Summary: This is a prequel in which Little Joe has a daring adventure that becomes a scary ordeal for his family. Hopefully, this will be the first in a series of stories featuring the pine tree, and each will be separated by several years for the family.
Rating: PG  Word count: 3,212

Pine Tree series
Pine Tree (by BettyHT)
Pine Tree Challenge (by BettyHT)
Pine Tree Loss and Gains (by BettyHT)

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Pine Tree

Ten-year-old Hoss Cartwright wasn’t sure what made him more afraid. His little brother might be lost and possibly hurt. That might be considered at least partially his fault. After all, he was the one who had suggested that the four-year-old could play hide-and-seek with him. Now he was missing and had been for well over an hour, pretty close to two hours if Hoss was being completely honest with himself. He was scared about what had happened to his little brother because the longer it took to find him, the more he thought he must have fallen into some kind of dire straits.

However, doing all that searching had led Hoss to get all sweaty and that meant the dust he stirred up had melded into a fine mess of sticky dirt all over any visible area of him and all over his clothing. Quite a bit of that clothing was now dotted with small tears and snags. Some of the damage was camouflaged with dust though. The overall effect was bound to get a dramatic response from his stepmother who put neat clothing and personal cleanliness on a list of important preferences for her sons. She was going to be furious when she saw him.

Earlier that afternoon, his father had told him he was responsible to watch over his little brother. Instead, he had lost him. Making it worse, he had delayed telling his father because he had hoped to find him. That delay was likely going to make the whole situation worse in its outcome though, and his father was unlikely to be forgiving under the circumstances. He imagined his parents but mostly his father were going to have explosive reactions to his news.

Summoning his courage and facing his greatest fear which was that Little Joe was hurt and suffering alone somewhere, Hoss walked to the house to tell his father he had lost him. On the way inside, coming from another direction, his brother, Adam, joined him and asked why he looked sick, so he told him.

“You what?”

“I lost him. We were playing hide-and-seek, and I can’t find him.”

“How long since you last saw him?”

“More than an hour.”

“Damn!”

“Adam, you shouldn’t swear.”

Ignoring that entirely, Hoss could see Adam thinking of what to do.

“You go ahead and tell Pa. I’m going out to see how many of the men I can find and get a search going. Don’t worry too much. We’ll find him.”

The glimmer of hope Hoss had held that Adam might tell their father what had happened was gone. At least Adam offered hope. Hoss trudged into the house to tell the story and almost didn’t get to do it. Marie intercepted him and wanted him to go to the washroom first.

“But, Mama, I have to tell Pa something. It’s about Little Joe.”

“But what do you have to tell him? You must tell me.”

By then he had his father’s attention as well.

“Little Joe and I were playing hide-and-seek after lunch, and I lost him. I don’t know where he’s hiding.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Right when we first started playing. I never found him the first time.”

“Hoss, it’s nearly three. That means you’ve been looking for him for two hours. My God, son, why didn’t you tell us?”

“I, uh, thought I could find him.”

“Go find Adam and tell him to come in here, that is, if you can find him.”

“I already told Adam. He’s getting some of the men to start searching.”

“You told Adam before you told us?”

“Well, I run into him on the way into the house.”

Not understanding the resentment he heard from his father, Hoss went outside to help in the search. After nearly an hour, he was sent inside to check all the rooms and possible hiding places in each one. When all the possible spots were searched in the house, and outside, they were running out of places to search. Seeing his parents in the front yard of the house, Hoss decided to go out the back to avoid an immediate confrontation. There he thought he heard Little Joe’s laugh. It was muffled. Looking all around and not seeing his brother, Hoss went back inside to see where he could be hiding. He wasn’t there. So he came back outside and heard the laughing again. It was very soft like it was a distance away and maybe muffled. Puzzled, he looked all around and then heard it again. Standing very still, he realized the laugh was above him. He had searched the house thoroughly and knew Little Joe wasn’t in an upstairs bedroom. There was no window in the attic so the only place he could be put a chill in his heart. Slowly he raised his eyes and wished he had been wrong. Up at the top of the big pine tree, he spotted a color that could only be his little brother’s jacket. He was in a panic but managed to control himself. He spoke loud enough so that he could be heard.

“Well, now, I wonder where that little scamp could be.”

Hearing the laughter again, he shrugged his shoulders as if he was ignorant of his little brother’s whereabouts and trudged back into the house. As soon as he was inside, he raced to the front door and out to where his parents stood.

“Little Joe is at the top of the pine in back of the house. I hear him laughing. I saw him.”

“Why didn’t you get him down?”

As Marie turned to run to where her baby boy was in danger, Adam grabbed her arm. She was shocked by his action as was his father.

“Adam!”

“Pa, if she goes back there and calls to him, he’s going to want to climb down to her.”

In a pout, Marie was ready to slap her oldest stepson.

“Of course. It is what we all want. Let me go.”

Except Ben was nodding which made her concerned. Adam released her arm.

“I’m sorry. I was concerned for Little Joe. If you get him to start climbing down, he’ll fall.”

“Mon Dieu!”

“Marie, Adam is right. It is much easier to climb up than to climb down. As small as Little Joe is, that will be doubly true. He won’t be able to see where his feet are going. One wrong move, and he’ll fall.”

“But how will we get him down then?”

“Someone will have to climb up to get him.”

Ben looked at Adam who was nodding before Ben finished the sentence.

“Pa, you need to keep him distracted so he doesn’t notice me coming up. Marie can’t be back there. One hint of tears from her, and he’ll start trying to come down to her.”

“But he is my baby. I must be there.”

“Marie, again, Adam is right. If you want your baby to be safe, you must stay away. He loves you so much that one hint of a tear or worry from you, and he will start racing down that tree. He will fall.”

“No, no, that cannot happen.”

“It won’t if you do as we say. Right now he thinks this is funny. He won’t try to do anything until he thinks the game is over. You know how he likes to make people smile and laugh. If you want him safe, stay here until Adam has him. You can comeback there then and help get him to cooperate with his brother. It’s going to be hard enough for me to keep myself calm. I can’t keep you calm too. I know that. You and Hoss stay here for now. All right?”

With Marie’s agreement as well as Hoss’ reluctant acceptance of his role, Adam got ready to do what he needed to do. He sat down and took off his boots.

“Pa, once I have him, could you have some of the men get a blanket or two and get ready just in case.”

“Of course. I was already thinking of that. Now go before something happens. I’ll be there soon to keep his focus on me. You go around the side of the house and I’ll come out the back door and start talking a bit. I’ll mention some of what Hoss said he was doing so he’ll know I’m looking for him.”

A short time later, Ben stepped from the back door of the house. In his peripheral vision, he saw Adam at the corner of the house. Moving to the opposite side of the tree, he began his acting to allow Adam to get to the tree and begin his climb.

“Now Hoss said he heard that little scamp chuckling out here. Where could that little cowboy be hiding. I thought we looked everywhere. He may only be four but he’s as smart as a boy twice his age. He sure fooled Hoss and now everybody else who’s been looking for him. Now I guess I wouldn’t want to play hide-and-seek with him. I’m guessing he must be the best there is at that game.”

As soon as Ben said it, he realized he had probably said too much. He was right. It made Little Joe feel like a champion and therefore a little boy with nothing left to prove.

“Papa, I’m up here. I fooled you. I fooled Hoss. You didn’t see me.”

Immediately, Little Joe began to climb down the tree. He had enjoyed the game and watching the adults and his brothers scurrying all around looking for him. They had looked so small from where he was. But now the game was over and he was tired and getting a bit hungry and thirsty too. He had no idea there was any danger involved in what he wanted to do. Fear wasn’t something he usually considered when doing anything. Adam still had some distance to cover to get to him.

“No, Little Joe, don’t climb down. Adam is coming to get you so you don’t fall.”

“No, I do it myself.”

Little Joe’s confidence far exceeded his ability. It was a flaw that plagued him more than a few times in his life.

However, the sudden arrival of Marie and Hoss caused Little Joe to pause and allowed Adam to close the gap between him and his youngest brother.

“Mon fils, listen to your father. Your Mama begs you to wait for your brother.”

All of it was enough to slow the stubborn and determined little boy down but not enough. He slipped and began to fall. By luck and providence, Adam was close enough to make a grab for him and pull the little boy to him. The tree swayed, and Adam scraped his face against the trunk and a branch, but Little Joe was safe. He was also more agreeable to listen to orders because he was scared. Adam whispered to him that he had to wrap his arms around Adam’s neck but not too tight as Adam needed to breathe. Then slowly, Adam worked his way down the tree. There was unnecessary encouragement from his father and stepmother, but what drove Adam was the need to bring his little brother to safety. About twelve feet from the ground, a young slender ranch hand climbed up to meet him.

“Why don’t you hand him to me?”

“I can make it from here.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’ll hand him down to the next man who will hand him down to your father. Your work is done.”

Little Joe didn’t want to let go of his brother.

“Little Joe, Shorty will hand you down to the next man who will give you to Pa. You want to go to Pa and Mama, don’t you?”

Little Joe agreed to that.

“Then you have to let go of me and go to Shorty.”

Things worked well then as Shorty took Little Joe and handed him down to the next man who handed him to Ben. Once down on the ground and after getting numerous hugs, Little Joe’s bravado returned.

“Nobody could find me. I climbed that tree all by myself. I got down too before Adam did.”

By the time Adam got to the ground, Marie and Ben had taken Little Joe inside and Hoss had followed. With the excitement over, the men had returned to the bunkhouse. It was almost dinner time. Adam stood alone with a sore arm and shoulder, abraded hand and face, and hurt feelings. He was used to hiding all of those kinds of things. He went to the barn to finish his chores and arrived late for dinner because he worked slowly with that wrenched arm and shoulder.

Inside the house, Little Joe was having a great time reliving his adventure telling how he had watched those looking for him.

“It was funny. I tried not to laugh. When Hoss stood down there, I had to laugh. Then Papa stood there. They were right under me. They couldn’t see me. It was so funny.”

“I want you to know you are never to do anything like that again. You scared your Mama so much you made her cry.”

Turning to his mother, Little Joe took her hand and looked up to her eyes. With tears in his eyes, he was sincere in his responses.

“I did? I sorry, Mama. I never do that again.”

“Very good, Joseph. All is well again.”

With that, Ben knew he could not set a punishment for his youngest son. Hoss felt some relief too. If they did not punish Little Joe, then they would not punish him. At least that was his hope, and as they sat down to dinner later with no mention of any penalties for his actions, he began to believe his assumption had been correct. When Adam came to the table, things took a different turn though. Ben was frustrated at not being able to discipline his youngest son and by extension could not therefore discipline his middle son either.

“You’re late to dinner.”

“My arm is sore. It took longer to get my chores done.”

“Your arm wouldn’t be sore if you did a better job of watching over your brothers so they didn’t get into such dangerous situations.”

“I risked my life to save Little Joe.”

“Again, only through your own fault.”

“I was supposed to be working in the barn. Those were your orders. I couldn’t possibly watch over the two of them.”

“Don’t use that tone with me. You need to apologize now.”

“Sorry, sir. May I be excused. I’m not hungry. I would rather go to bed now.”

“Fine, go to bed without dinner.”

Furious, Adam was still smart enough not to escalate the situation by saying anything more. The injustice rankled though, and he would never forget. It was one of the curses of having an excellent memory as well as a sense of right and wrong second to no one. Silent, he walked stiff-legged to the stairs and up to his room.

Watching him go, Ben was already regretting his choices of words and wanted to take them all back. But with Adam, he was afraid if he did so, he would lose all ability to control his son. Little Joe did not understand the gravity of the situation.

“Papa, why you mad at Adam?”

“He should never have let you climb that tree.”

“He didn’t see me climb. Nobody did. I sneaky.”

“And never do that again.”

“I won’t. It makes Mama sad.”

With much of the conversation already there, Hoss was more willing to participate. Although he had been reluctant, that interchange between Little Joe and their father was enough to make him express his own thoughts.

“Pa, you was the one I asked if we could play hide-and-seek. I guess, by my reckoning, you would be the one should have been watching out for us. Adam was in the barn and didn’t even know where we were.”

By the time Hoss finished, Ben was fuming. Two sons had defied him at his own table. Marie put a hand on his hand on the table. She could feel him trembling as he fought to control his reaction.

“Sometimes one should remember that he has fathered sons and passed on his intelligence and character to them. They cannot do anything other than what they had done this day because they are your sons. If there is any blame for their actions, look to thy self. Would you fault them for bravery and honesty?”

“But at my own table.”

“They are growing up, Benjamin. I am afraid you may have to prepare yourself for more evenings like this.”

They sat still for a short time until a small voice interrupted.

“Papa, why is your face so red. Are you mad? I promise not to climb the tree again.”

“I am not mad. I am concerned about all my sons.”

Taking a deep breath trying to calm himself, Ben looked at Marie who was smiling. He couldn’t let her look so smug. Deciding to take charge of the situation, he called Hop Sing to come from the kitchen.

“Hop Sing, will you prepare a tray for Adam and take it to his room, please? He may be hungrier than he thought. Hoss, thank you for asking me your question in a respectful tone. You have given me some things to think about, but for now, eat your dinner, please.”

With a grin, Hoss took a mouthful of food.

“Yes, sir.”

“And don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Yes, sir.”

Even Marie had to smile at that as he answered the reprimand with his mouth full. Ben simply shook his head.

“Why do I feel outnumbered?”

“What does outnumbed mean?”

“It is outnumbered, and it means your brothers and your mother are all against me on this.”

“I’ll be on your side, Papa. Is it like a snowball fight? We can beat them. You’re bigger than any of them.”

“Son, I wish that was all that it took. Finish your dinner, please. When we are all done, I believe I have to go up to see Adam and eat some crow.”

“Papa, you don’t have to eat any crow. Hop Sing made apple pie. I saw it.”

“I meant I have to tell Adam I’m sorry for being mad.”

“About a crow?”

Hoss snorted and almost had milk come out of his nose.

“Marie?”

“Joseph, please eat your dinner as your father told you to do.”

With a small grin, the little boy complied. It had been fun teasing his father, but he didn’t want to make his mother unhappy. Ben saw that smile and knew. Three sons and all were so unique. No matter how challenging Adam could be with the communication difficulties they sometimes had and how sensitive and thoughtful his middle son was, Ben knew that learning how to parent his third son was likely to be the biggest test of all. He was smart. Even at four, almost five, that was apparent, but how he chose to use that intelligence was so different than his brothers.