Summary: A trip to California turns into a nightmare for the Cartwrights when Little Joe is kidnapped and held for ransom.

Rating: Strong PG-13 for violence & physical abuse  (31, 320)

 

 

To Survive

—The First Day—

Little Joe squirmed in his seat again, but it wasn’t because he was bored. In fact, every time he thought about it, he got excited again. When he had first gone with Adam to Folsom, he never imagined it would end like this!

Adam had taken Joe with him under protest. “But Pa,” Adam had said. “He’s just fifteen! He’ll get in the way, and I won’t be able to get anything done!”

Joe listened at the top of the stairs to the exchange. He was supposed to be in bed, but he couldn’t miss the outcome; especially since he had spent the better part of the last three days persuading Pa to let him go along.

“Adam,” Ben had said. “That’s not fair. He’ll be fine.”

“Well, what about his chores? And school?”

Ben chuckled wryly. “Hoss is doing his chores for him. As for school, he’ll only miss a couple of days. I’ve talked to his teacher, and he’ll be taking the work with him. He can do it while he’s there.”

Upstairs, Joe groaned quietly. With Adam there, he knew he wouldn’t be skipping any schoolwork.

“Pa…”

“Adam, I’ve made up my mind.”

Adam sighed. “Fine, I’ll take him. But he’d better behave.”

Joe grinned from ear to ear and ran downstairs. “Thanks, Adam! And don’t worry, I’ll behave! Honest I will!” Suddenly he stopped smiling. “Um, I mean…I just came down to um…I was kind of hungry, and I couldn’t help overhearing…”

“Joseph!” Pa’s voice boomed out. “If you don’t get back to bed, you’re not going!”

“Yes sir, I’m going back to bed sir, goodnight!” Joe turned and ran up the stairs, tripping in his haste and sprawling at the top before pushing himself up and running into his room.

The next day, he and Adam had started for Folsom. They had taken the stagecoach, and it had only taken a couple of days to get there. Adam had gone to his meetings, and Joe had been left to himself for a few days to explore. Joe had loved every minute of the trip. Then on the almost last day, Adam had come back to the hotel. “Hey, Little Joe…?”

Joe looked up from his math. “What is it, Adam?”

“Well, you’re not going to like what I’m going to say. We have to cut our trip short.”

Joe dropped his pencil. “Adam! That’s not fair!”

“Wait a second buddy, just let me finish. I’m going to Sacramento to meet with the-”

“Wait! You’re going? I’m not going?”

“Joseph, if you don’t let me finish…”

“I’m sorry Adam.” Joe hated it when Adam used that tone. It meant ‘do as I say, or else’. “Go ahead, what were you saying?”

Adam cleared his throat. “I’m going to Sacramento. You are going home. By yourself. On the stage. I’ve already wired Pa, and-“

“Wait a minute Adam! By myself? I get to go home by myself! That’s so…oh, I’m sorry Adam, I didn’t mean to interrupt you, honest…”

Adam sighed. “I know.”

Joe looked down with a thoughtful look on his face. “Well, when are you coming home then?”

“A few days after you. It’ll take me about a half a day to get to Sacramento. 

“Oh. Well, how come I can’t come with you?”

“Because.”

“But Adam-”

“Don’t argue with me. Be ready to leave in the morning.”

Joe sighed. “All right.” Although he was disappointed that he wasn’t going with Adam, he was looking forward to traveling by himself. He had picked up his math book and started to study again. He had to be done before he got home.

Thinking back to everything made Joe squirm out of excitement again, and the man sitting beside him in the stage cleared his throat angrily. He had made it quite clear from the beginning of the trip that he didn’t approve of “children” traveling alone. He seemed like he was grumpy at the world in general, so Joe just decided to ignore him.

The other people in the stage, a man and his wife, were older and pretty much kept to themselves. Joe turned and looked out the window again. The scenery hadn’t changed very much since the last time he looked. He would be home tomorrow morning, and he wanted to remember everything so he could tell Hoss about it. He turned and sat back in the seat again, then squirmed to get comfortable.

“Would you kindly sit still?” the man sitting next to him snapped.

Joe sank down in his seat. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“The idea of children being allowed to ride by themselves…”

Little Joe bit back a response with difficulty. He didn’t mean to make trouble. Adam had told him if he misbehaved or caused any trouble on this trip, he’d whip him good when he got back from Sacramento. Joe took a deep breath and tried to sit still. For about five minutes he managed not to move. He bit his lip, trying to contain himself. It wasn’t working. Joe looked out the window, and then noticing the patterns of dusk kicked up by the wheels, leaned out to get a better look. Immediately, he felt several hands grabbing him, and he was pulled back inside and deposited on his seat.

“Ya fool kid,” yelled the man sitting next to him. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Joe angrily pushed him away. “I was not, and why don’t you keep your hands and opinions to yourself!”

“Well of all the…” started the woman.

She was interrupted by a gun blast. Several more rang out, and the stage slowed to a halt.

Joe looked out the window. Four men wearing masks and holding guns were dismounting their horses. Joe could hardly believe it! His first stage ride by himself, and it was being held up. His friends would never believe him.

“Throw the guns down,” one of the robbers yelled. As driver obeyed, the masked robber directed his attention to the passengers. “All of you, throw your guns out and no one gets hurt.” The man sitting across from Joe pulled his gun out and threw it out the window. For the first time on the trip, Joe was glad he hadn’t been allowed to bring his gun. He couldn’t imagine losing it now. “All right, come down from there,” the man yelled to the driver.

As the driver started to climb down, one of the other gunmen pulled open the stagecoach door. “Get out of there, one at a time, and keep your hands in the air.”

The man sitting across from Joe got out. One of the men pushed him a few yards away, and then knocked him to the ground next to the driver. The man grumpily brushed the dirt off of his pants as his wife stepped out of the stage. Joe looked out the other window. One of the gunmen was watching from that side.

“Kid, move.” The man sitting next to him nudged him, and Joe stepped out, his hands up.

One of the men pushed him roughly to the ground next to the man and his wife. Joe sat up, and then watched as the last passenger was knocked to the ground next to them.

One of the men stood over them with a gun in his hand. Two of the other men climbed on top of the stage and started going through the bags and the strongbox and the last man stood below them, watching them work.

“Here.” One of the men on top of the stage handed a wad of money to the man on the ground.

The man counted it, and then angrily walked over to the stagecoach driver. “What’s this? Only six hundred dollars?” the man yelled at him. “Where’s the ten thousand you were supposed to be carrying?”

The driver looked up at him defiantly. “We sent it on an earlier stage,” he said.

The man looked away angrily for a few seconds, and then turned back and cocked his gun, pointing it at the driver. Little Joe gasped and squeezed his eyes shut as the man pulled the trigger. The explosion faded away, and Joe looked slowly up.

The driver was pale and shaking, but unharmed. The man with the gun laughed nastily and swore under his breath. Joe felt sick as he suddenly realized this wasn’t a game. That man might have killed the driver. The gunman looked at him, and Joe quickly looked down. He heard the man walking towards him, and he started to back away until he realized there was nowhere else to go. He looked away as the man crouched down in front of him.

The man brushed his gun against Little Joe’s face. “What’s the matter, kid? Don’t like violence?” The man had a low, gravely voice, and Joe shuddered at the sound. There was just something…sadistic…about him; as if he enjoyed hurting other people. Joe bit his lip and stared at the ground.

“Which of these people are you traveling with?” The masked man looked over at the other people on the ground, and after searching their faces, he looked back to Joe.

“Traveling alone?”

Joe nodded.

“Then you shouldn’t care if I killed one of them.”

Joe looked quickly up at him, his eyes wide.

“Leave him alone, Josh,” called the man watching the passengers. The man named Josh shrugged and stood up. “I’ll take care of you later,” he muttered before walking over to the other man.

Joe swallowed hard, then realized he had been holding his breath. He slowly exhaled.

Why hadn’t he stood up to him? He shouldn’t have let the man see that he was scared.

Pa or Adam or Hoss probably wouldn’t be scared if their stage were held up.

“This is all we found.” The two men climbed down off the stage and handed a handful of jewelry and a couple of papers to the man guarding the passengers. The man started flipping through the papers, and then stopped.

“What’s this?” he asked quietly. One of the men spoke to him for a minute, and then he nodded and handed everything else back to him. He held the piece of paper in his hand and looked at the people on the ground. “I’ve just discovered something very interesting. Perhaps this day won’t be a total loss for us.” The man pointed his gun at Joe. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Joseph Cartwright,” Little Joe answered warily, looking up at the man.

“Hmm, Cartwright. Seems that name means something around here, doesn’t it? For instance,” the man looked down at the piece of paper in his hand, “that your father is Ben Cartwright, of the Ponderosa. And one of the richest men in this region. Am I right?”

Joe stared at him in shock as he realized he was holding a telegram that Ben had sent Joe earlier this week. The man laughed. “You know,” he said as he turned to one of the other men. “I think Ben Cartwright would be very grateful to us if we made sure that his son was safe, don’t you?” He looked back at Joe. “I mean, so much can happen to a child left alone in the desert. He might even give us some money if we make sure his son is returned to him alive.”

Joe stared at the man. “You can’t do this,” he said.

“Josh, take the kid,” called the man.

Little Joe looked up as Josh reached down and grabbed his arm, pulling him up. This couldn’t be happening… “No, don’t do this…let me go!” Joe cried out as he felt the man’s arm tighten around his neck.

The driver started to get up from where he was sitting. “Now just a minute! You can’t take that boy.”

“Who’s stopping me? You? You better not if you know what’s good for you,” the leader of the gunmen said.

The man sat back down as Josh dragged Little Joe away and towards the horses.

Suddenly, Joe heard several shots being fired and he quickly twisted and pulled away from Josh. Joe turned to see the masked leader fire the last shot, sending the driver falling to the ground already littered with the passenger’s bodies. Joe stared in horror at the scene in front of him. The man brushed past him as he walked to his horse, and Joe angrily put out his hand and grabbed his sleeve. “Why did you do that? They didn’t do anything to you! You didn’t need to kill them!”

The man looked down at him for a moment, and then brutally slapped him, almost knocking him over. Joe gasped and felt tears spring to his eyes as he was lifted off the ground by the front of his shirt. “Listen, kid,” the man said coolly. “You question me ever again, and you’ll regret it. While you’re with us, you’re to do what you’re told, and never question or argue. Is that understood?”

Joe stared at him, terrified. He had never seen someone so cold, so willing to take someone’s life and think nothing of it. And now, Joe was his prisoner. Shakily, Joe nodded, and the man set him back on the ground. He felt as if the ground was tipping, and he slumped to the ground. The man pulled him up and dragged him toward one of the horses. “Paul?”

“Yeah, Dan?”

“Take him.” He lifted Joe up, and Paul sat the boy in front of him on the horse.

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” called Dan.

The rest of the men mounted their horses, and then they all rode off.

——

Many hours later, the now unmasked robbers slowed their horses as they approached a clearing in the trees and rocks. It was starting to get dark. “All right,” called Dan.

“We’ll stop here for the night.”

Paul lifted Joe off the saddle and Joe slid to the ground. The men had ridden hard for hours today, wanting to get as far away from the scene as possible. They had stopped briefly a couple of times to rest the horses, but this was the first time Joe had been out of the saddle. Little Joe walked a few feet away and looked around him. The men didn’t seem to notice him; they were unpacking their saddlebags and preparing to set up camp. Little Joe started backing up, and then turned and started running through the woods. He didn’t know where he was or even where he was going, but he had to get away from them. There was no way he would let them take him to whatever destination they were heading. His chances were better on his own in the woods than being their prisoner. Behind him he could hear the angry shouts of the men. He ran on the uneven ground, stumbling. Suddenly his feet were pulled from under him, and he fell hard to the ground. He hurriedly started to push himself up as he heard footsteps coming his way.

“Ouch!” Joe cried out as someone shoved him to the ground and tried to pull his arms behind his back. He wriggled out and started to crawl away, but the person grabbed his ankle and pulled him back. “Gotcha,” Josh said as he wrapped his arm around Joe’s chest, pinning his arms. Joe struggled desperately to get away as Josh pulled him to his feet. “Knock it off…I said knock it off!” Josh hit him in the side of the head, and then shoved him to the ground in front of a tree and kicked him until Joe was curled into a ball and gasping in pain. “Get up,” snapped Josh. Little Joe painfully pushed himself to his feet, and then Josh twisted his arm behind his back and shoved him roughly back into the clearing.

“Good, you got him,” said Dan as Josh pushed Joe to the ground in front of him. Dan pulled Joe to his feet and then shoved him to a tree at the edge of the clearing. “Sit down,” Dan said angrily as he knocked Joe to the ground. Dan tied Joe’s wrists in front of him, and then pushed him against the tree and tied him to it. As soon as he was done, he walked over to the other two men and started directing them in setting up the camp.

Little Joe looked up as Josh walked over and stood in front of him. “Still gonna escape?” Josh laughed as Joe looked away. Josh leaned close to him. “You better get it through your head, kid. You can’t get away from us. You shouldn’t have even tried. It will only cause trouble for you.” Josh looked at him for a few moments, and then turned and walked back towards the other men.

Little Joe was shaking, and he could feel pain in his knees and elbow where he had fallen. He looked down at his hands. His palms were bleeding and dirty, and the rope wrapped around his wrists was starting to cut off his circulation. Joe struggled against the ropes biting into him as he watched Dan giving commands to his men. Joe hated the way Dan looked at him. His eyes were dark and cold; they didn’t seem to have any feeling in them. It was as though Joe were just an object, not even a person. Joe wondered what they were going to do with him. They had killed four people without a second thought. Pa would pay the ransom. But what would happen then? Joe knew he had to fight, somehow, to survive. Once they didn’t need him anymore…

Joe pulled against the ropes, but he couldn’t feel them getting any looser. His hands were getting numb. “Knock it off!” Joe looked up at the man who shouted, who then picked up a stick and threw it at him. It bounced off the tree behind his head as he ducked.

Dan turned and walked over to him. “Is there a problem, kid?”

Joe looked up as Dan came to a stop in front of him. “These ropes are really tight…”

“So?”

Joe frowned. “Couldn’t you…just loosen…?” Joe trailed off as Dan turned and reached into one of the saddlebags. Dan pulled out a cloth and pushed it into Joe’s mouth, then tightly tied it around the back of his head. Joe almost gagged; the cloth tasted horrible, and it was sliding into the back of his throat and almost causing him to choke. Joe looked up at Dan through tearing eyes.

Dan leaned close to him. “I think you’ve forgotten the first thing I told you about how you were to behave while you’re with us.” Joe looked at him for a few seconds, but then as he remembered he squeezed his eyes shut and put his head down. “That’s right,” Dan said. “Never question or argue. About anything. Is that clear now?”

Joe nodded, his head still down.

“You know, if you hadn’t tried to get away, I might have loosened them.” Dan tapped Joe’s hands. “You better watch how you act from now on if you expect to be treated any better.”

“Dan, everything’s set,” one of the men called out.

“Good.” Dan stood up and walked away. “Why don’t you start some food?”

For about the next hour Joe watched the men as they sat around the fire eating, and then talking. They hadn’t offered Joe anything, but then again, he didn’t think he would have been able to eat it if they had. He shivered, and looked up at the sky. It was dark now. And it was cloudy. Joe wished he could see the stars; they might give him an idea of where they were heading. Joe looked back down as one of the men said something that greatly amused the others, and they all broke out in raucous laughter.

As far as Joe could figure out, Dan was the leader, Josh was his right hand man, and Paul and the last man, Shorty, did whatever the other two told them. Joe looked away from the men around the fire. He had always thought it must be terribly exciting to be captured by the bad guys, like the heroes in those stories he read. Only the hero always had a way to escape or fight back. There was no way out of this now. The hero was never scared, either.

Joe shivered again, and suddenly realized that he wasn’t wearing his jacket. He must have left it somewhere. Oh no; he would be in for it when… Joe unhappily dropped his head. Pa finding out that he lost his jacket was the least of his worries right now.

“Aw, what’s the matter kid? Homesick?” The rest of the men laughed as Josh stood up and walked around the fire and crouched down next to Joe. “I bet you’ve never been out alone at night without your daddy, huh?”

“Yeah,” laughed one of the other men. “Maybe we could find him a toy so he won’t feel so homesick.” The men laughed. Joe’s temper flared, and he glared angrily up at Josh. His breath was coming in short, ragged gasps.

“Aw, the little boy is upset. He’s crying.”

“I am not!” Joe tried to yell over the men’s laughter, but he was still gagged so it came out muffled. He struggled against the ropes.

“Come on now, leave him alone,” chuckled Dan. Josh smiled and patted Joe roughly on the cheek, before retreating to the other side of the fire. Joe glared at him with tears of rage in his eyes as he walked away.

“Hey, Dan? Why did we kidnap him anyway? I mean, we’ve never taken a hostage before, much less a kid,” Shorty said.

“I don’t care how old he is, Shorty; money is money.” Dan stood up and looked at Joe, then said, “But we don’t need you to hear all our plans…” Dan turned and said something quietly to Josh, who nodded and walked over to Joe. Little Joe looked up at him and saw a quick flash of light reflecting off a gun barrel raised high into the air.

Josh swung his arm down. Joe felt a sharp pain in the side of his head before everything went black. Dan stood up and walked over to Joe. “Is he out?”

Josh kicked Little Joe a few times. When the child didn’t move, he answered, “Yeah.”

They turned and walked back to the fire.

Paul looked up at Dan. “So what are we doing?”

Dan sat down in front of the fire. “Well, we’re going to go to the farm and stay there a couple days.”

“Dan?” Shorty asked. “Why did you kill those people anyways?”

Josh laughed. “The old man had a gun. They were warned.”

Shorty frowned. “I know, but still…the woman? They didn’t all have guns.”

Dan tossed a twig into the fire. “The woman was an accident, and we couldn’t leave the others, not after what they had seen. A posse would have caught up with us too fast. Hopefully they won’t find the stage until tomorrow, and by then we’ll be so far gone that they’ll never find us.”

“Is that why we’re going through the rocks?” Paul asked. Dan nodded.

Josh gestured towards Little Joe. “What about him? You want me to take care of it?”

Josh asked. Dan shook his head, and Josh looked at him in surprise. “Wait, you’re not planning on keeping the kid, are you?”

Dan shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet. We’re not going to kill him now, though. We might need him later.”

Josh shrugged. “You’re the boss.” Dan and Josh looked at the unconscious boy a few minutes before turning back to camp to settle in for the night.

—Day Two—

Ben and Hoss tied their horses to the rail and walked up to the stage office. “Howdy, Sam!” Ben greeted the man standing outside.

“Ben, Hoss,” nodded the clerk.

Ben looked around. There was a buzz of anticipation in the air and people were milling around as if they were waiting for something. “What’s all the excitement about?” Ben asked.

Sam looked up. “Haven’t you heard? We had a robbery yesterday. Four men held the stage up and killed the driver and passengers.”

Ben froze. “What?” he said. “What stage?”

“Why, the one from California. It was supposed to be at a checkpoint yesterday, but it never…Ben, what’s wrong?” Sam asked, watching as Ben’s face turned white.

“My youngest son was on that stage,” Ben said, his voice low. “What happened?”

Sam swallowed. “I…I’m sorry Ben, I…don’t know what to say. The stage…well, yesterday it didn’t make the checkpoint, so the men from that station rode out. We got a telegram this morning. The stage…well, it…it was held up and…all the passengers and the driver….” Sam handed Ben a telegram. “Ben, I’m so sorry…” After a few moments Ben handed it back. “Ben, they’re bringing…the bodies…if you wanted to…”

Ben nodded. “I’ll be around,” he said curtly and walked away. He walked back to his horse and wrapped his hand in the mane to mount, but then stopped and dropped his head. “Oh, Joe…” he whispered.

“Pa?”

Ben straightened with effort, and then turned around to Hoss.

“We’re gonna find the men that did this, right?” Hoss said with almost uncontrolled fury in his voice.

Ben nodded grimly. “We’ll find them.”

“They’re here! They’re here!” yelled someone standing outside the office. Ben and

Hoss looked as a wagon with a cloth over it drove past them and stopped outside the stage line station. Ben took a deep breath, and then followed his son into the growing crowd. The men driving the wagon jumped off and one of them ran to Sam, who had come out of the office. They spoke for a few moments, as the crowd buzzed around them.

“Ben!” Sam pushed his way through to Ben. “Ben! They didn’t find Little Joe. They found three adult passengers and the driver, but not Little Joe. He was accounted for at the last checkpoint though, so he was on the stage.”

Ben frowned. “Well then where is he? Was he anywhere near the area? Did he get away?”

Sam shook his head. “I don’t know. They tracked them a little ways; it looks like they might have taken Little Joe with them. He wasn’t with the other passengers, that’s for sure; and there are no tracks leading anywhere else.”

Ben felt a surge of hope, which was quickly wiped away with a new fear. Why would they have taken Joe? Ben nodded to Sam. “Thanks,” he called as he walked away. “Hoss!”

Hoss pulled away from the crowd and followed Ben. “Pa? What’s going on?”

“They didn’t find Joe. He might be with the robbers. I’m going to wire Adam, and then we’re going back to the ranch and prepare to look for them.”

——

Later that day, Adam walked down the street into the telegraph office.

“How can I help you sir?”

“My name’s Adam Cartwright, I got a message at the hotel that I had a wire…”

“Oh yes, Cartwright. Here you go.”

Adam took the telegram and quickly read it. His heart started racing. “Oh no,” he whispered. He looked up at the clerk. “I want to send a return. ‘Message received, coming as soon as I can.’” The clerk finished writing and picked up the money that Adam had left on the counter.

Adam turned and quickly walked out of the office. He had to cancel his meeting for tomorrow and get on the first stage home that he could get. Why had this happened?

He should never have sent Joe by himself. This was his fault. He had wanted some time to himself without his little brother, but not like this! “What was I thinking…?” Adam wondered out loud as he walked into the stage office.

——

Little Joe grunted as he hit the ground, doubled over in pain. “Pick him up!” he heard

Josh yell. Joe groaned as the two men pulled him to his feet again, each of them holding an arm. Joe didn’t even try to struggle now; he had given up a little while ago.

He looked up at Josh who was coming towards him, ready to hit him again.

“All right, hold it,” Dan said. He jumped off the fence and walked to Joe. He grabbed a handful of Joe’s hair and tipped his head back, forcing Joe to look at him. “You’re pretty tough, kid. This isn’t getting us anywhere. Why won’t you sign that letter?” Joe just looked away and shook his head. Dan released his hair, and then stepped back.

“Fine, kid. I’m done messing with you.” He looked at Josh. “Is it set?” At Josh’s nod, Dan gestured to him, and then turned and walked into the house.

Josh looked down at Little Joe. “Take him in the barn,” he said. Joe found himself being shoved across the yard and into the rundown barn. “There.” He looked to where Josh was pointing. It was a stall, boarded up over the top and with a makeshift door across the front that could be locked into place.

“No, don’t…” Joe weakly struggled as he was shoved into the tiny cell, and then the door was slammed and he could hear them sliding a board across it, locking it.

“Nice knowing you, kid,” Josh called, and then there was silence in the barn. Joe slowly pushed himself up and looked around the dimly lit room. Straw covered the floor, and other than a thin blanket, the only other furnishing was a tin bucket in one corner. Joe felt his way over to the door. He pushed against the wood. It refused to budge. He looked around the tiny room, and then went, board by board, trying to find a loose one. As he arrived back where he started, he slumped to the floor. There was no way out.

—Day Three—

Joe opened his eyes to complete darkness. It must be night outside. He slowly pushed himself up and pushed against the door. Still locked. He turned and slumped against it. Yesterday he had pounded and yelled on the door, but there had been no response. He was beginning to think that they had just left him here. Joe grabbed the blanket and pulled it over himself, and then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He tried to ignore the hunger and pain he was feeling. He hadn’t eaten or even had anything to drink since the morning he left on the stage, three days ago.

Joe took a deep breath and tried not to think about food. Maybe they had just left. But if he had signed the note, he probably wouldn’t have been any better off. He figured as soon as they didn’t need him they would kill him. Joe closed his eyes and fought back tears as he thought of his family. He wondered if he would ever see them again. They must be worried…

Suddenly the door behind him jerked, and then opened. Joe didn’t have any warning and so fell backwards out of the room. Immediately he felt hands grabbing him, and a cloth was pulled over his face.

“H-hey…what’s…”

“Shut up, kid.”

His arms were pulled behind his back and he felt ropes biting into his wrists as they were tied.

“Let’s go.”

Joe was pushed, stumbling, out of the barn. After a little while Joe’s foot touched wood, and he felt warmth against his face and arms. Someone pushed him hard, and he lost his balance and hit the floor. The cloth was pulled from his face, and he blinked at the sudden light.

Right in front of his face was a dirty, scuffed boot. Joe looked up to see Dan standing over him. Dan nodded to someone, and Joe found himself being lifted into a chair, so that his bound arms were bent over the back of it. The men grabbed some more rope and tied him securely. As they were tying him, Joe looked around. He was probably in the house. There was a fireplace in the room, and a table and a handful of chairs.

There was a kitchen leading off one side, and another room against the other wall. There was also a flight of stairs.

As soon as the men were finished tying Joe, Dan pulled up another chair and sat down in front of him. “Well, kid.”

Joe stared at the floor in front of him. “What do you want?” he whispered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dan pick up something from the table.

“Now I thought I warned you about asking questions…” Dan said. Joe looked up to find him holding a leather strap. Joe closed his eyes as Dan pulled his arm back, and then winced as a sharp pain spread across his chest. Joe felt something fall into his lap, and he opened his eyes to find the strap lying across his legs. He looked up at Dan. “Is it now perfectly clear?” Dan said. Joe silently nodded, biting his lip. “All right, kid, here’s what’s going to happen,” Dan said as he tossed a piece of paper and a pencil on the table. “This is the ransom letter for your father. You’re going to sign it.”

Joe slowly shook his head in response. “No,” he whispered.

Dan looked at him with a mixture of surprise and amusement. “Really?” Joe felt a hand on the back of his neck, and then Josh said, “You’re going to sign that letter.”

Joe took a deep breath. “No. I’m not helping you steal from my father. I will never cooperate with you.”

Josh leaned down next to him. “You’re making a mistake, kid. What’s to keep us from just killing you?” His hand tightened on Joe’s neck. Joe looked over at Josh, who smiled nastily. Joe looked away and then said, “If you kill me my father and brothers will hunt you down and see that you hang.”

The men in the room laughed. “Sure, kid,” said Josh. “Good luck to them finding us. Or your body for that matter. Even if they caught up with us, there’s no proof that we did anything.”

Little Joe closed his eyes as he realized Josh was right. The only people who saw anything were dead. Joe watched how they covered their tracks the whole way here.

No one would be able to track them, and it would be impossible to prove that they were the robbers. Joe’s shoulders slumped as he realized no help was coming. Josh grabbed a handful of Joe’s hair and pulled his head back. “What’s the matter, kid?  You look scared.” Josh laughed.

Joe tried to break free. “I’m not afraid of scum like you,” he snapped. Almost instantly, he regretted the words as he watched Josh’s expression change. Joe looked away from the anger on the man’s face.

Josh chuckled dryly. “Is that so…” he said as he pulled Joe’s head back farther, and then pulled a knife out of his belt and pressed it to Joe’s cheek. “You know, I wouldn’t mind sending a more… unpleasant… message to your father. It would make him take us seriously. He would know what kind of men he’s dealing with.” Josh moved the knife from his cheek and held it just behind Joe’s ear.

Joe’s heart started racing and he felt panic rising as he struggled to breathe. The blade of the knife was cold against his skin. Joe closed his eyes and thought of Pa. He imagined the horror that he would feel if they sent… Joe shuddered. “Last time I’m asking, kid,” said Dan.

Joe looked up at him for a few moments, and then finally whispered, “I’ll sign it.”

Josh laughed. “He’ll sign it…” he muttered as he untied Joe and pushed the paper towards him. Joe quickly signed his name at the bottom of the paper, and then it was pulled from his hands. Dan picked up the letter, and Josh grabbed the rope and pulled Joe to his feet. “All right, kid, put your hands behind-“ He was cut off as Joe swung around and hit him in the face. Josh fell to the floor, and immediately Joe was subdued by the other men. Josh picked himself off the floor, and then stood over Little Joe. Joe shut his eyes as Josh’s fist pulled back.

“All right, hold it,” said Dan. He folded the paper that Joe had just signed. “Shorty, go deliver this and wait for the reply. Josh, tie the kid up,” he directed. Josh roughly pulled Joe’s arms behind his back and tied his wrists tightly and then Dan grabbed the front of Joe’s shirt and then pushed him back into the chair.

Joe dropped his head to his chest, and then tears started to slip down his face. He felt Dan put his hand on his shoulder. “Quit, all right?” Dan shook him sharply. Little Joe dropped his head down further to hide the tears that refused to stop falling. His shoulders started to shake with quiet sobs. “I said stop it.” Dan let go of him and walked away. “Fine. I’m not dealing with you like this. Take him out.”

Josh pulled Little Joe off the chair, and then shoved him roughly out the door and into the barn. He shoved him into the stall, and then boarded the door, leaving Joe’s hands tied behind his back. Joe rolled over into the straw and didn’t even try to stop the tears. He was too tired to care. All he wanted was to be home.

—Day Four—

Hoss and Adam were sitting at the dining room table in front of their untouched breakfasts. Hop Sing walked out of the kitchen with more pancakes, but stopped when he saw that the food already on the table hadn’t been touched. He set the plate down, and then loudly admonished, “What this, you not eat? You not have strength find Little Joe. Come, eat, eat!”

Hoss and Adam watched as Hop Sing went back into the kitchen. Hoss picked up his fork and poked the cold eggs on his plate. “There’s nowhere else to look,” he said quietly.

Adam closed his eyes. He had arrived late last night…or rather, early this morning. He had hoped that Little Joe would have been found alive and well by the time he arrived home, but when Ben had opened the door Adam could tell by the dark circles under his eyes and the worried look on his face that it hadn’t happened. Adam looked up at Hoss. “Are you sure?” he asked.

Hoss looked up. “What?”

“Are you sure there’s nowhere else to look?” Adam asked.

Hoss nodded. “They covered their tracks too well. They followed the main road a little ways, which was hard enough to follow. But then they went into some rocks; there was nothing to find. And not knowing what direction they headed after that…”

Adam sighed. “Well, can you show me later? Maybe if we look again…”

Hoss sadly sighed, and then nodded. He didn’t want to give up hope that their little brother would be found, but with nothing to go on…

Hoss and Adam looked up as Ben walked into the dining room.

“Morning Pa,” Adam said.

“Boys,” Ben said in reply and walked to the table and sat down. He reached for a cup of coffee, but then put it down after a few minutes, untouched. Adam stood up and wandered into the family room. He stood by the fireplace for a few moments and then turned and started to rub his hand over his face, but stopped as he noticed something.

He walked over to a chair and picked up Little Joe’s jacket, and then looked up.

Hoss looked at the jacket. “We found it near where the stage was robbed.”

Adam rubbed his hand over the fabric. It was cold the last couple of nights, and Little Joe didn’t even have his jacket. Adam never should have sent him alone. He was far too young to take care of himself! If he ever saw him again… Adam quickly shook his head. He couldn’t just give up. They would find him, and if he had been harmed…or… killed…they would find the men responsible.

“Adam?”

Adam looked up at Ben. “Sorry, I was just thinking,” he said quietly.

Ben nodded. “We’ll find him.”

Adam nodded and then turned and slumped into a chair. “Why would they take him, and then not do anything? They didn’t leave him with the other passengers…it doesn’t make sense.” Just then all three men looked up as there was a thud on the front door.

Quickly, Adam stood up and crossed the room. He paused next to the front door as Ben and Hoss came around the corner. Adam grabbed the handle and jerked the door open. There was no one outside.

“Look,” said Hoss, and then Adam saw it; a paper attached to the front door with a knife. Adam pulled it down, and handed it to Ben. Hoss and Adam watched him closely as he read it.

“What’s it say, Pa?” asked Adam. Ben looked up, and then silently handed it to Adam.

Adam quickly read it, his heart pounding.

Cartwright,

We have your kid. We want 20,000 dollars. Fire three shots at ten-o-clock tonight if you want him back. If not, your son will be returned to you…but dead. He has signed this letter to prove that he is alive. For now. Don’t try to find us or we will kill him.

Joe Cartwright.

Adam looked up and handed it to Hoss. “What are we going to do?” he asked.

“We’ll fire the shots and send the money,” Ben answered. “I’ll go into town and make a withdrawal. If we pay the ransom and don’t hear from them…we’ll hunt them down.”

——

The sun had been up for a few hours. Joe could tell because it was a little brighter in his prison, and he could hear birds in the barn. He squirmed against the ropes that bound his hands behind him, but then as pain shot through his wrists he stopped. He realized now that his angry outburst had been about the worst thing he could have done. He didn’t even understand fully why he had hit Josh. It was an impulse; as soon as his hands were free, he had struck out. Maybe they would have given him something to eat if he hadn’t. He thought back to Dan’s words in the camp; that he would have loosened Joe’s bonds if he hadn’t fought against him; and that if he was expecting to be treated with any regard at all he had to watch what he did. Joe sighed.

There was no way to change what he did. The only way to survive now was to do as he was told from now on. If they gave him that chance.

Joe heard someone coming and looked up as the door was opened, but as soon as he saw who it was he looked away. Josh was standing in the doorway watching him. After a few minutes Josh asked, “Well?”

Little Joe slowly looked up. He didn’t want to make Josh mad, so he just bit his lip and said nothing.

“Are you afraid of scum like me yet?” Josh knelt down in front of him. When Joe just looked away, he laughed. “Maybe I should just leave you here for a few more days.”

Joe still didn’t move, but he could feel tears welling in his eyes.

“Josh.” Dan walked into the barn behind Josh. “You can go, I’ll handle this.”

“Yes, sir,” murmured Josh, and he turned and left. Dan watched him until he walked out of the barn, and then walked over in front of the stall. Dan stood looking down at Little Joe. “You still want to fight?” Dan asked. When Joe didn’t answer, Dan frowned and knelt in front of him. “What do you think you were doing? You’re nowhere near anyone who cares.” Joe looked away. “You know, I don’t want to kill you,” Dan continued. “I want to let you go when we get the money.”

Joe looked up and whispered, his voice hoarse, “I don’t believe you.”

“Why not?”

“You killed the other passengers. There’s nothing to stop you from killing me.”

Dan shrugged. “True. But I had my reasons,” he said.

Joe opened his mouth to ask what reasons those could possibly be, but then he realized he didn’t want to get beat up for “asking questions” again, so he just closed his mouth and said nothing.

Dan half smiled as he saw the struggle on Joe’s face. “It would be easier to let you go. As you said, your father wouldn’t stop looking for us if we killed you.” Dan stood up.

“If you want to make it difficult for yourself, that’s fine with me. We can leave you tied up in here until we get the money if you want. It’s up to you kid. You can either do as you’re told, or not. If you want food and water and a better place to sleep, you’re going to have to earn it.”

Dan stood watching him as Little Joe stared at the ground for a moment, considering. “What would I have to do?” he finally whispered.

Dan shrugged. “Anything you’re told. Just behave quietly until your father sends the money. It’s only for a few days, you know. It won’t hurt you. Unless you decide to be difficult, in which case I’ll let Josh do whatever he wants to you.”

Joe shuddered. Could he trust them? Or would he just be making it easier for them to kill him if he went along with them? And what about Pa? He felt like if he agreed to go along with them, he’d be betraying him…

“Well?”

Joe looked back up at Dan. He wished someone was here to tell him what he should do. “I…I don’t know…” he whispered.

Dan shrugged. “Have it your way.” He reached down and pulled the board over the opening.

Joe watched the light fade with a sinking heart. He couldn’t stay tied up in here; he just couldn’t! “Wait,” he yelled. He heard Dan start to leave. “Wait, please! I’ll do it!” Joe cried out as he struggled to get up. He was answered by silence. No, he couldn’t stay in here; he had to get out! “No, please wait! I’ll do it!” Joe started to frantically struggle against the ropes. “Let me out! Please let me out!” After a few minutes he stopped, sobbing. It was no use.

Dan stood just inside the barn door. For a brief moment, he almost felt sorry for the kid. He had never taken a kid hostage before, and of the very few prominent adults he had been hired to “make disappear”, none of them had lived this long. Dan could hear the child crying; he sounded so scared… Dan shook his head. Stop it; he said to himself, you’re getting soft. After a few minutes, he yelled, “What’s it gonna be, kid?”

In the stall, Joe struggled up. “Please, I’ll do it, I’ll cooperate,” Joe shakily answered through the door.

Dan walked across the barn. “Good.” Dan unlocked the door, and then reached down and pulled Little Joe out of the tiny room. Dan laughed, and then leaned close to him.

“You look scared, kid. As long as you do what you’re told you’ll be fine; but if you disobey anyone, expect to be punished. Understand?”

Tears formed in Joe’s eyes. “Yes,” he whispered.

Dan looked at him for a few minutes and then grabbed his shoulder and pushed him towards the door. “Let’s go.” They walked across the yard and then they were inside the house. “Upstairs.” Dan grabbed Joe’s arm and pushed him past the table where Josh and Paul were playing cards.

Josh reached out and grabbed Joe’s shirt. “I still owe you for hitting me, kid. Don’t forget that.” Josh let go of his shirt and pushed him away. Little Joe would have lost his balance if Dan hadn’t still been holding onto his arm. Dan shoved Joe up the stairs in front of him and into the room on the right. There were a couple of lengths of rope on a bed in the middle of the room.

Dan picked them up. “On the bed.”

Joe obeyed. Dan tied his ankles, and then made sure the ropes around his wrists were tight. “I’ll be back in a little bit with some food, okay?” Dan said. Joe nodded, and then Dan walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He walked down the stairs, coming to a stop at the bottom.

“Dan, why don’t we just kill him now. We don’t need him-” Josh started.

“Shut up,” Dan replied.

Paul looked up from his cards. “Dan, can’t we just let him go when we get the money?”

“I’m not getting into this now.” He started to go into the kitchen.

Josh frowned. “So, what do we do now?”

Dan stopped and looked back. “He’s agreed to go along with us. If he goes back on his word, then he’s all yours.” Dan walked into the kitchen.

——

Ben stared at the ticking clock on the wall. 9:55. Only five more minutes to go. He held his gun in his lap, running his hand over the barrel.

Adam watched him. He took a deep breath. There was something he wanted to say, but he didn’t know how to start.

9:56.

“Pa?”

“Hmm.”

“I…I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

“No it’s not, Adam.”

“Yes it is. If I hadn’t sent him by himself on that stage-“

“Then you might have been killed with the other passengers.”

9:57.

“No, Pa. That stage. He should have been with me in Sacramento.”

“You can’t take him everywhere with you. He could have gotten into a lot more trouble by himself in Sacramento.”

“But Pa, he wouldn’t have had that much time by himself. I…”

9:58.

“What is it, Adam?”

“I didn’t want him with me. He, he could have come, but…I didn’t want him.”

9:59.

“It’s my fault.”

“Adam. You didn’t know what was going to happen. I know…Little Joe can be a handful sometimes. But don’t blame yourself for his kidnapping. I agreed with you to send Joe back.”

“Because I told you that I would be too busy to watch him.”

“Adam…”

Ding! Ding! Ding! The clock began to strike ten. Ben and Adam stood up as Hoss came down the stairs. Ben opened the front door and walked outside, followed by Adam and Hoss. Ben raised his gun into the air and fired. The echoes of the shots faded into silence. Ben scanned the trees, looking for any sign that the message had been received.

Nothing. After a few minutes they turned and walked back towards the house. Bang!

They turned as a shot sounded from a distance away, and then quietly faded out.

—Day Five—

Joe slowly awoke to the muffled sound of voices. He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn’t; there was a blindfold tied over his face. His arms and legs were tied. He wasn’t sure how long he had been unconscious; he had drifted in and out of sleep. Joe slowly rolled over. He hurt so much. Josh had made good his promise to punish Joe for punching him. The beating had lasted a while. After it was over, Joe had decided he was going to do his best to not make them angry with him. He never wanted to go through that again. At least Dan had given him some food and water yesterday.

Joe slowly pushed himself up on his elbow and tried to sit up, but his arm went numb and Joe fell over. Instead of falling back onto the bed though, Joe felt himself falling through space. For a split second he was filled with panic, wondering if he wasn’t still on the bed, and maybe he was far on top of something now falling to his death. Just as quickly as these thoughts flashed through his head, he found himself hitting a hard surface.

“Ouch,” Joe muttered. His shoulder hurt, but it would probably just turn into a bad bruise. After a while, he heard someone coming up the stairs, and the door to the room was thrown open. Joe felt rough hands lift him from the floor, and then he was shoved onto the bed. The blindfold was ripped from his face and Joe looked up to see Josh standing in front of him with a gun in his hand. It was pointed at Joe.

Little Joe stared at the gun and slowly shook his head. “No…”

Josh watched him for a few moments. “Why not?”

Joe stared up at him. Why not? He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to come up with an answer. Why not? Why couldn’t he think of a reason! Josh started to laugh, and Joe quickly looked up at him. Josh put the gun back in his holster, and then untied Joe’s wrists and ankles. He walked over to the chair by the door and picked up a plate and cup. “Here,” he said as he handed them to Joe.

“Thank you,” Joe whispered as he took them. He gasped as Josh slapped him and then grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head back.

Josh leaned close to him, until he was just inches from Joe’s face. “That’s right, you should be thanking me. I don’t owe you anything, not a thing. I could have easily pulled that trigger, with no guilt. How about you just think about that, and think about maybe that beating last night wasn’t enough, but I decided to go easy on you. I won’t next time.” Josh released Joe’s hair, and Joe flinched as he raised his hand to strike him again. Josh laughed and dropped his hand. “You watch it, brat.” He turned and walked out of the room.

Joe took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. He was scared. He’d never been so scared in his whole life. And there was no way out. He had to depend on their word that they would release him when this whole ordeal was over. Little Joe looked down at the plate of food, and then started to eat. He wasn’t very hungry, but he knew he couldn’t count on being fed again.

——

Adam walked quickly into the house. “Pa! Hey, Pa!”

Ben ran downstairs. “What is it, Adam?”

Adam threw his hat and jacket down. “The stage company sent a posse to look for the stage robbers, and they won’t call them back! I told them I’d give them the money they lost, just for a little more time but they refused.”

Ben sat down heavily in his chair. “What? Don’t they know? Little Joe! They said they’d kill him!”

Adam nodded. “I know Pa, I told them that. They said he was as good as dead and if they had waited any longer the trail would have gotten cold.”

Ben put his head in his hands. When he looked up, his eyes were wet with tears. “Oh, Adam…”

—Day Six—

Joe stared at the floor, trying to keep still. He had been tied to this chair since this morning after he was told to write a note to his father to prove he was alive. He had started to refuse to write it until Dan threatened him with a heated branding iron. He had written the note. One of the men, Shorty, had been sent to deliver it. The front door opened and Josh and Paul came in with armfuls of logs. Josh dropped them in the middle of the floor, ignoring the annoyed look that Paul gave him. “Dan?” Josh called as he walked passed Joe cuffing him as he went, and then dropped into a chair at the table.

After a few minutes Dan walked into the room. “What?”

Josh looked up. “Oh, nothing. We’re done.”

Dan nodded. “Great. The horses too?”

Josh slammed his hands into the table and jumped up. “Oh, come on! What do I look like, a hired hand? I just finished chopping half that wood.”

“Yeah, right,” muttered Paul. Josh glared at him.

Dan groaned angrily. “Josh, I’m not going over this again! Someone needs to take care of the horses.”

Josh glared at him, then looked at Little Joe. “What about the brat? Make him do it.”

Dan shrugged. “I don’t care. Those horses need food and clean stalls.” Dan walked into the kitchen.

Joe looked up at Josh as he walked around to untie his wrists. Great. Just the person he wanted watching him. This wasn’t fair! Although…at least now he wasn’t tied to a chair anymore. Josh pulled him up and shoved him roughly towards the door. Joe stumbled and lost his balance, but quickly scrambled up again.

“Clumsy brat.” Josh muttered as he grabbed the back of Joe’s shirt and pushed him outside and into the barn. Josh shoved him, and Joe hit the floor. Joe rolled over and looked up at the man standing over him.

“Well, get to work. Food’s over there, straw’s in that corner. Here,” Josh said as he reached out and grabbed a rake, and then threw it towards Joe. Joe quickly put his arm out, and the rake bounced off and landed beside him.

Josh walked over to a barrel next to the door, and then sat there watching as Joe pushed himself up from the floor and slid into the first stall. He started to untie the horse’s lead rope.

“Josh!” The muffled call came from outside.

Josh groaned and stood up. “What now?” he muttered. He walked over to Joe as he finished wrapping the horse’s rope around a post outside the stall. Josh grabbed his arm and pulled him towards him. Joe gasped as his fingers dug into his arm. “Listen, brat. I’m going inside, you keep working out here. You better not try anything, got it?” Josh snapped.

Joe quickly nodded. “I won’t,” he said, and Josh let go of his arm and walked out of the barn. Joe shook his arm to rid himself of the feeling of Josh’s hand, and then turned and walked back into the stall.

As soon as he finished cleaning the stall and putting down fresh straw, he walked outside to move the horse back in. As he started to pull the horse across the barn, he paused, looking at it. He turned and looked at the saddle, which was right next to the stall. It would be so easy, just to get on, and ride away. Far away…home…

Joe shook his head and took a deep breath. No, he couldn’t. They would be after him too quickly, and he didn’t even know where to go to get help. He had to wait for a better opportunity. Maybe if they thought he was going along with them, they would get careless and he might get an opportunity to get away. Joe put the horse back into the stall and then walked out and went towards the next stall. A hand landed on his shoulder, and Joe gasped as he turned.

“You’re lucky, kid, that you didn’t try to get away,” Dan said. He tightened his hold on Joe’s shoulder. Joe winced in pain. “You came close to it though, didn’t you?”

When Joe didn’t answer, Dan squeezed his shoulder harder and sharply shook him.

“Answer me!”

Tears sprang into Joe’s eyes. “No, I…I thought about it…but I didn’t,” he whispered.

“Uh huh. And why didn’t you?”

Joe stared at him for a couple seconds, then looked as Josh walked into the barn behind Dan. He was smirking. He had the leather strap in his hands. Joe swallowed. “I …I was afraid of…what would happen if I….” Joe trailed off.

Dan released Joe and walked a few feet away. “You were right to be afraid. I’d stop at nothing to get what I want.” Dan walked back toward Joe and leaned close to him. “I warned you. If I ever catch you even…thinking…about trying to escape again, the beating you’re about to get will seem like a slap on the wrist. Understand?”

Joe looked at Josh, who smiled unkindly and slapped the strap against his hand. He looked back at Dan. “Yes,” he whispered. I shouldn’t have admitted it, Joe thought to himself. I won’t make that mistake again.

Dan looked down at him thoughtfully for a few moments. Finally he said, “I suppose that won’t keep you from trying to escape though, will it?”

Joe just looked away.

“I thought so,” said Dan. “You care about your father, don’t you?”

Joe froze.

“If you try to escape again, we’ll kill him.”

Joe felt a cold shiver run down his spine as he stared at Dan. “What…?” he whispered.

Dan just smiled nastily. “You heard me. Lots of things can happen to a person. Maybe a stray bullet in town, or even a failed robbery. Even if you do escape, know that sometime, somehow, your father will meet an…accident…and it will be your fault.”

Dan watched all the color drain out of Little Joe’s face, and he knew he had scared him. Maybe not enough yet so they had full control over him, but they were getting there. Dan turned and then left, gesturing at Josh. “Take care of it.”

—Day Seven—

There was a dull thud on the door. Ben had been standing next to the fireplace, his exhausted eyes staring into the flames. At the sound, he looked up. Adam walked to the door and swung it open, but there was no one in sight; just a rock with a piece of paper tied to it. Adam stepped inside and opened the paper, and then read the message out loud. “‘Pa, they want you to put the money in Cooch’s saddlebag and leave him near the eastern border of the Ponderosa by the lake. They’ll let me go two days after they get the money. I’m okay. Joe.’” Adam looked up at Ben. “What if they don’t give him back?”

Ben stared at the note. “If we don’t hear from them, we’ll start looking. They have to be pretty close. Hoss, could you go saddle Cooch?”

Hoss nodded and walked out the front door.

Ben walked swiftly to his desk and began to write. “Adam, I want you and Hoss to be ready to go looking if we don’t hear anything. I’m writing this note; we’ll put it in with the money, telling them that if we don’t hear anything in two days, we’ll be after them. And we won’t stop until they hang.”

Adam closed his eyes, hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

——

Little Joe slowly stood up, and with a deep breath, walked into the kitchen, but then stopped as he saw the two men talking quietly. Josh and Paul turned and looked at him, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably. “You want somethin’?” snapped Josh.

Joe opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly the bravery that had forced him to move in the first place disappeared, and instead he swallowed and shook his head. He backed towards the door, whispering, “No, I’m sorry, nothing…” He started to leave but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Shaking slightly, he closed his eyes and waited.

“What do you need, kid? It must have been something if you moved from the table without permission,” Dan said from behind him.

Joe turned his head and glanced up at him. He nodded and looked away. “I just… wondered if I could…have some water…? Please?”

Dan nodded and pushed Little Joe towards the back door. “The well’s right out there.  Leave the door open.” Little Joe nodded and went outside, leaving the door ajar as he was told. Dan waited until he was outside and then leaned against the doorway, turning his attention to the men in the kitchen. “So…what were you two doing?” Dan asked.

Paul laughed nervously. “Nothing. Just…you know…talking…”

Dan nodded slowly. “I see. Well, see that it doesn’t happen again, got it?” Paul quickly left the room. Dan watched until he was out the door and then looked back to Josh.

“Dan, he’s-“ Josh was silenced by a quick frown from Dan. Josh watched as Little Joe came in and pulled the door shut behind him and then turned to look at them.

Dan nodded towards the door. “Go to your room, kid,” he said. Joe muttered softly under his breath as he walked through the doorway.

“What?” snapped Josh.

Little Joe turned back. “I said it’s not my room,” he said quietly. Josh started to move towards him, but Dan waved his hand as Joe darted out of the room and up the stairs.

“Leave him alone.” Then as Josh looked startled, added, “At least for now. Tell me about Paul.”

Josh shook his head. “He wants to let the kid go. Says he’d feel guilty for the ‘rest of his life’ if we just get rid of the kid. He said Shorty felt the same way.”

“Well, Shorty went to go deliver the note, so his opinion doesn’t really count right now.”

“Dan, what are we going to do?”

Dan put his head in his hands. “I don’t know …I don’t KNOW!” He looked up at Josh. “It’s not just the kid; the whole bunch of them will be after us a few days after they don’t give him back,” Dan said.

“What do you mean, not just the kid?” Josh took a couple of steps closer to Dan. “Is the brat getting to you?”

Dan groaned and shook his head. “No, he’s not. I just see a lot more problems if we get rid of him than if we send him back.” Josh just stared at him. Finally Dan got irritated and snapped at him, “What?”

Josh shrugged. “Are you sure you don’t want to kill him because he’s getting to you and you feel sorry for him?”

Dan stared evenly back at him. “Don’t be stupid. You’ve known me long enough to know better.”

Josh looked at him for a couple of seconds, and then turned and left the room.

—The Next Day—

Joe walked slowly up the stairs towards the bedroom. As he got about halfway up, Josh walked to the bottom of the stairs. “Where are you going, kid?” Josh asked. Joe stopped. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I said, where are you going?”

Josh repeated.

Joe slowly turned and looked back. Josh was sneering, laughing at him. Joe knew what he had to say if he didn’t want another beating tonight. Or even if he wanted something to eat. He didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to give in. He hated giving in…but he just couldn’t bear the alternative tonight. Joe stared at the stairs in front of him. “I’m going to my room,” he said quietly.

Josh laughed. “What, I couldn’t hear you,” he said.

Joe closed his eyes. “I’m going to my room,” he said loudly.

Josh laughed again. “That’s right. Your room.” He turned and walked away.

As soon as Josh was out of sight, Joe turned and went upstairs into the room. He stumbled across the room in the dark, and then knelt down on the floor next to the window. The moon was out and right now it was casting light into the darkened bedroom. Joe wished he had a light, but they never gave him one and he never dared to ask.

Joe pushed himself up so he could see into the yard. He wondered what Pa was doing right now. Maybe he was looking outside, and wondering when his son would be back. Joe knew it would be a couple more days. He just wanted to go home. That’s why he put up with it- all the beatings, and verbal abuse, and humiliation. He was going to obey them eventually anyway, and it was just becoming easier to do what he was told to begin with. Joe stood up and pulled the blanket off the bed. He got down on his stomach and crawled under the bed, wrapping the blanket around himself.

Today had been really hard. Josh had picked on him all day, hoping that Joe would get angry or do something wrong. But he hadn’t. He had managed to hold his temper all the day until finally Dan had put a stop to it. Even still, Josh had to get the last word.

“It’s not my room,” Joe whispered.

Almost as if his words had been heard by the men below, there were footsteps on the stairs. Little Joe pulled the blanket around himself tighter as he heard the bedroom door open. He heard someone enter, and then stop. There was a quiet curse, and then the person left the room, slamming the door as he went. Joe slowly exhaled, and letting go of the blanket, slid out from under the bed. He walked over to the window, and observed Josh angrily walking across the darkening yard and into the barn. Joe backed away from the window, and then slipped back under the bed. He wasn’t trying to hide…exactly. He just wished Josh would leave him alone.

Today Joe had been confined to the bedroom for most of the day, although he hadn’t been tied up. The last couple of days, they hadn’t tied him during the day, only at night. There was a loud bang from downstairs, and Joe huddled under the blanket again. There were footsteps on the stairs again, and then the door opened. After a few moments of silence the man walked across the room, and then Joe found himself being pulled from under the bed by his ankle. As his head cleared the end, he rolled over and sat up to find Dan standing in front of him, a slightly amused look on his face.

“Hiding?” Dan asked.

Joe shook his head and shrugged. “Not really,” he replied quietly. Downstairs he could hear Josh yelling, and then there was a crash as some piece of furniture found itself being thrown to the floor. Joe looked away from Dan, and then stood up and brushed the dust and cobwebs off. He tossed the blanket onto the bed and turned to find Dan holding a plate of food. “Here,” Dan said as he handed it to Joe. Little Joe sat on the edge of the bed and started to eat. He could hear Paul trying to calm Josh down, but apparently Josh wouldn’t have any of it because there was more shouting.

Dan put down the lamp he was holding. “Problem, kid?” he asked.

Joe looked up at Dan, and then shook his head. “No,” he said in between bites. But then he paused, and then put the fork down and looked up again. “Actually there is,” he said quietly. “I was…I mean, am…am…I…” Joe took a deep breath. “Am I in trouble?” he asked, hoping he wouldn’t get into more trouble for just asking the question.

Dan looked at him for a couple of minutes. “What would you have done that would get you into trouble?”

“Hidden from Josh,” Joe whispered.

Dan slowly nodded. “I see. So you were hiding from him.”

Joe looked down. When Dan didn’t say anything else, Joe finished the last of the food, and then set the plate down on the chair. He sighed as Dan picked up the ropes from the floor, and then he rolled onto his stomach on the bed. Dan tied his wrists and then his ankles. When he was finished, he leaned down next to Joe. “You’re not in trouble.”

Then, to Joe’s surprise, Dan grabbed the blanket and pulled it over him. Joe heard him walk away and then the door shut. Joe was a little puzzled as to the reason for the act of kindness, but then he decided not to question it. He wriggled a little to get comfortable, and then closed his eyes. Maybe tonight he would actually get a goodnight’s rest; one without waking up freezing cold and finding Josh standing over him with a belt, ready to beat him for crying out in his sleep or for some little thing that he did wrong during the day.

—Day Nine—

Joe brushed the sweat out of his eyes with the back of his hand and straightened up.  He looked at the sky. It would be dark in a little while. He dropped the saw he was using to cut the logs down to size and started to move to pick up the pieces he just finished cutting, but his foot caught on a piece of wood and he lost his balance. As he pushed himself back up from the ground, he fought back tears. He was so tired; he had been outside all afternoon working; first taking care of the horses and cleaning out the barn, then now, cutting firewood. He had been allowed water a couple of times, but that was all. Now it was starting to get dark and cold. He looked at the pile that was left. He wasn’t done yet. It would probably take him another hour to finish. He tried to push himself to go faster, but his body didn’t want to obey him. It wanted food and rest, but Joe knew he probably wouldn’t be getting very much of either tonight.

Dan and Paul had left to go get supplies. They had left Josh behind. Joe had tried staying out of his way in the barn this morning…but that hadn’t worked. Shorty was supposed to be back with the money this morning, but he was really late. Maybe he’d be back tonight. Maybe tomorrow they’d release him. Joe thought of the Ponderosa as he reached for the ax. He could hardly wait to see Pa, and Hoss, and Adam. Joe thought of the nearness of his reunion to his family, and started to forget about the pain of his rumbling stomach and the bruises on his back, and the chill that started to cause goose bumps to form on his arms.

Joe looked up as the front door opened and Josh walked out of the house. “I’m almost done,” he said as Josh walked up.

“It doesn’t look like you’re almost done.” Josh picked up the whip from next to the fence where he had left it earlier. “I said before dark.”

Joe flinched at the sound of the whip, but it fell next to him harmlessly. Why had Dan left him behind, and not Paul? “It’s not dark yet,” Joe said quietly.

“Are you arguing with me?”

Joe stared at the ground and didn’t answer. Josh flicked the whip again, and this time it made contact. Joe gasped in pain and put his hand over the newest cut on his arm.

Josh dropped the whip. “Inside,” he said.

As Joe ran up the stairs inside the house, he turned to see Josh grab the leather strap off the table. “No, don’t do it, please…” Josh started up the stairs behind him, and Joe turned and ran into the bedroom.

A few hours later, Dan walked into the house, followed by Paul. “Josh,” he nodded.

“Where’s the kid?” Josh pointed upstairs. “Good. Did you remember to feed him?”

“You didn’t tell me to,” Josh said.

Dan pounded his hand onto the table. “Oh, come on! You should have known…of all the…” Dan turned and stormed into the kitchen, and then after a few minutes walked upstairs with a plate of sandwiches and a cup of water. He walked into the bedroom, but then stopped just inside the doorway and stared at Little Joe. Joe was tied to the bed, his wrists and ankles tied separately to the bedposts, and a blindfold over his eyes.

His chest was bare, but covered in new cuts and welts. As Dan walked closer, he could see Joe’s shirt crumpled next to him. His face was pale and he was shaking. Dan set the plate and cup on the chair and leaned down to untie the blindfold. At his touch, Joe started to cry. Dan pulled away the blindfold and Joe stared up at him with terror in his eyes, which quickly started to fade away as Dan dropped the blindfold and started to untie him. “What happened, kid?”

“I thought…I thought you were…” Joe whispered.

Dan tossed the last rope away. “You thought I was Josh?”

Joe shut his eyes. “It was my fault…I…I didn’t…finish the work in time…I had plenty of time…I didn’t…it was my fault…” he sobbed.

Dan ran his hand through his hair, then looked closer at Joe’s chest. There were a handful of small red marks across his stomach and chest. Dan touched one of them, and Joe inhaled sharply. “What’s this from?”

Little Joe looked away. When he didn’t reply, Dan reached down and grabbed his chin and turned his head, forcing Joe to look at him. “Answer me.”

“It…it’s…from a match…”

Dan frowned and released Joe. “Look kid, I brought you some food. Here.” Dan reached over and handed Joe the plate and cup. He watched as Joe started to hungrily eat, then turned and went downstairs.

“Josh.”

Josh looked up. He had been talking to Paul. “Yeah, Dan?”

Dan walked up to him and angrily grabbed the front of his shirt. “What do you think you’re doing? You went too far!” He released Josh. “I told you to leave him alone. You were too hard on him.” Dan turned and angrily walked away.

Josh glared as Dan stormed into the kitchen. “And you’re too easy on him…” he muttered.

—Day Ten—

Ben looked out the window at the sunrise. Nothing. It had been two days. He turned as he heard Adam and Hoss come down the stairs.

“Pa. We’re going now.”

Ben nodded. “Be careful,” he said. “If you find anything, wire me.”

Adam reached out and shook Ben’s hand, then held it for a few moments. “We’ll be careful. We’ll find them.”

Hoss patted Ben on the shoulder, and then he and Adam left.

Ben turned back towards the window and watched as Hoss and Adam left the yard. Oh, please let them find him alive, he silently prayed.

——

Shorty hadn’t come back. Paul and Josh had left to go look for him early this morning. Little Joe had been left with Dan, but unlike other days, he had been allowed pretty much free reign. He had spent much of the day in the barn because it wasn’t as cramped as the bedroom; but when it started to get dark, Dan had called him in. Joe hadn’t even thought of trying to escape, and when the realization came to him that he could have gotten away he felt guilty. He didn’t think he’d have even have tried, given the fact they threatened to hurt his father. Joe sighed, and then got up from the table and walked over to the window. It was almost dark outside. The sky was deep blue; almost black. If Joe were home, he would probably be riding Cochise home for supper from the fields, or the lake…

Joe blinked a couple of times, and then turned away from the window. Dan was standing in the kitchen doorway, watching him. Dan opened his mouth to say something, but just then the sound of hoof beats came from outside. Dan walked to the door and went outside, and Little Joe quickly moved to the doorway.

Josh came to a stop in the yard. He had another horse with him.

“Cochise!” Joe yelled and started away from the house, but Dan reached out and caught him.

It was plain to see that Josh was angry. He jumped off his horse and threw the reins at the fence, and then he stormed over to Dan. “What’s the matter?” Dan asked as he let go of Joe.

“It’s gone!” Josh yelled. “The money is gone and Shorty is gone!”

“What are you talking about?”

“All that was there was this horse and its empty saddlebags. We found Shorty’s tracks. He picked up the money and took off with it! I’m going to kill him!”

“Not if I get to him first,” muttered Dan. “Where is Paul?”

“Looking for that little weasel.”

Joe had silently backed up against the house, wishing he was invisible. He watched Josh; he was pacing around the yard, hitting random things and swearing under his breath. Joe was scared. He knew they didn’t need him anymore, and now they were so angry that they might just… Dan turned and looked at Little Joe and then started to walk towards him. Joe dropped down next to the doorway, wrapping his arms around his legs. He felt like he couldn’t stop shaking. He looked up as Dan came to a stop in front of him.

“Well, what are we going to do with you?” Dan asked. Joe didn’t answer. Dan looked down at Joe for a few minutes, then said, “Go inside.”

Little Joe looked up at him. “Please,” he whispered. “Can I take care of my horse?”

Dan looked at him for a few moments and then shook his head. “No. Go inside,” Dan answered. Little Joe stood up and went inside the house. He stood next to the table and took a deep breath. He felt numb. How could he have just taken the money? What was going to happen now?

After a few minutes Josh came in the house, followed by Dan. Josh walked over to Joe and grabbed his arm. “Dan, let me just take care of him now, and then we’ll get out of here,” Josh said.

Joe broke away from him and stood a couple of feet away. “You said I could go free if I did what you said,” Joe said.

Dan looked at him. “And if we got the money with no interference.”

Joe stared at him. “What are you talking about? My father did send the money. It’s not his fault your man ran off with it!”

Josh reached forward and grabbed Joe’s arms and jerked him up. “Shut up!” Josh shook Joe angrily and started yelling in his face. “We don’t have the money, and your father didn’t follow our directions! He’s sent a posse looking for you! He knew if he did that he’d never see you again.” He threw Joe to the floor.

Joe stared up at him, trembling. “It’s not true…it’s not true…he wouldn’t do that…”

Josh kicked him sharply in the side. “He did! Are you calling me a liar?” When Joe didn’t answer, he kicked him again.

“Go upstairs, kid,” said Dan. Joe closed his eyes until the pain started to subside, and then pushed himself off the floor. He started to walk towards the stairs, but Dan was in his way.

Dan looked down at him. He could see the fear and pain in his eyes. The kid was terrified, nearing his breaking point. Dan looked at him for a few moments, and then stood aside and let Joe pass.

Little Joe ran up the stairs and into the bedroom. He collapsed onto the bed and squeezed his eyes shut. His dreams of seeing his family again seemed to disappear. Joe pulled the blanket over his head as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The door was thrown open and someone walked over to the bed and then the blanket was ripped off. Joe rolled over to find Josh standing over him. He was holding a belt. Little Joe sat up and backed away. “No, I didn’t do anything!”

“Shut up! I don’t care!”

Downstairs, Dan heard Little Joe’s cries. In a few minutes, he would go up and stop Josh before he seriously hurt or killed the boy. Josh had a violent temper and sometimes he didn’t know when to quit. Dan sighed. He didn’t want to get rid of the kid. He knew Josh would be more than willing to do it. Dan had killed people before; why was it so hard this time?

Dan sighed again and got up from the table, and then went upstairs.

—Day Eleven—

“Dan! Dan!” The shout came from outside. “I found him! I found the money!”

Josh came out of the kitchen and ran outside. Dan followed him, but paused to cut Joe free from the chair he had been tied to. “Go upstairs, kid,” he said as he pulled Joe up.

Joe stumbled up the stairs and knelt by the window. He watched as the men pulled Shorty from where he was tied to his horse and threw him to the ground. They were yelling. Paul handed Dan a bundle, and he looked at it. He pulled out his gun. Joe closed his eyes. There was a loud bang. When Joe opened his eyes, Josh was dragging Shorty’s body behind the barn.

Joe covered his mouth with his hand as he almost gagged. He had to get out of here! Quickly he ran to the bedroom door and opened it. He started out, but stopped when he heard someone enter the house. He slipped back into the bedroom and waited. After a few minutes the front door opened again. “We took care of it,” he heard Josh say.

“Good,” came the reply, then Josh asked, “What about the kid?” Joe held his breath as he listened for Dan’s answer. “I don’t know.” Joe shut his eyes. “Oh, come on. How can you not know? There’s a posse in the area; it’ll be too dangerous release him or to even take him with us.”

“I know. Look, I’ll take care of it tomorrow before we leave.”

“You’re going to kill him?” There was a long pause, and Joe strained to hear. “Let me deal with it,” Dan finally answered.

Joe closed his eyes and slumped to the floor. That wasn’t an answer. This wasn’t fair. Dan had said they would let Joe go if he did what they said. He did everything they told him, why wouldn’t they let him go? Joe shook his head. They had to be lying about Pa. He wouldn’t deliberately go against their instructions…would he? Maybe he knew it would be the right thing to do. Maybe Joe shouldn’t have cooperated with them at all. Joe stiffened as he heard footsteps on the stairs. A man walked in the room, and Joe could tell even from behind that it was Josh. Joe slowly stood up, and Josh turned and looked at him. Suddenly Josh reached out and grabbed Joe, and then threw him onto the bed. Joe cried out as he fell facedown.

“Shut up!” yelled Josh. “On your back!”

Joe painfully rolled over onto the many cuts and bruises from the last few days, and then Josh tied his wrists together and over his head to the headboard. Josh straightened up, and then turned and left.

——

Joe listened carefully. The house had been completely silent for about thirty minutes, but he wanted to make sure no one was up. Joe carefully slipped his wrists out of the loops that he had loosened earlier. He had found it pretty easy to get loose because Paul had brought food up for him, and when he tied the ropes again he hadn’t tied them as tightly as Josh had. Joe got off the bed and slipped quietly to the door and opened it. It was still quiet in the house. Joe stepped out of the room, carefully closing the door behind him. He slipped down the stairs and then out the front door. As soon as he got outside he carefully looked around, but there was no sign of anyone. Shaking off the feeling that something was wrong, Joe ran across the yard and into the barn. Working quickly, he turned the horses into the corral. After he had turned the last horse out, he walked over to the lantern, and picked up a match. He ran to the door and looked out.

No sign of anyone. Joe turned and walked over to a pile of hay. Lighting the match, he dropped it into the pile and watched as the flames started to creep across the straw. He turned and ran to the door, and slipped out. Looking back at the house, Joe started to climb the corral fence. He had to get Cooch.

As Joe started over the fence, a hand suddenly grabbed him and pulled him off. Joe fell down, crying out in surprise and pain as he hit the ground, quite unprepared for the impact. He looked up to see Josh standing over him.

“Get up.” Josh grabbed Joe’s arm and pulled him towards the house. Joe turned back to look at the barn. There was no sign of smoke yet. Oh, please, die out before they notice it, please, Joe silently begged. Josh pushed him through the door into the main room where the other two men were waiting. Dan looked at him for a couple of seconds, and then sharply backhanded him, knocking him down. “What do you think you were doing?” yelled Dan. Joe lay huddled on the floor, his hand on his face.

Paul glanced out the window, and then did a double take. “Smoke! There’s smoke coming out of the barn!” he yelled, and ran outside.

Joe looked up, terrified, at Dan. He watched as the realization spread across Dan’s face. Joe quickly backed away, startled at the rage he saw. He wasn’t fast enough. Dan reached down and pulled him up, and then shoved him towards the stairs. “Go upstairs, now!” Dan yelled.

Joe fell and then stumbled up the stairs. He ran into the room and knelt next to the window. The smoke was coming out of the barn. Oh, why couldn’t it have died out?

He watched as the three men ran with buckets of water, trying to put out the fire.

After several trips to the well and back the light from the fire was finally gone, and they came out of the barn and stood talking. Joe watched as the dimly lit figure of Dan looked up towards the window, and met his gaze, then he turned and angrily walked in. As Joe heard them enter the house, he stood up next to the window. Tears started to slip down his face. This was it. He had failed. The door burst open and Dan stormed in, followed by Josh and Paul. Dan reached forward and slapped Joe, knocking him to the floor.

“Brat! You stinking little brat! What do you think you were doing?” Dan kicked him several times and then reached down and pulled Joe up and shoved him onto the bed.  He pushed Joe over onto his back, and then leaned closely to him, yelling in his face. “What do you think you were doing!”

Joe flinched as Dan struck the bed next to his head and then pulled away and walked angrily to the window. Joe stared at him, trembling, as he paced back and forth. Joe tasted blood in his mouth, and put his hand up and wiped his bleeding lip with the back of his hand. Dan looked back at him. “You’re lucky that we got that fire out; otherwise you’d be in that barn right now.”

Joe glared across the room at him. “And the posse would have been after you in ten minutes.”

Joe tried to scramble away as Dan angrily stormed over to the bed. Dan grabbed his arm and twisted his wrist. Joe sharply inhaled as Dan twisted harder. “Why you little…all you had to do was wait another day-”

Joe tried to pull free. “And what? And you’d kill me? I heard you! I cooperated with you because you said you’d let me go! You lied to me! I’m not going along with you anymore! I won’t! I won’t! You lied to me!” Joe continued to yell at Dan.

“Shut up. I said shut up!” Dan yelled. Little Joe stopped shouting as Dan released his arm and slapped him sharply. Dan stood back and took his belt off. “I might have given you a chance, kid. But not now.” Joe quickly rolled over and clutched the blanket. He felt the belt striking his back. As it made contact with the wounds from the beatings of the past few days, he started to cry out, begging Dan to stop. Soon the belt began to cut Joe’s back, and Paul quickly stepped away, looking nervously at Dan as Joe’s shirt started to become stained with blood. Joe tried to move away, but Josh just tossed him back onto the bed. He was so out of breath he couldn’t scream anymore. He just wanted it to end- all of it. After a few more minutes, Dan stopped, and then tossed the belt down. Joe slowly turned his head to look up at him as the room started to spin and then went dark.

——

Adam and Hoss had split up after they left the ranch. They had found a trail near the mine, but the tracks went in two directions. Adam had been riding all day, only stopping to let his horse rest. It was dark now, and he was tired, but he kept riding. He knew every minute counted if he wanted to find Joe. They had to be in the area somewhere. He had met up with the posse earlier today; they had found traces of the robbers in the area. Someone in a nearby town had seen some strangers in a store earlier this week, so Adam went the direction they were thought to have gone in. He had been riding for hours, and not found anything yet. Pretty soon he would need to stop for the night, even though he hated the thought.

—Day Twelve—

Joe’s wrists were cut and raw from trying to break free from the ropes. He had been left tied and gagged in the bedroom all night. It was now sometime in the afternoon.

They sky was bright blue and he could see clouds out the window. He wished it was raining and dark.

The door opened and Josh walked in. He walked over to the bed and cut Joe free, and then pulled him to his feet and pushed him out of the room. Pretty soon Joe found himself being shoved to the floor inside the barn, with Josh standing over him with a gun in his hand. A few minutes went by and then Dan and Paul walked in.

Dan stood over him for a couple seconds. “Get your horse, kid,” he said.

Joe looked up in surprise. As he walked to the stall where Cochise was, he turned back and looked at Dan. His eyes were cold and angry, and Joe shuddered as he remembered that same look from when they first kidnapped him. Joe turned back to the stall and put Cooch’s bridle on. He led him out of the stall and tied him to a post.

He turned and looked back at Dan. “Are…are you sending me home?” Joe held his breath, afraid of the answer. His stomach was churning. He wished he hadn’t said anything.

Dan shook his head. “Sorry, kid, not quite. Get the saddle.”

Joe slowly let his breath out. He shouldn’t have even hoped.

Dan waited a few minutes, and then said again, “Get your saddle.”

Joe didn’t move. He felt frozen to the spot on the floor where he was standing. He looked up at Dan, who whispered quietly to Josh and then walked over to Joe. Little Joe looked away as Dan came to a stop next to him.

“Did you hear me?” Dan asked.

Little Joe looked up at him. “I don’t care,” he whispered. Dan shrugged, and then nodded to Josh, who picked up the whip. Joe closed his eyes as Josh started towards him. He heard the sharp snap of the whip…and then heard Cooch scream. Joe opened his eyes as the whip arced in the air again.

“No!” Joe screamed over the sound of the whip. He felt Dan wrap an arm around his neck from behind him, and he struggled to get away. Dan tightened his grip. “Hold it,” Dan called. “Come now, it’s just a horse.”

Dan said into Joe’s ear.

Joe fought hard to break away. “No, please don’t …please…you’re going to hurt him…” he trailed off as sobs shook his body.

“That’s the idea,” whispered Dan.

“Please don’t…why are you doing this?”

“So your father knows what you went through before you died.” Joe tried to pull away, but Dan jerked him back, tightening his arm around his neck. “See, I’m not going to send your body. He’ll never know what happened to you. He’ll be wondering, doubting, is his son alive? Maybe Little Joe escaped, or was set free. He’ll be looking out the window, unable to sleep, thinking he hears you in the middle of the night; a living nightmare.”

“Stop it!” screamed Joe.

Dan laughed. “Fine, we’ll take care of you first.” Dan released him, and then threw him to the ground.

Joe looked up at him. “Why can’t you let me go?” Joe whispered.

Dan looked away. “Sorry kid,” he said, and pulled out his gun. Joe closed his eyes. He could hear a roar in his head, and he felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. The seconds seemed to crawl by.

“Dan, rider!”

Joe opened his eyes. From a distance away, one rider was approaching. “Quick, take the horse inside,” Dan said, and then grabbed Joe’s arm and started to drag him into the house.

“No, let me go,” yelled Joe as he struggled to break free. Dan pushed him into the house.

Josh followed them in and grabbed Joe’s arms. “Come on, we’re going upstairs,” he said.

“No! No, help! Some-“ Joe was cut off as Josh’s hand covered his mouth.

“Josh, keep the kid quiet,” Dan directed. Josh nodded and pushed Joe up the stairs.

The bedroom door shut, just as there was a knock on the door. Dan walked to it and opened it. A dark haired man stood outside. “What can I do for you?” Dan asked.

“Hi there,” Adam Cartwright said. “I’m looking for a group of men who kidnapped my brother. I was wondering if you’ve seen any suspicious men in the area, or maybe a boy about 15 years old?”

Dan slowly shook his head. “No, can’t say that I have…”

Upstairs, Josh finished binding Joe’s hands. Joe struggled against the ropes and tried to call out through the gag. Josh hit him. “Shut up. He can’t hear you; no one can help you.” Joe struggled harder and kicked his feet against the bed. Before Josh realized what was happening, Joe fell to the floor with a thud. Downstairs, everyone stopped and looked up at the ceiling. For a few moments, Dan froze. Then Adam shook his head.

“Well, thanks for your time. I’ll just be on my way now,” he said.

“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, mister,” Dan said as he walked him to the door. As soon as the door shut, Dan turned and walked up the stairs. He threw open the bedroom door to find Josh standing over Little Joe. “You were supposed to keep him quiet!” Dan yelled.

“Well, I tried…”

Little Joe quietly rolled up from the floor, and crawled over to the window to see the man mounting his horse. It looked like…Adam! It was Adam! Oh, please, I’m up here, please look, Little Joe silently begged. But Adam started riding away. Tears started to slip down Joe’s face, creating clean trails in the remnants of the past few days. Adam rode out of sight. Joe dropped his head and slumped to the floor. He let the tears fall.

Adam was gone. The one last hope he had of escaping. He had tried to survive for days, and now he didn’t care anymore. He didn’t care. Joe felt a hand grab him and he was thrown onto the bed.

Dan walked to the door. “Tie him to the bed and then come downstairs.” Dan walked outside, closing the door as he went. He walked down the stairs. “Hey, Paul…?” he called. “Paul-”

Suddenly a gun was cocked. “Put your hands up.”

Dan obeyed and slowly walked down the last few steps. Paul was sitting at the kitchen table with his hands in the air. There were five men scattered around the room; all of them holding guns. Dan turned and looked at the dark haired man who was walking back into the house.

“Where is he?” the man asked. “Where is my brother?”

Dan looked at Adam, puzzled. “Upstairs. The room on the right. How did you…?”

“I saw you in the yard. “ Adam started to walk past Dan. “He’d better be alive.”

“He is.” Dan said quietly. As Adam passed him, Dan stepped out and put his arm around his neck, then took Adam’s gun with his other hand and shoved it into Adam’s back. “Sorry about this, Cartwright. I’m not being taken alive. I’m not going to sit in a jail cell for weeks just to be hung. I’m either getting out of here, or I’ll die trying.” Dan started to move towards the front door. As they got near it, Adam suddenly hit him in the stomach with his elbow, and then whirled around and punched him again in the face. Dan fell to the floor, and then rolled over and leveled Adam’s gun at him.

Upstairs, Josh froze as gunshots were fired. He quickly ran behind the door, pulling out his gun.

Adam looked at the leader of the posse, who was putting his gun back in his holster.

The rest of the men followed suit. The two robbers were dead, the other man having pulled a gun and fired on one of the members of the posse, who was sitting up holding his hand over the blood stained spot on his arm. Adam turned and picked up his gun from where it had fallen and started to go upstairs.

“Cartwright…”

Adam looked over at Dan. He wasn’t dead. Adam turned and knelt down next to him.

“What?”

Dan grimaced. “Could you…tell the kid….I…I’m sorry…?”

Adam looked away, then back at Dan. “You really think it’ll matter? You were standing over him with a gun; if we hadn’t come up-“

Dan shook his head. “No, I…couldn’t…kill him. I tried to convince myself to but…somehow I couldn’t pull the trigger. I don’t know why…I guess I felt…sorry for him.  It wasn’t his fault. Tell him…” Dan closed his eyes and slumped to the floor.

Adam stood and looked at him for a moment, then ran up the stairs, bursting into the room at the top.  Adam stopped in the doorway. Little Joe’s wrists were tied to the headboard of a bed and he was blindfolded. A man with a gun stood over him.

“Alright, mister, drop the gun, nice and slow,” the man said.

Adam slowly pulled the gun out of his holster and dropped it to the floor. “Look, I just want the boy; you can have the money.”

Little Joe stirred on the bed. “Adam…” he whispered, but then gasped as he felt Josh’s hand strike his face.

“Shut up, brat.” Josh looked up at Adam. “Did you kill the others?”

Adam glared at the man, trying to contain the pure anger he felt. He took a deep breath. “They’re dead.”

Josh laughed. “More money for me. Tell you what. If you let me walk out of the room in peace, I won’t shoot you or the kid.”

Adam nodded. “I won’t stop you from leaving this room. I just want the boy.”

Josh smiled. “Fine.” He backed away from the bed, towards the door. “Get over there.” He waved Adam over to the bed as he backed to the door.

As Adam stepped next to the bed, he looked down at Little Joe. His heart skipped a beat. Instead of the bright, enthusiastic child he had been just two weeks earlier, the boy who was before him now was pale and thin. “It’s okay, Joe,” Adam whispered.

Josh opened the door and backed out of the room. “Don’t try to follow me, Cartwright.”

“I wouldn’t think of it,” murmured Adam.

Josh turned and ran out.

“Hold it! Stop right there!” Adam heard. There were repeated gun shots, and then silence. “You okay up there?” someone called.

“Yeah, fine,” Adam answered. He quickly untied the blindfold, and then the ropes. As soon as his wrists were free, Joe struggled up. Adam bent down and tightly held his brother.

“Oh, Adam, Adam!” Joe buried his face in Adam’s neck.

“Joe, are you okay?” Adam asked. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Joe said, and then started to sob.

Adam swallowed. “Let’s go home then, okay?” he said hoarsely. He picked up the child and carried him downstairs, startled at how light he was. “Do you need me for anything else?” he asked the leader of the posse. The man shook his head, and Adam turned and carried Joe out of the house. They were going home.

PART TWO

“What did you say?” asked Joe.

“Let’s stop here,” repeated Adam.

“Oh. Couldn’t we go just a little farther? It’s not dark yet.”

Adam shook his head. He had wanted to stop about an hour before, but Little Joe had been insistent that they keep going. The only rest they had taken was to eat a few hours ago. Joe seemed to want to get as far away from the farmhouse as he possibly could.

“No, Joe, we’ve been riding awhile. You need some food and rest.”

“No, Adam; I just want to get home.”

Adam got off Sport and looped the reins around a branch. “Joe, it’ll be a couple of days until we get home.” Adam walked over to Cooch and gently tugged the reins out of Joe’s hand, then tied them on the branch. He looked up at Little Joe who was staring at Cooch’s mane. He knew Joe wanted to get home as fast as possible, but he also knew there was no way they could hurry. Joe looked completely worn out, and in just the few hours they had been riding he looked even worse. Under normal circumstances, they could be home by tomorrow evening, but Adam didn’t want to push him. “Come on,” Adam said.

Little Joe didn’t move. “We can get farther, Adam,” he whispered.

Adam shook his head. “You look about ready to fall off that horse. Come on,” Adam repeated. Joe looked down as Adam reached up and lifted him from the saddle, then set him on the ground in front of him.

“Are we staying the night here?” Joe asked.

Adam looked around the little wooded area and nodded. “I think so. There’s a lake over there, and this area’s pretty sheltered.”

“Hey…Adam?” Joe asked as Adam started unpacking his saddlebag. “How did you find me?”

Adam paused. “I saw what was happening in the yard.” He turned and looked at Joe.

There was a long pause before Joe answered. “Oh.” he said quietly.

Adam patted Joe on the shoulder, and then nodded toward the clearing. “Why don’t you go find some firewood, and I’ll start setting up here.”

Joe hesitated, looking at the ground. “Okay,” he finally said. Joe walked into the woods and started gathering some wood. After a few minutes, Adam looked up and watched him. He frowned as he noticed Joe favoring his left arm. “Joe?” Joe turned and looked at him. “Need some help with that?”

Joe frowned at him and said, “No.”

Adam sighed. Joe walked back to the clearing with an armful of logs. Adam took them and stacked them on the ground. He looked up at Joe. “Are you okay?”

Joe nodded. “Yeah, why?”

Adam nodded his head toward Joe. “Your arm.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my arm,” Joe said quietly. He knew Adam didn’t believe him, and with good reason. His wrist was very sore, but Joe figured it was just sprained. It didn’t feel like it was broken. If it did, he would probably tell Adam what had happened the night before, but seeing that it wasn’t he preferred to wait a little while before talking about what had happened. He didn’t want to think about it right now; he wanted to think about home, and Pa and Hoss waiting for him, and Adam making dinner right now.

“Joe-“

“Nothing’s wrong!”

Adam put his hands up and stood up. “Okay, okay. Fine.” He reached into a saddlebag. “Hey, you know what? I packed an extra shirt. What do you say about a swim before dinner, and then you can wear this instead of the one you have on? It doesn’t look all too comfortable.”

Joe looked down at his shirt. It was ripped in many places and filthy. Joe wanted to get out of it, but he knew that for every rip in his shirt there were about three cuts or bruises on his body. He didn’t want Adam to see them. He had seen enough.

“Come on, it’s still warm, a cool swim will feel nice.” Adam said.

Joe looked up and hesitated. “I…I…don’t really feel like it.”

“Joe,” Adam walked up to him and then reached out and pulled the top button of Joe’s shirt open. “Come on, it’s okay.”

Joe stared at Adam as tears started to form in his eyes. He shook his head. “Adam… Adam, it’s not…”

Adam swallowed and blinked a couple of times. He knew that Joe had been hurt- he could see the bruises on his face and arms. He just wanted to see the extent of his injuries; to know that he hadn’t been seriously hurt. He looked back at Joe. “Joe, it’ll be okay. Trust me.” After a long moment, Joe nodded, and then started to undo the rest of the buttons. Adam ruffled Joe’s hair, then turned around and pulled off his own shirt and threw it over his saddle. He turned and looked back at Joe just as he turned and dropped the shirt to the ground. Adam almost gagged, but he managed to stop himself. He felt sick to his stomach as he stared at his little brother’s back. He couldn’t believe the severity of the wounds. Joe’s shoulders and back were covered with bruises, welts, and cuts. Some of them were almost healed, but some of them looked new. It looked like someone had taken a belt to him- many times. He shouldn’t have been put through this. After a few moments, Joe turned and looked at Adam, waiting for his reaction. Adam looked at the wounds on his chest and stomach. There were more bruises; probably from multiple beatings. Adam closed his eyes for a moment before looking up to meet Little Joe’s gaze. He took a deep breath. “Why did-“ he started, but Joe quickly cut him off, saying, “Please, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Adam stared at him for a few seconds, then finally nodded. “Okay. We won’t talk about it.” He started past Joe to the lake.

“Adam.” Joe put his hand out to stop him. Adam turned back to him. Joe hesitated, and then said, “Please don’t tell Pa.”

Adam frowned. “Why not?”

Joe looked down. “I don’t know. I just…don’t want him to know. I don’t want anyone to know…”

“But Joe, this wasn’t your fault. You shouldn’t feel guilty…” Adam watched with a sinking feeling as Joe almost visibly shut him out again. Adam put his hand gently on Joe’s bare shoulder. “Hey, look at me. I won’t tell him. But when we get into town, the doctor’s going to look at those wounds and your arm, okay?”

Joe shook his head vehemently. “No!”

“Joe, would you rather wait and then find out you have broken bones? Or get an infection from one of those cuts and end up really sick?”

“It won’t-”

“Joe.”

There was a long pause as he considered, then finally he answered. “No.”

“All right then. And don’t worry; I won’t tell Pa about it.” Adam searched Joe’s face, and to his relief saw a glint of trust reappear in his face. “How about that swim?”

Joe looked up at him with a faint smile and nodded.

——

Adam stood up and went to the dying fire. He grabbed a couple of logs and put them in the dim flames, and then waited until they had caught. There was a low cry behind him, and Adam turned. Little Joe was moaning quietly and tossing in his sleep. After a few minutes he settled down and fell back into undisturbed rest. Adam sighed. Little Joe went through so much; why did they have to hurt him like that? It wasn’t fair. Joe couldn’t have done anything wrong. If only Adam had taken him with him. It was only to be for a few more days, it wouldn’t have killed him to watch over his brother a little longer. Joe tossed again and cried out. He opened his eyes and sat up. After a few seconds he looked up. “Adam…?” he said.

Adam moved closer. “I’m here, Joe.” Adam reached out and straightened Joe’s blanket. “Are you okay?”

Joe looked into the fire a few seconds before he answered, “Yeah. I just had a bad dream.”

Adam nodded. “It’s okay kiddo, you’re safe here,” he said. Little Joe looked up at him and weakly smiled. “Why don’t you try to go back to sleep?”

Little Joe nodded and lay back down on the ground. Adam gently tucked the blanket around him, and then crawled back into his bedroll. He hadn’t slept well in days, and he knew he wouldn’t now until he got Joe home safely.

After a few minutes he heard Joe moving around again, and then his little brother was kneeling in front of him. “What is it?” Adam asked.

Little Joe squirmed a little. “Adam, would it be okay…I mean, if you wouldn’t mind… could I sleep next to you?”

Adam could see the desperate, scared look on his face, and he nodded and moved a little away from the fire so Joe wouldn’t be too close to it. Joe pulled his blankets over and then lay down next to Adam; very carefully, Adam noted.

“Goodnight,” Joe whispered.

“Goodnight. Sleep well,” Adam whispered back, and then he waited until Joe had fallen asleep before closing his own eyes. This would never happen again. He would make sure of it.

—Two Days Later—

Ben paced back and forth on the porch, looking into the trees. He had received a telegram yesterday from Adam, stating simply that he had found Joe and they should be home today. It was almost afternoon now, and Ben was getting impatient. Hoss had arrived this morning, and he had been farther away than Adam. As soon as Ben had received Adam’s message, he had sent a message to Hoss in the next town he would be arriving at. Ben quickly turned as he heard a horse’s whinny, and Chubb answered from the barn. A few seconds later the two brothers rode out of the trees.

“Joe! Adam!” Ben ran off the porch toward his sons as they rode into the yard. “Hoss!

They’re here!” Hoss ran out of the house and followed Ben.

Joe and Adam arrived at the hitching post at the same time as Ben. “Joe! Joe!” Ben reached up and helped Joe off the horse, then pulled him into his arms. “I was so happy when I got Adam’s wire. Are you all right?”

“Pa…oh, Pa…” Joe’s voice was muffled, buried in Ben’s shirt.

“It’s good to have you home safe, little brother.” Hoss reached up and enthusiastically patted Joe on the back. Little Joe suddenly inhaled sharply and twisted away from Hoss. He stood in front of Ben, shaking, his face wet with tears.

“Joe, what’s the matter?” Hoss backed a little away from him. “Did I hurt you…I’m sorry…” Joe turned and ran toward the house.

“Joe! Joseph!” Ben called after him. The front door slammed. Ben turned to Adam, who frowned and slowly shook his head. Ben seemed to read his thoughts, and in response nodded and patted him on the arm. “Tell me about it later.” Ben turned to Hoss. “Boys, could you take care of the horses?”

“Yes, Pa,” answered Hoss. Ben turned and walked towards the house.

Upstairs, Joe was lying facedown on his bed. He froze as he heard his door open, but then forced himself to relax. He was home. He didn’t have to be scared whenever anyone came into a room. Joe listened as footsteps came around the bed, and stopped next to him. He turned his head and looked. Ben was kneeling next him.

“Joe?” Ben put his hand on Joe’s arm. “Are you alright?”

Joe turned his face back into the pillow. “Yeah, Pa, I’m fine, just tired.”

Ben waited a few minutes, and then asked, “What happened?”

“Please Pa; I’m fine,” Joe whispered.

Ben patted Joe’s arm. “Alright, I’ll leave it alone. But if you do want to talk about it, let me know.”

Joe didn’t answer.

“Do you want something to eat, son?”

“No. Thanks anyway.”

Ben stood up and looked down at Joe. He had been so happy when he had received Adam’s telegram. After days of not hearing anything, he had started to fear that they would never find his youngest alive. Then when he heard from Adam that he was bringing Joe back, he thought that everything would be all right. He knew now, looking down at Joe, that things wouldn’t be that simple. Joe had obviously been through a lot; he was thin and looked exhausted. He had the faded remains of a few bruises on his face, and, after he had reacted to Hoss’ touch, Ben feared those same wounds or worse covered more of his body. This shouldn’t have happened. Ben shook his head and walked out.

He walked outside and into the barn. “Adam?”

Adam walked out of the stall. “Yes, Pa?” he said.

“What happened?” Ben asked.

Adam put down Sport’s bridle. “I don’t know Pa; he wouldn’t talk about exactly what happened. He…he didn’t want you to know.”

“Know what?” Ben asked.

Adam sighed. “They hurt him pretty badly, Pa. He didn’t want you to know; he said he didn’t want anyone to know.”

Ben frowned. “Well, tell me what happened.”

Adam rubbed his hand over his face and sat down. “I don’t know…when we found him, he was terrified; he suffered a lot of abuse. They whipped him and beat him pretty badly, probably the whole time he was their prisoner. But I don’t know why, or exactly what happened. He wouldn’t talk about it. He did say he hadn’t eaten in a while when I found him.”

Ben frowned. “Well, I want him to go see Doc Martin tomorrow, just to make sure he’s okay.”

Adam chuckled dryly. “Actually, I forced him to see a doctor in the town we passed through- which was a battle. The doctor said he would be fine given time, and everything should heal. He’ll be pretty sore in the meantime; he has lots of cuts and bruises.” Adam paused for a moment. “Just…don’t tell him I told you…he made me promise I wouldn’t, and…I only betrayed his trust because I thought that you ought to know what happened.”

Ben nodded. “I won’t let him know. Maybe he’ll come around in a couple of days after he gets settled in again and decide to tell me about it.”

Ben and Adam looked up as Hoss entered the barn. “Hop Sing says dinner will be on the table shortly. Is Joe okay?”

Adam could sense the concern in his voice, but he didn’t want to go into details just yet about the injuries. At least, not until Joe was ready to talk about it.

“He’s fine, Hoss,” Ben said. “He’s been through a lot, but he just needs to get some rest.”

Hoss nodded, but not all of the worry left his face.

——

Later that night, Joe was sitting in a tub full of warm water. Ben had suggested that he take a bath after dinner, and now Joe was glad that he had listened. The only bad thing was that he couldn’t really relax; his back hurt too much to touch the back of the tub. He’d seen Adam watching him at dinner, noticing how carefully he sat and that he didn’t touch the chair back. He hoped Pa didn’t notice. He wished he hadn’t reacted when Hoss had touched him. Now they all knew something was the matter. Joe didn’t want them to know. He just wanted everything to be normal again. Like nothing had happened.

There was a gentle knock on the door. “Little Joe?”

“Come in Adam. I’m almost done.”

Adam opened the door and walked in. “I brought the stuff the doctor said to put on those cuts.”

Joe looked at the bottle and grimaced. “Will it sting?”

Adam shrugged. “If it does, it just means that it’s working,” he laughed.

“Ha ha, that’s real funny.”

Adam picked up a towel. “You done in there, buddy?”

Joe nodded and pulled himself out.

Adam handed him the towel.  “Here, why don’t you go over and lie on the bed, and I’ll put this stuff on you,” Adam said.

“Okay.” Joe finished carefully drying off, and then walked over to the bed.

Adam looked at Joe’s back. It seemed so much worse than the first time he had seen it.  Or the second. The doctor said Joe would probably be all right in time; he might end up with a few scars from the deeper cuts, but everything else should heal all right. His wrist was just sprained, and that should be better in a couple weeks.

“Adam?”

Adam was awakened from his thoughts. “Let me know if this stings.”

Joe nodded. As soon as he felt the first few drops, he knew this wouldn’t be fun. It felt like liquid fire pouring down his back. He tried to hold in his cries, but he was losing the battle.

“Joe…?”

Joe took a sharp intake of air. “It hurts, Adam, it really hurts!” Joe buried his face in his pillow to muffle his cries.

“I’m sorry, Joe, I’m so sorry. There, it’s done.”

Joe still had his face in the pillow, gasping. The pain had started to subside. Joe shuddered. He couldn’t do this every day; he just couldn’t.

Adam turned to see Ben standing outside the door of the room, watching. Adam saw the look of pain and anger on his face. Ben looked at Adam, and gestured at him to finish with Joe, and then come downstairs. Adam nodded, and Ben closed the door.

“Hey, Joe…? Joe, are you okay?” Adam put his hand on Joe’s head. “Joe?”

Joe slowly sat up. “I can’t do this, Adam. I can’t,” he said shakily. “I don’t think I really need it anyway; the cuts should heal fine…”

Adam was shaking his head. “Joe, some of those wounds are deep. I’m sorry Joe, really I am. I don’t want to hurt you…”

“It’s okay Adam, it’s not your fault,” Joe whispered.

Adam felt like someone had hit him in the stomach. Joe thought it wasn’t his fault- it was the fault of the robbers who were now dead. But he was wrong. Adam should have known better then to send him by himself on the stage. Adam took a deep breath. “Are you going to get ready for bed now?” Joe nodded. “All right, sleep well, little brother. I’m sure Pa will be up in a little bit.”

Adam walked down the stairs. Ben was standing by the fireplace, lost in thought.

Adam walked up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Pa?” he asked. Ben turned and looked at him. Adam felt a huge knot in his stomach form when he saw the tears on his father’s face.

Ben turned and reached to the table to pick up a cup. “Hop Sing made some coffee, here.” Ben handed it to Adam. “Thanks, Pa.”

Ben picked up the other cup. “How could they do that,” he said quietly. “That wasn’t just a one-time beating. They must have abused him the whole time he was with them. How could they do that? So brutally hurt a child? He’s just a boy. He just turned fifteen! There’s no way he could have protected himself, or fought back…not against grown men…” Ben stopped and took a deep breath. He slumped into the chair by the fireplace.

Adam looked at his coffee, then put it down. “It shouldn’t have happened,” he said quietly.

“What?”

Adam looked into the fire before answering quietly. “This whole thing shouldn’t have happened. I mean, I know Joe will be fine. The doctor said his wounds will heal, and he’s home now, he’s safe… it’s just he shouldn’t have been put through it at all. I should have taken him-“

“Now Adam…”

“No!” Adam stood up. “How can I not blame myself when it was me who put him there? He should have been with me! This never would have happened. He’s my little brother, I’m supposed to look out for him and I didn’t!” Adam slumped back down in the chair, and put his head down. Ben watched him for a couple of seconds, and then stood up and sat on the edge of Adam’s chair, putting his arm around the shaking shoulders of his son.

“He’s home now, Adam. We need to take care of him now, and help him through this. He doesn’t blame you.”

Adam looked up and nodded. “I know.” But in some ways it seemed to make it harder.

——

Joe walked into his room and made sure the door was closed before he carefully pulled off the robe. He walked over to the bed and picked up the nightshirt that Hop Sing had left out for him. Everyone was sort of babying him, but he didn’t mind it right now. Joe pulled the nightshirt over his head, but somehow in between putting his right arm and left arms through the sleeves, he forgot what he was doing. He sat on the bed for a few minutes, staring at the foot of his bed. Suddenly feeling very vulnerable, he got up and pushed against his bedroom door to make sure it was closed. He quickly walked over to the window and pulled the curtains shut. He turned and sighed, and then realizing he was only half ready for bed, finished slipping into his nightshirt. He couldn’t put it into words. He just felt…alone? Lost? Helpless? None of them really described what he was feeling. Joe looked down at his wrists. They were still raw. He clenched his fists. He should have done something. Fought back. He had chances to, he just…didn’t. “I don’t know why,” he said out loud, just as there was a knock on his door.

Little Joe looked up and slipped his sleeves down so they covered his wrists. “Come in,” he said.

Ben opened the door and walked into the room. “Well, all ready for bed, son?”

Joe nodded and walked over to the bed as Ben pulled the covers back. Joe climbed in carefully, frowning as he tried to look as normal as possible. He lay down on his side, and then closed his eyes as Ben pulled the covers over him.

Ben reached down and put his hand on Joe’s head. “Goodnight, son.”

Joe looked up. “Night, Pa.”

Ben looked down at his youngest child; his precious son who should never been treated this way. Ben pulled his hand away after a few moments with some reluctance, and then turned out the lamp that was next to Joe’s bed.

Little Joe watched as Ben’s shadowy form started to leave the room. “Pa…”

Ben turned. “Yes, son?”

For a brief moment Joe considered telling him about what had happened, but then just looked down. “Nothing, Pa. Goodnight.” Joe watched as Ben left the room, closing the door behind him. Joe sighed. He didn’t understand how he felt; how could anybody else? Joe rolled over onto his stomach. “Tomorrow will be better,” he whispered, and closed his eyes.

——

“No!” Joe stared up at Dan, who was standing over him, laughing. Joe found himself being pushed under the water. He tried struggling against the grip, but he couldn’t make his hands grasp Dan’s arms to push them away. He opened his mouth to yell but instead gagged, his mouth filling with water, and he started to choke. Through the water, he could see Dan’s face, laughing. Everything started to go black…

Joe suddenly sat up, gasping. He looked around in panic, but then suddenly realized he was in his own bed, in his own room. Joe took a deep breath. It had seemed so real. Suddenly he felt scared, and very alone. He knocked the covers off, and then tiptoed out of bed and out of his room. He walked down the hallway and stopped outside a door, and then hesitated. “Adam?” Joe carefully opened the door and tiptoed in. “Adam?”

Adam stirred, and rolled over. He opened his eyes. “Joe? Joe, what is it?”

Joe shut the door and walked over to the bed. “I couldn’t sleep. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to wake you. I thought if you were up…I’m sorry, I’ll go back to bed…” Joe turned to go.

“Wait a minute. I don’t mind. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Joe turned back and sat on the edge of the bed. “I just can’t sleep; I keep having nightmares. I’m…I’m afraid to go to sleep, ‘cause I know I’ll just wake up scared again.” Joe’s voice had dropped to a whisper.

“You want to talk about it?”

Joe took a deep breath, and then let it all out in a rush. “Just the same one, over and over…that he’s hurting me. It always ends with me being held under water, and I wake up. Oh Adam, I’m so scared that he is going to come back!” Joe started to cry.

“Adam, what’s wrong with me? Why is this happening? I thought it would be better once I got home…”

“Joe.” Adam reached forward and pulled Joe into his arms. He held him, gently rocking him as sobs ripped through his body. “Joe, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. You’ve been through a lot, but you’re safe now. You’re safe.” Joe’s sobs had died down, but Adam still held him. “Joe…?” Maybe this wasn’t the right time.

“What, Adam?”

Adam sighed. “I’m just trying to decide whether I should tell you something, that’s all.”

Joe looked up at him. “Tell me what, Adam?”

“Dan…you know he told me you were upstairs-”

“So?” Joe interrupted.

“Well, there is something that I didn’t tell you; something he wanted me to tell you.”

Adam looked down at Joe.

“What is it, Adam?” Joe whispered.

Adam continued quietly. “He wanted to…apologize…for what he had done. He said he was sorry that he hurt you.”

Joe looked away. “Is that supposed to make it all right now?”

Adam smoothed his hand over Joe’s head. “No. It’s not just supposed to make it all right. What happened to you was…you went through a lot, Joe. It’s going to takeawhile to recover.”

“Adam? Did he say…why…why he did it?”

“No he didn’t.”

“It wasn’t fair. I didn’t do anything. I tried…I did my best Adam. I…I wanted to… to…” Joe broke down into sobs again and pressed his head against Adam’s chest.

Adam wrapped his arms around him carefully and held him until Joe finally fell into an exhausted sleep. Adam gently laid him down and covered him with blankets, not wanting to wake him. He looked down at his little brother. Adam remembered when Joe was little, and would sometimes come into Adam’s room late at night when he had a bad dream. Adam would talk to him, and read him stories, and sometimes Joe would fall asleep right next to him. Adam would pick him up and carry him back to his room, or if it were really late, sometimes just let him sleep right there. Adam like being the oldest; he like being trusted. Sometimes he didn’t always agree with his brother, but that never stopped him from loving him. He saw himself as a protector of his littlest brother; trying to keep him safe and out of trouble.

But as he looked down at Joe sleeping next to him, he felt helpless and guilty. He hadn’t been able to protect him from those men, and he didn’t know what to do now.

Joe was hurting so much, and he still felt helpless to protect him.

—The Next Morning—

Ben came downstairs in a hurry. “Where’s Joe? He’s not in his room-“

Adam stood up from the table. “Pa, it’s okay, he’s in my room. He’s still sleeping; I didn’t want to wake him.”

“Oh.” Ben breathed a visible sigh of relief. “I’m sorry Adam…it’s just…”

“It’s okay Pa.” Adam sat back down as Ben walked over to the table. “He came in my room late last night. He was having nightmares.”

Ben sat down at the table. “Nightmares?”

Adam nodded. “He was having trouble sleeping on the trip back, but he didn’t actually talk about it until last night.” Hop Sing came into the room then, interrupting them with a platter filled with pancakes.

“Good morning,” he greeted them.

“Good morning, Hop Sing,” replied Ben.

Hop Sing put the platter on the table just as Hoss came downstairs. “Is that pancakes I smell?” Hoss asked.

Adam and Ben chuckled. “Should have known you’d be down as soon as the food was served,” laughed Adam.

Hoss sat down at the table. “Where’s Joe?”

“Still sleeping,” answered Ben.

“Oh. You think we should wake him?”

“No need,” called Joe from the stairs. Everyone looked up as Joe entered the dining room.

“Well, good morning,” said Ben. “I was going to let you sleep late. How are you this morning?”

Joe sat at the table. “I’m fine, Pa. Mornin’ Hoss, Adam, Hop Sing.”

The Cartwrights began to eat. More than a few times, the others noticed Joe’s lack of interest in the food in front of him. Finally Ben asked, “Joe? Is there something wrong with the food?”

Joe looked up, startled. “Oh, no Pa. I’m just…I’m not very hungry this morning. Maybe later.” Ben stared at him for a few seconds until Joe looked away.

“Hey, Pa?” asked Hoss. “Anything you want us to do today?”

“Not really; there’s a couple of strays that one of the hands spotted up in the hills, but that can wait a few days.” Ben looked at Joe, who usually jumped at the chance to round up the strays. He wasn’t jaded by years of completing mundane tasks; everything was fresh and exciting to him. But instead of pleading eyes and almost uncontained excitement, Ben was greeted by no reaction at all. It was as if Joe didn’t even hear him. Ben looked at Adam and Hoss and shook his head. It was probably still too soon. “So, Joe?”

Joe looked up at Ben. “Yes, Pa?”

“What do you want to do today?”

Joe shrugged. “I dunno. I hadn’t really thought about it.” It was true he hadn’t. He had looked forward to getting home so much; but now that he was here, he didn’t know what to do. He supposed he should be going to school and all that, but…

Ben picked up his coffee. “You know, I think some rest will do you good. You look pretty tired.”

Hoss smiled. “Well, if you get bored just lying around, I sure would appreciate some company while I’m working.”

Joe looked up at Hoss, and then saw the concern in his eyes and realized that he wasn’t teasing him; he just wanted to spend some time with him. Joe suddenly realized how much he had missed his brother in the last two weeks. He smiled. “Sure.”

Hoss looked at Ben, and then got up from the table. “Well, I’m going to go get to work.”

Adam got up too. “I guess I’ll come with you.”

Adam and Hoss walked out of the house.

Ben looked at Joe. “Son, are you all right?”

Joe shrugged. “I’m fine, Pa. Why?”

Ben looked away. He wanted to ask Joe about his injuries; but he knew if he did, he would be betraying Adam’s trust and Little Joe might shut him out as well. “Nothing, I’m just worried that you weren’t hungry.”

“Oh. It’s nothing. I’m sure I’ll be hungry later.” Joe stood up. “I think I’ll go outside and keep Hoss company.” Joe turned to go, but then stopped. “Um, Pa…?”

“What is it, Joe?”

Joe squirmed uncomfortably. “Well…I know I haven’t done my chores for a couple of weeks…”

Ben stood up. “Joe, don’t worry about it. I don’t expect you to do anything for a while. I just want you to rest and get plenty to eat.” Joe’s mouth turned up slightly, and he nodded and turned and then walked out the front door.

Outside, Hoss and Adam were working in the barn. “Adam, have you noticed anything about him?” asked Hoss.

“You mean Joe?”

“Yeah. He doesn’t seem himself. He wasn’t even hungry.”

Adam sighed. “I know. But he went through a lot Hoss, and it might take some time before things get back to normal.” Adam mounted Sport as Joe walked into the barn. He gently nudged the horse towards the door past his brother. He looked down at Joe.

“I have to check on some of the men today. I’ll be back by dinner.” He watched as Joe nodded, and then he rode out of the barn and towards the north pasture. He felt very protective of his brother; even though he knew Little Joe was home and safe, he didn’t want to let him out of his sight. Adam sighed and coaxed Sport into a gallop.

——

“Hey Joe, did you see this one over here?” Hoss scooped the tiny animal out of its hiding place and turned to his brother. Joe was staring into space, still sitting on the floor holding one of the puppies in his lap. “Hey, Joe?”

Little Joe looked up. “That one’s the cutest I think.” Joe smiled as Hoss placed the puppy in his arms. It was tiny, probably the runt of the litter. It had big brown eyes, and unlike the others, it was brown and white spotted. The puppy squirmed a little, and then curled up in the corner of his elbow.

Hoss laughed. “Hey, look at that Joe! That little pup is asleep…” Hoss trailed off as he saw the blank faraway look on his brother’s face. Hoss sighed. It seemed like Joe wasn’t even here. He kept having to repeat himself before Joe actually heard him.

After a few moments Joe looked up. “What…? I’m sorry Hoss…”

Hoss sadly smiled and took the puppies. “Why don’t you go in and get some rest before dinner?”

Joe nodded and got up, and then walked out of the barn. Hoss shook his head. How could he not be excited about the new puppies? He put them back down with their mother, and then stood for a few moments watching them.

“Hoss!”

Hoss looked up as Adam led Sport into the barn. “Hey, Adam.”

“How’s our little brother?”

Hoss shrugged. “I don’t rightly know. He seemed…like he was daydreaming all day.”

“Oh.” Adam led his horse into the stall and started to rub him down.

Hoss stood up and walked to the stall next to Adam. He put his arms over the side as he watched Adam work. “What happened to him?”

Adam paused, and then looked up. “He was hurt pretty badly Hoss. But he didn’t want anyone to know.”

Hoss waited a few seconds. “Why?”

Adam started to work on Sport again as the horse let out a cry of impatience. “I don’t know. Hopefully he’ll come around and tell us.”

“Oh. I won’t let on that you told me.”

Adam looked up and smiled his thanks, and then finished taking care of his horse.

—The Next Afternoon—

“Adam, these figures don’t make sense! What am I missing?” Ben practically threw the papers at his son, but Adam smiled, knowing that his father was more frustrated than angry. They had been working most of the morning and into the afternoon on paperwork, trying to figure out supplies, stock, hired hands, and costs for the upcoming winter, not to mention listing maintenance that would need to be completed before the first snow.

Adam had been glad that Hoss had coaxed Joe outside earlier today. It wasn’t as though he was in the way; he just seemed…numb. He had spent the whole morning sitting in the living room staring into the fire, and not hearing half of what people said to him. He hardy ate at lunch; he just didn’t seem interested. Adam was still hoping that he was just tired, and he would be back to his normal self soon.

Adam let out a cry of triumph. “Here it is, Pa. You see this figure here-” Suddenly the front door opened with a bang, and Ben and Adam looked up as Joe ran into the house. Hoss was running after him as he charged through the living room. They were both yelling. Hoss caught up with Joe as he slowed to ascend the stairs and grabbed his arm.

“Joe!” Ben called. He stood up from his desk and ran toward them, followed closely by Adam. “What’s the matter?”

Joe turned away from Hoss, and sharply pulled out of his grip. “Leave me alone!” he yelled and started to run toward the front door.

“Joseph!” Ben reached out and caught him. “What’s wrong?” Joe looked down, avoiding Ben’s eyes. He was shivering and soaking wet.

“Joe, I’m sorry! I was just joshin’ with ya!” Hoss pleaded.

Ben looked up at him. “Hoss, what happened?”

Hoss walked over to them. “I’m sorry, Pa. I was done with the chores, and…I dunno… we were goofin’ around, and I pushed him in the horse trough. I didn’t mean nothin’ by it, honest!”

Joe was still staring at the floor. He was still shaking, but Ben began to think it wasn’t just because he was wet. “Then what happened?” Ben asked.

“Well, Joe jumped out, called me some…choice words…and ran in here.”

Ben looked back at Joe. “Son? Are you all right?” Joe just nodded. “Why don’t you go upstairs and get changed?” Joe nodded again, and then as soon as Ben released his arms he turned and raced up the stairs past Adam.

“Pa, I’m sorry, I don’t know what I did…” Hoss started.

“I do.”

Ben and Hoss looked at Adam, who walked over to them.

“But it wasn’t your fault, Hoss. He told me he’s been having nightmares that he’s being held underwater. He was having them the whole trip back,” Adam said quietly.

Ben sighed and walked into the living room, then sat down on a chair.

Hoss stared at the floor, blinking hard to hold back tears. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.  “I didn’t mean to…”

Adam patted his arm. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known.”

Hoss just nodded silently. He was heartbroken. It seemed like everything he did to help his little brother either didn’t work or it backfired. The last thing he wanted to do was cause him more harm.

Adam sighed. “If we just knew a little bit more, I think we could…”

Joe came around the top of the stairs just then and started down. “What do you think, Adam?” he said sharply.

“Joseph. You will not take that tone with your brother.” Ben’s voice softened. “Come here.”

“Sorry,” Joe whispered and walked over to Ben. “What did I do, Pa?”

“Nothing, son. Sit down.” Joe sat in front of him on the table, but Ben didn’t say anything. “Joe,” Ben held Joe’s arms gently. “What happened? Why did you get so upset?”

Joe shrugged. “I didn’t Pa, I just…I dunno…overreacted…”

“Joe. Did someone hold you underwater?”

All the color drained out of Joe’s face, and he visibly stiffened. Hoss looked at Adam, who he saw had the same expression of unease on his face that Hoss himself had.

Joe just stared at Ben. His breathing had become faster, and he felt as if the room were tipping from side to side. How could Pa know? He must have guessed, unless… Joe looked quickly at Adam, but the look of concern and worry on his brother’s face made him swallow the angry words that had almost erupted.

“Joe? Please talk to me.”

Joe shakily answered, “Nothing happened, Pa. Why would you say that?”

“Joe. Please don’t lie to me.”

Tears sprang into Joe’s eyes, and he quickly dropped his head.

“Joe?”

Joe nodded, staring at the floor. “Josh…he…told me he could kill me whenever he wanted to. There…there was a trough, outside the barn. He…pushed me in… and….held me…” Joe stopped. He took a deep breath, and when he started talking again, the others could hardly hear him. “He did it…over and over. He let me go after a while. I…I thought I was going to drown…I…” Joe trailed off.

“Oh, Joe…” Ben whispered.

Joe quickly stood up and backed toward the door. “Look, I’m fine everybody, don’t worry about…” The rest of Joe’s words were muffled as he ran toward the door and pulled it open, and then ran outside.

Adam watched as Ben stood up and went to the fire, his back to his sons. Hoss looked half ready to cry, half ready to hit someone. Adam himself felt sick. He was horrified at what had happened. At what Joe had gone through. He cleared his throat. “I’m going to go find him,” he said hoarsely, and then quickly left. Once outside, he let all the tears of frustration and fear and shock out. He hardly ever cried; in fact, he hadn’t cried in years. He suddenly realized Joe was sitting just a few feet away, watching him through his own tears. “Adam,” Joe choked, and stumbled into his arms.

——

That night, Adam tossed in his bed. Little Joe had been withdrawn at dinner. He hadn’t even eaten; he just pushed the food around on his plate. Finally he had asked to be excused, and Ben had let him go. Joe spent the rest of the evening in his room.

Adam rolled over and sighed. Everything was supposed to be better now. They had Joe back. He was safe, his wounds were healing, he had nothing to be afraid of anymore. Why was it as though everything was wrong?

Adam sat up and listened intently. There it was again: a muffled cry. Little Joe, probably having a nightmare. Adam slipped out of bed and pulled on his robe, then went into the hall. He almost walked into Ben, who had just come out of his room. The two men met each other’s eyes, and then together walked down the hall and into Joe’s room.

Little Joe was tossing on the bed in his sleep. “No…n…no…” he moaned. Ben and Adam walked over to the bed, and then Ben reached down and gently shook Joe’s shoulder. At the touch, Joe suddenly awoke and sat up. He started to back away, gasping, “No! Don’t, please!”

Ben sat down on the edge of the bed next to his youngest son. “Joe, it’s all right. It’s Pa, and Adam. No one’s going to hurt you; you’re safe.”

Joe sat for a few moments, shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh, Pa…” Little Joe leaned forward and Ben wrapped his arms around him. Joe reached his hand out and began to search blindly for Adam. Adam quickly moved forward and grabbed the boy’s hand, holding it tightly.

“Joe, it’s okay,” whispered Adam. “We’re here.” And so the two men remained in his room until he finally went back to sleep.

—The Next Day—

Ben walked into the house holding his head. As soon as Adam saw him he jumped up and rushed over to him. “Pa, what happened?” Adam asked. Ben had blood trickling down his cheek, and Adam pulled his hand away so he could inspect the wound.

Ben laughed ruefully and said, “I hit my head in the barn. It’s probably a lot worse than it looks.”

After close inspection, Adam agreed with him. “It’s just a surface wound. Here, sit down I’ll go get Hop Sing…” Adam pushed him into a chair, and then went into the kitchen. A couple seconds later he came back out with Hop Sing. Hop Sing set about cleaning the cut, and Adam stepped back and looked up. “Joe…?” Adam walked around the chair that Ben was sitting in and to the staircase. Little Joe was standing at the bottom, his hands clutching the banister and his knuckles white. His face was pale.

Adam put his hand on Joe’s shoulder. “Joe, what’s the matter?” Adam asked.

Hop Sing let out a cry of protest as Ben tried to get up to see what was wrong. Ben sat back again and called out, “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know,” responded Adam. “Joe?”

Little Joe looked up at him. “What happened to Pa?” he whispered.

Adam patted his shoulder. “It’s okay, Joe, he just hit his head in the barn.”

Joe looked down. “I thought…somebody hurt him.”

Adam frowned. “Why would somebody hurt him, Joe?” he asked.

Joe was still staring at the floor. “They said they would. If I got away, or even if I tried to get away, they’d kill him. They said it wasn’t far, and even if I made it home they’d come after him. I didn’t want them to hurt him. That’s why I didn’t try to get away.”

Little Joe looked up at Adam, and his voice started getting louder and angrier. “I bet you were wondering, weren’t you. Why I didn’t escape? I had the chance. I had several chances. Well that’s why. I was too afraid of what they’d do. They would have. I sometimes had dreams that I was home. But then one day we’d find Pa, and he would be dead. And it was my fault and you all blamed me because if I’d have waited a couple of days they’d have let me go. It was my fault!”

“Joe-“ was all Adam managed to get out before Little Joe bolted out the front door.

Ben stood up, and Hop Sing didn’t even try to protest. Ben went to the front door in time to see Joe running into the trees. He turned back to Adam. “Go saddle my horse. I’m going after him. Hurry up, Hop Sing.”

Adam nodded and went outside.

——

A couple of hours later Ben walked into the house. “Adam?” he called.

“In here,” answered Adam as he came out of the kitchen.

Ben walked into the living room and leaned of the edge of a chair. “I found him. He’s in the barn now, taking care of Cooch.”

“Oh,” Adam replied. “Did he talk about it?”

Ben shook his head. “Adam, I wonder if you might try to talk to him. He wouldn’t say anything to me.”

“Sure Pa,” Adam replied. As he walked towards the barn, he tried to think of how best to approach what had happened. If Little Joe wanted to pretend that nothing had happened, there was no way he would have any conversation. Adam walked in, and Little Joe walked out of Cooch’s stall.

“Did Pa send you out here?” Joe asked. Adam nodded, and sat on a bench along one wall. Joe walked over and sat beside him.

Well, thought Adam, at least that answers the question of whether he’ll talk about it.

Out loud he said, “Pa said you wouldn’t talk to him.” Joe shrugged and nodded. Adam frowned. “Why’s that, Joe?”

Little Joe looked up at him. “I never wanted him to find out. They said they’d kill Pa if I tried to escape, or even if I did get away. I didn’t want him to know.”

“How do you know they would have gone after Pa?”

Little Joe waited a few minutes before quietly answering, “Dan said they would. Everything he said, he did. There were consequences for everything, and he always kept his word.” Little Joe stood up. “It wasn’t Pa’s fault I didn’t get away.”

“Of course not Joe.”

Joe looked down. “Do you think it’s my fault?”

Adam reached out and put his hand out Joe’s arm. “No, Joe, nobody thinks that. I don’t really know what happened, but I know it wasn’t your fault.”

Little Joe frowned. You’re wrong, he thought. But it is because you don’t know what happened.

“Dinner!” Hoss yelled out the front door.

Little Joe looked up at Adam as he stood up. “Come on, little brother,” Adam said. Joe let Adam put his arm around his shoulders and lead him out of the barn and into the house. He was looking forward to dinner; he was actually kind of hungry tonight.

——

That evening during dinner there was no mention of what had occurred earlier that day. Ben was secretly pleased that Joe was actually eating his food instead of moving it around his plate. After dinner, Adam and Ben were discussing what supplies they needed before winter, and Hoss had talked Joe into slipping into the kitchen to have second helpings of Hop Sing’s pie.

There was a knock on the door.

Ben stood up and went to the door. “Can I help you?” he asked the two men outside.

Adam watched as he talked quietly to the men for a few minutes, then finally nodded and let them into the house. He led them over to Adam. “This is Ted Coleman, he’s a federal marshal.” One of the men nodded to him. “He wants to talk to Joe about the stage robbers.”

Adam frowned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Ted, the marshal, smiled. “Your father asked that same question. We don’t need to find out what happened; we just need him to identify the men. We found the three of them, but we could only identify two from wanted posters. We just need their names.”

Adam stood up. “Okay, I’ll get him.” Adam walked into the kitchen. “Joe?” Little Joe was perched on a chair, laughing as he watched Hoss tease Hop Sing about his cooking. Adam sighed. This was the first time since Joe had been home that he’d started acting like his old self. And now Adam was going to ruin it.

Little Joe looked up at Adam. “Hey, Adam,” he laughed. “Did you know that…what is it?”

Adam took a deep breath. “There are some men out here Joe; one of them is a marshal. They want to talk to you…” Adam stopped as Joe got off the chair and started to back towards the door to the yard.

“No, Adam, I’m not talking to anybody…” Joe said, with panic in his voice.

“Joe, wait.” Little Joe paused with his hand on the door. “Joe, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. At least listen to what they have to say.”

Finally Joe nodded, and followed Adam back into the living room. Hoss brought up the rear.

The inquiry was quite short. Little Joe confirmed that there were four men involved, the same men who were dead at the abandoned farmhouse where they had made their hideout. He also confirmed their identities based on posters the marshal showed him.

Daniel Weaver, Joshua Border, Paul McKane, and William “Shorty” Aiken. All of them were wanted in other places for crimes including bank robbing, kidnapping, murder, and horse stealing. After the marshal was satisfied he had all of the answers he needed, he left. Ben closed the door behind the two men and turned back to his sons. “Where’s Little Joe?” he asked.

Hoss sighed. “He ran upstairs. Want me to fetch him?”

Ben shook his head. “No, just let him be, I guess.” He looked down at the brown sack he was holding, and then tossed it on his desk.

Hoss looked puzzled, until Adam muttered, “The money.” The three men looked at it. They didn’t care about the money, they just wanted the boy they all loved to be his old, cheerful, mischievous self again.

——

Adam knocked on the door. “Little Joe?” When there was no answer he knocked again. When there was still no response, he opened the door. Little Joe was lying on his bed, his back to Adam. Adam walked over and sat down next to him. “Joe? Are you okay?” Little Joe nodded. “It’s time for bed, I brought the stuff for your back,” Adam said. “You know, it’s almost healed.” There was no response. Adam watched his little brother for a few moments. “Joe…they’re dead. The marshal’s identified them all.”

“I never wanted to talk about it again. Why did the marshal need me?”

“To make sure he had the right men. He said they were all wanted. Now they know not to look for them anymore.”

Finally Joe sat up and looked at Adam. “I don’t want to talk about it ever again.”

Adam frowned. “If you think that’ll help,” he replied.

Joe dropped his head. “For right now,” he whispered. “I can’t get it out of my head. I keep seeing the things that happened, over and over. I can’t make them stop. I keep thinking they’re going to come back, and that scares me.”

“Joe, you know now that they’re dead. They’re not coming back. Ever.”

Joe looked up and nodded at Adam. He looked at the bottle in Adam’s hand, wrinkling his nose. Adam sighed. “It’s not as bad now, is it?” he asked.

Joe shook his head and said, “Well, it still hurts a little.”

Adam started to open the bottle. “Don’t worry, pretty soon you’ll be fine.”

Joe smiled sadly. “I hope so.”

—The Next Morning—

Adam pushed his breakfast plate away. “Well, we’ve got work to do, Hoss. It’s your turn to clean out the barn.”

“Oh, come on, Adam, I just did that yesterday,” Hoss loudly protested.

Adam glared at him. “I agreed to check on the stock in the north pasture. We switched chores, remember?” he snapped.

“Now that’s enough…” Ben started in intervene.

“I’ll take care of the barn.” Adam, Hoss, and Ben looked at Little Joe, who started to squirm uncomfortably. “I mean, I’m not an invalid or anything…”

Ben cleared his throat. “Of course you’re not, Joseph. It’s just…” Ben stopped, not sure what to say next about the reason for treating his son the way he was.

After a couple of seconds of uncomfortable silence, Adam stood up. “Well, it’s about time you started doing some work; I was beginning to think you would never get sick of relaxing and being waited on. If you get bored doing your chores, you could finish mine.” Ben opened his mouth to admonish Adam, but stopped when Little Joe laughed.

“I don’t think there’s any chance of that, big brother. In fact, you and Hoss do just fine mendin’ fences.”

Adam reached out and mussed up Joe’s hair, and Joe immediately responded by lunging for Adam. Adam jumped out of his way, and Joe ended up lying on the floor next to his chair, grimacing slightly but laughing. Ben shook his head with a smile, and then called out, “That’s enough, you two! I’ve told you not to wrestle in the house!”

Joe scrambled up and ran out the front door. Adam exchanged a smile with Ben, and then went to get his gun and hat.

Outside, Joe walked into the barn. Suddenly a smile lit up his face as he realized what he was doing. He had asked to do chores. When had he ever wanted to do his chores before? Still laughing to himself he reached for a rake and then turned to go to the first stall, but suddenly he wasn’t in the ranch barn anymore; he was in the barn where he had been held prisoner over two weeks ago. The room started spinning as he heard someone come in behind him. “Trying to escape!” the person yelled.

“Joe, I said are you okay?” As Adam walked in the barn, he could see that Joe was shaking and had a look of intense fear on his face; he didn’t seem to be aware of where he was. “Joe…?” Adam took a step closer.

The man was coming closer. Little Joe closed his eyes tightly. He knew there was nowhere to go; he had tried that before. He looked at the loft. He had hidden there once, to get away from them for a while. “I wasn’t trying to escape.” Joe had repeated it over and over, but Josh didn’t listen. He had pulled him down. “Brat!” the man standing next to Joe yelled again. They were going to hurt him. Terrified, Joe dropped the rake.

Adam watched the rake as it hit the floor. He looked at Joe closely; he was breathing fast and still didn’t seem to know where he was. Adam heard someone come in the barn, and quickly he put out his hand as he turned to see who had come in.

“Hoss, go get Pa.” Hoss nodded, and then backed out of the barn and ran for the house. Adam looked back at Joe.

“No, no…” Little Joe was whimpering. Joe dropped to his knees on the ground.

Little Joe hated this part. What were they waiting for? Josh had done this several times before; taunting him with punishment, laughing and ridiculing him, until the threats of being hurt were almost worse than the actual beating. When he had hidden in the loft, his punishment was a thrashing with a leather strap- five times for each minute it had taken them to find him. Joe tried to force the images out of his mind, but he couldn’t. Josh had held him under his arm, pinning Joe’s arms to his sides. After days of starvation and abuse, Joe didn’t have the strength to fight back. “It took us ten minutes to find you. Five lashes for each minute…How many does that make, kid?”

“Fifty,” Joe whispered.

“I can’t hear you, say it louder.”

“Fifty! It makes fifty!” Joe yelled. Snap! Joe’s back stung as Josh raised the strap to bring it down again.

“Count!” Josh growled. Snap! “I said count!”

“Two,” Joe gasped out. Snap!

“Start at one!” Josh yelled at him.

Tears started to well in Joe’s eyes. “One,” he whispered.

Snap! “Louder! I can’t hear you!”

“One!” Joe cried. Snap! “Two!”

Again and again the strap had come down. He had counted, his voice broken by sobs. He wanted to scream at him to stop, but he knew it would only make things worse.

Adam watched as tears streamed down his little brother’s face. He was kneeling next to him now, not quite daring to touch him. He heard someone come into the barn, and he turned his head. “Adam…what…?” Adam looked at Ben and shook his head. He looked back at Joe. Suddenly Joe shook his head and put his hand to his face. He shuddered and took a deep breath. “Joe…?” Adam whispered. Joe turned and looked at him blankly for a moment, then lunged forward and threw his arms around him.

Adam quickly scooped him into his arms.

“Adam, Adam! Don’t let go! Don’t leave me!” There was terror in Joe’s voice, and he clung to Adam as if he was afraid he would disappear. Adam held him tightly. “I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying right here. It’s okay Joe; I’ve got you, it’s okay.”

Adam looked up at Ben and Hoss. Hoss looked like he was going to cry himself. Ben quickly moved forward and dropped to his knees next to them. “Joe…” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around his two sons.

“Don’t go,” whispered Little Joe.

“We’re not going anywhere,” said Hoss as he ran his fingers through Joe’s curly hair.

After about ten minutes Joe had stopped crying, and when Adam pulled him gently away he could see that his eyes were closed. “He’s asleep, Pa,” Adam whispered.

“Here.” Ben gently lifted his son into his arms, and then carried him into the house followed by Hoss and Adam. Ben gently laid Joe on the settee by the stairs, and then turned back to his sons and gestured for them to move away so they wouldn’t wake him.

Ben walked up to Hoss and put his hand on his back. When Hoss turned to look at him, his face was twisted in fury.

“Hoss.”

“If those men weren’t dead, I’d kill ‘em.” Hoss clenched his teeth.

Ben nodded and took a deep breath. “I know, son. But they are dead; and we…” Ben trailed off and paused for a couple of seconds. “We have to deal with what they did, and try to help Little Joe deal with it.”

Adam rubbed his hand over his forehead. He didn’t know why, but he just felt really angry. Angry at himself, angry at the men who did this…and angry in some ways at Joe, which made him feel even angrier and guilty. It wasn’t Joe’s fault this had happened, but why wasn’t he dealing with it? Why did he have to pretend that nothing had happened, and not tell anyone about anything? Adam stood up and walked to the front door. “I’m going out,” he called back and left the house.

Ben turned. “Adam?” But Adam was already gone.

—The Next Day—

Adam left before anyone was up the next morning. He was still angry and he figured a day of riding around the ranch checking the fences and borders of the Ponderosa would be a good distraction. It needed to be done before winter set in anyway, and now was as good a time as any. He didn’t know why he felt angry, but he wanted to deal with it before he blew up at somebody.

——

Ben closed Adam’s door with a slightly puzzled look on his face. He went downstairs and then outside to check the barn. Sport was gone. Ben walked thoughtfully back into the house. Adam had been acting a little strange the past few days; the stress everyone was under was beginning to tell. Joe was getting more and more emotional. Half the time Ben didn’t know what Joe’s reaction would be, even to something unimportant.

Ben was getting frustrated. Everything seemed to be getting better until… Ben shook his head. He had no idea what had happened in the barn, and Joe had avoided everyone yesterday. Ben sat down at the table and decided he would speak to Joe today about yesterday and his recent behavior. Adam seemed to be able to get more out of him, but he wasn’t here. In some ways Ben was glad. He was slightly hurt, although understanding, of why Little Joe felt more comfortable talking to his brother than him.

Ben looked up as Hoss and Joe came downstairs. “Morning, boys!” he called.

“Mornin’ Pa,” replied Hoss.

There was no response from Joe. He sat down and after a few seconds looked up. “I’m not hungry. Can I just go?”

Ben looked at him in surprise. “Joseph! Aren’t you even going to try to eat something?”

“Pa, I’m not hungry.”

Ben looked at Joe a few moments, and then made up his mind. “Joseph, I think you should see Doc Martin. You haven’t been eating, maybe he can…” Ben stopped as Joe jumped up from the table.

“No, Pa!” Joe started to back up, panic in his voice. “I’m fine! I don’t need a doctor!”

Ben’s mouth fell open. He certainly didn’t expect this reaction. “Joe, what’s wrong? I just wanted to…”

“Pa, I don’t need a doctor.” Joe turned and ran out the front door.

Ben looked at Hoss, who looked about as stunned as he felt.

——

Joe sat on the corral fence, staring at the barn door. He didn’t want to go in, but he wanted to get his horse. It was after breakfast now, and he knew Hoss would be out any minute. Maybe he could bring Cooch out. The front door opened and Ben and Hoss walked out. Joe looked away as Ben walked up to him and put his hand on his leg. Hoss stood a respectable distance away, but within hearing distance.

“Joe, I’m worried about you son. I really want you to see the doctor.”

Joe looked up at his father. “I know, it’s just… He can’t help me, Pa…he can’t cure my head, and the rest of me…” he trailed off as he realized what he was saying.

“Joe?”

“Pa, is it okay if I go out on Cooch? I won’t stay away very long, I just need some air…”

Ben was shaking his head. “Joe, I’d prefer if you didn’t go off on your own. If you wanted…”

“Pa that’s not fair! Why should I have to stay here all the time! You let Adam go!” Joe exploded.

“Joe, let me finish. I don’t want you on your own, but Hoss can go with you.”

Joe seemed to calm down immediately, and he nodded. “Sorry. Hoss, could you get my horse?”

“Joe, ain’t you gonna get your own horse?” Hoss asked, puzzled.

Joe jumped off the fence. “Shut up! Why are you being mean? It’s not fair! I can’t go in the barn, I can’t! And now you won’t even…uhhh!” With a cry of frustration, Joe turned and ran into the house and upstairs. He grabbed his pillow and flung it across the room, and punched the headboard. All that did was cause him pain, and sobbing loudly he collapsed face down on the floor, crying out of frustration, anger, and pain. It wasn’t fair! Why couldn’t he do the things he loved? Why did nobody understand?

Adam wasn’t even here to talk to him. Joe cried into the rug next to his bed. Suddenly he felt a gentle hand on his back, and heard his father talking softly. He couldn’t hear what he was saying, but just the sound of his voice was comforting and he started to feel better.

——

Hoss looked up as Ben walked downstairs. He had been with Joe for almost an hour. Ben walked across the room, and Hoss stood up. “Pa?”

“He’s alright,” replied Ben.

“Pa…why are you letting him do this?” Hoss hesitantly asked.

Ben stopped and turned to his son. He slowly shook his head. “Hoss,” he whispered. “I think he’s been punished enough.”

Hoss blinked and quickly looked away. Of course Joe had. This wasn’t really his fault, so how could he be in trouble for it.

“Hoss, I’m going to go in to town tomorrow hopefully if Adam gets back and see Doc Martin.”

Hoss nodded. “That’s probably best, Pa.”

—The Next Afternoon—

Hoss walked around the corner in to the kitchen. His stomach was starting to growl, and he figured Hop Sing would be starting dinner pretty soon. As he rounded the corner, he suddenly stopped and slipped back. He carefully looked around the corner again. Little Joe was sitting in front of a glass of milk and a plate that had a sandwich on it. He looked like he had been there for a little while. Hoss watched him for a few moments, but then started to feel foolish. What was he doing; hiding and spying on his brother. He backed away, straightened up, and then walked around the corner. “Oh, hi there Little Joe.” Joe looked up at him sullenly. Hoss’ face crinkled in concern. “What’s the matter?”

Joe sighed. “Hop Sing is angry with me. He said I don’t like his cooking and I have to eat this sandwich to prove I do.” Suddenly his eyes filled with hope as he looked up at Hoss. “How about you eat it, Hoss?”

Hoss started to smile, but then stopped. “Wait a second Joe. How come you can’t eat it?”

Joe stared at the plate. “I’m not very hungry.”

Hoss quickly moved in front of him. “But Joe, you haven’t eaten a proper meal in days. How can you not be hungry?” Joe shrugged. “Look, Joe? Couldn’t you just try to eat it, even though it might not be very good and you don’t want to? For me?”

Joe looked up at Hoss. He stared at him for a couple of seconds, and then shook his head. “How about you just eat it, Hoss.” He pushed the plate away.

Hoss pushed the plate back towards him. “How about you just eat a bite. Just one bite and some milk. Please Joe.”

Little Joe looked up at Hoss again, but this time he nodded. “Fine, just one bite. That’s all!” He picked up the sandwich and bit off a small piece from the corner.

Hoss shook his head. “Joe, that was hardly a bite at all. I meant a regular bite!”

Joe gritted his teeth and bit off a huge hunk of the sandwich, as much as would fit in his mouth. After he had chewed it and washed it down with some milk, he got up from the table. “Happy?” Before Hoss could respond, Little Joe turned and ran out of the kitchen, almost colliding with Adam.

Adam watched him take the stairs two at a time, and then heard his door slam shut.

He frowned and walked around the corner, in time to see Hoss finishing the last of the sandwich. “Hoss!” Hoss looked up, startled. “Little Joe was supposed to eat that. What are you doing?”

Hoss frowned. “I got him to eat as much as he would, Adam. He ate about a quarter of the sandwich, and half a glass of milk. He wasn’t very happy about it, though.”

Adam nodded. “I’m sure. He was down here for three hours. All he had to do was eat a sandwich. And he wouldn’t! It’s not like he doesn’t like the food. He just doesn’t want it.” Adam turned and angrily walked out of the kitchen, talking almost to himself. “This has got to stop. I’m going to do something about this. Or else he’ll end up…” Adam left the kitchen.

“Adam? What are you doing?”

But Adam didn’t hear him. He was storming upstairs to Joe’s room. He threw open the door. “What do you think you’re doing?” he barked.

Little Joe sat frozen, stunned on his bed. “W…what?”

“You heard me. How about doing some of your chores for a change, instead of sitting around all day. You think that’s really helping?”

It was as though a fire had been lit in Joe’s eyes. His breath was coming in short bursts, and he angrily walked up to Adam. “Shut up! You leave me alone!” he yelled.

“Why? You’re pretending that nothing happened, but you’re certainly not acting like it. You need to snap out of it, boy!” Adam watched his reaction. He hated making his brother this angry, but in some ways he was happy.

“I am not! You don’t understand! Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Little Joe suddenly punched Adam in the face, and Adam was slightly stunned. Little Joe raised his fist to strike Adam again, but Adam managed to catch his wrist and then grabbed Joe’s other arm.

“We didn’t hurt you, Joe. They did. Stop being angry for what happened! It’s over!”

Joe tried to break free. “You don’t know what happened! You don’t know! How can you talk to me like that when you don’t even know what happened?”

“Tell me! I want to know!” Adam yelled.

“You can’t ever possibly know! You can’t! How would you know what it’s like to be left tied up for days, not knowing whether you would ever be set free! How can you know what it’s like to be yelled at all the time, and beaten even if you do what you’re told? And you want to go home, that’s all you want!” Joe began to sob, tears rolling down his face. “I didn’t know what to do! I was scared! They threatened me all the time, and if I didn’t do what they said they hurt me. I had to do what they told me; I didn’t want to! I didn’t! But I didn’t want them to hurt me! I should have been stronger! I should have fought back! But I didn’t. It was my fault!” Joe broke down into tears, and struggled to pull away from Adam. “Let me go! Let me go, Adam!”

Just then Hoss raced into the room. “Adam, let go of him!”

Adam numbly obeyed, and then stood back as Hoss held his littlest brother tightly, talking softly to him. Adam felt horrible. He hadn’t meant to cause this. He shouldn’t have been so angry. Of course it wasn’t Little Joe’s fault, how could he think that it was? He felt tears coming to his eyes, and he turned and stumbled downstairs and then sank into a chair and put his head into his hands. “I’m so sorry, Joe,” he whispered.

What must Joe have gone through? Adam knew about the physical abuse, and now he saw a bit more of the psychological effects it had had. He started to understand why Joe was acting the way he was. But what could he have done? He was just a kid, as much as he tried to fight it, and there was no way he could take on four grown men.

Why was he so hard on himself? It wasn’t his fault that the person responsible for him hadn’t cared. One wrong decision had caused all this.

Adam looked up as the front door opened and Ben and Paul Martin walked in.

“Adam, what happened?” Ben asked.

“I’m sorry, Pa, I’m so sorry!” He explained to his father what had happened, and just as he finished Hoss came downstairs.

Ben turned to Hoss. “How is he?”

“He’s asleep. He wore himself out crying.”

Paul Martin patted Ben on the shoulder. “I’ll just go up and have a look at him,” he said, and Ben nodded as Paul went upstairs with Hoss leading the way.

Adam sat in the chair with his eyes closed. Could he ever make this up to his brother? He knew how much Joe trusted and depended on him, and he had turned on him. Could Joe ever trust him again?

“Adam.”

Adam opened his eyes. “Pa, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get that angry.”

“Why were you angry?”

Adam looked down. “I guess I was angry at myself, and at Joe. But it isn’t his fault. He said it was his fault. It’s not. How could he think that?”

“Adam, for the same reason you think it’s your fault.”

“But Pa, I was responsible for his safety, and…”

“It’s not helping things to blame yourself; any more than Joe is by blaming himself.”

Adam looked down. It wasn’t helping things, but… “What are we supposed to do?”

Ben sat down next to him. “Realize what did happen, and then move on and not dwell on it or the guilt that you feel. Realize that you did everything you could. Forgive yourself and him.”

Adam nodded. “I’ll apologize to him later.” Ben smiled.

Paul walked down the stairs. “Well, he’s fast asleep, but he looks terribly thin and tired. Here’s a mild sedative. If he has trouble sleeping or starts getting too upset you might try giving him a little. It should help him calm down. If his condition hasn’t changed in a couple of days let me know, and we’ll go from there. I hate to say force feeding, but if he refuses to eat…well…” Paul shrugged as he handed Ben the sedative.

Ben shook hands with him. “Thanks, Paul,” he said and walked him to the door.

——

Adam walked into the living room. It was after dinner. Little Joe was sitting in front of the fireplace, staring at the flames. He had sat at the dinner table and eaten a little, but then just moved here. Hoss and Ben had gone out to check on the hired hands, and Adam used that as an opportunity to speak with Joe. Adam quietly walked up to him.

“Joe?” he said softly.

Joe jumped up, and then turned to him. He was shaking slightly and gasping for breath.

“Joe, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Adam reached out and put his hand on Joe’s shoulder, and then waited a few minutes until he had calmed down. “Come here and sit down. We’ve got to talk.” Adam led Joe over to a chair and gently pushed him onto it, and then sat down in front of him.

Little Joe just stared at the ground. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Joe, I want to apologize. I had no right to yell at you like I did. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Joe’s lip quivered slightly. “Why did you do it?”

Adam closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “I was angry, Joe. Angry at myself, and the men who did this, and…a little angry with you,” he finished quietly.

“But…” Joe didn’t know quite how to respond.

Adam quickly held his arms. “I don’t mean to say I was angry at you, Joe. I was angry that you weren’t getting better. And that’s not really your fault.”

“But why were you angry at yourself?”

“Joe…” Adam glanced down. “You’re my little brother. I was supposed to take care of you, and make sure you didn’t get into trouble. You were my responsibility, and…” Adam paused. He didn’t want to hurt Joe, so he didn’t want to tell him his reasons for sending him home. He knew Joe had probably guessed as to the reason; he had seen it on his face when he told him in Folsom, and seen the disappointment.

Almost as if Joe knew what he was thinking, he said, “But you came back for me, Adam. And that meant more.” Adam put his arms around his little brother, and after a few moments they pulled apart.

“Joe, please tell me what happened.”

Joe shook his head. “Why? There’s no need to talk about it. It’s over.”

“Joe, are you sure?” Adam and Joe looked up at Ben, who had just walked in followed by Hoss. They walked over to Joe. Ben sat on the arm of his chair and put his arm around Joe’s shoulders. “You can’t pretend that nothing happened, otherwise those feelings with consume you. You have to face the fact that this did happen.”

Joe started to cry. “But I don’t want to! I’m afraid to! I’m still afraid and I don’t know why! I shouldn’t be…but I am. I just…I thought that everything would be fine once I got home…but it’s not.”

Adam moved closer. “Joe, you don’t have to go through it alone.”

“Maybe talking about it would help,” Ben said.

Joe sobbed into Ben’s shirt for a few moments. “Pa…I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you to know. They…they beat me,” Joe whispered. “They threatened to kill me… Dan…he…said if I didn’t do what he told me, he’d let…Josh…hurt me. I hated him! He…did it for no reason…just because he wanted to. And Dan let him. He…stopped him sometimes, but…not always. ” Joe looked up at Ben. “I’m sorry, Pa. I didn’t tell you…I…” Joe dropped his head down, and then quietly continued. “I didn’t want you to know. I thought…you would be ashamed…or angry, because I didn’t do anything.”

Ben leaned forward. “Joe…I’m not ashamed of you. And I’m not angry.” He pulled Joe into his arms. “I’m proud of you. I can’t imagine what it must have been like. You have to believe that everything will be all right, son. It will.”

Joe wrapped his arms around Ben. “I was afraid I would never see you again.”

“I know, I was too. I prayed every night that you would be brought back alive.”

“Pa, I love you,” Joe whispered, so quietly that Ben almost couldn’t hear him.

“I love you, son,” Ben whispered back.

Joe looked up after a few minutes. “Can I…is it okay if I tell you what happened?”

Ben nodded. Joe glanced at Adam, still kneeling next the chair, and Hoss, standing behind him. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, but after a few moments, he looked back up. “I don’t know where to start.”

Ben patted his arm. “It’s okay. How about the first thing you remember?”

Joe looked down. “He killed the passengers. For no reason. I was really afraid…that he would kill me too. Just like that. For no reason.”

——

A few hours later, Adam was in his room. Joe had stayed downstairs to get something to eat, and to finish talking to Ben. Ben had sent Hoss and Adam upstairs so Joe could talk to him in private. Adam was glad that Joe had told them what happened, even though he had been horrified at some of the things he told them, especially the flashback in the barn. He couldn’t imagine what it had been like. Adam shuddered involuntarily and did his best to put those thoughts out of his mind. Everything would be alright now, wouldn’t it?

“Come in,” Adam called as there was a knock on his door. Adam put down his book as Joe entered the room. Adam could see the tear trails on his face and his red-rimmed eyes. “Are you okay?” asked Adam, searching his brother’s face.

Joe nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay.” Joe stood a few feet from the bed, awkwardly shifting his weight. Adam smiled and then reached out, and Joe gladly went to him. Adam looked down at Joe. For the first time since Joe had been home, his eyes had a glint of their old twinkle, and Adam knew for sure that everything would be alright.

 

THE END