Summary: In honor of Father’s Day… Ben Cartwright is the perfect model of a father, but even he can make mistakes with his children. This story is about how he acted in haste. He now must rekindle the relationship with his son, Hoss.

Rating: K+  WC  3400

In Haste

Ben Cartwright rode into town with his two sons, Adam and Hoss. It was the Cartwright’s monthly trip for supplies. As the wagon rolled to a stop in front of the mercantile, 12 year old Adam jumped eagerly down.

“I’ve got your list, Pa. Don’t worry I’ll get everything you need.” He turned to leave when his 6 year old brother shouted out, “Can I go with Adam, Pa?”

Adam looked up at his Pa with pleading eyes. His Pa had steadily increased his responsibilities the last few visits and he so enjoyed the importance of roaming through town independently with business at hand.

Ben recognized his boy’s plea and said, “No, Hoss. Your brother has quite a few things to tend to today.”

Adam quickly said, “Thanks, Pa,” and headed down the street.

Ben turned to Hoss, who was pouting in the wagon. His son had developed quite a knack for protruding his lower lip when displeased. He gently reached up and lifted the boy to the ground.

He then nonchalantly said, “Well, we better get started so we’ll have time to have our treat before we head home.”

Hoss’s expression instantly changed. “A treat!?” What kind of treat, Pa?”

Ben smiled at his son. “Well, if you come along and behave yourself young man, I’ll buy you and your brother a piece of cake over at the hotel restaurant before we leave.”

“Oh, boy!” Hoss exclaimed. “Can I have chaw-KO-let?”

Ben laughed. “Yes, you may have chocolate.” The two walked into the mercantile.

Mr. Anderson, the store owner, was standing on a ladder putting the finishing touches on his new window display. He was having a sale on canned goods and had spent most of the morning stacking cans into a tall triangular tree. Hoss couldn’t believe how tall the cans were stacked. From a 6 year old’s perspective, it looked like they reached clear up to the ceiling. Each can was spaced apart evenly with one can resting on two rims of another. They were in a bowed fashion arcing outward toward the store front window. Hoss just couldn’t take his eyes off the masterpiece.

“Ben! Good to see you,” Mr. Anderson said, as he climbed down from his ladder. The men shook hands. “What can I get for you today?”

“Well, I have quite a list here from Hop Sing and I need some tobacco as well. Have you gotten that order I’ve been expecting from San Francisco…”

Just then, Ben’s voice trailed off as he noticed Hoss reaching up to touch the precariously stacked cans.

He quickly grabbed the boy’s hand and firmly said, “Hoss, remember our rule…We do not touch things without permission.”

Hoss hung his head. “Sorry, Pa. I just wanted to see if ‘n it was strong is all.” Again, the infamous protruding lip formed.

Ben spoke gently, ruffling his boy’s hair. “I know you didn’t mean any harm, son. Why don’t you sit down over there while I finish up with Mr. Anderson.”

Ben put his arm on the boy’s shoulder and gently directed him toward the unoccupied chair. Hoss turned and took his seat. Ben and Mr. Anderson started walking over to the counter as Mr. Anderson was responding to Ben’s previous question.

“No, the order hasn’t come in yet, Ben, but I’m expecting a shipment from San Francisco any day now.”

Just then, a little boy came in with his mother. Hoss had never seen him before, but he figured they were about the same age. He watched the boy walk around the store as his mother was looking at new hats that had just arrived.

After a moment, the boy noticed the giant tree of cans in the window. He walked over to them to take a closer look. Hoss looked hesitantly at his Pa, then arose from the chair. He walked over to the boy. Just as he was about to say hello, the boy suddenly reached up and grabbed hold of one of the cans, yanking it out at the base.

“Crash!”

The cans tumbled down and shattered the storefront window. The young culprit quickly crawled under a table to hide. Hoss just stood there in front of the disaster completely stunned.

He was quickly brought back to reality, however, by four stinging swats to his backside. Ben spun his son around to make full eye contact. There was fire in his eyes as he looked directly at his son.

“Didn’t I tell you not to touch anything?” he said angrily.

Hoss did not know what to do or say. Tears started to well in his eyes not so much from the physical pain, but from the deeper hurt of being wrongly accused.

Ben took Hoss firmly by the arm and escorted him out to the wagon.

He sat him down on the buckboard and sternly said, “You are in big trouble young man. I expect you to sit right here until I get back, understood?”

Hoss just nodded, as the tears streamed down his face. He sadly watched his father re-enter the store.

 

He sat in the wagon quietly, contemplating as best a 6 year old can contemplate. He was deeply hurt by his father’s actions and could not rationalize the situation. Hoss knew he was in big trouble, trouble that was not instigated at all by his own actions. The hurt he was feeling soon began to turn to anger as he looked nervously down the busy street. He had never ventured anywhere without someone with him before. Hoss stood up and with one final look at the store entrance, made a decision. He’d show his father and just run away. He jumped down from the wagon and quickly ran up the street. He did not know where he was going. He just wanted to get away. The town seemed so ominous from a 6 year old’s perspective. He slowed his pace and continued to walk briskly, huddling close to the buildings that seemed to provide a sense of security. He had to find somewhere he could hide. It wasn’t long before he spotted a loose board under one of the stairwells leading up to the bank. He managed to knock the board loose and crawl inside.

 

Ben tried to calm himself as he reentered the store. He planned to apologize profusely for his son’s misbehavior and offer to pay for the damages. Instead, he was met by both the woman and Mr. Anderson as he walked into the mercantile. The woman was holding her son firmly by the hand.

“Sir, I’m afraid that your boy was not involved in this little incident. It seems my Timothy grabbed the can, not your son.”

The woman directed her voice towards the little boy. “What do you have to say for yourself, young man.”

Ben looked down to see the teary-eyed boy still clutching the evidence in his hand.

The boy was looking straight down at his shoes. A barely audible, “I’m sorry, sir,” escaped from his lips amongst the sniffles.
Ben’s face totally dropped as his anger quickly turned to shame. “Oh, I see…” were the only words he could muster.

He hung his head as the realization of his actions became apparent. Then he thought of his son sitting outside in the wagon. He excused himself immediately and headed outside.

As he approached, Adam eagerly greeted him. “Hi, Pa, I got everything you asked for…”

“Where’s your brother?” Ben interrupted.

Adam responded, “I thought he was with you, Pa.”

“Hoss! Hoss!” Ben’s eyes started scanning up and down the street, but there was no sign of the youngster.

“Pa, what’s going on?” Adam asked.

“Listen, Adam. We need to find your brother. He probably hasn’t gone too far. You start up that way and I’ll look down here.”

“Yes, Pa. But why would he run off?”

“I can’t explain now, son. Just do as I ask. We’ll meet back here in an hour if we haven’t found him.” With that, Ben set off down the street at a quick pace.

 

By the time Hoss was safely inside his hideout, anger had succumbed to fear. The boy curled himself up into a little ball. The tears were streaming down his cheeks as he relived the prior moments. How could his Pa be so unfair? The boy just sobbed and sobbed. “Pa has never been this angry before,” he thought. “Now I run off, too, and made him madder.” Hoss looked around his little crawl space. The realization of being alone set in. He knew he shouldn’t have run away, but he couldn’t go back now.

All that thinking soon made the boy tired and he finally cried himself to sleep.

 

Ben Cartwright’s mind was racing with all sorts of emotion as he worked his way from business to business asking people if they had seen his son. He inwardly was chastising himself for not controlling his anger. Hoss was so sensitive. How was he ever going to make his son understand his mistake? For once, he was dreading the long discussion they would be having once he was found. He knew he could not change the past and he only hoped that he could make the boy understand the reasons behind his actions.

He met Adam back at the wagon and neither had found Hoss.

Adam questioned Ben, and Ben told Adam about what he had done. Adam was silent for a moment before replying. He had never known his father to act in haste. He could tell his father was filled with remorse and tried to be encouraging.

“I’m sure Hoss will understand, Pa, once you explain it to him.”

Ben nodded half-heartedly, then quickly turned the boy’s attention back to business. “Well, we best let Sheriff Coffee know what has happened. Maybe we can get a few more people to help us track him down.”

 

Hoss woke up with a start as he heard a familiar voice call his name. It was Adam from across the street.

Hoss wanted to run right out and go to his brother for he always knew he could trust Adam with his problems. But, he also knew that when he had done wrong, Adam had no influence in changing his Pa’s opinions about the matter at hand. Hoss was now worried that he’d be in even more trouble for leaving the wagon after he was told to stay put. Tears started to fall again. The boy felt helpless as he silently watched his brother move away through a crack in the boards.

Hoss just sat under that porch for what seemed like hours. His stomach was growling something fierce. He sat there contemplating once more. Part of him wanted to remain where he was. He had found the ultimate hiding place where his father would never find him. Yet, the boy’s stomach was growling and he was just plain hungry. He also knew it would be getting dark soon and he didn’t have a coat or blanket to keep him warm. Again his stomach rumbled. He decided to risk leaving his hiding place to go out and hunt for food.

Hoss popped his head out to take a look around. The street was pretty empty with the exception of just a few couples heading down the boardwalk. Hoss quietly, but quickly, started heading down the street. He figured he could get some food from the hotel’s kitchen when no one was looking.

He was just down by the jail when he suddenly saw his brother and Sheriff Coffee appear. Hoss was cornered. He had only one place he could go… the jail. He darted inside before being seen and hid under the sheriff’s desk. About a minute later the door swung open and in walked Adam and Roy.

“Sheriff, I just can’t figure where Hoss could have gone to… I thought he would come when he heard me calling at least.” Adam sounded dejected.

“Don’t worry son, we’ll find him. Your Pa is checking over by the livery to see if he is hiding in the hay.” Roy sat down at his desk and Hoss squished as far under as he could, remaining out of sight.

Roy looked over at Adam and saw a tired and concerned young man. He realized they had been looking for Hoss all afternoon without resting one bit.

“Adam, you must be starving by now. Here. It ain’t much but at least it’ll fill the emptiness.” Roy had a sandwich on his desk and handed it to Adam.
“Thank you, sir.” Adam politely accepted.

Hoss perked up at the mention of food. He heard his brother unwrap the sandwich and he instinctively rubbed his stomach. Just then Roy jumped up out of his chair.

“It will be getting dark soon, son. There’s some lanterns in the back room.” Adam set the sandwich down on Roy’s desk and followed him as he entered the back room.

They were gone for but a moment, which gave Hoss just enough time to snag the sandwich off Roy’s desk.

“We best get going and catch up with your father.” Roy said.

Adam simply nodded and headed for the door. Roy glanced over towards his desk and noticed the sandwich was gone. It didn’t take but a moment for him to realize that the very person they were looking for must be somewhere in the room. He pointed to the desk to alert Adam of the missing item. Adam slowly closed the door and set the lantern down on the floor.

Roy walked over to his desk and squatted down. Hoss was so busy eating the sandwich that he did not notice he was being watched.

“Well, young man. What do you have to say for yourself?” Roy said in a gruff tone.

Hoss swallowed hard and did not move. Roy reached in and pulled the boy out from beneath his desk.

“Hoss! Adam yelled both in annoyance and relief. Do you know we have been looking for you all afternoon?”

Tears had formed in the young boy’s eyes. He nodded in reply to his brother. “I’m sorry, Adam.”

Roy motioned Adam to go get his father as he set Hoss on top of his desk. He felt sorry for the young man. “Best eat up, son. You’ve had a long day.”

Hoss took another bite of the sandwich, but his eyes kept shifting towards the door. He finally looked at Roy and said. “Pa’s going to be really mad at me, now.”

The tears started to fall down his face as he thought of what his Pa would do to him. Roy reached over and laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Believe me son, Your Pa is more angry with himself than with you.”

Just then the door burst open and in came Adam and Ben. Ben rushed over to his son and scooped him up into his arms.

“Thank goodness you are okay, son,” he said. Tears started to well in his eyes as he hugged his son to his chest.

He could hear the muffled sound of “I’m sorry, Pa.” being said over and over again amongst his boy’s sobs.

After a moment Ben released Hoss and repositioned him back on the sheriff’s desk.

Roy knew he wanted to be alone with the boy, so he quickly made an excuse to leave.

“Ben, I’ll take Adam over to the hotel for something to eat. You and Hoss can join us once you’re done.”

Ben nodded and the two exited, leaving father and son alone. There was a long silence before Ben could find his voice.

“Son, I was the one who was wrong today, not you. You have nothing to apologize for in any way.”

Hoss looked up at his father with a puzzled look. “But Pa… I didn’t stay in the chair like you said to and I didn’t stay in the wagon… and I ran off and made you have to look for me…”

“And…” Ben interrupted him. “You DIDN’T knock over that display in the mercantile.”

Hoss looked up at his father in surprise. He smiled at the boy even though inside his heart was breaking. Hoss looked down and, once again, the protruding lip began to form. The smile quickly dissipated from Ben’s face.

“Why’d ya spank me then?”

The words tore at Ben’s heart. Tears welled in his eyes once more. He paused for a moment trying to find the right words to say to his son.

“It’s simple Hoss. I made a mistake. Even Pa’s make mistakes sometimes. What do I usually make you and Adam do when you make a mistake?”

Hoss’s face scrunched up into his infamous “hard thinking” expression. After a moment he replied, “You make us ‘pologize.”

“That’s right. Then what happens next?” Ben prodded.

Again the boy thought deeply before answering. “Well… if’n it is somethin’ bad, you punish us.”

“Yes, that’s true. Go on.”

“And…. Then… you always tell us you love us and you forgive us.”

Hoss looked up at his Pa and saw that he was crying. He rarely ever saw his father cry and it instantly brought tears to his own eyes once more. Ben put both his hands on the boy’s shoulders. He inhaled deeply and looked directly into the eyes of his son.

“Hoss, I’m sorry for what I’ve done today. I can only promise that I will try harder to do better next time. You have always been honest with me and I should have asked you what had happened before I punished you in front of everyone. I am truly sorry, son, and I ask for your forgiveness.”

Ben then released his hands from the boy’s shoulders and hung his head.

After a moment, Hoss said, “Pa… I ax…axsss… axssse..” The boy was fishing for the right word.

Ben looked up at his son. “accept?” he questioned.

The boy nodded.

“I accept your ‘pology, Pa.”

Then Hoss threw his arms around his father to give him a big bear hug. Ben welcomed the affection with open arms. He kissed the boy on the cheek and held him tightly for quite a few moments.

He whispered softly in his ear, “Thank you, son,” before placing the boy on the floor.

“Well, we best get over to the restaurant to meet Roy and your brother.”

Hoss’s eyes gleamed at the mention of food. Then, he realized something.

“Pa… there’s just one more thing.”

Ben furrowed his brow. “What’s that, son?”

Hoss hesitated for a moment before spitting out what was on his mind.

“Well… you haven’t been punished, yet.”

Ben looked down at his son in surprise. He could see the boy was trying to be very serious about the matter, so he played along.

“Oh, I see… I was hoping maybe you’d forget about that little matter.”

Hoss folded his arms and sternly shook his head. Ben heaved a huge sigh.

“Well then, young man. What do you think a fair punishment should be?”

Ben had to hide a smirk as Hoss’s face took on that “thinking hard” expression once more.

After a moment, he replied. “Pa, ‘member when you said that if’n I was good today that you would buy me a piece of cake?”

Ben simply nodded, trying to anticipate where his son was going with this remark.

The boy then proudly passed sentence. “Well, I think you should buy me two pieces instead.”

Ben playfully winced at the boy’s words. “Two whole pieces?” He questioned and then swallowed hard. “All right son. I’ll do as you say.”

The two shared a laugh. Ben took his boy’s hand and they headed for the door. Hoss looked up at his Pa and flashed a big toothless grin.

“Can I have chaw-KO-let?” he asked.

Ben let out a loud laugh and patted the boy on the back.

“Yes, son, You may have chocolate,” he said closing the door behind them.