It was early March 1873 when the Cartwright twins Mitch and Pam outside on the yard. It was a lovely Spring weather and there seemed to be nothing bad in the air. Suddenly Frank Larson came up to the children.
“No sound or otherwise you are dead!”, he whispered.
There was also a rifle pointed at the twins. Peter Taylor, the accomplish of Frank, came nearer and dragged the children along. Of course they offered resistance which gave them unconsciousness. The men took the twins to a big house, far away from the Ponderosa.
The twins woke up in a strange living room.
“So you are the infamous Cartwright twins where everybody in Virginia City talks about?”, asked countess Linda Chadwick.
“Maybe yes but maybe not either. Who are you?”, Mitch asked sarcastic.
“I asked it first!”, Linda said somewhat insulted.
“They played at the yard of the Ponderosa so it has to be them. Besides I have heard that the boy is lame. And this boy is that too”, said Peter.
“Gee, what a coincidence”, Pam said chuckling.
She and Mitch began to laugh which made Linda angry.
“Shut up both”, she said snappy.
The children were silence at once.
“May I ask something?”, asked Pam.
“Fire away”, Linda said a bit more quite.
“Why are we actually here? We don’t know you and you don’t know us either”, said Pam.
“I know that your grandpa is a very good friend of mine and also that he will do everything to get you back. But your parents will see you back after Ben Cartwright had made his apology to me. Then I finally will become your grandma and we all live happily ever after”, said Linda.
“Grandpa is going to merry you? Then he really has lost it”, reacted Mitch.
“And after the wedding day you go straight to a strict boarding school in the east”, Linda said fierce.
“Daddy will decide that and not grandpa and you certainly not”, answered Pam.
Suddenly the twins didn’t trust her anymore. Also they didn’t understand anything of it. Linda didn’t feel like giving more explanation and left the twins in the living room behind.
“You guard them and make sure that they don’t get away!”, she snapped at Peter.
Peter nodded.
In the meantime at the Ponderosa Hoss Cartwright discovered as first that the children had disappeared. He looked around the yard but didn’t see them anywhere.
“Adam, I don’t want to worry you but the twins are gone”, he said as careful as possible.
His older brother didn’t know what he heard.
“How do you mean gone? They still played on the yard an hour ago”, Adam reacted fierce.
“They are gone. Someone must have taken them along”, answered Ben Cartwright, their father.
“Who then?”, Adam asked worried.
“There are many candidates for. The twins also carry the name Cartwright and so an easy target for those who wants to have our ranch”, answered Ben.
“That is so but I can hardly lock them up in their rooms all day. They are too wild for that”, reacted Adam.
“If that could be sometimes. Then Joe and I have rest too”, Hoss remarked.
“We are going to look for them”, said Ben.
They grabbed their rifles and went away.
The brothers went each their own way to find the twins. Suddenly Linda Chadwick came riding up the yard. She saw Ben leave and called him back. The rancher turned his horse and rode towards her.
“Linda Chadwick! What are you doing here?”, he asked worried.
Linda stopped her carriage and looked at her former lover.
“Are you still angry for what I have done 10 years ago?”, she asked.
“You took care that we almost lost the Ponderosa. I have no time for you because my grandchildren are missing”, answered Ben.
“Your grandchildren are missing? How terrible. Can I do something?”, she asked pretending being worried.
“No. You can do something though and that is to stay away from us”, was the answer of Ben.
He left the yard and left the countess alone. Linda knew enough and went back to her residence. But Adam had seen her too and followed her with his brothers.
Mitch and Pam were teasing Peter so that eh became angry. They were pacing in the big living room and touched everything they ran into.
“Pam, this is a nice house though but ours is much more nicer”, Mitch said suddenly.
“Sure do. And the hands are much nicer. Especially Candy and Griff”, answered his sister.
“He looks so moody. I think he was born that way”, Mitch remarked dry.
“Now you keep yourself quiet or I will kill you!”,he yelled.
The twins shook of it and went to sit on the settee. Peter came to them with his rifle and hit Mitch against his left knee. The boy fell on the ground and moaned of pain. Pam saw chance to escape and did that too. Outside she saw their dog Cody who ran towards her.
“Cody!”, she called.
Suddenly Pam got grabbed again, dragged away and of course she resisted again.
“Pam, take it easy because it’s me. Uncle Hoss”, Hoss said at once.
The girl calmed down right away.
“Mitch is still inside but he is injured. That hand hit with a rifle against his knee. We were being held there by a woman. She said that grandpa must make his apologies and then they would get married. We must go then to a boarding school”, told Pam.
Meanwhile Adam and Joe had come there as well.
“Adam, the countess is back again and now she still wants to marry pa and send the children to a boarding school”, said Hoss.
Adam took his daughter into his arms and kissed her.
“Mitch is still inside. There is a hand there but he is rather angry. He hit Mitch against his knee”, said Pam.
“And you have been pestering him quite like only you can and do?”, asked Adam.
His daughter nodded.
“You keep here hiding with Cody. Then we will free your brother”, said Joe.
Pam kept herself hidden with the dog while the brothers went inside.
Peter was busy with Mitch who still laid injured on the ground.
“Come stand up then little one”, said Peter.
He kicked him once again.
“Can you do that to a little boy? You do have to take one of your own size”, Hoss said at that moment.
He and Peter went to fight with each other whereby Adam and Joe could rescue Mitch. They went outside where Joe went to Pam and Cody and Adam remained by Mitch.
“That woman knows grandpa because she insists on marrying him so she can send us to a strict boarding school in the east”, Mitch said when he had came by a little.
“That will never happen because even grandpa can’t and won’t miss you”, answered Adam.
Joe, Pam and Cody had come to them and a moment later Hoss followed too.
“That one has fallen for his country”, said Hoss said rubbing his hands.
“Who is that person?”, Mitch asked curious.
“That person is countess Linda Chadwick. When I was just as old as you are now grandpa and her were in love with each other. But it went wrong and 20 years later she tried to get our ranch by stirring trouble in the mine camp an also with the lumber jacks”, Adam explained.
“And now the children are still mine!”, the Cartwrights heard saying then.
They looked up and saw Ben and Linda coming. Cody came into action at once an barked loud. The horses of her carriage reared and Linda fell out of her carriage. She died on the spot because she broke her neck. Ben dismounted and examined Linda.
“She is dead. Fortunately”, said the rancher.
“My knee hurts”, said Mitch.
“We go home and Hop Sing will take care of it”, said Adam.
They got up and went back home. Just like about 10 years back the twins also loved their familiar surrounded ranch even more.
Hop Sing took care of the knee of Mitch and to big relief of especially Adam his children recovered well from it.