Bonanza
~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~
* Day 10 *

Summary:  Something’s wrong and the fix comes from an unexpected source
Rating:  G
Words:  1,170

It was December 10 and the temperature in Virginia City was an unseasonable 55 F draining its citizens of energy. Business owners went about their tasks with diminished enthusiasm. Few shoppers trod the wooden boardwalks and those that did kept their heads down barely acknowledging each other. Store windows offered meager holiday inspiration or enticements. Even the saloons were strangely quiet.

The general malaise that blanketed the town instead of snow extended across the Virginia Range over the Carson Valley, Washoe Lake and up into the Sierras to the Ponderosa Ranch where its inhabitants—having long ago completed winter preparations like repairing shelters, stocking line shacks, mending fences, stockpiling feed and bedding for the cattle—found themselves with little to do. Reluctant to delve into the private stash of projects, books, games and music they had been hoarding in anticipation of a long winter snowed in, the Cartwrights were at sixes and sevens. All except Joe who seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

***
As soon as Hoss heard hoof beats he opened the front door and stepped into the yard, waiting for the rider to dismount. “Well?”

“Deep subject.”

“Har de har har, Adam. Did you find him?”

“No, Hoss. I didn’t find him. If I had found him, he would be with me, wouldn’t he?”

“I wouldn’t,” Hoss mumbled, not in the mood you’re in lately.

Adam’s eyes narrowed. “Come again?”

“I wouldn’t be worried. He’ll be here.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“’Cause we had roast chicken last night for supper.”

At that, Adam put the back of his fingers to his brother’s forehead which Hoss quickly brushed away.

“Aw, cut it out. Hop Sing always makes mulligatawny soup the day after we have roast chicken and it’s Joe’s favorite. Bet he’s tearing up the road right now . . . Be here any minute . . . Wait and see . . . Any minute.”

“Or not,” growled Adam as he stomped into the house to apprise his father of Joe’s latest disappearing act. He wasn’t sure where he’d gone exactly, but missing a meal without notice was high on Hop Sing’s unforgivable list, if not Pa’s.

Inexplicably, the table was set for three and Pa did not seem concerned.

After hanging up his hat and coat and placing his gun belt on the credenza, he joined Hoss at the table. At that precise moment, Hop Sing placed a large tureen in front of Ben and lifted the lid.

“Dang! That smells great.” Hoss rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Is this all there is?”

“Have pot on back of stove for Little Joe. Plenty more for No. 2 son. You fill belly. Be only jolly Cartwright around here.”

“And where, may I ask, is my youngest brother? According to my new work list, he was to oversee moving the herd to the south pasture this morning. I was there. No cattle. No Joe.”

Ben folded the newspaper and placed it to his left. “He told me the herd didn’t need to be moved yet. Is that a problem for you?”

Hoss glanced side-eyed from Adam to Pa and back again, bent over his bowl and spooned the soup into his mouth as fast as he could.

“Adam, your brother is twenty years old and has spent his whole life on a cattle ranch. I think we can trust him to know when it’s time to move a herd. By the way, he left you a message.” Ben pointed to a folded note tucked between the salt and pepper shakers.

“He wants us to meet him at Saddle Rock after we eat. Something we need to see.”

Hoss raised his head and, noting the tension had passed, ladled more soup into his bowl.

***

The men rode single file up the winding trail to the top of the promontory which boasted a panoramic view of forest, valley floor and the flatlands beyond.

At one of the turns Hoss said, “There he is,” and called out, “Ooo-eee!”

Joe turned in his saddle and waived before resuming his gaze eastward. One by one they joined him and waited patiently until Ben finally asked, “What are we doing here, Joseph?”

“Looking over the woodlands brown and bare. See that stand over there?” They followed where his hand pointed. “Half those pines and conifers are dead or dying. It’s December and we’ve only had one inch of snow so far. Last year we only got two. No snow pack, no snow melt. No snow melt, the rivers stop flowing, the water table drops, and drought in the flatlands follows.”

Adam said, “Jason and Belle Ganther and…what was their daughter’s name?”

“Lindy,” Hoss said. “She was sweet on me until you came along.”

Joe laughed. “And that lasted all of five minutes until I showed up. She was a fickle young thing. All sugar one second and then spice the next when she dropped that hammer on my foot and burned my hands with the forge tongs.”

“It was all of us working together that did it,” Ben said. “Mr. Ganther with his unwavering belief the water was there, Hoss who came up with the auger, Adam who added the piping, Joe the walking beam—”

“—and Pa’s idea to build a windmill to pump the water out,” Adam finished. “Definitely a team effort.”

“That’s kinda what I wanted to talk you all about. Nothing against your work list, Adam, but isn’t moving the herd when there’s still plenty of grass where they are…isn’t that just—”

“—busy work?”

“Yeah. Shouldn’t we be working on more practical tasks?”

“What did you have in mind, Joe?” Ben asked.

Joe turned Cochise to face the others. “In this warm weather the rivers and lakes won’t freeze. Where are we going to get ice for the root cellar? We don’t have a lot left.”

Hoss asked, “What about the ice fields in the high country?”

“It’s hard work and would take a lot of men—more than we have on payroll at present,” Adam said.

“What if we teamed up with folks in Virginia City? They’ll be needing even more ice than we will.”

“That is good thinking, Joseph. Tomorrow is Sunday. Why don’t we propose the idea at church?”

***

The good townspeople of Virginia City were on board with the project. While teams of men ventured into the high country to cut blocks for the ice houses on Sun Mountain, other ranches worked together with the Ponderosa to fill their own root cellars. Whether it was the joint activity or the colder temperatures in the mountains, the workers’ spirits were elevated. People smiled more. Women started community projects like making quilts for the orphanage, holding a clothing drive for the needy, and baking for shut-ins.

At last, the Christmas spirit had returned to the Comstock.

The End

My phrase:  “Over the woodlands brown and bare.” from Snow-flakes by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
My character: Joe

The Ganthers appeared in the third season episode “The Gift of Water.”

Link to Bonanza Brand 2023 Advent Calendar – Day 11 – The Perfect Christmas by Puppycuddles