Summary: Joe decides to play a trick on Adam out on a cattle drive. Little does he realize his actions will trigger a horrendous memory for Adam from his youth.

Rating:  K+  WC 4200

 

Memories Within

Joe Cartwright was just plain bored. He had been out on the trail with his Pa and two older brothers for days, following the same routine; Get up…eat breakfast…move the cattle…break for lunch…move the cattle…set camp… eat dinner and go to bed. It was tiring work, but Joe was young, just barely 17, and eager for adventure.

One evening, he just couldn’t stand the lull anymore and decided to add a little excitement to the camp. Joe’s eyes scanned the faces around him. Who should be his victim? Most the ranch hands were already asleep due to exhaustion. His brother Hoss was busy cleaning up anything left over from the evening’s meal. That left only two people: his Pa, who never seemed to be in the mood for any jokes, and big brother Adam.

Adam had been pushing Joe since they left the ranch. He always set high expectations for his little brother. Expectations that Joe felt were too high, and this oftentimes caused rifts between them. Joe looked over at his brother quietly reading by the campfire and a wry smile appeared on his face. Yes, Adam would be the one. But what would be the perfect prank? Adam always seemed in control and never wavered. He had nerves of steel and remained calm regardless the situation.

“I bet I could really rattle his nerves if I tried hard enough,” Joe thought to himself.

The rest of the evening passed quickly for the 17 year old as his mind was preoccupied with coming up with the perfect plan. By the next morning he had all the elements figured out and was ready to put his plan into action.

Joe was the first to arise, partly because he had slept little. He walked over to Adam and nudged him.

“Adam, you awake?” he questioned.

“I am now,” Adam coldly stated and groggily arose to a sitting position.

He then rubbed his eyes before continuing. “My, aren’t we eager to get an early start this morning.” Adam’s eyes carefully looked up at his brother’s face.

Joe smiled. “Well, maybe your work ethics are beginning to rub off, big brother.” He then handed Adam a fresh cup of coffee and sat down next to him.

After a few moments, Joe nonchalantly stated. “Hey Adam? When you’re finished, I want to show you something I found.”

Adam took a sip from his cup and then looked suspiciously over at his little brother. “What sort of thing did you find, Joe?” he questioned.

“Well… it’s kind of hard to explain. I’m not quite sure what it is, but I think it’s worth taking a look at anyways.” Joe could tell Adam wasn’t convinced.

“Besides brother, you’re the one with the college degree, not me. I’m not sure what it is, but I bet you could figure it out.”

Joe hoped his praise of his brother’s intelligence would hook Adam into at least venturing forth for a look see.

Adam said nothing and took another sip of coffee. Joe intently watched his brother’s facial features.

After a long moment, and against his better judgment, Adam relented.

“Alright Joe, show me this mystery you so long to know about.”

He threw out the rest of his coffee on the ground. Then arose, motioning Joe to lead the way. Joe jumped to his feet and started to head off. Adam watched for a moment before following. He knew his brother was up to something, but for now he’d just play along.

 

Joe led Adam just outside the camp to a look out point. He paused about 10 feet away from the edge.

“It’s just over the cliff, Adam, about half way down. I can’t quite make it out, though.” Joe started walking over to the edge as Adam trailed behind.

When Joe reached the cliff, he made sure to put himself right on the very edge before he looked down. This made Adam stop in his tracks.

“Joe! Don’t stand so close,” he simply stated.

“Don’t worry, Adam, the ground is solid beneath …” Joe’s words were cut short as his right foot slipped and he slid over the edge.

“JOE!” Adam Shouted. There was no response.

Adam stood frozen in disbelief. He shouted again. “JOE! Can you hear me?” His echo only replied.

Suddenly, Adam felt his gut wrench as memories from long ago cascaded through his mind. Tears instantly appeared in his eyes and his legs became unsteady. “NO!” Adam Shouted. “NO! Don’t hurt him… don’t hurt him! I’ll do anything you say. Just don’t hurt him…”

Adam’s mind was in another time… another place. He was just a boy, barely 8, out with his father hunting for the wagon train. Without warning, a man they had never seen before pulled a gun on them and held them captive for some hours. He was a disgusting looking man with a long beard and cold black eyes. His clothes were tattered and he reeked from many days without being washed. He first asked for food.

“We have none.” Ben said. “That’s what we’ve been looking for ourselves.”

The man didn’t like his answer and walloped Ben with the butt of his rifle.

“Pa!” Adam shouted out in alarm as he looked down at his father’s limp body.

“What’s wrong, sonny?” the man cackled. “Don’t have your Pa to protect you anymore?”

He then let out an evil laugh and grabbed Adam firmly by the arm.

“Let me go… Let me go you… you…”

“Go ahead and fight… I like a fighter, boy.”

The man then led Adam over to a nearby tree and began tying him to the trunk.

He had his hands secured behind his back and was about to work on his feet when Adam gave him a swift kick in the shin, which turned the man’s anger into fury.

“Oh, a wise one. Huh? Well, I’ll show you a thing or two…”

He then slapped Adam harshly across the face. The boy winced from the pain, but maintained his glare on his attacker. The man smirked at the boy’s petulance then calmly strolled over to his father and began dragging him towards the edge of a cliff.

Adam’s facial expression changed abruptly. His eyes were wide and his mouth gaping. “What are you doing?” he questioned.

The man said nothing, but continued to drag Ben closer to the edge.

“Please… Please don’t hurt my Pa,” Adam pleaded.

The man laughed. “I can’t stand for disobedience, boy. I’m gonna teach you a lesson you’ll never forget.”

Adam watched in horror as the man positioned Ben on the ridge and reached down to turn Ben’s face towards his son.

“Take a good look, boy… just take a good look. It will be the last time you’ll ever see your Pa.

“NO!” Adam Shouted. “NO! Don’t hurt him… don’t hurt him! I’ll do anything you say. Just don’t hurt him… Just don’t hurt… him… Just don’t hurt him…” It was too late.

The man slid Ben’s legs over the edge and with one final look gave him a shove.

Ben was gone and the man was left alone with the boy. He walked over to Adam and looked down on him with the coldest gaze.

“Shall we now try to tie your feet together again?” he asked sarcastically. This time the boy did not resist. He closed his eyes to fight back the tears. He couldn’t let the man see that he had just taken everything from him. He had to be strong and keep his emotions within. Deep down, he knew that that was what his Pa expected of him.

 

Ben and the ranch hands awoke with a start at Adam’s yelling. They immediately ran towards the sound. They found Adam on his knees, pointing towards the cliff, and uttering softly “No…No.”

“Adam, what’s wrong son?” Ben immediately asked. Adam did not respond. Ben then knelt down and gave his shoulders a slight shake.

“Adam, what’s wrong?”

Ben noticed his son’s eyes starting to focus.

“Pa?” Adam questioned. Adam looked around then hung his head down trying to piece together the past few moments. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of laughter emanating from over the cliff.

All eyes fell on the ridge as at first, a dirty hand appeared, then another. Soon Joe was standing upright in front of them, laughing hardily.

“Oh, that was a good one.” He cackled. “That was a good one. You sure let out a yell brother. I sure tricked you this time.” Joe’s words were intermingled with rounds of laughter.

“You see… there was a big rock just below the ridge…I just jumped onto it…oh, that was a good one…” Joe let out one more round of laughter before he realized no one else was joining in on the fun.

First, his eyes scanned the ranch hands. They were just staring back at him in surprise. Then his eyes met his Pa’s gaze. It was an intense glare that made Joe instantly squirm. He quickly averted his eyes. Finally, he looked down and saw his brother staring up at him with the same intensity as his father. This made Joe suddenly feel uncomfortable.

He nervously said, “C’mon guys, it was… it was only a joke.”

Without warning, Adam arose swiftly and charged his little brother.

“Only a joke, huh? Well let’s see how much humor you find in this!”

Adam’s punch was forceful and connected with Joe’s jaw. The 17 year old stepped momentarily back from the impact. His face turned to anger as he moved to grab his older brother in retaliation. Before anymore harm could be done, Hoss grabbed hold of Adam and Ben firmly had hold of Joe.

“That’s enough!” Ben’s voice bellowed, silencing the world around him.

“Hoss, you take Adam and the men back to camp. I would like to have a little talk with Joseph alone.”

Hoss simply nodded and started to turn Adam towards camp.

Joe was not a quitter, and since he didn’t get a chance to even the score with a punch he decided to use his words.

“You can’t even take a little joke, Adam. All you ever do around here is boss me around. I do my work. I do everything I’m told to do and it’s never good enough for you big brother. I always…”

“I said enough, Joseph!” Ben firmly stated.

Adam shot one more look at his brother and decided to leave well enough alone… for now. He turned and left with the other men. Soon, father and son were alone.

Ben released hold of his son’s collar and pointed to a nearby rock.

“Sit.” He commanded. Joe complied. “Now, I want the whole story and I want it now, Joseph.

“Well, Pa. I’m tired of Adam always bossing me around.”

Ben kept a firm stare on his youngest. “The story, Joseph… NOW!”

“I didn’t mean anything by it, Pa. I just wanted to pull a prank on Adam. I told him I saw something and I wanted him to come and look at it. We walked over towards the cliff and I made sure I was far enough ahead of him so that he could not see what was below.” Joe paused to gage his father’s expression. It was unchanged. Joe then heaved a huge sigh before continuing.

“Well, I stepped over to the edge and pretended my foot slipped. I wanted Adam to think I fell…” Joe’s words trailed off as he realized how bad that sounded.

He looked up at his Pa and saw the anger building in his eyes. Joe knew he needed to justify his actions quickly. “I only meant it as a joke, Pa. I didn’t figure Adam would react like that. I just wanted to see him…”

“What? Joseph,” Ben interjected. “You wanted to see him distraught, emotional, in pain as he thought you plummeted to your death below? I don’t see any humor in putting another individual in peril.”

Joe hadn’t thought about it in that way and suddenly he saw things in a different perspective. After a moment, he sadly said, “I meant no harm, Pa.”

Ben’s stare was unrelenting. “Joseph Francis Cartwright…” Ben paused to calm his anger. “What a mean thing to do…” Joe hung his head.

“Boy, if you were a few years younger I would be letting your backside know right now just how mean of a trick it was, too.” Ben turned away from his youngest to regain his thoughts.

This gave Joseph time to think. Suddenly he remembered his brother’s words. They didn’t make sense. What was Adam really thinking?

“Pa?” Joe softly questioned. Ben turned to look at his son.

“Adam said something right after I fell over. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but…”

“Go on, son. What did he say?” Ben questioned.

“He said to not hurt him and that he’d do anything he said. Who was ‘him’, Pa?”

Ben’s face drained. He knew exactly what Adam was thinking at that moment. His eyes fell to the ground.

“After all these years…” Ben’s whisper was barely audible.

Joe studied his father’s face. He knew there was a story behind it.

“Pa, what happened? Please tell me.”

 

Ben could only tell his son part of the story. He told him about them going hunting and the man taking them captive. Adam had told him later about Ben’s journey over the edge, but for obvious reasons he had no memory of that incident. He just remembered waking up back at the wagon train and being told his boy was missing. Ben had sustained injuries due to his fall, but that was not going to stop him from searching for his boy.

Joe listened as his father spoke. There was a deep sadness building in him as he realized what horrendous memory he had triggered for both his brother and his Pa. By the time Ben had finished, Joe’s eyes glistened with tears.

Ben walked over to Joe and put his arm around his shoulder. “Joseph, you’ll have to work this out with Adam yourself. He’s hurt and angry, but I’m sure he’ll listen to what you have to say.” Joe simply nodded.

“I know Adam can be tough on you at times, but you have to realize what his life was like when he was your age. He was forced to grow up, Joe. He had many responsibilities thrown at him and in a way he feels, well… like your life is easy. Try to understand.”

Ben then patted his boy on the back and motioned for him to head back towards camp.

It was a long day out on the trail. Adam was angry and barked only necessary instructions to his younger brother. Joe decided to leave well enough alone until nightfall. Maybe then he could talk with Adam.

 

Joe finally found Adam alone that evening. Most the ranch hands had gone to bed and Adam sat resting against a big pine tree near the campfire. He seemed deep in thought as Joe sheepishly approached.

“I need to talk with you, Adam.” Joe said.

Adam’s eyes gazed up at his little brother and settled into a cold, unfeeling stare. He said nothing. Joe could read the hurt and anger hidden behind them.

“I’m sorry, Adam. I didn’t know. Pa told me what happened and…”

“He what?!” Adam retorted. Adam looked down towards the ground in anger. There was silence for a few moments before Joe took it upon himself to sit down next to him.

“Don’t be angry with Pa, Adam. I think he thought it important for me to know. I never would have done what I did if I had known this in the first place.”

“You should have never done what you did. Period.” Adam coldly stated. His gaze remained to the ground.

After a few moments, he softly asked, “What did he tell you?”

Joe could sense his brother’s uneasiness about the situation and quickly retold the story. Again there was silence.

“Adam.” Joe softly stated. “I’d like to know more. I’d like to know what happened after Pa…” Joe’s voice trailed off in fear that he had stepped too far. Joe could see Adam struggling… struggling with his emotions and the memories. “Please Adam. I want to know…”

 

Adam was again in another time, another place. He could feel the tight wraps of the rope around his hands and legs. He could smell that disgusting man as he moved around him. Taunting him… Teasing him… laughing at him. He must have sat there for hours before the man decided to move camp.

He quickly tied the boy to his horse and made him lead the way. Adam knew he had to escape, but how? Just then he saw a big tree in front of him. There was a big branch hanging low. He knew the man had the gun pointed at him.

As he moved to go under the branch he caught it with his shoulder. The branch had flexibility and bent back with the boy’s weight. Adam could feel the tension building in the branch as it began to dig into his shoulder. He winced at the pain but held strong. Finally, he couldn’t bear the weight any longer and with a quick duck released the branch back at his captor. It sailed over his head and then there was a loud WHACK! Adam kicked his horse and took off through the woods, not daring to look back.

He tried to hold on, but was at the mercy of his horse that was flying randomly through the forest. Suddenly the horse made an unforeseen turn and Adam flew off hitting the ground hard. For a moment, he was disoriented from the pain in his shoulder that had absorbed most of the impact. Then he heard the other horse coming. He instantly jumped to his feet and hid in the bushes nearby.

The man had clearly been hit by the branch right across the face. There was a gash above his left eyebrow and blood was trickling down his cheek. Just after he passed Adam’s hiding place, the man noticed Adam’s horse. It had stopped a short distance away after losing its rider and was grazing on some tall grass. He eased his horse to a stop and dismounted, walking quietly over and grabbing the other horse’s reins. His eyes scanned the premises.

“Think you’re smart? Do you, Boy?” he shouted. “Well, let’s see who gets the last laugh.” Adam cringed at the sound of that awful cackle.

The man tied the other horse to his saddle…then mounted.

“Well, let’s just see how well you fair out here in the wilds, boy…All by yourself without your Pa, or your horse. Just you and the wild animals…won’t that be fun?” Again the man cackled.

“I said, won’t that be fun!” He shouted out and his voice echoed back.

“Damn fool!” he uttered under his breath before giving the horse a swift kick. The man then disappeared in the direction he had come.

Adam remained in his hiding position for some time before he dared stand up. He looked around for a rock to try and untie his hands. It took some time, but eventually he felt the rope loosen. He rubbed his wrists and looked around. The man was right. He couldn’t survive out here alone with nothing. He’d have to go back to the camp and try to get his horse back. Then he knew he could make it back to the wagon train.

 

That night he quietly approached the campfire. The man was no fool. He had positioned the horses in the center of camp very near where he slept. Adam gazed down at the bearded man that was snoring loudly. He knew he would wake at the sound of the horses being moved. Now what could he do?

His eyes fell down on the man’s personal possessions he had propped up next to a tree. There wasn’t much there of any use or worth except for…

Adam’s eyes glistened as he sneaked over to the bag and grabbed the precious item. It would be risky, but if it meant getting his horse back then that would be what he’d have to do.

The next morning the man awoke and groggily made his way over to the campfire. He stoked the fire and placed the half filled coffee pot on the edge to warm. Suddenly he heard a snap and looked up in the woods to see Adam standing near. His head hung down, looking rather sad and dejected. The man arose as he pointed his gun at the boy.

“Came to your senses, huh boy?” He smiled and once again that evil cackle echoed through the woods. Adam said nothing, but remained standing still. The man began to approach. Adam looked up and watched with fearful eyes. Was he doing the right thing? He hadn’t any choice now. The man would be upon him soon and there would be no way to turn back.

“What’s wrong, boy? You look a little peaked. You’re not scared of me are you?”

Adam managed to utter a shaky, “No sir.” The man’s odor was now very prevalent and just the disgusting smell that emanated forced Adam to step back.

“Stay right there, boy.” The man commanded as he cocked his gun. Adam slowly swallowed, but did as requested.

The predator grinned at his success and then took one more step toward his awaiting prey.

Whack! Zing!

The next thing the man knew he was bobbing upside down from a high tree limb with his leg firmly wrapped in a sturdy rope.

“You little brat! You get me down from here right now! I’ll kill you I tell you I’ll kill you if you don’t.”

Adam stepped out from behind the tree and picked up the gun that had fallen from the man’s hand. A huge smile appeared on the boy’s face.

“I’m sorry sir, but I didn’t quite hear what you said. Did you ask me to get you down?”

The man was flailing his arms around trying to reach his bound foot, but to no avail. “You fight dirty, boy.” He spat at the ground.

This time it was Adam who laughed out loud. “Uh, it might be best not to do that.” Adam suggested “I’m not quite sure how strong that branch is you know?”

Just then there was a shot heard out in the distance. Adam knew right away that it had to be a search party out looking for him. He aimed the gun high into the air and answered the call.

A moment later, the sound of hooves could be heard in the distance and then…

 

The two brothers sat quietly next to one another… neither saying a word. Joe knew how hard it had been for Adam to relieve those moments with him, yet he had. It was the first time Joe was able to be the listener and not the one talking. His brother never confided in him, and it made him understand more what his Pa was trying to say.

“Adam…” Joe started but was cut off by his older brother.

“Let’s leave it alone, Joe.”

Joe could sense that his brother had told all that he cared to share and he needed to respect that decision. After a moment he simply nodded and began to arise. His actions were stopped by his brother’s hand being placed on his forearm.

“Joe, I know I’m hard on you at times… I don’t mean to be, but it’s stunts like these that make me as such.”

Joe knew what Adam meant by his words. “That’s okay, Adam…” Joe intervened. “I acted foolishly. I didn’t think… and… I didn’t know. It was a childish thing to do and as Pa said,”

Joe paused to construe his face and body into the best ‘Ben Cartwright’ impersonation.

“Boy, if you were a few years younger I would be letting your backside know right now just how mean of a trick it was, too.”

Adam couldn’t help but laugh at his little brother’s antics.

“I have to be honest, Adam. Your right hook left more of an impression.” Joe gingerly rubbed his jaw.

Adam playfully reached over and knocked Joe on the chin. “Let’s hope you remember that little brother whenever your mind decides to wander astray again.” He then arose, stretching and letting out a big yawn.

Joe smiled up at him, “Oh, I’m sure I will, Adam. I’m sure I will.”
Adam then helped Joe to his feet and the two began walking towards their bedrolls.