt and a dress from the wardrobe floor, and headed for the boys' room. Brisco gulped when he saw the hole in roof above the boys' beds. He quickly located trousers and shirts for his sons and exited the house. He almost collided with Kate, who hovered anxiously in front of the porch.
"How bad is it?" she asked.
"The parlor's the worst," Brisco said tersely, handing her the dress. "There's a hole in the roof over the boys' room, but it's mostly just stuff that's fallen off the shelves."
Brisco made a second trip inside to get a cooking pot and what food he could carry. After starting a cooking fire for Kate, he whistled for the horses.
CJ led the herd back to the farmyard. Brisco checked each horse for injury, talking softly to soothe shattered nerves. One of the mares had shred the skin on her front legs when she pawed at her stall door. Brisco had James hold the mare as he cleaned and dressed her legs. One of the draft horses had a gash over one eye, but shied away from Brisco and wouldn't let him near.
After Brisco made one more trip into the house for bedding, Kate wondered how the rest of Clark's Landing had fared. Brisco saddled CJ and rode into town.
The schoolhouse had collapsed. Brisco was glad that the school year had ended the week before. Other than the school, Clark's Landing had escaped with only broken windows and shattered nerves. Brisco stopped to check on Beatrice Benson. His former landlady assured him that she was fine; she was more worried about the County family having to live in a tent.
"Oh, the boys think it's an adventure," Brisco said. "And it'll only take a day or so to get the house shored up." He told Mrs. Benson that he'd send the boys in the next day to help her clean up the broken glass in her house.
Brisco stopped at the jail and released Marty Macklin. The drunk, frightened sober by the quake, swore repeatedly that he'd never touch another drop of alcohol as long as he lived. Yeah, right, the sheriff thought as he watched Macklin stumble down the street.
Brisco took a different route home, stopping at Wald Mueller's farm. Doc Hammond met him on the doorstep.
"Are they okay?" Brisco asked, concerned.
"Wald's milking shed fell on him this morning," J.D. replied. "He's got a broken arm and a nasty gash on his head. Vera's so upset that I can't make hide nor hair of what she's saying. Maybe you can get Kate to talk to her." Vera Mueller tended to lapse into German when she was excited. Her English was shaky at best.
"I'll go get James and Will," Brisco said. "We can at least get their cows milked for him. Other than the school, the town doesn't look bad."
"Just a few cuts and bruises," the doctor said. "How'd you fare?"
"One corner of the house collapsed, but we got out in time. "
There were several aftershocks during the day, but they tapered off by evening. Still, everyone in the County family was jittery and tense. Brisco had to force himself not to snap at Kate or one of the boys. He could tell that Kate was also feeling the strain. He helped her fix a simple supper, and then amused the boys with ghost stories around the fire so she could turn in early.
The next morning, Brisco sent the boys in with the injured draft horse, telling them to help Mrs. Benson while the smith looked at the horse's head. Brisco climbed up on the roof and nailed down loose shingles. He nailed some lath across the hole in the roof over the boys' room to reattach the shingles.
The horses bugled from the meadow below. They'd refused to go back in the barn, so Brisco let them stay in the meadow. He climbed up to the roof peak and carefully stood, straining to see what was going on in the meadow. Brisco was too far away to hear what the horses were saying. Hmmm. Probably that damn yearling's picking a fight again. The colt had been put in his place by CJ countless times, but never learned his lesson. Brisco had been debating lately whether to geld the colt or just sell him.
The aftershock caught Brisco just as he started back down the roof. He scrambled for a handhold as he slid down the shingles. There was a moment of free fall, then the ground rushed up to meet him with an awful jolt.
The aftershock knocked Kate and Daniel off their feet. The edge of Kate's skirt ignited when it landed on the cook fire; she threw dirt on the cloth to extinguish it. Kate suddenly realized where Brisco had been moments before. Crying out his name, she scooped up Daniel and ran around the house. Brisco was lying on the ground, his face twisted in pain.
"My leg's broken," he gasped when she reached his side.
"How can I get J.D.?" Kate cried. "I can't leave you like this!" Kate was nervous around horses, and refused to ride one.
"Put a note in CJ's halter," Brisco grimaced. "I'll tell him to go to the boys."
While Kate hurried into the house for paper and pen, Brisco whistled for his horse. CJ appeared a few minutes later, surprised to find his boss on the ground. He tried to nudge Brisco, who snapped, "Don't!"
"Kate's gonna put a note under your halter," Brisco explained. "Take it to James or Will at Mrs. Benson's house. They'll get the doctor."
CJ murmured, and Brisco would've laughed if it hadn't hurt so much. "No, CJ. They won't shoot me and put me out of my misery." Seeing his wife coming around the house, Brisco said softly, "Hold still, will ya? She's upset as it is."
CJ stood rock still as Kate tucked the note under the halter, then wheeled and pounded towards town.
James tacked the piece of oilskin over the open space where the glass had filled the window the day before. As he stepped back to admire his handiwork, he bumped into CJ.
"Cripes, CJ. Where'd you come from?"
The horse rubbed his nose against the boy's chest. "Hey! Cut that out!" James started to push CJ's nose away when he saw the note stuck in the halter. He pulled it loose and unfolded it. If his mother had heard the swear word James used, she would have washed his mouth out with soap. "Wait right here," he told the horse. "I'll go get Will and the doc."
"We'll have to move you someplace where you can stay still for a couple of days," J.D. Hammond told Brisco after examining his leg.
"Put me in the house," Brisco said.
"But Brisco!" Kate started to protest.
"We've had two pretty good shakers and that part of the house hasn't come down," her husband said. "It's either that or the barn."
"I think between the three of us, we can get him to the house," Hammond said to Kate and James. He worried about young Daniel. The boy was standing off to the side, his eyes wide with confusion and fear.
"Will," the doctor said to the middle boy. "Can you and Daniel get the plaster and the gauze from my cart? Do you have a fire going?" he asked Kate.
"Yes."
"Good. Listen, son," J.D. said to Will. "Dump the gauze into a pot of water and boil it."
"Yes, sir," Will nodded.
The doctor motioned to the youngest County. "Young Daniel," Hammond said, kneeling down to look the boy in the eye. "I need you to do an important job for me. Can you help Will make up the plaster? Just dump the whole box into a bucket and add just enough water so it's just like mud pies. You've made mud pies, haven't you?" Daniel nodded solemnly. "Good lad. Just keep stirring it until I come out for it."
"C'mon, Dan," Will said, taking his younger brother's hand.
"Thanks," Brisco said quietly.
The doctor gave him a tired smile. "Oh, you won't be thanking me when I set your leg. Let's get you to the house."
"All right," Hammond said after he'd cut off Brisco's left trouser leg and carefully removed his boot. "James, if you would, climb up there beside your dad and hold on to his arm. Miz Kate? Can you hold Brisco's other arm?"
As they moved to comply, the doctor caught Brisco's look of dread. "It'll be over quick," he assured the sheriff. "On the count of three, now. One," Hammond pulled Brisco's leg bone back into place. Brisco cried out and fainted.
"James," the doctor said, reassuring the wide-eyed boy with a smile. "Would you please fetch your brothers? Don't worry about your father. He'll come 'round soon."
"Yes, sir," James replied warily, not certain he believed Hammond.
"Brisco's got to stay still for at least two days," the doctor said to Kate after James left. "Will he stay down?"
"I don't think so. He's so restless."
J.D. grimaced. "Then we'll have to drug him. Ah," he said as the boys entered the bedroom carrying a bucket of plaster and a pot of wet gauze. Hammond pulled a chair close to the end of the bed. "Put the gauze here, please. Now Will, you just hold that bucket of plaster. Keep stirring it so it doesn't harden yet. Good. James, can you pull strips of gauze out of that pot and hand them to me? Good lad."
Kate put a gentle hand on Daniel's head and steered him towards the door. The four-year-old, seeing the still form of his father, assumed the worst.
"Noooo!" he cried. Kate knelt and enfolded him in her arms, but the boy could not be consoled.
"Daniel," J.D. said gently, realizing what the boy must be thinking. "Come here." Daniel hiccuped a sob and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. He reluctantly took the doctor's outstretched hand. Hammond picked up the boy and set him on the bed beside his father. He touched a spot over Brisco's heart. "Put your ear right here, son." As Daniel pressed his head to Brisco's shirt, the doctor gently felt for the pulse in the sheriff's wrist. "Hear his heart beating? Thump-thump. Thump-thump."
"Yeah," Daniel replied in wide-eyed wonder.
"Just stay right there and listen. Will you tell me if his heart beat changes? Gets faster or slower?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Miz Kate? If you could help me by holding up Brisco's leg, we'll get this over with." Hammond turned to James. "A strip of gauze, please?"
Brisco sighed and opened his eyes. The weight on his chest materialized into the form of his youngest son. When Brisco touched the boy's back, Daniel turned his head over to face him.
"Hi, Daddy."
"Hey, Squirt. Whatcha doin'?"
"Listnen to your heart."
"We're just about done, Brisco." J.D. Hammond said from somewhere down by his feet.
"You lied," Brisco grumbled. "You said, 'On three'."
The doctor grinned. "Sue me."
Brisco laughed, causing his bruised back to throb. "I still have a law degree, you know. Ow. Hurts to laugh."
"Come along, boys," Kate said, relief evident in her face. "Let's get this plaster washed off." When Daniel paused, she added, "We'll just be gone a moment."
"I envy you," Hammond said after they left.
Brisco raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "I'm lying here with a busted leg, and you envy me? Don't make me laugh, J.D., 'cause it hurts too much."
"You and Kate should be justifiably proud of those boys. They did everything as they were told. Not a single argument. Even little Daniel helped." Hammond shook his head sorrowfully. "What I would've given if Rob and I had gotten along as well."
"My dad and I were like that," Brisco sympathized. "Always butting heads. Never could seem to have a conversation without an argument."
Hammond was surprised at the admission. The legendary Brisco County and his son couldn't see eye to eye? "Did you ever regret it?"
"Yeah," Brisco replied wistfully. "Especially after he died."
"Well, it's water under the bridge now," Hammond sighed as he closed his medical bag. "Rob's out East and not likely to come back anytime soon. I'll look in on you tomorrow." J.D. pointed an accusing finger at the sheriff. "Stay in that bed, Brisco. I mean it. You try to get up too soon and all this will be for naught."
"Yes, sir. Thanks, J.D."
The next morning promised fine weather, so Kate decided to do some laundry. As she pinned up a shirt, she heard a horse approach and turned to see the blacksmith leading one of the draft horses towards her.
"Miz County," Ben Macklin rumbled. "Your boys forgot to fetch this one, so I brought her home. I heard about the sheriff. How's he doin'?"
"As well as can be expected," Kate replied. "Thank you for bringing Maggie home." The hulking blacksmith always unnerved her, although Brisco had assured her countless times that Ben was gentlest person he knew.
"Looks as though you all got it worse out here than in town," Macklin commented at the sight of the crumbled corner of the house.
"Yes. We're lucky to have gotten out unharmed."
"I could help you clean up this mess," Ben offered, scratching his scruffy brown beard in thought. "Shore up that corner. If your boys help, it wouldn't take long."
"Oh, I couldn't impose on you, Mr. Macklin."
The smith shrugged. "The sheriff could do worse to my brother Marty than he does. Let's 'im sleep it off in the jail after a binge. Always wanted to find a way to thank him."
Kate was touched. "I'd appreciate your help. The boys are cleaning up the barn. They can show you where Brisco keeps his tools. There's some lumber stored in the last stall. I don't know if it's enough."
"We'll see what we can do." As the smith led the horse to the barn, Kate realized that she'd probably had the longest conversation with Macklin that anyone had ever had. The taciturn smith was known for his one-word answers.
"God works in mysterious ways," she murmured.
Brisco opened his eyes at the touch a cool hand on his forehead. "How long have I been out?" he croaked.
"Two days," Kate said. The doctor warned her about infection; she'd checked Brisco every few hours for fever.
"Two days," Brisco repeated. He'd spent two days in a hazy, weird dream of murmured voices, hammering, lights going on, lights going off, someone pouring syrup down his throat, and, every so often, a small sticky hand on his face. Brisco saw a bottle in Kate's hand. "What's that?"
"Laudanum," she replied. "J.D. was worried you wouldn't stay down, so we drugged you."
"Don't give me any more," he protested, having no desire to return to the dream-like state.
"But Brisco," Kate argued. "What about the pain?"
"I'll manage," he ground out. As he struggled to sit up, Brisco realized that he wasn't alone in the bed. His youngest son was curled up next to him, asleep. "What's Daniel doing in here?"
Kate smiled. "He refuses to take a nap in his room. He's taken it upon himself to be your personal caretaker. He's been checking you for fever and listening to your heart. J.D. better watch himself. I think he's going to have competition in about twenty years." She plumped the pillows and wedged them behind Brisco's back so he could sit up. "Just stay in bed until J.D. can take a look at you. I'll send James to fetch him. Please, Brisco?"
"Okay," he conceded. "Is there something I can read?"
"I'll get the newspapers," Kate said, getting that flustered look that signaled bad news. "Not very good news, I'm afraid."
"What?" From the look on her face, Brisco wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"San Francisco got the worst of the earthquake. We're just now starting to hear how bad it is. And no," Kate said, cutting off Brisco's next question. "I haven't been able to contact Bowler or Socrates. The telegraph lines are down."
Brisco swore.
"I know. I'm just as worried as you are, but there's nothing we can do right now but wait." Kate left the room and returned moments later with the newspapers. As she handed him the papers, Kate leaned over and kissed him.
"Nice to have you back."
Brisco pulled her to him and kissed her again. "Nice to be back."
Kate smiled. "I'll go find James. If you need anything, wake Daniel."
"Okay."
Brisco scanned the newspapers, disheartened by the events of the last three days. The paper was full of eyewitness accounts of the quake damage. Seemed the closer you got to San Francisco, the greater the damage. Daniel stirred beside him and lifted his blond head.
"Daddy!" he said, blinking sleepily. He crawled up and plopped down beside Brisco. "You woked up!"
"I did indeed. I heard you've been helping the doctor."
"Yes, sir. I listnen to your heart and I feeled your head to see if you was hot."
Brisco had to smile at his son's comical pronunciation. All three boys had talked that way when they were young; James and Will had grown out of it by the time they started school. Brisco knew he'd miss it when Daniel learned to speak correctly.
"You were a good boy to help your mom like that. So, tell me what's been going on while I've been asleep."
"Will an James been milkin' Mr. Muewer's cows. Momma's been sweep'n up the bwoken gwass and wash'n the cwose. Oh, an the smiff fix-ed the house."
"The smiff?"
"Mister Mackwin."
"Oh!" Brisco suddenly understood. The smith.
"He brung Maggie back, an then him an James an Will fix-ed the parwor. Jus' like new. 'Cept for the chimbley. It's still broke."
"Did they fix the hole in the roof in your bedroom?"
"Yes, sir. But me an James an Will are still sweep'n in the tent."
"Why's that?"
Daniel giggled. "'Cause it's fun. We been pway'n Injuns."
The doctor gave Brisco permission to get out of bed. "I swear I have a pair of crutches," J.D. said. "But I'll be damned if I can find them." Ever since Hammond's wife died, the doctor had become increasingly disorganized. Mrs. Benson had been trying to find J.D. a housekeeper to organize his life; so far the incredible mess in the doctor's house had daunted every prospect.
"The boys can cut some saplings," Brisco said. "Don't worry about it."
Will and James returned from milking just as J.D. was leaving. "Can Dad get up?" Will asked his mother. "Cause James has a great idea."
"Yeah," James said, dancing with excitement. "We could use the swivel chair from Dad's desk. We could push him around in that!"
"Hmmm," Kate paused as she set the table. "It might work. You'd better go ask him." The boys giggled and shoved each other as they pushed the chair down the hall to the bedroom.
Ten minutes later, Kate heard Brisco's slightly panicked voice in the hall. "Hey! Not so fast! If you dump me on the floor, we're gonna have a helluva time getting me back in this chair." Brisco appeared, seated in the swivel chair and being pushed by three very enthusiastic boys.
"Whoa!" The boys stopped the chair in the kitchen.
"I wasn't sure you'd go for it," Kate grinned.
Brisco looked at her, wide-eyed. "I'm beginning to have second thoughts."
"Why don't you boys show your father the new parlor?" Kate said mischievously.
"Okay!" James cried to his brothers, "Let's go!"
"Oh, no," Brisco gasped as he was spun around. "Hey! Slow down!"
"That was sneaky," Brisco said later as they lay in bed.
Kate giggled as she snuggled against him. "I couldn't resist. They were having so much fun helping you."
"Suppose we'll ever get them back in their own beds?"
"Oh, let them sleep in the tent a little longer. All three of them have been such troopers through all of this."
"I know. J.D. told me he envied us our three terrific kids."
"I keep wondering what we've done right to deserve them," Kate said.
Brisco stroked her hair. "How are you doing?"
"Better," she sighed. "Much better."
The next morning, after the boys finished their chores, Brisco had them drag a small table out to the porch so they could play cards. Kate brought her sewing out and sat in the sunlight at the other end of the porch.
Brisco dealt cards to James, Will and himself. "C'mere," he said to Daniel, pulling the boy's chair closer to him. "You can help me play." He held his hand up for his son to see.
After a few hands, Brisco asked Daniel to pick out one of his cards to throw into the discard pile. "That one," Daniel said, pointing to a six.
"But if you throw that one out," his father explained. "Will can pick it up and make a canasta with it."
"Oh please, Dan," Will pleaded. "Please, please, please?"
Daniel frowned in concentration. "How 'bout that one?" he said, pointing to a nine.
Brisco looked at the cards in front of Will. "Doesn't look like he's got a nine on the table. Okay, throw that one out." Daniel giggled as he pulled the nine from Brisco's hand and threw it on the discard pile."
Will pounced. "Ah ha! You didn't know that I have two nines in my hand." He chanted in a singsong voice. "I can pick up the discard pile."
"Sorry, Daniel," Brisco said. "Sometimes it happens like that."
"Oh, man," James moaned. "Now he's gonna win."
"So what?" his father asked. "You won the last game."
Later, when Kate was in the kitchen preparing lunch, she heard one of the boys laugh as he ran around the corner of the house. Then she heard Will call out to Daniel. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but he was laughing. When Kate heard Brisco laugh a few moments later, she was curious enough to look out the window.
The boys had managed to get Brisco and his chair out to the middle of the yard. Brisco was swinging a rope over his head. The boys were running around the yard, trying not to get lassoed. Brisco let the rope fly; Daniel squealed as it caught him around the shoulders.
Kate went outside. She shook her head as Brisco hauled his giggling son to him.
"You're as bad as they are," she chided.
Brisco gave her a tired grin. "I think I waited too long to have kids. I forgot how much energy they have," he said.
"And just what are you doing?"
"The boys wanted to learn how to throw a rope. We started out trying to hit the fence post. Daniel's too small to throw properly, so he volunteered to be the calf." Brisco chuckled. "Will and James found out that being the calf was much more fun, so the whole lesson kind of went downhill from there."
Kate kneaded his shoulders. "You're going to be sore after this," she said.
Brisco shrugged. "I already hurt in places I didn't know existed, so one more pain isn't going to matter."
Two days later, Kate found Brisco at his desk, scowling at the papers in his hand.
"What's wrong?" she asked, running her hands along his shoulders and kneading the knots out of his muscles.
Brisco blew out his breath. "Bills. How are we going to pay these if I can't work? J.D. said that it'd be six weeks before this cast comes off."
"Don't worry," Kate replied. "Wald said he'd pay the boys to milk for him. I have orders to make six dresses; two of them are wedding dresses." She leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Better get your law books out. Beatrice wants you to write a will for her, and she is determined to pay you for it. So stop stewing."
Brisco relaxed, touched by the generosity of his neighbors. Just then, James and Will barreled into the house, shouting, "Mom! Dad! You gotta telegram!"
Brisco took the yellow envelope from James but paused, afraid of the news it might contain. He held the telegram up. "You read it," he said to Kate.
"Let me, Dad," Will begged. "Please?" Brisco silently handed the note to his son. Kate could feel the tension in his shoulders. Brisco closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Will unfolded the telegram and read, "Survived the quake. Stop. House is a mess. Stop. Seen Poole. Stop. Ain't nothing wrong with him except the usual. Stop. Hope you all are ok. Stop. Bowler."
Brisco let out the breath he'd been holding with a whoosh. With every, "Stop," Kate felt the tension leave Brisco's shoulders. He smiled up at her, and Kate leaned over and kissed him.
"What bad grammar," James commented as Will handed the telegram back to his father.
"Yeah," Brisco laughed, snapping the last cord of pressure in his chest. "But it's pure Bowler."
