Rating: K<\/p>\n
Word Count=1893<\/p>\n
Summary: The best laid plan often doesn’t play out as we’d imagined. WHN for Any Friend of Walter’s.<\/p>\n
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Cartwrights or Bonanza. No copyright infringement is intended against Lois Hire’s script. Original plot and characters are property of the author. This story is for entertainment and no money was made from it.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoedown Showdown<\/strong><\/p>\n The Founders Day Dance was a social event that Virginia City\u2019s citizens only missed if confined to the sickbed.\u00a0 Young men requested the honor of escorting fetching young ladies several weeks prior to the dance.\u00a0 Joe, with a bevy of young ladies from which to choose, had selected Jenny Seaton to grace his arm.\u00a0 Adam had asked Mary Ann Dawson, a spinster who was more friend than paramour.\u00a0 Everyone had assumed Hoss would escort Bessie Sue Hightower as rumors were he\u2019d been sparking her for close to a year.<\/p>\n As the last fiddle chord faded into the dancers\u2019 applause, Joe strolled across the crowded room to retrieve a glass of punch for Jenny.\u00a0 Running the sleeve of his white shirt along his hairline to mop the sweat before it could trickle into his eyes, he smiled and nodded to couples catching their breath before the music began again.<\/p>\n Reaching his destination, Joe swirled the ladle around the crystal punch bowl, moving the floating orange slices out of the way before filling a dainty cut-glass cup.\u00a0 He slugged back his drink and ran the tip of his tongue across his upper lip as a warmth spread through his body that had nothing to do with the crowded humanity pressing close in the confines of the Town Hall.\u00a0 His father\u2019s \u201csecret\u201d punch recipe was always a hit at dances and social functions.<\/p>\n The ingredients weren\u2019t much of a secret among the male citizenry of the Virginia City area, which explained the beverage\u2019s popularity among men who required liquid courage before asking young ladies to dance.\u00a0 Matrons surreptitiously sipped punch and regaled all within earshot of tales from their glory days as belles courted by multiple suitors.\u00a0 Young ladies\u2019 cheeks turned a rosy red from the combination of vigorous dancing and several rounds of punch.<\/p>\n Joe drank another glass and a contented smile lit up his face. As he shook his head to clear the fumes that threatened to fog his concentration he was thrown off balance by a slap to the shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cHi, Bessie Sue,\u201d Joe said in a voice that squeaked into a higher octave.<\/p>\n Bessie Sue plucked up a glass and held it near the crystal bowl.\u00a0 She fixed Joe with a look that would have sent a sober man running for cover.<\/p>\n \u201cAllow me,\u201d said Joe as he carefully retrieved the ladle to fill her cup, taking the hint from her loud sigh.<\/p>\n The dainty cup was held carefully with her ring and pinkie fingers raised out of the way.<\/p>\n She cleared her throat and said, \u201cThat brother of yours is a no good polecat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cH\u2026Hoss?\u201d asked Joe, an eyebrow raised as he leaned away from her on the chance she opted for another friendly shoulder slap.<\/p>\n \u201cYou bet.\u00a0 He avoids me all week and leaves me to find my own escort.\u00a0 Good thing I don\u2019t lack for suitors. \u201d<\/p>\n Joe coughed and gasped for air as punch went down the wrong way.\u00a0 Tears clouded his vision and a bright red flush prickled his face.<\/p>\n Bessie Sue helpfully pounded his back with a large hand to clear his lungs.<\/p>\n After Joe sucked in a small trickle of air without coughing, Bessie Sue said, \u201cYou should see the doc about that cough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll do that,\u201d Joe wheezed out.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like Hoss to miss a hoedown.\u00a0 You wouldn\u2019t happen to know where he is, would you?\u201d asked Bessie Sue in a voice Joe assumed was meant to sound coy.<\/p>\n Joe shook his head and thumped the palm of his hand against his chest to clear any remaining punch from his windpipe.<\/p>\n Bessie Sue shrugged, looked over her shoulder and waved her fingers at Abner Klein, a short man with a ruddy complexion and thinning hair who looked as if he needed a month\u2019s worth of Sunday dinners in order to fill out his clothes.\u00a0 If he stood on his tiptoes, Abner\u2019s eyes were level with Bessie Sue\u2019s bosom.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you see Hoss, you tell that no good skunk my dance card was full.\u00a0 Even if he was<\/em> here he\u2019d have to fight for the honor of a turn on the floor with me.\u201d<\/p>\n She set down the empty glass and nearly ran into Adam when she turned around.<\/p>\n \u201cYou look lovely this evening,\u201d Adam said as he lifted her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss against the back of it.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d she said to Adam as she smiled.\u00a0 \u201cSee you, Joe,\u201d she said as she slapped him against the shoulder.<\/p>\n Joe waved at her back as he watched her elbow her way through the crowd, intent on reaching Abner by way of a straight line rather than a more circuitous route.\u00a0 A frisson of relief traveled down his spine and he was glad he was no longer the object of her attention.\u00a0 She made him think of a mountain lion, a very ungraceful mountain lion, intent on a meal of rabbit.<\/p>\n A feminine voice brought Joe out of his reverie.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you forget me?\u201d asked Jenny, looking up at Joe through her eyelashes as her lower lip pushed forward in a little pout.<\/p>\n Joe winked and said, \u201cForgetting you would be as hard as forgetting the scent of a rose in bloom.\u201d<\/p>\n Jenny smiled and giggled as she accepted a glass of punch.\u00a0 As she sipped from the cup, Joe steered her across the room with a hand pressing firmly against her lower back.<\/p>\n The musicians tested their instruments in readiness for the next round of dancing.\u00a0 Couples broke apart from larger groups to stake out places in the crowded room.<\/p>\n The fiddler called out, \u201cThe next dance will be . . . .\u201d<\/p>\n A boom echoed in the room as the Town Hall door was kicked open.<\/p>\n Everyone appeared confused as they looked at the intruder in their midst for they hadn\u2019t heard his ordered \u201cStick \u2018em up!\u201d through the bandana that covered the lower half of his face.<\/p>\n The man shuffled the items in his hands\u2014a pistol and a couple of sacks\u2014before he lifted the bottom of the bandana and said, \u201cGet your hands in the air!\u00a0 And stand along the wall\u2014menfolk on the left, womenfolk on the right!\u201d<\/p>\n People cleared the center of the room as they nervously backed away.\u00a0 Joe reached for his pistol, forgetting that he, and all of the other men, had left their weapons at the sheriff\u2019s office in compliance with the city ordinance.<\/p>\n After another muffled request, the man pulled his bandana up higher so it no longer covered his mouth.\u00a0 He then grabbed Bessie Sue and Jenny from among the young ladies and handed each a sack.\u00a0 Shoving Bessie Sue towards the women, he said, \u201cGive your jewelry to this heifer.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Gently pushing Jenny towards the men, he said, \u201cGents, give this pretty little filly your money, watches, or anything else of value.\u201d\u00a0 Bessie Sue shot him a glare that would have brought on a spring melt faster than a warm sunny day.\u00a0\u00a0 Jenny sniffled as tears trickled down her cheeks.<\/p>\n Bessie Sue offered soothing words as ladies removed rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you worry, we\u2019ll get your wedding ring back.\u201d\u00a0 To another lady, she said, \u201cThe sheriff will see to it that your earbobs are returned.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHurry up!\u00a0 I ain\u2019t got all night!\u201d said the man as he brandished his pistol.<\/p>\n Several young ladies wept under the assumption that one or more of them would be killed without experiencing their first goodnight kiss.<\/p>\n Jenny handed the bag to the robber as if it contained a passel of rattlesnakes.\u00a0 She scurried over to the ladies\u2019 side of the room and removed her earrings with shaking hands.<\/p>\n Joe Cartwright pressed his back against the wall before taking a step to the side.\u00a0 A hard tug on his sleeve stopped him from moving further and he looked into Adam\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 At a barely imperceptible shake of the head from his older brother, Joe abandoned his plan.<\/p>\n \u201cGet over here, heifer,\u201d growled the holdup man, irritated with the amount of time it was taking Bessie Sue to collect valuables.<\/p>\n She sauntered across the room like a prowling mountain lion, the bag slung over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed in anger.<\/p>\n \u201cGimme it,\u201d were the last words the man got out before the heavy sack collided with the side of his head.<\/p>\n Glass shattered and the window frame exploded inward as Hoss dove into the silent room.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you folks worry, I won\u2019t let him get away with this!\u201d yelled Hoss.<\/p>\n Bessie Sue picked up the sack and handed it to Jenny.\u00a0 \u201cMake sure everyone claims what\u2019s theirs.\u201d\u00a0 The woman then planted her feet and put her hands on her hips.\u00a0 \u201cWhere were you when we needed you, Hoss Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss gulped and pointed to the unconscious man on the floor.\u00a0 \u201cI was tryin\u2019 to save you from this\u2026robber.\u201d<\/p>\n A cheer of, \u201cHooray for Bessie Sue!\u201d arose within the room in gratitude for her swift action.<\/p>\n Abner appeared at her side, helpfully offering a glass of punch.<\/p>\n \u201cAbner?\u201d asked Hoss as he scrunched up his nose in disbelief.<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t even defend my honor when that man called me a heifer,\u201d she said to Abner in a cold tone as she poked him in the chest with a large finger.\u00a0 She then stalked off in a huff.<\/p>\n \u201cPunch?\u201d asked Abner, holding the glass up for Hoss.<\/p>\n Hoss took the cup and drained it in one swallow.\u00a0 A tug on his sleeve brought him out of his thoughts.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re coming with me,\u201d said Sheriff Roy Coffee.<\/p>\n Hoss glanced over at the would-be robber\u2019s face and noted the new lump swelling among the left-over bruises.<\/p>\n \u201cBut\u2026but I didn\u2019t do anything,\u201d said Hoss in a near whine.<\/p>\n \u201cCare to explain the destruction of city property?\u201d Roy asked, pointing to the window.\u00a0 He shook the dazed would-be-robber by the back of the collar and asked Hoss, \u201cOr why this man you claimed tried to rob you and that Obie fellah is here when he said you\u2019d caused all his injuries?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh Lordy,\u201d mumbled Hoss.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n The key turned, locking the cell door.\u00a0 Hoss sat on the bunk, his elbows propped on his knees and his chin resting on his fists.<\/p>\n \u201cI just don\u2019t understand,\u201d said Obie.\u00a0 \u201cWalter\u2019s plan was fool-proof.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Bessie Sue\u2019s madder than a wet cat,\u201d said Hoss.<\/p>\n Obie set up the checker board and said, \u201cWe may be confirmed bachelors but Walter has a right romantic streak.\u201d<\/p>\n Walter sighed and cracked open an eye.<\/p>\n \u201cHear that?\u201d asked Obie.\u00a0 \u201cWalter\u2019s thinkin\u2019 up a humdinger of a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss groaned and joined Obie at the checker board, the sound of a fiddle carrying through the cell window.\u00a0 He looked over at Walter, hoping for a sign that a plan was coming together.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you worry,\u201d said Obie as he slid a checker piece across the board, \u201cWalter will come up with a sure-fire way for you to win your girl back.\u201d<\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n August 2013<\/p>\n