Summary: This is my Camp In The Pines 2014 Challenge.

A WHI for “Desperate Passage.”  After rescuing Mary Burns from the Paiutes, Joe has to be saved as his attempt to mount an Indian pony and ride to safety goes awry.

Rating: T (Some Violence)  WC: 3396

 

Desperate Rescue

Joe Cartwright desperately grasped at the pony’s mane as he was flung to the side by the whirling frightened animal. He was exhausted by the tension and fear of the last few moments, completing the rescue of Mrs. Burns. As Joe made a huge effort to mount the horse, an arrow came singing through the air, grazing his right arm.

The pain was instant, rendering his arm useless. He fell to the ground and the pony madly dashed away, riderless, towards the other fleeing animals. A few seconds before Joe could catch the breath that was knocked out of him, the Paiutes were on him. Slapping, kicking and screaming. Joe fainted and the Indians dragged him away.

The last few days had taken it’s toll on everyone. But Joe especially. Aside from the hurried pace to pass the danger zone, plus getting the herd, they had driven all the way from Utah, safely back to the ranch, he had experienced hand to hand combat with an Indian and a dunking in a icy mountain creek. Now Ben Cartwright had to watch in horror as he witnessed his son’s aborted ride to safety and his subsequent capture.

Shortly thereafter Joe found himself flat on his back with hands and feet tightly bound. The Paiutes were not too happy with this white man, who had run off their pony herd. They planned to make him pay before ending his life. Joe looked around and struggled a bit at the rawhide strips, binding him, before one of his captor’s saw what he was doing and viciously kicked Joe in the side, which ended his attempt to free himself. Ben, Hoss, Candy, Mary and Josh had no choice but to flee, leaving Joe to his fate for the moment.

Another small group of warriors that the whites hadn’t seen before, suddenly appeared to the east of the main group and if the Cartwright’s hadn’t left, they would’ve been cut off and captured or killed as well. Ben knew Joe would understand and agree with the decision, but it didn’t lessen the hurt in his soul over riding away from his young and helpless son.

It didn’t take long for the travelers to regroup and come up with a plan to rescue Joe. “Mr. Cartwright this is my fault” Candy shouted as the small group finally made it’s way to the safety of a stand of trees.

“Nonsense!” Ben replied

Hoss nodded his head in sad agreement.

“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.” said Mary.

“It’s nobody’s fault “ said Ben sharply.

“The important thing is that we get you out of here.”

“Well, you and Hoss go with her, Mr. Cartwright.” Candy said

“Josh and I will stay and try to sneak back in and get Joe without the Paiutes ever knowing we were there.”

“We need to get the Indians thinking we’ve left then split up, and Josh and I will double back.”

“Sounds good to me Pa” Hoss agreed.

“Ok then” Ben said  “Let’s make some dust!”

~

The Paiute leader entered the lodge, grabbed Joe’s hair and yanked his head back forcing the man to look up at him. Pulled up to his knees with his neck stretched up and totally helpless, Joe knew he was in a very dire situation. He silently endured several kicks to his lower back from the Indian. The others standing in the lodge, laughed at Joe’s punishment and nodded their approval of his treatment.

Satisfied for the moment, the Indian took his foot and roughly pushed the prisoner over on his side. Then reaching down and drawing his knife, the warrior cut the rawhide holding Joes hands. Hope turned into disappointment when instead of freeing Joe’s feet, the Indian retied his hands in front and then yanked his arms over his head and secured them tightly to one of the lodge poles. Kicking him again in the ribs and thigh, the man then stomped out, leaving Joe alone with the guard.

~

Candy and Josh slowly made their way back in the direction their group had recently traveled.

“I don’t know how we are going to get away with this.” Josh whispered harshly.

“I know he’s probably dead by now.”

Candy said nothing as he and Josh concealed themselves in the dense undergrowth. They had an excellent view of the camp but upwind of the horses so as not to panic them with their scent.

“Shut up, Josh!” Candy snarled.  “Just shut up!”

Canady could barely keep his temper in check at the other man. He knew Josh might be right but wanted absolute proof of it before he told his boss any such thing. Candy also thought of Joe like a brother. He couldn’t ride off knowing he didn’t try…

~

Despite the pain from being kicked repeatedly, and the untreated wound in his arm, Joe found his main agony was being cold. He was shaking so bad that his entire body was literally jerking. He wished for the shirt he had stripped off and left tied to his saddle, along with his jacket. God! What he wouldn’t give for his jacket right now! Joe cast his eyes about the darkened lodge wondering if there was any way to escape. He knew the opportunity needed to present itself soon. The Paiutes weren’t going to keep him alive forever.

~

“We’re going to need a diversion.” Candy whispered to Josh

“Like what?”

“Well, it’s the rainy season, and everything is pretty wet, but we could get some good smoke going…”

“Wait a minute Canady!”  Josh snapped

“I’m not going try an start a fire and go charging in there. That’s what they’ll expect.”

“You got any better ideas Josh?”

“Well, we can do just like we did with Mary, sneak in.”

“Oh they won’t expect that!” Candy replied sarcastically.

“Well it’s better then doing something that probably won’t work” Josh said

“Okay, okay but if it looks like for one second Joe is going to be killed we do it my way.”

“Agreed!” Josh replied, rolling his eyes.

The gesture was not lost on Candy but at that moment, all was forgotten as he caught  sight of Joe.

~

Riding as fast as they could, but still at a pace where Mary Burns could keep up, Hoss and Ben charged towards Virginia City. Almost as if by a miracle they rounded a bend in the road and the threesome ran right into Clem Foster and about twenty other riders. “Clem!” Ben shouted. “Joe’s been captured by the Paiutes!”

“We need help!” Hoss shouted almost in unison with his father “What are you doing out this way?” he added

“We knew you all were out here somewhere, and that there had been raids.” Clem said

“Some folks over from Coulter Corners who got away, made it to town and they told us what was happening. I got a group of riders together to see if we could locate you.”

“Well, you’re sure a sight for sore eyes, Clem.” Ben said

“Have a couple of your men take Mrs. Burns back to town and the rest come with us, to meet up with Candy and Josh. They stayed behind to keep watch on Joe.”

“Ok” Clem replied. “Hank, you and Tom take the lady here back to Virginia City. The rest of us will go with the Cartwright’s.”

“My husband is in Virginia City waiting for me, deputy.”

“Ok, we’ll get you back there to him, Mrs. Burns.”

Mary turned to Ben “Thank you Mr. Cartwright, for everything. I hope you get your son back. I’ll be praying for all of you.”

Mary’s eyes welled with tears and her bottom lip quivered as she reached for Ben’s hand. He grasped it warmly. Smiling at her, his dark eyes filled with emotion he replied, “Thank you ma’am. I’m sure we will get him back.”

The group then split. Pausing for a moment Clem turned to Ben and asked

“Who’s this Josh fellow?”

“Josh Tanner. We found him in a cell in Coulters Corners, dying of thirst.”

“Seems like the few folks who made it out, didn’t remember to check the jail. Those who stayed died, and the Indians either didn’t know he was there or they left him to die a slow death” Ben said

“Did he say why he was in there?” Clem inquired

“Yes” Ben replied looking down and shifting slightly in the saddle. “ Apparently he was accused of gunning down Billy Coulter whose family the town is named for. Mr. Tanner claims it was a fair fight and self defense on his part. All I know at this moment Clem is he’s with Candy trying to rescue Joe.”

“I’ll see that he and I have a discussion when this all over.” Clem said

The deputy glanced soberly at Ben as they rode on. It was clear from the description he had heard about Joe’s situation, he was doubtful it would turn out well. The group of men grew silent as they rode off in the night.

~

Joe was miserable. He had been dragged out of his prison and was on his knees, hands tied behind his back, his captors circling him like a pack of wolves, taking turns kicking, slapping and lashing at him with their riding quirts.

Joe’s bare upper body glistened in the firelight. He wasn’t cold anymore due to the large fire the Indians had built up to light their little game. As a matter of fact Joe wanted to move away from the flames, as the radiant heat from it had him dripping with sweat.

He kept his head down, looking at the dirt and watching the pattern as drops of sweat   ran off his face and the tip of his nose. His sweat mixed with his blood he noted. He didn’t make a sound or look up. To do so would invite more punishment. He was doing his best to keep silent and not give his captors the satisfaction of hearing him cry out.

Joe found himself counting the drops of sweats falling on his pants. He wondered if he could make them fall in a pattern, any mental diversion to help him cope with this situation. Suddenly the lead tormentor grabbed Joe’s hair, forcing his head back. A huge hunting knife pressed against his throat.

“Well this is it,” he thought.

~

Candy froze with horror as he watched the Paiute put a knife to Joe’s throat. He knew it was now or never. As he started to grab Josh’s arm and take advantage of the Indians fear of the dark, he suddenly felt Josh jerk away from him sharply. Candy glared at him in anger but a whispered, “Wait!” from the man made Candy see that with an enormous laugh, the Indian with the knife, who seemed about to murder Little Joe, had  harmlessly moved the blade away. With a brutal shove, Joe landed face first in the dirt. Ben was right. The Paiutes had to work themselves up to kill. As hard as it was to sit by and see Joe abused, Candy was relieved he was still alive and that they had more time. How much time though was uncertain.

~

Joe, his nose streaming blood, mixed with dirt, was dragged back to the lodge. His wrists were cut and bleeding from the rawhide strips, and his body burned like fire where he had been struck with the quirts. He was exhausted and freezing again but grateful to be alive. The Indians threw him on the floor of the lodge, retied his feet and ran a length of rawhide from his wrists to his ankles. Then, grabbing Joe’s hair, the Indian looked him in the eyes and said, “Tomorrow you die”

Another man took up the guard post outside the entrance of the lodge. Joe blinking his eyes rapidly, trying to clear away some of the dirt in them, sighed deeply. He had never felt so alone.

~

Ben, Hoss, Clem and the other riders arrived back at the Indian camp area. Quietly, they dismounted, walking the horses in towards the meeting point to avoid alerting the enemy, heading to where Candy agreed to meet up. The two men were there to Ben’s relief and disappointment. His son was not with them.

“Mr. Cartwright, we got to get Joe out of there tonight!” Candy said “I thought they were going to kill him for sure…”

“You were right,” Josh interrupted “They got to work themselves up to it.”

Candy continued, glaring at Josh, “We can use the Indian’s fear of dying at night and losing their soul. They’re pretty superstitious, so I think we can get close, just like with Mrs. Burns, then create a ruckus, get in there and get Joe out. We’ve got enough people to get the job done. Hoss, do you think you can hit the guard at the entrance of the lodge where Joe is with this?” Candy said holding up an arrow.

“I found this bow and arrow one of them dropped during the fight for Mrs. Burns.” Candy had noticed the weapon earlier and grabbed it. Now it seemed to be their best resolution.

“ As soon as we get in range, Hoss will shoot the guard, then we go in and grab Joe.”

“ Another small group of say four riders can run by on the west side of the camp, if we need them too.But only if the Indians are alerted to our presence. Got that?”

Everyone nodded in unison.

“Oh, one more item,” Candy added with a grin and turning to Hoss, “Don’t hit me or Josh with that thing!”

Hoss dropped his head with a slight grin.

“You just get my little brother Candy. I won’t miss!”

“All right, let’s go. We are running out of night cover.” Ben said.

~

The Indian camp was quiet, the campfires dying down to embers. Joe’s group of rescuers got into position.

Hoss took his spot to aim and shoot. Candy and Josh were ready to go. A group of four men were set for the diversion. Clem, Ben and the remaining riders were ready to attack the camp head on if need be. If all went as planned, they wouldn’t have to risk it.

“Ok Josh, just like before,” Candy whispered

So far, their luck was holding and the element of surprise not lost. Then Candy saw something that made him curse under his breath. “Damn,” he muttered as he saw the additional Indian standing guard near the pony herd. He considered killing the man, just to be safe, but impatience won out and he opted not to.

Silently as possible, the two men neared the lodge where Joe was held. Just when Josh thought they could never keep quiet enough, a large number of crickets began their pre dawn music.  Candy grinned. The natural noise couldn’t have started at a better time. Looking upward, he knew come Sunday service, he’d thank God for that one!

Ben panicked for a moment and standing in the stirrups, he twisted around to look at Clem before he realized it was just crickets. Both men exhaled and cursed under their breath. Then settled back. Waiting was torture…

~

Hoss stared into the darkness, waiting for the moment to act. He hadn’t lost sight of the two men heading towards the camp. As he saw them approach the lodge, he raised the weapon and took aim. Despite the cold he felt nervous sweat sting his eyes. Knowing he had to be dead accurate for his little brothers sake and for the two men out to save him as well. Then, Hoss pursed his lips, his heart pounding, he let the arrow fly…

~

Candy slit the back of the lodge. Josh faced the other way covering their position with a pistol.  At precisely the moment Candy slashed the hide covering, Hoss shot the arrow. His aim was true. The Indian dropped wordlessly to the ground, clutching at the arrow protruding from his throat.

To Candy’s horror, there was another Indian in the lodge near the entrance. He jumped to his feet as soon as he saw the intruders.  Joe, who had been facing the direction of his would-be rescuers and despite being tied, was able to roll his body against the legs of the man when he stood up. The Indian was knocked off his feet and landed hard on his back.

Candy leapt in and cut the throat of the guard, then thrust the body away.

Josh quickly cut through the captive’s bonds, helping him to stand. They both realized he would need some support to make it out. Grabbing Joe by the arms as his knees buckled, the threesome quickly ducked out the back way. Everything seemed to be going well when the guard watching the horses saw the white men and raised the alarm.

~

Ben knew the extra help they had would turn the tide of this fight in their favor. He was suddenly shaken from thought as the alarm went out from the camp. That was all it took before the group of diversion riders went into action and drew the attention of the Indians away from the fleeing men.

Fearful of the dark and half asleep, the natives were no match for the number of riders tearing through their camp. Terrified and caught completely unaware, they scattered in all directions, forgetting all about their prisoner and the pony herd. Not only was Ben going to get all his horses back he was getting the Indian ponies as well. Only a few shots were fired overhead, and no one else, save the two men guarding Joe had lost their life.

~

Joe, Candy and Josh scrambled away from the now almost deserted camp. Ben wanted to laugh with relief, but getting to his son was first on his mind. The three men made their way a safe distance from the camp and then, like a miracle, Joe found himself falling into his father’s arms. He was not hurt too badly. Only worn out. Hoss was there too and Joe heard his brother say, “He don’t look too bad, huh, Pa?”

“Easy for you to say big brother,” Joe managed.

Hoss encircled both his pa and brother in an enormous bear hug. The other men took turns shaking hands with Candy and Josh. Finally, Clem broke in, “We had better get out of the area .The Indians are scattered but they’ll come back.”

Getting some water into Joe, his father looked at him asking, “Joseph, can you ride son?”

Flashing a grin Joe replied, “Yeah pa, I’ll be fine”

 

 

Epilogue

After a quick check up in town by Doc Martin, a bath and sleep, Joe was ready to ride back to the ranch. Despite his protests of being fine, Ben insisted that his son take it easy for a couple of weeks. Hoss and Hop Sing agreed that if Joe didn’t do as Pa said they would tie him up and keep him there. That’s all he needed to hear, saying he had enough of being tied up for awhile.

Mary Burns and her husband came to the ranch and offered thanks to Joe and the Cartwright’s for everything they had done. “After all, you could have ridden away and left my wife with the Indians and none of this would’ve happened,” said Mr. Burns

Mary tried to apologize to Joe for the ordeal he endured after rescuing her, but he would have none of it. “I would do it all again in a moment Mrs. Burns,” he told her

Apologies weren’t necessary. Josh managed to explain to Clem what happened with Billy Coulter. Some of the townsfolk from Coulters Corner who had managed to escape from the Indians verified that Mr. Tanner had indeed been defending himself. While Clem couldn’t excuse Josh, the circuit judge could and did. Tanner stayed on at the Ponderosa, working for Ben for a couple of years. Mary Burns and her husband left the territory and did not return.

The End

 

Tags:   Indians, Joe / Little Joe Cartwright