Summary:\u00a0\u00a0The Cartwrights are saddened to learn of the death of an elderly friend shortly before Christmas, but the bequest he has left one of them stirs warm memories, one very private and another soon to become very public.
\nRating: G Words 5960
\nWritten for the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent calendar<\/p>\n
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Gideon\u2019s Trumpet<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the wind howled outside, the huge stone fireplace cast a warm glow over the four men gathered in front of it (or three men and a boy, depending on which of them described the scene.)\u00a0\u00a0Ben Cartwright, with his eldest son smiling in anticipated triumph, was intently studying the chessboard between them, while Hoss pondered in equal puzzlement a hotly contested game of checkers with his smirking younger brother.\u00a0\u00a0A sudden banging on the front door broke all their concentration and sent puzzled looks flying around the circle, for two exceptionally good reasons.\u00a0\u00a0First, it was past suppertime, an odd hour for anyone to be calling on any night and, second, because the weather outside was more than usually frightful for the week before Christmas.<\/p>\n Hoss, typically, put it best.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat in tarnation makes a body come callin\u2019 on a night like this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne way to find out,\u201d Adam observed dryly.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, meaning me, I suppose,\u201d Little Joe put in.\u00a0\u00a0It was a traditional complaint from the youngest to his elders, even though he didn\u2019t really mind answering the door.\u00a0\u00a0It was, however, a good way to distract his opponent from the strategic manipulation of the checkers he was in the midst of perpetrating.<\/p>\n Adam, who\u2019d seen the checkers\u2019 move\u2014totally unnecessary, incidentally, since Joe was winning anyway\u2014held up a restraining palm.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll get it,\u201d he said, not to assist highway robbery, which is what cheating against Hoss generally was, but because the odd timing of the visitor raised caution, and he didn\u2019t want the boy being the one to meet an actual highway (or house) robber at the door.\u00a0\u00a0Little Joe just counted himself lucky until he saw Adam slip his revolver from the holster hanging from a peg by the door.\u00a0\u00a0Then, brow wrinkling with concern, he stood to his feet, ready for . . . well, whatever.<\/p>\n Snow swirled through the door as soon as Adam opened it and so covered the man standing there that it took him a moment to recognized the frosted visitor.\u00a0\u00a0Then his face broadened with a smile, he grasped the damp glove, still curled in position to knock again, and pulled the man inside.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSam Clemons!\u00a0\u00a0Come in, you snow-drenched wretch.\u201d<\/p>\n The other Cartwrights grinned in relief and outright pleasure, for each had come to appreciate the news reporter since their first meeting.\u00a0\u00a0Ben felt grateful for Sam\u2019s help in ousting the man the reporter had dubbed \u201cMr. Personal Pronoun,\u201d while Hoss and Little Joe relished Sam\u2019s sense of humor and enjoyment of a good fight.\u00a0\u00a0Perhaps, though, it was Adam who had formed the closest attachment, after a somewhat rocky start.\u00a0\u00a0They communicated on a literary level, and each seemed to understand the other\u2019s thinking almost intuitively.<\/p>\n All of the Cartwrights wanted an answer to the question Hoss had posed when they first heard someone knocking at their door, but not even he thought to ask it until the reporter had a chance to thaw out.\u00a0\u00a0Adam drew him close to the fire, Hoss pulled a blanket from the credenza by the door, Little Joe ran into the kitchen for a cup of steaming coffee, while Ben insisted that Sam take his own padded chair, the closest to the fire.\u00a0\u00a0It was he who finally phrased the question they were all asking, \u201cWell, Sam, what brings you to the Ponderosa on a night like this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat else?\u201d Adam said, one side of his mouth lifting in an amused and knowing smile.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cA story,\u201d he amplified, for his less astute brothers.<\/p>\n While both of them hooted at the absurd notion, Ben saw the sudden flush on the reporter\u2019s face and knew Adam was right, although he agreed with his younger sons at the absurdity of Adam\u2019s analysis.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m afraid the only headline you\u2019ll find here, Sam, is \u2018Snow, Snow and More Snow,\u2019\u201d he chuckled.<\/p>\n \u201cI . . . don\u2019t . . . think . . . so,\u201d Sam stammered out through still shivering lips.\u00a0\u00a0Another gulp of coffee seemed to thaw him enough to speak more clearly.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m just following the editor\u2019s orders.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe Goodman ordered you out here on a night like this?\u201d Adam asked skeptically.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always found the editor of the Territorial Enterprise<\/i>\u00a0more reasonable than that, although,\u201d he added with a grin, \u201chis putting up with you and your shenanigans does raise certain doubts in that evaluation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s those shenanigans, as you call them, that landed me this cruel assignment,\u201d Sam admitted wryly.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNo offense to the hospitality, gentlemen, which is helping mightily.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He reached with eager anticipation for the plate of cookies Hop Sing had just that moment offered him.\u00a0\u00a0Crumbs spilled from his mouth as he continued, \u201cI suppose you could say I\u2019m being disciplined by Mr. Goodman, who seems to feel that my . . . uh, inventiveness . . . has gotten a tad out of hand, despite its leading to increased sales and the uncovering of scandal, as you remember.\u201d<\/p>\n The hoots turned to howls of laughter.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNot to mention opening the newspaper to potential lawsuit,\u201d Adam opined with a sage nod.<\/p>\n \u201cThe good Mr. Goodman evidently figured there wasn\u2019t much chance of any of that when he ordered me to cover the reading of an old man\u2019s will,\u201d Sam said.<\/p>\n Ben Cartwright chuckled with amusement.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, Sam, if you\u2019re about to inquire into the disposition of the Ponderosa after my demise, I\u2019m afraid you are being disciplined with a most boring story.\u00a0\u00a0It all goes to my boys, equally divided.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam laughed.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re right, Ben.\u00a0\u00a0That would be punishment, indeed!\u00a0\u00a0Guaranteed to lull our readers to sleep!\u00a0\u00a0This story just might have more potential than either Joe Goodman or I thought, though.\u201d<\/p>\n With dry humor, Adam asked the obvious question.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWho\u2019s the deceased?\u00a0\u00a0Not one of the silver barons, I presume.\u00a0\u00a0That would hold too much interest to serve as effective discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re right there,\u201d Sam replied with a trace of remembered irritation with his editor.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGoodman\u2019s given me a story that could only be made interesting with some of my signature \u2018inventiveness\u2019 and then forbidden me to use any!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He paused to bite into another cookie and take another swig of coffee.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cTo answer your question, it\u2019s just an old man, longtime resident of the area, and from all I\u2019ve heard, about the furthest thing from a silver baron you could find.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben sobered quickly.\u00a0\u00a0If the deceased had lived in Washoe that long, it was undoubtedly someone he knew well.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWho?\u201d he asked pointedly.<\/p>\n \u201cGideon Walters,\u201d Sam said, eyes scanning each face before him for newsworthy reaction.\u00a0\u00a0He got more than he bargained for.\u00a0\u00a0The Cartwrights all sobered at once, and three sets of eyes turned to the fourth with concern.\u00a0\u00a0For if Ben, Adam and Hoss looked grieved by the loss of what had evidently been a family friend, Little Joe was absolutely stricken.\u00a0\u00a0His lower lip began to tremble, and tears hovered just beneath his dark eyelashes.\u00a0\u00a0Hoss, who was standing beside him, snaked an arm around the boy\u2019s shoulders and gave them a supportive squeeze.<\/p>\n Watching them, Sam knew he had a story here, after all.\u00a0\u00a0The old man had a strong connection with one of the most prominent families in the territory!\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSo, you do know him,\u201d he said, a leading inflection in his voice.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Ben said, his concerned gaze still fixed on his youngest son.\u00a0\u00a0Sam had the feeling he\u2019d like to be in Hoss\u2019s place, his own arms wrapped around the boy, but guessed that he didn\u2019t want to embarrass Joe in front of a guest.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe hadn\u2019t heard that he\u2019d passed, though.\u00a0\u00a0What with the sudden change in the weather and the extra work it\u2019s occasioned, we\u2019ve been a bit cut off this week.\u00a0\u00a0I thank you for bringing us the news.\u00a0\u00a0Gideon is very important to Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWas,\u201d Adam, ever the precise grammarian, corrected.<\/p>\n \u201cIs,\u201d Little Joe said with ferocious insistence.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, little buddy,\u201d Adam said in a softly soothing voice.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cForgive me; I misspoke.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs I was saying,\u201d Ben said, \u201cGideon and Little Joe have had a special relationship since he was very young.\u201d<\/p>\n Hope sparked in the reporter\u2019s eyes, and he leaned forward.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI figured as much when he was the only one mentioned in the old man\u2019s will.\u201d<\/p>\n They all gasped in surprise, but, typically, Hoss was the one to voice it.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m surprised ole Gideon had enough to will away.\u00a0\u00a0I mean, he\u2019d already sold his farm to Pa, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSeveral years ago,\u201d Ben acknowledged, \u201cwith the stipulation that he could live out his life there.\u00a0\u00a0It butts up against the Ponderosa\u2019s southwest boundary.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you didn\u2019t really need it,\u201d Sam guessed.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou bought it to help ease his obviously lean later years, didn\u2019t you, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not giving you a quote on that, young man!\u00a0\u00a0And I trust I\u2019ll see nothing to that effect in the\u00a0Territorial Enterprise<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI understand,\u201d Sam said, although Adam noticed that he hadn\u2019t promised anything.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, I must admit I was being a bit inventive in calling it a will,\u201d the reporter continued with a wink at the oldest Cartwright son.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a legal document, just a letter describing what he wanted done with that box.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He gestured toward the package he had set on the fireside table when he blew in from the cold.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe letter said it was to go to Joseph Cartwright of the Ponderosa, so I offered to bring it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOut of the only slightly adulterated goodness of your heart,\u201d Adam opined.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the probably vain hope that I can make a story out of an old codger leavin\u2019 all his worldly goods, such as they are, to a young whippersnapper like Joe here,\u201d Sam admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout being inventive,\u201d Adam reminded him with a wry lift of one corner of his mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Sam sighed.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSo, how \u2018bout it, Joe?\u00a0\u00a0You willing to open this box and let the world know what riches the old man left you?\u00a0\u00a0No chance he once robbed a bank and left the loot to you, I suppose?\u201d<\/p>\n Clearly, he was trying to evoke a spark of humor, but the usually effervescent Little Joe was silent as he shook his head and reached for the box Sam was extending to him.\u00a0\u00a0For a moment he held it until, misreading the hesitance, Adam asked, \u201cWould you prefer to open it in private, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n The look Sam sent him could have felled an elephant, but Adam returned it with a steady gaze that would have decimated an entire herd.\u00a0\u00a0Sam, wisely, kept his mouth shut.<\/p>\n Equally silent, Little Joe again shook his head and, to Sam\u2019s relief and, indeed, the hushing of the whole room, began to open the box.\u00a0\u00a0With near-reverent care, he opened layer after layer of sheltering paper, and he began to smile as he lifted the object from the box.<\/p>\n The rest of the room did not share his awe.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHe gave you that?\u201d Hoss finally said, voicing the mystification the other faces around the fire plainly revealed.<\/p>\n \u201cA cow horn?\u201d Sam asked, of all the faces his being the most devastated, since not even he felt inventive enough to make a story out of this.<\/p>\n His hopes rose again for a moment when Adam scoffed, \u201cNot just a cow horn,\u201d and plummeted with even greater alacrity when he continued, \u201cIt\u2019s an ear trumpet.\u00a0\u00a0Gideon was hard of hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but Joe ain\u2019t,\u201d Hoss protested.<\/p>\n \u201cAnything but,\u201d Adam chuckled, for he\u2019d had to deal more than once with the consequences of little brother\u2019s big ears stretched where they ought not to have been.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe Gideon meant it as a keepsake,\u201d Ben said generously.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cProbably all he had to give, and he wanted his friend to have something to remember him by.\u00a0\u00a0Simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Sam muttered.\u00a0\u00a0Simple as that and equally boring.\u00a0\u00a0He was ready to resign and give up a career in journalism as readily as he\u2019d laid aside his miner\u2019s pick and ax to take up the pen.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but he had a better one than that, Pa,\u201d Hoss insisted.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cJoe gave him that silver trumpet a couple of years back, remember?\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019d be worth something, leastwise.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis one\u2019s worth plenty,\u201d Little Joe said, lovingly stroking the slight crack in the trumpet, the reason he\u2019d given Gideon the silver replacement.<\/p>\n Sam was reduced to begging at this point.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cPlease tell me there\u2019s a story somewhere in this?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam grinned.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNot a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAw, sure there is,\u201d the ever-optimistic Hoss said and then turned to his younger brother with a questioning face.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAin\u2019t there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe trumpet\u2019s how we met.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0And it was more, but he wasn\u2019t about to share that with the entire population of Virginia City!<\/p>\n \u201cOh . . . yeah.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Hoss got misty-eyed, Ben\u2019s gaze softened, and Adam nodded in slow understanding.<\/p>\n Sensing the more sober atmosphere, Sam nonetheless didn\u2019t hesitate.\u00a0\u00a0After all, his career was at stake!\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI do sense a story here, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou always do sniff out a story, Sam,\u201d Hoss said, \u201cand it\u2019s a good \u2018un.\u00a0\u00a0You wanna tell it, little brother?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet Pa,\u201d Little Joe, still clearly overcome, said.<\/p>\n All eyes, especially Sam\u2019s, turned toward Ben, who nodded, cleared his throat and began.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, they first met when Little Joe had just turned five.\u00a0\u00a0We were hosting a harvest hayride for the community, the first of many, so it would have been early to mid-November.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA week before Thanksgiving, to be precise,\u201d Adam put in.\u00a0\u00a0Being precise was something, like grammar, he always seemed to think was important, to the everlasting befuddlement of his brothers.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, that\u2019s right,\u201d Hoss agreed, \u201cand it was cold!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhich does matter in this story,\u201d Ben said soberly, but then he smiled.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIn those days, I\u2019m afraid, my little boy had a propensity for wandering off.\u201d<\/p>\n Also sensing the need to lighten the mood, Adam arched a playful eyebrow and said, \u201cIn those days?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe produced the groan expected of him when twitted by his elder brother, and Ben chuckled.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, I admit that hasn\u2019t changed as much as I might hope, but the important point in this story is that he did that night.\u201d<\/p>\n With obvious latent regret, Hoss said, \u201cI was supposed to be watchin\u2019 him.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam smirked.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd, instead, you were watching the food being laid out.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss admitted it with a sheepish shrug.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt was a mighty fine spread, and like Pa says, we hadn\u2019t done nothin\u2019 like that before, but little brother was right beside me . . . until he wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe beginning of more stories than we can count,\u201d Adam said with a wicked waggling of both eyebrows.<\/p>\n As Ben continued the story, Little Joe settled down on the hearth and drifted into his own memory of that day . . .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He knew he shouldn\u2019t have gone off alone into the woods, but he needed a pee, and he was a big boy now\u2014five years old!\u00a0\u00a0Big boys didn\u2019t need someone watching them do that!\u00a0\u00a0Hoss was busy staring at the food, anyway, so he wouldn\u2019t notice, and Little Joe figured he\u2019d just trot into the woods a ways, do his business and be back before anyone knew he was gone.\u00a0\u00a0It should have worked, would have worked . . . if he just hadn\u2019t chased after that squirrel with the fluffy tail.\u00a0\u00a0He really shouldn\u2019t have done that, but it didn\u2019t seem wrong at the time.\u00a0\u00a0Hoss could hold a squirrel in his lap, and it would let him pet it, and now that he was a big boy, he should be able to do that, too.\u00a0\u00a0Hoss, who knew everything, said winter was coming when lots of woodland critters went into hiding.\u00a0\u00a0Little Joe wasn\u2019t sure if squirrels were one of the critters that did that, but if they were, he might not have another chance to pet one for months and months.\u00a0\u00a0That was reason enough to forget everything he knew he shouldn\u2019t do and just trot after the squirrel, who didn\u2019t seem one bit eager to be petted and ran away.\u00a0\u00a0Frustrated, Little Joe ran after him, deeper and deeper into the pines.\u00a0\u00a0By the time he realized that was the wrong thing to do, it was too late.\u00a0\u00a0He was lost.<\/p>\n He tried turning around and going back the way he\u2019d come, but he didn\u2019t realize he\u2019d already done so much twisting and turning that doing that wouldn\u2019t take him back to the clearing where the food and fire was.\u00a0\u00a0Instead, it was taking him in almost the exact opposite direction.\u00a0\u00a0When he finally did come out of the tall trees, there was no one in sight, and nothing looked the same.\u00a0\u00a0Not wanting to go back into the dark forest, he walked into the open and just kept going, because he didn\u2019t know what else to do, except sit down and cry, and big boys didn\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n Feeling smaller and more ready to cry by the minute, he kept putting one foot after another.\u00a0\u00a0Finally, far in the distance, he saw a light and started to run toward it.\u00a0\u00a0Maybe it was the big bonfire, after all, and that silly squirrel had just led him so far from it that it looked tiny from here . . . except it didn\u2019t get bonfire-big, however fast he ran.\u00a0\u00a0His short legs quickly tired out, and he slowed down, but kept moving toward that light.\u00a0\u00a0It started to rain, chilly, soaking drops that pattered his face and soaked his hair and clothes, and then there was a crash of thunder and jagged jolts of lightning stabbed the earth.\u00a0\u00a0Scared, he started to run again, for the flashes of bright light had shown him that the little light he saw ahead of him was coming from a house, and he wanted inside!<\/p>\n With a thrill of joy and expectation, the exhausted boy ran onto the porch of the house and began to pound on the door, but no one came.\u00a0\u00a0He pounded again.\u00a0\u00a0Still no one came, so he started yelling.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cLet me in!\u00a0\u00a0Please!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He knew someone was in there, because of the light shining through the window.\u00a0\u00a0Finally, he moved out from under the porch roof into the rain, so he could peek through that window, and sure enough, there was a man inside.\u00a0\u00a0He looked kind of funny, holding a cow horn up to his ear, but Little Joe was a child who never met a stranger, and he couldn\u2019t imagine a house in the territory where he wouldn\u2019t be welcome.\u00a0\u00a0He splatted the window pane with his hand and began yelling, all the louder.<\/p>\n Looking puzzled, the man inside stood up and turned that cow horn toward the window.\u00a0\u00a0Then he turned himself toward it, and his jaw dropped, practically to his stomach, and he began moving toward the door, so fast he even beat Little Joe to it.\u00a0\u00a0Although maybe that made sense, since his legs were a whole lot longer than the boy\u2019s.<\/p>\n The door flew open.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGood lands, child!\u201d the old man said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat\u2019s a little mite like you doin\u2019 out in this storm?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGettin\u2019 wet!\u201d Little Joe cried.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, get in out of the wet,\u201d the old man declared, holding the door wide.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGet over there by the fire, sonny.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe was only too happy to do that!\u00a0\u00a0He was still shivering, but the warmth from the fire felt good.<\/p>\n \u201cSkin out of them wet clothes,\u201d his host ordered as he closed out the storm.<\/p>\n That sounded like a good idea, so the boy quickly shucked his shirt and pants and was about to strip down to the altogether when the old man wrapped him up in a blanket.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere now, that\u2019s better, ain\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sir.\u00a0\u00a0Thank you, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you\u2019re a polite one, at least,\u201d chuckled the old man.<\/p>\n Little Joe smiled and nodded his head.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes, sir, I am.\u201d<\/p>\n At that, the man laughed outright.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd modest, too, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe frowned slightly at the unfamiliar word.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI guess so,\u201d he ventured.\u00a0\u00a0A grownup had said it, and grownups didn\u2019t lie, did they?\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd hungry,\u201d he added, figuring that was more important than whatever the old man had called him.\u00a0\u00a0Pa always offered food to anyone who came calling at the Ponderosa, so he assumed he\u2019d be equally welcome to it here.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll see what I can rustle up,\u201d said the man.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSit down on the hearth, boy; it\u2019s warmer there.\u201d<\/p>\n That sounded right, so Little Joe did as he was told.\u00a0\u00a0The old man soon returned with a sandwich and a glass of milk, which the boy hungrily gobbled and slurped down.<\/p>\n \u201cYou wanna tell me your story now, boy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t tell stories,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cPa says to always tell the truth.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0It wasn\u2019t quite the truth that he never told stories, but he never did unless there was some mess he needed to wiggle out of, and he didn\u2019t think he was in one here.<\/p>\n The old man grinned.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI didn\u2019t mean a fib, boy.\u00a0\u00a0Still wonderin\u2019 how you came to be here, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh!\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI walked . . . and ran part way.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Clutching the blanket around him, he waddled over to the old man\u2019s chair and propped his elbows on the bony knees.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHow come you stuck that old cow\u2019s horn in your ear, Mister?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGideon, name\u2019s Gideon,\u201d the old man said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat\u2019s yours?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe,\u201d the child answered.<\/p>\n Gideon pulled the boy into his lap.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, we got something in common, then.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe cocked his head and gazed into his new friend\u2019s face with a questioning expression.<\/p>\n \u201cWe both got Bible names,\u201d Gideon explained.<\/p>\n Little Joe frowned.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI know Joseph is,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHe was Jesus\u2019s pa.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0With Christmas coming up, he\u2019d had lots of reminders about that story.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, and there was another one before him, too.\u00a0\u00a0The one with a set of onery brothers.\u00a0\u00a0You know him?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe grinned.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe one with the coat with lots of colors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the one,\u201d Gideon said, \u201cbut do you know about my namesake?\u201d<\/p>\n The child\u2019s frown returned.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIs there really a Gideon in the Bible, mister, or are you fibbin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t fib, either,\u201d Gideon said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI had a good pa, same as yours, who taught me right from wrong.\u00a0\u00a0By the way, who\u2019d you say your pa was?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t say.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Little Joe yawned and snuggled into the old man\u2019s breast.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cTell me \u2018bout the other one, that Bible Gideon.\u00a0\u00a0Did he have a cow\u2019s horn, too?\u201d<\/p>\n Gideon cackled.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHe did have a horn.\u00a0\u00a0Probably, his was a ram\u2019s horn, though, and he used it for blowin\u2019, not hearin\u2019, like I do.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m just a smidge deaf, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh!\u00a0\u00a0Tell about the blowin\u2019 one, then.\u00a0\u00a0I hear just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, oh, oh, I bet you do!\u00a0\u00a0Probably all sorts of things you shouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe giggled.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s what Pa says . . . and Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what about Hoss?\u201d Gideon asked, for he now knew what family this little mite came from.<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s eyes grew wide with wonder.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHoss . . . Hoss thinks I\u2019m perfect, and he knows everything . . . like you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He swallowed hard and asked in awe, \u201cAre you God?\u201d<\/p>\n Gideon rubbed the boy\u2019s curly head.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNaw, I\u2019m just a man, son, but a man who knows his neighbors, at least by name.\u00a0\u00a0A pa with a son named Adam hereabouts\u2014got to be the Cartwrights, don\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Little Joe cuddled up close again, now that Gideon was just a smart man and not the Almighty, who would\u2019ve scared him just a tad.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSo, tell the story,\u201d he ordered.\u00a0\u00a0Then he tapped the cow horn on the side table.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cHow\u2019s that help you hear?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, which story you want?\u201d a clearly amused Gideon asked.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth,\u201d his imperious dictator declared.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, the cow horn\u2014which is really called an ear trumpet\u2014takes less time, so I\u2019ll start there.\u00a0\u00a0The shape just kind of concentrates the sound, makin\u2019 it easier for me to hear. In fact, if\u2019n you want, you can try it out while I tell the Bible story.\u00a0\u00a0I ain\u2019t so deaf yet that I can\u2019t hear a little mite on my own lap.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe grinned and reached for the horn\u2014no, he corrected himself, the trumpet\u2014and held it to his own perfectly sound ear.\u00a0\u00a0As Gideon began to speak, the little boy\u2019s mouth gaped at the way it made the story seem louder and, somehow, more magical . . .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the heavy rain, Gideon couldn\u2019t get him back to us until the next morning,\u201d Ben said, finishing up his version of the story of their fruitless search and its blessed ending.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe met him out on the range, where we were still looking.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019d known of him before, but wasn\u2019t well acquainted until that day.\u00a0\u00a0I invited him back to the Ponderosa, but since we were closer to his place, he invited us there, instead, and I couldn\u2019t say no to the man who\u2019d, quite possibly, saved my boy\u2019s life.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s where, between him and Little Joe, we learned all about their encounter.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss slapped his knee.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd all about the trumpet of the Lord and of Gideon!\u201d<\/p>\n Sam gave him a quizzical look.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI didn\u2019t pay the best attention in church as a little lad myself, but isn\u2019t it \u2018the sword of the Lord and of Gideon\u2019 in the Good Book?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam laid a hand on the reporter\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes, but you see, like you, Little Joe has always felt free to tell a story as inventively he pleases, even when the original writer is God Himself.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe scowled.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI ain\u2019t that bad, but it\u2019s the trumpet that\u2019s important,\u201d he insisted as he had all those years before.<\/p>\n \u201cIn your story, I\u2019d agree it is,\u201d Sam said as the rest of the family hooted at the argument they\u2019d had . . . and lost . . . so many times before.\u00a0\u00a0To Little Joe, it would always be the trumpet and not the sword.<\/p>\n \u201cAt any rate,\u201d Ben said, wiping from his eyes the tears of laughter, \u201cthat was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Gideon and my little boy, which lasted . . . well, I don\u2019t suppose it ever ended, did it, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNever,\u201d Little Joe said, \u201cand never will.\u00a0\u00a0He was the closest thing to a Grandpa I ever had, and I think he felt the same.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure did,\u201d Hoss confirmed.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe used to spend the night with old Gideon about once a month,\u201d Adam amplified for Sam.<\/p>\n \u201cNot as much lately,\u201d Little Joe said with regret.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Ben said, \u201cbut you still visited from time to time, son, and I know Gideon cherished each visit, although\u201d\u2014after a pregnant pause, he continued with a twinkle in his eye\u2014\u201cI was never quite sure what sort of mischief those two were cooking up, since it was obvious the old man and the little boy were kindred spirits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll never tell,\u201d Little Joe said, his eyes misty with nostalgia once again . . .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of his fondest memories of old Gideon (and one he would never share with his father or brothers) happened about ten years after their first meeting.\u00a0\u00a0It was a warm summer evening when he knocked on the familiar door.<\/p>\n Gideon smiled broadly when he saw his visitor.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, come on in, little mite.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0The old description had become sort of his nickname for the boy, and Joe didn\u2019t mind, as long as it was kept private between them.\u00a0\u00a0It was no different in his mind from his friends and family calling him Little Joe.\u00a0\u00a0Like that, it just felt warm and affectionate and not belittling.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou stayin\u2019 the night?\u201d Gideon asked as the boy entered.<\/p>\n \u201cI told Pa I was,\u201d Little Joe replied, \u201cbut of course, if it\u2019s inconvenient, I can tell him I mistook the date.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know you\u2019re always welcome,\u201d Gideon scolded, \u201cso I guess you didn\u2019t tell your pa too much of a fib.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe grinned, \u2018cause they\u2019d had this conversation many times before.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI never tell stories.\u201d<\/p>\n Gideon gave his usual response.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cLeast not very sizable ones.\u00a0\u00a0So, what\u2019s the big attraction this particular night?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBig attraction?\u201d Little Joe squeaked.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhy, Gideon, seein\u2019 you is always a big attraction.”<\/p>\n Gideon shook his head in mock disapproval.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNow, that was a bigger fib, the kind I might have to share with your pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do always like seein\u2019 you,\u201d Little Joe protested, but under the old man\u2019s steady gaze, the fa\u00e7ade crumbled.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, yeah, I did sort of have another reason tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n When Gideon saw the flush creep over the boy\u2019s face, he sat in his chair by the fire and motioned Little Joe into the one facing it.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s hear it,\u201d he said, lips twitching.\u00a0\u00a0One of the things he liked best about his visits with the young\u2019un was that he could never tell what would come spewin\u2019 out of that mouth, and it could be downright entertainin\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0He had a feeling the story tonight just might be a humdinger.<\/p>\n Little Joe sat in his chair, but he nibbled his lower lip nervously.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2014uh\u2014sort of had a favor to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen, ask it,\u201d Gideon said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m disposed to grant it . . . if\u2019n it ain\u2019t too outlandish.\u201d<\/p>\n The flush of the boy\u2019s face deepened.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, it is . . . sort of.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2014uh\u2014was kind of hopin\u2019 to borrow . . .\u201d<\/p>\n Gideon rolled his eyes.\u00a0\u00a0He loved this boy to pieces, but he could sure try a man\u2019s patience.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSpit it out, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, could I . . . could I borrow\u201d\u2014Little Joe gulped\u2014\u201cthe trumpet of the Lord?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0It finally came out in a burst, and then he held his breath.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd of Gideon?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0The old man\u2019s mouth dropped.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat you need that for?\u00a0\u00a0I know for a fact, your hearin\u2019s sound as a silver dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, well, it\u2019s sort of a scientific experiment,\u201d Little Joe said, head bobbing earnestly, \u201cand I wouldn\u2019t need it until you went to bed, and I\u2019d have it back by morning, before you needed it again.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0As was typical of the boy, when it came out, it came in a rapid gush of words.<\/p>\n Gideon settled back in his chair.\u00a0\u00a0Oh, this was going to be a humdinger!\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDidn\u2019t know you was particularly interested in science.\u00a0\u00a0Sounds more like Adam to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe grimaced.\u00a0\u00a0He wouldn\u2019t have minded being compared to Hoss, and being like Pa was the highest goal of his life, but there couldn\u2019t be two more different people than him and Adam.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAdam\u2019d be the last one to . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFigured as much,\u201d Gideon cackled.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNow, why don\u2019t you quit pussyfootin\u2019 all around the north pasture just to get a yard or two.\u00a0\u00a0What kind of scientific experiment you got in mind?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe took a deep breath and plunged in.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, I was wonderin\u2019 if a fellow could hold the trumpet up to a windowpane and, maybe, hear what was bein\u2019 said inside a house.\u00a0\u00a0Wouldn\u2019t that make a good experiment, just to see how the sound carries?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0His head bobbed again, slowly and hopefully.<\/p>\n Gideon\u2019s lips worked as he digested that.\u00a0\u00a0Then he asked bluntly, \u201cWho you wantin\u2019 to eavesdrop on, boy?\u00a0\u00a0Not Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Little Joe said with a shudder.\u00a0\u00a0He couldn\u2019t imagine anyone less interesting to spy on.\u00a0\u00a0Adam probably spouted Shakespeare, even in his sleep.<\/p>\n \u201cYour pa?\u201d Gideon asked.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI know it ain\u2019t Hoss, \u2018cause that boy\u2019s so honest he couldn\u2019t keep a secret to save his life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot them, either.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Little Joe took a deep breath, knowing the time had come to just spill it.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, the truth is . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Bout time we got to the truth,\u201d Gideon snickered.<\/p>\n The teasing helped Little Joe relax.\u00a0\u00a0He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYeah.\u00a0\u00a0Well, several of the girls are havin\u2019 a party at Mary Elizabeth Raymond\u2019s place tonight, and some of my friends have been speculatin\u2019 on which of them which girl likes, and I thought, maybe, I could use the trumpet of the Lord . . . and Gideon . . . and sort of find out for them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He finished with a weak, but hopeful smile.<\/p>\n \u201cFor them?\u201d Gideon said, settling back comfortably in his chair.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAin\u2019t you the least bit curious about which gal likes you, little mite?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, they all like me,\u201d Little Joe said with open-faced confidence.<\/p>\n Gideon couldn\u2019t hold himself in a moment longer.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI reckon that\u2019s right, boy!\u201d he cackled.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cCouldn\u2019t nobody not like you, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe gave him a wink.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNot girls, at least.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, if we\u2019re gonna do this thing, we\u2019ll want to wait \u2018til it\u2019s good and dark,\u201d Gideon proposed.<\/p>\n Little Joe grinned, sure now that his outlandish request had been accepted.\u00a0\u00a0Then, something hit him.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWait.\u00a0\u00a0You said \u2018we,\u2019 as in you and me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, you and me,\u201d Gideon said.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cA real scientific experiment needs a witness, don\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, I guess so.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0In fact, Little Joe calculated, he might well need a witness to his innocent intentions, if this whole \u2018experiment\u2019 blew up in his face.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYeah, sure,\u201d he said, \u201cif you\u2019re sure it ain\u2019t too much for you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t that old yet, little mite,\u201d Gideon said, \u201cand I wouldn\u2019t miss this for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n It was months afterward before Little Joe realized that Gideon\u2019s real reason for going along was to keep him from taking the experiment further than he ought, which tended to happen when he was left to his own devices.\u00a0\u00a0That night, though, nothing untoward happened.\u00a0\u00a0The experiment worked, and he gathered all the information he needed for his friends, as well as learning which girl liked him best, Mary Elizabeth herself.\u00a0\u00a0The memory of that night, far too personal to ever share, was one he\u2019d hold to his heart and cherish forever . . .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAw, come on, Joe,\u201d Sam was wheedling as Little Joe came out of his brief reverie.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMy nose twitches in the presence of a good story, and it\u2019s twitching now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope, some things is private.\u201d Little Joe said with a determined shake of his head.<\/p>\n \u201cAre private,\u201d Adam put in, seeing no reason not to correct his baby brother\u2019s grammar this time.\u00a0\u00a0He smiled at the expected roll of said baby brother\u2019s eyes.\u00a0\u00a0Then, standing, he slapped Sam Clemons on the back.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019ve got your story, Sam, a warm and inspiring one for Christmastide.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cComplete with headline,\u201d Sam said, stretching his hand across the room as if already seeing it spread across the front page.\u00a0\u00a0\u201c\u2018Penniless Codger Saves Life of Child from Prominent Family.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He stood, then.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, I thank you, friends, and now I guess I\u2019d best brave the wind and the snow and make my way back to town.\u201d<\/p>\n A chorus of protests met that suggestion, Ben\u2019s voice being the loudest and most forceful in the choir.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOf course, you\u2019ll stay the night, Sam.\u00a0\u00a0The weather should clear by then, and that headline isn\u2019t so pressing it can\u2019t wait a day or so.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0And hopefully<\/i>, he thought,\u00a0I can persuade you to drop \u2018penniless\u2019 from it!\u00a0\u00a0Gideon deserves better.<\/i><\/p>\n Sam had expected no less from the hospitable head of the Cartwright clan, and he quickly accepted.\u00a0\u00a0The weather did, indeed, clear the next morning, and his story, without inventiveness of any kind, made it into the\u00a0Territorial Enterprise<\/i> on the following one.\u00a0\u00a0By the night of the Cartwrights\u2019 annual Christmas Eve party, everyone had read it and understood why an old, cracked ear trumpet rested in the branches of the tree filled with bags of candy and small toys for local tots.\u00a0\u00a0Little Joe had insisted, and no one could deny him the right to honor his friend, however ridiculous it looked as a Christmas ornament.\u00a0\u00a0The next year Adam presented him with a tiny silver ear trumpet, designed by a craftsman in San Francisco, and it hung on the Cartwrights\u2019 Christmas tree ever after.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n \u00a9 December, 2022<\/p>\n My chosen character: Joe<\/p>\n My optional secondary character: Samuel Clemons<\/p>\n My designated word: trumpet<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you\u2019re unfamiliar with the story of old Gideon\u2019s Bible namesake, you may read it in Judges 6:11-7:22.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Link to the 2022 Bonanza Brand Advent Calendar – Day 9 – In Absentia #6 – Heart’s Desire (by Belle)<\/a><\/p>\n