{"id":14441,"date":"2004-06-30T16:35:13","date_gmt":"2004-06-30T20:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14441"},"modified":"2026-07-22T14:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T18:04:22","slug":"the-least-dreaded-by-becky-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14441","title":{"rendered":"The Least Dreaded (by BeckyS)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:<\/strong> \u00a0He used what he had at hand to save himself; now he pleaded, “Don’t let him kill me.”<\/p>\n

Rating: T (1,460 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dear Readers — \u00a0This story was written almost fifteen years 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 how I saw fit to write this story. \u00a0Since I no longer write Bonanza fan fiction, I ask that you honor my request to not post comments asking\u00a0for the story to continue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Least Dreaded<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A weapon.\u00a0 He had to find a weapon.<\/p>\n

Joe\u2019s eyes darted around the room.\u00a0 He knew he had only moments before one of the gang came upstairs and found him.\u00a0 The gunrack might as well be in San Francisco for all the good it was going to do him up here.\u00a0 To make things worse, he wasn\u2019t even in his own room, where he had a set of bow and arrows that had been given to him by a friendly Paiute.\u00a0 No, he was trapped in his oh-so-civilized eldest brother\u2019s room.<\/p>\n

The door creaked as it slowly opened . . .
\n~ * ~ * ~* ~
\n\u201cJoe!\u201d he heard from a distance.\u00a0 A deep voice, full of concern, but not one he wanted to hear from, though he couldn\u2019t quite figure out why.<\/p>\n

Feather-light touches on his face, ribs, legs; a palm on his forehead, then strong arms lifted him and settled him onto something soft.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe?\u201d\u00a0 The same voice, even more worried.\u00a0 \u201cPa, I think he hears me, but he isn\u2019t waking up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words drilled into his head with spikes of pain.\u00a0 He groaned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it, son,\u201d said a different deep voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, hand me a glass of water.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sipped, and the cool water eased his throat.\u00a0 He opened his eyes to blurry shapes and squinted to try to bring them into focus.\u00a0 His father was leaning over him, and he had momentary glimpses of a body in black appearing and disappearing.\u00a0 He groaned again.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t let him kill me, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShh,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re safe, son; Roy is taking the gang back to town, to the jail.\u201d\u00a0 He smoothed a hand over Joe\u2019s hair and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m proud of you, Joseph.\u00a0 All that ruckus up here distracted the rest of the gang, and Adam and I jumped them.\u00a0 You took care of the man up here, and by that time, Hoss was back with Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, please,\u201d he repeated, \u201cdon\u2019t let him kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked over his shoulder at his eldest, worry creasing his brow.\u00a0 \u201cThat blow to the head must be worse than I thought.\u00a0 He\u2019s still confused.\u00a0 Maybe we should get the doctor out here after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked up at his oldest brother, who had the strangest expression on his face.\u00a0 Worry, relief, frustration, fury, all melded with a certain familiar resignation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s fine,\u201d Adam said as he tucked more pillows under Joe\u2019s head, propping him up a bit more.\u00a0 \u201cHe means me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe cleared his throat and peered up at Adam, hoping that he could at least delay the execution until he felt a bit better.\u00a0 \u201cI tried to use only your old textbooks, but I mighta got hold of some Shakespeare.\u00a0 I know one of them was big enough that when it hit him in the face, it bought me enough time to grab your chair and break it over his head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c. . . complete works of John Donne . . .\u201d Adam muttered.\u00a0 He dropped the three-inch volume back on the floor and picked up a mashed roll of architectural drawings.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened to these?\u201d he asked as he tried to pull them apart.<\/p>\n

Joe coughed, his voice suddenly escaping him.\u00a0 \u201cUm . . . rolled up like that, they\u2019re good as a stick to the throat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam raised an eyebrow, then sighed and set them down on the floor \u2013 the only remaining flat space aside of the bed.\u00a0 He gathered more bits and pieces and laid them on the coverlet.\u00a0 \u201cThe drafting tools I can understand \u2013 sharp and pointy \u2013 I can even see how my wardrobe landed on the floor\u2014\u201d\u00a0 He cut off suddenly and looked at Joe in concern. \u00a0\u201cYou weren\u2019t under it, were you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head mournfully.\u00a0 \u201cNope, and he wasn\u2019t either.\u00a0 Luckily for me, that was just when\u2014\u201d\u00a0 Now he was the one to stop suddenly.<\/p>\n

Adam narrowed his eyes in suspicion.\u00a0 \u201cWhen what, little brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Adam,\u201d Ben broke in.\u00a0 \u201cIt was all in self-defense.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure whatever is broken can be replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Adam repeated, undeterred.<\/p>\n

Joe pulled himself back on the bed.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t get completely out of range, but he could sure try.\u00a0 \u201cYour\u2014\u201d His voice broke.\u00a0 He cleared his throat and tried again.\u00a0 \u201cYour guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sank back onto the bed and rubbed at the spot between his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI should have guessed.\u00a0 Of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI know, little buddy.\u00a0 Nothing you could have done any different.\u201d He looked around the room.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Relieved at how well Adam was taking the news, but still worried what he\u2019d do when he actually saw it, Joe pointed under the bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMet the same fate as the chair, I suppose,\u201d Adam muttered as he leaned down.\u00a0 \u201cHope it was as useful.\u201d\u00a0 He pulled it out with a mournful scowl, but then stared at it in stunned surprise.\u00a0 Except for three of the six strings being curled in rolls up by the head of the instrument, it was pristine.\u00a0 The late afternoon sun shone through the window and turned the blond wood into burnished gold, a perfectly smooth and unmarred surface.\u00a0 Adam turned it this way and that, examining every surface.\u00a0 \u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry about the broken strings.\u00a0 I had to have something that would distract him, something to catch him off guard.\u00a0 I only had a few seconds, but I wound \u2018em up as tight as I could and stuck it under the bed.\u00a0 You shoulda heard the weird plunky twang they made when they broke.\u00a0 That fella didn\u2019t know what was going on, and I got the drop on him.\u00a0 I lobbed that John Donne guy at his head along with whatever that is over there by the door\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam turned his head sidewise to make out the title.\u00a0 \u201cWordsworth,\u201d he inserted, followed by a muttered, \u201cAppropriate.\u00a0 \u2018Beware poetry in man \u2013 a weapon the more dangerous because the least dreaded!\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded, though he didn\u2019t really understand what Adam was talking about.\u00a0 \u201cSo then I jabbed him in the throat with those papers, and . . . well, I don\u2019t remember much more.\u201d\u00a0 He rubbed at his head and pulled a shard of white porcelain from his hair.\u00a0 \u201cI think he must have gotten me with your water pitcher.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam picked up a sharp, curved piece of white china.\u00a0 \u201cShaving bowl,\u201d he commented.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s enough,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 \u201cPut it down before you cut yourself.\u00a0 Joseph, let\u2019s see if we can get you into your own room, and you can rest up for a while.\u201d\u00a0 He helped Joe to his feet, and for the first time, they both had a good look at the bedroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Adam.\u201d Joe swayed.<\/p>\n

Adam just flapped a hand at him.\u00a0 \u201cGo lie down,\u201d he sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll deal with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben started to steer him out the door, but he pulled back at the last minute.\u00a0 \u201cI \u2013 I\u2019m sorry about the guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam shot him a queer look, then shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cConcussed, Pa.\u00a0 Better get him to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, young man.\u201d Ben chivied him down the hall with encouraging words.<\/p>\n

Once he was settled in bed \u2013 minus the shards of porcelain, which Ben picked out very carefully \u2013 with a glass of water lightly laced with laudanum, he tried once more. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm?\u201d\u00a0 Ben swirled the last bit of water in the bottom of the glass and handed it to him again.<\/p>\n

He dutifully swallowed it down.\u00a0 \u201cPa, d\u2019you think Adam will forgive me?\u00a0 I know he understands I had to use the books and the chair and all, but I didn\u2019t mean any of that.\u201d\u00a0 He handed the glass back, then fiddled with the quilt.\u00a0 \u201cHis guitar \u2013 see, I did that on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I forgive you,\u201d came a deep voice from the doorway.<\/p>\n

He looked up to see his brother framed in the doorway.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, the important thing is that you\u2019re safe \u2013 and that you did what you had to, to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

A slight smile quirked at Adam\u2019s mouth and he pulled the instrument out from behind his back, newly strung.\u00a0 \u201cHad some extras in my desk drawer.\u00a0 Once I pried it open, it only took a couple minutes to put them on.\u00a0 If you can stand the sound of me tuning them, I\u2019ll play for you to go to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed hard and relaxed into his pillow.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d he said, and closed his eyes.\u00a0 And as the first chords of an old French folk tune floated from his brother\u2019s fingers and he settled into sleep, he wondered when Adam would think to ask why his youngest brother had been in his room in the first place . . . .<\/p>\n

The End<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

\u00a9 June 2004, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

Note:\u00a0 Adam slightly misquoted the Marquis De Custine, a French traveler and author.<\/em><\/p>\n

From the Brandsters \/ Librarians — Any comments that do not respect the author’s wishes as posted above shall be removed<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0He used what he had at hand to save himself; now he pleaded, “Don’t let him kill me.”<\/p>\n

Rating: T (1,460 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8546,"featured_media":11800,"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_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[23,1008],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-family","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1008-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/A-J.jpg?fit=400%2C320&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14441","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\/8546"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}