Summary:  Adam reads a letter from Hoss that makes him realise how much he misses his brothers.  Hoss and Joe are missing their bossy older brother, he had his uses!  Ben is simply worried about his youngest sons who are MISSING!
Rating:  G  (8,510 words)

MISSING

 “Hi, Grandpa, you had a good week?”  Adam Cartwright asked as he put his head around the door.  With his first year of college behind him, he had taken to sharing rooms at the Yard with his friend James and only came back to visit his grandfather at weekends, an arrangement that suited him and worried his grandfather.

The old man grunted and got to his feet, waving his pipe at his grandson. “I’ve been fine, but I’ve been hearing tales about abolitionists meetings.  You wouldn’t have been a part of that near riot the other night would you?”

Adam kept his face inscrutable, “Who me? Now Grandpa you know I’m working too hard to get mixed up in that sort of thing.  Boy, it sure is cold in here, you want me to get in some more coal?”  He said changing the subject quickly.

Abel Stoddard shook his head  “I’ll do that.  There’s some letters in your room, one from your Pa and I shouldn’t be surprised if the other isn’t from your brother.  He could have put it in the same envelope.   Sendin’ ’em separate, foolishness, costs too much,”  He grumbled.

Adam’s face lit up; news from home was always welcome.  He had been waiting for a letter from Pa to say he was home safe and the news that the letter was there meant his fears could be pushed aside.  He couldn’t wait to read Hoss’s letter; the only reason it would be sent separately was if it contained things Hoss didn’t want Pa to read.  He chuckled with anticipation, what had his young brothers been up to now!  He raced up to his room and threw his books on the bed, grabbing the letters and flopping into the center of it himself.  Leaning back on one elbow, he read his father’s rather short note, which told him very little; not much more than that he had arrived home safely and all was well.  It included several reminders to work hard and behave, which made Adam groan and informed him that they were busy with a new logging project and he would write at length in a week or so when the work was caught up.  It did however, include a bank draft which Adam carefully tucked into his pocket to bank on Monday.

He tore open Hoss’s envelope and began to read, gasping at the date.  It had been written before Pa had left Utah, heaven alone knows where it had been.  He turned the envelope over and grimaced, it appeared to have traveled through a few places before it got here, probably because Hoss had forgotten to put the state and it had been to a couple of Bostons in the west before finding the right one three thousand miles away.  He grinned, typical of his little brother.

Dear Adam

I hope you are well.  First I wants to warn you that Pa is hopin mad at you about sumthin your teacher wrote him and he says he’s comin to visit with you.  Hope this gets there afore he does, he’s in a fair temper. But as well as that I had to write to tell you about what me and Joe bin doin this summer and ask your advice.  I am sending this seprate so as Pa don’t get to know the half of what our little brother got up to.  It’ll be me as gets it in the neck if he does find out.   Mood Pa’s in right now with both of us and with you I’d just as soon he didn’t know no more.  How in the heck did you keep track of Joe?    He don’t do nuthin what I tell him to.  Well the worse thing was last week when we went up to Eagle Falls, see Pa said we wasn’t to go off the ranch…we was in trouble for cuttin school two days and Pa was real mad already.  But you know Joe, he don’t worry none about that.

Well it was like this…

Adam was already chuckling at the opening paragraphs and he couldn’t wait for what was to come.  Because of the delay, Hoss’s warning had come too late and he had weathered his father’s visit but it was reassuring to know the bond between them was still strong enough for Hoss to be concerned.  He lay back on his bed and he could almost imagine the beauty of the Lake, the hot sun on his back and the cool water of Eagle Falls.  He had been there many times, even climbed the falls once, not that Pa had been aware of it, thank God.  He read on completely absorbed in the world of home as if he was there witnessing the events Hoss was describing.

*****

Way above the incredible blue of Lake Tahoe, two boys scrambled up the rocks to a vantage-point where they could see the panorama of mountains and meadows that was their home territory.  They rested on a flat rock and wiped the sweat from their eyes.  Neither was interested in the view, they were intent on reaching a ledge still another twenty feet above them, on which, the older boy was sure, rested an eagle’s nest.  They had ridden all morning to get here, disobeying their father’s orders not to go off the ranch.  The younger boy had pointed out that the nest was on the ranch, it was just the foot of the mountain where they had started their climb that was over the boundary.  The older boy wasn’t so sure that this would go down well as an excuse if they were found out, but as usual he had allowed himself to be persuaded by his brother’s silver tongue.

After a few minutes of labored breathing the younger boy pushed to his feet again. “C’mon Hoss its not much further.””’ But the youngster was already on the next part of the climb.

Hoss groaned.  He’d better keep up.  There was no telling what Joe could get into if he wasn’t watched and Pa had said that with Adam away at college, Hoss was to be responsible for Joe during the long summer vacation.  He began to climb again, more slowly than his little brother but steadily and carefully.  In the past year since older brother, Adam, had left, Hoss had learned to his cost what being responsible for Joe really meant.  It meant hauling him out of fights, covering for him when he cut school or shirked his chores, following him every where in case he got into mischief and worst of all taking the brunt of Pa’s anger when he was less than successful at anyone of these tasks.  He often wondered how Joe survived and he no longer wondered why Adam had been so persnickety when asked to mind them.

By the time Hoss reached the ledge, Joe was sitting cross-legged on a pile of sticks and old grass.  He shook his head as his older brother approached.  “Mighta bin once but the chicks have flown long since,” he said regretfully.

Hoss collapsed at his side and stared up at the cobalt blue sky.  “Boy that was too much,”  He gasped.

Joe pointed across the lake, “I said we shoulda climbed the waterfall it would have bin quicker.”

Hoss shook his head. “Its more’n sixty feet straight up and the rocks are wet with spray.  We’d’a bin killed.”

“Thought you said Adam did it once as a dare from Rick Bonner,”  Joe argued.

“Yeah, so he said, but then Adam says a lot o’ stuff when he’s showin’ off,”  Hoss retorted.  His hero-worship and respect for his older brother’s opinions growing less as he too grew to manhood.  “Waste of a climb anyways if there ain’t nuthin’ here,”  He grumbled.

“Nah it weren’t.   You can see most the whole lake from here, ‘ceptin’ Zephyr cove and …and Mama’s cove,”  He finished softly.

Hoss opened one eye and squinted at his little brother.  There were times when boisterous Joe became quiet and thoughtful and it was usually when his mother was mentioned.   It had been over three years since her death and yet Hoss still felt her presence very strongly at times.  Her son was so like her.

“What we gonna do now?”  Joe asked rolling over on to his stomach and poking his older brother in the ribs.  “We still got most of the afternoon left.”

Hoss groaned, “Couldn’t we rest a spell?  I’m plumb tuckered out with that climb and it’ll take us more’n two hours to get back down and ride home anyhow.”

Joe shook his head and grinned. “C’mon big brother, let’s see what’s on the other side of this mountain.”  He tried to pull Hoss to his feet but could only move one arm.  He gave up quickly and started down the slope toward a gully filled with scrub.

Hoss rolled over and leaned his chin on his hands as he propped himself with his elbows and watched his younger brother scrambling down the rocks.  Joe sure had lots of energy.  He sighed deeply.  He missed Adam and his quiet moments with him.  It seemed a long time since he’d left and although there had been frequent letters to begin with it had been a long time since the last one.  So long that Pa had gotten concerned and written to Adam’s grandfather.  He hadn’t received a reply as far as Hoss knew, but there had been a letter from some tutor in Boston just a few days ago that had made Pa real angry.  He hadn’t told them what was in it, exactly, just said Adam was all right but that he needed to go to Boston to sort out a few things.  Hoss had deduced from his manner that it was Adam he planned to sort out.   It would take him weeks to get there and return home.  It meant he’d be gone most of the summer and Hoss hoped he wouldn’t get back until well after school had started.  Hoss was determined he wasn’t going back for another year.   Hell, he’d be fifteen in the fall and he was too big to fit into those stupid desks anyways.  He was working out ways of convincing his father, or at least persuading Shaughnessy that he had, when he heard a shout from below.

Joe was standing beside some rocks and staring ahead into a area of scrub and trees and his shout had been one of alarm.  Hoss followed his younger brother’s gaze and saw the reason for his shout, a bear, maybe six or seven feet tall and less than ten feet from the youngster.   There was little he could do, his rifle was in his scabbard and that was still on Chub’s back and on the other side of the mountain.  All his father’s warnings ran through his head.

“Stand still,”  He yelled as he skidded down the slope heedless of damage to himself or his clothes.

The bear saw the movement and for a second it turned its head away from Joe.  Joe saw his chance and ducked behind the pile of rocks.  The bear dropped back on all fours and ambled towards Hoss, not hurrying and seemingly not too bothered by him.  Hoss lay directly in her path and he held his breath.  Pa was gonna be awful mad at him for letting Joe get so close to danger, then he realised that maybe he wouldn’t be around for Pa to be mad at this time.  He could smell the animal as she drew closer then suddenly she dropped her head and changed direction.  Hoss couldn’t believe it, until a small furry cub emerged from the bushes and the mother nuzzled at it.   Joe must have been between her and her cub, now that they were re-united she wasn’t interested in the boys.

Hoss lay still for what seemed like hours and behind his rock Joe waited, pale and scared.  Finally, satisfied with the cub’s safety the mother nudged him downwards and the two ambled off slowly down into the ravine.  Hoss breathed again.  Then winced as he went to stand.  His ankle felt as though it was on fire and he couldn’t put any weight on it.  He must have twisted it when he slid down the scree.  He swore as the pain hit him.

“Pa’ll have your hide if he hears ya,”  Joe grinned, standing over his brother and wagging a finger at him.  He was now fully recovered from his fright and ready for more excitement.

“It ain’t funny Little Joe.  I cain’t walk and we gotta get outta here in case that ol’ she bear comes back,”  Hoss said hobbling to a rock and sitting down.  He pulled off his boot and sock to look at his ankle.  It was already turning shades of red and swelling badly.   He realised his mistake when he tried to replace the boot, it wouldn’t go back on and trying was so painful he yelled out.

Joe’s smile turned to alarm.  “What we gonna do, its miles back the horses.”

Hoss tried to think calmly, he was the oldest and he had to get them out of this.  “You’ll have to go fetch the horses,” he suggested.

Joe gave him a look, which said he was crazy.  “They won’t make that climb.  Pa’d have a fit if they broke a leg tryin’.”

Hoss grunted.  “Pa’s gonna have a fit anyway you look at it,” he said gloomily.

He considered the other options.  Sending Joe for help; even if he could make it alone, it would take maybe four or five hours to get back to the house and bring anyone, and apart from a few line shacks there wasn’t much anyone nearer.  Maybe Shaughnessy’s place was closer or the settlers around the south end of the valley but he doubted it.  He tried to recall what settlements there were over on the California side of the lake but he wasn’t sure and sending his little brother into unknown territory alone was foolish.   Maybe the best option was to get Joe to help him back to the horses.  There had to be an easier way down than the way they had come up.

He hauled himself painfully to his feet and leaned on his little brother but after a few yards it became obvious that it was too painful and the younger boy couldn’t support his weight.

“It’s no good Joe, you’ll have to go for help,” he sighed, sitting down again.  “D’you know the way back to the horses?”

“Sure I do,”  Joe scoffed.  “I ain’t stupid.  An’ I can find my way home.”  He said quickly before Hoss could ask.  He helped his brother get as comfortable as he could under the shade of the rocks and bushes and then set off back to the top of the gradient.

It didn’t take the Joe long to get back down, with no older brother to reprimand him, he slid most of the way, his boots and pants taking most of the punishment.  At the bottom of the slope he looked around to get his bearings and in five minutes he was back at the site where they had tethered the ponies a couple of hours before.  He patted Shadow and Chubby and unhooking his canteen took a long swig of water.  Then guilt assailed him.  Hoss had no water and no real shelter.  He looked at the sky, overhead it was still a harsh blue but away to the west clouds were gathering and if he wasn’t mistaken he could hear far off thunder.  It would take him maybe an hour to get home and another two for help to reach Hoss, by the time they got Hoss back to the house it would be dark.  He stood undecided by his pony, his eight-year-old mind awhirl with possibilities.  What if the bear came back or worse a cougar? What if Hoss died of thirst?  He shook his head, nope he’d have to go back and take Hoss water and a gun, then go for help.  He felt rather pleased with himself once the decision was made.  He couldn’t see why Adam and Hoss made such a big thing about being the oldest and making decisions, he could do it fine.

The canteen was no problem.  It was almost full and he swung it over his shoulder securely.  Then he approached Chubby and rested his hand on Hoss’s rifle.  He bit his lip and swallowed hard.  Just last month Pa had caught him with a rifle, albeit an unloaded one, in his hands.  He had been warned in no uncertain terms that he would get a tanning if he touched a gun again without permission.  Firmly he grasped the stock; this was an emergency wasn’t it?  Pa couldn’t be mad at him for wanting to protect his brother.  The gun had no strap and carrying it would be a problem.  He fished in the debris in his pockets and found a length of string, tied to the sight and the trigger guard it made a passable strap.

He quickly made it back to the path he had descended.  He reckoned the climb would take about an hour but he was beginning to feel tired.  He glanced at the waterfall.  It had to be quicker.  Hoss was only a hundred yards from the head of the falls.  If Adam could do it, so could he.  He could do anything his oldest brother could do, ‘ceptin’ maybe real hard arithmetic.

He stood under the falls and watched the water cascading down to the lake below, then looked up to his goal.  The path he was on was maybe a bit over halfway up, he had perhaps fifty or sixty feet to climb and there were clear ledges.  It didn’t look so tough.  He reached out and took hold of the first rock.  If he kept to one side most of the hand and footholds were relatively dry.  He had gone about twenty feet when he realised that to continue climbing he would have to get closer to the falls themselves, all the protruding rocks were now further over.  He rested for a moment and then side stepped nearer.  The icy cold spray hit him and he shivered and almost lost his tenuous hold.  He grabbed for another rock and felt the rifle bang against him.  This was more difficult than he had expected.

He climbed another twenty feet and rested again.  His legs ached and his arms and hands were cut and blistering.  He made the mistake of looking down and began to shake.  It looked an awful long way.  He glanced upwards and to his horror he saw a rock overhang immediately in his path.  He felt a wetness on his cheek and realised it wasn’t the cool water form the falls but hot tears of fear and frustration.  For a moment he froze then his worries for Hoss overrode his fears and he carefully inched his way along the ledge until his hands could reach a rock projecting from the overhang.  There was only one foothold but it would have to do.  For a few seconds he appeared to hang in space as he reached out for the handhold above his head and then lifted his foot to the next projection.  Once this difficult manoeuvre was accomplished successfully he could rest a little before attempting the final ten feet to the top.

He collapsed on the final ledge and gasped for breath.  Then elation took over.  He’d done it; he’d climbed the waterfall just like his big brother.  He’d be able to write to Adam and boast about it.  He gathered the canteen and rifle to him and started off down the short slope to where Hoss was still resting.

Hoss had settled in for a long wait, he knew it would almost certainly be dark before he was rescued and he had closed his eyes and tried to think of pleasant things to take his mind of the pain in his ankle.  He started off all right, thinking of the fall round up and how he planned to go with Jose and Jake.  Then his thoughts turned to Adam and his latest letters and from that to his father, no, he wouldn’t think about Pa right now.  He sighed, what else was pleasant to think about?  He settled for Hop Sing and food, but it only made him realise how hungry he was and how long it would be before he could eat.   Suddenly he heard a noise in the scrub and bushes.  Oh No! The bear had come back.  He looked around for some place to hide himself or a weapon to make him at least feel he was doing something but there was nothing.  He looked toward the sound and couldn’t have been more amazed at the sight.

“Little Joe… what in tarnation are you doing back here?  I thought you was halfway home by now,” he exclaimed, raising himself on one elbow to glare at his younger brother.

Joe wasn’t in the least put out at Hoss’s expression.  He knew Hoss would be pleased when he showed him what he’d brought.  “I fetched the canteen and your rifle,”  Joe said proudly.

Hoss kept his glare and Joe worried just a little.  “Pa told you, you wasn’t to touch guns didn’t he?  An’ how’d you get back here so fast.”  He gasped as he noted the flecks of water on his brother’s shirt.  “You didn’t climb the falls?”

Joe nodded not so sure of himself now.  “It weren’t hard, don’t what Adam made such a fuss about,” he replied nonchalantly, shaking off the fear he had felt when his hands had slipped.  “Don’tcha’ want the water?” he said nervously as Hoss continued to glare at him.

“Dadburnit, Joe, cain’t you ever do what you’re told.  Pa’ll skin us alive when he finds out,” Hoss said angrily, moving himself to get more comfortable.  The pain in his ankle was making him feel crosser than usual.  “He’s gonna be worried sick about us and you know when he worries he gets mad at us.”

Joe frowned and placed the rifle and canteen beside his brother.  This wasn’t the reception he had expected when he had made his wonderful decision.  Maybe it wasn’t so clever after all.  “I’ll go now and he won’t have time to get worried,” he said quickly, nervous of Hoss’s angry expression.

Hoss sighed and looked up at the sky. “You ain’t goin’ no place.  It’ll be dark in an hour or so and you’ll only be half way home by then.  I ain’t havin’ Pa mad at me about that too.  We’ll have to find some shelter for the night and maybe my ankle will be good enough for me to get back to the horses by mornin’.”  He gave a deep sigh as he tried to heave himself upright.  “Pa is gonna bust his vest ‘bout this.”

At the moment Hoss spoke Ben was indeed losing his temper.  The boys had been gone all day and it was more than an hour past chore time.  He had fed the hens and the pigs, Joe’s chores, and chopped the firewood and milked the cow, Hoss’s chores and now he was getting very angry.  He dropped the pile of kindling into the basket by the kitchen stove and hauled himself upright, clutching his back.  “Hop Sing, did the boys say where they were going?”

The Chinese cook shook his head,  “Mr Hoss take ‘nough food for one meal, no more.  They be back soon.”

“It can’t be soon enough.  They’d better have a good explanation or they’ll be doing yard chores for the rest of the month,” Ben said sharply.

Hop Sing watched him go back into the yard and begin to pace.  Boss not just cross, he worried, Hop Sing knew.  He watched as Ben took a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and read it for the hundredth time.  Hop Sing knew what that was too; not much escaped his notice.  Letter come from Boston, Mr Adam in trouble too.  He moved back into his kitchen and began preparing vegetables.  He’d try to think of a way to soothe the boss’s worries.

Ben sat down on the porch to wait.  Those boys would get the sharp edge of his tongue when they finally put in an appearance.  He re-read the letter from Professor Maitland.  It seemed that the silence from Adam had been more than a problem with the mail.  The last letter from Adam had arrived in June but had been written back in April, then there had been over a month of silence until this had arrived a few days ago. This professor wrote of drinking and failed studies, of disobedience and insolence.  He said that Adam was falling into bad company and wanted to know what Ben wished him to do about it.  Ben hadn’t forgotten his threat to his oldest son before he left for college. The first hint of trouble and your allowance will be stopped and you will be on your way home.  Well this was more than a hint, but it was so unlike Adam; Ben had to go and see for himself.  There was no problem with the ranch, Jake and Jose would run it fine while he was away; they had done it before.  He had almost made the arrangements to go back east but how could he ask Kate Shaughnessy and Hop Sing to take care of the boys for maybe three months or more when they did stupid things like this.

He glanced up at the sky it was almost dark.  This was most unlike Hoss, he was usually more aware of the weather and the time of day than any of his sons.  Now the anger began to turn back to worry.  He hurried across the yard and into the barn, taking his saddle from the partition and fetching Buck’s bridle.  He had almost finished the task of saddling up the buckskin when Jake, his long time friend and foreman wandered into the barn.

“You gonna go look for ‘em,” he said laconically.  “They ain’t usually this late.  Hoss said summat about goin’ looking for an eagle’s nest.  That’d put ‘em west of here in the mountains.”  He nodded to himself.  “There’s an awful lot o’ riding to cover, I’ll fetch the boys.”

Ben started to say that he didn’t need to do that, but Jake was gone.  He sighed gratefully. The men would search as diligently as if it was one of their own children.  It had never ceased to amaze him at the loyalty he got from his ranch hands in times of trouble.

Under Hoss’s direction Joe had cut some small saplings with his older brother’s hunting knife and Hoss had tied them together with the remains of the string to make a small shelter.  Joe was then despatched to find more branches to weave in between the saplings.  After an hour or so they had a makeshift shelter from the night air and as darkness descended they crawled inside.  Hoss’s ankle was throbbing by the time he was resting again and he was very hungry.  He wished they had blankets and some food, then the night in the open wouldn’t be so bad.  When they had left home they hadn’t expected to be gone much after five or six o’clock.  Hoss sighed deeply.  He knew that had Adam been there he would have taken bedrolls and some beef jerky just in case, as he always put it.  Hoss had always thought him over cautious now he could see the sense of his brother’s detailed planning.

Outside the sky darkened quickly as night fell and the storm clouds rolled in.  Inside the shelter the brothers tried to make themselves comfortable on the hard ground.  Hoss stretched out and rested his ankle on some pine branches Joe had gathered but it still hurt.  Joe sat hunched up with his arms around his knees, feeling cold and miserable.  The sound of thunder and then the steady drumming of rain on the leaves and branches made him move closer to his big brother.

“Its warmer if we sit close, ain’t it?” he said softly.

Hoss nodded and put an arm around him.  “Yeah it sure is,” he reassured his brother.

They stayed quiet for a while then Joe decided to lie down and try to sleep.  “You don’t think the bear will come back do ya?” he worried.

Hoss chuckled,  “Nah, I bet she’s holed up in a nice dry den someplace.”  He looked upwards wondering how long the shelter would continue to stay dry with the amount of water it was fending off.

Joe tossed and turned unable to get comfortable.  “I bet Pa’s real mad by now,”   He groaned.

“Yeah, if he gets cold and wet lookin’ for us, it ain’t gonna help none neither,”  Hoss added.   “Wanna bet we ain’t gonna sit comfortable for a week when he catches up with us,”  He grumbled. “I sure wish Adam was here.”

Joe looked up at his brother in surprise.  “Why?  What difference would that make?”  He was worried now, surely Hoss wasn’t scared.

Hoss gave a grim smile, “’cos if Adam was here I wouldn’t be the oldest and Pa would have someone else to yell at ‘sides me.  You know, I used to be jealous of him always gettin’ to do stuff first and bein’ allowed to do things I weren’t, but now I know it ain’t all its cracked up to be.  There was lots of times when he got into trouble ‘stead of us and more times than I can count he took the blame for us and never said nuthin’ to Pa.”

Joe nodded, thinking of his older brother.  He kinda missed him too.  “He ain’t wrote for ages, you think he’s all right?  I mean Pa’s just goin’ visiting ain’t he?”

Hoss was glad the darkness hid his expression.  He didn’t want to lie to Joe but he didn’t want to worry him either.  “Sure he’s all right.  Last time he wrote me he had a girlfriend, I ‘spect he’s courtin’ her and’s too busy to write us.”  He closed his eyes and recalled Adam’s last letter.

“She’s the most beautiful girl in the world little brother and I’m going to ask her to marry me.  You’ll love her.  Don’t say anything to Pa, Grandpa isn’t very happy about it because she’s Irish and a Catholic and works in a bar.  I know Pa will understand.  I mean Mama Marie was Catholic and Pa loved her.  I’m going to write and explain to him sometime soon when I’ve asked her and she’s said yes.”

Hoss recalled his father’s face when he had read the letter from that teacher.  Maybe Adam weren’t as smart as he thought.  Hoss didn’t know what the letter said but it had sure made Pa angry.  Perhaps Adam had married this girl already or maybe Pa disapproved of her working in a bar.  He had sure disapproved of that Suzie that Adam had sparked last year.  At almost fifteen, Hoss thought about girls a lot but he sure didn’t get to talk to many.  Most girls at school laughed at him because he was big and clumsy and stupid.  The ones that did like him only wanted to be friends because he could protect them from the bullies.  He wished he was as handsome and smart as his older brother.  Heck even Little Joe was smarter than he was and the girls already fought to sit next to him.

He lay back and dreamily began to imagine what it would be like to have a girlfriend, to hold her hand and even maybe kiss her.  A dainty little girl with blond curls was what he really dreamed of, but the only girl who seemed to like him was Bessie Sue Hightower and she was almost as big as he was.  He chuckled softly at the thought of Bessie Sue being called dainty.

“What’s so funny?”  Joe asked, he couldn’t see anything amusing in their current situation.  He was cold, hungry and a little scared.  Oh he wasn’t scared of sleeping out at night; he’d done that before but never without his Pa or Adam.  He wasn’t sure Hoss was as confident as Adam would have been and he sure missed his oldest brother right now.

Hoss shrugged in the darkness.  “Nuthin’, just thinking about sumthin’ that’s all.”

Joe shifted closer to his brother but it was no warmer and then they both felt the steady plop of raindrops on their shirts.

“Aw hell.”  Hoss swore.  “I figured it would stay dry for longer than this.  Adam’s shelters used ta keep out everythin’ ‘ceptin’ the worst storms.  I shoulda built it meself.”

Joe was already fed up and this last roused his temper.  “You sayin’ I ain’t no good at it?”  He growled.

“Well it’s leakin’, ain’t it?”  Hoss pointed out in an aggrieved voice.

It only took a few more angry words and the boys were rolling on the ground in a fight.  Joe’s hot temper never stopped to consider the consequences.  The fact that Hoss was now man sized compared to him, a slightly under sized eight year old, didn’t enter his head.  It took only a few seconds for Hoss to recover from the surprise attack and despite his throbbing ankle to over power his little brother, pinning his arms behind him.

“Cool off,” Hoss shouted then began to laugh.  The rough and tumble had brought down the shaky structure over their heads and the rain was now cooling them off far more than they needed.  “I guess we’re too wet for it to matter much ’bout a shelter.”  He chuckled and Joe joined in.

They scrambled out of the tangle of branches and stood in the now torrential rain.  It was cold and Joe shivered.

“We gotta find somewheres warmer, Joe.”  Hoss was worried now.  He was supposed to take care of his little brother.

“There ain’t nowheres nearby,” Joe responded.  “There’s some shelter in the rocks but it ain’t much.”

Hoss nodded.  “It’ll have to do.  I’ll crawl and you lead the way.”

Joe bit his lip, he could see that every time Hoss put any weight on his ankle he was in agony but to watch his brother crawling through the wet undergrowth made him realise how desperate their plight really was.  It took more than half an hour to reach the shelter of the rocks and Joe’s explorations in the darkness found them a small cave.  He helped Hoss up a small slope and inside.

“There’s a bigger one further along but it goes in deep and I kinda think it might already have a owner.”  He tried a grin, which didn’t quite come off.

Hoss nodded grimly  “I bet we got that ol’ she bear for a neighbour, hope she sleeps real sound.”

“There’s some sticks and dried grass back there like someone’s used it before.  You got matches, we could make a small fire and maybe dry off a bit?”  Joe suggested.

Hoss reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tin, well at least he’d remembered one of Adam’s lessons.  “I got matches in here.”  He tapped the tin confidently.  “You go get the sticks.”

Ten minutes later Hoss’s confidence had gone along with the five matches, two had been too damp to strike, one had broken and flown out into the night and the other two wouldn’t stay alight long enough for the damp grass and twigs to catch light.  Hoss sighed.  “I guess we stay wet and cold and hungry.  I sure am hungry.”

Hoss stayed awake most of the night; if he wasn’t worrying about how they’d get out of here he was worrying about what Pa would say, and when he did manage to doze the throbbing of his ankle woke him.  He was pleased to see that Joe had fallen asleep and he watched over him as the cold night dragging itself slowly to morning.

At first light he inched himself toward the cave entrance, he was stiff and hurting but he had to find out exactly what their situation was.  Grim, he decided after his first look at the gray morning.  It was still raining, a slow, steady, misty, drizzle which blotted out most of the landscape but he knew that whichever way they went they had a difficult descent to the main trails.

He looked down at his little brother, sleeping peacefully on the remains of the dried grass with his head pillowed on Hoss’s jacket and the weight of responsibility hit him.  This was why Adam was so serious most of the time, so methodical, so confident… or was he? Did even Adam have moments of self-doubt.  Hoss sighed and tried to bring his practical mind to bear on their problems.

Joe stirred and groaned.  He opened his eyes reluctantly his dream of a hot breakfast dispelled as the cold mist wrapped itself around him as he came to stand by his brother.  “How’s your ankle?” he asked.

Hoss was standing with his weight on his other foot and he grinned.  “Oh, it will be okay once I get movin’,” he lied.  “And we’d better do that soon, we’ve got a long ways to go.”  He leaned back against the cave wall.  “Joe you gotta listen and this time you gotta do what I tell ya,” he said seriously.

Joe was about to protest but something in Hoss’s manner stopped him, this time his older brother meant business.  “Whaddya want me to do?”

“You’re gonna go back to the horses…” Hoss hated to think how hungry and thirsty Chubby and Shadow must be by now.   “You gotta find them some water and let ’em graze a bit then bring them the long way around to that lake we saw on the way up here.  You think you can do that?”

Joe nodded  “You mean in the valley between here and the pass?”  He asked not sure if his brother meant that lake, it sure was a long way off.

“Yeah that’s the one.  I think I can walk or slide most of the way down to there, it’s all downhill with no climbs.  If you walk around the lake you’ll come to a place with water on both sides of the trail, wait there.”  He looked sternly at Joe.  “Keep the horses at a walk and don’t try to ride Chubby.  And no matter how long it is, you wait, you don’t try to get home on your own and you don’t come looking for me…” he stopped and re-considered  “…’less it gets to past noon, then you leave Chubby for me and ride home for help.  You know how to tell when it’s noon don’tcha?”

At this Joe gave a pained sigh.  “Sure I do, Adam taught me and I could climb up to meet ya too…”  His voice trailed away as Hoss moved toward him and growled.

“You do as I tellya, got it?”

“Sure, sure, I got it,” Joe complained.

“Good, I’ll keep the canteen but I cain’t carry the rifle you’ll have to take it back with ya, ‘an don’t tell Pa you even touched it.”  He glared.  He started to hand it to his little brother and then re-considered and emptied the shells into his pocket before handing it to a disgusted Little Joe.

“I wasn’t gonna use it…”  Joe protested.

“Well now you cain’t,” Hoss retorted.  “I’ll see you at the lake in a couple of hours.”

Two hours later Hoss was tired, hot and bruised.  He had tried walking and sliding and even rolling to cover the ground and his clothes were torn to shreds.  He could see the lake but it was still a good half an hour before he reached the shore, it was with relief that he saw his younger brother sitting on the bank, dangling his feet in the water.  That sure looked good.

Joe had been at the spot for more than an hour and he was bored.  He had been tempted to go and look for Hoss, but the expression on his brother’s face when he’d given the orders had deterred him.  Hoss didn’t often get mad with him, least not as often as Adam had, but when he did, he was a force to be reckoned with.  He had practiced sighting the rifle but had made sure it was back in Chub’s scabbard long before the two hours were up and he had tried his hand at grabbing for fish but without much success.  He glanced up now and again at the mountain behind him and jumped to his feet when he saw Hoss slithering down the scree toward him.

“You okay?” Joe asked his face creased with worry.  There was blood on Hoss’s shirt and pants and dirt and blood streaked on his face.  He held out a hand to help his brother to the lake edge.

Hoss gratefully plunged his face into the cold water and came up spluttering.  “Yeah, I’m okay, it’s only scratches.”

Joe nodded only to willing to take his brother’s word for it; the scratches looked awful deep to him, and now that Hoss had dunked his head, the blood was flowing freely.  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a grubby handkerchief and handed it over.

Hoss mopped his face and then hauled himself painfully to his feet.  “Get me over to Chubby,” he ordered.  “We gotta get home.  Pa’s gonna be worried sick.”

Joe moved in closer to allow Hoss to lean on him and helped him to mount.

“He’s gonna be mad too, ain’t he?”  Joe said nervously.

Hoss nodded. “Yep, and don’t you go tellin’ him about climbing waterfalls and foolin’ around with guns, neither.  We gotta enough troubles as it is.”

Joe swallowed hard, he had no intention of volunteering any information to his father, that’s what you had older brothers for. He sure wished Adam was here.  He didn’t have much confidence in Hoss’s ability to stay truthful and yet give nothing away.  Adam was kinda good at that.

Ben reached for his coat as the first gray light of dawn crept into the living room of the Ponderosa ranch house.  Last night’s search had been fruitless and they had broken it off when darkness fell.  He had hardly slept, spending the night pacing up and down his room and waiting for dawn.   He tried to be quiet, but Hop Sing hadn’t slept either and he found a cup of hot coffee thrust into his hand as he reached the door.  He nodded at Hop Sing,  “Thank you.”

“You go look for boys, I do chores,” The Chinaman reassured him  “They al’light, Mr Hoss take care Lil’ Joe.”

Ben tried to smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.  Something had happened out there, he was sure of it.

As he drank he heard sounds in the yard and looked out to see the hands already saddling up.  He hurried outside to find every one of them ready to ride.

“Mornin’ boss,”  Jake said solemnly.  “We thought we’d take the a look around, Jose’s gonna take a party up north around the bay and I thought maybe we could ride south.  Joe’s bin talkin’ about that waterfall at the south end of the lake and Charlie says there’s an old eagle’s nest there, might be that’s where they headed.  You ‘member how fascinated the boys always was by them falls?”

Ben nodded half in the past. “Adam always wanted to climb the rocks alongside it, probably would’ve tried it if I hadn’t threaten to take a strap to him if he even thought about it.”

Jake looked away, now wasn’t the time to tell the boss what he knew; he’d kept the secret for nigh on ten years, it wouldn’t hurt to keep it a while longer.  He just hoped Adam had never boasted about that climb to Little Joe, it would be all the incentive the boy would need to try to emulate his older brother.

A couple of hours later Ben and Jake were riding alone, the other hands had been despatched to various points as they rode south and now the two of them rounded the end of the lake only a few miles from the waterfalls.

Ben slowed Buck to a walk and then stopped.  “Let’s give the horses a rest, if we have to climb up into the mountains from here it’s going to be tough on them,” he suggested.

Both dismounted and Ben dropped Buck’s reins as he searched the terrain as far as his eyes could see.  “Nothing,” he sighed.  “We haven’t seen a sign of anyone.”

Jake nodded but kept silent.  A man could disappear without trace in these mountains, many had.  Two boys in this vast wilderness could wander for weeks and never see another soul.

Ben could tell what Jake was thinking, he had pushed the same thoughts away several times on the morning ride.  Hoss was a sensible boy, almost a man now.  He had lived here all his life, if anyone could survive, he could.  Ben knew all this, but he couldn’t help wishing Adam was with them. Adam had always brought his little brothers safely home no matter what the dangers.  Maybe he had relied too much on his oldest son; given him too much responsibility; maybe that was why he had thrown away his father’s values as soon as he got to college.  It was no use speculating, that problem would have to wait, a more pressing one presented itself.

“There…”  Jake pointed away to his left.  “…by them trees, I saw sumthin’ move, a horse maybe?”

Ben followed the direction Jake pointed and saw it too, clearer now but still only a glimpse, a horse and rider; a gray horse and a small rider and behind it another horse and a larger rider.  “I’ll kill them,” he muttered, as relief flooded through him.

Almost at the same moment Joe spotted the two men standing on the trail by one of the smaller finger lakes.  “It’s Pa and Jake!”  he yelled happily at Hoss as he dug his heels into Shadow and raced off to meet them.

Hoss followed more slowly, no sense in rushing to his fate.  His stomach hurt a whole lot more than his ankle right now.  Now how would Adam have tackled this?  Well they were on the Ponderosa, just!  If Joe kept quiet about guns and waterfalls, maybe Pa wouldn’t be too mad, after all it was an accident that had kept them from getting home.  He began to plan his story in his head as he drew nearer to the welcoming committee.  He moved the incident with the bear to this side of the mountain, and made a few other adjustments to the truth and by the time he slide gratefully from Chub’s saddle he had a passable story.  He winced as his ankle took his weight and allowed the pain to show on his face, sympathy was a good start.

Ben rushed to his son’s side and put an arm around him lowering him to the ground.  “How did this happen?”

“I don’t think it’s broke, Pa.  You see I was tryin’ to get between Joe and a big ole Momma bear an’ I slipped on the rocks…”  Hoss began.

Ben held up a hand “A bear!  Around the lakes, they don’t usually come this side of the mountain near the settlements…she must be hurt.”  He fixed Hoss with a stern stare.

“Was she hurt, Hoss?”

“I didn’t notice nuthin’, Pa…she was…”  Hoss faltered and blushed at the look his father was giving him.

“She was what, Hoss?  In Eagle Valley?  Is that what you meant to say?”  Ben’s voice was quiet.

“Uh oh!”  Joe thought as he moved a little away from his father.  Adam would never have made that mistake.  It was all gonna come out now, Hoss was just no good at avoiding the truth.

Ben signalled to the boys to mount up.  “We’ll finish this discussion at home.”  He said ominously as he helped Hoss into the saddle.

So I bet you can guess the rest, and one o’ Pa’s lectures and stuff can sure last a while ‘ceptin’ for Joe who’ll be in trouble agen before Pa’s bin gone five minutes.   I’m gonna send this with Jake tomorra, since we got a week of yard chores and we ain’t allowed nowheres near town for a month.  Jake never told Pa ’bout you climbin’ the falls, hope Joe’s as lucky.  Pa was mad enuff without that.  I can see now what you meant about bein’ the oldest, I sure do miss you.  Like I said I need your advice about how to stop Joe doing such dangerus stuff, or he’ll really get hurt.  How do I make him listen?

At this Adam laughed out loud, if he knew the answer to that he’d be real happy; Pa couldn’t achieve it and Adam seriously doubted that either he or Hoss would ever succeed.  Joe just wasn’t the kind of kid who learned from advice. He learned from experience, painful experience, mostly.

Hope you don’t mind but I comes into your room sometimes, it makes me feel you ain’t so far away.  I’m writin’ this sittin’, well more standin’, at your desk.  Write soon and tell me about Pa’s visit, sorry we made him mad before he left, hope he cooled off before he got there.   Like I said I sure do miss you big brother.

Your loving brother

Hoss

Adam folded the letter with a smile.  Yes, he could guess the rest.  In his head he could hear one of Pa’s lectures on responsibility and he could sure remember a few of the tannings he’d received.  He could see poor old Hoss shifting from one foot to the other as Pa listed all the things they had done and he could recall the feelings of shame when Pa gave him a look that said he was disappointed in him.  Being the oldest Cartwright had never been easy, he wondered if Joe would ever know how much his brothers suffered on his behalf.

He sighed.  While he had been reading it was as if he was there with them.  He glanced around his bedroom and a sadness came over him.  He was enjoying college and he was happy most of the time with his new life. Brothers were a pain, they caused him trouble and meant he was never free of responsibility but …oh hell.  He threw a pillow at the wall in frustration…   he sure missed them all.

THE END