Summary:  On the eve of Joe’s wedding the three boys meet at the lake and the discovery of their old sailboat causes them to remember the first time Joe went sailing!  In the course of the tale we find out why Adam’s name does not appear on the witness tree.
Rating:  PG  (7,600 words)

THE SAILBOAT

By Vicki Christian

I felt that, as a sailor, Ben would have had a boat of some kind on Lake Tahoe and the boys would have used it. Also, it always bothered me that, in “The Grand Swing”, Adam’s name is not on the witness tree. Here is my explanation. – V.C.

The Lake sure is pretty this time of year. It has always got under my skin ever since I first came here with Pa, more than thirty years ago. No matter where I go, it calls me back. I’ve been travelling for five years this time, but I still come back here; it will always be home. My deep sigh is heard by my young brother, who comes over and hunkers down beside me.

“Is that a sad sigh, or a ‘good to be home’ sigh?” he asks.

I glance across at him and smile. “I’m not sure. A bit of both, maybe,” I reply and gaze out across the still water. “Time seems to be passing too fast, I guess. Me, married with a family, Hoss with a wife and son and you…” I laugh out loud. “You about to be married. I never thought I’d see that day.”

Joe grins back at me. “Neither did I!”

“You’re sure, this time, Joe? There have been so many before for whom you professed undying love.” I smile to lighten my words.

“Oh, yes, I’m sure. Don’t know why I didn’t see it years ago,” he replies.

“’Cos you was always too busy chasing the next girl to see the one right under your nose,” our brother Hoss comments from his soft bed of sand on the lakeshore.

Joe nods. “It was a good idea for us to come up here without the rest of the family. Just us brothers, on my last day as a free man,” he giggles.

“That kind of freedom just means you have nothing to lose, Joe,” I say, knowing how much my wife and children mean to me.

Hoss stands up and ambles over to us. “You remember all the times we came up here over the years and the things we did as kids?” He chuckles. “One of my earliest memories is when you tricked Mama into falling into the lake.”

Both my brothers laugh at my expense. “Yeah, we’ve all got into trouble up here a time or two,” I reply. “I remember skimming stones and hitting a duck,” I laugh, as I pick up a pebble and try my luck. Three skips.

Joe grins and stands up making his pebble skip five times. “You’re out of practice, older brother.”

“Not much call for it in Boston,” I say lazily. Being here, with my brothers, takes me back to my youth. We spent many lazy summer days here: fishing, swimming and sailing. “Hey, what happened to the boat?”

Hoss shrugs. “I guess it’s still in the shack. Must be ten years or more since we used it. I’d forgotten it was there.”

“It might be fun to teach the children to sail the way Pa taught us,” I suggest.

Joe raises an eyebrow. “It’s probably rotted by now.”

“Let’s take a look.” I scramble up the shore toward the old fishing shack. Pa built it when I was about ten years old to provide shelter when we spent the day at the lake. As I push open the door it brings back memories, most happy but some not so.

I recall running here and curling up on that old cot the day I told Marie I hoped she’d die and her baby, too. I glance at my young brother and realize how much I would have missed if that had come true. I am surprised that cobwebs don’t cling to our faces and clothes as we push inside each anxious to see how much has changed. Old fishing tackle, rods, nets and buckets hang from the walls. All are neat and orderly. Boxes and tins line the shelves and I nod. Pa must have made sure this shack was supplied every winter like the line shacks. If anyone was caught out in a storm there was a place to stay with food and shelter. That would explain the neatness and the lack of dirt in here.

In the back corner I spy the boat. To my surprise it is newly varnished and the sails are clean and stowed in seaman like fashion under the foredeck. It is in perfect condition. Hoss and I glance at each other and then at Joe.

“Pa must come up here and look after her.” I say, almost in wonder.

Joe shakes his head. “If he does he never mentions it.”

“I wonder if he still sails her?” Impulsively, I move the boat on its wheeled truck and it comes easily. The transom comes into view and I see the name freshly painted in yellow on the varnished wood. “Wanderer”. I remember the laughter when Pa had named her and I had teased him, since this Wanderer was all of fifteen feet long and nothing like the barque he had sailed in as a young man.

We had built her together: Pa designed her and did most of the work on the planking but the smoothing of the wood and the varnishing had been my job, assisted by a five-year-old Hoss. It had been meant for us to use that summer, but Pa had gone to New Orleans and it didn’t get finished until the following year. Marie had helped make the sails and I had been angry that a woman was going to sail with us. Marie soon dispelled any worries about her competence; she had sailed before in New Orleans as a girl and she taught us almost as much as Pa.

“Let’s take her out,” Joe suggested. “It’s been a few years since I sailed with you both. The last time must have been when I was about sixteen and you let me be captain for once.”

I smile at him. “You capsized it and we all had to swim ashore because the wind was too much to right her again.” I remember how cold that water was: it must have been early spring with the snow melt still filling the lake.

Hoss chuckles. “I remember another captain who capsized it on Joe’s first trip out with us, too.”

“You would,” I groan. “I’d rather not remember that time, thank you.”

Joe is sensing a story, and one he hasn’t been told. “C’mon, Adam. I don’t remember that.”

“You wouldn’t,” Hoss laughed. “You were only two or three at the time.”

“TWO!” Joe yells. “Pa let you take me sailing when I was two?”

“He didn’t exactly let him, little brother,” Hoss begins to relate, “Because he didn’t know about it. Older brother, here, had plans and Pa kinda upset ‘em. See, he had this girl — ”

“You mean you got in trouble over another girl?” Joe was grinning widely now, anticipating a good tale.

“If you’re gonna tell it, tell it straight,” I complain. “She wasn’t that sort of girl.”

Now Joe begins to laugh uncontrollably. “How many kinds are there, older brother? I mean, I’m about to get married;  I’d hate to miss out on a new kind of girl.”

“Connie was a friend.  She was more boy than girl, anyhow. She lived with her Ma and Pa and brothers over the other side of the lake.”

“How come you met up then?” Joe asked.

Hoss grinned. “Oh, that’s a whole n’other story.”

“Shut up,” I snap back, not wanting to be reminded of how Connie and I met.

“Go on, Hoss, tell,” Joe encouraged.

“Well, ya see, Joe, it was like this…”

I sit back on the gunwales of the boat and wait for Hoss to string this out into the tale of disaster that I thought it was at the time.

“We’d been living in the old cabin for about three years I guess and there weren’t many neighbors, the Shaughnessys of course, but most of the others were down in Mormon Station or up at Truckee where there was a trading post. Pa went to Truckee about once a month in summer to trade. He always took us with him. It was on one of these trips that we met the Austins. Mr. Austin had a place in California on the west side of the lake. He was just farming and trapping. His wife was a full-blooded Shoshone and most folks wouldn’t have nuthin’ to do with ‘em.  He’d been a real mountain man in his time and me and Adam thought he told the best stories. There was about five boys in the family, all older’n Adam an’ me, and each trip he’d bring one or two of ‘em with him. They talked about a little sister but we never got to see her until one time that she and her Ma came to meet them.

“We always traveled back from Truckee to the north end of the lake with Mr. Austin then split up; us going east through to the Washoe Valley and him heading west and then down the lake to where he had a cabin on the lake shore. Well, this one time, it was high summer and we camped over night near here and Mrs. Austin and Connie came to meet up with Mr. Austin and the boys. We didn’t know they was gonna do that and it was so hot that we was cooling off in the water. Well, Pa calls us for supper and me and the Austin boys gets out right away and starts dressing but Adam was still swimming, ‘cos he was away from the shore. You shoulda seen his face when he gets out and this girl asks him if he wants his clothes.”

At this point I feel I have to interrupt. “You were only five or six.  You had nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Hoss starts laughing and almost chokes. “You didn’t have too much yourself, big brother.”

This sets both brothers off again in fits of laughter at my expense. Eventually, I see the funny side too and join them. “I guess at eleven you feel embarrassed at most things.” I grin. “Connie used to remind me of it every time we met after that and by the time I hit fourteen it was embarrassing.”

Now, I take up the tale. “We met up every few months after that. She used to persuade her Pa to take her to Truckee and we’d have adventures, tracking, hunting and such. Like I said, she was more boy than girl.”

“What about the sailboat?” Joe asked.

“It was a dare,” Hoss replied quickly.  “Connie bet Adam he wouldn’t sail across the lake to their cabin on his own.” Hoss pointed across the bay to the west shore.

I nodded. “Once she’d dared me, I had to do it; couldn’t be seen to be a coward by a girl. Trouble was, she set a particular day so that she could look out for me.”

“So what happened then?” Joe settled himself next to me and waited.

I thought back to all the problems that day had caused.

*****

ADAM 

It had all seemed so simple. I would get my chores finished then head over to the lake, telling Pa I was going fishing. This was kind of true, since I planned to take Connie fishing when I picked her up. I knew I shouldn’t be using the boat alone, nor traveling as far as the Austin place, but I conveniently forgot that. However, with our Pa nothing is simple as I soon found out. Every time I made a plan to do something by myself he’d find some reason why I couldn’t. His reasons this time arose at breakfast when I outlined my plans. He had to go to Mormon Station to settle some taxes and Marie wasn’t feeling well and had stayed in bed. He expected me to look after my brothers until he got home, so that my stepmother could get some rest. I tried to protest that I was meeting friends but it cut no ice with Pa. First he asked which friends and I had to think quick and say it was only some boys in town. If I’d said Connie he would have had a fit right there at the breakfast table. Once he had established that, or so he thought, he bluntly told me it would have to be another day, since it was too far to take Little Joe to town on my own.

            “Is it alright if we go to the lake, then, Pa?” I asked, not wanting to abandon my plans and anxious to get at least some of my story right.

            Pa considered for a moment. “You can fish as long as you keep an eye on your little brother, but no swimming. You watch him every second, you understand? No snoozing and no reading.”

            I must have raised an eyebrow or sighed without knowing, because he came back at me quick. “If you have a problem with that, young man, then I can change my mind and you can stay here and do chores.”

            I straightened up immediately; no sense in antagonizing him when I had got part of what I wanted approved. “No, sir. We’ll catch fish and play on the shore.” All true; I just omitted to say that the fish catching was being done on the water, not on the shore.

            “Can we take a picnic?” Hoss wanted to know.

            “Yes, if you ask Hop Sing in good time. He has a lot to do today with your mother not feeling too well and the baking for the church fund raising tomorrow.” Pa replied getting to his feet and reaching for his coat.

            I left organizing the picnic to my brother. We’d probably need a wagon to carry it, but at least we’d be well fed.

            As soon as Pa’s horse was safely out of sight I gathered up Little Joe and headed out to the barn. I hesitated for only a moment before saddling Brownie. I knew that Pa would not approve of me riding to the lake with Joe on the front of my saddle. He expected me to take the buggy. The trail was rough and it was a long ride. I eased my conscience by taking the quietest horse we had.

My little brother was jumping up and down at the thought of a ride to the lake and I had to tell him that it was a secret and that he mustn’t tell Mama or Pa, which made him even more excited. I guess sharing a big brother secret is exciting when you are only two. I packed a preserving jar and lots of string because I knew Joe would want to fish in the shallows and the idea of him with a hook was too scary to contemplate. I hadn’t considered how I would keep him still in the boat. I should have, as Joe is never still unless he’s asleep and even then he can be restless.       

             The ride was uneventful unless you count Joe almost falling off when he tried to grab the reins and take over from me, or when he bent down to pat Brownie’s neck at a particularly rough part of the trail. I set Hoss to watch Little Joe while I fetched the boat from the shack and rigged it ready to sail. I was very careful and checked everything before I rolled it toward the lakeshore.

            “We going in the boat?” Hoss asked, open-mouthed when he saw me rolling it toward the water.

            I nodded. “But it’s our secret. No telling, promise?”

            We solemnly spit on our hands and shook on the promise.

            “Promise,” Hoss repeated after me. “But what about Joe?”

            I turned to our baby brother. “He promises not to tell.  Don’t you, Joe?”

            His curly head nodded so fast it made me giddy. “Joe spit,” he announced, and proceeded to do just that and then place his very wet hand in mine.

            Hoss laughed as I wiped my hand on my pants in disgust. I just hoped Joe knew what it meant for a Cartwright brother to spit on a promise. If Pa found out what I’d done, I wouldn’t live to see my fifteenth birthday in a couple of months. For a second I hesitated, but there was no way I was going to lose a bet with Connie.

             The trip over was uneventful. The wind was light and there was no swell. I put up only the mainsail and I could handle it and the tiller with ease.      Hoss sat in the center of the boat against the foredeck held on to Joe and entertained him by pointing out the fish as they swam past just below the surface. Connie was waiting on the shore and I gloried in my success. I was so confident that I even took her sailing, leaving Hoss and Joe to fish on the shore.

            By the time we came back Joe was sleeping and I could lift him gently into the boat for the return trip. The wind had picked up a little, so I instructed Hoss to sit to one side to balance the boat and handed him the sheet controlling the mainsail. For the first few minutes all went well then, as we got further into the lake the wind increased and with the more violent motion of the boat woke Little Joe from his nap.

            “Joe sick,” he announced and promptly followed the words with action. Hoss jumped back to avoid being in the line of fire and the boat lurched dangerously.

            I grabbed the rope from Hoss and tried frantically to keep the boat on an even keel. By the time I had achieved my goal, Joe was sobbing with fright and Hoss was looking almost as scared.

             “It’s alright,” I tried to reassure them. “Just don’t move about like that again.”

            Hoss snorted., “Weren’t my fault.”

            Joe continued sobbing but there was little I could do; my whole attention was needed to keep the boat stable. “Look after him,” I yelled, my temper rising.

            For the next few moments both brothers moved as far away from me as it was possible to get in the confined space.

            We were now in the center of the lake and the water was choppy and the wind increasing. The little boat heeled at an angle, which almost put the gunwale on the port side under the water. I knew that when this had happened when I sailed with Pa he had said something about reefing the sail if it got any worse. This was getting worse but I had no idea how to reef a sail or even what the term meant. I moved further out on to the starboard side and shouted to Hoss to do the same. Even with our combined weight the boat was still poised at a frightening angle. We must have been a spectacular sight to anyone watching.

            I glanced up and was relieved to see that we were closing the east shore with incredible speed. It wasn’t the point from which we had set off but right now I didn’t care as long as it was land. I didn’t even care if we crashed into the shore as long as my feet were on dry land again. I was just congratulating myself on our survival when a freak gust of wind caught me by surprise and the boat lurched out of my control. I felt the deck tilt to an even crazier angle, the boom came across with a sickening thud and then nothing but blackness.

***

By this point in the story, Joe was listening open mouthed. “We survived,” I grinned.

“Yeah, but how? I mean I couldn’t swim, could I?” he asked.

Hoss shook his head “Nope, and that water was dang cold.”

I nodded to Hoss that he should take up the story, as my memories were at best hazy and for part of it non-existent.

***

HOSS

            “See, I was hanging on to you for dear life when the boat tipped. I didn’t see what happened to Adam. All I could think of was to get you to the beach. I kinda hung on to your pants at first but then your head kept going under the water, so I tucked you under one arm and tried to swim with the other. We got to the beach but you was coughing up water and I didn’t know what to do. I looked around for Adam. I mean, he was right behind me.  At least, I thought so, but there was no sign of him. Then this man came out of the trees, raced past me and dived into the water. Another man came up to me and you and started sorta thumping you on the back to make you cough up more water.  And yet another ran into the water to help the first one.”

            Hoss paused to gather his thoughts. “I weren’t too sure what happened next. I watched as they dragged Adam from the water. He wasn’t moving and I was scared he was drowned.

            “Is… Is he…dead.? ” I stuttered, fear in my voice as I shivered with cold.

            The older man looked up with a kindly smile. “No, he’s breathing, but we need to get him warm and dry. You, too. We’ll take you back to our cabin.” 

            I was torn in two. Pa always said not to go with strangers, but this man had saved my brother’s life and Adam still needed help. In spite of what the man said I was still worried that my older brother wasn’t gonna live. He looked awful pale.

            The man seemed to know what I was thinking. “It’s alright, son.  We won’t hurt you. I’m Henry King and these are my sons, Abe and Josh. We’re trappers and we live about a mile from here. Let us take you to our cabin. My wife will take care of your brother. I think he’s had a bad knock on the head.”

            For the first time I noticed that there was blood mixed with the water that was dripping from Adam’s black hair. I looked at the two younger men and now realized that they weren’t much older than Adam. Josh maybe only a year or two and Abe not much more. I nodded slowly. The older one, who had been holding a screaming Joe, handed him over to me.

            “He’ll be okay, but maybe he’d be happier with you than me,.”he said with a smile.

            Joe clung to me and his screaming gradually reduced to sobbing as he buried his head in my shoulder. I didn’t know what else to do, so I followed them up the trail away from the lake. Mr. King carried Adam until we reached a small cabin. He pushed open the door            and called out, “Morag!  Morag, where are you girl?”

            As he set Adam down on a cot in one corner of the room, I gasped. Where Adam’s head had been resting the man’s shirt was red with blood. I rushed over but the older boy held me away.

            “Let’s get you and your baby brother dry, shall we?” he said, taking my arm and pulling me towards the other corner of the room, where there was a table and chairs.

            Joe was still crying but it was softer now and muffled because he had stuck his thumb in his mouth the way he always does when he’s upset. Abe found towels and strip us off to dry us then wrapped us in blankets while he warmed some milk.

            I tried to see what was going on by the cot. Mrs. King was there now and she and he husband both worked on Adam. I heard him moan once or twice so I knew he was still alive but I wanted to be with him.  As soon as Abe moved away to warm the milk I got up and tiptoed over to the bed. It wasn’t easy to creep up on them because Joe was clinging to my leg the way he does when he’s scared. They both turned and saw me and moved a little to let me see Adam. He still looked awful pale and there was a towel stained red on the floor beside him. Mrs. King had bandaged his head and the white linen made his hair look even darker and if it was possible his face paler. I saw him move and his eyelids flutter. It took a few minutes, but slowly his eyes opened and stayed that way.

             “Adam,” I pushed between the grown ups and knelt beside him. “You okay?”

            He didn’t answer for a moment then he squeezed my hand. “Yeah, Hoss, I’m okay,” he whispered, his voice no more than a croak.

            “This here’s Mr. and Mrs. King,” I told him. “Mr. King saved you. I thought you was drowned.”

            Mrs. King put an arm around me. “Let your brother rest. It’s best for him right now.”

            I refused to budge even though she encouraged me to move back to the table.

            Mr. King sat down on the edge of the bed and looked from me to Adam. “Well, you’re Adam ,and you’re Hoss, is it?”

            I nodded.

            “And what’s the little fella’s name?”

            “Joe,” I answered.

            Mr. King nodded. “And what’s your other name and where do you live. Your folks will be getting worried about you.”

            I was about to tell him when Adam interrupted. “Our folks won’t worry until chore time and we’ll be home by then,” he said quickly.

            “Son, you aren’t gonna be fit to go anyplace for several hours and even then it will be in my wagon. So you might as well tell me where you live and I’ll send Josh over to tell your folks you’re all right. If they find that boat washed up on the beach, they’ll think the worst.”

            Adam tried to shake his head but as soon as he lifted it from the pillow and moved it just one way he groaned.

            Mrs. King patted his hand. “My husband is right, Adam. Tell us how to let your parents know where you are and that you are alright,” she said gently.

            Josh was leaning against the bed head and he came around to the side of the bed and grinned at Adam.  “Bet your Pa don’t know you was out on the lake.”

            “Joshua!” Mrs. King scolded.

            “That’s what it is, ain’t it?  He don’t know what you was doing and you don’t want him to neither.” Joshua continued.

            “Joshua, go finish your chores.” Mr. King ordered, boy did he sound like Pa. The thought was unwelcome. Pa sure wasn’t gonna be happy about any of this.

            Joshua reluctantly left the room and Mr. King turned back to Adam, “Now son, tell us your name and where you live. You can’t think you are going to get out of that bed anytime soon and you don’t want to cause your family worry, do you?”

            Adam said nothing, but he did close his eyes and turn his face away. I guess looking into Mr. King’s eyes weren’t no easier than Pa’s. I soon found out, ‘cos he looked my way.

            “What about you, Hoss?  You gonna tell me where your folks are? Your brother needs to be home in his own bed, with your Ma to tend to him.” Mr. King’s eyes were bright blue but somehow they still reminded me of Pa and I couldn’t look straight at him. 

            “My Ma’s dead,” Adam snapped back to life, but I saw him wince as he moved his head.

            “Ain’t no good, Adam,.” I sighed. “Pa’s gonna know when you turn up with that.” I pointed at his bandaged head. “Mr. King…” I tried not to look right at him, “Our name’s Cartwright and our Pa’s got a ranch near Washoe Diggings.” I heard Adam groan, but I didn’t look at him neither.

            Mr. King frowned. “That’s a fair piece from here.”

            Adam stared up at him. “Where are we, then?”

            “You boat must been pushed almost down to the falls at the south end of the lake before we saw you. That wind’s mighty fierce.”

            “I should’ve tacked,” Adam replied.

            I didn’t understand nuthin’ of what they was sayin’. I’d knew about tack for horses and sometimes Ma said the word, somethin’ about her sewing, but I didn’t know how that could work for a boat less he meant the sails or them ropes that Pa calls sheets. 

            Mr. King had turned to his oldest son and told him to ride over to our place and fetch Pa and a wagon. As he moved away I saw Adam’s face and he scowled at me. Didn’t see as how it was my fault and I was kinda glad that making a face made him wince again.” 

*****

“Of course, it was your fault! I could have got home fine and I didn’t need the bandage; that was just Mrs. King fussing. You didn’t have to tell them anything,” Adam interrupted.

“We was miles from where we left the horses and you couldn’ta walked back. Anyhow Pa would have noticed we lost two horses even if he didn’t see a lump on your head size of a… a goose egg and how would you have explained the boat bein’ broke and left miles from the shack,.” Hoss argued back.

“Shut up!” Joe shouted, I think he was kinda surprised when we did. “Stop arguing and tell me what happened when Pa fetched you. I bet he was plenty mad.”

“Difficult to shut up and tell a story,” Adam muttered “He won’t tell it straight anyhow.”

“So you tell it, older brother, since you’re so smart.” I sat back on a box and folded my arms.

“Smarter than you, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, smart enough to take out a boat you can’t sail, get us miles from home and then sink it,” I spat back.

“Will you two get to the point and tell the damn story?” Joe yelled.

We musta sounded like we did when we was kids, arguing an’ all

Adam threw me one of his superior looks and took up the tale.

*****

ADAM

Waiting was the worst part. You know how it is when you know Pa’s gonna have a fit and you have to wait? You got on to the bed with me and snuggled up to me and eventually fell asleep when I told you Pa was coming for us. Hoss sat on the end of the bed and we mostly glared at each other. It must have been the best part of three hours before we heard horses. I’m not sure who jumped the highest me or Hoss. It woke you up and you wanted Pa and when he didn’t appear instantly you started crying again. I was going to try and stop you but then I figured that maybe Pa would rush to you and it would take his mind off scolding us in front of the Kings.

            Suddenly he was there at the door and you ran to him and he picked you up and hugged you. I watched him check you all over to make sure you weren’t hurt. The he looked over at me.

            “Mr. King says you’ve got a nasty bump on your head. Any other injuries?” His voice was gruff but not angry. Leastways not yet.

            “No, sir.” I figured saying the minimum was best and threw in the ‘sir’ in case it helped.

            “What about you, Erik?”

            Ah, the first sign that he was angry, calling Hoss by his given name. I saw Hoss shake his head and then make the same decision as me. “No, sir, I’m alright.”

            “Mighty brave boy, Mr. Cartwright. He’s a hero; saved his little brother and no mistake. I saw the boat go over but I couldn’t have got to both the little one and your older boy in time, I’m sure of that. One of ‘em woulda drowned for sure.” Mr. King was smiling at Hoss and obviously trying to show us in the best light. “It was pretty windy out there, lots of sharp gusts that you wouldn’t expect. The boy did pretty good to keep her afloat as long as he did.”

I watched Pa’s face. He wasn’t buying it. I could almost hear his thoughts: He shouldn’t have been afloat at all then he wouldn’t have had a problem.

            He grunted. “No doubt I’ll get the whole story when we get home.”

            Oh, I bet he would; no matter how hard I tried I could never manage to hide the truth once Pa started digging.

            Mrs. King handed Pa my clothes, which she had dried. Hoss and Joe had already got dressed but she hadn’t wanted me to move. I only vaguely remembered Mr. King undressing me but now that I was dressing I realized that there was only one room and Mrs. King must have been there. I could feel myself going redder and I allowed Pa to help me to get it over quickly. It was a good move as it was so unusual for me that he scrutinized me closely to see if I was in pain. I played along and tried to convey weakness and pain, not very successfully, I suspect.

“I have the wagon outside with a mattress and some blankets. We should be home before dark.” He turned to Mr. King and shook his hand. “I don’t know how to thank you. If there is ever anything I can do for you or your family, you only have to ask.” Pa turned on his best smile for Mrs. King.  “Thank you, too, Ma’am, and your boys. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been around.”

“You’da done the same for my boys,” Mr. King replied.

“I hope your sons would have had more sense,” Pa growled, looking at me. That’s when I knew I was dead.  Before it had been debatable, now it was a downright certainty.

Pa helped me into the back of the wagon and put Joe beside me. Hoss made to climb up on the seat but Pa indicated with a jerk of his thumb that he was to ride in the back with Joe and me. During the trip I lay back and tried to relax so that the jolting didn’t hurt my head. Joe fell asleep against me and made not one sound all the way. Hoss and I exchanged meaningful looks but one glance at Pa’s rigid back as he drove told us it wouldn’t be wise to voice any of our thoughts.

 Pa drew the wagon up outside the house and handed a still sleeping Joe to Hoss. “Take him into your mother, it’s past his bedtime,” he growled. Then he helped me down. I wished I was smaller then he might have carried me inside instead of just letting me lean on him. Reaction from the day’s events was beginning to catch up on me and I began to shake uncontrollably.

“C’mon let’s get you to bed, too,” Pa said and there was a note of sympathy in his voice. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t as angry as I thought.  

Marie fussed over us all and eventually won her battle to get Pa to leave explanations until morning, for which I was grateful. I heard them whispering outside my door and I was tempted to eavesdrop but my bed felt so good. Whatever Marie had given me in my glass of hot milk, and I’m sure there was something, was making me drift into a pain free and worry free sleep.  

             My worries came back in full force next morning. Physically, I felt fine except for a sore spot on my forehead. Mentally, I wasn’t so good.  How on earth was I going to explain my actions to Pa? I mulled it over in my head. I hadn’t exactly lied to him; maybe not told all the truth, but there were no lies. Had I disobeyed him? I tried to recall all our conversations about the boat; had he actually said at any point that I couldn’t take it out alone? I wasn’t certain about the exact words but I was certain sure that he hadn’t meant me to sail alone and certainly not with my baby brother on board. I may not have disobeyed his orders but I had sure disobeyed the spirit of his teaching. I was no nearer an answer when I went down to start my chores.

            Breakfast was quiet. Pa said nothing and once Marie had ascertained that neither Hoss nor I were any the worse for our adventure she concentrated on feeding Joe, or at least seeing that food went in his mouth and not on the floor.  I didn’t feel much like eating but I tried to make the meal last as long as possible.

Finally, there was no putting off the evil moment. Marie rose and began to clear the table and then whisked Joe away on the pretext of cleaning him up. Hoss and I left our seats and offered to carry the dirty crockery into the kitchen. I’m not sure when we have ever been so keen to do kitchen chores. Pa drained his coffee cup and as he set it down he frowned at us. “Yes, clear the table for your mother then come right back here. We need to have a little talk, don’t we?”

            Hoss and I both nodded and replied together, “Yes, sir.” Both then carried dishes away as we contemplated the form this little ‘talk’ was likely to take. My head felt sore but not half as sore as I figured other parts of me were going to be when Pa got through with us. By the time we reluctantly return, Pa was standing at his desk with his back to us. We approached much as one might approach an enraged Grizzly bear, with much caution and trepidation. He must have heard our steps on the polished boards because he swung around suddenly making us both jump back a step.

            “Well,” he demanded, “what did you think you were doing?”

            I glanced at Hoss. He was pale and very nervous. He hated Pa shouting. “It was my idea. Hoss didn’t have anything to do with it.”

            “He went along, didn’t he?”

            “Yes, sir. But he didn’t have much choice once we got to the lake.”

            “But you did.” Pa’s finger was pointing at me now. “Didn’t you?”

            “Yes, sir,” I said, softly.

            He seemed to consider me at great length and then turned his gaze on Hoss and did the same.          “Very well. Hoss you can help your mother with the house chores today but in future when your brother suggests some crazy plan, you’d do well to avoid joining him. I won’t be so lenient next time.”

            Hoss’ eyes widened and he almost ran from the room to help Marie.

            Pa turned back to me. “You asked me if you could go fishing. Did you have all this planned when you asked?”

            I nodded.

            “I can’t hear you.” His hands went to his waist and he hooked his thumbs into belt.

            “Y…yes, Sir. But I didn’t lie, I planned to fish too,” I added.

            “Do you know what a lie by omission is?”

            I swallowed hard. “Yes, Sir.” He waited and indicated that I should explain. “It’s when you don’t tell everything.”

            “And did you tell me everything?”

            I shook my head, “No, Sir.”

            “And why was that?”

            I hated it when Pa did this. I knew what he wanted. He wanted me to admit what I had done wrong rather than being accused of it, and he wanted me to admit that I had known it was wrong before I did it.

            “I… I didn’t tell you about the boat because… well,… I knew you wouldn’t let me go.”

            Pa nodded and gave me a look that said it all. “When will you learn to think of the consequences before you do something stupid?”

            There was no answer to that but I was sure thinking of the consequences now and they weren’t going to be pleasant.                     

            Pa fixed me with that look of his and pointed a finger at me. “I think you need time to think and you need to learn some responsibility. I obviously haven’t managed to convey to you the importance of doing what you’re told.”

            Uh oh, here it comes. Pa is going to find some painful way to get this message across and I think I know what it will be. I was watching his hands, so sure that I was about to get a tanning that I only half heard what he said next.

            “Maybe you and I should spend a bit of time together and you can learn what responsibility is all about. Go pack your things for a three or four day trip.”

            “Huh?” My mouth dropped open.  Did I hear right?. I’d disobeyed him, lied to him and almost got my brothers killed and he was rewarding me with a pack trip?

            He must have known what I was thinking because he almost smiled.  “Very eloquent. If you listened instead of drifting off, maybe you wouldn’t get into so much trouble. Don’t think it’s a reward for your bad behavior, it’s not. You are going to work harder than you have ever worked in your life. We will spend the time talking and you will find out what running a ranch really entails. Now, go on, we’ll leave at first light tomorrow.”

*****

My youngest brother was grinning at this point.  “What happened on the pack trip?”

I shook my head and grinned at Hoss.  “No, you don’t. You wanted to go sailing.  No more stories about my misspent youth today. All I can say is I learned one helluva lot from Pa on that trip and I did work harder than I had ever worked before.”

Joe gave in gracefully but he had one more question. “Okay, but how come your name isn’t on the witness tree? You messed up and made a pack trip with Pa, just like we did, and he got us to carve our names there.”

“Oh, it’s there, but it’s not very clear. See, when Pa told me to pack my gear, I forgot to pack my hunting knife among other things and Pa refused to lend me his.  Said I’d got to learn to be responsible for myself.” I grinned. “I had to go without meat the entire trip because Pa insisted that if I couldn’t share in dressing it, then I shouldn’t share in eating it.”

Joe giggled. “Sounds like our Pa.”

“Pa did suggest I should record my visit some way as I’d taken the first steps in becoming a man on that trip. But without a knife I couldn’t think of anyway to mark the tree. I finally, worked the bark off with my dinner fork into something roughly like ADAM. It wasn’t very clear when I did it, but it’s weathered now and you can hardly read it unless you know where to look.”

Joe slapped me on the back.  “And I always thought it was because you were so good, you never got to do one of those trips.”

“Oh, believe me, I did more than one,” I replied.

As we worked together to get the boat into the lake I thought about the trouble we got into as children. Pa would give us a lecture, and, when necessary, punishment, usually something to make us give up our spare time or make us think, but sometimes a well-deserved tanning. Then there were those pack trips, when he gave of himself, spending time with us. Time and love that’s what it takes to set a child on the right path. Now as a father myself, I can see how patient he was with us. How he taught and guided us but then ultimately allowed us to make our own decisions and to live with the consequences. Everything we are we owe to him.

I glance at my brothers and know that they feel the same way. He has set each of us on the right path and his teaching still guides us as we struggle with those same problems with our own children. Hoss and I are grateful for his support and I know that as Joe takes the next step to marriage and then children Pa will be there for him too.

“Hey, stop daydreaming and work!” Joe yells as I miss my step and the weight of the boat falls on his shoulders. “If we don’t get out there soon we’ll be late back for chores and Pa’ll get mad at us.”

I find myself hurrying to do as Joe asks and laugh to myself. Even now, we all strive for Pa’s approval, but now it has nothing to do with punishments.  It’s all about respect for him and a wish not to disappoint. Wasn’t it always so? That is as it should be.