Summary: The only one not captured, Joe must figure out how to rescue his brothers from a gang of outlaws who invade their home.
Word count: 9,647
Rated: T
This was written in response to 2025 1st quarter Chaps and Spurs.

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Hoss heard the front door slam and sighed. He debated avoiding the storm that was about to whirl its way into the barn, but decided to try one more time to defuse the situation. He straightened up and set the horse’s foot back down before turning as the barn door opened and his younger brother strode in. He could see right away that Joe was in a terrible mood, no doubt having gotten into it with their older brother yet again. Joe stopped and glared at Hoss before continuing to his own horse and leading Cochise out of the stall. He didn’t bother with tacking up, just looped the lead around the horse’s neck, tied the end onto the nosepiece of the halter, vaulted onto the pinto’s back and lit out.

“JOSEPH!” Hoss heard Adam bellow and knew that he was about to be caught in the quarrel whether or not he wanted to be. Sure enough, not a minute later, Adam entered the barn and looked around. 

“Where is he.” Less a question and more of a demand. 

“He left.”

“His saddle is still here. Now where. Is. He.”

“He left Adam. Took his pony and lit out bareback. What did you two get into about this time?”

“That boy is so irresponsible! I tell him that he’s in charge of getting all the horses broken for the army. We have just 2 weeks left to get it done, but when I get down from the north pasture, he’s here goofing off instead of working the horses! And when-”

“Did you ask him about the horses?”

“What?” 

“Did you ask him how many horses his crew had left to break?”

“What does it matter how many are left? He should be down there working them every day so we make that contract!”

“Adam, it seems to me that the two of you are jist too similar.” Hoss shook his head and walked away from his irate older brother. 

Left inside the barn alone, Adam bristled at the last comment. Too similar? How was his youngest brother at all similar to him? He was responsible, dependable, and always punctual. Joe was…. None of those things. Adam scoffed and followed Hoss out of the barn only to walk over to his still tacked horse and remount to go finish the job that he had assigned to the youngest Cartwright.

******

Joe didn’t go far before slowing Cochise. He could ride just fine with no tack, but it wasn’t the wisest thing to go tearing about the countryside without even a bridle. He let his pinto choose the course and his tempo and soon found that the horse had taken them to a small glade surrounded and shaded by sugar pines. A stream flowed through on the edge of the clearing and the banks were lined by tender shoots that Cochise nibbled on energetically. Joe slid down from the back of his horse and slowly walked through the clearing. He enjoyed the peaceful feeling it gave him, just being alone with his horse in the tranquil meadow. 

He thought back and shook his head. Adam hadn’t even asked him how the army contract was progressing, just laid into him about being lazy and irresponsible. He kicked a rock across the ground and watched the ripples as it landed in the stream. He had been so proud of himself, finishing breaking the whole string not just a few days early, but a full two weeks ahead of schedule. He’d hurried back to the house in the hopes of being there when Adam got back down from moving the cattle in the north pasture. Joe had envisioned telling his oldest brother his accomplishment, but before he even had time to greet him, Adam had criticized him rather harshly about being a lag-about and having no personal responsibility. 

Met with anger, Joe had responded in kind before storming back out of the house and leaving. He sat down and watched Cochise slowly graze his way across the clearing. Maybe Adam was right, though. Just because he had done this one task right, he could have gone and found something else to do instead of just going back to the house. There were always strays that needed to be brought back to the main herd, and one of the eastern waterholes needed to be cleared out soon. Joe sighed. Yeah, of course older brother was right again. Joe was lazy and irresponsible. Cochise’s ears pricked up and he walked over to Joe when he saw the human stand up. 

“Come on Cooch. Might as well go make myself useful.” Joe grasped the pinto’s mane and swung up onto his back. He turned Cochise in the direction of the waterhole and the horse took up an easy lope.

******

Adam had ridden down to the corrals and was stunned to see that not only all the horses were broken, they were all standing nicely in tack and accepting riders. He tied Sport on the rail and walked over to speak with one of the ranch hands. 

“Hey Mr. Adam!”

“Hey Troy. Is this the whole string? I wouldn’t think that all of them would be broken yet with still two weeks to go.”

“Yeah, this’s all of ‘em. Boy, your kid brother sure knows his horses. He got over half of them done just by hisself in the time the other four of us together did the same amount!” Troy laughed at remembering the looks on the faces of two of the new hires when they realized what Joe, 15 years their junior, had accomplished. Joe was almost 20 now, but he still looked all of 16 and Walt and Chet had been taken completely by surprise when he was able to gentle even the cantankerous piebald mare that had given every other hand a fight.

“You’re two weeks early.”

“Yep! Joe said if we got them all broke early, we’d have time to work with them more before turning them over to the army. He wanted to make sure there weren’t no problems with any of ‘em.”

Adam nodded, and he realized he owed Joe not only an apology, but also some respect. “Listen, if you see Joe, tell him I want to talk to him, ok?” Troy nodded before watching Adam remount Sport and ride off.

******

Joe had spent the last few hours of daylight cleaning out the waterhole. He knew he wasn’t doing it the smartest way, but he also knew that going back to the house to get the proper equipment and thereby possibly running into his oldest brother just wasn’t an option. So he made do and eventually got everything pulled out and the windmill repaired as best he could. There were still two sails on the mill that were loose, but Joe figured he could come back tomorrow and fix them properly. He looked down at himself and grimaced at how caked in mud he was. He glanced up at the sky and watched the start of some clouds trickle their way across the waning half moon. Joe sighed again. He was already late for supper, might as well take a bath when he got home. It wouldn’t make a difference in his timing. Adam was sure to yell at him again for being late; he might as well be clean and comfortable while getting shouted at. 

Sure enough, Adam was upset that Joe had missed supper. “Hoss, I was all set to apologize to him. I know I was wrong about earlier. But then he goes and runs off for 5 hours, misses dinner, and now it’s dark. He’d better not have gone to town and gotten in trouble in the saloon again.”

They both turned when they heard hoofbeats in the yard. “Do me a favor, Adam.” Hoss waited until he had his older brother’s attention. “Don’t just start yellin’ at him agin. At least ask him where he’s bin.”

Adam glared at Hoss and raised one eyebrow. “Do you know where he went?”

“No I don’t, but I’m willin’ ta give him the benefit of the doubt. And you should too. He ain’t a kid no more Adam. He’s been pullin’ his weight around here for a good few years now. You know he’s a good worker. And if you was willin’ to listen more, maybe you’d find that the two of ya would get on better.” Hoss looked Adam in the eye until he was sure his message had been received. Then he nodded once and left the room. 

Adam leaned against their father’s desk and waited for his youngest brother. He heard the barn door then footsteps, but instead of the front door opening, he heard the door to the bathhouse creak open and closed. He decided a peace offering was in order and walked up to Joe’s room to get a change of clothes. He knocked once on the bathhouse door and entered the room when he heard Joe call out to him. 

“Brought you a change of clothes. Figured if you came in here instead of wanting supper, you must be a mess.” He put the shirt and pants next to the towel Joe had set out for himself and eyed the muddy clothes in a pile on the ground. 

“Thanks, Adam.” Joe watched his oldest brother warily. After a moment, he decided that there was no lecture forthcoming and he relaxed into the hot water. 

“Listen, Joe-”

“I don’t want to fight with you, Adam. I’ll finish with the waterhole tomorrow, but it’s dark now and I am sore. It’s back in usable condition though, just need to fix a couple of the sails.”

“You went to clear out that waterhole all by yourself? That’s normally a two man job.”

“Well not much was actually broken; it just needed a little help.”

“Still though. Thanks for being on top of that.” Hearing that, Joe opened his eyes and looked sharply at his older brother. Those were the kindest words he had gotten from the other man in almost two weeks.

“And I went down and talked to Troy to see how the horses were coming.”

Joe didn’t reply, but his eyes narrowed as he waited to see what new criticism would be forthcoming. 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you had finished the whole string?”

“Why didn’t you ask me instead of yelling?” Joe glared up at his brother before going back to scrubbing the mud off of himself. “I came back to the house to specifically tell you that we had finished breaking them two weeks early. I thought you’d be happy about it, maybe even proud of my crew. But instead of ‘good job, Joe, I knew you could do it’ or ‘wow, you really are worth having around the ranch’ I got ‘you are lazy and irresponsible.’ I don’t know what you want from me, Adam. I try my best you know.”

Adam crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, not happy with how his brother was talking to him, but knowing that he deserved it. “You’re right, Joe. I’m sorry. I know you’ve really been working hard, and especially while Pa is gone, you’ve taken up a lot of the slack around here. You know, Hoss gave me a tongue lashing earlier. He said the problem is that we are too similar.”

Joe laughed at that. “Too similar? It’s like Hoss hasn’t met us let alone lived with us for almost two decades.”

“No, I think he had a point. We may have a different way of doing things, but in the end we both just want what’s best for the family and the ranch, right? I always thought that I was the dependable one, but maybe I was just refusing to believe you have grown up. I’m sorry for earlier, Joe. I’ll try to remember in the future to ask instead of assuming.”

“Thanks, Adam.” Joe started to say something else when sudden shots and shouting in the yard startled both men. 

“Get dressed and stay out of sight. You may be fully grown, but I don’t want you in danger.” Adam flashed a quick smile at his youngest brother before opening the door a crack and sliding out into the dark. He made his way quickly across to the open door of the main house, drawing his sidearm and pressing himself against the wall beside the door to peer in. He had recognized Hoss’s shout and worried that it was quiet inside the house now. Adam could see where Hoss had been overpowered, gagged, and tied to one of the chairs. His brother was conscious, bleeding from his arm, and very angry. Adam could hear people moving about and the floor creaking above them. With how quickly Hoss had been overwhelmed, Adam figured there must be at least four people now inside the house. He turned to go around the house and try to sneak in upstairs to surprise the intruders. Adam never saw the fist before it struck him.

Joe got out of the bath and dressed quickly. He had left his revolver in the barn and knew that is why Adam had told him to stay out of sight. Unarmed, Joe wouldn’t be much help going up against an unknown number of enemies. He peered out of the bathhouse door and finding the area empty, dashed across the yard to the open window that sat above the desk in the study. He raised up slowly until he could just see over the sill. Hoss and Adam sat both tied up and Hoss gagged with a bandana. Both were conscious, but Hoss had obviously been shot in the arm, and Adam was sporting quite the black eye. Two intruders stood over his brothers in a threatening manner but with their backs to the window and Joe wondered how many more there were. Adam’s eye flicked past him and his mouth formed a tight line. Joe ducked down before either of the men turned and saw him. He sat there for a moment wondering what he should do and then he heard his brother speak.

“What do you even want from us?”

“We didn’t want nuthin’ until we got in here. Now I think we’ll take our time, maybe have some food, and a night in a soft bed. You just sit there and keep looking purdy.” The taller of the two men laughed at his partner’s antics. “Yeah, by now Billy shoulda had time to patch up that bullet hole in Ike’s shoulder. How bout you and Chuck go rustle up some grub for the rest of us.”

Adam had seen Joe duck down. He thought quickly on how to get information to his little brother without giving away his location. 

“You planning on staying here for awhile? Gonna keep us tied up the whole time?”

“We’ll stay as long as we please, and yeah, you’ll be staying right there.”

“Are you looking for money? Horses? What?”

“We’ll take what we want of both of those, sure. And if you don’t give us any trouble, we’ll even leave you alive. But try and get away; you’ll be sorry.”

“Well if that’s the case, then you should know that there’s at least ten ranch hands gonna be back between tomorrow night and the next. Given that there are only five of you, that doesn’t give you very good odds.

“There are seven of us, friend. Two others still out in the barn.”

Outside the window, Joe jerked his head around. He was in full view of the barn. He could sneak over and take out the two men who were in there; reduce the numbers by a full third. But then the five inside the house would suspect trouble and would come looking for him. As of right now, they had no idea that he was out here.  Joe glanced at the barn doors. They were still closed, and he moved quickly away from the wall and around the corner. 

He crouched down behind the shrubbery there and waited. It was only a minute or so more when the door opened and two men walked from the barn to the main house. Joe breathed a silent sigh of relief that his brother had gotten the information to him. He wondered if Adam knew he had most likely just saved his life. He sat there for a moment longer thinking of the situation. Pa was gone to San Francisco and not due back for two more weeks. Hop Sing had gone into Virginia City and combined business with pleasure and was staying the night after an evening of revelry at his uncle’s place to celebrate the Harvest Moon festival*. He had gone after dropping a list at the mercantile and would be back sometime tomorrow with the supplies. Adam had lied to the men inside. With the round up done, their temp workers had moved on and there were only the three ranch hands in Joe’s crew that would be coming back tomorrow night after having the next day off. Two more would be back the following week. 

The wind was picking up and Joe felt the temperature drop. He rolled his eyes. Of course now would be the time for it to start raining too. Sure enough, the sky opened up and the rain came down in torrents. Joe sprinted across the yard and into the barn, pulling the door closed behind himself and scurrying up the ladder to the hay loft. He cracked open the hay door enough to see the main house and watched as lamps were lit in rooms upstairs.

Joe ran a hand through his hair and wiped the rain off his face. He sat down in the soft hay and thought about what he could do. At least neither of his brothers was seriously injured, because there was no way he was getting them help tonight. He thought about what the intruders had said. It sounded like they hadn’t intended to end up here. They were probably trying to evade the law, had ended up here by mistake, and decided to take advantage of the situation. Joe racked his brain trying to remember if he had gotten word of any group of outlaws in the area, but he couldn’t recall any that would fit this description. Joe shivered then climbed back down the ladder to haul a horse blanket back up with him to stay warm during the night. 

******

He woke up a few hours later from a blast of wind and rain in his face. Sputtering and wiping the water off his face, Joe looked out from the hayloft and saw all the lights had been extinguished in the house. He debated going back to sleep, but realized this might be his only chance to leave undetected. He lowered himself out of the hayloft and saddled Cochise. Unfortunately, his slicker was in the house and no one had left a spare in the barn.

“Well, Cochise, a little water never hurt anyone.” He mounted his pinto and set out into the rain. 

By the time he got to Virginia City, it was just starting to get light out. The wind had died down and the rain had let up to a slight drizzle. He pulled Cochise to a halt outside the sheriff’s office and looked in dismay at the sign on the door denoting that Roy and Clem were to be gone for the next week. He stood there for a moment wondering what to do before heading over to the telegraph office in the hopes that his friend there would know where the lawmen had gone. 

“Sorry Joe, all I know is that they’re after the Carver Gang. Got word from up in Fernley that they needed some help after their bank was held up. Shot their sheriff on their way out of town, so their deputy telegraphed here for Roy’s help. They left day before yesterday.”

“Carver gang? I don’t suppose there’s way to get word to Sheriff Coffee, is there?”

“I can wire Fernley generally, but there’s no telling how far they’ve gotten. Why? What’s wrong?”

Joe just shook his head and left the telegraph office. He had to get to Hop Sing’s uncle’s place before the cook left to return to the Ponderosa. Joe tied Cochise to the hitching post and jogged up to the door, raising his left hand to knock and drawing up short when the door swung open instead. 

“Hop Ju! Has Hop Sing left here yet?”

“Yes, he leave when sun rose. Say he get to Ponderosa before Cartrights want breakfast.”

“When the sun rose! I can still catch him! Thanks, Hop Ju!”

Joe swung onto his pinto and kicked him to a gallop, tearing out of town down the muddy street to intercept Hop Sing before he arrived at the ranch and landed himself in the middle of the trouble. Joe bent low over Cochise’s neck when the rain picked up again. He shivered and wondered how much longer he could stay out in the wet and cold before he started to feel the effects of exposure. As long as he kept moving, though, he should be fine. His thoughts jolted back to the present when Cochise slipped and went sideways. Joe attempted to jump from the saddle, but felt his boot catch on the stirrup and yank his ankle at a rough angle. He didn’t gain the distance from the falling horse that he had intended, and he felt the pinto’s hoof connect with his body and as he tumbled into the mud. The horse regained his footing, rolled his eyes, and ran as fast as he could away from the human who flailed on the ground. Joe shouted and fought his way to his feet, grimacing when he tried to take a deep breath. It was no use. Cochise was fleeing in a panic. Joe watched his mount disappear into the distance. He fell back to his knees. He wouldn’t reach Hop Sing in time to warn his friend.

****** 

Hop Sing grumbled to himself as the wagon got stuck in the mud again. He had thought to leave at sunup to make it back to the ranch for breakfast, but at the rate the wheels kept getting stuck, he would be lucky to make it before lunch. The pair of blue roans tugged in their harnesses as Hop Sing encouraged them to pull first left then right to loosen the hold the mud had on the wheels. With a loud sucking noise, the wheels pulled free and the wagon jolted forward, back on track. He snapped the traces and the team returned to a trot. Hop Sing heard a horse approaching him from the rear and turned to see a lone pinto that he recognized immediately.

Cochise had slowed from his panicking bolt, and had fallen into a lazy trot in the direction of his home. He pricked his ears up and whinnied when he recognized his stablemates, the roan team. Hop Sing scrambled off the buckboard and snagged the pinto’s trailing reins. He looked behind but could see no sign of the man who rode this horse. Hop Sing stroked the pinto’s neck then tied him to the buckboard and turned the team back in the direction of town. 

*****

Joe crumpled to the ground again. It was slow going. And by now he was pretty sure he had at least twisted, maybe sprained his ankle along with having a few broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. At least Cochise hadn’t fallen on top of him. It could have been worse. He panted for a moment, just trying to build up some energy before stumbling to his feet again. He ran his left hand down his face to clear the rain from his eyes and looked around when he heard the tell-tale creek of wagon wheels. He squinted through the haze and blinked twice.

“Hop Sing?”

“Little Joe! What you doing here? Why horse come find Hop Sing all alone?”

Joe felt relief wash through his body and nearly crashed back to the ground at the sudden adrenaline drop. “He tossed me. Thank god you didn’t make it back to the ranch yet. Help me up there.”

Hop Sing helped Joe as best he could onto the seat of the buckboard. Joe groaned when the wagon started moving again and he pressed his good arm into his side. He unbuttoned his jacket and threaded the arm with the dislocated shoulder through the opening to form a make-shift sling. He filled Hop Sing in as best as he could as to what was going on. He told him of Adam and Hoss being held captured, of the sheriff and deputy not being available, and how there were no ranch hands around for the next few days. Hop Sing listened and nodded along, understanding that it was up to him and an injured Joe to rescue the others and thwart the intruders. 

“Hop Sing, I don’t feel all that good.” Joe had started to feel lightheaded and not well at all. He made the decision to slowly slide off the seat of the wagon onto the floorboards and lean against the seat to prevent falling off the wagon as his vision blurred and his heart raced. Joe had the passing thought that he really should be lying down in the back of the wagon instead of trying to sit upright. Then the weather, anxiety, stress, and pain caught up with him and he passed out, slumped against the side of Hop Sing’s right leg.

The small Chinese man glanced down at Little Joe, worried about the young man, but not sure what the full extent of the injuries were. Joe had glossed over what had happened when he fell from his horse, and all Hop Sing could tell for certain was that his right shoulder was out of socket. He could guess at a few other things, and could also tell Joe had been in the storm without any rain gear for far too long. But there was nothing he could do about that now. He concentrated on getting them both back to the ranch.

*****

For the remainder of the ride, Joe had floated between unconsciousness and waking, not quite fully in either camp. He felt the wagon stop moving and roused himself, forcing his eyes open and focusing his bleary gaze onto Hop Sing.

“Make it back to ranch house. Just around next corner. What Little Joe plan to do?”

“What do I…? Well, there are seven of them. And two of us. If we can get to Adam and Hoss, that would make four of us. Guess our best bet is to pick them off one at a time….” Joe blinked hard a few times as he woke up more. He hadn’t fully fallen asleep, but the rest had done him some good. “On the other hand, I had originally thought to get Sheriff Coffee. Maybe we can get people from one of the neighboring ranches to help. How’s this: leave me here, I’ll hide in the barn and keep an eye on what goes on. You go see who you can round up over at the Double K and the MacPherson homestead. When you got some men rounded up, come back here.

“Little Joe hurt. Hop Sing not want to leave alone.”

“I’ll be fine, Hop Sing. I’m just a little sore.” Joe tried to smile, but he was sure it came out more of a grimace. He climbed gingerly down from the wagon and waved to Hop Sing as he turned the team to go to the neighboring ranches for help. Joe took as deep a breath as he could before walking slowly in the direction of the barn. He’d be out of sight from the house the whole way, as the road came up behind the barn before curving around it. He used that to his advantage and crept in the side door of the building. Luckily no one was in the barn. 

Joe thought for a bit before pulling a saddle bag down from the tack wall and filling it with grain until it weighed about 15 pounds. He slung it over his good shoulder and slowly and carefully climbed the ladder to the loft. Once there, he sat down and tied the bag around the wrist of his bad arm, wincing each time he jostled the injured joint. He lay down on his stomach and let his arm with the dislocated shoulder dangle straight down over the edge of the loft. The weighed down bags pulled his arm down steadily. It took him a few minutes to relax, but slowly his muscles got the message to release their tension. After roughly ten minutes, Joe felt the pain in his shoulder dissipate when with a slight pop, the joint slid back into position. He breathed a sigh of relief and sat up to untie the saddle bag and set it aside. He carefully raised his right hand to cross his chest and touch the opposite shoulder, testing to make sure the joint had relocated correctly. He knew he’d have to be considerate of his shoulder, but at least he had the use of both hands again. 

He heard voices outside the barn and moved quickly and quietly to the hay door, lying down flat and looking out over the edge. Three men were walking his way and discussing something among themselves.

“I say we take it and leave. Ike’s running a fever from the bullet, sure, but he can sit a horse.”

“Well it’s not up to you. By now, there’s lawmen crawling all over the place for us. And they’ll think we done just that. Not no one’s gonna think we stayed less than 60 miles from where we shot that sheriff and robbed the bank. The last place they’ll check is right under their noses. And when they do finally think to, we’ll be gone.”

“Yeah, but you heard what that guy said. They’ve got ten people coming back in the next few days. What’ll we do about that? Takin’ on 10 men ain’t no picnic.

“Ain’t no way he was tellin’ the truth. I bet you they’ve got only a couple coming back. Maybe no one at all.” 

Joe stayed silent as the three men walked into the barn. He didn’t dare move to watch what they were doing. He hardly dared to breathe as he continued to listen to them move around below him. He heard scuffling like the table was being moved then a grunt like someone was putting effort into a movement. Presently he heard the clinking of coins and the rustling of paper.

“That’s 250 grand on the nose.” 

One of the men whistled. “I ain’t never held that much money at once.” 

“And you won’t hold this neither. It stays right here. Outta sight until we leave. Then once we get back to the Perch, we’ll split it like we normally do.” 

Joe heard the shuffling and thumping again then the three men left the barn. He waited until out the hay door he saw them enter the main house. Then he moved quickly down the loft ladder and started searching the barn for their stash. He found it hidden beneath some saddle blankets. Joe opened one of the bags and removed $8,000 in bearer bonds. He tied the bag back up, purposely using a different knot and replaced it under the saddle blankets, leaving them obviously askew and showing the edge of one of the bank bags.  He took the bearer bonds back to the loft and tucked them under the hay. He grinned to himself. The seeds of doubt had been planted. Now all he had to do was sit back and watch them grow.

It was only five minutes after Joe had retaken his place in the hayloft when he saw the front door open again. One of the same men walked out with a different partner this time. They made their way back to the barn, and Joe could hear them arguing the whole way. 

“I said one of you was supposed to stay out here and guard it!”

“Guard against who? There’s no one else around here, and even if someone came by, they wouldn’t know where to look?”

“That don’t matter. I don’t want this left alone again.”

The men walked into the barn and the shorter of the two sat down in a chair and drew his revolver to clean it. 

“What’s the deal with this? You got mush for brains?” The taller man who seemed to be the leader gestured at the visible bank bag. 

“Harve, it weren’t that way! We left it covered!”

“Well it ain’t covered now. D’ya think I wouldn’t notice if you helped yerself to some?” Harve yanked the knot open and counted the money. He turned snarling to face the shorter man when he counted out only 242 thousand. “Where’s the rest of it? What’d ya do with it, Billy?”

Billy’s eyes widened and he stood, backing slowly away from the crazed fire he saw in the gang leader’s eyes. “Nothin, Harve, I swear! It were all there when I counted it earlier. Now, Chuck and Mitchell were out here too, you know. They saw me count out the full 250 grand.”

Harve paused and his eyes narrowed. “That’s true. Or maybe yer all in it together.”

“Or maybe one of them did somethin’ without me noticing. It’s weren’t me Harve, I swear to ya! I’ve always followed ya. Why would I turn on ya now?

“We aint got no debts to eachother. Just cause we’ve traveled together for three years now doesn’t mean you won’t go stab me in the back if it suits ya.”

“Harve, please!” But the gang leader wasn’t to be swayed. With no remorse in his eyes, he deftly pulled his sidearm and shot the shorter man, watching the body fall where he stood. Watching it happen, Joe’s eyes widened but he didn’t make a sound. Harve left the body where it lay and he walked back to the house. Joe scrambled down the ladder and scurried over to the bank bags, removing five more bearer bonds and dashed back to the loft. He made it back up before the house door opened again and another man came out, obviously having been sent by Harve to guard the stash. 

****** 

Inside the house still tied but now back to back with each other, Adam and Hoss heard the single report of a revolver. Adam felt his brother flinch and knew he was thinking the same thing he was. Had Joe been discovered?

Harve stormed back into the house and let everyone know how unhappy he was with Billy. He glared at the other members of his gang and dared them to speak. No one did, so he ordered Steve out to the barn for guard duty. 

“We’ll be switching the guard in five hours! There’d better be the same amount as there is now!” Harve slammed the door behind the other man and stalked into the kitchen to find something to eat. Chuck was upstairs with Ike who was still running a fever from the bullet in his shoulder. The other men milled about, looted things from the house, or slept. 

Adam and Hoss were left alone in the main room with just one man who paid them no attention as he tried to bust open the safe. 

“Adam.” Hoss whispered to his older brother. “You don’t suppose…”

“No. You heard him. He shot one of his own gang.”

“But then where’s-” Adam cut Hoss off. Harve and his band of outlaws didn’t seem to be aware that Joe was loose, and Adam wasn’t about to give him away. 

“Shush.”

“Hey, what’re you two whispering about?” The man by the safe had straightened back up and stood glaring at them.

“Just wondering if you’ll ever let us up. At some point we’re gonna have to use the necessaries.”

The man walked over and untied Adam’s ankles, changing the bindings from being tied tightly to having his ankles hobbled so he could walk slowly but wouldn’t be able to move faster than a shuffle. Then he undid the ropes binding him to Hoss, but left both of their wrists bound where they were in front of them. He hauled the older brother to his feet and shoved him forward to the door. Adam stumbled but caught himself before he fell and shook the hand off of his arm to walk out the opened door to the outhouse. He looked quickly around the yard and noticed that the hay door at the top of the barn was slightly ajar. They always kept it closed, and only opened it when they were loading hay. He grinned to himself and knew Joe had found a vantage point where he could see but not be seen.

******

Joe kept his watch in the hayloft. He watched first Adam then Hoss be frog-marched across the yard and back. The rain let up again and the skies cleared. Birds came out and resumed their songs. The mourning doves nesting in the rafters took flight and the odd whistling of their wings jolted Joe back from his musings. He realized that he was actually quite hungry, and regretted that he hadn’t anything to eat. At least he had the forethought to grab a canteen before he climbed into the loft. He breathed shallowly and shifted ever so slightly. He winced as his injured ribs ached but bit his tongue so no sound made it past his lips. The man below him stood when the barn door opened and Harve and another man walked in.

Harve glared at the man he had left to keep guard over the stolen money then moved past him and pulled the bank bag from its hiding place. He set his revolver on the small table to send a message then went about counting the money. He finished counting it, looked up at the other men, then counted it again. 

“Steve, care to explain to me why there is even less now than there was earlier?” He glowered at the other man.

“Harve, I didn’t even touch it.You gotta believe me!”

The gang leader glared at him before shoving the loot back into the bank bags and tossing them over his shoulder. He picked up his revolver and gestured wildly with it. Steve and the man who had walked in with Harve both backed out of the barn and followed his direction to walk back to the house. Joe grinned as he watched his plan progress nicely. He’d already gotten the gang to take out one of their own members. Now he had placed enough doubt that the leader thought more members were turning on him. He took the opportunity while there was no one in listening distance to move around a bit. He tried inhaling deeper but flinched at the strain it put on his ribs. At the sound of a gunshot, Joe snapped his head around and stared at the house, hoping beyond hope it was another member of the gang taken out by his own ranks and not one of his brothers.

******

Inside the building, Harve had Ike dragged downstairs and sat down with the rest of the gang. He was livid. “Now, I’m gonna ask you all one more time. Who took that money for hisself? We’re supposed to be in this together. That’s what it’s always been. Now who is the low-life who thinks he’s better’n the rest of us?”

Steve kept proclaiming his innocence and was met with the barrel of the revolver pointed right at him. “Steve, I swear I will put a bullet in you. If you weren’t my cousin, I would have already.” The man shut his mouth and kept it that way.

Adam and Hoss had sat listening and by now the older brother had figured out what was going on. None of the gang members would admit stealing from each other, because none of them had. Adam would bet money that Joe was the one behind this. He wouldn’t have run off. But he also wouldn’t have been able to do anything, being seven to one. So he must have found the stash and took some out to place doubt. The gang still had no idea of his existence, and he would have found a way to use that to his advantage. Thinking quickly, Adam interjected himself into the conversation.

“They left us alone earlier too. When we went to the outhouse. He was coming back from the barn after.”

“No! I didn’t! I weren’t anywhere near the barn!”

“The only person I know didn’t do anything was me and Ike.”

“I been with Ike this whole time, Harve.” Another man interceeded.

“And who’s gonna back you up on that, huh Chuck?” Mitchell put in his two cents. “Ike? He’s been out of it this whole time and has no idea if you were there. Maybe you were the one that done it!”

“Mitchell, shut up! I still don’t know for certain it were Billy who took the money the first time and not you.”

The five men kept arguing amongst themselves. The only one not participating in the fighting was Ike who just sat limply and feverish from his infected wound. Adam felt Hoss’s hands at his back start working at the knots around his wrists. He tried to keep as still as possible to not attract any attention to the two of them. Suddenly a shot rang out and Mitchell fell dead. Steve snagged one of the bank bags and ran to the door, yanking it open and fleeing out of the house. Chuck followed him and the rest of the gang followed suit once they realized what was going on. Only the dead Mitchell and ill Ike were left inside with Adam and Hoss. 

“Hoss, wait! Move with me over to the fire.” They shuffled to the hearth and twisted around until the flames licked at their wrists and the ropes. The fibres snapped and both men lurched away from the  blaze. They heard the report of a revolver from outside the house, followed quickly by a second. Then a pain-filled shout. Hoss lunged his way to the kitchen table where one of the gang had left a wicked-looking hunting knife. He slashed the rest of his bonds then did the same for Adam’s. Both men stood up and ran outside, stopping short when they saw Hop Sing and five of their neighbors holding guns on the three of the gang members. 

“Where-”

“Adam!” He spun around to see Harve holding his youngest brother in front of himself, the barrel of his revolver pressed into his side. 

“Yer all gonna let me go. If you don’t, Imma pull the trigger. You can bet I won’t miss at this range. Now toss me the money.” No one moved and Harve jammed the weapon hard into Joe’s injured ribs. The young man paled and inhaled sharply. 

Adam frowned, “Joe! Are you hurt?”

Joe looked at his oldest brother and gave him a faint grin, “Fine as frog’s hair, Adam.”

“ENOUGH with the chit chat! I’m taking that money. And I’m taking a horse. And yer all gonna let me leave.” He cocked the weapon and Hoss tossed the bank bag over to him. Harve yanked on Joe’s arm and moved him over to the horses, keeping Joe in between him and all the men with guns. He pushed the younger man around the horse and held his weapon on him until he mounted the horse. Harve mounted just behind and jammed the gun back into Joe’s ribs. Again Adam watched Joe grimace in pain from the movement. Harve kicked the stolen bay and set the horse to a lope out of the yard. 

******

With each step the horse took, Joe felt his ribs grind into each other. He knew he should have bound them, but he hadn’t had access to any bandages. His only hope was that now that Harve had made his getaway, he wouldn’t need to keep Joe anymore and would let him go. At the back of his mind, though, Joe worried that Harve wouldn’t just release him. He had after all killed two of his own men in cold blood. What hope did Joe have of survival?

“Alright, kid. You’re gonna tell me the best route to get outta here.”

“I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’!” Joe yelped at the smack Harve gave him with the revolver that time.

“Either tell me or I can shoot you and leave you here to die.”

“Fine. Keep on this road for another two miles. Then there’s gonna be a trail that cuts off to the left. It winds a bit and gets kinda steep, but will keep you off the main road and loops right back around to the road to Carson instead of Virginia City. It’s real easy to miss though. You’ll need me to point it out.” Joe hoped that the man who held him on the horse couldn’t feel his pulse pick up when he explained the route. It was a very dangerous path, especially when it had been raining. The ground beneath the trail was clay laid over shale rock. When the layers soaked up water, the trail became prone to landslips. With how hard it had been raining, Joe was almost certain that riding a horse, especially riding double, would be enough to trigger a slide. Harve kept the horse moving down the road until Joe spoke again.

“Ok, it’s just up ahead.”

Harve turned the horse onto the faint trail. Both men ducked under the low hanging branches. The horse slowed to a walk and trudged ahead. Suddenly, the back half of the horse dipped as its hooves slid sideways. Joe threw his hands out on instinct and caught himself on the saddle horn. The bay caught its balance and continued down the trail. Not five minutes later, the slick shale slid again and this time the horse went with it. Both men went down with the horse, all three tumbling into the gully. Joe felt a sharp pain stab through his side as he smacked into a stump halfway down the hill. The only good thing being it stopped his descent. He watched the horse land right on top of Harve at the bottom. Neither one stood up.

Joe pulled himself gradually back up to the trail and stood there, swaying unsteadily on his feet. He was beginning to find it hard to draw breath, and he wondered if anyone had followed behind them yet. He turned resolutely back down the trail and just concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, stubbornly working his way back home. He had just arrived back to the turn off when he heard hoofbeats approaching quickly. Joe looked up and was relieved to see his brothers and two of the neighbors riding toward him. His legs gave out and he sat straight down right where he was. 

“Joe!” Hoss got to him first and knelt next to him. He looked with concern at Joe’s appearance. His lips had started to take on a blue tint and his mouth hung open loosely as he gasped. 

“Is he alright?” Adam had appeared as well. 

Hoss shook his head and looked up at their older brother. “He can’t seem to get enough oxygen. I dunno what happened. Doesn’t look like he was shot or anythin’.” 

“Ribs.” 

“What was that, Punkin?”

“Ribs.”

Hoss pulled Joe’s jacket back and ran his hands over Joe’s ribs. One side was significantly more swollen and Joe winced away when his brother touched him. His sharp inhale was accompanied with a slight whistling sound. Hoss and Adam looked at each other with worry. 

“He needs a doctor. It’s not ideal, but I think that it would be better to take him to town rather than wait to fetch help.”

“Adam, that might make things worse.”

“I know that. But I’m worried that if we go get help or even take the time to get a wagon so he doesn’t get jostled on a horse, it will simply take too long. You know what that whistle means, Hoss.” The big man nodded grimly. There was air escaping into Joe’s chest cavity. 

The two neighbors who had come out with the brothers in search of Joe had dismounted and joined them around the fallen man. The older of the two, Thaddius Frasier, spoke up. “Adam, take my horse. She’s the smoothest gait in the territory. The less jostling he gets, the better.” Thaddius had the only Tennessee Walking Horse around. He was right, there was no horse that could match her. Riding her was like sitting in a rocking chair. And she was Joe’s only hope at getting to town and a doctor without coming by any more harm. 

“Thanks Tad. Joe, can you stand?” His little brother looked up with a glassy gaze, and stared at Adam for a moment before nodding and struggling to his feet. Hoss pulled him up and helped him walk to the mare. Adam mounted first and scooted back to make space for Joe. His brothers helped him onto the horse and he leaned back against Adam. Joe’s breaths came in short, shallow pants. His mouth hung open and his eyes slid shut. He concentrated on breathing. Each exhale brought a sharp stab of pain, and each inhale got harder as it felt like a pressure built inside his chest. The pain kept building with each second that ticked away. Adam kept his arms wrapped around his little brother wishing beyond anything that he could take away Joe’s pain for him. 

“Come on, Joe, not much farther now. Just keep breathing, buddy. You’re almost there.” Adam kept up a litany of what he hoped were soothing words. Joe listened to every word, but could only whimper in response. He hurt so bad. Even with the smooth gait of the borrowed mare, his ribs grated on each other. Joe tried to respond to his brother, but was simply unable to gain the air needed to speak. He started to feel dizzy, light headed and slightly nauseous. His heart raced, trying to make up for the lack of oxygen. More than anything, Joe just wanted to lie down and for this day to be over. 

They rode into town and Adam took them straight to the doctor’s office. He had just pulled the horse to a stop when the telegraph operator Evan walked over. “I saw you ride up. Need some help getting him inside?” 

“Thanks Evan, that would be great. Careful of his ribs and chest.” Adam lowered his little brother down to the other man. Evan held Joe steady as Adam dismounted then the two men supported the injured third into the office. The shift in position caused a sharp change in Joe’s blood pressure. His dizziness and nausea worsened and he flopped his head forward and gagged. Having not eaten for over a day now, all he brought up was bile that dribbled down his chin. Joe whimpered again from the pain that shot through him from the contractions.

“Ugh…” Evan looked away, but kept helping move the injured man.

“He can’t help it. Joe, it’s alright. You’re gonna be fine. Come on, just a few more steps, then you can sit down.” They made it through the office door, finding an empty and silent room beyond. “Doc!” There was no response. Evan and Adam took Joe to a chair and helped him sit in it. Joe gratefully sank down onto the seat. His breath still came out in small gasps, but Adam noted that at least the whistle hadn’t seemed to get any worse, although it was still present. Mentally, Joe was in a panic; however, physically he was unable to react to it. It felt like he was suffocating, but nothing was blocking his airways. Each time he tried to draw in a deeper breath, it seemed that his chest expanded to a certain extent and then ran into a wall. He simply could not get enough oxygen to do anything more than fight for the next breath. He heard voices but couldn’t concentrate enough to understand what they were saying. A door slammed, then he felt his brother let go of him and he groaned weakly. Adam’s touch returned, this time on his face and he struggled to even open his eyes.

Adam knelt in front of Little Joe. He stroked back Joe’s sweaty curls and cupped his cheek in his hand. Joe’s face was ashen and his lips tinged blue. His eyes were glazed with pain and fear. He watched Adams lips move, unable to understand the words directed at him because of the high pitch whine now buzzing in his ears. He weakly flopped a hand out to his older brother, reaching for the only source of comfort he could find. Adam took his hand and held fast. Joe saw spots start flashing in front of his eyes, slowly taking over his entire field of vision. His eyes slid closed and he passed out.

******

He woke to a dark room. The first thing he noticed was Adam’s hand still holding fast to his own. The second thing he noticed was that he could breathe again. He took a slow, deep breath. There was the standard pain to be expected with broken ribs, but the terrifying suffocating feeling was gone. He lay in a bed that wasn’t his own, propped up at a 45 degree angle. He looked down and noticed tight bandages around his chest. His right arm was bound to his chest as well, and further down, it felt like there was a splint on his ankle. Adam sat in the chair next to the bed, leaning forward with his head resting on one arm. Even asleep, he had not let go of Joe’s hand. 

The door opened slowly and Hoss slipped into the room. Joe smiled at his big brother who hurried over to him. Hoss knelt down on the side opposite Adam and grinned at his younger brother. “How you feelin’, Little Joe?” He asked quietly, trying not to wake their older brother.

“I’ve been better. But it sure is an improvement over what it was. How long have I been here?”

“Two days. The doc kept you drugged up so you wouldn’t do any more harm to yourself by moving around. Do you know what happened?”

“I’m guessing a punctured lung.”

“Yep. Can you tell us how it happened?”

“I broke my ribs when Cochise slipped in the mud when I was coming back from trying to find the Sheriff- Hoss! What happened with the rest of the gang? The leader is dead. The horse fell with us both and landed on him. Killed ‘em both.”

Adam stirred and woke up. He was thrilled to see Joe awake and felt for a fever. Finding none, he relaxed back into the chair and listened to Joe tell his tale. Joe explained how he had spent the time in the hayloft to avoid being found; how the sheriff was out of town chasing probably this very gang; how he had reset his own dislocated shoulder, but didn’t have access to any bandages to bind the broken ribs; how he had tricked the gang members into distrusting each other to drive a rift among them all; and how he had led Harve onto extremely unstable ground in the hopes the horse wouldn’t be able to keep its feet and he could get away.

“I guess smacking into that stump was just more than your body could take. Musta hit it just right for one of them ribs to punch into your lung.” Hoss smiled gently at his younger brother and held out a cup of water for him to drink. “You’re gonna be takin’ it easy for a while, Shortshanks.”

“I don’t want you doing any movements that are not strictly necessary for at least a week, Joseph.” The doc had returned to check on his patient. “And I know it will hurt, but you need to breathe deeply four or five times each hour. We don’t want you coming down with pneumonia. I’ll send you off with some pain powders as well.”

Joe nodded contritely, though both his brothers knew he would only follow the instructions while he was hurting and then claim everything was fine, no matter how far the healing had come. All three men looked up when the door opened again and this time Hop Sing entered the room.

“Little Joe okay?”

“Doing much better, Hop Sing.” Joe smiled at his friend. 

Hop Sing nodded then continued, “Men all in jail. Sheriff not there, but neighbors stay. Keep them there.”

“Sounds good. Once Sheriff Coffee gets back, he’ll be happy to find that the gang they were after is already locked up for ‘em!”

Joe yawned and his eyes slid closed. He pried them back open and looked up. “Adam?”

“What is it, Little Joe?” 

“Stay here with me?”

“Of course, buddy. I’ll stay until you’re ready to go home. You did well, Joe. I’m proud of you.”

Joe fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

 

END

 

*I called it the Harvest Moon festival, but it’s actually the Mooncake Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival. Celebrated September/October.