The Well (by JoanS)

Summary:  Will Ben risk the life of one son to save another?

Rated: K (10,700 words)

The Well

‘Would you get back from there?’ Adam looked at his youngest brother in a frustrated fashion as he shook his head. ‘I’m trying to work!’

 

Joe drew back from the edge of the well and gave Adam a hurt look. ‘I was only trying to see,’ he said defensively. ‘I weren’t hurting nothing.’

 

‘I didn’t say you were,’ said Adam, trying to ignore the hurt look. ‘Just stay back though, will you?’  It was like this all the time lately, he thought. Ever since he’d been back from college in Boston, his youngest brother had been pestering him.  He knew that the boy had missed him … Lord knows he’d missed Joe too … but enough was enough!  Every time he looked over his shoulder lately there was Joe trailing along behind him wanting to know what he was doing, where he was going and if he could come too. Pa said to give it time and the boy would settle down, but in the meantime Adam was well and truly sick of it.  He tried his best to be patient with him, but sometimes it was a struggle. ‘Haven’t you got something to do anyway?’ he asked impatiently.

 

Joe shook his head and grinned at his older brother. ‘Nope,’ he said happily. ‘Nuthin.’

 

‘Finished all your chores?’

 

‘Yep. I’ve got all afternoon to hang round and help you if ya like Adam,’ said Joe generously as he leant his elbows on the edge of the well and smiled at his brother. ‘What are we doing with the well anyway?’

 

I am getting it cleared,’ said Adam huffily. ‘I don’t know what you’re doing.’

 

‘I’m helping you,’ explained Joe patiently. ‘What do ya want me to do next?’ A few choice things crossed Adam’s mind instantly, but he wisely chose not to say them aloud. Instead, he ignored Joe’s question and continued to thread the length of rope he was holding through the pulley. ‘What’s that for?’ asked Joe, pointing at the pulley. Again, Adam ignored the remark as he continued to work. ‘I said, what’s that for?’ asked Joe again, reaching over and fingering the rope as Adam threaded it through the pulley.

 

‘Will you leave it alone?’ snapped Adam as he pulled it away from his brother’s hands. ‘I can’t do it if you keep getting in the way!’

 

Joe immediately looked hurt again. ‘Well if you’d give me something to do, then I wouldn’t be in the way,’ he said defensively.

 

‘Wanna bet?’ muttered Adam and then flinched at the hurt look which flitted over his brother’s face again. He instantly regretted the remark. ‘I mean … how about you go and help Pa?  I’m sure he’d appreciate it.’

 

‘Pa’s gone with Hoss to town,’ said Joe. ‘You know that.’

 

‘Oh yes,’ sighed Adam. ‘Well you should have gone with them, shouldn’t you?’

 

‘I couldn’t,’ explained Joe. ‘Not if I was gonna help you.’  He grinned at his brother again. ‘I like helping you Adam.’

 

Adam tried to return the smile. ‘I’m so glad,’ he said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He held up the rope and pulley. ‘It’s ready,’ he announced.

 

‘What you gonna do with it now?’ asked Joe excitedly.

 

‘I’m going to attach the hook onto it and lower it into the well,’ said Adam as he leant up and threw it over the beam over the top of the well.

 

‘How come?’

 

Adam sighed. ‘So that I can hook it onto whatever is down there causing the obstruction,’ he explained.

 

‘Then you’ll pull it up, huh?’

 

‘Yes,’ said Adam between gritted teeth.

 

‘I can help ya pull it then,’ said Joe happily. ‘Guess that Hop Sing will be glad when he can use the well again.’ When his brother didn’t reply, he tried again. ‘Hey Adam … I said that Hop Sing will be glad to use the well again.’

 

‘Uh huh.’

 

‘Are you gonna do it now?’

 

Adam put the hook down. ‘Why don’t you go and see if Hop Sing needs any help?’ he said, trying to sound patient.

 

‘I’d rather help you,’ explained Joe with a smile. He looked over the edge of the well again. ‘I can’t see anything blocking it. There’s no obsduction thing like what you said.’

 

‘Would you get back from there?’ said Adam, pulling his brother away from the edge. ‘The last thing I need is you to fall down there.’

 

‘I wouldn’t fall,’ Joe assured him. ‘Anyway, even if I did I could climb out again.’

 

‘No you couldn’t.  That well is mighty deep … believe me.’

 

‘How did it get dug in the first place anyways?’

 

‘Pa and I dug it a long time ago,’ said Adam. ‘When I was only a few years older than you.’

 

‘So you went right down there to dig it?’ asked Joe, his eyes wide with astonishment at the thought of it.

 

Adam nodded.  His mind went back to a time long ago when he’d been a boy …. a young and frightened boy who was determined not to show his father how scared he had really been.

 

 

 

‘Adam? Son are you all right?’  Ben looked over the edge of the well anxiously into the darkness below.  He hated having to send the boy down there like this, but he really had no other option.  He’d done as much of the digging as he could, but without another man to keep hauling up the earth he kept loosening down there, he’d had no option but to stay on top and have Adam be the one to go to the bottom of the pit and pile the stones and earth into the bucket for him to haul up. 

 

‘I’m fine Pa!’ His son’s voice came drifting up towards him. Yet Adam was anything but fine. Down below he desperately willed his father to shout down that this would be the last bucket they needed to haul up today.  He wanted so badly for the man to send down the piece of wood on the end of the rope. That would be the signal to Adam that it was time for him to sit on it and be hauled up like one of the many buckets of earth that his father had pulled towards the distant spot of light at the top of the hole. Instead he saw the dreaded bucket come down again and nearly hit him on the side of the head as it swung above him.  He grabbed it and pulled it towards himself again, sighing as he filled it yet again with earth before pulling on the rope as a signal for his father to begin pulling on it again.

 

Adam wondered how long he’d been down here now. It was difficult to tell really without the sun as a guide, but he figured it had been the best part of the morning. He wished with all his heart that they’d find what they were looking for down here. Those men down at the Washoe Diggings had told Pa that they’d find water here, but Adam had his doubts. How would they know anyway?  Pa said that they knew the area and could be trusted to know what they were talking about but …

 

Adam jumped as he felt something crawl across his hand.  He picked up the lantern that he’d brought down with him earlier this morning and noted that it was a large black spider tracking its way up his arm and he brushed it off with distaste before stamping on it firmly. It was always like this.  Day after day he didn’t know what he was going to find down here in the dark.  He hated the very smell of the place and wanted to scream every morning when he knew that he’d have to face it again just like yesterday. 

 

He looked up as the rope came snaking down towards him again and saw with relief that the board was tied onto it this time. ‘Time for lunch son,’ called down his father. ‘Get on the board and I’ll haul you up.  Don’t forget the lantern!’

 

Adam hung onto the rope with one hand and the lantern with the other as his father slowly pulled him to the surface.  His feet dangled below the board and he kicked at the sides of the well in frustration as he ascended, hating the journey upwards nearly as much as he hated the descent every morning. He hated everything about this damn hole!  Every day the journey up and down took longer and every day he prayed that it would be the last time he’d have to make it.

 

His expression changed as he got closer to the surface and by the time Ben reached down to haul him out he had resumed the bland mask which he took care to wear each time he got in or out of the well. He couldn’t afford for his father to know how he truly felt about this work, or the man would insist that he never go back down there … and then where would they be?  A ranch house without water nearby wasn’t worth building and the longer they took to find water down there, the longer it would be before Pa would take the decision to commence the house.  Adam knew how much they needed that house.  The small shack Pa had built for them when they’d first arrived last spring was fine for now, but he didn’t relish spending winter in it … none of them did.

 

Adam glanced over at his little brother as he stood still and allowed his father to brush the dirt from his back.  Hoss grinned at him, pleased as always to have his Adam back again.  The boy was sitting on a rug next to the parcel of sandwiches which Pa had fixed for them this morning before they’d left the shack, with one eye on the parcel and one eye on Adam.  Adam knew exactly what was on his brother’s mind … he was wishing that his father would hurry up so that they could start eating.

 

Adam figured that Pa and he were lucky that Hoss was such a good boy.  He was easily pleased and spent hours up here with Pa playing with a small pile of rocks or sticks while the other two members of his family worked.  Adam envied him and wished that he was also too young to have to go down that well again.

 

‘Hungry son?’

 

Adam grinned at his father. ‘Sure am Pa,’ he said fervently as he took a sandwich and began to munch on it.

 

Ben patted him on the shoulder and then handed Hoss a sandwich. ‘Shouldn’t be too long now before we strike water,’ he mused as Adam tried not to show his relief at his father’s words. ‘When we’ve got the well finished I think we both deserve a well-earned break, don’t you?’

 

‘That’d be great Pa,’ said Adam.

 

‘Maybe we’ll go and set some more traps along the river bank,’ continued Ben. ‘We could make a real trip of it.’

 

‘Me too!’ shouted Hoss excitedly.

 

‘Yes,’ said his father as he ruffled his hair. ‘You too Hoss.’

 

‘We’ve sure got a mess of furs now Pa, haven’t we?’ said Adam proudly. ‘We’re sure gonna make a lot of money from em when you go south to sell em, aren’t we?’

 

Ben smiled at him. ‘I sure hope so son,’ he said. ‘We can do with the money that’s for sure.’

 

Adam nodded knowingly. Many was the time he and his father had sat and planned like this before and he knew exactly how each dollar his Pa brought back after selling the furs was to be spent. First they’d get some decent tools and then they’d … ‘Well it’s about time we got back to work again Adam,’ said Ben as he cleaned up the crumbs around him and wiped Hoss’ face. ‘That well isn’t going to dig itself son.’

 

Worse luck, thought Adam.  He shuddered slightly at the thought of going back down there again, but stood up regardless and walked towards the dreaded hole. As Ben lowered the rope with his son dangling on the end of it back down the hole again, his heart went out to the boy.  He wished he didn’t have to do this to him day after day, and he prayed that this day would be the one in which they struck water … just as he did every day. He looked at the disappearing dark hair as Adam descended down the well again and sighed.

 

 

‘So what was it like?’ asked Joe, watching his older brother intently.

 

‘What was what like?’ asked Adam absently, his mind still on the memory of the blackness as he stared into the deep hole below him.

 

‘Going down there to dig the well,’ said Joe impatiently.

 

Adam shrugged and turned away. ‘Fine,’ he said in a low voice.

 

‘I wouldn’t be scared if I hadta go down there,’ boasted Joe.

 

‘I hope you never have to,’ replied Adam. He threw the hook down into the hole and watched as it snaked it’s way downwards in the dark.

 

Joe leant over the well excitedly, watching as well and frowned as Adam pulled him back again with his free hand. ‘Is it hooking on the ob … obsduction thing?’ he asked, unperturbed.

 

‘I can’t feel anything,’ said Adam as he juggled the rope. ‘There’s something down there all right though. Hop Sing feels it with his bucket every time he drops it down.’

 

‘I could climb down on the rope and see,’ offered Joe generously.

 

‘You’ll do nothing of the kind,’ said Adam as he hooked the pulley up on the top of the well. ‘If anyone goes down there it will be me.’

 

Joe pouted. ‘Ain’t fair,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘I never get any of the fun round here.’ He watched as Adam leant into the well and swung the rope backwards and forwards several times. ‘Feel anything now?’ he asked.

 

Adam shook his head. ‘No,’ he replied. ‘Looks like I’ll have to climb down a bit and see. ‘Hand me that lantern Joe.’

 

Joe handed his brother the lantern. ‘How are you gonna get back up?’ he asked anxiously.

 

‘I’ll pull myself up of course,’ said Adam as he pulled the rope back up again and formed a loophole in the bottom of it for his feet. ‘That’s what the pulley is for.’

 

‘Oh.’  Joe watched as his brother looped the rope around himself and then tested the pulley above him with his weight.

 

‘Seems right,’ said Adam as he swung his legs over the edge of the well. ‘Now you stand back, you hear?’ If I see you leaning over the edge while I’m down there you’re in trouble.’

 

Joe pouted again, but stepped back as his brother had instructed him to. He watched as Adam slowly lowered himself down into the well, holding onto the rope with one hand and the lantern with the other.  ‘See anything yet?’ he shouted. From down below he heard his brother’s muffled reply, but couldn’t catch what he was saying. ‘What?’ he shouted, edging closer to the side to get a better look.  He peered down into the darkness and squinted as he saw the top of Adam’s dark hear. ‘Adam?’ he shouted. ‘Can you see the obsduction thing?’

 

Down below, Adam felt his feet drop down onto something solid and he was amazed to see a large rock obstructing half the well shaft. He couldn’t for the life of him think how it had got there, but it was no wonder that Hop Sing couldn’t get his bucket to drop beyond it to the water below. There was only a small gap left.  Adam tested the rock with his feet and felt it shifting beneath him, so he pulled his feet back up again and thought for a moment. Better not to force it, he thought to himself. It was obviously a two-man job and he’d best wait for Hoss or his father to help. Without their strength, he’d never get the rock to the surface and to push it further down might only serve to block the hole even further as the shaft narrowed as it went down.

 

‘There’s large rock down here,’ he shouted back to Joe up above. ‘It’s wedged in and covering more than half the hole.’

 

‘Are you gonna move it?’ shouted back Joe excitedly. ‘I can help from up here.’

 

‘No!’ shouted Adam. ‘I’m coming back up.’  He began to pull on the rope that dangled beside him, but was surprised to find that it didn’t budge. ‘Joe!’ he called up. ‘Check that the pulley is OK.’

 

‘The rope is twisted!’ shouted back Joe. ‘You want me to fix it?’

 

‘No,’ said Adam, cursing himself down in the darkness. It must have twisted as he was lowering himself down … probably because he hadn’t threaded it properly. He hung in the darkness thinking for a moment before shouting back up to Joe. ‘Go and get someone to fix it,’ he shouted.

 

‘I can do it,’ said Joe confidently.

 

‘Get someone!’ shouted Adam. ‘Do as you’re told.’

 

‘But there’s no one here,’ shouted back Joe.

 

Adam thought for a moment longer. Why had he come into the well without checking that there was someone around?  It was the sort of thing that he would have berated one of his brothers for doing … he could just hear himself now: Haven’t you got any commonsense? he would have said. He sighed. Well it was too late for that kind of thinking now.  If he didn’t want to dangle here until his father and Hoss came back he’d just have to think of something to do. ‘Go into the house and get Hop Sing,’ he shouted. ‘He can help!’

 

Adam watched his younger brother’s face disappear and he clung onto the rope in frustration.  He knew that he wasn’t in danger really, as even if it came to it he could get Hop Sing to just hook the rope to something solid up there and he could climb up …. or at the worse just hang here for a while until someone else came.  It wasn’t the fact that …

 

Adam suddenly jumped and sent the rope swinging sideways against the wall of the well shaft.  He desperately tried to stop it, feeling for whatever it was crawling on him at the same time. Stupid! he said to himself. It’s only some kind of bug. But in spite of his logical brain telling him that there was nothing to worry about, all the fears of the young boy that he’d been the last time he was down here came upon him in full force and he shuddered as he tried to wipe whatever it was off himself.

 

The rope swung widely as Adam moved, sending him crashing time and time again into the side of the shaft.  Suddenly he felt himself jerking downwards as the pulley gave way and he crashed onto the large rock with a bang.  He felt his arm crack and called out in his pain. ‘Joe!’ he cried. ‘Joe! Can you hear me?’  There was no response from above and Adam began to tentatively feel his injured arm when he felt the rock shifting under his weight. Desperately he clung to the rope with his good arm, but it slipped through his fingers and he fell sideways into the small crevice between the rock and the side of the well. His legs fell through it and he clutched at the rock to stop himself falling the rest of the way, but without success.  Without another sound, Adam’s body fell below the rock and disappeared towards the water. There was a small splash as he hit the surface far below.

 

 

==========

 

 

‘What you do in kitchen?’ asked Hop Sing angrily as Joe came bounding through the door. ‘You told stay outside when Hop Sing cooking!’  He waved a wooden spoon at the boy and Joe took a step backwards, instinctively covering his small behind with his hands.

 

‘I need to tell ya something,’ he said, watching the spoon as it danced through the air in front of him. ‘It’s about Adam.’

 

‘What about Mr Adam?’ asked Hop Sing suspiciously.

 

‘He’s down the well,’ said Joe, his eyes wide. ‘He can’t get back up!’

 

Hop Sing stopped waving the spoon and his eyes narrowed. He had many experiences of Joe’s embellishment of the truth before and wasn’t about to take the remark at face value. ‘What you mean?’ he asked suspiciously.

 

‘He can’t get up!’ repeated Joe. ‘The pulley’s stuck.  He was looking for an obsduction thing and he found it … it was a big rock …. but then the pulley got stuck and he can’t get up again.’  He pulled on Hop Sing’s sleeve. ‘We gotta help him Hop Sing.  Come quick!’

 

Hop Sing put down the spoon and allowed himself to be led out of the kitchen door by Joe who kept telling him excitedly about something called an obsduction.  For the life of him, Hop Sing didn’t know what that might be, but the boy certainly sounded agitated …. and if Mr Adam was indeed stuck down that well as Little Joe said, then Hop Sing’s help was certainly needed.

 

‘There!’ said Joe, pointing to the well as they got there. ‘He’s down there and can’t get up.  See how the pulley’s stuck?  I said that I’d fix it, but Adam wouldn’t let me.  Ya know what Hop Sing? He never thinks that I can do things.  I coulda climbed up there and …’

 

Hop Sing smacked him on the side of the head. ‘You be quiet,’ he said sternly as he pulled on the rope. ‘Mr Adam? You hear Hop Sing?’  The rope hung loosely in his hand and he pulled it up again, looking suspiciously at Little Joe as he did so. ‘He not down there,’ he said as the end of the rope appeared with the hook still on it. ‘He not on rope.’

 

Joe frowned as he rubbed his head and then leant over the edge of the well, peering down into the darkness. ‘He was,’ he said. ‘Hey Adam! You down there?’

 

Hop Sing pulled the boy back from the edge of the well. ‘You tell fib again,’ he said sternly, waving his finger under the boy’s nose. ‘Where Mr Adam?’

 

‘I ain’t telling fibs,’ protested Joe indignantly. ‘He was down there Hop Sing.  He must still be.’  He tried to lean over the edge again, but Hop Sing pulled him back once more. ‘Hey!’ said Joe, trying to wriggle free. ‘Lemme go Hop Sing!  We gotta help Adam!  Hey Adam!’  He and Hop Sing both stood still and listened, but there was no sound from below. Joe’s eyes widened in alarm. ‘There’s something wrong Hop Sing,’ he said in an agitated tone. ‘Why else wouldn’t he answer? And why would he let go of the rope?’  He put his leg over the side of the well. ‘I’m gonna go down and check.  Gimme the rope, will ya?’

 

Hop Sing pulled the youngster back again. ‘You get down!’ he said firmly. ‘We get help.’  He glanced down the well and resolutely turned away, pulling a protesting Little Joe with him.

 

‘But Hop Sing,’ said Joe. ‘Adam’s down there …. Probbly hurt. We can’t just leave him!’

 

Hop Sing stopped and bent down so that his face was close to the boy’s. ‘We need help,’ he said firmly. ‘We no help Mr Adam by ourselves. You do as I say!’

 

Little Joe nodded, his face showing his concern for his brother. ‘OK,’ he said miserably.

 

‘I take buggy to North Pasture and get men,’ continued Hop Sing. ‘You ride to town and bring back father and brother. Hurry!’

 

Little Joe nodded and scrambled up on his horse without another word.  With one last look over his shoulder, he galloped out of the yard.

 

 

==========
Ben was enjoying the leisurely ride back from town with his middle son.  It wasn’t often that the two of them found time together lately, between the excitement of Adam’s return from Boston and the usual over-exuberance of Little Joe which took so much of his attention, he felt as if he’d neglected Hoss a little lately.  He always cherished his time with the young man, as Hoss had a depth to him that took a little finding, but was always worth the effort.  The two of them shared a great love of this Ponderosa of theirs and even though Ben knew that all of his sons felt connected to the land, talking with Hoss about it always made him feel at one with the it.

 

‘I reckon there might be snow on the way Pa,’ said Hoss, giving his father a mournful look. ‘I can feel it.’

 

‘If you say so son,’ said Ben.  He trusted Hoss’ opinion about the weather changes, for in his mind there was none better at knowing what changes would come. ‘I think there is a nip in the breeze today.’

 

‘Little Joe will be happy,’ replied Hoss. ‘That boy loves the cold. Never could figure out why though.’ He sat up straight in his seat. ‘Ain’t that Joe coming now?’  He pointed down the trail to where a rider could be seen approaching.

 

Ben frowned. ‘It certainly is,’ he said. ‘That boy is in trouble.  I told him to stay with Adam and as for the pace that he’s setting with that pony of his ….’  He pulled the buckboard to a halt, a stern look on his face as his youngest son drew to a halt beside them. ‘Joseph!’ he said. ‘What is the meaning of this young man?  I told you to …’

 

‘Pa!’ interrupted Joe. ‘Pa!’

 

Ben caught the anxious look in the boy’s eye and stopped immediately. ‘What is it Joe?’ he asked. ‘What’s happened son?’

 

Joe took a deep breath before the words came tumbling out. ‘It’s Adam,’ he said. ‘Hop Sing sent me ta get you. The obsduction got in the way I think … anyway the pulley was twisted … Adam didn’t say nothing when we called him …. Hop Sing went to the North Pasture … he wouldn’t let me climb down.’

 

‘Slow down,’ said Ben. ‘What are you talking about?’  He latched onto the one word out of all the others that made sense to him. ‘What about Adam?  Where is he?’

 

‘In the well,’ said Joe. ‘He don’t answer when he call him Pa.’ He began to fidget anxiously in the saddle as he tried to make his father understand.

 

‘Get in the back of the buckboard,’ commanded Ben swiftly. ‘Hurry up and tie that pony to the back. Hoss, help him quickly.’  He waited impatiently as his two sons obeyed his instructions and then whipped the horses to a gallop as they all sped towards the house.  Little Joe clung onto the back of the buckboard seat and recited exactly what had happened as they travelled, so that by the time they had reached the yard Ben had a least a clearer idea of what had gone on.  With every word his youngest son uttered, his heart sank as he thought about the implications for his eldest.

 

As they pulled to a halt in the front yard, he jumped down from the buckboard, followed immediately by Hoss and Little Joe. ‘Adam!’ he called over the edge of the well. ‘Adam! Can you hear me?’  There was nothing from down below and his heart sank even further. ‘Adam son!  Answer me!’  Again there was nothing.

 

‘Pa?’ said Hoss anxiously. ‘What’s happened to him, do ya think?’

 

Ben tried to smile at his two sons despite his own anxiety. ‘I’m sure he’s fine,’ he replied. ‘He probably just can’t hear us, that’s all.’

 

Hoss swallowed. ‘But … but the well ain’t that deep.  He should be able to.’

 

‘Maybe it’s the obsduction thing,’ suggested Joe.

 

His father shot him a puzzled look. ‘What?’ he said.

 

‘The obsduction thing that Adam was looking for,’ replied Little Joe, his eyes wide. ‘Maybe it got in the way.’

 

Ben shook his head and then reached up to straighten the pulley. ‘I’m going down,’ he said. ‘Hoss … I want you to hang onto this pulley in case it gets twisted again. When I call to you, help haul me up again.’

 

Hoss nodded. Yes Pa,’ he said as he watched his father loop the rope around his foot and climb over the edge of the well.

 

‘I’ll pull too,’ said Little Joe quickly.

 

‘You just stand back from here,’ instructed Ben, giving the boy a stern look. ‘Is that clear Joseph?’

 

‘But …’

 

‘I said is that clear Joseph?’ repeated Ben, giving Little Joe a look that the boy knew meant that there could be no argument.

 

‘Yes Pa.’

 

Ben nodded at Hoss and slowly lowered himself down the well shaft.  In a few minutes his feet touched the large rock that was blocking the hole and he fumbled in the dark to see if there was a way past. To his relief, he felt the small opening to one side and lowered his face to it. ‘Adam!’ he called. ‘Can you hear me?’  There was no response and so Ben tried again. ‘Adam! Answer if you can hear me!’ Again there was nothing and Ben’s heart sank.  Was his eldest son’s lifeless body down below him somewhere?  He shuddered to think of it.

 

Ben pushed his arm through the opening, anxious to feel how much space there was in the opening and realised with a sinking heart that it was far too narrow for himself to fit. With fear in his heart he pulled on the rope. ‘Bring me up Hoss!’ he called out.

 

 

==========

 

 

 

As Adam’s eyes fluttered open the first thing he noticed was the sharp pain that shot up his arm.  He groaned involuntarily and reached over to prop it up with his free arm, hearing the splashing of water as he did so. He looked down and found that he was sitting half in the water, wedged between both walls of the narrow well shaft.

 

Adam groaned, both with the pain and the fact that he realised the predicament he was in.  He looked up and saw the slightest crock of light far above his head.  That was where he’d fallen through the space between the rock and the wall, he supposed. He shifted again, nursing his hurt arm with the other one and lowered one of his legs down to see if he could touch the bottom of the well, but to his dismay he only felt water beneath him.  He supposed that he could count himself as lucky that the well was narrow enough down this far that he was supported by the walls, but somehow he didn’t feel at all lucky.

 

‘Can anyone hear me?’ he shouted, but there was silence around him. He tried again. ‘Hello! Can anyone hear me?’  Adam strained to hear anything and was rewarded by a muffled sound from above. ‘Hello!’ he shouted again. This time there was nothing. He consoled himself with the thought that Joe knew he was down here.  Surely when the boy brought Hop Sing back with him they’d get help?  It was only a matter of time before someone came down for him, he decided. That was if … He looked above him again.  Surely they could make it down here?  If that space was big enough for him to fall through then it’d be big enough for someone else to get through as well.  It was only a matter of time.

 

Adam swallowed as he looked around the darkness that surrounded him.  It seemed to envelop him in its intensity and he shuddered as he felt the wetness around him, thinking back to the day when he’d first felt it down here.

 

 

 

Adam wiped his brow and looked up as the bucket came spiralling down towards him again. The hole of light at the top of the well shaft was smaller now than he’d ever seen it and the thought of just how far he was down below the surface made him extremely nervous.  Would this ever end?  Would he ever be finished down here?  There were nights when he’d started to dream about this hole in his sleep, but whenever Pa would ask him what his bad dream was about, he’d tell him that he couldn’t remember.

 

Adam reached up and took hold of the dreaded bucket and then knelt down and began to scrape the loose earth at his feet into it yet another time.  Yet this time, something felt different.  He frowned in the darkness as he gathered a handful of earth and brought it close to his face.  In the blackness he could fell the wetness and smell the damp earth. Water! His heart rose and he leapt to his feet in delight. ‘Pa!’ He shouted. ‘Pa!’

 

His father’s face appeared far above him, outlined by the ring of light that was the top of the well. ‘Adam? Are you all right?  What is it son?’

 

‘Pa!  We’ve found it!  Water! We’ve found water!’  Adam bounced on his heels in delight. He bent down again and began to scrape feverishly with his small spade in the earth.  Suddenly he felt a gush of water around his ankles and he splashed it with great abandon. ‘There’s lot of it Pa!  We’ve found it!’

 

Ben’s voice came from far above. ‘That’s great news son!  I’ll haul up the bucket and get you up here.’

 

Adam watched with great excitement as the bucket disappeared for the last time. ‘Damn bucket!’ he said in a low voice, glad that his father wasn’t here to hear him.  Even though he’d never have said the swear word anywhere else, he felt that he was justified after the weeks of having to work down here. He felt the water around his calves and marvelled at how quickly it was seeping in now that he’d found it.  He smiled as he thought about how they’d now have that break that Pa had promised them and when his father had made his trip down south with the furs they’d been amassing they’d then be able to start on the house.  A house that would have a well in the front yard.

 

Suddenly Adam realised with alarm that the water was now up around his hips. ‘Hurry up Pa!’ he shouted. ‘The water’s rising!’

 

‘It’s coming son,’ shouted back Ben. He undid the rope around the bucket and replaced it with the board for Adam to sit on. ‘Here it comes!’  He let the rope spiral downwards, watching it with great satisfaction.  He also took great delight in knowing that never again would he have to send his young son down there, for he suspected that Adam had an aversion to it.  The boy had never admitted to it, but Ben sometimes saw a flicker of fear in his eyes and he hated the sight of it.

 

Down below, Adam was panicking as the water rose to his waist. ‘Pa!’ he shouted. ‘Send the board down! Hurry!’

 

‘It’s coming son,’ shouted back Ben. ‘No need to panic.’ 

 

But down below, Adam was panicked. He watched desperately as the rope plunged towards him again, the water rising around him all the while.  Finally when it had reached his armpits, he felt the slap of the board on the side of the well and he grabbed it eagerly. With eyes shut tight, he pulled it beneath the water and pulled on it desperately. ‘Pull me up Pa!’ he shouted. ‘Pull me up!’ With a great sense of relief, he felt the rope begin to tighten and he was suddenly airborne as his father pulled him to the surface.

 

He shut his eyes tightly as he ascended, anxious not to have to look at the dreaded walls of the well for the last time.  Buy the time he reached the surface he was breathing shallowly and tears were standing in his eyes. Suddenly he felt his father’s strong arms lifting him out of the hole and he clung to him desperately. ‘Now now,’ said Ben gently. ‘What’s all this about? Did you hurt yourself?’ Behind him, Hoss watched anxiously.

 

Adam flung his arms around his father and buried his face in his chest. ‘The … water …’ he said. ‘It … the water was … rising.’

 

Ben looked down into the terrified face of his son. ‘But Adam,’ he said. ‘You were all right weren’t you?  I was sending the board down for you son.  You were able to tread water for the few minutes it took to get there weren’t you?’  He stroked the boy’s dark hair gently back from his forehead.

 

Adam shook his head, the tears beginning to fall. ‘I … I didn’t have to,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t … that deep.’

 

‘Well then,’ said Ben, hugging his son towards his chest. ‘What’s the problem?  Tell me Adam.  What’s the matter?’

 

‘I was …’ Adam swallowed. ‘I dunno Pa.’ He buried his face into his father’s chest again, deep sobs overcoming him as all the anxiety of the past few weeks catching up with him.

 

Ben’s heart constricted. ‘Were you scared?’ he asked gently. ‘Is that it?’

 

Adam nodded his head against his father’s chest and Ben hugged him even tighter. ‘There’s no need to be scared,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry son.  I didn’t realize how difficult this must have been for you.’  He tilted the boy’s head back so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. ‘You don’t have to go down there Adam,’ he said. ‘Never again.  Do you hear me?’

 

Adam nodded silently and then buried his face against his father’s chest again, hearing the steady beating of his heart against the quick flutters of his own.

 

 

 

And he never had …. Adam thought, as he fingered the wetness around him … until today. He shifted again slightly to ease the aching of his legs as they supported him against the sides of the well and a shot of pain raced up his arm.  Slowly his eyes closed and he surrendered himself to unconsciousness again.

 

 

==========

 

 

Ben dangled the rope over the edge of the well. ‘We’ll lower it past the rock that’s wedged there,’ he said. ‘If Adam fell through the space beside it, then he’ll be able to fit through it again.  The hook will act as a weight and when it gets down there he can grab it and pull himself up to where we can get him. Beside him, Hoss nodded in agreement.  Anything his father said made sense to him.  He trusted the man implicitly and whatever he said to do, Hoss would do it without question. He and Little Joe watched silently as Ben lowered the rope, hand over hand, until he could feel it hit something solid.

 

‘It’s hit the rock,’ he said. ‘Now I’ll have to try and manoeuvre it past it. He swung on the rope several times, trying to get it past the rock, but to his frustration he didn’t seem to be able to find the spot. He muttered something incoherent under his breath.

 

‘What did ya say Pa?’ asked Little Joe innocently.

 

Ben bit his lip. ‘Nothing son,’ he replied. ‘Just trying to get the hook past that rock is all.  I might have to go down again to do it.’

 

‘I could go!’ declared Joe excitedly.

 

Ben looked over his shoulder at the boy. ‘You’ll do nothing of the kind,’ he said sternly.

 

‘But Pa … I’m the littlest one … maybe I could get past that rock and go down to help get Adam rescued,’ insisted Joe. ‘I could do it … I know I could.’

 

‘That is enough,’ said Ben firmly. ‘Be quiet please Joseph. You are not going down that hole and that is final.’  He swung the rope again and to his satisfaction felt the hook once more drop. ‘That’s got it,’ he said. ‘Now we’ll see get it to Adam and he’ll be able to pull himself up. We’ll have him up here with us in no time now.’

 

 

==========

 

 

Adam’s eyelids opened slightly as he felt something brush against his cheek. He lifted his good arm to feel what it was, anxious in case it was a spider, but to his surprise he felt something large, hard and cold. He grabbed onto it eagerly as he realised that it was the hook that he’d fixed onto the end of the rope and he pulled it frantically. Someone had lowered it down to him!  He breathed a sigh of relief.  Now it would only be a matter of time before he was hauled up to the surface again.

 

He pulled on the rope again, anxious to let whoever was up there know that he was alive. He straightened himself up a bit, carefully straightening his legs which were beginning to go numb.  He didn’t really know how much longer he could keep his position partially out of the water and he knew that there would come a time when his legs refused to obey his mind and they give way.  Adam didn’t think that he’d last too long in the cold water beneath him, especially with one useless arm.  He suddenly jerked …. His arm!  How on earth was he going to haul himself up there with only one arm?  The sudden realisation made him go even colder and he frantically tried to move his arm to test its strength, but the movement only caused him to groan aloud with the pain and he knew without doubt that he wouldn’t be able to pull himself anywhere.

 

Adam looked up at the small sliver of light which was coming from above.  He wondered if it was his imagination, or if it was becoming weaker. He decided that it was, and probably because night was approaching. The thought of it getting even colder down here made him shiver and he looked at the hook dangling in front of him with determination in his eye. With a great deal of difficulty, he began to wrap the rope around his waist, each looping of the rope causing him to cry out in pain, but he kept going until the rope was wound tightly around him. He reached up and gave it one mighty tug with his good arm, hoping that it might be a signal to those above that he could be hauled up. Once he was at the rock above he didn’t know what he was going to do, but one thing was for sure. He’d fallen through that space, so he must be able to get back out again … if only they would haul him up there.  He brushed the thought to the back of his mind that maybe the rock had shifted when he’d fallen … that would be too awful to contemplate.  With fear in his heart, Adam waited in the darkness.

 

 

==========

 

 

‘Pa!’ Hoss grabbed his father’s sleeve. ‘Look! The rope …. It’s moving!’

 

Ben looked and his heart rose at the sight of the rope which was indeed jerking up and down. ‘Adam!’ he breathed as he leant over the edge of the well. ‘He’s alive!’

 

Little Joe’s eyes opened wide at his father’s words and he swallowed. ‘Did ya think he was dead Pa?’ he asked fearfully.

 

Ben drew his youngest son close. ‘Of course not,’ he lied. ‘I knew he was fine, Little Joe. Didn’t I tell you that before?’

 

Joe nodded. ‘Yeah,’ he said, his face still showing his anxiety. ‘So are we gonna get him out now?’

 

Ben hesitated before replying. ‘We certainly are,’ he said firmly. ‘He’s probably pulling himself up here right now judging by the pull on that rope. He looked down into the well again. ‘I’ll get down there and help him through the space next to that rock when he gets to it. He tied a length of rope around  himself and threw his legs over the edge. ‘Now just like before Hoss,’ he instructed his middle son. ‘Take it nice and slow son.’

 

‘Sure Pa,’ said Hoss as he steadied the rope as his father lowered himself downwards. He pushed Little Joe back from the well. ‘You heard what Pa said before,’ he warned his brother. ‘Now stay back!’

 

Joe pouted. ‘I never get to help,’ he said miserably. ‘I only wanna help Adam is all.’

 

‘You can help shortshanks,’ said Hoss absently as he held onto the rope. ‘Go and get some blankets from inside.  Adam’s gonna need em I reckon when we get him up here.’

 

Joe’s eyes lit up. ‘OK,’ he said eagerly. ‘I’ll be back soon Hoss.’

 

‘Pa?’ called down Hoss. ‘Is he there yet?’

 

‘No,’ shouted back Ben. ‘There’s no sign of him!’  He leant down towards the rock. ‘Adam!’ he called. ‘Can you hear me son? Adam!’ There was a muffled sound from below and Ben’s heart rose at the sound of it. ‘Adam!’ he called again. ‘Haul yourself up son!  I’m above the rock and I’ll help you!’  He waited, but only heard the muffled sound again. ‘I can’t hear you!’ he shouted. ‘What?’ There was no response.

 

After what seemed like an age, Ben realised that his son wasn’t going to suddenly appear beneath him and he tugged on the rope as a signal for Hoss to pull him up again.

 

‘What happened?’ asked Hoss anxiously as his father climbed out of the well. ‘Wasn’t he there?’

 

Ben shook his head. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I can hear him down there, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. One thing’s for sure though …. If he could pull himself up he would have by now.’ He thought for a moment. ‘I think we’ll try pulling him up ourselves.’

 

‘Why don’t we just knock the rock down and then we’ll be able to fit down there and get him out?’ suggested Hoss.

 

Ben shook his head. ‘No son,’ he said. ‘It’s likely that it would fall on your brother and a rock that size could kill him.’  He scratched his chin thoughtfully. ‘No,’ he said. ‘We’ll just have to risk pulling him up.’

 

‘But Pa … what if ….’ Hoss swallowed. ‘What if he ain’t got the rope tied to him properly?  Or what if he’s real hurt?  We could do more hurt to him if we try pulling him up.’

 

Ben knew that his son spoke the truth, but for the life of him he didn’t know what else to try. ‘We’ll do it slowly,’ he said. ‘It’ll be all right. I’ll get down there again and steady the rope from below.’

 

‘Pa?’ Hoss grabbed his father’s arm. ‘You can’t do it. You said yourself that you were too big.  What if Adam needs help when we get him to the rock? You’d never be able to fit through that space. Maybe you should send Joe down there like he offered before?’

 

‘No!’ said Ben firmly. ‘I’m not sending a boy that age down there.’

 

Hoss hesitated before replying. ‘You did before,’ he said in a low voice.

 

Ben stared at his son. ‘What?’ he said.

 

‘You did before,’ repeated Hoss, not meeting his father’s gaze. ‘When you was digging the well all that time ago. Adam weren’t much older than Joe and he went down. I was only a littlun myself, but I remember it.’

 

Ben drew in a sharp breath. ‘That was different,’ he snapped. ‘There was no danger then …. and I had no choice.’

 

‘Do ya reckon there’s a choice now Pa?’ asked Hoss. ‘We’re talking about Adam’s life.’  He hung his head miserably. ‘You know I’d do it iffen I could …. but I’m too big …. And you’re too big too Pa.  Adam might need help down there to get past that rock and none of us can do it cept Joe.  You know it.’

 

‘If you think I’m going to risk the life of one of my boys to save the other ….’  Ben stopped and thought about the meaning of his words.  He put his hands over his face for a moment and took a deep breath. ‘Heaven help me Hoss,’ he murmured. ‘I don’t know what to do.’  There was silence for a few moments as father and son each felt their own agony with the situation.

 

Suddenly, Ben straightened up. ‘Well one thing is for sure,’ he said. ‘Whatever we do we have to do it quickly. The light will be gone soon and then we’ll have little chance of getting your brother out at all.  I have to be honest with you son…. I don’t know that he’d be able to last the night down there once the temperature drops. Especially if he’s hurt.’

 

‘All the more reason for Joe to help, ain’t it?’ pleaded Hoss. ‘He’s a clever kid Pa.  I know he could do it.  He wants to help so bad too.’

 

There was a sound behind them and they both looked over their shoulders to see Little Joe standing there, his arms full of blankets. ‘I brought these for Adam like Hoss told me too,’ he said as he dumped them onto the ground. ‘Ain’t he here yet?’  He looked anxiously past his father to the well. ‘Why ain’t Adam up here yet Pa?’

 

Ben knelt down and drew his youngest son towards him. ‘We haven’t been able to get him up yet Little Joe,’ he said. ‘There’s a problem.’

 

Joe’s eyes widened. ‘What problem?’ he asked anxiously.

 

Ben liked his lips. ‘It seems that your brother might be hurt down there,’ he said. ‘He’s not pulling himself up on the rope as we expected him to.’

 

‘What’s wrong with him?’ asked Joe, his face an instant mask of anxiety.

 

‘We’re not sure,’ replied Ben. ‘We’re going to pull him up ourselves ….’ He hesitated again. ‘Can you help?’

 

‘Sure!’ said Joe eagerly.  He flexed his small biceps. ‘I’ve got more muscles now that I’m bigger Pa.  I can help ya pull real well on that rope.’

 

Ben ruffled the boy’s hair. ‘That’s not what I meant,’ he said. ‘I need you to help in another way.’  He hesitated again. ‘It’s going to be hard though.  I want you think about it before you decide if you can do it or not … all right?’

 

Joe nodded solemnly. ‘What is it?’ he asked.

 

‘Hoss and I are too big to go past that rock if Adam needs help getting through,’ explained his father. ‘You might fit though.’

 

‘I can do it!’ said Joe, his eyes shining. ‘I can go down there and help Adam Pa!  I know that I can!’

 

‘Think about it,’ warned his father. ‘Take a look before you say yes.’  He drew the boy towards the well and made him look over the edge. ‘Are you sure you want to go down there?’

 

Joe nodded eagerly. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I can do it Pa.  I’ll help Adam.’

 

Behind him, Ben heard Hoss let out a breath in a long sigh. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘But you’ve got to do exactly as I tell you to … understand?’  Joe nodded his head as his father looped a length of rope around his waist several times. ‘You’re not to untie this under any circumstance Joseph.  And you listen to what I tell you.  When you get to the rock we’re going to pull your brother up. When he gets there, all you need to do is reach out and help him get through the space if he needs you to.  All right?’  Little Joe nodded again. ‘If I decide that you are to be pulled up in the meantime then there’ll be no arguments,’ warned Ben.

 

Joe nodded again. ‘Yes Pa,’ he said solemnly. ‘I’ll do just what you say.’

 

Ben ruffled the boy’s hair again. ‘Good boy,’ he said. ‘Now ….’ he looked anxiously at Hoss. ‘I’ll guide Joe’s rope and you pull on Adam’s rope Hoss. You got that?’

 

‘Sure Pa,’ said Hoss. He reached out and patted Joe on the shoulder. ‘Good luck shortshanks,’ he said.

 

‘I’ll be OK,’ boasted Joe, grinning at Hoss as his father sat him on the edge of the well and edged his feet over the side. ‘I’m not afraid.’ He held onto the rope as his father let him down slowly, watching the sides of the well as he descended.

 

Ben watched with a heavy heart as his son descended into the darkness. The last time he’d watched a son of his go down this well he’d vowed that it would never happen again, yet here he was subjecting a boy of ten years to God knows what down there.  What if Adam … Ben shuddered at the thought. What if Adam was unconscious or even worse?  The last thing in this world he wanted was to put Little Joe in the position of having be the one to find him first like that … yet what other choice did he have?  He held onto the rope tightly, his anxiety for his boys showing by the whites of his knuckles as he gripped it. ‘How are you going?’ he called down into the darkness.

 

‘OK!’ shouted back Joe. ‘I can feel the rock with my feet!  It’s a big one!’

 

‘All right Hoss,’ said Ben over his shoulder. Start pulling Adam up son.  Slowly now … Gently.’  He gripped tightly onto his own rope as he watched Hoss pull on the other rope, one hand over the other as slow as he could.

 

‘There’s a weight on it Pa,’ said Hoss, panting a little. ‘It sure feels heavy. It must be Adam’s tied himself to it.’

 

‘Can you do it son?’ asked Ben anxiously.

 

Hoss nodded, not taking his eyes off the blackness below as he continued to pull the rope through his hands, one hand over the other.  He knew that one slip might cause serious injury to his brother below and he concentrated with all his might on the job at hand.

 

It seemed to be an eternity before Ben heard him finally speak. ‘I think that’s it Pa,’ Hoss breathed. ‘It seems to be stuck on something.’

 

Ben leant over the edge of the well. ‘Little Joe!’ he called. ‘Can you see anything son? Is Adam near you?’

 

Joe felt around him. ‘No!” he shouted back. ‘I can’t feel nothing Pa!’ He reached across to the other side of the well and felt the space between the rock and the wall of the shaft. ‘Lower me a bit more Pa!’ he shouted. ‘I’ll put my hands under the rock and feel!’

 

Ben lowered the boy a little more and both he and Hoss waited anxiously while Little Joe slid his arms through the opening and felt around. ‘I can feel him Pa!’ he shouted up after a moment. ‘He’s just below the rock!’

 

Ben closed his eyes momentarily and said a silent prayer. ‘Talk to him,’ he shouted. ‘See if he’s awake!’

 

‘Adam!’ called out Joe, touching his brother’s shoulders beneath the rock. ‘Adam!  Can you hear me?’  There was no response to his question. ‘Let me down further Pa!’ he shouted back. ‘I can go through the space and help him come up!’

 

Ben hesitated. It was one thing for him to have his ten year-old son hanging by a rope far below him, but to actually condone him going beneath that rock where his other son was in danger was another. ‘I don’t know …’ he began.

 

‘Pa he knows what he’s doing,’ grunted Hoss beside him, holding onto the rope with all his might. ‘Let him do it.’

 

Ben nodded slightly and let the rope out even further. Far below him, Little Joe clambered through  the small opening and felt his brother’s body dangling beside his own.  He felt for his face in the darkness. ‘Adam,’ he said anxiously. ‘Can you hear me Adam?’ There was a slight groan beside him and Adam shifted slightly, causing his rope to swing back and forth. ‘Keep still Adam,’ said Joe. ‘I’m gonna help push ya through the hole. He put his head back and shouted with all his might. ‘Hoss!  Pull him up now!’

 

Up above, Hoss pulled with all his might as Little Joe guided Adam through the small opening. It was a tight fit and at one stage he thought that he wouldn’t be able to do it, however finally his brother’s body disappeared above the rock. ‘He’s through!’ he shouted.

 

Hoss pulled quickly now, hand over hand until he could see Adam’s body begin to emerge from the blackness. ‘He’s coming up Pa,’ he grunted. ‘He’s coming!’

 

Ben was busy beside him also pulling hand over hand on Little Joe’s rope.  The boy had fitted through the opening easily and as his body passed the rock he kicked his feet out with all his might at it. Suddenly there was an almighty crash. ‘What was that?’ shouted down Ben, startled.

 

‘Just the rock Pa!’ shouted out Joe happily as he dangled his feet once more. ‘I done kicked it down!’

 

Adam was first to reach the top and Hoss hauled him carefully out of the well, laying him on the ground and looking at him anxiously.

 

‘Is he all right?’ asked Ben over his shoulder, still pulling on Little Joe’s rope. ‘Is he all right Hoss?’

 

‘I think so,’ said Hoss. ‘He’s hurt his arm but.’  He tapped Adam on the cheek lightly. ‘Hey buddy … you OK?’

 

Adam groaned and his eyes fluttered open as he looked up at Hoss. ‘What are you doing down here?’ he asked in a groggy voice. ‘Ow … my arm!’

 

‘You ain’t down there no more,’ said Hoss happily as his father pulled Little Joe from the well and hugged the boy to him. ‘Little Joe got you out.’  He grinned at his little brother happily. ‘You OK shortshanks?’

 

‘Sure,’ said Joe, trying to disengage himself from his father’s grasp. ‘I’m fine. Lemme go Pa … you’re hugging me too tight!’

 

Ben let go of the boy and turned to kneel down beside Adam. ‘Are you all right boy?’ he asked.

 

‘I’m … fine Pa,’ said Adam softly as he closed his eyes again. ‘Fine…’  Ben closed his eyes again and offered up a silent prayer of thanks for both his boys who were back with him again.

 

 

==========

 

 

‘Here,’ said Ben. ‘Put this pillow under it son.’  He positioned the pillow under Adam’s bandaged arm. ‘That better?’

 

‘Much.  Thanks Pa,’ replied Adam.  He gave his arm a desolate look. ‘Stupid thing for me to do, wasn’t it?’

 

Ben sat down on the edge of the bed. ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself Adam. It could have happened to anyone.’

 

‘Yes, but it happened to me and now I’m stuck up here with a broken arm because of it.’

 

‘I’ll keep ya company Adam,’ said Little Joe brightly as he bounced into the room.

 

‘Gently,’ his father admonished him. ‘Be careful of Adam’s arm.’

 

Little Joe immediately drew back from the bed and looked at his brother’s bandaged arm. ‘Does it hurt much?’ he asked.

 

‘Not too bad now,’ replied Adam. ‘I haven’t had the chance to thank you yet buddy for saving me the way you did.’

 

‘That’s OK,’ said Joe, giving his brother a grin.

 

‘I’m proud of you Joseph,’ said Ben, drawing his youngest son towards him. ‘You were very brave the way you went down that well and saved your brother.  It wasn’t an easy thing to do.’

 

Little Joe frowned. ‘Huh?’ he said. ‘Why not?’

 

Ben gave Joe a puzzled look. ‘Well, because it was so dark,’ he said. ‘It must have been scary for you.’

 

‘Nuh,’ said Joe casually. ‘I didn’t mind it. It was fun.’

 

Adam stared at his youngest brother. ‘You liked going down there?’ he asked.

 

‘Yep,’ said Joe happily. ‘I told you I wanted to, didn’t I? I’m not scared of the dark.’

 

Adam gave his father a puzzled look over the top of Joe’s head. ‘I … I suppose you did,’ he said feebly.

 

‘I done fixed the obsduction too,’ said Joe proudly. ‘Didn’t I Pa?’

 

‘Yes you did fix the obstruction son,’ laughed his father. ‘Now why don’t you go downstairs and get your chores done?’

 

‘OK.  I’ll be back up later to keep ya company Adam,’ said Joe as he left the room.

 

‘Oh good,’ replied Adam sarcastically, sinking down into the bed and giving his father a doleful look. ‘Looks like I’m going to have to put up with him even more now that I’m stuck here for a few days,’ he said.

 

‘Looks like it,’ said his father with a twinkle in his eyes.

 

Adam shook his head. ‘I just can’t understand how he could have enjoyed going down there,’ he said. ‘It’s so ….’

 

‘Scary?’ asked Ben, looking at his son intently. ‘It brought back memories, didn’t it?’

 

Adam evaded his father’s gaze. ‘Mmm,’ he said simply.

 

Ben leant over and put his hand on top of Adam’s unbandaged one. ‘I hated sending you down there when you were a boy you know,’ he said. ‘If I could have done it myself I would have Adam.’

 

‘I know.’

 

‘I never realised how much you were scared of it until the day we struck water,’ Ben continued. ‘Even if we hadn’t found it that day …. water or no water … I would never have sent you down there again once I realised how scared you were.’

 

Adam finally looked over at his father. ‘I’ll bet it was hard for you to send Joe down there today then,’ he said perceptively.

 

Ben nodded. ‘Yes,’ he replied.  I kept seeing you in that well all those years ago. I didn’t want to have to subject him to what you’d been through.’  He gave a short laugh.  ‘It seems that I was worrying unnecessarily though.  Little Joe didn’t seem to mind it one bit.’

 

Adam shook his head again in disbelief. ‘Guess it’s just me who it affected then,’ he said.

 

Ben smiled. ‘What you have to remember son is that everyone has their own fears and there’s nothing wrong with being frightened of something. Haven’t you ever noticed how Little Joe doesn’t like heights?’

 

Adam nodded thoughtfully. ‘Now that you come to mention it, I have,’ he mused. ‘He’s never keen on going up in the loft when the door is open up there. But … why wouldn’t he have been scared today?  That well is mighty deep.’

 

‘Probably because he couldn’t see how deep it was,’ his father replied. ‘It was too dark. Speaking of which …. Your brother Hoss, for all his size was mighty scared of the dark when he was little … remember?’

 

Adam grinned. ‘I do,’ he said. ‘You always had to have a lamp shining for him until he fell asleep. I guess it’s like you say Pa.  We’re all scared of something.’  He thought for a moment. ‘What about you though?  I’ve honestly never seen you scared of anything.’

 

Ben lifted his eyebrows. ‘I’m just better at hiding it, that’s all,’ he said simply.  He stood up and straightened the bedclothes. ‘Well I’ll leave you to rest now son,’ he said. ‘Call out if there’s anything I can get you.’

 

‘Pa?’ Adam gestured with his good arm as his father turned away. ‘You didn’t say what you’re scared of.’

 

Ben grinned at his eldest son. ‘No I didn’t, did I?’ he replied with a twinkle in his eyes before leaving the room.

 

 

The End

Loading

Bookmark (1)
ClosePlease login

No account yet? Register

Author: Joan S

From her Australian base, Joan is one of the most prolific writers of Bonanza Fanfic over the past few years. Although you can read 67 of her stories on Bonanza Brand, she also has a website where you can access her whole collection of stories. http://sites.google.com/site/joansstories/home

8 thoughts on “The Well (by JoanS)

  1. This is a very good story. Quite a spot for Adam. It just too well known what Ben was afraid of.. Love this story thanks.

  2. Well, that was quite the predicament. Good thing Joe was able to help … though I don’t blame anyone for being a little nervous, given his enthusiasm for the task …

    Thanks for writing!

  3. I loved the way you wove backstory into the current drama. Joe was funny in how irritating he was without ever realising it. It’s not hard to know what Ben was scared of. Thank you for a great story.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.