by J. Rosemary Moss
Genre: Fan Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG
Link to Part One
~
I took a crack at the safe the next afternoon. It was a bit risky, for while all four Cartwrights were out doing whatever it is that ranchers do, Hop Sing was still at home. But he was occupied in the cellar. I figured that I had at least an hour before he emerged.
I stared at the Ponderosa safe and put my hands on the combination knob, caressing it so as to put it at ease. “You’ll open for me, won’t you?” I whispered.
It didn’t answer, but that didn’t offend me. Silence means consent, doesn’t it?
I put my hands on the combination knob and began to turn it, listening carefully to the sound of the tumblers. Sometimes tools weren’t even necessary—sometimes you could hear the tumblers clicking into place at the right moment. That was near as good as knowing the combination yourself.
I could probably crack the safe that way eventually, but it would take hours of listening to the tumblers play inside the knob. And the longer I took, the greater my chance of a Cartwright catching me in the act.
No, I’d do this properly. I opened my tool box and took out my drill. I knew the general make of this safe—a little fiddling and I would find the perfect spot on the door. One small, elegant hole should be sufficient. I’d have to disguise that hole afterwards, of course, but I had planned for that.
I ran my hands along the door and chose my spot. Then I began to drill, going slow and easy until I had a hole that I could slip a small tool into in order to release the bolt mechanism. The idea was to by-pass the lock altogether.
But the safe-maker had more brains than I had given him credit for. About halfway through the hole, some sort of ceramic material blocked my drill. I swore under my breath at my wasted effort. In fact, my efforts were worse than wasted. Because I tried to get arond that bloody ceramic I ended up with a hole that I couldn’t disguise.
So much for my dream of cracking the safe without leaving a mark. Damn, damn, damn.
I took hold of my clamps—ah, they were pretty—and went to work on the knob. Didn’t it fall right into my hands? I smiled at the clamps and silently thanked the old clockmaker for willing me such exquisite tools. In his day, I’ve no doubt that he was one of the best safe-crackers in the country.
I soon had the safe open. I stared inside, looking at the piles of cash. I shouldn’t be surprised if there was three thousand dollars of ‘emergency’ funds in there. That was a lot of money—I made forty dollars a month as a highly-paid servant.
There was jewelry there as well. It must have belonged to Joe’s mother. From what I had learned of the family, Adam’s mother and Hoss’s mother had died too poor to afford baubles like these. Unless, of course, the gems were paste. But they didn’t look like paste. But I was no expert, I reminded myself.
I left everything inside the safe unmolested, just as I had planned. Then I put the safe back together—quite neatly, if I do say so myself. But there was no way to disguise what I had done. Old man Cartwright might not notice just by glancing at the safe, but he’d know it’d been tampered with the first time he went to open it.
I put my tools back in their case and then sat by the fireplace. What now?
Well, I had decided that last night, hadn’t I? If I couldn’t crack the safe here without anyone being the wiser, I had promised myself that I would tell Adam the whole story and throw myself on his mercy. I’d explain why I had done it and why I had been practicing to break into the Maris safe. And then I’d hope that he didn’t send for the sheriff.
I could run, of course. I knew that. Why should I risk my liberty merely to help the Cartwrights? I didn’t owe them anything. I could cut my losses and leave.
But I didn’t want to leave. I was happy here. I liked my master, I liked my work and I liked being a part, however humble, of the Cartwright household. I liked Little Joe’s friendship and the camaraderie that I shared with Hop Sing.
Besides, I didn’t really believe that Adam would call the sheriff. Not if I told him about the safe now.
The clock rang out, interrupting my thoughts. It was four o’clock and the chimes were right on schedule. I had finished repairing the clock last week.
Adam would be coming in any moment. I got up, placed my tools carefully to the side and then found my coat. Once I was properly bundled up, I walked outside to the barn. Adam was just riding into the yard on Sport.
I watched as he dismounted. He smiled at me and walked toward me, leading the gelding behind him.
“May I talk with you, sir?” I asked, hugging myself against the cold.
“Sure,” he answered. “Come on into the barn with me.”
I nodded and followed him. Once we were inside I helped him stable Sport. Adam put another heavy blanket on the horse and then turned to face me. “What’s on your mind, Shea?” he asked.
I sighed. “I’ve got something to confess. Something—something pretty bad. I’m hoping you won’t be sending for the sheriff.”
Adam stared at me. “Well, that will depend on what you confess,” he said at length. “You haven’t murdered or injured anyone, have you?”
I shook my head. “No, sir. But I cracked your safe. I didn’t take anything, mind. You can check. I had to practice because—well, it’s a long story.”
“I will check it,” Adam said calmly. “And I’ll need to hear that story.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. He was taking this remarkably well, all things considered. “Why aren’t you in shock?”
He smiled a little. “A Pinkerton approached me a couple of weeks ago. He wanted my impression of my new valet. He told me that the three houses you’d worked in before had all been burgled while you served in them.”
I stood stock still as I took that in. And here I’d been sure that the Pinkertons had never given me a second thought.
“Don’t worry,” Adam continued, smiling wryly as he noted my expression. “I don’t think he truly suspected you—even he seemed to think that he was grasping at straws. But all the same, I decided not to mention your mechanical skills or those fine tools you keep for, ah, repairing clocks.”
“Why did you protect me?” I demanded.
He shrugged. “I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. There was nothing but circumstantial evidence against you.”
“But you risked all that money in the safe! And all that jewelry!”
“The jewelry is paste,” he said evenly. “Marie—that’s Joe’s mother—had some excellent pieces, but Joe has those locked away somewhere else. She didn’t wear those gems often; she preferred cunning duplicates.”
“There was still the money,” I pointed out.
“Did you look closely at it?”
I shook my head. “No,” I owned.
“Only the top bills were legitimate.” He gave me another wry smile—one that was almost apologetic. “I’m sorry, Shea, but after I spoke to the Pinkerton I had a long talk with my Pa. We thought it’d be best not to take any chances.”
I nodded. “I don’t blame you.” I paused to sigh again. “I took this job intending to rob you. But believe me, I decided against that within a week of working here. I scarcely knew my employers before, you see. It’s easy to rob someone you don't know. But I couldn’t have done that to you.”
He cocked his head at me. “If you decided that so early, why did you stay? Have you run through all the money you’ve stolen?”
“No, sir,” I answered. “I still have most of it spread out among various banks.”
“Then why keep working as a servant?” he persisted. “Why not take your leisure or do work you love?”
I grinned at him. “I am doing work I love. And you give me leisure enough.”
He rolled his eyes at me, but there was still a slight smile on his face. “You’re going to have to return what you stole,” he said. “If you do that, I think I’ll be able to convince those families not to press charges. The Ponderosa has plenty of influence in San Francisco.”
“I don’t mind giving it back,” I said at once. “I never cared about the money anyway. I was just after the challenge. But, sir, I don’t have all of it. Some of what I stole was jewelry—and the fence didn’t give me a quarter of what those gems were worth. Even if I give you everything I have now, I’ll still be short by over a thousand dollars.”
He sighed. “Well, I’ll have to make up the difference.”
I groaned and leaned back against one of the stalls. “It will take me years to pay you back."
“Don’t worry,” he said with a wink. “I intend to take it out of your hide.”
I stared at him for a moment and then managed a small laugh. “Yes, sir.”
He turned to give Sport one last pet and then turned back to me. “Come on, Shea, let’s get inside. It’s too cold to listen to your story out here.”
I nodded and managed another small, resigned smile as I fell in beside him. He put a brotherly arm over my shoulder and together we walked back toward the house.
LINK TO PART TWELVE
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