Summary: It is five years later, and there are children to bring to school, to teach lessons and guide, and to protect and the rest of the family dynamic to withstand because it’s never easy on the Ponderosa as the brothers learn to be fathers.
Rating: T  Word count: 14,908

The Dance series
The Dance (by BettyHT)
Children of the Dance (by BettyHT)
Dancing Bear (by BettyHT)

 

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Dancing Bear

Chapter 1

Barbara Scott Hanson had developed into a very competent teacher. Gone were the days when those hellions could tie her up or taunt her. Adam had coached her very well into a strong teacher voice that could cause a girl to wet her pants or a boy to stop running so suddenly that he broke a bone in his foot. All right, there were only those two incidents, but everyone knew about them. Barbara had come into the schoolhouse one morning very early in the school year to find an awful caricature of her drawn on the board with the phrase Missus’ Hanson, is a witch! Now only one student in the school consistently mixed up possessives and also put a heart at the bottom of her exclamation point so it wasn’t difficult to determine the guilty party. As the students marched in snickering, Barbara had emphatically said, “Tricia Ann Nelson!” and the girl stopped still as a statue and the odor of urine assaulted everyone’s noses. The puddle at her feet was further confirmation not only that she wet her pants but that she was guilty of the offense as well.

“Are you parents at home today?”

“Mama is.”

“Well then, go home, change, and bring your mother to meet here with me at lunchtime.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

A day later, Max Morrison, who was teased a lot at school because of his large size, was chasing some students and was intent on hitting them with a stick. Barbara had yelled “Max, stop!” so forcefully that the poor boy stopped so suddenly he broke a bone in his foot and was wearing a cast for the next eight weeks. After that, no one dared to mess with Mrs. Hanson.

Well at least the children didn’t, but there were some women in town who were still upset that the school board allowed a married woman to teach. It just didn’t seem right to them even if there was no other person available to teach. When Barbara’s husband bragged at the saloon one Friday that he would be a father the following summer, all heck broke loose among the ladies. So the school board needed a substitute teacher until the Christmas holiday at least, and all looked toward Adam Cartwright who groaned and dropped his forehead into his hands. Ben of course said that with winter so near, the work on the Ponderosa had let up enough that they could spare Adam for nearly a month. When Adam got home to tell Andi, he was hoping she would say that it was impossible, but instead, she thought it was a wonderful idea.

So it was that on the first Monday in December, Adam Cartwright again stood at the front of the schoolroom ready to teach. The morning went reasonably well with some math problems and then working on spelling words. They did reading, history, and geography to fill out the day and then it was over. Adam was very tired. He had worked on some drawings the night before because he had been hired to design a home and stable and needed the drawings to supplement the blueprints to finish the order. Now at the end of one school day, he was exhausted. He had heard all day about how he was doing things wrong because it wasn’t the way Mrs. Hanson would have done it. He climbed into the wagon to drive the seven Cartwright children back to the Ponderosa. The children wanted to ask him questions, but he asked them to leave him be so he could drive and recover from the day. That was another black mark on his tally as far as his children were concerned.

That night, Adam was up late thinking about how he could do better. He wanted to make this a good experience for the children and couldn’t possibly do everything exactly as she had done them so he needed a new way that the children would accept. Getting up sleep-deprived of course was not a good way to get through the day well. His sharp comments to the students in the morning got some pointed comments directed at AC and Beth during recess. Both sat with heads down when school resumed. Adam noticed but of course under those circumstances was unable to question them. By the end of the week, all the Cartwright mothers, two of the fathers, and the grandparents were being bombarded daily with complaints about the new teacher. There are no greater critics than your children though in a situation like that.

On Friday, Adam packed up a large satchel and put it in the wagon in the morning. Andi smiled because she knew what he had collected the night before. At school, he pulled out a chessboard, a checkers set, a backgammon game, and a deck of cards. The children wondered what he could possibly have in mind. They spent the morning learning how math was a huge part of any game. They played the games to learn the math involved. By lunchtime, there were smiles all around until a few school board members stopped by to see how things had gone. Seeing all of the children playing some sort of game in the middle of a school day was not at all what they expected from someone like Adam Cartwright. There was an emergency school board meeting called for that very afternoon. Adam was summoned to attend at the end of the school day.

“Did you hear them counting?”

“Well of course we did. It was obvious that they were counting to see who had won.”

“Well, I was teaching math with those games. From the simplest game of checkers for the youngest children to chess and backgammon for the oldest, they had to count to see who had won. They had to think of all the possible math related solutions there were in any given situation and write them down as equations.”

“Well a number of students were just watching.”

“There was a set of students watching each game to make sure that the calculations given by each player were correct. At the end of a game the students had to turn in their calculations and equations to me. Then those students who had been observing took the next turn at the game as the first set became the observers.”

The board members were not at all convinced, but Ben asked if Adam could give them an example. He called in Beth and AC and had them play backgammon using their math skills. It was just a matter of minutes before it was clear that there was in fact a great deal of math being applied.

The end result was that the board determined that Adam had done nothing wrong, but they also ruled that he could not use that method again. Ben was the only dissenting vote. The children were very disappointed. Friday had been a wonderful day. They had learned and had great fun at the same time. That didn’t happen often, and now they feared it wouldn’t happen again. However now Adam was mad, and an angry Adam is a plotting, clever man who would find a way to do what he needed to do despite opposition.

 

Chapter 2

By Sunday, Andi was very curious. Adam had sequestered himself in his study for a short time but otherwise had done very little to prepare for the coming week.

“What’s the plan for the week?”

“Well I am going to teach geography, history, art, reading, and writing. If any school board members show up to oversee me, they’ll see the students doing some very traditional school activities.”

“All right, that’s your cover story, but what are you really going to do?”

So Adam filled Andi in on his plans. She was so glad he was still concerned about how the children felt about school and having him as their teacher. This plan too should appeal to the other children enough so their children would not be tormented with complaints about their father that had been numerous the week before including a number from their cousins.

On Monday, Adam had to announce to the children that the school board had forbidden the games as a way to teach math. But he had a new idea. The students were going to write a play, create the scenery, draw maps of the area, and rehearse so that the could perform the play for their parents. Adam assigned the topic of Lexington and Concord for the play. On Monday, the students had to read and do research on the day the shot heard round the world was fired. Every student would write about one of the people or events of that day.

On Tuesday, the students were writing the final versions of their research. Each one had to stand and read their work to the others in the afternoon. Reading, writing, and history were being taught but very few students realized that. Using the research, the oldest students got down to work writing the basic play that they completed by late in the day. Adam took it home with him to edit. On Wednesday, the students were assigned parts and had to read through the play and discuss what happened. Eric and several of the boys did not want to be in a play. Several of the youngest said they were too shy to be in the play. Of course that was a more polite way of describing it. Actually, it was more vocal.

“I don’t want to be in any stupid play. Girls like plays. Men don’t dress up and do plays.”

That statement was followed by a number of students saying yeah. Several of the younger children said they would be too frightened to be in the play. Finally, Adam agreed they could do the play just for the students on Friday afternoon. If it went well enough, they could do a repeat performance on the following Friday for parents. The students voted and accepted the compromise. The concept of democracy was being taught as well.

In addition to reading and practicing their parts, students were busy drawing maps and posting them in the room. They also did some large drawings of what the area would have looked like in 1775.

“Why are we doing 1775? I thought the Revolution started in 1776?” Many students had been wondering that until AC finally asked the question. In response, Adam did a lesson on the Declaration of Independence too. Then they understood the fighting began without a clear understanding on either side of what they were fighting for except in the minds of men like John Hancock and Sam Adams and women like Mercy Otis Warren. Most students were amazed that a woman helped lead the colonies into rebellion so Adam did a little history lesson on her. Several girls clamored to be able to portray the woman who wrote so much of the propaganda and philosophy of the Patriots. The play had to be expanded to include a prologue.

By Friday afternoon, the students said they were ready. The prologue went off without a hitch as Beth eloquently spoke as Mercy Otis Warren. Paul Revere was played by AC who did a fine job. It did seem a lot of his part had been lifted from the Longfellow poem, but Adam thought he could use that poem on Monday as a reading exercise. Problems started when they got to the Minutemen waiting on the green in Lexington.

“John Hancock and Sam Adams are great men. They fill our holes with soap.” From offstage came frantic whispers. “Whaddya mean, I got it wrong. I said it just the way I been practicing it. Oh, all right, have it your way.” To the audience loudly, “They fill our souls with hope.”

There was a pause but Eric just couldn’t drop it. “Well that don’t make no sense to me at all. Preacher never says nothing about our souls needing hope.” Adam had to stop the play and explain the whole concept. Then they began again with the confrontation of the Minutemen by the British.

“Hark, I say to you, I hear a pistol shit, ah, ship, no, ah, shop. Aww, damn, I didn’t want to be in this stupid play anyway.” Max Morrison stomped away filled with anger as roars of laughter disrupted the play once again.

Two of the younger students came up to Adam and asked to go use the necessary. As soon as they mentioned that, a number of other students had the same issue. Apparently nervousness translated into trips to the outhouse. Once everyone was back, they started again. Finally the play was over and Adam was exhausted. As the students left for the day, they thanked him again for the week so he assumed he had done well enough. Adam decided it might be best not to do the play for the parents.

On Saturday, as Adam worked on some building plans he needed to finish soon for clients, he heard a knock on the door and soon his father was at his study. After greetings were exchanged, Ben got down to why he had made the trip.

“There’s quite a bit of talk about you in town.”

“Well we didn’t play any games this week. The students were reading, writing, and studying geography and history. So what are the complaints this time?”

“Only that you are promoting the right to overthrow the government and the right of the people to rebel, allowing the use of bad language, and espousing feminism to the girls.”

Adam could not have been more shocked. “What kind of preposterous stories are being told?”

“I’m not sure, but you know how children can perceive things differently than intended, and then their parents get another idea based on that, and soon the stories have little to do with what actually happened. Would you care to inform me as to what did happen do I have an answer the next time a parent or school board member confronts me? Simply saying that you would never do that hasn’t worked well.”

So Adam explained to his father what he had done. He had to do it again and again on Sunday before and after church services, and yet most walked away dissatisfied with his answers. He had no special plans for his third week in the classroom. He and Andi talked for quite a while about it but other than a lesson in poetry by reading Longfellow’s poem about the midnight ride of Mr. Revere, Adam had no inspiration.

 

Chapter 3

Reading the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere actually went well as the students now had some understanding of the background of Longfellow’s poem. AC was embarrassed though and eventually was shooting some dark looks at his father.

“Hey, AC, ain’t that almost the same stuff you was reciting on Friday? You musta had the idea before Longfellow did. Did he copy your stuff?”

Several of the boys knew that AC had taken a short cut in writing his part for the play. Adam had thought humiliation was the way to handle it, but as he heard some of the commentary, he realized he hadn’t handled that situation well. At recess, the taunting continued.

“Hey AC, maybe you could say you wrote those Shakespeare plays too. Shakespeare is probably rolling over in his grave right now.”

Vinnie stood as tall as AC but was considerably heavier and broader.

“Well, when I get to heaven, I’ll talk to him about those.”

AC tried to defuse the situation with humor.

“Hey, AC, what if Shakespeare went to hell?”

“Well, then I guess you could talk to him about it.”

Humor had not worked so AC mimicked his father’s method of using a snide remark to silence the opposition. Unfortunately AC didn’t have his father’s intimidating look about him so all his remark did was start a fight. Several students joined in so Beth stepped up to aid her brother. That’s what happened until Beth and AC were lifted by their collars and forcibly removed from the fight. Then one by one the others received the same treatment. They all winced at the dark look they were getting from their teacher.

For the rest of the day, the fighters were sent to work cleaning up various parts of the town. They cleared brush and debris from the cemetery. They picked up sticks and branches that were lying under the trees around the church. Adam brought them to the jail to ask Roy if there were any more jobs that needed doing for he had some miscreants who needed some community service time to pay for their wrongdoing. Roy smiled and said he had some boxes of wanted posters and such that they could carry to the school to use to start the stove in the morning. As the older children were working, Adam sat and read with the younger children so they could learn not only about reading but about the consequences for bad behavior.

The minister’s wife saw them as they were walking back to the schoolhouse and wanted to offer cookies to the students for all the work that they had done. Adam refused on their behalf earning dark scowls from a number of them.

“Service to the community is it’s own reward. A simple thank you is all that these students want.”

“Well, then thank you so much. The grounds of the church have never looked so good. It’s a lovely day to be working outside. So unseasonably warm for this time of year. A marvelous idea, Mr. Cartwright. Keep up the good work.”

Back at the school house, the smallest children had the task of putting the old wanted posters in the kindling box. Maria wanted to know what they were so Adam explained.

“Those are drawings of very bad men. They draw their picture so that people see it and might recognize them so they can be arrested.”

“Why didn’t they just keep them locked up when they were drawing the picture?”

As Adam explained, he wondered how this story would be told to parents and members of the community.

The ride home was very quiet. Adam thought the problem had been resolved. He was very wrong. His two children were determined now to put him in his place. They talked quietly and decided Uncle Joe was the one they needed to ask for help. Eric overheard and asked to join in.

“Papa, when we get our chores done, may we ride over to see Grandpa and Grandma?”

“Of course. That would be nice. But this time, you should ride before your chores so you can get back while it is still light out.”

AC and Beth grinned and raced to saddle their ponies. About and hour and a half later they were riding back with their Uncle Joe who had told them some wonderful stories. He had told them that he made a face at Miss Jones once and she caught him.

“Joseph Cartwright, my mother told me when I was a child and did that, my face might stay that way and be ugly forever.”

“Well, ma’am, she gave you fair warning then.”

That got a note to Grandpa and a lesson in the stable. He told the twins of the time he brought a frog into school and it accidentally got loose and hopped up the teacher’s dress making her dance and jump around. He mentioned too the time he and his friends snuck into the schoolhouse and kidnapped all the books. There were lots of stories with plenty of fodder to feed the minds hungry for input so they could come up with a plan. As Joe neared the house he saw Adam.

“Hey, Adam, brought your two wanderers home. We had a good talk, and Pa didn’t want them riding home alone. I’m going to head out right away so I can make it back in time for dinner.”

“Thanks, Joe.”

Beth and AC started planning. AC outlined the plan for Beth.

“Where we gonna get a frog?”

“I already got em.”

“Those little tree frogs in the cage in your room?”

“Yep, just one ought to do it.”

The next day as Adam drove the wagon into town with the seven Cartwrights in the back snuggled in blankets against the sudden change in the weather, he heard a lot of whispering and giggling. Glad that the troubles from the day before seemed to have been forgotten, he whistled a tune as he drove.

In school, the children had a difficult time putting their plan into action. Finally the school day was done and they had their last chance as Adam loosed his tie and unbuttoned the button at his collar. As Adam pulled on his heavy fur jacket that he only wore in the worst of weather, AC and Beth stood before him and asked if they could have a candy from the mercantile. Eric snuck up behind Adam and when he was unaware, slipped the little frog down the back of his shirt.

Adam twitched a little when he felt a tickle on his back and then started jumping up and down and twisting sideways. The other children began to laugh hysterically. Little Molly Matthews yelled out: “It’s a dancing bear!” which made all of the children laugh even more. Finally, Adam pulled his shirt from his pants and the offending amphibian dropped to the floor. Adam stood and glared at his children for a minute, and suddenly none of them thought it was funny any more.

“We’ll discuss this at home.” The way Adam said it left no doubt for AC and Beth to know they would be punished. They had gotten their revenge, but now they faced the punishment.

“Oh, no, Mama! AC, he’s gonna make us tell Mama, isn’t he?”

At that moment, the twins could think of no worse punishment. Adam overheard them and smiled inwardly. They had just offered the perfect solution. He would have them tell Andi and then see what she would say to them. With an expression that showed none of his inner glee, Adam ordered his children out to the wagon and saved a dark scowl for Eric too. Eric decided he would just go ahead and tell his parents and get it over with. He was hoping they thought it was funny enough to make his punishment light.

Once Adam had his children home, the wagon secured, and the team bedded down, he ordered AC and Beth to do their chores and then come to the house. Two dejected looking youth trudged to the house about a half hour later and then stood with heads down in front of their mother.

“Papa told me that there is something you need to tell me.”

“Yes, Mama, and we’re so sorry. We got Eric to put a frog down Papa’s back. He jumped all around and everybody laughed, but now we know it wasn’t funny at all. It was disrespectful.” Beth had tears running down her face as she turned to Adam and said “I’m so sorry, Papa.”

“We never would have done that except Uncle Joe made it sound so funny. We didn’t think about the bad side of it. I’m really sorry too, Papa.”

Andi sent the children to their rooms. They were to do their homework and then would get a simple dinner in their rooms before they retired for the night. Then Andi pulled Adam into his study, closed the door, and burst out laughing.

“That is a great story, love. The children will be talking about this for years. A dancing bear: such a delightful image.”

“It is funny now. I wasn’t smiling at the time, but they worked together quite well, and no one was hurt. I am, however, going to ‘kill’ Joe.”

“Oh, perhaps we can come up with a plan to turn the tables on him?”

“Sweetheart, I love you and your devious mind.”

 

Chapter 4

On Monday, Adam went through spelling lists, worked through math problems, and then assigned reading. The students were quiet and cooperative. All of them had talked with their parents and had been told to be respectful. Finally after lunch, Adam announced that there would be a research project for each student to complete before the Christmas holiday. Each one of them would interview someone in Virginia City about the history of the town. Adam sat with each of the students working out a plan of who each would interview and then the questions they would ask. Finally, he sat with Beth and AC.

“All right, who wants Hoss and who wants Joe?”

“Aww, can’t we do Grandpa?”

“No, Eric is interviewing Grandpa.”

AC looked at Beth and then at his father. “I’ll interview Uncle Joe.”

Beth smiled for she adored her Uncle Hoss and was sure he would give her a wonderful interview. For the rest of the week, there were mostly traditional lessons interspersed with discussions of what students had been learning from their interviews of parents, grandparents, and neighbors as well as Sheriff Coffee and Doctor Martin. Adam warned AC not to share what he was discovering, and AC assumed it was because he didn’t want any more children mimicking his uncle.

Finally on Friday, the interviews were completed and the students spent the afternoon writing up the final drafts of their questions and answers that they turned in to Adam before leaving for the day. He wished them all a Merry Christmas and told them to be sure to buy the Christmas edition of the Territorial Enterprise.

All week long at home, Adam and Beth had been working on drawings of all the people who had been interviewed. Before Adam drove the children to their homes, he stopped by the Territorial Enterprise offices and handed the stack of written reports and the drawings to Dan DeQuille, the star reporter for the paper.

“Wow, I didn’t realize it would be so much.”

“Dan, I don’t expect you to print it all. There should be plenty to work with there though. Just pick the best parts according to your newspaper skills. You know what people will want to read. I just want you to be sure to use at least part of every interview. I know some of the younger children didn’t get much but a few lines would be nice.”

“Thanks, Adam. I might be able to use some of this in the book I’m writing too.”

Adam walked to the mercantile where he had told the children that each one could choose two candies and a special peppermint stick for Hoss. He paid for the candies and loaded seven very happy children into the wagon. It would be nearly two and a half weeks before school resumed again. Adam was fervently hoping that the school board would have a teacher hired by then. AC climbed up on the seat to sit with his father followed by Beth who climbed up on the other side.

“Papa, we watched out the window and you went to the newspaper office with our writing and the pictures that you and I drew. What are they going to do with them?” Beth was especially curious because of the drawings.

“Well, if you can keep a secret?” Both children nodded vigorously. “Dan DeQuille is going to publish parts of the interviews and all of the drawings in the Christmas edition. There will be many happy families who see the work of their sons and daughters published. Beth was very happy. Her interview of Uncle Hoss had been special to her and now others would read it too.

However AC was concerned. “Papa, are they going to print my interview with Joe about all those things he did when he was in school?”

“Oh yes, my guess is that Dan will want to use that.”

“Won’t Uncle Joe be upset?”

“Did he give the interview freely?”

“Yes.” The thought of forcing his uncle to talk was funny, and AC smiled.

“Did you let him know, as you were instructed, that other people would be reading his answers to your questions?”

“Yes.” Suddenly AC understood and Beth got it a moment later.

“You did this to get even with Uncle Joe!”

Beth almost squealed in delight. She loved a good prank, and this was a doozy in her mind.

AC wasn’t as sure, but he had to smile for this would be the first of his writing to be published.

“Are we going to get a lot of copies?”

“Yes, I ordered ten to be sure we had enough. One for each of you and one to put away for Joey. One for Grandpa. One for us. And one for Hoss and one for Joe. We’ll send one to your other grandparents too, and one to Aunt Midge. If you think of anyone else we should send to, let me know.”

On Christmas Eve, Adam went to town to get the more supplies for the Christmas feast and to pick up his copies of the holiday special edition of the Territorial Enterprise. He looked forward to Christmas and surprising his family with them. He opened one copy to see the work of his students displayed on pages two and three. There was a large article of “Ben Cartwright Remembers the Tales of Andrew Stoddard in the Revolution”, “Hoss Cartwright remembers Mount Davidson Covered in Trees and Full of Critters”, “Luella Morrison Working the Comstock for Gold”, “Doctor Martin’s Memories of the Cholera Epidemic”, and many other articles. But there in the center of the page was the best one of all: “Young Joe Cartwright, Schoolhouse Joker Extraordinaire.” Adam smiled as he saw the work exhibited and thought of all the families who would be so proud of their sons and daughters for their work. Then he smiled more when he pictured Joe’s face.

Closing the paper to put it with the others for the trip home, Adam noticed a small article on the front page. “Virginia City School Board Makes History.” The article said that for the first time ever, a married woman who was with child would be allowed to teach for the remainder of the school year. Barbara Scott Hanson had agreed to resume her duties in January as the schoolteacher. Adam smiled in relief and then felt a bit sad at losing what had become a pleasurable job. He smiled too knowing that he had written some history with his students and now had helped make history. He sighed, snapped the reins, and headed home.

 

Chapter 5

On the first school day in the new year, Adam drove the wagon with all the Cartwright children to the schoolhouse. He wanted to ask Barbara if she had any questions or if she needed anything done on her first day back. Barbara had a lot of praise for the work the students had put in the paper, and although she was sure that Joe wasn’t the most thrilled, she loved the story of Joe’s antics in the school as a youngster.

“Don’t tell the Board I said that. They filled my ears with how that had been inappropriate even as they praised the other pieces.”

“Any other comments on inappropriate actions I may have taken?”

Barbara was smiling at Adam’s discomfiture.

“Only that I was not to use games for learning, no more tours of the town, and the students are to memorize the Declaration of Independence not discuss it. So, in other words, don’t do anything Adam Cartwright did.”

Adam tipped his head down and scratched his ear.

“Well it did get you your job back.”

“Adam Cartwright, did you do all of that on purpose just to stir things up so they wouldn’t want you as a teacher?”

“Not all of it. But you do have to admit they won’t be thinking I’m a teacher in reserve the next time they want to fire a teacher.”

He grinned at that. It had worked out rather well after all.

“Has Joe forgiven you yet?”

“Oh he grouses at me a bit, but I know he’s loving all the attention too. The thing he may be most worried about are those two of his following in his footsteps.”

Adam grinned again at the look on Barbara’s face. She would be the one to deal with them if they did follow their father’s pattern of behavior.

“Barbara, there was one idea I didn’t use because of the weather. In the spring, the children were wondering if they could do a children’s rodeo as a fundraiser to get more books for the school. There are so many wonderful books coming out and rarely does the school get copies.”

“That sounds wonderful. Who do you suppose I could get to organize that?”

Barbara was looking right at Adam who grimaced. He had walked right into that one, so he nodded and Barbara smiled as she signaled one of the older children to ring the bell to summon all the children into the school. When Adam got home, he would have to tell Andi what he had been roped into.

“Adam, I do thank you for all you have done. I was looking at the work the students did in the month I was gone and some of them made remarkable progress. I know they’ll miss you. And thank you for getting this job back for me. Do you have any ideas as to how we can convince them that a married woman with a child can teach?”

Seeing the look on Adam’s face, Barbara knew there was no way to win that battle unless they became desperate for a teacher as the next school year approached. She rather hoped that is what would happen. AC and Beth walked by and bid Barbara good morning while studiously avoiding even looking at their father. Adam wondered what that was all about. As he left he had one warning for Barbara.

“Watch out for frogs.”

“I’ll do that, Dancing Bear.” At Adam’s look of surprise, she had to explain. “That story is all over town including how little Molly called you a dancing bear and why.”

Shaking his head, Adam turned the wagon for home. He didn’t think that story would lose its legs soon enough for him. He drove on wishing that he could let one of the boys drive the children to school each day, but they were too young to handle some of the steep grades in the roads, and the traffic as one neared the town. He decided he would talk to his father about getting one of the hands to do it at least some of the time. The sky became a dark grey as he drove home, and he thought he might be making the return trip much earlier than usual.

It didn’t take long. Snowflakes were falling as he reached his home. The children had ridden their ponies to his house as they did every morning, and he went to the corral to get them into the stable. It was crowded but they had been together like this many times before due to rain or snow so they were compliant. Adam knew as soon as he got to the house, Andi would want him to return to town, and he was correct in that assumption. Andi was already stacking blankets atop a large quilt. He would pile all the children in the back so they could huddle together for warmth. He would have to sit on the seat alone so he looked for his big furry coat and his gloves. He drank down a large cup of hot coffee and took the basket of sandwiches that were already prepared.

By the time Adam was back at the school, the snow was piling up fast. He went inside to collect all the Cartwright children. Many other parents who lived far from town were there too. Children were dressing in coats and picking up all of their books and supplies. A big snowstorm like this could keep them out of school for a week or more. Barbara was letting each student know what to study while they were gone. Most would do reading and spelling. The Cartwrights were the only ones likely to advance in math with all of the educated men and women on the Ponderosa, they all had people to teach them when they were not in school.

“Hello, Dancing Bear.” was a familiar greeting. Barbara smiled at the obvious affection the students had for their former substitute teacher. The only ones not smiling it seemed were AC and Beth. Adam knew there was a story there, but as yet had no idea what it might be. He bundled all of the Cartwright offspring into the wagon and headed out trying to get as much distance covered in as short a time as possible. By the time he reached the road to his home, he turned down it surprising all of the children except AC perhaps.

“It’s too awful. Soon the wagon won’t be able to get through the snow and I don’t want to be stranded out here. You’re all staying at our house for a while.”

There were many complaints at first that their parents would be worried, but as soon as they thought about missing chores and being together, the complaints died and the children began to plan what fun they could have together. Eric climbed up on the seat next to Adam with a blanket which he positioned over their legs. Adam was struggling with the team but managed a very sincere thank you for the gesture. Once home, he sent the youngest inside as AC, Beth, and Eric helped him with the horses and collected the blankets and the quilt. There was no time better than the present to ask so he did.

“Beth, AC, is there something I’ve done that’s bothering you?”

The twins looked at each other and said nothing. Just that however let Adam know it was something. He looked at them and knew he was making them uncomfortable. Eric was the one who broke though.

“They don’t like it that you don’t want to be our teacher. You spend all the time you can with Joey, but not much with Beth or AC any more.”

Beth and AC glared at Eric. Adam frowned as he thought about the answer.

“It’s not that I didn’t like being your teacher. It’s just that the way I want to teach and how the school board looks at teaching are opposites. If I wasn’t a Cartwright, they would have fired me the first week. As it is, they have ordered Mrs. Hanson not to do any of the things I did.”

“Well, they can’t do that!”

The fiery one, Beth, was incensed by that, and it made her forget that she had another complaint. AC was never the one to forget though so he brought up the other issue.

“Then why did you practically ignore us during our Christmas vacation and spend all of your time with Joey?”

“Joey was ill. He needed to be held all the time so that we could keep him upright. I’m sorry if it looked like I was ignoring you, but I was scared for him. If his lungs filled with fluid, he could have died.”

Adam could see the shock on all three faces.

“We should have told you what Doctor Martin said, but we wanted you to be able to enjoy your holiday.”

“But we didn’t enjoy it that much. It was like you and Mama didn’t like having us around. If you had told us, we would have worried but not about whether you wanted us or not.”

“We were so preoccupied. We waited so long to have another baby and suffered so much to get there. It only increased our stress. Your mother is only now recovering from that fear. She jumps out of bed each morning to check on him and make sure he’s breathing.”

The children hadn’t noticed that, although they had seen their mother looking worried. They knew now that they should have asked and told their father that. Adam wrapped his arms around the twins and hugged them.

“So are you going to tell Mama about the rodeo? Mrs. Hanson told us.”

With a deep sigh that made all the children smile, Adam nodded causing all three to grin. Then the four of them headed to the house to what they all assumed would be bedlam, and it was. It was such a relief when the storm was over and the children were collected by their parents.

 

Chapter 6

As spring approached, the schoolchildren began looking forward to their rodeo. It was to be held the Saturday before Easter in conjunction with all the festivities of that special day. There would be Easter egg hunts, egg painting, and a big community picnic. Then in the afternoon, the children would put on their rodeo. The boys and girls who were old enough to compete were practicing their riding and roping. The younger children were being organized to put on a parade to entertain before the competitive events began.

It was the horse race that had the older children most excited. Unknown to Adam and Andi, AC and Beth were practicing their racing every time they rode to their grandparents’ home. Then they would rub down their ponies and take a leisurely ride back so that their parents would never suspect. Unlike her mother who still sat rather stiffly in the saddle when she rode and had to fight her nervousness so she wouldn’t transmit it to the horse, Beth was a gifted rider. She rode with energy that got her pony to do his best every time. In comparing her to other riders, most thought of her Uncle Joe because she had that same enthusiastic style. Her pony was Dancer.

Riding like the wind is how most described AC on a horse. He was even more graceful than his father and seemed to expend no energy as he rode looking like he belonged on that saddle and no where else. Watching him ride, one would have to believe that the horse could read his mind because there was no obvious control being exerted as he had worked with his horse so that the most subtle change could cause the horse to do his master’s bidding. Unlike his father who loved a spirited horse, AC preferred a calmer animal. His pony was Emerson, and that name only got his uncles shaking their heads every time and laughing sometimes when they heard the boy call his horse. That the horse came at the first mention of his name by AC was often overlooked.

Only a week before the rodeo, Beth and AC were racing as they often did when AC got a huge lead on Beth. Now that wouldn’t actually matter as there was to be a boys’ race and a girls’ race so they wouldn’t be competing against each other at the rodeo, but to Beth it was an affront to have her brother so far out ahead of her. She pushed Dancer to go faster and then saw a chance to obliterate AC’s lead and take it for herself. All she had to do was jump a small fence and victory would be hers. It was a predictable disaster that Beth had not considered. Dancer’s back leg caught on a strand of wire and both went down in a tangle of arms, legs, and bodies. AC saw a sight that would invade his dreams for the next months.

“Beth, Beth, are you all right. Beth please be all right. Wake up, please, wake up.”

Slowly Beth opened her eyes and then scrunched them shut against the agonizing pain in her left arm. She could feel aches and pains elsewhere, but that pain was shooting up into her shoulder and down into her hand like someone was stabbing her.

“AC, please, please, get me some help.” Tears were coursing down her cheeks as she attempted to speak more. “What about Dancer? Is Dancer all right?”

The sad grunts and heaving breath of the horse were all the answer anyone needed. Beth craned her neck to look back at her horse, and then promptly retched up her dinner. Dancer had broken his front legs and there was blood, and bone showing.

AC wanted to do something for the horse but had to care for his sister first. He took off his shirt and wrapped it tightly around Beth holding her broken arm to her side. Then he put his jacket around her to keep her warm because she was already shaking and shivering. He called Emerson who came immediately although he shied a bit at Dancer lying there next to Beth. AC helped Beth into the saddle and then climbed up behind her. The main house was closer than home so he headed there for help.

“Grandpa! Grandma! Uncle Joe! Help me, please?”

Joe raced out from the stable at AC’s plaintive cries for help. He eased Beth out of AC’s arms and carried her into the house passing Ben, Mariah, and Liz on the way. Mariah and Liz went to help Joe care for Beth, but Ben went to AC.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, Grandpa, but Beth has a broken arm and I don’t know what else. Dancer has two broken legs.”

“We’ll get Joe to go with you to take care of the horse. Now, what happened?”

AC told Ben about their racing in preparation for the rodeo, and how Beth must have tried to jump the fence to try to win the race with him. Ben held his tongue. He knew this would be something that Adam and Andi would have to handle. When Joe came outside, Ben told him about Dancer. Joe had a grim look to his face when he mounted up on Cochise and rode out with AC. Ben wondered what he would do, but thought perhaps there was going to be a tough lesson in this for AC.

Once Joe and AC arrived at the accident site, Dancer was no longer thrashing about and making those plaintive sounds. The wild eyes and heaving breaths though showed how the animal had been suffering. Joe pulled his rifle and dismounted. AC was going to turn away, but Joe stopped him.

“You need to stand right there and see what your foolishness has cost this animal. Let him look at you so he thinks things will be all right. I’m going to stand to the side so he doesn’t know it’s coming. You talk to him to keep him as calm as possible. I want to do it with one shot.”

With tears streaming down his face, AC talked to Dancer until a shot rang out and a large hole appeared in the horse’s head. It was over for Dancer, but the pain for AC and Beth would continue a very long time. Joe pulled a shovel from behind his saddle and handed it to AC. It was hours before they returned to the Ponderosa main house. By then, Adam, Andi, and the doctor were there. AC put Dancer’s saddle and tack in the back of their carriage. Then he walked inside to face his parents.

 

Chapter 7

As AC saw his mother and father, he could see the worry in their faces. Tears rolled down his face as he neared his mother and she took him in her arms to comfort him. Then AC looked over at his father. Adam had a concerned look but also a look that said this was far from over. Doctor Martin came out of the guest room then and everyone stood to hear his diagnosis.

“Adam and Miranda, I’m sorry it took so long. I had to sedate her to repair the arm. She has a break in the upper arm and the lower. The break in the upper arm is straightforward but the break in the lower is more complex. I’m afraid I may have to open that part of the arm up to clean up the fracture. For now, it’s stabilized and I want to see if the swelling will go down. She needs some time just to rest.”

Just then, Hop Sing scurried back into the bedroom with a large towel. He had been asked to prepare a large ice pack for her arm. The doctor went back in to help him place it, and then called to Adam and Andi to come see their daughter. Beth lay very pale and unmoving on the bed. There was a large pile of towels packed around her left arm holding the ice pack in place along the length of her arm. AC stood behind his parents until Adam pulled him forward to stand between them and gaze on his sister. Andi couldn’t hold back the tears then, and Adam moved to hold her again. Once she calmed a bit, he pulled a chair close and let her sit by her daughter’s side. Adam indicated to AC that he wanted to talk with him and ushered him outside.

“What happened?”

“Beth and I were practicing our racing for the rodeo. She was behind, and I think she thought if she made that jump, she could catch me. She’s made those jumps before with no problem. She always does it when the hill is higher on one side so that Dancer could clear the fence.” At that point, AC started crying. Adam was starting to get angry though. Apparently, this wasn’t the first race and wasn’t the first jump Beth had attempted.

“The two of you have been racing, and Beth has been jumping. You know both of those things were specifically against the rules your mother and I set for you when you got those horses. We thought you were responsible enough to handle those mounts, but apparently we were wrong.”

“I’m so very sorry, Papa. We never meant to hurt Dancer. I would never have done it if I thought anyone could get hurt.”

“So you thought the rules we set were just arbitrary and had no meaning behind them. We knew what could happen. That’s why we set those limits. I told you that anyone who is around horses knows or should know they can get hurt.”

The two sat quietly for a moment thinking. “Am I going to get a tanning for this?”

Adam sat quietly for so long, AC was getting very worried. Finally he spoke, but what he said shook AC more than any threat of a tanning could.

“You’d like that, I would guess. It would be painful briefly, but you would be absolved of all responsibility for what happened. You would have paid the price and moved on. But there would still be the risk that you would do it again.”

“Papa, I promise, I will not race. I’ll stop Beth if she tries too.”

“No. You will not ride Emerson. I’ll stable him here and let someone else ride him for exercise. I’ll borrow Old Betsy for you to ride. You will do your chores and all of Beth’s until she can resume them. Your mother will have some other tasks for you to do as well. You will not participate in the rodeo except to work.”

Ready for the chores, but surprised and then accepting that there would be no riding of Emerson as well as additional chores, AC was shocked by the last part.

“But, Papa, we’ve been looking forward to the rodeo for months. It’s supposed to raise money for new books for the school. I have to be in it.”

“No, you don’t. There are many children who will participate, and parents and others who will be there to contribute their time and money. You will still give your time. I have a lot of jobs that need to be done to make this a success, and you will be assigned one of them at least. There will be other rodeos and races in the future, but you only have one sister. Your decision to race her could have cost you that, and it did cost Dancer his life.”

“Papa, Uncle Joe made me watch as he killed Dancer. Then he made me bury her until my arms were so tired I couldn’t lift another shovel full. I’m so sorry Dancer had to die.”

“You need to apologize to Uncle Joe.”

“Why?”

“That is a terribly difficult thing he had to do. For the next few days or even weeks, he will be suffering with what he had to do because of you and Beth.” Inwardly though, Adam was feeling pride and gratitude to his youngest brother. He would have to tell him so as soon as possible. “Now, let’s get back inside to see how we’re going to handle the next few days.”

It was determined that Andi would stay with Beth. Adam and AC would go home to care for Joey and do any chores that needed doing. The next day, Adam would return with the carriage, and if Doctor Martin allowed it, they would take Beth home. Before they left, AC sought out his Uncle Joe. The more he thought about it, the more he agreed with his father that he needed to apologize to him. He found him in the stable brushing down his horse and talking softly to him. AC walked up to within a few feet of Joe. He shivered a little at what he had to do, but stood straight.

“Uncle Joe, I’m very sorry for what I made you do.” AC couldn’t help it as the tears started again. He had wanted to be strong but just couldn’t seem to hold them back. “I’m sorry I’m crying. I try to be strong but it just doesn’t work.”

“That’s all right, little buddy. Your Papa never got to do that as a kid, but I’m glad you can show your emotions. What I had to do hurt me a lot, but I’m relieved to see that you are hurting about it too. You have a good heart, AC. It was a foolish thing to do, but I understand. I did stuff like that too when I was your age. It made your Papa and mine so angry. I never understood it at the time, but I do now.”

“Understood what?”

“My mama died in a riding accident. I guess they worried all the time that the same would happen to me. It didn’t, but I killed a horse jumping just like Beth did. It made me settle down for a bit, but not long enough. I made my family worry so many times, and I didn’t understand how hard that is to do until I had my own girls.”

“You killed your horse?”

“No, actually, I killed your Papa’s horse. I took him out without permission because I thought it was stupid that I couldn’t ride a big strong horse like my brothers. I tried jumping, and he came down wrong and broke a leg. I had to walk home then and tell them what I had done. Your Papa was so furious with me, but he just grabbed a rifle and headed out there. It took a long time before I understood that he was most angry about having to kill that horse. He had to live with that pain, and it was my fault.”

“And now you have to live with that pain, and it’s my fault.”

Joe nodded, and AC wrapped his arms around his uncle trying to give him some comfort. The gesture was appreciated, but nothing would wipe that memory of Dancer suffering and then dying from his mind except time and other more happy memories. AC understood that now, and knew that he too would remember this day for a long time. He walked out and climbed into the carriage. Old Betsy was tied to the back. Adam walked over to Joe.

“I’m so sorry that you had to do that because of my children. You handled the whole thing so well. I am very proud of you as well as very grateful for what you did. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I don’t think I realized until today why you and Pa worried about me so much when I was that age.”

“And older.”

Joe smiled in response to Adam’s small crooked grin, and then grabbed Adam in a hug. “Thanks, you old stubborn hardhead.” Adam hugged back and gave Joe a pat on the back before climbing into the carriage to head home.

 

Chapter 8

Early the next morning, Adam was up doing chores and nearly did AC’s because he was in a hurry to go see how Beth was doing. Instead he waited until AC got to the stable and then let him start in on the chores he normally did with his sister. An hour later, AC trudged to the house. It was clear he had not slept well and now had worked hard before having any breakfast. Adam played with Joey as AC cleaned up and ate. Then the three of them headed to his father’s home. Once there, Adam walked in with Joey as AC unhitched the horse from the carriage, led him to the corral, and made sure he had water before he went to the house.

Looking every bit as exhausted as she felt, Andi met Adam in the great room and took Joey from his arms. The little boy clung to his mother and snuggled his head against her neck.

“He missed you a lot. He slept with me last night. Then AC crawled in too.”

“Well I hope you had on a nightshirt.” Andi smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I slept in the chair next to Beth. She’s awake but in a lot of pain this morning. I didn’t tell her yet about Dancer. I don’t know how much she saw.”

“Based on what AC told me, she saw enough, but in her condition, she may not remember. AC has been shaken by this. I hope he grows from it.”

So Adam told Andi about his talk with AC and the consequences he had set. Andi accepted those, but wondered what they would do with Beth who had been even more responsible for what happened but also had paid a heavy price already.

“She caused her own injury and the death of Dancer. She has to face consequences too.”

“I’m right here. You can just tell me.”

Both Adam and Andi were surprised to see Beth standing in the doorway with pain showing in her grimace and her stance. Andi handed Joey off to Mariah and AC as Adam addressed Beth.

“First, you get right back to bed. If you fall, you could get hurt worse.” Adam almost carried her back to the bed. “Now, did you hear what happened to AC?”

“Yes, and it’s not fair. He didn’t do it. I did.”

“He raced you which was against our rules for the two of you. You wouldn’t have tried that jump if you weren’t racing.”

Beth had to nod her head in agreement with that.

“However, what you did was worse. Your foolish action cost Dancer his life. Joe had to shoot him. Now he’s suffering and AC is suffering too because he had to help.” Each part of that had caused Beth to shake. Tears began to flow freely, and Andi moved to sit by her to comfort her, but Adam held her back.

“AC has lost the right to ride Emerson and will ride Old Betsy when he needs to ride. You will not ride at all except behind him or me, or in the wagon or carriage. You will be home resting when the rodeo takes place, and AC will be there working with me instead of participating. When you are healthy, we will talk about extra chores for you to do.”

By that point, Beth was sobbing and Adam reached for her and allowed Andi to sit on the other side of Beth as they comforted her. “We love you so much, but what you did could have killed you and it did kill Dancer. We have to do this so you won’t try foolish risks like this in the future.”

After about a half hour, Beth was so exhausted that she fell asleep. Adam eased her back to the pillow, and Andi covered her with a light blanket. Then the two of them stepped outside the room and closed the door.

“Did you have to be so harsh? Beth was suffering so and you made it so much worse!” Andi’s voice was low but her anger was still apparent.

“I would have waited but she overheard too much already. If I made her wait to find out the consequences, she would just have worried. Now she knows and can get used to the idea.”

Ben was still at the table with his coffee as Mariah and Liz were visiting with AC and Joey near the fireplace. They heard it all. Adam wasn’t comfortable having everyone hear, but Beth and Andi had opened discussions in front of everyone so he wasn’t able to do it more privately. The angry tone of Andi and Adam had Joey starting to cry. Adam picked him up and walked outside with him to calm the toddler and forestall any more angry words.

Because Joey had had a restless night, he was irritable and tired. Adam talked softly with him and then began to sing lullabies to him. Joey laid his head on his father’s chest as Adam sat in a chair on the porch, and then the toddler closed his eyes and fell asleep. Adam loved these moments with his children when they showed their absolute trust and confidence in him to do the right thing and to protect them. He had their absolute trust. He wondered how long it would be before Joey did something that would lead to the same kind of problem as AC and Beth had. He knew both of his older children were very upset with him at this point but felt he had done what he had to do. What he wished for too was that Andi would back him when he had to make these decisions. He heard her walk up behind him and tensed for the confrontation he thought was coming. Joey stirred in his embrace and he consciously endeavored to remain calm so his son could sleep. Andi’s words were not the ones he had been expecting.

“Your father let me know how wrong he thought I was. He said I can’t always hand over the tough discipline decisions to you and then complain about what you do. He said it must have been terribly hard for you to do what you did because you were suffering too. I’m sorry that all I saw was how my daughter was suffering and failed to acknowledge your feelings in this. Will you accept my apology?” Andi leaned down to kiss him to let him know she meant every word she had said.

Kissing his wife and then smiling in relief, Adam glanced down at his sleeping son. “He’s a sweet little boy. You may have to have a discussion with him though. He saw me using the chamberpot this morning and asked about my ‘pickle’. He wanted to know why it was so much bigger than his. I told him it was because I was so much bigger than him, but you know how he likes to question us about things. I doubt it will be the last time he asks. He is a very curious little boy. By the way, why does he call it a ‘pickle’?”

Blushing a little, Andi sat in the chair next to Adam. “We were naming body parts when he took his bath as we often do. So we did ears, nose, eyes, mouth, arms, legs, and tummy and so on. Then he grabbed it and said ‘What’, and I had to say something. I didn’t know what to say, so I said ‘pickle’ and that’s what he calls it now.”

There was nothing else to do but smile at that. Joey was curious and asked about everything with his why, what, and where questions. He was also very talkative for someone so young, and undoubtedly would ask others about their ‘pickle’ at some point. It was probably safest that Andi had given him that term.

 

Chapter 9

That same day, Adam was able to transport Beth home after Doctor Martin checked her out and was pleased to find the swelling greatly diminished. He re-splinted the lower arm, and wrapped her whole arm in heavy bandages. His new prognosis was that with lots of rest, the arm should heal without any additional intervention by him. That relieved everyone especially the adults who knew how risky surgery on Beth’s arm would have been.

Once Beth was safely tucked away in her bed, Adam had to go to town to finalize plans for the children’s rodeo. The ladies from the church were organizing the Easter activities, and he had to coordinate with them on timing of events. He also had to make sure all of his instructions were being followed and that the volunteers were all ready to go. He arrived home after dark to find the household quiet which was a great relief after the past two days. He found his dinner was ready and waiting for him in the warming oven. He could hear Andi with the children readying them for bed. He gulped his dinner and went to see how everyone was doing.

Drowsy from the exhaustion caused by pain, Beth was already falling asleep by the time Adam got to her room. He kissed her on the cheek and she mumbled something he couldn’t understand and closed her eyes. Adam stood by her bedside watching her as her breathing indicated she was sleeping. His fiery, daredevil daughter looked like such an angel as she slept. Next he went to Joey’s room and the little boy let out a joyous scream seeing his father. Adam shushed him and held him close until the toddler snuggled into his shoulder. Then Adam laid him in the bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. Joey fell asleep faster than Adam had ever seen anyone do it. It seemed the moment his head hit the pillow, he was asleep. Andi was at the door watching. Adam pulled Joey’s door nearly closed, and then the two of them went to bid AC good night.

The next few days went by remarkably fast for everyone except Beth. Adam and AC were in town preparing the rodeo when AC was done with school each day. Friday would be a vacation day and the plan was for Adam and AC to work in town all that day. Andi had Joey to care for but also now had Beth convalescing.

“Mama, do you think Papa will change his mind and let me go to the rodeo. I know I can’t ride, but it could be a lot of fun just being there.”

“It wasn’t just your Papa’s decision. I support that punishment for you too.”

“I heard you get mad at Papa for punishing me like that. Did he make you agree with him?”

“No, and if you must know, Grandpa Ben and Grandma Mariah supported your Papa’s decision and so did I once I got to think about it. What you did could have gotten you killed. You need to consider consequences before you take an action, and we’re hoping these punishments will help you do that.”

“But AC gets to go.”

“AC is being punished as well. Don’t start complaining now. We could add to your punishment if we think it isn’t making enough of an impression on you. Keep that in mind.”

Sobered by her mother’s comments, Beth’s temper was just held in check. She had been just angry with her father but that anger encompassed her mother was well now. She thought they were being unfair. She thought her injury and the pain she had suffered should have been enough as well as the fact that she had lost her horse and couldn’t compete in the rodeo per doctor’s orders. The additional penalties seemed to be too much, and she was angry. She began to plot.

On Saturday, Adam rode out early to take care of last-minute details. Andi was going to drive the carriage to town with AC and Joey. Joey would love the Easter egg hunt and AC would help him. Beth sat in her room refusing to speak with anyone. Then after the hunt, there would be egg painting with prizes for each age group. AC would help Adam set up the rodeo events as the children painted. Then families would have picnic lunches just outside town where the little rodeo was set up.

In the rodeo, Eric was expected to win the riding and roping contests and the whole family wanted to be there to cheer him on. None of the Cartwright children were expected to win the races, but Eric as well as Joe’s children were participating. The circuit for the older children was one half mile long. For the younger children such as Joe’s, it was only about one hundred yards. It was long enough to have fun but short enough that it was unlikely anyone would be hurt. There were pony rides for the youngest children who would be led by an older child or adult. Prizes were to be awarded in every category. Entrance fees for each event were small, but people had to buy tickets to be a spectator. No one grumbled though because they knew it was going for a good cause. Adam had Roy in charge of betting. Many of the more church-going crowd would have been offended to know that there were bets on who would win, but the rodeo was taking ten percent of all bets so it was another money maker.

When it came time for the rodeo to begin, Adam was surprised to see that Eric was leading Emerson to the fenced in areas where the roping and riding events were to be held. He looked at AC wondering how he would feel about it and found his son smiling.

“Papa, I told Eric to ride Emerson. He loves to run, and he’s better trained than Eric’s horse. Eric has his horse here as a back-up.”

“That was a very nice thing to do.”

“Papa, thank you for letting me help you with the rodeo. I know that what I did racing Beth was very wrong. I’ll be better now.”

“You’ve shown a mature attitude in accepting your punishment. I’m proud of you. Now you go grab the small blackboard to announce the scores, and I’ll go make sure the judges are ready to start.”

Up in a hayloft of a stable overlooking the rodeo area was a curly headed ten-year-old girl sporting a large cast on her arm. She had found it difficult to climb the ladder into the loft but had managed it. At home, she had finished lunch as expected but instead of retiring to her room for a nap as she had announced to their cook and housekeeper, she had managed to saddle Old Betsy and rode to town. It had been difficult to saddle the horse but in the week since her accident, the pain in her arm had abated considerably. She used ropes to pull the cinch tight, and had used a pulley to put the saddle on the horse. She had been grateful that her father had bought both of them small light saddles that made the task possible. Taking an indirect route to the stable that she knew overlooked the rodeo area, she had tied Old Betsy behind it and then climbed up to the loft. Almost everyone was still in the picnic area when she arrived so only a few had seen her and mostly they were men who worked here and wouldn’t be bothered by any child as they went about their business. She could see well, and if she stayed in the shadows, no one would see her. She planned to ride back as soon as the races were over so no one would know she had ever been there.

Soon there was a flurry of activity as families got to the rodeo after finishing their picnic lunches. Escorted by parents, young children went to the viewing area as the older children prepared for the skill contests that would be followed by the races. As Beth watched AC hold up the board with scores, she got angry. When she saw Eric riding Emerson, she was livid not knowing that it had been AC’s idea. She was in that frame of mind when she went to climb down the ladder that turned out to be more difficult than climbing up had been. She slipped as she tried to maneuver herself back onto the ladder using only one arm. She fell and there was a sickening thud as she hit the ground. Jake had been sitting on the bench outside his stable watching the rodeo when he heard the noise. He went in to investigate and found Beth unconscious on the floor.

As Adam was being congratulated by a host of parents for the wonderful job on the rodeo, he looked toward the stable when he heard shouts from the crowd to see Jake carrying a limp Beth in his arms. He ran to Jake taking Beth from his arms.

“What happened? How did she get hurt?”

“Far as I can tell, she was up in that loft watching the goings on down here. I had no idea she was there until I heard a noise and found her lying on the floor in my stable.”

Andi came rushing up to Adam after handing Joey off to Mariah and Ben. She and AC followed along as Adam carried Beth toward Doctor Martin’s office. Andi moved to support Beth’s injured arm that was dangling loosely as Adam carried her. Once at Doctor Martin’s, Adam carried Beth into the doctor’s exam room and then came out to comfort his wife and son. Soon the rest of the Cartwright clan was there waiting to hear what the doctor would say. With everyone so quiet and after having a very exciting day, Joey was exhausted and fell asleep on Adam’s shoulder. It was over an hour before the doctor emerged to say that Beth would be fine. She had a mild concussion and had sustained no more damage to her arm

“At least she fell on the side where she wasn’t injured. I was afraid she had injured that arm more which could have led to an amputation, but luckily that won’t be necessary. Just keep her home and resting, and within a week, she should be fully recovered.”

Andi had gasped when the doctor had mentioned ‘amputation’ as had the other women. Adam and the men did not react. Adam knew he had to explain.

“Paul told me what the worst would be if that bone did not set properly or if there was infection. He wanted me to get used to the idea in case it had to happen. There was no need to worry you even more unless it started to look as if that would be necessary. I told my father and my brothers because I knew how much help we would need if it had come to that.”

A little upset at not being trusted with that information, Andi also knew that Adam would do anything to protect his family and that is what that had been. She sighed and asked if they could sit with Beth, and Paul told them that would be a good idea. As Adam and Andi sat with Beth, they discussed what they could do with their willfully disobedient daughter. Before she awakened, they had worked out a plan.

 

Chapter 10

Pulling the tent stake tight, Adam looked over the children who were helping him set up another tent for the families who were here. Eric, AC, and Beth were pulling as hard as they could but the weight of the canvas was just too much for them. Hoss walked up behind Beth and grabbed the rope with her and the tent was suddenly upright. The two boys quickly went inside to set the tent poles and tie them off. Then they emerged and began securing the sides of the tent to the ground and Beth went inside to put the canvas strip around the bottom that was meant to keep out snakes, rodents, and insects.

Hoss moved to Adam’s side and they watched their children work. Ben had decided that the children’s request for a camping, fishing, and hunting trip could be honored. He and Mariah had taken the line shack as their dwelling and there were three tents set up for the brothers and their families.

“Beth really has come a long way in the last few months.”

Adam had a deep sigh at Hoss’ words. It had been very difficult. He remembered sitting at the doctor’s office and wondering if that amputation would have to occur after Beth’s fall in the stable. It had not been necessary, but he had known that he had to shock Beth into change before something like that or worse happened. When he had finally confronted her, he had Beth sobbing when he had told her that amputation was a possibility. He had found out the hard way that keeping the truth from her had just made her even more reckless. He had told her in graphic detail what an amputation would be like. Then he had prevailed on Joe to describe Dancer’s injuries also in graphic detail and how the animal had suffered. He had described the sorrow and worry Andi had suffered and how she couldn’t sleep and cried in his arms almost every night. He didn’t spare her any of the horror of what had happened because he never wanted her to forget what she had done by her willful disobedience. Rules were there for a reason, and she wasn’t to forget that.

That had been part one of their plan. Then Beth had to apologize to everyone affected by her foolish actions and she had to be sincere by doing something for that person as well as saying she was sorry. She had not realized how many people had been affected by her actions until she had to do that. It seemed the list was endless from her parents and AC to Uncle Joe, Grandpa Ben, and so on including Doctor Martin and a number of other people who had helped when she was injured. When she had apologized to Jake at the livery stable and offered to wash his clothes for him that he happily accepted, her father had said he thought she was done with that part.

The third part of her consequences was still in place. Beth was not allowed to go anywhere alone except to the necessary and to sleep in her room at night. At all other times, she was to be in the company of an adult. That meant for the remainder of the school year, she had not been allowed to play or visit with her friends before school, during lunch and recess, and after school. She had to stay inside with Mrs. Hanson. On the good side of that, she had developed a good friendship with Barbara and helped her with the small children on a number of occasions. Now that her arm was fully healed and the muscles were regaining their strength, that and the earlier proscription against riding a horse that was still in effect were the daily reminders of what her foolish actions had caused.

AC’s punishment had not been as severe because he was less complicit in the original disobedience and had been sincere in his resolve to follow the rules. AC had been shaken to the core by having to help Joe with Dancer. Adam had thanked Joe several times for doing that. AC had thrown himself into working on the rodeo and making it a success even though he had not been allowed to compete. Telling his cousin to ride Emerson had shown his sincerity as well. In addition, AC had ridden Old Betsy without complaint until this trip when Adam had relented and allowed him to ride Emerson. Boy and pony had been overjoyed to be together again. Emerson was still young and playful. Adam and Andi liked the effect that he had on their serious son who acted like a small child sometimes when frolicking with Emerson.

When the families had arrived, Adam had gathered all the children around him and laid out the rules that he and the other parents had agreed were necessary. No one could go anywhere without an adult with them or AC or Eric. Beth was still restricted to being with the adults as were the younger children. She was no longer was upset by that because she felt rather grown up to be in discussions with her grandmother and aunts as well as her mother. Beth was often the one chosen to be Joey’s guardian and the two of them had become very close. All in all, things were working out rather well until no one could find Joe’s youngest daughter. Suddenly everyone was out searching for her. Joey was napping and Beth found herself alone with just him in the camp. She wanted so very much to go help, but it would break the rules and leave her little brother unattended.

Within about fifteen minutes, there was an ominous silence. Beth had been hearing shouts from the searchers and now there was only silence. She worried at what had happened. Then she saw her Uncle Joe carrying a sodden daughter to their tent. Joe was soaked as well and when her father appeared, he also was completely wet. Her Uncle Hoss had wet sleeves but was otherwise dry. She waited to hear what had happened. Her father reached their tent and suddenly realized that Beth had been left alone, but she had stayed with Joey despite what must have been a huge temptation to run to where everyone else was. Beth calmly waited for someone to explain what happened. Her father patted her on the head before heading into the tent pulling the flap closed. Andi walked up to Beth then as the other families went to their tents or the line shack.

“She fell in the stream and was clinging to an exposed tree root. When Joe jumped in to get her, he lost his footing and the two of them were washed downstream. Your father waded in to grab them but couldn’t hold them and help them out so Uncle Hoss grabbed your father by the belt and pulled him as he pulled your Uncle Joe who was holding his little darling.”

“So that’s why Papa said none of us could go to the stream without an adult with us?”

“Yes, the stream is rushing much more than usual with the heat wave melting snow up above and the rain we had yesterday. It’s too dangerous.”

“And rules are made for a reason.”

Andi smiled. Beth got it now. She had grown a lot over the last few months. She still had that temper but was amending her behavior. After all, her father, uncles, and grandfather had quite the tempers too so that was no reason to worry as long as there was a strong code of conduct to go with it. She saw Joey still lying asleep on the blanket under the tent canopy and realized Beth had fulfilled that responsibility very well. She and Adam would talk now about weaning Beth off the restrictions they had imposed. Beth would have to prove that she was ready, but Andi no longer had any doubt that she would do well. As Adam emerged from the tent in dry clothing but barefoot as his boots would need to dry, Andi smiled at him and then looked at Beth. He nodded. They were in agreement.

“Beth, how would you like to try riding Sport? He needs some exercise and my boots are wet.”

Meanwhile, Joe and Liz were in a quandary as to what to do about their daughter who had violated a basic rule and nearly died. She could have caused others to be injured or die too by her action. More than ever, the two appreciated how difficult a situation Adam and Andi had been in with Beth. Now, they had to navigate an equally treacherous route with their daughter, but they had a good example to follow. They talked once they had her bundled up and warm and were certain there were no immediate concerns for her health. Joe was in the same boat as Adam with no dry boots so he pulled on two pairs of socks and sat by the fire with his wife. The decision was that one of them would have to stay in the tent area at all times with her and she would be forbidden to leave the tent except for meals and necessary business. When she was out of the tent, she would be with an adult at all times. The older girls were not happy to find out that she would be holding one of her parents in the camp and unable to participate in the family outings. Joe and Liz assured everyone that they would take turns. It was not enough to satisfy the older girls, but it calmed things for the time being. By the second night, the little girl spent quite a bit of time crying.

“Nobody likes me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Papa, no one wants to be with me. They don’t come in the tent until it’s time to sleep. They don’t talk with me. In the morning, they leave without talking with me. They hate me.”

“They don’t hate you. They’re angry with you.”

“But I said I was sorry.”

“I used to say that a lot too. It isn’t enough to say you’re sorry. It doesn’t change what you did.”

“But I can’t change what I did.”

“But you could try to make up for it. What have you done to show you’re sorry.”

“To show I’m sorry?”

“Yes, to say it is one thing, but you have to do things to show it.”

That little face scrunched up in thought for a time. Then she had a question.

“So, if I cleaned up the tent maybe and made things nicer inside, maybe that would show I really am sorry?”

“That would be a start.”

“A start?”

“Yes, that benefits you too, so it might not be enough.”

“What does that mean?”

“It is good for you too.”

“Oh, I guess it is.”

“You may have to do more thinking about this.”

“All right, I will while I’m cleaning things up.”

“There, now that’s a sign you’re growing up.”

“Can I be five again? Six is too hard.”

Holding back his laughter until after he had exited the tent, Joe had to tell the other adults the story but had to be fairly circumspect in doing so because he didn’t want the girls to know what was going on inside the tent. When they got inside and found the tent all tidied up and their bunks freshened up too, they had to be polite and say thank you. Then there were a few more times they had to say thank you as they found other things that had been done and there were even a few smiles. In the morning, they was a little waitress at breakfast who collected plates as people finished, and then she volunteered to do the dishes too. Now she needed adult help, but she knew she had one adult with her for the day. She had already asked her mother if it would be all right to volunteer to do all the dishes and gotten an affirmative answer from her. It did mean that more people said thank you and there were more smiles. She was beginning to feel like part of the family again.

That day, Ben and Joe’s brothers added their support to how well he was handling the situation. He admitted he almost cried talking to her about it, but he had managed to stay strong. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he admitted that though, and his brothers couldn’t hold back. Ben had to shake his head. Some things never changed, but many things had changed, and they were all good.