{"id":14350,"date":"2003-06-28T13:35:29","date_gmt":"2003-06-28T17:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14350"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:07:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:07:52","slug":"the-pure-heart-by-beckys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14350","title":{"rendered":"The Pure Heart (by BeckyS)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:<\/strong>\u00a0 The strength of ten in one.<\/p>\n

Rating: \u00a0G \u00a0 (1,430 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dear Readers — \u00a0This story was written almost 15\u00a0years ago for my own pleasure, and I’m happy to share for others to enjoy. \u00a0I know some readers may wish\u00a0there was more, but this is how I saw fit to write this story. \u00a0Since I no longer write Bonanza fan fiction, I ask that you honor my request to refrain from\u00a0asking\u00a0for the story to continue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Pure Heart\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a9 June 2003, 2017 as allowable<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ben stood in the doorway to his son\u2019s bedroom and gazed upon the still form in the bed.\u00a0 Horrifying scenes from the afternoon\u2019s madness raced through his mind, depriving him of rest.\u00a0 His first sight of the overturned wagon where it lay drunkenly tilted at the bottom of a deep ravine.\u00a0 A glimpse of green jacket from under the fallen crates of supplies, with a hand clutching feebly at the rock-strewn ground.\u00a0 A black-clad leg and boot that extended from under the frame of the wagon and didn\u2019t move at all.<\/p>\n

Then a rush of movement from his side.\u00a0 Hoss sliding down the hill, calling to him to stay at the top, but to get his rope ready.\u00a0 More of the green jacket came into view as the strongest of his boys lifted the crates from his brother\u2019s body and threw them aside as if they were the blocks they\u2019d played with as children.\u00a0 A barrel of nails teetered and almost fell on Joe, but Hoss held it back with one hand while he grabbed the back of his brother\u2019s jacket at the neck and hauled him out of danger.\u00a0 The barrel rolled crazily down the stream-bed, but Hoss only had eyes for Joe who was sitting propped against a rock, bleary-eyed and holding his ribs, but alive.<\/p>\n

They had so little time \u2013 the cloudburst up in the mountains could send a tidal wave of water down the gully any moment.<\/p>\n

Hoss called to his father, but Ben was already prepared.\u00a0 He tossed the loop of his rope around a nearby rock and threw the coils into the gulch.\u00a0 Hoss tied it around Joe\u2019s chest, up high where it wouldn\u2019t squeeze his damaged side, and Ben slowly pulled his youngest upwards.<\/p>\n

Hoss moved to the front of the wagon and tried to slide Adam out, but even as Ben concentrated on carefully easing Joe over the lip of the road, he could see that his eldest was pinned, face-down.\u00a0 Hoss tried lifting the wagon, but it was too heavy for even his strength.\u00a0 Ben settled Joe on the ground and gently brushed the hair from his forehead.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s eyes blinked at him as awareness began to return.\u00a0 Ben allowed himself a single caress, then told him firmly to stay put.<\/p>\n

Joe kneaded his forehead and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHelp Adam,\u201d he whispered and closed his eyes.<\/p>\n

Ben walked himself hand-over-hand down the rocky wall.\u00a0 \u201cAlive?\u201d he\u2019d gasped, still winded from hauling Joe and from the wild hammering of his heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cDunno,\u201d had been all Hoss said.\u00a0 He was breathing hard, too, as he fought with the knots that kept the cargo tied to the wagon bed.\u00a0 Ben pulled a knife from his pocket and, at a nod from his son, sliced through the first rope.\u00a0 Hoss caught the first sack of grain easily and tossed it aside, but the second caught him by surprise.\u00a0 It almost knocked him over, but he was braced and pushed it aside.\u00a0 The third started to slide, but Ben grabbed a corner and held it just long enough for Hoss to catch it properly, just before Ben felt it would wrench his shoulder from its socket.\u00a0 The fourth and fifth had to be hauled from the depths of the wagon, Hoss\u2019s muscles bulging and straining with the effort.\u00a0 Sweat poured down his face, and he swiped at it with one arm but never stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cTry again,\u201d Hoss puffed.\u00a0 He dropped to a crouch and grabbed the bottom of the wagon, braced himself, then slowly tried to stand.\u00a0 The wagon moved just a little, and they heard a soft, agonized groan from the darkness underneath.\u00a0 \u201cPa,\u201d Hoss gasped, and Ben knew what he wanted.<\/p>\n

He found Adam\u2019s other leg, got a good grip on both, and called out, \u201cNow, son!\u201d<\/p>\n

The wagon creaked, dust drifted down through a shaft of sunlight, and Ben could taste coppery blood where he\u2019d bitten his lip. He tried to slide Adam quickly but gently, in case he was badly injured, but knowing from Hoss\u2019s strained keening that he didn\u2019t have much time.\u00a0 The ravine was narrow, though, and Adam\u2019s body was long.\u00a0 He pulled until he got his son\u2019s legs and hips out from under the wagon, then grabbed him at the belt.<\/p>\n

The wagon slipped, but with an agonized cry, Hoss grabbed it again, inches before it would have crushed his brother\u2019s chest.\u00a0 With one last heave, Ben dragged Adam the rest of the way out and cried, \u201cI\u2019ve got him!\u201d<\/p>\n

The wagon fell with a crash, and dust rose in a cloud, thick and choking.\u00a0 Hoss staggered around the wagon to them and dropped to his knees by his brother.\u00a0 He helped Ben turn Adam carefully on his back, then checked his ribcage, arms and legs.\u00a0 \u201cNothing broke I can see.<\/p>\n

Ben dabbed his kerchief at a bloody graze on Adam\u2019s forehead.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to get up above before the water gets here \u2013 get them both home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStay here and cover him,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded absently as he patted Adam\u2019s cheeks, trying to encourage him to wake.\u00a0 He leaned over his son to protect him as rocks and clumps of dirt fell on them from Hoss\u2019s climb to the top of the ridge.\u00a0 A second rope fell by his side, and he looked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cTie one around you and one around Adam,\u201d Hoss called, \u201cthen I\u2019ll bring you up together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Hoss\u2014\u201d he started to protest, knowing their combined weight would be too much even for his great strength.\u00a0 Then he saw Joe, wobbly and hunched, but standing at the heads of the two horses.\u00a0 A faint rumble in the distance galvanized him.\u00a0 He swiftly tied a foolproof but easily undone knot in the rope around Adam\u2019s chest, then the same for himself.\u00a0 He lifted Adam\u2019s limp body into his embrace and faced the wall of the ravine, Adam\u2019s head tucked against his shoulder, and prepared to walk his way uphill, keeping his son as far from the rocks as possible.<\/p>\n

The rumbling in the distance grew into a roar.<\/p>\n

Hoss had tied the ends of the ropes around the horses\u2019 saddlehorns, but as Joe led the animals away, Hoss stood at the edge of the ravine and hauled as well, making sure Ben and Adam didn\u2019t bump into more rocks than they had to.\u00a0 Ben looked upstream to see a wall of muddy water crashing against the sides of the gully, ripping tree roots free and knocking chunks of dirt and huge rocks loose.<\/p>\n

\u201cHurry!\u201d he yelled, trying to be heard above the roar.<\/p>\n

They crashed into an overhang, loosening a shower of dirt.\u00a0 Ben tried to protect Adam\u2019s head by tucking it against his chest.\u00a0 He coughed the dirt from his lungs and kicked at the side of the gully, steering to the left where Hoss could bring them straight up.\u00a0 The water grabbed at his ankles, tried to pull Adam from his grasp, but Hoss hauled on Adam\u2019s rope and dragged him up the rest of the way by hand.\u00a0 Ben clambered over the edge in time to hear Adam emit another soft groan as Hoss laid him on the ground.<\/p>\n

Ben looked back into the gully.\u00a0 The wagon had completely disappeared under the torrents of water.<\/p>\n

Joe wobbled back with the horses and dropped, exhausted, next to his family.\u00a0 \u201cHow\u2019s he?\u201d was all he could manage.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s eyelids twitched, and he slowly raised one hand to his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like everything\u2019s gonna be fine,\u201d Hoss said with a grin.<\/p>\n

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

Ben entered the room and pulled a chair to the side of his son\u2019s bed.\u00a0 Adam was asleep in his room, in spite of a splitting headache.\u00a0 He\u2019d be fine after a day or two of rest.\u00a0 Joe was asleep, too, though it had taken a solid dose of laudanum to ease the pain of his cracked ribs enough for him to settle.<\/p>\n

And Hoss . . . he gazed on the beloved face before him, now clean of the dirt and grime and sweat of his labors.\u00a0 Ben thought of his two sons who\u2019d almost died this afternoon \u2013 could easily have, if not for the strength and determination of this one who lay before him in exhausted sleep.<\/p>\n

He pulled the covers up just a little higher on Hoss\u2019s shoulders, ran the back of his hand gently along the side of his face, and whispered, \u201cThank you, son.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure.
\n–Sir Alfred Tennyson, \u201cSir Galahad\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

From the Brandsters\/Librarians — Any comments that do not respect the author’s wishes as posted above shall be removed.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

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

Summary:\u00a0 The strength of ten in one.<\/p>\n

Rating: \u00a0G \u00a0 (1,430 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8546,"featured_media":1231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,41],"tags":[15,17],"class_list":["post-14350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-hurtcomfort","tag-ben","tag-hoss","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-41-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":2109,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/storm.jpg?fit=615%2C407&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36440,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=36440","url_meta":{"origin":14350,"position":0},"title":"The Maiden With the Chestnut Hair (by Annie K Cowgirl)","author":"Annie K Cowgirl","date":"May 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: The captain's daughter as seen through the eyes of a young, handsome sailor. 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