Summary:<\/b>\u00a0 When Joe turns up missing, Ben must confront his past if he ever wishes for a future with his son.<\/p>\n
PG \u00a0WC 27,000<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Whose Child is This?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAw\u2026come on Little Joe<\/strong>\u2026I promised them we\u2019d help out.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t Mark, I promised my Pa, I\u2019d come straight home after school, and if I\u2019m late\u2026I\u2019ll be in trouble again!\u201d Little Joe said firmly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both boys were saddling their horses inside the little barn next to the school building where they attended school.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe turned to lead his horse from the barn.\u00a0 Mark, Joe\u2019s friend, had only come to Virginia City a couple of months ago with his family.\u00a0 He and Joe had met at a church social one Saturday night and since that time, the boys had become fast friends, not completely to Little Joe\u2019s father\u2019s approval.\u00a0 Ben didn\u2019t really dislike the boy, but Mark was older by a year and a half, and much wiser to the world than his fifteen-year old son. He had overheard the newcomer speaking with his young son about certain things that Ben felt to mature to be discussing with a fifteen year old and thus Ben had tried to sway Joseph away from a relationship with the older young man, but to no avail.\u00a0 The best he could do, was to limit the amount of time that Little Joe spent with the boy, and even that had become a quest, the boy still attending school had made his attempt even harder to control.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoe, listen up, will ya?\u201d Mark said as he put his hand on Joe\u2019s shoulder to stop him from mounting up.\u00a0 \u201cThey are nice ladies\u2026and they don\u2019t know anyone around these parts\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen how come they know you?\u201d Joe asked, brushing his friend\u2019s hand off his shoulder and then mounting up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI told ya, they\u2019ve been coming into the store to buy things\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of things?\u201d Joe wanted to know.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t really interested, but he had no notion what womenfolk bought when they went into a ladies apparel shop.\u00a0 Once he asked his father, but Ben had only looked at him with eyes wide and mouth opened and had muttered something about him not being old enough to know such things, so naturally he was curious.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJust things, Joe\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLike what?\u201d insisted Joe as he turned his horse toward the road home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know\u2026girl things\u2026lacy bloomers\u2026corsets\u2026hats\u2026hell, I don\u2019t know what they wear under all them petticoats\u2026but that ain\u2019t the point\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to see\u2026\u201d giggled Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSee?\u00a0 See what, for heaven\u2019s sake!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSee what they wear under their petticoats,\u201d Little Joe laughed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh good grief, Joe\u2026listen, come with me, please?\u00a0 Those ladies asked my ma if she knew a couple of boys that would do a little work for them.\u00a0 They\u2019re staying out at the old Henson place and there\u2019s a couple fences that need repairing and\u2026golly, Joe\u2026they sure are pretty ladies\u2026if you tell your pa you was helping out a couple of old women who needed a fence repaired, he won\u2019t get mad and yell at you\u2026come on, please\u2026\u201d Mark insisted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI thought you said they were pretty ladies, now you\u2019re saying they\u2019re old\u2026which is it?\u201d Joe said as he pondered whether or not to go along with his friend and help the women out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey are pretty\u2026and they are old\u2026well, at least they\u2019re older than us,\u201d Mark smiled in a sly manner.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe watched the expression on the other boy\u2019s face and then started to giggle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBloomers you say?\u00a0 What color?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He turned his horse back around, heading in the opposite direction, following along side his friend, who eyed him curiously.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJust the regular ones\u2026white, but they had lace on them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHmm,\u201d muttered Joe softly.\u00a0 His young face wore a lopsided grin.\u00a0 \u201cAlright, I\u2019ll go along, but we can\u2019t stay long, understand?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSure\u2026come on, Little Joe,\u201d Mark made a joyful screech and kicked his horse in the sides; Joe laughed and hurried to catch up to his friend.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe was surprised when he stopped his horse in front of the little house.\u00a0 It was neat and clean looking and the walkway leading up to the front door was lined with pretty flowers.\u00a0 Glancing around to take in the entire setting, Joe\u2019s expression turned to one of puzzlement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI thought you said the corral fence needed mending?\u00a0 I don\u2019t see any downed fences.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, maybe they already got someone to fix it for them,\u201d Mark answered as he swung down from the saddle.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, let\u2019s knock,\u201d he said, already on the porch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe let out a long sigh, wishing he hadn\u2019t been so quick to commit himself.\u00a0 He slid down from his horse and quickly tied the reins around the hitching post and joined Mark on the porch.\u00a0 Mark was already tapping lightly on the door.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe had just placed one foot on the porch when the door was opened and a young woman of approximately eighteen years of age, appeared in the doorway.\u00a0 Instantly she smiled a warm greeting at the two boys.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy, Mark, what a pleasant surprise,\u201d the young lady said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark quickly pulled his hat off his head and nodded a greeting.\u00a0 Joe removed his hat.\u00a0 He felt awkward standing on the porch gapping at the woman.\u00a0 She was beautiful, he thought to himself.\u00a0 He saw the sunlight beaming down on her hair and noticed how the chestnut waves glistening in the bright light.\u00a0 When she turned to look his way, he was mesmerized by the soft, warm glow in her hazel eyes.\u00a0 He smiled, feeling like a dunce for being unable to say a word.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHmm\u2026\u201d stammered Mark.\u00a0 \u201cMiss Grace, this is my friend, Joe Cartwright,\u201d Mark said, introducing Joe to the young woman.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to meet you, Joe,\u201d greeted Grace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHmm\u2026ere\u2026\u201d gulped Joe, taking the lady\u2019s hand in his.\u00a0 He stammered, \u201cI assure you, the pleasure\u2019s all mine,\u201d he said, repeating a line he had heard his older brother use.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Leaning down his head, he gently kissed the back of the delicate hand, causing the lady to gasp lightly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy, aren\u2019t you the gentleman?\u201d she smiled, glancing at Mark and noting how he watched his friend.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe blushed, the pink tint to his cheek making him to appear much younger than his actual age.\u00a0 He said nothing, for he knew not what to say.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease, come in, I know my sister, Beth, is anxious to meet you,\u201d Grace said as she led the way into her parlor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Instantly, another young woman appeared.\u00a0 The second lady was as lovely as the first, if not more so.\u00a0 She looked to be about twenty years old, Joe quickly surmised.\u00a0 When she offered her hand to him, he repeated the actions taken when he had kissed the hand of the first woman.\u00a0 Beth Paquett smiled warmly at both boys.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease, won\u2019t you be seated?\u201d she asked, waving her hand outward toward the settee.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark plopped down, but Joe, having been taught better manners which he suddenly remembered, waited for the two ladies to sit before he joined Mark on the couch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so pleased that you brought someone with you, Mark,\u201d Beth said.\u00a0 \u201cWe do so appreciated it, don\u2019t we Grace?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh yes, there are only certain things that we can do for ourselves, most of the odd jobs around here need a man\u2019s touch,\u201d she smiled, looking Joe\u2019s way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe failed to notice the way that Grace twisted her hankie around in her hands, or the slight glow to her cheeks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSo tell us, Joe\u2026are you from around here?\u201d Beth quizzed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes ma\u2019am\u2026my pa and my two older brothers and I\u2026we have a ranch, south of here.\u00a0 The Ponderosa\u2026that\u2019s our ranch,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the biggest spread around,\u201d Mark said with a touch of pride in his friend.\u00a0 \u201cHis old man\u2026ere\u2026his pa, Ben Cartwright, he\u2019s the richest man in Nevada!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both women turned to stare at Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026I wouldn\u2019t say that\u2026\u201d Joe stammered, slightly embarrassed at the comment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI have to confess,\u201d smiled Beth, \u201cI have heard of your father.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe\u2019s eyes widened.\u00a0 \u201cYou have?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cCertainly\u2026you father was a friend of our mother\u2019s\u2026\u201d Grace blurted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe turned to stare in shock at the sisters.\u00a0 \u201cHe was?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth smiled as she turned to her sister.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGrace, I\u2019m sure the boys must be hungry and thirsty after riding this far\u2026please, will you get some lemonade and cookies from the kitchen while I explain to them what we need to have repaired?\u201d Beth\u2019s smile faded and her eyes grew dark as she looked at her sister.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace was a bit hesitant, but quickly got up and excused herself.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSo, Joseph, you have lived here all of your life?\u201d Beth asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh, yes ma\u2019am, I was born on the Ponderosa. Your sister said your mother knew my father\u2026how?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth\u2019s expression changed, but Little Joe was too young to understand the difference that had washed over his new friend\u2019s face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBack in New Orleans\u2026my mother, Victoria Lussier Paquett, was friends with a woman by the name of Marie\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMarie!\u201d Joe said loudly, interrupting the lady.\u00a0 \u201cThat was my mother\u2019s name\u2026your mother and my mother were friends?\u201d Joe asked, amazed to be talking to someone whom might have known his mother.\u00a0 \u201cDid you know my mother?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth laughed softly and shook her head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, not really, I was just a little girl then, about five years old.\u00a0 Grace was only three.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry, Joe,\u201d Beth said when she saw the disappointment in the young boy\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI wish I had, but I didn\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen my mother introduced my father to your mother, I bet?\u201d smiled Joe, excitedly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Again, Beth laughed.\u00a0 \u201cNot quite\u2026our mother introduced your father to your\u2026to Marie.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWow\u2026\u201d muttered Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh, Grace,\u201d Beth greeted her sister has she returned with a tray laden with cookies and lemonade, \u201cplease, set it on the table, there,\u201d she ordered, pointing to a serving table off to one side.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll serve,\u201d she said, moving to the table where she exchanged glances with her sister.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While Beth poured each of the boys a glass of lemonade and a plate of cookies, Grace joined the boys in the parlor.\u00a0 Minutes later, while enjoying the conversation with the two beautiful ladies, Joe was munching cookies and sipping the cool glass of lemonade.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat was it you needed done?\u201d Joe said, yawning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Quickly, he covered his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cExcuse me,\u201d he apologized, embarrassed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe have some fences around the back of the barn that need repairing.\u00a0 One of the cows keeps getting out\u2026and some boards in the barn in one of the stalls have come loose and needs to be fixed,\u201d Beth explained as she refilled Joe\u2019s glass.\u00a0 \u201cNeither Grace nor I are any good with a hammer,\u201d she laughed lightly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe smiled.\u00a0 A second yawn escaped, further embarrassing him as he tried to cover it up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d he muttered.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s wrong with me, I\u2019m suddenly so sleepy I can\u2019t seem to keep my eyes opened,\u201d he explained, yawning again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His eyelids were becoming so heavy that Joe was forced to gently shake his head in order to keep from falling to sleep.\u00a0 He jumped to his feet, swaying slightly.\u00a0 Grace, Beth and Mark remained seated, watching the young boy struggling to stay awake.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI best be getting home,\u201d yawned Joe.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019ll excuse me, I\u2019ll come back tomorrow to help you, if that\u2019s alright with you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat will be fine, Joe\u2026but why don\u2019t you sit back down, you look about ready to drop,\u201d Beth said kindly, standing and slipping her arm about Joe\u2019s slender shoulders.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He yawned again, \u201cno, I\u2019d best be get\u2026getting\u2026\u201d yawned Joe, his eyelids losing the battle as his eyes closed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His body sagged against the woman\u2019s.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHelp me get him into the other room,\u201d ordered Beth, eyeing her sister and their other guest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jumping to their feet, both Mark and Grace did as Beth had ordered and helped her move Little Joe into a room off the parlor where they placed the boy onto the soft bed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth straightened up, smiling at Grace and Mark.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThank you, he should sleep for hours,\u201d she said, directing her words at the young man.\u00a0 \u201cHe seems like a very nice young man, Mark,\u201d Beth said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s alright, for a kid,\u201d Mark said, \u201cI like him.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s a fine boy,\u201d Grace added.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYeah\u2026well, just be good to\u2019em, will ya?\u00a0 Ya promised not to hurt\u2019em,\u201d Mark said as he moved from the room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The two ladies followed.\u00a0 Beth closed the door behind her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOf course we will.\u00a0 You don\u2019t think we\u2019d hurt or be unkind to our own baby brother\u2026do you?\u201d Beth smiled, handed Mark his hat and then opened the front door.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo ma\u2019am, I reckon not,\u201d he said, glancing over toward the closed door.\u00a0 \u201cYou won\u2019t tell\u2019em I had anything to do with this, will you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cCertainly not\u2026now Mark, be sure to take his horse and leave it somewhere, where his father won\u2019t be sure to find it\u2026and don\u2019t breathe a word of this to anyone, do you understand, or the deal is off,\u201d warned Beth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry about me, Miss Beth\u2026I\u2019ll handle things, you just be sure that the money is in the bank over at Carson City by noon tomorrow, or\u2026or\u2026I\u2019ll go straight to Ben Cartwright and tell him I know all about his sordid past and how he\u2019s lied all these years to his own son, about the boy\u2019s real mother!\u00a0 He\u2019ll pay me good when he finds out I\u2019m the only one who knows what really happened to his precious baby boy!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace cast a worried glance at her sister.\u00a0 Beth\u2019s eyes had grown extremely dark as she glared at the young man, now standing on the front porch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you dare threaten me, young man.\u00a0 I told you the $5,000 would be in the bank the day after you delivered Joe Cartwright to me, and it will be\u2026now get out of here\u2026and remember, you never knew either of us, and you have no clue where Joe went once he left the schoolhouse\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark nodded his head.\u00a0 He swung into the saddle, taking Joe\u2019s horse with him, he smiled his thanks at the sisters and rode off to finish last minute details.\u00a0 The young man shook his head in disbelief.\u00a0 He had found it hard to believe the story that the two sisters had told him, but at last they had convinced him, and when they had offered him five thousand dollars just to bring Joe Cartwright to their house and then leave as though nothing had happened, he had agreed to play dumb about things.\u00a0 After all, what was the kid to him\u2026nothing, that\u2019s all, and he had great plans as to what he would do with the money he\u2019d just made from the sisters\u2019 little kidnapping scheme.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAin\u2019t you going to have a rude awakening, Little Joe,\u201d smirked Mark as he slapped Joe\u2019s horse on the rump, turning him loose to join a herd of wild mustangs.\u00a0 The saddle, he hid behind a pile of rocks, covering it with brush so that it would not be easily found.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Remounting, Mark headed home, dollar signs dancing before his eyes.\u00a0 It had all been so easy, he smirked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben was more worried than he was angry.\u00a0 His youngest son\u2019s tardiness was something he expected, but as the fading of day grew dimmer and dimmer, his worry mounted minute by minute.\u00a0 Frustrated, he closed the door and returned to the fire, picking up the poker, he jabbed at the flames.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDo you want Adam and me to go look for\u2019em?\u201d Hoss asked, eyeing his father and noting the mixture of worry and anger in the senior Cartwright\u2019s frown.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, I do not,\u201d Ben snapped.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He placed the poker back where it belonged and moved to his chair.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIf he isn\u2019t home in half an hour, I\u2019ll go look for him\u2026and if I find him where I think he is right at this moment, I\u2019ve half a mind to tan that boy\u2019s backside,\u201d grumbled Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The anxious father looked over at the grandfather clock.\u00a0 The chimes, striking the hour rang loudly in the quiet room.\u00a0 All eyes were fixed on the door, half expecting the tardy boy to burst in with the chiming of the clock.\u00a0 Such was not the case.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAlright, it\u2019s past 8:00 o\u2019clock, Little Joe should have been home hours ago!\u00a0 Hoss, saddle our horses, will you?\u201d ordered Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSure thing, Pa,\u201d said Hoss, jumping to his feet and hurrying to the door, where he paused to tie on his gun belt and don his hat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll help you,\u201d Adam offered, not really wanting to be alone in the house with his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben was in one of his moods and the last thing Adam wanted was to listen to his father bemoan the shortcomings of his younger brother.\u00a0 Joe would be in trouble for sure, if he did not have a good reason for being so late, that much Adam was certain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Minutes later, the trio was on it\u2019s way into town.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think the first place to stop would be Miss Jones\u2019, just to be certain that your brother wasn\u2019t playing hooky again,\u201d Ben said as they rode along.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam groaned softly, being sure that his father had not heard.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa, why don\u2019t we stop over at the Anderson place, Joe\u2019s been keeping company with the boy\u2026Mark, I think his name is.\u00a0 Perhaps he could tell us if Joe were in school today\u2026it would save us a trip all the way into town,\u201d Adam suggested, keeping his fingers crossed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He really did not want a meeting with the schoolmarm, she tended to make him fidget and perspire in an uncommon manner.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2026that\u2019s a good idea, Adam.\u00a0 Hoss and I will start there, you ride on into town and speak with Miss Jones,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He couldn\u2019t stop the smile he felt spread across his face.\u00a0 The wise father knew why his eldest son had conjured up the idea of stopping at the Anderson\u2019s first.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t I stop at the Andersons and you and Hoss ride into town?\u201d Adam said as he tried to keep the resentment from sounding in his tone of voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben laughed, pulled back on the reins and stopped.\u00a0 When he turned around to look at his son, Adam noted the broad smile that lessened the worry on his father\u2019s face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAdam, we\u2019ll all stop at the Andersons, and then, if need be, we\u2019ll go on to town, together.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben knocked the second time on the door.\u00a0 He cast worried eyes at his sons, who had remained seated on their horses.\u00a0 When Ben at last heard footsteps coming to the door, he sighed in relief.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBen!\u201d greeted Mr. Anderson.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJames,\u201d Ben said in response, \u201cI\u2019m sorry to bother you this late.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo bother, Ben,\u201d James Anderson said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He glanced up at Adam and Hoss.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you and the boys come inside, Laura\u2019s got a fresh baked apple pie?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss licked his lips and started to dismount.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo thank you, James,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss paused, glanced sadly at his brother and then swung his long leg back across Chubb\u2019s back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIs something wrong?\u201d James asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, I hope not, but it seems that my youngest son has failed to come home.\u00a0 We were getting just a little worried so we thought we\u2019d stop by here\u2026I was wondering if your son, Mark, might have seen Little Joe?\u201d Ben said, hopefully.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNaw, I ain\u2019t seen him, Mr. Cartwright\u2026not since after school I mean,\u201d Mark responded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He had heard voices at the door and wondered to whom his father was speaking, but the instant that he heard Little Joe\u2019s name mentioned, he had hopped to his feet and joined his father on the porch.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen he was at school?\u201d Ben questioned.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoe?\u00a0 Yeah\u2026I mean, yes sir,\u201d he corrected after his father elbowed him.\u00a0 \u201cHe said he had to go straight home\u2026he\u2019d been late so much, he was afraid you\u2019d wallop him good if\u2019n he were late again,\u201d Mark explained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben\u2019s dark brows raised somewhat.\u00a0 His lips were firm and his jaw twitched slightly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI might just do that,\u201d he muttered.\u00a0 \u201cWell then, son, when school was out, Joe said he was heading home?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh, yes sir.\u00a0 I saw him mount up and head that way,\u201d Mark assured them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben pushed his hat back on his head and scratched his forehead.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe might have had an accident, Pa,\u201d Hoss suggested.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2026that\u2019s possible.\u00a0 His horse might have thrown him, and he could be hurt\u2026\u201d Ben glanced up at his sons.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s back track, we might have missed something, he could be lying off to the side of the road\u2026or worse.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWould you like some help?\u201d offered James.\u00a0 \u201cMark and I could ride along with you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d appreciate that,\u201d Adam called from where he sat, waiting.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGood, son, saddle our horses.\u00a0 Ben, we\u2019ll be right with you\u2026don\u2019t you worry\u2026we\u2019ll find that boy of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was close to mid-night before Ben could bring himself to call off the search.\u00a0 He was heartsick and worried.\u00a0 The small group of men had combed nearly every inch of the country from the Ponderosa to the Anderson\u2019s and into town.\u00a0 Adam had even swallowed his pride and talked with the teacher, Miss Jones, who reported that nothing unusual seemed to have been going on with young Joseph, as she referred to Adam\u2019s youngest brother.\u00a0 Joseph had been the model student, since the last episode, she had said, smiling fondly at the handsome man who had, in her mind, come to pay her a call, using his little brother as an excuse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll go home and get something to eat.\u00a0 We can leave at sunup,\u201d Ben said, discouraged.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll need fresh horses and some supplies, I\u2019ll not stop until I find the boy!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss swallowed hard, glanced at Adam and then turned to reassure his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll find him, Pa\u2026we just gotta.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, Hoss\u2026we just gotta!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was the next morning before Little Joe managed to open his eyes.\u00a0 He glanced around at the room, not sure where he was.\u00a0 His head was pounding, hurting something fierce, and his stomach was churning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u201d he called out weakly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The door to the room opened quickly, admitting a young woman who hurried to his bedside.\u00a0 Smiling, she leaned down and brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen on his brow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe squinted his eyes, trying to remember where he had seen the girl before, but nothing came to mind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s my pa? And who are you?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The young woman pulled a chair to the side of the bed and sat down, smiling warmly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019ll be along soon, Joseph,\u201d she explained.\u00a0 \u201cAre you hungry?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019d you know my name?\u201d he asked, confused.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Her dark brows rose slightly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you remember?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cRemember what?\u201d Joe inquired.\u00a0 He felt somewhat disorientated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With one hand, he pressed his fingers to his throbbing head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t remember anything\u2026my head hurts, something fierce,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Slowly he raised his head and looked through squinted eyes at the pretty woman.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWho are you?\u201d he asked, repeating his previous question.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The woman had risen and was mixing something into a glass of water.\u00a0 She turned back to Joe and sat down, holding the glass out to him.\u00a0 When he refused to accept the drink, she explained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt will stop your head from hurting,\u201d she advised.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe looked a moment longer at the lady and then accepting the glass, turned it up and downed the contents.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThanks,\u201d he said, handing the glass to the woman.\u00a0 Joe leaned his head back against the soft pillows and closed his eyes.\u00a0 He felt so sleepy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When the door opened and closed, Joe strained to open his eyes, but the lids seemed to be weighted and he was unable.\u00a0 Around him, he could hear soft whispering.\u00a0 Once, he had heard his named mentioned and he tried again to open his eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u201d he murmured.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both young women turned to see the boy staring blankly at them.\u00a0 Beth moved to the bedside and sat down.\u00a0 Lovingly, she took Joe\u2019s hand in hers and held it.\u00a0 Grace joined her sister and knelt down next to the bed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph\u2026your father\u2019s not coming\u2026\u201d whispered Beth.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s allowed you to go with us\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 I want to talk to my father,\u201d Joe said, straining to stay awake.\u00a0 \u201cWho are you?\u201d he asked again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe was more confused than ever.\u00a0 What on earth was this woman talking about?\u00a0 What did she mean, his father was not coming\u2026he was being sent away\u2026with these strange women\u2026why?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease\u2026\u201d whimper Joe as he tried to crawl out of bed.\u00a0 \u201cI gotta\u2026go\u2026home!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShh\u2026don\u2019t trouble yourself,\u201d Beth said as she gently pushed Joe back down against the pillows.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2026I\u2026don\u2019t understand\u2026my father\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s alright Joe, everything will be as it should be\u2026soon\u2026just as soon as we meet up with our mother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMother?\u201d stammered Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He forced his eyes to remain opened and tried to focus on the face before him, but everything was getting all fuzzy again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy mother\u2026she\u2019s\u2026dead.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace looked from Joe\u2019s tormented face to the expression on her sister\u2019s face.\u00a0 She waited for Beth to explain to the boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, Little Joe\u2026your mother\u2026our mother\u2026is very much alive\u2026and Grace and I are taking you to meet her\u2026your real mother.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cReal mother?\u00a0 I don\u2019t understand\u2026my mother\u2026died\u2026when I\u2026was little\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo Joe, Marie Cartwright died\u2026but she wasn\u2019t your real mother.\u00a0 Mine and Grace\u2019s mother, Victoria Lussier Paquett, was your real mother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe closed his eyes tightly, trying to put the pieces together.\u00a0 This woman wasn\u2019t making any sense, she was talking in riddles about things that baffled him; he knew who his mother was\u2026it was Marie\u2026Marie Cartwright that\u2019s who his mother was.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026\u201d he muttered.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re wrong\u2026I don\u2019t know\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, Joe\u2026it was all a lie\u2026all of it.\u00a0 Your father and your brothers have lied to you for years.\u00a0 Marie Cartwright was not your mother\u2026Victoria Paquett was your mother, and Ben Cartwright and his conniving wife, Marie, stole you away from our mother just days after you were born, and took you far away from us.\u00a0 Now Grace and I are taking you home with us, back to the mother who has looked a lifetime for you\u2026back, Joe, where you belong.\u00a0 You are our brother, Joseph, OUR brother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d cried Joe, \u201cit\u2019s not\u2026true\u2026\u201d he sobbed.\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2026couldn\u2019t\u2026he wouldn\u2019t\u2026NO!\u201d screamed the distraught boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe struggled to get out of the bed but he felt so tired, so weak that when the girls gently forced him back down, he turned his face into the pillow to hide the sudden rush of tears.\u00a0 Before a single drop could stain the white linens, the boy had fallen into a deep drug induced slumber.\u00a0 Little did Joe Cartwright know, that for the last several hours, while his father and brothers combed the countryside for him, he was being taken further and further from the people who loved him the most.\u00a0 Many miles already separated the unknowing boy from the home he had grown up in and the land that he knew so well.\u00a0 By dawn he would be on his way again, heading to a new home\u2026a place where he\u2019d learn the shocking truth\u2026or would he?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe has to be somewhere!\u201d growled Ben, pulling his horse to a complete standstill.\u00a0 \u201cHe didn\u2019t just drop off the face of the earth!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam reined his horse in next to his father\u2019s.\u00a0 He looked intently into his father\u2019s dark, sad eyes, at a loss for words to comfort his worried father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa,\u201d he said after a short hesitation.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been four days\u2026and we\u2019ve found nothing\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut Adam,\u201d Ben said, turning to look at his son.\u00a0 His expression was one of heartbreak and it tore at his son\u2019s heart to see his father so discouraged.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph has not vanished\u2026oh, I realize he isn\u2019t likely to be around here\u2026but he IS somewhere.\u00a0 Somebody, somewhere knows something\u2026people just don\u2019t vanish into thin air\u2026I suspect there are those who would like for me to think that is exactly what happened to my son\u2026but it is not.\u00a0 We have to keep looking\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere, Pa?\u00a0 Where can we look that we haven\u2019t already looked?\u201d Adam said in a demanding tone, for he too, was heartsick that they had found no clue as to Little Joe\u2019s whereabouts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben made a heaving sigh and lowered his head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just it, son, I haven\u2019t a clue where to begin\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss, who had remained silent during the exchange, moved his horse forward, siding the opposite side of Adam.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t we start all over?\u201d he suggested.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both Ben and Adam turned with puzzled expressions, to Hoss.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean, start all over?\u201d his father asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, Pa\u2026we know this much for sure\u2026Joe left school\u2026on his horse, supposedly heading home.\u00a0 We know for a fact he didn\u2019t get home, so\u2026somewhere in-between school and home\u2026Joe had to have gone another direction.\u00a0 We\u2019ve gone east\u2026to the Anderson\u2019s, who say they haven\u2019t seen the boy\u2026west into town to talk to the teacher\u2026south is home\u2026what about north?\u00a0 There\u2019s the lake\u2026we ain\u2019t checked there yet\u2026and there\u2019s that cave where me and Joe used\u2019ta play\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHoss, I\u2019ve had men checking up at the lake.\u00a0 Roy and his men checked every ranch to the north\u2026even the vacant ones, like the old Henson place.\u00a0 He said there had been a couple of ladies staying out there, but they must have gone back east or something because the place was abandoned recently\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben\u2019s puzzled expression deepened.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy\u2026what?\u201d he asked Hoss.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy was it abandoned\u2026and where did the ladies go\u2026why were they even there in the first place\u2026who were they?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou know, Pa\u2026Hoss might be on to something.\u00a0 I, too, heard about the two ladies that were staying there.\u00a0 Word is, they just showed up there one day and several days later were gone.\u00a0 Who were they, why did they come here in the first place\u2026and why did they leave so suddenly\u2026and in the middle of the night?\u201d Adam said, tossing the numerous questions at his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know son, but how do you know they left in the middle of the night?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam pushed back his hat and rearranged himself in the saddle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure, maybe it was something that Miss Jones\u2019 mentioned.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really pay much attention to what she was saying\u2026I was in a hurry to get out of there, but she said something about overhearing Mark Anderson telling Little Joe about the two ladies that moved into the Henson place.\u00a0 I suppose Miss Jones felt it proper to ride over there and introduce herself.\u00a0 She said that she planned on doing so the next day\u2026, which was Saturday.\u00a0 Well, when I ran into her on Monday when you sent me into town for more supplies, she stopped me to talk\u2026she wanted to know if we had found Joe\u2026well, she said that she went out to the Henson place to introduce herself to the two ladies and that there was no one around.\u00a0 Abigail said she peeked in the window and it looked as if the ladies had vanished.\u00a0 She tried the door and it was unlocked, so she went in.\u00a0 She said that clothes were thrown all about, dishes were still on the table and Abigail said when she looked in the barn, the ladies\u2019 carriage was gone as well.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t make any sense,\u201d Ben said, thinking aloud.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026but that\u2019s not all,\u201d Adam continued, \u201cI stopped by Roy\u2019s office but he was gone.\u00a0 Clem was there and when I asked him if he knew anything about the two women he said only that they had come into town the week before and were buying some supplies.\u00a0 I went down to the ladies shop to speak with Mrs. Anderson, all she could tell me was that they came in, bought some personal articles and left.\u00a0 She said she thought they went into the general store, so I went over to the mercantile to speak with Cass and he said they came in, bought about a week\u2019s worth of groceries, a couple of bottles of laudanum, paid cash and then left.\u00a0 He watched them leave and said they were headed toward the Henson place\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLaudanum?\u00a0 That\u2019s odd, was one of them sickly?\u201d Ben inquired.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI asked Cass the same thing, and he said they looked healthy to him, and pretty too,\u201d smiled Adam.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben made a scowl.\u00a0 \u201cLooks can be deceiving,\u201d he said in a grumpy tone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam sort of laughed.\u00a0 \u201cI know that, Pa\u2026Cass just threw that in.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDid he happen to mention if the two women gave their names?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, but he did say he heard the younger one refer to the other one as Beth,\u201d answered Adam.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBeth?\u00a0 He didn\u2019t get a last name?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNot that I know,\u201d Adam said, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cHe said the younger one looked to be about 18 or 19 and the older lady about 20ish.\u00a0 They only came into the store that one time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOdd, very odd\u2026but I make no connection between the ladies and your brother,\u201d Ben said, puzzled by the odd circumstances surrounding the two young women.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say that I do either, Pa\u2026but it\u2019s strange that they show up here, stay less than a week and disappear on the same night that Joe turns up missing.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDoesn\u2019t make any sense at all to me\u2026but let\u2019s do what Hoss suggested.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t we take a ride out to the old Henson place and do a bit of snooping around?\u201d Ben suggested.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When Joe was finally able to open his eyes, he was stunned to find himself sitting or rather leaning, against the inner wall of a moving carriage.\u00a0 It was dark inside, the window shades having been pulled down to forbid the light from entering the coach, though Joe did sense the presence of the two young women.\u00a0 Both were quiet but when he looked over at them, he knew they were watching him.\u00a0 The idea of having both young ladies watching his every move unnerved him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere are we going?\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His speech was slightly slurred from the doses of laudanum he had been given.\u00a0 Joe appeared to be dazed and confused, but that too was from the drug. The boy had been taking the drug, sleeping hours and hours, waking only briefly for small meals, completely unaware that it had been added to his drink or to his meals and now, four days later, still had no knowledge that he was being transferred further and further from his home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His head slowly began to droop as he struggled to stay awake.\u00a0 Something seemed to be haunting him, teasing his memory, testing his awareness.\u00a0 Joe felt as if his thoughts were spinning out of control and he couldn\u2019t bring a halt to the merry-go-round feeling swirling in his head.\u00a0 The drug had left him with no sense of time or place, totally oblivious to the direction in which the carriage was moving.\u00a0 The only thing that was lodged in his head, was the fact that he wanted to be somewhere other than where he was.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHome\u2026I want to go\u2026home,\u201d he babbled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m\u2026gonna be\u2026in trouble for\u2026being\u2026so late,\u201d he whispered as his head lowered so that it appeared his chin was resting on his chest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t remember a thing,\u201d Grace whispered to her sister.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026and that\u2019s good.\u00a0 By the time we reach Mother, he\u2019ll be like putty in her hands,\u201d Beth said with a sly smile.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tenderly, she leaned forward and straightened the blanket that had slipped from Joe\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0 Her smile softened as she gently ran her fingers down the side of the young boy\u2019s face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJust think, sister\u2026we\u2019ve found our baby brother!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh Beth, I\u2019m so happy\u2026all our lives Mother has talked about her lost baby, her missing little boy, and now\u2026here he is.\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait to see her face when she sees Joseph for the first time since\u2026since that horrible Ben Cartwright stole him away from her!\u00a0 Ohhh\u2026how I hate that man for what he\u2019s done!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNow, now, now, Emily Grace\u2026it isn\u2019t Christian to hate anyone\u2026not even someone as horrid as Mr. Cartwright,\u201d Beth abolished gently.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, maybe it isn\u2019t Christian, but he deserves to be hated!\u00a0 He broke our mother\u2019s heart and for years she has mourned the loss of this boy\u2026and the man she loved.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t agree with you, Sister, about Mr. Cartwright deserving to be hated.\u00a0 I know all too well what he did to our mother, but he\u2019s going to get paid back.\u00a0 When Joseph learns the truth, and all that, that horrible man did to Mother and to him\u2026the boy will no doubt end up turning his back on his own father\u2026and it\u2019s no one\u2019s fault but Mr. Cartwright\u2019s!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat would serve the man right\u2026Joseph disowning his own father,\u201d Grace said as she leaned back against the soft leather seat.\u00a0 \u201cI was wondering something though, Sister?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth had leaned back as well, though she kept her eyes on the sleeping boy.\u00a0 It was hard to see Joe in the darkened interior, but the handsome young boy\u2019s features had become embedded in the mind of his newly found sister.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it, dear?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI was just wondering if Mother will like the name, Joseph, or if she would prefer to change it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHmm\u2026I don\u2019t rightly know, Grace.\u00a0 I like the name myself, but then\u2026it was the name that Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright chose for him.\u00a0 I know Mother always favored the name, Phillip, after her father.\u00a0 I remember her telling me once, about her father, and what a fine gentleman he was and how strikingly handsome.\u00a0 She said he had hazel eyes and chestnut colored hair\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJust like Joseph?\u201d Grace whispered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the dark, Beth smiled at her sister.\u00a0 \u201cJust like Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see anything to tie these women to Little Joe,\u201d Ben grumbled.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He and Adam had been prowling through the empty house where the two women had obviously been staying.\u00a0 Clothes were laying about, here and there, left behind for whatever reasons; a few groceries hadn\u2019t been used and remained neatly stacked in the kitchen pantry.\u00a0 Dirty dishes remained on the table and in the sink; the stove obviously had been used for cooking but was now cold.\u00a0 In general, it appeared that when the two women left, they left in a hurry not bothering to gather up all their possessions to take with them.\u00a0 The idea that they might have left in a hurry, in the middle of the night was beginning to be more of a fact rather than an assumption to the Cartwrights.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing in here either, Pa\u2026but the bed\u2019s been slept in,\u201d Adam said as he joined his father in the main room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He had been looking about in the smaller bedroom off the living room, where, unknown to either he or his father, Little Joe had spent the first half the night he had disappeared.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh yeah?\u201d Ben said, curiously as he glanced into the room.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s odd, both the other beds have been slept in as well.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMaybe they had company?\u201d suggested Adam.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s possible, but Clem or Cass didn\u2019t mention that there were more than just the two ladies, did he?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo sir.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI wonder who the third person might have been?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think I can answer that,\u201d Hoss said from the doorway.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The big man had been out inspecting the barn, looking for clues to the unanswered questions about the women who had occupied the house for no more than a week.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss held out his hand to his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLook at this,\u201d he said, placing the article into the palm of his father\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam stepped closer for a better look.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben stared at the article, turning over in his hand.\u00a0 His throat suddenly felt tight.\u00a0 He clinched his jaw as fear began seeping into his inner being, filling his heart with a dread.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a silver conche like the ones on Little Joe\u2019s hat band,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam reached for the conche and took it from his father\u2019s hand.\u00a0 It was then that he noticed how the senior Cartwright\u2019s hand shook slightly.\u00a0 He glanced up at his father and saw Ben gulp.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI noticed the other day the Joe had one on his hatband that was about to come off\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben\u2019s eyes grew small; his jaw was set firmly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure, son?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes sir, I mentioned to him that he ought to fix it before he lost it\u2026you don\u2019t think this\u2026\u201d Adam held his hand out; the conche lay in his opened hand, glistening in the sun,<\/p>\n \u201ccould be\u2026that particular one\u2026do you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say for sure, Adam, but if it is\u2026that raises another question,\u201d Ben stated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLike how\u2019d it get here?\u201d Hoss said, eyeing both his father and brother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cExactly,\u201d Ben said in a deep tone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The woman strolled along the long porch, gracefully descending the steps as she waited for the carriage to come to a complete stop.\u00a0 Deep within her bosom, her heart beat rapidly with excitement and when she glanced down, she noticed how her delicate, though slightly wrinkled, hands trembled.\u00a0 Her hankie was twisted in a tight knot that matched the knot in the pit of her stomach.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The driver of the coach jumped down and immediately opened the door to allow the young women to disembark.\u00a0 Grace was the first to greet her mother and instantly she moved into the opened arms of welcome.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh Mother, it\u2019s so good to be with you again,\u201d cooed Grace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to have you back, Gracie,\u201d greeted the mother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She held her arm around one daughter and stretched out the other to welcome back her oldest daughter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBeth\u2026darling,\u201d the happy mother smiled warmly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHello, Mother,\u201d Beth said, returning the smile as she leaned forward and placed a light kiss to her mother\u2019s cheek.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not sure what was expected of him, Joe climbed slowly down from the coach.\u00a0 The long tiring trip and the constant use of the laudanum had taken its toll on the boy.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s face wore the look of a sickly child; his eyes had dark circles under them, leaving him looking as if he needed more than just one good night\u2019s rest.\u00a0 Weakened from the long trip and the lack of a nourishing meal, Joe swayed slightly as he placed his feet down on the ground.\u00a0 Tightly, in an effort to keep from falling, he grabbed the door of the coach, gaining attention from the three ladies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph!\u201d Beth, who had grown very fond of her younger brother, hurried to offer herself as a support.\u00a0 \u201cEasy now\u2026you\u2019re very tired and not feeling up to par,\u201d she cautioned as she gazed lovingly at the boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace moved to Joe\u2019s other side and entwined one arm about Joe\u2019s to give him more support.\u00a0 Slowly, the sisters moved the young man closer to the older lady.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth smiled, \u201cMother,\u201d she began, \u201cthis is Joseph\u2026Joseph Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria Paquett looked as if she might faint, but the smile that she gave the young man was warm and friendly, deceivingly inviting.\u00a0 Her dark eyes gazed at the lad standing before her, taking in every feature of his expression and the shallow almost haunted look in the sad, hazel eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph,\u201d she cried in a cooing voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria held out her arms to embrace the boy in a hug.\u00a0 Joe was pressed against the woman\u2019s bosom and suddenly felt as if he were smothering.\u00a0 He knew the woman was saying something to him, but her words were not actually registering in his head.\u00a0 Knowing he should be listening, but concentrating on his breathing, he failed to hear his father\u2019s name mentioned.\u00a0 When the lady finally released him, Joe instantly sucked in a chest full of air.\u00a0 His head buzzed as he began to sway, only slightly aware that Beth was supporting him on one side and Grace on the other.\u00a0 He looked up at the woman, trying to focus his eyes on her face.\u00a0Her lips were moving, but her words sounded as if she had her head under water trying to talk to him.\u00a0 He forced himself to concentrate on what she was saying.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSo\u2026I want you to feel comfortable here with us.\u00a0 I know it has come as a shock to you, finding out that I am your real mother\u2026and that for all the years of your life, your father and that woman\u2026Marie\u2026and your brothers as well, have done nothing but tell you lie after lie\u2026they stole you away from me\u2026that horrible woman snatched you from my very arms!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Words, all scrambled, began swirling about in his head.\u00a0 Words that he did not understand. \u2018Real mother\u2019, \u2018father lied\u2019, \u2018horrible woman\u2019, \u2018snatched you\u2019,\u2026everything became a blur after that and nothing else that the woman said mattered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMother!\u201d Beth cried softly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She had seen Joe\u2019s expression change to one of sheer horror at her mother\u2019s words.\u00a0 She had felt Joe\u2019s body tense and felt the weight of him leaning heavily against her and knew that it would be only moments before the boy collapsed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMother, please,\u201d she cried again, this time more forceful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria took a deep breath, calming herself before continuing.\u00a0 Her smile was strained, not that the boy cared.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt will take some time to get used to living with a house full of women instead of men, Joseph.\u00a0 But we will work through it.\u00a0 I have a lot to tell you, to explain to you about how\u2026how you were taken from me and how it was that I was able to find you after all these years.\u00a0 But all of that can wait, you obviously are worn to a frazzle and need to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria turned her attention back to her daughters, her expression softened when she looked at them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you show\u2026your brother\u2026\u201d she noted that Joe\u2019s eyes widened.\u00a0 \u201cWhy don\u2019t you show your brother to his room, and make him comfortable?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, Mother,\u201d answered Grace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria moved to brush back a lock of curls from Joe\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 Her fingers lightly traced the outline of his jaw.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAfter you have freshened up and rested a spell, we\u2019ll have dinner\u2026and then perhaps we can have a chat, would you like that?\u201d Victoria prompted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe, who for the entire course of his life, had been drilled about his manners, and even in his wasted state of mind could not forget them, nodded his head slightly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGood\u2026now go along with your sisters,\u201d Victoria encouraged.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the trio of young people turned to go, Victoria reached out her hand and touched Beth\u2019s arm.\u00a0 With a nod of her head, Grace led Joe into the house, leaving Beth to confer with their mother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBeth, darling\u2026tell me, how did it go?\u00a0 Did anyone see you leave with the boy\u2026did he give you any trouble\u2026what about Ben Cartwright\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMother, please,\u201d cautioned Beth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She took her mother\u2019s arm and led Victoria a short distance from the porch.\u00a0 As they walked along, the younger woman leaned closer to her mother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt was simple, Joseph showed up one day at the house, with a friend\u2026the boy we hired to lure Joe there.\u00a0 I gave them refreshments,\u201d Beth smiled, \u201ca good dose of the laudanum and the boy was sleeping like a baby within fifteen minutes.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t wake up until hours later and by that time, we were already settled in a motel in some Godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere.\u00a0 Every time he woke, I gave him something to eat, and before he could get himself fully aware of what was going on, I\u2019d give him another dose.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth stopped and turned to her mother.\u00a0 Her expression wore a worried look.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMother\u2026are you sure\u2026are you absolutely positive that we\u2019ve done the right thing?\u00a0 I mean, after all, the boy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHush,\u201d ordered Victoria.\u00a0 \u201cOf course we\u2019ve done the right thing.\u00a0 The boy will be fine\u2026in time.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2026he so obviously loves his father and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNon-sense\u2026that will all change when he hears what I have to say!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria walked a few paces away, separating herself from her daughter.\u00a0 Her eyes had narrowed and her lips were drawn tight.\u00a0 Beth noted the high red color to her mother\u2019s cheeks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe has it coming to him\u2026the way he treated me\u2026making me believe that he loved me\u2026and then marrying her <\/em>instead.\u00a0 And that woman\u2026a bitch\u2026that\u2019s all she was.\u00a0 A known woman\u2026she\u2019s had so many men that even God lost count!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The angry woman puckered up her lips in disgust and stepped closer to her daughter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd to think that whore actually helped Ben Cartwright raise my <\/em>child!\u201d snarled Victoria.\u00a0 \u201cI never could figure out what he saw in her\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMother, please, it isn\u2019t right to speak ill of the dead\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh\u2026don\u2019t you be so righteous and judgmental, young lady!\u00a0 That woman stole the only man I ever truly loved\u2026\u201d Victoria quickly clamped her mouth shut as she stared at her daughter\u2019s shocked expression.\u00a0\u201cExcept for your father, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Beth said, whispering the words softly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria placed both hands on her daughter\u2019s arms and smiled.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true my dear\u2026I loved them both, Louis\u2026and Ben Cartwright\u2026I\u2019ve told you the story of each.\u00a0 Your father was a warm, loving, gentle man and if he had lived longer\u2026well\u2026I wouldn\u2019t have had to endure all the suffering that Ben Cartwright and that piece of trash he called a \u2018wife\u2019, forced on me.\u00a0 And Joseph\u2026would have been\u2026should have been\u2026WAS my<\/em> son, not hers.<\/em>\u00a0 And he will be once more\u2026when I finish with that boy, he will never speak to his father again\u2026I will destroy Ben Cartwright\u2019s life the same as he destroyed mine\u2026and I will make his precious little boy the pawn, he will be the straw that breaks the camel\u2019s back\u2026you just wait and see!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth clasped her fingers so tightly together that the knuckles turned white.\u00a0 She stared into the face of her mother, wondering at the sudden change she was witnessing.\u00a0 Never before had she seen her mother so consumed with hate.\u00a0 Dare she question it?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMother, I understand that you were hurt by Mr. Cartwright\u2019s\u2026rejection\u2026but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut what?\u201d stormed Victoria.\u00a0 \u201cAre you about to suggest that I shouldn\u2019t feel as I do?\u00a0 Because if you are, forget it\u2026I have every right to despise the man.\u00a0 He practically left me at the alter, holding his<\/em> child!\u00a0Everyone we knew kept telling me not to trust the man, that he\u2019d already had two wives, two sons and was poor as field dirt.\u00a0 But I loved him and worse than that, I trusted him.\u00a0 He promised to marry me\u2026anything he said, to keep his son from being a bastard\u2026but it was all lies.\u00a0 He ran off with Marie\u2026what\u2019s-her-name and together they conceive the story that Baby Phillip\u2026that\u2019s what I named him\u2026Joseph is what Ben wanted to name him\u2026but they allowed everyone to believe that she was his mother; they even lied to the boy.\u00a0 For that, Ben Cartwright will come to regret for the rest of his natural life.\u00a0 What he\u2019s done to me is done, it\u2019s over, but I cannot, nor will I, forgive him for stealing my son\u2026never!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease Mother, I was just going to ask you\u2026what about Joseph?\u00a0 How do you think he\u2019s going to feel when you explain all of this to him?\u00a0 Don\u2019t you realize how hurt he will be\u2026how he might turn against both of you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBoth of us?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes Mother, what if your plan backfires?\u00a0 What if your son hates you for\u2026one, taking him away from his family that he\u2019s always known, two, for telling him horrible things about the father that he loves dearly\u2026and for the awful things you\u2019ll tell him about the only mother he ever knew.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria seemed to be thinking about what her daughter had said.\u00a0 She turned and walked away, keeping her back to her daughter for several long moments.\u00a0 When she came back, her expression had changed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBeth\u2026that is a chance I am willing to take.\u00a0 You see, I\u2019ve already lost the man I loved\u2026I\u2019ve never had a day with my son, and if what you fear might happen, happens, then we are no worse off than before. I would have gained nothing, and I\u2019ve lost nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMr. Anderson, we must speak with your son on this matter,\u201d Ben insisted.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m telling you, your boy was seen leaving with my son.\u00a0 Mark may very well have been the last person to see Little Joe before he turned up missing.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mr. Anderson sighed heavily, shaking his head from side to side in surrender.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAlright, Mr. Cartwright, just calm down.\u00a0 The boy\u2019s in the barn, come on lets go see if what you claim is true or not.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mr. Anderson stepped around Ben and marched toward the barn.\u00a0 Ben glanced up at Adam and Hoss who had remained seated on their horses and nodded his head in an indication for them to follow.\u00a0 Quickly both young men swung down from their mounts and fell into step along side their father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMARK!\u201d shouted Mr. Anderson as he reached the entrance to the barn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cCome down here\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m busy, Pa\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNever mind what you\u2019re doing, get down here right this minute!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark, who appeared from the hay filled loft, looked from one face to the other.\u00a0 His eyes rested on his father\u2019s face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAm I in trouble, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShould you be?\u201d Mr. Anderson demanded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo\u2026no sir\u2026I ain\u2019t done nothing\u2026honest\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMark,\u201d Ben interrupted.\u00a0 \u201cI just want to ask you a couple of questions\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s about Little Joe\u2026I don\u2019t know a thing\u2026really\u2026\u201d the boy stammered, suddenly looking guilty.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The look did not go unnoticed by Ben nor the boy\u2019s own father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMitch Devlin told me that on the day Joe didn\u2019t come home, he saw my son leave school with you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes sir, but I done told you that.\u00a0 We rode as far as the fork in the road\u2026I went home and I assumed that Joe did too\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben glanced at the boy\u2019s father and then continued.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMitch also said that he took the shortcut home\u2026via the old Henson place.\u00a0 He said he saw you and Joseph standing in the yard, talking to one of the women that were staying at the house.\u00a0 Mitch started to join you, but the two of you went inside so he decided not to be\u2026as he said\u2026a party pooper, so he left.\u00a0 That was the last time Joe was seen.\u00a0 All I want to know now is\u2026what went on in that house\u2026where did you two go when you left there?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark looked sick, like he might need to empty his stomach.\u00a0 His anxious eyes glanced in his father\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t lie, boy, or I\u2019ll take the strap to you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes sir,\u201d he stammered, glancing up at Ben.\u00a0 \u201cNothing happened\u2026honest. We went there to help the ladies mend a couple of fences. The older one asked us in\u2026to explain what was needing fixing\u2026the other lady offered us some cookies and lemonade\u2026that\u2019s all\u2026really, Mr. Cartwright.\u00a0 After that, I left.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben was thoughtful for a moment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou left?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes sir.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat about Joe?\u201d Adam popped up to inquire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026I\u2026don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean you don\u2019t know?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t Joe leave with you?\u201d Ben demanded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026I don\u2019t know when Joe left.\u00a0 I\u2026wasn\u2019t feeling too well, so I decided to come back the next day to help them\u2026I reckon Joe stayed and helped.\u00a0 I assumed that was what he did\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy did you lie to us in the first place?\u201d Adam growled.\u00a0 \u201cYou could have saved us two days of combing the countryside for my brother!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026I\u2026don\u2019t know\u2026I guess I thought\u2026I\u2026might be in trouble or something\u2026Pa told me to come straight home\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben allowed his anger to lessen somewhat.\u00a0 He put his hand down on the boy\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 When he spoke, his voice was calm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s alright, son.\u00a0 I just needed to confirm that my son was actually at the Henson place.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, sir,\u201d the boy said, offering what seemed like a truthful apology.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoe stayed behind then\u2026when you left\u2026and you\u2019ve seen nothing of him since?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDid the ladies tell you their names?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark was suddenly at a loss as to what he should say.\u00a0 He had given his word that he would never tell anyone about what he had taken part in or the fact that he knew what was going to happen to the Cartwright kid.\u00a0 But if he lied now, and his father found out\u2026he\u2019d get the beating of a lifetime.\u00a0 The boy\u2019s eyes scanned each face.\u00a0 His father\u2019s face was the most fearsome of the four.\u00a0 Inwardly, he cringed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey were sisters\u2026from\u2026someplace back east\u2026or maybe down south.\u00a0 That\u2019s it\u2026New Orleans, I think they said.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben\u2019s eyes grew wide and dark.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNew Orleans?\u201d he repeated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes sir.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTheir names\u2026what was their names?\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A new kind of fear sprang into his heart.\u00a0 He suddenly felt sick, as if he might vomit.\u00a0 He had loved New Orleans, loved most of the people there, but it was no secret that when he left the city, bringing with him, his third wife, Marie, he and she both had left behind many enemies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt was a French name\u2026I\u2026I\u2026can\u2019t remember.\u00a0 Umm\u2026Beth, that was the older sister\u2026and\u2026and\u2026Grace\u2026that was the younger sister.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe last name\u2026I want the last name\u2026\u201d insisted Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m thinking\u2026I\u2019m thinking\u2026honest, sir\u2026umm\u2026Par\u2026Pa\u2026Qu\u2026I can\u2019t remember,\u201d the boy cried, frightened at the rising anger he saw in the three faces of the Cartwrights.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJust take your time, Mark,\u201d Ben encouraged.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s important\u2026very important,\u201d he said, glancing at Hoss and Adam and knowing that his sons were totally unaware as to why their father was pushing so hard for an answer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, buddy\u2026just take your time,\u201d Hoss echoed his father\u2019s words.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey were pretty girls,\u201d Mark grinned.\u00a0 \u201cUmm\u2026the name ended in a t.\u00a0 Pa\u2026q..et\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPaquett?\u201d\u00a0 Ben stated the name almost the second that the sounds came out of the boy\u2019s mouth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The boy\u2019s eyes brightened and he grinned.\u00a0 \u201cYeah\u2026that\u2019s it\u2026Paqu\u2026ett; Beth and Grace Paquett!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam had been watching his father\u2019s face and had seen the color drain the instant that he said the name aloud.\u00a0 He could only wonder at the mystery behind the strange occurrence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026what\u2019s wrong\u2026do you know someone with that name?\u201d Adam asked anxiously.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s possible\u2026but I\u2019ll explain later.\u00a0 First I want to know why those two young ladies decided to skip town in the middle of the night.\u00a0 Mark, did either one say why they were here?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark was beginning to fidget.\u00a0 He had seen the horrified look on Mr. Cartwright\u2019s face and when he had glanced at his father, he could easily tell that his own father was growing angry.\u00a0 He shrugged his shoulders in response to Ben\u2019s question.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of dumb answer is that?\u201d shouted Mr. Anderson.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He moved close to his son; his eyes were dark with anger.\u00a0 Bart Anderson knew his son well enough to know that the boy was holding back, that there was more to this story than what his son was telling or admitting too.\u00a0 He\u2019d find out the truth, if he had to beat it out of him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all I know!\u201d Mark shouted back at his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before anyone could react, Bart raised his hand and slapped his son across the face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLiar\u2026I heard you talking to the Cameron boy the other night!\u201d Bart turned to face Ben.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t pay any attention to what they were saying, you know how boys are, always bragging about this and that.\u00a0 That\u2019s all I thought the boy here was doing, but\u2026\u201d he eyed his son, \u201cbut\u2026he said something about those girls\u2026and I heard him mention your boy\u2019s name.\u00a0 I walked on by but just as I rounded the corner of the house, I stopped to pet the dog, that\u2019s when I heard Mark saying something about those girls leaving town in the middle of the night and\u2026and\u2026aw\u2026damn it\u2026what did he say?\u201d Bart eyeballed his son with a dark scowl.\u00a0 \u201cAnd taking Joe Cartwright with them!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His voice became high pitched as his excitement grew.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s it, Mark said the ladies were taking your boy with them\u2026now why on earth didn\u2019t I think of that the other day?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam, who had restrained from having his say with the boy, finally stepped up.\u00a0 He\u2019d been watching Mark Anderson and something about the way the boy never looked his father eye to eye when talking, caused him to believe that the boy was hiding something.\u00a0 Adam now spoke up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere were they going to take my brother?\u201d he asked in a deep voice.\u00a0 The elder Cartwright son stood nose to nose with the boy, who was as tall as he was.\u00a0 \u201cAnd don\u2019t say you don\u2019t know, don\u2019t shrug your shoulders and by all means, don\u2019t lie, it could have serious effects,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark took a step backward.\u00a0 His eyes were huge and filled with fright.\u00a0 This raven-haired man scared him.\u00a0 He\u2019d head stories about how Adam Cartwright watched out for his brothers, Joe had told him.\u00a0 His friend had told how Adam was fearless, how he dared any man\u2026or any other person, to over step their bounds where Little Joe and Hoss were concerned.\u00a0 More than one acquaintance and many strangers had been on the receiving end of his wrath, and with the fire he saw burning in Adam Cartwright\u2019s dark eyes, he quickly decided that he wanted no part in tangling with this man.\u00a0 He gulped, almost swallowing his tongue.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey didn\u2019t say,\u201d he muttered in a low voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam glanced from his father to Hoss and then looked at Mark squarely in the eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen they did take him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The boy nodded his head up and down, affirming the statement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy\u2026why pick Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think I can answer that, Adam,\u201d Ben said, speaking up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n All eyes turned in his direction; everyone watched his face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe two young women, Beth and Grace Paquett are the daughters of\u2026lets say, an old acquaintance of mine.\u00a0 I knew their mother, Victoria Paquett, only briefly, while I was in New Orleans many years ago\u2026before your brother was born, before Marie and I were even married,\u201d Ben explained.\u00a0 \u201cThey were just little girls back then\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t explain why they took Joe\u2026and besides, how did they get him to go with them?\u201d Hoss said, breaking a long silence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This time, heads turned toward the boy, Mark Anderson.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell?\u201d demanded his father.\u00a0 \u201cThe man expects an answer!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark lowered his head, unable to meet the steady gazes of the three Cartwright men.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2026drugged him\u2026one of the ladies mixed something in his lemonade and they planned to keep him drugged until they met up with their mother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He chanced a quick glance at Ben, saw the well of mixed emotions in the deep-set brown eyes and continued.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where they were going to take him\u2026honest\u2026they wouldn\u2019t tell me.\u00a0 They said it was best if\u2019n I didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben pinched his lips together and placed a hand on the boy\u2019s shoulder, gently squeezing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI believe you, son.\u00a0 We\u2019ll find Little Joe. \u00a0But I need to know one other thing.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes sir?\u201d Mark answered, casting an anxious eye at his own father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy did you help them?\u201d\u00a0 Ben\u2019s question was direct and to the point.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark wanted desperately to shrug his shoulders.\u00a0 He had agreed to lure Joe to the Henson place for the girls.\u00a0 The money had certainly made him want to attempt the daring challenge and the fact that even now $5,000 was sitting in a bank over in Carson City with his name on the account was rewarding enough, but somehow at that moment, he didn\u2019t feel as if the money was that important.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t asked any questions, he hadn\u2019t even bothered to ask the women why they wanted to kidnap Joe Cartwright, or why they were going to take him so far from home\u2026and worse, what was going to happen to the kid, once they took him away.\u00a0 Mark felt a surprising wave of guilt wash over him.\u00a0 What had he led his friend into?\u00a0 Where was the kid now\u2026was he alright?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The nervous young man swallowed hard.\u00a0 He looked up to find Ben watching him.\u00a0 He felt so little, like a naughty little boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Mr. Cartwright,\u201d he muttered in broken words.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mark decided it was time to be honest, he was sorry.\u00a0 The broken, frightened look in the elder Cartwright\u2019s face, the worn and tired appearance of his self gave him a sick feeling in his gut.\u00a0 What if something awful happened to Joe\u2026it would be his fault.\u00a0 There would be no way that could live with his self if that happened.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMr. Cartwright, Pa\u2026\u201d he said meekly.\u00a0 \u201cThose two ladies offered me\u2026\u201d he gulped again, \u201c$5,000 if I would bring Joe out to their place and then leave without saying a word to anyone about what they was planning\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWHAT!\u201d shouted Adam.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He quickly and without thinking, grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt, and lifted Mark off the ground.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy you little\u2026I should kill you right here!\u201d he growled, pushing the boy back against the wall of one stall.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAdam!\u201d Ben shouted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But Adam hadn\u2019t had his say and he was determined to make himself understood.\u00a0 He pushed his face into the boy\u2019s face; their noses were almost touching.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing you aren\u2019t a man, or I would make good that promise.\u00a0 But you understand this\u2026if any harm comes to my little brother you best start running, for I will be right behind you.\u00a0 There\u2019ll be no rock big enough, no mountain high enough and no ocean too wide for you to hide in or cross.\u00a0 I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands\u2026do you understand that?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The frightened young man was close to tears.\u00a0 His body trembled as he nodded his head up and down.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGood, then we understand one another!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam pivoted on his heels and stormed out of the barn.\u00a0 Minutes later, he was joined by Hoss and soon afterwards, Ben came from the barn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He looked at his sons.\u00a0 His face bore a solemn expression. As he started to mount up, he turned to Adam and Hoss.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s ride.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both brothers swung into the saddle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere we headed?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTo find your brother and to bring him home,\u201d responded Ben with assurance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYa got any ideay where he could be?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI got an ideay,\u201d smirked Ben.\u00a0 \u201cCome on, daylight\u2019s wasting.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria smiled warmly as she watched the young man enter into the parlor.\u00a0 Carefully she took in everything about the boy, disappointed that the lad looked nothing like his father and very much like the woman whom she had, over the course of several years, grown to hate with a passion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease, sit down,\u201d she commanded, pointing to a chair.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe glanced at the chair and then did as instructed.\u00a0 He looked tired; his eyes were ringed with dark circles and the iris\u2019 appeared dulled, no doubt from the drug that he had unknowingly been taking for the last several days.\u00a0 When Joe was seated, Victoria noted how his slender shoulders drooped and how he watched her yet he appeared not to be seeing her, as if his mind was far, far away.\u00a0 She almost laughed, thinking that the poor kid was probably wondering where his daddy was and why didn\u2019t his papa come and save his poor miserable soul.\u00a0 At first, she thought she might actually be able to love the boy, but then seeing how much he resembled Marie Cartwright, she felt as if she wanted to reach over to the boy and slap his face!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere is this place?\u201d Joe asked rather shyly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He glanced around the room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s my father\u2026when\u2019s he coming?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not,\u201d Victoria stated firmly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe\u2019s eyes narrowed and the woman saw the boy tighten his jaw.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes he will\u2026he\u2019ll find me,\u201d he said defiantly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria moved to sit down in a chair opposite the boy.\u00a0 She could easily see that the boy was upset, trembling in fact.\u00a0 Being by nature, a tender woman unless provoked, she almost felt sorry for the boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLittle Joe\u2026may I call you that?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Unable to speak because of the knot that had suddenly lodged in his throat, he nodded his head yes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGood\u2026Little Joe it will be\u2026for now\u2026later we\u2019ll change your name\u2026when you have become more comfortable living here with us\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cChange my name?\u00a0 Why would I want to do that?\u201d he asked, taken back somewhat by the suggestion.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want to live here\u2026I want to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou probably don\u2019t want to, Little Joe,\u201d she explained, ignoring his other statements \u201c\u2026at least not yet, but when I finish telling you all about your father and how he\u2019s lied to you all these years, I doubt seriously that you will want to carry his name around for the rest of your life.\u00a0 No, I think not.\u00a0 Phillip Paquett will suit you just fine\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe stood to his feet, barely able to comprehend what this strange woman was saying to him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy father doesn\u2019t lie\u2026he\u2019s never told me a lie\u2026and\u2026and I don\u2019t like that name, Phillip Pa\u2026Paq\u2026whatever!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria only smiled up at the boy as she gently reached for his hand and held it in hers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease\u2026sit back down\u2026there is so much that I want to explain to you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe pulled his hand free of the woman\u2019s.\u00a0 He glared at her, taking an instant dislike to her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to sit down\u2026and if you\u2019re going to tell me that my father has lied to me about something\u2026about anything\u2026then don\u2019t, I won\u2019t believe you!\u201d he spat at the woman.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sighing, Victoria stood up and crossed the room to the little serving table.\u00a0 There she poured each of them a cool glass of iced tea.\u00a0 With her back to Joe, who was now pacing the room like a caged animal, she opened a tiny vile and placed two drops of laudanum into the glass she then offered to Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHere, try this\u2026its iced tea\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI know what it is\u2026and I don\u2019t like iced tea\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria was quickly growing weary of Joe\u2019s attitude.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDrink it anyway, young man.\u00a0 It will make you feel better!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Always, or almost always respectful, Joe turned the glass up and down the contents.\u00a0 Minutes later he was seated in his chair, looking more dazed than before and paying little attention to what the woman was telling him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYour father and I\u2026well, we were very much in love, Joe\u2026and we\u2026well, we were planning on being married, but we couldn\u2019t wait.\u00a0 I loved your father dearly and he adored me.\u00a0 It was only weeks later that I discovered that I was with child\u2026his child\u2026you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u00a0 I don\u2019t understand\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh for heaven\u2019s sake, I was pregnant\u2026you do know what that means, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Embarrassed, Joe nodded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy father never told me about you and him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOf course he wouldn\u2019t\u2026just before you were born\u2026he met Marie\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy mother…\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026she is not your mother!\u00a0 I am your mother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s impossible\u2026and it\u2019s a lie\u2026my mother was a kind, sweet\u2026beautiful woman and she was\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cA tramp\u2026that\u2019s what Marie was\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t say that!\u201d shouted Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He tried to rise but the drug had taken affect and he felt weak and tired.\u00a0 All he wanted was to find his father and go home.\u00a0 A good night\u2019s rest in his own bed\u2026away from this horrible woman was what he needed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIts true, son\u2026I am your mother.\u00a0 Your father never intended for you to know.\u00a0 He waited until you were born\u2026I was sick\u2026it was a hard birth\u2026and your father and that woman came to my bedside and snatched you away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria moved to kneel at Joe\u2019s feet and took his hands into hers. Her eyes had misted with false tears, her chin cleverly trembled.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI never saw you again after that, until this afternoon when your sisters brought you to me.\u00a0 What your father did to me was awful.\u00a0 He stole my son\u2026he broke my heart by leaving me in disgrace and running away with that whore and taking you\u2026my precious little boy with them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026no\u2026\u201d Joe cried, shaking his head back and forth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He jerked his hands free and tried to push the woman away, but she refused to move.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a liar\u2026a bastard\u2026don\u2019t you see\u2026he\u2019s led you to believe that she was your mother\u2026but it was all a nasty, wicked evil lie\u2026I\u2019M YOUR MOTHER!\u00a0 DO YOU HEAR ME?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Frantic to distance himself from this raving lunatic, Joe shoved Victoria backwards, causing her to fall over in the floor.\u00a0 As he tried to flee, the lady tripped him, causing him to stumble and fall to the floor next to her.\u00a0 She reached out to grab him.\u00a0 As if in a drunken stupor, Joe tried to scramble away, staggering toward the door.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria push herself upright and got to her feet, following the boy.\u00a0 Joe had reached the door and was pulling and jerking on the handle, desperately trying to open the door.\u00a0 But it was locked and he was caught in her trap.\u00a0 Behind him, he heard the woman laugh.\u00a0 He spun around, she was coming right at him.\u00a0 All Joe could see of her face was the twisted, tormented expression and her eyes that glowered with hatred.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHE MADE ME THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE TOWN!!\u00a0 YOU ARE MY SON\u2026FROM THIS DAY FORWARD\u2026AND YOUR NAME IS PHILLIP PAQUETT\u2026\u201d her face was inches from his.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe\u2019s back was pressed to the door.\u00a0 Her hot breath burned in his face as he tried to push himself deeper into the woodwork.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria pressed an opened hand on the door on either side of Joe\u2019s head.\u00a0 She laughed wickedly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYour name is Phillip\u2026say it!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She slapped his right cheek, leaving a handprint.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy name is Phillip\u2026say it!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He felt the burning of his left cheek.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSay it\u2026or I shall lock you in the attic until you rot\u2026my name is Phillip\u2026say it!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe swallowed.\u00a0 Her face was becoming more and more distorted as the laudanum reached its total affect.\u00a0 He felt his back scraping down the wooden door as his body began to slip downward.\u00a0 His words were broken and slurred by the medication.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy name\u2026is\u2026Joe\u2026Joe Cartwright\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before she could strike him a third time, Joe crumbled into a ball, lying at the woman\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure about this, Pa?\u00a0 I mean Sacramento\u2026what makes you think them women would take Little Joe there?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJust something that Victoria said to me, years ago,\u201d explained Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd what was that?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben was toying with the conche that had once been on his youngest son\u2019s hatband.\u00a0 When he slipped it into his pocket, he looked up at Adam.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe told me once, a long time ago, that if she were ever to move west, Sacramento would be the place where she would love to live.\u00a0 She had seen a picture of the city in a book, she loved the old quaint houses\u2026the shops\u2026naturally it would be the most likely place for her to take Joe.\u00a0 Besides, she sent her two daughters to Virginia City, knowing that they would not be recognized, and knowing now what the plan was\u2026to kidnap Joe\u2026then she wouldn\u2019t be too far from her girls.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat makes sense,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cBut why not change their names\u2026why use their real names\u2026didn\u2019t they stop to think that if you heard the name, you would know who they were?\u00a0 What if Joe had heard the name\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019ve never mention her or her daughters to you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTrue\u2026but Victoria Paquett had no way of knowing that\u2026and neither did her daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, then, that was her second mistake!\u201d Ben said with a determined voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSecond mistake\u2026what was her first mistake, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben\u2019s eyes glowed with anger; his expression was unreadable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTaking my son!\u00a0 That was her first mistake!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam and Hoss nodded in agreement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOne thing I don\u2019t understand, Pa,\u201d stated Adam, \u201cyou haven\u2019t told us\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat might that be, son?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat was this woman to you\u2026and why kidnap Joe?\u00a0 What reason or reasons would she have?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The trio had camped for the night and now was sitting around the fire sipping coffee, each pondering the whereabouts of their missing loved one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMaybe I\u2019d better explain this to you,\u201d Ben said as he leaned forward and took the coffeepot from the fire and refilled his cup.\u00a0 He held the pot out, offering to fill the cups his sons held up for him.\u00a0 When he\u2019d finished, he placed the pot back on the flat rock in the center of the fire ring and leaned back against his bedroll.\u00a0 Ben cleared his throat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI met Victoria when I went to New Orleans to tell Marie about her husband\u2019s death.\u00a0 She was a friend\u2019s of Marie\u2019s at the time, but I didn\u2019t know that until later.\u00a0 Her husband, Louis Paquett had died a short time before, leaving her with two small daughters, Beth and Grace.\u00a0 I spent some time with Victoria and her daughters and I was growing very fond of all three of them.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I realized too late that Victoria was looking for a husband and a father for her children.\u00a0 One day, right after I met Joe\u2019s mother, Victoria proclaimed her love for me.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t totally surprised, in fact I felt flattered that she felt that way, but I had already been smitten with Marie and knew her to be the woman I would want to ask to marry me.\u00a0 When Victoria found out, she was enraged.\u00a0 She threatened to spread horrible lies about herself and I, she threatened to add fuel to the gossip that was already spreading around the city about Marie, if I didn\u2019t marry her.\u00a0 Well, naturally, I wasn\u2019t going to do that\u2026I didn\u2019t love her.\u00a0 Oh, I didn\u2019t mean to hurt her, but it was Marie that I loved and it was Marie that I wanted to spend my life with and Marie who I wanted for a mother for both of you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Again, Victoria vowed to ruin both Marie and myself.\u00a0 I had only one option, and that was to marry Marie as quickly as possible and leave New Orleans.\u00a0 Needless to say, you know the story about all that happened before I could leave the city, but by the time all that mess was straightened up\u2026Victoria had already stated new rumors\u2026damaging rumors,\u201d Ben explained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of rumors, Pa?\u201d Hoss inquired.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Both he and his brother were held spellbound by the accounts of their father\u2019s escapades of his time in New Orleans.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe began telling everyone who would listen to her, that I had promised to marry her\u2026that she was carrying my child, but that I had run off with another woman\u2026Marie.\u00a0 All of which were lies\u2026I was never intimate with that woman\u2026or with Marie like she claimed, until we were married.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen she had Joe kidnapped because\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBecause she promised to make me pay for rejecting her.\u00a0 She vowed to hurt us, Marie and myself, I mean.\u00a0 She said that one day I would regret not marrying her\u2026so\u2026she took Joseph, Marie\u2019s son\u2026away from me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam closed his eyes.\u00a0 Running through his mind was a mental picture of his little brother.\u00a0 On the boy\u2019s face, he saw all the hurt, the pain that this crazed, spiteful woman had caused.\u00a0 In his heart, Adam knew the woman would not only make his father pay, but would try to drive a wedge between the boy and his father as well.\u00a0 He sensed that Victoria Lussier Paquett would do all in her power to turn Little Joe against his own father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou know, don\u2019t you Pa, what she\u2019s going to try to do?\u201d Adam said, watching the play of emotions changing constantly on his father\u2019s tired, worried face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI suppose she hopes to turn the boy against me,\u201d Ben said and then took a sip of his coffee.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He tossed the remains into the dirt and set his cup on a rock close to the fire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d best get some sleep, we\u2019ve a long ride tomorrow,\u201d he said as he snuggled down into his bedroll and turned over, leaving his back to his sons.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When he closed his eyes, an image of his young son stood before him.\u00a0 It was as if the boy himself, were in reality, standing before him.\u00a0 Tears were rolling gently down the front of his son\u2019s face.\u00a0 Ben saw the boy\u2019s lips moving, forming a question, it consisted of only two words.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018Why, Pa?\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Ben squeezed his eyes tightly, forcing the image to go away.\u00a0 The sadness and the broken hearted expression that exhibited itself on the young face, was too much for the weary father to bear.\u00a0 His worst fears were smothering his heart.\u00a0 He knew if he didn\u2019t find his son soon, that woman might very well accomplish her deepest desire\u2026and that was to destroy him\u2026and his son in the process and in the worst of ways.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When Joe woke, it was dark in the room and musty smelling.\u00a0 It took several long seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light but when they had, he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the narrow cot where a bed had been made for him.\u00a0 It was several more moments before he felt strong enough to stand up. When he managed to do so, he crept toward the area where a ray of soft light had worked itself between the boards that had been nailed together in order to cover the only window in the tiny room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe tried to peer through the opening, but it was dark outside as well and the only thing visible was the ray of moonlight that shot down from the lunar planet overhead.\u00a0 He was locked in the attic, high above the ground on the third floor of the house.\u00a0 The woman had said he would be if he did not comply with her wishes, and obviously he had not, for wasn\u2019t he here now?\u00a0 Fresh fear gripped at the boy\u2019s hungry gut as he turned and pressed his back against the wall. It was then that he could make out the silhouette of the lamp sitting on a small table just a few feet away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Carefully feeling his way over to the table, he found a small box of matches and he quickly drew one from the container striking it across the tabletop.\u00a0 The tiny flame brought a welcomed glow into the otherwise dreary, depressing room.\u00a0 Joe removed the globe from the lamp and held the match to the wick, waiting for the wick to ignite and bring more light into the room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Joe made sure that the match was out, he spied a tray covered with a crisp white cloth covering whatever was beneath.\u00a0 Almost, as if his empty stomach knew, the instant that the cloth was removed and he spied the tray laden with fresh fruit and veggies, it growled, warning Joe that it had been a long time since his last meal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe licked his lips and picked up the bright red apple, biting down into it and instantly savoring the flavor.\u00a0 A silver cover was removed from its dish to reveal the potatoes and gravy that lay along side the generous serving of roast beef.\u00a0 Joe leaned down and sniffed the meal, the aroma was almost overpowering to the hungry young man.\u00a0 Joe pulled up the stool to the table and immediately began to devour the luscious meal; little did the boy know that it would be the last of plenty before the vicious, spiteful woman would begin to deny him even the basic essentials that would be needed to maintain life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With his hunger and thirst satisfied, Joe returned to the little cot and lay down.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t long before the boy was sleeping.\u00a0 It would be hours before he was to awaken again, this time the haunting memories of the conversation with his benefactor, to whom he was now solely dependant, would haunt even his daytime hours and become so intense at night as to prevent sleep from becoming a peaceful retreat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSacramento\u2019s an awfully big city, Pa.\u00a0 How\u2019s we gonna find Little Joe anyway?\u201d Hoss asked as they stood at the entrance of the main hotel building.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI have an old friend who is a sergeant on the police force here and one who is his deputy.\u00a0 As soon as we\u2019re settled in, I\u2019m going down to the station and have a talk with both, if possible.\u00a0 Sergeant Albert Clodomir came to Sacramento from New Orleans about five years after I brought Marie back to the ranch.\u00a0 We\u2019ve maintained a long distance friendship since then and I\u2019ve often visited with him and his family when I come here on business.\u00a0 He\u2019ll help us\u2026and I assure you, he will remember Victoria Lussier Paquett!\u201d Ben said with something of a smile tugging at his lips.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSo he knew her as well?\u201d Adam said, with a grin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSon\u2026by the time I left New Orleans\u2026everyone who was anyone, had heard of the vicious Victoria Paquett!\u00a0 Come on now, let\u2019s get settled in a room and have some lunch.\u00a0 I\u2019m anxious to have a talk with Al,\u201d Ben said as he led the way into the lobby of the hotel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not more than two hours later, Ben was standing in the station waiting for his friend to finish business.\u00a0 Ben saw the sergeant stop and speak with a man and then glance down the hallway at him.\u00a0 The man\u2019s face broke into a smile as he hurried forward to greet Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBen Cartwright, you old son of a gun\u2026what brings you to our fair city?\u201d Al said, shaking Ben\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBusiness\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI should have known\u2026well, how many silver contracts have you made\u2026or is it timber this time?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cCattle?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026something much more valuable than any mining or timber contract and certainly worth more to me than all the cattle combined\u2026no Al\u2026it\u2019s\u2026my youngest son.\u00a0 He\u2019s been kidnapped and I believe him to be somewhere within the city\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The sergeant was astonished.\u00a0 \u201cKidnapped you say?\u00a0 Why Ben\u2026and do you know by whom?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben\u2019s expression darkened and the transition did not go unnoticed by the observing officer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMaybe I should start at the beginning. Is there somewhere that we can speak in private?\u201d suggested Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Albert pointed to an office where the door stood opened.\u00a0 \u201cCertainly, lets go to my office.\u00a0 Right this way, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once inside the office, Albert took a seat behind his desk and motioned for Ben to sit down.\u00a0 Ben refused.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been riding for days\u2026better than a week really\u2026looking everywhere for my son,\u201d he explained.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve completely started over twice\u2026and I finally got my first lead.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of lead, Ben\u2026you didn\u2019t say, but do you have any clue as to who and why someone might want to take your son?\u00a0 Has there been a ransom note?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026no\u2026there\u2019s been no note and there won\u2019t be.\u00a0 The person who had my son taken did it for only one reason\u2026\u201d Ben glanced up at his friend.\u00a0 \u201cAnd that reason was to make me pay for something I\u2026didn\u2019t do\u2026almost sixteen years ago!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sergeant Clodomir seemed puzzled as he watched Ben pace around the room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m worried about what she might do to him and what she might say to him\u2026just to get back at me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2026she who, Ben?\u00a0 Who do you believe kidnapped your boy?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben stopped in front of the desk and leaned down, bracing his upper body by folding his fingers into tight fists and supporting himself on the desk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s only one woman I know daring enough to pull this off\u2026and that\u2019s\u2026Victoria Lussier Paquett\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy God!\u00a0 Ben\u2026you can\u2019t be serious?\u00a0 After all these years\u2026do you believe she would still follow through on that promise she made you\u2026way back then?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI certainly do\u2026the two young women that came to Virginia City and stayed only a matter of days was Vicki\u2019s two daughters\u2026oh\u2026they are all grown up now and very much in cahoots with their mother!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAre you positive?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely, I have witnesses\u2026and there\u2019s a young man that accepted $5,000 from them to lure my boy out to the place where they were staying\u2026he\u2019s admitted it to me!\u201d growled Ben, releasing some of the anger that had been brewing over the last couple of weeks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s incredible, Ben\u2026I\u2026can hardly believe any of it.\u00a0 Listen, please, sit down and start from the beginning\u2026I want to know everything.\u00a0 Wait\u2026\u201d he said as Ben took a chair.\u00a0 \u201cI want my Captain to hear this as well, excuse me for just a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s about it,\u201d Ben said, finishing the long tale about how his son became a missing person.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds, Mr. Cartwright, as if your assumption about your boy being in the city has merit.\u00a0 What our job is now is to aide you in finding him.\u00a0 Do you have any idea what part of the city this\u2026let me see now,\u201d the Captain said, hesitating long enough to look over his notes.\u00a0 \u201cThis woman\u2026Victoria Paquett\u2026do you have any thoughts or leads as to what part of the city she might be living in?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben sighed deeply, he missed the boy something terrible and longed to have his son back with him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026none whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBen\u2026\u201d Albert said, butting in on his friend\u2019s thoughts.\u00a0 \u201cI remember you telling me once that Vicki said she wanted a big house\u2026a mansion\u2026perhaps we should begin by finding out what houses have recently been vacated and then see if anyone new has moved into them.\u00a0 Over on the west side of town, there are some wonderful old homes.\u00a0 I can just see that woman strolling gracefully through the rooms\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not a bad idea, Sergeant,\u201d the Captain said respectfully.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Cartwright, unfortunately, there are very few homes of that grandeur in this section of town.\u00a0 Most of the old stately homes in this area have been turned into apartments or shops, so unless we fail to find something in the area that the Sergeant suggests, I wouldn\u2019t waste time looking here.\u00a0 I\u2019d begin immediately on the other side of town\u2026and I\u2019ll be very happy to offer you any kind of help you will need, including man power.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben stood to his feet and shook hands with both men.\u00a0 \u201cThank you\u2026both\u2026I knew I could depend on Albert here and sir,\u201d Ben said, addressing the Captain, \u201cI will be eternally grateful to you and your men for helping me find my son.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYour are most welcomed, sir.\u00a0 You be here about 8:00 AM tomorrow morning and we\u2019ll get started right away.\u00a0 If need be, we will go house to house until we find someone who knows something.\u00a0 You do have a photograph of the boy, I hope?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d answered Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He pulled the picture from the pocket of his vest where since the day that Joe had failed to come home, Ben had carried the photo next to his heart.\u00a0 He handed it to the Captain who took it and studied Little Joe\u2019s image.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got a very handsome youngster,\u201d he smiled at Ben.\u00a0 \u201cHe looks like a charmer, if you don\u2019t mind my saying so.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben looked down at the photograph.\u00a0 His heart leapt into his throat as he studied the likeness.\u00a0 A wave of love surged through his veins.\u00a0 At last he looked up, smiling.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2026Joseph is quite a charmer.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLET ME OUT!\u201d Joe shouted in a weak voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His fingers were folded into fists and were beating on the heavy door.\u00a0 The sides of his hands were split and blood oozed from the cuts, but he paid them no mind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It had been several days now since his delicious meal of roast beef and gravy.\u00a0 Day by day the size of the food portions had grown smaller and smaller until there was practically nothing at all on his plate.\u00a0 The lack of proper nourishment had left the boy in a weakened and often confused state of mind and body.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To add to his woes, his captor had stopped the laudanum and the withdrawals from the liquid opium had given him severe headaches and the weak trembles.\u00a0 His entire body shook now as he pleaded with anyone who might hear him, to let him out of the confining attic hideaway.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe rested his forehead against the back of the door.\u00a0 He had cried so long over the hellish days spent in the hot attic room that there were no more tears to form in his sad, lonely eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He pounded on the door again.\u00a0 \u201cPlease\u2026let\u2026me out!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His pleas fell on deaf ears.\u00a0 Down below, Victoria stood at the foot of the steps looking upward at the locked door.\u00a0 The house was quiet and she was alone, except for the boy.\u00a0 The servants had been given the day off and Beth had taken her sister out for the afternoon.\u00a0 There had been a musical show at the theater and the younger girl had been pleading with them to be allowed to see it.\u00a0 Finally realizing that it would be good to get the girls away from the boy\u2026for they were furious with her for locking him in the uppermost room.\u00a0 Little did her daughters know of the abuse he\u2019d suffered over the period of the last week, nor were they aware of how withered and emaciated the boy had become.\u00a0 It was hard for even Victoria to look upon the boy.\u00a0 But it served him right, she quickly chided herself for the moment of compassion she\u2019d felt for the kid.\u00a0 He was stubborn that was for certain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Slowly, Victoria climbed the steps to the attic.\u00a0 She stopped at the door and listened intently.\u00a0 She could barely hear the sounds coming from the other side.\u00a0 Somehow she knew the boy was still at the door.\u00a0Victoria pressed her ear against the cool wood.\u00a0 What she heard and the words she could make out made her smile.\u00a0 The boy seemed to be talking to himself and his words were exactly what she had been waiting to hear.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy\u2026Pa\u2026why\u2026did you\u2026lie?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria heard the boy start to sob.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s not my mother\u2026not Marie\u2026oh God\u2026Pa\u2026how could\u2026you do that\u2026to me?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe banged his fist against the door in total frustration.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026I\u2026hate you\u2026for what\u2026you\u2019ve done\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The boy\u2019s break down was complete.\u00a0 His thinking and even his emotions had been altered so that he was no longer able to think or feel in a rational manner.\u00a0 It was likely that not even his father or his brothers would recognize the boy, so changed in appearance had he become and so drastically twisted were his thoughts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A smile crept onto the woman\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cI wish you were here Ben Cartwright\u2026to hear your son speak so ill of you\u2026I\u2019d love to see the horror on your face\u2026I\u2019d love to see you begging your son to forgive you\u2026hahahahaa\u2026you deserve this you\u2026you\u2026bastard!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease\u2026\u201d begged the boy, \u201clet\u2026me\u2026out\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria clutched her fingers together in a joyful manner and pressed herself close to the door.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d she said just loud enough to be sure that the boy had heard.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There was a long pause, long enough so that the woman thought that perhaps the boy had crawled back to his bed and fell asleep\u2026or perhaps he had just given up on life completely and had died.\u00a0 Several more moments passed by and she was almost tempted to unlock the door and see for herself what had become of her special \u2018guest\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPhil\u2026Phillip\u2026Paq\u2026Paq\u2026I don\u2019t\u2026know,\u201d the whispered cry managed to reach her ears.\u00a0 \u201cPhillip\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd who is your mother?\u201d Victoria asked with a happy smile.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMar\u2026no\u2026not her\u2026she was\u2026a lie\u2026you are\u2026you are\u2026my mother\u2026\u201dcried Joe, his words broken and laden with sorrow.\u00a0 \u201cPlease\u2026unlock\u2026the door\u2026please!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Quickly the woman pulled out the key she kept in her breast pocket and unlocked the door.\u00a0 When she yanked it opened, she gasped loudly.\u00a0 The boy, looking nothing like his former self, fell into her arms.\u00a0 She had no other recourse but to grab him to keep him from falling.\u00a0 The stench coming from the room caused her to gag.\u00a0 The boy himself didn\u2019t smell much better so she hurried to pull the lad into the tiny hallway and shut and lock the door, all the while holding Joe upright supported by one arm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wishing she had not given the butler the night off, she practically had to drag the now unconscious boy down the flight of stairs.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s bare feet banged along each step.\u00a0 The noise sounded loud even to her ears.\u00a0At last she was on the second floor.\u00a0 Looking around, she decided to put the boy in the room next to hers.\u00a0 There was an adjoining door that separated the two rooms.\u00a0 That would make things more convenient when she was caring for what she now referred to as her son. Silently, she vowed that her son would make a speedy recovery.\u00a0 Once she was sure that his mind had been altered completely and that the boy now known as Phillip, would devote himself to her, she would allow Ben Cartwright one visit with his former son.\u00a0 She would see the hurt, the pain and grief that would mark her former admirer\u2019s heartbroken expression.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria laughed as she hauled the boy\u2019s body onto the bed.\u00a0 She made short work of stripping off the nasty, smelly clothes and placing a warm blanket over the body.\u00a0 Being sure that the boy was totally out, she hurried into the washroom that was on the second floor and quickly began heating water.\u00a0 She\u2019d bathe the boy herself, just this once and then in a few days, when Phillip had regained some strength, she would have the man servant help with putting the boy into the tub for a thorough cleansing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was at the top of her list to restore the boy to good health\u2026after that, she\u2019d kick him out to defend for himself.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t want him, he was Marie\u2019s son\u2026but she\u2019d be sure that the boy didn\u2019t want his father ever again, before she enforced the last step of her revenge.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria carried the last of the hot water into the room and began the dubious task of bathing the boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Only once did Phillip open his eyes.\u00a0 The far away look in his troubled eyes assured her that he had no conscience memory of what had transpired.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d she asked in a whispered voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Phillip tried to focus his eyes on the woman\u2019s face.\u00a0 He stared hard at her image, and then he made a tiny smile.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy mother\u2026\u201d he said, drifting off once more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAw\u2026dadburnit, Pa\u2026I bet we done knocked on fifty doors,\u201d grumbled Hoss who had found a bench along the sidewalk and had plopped down to rest his feet.\u00a0 \u201cAnd we ain\u2019t no closer to findin\u2019 Joe than we was before hand.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen we\u2019ll just have to knock on fifty more doors.\u00a0 I\u2019m not leaving here without my son.\u00a0 He\u2019s here, I just know he is\u2026\u201d Ben declared.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not giving up!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss had removed one boot and was rubbing his foot.\u00a0 He looked up at his father, noting the discouraged expression on his face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDangit, I ain\u2019t askin\u2019 ya to give up\u2026besides, I know you wouldn\u2019t\u2026all I\u2019m askin\u2019 is for a few minutes to rest.\u00a0 And I\u2019m hungry too, Pa\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben let the wind blow from his lungs and surprised his middle son with a smile.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Hoss\u2026of course you\u2019re hungry.\u00a0 We\u2019re all hungry.\u00a0 I saw a little caf\u00e9 back that way,\u201d he said pointing, \u201cWhy don\u2019t we go have some lunch?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYa mean it, Pa?\u201d Hoss said in a happier voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He pulled on his boot and stood up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI sure hope they have steak and taters\u2026these finger sandwiches we been surviving on ain\u2019t enough to keep me alive hardly.\u00a0 Why, I could get a dozen or more,\u201d he said laughing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben laughed as well.\u00a0 It had been such a long time since he had last laughed.\u00a0 He could barely even remember what it was that had caused him to do so.\u00a0 Shrugging his shoulders, he fell into step beside his son.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen we find your brother\u2026I\u2019ll buy you the biggest beef steak in town\u2026how is that?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat sounds just fine, Pa\u2026just fine!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBeth, I just don\u2019t understand why Mother would do such a thing,\u201d Grace complained.\u00a0 \u201cJoe is such a nice boy\u2026I can\u2019t believe she locked him in the attic, why I do declare, do you know just how hot it can get up there?\u00a0 And that\u2019s not all, sister, I asked Cook what she had been sending up on his tray\u2026and you want to know what she told me?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPractically nothing\u2026that\u2019s what she said.\u00a0 She whispered it to me too, she said Mother would lock her in an attic if she ever found out that Cook told me.\u00a0 I promised not to tell Mother if Cook would slip a little extra onto the boy\u2019s tray, but Cook said there was no way she could do that.\u00a0 Mother always came in to inspect the tray and she was the only one allowed to take the tray to Little Joe.\u00a0 Beth\u2026I swear\u2026I do believe that Mother has gone off the deep end\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh for heaven\u2019s sake, Gracie, don\u2019t be so dramatic!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not being dramatic.\u00a0 I\u2019m worried sick about her, Beth.\u00a0 All she talks about is her precious baby, Phillip and how that horrid couple snatched her baby from her and stole him away halfway across the county\u2026I\u2019m telling you Sarah Elizabeth\u2026Mother is losing it!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth set down her fork and took her sister\u2019s hand in hers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cEmily Grace\u2026that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard you say\u2026however…\u201d she added before Grace could deny the statement.\u00a0 \u201cI will agree with you that Mother has been acting rather strange the last few days, especially since she allowed Phillip<\/em> out of the attic.\u00a0 She explained to me why she was forced to lock him up\u2026that didn\u2019t make much sense to me either, but I suppose she had her reasons\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen you think she\u2019s losing it too, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t say that\u2026I only said that I find some of the things she does, a bit odd\u2026now please, finish your lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s this?\u201d the waitress asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis is fine, thank you,\u201d Adam answered, tipping his hat at the pretty young woman and causing her to blush.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be right back with your menus,\u201d she said as she turned to go.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The waitress returned promptly and took the men\u2019s orders.\u00a0 Ben looked around at the gathering of people who were sitting at the tables having lunch.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t looking for anyone in particular so he was surprised when he noticed the two young women sitting off to themselves at a corner table.\u00a0 For several moments, he watched the pair.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa, is something wrong?\u201d Adam asked after turning to see whom or what his father was so interested in.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben forced himself to return his attention back to his sons and the two men who Sergeant Clodomir had assigned to help them search for his missing boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDo you know those ladies?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben glanced again at the pair and shook his head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026I\u2019ve never seen them before,\u201d he answered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey sure is purty!\u201d grinned Hoss as he looked over at the pair.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHmmhumm,\u201d muttered Adam.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAll right you two, that will be enough!\u201d laughed Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The waitress had returned and began taking their orders.\u00a0 While Adam and Hoss ordered, Ben glanced again at the young women.\u00a0 Something about them continued to draw his attention causing him to fail to hear the waitress asking for his order.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat!\u201d he snapped and then, realizing he sounded angry, apologized.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I\u2019ll have a steak as well\u2026and potatoes, please,\u201d he told the waitress.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When he looked again toward the corner table, the two women had gone.\u00a0 Quickly, Ben scanned the room, spying the two ladies near the cloakroom where they had stopped to pick up their coats.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He watched as they slipped them on and started toward the door.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cExcuse me,\u201d he addressed the waitress.\u00a0 \u201cBut by any chance, do you know those two young ladies that are standing near the door, they\u2019ve stopped to speak to that gentleman?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The waitress turned so that she could plainly see the pair in question.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss and even the two deputies turned to look that direction as well.\u00a0 Each man waited anxiously for the waitress\u2019 reply.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026I\u2019m sorry, I don\u2019t know who they are, but I do know that they are fairly new in town,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI know who they are,\u201d a gentleman server announced after hearing Ben\u2019s question.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When all eyes turned to him, he blushed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, I mean\u2026I don\u2019t actually know them, I just know about them,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTell us,\u201d Adam ordered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re sisters, I know that much.\u00a0 And they live with their mother over on 23rd<\/sup> street, that\u2019s just a couple of blocks over.\u00a0 They\u2019re not from around here\u2026or at least the mother isn\u2019t, she talks funny\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean, she talks funny?\u201d Ben said, curious about what this young man was telling them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t mean anything bad\u2026I just meant that she has an accent.\u00a0 I waited on them once when they came in for dinner\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI see,\u201d Ben said flatly.\u00a0 \u201cDo you happen to know who their mother is\u2026what her name might be?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The waiter thought for several seconds and then shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry sir\u2026I don\u2019t know her name, but the girls\u2026well, I tried asking the youngest one out on a date, but the older one insisted that her sister not go, she gave some lame excuse about not staying in town for long, something about they had to get back to\u2026hmm\u2026where was it\u2026oh\u2026I remember, she said they would be leaving soon for home.\u00a0 When I asked her where her home was, she said New Orleans.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You could have heard a pin drop it became so quiet at the table where five men sat open-mouthed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMa\u2019am,\u201d said Ben. He pulled his billfold from his vest pocket and took out several bills.\u00a0 \u201cPlease\u2026take this and if you would, cancel our order\u2026we won\u2019t be staying.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh\u2026well, yes sir.\u00a0 But\u2026is it me?\u00a0 I mean I can get you another waitress\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, no, my dear, it\u2019s just that\u2026well, something has come up and I need to take care of it immediately, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Ben explained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He turned to the others.\u00a0 \u201cCome on\u2026we\u2019re going to follow those girls\u2026if my hunch is correct\u2026those are the young ladies that lured your brother away\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The five men split into groups.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss walked along on the opposite side of the sidewalk from where the two young women were walking.\u00a0 Ben and the two officers strolled together behind the girls acting as if it were an everyday thing to be out on a sunny afternoon stroll.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The two unsuspecting ladies laughed and chatted the entire time.\u00a0 The older woman seemed to be pointing out different objects along the way and then the pair would engage in conversation totally unaware that they were being followed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After a couple of blocks, the girls turned off the main street.\u00a0 Ben motioned for Adam and Hoss to continue walking while he and the two officers, dressed in street clothes, followed the two ladies.\u00a0 They passed several large, elegant homes before stopping in front of one home that could be classified as a mansion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The house was nothing like what Ben could imagine himself or his sons living in, but the thought of Victoria Paquett being mistress of this home was something to consider.\u00a0 It suited her; it was definitely the style of house that she had once told him she hoped to own.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben held his hand out, stopping the two men.\u00a0 He watched the girls, unobserved, and when they turned to walk up the wide, flowered walkway, he followed.\u00a0 Coming down the opposite side of the street he could see Adam and Hoss hurrying in his direction.\u00a0 They waited until his sons joined them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis is the house,\u201d Ben said in a near whispered voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure, Pa?\u00a0 I\u2019d hate to bust into the wrong place\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m positive.\u00a0 Now listen, you and Hoss and one of the officers stay down here, on the curb.\u00a0 James here will go with me.\u00a0 Once we\u2019re inside the house, give us ten minutes and then the three of you follow us.\u00a0 It\u2019s a big house, and there\u2019s no telling just where your brother might be\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAlright, Pa\u2026just be careful\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben smiled and placed a hand on each shoulder of both boys.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI will\u2026and with any luck, we\u2019ll have the boy back with us in a very short time.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He turned to go.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGood luck,\u201d Adam called.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat goes for me too, Pa!\u201d Hoss added.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The two young women had already entered the house and the front door was closed.\u00a0 Ben glanced at the officer and then knocked on the door.\u00a0 The door was opened almost immediately by one of the women whom they had followed.\u00a0 She smiled warmly at the strangers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d Grace smiled, greeting the gentlemen, \u201cMay I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHello,\u201d Ben said in his warmest voice.\u00a0 His face bore a friendly smile.\u00a0 Inside, his stomach was churning.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m looking for an old friend of mine, and I was told she might live here,\u201d Ben explained politely.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, I don\u2019t know\u2026who is your friend?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s at the door, Gracie?\u201d called a voice from deep within the house.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben\u2019s heart rate suddenly went berserk.\u00a0 Gracie or Grace, he knew to be the name of one of the young women who had played a major role in kidnapping his son.\u00a0 This beautiful young woman standing before him was Victoria\u2019s daughter, of that he was sure\u2026and somewhere deep within the bowels of this massive house, was his beloved son.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJust a couple of gentlemen, Mother,\u201d Grace called and then turned back to the two men.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u2026who were you looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019ve just found her,\u201d Ben said, pushing his way into the house.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Frightened, Grace backed up, drawing her fists up to her chest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWho are you?\u00a0 What do you want?\u201d she said in a trembling voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben held his hand out to the girl to comfort her, but Grace pulled back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease,\u201d said Ben, \u201cI mean you no harm\u2026honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen get out!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNot until I get what I came for,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat on earth would that be?\u00a0 We don\u2019t even know you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDoes the name, Ben Cartwright, mean anything to you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben saw the girl\u2019s eyes widened in horror.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSweet Jesus,\u201d she muttered.\u00a0 \u201cMOTHER!!\u00a0 MOTHER!!\u00a0 COME QUICKLY!!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The shouts brought Adam and Hoss running up the walk and into the entrance foyer where their father and James were standing before a near hysterical young woman.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026what\u2019s going on\u2026did you find Little Joe?\u201d Adam asked in a rush of words.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, well, well!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n All eyes turned to see the elegant woman causally strolling down the long winding staircase.\u00a0 Victoria\u2019s gown was chic though a bit daring for the afternoon.\u00a0 But not one could deny the fact that the woman was remarkably beautiful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBen Cartwright,\u201d she said with a slight smirk.\u00a0 \u201cSomehow\u2026I knew you\u2019d find me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou presumed correctly.\u00a0 I admit, it wasn\u2019t easy at first\u2026but after I found out that you paid a young man\u2026a friend of my son\u2019s\u2026$5,000 to lure him into a trap\u2026I knew that if it took me the rest of my life\u2026I\u2019d find you\u2026and my son.\u00a0 Now where is he?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria stood on the last step of the staircase, flanked on both sides by her daughters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes you so sure he\u2019s here?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think, Victoria, I know,\u201d Ben said in a deep voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He was fighting to maintain his composure.\u00a0 Adam was looking around at all the doors that led to different rooms.\u00a0 He tapped Ben on the shoulder.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJust say the word, Pa\u2026and Hoss and I will tear this place apart!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, just say the word,\u201d echoed the big man.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHold on, Mr. Cartwright,\u201d one of the deputies said as he put a restraining hand on Adam\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t just bust in here and start tearing things apart\u2026that\u2019s against the law\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cKidnappin\u2019s against the law too,\u201d Hoss declared.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The angered young man started to cross the room, but Ben stopped him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, Hoss\u2026he\u2019s right\u2026we\u2019ll get a search warrant.\u201d\u00a0 Ben glared at Victoria.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll be back\u2026and if you have harmed my son in any way\u2026I\u2019ll see you pay for what you\u2019ve done\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t threaten me, Ben Cartwright.\u00a0 You don\u2019t scare me\u2026not any more!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben moved closer to the step.\u00a0 He\u2019d like nothing better than to put his hands about her lily-white throat and squeeze the life out of her until she confessed as to where she had hidden away his son.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t make threats, Vicki\u2026I make promises\u2026you should know that!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow dare you come into my home and threaten me\u2026get out\u2026GET OUT!\u201d she screamed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll go\u2026but remember, I\u2019ll be back\u2026and if my son is in this house\u2026I will find him!\u201d stormed Ben as he turned to leave.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa!\u201d Hoss said in a rambling voice.\u00a0 \u201cWe can\u2019t leave here without Little Joe\u2026JOE!\u00a0 JOE\u2026WHERE ARE YA BOY!!\u201d he screamed at the top of his voice.\u00a0 \u201cJOE!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHoss\u2026stop it\u2026stop that right this minute!\u201d demanded Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He grabbed his son by the arm and practically dragged him from the house.\u00a0 Out on the porch, Hoss pulled free of the vise like fingers that held his arm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt ain\u2019t right, Pa!\u201d he stormed.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s in there\u2026I know he is\u2026and I aim on gettin\u2019 him out\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh no you don\u2019t, not like that you aren\u2019t!\u00a0 We\u2019ll do it legally, and when we find Little Joe\u2026that woman and her daughters will pay for what they\u2019ve done\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben stomped off the porch and took the arm of one deputy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI want you to go straight back to the station and get us a search warrant, do you understand?\u00a0 My sons and I will wait for you\u2026at that restaurant where we saw the girls.\u00a0 And please hurry\u2026I want my son out of that house tonight!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes sir, Mr. Cartwright\u2026you just be sure to keep your sons away from that house though, until we come back!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey will do as I say\u2026won\u2019t you?\u201d he growled at Hoss and gave Adam a warning look as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss hung his head.\u00a0 His lips puckered, but he nodded in agreement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes sir,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss glanced up at the two deputies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut if\u2019n ya ain\u2019t back here by seven, I\u2019m tearing the walls down in that house, if\u2019n I hav\u2019ta.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd I\u2019ll help him,\u201d Adam spoke up to say.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben gave his sons another warning look and turned back to the officers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d best hurry, I\u2019ll hold them off as long as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAlright, Mr. Cartwright\u2026it may take a while to obtain a warrant, it has to be signed by the judge\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI understand,\u201d Ben assured the man.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Minutes later, Ben, Hoss and Adam sat at a table at the little sidewalk caf\u00e9 where they had stopped to get lunch, but had declined the meal in lieu of following the girls.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026I\u2019m sorry for what I done,\u201d Hoss said meekly.\u00a0 \u201cI know Joe\u2019s in that house\u2026I just know it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI understand son\u2026and I too, believe that Joe\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben placed his hand on top of Hoss\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll find him, Hoss\u2026I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI know we will, Pa\u2026it\u2019s just\u2026well\u2026me and Joe\u2026we\u2019re\u2026\u201d Hoss made a sniffling sound.\u00a0 His blue eyes were clouded with dampness when he looked up at his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s alright son, we understand, don\u2019t we Adam?\u201d he stated, turning to his eldest son for support.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOf course we do, Hoss\u2026I feel the same way about the boy.\u00a0 I always have\u2026we\u2019ll get in there and we\u2019ll take Joe out\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI hope so,\u201d muttered Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cBut I got a feelin\u2019 in my gut that tells me\u2026it ain\u2019t gonna be easy!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk to him,\u201d Joe grumbled.\u00a0 \u201cHe lied to me\u2026all my life, he\u2019s lied!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He was still confined to the bed.\u00a0 His appearance was improved, but he still lacked the healthy glow of youth that had been so dominant before being taken as Victoria\u2019s prisoner and transformed into her son.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria sat down on the bed, next to the boy and gently caressed his cheek.\u00a0 Her voice was low and dripping with emotion, all for Joe\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI know my darling\u2026but all that\u2019s over now.\u00a0 And I won\u2019t let him take you away from me again.\u00a0 Phillip, look at me,\u201d she said as she tipped Joe\u2019s chin upward and turned his head so that he was forced to look into her eyes.\u00a0 They magically filled with tears.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou have to tell him, son\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if he won\u2019t listen?\u00a0 What if he tells me I still have go with him?\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to go away with him, I want to stay here\u2026with you\u2026and my sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria smiled.\u00a0 \u201cThen you shall,\u201d she said, rising from the bed and turning toward the door.\u00a0 \u201cI will allow him to see you, but only long enough for you tell him how you feel and then he will be asked to leave, if he doesn\u2019t, I will have the officers that are with him, physically remove him and his sons.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe lowered his head slightly.\u00a0 \u201cAlright then\u2026but\u00a0 Mama\u2026you won\u2019t leave me alone with him, will you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh Phillip, of course not, not if you really want me to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria was glowing on the inside.\u00a0 It had been a long time coming\u2026her revenge of Ben Cartwright.\u00a0 The day had finally arrived and she was going to be witness to his heartbreak.\u00a0 Anticipation fueled her rapid heartbeat.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t been this excited about anything in years!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll send him right in; the sooner you have your say, the sooner he\u2019ll be asked to leave!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria hurried from the room and literally floated down the long winding staircase.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben, Adam, Hoss and the two officers were waiting in the foyer.\u00a0 Victoria paused long enough to catch her breath and steady her trembling hands before entering.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Paquett, I have a search warrant here that is signed by the judge that gives us the right to search the premises for Mr. Cartwright\u2019s son\u2026\u201d one officer was explaining.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s no need for that.\u00a0 I\u2019ll show Mr. Cartwright where the boy is.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen he is here!\u201d Ben said with a heavy sigh of relief.\u00a0 \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ben, Phillip\u2026as he prefers to call himself now\u2026is here.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to talk to you, but I convinced him that he should.\u00a0 Afterwards\u2026it is his desire to remain here\u2026with me and his sisters\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSisters?\u00a0 What in blazes are you talking about\u2026Joseph has no sisters\u2026and why on earth would he want to call himself Phillip?\u201d Ben demanded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBecause that is the name I gave him when he was born\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoe ain\u2019t your son, lady\u2026he\u2019s Pa\u2019s\u2026and he ain\u2019t got no sisters, just me and Adam here\u2026ain\u2019t that right, Pa?\u201d Hoss explained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOf course it\u2019s right\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMr. Cartwright, are you sure\u2026this Phillip is actually, your son?\u201d the officer, confused, looked from the gentleman to the lady who both claimed that the boy was theirs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOf course I\u2019m sure\u2026and I\u2019m also sure that this\u2026this\u2026woman IS NOT my son\u2019s mother.\u00a0 Joseph was born on my ranch\u2026the Ponderosa\u2026not in New Orleans\u2026I have no idea what she has told my son!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben pushed his way around Victoria.\u00a0 His eyes were tiny slits that glowed dangerously dark and were filled with loathing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI want to see my son right now!\u201d he demanded in a commanding voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He took Vicki\u2019s arm and practically hauled the woman, who laughed lightly, up the stairs.\u00a0 She paused at the door.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPhillip has asked that I remain with him while he speaks to you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben gave the woman a daring glare as he pushed the door opened and entered the room.\u00a0 If he had been expecting to be greeted with open arms, he soon learned that was not the case.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe was sitting up in bed but is head was leaning back against the pillows.\u00a0 He barely glanced up as his father and brothers moved closer to the bed.\u00a0 Hoss glanced at Adam, taken back by the cold expression on his little brother\u2019s face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben noted the narrowed eyes so filled with venom that it caused his heart to skip a beat\u2026no\u2026more than one beat, several.\u00a0 The change in his son was astonishing for the boy looked nothing like his former self.\u00a0Gone was the happy twinkle from the hazel eyes, which now bore dark circles.\u00a0 The once sun bronzed face was now pale and the rosy cheeks were no longer visible but were sunken in as if the boy had gone days without eating.\u00a0 If he had been troubled and worried before finding his son, the anxious father was more so now than ever before.\u00a0 He felt heartsick and suddenly an awful dread washed over him that he couldn\u2019t shake.\u00a0 Something warned him that his son had been forever changed.\u00a0 Ben glanced at the woman who stood on the opposite side of the bed and saw Joe turn his head and look up into the woman\u2019s face.\u00a0 When the boy reached for the woman\u2019s hand, Ben\u2019s stomach turned upside down.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph?\u201d he said softly, making his way to the bed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The boy turned and looked up at the man.\u00a0 Ben smiled at his son, but the boy only looked away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMy name is Phillip,\u201d he said after a brief silence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben glared at the woman, who only smiled in return.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy do you call yourself Phillip?\u00a0 Your mother and I named you Joseph\u2026Joseph Francis to be exact.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026she wasn\u2019t my mother!\u201d Joe said sternly as he at last turned and glared at the man who wore a stunned expression on his face.\u00a0 \u201cShe was a lie\u2026just a lie,\u201d Joe said in an extremely low voice that expressed the hurt he was feeling.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026Joseph, listen to me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u00a0 So you can tell me more lies?\u201d spat Joe.\u00a0 \u201cYou lied to me, Pa\u2026all my life you told me that she <\/em>was my mother\u2026but she wasn\u2019t\u2026she helped you to steal me away from my real mother!\u00a0 This is my real mother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a lie, Little Joe,\u201d Hoss quickly said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He stepped up to the side of the bed and glared down at his younger brother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what this here woman\u2019s been tellin\u2019 ya\u2026but I know for a fact that she ain\u2019t ya ma\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve lied too, Hoss\u2026and you Adam!\u201d Joe growled.\u00a0 \u201cAll of you\u2026even Hop Sing\u2026I wasn\u2019t born on the Ponderosa\u2026I was born in New Orleans\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph, that\u2019s not true\u2026I have proof\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShow me!\u201d Joe dared his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben was caught off guard by the statement.\u00a0 \u201cSon\u2026I don\u2019t have it with me\u2026it\u2019s at home\u2026I\u2019ll show you when we get back\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe stared hard at his father.\u00a0 Ben was sickened by the near hate he saw in the boy\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going with you\u2026I\u2019m staying here\u2026with my mother!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria made the mistake of snickering softly, because it pushed Ben to stand to his feet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s not your mother, and you\u2019re not staying here\u2026do you understand me!\u201d he stated firmly, speaking to Joe but keeping his eyes on the woman.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He\u2019d never hit a woman before in his life, but he\u2019d sure as hell like to hit one now, he thought.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Joe said with as much determination as he could muster.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Inside he felt as if he were dying.\u00a0 He cast his sad eyes up to look at his father, and the expression on the senior Cartwright\u2019s face was tearing his heart out.\u00a0 He\u2019d always put so much faith and trust in his father\u2026it had destroyed him, turned his world upside down to find out that for all of his life, his father had lied to him about his birth, about his mother\u2026he could only wonder what else his father had lied to him about.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben was devastated by Joe\u2019s refusal to return home with him.\u00a0 He rounded the bed and grabbed Victoria by both arms.\u00a0 His fingers squeezed hard, making the woman suck in a gulp of air to fill her lungs and to keep from crying out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how you\u2019ve convinced him of these lies, but lies they are!\u201d stormed Ben.\u00a0 \u201cNow you tell him the truth\u2026you tell him that the child you gave birth to, died\u2026the night that Joe\u2019s mother\u2026Marie\u2026and I came to pay our respects to you and to tell you that we were leaving for my home in Nevada\u2026TELL HIM!\u201d shouted Ben, shoving the woman down on the side of the bed next to Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria laughed.\u00a0 The sound was strange and ugly and all eyes were fixed on the woman\u2019s distorted face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh, Ben\u2026you\u2019re such a fool!\u201d she taunted.\u00a0 \u201cI promised you sixteen years ago that I\u2019d get even with you and look at you now!\u00a0 Your own son hates you\u2026he can\u2019t even stand to look at your damn face!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The laughter continued and grew more evil.\u00a0 Beth and Grace had joined the men in the room.\u00a0 Grace was shaking with fear and Beth stood with her arm about the younger girl\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe is my son\u2026\u201d she bragged.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph Cartwright never existed except in your mind\u2026he\u2019s Phillip Paquett and he\u2019s mine\u2026do you understand?\u00a0 I can prove that I gave birth to him!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria leaned down over Joe, who had turned away from his father and brothers and now had eyes only for the woman who claimed to be his mother.\u00a0 She cradled his face in her hands, and then ran her fingers through the thick, curly chestnut locks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen our son was born, Benjamin, he had a small red birthmark on the back of his head, right at the hairline.\u00a0 It was shaped like a strawberry\u2026am I right?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow should I know\u2026we never had a child together\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMore lies, Benjamin\u2026Have you forgotten\u2026you pointed it out to me, right after Phillip was born.\u00a0 And you called it \u2018stork tracks\u2019, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben swallowed.\u00a0 He did remember telling Vicki that her son had little bright red marks on the back of his head\u2026but a lot of babies do, even Joseph had them\u2026Ben stopped suddenly and looked down at the boy.\u00a0Joe had moved his eyes upward and was watching his expression, waiting for an answer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria turned to the officers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou can look\u2026the same birthmark is still there\u2026it hasn\u2019t changed, it hasn\u2019t somehow mysteriously vanished,\u201d she assured them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n James started toward the bed, but Ben held his hand out to stop him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no need to look\u2026\u201d he said in a broken voice.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s there, just like she said\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa!\u201d Adam said, startled and confused by what his father\u2026sounded\u2026like he was admitting.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben, his head low, glanced over at Adam and Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s alright, son,\u201d he said to Adam, \u201cshe\u2019s telling the truth\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe sucked in a gulp of air and let out a soft moan.\u00a0 Ben hurried to sit down beside him on the bed, but Joe looked away, unable to meet the probing eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph\u2026you have the same birthmark\u2026many babies, when they are born, bear \u2018stork tracks\u2019, most of the time, they go away\u2026yours didn\u2019t.\u00a0 But that doesn\u2019t prove that you are her son\u2026you are not\u2026\u201d he explained.\u00a0 \u201cYou are my son and Marie\u2019s son\u2026nobody else\u2019s.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss are your brothers\u2026you have no sisters because this woman is NOT your mother.\u00a0 Joe\u2026please, you have to believe me\u2026I\u2019ve never lied to you\u2026ever and I\u2019m not lying to you now.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how she managed to convince you of such things, but they are false\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe turned his head just enough so that he could see his father\u2019s face.\u00a0 It was as it had always been, in the depth of the dark wells of his father\u2019s eyes he could see the love that had always been there for him.\u00a0Suddenly his own eyes filled with tears.\u00a0 Something from deep within himself wanted to believe this man, wanted to trust him as he had always done in the past\u2026but yet\u2026could he?\u00a0 She had been so convincing\u2026telling him things about his father that only a woman who had loved a man deep enough to conceive a child with him, even out of wedlock, could possibly know.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For weeks now, his mind had been boggled, his head had pounded and it had been she\u2026the one who called herself mother\u2026who had been at his side, who had whispered softly into his pounding head.\u00a0 Victoria had hummed and sang softly, soothing him so that he could sleep.\u00a0 And when nightmares had disturbed his slumber, she had been the one who answered his cries \u2026she had been the one to\u2026to\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe squeezed his eyes tightly\u2026somehow the picture of this woman became distorted and in his mind, he saw another woman.\u00a0 The other woman looked very much like the first, but she was hitting him\u2026screaming at him\u2026calling him names.\u00a0 She deprived him of food\u2026she offered very little of something to drink.\u00a0 He remembered his mouth being so dry that he could barely speak.\u00a0 Joe glanced down at his hands\u2026they hurt, yet he could see nothing there to make them hurt.\u00a0 Somewhere in the house, he heard a door slam\u2026and then it all came flooding back to him.\u00a0 She had slammed another door\u2026a door that had kept him locked away\u2026in a little room.\u00a0 He had pounded with his fists\u2026he had begged and pleaded for the door to be unlocked, yet it had not.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The room was small and musty.\u00a0 Oft as not, it was unbearably hot during the day and cold at night. He shivered thinking about it, he felt the fear anew\u2026he was back in the darkness for there had been no window to speak of\u2026no other way out of the room except through the lone door, and she kept that locked.\u00a0 He could hear her whispering now\u2026just on the other side\u2026 \u2018what is your name\u2026what is you name?\u00a0 Who am I\u2026who am I\u2026.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His visions were suddenly gone.\u00a0 Someone was talking to him.\u00a0 The voice was familiar; the face haunted his memory, tugged at his sub-conscious.\u00a0 He turned toward the voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cListen little buddy,\u201d Adam said as he kneeled down at the head of Joe\u2019s bed.\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2019s telling you the truth; I was there when you were born.\u00a0 In fact, I had to fetch Dr. Martin for your mother, your real mother,\u201d he stressed, giving the woman a sharp look.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoe\u2026I held Marie\u2019s hand while we waited for the doctor to arrive.\u00a0 He had been on a call and I had to hurry back, Pa was away at the time and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd I stayed with Mama while Adam went lookin\u2019 for the doc, Joe\u2026honest Shortshanks\u2026we was there with her\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd Pa barely made it home before you were born.\u00a0 Hoss and I were scared silly\u2026the way she cried out\u2026the pain she went through\u2026Joe\u2026this woman here has filled your head with lies.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNO! YOU\u2019RE LYING NOW\u2026!\u201d shouted Victoria as she shoved Adam aside and knelt down, close to Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re lying my darling\u2026my precious little boy\u2026they\u2019re lying!\u201d wept Victoria.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beth stepped up to the bed totally confused by everything she was hearing.\u00a0 She pulled her mother upright and held her close.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMother please\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Angered, Victoria pulled away, looking down at Joe.\u00a0 She suddenly turned to the officer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI want these people out of my house\u2026NOW!\u201d she shouted at him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNO!\u201d Ben stormed, \u201cnot without my son!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHE\u2019S NOT YOUR SON\u2026HE\u2019S MINE!\u201d screamed Vicki.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMr. Cartwright\u2026\u201d James stammered.\u00a0 \u201cI think this is a matter for the courts to decide.\u00a0 Perhaps you and your sons had better go\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNO\u2026I\u2019m not leaving here without my boy!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGET OUT!\u201d the woman shouted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was obvious that she bordered on hysteria.\u00a0 She lay across Joe\u2019s body, shielding him from the family he had just denied, protecting him\u2026willing him to be her son, to stay with her\u2026to love her\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n James and the other officer each took an arm and began pulling Ben from the room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMr. Cartwright\u2026I\u2019m not sure whose child this is, but I think you\u2019d best go, sir,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNO!\u201d screamed Ben as he tried to pull away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He glanced back over his shoulder; the crazed woman had hidden his son away in a hug.\u00a0 He could see Joe trying to push her away, trying to call out to him, but the officers pulled and jerked him along with them until he could no longer see his son.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJOSEPH!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026stop!\u201d Adam demanded, fighting at the arms that grabbled for the boy.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll come back, Pa\u2026listen to me!\u00a0 Stop struggling\u2026we will get him out of there\u2026I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Upstairs, Joe had finally broken free of the woman\u2019s mad embrace.\u00a0 He struggled to get out of the bed, fighting against her hands that seemed determine to keep him from getting up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHelp me you little fools!\u201d Victoria screamed at the girls.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They were too stunned to move, too paralyzed with fear to do as they were instructed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe had his feet on the floor and used his upper body to push the woman away from him.\u00a0 Somehow, he managed to get to the window.\u00a0 He tried to push it opened, but it was either locked or stuck.\u00a0 Down below, he saw his father being led away by the officers.\u00a0 His brothers were walking slowly behind.\u00a0 They were getting into a carriage\u2026Joe pounded on the window\u2026beating the glass until it was sure to break and cut his hands.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPA!\u00a0 PA!\u201d he bellowed.\u00a0 \u201cDON\u2019T LEAVE ME!!\u00a0 COME BACK\u2026COME BACK!\u201d wailed the boy, sobbing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The five men were in the carriage.\u00a0 Joe saw it lurch and then begin moving forward, taking his family further and further away from him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The sobbing boy leaned his forehead against the cool glass.\u00a0 It was several moments before he heard the hideous laughter behind him.\u00a0 He spun around.\u00a0 Victoria was doubled up; her sadistic laughter rang hollow in the quiet room.\u00a0 Joe became very subdued.\u00a0 The two girls moved to his side, frightened at the horrific change that had come over their mother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Victoria stepped closer to the trio, noting the frightened expressions on each face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou little fools,\u201d she spat at them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMother\u2026please\u2026what is wrong with you!\u201d cried Beth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s crazy,\u201d muttered Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His statement caused Victoria to laugh louder.\u00a0 Unexpectedly she stopped suddenly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou little bastard!\u201d she screamed, surprising him by slapping his face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe groaned as his head snapped to one side.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow dare you!\u201d she shouted and slapped the other side of his face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMama\u2026don\u2019t!\u201d yelled Grace who tried to place herself between the boy and the irate woman.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGET OUT OF MY WAY!\u201d bellowed Victoria as she grabbed the young girl by the arm and flung her to the floor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace shrieked as her head hit the corner of the table.\u00a0 Silence filled the room, as each one looked down at the girl whose head was now showing blood.\u00a0 Beth screamed and raced to her sister, leaving the mother to turn her wrath on the frightened boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Completely out of control, the crazed woman began beating the boy with her fists.\u00a0 Trained to perfection to respect women\u2026Joe did nothing but try to protect him self.\u00a0 He tried to see the girls but with the woman pounding his face and arms, his chest, his mid-section\u2026he could do nothing.\u00a0 Then, when he had covered his head, the hammering fists stopped.\u00a0 Joe chanced a peek, but it was the wrong thing to do, it left him wide opened for the vase that she crashed down on the top of his head.\u00a0 Instantly, everything went black as the battered young man sank to the floor, unconscious.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When Joe came to, he found himself lying on the floor.\u00a0 As his eyes slowly began to focus, he saw that he was once again locked in the attic prison.\u00a0 Softly, he groaned and pushed himself up right, waiting for his head to clear.\u00a0 Once on his feet, Joe staggered to the door.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNooo!\u201d he screamed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The door was locked.\u00a0 Down below, on the ground floor, he barely made out the sounds of someone shouting.\u00a0 Then there was a scream, a piteous unmistakable plea for help.\u00a0 Joe recognized the voice; it was the older daughter, Beth.\u00a0 She screamed again.\u00a0 Frantic to be out of the hideaway, Joe jerked on the door, but it refused to open.\u00a0 He began beating on it with his fists.\u00a0 Far beneath him, more screams echoed up the staircase and reached his ears.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLET ME OUT!\u00a0 LET ME OUT!\u201d he shouted at the top of his lungs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Several times more, Joe shouted to be released.\u00a0 His voice grew hoarse, this throat hurt and his eyes filled with tears.\u00a0 Victoria was laughing hysterically.\u00a0 The screams had stopped.\u00a0 Joe could only wonder at what had happened, what misery had that wicked mother succeeded in accomplishing.\u00a0 Was Beth hurt?\u00a0 Grace had been, her mother had turned on her like a fierce, half crazed animal caught in a trap.\u00a0 Joe suddenly became afraid for the two young women, scared that Grace might be injured more than just having been knocked to the floor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBETH!\u201d yelled Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He pressed his ear to the door; someone was coming up the stairs.\u00a0 When the key sounded in the lock, Joe backed up, waiting for the person on the other side to free him.\u00a0 The heavy wooden door was shoved opened, slamming against the wall behind.\u00a0 Joe gasped, Victoria stood before him, covered in blood.\u00a0 In one hand she held a long, thin bladed knife.\u00a0 The expression on her face was evil and distorted.\u00a0 Joe backed up, his eyes never leaving her face or the hand that held the threatening weapon.\u00a0 He swallowed, willing away his fear.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat have you done?\u201d he questioned, using a voice that he hoped did not tremble when he spoke.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe tried to get to you\u2026\u201d the demented woman said in a husky voice.\u00a0 She laughed, a mean, twisted sort of laugh that caused Joe to swallow again.\u00a0 As Victoria advanced, Joe stepped back, until there was no more room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The woman lunged at him with the knife, Joe ducked under her arm in an effort to get away, but the point of the sharp knife jabbed into his left shoulder.\u00a0 Joe instantly felt the stabbing pain and screamed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the woman raised her arm to make another jab at him, Joe managed to shove the woman away.\u00a0 She staggered back and forth, nearly falling but giving Joe the time he needed to flee the attic.\u00a0 Behind him, the woman screamed her rage and when Joe stopped long enough to glance behind, Victoria was in pursuit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe turned to run, but his foot became tangled and he tripped, landing on the narrow staircase that led down to the second floor.\u00a0 Victoria\u2019s wicked laughter resounded in his ears as he lunged again at him.\u00a0 The frightened boy struggled to get to his feet, but the depraved woman flung herself on top of him, pinning him to the stairs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The slicing edge of the knife grazed his other arm.\u00a0 Bright red drops of blood instantly stained his shirtsleeve.\u00a0\u00a0 The demented woman began screaming obscenities at the struggling boy as she raised her arm high over her head.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s fingers had twisted themselves about the wrist in which hand she held the knife.\u00a0 Victoria fought to bring the knife downward, intending to bury it deeply within the boy\u2019s chest.\u00a0 Joe battled to keep her fist and the knife from penetrating his flesh.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The woman was strong, driven by hate she managed to work the point of the knife to within inches of his breast.\u00a0 His heart beat wildly in his chest; fear had filled his soul and in a blink of an eye, his life flashed before his mind\u2019s eye.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright\u2019s imagine exploded before him, causing him to cry out for the man whom he had always loved.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPA!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The knife moved closer.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s eyes were wide and filled with terror as he fought to keep from dying.\u00a0 Tiny beads of perspiration dotted his brow and ran, burning into his eyes, mixing with the tears that had accumulated there.\u00a0 He was growing weaker and barely able to keep his attacker at bay. If help didn\u2019t arrive soon, it would too late\u2026he\u2019d be dead, having left all the things he wanted to tell his father, unsaid\u2026and his father wondering at the son who had denied him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut you don\u2019t understand Judge,\u201d argued Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He slammed his fist down on the judge\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe woman\u2019s a lunatic\u2026my son\u2019s life is in danger!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMr. Cartwright, calm down.\u00a0 I\u2019ve already explained, this matter of custody must be heard in a court of law\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cCustody!\u201d stormed Ben, \u201cthere is NO matter of custody\u2026the boy is MY son\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAccording to Captain Miller\u2026there is the likely hood that Mrs. Paquett is the mother\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe is not my brother\u2019s mother!\u201d Adam shouted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPlease\u2026all of you\u2026I don\u2019t want to have any of you physically removed from my office, but I will if you gentleman do not get a handle on your emotions\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry your Honor\u2026my son Adam is sorry\u2026we\u2019re all sorry\u2026and if I don\u2019t get my boy away from that woman\u2026everyone will be sorry!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The judge took a deep breath and stood up. \u00a0Only his wide mahogany desk separated him from the angry men.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGet a lawyer Mr. Cartwright\u2026I can hear the matter in about 6 to 8 weeks, that\u2019s how far behind we are on the dockets\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben was beyond being just plain mad, he was furious.\u00a0 He banged his fist on the desk, wincing at the pain that shot through his hand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSix or eight weeks!\u201d he bellowed.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph may not have six or eight hours!!\u201d\u00a0 He shook his finger under the judge\u2019s nose.\u00a0 \u201cAnd if you think I\u2019ll wait that long to get my son out of that house and away from that crazy woman, you are badly mistaken!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He snatched up his hat from the desk and stormed from the office.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss exchanged worried looks and quickly caught up with their father who was standing on the steps of the courthouse.\u00a0 Ben\u2019s friend, Sergeant Clodomir was right behind the two brothers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben turned to face his sons and his friend.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIf either of you think I\u2019m waiting nearly two months to get Joe away from Vicki, you\u2019re solely mistaken.\u00a0 I won\u2019t wait that long, I won\u2019t wait 6 or 8 days or hours\u2026come on,\u201d he ordered as he started to walk off.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sergeant Clodomir grabbed Ben\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cBen wait\u2026I\u2019m fairly sure I know what you\u2019re planning to do\u2026but you can\u2019t\u2026it will be breaking and entering\u2026kidnapping\u2026you could go to prison!\u201d his friend warned.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThen I\u2019ll just go prison\u2026but not before I make sure that my son is safe and sound and as far away as I can get him from the clutches of that\u2026that\u2026obnoxious woman!\u00a0 Adam, Hoss\u2026are you coming with me or not?\u00a0 Make up your minds!\u201d Ben growled as he turned again and marched down the street.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss raised his brows and looked from Adam to the sergeant.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m goin\u2019 with Pa\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNot without me you aren\u2019t!\u201d Adam said with as much determination.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Together they fell into step behind their father.\u00a0 The sergeant stood with his hands on his hips watching the threesome walk away from him.\u00a0 He shook his head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll probably regret this,\u201d he muttered to himself.\u00a0 Then aloud, he called out to Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWait for me, I\u2019m going with you!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the house, the battle between the woman and the young man was still raging;\u00a0 Little Joe was fighting for his life.\u00a0 A strange sound down below him caused Joe to falter slightly.\u00a0 The tip of the knife was resting atop his shirt.\u00a0 He could feel the sharp point going through the thin material and pierce his flesh\u2026and then suddenly\u2026a shadow moved over him, he heard shouting; the woman screamed.\u00a0 Her body was flung from his and in that instant he was free and scrambling to move down the stairs.\u00a0 Someone was running up the stairs toward him as he toppled from one step to the other; hands were grabbling at his body, everything was a mass of total confusion; as the unknown hands touched his body he heard a piercing scream, not recognizing the voice as his own.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNO! NO!\u201d he yelled as he fought against the hands that tried to hold him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cEasy son\u2026easy Joe\u2026take it easy, boy, it\u2019s me\u2026your Pa\u2026Joe, Joe\u2026stop fighting me\u2026it\u2019 your pa, boy\u2026your pa!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe\u2019s struggling slowly began to cease as the realization that it was not the woman he was fighting so hard to be rid of, but the man who had always been there for him\u2026it was his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe\u2019s body slumped heavily against the older man\u2019s chest.\u00a0 His eyes sought his father\u2019s face.\u00a0 Tears ran freely down the front of his face as Joe tried to calm his heavy breathing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa,\u201d his lips whispered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben ground the boy\u2019s face against his chest, holding tightly to the sobbing boy who now clung to him as if his entire life depended on that grasp.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShh\u2026it\u2019s over now son\u2026you\u2019re alright, boy,\u201d cooed Ben in an attempt to calm the weeping boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026Pa\u2026\u201d sobbed Joe, \u201cshe tried to\u2026to\u2026stab me\u2026she\u2026she wanted to\u2026kill\u2026me\u2026oh Pa!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben\u2019s eyes had filled with tears but he refused to free them and give them right of way.\u00a0 Instead, he took a deep breath to steady his pounding heart.\u00a0 The knowledge that he and Adam and Hoss not arrived when they had, his son would now be dead!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph\u2026son\u2026I\u2019m here\u2026she\u2019ll not hurt you ever again,\u201d he whispered to his son.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben glanced up at Adam who had been the one to pull the villainous woman from Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s dead, Pa,\u201d he said lowly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben pinched his lips tightly.\u00a0 Joe moved slightly, looking up into his father\u2019s face, seeing the pain and hurt in the depths of the dark eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe\u2019s chin still trembled as he glanced up at his brother.\u00a0 Adam knelt down and stroked the boy\u2019s head in a brotherly manner.\u00a0 He offered the lad a small smile.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAre you ready to go home now?\u201d he asked softly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe swallowed, a sob caught in his throat as he nodded his head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s get these wounds tended to first,\u201d Ben said in relief.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He scooped the boy up into his arms and turned to descend the stairs.\u00a0 Joe tried to see behind him but only caught a glimpse of the woman\u2019s body lying on the floor.\u00a0 The knife was buried deep in her midsection.\u00a0Sickened by the sight, Joe closed his eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAlbert?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Ben\u2026Hoss and I will take care of the bodies,\u201d he assured his friend.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Downstairs, Ben placed his son on the couch and began to open the boy\u2019s shirt to inspect the knife wounds.\u00a0 He watched Joe\u2019s face and saw the pain that the boy tried so hard to hide.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026\u201d muttered Joe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He had folded his fingers about his father\u2019s wrist to still the older man\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGrace\u2026and Beth\u2026\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With lips pressed tightly, Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry son\u2026Gracie is dead\u2026I\u2019m not sure about Beth.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShh\u2026Joe\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The youngster gasped.\u00a0 Fresh tears filled his eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2026they saved my life, Pa\u2026\u201d he cried.\u00a0 \u201cGrace stood between me and that\u2026woman\u2026\u201d he sobbed.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2026killed them\u2026didn\u2019t\u2026she?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Totally exhausted, Joe broke down and wept.\u00a0 Ben gathered his son into his arms and held him tightly, allowing the boy to cry out his grief.\u00a0 It was several moments before Joe\u2019s crying ceased.\u00a0 His father laid him gently back against the pillows that Adam had stuffed behind his little brother\u2019s head.\u00a0 For just a short, brief period, Joe\u2019s eyes stayed fixed on his father\u2019s face, then slowly, succumbing to the exhaustion, the eyelids closed as Joe fell into a deep, welcomed sleep.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the sound of the opening and closing of the door, Ben looked up.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss had just returned from having gone downstairs to the dinning room to have dinner.\u00a0 Hoss carried a covered tray into the room with him and as he placed it on the table near the bed, Adam moved to the opposite side to check on the sleeping boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow long has he been sleeping like that?\u201d he asked his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe had been moved, from the house after collapsing, to the hotel rooms where the Cartwrights had been residing for the last week or so since their arrival in Sacramento.\u00a0 The boy had not awakened but only briefly during the move and then again when the doctor was present to examine and treat his injuries.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSince the doctor was here earlier. Joe was hurting pretty badly so the doctor had to give him something for the pain\u2026he\u2019s been asleep ever since,\u201d explained Ben.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cCome eat, Pa, I brought you somethin\u2019,\u201d Hoss said as he uncovered the tray.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben cast a quick glance at Joe who slept soundly and then sat down at the small table where Hoss had placed his supper.\u00a0 In a moment, Adam joined him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI spoke with Sergeant Clodomir like you asked me to do and we saw the judge,\u201d Adam explained. \u00a0\u201cI explained what happened when we went back to the house, about the girl we found dead\u2026and how that woman was trying to kill Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDid you tell him how she tried to kill you as well?\u201d Ben said after swallowing what was in his mouth.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes sir, I told him how she tried using the knife on me and about fighting her off.\u00a0 It\u2019s a shame that she fell on the knife, killing herself, Pa.\u00a0 For that, I\u2019m sorry\u2026but I\u2019m more sorry for her daughters\u2026and all the lies she told them.\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid Miss Paquett has been badly traumatized by the things her mother said and did, but Sergeant Clodomir said that he and his wife would look after Beth until she makes a full recovery.\u00a0They took her in, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not surprised Adam, the Clodomir\u2019s are very wonderful people.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh\u2026and he said there wouldn\u2019t be any charges filed on big brother here, it being an accident and all\u2026how the woman died,\u201d added Hoss.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben placed his drinking glass on the table and stood up, wiping his mouth.\u00a0 He smiled at Adam.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad, son,\u201d he said, squeezing his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 He glanced toward the bed and noted that Joe was beginning to wake up.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot to be thankful for, if we hadn\u2019t gone back to that house\u2026Joe might well have been murdered,\u201d he muttered as he walked across the room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe\u2019s eyelids batter a few times and then his eyes opened.\u00a0 Ben smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, hello there,\u201d he said warmly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHi Pa,\u201d Joe muttered in a tired voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His older brothers came over to welcome the boy back from his long nap.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHey Adam\u2026Hoss,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHey yourself, kid,\u201d grinned Adam.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHi ya, Shortshanks, how ya feelin\u2019?\u201d Hoss inquired.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m alright,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He sought his father\u2019s face.\u00a0 His eyes filled with tears and a troubled scowl furrowed his brow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2026we\u2026talk, Pa\u2026please?\u201d he said barely above a whisper.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben swallowed the knot that had suddenly risen in the back of his throat.\u00a0 He nodded his head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see you later Pa, Joe you take it easy now kid\u2026come on Hoss\u2026I want you see that saddle I found at the leather shop down town,\u201d Adam said, gracefully excusing himself and his middle brother so that the kid and his father would have a while to speak privately.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2026oh\u2026\u201d stammered Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cSee ya later, Punkin,\u201d he told Joe, \u201cbye ya, Pa,\u201d he said as he followed Adam out of the room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the door, he paused and smiled at his father and brother who were both watching his and Adam\u2019s departure.\u00a0 Ben nodded his thanks, his two older boys understood their brother\u2019s need to be alone with him, and for that he was grateful, for he had some things deep within his heart that he wanted to say to Little Joe as well as whatever it was that the boy wanted to say to him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When the door shut, Ben turned to smile at Joe.\u00a0 Tenderly, he brushed back the damp curls that had glued themselves to the boy\u2019s brow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat was it that you wanted to talk to me about, son?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe turned his head and looked away.\u00a0 He suddenly felt unsure of how to put his feelings into words.\u00a0 There had been so much that happened and he had felt so overwhelmed by it all and as he thought back on it now, he realized what a horrible mistake he had made when he had\u2026turned against his own father.\u00a0 Joe gulped as he looked into his father\u2019s face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He was surprised to see the tenderness in his father\u2019s eyes, for he had been sure that his father would hate him for all the harsh, unkind words he had said to him and of the way that he had treated the man who cared about him more than any other living being.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m\u2026sorry\u2026Pa,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe tried to still his trembling chin, but it was hard to do.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor what, son?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A puzzled look caused Joe\u2019s face to form a frown.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you\u2026mean\u2026for what?\u00a0 I\u2026I\u2026betrayed you\u2026\u201d Joe proclaimed with a sob.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2026I stopped trusting in you\u2026I stopped believing in\u2026you\u2026Pa\u2026for just a little while\u2026I\u2026I\u2026I even\u2026hated you!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoe\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true, Pa\u2026I\u2026thought\u2026no, I believed what that woman\u2026said about you\u2026and my mother\u2026my\u2026real mother.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe was forced to stop talking.\u00a0 His throat had become so thick that he could barely swallow.\u00a0 Large tears filled his eyes and when he lowered his head, they rolled slowly down his cheeks to reach the end of his chin and drip onto the white sheet that covered him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben too was filled with emotion.\u00a0 Gently he tipped Joe\u2019s chin up so that he could see into his son\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph\u2026answer me this\u2026did you for one minute stop\u2026loving me?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe was fighting back the rush of emotions that threatened to spill over.\u00a0 Sure he\u2019d been mad at his father, he had even doubted the man he\u2019d trusted all of his life, but thinking back over the last several days, it was clear to him that in spite of all that had happened, he had not for one moment stopped loving his father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe shook his head no.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad, son,\u201d Ben said softly, \u201cBecause I would have been very sad if you had.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut Pa, I thought\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI know what you thought, son\u2026and I know why you had those thoughts\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou do?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2026you see Joseph,\u201d Ben said, explaining the happenings that he knew Joe was unaware of.\u00a0 \u201cWhen you first went to the Henson\u2019s place\u2026and met Beth and Grace\u2026you had no idea that you\u2019d been lured there.\u00a0It was all part of a very elaborate plan to\u2026get back at me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou?\u00a0 I don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, many years ago\u2026before you were born, when I was in New Orleans, I knew Victoria Paquett.\u00a0 It was right before I met your mother.\u00a0 She was a young widow with two little girls and was expecting another child very soon.\u00a0 Her husband, Louis Paquett had recently died.\u00a0 I liked her and I adored her daughters.\u00a0 Vicki and I quickly became friends, unfortunately, she wanted something more from our friendship, something that I couldn\u2019t give her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She wanted me to marry her.\u00a0 She needed a husband to take care of her and a father for her children.\u00a0 But I couldn\u2019t son, I didn\u2019t love her\u2026and that rejection was hard for her to accept.\u00a0 When I met your mother and found myself deeply in love with her instead, Vicki was angry, very angry with both Marie and myself.\u00a0 She vowed to get even with me for not marrying her.\u00a0 She spread rumors\u2026ugly rumors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And then her son was born.\u00a0 He was a beautiful little boy, had a head full of dark curls\u2026but he was sickly and before he was more than a day or two old, he died.\u00a0 His death, so recently on the heels of her husband\u2019s death was almost more than Vicki could bear.\u00a0 Your mother and I paid our last respects to her and told her we were leaving for my home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Shortly afterwards, Vicki made some pretty nasty allegations, claiming me as the father of her child\u2026which of course wasn\u2019t true.\u00a0 I learned later that she made the same announcements to all of our friends back in New Orleans, along with the lie that Marie and I had stolen her child away with us.\u00a0 That\u2019s when she vowed to get revenge.\u00a0 She vowed to one day find me and steal back the baby that she claimed I had stolen from her\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd she thought I was that baby?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI suppose so, son.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how she found me\u2026but when she did, she used her daughters to steal you from me\u2026oh\u2026they were too young to know the truth about their real brother.\u00a0 You see, Joseph, Vicki lied to her own children about her baby\u2026she made them think that you were that baby\u2026their brother\u2026Well, as it were\u2026they drugged you that afternoon when you went with Mark Anderson to the Henson place.\u00a0He was paid $5,000 to lure you there\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWHAT!\u00a0 Why that\u2026you just want until I get home\u2026I\u2019ll teach him a lesson\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben placed his hand on Joe\u2019s shoulder and gave the boy a squeeze.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou never mind that, son\u2026that\u2019s already been taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened next, Pa\u2026how\u2019d I end up here\u2026I\u2026I don\u2019t remember much after that first afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAs I was saying, you were drugged\u2026and kept you drugged until you were brought here\u2026to Sacramento to Vicki\u2019s house.\u00a0 When you were told the lies, about your mother and I\u2026Vicki was determined to make you into the baby she lost.\u00a0 When you would not give in to her demands, she locked you in the attic and practically starved you to death trying to force you to admit that you were Phillip and that you hated me\u2026for the lies that she claimed I had told you all your life.\u00a0 The lack of proper nourishment and the added affects of the drug, her constant drilling you\u2026well, son\u2026let\u2019s just say she did her job well\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s\u2026sick\u2026\u201d Joe murmured as he tried to take in everything his father was telling him.\u00a0 He looked up, great sadness shown in his eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026I\u2019m sorry\u2026I can\u2019t believe\u2026I said those things to you\u2026or that\u2026I\u2019d stop trusting you\u2026and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben\u2019s large gentle hands cupped the boy\u2019s face.\u00a0 He smiled and leaned down, kissing Joe on the forehead.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShh\u2026it\u2019s over, son\u2026and I know you didn\u2019t mean what you said\u2026it was the drugs and the foul treatment that altered your thinking\u2026and your emotions.\u00a0 She played on those Joe\u2026she used you son, for her benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A lone tear rolled from the corner of Joe\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI thought she really cared for me\u2026I even began thinking that\u2026maybe she was my\u2026real mother.\u201d\u00a0 Joe swallowed and looked directly into his father\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019ve always wanted a mother\u2026so much so\u2026that\u2026that I guess\u2026I wanted to believe\u2026that she was\u2026my mother.\u00a0 Does that make any sense?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt makes a lot of sense, Joseph.\u00a0 God, I know how you\u2019ve missed not having a mother.\u00a0 I wish with all my heart it hadn\u2019t been like that for you or for Hoss and Adam, but sometimes, certain things just are not meant to be, son.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI know that\u2026or at least I do now.\u201d\u00a0 Joe sighed deeply.\u00a0 \u201cAre you mad at me?\u201d he asked meekly, afraid of what his father might say to him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMad?\u00a0 No, of course not.\u00a0 I\u2019m relieved that you see things differently now\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh Pa\u2026you don\u2019t have any idea how I felt\u2026I was sick\u2026I thought\u2026you\u2026I mean\u2026golly\u2026I feel like such an idiot\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, son, don\u2019t feel that way\u2026it wasn\u2019t your fault\u2026why, I was fooled by Vicki\u2019s vicious lies before\u2026long before you were even conceived.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut I hated you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI know\u2026and you thought you had just cause\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, Pa!\u00a0 There can never be enough reason for a son to hate his own father\u2026to turn his back on the man that\u2026that gave him life.\u00a0 For that\u2026I can\u2019t forgive myself\u2026I hurt you\u2026and don\u2019t deny it\u2026I saw it in your face\u2026in your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe was weeping by this time so much so that his father gathered his son into his arms and held him close.\u00a0 For several minutes, they stayed locked in one another\u2019s embrace.\u00a0 Ben gently rocked back and forth as he clung to his son and allowed their emotions to reach an all time peak before the weeping subsided.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThere, there,\u201d cooed Ben.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s put it all in the past son\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe kept his face buried against his father\u2019s breast.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou forgive me\u2026don\u2019t ya Pa?\u201d Joe asked in a whisper.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou have nothing to be forgiven for\u2026but if it will make you feel better, then yes\u2026for you\u2019re past indiscretions and all that will come in the future, I forgive you Joseph.\u00a0 You see\u2026I can say that, because I love you\u2026you are my son and Marie\u2019s son and what she and I created together was a gift of our love given to us by God.\u00a0 And how can I not forgive or not love, something as wonderful as God\u2019s gift?\u00a0 Always remember and know that I love you Joseph, then, now and forever more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI love you too, Pa\u2026honest I do\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know son, I can feel that love flowing through you at this very moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe surprised his father by giggling.\u00a0 Ben grasped the slender shoulders and gently pushed Joe back until he could see the boy\u2019s face.\u00a0 The expression Joe wore caused him to smile.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s so funny, you little rascal?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe giggled again.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not love you\u2019re feeling, Pa\u2026that\u2019s my stomach growling\u2026I\u2019m hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s mind went momentarily blank and when the statement of Joe\u2019s meaning finally registered in his brain, he tossed back his head and let loose with a bellowing round of laughter.\u00a0 He pulled Joe tightly to him, his arms wrapped about the boy in a bear hug.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy\u2026you little scamp!\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n THE END<\/p>\n May, 2005<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary:\u00a0 When Joe turns up missing, Ben must confront his past if he ever wishes for a future with his son.<\/p>\n PG \u00a0WC 27,000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9052,"featured_media":12983,"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},"categories":[23,1008,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-family","category-prequels","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1008-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\/2016\/05\/Season-1-00003.jpg?fit=576%2C432&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12191","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\/9052"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}