Summary: While Ben is away on a trip, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe are taken hostage at the ranch.

Rating: PG for violence  (4,710 words)

 

The Intruders

Hoss crept stealthily across the yard, a stick held in his upraised hand. He peeked around the wagon. There was no movement from the house. Quickly, he slipped into the barn and stood behind the door. After a few minutes, when he was sure he hadn’t been seen, he poked his head around the door. There was still no movement from the house or yard.

 

Suddenly a small form slipped out of the shadows, unnoticed, behind him. The figure tiptoed quietly up to him, then quickly jabbed him in the back. “Hold it right there! Drop the hatchet!”

 

Hoss dropped the stick he was holding and slowly turned to face his little brother. “Well. I guess ya got me, Little Joe.”

 

The six year old frowned. “Hoss! Indians don’t talk like that! And you’re not s’posed to know who I am!”

 

“Oh, sorry. Um….You got me white man. I your prisoner now.”

 

Little Joe instantly perked up and threw himself back into the game. “Okay, you ain’t gettin’ away.” He prodded Hoss with the stick. “Go on, into the yard.”

 

Hoss turned and walked out of the barn.

 

“Hey, Hoss?”

 

Hoss turned back. “Yeah?”

 

“Pretend you knocked the gun out of my hand and captured me.”

 

Hoss sighed. “Okay.” He leaned forward quickly and knocked the stick out of Little Joe’s hand, then grabbed his wrists. “I caught you.”

 

“Lemme go, you brute!” Joe kicked Hoss sharply in the shin.

 

“Ow! Little Joe, that hurt!” Hoss let go of Joe’s wrists and rubbed his leg.

 

“Oh, sorry Hoss.” Joe waited a few moments, and then said, “Come on, I didn’t kick you that hard! You just captured me.” Little Joe put his hands out.

 

Hoss glared for a couple of seconds at him, then reached out and grabbed him again. “Okay, I captured you. Now what?”

 

“Um…” Little Joe surveyed the yard. “Tie me to a stake!”

 

“Little Joe, I ain’t tyin’ you to no stake.”

 

“The tree, Hoss. Tie me to that tree.” Little Joe pointed at a tree with his chin.

 

Hoss looked at the tree, then down at Joe. After a few moments he smiled. “I’ll get the rope.” Hoss held Joe with one hand and grabbed a coil of rope with the other. He dragged Little Joe across the yard and pushed him against the tree and then wrapped the rope around him, tying him it. Joe looked perfectly satisfied. “Now what?” Hoss asked.

 

“Now you go get the rest of the Indians. I’m going to have a…dramic escape.”

 

Hoss laughed. “You mean dramatic escape?” Little Joe glared at him. “Okay, okay, um…me go get rest of braves.”

 

“Hoss? Hoss?” Adam walked around the side of the barn. “Hey, Ho…” He stopped in his tracks when he saw Hoss standing in front of Little Joe tied to the tree. “Hoss, what do you think you’re doing?” Adam walked up to them.

 

Little Joe looked up at him. “Hoss is an Indian, and he just caught me, and I’m makin’ a escape.”

 

Hoss looked at up Adam with a pleading look on his face. “He wanted me to tie him to the stake, Adam.” Hoss reached forward to untie the rope, but stopped when Little Joe let out a scream of protest.

 

“No! I have to make a dra…matic escape!”

 

Adam shook his head. “Little Joe, I need Hoss’ help…”

 

“Well, then go, Hoss. I’ll escape, and then when you get back we’ll keep playing.”

 

Hoss turned. “You heard him, Adam. Let’s go.” Hoss walked out of the yard. Adam watched him go, and then turned back to Joe.

 

“Little Joe, I can’t just leave you tied here…”

 

“Ad-am!” yelled Little Joe.

 

Adam rolled his eyes. He didn’t feel like putting up with Little Joe sulking for the rest of the day, so he replied, “Okay, fine. We’ll just be a little ways behind the barn. Yell if you get sick of being tied to the tree.”

 

Little Joe smiled and nodded, and Adam turned and followed Hoss.

 

“Hoss, wait for me.”

 

Hoss turned and waited until Adam caught up, and then they kept walking.

 

“Adam, when’s Pa gonna be home?”

 

“Tomorrow. You know that.”

 

Hoss sighed. “Yeah, I know. I was just hopin’ I was wrong and he’d be back today like he’d planned.”

 

Adam smiled. “Why, would that have made a difference in how many times you had to play Indians?”

 

The twelve year old glared at him, but then laughed. “I don’t mind playin’ with him and all. It’s just been two weeks. I need Pa to send me out to watch the herd or something.”

 

Adam laughed.

 

In front of the house, Little Joe was still tied to the tree. He stared at the woods around him. He knew they were there. Hundreds of them. Watching. Waiting. The chief was probably with them. And he was tied to this stake. Little did they know that in a few minutes he would no longer be their prisoner. They wouldn’t know what had happened. Little Joe pulled against the ropes and frowned. Hoss hadn’t tied them very tightly; this would be too easy. Oh well, he could just pretend they were tighter…

 

Little Joe’s eyes widened in surprise as two men slipped out of the trees in front of him. “Who are you?” he asked.

 

The men looked at him for a few moments, then one of the moved forward and started to untie the knot. “What happened to you, little fella?”

 

Little Joe stared in dismay as the rope fell to the ground. “You ruined the game!” he yelled.

 

The man quickly moved forward quickly and scooped Joe up, wrapping an arm around his waist and pinning his arms to his sides. He covered Joe’s mouth with his hand. “Hush, be quiet now.” Little Joe struggled fiercely and tried to squirm out of his arms, but he was being held too tightly. His thrashing feet weren’t making contact with anything, and soon he stopped struggling. Behind them, three more men came out of the woods.

 

“Well, who do we have here?” one of the men asked.

 

Little Joe kicked out at nothing again as the man holding him answered. “We found him over there, tied to a tree.”

 

“I see. You wouldn’t happen to be on of Ben Cartwright’s sons, would you?” At Little Joe’s nod, the man answered, “I thought as much. All right kid; let’s go find your father.”

 

“He ain’t home,” Joe said as the man took his hand away from Joe’s mouth.

 

The leader turned to him. “What do you mean, he isn’t home?” The man angrily turned away for a few seconds, then looked back at Joe. “Well, what about your brothers?”

 

“What do you want with-”

 

“Just answer me,” he snapped.

 

Joe was somewhat frightened at the tone of voice the man had used, and so he hesitantly answered, “Yeah, they’re back of the barn.”

 

“Okay, call for them.”

 

Joe stared puzzled for a few seconds, then timidly called out, “Adam, Hoss?”

 

The man frowned. “I’m sure you can do better than that, kid.” He reached out towards Little Joe.

 

“No, don’t hurt me! Adam! Hoss! Adam, help! Help!” Joe yelled.

 

“That’s better.” The man raised his gun into the air and fired a few shots.

 

Adam and Hoss had started back when they heard Joe’s yells, but then broke into a run as they heard the gunshots. They raced around the side of the barn, fearful for the safety of their little brother. Hoss came around the corner first, followed closely by Adam.

 

“Hold it!” one of the men yelled. The men had drawn their guns. Hoss and Adam stopped where they were, a few yards away from the men.

 

“Adam, I’m sorry! They made me yell.” Joe looked near to tears as he struggled in the man’s arms.

 

“Little Joe, it’s okay, calm down,” Adam said.

 

One of the men, the leader of the group, gestured at the man holding Joe. “Let him go,” he said.

 

The man holding Joe leaned forward and set him on the ground. Little Joe quickly ran forward to Adam and threw himself into his arms. Adam picked up the child and held him, frowning as he felt Joe trembling.

 

“All right, get inside,” the leader commanded.

 

Adam and Hoss turned and walked into the house, followed closely by the five men. Once they were in, two of the men started searching the house.

 

“Over there.” The leader pushed Hoss towards the settee. Adam followed, still holding Little Joe. The man stood in front of them as they sat down. “Alright, I want some answers.” He pointed at Joe. “The kid tells me your father’s out of town. When will-“

 

The man was cut off as Hop Sing came out of the kitchen, followed by one of the gunmen. Hop Sing was yelling loudly in Chinese. “Shut up!” the man yelled.

 

After Hop Sing became quiet, the leader asked, “Who are you?”

 

“Hop Sing. I cook and clean house.” Hop Sing started yelling again, and gesturing angrily at the man behind him.

 

“Hey, hey! Enough!” the man yelled. “Look, how about you just go cook something for us? Hank.” One of the men came forward. “Hank’ll keep you company.”

 

“Hop Sing don’t like people watchin’ him when he cooks,” piped up Hoss.

 

The man looked at him. “Too bad,” he answered. He gestured towards Hank, and then he and Hop Sing went back into the kitchen. The man turned back to the three Cartwrights. “Back to my question. When will your old man be home?”

 

Adam glanced down at Little Joe’s head before answering. “Tomorrow. He’ll be getting in on the late morning stage, and then he should be home around 3.”

 

Hoss looked up at Adam with large questioning eyes, but after a quick frown from Adam, he looked away. The man had turned and was pacing around the room.

 

“What do you want with our father?” Adam asked. The man turned and looked back at them.

 

“I owe him a favor,” he answered. Adam felt Hoss shudder sitting next to him, and suppressed a shudder of his own. He felt Joe’s hands clench his shirt tighter. The man walked over to them. His whole demeanor had changed. His eyes were now cold and narrowed. His face showed pure hatred as he leaned close to the boys. “Your father destroyed my life. He sent my two sons to the hangman. I warned him not to testify or he would regret it. He didn’t listen to me. Now he’s going to wish he had.” The man reached out and put his hand on Little Joe’s head. Little Joe turned his face into Adam’s shirt as Adam held him tighter. The man half-smiled. “Don’t worry; I’m not going to hurt any of you.” He dropped his hand. “You’re just kids. You have nothing to do with what your father did to me.” The man turned and then walked away to give orders to his men.

 

Adam looked down as Little Joe pressed his head tighter into Adam’s chest. “Joe?” Adam whispered. As the boy looked up Adam could see tears streaming down his face.

 

“Adam, they’re gonna hurt Pa. I’m scared,” Joe whispered.

 

“Shh, Joe. It’ll be okay.”

 

“Adam?” Hoss whispered.

 

“What, Hoss?”

 

Hoss looked around before quietly whispering, “What’s Pa gonna do when we don’t meet him in town?”

 

Adam looked at the men. The leader was still talking to three of the men. He turned back to Hoss. “Hopefully know something is wrong,” he whispered.

 

~*~-^-~*~

 

It was dark outside. Everyone had finished eating a few hours ago, and one of the men had been posted outside the house. After they had eaten, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe had been sent upstairs into Adam’s room with a guard posted outside.

 

“Here.” Adam handed Joe one of his shirts to sleep in.

 

“Thanks, Adam.” Joe said as he pulled it over his head.

 

“Adam, why do you think they sent us all in here?” Hoss asked.

 

Adam shrugged. “I don’t know, Hoss. Probably easier to watch us.” Adam turned to Joe. “You,” Adam scooped Joe off the bed and set him on the ground. “Had better go wash up. There’s water in that pitcher.” Little Joe started to protest, but then frowned and sighed.

 

He turned and walked, grumbling, to the nightstand on the other side of the room.

 

Adam turned to Hoss and as soon as Joe was out of earshot, whispered, “We’re going to take turns staying up tonight. You want the first watch or the second?”

 

Hoss swallowed. “I’ll take the first. But Adam, you don’t suppose they’d do anything… do you?”

 

Adam watched as Joe finished splashing water onto his face and started to dry off. “I don’t know. I’d rather not be taken by surprise, though. If something happens run. Try to get away and get help.” Little Joe walked back to the bed, and Adam looked down at him. “Come on, into bed.” He flipped back the covers of his bed and let Joe scramble in. He didn’t want Joe to know how much danger they were in. Or could be in. He had no idea what these men were planning, but if they wanted to kill Ben they might have no problem with killing his sons as well. Joe was just so little. If he knew how serious the situation was, he might panic.

 

~*~-^-~*~

 

The next morning the boys were herded downstairs by two of the gunmen.

 

“Well, good morning,” the leader said.

 

Adam looked at the clock. “More like afternoon, isn’t it?” he replied.

 

The man half smiled, then said, “Sit.” He pointed to the living room. The three boys walked in and sat down on the settee. One of the men stood over them, guarding them. After awhile, Adam looked at the clock. The stage was supposed to be in around 9. It was now 12:30. Adam looked back at the man standing over them. He was watching them too closely for them to try and make a break. A few minutes passed, and Adam glanced back again. 12:40. The leader of the gunmen walked over. “I see you keep checking the clock. What time did you say your father would be here?” He waited for Adam to answer. When there was no reply, he shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll be ready for him.” He turned towards his men. “Tie them up.”

 

Three of the men walked forward and yanked the boys from the settee and started dragging them into the dining room. Hoss tried pulling away from the man holding him, but he couldn’t. The man had too firm a grip on his arm. Adam watched him, frowning. Hoss couldn’t get away. Adam probably could; but there was no way he would leave his brothers. They were pushed into chairs at the table, and the men started tying them up. One of the men sat Little Joe in a chair next to Adam. Little Joe started struggling and yelling as the man tried to tie his wrists.

 

“Little Joe, stop! Just do as they say! Joe!” Adam frowned as the man finished binding his hands and feet, then moved to help the other man tie his brother to the chair. “Joe, please!” Adam looked at the leader of the men, who had been talking to the last man but now turned towards Little Joe, irritated. He walked forward quickly and grabbed the boy’s arms and picked him up, and then shook him roughly.

 

“Shut up! Now!” he yelled.

 

But Little Joe kept struggling. “No! No, let go!” He started to cry.

 

“Stop it right now unless you want a reason to cry!” The man dropped him back onto the chair and turned to go. Suddenly he stopped, and then slowly turned. Little Joe’s feet were in front of the chair now, but just seconds ago they had made contact with the back of the man’s leg. The man leaned over him and stared down at him. “What do you think you were doing?” Joe looked down. The man backhanded him, and then pulled him off the chair and pushed him towards one of the other men. “Take him outside and give him a tanning.”

 

Joe tried to pull away as he was dragged to the door. He was crying. “No! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me!”

 

Adam pulled against the ropes that bound his hands to the chair. “No, don’t do this! Please!”

 

The leader of the group stood in front of Adam as the front door shut behind Joe and the man. “He asked for it,” he said.

 

Adam felt tears of anger forming in his eyes. “He’s just a kid! He didn’t know what he was doing!”

 

The man shrugged and walked away.

 

Adam dropped his head. Why hadn’t Joe listened?! This was Adam’s fault. He should have told him that they were in serious danger. He might have been upset, but maybe then this wouldn’t have happened.

 

~*~-^-~*~

 

Hoss squirmed in the chair again. “Adam?” Adam looked at him. “Adam, it’s been…”

 

Adam clenched his fists. “I know.”

 

“Do…you don’t think…”

 

The front door opened and Adam and Hoss heard someone come in. The man who had taken Joe outside walked around the corner. Adam heard Hoss gasp at the same time he did. He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. The man had blood on the front of his shirt and on his face.

 

“Les! Les!” the man called.

 

The leader of the men came out of the kitchen. “I told you not to use my na- what happened!”

 

The man shook his head. “He got away. I-I don’t know what happened…”

 

Adam felt a wave of relief wash over him as he suddenly realized the blood on the man’s clothing was his own, and not Little Joe’s.

 

“Well, tell me what you know,” the man named Les said.

 

“Well, I pushed the kid into the barn, and next thing I know, I woke up.”

 

Les groaned angrily. “Come on, we’ve got to catch that kid.” He walked into the kitchen, followed by the man with the bloody nose.

 

“Adam,” Hoss whispered. “The booby trap; Joe must have set it off.”

 

“What booby trap?”

 

“Um…well, Little Joe and I set a booby trap in the barn. A bag of grain hung on a rope that swings down when someone walks through the door.”

 

For a split second Adam was irritated as he thought of the irresponsibility of his brothers; but then he stopped himself. He smiled at Hoss. “Well, for once yours and Joe’s crazy ideas worked for the best.” He shook his head. “Way to go, Little Joe,” he whispered.

 

~*~-^-~*~

 

Little Joe pushed himself up from the ground and kept running, his knee bleeding through his ripped pants. He had never been so scared in his entire life. When the man had taken him out to the barn, he had triggered the booby trap without really thinking. It worked, just like Hoss said it would. Only the man didn’t get up. Joe tried nudging him and hitting him, but he didn’t move. Afraid that he had killed him, Little Joe had started to hide in a pile of hay when the man groaned. Joe had been relieved to know he hadn’t killed him. He had slipped out of the barn and started running. He was going to warn Pa that there were men at home with Adam and Hoss who wanted to hurt him. For a couple of seconds, Joe had thought about going back and trying to help his brothers, but then he realized he would probably be in a lot of trouble if he went back so he had kept running.

 

Little Joe’s foot caught on another branch, and he tripped and fell again. He slowly sat up, brushing the dirt off of his skinned hands and trying to catch his breath.

 

~*~-^-~*~

 

Ben rode quickly, carefully scanning the trees as he went. He was almost to the house now. Just a couple more miles. He knew that there were a good number of men behind him; neighbors and friends he had rounded up in case there was trouble at home. When the boys didn’t meet him in town, he figured either that there was trouble, or someone was ill. Pushing Buck as fast as he dared, he rounded the turn. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. Quickly, he reined in the horse and jumped off. Tossing the reins at a bush, he dropped to his knees in front of his youngest son, who was sitting, gasping, on the ground. “Joseph! What happened? Are you all right?” He wrapped his arms around Little Joe and held him tightly.

 

Joe threw his arms around his Pa’s neck. “Pa…Pa…it’s you!” he gasped. “Men…want to hurt…you…”

 

Ben reached behind him and pulled his canteen off his saddle. “Here, drink this.” He held the water to Joe’s mouth.

 

Little Joe drank thirstily, and then pushed it away. “Pa…they want…to hurt you…they’re at the house.”

 

“Who, Joe?”

 

Joe shook his head. “I don’t know. They never said their names.”

 

“Joe, are your brothers all right?”

 

Little Joe nodded. Suddenly the sound of a horse running came from behind Joe. Ben watched as Joe’s expression changed to fear.

 

Ben stood up and quickly pushed his son behind him. He pulled out his gun, and stood waiting for the rider to come into sight. A horse pulled up in front of him, and the rider jumped to the ground. It was no one that Ben had ever seen before. “Drop your gun,” yelled Ben.

 

The man slowly reached down to get his gun, and then suddenly jerked it up with the intent to fire on Ben. There were three gunshots…and then the man fell to the ground. Behind Ben, a handful of men rode up. Roy Coffee jumped off his horse and knelt down next to the fallen man. “Dead,” he muttered.

 

“What happened?” asked Doc Martin.

 

“He pulled his gun on me,” replied Ben. “I have no idea who he is.” He looked down at Joe, who was clinging to his pants leg. “Joseph?” Little Joe looked up at him. “Was this one of the men?” Little Joe nodded.

 

“How many are there?” asked Ben.

 

“Five,” Joe answered, but then he glanced down. “Well…four now.”

 

Ben immediately felt guilty. His child shouldn’t have had to witness that. He reached down and ran his hand through his son’s curly hair. Joe looked up at him and sadly smiled. “It’s okay, Pa,” Little Joe whispered. Ben swallowed the lump in his throat, then gathered the men together and started to form a plan.

 

~*~-^-~*~

 

The front door slowly opened, and two men slipped inside. Quietly, they waited until they were sure no one had heard them. Ben and Roy quickly moved into the dining room where Adam and Hoss were still tied to the chairs.

 

Hoss’ eyes grew wide when he saw them, and he looked over at Adam. Adam met his gaze and nodded. Ben slipped behind Adam’s chair and quickly cut him loose, while Roy did the same with Hoss. The voices of the intruders could be heard from the kitchen. They were arguing. Ben pulled Adam up, and then ushered him and Hoss to the door. “Wait outside,” he whispered.

 

Adam frowned and opened his mouth to argue, but then after a glance at Hoss, nodded and slipped outside. After they had gotten a few yards from the house, there was a low whistle from a clump of bushes. Adam grabbed Hoss’ arm, and they quickly dove behind the bushes. Adam suddenly found small arms wrapped around his neck, and he smiled at the familiar embrace. “Hey buddy,” he whispered. Adam looked up from Little Joe to find Paul Martin in front of him. Paul waved his hand, and several men slipped from the surrounding bushes towards the house.

 

Paul looked at Adam and Hoss. “Are you boys all right?” he asked.

 

Adam nodded as Hoss replied, “Yeah, we’re okay.”

 

Inside the house, the rest of the men had slipped inside and stationed themselves in various parts of the house. Ben looked around to make sure everyone was all set, and then he took a deep breath and took out his gun. “All right, you four men come out in the open. Now! You’re surrounded!”

 

Suddenly there was silence in the kitchen, and then a few minutes later four men walked around the corner. They had their hands up. Some of the men who had come with Ben quickly walked forward and took their guns.

 

One of the men glared at Ben. “You…I was going to kill you for what you did to me! I should have killed your sons instead!”

 

 

Ben put his gun back in his holster and took a couple steps forward. “Lester Colson…? But…that was three years ago. Your sons committed a crime. I wasn’t going to lie to let them go free!”

 

Lester angrily tried to pull away from the man who had tied his wrists. “I’ll get you, Cartwright. Someday, I’ll get out of prison, and I’ll get you!”

 

Roy Coffee snorted. “Oh no you won’t. You’re wanted for robbery and murder, aren’t you?” Lester stared angrily at the ground. “You’ll be lucky to get life imprisonment.” Roy looked up at Ben. “I guess we’ll take them to jail and contact the authorities.”

 

~*~-^-~*~

 

Ben had invited the men who had come from town to stay for dinner. Some of them declined, needing to get back to their homes and businesses, so just a few men had stayed. After a delicious dinner, they had all moved into the living room and were exchanging tales and stories of the old days.

 

Ben got up. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back.” The men nodded as Ben went into the kitchen to find Hoss, who had been absent for awhile.

 

Adam looked down at his littlest brother, whose eyes were hardly open. He laughed as he bent down and scooped him off the settee. “Come on, buddy, it’s way past your bedtime.”

 

Little Joe started to protest and weakly struggle in Adam’s arms. “I’m not tired, Adam. I’m not!” He started to cry in frustration as Adam carried him away from the party and up the stairs into his room.

 

Adam set him down on his bed and started to pull his clothes off, ignoring the tired protests and tears. He grabbed Little Joe’s pajamas out of his drawer, and then helped Joe pull them over his head. “You had a big day today.”

 

Joe put his arms through the sleeves and then wiped away the tears with the back of his hand. “I guess. I’m sorry, Adam.”

 

Adam looked at him, puzzled. “Why?”

 

Joe shrugged. “Well, I didn’t do what you told me. You always say to do what you say without asking, if it’s an emergency, and I didn’t.”

 

Adam shook his head as he pulled back the covers. “I know, but it worked out all right.”

 

Joe climbed under the covers. “Hi, Pa,” he said sleepily.

 

Adam turned as Ben came into the room behind them.

 

“Well, you look all ready to go to bed,” Ben said.

 

Joe frowned. “I’m not. Adam made me…” He was interrupted by a yawn.

 

Ben tucked the covers around him. “Well, Adam’s right.”

 

“You should have seen him, Pa,” Little Joe whispered sleepily. “He wasn’t scared at all. I wasn’t good; but Adam was brave. He knew what to do.”

 

Adam leaned over him and brushed the curly hair off of his forehead. “Hey buddy, that’s not true. You were very brave, and I’ve never been more proud of you.”

 

Little Joe’s eyes closed as a smile lit his face. “Adam…” He drifted into sleep.

 

Ben and Adam watched him for a few minutes, and then Adam looked up at Ben. “That was the truth, you know.”

 

Ben smiled and nodded, and then patted Adam on the shoulder. “I know.”

 

The End