Summary:   This story is in response to November’s Chaps and Spurs Challenge.

Joe on the high seas.  Word Count: 546  Rated: K

                                                                     Captain Joe

Author’s Chapter Notes:

This story is in response to November’s Chaps and Spurs Challenge. The words this month are:

• Surrender
• Prisoner
• Iron
• Pirate
• Confederate

Captain Joe

“I’ll never surrender!” shouted ten-year-old Joe Cartwright. “I’ll never give up. I’m Captain Joe, and you’ll never take me prisoner. This is my ship, The Black Pearl, and I’ll defend her to the end if I have ta.”

Jumping from hay bale to hay bale, the boy swung his wooden sword, slashing through the air at his invisible enemies; enemies that kept advancing on the young swashbuckler as he strove to defend his ship and treasures.

Joe’s father, Ben Cartwright, leaned against the barn door while he watched his son; an amused smile graced his face. He never knew what Joe would be next. Last week he was a Calvary officer defending the west; the week before that he was a sheriff going after the bad guys. Now this week he was Captain Joe, sailing the South Seas.

Joe fell from a bale and rolled to his feet in order to avoid the heavy, iron blade that the Commandant of the foreign fleet brandished in his direction.

“Ha! Nice try, but you’ll never take a member of the conde—condef—confedieate of pirates.”

Laughter from the direction of the barn door stopped Joe in mid swing.

“Hi ya, Pa,” he said with a smile that in a few years would cause shivers of delight in every girl it was bestowed upon.

“Hi yourself, Son,” Joe’s father answered in a warm voice. “Where on earth did you hear the word confederate?”

“From Adam. It’s one of them  fancy words he learnt in college.”

“Do you know what it means?” Ben asked, highly doubting that his youngest son would know it.

“Oh yes, Sir!” Joe exclaimed with a proud smile. “I asked Adam, and he said it was a group of people united together for the same thing. I figured that if all the pirates were united they’d be stronger.”

The older man ruffled his son’s curly hair. “It’s nice to hear that you actually listen to your brother.”

“I listen to ever’one, Pa. I may not put much stock in it, but I always listen.”

Sitting down on a hay bale, Ben studied his son. We better watch what we say when he’s in hearing distance, or even just in the vicinity.

“You scamp.”

Laughing, Joe sat next to his father and suddenly turned serious. “Pa, can I ask ya a question?”

“You can always ask me questions, Joseph.”

“Is it true, well, I heard you and Adam talkin’ once, and, erm . . . Am I really related to Jean Lafitte?”

Grimacing, Ben closed his eyes for a moment before answering his son. “No, Little Joe, your eavesdropping wasn’t entirely accurate.” Ben gave his son a meaningful look indicating he wasn’t happy with the way his son obtained his information. “Your grandfather served under Lafitte until he was hung when he was 82 years-old.”

“Holy smoke, Pa! Wait’ll I tell Mitch, he’ll never believe me,” Joe exclaimed with excitement.

His brows drawn together in a frown, Ben looked into his son’s glowing face and couldn’t bring himself to correct him about the truths when it came to pirates. Let the boy have his fantasies.

“You can tell Mitch at school tomorrow. Right now Captain Joe needs to come in and wash up for dinner.”

“Awe, Pa!”

Chapter End Notes:

Many thanks to Cheaux as always for all her help on this.