{"id":12715,"date":"2016-03-21T18:30:24","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T22:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12715"},"modified":"2025-02-18T19:10:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T00:10:20","slug":"the-truth-foretold-by-arien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12715","title":{"rendered":"The Truth Foretold (by Arien)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0 In this What Happened Before to the episode \u201cThe Pure Truth,” we discover the origin\u00a0of The Remedy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rating: \u00a0K+ \u00a0(2,228 words)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Truth Foretold<\/strong><\/p>\n

Standing on the porch of the ranch house, Joe drew in a deep breath. Springtime has to be the most beautiful time of the year.<\/em> The weather was finally warming up and driving away the perpetual chill that had lingered for the last few weeks. Hearing a noise behind him, he turned to see the front door open and his father and two brothers walk out.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, there you are,\u201d Ben began. \u201cI had wondered where you had wandered off to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe certainly didn\u2019t wander off to work,\u201d Adam\u2019s comment came next. Though the words were biting, the twinkle in his eyes belied the sarcasm.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow older brother, you know it takes Joe a mite longer to get up enough energy to work. He\u2019s just so puny and all it takes him a bit longer to get ready for the day,\u201d came the rejoinder from Hoss.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you two start,\u201d Ben said. \u201cHe\u2019s in a good mood. Let\u2019s leave him that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe<\/em> is standing right here and isn\u2019t deaf<\/em>,\u201d Joe said in a slightly miffed tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough teasing,\u201d Ben said over Adam and Hoss\u2019s laughter. \u201cSince it\u2019s warmed up quite a bit, I want the three of you to go clear out that stream that\u2019s gotten clogged in the north pasture. We need that water flowing again before we can move the cattle to the higher grazing land.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knowing better than to say anything, Joe nodded his assent along with his brothers. He knew his plans to go to Virginia City for the day had just been cancelled. Not that there\u2019d been any specific reason for him to go. He just wanted a chance to catch up with his friends and to have a couple of beers. But, no matter what Adam said, he did think before he acted and he knew telling Pa what he wanted to do was a foolish thing indeed. He may be twenty but he knew his father wouldn\u2019t hesitate to bend his ear had he stood there and announced his plans.<\/p>\n

While his brother\u2019s laughter continued, Joe walked quickly to his horse, Cochise. Without using the stirrups, he mounted in a way that he knew both of his brothers envied. Watching from his vantage point, he tried to appear disinterested as his brothers mounted. Their father, never stopping to breathe from what Joe could tell, gave his final instructions.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I want you to remember that we don\u2019t have time for you boys to spend the day up there. There are other things that need to be taken care of when you get finished with this,\u201d Ben said. He knew he was overdoing it a bit but he didn\u2019t want to leave room for Joseph to try and find a loophole. It wouldn\u2019t be beyond Joe to try and find a way to convince his brothers to go to Virginia City with him.<\/p>\n

Listening to his son\u2019s agreements, Ben stood back and watched the three ride out of the yard and head towards the grazing grounds. Hopefully, they\u2019d stay in high spirits and not come home in foul moods. He knew this was the job that they least liked but it had to be done.<\/p>\n

Walking back into the house, Ben put his mind on to his own dreaded task: the ledgers.<\/p>\n

***********<\/p>\n

By mid-day, it was clear to all that this was a foolish undertaking. Nothing had gone right from the start. Joe and Adam happily put the blame squarely on Hoss\u2019s shoulders. He had in quick succession: managed to get Joe thrown from Cochise, a feat none thought possible; accidentally hit Adam in the jaw as he had tried to help Joe off of the ground; stepped on both brother\u2019s feet; and, as they were discussing the merits of a visit to Doctor Martin, he had knocked the maimed men into the chilly water\u2014the stagnant, disgusting waterhole. To say that Joe and Adam were put out would be a vast understatement. Even as Hoss\u2019s laughter rang out at the sight and smell of the two, they were plotting their revenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Pa said we were to go back after this but I don\u2019t think he\u2019d begrudge us a trip to see the doctor, do you?\u201d Adam questioned. Maybe Hoss had some sort of fever, he reasoned to himself. There had to be a reason for all of this no matter how farfetched it seemed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to go into to town smelling like the backend of a cow!\u201d Joe protested, despite the fact that he was starting to stiffen up from his ungraceful dismount earlier. He could see by the gleam in older brother\u2019s eye, and the huge bruise that was spreading across his face, that there was no escaping this trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish you two could see yourselves!\u201d Hoss chortled. He felt bad for having caused the accidents but there was no way he could contain his merriment. \u201cI know you can smell yourselves though! Maybe you could bottle the scent and sell it to the ladies of Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Hoss\u2019s laughter continued, Joe and Adam limped slowly to their respective mounts. Neither cherished the idea of having to ride so far in a wet saddle nor the idea of the townsfolk seeing them like this. The snickers got closer, letting them know that Hoss was mounting Chub, as well. Had Hoss been paying attention he would have noticed the daggers that were coming from his brothers’ eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess we\u2019d better get started,\u201d Adam sighed. Maybe Doctor Martin could be persuaded to go to the mercantile and pick them up a change of clothes to go home in, he thought to himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, this is your last chance<\/strong>! If you don\u2019t quit that dad-blamed laughing, I\u2019m going to knock you off that horse!\u201d Joe yelled. He couldn\u2019t take listening to Hoss laughing the whole way into town. \u00a0But, if anything, his threat seemed to send his middle brother into another fit of laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy, younger brother,\u201d Hoss choked out, \u201chaven\u2019t you heard that laughter is the best medicine! It must be true because I feel mighty fine! You should try it!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a slightly subdued group, with the exception of Hoss, that headed for Virginia City.<\/p>\n

***********<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you see Doc, there wasn\u2019t any real harm done,\u201d Joe tried to explain. \u201cThere\u2019s absolutely no reason for me to have to bind my ribs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, I might be getting older but I\u2019m not losing my mind,\u201d came the sarcastic reply from the town physician. \u201cYou, at the very least, bruised your ribs and I\u2019m not convinced you didn\u2019t crack one or two. You\u2019ll wear this for as long as I say or I\u2019m going to see if I can\u2019t make a plaster cast to go around your ribs. Your choice\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, I\u2019ll take the bandages,\u201d Joe said. He knew from experience that the man wouldn\u2019t hesitate to carry out the threat. He\u2019d learned that the hard way, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you might,\u201d Dr. Martin replied. Paul Martin had never, in his life, met a family as prone to accidents as the Cartwrights. He could probably retire on the money he had made from this one young man. Turning, he saw that Adam had picked up one of his medical books.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, Adam, are you trying to give me a run for my money?\u201d Paul asked as he finished winding the bandaged around Joe and tied it off.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think I could put up with the bellyaching from younger brother over there!\u201d Adam started to laugh but stopped when the pain flared in his jaw. Thanks to Hoss, he was reduced to eating broth until the swelling went down and he could chew better.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Paul had sent Hoss to pick them up some clean clothes earlier. While at the doctor\u2019s office, Hoss had managed to break a couple of vases and the window out of the inner office. A sigh of relief went up when he\u2019d announced that he\u2019d go home and tell Ben what had happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I want you boys to take it easy for the next couple of days. And before you start, it\u2019s just a precaution. I want to make sure you don\u2019t suffer any ill effects from your impromptu \u201cbath\u201d in that water. It\u2019s still chilly and you rode, soaking wet, quite a ways to get to town.\u201d<\/p>\n

The grumbling from the Cartwrights let Paul know that they had, at least, heard<\/em> what he\u2019d said. Now, whether they\u2019d follow<\/em> that was a different matter. So, he continued with, \u201cI\u2019ll be coming out to the Ponderosa early tomorrow morning to make sure that you are doing exactly what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chorused \u201cyes, sir\u201d sounded a bit miffed to him but he let it pass. You had to pick your battles with these boys and this one just wasn\u2019t worth the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet home, eat something that will warm you up, and get to bed,\u201d Paul instructed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it okay if we stop by the mercantile before we go home?\u201d Adam wanted to know. He saw the quizzical look Joe gave him but he\u2019d explain later. \u201cIf I\u2019m going to be laid up for a couple of days, I\u2019d like to pick up a new book to read.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust don\u2019t be too long\u201d Paul advised.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, don\u2019t worry! I\u2019m not going to waste all day in there while he\u2019s looking at books,\u201d came the grumpy reply from Joe.<\/p>\n

Smiling, Paul led the way out of the examination room. \u201cDon\u2019t forget what I told you. I\u2019ll be by tomorrow to check on you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saying their goodbyes, Joe and Adam slowly made their way towards the mercantile.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know something, Joe? I think we need to teach middle brother a lesson. Yessir, a lesson that will last a lifetime,\u201d Adam said conversationally. He could see his younger brother\u2019s look of incredulity. He knew it was out of character for him to suggest such a thing but Hoss had it coming. \u201cCome on, I\u2019ll tell you about it while we\u2019re shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, with that, Adam threw his arm over Joe\u2019s shoulder as he steered them across the street.<\/p>\n

***********<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you boys are all right?\u201d Ben asked, for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Hoss had gone outside to finish the evening chores before dinner and Ben was alone with his oldest and youngest child.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Pa. Doc said that we\u2019d need to take it easy for a couple of days to make sure we didn\u2019t get sick from our swim but, other than that, we\u2019ll be all right,\u201d Joe said. He hoped that he had kept the annoyance out of his voice as he\u2019d answered his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, we wanted to talk to you about Hoss,\u201d Adam began, as he put his plan into action. Seeing that he had his father\u2019s attention, he plunged on, \u201cWhile I was waiting for Paul to finish with Joe, I started to look at one of the medical books lying about. I was concerned about Hoss\u2019s behavior and I found out something.\u201d He paused for dramatic effect and continued, \u201cYou see, Pa, I think Hoss has, in laymen\u2019s terms, ‘Spring fever.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpring fever? That\u2019s hardly anything to be concerned with,\u201d Ben said. He had no idea where this conversation was going.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, pass me that book, thanks. See, we picked this up while we were in town. I wanted to show you what I was talking about,\u201d Adam said as he flipped through the medical book that he\u2019d picked up at the store. \u201cHere, this says that it\u2019s a rare occurrence and there\u2019s no known cure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe sat back and happily watched the show Adam was providing. He knew that his father would buy this coming from Adam\u2014he was so logical and all. He had to keep biting the inside of his mouth not to laugh out loud as his brother\/co-conspirator continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get concerned. It\u2019s not fatal or anything. It just shows up once a year on the first day of Spring, which is what today is. It also goes onto say that the only way to treat the \u2018fever\u2019 is to dose the patient with a mixture of molasses and sulfur,\u201d Adam said, pointing to a passage in the book.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if that\u2019s what we have to do. I don\u2019t understand why I\u2019ve never heard of this before. Too bad we don\u2019t have any sulfur or molasses in the house or we could dose him up tonight to prevent any problems cropping up before bedtime,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, we thought of that,\u201d Joe said, speaking for the first time since this show had begun. \u201cWe picked that up, too, in the mercantile. All we have to do is go in the kitchen, mix it up, and give Hoss his \u2018medicine.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I guess we shouldn\u2019t waste any time, then. Adam, you come help me mix this up. Joe, go outside and get your brother. The sooner we start this treatment, the sooner we can all relax for the night,\u201d Ben instructed his boys.<\/p>\n

As Joe and Adam went to do his bidding, they shared a look that said it all: yes, indeed, laughter is the best medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n

*****End*****<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0Hoss Cartwright,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright,\u00a0revenge<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0 In this What Happened Before to the episode \u201cThe Pure Truth,” we discover the origin\u00a0of The Remedy.<\/p>\n

Rating: \u00a0K+ \u00a0(2,228 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9526,"featured_media":8062,"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_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[23,616],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-whb","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-616-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Bridal-Bouquet-03-Wildflowers.jpg?fit=376%2C451&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12715","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\/9526"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}