The Trail Riders is a collection of authors who collaborate on a story. This particular story was written for the Round Robin Challenge, September 2019. The following authors participated (listed in alphabetical order): AC1830, AH83, BettyHT, Hart4Ben, Lizabeth, and Mo1427.
Summary – Little Joe, with Hoss as his partner, has come up with another scheme to make money, but this time it’s for a worthy cause. However, there are some who are not happy at all with his business plan. Will the Bride Train arrive on time or will it be derailed before it ever leaves the station?
Rating: G, Word Count: 7268
The Bride Train
The evening had been a relaxing one, although Ben couldn’t get over the feeling that something was going to make him regret spending his time reading while savoring two glasses of his finest brandy. The past week had been contentious as Joe had ensnared Hoss into yet another one of his schemes. While the plan had been meant to help, the results were certainly not expected. Ben did his best to stay out of it all, and Joe had assured him that everything was under control. Therefore, when Adam came home from San Francisco, Ben had implored him to convince his two younger brothers to go to the social in town and try to forget their frustrations over their apparently failed plan. Amused by it all, Adam had agreed, but now Ben worried if Adam was aware of all that had transpired while he was gone. Noise alerted him to his sons’ return, but apprehension grew rapidly when they came directly to the house instead of going to the barn to take care of their horses. Opening the door, he was met with a sight of bruises, abrasions, and cuts as well as the distinct odor of whiskey which he knew was not served at the dance. Two sons leaned on the third who stood in the middle of them looking contrite.
“Hey, Pa. You still up?” Hoss gave his father a nervous smile and tightened his grasp around Adam’s waist.
Ben grimaced and jerked his head toward the kitchen. It was obvious by the look on his face and his muffled groan that Adam was not in a good mood. Ben considered it a small blessing that his oldest was keeping his mouth shut and averting his gaze. Coming alongside, Ben relieved Hoss of the lesser of his burdens. Joe moaned loudly when his father slid under his arm and grabbed hold of his waist. Ben’s scowl grew deeper at the familiar smell of alcohol emanating from his youngest.
Once in the kitchen, Hoss kicked back two chairs and eased Adam into one of them. The big man removed his hat and mopped his brow. Despite his father’s best efforts, Joe landed with a bit of a thud in the other chair and then slumped over on to the table with his head resting on his arms. Ben went directly to the cupboard to retrieve the necessary supplies to clean and disinfect the cuts on his sons’ faces and hands.
Hearing the commotion, Hop SIng emerged from his room muttering and grumbling. He poked at the fire and began making a fresh pot of coffee. While the cook banged around the kitchen, Ben worked on Adam. However, after a few minutes of dabbing and wiping, Adam wordlessly pushed himself out of his seat and lurched toward the door to the dining room. Pausing momentarily to watch his oldest stagger away from his ministrations, Ben knew better than to say anything or go after Adam; so he turned his attention to Joe. Hoss peeked out the doorway to make sure Adam made it up the stairs.
Ben proceeded to work on Joe the best he could given his youngest was practically lying on the table. Whether unwilling or unable, Joe did not lift his head while his father worked.
“Come on, Shortshanks. Time for bed.” Hoss pulled Joe to his feet amid protests and then hoisted him over his shoulder. “Night, Pa.”
“Hoss? You are coming back down, aren’t you?” Ben needed information about what had happened to his sons in town.
“I’m beat. Gonna put little brother ta bed and then do the same. See ya in the mornin’.” Hoss’ voice faded as he lumbered out of the kitchen.
Ben slapped the rag he had been using on the table. “Thunderation!”
“You want coffee?” Hop Sing stood holding the big pot.
“What? Uh — no, thank you.” Ben heaved a big sigh.
Hop Sing set down the pot with a clang and muttered in Chinese as he huffed away.
~o~o~o~
It was no surprise to Ben that he was alone at the breakfast table only a few hours later. Not even the normally ravenous Hoss had showed his face.
“I’ve apparently raised a bunch of cowards,” Ben muttered.
Hop Sing was in a foul mood after being rousted in the middle of a good sleep for no reason the night before. Finding only one Cartwright present when he delivered a platter of steaming food to the table did not help his disposition. Ben did his best to ignore the cook’s complaints. He ate quickly and headed for town with plans to attend church and speak with Roy Coffee. Ben thought he might then be able to piece together what had transpired the prior evening. He was met with some interesting looks and whispers as he entered the church. When he attempted to strike up conversations with friends and acquaintances after the service, Ben found them evasive or suddenly in a hurry to get home for Sunday dinner. Frustrated, he went directly to the sheriff’s office.
Virginia City was eerily silent as Ben walked the short distance from the church to Roy’s office. He tipped his hat politely to the few souls he met, but they either ignored him or seemed fascinated by whatever storefront they passed. If it weren’t so annoying, he would have burst out laughing at the lengths the townspeople were going to avoid him.
What could two childless widows find so fascinating about the men’s clothing display?
As he stepped up onto the sidewalk in front of his destination, he felt he was being watched. Turning quickly, he saw three cowboys across the street who appeared to be casually leaning against the building. Except that he noticed their hands were resting on their guns, ready to draw. As he glared at them, they quickly looked away and dropped their hands to their sides. Surprised at their behavior, Ben looked more closely but he didn’t recognize them. He decided to add that to the list of questions he had for Roy. This time of year it wasn’t unusual to find strangers in town looking for work. He didn’t remember any ranchers who were hiring, though. He debated about whether or not to demand to know what they were staring at. Deciding that he needed honest answers from Roy more urgently, he turned back and reached for the doorknob.
He was astonished to find that it was locked. Normally, Roy or Clem were in the office on Sunday morning. Puzzled, Ben stood deciding what to do next. After some thought, he headed for Paul Martin’s office. He reasoned that perhaps Roy was there. In any event Paul should be able to tell him what happened last night. And hopefully he’d explain the strange behavior of the people in church.
With each step his temper rose. Hoss and Adam had avoided discussing the events of last night, and Joe was in no shape to talk. Surely they must have known he’d get a strange reception in town. Why hadn’t they given him the courtesy of an inkling of what to expect? He reached for the doorknob of the doctor’s office and was pleased when it turned in his hand.
~o~o~o~
Twelve hours earlier:
Adam pushed his father’s hands away from his face and left the kitchen. He was in no mood for his ministrations, which he knew would be followed by an inquisition of what had happened. And as the oldest, he was responsible for the conduct of his younger brothers. Even though they were grown men! It was about time they took responsibility for their own actions.
How dare my family send me into the lions’ den, otherwise known as the town social, without telling me the extent of the damage Joe’s latest scheme had inflicted? Was it only a few days ago that I was enjoying myself after successfully negotiating those contracts? And what’s my reward? Sent to nursemaid my brothers and ending up bruised and battered.
He made his way shakily to the stairs and slowly climbed to his room. For the first time since returning from college, he locked the door behind him. He was in no mood to discuss the evening with anyone. He felt betrayed, unable to remember ever being more hurt and angry at his family.
~o~o~o~
Instead of sleeping, Adam dozed intermittently, waking from pain and anger. When he heard his father walking past his door, he remained perfectly still and breathed quietly. His anger had not cooled one bit overnight, and he knew a confrontation would end badly.
When he heard the front door slam shut, he assumed his father was going to church. Adam could hear Hoss snoring, and he guessed Joe was either asleep or passed out. Rolling out of bed, he worked the stiffness out of his muscles before getting dressed and heading downstairs. The bruises on his face prevented him from attempting to shave. If his father saw him at the table unshaven, there would be an angry outburst. One with an irate Hop Sing was all he could handle. He also knew someone should care for the horses and do the morning chores. As quickly as he heard Buck leaving, he knew once again he needed to do them. He was tired of being the responsible one. It was past time there needed to be some changes if he was to remain on the Ponderosa. Steeling himself for a rough day ahead, he silently stepped into the hall.
~o~o~o~
As the church crowd finally dispersed, the three cowboys leaning up against the building with their hands draped over their pistols continued to watch Ben Cartwright as he made his way over to Dr Martin’s office. They lowered their eyes when Ben looked over at them before he went into the office. They hurried back to the stable where they left their horses and quickly got everything together. A dark-haired, mountain of a man came in and handed them a piece of paper with instructions.
“You should have no trouble at the Ponderosa. I will try keep Mister Cartwright busy here. Remember two of you need to take out Adam and Hoss first. That way they can’t stop you from getting Little Joe an’ bringin’ him to town.
“Right Boss, we need Little Joe for leverage.”
Three sets of eyes rolled. “What?”
“Nevermind, I’ll explain it to you as we ride.”
They all nodded in agreement and the three cowboys got on their horses and headed for the Ponderosa.
~o~o~o~
Sitting in his friend’s office, Ben got quite a story from Doctor Martin.
“The social was in full swing by the time Adam, Hoss and Little Joe arrived. Immediately Little Joe had gone over to where Mary Alice was standing and asked her to dance. Hoss didn’t waste any time either and soon he was dancing away with Emily. Adam leaned back against the wall nursing a drink in his hands, taking in all that was going on before his eyes. Everyone appeared to be having a good time. He even watched as Little Joe and Mary Alice walked outside for a breath of fresh air. No longer enjoying himself, he headed outside as well, apparently unhappy about not having anyone to dance with.
Not long after, a piercing scream ripped through the air and stopped everyone in their tracks. Quickly we all ran outside and to the barn where lo and behold, Little Joe and Mary Alice lay tangled up in the hay, hair all mussed up, faces flushed with embarrassment. A look of horror had crossed Little Joe’s face as he realized that everyone was staring at them and I noticed that her bodice had a tear in it. Joe tried covering her up with hay at the moment that her father walked in. That was also when Adam and Hoss appeared, although I noticed Adam was moving rather stiffly. Before any explanation could be offered Mary Alice was escorted out through the crowd by her irate father. Hoss hauled Joe up and out the back way followed by Adam. I ended up helping to disperse the crowd, and was left wondering what had happened.”
~o~o~o~
Not finding his brother in the house, Hoss arrived at the barn about the time Adam was finishing up chores. Greeted with a glare that could cause most men to turn and hurry in the opposite direction, Hoss bravely came in and helped finish the chores working silently beside his brother. As they put the tools away, Adam had to say something.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about the poster.”
“I’m real sorry but you gotta believe I didn’t know it was going to be such a big thing. We needed a picture for the advertising and you look real good on posters. Joe looks too young, and you know my picture would never have worked.”
“It’s not the use of my picture that I find so objectionable although it would have been polite to ask first. It’s what was printed underneath. What possessed you to invest your money in such a hare-brained scheme anyway?”
“Well, Joe said those orphan trains were working so well that he thought a bride train might work really well. I mean ifn folks would take in orphans, wouldn’t men here in Nevada want women they could marry up with? There ain’t hardly enough women to go around. Heck, there must be fifteen or twenty men for every woman in this territory. Maybe except for the Irish. Those men seem to bring their women with them.”
“But the poster has my picture and says ‘this man couldn’t find a decent woman to marry in Nevada’. Did you have to use that word? Decent? You’ve got to know what that implies, what everyone is thinking because they think I said that. Every father of every woman I was ever with, every brother of every one of them, and every husband married to every woman I was ever with took exception to that as well as every one of the women. They all wanted to let me know how they feel about it too. There I was at the dance, minding my own business out in the fresh air, and someone hit me. I thought it was because they were angry at Joe’s scheme, but, no. It was because they wanted a piece of me because of that poster.”
Adam was on a tear and there was no stopping him. The words spewed out as all the frustration, anger, and hurt were released.
“I couldn’t understand what was wrong last night. Every woman I asked to dance either turned away or said her dance card was full. It was like I was a pariah. I took a bath. I wore clean clothing. I hadn’t said or done anything that I could remember that offended anyone recently. I went outside to get some fresh air and that’s when I was attacked. After I got hit a few times, one of them waved that poster under my nose. I grabbed it and took a look. One finger pointed at that word just before I got hit a few more times. Now it’s unlikely I’ll ever find a woman to kiss much less dance with, and you can bet there won’t be a woman who’ll consent to me courting her after that.”
“Maybe if Joe was to explain.”
“How can he explain after what they think he did last night?”
“I suppose that would be a problem. This should all blow over in a couple of months.”
“Hoss, I can’t go a couple of months without kissing a woman, and you know, other stuff.”
“Yeah, that could be a problem. Maybe you need to take a couple of trips.”
“I was thinking that too. What about this bride train? Is it coming?”
“We don’t know for sure.”
“You don’t know?”
“Well, we sorta ran out of money and the men who paid to bring the women here are mad ‘cause they figure we lost it all, and well, nobody will give us any more. We printed the posters and sent them out, got some ladies who said they were coming, and sent money for tickets. We don’t know if they’re coming or not.”
“You sent cash to women who saw the posters and said they were coming without any guarantee that they would come? What was to stop them from simply keeping the money and staying where they are?”
“I guess we never thought about that.”
“And how were you going to get any money out of this?”
“The men paid us up front for the cost of the tickets and a finder’s fee for bringing the ladies here. The more who paid, the more money we made.”
“A finder’s fee?”
“Yeah, it was all Joe’s idea.”
“Hoss, the Finder’s Fee is paid AFTER the product, or in this case, the bride is delivered. Not before.”
“It is?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.”
The next thing they heard was the sound of three guns being cocked. Turning, they saw three cowboys standing in the door of the barn with pistols leveled at them.
“Now, where is that little brother of yours? We want him. We need to return him to our employer to be used for leverage.”
Looking at each other and then back at the menacing cowboys, Hoss and Adam both had the same question. “Leverage?”
The three didn’t look quite so confident then. The one who had spoken had thought he could impress the two with his highfalutin word, but clearly they didn’t know what leverage meant either. He looked at his accomplices.
“I thought you said they’d know what it meant.”
“I figured they would. It was in that book I was a readin’ and the outlaws grabbed a guy and took him to use him as leverage. The other folks just done what they was told ‘cause the outlaws had leverage.”
The third cowboy added his opinion then. “Maybe they don’t know the rules about leverage.”
The man who had spoken first responded then. “I ain’t so sure I know either. I thought we just had it and then they did what we told ‘em to do. Mister Peters said to bring Joe back to him so he could take what was owed out of his hide. He said this other one would follow and he could settle up with him then too.”
“Mister Peters ain’t gonna like it if we don’t bring that Little Joe back with us. He’s a big one too. He could hurt all three of us if we don’t do what he says to do.”
Hoss interjected a question then. “Hey, you talkin’ ‘bout Montana, the big dark-haired fella that works for us?”
“Uh, maybe we are. It ain’t no nevermind of yours. We’re just gonna take your little brother with us and you’re supposed to follow along behind. Don’t bring no guns or nothing though or your little brother could get seriously hurt.”
It was up to Adam to point out the obvious. “I thought you said Montana was going to hurt him anyway?”
“You stop trying to confuse us or I’ll shoot you right now.”
Behind the three cowboys, there suddenly was what sounded like the voice of Zeus making a thunderous pronouncement from Olympus. “Put down those pistols now!”
Hoss and Adam grinned at first but remembered they had loaded pistols aimed at their midsections. It had a sobering effect. They knew this was all a long way from being over.
A few minutes prior to the arrival of the outlaws, Joe woke up with a splitting headache and had been looking for his brothers after seeing the breakfast table empty. Going outside he squinted at the bright sunlight and thought he saw three strange men at the barn door with pistols drawn. Sneaking up on them in a wobbly fashion, Joe called out trying to mimic his Pa’s booming voice. Nothing happened. The voice thundered again “Put down those pistols now!” He smiled as the men started to obey him.
As two of the cowboys bent over as if to put their guns down, they nodded to each other then swung out to attack Adam and Hoss. Adam fell pretty easily due to the beating he took the night before. It took a hit to the eye and an uppercut to the jaw to knock Hoss out.The third moved quickly to point his gun at Joe. Joe automatically reached for his pistol by his left hip and came up empty handed. He gulped, and tried a little smile before raising his hands in surrender, wobbling in front of the third man trying not to fall to the ground.
“You’re comin’ with us. The boss says we need you for leverage.”
“What?”
That was Joe’s last thought as he was forced onto one of the men’s horses. As they rode out Joe’s last view was of his brothers laying sprawled out on the barn floor.
~o~o~o~
After Ben shared a brandy with Paul, and he surely needed it after hearing the story about Joe and Mary Alice, he headed for his horse. In his fury, something kept niggling in the back of his head about why Adam was in such bad shape last night. As he yanked the reins off the rail his eyes landed on a poster with Adam’s picture on it. The words below it shocked him, ‘This man couldn’t find a decent woman to marry in Nevada’.
“Thunderation!! What is going on here?” He grabbed at the poster and mounted his horse, reining him toward home. “Those sons of mine have got a lot of explaining to do, and I don’t care how bad they feel after last night.”
Ben had had two hours to try to make sense of it all, but the more he thought about it the madder he got. When he rode into the yard his eyes were coal black and his face red with anger. Looking around the empty yard he heard moaning coming from the barn. Adam and Hoss stumbled out and leaned against the corral fence, both rubbing at their jaws.
Adam rubbed his eyes then noticed an angry father sitting atop his horse. He elbowed Hoss who followed his brother’s gaze.
Seeing his sons’ condition his anger melted into concern. Ben dismounted and reached for their faces, turning them side to side to examine the bruising.
“What happened to you two?”
Adam stood a bit straighter and began to explain about the three men getting the drop on them but Joe snuck up on them, then the next thing they knew they were on the ground and the men were riding out with Joe.
“They said something about ‘leverage’, whatever that means.”
Ben pulled a folded paper from his pocket and opened it up. “Could it have something to do with this?”
Adam and Hoss scrunched up their faces in a sickly fashion and shrugged. Hoss told that long, sad story about the bride train and Adam added about the men who attacked him over the poster. When it was over the sons were saddling up and heading out with Ben to find their wayward brother.
About halfway to town, the three Cartwrights met up with their missing Sheriff. He had been looking into the story about Mary Alice and found out some other interesting news. After Hoss explained what had happened back at the ranch, Roy had a pretty good idea what was going on and how to fix it. Turning their horses they headed into town and straight to the saloon.
In the saloon, Mike Peters, better known as Montana since he was born in that territory, was holding Joe as leverage to get Adam to show up. He was mad about the insinuation Adam had made about the women in the town. He felt it was just plain wrong all the way around. He also was mad about Joe’s scheme to make money off men who wanted more women to come to their little hamlet in the West.
Montana was a big burly cowboy who worked as a drover for Ben Cartwright. While he was as big as Hoss, he had a mean look with his dark hair and scruffy beard. Anyone who got close to him learned he’d had a tough life but also that he felt a need to right the wrongs in the world. He was a hard worker and generally got along with everyone, but his temper showed if he felt there was an injustice. And boy did he feel there was an injustice running right now. He knew his job on the Ponderosa was over after taking Joe the way he did, but he had to set things right in the town he called home, after never having much of a home his entire life. The big man paced the room impatiently causing Joe to roll his eyes more than once.
“If you’d just let me explain…”
“I ain’t ready to listen to you yet Little Joe. I’m waitin’ for Adam to show up an’ say he’s sorry about what he said on that there poster. That was just plain mean to say somethin’ like that about all the nice women in this town. So you just sit quiet and eat yer breakfast.”
“I keep trying to tell you, Adam didn’t say that. It was Hoss who put that on the poster. Adam wasn’t even here. He was away on business.”
“It’s his face so it’s gotta be his words. Now I ain’t listenin’ to no more till he gets here.” Montana gave Joe such a hard glare it made Joe duck his head and shovel eggs into his mouth.
“Well that might be awhile. When your buddies there brought me in, Adam and Hoss were laid out on the barn floor. I don’t think their comin’ anytime soon.” Joe suddenly regretted mentioning that small detail.
Montana’s face grew red as he leaned over Joe who shakily pointed to the three men across the room. Montana swung around and shouted at them. “You idiots were just supposed to rough ‘em up to get ‘em out of the way, not knock ‘em out cold!”
The three man shrunk back against the wall as Montana returned to his angry pacing.
~o~o~o~
On the edge of town Roy reined his horse to a stop, effectively blocking the road. The three Cartwrights had no choice but to stop.
“What are we stopping here for, Roy? My son’s in trouble and we don’t have time to waste!”
“Now you hold on there Ben. I got some things I gotta say before we ride in.” Roy held Ben’s gaze for a long moment before Ben backed down. “Alright, first things first. I been out to the Simmons place, talkin’ to Miss Mary Alice an’ her folks. I got everything clear there and weren’t nothing happened last night that Little Joe’s in trouble for.”
Ben, Hoss, and Adam exchanged looks.
“Yeah, they snuck out to the barn to share a kiss but nothin’ else happened.”
“But Roy, we saw…”
Roy held up his hand. “Hoss I know what you an’ Adam think you seen. Fact is, the girl tripped on a loose board and was fallin’ toward the stall wall. Joe grabbed her to make her fall into the hay instead, but he lost his balance and fell down beside her, hitting his head on the other stall wall. Her dress got torn when Joe grabbed her. That was when everybody else came in after hearing her scream from the fall.”
“Yeah, that kinda fits the picture me and Adam saw. Guess we should have let Joe explain but Mister Simmons was already takin’ his daughter out so I grabbed Joe, an’ me and Adam headed out the back way. Joe wasn’t too alert so we got him on his horse an’ we headed home.”
“Well that explains why Joe was nearly unconscious but what about the whiskey I smelled on him?” Ben’s glare made Hoss look away and Adam flinch.
“That was my doing. On the way home, Joe got sick. I gave him some water then pulled my flask out of my saddle bag and let him have a swallow, thinking it would help him feel better. He only had a swallow but his hand was so shaky he spilled the rest all over his shirt.”
“Hrmph!” Ben shook his head, then looked back at Roy. “So I guess that story will get told and folks will know Joe didn’t do anything wrong there.”
Roy nodded. “The girl’s friends are already workin’ on that, so we can move on to why Little Joe was takin’ into town by Montana. You see Montana is mighty upset about the way Adam seems to feel about the women in Virginia City, and about Little Joe’s scheme to bring more women here for the men to marry.”
Ben was growing impatient. “Roy we know all that. I just want to get Joe back and make sure Montana hasn’t hurt him. If he has I’ll be pressing charges.” Black brows knit together to form an angry scowl.
“Ben, that’s exactly why I had us stop right here. I’m gonna tell you what you three are gonna do to fix all this, and ifn you don’t follow what I say, all four of you will be in my jail for disturbin’ the peace and upsettin’ folks to no end.”
A chorus resounded, “What?!”
Roy squinted his eyes and glared back.
Silence.
“Good. Now here is what you three are gonna to do.”
Fifteen minutes later the four men rode slowly down the main street toward the biggest saloon in town.
Roy hoped he’d gotten through to his friends on what each one needed to do. He knew Ben would most likely be the wild card in the solution, but it had to be that way if things were going to be fixed. He frowned when he recalled his return to town from the Simmons home and saw Little Joe being led to the saloon by Montana and his friends, followed by half the town. Heading to the saloon himself, he was waylaid by Paul Martin who told his story of filling Ben in on the whole sordid mess from the dance. Learning that Ben had left town, Roy chose to get Ben and his other sons first, then deal with Montana and the town. He felt confident Montana wouldn’t harm Joe, just rattle him a bit. Roy had to smile at that as he himself had had enough of Little Joe’s schemes to last the rest of his life.
Slowing their horses in front of the saloon, Roy and the Cartwrights dismounted. Wrapping the reins around the rail, each looked at the others, then followed Roy into the saloon.
“Alright everybody, listen up!”
Voices dropped to whispers and all heads turned to see the four formidable men standing in the doorway.
Ben’s dark eyes darted around the room and finally landed on Little Joe who was sitting by himself near the bar. He looked unharmed but refused to meet his father’s gaze. At the bar, Sam kept watch with his shotgun laying quietly within reach on the counter behind him.
Roy nudged Ben to take his spot near the door, out of the way of all the patrons. Ben begrudgingly moved to lean against the wall with his arms crossed tightly across his chest. Adam smirked when he noticed everyone quickly turning their heads away and some quietly shifting their chairs to get away from the smoldering patriarch.
As Roy began to explain the plan, Adam and Hoss moved along the bar to be closer to Joe.
“You alright?” Hoss whispered to his little brother.
“Yeah, just dandy.” Joe replied with a sickly look.
With Roy acting as moderator, Montana got his chance to air his grievances. The burly man glanced around at his friends who’d paid into the Bride Train, and receiving nods from each one, he stepped to the center of the room. When he spoke he kept his eyes on the Cartwright brothers, purposely avoiding his boss standing by the door.
“Well, I ain’t a very good speaker but me an’ my friends here feel some things have to be said about how Joe here and his brothers have done these men and the town wrong. First off, what was on them posters was just plain insultin’ to the good women-folk here in town, and some apologies need to be said ‘bout that. Next, these men do want to get hitched, and ain’t got ‘nuff money to go to them bigger cities. Joe’s plan sounded pretty good at first, but it’s been a while and now we want to know why there ain’t no word on any women comin’ this way. The last thing I gotta say is that we don’t think it’s right for Joe to take extra money, meanin’ his finder’s fee, for gettin’ some ladies here since the men don’t have that much to spend in the first place. And that’s all I got to say.”
Satisfied to have his thoughts heard, Montana stepped back to await the forthcoming apologies.
As Adam stepped forward to defend himself, Hoss held him back and took a step forward. “It was my fault that Adam got messed up in this. The whole idea for bringin’ more women here was Joe’s, but I agreed to help. I made the posters an’ put Adam’s picture on ‘em. All I thought about was now I’d heard men say they couldn’t find a woman to marry, and I thought of how much trouble me an’ my brothers seemed to have too, so I put Adam’s picture on the poster and wrote the comment. It weren’t till Adam came home an’ saw it, and explained about how insulting it sounded that I realized I didn’t word it right. I’m sorry if it got some folks mad, an’ I didn’t mean to say anything bad about the nice ladies we got in this town. My brothers and me all agree we have lots of real nice ladies here, and…”
Adam elbowed Hoss in the ribs to get him to stop talking when he saw a few married men starting throw glares at him.
“Um, well, that’s all I got to say.” Hoss looked down at his boots and moved back to the bar.
Adam twirled his hat through his fingers and cleared his throat. “Although the posters were made without my permission, I, too, will apologize about what they implied. We have a good town here, and I hope all can be quickly forgiven due to the faux pas my brothers made in their plan to help a few men find wives.” He leaned back against the bar and waited.
Montana glanced around at his friends, and receiving confirmation, he stepped forward. “Well, I reckon we can accept what you fellas have said. But Little Joe still needs to do something about his plan. Some of my friends who invested have been askin’ where all the money’s gone, and is it really right for Joe to be keepin’ part of their hard earned money to help them get brides?”
Loud voices erupted as Roy tried to bring about order.
Joe slowly stood up to try to explain, but another loud voice broke through the angry talk. “If I may say something here.”
All eyes turned in unison to Ben Cartwright. The silver haired man drew himself up tall and strode to the center of the room, ignoring Roy’s angry glare.
“While I don’t in any way condone the particular methods used by my youngest sons in their plans to bring more women to Virginia City, I’d like to speak to Montana’s complaint about Joe making money off it. For those of you in business, you understand that you need to make some money off the cost of your services, correct?”
Heads nodded, and murmurs confirmed Ben’s words.
“But, there is a limit to how much profit is reasonable. Now, in this case, my sons were trying to help a few men who really wanted to get married but could not find the right girl for them. It is agreed that many of our women are either already married or rather young for that consideration. So Joe had his heart in the right place to want to help, and collecting a Finder’s Fee might be in order. However, the fee should have been collected after the ladies arrived. Therefore, in fairness to all, and for the sake of bringing peace back to our town, I propose,” Ben turned to lock his black eyes with Joe’s timid green eyes, “that Joseph return any fees he has collected back to the rightful owners, and consider altering his plan to find a better way to help the situation, without the use of the aforementioned posters or extra fees. Since money has already been paid for tickets to bring a few ladies here, then it shall stand. However, if nothing comes of this plan by the end of next month, my sons will repay all costs back to those who paid. Also, all posters connected with this plan will be removed from the town, and destroyed.” Ben cleared his throat and moved to stand by his youngest son. He flashed him a small smile, to which Joe gave a tentative nod of acceptance.
The voices in the saloon soon changed to agreeable sounds, as Joe and Hoss moved around the room, returning the finder’s fees they had collected. Ben motioned for Montana to join him outside the saloon where the drover cautiously looked into the angry, black eyes and crossed arms of his boss.
“Uh, Mister Cartwright, I’m right sorry about what I did, about takin’ Joe and knockin’ Adam an’ Hoss out. You have every right to fire me for all that.
Ben’s look didn’t soften and his voice was cold. “You’re right about that.”
“But I felt…”
“But you felt Joe and Hoss, and Adam by association, didn’t handle the men’s requests right. You thought you saw an injustice and had to correct it. Is that right?”
“Yessir.”
Ben dropped his arms to his side. “Listen Montana and listen good. You’re a good man, and you work hard on the ranch. For that reason I don’t want to see you leave.” Montana let out a sigh. “But you have to rein in this notion that you have to right every wrong you think you see. Your heart was in the right place here, until you attacked my sons. I can’t easily forget that.”
“No sir. I’m sorry sir. I’ll head back to the ranch an’ clear out of the bunk house right now. You don’t even have to pay me fer this month.”
Ben’s look softened just a smidgen at the man’s repentance. “Tell you what I’ll do. You don’t try to fix any more injustices without first talking it over with me or one of my sons, and you can stay.” Montana found a long finger in front of his face. “But step out of line one time, and you’re gone. You understand, Montana?”
“You mean it? I mean, uh, yessir, I understand, Mister Cartwright.” Montana shifted from one foot to the other trying to contain his happiness at his boss’ generosity. “I won’t let you down none. I promise.”
“See that you don’t. And to make sure. You’ll be working on clearing out the watering holes and digging a new latrine for the bunkhouse. All this will take place until the next round up in two months, after which you will ride drag for the cattle drive.”
Montana’s new found joy vanished as he hung his head. “Yessir. It’s only fittin’ I guess.” He reached out his hand, which Ben took. “Thank you, Mister Cartwright. You been mighty gracious. I’ll go get started on my new tasks.”
Montana headed to retrieve his horse with his shoulders slumped, taking about three inches off his height. Ben couldn’t hide his smile. This time he felt certain the man would learn his lesson, and he wouldn’t lose a good drover in the process.
“Before you go, I think I heard that my sons are buying drinks all around. How about one for the road.”
Montana smiled at the offer, following Ben back inside.
~o~o~o~
When all was said and done in town , the four Cartwrights sat in their great room that evening, enjoying a roaring fire and some of Ben’s fine whiskey. Once Ben gave his expected lecture about no more schemes, the matter was dropped, never to be mentioned again.
Each man sat silently, lost in his own thoughts hoping that would indeed be the end of it. Ben secretly eyed each of his sons over the top of his newspaper. Joe rubbed his sore head, wishing he could focus on his book. Adam stared into the fire, trying to ignore his aching jaw and ribs, injuries he received from the fight in the barn. Hoss held a raw steak against his right eye thanks to a punch from one of Montana’s friends. Joe and Hoss each privately hoped that at least one or two ladies would come because they weren’t quite sure how they would pay back all the money for the train tickets. Adam was contemplating an extended trip to San Francisco for a little work and fun. The long clock ticked on in the silent room as Ben returned to his reading, a smile playing at his lips.
Into the peacefulness of the cozy room, a quiet knock intruded. Four pairs of eyes looked at the others until three pairs landed on Joe.
“What! Why is it always me?”
Adam rolled his eyes and gracefully, through a bit stiffly, rose out of his blue chair. He sauntered to the door and opened it just after a second round of knocking. Standing in the dark with the porch light highlighting her red curls was a lovely young woman with very blue eyes.
“Hello. I’m looking for Mister Joseph Cartwright.”
A smile and a raised brow graced Adam’s dark features as he glanced over his shoulder to see his father and brothers rising from their seats. Ben made it to the door first and took the young lady’s hand in his, as Adam stepped back to share a look with Hoss.
“I’m Ben Cartwright. Won’t you come in, Miss? How can we help you?”
She looked around at the four handsome men and smiled a sweet smile that made her eyes twinkle. “I’m Felicity Jones, and I’m here to find a husband.”
The End
From the Brandsters. The story was originally written and published on the Bonanza Trail Riders site. Brand is happy to offer this story a new home.
