{"id":10754,"date":"2015-03-24T22:15:36","date_gmt":"2015-03-25T02:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=10754"},"modified":"2025-02-18T19:10:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T00:10:55","slug":"the-sound-and-the-fury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=10754","title":{"rendered":"The Sound and the Fury (by sandspur)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:<\/strong> It’s brother against brother, Cartwright style! Revenge is not a dish best served cold–it’s best served to the sound of the cannon!<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong> K\u00a0 (1,160 words)<\/p>\n

THE SOUND AND THE FURY<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026the game\u2019s afoot; follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry \u2018God for Harry, England, and Saint George!\u2019\u201d shouted Henry V, formerly known as Little Joe Cartwright, and the folks in the packed seats at Piper\u2019s leaned forward, ready to rush the French defenses right along with him. He a fair-to-middlin\u2019 actor, but the audience was still inspired. From off stage Abigail Jones made a signal, which was relayed to a person at the door, who in turn relayed it to a person outside. And outside, that person touched the fuse on the Model 1841 twelve-pound howitzer by the opera house, and the pound of powder inside ignited.<\/p>\n

The cannon\u2019s deafening roar tore through the auditorium and blew out a window; a few people scattered throughout the building actually screamed in terror. Joe Cartwright shrieked, a prolonged and terrified cry two octaves above his normal squeaky tenor. The sound of his scream carried almost to C Street. His pants dropped to his ankles at that moment, and he left them \u201cbehind\u201d and bolted from the stage while the audience howled with laughter.<\/p>\n

And Adam Cartwright murmured to the cannon beside him, \u201cNo grudges, little brother. I kept my promise. I helped Miss Abigail, and I got you a real <\/em>gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three weeks earlier:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!\u201d Little Joe thrust his sword into the air\u2014two rapid hand-claps followed and someone mincingly cried out, \u201cSound of the cannon!\u201d Joe and the rest of the students of the Virginia City schoolhouse gave a hearty battle cry and rushed forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWonderful!\u201d shouted Abigail Jones. \u201cAll right students, take a brief rest while I confer with Mr. Cartwright. Oh, Adam! Adam!\u201d In the wings, Adam Cartwright, his eyes looking like a deer in a hunter\u2019s rifle sights, tried to bolt, but it was too late; Abigail Jones always got her man. Besides, Joe Cartwright had thoughtfully bolted the door to ensure his brother didn\u2019t escape as he had the day before.<\/p>\n

Joe put his sword down. \u201cI hate this play. I hate Shakespeare. And Adam\u2019s even worse. He\u2019s gonna drive me outta my gourd, prancin\u2019 around clapping his hands and sayin\u2019 \u2018sound of the cannon!\u2019 in that prissy little voice. I\u2019m concentratin\u2019 on him so hard that I\u2019m missing other cues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does sound prissy,\u201d Seth chuckled. \u201cAlmost like he\u2019s trying to be a girl. Wonder why.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitch thought it over. \u201cI think it\u2019s because he didn\u2019t wanna do this in the first place and Little Joe made him do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe snorted. \u201cHe was easy enough to persuade\u2014after all, Pa was on my side. All I know now is, by the time we open this play I\u2019m gonna have a crick in my neck from strainin\u2019 to hear that prissy little \u2018sound of the cannon\u2019 during every rehearsal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaw,\u201d Mitch replied encouragingly. \u201cHe promised he\u2019d use a real gun for us when we do the real play. He said to make sure I told you that, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is, do I believe it. Not for a second. He\u2019d give anything to see me mess up in front of the whole town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d Seth asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, I got rid of that silly girl he was running around with, and he\u2019s still mad about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo he ain\u2019t,\u201d Mitch said. \u201cHe told me he wasn\u2019t carryin\u2019 a grudge, and he said he was gonna get a nice loud gun for you on opening night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat,\u201d Joe replied glumly. \u201cWith luck it\u2019ll be a .44 Colt and I might be able to hear it. And this darn costume Miss Jones made doesn\u2019t fit right, either. The pants are too big.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six weeks earlier:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no way in Hades I would help you do that play, and you\u2019ve got some nerve asking, Little Joe. You know how Abigail Jones acts around me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne girl\u2019s pretty much like another,\u201d Joe proclaimed in superior tones. \u201cAnd you didn\u2019t mind Virginia Keith actin\u2019 that way around you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd thanks to you, she won\u2019t even speak to me now,\u201d Adam retorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh come on, Adam. A gal that can\u2019t even handle a horse ain\u2019t worth your time anyhow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a burr under the saddle! And you put it there!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid not!\u201d Behind his back, Joe crossed his fingers.<\/p>\n

Adam drew a deep breath to carry the argument further, but Ben stepped in. \u201cAdam, this is childish behavior from you. This fight over Miss Keith is a week old and you still refuse to accept Little Joe\u2019s explanation. The fact is that you\u2019ve been insufferable ever since you returned from college, and Miss Keith was just as tired of it as the rest of us. I doubt she\u2019d still be walking out with you anyway if you treated her the way you treat Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I <\/em>treat him<\/em>? How about the way he treats me? He scraped up an anthill and put it in my boots! I can\u2019t get in bed nights without checking for snakes and scorpions. Two of my favorite books have mysteriously \u2018disappeared\u2019 and shreds from them turned up in the hog pen! And as far as my being insufferable, all I\u2019ve done is offered some suggestions to improve the way the ranch is run, and you won\u2019t listen to anything I say. You paid a hefty amount for my education, and you won\u2019t let me use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI paid a hefty amount for your education, so I expect you to do as you\u2019re told. And leave your brother alone. You have yet to prove that he did any of these things, and you\u2019ve made the poor child miserable with these groundless accusations. In any case, I expect more mature behavior from you than from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam put both his hands up, an abrupt and weak gesture of surrender. \u201cYes, sir. You are right; I should be mature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, you should.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam looked at his father, as an audible sigh escaped him. \u201cJoe, no grudges. I\u2019ll ride into town with you tomorrow and talk to Miss Jones.\u201d<\/p>\n

He walked away and slowly mounted the stairs. Ben turned to Joe. \u201cNow you see, your brother has decided to behave with grace and dignity. I hope you\u2019ll do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe grinned, foreseeing long days of misery ahead for Adam at the hands of Abigail Jones. But as Ben Cartwright returned to the newspaper, Hoss beckoned Joe over. \u201cYou better be real careful, Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Cause I know the truth. Nobody ain\u2019t asked me about it, so I ain\u2019t said anything either. But Adam knows too, even if he can\u2019t prove it. And our older brother ain\u2019t like other fellas. He\u2019s\u2026sneaky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d Joe replied with the absolute confidence of 12-year-olds everywhere. \u201cHe\u2019ll never catch me with my pants down.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright,\u00a0revenge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: It’s brother against brother, Cartwright style! Revenge is not a dish best served cold–it’s best served to the sound of the cannon!<\/p>\n

Rating: K\u00a0 (1,160 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":14851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[4,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-humor","category-prequels","wpcat-4-id","wpcat-30-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Cannon-fire.jpg?fit=575%2C383&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}