Summary: There’s a first time for everything and everyone.<\/p>\n
Rating:K+\/T<\/p>\n
Word Count: 12,449<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Late one fall evening, Adam and Hoss looked up from their game of checkers as the front door opened and their father walked through.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Pa!\u201d Hoss called.\u00a0 \u201cYou come just in time to see me whup older brother here.\u201d<\/p>\n
A ghost of a smile tickled Ben\u2019s lips at this rare revelation.\u00a0 \u201cYou must be out of practice, son,\u201d he said to Adam.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps I\u2019ve been concentrating too much on chess lately,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t exactly wink at his father, but Ben spied a twinkle in the older boy\u2019s eye and knew, without a doubt, that he was letting Hoss win, a kindness Ben knew his other son, a highly competitive fourteen-year-old, would never have granted.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is Joseph?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cUpstairs, doing his homework,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s been very diligent about that lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben smiled, broadly this time.\u00a0 He knew exactly, as did both his older sons, what was producing the unaccustomed diligence to schoolwork and all other duties.\u00a0 That very diligence, however, was creating a complication for the boys\u2019 father.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want I should fetch him down, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Ben said so quickly that Hoss\u2019s broad brow wrinkled.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s something I need to discuss with the two of you, and I\u2019d rather he didn\u2019t hear it \u2018til later,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
The wrinkles deepened in Hoss\u2019s forehead, while Adam straightened up to ask, \u201cAnything to do with your trip to the Governor\u2019s office?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, yes,\u201d Ben chuckled.\u00a0 He might have known his most intuitive son would make the connection.\u00a0 \u201cHe gave me a commission to fulfill, and I didn\u2019t feel I could say no, although it does put a fly in the butter of my own plans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich you didn\u2019t feel disposed to tell the Governor, I presume,\u201d Adam said with what looked very much like a smirk.<\/p>\n
Ben\u2019s head swiveled to fix an irritated stare on his eldest.\u00a0 \u201cNot when he insisted I was the only man he could trust with the job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh!\u201d\u00a0 There was no mistaking the smirk this time.\u00a0 \u201cSuccumbed to flattery,\u201d Adam announced to his younger brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give you something to succumb to, young man,\u201d Ben warned.<\/p>\n
The threat was an idle one, as both boys knew, although Hoss still looked a bit worried.\u00a0 He hated friction of any kind, and there was always the chance that Pa might mean it this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, Pa,\u201d Adam said dutifully.\u00a0 \u201cJust what thankless task has our esteemed governor saddled you with this time?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben moved toward the fireplace and dropped into the padded leather armchair beside it.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a meeting in Sacramento to discuss the boundary dispute between California and our territory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s mouth gaped open.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the governor thinks this one might be decisive,\u201d Ben said, \u201cand he wants me there to advise him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes sense, Pa,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cThe governor\u2019s still fairly new to the territory, so he needs someone with local knowledge of our issues at his side.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t pick a better man.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, Pa,\u201d Hoss agreed readily, \u201cand we was going to Sacramento anyways, so it ain\u2019t like you\u2019d just be barkin\u2019 at a knot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what it is, young man!\u201d Ben sputtered.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t think of anything more useless than dealing with a nest of politicians on a subject they\u2019ve never been able to agree on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it the drive you\u2019re concerned about?\u201d Adam asked with his usual discernment.\u00a0 \u201cShould I ask how the timing matches up with this unexpected assignment or just assume the worst?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it ever anything but with politicians?\u201d Ben grunted.\u00a0 \u201cWhen did they ever understand the needs of a working man?\u00a0 Yes, of course, the meeting\u2019s timed in exact conflict with our trail drive!\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019ll need to leave in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can handle the drive,\u201d Adam said quietly.<\/p>\n
Ben took a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cAre you sure, son?\u00a0 I don\u2019t doubt your capability, but you\u2019re young still, and some of the men may test you because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAw, no, Pa,\u201d Hoss protested.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ve seen what ole Adam can do, and they respect him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t talking about our regular hands, Hoss,\u201d Ben explained.\u00a0 \u201cI have no doubt they\u2019ll follow Adam\u2019s orders as readily as mine, but he\u2019ll have some new men to manage, too.\u00a0 That\u2019s where the testing might come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can handle it, Pa,\u201d Adam reiterated softly.<\/p>\n
Ben smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m confident you can.\u00a0 However, there is one particular new hand who might give you some trouble.\u201d\u00a0 His quick glance toward the stairs identified the \u201cnew hand\u201d instantly for the two young men with him in the great room.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, that new hand.\u00a0 I can handle that one, too, Pa,\u201d Adam said confidently and entirely too easily, Ben felt.<\/p>\n
He sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI really do hate to saddle you with that responsibility when you\u2019re bossing your first trail drive, son, but I\u2019m not sure I have another choice.\u00a0 Hop Sing will be managing the chuck wagon for us, and I can\u2019t leave Little Joe home alone.\u00a0 Any number of friends would probably take him in for a couple of weeks, but I promised the boy he could go on the trail drive if all his homework and chores were done.\u00a0 He\u2019s fulfilled that to the letter; he\u2019s earned his reward.\u00a0 I\u2019m reluctant to deprive him of it, but I, of course, expected to be there to guide him and keep him safe.\u00a0 Now, you\u2019ll not only be a man short, but you\u2019ll have that on your shoulders, and . . .\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPa, I can handle it,\u201d Adam said once more, hoping three times would suffice.\u00a0 \u201cI do understand the challenges, and I know it won\u2019t be easy, but I\u2019ll manage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben took a deep breath and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cBefore I make a final decision, however, I want to talk with Dan Tolliver.\u00a0 He\u2019s our top wrangler, and I think he\u2019ll be willing to help shoulder the extra responsibilities.\u00a0 Before I agree to send Little Joe along, though, I\u2019d like to get his opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you feel it\u2019s necessary,\u201d Adam said tersely, his tight grip on his temper slipping.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, don\u2019t take it that way,\u201d Ben chided.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s no reflection on you, son.\u00a0 I just want to be sure you\u2019ll have all the support you might need.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAw, you know how ole Dan feels about the kid,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cDan trained Joe hisself in herdin\u2019 cattle and ropin\u2019, and I\u2019ve heard him say the kid\u2019s a natural.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t likely to say no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI expect you\u2019re right,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 Turning back to Adam, he added, \u201cWell, if all that meets with your approval, boss, I\u2019ll go talk to Dan now.\u201d\u00a0 At Adam\u2019s tight-lipped nod, he smiled.\u00a0 As he took the doorknob in his hand, he said, \u201cLet me be the one to tell Little Joe, either way it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The door had no sooner closed behind their father than Adam sputtered, \u201cWhen have I ever not taken responsibility for that boy?\u00a0 What does it take to make Pa realize I can handle him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you can?\u201d Hoss said with a wide grin to let Adam know he was teasing.<\/p>\n
It worked.\u00a0 The tightness in Adam\u2019s face eased.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m counting on your help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAw, you got it,\u201d Hoss promised easily.\u00a0 \u201cBesides, as saintly as little brother\u2019s been here of late, he may not give us a lick of trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI still see the tarnish on that halo, if you don\u2019t!\u201d\u00a0 Adam said it with a grin, though, and Hoss knew he\u2019d successfully restored older brother\u2019s good temper.<\/p>\n
Within ten minutes, Ben was back in the house.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019d ole Dan say, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked.\u00a0 \u201cI get it about right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust about,\u201d Ben said.\u00a0 \u201cDan did say that Little Joe was a mite younger than he liked to see a boy make his first trail drive, but he also said the boy has good skills and so long as he does as he\u2019s told, he should do fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, and therein lies the rub,\u201d Adam, hand dramatically over his heart, declaimed in his best imitation of Edwin Booth\u2019s Hamlet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll lay down the law before I leave,\u201d Ben promised, \u201cbut enforcing it will be up to the two of you, with Dan\u2019s support, if needed.\u201d\u00a0 He sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, no time like the present, I guess.\u201d\u00a0 He squared his shoulders and headed toward the staircase.<\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
\u201cPssst!\u00a0 Hoss!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss grunted and turned his back to the pesky horsefly buzzing in his ear and tried to bury in his head in his pillow.\u00a0 The horsefly just buzzed louder.\u00a0 \u201cHoss!\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss cracked open one eye.\u00a0 In the murky darkness he couldn\u2019t see much, but he didn\u2019t need to.\u00a0 He knew that pesky voice and the name it went by.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you doin\u2019 up, Joe?\u201d he asked, yawning widely.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t even first light yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry,\u201d Little Joe said, sounding not in the least regretful.\u00a0 \u201cI couldn\u2019t sleep for frettin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was different.\u00a0 No longer irritated, Hoss sat up with concern.\u00a0 \u201cAw, you ain\u2019t missin\u2019 Pa already, are you, punkin?\u00a0 Ain\u2019t been even a full day since he left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI ain\u2019t a baby, Hoss,\u201d Little Joe said with an offended whine that sounded very much like what he was denying.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you ailin\u2019?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s voice was now thick with worry because he didn\u2019t know what they\u2019d do in a fix like that.\u00a0 If the boy was sick, they couldn\u2019t take him on the drive, and they couldn\u2019t foist him off on neighbors or leave him home alone, either.\u00a0 That was a fly in the butter no one needed to deal with!<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Hoss!\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe was still whispering but sounding more perturbed by the minute.\u00a0 \u201cI was just a mite worried about gettin\u2019 the drive started on time and . . .\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss held up a silencing hand.\u00a0 \u201cGettin\u2019 a mite big for your britches, ain\u2019t you, Shortshanks?\u00a0 Adam and me\u2019ll handle that; ain\u2019t no need of you frettin\u2019, little feller.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe sighed deeply.\u00a0 He loved his big brother Hoss like no one else, but sometimes he could be hard work.\u00a0 \u201cI just meant since we\u2019re a man down, with Pa bein\u2019 gone, maybe I could be of some help today, be an extra hand, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe wanting to be of help was rare enough than even guileless Hoss\u2019s suspicions were triggered.\u00a0 \u201cYou got school today, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, but how much good is one more day gonna do me?\u201d Little Joe argued, \u201cand if I could take some of the load off you and Adam . . .\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam ain\u2019t likely to fall for that, young\u2019un.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe put on his sweetest smile.\u00a0 \u201cIf you back me up, he will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, you little scoundrel!\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe caught the twinkle in his brother\u2019s eye, though, and knew the battle was won.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s talk to Adam, then!\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss caught his arm.\u00a0 \u201cNot at this time of the morning, not if\u2019n you want to win him over.\u00a0 Now, get back to your own bed and let me get back to sleep, you ornery horsefly!\u201d<\/p>\n
Realizing the wisdom of his brother\u2019s advice, Little Joe high-tailed it back to his own room.<\/p>\n
*****<\/p>\n
Having had trouble getting back to sleep, Little Joe was later down to breakfast than he had planned.\u00a0 Fortunately, Adam just saw that as business as usual and made no more than the usual bad jokes about \u201cSleeping Beauty\u201d and the need to \u201cget a move on\u201d if Joe were to make it to school on time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to talk to you about that, Adam,\u201d the boy said as he slid into his seat at the table with an anxious glance at his other brother.\u00a0 Hoss shook his head slightly.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t tattled.\u00a0 Good.\u00a0 \u201cSee, I was thinking,\u201d Little Joe began as he was heaping his plate with sausage and eggs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways a commendable thing when heading off to school,\u201d Adam observed.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure what his little brother was edging up to, but he recognized the signs.<\/p>\n
Little Joe sighed at the predictable teasing.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, but about heading off to school,\u201d he started again.\u00a0 \u201cI was thinkin\u2019, maybe I shouldn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 He hurried to finish his pitch before Adam cut him off.\u00a0 \u201cI mean, with you bein\u2019 a man down and, maybe, needin\u2019 some extra help, and with me just havin\u2019 this one puny, little day of school left anyway and . . .\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam held up a silencing hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou figured you\u2019d start your vacation a day early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe shook his head wildly.\u00a0 \u201cNot a vacation.\u00a0 No, sir!\u00a0 I just figured there\u2019d be plenty of ways a feller like me could help out.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019d instinctively known that calling himself a man would earn him nothing but hoots of laughter and decided \u201cfeller\u201d might suffice and definitely be better than the demeaning \u201cboy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hoot of laughter almost came anyway.\u00a0 Having been a champion debater in school, Adam easily saw through the rather flimsy proposition his brother was making.\u00a0 It was only rather flimsy, however, and not completely without merit, so he said, \u201cGo on.\u201d\u00a0 At worst, it would be entertaining to see how cogent an argument his little brother could frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, like I said,\u201d Joe went on, encouraged by what he viewed as a positive response, \u201cYou and Hoss will already be busy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBusy as a stump-tailed horse in fly season,\u201d Hoss put in, to keep his promise about helping Joe butter up ole Adam.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight!\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe flashed their middle brother a grateful grin and plunged on.\u00a0 \u201cAnd, face facts, Adam, how much am I likely to learn this one last day if all I can think of is how hard things is on you and whether we\u2019ll be ready on time and what I could\u2019ve done to help, if\u2019n you\u2019d only let me and\u201d\u2014he finally had to take a breath before continuing.\u00a0 \u201cAnd, and, well, wouldn\u2019t it help if\u2019n I was to take up some of the more routine jobs\u2014nothing real major, of course\u2014and free someone up to do what only a man can do?\u201d\u00a0 That last phrase was added strictly for older brother\u2019s benefit, not because Joe really believed himself incapable of pulling a man\u2019s weight.<\/p>\n
Adam lifted his palm toward Little Joe.\u00a0 \u201cAll right; you\u2019ve made your point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe held his breath.\u00a0 He\u2019d used every argument he had, and he knew the odds were against him, but he was the kind of boy who lived in hope.\u00a0 And there was always hope, wasn\u2019t there, that older brother would listen to reason, just this once in his life?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might not like the assignment I gave you,\u201d Adam warned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t matter,\u201d Little Joe rushed to say, his eyes lighting in expectation.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll do anything you ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if it\u2019s something as mundane as loading the bed wagon?\u201d<\/p>\n
The light dimmed in the shining green eyes.\u00a0 Loading a wagon with supplies the men needed to take on a long trip wasn\u2019t exactly the sort of glamourous, manly cattle work he\u2019d dreamed of, but after all, he wasn\u2019t a top hand . . . yet.\u00a0 He should have expected that a first-time trail hand like him would have to start at the bottom, but it still beat sitting in school all to pieces!\u00a0 \u201cSure,\u201d he agreed cheerily, covering his minor disappointment with a wide grin.<\/p>\n
Adam\u2019s lips twitched with amusement at the easy compliance, and he couldn\u2019t resist throwing one more bucket of cold water on little brother\u2019s sudden enthusiasm for work.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d also need to take your schoolbooks along and try to keep up with your class.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe sighed.\u00a0 \u201cPa already made me promise that, Adam, though I don\u2019t see how I\u2019ll find much time for studying on the trail!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might be surprised,\u201d Adam said, smiling in fond memory of another boy, even younger, who\u2019d regularly managed to find time for study on a wagon train headed west.\u00a0 \u201cWith that understood,\u201d he said, finally taking compassion on the antsy kid, \u201cyes, you may skip school today and load the bed wagon, including a few of your textbooks, your primer and arithmetic, at least.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat!\u00a0 Thanks, Adam!\u00a0 I\u2019ll get those put in my carpetbag right away and start loading that wagon.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was already on the stair landing by the time Adam recovered enough to say, \u201cPack some clothes, too, including a suit for the theater in Sacramento!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlready did!\u201d Little Joe yelled as he raced up the remaining stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can eat breakfast first!\u201d Adam called.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe down in two shakes!\u201d Little Joe shouted back without breaking speed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, he\u2019s certainly a beaver for work today,\u201d Adam said drily.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Hoss said, looking dazed.\u00a0 \u201cYou surprised me, older brother.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think there was a snowball\u2019s chance on a summer day you\u2019d fall for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t fall for anything, but the truth is, he gave me some pretty good reasons to say yes.\u00a0 We are<\/em> a little short-handed, and even if we weren\u2019t, having a boy handle loading that wagon will free up a tried and tested hand for more skilled labor, and the men will just plain appreciate it.\u00a0 It might win him an ounce or two of favor with them, too, which a kid of his age can use.\u00a0 Besides, Little Joe\u2019s exactly right in saying his mind will be on anything but schoolwork today.\u00a0 Might as well set him some tasks a little more useful than daydreaming about glories to come.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSounds about right,\u201d Hoss said, \u201clong as it\u2019s you and not me that has to lay down the law when the time comes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs if you ever laid down the law with that boy!\u201d Adam scoffed.\u00a0 \u201cJust how did he trick you into backing him this time?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cNot sure.\u00a0 He woke me up way before daylight, so I reckon I might have been half-asleep and anxious to stop him jabberin\u2019 at me.\u00a0 You think he planned it that way?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam laughed.\u00a0 \u201cWith that kid, you never know!\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The next day dawned, and the three Cartwright brothers rose to meet the rosy amethyst tones of first light.\u00a0 As the owners of the Ponderosa, they could have exercised the privilege of one last night in their own beds, but it was more practical to sleep in camp with the rest of the men.\u00a0 After all, they\u2019d have had to rise that much earlier to get the timely start Adam was insisting on.\u00a0 Besides, Hop Sing couldn\u2019t be in two places at the same time, and as \u201ccookie\u201d for the drive, the greater responsibility was to feed the men, hard to do on time if he stayed at the ranch long enough to serve the Cartwrights a separate breakfast.<\/p>\n Little Joe looked a little groggy that morning, but Adam figured he\u2019d come by the weariness honestly.\u00a0 The kid had worked hard the previous day, and without complaint, too.\u00a0 Not a grumble about the tiresome task of loading bed rolls and baggage, spare equipment and gear, extra food and medical supplies and firewood for Hop Sing\u2019s cookstove.\u00a0 Some might have said it was a luxury to even take a bed wagon along on the short drive over the Sierras, but it eased the load on the chuck wagon and would enable Hop Sing to stock supplies for more satisfying meals for the men.\u00a0 Not up to the quality of the fluffy cinnamon rolls he\u2019d brought from home for this first morning\u2019s breakfast, but better than could be found on any other drive over the mountains.\u00a0 The men were grateful, and the little cook beamed at the warm words coming his way.<\/p>\n Little Joe hadn\u2019t gotten that many for his contribution to the drive so far, but there had been a few men who thought to express their appreciation when they\u2019d handed in their gear to the youngest wrangler on the crew.\u00a0 Most had simply treated the boy as one of them and that seemed to be fine with Little Joe.\u00a0 No thanks needed for doing his job, which was as it should be, Adam reflected with satisfaction in the boy\u2019s performance.\u00a0 Oh, there\u2019d been two or three of the new hands who had looked down a lofty nose at the kid, whose diminutive size made him appear even younger than he actually was.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Only one, however, had made any derogative remarks, at least in Adam\u2019s hearing.\u00a0 Bart Jenkins, his name was, barely a man himself with no more than four or five years on Joe.\u00a0 Maybe that was why he\u2019d made such a point of complaining about babysitting a snot-nosed kid, as well as a bunch of dumb steers.\u00a0 Not a particularly bright comment to make about the brother of the trail boss, but Adam decided to let it ride.\u00a0 Little Joe wouldn\u2019t appreciate his big brother fighting his battles for him, and honestly, it would just make things harder for the kid in the long run.<\/p>\n The long-term hands, some of whom had watched Little Joe grow up, knew he could be a handful, but they apparently trusted Adam and, to a lesser extent soft-hearted Hoss, to keep the boy in line.\u00a0 So far, no line-keeping had been necessary, and that first day on the trail did much to relieve any concerns the men might have held.\u00a0 Little Joe was a better horseman than most, and throughout the day, the kid had done just as he was told.\u00a0 \u201cIf only that could continue!\u201d a grateful Adam muttered to Hoss at day\u2019s end.<\/p>\n \u201cAw, it will,\u201d Hoss predicted easily.\u00a0 \u201cHe knows what\u2019s at stake if\u2019n he don\u2019t\u2014namely, his hide.\u201d<\/p>\n So far, that had held true, even when Adam had assigned his kid brother a pretty low-level assignment the first day on the trail.\u00a0 Little Joe had apparently seen it as the test it was and had just shrugged off any frustration he felt.\u00a0 By the time they bedded down for the night, Adam had no complaints about his little brother\u2019s performance, nor did any of the men.\u00a0 He went to sleep that night in satisfaction with the way his first time bossing a trail drive was going.<\/p>\n Little Joe, on the other hand, found it hard to fall asleep.\u00a0 Things hadn\u2019t gone entirely as he\u2019d hoped.\u00a0 He felt his skills hadn\u2019t been used to their fullest, but as the youngest man on the crew, he\u2019d sort of expected he\u2019d have to prove himself.\u00a0 He thought he\u2019d done that today and hoped for better things tomorrow.\u00a0 (He was, after all, a kid who lived in hope.)\u00a0 As he turned in that first night, he was grateful Adam hadn\u2019t assigned him to night watch\u2014not that he\u2019d have told Hoss, much less Adam!\u00a0 He was exhausted, however, not having slept well the night before, both in antsy anticipation of the day to come and a certain yearning for his well-stuffed mattress and pillow at home.\u00a0 Tomorrow night would be soon enough to volunteer for more manly responsibility, and if Adam didn\u2019t give it to him, why then he and older brother might have to have words!\u00a0 (Hope could only take a man so far!)<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Far enough, as it turned out.\u00a0 The next day, morning to night, went about as well as Little Joe could have hoped.\u00a0 Older brother wasn\u2019t keeping such an eagle-eye on him as before and seemed to be trusting him with more responsibility.\u00a0 When Adam collared him during the noon break and suggested he might want to take a lie-down in the bed wagon in about two hours, however, the boy had almost exploded.\u00a0 A nap?\u00a0 On a trail drive?\u00a0 What did Adam take him for, that snot-nosed kid of Jenkins\u2019 taunts.\u00a0 Joe\u2019d managed to hold his temper, though, and he\u2019d assured his older brother he wasn\u2019t tired (not entirely true) and didn\u2019t need a rest.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe,\u201d Adam conceded easily, having expected a far more volatile reaction, \u201cbut it\u2019s standard practice when a man\u2019s going on night watch in a few hours.\u00a0 Your choice, but you\u2019d be wise to take advantage of the opportunity to catch a few of the winks you\u2019ll be giving up later.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe hadn\u2019t said anything to that, \u2018cause it was hard to talk with his mouth hanging open.\u00a0 When he finally was able to breathe again, he sputtered out, \u201cReally?\u00a0 You\u2019re trustin\u2019 me on night watch?\u201d\u00a0 Without his even asking!<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve earned it,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 He almost left it at that, but decided his image as the strict and starched older brother needed a little bolstering.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, if you think you\u2019re not ready, kid . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, no.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe frantically waved aside any hint of concern.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m ready; I\u2019m ready!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, then.\u201d\u00a0 Adam managed to keep his stern boss-face in place until he\u2019d turned his back and moved a few paces away before he let loose his proud-brother grin.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Little Joe was glad he\u2019d taken Adam\u2019s advice about the lie-down that afternoon and even more glad that older brother wasn\u2019t around to see his wide-mouthed yawn about halfway through his assigned watch that night.\u00a0 He\u2019d never actually stayed up this late before, and it was a challenge.\u00a0 One he welcomed, however.\u00a0 So far, the herd had been quiet, but he kind of liked it that way, peaceful and still, stars twinkling above and a gentle breeze to cool him as he rode the perimeter.\u00a0 There were three other wranglers making the same slow circuit.\u00a0 He could hear one of them\u2014Smitty, probably\u2014crooning a song to the beeves, who seemed to like the off-key tune just fine.\u00a0 He was almost tempted to nod off in the saddle himself.<\/p>\n Suddenly, everything changed.\u00a0 A small light flashed on the far side of the herd.\u00a0 Nothing major, maybe just a match flaring, but Little Joe had been thoroughly schooled in how skittish steers could become over the slightest change in their surroundings.\u00a0 And these steers took it into their heads to prove the wisdom of that schooling, as they started to run, first away from the flame and then every which way, as if they\u2019d plumb lost their senses.<\/p>\n He started to ride toward one thoroughly turned-around steer, but Dan Tolliver, who\u2019d been circling the herd behind his position, rode up and shouted, \u201cLittle Joe!\u00a0 Ride back and rouse the camp.\u00a0 We\u2019re gonna need help.\u00a0 Tell Adam first!\u201d<\/p>\n It irked a bit\u2014well, a lot\u2014being sent on a kid\u2019s errand, instead of trusted to handle the cattle, but Little Joe knew he didn\u2019t have any real experience with managing a stampede, and he figured Dan was right about them needing more help.\u00a0 No one back in camp would have seen that little flash of light, even if they\u2019d been awake, and, well, a good wrangler did the job assigned to him, didn\u2019t he?\u00a0 All that came to him as he was urging his horse campward.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t his favorite mount from back home, but it was a good sturdy cow pony who seemed to understand the urgency with which Joe slapped the reins.<\/p>\n He rode straight for the place he knew Adam would be sleeping and flew off the horse within seconds of pulling him to a halt, yelling, \u201cStampede!\u00a0 Dan needs help!\u201d<\/p>\n Adam woke instantly, and Hoss, who was sleeping at his side, only moments later.\u00a0 Other drovers nearby woke, and soon the cry of \u201cStampede!\u201d was echoing through the camp.\u00a0 Adam caught his panting youngest brother as he lurched forward and told him, \u201cGet to Hop Sing and stay there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, no!\u201d Little Joe protested.\u00a0 \u201cI wanna help.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo as you\u2019re told!\u201d Adam shouted, grabbing the reins of the horse his little brother had just vacated and mounting.<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d\u00a0 The protest started strong, but trailed off in a whimper of frustration.<\/p>\n Hoss put a hand on the boy\u2019s slim shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s best for now, young\u2019un.\u00a0 Take care of Hop Sing.\u00a0 He\u2019ll be scared.\u201d\u00a0 Then he took off running toward the remuda to find his own mount.<\/p>\n Little Joe scuffed the ground with an irritated kick, but then sighed and headed toward the chuck wagon.\u00a0 Hoss was probably right about Hop Sing, who was pretty much terrified of steers, even when they weren\u2019t running around like crazed buffalo.\u00a0 Babysitting the cook wasn\u2019t the man-sized work he\u2019d dreamed of when he\u2019d begged to come on this drive, but Hop Sing was his friend.\u00a0 More than that, really.\u00a0 He was family, and family mattered more than a whole herd of crazy cows . . . or any amount of hurt pride.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The men dragged into camp, exhausted, but they\u2019d finally managed to calm the spooked beeves.\u00a0 As Little Joe ran to meet his brothers, it was obvious he was the only one with energy to spare.\u00a0 \u201cEverything okay?\u201d he asked Hoss.<\/p>\n Hoss put his long arm around his little brother and, with a tired grin, said, \u201cEverything\u2019s all right.\u00a0 You get Hop Sing settled?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cHe sounds mad, but ain\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 He understood a smattering of Chinese, at least enough to know when the cook\u2019s dressing-down of all cowmen, Cartwrights included, was serious and when it was just obligatory scolding to save face.<\/p>\n Hoss gave the slim shoulders a squeeze of understanding and said, \u201cGood job.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe shrugged out of the one-armed embrace, not wanting the men standing around to think he was some little kid in need of huggin\u2019.\u00a0 Hoss understood and let him go with a slap on the back.<\/p>\n Adam was the last to return to camp.\u00a0 After handing his mount off to the wrangler assigned to manage the horses, he strode briskly into camp and called out the names of the four men who had been on watch before the stampede started, including, of course, his youngest brother.\u00a0 Those four had already been replaced on watch over the now calm, but still skittish cattle.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right,\u201d Adam said sternly.\u00a0 \u201cCan any of you shed light on what spooked the steers?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw somethin\u2019 like a match flare up,\u201d Smitty said.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t much, I know, but I\u2019ve seen steers spook over nothin\u2019 bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI seen it, too,\u201d Dan Tolliver said.<\/p>\n \u201cMe, too,\u201d Bart Jenkins quickly put in, adding with a snide curl of his upper lip, \u201cI reckon the kid must\u2019ve thought to sneak himself a smoke whilst big brother wadn\u2019t lookin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n A hush fell over the assembled men, except for Tolliver, who hissed, \u201cHobble your lip.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe found his voice again and, still shocked, sputtered out, \u201cAdam, I wouldn\u2019t; I couldn\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know, boy,\u201d Adam said with grave quietness.\u00a0 \u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 His hardened gaze fell on the man who\u2019d made the accusation.<\/p>\n Jenkins thrust out his chin.\u00a0 \u201cBlood sticks with blood, but I know what I seen.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam took a deep, stabilizing breath.\u00a0 \u201cMore accurately, blood knows blood, and I know this boy.\u00a0 In the first place, he\u2019s got no taste for tobacco.\u201d\u00a0 He knew that for a fact because he\u2019d held the kid\u2019s drooping head after Little Joe actually had snuck his first smoke and suffered such gut-wrenching nausea that he\u2019d sworn off the stuff forever.\u00a0 \u201cAnd in the second place,\u201d Adam added with taut anger, \u201che\u2019s grown up around cattle and been thoroughly schooled in how to behave around them.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have to see his brother\u2019s face to sense the relieved look that now enveloped it.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, the spark I seen came from his side of the herd,\u201d Jenkins insisted.<\/p>\n \u201cHobble your lyin\u2019 lip!\u201d Dan growled, more forcefully this time.\u00a0 \u201cI seen the flare, too, and it wadn\u2019t comin\u2019 from Joe\u2019s position, Mister Adam.\u201d\u00a0 He hesitated a hair\u2019s breath and then with an almost apologetic glance at Little Joe, he added, \u201cI sort of been keepin\u2019 an eye on the boy, him bein\u2019 young and this bein\u2019 his first turn at night watch, so I know where he was when that match flared up.\u201d\u00a0 He turned flashing eyes on the boy\u2019s accuser.\u00a0 \u201cThat light didn\u2019t come from anywhere near the boy.\u00a0 More like from the direction you was ridin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, might have been Smitty,\u201d Jenkins suggested.\u00a0 \u201cI guess I could\u2019ve got turned around in the fracas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t smoke, neither!\u201d Smitty shouted.\u00a0 Two hands nearby held him back from pummeling Jenkins.<\/p>\n Jenkins scanned the other faces near him and quickly discerned that the tide had turned against him.\u00a0 \u201cWell, well, no . . . probably not Smitty, then.\u201d\u00a0 That only left Dan Tolliver, and even Jenkins had sense enough to know the most experienced wrangler on the crew was not the man to accuse.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe Dan got turned around, too,\u201d he suggested, though weakly.\u00a0 Then his voice strengthened, as he decided to tough it out.\u00a0 \u201cI still say it had to be the kid.\u00a0 Babies don\u2019t belong on trail drives.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe lunged toward Jenkins, but Hoss held him back.<\/p>\n \u201cI hated to say anything, Mister Adam, without bein\u2019 sure,\u201d Smitty put in, \u201cbut unless the two of \u2018em switched positions sometime in the night, I\u2019d say it was Jenkins and not the boy who lit that match.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought as much,\u201d Adam said gravely, \u201cand your verification, along with Dan\u2019s, convinces me.\u201d\u00a0 He fixed his icy gaze on Jenkins.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t turn any man out in the middle of the night, but come first light, take your gear and get out of camp!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI got wages comin\u2019,\u201d Jenkins snarled.<\/p>\n Adam coolly turned his gaze toward the senior wrangler on the crew.\u00a0 \u201cDid we lose any beef, Dan?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt least two, boss,\u201d Dan said.\u00a0 \u201cCould be more.\u00a0 And one man hurt.\u00a0 Bill Martin\u2019s got a busted leg.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s eyes again filled with ice as he turned back to Jenkins.\u00a0 \u201cYour wages won\u2019t even cover what you cost us, much less what you cost Bill.\u00a0 First light, clear out!\u00a0 The rest of you men get back to your bed rolls, with my thanks for handling the matter so quickly and so well.\u201d\u00a0 Signaling Hoss to follow him, Adam strode off before he lost all control of his temper.<\/p>\n Assuming Adam might want Joe, too, Hoss turned his little brother around and marched him in Adam\u2019s wake.\u00a0 When they\u2019d gotten some distance away from the others, he called out, \u201cWe\u2019re clear now.\u00a0 You wanna give us a chance to catch up to them long legs of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam stopped abruptly and turned around, and Hoss was almost sure he still saw smoke spouting from his big brother\u2019s nostrils.\u00a0 \u201cThanks,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI was afeared I\u2019d have to snatch Shortshanks up and tote him like a bag of cornmeal.\u201d\u00a0 When Adam didn\u2019t respond, he gulped and asked, \u201cYou did mean him, too, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s shoulders finally relaxed.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, I meant him, too.\u201d\u00a0 He closed the distance between them and rested both hands atop the boy\u2019s shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cYou did well tonight. Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019m proud of you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t do much,\u201d Little Joe said.\u00a0 He sounded disappointed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou did exactly what you should,\u201d Adam persisted.\u00a0 \u201cYou rode for help; you roused the camp, and that no doubt saved a good portion of our herd.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cDan told me to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you obeyed the orders of the man over you,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s all I ask of any hand.\u00a0 You did well, and I\u2019m proud of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe flushed, relishing the unexpected praise.\u00a0 Then he brightened.\u00a0 \u201cSo, can I take night watch again tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam chuckled at his brother\u2019s enthusiasm.\u00a0 \u201cNo man takes night watch two nights running, kid.\u00a0 That\u2019s standard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, yeah.\u00a0 I\u2014I knew that.\u201d\u00a0 Joe\u2019s flush this time was one of embarrassment at overlooking the obvious, but the enthusiasm quickly bubbled up again.\u00a0 \u201cBut the next night, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n Older brother\u2019s laugh was louder this time, and warmer as he grabbed the scruff of the boy\u2019s neck and herded him back toward camp.\u00a0 \u201cIf that\u2019s what you want, eager beaver.\u201d\u00a0 He tossed a wink at Hoss over Joe\u2019s head, and Hoss returned it, along with a toothy grin of satisfaction.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Despite the upheaval of the previous night and their consequent loss of sleep, the men seemed cheerful the next morning as they stood in line for breakfast.\u00a0 With good reason, Hoss realized when he reached the head of the line and received his plate.\u00a0 \u201cSteak!\u201d the big man cried with enthusiasm.\u00a0 \u201cNow, that\u2019s somethin\u2019 we don\u2019t see much on the trail.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Adam say make . . . make what, Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe best of a bad situation,\u201d the youngster said.\u00a0 He\u2019d elected to help the cook this morning with the butchering and the serving up, just for the pleasure of seeing the surprise on the men\u2019s faces, especially Hoss\u2019s, at the better-than-usual breakfast.\u00a0 He put the largest cut of meat he could see on his big brother\u2019s plate, along with a heap of fried potatoes and a couple of biscuits.\u00a0 Hoss took the plate in one hand and used the other to tousle the boy\u2019s curly locks.\u00a0 \u201cGet yourself some, too, young\u2019un,\u201d he advised, \u201cbefore I head back for seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd wipe us clean out, you mean!\u201d Little Joe accused playfully.<\/p>\n \u201cExactly,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cWord to the wise, if\u2019n you know what that<\/em> means.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou listen to wise man,\u201d Hop Sing advised.\u00a0 \u201cTime you eat, too, Li\u2019l Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI reckon,\u201d Little Joe said, filling a plate with about half as much food as he\u2019d given Hoss and trailing behind his best friend.<\/p>\n As the line petered out, one final man came up to the cook.\u00a0 Looking at him, Hop Sing frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhat you want, bad man?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I sort of provided the beef, didn\u2019t I?\u201d Jenkins snorted.\u00a0 \u201cSeems only fittin\u2019 I should get my share.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBad man no deserve good beef,\u201d Hop Sing declared with a scowl.<\/p>\n As Jenkins reached across the table to grab the Chinaman\u2019s loose-fitting cotton tunic, a new voice called out, \u201cLet him go, Jenkins!\u201d<\/p>\n Recognizing the boss\u2019s voice, Jenkins released Hop Sing and, with a curled lip, turned to face Adam Cartwright.\u00a0 \u201cYou gonna send a man out with empty pockets and an empty stomach, to boot, boss man?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d be justified,\u201d Adam said, maintaining taut self-control, \u201cbut if it\u2019ll give you the strength to ride far and fast, I guess we can spare a plate of vittles.\u00a0 Feed him, Hop Sing.\u201d\u00a0 A steady stare accentuated the order, for he could see Hop Sing\u2019s reluctance to waste any of his good food on the troublemaker, especially after hearing the man\u2019s accusations of his beloved Little Joe.\u00a0 For a moment, Adam thought the cook might refuse, but then Hop Sing straightened to his full height, gave a curt nod and picked up a tin plate.\u00a0 When he took his time and picked through the remaining steaks for one that appeared to be the smallest and most likely to be riddled with gristle, Adam merely gave him a conspiratorial nod.\u00a0 As culinary revenge went, it was far from the worst the Chinese cook could have concocted.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can do better than that, chink!\u201d Jenkins snarled.<\/p>\n Adam grabbed the man by his shirt front.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not a fancy San Francisco eatery, Jenkins; eat what you\u2019re given and clear out!\u201d\u00a0 He released him with a force that made the man stumble back a pace or two; then he turned his back and strode off before he could yield to the strong temptation to plow a fist into the man\u2019s impudent nose.<\/p>\n Jenkins spit his disdain into the dust and muttered, low enough that even Hop Sing couldn\u2019t make out the words, \u201cYou\u2019ll get yours, Mr. high-and-mighty boss man.\u201d\u00a0 He took the platter of food, scarfed it down as fast as the gristle permitted and hit the trail before the herd started moving.\u00a0 As he rode, he pondered how to make Adam Cartwright pay, and a snide smile began to twist his mouth as a plan formed in his revenge-brined brain.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Special efforts were taken that day to keep the cattle comfortable and calm, and that goal was achieved.\u00a0 The day\u2019s travel went smoothly, almost as if the expulsion of that one man had transformed the rest into a well-oiled machine.\u00a0 As that thought ran through Adam\u2019s mind, he knew it was an exaggeration, an unfair one at that.\u00a0 After all, until he\u2019d struck that ill-fated match, Jenkins had been a decent hand, following orders and causing no problems.\u00a0 Adam briefly entertained the thought that he\u2019d been too harsh with the boy who, after all, wasn\u2019t that much older than Little Joe, although a sight less savvy about handling beeves.\u00a0 Then the image of his little brother\u2019s face when he was wrongfully accused of starting the stampede hardened Adam\u2019s jawline and his opinion of Bart Jenkins.\u00a0 Making a mistake was one thing; blaming someone else for it was altogether different.\u00a0 For that, there was no excuse.\u00a0 He knew it and the men knew it.\u00a0 None of them would have trusted Jenkins after that, so he\u2019d had to go.<\/p>\n There was still enough fresh beef to give the men another fine meal at the end of the day, and Hop Sing had even put together some dried peach cobbler to make it more special.\u00a0 As always, the men going on night watch were first in line, but no one minded waiting tonight.\u00a0 There was plenty to go around.<\/p>\n Since Dan Tolliver would also be exempted from doing watch that night, Little Joe sought him out after he\u2019d filled his plate for advice on how a stampede should be handled.\u00a0 Always willing to teach and patient with a young hand\u2019s questions, Dan explained how the goal was to get the cattle milling, turning in a circle, so they\u2019d slow down and tire out.\u00a0 \u201cNot that you\u2019ll be putting that into practice anytime soon,\u201d Dan said, \u201cbut I reckon it\u2019s best that you know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t think they\u2019ll stampede again?\u201d Little Joe asked.<\/p>\n Dan shook his head firmly.\u00a0 \u201cNot unless someone lights a match or somethin\u2019 equally stupid.\u00a0 We don\u2019t got anybody that green left in camp.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s eyes shot wide, and Dan laughed as he read the boy\u2019s mind.\u00a0 \u201cYou was never that green, boy, and I take some pride in that \u2018cause I think I had somethin\u2019 to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou did,\u201d Little Joe said with warmth and gratitude.\u00a0 He stood up. \u201cI\u2019m gonna see if there\u2019s any of that good grub left.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBest get it while you can,\u201d Dan advised.\u00a0 \u201cAll the men is mighty grateful for the fine vittles, even if they come about the wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\n Grateful and full, everyone except those on night watch bedded down that night as content as they all hoped the beeves would remain.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The supply of fresh meat was dwindling down, but Hop Sing used the last of it to dice into gravy as a topping for the biscuits he served the next morning.\u00a0 \u201cReminds me of what Pa used to cook for us back in the early days,\u201d Adam said as he and his younger brothers sat together.<\/p>\n Hoss looked almost dreamy.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 \u201cIt was one of my favorite meals.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverything\u2019s your favorite meal,\u201d Little Joe teased.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t remember anything like this at all.\u201d\u00a0 He shot an anxious look at Hop Sing and added quickly, \u201cBut it\u2019s right tasty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBefore your time,\u201d Adam told his youngest brother.\u00a0 \u201cJust Pa and Hoss and me in those days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Pa cooked?\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe looked incredulous.<\/p>\n \u201cOf necessity,\u201d Adam chuckled, \u201cbefore either your mother or Hop Sing came onto the scene.\u00a0 I was younger than you are now, and Hoss was barely out of diapers.\u00a0 Neither of us was much help.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe shook his head in wonderment.\u00a0 It was always hard for him to picture his older brothers as anything but men to look up to.\u00a0 Adam had seemed full grown when Joe was born, and while he\u2019d gone to school with Hoss, the big fellow had been man-size even back then.\u00a0 In diapers?\u00a0 Naw, that never happened.<\/p>\n Adam stood and stretched.\u00a0 \u201cTime we started \u2018em down the road,\u201d he said.\u00a0 He turned to Little Joe.\u00a0 \u201cI assume you remember how a man prepares himself for night watch?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I know. Take a rest in the bed wagon.\u201d\u00a0 He was perturbed that Adam had felt the need to reemphasize that advice, but he didn\u2019t argue this time.\u00a0 If there was one thing he\u2019d learned from his first experience on night watch, it was that a man couldn\u2019t afford to fall sleep in the saddle.\u00a0 Best he get a little shuteye during the day to prepare himself for a long night of watchfulness.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Now, this is what it ought to be like<\/em>, Little Joe thought, smiling in contentment.\u00a0 The night was cool here in the mountain meadow where Adam had settled the herd for the night.\u00a0 The scent of pine hovered in the air and mingled with the fragrance of possible rain.\u00a0 He hoped they wouldn\u2019t get any, though.\u00a0 A downpour could turn the cool night chilly pretty fast!\u00a0 And if it came with thunder and lightning, that could spook the herd and give him his first chance to test Dan\u2019s advice about stampedes.\u00a0 Exciting as that might be, Little Joe didn\u2019t really feel ready for that test yet, and hoped for a nice, quiet night.\u00a0 As he circled around the herd, he found himself humming the tune one of the other riders was singing, soft and low, to the beeves.\u00a0 More tuneful than Smitty\u2019s singing the last time he\u2019d ridden night watch, this song was soothing as a lullaby, but thanks to his afternoon nap in the bed wagon, Little Joe stayed alert.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Behind the cover of the pines hovered a watcher, his eyes scanning the riders circling the herd until he fixed on the face he\u2019d been hoping to see.\u00a0 He was a little surprised to see it so soon, the Cartwrights having enough men to grant them more time between night watches than forty-eight hours.\u00a0 Quicker and easier this way, he thought, feeling a rush of exultation.\u00a0 Now, he could pay Adam Cartwright back tonight for the sorry way he\u2019d treated him!\u00a0 And he could hit him where it\u2019d hurt most.\u00a0 Not just by stampeding his precious cattle again, but by getting that fool kid with nothing under his hat but hair caught up in it.\u00a0 Bart Jenkins almost slobbered in anticipation as he raised his rifle, waited until the target rode into range and squeezed the trigger.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Little Joe heard a crack like thunder, and then a bolt of lightning struck his right shoulder.\u00a0 Thunder and lightning<\/em>, he thought.\u00a0 That\u2019s bound to spook the cattle!\u00a0 Got to get them milling.<\/em>\u00a0 First, though, he had to get his own horse under control.\u00a0 It was dancing around so skittish-like that the boy struggled just to stay in the saddle.\u00a0 Bad enough that he had to deal with a panicky horse and panicky cattle, but now his own body wouldn\u2019t behave like it ought!\u00a0 It seemed to lurch first one way and then the other.\u00a0 As he slumped across his saddle horn, a startled steer thundered past just to his left.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The men sleeping in camp roused at the sound of the rifle shot, Adam first of all.\u00a0 Hoss, sleeping beside him, responded only seconds later, looking dazed.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was that?\u201d the big man asked.<\/p>\n \u201cGunfire!\u201d Adam shouted back as he scrambled into his boots.\u00a0 \u201cCome on!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss was already responding, as were men all around them, each understanding how the sharp sound could affect the cattle.<\/p>\n Just before he ran toward the remuda for a mount, Adam shouted to his brother, \u201cKeep an eye out for Joe!\u00a0 Send him back to camp, if he doesn\u2019t have enough sense to know that\u2019s where he belongs!\u201d\u00a0 There was not a flicker of doubt in the oldest brother\u2019s mind that the youngest did not have the sense required to resist the temptation to help control the stampede.\u00a0 Dear God<\/em>, he prayed as he ran, make him remember he\u2019s only fourteen!<\/em><\/p>\n Hoss was worried about Little Joe, too, although he had more confidence in the boy\u2019s horsemanship and cattle skills than Adam did.\u00a0 He figured Joe would do the right thing, as best he understood it, but he was just a kid and didn\u2019t know as much as he thought he did, doggone it!\u00a0 Hoss couldn\u2019t ignore the immediate need to get the herd under control, though.\u00a0 They were all at risk until they could get the beeves circling and tire \u2018em out.\u00a0 He instinctively rode to the head of the thundering herd and started them milling around, all the time keeping an eagle eye out for little brother.<\/p>\n He finally spotted the boy just outside the ring of beeves and immediately sensed something wrong.\u00a0 Little Joe wasn\u2019t trying to help out, like he\u2019d expected.\u00a0 Instead, he was folded over his saddle and looked to be barely hanging on.\u00a0 Leaving the herd to the other men, he made a beeline for his little brother.\u00a0 \u201cJoe!\u201d he shouted as he galloped up to the boy and reined in hard.\u00a0 He almost followed it up with Adam\u2019s order to get back to camp, but something told him Little Joe couldn\u2019t do that.\u00a0 Something was wrong, he realized\u2014real wrong.<\/p>\n He took the reins of the kid\u2019s horse and led him further away from the cattle.\u00a0 No one who looked as dazed as this kid needed to be anywhere near that milling ring!\u00a0 He led the boy\u2019s horse into a sheltering grove of pines at the edge of the mountain meadow.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, Joe?\u201d he finally felt he had time to ask.<\/p>\n Little Joe looked up bleary-eyed.\u00a0 \u201cLightning,\u201d he babbled.\u00a0 \u201cSpooked cattle.\u00a0 Tried to mill \u2018em, like Dan said, but . . . but I think it . . . hit me.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking perplexed, Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 There\u2019d been no lightning.\u00a0 The kid sounded plumb out of his head.\u00a0 With fear?\u00a0 Naw.\u00a0 Little Joe didn\u2019t have a fearful bone in his body.\u00a0 \u201cLightning hit you?\u201d he asked, his face scrunching with the effort to understand.\u00a0 Then, suddenly, he realized there\u2019d been another sound that could\u2019ve been mistook for a crack of lightning.\u00a0 Hoss grabbed the boy and turned him enough to see his other side.\u00a0 When he saw the blood-stained right shoulder, he pulled Joe from the saddle, quick as lightning itself, and took him onto his own horse.\u00a0 Then, trailing Joe\u2019s animal behind them, he headed for camp, fast as he could ride.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n In the twilight of pre-dawn, Adam slapped his hat against the side of his leg.\u00a0 It provided a little release for the frustration he felt, but he still had a snort full.\u00a0 Oh, the men had gotten the cattle under control as quickly as could be hoped.\u00a0 It helped that they\u2019d had less space to run in the little meadow, although some had taken off down the road toward California and might never be found.\u00a0 Most of the herd had been saved, however, and while that was gratifying, Adam wasn\u2019t looking forward to reporting the loss of that many beeves to his father.\u00a0 Though he\u2019d done his best, his first stint as trail boss had been far less successful than he had hoped.<\/p>\n Then there was that other worry.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t once spotted Little Joe and had even lost track of Hoss for a good spell.\u00a0 The big man had returned to help with the cattle, however, and while Adam hadn\u2019t had a chance to ask, he assumed that Hoss had found the boy and toted him back to camp.\u00a0 No chance the kid had gone on his own!\u00a0 He\u2019d obviously bucked the order, forcing Hoss to leave his own assignment to force him to safety.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s anger needed to spew somewhere, and the kid was just lucky he was nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n Though he thought he\u2019d reined it in, he felt the anger surge again as he rode up to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cHow much trouble did he give you?\u201d he snapped.<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n \u201cOur little brother, who else?\u201d\u00a0 Adam was practically shouting.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe?\u00a0 Nary a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that\u2019s hard to believe!\u201d Adam sputtered.\u00a0 \u201cWhere did you disappear for so long, if you weren\u2019t dragging him back to camp?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss gulped, but he fixed a hard stare on his older brother as he said, \u201cNow, Adam, you better watch what you say or you\u2019re gonna wish you had.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that a threat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, doggone it, it ain\u2019t!\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI know you\u2019re lookin\u2019 for a goose to cook, Adam, but Joe ain\u2019t it.\u00a0 He ain\u2019t the one fired that shot; he is the one took the bullet, though, and he cain\u2019t hardly help that it dazed him a mite.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam blanched.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s shot?\u00a0 Where\u2014where is he?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d been asked one question or two, so he answered both.\u00a0 \u201cIn the shoulder; I took him to Hop Sing, told him to get the bleedin\u2019 stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d Adam said, shoulders slumping.\u00a0 Hoss was right: he already wished he could take back the words spoken in haste.\u00a0 \u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI understand,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cI feel mad enough to spit nails myself.\u201d\u00a0 He finally asked the question that had bothered him since he\u2019d first seen that blood stain on his little brother\u2019s shirt.\u00a0 \u201cWho would\u2019ve shot him, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Adam said, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cI thought we got rid of the only bad apple in the barrel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t suppose\u201d\u2014the question trailed off, unasked.<\/p>\n \u201cJenkins?\u201d Adam guessed.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe . . . but I . . .\u00a0 I can\u2019t think straight right now.\u00a0 We\u2019d better get back and check on Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Riding up to the chuck wagon, Adam dismounted and handed the reins of his horse to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is he?\u201d he asked the cook, more abruptly than he intended.<\/p>\n \u201cOther side wagon,\u201d Hop Sing said.\u00a0 \u201cI think . . . safer.\u00a0 I stop bleeding, but bullet still in.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam laid a supportive hand on the Chinaman\u2019s shaking shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cExactly right.\u00a0 Well done, Hop Sing.\u201d\u00a0 He circled to the side of the wagon that had been furthest from the herd during the excitement and found his youngest brother sitting propped against the rear wheel, chin nearly resting on his chest.\u00a0 Little Joe looked so young, so drained and defenseless that Adam didn\u2019t think he would have had the heart to scold him, even if he had been guilty of what his older brother had earlier accused him.\u00a0 Now, he squatted in front of the boy and, cupping his cheek tenderly with one hand, asked softly, \u201cHow\u2019re you doing, little buddy?\u201d<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s drooping head came up slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI dunno, Adam,\u201d he quavered, with a hint of bewilderment.\u00a0 \u201cH-Hop Sing says I\u2019m shot.\u201d<\/p>\n Shock<\/em>, Adam realized.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I\u2019m afraid you are,\u201d he said, forcing his voice to remain calm, \u201cbut you\u2019re gonna be all right.\u201d\u00a0 Struck by sudden shock himself, he recalled Hop Sing saying the bullet was still in that bandaged shoulder and knew instinctively that he would have to remove it himself.\u00a0 Such was the lot of a man who was not only trail boss, but oldest brother.\u00a0 Reluctantly, but with willing acceptance, he let the responsibility settle onto his shoulders.<\/p>\n Shouldering the responsibility was easy, compared to what came next: telling Little Joe.\u00a0 Still gently touching his brother\u2019s cheek, he said, \u201cWe need to get the bullet out, little buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n For the first time, Adam saw fear shimmering in the emerald eyes.\u00a0 \u201cNow?\u00a0 It gonna hurt?\u201d Little Joe asked hesitantly.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as possible,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll go as easy as I can, but, yes, it\u2019s gonna hurt.\u201d\u00a0 It was a hard truth for a kid to absorb, but he trusted Little Joe to do it.\u00a0 After all, they\u2019d both been schooled at their father\u2019s footstool, and Ben Cartwright had never sugar-coated the truth, even when that truth was as painful as the death of a boy\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n \u201cO-okay,\u201d Little Joe said, voice shaking.<\/p>\n Giving the boy a proud pat on the uninjured shoulder, Adam stood and said to Hoss, \u201cStay with him; I\u2019m gonna get things ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss pressed his lips together as he nodded slowly.\u00a0 He knew the next little while was going to be tough on both his brothers, but he trusted both of them to do their part.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n Breakfast would be late that morning, but none of the hands complained.\u00a0 The table where they were normally served was set up for the surgery; knives and tongs were sterilized with boiling water, and Hop Sing stood ready to hand them over, when asked.\u00a0 Hoss set his little brother down on the table, and Adam stood over him, looking steadily into the boy\u2019s quivering face.\u00a0 He took the cup Hop Sing offered and handed it to Little Joe.\u00a0 \u201cSip, don\u2019t gulp,\u201d he advised, \u201cIt\u2019s whiskey.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s eyes flared wide.\u00a0 \u201cI-I ain\u2019t allowed,\u201d he stammered.<\/p>\n \u201cFor medicinal reasons, you are,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019ll help with the pain.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe took the cup with almost visible anticipation and sipped, as directed.\u00a0 He immediately choked, and cackles circled through the hands standing about, each remembering his own first encounter with the strong liquor.<\/p>\n Hoss tried to hush the men, lest his little brother be embarrassed, while Adam patted the boy\u2019s back, smiling in wry hope that the burning taste would act as a deterrent to future experimentation.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t really need an audience,\u201d he said gruffly to the men, and they backed off, some readily, some slowly, as if reluctant to pass up the show.\u00a0 Adam laid his brother flat on the table, and after a bolstering squeeze of Little Joe\u2019s left hand, he took a deep breath and raised the knife.<\/p>\n Both patient and surgeon were drained by the time the operation ended, the surgeon perhaps feeling the emotional strain more than the boy the physical pain.\u00a0 With a sigh of relief, Adam dropped the extracted bullet into a metal pan and left the bandaging to Hop Sing.\u00a0 \u201cYou done good, Adam,\u201d Hoss said proudly.\u00a0 \u201cGet yourself some rest now.\u00a0 I\u2019ll settle the boy in the bed wagon.\u201d<\/p>\n Rest?\u00a0 Adam would have laughed if he hadn\u2019t been so tired.\u00a0 He still had to make a final check on the herd and make any needed adjustments to the men\u2019s assignments.\u00a0 He could delegate that to Dan Tolliver, though, and then he might just join Joe in the bed wagon.\u00a0 Then he huffed in self-disgust at how slowly his brain was working this morning.\u00a0 He needed a lie-down rightly enough, but with two injured men already in the bed wagon, there wasn\u2019t room for another.\u00a0 You wanted to be boss<\/em>, he reminded himself.\u00a0 Well, you got it!<\/em><\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The ranch crew made a late start that morning, but Adam let it be known that he wasn\u2019t disturbed.\u00a0 \u201cWhile I regret the delay to your breakfast, men, I think the cattle actually needed a little more rest after last night\u2019s disturbance, and a slow start will do us no harm, either.\u00a0 I would appreciate having a couple of volunteers to ride out before the herd and see if you can round up any of the strays we lost last night.\u201d\u00a0 He scanned the group before him, and finally a couple of reluctant hands were raised. \u00a0\u201cThank you, Pete and Hank.\u00a0 Since you\u2019ll be riding out early, please go to the head of the line.\u00a0 I think Hop Sing is about ready to serve up breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n Pete and Hank, who\u2019d felt a mite reluctant to volunteer for extra duty, were now the envy of every other man on the crew.\u00a0 Since Adam intended to let all the men eat before him, he decided to make one more check on Little Joe.\u00a0 He found Hoss there already, trying to get the boy to eat some biscuits and bacon.\u00a0 Not the best food for an injured man, Adam had to concede, but there were few options on the trail.\u00a0 Little Joe was barely nibbling the food, but that was predictable and not too worrying.\u00a0 Still, he felt obliged to suggest that his little brother eat up.\u00a0 \u201cLong time \u2018til supper, and once we get the herd moving, we can\u2019t be stopping.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not very hungry,\u201d Little Joe said, \u201cjust tired.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not surprised.\u00a0 Get some sleep, then.\u00a0 I\u2019ll have Hop Sing bring you some more biscuits for later . . . if our hungry hands don\u2019t eat them all up!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReckon I\u2019d better get lined up for breakfast before them hungry hands beat me to it.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss looked worried, though Adam thought the attitude was put on for either his benefit or Little Joe\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Adam gave him an amused nod, knowing full well that Hoss also would let the others have first chance at the food.\u00a0 It was just what bosses did, especially if their last name was Cartwright.<\/p>\n \u201cThink I might could have some of them extra biscuits, if\u2019n there is any?\u201d the other man lying in the bed wagon asked.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, Bill,\u201d Adam told the hand whose leg had been broken in the first stampede.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll have earned it, just for putting up with this one.\u201d\u00a0 He jerked a thumb toward Little Joe.<\/p>\n \u201cAw, now,\u201d Bill protested.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be bad-mouthin\u2019 the young\u2019un.\u00a0 He\u2019s been a right smart hand, from all I hear.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat he has,\u201d Adam said proudly.\u00a0 With a wink at his little brother, he exited the wagon.\u00a0 The serving line had dwindled, so he stood at its end, until those ahead of him noticed and insisted that he move to the front.\u00a0 Adam didn\u2019t argue.\u00a0 Grateful for the respect shown, he just accepted the bonus of being trail boss, along with the responsibilities that seemed almost overpowering that morning.\u00a0 When he got his plate, he suggested to Hop Sing that he save back any extra biscuits for the men in the bed wagon, although as he walked away, he smiled at the designation of Little Joe as one of the \u201cmen.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Well, maybe it was deserved, he conceded, for thus far, his little brother had handled a man-sized challenge with unexpected maturity.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n The day\u2019s drive had barely started before Adam sighted a rider galloping into camp.\u00a0 He groaned, half in fear even that would spook the cattle at this point and half in dread of what anyone riding that hard would have to report.\u00a0 His concern only deepened when he saw who the rider was.\u00a0 Pete, one of the two men he\u2019d sent out in search of strays, did manage to slacken his pace upon reaching the herd, but he looked to be frantically trying to spot . . . probably me<\/em>, Adam realized.\u00a0 He took off his hat and waved it and then began walking his horse toward the man in hopes that he\u2019d take the hint and do the same as he came past the cattle.<\/p>\n Pete did, not quite as much as the trail boss might have hoped, but enough that it gave Adam time to speculate on what problem he was about to present.\u00a0 Please, not something else to slow us down<\/em>, he thought with exasperation.\u00a0 Nothing like a landslide or a washed-out road.<\/em>\u00a0 He was almost afraid to ask when Pete pulled up beside him, but he did. \u201cProblems?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sir,\u201d Pete panted out.\u00a0 \u201cWe found\u2014we found . . .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTake a breath and spit it out,\u201d Adam said, forcing himself to seem more patient than he was.<\/p>\n \u201cA body, caught up in the stampede last night, from the signs,\u201d Pete sputtered.\u00a0 \u201cPretty sure it\u2019s Jenkins,\u201d he added, lowering his voice.<\/p>\n Adam nodded slowly, relieved it wasn\u2019t some innocent person.\u00a0 He\u2019d suspected, almost from the first, that Jenkins was behind that stampede.\u00a0 The choice of Little Joe as target had practically screamed revenge.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2014uh\u2014was wonderin\u2019 what you wanted done with the body, Mr. Adam,\u201d Pete said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat have you done so far?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust moved it to the side, sir, so\u2019s the cattle could get by.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled as he gave a report he hoped would cheer the boss up some.\u00a0 \u201cWe found six beeves, Mr. Adam.\u00a0 Holdin\u2019 \u2018em down the road a piece, \u2018til the rest of the herd comes up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood, Pete,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlacerville\u2019s not too far if\u2019n you wanted to take him to an undertaker,\u201d Pete suggested.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Adam said sharply.\u00a0 Then taking better control of his tongue, he explained, \u201cWe can\u2019t spare a man, just to ride him in, and there\u2019s no other way to transport the body except the bed wagon.\u00a0 I won\u2019t put our two injured men through that.\u201d\u00a0 Make Little Joe ride for miles next to the moldering body of the man who had shot him? Inconceivable!<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re right, Mr. Adam,\u201d Pete said quickly.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t fair on them.\u00a0 Bury him then?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems best,\u201d Adam agreed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll take care of it, and I\u2019ll inform the sheriff when we get to Placerville, so his family can be contacted, if he had any.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBest we can do, I reckon,\u201d Pete agreed.<\/p>\n Adam smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYou rode that horse pretty hard, Pete.\u00a0 Get a fresh mount from the remuda, and ride back . . . slowly . . . and help Hank with those strays.\u201d<\/p>\n Pete grinned.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir.\u00a0 Guess I did panic a mite.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstandable,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 They rode in opposite directions, Adam toward the bed wagon, which Hoss was driving today to be close to his injured brother in case of need.<\/p>\n Hoss reined in the horses at Adam\u2019s signal and asked, as soon as his brother drew near, \u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u00a0 Trouble ahead?\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019d seen Adam talking with Pete for long enough to hint at a problem.<\/p>\n \u201cNot really,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cI just need to get a shovel out of your wagon . . . for a burial.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA burial!\u201d\u00a0 Hoss squelched his voice at the imperative palm Adam aimed toward him.<\/p>\n Adam leaned closer.\u00a0 \u201cThe men found Jenkins, caught up in the stampede he started.\u00a0 His memory flashed back to a homily he\u2019d heard in college chapel, and he murmured, \u201cThey have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss recognized Scripture when he heard it, though he had no idea what part of the Bible it came from.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI reckon that fits.\u00a0 So, it was him, like we thought.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike to keep it from the kid, at least for a while,\u201d Adam said.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s got enough to deal with just now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll try,\u201d Hoss said with a half-grin that said he didn\u2019t think it would prove possible in the end.<\/p>\n Luck was with Adam, though, in that his little brother was asleep when he entered the back of the wagon to get the shovel.\u00a0 He told the naturally curious Bill why he was there and said, \u201cLet me be the one to tell Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n Bill agreed at once.\u00a0 By rights, jobs like that ought to be done by family.<\/p>\n As Adam came out and mounted his horse, Hoss asked, \u201cWe still gonna make it to Placerville in time to take those two to the doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe should, but why don\u2019t you move this wagon out in front of the herd, so we don\u2019t slow you down?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood idea,\u201d Hoss said and started turning the team to make the change.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n When the knock came at his door, Ben was stretched out in his hotel room and in no particular mood to rise to the summons after wrestling with the diplomats of California and Nevada all day.\u00a0 Then, realizing it might be his overdue sons, he practically sprang off the bed and hurried to the door.\u00a0 When he saw Adam, a broad smile widened his face.\u00a0 \u201cAh!\u201d he cried.\u00a0 \u201cI thought it might be you.\u201d\u00a0 Seeing the empty hallway behind his oldest son, his smile faded.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are your brothers?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re here in town,\u201d Adam assured him.\u00a0 \u201cHoss is finishing up a few final details for me . . . and Little Joe is with him.\u00a0 I wanted to fill you in on how the drive went, so I came ahead.\u201d\u00a0 Left unsaid was exactly why he thought that the more urgent responsibility than the final reckoning at the stockyard which would ordinarily have been a job for the trail boss.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s brow wrinkled slightly.\u00a0 \u201cAny problems?\u201d he asked cautiously.\u00a0 The late arrival had already signaled there might have been, but he\u2019d tried not to borrow trouble.\u00a0 After all, Adam was a responsible man and perfectly capable of dealing with anything slung at him.\u00a0 At least, that was how he\u2019d kept himself from worrying . . . too much.<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWe ran into a little trouble . . . well, a significant amount, actually, but don\u2019t worry; everything\u2019s all right.\u201d\u00a0 He caught the anxious look in his father\u2019s eye and, knowing how he was about to deepen it, he took time for a cleansing breath of air before breaking the worst news.\u00a0 \u201cWe had to deal with a couple of stampedes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo?\u201d Ben asked.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s unusual on such a short drive.\u00a0 Weather problems?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 The first one was started by a green hand lighting a match on night watch.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben frowned soberly.\u00a0 \u201cAnyone hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBill Martin\u2019s leg was broken,\u201d Adam told him.\u00a0 \u201cI set it, and we dropped him off in Placerville to see a doctor and rest up.\u00a0 I left him at a boarding house and promised we\u2019d pick him up on the way home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLose much beef?\u201d\u00a0 Ben had left the, to him, less significant loss to be tallied later.<\/p>\n \u201cCouple of steers,\u201d Adam reported.\u00a0 \u201cI fired the man who started the stampede.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, whatever you thought was best, son,\u201d Ben said slowly.\u00a0 Personally, he might have given a green hand a second chance, but this was Adam\u2019s first drive as boss, and he, too, deserved the grace of making a few mistakes.<\/p>\n Adam read his father\u2019s mind in his face.\u00a0 \u201cHe didn\u2019t deserve a second chance, Pa, not after laying the blame on . . . someone else.\u201d\u00a0 The significant pause hinted that Adam was holding back something, but Ben let it pass, assuming his son was only concerned with his father\u2019s approval<\/p>\n Ben quickly supplied it.\u00a0 \u201cYou made the right decision, son.\u00a0 No crew can tolerate a liar of that sort.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it was a costly decision in the long run, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 He wiped the sweat now beading his brow.\u00a0 \u201cI thought we were done with him when I sent him down the road, but . . . he came back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe second stampede,\u201d Ben guessed with a low murmur.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d his near-breathless son confirmed.\u00a0 Then, in a sudden burst, all his pent-up guilt and stress flew out.\u00a0 \u201cIt was my fault, Pa.\u00a0 If I\u2019d been more patient, not fired him out of hand, he\u2019d never have come back, looking for revenge.\u00a0 He\u2019d never have taken that shot at Little Joe!\u201d<\/p>\n Every ounce of breath left Ben Cartwright\u2019s lungs, as if someone had punched him in his gut.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe?\u201d he finally asked shakily.\u00a0 \u201cHe shot my little boy?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam finally found relief in a choking laugh.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever else you do, Pa, don\u2019t call him that!\u00a0 Not to his face, at least.\u00a0 He\u2019s been quite the little man about it all.\u201d\u00a0 Then, coming more fully to himself, he said the words he knew his father most needed to hear.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s all right, Pa; he\u2019s all right.\u00a0 It was a shoulder wound.\u00a0 I took the bullet out as soon as possible, and he saw the doctor in Placerville, too.\u00a0 He\u2019s gonna be just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank God,\u201d Ben whispered.\u00a0 Then he reached for his oldest son.\u00a0 \u201cNow, come here, boy.\u201d\u00a0 And Adam came, a little awkwardly, since he wasn\u2019t a youngster like Little Joe, but in that refuge, he finally found peace from the guilt that had been eating at him for days.<\/p>\n Further explanations followed, details about Jenkins\u2019 false accusation and how well Little Joe had handled it and how the men had all stood behind him, a description of the wonderful meals Hop Sing had produced from the lost livestock, a fuller doctor\u2019s report and the final tally of steers delivered and profit made.\u00a0 Adam had barely finished when a knock sounded on the door, and both men rose in anticipation.<\/p>\n Little Joe was first through the door.\u00a0 \u201cPa!\u201d he cried joyously.<\/p>\n Ben gasped in involuntary reaction to the sling cradling the boy\u2019s right arm.\u00a0 He\u2019d planned to heed Adam\u2019s advice and treat his youngest with the respect he\u2019d earned, but what did that young whippersnapper know about parenting, anyway! His little\u2014yes, little<\/em>\u2014boy was hurt and there was only one way to handle that.\u00a0 Struggling to hold back the tears and lips trembling so much he couldn\u2019t speak, he opened his arms wide with compassionate welcome.\u00a0 Little Joe skittered across the room and all but flung himself into his father\u2019s embrace.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, my boy,\u201d Ben murmured with a sound that sort of reminded of Hoss of a mama sage grouse cooing over her chick.\u00a0 He tossed his older brother a knowing grin.\u00a0 Adam nodded, also touched by the tender portrait of love between father and son.\u00a0 As Ben stroked his fledgling\u2019s wind-blown curls, Adam saw the fa\u00e7ade crack, and his brother, who, had handled everything thrown at him on this trip with so much manliness, became, briefly, the frightened little boy he must have been fighting to hide.\u00a0 Then, true to his quixotic nature, the little boy was gone again, replaced with something more natural and real. Looking deep into his father\u2019s eyes, Little Joe saw nothing but loving acceptance, and he smiled, content to be who he was, nothing less and nothing more.<\/p>\n Ben smiled, too, clapping the boy\u2019s left shoulder, while only gently touching the swaddled one.\u00a0 \u201cRight, then,\u201d he said, pulling back as he brought his own emotions under control.\u00a0 \u201cFirst, baths all around, I think, and after that dinner at a fine restaurant.\u00a0 Then, for you\u201d\u2014he tapped his youngest on the nose\u2014\u201cbed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBed sounds good to me, too,\u201d Adam admitted with a weary smile.\u00a0 \u201cAs drives go, this one\u2019s been pretty tiring.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Ben said with an understanding look.\u00a0 For him, too, the trip to Sacramento had been exhausting.\u00a0 Seeing it in his father\u2019s face, Adam asked, \u201cHow did your meetings go, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cAbout like you\u2019d expect.\u00a0 I think we made some progress, but politicians\u2014bah!\u201d<\/p>\n After their baths, the four Cartwrights left the hotel, the boys content with whatever restaurant their father might choose.\u00a0 It was enough that they were all together again and mostly in one piece.\u00a0 After a week of fine food and assorted entertainments, they headed back to the Ponderosa.\u00a0 For the first-time trail boss and the first-time hand, it had been a challenging drive, and it was good to be home.<\/p>\n ***The End***<\/p>\n Author\u2019s Notes:<\/p>\n Written for the 2025 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament. This year we played 7-card stud where we were dealt seven cards and had to keep at least five cards each of which represented a word or phrase.\u00a0\u00a0The words\/phrases I kept were:<\/em><\/p>\n Hobble your lip Dan Tolliver is featured in the Season 8 episode, \u201cA Time to Step Down,\u201d written by Frank Chase.<\/p>\n The verse Adam remembered from college chapel is Psalm 57:6\u2014They have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves.<\/p>\n
\nThere\u2019s nothing under his hat but hair
\nBarkin\u2019 at a knot
\nBusy as a stump-tailed horse in fly season
\nPssst!<\/p>\n