Written for a Halloween story challenge where the author was given three prompts.\u00a0 Mine were Hoss as the hero, a goblin as the villain, and fire as the plot element.<\/p>\n
Summary: That baby brother of his, he could talk him into anythin’. They shoulda been home, but instead they ended up campin’ out near 13 year old Little Joe’s little gal’s house. All would have been well and good if’n only Joe’d have stayed put. But this was Joe<\/em> and he didn’t. When he asked him how come, his baby brother said he didn’t know.<\/p>\n Was it a nightmare, Hoss wondered, that called Little Joe out into the mist and got him nearly drowned?<\/p>\n Or was it somethin’ else?<\/p>\n Rated PG<\/p>\n An appropriate 7, 666 words!<\/p>\n The Bonanza characters do not belong to me and I am grateful for the chance to use them along with my original characters.\u00a0 I gain nothing other than the satisfaction of giving people pleasure.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Lantern Man<\/strong><\/p>\n Hero:- Hoss ONE<\/p>\n <\/p>\n First he had an itch.<\/p>\n Then he had to scratch it.<\/p>\n And then he was dang sure there was somethin\u2019 that wasn\u2019t supposed to be there crawlin\u2019 between his tan shirt and skin, maybe tryin\u2019 to make a nice nest for itself in his chest hair.\u00a0 He\u2019d been accused of bein\u2019 dumb as an ox and bigger than a grizzly, but at the moment he was all <\/em>jackrabbit.<\/p>\n Throwing his covers aside, Hoss Cartwright jumped up off the ground and did a little dance, wigglin\u2019 and jigglin\u2019, tryin\u2019 his best to shake his uninvited visitor loose.\u00a0 By the time he\u2019d done it, his unbuckled pants had shinnied down onto his hips and his shirt tail was flyin\u2019 in the breeze.\u00a0 \u00a0As one eye closed and his lips pinched tight, he waited for it.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew it was comin\u2019.\u00a0 Had to be any minute.<\/p>\n Any…minute.<\/p>\n When the leafy glade that he and his little brother had bedded down in an hour or so earlier remained quiet as a sick cow in a snowbank \u2013 when he didn\u2019t hear that high-pitched girly giggle explode like black powder \u00a0\u2013 Hoss opened his eye and cast both it and the other one around the patch of soft grass they\u2019d chosen to toss their bedrolls on.<\/p>\n Little Joe weren\u2019t nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n \u201cDang his ornery <\/em>hide!\u201d the big man growled as he hauled up on his belt loops and then fastened the buckle on his belt. \u00a0\u201cI swear, when I get my hands on that little son of a….\u201d<\/p>\n Well, he didn\u2019t really know what he\u2019d do.\u00a0 He did<\/em> love that ornery little son of a so and so after all, so\u2019s he wouldn\u2019t want \u00a0to hurt him.<\/p>\n Not much, at least.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe!\u201d he called out.<\/p>\n The night was still, but it hung heavy with fog.\u00a0 It was late October and they\u2019d had a long hard dry spell followed by a couple of days of torrential rain.\u00a0 The mist had started risin\u2019 before they laid down and, while they\u2019d slept, it\u2019d crept in, cuttin\u2019 the glade off \u2013 or so it seemed \u2013 from the rest of the world.\u00a0 It was sort of like the little plot of land he was standin\u2019 on was floatin\u2019 in the midst of a sea of gray.<\/p>\n And out there, somewhere, swimmin\u2019 in it, was his thirteen year old brother.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph!\u00a0 Little Joe!\u201d he tried again.\u00a0 \u201cBoy, you answer me and you answer me now!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2019t a feller take care of his business without bein\u2019 shouted at?\u201d \u00a0Little Joe\u2019 voice came from out of nowhere.\u00a0 It sounded like his brother was approachin\u2019 the camp, maybe from a good distance.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019d you do, go back to the ranch house to use the water closet?\u201d Hoss proposed.<\/p>\n His little brother made a sudden appearance, risin\u2019 out of the mist like one of them there ghosts in those stories Adam liked to spin about dwarves and hobgoblins when they sat \u2018round the fire.\u00a0 As he approached, Hoss noted the boy was soaked to the skin.\u00a0 Water dripped from Joe\u2019s dark curls, runnin\u2019 onto his white shirt that was several shades of mud.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat on God\u2019s green earth you been doin\u2019, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe scowled at the use of the word \u2018boy\u2019, but kept his mouth shut.\u00a0 \u201cIf you gotta know, I woke up and had to take a leak and…whatever, so I went into the trees to do it.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t Pa always shoutin\u2019 about us not bein\u2019 modest enough?\u201d<\/p>\n Pa sure \u2018nuff did, which was kind of funny when you took into account the fact that there weren\u2019t no females in the house.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could of done that two feet out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was<\/em> two feet out!\u201d Joe snapped. \u00a0\u201cI got done doin\u2019 what I had to do and was headin\u2019 back to camp when I seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n He noticed a change in his little brother\u2019s voice.\u00a0 Joe was usually as gritty as eggs rolled up in sand.\u00a0 It kind of surprised him to hear him soundin\u2019, well, skeered.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019d you see?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe looked over his shoulder and then turned back before speaking.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s the problem.\u00a0 I can\u2019t rightly say. \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cSomethin\u2019 must of made you go near the stream.\u201d<\/p>\n His little brother\u2019s mobile brows leapt up and then gathered in the middle like wagons circlin\u2019 to protect a group of settlers.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t go<\/em> near the stream.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Joseph, you ain\u2019t got no cause to lie to me.\u00a0 You \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t lying!<\/em>\u00a0 Gosh, Hoss, I know how dangerous that stream is.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss bit his lip.\u00a0 Little brother should.\u00a0 He\u2019d done gone swimmin\u2019 in it once and been carried nigh onto a quarter of a mile downstream afore they caught him.\u00a0 If Adam hadn\u2019t of walked out on an old dead tree trunk like one of them there acrobats and took hold of his collar, that cute little curly-headed six year old would have made it clear to Hop Sing\u2019s China before anyone found him.<\/p>\n Hoss looked him up and down. \u00a0Joe was wearing his gray pants and a white shirt.\u00a0 Pa\u2019d kill him if he\u2019d knowed he brung one of his best shirts along.\u00a0 Joe\u2019d hidden it in his satchel.\u00a0 Today on their way home he made him stop at the Anderson ranch for a couple of hours so he could spark with his current girl, Bekah.\u00a0\u00a0 Danged little scamp left him alone with the Widder Anderson.\u00a0 Maybelle was twice his age and about half his size and Lord Almighty<\/em> could that woman talk!\u00a0 Hoss touched his belly and gave it a little jiggle.<\/p>\n She sure could cook too. \u00a0\u00a0He thought Maybelle might just be the best cook this side of Eagle Station.<\/p>\n Hop Sing excluded, of course.<\/p>\n \u201cSo\u2019s how\u2019d you get all wet?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe scowled.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t tellin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy ever not?\u201d<\/p>\n His brother\u2019s green eyes peeked out from under the fringe of dark curls danglin\u2019 off his forehead. \u201c\u2018Cause you\u2019ll laugh at me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Joseph, you know I won\u2019t laugh at you.\u201d\u00a0 He paused.\u00a0 \u201cUnless, of course, you done somethin\u2019 funny.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHa, ha,\u201d Joe \u00a0said, wrinkling that pert little nose of his and waggin\u2019 his head from side to side in the way he had.\u00a0 Then his little brother glanced over his shoulder again \u2013 almost like he was waitin\u2019 for someone to appear.\u00a0 A second later a shiver ran the length of his whole skinny body.<\/p>\n \u201cDang it, Little Joe.\u00a0 You gotta get them clothes off and dried out.\u00a0 You\u2019ll catch your death.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shivered again.\u00a0 \u201cI am kind of cold.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome on, let\u2019s get that fire goin\u2019 again.\u00a0 You got some other duds in your saddle bags, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI got me a shirt, but I ain\u2019t got no more pants,\u201d his brother admitted dismally.<\/p>\n Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean you didn\u2019t bring those fancy brown pants Pa just bought you to go with that fancy white shirt to spark Bekah Anderson?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe stared him down.\u00a0 \u201cYou gonna stand there makin\u2019 fun of me and watch me die of pneumonia, or get that fire goin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n He felt lower than a snake\u2019s belt buckle.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, Little Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019ll just go get you that extra pair of britches I got.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd have me do what?\u00a0 Put both legs into one of the pants?\u201d\u00a0 He snorted. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou just turn your back and I\u2019ll pull off my own britches and pull on a blanket.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cNow, Joseph, you know you ain\u2019t got anythin\u2019 I ain\u2019t seen before.\u00a0 I used to powder that cute little hiney of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n He managed to duck just as the coffee cup came flyin\u2019 at him.\u00a0 Trouble was, he forgot how short Joe was and he ducked just so it smacked into his nose.<\/p>\n \u201cHey!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cServes you right.\u00a0 A feller\u2019s…hiney…is his own business!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss sighed.\u00a0 A little smile curled his lips.<\/p>\n Little Joe sure was gosh darn<\/em> cute when he got mad.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n About a half hour later they was sittin\u2019 around the fire.\u00a0 He had it goin\u2019 good and he\u2019d even made some coffee so\u2019s Joe could warm up on the inside as well as the outside.\u00a0 Little brother had been awful quiet.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t asked him again about what happened, but he figured it was time.<\/p>\n \u201cYou gonna tell me how you ended up lookin\u2019 like a drown-ded rat?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe sniffed.\u00a0 \u201cI guess I was kind of stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n Wouldn\u2019t be the first time, the big man thought, but he kept that to himself.\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cHow was you stupid?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you know, I was out there with my britches down when all of a sudden I saw this light.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of a light?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cHow would I know?\u00a0 It was off in the mist.\u00a0 It kept…moving around.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike someone was walkin\u2019 or ridin\u2019 by?\u201d<\/p>\n His brother was suddenly very interested in the contents of his coffee cup.\u00a0 \u201cNot…exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, how was it \u2018exactly\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe squirmed.\u00a0 \u201cKind of like a grasshopper.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA grasshopper?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, a grasshopper!<\/em>\u00a0 Didn\u2019t you hear me the first time?\u201d\u00a0 Joe tossed his cup aside and rose to his feet.<\/p>\n Then he remembered he didn\u2019t have any pants on.<\/p>\n It was about all Hoss could do, but he managed it.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t do no good to go laughin\u2019 at the boy in the mood he was in.\u00a0 He waited until Little Joe had picked up the blanket and wound it around his still cute little hiney and sat down again before he spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean it was jumpin\u2019?\u2019<\/p>\n Joe nodded.\u00a0 \u201cKind of.\u00a0 It kind of flickered in and out.\u00a0 I\u2019d see it one place and then it\u2019d be gone.\u00a0 Then it appeared a little farther out. \u201c<\/p>\n He had a picture now of why his brother had been soaked.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you didn\u2019t try to follow it, Little Joe, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head, his nose a\u2019scrunchin\u2019 again.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d Joe said firmly and then amended it.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you didn\u2019t fall in the stream?\u201d<\/p>\n That curly head shook again.\u00a0 \u201cNo way.\u00a0 It was more like, well, you know that salt marsh near Humboldt?\u00a0 Where the land\u2019s all wet?\u00a0 It was something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere ain\u2019t no marshes \u2018round here, Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know that.\u00a0 You think I was born yesterday!?\u00a0 I know it couldn\u2019t be there, but it was!\u00a0 And there was this weird flickerin\u2019 blue light right in the middle of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou must of know\u2019d it was wet afore you went in.\u00a0 How\u2019s come you did?\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Cause I….\u00a0 I….\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe blew out a breath that took about half the length of him with it.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know why.\u00a0 I…I kind of had <\/em>to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou had<\/em> to?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe looked up.\u00a0 His face was pale in the moonlight.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt was,\u201d he swallowed hard, \u201clike it was calling me.\u201d<\/p>\n Now he\u2019d heard men say strange things before, but it was usually after they\u2019d spent a day at the saloon or a couple in the desert without a hat.<\/p>\n \u201cCallin\u2019 you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought….\u00a0\u00a0 It sounded like Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Little Joe, don\u2019t you go gettin\u2019 mad at me, boy, when I ask this…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t sneak none of Pa\u2019s whiskey out of the house and bring it with you?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe was shakin\u2019 his head.\u00a0 All of the sudden he wasn\u2019t angry anymore.\u00a0 It was like the boy was tryin\u2019 real hard to tell him somethin\u2019, but he couldn\u2019t put it into words.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw the lights, Hoss, and honest, I wasn\u2019t gonna follow them.\u00a0 Then I heard a man talking.\u00a0 You know how Pa is when he\u2019s tryin\u2019 to make you feel better?\u00a0 He says the same things over and over. \u00a0\u2018It\u2019s all right, son.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothin\u2019 to be afraid of.\u00a0 You just do what I say and you can rest.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 Things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that what this here voice was sayin\u2019?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He was beginnin\u2019 to suspect he knew what had happened.\u00a0 Joe\u2019d gone off to do his business and fallen asleep and had one of them nightmares of his.<\/p>\n Joe nodded.\u00a0 He looked frightened.\u00a0 \u201cSure was.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow don\u2019t you think it might of been<\/em> Pa?\u201d\u00a0 As Little Joe shook his head, he added, \u201cIn one of those gosh awful dreams you\u2019re always havin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n At first Joe looked angry. \u00a0Then he looked relieved.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean, you think I went out there to…you know…and fell asleep?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCould of done.\u00a0 It would explain the lights and the voice.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI…suppose.\u201d\u00a0 Joe looked down at his bare legs.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I got all wet and muddy \u2018cause I was layin\u2019 on the ground?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProbably was by the stream and you just didn\u2019t know it.\u201d\u00a0 He indicated the fog.\u00a0 \u201cEven the best tracker ain\u2019t gonna be able to keep tabs on where he is in a mist like this.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss grinned.\u00a0 \u201cI know I <\/em>couldn\u2019t have done it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure you could,\u201d Little Joe said, soundin\u2019 like his brother again.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re the best tracker there is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thank you for that, Joe.\u201d\u00a0 As he said it, his brother yawned.\u00a0 Hoss looked up. \u00a0The mist was just as thick as before, but it seemed the moon was slidin\u2019 toward its bed.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t too long \u2018til mornin\u2019.\u00a0 What\u2019s say we try to catch us a few hours of shut-eye afore we leave for home?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSounds good to me, brother.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe rose and went over to his check on his pants.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re a little damp,\u201d he said, \u201cbut with the blanket it\u2019ll be okay.\u201d\u00a0 It took his little brother only a minute to wiggle into his trousers and shinny back under the covers.<\/p>\n \u201cHow come you\u2019re leavin\u2019 the top button open?\u201d the big man asked when he noticed he had.<\/p>\n Joe cocked one eyebrow and grinned.\u00a0 \u201cIn case I gotta go do my business again \u2018fore it\u2019s light.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou ain\u2019t got no business doin\u2019 that there business alone,\u201d he ordered.\u00a0 \u201cYou hear me? \u201c<\/p>\n His brother looked puzzled.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you gonna do?\u00a0 Help me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 He scowled.\u00a0 \u201cBut I wanna know if you leave this here camp.\u00a0 Now you promise me you\u2019ll wake me if you gotta…well…you know, go.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSure thing, brother.\u00a0 I promise,\u201d Little Joe remarked as his curly head disappeared under his blanket.\u00a0 \u201cI sure hope you remembered to bring that powder for my hiney.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of course when he woke up three hours later Little Joe was nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n The funny thing was, he could tell by the light that the sun was up \u2013 but the thick fog wasn\u2019t gone.\u00a0 It clung to the land like moss on a stone, only now it was an eerie golden-gray that put him in mind of a lantern\u2019s light on a cave wall way down deep in a mine.\u00a0 Growling, Hoss tossed his blanket aside and rose to his more than impressive height and shouted.<\/p>\n \u201cJOSEPH FRANCIS CARTWRIGHT WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, BOY, YOU AIN\u2019T GONNA BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN FOR A WEEK!\u201d<\/p>\n Then he congratulated himself.\u00a0 That was a dang <\/em>good impression of their pa!<\/p>\n \u2018Course if he\u2019d been Pa, Joseph Francis would have called back by now.<\/p>\n He hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph!\u00a0 You answer me!\u201d<\/p>\n Still nothing.<\/p>\n That boy could make him mad enough to kick his own dog.<\/p>\n Though it was mornin\u2019, Hoss went to the fire and kindled a match and lit a lantern before he headed off into the oddly thick mist.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph!\u00a0 Little Joe!\u201d he called as he walked blindly forward, whistling now and then like he was tryin\u2019 to bring Chubb into the stable.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe, come on boy, you\u2019re scarin\u2019 old Hoss.\u00a0 Answer me!\u201d<\/p>\n Ahead of him \u2013 maybe ten, fifteen yards \u2013 he had a sense of movement.\u00a0 Not that he really seen anythin\u2019, but , well, it was kind of like when someone tossed a rock in a pond \u2013 you might not see the rock sink, but you knowed it was there \u2018cause of the ripples. \u00a0A chill of fear ran through him.\u00a0 So much so the big man actually made a grab for his gun \u2013 that wasn\u2019t there.\u00a0 Dad-burn it!<\/em> \u00a0It was layin\u2019 back in the camp!\u00a0 Drawing a breath, Ben Cartwright\u2019s middle son began to inch forward.\u00a0 As he did, he noted the ground under his feet growin\u2019 wet.<\/p>\n Marshy, you could say.<\/p>\n Hoss wanted to call out for his brother again, but that sense of fear bridled his tongue.\u00a0 The big man let the breath he\u2019d drawn out and drew a new one and held it as his heart began to pound with real, true, unadulterated fear.<\/p>\n A few more steps.\u00a0 Just a few <\/em>more.<\/p>\n A few more and his boots were ankle-deep in brackish water.\u00a0 A few more<\/em> and a tree popped out of the mist so suddenly he sucked in air and let out a yelp.<\/p>\n Then he saw him.\u00a0 His baby brother.<\/p>\n Layin\u2019 face down under that there tree in ankle-deep water.<\/p>\n Hoss started for Little Joe and then, to the day he died, he\u2019d never be able to tell anyone what really happened next. \u00a0A dark substance wormed its way into the fog.\u00a0 It swirled like chocolate added to white cake dough for a few seconds, and then somethin\u2019 \u2013 somethin\u2019 about five feet high with bug-eyes and a great big gapin\u2019 mouth, and all covered with dark hair like a bay horse \u2013 stepped out of it and stood between him and Joe.<\/p>\n Hoss blinked.<\/p>\n Dang it!<\/em>\u00a0 It didn\u2019t go away!<\/p>\n The two of them stood there eying one another for a couple of heartbeats before Hoss could even think of takin\u2019 another step.\u00a0 When he did, that there critter raised its hands and all the sudden its fingers burst into flame.\u00a0 And then \u2013 then \u2013 it began to slowly move those bright blue burnin\u2019 fingertips in a circle.<\/p>\n It was kind of \u2013 well \u2013 mesmerizing\u2019.<\/p>\n The creature\u2019s lips peeled back like an onion in a hideous smile as it took a step back.\u00a0 \u2018It\u2019s all right, son,\u2019<\/em> he heard it say in somethin\u2019 like his father\u2019s voice.\u00a0 \u2018Come with me.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n He would have done it too, if little brother hadn\u2019t chosen just that moment to moan.<\/p>\n Somethin\u2019 snapped in him like a twig underfoot at that pitiful sound.\u00a0 Roaring, Hoss took the lantern he carried and swung it at the creature.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t hit nothin\u2019.\u00a0 He ended up spinnin\u2019 in a circle and when he was done turnin\u2019 like a top.<\/p>\n It was gone.<\/p>\n At that moment, if someone had asked him, he wouldn\u2019t have knowed which end of the cow quit the ground first.<\/p>\n The sound of someone splutterin\u2019 brought him back to his senses.\u00a0 When Hoss remembered it was his beloved little brother, it got him on the move right quick. \u00a0Droppin\u2019 on the ground next to Little Joe, the big man caught his brother\u2019s arm in his big hands and turned him over.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe!\u00a0 Little Joe!\u00a0 You okay, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe drew in a ragged breath.\u00a0 Feebly his fingers clutched his shirt and pulled at it.\u00a0 \u201c…sorry….\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis ain\u2019t no time to worry \u2018bout that, boy.\u00a0 You drink much of that there water?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shrugged.\u00a0 He gave him a feeble little smile.<\/p>\n And was out.<\/p>\n With his brother in his arms, Hoss rose to his feet.\u00a0 He looked around for a sign of what he thought he\u2019d seen, but there was nothin\u2019 other than fog and the bare outline of a few trees.\u00a0 He looked up to see the sun shinin\u2019 overhead.\u00a0 Sure enough, it would burn the thick gray stuff off in an hour or two.\u00a0 Then they could head for home.<\/p>\n Hoss glanced down at his little brother and drew him close to his breast, sensin\u2019 somehow that it wasn\u2019t over \u2013 that he needed to protect Little Joe against….<\/p>\n What?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TWO<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pa\u2019s eyes were on him.\u00a0 He could feel it.\u00a0 Weren\u2019t nothin\u2019 like those black eyeballs borin\u2019 a hole through you like shot out of a cannon.\u00a0 Pa hadn\u2019t said much when he\u2019d walked Little Joe through the door soaked to the skin and shakin\u2019 like a leaf in a strong winter wind.\u00a0 \u00a0He\u2019d been too worried about little brother catchin\u2019 his death.<\/p>\n He was worried too, but about death catchin\u2019 his little brother.<\/p>\n The big man couldn\u2019t explain it.\u00a0 Durin\u2019 the time it had taken to get Little Joe bundled up and in front of him on Chubb, with Joe\u2019s pony hitched up behind, he\u2019d just about convinced himself that he didn\u2019t see, well, what he saw.<\/p>\n Couldn\u2019t have.\u00a0 Weren\u2019t no<\/em> way.<\/p>\n Still, he couldn\u2019t get the picture of them burnin\u2019 fingers out of his mind, whirlin\u2019 like Ezekiel\u2019s wheel in the Good Book, \u2018cept there weren\u2019t nothin\u2019 that was good about them.\u00a0 He\u2019d never seen no fire like that \u2013 pure blue with no other colors in it \u2013 nor felt anythin\u2019 like it made him feel.\u00a0 Like he didn\u2019t have no control over hisself.\u00a0 Like he could of walked off the end of a pier or right into a stream or….<\/p>\n Ended up face down in the water like little brother.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked up and tried not to look guilty.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know you\u2019re worried about your brother, but Paul says Joseph should be all right.\u00a0 He swallowed a little water, but it seems you came on him soon enough.\u00a0 The doctor says he doubts there\u2019s a chance of pneumonia.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right good, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n His father put the paper he was reading down and came to sit beside him.\u00a0 He put a hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cSon, I know you blame yourself for what happened to your brother, but we all know Joseph.\u00a0 To say he has a mind of his own is putting it mildly.\u201d<\/p>\n He managed a smile.\u00a0 \u201cThat dang little cuss sure can be ornery when he wants.\u00a0 But you know, Pa.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think Joe was<\/em> bein\u2019 ornery.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen what do you think happened?\u201d<\/p>\n He stood up and began to pace.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t right sure.\u00a0\u00a0 The first time Joe went out into that mist was just plain stupid, but I asked him not to do it again and he told me he wouldn\u2019t.\u00a0 You know, Pa, he promised me?\u00a0 Now, Joe, he don\u2019t go back on his promises.\u201d<\/p>\n His father\u2019s\u00a0 smile was affectionate.\u00a0 \u201cNot usually.\u00a0 Do you think he could have been sleepwalking?\u201d<\/p>\n The big man turned back toward his father.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou may not remember, son, but after Joseph\u2019s mother died \u2013 for a while \u2013 he used to sleep walk.\u00a0 I\u2019d find him down here in front of the fire playing with his wooden horses just like he was awake, only he would be sound asleep.\u201d\u00a0 Pa leaned back on the settee.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been quite a while, but it might explain him wandering and why he thought he heard my voice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI done thought<\/em> he might of been a havin\u2019 dream,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s the most likely explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n Would be, if it weren\u2019t for that five foot, bug -eyed, hairy, fiery-fingered critter he seen.<\/p>\n \u2018Course he hadn\u2019t mentioned that <\/em>to either his pa or Adam.<\/p>\n His father rose as well and walked over to him.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you just let go of that guilt you\u2019re feeling, all right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAfter we eat, why don\u2019t take your brother some supper?\u00a0 Hop Sing tried with dinner, but had no success.\u00a0 Joseph needs to eat to keep up his strength.\u00a0 In spite of what the doctor said, with your brother\u2019s constitution \u2013 and luck \u2013 pneumonia is always a possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A half hour later he was headed up the stairs carryin\u2019 a tray laden with soup and a sandwich.\u00a0 With his toe, Hoss carefully opened his little brother\u2019s bedroom door, fearful Little Joe might be sleepin\u2019 and he\u2019d wake him.\u00a0 Instead, he found Joe out of bed, still in his nightshirt, standin\u2019 at the window and starin\u2019 out into the night.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019re you doin\u2019 out of bed, Little Joe?\u201d he asked as he sat the tray down.\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2019ll skin you if\u2019n he sees you!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCouldn\u2019t sleep,\u201d little brother muttered.\u00a0 \u201cKept coughing.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe turned a face like paste toward him.\u00a0 There were big dark circles under his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cKind of thought I might take a walk outside.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019re you?\u00a0 Crazy?\u00a0 Why\u2019d you want to go outside?\u00a0 It just got done rainin\u2019, Joe, and it\u2019s cold and wet out there.\u201d\u00a0 He paused, rememberin\u2019 that phrase that he was comin\u2019 to hate about someone catchin\u2019 their death. \u00a0\u201cYou gotta stay inside, little brother, where you\u2019re…warm.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d almost said \u2018safe\u2019.<\/p>\n Joe ran a hand through his tousled brown curls and yawned.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I know.\u00a0 But you know how it is sometimes.\u00a0 There\u2019s like this…call…to be outside.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss walked to the window and looked out fully expectin\u2019 to see two wheels of blue fire lightin\u2019 the night.<\/p>\n They wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n He took Joe by the shoulders and aimed him toward his bed.\u00a0 \u201cNow, you just get back under those covers, little brother.\u00a0 I brought you some nice hot soup for your tummy.\u00a0 You eat it and I bet it\u2019ll make you sleepy for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe gave him a lop-sided smile as he slipped beneath the sheets and coverlet.\u00a0 He took the soup and sandwich and while he ate they talked about everythin\u2019 under the sun except <\/em>what had happened.\u00a0 With about half the sandwich left, Joe pushed the tray away.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m full. \u00a0Can\u2019t eat a bite more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou sure?\u201d he asked, eying the leftovers.<\/p>\n Little Joe leaned back on the pillows and gave him a smile.\u00a0 \u201cSure, I\u2019m sure.\u00a0 You eat it, brother.\u00a0 You look puny enough to push over with a feather.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss gave a little nod of thanks and picked up the leftover sandwich.\u00a0 He took a bite and as he chewed, had a thought.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, about the other night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, why didn\u2019t that surprise him?\u00a0 Little Joe was like one of them bottles you couldn\u2019t get the cork out of when it came to talkin\u2019 about anythin\u2019 he didn\u2019t want to talk about.<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t gonna scold you, boy, or anythin\u2019 like that.\u00a0 I just wanted to ask you one question.\u00a0 Just one<\/em>.\u00a0 Now, it\u2019s gonna sound mighty strange….\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t see anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019s reddish brows popped.\u00a0 \u201cNow, how did you know that was what I was gonna ask you?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s pout mushroomed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n The big man thought for a moment.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOkay.\u00a0 Can you tell me about what you \u2018didn\u2019t\u2019 see?\u201d<\/p>\n That made little brother smile.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true, Hoss.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really \u2018see\u2019 anything, but I….\u201d\u00a0 He actually shivered.\u00a0 \u201cThere were those lights, hoppin\u2019 around like a grasshopper, moving and shifting, always gettin\u2019 farther away.\u00a0 Sometimes….\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe looked right at him.\u00a0 \u201cIt was like they were whirling, you know?\u00a0 Like \u2013\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cEzekiel\u2019s wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s eyes went wide.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n They both sat in silence for a moment.\u00a0 It was broken when brother Adam yelled up from the bottom of the staircase.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n The big man went to the door.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you need, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s Pa.\u00a0 He\u2019s got a question about supplies for the drive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cComin\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss turned and looked at his little brother and then went to sit beside him on the bed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNow, Joseph, I need you to make me a promise afore I can leave you.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s lips twisted and his brows wrinkled before leapin\u2019 toward his chestnut hair.\u00a0 He swore, sometimes it seemed those brows had a language all their own.<\/p>\n \u201cYou look mighty serious, brother,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cYou worried I\u2019m gonna steal your girl?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you go tryin\u2019 to change the subject,\u201d he growled.\u00a0 Then he held out his hand and made a fist.<\/p>\n At that, Joe sat up takin\u2019 notice.\u00a0\u00a0 His little brother rounded in the bed so he faced him and held out two fingers, formed into a \u2018V\u2019.<\/p>\n Hoss placed his fist on top of the fingers and then Little Joe did the same.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSwear?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe nodded solemnly.\u00a0 \u201cI swear.\u201d<\/p>\n It made him feel a little better.\u00a0 That was the secret handshake they\u2019d used as kids when somethin\u2019 was so gosh-darned important that they knew neither one of them dared break the promise they\u2019d made\u00a0 \u2013 like that time they got to wrasslin\u2019 and Joe knocked him back into the gate and it opened and half a dozen horses got out.<\/p>\n To this day Pa thought he\u2019d forgot to fasten the latch.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss!\u201d<\/p>\n The big man scowled.\u00a0 Seemed brother Adam never did learn that kickin\u2019 got you nowhere lessen you was a mule.<\/p>\n \u201cOn my way!\u201d he shouted back.<\/p>\n That was quickly followed by their father\u2019s voice.\u00a0 \u201cWill you two stop shouting?\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to work on the supply list for the drive!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked at Joe.\u00a0 His brother was grinning.<\/p>\n \u201cGuess I best get goin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be okay, Hoss.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n The big man nodded and then rose and went to the door.\u00a0 By the time he turned back, Joe had sunk under the covers.\u00a0 Hoss watched him for a few seconds and then stepped out into the hall and headed for the stairs.<\/p>\n Little brother seemed to mean what he said.<\/p>\n Still.<\/p>\n He sure wished he\u2019d had time to nail Joseph\u2019s window shut.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When the list was done Hoss went back up to check and found Little Joe softly snorin\u2019 in his bed.\u00a0 The sight made him right happy and so he went back down and got a snack and came into the great room to eat it.\u00a0 Brother Adam was there by then, sittin\u2019 by the fire in his blue chair and strummin\u2019 his guitar.\u00a0 Adam played a few chords and then looked up as he parked himself in their father\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n \u201cSleeping beauty still sleeping?\u201d Adam asked as he put the guitar down and reached for the drink beside him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe sure nuff is.\u00a0 Probably sleep right through \u2018til mornin\u2019.\u00a0 Poor little feller.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf that \u2018poor little feller\u2019 had done what he was supposed to do, he wouldn\u2019t have ended up half-drowned.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Adam, that ain\u2019t fair.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t see that mist.\u00a0 A feller could have known his own door was a foot in front of him and, even though his hand on the latch, got lost.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam took a sip and smirked over his cup.\u00a0 \u201cSounds mystical.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMisty what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMagical.\u00a0 Otherworldly.\u00a0 You know, like the Brothers Grimm tale where that sudden fog comes up and a bird flies out of it?\u201d\u00a0 Adam put his glass down and leaned forward, warming to his topic.\u00a0 \u201cIn other climates with dense forests \u2013 especially the British Isles \u2013 heavy mists come up so suddenly that men have given them mystical, magical properties.\u00a0 In fact, with All Hallows Eve so near, I\u2019m sure you remember the tale of the Lantern Man. \u00a0Don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss had only been half-listening.\u00a0 The word \u2018lantern\u2019 brought his attention back to his over-educated brother.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Lantern Man?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe you remember it as the Will o\u2019 the Wisp, or as the slaves in the South say, \u2018Jack-muh-Lantern\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n He scowled.\u00a0 \u201cThat there Jack-muh-Lantern, he was supposed to be about the size of a boy, wasn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded as he picked his glass up again and took a sip.\u00a0 \u201cAbout four or five feet tall.\u00a0 Jack or the Lantern Man was what the British call a goblin.\u00a0 A creature that likes to play tricks, and those tricks sometimes prove deadly.\u00a0 Most often he tries to lead someone to their death by lulling them and leading them into a marsh where they drown.\u201d<\/p>\n Now<\/em> he remembered. \u00a0Adam had used to tell them that story just about this time of year.\u00a0 The slaves in the South were kind of superstitious.\u00a0 \u2018Course a lot of folks were.\u00a0 They believed there was a critter, tall as a boy, that was stronger than any man and faster than any horse.\u00a0 They was right skeered of it and told their young\u2019uns to stay inside on nights when it was foggy \u2018cause old Jack might just call them and lead them to their….<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019 eyes went wide.\u00a0 He stood up so fast it made Adam drop his glass.\u00a0 As the crystal crashed to the hardwood floor, the big man bolted up the steps and rounded the corner and ran down the hall and \u2013 not carin\u2019 whether Little Joe was asleep or not \u2013 threw open his brother\u2019s door and ran to the bed.<\/p>\n And found it empty.<\/p>\n The window was open.<\/p>\n Little Joe was gone.<\/p>\n Adam hit the floorboards a second after him.\u00a0 By that time Hoss had made his way to the window and was lookin\u2019 out.\u00a0 There was no way of knowin\u2019 how long Joe had been gone.\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019d be in the yard.\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019d come to his senses and was walkin\u2019 back toward the house.<\/p>\n Maybe he was danglin\u2019 from the arms of a hairy, bug-eyed critter about five feet tall.<\/p>\n The critter looked up as the big man looked down.\u00a0 Their eyes met and what he saw sent a shiver up Hoss Cartwright\u2019s spine cold as a witch\u2019s caress.<\/p>\n It weren\u2019t human.\u00a0 It just plain weren\u2019t human.<\/p>\n Even as Adam spoke, the creature removed one hand from his brother\u2019s unconscious form.\u00a0 Instantly a spiraling blue flame ignited each of its fingertips.\u00a0 As the fires began to whirl, the creature\u2019s mouth gaped open in a toothless malevolent smile.<\/p>\n Then it set the barn on fire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the chaos that followed, it was easy for him to slip away.\u00a0 Pa and Adam and Hop Sing and all the hands from the bunkhouse were too busy tryin\u2019 to put out the fire \u2013 which burned with an eerie blue glow \u2013 to notice.\u00a0 They\u2019d miss his strong arm soon enough, but it\u2019d be a while before they even thought about where he\u2019d gone or \u2018fore Adam had time to tell Pa that Little Joe was missin\u2019.<\/p>\n It was up to him.<\/p>\n He had to save his brother from the Lantern Man.<\/p>\n The horses had been let out of the stable, so it weren\u2019t hard to mount up and ride off.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t bother grabbin\u2019 his brother\u2019s pony \u2013 he had a feelin\u2019 when he found the boy that he wouldn\u2019t be able to ride on his lonesome.\u00a0 As he rode fast and hard Hoss tried to remember everythin\u2019 else Adam used to spin in those yarns of his about goblins.\u00a0 Seemed to him there was somethin\u2019 about them dancin\u2019 around marshy ground.\u00a0 Seemed too, sometimes they made their own marshes.\u00a0 They was mean cusses who wanted nothin\u2019 more than to kill a man by leadin\u2019 him astray so\u2019s he\u2019d fall into the water and be drown-ded dead.\u00a0\u00a0 As more and more of Adam\u2019s tale came back to him, Hoss realized he\u2019d made a couple of whoppin\u2019 big mistakes the last time.\u00a0 You wasn\u2019t supposed to carry a lantern \u2018cause them hairy critters would be drawn to it.\u00a0 Or whistle.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t like whistlin\u2019.\u00a0 He\u2019d done both last time while lookin\u2019 for Little Joe.\u00a0 If you got caught in their light you was supposed to draw a breath and not let it out so\u2019s they couldn\u2019t suck it in and take away your willpower.<\/p>\n \u2018If the Lantern Man be upon ye, throw yourself flat on your face and halt ye breathing,<\/em>\u2019 older brother would say, usin\u2019 a waverin\u2019 tone that sent chills down their young backs.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why the critter escaped time before this.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t make that mistake again.<\/p>\n Problem was, even if he held his breath and looked that there murderous critter in the eye, he had no eye<\/em>-dea of what to do to stop it.\u00a0 Adam never got that far.\u00a0 Him and Little Joe would have their covers over their heads a long time afore the end and be beggin\u2019 big brother to stop.<\/p>\n Pleadin\u2019.<\/p>\n Hoss looked down.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have a gun, but he had his hands.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t matter what Adam or them slaves in the South said about that there goblin or whatever it was bein\u2019 stronger than any man.<\/p>\n There weren\u2019t nothin\u2019<\/em> stronger than his love for his little brother.<\/p>\n The fog sure \u2018nuff was one of them kind Adam called \u2018mystical\u2019.\u00a0 It was thicker than Hop Sing\u2019s pea soup and kind of smelled like the bottom of a well.\u00a0 It raced ahead of him, spreading out like a blight.\u00a0 He\u2019d traveled so far he was pretty sure he was gettin\u2019 close to the edge of the Anderson\u2019s land, just where they\u2019d been camped the night before.<\/p>\n Once or twice Hoss thought he caught sight of the critter, draggin\u2019 Little Joe behind, but then he\u2019d lose it in the swirling gray haze.\u00a0 As Chubb snorted and slowed down, draggin\u2019 his feet against the grass and sinkin\u2019 in, the big man knew they\u2019d come to the end.<\/p>\n Must be the critter\u2019s home.<\/p>\n Dismounting, Hoss followed what appeared to be a shadow movin\u2019 through the fog.\u00a0 He\u2019d caught his rope from the saddle, meanin\u2019 to hog-tie the dang thing no matter what<\/em> it was.\u00a0 As he moved into the mist \u2013 tremblin\u2019 in his boots \u2013 his pa\u2019s strong, confident voice rang in his ear, quoting from the Bible.<\/p>\n \u2018Ye, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.\u00a0 Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n Hoss stopped.\u00a0 He shivered and then bent to search the ground.\u00a0 After a few heartbeats he rose, stick in hand.\u00a0 Carryin\u2019 it, he began his journey again, usin\u2019 the stick to prod the wet ground before him and to remind himself of God\u2019s promises.<\/p>\n That critter that done had Little Joe belonged to the Devil and weren\u2019t no way<\/em> him or God was gonna let that Lantern Man win!<\/p>\n The big man hadn\u2019t gone ten more feet when the mist parted and the critter was standin\u2019 there, starin\u2019 him down.\u00a0 Hoss paid heed to Adam\u2019s tale.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t about to lay flat on the ground, not with Little Joe layin\u2019 in a crumpled heap at the critter\u2019s feet, but he closed his eyes, sucked in a breath, and listened to his Pa\u2019s voice and God\u2019s promises \u2013<\/p>\n And went in swingin\u2019.<\/p>\n It weren\u2019t one more heartbeat before he made contact with somethin\u2019.\u00a0 It was kind of marshy like the ground, but solid at the same time.\u00a0 A terrible screech went up, like to tear his ears, as he continued to use the stick to hammer away at the unknown assailant and drive it back and away from his brother.\u00a0 As he continued to attack and it retreated, the land around them changed.\u00a0 Somethin\u2019 was different.\u00a0 They was on dry ground.\u00a0 In a field, maybe.\u00a0 Maybe one filled with corn.\u00a0 There were rough cracklin\u2019 noises and suddenly, smoke filled the air.\u00a0 And then he heard it \u2013 a sound he never would in all his born years forget \u2013 a shrill scream, higher-pitched than an eagle and lower than a bull\u2019s roar, mingled with the death of somethin\u2019 livin\u2019.<\/p>\n At last Hoss opened his eyes.\u00a0 Before him stood the goblin \u2013 five feet tall, hairy, bug-eyed and sneering no more.\u00a0 It looked like a shriveled up husk.<\/p>\n Then it turned to ash and was no more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Their pa and brother were near half out of their minds by the time they got back the next mornin\u2019.\u00a0 There weren\u2019t no reason to think it \u2013 \u2018specially not with Little Joe bein\u2019 already out of bed and him comin\u2019 down the steps with Adam \u2013 but they\u2019d done near half-convinced themselves that the two of them had been burnt up in the barn when it went down.\u00a0 Pa\u2019s knees had actually buckled when he saw them come into the yard ridin\u2019 double on Chubb, all muddy, soaked to the skin, and covered with ash from the fire the goblin had set. \u00a0Adam and Pa came right over to the horse and started askin\u2019 a million questions.\u00a0 Joe smiled at Pa and began to slide off the saddle and that put and end to that.<\/p>\n Until now.<\/p>\n Pa and Adam was starin\u2019 at him.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s arms were crossed over his wine-colored shirt and Pa\u2019s hands were on his hips and his toe was tappin\u2019.\u00a0 They suspected he was keepin\u2019 somethin\u2019 back from them, only, gosh Almighty<\/em>, they couldn\u2019t have any idea of what!<\/p>\n Trouble was, he was still tryin\u2019 to convince himself<\/em> that what had happened had, well, happened.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m waitin\u2019,\u201d Pa said in that voice that said his waitin\u2019 was about done.<\/p>\n Hoss chewed his lip.\u00a0 He thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou see, Pa, after I found out Joe had gone outside I figured what you said was right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd which \u2018what I said\u2019 was that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout Little Joe sleepwalkin\u2019 again, like he done when he was a little tyke.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam made some kind of noise, halfway between soundin\u2019 like he\u2019d liked supper and bein\u2019 sick.\u00a0 \u201cI do remember Joe sleepwalking, but it was only for a few months.\u00a0 Most doctors believe some kind of trauma brings it on…\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He paused to glance at Pa before continuing.\u00a0 \u201c…something like Marie\u2019s passing.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember anything traumatic in Little Joe\u2019s life of late.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, who\u2019s to say what\u2019s \u2018traumatic\u2019 to a little feller like him?\u201d Hoss tried hopefully.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe someone is bullyin\u2019 him at school.\u00a0 Maybe that there little gal at the Anderson\u2019s turned him down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTurned Joseph down for what?\u201d Pa snapped, instantly suspicious.<\/p>\n Heavens if the man weren\u2019t worse than a parson\u2019s wife!<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t mean nothin\u2019 by that, Pa.\u00a0 Honest.\u201d\u00a0 He swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cI meant, like goin\u2019 to the October dance or somethin\u2019.\u00a0 Maybe she\u2019s goin\u2019 with one of the bully boys instead?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an awful lot of \u2018maybes\u2019,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n His father came over and sat directly in front of him on the table before the settee.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTell me again, son, what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss drew in a breath and let it out real <\/em>slowly.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAdam was talkin\u2019, Pa,\u201d his eyes flicked to his skeptical brother, \u201cabout that there Lantern Man they believe in down south.\u00a0 I remembered me that Joe and I was \u00a0sittin\u2019 around the fire tellin\u2019 each other scary tales afore he got up and vanished the first time.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss licked his lips as he warmed to his made-up tale.\u00a0 \u201cI got me to thinkin\u2019, maybe Little Joe\u2019s, what you call it, eh, sunk-conscious got to workin\u2019 on that and he done sleep-walked \u2018cause he thought he was followin\u2019 that old Lantern Man.\u201d<\/p>\n His father\u2019s dark brows had popped up.<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s had shifted down a notch.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you think that\u2019s why Joe got up and left the house last night as well?\u201d Adam asked.\u00a0 \u201cHis sub<\/em>-conscious made him?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s All Hallows Eve tonight.\u00a0 Ain\u2019t it?\u00a0 Ain\u2019t we all got ghosties and ghoulies on our minds?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam gave him one of those looks.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I know I<\/em> at least for one certainly do!\u201d\u00a0 Then he snorted.<\/p>\n \u201cThere you see, Pa?\u201d he asked with anticipation.<\/p>\n \u201cGo on.\u00a0 About last<\/em> night,\u201d the older man said, obviously not convinced.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I got up to Little Joe\u2019s room last night he was standin\u2019 by the window \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cHe was what?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Hoss winced.\u00a0 Mentally, he apologized to his little brother before going on.\u00a0 \u201cHe was by the window, Pa, lookin\u2019 out and…\u201d\u00a0 Here it came, God forgive him for bein\u2019 a sinner. \u00a0\u201c…Joe was talkin\u2019 about that Lantern Man and how those lights he thought he seen must of been him.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam made that noise again.\u00a0 \u201cMakes sense, Pa.\u00a0 If it was on Joe\u2019s mind, it could have influenced his dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u00a0 So that explains how your brother got lost, but how did you<\/em> find him?\u201d<\/p>\n He shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cYou know Little Joe, Pa.\u00a0 I just added a girl and figured he\u2019d headed for the Andersons.\u00a0 He\u2019s right taken with that little gal, Bekah.\u201d<\/p>\n Pa\u2019s voice went up another notch, just like Adam\u2019s brows.<\/p>\n \u201cSo much so that he thought the Andersons \u2013 or maybe Bekah <\/em>\u2013 might stop this, boogey-man?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGoblin, Pa,\u201d Adam prompted.\u00a0 \u201cIt was a goblin.\u201d<\/p>\n His father rolled his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe Little Joe just headed for somewhere he felt safe.\u00a0 You know how old Maybelle…\u201d\u00a0 He stopped dead at his father\u2019s look.\u00a0 \u201c…how the Widder\u00a0 Anderson just loves little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n Pa rose to his feet and looked down at him.\u00a0 \u201cSo you found your brother asleep in a dry corn field that just happened to be on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMust of been that same dang sneaky lightnin\u2019 that got the barn, sir,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 Pa had concluded that was the only <\/em>explanation for a barn bustin\u2019 into flames without <\/em>any explanation.<\/p>\n \u201cCould be,\u201d his father admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cEither way, we\u2019re lucky Hoss figured it out, Pa,\u201d Adam said, givin\u2019 him that look<\/em>.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe\u2019s safe.\u00a0 I guess we\u2019ll just have to be content with that for now.\u00a0 And <\/em>lock the kid\u2019s door for the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss sighed.<\/p>\n Heaven help him next time brother Adam got him alone!<\/p>\n \u201cIs it okay if I go up and see Little Joe now, Pa?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n His father nodded.\u00a0 \u201cKeep him in his bed this time, will you please?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss flinched.\u00a0 \u201cSure will, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe answered right away when he knocked on the door.\u00a0 Little brother was sittin\u2019 up in bed all wide-eyed.\u00a0 It was plain as the pert little nose on his face that he\u2019d been waitin\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, did Pa believe you?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss sat heavily on the bed and stifled a grin as Joe bumped on the wave.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t sure Pa bought it entirely, but I think he did.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe sobered.\u00a0 \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou did…see what I saw, right?\u00a0 I mean…I\u2019m not crazy?\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou ain\u2019t crazy, little brother.\u00a0 I seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s curly head bounced.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, so it\u2019s just between you and me.\u00a0 Right?\u201d<\/p>\n He was fine with that.\u00a0 \u201cPromise.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe turned square to him and held out two fingers.\u00a0 Hoss laid his fist on them and then his little brother capped it off with his other hand.<\/p>\n \u201cPromise,\u201d Joe pronounced solemnly.<\/p>\n \u201cPromise.\u201d<\/p>\n They both rocked back, considerin\u2019 all they had seen and what they\u2019d just done.<\/p>\n \u201cYou remember that gate we knocked off its hinge when we was tusslin\u2019?\u201d Hoss asked his brother.<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean the night the horses got out?\u00a0 Sure do.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe\u2019s sober face brightened with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cPa still thinks he left the latch open.\u201d<\/p>\n Someone cleared their throat.<\/p>\n They both pivoted toward the door.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, what is this about a latch?\u201d<\/em> Ben Cartwright demanded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0Hoss Cartwright,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright,\u00a0SJS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: That baby brother of his, he could talk him into anythin’. They shoulda been home, but instead they ended up campin’ out near 13 year old Little Joe’s little gal’s house. All would have been well and good if’n only Joe’d have stayed put. But this was Joe and he didn’t. When he asked him how come, his baby brother said he didn’t know.<\/p>\n Was it a nightmare, Hoss wondered, that called Little Joe out into the mist and got him nearly drowned?<\/p>\n Or was it somethin’ else?<\/p>\n Rated PG<\/p>\n 7, 666 words<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10058,"featured_media":30520,"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_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"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":[2,23,41,30,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actionadventure","category-drama","category-hurtcomfort","category-prequels","category-halloween","wpcat-2-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-41-id","wpcat-30-id","wpcat-29-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\/2017\/10\/6a00c2251cb0cff21900c2252c719ef219.jpg?fit=1520%2C1520&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15374","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\/10058"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nVillain:- Goblin
\nPlot Element:- Fire<\/p>\n