SUMMARY:  The family had waited a long time for Adam to come home, but when he was there, not all went as planned or as Ben had hoped.

rating = T  word count = 2521

The Storm

The wait had been interminable it seemed, and then suddenly he was there. A little gray in the hair, a little heavier than when he left, but the smile was the same. Adam Cartwright dismounted from his horse outside the house and Joe was the first to greet him. There had been several hands ready to intervene if the man in black wearing the pistol rig low had been a threat, but Joe’s response surprised them all. Not one of them would have guessed this was the long missing eldest son. Hoss and Ben were soon outside too greeting Adam. For the next few days, his father and brothers who wanted to catch up on all that they had missed in the years he had been gone dominated Adam’s time. He had sent letters and occasionally souvenirs, but that certainly wasn’t the same as having him there telling stories. Hoss and Joe of course had some stories to tell as well.

On Sunday morning, Ben wanted Adam to accompany the family to church services. However Adam didn’t agree with him on that plan.

“If I go with you, there will be questions and attention and very little of that will be related to the church service. I will do far better to honor the Lord by staying home. Perhaps in a few weeks when the news isn’t so new and curiosity not so intense, I will go with you.”

“Adam, I’m sure people could control their curiosity enough to spend an hour and a half inside a church hearing God’s word and praising Him.”

The snickers from his younger sons and Adam’s arched eyebrow made him relent. He knew he was fighting on the losing side in this one.

“All right, but next week, I would like us to attend as a family.”

Ignoring that, Adam looked up at the clouds over the mountains. “Be careful, Pa. It looks like rain, and remember what Hoss said about that this morning.”

“Yeah, Pa, we better think on spending the rest of the day in town. I don’t rightly know ifn we kin make it back if that storm hits. It looks like a right bad one.”

“Hoss, dark clouds over the mountains do not always mean a bad storm.”

“I don’t know, Pa. Adam may be right. Hoss has predicted the weather better than anyone ever since he had Toby here at the house.” Giggling, Joe made sure to out of Hoss’ reach before he said anything more. “Maybe that dog taught him something. He was smarter than Hoss or Obie ever was.”

Hoss took off after Joe who swung up onto Cochise and raced from the yard as Hoss grabbed Chub’s reins. Ben shook his head as he watched his sons. Adam chuckled.

“Well, Pa, looks like you won’t have any trouble getting those two to church on time.”

Ben rolled his eyes in mock disgust before turning in all seriousness to Adam. “Now most of the hands are up in the high pastures bringing the herds down for the winter. Hop Sing is In town until Monday. If that storm hits, you’re going to have to secure things here on your own.”

“Maybe I’ll get started on that right now. It does look like it could be that big storm Hoss is predicting.”

“Yes, I have a feeling he may be right too.”

“Your arthritis?”

Frowning at his son for bringing that up, Ben ignored the comment. “You take care, and we’ll be home as soon as we can.” Taking a good look at his son, Ben had a suggestion too. “And shave.”

“I was thinking of a nice long bath and a shave so, yes, I think I will do that after I get things shipshape around here.” He saluted his father then with a cheeky grin to accompany the saucy retort.

“I missed you son, but not that part of you.” Except Ben had missed that part too. He grinned as he rode after his younger sons having left Adam wondering again. He did like doing that to him.

For the next few hours, Adam made sure that all necessary tasks were done. He didn’t want to have to rush around when a storm arrived. The chickens were securely inside their coop and that the door was securely latched. He fed the pigs and made sure they had dry bedding too. In the stable, he mucked out all the stalls and watered and fed the stock there. He guessed he was going to very much enjoy that bath when he finally got to it. Bringing in firewood was the last task and quickly done. Then he heated water and got his bath ready. He’s only been soaking a short time when he heard the first rumbles of thunder and then the sounds of strong winds blowing were there in a short time. When he got out of the tub, he took a look out the front door before he shaved. What he saw meant that shaving was going to be delayed. A large branch protruded from the stable roof. With the winds that were picking up, the damage was only going to get worse.

Running to the stable, he looked inside to see that not much of the branch was inside yet. However with the wind blowing so strongly, it would work that branch back and forth and tear the roof to pieces. If he could remove it now, he had a good chance to pull it away from the roof to prevent further damage, but only if he could get a rope on it. There was a ladder in the stable because the ladder steps to the hayloft had been removed because they were going to be replaced. He had heard his father complaining about that only a day earlier to Joe because he hadn’t yet put new boards where those rotten ones had been. However that worked out well for him because the ladder was right there instead of high up on the wall of the storehouse. He carried it to the side of the stable after securing the stable doors against the wind and the rain that was sure to follow. Propping the ladder up against the stable wall out of the wind, he climbed as high as he thought was safe, tied a rope to the branch, and tugged. It wouldn’t move. He moved a bit higher on the ladder and got more leverage on the branch moving it slightly. Moving even higher, he was able to move the branch even more but knew what he had to do.

“Damn, I’m going to have to climb on this damn roof and push that damn branch off this damn roof once I pull it out of that damn hole. Sorry, Lord, but I think the Old Deluder had more to do with this than you. However, if it please you, Lord, I wouldn’t mind you keeping me from falling off this roof while I do this good deed.”

It worked. Being careful of the slippery wooden shingles, Adam worked his way onto the roof laying flat on his belly to keep the wind from knocking him from his perch. From that position, he was able to use his leverage to rope the branch to pull it up from the hole it had made and then push it from the roof. Unfortunately as it fell, the rope snagged the ladder taking it down with the branch. The roof was safe, but Adam wasn’t.

“Lord, I have to tell you, if that was a little smack at me for not going to church services, I think You may have overdone it. I already had that message.”

Looking around, Adam thought about his options. They weren’t good. The drop to the ground was about twenty feet with the branch and the ladder in his way. He was going to get hurt if he tried it. Staying on the roof until rescue came was probably worse as he would be chilled and battered by the wind as well as exposed to lightning. He looked to where the branch had been and slid up to the hole. The hayloft was beneath him. It was only a ten-foot drop into the hay. No injury there as long as he was exceedingly careful going over the jagged edge of the hole that was barely big enough for him to fit through. That wasn’t going to be easy in the strong winds, but he was highly motivated. He forced himself to work slowly and deliberately even though the rain started to pelt him as he moved.

The drop didn’t go as well as he hoped. Not only did he get some nasty scratches as the jagged edges of the opening tore at his shirt, but he landed badly. Although he aimed to land on hay, his left leg hit the floor of the hayloft directly causing his left foot and ankle to protest vehemently against the sudden stop. He let loose with some words he had learned over the years to which his father would have objected strenuously. However, it did let him vent his frustration. When he was done, he hobbled over to where the steps down to the floor of the stable used to be and remembered that they had been removed. There was at least a ten-foot drop to a hard-packed dirt floor. He knew his left foot and ankle couldn’t take the jump and trying to land on one leg was going to leave him completely hobbled. After checking to make sure none of his cuts and scrapes was serious, he sat down on the hay and considered his options.

The next morning, Ben and his younger sons arrived home about ten. The roads were still muddy and the yard at the ranch was full of puddles. They headed into the house expecting that there would at least be coffee, but they found nothing. There was no sign that Adam was even out of bed yet. The stove was cold and the fireplace looked to be about the same.

“Pa, mebbe I ought to head on upstairs to make sure ole Adam is all right. It ain’t like him ta sleep in like this.”

Ben was not in a good mood. “Yes, Hoss, you better do that, and tell him to get himself down here right now. We do not sleep until midmorning on a workday.”

Turning then, Ben headed outside with Joe following in his wake. Joe looked back at Hoss who shrugged. As Ben walked across the yard, he noticed the large branch lying next to the stable, the ladder beside it, and the hole in the stable roof.

“Now, there’s an even better reason he should be out of bed.”

Except at that point, Hoss yelled from the upstairs bedroom window. “Pa, Adam’s bed don’t look like it’s been used. There’s clean clothes laying on it like yesterday, and it don’t look like he ever put ’em on.”

“What?”

Adam wasn’t in the house, so the next obvious place to look was the stable. Hoss joined them and looked, but Adam didn’t appear to be there either. However as soon as they started talking, Adam called to them.

“Hey, it’s about time you got home.”

“Older brother, what are you doing up there?”

“Joe, I wouldn’t be up here if you had fixed those steps.”

“Why didn’t you just jump down here? It’s not that far.”

“Well, that’s a longer story. Could you just go get the ladder so I can get down from here?”

“Son, how did you get up there if the ladder is outside?”

They saw the hole in the roof, had seen the branch and ladder outside, and then they all knew. If he had been seriously hurt, they might have been more concerned, but he wasn’t, so they weren’t. Even Ben had to laugh with Hoss and Joe.

“Older brother, ya done fell through the roof into the hay loft, and ya ben there since yesterday?”

“Yes, so if you could please stop laughing long enough to get the ladder, I’m hungry and thirsty, and I could use a bath and some clean clothes. It’s itchy trying to sleep with only hay to keep you warm.”

“Son, you could still use that shave too.”

“And the ladder, please?”

It was too good to let go that easily though. Joe had an idea.

“I think we should draw straws to see who goes to get the ladder. The other two can stay here and enjoy our esteemed older brother’s predicament.”

“Joseph, go get the ladder.”

“Joe, I think ya jest lost.”

“Yes, Pa, I’ll go get that ladder. Right now, Pa.”

“Yes, especially as it is your fault that he’s stranded up there. I believe I reminded you a number of times to replace those steps.”

“Yes, Pa, I’m going to get that ladder.”

If Adam thought he was going to get off without a scolding, he was wrong.

“And you, climbing on a roof in a storm all alone. What were you thinking?”

Except of course by then, Joe was back with the ladder and when Adam limped to the ladder and down, Ben’s stern reproach died in his throat. “You’re hurt. Hoss, here, help him. Adam, what happened? How did you get the cuts and scrapes like that?”

“The hole in the roof was jagged and I had no way to do anything about that. None of them are serious.”

“They’ll need to be cleaned and bandaged properly though. Why are you limping?”

“When I dropped into the hay, it wasn’t spread evenly and my left leg hit the floor up there rather hard. I’m sure it’s just a sprain.”

Glowering at Joe, Ben let everyone know who had neglected to spread out the hay in the loft. It needed to be spread out so that it stayed dry and was easier to fork down for the stock. Now some of it was wet and would need to be spread out even more. Staring at Joe, Ben waited.

“Ah, Pa, while you and Hoss get Adam to the house, I’ll go clean up that wet hay up there.” Ben continued to glower. “And I’ll get some help and we’ll fix that hole in the roof of the stable too.” Clearly that wasn’t enough. “Oh, I’ll take care of those new steps to the hay loft too, Pa. You can count on me, Pa. I’ll get that all done.” Ben waited for more. “Oh, I’ll saw up that tree branch too and clear that out. Is there anything more you want done, Pa?”

Hoss was already helping a limping Adam to walk to the house. Ben hurried to catch up to them before he started chuckling. Gosh, being a father to these three could be fun sometimes.

Tags:  Adam Cartwright, Ben Cartwright, Hoss Cartwright, Joe / Little Joe Cartwright