{"id":3454,"date":"2003-04-25T18:16:37","date_gmt":"2003-04-25T22:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3454"},"modified":"2026-07-29T14:28:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T18:28:43","slug":"false-witness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3454","title":{"rendered":"False Witness (by J7339)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:<\/strong>\u00a0 Little Joe becomes the pawn in an evil plot again his father Ben Cartwright. The consequences for all the family are far more severe and devastating than they ever first thought. New version posted as “False Witness – The New Extended Edition” as at 7th July 2016 – it will be at least double the size of this story. \u00a0Please see author notes at the end of the story.<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span>\u00a0K+ (83,480 words)
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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0False Witness<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Chapter 1 – Pine Valley<\/div>\n
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As the wagon bumped along the road back towards the Ponderosa, Ben Cartwright looked down at his sixteen-year-old son, who was laying down beside him in a deep sleep. The sleep was not a natural one, however. It came as the result of the drug combination that Doc Martin had administered only a few hours ago. It was supposed to help Joe not feel any physical pain from the injuries he had sustained.<\/p>\n

But what about the emotional and mental scars that had been left behind? What about them, Ben asked himself.\u00a0 How long would they take to heal? Would they ever heal? Would his young son ever recover from the torment that he had suffered at the hands of Butch Thomas over the last month?<\/p>\n

If he could turn back the hands of time over the last few weeks and foresee what would befall his youngest son, Ben would have taken the boy out of harms way. He would have simply packed up Joseph and one of his other sons, Adam or Hoss, if necessary, and made sure that Joe was safe in another town away from the dangers that lurked.<\/p>\n

Ben caressed the boy’s soft curls, but his son didn’t respond to his touch. It was like a brick wall had been built between them, and it was getting harder and harder to reach in and find the real Little Joe.<\/p>\n

The boy had changed so much over the past few weeks. He had been a confident young man full of energy and laughter who filled the house with love and joy.\u00a0 Now the boy was sullen and withdrawn and spoke rarely unless asked a question, and even then it was a battle to get some sort of answer.<\/p>\n

Ben swore to himself that he didn’t care how long it took, but he and his eldest two sons would be there every minute of the day and night, if necessary, to bring the boy back from the brink and back into the safe and loving arms of his family.<\/p>\n

“He alright back there, Pa?” Hoss asked, as he guided the wagon team as slowly as he could over the rough dirt road back to the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

“As well as can be expected I guess, Hoss,” Ben replied in a voice that held no emotion at all.\u00a0 “We will just have to see how he goes over the next couple of days. It is going to be a difficult time for us all.”<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded and turned his attention back to the wagon team. As they pulled up outside the ranch house, Adam came outside, followed by Hop Sing. Adam had ridden on ahead of the rest of his family to make sure that everything would be ready in time when Hoss and his father arrived back with Little Joe.<\/p>\n

\n

Adam looked at his father before attempting to take his younger brother out of the wagon.\u00a0\u00a0 He hadn’t heard the tone of Ben’s voice just a few hundred metres back, but he saw the tiredness etched on his father’s face and the worry embedded deep into his father’s brown eyes.\u00a0 His father looked almost a broken man. The thing that allowed the man to go on lay beside him wrapped up in the blankets. Adam didn’t want to contemplate how his father would have gone on if Joe had not come back home. He couldn’t put into words himself how he would have felt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One sixteen-year-old boy held the magical golden key to all their hearts and kept them all united.\u00a0 Now, when this same boy had fallen along the way and looked to be heading away from his family, it was up to that family to make sure that the boy knew they all loved and needed him endlessly.<\/p>\n

The dark thunderclouds above once again threatened to bring down the heavens in torrential rain. They needed to get the boy inside and into his bed before the rain started. The last thing he needed with all his injuries at the moment was to get sick. Hoss thought back a moment and thought that it had been raining a few days before this all started to happen as well. \u2018Funny how history had a way of playing on your memory, wasn’t it,\u2019 he thought to himself.<\/p>\n

“Take it easy, Adam,” Ben said, knowing that his eldest son was already aware of Joe’s injuries.\u00a0\u00a0 “We have to check that those stitches in his side are still in place when we get him settled upstairs.\u00a0 Heaven knew what that rough road had done to exasperate the pain and agony his son felt.<\/p>\n

Ben managed to move the still sleeping Joe into a half-sitting position so that Adam could wrap his strong arms around the fragile boy and lift him out of the wagon. Ben could feel a little warmth emanating through the cotton shirt that Joe wore over the top of the heavy padding and bandages around his chest.<\/p>\n

\n

A few spits of rain began to fall just as Adam made it to the porch with Joe nestled in his strong arms. The boy had lost so much weight from injury and stress over the last few weeks that he barely weighed anything, his brother noted with dismay. Ben picked up the tails of the blankets from behind Adam and followed his eldest son, as he carried Joe into the homestead.<\/p>\n

Adam had made sure that Joe’s room was already warm enough before the wagon had pulled up outside. He walked into the house and climbed the staircase carrying his precious burden that failed to make a single sound.<\/p>\n

Adam laid his unconscious brother on the clean sheets, and made sure that he was resting comfortably on the pillows while his father started to take off his shoes and socks.<\/p>\n

Hoss had volunteered to put the horses and the wagon away, but both Adam and Ben knew that it was eating the middle Cartwright up inside to see his younger brother like this. It went against the very grain of things in Hoss’s eyes that this had happened to his brother. He hated the men who had done this to Joe. He hated the Judge who had put the boy through so much humiliation in front of everyone. He hated the justice system that put it\u2019s sole trust in the opinions of a few witnesses.\u00a0 He hated himself for being so angry.<\/p>\n

Inside, Joe had not awoken as such, but he seemed to be having a battle against unseen demons again. The demons had probably been created from the memories of the real monsters that had stalked him and then caused him so much hurt and pain. Suffering and fear that he had hidden from his family. A deep gnawing fear that bit into the boy\u2019s very soul and stole his spirit with it.<\/p>\n

Ben sat on the edge of the bed, forgetting all about undressing the boy. For now, the only real important thing was to let the boy know that his family was right here with him and that he was loved.<\/p>\n

Ben spoke softly to the boy, reminding him of how much his family had missed him and how proud they had been of him over the last few days. While Ben talked, Adam went about finishing the task of undressing the boy from his good clothes that he had worn to court. The jacket had been left back at Doc Martin’s due to the damage caused to it. Ben had declared the garment beyond repair or salvage and could no longer bear to look upon it and see it stained with his youngest son’s blood.<\/p>\n

\n

Adam unbuttoned Joe’s trousers once the boots were removed, and had to keep his own anger in check as he saw the bruises and scratches that marred the boy’s pale flesh. The trousers had been a little stubborn at first due to the thick bandages still adorning the boy’s left shin.\u00a0 The bandages would remain on for at least another month or two, Doc Martin informed them, before it could be removed and Joe be allowed to put full weight back on that leg.<\/p>\n

Hoss had returned to the house, and now came into the bedroom, carrying the other reminders of Joe’s injuries. He propped the two wooden crutches up against the wall in the far corner of the room. It was doubtful that the boy would be leaving his bed anytime soon in the next few days.<\/p>\n

The crutches told the story that Joe needed more than his family’s love and caring at the moment just to stand. The boy had stumbled a number of times while trying to manoeuvre back and forth from the witness stand. To Hoss and the rest of the family they only seemed to confirm their fears about how badly Little Joe had been hurt.<\/p>\n

Joe was sleeping soundly upstairs and was probably due to stay that way for several more hours to come. After Adam had managed to get one of Ben’s shirts over the boy’s head and bandages, they tucked the blankets in around the boy. Adam and Hoss had bid their younger brother good-night and left their father to a more private time alone with his son.<\/p>\n

Ben had continued to talk soothing words to his son as he slept. He caressed his face, then bent down and gently kissed the boy on his bruised cheek before leaving the room.<\/p>\n

About an hour after the Cartwright\u2019s had returned home the three eldest of them now sat downstairs in the living room. All three were lost in their own thoughts about the events that had taken place over the last month.<\/p>\n

Ben’s mind started to take him back to a time about a month ago when everything seemed to be going fine. If only he could go back there now.<\/p>\n

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about a month earlier:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201dCome on, Hoss!\u201d an excited Little Joe shouted as he descended the wooden staircase\u00a0 two steps at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201dJoseph, do you need to shout so loud this early in the morning?\u201d Ben Cartwright said in mock annoyance as he watched the eagerness of his\u00a0 youngest son.\u00a0\u00a0 He smiled to himself and hoped that the excitement inside Little Joe remained until the boy himself was an old grey man.\u00a0 It was this excitement that kept rejuvenating the youth in all of them.\u00a0 Even Hop Sing seemed to have an extra hop in his step these days just to keep up with the youngest member of the family.<\/p>\n

\u201dI wish you were this eager to get out of bed on the mornings I try and wake you up for school, short shanks,\u201d Hoss said, as he calmly walked down the stairs whilst putting on his vest.<\/p>\n

\u201cSchool ain\u2019t as exciting as this, Hoss,\u201d Joe explained as he sat down at the table to join the rest of the family for breakfast.<\/p>\n

\u201dAre you sure that you have packed all you will need, Joseph?\u201d Ben now asked, wanting to make sure that the two brothers had all the essentials needed with them for their expedition.\u00a0\u00a0 This was the first hunting trip that Joe was going on without his father, and therefore Ben was just that little bit more nervous.\u00a0 He knew he could trust Hoss better than most people, but that security didn\u2019t stop him worrying.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Pa,\u201d Joe answered in an exasperated tone.\u00a0 He knew that his father was worried about him and Hoss going off hunting on their own without their father or Adam to supervise.\u00a0 He rolled his eyes a little at the over-caring he was getting.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got three changes of clothes.\u00a0 Hoss has already loaded all of the supplies including my rifle and the fishing poles,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s another thing, young man,\u201d Ben said, as he caught the tone in his son\u2019s voice.\u00a0 \u201cYou are only to use that rifle when Hoss is watching you and instructing you, is that understood?\u201d he asked sternly.\u00a0\u00a0 Although Ben had bought the rifle himself about a year ago now, he didn\u2019t like the idea of a young inexperienced person having full use of a deadly weapon.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe was sensible to a fault, but it was that impulsive nature and the frequent mistake to act first and ask questions later that made Ben more afraid than most father\u2019s with their young sons and guns.<\/p>\n

Over the past twelve months, under Ben\u2019s and Adam\u2019s careful guidance, the boy had shown a genuine aptitude at handling a rifle.\u00a0 Ben had watched the boy shoot at targets more than 50 metres away and get a result that would make any adult proud.<\/p>\n

\n

Ben had wondered whether Joe\u2019s left-handedness would prove an obstacle at first but after only a few brief practice sessions, it had become obvious that the fact that Joe used his left hand was more of an advantage than a disadvantage.<\/p>\n

\u201dCome here, Joseph, please?\u201d Ben asked, as he sat down on the settee and indicated to his youngest son to join him.\u00a0 \u201cThere are just a few things that I want you remember before you leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe made a face as he knew what was about to come.\u00a0 \u201cAw Pa, I already know what your going to say before you say it,\u201d he said in an over exaggerated voice.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, don\u2019t ride too fast.\u00a0 Joseph, listen to what your brother tells you.\u00a0 Joseph, don\u2019t wander off alone.\u00a0 Joseph,\u2026\u2026\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, don\u2019t take that attitude with me,\u201d Ben said in the same type of voice that his son had used. \u201cOr you won\u2019t be going anywhere at all, young man,\u201d Ben said sternly without injecting too much anger into the words and put a dampener on the morning before it even began.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to have a good time and enjoy yourself, Little Joe, but I also want you to do as your brother Hoss asks and keep safe during your trip,\u201d Ben said in a gentler voice.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be in a rush to do anything. You have plenty of time.\u00a0 Make sure you both come back in one piece and safe and sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201dI promise I will behave myself, Pa,\u201d Joe replied.\u00a0 \u201cand have a good time with Hoss as well.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Joe then raced off the settee and rechecked that he had everything that he wanted to take with him.\u00a0\u00a0 Whilst he was out with Cochise and made sure everything was tied on properly, Ben had a little heart to heart chat with Hoss as well as to what he expected of him and Little Joe this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything should be fine, Pa,\u201d Hoss said, trying to reassure his father that he would bring his youngest son back to him safe and sound.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIts only two days out and only one night at that,\u00a0 we should be back by about mid-afternoon on Sunday if everything goes smoothly enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are you planning to take your younger brother on this hunting expedition, Hoss?\u201d Adam now asked.\u00a0\u00a0 He asked the question for two reasons.\u00a0 One, for curiosity sake and the regret that he wasn\u2019t joining his brother\u2019s in a nice couple of days off from work on the ranch.<\/p>\n

Two, whilst he had no qualms about Hoss\u2019s ability to handle most situations that might arise whilst they were out there alone, Adam was also only too well accustomed to his youngest brother\u2019s whimsical nature and his often bad misjudgement about things.<\/p>\n

Joe was a good kid most of the time, but he had the quirky ability to wrap almost anybody to his advantage and this was even more so for his brother Hoss.\u00a0 Adam just secretly hoped that his larger brother would be able to see past the large emerald green puppy dog eyes and the irresistible smile that the kid flashed when he wanted to get his own way.\u00a0 Only time would tell if he will see past that, Adam told himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably as far as\u00a0\u2018Pine Valley\u2019,<\/em>\u00a0Adam,\u201d Hoss answered.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIts not totally off the Ponderosa, but far enough away for Joe to enjoy the scenery and camp underneath the tall trees up there.\u00a0 We can camp near one of the small streams up there and catch some small fish for supper if no other game is seen beforehand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben and Adam were both secretly pleased with Hoss\u2019s choice of venue and knew that Hoss was right.\u00a0 Although \u201cPine Valley\u201d was in one of the far corners of the Ponderosa lands, it was more than half a day\u2019s ride away and definitely far enough away to make a camping trip out of the expedition.<\/p>\n

\u201dCome on, Hoss, or it will be dark before we even get there,\u201d Joe shouted from the front porch as he tried to hurry his brother along.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe then mounted Cochise and held out the reins to Chubb for Hoss.\u00a0\u00a0 He grinned back at his father and other brother as they watched from the front doorway and then gave them a quick enthusiastic wave before nudging Cochise forward.<\/p>\n

Ben watched the two riders until he could no longer see them.\u00a0 Many thoughts raced through his mind as he was reminded that this was Joe\u2019s first hunting trip without him alongside.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He kept telling himself that everything would be fine, but deep down inside he couldn\u2019t wait until Sunday afternoon again when he saw them arrive safely back in the yard at the house.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Chapter 2 – Torment<\/div>\n
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With Hoss now riding hard towards Virginia City, Adam and Ben were left to carry their precious burden back home. They knew that time was a critical factor in the boy’s chances of survival. At one point during the long arduous and slow trek through the landscape, Adam had pondered the idea of stopping to make a fire to try and warm the still unconscious youth.<\/p>\n

Whilst Ben thought that the warmth was needed, he also realised that it was medical treatment was so desperately needed and they were still some way from the homestead. A few times Ben had paused his ride and readjusted the sleeping bundle tucked under his coat. Joe never seemed to feel his touch or hear the soothing words of comfort whispered in his ear as they rode.<\/p>\n

Adam rode in front of Ben and Joe, trying to get his mind away from the worry and concern that he constantly felt at the moment.<\/p>\n

After about four hours of never ending road, Adam and Ben started to recognize the out skirts of the Ponderosa. They now could follow the road with their hearts filled with a little relief at finally reaching their destination.<\/p>\n

“Adam you go on and get things ready at the house for Joe” Ben now said, suggesting that Adam ride on ahead.<\/p>\n

“Tell Hop Sing what has happened and how we found him. Tell him we will need plenty of blankets and towels, bandages and anything else that you can think of. Make sure you get that fire going in the living room and in Joe’s room please”<\/p>\n

The words all seemed to tumble out of his mouth all at once and tangle together into incoherent sentences. Adam’s and his father’s eyes met briefly and seemed to make sense out of all the chaos. Adam nodded his head slightly signalling his agreement and now started for home at a faster pace.<\/p>\n

“Not far to go now son, just a little way and your home boy” Ben whispered to Joe. “You’ll soon be safe and warm in your own bed.” he said to his sleeping son. He knew he could manage the warm part easily enough.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0‘safe<\/em>‘ part was going to be slightly more difficult to overcome. There was no doubt in Ben’s mind that his son would be scared and unsure for the next few days until he was back in familiar surroundings and the love and understanding of his family.<\/p>\n

\n

Back at the Ponderosa homestead, Adam arrived in the yard and was very pleased to see the buggy of the local doctor outside the front porch. He hitched his horse up to a rail outside and was quick to get inside, wanting to talk to Paul about his brother.<\/p>\n

Hoss and Paul Martin both looked up as Adam walked into the room. “Hey Adam” came the greeting from Hoss.<\/p>\n

“Glad to see you home safe Adam” Paul said a little bit more formally and stepped forward to shake Adam’s hand. The doctor knew that there would be little else on the Cartwright’s minds at the moment except for Joseph.<\/p>\n

“Have you told the Doctor here what happened Hoss?” Adam now asked his younger brother. “Hop Sing you will need to have a few things ready for when Pa arrives home with Joe” Adam said now addressing the little oriental man coming out of the kitchen into the living room.<\/p>\n

“No time stop talk to Mr Adam. Get things ready for boy when get home” Hop Sing said obviously not hearing Adam’s question.<\/p>\n

It seemed though that Hop Sing had every all ready under control as he carried a basin laden with bandages and a few small bottles up the stairs towards Joe’s room. Hop Sing probably already had a good idea what would be needed and Adam was sure that Paul would have everything he needed with him in his black medical bag.<\/p>\n

The three men now stood anxiously in the living room, too nervous to sit down, while they waited for Ben and Joe to arrive back home. There was no conversation as the worry was clearly evidence on their faces.<\/p>\n

Even Doctor Paul Martin showed his concern about Joe’s condition. He had yet to see the boy, but from all accounts from Hoss, the boy was in a very bad way when he was found in the stream.<\/p>\n

Joseph was almost like a son to him as well and he knew that anything happening to the youngest Cartwright would affect him just as badly as the family themselves.<\/p>\n

They continued to wait. The only sound in the room was Hop Sing trudging up and down the staircase to Joe’s room. For the last four or five trips, he had been carrying a bucket of hot water in each hand.<\/p>\n

Hoss and Hop Sing had manoeuvred a metal bath tub into the room when Hoss first arrived home. From Hoss’s description, the boy was covered in mud from laying so long in the stream.<\/p>\n

He would need to be cleaned before Paul could even start his examination of the boy. It was assumed that the hot water would also help to warm the boy too.<\/p>\n

Just when it all seemed that the waiting was too much of a burden to Hoss, there was the sound of hooves on the ground outside. All three men raced to the front door to greet the approaching rider.<\/p>\n

They all met a very tired looking Ben sitting onto of Buck whilst holding onto Joe. Joe stilled looked to be unconscious and that greatly worried the Doctor. He was told that the boy was unconscious when they found him partly submerged in the stream. That had been well over four hours ago.<\/p>\n

“Adam you take Joe from your father and Hoss you help Ben inside to a cup of hot coffee” Doc Martin said now making sure that all of the Cartwrights were going to be alright.<\/p>\n

Adam’s gaze became fixated on the limp form of his youngest brother against his father’s chest. The boy looked no older than 12 rather than the energetic youth of 16 he had greeted at the breakfast table a week or so.<\/p>\n

The boy’s complexion was very pale in contrast to the dark shirt his father wore underneath his tan leather vest. He pulled himself out of his trance like state and now raised his arms ready to take the boy inside.<\/p>\n

Ben knew that his arms had become numb over the last hour or so from holding onto his son, so it was with a little relief that he allowed Adam to take Joe from his saddle.<\/p>\n

Adam made sure that there was a strong arm around behind the boy’s shoulders, and one under his knees. He would need to be careful of the leg wound as they made their way inside and up the staircase.<\/p>\n

For some unknown reason, Adam felt himself hold the boy tightly to his chest as he carried him inside. He knew that the boy was unaware of his family, but Adam needed to feel the boy just to make sure that the image he saw was real.<\/p>\n

There had been many thoughts of fear and worry that had run through his mind over the last week or so. He had lain awake after Hoss and his father had retired after another long day of searching, telling himself that they would find Joe safe and well again. As that week had drawn on, it was becoming harder and harder to convince himself of this fact.<\/p>\n

Hoss had helped his father from Buck and let one of the hands put the animal in the barn for the night. Ben had sat in the one spot for a few hours and tried in vain at many stages to stretch some of the aches and kinks out of his sore muscles. They had become stiff from being in the same position for so long.<\/p>\n

Now Ben strode purposefully into the house wanting to know the condition of his youngest son.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing had placed the cup of coffee on the table at Doc Martin’s suggestion, but now with more important things on his mind, Ben walked right passed it, fully expecting it to get cold before he would return to drink it.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin had already begun to help Hoss and Adam undress Little Joe just as Ben approached the doorway to the room. “What can I do Paul?” Ben asked knowing how stupid the question sounded even before he asked it.<\/p>\n

“I want you to take care of yourself first Ben Cartwright.” Doc Martin answered sternly “I know you are more concerned about Little Joe than yourself at the moment, but the room’s already crowded with the three of us for the time being.<\/p>\n

By the time you get yourself cleaned up, we should be finished the bath so that I can begin the proper examination of his injuries. That’s probably when I am going to need you the most Ben” Doc Martin said.<\/p>\n

Paul was expecting a full fledged argument with the patriarch of the Cartwright family and although he could see worry and concern etched on his old friend’s face. He could also see the signs of fatigue and submission.<\/p>\n

“Okay Paul, you win for a short while. I will get myself cleaned up a little, but after that I will be right back ready to help you with my son whether you or him both want it.” Ben replied in his most serious voice.<\/p>\n

Adam, Hoss and Paul all watched Ben turn from the room and saw his slumped posture as he walked slowly back to his own room for a few minutes. All knew that his shoulders were weighed down heavily with worry, fear and guilt about his son as well as fatigue from the trip.<\/p>\n

\n

Now Paul quickly snapped back to his task at hand, knowing that there was another Cartwright who needed his help more at the moment. Hop Sing had come in and filled the copper bath tub up with warm water.<\/p>\n

He had then gone about laying some heavier sheets on top of Joe’s bed so that they could be easily taken away once Joe’s filthy rags had been removed.<\/p>\n

Hoss held his little brother in a slightly upright position from behind as Adam and Doc teamed up to help with the mattered bits of cloth. They had to be careful not to cause any more injury to the already gravely ill boy before them.<\/p>\n

First, the two last remaining buttons on the shirt were undone and Adam very carefully started to peel back the fabric from his brother’s chest. He sighed secretly in relief when he was able to see the chest slowly inflate and deflate from Joe’s deep breathing action.<\/p>\n

Both Adam and Paul held back there gasps of shock at the extent of the bruising that was evident on the boy’s upper body. There were dark purple bruises all over the rib cage, some which had not fully formed yet.<\/p>\n

They were angry looking and overlapped each other in places, signalling the severity of the beating that Joe had been the recipient of. Hoss was unable to compose himself quite as well and his eyes filled with rage when he saw the punishment that had been inflicted upon his younger brother. He swore to both his brother and himself that he would make the men responsible pay.<\/p>\n

Paul reminded both Adam and Hoss that they needed to put their personal feelings aside about what had happened to Joe so that they could help heal his injuries.<\/p>\n

He knew it was difficult for both brother to do just this, but Joe couldn’t afford to be exposed to the elements anymore than was absolutely necessary. The boy had already shown signs of illness due to laying in the cold water of the stream for so long in addition to the long, windy ride home on his father’s horse.<\/p>\n

With Joe’ trousers, Paul though it best if they cut the legs back to the knee length before trying to pull them off. Some of the fabric had become imbedded in the wound on his right leg and when Paul had tried to gently probe the area to remove the dirt and debris, the pain had been bad enough to bring Joe from the deep dark depths of unconsciousness to just under the surface of waking.<\/p>\n

Hoss found that he had to adjust and tighten his grip in his younger brother so that the kid wouldn’t thrash about from the pain and hurt himself further.<\/p>\n

Paul now took a knife that Hop Sing had provided and slit the legs of the trousers just above the knee. They were able to remove the shortened pants over the injured area without causing Joe too much discomfort.<\/p>\n

Paul suggested that they might be able to remove the dirt and debris a little bit better with the aid of the water in the tub.<\/p>\n

They all had wondered about Joe’s reaction to modesty, but soon put that aside and told themselves that Joe would just have to put up with a little embarrassment until they finished the bathing of his body.<\/p>\n

Joe was still unconscious, despite the probing and removing of clothes and they just hoped that would last until they finished what they had to do.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin checked the temperature of the water one last time and now motioned for Adam and Hoss to carefully pick up their inert brother’s body and place it in the water.<\/p>\n

He reminded them to be extra gentle and watch out for the boy’s injuries and also about the boy waking suddenly from being immersed in the water and thrashing about causing more pain.<\/p>\n

Adam now moved to the head of the bed and placed one arm underneath Joe’s slim back and the other wrapped securely but gently around his chest. Hoss placed both arms underneath Little Joe’s knees and now lifted the slight weight from the bed with Adam.<\/p>\n

Both Adam and Hoss shuffled together across the short distance to the copper tub with Joe in their arms. Very slowly they now lowered his body into the warm water, continuing to support him the whole time for fear of his head slipping under the water.<\/p>\n

They had been a little disappointed not to see the reaction that Doc Martin alerted them to earlier. Their brother made no such attempt to thrash about, there was not even a twitch to signal that he might be coming awake.<\/p>\n

Adam now took the soft cloth left by Hop Sing and using the hand that had been across Joe’s chest started to wipe away some of the dirt and grime that had become encrusted on his brother’s skin over the last week or so.<\/p>\n

As the dust and mud were swirling together to made the water cloudy, Joe’s numerous cuts and bruises were becoming more noticeable. Some of them had yet to form and were only visible by small dots of purple around the edges.<\/p>\n

The injury that caused the most concern was the right leg were the metal jaws of the rusty trap had bitten into the soft flesh and tissue of Joe’s leg. The warm water seemed to get most of the dirt from the injury, but now with the puncture wounds submerged, there was some fresh bleeding.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss knew that there might be internal injuries that they couldn’t see at the moment. This seemed to be confirmed by the dark and ugly bruises stating to emerge over Joe’s rib cage and chest area.<\/p>\n

Apart from the injuries on his torso and lower legs, the injury that stood out the most and made Adam’s and Hoss’s blood boil over with hatred and contempt was the rope burn around Joe’s neck.<\/p>\n

The rope burn was a mark about half an inch wide that went all the way around Joe’s neck. It was possible to see the twist pattern made by the weave of the rope in the raw circle of skin that encircled the slender neckline.<\/p>\n

“I swear Adam, if I find out who did this to Little Joe…” Hoss said leaving the sentence unfinished as to what he might physically do to Joe’s assailants. Adam who normally prided himself about his ideas of justice for all and never jumping to conclusions about anybody, could only sadly nod his head to Hoss’s comment as he felt the surge of his own anger rise again.<\/p>\n

He too told himself secretly that he didn’t know what he would do if he came across the men who had been responsible for kidnapping and beating his little brother half to death.<\/p>\n

Three men had been leaning over the unconscious boy who lay limp in the copper bath tub and all had various thoughts of anger and retribution on their minds as they tendered Joe with the utmost care.<\/p>\n

All of their thoughts were forgotten however and the words on the tips of their tongues dried up as they all saw a slight movement that made them all hold their breath in anticipation.<\/p>\n

\n

Little Joe felt like he was swimming. Swimming against a never ending tide of black that seemed to surround him on all sides. For a brief moment the black mass seemed to clear a little and he thought he saw a strange and distant light before him. He didn’t know where the light led to and he really didn’t know if he wanted to go towards it. Whilst his tired mind was trying to work out what to do, his physical body reacted in the bath tub by turning his head to the side, pausing a moment and then turning back to the other side.<\/p>\n

By the time he had turned his head again, the blackness was swirling around him again and his fatigue prevented anymore thought. The blackness this time seemed to be lighter and he didn’t think that he was fighting the gloom as hard this time. His brain hoped that he would again see the strange light and maybe it would lead him from this eternal midnight.<\/p>\n

“Doc did you see that?” Hoss finally said, breaking the silence of the room as they all waited to see if the movement was a true sign of Joe waking up or just a reflex action. Hoss’s eyes never left his younger brother’s sleeping face, and neither did that of Adam or Doc Martin.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know Hoss, maybe it’s a sign.” Doc Martin answered still peering at Joe and waiting for another brief movement.<\/p>\n

“Let’s hurry and get him out of this tepid water now. I want him up on the bed so that I can examine him properly and go about fixing that leg” he added.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss carefully lifted their brother out of the water and lowered him onto a clean sheet that had been warmed and laid across the bed. The three of them then went about drying Joe’s body with towels that Hop Sing had provided.<\/p>\n

It was about the time that they had finished drying Joe and getting him into a night shirt that Ben came back into the room, wearing clean clothes of his own and looking decidedly better than before.<\/p>\n

“How is he Paul?” Ben said as he walked across to the bed and took a place next to his son as Hoss stepped aside. Ben’s hand grasped Joe’s and he absentmindedly started to stroke the boy’s cheek, urging him to wake up for them.<\/p>\n

“We’ve only just finished cleaning him up Ben,” Doc Martin said as he started going through his medical bag, making sure he had everything that he would need for the examination he was about to perform.<\/p>\n

“Not sure, but I think he might be waking up. He moved his head slightly in the bath but then seemed to go back to sleep.” Paul explained.<\/p>\n

“Hopefully it’s a good sign. Now I will allow you to stay Ben, but I want Hoss and Adam out I’m afraid,” he now added.<\/p>\n

He knew from experience that Ben Cartwright would have no intentions of leaving his injured son’s room, by force or not. He couldn’t afford to have Joe’s room too crowded though. He was going to be a while and needed the room to remain as quite as possible to complete his task.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss smiled slightly at their father as they headed to the door. They didn’t say anything but knew that what the doctor was asking was only for Joe’s benefit. They were worried about him but would wait downstairs for the diagnosis graciously. Adam made sure that the door clicked closed on his way out.<\/p>\n

“You can remain where you are Ben,” Paul said to his old friend. “I am going to check him over for other injuries first and then attend to the ones we can see. I want the water to dry from the puncture wounds a little before I attempt to suture and bandage them.” Ben nodded his agreement.<\/p>\n

\n

Paul started at Joe’s head and slowly worked his way down. All the time he was completing the examination, Ben’s vision followed the doctor’s skilled hands. He never let his eyes stray from his son for a second while the doctor attempted to assess his true state of condition.<\/p>\n

The first injury that was evident on Joe, was the wound left behind by Butch Thomas striking his head with the butt of the pistol. It lay just inside his hair line so that some of the curls were stiff from the dried blood.<\/p>\n

Although most of the blood had been washed away to reveal only a nasty looking but small gash. Paul made a mental note to dab at the area with a little ointment, but other than that the cut wasn’t large enough or deep enough to require stitching.<\/p>\n

Paul spoke to Ben as he went about the examination whilst still keeping his trained eyes on his young patient.<\/p>\n

The next bruise that the doctor saw puzzled him more than worried him. It was a darkish bruise about the size of a coin in the centre of his left temple.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t life threatening or even caused pain the doctor surmised, but what did make him curious about it was it’s perfect shape. It was a perfect ring with a hollow centre. What could have made such a mark on the boy?<\/p>\n

Ben saw his friend pause and look intently at the small mark. He too could see the bruise but didn’t seem overly concerned about it as Paul did.<\/p>\n

“What’s wrong Paul?” Ben asked as he continued to watch his son and the doctor.<\/p>\n

“I am just curious about what would have been used to make such a perfectly round bruise on the boy’s temple,” Paul replied.<\/p>\n

“It seems to be the least of his problems at the moment though,” Paul reminded himself and set about examining the rest of the boy without putting a lot of thought into such a small bruise.<\/p>\n

Paul now gently lifted each of Joe’s eyelids to peer underneath. “They both look a little better Ben,” Paul said out loud. “Not so dilated as before, maybe that’s a good sign,” he added.<\/p>\n

It was about now that the dark fog that had been holding Joe now began to release it’s grip and once again Joe could feel himself floating towards the unknown distant light ahead.<\/p>\n

He could now hear voices in his head. He couldn’t really work out who they belonged to just yet and they all seemed to combine into one low sounding voice. He tried to listen harder to try and work out what the voices were saying.<\/p>\n

Paul was now touching at the rope burn around Joe’s neck. Ben had to sit with his hands in clenched fists to stop the anger he felt raising inside him when he thought about somebody having a rope around his son’s neck for any reason.<\/p>\n

The fact that the rope had been tight enough to make an impression in his skin made Ben’s anger settle in the pit of his stomach in one big ball of anger. He always spoke to his son about justice and letting the law handle things that were in the wrong, but looking now down at the fragile boy laying on the bed beside him, the words he had spoken in the past seemed to hold no real meaning anymore.<\/p>\n

Paul reached into his medical bag and placed a small amount of a translucent cream on his finger tips, ready to rub it into the scared area. The cream was often used in burns cases but would work equally as well with this injury.<\/p>\n

Paul now spread the cream to both hands and now placed his fingertips on the raw skin and attempted to massage the cream into the red and dried skin. He and Ben were not prepared for the reaction they were about to receive.<\/p>\n

\n

Joe had been slowly working his way back to consciousness for the last ten to fifteen minutes. The feeling that jolted him awake with fear was that of the doctor’s fingers around his neck.<\/p>\n

At this stage he was unable to comprehend whose hands they actually were. To him they could have been anybody. At the moment with his mind so tortured from his ordeal, there was only one face that came into his mind about who the hands belonged to…Butch Thomas.<\/p>\n

Joe told himself to calm down as he could feel the fingers seemingly encircle his already sore neck. He felt the pain from the injury and his mind associated the pain with his kidnapper.<\/p>\n

He had no recollection of being found by his father and brothers and that the fingers might be from somebody trying to help him. His mind screamed at him that he couldn’t let Butch Thomas get his hands on him again.<\/p>\n

He vaguely remembered getting away from him at some point and now it seemed as though his nightmare had caught up with him again only to dish out some more punishment.<\/p>\n

His throat felt so raw he could scarcely swallow, but he knew that at the moment his very life might be in danger again. He had to get away. He gathered as much moisture as he could into the back of his throat ready to scream to Thomas to leave him the hell alone.<\/p>\n

Paul had only been rubbing the cream into Joe’s neck for a short time when all of a sudden the boy’s eyes opened wide and his hands sprung up from his side and started to push the doctor’s hands away. He was trying to release the words he held in his throat but all that emerged was a low stark moan that didn’t seem to have any meaning at all except pain.<\/p>\n

Paul and Ben were both shock when it seemed that this boy who had been unconscious for hours, now suddenly sat up on his own and was trying to fight them from helping him.<\/p>\n

“Stop it, I am not going to let you hurt me again,” Joe screamed through his raw throat. “Leave me alone… leave me alone..don’t hurt me anymore,” he pleaded as tears came to his eyes and he continued to claw away at the doctor’s gentle hands on his neck.<\/p>\n

“Joseph, it’s alright son,” Ben said now recovering from his initial shock and seeing that the boy was obviously distressed. “Doc Martin is only trying to help you,” Ben added trying to restrain his son’s hands gently enough to allow the doctor to do his work.<\/p>\n

Joe turned his face towards the voice that spoke to him, but it took a few minutes for his mind to focus on who was saying the words. “Pa” was the only word he could croak out, disbelieving the image in front of him to be the one person he had been hoping would come during this last week of torture.<\/p>\n

“Yes son, it’s me,” Ben said with a smile and a little chuckle at the boy’s confusion. Inside his heart was still trying to calm down. “You’re safe now Joseph. Nobody is going to hurt you again I promise,” he added with firmness meant to add to the boy’s need for safety and security right now.<\/p>\n

Joe looked at his father for a few minutes still trying to comprehend what he was seeing in the room. He started to cry again and collapsed into the willing embrace of his father. The emotion and fatigue were all too much for him.<\/p>\n

Ben now moved closer to the boy by sitting on the bed whilst still holding onto his son. He knew that the boy was looking for reassurance and protection and he was happy to provide it.<\/p>\n

“I need you to try and keep him awake a little longer Ben,” Paul said as he tried to look over his young patient without being intrusive. He was glad the boy was awake and wanted to continue his necessary medical treatment, but could see that the fear and emotion in the boy at the moment were overwhelming and needed attention as much as his injuries.<\/p>\n

He would have to tread carefully with the boy. Ben nodded his head knowing that it was dangerous to let the boy return to sleep after only just waking from such a deep state of unconsciousness.<\/p>\n

Joe had heard the second voice as he lay against his father’s chest and now turned his head so that he peeked out from under Ben’s arm in a timid glance towards the doctor.<\/p>\n

He continued to stare at the man for quite a while. His brain told him that it was Doctor Paul Martin that was touching him and it wasn’t Butch Thomas hurting him. He told himself that he knew Doc Martin to be a good and caring person, but all of this rationality didn’t help to ease his fears.<\/p>\n

Joe continued to look at Paul from his protective position in his father’s embrace. Doc Martin could see the questions in the young man’s emerald green eyes. The sad part was that the doctor knew he didn’t have all the answers that the young man yearned so much to hear.<\/p>\n

“That’s right son, its just me old Doc Martin,” Paul said gently as he reached out his hand and placed it on the boy’s knee. The boy seemed to shrink away from all other forms of human contact except that of his father. It soon became plain that he couldn’t go anywhere else and so he allowed the doctor’s hand to touch his skin again.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin could see that although Joe was now awake and needed to stay so for a while yet, he could also see the week of fatigue etched in his young skin and despite his previous unconsciousness, the boy’s body demanded decent food and rest before it could begin the healing process.<\/p>\n

The doctor knew that although his young patient was reluctant and shy, he needed to keep at his examination. He said so out loud and told Ben that it would be alright if Joe stayed in the comfort of his father’s arms.<\/p>\n

There was no need to cause any further alarm to the boy or any unnecessary distress. The boy had been through hell enough over the last week or so.<\/p>\n

Doc warmed his hands a little and then proceeded to place them on Joe’s chest to feel the extent of the injuries that might have been caused. Joe had to turn his head into his father’s chest and bite down on his lip to stop from yelling out from the pain that he felt.<\/p>\n

He knew the doctor was only trying to help but even the gentlest of touches caused the dull ache in his chest to erupt into a stabbing pain that left him almost breathless.<\/p>\n

Ben put one hand behind Joe’s back and tried to soothe away some of the pain with long calming caresses down the young man’s back. He could hear the faint grunts of pain that his son emitted every time the doctor moved his fingertips.<\/p>\n

“It actually feels a little better than I first suspected Ben,” Paul said with a degree of satisfaction. “There is some severe bruising to the muscles and outer skin, but other than that the ribs don’t seem to be cracked or broken. That’s a real blessing considering all he’s been through. I don’t even think it will need tapping at this stage. If he takes it easy, the bruising should come out fully in a couple of days and then start to disappear,” Paul said.<\/p>\n

“Joe for the next few days, I want you to do some deep breathing exercises to help your bruised chest. I know they will hurt at first but they need to be done to help your chest regain it’s strength. The pain will ease as the muscles get stronger again,” Paul said in a very calm voice.<\/p>\n

He saw a slight nod of the curly head and knew that his patient had at least heard his words.<\/p>\n

With each minute that past, Paul could slowly see Joe’s head bow just that little more against Ben’s chest and the eyelids grow just that little bit heavier with the call of sleep.<\/p>\n

Most of the other cuts and bruises on Joe were superficial and would need no more care than bed rest and good food from Hop Sing’s kitchen. Paul now set about suturing the puncture wounds on Joe’s leg.<\/p>\n

He pulled out a small bottle of alcohol and began to dab some of the clear liquid on a small cloth. He sat right beside Ben and gave a nod which meant for his friend to hold onto the boy a little tighter for a few minutes.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded back reading the doctor’s intentions and then Paul held Joe’s other leg down with his free hand.<\/p>\n

Joe had known that the alcohol would sting his leg, but he wasn’t quite prepared for the burning sensation that came afterwards and seemed to just get hotter and hotter.<\/p>\n

Joe tried hard, but in the end just couldn’t hold back the scream of pain. He had tears streaming down his face and his own hands gripped onto the front of his father’s shirt with a vice like grip. He begged his father and the doctor to make the pain stop but unfortunately it was beyond their control.<\/p>\n

Both men wished they could take the pain for the boy and both felt anguish of their own at the boy’s distressed condition.<\/p>\n

“I’m sorry Little Joe but I need to make sure the wounds are nice and clean before I start stitching them” Paul said as he put the cloth and bottle of alcohol back into his medical bag.<\/p>\n

Ben continued to rub Joe’s back, trying to stem the steady stream of hiccups that had resulted from the crying. He gently kissed his boy on the forehead and told him that everything would soon be alright.<\/p>\n

Ben watched now as Paul pulled a small needle out of his bag filled with an opaque coloured liquid. Ben looked questioningly at the doctor, not distrusting the man, but concerned that they were still trying to keep the boy awake a little longer rather than put him back to sleep.<\/p>\n

“I thought we had to try and keep him wake Paul?” Ben asked.<\/p>\n

“This is only a muscle relaxant Ben. I think Joe’s had enough for one day. I too would ideally like to see the boy awake for a little longer, and in most people it only calm’s them down. In Joe’s case at the moment however, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does eventually put him to sleep. His is physically tired and mentally exhausted and he needs to be calm whilst I tend to his leg. I think it’s for the best Ben,” Paul said and he smiled slightly when Ben nodded his head in approval and smile slightly back. Both could see from Joe’s tired eyes and facial features that the boy wouldn’t be awake must longer anyway.<\/p>\n

To both men’s surprise however, the boy had more in him than they thought. Both of them wondered if it was true inner strength that Joe was demonstrating by staying awake as long as he did or a deeper darker meaning of his torturous ordeal. Joe was still awake well after the last suture had been inserted into his leg to seal the wounds and even after the injury was wrapped in a clean white bandage.<\/p>\n

Just as Paul was doing the final wrapping, Hop Sing seemed to guess at what would be the next priority for the boy and walked into the room with an only slightly warm bowl of soup. It was barely warm so that Joe could drink it straight away.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing walked over to the bed and gave his favourite Cartwright his best smile, and although he got a slight smile of appreciation in return, Hop Sing knew that there was something missing in those sad eyes. The light in them had been extinguished and now they held no laughter or signs of happiness. Something had been taken away from Joe that his family couldn’t put a price on.<\/p>\n

“Mista Cartwright spoon to boy?” Hop Sing enquired.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to try and get him moving around much at the moment Hop Sing,” Ben replied. “How about I just let him stay where he is and prop him up a little more and you can spoon the soup to him in small amounts so he doesn’t choke?” he added.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing seemed pleased with this arrangement. It meant that he actually felt that he was helping the boy by doing this small, but oh so important task.<\/p>\n

For the next five minutes, Joe allowed them to spoon half a tablespoon of soup to him at a time. At first he really wasn’t sure that he wanted anything to eat at all. But he knew that if he put up a protest, then Doc Martin would find some awful tasting to make up for it. At least Hop Sing’s soup tasted better than any concoction the doctor could invent.<\/p>\n

When the soup bowl was about half empty of it’s contents, Joe’s body finally succumbed to it’s exhaustion and pain and he fell asleep still leaning against his father’s chest with Hop Sing still attempting to get more of his nourishing soup into his mouth.<\/p>\n

All three men couldn’t help and smile at the innocence Joe portrayed when he was asleep. They all felt that resurgence of anger again when they thought about how close they had come to never seeing such contentment again.<\/p>\n

Even in sleep now Joe’s upper eyelids seemed to be always flickering, indicating that the boy was dreaming. Every now and then there would be a quiet gasp of alarm or a groan of pain, as if he was reliving his whole kidnapping ordeal again. It seemed even when he wasn’t in Butch Thomas’s presence, the man found a way to inflict hurt and torment the mind.<\/p>\n

“Do you think you can move Ben without waking him?” Paul now asked his friend as he saw the awkward position he had been forced into as Joe’s pillow. There was no doubt in the doctor’s mind that Ben would be needed for quite some time to come in a number of roles: healer, comforter, listener, carer and most of all father.<\/p>\n

Ben looked down at his sleeping bundle and then very carefully and slowly started to slid out from underneath the boy’s slight weight. There was one or two small groans at first, but then the boy seemed to go silent again and then there was nothing as Ben laid Joe’s body out on his back on the bed and covered him with a blanket.<\/p>\n

“Let’s leave him settle on his own for a few seconds and go down to Adam and Hoss,” Paul suggested.<\/p>\n

“Someone can come back and sit with him in a few minutes,” he added, suggesting that Ben get some rest himself and let one of the other family members take the first watch with Joe.<\/p>\n

Ben followed the doctor out the door to his son’s room, stealing a quick glance back towards his slumbering son.<\/p>\n

\n

Hoss was seated in the living room as the doctor descended the stairs and Adam seemed to be deep in thought, prodding at the hot coals of the fire place with a poker.<\/p>\n

They both forgot what they were thinking about and immediately turned to face the two men coming out of Joe’s room. Both desperately wanted to know their brother’s condition.<\/p>\n

“There is a long road ahead boys, but given some time I think he will recover nicely,” Paul said just to reassure them from the beginning. “The biggest worry we have at the moment apart from the mental torment is his leg injury of course. He has extensive bruising that will be sore for a number of weeks thankfully. Though that doesn’t make them any less painful for the boy. He will be a very stiff and sore boy for a good month or so,” Paul explained.<\/p>\n

“The injury that causes me the most concern of course is the puncture wounds from the trap. The trap was old and rusty as you know so there is a high risk of infection due to dirt and other materials being driven to the wound by the steel jaws. I have tried to clean them out the best I can, but we will just have to wait and see if there are any adverse effects. There will no doubt be some sort of fever from his injuries, but how severe and how high it will go, I can’t tell at this stage. He seems to have swallowed some mud and water from the stream, but it doesn’t seem to have affected his lungs to any great extend. Something to be even more thankful I think because Lord knows that boy doesn’t need anything else like a bout of pneumonia,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“What about his mental attitude and the effect all of this is going to have on him in the long term?” Adam now asked plainly.<\/p>\n

“As good as a doctor as I am Adam, that is something that is unknown at this stage. His mind is probably going to take the longest to heal. After he is heal physically, we will need to gradually start working on his self-esteem and confidence again. I think the easiest way, but probably the most painful way is for him to open up to one or all of you and tell us exactly what happened to him out there. It may be a day, a week or a month or a few months, but sometime down the track he is going to have to come to terms with what happened to him out there. I am not going to sugar-coat it for you, it is going to be very difficult, for him and for you to hear what he has to say,” Paul admitted.<\/p>\n

He could see the sullen looks now on the two brother’s at the uphill battle it was going to become. Neither of them would back away from the challenge though. Both of them wanted to help their younger brother heal his physical injuries as well as the mental ones.<\/p>\n

“Now your brother is going to stay off his leg for the next two months or so while his body does start to heal and I allow him to get out of bed.” Paul said in a more serious tone.<\/p>\n

“Let him out of bed?” Adam now asked with a touch of sarcasm in his voice. They all knew too well about Joe’s past experiences with injury and how quickly the young man was trying to get the doctor to let him get out of bed. Most of the time it was well before the doctor had wanted to in the first place.<\/p>\n

“I know, I know,” Paul said with a grin. He too was used to the battles he and his patient offered wagered about his confinement to bed. “But you will have to help him out a little more than he would like I’m afraid until he gets used to the crutches. They aren’t the easier things to move around on.”<\/p>\n

“Don’t worry doc, we will take the very best care of him,” Hoss said with a determined voice.<\/p>\n

“I know you will Hoss,” Paul said giving the large man a slap on the shoulder. It was always the big men who fell first the doctor told himself.<\/p>\n

“I will be back to check on that leg tomorrow Ben. The bandages will need to be changed daily, maybe more than once. I will come in the morning and see how he’s faired the night. Let me know if that fever I talked about comes and gets too high,” he added as he stepped through the front door of the homestead with bag in his hand. Ben and he shook hands knowing that Paul was never far away if the family needed him again.<\/p>\n

“Thanks Paul, truly,” Ben said genuinely. Doc nodded his head in acknowledgement as he climbed into his buggy and prepared to head back down the dirt road to Virginia City.<\/p>\n

Ben now closed the front door and locked it. “Alright boys, you two get some rest for a few hours. I will go and sit with him for the night. One of you can relieve me in the morning,” he said as he headed towards the staircase.<\/p>\n

“Um Pa,” Hoss now said putting a gentle but restraining hand on his father’s shoulder. “Adam and I have been talking about things whilst you were seeing Doc Martin off,” he said feeling a little uneasy about what he was about to say to his father.<\/p>\n

He had no doubts that it needed to be said that didn’t make it any easier. Hoss had rarely had the need to be stern when talking to his father at any time during his entire life.<\/p>\n

“Oh you have had you Hoss,” Ben said with a raised eyebrow. He suspected about the topic of conversation and was trying to hide the smile he felt at his large son’s obvious nervousness.<\/p>\n

“Well yeah Pa and we decided, that is Adam and me thought it would be best if one of us takes the first watch with Joe. That way you will be able to get a few hours sleep of your own and by ready during the night if Joe needs you. The boy is probably going to sleep a while himself anyway, according to what the doc had to say,” Hoss said.<\/p>\n

His tongue felt like it was tied all in knots and his stomach wasn’t in much better shape. He and Adam both knew that it would take a combined effort to get their father to rest during such a crisis with his youngest son.<\/p>\n

Ben was trying to muster up a valid argument for his two son’s but he really did feel tired. “Alright son,” he said clamping a gentle but firm hand on his large son’s shoulder in appreciation, “You both win this time. I will go and try to sleep but I want to be awoken the minute anything changes or if your brother starts to wake up at all. Understand?” he now asked with added emphasis.<\/p>\n

“Sure Pa,” Hoss said inwardly sighing in relief that he didn’t have to battle his father over this. The family had always joked with Joe about having a short fuse and fiery temper but it was just as well known where half of that had been gained from.<\/p>\n

Joseph was in many ways like his spirited mother Marie, but sometimes, just when he exploded with anger at the wrong time, there was also a hint of Ben in him.<\/p>\n

\n

Adam and Hoss now both watched Ben climb the remaining stairs to the top floor and then slowly walk into his room and close the door behind him. Their father really did look tired and worn out from worry over Joe.<\/p>\n

“Remember Hoss, don’t wake Pa unless it is absolutely necessary,” Adam gently reminded his younger brother. He had seen the signs of fatigue and the slouch in his father’s shoulders.<\/p>\n

“Let me know if there is a problem. Hopefully the kid will get some decent rest himself. Lord knows he is going to need it,” he added and then headed towards his own bedroom.<\/p>\n

Hoss now headed towards Joe’s room. Once inside he moved the chair closer to the boy’s bed. For a few minutes he just gazed down at the slumbering figure in the bed. Wondering what the next few days and weeks would bring to this household.<\/p>\n

He knew that Joe’s kidnapping and disappearance had had a vast affect on them all. He just hoped deep down that they would all be able to recover. Most of all this young man laying in the bed.<\/p>\n

He couldn’t bear to think about the mental torment that would be raging inside the young man as he was forced to relive those horrible days of captivity. He took Joe’s sleep limp hand in his own and tried to will his own physical strength into the weak and frail boy. Hoping that he could at least be there when the boy needed him.<\/p>\n

After about an hour, Hoss awoke with a start. He hadn’t realised himself dozing off in the chair. He looked around the room trying to figure out what had startled him awake. He looked down at the bed and saw the Joe still appeared to be asleep.<\/p>\n

He kept his eyes on the young man for a few seconds longer when he heard the young man groan and try to move about again. Part of him wanted to jump about with relief that the boy was showing some signs of consciousness. The other part of him became immediately worried when he saw the thin sheen of sweat glistening on Joe’s forehead.<\/p>\n

He gently laid a hand on Joe’s forehead and gasped outwards at the heat that was now radiating from the young man’s body. It hadn’t been there an hour ago. The fact that the fever had started worried him, at the moment it didn’t feel too bad.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin had said that there might be some fever to fight the injuries. He tossed and turned it over in his mind for a few more seconds wondering whether or not to wake Adam.<\/p>\n

Another small groan of pain from Joe now convinced the big man of his earlier thought and he quickly went to the door and then gently rapped on Adam’s bedroom door.<\/p>\n

“Adam,” Hoss called in a more forcible whisper. He was mindful of waking his father and kept looking back and forth towards Ben’s door the whole time he was waiting for Adam. He was now greeted at the door by a bleary eyed, shirtless Adam.<\/p>\n

Adam looked as though he had slept very little. Now looking at Hoss’s worried face at the door, Adam instantly shook the remaining remnants of sleep from his face and grabbed a shirt before following Hoss to see what was going on.<\/p>\n

As Adam and Hoss walked into Joe’s bedroom, the young man was once again moaning, but this time he was getting more determined in his efforts and was trying to move in the bed.<\/p>\n

His moaning was becoming more persistent and louder and the movement in the bed more frequent. Hoss and Adam were instantly concerned that Joe would roll enough to cause himself more pain. Adam sat at the head of the bed and tried to talk soothingly to his still sleeping brother in an attempt to calm him down in to a more restful sleep.<\/p>\n

“Shssh, it’s okay little buddy. Everything’s okay. Big brother’s here, go back to sleep. Your safe now,” Adam said as he gently caressed Joe’s forehead. He brushed the damp curls back and noted with concern, Hoss’s earlier observation of the fever that had started.<\/p>\n

“Hoss, could you please go and get a basin of cool water and wash cloth,” Adam said as he continued the calming actions on Joe.<\/p>\n

“He gonna be alright Adam?” Hoss said, the worry clearly evident on his face.<\/p>\n

“Sure he is Hoss. But we need to get this fever down as quick as possible,” he said “Now please go and get the basin of water. Then I want you to go and get some sleep,” as he noted the tiredness in Hoss’s body posture.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know whether I could sleep anyway Adam,” Hoss said as he headed towards the door to get the things that Adam asked for.<\/p>\n

“Well you are certainly going to try Hoss,” Adam now said firmly, not wanting to let his brother go any further without rest for himself. He knew that Hoss was like his father in many ways and both of them would continue to care for Little Joe without so much as a thought for their own health. The care was going to have to be shared over the next couple of weeks by the three of them and Hop Sing.<\/p>\n

Hoss was soon back with the basin of water and a soft wash cloth “It isn’t very cold I’m afraid Adam,” he said with a little tone of dejection in his voice. “It’s the best I could get at the moment” he said. He now watched as Adam carefully wet the cloth sufficiently in the tepid water and then wring out the excess so that it was only just damp.<\/p>\n

“You go and get some sleep big guy,” Adam said to Hoss as he gently laid the cloth of Joe’s heated forehead. The coolness of the cloth seemed to have some affect though as they watched Joe’s closed eyelids flutter.<\/p>\n

For a few minutes it looked as though Joe might be trying to wake up. The eyelids fluttered a few more times and Joe moved his head back and forth on the pillow a few times. A few more soothing words from Adam and Joe appeared to slip back into the void of sleep once again.<\/p>\n

Adam looked up at Hoss and saw that the big man needed to be sure that his little brother was going to be okay before he even thought about having some rest.<\/p>\n

“Go get some sleep Hoss,” Adam said gently. For once Hoss just nodded his head in agreement and headed towards the door, stealing a last glance of the sleeping boy in the bed before he finally exited and went to his own bedroom.<\/p>\n

\n

For the next three hours or so, it looked as though Adam’s care was indeed doing the trick to keep Joe nice and calm in his sleep. He wasn’t sure about the fever though.<\/p>\n

Even with all the cool compresses he applied, the fever still not had abated and if anything had increased in temperature over the last hour or so. Adam now noticed that the warm water was having no effect on the fever again. He got up and took the basin down stairs, ready to refill it with some cooler water.<\/p>\n

Adam had refilled the basin and was about halfway up the stairs when he and the rest of the Cartwright household heard the blood-curdling scream that came from Joe’s room.<\/p>\n

Adam almost dropped the basin of water at the scream and managed to soak the legs of his trousers. He didn’t even stop to worry about that though as he, Hoss and Ben all raced into the room to see what had upset the boy so much.<\/p>\n

Ben had been in a fitful sleep in his room when he heard the scream. He was instantly awake and racing towards his injured son’s room. He saw Adam on the stairs with a basin of water and Hoss was coming out of his bedroom as well.<\/p>\n

All three entered the room and saw Joe tossing and turning violently in the bed. It looked as though he was trying to fight of someone or something. Every now and then there would be some incoherent words uttered. Some of them sounded like “Keep away” and “Don’t.. please don’t”.<\/p>\n

Ben was immediately sitting on the bed were Adam had been. He reached over and being as gentle as he could pulled the boy into his embrace. Just as Ben managed to put his arms around the trembling boy though, it was almost as if Joe was trying to get away from Ben.<\/p>\n

In his sleep, the confused boy was pulled at Ben’s arms and telling him to leave him alone. It was soon obvious to all in the room that the ever rising fever had trapped the injured boy in his own nightmares. Making them come to life once again. He was trying to fight the very people that loved and cared for him so much.<\/p>\n

Ben was determined to be there for the boy though, even if he pushed him away at first. After what the boy had been through, he supposed it was only natural for the boy to dread human contact of any sort.<\/p>\n

Ben once again wrapped his arms around the struggling boy and held on somewhat tighter this time. Joe continued to utter words like “Stop it” and “Keep Away” again, but the struggles soon became more weaker.<\/p>\n

Whether it was because Joe recognized the security and warmth of his father or whether it was purely due to physical exhaustion that the boy ceased to try and get away. Now the boy lay in his father’s arms and fell back into a restless sleep.<\/p>\n

He still muttered incoherent words but they soon faded to nothing more than occasional moans and then finally into silence as sleep gained a stronger hold on the boy’s mind.<\/p>\n

“You boys’ go down and get some coffee and breakfast,” Ben now said to Adam and Hoss. The dawn was just starting to peak through the curtains in Joe’s room, signalling the beginning of a new day.<\/p>\n

He didn’t intend to send the boy’s out to work today. Apart from the lack of sleep neither of them had had, there wasn’t much work to do back at home over the next week or so.<\/p>\n

\n

Downstairs in the kitchen, Hop Sing had just started to make breakfast when Hoss and Adam arrived at the table. The little Cantonese man made sure that there were two pots of strong black coffee on the table this morning.<\/p>\n

He also made a third smaller pot for Ben and a small bowl of broth for Joe, in case the boy awoke shortly. They needed to keep up the boy’s nourishment, if they wanted his injuries to heal well.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss were sitting at the table, not really saying much when there was a knock at the front door. Adam wondered who would be knocking this early in the morning, maybe it was Doc Martin back to check on his patient.<\/p>\n

He and Hoss were both surprised when Sheriff Roy Coffee greeted them from the other side of the door “Mornin’ boys” he said as cheerily as possibly. “How’s Joe today?” he asked in a more subdued tone.<\/p>\n

“As well as can be expected Roy,” Adam said with little emotion in his voice. “Your out here early though Roy,” Adam said now suddenly curious about the lawman’s early visit. Maybe he had information about Joe’s kidnappers.<\/p>\n

“Just came out to talk to your Pa about those other fellows wanted for Joe’s kidnapping,” Roy said.\u00a0 “And to check how Joe was going,” he added genuinely. Joe held a special place in his heart and it angered him greatly that such an unjust and inhuman thing had happened to such a energetic and caring boy.<\/p>\n

“Pa’s a might busy with Joe right now Roy,” Adam said not wanting to disturb Ben from his needed duties upstairs “I can give him a message though if you like?”<\/p>\n

“That would be good if you could Adam. I feel right guilty that I don’t have much more information for your family. Just came out to tell you that Griffith’s still refuses to tell anybody who his partners were. I have tried to find any clues that I can from him, but unless he gives me a name, I’m at a stand still at the moment. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” Roy said as he nervously played with his hat in his hands. “I wish I had better new to give you and your family.”<\/p>\n

“We know that you are doing your best Roy,” Hoss said. He meant what he said but he didn’t know how his father was going to react that the man who had done this to Joe was still free. More so what was such information going to do to Little Joe.<\/p>\n

“Little Joe probably won’t be able to give you any information for a few days Roy,” Adam now said trying to clear the air. “He is still in a lot of pain and hasn’t fully been able to talk to us yet about what happened. He started to run a fever this morning. Doc Martin says he will be back out later on today.”<\/p>\n

“Well, give my regards to your father and especially Little Joe for me. I haven’t given up on this Adam. I aim to get this animal that did this to Little Joe,” Roy said as he exited through the front door.<\/p>\n

“I’ll let you know as soon as Paul says it’s alright for Joe to talk to you Roy,” Adam said finally and closed the front door behind the Sheriff.<\/p>\n

\n

“What are we going to tell Little Joe?” Hoss blurted out not knowing any other way than to just say it straight.<\/p>\n

“I think it best that we don’t at the moment Hoss,” Adam replied honestly. “I don’t think our boy is in any condition for information like that at the moment. Hopefully he’s still asleep. I suggest we tell Pa and let Joe know when the doctor thinks he can handle such things. He needs to worry about getting himself well again before wondering about where the man is that did it.”<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded his head in agreement and they both headed up the stairs towards Joe’s room.<\/p>\n

What they didn’t know was that Joe had awoken not long after they left to go downstairs to breakfast. As they climbed the stairs to his room, Little Joe was laying still in his father’s arms, but with his eyes closed, just enjoying the security and protection.<\/p>\n

A few minutes earlier upstairs …<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Ben had been thinking to himself about the last few days when he felt his young son moving about on the bed. He looked down, but allowed the young man to wake on his own and get his bearings before overwhelming him with questions.<\/p>\n

As Joe slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his father’s familiar face. He blinked a few times and tried to sit up. The moment only brought a grimace to his face and when he tried to smile at his father about trying to move too quickly, even that caused him pain as his muscles protested enormously about the physical efforts of moving.<\/p>\n

There wasn’t a space on his body that didn’t hurt at the moment. His eyes felt gritty and sore, as though he hadn’t been to sleep for days. He knew however by the look on his father’s face and the stiffness that existed in his body that he had been asleep for a long time.<\/p>\n

“Hello son,” Ben said gently.<\/p>\n

Joe tried to reply with a hello of his own, but the words were caught in his dry, sore throat. His put his hand to the rope burns around his neck and remembered what the rope had felt like choking him. He motioned for something to drink. Ben reached over without moving from his position and brought a cup of water to his son’s dry lips.<\/p>\n

Joe took it slow at first due to the pain he felt when swallowing. The water felt good and soothed his raw throat. He knew that he shouldn’t drink too much in case he was sick from it and withdrew when he thought he had enough. Ben saw his son’s withdrawal and placed the half-filled cup back on the nightstand.<\/p>\n

“Hello Pa,” Joe croaked out through his raw throat as he laid his curly head on Ben’s chest. He closed his eyes and tried to just rest without all the memories flooding back into his mind.<\/p>\n

Ben could see that his son was still hurting. Both emotionally and physically. He knew that Joe would need a good deal of time before he would be ready to talk about what happened to him when he was taken.<\/p>\n

Ben was content just to let the boy rest, there would be enough time for talk later. At the moment Joe just needed to heal his physical injuries and then worry about the emotional scars that might be left behind.<\/p>\n

The fever was still present and it was still a cause for concern for Ben. It hadn’t risen too much, but it also hadn’t decreased very much, despite the families vigilant attempts to cool him down with the cool compresses.<\/p>\n

This is how Adam and Hoss found the two of them as they entered Joe’s bedroom. Both of the smiled and thought how content both of them looked at the moment.<\/p>\n

Joe still looked asleep and because of this Adam decided to tell Ben about Roy’s information. Joe had heard his brother’s enter the room, but he didn’t make any indication to them that he had awoken up just a short time ago.<\/p>\n

“Roy was just here Pa,” Adam said in a whisper so as not to wake his still sleeping brother. “Said that Griffith’s won’t talk. They still don’t have any idea about where the other men are,” he said.<\/p>\n

It was at this comment that Joe’s eyes suddenly came open. He couldn’t hide the fear that he felt thinking that somewhere out there, Butch Thomas was still alive and well.<\/p>\n

Probably waiting and watching. Waiting until the right moment to take him away from his family again. After all, Joe was the only one who knew his true identity at the moment.<\/p>\n

Adam immediately saw the reaction to his words and regretted that he hadn’t checked first that the boy was truly asleep.<\/p>\n

“Sorry Pa, I didn’t realise he was awake,” Adam said as he still watched Joe to try and gauge the boy’s state of mind.<\/p>\n

Ben could feel the small tremors that were now running through his youngest son’s shoulders. The boy now made an active effort to try and move away from his father and hide the fear on his face from his family. His throat became dry again from the mere thought of Butch Thomas still free to roam about as he pleased and torture his mind to no end.<\/p>\n

“It’s alright son, your brothers and I are here. Nobody is going to hurt you again, I promise,” Ben said in soothing but firm tones so that his words held the meaning he intended for his son.<\/p>\n

Joe now turned painfully to his opposite side determined not to let his family see his distress about the information he had just heard. He ignored all their attempts to reassure him that everything would be alright. Deep down he knew that he would never have peace of mind with Butch Thomas still out there free.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing now arrived in the room with the broth he had prepared for Little Joe. He could see that the boy was upset about something and Ben told him about Adam’s untimely message from Roy Coffee.<\/p>\n

“Boy need eat,” the little oriental man stated and moved over to the opposite side of the bed so that Joe could see him.<\/p>\n

“Everybody go downstairs for coffee. Hop Sing take care of Little Joe” Hop Sing now said sensing there was a lot more to Joe’s sullen mood.<\/p>\n

“Alright boys, lets go downstairs for that coffee. I sure could use a cup. Hop Sing I will be right back when I have finished though,” Ben said indicating that he had no intentions of leaving his injured son for more than was necessary.<\/p>\n

Ben though saw the need in the little oriental man’s eyes that said Hop Sing wanted to find out what was going on inside Little Joe. From past experience he knew that Joe was likely to open up to the little servant before any of the other family members.<\/p>\n

\n

Ben, Adam and Hoss walked out of the bedroom but then stole themselves just outside the door to try and catch a word or two of the conversation about to take place in the room.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing now placed the bowl of broth on the bedside table, determined to feed Joe’s tortured soul before his empty stomach.<\/p>\n

“Mao shiez co xen Tajoe”<\/em>\u00a0Hop Sing now said to Joe who still had his face turned away towards the wall.\u00a0(Why Lil’ Joe so sad?)<\/em><\/p>\n

The men waiting on the other side of the bedroom doorway had no idea what Hop Sing just said. They were even more surprised when the answer came back in his native tongue.<\/p>\n

For years they had all suspected that Joe could understand Hop Sing’s tirades better than he let on. Now it was being confirmed with the fluent and coherent Cantonese words coming in Joe’s own voice.<\/p>\n

“Seng wix dao benqas”<\/em>\u00a0Joe replied in a whisper.\u00a0(Not sad … scared!)<\/em><\/p>\n

“Scared of what?” Hop Sing now asked in English.<\/p>\n

Ben and the others outside were dismayed by Joe’s admission, but put their ears closer to the door so that they could hear the reason for their fear. Although they had a general idea, they were hoping that Hop Sing’s probing might come up with more clues to try and find the men responsible.<\/p>\n

“You don’t understand Hop Sing, nobody does,” Joe said with an edge of frustration in his voice. The boy now turned to face the other person in the move. The movement caused him to cry out as his sore and bruised ribs protested ever so loudly.<\/p>\n

“Tell Hop Sing how to help,” he asked, noting the efforts the boy was making to talk, but noticing the fatigue still etched on his young face and the fever spots still present on his cheeks.<\/p>\n

“You can’t help Hop Sing. That’s just it. Nobody can fight this but me. At the moment I just don’t see the reason for fighting. I’ll be still lying in this bed waiting for those men to come back. And when they come, they will try and take me away again, maybe for good this time. Maybe it would be easier just to let them come. I hurt all over Hop Sing. I can’t even take a breath without coughing from the tightness in my chest,” Joe said trying to hold back the tears of frustration that were threatening.<\/p>\n

“Father and brothers and Hop Sing here to make sure nobody hurt you, Lil Joe,” Hop Sing answered trying to reassure the boy’s fears about the men coming back to hurt him. Ben and his sons nodded their heads in agreement wishing they too could say some comforting words to the distraught boy.<\/p>\n

“Couldn’t stop them last time,” Joe said in an uninterested voice and then proceeded to roll painfully back over onto his side, signalling that he no longer wished to continue the conversation. Joe closed his eyes and welcomed the arms of sleep that reached out to him.<\/p>\n

Even as he slept now, Hop Sing could see the thin film of sweat reappearing on the boy’s fevered brow. He spent the next couple of moments placing the cool cloth back on the boy’s forehead. He wanted desperately to help heal the boy’s mind and heart as well as his body.<\/p>\n

“You come back in now Mr Cartwright and take care of boy. Hop Sing bring you coffee,” Hop Sing now said as he looked up with a grin. He knew that the others were waiting outside the doorway the whole time but only chose now to let them know it.<\/p>\n

“How did you know we was there Hop Sing?” Hoss said in confusion. He was sure that the three of them had kept relatively quiet during the whole thing. He was sure that Hop Sing wouldn’t have been able to see them from his position in the room. Just how did he know that they were all listening.<\/p>\n

“Hop Sing not be fooled, Mr Hoss,” Hop Sing said with a smile and then went downstairs to worry about the coffee he promised to bring.<\/p>\n

\n

Ben walk back over to the bed, running Joe’s words back through his head over and over again. He wanted the boy to wake up and talk to him about what was bothering him.<\/p>\n

He felt guilty about Joe’s accusation that the kidnappers had been able to take him away without the family being there to prevent it. It hurt him deeply to think that he and his boys hadn’t been there to help the boy in his time of need. He would somehow have to prove to the boy that he, Adam and Hoss would do everything in their power to protect him, no matter what.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss chose to go outside and talk about things whilst attending to some of the daily chores in the yard. They knew that there were other hands able to do the work, but it kept their minds on something else for a time.<\/p>\n

They both spoke briefly about their own concerns for Joe’s health and peace of mind. They too both promised to talk to the boy when he was better.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin arrived later that afternoon and had been informed of Joe’s negative attitude before climbing the stairs. He promised Ben to talk to the boy also about his fears and concerns about the kidnappers coming back to take him away again.<\/p>\n

When he got to Joe’s room however, talk was the last thing on Paul’s mind as he surveyed the scene before him. He could see the fever that Ben had told him about starting the previous night.<\/p>\n

However the doctor was now concerned with the rise in temperature that had occurred in a few short hours. The boy was definitely much sicker and when Paul put his hand on the boy’s forehead, Joe could scarcely open his eyes in response due to the weakened state he found himself in.<\/p>\n

He briefly opened them, but then quickly closed them tight to shut out the light that shone into them and then appeared to fall back asleep, exhausted even from that slight effort.<\/p>\n

“Ben we need to get this fever down and quickly,” Paul said as he went about setting his medical bag down and searching through it for what he needed.<\/p>\n

“This is going to be most unpleasant, but it should work,” Paul now said as he held up a small tube of medicine.<\/p>\n

“Your going to have to hold him, Hoss,” Paul said now motioning for the two brothers to play their part in helping Joe “Hold his body very still. I still don’t want him moving around with those bruised ribs and that injured leg of his.”<\/p>\n

“Adam, I want you to force his mouth open so that I can squeeze some of these drops into his mouth,” Paul said walking towards his sleeping patient.<\/p>\n

“Is that quinine Paul?” Ben asked, fully knowing the medicine’s uses.<\/p>\n

“Yes it is Ben, and you know how he is going to react to the vile taste, but we need to get that fever down. His body is already exhausted and weak from his injuries. We can’t risk him getting any worse or the fever climbing too high.”<\/p>\n

Hoss and Adam both took a deep breath to get ready for the awful task they were about to become involved in. Both of them knew that the medicine was necessary, but both of them felt that they were somehow betraying their little brother by subjecting him to such horrific remedies.<\/p>\n

Hoss firmly held Joe’s legs onto the bed, mindful of not touching the bandaged area. Adam put his hands, gently but firmly on other side of his younger brother’s fevered face.<\/p>\n

Adam could feel the heat in Joe’s skin and prayed that the quinine would indeed bring relief that was needed. He now pulled Joe’s mouth open sufficiently for the doctor to be able to drop the medicine into.<\/p>\n

Joe could feel someone touching his face and tried to bring his hand up to see who it was. His eyes remained closed, but his forehead turned downwards with a frown when he found feel someone now restraining those hands.<\/p>\n

He immediately opened his face and began panicking that he was back under the control of Butch Thomas and his men. He could now see though that it was his own family that were restraining him. This confused him even more and started to make him angry.<\/p>\n

“What are you doing?” he demanded in a voice that was no more than a whisper. “Let me Go!” he said in a louder but croakier voice. “Pa tell them to let me go” he said now trying to turn his face towards his father.<\/p>\n

Ben was at the base of the bed and the sound of Joe’s pleas to let him go were almost ripping his heart out, but he knew that the Doctor had to give him the medicine.<\/p>\n

“It will be all over in a minute, Joe,” Ben said trying to calm his son down. Paul knew that he wouldn’t have much longer and so quickly moved towards the bed and without so much as telling his patient what he was about to do, dropped four drops of the foul medicine into Joe’s open mouth.<\/p>\n

Adam was forced to let go though as Joe immediately tried to turn onto his side and spit out the vile taste. Most of the medicine had managed to slip down his raw throat.<\/p>\n

What he could taste on his taste was the bitter aftertaste that the quinine had. The taste made Joe almost gag until he was sick to his stomach. Paul brought a glass of water to Joe’s lips and offered a small mouthful to wash away the medicine, but rebelling action of his stomach quickly brought the water back up again onto the bed clothes.<\/p>\n

Joe now laid back, exhausted, tired, sick to his stomach from the quinine, hot from the fever and most of all angry. He didn’t understand why his family was doing this to him after he had been through such a rough time. His leg was throbbing almost insistently and he could scarcely keep from crying out at the pain sometimes.<\/p>\n

“Would you like something for the pain Joe?” Paul asked as he saw his young patient grimace and grit his teeth from his leg wound.<\/p>\n

“I don’t want anything from you … any of you,” Joe said hotly and turned his face away from his family. The exhaustion and fever soon took it’s toll though and Joe was soon drifting back off into an uneasy sleep. His forehead was becoming damp again from the fever.<\/p>\n

“Adam you lift him off while Hoss and I change the bed linen,” Ben said now as he watched his son sleep. He understood his son’s anger and resentment, but hoped when the boy was feeling better he would understand the steps needed to be taken to make him well again.<\/p>\n

“Don’t worry Ben, the quinine will help and he will be well again in no time,” Paul said as he placed a comforting hand on Ben’s shoulder. “He’s weak and in pain, he didn’t really mean what he said.”<\/p>\n

“I know he’s hurting Paul. That’s what makes me so angry. To think that the animals that did this are still free out there while Joe is laying in bed sick and in pain. I swear to God Paul, I don’t know what I do if I can face to face with those men right now. I try to tell myself that justice will prevail and that everything will work out alright. But where’s the justice in this for Joe. How can I look him in the eye and make him believe what I say when I don’t really believe it myself,” Ben said with sadness in his voice.<\/p>\n

“Come on old friend, let’s make him more comfortable,” Paul said. Adam lifted his still sleeping brother from his bed and went about changing Joe’s nightshirt while Ben and the others changed the sheets and pillows.<\/p>\n

“He will probably sleep for quite a while with the fever Ben. He won’t feel very much like eating unfortunately, but at least try to keep the water and fluids up to him. Water, Milk, Juice, any liquids to replace what he is losing through the fever. He should start to improve by the end of tomorrow. He will still be weak, but by then hopefully the boy will feel like eating a little to help regain his strength. You will have to be patient, but also vigilant and firm when he refuses. I will come back out tomorrow with something to help him get back on his feet a little,” Paul said with a wink. He wanted to leave this little idea as a surprise to the whole family until tomorrow.<\/p>\n

“See you tomorrow Ben. And try not to worry too much,” Paul said, knowing that Ben wouldn’t stop worrying until Joe was back to his old self again.<\/p>\n

Hoss saw the doctor to the door, while Adam and Ben settled Joe back into the freshly made bed.<\/p>\n

\n

The rest of the night panned out pretty slowly for the Cartwright family. The eldest three kept a vigil over the youngest. They all signed in relief about 1.00am when it seemed that the medication had done it’s job just like Paul Martin said it would. Joe’s fever finally started to decrease and was almost cool to the touch by dawn’s early light.<\/p>\n

The decrease in temperature saw Joe finally drift off into a healing sleep. His head was now deeper in the pillow and his breathing became more relaxed and even.<\/p>\n

The angry redness in his leg had now subsided somewhat, allowing the full extent of bruising to show through the skin. The stitches held in place well and the wound looked very clean. The only question would be about how much effort it would take Joe to regain full mobility once he was given permission to put any weight back on the leg.<\/p>\n

Through most of the next day, Joe seemed to be gaining some strength back. He was able to sit up for short periods of time in bed without tiring so easily. He was eating a little more and drinking more fluids which were encouraging signs for his family.<\/p>\n

The signs that weren’t encouraging included the sullen mood that seemed to engulf him the whole time. He jumped from fright at the slightest unsuspected noises and he always had a wary look in his eyes when someone entered the room.\u00a0 As if he were expecting somebody else other than his family to walk in.<\/p>\n

Ben and his son’s noted the mood and cautiousness without worrying Joe about it. They would wait until Paul Martin returned later in the afternoon to discuss the matter with him.<\/p>\n

By the time Paul did pull up outside in the yard in his buggy, Joe had been asleep for about two hours. It was late afternoon and the sun was just beginning to set behind the hills. Paul got out of his buggy and in addition to carrying his black medical bag, he carried two strange looking sticks in the other hand.<\/p>\n

Ben looked curiously at the contraptions as Paul made his way into the living room and set his bag down. He still held onto the poles and gave Ben a grin of pride when he looked up and saw his old friend’s curiosity at what he held.<\/p>\n

“What have you got there Paul?” Ben now asked. His two sons were standing behind him, awaiting the reply.<\/p>\n

“Are they crutches for Joe?” Adam now asked, seeing crude forms in the past in a few places he had travelled to.<\/p>\n

“They are indeed, Adam,” Paul said telling himself that he should have realised that a well-educated man like Adam would be able to guess at what they were. “These are hopefully going to see your young brother back on his feet sooner than he would normally without such help,” the doctor explained.<\/p>\n

“How do they work Paul?” Ben asked, a little dubious about such things being trialled on his son without knowing much about them.<\/p>\n

“You put your arms over his cross pieces like this, Ben,” Paul said as he crudely tried to show Ben how to work the crutches without breaking them. He had had them made especially for somebody with Joe’s slight stature in mind, so he didn’t want to put all of his weight on them and risk breaking them before Little Joe even got a chance to use them.<\/p>\n

“They will help Joe keep his weight off that injured leg. He will be able to move around a lot more freely than he would have been able to without them. Don’t get me wrong though, he will still be limited in some of the activities he will be able to do, but hopefully they will give him some hope as to his leg healing properly,” Paul now explained.<\/p>\n

Paul now became more serious as he prepared to climb the stairs and see how his young patient was fairing. “How is Joseph anyway Ben?” Paul now asked as Ben followed him up to his son’s room.<\/p>\n

“That’s why I am so happy to see you, Paul,” Ben began as they entered the room. They were not surprised to see Joe still asleep.<\/p>\n

“Lately he seems so withdrawn from the rest of the family. I know he has been sick and in a lot of pain, but over the last day or so as he has begun showing signs of healing, his self-esteem and emotional seem to have taken a dive. He doesn’t want to talk to anybody, he barely picks at the food that we bring him on the plate and he always seems to be stealing looks towards the window and door every now and then as if to make sure that a stranger isn’t going to enter the room. He appears very afraid and won’t open the window in the slightest or draw the curtains to let the light in the room.”<\/p>\n

“Well some of what you say is to be expected, Ben,” Paul said making a mental note of everything that Ben said. “I suspect he will have some issues about being away from his family and in particular this house even for quite some time to come. He was taken from his family and home by force and it is going to take some time for him to get over that. The eating is a little worrisome and hopefully between us all we can find a solution so that he gets the nutrition that he needs to heal fully. I think the insecurity and lack of confidence may last longer than I first suspected,” Paul now added.<\/p>\n

“Let’s take a look at him and see if we can’t get him to open up to us a little shall we?”<\/p>\n

\n

Paul walked over to the bed and sat facing Joe who was laying turned on his side. Ben sat on the opposite side.<\/p>\n

“Joseph” he said softly at first and gave the boy a gentle shake with a hand on his shoulder. When it appeared that he didn’t hear or didn’t want to hear Paul tried a little harder this time “Little Joe” he said a little louder and the shake was a little firmer.<\/p>\n

Joe slowly opened his eyes and seemed confused at first. That was until that feeling that someone stranger was suddenly in the room, then his eyes took on that timid appearance again as he darted his gaze around the room as though startled.<\/p>\n

It took a few seconds for his brain to register that the person sitting on the bed wasn’t a stranger at all. He tried to shake the remaining fog from his mind and attempted to roll over a little and pull himself up into a sitting position. He grunted a little with the effort and then found he couldn’t roll over too far due to his father’s position on the other side.<\/p>\n

“Hi, Doc,” he said with a small voice. “Pa”.<\/p>\n

“I’m here son,” Ben said reading that his son needed to know that he was in the room.<\/p>\n

“How are you feeling young man?” Paul now asked while trying to gauge Joe’s every facial movement for a deception or playing down of any pain he might be really feeling. Truth was though Joe didn’t try and hide his grunts of pain or his winces that escaped his lips while he moved about on the bed.<\/p>\n

“A little sore, but mostly bearable,” Joe answered after a minute or so. He took the glass of water Ben offered and drank the contents gratefully.<\/p>\n

“Let’s just take a look at those bruises and your leg and see shall we,” Paul now said. Joe sat stoic through the whole episode. He didn’t say anything to the doctor about being poked and prodded and only winced a little when the touching became painful or the doctor found a tender spot. He just waited patiently until the doctor was finished his work.<\/p>\n

“That leg is healing nicely Joe, but it will still be a few weeks before you can put your full weight back on it,” Paul now advised him. All the time his mind was really asking what the quiet, withdrawn mood in Joe was telling him about how his patient was feeling.<\/p>\n

“Doesn’t look like I will be getting out of here in a hurry then does it?” Joe replied with a question. His voice betrayed him though as he sounded barely interested in the subject of his being allowed out of bed. It was almost like the reply was rehearsed before Paul and his father came into the room.<\/p>\n

“Ah, that’s where you are wrong young man,” Paul said with a grin and motioned for Ben to pass him the surprise that he had carried into the room for Joe. “I’ve got something here that will see you getting about just fine before your leg is fully healed.”<\/p>\n

Joe looked at the doctor as though he didn’t really believe him but didn’t say anything to the contrary. “What are you going to give me… wings,” he said in an almost sarcastic tone. He just wanted to be left alone and the sooner the better.<\/p>\n

“No, not quite, but something better,” Paul said trying to keep the tone of the conversation cheerful and light. “I am going to give you artificial legs Joe” Paul said now holding up the wooden crutches for him to see. Both the doctor and Ben sat quietly for a moment and waited to see what Joe’s reaction to the new devices would be.<\/p>\n

Joe did look at them, saying nothing. He looked them up and down and knew what they were. He had heard about them being used by other children who couldn’t use their own legs to walk. He had even seen them being used on an occasion or two.<\/p>\n

He looked back at the doctor and then his father knowing that they were waiting for him to say something about them. They wanted him to be happy about them being a gift. Joe had other thoughts about them.<\/p>\n

“Oh just great,” Joe said in a less than impressed tone of voice. “If I don’t kill myself by trying to get around on them I’ll probably get beaten to death by others in town telling me that Virginia City is no place for a damned cripple.” He turned his face away, a little cranky a himself for being such a baby about the whole thing and trying to hide the tears that were welling up in his eyes.<\/p>\n

Ben was half tempted to say something to his son about his choice of language but knew that a reprimand would only see the boy slip further into his self-induced state of depression.<\/p>\n

“I’m sorry, Joe,” Paul now said gently, trying to pull Joe out of his own self pity. “People won’t laugh or make fun of you though. I just thought you could use something to help you get outside of these four walls in the next couple of weeks. I know how you must be itching to get out of that bed by now,” he added.<\/p>\n

For the first time since Paul had come into the room, the fear was now nakedly evident on Joe’s face as he turned back to face them after hearing the words “leave his room”. His mind was telling him that the only place safe and secure at the moment was his own room. If he stayed in his room, nobody could take him away from his family again. If he stayed in his room, he could see people coming and going and control the situation at hand. If he left his room, that’s when things changed and went beyond his control. That’s when people like Butch Thomas came into his life. No he didn’t want to leave his room, not ever.<\/p>\n

Ben and Paul saw the fear on Joe’s face and now knew some of the thoughts in Joe’s mind. What the truth really was behind the sarcasm and unkind words. They were coming from somebody who feared a man. A man that had taken him away from his family and savagely beat him. A man that he had been told was still free and his whereabouts unknown.<\/p>\n

“Are you afraid that the man who did this to you will come back, Joseph?” Ben now said putting his hand on the trembling boy’s shoulder. He caught a glimpse of the slight nod from his son before Joe buried his head in his father’s chest and cried out his frustrations.<\/p>\n

He didn’t mean to sound like such a baby in front of them. He didn’t want them knowing how scared he was. He couldn’t help it though. Every time a gust of wind blew the curtain up in his room, he found himself wanting to dive under the covers or under the bed in case it was Thomas coming back.<\/p>\n

Paul and Ben waited until Joe was a little more under control before continuing their discussion about the crutches. “Joe you just take your time with these. Use them when you are ready. They may take a little getting used to at first and a little practice to master. But once you have had a few turns, you should do okay. I want you to keep the weight of that leg of yours for the next two weeks at least. Hopefully by then, the stitches will be ready to come out and I will let you know after that when you can walk freely again.”<\/p>\n

“Thanks Doc,” Joe said sheepishly trying to apologize for his weakness without actually saying the words.<\/p>\n

“I’ll see you in two days Joe, until then you just worry about taking care of yourself. I am sure that your family will keep you safe,” Paul said trying to reassure the boy.<\/p>\n

“Ben, can I talk to you outside for a minute?” Paul now asked.<\/p>\n

“I’ll be right back, Joseph,” Ben said to his son. “We can talk in a minute.”<\/p>\n

\n

Joe now sat back against the pillows whilst the doctor and his father went outside to talk about things that they didn’t want him to hear. He just stared at the ceiling and tried to concentrate on keeping his mind blank and keep it from wandering again.<\/p>\n

He didn’t want to tell his father about the nightmare he had been having shortly before he had come into the room with the doctor. It was the same one again. The one where Butch Thomas came back and took him away from his family and home. He didn’t know how to stop it from coming back again and again.<\/p>\n

“What are we going to do Paul?” Ben now said as the two men descended the stairs.<\/p>\n

Hoss overheard the words and was concerned for his younger brother’s welfare. “What’s wrong Pa? Anything I can do?” he asked.<\/p>\n

“Yes, just go and sit with your younger brother until I see Doc Martin off would you, Hoss,” Ben said to his large son.<\/p>\n

“I know it’s going to be a long and difficult process, Ben,” Paul began. “We are just going to have to try and coax the boy out of his shell slowly. Little bit by little bit. Now the hardest thing I am going to ask you to do from today is to give him some space to re-find his sense of independency. At the moment he is feeling very vulnerable and afraid, I know. But for the next couple of nights, I want you, Hoss and Adam to sleep in your own rooms. I don’t mean don’t check on him every now and then to see if he is alright and get what he needs. But I want him to start relying on himself again, just a little. Hopefully once the ball gets rolling and he realises that he must depend on himself some of the time, he will just naturally return to the old Joe Cartwright that we have come to love and miss so much. It’s going to take willpower for you and your boy’s Ben, but for Joe’s sake you have to try,” Paul explained.<\/p>\n

“Are you sure that’s the right thing to do Paul?” Ben said, hating the idea of not being there for Joe’s full recovery.<\/p>\n

“No I am not sure Ben, but I have seen enough today to know that we need to help that boy find his mischievous self again. I miss his smile and laughter, don’t you?” Paul said teasingly to his old friend.<\/p>\n

“More than you know,” Ben answered truthfully.<\/p>\n

\n

Paul Martin now left the Ponderosa in his buggy and headed back towards Virginia City. As he secured his buggy and horse for the day, he found himself coming face to face with Butch Thomas. Paul didn’t know the man but politely said hello when the Doctor saw him standing on the edge of the verandah to his office.<\/p>\n

“Hello friend,” came Paul’s friendly reply. He had no idea that he was saying hello to the man that had brought so much pain and misery to the young patient he had just examined.<\/p>\n

“Hello, Doctor,” Thomas replied as he casually blew a ring of smoke from his cigar. Thomas had come back to town two days after Little Joe was found. He was curious to know just how his young victim was faring. When he hadn’t heard about a funeral for the youngest Cartwright member, he smiled to himself and wondered if the boy wasn’t made of a little sturdier stuff than he first thought. “Say Doc, are you the man who has been tending that hurt young fellow?” Thomas now asked, trying to sound as harmless as possible.<\/p>\n

Paul now stopped to talk to the man “You mean Little Joe Cartwright?” Paul asked, wondering why this man was showing an interest in the boy.<\/p>\n

“Just a terrible thing that I heard happened to that boy that’s all and I just wanted to ask if he was going to be alright?” Thomas asked giving his best na\u00efve smile.<\/p>\n

“Yes is was a terrible thing that happened.” Paul said relaxing a little now at the man’s concern for Joe’s welfare. “I don’t think there would be a man or woman in this town who doesn’t have a bad word to say about those fellows, wherever they are. Joe is recovering to answer your question. He still has a long way to go before healing fully, but he is making progress. Good day Mr…?” Paul asked now curious about the stranger’s name.<\/p>\n

“Mr Smith,” Thomas answered straight away, trying to ease the doctor’s raised sense of curiosity. “Mr Bill Smith”.<\/p>\n

“Mr Smith” Paul said and then went into his office to carry on with his daily tasks.<\/p>\n

Thomas smiled inwardly to himself.\u00a0‘Maybe there’s one man in this town Doc’<\/em>\u00a0he commented to himself and now walked away from the building, trying to figure out when to make his next move where the boy was concerned.<\/p>\n

\n

Back at the Ponderosa, as painful as it was to him, Ben explained to Hoss and Adam about how the doctor wanted to approach Joe’s fear. It was explained to them that Paul wanted them to let Joe become a little more independent and slowly encourage him deal with what had happened to him. Hopefully it would come to the point where Joe opened up to one of his family and then the true healing process could begin.<\/p>\n

For the rest of the afternoon and most of that evening, Ben tried to encourage Joe to come downstairs and join the family for the evening meal. He knew that his son was still hurting in a lot of places and that Joe would need help to manoeuvre the stairs and then to manage to get to the table, but his family told him that they would be there to support him both physically and mentally until he felt stronger.<\/p>\n

The words seem to fall on deaf ears though, as Joe pressed his lips together into a fine line of refusal and shook his head with his answer. Inside his head all he could hear was the sound of his own voice, telling him what would happen if he left the security of his own room.<\/p>\n

At least within such a confined space he had control. If he ventured downstairs into somewhere else, it would be just like back at the abandoned shack and things might occur that he didn’t have that control over.<\/p>\n

Ben and his boys sadly didn’t push Joe much harder about coming downstairs. They reminded themselves that they would have to keep trying over the next few days.<\/p>\n

Usually when Joe was recovering from an illness or injury, the family together with Doc Martin had to use all sorts of threats to keep him in bed until he was healed enough. Now, when they thought he was recovering physically enough to be allowed out of bed, Joe was withdrawing into himself even more.<\/p>\n

It took all of their willpower to sit downstairs with Joe upstairs on his own. Ben forced himself to complete the evening meal without checking on his youngest son.<\/p>\n

The feelings though became overwhelming once they had retired to the living room for coffee and he went up to see if Joe was okay. When he opened the door, a large lump suddenly became lodged in his throat as he looked in and saw his son curled up on his side, sound asleep.<\/p>\n

Ben walked over and softly caressed Joe’s cheek as many thoughts ran through his mind. He wanted to protect this child with all of his heart but Joe kept wanting to push his family away. How could they make him see that they were only there to help him? How could he make Joe see how much his family needed him to get well again?<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss went to bed before their father, but they too couldn’t resist the urge to check on the youngest. Both of them found Joe in a similar pose as Ben had and promised that they would help their brother as much as they could to get over his terrible ordeal. Both of the had a hate for the men who did this burning within them.<\/p>\n

Ben doused the light in the lantern in his room and settled down to sleep. The three of them had promised to check on Joe at least once during the night. There was a tiredness they all felt from the burden of looking after Joe, but a burden that neither one of them intended to shirk.<\/p>\n

They all just wished there was something more that they could do for Little Joe. They would do anything, feel the pain he was in, relive the nightmares he was caught in each night, so long as they could have their son and brother back like before.<\/p>\n

As the light went out, Ben failed to see a puff of smoke from a cigar rise into the air as a shadow sat on his horse, cloaked in the darkness of the night and shielded from view. It was now time for him to leave his victim a little reminder.<\/p>\n

All four occupants of the household slept without being aware of the imminent danger that was lurking outside the house.<\/p>\n

\n

Butch Thomas now dismounted from his horse and silently crept along the side of the house. He didn’t know which window belong to the boy’s bedroom, but he spotted one and climbed up onto the roof and started to go about prising it open very quietly.<\/p>\n

He tried to look through the slightly opaque glass to see who’s room it was, but his view was blocked further by two thin white curtains. He pulled out his pocket knife and slid the blade along the window sill until he found the latch.<\/p>\n

Once the blade hit the steel latch, Thomas worked his knife back and forth against the flimsy piece of metal until it finally gave way. There was a small amount of noise made for which he cursed himself, but after waiting for a few seconds, he was satisfied enough that whoever was in the bedroom, was unaware of his presence.<\/p>\n

He now carefully and silently slid the bottom window panel up to allow him access to the room. He put one leg over the window sill and then the other, ducking his head as he entered the room.<\/p>\n

He looked over and saw a large single bed across the other side of the room. He got a reasonably good look at the sleeping occupant from behind and grinned devilishly as he could scarcely believe his luck about being in the right room on the first attempt.<\/p>\n

Joe was turned on his side still with his back facing Thomas. The moon light coming through the window was enough for Thomas to get a glimpse of curly brown hair and recognize the figure in the bed as Little Joe.<\/p>\n

He walked around the other side of the bed and now looked down at the sleeping boy as his father Ben had done so earlier in the evening. It took all of his willpower now to stop from waking the boy up and making his presence known.<\/p>\n

He wanted to see the boy’s naked fear so bad it almost hurt but he reminded himself that there would be plenty of time later to let the kid know he was around. The idea he had for tonight would ensure that Little Joe knew he had been in the room.<\/p>\n

Butch now reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small object. The dim light in the room revealed the item to be one of the bullets that had fallen from the pistol onto the floor when they had played Russian Roulette back at the shack.<\/p>\n

He knew that Joe would recognize it once he saw it, but he wanted to conceal it’s presence until the right moment. He looked around at the items in the room, looking for the right hiding place for his little surprise when his eyes settled on a photograph of a woman on the bedside table.<\/p>\n

Thomas looked at the photograph and then back at Joe and surmised that it must have been the boy’s mother. He had heard from sources that Ben lived only with his four boys, so he didn’t know what had happened to the woman in the photograph but looking down at the boy, the resemblance was unmistakable.<\/p>\n

He looked a little more at the photograph and then the frame itself. The frame was large and thick and would provide the right hiding place for the bullet. When the boy went to look at the photograph he would spot Thomas’s little present.<\/p>\n

Hopefully the threats made to Joe earlier about what would happen if he mentioned Thomas’s name would be enough to scare the young man into keeping it’s message to himself. If anybody else in the family found it before Joe did, they would only see it as a bullet.<\/p>\n

Thomas now carefully concealed the bullet behind the frame’s stand so that if the frame was moved in any way, the bullet would become visible. He looked back at the sleeping figure in the bed and then climbed out the window he came in before anybody heard him creeping about. He grinned to himself as he left, trying to figure out what the boy’s reaction would be once he found his little surprise.<\/p>\n

Adam rolled over in his sleep and opened an eye briefly, thinking that he heard footsteps on the roof. Normally he would have put it down to his little brother coming home late from being in Virginia City but he knew that at the moment Joe couldn’t have been climbing about on the roof, even if he wanted too. The boy’s injuries would prevent him from using his normal dare-devil stuns of climbing through his bedroom window.<\/p>\n

Adam lay there for a few more seconds and then decided to get up and check on Joe in case he needed anything. He pulled his robe on and opened the door to Joe’s bedroom very quietly. He had a lantern with him as he walked across to the bed and shone the faint light over the sleeping figure in the bed.<\/p>\n

Joe’s senses told himself that someone was in the room and he opened his eyes and greeted his brother standing over him.<\/p>\n

“Hey, Adam,” Joe said with a sleep thick voice.<\/p>\n

“Hey yourself,” Adam said with a smile as he watched Joe almost fall back to sleep immediately. “Need anything?” he added. He was trying to gauge if the boy was hurting anywhere at the moment.<\/p>\n

“Ummh No… no thanks,” came the barely audible reply before Joe succumbed once again to his body’s need to rest.<\/p>\n

“Sleep well little brother,” Adam whispered with relief. At least it seemed that Joe was sleeping without any nightmares tonight. It was the first time in a few days that Joe hadn’t screamed out in the middle of the night in sheer terror as he relived being taken away from his family.<\/p>\n

Adam now tiptoed out of the room and reclosed the door only to be greeted by his father Ben just starting to come out of his own room. Adam had to smile at his father. He knew his father would find it difficult to give his youngest son the space that Paul was talking about.<\/p>\n

Ben looked sheepishly at Adam and knew what his eldest son was thinking, “I was just worried,” he said finally.<\/p>\n

“Don’t worry, I was too,” Adam admitted “Thought I heard something on the roof, so I go up to check on him. Joe’s fine, just went back to sleep. He seems to be sleeping very well tonight, no nightmares so far”.<\/p>\n

“Let’s hope it keeps up until morning then,” Ben said as he prepared to go back to his own bed. His mind was a little more at ease that Adam had checked on Joe. If his son was sleeping a little better, then he wouldn’t do anything to interrupt that much needed rest.<\/p>\n

\n

Next morning, Ben was bringing a tray to his son in his room. He opened the door and smiled when he saw the boy still sleeping. He didn’t mind in the slightest.<\/p>\n

Joe was always the last to get up in this household. At the moment though considering the circumstances, Joe could sleep as much as he liked until his injuries were healed a little more.<\/p>\n

Ben placed the tray on the bedside table and then frowned a little as he looked over to see the window on the other side of the room opened. The curtains were blowing a gentle breeze that came in the room through the half-opened window.<\/p>\n

Ben was positive that he had closed it yesterday because Joe told him that he felt safer with it closed. Now it was open. Maybe Joe got up through the night to let some fresh air in Ben surmised and didn’t really think much more about it.<\/p>\n

If it was a sign that Joe was starting to feel a little safer, then so be it. The weather wasn’t particularly cold enough to worry about it being too cold in the room at night.<\/p>\n

Joe was now starting to stir and wake up from his night sleep. He pulled himself into a more upright position on the bed and winced at the pain in his ribs that immediately resulted. His leg was only aching dully and he actually felt more alert then he had in days. His ribs were pretty good except if he tried to move to much.<\/p>\n

Ben went over to the bed “Good morning son,” he greeted his son and started placing pillows behind Joe’s back so that he could sit up that little bit more.<\/p>\n

“Morning, Pa,” Joe replied and then looked down at the tray of food that his father placed in front of him. A small soft boiled egg, some lightly buttered bread and black coffee.<\/p>\n

“Now I want you to try and eat as much as you can,” Ben said, trying not to make too much of a deal about Joe’s eating habits. It was well known to the family that Joe was a finicky eater when it came to meals.<\/p>\n

Ben knew that his son’s ribs were still smarting and that he still had some pain, but he also wanted to ensure that his son’s recovery wasn’t hampered any further because the boy refused to eat a nourishing meal.<\/p>\n

“I’ll try,” Joe said not wanting to reignite the same arguments about his eating. He picked up his cup of coffee and started to sip at the hot liquid. It slid down his throat and actually tasted very good. To satisfy his father that little bit more, he now cut the top of his boiled egg and ate a few mouthfuls of the semi-solid liquid inside.<\/p>\n

“I’ll leave you to eat your breakfast in peace,” Ben said, knowing his son would prefer not to be watched as he ate. “Do you need anything else?” he asked as he prepared to leave the room.<\/p>\n

“Not really, but could you ask Adam to come up for a few minutes,” Joe replied. “I wanted to ask him about borrowing a couple of his books to read while I am stuck in this bed.”<\/p>\n

“Sure son, and if you are feeling up to it, I can get Hoss and Adam to help you down to the living room a little later in the day. It will be a little more comfortable than being in here all day,” Ben suggested, trying to nudge his son that little bit closer to coming out of his room for a few hours.<\/p>\n

“Maybe later, Pa,” Joe said and sipped at his coffee again, trying not to give away his true thoughts on the matter. If he gave some hope to his father then maybe they would leave him alone.<\/p>\n

Adam came up a few minutes later and greeted his brother with a smile. “Good morning little brother,” he said in a cheery voice. “What’s this I hear about you wanting to widen your knowledge?” he joked, knowing that Joe was never one for learning from books. It wasn’t that the boy wasn’t bright enough, completely the opposite, but Joe just didn’t want to seem to try.<\/p>\n

Adam had offered to help him with his studies on a number of occasions, but Joe always refused and struggled on his own getting mediocre results for his efforts at school.<\/p>\n

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Joe answered “I just wanted something to look at apart from these four walls”.<\/p>\n

Adam didn’t try and push anymore like his father did, but he did see a glimmer of hope in those words. Maybe if Joe got bored enough of his room, then he would want to come down and join the rest of his family.<\/p>\n

It was a sign, a very small one at that and nothing to get excited about, but he had to believe that soon his brother would start to regain that self-esteem of his that had been robbed while he was away from his family.<\/p>\n

Adam did as Joe requested and brought in a few of Joe’s favourite books to read. “Could you take this down to Hop Sing, Adam,” Joe now asked as he pushed his breakfast tray away.<\/p>\n

“Sure, had enough?” Adam inquired as he saw half of the egg gone, the coffee cup empty but the buttered bread untouched.<\/p>\n

“Yeah for now. My ribs are still hurting and my stomach doesn’t feel much like food at the moment,” Joe admitted as he laid back against the pillows and made himself more comfortable to read his books.<\/p>\n

“We will be downstairs if you need us,” Adam said as he left the room with the tray.<\/p>\n

“Well half a battle won anyway,” Ben said to Hoss and Adam as he gazed down at Joe’s breakfast tray.<\/p>\n

\n

Ben sat at his desk for the remainder of the morning, trying to do his book work for the ranch without his mind continually wandering and wanting to know what his son was doing upstairs.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss had left the house after breakfast to carry out some much needed chores and promised that they would be back at lunchtime in case they were needed to help Joe. Ben promised them at everything would be fine while they were away.<\/p>\n

Back upstairs, Joe had tried to do what he said, and picked up one of Adam’s books and opened the first page. His eyes skimmed over the words, but he wasn’t really reading them. His mind kept wandering too. Back to the abandoned shack and hearing the words that Thomas spoke to him. The pain he had felt.<\/p>\n

The more he thought about his situation though, the more that renowned Joe Cartwright temper started to appear. He started admonishing himself severely for the fear that he constantly felt and the way he kept pushing his family away.<\/p>\n

His eyes kept wandering towards the doorway and despite the fear that dwelled within him, he did want to get out of this bedroom. The first part was wanting to do it and that was the hardest part at the moment. He looked over into the other corner of the room and spied the crutches that Doctor Paul Martin had left for him to use.<\/p>\n

He had never used them before but his eyes kept looking from them to the doorway. Finally after much berating and telling himself that only babies hid away in their rooms, Joe threw back the covers that were over him.<\/p>\n

He gingerly looked down at the thick white bandage around his leg. He had been told about the injury underneath it. Paul had said it was healing, but the only thing he could feel was the stitches painfully pulling against the soft skin of his ankle.<\/p>\n

Joe now gritted his teeth and forced his two legs over the edge of the bed. He waited for the pain to stop before moving the rest of his body towards the edge. He looked up and saw the crutched leaning against the wall.<\/p>\n

There was about two metres between the edge of the bed and the crutches. Somehow he had to get upright first, and then without falling flat on his face, reach the crutches and use them to support him as he manoeuvred to the doorway.<\/p>\n

He knew he could have called out and his father or brothers would come to help him. But the independent streak in him that the family was waiting to see had begun to emerge and he told himself that he had to do this on his own if he was going to overcome his fear.<\/p>\n

“Come on you can do this,” he admonished himself again and braced his hands on the bed in order to push himself into a standing positon.<\/p>\n

He managed to push himself into the standing position, but then had to hold his breath and grab a hold of the bedclothes with an iron grip to stop himself toppling over from the giddiness that he suddenly felt from standing up.<\/p>\n

He closed his eyes and told himself to concentrate on breathing to ignore the pain that was now shooting up and down his leg. This was the first attempt at standing on the leg since he was injured and he didn’t like how it felt one little bit.<\/p>\n

His hands were shaking from the exertion and he was almost tempted to lay back down and give it up as a bad joke. The berating voice came back into his head though and told him to stop being such a baby again.<\/p>\n

He took another deep breath and let it out slowly as he tried to get the dizziness under control. He was only clad in a night-shire at the moment and the slight breeze coming through the window made him shiver involuntarily and his skin came out in gooseflesh underneath the thin material.<\/p>\n

Slowly but surely he now made himself let go of the bed and try and stand up on his own. He stood absolutely still for a few minutes and was mindful not to move in any one particular direction or he would fall in an embarrassing heap on the floor.<\/p>\n

Once he thought he was strong enough, he pivoted on one leg, keeping his injured leg off the ground so that he was facing the wall and the direction he wanted to travel in.\u00a0‘So far so good<\/em>‘ he said silently to himself.<\/p>\n

He tried to gauge how many steps he would have to try and hop to get to the crutches. And it would be hoping too because he knew he didn’t want and try to put any weight on his leg at all yet.<\/p>\n

He bent his good leg slightly and then with as much confidence as he could muster, he forced his body to take that first hop. He landed unsteadily on his good leg and had to adjust his arms a few times to regain his balance. There was a slight thud on the floor boards from his foot landing.<\/p>\n

Ben had been trying to concentrate on the figures in front of him when he heard the thud on the floor. He looked up and creased his forehead in a frown as he tried to work out what Joe might be doing.<\/p>\n

He was tempted to get up straight away and go up to his son’s room, but he forced himself to sit at his desk for a few more minutes, trying to hear the sound again.<\/p>\n

Joe bent down slightly again and took another hop towards the crutches. With one more small hop he was now able to reach the wall and put his hands on the crutches. He had one hand braced up on the wall for support as he tried to gather the crutches underneath his arms. He placed his hands now on the handles and put his full body weight onto the thin crutches.<\/p>\n

They were a little uncomfortable under his arms at first and he adjusted his stance and grip a few times trying to get them to sit a little better under him. He now gripped the handles tightly with both hands and attempted to take his first awkward stride with them.<\/p>\n

It worked and he actually had a smile over his face as he made the first step without falling. With the first one, his confidence gave him a false sense of security though and he took another two in quick succession, ending up around the other side of his bed, nearest the bed side table.<\/p>\n

Ben had heard the floor boards squeak a few more times and determined that all these strange noises needed investigating. He got up from his desk and now climbed the stairs to see if his son was alright.<\/p>\n

Joe was too engrossed in his new found freedom of movement with the crutches to hear his father approach the door. He was just about to take another step as his father opened the door.<\/p>\n

Joe squeaked at the fright he got from his father opening the door. He tried to put the crutches back onto the solid floor, but they came down on an odd angle causing his balance to become unsteady once again.<\/p>\n

Ben opened the door and gasped out loud when he saw his son, whom was supposed to be resting in bed, suddenly up on his feet and using the crutches the doctor had left. He heard the startled cry of his son and regretted not warning his son before entering.<\/p>\n

The thought was quickly pushed from his mind though as he saw his son become unsteady on his feet. He tried to move forward and grab a hold of his son before he fell onto the floor.<\/p>\n

Joe’s overbalance caused his body to bump into the bedside table. The few items on the table were knocked over, including his mother’s photograph. With the frame now dislodged from the table, there was now nothing stopping Butch Thomas’s little surprise from rolling from behind the floor, off the edge of the table and onto the wooden floor.<\/p>\n

Ben stopped briefly as he saw the photograph fall and now watched with confusion as an object rolled off the table and away from the beside table. Once it hit the floor, it continued to roll for a short distance before coming to rest at Joe’s feet.<\/p>\n

Ben could see it was a bullet and although he knew it posed no immediate threat, he was confused as to how it got there or what it was doing on Joe’s table. He looked up and saw Joe’s gaze fixated on the bullet in front of him.<\/p>\n

Joe couldn’t hold back the gasp of shock and horror as he watched the bullet roll off the table and onto the floor. He forgot he was holding onto the crutches and they fell to the floor as he his hands suddenly flew to his mouth to muffle the scream that was now held in the back of his throat. His fears had just become reality.<\/p>\n

Ben wasn’t looking at anything now but his son as he saw the boy’s complexion pale to an almost waxen appearance. He heard the boy’s strangulated cry and saw the fear in the boy’s eyes. He knew that Joe saw some sort of meaning in the harmless looking bullet, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was.<\/p>\n

Joe now felt the world around him start to become real dizzy and he struggled to hold it together. He felt the blood abruptly drain from his face and his legs turned to jelly. He vaguely heard himself give out a groan as his vision wavered and everything turned black. He didn’t feel himself toppling over.<\/p>\n

Ben now yelled his son’s name out as he saw the boy loose his colouring and sway before him. The boy gave a groan and fainted on the spot. Ben made a move to catch his falling son, but missed and Joe now fell into a limp heap on the floor.<\/p>\n

\n

“JOSEPH!” Ben cried as he bent down to check the boy’s pulse. He found it okay, and sighed in relief. But then immediately became alarmed as he felt it. It was racing. The boy’s heart was racing at a mile a minute.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss had been unbuckling their gun belts at the front door, preparing for lunch when they heard the gasp shock from their father and heard Ben scream his youngest son’s name. Both of them took no time to climb the stairs, two at a time and now gaze upon their father bent over the unconscious form of their brother on the floor.<\/p>\n

“What happened Pa?” Hoss now said with worry written all over his face.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know. I just came into the room. He was trying to stand up on those crutches. I must have startled him because he lost his balance and then bumped into the bedside table here, knocking the things of it. That bullet on the floor there was behind the photo frame. He watched it roll across the floor and then just seemed to faint dead away,” Ben said as he continued to rouse his son.<\/p>\n

“Hoss you go and get Doc Martin,” Adam now suggested as he picked up the bullet on the floor. He looked it over and over. Nothing out of the ordinary struck him.<\/p>\n

Hoss did his brother’s biding and took off down the stairs, ready to get back on his horse and ride urgently to Virginia City.<\/p>\n

“Joseph,” Ben said as he continued to say his son’s name over and over in an attempt to wake him up. ‘Wake up son”<\/p>\n

“His pulse is very rapid,” Ben now said to Adam. Adam knelt down beside his fallen brother and felt for himself, nodding the same finding as he felt the throbbing in the boy’s neck. Joe’s colour wasn’t very good at all. His face was not so ashen now, but still very pale.<\/p>\n

“I thought I scared him coming into the room, but I didn’t think I scared him this much,” Ben said, concerned that he had startled his son who was stilling recovering.<\/p>\n

“Let’s get him settled back onto the bed, Pa,” Adam now said as he helped his father lift a limp Little Joe from the floor and place him back onto the bed. They pulled the strewn covers back on him to try and warm his body and hopefully get some colour back into his skin.<\/p>\n

“What else was he doing when you came into the room?” Adam now asked, trying to figure out what would cause such a drastic reaction in Joe.<\/p>\n

“Like I said, I came into the room. It was obvious that I startled him. He was trying to walk on those crutches,” Ben answered as he now picked up the fallen crutches. He now laid them against the wall on the other side of the beside table.<\/p>\n

“He cried out in fright and stumbled, bumping into the table” Ben said as he played out his son’s movements. “The photo fell off the table and that bullet rolled off the table. I don’t know where it came from, but Joe’s eyes seemed to be held on it as it rolled about the floor. Next thing he starts swaying and then falls over in a dead faint. I tried to catch him, but I wasn’t quick enough.”<\/p>\n

“But what was a bullet doing on his bedside table?” Adam now pondered as he continued to look from the bullet to his brother laying on the bed.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know, but it looks just like any other bullet,” Ben replied. “Have you seen it before?”<\/p>\n

“No, but there is a bit of a distinct marking around the bullet. Probably made from the chamber of the gun it came from. It hasn’t been fired, probably just loaded and unloaded from a pistol.”<\/p>\n

“Ohhh,” came from the bed, immediately ending the conversation between father and eldest son. Both of them turned their attention to Joe.<\/p>\n

“Joe,” Ben whispered softly as his son moved his head back and forth on the pillow in an attempt to come back to consciousness.<\/p>\n

Ben started to wipe the boy’s face with a damp cloth to help bring him around. Joe took a few more minutes to open his eyes and then focus them on the voice that was speaking to him. His thoughts didn’t come back to him all at once.<\/p>\n

“Welcome back,” Ben said still wiping his face.<\/p>\n

“What happened?” Joe asked as he put his hands to his head to stop the merry- go-round.<\/p>\n

“That’s what we were about to ask you,” Ben answered. “I walked into the room and you seemed to just fall onto the floor in a dead faint.”<\/p>\n

“Does this have any significance to you Joe?” Adam asked innocently holding up the bullet that he found on the floor.<\/p>\n

It was now that the images came flooding back into Joe’s mind. The pistol being held to his head. His eyes watching the bullets as Thomas loaded them into the chamber one at a time. He looked at them long enough to notice every mark and dent on the small pieces of lead.<\/p>\n

Joe closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on breathing again. He had to get through this. “Umm no…,” came the barely audible whisper as Joe tried to look everywhere else but Adams’s hand.<\/p>\n

Adam and Ben exchanged glances and knew that Joe was lying. They were now certain that the bullet meant something to Joe, but they had no idea what. Their train of thought was interrupted as Doctor Paul Martin now came into the room followed by Hoss.<\/p>\n

“You’re back very quickly,” Ben said noting the time that it had been since Hoss left for the doctor.<\/p>\n

“I was already on my way out here Ben to check on my patient,” Paul answered as he set his medical bag down on the bed. “Looks like I was needed anyway from what Hoss tells me” he said now looking at his pale and wan patient lying on the bed.<\/p>\n

“What have you done to yourself now Joseph?” Paul said in mock sternness. “He was a little concerned about the boy’s pale features but kept his thoughts to himself for the moment.<\/p>\n

He held the stethoscope to Joe’s chest and began listening to the boy’s heart and lungs. He noted the same raciness that Ben had discovered when Joe fainted, but perhaps not as bad as before.<\/p>\n

“What caused you to feel faint Joe?” Paul asked simply.<\/p>\n

“Um, I don’t know,” Joe lied. He didn’t think his family wanted to hear the full story about the bullet and what it meant to him. Finding it there scared Joe more than he could ever imagined though. He knew that by finding it there on the bedside table, hidden from view until the right moment meant that Butch Thomas had been here. Had not only been at the house, but had entered his room as he slept. He could have taken him back away from his family at any time and his family wouldn’t have been able to stop him.<\/p>\n

The thoughts about Thomas standing over his bed and watching him as he lay asleep, totally alone in his room made his flesh come out in goose bumps again. The fear was too much to ignore and it was all consuming.<\/p>\n

Ben and the doctor noticed with concern the boy apparently remembering something and then saw the fear on his face and the gooseflesh on his skin. There was a much deeper meaning to this than Joe was prepared to give.<\/p>\n

Joe was becoming agitated by the attention and scrutiny he was getting and nervously picked at the bed clothes with his hands. He tried not to hold his gaze with any one of them for more than a few seconds for fear of giving himself away to them.<\/p>\n

“I got startled by Pa coming through the door,” Joe said finally without looking up. It sounded a plausible enough excuse. He had jumped a little at Ben’s unannounced entry, but that little bit of a scare was nothing compared with the runaway fear that had an iron grip over his heart at the moment.<\/p>\n

Ben looked up at the doctor and then his other two boys and knew that nobody in the room really believed that it was the real reason. Ben felt a little guilty about scaring his son unnecessarily, but he saw the signs of something more eating away at his son.<\/p>\n

The more they tried to help Joe overcome his fear, the more he seemed to withdraw away from them and built more defences around himself. The battle was turning into a uphill one.<\/p>\n

“Well for now young man, you don’t seem to have caused yourself much more damage.” Paul said as he got up and put his instruments in his bag. “I want you to try and get some rest for a while and then have something to eat?”<\/p>\n

Joe nodded his head but didn’t say anything. He moved about and made himself more comfortable on the bed and turned over, closing his eyes as though drifting off to sleep. He didn’t want to worry his family any more than he had already done. Truth was, Joe knew that sleep would be a long time in coming today.<\/p>\n

\n

Ben, the doctor, Adam and Hoss now exited Joe’s bedroom, satisfied that it looked as though that Joe was settling down to rest for a while. No sooner had they closed the door that he immediately opened his eyes and just lay there with Thomas’s threats echoing in his mind.<\/p>\n

He knew deep down in his soul that he would never be able to reveal who his tormentor was for fear of him coming back and harming his family. Thomas had told him that he would get to him if he wanted to and seeing the bullet on his bedside table only proved it even more.<\/p>\n

“Ben, I don’t need to tell you that whatever is disturbing that boy, he is determined not to tell anybody about it. Like I said, he seems okay, though a little pale and a touch of anxiety, but that will pass soon enough. We have to keep up my earlier instructions of trying to coax him out of his shell. If we don’t he is going to let it eat away at him.”<\/p>\n

“I wish we could help him more, Paul,” Ben said worriedly. “I thought maybe he was showing some signs of wanting to open up, but now I’m not so sure anymore.”<\/p>\n

Paul now fiddled around in his bag and pulled out a small white bag with two pills inside, “These are very mild sleeping pills Ben. I want you to give him one tonight and one tomorrow night. Hopefully they will allow him to get some decent rest.”<\/p>\n

Ben was about to talk to Paul more about this son’s condition when there was another knock at the front door. Adam opened it and was greeted by Sheriff Roy Coffee standing there with his hat in his hand.<\/p>\n

“Roy, what brings you out here?” Ben asked, shaking his friend’s hand.<\/p>\n

“Howdy Ben, got a couple of things I needed to discuss with you and your boys. By the way how is Little Joe?” the lawman asked as he shook the doctor’s hand, “Doc”.<\/p>\n

“He’s a little on edge at the moment Sheriff, but his physical injuries are healing nicely,” Paul answered for Ben.<\/p>\n

“If you’ll excuse me Ben, I will come out day after tomorrow if I am not needed sooner. Let me know if he gets any worse” he said and left the house for town.<\/p>\n

“Thanks, Paul,” Ben said to the doctor and now turned his attention to the Sheriff. “What can I do for you Roy?” he asked again.<\/p>\n

“I’m sorry to hear that about Little Joe Ben, and that makes what I am about to tell you a little harder” he said nervously played with his hat-band. “Seems that fellow Griffith’s I have got locked up has some powerful friends. He had gotten in contact with a lawyer from the city. I just had an urgent telegram from him today telling me that he arrives on the stage tomorrow and wants to have a meeting between you and his client about setting this matter for trial in a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n

“A couple of weeks, Roy,” Ben said a little exasperated “I just don’t know if Joe will be well enough or willing enough to testify by that stage. We have tried to ask him a few times to tell us about what happened, but he refuses to tell us. Just freezes up and starts shaking as soon as the subject is mentioned. It will be worse to put him in a court room in front of all those people.”<\/p>\n

“I know how you feel Ben, but Judge Collins is due out here about then and I think he wants to get the trial on before him,” Roy now explained.<\/p>\n

“We could contact Fred Harding, Pa,” Adam now suggested. He didn’t like the ideas of putting his still injured and obviously scared younger brother through something as traumatic as a criminal trial.<\/p>\n

“Yes son, that’s a good idea, but even if he agrees to come out to help with the case, he won’t be here by tomorrow when Griffith’s lawyer is here,” Ben said.<\/p>\n

“We will just have to listen to what he says until Fred can turn up,” Adam said.<\/p>\n

“Okay Adam, you go back to town with Roy and send a telegram telling Fred that we are desperate for his help. Money is not an issue, we will pay him whatever he asks. Mention to him some of what has happened. We can fill him in on some of the smaller details if and when he gets here,” Ben said.<\/p>\n

“Ben, I hate to tell it like it is, but if we can’t get Little Joe to testify to a court that Griffith’s had anything to do with his abduction, then he and all the others will get off scott free. We still don’t even know who the other men were. I was hoping to talk to Little Joe when he was feeling better to see if he remembers any description of them.”<\/p>\n

“Maybe Fred will know what to do. I don’t want anything else happening to Little Joe Roy. He has been through enough already,” Ben said with a firm voice. ‘You go and organize this meeting for tomorrow night. We will all be there. We are not going to see this animal get away with what he did to Joseph.”<\/p>\n

Roy now departed the house along with Adam. Adam sent the telegram like his father suggested.<\/p>\n

\n

The rest of the day seemed to ebb away with no real problems. Joe spent the remainder of the day in his room. He dozed off occasionally, but the thoughts going around in his head prevented him from getting the proper rest Doc Martin said was vital for his recovery.<\/p>\n

Joe ate a sparse dinner but thankfully for Ben drank the milk offered. Ben had not wanted to upset his son any further that day about taking medicine to help him sleep so he had simply dissolved the white tablet in the milk before taking it up to Joe.<\/p>\n

Ben sighed in relief as he watched the sleeping drug take a hold of his son. Joe was now in a deep sleep and should remain so for the rest of the night. Ben pulled the warm covers over his son’s shoulders and left the room.<\/p>\n

Adam and the others were having a late breakfast at the table when a knock at the door revealed Mr Porter from the telegraph office. He said that he had a telegram marked urgent for Ben from a Mr Fred Harding. Ben and his boys could scarcely believe their luck as they read the telegram that said Fred would be arriving the day after tomorrow.<\/p>\n

They had brought in the big guns to help out Joe, but were mighty grateful to have such a well educated man willing to take on their case.<\/p>\n

“What are we going to do about Little Joe tonight while we are at the meeting Pa?” Hoss said worried about leaving his little brother alone after being so scared.<\/p>\n

“As much as I hate to do it Hoss, I think we still have to abide by Paul’s idea to let him have a little more independence. I don’t aim to leave him totally alone though. Hop Sing will be left here to look after anything that Joe might need. Hopefully if that other sleeping pill lasts as long as the one he had last night, we can go when he goes to sleep an be back at the house before he wakes up and knows we are gone,” Ben explained.<\/p>\n

“I really think we all need to be at this meeting tonight for Joe’s sake. It is going to be rough on him as it is and I don’t want this slick lawyer doing anything underhanded to aid his client.”<\/p>\n

Joe’s mood was just as dark when he awoke. He found himself feeling the same insecurity that he had felt before trying to get out of bed. Now the knowledge that Butch Thomas had been in his room, able to kill him or hurt him or take him away from his family at any moment, scared Joe tenfold.<\/p>\n

He took up to refusing to come out of his room again when told he could do so. He used a multitude of excuses such as still hurting some and feeling tired, which were all partly believable but his family knew that he was running away from himself and his nightmares.<\/p>\n

By mid-afternoon, part of Joe’s torment became Hoss’s and the big man could no longer bare to see his younger sibling in such sorrow. Ben watched as Hoss climbed the stairs and secretly hoped that the closeness the two brothers shared would help Joe overcome his fear.<\/p>\n

“Hi Ya brother,” Hoss said cheerily as he entered Joe’s room. Joe looked up and put aside the book he was reading. He tried to smile but it was a very fake effort.<\/p>\n

“Hi, Hoss,” he said in a voice that held no tone at all. “Came up to try and talk to me again,” he said dryly, knowing that all of his family had tried to do the same at various stages. It was now Hoss’s turn, try as he might.<\/p>\n

“Um yeah, I suppose yes,” Hoss said a little taken aback by Joe’s negativity. “It’s just that you got us all so worried about you punkin’. Me and Adam have been trying to think of a way to help you out. Pa’s just about going crazy down there worrying about you. You really scared him yesterday when you fainted like that.”<\/p>\n

“I didn’t mean to, Hoss,” Joe said, his voice betraying him. The whole tone of the conversation had now changed as Hoss saw the tears slip from his brother’s emerald green eyes. Hoss’s heart just about broke in two and he couldn’t help but sit on the bed and gather the younger boy into his arms while he cried.<\/p>\n

“Oh punkin I know that. Pa knows you didn’t mean it too. But you gotta believe that nobody is going to hurt you anymore. Not in this house. Not while any one of us is here to see you safe and sound. I promise that I will pound anybody into the ground that tries scare you or lifts a finger to hurt you again,” Hoss said.<\/p>\n

“Promise Hoss?” Joe said in a meek voice. He really needed to believe that somebody would protect him at the moment. He really did feel all alone and vulnerable.<\/p>\n

“I promise,” Hoss said with a firmness that signalled he meant every word he said.<\/p>\n

Hoss was determined to help his younger brother overcome his insecurity and fear and so for the rest of the afternoon before supper, he sat talking idly to Joe about what had been happening on the ranch while he was recovering.<\/p>\n

Hoss was no good at the gentle and soothing words that Adam or his Pa used, but he hoped that if he kept the conversation relaxed and the topics as far away from Joe’s problems as possible, then Joe himself would begin to relax and feel safer.<\/p>\n

His methods showed some signs of working and Ben came up to see Hoss and Joe having a few games of checkers on the bed. Joe’s mind was still wandering though and surprising to him Hoss found himself winning a few games, but for the most part, Joe seemed to be a little calmer.<\/p>\n

Ben smiled at the comforting scene before him and quietly slipped away before he disturbed the two brothers.<\/p>\n

\n

While Hoss was having his conversation with Joe, another conversation of a different flavour was also happening back in Virginia City.<\/p>\n

It was talking place in Henry William’s office between Henry Williams himself and Butch Thomas.<\/p>\n

“You took some mighty awful risks going back to the Ponderosa after that kid Thomas. What happens if the kid squawks and tells everything?” Williams said with a little anger in his voice.<\/p>\n

“He’s going to testify before a Judge and Jury for God’s sake. If he fingers Griffiths for being part of it, what’s to say he doesn’t mention your name with it?”<\/p>\n

“Don’t worry Williams, the kid won’t say anything,” Thomas replied casually while leaning back on a chair in the room.<\/p>\n

Williams was riled just that little bit more with Thomas’s nonchalant attitude. If the kid talked and people put two and two together about the lumber contract and Joe’s kidnapping, it was both of their necks in the hangman’s noose.<\/p>\n

“Hey, I am trying to protect both of us here,” Williams barked as he shoved Thomas’s feet off his desk.<\/p>\n

Williams swallowed a little as he now watched the colour of Thomas’s eyes change. They became darker and more angrier. Thomas now stood up and over Williams as he spoke.<\/p>\n

“You don’t need to worry about a thing Williams. I got everything under control. Believe me I aim to go back tonight and finish what I started. By the time I am done with Little Joe Cartwright, the kid won’t be able to even speak his name on that witness stand. He wouldn’t dare tell anybody about me or what happened or Griffiths. He will keep his mouth shut if he knows what’s good for him. I’ll make sure of it.”<\/p>\n

“You just make sure that I get my share of that money. Because if I find that you have double-crossed me,” Thomas said, grabbing Williams by the front of his shirt for emphasis “Then apart from me coming after your miserable hide, I will make sure that somebody finds out your name and your involvement about the boy’s kidnapping.”<\/p>\n

Thomas pushed Williams back into his chair roughly and walked out of the office. He had a few preparations to do before he went back to the Ponderosa tonight.<\/p>\n

\n

“You sure you’ll be alright Hop Sing?” Ben asked for the fifth time in an hour. He was now regretting his idea about only leaving the little Cantonese man with Joe for the few hours they were going to be in town.<\/p>\n

‘Mister Cartwright now worry. Hop Sing take good care of Little Joe,” Hop Sing replied as Ben and his boys buckled on their gun belts. The horses were saddled and out front ready for them to depart in a few minutes.<\/p>\n

“Now Hop Sing, Joe has been asleep for about an hour from that sleeping tablet. Make sure you check on him regularly, but don’t wake him up. We shouldn’t be too long. I want to get this meeting and out of the way. I will feel a lot better when Fred gets here tomorrow,” Ben said.<\/p>\n

“Adam while we are in town tonight, I want to make a hotel reservation for Fred for tomorrow. I will ask him to stay here, but I don’t know if he will” Ben now stated.<\/p>\n

“Let’s go boys. The sooner we go, the sooner we can get back here to Joe,” Ben replied glancing a final time up to towards the room were his youngest son lay sleeping.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing closed the heavy wooden door behind him and went up to check on Joe just like he was instructed to. He found Joe still sleeping due to the medicine and left the room to got down to the kitchen.<\/p>\n

For the next half and hour Hop Sing worked furiously in the kitchen, getting some much needed baking out of the way while he was still awake. He wouldn’t need to do so much tomorrow then. He was in the middle of making one of Hoss’s favourite peach pies when he discovered that he had run out of eggs.<\/p>\n

He went out onto the verandah and walked the short distance to the large storage room at the back of the house. He kept the eggs and butter in this building because it seemed to be the cooler and the ingredients kept better than when they were in the pantry.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing was too busy gathering the few items he needed to notice someone creeping up behind the door to the storage room. He had a small lantern with him but he turned around in surprise as the door was now slammed shut, locking him inside.<\/p>\n

“Who out there, let out now?” Hop Sing yelled loudly to the unseen party.<\/p>\n

“You just sit tight china man. I am just going to go and see how the boy is fairing,” Thomas said with an evil laugh.<\/p>\n

“Who you, you leave Little Joe alone. Cartwrights be back any minute. Leave Little Joe alone,” Hop Sing yelled desperately through the door, knowing that he was powerless to help his favourite Cartwright.<\/p>\n

“Don’t lie to me china man. Cartwright and his boys only left an hour ago. They won’t be back for ages. And don’t you go worrying about Little Joe. I am going to take good care of him,” Thomas said.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing kept yelling through the door at the stranger to leave Little Joe alone but his words fell on deaf ears.<\/p>\n

\n

Because the kitchen door still being left open, Butch Thomas had no trouble entering the house. He looked around the kitchen briefly, but then headed out into the living room and towards the stair case.<\/p>\n

He walked casually up the stairs, taking in the position of various rooms and items in the house. He made a mental map of everything he saw in case they could be of use later on.<\/p>\n

He went into the bedroom at the top of the stairs, but found Hoss’s room to be empty. He skipped the farthest room of Ben’s and now opened Adam’s bedroom door to find it empty also.<\/p>\n

He glanced at the final door at the end of the hallway and knew that he would find what he was looking for inside.<\/p>\n

At silently as possible he opened the door and went inside. He laughed to himself again as he found Little Joe curled up asleep on the bed. The kid didn’t even know he was there. He was about to change all of that though.<\/p>\n

Thomas the two crutches leaning up against the wall beside the bed side table and now deliberately knocked them to the floor. They made a crashing sound as they hit the wooden surface, but Joe only turned his head at the noise, his sleep from the drug too deep.<\/p>\n

“I guess I will have to use a more physical approach,” Thomas said out loud to himself. He now reached back and brought down a stinging slap to the sleeping boy’s face.<\/p>\n

The slap had the desired affect and Joe brought his hand up to the reddened area as he opened his eyes in total shock. As soon as his eyes fixed on the reason for the pain on his cheek, he let out a scream as he now came face to face with the man who caused his nightmares.<\/p>\n

“You seemed so surprised boy,” Thomas now said as he roughly grabbed Joe from his bed and held his hand over the boy’s mouth. He was fairly sure that there was nobody else about the ranch at the moment, but he wasn’t taking any chances.<\/p>\n

“I told you I would come back. Why did you doubt me?” he said ignoring the boy’s soft moans of pain as he dragged the struggling and terrified boy across the room to the door.<\/p>\n

Terror and fear had now developed in Joe at alarming levels and despite the boy’s desperate struggles against his captors, the boy’s body was trembling. He was still trying to scream for help through the hand over his mouth. He was trying to work out why his father and brothers weren’t coming to his rescue. Hoss said that they would be here to protect him. Where were they, where was Hop Sing.<\/p>\n

Thomas dragged Joe down the stairs into the living room and threw him roughly into the settee. Joe was immediately trying to escape the man’s grip and get away from him.<\/p>\n

“I need you to keep put boy,” Thomas said as he brought out a small ball of twine from his pocket. He held it out so that his victim could see it and now walked closer to Joe. Joe’s heart beating so hard from the fear that he thought he might pass out.<\/p>\n

He kicked and bucked as best he could. At one stage he felt Thomas’s boot come into contact with his injured leg and his struggles stopped abruptly as he tried to deal with the pain that now engulfed his leg. He could help but scream out from the pain.<\/p>\n

Now that he was able to get a better grip on Joe, Thomas as able to tie the boy’s hands together and then his ankles. The cord rubbed against the bandages on Joe’s ankles and chafed some of the stitches underneath. By the time he was finished tying him up, Joe was sobbing from the pain and trying to cower away from the man who was hurting him all over again.<\/p>\n

“Pa, where are you, Pa?” Joe screamed out as the pain got worse. He couldn’t understand why nobody was coming to help him. “Adam… Hoss help me please. He’s hurting me. Pa”<\/p>\n

“You make too much noise boy,” Thomas said as he now took out a large checkered handkerchief and tied it securely around the boy’s mouth to prevent him screaming.<\/p>\n

Once his victim was bound and gagged, Thomas took a minute to stand back and look at the miserable, cowering boy before him.<\/p>\n

Joe looked up at him, unable to hide the terror he felt and the pain that came from his bonds.<\/p>\n

“Now you and me can have a talk without you interrupting me,” Thomas said as he grabbed the boy and brought him a few inches closer to his face. “I just wanted to make sure that you remembered our little talk back at the shack. The one about not telling anybody about me or anything that happened back there. Remember what I promised would happen if you did talk,” he said menacingly.<\/p>\n

Joe found himself nodding his head but he didn’t know what to. He just wanted this man to leave him alone.<\/p>\n

Thomas was a bit wary of staying longer in the house for fear of somebody turning up unexpectedly. He now looked about the room, trying to figure out what to do with his young victim. He now spotted a door on the far side of the living room.<\/p>\n

He dragged the bound Joe with him and opened the door to see where it led. To his surprise and amusement, he saw the it was merely a coat closet. No bigger than an out house. It was dark and dingy. When Cartwright returned, he wouldn’t even suspect the boy was hidden in there.<\/p>\n

Joe could see that Thomas meant to put him in the dark and claustrophobic closet. Despite the gag in his mouth he began begging not to be put into the darkened room.<\/p>\n

“No…No!” Joe said as he recommenced struggling against his assailant and prevent himself being put into the closet.<\/p>\n

At first Thomas couldn’t work out why the kid was bucking so much about being put into the closet. The he looked at Joe’s fear look at the room and laughed out loud as he realised the reason for the boy’s fear apart from himself.<\/p>\n

“You afraid of the dark boy?” Thomas asked already knowing the answer to his question. “Well I guess we will just have to make a man out of you. Time to face your fear,” he said and propelled the boy towards the darkness.<\/p>\n

Thomas was strong enough to literally pick up the boy and shove him into the small space, but the boy was now running on pure adrenaline from the fear within him.<\/p>\n

The boy was now in the closet, but he was fighting against Thomas to get back out again. Thomas was tired of playing games with Joe and now brought back his clenched fist and delivered a blow to the boy’s jaw.<\/p>\n

Joe was knocked unconsciousness and sagged in Thomas grasp. Thomas now propped him up against the wall of the closet. He was satisfied that he had scared the boy enough not to testify at the trial. If the boy proved him wrong, then he make him truly sorry.<\/p>\n

“See ya round kid,” Thomas said to the unconscious Joe as he closed the door. Joe was now immersed in total darkness but was oblivious to his cramped confines. There was already a bruise darkening on his jaw line as a result from Thomas’s fist.<\/p>\n

Before Thomas left he remembered the crutches upstairs and a smile came over his face as he thought of an idea to scare the Cartwrights when they returned to find their youngest missing.<\/p>\n

He brought the crutches to foot of the stairs and now broke one in half, carefully laying it where it wouldn’t be missed.<\/p>\n

Thomas now left the house through the kitchen door where he came in. Hop Sing could still be heard hollering through the storage room door to let him out.<\/p>\n

Thomas now rode off towards Virginia City but was careful enough to take a smaller dirt track away from the main road in case the Cartwrights were coming back.<\/p>\n

\n

About an hour after Thomas left the Ponderosa, Ben and his boys were coming back to the house. The meeting that had been scheduled had been postponed until the Cartwright’s lawyer Fred Harding got there the following day.<\/p>\n

The solicitor for Griffith’s wasn’t too happy about it being put off, but when he heard the name of the Cartwright’s lawyer, he knew he had some homework of his own to do. Fred Harding had a reputation that preceded him and he was no push over when it came to criminal trials.<\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright rode slowly into the yard and the first thing that he heard was somebody’s voice. He could hear someone yelling but he couldn’t see them. He immediately got of his horse along with Adam and Hoss and tried to listen to where it was coming from.<\/p>\n

They walked closer to the house, but the voice could be heard out in the yard. “I think it’s coming from the storage room, Pa,” Hoss said as he walked over to the small cool room. Hoss looked down and could see that a stick had been used to keep the person on the inside from opening the door.<\/p>\n

“Get it open quick,” Ben now yelled, a deep feeling of dread was now beginning to settle in the pit of his stomach.<\/p>\n

To their surprise, out came a very hostile and very angry Hop Sing. The little Cantonese man’s voice was now very croaky and it was difficult to make out what he was saying.<\/p>\n

There were only two words that Ben heard that struck fear into his own heart “Lil Joe…” and he immediately forgot the little oriental man and began running towards the house.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing followed the Cartwright’s as they ran inside to see what had happened while they were gone. It was obvious that Hop Sing had been prevented from getting to Little Joe for some reason. He had been locked up so that he couldn’t help the boy.<\/p>\n

“Joseph?” Ben called as he entered the living room. He stopped his shouting when he came across the broken crutch at the bottom of the stairs.<\/p>\n

Hoss and Adam now both looked at the broken stick and couldn’t hide their thoughts about what might have happened.<\/p>\n

“What happened here Hop Sing?” Adam now demanded.<\/p>\n

Ben and Hoss turned around to listen to the little servant. “Hop Sing go to storage room to get egg for Mr Hoss’s pie he baking. Someone close door on Hop Sing. I say let me out. Man say he going to see Little Joe. I told him no but he no listen and go inside. Don’t know what happened but could hear Little Joe screaming. Don’t know where he take Little Joe.”<\/p>\n

“My God!” Ben cried as he now realised just how much danger his son was in. He didn’t know who had come and taken his son and it didn’t matter why. They just needed to get him back again.<\/p>\n

Hoss picked up the broken crutch and played with it in his hands for a moment. When he looked back up at Ben and Adam, both of them saw the anger that was now dwelling within the big man.<\/p>\n

“Come on boy’s let’s go and find him,” Ben said firmly as he walked to the closet to grab his long overcoat. He didn’t know what the elements would bring outside. The only thing he was worried about was the fate of his missing 16 year old son.<\/p>\n

“Adam you’ll have to hitch up the wagon and get some blankets ready just in case,” Ben said as he tried to get his mind around what they might need.<\/p>\n

At first, the door knob seemed to be stuck. Ben gave it another tug and felt the lock release from inside the door.<\/p>\n

He swung the door open ready to reach up for the coat, instead his eyes bulged at the sight before him.<\/p>\n

Ben barely got the door half way open before something fell onto the floor. Ben could hear his own gasp of shock and horror when he saw down to see the unconscious and bruised form of his youngest son fall limply onto the floor. The boy was bound hand and foot and a gag had been secured around his mouth to prevent him alerting anybody to his hiding place.<\/p>\n

Ben knelt down to check for a pulse. It was there, slow and some what erratic, but there. Little Joe was alive. The next thing that Ben noticed was a white slip of paper attached to the front of Little Joe’s shirt.<\/p>\n

Ben tore the note and immediately started to read what it said.<\/p>\n

“Could you hear him screaming Ben?”<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0“He was calling out for you to help him, but you weren’t there for him”..<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapter 3 – Threatened<\/div>\n
\n

Adam stood by the staircase banister, worriedly running his hands through his black hair.\u00a0 He had been impatiently waiting for Paul Martin to examine his unconscious brother.\u00a0 He had gone into Virginia City at a frightening pace after the family had found the limp Little Joe in the closet.<\/p>\n

By the time Paul arrived, Ben and Hoss had managed to carry Joe to his room.\u00a0 The boy still didn’t make any movements or signal that he was regaining consciousness.\u00a0 The darkening bruises stood out in stark contrast to his pale skin.<\/p>\n

Ben was still with the Doctor in Little Joe’s room.\u00a0 The only thing that was going around in Ben’s mind at the moment was the few words that had been written on the piece of paper found on Joe.\u00a0 The words not only seemed to echo in his mind tenfold, but they shouted at him and reminded him of how he had failed his son.\u00a0 He had left the boy virtually alone and the unthinkable had happened.<\/p>\n

Somebody had broken into their house, locked Hop Sing up so that he couldn’t help and then proceeded to torture and assault the boy some more.\u00a0 The burden of guilt was almost too much to bear.<\/p>\n

Ben found himself asking the “What If’s” and the “If I had only’s”.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam and Hoss and even Hop Sing had come to tell Ben that there was no way he could have known that somebody would be waiting to come and hurt Little Joe again.<\/p>\n

Ben had wanted to be in the room with Little Joe as Paul tended his new injuries and checked the older ones, but Paul had seen the harrowing look on his old friend’s face.\u00a0 He had wanted to examine his patient alone, but didn’t dare ask the question at the moment as he glanced briefly at Ben again.\u00a0 Paul could see the shadows of guilt and the hint of doubt cross Ben’s dark brown eyes.\u00a0 He just hoped that the evening’s tragic events hadn’t made the psychological scars on Little Joe any deeper than before.<\/p>\n

Paul now emerged from Joe’s room with his bag in hand, and descended the stairs. He could feel two sets of inquiring eyes on him in front of him as he reached the first landing and Ben’s coming from behind him.\u00a0 He waited until he reached the bottom before giving his full diagnosis.<\/p>\n

“He’s going to be alright, Ben,” Paul said, putting a firm reassuring hand on Ben’s shoulder.\u00a0 “He has a couple of new bruises to add to his collection, and the skin around his wrists is a little red and chafed from his bonds. I have rubbed some moisturising cream into them, and they should be fine in a day or so.\u00a0 The bruises will fade in time.”<\/p>\n

“Has he come to yet, Doc?” Hoss said, deeply concerned that Joe had been knocked unconscious again.<\/p>\n

“Briefly, Hoss, but then went back to sleep.\u00a0\u00a0 I checked him over carefully.\u00a0 The blow he received doesn’t seem to have caused any lasting effects, so I let him go back to sleep.\u00a0 He is mentally exhausted.\u00a0\u00a0 When he did wake up he was immediately looking around the room to see who else was in the room.\u00a0 I am afraid to say that whatever good work we were able to do over the last day or so, all of it has just been undone, and we are back to where we were when he was first brought home.\u00a0 It is going to take even longer now to coax him out of his shell and get him gaining some self-confidence again.”<\/p>\n

Ben saw Paul to the door and bid him goodnight in a voice devoid of emotion.<\/p>\n

“Should one of us stay with him, tonight, Pa?” Adam now asked, as they all prepared to retire for the night.<\/p>\n

Ben sighed loudly and thought hard for a moment.\u00a0 It took every ounce of gumption he had to say, “No, son.\u00a0 As much as my heart says to, we have to try and keep to the doctor’s advice.\u00a0 All of my body tells me that he shouldn’t be left alone tonight, but then there is this little voice talking in my head that says we need to do what’s best for Joseph in the long run. If we get too close to him and smother him, we are likely to push him away and he will withdraw into himself like before,” he explained.<\/p>\n

“I don’t mean that we don’t check on him during the night and be there at a minute’s notice, though,” Ben added knowing that if Joe needed him during the night neither he nor Joe’s brothers would hesitate in being there to help him through his fears.<\/p>\n

Hoss and Adam watched their father walk up the staircase with dejection in his posture.\u00a0 They both knew that the next couple of days ahead before the trial were going to be rough,\u00a0 especially on the eldest and youngest in the household.<\/p>\n

\n

The next morning Ben was seated at the table early as usual, but this morning he had two reasons for being up. One was the imminent arrival of Fred Harding on the stage.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben and he would need to spend most of the day going over the steps and procedures of the trial the day after tomorrow.\u00a0 Once they had worked out a strategy, the biggest hurdle would be explaining the need to testify to Little Joe.\u00a0 That was going to be the toughest of all jobs.<\/p>\n

Ben, had lain awake most of the night anyway, listening for the slightest noise to come from his son’s room and give him an excuse or alibi for going into his son’s room and carry on a night-long vigil.<\/p>\n

On the couple of occasions that Ben had gotten up and checked on Joseph, the young man was sleeping soundly enough.\u00a0 There were some minor moans and tossing of his head on the pillow, indicating that he was dreaming of something.\u00a0 But other than that, there was no thrashing about or shouting by Joe.<\/p>\n

Ben turned around and was about to exit the bedroom when he ran into his eldest son, who was coming into the room.\u00a0 Both of them smiled at each other sheepishly, but Ben continued back to his bedroom and Adam satisfied himself that his brother was alright and then headed back to his own room.\u00a0 Both of them heard the heavier, more distinct footsteps of the biggest Cartwright doing some checking of his own on his younger brother not more than half an hour later.<\/p>\n

All four Cartwrights then slept the remainder of the night away without interruptions.<\/p>\n

Ben was sipping at his coffee when Adam and Hoss came down to the breakfast table.\u00a0 He was determined to talk to Joseph about what had happened the previous night before he left for Virginia City to meet with Fred Harding.\u00a0 He glanced up at the closed bedroom door and knew that he would probably have to disturb his slumbering son in order to talk to him.\u00a0 Joe wasn’t likely to wake on his own for another hour or so and that would leave things too late to meet the stage.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss had both offered to and meet the attorney instead of Ben, but their father had made it clear that he wanted to meet the solicitor first and get first hand knowledge about just how the trial was going to take place.\u00a0 He also knew that Fred would need to be told about what had happened to Joe since the telegram.<\/p>\n

Ben drained what was left in his cup and now made his way to the stairs and climbed up towards his son’s room.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss both watched their father go to their brother.\u00a0 Neither of them said a word as they both tried to contemplate what their brother’s demeanour would be that morning.<\/p>\n

When he first entered the room, Ben had opened and closed the door very quietly so as not to wake Joe.\u00a0 He admonished himself quickly, though, and wondered why he was doing such a thing when the whole purpose of him coming into the room was to wake his sleeping son.<\/p>\n

Ben felt a lump rise in his throat and he had second thoughts about his little talk as he gazed down at the bed and saw Joe lying facing him.\u00a0 His features were completely relaxed at the moment and he looked impossibly younger than his sixteen years.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ben told himself that he couldn’t delay it any longer.<\/p>\n

“Joe,” Ben said quietly at first as he rubbed the back of his hand gently against his son’s cheek.\u00a0 Joe didn’t respond at first so he repeated the process and was rewarded with a soft mumble and Joe turning his head slightly at the voice talking to him.<\/p>\n

Ben gave his son a few minutes to continue waking on his own.\u00a0 Joe moved his head a few more times and brought one of his hands up to his forehead.\u00a0 It was at this stage that his mind registered that his hands were no longer restrained.\u00a0 His eyes flew open, and he tried to sit up in a hurry and look about the room.<\/p>\n

He put the hand to his head again to stop the giddiness that he immediately felt.\u00a0 After the spinning had stopped, Joe looked down intently at his hands.\u00a0 He was turning them over back and forth, trying to comprehend that they were tied up with ropes still.\u00a0 There was a slightly red ring around each wrist and a chafing feeling to them, but otherwise they looked unharmed.\u00a0 Joe stared at the rings and knew that they represented the torment that he had been forced to live through once again.<\/p>\n

He was lost in his own thoughts for a minute and only acknowledged his father’s presence as he brought his hands up to the bruise on his jaw line and looked directly at Ben at the same time.\u00a0 For what seemed the longest time, both of them looked at each other without saying any words.\u00a0 Both of them spoke what they were feeling with their eyes.\u00a0 Joe’s emerald green eyes spoke of fear and of being afraid.\u00a0 Ben’s spoke of sadness for his son but also of the love he felt and of understanding.<\/p>\n

Joe’s emotions then started to overwhelm him and he turned his head away and bit on his lip and he could feel the tears welling up in his eyes.\u00a0 Ben brought his hand gently up to the opposite side of Joe’s bruised jaw and turned the saddened face towards him again.<\/p>\n

The tears now began trickling down his face and as they fell, Joe felt himself lean into his father’s chest and reach out for the security that he so desperately sought.\u00a0 Ben could scarcely hold back his own emotions, but was determined to be strong for his child in his time of weakness.<\/p>\n

He held his son with an embrace that displayed warmth, strength and power, characteristics that Joe found himself lacking at the moment and relying on others to give him.<\/p>\n

“I’m sorry, son,” Ben said, as he absent-mindedly ran his fingers through the back of Joe’s hair in a soothing gesture.<\/p>\n

“N-n-not …….. not your fault, Pa,” Joe said, as he tried to get himself under control and regain his composure.<\/p>\n

“I would do anything to turn the clock back and stop that man from coming back in here, Joe,” Ben now said.\u00a0 “I promise you that I won’t let anybody hurt you again”.<\/p>\n

Joe didn’t say anything in reply to this.\u00a0 He heard his father’s words and knew that his father believed in what he said.\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately, Joe couldn’t believe in such things at the moment.\u00a0 He didn’t even feel safe inside his own house at the moment.\u00a0 Thomas had proven that by literally just waltzing into his room in the night and taking him by force from his bed and tying him up.<\/p>\n

The torment hadn’t stop there.\u00a0 After he found himself bound and gagged, Joe had become Thomas’s victim of terror again as he was placed in the darkened closet.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Darkness was one of Joe’s worst fears.\u00a0 Almost everybody that knew Joe also knew about his phobia.\u00a0 Being forced to face it in such terrifying circumstances had only made the fear seem more real to Joe.<\/p>\n

“I have to go now and meet the stage, Joe,” Ben said, as his mind kept track of the time.\u00a0 “I won’t be gone long.\u00a0 I will make sure one of your brothers is here with you and helps you get breakfast and anything else you need.”<\/p>\n

Joe was tempted to say a few things to his father like, “how about a gun to protect myself if he comes back,” but refrained from it and just gave his father a wan smile in response.<\/p>\n

“Thanks, Pa,” he said, the words almost feeling like a lie.<\/p>\n

Ben still didn’t feel right about getting up and leaving his son, but as he got up from the bed and looked back at Joe’s forlorn expression, a noise behind him caused him to turn and come face to face with his eldest son Adam.\u00a0 Apparently, Ben didn’t need to worry too much about alerting his two eldest sons to look out for their younger brother, nor Hop Sing, it seemed, as Ben spied the tray of breakfast that Adam now set down on the bedside table.<\/p>\n

“I will make sure he’s alright until you get back, Pa,” Adam now said noticing his father’s hesitation in leaving Joe to meet the stage.<\/p>\n

“Are you going to bring Mr Harding back to the house?” Adam now asked changing the whole topic of conversation in the room.<\/p>\n

“Who is Mr Harding?” Joe asked in a small voice as he wiped away the remaining tears from his face and tried to look stronger in front of his older brother.\u00a0 With all the happenings over the last couple of days and the blow to his head, the name escaped Joe for a minute.\u00a0 Joe found himself being cautious about any name he didn’t immediately recognize.<\/p>\n

“Fred Harding is the attorney who I have hired to be our lawyer when the court case starts, Little Joe,” Ben started to explain but saw his son immediately turn his head away as if not to hear anything about a court case.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben sighed inwardly as he knew that this was probably the same ignorance that Fred was going to face when he started to question Joe about what happened when he was kidnapped.<\/p>\n

“I will be back soon, son,” Ben said, noticing that it was already getting too late to meet the stage on time.\u00a0 He gave a curt but grateful smile at Adam in appreciation and quickly walked down the stairs towards the front door.<\/p>\n

“I saddled your horse for you, Pa,” Hoss said, as he met his father at the door.\u00a0 Ben took his gun belt from the credenza and his hat from the rack behind the door.\u00a0\u00a0 He opened the door and was about to step out when he glanced back up towards his youngest son’s room again.<\/p>\n

“Thanks, Hoss,” Ben said genuinely.\u00a0\u00a0 “Make sure you keep a good eye on him for me while I am gone,” he added, already knowing that he didn’t need to say such things.<\/p>\n

“You bet, Pa,” Hoss said in reply.\u00a0 “I won’t let anything happen to him”.\u00a0 All three Cartwrights were feeling guilty that they hadn’t been there for Little Joe when he needed them.\u00a0 It was also evident with Hop Sing, also, as Hoss turned and notice the man peering out from behind the kitchen doorway.<\/p>\n

Adam sat, talking to Joe for a while trying to entice the younger man to get something into his stomach.\u00a0 He tried not to focus his attention on the new bruises that marred Joe’s handsome features.\u00a0 Those bruises were the result of him not being there for his younger brother.<\/p>\n

None of them had ever thought the man responsible for Joe’s kidnapping would be so brazen as to break into their house in the night and attempt to take him again.\u00a0 The idea was almost beyond comprehension that there were men so callous and cruel out there.\u00a0 Adam silently promised himself that he wouldn’t allow anybody to hurt his younger brother again.<\/p>\n

Adam tried to make the conversation non-intrusive and just routine chit-chat at first.\u00a0 He tried to talk about anything else but what had happened to Joe last night.<\/p>\n

Joe played with the scrambled egg on the tray for a few minutes.\u00a0 When he saw Adam watching him and almost hanging on to the thought that he was eating he managed to force two spoonfuls of the mixture into his mouth.\u00a0 He told his brain not to taste it as it went down and sat uncomfortably in his stomach.\u00a0\u00a0 He was not about to take a third mouthful.<\/p>\n

Instead, he now picked up the coffee on the tray and sipped at the hot liquid.\u00a0 It actually tasted quite good, but the swallowing action made his jaw hurt and brought a grimace to his face at the pain that was hard to avoid.<\/p>\n

“Sorry, Adam, I guess I am just not very good company at the moment,” Joe finally said.\u00a0\u00a0 “Thanks for staying, but you really don’t need to.\u00a0 I think I would rather be alone with my thoughts for a while.\u00a0 I still feel a little tired and I can feel a headache starting.”<\/p>\n

“Do you want something for the pain?” Adam asked, as he got up from the bed.<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head in a negative response.<\/p>\n

“Are you sure you want to be alone, buddy?” Adam asked before exiting the door.\u00a0 He didn’t think it was very good for Joe to be left alone with his thoughts.\u00a0 Left alone to brood on what had already been a harrowing experience for him.\u00a0\u00a0 But he respected his brother’s privacy enough to understand Joe wanting some time to think through things himself.\u00a0 Hopefully Pa wouldn’t be gone too long, anyway.\u00a0 He might be able to talk to Joe again about what happened.<\/p>\n

“I am not really sure about anything anymore, Adam,” Joe said in a disinterested voice and turned away from his brother\u00a0 to hide the tears that threatened to spill again.\u00a0 He cursed himself for his weakness, but couldn’t help the overwhelming fear that was still very real in his mind.<\/p>\n

Adam noted his brother’s words sadly, but didn’t say anything in return and closed the door to go downstairs.<\/p>\n

Hoss was just coming in from outside when Adam was descending the stairs.<\/p>\n

“He alright up there?” Hoss enquired.<\/p>\n

“No, and I really don’t blame the kid after what he has been through,” Adam said in defeat.\u00a0 “I think you and I need to sit down before Pa and Mr Harding get back and talk about what’s going to happen at this trial.”<\/p>\n

“What do you want to talk about?” Hoss said, as he watched Adam walk over towards the fireplace.\u00a0 Adam’s normally dark brown eyes clouded over with thought as he put the words together in his head before answering the question.\u00a0 Hoss sat on the settee and waited for his brother to speak.<\/p>\n

“After what happened last night, you and I need to think of an alternative strategy for security in the courtroom,” Adam now said.\u00a0 “I know Sheriff Roy Coffee and Pa will be there as well as two lawyers and a packed public gallery.\u00a0 But after this man’s obvious brazen efforts last night to Little Joe, I don’t really trust any of them to be there in case Joe needs help again.\u00a0 I don’t want to put a dampener on the whole thing.\u00a0 It is a court of law, after all, but I don’t really think that such a place would be a deterrent to somebody who wanted to get to Joe during the trial.”<\/p>\n

“What do you suggest we do?” Hoss asked, plainly not really thinking about the court room being a place for threats to take place.\u00a0 “We can’t take guns in there.\u00a0 Roy will be the only one with a gun in the whole place.”<\/p>\n

\u2018I know.\u00a0 I know,” Adam replied.\u00a0 “That’s a hurdle that is going to be hard to get over.\u00a0 But, somehow, we have to come up with something.\u00a0 Even if we just make sure that we take note of everybody coming in and out.\u00a0 We need to keep a close eye on the whole procedure.\u00a0 Joe’s safety has to be number one priority, no matter what Mr Harding and the Judge think.”<\/p>\n

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

Ben had tried to get to Virginia City as fast as he could once leaving the house, but was still in time to notice that the stage coach had already arrived and allowed the passengers to get out.<\/p>\n

He hitched his horse at the railing and went to the stage coach to ask the driver about Mr Harding.<\/p>\n

“Hi, Stan,” Ben greeted the driver who was busy unloading luggage and boxes from the top of the stage.<\/p>\n

“Hi, Ben, what brings you to town today?” the man asked in casual conversation.<\/p>\n

“Looking for one of your passengers, actually,” Ben replied. “A Mr Fred Harding,” he added, hoping that the driver had kept a list or made a mental note of the passengers names.<\/p>\n

“Yeah, I seen the man you are looking for.\u00a0 All dressed up like a prize turkey,” Stan said.\u00a0 Out here in these parts, any person dressed in a pinstriped suit with vest and coat immediately became memorable.\u00a0 Virginia City folks were not usually as flash with their attire, especially when travelling by stage coach.\u00a0 “He walked over towards the hotel, Ben.”<\/p>\n

“Thanks, Stan,” Ben said and turned away quickly, trying to catch up with his elusive guest.\u00a0 It wasn’t that he wanted to be rude to the driver, but he had more important things on his mind at the moment like the welfare of his youngest son and the trial that he was expected to give evidence about in couple of days.<\/p>\n

Ben entered the hotel through the two French doors and waited for his eyes to adjust from the sunshine outside to the darkened lobby of Virginia City’s International Hotel.<\/p>\n

There were two gentlemen standing at the front reception desk inside the hotel.\u00a0\u00a0 One was Fred Harding, the lawyer that Ben was looking for.\u00a0 The second man, unbeknown to Harding or Ben, was the defence lawyer for Griffiths, Mr Eugene Simpson.\u00a0 He was a little balding man with beady eyes and short in stature.\u00a0 Mr Simpson was unaware that the man standing beside him was to be his formable rival in the courtroom.\u00a0 He had heard of Harding’s reputation as a very good prosecutor, but had actually never laid eyes on him personally.<\/p>\n

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Ben said, as he approached both of them, “My name is Ben Cartwright and I was due to meet a Mr Fred Harding at the stage.”\u00a0 Ben had had dealings with Harding in the past but due to the distance of travel involved he had only met the lawyer on a couple of occasions.\u00a0 Those times had been quite some time ago, as well, so the recognition wasn’t so forthcoming.<\/p>\n

The taller of the two men now turned and faced Ben “I am Fred Harding,” the man replied and held out his hand towards him.<\/p>\n

“Its been a long time, Fred,” Ben said, as he tried to take in Harding’s features and jog his memory.\u00a0 “I apologize for not being able to meet\u00a0 you at the stage.”<\/p>\n

“Its quite alright, Ben, I was just arranging a room here at the hotel,” Fred now said.<\/p>\n

“I have had my hands full since sending you that telegram because we\u00a0 had some major trouble with Joe back at the house last night,” Ben said.\u00a0 It was now that he could see the shorter man at the reception desk becoming increasingly interested in what he and Fred had to say.<\/p>\n

Fred turned at the frown on Ben’s face and noticed Simpson immediately turn away as though he was not interested in the reunion of the other two men.<\/p>\n

“Let’s go back to the Ponderosa and I will explain what has happened,” Ben now suggested, hoping for more private surroundings.<\/p>\n

“I will be back later on this afternoon, clerk,” Fred now informed the man behind the desk and took possession of his room key.<\/p>\n

“There is plenty of room at the Ponderosa for you to stay, Fred, if you wish,” Ben now offered.<\/p>\n

“Thank you, Ben, but during these sort of things I like to keep a room in the town just in case.\u00a0 You never know when you might need it.\u00a0 Thank you for the invitation.\u00a0 Let’s go and meet this family of yours and talk about what is going to happen at the trial,” Harding explained.<\/p>\n

Ben went about hiring a mount for Fred from the livery stable once they left the hotel so that they could travel back to the ranch.<\/p>\n

Most of the ride home was done in silence.\u00a0 Ben’s thought were about what might be happening back at home, and Fred’s attention was focused on the landscape that they were riding through.\u00a0 He didn’t get the chance to travel away very much and never to such remote townships like Virginia City.\u00a0 He couldn’t help but think that sometimes the beauty of these small places was lost because people in the bigger towns and cities never knew about them.<\/p>\n

Hoss and Adam heard the sound of horses approaching outside and went outside to greet their father and the lawyer.\u00a0 “Can I take your horse, Sir?” Hoss asked in a respectful tone of Harding.<\/p>\n

“Thank you kindly,” Fred said, as he dismounted and handed the reins to the overly large gentleman in front of him. He had descriptions about the Cartwright boys over the years from Ben and his various communications, but those never did any real justice to the people he met in person.<\/p>\n

“Fred Harding, this is my middle son, Eric, or as we like to call him, \u2018Hoss’,” Ben stated as he went through the formal introductions.\u00a0 Hoss looked sheepishly away at his real name being used.\u00a0 He was rarely called Eric by his family.<\/p>\n

“‘Hoss’ it is, then,” Fred said in a friendly tone as he shook the large hand.<\/p>\n

Adam now walked forward.\u00a0 “Fred this is my eldest boy, Adam,” Ben now said, as Adam shook Harding’s hand in a firm but friendly manner.<\/p>\n

“Mr Harding,” Adam returned whilst looking the lawyer up and down and trying to gauge just how much assistance he was going to be able to give to his younger brother and his whole family during the difficult days ahead.<\/p>\n

“A pleasure to finally put faces to the names I have heard all these years, Ben,” Fred said, as he, Ben and Adam now walked towards the front door of the house.<\/p>\n

“A very nice looking family you have, Ben,” Fred now said in general conversation as they entered the house, and he gazed about at the sparse but\u00a0 tasteful decoration.\u00a0 It was obvious to anybody who walked into the main room of the house that this was a home occupied by men only.\u00a0 It wasn’t messy or untidy, Hop Sing saw to that on a daily basis.\u00a0\u00a0 But folk couldn’t help but notice the lack of femineity with objects such as flowers in vases and various other trinkets that could be normally seen on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.<\/p>\n

“You haven’t met my youngest son yet,” Ben now said to Harding.\u00a0 “He is the whole reason I asked you to come out here.\u00a0 He has been through some very difficult times, and we thought we had just turned a corner with his injuries healing when there was another incident last night.”<\/p>\n

“Little Joe was asleep last time I checked, Pa,” Adam now informed his father.\u00a0 Joe had been awake for most of the time Ben was away, but as the morning wore on, his strength had been eroded away by fear.\u00a0 With his fresh injuries still causing him some discomfort and his older ones still reminding him of what he had been forced to endure, it didn’t take long for the tiredness to creep back up on him again.\u00a0 He had been asleep for about half an hour when Fred Harding and his father rode into the yard.<\/p>\n

“Leave him sleep, Ben, I can meet him later and talk about what is going to happen at this trial,” Fred said, not wanting to disturb Joe for the time being.\u00a0 “While we are waiting for him to awake again, why don’t you tell me how much you know about what happened to him and about what happened last night.\u00a0 We don’t have very much time to prepare.\u00a0 The trial is only the day after tomorrow. and we need to be ready.”<\/p>\n

Ben and his two eldest boys now seated themselves in the living room along with Fred Harding.\u00a0 Hop Sing was soon at their side. serving hot cups of coffee and a various assortment of small sugar-coated biscuits.<\/p>\n

“Well, this is what happened as far as we know, Fred ……..” Ben began.\u00a0 Fred carefully listened to his friend give a detailed description about the morning Joseph had left for school and not returned.\u00a0 Ben told him about finding the horses along the road to Virginia City and even showed him the contents of the ransom note.<\/p>\n

He finished up with telling Fred about the search that had been conducted and how they had found Joe and in what condition they had found him.\u00a0 They told him about\u00a0 Roy Coffee detaining Griffiths in Virginia City when he had possession of Joe’s hand-carved saddlebags and his denial of knowing who they belonged to.<\/p>\n

“Little Joe, is it?” Harding now asked, using the nickname that he had heard the family use in loving tones during the whole conversation.<\/p>\n

“Yes, short for Joseph.\u00a0 I am afraid old habits die hard,” Ben chuckled as he thought about how long Joe had that name.\u00a0 It seemed he had received it the very first day he was born into this world and probably would still have it when he was a grey old man.<\/p>\n

“Little Joe, how is he coping with what has happened to him?\u00a0 Has he sat down and had a heart-to-heart talk with any of you about what he experienced at this abandoned shack?” Fred asked, turning the conversation back to a serious matter.<\/p>\n

“Up until yesterday we thought he was doing pretty well,” Ben began to explain.\u00a0 “He didn’t blurt out the answers to our questions, if that is what you are asking.\u00a0 But he seemed to be doing relatively well, considering all.\u00a0 It was our family doctor Paul Martin who suggested that we let him find his feet on his own a little and let him regain some of his lost independence.”<\/p>\n

“Now, tell me in detail what happened yesterday,” Fred asked, knowing that all the recent events were painful enough for the family to relive.\u00a0 He had been taking careful and accurate notes during the whole conversation in preparation for his trial.<\/p>\n

Ben then proceeded to tell Fred about leaving Joe alone for the night with Hop Sing and having to meet the defence lawyer in Virginia City.\u00a0 He was quick to point out that the defence lawyer didn’t turn up at the arranged time, either.\u00a0 Ben then continued the story and included as much of Hop Sing’s words as possible as he was the only one who had real first hand knowledge about what happened.<\/p>\n

Fred Harding had been professional enough to keep his feelings to himself during the conversations.\u00a0 He shuddered inwardly at what Ben Cartwright’s youngest had apparently endured.\u00a0 But now, on hearing the account of what had happened only the day before with Thomas returning to scare his victim once more, his bones were chilled to the core about just what the boy had been put through.\u00a0 He could scarcely imagine how anybody could cope with the multitude of emotions that would have been the result of such harrowing experiences.\u00a0 He could see that he would have to use very gently hands with Joe during the trial.<\/p>\n

“Do you think Joe might be awake now so that I can talk to him, Ben?” Harding now asked.\u00a0 Ben looked at his watch and saw that what seemed only minutes during their conversation had actually been about two hours.\u00a0 Where did all the time go, Ben wondered himself.<\/p>\n

“We can go and see, Fred,” Ben replied, and they both got off their chairs and headed towards the staircase.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss remained seated in the living room.\u00a0 There would already be too many people in the room when their father and Fred got there.\u00a0 They were sure that Ben would alert them if they were needed later.<\/p>\n

Ben went first and knocked lightly on the closed door to his youngest son’s room.\u00a0 When he didn’t receive an answer, he cautiously and quietly turned the door knob and opened the door, fully expecting that Joe was still asleep.\u00a0 He was a little confused and slightly alarmed when he could see the bed empty.<\/p>\n

He opened the door fully and walked into the room to make sure of things before he panicked for no reason.\u00a0 He gave a huge sigh of relief when he spotted Joe sitting on a chair by the window.\u00a0 The window itself was still fully closed.\u00a0\u00a0 After Thomas’s break-in, Joe was ever more aware of having doors and windows locked,\u00a0 just in case Thomas came back again.<\/p>\n

After the incident itself, Ben had gone to great lengths to ensure that there were always hands in the yard itself, ready and armed with their guns in case Thomas decided to try to get to Joe again.\u00a0 Despite all these genuine efforts of his father, Joe couldn’t help but not feel safe in his own home.\u00a0\u00a0 The curtains were drawn apart a fraction.\u00a0 Just enough to let some light into the room.<\/p>\n

Joe now turned and jumped slightly at the sound of footsteps behind him.\u00a0 He had been lost too deep within his own thoughts to hear anybody approach his room or knock on the door.<\/p>\n

Ben saw the flinch and regretted not having given sufficient warning to his son.\u00a0 Joe’s eyes were now squarely fixed on the stranger in the room.\u00a0\u00a0 Fred could not help but feel that he was adding to the young man’s anxiety.\u00a0 He could see Joe’s eyes darting around the room.\u00a0\u00a0 It took all of his willpower for Joe to finally look at Fred while trying to hide his nervousness.<\/p>\n

“Joseph, this is Mr Harding.\u00a0 He is going to be the prosecutor and your attorney for the trial in a couple of days,” Ben now informed his son.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 His gaze never left Little Joe’s face as he tried to gauge the boy’s physical and mental state.<\/p>\n

“Nice to meet you, Joseph,” Fred said, as he stepped forward and offered a handshake, “I just wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” he added.<\/p>\n

“Hello, Mr Harding,” Joe said in a quiet voice as he gave a somewhat evasive handshake. “Please call me Joe.”<\/p>\n

“Joe, Mr Harding wants to talk to you about what is going to happen at the trial. He may need to make some notes about what you can remember………” Ben left the sentence incomplete.\u00a0 He didn’t want to add words like kidnap and ransom at this stage, but they couldn’t delay the process much longer.<\/p>\n

“There’s not much to tell,” Joe said and then turned back towards the window, turning his face away from his father and the attorney.\u00a0 He didn’t want to give his true feelings away by having them written all over his face.\u00a0 “I didn’t see a real lot,” he finally added.\u00a0 He knew that Harding would need more than those few words as to what happened.<\/p>\n

Ben was about to say something to Joe about co-operating as much as possible when Fred silently held up his hand to halt him for a moment.\u00a0 Fred knew that Joe was a very scared and possibility angry young man right now, no matter how much he tried to hide it.\u00a0 He would need to take a different approach to get any information and he would have to tread incredibly carefully.<\/p>\n

Fred walked over towards the window and stood beside Joe for a minute, looking out the window.\u00a0 He didn’t say a word.\u00a0 He wanted Joe to try and make the first move.<\/p>\n

“Nice weather we are having at the moment,” Fred now commented as he gazed out the window.\u00a0 He knew that the weather outside was the furthest thing from Joe’s mind at the moment, but it was meant to get the boy to open up even just a little about the world around them.<\/p>\n

“I suppose so,” Joe replied in an uninterested voice.\u00a0 “What difference does the weather have with anything?”<\/p>\n

Fred knew from that statement that his young client was not in the mood for small talk and so he changed his tactics again. He now turned towards Joe to speak.<\/p>\n

“I am going to try and help you as much as I can at the trial, Joe,” Fred said.\u00a0 Joe now turned towards the lawyer with doubt in his eyes.\u00a0 “But I need you to help me do it,” he said in a very gentle voice.\u00a0 He placed a hand on the boy’s slim shoulders for reassurance.<\/p>\n

Joe now looked over towards his father as if to verify what Fred was saying to be true.\u00a0 He wanted to believe, he really did.\u00a0 But the demons that plagued him at night and the memories that haunted him during the day prevented him from having faith in the people that wanted to help him the most.<\/p>\n

Ben took no time at all to nod his head in acknowledgement to Fred’s statement and now walked over to his son and placed a comforting arm around his shoulders.\u00a0 “We are all here to help you, Joe.”<\/p>\n

Joe now sighed heavily and walked over towards his bed.\u00a0 He sat on the foot end of the bed and looked up at Fred and asked, “What do you want to know?”\u00a0 Deep down inside all he could hear was the sound of Thomas’s words echoing about what would happen to him if he revealed his kidnapper’s identity.<\/p>\n

Ben sat on a chair beside Joe, ready to support his son wherever he needed it.\u00a0\u00a0 Fred now sat on the other chair in the room, a little away from both Ben and Joe.\u00a0 He pulled out a notebook from his briefcase and a pen to make his notes.<\/p>\n

“How much do you remember about what happened to you, Joe?” Fred asked first.<\/p>\n

“Not much.\u00a0 They knocked me out when they took me from the road, and I didn’t wake up until I was at the shack.\u00a0\u00a0 I was hit on the head, so I don’t remember very much at all after being taken to the shack,” Joe answered. This sounded like a most plausible reason for the lack of information he was willing to give to the attorney.<\/p>\n

Fred’s mind, though, was already taking in certain words that Joe said and turning them into questions\u00a0 “You said \u2018they’.\u00a0 Do you mean more than one person took you from your family, Joe?<\/p>\n

Joe silently kicked himself a little at the man’s quick intellect “Um, well, when I was at the shack, they kept me in a little room so I couldn’t escape, but I heard more than one voice,” Joe said, as his brain tried to come up with the evasive answers.<\/p>\n

“So there was more than one,” Fred confirmed.\u00a0 “Are you able to tell us anything about their description, Joe?\u00a0 What they were wearing, what they looked like, any distinguishing marks?”<\/p>\n

Joe’s face paled slightly at the mention of \u2018distinguishing marks’ as his mind took him back to the shack when he had been face to face with Thomas.\u00a0 The scar.\u00a0 He would never forget that scar as long as he lived.<\/p>\n

Ben saw his son’s colour pale and was immediately concerned although he couldn’t figure out what had caused such a reaction in his son.\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe Joe remembered the men who took him more than they all thought.<\/p>\n

“Are you alright, Joe?” Fred asked before continuing any further.<\/p>\n

Joe couldn’t find his voice as he battled to control his fear and regain his composure, so he simply nodded his head to say that he was alright.\u00a0 It was far from true, but he nodded anyway.<\/p>\n

“Um…….. I can’t really tell you anything about them because I was blindfolded when I woke up in the shack,” Joe finally said.\u00a0 Ben handed him a glass of water from the bedside table to help him get his voice back.<\/p>\n

For the next twenty minutes, Fred tried a number of other questions to try and establish what Joe knew or didn’t know about the men who took him,\u00a0 especially about the man on trial, Danny Griffiths.\u00a0 But Joe was just as determined to be evasive about the questions as when he started.\u00a0 He didn’t want to deliberately lie to the lawyer or to his father, but he knew he couldn’t tell them anything about Thomas that would identify him.<\/p>\n

You know what will happen if you tell, Thomas’s voice kept reminding him over and over again.<\/p>\n

By the end of the time, Fred gave Ben a look that signalled he was finished with the interview for the time being. Both men knew that Joe was trying his best not to remember what happened.\u00a0 Neither of them blamed him for not wanting to relive the horror of his entrapment.\u00a0 But neither of them wanted to go into the courtroom unprepared, either.\u00a0 Griffiths’s attorney wasn’t going to be lenient towards Joe, no matter how much or an ordeal the boy had been forced to endure.<\/p>\n

By now Ben could also see that although the interview had only taken a few minutes, the strain of such an array of emotions during that time had drained Joe’s already depleted energy levels and fatigue was beginning to show on the young man’s features.<\/p>\n

“I will let you talk to Joe alone, Ben, and I will meet you downstairs,” Fred now said, as he got up and prepared to go back downstairs.\u00a0 “Thank you, Joe.\u00a0 You did very well.\u00a0 Don’t worry about a thing.\u00a0 Everything will run smoothly at the trial.”<\/p>\n

Once Fred had left the room, Joe looked at his father expecting to see disappointment on his face.\u00a0 He was surprised, though, to see his father looking at him with love and understanding.<\/p>\n

“I tried to remember, Pa.\u00a0 I really did, but there are a lot of things that just aren’t clear in my mind,” Joe lied.<\/p>\n

“I know you tried your best, Joseph.\u00a0\u00a0 But right now you need to rest again.\u00a0 The trial is only in a couple of days and it is not going to be a very pleasant experience.\u00a0 You leave the courtroom stuff to Mr Harding and me for a while.\u00a0 You just concentrate on resting and healing yourself.”<\/p>\n

“Thanks, Pa,” Joe said genuinely.\u00a0 Somehow, even when he felt rotten inside, his father had a way of making him feel a little better.<\/p>\n

Joe could also tell that his body was still very tired and demanded rest.\u00a0 Without protesting, he now moved back fully onto the bed a little awkwardly because of his injured leg, but finally he managed to lay down and rest his head on the pillow.\u00a0 He had the beginnings of a headache and the softness of the pillow seemed to soothe the throb just a little.\u00a0\u00a0 He sighed loudly again and wondered how he was going to get through all of this.<\/p>\n

He closed his eyes whilst he pondered the question, but drifted into a fitful doze before the answer came to him.<\/p>\n

Ben stood there for a moment, his own emotions in turmoil about how to help his young son.\u00a0 He wanted to wrap his arms around the boy tightly and make him understand that everything would be alright, but right now that would probably only serve to drive the boy further into himself.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He caressed the boy’s forehead gently for a few minutes until he was sure that Joe was asleep ,and he then quietly left the room.<\/p>\n

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

Fred Harding had patiently waited downstairs to talk to Ben and his boys together about the trial.\u00a0 Whilst Ben had been tending to Joe, Fred had told Adam and Hoss about the small questions they had asked Joe, the questions about what he remembered about the incident.\u00a0 Fred told Adam and Hoss that he knew Joe was being evasive in his answers and really not wanting to retell his tale to anybody.<\/p>\n

“He’s asleep.” Ben informed them as he descended the stairs to questioning looks.\u00a0 Ben now looked directly at Fred and hoped his learned friend had some answers about what they were going to do at the trial.<\/p>\n

“Try not to worry too much about Joe’s answers to my questions, Ben,” Fred now said, trying to ease the concern he saw on Ben’s face.\u00a0 “Joe went through a terrible ordeal, more than most of us probably could possibly have endured.\u00a0 It is only natural that he doesn’t want to be forced to remember things he would rather forget.\u00a0 He will be able to tell us his story in his own good time come the trial.\u00a0\u00a0 Nobody will rush him.\u00a0\u00a0 He can take his time and have his friends and family around him to support him when he does relay his story to the court.”<\/p>\n

“I hope you’re right, Fred,” Ben said with a little doubt in his mind that Joe would speak at all once in the courtroom.\u00a0\u00a0 “I just don’t want to put him through any more hurt than is absolutely necessary.\u00a0 He is in a very fragile state of mind at the moment with both attacks.\u00a0 We all need to help him regain his confidence and self-esteem.”<\/p>\n

“That’s why I was going to suggest to you, for all of you, including Joseph, to stay at the International Hotel in Virginia City tomorrow before the trial begins, Ben,” Fred now suggested, changing the topic of conversation a little.<\/p>\n

“Do you think that is necessary, Fred?” Ben now asked.\u00a0 Ben thought that being at the Ponderosa with his family would help Joe before he was forced to face the court.<\/p>\n

“Yes, I do.\u00a0 Joe is going to need to rest during the trial both mentally and physically due to his injuries.\u00a0 I noticed that his leg is still causing him a great deal of discomfort.\u00a0 I have that room at the hotel, its not going to get much other use other than from myself.\u00a0 You three could bring Joe there tomorrow afternoon.\u00a0 Give him a little chance to relax and have a decent meal and some much needed rest before the trial day.”<\/p>\n

“How do you boys feel about the idea of staying in town tomorrow night?” Ben now asked Hoss and Adam.\u00a0 Whatever the decisions were over the next couple of days, Ben was determined to make them joint decisions that involved all the family’s opinion.\u00a0 What was happening was affecting them all so it was only common sense that any arrangements made be ones that included Adam and Hoss as well.<\/p>\n

“I don’t mind at all, Pa,” Hoss said immediately.\u00a0 Adam, on the other hand, thought for a minute.\u00a0 His mind was going over the advantages and disadvantages of such a move.\u00a0 His first concern was like that of his father towards his brother Joe and how he would feel about staying somewhere else before the trial.<\/p>\n

After carefully considering all of the options available to them, he now gave his well thought out answer.\u00a0 “I don’t have any objections to the move.\u00a0 I can see where the room will be useful, just like Mr Harding says.\u00a0 But how are we going to convince Joe that it is a good idea?” he now replied with a question of his own.<\/p>\n

“Maybe you could help explain it to him, Adam,” Ben now said.\u00a0 He, of course, was quite willing to attempt telling his son about the need to move closer into town before the trial. \u00a0But sometimes the relationship between his eldest and youngest son proved more powerful than any words a father could think of.<\/p>\n

Adam had become the master of persuasion at times on the ranch, knowing where to say the right thing in situations that most people walked away from.<\/p>\n

“Gee, thanks, Pa,” Adam said good-naturedly.\u00a0 He knew his father wasn’t forcing the task upon him, but he knew that he would need all of his skills to try and convince Joe.<\/p>\n

“I will talk to him after supper,” Adam now suggested, not wanting to deprive his brother of whatever meagre rest he was taking.<\/p>\n

“I will see you in town tomorrow, then, Ben,” Fred said, giving a wink towards Adam as if to say that he knew Adam would already have won his brother by that time.<\/p>\n

Ben now followed Fred out to his horse and waited until the man was out of sight before coming back into the house.<\/p>\n

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

Little Joe had woken up later that afternoon, but continued to remain withdrawn and non-responsive at their attempts to bring him out of his sullen mood.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss had taken measures into his own hands about trying to cheer up his little brother and he had taken the checker board and pieces to Joe’s room, hoping to at least have some one on one contact with him.<\/p>\n

Hoss was a little disappointed, however, to see Joe obviously more distracted about other things than playing the game.\u00a0 Joe really hadn’t wanted to play in the first place, but didn’t have the heart to turn away from his big brother’s grinning face.\u00a0 He knew Hoss was trying to make a genuine effort to cheer him up so he told Hoss that he would play only a couple of games.<\/p>\n

Right from the outset, though, even before Hoss had set the pieces up on either side of the board, Joe’s attention seemed to be elsewhere but right in front of him.\u00a0\u00a0 Normally, Joe wouldn’t have any trouble beating his brother at such a simple game, but today, after two games, Hoss found himself having won easily on both occasions.\u00a0 He even scratched his head silently at a few of the moves Joe had made.\u00a0 The moves were such that not even a novice player would normally make them without knowing that it would result in his piece being captured by his opponent.<\/p>\n

Joe had kept his promise of a few games, no matter how badly he played.\u00a0 After four games, though,\u00a0 Hoss decided to see if he could get Joe to tell him what was bothering him so much.\u00a0\u00a0 In the past, Joe had always come to his father Ben or to Adam to confide in them, but there was also a very close relationship between the two of them.<\/p>\n

“You alright, Joe?” Hoss asked honestly.\u00a0 He didn’t have the fancy words that Adam had learned from college or the soothing ones that his Pa often uttered to Joe when he was upset about something.\u00a0 Hoss just spoke things as plain as he saw them, but hoped that Joe would still see the offer of help in the same way.\u00a0 Hoss just wanted to be there for his brother Joe when he needed it.<\/p>\n

“Sure, Hoss,” came the dull, uninterested reply from Joe.\u00a0 He was staring out the window again and didn’t even look at Hoss when he said the words.<\/p>\n

“Is there anything you want to talk about, Joe?” Hoss now asked, the words feeling like an uneasy lump in his throat as he spoke them.<\/p>\n

Joe did turn to his brother this time.\u00a0 He knew that Hoss only meant well.\u00a0\u00a0 “There is nothing to talk about,” he said firmly.<\/p>\n

“Joe, I don’t know how else to help ya, boy,” Hoss now said.\u00a0 “I don’t want to upset you but whatever is on your mind is eating up inside.\u00a0\u00a0 We all want to help you, Joe.”<\/p>\n

“I’m fine, Hoss,” Joe replied and then started to move about stiffly on the bed to change his position.\u00a0\u00a0 “I am tired,” he added and now turned on his side and closed his eyes, appearing to be wanting to sleep.<\/p>\n

Hoss sighed as he knew this was Joe’s way of saying that he didn’t want to discuss it anymore.\u00a0 He picked up the chess pieces and the board and walked out of the room.<\/p>\n

“How is he, son?” Ben asked from his desk as he saw Hoss’s slumped figure walk down the stairs.\u00a0 He could see from his large son’s expression that Hoss hadn’t managed to cheer his brother up like he had wanted to.<\/p>\n

“He’s downright upset, Pa,” Hoss answered as he placed the chess board and pieces back in their normal position on the coffee table.\u00a0 “I tried to talk to him and ask him if he wanted to talk.\u00a0 He just said that there was nothing to talk about and then lay down, saying he was tired.\u00a0 He’s not really tired, Pa.\u00a0 He’s just avoiding us all.”<\/p>\n

“I know, son.\u00a0 I know,” Ben said, as he got up and placed a firm but comforting hand on his son’s broad shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0 “Its going to be a tough road for us all.\u00a0 We just have to be there for him when he is ready to talk.”<\/p>\n

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

After supper that evening, Adam was trying to prepare what he was going to say to Joe to convince him about moving to the International Hotel in the morning.\u00a0 Although Joe had only feigned sleep initially to avoid Hoss’s questions, in the end he had fallen into a fitful doze.<\/p>\n

Ben had wandered up to his son’s room just before the family sat down to the evening meal, but upon seeing Joe asleep, he decided not to disturb the young man.\u00a0\u00a0 He told Adam that he could take a tray of supper up to the room when he went to have his little talk with Joe.<\/p>\n

Adam now sighed as he grabbed the tray that Hop Sing had prepared for Little Joe.\u00a0 The words were no clearer in his mind now than when he first tried to work them out.\u00a0 He was just going to have to talk to Joe about going to the hotel without the rehearsal.<\/p>\n

He walked up the stairs and headed towards the door.\u00a0 He knocked on the door lightly and then looked down briefly to see his father and brother looking back at him, hoping Adam would know what to say.<\/p>\n

“Its open,” came the quiet voice from inside.\u00a0 Adam now walked inside with the tray in his hands.<\/p>\n

“Hi, little brother,” he greeted Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe looked at him and gave him a wan smile but didn’t say anything.\u00a0 He looked at the tray of food that Adam had brought with him.\u00a0 Just like the checkers and Hoss, he really didn’t want to have it, but didn’t say anything to the contrary.<\/p>\n

Adam seemed to relax a little when he saw Joe pick up a fork and play with the food on his plate.\u00a0 Not much was being eaten, but at least he was trying.<\/p>\n

“So, why did Pa sent you up here?” Joe asked, knowing that Adam had been sent for one reason or another.<\/p>\n

Adam was a little taken aback that Joe suspected why he was there in the first place but quickly regained his composure and hide his shock enough so it wasn’t noticed.\u00a0 “What makes you think I was sent up here to talk to you?” he now asked, genuinely interested.<\/p>\n

“Well, let’s see, Pa and Mr Harding were up here this morning, asking a bunch of questions and wanting to know what I knew before the trial.\u00a0\u00a0 After I said I didn’t know very much, Hoss came up later in the day and tried the same ploy after a few games of checkers.\u00a0 Now you’re here after Hoss.\u00a0 I am just wondering when Hop Sing will appear at my beside with the same questions,” \u00a0Joe now said.\u00a0 He didn’t really mean the words to sound as sarcastic as they did.<\/p>\n

“You know we are all just trying to help you, Joe,” Adam now said, noting the slight resentment in his brother’s voice.<\/p>\n

“Yeah, that’s the same line I have been hearing all day, too,” Joe replied and put a spoonful of food into his mouth before he said anything else.<\/p>\n

“Well, if you put it like that, I won’t beat around the bush then,” Adam said.\u00a0 “I came up here to tell you about the arrangements that have been made for tomorrow morning,” he added and left the sentence unfinished.\u00a0 He got the desired result, though, as Joe now looked up from his plate.<\/p>\n

“What arrangements?” he asked plainly.<\/p>\n

“Mr Harding suggested that it might be better if all of us stayed tomorrow night in Virginia City.\u00a0 He just wants to make sure that you get enough rest before the trial starts.\u00a0 It is not going to be an easy experience for you.\u00a0 At least with the room, if you get tired during the day, you can go and have a lie down if it all gets too much.”<\/p>\n

“Whatever,” Joe said in the same uninterested tone of voice as before and now shifted his gaze once more to his plate of barely touched food.<\/p>\n

“You mean you don’t object?” Adam asked, a little surprised that Joe wasn’t shouting and yelling his list of reasons why not by now.<\/p>\n

“Well, it seems that everybody else is deciding what is right and what is not for me lately,” Joe replied, still not looking while he spoke to Adam.\u00a0 “I don’t say I like the idea, in fact, I really don’t want to go.\u00a0 But at the end of the day, I really don’t care.\u00a0 If you and Pa and the others want me to stay somewhere else, so be it.”<\/p>\n

Adam could still hear the slight bitterness in Joe’s voice and knew from his body language that Joe was truthful when he said he didn’t agree with the arrangement.\u00a0 From past experience, though, Adam expected his brother to be jumping up and down and shouting at the top of his lungs about his protests.<\/p>\n

The fact that he didn’t made\u00a0 Adam worry all he more about his self-confidence and the short fiery temper that just wasn’t there like it used to be.\u00a0 He didn’t press the issue though.\u00a0 Joe had said he didn’t want to go, but would if he was told to.\u00a0 He just hoped\u00a0 that Joe would be in a better frame of mind by tomorrow once they reached the hotel.<\/p>\n

“It really is to help you, Joe.\u00a0 And don’t worry about the court room because Hoss and I are going to make sure that everything is secure.\u00a0 You won’t have to worry about anything but answering Mr Harding’s questions.\u00a0 When it is all over we can all come back home and get on with our lives once again.\u00a0 Sleep well, little brother,” Adam finally said, as he got off the bed and left his brother’s room.<\/p>\n

Yeah, everything will be fine once its over Joe thought to himself after Adam had left.\u00a0 He knew that it wasn’t going to be fine like everybody said.\u00a0 None of them could hear Thomas’s threats running through their heads like he could at the moment.\u00a0 Nobody could remember his face and the scar that almost wanted to make him retch at the sight on it.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe knew that things were going to be far from fine once he reached the courtroom.\u00a0\u00a0 He put the plate of food aside, knowing that he didn’t need to keep up that little charade anymore either.<\/p>\n

“How did it go son?” Ben asked before Adam had even reached the bottom of the stairs.<\/p>\n

“Alright, I guess,” Adam said a little cautiously.\u00a0 “He said he didn’t want to go but would because everybody was making the decisions around here for him anyway,” he said, as he relayed Joe’s opinion to his father.<\/p>\n

“Well, I suppose half a battle won is better than none at all,” Ben said, the concern for his son’s attitude clearly displayed on his face and in his speech.<\/p>\n

“He really is determined to shut the whole world out, Pa.\u00a0 He trying his best to ignore the problem and thinks it will just go away if he doesn’t talk about it.\u00a0 I really don’t know how he is going to cope when he is forced onto the witness stand,” Adam now said, voicing his own observations.<\/p>\n

“We will just have to be there to support him as best we can, Adam,” Ben now said, having almost the same conversation with his oldest son as he had done with Hoss a little earlier.<\/p>\n

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

The morning came around quickly enough, and it was now time to start preparing to move to the International Hotel in Virginia City.<\/p>\n

Ben and the boys worked to make sure that the ranch hands knew what to do over the next couple of days.\u00a0 The ranch foreman, Charlie, had promised that everything would run just as smoothly with the Cartwrights in town.<\/p>\n

Each of them had gotten together a small amount of clothes to last them the duration of the trial.\u00a0 As soon as Adam had finished his own packing, he moved quietly about Joe’s room to do the same for his brother.\u00a0 Adam looked over towards the bed and noted that his brother seemed to be sleeping quite deeply at the moment.\u00a0 A couple of times, Adam had inadvertently dropped some items on the floor with a thud only to hastily look over and see that the noise hadn’t disturbed Little Joe in the slightest.<\/p>\n

Adam would not know that Joe had lain awake for many hours last night, thinking about what he was going to say when he was placed in the witness box.\u00a0 He had to think hard of answers to give that would not be lies but also wouldn’t give Thomas’s identity away.\u00a0 He had only fallen asleep shortly before the rest of his family awoke to start the day.<\/p>\n

By lunch time\u00a0 Joe was now awake and used his crutches together with the steady support of his brother Hoss to descend the stairs with his injured leg and climb into the back of the wagon that had been suitably prepared.\u00a0 Hoss had gone to great lengths to ensure that although the trip to Virginia City was a relatively short one, it was also to be as comfortable as possible for Joe.\u00a0 Hoss had lined the bottom with a spare mattress and then covered the mattress with arm loads of blankets and quilts.\u00a0 He just hoped that all the padding would be enough to absorb the bumps and knocks from the road.<\/p>\n

Ben had half expected Joe to have a change of heart this morning about going to stay at the hotel and announce that he wasn’t going anywhere.\u00a0 But Joe had not said very much at all that morning about anything.\u00a0 Every time his father looked towards him to see if he was alright, the boy seemed to be lost in his own thoughts and in day-dreaming the time away.<\/p>\n

Joe’s silence remained for the entire trip to Virginia City as well.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben sat beside him whilst Adam and Hoss sat on top of the buck board and guided the team along the dirt road.\u00a0 A few times Ben had asked Joe if he was feeling alright, but all he got in reply was a curt nod or the words “just fine”.\u00a0 He was very worried about how his son was going to cope over the next two to three days.<\/p>\n

Fred Harding had greeted the Cartwrights inside the hotel after they had pulled up outside and helped Joe down.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam and Hoss guided Joe up to the room Fred was occupying.\u00a0 Once inside, they could see two distinct areas to the room.\u00a0 There was the living area where Fred was currently working on his plan for the court room the next day, and then there was the sleeping quarters.\u00a0 All was very spacious and the Cartwrights genuinely thanked the lawyer for allowing their indulgence in such luxury.<\/p>\n

Fred had been generous enough to respect the Cartwright family’s privacy and so rented the adjoining suite next to the one he had already rented on the day of his arrival.\u00a0\u00a0 There was a doorway between the two suites, but both remained completely separate.\u00a0 Fred would spend as much time with the family as they requested, but thought that there would be times when Little Joe or the other boys would rather have each other for company and support rather than somebody who wasn’t part of the family.<\/p>\n

When they first arrived there had been a few words spoken between Fred and Ben about who was paying for the accommodation.\u00a0 Ben thought it only right that the family pay since they were using his services.\u00a0 Fred, on the other hand, was just as determined at his counterpart and insisted that he pay.\u00a0 At the end of the day, they came to an agreeable compromise and the bill was to be split completely down the middle to satisfy everyone.\u00a0 Ben smiled a little to himself at the tough battle of words he had briefly with Fred in a friendly way.\u00a0 He just hoped that Fred was just as inept with such determination and tenacity when it came to the trial the next day.<\/p>\n

Ben had ordered room service to provide lunch in the room itself.\u00a0 He had asked Joe if he wanted to eat in the restaurant downstairs, but Joe told his father that he wasn’t very hungry, anyway.\u00a0 Once the food came, Joe picked at his plate whilst everyone else ate their lunches.\u00a0 He then declared that he had a headache and was going to lie down on one of the beds for a short while.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben checked on him after finishing his meal and found Joe to be sound asleep.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss told their father that they were going to go and check out the set out of the court room for tomorrow and make sure the security was adequate.\u00a0 Fred continued to work on his case against Griffiths.<\/p>\n

Towards the latter part of the afternoon, Adam and Hoss were still out of the room and Fred was still working at the table in the living room.\u00a0 Ben had tried to follow Fred the best he could, but after about two hours the legal jargon and matters of law were a little beyond his comprehension.\u00a0 He felt he was being more of a hindrance to Fred by asking his endless stream of questions rather than trying to assist the man in preparing for court.\u00a0 He decided to take himself into the other room to check on Joe.<\/p>\n

Ben walked into the room and saw Joe was still asleep so he decided to pick up one of the books on the bedside table left by the hotel management and do some light reading until Adam and Hoss got back.\u00a0 He hadn’t read but a few pages when he looked over and saw his son beginning to awake from his slumber.<\/p>\n

Joe opened his eyes and rubbed at them tiredly for a moment.\u00a0 He looked about the room and had to get his bearings and remind himself of where he was at first.\u00a0 Once he remembered he was at the hotel he started pulling himself up into a sitting position on the bed.\u00a0 It was now that he noticed someone else in the room.\u00a0 He looked over and saw his father intently watching him from the other side of the room.<\/p>\n

“Feel a little better, son?” Ben asked once Joe seemed awake enough.<\/p>\n

“Yeah, sort of,” Joe replied and to prove it got off the bed and walked awkwardly over to the two French doors leading out onto the balcony.\u00a0 He felt like the room was closing in on him and he opened the doors to allow some fresh air to come inside.<\/p>\n

He didn’t walk out onto the balcony, but remained just inside the room looking out at the streets of Virginia City and seemingly lost in his own thoughts again.<\/p>\n

Ben’s concern for his son got the better of him again as he walked over towards his son and stood behind him.\u00a0 “Do you want to talk?” he asked, deliberately not selecting a topic for the conversation.<\/p>\n

Joe wasn’t fooled, however, as he felt his father’s hand on his slender shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew all too well what his father wanted to talk about.\u00a0\u00a0 The frustration level in him had been building up for days now.\u00a0 He had been suppressing it and suppressing it until he almost couldn’t bear to keep his feelings in anymore.\u00a0 He felt like running out onto the balcony and screaming at the top of his lungs just to release some of the anger and bitterness that was inside of him.<\/p>\n

He shrugged off the hand on his shoulder and now turned away from the window entirely and retraced his awkward steps across to the other side of the room.\u00a0 Now he turned and faced his father.<\/p>\n

“I know you’re scared, son,” Ben now said gently as he looked at the accusing look on Joe’s face.\u00a0 He could see his son struggling with his emotions and trying so hard to keep control.<\/p>\n

“Its going to work out, Joseph,” Ben started to say.\u00a0 He was unprepared for the violent reaction that he would provoke from his son.<\/p>\n

“How can you stand there and say that?” Little Joe now accused his father. The tension in the room was very thick.\u00a0 Joe looked at his father with fear and anger in his eyes and scolding words on his tongue.\u00a0\u00a0 “How can you stand there and tell me that everything is going to be alright?\u00a0 We all know darned well that it is not.”<\/p>\n

“I have got to go into that court room tomorrow and get in that witness box.\u00a0 Everybody keeps telling me that it will be fine.\u00a0 I am the one who is scared to open his bedroom window at night or leave the house I grew up in.\u00a0 So why do I feel like I am the one on trial here?” his voice was trembling slightly and his emotions were on the verge of betraying him.<\/p>\n

“Joseph,\u00a0 we are only trying to help you,” Ben said with a little sadness in his tone.\u00a0 He knew that they were handling the boy with kid-gloves and wrapping him up in cotton wool.\u00a0 The only thing that they were getting from it all was an angry young man, who felt like he was suffocating from all the attention.\u00a0 Joseph often hid his true feelings at the best of times and with something like this happening, it only made the kid build his barricades around him that bit higher.<\/p>\n

“Your brothers and I will be there to back you up all the way.\u00a0 We won’t let anybody bully you,” Ben added,\u00a0 trying to reassure his son. “I know it is going to be difficult for you, but when you go in there, all you need to do is tell the truth.<\/p>\n

“Truth!………” Joe spat.\u00a0 “The truth is that there are things that are going to come out in that courtroom that you may not want to hear, Pa,” Joe said, as he thought about his family and friends hearing about what had happened to him in the abandoned shack.<\/p>\n

Tears now welled in his eyes as Joe fought against his frustrations.\u00a0 How could he tell them how scared he was? Didn’t they know that he lay awake most nights, remembering Thomas’s face as he shot at the chair?\u00a0 Didn’t they see the palms of his hands that were sweating from his nervousness.\u00a0 His hands were clenched so tight at times that his fingernails dug into them and left marks.<\/p>\n

Every time he felt a twinge of pain from his injured leg or felt one of the fading bruises on his ribs, he was taken back to the exact moment that he received them.\u00a0 Taken back to the abandoned shack.\u00a0 He could almost feel the rope around his hands again and the chafing marks around his neck.\u00a0 The memories never seemed to go away.\u00a0 Never.<\/p>\n

“I just need to be alone right now, Pa,” Joe finally said in a quiet voice.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded his head and fought against the urges that told him his son needed him to stay with him.\u00a0 He had just been telling himself about how much they were all suffocating him.\u00a0 Without saying anything else, he made himself be strong and do as his son asked of him.<\/p>\n

When he reached the living room he could see Adam and Hoss standing just outside the door.\u00a0 The looks on their faces told him that they had heard most of the conversation between him and Joe.\u00a0 There was one question that stood out the most for all three of them.\u00a0 What were those things that Joe spoke about when he said there were things they didn’t know about?<\/p>\n

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

The next morning, there was no mention of what had transpired the night before.\u00a0 Nobody tried to drag up anything about the harsh words that Joe had said to his father.<\/p>\n

Ben and his boys all reminded themselves that they were there to support Joe, no matter what.\u00a0 In the back of their minds, though, they couldn’t help but wonder what things Joe had been talking about when he said it was better that they didn’t find out about them.<\/p>\n

Joe had eaten a small amount of food at the encouragement of his family.\u00a0 He also knew that he wouldn’t be able to last the day without some nourishment in his stomach.<\/p>\n

By 8.30 that morning, they had all made their way down to the courtroom to prepare for the beginning of the trial at 9.00am.\u00a0 Joe sat in the front row of chairs, lost in his own thoughts for a few minutes while Fred went about getting his paperwork in order and making sure he was ready to proceed.<\/p>\n

Joe looked around the room.\u00a0 This was the room that everybody was saying he could feel safe in.\u00a0 That it was a place that was respected by most people.\u00a0 Instead, the only thing he could sense from the cold, hard wooden surfaces and the plain, undecorated desks and chairs was the sense of alienation and accusations.\u00a0 The atmosphere was almost as cold and hard as they were, and the feeling of unfriendliness all around Little Joe.<\/p>\n

A few minutes before the trial was due to begin, Danny Griffiths was brought over from the jailhouse by Sheriff Roy Coffee.\u00a0\u00a0 He was still in handcuffs when placed in the dock.\u00a0 He did his best to glare at Little Joe and try and unnerve him.<\/p>\n

Joe diverted his eyes and tried to look somewhere else to stop the well of emotions that were starting to multiply within him.\u00a0 Every time his eyes were drawn back to Griffiths, the only memories he had were the ones where he had been laughing at Joe’s torment and torture.\u00a0 Joe had to bury his head in his hands to stop himself from getting to upset.\u00a0 He remembered how Griffiths had taken aim at one of the chair legs as he was helplessly suspended by the rope around his neck.<\/p>\n

Adam and Ben had noted the paleness of Joe’s face and saw him struggling with his emotions. Although they both knew that Joe wouldn’t appreciate a public display of concern, they walked over to where he was sitting and sat down on either side of him.<\/p>\n

By this time, Joe had averted his eyes from Griffiths so as not to give away the cause to his distress.\u00a0 Ben and Adam both assumed that Joe’s nervousness was his impending time in the witness box and being forced to relive events he would rather forget.\u00a0 The part about him reliving past events could not have been more correct at the moment.<\/p>\n

“Are you alright, son?” Ben asked in a gentle voice.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know if I can do this, Pa,” Joe said in all honesty.<\/p>\n

“I know you can, Joe,” Adam said, trying to reassure his brother with positive words.<\/p>\n

Joe looked at his father and brother but left the comment unanswered.\u00a0 Fred Harding had motioned for Ben and Adam to join him briefly at the bar table where he would conduct the trial.\u00a0 He was delivering some last-minute instructions to the older Cartwrights as to how things would proceed in just a few minutes.<\/p>\n

No matter how hard he tried to fight the feeling, Joe found his gaze wandering back to Griffiths in the dock.\u00a0 Griffiths knew that he couldn’t afford to make any noticeable gestures at him.\u00a0 But he wanted to give him a warning all the same.<\/p>\n

Thomas had been careful enough to ensure him that everything was taken care of and that he had taken care of things in relation to Little Joe Cartwright.\u00a0 All messages and instructions had been delivered through either Griffiths lawyer, Eugene Simpson, or through Henry Williams so as not to arouse suspicion.<\/p>\n

Griffiths had taken confidence in the threats that Thomas had made towards Joe Cartwright and about what would happen to him if he identified any of them.\u00a0 Hell, Griffiths himself had enough nous about himself to be a little afraid of Thomas.<\/p>\n

There had been something about the way the man conducted himself, especially back at the abandoned shack after they had kidnapped Cartwright.<\/p>\n

Danny now looked directly at Joe Cartwright as he sat in the front row of chairs and silently mouthed a message to him from Butch Thomas.<\/p>\n

“He will be watching.”<\/p>\n

Joe saw and could understand the lip movements that Griffiths made.\u00a0 He was also very sure of who \u2018he’ was.<\/p>\n

From the moment he had arrived, Joe had anxiously waited to identify any of the people coming into the courtroom.\u00a0 He was forced to make himself relax again as he recognized one of Virginia’s City own citizens. With the gossip running rife around town about what had happened to Little Joe the first time and the fresh events over the last few days, there wasn’t a person in the town that wasn’t at least a little bit curious about what would happen at the trial.<\/p>\n

By this time, Eugene Simpson had arrived and he had been taking instructions from his client Danny Griffiths, or had the truth been really known, giving them to Griffiths from Thomas.\u00a0\u00a0 Both knew that Thomas would make his appearance at some stage during the trial.<\/p>\n

Thomas was the type of person who had to see the results of his own handiwork.\u00a0 That was one of the main reasons he had made the second attack on Joe Cartwright at the Ponderosa.\u00a0 He revelled in his own glorification and the fact that he caused such fear in people.\u00a0 His appearance, though, would be at a time of his choosing.\u00a0 He wanted to see the knife driven in just a little further before he put his own hand on the handle and twisted it that little bit more.<\/p>\n

Fred Harding tried to reassure his witness again that everything would be alright.\u00a0 Joe never acknowledged that he heard the words.\u00a0 He was again lost in his own thoughts. The whole courtroom was then told to rise by the court Bailiff\u00a0 “All rise, his honour, Judge Collins, to preside over these proceedings”.<\/p>\n

All eyes watched the little, balding Judge that appeared from one of the back rooms.\u00a0 The judge then sat down and looked about his bench to ensure that all of his writing equipment was laid out before him.<\/p>\n

“You may all be seated,” the Bailiff now informed the packed public gallery.\u00a0 Everyone compiled with the oral instructions.<\/p>\n

“Good morning, gentlemen.\u00a0 This is the matter of the People versus one Danny Griffiths,” the Judge said, as he began his little introduction speech.<\/p>\n

“Stand up, Mr Griffiths,” the Judge now demanded of the defendant.\u00a0 Griffiths complied.<\/p>\n

“You stand before me, charged that on a date unknown you kidnapped one Joseph Francis Cartwright and caused him actual bodily harm.\u00a0 You also stand charged before me that you stole two saddlebags, the property of the said Joseph Francis Cartwright, and tried to gain a benefit, namely cash, for the said items when you were not the lawful owner thereof.”<\/p>\n

Joe inwardly gulped when the Judge had said the words \u2018bodily harm’ and involuntarily, his hands moved to his still injured leg and rubbed at the ache that was present.<\/p>\n

“Sit down, Mr Griffiths,” the Judge instructed Danny.<\/p>\n

“Counsel, will you announce your appearances for the purposes of these proceedings, please,”\u00a0 Judge Collins asked, as he continued with the formal aspects of the trial.<\/p>\n

“If it pleases the court, Your Honour, my name is Frederick Harding, and I represent the people of Virginia City in this matter,” Harding said, as he introduced himself first in accordance with court room protocol.<\/p>\n

“If it pleases you, Your Honour, my name is Eugene Simpson, and I will be representing Mr Griffiths, the defendant in these proceedings,” Simpson now said in reply, introducing himself in turn.<\/p>\n

“These proceedings may be conducted by way of trial with or without a jury.\u00a0\u00a0 The election solely rests with the prosecution Mr Harding, which method do you choose here today?”<\/p>\n

“Your Honour, the prosecution elects to have the matter heard solely before yourself and without the use of the good citizens of Virginia City in a jury.”<\/p>\n

“Very well, then.\u00a0 Begin the proceedings, Mr Harding, you have the floor.”<\/p>\n

“Your Honour, the prosecution calls its first witness, Doctor Paul Martin, to the witness stand.”<\/p>\n

Doc Martin was seated in the row behind the Cartwrights and now made his way towards the witness stand, which was positioned to the left of the Judge’s bench.<\/p>\n

The Bailiff approached the Virginia City doctor and placed a Bible in his right hand “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?”<\/p>\n

“I swear,” Doc Martin replied and then sat down on the hard wooden seat.<\/p>\n

Fred now walked around the other side of the prosecution table and stood in front of it to examine the doctor.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Doctor, do you remember the events that we are here about today?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, I remember.”<\/p>\n

“I want you to relay to the court in your own words what you have come to know about this case.\u00a0 Take your time, but please be as specific as you can and leave no detail out even if you think its not relevant.”<\/p>\n

“Well, I am not able to give you too much information about the kidnapping of Little Joe Cartwright.\u00a0 I wasn’t brought into the matter until after he was found by members of his family and brought home for medical attention.”<\/p>\n

“I’ll stop you there doctor.\u00a0 What contact had you had before he was brought home from the shack?”<\/p>\n

“Well, Ben Cartwright, his father had me take a look at him after he had been on a camping trip with his brother Hoss.\u00a0 Seems there was a slight accident with a bear cub, and Ben thought it would be better if I take a look at the injury the next day.”<\/p>\n

“So, before he was taken away from his family, Joe Cartwright seemed in relatively good health to you, doctor?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, apart from the scratch on his arm, I’d say he was in perfect health.”<\/p>\n

“Alright, continue what you know about after Joe was brought back to the Ponderosa.”<\/p>\n

“Well, when I first saw him, he was in grave condition.\u00a0 He was suffering from exposure in addition to the numerous injuries he had sustained one way or another.”<\/p>\n

“Are you able to tell the court what those injuries were?”<\/p>\n

Joe struggled hard to keep his composure during this description.\u00a0 Why did the doctor need to repeat the injuries?\u00a0 He had felt the pain every day.\u00a0 He didn’t need to be reminded about how bad he was hurt.\u00a0 The bandage on his leg at the moment was still very painful and he still needed to use the crutches to walk properly.\u00a0 Joe failed to see the sense in dragging up information that was already known.\u00a0 He turned his head away as the doctor spoke and tried to think about something else to help clear his mind.<\/p>\n

“Joe had a very badly injured ankle as the result of it becoming entangled in a trapper’s rusty trap.\u00a0 The wounds were very deep and required a lot of attention to clean them out.\u00a0 The wounds needed stitches, and it will still be another few weeks before Joe can put full weight back on his ankle.\u00a0 His ribs were very badly bruised.\u00a0\u00a0 I was surprised that none of them were cracked or broken.\u00a0 He had innumerable cuts and abrasions on other parts of his body, his feet, his hands.\u00a0 There was a slight gash to his head where he had been struck with a blunt object.\u00a0 Although I am not able to tell you what sort of object it was.”<\/p>\n

Ben and his family could hear the gasps and whispers of shock and surprise as the list of injuries were read out loud.\u00a0 Ben was barely able to contain his own emotions about hearing of his child’s torment and pain.\u00a0 He looked over to where Joe was only sitting next to him and knew that the boy was struggling to deal with it as well.<\/p>\n

Fred Harding inwardly winced at the doctor’s description, but kept up the professional image of the court room.\u00a0 “Were there any other injuries on Joseph Cartwright when you firstly examined him, Doctor?”<\/p>\n

Doc Martin thought for a moment before answering the prosecutor’s question\u00a0 “Yes, there was a very distinct rope impression around his neck.\u00a0 But there was also another injury.\u00a0 Only a slight one.\u00a0 I showed it to his father when I found it because neither of us could work out what it was caused by.”<\/p>\n

“What was it, Doctor Martin?”<\/p>\n

“A small perfectly round bruise on his right temple.\u00a0 Too small to cause any major discomfort or pain.”<\/p>\n

“And you are still unable to say what caused the bruise to Mr Cartwrights temple?”<\/p>\n

“No, I am not able to say.”<\/p>\n

“Did Mr Cartwright ever confide in you as his physician and tell you anything about the person or persons who might have done this to him?”<\/p>\n

“No, he never did.\u00a0 I was willing to be a third party for the boy if that’s what he wanted in case he felt unable to go to his family, but he never told me anything about the persons who might have been responsible for these injuries.”<\/p>\n

“When was the next contact you had with Joseph Cartwright after that night?”<\/p>\n

“Well, for a while there I had contact with him every day, several times a day because his injuries were so severe and needed constant medical attention.”<\/p>\n

“How long would you say that you attended Mr Cartwright on a daily basis?”<\/p>\n

“On a daily basis, I would say for a week.\u00a0 After that it became more scattered, every two days or so.\u00a0 That was until the latest incident a few days ago.”<\/p>\n

“Tell us what you know about that incident, Doctor.”<\/p>\n

“Well, its not much different from the first occasion.\u00a0 I came into it once the injuries had taken place.\u00a0 They weren’t so much life-threatening this time but still required some attention and would be extremely painful for the young man.”<\/p>\n

“Do you expect Mr Cartwright to have any lasting effects from these incidents, Doctor?”<\/p>\n

“In terms of physical injuries, I doubt it.\u00a0 His leg is taking a little longer than I would have liked to heal and it still bothering him to a great degree.\u00a0 But if you are talking about emotional or physiological scars, then I am not qualified to give evidence on such matters here today.\u00a0 Those types of matters require a specialist’s opinion, well out of my league.”<\/p>\n

“But surely, as the young man’s doctor, you have made an informed opinion based on the medical facts before you about how the boy is doing emotionally.”<\/p>\n

“Well, I have to say that from my past experience and knowledge of Joseph Cartwright over the years, he had definitely become more withdrawn from his family.\u00a0 He seems to still hold some fears about what happened to him…………”<\/p>\n

“Objection, Your Honour,” Simpson now said, jumping to his feet and moving in before Doc Martin could finish the sentence. “As the doctor says, he is in no professional capacity to give evidence on matters dealing with emotional or physiological injuries that may have been suffered by the complainant in these matters.”<\/p>\n

“Yes, Mr Simpson.\u00a0 Mr Harding, you will have to refrain from asking such questions of this witness and move onto your next question,” the Judge said, in ruling on the objection.\u00a0 Simpson sat down with a satisfied look on his face of a small battle being won by his side.<\/p>\n

“I withdraw the question, Your Honour,” Fred said respectfully.\u00a0 He knew that Simpson would be right there to object to anything that didn’t suit his client.<\/p>\n

“I have no further questions for this witness, Your Honour,” Fred said, as he shuffled through his papers to make sure that he had finished the examination.<\/p>\n

“Your witness, Mr Simpson,” the Judge now said to the defence lawyer.<\/p>\n

“Doctor, you stated in your evidence that there was an unusual mark on Mr Cartwright when you examined him that first night.\u00a0 Are you able to make an educated guess as to what or who might have caused such an injury.\u00a0 I realise you have already said that you do not, but I will ask you again, anyway.”<\/p>\n

“No, I am still very puzzled to this day as to what or who may have caused such a perfectly round circle to the boy’s temple.\u00a0 Even if he had fallen, the mark is not consistent with being caused by something such as a rock or a protruding stick.\u00a0 I do not know what caused the mark.”<\/p>\n

As Ben looked over at his youngest son,\u00a0 he saw a look on the boy’s face that told him the boy knew exactly what had made the mark.\u00a0 He saw that the boy’s face was a little pale but still looked fine for the moment.\u00a0 Joe kept looking at his feet.\u00a0 The doctor’s descriptions and the questions being asked by both lawyers seemed to be echoing in his head.\u00a0 He was certain that the noise level inside his head was going to cause him to have a headache by the end of this long day.<\/p>\n

“What makes you say that the mark around the boy’s neck was made by a rope?\u00a0 Couldn’t it have been made by something other than a length of rope?”<\/p>\n

“No” Paul said with affirmation in his voice.\u00a0 “There was no mistaking what caused the chafing mark on the skin around his neck.”<\/p>\n

“Why do you say that, Doctor?”<\/p>\n

“Because I could see the individual rope fibres marked into his skin.\u00a0\u00a0 The rope had been so tight around his neck at some stage that the mark took quite a number of days to fade away.\u00a0 I could see the plaiting of the fibres and the twist of those plaits that made the piece of rope.”<\/p>\n

Ben clenched his fists in to tight balls at the doctor’s words.\u00a0 He had been angry when he first seen the marks and knew them to be made by a rope.\u00a0 Now Doctor Martin was giving explicit descriptions about how tight the rope was and how it caused such painful chafing to his son’s young, tender skin.\u00a0 He could see the same look of anger in the brown eyes of Adam and the blue ones of Hoss.<\/p>\n

Joe was trying to block out the memory of how the rope felt as it was tightened.\u00a0 He could almost feel it now like it had been when Thomas had lifted him off the ground so his feet wouldn’t touch.\u00a0\u00a0 He could still feel the knot at the back of his neck that formed the knot of the noose itself.\u00a0 His throat became incredibly dry now as he remembered painfully what it felt like to not be able to breath because the rope was so tight.<\/p>\n

“What do you say caused the gash on his head that you described earlier?”<\/p>\n

“Like I said before, I don’t know.\u00a0 The pattern of the injury suggests that it was a blunt object of some kind.\u00a0 Could have been anything.\u00a0 The wound itself wasn’t too deep but might have caused Joe to lose consciousness when he received the blow.”<\/p>\n

“But you are not able to confirm here today that he lost consciousness due to that injury, are you, doctor?”<\/p>\n

“No, I am not.”<\/p>\n

“Thank you, Your Honour, I have no further questions for this witness” Simpson said, as he completed his cross-examination of the Doctor.<\/p>\n

“Thank you, Doctor, you may step down from the witness box,” the Judge now said to Paul.<\/p>\n

“Your Honour, if it pleases, the family has specifically requested that the Doctor be allowed to stay in the court room in an official capacity today.\u00a0 As you can see, Mr Cartwright still has difficulty walking without assistance and with his additional injuries, he may require the doctor to administer certain pain reliefs and give other medical attention during the course of today.”<\/p>\n

“Request allowed.\u00a0 Let it be noted that the doctor may speak out if he believes Mr Cartwright is becoming unwell during the course of his evidence or at any other time during this trial,” the Judge now said.<\/p>\n

The Cartwright family collectively sighed in relief at this request.\u00a0 At least Joe could any medical attention if he needed it.\u00a0 Paul had planned to stick around anyway, but was glad to be able to monitor Joe more openly.\u00a0 He had noticed how pale the young man had appeared when he first came into the court room today.\u00a0 He was afraid that Joe wasn’t getting the correct amount of rest to heal his injuries.<\/p>\n

“Your next witness, Mr Harding?” the Judge now asked.<\/p>\n

“Yes, Your Honour, the prosecution now calls Sheriff Roy Coffee to the stand.”<\/p>\n

Roy now made his way to the stand.\u00a0 His deputy stayed beside the defendant, Danny Griffiths, just to make sure that he didn’t try and flee the court room whilst Roy was giving his evidence.<\/p>\n

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God,” the court Bailiff asked, as the Bible was placed into Roy’s right hand.<\/p>\n

“I do,” Roy answered and now took his seat\u00a0 in the witness box.<\/p>\n

“Could you please state you full and correct name for the court and your occupation, please?” Fred asked, as he began the examination of the law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n

“My name is Roy Coffee and I am the current Sheriff of Virginia City.”<\/p>\n

“Can you please relay to the court, in your own words, the events that led up to you having to arrest the defendant?” Fred said, asking his first question.<\/p>\n

“Yes.\u00a0 I was patrolling the town like most other days and just happened to walk past the second-hand store that Mr Perkins owned.\u00a0 I could\u00a0 hear two people talking inside.\u00a0 The discussion became a little heated and that’s when that fellow over there grabbed at Mr Perkins, threatening to hurt him.\u00a0\u00a0 I told him that he was under arrest for attempted assault and battery on Mr Perkins and then forced him to my jailhouse until I had time to make some further inquiries into the matter.”<\/p>\n

During the whole time Roy was talking, Eugene Simpson could be seen to be taking some notes at a furious pace.<\/p>\n

“When was the next time you saw the defendant, Sheriff, after he was released form custody?”<\/p>\n

“The next time I saw him was when me and Adam Cartwright followed him to an abandoned shack up by Pine Valley.”<\/p>\n

Fred asked the next question, but fully expected Simpson to be on the ball and object even before the question was finished being asked.\u00a0 He decided to take a punt and see how far he got, anyway.<\/p>\n

“Did Danny Griffiths ever admit anything to you that would tie him to the kidnapping and assault of Joseph Cartwright?”<\/p>\n

“Yes.\u00a0 Yes he did.\u00a0 He started to torment Joe’s brother Adam once we was at the shack……..” Roy started to say.<\/p>\n

“I object strongly, Your Honour,” Simpson said, as he now jumped to his feet once again.\u00a0 He also gave a scowling look towards Fred Harding as if to say that the prosecution should know better about allowing the answer to such a question.<\/p>\n

“Your Honour, the witness cannot answer the question because he will be giving hearsay evidence.\u00a0 The Sheriff cannot be expected to repeat someone else’s words in court.”<\/p>\n

“Mr Simpson has a valid point, Mr Harding,” the Judge said, ruling in the defence’s favour.\u00a0 “Sheriff, you cannot give any evidence here today about what somebody else said or did that the person didn’t say direct to you.\u00a0 Such talk is called hearsay and is not permissible in a court of law.\u00a0 Now, did the conversation that the prosecution is asking about take place between you and the defendant?”<\/p>\n

“No, it was between Danny Griffiths and Adam Cartwright,” the Sheriff answered, a little frustrated that he had the necessary information to give the court about Joe’s kidnapping. Somehow, he was being gagged by legal jargon and being prevented from repeating what he had overheard.<\/p>\n

“Then I am afraid you will have to answer differently Sheriff, or you will have to rephrase your question, Mr Harding,” the Judge now said, giving the prosecution a stern look of his own.\u00a0 Fred knew that he had overstepped the boundaries, so to speak, but he was trying to get a spontaneous response from the witnesses that the defence wouldn’t be able to rebut in anyway.<\/p>\n

“Since these events, Sheriff, have you made any attempts to try and take a statement from Joseph Cartwright?”<\/p>\n

“Well, I have made some attempts before the latest incident.\u00a0 At first, the family thought that he needed some time to recover from his injuries and overcome his insecurities.\u00a0 After the second attack on him, Joe just seemed to clam up to everyone, including his family.\u00a0 I haven’t been able to get too much information out of him at all about what happened.”<\/p>\n

“Thank you, Your Honour, no further questions for this witness,” Fred said with a little frustration creeping into his voice.\u00a0 That examination had not exactly gone as smoothly as he would have liked.<\/p>\n

“Your witness, Mr Simpson,” the Judge now said.\u00a0 So far they had not heard a great deal of evidence pointing any blame towards the defendant’s involvement in this matter at all.\u00a0 They had a lot of medical evidence of the injuries and so forth, but no solid concrete evidence to tie Danny Griffiths to being responsible for any of them.<\/p>\n

Simpson now rose from his table and made his way over towards the witness box.\u00a0 He had quite a few questions to ask the lawman, some of them more invasive than others. He wanted to be right there to gauge the Sheriff’s reaction to them.\u00a0 To see him squirm, so to speak, when the spot light was focused on him.<\/p>\n

“Sheriff Coffee, before the incident at the second-hand shop, did you know my client at all?”<\/p>\n

“No, not at all.\u00a0 Until I saw him with Mr Perkins, I have never seen him before in my life.\u00a0 I had not even seen him in Virginia City at the saloons or anywhere else.”<\/p>\n

“Do you believe yourself to be a vigilant lawman, Sheriff?\u00a0 By that I mean:\u00a0 do you make it your business to keep tabs on the comings and goings of various people to the town?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, I do.\u00a0 When the stage comes into town and leaves again, I try to get as much information as possible as to the newcomers and the leavers to Virginia City.\u00a0 Sometimes I don’t even have to ask.\u00a0 Most of the people in this town know my routine and often give me the information before I have to ask for it.”<\/p>\n

“So on the morning that you arrested my client, what made you single him out in particular about being a stranger in Virginia City?”<\/p>\n

“Well, to be perfectly honest, nothing at first.\u00a0 I didn’t even notice him until I was walking past Mr Perkins’s store on my daily walk.\u00a0 I happened to hear voices inside and just thought I’d say howdy to whoever was inside.”<\/p>\n

“You mean you decided to play nosy.”<\/p>\n

“Nosy no; alert to the goings-on in my town, yes-” Roy answered- getting a little annoyed at the implied accusations that seemed to be being hurled in his direction by the defence lawyer.<\/p>\n

“What did you see or hear when you walked into the second-hand store?”<\/p>\n

“I heard your client over there talking to Mr Perkins about purchasing some saddlebags that he had in his possession.”<\/p>\n

“Sounds like a harmless enough business transaction taking place, Sheriff.\u00a0 Why did you decided to intervene?”<\/p>\n

“I only intervened when the conversation turned a little nasty.\u00a0 Mr Perkins started asking questions about the ownership of the saddlebags.\u00a0 Griffiths over there got a little bit hot under the collar about the whole thing and started to raise his voice at Perkins.\u00a0 I introduced myself and told Griffiths to calm down a little bit.”<\/p>\n

“That is when your client seemed to get even more agitated.\u00a0 He demanded Perkins buy the saddlebags no matter who owned them and grabbed the front of the store-keeper’s shirt and threatened to assault him.\u00a0 That’s when I took a hold of your client and told him that he was under arrest for the attempted assault and battery of Mr Perkins.”<\/p>\n

“Sounds like you have worked out an airtight alibi for your actions, doesn’t it, Sheriff?”<\/p>\n

“I don’t know what you mean” Roy now asked but his facial expression gave him away, just a little.<\/p>\n

“Oh, come now, Sheriff.\u00a0 You didn’t arrest my client because he tried to threaten the store-keeper, did you? And please remember that you are under oath.”<\/p>\n

Roy looked nervous all of a sudden, but decided that he didn’t see any point in not telling the court the whole story.\u00a0 Joe was now home safely so it should be alright to reveal the real reason behind why he had arrested Griffiths.<\/p>\n

“The attack on Mr Perkins wasn’t the sole reason for arresting Danny Griffiths,” Roy answered.\u00a0 He could hear a few mumbled comments from the rear of the courtroom at this admission.<\/p>\n

Simpson grinned like a Cheshire cat with this little piece of information.\u00a0 He decided to probe into the real reason even more while the coals where still hot, so to speak.<\/p>\n

“What was the other reason, Sheriff?”<\/p>\n

“The other reason I arrested Danny Griffiths was that when I got a look at the saddlebags he was trying to sell, I recognized who those saddlebags belonged to.”<\/p>\n

“Who did they belong to, Sheriff?”<\/p>\n

“Little Joe Cartwright”.<\/p>\n

“Even so, why did you assume that my client had anything to do with Mr Cartwrights abduction and disappearance?”<\/p>\n

“Well at that stage, Joe Cartwright was still missing.\u00a0 The family had had threats of harming the boy if they involved the law.\u00a0 We still didn’t have any leads as to who took him or where they were keeping him.\u00a0 They had received a ransom note by that stage, but no clues as to where the boy was being kept against his will.\u00a0 We needed some answers in order to try and find him before he got hurt.”<\/p>\n

“How did you know that those particular saddlebags belonged to the missing boy, Sheriff?”<\/p>\n

“Well, the thing that made me look the hardest when I first found them was the fact that there were initials carved into the leather on each of them.\u00a0 Also, I had seen Ben Cartwright give him saddlebags that looked just like those ones.\u00a0 The initials were J.F.C. so I acted on a hunch that Mr Griffiths there might know more about the boy’s whereabouts.”<\/p>\n

“The initials, you say, were J.F.C., Sheriff?\u00a0 But those initials could have belonged to quite a few people, couldn’t they?” “There could be other people out there with those very same initials?”<\/p>\n

“I suppose so,” Roy said truthfully\u00a0 “But I don’t remember anybody else in town with those initials lately.\u00a0 They just looked so distinctive to me at the time.”<\/p>\n

“So you agree with me when I suggest that although you thought the saddlebags belonged to Joe Cartwright, it is possible that they belonged to someone totally different altogether?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, I would have to agree, reluctantly.\u00a0 But I suppose the possibility is there.”<\/p>\n

“And isn’t it also possible then, that because somebody else could have owned the saddlebags that day, that it was also the case that Mr Griffiths came into possession of those very saddlebags by legitimate means.\u00a0 That is, he was the rightful owner of them and had every right to try and sell them to Mr Perkins in the second-hand store if he so wanted to?”<\/p>\n

“I guess that is also possible, but I doubt it.”<\/p>\n

“I am not after your personal opinion, Sheriff, just a yes or no would suffice!”<\/p>\n

“Yes,” Roy answered sternly but made sure that the lawyer saw the look of displeasure on his face.<\/p>\n

“What were your intentions with my client after you wrongfully arrested him and took him back to your jailhouse?” the lawyer now asked, knowing that the Sheriff was getting a little annoyed at the cynicism in his line of questioning.<\/p>\n

“My intentions were solely to see if Griffiths did know anything about Joe’s disappearance.\u00a0 I wanted to be sure that he might know where the boy was being held.\u00a0 If Joe had had the saddlebags with him when he was taken, I logically assumed that Griffiths might have been involved with his abduction.\u00a0 Where would he get the saddlebags otherwise?”<\/p>\n

“You seemed to have made a lot of haphazard guesses and hunches during this whole investigation, haven’t you, Sheriff?” Simpson asked, laying it on thickly.<\/p>\n

“No, I just looked at the clues and information I had before me and made short concise decisions as to how to approach finding Joe Cartwright alive and unharmed for his family.\u00a0 At no time did I do anything that was illegal or underhanded.\u00a0 Your client was arrested lawfully for the attempted assault on Mr Perkins.\u00a0 Mr Perkins chose not to press charges and Danny Griffiths was released almost as soon as that happened.”<\/p>\n

“Were you with Griffiths the whole time he was in the jailhouse, Sheriff, up until the time he was released?”<\/p>\n

“No.\u00a0 After I had attended to the paperwork for the jailhouse, I left my deputy in charge of the prisoner and continued my daily routine.”<\/p>\n

“And where did you go after that, Sheriff?” Simpson asked, already guessing at the destination in mind at the time.<\/p>\n

“I rode out to the Ponderosa ranch,” Roy answered truthfully.<\/p>\n

“Why did you ride out there?” the lawyer started to ask.\u00a0 “No, wait, let me put it to you this way:\u00a0 Your intentions for going out to the Cartwrights’ ranch was to tell them that you had somebody in custody you suspected of having something to do with their missing family member, is that right, Sheriff?”<\/p>\n

“Yes.\u00a0 I went out there to tell Ben that I had arrested somebody that I had found with Joe’s saddlebags.\u00a0 I told him that once Griffiths was released from the jailhouse, I intended to follow him to see if he could lead me to Little Joe.”<\/p>\n

“What was Ben Cartwrights response to this plan?”<\/p>\n

“To tell you the truth, at first both Ben and Hoss Cartwright were about to tear me limb from limb when I suggested letting Griffiths go.\u00a0 They wanted to go over there and beat the stuffing out of him to get him to tell them where Little Joe was.\u00a0 I told them that I thought he wouldn’t tell them anyway, so I suggested that we follow him without him knowing.”<\/p>\n

“So you decided to play a little game of deception, isn’t that right, Sheriff?”<\/p>\n

“If that’s what you want to call it.\u00a0 I just wanted to see Joe Cartwright returned to his family, safe and well.”<\/p>\n

“What did you do after you let him go from the jailhouse, Sheriff?”<\/p>\n

“I waited for the search party to arrive, and then we give Griffiths a few hours head start before we started following his trail.”<\/p>\n

“Who was in that search party, Sheriff Coffee?”<\/p>\n

“Ben Cartwright, of course, and his two sons Adam and Hoss, plus me.”<\/p>\n

“How long do you estimate that you and the search party followed Griffiths up towards Pine Valley?”<\/p>\n

“I guess we followed for a couple of hours, but then Adam Cartwright and I split up from Ben and Hoss.\u00a0 They took a different trail while we continued on after Griffiths.”<\/p>\n

“Why did the four of you split into pairs?”<\/p>\n

“Because the tracks showed signs of Griffiths slowing down some and we thought that maybe he was getting wise to the idea that he was being followed.\u00a0 We wanted to cut off his escape route in case he tried to make a run for it.\u00a0 So, Ben and Hoss took a rougher trail that would make sure Griffiths couldn’t double back to town on us without us knowing.\u00a0 As it was, Adam Cartwright and I waited another spell to give Griffiths a little more distance in front of us.”<\/p>\n

“I won’t be much longer, Sheriff.\u00a0 One more question, though,” said\u00a0 Simpson, now indicating that he was almost finished the cross-examination.<\/p>\n

“When you got to this abandoned shack that has been spoken of here today, was there ever any indication that Joseph Cartwright had been there at any time?\u00a0 Were there any signs that if he was there that it had been against his will?”<\/p>\n

“No, there wasn’t anything at all to indicate that Little Joe had been there recently.\u00a0 There were two rooms to the shack.\u00a0 It was a place that was probably used by trappers a long time ago during the trapping season.\u00a0 There was a living room with a dirt floor and then a small, pokey little room off to one side.”<\/p>\n

“Just outside the shack there was evidence to suggest that a fire had been there in the past few days.\u00a0 Maybe used for cooking food or heating coffee or such.\u00a0\u00a0 In the small room there were some pieces of timber that had been broken off the bottom of the far wall.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the main living room there was only a couple of chairs, and even one of those had broken legs.”<\/p>\n

Simpson read back over his notes one more time to make sure that he hadn’t forgotten anything.<\/p>\n

“Thank you, Your Honour, I have no further questions for this witness.”<\/p>\n

“Sheriff Coffee, you are free to resume your normal duties of guarding the prisoner,” Judge Collins now said, as he dismissed Roy from the witness stand.<\/p>\n

“Your Honour, if I may have a few minutes before calling my next witness,” Fred Harding now said to the Judge.<\/p>\n

The Judge nodded his head in acknowledgement and said that the prosecutor could have as long as was necessary.<\/p>\n

Fred now walked over towards his next witness, who was still sitting between his father Ben and brother Adam.\u00a0\u00a0 It wasn’t until the prosecutor was standing right in front of him that Joe even looked up to the man.\u00a0 Fred frowned a little as he saw the nervous and apprehension etched in Joe’s facial features.\u00a0 He looked a little pale but not overly so.\u00a0 He motioned for Doc Martin to approach them for a minute.<\/p>\n

“How does he look to you, Doc?”<\/p>\n

Doc Martin bent down in front of Little Joe and tried to be as gentle as he could but still show a little air of professionalism whilst being in the courtroom.\u00a0 “How are you feeling Joe?” he asked simply.<\/p>\n

Joe looked at the doctor but took a few seconds to answer the question. “I don’t know if I can do this,” he whispered and then let his gaze fall back towards the floor boards once more.\u00a0 Ben didn’t hesitate to put a reassuring arm around his slim shoulders, despite the fact that they were in public and in a court of law.\u00a0 All Ben knew was that Joe needed his reassurance and guidance during this difficult time and he was only too happy to provide it no matter where they were.<\/p>\n

Fred now turned back towards the Judge.\u00a0 “Your Honour, looking at the time it is now getting on towards the luncheon break.\u00a0 I wonder if I might indulge the court’s lenience and be granted an adjournment to enable my next witness to prepare his case.\u00a0 Mr Joseph Cartwright is the only witness left here today, but his testimony is going to take some time, I would think.\u00a0 Rather than have him start giving his evidence and interrupt him halfway through…………”\u00a0 He left the sentence unfinished, hoping the Judge got the general idea of his request.<\/p>\n

Judge Collins was alert, however, and had seen the family doctor called over to take a look at the pale figure sitting in the front row. \u00a0The young man really did look as though he needed some fresh air before giving his evidence.\u00a0 The Judge made a mental note to make the experience as easy as possible on the young man, especially seeing as how he was still in pain from the injuries he had received.<\/p>\n

“I think that’s an excellent idea, Mr Harding,” Judge Collins now answered aloud for everybody to hear.\u00a0 “This court will reconvene at 2.00 pm.\u00a0 Court is now adjourned,” he said and struck his gavel on the desk to emphasis his decision.<\/p>\n

Joe couldn’t help but sigh in relief at the Judge’s words.\u00a0 He now slumped back against the chair and allowed his body to relax a little. His leg had begun aching somewhat badly halfway through Doc Martin’s testimony, but he didn’t want to cause his family any unnecessary worry.\u00a0 Hopefully by the time they returned after lunch, the leg wouldn’t be aching so much.\u00a0 And maybe by then the voices in his head would stop talking to him.<\/p>\n

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

Ben waited together with Doc Martin, Fred Harding and his family for everyone else to leave the courtroom before they worried about going anywhere.<\/p>\n

There were a few brief discussions as to where to eat.\u00a0 The final decision rested on the International Hotel where they were staying.\u00a0 They all wanted to avoid a few of the other establishments in Virginia City in case they ran into the Judge proceeding over the trial.\u00a0 It wasn’t against any law or anything, but it was considered protocol not to be seen together whilst such events were taking place.\u00a0 After the trial was over, it wouldn’t matter if they were seen in public together too much.<\/p>\n

“Ready to go and get something to eat, son?” Ben now asked Joe.\u00a0 Joe had sat through all of the discussions about lunch without saying a word.\u00a0 He had also remained silent as the others discussed the morning’s events and what was to come in the after when they returned.<\/p>\n

“Yeah,” Joe said in an uninterested tone.\u00a0 He even let his father help him fumble with his crutches and everybody in the room knew this was a particularly worry sign in the young man’s demeanour.\u00a0 Joe looked as if he was willing to go along with anything someone else said just so he didn’t have to make a decision on his own.\u00a0 If he didn’t say anything or challenge the decisions being made for him, then he didn’t have to face the battles within him.<\/p>\n

They just hoped that some food would help perk up Joe’s mood before he was required to give evidence later on.\u00a0 If he was in a similar frame of mind and was prepared to agree with everything that the defence lawyer suggested to him, their case wasn’t looking very promising.<\/p>\n

Joe gnashed his teeth together as he felt a shooting pain up his leg when his foot touched the wooden floor.\u00a0 He had stumbled slightly and felt three or four hands suddenly rush out to prevent him from falling.\u00a0 He gave a wan smile in return for their concern but inside he just wanted to crawl into a hole where nobody could find him and he could be left alone in his pity.<\/p>\n

Once Joe and his family reached the hotel, he did make it his business to choose the table at which they were to have lunch.\u00a0 He made sure that the table was positioned away in one of the back corners of the room.\u00a0 He sat in the corner of this table with his back to the wall.\u00a0\u00a0 There was a window he could see out of if he turned his head to the side.<\/p>\n

Nobody else said anything about the choice of table, but Ben made sure that he himself and his other two sons sat either side of Joe.\u00a0 They knew that Joe was feeling very vulnerable and afraid at the moment.\u00a0 Ben was determined to make sure that Joe knew he could count on the support of his family.<\/p>\n

It didn’t seem to matter how much he tried to emphasis that, at the moment, the more they moved in closer to protect him, the more he pulled away and put up the defence walls to drive between them.\u00a0 He wanted to shut the whole world out and ignore the pain and memories, hoping they would go away.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin now passed menus out around the table and they started to look at the various meals available.\u00a0 They would have to choose relatively simple meals due to the time restraints they were being held to.<\/p>\n

Ben pretended to keep reading his own, but he also stole glances towards his youngest son, trying to gauge what he was going to choose from the menu.\u00a0 Whatever it was to be, he hoped that it would be enough to give the boy some much needed nourishment to make it through the rest of the afternoon.\u00a0 If the morning was anything to go by, he knew that Joe was going to need a substantial amount of energy and courage to endure those proceedings.\u00a0 Probably even more than just food would provide.<\/p>\n

“I’ll think I will have me a nice big juicy steak, Pa,” Hoss said, trying to interject a little lightheartedness into the room. The atmosphere was very tense at the moment.<\/p>\n

“Just one, Hoss?” Adam said in mock surprise.\u00a0 “You mean you don’t want the rest of the cow?”<\/p>\n

“Naw, Adam, I am just a little bit peckish.\u00a0 All that legal talk in there has plum taken my appetite away.\u00a0 Maybe you and\u00a0 the cook there could put the rest in a paper bag for me to take home, though,” Hoss replied jokingly.\u00a0 Everyone at the table was suddenly laughing at the remarks between the two brothers.<\/p>\n

Ben felt a little relief as he looked over and could see the beginnings of a grin tugging at the corners of Joe’s mouth.\u00a0 He wasn’t exactly laughing, he was almost looking like he was trying to hold it in or hide the laughter altogether.\u00a0 But it was a start, Ben reminded himself.\u00a0 Probably the first real grin they had seen in the last few days, anyway.<\/p>\n

“I think I will just have a ham sandwich with tomato, Pa,” Joe now said before he was formally asked.<\/p>\n

“Are you sure that’s all you want, son?” Ben enquired.<\/p>\n

“Yes, Pa.\u00a0 My stomach is already twisting and churning inside too much without being too full.\u00a0 I guess I am just too nervous about the trial to eat, that’s all,” Joe admitted.<\/p>\n

“You’ll do fine this afternoon, Joe,” Fred said intervening into the conversation.<\/p>\n

The speech was interrupted by the waitress coming to the table and asking for everyone’s order.\u00a0 Ben promptly ordered for Joseph first and then for himself and then they proceeded around the table in a clockwise direction.<\/p>\n

Once the waitress had taken the orders, everyone around the table except for Joe started to include themselves in idle chatter whilst they waited for their lunch orders to arrive.<\/p>\n

Joe’s gaze wandered towards the window and what was going on outside as he became lost in his own thoughts about the day.\u00a0\u00a0 He hadn’t even been taking any notice of the people and the goings outside.\u00a0 His mind was telling him that he was looking towards the main street of Virginia City.\u00a0 He could see people walking by the hotel and on the opposite side of the street.\u00a0 His attention wasn’t enough to recognize the faces as they walked by.<\/p>\n

Briefly, Joe took his gaze away from the street outside to survey the table he was sitting out.\u00a0 He looked back, but could see his father talking with Fred Harding and Doc Martin.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss seemed to be talking amongst themselves.\u00a0 He again looked back out the window, but this time things seemed a little altered.<\/p>\n

Months later, when he was asked about it , Joe told people that it was like watching a scene in slow motion.\u00a0 He could see things happening on the street, people walking by, horses being ridden down the street.\u00a0 But the more he looked the stranger the scene became.\u00a0 Then, all at once, there was nobody walking down the street nor riding horses.\u00a0 It was as if the street had suddenly been abandoned.<\/p>\n

Joe looked across to the other side of the road and found his brain warning him of eminent danger.\u00a0 His eyes scanned the area and saw a large dark figure standing by the lamp pole outside the barber shop.<\/p>\n

Joe could scarcely hold back the scream caught in his throat when he finally did recognize the face staring back at him.\u00a0 The face was staring back at him.\u00a0 It was as if the eyes were burning into his very soul.\u00a0 It was Butch Thomas looking back at him.\u00a0 Somehow Joe knew that Thomas had seen him looking out the window.<\/p>\n

Joe quickly turned his face away from the window and looked back at the others seated at the table.\u00a0 His face had now lost all its pallor and he was trembling slightly with the fear that was coursing through his body.\u00a0 He couldn’t help it.\u00a0 The more he thought about Butch Thomas, the more afraid he became.<\/p>\n

Ben had been talking idly with Fred when he saw his son’s face.\u00a0 Joe was deathly pale all of a sudden and looked as though he might faint on the spot.\u00a0 Ben reached for Joe’s hand with one of his own and felt the small tremors that were present.<\/p>\n

“Joseph, are you alright?” Ben asked and moved his chair out slightly so he could move closer to Joe.\u00a0 He didn’t like the way the boy was looking one bit.\u00a0 He was sweating profusely and seemed to be very scared all of a sudden.\u00a0\u00a0 His eyes were full of fright and kept darting back between the people at the table and the window beside them.<\/p>\n

Ben took a brief second to look out the window, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary that might have Joe to react so badly.\u00a0 Joe tried to answer his father, but the fear that was multiplying by the minute prevented the words from coming.<\/p>\n

Hoss also saw the naked fear on his brother’s face and got off his chair to kneel in front of his distressed brother.\u00a0 All of a sudden, Joe could feel the eyes of everybody at the table on him and probably a few from other nearby tables.\u00a0 All the scrutiny only seemed to escalate the problem.<\/p>\n

“Tell Hoss what’s got you so scared, boy,” Hoss said, as he spoke to his brother in a soft and caring voice.\u00a0 “You got us all plum worried about you, Joe.”<\/p>\n

“Do you need to go outside and get some fresh air Joe?” Fred Harding now asked, unaware of what Joe had seen but a few minutes ago.<\/p>\n

“NO!” Joe shouted back hurriedly without even realising he might have been giving away the real reason for his fear.\u00a0 He couldn’t let them know about Thomas being outside, no matter how scared he was.\u00a0 He knew that Thomas was there to ensure that he kept his word about not revealing his identity or involvement in his abduction.<\/p>\n

“Calm down, Joe,” Adam said, now voicing his own concern for his brother’s sudden display of emotion. “You don’t have to go outside if you don’t want to.\u00a0 We just want to make sure you are alright.”<\/p>\n

“I’m sorry, Pa.\u00a0 I was just thinking too hard that’s all about what happened.\u00a0 I think I must have been dreaming again about what happened,” Joe said, thinking that his excuse would at least pass for partly true.<\/p>\n

“I am sorry I interrupted your conversation,” Joe now said in remorse.\u00a0 “I will be fine now.”<\/p>\n

Ben gave his son a good looking over with his eyes and doubted this to be true, but didn’t voice his concerns for fear of distressing Joe further. \u00a0“As long as you say so,” he commented.<\/p>\n

Before anybody else could speak, there was a clunking of china plates on the table as the waitress delivered the luncheon meals.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe took one look at the ham sandwich placed before him and knew that his stomach wouldn’t be in the mood for food.<\/p>\n

“Can I have a drink of water, please, Pa?” Joe asked, trying to divert his father’s attention away from him and to draw attention away from the fact that he didn’t feel like eating.\u00a0 His throat felt so dry from his fear that it wasn’t funny.\u00a0 He was grateful for the cool refreshing liquid as it touched the sides of his throat on the way down.\u00a0 It was both soothing and thirst-quenching at the same time.<\/p>\n

The discussion at the table soon dissipated as everyone tucked into the food before them.\u00a0 On two occasions, when he felt the stares from his father and brothers, Joe picked up one of the sandwiches and nibbled at one of the corners to show them that he was at least trying to eat his lunch.<\/p>\n

“Gentlemen, I think it is almost time to start heading back to the courtroom,” Fred Harding announced as he looked at his pocket watch and noted it to be ten minutes to two o’clock.<\/p>\n

Ben and Doc Martin sighed in defeat as they looked down at Joe’s plate and saw his meal almost untouched.<\/p>\n

Joe tried to hide his apprehension about leaving the safety and security of the International Hotel.\u00a0 On the way back to the courtroom, his eyes darted back and forth along the street of Virginia City looking for signs of Thomas lurking in the shadows.\u00a0 He was scaring himself silly, but couldn’t help but feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise as though Thomas was standing right in front of him.<\/p>\n

He inwardly sighed in relief when he reached the courtroom without seeing Thomas again.\u00a0 His sense of alert was at its highest and his reactions were based mainly on pure adrenaline as they had been when he was escaping from the shack.<\/p>\n

Before too long the court Bailiff came back into the courtroom and announced the recommencement of the proceedings, and Judge Collins took his usual place at the bench.<\/p>\n

“Will you please call your next witness, Mr Harding” the Judge now instructed the prosecutor.<\/p>\n

“Your Honour, if it pleases the court, I call Joseph Francis Cartwright to the stand.”<\/p>\n

Joe got slowly up from his seat and walked stiffly, but as calmly as possible to the witness stand. Inside, his stomach was all tied in knots, and he could barely keep his composure. His crutches seemed to be loud as he made his way over, but it was probably more to the fact that nobody else in the courtroom spoke a word.\u00a0 They all had their eyes firmly fixated on the young, pale-looking young man heading towards the front of the court room.\u00a0 Joe really hoped this was over real soon.<\/p>\n

Joe remained standing for a moment while the court Bailiff addressed him. “Do you swear to tell the whole truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?”<\/p>\n

\u2018Truth’.\u00a0 That was the word that kept echoing in Joe’s mind over and over again.\u00a0 Like he had told his father only a day earlier, he didn’t know what the truth was anymore and had even less of an inclination to face it.<\/p>\n

“I do,” he said in a soft voice and sat down on the hard wooden seat.\u00a0 It took quite a few attempts to manage to manoeuvre his body and the crutches in such a small, confined space.\u00a0 Finally he placed his crutches on the other side of the witness box.\u00a0 They were a little further away than he would have liked, but at least this way he could stretch his aching leg out just a little to ease the constant throbbing that existed.<\/p>\n

Judge Collins could see the nervousness and apprehension in this next young witness.\u00a0 He put his hand up towards Fred Harding so that he could have a private chat with Joe before the questions began.<\/p>\n

“Joe, if you think you need a break at any time or are hurting too much from your injuries, just let me know and I will have a recess until you are able to go on.”<\/p>\n

Joe nodded his head, grateful for the Judge’s compassion, but he really didn’t want to delay this any longer.\u00a0 He just wanted to answer the questions thrown at him and then go home and forget any of this ever happened.<\/p>\n

The Judge now looked back towards the lawyers and the public gallery and gave a slight nod of his head, indicating that the prosecution could proceed.<\/p>\n

At the back of the courtroom, there was a set of windows.\u00a0 They were very dusty, both inside and outside, so nobody really took any notice of them.\u00a0 When Joe had walked towards the witness box, he was unable to see the shadowy figure of Butch Thomas walk down the alley way and peer through one corner of one of the windows.<\/p>\n

Although Thomas couldn’t hear what Joe was about to say very well, he could tell what was happening by the boy’s body language and gestures.\u00a0 He made sure that his presence remained undetected by anyone in the courtroom.<\/p>\n

“Joe, I will get to the main part of your evidence in a moment, but firstly, due to the questions that were asked just before the luncheon break, I will start with what you remember about those saddlebags,” Fred Harding said, as he began his examination of Little Joe.<\/p>\n

“When was the last time…….. no, wait a moment.\u00a0 Do you own a set of saddlebags?”<\/p>\n

“Yes,” Joe answered.<\/p>\n

“Is there any distinguishing characteristics on those saddlebags?”<\/p>\n

“My Pa gave them to me for my fifteenth birthday. They have my initials carved into one corner of them.”<\/p>\n

“And what are those initials, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“J.F.C.”<\/p>\n

“Now that we have established that you have had possession of a set of saddlebags, resembling the ones that the Sheriff confiscated from Mr Griffiths when he was arrested.\u00a0\u00a0 Do you use those saddlebags all the time?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, whenever I saddle my horse Cochise, they are always there.”<\/p>\n

“And up until today, Joe, when was the last time you saw those saddlebags?”<\/p>\n

Joe looked cautiously at his father before answering the question.\u00a0 His father gave him a reassuring smile and the look of encouragement to help him go on.\u00a0 “The last time I saw those saddlebags was on my way to school that day.”<\/p>\n

“And what day are you talking about, Joe?” Fred asked, knowing that Joe was trying to avoid saying it all at once.<\/p>\n

“The day that I was taken away from my family,” Joe said in a small voice.\u00a0 His gaze immediately went to the floor in front of him, and he tried to slow down his breathing and regain his composure.<\/p>\n

“Did you see what happened to those saddlebags when you were abducted, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“No.”<\/p>\n

“Have you seen those saddlebags since being returned to your family?”<\/p>\n

“No.”<\/p>\n

“Joe, we can come back to more of those questions later.\u00a0 Now, let’s start with what you remember about that day, before you left for school.”<\/p>\n

“You mean when I was still at home?” Joe asked, not really being sure about why the prosecutor would be asking about things that happened before he was taken.<\/p>\n

“Yes, Joe.\u00a0 Lead us into what happened.\u00a0 Take your time and stop when you need to but try to be as specific as you can and leave nothing out.”<\/p>\n

“Well…………..” Joe said and paused, looking at Fred with a confused look.\u00a0 He looked towards his brothers and father for their help.<\/p>\n

Fred Harding could see that Joe was already reluctant to give his story willingly on his own.<\/p>\n

“I know this is difficult for you, Joe.\u00a0 So, I will help you as much as I can,\u00a0 with Your Honour’s permission, of course” Fred added, looking towards Judge Collins for his approval.\u00a0 The Judge just nodded his head in agreement.<\/p>\n

“What time did you wake up that morning, do you remember?”<\/p>\n

“About normal time.\u00a0 I can’t be sure, probably about 6.00,am.\u00a0 We kinda get up early at our house.\u00a0 Pa makes sure that all of our morning chores are done before breakfast time,” Joe said innocently. Both Adam and Ben had to hide their smirks to this answer.\u00a0 At least the boy was being honest about his home life.<\/p>\n

“Did you eat any breakfast that morning?”<\/p>\n

“Hop Sing made scrambled eggs, I think, but I was already running late for school and so I only had a few mouthfuls.”<\/p>\n

“So, then you left the house, and what happened next?”<\/p>\n

“I went to the barn to saddle my horse Cochise.\u00a0 Adam came after me and handed me my books that I had forgotten.”<\/p>\n

“So you rode alone to school that day, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Yeah, Pa has been letting me ride to school on my own since I was about thirteen or so.”<\/p>\n

“You started to ride to school, and then what happened?”<\/p>\n

“Well, about halfway there I came to a bend in the road.\u00a0 Somebody was lying in the middle of the road. I got off my horse and started to walk towards him.”<\/p>\n

“Could you see this person’s face from your horse, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“No, he was lying down and turned over as if he was hurt, so I couldn’t see anything but the back of his shirt.”<\/p>\n

Ben and Adam both found it very difficult to hear the explicit details about how these men had lured a very innocent and na\u00efve teenager in the path of danger.\u00a0 Joe was always the one to stop and ask if somebody needed help; it was just in his nature.<\/p>\n

“What happened after you walked towards him?”<\/p>\n

“I put my hand on his shoulder, ready to turn him over to see if he was alright,” Joe’s voice was getting softer with every question and answer.<\/p>\n

“Did you say anything to him, Joe? I am sorry, but you will have to try and keep your voice up a little for everyone to hear.”<\/p>\n

“No.\u00a0 He didn’t give me a chance.\u00a0 As soon as I touched his shoulder he turned over on his own and that’s when I knew he was faking being hurt.”<\/p>\n

“How did you know that he wasn’t really hurt, Joe?”<\/p>\n

Joe looked at this father again, knowing that his family had yet to hear any of these details.\u00a0 He could see Hoss’s normally placid, calm-looking blue eyes start to swirl as the emotions about what these men had done to his little brother began to consume him from within.<\/p>\n

“I knew he was lying because he had a gun pointed at me,” Joe said hurriedly, thankful to finally get the words out.\u00a0 There were a few muffled voices and whispers amongst the public gallery after this comment.<\/p>\n

Adam’s face had turned into a mask as he, too, tried to hide the turmoil of emotions that were threatening to overtake him.\u00a0 He was trying to think of all the things he could do to these men if he ever got his hands on them.<\/p>\n

Ben’s gaze never diverted from Joe.\u00a0 Inside, he was as angry and full of guilt as his two sons were, but he knew that Joe was looking to him to provide the reassurance and the strength to carry on.\u00a0 He needed to remain strong for his son.<\/p>\n

“Did you think you could describe this person for the court, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“No, I don’t think so.\u00a0 Everything after that happened so quickly.\u00a0 I don’t remember very much at all after that.”<\/p>\n

“Do you know the defendant in his matter, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“No” Joe said with firmness.\u00a0 He knew that he could safely say that he wasn’t friends or even distance acquaintances with Danny Griffiths.<\/p>\n

“I want you to take as much time as you need to answer this next question, Joe.\u00a0 Think very carefully.\u00a0 Have you ever seen the man sitting in the dock before?”<\/p>\n

Now Joe really did have a large lump caught in his throat.\u00a0 He knew that he didn’t want to reveal that he knew Griffiths was involved in his kidnapping.\u00a0 Thomas had told him what would happen if he revealed their identities to anybody.<\/p>\n

Joe found himself nervously playing with his hands.\u00a0 He was clenching them into fists so tight that the knuckles were turning white.\u00a0 He did think very hard about how he was going to answer the question without outright lying.<\/p>\n

“Ummmm………. I really can’t be sure of that.\u00a0 I got hit on the head a couple of times after that and some things about that day are still a little bit fuzzy.”<\/p>\n

Joe looked at the prosecutor to see if could see through the half-lie at all.\u00a0 The walls, all of a sudden, seemed to be closing in around Joe.\u00a0 His fear and nervousness were more than beginning to get the better of him.\u00a0 He was beginning to feel claustrophobic.<\/p>\n

He was the only one who couldn’t see his face getting awfully pale.\u00a0 On the contrary, Joe couldn’t feel anything else but the blood beginning to rush to his head.<\/p>\n

Judge Collins noted the sudden change in the pallor of the young man and decided to intervene “Are you alright, young man?” he asked gently.<\/p>\n

Ben was about two steps away from making a path directly to Joe in the witness box.\u00a0 He could see his son struggling to get himself under control.\u00a0\u00a0 Even though the questions hadn’t been entirely harrowing, just the fact that Joe was being forced to remember such a terrible ordeal was obviously becoming too much for his son all at once.<\/p>\n

“Could I go to the outhouse, please?” Joe asked in a soft voice.\u00a0 Although his family was ready to support him, Joe felt as though he couldn’t deal with anybody at the moment, least of all his family.\u00a0 He wanted to be alone for a few minutes and try and deal with the guilt and shame that were becoming overwhelming within him.<\/p>\n

“Sure, son.\u00a0 Do you want one of your family to go with you?” the Judge replied noting Joe’s slight immobility with the crutches.<\/p>\n

“No, I be just fine on my own if that’s alright with you.\u00a0 I won’t be long,” Joe said, as he started to fumble for his crutches.\u00a0 He looked briefly over at his brothers, who were almost on their feet, ready to help him across the short distance to the side exit to the courtroom.\u00a0 He shook his head slightly, indicating to them that he didn’t need their help just yet either.<\/p>\n

All eyes seemed to be on Joe as he made his way slowly across the wooden floor.\u00a0 It took all of their willpower for Ben and his boys not to rush over to him and help like they wanted to.\u00a0 They all respected the fact that Joe had said he could manage on his own.\u00a0 It didn’t make it any easier, though, to watch his painful and stiff progress to the side door.<\/p>\n

Joe had been careful about where to place his crutches at the doorway.\u00a0 There was a large step from the floor of\u00a0 the courtroom to the dirt ground. \u00a0He made sure that he had a solid foot hold before proceeding any further.\u00a0 His concentration was largely on his footing and his crutches, so he didn’t see Butch Thomas’s figure come closer to him from the back of the building.<\/p>\n

Butch Thomas made sure that the kid was all the way out the door and away from prying eyes before he made a grab for the teenager.\u00a0\u00a0 The outhouse was about twenty feet to the right side of the courtroom.\u00a0 The people inside wouldn’t be able to see him again until he was almost back inside the doorway again.<\/p>\n

Once Joe had almost made it to the outhouse door, Thomas made his move ……….. ……………………<\/p>\n

Butch Thomas made sure that when he grabbed the boy the kid wasn’t able to scream for help or signal to anyone about what was going on.\u00a0 He put his hand over Joe’s mouth tightly, cutting off the scream that was caught in his throat.<\/p>\n

Joe felt a hand on his shoulder momentarily and then felt the rough calloused hand go around his mouth, keeping him silent.\u00a0 His assailant was stronger, despite his constant struggles to get away.\u00a0 The crutches he had been holding onto had fallen away to the side as he used his hands and arms to try and free the arms encircling his chest and upper body.<\/p>\n

It was only after he had subdued his victim sufficiently and dragged him into a darkened corner of the alley that the attacker turned the kid’s body around to allow him to see who he was.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Butch Thomas couldn’t suppress the grin on his face as he saw the look of recognition on Joe’s face.<\/p>\n

Joe could feel his heart pounding so hard in his chest that he thought it would burst.\u00a0 His eyes were wide with fright, and his face paled considerably as he found himself looking into the cold, calculating face of his worst fear:\u00a0\u00a0 Butch Thomas.<\/p>\n

Joe tried to scream through the hand over his mouth, but all that came out was muffled squeak.\u00a0 Thomas knew that he couldn’t do anything physical to the kid out here.\u00a0 He had\u00a0 to make sure that the kid wasn’t missing long enough for anybody to start worrying about him and come out looking for him.<\/p>\n

Instead of the harsh slap that Thomas wanted to deliver to Joe’s frightened, pale face, he proceeded to shake the kid roughly and issue a fresh warning:<\/p>\n

“Hello again, my young friend.\u00a0\u00a0 Didn’t expect to see me here today, did you?\u00a0 Oh, but I know you already saw me earlier, didn’t you, outside the hotel?\u00a0\u00a0 Didn’t think I had gone away completely, did you, kid, after my last visit?\u00a0 Like I told you before, I aim to make sure that you don’t open that mouth of yours and tell the law what really happened at that shack.\u00a0 I want to make sure that you don’t say anything about me or young Griffiths in there being involved.\u00a0\u00a0 If you tell them about him, then he just might squeal on me, and that ain’t good for your, health kid.”<\/p>\n

“Remember, I’ll be watching you,” Thomas added finally.\u00a0 He quickly released his grip from around Joe’s chest and removed the hand over the kid’s mouth and disappeared down the opposite end of the alleyway before his young victim even realised that Thomas was gone.<\/p>\n

Joe had his eyes closed whilst his body was being shaken by Thomas.\u00a0\u00a0 It was only after he had felt the iron-like grip around his arms and chest release that he could take a breath again.\u00a0 It was now that he heard the sound of running footsteps.<\/p>\n

Joe nervously opened his eyes and looked around, not knowing what to expect.\u00a0 He couldn’t believe it when the alleyway was completely empty.\u00a0\u00a0 The sound of his shallow breaths seemed to echo off the walls of the nearby buildings and then circle back at him, enhancing the fact that he was all alone.<\/p>\n

He didn’t know what he should do for a minute.\u00a0 He was scared that this was all some sort of evil game from Thomas.\u00a0\u00a0 That he was somewhere nearby, waiting for Joe to make the next move before he pounced on him again.\u00a0 Joe stood there he was, trying to regain his composure before re-entering the courtroom.<\/p>\n

Joe had no idea if the people inside the courtroom had heard the skirmish outside between him and Thomas.\u00a0 He looked around the alleyway and soon spotted his fallen crutches, still lying in the dirt nearby.\u00a0\u00a0 His legs were threatening to betray him, and he didn’t even know if he could make it the short distance to them without collapsing.<\/p>\n

After a few shaky seconds he managed to walk gingerly over to his crutches and retrieve them.\u00a0 He had all but forgotten about his trip to the outhouse.\u00a0 His next challenge seemed to be making it back to the side entrance to the courtroom. All of\u00a0 the blood seemed to be pooling in his feet, making them feel extremely heavy to move and the rest of his body feel very wobbly and dizzy.<\/p>\n

Inside the courtroom, Ben was starting to become a little anxious about the time Joe had been gone.\u00a0 In the scheme of things, it had only been a few minutes, but he hadn’t like the paleness in Joe’s face before the break in proceedings had been granted.\u00a0 There was something in the way that Joe had been answering the questions that the prosecutor asked.\u00a0 It was almost as if Joe was trying to avoid them or tell an untruth, but Ben couldn’t work out why his son would do such a thing.<\/p>\n

Adam was the first to see Joe’s figure lurch into view near the doorway.\u00a0 At first, for a brief second his heart had begun beating again after worry he had caused himself about how long Joe was taking.\u00a0 He, too, had seen the concerning signs in his younger brother as his father had.\u00a0 He didn’t necessarily draw the same conclusions, but was worried for Joe’s safety, nonetheless.<\/p>\n

Adam lightly tapped Hoss on the shoulder as he spotted his brother, but the gesture almost hung in mid-air as all three Cartwrights now watched Joe intently as he walked through the doorway awkwardly with his crutches to aid him.\u00a0 Something wasn’t right.<\/p>\n

The look on Joe’s face told the on-lookers that the kid was downright scared.\u00a0 Of what, they didn’t know.\u00a0 He hadn’t seemed that scared in the witness box a few minutes ago.\u00a0 Something was very wrong.<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed hard as he first of all looked towards his family, seated in the front row of chairs.\u00a0 He then slowly and deliberately turned his head towards Judge Collins.\u00a0 He wanted to shout out what had just happened outside.\u00a0 He wanted to run to his father and hide behind him, hoping his two brothers would run outside and catch Butch Thomas before he could get away.\u00a0 For the time being, his voice seemed to abandon him, and he only heard a croaky gurgle when he opened his mouth.<\/p>\n

Adam could see Joe struggling with his emotions and wanting to tell them something.\u00a0 The fear on his face was so naked that he was truly worried for his brother’s ability to cope with the whole trial situation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He focused on Joe’s lips, hoping to at least lip-read the words that Joe couldn’t get out.<\/p>\n

“He’s back!” Adam thought his brother had mouthed silently.\u00a0 He didn’t know who Joe was talking about.\u00a0 He was hoping Joe could supply some more information about what was so terribly wrong.\u00a0 He was about to take a step forward and talk to Joe on a more one-on-one basis when he saw his brother’s step falter.<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, Joe’s energy, that had been fuelled by pure adrenaline, seemed to be waning and ebbing away very quickly from within him.\u00a0 As the adrenalin left his body, his injured leg began to ache as though it was a warning of some kind.<\/p>\n

Joe’s legs seemed to be made of jelly and he knew that it was only the crutches in his hands holding him totally erect.\u00a0 That soon came to an end, though, as the crutches fell to the floor with a resounding crash.\u00a0 His arms no longer had the strength to hold onto the wooden appendages.<\/p>\n

The blood that seemed to be in his feet only a few seconds ago now coursed through his veins and rushed into his head.\u00a0 His head began swimming and his mind began to spin together with the ceiling of the courtroom.\u00a0\u00a0 Without any further warning, he crumpled to the ground in a dead faint.\u00a0 He didn’t hear the cry of anguish that came from his family, as they had seen what was going to happen but were unable to prevent it in time.<\/p>\n

Immediately, Ben was at his son’s side, along with Adam and Hoss.\u00a0 Doc Martin had quickly recovered from the shock enough to gather his medical bag before joining the hovering crowd over the unconscious and unmoving youth.\u00a0 Judge Collings was also standing on his feet, leaning over the desk in front of him with a concerned expression on his face.<\/p>\n

“Mr Harding and Mr Simpson, I believe that now is the right time to adjourn these whole proceedings until 9.00 am tomorrow morning.\u00a0 Hopefully by then we will be able to make a decision of what is to happen based on Mr Cartwrights physical health and the doctor’s diagnosis.\u00a0 Sheriff, you may take the prisoner back to his cell in your jailhouse.\u00a0 Court is now adjourned,” the Judge said, knowing his speech fell mainly on deaf ears.\u00a0 Everybody in the courtroom was rightly preoccupied with the health and condition of the young man lying in front of the Judge.<\/p>\n

The Judge now came out from his desk and offered what little, if any, assistance he could to the already growing crowd of bystanders.<\/p>\n

“Joseph!”\u00a0 Joseph, can you hear me?” Ben said, as he gently stroked his son’s pale face, beseeching him to respond to his touch and calling.<\/p>\n

“Do you think this was all too much, Doc?” Hoss asked Paul, as the doctor prepared to make a more thorough examination of his patient.<\/p>\n

“Maybe, Hoss, but for now, let’s be more concerned about getting him back to the hotel and checking him out more thoroughly.\u00a0 We will make him more comfortable and hope that an environment away from here may make him a little more relaxed,” Paul said.<\/p>\n

“Adam, you and Hoss carry him, but gently.\u00a0\u00a0 I will clear the path.\u00a0 Ben, you stay by his side in case he starts to wake up and becomes agitated before we get him to the room,” Paul now instructed.<\/p>\n

The crowd in the courtroom respectfully stood aside without any hesitation as they watched the two brothers gather their smaller and obviously frailer sibling in their gentle but supporting grasp and carry him towards the International Hotel where his family had been staying.<\/p>\n

Fred Harding gathered all of his paperwork and scurried behind the Cartwrights and the doctor as quickly as he could.\u00a0 He was a little guilty about having to put his young witness through such a taxing ordeal.\u00a0 He was also a little intrigued as Ben had been about why Joe was being so evasive with his testimony.\u00a0 He knew his curiosities would in all likelihood go unanswered tonight at least.<\/p>\n

Upon a last-minute check of the courtroom, Fred saw that Joe’s crutches had been momentarily forgotten with all the chaos.\u00a0 He picked them up and carried them back to the hotel along with the rest of his paperwork.<\/p>\n

Shocked staff of the hotel could only watch with stunned faces as the party came bursting into the hotel through the front doors, carrying the inert young man up the stairs and to their suite.\u00a0 Fred Harding stayed behind to tell them about what they had seen and make arrangements for any necessities that the doctor might require like water, towels, fresh bed linen and anything else Paul or the Cartwrights asked for.\u00a0\u00a0 The staff were only too happy to carry out his wishes and they promised to have everything he asked for promptly ready within a few minutes at the suite door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Chapter 4 – The Truth<\/div>\n
\n

Ben paced backwards and forwards beside the bed where his unconscious son lay.\u00a0 Joe hadn’t moved a muscle since being brought to the hotel by his brothers, followed by Doc Martin, his anxious father and Fred Harding.<\/p>\n

Ben wanted Paul to talk to him.\u00a0 Tell him what was wrong with Joseph.\u00a0 He knew the doctor was trying his best, but that didn’t do his nerves any good.\u00a0 They were already shot to pieces.<\/p>\n

Paul Martin could see his old friend pacing back and forth from worry.\u00a0 He was concerned himself about Little Joe’s pale face and the lack of response he was getting.\u00a0 He smiled briefly to himself.\u00a0 If there was one thing that remained constant in this world, it was Ben Cartwrights worry about his sons and about his youngest in particular.\u00a0 Paul knew it wouldn’t matter how old Little Joe got, Ben would still worry every time the young man was physically hurt or struggling with something mentally.<\/p>\n

Paul admonished himself and he road of nostalgia and reminded himself that he had a young patient to care for right now.\u00a0 He dug around in his little black bag and pulled out a small cylindrical tube containing dark mustard-coloured powder.<\/p>\n

The doctor was careful enough with the powder to make sure that he didn’t remove the cap before it was close enough to the patient.\u00a0\u00a0 The tube was only small in size and the quantity of powder equally small, but Paul didn’t want any of the other people in the room being overcome by the powerful fumes that were about to exude from it.<\/p>\n

He held the tube expertly and at just the right distance underneath Little Joe’s nose to have the right effect.\u00a0 He uncorked the cork stopper from the tube with his thumb and very slowly brought the tube back and forth underneath both nostrils.<\/p>\n

Paul didn’t need to wait long to see the results.\u00a0\u00a0 Almost immediately Joe was pulled harshly from his unconscious state by the acrid smell of the smelling salts.\u00a0 Once he had taken a second inhalation of the powder, he quickly diverted his head to avoid the smell that was invading his senses.\u00a0 He almost felt sick to his stomach.<\/p>\n

The tube was removed and the cork replaced at the neck.\u00a0\u00a0 Everyone in the room remained silent now as they waited for Joe to regain his bearings.<\/p>\n

Joe could almost feel the silence in the room.\u00a0 He turned his head to the front again and came face to face with the snow-white hair of Doctor Martin.\u00a0 The smile in return was warm and friendly enough, but Joe could also read the offer of pity and understanding that he didn’t need right at the moment.\u00a0 He looked upwards and slightly to the left of Doc Martin and saw his father, who, too had a similar look on his face, though the worry was a little more evident on him than it had been on Paul.\u00a0 Joe looked about the room and could see the same expressions on his brothers and Fred Harding.\u00a0 Everybody wanted to tell him that everything was going to be alright again.\u00a0\u00a0 He felt like he was almost suffocating.<\/p>\n

Joe turned his face away from them all and tried to hold in the emotions he was feeling.\u00a0\u00a0 As the light from the room shone on his face, Ben and the others saw a single tear slip down his cheek and soak into the pillow.<\/p>\n

“I think I need to examine my patient alone for a moment,” Paul now suggested seeing Joe’s distress.\u00a0 “I’ll talk to you in a few minutes when I have had a chance to check him over properly.”<\/p>\n

Everyone in the room complied with the simple request.\u00a0\u00a0 They were all anxious to hear what Paul had to say about Joe and how he was coping.\u00a0 They all wanted to ask the one question that kept plaguing their minds: What had scared him so much back at the courthouse?<\/p>\n

Paul now smiled back at Joe once everyone had left and tried to drum up idle conversation to take Joe’s mind on whatever else was bothering him.<\/p>\n

“Now, let’s see wrong with you, Little Joe,” Paul said innocently.<\/p>\n

“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Joe said through clenched teeth as he held onto his frustration about everybody treating him like he was a five-year-old.\u00a0 Why couldn’t people just come out and say things in plain terms?\u00a0 Just because he fainted didn’t mean he was in the mood to be babied.<\/p>\n

“Can you tell me why you fainted then, Joseph?” Paul now asked, playing along with Joe rather than trying to fight against him.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know.\u00a0 Just got uncomfortable answering all of those questions, I guess, that’s all, Doc,” Joe lied.\u00a0\u00a0 His mind went back to the alleyway and the moment Butch Thomas had grabbed him around the throat and hissed threats at him.\u00a0 His body began to tremble again at the memory and he suddenly felt cold in the room.\u00a0 He tried to hide his body’s tremors by pulling the quilt from the bed over him.<\/p>\n

Paul frowned a little at this exercise, particularly when he was trying to examine a reluctant patient.\u00a0 It didn’t help any if the patient was being particularly difficult and preventing the doctor from checking him over.\u00a0 He could see the frightened look return to Joe’s eyes and feel the small tremors running through his limbs as he gently tried to talk Joe into co-operating a little more.\u00a0 Paul decided not to pressure the young man too much.\u00a0 It was obvious that his being difficult wasn’t entirely his own fault.<\/p>\n

Paul finally declared to Joe that he was finished his examination.\u00a0 Joe looked up dubiously at the doctor as he knew there hadn’t been much poking and probing done.\u00a0 He didn’t say anything, though.\u00a0 He wasn’t about to invite the doctor to conduct any more tests on him.\u00a0 He just wanted to be left alone to sort out the shouting voices in his head.\u00a0 He wanted to get a handle on what had happened today and work out what he was going to do tomorrow.<\/p>\n

“I’ll probably see you tomorrow, Joe.\u00a0 You get some rest now,” Paul said, as he walked out of Joe’s room through the adjoining door to Fred Harding’s suite where everybody else was waiting.<\/p>\n

Joe nodded his head in acknowledgement, but knew that there was not chance of his mind letting him rest tonight or anytime in the near future.\u00a0 His mind was just racing, as was his heart beat and blood pressure.\u00a0 The fear within him was growing that much he was certain of.\u00a0 If he couldn’t find a way to confront his fears, they would take over and make him hide away from the world and his family and friends forever.<\/p>\n

Back in the other room, the four people waiting in Fred Harding’s suite now gathered around together, as Paul Martin came through the doorway and prepared to tell them about Joe’s diagnosis.<\/p>\n

“How is he, Paul?” Ben asked before anything could be said.\u00a0 He couldn’t wait any longer.\u00a0 He wanted to know how his son was.<\/p>\n

“Physically, he’s as good as can be expected.\u00a0 He’s a little fatigued and his leg is still aching a little, but other than that and some lack of colour he is holding up physically well.\u00a0 Mentally, on the other hand, that’s another issue altogether.\u00a0 I couldn’t do much of an examination because Joe just refused to talk to me.\u00a0 He grunted and gasped in pain a couple of times when I examined his leg which indicates he was still feeling some pain. But he refused to talk about what was scaring him so much or anything at all about what happened back at the courthouse,” Paul now explained.<\/p>\n

“Did you ask him what happened, Doc?” Hoss now asked.<\/p>\n

“Yes, Hoss, I did, but he said there was nothing wrong with him and that it was just the questions that got to him in the end.\u00a0 Though I partly believe that to be true, I doubt that was the real reason behind his fainting spell.\u00a0\u00a0 He is in a very fragile state at the moment.\u00a0 If we push too hard, he is going to withdraw into himself even more; if we treat him with kid-gloves any more than we are at the moment, we are only going to end up with a very rebellious and angry teenager.”<\/p>\n

“What do you suppose we do about tomorrow and the trial?” Fred Harding now asked.\u00a0 He wasn’t willing to risk Joe’s physical or mental condition for the sake of convicting Griffiths, but he also needed to be prepared to give the Judge some background information in the morning in his application to have the matter adjourned to another date.<\/p>\n

“I think its too early to say just yet.\u00a0 Let’s let Joe get some rest overnight, and I will take a look at him tomorrow morning and see what his mental attitude is again.\u00a0 At the moment his attitude is very sullen and moody.\u00a0 I doubt whether you will get a straight answer from him at the moment were you to put him back in that witness box with his current state of mind.”<\/p>\n

“Are there any instructions for us tonight, Paul, about what we should do for him?” Ben asked.<\/p>\n

“No, Ben.\u00a0 The best advice I can give you at the moment is just to be there for him.\u00a0 He is feeling all alone and very vulnerable at the moment so I think we need to show him that he is loved,”\u00a0 Paul replied.\u00a0 “You know where I will be if you need me,” he added at the end and gathered his bag ready to depart back to his own office.<\/p>\n

The four men now had talked for the next hour about some of the things that had come out in the trial from Joe today.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam and Hoss both had angered looks about them when they remembered how Joe had been lured\u00a0 into thinking that somebody was hurt along the road on his way to school.\u00a0\u00a0 Both brothers knew that it was in Joe’s nature to stop and help someone else if he could.\u00a0 They couldn’t fault him because they probably would have done the same thing.<\/p>\n

Ben had wanted to go back into their own suite where Joe was resting as soon as Paul had left.\u00a0 But a great deal of self-restraint was used when he realised that his son probably would like some time to himself.\u00a0 If he was resting as the doctor suggested he do, Ben didn’t want to disturb that much needed rest even if it was to put a stop to his own fears and worries.<\/p>\n

“I can’t say how sorry I am about Joe being put through all of this, Ben,” Fred now said to his long-time friend as the conversation between them all but dried up.<\/p>\n

“Don’t be, Fred. These things that are happening are not your fault and can’t be helped.\u00a0 I just wish I knew some way to get through to Joseph.\u00a0 His fear seems to be his main barrier at the moment.\u00a0 If we could just find a way to persuade him to tell us who was responsible for this, I think it would help to put his mind at ease as well as ours.\u00a0 I wish I knew what to say to help him gain that confidence.”<\/p>\n

Ben now excused himself from the others so that he could go and check on his son.\u00a0 He quietly and carefully opened the door, not knowing if Joe had fallen asleep or not.<\/p>\n

Joe had heard the creak from the door, signalling that somebody was entering the room.\u00a0 Up until now he had been awake, trying not to think about what Butch Thomas had said.\u00a0 He now closed his eyes and evened out his breathing, feigning sleep.\u00a0\u00a0 Somehow he could tell it was Pa in the room.\u00a0 He would never be able to explain to someone how he knew this;\u00a0 only that he knew.<\/p>\n

Ben walked around the bed and now sat on a chair beside his sleeping son.\u00a0\u00a0 At the moment his son’s face seemed relaxed and peaceful.\u00a0 It was still slightly pale, as Paul had stated, with the dark circles of fatigue more visible than normally.\u00a0 He gently caressed his son’s cheek, hoping somehow his son would feel the touch and know that his father was there for him.\u00a0 If Ben could find a way to instil his own strength and confidence within Joe, he wouldn’t hesitate for a second.<\/p>\n

“Oh, Joseph.\u00a0 I wish I knew a way to help you son,” Ben said with heart-felt sounding words.<\/p>\n

Joe heard his father’s words and part of him wanted to open his eyes and allow his father to take him into his embrace and give him the security he craved for.\u00a0 The other part of him, some would say the selfish part, reminded Joe that he wanted to be on his own.\u00a0 The selfish part won out in the long run, and Joe lay silently listening to his fathers words, but never acknowledging that he heard them.<\/p>\n

“I wish I knew how to take all the pain and hurt away, son,” Ben said, as he gently stroked Joe’s arm that lay limply alongside of him on the bed.\u00a0 “I wish I could have been there to stop those men taking you away from me.\u00a0 I hope someday you will forgive me for not being there when you needed me.\u00a0 I am so sorry, son.\u00a0 So sorry.”<\/p>\n

Ben’s words were interrupted by Adam gently knocking on the doorway between the two suites.\u00a0 He got up and answered the rap, leaving his son to continue his slumber.<\/p>\n

“Pa, sorry to disturb you, but Hoss and I thought it might be a good idea to order some room service from downstairs in case Joe wakes later and wants something to eat,” Adam said.\u00a0 He couldn’t help but see Ben wipe a stray tear from his face on his sleeve as he answered the door.<\/p>\n

“Alright, Adam, I think that is a good idea.\u00a0 I don’t know when he will wake but he really should have something to eat when he does,” Ben replied.\u00a0 “I think I will leave him for now to get some decent rest,” he added now as he glanced back over towards the figure on the bed.\u00a0 Ben then joined Adam in Fred Harding’s suite and closed the door behind him.<\/p>\n

Once he heard the door closed, Joe could no longer hold in the tide of emotion that washed over his tired body.\u00a0 The tears fell freely down his face as he thought about the words his father had said.\u00a0 After a while though he started to talk to himself harshly.<\/p>\n

He thought about all of the events over the last month or so.\u00a0 How he was taken and what had happened back at the abandoned shack.\u00a0 How his family had been there to find him and bring him home and nurse him back to health.\u00a0 Apart from the times that they were prevented being with him, they had been there.\u00a0 Through thick and thin they had sat by his bedside and cared for his injuries.\u00a0 They had offered for him to talk to them about what might be troubling him.\u00a0\u00a0 All the time they were holding out hands to help, he was slapping them away in refusal and turning his back on them.<\/p>\n

The threats from Butch Thomas still echoed in his head, but now they started to mingle with the words his father had said and the words that Adam and Hoss had said over the last few weeks.\u00a0 He was very confused about what was the right thing to do.\u00a0\u00a0 He was afraid for what would happen if he did tell somebody about what happened.<\/p>\n

After an enormous amount of thought, he finally decided that there was one person that could help him the most at the moment.\u00a0 That person was in the other room at the moment.\u00a0 He would need to wait until later tonight to talk to Fred when the rest of his family thought him to be asleep.<\/p>\n

There was a tiredness that was creeping over him now, and he didn’t try to fight it.\u00a0 He knew that if he was going to carry out the task he intended tomorrow he was going to need to be fully rested to do so.\u00a0 He now closed his eyes for real and let the pull of sleep claim him.<\/p>\n

Adam had checked on Joe a few hours later, hoping that his brother would be awake to take in a much needed meal.\u00a0 He was a little concerned when it seemed that Joe was sleeping a lot more than they all expected.\u00a0 Ben had assured the boys that Joe was both physically and emotionally exhausted at the moment and that they were bound to take their toll on his young body.<\/p>\n

Joe’s sleep wasn’t disturbed at all that evening. He could have a hearty breakfast in the morning to make up for it if he was feeling up to it.\u00a0\u00a0 After 10 pm Ben and his boys settled in their own room with Joe and allowed Fred to retire in his own suite and get some rest as well.<\/p>\n

At about 1 am that night, Joe woke with a slight start.\u00a0 He didn’t make any noise as he looked around the pitch-black room and tried to work out what time it was.\u00a0 He knew it must be very late and rubbed at his eyes to try and bring himself more alert.<\/p>\n

Joe then looked around the room to make sure that the rest of his family were still asleep.\u00a0 Hoss was snoring loudly on the other side of the room.\u00a0 Adam and Ben were in single beds not far from him.\u00a0 Hopefully Hoss’s snoring would muffle his footsteps across the floor a little.<\/p>\n

Joe gently eased back the covers on his own bed and very gingerly placed his bare feet onto the floor.\u00a0 He saw that somebody had propped his crutches up against the walk beside his bed.\u00a0 They were in reaching distance, and he placed them under his arms and used them to support his still injured leg from any more jarring as he made his way across the floor in the suite.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, being a carpeted suite, the crutches were muffled even more by the thick pile of the patterned carpet.\u00a0 He made his way as silently as possible over to the doorway between the two suites.\u00a0 At one stage he thought he heard one of his family waking behind him and he stopped dead in his tracks until he was certain that the coast was clear.<\/p>\n

The doorway between the two suites wasn’t locked, and Joe very quietly turned the handle on the door and opened it.\u00a0 He cursed inwardly when the door creaked slightly at the movement.\u00a0 He walked into Fred Harding’s suite and then closed the door silently behind him.\u00a0\u00a0 He didn’t want to risk knocking on the door and have somebody hear his efforts.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the door he could see Fred Harding’s bed and the slumbering figure of the prosecutor on it.\u00a0 He felt incredibly guilty about disturbing the man at this time of the night, but he thought it important enough to do so.<\/p>\n

“Mr Harding,” Joe whispered as he gently shook the middle-aged man’s shoulder.\u00a0 The first attempt to wake the lawyer didn’t work so he had to try a little harder and repeat the attempt.\u00a0 “Mr Harding,” he said again and shook a little more vigorously this time.<\/p>\n

“What, who?” Fred said, as he woke with a start.\u00a0 He frowned at first to try and focus on the figure bent over him and the bed.\u00a0 He couldn’t quite work out who it was.\u00a0 He pushed himself up into a sitting position and put on his glasses that had been resting on the bedside table.<\/p>\n

Joe turned the lamp in the room a little higher for Mr Harding to see.\u00a0 “Hello, Mr Harding.\u00a0 Its only me, Joe Cartwright.\u00a0 I am sorry to disturb you at such a late hour,” he now said apologetically.<\/p>\n

Fred could now distinguish the outline of the crutches Joe was leaning on and establish the intruder’s identity. “Joe, are you alright?\u00a0 Has something happened to your father?” he began asking.\u00a0 He knew that the boy had a terrible time yesterday, and as far as he knew, up until now he had been asleep.\u00a0 The boy hadn’t even woken up for supper, so if he was standing over his bed in the middle of the night, something must be dreadfully important.<\/p>\n

“No, everybody is fine, Mr Harding.\u00a0 I just really needed to talk to you about what happened today in the courtroom and what is going to happen tomorrow,” Joe now said.<\/p>\n

Fred now got out of bed and led Joe over to the small dining room table in the room.\u00a0 “Come and sit down, Joe.\u00a0 If you have something important to tell me, I would rather be more alert when you did so.”<\/p>\n

“Thank you, Mr Harding,” Joe said, unable to keep the nervousness out of his voice.<\/p>\n

“Are you sure you don’t want one of your family present when you talk to me, Joe?” Fred asked.<\/p>\n

“No, Mr Harding.\u00a0 What I am about to tell you is going to be hard enough, so I would rather that they didn’t hear what I have to say until I say it tomorrow.”<\/p>\n

Fred was now a little more than curious and a little worried about that statement.<\/p>\n

“You see, Mr Harding……………” Joe began.\u00a0 His voice was quite restricted and his words were not flowing as smoothly as he would have liked.\u00a0 Fred was patient enough though to allow his client all the time he needed to say whatever was troubling him.<\/p>\n

Joe now proceeded to tell Mr Harding about why he was reluctant to tell anybody about what had happened to him.\u00a0\u00a0 He was very careful not to give too many details away.\u00a0 He never gave Fred specifics about what had happened, just a rough outline.\u00a0 He told Fred about the threats and the fears that Joe had held since being brought home by his family.\u00a0 Again he made sure that he left out names and places, never wanting to relinquish the names of his assailants.<\/p>\n

At the end of the very difficult but revealing conversation, Fred sat silent in thought for a moment as he pondered how best to tackle the problem.<\/p>\n

“I want to tell the truth, Mr Harding. I really do.\u00a0 But I am afraid about what hearing such things might do to my family and what fate might befall them or me if I should reveal their identity.”<\/p>\n

“Joe, here’s what I propose to do,” Fred now suggested.\u00a0 He and Joe spoke for the next two hours, carefully working out a plan of attack for the courtroom the next day.\u00a0 Fred told Joe about the approach he would take from the outset and that Joe would have to bear with him at first when the questions began in the morning.<\/p>\n

He told Joe that he would need to be particularly strong when reliving his story.\u00a0 He didn’t have any misgivings about how hard it was going to be to tell these things in an open court, especially when his family had never heard any of the hard details about what Joe had been through.<\/p>\n

“I can only tell this story once, Mr Harding, so we have to get it right the first time.\u00a0 I can’t promise how I am going to be tomorrow.\u00a0 I can’t hide the fact that I am almost too scared to go through with this.\u00a0 But after what I heard my Pa say earlier this afternoon, I owe to my family to tell the truth and make sure they know that there wasn’t anything else they could have done to prevent those men from doing what they did.”<\/p>\n

“I think you had better get back to your room before you are missed, young man,” Fred now said in lighter conversation.\u00a0 He helped Joe to his feet and secured the crutches under his arms enough for him to manage to the doorway on his own.\u00a0 He watched from behind as Joe made he way across the room.<\/p>\n

“And, Joe…….,” he said, waiting for Joe to turn around before he continued the comment,\u00a0 “when this is all over tomorrow and your father finds out, please make sure that there is a fast horse waiting at the stable for my escape.\u00a0 If there is one thing I would rather avoid, it’s that infamous temper of Ben Cartwright when it comes to protecting one of his own.\u00a0 You have nothing to worry about, and he can’t possibly be mad at you.\u00a0 But me, that’s a whole different story.”<\/p>\n

“On second thought, Mr Harding, I think I will make sure that there is one for you and me.\u00a0 I don’t think I want to be there to hear what Pa says about our little midnight rendezvous, either,” Joe said with a genuine smile.<\/p>\n

Joe now crept back into his room and climbed back into bed without making any noise to alert his family.\u00a0 He wasn’t able to tell if they had awoken while he was out of the room, but if they hadn’t come looking for him, it was safe enough to assume that they didn’t know he had been in the other room.<\/p>\n

There were only a few more hours to daylight.\u00a0 Joe was tired and didn’t find it difficult to fall back to sleep, but his mind was still plagued by what was going to transpire tomorrow.\u00a0 He just hoped he and Mr Harding were doing the right thing.\u00a0 His very life may depend on it.<\/p>\n

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

The next morning Ben looked over the brim of his coffee cup at the slumbering figure of his youngest son on the other side of the room.\u00a0 He frowned a little at the thought that he would need to wake the boy shortly to gauge whether or not the trial would proceed today.<\/p>\n

Ben didn’t need to wait too long, though, as Joe started to stir a little in the bed as the chambermaid came to take away the breakfast dishes.\u00a0 One tray and coffee pot were left for the still slumbering teenager.<\/p>\n

At first Joe seemed to have trouble waking up.\u00a0 It was as though his eyes were too heavy and it was too much of an effort.\u00a0 The sound of knocking at the door by Fred Harding soon brought the boy around a little more.\u00a0 He pulled himself up into a sitting position and rubbed tiredly at his eyes before looking about the room and the faces that were watching him from the other side of the room.<\/p>\n

“Did you sleep alright, son?” Ben asked trying not to be too invasive first up and allowing the boy to become more alert before deciding what the agenda for the day would be.<\/p>\n

“Yeah, sort of,” Joe said in a drone voice.\u00a0 The voice sounded thick as though he hadn’t gotten enough sleep though and his blood-shot eyes portrayed a similar picture to the others in the room.\u00a0 They knew that it must be the stress of yesterday getting to Joe.\u00a0 As far as they all knew, he had slept through the night without so much as stirring until just now.<\/p>\n

Ben walked a little closer towards the bed.\u00a0 He gently squeezed Little Joe’s shoulder in a comforting gesture.<\/p>\n

“I feel as though I haven’t slept very much at all,” Joe said, being evasive about the previous night’s rendezvous, but being honest enough about how he felt physically because of it.<\/p>\n

“I am sure you will feel much better after you have something to eat, Joseph.\u00a0 You didn’t eat anything last night for supper,” Ben now said to his son.<\/p>\n

Joe now found a tray of breakfast thrust in front of him.\u00a0 He looked at it and then at the worried faces in the room.\u00a0 He knew he would have to eat something to ease their minds a little about his physical well-being.\u00a0 Inside his stomach was already growing into knots about what was going to happen today.\u00a0\u00a0 Fifteen minutes later he had managed to eat a small amount of scrambled eggs and toast to satisfy his family.\u00a0 He pushed the tray aside and sipped slowly at the lukewarm cup of coffee.<\/p>\n

Halfway through his cup of coffee, there was a knock at the door of the suite.\u00a0 Adam opened the door and greeted Doc Martin as he entered the room, medical bag in hand.<\/p>\n

“Good morning, Adam, Ben and everyone,” he said in a cheery voice.\u00a0 His eyes though could help but focus on the figure he could see sitting up in bed.<\/p>\n

“I thought I would check you over today, Joe, before you and your family make a decision about the trial,” Paul said, as he explained his presence.<\/p>\n

“Doc, I have already made up my mind to go back into the courtroom today,” Joe said in a casual voice. The reaction he got from his family and the doctor was anything but casual.\u00a0 Fred Harding had just been entering the Cartwrights’ suite when he heard Joe say the sentence.\u00a0 He had to hide his on his face when he saw Ben’s face.<\/p>\n

“Your what?” Ben said, not meaning to put so much power into his voice.\u00a0 He was now staring at his youngest son with a very puzzled look on his face.\u00a0 He was looking the boy over with his eyes, trying to scrutinize whether the boy was feeling alright or still undergoing stress from the day before.\u00a0 Adam and Hoss together with the doctor had equally curious looks on their faces.\u00a0 Doc Martin thought he would really need to work on Joe’s confidence this morning to get the boy to even talk about what had happened yesterday.<\/p>\n

Joe put his coffee cup down and looked at his family for a half a minute before answering his father’s question.\u00a0 When he was sure that he had everyone’s attention he told them what he thought.<\/p>\n

“I can’t say that I am not scared, because you know I am.\u00a0 I can’t say that I am going to handle today any better than I did yesterday.\u00a0 Everything is so jumbled up in my head that it aches sometimes just trying to work it out for myself.\u00a0 But after all the hard work Mr Harding has put into this case, I can’t just turn my back on it, no matter how sick in the stomach I feel when I am in that courtroom.<\/p>\n

“Are you sure you’re alright, son?” Ben asked.\u00a0 It was a little hard not to be sceptical about how his son would cope for a second day under such pressuring conditions.<\/p>\n

“Mr Harding, if you ask the questions, I promise to answer them as best I can,” Joe said now, turning towards the prosecutor to reassure his family.<\/p>\n

“That’s just fine, Joe.\u00a0 I am sure you will do just fine,” Fred replied simply, so as not to alert the others in the room to\u00a0 the conversation that he and Joe had had in the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n

“Paul, I still would like your opinion on this and how Joe is.\u00a0\u00a0 No matter what Joe says, if you say he’s not well enough, then I won’t allow him to be put through the whole ordeal again today,” Ben now said in all seriousness.<\/p>\n

Paul nodded his head in acknowledgement and now set his bag down on the bedside table and pulled out his equipment to carry out the examination.\u00a0 Joe sighed inwardly, but allowed the intrusion to take place to the time being.\u00a0 As much as he hated the doctor’s well-meant check up, he knew that his father would be adamant enough to stop him from telling his story today if he even suspected he was unwell.<\/p>\n

After about ten minutes of total silence in the room, Paul stood up, ready to give his verdict on whether or not things would proceed as Fred and Joe hoped they would.<\/p>\n

“Well, I must say you still look a might tired ,Little Joe, especially after your Pa says you slept from when I left yesterday until just a little while ago.\u00a0 But I suppose, given the unusual circumstances, that can’t be helped a lot.\u00a0 Other than that and the ache I still know is in your leg,”<\/p>\n

Joe looked at him before he could finish the sentence, wondering how the doctor had known about the pain he was still experiencing, but trying hard to hide as best he could from his family.<\/p>\n

“Yes, Joseph, I can still hear those small gasps of pain that escape under your breath when I touched your bandages just a few minutes ago.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I want you to promise me that you will take things a lot slower and easier today if you can.\u00a0 Other than that, I think you will be fine.\u00a0 I am going to stay in the courtroom like yesterday, though, just to make sure there are no problems,” Paul now added.<\/p>\n

Ben’s worry didn’t dissipate altogether after the doctor’s visit, but it was eased some by Joe’s confession of feeling alright and the doctor’s confirmation of that except for the injured leg and remnants of tiredness from the day before. Adam and Hoss also made a mental note to keep a closer eye on their younger sibling today in case he needed them.<\/p>\n

By 9.00 am they were all back seated in the courtroom.\u00a0 Sheriff Roy Coffee had brought the prisoner, Danny Griffiths, back in handcuffs and he was once again sitting in the dock awaiting the trial to begin.<\/p>\n

Fred was just finishing shuffling through his papers when the Bailiff announced the Judge’s entrance into the courtroom.\u00a0 He looked over towards Joe in the witness box and gave him a sly wink to reassure his young client that everything would work out alright.\u00a0 Ben saw the wan smile in return from Joe, but wasn’t exactly sure what secret messages were going on between them.<\/p>\n

“All rise.\u00a0 Judge Collins presiding,” the Court Bailiff said, as the Judge walked into the room.<\/p>\n

Judge Collins put all of his books and paperwork down on his desk first and then turned his attention to Little Joe sitting in the witness box.\u00a0 He wanted to get his own opinion before the lawyers were given their chance to speak.<\/p>\n

“How are you today, son?”<\/p>\n

“A little better, Your Honour.\u00a0 Not much, but a little” Joe said in reply trying to keep his voice calm and even.<\/p>\n

“Are we ready to proceed this morning, gentlemen?” the Judge asked, turning towards Mr Simpson and Fred Harding.\u00a0 Simpson and his client Danny Griffiths seemed to be the only ones in the room uninterested in Joe Cartwrights well being.<\/p>\n

Simpson had been surprised to even see the kid show up.\u00a0 He threw a brief glance towards the witness box and then shrugged his shoulders.\u00a0 He somehow suspected the kid would crack under the pressure today as he had done yesterday.\u00a0 If the prosecution wanted to drag this out a little more for the young man to endure, he was willing to comply.<\/p>\n

“Ready, Your Honour.”<\/p>\n

“Ready to proceed this morning, Your Honour.\u00a0 As you can see our witness has put on a brave front and presented himself here again this morning,” Fred Harding said, as he addressed the Judge.<\/p>\n

“Alright, Mr Harding, but if we need to break at any stage today, Mr Cartwright only need to whisper in my ear again, understood?\u00a0 I will permit any of his family to approach him if necessary as well as Doctor Martin.”<\/p>\n

All involved nodded their heads in agreement, the Cartwrights thankful that they had a Judge with a little compassion for such a young, impressionable and vulnerable witnesses.<\/p>\n

“Joe, I want to begin by asking you about your testimony yesterday.\u00a0 Can you tell me if what you said yesterday was truthful?”<\/p>\n

“Some of it was and some of it wasn’t exactly the truth,” Joe answered, trying to avoid his father’s gaze for the disappointment he expected to find on Ben’s face.<\/p>\n

Ben was a little surprised at Joe’s admittance of not telling the truth.\u00a0 He knew he still needed to remained supportive, no matter what Joe said he had done.<\/p>\n

“So you lied,” Fred put it bluntly.\u00a0 “How much of what you said was true and how much was false?”<\/p>\n

“I told the truth about finding the man lying on the road.\u00a0 I didn’t exactly tell the truth about seeing Mr Griffiths before,” Joe now said.\u00a0 His heart was thumping as he gave the first real indication to the courtroom about knowing the defendant sitting on the other side of the room.<\/p>\n

“Alright, let’s start again at the beginning shall we.\u00a0 You promise to tell the absolute truth this time, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, I promise.”<\/p>\n

“Let’s start of with something a little more recent to test your adherence to the truth.\u00a0 Where were you last night?”<\/p>\n

Ben and his boys raised his eyebrows at Fred more than a little at this question.\u00a0 Ben narrowed them in suspicion and waited for his son to answer.\u00a0 As far as he, Adam and Hoss knew, Joseph had been asleep for the entire night.\u00a0 Or had he?<\/p>\n

“I was in the hotel room.”<\/p>\n

“Did you remain in your room the entire night, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“No, I woke with a start about 1 am.\u00a0 It was still dark inside the room.\u00a0 My Pa and brothers were still asleep.”<\/p>\n

“Did you go back to sleep?”<\/p>\n

“Not until about 4.30 this morning,” Joe admitted.<\/p>\n

Ben ran a hand down his face and now realised why his son looked so tired this morning.\u00a0 All he needed now was the truth about where the boy was between 1 am and 4.30 am.<\/p>\n

“Where were you during those early morning hours?”<\/p>\n

“I went into your room, Mr Harding.”<\/p>\n

Ben could scarcely believe his ears at Joe’s confession.\u00a0 Fred had known all along that Joe had been awake last night, but chose not to say anything to the family.\u00a0 Not even this morning when he entered the room when Paul was there.\u00a0 It was now obvious that Fred had something to do with Joe’s change of heart about taking the witness stand today.<\/p>\n

“Joe, thank you for being honest.\u00a0 Now, I want to go right back to the beginning of this story and start again from the morning you left to go to school but didn’t quite make it.\u00a0 You said yesterday that you didn’t know Mr Griffiths when he was pretending to be hurt on the road?”<\/p>\n

“No, not at that stage.\u00a0 When I came across him on my way to school, that was the first time I had ever seen him. I saw him a lot afterwards when they took me away.”<\/p>\n

“Your Honour, before we go any further.\u00a0 Some of the details that are going to follow may become a little more graphic.\u00a0 The witness and I have agreed that instead of using people’s names in this story, we are going to call the main offender Mr X.\u00a0 Hopefully this will help Mr Cartwrights fear of telling the court the truth about what happened without him thinking about this man the whole time.\u00a0 Once we reach the conclusion, it is our intention then to reveal the real identity of Mr X.\u00a0 At this stage not even I am privy to that information.\u00a0 I assure you that Mr Cartwright is the only one in this courtroom who knows the identity of Mr X.”<\/p>\n

“Very well, Mr Harding.\u00a0 I must say this is a little unorthodox.\u00a0 But given the youth of the witness and what happened yesterday, I am willing to let you have a little more freedom with your examination.”<\/p>\n

“Joe, after the man has stopped pretending to be hurt and has pulled the gun on you, what happened next?”<\/p>\n

“Danny Griffiths then whistled, signalling for the other men to come out from the bushes that were nearby.”<\/p>\n

“Did you see these other men?”<\/p>\n

“Not at first.\u00a0 While he was waiting for them to come out, I tried to turn around and run.\u00a0 I thought that if I could just make it to my horse I might be able to get away.”<\/p>\n

“Continue.”<\/p>\n

“Well, like I said I tried to run, but I didn’t get very far.\u00a0 I fell over and hurt my knee on a rock.\u00a0 I was just starting to get up again and try to make a second run when I felt a pair of hands grab me from behind and start dragging me into the bushes.”<\/p>\n

“Did you make it clear to these men that you didn’t want to go with them?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, I started to scream for somebody to help me, but then somebody put their hand over my mouth very hard.\u00a0 I could scarcely breath.”<\/p>\n

Ben’s heart was aching with every word as Joe relived the story of his abduction.\u00a0 Ben cursed himself for not being there to protect his young son from such monsters.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam and Hoss were having an equally bad time at hearing such details from their younger brother.\u00a0 Both of them wanted to know who this mystery Mr X was and break his neck.<\/p>\n

“What happened next, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Well, they kept dragging me further into the trees.\u00a0 I could see Mr Griffiths taking Cochise’s reins and leading her into the trees as well.\u00a0 I tried to get away.\u00a0 I was kicking and trying to get free, but there were two of them, and they were just too strong for me.\u00a0\u00a0 Once we got into the trees where we couldn’t be seen from the roadway, I was pushed up against a large tree and held there.”<\/p>\n

“Did you say anything then, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“No, because the hand was still over my mouth then.\u00a0\u00a0 Mr X took the hand away and started to tie my hands together with a piece of rope.\u00a0\u00a0 I tried to scream for help again when he didn’t have his hand over my mouth, but all he did was slap me very hard across the face.\u00a0 It stung.”<\/p>\n

Hoss found himself wringing his hands together to work out the frustration he was feeling at hearing his brother’s heartfelt story.\u00a0 He wanted so bad to slap these men back for his brother.\u00a0 How dare they strike a young teenager without cause?\u00a0 The mere thought made his blood boil.<\/p>\n

“You’re doing just fine, Joe,” Fred now reassured his witness as he saw the strain beginning to show on Joe’s face.\u00a0 The kid was still holding up well, but the eyes held all the expression of fear and anxiety.<\/p>\n

“What happened after they tied your hands together?”<\/p>\n

“The other man asked what they were going to do with me now.\u00a0\u00a0 Mr X told him that they were going to take me to a place until my Pa did what they said.”<\/p>\n

“Mr X said that it was time for me to go to sleep then,” Joe said, as he felt a shiver go up his spine as he recalled the rag being placed over his face.\u00a0 “He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.\u00a0 It had a strange smell to it.\u00a0 I didn’t like the smell and tried to turn my face away before he could place it over my mouth and nose, but he grabbed a fistful of my hair and forced my face towards the strange-smelling cloth.”<\/p>\n

“Do you remember anything after that about how you might have gotten to the place where you were being held at, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“No, I tried to fight against the smell, but after a few minutes I must have passed out because I don’t remember anything else until after I woke up in the shack.”<\/p>\n

Adam’s face was like a mask of stone as he listened to his brother’s story of pain and anguish.\u00a0 He wanted to take all the hurt and memories away for Joe.\u00a0 He couldn’t have imagined how frightened Joe must have been of this Mr X as he was told he was being taken away from his family by force.<\/p>\n

“You’re doing very well, Joseph.\u00a0 I know this is extremely difficult and I admire your courage and I really need you to keep being so brave for just a little while longer,” Fred now said sympathetically to the young man.\u00a0\u00a0 Truth be known, he knew that there was a very long way to go, but maybe the thought of it all ending would help Joe a little.<\/p>\n

“What’s the next thing you remember, Joseph, after you were taken by these three men?”<\/p>\n

“The next thing I remember is hurting all over.\u00a0 My mind was still very fuzzy from that stuff they used so I had to stop and think for a few minutes about where I was.\u00a0 The ground was awfully hard.\u00a0 Somehow my ankles were now tied up as well as my hands.\u00a0 I don’t remember them doing that back at the tree so they must have tied them after I passed out.”<\/p>\n

“Could\u00a0 you describe the surroundings you found yourself in a little better, please, Joseph?”<\/p>\n

“I can’t tell you what the room looked like if that’s what you’re asking,” Joe now said, his voice becoming distinctly soft in volume.<\/p>\n

“Why is that, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Because the men had tied a blindfold over my eyes so I couldn’t see where I was,” Joe said and turned his attention to his feet to hide his anxiety.<\/p>\n

Ben gave his son a reassuring smile as the boy lifted his head slightly.\u00a0 He knew that the boy was going through a terrible time at the moment reliving something he would rather not.\u00a0 Ben couldn’t help but feel a stab to his heart though every time Joe uttered a piece to the puzzle he was yet to hear.<\/p>\n

“What did you do when you realised that you were blindfolded and couldn’t see?”<\/p>\n

“For a while I just lay there scared.\u00a0 Not knowing where I was, where my family was.\u00a0 Not knowing if any of them even knew that I was missing yet.\u00a0 I couldn’t tell how long had passed between being on the roadway and waking up in the shack.\u00a0 It seemed like a long time, but it could have only been a few hours.”<\/p>\n

“Go on, Joe.”<\/p>\n

“Well, after a while I tried to get the blindfold off so I could see where I was.”<\/p>\n

“How did you achieve this when your hands and feet were tied together?”<\/p>\n

“I used the hard ground and rubbed the side of my face backwards and forwards, trying to get the blindfold to move upwards or downwards on my face.”<\/p>\n

“That must have hurt some, Joe.”<\/p>\n

“Not much.\u00a0 I felt a little sting, but I couldn’t see or feel any blood on my face.”<\/p>\n

Ben sighed inwardly to himself and looked towards Adam with recognition in his eyes.\u00a0 Both of them had seen the scratches on the side of Joe’s face when they had first taken him to his room.\u00a0 When they had first found Joe there were too many other more serious injuries to worry about.\u00a0 With the strong glow of the lantern in his bedroom, both men remembered seeing the abrasions on Joe’s pale skin and wondering how they had come about.<\/p>\n

“Once you were able to remove the blindfold, were you able to see better your forced surroundings?”<\/p>\n

“Not really, it was pretty dark inside the room and it was a very small space towards the back of the shack.\u00a0 There was no window in the room, just a door that led into the other room from the front door.”<\/p>\n

“Were there any objects like furniture in the room that you could make out, Joseph?”<\/p>\n

“If there was, I didn’t see it.\u00a0 I didn’t get much of a chance to look around the room anyway once the blindfold was off.”<\/p>\n

“And why was that, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Because that’s when Mr X came to the door,” Joe said and swallowed heavily as he remembered the voice speaking to him as he lay on the hard cold ground in the darkened room.<\/p>\n

“What did Mr X say to you?”<\/p>\n

“He said there were a few things he wanted to explain to me.”<\/p>\n

“About?”<\/p>\n

“About what was going to happen to me while I was there, I suppose.\u00a0 He really didn’t explain things very much at all.”<\/p>\n

“What happened next?”<\/p>\n

“He took me out of the smaller room into the larger one.”<\/p>\n

“How did you do this?\u00a0 Did they untie your legs?\u00a0 Did they carry you?”<\/p>\n

“No, they didn’t untie my legs.\u00a0 Mr X grabbed one of my arms and started to drag me across the floor before I even had the chance to get up.”<\/p>\n

Hoss Cartwrights eyes were like two pieces of blue crystal at the moment.\u00a0 Both of them cold and hard as he heard his brother’s soft voice almost breaking at the ordeal that he was forced to endure.\u00a0 For a brief moment, the flame of revenge could be seen to flicker in the very centre of those blue eyes.<\/p>\n

“What happened once you were taken into the larger room of the shack, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Mr X threw me harshly into a chair that was there.\u00a0 I closed my eyes because of the light from the lanterns.\u00a0 My eyes were sore after being in the dark for so long.\u00a0 I had to open them slowly and allow them adjust to the room so they didn’t hurt so much.”<\/p>\n

“Did you say anything to your kidnappers at this time, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“No, once I let my eyes adjust to the light in the room, I started to look around for some way to escape.”<\/p>\n

“What was the next thing that Mr X did whilst you were seated in that chair, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Hit me hard across the face when he saw that I was looking around the room for a way out.\u00a0 He came right up to my face and said I would regret it if I tried to get away and he caught up with me.\u00a0 He told me a whole lot of other things, too.\u00a0 Threats about what would happen if I didn’t listen to everything they said to me and told me to do.\u00a0 Told me about not speaking unless I was told I could.”<\/p>\n

“Did you answer any of the threats against you from Mr X?”<\/p>\n

“I told him that I understood and that’s when he hit me hard again for talking out of line,” Joe said grimly and without even thinking of it, his hand went to the spot of the slap across the face, and he rubbed at the area in memory.<\/p>\n

Ben’s blood was almost at boiling point inside. He could scarcely sit still in the chair long enough to take in what had happened to his son.\u00a0 He swore that Mr X would pay for every single cry of pain he caused his son.\u00a0 He would see justice served one way or the other.<\/p>\n

Adam was like Hoss and sat in stony silence as his brother recalled the events.\u00a0 It was very difficult for all of them to hear what Joe was saying happened to them.\u00a0 None of them had any idea of the torment and pain the youngest Cartwright had gone through.\u00a0 Joe had certainly kept some very dark secrets to himself about what had happened.<\/p>\n

How many more dark secrets did the boy hold onto?<\/p>\n

“Was Mr X responsible for making most of the threats at this stage, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Yes. The other two just stood behind him, watching it all and then laughing.\u00a0 I remember Mr X hitting me in the stomach.\u00a0 I fell out of the chair onto the floor because of the pain.\u00a0 I could scarcely breathe.\u00a0 Mr X grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and held me upright.\u00a0 If he hadn’t been holding onto my shirt, I would still be on the floor. My legs just wouldn’t hold me up anymore.”<\/p>\n

“What did you do then, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“He held me there for a few seconds and laughed at my pain.\u00a0 The other two men started laughing at me harder as well.\u00a0 That’s when I started to get mad inside.\u00a0\u00a0 I was angry at being hit for no reason.\u00a0 Angry that they thought I was something just to punch and leave in the dirt.”<\/p>\n

Ben and Adam had to smirk a little at Joe’s temper.\u00a0 If there was one thing certain in this world it was Joe Cartwrights temper, even if he was in the worst situation possible like this, sometimes there was just no holding him back. All of them had been on the receiving end of Joe’s hot tongue on numerous occasions when he thought he was being victimised.\u00a0 His brothers had even been on the receiving end of a few mistimed punches of Joe’s own when he really got wound up about something he thought was unfair.\u00a0 They had to be thankful to a certain degree because it was that same volatile temper that had seen him through some very narrow scrapes in the past.<\/p>\n

“What did you do when he made you angry, Joe?” Fred asked.<\/p>\n

“Do I have to say it out loud?” Joe asked, a little embarrassed and a little guilty about what his Pa and brothers would think about where he had kicked Butch Thomas.<\/p>\n

“Don’t worry, son, nobody in this room is going to think any less of you.\u00a0 You have nothing to fear here about what you might have done to try and safe your life.\u00a0 You can it out loud without fear of retribution from anybody in this room.”<\/p>\n

“I kicked him in the crotch,” Joe said in a barely audible whisper with his head almost down in his lap.\u00a0 Almost nobody in the room heard his answer.<\/p>\n

“Sorry, son, you will have to speak up so everybody hears you.”<\/p>\n

“I kicked him between his legs,” Joe said in a louder voice and then immediately diverted his gaze from his family, not wanting to see any disapproving looks that may be present.<\/p>\n

What Joe heard was the exact opposite.\u00a0 There was a few whispers amongst the back rows in the courtroom.\u00a0 Adam turned around and gave a stern look to those responsible causing those responsible to fall into silence once again. Hoss on the other hand thought it was the most daring thing he had ever heard Joe do.\u00a0 He also thought it was the most danged funniest thing he had heard.\u00a0 He was happy that his little brother had been able to extract a little pain and suffering from his captors.<\/p>\n

Hoss laughed loudly enough for everyone to hear.\u00a0 Even the Judge himself had to hide a chuckle at the boy’s brash actions.\u00a0 Hoss settled himself down and gave his brother the biggest grin he could muster.\u00a0 He definitely needed to pat his little brother on the back when they returned home.<\/p>\n

Ben wasn’t disapproving of Joe’s actions.\u00a0 He just never thought his son was capable of doing something like that. He too was glad that there had been a little streak of rebelliousness in his son at a time when he needed it most.<\/p>\n

The laughter soon stopped suddenly, though, when everybody waited to hear Joe’s painful recollection of what happened as a result of that aimed kick.<\/p>\n

“Were you able to escape as a result of your kick to Mr X, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Almost.\u00a0 My feet were still tied together so I had to hop to the front door.\u00a0 I managed to get a hand on the doorknob, but those other two fellows then grabbed me and pulled me back away from the door.\u00a0 They kicked me in the ribs a couple of times and then threw me back into the chair in front of Mr X.”<\/p>\n

“What did Mr X do next, Joe?” Fred asked, regretting to hear what he already suspected had happened.<\/p>\n

“He pulled me upright again by the front of my shirt this time and held me out in front of him about arm’s length away. Then he just let loose with fists of fury.\u00a0 The first punch to my stomach was so hard I thought I was going to be physically sick.\u00a0 I was going to try and say something to him to make him stop, but before I could even look up, he hit me again.\u00a0 Over and over again, he hit me.\u00a0 I don’t know how many times he hit me but after a while I don’t\u00a0 remember any more.\u00a0 I think I must have been knocked out from the punches.”<\/p>\n

By the time Joe finished this portion of testimony he was physically shaking.\u00a0 Doc Martin walked over to him and knelt in front of him, clearly concerned for the boy’s well-being.<\/p>\n

Ben also went to his son, but he quickly wiped away the tears that he couldn’t stop after what Joe had just told them.\u00a0\u00a0 He could scarcely find words to speak to his son about how he felt about such vicious and cruel treatment being taken out on him.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin handed Joe a glass of cool water, which was accepted gratefully.\u00a0 “Are you alright, Little Joe?”<\/p>\n

Joe continued to sip from the glass for a few more seconds.\u00a0 When he handed it back to the doctor, his face was still pale and his eyes showed some signs of fatigue setting in.<\/p>\n

“I can’t stop now, Pa, or I will never get this finished,” Joe said, as he answered Paul’s question to his father.<\/p>\n

“What do you say, Paul?\u00a0 Is it advisable for him to continue?” Ben now asked his friend.\u00a0 Even though he knew the court needed to continue, he wasn’t prepared to risk his son’s health and have him collapse in front of everybody like he done yesterday, no matter how strong the protests about him being allowed to continue.<\/p>\n

“You’re starting to look a little tired, there Joe,” Paul said, voicing out loud his observations of the boy’s condition.\u00a0\u00a0 “Are you sure you don’t want a small break, even just for a few minutes?”<\/p>\n

“If I stop now, these thoughts going around and around in my head are going to make my go crazy, Doc,” Joe answered honestly.\u00a0 “I need to get them out and then I can rest.\u00a0 I don’t think I would be able to rest very well at the moment, anyway.\u00a0 My head is so full of flashbacks and memories that it is difficult to tell my nightmares from reality at the moment.\u00a0 Please, I need to continue and finish this.”<\/p>\n

Joe’s emerald green eyes held the pleading look that convinced Paul that he needed to do exactly that.<\/p>\n

“Alright, but you say when you have had enough,” Paul said making sure that Joe took note of his advice.<\/p>\n

“Your Honour, the witness is getting fatigued very quickly, but has requested that he be allowed to continue.\u00a0 I will allow him to continue at this stage, but I will be checking on him regularly throughout the rest of the morning.\u00a0 If I feel he is risking his health again, like yesterday, I will request a break on medical grounds,” Paul said, as he addressed the Judge.<\/p>\n

The Judge acknowledged the doctor’s sound advice with a nod of his head and a glance at the young witness beside him.\u00a0 He had much admiration for a young man, so determined to put things right but so full of painful memories that nobody should have to go through.<\/p>\n

“What’s the next thing you remember after being punched over and over by Mr X, Joe?” Fred asked in a very compassionate voice.\u00a0 He had never had a witness before who had been so victimised or hurt.\u00a0 He doubted he would have one ever again that had gone through as much as Joe Cartwright.<\/p>\n

“The next thing I remember is waking up with pain.\u00a0 Lots of it.\u00a0 It was really hard at first to tell where it was coming from.\u00a0 The punches that Mr X threw seemed to land everywhere on me.\u00a0 When I started to come to, I was lying on the floor.\u00a0 That’s where I must have landed when I passed out.”<\/p>\n

“Can you describe what sort of pain you were feeling, Joseph, and where you think it might have been coming from?”<\/p>\n

“It was different from when I woke up in the other room.\u00a0 When I woke up in there, it was just mainly stiffness from my hands and ankles being tied up for so long and the awkward position I was lying in.\u00a0 When I woke up the second time, the pain was more distinct and very sharp in some places like my ribs and chest.\u00a0 I couldn’t even move a inch on the floor to try and sit up to see where I was hurting without feeling some sort of pain.”<\/p>\n

“Please continue, Joe, about what happened after you came to on the floor.”<\/p>\n

Joe swallowed hard and looked towards his family.\u00a0 No matter how hard the story had been to tell so far, the next part was going to be somewhat harder still because these where the incidents that had truly driven the fear into Joe.\u00a0 What happened next was why he had been waking up screaming from his nightmares once he was returned home.\u00a0 These were some of the biggest secrets he had ever dared to keep from his family, and he wasn’t sure how they would react once they heard the entire details.<\/p>\n

Ben saw the look on Joe’s face and knew that his son was battling again to keep it all together.\u00a0 He saw his son’s reluctance to reveal the details he had kept to himself for so long.\u00a0\u00a0 He continued to show his son compassion,\u00a0 understanding and love through his dark brown eyes.\u00a0 If it was security and a sense of safety Joseph needed to feel right now, he need look no further than his family, sitting only a short distance from him.\u00a0 They would led him through the darkness and pain into the light and comfort.<\/p>\n

After all they had heard so far, nobody, including Judge Collins, was willing to rush the young man.\u00a0 They sat in complete silence and waited until he was ready to start telling the story again.<\/p>\n

“The next thing that I remember was Mr X lifting me up by the front of my shirt again and throwing me back into the chair.\u00a0 I thought he was going to start the punishment all over again.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I tried to push myself away from his reach, but he came up close to my face again and told me that I would regret doing what I had done.\u00a0 He said that he would make me learn the lessons the hard way.”<\/p>\n

“What did Mr X mean by this statement, Joe?”<\/p>\n

He told Danny Griffiths over there to start making a noose out of some rope.\u00a0 Danny went to his saddlebags and pulled out some thick rope and started to knot it together.”<\/p>\n

All eyes suddenly diverted to the prisoner sitting in the dock as it became clearer that he had a much larger part to play in this sickening act than first thought.\u00a0 Griffiths could feel the cold eyes of steel from almost every man and woman in the courtroom, and was at least grateful for the fact of the slight barricade of the dock being between him and them at the moment.\u00a0 It wasn’t much protection from an angry mob, but it was all he had.<\/p>\n

“Do you mean to tell this court, Joe, that Mr X instructed the defendant in the box over there to start making a loop out of rope?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, Sir.”<\/p>\n

“Did Mr X give any indication what the loop of rope was to be used for?” Fred asked, knowing it sounded like a stupid question before he even asked it.<\/p>\n

“Um, he said a lot of things, really.\u00a0 Some I remember, some I don’t.\u00a0 Some of it didn’t really sink in at the time. I was too afraid and too trying to deal with the pain I was feeling,” Joe replied.\u00a0 Although he was prepared to give honest answers in the courtroom today,\u00a0 the words that Butch Thomas had spoken to him that day about him being is worst fear and always being in his dreams was something that he was not prepared to ever repeat again.\u00a0 The words had been echoing in his head since he had returned home and they still haunted him today.<\/p>\n

Fred saw the reluctance in Joe to fully give the words spoken, but didn’t think they were critical to the whole case as this stage.<\/p>\n

Ben also saw Joe’s hesitation and wondered whether they would ever know what this monster of evil had said to his son that was so encrusted into the boy’s mind.\u00a0 Whatever he had said had poisoned Joe’s mind and soul with fear.<\/p>\n

“He said he was going to knock some of the fight out of me,” Joe now answered truthfully.<\/p>\n

“How did he intend to do that, Joseph?”<\/p>\n

“He grabbed me by the front of my shirt again and pulled me to my feet again.\u00a0 I thought he was going to start hitting me again. But he didn’t.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He just started lifting me higher into the air until I couldn’t feel my feet touching the floor anymore.\u00a0\u00a0 He lifted me higher and higher, and then forced me to stand on the seat of the chair.”<\/p>\n

The tears were spilling down Joe’s cheeks now as he relived those terrifying moments, but he kept his voice as steady as possible and continued the story.<\/p>\n

“I tried to pull away from his grip a few more times but he hit me a couple of times again.\u00a0\u00a0 He then let one of the hands holding on to me loose.\u00a0 Danny had thrown the long rope with the noose at the end over one of the beams close to the ceiling of the room.\u00a0 The noose was just above my head when Mr X let go with one hand.”<\/p>\n

Ben found it very difficult to sit and listen to the words his son spoke at the moment.\u00a0 It was not difficult to work out why someone would tie a noose in a rope for someone.\u00a0 What made it harder to take was that this Mr X seemed to enjoy dragging the torment on for his son.\u00a0\u00a0 Dragging out his punishment and pain until the boy was broken both physically and mentally.<\/p>\n

Adam had contemplated on taking a walk outside on a number of occasions so he didn’t have to listen to the too painful recollection of events from his brother.\u00a0 A walk into the fresh air might clear his head and prevent him from hearing anymore than he could stand but he told himself that he needed to be there not only showing support to his brother when he needed it most but also because his father and younger brother were finding this as hard to listen to as he was.\u00a0\u00a0 They had to stand together as a family.<\/p>\n

“Mr X was trying to put the noose of the rope over my head.\u00a0 I kept shaking my head around a little and moving it from side to side to make it harder for him, but eventually he got tired of fighting against me and yanked my head still by grabbing a fistful of my hair.\u00a0\u00a0 Once the rope was around my neck, he tightened it until I could almost not breathe.\u00a0 He made sure that the knot was directly behind my neck.”<\/p>\n

“Did you say anything to try and stop him from trying to hurt you any further?” Fred asked.\u00a0 He wanted to try and avoid using the words \u2018hang’ or \u2018hanging’ as much as possible for the sake of the witness and the family.<\/p>\n

“Yes,” Joe replied and chewed his lip a little.\u00a0 “I tried to tell him that he couldn’t do it.\u00a0 I was begging him, pleading for my life, because I thought he was really going to kill me right then and there. \u00a0But no matter how much I pleaded, he told me that he could and there would be no witnesses to see it.”<\/p>\n

“Mr X let go of my shirt then, and Danny tied the other end of the rope off to the side of the room.\u00a0 He pulled it so tight that I had to stand on tippee toes to reach the chair.\u00a0 I kept trying to move my head and loosen the rope, but it didn’t work.\u00a0 The roped only dug deeper into my neck and starting irritating the skin around my neck.”<\/p>\n

“How many men were in the room now, Joe, when this was all happening?”<\/p>\n

“Three.\u00a0 Mr X, Danny Griffiths and somebody else.\u00a0 I knew his name, but I forget it just now.\u00a0 I’ll remember it later.\u00a0 They all stood on the other side of the room closest to the front door.”<\/p>\n

“Mr X then told the other two that they needed some shooting practice and that they could start practicing on the legs of the chair that I was standing on.”<\/p>\n

Joe reached for the glass of water that had been left beside him and drank long and gratefully, trying to hide his emotions that were threatening to get the better of him again.\u00a0 As he drank, he looked over the rim of the glass and got to see the distressed look on the faces of his father and brothers as well as the fearful looks on some of the other people sitting behind them.\u00a0 His father looked very pale and a little tired himself to Joe.<\/p>\n

“Did they start shooting at the chair, Joe?” Fred asked, hoping that by some miracle that something else had intervened and stopped this act of sheer violence.<\/p>\n

“Mr X told them he would take the first shot just to show them what to do,” Joe answered and placed the almost empty glass back on the ledge of the witness box beside him.<\/p>\n

“Which leg did Mr X aim at, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“I don’t know, I couldn’t see from where I was standing.\u00a0 But I heard the gunshot and then felt the front of the chair start to tip forward, so it must have been one of the front legs that he hit with the bullet.\u00a0 I had to move my feet towards the back of the chair to stop it from falling over and the rope from pulling any tighter around my neck.\u00a0\u00a0 It took a couple of attempts to get the chair from rocking back and forth.”<\/p>\n

Fred looked at Joe as if to ask the next question of what happened next.\u00a0 He didn’t need to, though, and Joe took this as his cue to keep the story flowing as much as possible.\u00a0 He was beginning to look a little more tired and haggard in his facial features.\u00a0 Fred could see Doctor Paul Martin still keeping a close eye on him from nearby.<\/p>\n

“Mr X told them to make it quick for me and for both of them to shoot at the other legs together.”<\/p>\n

“What was the next thing you heard to saw, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“I heard three shots.\u00a0 Two together, at first, which must have been from Griffiths and the other fellow, but I swore, as I felt the chair fall out from under me and the rope start to get tighter, that I head a third shot.\u00a0 I don’t know who fired it.\u00a0 It must have been one of the men in the room, there was no one else who could have done it but I didn’t see anything else.\u00a0 The only thing I could recall at this time was the sensation of falling as the rope got tighter and tighter.\u00a0 I couldn’t breathe and think I must have passed out again before I hit the floor.”<\/p>\n

“What were your thoughts as you felt yourself falling from the chair, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“That I was dying,” Joe said honestly.\u00a0 “That this was so unfair and I was going to die right there and then without my family even knowing where I was or that I was dead.”<\/p>\n

Ben and Hoss had to wipe away fresh tears from their eyes at the conclusion of Joe’s statement.\u00a0 It was now becoming clearer by the minute to all of them why Joe had kept all of these thoughts and feelings to himself over these weeks.\u00a0 How he had done it without torturing himself further, they didn’t know.<\/p>\n

They all knew that although they were hearing every detail of what had happened to Joe today for the very first time, none of them would ever experience exactly how Joe felt at any given time during his captivity.\u00a0 Joe could describe the pain he was feeling and they could see the physical injuries and scars that were to be left behind,\u00a0 but nobody would ever be able to fully appreciate what terrible monsters these men had been to do this to Joe.<\/p>\n

Fred could scarcely put the words together as he knew he had to ask his young and already tormented witness to keep describing the ordeal that he went through.<\/p>\n

“Can you tell us what happened next, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Well, the next time I can too I was a little confused.\u00a0 I didn’t know whether I was alive or dead.\u00a0 I didn’t know how much time had passed between then and when I had fallen off the chair.\u00a0 Then the pain in my ankles and wrists started to get very bad again so I knew that somehow I was still alive.”<\/p>\n

“Could you\u00a0 tell what time of day it was when you woke up again?”<\/p>\n

“No, everything was really hazy then.\u00a0 I could barely lift my head off the floor without it pounding from the headache that I had.\u00a0 I never looked out the window to see if the sun was up or not.”<\/p>\n

“Was all that happened in the shack, Joe?” Fred asked, hoping that that was it, but knowing deep inside that there had been more.<\/p>\n

“No.\u00a0 I guess they must have heard me when I woke up.\u00a0 I must have been moaning from the pain.\u00a0 I heard Mr X come into the room again.\u00a0 I tried to pretend that I was still asleep, but he didn’t believe it for a minute.\u00a0 He picked me up and pulled me in front of him again.\u00a0 He told me it was time to play the next game.”<\/p>\n

“Did you try and plead with him again to stop hurting you, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Not really.\u00a0 I was feeling pretty miserable by this time. \u00a0When he was telling me that there was more pain and hurt in store for me I just told him to get it over with and kill me.”<\/p>\n

Ben felt the blood drain from his face as his son uttered these words.\u00a0 Paul had seen the paleness of his old friend’s face and could scarcely believe that somebody would be evil enough to cause enough hurt and pain for the boy to feel like there was no reason at all left to live.\u00a0 Ben assured Paul that he was alright, but he found his stomach tied in knots with the worry he was experiencing.<\/p>\n

“What was this other sick game that Mr X devised, Joe?” Fred asked, knowing he was stepping over the boundaries a little when he made the comment, but not really caring about protocol at this point in time.<\/p>\n

“They dragged me over to another chair in the room.\u00a0 I didn’t have enough strength to fight them.\u00a0 I hadn’t had any food or water the whole time, and my legs wouldn’t hold me up anymore.\u00a0\u00a0 Mr X then pulled out his gun and emptied the shells out onto the floor.\u00a0 My mind counted them as they fell one by one to the floor.\u00a0 I thought he was just going to shoot me and it would be all over.”<\/p>\n

“How many bullets were emptied onto the floor, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Six.\u00a0 Four that were still good and two that had been fired.\u00a0 And that’s when I realised that he did have something else in mind because there weren’t any bullets left in the barrel to shoot me then.”<\/p>\n

“What did Mr X do next?”<\/p>\n

“He picked up one of the good bullets and cleaned the dust off with his shirt.\u00a0 Then he loaded it into one of the chambers in the gun.\u00a0 He closed the barrel and then begun spinning it around and around.”<\/p>\n

Adam looked at his brother.\u00a0 It didn’t take a genius to work out what the game was that this monster wanted to play with Joe.\u00a0 Russian roulette was a very old and deadly game.\u00a0 It had been played many times in saloons and bars all over the world.\u00a0\u00a0 He just never thought that his brother’s life would be the ultimate price for such a gamble.<\/p>\n

Fred asked the question that everybody in the room already knew the answer to, “Do you know what Mr X intended to do with the bullet and the gun, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“He intended to play Russian roulette.” Joe said without any emotion in his voice.<\/p>\n

“Did he tell you how he intended to play out these nasty deeds?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, he said that he would spin the barrel first and then shoot and if the chamber was empty and I was still alive, I would get to spin the barrel next.\u00a0 We were to keep taking turns until my luck ran out, I guess.”<\/p>\n

“What was his next step?”<\/p>\n

“He put the barrel of his gun against my temple and pressed hard,” Joe said.\u00a0 He was looking at the floor as he spoke, trying to avoid his family’s reaction.\u00a0 He didn’t see Paul Martin and Ben look at each other and realise, for the first time since they saw it, what had made the perfectly round bruise on Joe’s temple when his injuries were first being assessed.<\/p>\n

Up until now Paul had no idea what had made such a mark on the boy.\u00a0 He had even testified to the fact yesterday that he drew a blank at the instrument that might have been used.\u00a0 He had never thought, in all his professional years as a doctor that he could start feel hatred for someone he had never even met.<\/p>\n

“Joe, everybody here knows what a terrible time you were put through.\u00a0 To save you from some stress and unwanted memories, I think it is safe to say that when the gun was fired, the chamber was empty.”<\/p>\n

“Yes.\u00a0 The first time and the second time,” Joe replied, making sure that they all knew that the scene had been played out more than once.<\/p>\n

“You mean Mr X spun the barrel a second time and pulled the trigger again?” Fred said a little dismayed at the man’s obvious efforts to totally break the boy’s mental and physical spirit.<\/p>\n

“No,” Joe said sharply as he lifted his head and saying the word with definition on his face.<\/p>\n

Fred had a confused look on his face that said he wanted Joe to explain his answer.<\/p>\n

“What I mean is that yes, the gun was fired a second time, but Mr X didn’t do it the second time.\u00a0 He made me spin it the second time and forced me to pull the trigger myself when the barrel was against my head.\u00a0 My hands were still tied together and shaking so much that I could barely get the barrel to spin properly.”<\/p>\n

“Oh, Joe,” Fred said in a very sorrowful voice.\u00a0 He really didn’t know what else to say.<\/p>\n

“I guess somebody must have been watching over me,” Joe said with a little false laughter at the end.\u00a0 He knew that everybody felt sorry for him about what happened, but his fierce sense of independence wanted them all to forget what had happened just like he had to try and do.<\/p>\n

Ben had a fairly good idea who Joe thought was watching over him that day and he turned his face towards the ceiling and sent a silent prayer to the Lord above and to his wife Marie.<\/p>\n

Joe asked for another glass of water.\u00a0 Hoss was only happy to oblige his younger brother.\u00a0 At least this way he thought he was doing something useful.\u00a0 He had promised his father and Marie that he would always be there for Joe when he needed him.\u00a0\u00a0 After hearing his brother’s horrific story of self-reliance and survival, he had never felt that he had let his brother down so strongly before.<\/p>\n

“Did anything else happen after that, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“I don’t really remember anything else.\u00a0 I had my eyes closed, too scared to open then and see the bullet that was about to kill me.\u00a0\u00a0 The next thing I felt was a hit to the back of my head with something hard.\u00a0 I don’t know what he used, but it hurt and all I saw was blackness.”<\/p>\n

“Is that the last time you saw, Mr X?”<\/p>\n

“Yes and no” Joe answered simply.\u00a0 But not the last time I heard him or saw him in my dreams, he thought silently to himself.<\/p>\n

“I am afraid you will have to expand on that double answer, Joe.”<\/p>\n

“Yes, it is the last time I seen him at the shack. \u00a0Its not the last time I have seen him since I was brought home.”<\/p>\n

Fred made a mental note to explore that answer in detail a little later on.<\/p>\n

“Can you tell us how you managed to escape from the shack, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“I came to back in the smaller room in the shack.\u00a0 My head hurt so bad I could barely sit up.\u00a0\u00a0 It took a long time for me to be able to focus enough to look around.\u00a0 The room was very dark and it was hard even to make out any basic shapes.\u00a0 My feet and hands were still tied together.\u00a0 They were starting to go numb from the blood not circulating through them.”<\/p>\n

“For a long time I just tried to loosen the rope around my hands and feet.\u00a0 The ropes were very tight, and I didn’t think I was going to do it.\u00a0\u00a0 After a long time I felt the ropes on my ankles stretch a little, not much but a little.\u00a0 I took off my shoes.\u00a0\u00a0 When my shoes were off it was fairly easy to pull my feet through the rope.\u00a0 Then I started on my hands.\u00a0\u00a0 They also took a lot of time to stretch the rope.\u00a0 My hands stung from the skin being almost rubbed away in some places.”<\/p>\n

“My eyes must have adjusted to the darkness in the room some, and I could see a cup of water sitting on the floor a little way from me.\u00a0 When I got to it I drank a little of it and then poured the rest of it over my hands to try and stop the pain and stinging from the rope.\u00a0 I poured a little on my ankles, but they were not as raw because I had long trousers on.\u00a0 The rope hadn’t rubbed against the skin so much around my ankles.”<\/p>\n

“I started to look around the room for some way to get out.\u00a0 I couldn’t have gone through the front door because they would have caught me again.\u00a0\u00a0 I tried to find another way out.\u00a0 I kept stopping, though, because I thought I heard them coming towards the door.”<\/p>\n

“I moved to the furthest corner in the room where I thought the sound would be heard the least.\u00a0 I started to feel around the boards of the walls for ones that might be a little loose and I could get my hands underneath.\u00a0\u00a0 When I felt the ground underneath the boards, it was very wet and muddy from the rain outside.\u00a0 I could feel the bottom of the boards were wet, too.\u00a0\u00a0 I put my feet against them and grabbed a hold of one of them and started to pull from the bottom.\u00a0 I was lucky and the first one broke fairly easily.”<\/p>\n

“How many of them did you have to break to make a hole big enough to escape?”<\/p>\n

“Four.\u00a0\u00a0 I still hadn’t had anything to eat so I was a bit skinny.\u00a0\u00a0 When I had crawled through the hole and got to the other side, the front of my shirt was covered in mud.”<\/p>\n

“What time of the day was it outside now, Joe, are you able to tell us?”<\/p>\n

“I didn’t stay still very long to look at the sky, Mr Harding, but I think it was a few hours before sunrise.\u00a0 There was a little light just above the horizon.\u00a0\u00a0 After I started running, I didn’t look at the sky very much at all.\u00a0\u00a0 I just wanted to get away from there before they found out I was missing.”<\/p>\n

“Did you have any idea about the direction you were headed in when you started to run?”<\/p>\n

“No.\u00a0 I just wanted to get away.\u00a0\u00a0 I think I headed towards the light.”<\/p>\n

“Did the landmarks start to become familiar to you as you escaped, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“No, after a while I couldn’t run anymore because the pain in my chest and side were just too bad.\u00a0 I had a headache that was really bad, too.\u00a0\u00a0 All of the trees looked the same to me.\u00a0\u00a0 I had to stop quite a lot to catch my breath. My lungs were burning so that I thought I must have something wrong with my ribs, maybe from all of the kicks and punches.”<\/p>\n

“Did you start to recognize things a little easier once the sun rose higher?”<\/p>\n

“Yes and no.\u00a0 I still didn’t recognize where I was.\u00a0\u00a0 I came across some muddy water and took a small drink from it. I thought I might get sick if I drank too much.”<\/p>\n

“What happened next?”<\/p>\n

“After a while walking I came across a stream.\u00a0\u00a0 Only a small one, not very wide.\u00a0 Only a few steps to the other side. I put my foot into the water and couldn’t believe how cold it was.\u00a0 I almost stopped myself from going any further, but there wasn’t anywhere else that was any shallower to cross.\u00a0 I didn’t know if I had the time to search for a narrower crossing further up or downstream.\u00a0\u00a0 I thought Mr X and the others must have found me missing by now.”<\/p>\n

“After that I don’t remember anything else until I woke up with Pa beside me back in my room,” Joe said.<\/p>\n

“You don’t remember anything about stepping on the rusty trap in the stream and being found unconscious by your family some time later?”<\/p>\n

“No.\u00a0 Nothing.\u00a0 The only thing I felt when I woke up next was being cold,” Joe admitted.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded his head at this statement as he remembered how cold his son’s body had been when they found it in the stream and how his son had asked for blankets to warm him when he woke up.<\/p>\n

Joe had started to force himself to relax a little over the last half an hour or so.\u00a0\u00a0 Although the memories in his head were still very vivid, he couldn’t believe how much relief he actually got from telling things out in the open.\u00a0\u00a0 It was as if the weight he had been feeling on his shoulders was beginning to lift ever so slowly.<\/p>\n

That false sense of security was short-lived as the sound of footsteps could be heard entering the courtroom.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe looked up and saw two men enter the room.\u00a0\u00a0 His eyes only focused on one of them.\u00a0 He could feel his chest and throat begin to constrict with the fear that he felt.\u00a0 He felt as though he could scarcely breathe.\u00a0 This couldn’t be happening, he told himself, but the scene before him told him that his silent nightmare was about to come reality.<\/p>\n

Joe had diverted his face and head from the two men as they walked across the room and sat only a few rows behind the defence lawyer.\u00a0 It was Henry Williams, shouldered by Butch Thomas.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thomas smirked silently as he saw the face of his young victim as he entered.\u00a0 It had been just the reaction he was looking for.<\/p>\n

Butch Thomas and Henry Williams had not heard the majority of what Joe had said.\u00a0\u00a0 Butch Thomas told himself that he could watch the trial without fear of being identified.\u00a0 The kid wasn’t going to talk if he knew what was best for him.\u00a0\u00a0 He carefully noted the position of various people in the room.\u00a0\u00a0 He looked over and looked casually at Danny Griffiths in the prisoner dock, careful not to allow any sign of recognition to cross his face and give their acquaintance away.<\/p>\n

Thomas also made a mental note of where the Sheriff was standing in the room as well as the kid’s family.\u00a0 He was lucky enough to recognize the black-haired brother he had seen before he took the kid.\u00a0 He assumed the large man sitting beside him and the silver-haired man in the same row must have been the boy’s family.\u00a0\u00a0 He recognized the doctor he had spoken to after the boy had been found and returned home.\u00a0 He didn’t pay any attention to Fred Harding, the prosecutor.<\/p>\n

Thomas’s glance caught a glimpse of the only firearm he could see in the room, on the Sheriff.\u00a0 He had concealed a small pistol inside the coat of his jacket.\u00a0 Nobody would even know it was there. Williams had been suspicious about the whole thing of going to the courtroom and gloating secretly in front of everyone.\u00a0\u00a0 Thomas had been a little more persuading, though, and told Williams that everything would work out as long as he acted like a concerned citizen like the other people in the courtroom.<\/p>\n

Paul Martin and Ben Cartwright had noticed an immediate change in Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 They had seen two unknown men walk into the room and take a seat at the back of the courtroom, but they had no reason to suspect that they were the cause for Joe’s sudden pallor and loss of composure.<\/p>\n

They both approached Joe again with concern clearly on their faces.\u00a0 They knew that something was very wrong with Joe at the moment.\u00a0\u00a0 The boy was trembling slightly again and the paleness of his skin alarmed them the most.<\/p>\n

“Joe, are you alright?” Paul asked, reaching out a gentle hand and trying to reassure the boy that everything was alright.\u00a0 They had all heard the harrowing version of events given by the boy only a short time ago.\u00a0\u00a0 Although he seemed to be as strong as everybody had expected throughout the whole story, maybe now the emotions of what had happened where truly beginning to catch up with him as he listened to his own words and remembered the pain that he had endured.<\/p>\n

Joe fought against his fear, telling himself that he had to finish this, no matter how hard it was.\u00a0 His eyes kept trying to pull his attention to Butch Thomas sitting in the room.\u00a0\u00a0 His mind was screaming at him that the man was there to hurt him again.\u00a0 To possibly take him away from his family again.<\/p>\n

It took all Joe’s willpower to keep his eyes focused on the floor in front of him.\u00a0 He had barely taken any notice of the questions asked of him by Doc Martin or his father.\u00a0 He looked up and found them awaiting an answer to a question he hadn’t heard.<\/p>\n

“Sorry, Pa, I didn’t hear what you said,” Joe said in a small voice.<\/p>\n

Ben was patient enough to repeat the question for his son, “The doctor asked if you were alright, Joseph?”<\/p>\n

“I need to finish this, Pa,” Joe replied with a pleading look in his eyes.\u00a0 “I have told almost all there is to know.\u00a0 I can’t tell all of that and then just turn away when I am almost at the end.\u00a0\u00a0 I just can’t, Pa.”<\/p>\n

Ben knew this statement to be completely true.\u00a0 His son had shown more courage and bravery than he had seen in most men twice his son’s age by geting up on this witness stand today and telling the story they had all just heard.\u00a0 He couldn’t expect his son to recover just because he had shared his experiences.\u00a0\u00a0 Part of the healing process involved the completion and closure from the court.\u00a0 If Joe didn’t get that closure, his pain and mental anguish might never go away.<\/p>\n

Ben now looked at the doctor beside him and saw the same thoughts on his face.\u00a0 He, too held the same belief that the boy needed closure to the matter in his own peace of mind.\u00a0 Paul was still worried, though, about Joe’s physical well-being.<\/p>\n

In addition to Joe having looked dreadfully tired over the last hour or so, he couldn’t help but take note of Joe’s slight winces of pain that were evidence on his face as the young man bent down to try and rub at the bandages around his injured ankle.\u00a0 The doctor was pretty sure that the ankle had been causing him trouble throughout the whole day, but had only become to their attention because of Joe’s distraction because of the throbbing.<\/p>\n

“Joe, I am getting really worried about you sitting here for so long.\u00a0 You need to rest.\u00a0 You need to have your injuries looked at.”<\/p>\n

“I can’t rest until this is finished, Doc,” Joe said bluntly.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin nodded his head in acknowledgement.\u00a0 Joe was probably more right than he knew.\u00a0 If they did break for him to rest, the boy probably wouldn’t be able to sleep, anyway.\u00a0 He had been plagued by nightmares and dreams since he had been found in the stream by his family.<\/p>\n

“Half an hour, Joe and that’s it,” Doc Martin said coming up with a compromise that he thought was suitable to all.\u00a0 He know turned and got Fred Harding’s attention and then proceeded to address the Judge as a doctor.<\/p>\n

“Your Honour, although it is against my better judgment, I am going to allow this questioning to continue.\u00a0 But only for a further 30 minutes.\u00a0 Joe is dangerously close to causing more unnecessary damage to his injuries from lack of rest.\u00a0 He is very tired, and I cannot allow this to go on for much longer as a doctor and a friend to him.\u00a0 I am aware of Joe’s pleas to be allowed to go on and respect them, but only for a while longer.”<\/p>\n

“Very well then, Doctor, in thirty minutes we will adjourn until tomorrow morning at your request,” the Judge replied.\u00a0 “Are you sure you don’t want to break now, Joe?” he asked, as he turned to the boy and asked him directly what his wishes were.<\/p>\n

“I can go on,” Joe said with determination in his voice.\u00a0 It was a little hard to believe him, though, as the signs of fatigue and pain began to show on his young and handsome face.<\/p>\n

“Mr Harding, you have a further half an hour to ask the rest of your questions for today.”<\/p>\n

Fred nodded in agreement and was secretly relieved that this would soon come to an end for Joe.\u00a0 He hoped he could get all of the questions out within this time, and Joe wouldn’t need to come back and go through any more tomorrow.<\/p>\n

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

Ben and Doc Martin reluctantly took their respective places back behind Fred Harding.\u00a0 Both of them never took their eyes of Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 The young man’s posture gave away further his pain and feeling of fatigue.\u00a0 His shoulders were slumped and hunched forward.\u00a0 His head hung low as if he didn’t have the strength to hold it up straight.<\/p>\n

Little did either of them know that Joe’s head hung low for another reason entirely.\u00a0 At the moment he was battling as hard as he could not to look in Butch Thomas’s direction.\u00a0\u00a0 The battle was getting harder and harder.<\/p>\n

As hard as he tried, though, there was something about Thomas’s dark brooding eyes that drew his attention towards the man.\u00a0 Joe turned his head and looked into those eyes.\u00a0 He almost felt like Thomas was able to look into his soul.\u00a0\u00a0 He could feel any of the confidence and self-esteem that he had gained from his family’s presence and support being drained away by Thomas’s stare.<\/p>\n

Butch Thomas kept his composure throughout.\u00a0 He gave secret and sly smirks at the young man as he found that the young man unable to divert his eyes.\u00a0 He knew that Joe feared him.\u00a0 It was very evident on his face what he was feeling.\u00a0\u00a0 He was determined not to give his identity away and he was just as determined not to allow the boy to tell the court anything about what had happened back at the shack.\u00a0\u00a0 He was unaware that Joe had already spoken about his experiences.<\/p>\n

Thomas looked about, making sure that nobody was taking particular notice of him or the fact that he held the young man’s attention.\u00a0 He placed his right hand over his heart, making the shape of a pistol with his thumb and index finger to alert Joe to the fact that he had a concealed gun under his jacket.<\/p>\n

The gesture wasn’t missed by Joe.\u00a0 He could scarcely draw his eyes away from the fingers and the fact that they made the shape of a gun.\u00a0 Joe had taken particular note that Thomas had dressed himself formally for the court in order to fool the rest of Virginia City about his true intentions of being there today.\u00a0 Thomas would not have been allowed to enter the courtroom with a gun belt strapped to his waist.<\/p>\n

Joe didn’t think for one moment though that Thomas had come unarmed, either.\u00a0 He had shown back at the shack and over the last two weeks that he was prepared to take almost any measure to stop Joe from telling anybody who was responsible for taking him from his family.<\/p>\n

Joe fully realised what the gun gesture meant.\u00a0\u00a0 Thomas would be able to shoot anybody in this room if he so chose, even somebody from his family.<\/p>\n

Joe felt the sweat start to bead on his forehead.\u00a0 His heart was slamming against the wall of his chest, as he thought about the hidden gun.\u00a0 The man’s menace knew no boundaries.<\/p>\n

Emotionally and mentally, Joe was at the end of his tether.\u00a0 He wanted so much for his family and the other people in the courtroom to know that the man who had done these torturous deeds to him was sitting right now amongst them.\u00a0 Joe was afraid, though, of what Thomas might do even in front of all these witnesses.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew that he couldn’t do this on his own anymore.<\/p>\n

Little Joe told himself that somehow he had to tell one of his family of Thomas’s presence without saying the words or without giving undue attention to Thomas.\u00a0 He looked back and forth between his family and Doc Martin, trying to size up who would note the subtle signals and understand their meaning.\u00a0 This family member would need to keep that information to himself as well until Joe decided that it was the right moment to identify his kidnapper.<\/p>\n

Joe now raised his head and looked intently at his older brother Adam.\u00a0 He was sure that if Hoss knew about Thomas’s presence, he would be out to get retribution as soon as he knew.\u00a0\u00a0 His father would want to alert Roy Coffee to the man’s presence and in doing so he might put many people in the courtroom at risk of harm including his family.\u00a0\u00a0 He couldn’t afford to risk that.<\/p>\n

Joe told himself that he needed someone level-headed and cool in a crisis situation.\u00a0 Adam was the name that first came into his head.\u00a0 Adam would be alarmed and possibly even concerned, but he wouldn’t fly off the handle like Hoss would be likely to do, and he would try and help Joe discreetly rather than alerting everyone to the situation.<\/p>\n

Adam didn’t miss the long stare that he was receiving from his young sibling.\u00a0 He knew as their eyes locked that it wasn’t merely a look that asked for his support and understanding.\u00a0 Joe was trying to tell him something.\u00a0 Joe’s eyes had always been the most expressive part about him.\u00a0 Joe had never been very good at hiding anything or keeping his feelings from his feelings from his family too long.\u00a0 As soon as he tried, his eyes told them all they wanted to know.<\/p>\n

Looking at Joe’s emerald green eyes now, Adam could see fear like no other.\u00a0 Over the past few weeks he had known Joe to show this level of fear when he was talking about or remembering only one person.\u00a0 As Adam looked at Joe with his own warm brown eyes, he realized Joe was trying to give him something about the person he feared, and then he suddenly understood that Mr. X must be nearby, even in this room.<\/p>\n

Joe had held up particularly well over the last six hours or so whilst he gave his terrifying version of events back at the abandoned shack.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe had only just started to lose his composure to fear within the last twenty minutes or so.<\/p>\n

Joe almost cried out loud in relief when he recognized the message in his brother’s return gaze.\u00a0 He knew that Adam now understood that his tormentor was in the room somewhere.\u00a0 He couldn’t give away the man’s exact position without fear of putting himself, his family or everyone else at risk of Thomas’s fury.\u00a0 He trusted that Adam would somehow alert his family about what was going on.<\/p>\n

Adam adjusted his head slightly, barely noticeably to anybody else sitting nearby and whispered into his father’s ear what information he had learned from Joe.<\/p>\n

Ben almost gasped out loud with the words he was hearing from Adam.\u00a0 It took all of Ben’s willpower not to start scanning the people immediately behind him to see if he could recognize a stranger sitting amongst them.\u00a0\u00a0 He could scarcely believe that the man who had done such terrible things to his son was still brazen enough to turn up at the courtroom and terrify his son some more.<\/p>\n

Over the next few minutes Adam was able to discreetly alert his brother Hoss, Doc Martin and Fred Harding, with the help of his father, to the fact that Joe’s kidnapper was in the room somewhere.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam had taken a particular point of holding firmly onto Hoss’s arm out of sight as he told him.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss’s brow quickly turned into a frown as he fought against the urge inside him to pull this animal out of his hiding place and make a public example out of him for Little Joe.<\/p>\n

All of them knew the precarious situation that they were all in, especially Little Joe.\u00a0 They all knew that he was expecting them all to keep his secret just that until the moment was a little better.\u00a0 None of them were aware of the firearm that Thomas had concealed in his jacket.<\/p>\n

Fred Harding took it upon himself to make sure that he could word his questions in such a manner as to draw the man out in the open and incriminate himself in the process.\u00a0 Hopefully this would prevent the messy business of Joe having to point a finger at the man and thereby putting himself in danger from the man who still threatened him.<\/p>\n

“Joe,” Fred began with a cough to hide his nervousness.\u00a0 “A little over a week ago, your father tells me, you fainted in your bedroom.\u00a0 Can you tell the courtroom a little more about what made you faint that day.\u00a0 Was it because of the injuries you had received from your abductors?”<\/p>\n

“No,” Joe said, as he saw Thomas shift around in his chair.\u00a0\u00a0 He knew that Thomas was becoming aware that he had told all to the court.<\/p>\n

“No?\u00a0 Can you add a little more, please, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“I fainted because of something that was placed in my bedroom by Mr X”.<\/p>\n

“You mean that Mr X returned to your bedroom after you where brought home by your family?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, he came back twice,” Joe said, keeping an uneasy eye on Thomas as he saw the man move again in his chair.\u00a0 He could feel the man’s eyes burning into his skin as they got darker and darker with anger.\u00a0 He started to tremble slightly at the thought of what the man was going to do.<\/p>\n

Butch Thomas couldn’t do anything to avoid alerting anybody to his true identity.\u00a0 Beside him, Henry Williams had looked at him anxiously a couple of times as Joe and the prosecutor spoke about this Mr X.\u00a0\u00a0 Thomas had to laugh a little at the boy’s tactics of dreaming up an imaginary name for him.<\/p>\n

The boy was ingenious, if nothing else.\u00a0\u00a0 If the boy wanted to play games, he was willing to play along for a time\u00a0 He thought that he had made it abundantly clear that the boy was never to tell anybody about who he was or what had happened back at the shack.\u00a0 Once the game was ended, he would make sure that the boy paid dearly for his indiscretion.<\/p>\n

“He came back when he put me in the closet, but he came back before that,” Joe said, his voice almost a whisper again.<\/p>\n

“How do you know it was Mr X that came back the first time, Joe?\u00a0 It could have been somebody else that came into your house without you or your family knowing.”<\/p>\n

“No, it had to be him because nobody else could have left the object that he left on my bedside table.\u00a0 He knew how scared I would be when I saw it.\u00a0 That’s why he left it there in the first place.”<\/p>\n

“What was this special item that he placed there, Joe?\u00a0 What did he leave that he knew would make you remember what had happened to you?”<\/p>\n

“He left one of the bullets from his gun,” Joe replied and then looked back towards the ground again to try and hide the redness that was rising on his face.<\/p>\n

Ben and his family still couldn’t believe the words that they were hearing from his son.\u00a0 Joe had known all along that this Mr X had been in the house before the closet incident.\u00a0 How was this boy able to keep such horrible secrets from the ones that loved him for so long?\u00a0 They couldn’t help but feel hatred towards this man who had terrified Joe so much that he thought he needed to hide things from his family and not tell them when he was being threatened.<\/p>\n

Fred looked at his watch and knew he had to keep going.\u00a0 There wasn’t much of those thirty minutes left and any minute now Doc Martin was going to put an end to today’s proceedings.<\/p>\n

“Yesterday, Joe, when you were in the courtroom, are you able to tell us what made you faint then?\u00a0\u00a0 Were you in too much pain from your injuries or was the questioning getting to be too much of a burden?”<\/p>\n

“Neither.\u00a0 I admit that my leg was hurting some before I asked for a break and went outside.\u00a0 As for the questions, well, I was trying to avoid answering them as much as possible as I said this morning.”<\/p>\n

“Well then what is your explanation?”<\/p>\n

“Well, you see, when I got outside and started to head towards the outhouse, I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders from behind.\u00a0 I was going to call out for somebody in here to help me, but the man put a hand over my mouth before I could scream and then dragged me into the alleyway so nobody would be able to see or hear what was going on.”<\/p>\n

Joe could feel the redness starting to rise from the base of his neck again and travel upwards towards his head.\u00a0 He could feel the beginning of a headache starting to surface.<\/p>\n

There were many whispers and shocks amongst the people in the courtroom about what had happened to Joe when he went outside the courtroom.\u00a0 None of them ever imagined that the boy had been assaulted again.<\/p>\n

Fred asked the question that everybody seemed to already know the answer to, “Can you tell us who this man was that grabbed you and tried to silence your calls for help?”<\/p>\n

“At first I didn’t know who it was.\u00a0 I was just scared and trying to get free.\u00a0 Once he had dragged me far enough into the alleyway he turned me around to face me so I could see who he was.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was Mr X”<\/p>\n

A hush now fell over the crowded courtroom as Joe uttered who the assailant was.\u00a0\u00a0 The Judge was appalled and it clearly showed on his face.\u00a0 He made a promise to himself, as a overseer of justice, and to the young man sitting beside him who had suffered and endured so much pain and torment.\u00a0 Whoever this Mr X was, he would face the full wrath of the law when his identity became known.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin had a look on his face that said he now knew why Little Joe had faltered in his step when he came back into the room.\u00a0 They had all been able to see the terror and fear in the young man’s eyes.\u00a0 He had been trembling from fear and it all became too much for his mind and body to handle.\u00a0 His body had already been under enough stress over the last few weeks and was only part way healed.<\/p>\n

Fred knew he really only had time for one or two more questions.\u00a0 He was going to make damn sure that they counted for Little Joe.<\/p>\n

“Joe, we have been referring all day to this man as Mr X.\u00a0 The time has now come for you to tell us his true name. Do you know what his name is, Joe?”<\/p>\n

“Yes,” Joe said in a barely audible whisper.\u00a0 His gaze once again wandered to a few rows behind where his family were sitting.\u00a0 He could see Thomas’s face, his eyes now dark as coal from the anger that was present.\u00a0 Joe was under no false impressions.\u00a0 He knew that if Thomas managed to get a hand on him now, he may very well kill him with his bare hands.<\/p>\n

Joe’s mind once again travelled over all of the torture and pain he had been forced to endure during those days of captivity.\u00a0\u00a0 He remembered the anguished looks on the faces of his father and brothers every time he woke them with a nightmare when he had been brought home.\u00a0 How often they had sat by his beside and lovingly nursed him back to health?\u00a0 They had hoped that he would open up to them and tell them about what had happened to him.<\/p>\n

It seemed that the last month or so was all a very bad theatrical performance by Joe.\u00a0 His life had been one big puppet show with his strings being pulled by Thomas.\u00a0 Thomas was the director, and Joe found himself doing just what he was told because of the fear that he felt towards this man and the threats that had been made to him over and over.<\/p>\n

Joe told himself that it was time to break free of those restraints, no matter what the cost, and come out and tell the court who this man was.\u00a0 He wanted to make sure that his man was put away so he could never do any harm to anybody else like he had done to him.<\/p>\n

With all the courage he could possibly muster, and that wasn’t very much at the moment, he looked directly and purposefully at Butch Thomas to utter his next words.\u00a0 He wanted to see the man’s face when he revealed his identity.\u00a0 He wanted Thomas to know what it was like to be afraid.\u00a0 Afraid of what was going to happen to him, prison or maybe even death by hanging.\u00a0 He deserved no less.<\/p>\n

“The man who did all of this to me is….Butch Thomas,” Joe said, the effort to get those two words out almost too much.\u00a0\u00a0 He would never have believed that it would be so hard to say somebody’s name.<\/p>\n

Before anybody else had time to react to Joe’s words, though, Thomas jumped up out of his seat with a roar of pure hatred and primal rage.\u00a0 “You little whelp.\u00a0\u00a0 I warned you what would happen if you told anybody about me,” Thomas spat.”<\/p>\n

Thomas now reached into his jacket and pulled out the small concealed pistol and aimed it directly at Joe.\u00a0 Everything in the room seemed to happen in slow motion now.<\/p>\n

Joe saw Thomas fire the gun.\u00a0 He had tried to manoeuvre his body out of the way but was restricted to a slower pace due to his injured leg.\u00a0 He was still trying to escape from the witness box when he felt a red hot searing pain in his side.\u00a0 The pain that erupted in his chest took his breath away and all he could get out was a half-strangled cry as he felt himself topple sideways towards the floor.\u00a0\u00a0 He put his hand to his side where the pain felt the worst.\u00a0 When he pulled his hand away, it was stained bright red with his blood.<\/p>\n

Thomas fired the pistol at Joe just a fraction of a second before Hoss barrelled into the man with his full weight.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss landed on top of the man and started punching him without mercy.\u00a0 Now that he knew the identity of Joe’s kidnapper, he was about to extract some of his own for his little brother.<\/p>\n

Hoss’s fists stopped, though, as he heard an anguished cry from his father.\u00a0 He had almost forgotten about the gun being fired and now turned around to see what the stray bullet had struck.\u00a0\u00a0 He could scarcely hold back the tears from his eyes as he saw his father and older brother now kneeling beside the crumpled form of his little brother.<\/p>\n

“JOSEPH!” Ben had cried as he saw a man behind him raise a small pistol and aim it directly at his young and vulnerable son.\u00a0 He saw the boy gasp in pain and knew that the bullet had struck him somewhere.\u00a0 He took a brief second to glance around and see Hoss grab hold of the man who had fired the gun while seated behind them and start punching into him.\u00a0 He didn’t even give the man a second thought for the time being.<\/p>\n

Ben and Doc Martin had reached the stricken youth at about the same time.\u00a0 The courtroom was in chaos as people heard a gunshot and tried to flee out of the nearest exits.<\/p>\n

“Quickly, get some cloths or rags to try and stop this bleeding!” Doc Martin shouted to anybody that was nearby.\u00a0\u00a0 He was quickly handed some towels from somewhere, he didn’t stop to take the time to thank the person.<\/p>\n

Doc Martin now used pressure together with the towel to try and slow the flow of blood pouring from Joe’s side that was torn open by the bullet.\u00a0 The boy was still conscious, and this gave the doctor a little hope that the pain and the wound itself maybe weren’t as bad as they looked.<\/p>\n

Joe grimaced in pain as the world around him began to become fuzzy and disorientated.\u00a0 He didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to stay awake so he needed to say things now while there was still time.<\/p>\n

He couldn’t tell if the wound was fatal or not.\u00a0 By the worried looks of the faces above and around him, he judged that it must be bad.<\/p>\n

“Everything is going to be fine, son.\u00a0 You just hold on now.\u00a0\u00a0 Doc Martin and I will take good care of you.\u00a0 You just lay back and rest,” Ben now said soothingly to his son.\u00a0 He was trying to keep the boy’s mind from drifting off and trying to distract him from the pain that was evident on his pale face.<\/p>\n

Ben and the others turned around briefly as they heard a heated argument behind them.<\/p>\n

“Are you crazy?\u00a0 What did you go and do that for?\u00a0\u00a0 You just couldn’t leave things alone, could you?\u00a0 You thought you could play it out to the end all on your own.\u00a0 Now you have gone and hung yourself because of your own greed and own self-glory.”\u00a0\u00a0 Everyone was shocked to hear these words coming from Henry Williams as he accused his partner in crime.\u00a0 He had not been happy about going to the courtroom at all, but now, with the kid being shot in front of everyone, Williams knew that everything was going to come out in the open.<\/p>\n

Roy Coffee now walked over towards Williams and gripped him by the upper arm “Now what would you know about all that has been going on here, Mr Williams?” he asked, already hearing Williams own confession of involvement.<\/p>\n

Williams hung his head in shame as he knew that he was up to his neck in trouble for his association with Thomas.\u00a0\u00a0 At first he had gone along with the whole idea of kidnapping Joe for the lumber contract and ransom.\u00a0 Then, as Thomas’s deeds had become much more than that Williams found his association a forced one, but nobody in this room was going to believe that.\u00a0 He hadn’t wanted to see the boy hurt, but things had gone a little beyond that stage now with the boy now lying in a pool of his own blood.<\/p>\n

“Adam, could you help me get this other scumbag over to the jailhouse?” Roy now asked.\u00a0 He knew that Adam was concerned with the plight of his younger brother.\u00a0\u00a0 Looking over at the man Joe had identified as Butch Thomas, Roy knew that the man wouldn’t be coming to in a hurry.<\/p>\n

The man’s face was now a colourful shade of black and purple as a result of alternating left and right hand blows from Hoss.\u00a0 Roy almost felt like taking a swing at the man himself, even if he was out cold.\u00a0\u00a0 By not doing so, he showed more compassion than Thomas had afforded Little Joe Cartwright all that time he was in captivity.<\/p>\n

“Its alright, Adam, the blood has slowed a little.\u00a0 I will get your father and Hoss here to help move Joe across to my office to see what further damage has been caused.\u00a0 You can meet us over there after you finish helping Roy,” Doc Martin now said, as he saw the hesitation on Adam’s face.\u00a0 The older Cartwright was being pulled between his love and concern for his seriously injured brother and the need to help Sheriff Coffee.<\/p>\n

“Did you get him, Pa?” Joe now asked with his eyes closed.\u00a0 He needed to know what had happened to Thomas.<\/p>\n

“Your brother did, Joe.\u00a0 Hoss really gave him a working over.\u00a0 I don’t think he is going to be a threat to anyone anymore,” Ben said, as he answered his son’s question.\u00a0 He could see that Joe needed that reassurance before he could start to try and relax or rest.<\/p>\n

“Thanks, Hoss,” Joe mumbled.<\/p>\n

“You’re welcome, short shanks,” Hoss said, trying not to sound too upset as he neared his brother.<\/p>\n

“Pa,” Joe now said, as he forced his eyes open to just a crack.\u00a0 He had a few more words to say to his father before he could let himself fall into the perpetual darkness that was tugging at the edges of his mind.<\/p>\n

“Joe, you need to keep your strength.\u00a0 You can say whatever you want once you are patched up.\u00a0 Right now I want you to take it easy and let us take care of you for a while.”<\/p>\n

“I need to tell you something first, Pa,” Joe said, his voice getting softer and softer as he spoke.<\/p>\n

Ben found himself leaning over closer to his son just to hear what the boy was saying. “What is it that you wanted to tell me?”<\/p>\n

“I’m sorry,” Joe said simply, the tears welling up in his eyes as he looked to his father for forgiveness.<\/p>\n

“Sorry for what, Joe?” Ben replied as he fought against his own emotions and brushed the stray tears away from his son’s cheek.<\/p>\n

“About all the things that I said back at the hotel the other afternoon.\u00a0\u00a0 I am sorry, Pa.\u00a0 I didn’t mean what I said.\u00a0 I was just scared about Thomas.\u00a0 I was trying to push you, Adam and Hoss away when all you wanted to do was protect me.”<\/p>\n

“None of that matters anymore, son, it was all forgotten about.\u00a0 I know you didn’t mean the things you said.\u00a0 I know how scared you have been, or I have tried to understand.\u00a0 Until today, I don’t really think I did understand how scared you were.”<\/p>\n

“And you know the part that hurts the most about all of this, Pa?” Joe said.\u00a0 His words were beginning to become slurred and incoherent.\u00a0 He was fighting against the pull of unconsciousness and knew that he didn’t have enough strength to hold out much longer.<\/p>\n

“What’s that, Joe?” Ben said, as he softly caressed his son’s unruly curls.\u00a0 He could see that Paul was handling the medical side of things so he just concerned himself with talking to his son and trying to keep him calm and relaxed as the doctor worked.<\/p>\n

“This is what I get for telling the truth,” Joe said bitterly.\u00a0 With the burden of Thomas now off his chest and the guilt about the harsh words he had shouted at his father now over with, he could no longer fight the fatigue and pain that were battering him all over.\u00a0 He just wanted to curl up and forget about everything for a while.<\/p>\n

“I love you, Pa……,” Joe said in a thick voice as the room above him began to spin.<\/p>\n

Joe’s eyes now started flickering closed and seemed to roll back into his head as the boy’s body became very limp.\u00a0\u00a0 His head lolled to one side and a soft puff of air escaped his lips in a sigh.<\/p>\n

“Paul!” Ben yelled out in alarm.\u00a0 He didn’t know if his son lived or not.\u00a0 His heart was in his throat. \u00a0He couldn’t lose Joe now.\u00a0 They had come so far now and it seemed unfair that his son’s young life should be cut short now when he had already been through so much.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben found himself scarcely able to breathe as he gazed down as his youngest son.<\/p>\n

“He is still alive, Ben,” Paul assured his friend as he put two fingers to Joe’s neck and felt the pulse beating steadily within.\u00a0 “The pulse is a little weak and racy, but it is there.\u00a0 His body has just had enough.\u00a0\u00a0 He was already weak to begin with, and now there’s this added bullet wound.\u00a0\u00a0 Let’s get him over to my office now,” he said, as he gave Ben’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.<\/p>\n

“Ben, can you hold that towel against the wound and press it as hard as you can while Hoss and I carry him?\u00a0 Hoss you take his feet, I will lift his shoulders.\u00a0 Be careful of that leg, too, Hoss, I don’t want to cause more injury to it.”<\/p>\n

Three men now very carefully and very slowly lifted Joe’s prone floor from the floor and started towards the front doorway of the courtroom.\u00a0 Paul supported Joe’s shoulders and upper body as agreed whilst Hoss took the younger man’s legs and lower body.<\/p>\n

It was an agonising trip across the street to the Doc Martin’s office. The distance was only short, but with every step, no matter how careful they were, Joe would emit a loan moan in the back of his throat from the pain he was feeling as they moved.<\/p>\n

Once they got to Paul’s office, Hoss was asked to wait outside while the doctor and his Pa worked on Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss spent an hour pacing up and down the floor of the doctor’s waiting room before Adam walked in.<\/p>\n

“How is he?” Adam asked before he even closed the door.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know dadburnit,’ Adam.\u00a0 They have been in there for ages.\u00a0 I have not heard anything from Paul or the Doc about how Little Joe is.\u00a0 Its just about driving me crazy, waiting.”<\/p>\n

“I am sure they are doing the best they can, Hoss,” Adam said, as he gave his younger brother a comforting slap on the back.<\/p>\n

“How did you go, anyway?” Hoss now asked, as he remembered that Adam had been given the inevitable task of taking Butch Thomas back to the jailhouse.\u00a0\u00a0 Henry Williams had gone along with the Sheriff with very little protest.<\/p>\n

“Alright, I guess.\u00a0 He was still out when I dumped him in the cell.\u00a0 But Lord knows he is probably doing a lot better right now than Joe is,” Adam said, as he felt the anger start to burn within him again.\u00a0\u00a0 It had taken all of his strength and willpower not to extract some vengeance of his own for Joe when he saw Thomas lying in the cell.<\/p>\n

The conversation between Hoss and Adam was interrupted by Paul as he opened the door to the surgery and walked out with Ben not too far behind him.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss paled a little as he saw the front of the doctor’s surgical gown covered in blood.\u00a0 He couldn’t help but know that the blood staining the doctor’s garment was flowing in his little brother not so long ago.<\/p>\n

“He’s a tough one, that’s for sure,” Paul said, trying to relieve the tension in the room before giving his diagnosis of Joe’s condition.\u00a0 “Your brother is going to be fine, after a lot of rest and recovery.\u00a0\u00a0 The bullet nicked his side, but thankfully there was not a lot of blood loss, as you saw.\u00a0 Joe is very weak.\u00a0 He will be barely able to lift his head off the pillow for the next two days until his body replenishes the blood that he lost.\u00a0 His leg didn’t suffer any further damage and is looking very pleasing at the moment.\u00a0 If he didn’t have this other problem from the shooting I’d say he might be able to stand on his leg again within about three weeks.”<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss couldn’t help but slap each other on the back in relief.\u00a0\u00a0 They looked towards their father and saw only relief on Ben’s tired face as well.<\/p>\n

“When will we be able to take him home, Doc?” Hoss asked a little prematurely, but it was hard for him to hide his excitement to the news that he just heard that Joe was going to be alright.\u00a0 The man who had caused his brother such pain and suffering was now securely locked up in the jailhouse along with the other man involved.\u00a0 There truly was a lot to celebrate at the moment and be thankful for.<\/p>\n

“Now just hold your horses a bit there, Hoss,” Paul said in mock sternness.\u00a0 “I said he was going to be alright, but we still need to keep a good eye on that boy for the next week or so.\u00a0 I want to make sure that there are no signs of infection or any other complications from the bullet wound.\u00a0\u00a0 He is going to need constant rest over the next two weeks and lots of good food to help him regain his strength.”<\/p>\n

“I don’t want to go against your diagnosis, Doctor, but seeing the torment that Joe has been put through over the last two days and few weeks before that, I thought it would be best if he could be brought home to recover in his own familiar surroundings as soon as he is able to travel safely,” Adam now suggested.<\/p>\n

“I understand what you are saying, Adam, and to tell you the truth, I am not totally against the idea,” Paul said to everyone’s amazement.\u00a0 Even Ben had a slightly shocked expression on his face at the doctor’s agreement to Joe’s recovery taking place back at the Ponderosa as soon as possible.\u00a0 “And I will tell you why.\u00a0\u00a0 At the moment his biggest battle is the physical injuries again.\u00a0 Until that bullet wound starts to heal on its own and he starts to get his strength back, his health and physical well-being are the only things we need to concern ourselves with at the moment.”<\/p>\n

“However, once those physical injuries start to heal and he starts to be up and about again and allowed to go back to a normal routine, there is no doubt that the biggest hurdle he will have to face is himself again.\u00a0\u00a0 There will that fear of Thomas still for some time to come, and the nightmares at night may continue for an extended length of time.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe is going to need the support of his family and friends,” Paul explained.<\/p>\n

“How long do you expect that fear to still exist Paul, now that Joe knows Thomas is behind bars?” Adam asked.<\/p>\n

“Its very hard to tell.\u00a0 Just because Joe knows about Thomas not being able to get anywhere near him, that is no reason to suspect that Joe’s fear of the man will lessen to any great degree.\u00a0 Time is the only solution to Joe’s fear of his attacker and the acceptance of what has happened to him – time and that his family is there to prevent it happening again.\u00a0 Time for the wounds, both physical and mental to heal.\u00a0\u00a0 Both he and you all will need to take things one day at a time for a while until things start to improve for him.”<\/p>\n

“Ben, I am going to clean Joe up and get him settled into a proper bed for the night.\u00a0 I will keep a close eye on him for the rest of the night.\u00a0 If, by morning, there seems to be no sign of a fever or any other problems, I will probably give him a strong dose of painkillers and allow you to take him home in a padded wagon. \u00a0\u00a0I suggest for tonight that you and your sons get some rest because Joe is probably going to keep you awake for much of tomorrow with his on-going care.\u00a0\u00a0 You are welcome to use the other beds I have so you can still be close to Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 I promise to wake you if there is any change in Joe’s condition at all during the night,” Paul explained.<\/p>\n

“But I want to — ” Ben started to say before the Doctor cut him off again.<\/p>\n

“No, Ben Cartwright.\u00a0 I can see by your face that you are ready to collapse yourself.\u00a0 I want Adam and Hoss there to make sure that you eat a decent meal, have a hot bath and then maybe after all of that you can come and say goodnight to Joe before you get a good night’s sleep,” Paul said admonishingly to his old friend.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He knew that Ben would want to stay with Joe as long as needed, but Joe’s care was going to be a slow process over the next couple of weeks, and he needed to make sure that Ben and his boys were taking good care of themselves as well as of Joseph.<\/p>\n

Ben smiled sheepishly at the doctor’s advice and nodded his head in agreement of a hot meal and bath before returning to Joe.\u00a0 He did, however, intend to stay with Joe for the night, no matter how hard the Doctor tried to shift him.\u00a0 “Alright, Paul, something to eat and a bath.”<\/p>\n

Paul was a little surprised that Ben had given in so easily to his demands, but his friend really did look tired from all of the stress and pressure he had been under.\u00a0 There was just no telling Ben that he couldn’t worry when it came to his youngest son.<\/p>\n

“Don’t worry, Doc, we will make sure he does what he is told,” Hoss said, as he and Adam both flanked their father as he prepared to head back to the hotel.<\/p>\n

“Don’t forget yourselves, too,” Paul said and gently closed the door behind them.<\/p>\n

The doctor then returned to his surgery and found his young patient in the same position as before thanks mainly to the dose of laudanum he had been given shortly after being placed on the operating table.<\/p>\n

“You have a very worried family there, young man.\u00a0 I hope you have enough sense about you when you start to heal to accept their help graciously.\u00a0\u00a0 Lord knows you have taken ten years off my life,” Paul said to a still sleeping Joe as he brushed back a stray lock of hair as Ben would have done if he were there.<\/p>\n

By the time Ben and his boys returned to see Joe, the doctor had cleaned him up after surgery and was just about to move him to the bed.\u00a0 He accepted Adam’s help to move the sleeping youth.\u00a0 Hoss did what he could and pulled back the covers as Adam and Paul gently lowered Joe onto the clean sheets.<\/p>\n

Joe never looked like stirring under their administrations and Paul told them this was to due to the dose of laudanum that he had given before the surgery.\u00a0 He expected that Joe would sleep through the night until the next morning without much difficulty.\u00a0 At the moment the wound was still sealed and the stitches were holding nicely together.\u00a0 Paul had been satisfied as he had checked the bandages again for signs of fresh bleeding after Joe was placed in the bed.<\/p>\n

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

Much to Paul’s dismay, Ben had fallen asleep awkwardly in the chair beside his son.\u00a0 He didn’t have the heart to wake Ben and move him into a bed.\u00a0 He just hoped that his friend would get as much rest as his son tonight.\u00a0 They both needed it desperately.<\/p>\n

At about 3.00 am that night, Ben was woken suddenly by a sound.\u00a0 It wasn’t until he sat up in the chair and tried to rub some of the stiffness out of his neck that he saw that the noise had come from his son.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe’s eyes were still closed, but his sleep was far from peaceful.\u00a0 The young man was moving about on the bed, and Ben was worried that his son would undo all of the doctor’s good work.<\/p>\n

Paul was soon at Joe’s side, checking the young man over.\u00a0\u00a0 There was a slight fever present, not much to be too concerned about.\u00a0 Joe seemed to settle back to sleep a little easier as a soft dampened cloth was laid across his forehead.\u00a0\u00a0 He mumbled something incoherently and then his movements became less and less until there were none at all.<\/p>\n

Paul and Ben looked at each other silently but knew that Joe’s restless sleep was not entirely from his injury.\u00a0 Joe still found himself locked within nightmares where he was once again back in Thomas’s clutches and there was nobody around to help him.\u00a0 This time he hadn’t woken up screaming like other nights, but they had to keep an eye on him and make sure that he didn’t move around too much to cause any damage to the stitches in his side.<\/p>\n

At 7.00 am the next morning when Adam and Hoss came into the room where Joe was sleeping, they found their brother still sleeping.\u00a0 Ben had told them about the nightmare during the night.<\/p>\n

“Hoss, you and Adam go down to the livery stable and organise a wagon from Charlie.\u00a0 Try and find as many blankets and pillows as you can as well, and we will start getting things ready to take your brother home this morning.”<\/p>\n

Joe’s brothers were only too happy to do their father’s bidding.\u00a0 Both of them knew the best place for Joe to recover was at home on the ranch.<\/p>\n

Joe had awoken briefly after they had left.\u00a0 Not for long, though\u00a0\u00a0 He was very unfocused and didn’t understand where he was.\u00a0 He could feel the pain in his side and gasped out loud as he tried to breathe in and out.\u00a0 The doctor warned him that he had to take slow, deep breaths and let them out slowly in order for the pain to become more bearable.\u00a0 Joe accepted some water from a glass as it was held to his lips and even swallowed a few spoonfuls of very thin broth as it was offered to him.<\/p>\n

Within minutes of waking, though, the young man was tiring again and he could scarcely keep his eyes open.<\/p>\n

“Its going to be alright, Joe,” Ben said, as he caressed the boy’s forehead and watched the boy’s eyes slid closed again in slumber.<\/p>\n

“Once you get him home, Ben, you will need to try and get some food into him when you can.\u00a0 Just thin broth to begin with, but a least three times a day.\u00a0 You may have to wake him up to do it, but without regular food he won’t get any of his strength back.\u00a0 After the second day you may find he will be awake a little more and you can try something a little solider.\u00a0 Make sure you keep the fluids up to him to make up for the blood that he lost.”<\/p>\n

“I will give you some laudanum.\u00a0 Make sure you use it sparingly, though.\u00a0\u00a0 I think he will be tired enough to rest on his own but he may be in some considerable pain for a few days because of the wound where the bullet struck.\u00a0 I will be out every day to check on him until I think the visits can be further apart.\u00a0 If there is anything you need, just let me know.\u00a0 If there is any change in his condition or he develops a fever, come for me straight away,” Paul instructed Ben.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss now returned and informed them that the wagon was all prepared and ready for its passenger.<\/p>\n

“Make sure that wagon goes as slow as possible over that road, Hoss,” Paul warned them.\u00a0 “Any unnecessary jarring from some of those ruts may cause the stitches to break or the wound to open up and bleed.\u00a0 Make sure you check the bandages once he is home, Ben, for any sign of bleeding.”<\/p>\n

Ben assured Paul that he and the boys would take every precaution for Joe’s sake.\u00a0 He knew that Paul considered Joe like a son to him.\u00a0\u00a0 “See you tomorrow, Paul,” he said, as they left.<\/p>\n

Adam and Hoss carried their precious burden as carefully as they could down the stairs from the doctor’s surgery and out into the waiting wagon.\u00a0 Once they placed the still sleeping Joe on the mattresses and blankets, Ben was immediately beside him, covering his son with further blankets to stop the boy becoming chilled from the trip home.<\/p>\n

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

As the wagon bumped along the road back towards the Ponderosa, Ben Cartwright looked down at his sixteen-year-old son, who was laying down beside him in a deep sleep. The sleep was not a natural one, however. It came as the result of the drug combination that Doc Martin had administered only a few hours ago. It was supposed to help Joe not feel any physical pain from the injuries he had sustained.<\/p>\n

But what about the emotional and mental scars that had been left behind? What about them, Ben asked himself.\u00a0 How long would they take to heal? Would they ever heal? Would his young son ever recover from the torment that he had suffered at the hands of Butch Thomas over the last month?<\/p>\n

If he could turn back the hands of time over the last few weeks and foresee what would befall his youngest son, Ben would have taken the boy out of harms way. He would have simply packed up Joseph and one of his other sons, Adam or Hoss, if necessary, and made sure that Joe was safe in another town away from the dangers that lurked.<\/p>\n

Ben caressed the boy’s soft curls, but his son didn’t respond to his touch. It was like a brick wall had been built between them, and it was getting harder and harder to reach in and find the real Little Joe.<\/p>\n

The boy had changed so much over the past few weeks. He had been a confident young man full of energy and laughter who filled the house with love and joy.\u00a0 Now the boy was sullen and withdrawn and spoke rarely unless asked a question, and even then it was a battle to get some sort of answer.<\/p>\n

Ben swore to himself that he didn’t care how long it took, but he and his eldest two sons would be there every minute of the day and night, if necessary, to bring the boy back from the brink and back into the safe and loving arms of his family.<\/p>\n

“He alright back there, Pa?” Hoss asked, as he guided the wagon team as slowly as he could over the rough dirt road back to the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

“As well as can be expected I guess, Hoss,” Ben replied in a voice that held no emotion at all.\u00a0 “We will just have to see how he goes over the next couple of days. It is going to be a difficult time for us all.”<\/p>\n

Hoss nodded and turned his attention back to the wagon team. As they pulled up outside the ranch house, Adam came outside, followed by Hop Sing. Adam had ridden on ahead of the rest of his family to make sure that everything would be ready in time when Hoss and his father arrived back with Little Joe.<\/p>\n

Adam looked at his father before attempting to take his younger brother out of the wagon.\u00a0\u00a0 He hadn’t heard the tone of Ben’s voice just a few hundred metres back, but he saw the tiredness etched on his father’s face and the worry embedded deep into his father’s brown eyes.\u00a0 His father looked almost a broken man. The thing that allowed the man to go on lay beside him wrapped up in the blankets. Adam didn’t want to contemplate how his father would have gone on if Joe had not come back home. He couldn’t put into words himself how he would have felt.<\/p>\n

One sixteen-year-old boy held the magical golden key to all their hearts and kept them all united.\u00a0 Now, when this same boy had fallen along the way and looked to be heading away from his family, it was up to that family to make sure that the boy knew they all loved and needed him endlessly.<\/p>\n

The dark thunderclouds above once again threatened to bring down the heavens in torrential rain. They needed to get the boy inside and into his bed before the rain started. The last thing he needed with all his injuries at the moment was to get sick. Hoss thought back a moment and thought that it had been raining a few days before this all started to happen as well. \u2018Funny how history had a way of playing on your memory, wasn’t it,’ he thought to himself.<\/p>\n

“Take it easy, Adam,” Ben said, knowing that his eldest son was already aware of Joe’s injuries.\u00a0\u00a0 “We have to check that those stitches in his side are still in place when we get him settled upstairs. Heaven knew what that rough road had done to exasperate the pain and agony his son felt.<\/p>\n

Ben managed to move the still sleeping Joe into a half-sitting position so that Adam could wrap his strong arms around the fragile boy and lift him out of the wagon. Ben could feel a little warmth emanating through the cotton shirt that Joe wore over the top of the heavy padding and bandages around his chest.<\/p>\n

A few spits of rain began to fall just as Adam made it to the porch with Joe nestled in his strong arms. The boy had lost so much weight from injury and stress over the last few weeks that he barely weighed anything, his brother noted with dismay. Ben picked up the tails of the blankets from behind Adam and followed his eldest son, as he carried Joe into the homestead.<\/p>\n

Adam had made sure that Joe’s room was already warm enough before the wagon had pulled up outside. He walked into the house and climbed the staircase carrying his precious burden that failed to make a single sound.<\/p>\n

Adam laid his unconscious brother on the clean sheets, and made sure that he was resting comfortably on the pillows while his father started to take off his shoes and socks.<\/p>\n

Hoss had volunteered to put the horses and the wagon away, but both Adam and Ben knew that it was eating the middle Cartwright up inside to see his younger brother like this. It went against the very grain of things in Hoss’s eyes that this had happened to his brother. He hated the men who had done this to Joe. He hated the Judge who had put the boy through so much humiliation in front of everyone. He hated the justice system that put it’s sole trust in the opinions of a few witnesses.\u00a0 He hated himself for being so angry.<\/p>\n

Inside, Joe had not awoken as such, but he seemed to be having a battle against unseen demons again. The demons had probably been created from the memories of the real monsters that had stalked him and then caused him so much hurt and pain. Suffering and fear that he had hidden from his family. A deep gnawing fear that bit into the boy’s very soul and stole his spirit with it.<\/p>\n

Ben sat on the edge of the bed, forgetting all about undressing the boy. For now, the only real important thing was to let the boy know that his family was right here with him and that he was loved.<\/p>\n

Ben spoke softly to the boy, reminding him of how much his family had missed him and how proud they had been of him over the last few days. While Ben talked, Adam went about finishing the task of undressing the boy from his good clothes that he had worn to court. The jacket had been left back at Doc Martin’s due to the damage caused to it. Ben had declared the garment beyond repair or salvage and could no longer bear to look upon it and see it stained with his youngest son’s blood.<\/p>\n

Adam unbuttoned Joe’s trousers once the boots were removed, and had to keep his own anger in check as he saw the bruises and scratches that marred the boy’s pale flesh. The trousers had been a little stubborn at first due to the thick bandages still adorning the boy’s left shin.\u00a0 The bandages would remain on for at least another month or two, Doc Martin informed them, before it could be removed and Joe be allowed to put full weight back on that leg.<\/p>\n

Hoss had returned to the house, and now came into the bedroom, carrying the other reminders of Joe’s injuries. He propped the two wooden crutches up against the wall in the far corner of the room. It was doubtful that the boy would be leaving his bed anytime soon in the next few days.<\/p>\n

The crutches told the story that Joe needed more than his family’s love and caring at the moment just to stand. The boy had stumbled a number of times while trying to manoeuvre back and forth from the witness stand. To Hoss and the rest of the family they only seemed to confirm their fears about how badly Little Joe had been hurt.<\/p>\n

Joe was sleeping soundly upstairs and was probably due to stay that way for several more hours to come. After Adam had managed to get one of Ben’s shirts over the boy’s head and bandages, they tucked the blankets in around the boy. Adam and Hoss had bid their younger brother good-night and left their father to a more private time alone with his son.<\/p>\n

Ben had continued to talk soothing words to his son as he slept. He caressed his face, then bent down and gently kissed the boy on his bruised cheek before leaving the room.<\/p>\n

About an hour after the Cartwright’s had returned home the three eldest of them now sat downstairs in the living room. All three were lost in their own thoughts about the events that had taken place over the last month.<\/p>\n

Ben’s mind started to take him back to a time about a month ago when everything seemed to be going fine. If only he could go back there now.<\/p>\n

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

By the time Ben had drained the last of the whiskey from his glass, the fire was nothing but glowing embers as he stared into them.<\/p>\n

Over the next two days the routine was very much the same.\u00a0 The day after the shooting saw Joe do nothing but sleep due to his injuries.<\/p>\n

One the morning of the second day Ben had been totally surprised to see his son awake when he entered the room with a tray of breakfast.\u00a0 He smiled at his son and set the tray on the bedside table before sitting beside him on the bed.<\/p>\n

“How are you feeling this morning, Joseph?” Ben asked, not wanting to ask a barrage of questions about what had happened at the trial.\u00a0\u00a0 They could talk more about what had happened at the trial when Joe felt he was able to.<\/p>\n

“Fine,” came the reply from Joe.\u00a0 The voice was thick, and Joe’s face was still paler than Ben would have liked to see.<\/p>\n

Ben pondered what question to ask to keep the conversation going when Joe asked a question of his own.<\/p>\n

“When will it stop, Pa?”<\/p>\n

“What stop, Joseph?”<\/p>\n

“When do I get to feel safe again?\u00a0\u00a0 Even now, with Thomas away in prison, I don’t feel safe.\u00a0\u00a0 I can’t help but wonder if he is going to be released some day only to come back and torment me again.\u00a0\u00a0 I close my eyes to sleep and all I see is a picture of his face in my head and then his fist as it swings to hit me again,” Joe said.\u00a0 His voice betrayed him as the tears started to fall down his face.<\/p>\n

Ben put his arms around his son and held him close as the boy sobbed into the front of his shirt.\u00a0 The boy was hurting so much.\u00a0\u00a0 It wasn’t fair.<\/p>\n

“Look at me, Joseph,” Ben now said gently as he waited for Joe to turn his face towards him.\u00a0\u00a0 As Joe did so, he wiped away the tear stains from his cheeks.\u00a0 “I cannot tell you when the memories will stop, son.\u00a0 I would give anything I owned for you to have one night of peaceful sleep, free of nightmares.\u00a0\u00a0 I would do anything if I could just trade that time you were with that man and have you back home safe with me.”<\/p>\n

“All I can tell you, Joe, is that I love you more than anything else in this world, and I would do anything to protect you.\u00a0\u00a0 I can’t tell you enough how it breaks my heart to see you so upset or the bruises on your body and the fear in your eyes when somebody walks into the room.”<\/p>\n

“I hope that as the days go by, you can come to believe in me again and know that your brothers and I will always be here for you when you need us.\u00a0 Your brothers are just as determined as I am to show you how much they care about you.”<\/p>\n

“I just want it all to end, Pa,” Joe said simply and curled up against his father’s chest, letting the man’s warmth and security surround him.\u00a0\u00a0 It was the first time in weeks that he felt truly safe.<\/p>\n

After a while Ben could hear his son’s even and slow breathing that indicated Joe had fallen asleep again.\u00a0\u00a0 He gently moved his son and laid him back down on the bed, covering him with the quilts again.<\/p>\n

On the third day, as Paul arrived for his daily visit, Ben was surprised to see Fred Harding sitting in the buggy beside him. Fred spoke to Ben while Paul examined Joe up in his room.<\/p>\n

Fred informed Ben that Thomas was already on his way to the State Prison by prison wagon.\u00a0 Once he got back to San Francisco, he would make sure that Butch Thomas was sentenced to a long jail term for his deeds.\u00a0 Williams would also do some time in prison, but his charges weren’t as serious as his partner’s.<\/p>\n

Williams would be able to successfully argue that although he knew about the kidnap plot and even footed the bill for such a crime, he had not laid a hand on the boy and had not been responsible for any of the injuries the boy sustained.\u00a0\u00a0 He would also be able to defend himself when it came to the two occasions on which Butch Thomas had tormented the boy on the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n

“Do you think I could say goodbye to the boy, Ben?” Fred asked.\u00a0 The boy had come to mean something to him even though they had only met a few days ago.<\/p>\n

“Sure, come on up.\u00a0\u00a0 He was still feeling very depressed this morning, but hopefully now he may be in a slightly better frame of mind,” Ben said, as he led Fred up the staircase towards Joe’s bedroom.<\/p>\n

Ben was relieved to see Joe awake and talking to Adam and Hoss when they came into the room.<\/p>\n

“Well, its good to see you awake, son,” Ben said.<\/p>\n

“We were just keeping him company, Pa, while the Doc checked him over.\u00a0 He’s a stubborn little cuss.\u00a0 Won’t barely keep still for a second for Paul to look at him properly.\u00a0 I told him I was going to sit on him if he didn’t stop squirming about,” Hoss said, as laughter shone through his blue eyes.<\/p>\n

“Is this true, Joseph?” Ben asked in mock sternness as he stood in a demanding stance with hands on his hips.<\/p>\n

Joe looked at his father and then at the lawyer that was in the room.\u00a0 He had so much to say to the man who had helped him through the trial.\u00a0 But he didn’t think that right now, in front of all of these people, was the right moment.\u00a0 He would write a letter just like his father wanted and express in words his gratitude and thanks.<\/p>\n

Joe saw the lawyer there and couldn’t help but ask him about the secret plan they both worked out together.\u00a0\u00a0 “Mr Harding, you know those two horses are probably still waiting for us in the livery stable back in Virginia City if we wanted to make that escape.\u00a0 I just need you to give me a hand getting out of this bed, and we can be on our way,” Joe said jokingly.<\/p>\n

“Joseph Cartwright, you will not move on inch out of that bed or so help me…” Paul Martin started to say as he pointed a threatening finger at this most reluctant of patient’s.<\/p>\n

“Oh don’t worry Paul.\u00a0 I have something to say about this,” Ben said to his friend and then turned to address his son “Joseph, believe me, it is going to be a long time before you are allowed off this ranch again without me or your brothers present.\u00a0\u00a0 Do I make myself clear young man?\u00a0 I will tell you what I told your partner in crime here,” Ben said, as he indicated Fred Harding\u00a0\u00a0 “You and he are restricted to the ranch until further notice.\u00a0\u00a0 There will a list of chores posted on the barn door for you and him to complete as part of your punishment.”<\/p>\n

Everyone in the room laughed heartily at Ben’s words and the looks on Joe’s and Fred’s faces.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe had to stop laughing, though, as his side began to ache.<\/p>\n

“Boy, Mr Harding.\u00a0 How does it feel to be one of the highest paid lawyers in the state, but grounded by my Pa?” he said and laughed again whilst holding onto his side.<\/p>\n

Joe’s family watched him intently as he joined in the laughter in the room.\u00a0 It was the first real laughter they had heard coming from the boy for a very long time.\u00a0 It was a very good sound to hear.\u00a0 They hoped that this was the first turning step in a whole new direction for Joe.\u00a0 Hopefully, if he could find laughter in himself, he could begin the healing process and eventually push the dark memories to the back of his mind.\u00a0 They probably would never be gone completely, but hopefully they could be suppressed by happier memories.<\/p>\n

Epilogue:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the next few weeks, Joe’s injuries began to heal as well as his mind.\u00a0\u00a0 There were nights where the nightmares would become real again and Joe found himself being surrounded by his family’s love in order to drive them away again.<\/p>\n

As he was given more freedom to move about the house and then the ranch, his family could almost see the real Joe resurfacing again.\u00a0 Everybody was able to relax a little more, and meal times were shared when them talking to each other again.\u00a0\u00a0 The Cartwright household was almost back to normal.<\/p>\n

It was only on odd occasions when Joe would be laughing, but then fall into a deep silence as he stared out in front of him with a look that Ben knew his son still remembered.\u00a0\u00a0 Joe’s eyes would grow darker in thought and a shadow would cross his face as something triggered his memory.\u00a0 Just as quickly as it had come, though, the mood would pass and his family would never suspect that anything had happened at all.<\/p>\n

About a month after he had been allowed to return to light duties, Joe was in Virginia City, collecting the mail as part of his restricted duties for his father.<\/p>\n

As he ambled back into the wagon loaded with supplies and took a look at the five envelopes in his hand, his curiosity was alerted when one of the letters held his name on the front.\u00a0\u00a0 He didn’t remember writing to anybody lately except Fred Harding, and he had already received a reply to that letter weeks ago.<\/p>\n

Joe put the letters aside for the time being and drove the wagon and team home as instructed, knowing that his father would only worry if he were late.\u00a0\u00a0 About halfway home, though, the curiosity become just too great, and he pulled the team off to the side of the road and reached for the handwritten envelope.<\/p>\n

He turned it over in his hand a couple of times before opening it, trying to judge from the outside who it was from.\u00a0\u00a0 There was no postmark on it to say where it was from and no return address on the back of the envelope.\u00a0 Without giving it another thought, he slid his finger under the envelope flap and tore the top open.\u00a0\u00a0 There was a single-page letter inside.<\/p>\n

As his eyes scanned the words, his hand flew to his mouth to stop the gasp that was on the tip of his tongue. He read the words again, scarcely able to believe what they said:<\/p>\n

SOMEDAY I WILL COME BACK.\u00a0\u00a0 YOU AND I WILL MEET AGAIN – I PROMISE………………………………..<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

BUTCH THOMAS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Joe refolded the piece of paper and placed it back into the envelope and then tore both the envelope and letter into small pieces, scattering them in the wind as he went.\u00a0 He knew he couldn’t let his family see such a note.<\/p>\n

Just as he was about to start the wagon team again, a cool gust of wind blew against the nape of his neck.\u00a0 He pulled his jacket close around him and looked behind him…\u00a0 He shivered slightly and then gave the reins a sharp snap to start the team towards home.<\/p>\n

THE END<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FROM THE AUTHOR – I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS STORY – I REALLY LIKED WRITING IT.\u00a0\u00a0 THANKS TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE OUT THERE FOR THEIR KIND-HEARTED WORDS.\u00a0 AND THANKS TO THOSE WHO ALLOWED ME TO USE THEIR IDEAS, THOUGHTS OR CHARACTERS IN MY STORY.<\/p>\n

Special thanks to Satu for being such a pal.<\/p>\n

JULES<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Disclaimer:<\/span>\u00a0All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 Little Joe becomes the pawn in an evil plot again his father Ben Cartwright. The consequences for all the family are far more severe and devastating than they ever first thought. <\/p>\n

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