{"id":15348,"date":"2017-10-26T07:44:54","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T11:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15348"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:03","slug":"joe-cartwright-magician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15348","title":{"rendered":"Joe Cartwright – Magician! (by Questfan)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>My entry for the Michael Landon Birthday Challenge. Michael was well known as a practical joker and the challenge was to write a Bonanza story celebrating that fun side of Michael in his role as Joe Cartwright.<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 Word Count: 660<\/p>\n

Joe Cartwright – Magician!<\/strong><\/p>\n

It had seemed like a great idea. Well, actually, it had seemed like the best idea they had come up with. Ever!<\/p>\n

Joe leaned against the railing and tried not to think about the tanning that was surely coming his way. He dropped his head onto his fist and tried to pull himself together. Pa would be home the day after tomorrow and Adam was certainly going to make his father aware of how things were as soon as he walked in the door. He let out a deep sigh as he knew that Adam couldn\u2019t really hide it from him even if he wanted to. Not that older brother wanted to. He didn\u2019t owe Joe any favours on that front. Not after what they\u2019d done.<\/p>\n

Mitch had long since departed for home, barely escaping with his life. His best friend\u2019s face had been as white as one of Hop Sing\u2019s clean sheets as he\u2019d clambered onto his horse and bolted from the yard. Adam\u2019s grim, tight-lipped silence was enough to keep his partner in crime from ever returning.<\/p>\n

Joe sighed again as he nudged the toe of his boot into the dirt. He groaned aloud as he saw the shadow of soot that still marked his boots and pants. He hadn\u2019t had time to wipe it all off and it seemed to have gotten everywhere. It wasn\u2019t at all what they had expected would happen.<\/p>\n

Inside the house, Hoss took a moment to peek outside through the curtains and check that his little brother was still in the yard. If he\u2019d taken it into his head to leave, well \u2026 that just wasn\u2019t worth thinking about. Older brother was in a dark enough mood and Little Joe was lucky to still be in one piece. Hoss let the curtain drop and glanced up the stairs again. Of course, he couldn\u2019t really blame Adam.<\/p>\n

As he heard boots on the stairs, Hoss dithered from one foot to the other, trying to decide what to say when Adam appeared. He twisted his hands together as he looked up and tried to keep a straight face. Adam\u2019s skin still had a red tinge to it across his cheeks and nose, but it was the space above his eyes that held his attention. Hoss wanted to look away, but found himself staring in horrid fascination. As Adam stepped down onto the floor, he scowled at Hoss\u2019s stare. He would have normally raised an eyebrow at his brother\u2019s rudeness, but this time he couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Hoss took a step forward and swallowed hard before speaking. Somehow it always seemed to fall to him to protect his younger brother from his older brother\u2019s wrath, even when it was deserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Adam \u2026 ya know they didn\u2019t mean nothin\u2019 to happen. It wasn\u2019t like they was \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to burn the barn down?\u201d Adam\u2019s frown was almost comical and Hoss found himself suddenly staring at the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, they didn\u2019t know it would blow up like that!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam sighed as he watched his brother. It was so typical of Hoss to come to Joe\u2019s defence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey was just tryin\u2019 out one of them magic tricks they found in that book! You\u2019re always tellin\u2019 Little Joe he should read more\u2018n just them dime novels and \u2026 well \u2026 he \u2026\u201d Hoss\u2019s voice faltered as he looked up and saw Adam staring at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will grow back. Won\u2019t they?\u201d He almost flinched as he waited for Adam to answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes \u2026 my eyebrows will grow back. But that book is going in the fire!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss barely smothered a giggle at the irony in that statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould be worse,\u201d he finally ventured.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d Adam\u2019s unamused face just didn\u2019t have the same impact with no eyebrows.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell … him an’ Mitch were readin\u2019 one of them detective stories last week. Just imagine \u2026 Joe tryin\u2019 to be a detective!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHeaven help us all!\u201d Adam shook his head at the awful thought.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright, Angst, Family, Hoss Cartwright, Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright, Mitch Devlin, Prank<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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

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

SUMMARY: A Bonanza story celebrating that fun side of Michael in his role as Joe Cartwright. Make it scary, funny, or dramatic . . . or all three!<\/p>\n

Rating: K Word Count: 660<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9743,"featured_media":49057,"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_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,1007,30,8,40],"tags":[408],"class_list":["post-15348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-humor","category-joe-cartwright","category-prequels","category-short-stories","category-challenges","tag-mlblc","wpcat-4-id","wpcat-1007-id","wpcat-30-id","wpcat-8-id","wpcat-40-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1473,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1C673A90-35E7-41AC-8BB3-F8707550AF36.jpeg?fit=700%2C525&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60422,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=60422","url_meta":{"origin":15348,"position":0},"title":"Three Thousand Six Hundred Seconds (by Pat D in PA)","author":"Pat D in PA","date":"October 31, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"SUMMARY: A short piece written for the Michael Landon Birthday Literary Challenge 2025. 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