Summary:  The Cartwright brothers take a Christmas trip?
Rating:  G  1,725 words

Written for the Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar

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Bonanza
~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~
* Day 24 *

FOR REAL

“Adam” Ben called this yelling over the noise of his other two sons in the yard.” Why did they have to be so noisy?”

“Yeah, Pa ?” sticking his head out of the barn.

“Come in here, I have something for you to do.”

Little Joe and Hoss stopped horsing around and watched Adam enter the house with Ben firmly closing the door behind them.

Hoss “I wonder what Pa wants Adam for?”

“Lets go and listen, it could have something to do with Christmas.” said Little Joe.

“Then we shouldn’t”

“You’re just as curious as I am ,come on.

Softly opening the door and hiding behind the wood stove, the big ears listened. Ben handed Adam a list he had prepared .

“I need you to go to Three Folks to pick these items. They will be ready for you.”

Adam “That’s a long  way, Pa, Is the stage running?” Ben handed over an envelope ,”No, you be travelling by steam locomotive, which means that you will be there and back in no time, so you won’t miss Christmas.”

Adam let out a shout of joy…a trip, a quiet time for himself. Ben limped back to his desk “Hurry up now, this is a special steam locomotive , and you don’t want to miss it.” As Adam bolted upstairs to get ready, the two eavesdroppers sneaked back outside, not knowing that Hop Sing saw them coming from the kitchen.”Hop Sing sees No.2 and 3 sons peeking and listening.”

Ben nodded “I saw them too.”

Little Joe “I have a plan. We should follow Adam into town, that way we can see this special steam locomotive.”

Hoss rubs his chin “I don’t know, Pa may get mad, besides we have chores to do.”

Little Joe “We can do them later “This is the beginning of many of Little Joe’s schemes in the future with Hoss as his sidekick.

Ben hands Adam another envelope “Put this in your inner pocket, it’s extra money just in case.” Adam jumps on his horse and tips his hat to his father. “See you in abit.”

After a few minutes, at his desk, Ben looks up “Are the other two gone?”

Hop Sing nodded “Hot on No.1’s tail.”

Ben  “They will have hot tails when they get back.”

———

Adam handing his ticket to the conductor, Adam was excited. This was Adam’s first time on one and it was much faster, with more space and more comfortable than that of a stagecoach. He was travelling in style. He made himself comfy, placing the oversized basket that Hop Sing gave him “Plenty of food and drink, not know what on locomotive, not as good as Hop Sing, extra to share.” The steam locomotive whistled. It was time to go chug, chug, slow at first, then picking up speed. The conductor came around “Not many people, you’re the only one, for now.” Wow,  he had the whole car for himself. It only had one car. “I wonder why?”

Adam asked “Why is there only one car? “The conductor replied that more cars would be added on the return trip.  A few minutes into the  trip, he felt weird. Adam kept looking around, like eyes were watching him, beady little eyes.   He got up and looked behind his seat. Yeah there were beady little eyes, two blue and two green

.

“What in the heck are you two doing here? I take it Pa doesn’t know about this?” “So?” Adam asked.

“Well, it was like this, we wanted to see it for ourselves. We were gonna stand outside, but…”

“But what?”

“We decided that a quick peek inside would cause no harm,” Hoss stuttered.

Adam looked over at Little Joe, who was unusually quiet.

Pointing a finger at Joe, “His idea?”

Little Joe gave him a weak smile. Adam pinched his nose “Nothing that we can do now, come and sit. Lucky thing Hop Sing packed enough food to feed an army.” Sitting at the window the three brothers watched the country go by.

The conductor came by “I see that we have two stowaways. I did say that you wouldn’t be alone for long.”

Adam, “I can pay for them,” Thank goodness Pa gave me extra money. 

As the steam locomotive sped along its tracks, Hoss asked, “How fast are we going?”

“We can ask the conductor. They call it horsepower, measured in miles per hour,” said Adam.

Hoss squinted his eyes at Adam, “How do you know that?”

Adam held up a book that he was reading.

Little Joe rolled his eyes, “Figures.”

After a meal of hard- boiled eggs, beef sandwiches, ginger cookies and sorrel, they settle in for the journey. stomachs full and the motion of the locomotive, they fell asleep.

.

 

A sudden lurch woke them up, Hoss rubbing his eyes are we there yet?

“No, I don’t think so,” Adam replied, getting up and stretching.

Little Joe looked out, ‘”There’s a reindeer on the track.”

Adam and Hoss ran to the window, ‘It’s huge.”

“Let’s get out and look,” squeaked Little Joe. With that, the three of scamped out of the train and stood there with their mouths open, “It has jingle bells on it,” said Little Joe, pointing.

Hoss, “I wonder if it is friendly?”

“Yes, she is” a voice from behind said. As he walked past them “Pa?” Little Joe asked.

“That’s not Pa,” said Adam. At that moment the man turned and looked at them. Smiled and turned away again. “Vixen, what are you doing on the tracks?”

Little Joe turned to Adam, “Vixen? isn’t that a name of one of Santa’s reindeer?”

Adam looked around, “Where’s Hoss?”

The conductor pointed “Over there petting the other two.”

Out of the corner of his eye Adam saw more coming towards them. Reaching for Little Joe, he realized that he was gone, he was over chatting up the man. Feeling a nudge on his back and a hot breathe down his neck, Adam reached up to touch a wet nose, soft and velvety.

“Sorry, I don’t have an apple.”

“Here,” the Pa lookalike handed him one. “We’ll be out of your hair soon,”  he addressed the conductor, “No worries we are not on a timetable.”

They watched as the man got his reindeer together and off the tracks.

Hoss, “They are so well behaved.”

He came up to the boys, looking at Adam, “I hope that you get your errands done and as for you two, I think that there will be extra barn chores for you.” Looking pointedly at Little Joe, “As well as the chicken coop.”

————————————————–

The locomotive lurched, “Three Folks.” shouted the conductor, waking the boys up. Hoss says, getting up and looking around, “I had a strange dream.”

“So did I,” said Little Joe.

“What was it about?” asked Hoss.

As Little Joe told his dream, Hoss and Adam looked at each other. “We also had this same dream.”

Adam, the ever-observant son, thought “As well as the limp.”

On the way home, Little Joe asked, “How many reindeer did he have?”

Hoss “I counted eight.”

“We should have asked their names.”

“Well, we know one for sure, Vixen.”

Adam, “I would be more concerned with what you will tell Pa.”

Hoss, “Little Joe will come up with something colourful.”

Adam thought, “I have no doubt about that,” smiling to himself, “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Hop Sing, “Mr. Ben ,Nos.1, 2, and 3 sons are back.”

Ben coming out, welcoming Adam home, even Hoss and Little Joe. “Just put everything in the barn. You boys help him”

As they entered the house, Ben, “I’ll speak to you two.”

“Who?” Little Joe asked ,wishing he hadn’t .

Ben without raising his head, “Is that a question to ask?”

Adam with his arms folded, this should be good. “Adam, you may go upstairs or help Hop Sing in the kitchen.”

Adam pouted “But Pa.”

Ben’s look stopped him from saying anything more, and he went into the kitchen. He could listen in. No, that wasn’t happening. Hop Sing banged the pots around “None of No.1 son business, too nosy.”

——————————————

“Adam ” Ben called from the bottom of the stairs, “I need you to go the barn and bring that wardrobe in.”

“What do you want that thing for? it enormous and heavy.”

“I want it for my room. Get Hoss and Little Joe to help you.”

Hoss and Little Joe were playing checkers, Hoss moaned, “If I leave now, a certain someone will move my pieces.

Eyeballing the person across from him. Ben, “I will watch them for you. What colour are you?”

“Black.”

Adam, “If we remove the drawers, it will be lighter.”

Ben, “They can only open, they can’t come out.”

As the three of them headed to the barn, Hoss said “He got that thing years ago, why now that he wants it in the house?”

Standing there looking at the checkerboard, Ben moves a black piece, sometimes you just have to help a son out.

Adam opened all the drawers except one, which was stuck reaching in behind “I can feel something but can’t quite reach it.”

Hoss, “Let me try.”

Adam, “You’re not serious, right? Your arms are bigger than mine. Little Joe, you try.”

“Got it,” he says as he pulls out the bells.

Ben comes up behind them “What have you got there?”   Taking them from Little Joe’s hand. “Jingle bells, could use some cleaning. I’ll take them inside. They’re too heavy for the Christmas tree but would look nice on the mantle. “Oh, by the way I changed my mind about the wardrobe.”

Leaving the three of them in the barn. Joe said, “It had a name on the sash-Vixen.”  They closed all the drawers, not saying a word, left the barn. It had started to snow, and everything seemed so still as they walked across the yard.

Hop Sing came, “Mr. Ben said Little Joe not forget the chicken coop.”

Little Joe, “I’m in my twenties and still doing the chicken coop.”

Adam and Hoss laughed, “It was for the rest of your life.”

They killed themselves laughing as they ran into the house, leaving Little Joe outside to attend to his chore. Once inside ,they moved over to the game, “Someone moved my piece and I know it wasn’t Little Joe.”

Both looked around, Ben wasn’t to be seen and Vixen’s bells lay nicely on the mantle.

 

 

My prompt-Steam Locomotive, with The Cartwrights.