by Mars
Disclaimer: The characters and
situations of the TV program "Big Valley" are the creations of Four
Star/Republic Pictures and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended by the
author. The ideas expressed in this
story are copyrighted to the author.
Part 1
It was a dark and stormy day in Stockton. The train
whistled, stopped, dropped its passengers and departed. There wasn't many
passengers on that week day, and sure no one took notice of the tree men left
on the deck. Black strange shaped suitcases in hands, the trio slowly made its
way towards the main street.
They walked for a while, suitcases in hands, dodging
between boxes covered walking ladies and penniless drunken cowhands. They
didn't recognize Nick and Heath busy at stacking boxes behind the bogey while
Audra babbled something Victoria faked to listen to. They didn't even notice
Jarrod Barkley, Attorney at Law, exiting his office and walking toward his
family.
No, the trio of strangers, still suitcase in hands, walked
passed the Barkley without even noticing them. One of the men reached for his
vest pocket and read a note. He pointed into a direction, and the men headed
that way.
A few minutes later, standing before a building, the men
looked at each other with incredulity. Shrugging, and probably sighing, they
finally entered the building on which was a plaque saying *Stockton Heritage
Foundation*.
"Ah! Here you are!" An old fat man standing
behind a desk greeted the strangers. "I was wondering when you'd show up!
It's about time, life is getting quite boring in town."
The men nodded, then sat on the chairs set before the
desk. The room was only furnished with the desk, the three chairs. Funny
enough, the large staircase behind the desk didn't lead... anywhere! Up the
stairs was no door. Dead end. The only other door in the room was the one under
the staircase.
The men had no time to ask questions, the old fat man
started. "I'll skip you the whole story," he announced, standing.
"Sirs, grab your tools and follow me."
The men glanced at each other, but without a word opened
their funny shaped suitcases and followed the old fat man by the staircase. The
fat man opened the small door to the closet under the staircase. "Quick,
cram in," he ordered.
The men were about to protest, but the fat man raised his
hand, "Twenty dollars a week," he simply said.
The men grinned and rushed into the small dark closet.
Before closing the door, the old man asked, "You read the directives,
right?"
The men nodded, already beads of sweat on their forehead.
"All right. I'll close the door and you do your part."
The old fat man closed the door and leaned against it.
"Ready?" he asked the trio. He grinned when no answer came from the
closet. "Good. You got the first rule. No talking."
The fat man walked to the desk and sat heavily on his
chair.
Time passed.
And passed again.
And again and again.
Thirty minutes later, after a well-deserved nap, the man
stood and crossed the room to the stairs. He took a huge breath and shouted at
the top of his lungs, "Mother! Audra! Heath has been shot!"
As soon as he finished his sentence, the room filled with
the sound of violins. He grinned, "Good. You're still alive and
playing!" he laughed.
He opened the door, "Alright. Time's a wasting.
Follow me." He turned and headed for the front door.
Behind him the three men slowly exited the small closet,
the daylight hurting their eyes. Recovering from near suffocation, limping on
their cramped legs, the strange men followed the old fat man.
The man waved his hand before his face, "I'll make
sure you won't be served with beans..." he assured them, laughing.
He opened the door and stepped outside, three groaning men
on his heels. "That should do for the house. Now let's see how you fare
with the great outdoors."
He then walked straight toward the livery stables.
Part 2
The three men followed the old fat guy. On their way
toward the livery stables they passed by the Barkley family and heard part of
the conversation.
"No hired gun, no ex-convicts, no fatally ill
parents, no anthrax... Hrm..." Jarrod was reading the telegram he just
received. "No storm, no wild fire, no flood..."
"What about our shares, and the mines?" Nick
asked.
"Shares are gaining on an exponential rate and the
mines are producing as never before... Oh, wait!"
Every Barkley tensed, ready to hear a bad news.
Jarrod took a moment to read more, then sighed.
"Let me guess," Heath cut in. "There's
another strike? Or better, a cave in?"
Jarrod shook his head, "I'm afraid not, Heath."
"What is it then, Jarrod?" Mother asked.
"You remember that exhausted copper mine we closed
two years ago, in Redding?"
"Yeah, what's with it?" Nick grumbled.
"Well, the men went back to work and found the
richest gold vein west of the Rockies."
"Darn!"
"Audra, that language doesn't fit a young lady,"
Victoria corrected her daughter.
The old fat man hurried the pace, grumbling. "So many
good news are ruining our town."
They reached the stables. All the while he was saddling a
horse, he kept grumbling like a man who had enough, "There's no more
brawls at the saloon, so the furniture store is going to close for lack of
selling its furniture. Even the saloon owner is desperate, people are so happy
they don't feel like drowning their misery in whisky anymore..."
The man glanced at the three guys holding their violins,
and seemed satisfied by the contrite look on their faces, "Dr. Merar is
looking fondly to knitting lessons while sheriff Fred moved his stuff to the
mission... As for the undertaker, he moved to O.K. Corral last week..."
The old man yanked the horse in the street, the trio
following him. "It must end, and soon." On that, he climbed, not
without difficulty, on the horse. "Oh well. Let's see what you can
do."
Slowly riding down main street, not a single town folk
seemed to notice the three men walking behind while playing violins. At the
sound of the first notes, the sky darkened and angry clouds gathered on the
horizon.
As the strange group lead by the old man passed by the
Barkley family, the first drop of rain hit the group.
Nick looked up at the sky, frowning, "Looks like
hail's coming."
"We should go home," Victoria announced, hardly
able to hide a grin.
"But Mother," Audra protested, "Shouldn't
we wait here that..."
"Mother is right. Let's go!" Heath jumped on his
horse.
While the Barkley were busy getting on their way, the old
fat man and his followers reached the end of the main street. They turned on
the road leading to the Barkley ranch.
"You're doing very good," the man commented.
"Keep this up, and you'll be rich in no time!" On that, he urged the
horse to trot. The men followed on a hasty pace to keep up with the rider.
As soon as the Barkley came to view on the road, lightning
and wind filled the valley. They didn't notice that the town folks were now all
gathered in the street, dancing in the rain and laughing like hyenas...
An hour later, everyone arrived at the ranch. Jarrod
helped Mother and Audra down from the buggy while Nick and Heath rushed to get
the boxes inside the house. That done, they took care of the carriage.
Meanwhile, the old fat man stood stoically in the rain, a
large grin on his face.
The three men, out of breath from the 5 miles run they
just did, managed to keep playing violins.
As Nick and Heath were walking back to the house, a high
pitched note filled the air. At that exact moment, Heath flew in the air, near
struck by lightning.
Nick ran to his brother lying in a pound of mud,
"HEATH!!"
The violins keep filling the air with a dramatic set of
high pitched notes, while Nick grabbed Heath and carried him on the porch. He
yanked the front door open and yelled, "Mother! Audra! Jarrod!"
Jarrod ran to the door, Victoria and Audra closely behind.
"What happened, Nick?" he asked, then saw the prone body of his
brother on the porch.
"Heath's been struck by lightning!" Nick boomed.
"At last!" Victoria cut in. "Huh.. I
meant... NOOOOO!". It took her a moment to erase the large grin on her
face. "Jarrod, go get the doctor and Fred!"
"Why the sheriff, mother?" Audra innocently
asked.
"Come on, sis! He'll be so happy!" Nick laughed.
The old man shook the rain off his shirt. "All right,
guys. You're all hired." The men sighed. "Get in now, find some food
and make yourself at home under the stairs. Be ready in about an hour for the
doctor's arrival."
The old man rode away, smiling. "Where can I find a
pianist and a drum player..."