{"id":15001,"date":"2000-09-09T13:56:29","date_gmt":"2000-09-09T17:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15001"},"modified":"2026-07-22T08:44:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:44:50","slug":"blood-is-thicker-than-water-by-starlite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15001","title":{"rendered":"Blood is Thicker than Water (by Starlite)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:<\/strong>\u00a0The Cartwrights’ are again visited by their favorite cousin.<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/strong>\u00a0 G\u00a0 \u00a0(7,500 words)<\/p>\n

Blood is Thicker than Water<\/strong><\/p>\n

Easily shouldering the bulky weight upon his shoulder, the big man purposefully strode from the General Store.\u00a0 His large feet resoundly echoed on the wooden sidewalk as he made his way towards the awaiting buckboard.\u00a0 He took great care not to dislodge his favorite dirty white ten-gallon hat from his head.<\/p>\n

“Hoss!”<\/p>\n

The large framed man turned awkwardly to the right at the sound of his name, while trying to keep the large sack of grain positioned on his shoulder.\u00a0 Not seeing the source and assuming he was hearing things, the biggest of the Cartwright clan returned his attention back to the sack and its destination.<\/p>\n

“Hoss Cartwright!”<\/p>\n

Hearing his name called yet again, the large man stopped abruptly and frowned.\u00a0 He scrunched up his face, the twang in the voice sounded vaguely familiar, but he just couldn’t place it to a face.<\/p>\n

Smiling smugly, Little Joe Cartwright strolled out of the general store comparing the list of supplies to the bill of sale.\u00a0 He was quite pleased with himself after having ‘convinced’ his big brother into doing the ‘easy’ chore.\u00a0 Afterall, everyone knew how hard all that figuring was, and carrying a 50-lb. bag of feed was a walk in the park for someone built like Hoss Cartwright.<\/p>\n

Finally Hoss’s mind came up with a face to match the voice.\u00a0 With a broad grin, he swung around to his left.\u00a0 Looking for the familiar face, he released the heavy grain sack.<\/p>\n

With his head bent down studying the two pieces of paper he held in his hands, Joe Cartwright did not realize his brother had stopped and plowed into him.\u00a0 The resulting impact caused the smaller of the two men to stagger backwards.\u00a0 Little Joe was just about to give Hoss the tongue lashing of his life when he found a large grain sack descending upon him, which was rapidly approaching his face.\u00a0 Trying to avoid a direct impact with his nose, Joe jumped back and once more stumbled, tripping over a loose plank in the wooden walkway.\u00a0 Reaching out to right himself, Joe grabbed onto the nearest object within arms distance, which unfortunately happened to be one of the town’s leading female members of the temperance league.\u00a0 Both fell onto the bench in front of the mercantile with Joe sitting on the older woman’s lap.<\/p>\n

“Well I never!”\u00a0 The older woman protested indignantly.<\/p>\n

“No ma’am, neither have I.”\u00a0 Joe tried in vain to sound apologetic while attempting to gracefully extricate himself from the woman’s lap.\u00a0 Though there had been many occasions with a young lady on his lap, he could not recall a single instance of the roles being reversed.<\/p>\n

Little Joe felt the sharp sting of a resounding slap upon the left side of his cheek before being shoved unceremoniously to the sidewalk.\u00a0 He raised his hand to rub at the sore spot on his face.<\/p>\n

“Muley Jones.”\u00a0 Smiling broadly, Hoss reached out to warmly grasp the hand that belonged with the voice.<\/p>\n

“Cousin Hoss.”\u00a0 The curly dark haired man’s face mirrored his cousin’s with an equally broad and somewhat goofy grin.<\/p>\n

Both men embraced, slapping each other soundly on the back.<\/p>\n

“You ole hound dog.\u00a0 How ya been?”\u00a0 Hoss intoned with a broad tooth-gapped grin.<\/p>\n

“Fine, Cousin Hoss just fine.”<\/p>\n

“Joe, Joe\u2026” Hoss looked around for his little brother and was stunned to find him lying on the boardwalk.<\/p>\n

Using his right arm to lean on the fallen sack of grain.\u00a0 Joe propped his chin upon his hand, and beheld the sappy sight before him.<\/p>\n

“Whatcha doing down there little brother?”\u00a0 Hoss asked seeing his brother’s dour expression.<\/p>\n

“Resting.”\u00a0 Looking upward from the corner of his eye, Joe Cartwright responded with more than a hint of disgust in his voice.<\/p>\n

“Well git up afore someone thinks you’re a little tetched.”\u00a0 Hoss warned.<\/p>\n

“Heh, me a little touched!”\u00a0 Joe muttered under his breath taking in the sight of his cousin.<\/p>\n

There stood the Cartwright cousin, grinning from ear to ear like a simpleton.\u00a0 Muley still wore a hat that was pushed back on his head that looked like something a 10 year-old would wear.\u00a0 Not to mention, his tweed coat jacket sleeves and the legs of his pants were a good couple of inches too short.\u00a0 Joe rolled his eyes and stifled a gag taking in the appearance of the citified country boy that stood next to his brother.<\/p>\n

Noticing the stares of some passerbys, Joe quickly got to his feet when Muley approached the youngest Cartwright.<\/p>\n

“Cousin Joe!”\u00a0 Muley excitedly announced grabbing Joe Cartwright’s right hand before he could protest or pull away.<\/p>\n

Joe thought his hand would be crushed or his arm dislocated from his shoulder as Muley over enthusiastically shook his hand.\u00a0 Trying to keep a pleasant look upon his face while his eyebrows rose to meet over his nose, and tears formed in his eyes, Joe managed to extricate his hand.<\/p>\n

Once free, Little Joe lost all interest in the conversation between his older brother and cousin.\u00a0 He was more interested in grabbing a beer before heading back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Glancing about to see if any townspeople were taking in the reunion spectacle, he noticed a mule.\u00a0 The mule Joe instantly recognized as belonging to his cousin, but beside it was the strangest looking shaggy dog that Joe had ever seen in his life.\u00a0 Leaning forward and squinting, Joe peered at the hairy animal.\u00a0 He was certain there was something resembling a small hat upon the critter’s head.\u00a0 Little Joe was brought out of his musings by a sharp hard slap to the center of his back that caused him to stumble forward.<\/p>\n

“Steady there boy.”\u00a0 Hoss reached out and grabbed his brother by the upper arm, setting Joe back firmly upon his feet.\u00a0 “You’re looking a mite peaked, we best get on home.”<\/p>\n

Joe was not happy to find himself being escorted back toward the buckboard by his arm.\u00a0 He was further humiliated when Hoss easily lifted him and placed him into the back of the wagon on top of the sacks of grain, as though he were a small child.\u00a0 Tipping his hat to cover most of his face, Joe slunk down into the bags of feed, he no longer wanted a beer.<\/p>\n

On the journey back to the ranch, Joe absently listened to Cousin Muley’s sad tale of woe.\u00a0 Seemed his bright idea of raising hound dogs hadn’t paid off, nor his relationship with the hot headed yellow pig-tailed young woman.\u00a0 So Muley had gone into raising Angora goats in the hopes of selling the hair, but that hadn’t gone well either.\u00a0 Most people didn’t want to deal with the strange fur and only the wolves seemed fond of the meat.<\/p>\n

Little Joe glanced out from under the brim of his hat at the ‘ugly’ dog and the mule that were tied to the back of the wagon, wondering what his father would think of their Cousin making another visit.\u00a0 He snorted aloud and fought to conceal his amusement when he heard Muley exclaim that he wanted to learn to be a rancher.<\/p>\n

Hoss shot his brother a warning glance over his shoulder when he heard his younger brother’s snicker.<\/p>\n

“Yep, that’s what I wanna be Hoss.\u00a0 A rancher.”\u00a0 Muley reaffirmed loudly.<\/p>\n

That was all it took for Little Joe to break out into his infectious giggle, once again he stared at the furry creature and the mule trailing behind.\u00a0 He could definitely see his cousin and older brother on a pair of jackasses rounding up that hairy herd for market all adorned with little straw hats upon their heads.<\/p>\n

“Joe!”\u00a0 Hoss barked in a threatening manner, his jaw set and his blue eyes blazing.\u00a0 The stern look upon Hoss’s face made the younger man laugh all the harder.<\/p>\n

Muley seemed oblivious to the mirth of his younger cousin as he continued on with the tale of his dreams to own his own ranch and raise goats.<\/p>\n

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

Ben Cartwright sat at his desk in the study pouring over the payroll ledgers.\u00a0 Unconsciously, he rubbed his shoulder and flexed the fingers of his right hand.\u00a0 He’d forgotten how exuberant Cousin Muley’s handshake could be.\u00a0 He looked up when he heard the front door open, he hoped it was his oldest son with a promising report on the spring roundup.<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright entered the ranch house.\u00a0 He was worn out, hungry and in dire need of a bath.\u00a0 It had been a long day of branding and he was quite put out of sorts, because his irresponsible younger siblings had neglected to show up and do their parts.\u00a0 He suspected that their trip back from town for supplies was delayed by a side excursion to the saloon for a beer or two, and perhaps a game of poker.<\/p>\n

He stopped by the open door to take off his hat and gun belt before carefully removing his chaps and rolling them up.\u00a0 Adam froze when he heard loud angry Chinese, then the strange sound of small hooves scraping the wooden walkway behind him.<\/p>\n

Adam watched in utter confusion as a small longhaired animal ran past his right leg, proceeding across the great room heading for the stairs.\u00a0 His mouth hung open and his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what type of creature that was, and why on earth was it wearing a small straw hat adorned with a daisy.\u00a0 He could clearly understand why Hop Sing was irate; the furry beast had one end of the clothesline in its mouth and was trailing today’s washing behind it.<\/p>\n

“What the devil!”\u00a0 Ben Cartwright roared rising from his chair behind the desk to follow the animal up the stairs.<\/p>\n

Adam was still standing there gaping at the scene being played out before him when he felt a tremendous blow strike him squarely in the back causing him to fall face first to the floor.\u00a0 Sprawled upon the floorboards, he noticed the large black boots of his brother Hoss proceed before his eyes running towards the stairs.\u00a0 Using his hands, Adam attempted to push himself to his feet.<\/p>\n

“Git ’em Hoss!\u00a0 Its’ got my best shirt!”<\/p>\n

Adam heard his baby brother’s exclamation of urgency and anger before feeling a solid weight between his shoulder blades.\u00a0 Once again his body was pushed abruptly downwards.\u00a0 Glancing up from where he lay, he watched as Little Joe’s dusty tan suede boots joined the pursuit.<\/p>\n

Finally feeling the coast was clear; Adam carefully rose to his knees and placed a hand to his lower back before standing.<\/p>\n

“Cousin Adam!”\u00a0 A most unfortunate and very familiar voice enthusiastically called out.<\/p>\n

“I might have known.”\u00a0 Adam sarcastically muttered with a sardonic grin before turning to face the voice. “Cousin Muley.”\u00a0 Placing his hand to his chest, Adam carefully protected his hand and arm from his gregarious cousin’s warm welcome.<\/p>\n

“Uh, by any chance\u2026”<\/p>\n

“They went thataway.”\u00a0 Adam replied with a droll and mocking tone as he cocked his head, then pointed to the stairs.\u00a0 Closing his eyes he pinched the bridge of his nose with his right index finger and thumb.\u00a0 Shaking his head in mild disdain and not for the first time since meeting his cousin all those years ago, he wondered what nut was responsible for this squirrel being on the Cartwright family tree.<\/p>\n

“Get that infernal beast out of this house!”<\/p>\n

Adam opened one eye, cocked his head and raised an eyebrow to look toward the ceiling.\u00a0 A silly bemused grin formed upon his lips at the sound of his father’s belligerent yell.\u00a0 Shaking his head he bent over to retrieve his fallen chaps.\u00a0 He had no sooner straightened, when he saw the strange creature with the straw-hat approach.\u00a0 Once again his eyes followed the animal’s hasty retreat through the open door.\u00a0 He’d just turned back to the center of the room when a large blur of white plowed into him.\u00a0 Finding his body flying backward, Adam landed with a resounding thud onto his back.<\/p>\n

“Catch ’em Hoss!”<\/p>\n

Adam managed to raise his arms just in time to protect his face, when a booted foot stepped firmly into the center of his chest, and then was gone.\u00a0 Groaning, Adam rolled over onto his right side to watch the pursuit.<\/p>\n

“Adam\u2026?”<\/p>\n

“Thataway.”\u00a0 Adam growled pointing with his left index finger towards the open door and the retreating forms of one hairy beast replete with straw hat, a daisy and today’s wash; as well as his two younger brothers.\u00a0 In a huff, Adam slammed the door closed once Muley’s had cleared the open doorway.<\/p>\n

“What are you doing lying on the floor?”<\/p>\n

Adam heard a disembodied voice bellow from nearby and looked up into the very exasperated and distraught face of his father.<\/p>\n

“Resting.”\u00a0 Adam replied calmly, his sarcastic tone of voice not lost on his father.<\/p>\n

“Well if you’re that tired, go to bed!”\u00a0 Ben fired back; he was clearly at his wit’s end and had no tolerance for his own son’s irreverent attitude.<\/p>\n

Getting to his feet, Adam placed his right hand over his breastbone to surreptitiously rub the tender spot left by his baby brother.<\/p>\n

“I think I’ll do just that.”\u00a0 Adam pompously remarked, sauntering purposely by his father and up the stairs to his room.<\/p>\n

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

Hoss Cartwright and Muley Jones walked over to the corral.\u00a0 After completing the barn chores and showing his cousin the finer art of chopping wood, Hoss was patiently explaining the painful job of breaking horses.<\/p>\n

“Now all ya gotta do is listen to whatever Joe tells ya to do.\u00a0 Cus here, he’s the boss.”\u00a0 Hoss proudly instructed indicating his little brother, who was carefully lowering his body onto the back of a very frightened and skittish horse.<\/p>\n

Though most of his attention was focused upon the task at hand, which was seating himself securely onto the back of the soon to be bucking bronco.\u00a0 Little Joe smiled to himself when he noticed his bigger brother and cousin approach the wooden fence.\u00a0 Joe loved attention and relished the opportunity to show off for his family and friends.\u00a0 Nodding to the man beside the chute, Joe barked out the instruction:<\/p>\n

“Open the gate!”<\/p>\n

Ever the one to be helpful and wanting to follow his big cousin’s instruction to do whatever Little Joe said to do, Muley rushed over to the corral fence.\u00a0 Releasing the lash, he threw open the gate and watched as the recently broken and unbroken herd of horses made a frenzy dash for freedom.<\/p>\n

Joe was stunned by the sight of the fleeing herd before him.\u00a0 Losing all train of thought and concentration, he found his body sailing through the air to land in a cloud of dust and fresh horse droppings.\u00a0 Shocked, he laid there with his mouth gaping, while watching the silver gray mare that had just thrown him, gallop off to join the others.\u00a0 He noted absently that it was still bucking to unsuccessfully free itself of the offending saddle.<\/p>\n

Hoss stood wide-eyed and gulped.\u00a0 How to explain this one to Pa?<\/p>\n

“ALL OF THEM?”\u00a0 Ben Cartwright bellowed, rattling the panes of glass in the downstairs windows.<\/p>\n

Joe winced and shied away from his father at the dinner table.\u00a0 His lip rolled into a sneer when he turned his full glare upon his older brother sitting across the table from him. Let me handle it, he says.\u00a0 Boy, he sure does know how to handle their Pa – yeah right, sure he does!\u00a0 While visions of mucking out stalls and cleaning outhouses until he was 90 traipsed through Joe’s mind.\u00a0 Joe noticed that Hoss’s eyebrows were almost to his receding hairline and he’d just swallowed deeply as though he were fighting to keep down what little dinner he’d just eaten down.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe thought if Hoss continued to fidget by tightly wringing the red checkered cloth napkin in his massive hands, it might turn into a spring and smack him in the face.<\/p>\n

Seeing the darkening shade of crimson creeping slowly across the Cartwright patriarch’s visage, Adam definitely could see the tale tell signs of an impending storm and devoted his full attention to counting the peas on his dinner plate.<\/p>\n

“Well, ya see Cousin Ben.\u00a0 It’s kinda my fault.”\u00a0 Muley tried to interject on behalf of his younger cousins.<\/p>\n

Darn straight it\u2019s your fault, both Hoss and Joe thought to themselves, then joined in glaring at their cousin.<\/p>\n

“Ya see, I was just trying to be helpful and when Joe ordered the gate open, I just\u2026”<\/p>\n

Muley stopped his sorrowful explanation when he saw Ben Cartwright raise a hand and shake his head woefully to cease any further explanation.\u00a0 He was certain he now had the full picture.\u00a0 Taking a deep breath to lower his blood pressure and attempt to calm his nerves, Ben chose his words carefully.<\/p>\n

“Accidents do happen.”<\/p>\n

“Even to the best of families.”\u00a0 Adam sarcastically muttered under his breath then took a sip from his water glass, before he found his father’s full attention directed at him.\u00a0 He noticed his Pa’s right eyebrow raise slightly before the silver-haired man spoke again.<\/p>\n

“Tomorrow, you all will assist Adam with the branding chores.”<\/p>\n

A chorus of “But Pa” followed from both Adam and Little Joe.\u00a0 Neither man wanted to be subjected to the ‘accident waiting to happen’ known as their cousin, Muley.\u00a0 As far as they were concerned, he was Hoss’s stray, let Hoss take care of him.<\/p>\n

Ben raised his right hand to stave off the objections now being issued by his sons.<\/p>\n

“Joseph, we were several weeks ahead of schedule with the horses.\u00a0 Adam, just this morning you were complaining about the extra calves and needing more hands.\u00a0 Well now you have them.”\u00a0 Ben momentarily paused when he waved a gracious hand over the table indicating the other members of the family.<\/p>\n

“Now you have the extra hands that you need.\u00a0 When the branding is complete, you can help Joe with rounding up those horses and breaking them in.”<\/p>\n

Ben in turn looked at each one of his sons, indicating that he would entertain no further complaint from any of them.\u00a0 When he looked to his cousin to insure that he had heard the dictate, Ben realized the man seemed totally oblivious to the disharmony of which he was the source.\u00a0 Disaffected by the animosity looming around the dining room, Muley continued to eat.<\/p>\n

Suddenly losing their appetites, Adam and Joe excused themselves from the table.\u00a0 Recognizing a brewing storm, Ben rose to talk quietly with his eldest.\u00a0 Reaching out, he grabbed Adam by his right elbow and drew him close so they could talk privately.<\/p>\n

“Adam, no matter what you think, he is family.\u00a0 And blood is thicker than water.”\u00a0 Ben knew his eldest son did not suffer fools lightly, and hoped to reason with his firstborn son to quell any further dispute.<\/p>\n

Adam glanced back over to the two men seated at the table; one with a red checkered napkin tucked into his stiff starched shirt collar.\u00a0 Both seemed to be in some type of food eating contest and he rolled his eyes at the sight.<\/p>\n

“Yeah, he’s thick alright.”\u00a0 Adam drolly intoned before carefully disengaging his arm from his father’s grasp and making his way upstairs to his room.\u00a0 Something told him that tomorrow was going to be a very long day.<\/p>\n

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

Hoss held out the lasso once more trying to show the fine art of roping to his cousin.\u00a0 They’d been out on the range for hours and the only creature that Muley had successfully ensnared was his own horse, three times.<\/p>\n

“Alright Muley, this here’s how it’s done.\u00a0 You take a length of the rope like this and form a loop.\u00a0 Then you\u2026” Hoss patiently demonstrated for his cousin.\u00a0 He was concentrating on his teaching and didn’t notice that the other man was no longer paying him any mind.<\/p>\n

“I got one!\u00a0 Look Cousin Hoss, I got one!”\u00a0 Muley exclaimed excitedly, pulling sharply on the rope that was affixed to something hidden behind some tall brush.<\/p>\n

Hoss Cartwright broke out into raucous howls of laughter when he saw what stood at the end of Muley’s rope.<\/p>\n

“Ha Ha.”\u00a0 Little Joe Cartwright sneered.\u00a0 “Gimme that!”\u00a0 He demanded pulling the rope free from his cousin’s hands.<\/p>\n

“What were you doing in there, cousin?”\u00a0 Muley was dumbfounded at the sight of the youngest Cartwright emerging from the bushes, which brought even more hoots of laughter from the middle Cartwright son.<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright rode up on his spirited mount and surveyed the situation with a wary eye.\u00a0 He’d come in search of his middle brother and cousin, who had not been seen in hours, and had found both, as well as his baby brother.\u00a0 He stepped down and carefully approached noting his one brother’s obvious fury, the other’s hilarity and finally his cousin, who was being true to form as he stood there in his usual bewildered state of confusion.<\/p>\n

“Would someone care to explain what’s going on around here?”\u00a0 Adam patiently inquired with his left eyebrow raised as he appraised each in turn.\u00a0 Seeing that no answer was forthcoming, Adam approached his youngest sibling.<\/p>\n

“I always knew this would happen one day, Little Joe.”\u00a0 Adam quietly intoned, causing Hoss to stop his laughter to hear what his older brother was about to say.<\/p>\n

“I always figured that when it came time for you to tie the knot\u2026” Adam added while he lifted the loop from around his baby brother’s head.<\/p>\n

“That it would be a shotgun wedding, not a hanging.”\u00a0 Adam concluded, while rolling the lasso up in his hands.<\/p>\n

This brought more gales of laughter from Adam’s larger brother and even a couple of chuckles from their cousin.\u00a0 Little Joe on the other hand could only see red.\u00a0 Balling his hands into fists, he stormed off in the direction of Cochise.\u00a0 Leaping into the saddle, Joe Cartwright rode away, he’d had enough of smart-alecky brothers, dumb cousins and smelly steers.<\/p>\n

Turning his attention back to the source of his search, he addressed his brother and cousin.<\/p>\n

“Where have the two of you been?\u00a0 I have yet to see you bring a single steer over to the branding pits?”\u00a0 Adam demanded, his mood suddenly serious and back to business.<\/p>\n

“Ya see it’s all my fault, cousin.”\u00a0 Muley attempted to apologize seeing the dark expression that befell Adam Cartwright’s face.<\/p>\n

Why am I not surprised?\u00a0 Adam wondered, crossing his arms over his chest and giving his cousin his full attention.<\/p>\n

Muley Jones felt his cousin’s dark hazel eyes bore through him, nervously he began to pull at the collar of his long johns undershirt.\u00a0 Swallowing, he turned pleading eyes to his other cousin.<\/p>\n

Seeing his cousin obvious discomfort, Hoss cleared his throat to address his older and very displeased sibling.<\/p>\n

“Well, ya see it’s like this\u2026” Hoss paused and swallowed hard when he saw Adam’s penetrating glare now directed towards him.<\/p>\n

“Yes, you were saying?”\u00a0 With raised eyebrow, Adam addressed Hoss by interrupting the growing silence caused by his brother’s hesitation.<\/p>\n

Deciding it was better than trying to explain the situation to his brother or make excuses, Hoss felt it best to just give the plain truth to Adam.<\/p>\n

“Doggone it Adam, he just ain’t no good at it.”<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head in acknowledgement.\u00a0 Reaching up he tugged at his left earlobe before studying the ground below his feet.\u00a0 He knew his father expected that he show Muley about rounding up steers, but this was one lesson Adam was sure he was not qualified to teach, at least not to this pupil.\u00a0 Realizing the only way to get any work done, Adam decided to redistribute the workload.<\/p>\n

“Alright, let’s see if you’re any better at branding than you are at roping.”\u00a0 Adam handed the rope back to his cousin before mounting his horse and heading back to the branding pits with his new hands.<\/p>\n

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

“Okay Muley, just hold him down.”\u00a0 Adam directed moving forward with branding iron in hand.<\/p>\n

For a fairly big man, Muley struggled with the animal finally releasing the young steer with a strangled yelp, when it head-butted him below the belt.<\/p>\n

Might not have to worry about that arm of the Cartwright tree branching any further.\u00a0 Wincing in sympathy, Adam mused to himself as he watched his cousin writhe upon the dusty ground.\u00a0 He waited until Muley had regained his composure before beginning again.<\/p>\n

“This is how it’s done.”\u00a0 Adam Cartwright drew a small steer over near the branding pits.\u00a0 Putting his left knee onto the side of the calf, he used his hands to hold the head still, which placed his full body weight into pinning the animal to the ground.<\/p>\n

“But Cousin Adam, ain’t that a little cruel?”\u00a0 Muley wondered watching the small creature struggle beneath his cousin’s weight.<\/p>\n

“No, it’s not.”\u00a0 Adam answered beginning to lose his patience.<\/p>\n

“But ain’t ya hurting the poor little critter?”\u00a0 Muley persisted with his argument, he was beginning to wonder if he was up to wrestling with those cute little white faced calves.<\/p>\n

“Muley, would you go and get a branding iron and bring it over here.”\u00a0 Adam practically yelled at his cousin, as the young steer continued to struggle beneath him, almost causing him to lose his grip.<\/p>\n

Muley shrugged his shoulders in defeat and walked over to the fire and the branding irons.\u00a0 Grabbing the first one he found; he turned to make his way back to this cousin.<\/p>\n

“No that one, get one that’s hot!”\u00a0 Sweat now forming on his brow and trickling down the sides of his face from his exertions, Adam commanded in exasperation.<\/p>\n

Rolling his shoulders, Muley went back to the fire.\u00a0 Grabbing an iron that glowed with a nice shade of orange, he returned to where his cousin sat with the little steer.<\/p>\n

Taking a calming breath, Adam verified that the iron was nice and hot, before returning his full attention to holding the squirming young calf still.<\/p>\n

“Now just do like I showed you.”<\/p>\n

The sight of the iron burning into the hides of the young steers made the other man almost sick to his stomach.\u00a0 Unable to watch, Muley closed his eyes and turned his head away before thrusting the hot branding iron forward, hoping to hit his target.<\/p>\n

“YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”<\/p>\n

The piercing yell shattered the quiet calm of the peaceful spring afternoon.\u00a0 Birds alit from their trees to fly for safety; small rabbits scurried from their hovels in search of quieter refuge, while white tailed deer frantically ran for parts unknown.<\/p>\n

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

“Get away from me.\u00a0 Let me go, I can walk!”<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright looked up from his ledgers at the sound of footsteps on the front porch and his eldest son’s very irate voice.\u00a0 Hearing the unlatching of the front door, he rose to greet his son.<\/p>\n

“I’m alright, let me go!”\u00a0 Adam demanded pulling his arm from Hoss’s massive grip.<\/p>\n

“Adam?”\u00a0 Ben inquired seeing his oldest son pushing his brother away.<\/p>\n

“And you, you stay away from me.”\u00a0 Adam ordered pointing an accusing finger at his cousin.<\/p>\n

Hearing the commotion from the kitchen, Little Joe rounded the corner of the dining room with apple in hand.\u00a0 Taking a bite from the red fruit, he watched his family in confused fascination; he could tell that Adam was definitely worked up into a state over something.<\/p>\n

“Would someone please tell me what’s going on?”\u00a0 Ben demanded placing his hands upon his hips and addressing the three men bickering before him.<\/p>\n

“I’m awfully sorry, Cousin Adam.”\u00a0 Muley’s voice was plaintive in tone.<\/p>\n

“You’ve said that already.”\u00a0 Adam angrily retorted.<\/p>\n

“Now Adam, you know he didn’t mean nothing by it.”\u00a0 Hoss was growing tired of his older brother’s behavior and was beginning to get a little miffed.<\/p>\n

“You stay out of this.”\u00a0 Adam warned pointing a finger in Hoss’s face.<\/p>\n

Joe inched forward, cocking his head to the side he studied what looked to be a tear in the back of his brother’s pants.\u00a0 Taking another bite from his apple, he tentatively reached out with his free right hand in the direction of Adam’s backside.<\/p>\n

“Stay away.”\u00a0 Adam snorted as he slapped his baby brother’s hand.<\/p>\n

“ENOUGH!”\u00a0 Ben bellowed insuring that he had everyone’s full attention before continuing, “Now, would someone be so kind as to tell me what’s going on?”<\/p>\n

“Pa, he didn’t mean to do it.”\u00a0 Hoss offered in his cousin’s defense.<\/p>\n

“I’m awfully sorry, Cousin Ben.”\u00a0 Muley pleaded.<\/p>\n

“Yeah, yeah.\u00a0 I’ve heard that one before.”\u00a0 Adam griped before swatting at his youngest brother’s hand once more.<\/p>\n

Closing his eyes in frustration and beginning to wonder if he’d ever get his simple question answered, Ben Cartwright drew a deep calming breath before addressing his first born son.<\/p>\n

“Adam, what happened?”<\/p>\n

Glancing first to his right and his large younger brother, before glaring to his left where his sorrowful cousin stood.\u00a0 Adam’s unleashed a torrent of unbridled fury, which caused Muley to back away in mild terror.<\/p>\n

“He branded me!”<\/p>\n

Nodding, Joe confirmed Adam’s accusation by poking his finger at his oldest brother’s wounded pride before Adam could slap his hand away once more.\u00a0 He noticed with much chagrin that at least Muley managed to get something right.<\/p>\n

“Yep right on older brother’s\u2026”<\/p>\n

“JOSEPH!”<\/p>\n

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

Fingering the polished metal of the antique weapon, Ben Cartwright lightly rubbed the barrel of the pistol with the oiled rag.\u00a0 Once satisfied that the old musket gun positively gleamed, he decided to take the weapon out back to see if it was still able to fire.\u00a0 Reaching down he tore open the packet of gunpowder and carefully poured the contents into the mouth of the barrel, followed by a wad of cloth.\u00a0 Taking the ramming rod, he packed it in tightly.\u00a0 Following that task, he dropped in the round lead ball and tapped it securely into place.<\/p>\n

Yes, this is a fine piece of weaponry.\u00a0 Ben thought while he beheld the gun in his hands.\u00a0 He was startled from his admiration by the announced presence of his youngest child.<\/p>\n

“Hey Pa, whatcha got there?”<\/p>\n

“Hum?\u00a0 This is a pistol that I inherited from my great-grandfather.\u00a0 I found it last week in one of the old trunks in the storage room.”\u00a0 Ben replied as he held the gun out for Little Joe to see.<\/p>\n

Taking the pistol from his father’s grip, Joe began to finger the smooth cool metal and sight the weapon.<\/p>\n

“Careful, I just loaded it.”\u00a0 Ben warned, rising from his chair and walking around the desk to stand near his son.<\/p>\n

Joe and Ben stood side by side admiring the antiquated pistol when Hoss and Muley entered the room from the front door.\u00a0 Seeing his father, Hoss approached the two men with his cousin not far behind.<\/p>\n

“Hey, whatcha got there?”\u00a0 Hoss called out nearing his family.<\/p>\n

“Great great-grandfather’s pistol,” Joe responded, handing it over to his large brother.<\/p>\n

“Woo wee, it sure is a beaut.”\u00a0 Hoss declared feeling the balance of the pistol, while holding it at arm’s length to marvel at its luster.<\/p>\n

“Careful\u2026” Ben advised, but was a moment too late.\u00a0 He watched helplessly as Muley grabbed the gun from his cousin’s massive grip.<\/p>\n

“Boy, it sure is purty.\u00a0 I remember a fella once had a gun like this.\u00a0 He was using it in some type of duel over some pretty little thing and when\u2026” Muley demonstrated by pointing the pistol heavenward, suddenly a reverberating crack shattered the peaceful late spring morning.<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright rolled gently onto his side before sitting up gingerly. After much arguing, pleading and cajoling the night before, he’d finally let his father tend to his injury.\u00a0 He figured his father had let him sleep in late, after slipping him some sleeping powder the night before.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam had let his father think he was unaware of his actions, but Adam was quite aware of his father’s actions and secretly was grateful for both the powder and the extra sleep.<\/p>\n

This morning he was feeling considerably better, though he was still a little tender, he found the ache annoying but not unbearable.\u00a0 Standing he tested the muscles in his backside, before walking carefully over to the wall to retrieve his black jeans from the hook.\u00a0 Once he had slipped the stiff fabric on, he made his way to the wash stand.\u00a0 Completing his shave, he returned to the hook and grabbed his black shirt and lightly tossed it onto the bed.\u00a0 He stopped briefly at his bureau to retrieve a pair of socks, which joined his shirt on the bed.\u00a0 Finding his boots, Adam went back to the bed and sat down gingerly to begin the task of putting on his socks and boots.\u00a0 He’d no sooner finished putting on his right sock and boot, and was pulling the pant’s leg over the boot top when he heard a loud bang below him.<\/p>\n

Startled, he leaned back on the bed and observed a small object appear before his face, flying upward to the rafters of his room.\u00a0 Squinting he attempted to follow the projectile’s path.\u00a0 Raising his face to the ceiling, he watched intently while a small round metal ball connected with one of the wooden beams causing it to ricochet downwards.\u00a0 Continuing to follow the trajectory, he noticed the object fall to the floor near his foot and roll over to his now discarded left boot.<\/p>\n

Bending, he picked up the small round metal ball.\u00a0 Holding it between his index finger and thumb he studiously examined it, before looking to the nice circular hole it had produced in his room’s floor.<\/p>\n

“Hack, hack.”\u00a0 Joe coughed and sputtered, waving futilely at the gunpowder cloud that engulfed the large room of the Ponderosa ranch house.<\/p>\n

“You were saying?”\u00a0 In blatant annoyance, Ben angrily turned a steely eye and his full attention from the hole in his main room’s ceiling, to his country cousin.<\/p>\n

“Gimme that!”\u00a0 Hoss demanded, trying to yank the pistol away from his cousin before he could cause any further damage.\u00a0 His efforts were stalled by a most unusual noise.<\/p>\n

Bump<\/p>\n

Thump<\/p>\n

BUMP<\/p>\n

THUMP<\/p>\n

All eyes were drawn to the top of the stairs at the sound of angry mismatched footsteps descending the walkway.\u00a0 Ben, Hoss and Joe instantly recognized the furious scowl upon Adam’s face.<\/p>\n

Wearing only his black jeans and one boot, Adam descended the stairs with his shirt and left boot in one hand.<\/p>\n

BUMP<\/p>\n

THUMP<\/p>\n

Bump<\/p>\n

Thump<\/p>\n

Slowly with even purposeful strides, Adam made his way from the stairs over to where his family stood with their mouths hanging open.\u00a0 To those who knew him well, Adam was a man enraged.\u00a0 Not knowing who Adam would target to vent his rage, and more than a little uncertain of their totally perturbed oldest brother.\u00a0 Joe emitted a small squeak, then took a step backward to stand behind his father placing a hand upon the older man’s arm.\u00a0 Even Hoss was frightened, and if the situation weren’t so serious, Ben would have chuckled when he realized that his large middle son had stepped nearer to him for protection.<\/p>\n

Looking first to his father and brothers, Adam turned an evil eye to the culprit.\u00a0 Grabbing the man’s free hand with the one that held his shirt and boot, Adam opened his cousin’s fist and with his other hand plopped the small round metal ball into the center of Muley’s palm.<\/p>\n

“I believe you lost one.”\u00a0 Adam sarcastically articulated.\u00a0 Turning on his booted heel, he slowly made his way from the room and through the open front door.<\/p>\n

Ben, Hoss and Joe Cartwright first glanced at the object that Adam had deposited in their cousin’s outstretched hand, then to the door as the partially clad Adam departed.<\/p>\n

In confusion, Muley Jones could only wonder about his cousin Adam’s bizarre behavior while staring at the marble sitting harmlessly in the center of his palm.<\/p>\n

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

Adam Cartwright rode into the high meadow.\u00a0 He knew he should spend more time at the branding pits, but somehow the smell of burning flesh resurfaced unpleasant memories from an all too recent bad experience.\u00a0 Deciding his time would be better spent if he were away from the taunting branding crew; not to mention as far away from his lackadaisical cousin as was humanly possible.<\/p>\n

Glancing about the wooded countryside Adam spotted a small herd of wild horses, among them was a gray mare, with a saddle still situated precariously upon its back.\u00a0 Realizing this must be some of the ones that were inadvertently released by his cousin, Adam slowly retrieved his rope from his saddle horn before quietly nudging Sport forward to approach the group.<\/p>\n

Maintaining a downwind position, Adam circled slowly to not startle the animals.\u00a0 As soon as he felt that he was within range, he swung the loop of rope over his head.\u00a0 After its release, the rope landed gracefully upon the semi-saddled gray mare.\u00a0 There was a small struggle as the now lassoed horse rebelled, but with long years of practice Adam easily subdued and quieted the animal.<\/p>\n

After wrapping the rope about the saddle horn, Adam carefully dismounted Sport and approached the terrified mare.\u00a0 Nearing the horse, Adam spoke soothing words of comfort to the frightened beast in an attempt to calm the mare.\u00a0 He felt if he could remove the offending saddle from its back, that he’d have a better chance of leading it home to the corral.<\/p>\n

With the patience of Job, Adam slowly undid the buckle of the cinch, all the while talking smoothly to the mare.\u00a0 After releasing the belt, he carefully pulled the saddle from the horse.\u00a0 Stepping back from the mare, he laid the leather seat onto the ground.<\/p>\n

Confident that he now had the gray mare in a more controllable state, Adam returned to his own horse and remounted.\u00a0 Removing the rope from the saddle horn, Adam grasped the rough hemp length in one hand and the reins of Sport in the other.\u00a0 With a simple nudge of his knee and a dipping of the rein he indicated to his mount, to begin the journey home.\u00a0 He was stopped short by a loud warning shout.<\/p>\n

“TIMBER!”<\/p>\n

Hearing the warning yell followed by a loud cracking of snapping wood, Adam swiftly spurred his horse up the steep slope away from the falling Ponderosa.\u00a0 Unable to control his mount and hold the rope, Adam released the line, freeing the gray mare once more.\u00a0 A safe distance away, the eldest Cartwright son paused to look back and watched while the tree toppled to the ground with a momentous crash.<\/p>\n

Surprised and stunned by nearly being crushed by the felled tree, Adam stopped to count his blessings.\u00a0 His relief was quickly dissipated by a resurgence of rage when he noticed Hoss and Muley approach to trim the branches off the fallen pine.<\/p>\n

Exercising patience he didn’t realize he still possessed, Adam walked Sport down the slope toward his unsuspecting younger brother and cousin. Both men were deep in conversation and totally unaware of Adam’s deathly quiet advance.\u00a0 Slowly Adam neared the two men, blocking out the light of the sun over them.<\/p>\n

Noticing the unexplained shadow, Hoss turned to look to the sky for a change of weather.\u00a0 He almost jumped out of his skin when he found the enraged scowl of his older brother staring down at him.\u00a0 Turning around, Hoss watched as the angry form of his brother dismounted and closed in upon him.<\/p>\n

“Hey Adam, ain’t ya spose to be at the branding pits?”\u00a0 Hoss gulped and swallowed, uncertain as to the cause of his brother’s fury and suspecting that either he or Muley must be the guilty culprits.<\/p>\n

Hoss was fairly certain that Adam’s job assignment for the day was to help Joe finish up the branding.\u00a0 He also knew his father had instructed him to keep Muley ‘out of trouble’, by taking him up to the north section to remove some of the dead wood.\u00a0 He definitely wasn’t expecting to see Adam.<\/p>\n

“Hey cousin.”\u00a0 Muley happily greeted Adam, a little bewildered by the angry glare he was once again receiving from his cousin at the moment.<\/p>\n

Without a word, Adam drew his revolver from the holster on his hip.\u00a0 Drawing ever nearer to the two now befuddled men.<\/p>\n

“Now Adam, there ain’t no call for ya to git your britches in an uproar.”\u00a0 Hoss tried to calm the raging fury known as Adam Cartwright.<\/p>\n

“Uh cousin.”\u00a0 Muley pleaded, stepping backward and raising his hands with open palms facing toward Adam.<\/p>\n

With well-measured strides, Adam drew closer.\u00a0 Stopping, he raised an eyebrow in disdain, before rapidly turning and firing.\u00a0 Thereby putting the crushed saddle out of its misery.<\/p>\n

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

After dinner that evening, the men of the Ponderosa rose from the dining table and entered the large main room of the ranch house.\u00a0 Only cousin Muley remained, finishing the last slice of apple pie.<\/p>\n

Adam retreated to his favorite blue chair with leather-bound book in hand.\u00a0 His father sat across the low table from him, in an overstuffed burgundy leather one.\u00a0 Grabbing an apple from the bowl of fruit on the table, Hoss proceeded to polish the fruit upon his leather vest.\u00a0 Taking a seat on the low table, Joe challenged his large older brother to a game of checkers.<\/p>\n

“Well cousins, I’ve come to a decision.”\u00a0 Muley Jones announced loudly.\u00a0 Standing up from the table to approach his family, who were all relaxing in the living room.<\/p>\n

Little Joe looked up from where he was setting up a game of checkers.\u00a0 He turned baleful pleading eyes towards his oldest brother when his recently finished dinner threatened to make its reappearance.<\/p>\n

“And that is?”\u00a0 Adam dryly pondered aloud, earning him a warning glance from his father.<\/p>\n

“I just don’t think I’m cut out to be a rancher.”\u00a0 Muley avowed joining the others and stopping to stand in front of the large fireplace in the main room.<\/p>\n

“Now Muley, that jist ain’t so.\u00a0 You jist gotta give yerself a little time that’s all.”\u00a0 Hoss encouraged.\u00a0 Earning him a warning glance from his father and sick look from his little brother, both of which his older brother had received moments before.<\/p>\n

“Well, if that’s your decision.”\u00a0 Ben hurriedly replied, then realizing his sudden outburst hoped he didn’t sound too eager in his response.<\/p>\n

“Yes, Cousin Ben.\u00a0 This ranching stuff is just plain hard work, and I’m meant for finer things.”\u00a0 Muley answered hooking his thumbs under his suspender straps and rocking back and forth on his heels.<\/p>\n

“I think this calls for a drink.”\u00a0 Adam happily announced as he practically jumped up from his seat, tossing the book back onto the chair.<\/p>\n

Adam quickly poured the brandy from the scarlet crystal decanter into five small matching goblets.\u00a0 Moving lightly on his feet, he rapidly distributed the glasses to his father, brothers and cousin.\u00a0 He was afraid to break the spell of the moment for fear that the wannabe rancher would change his mind.<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright watched his normally stoic eldest child moving swiftly and unusually light-footed about the room dispensing the alcoholic beverages to all present.\u00a0 To someone who knew Adam well, he would’ve declared that Adam’s demeanor was positively giddy.\u00a0 But Ben was somewhat giddy himself at the thought that things would soon be back to normal with the departure of their error prone cousin.\u00a0 Ben was so wrapped up in his thoughts and dreams of normalcy upon the ranch, that he hadn’t even noticed that Muley had broken out in song in a tribute to his cousin Ben.<\/p>\n

“And he’s a Jolly Good Fellow\u2026” Muley held the note as his voice climbed in octave, reaching the point that only he could obtain, which threatened the window panes of the great house.<\/p>\n

Realizing too late, Ben moved forward to try and stop Muley’s vocalizing.\u00a0 Now singing wholeheartedly with his eyes closed, Muley didn’t notice the warning signal from his cousin and host.\u00a0 Adam placed his glass at arm’s length, with one eye partially opened to observe the impending results.\u00a0 Hoss swallowed nervously and placed his wineglass onto the table before him, he was well aware of the results of Muley’s vocal talents.\u00a0 Little Joe continued to hold his glass and peered closely at the object as he felt it begin to vibrate in his hand.<\/p>\n

In a succession of pops and crackles, five small cranberry colored wine glasses shattered about the room.\u00a0 Ben closed his eyes and prayed for patience, guidance and forgiveness. Wide-eyed, Little Joe surveyed the other members of the room; he’d released his glass as though it had bit allowing the remains to fall harmlessly to the floor. Hoss winced then futilely attempted to wipe the contents from the wineglass off the leg of his pants. Adam studied the crystal stem he still held, which was now minus the flute portion of the glass and hoped his father wasn’t too fond of the set.<\/p>\n

Glancing about the room in general, Adam made a silent observation of the situation in general before muttering to no one in the room in particular.<\/p>\n

“Which nobody can deny.”<\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

Tags:<\/strong> muley jones<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: The Cartwrights\u2019 are again visited by their favorite cousin. <\/p>\n

Rated: G (7,500 words) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10520,"featured_media":26604,"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":[1008,4,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-humor","category-whn","wpcat-1008-id","wpcat-4-id","wpcat-13-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/The-Saga-of-Muley-Jones.png?fit=877%2C578&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15001","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\/10520"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}