Summary: Joe and Hoss form Cartwright Brothers\u2019 Christmas Trees, selling trees to familiar faces all over Virginia City.<\/p>\n
Rating: G | Word Count: 4,133<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bonanza \u00a0<\/strong>The Twelve Trees of Christmas<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 1.<\/em><\/p>\n Joe Cartwright surveyed the fragrant green piles of cut trees, filling the backs of two wagons, with considerable pride and satisfaction.\u00a0 It had taken him and Hoss \u2013 mostly Hoss, but he\u2019d supervised \u2013 all of yesterday, including well into the evening, to get them all chopped down and loaded, but the result was well worth it.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m telling you, Hoss, we\u2019re going to have a tidy profit by the end of today,\u201d Joe said, slapping his big brother on the arm.<\/p>\n Hoss gave a low whistle, clearly impressed.\u00a0 \u201cIt really is something, how you convinced all them people to buy Christmas trees from us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt just takes strategic thinking,\u201d Joe assured him.\u00a0 \u201cEverybody in the area knows the finest trees grow on the Ponderosa.\u00a0 And plenty of people who live in Virginia City don\u2019t want to trek out and cut down a tree the day before Christmas \u2013 too busy or they haven\u2019t got a wagon.\u00a0 A little persuasion from me, a little assuring them of the absolute necessity of having a real top quality Christmas tree, of bringing the spirit of the winter woods into their house, and \u2013 Cartwright Brothers\u2019 Christmas Trees is in business!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStill, I wouldn\u2019t never have thought of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s why we\u2019re such good partners.\u00a0 I have the business sense, you have the brute physical strength.\u00a0 Now let\u2019s get these wagons into town, deliver the trees, and pick up our payment.\u00a0 We have to make it home in time to decorate, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n No amount of money was going to make up for it if they were home late for decorating and Pa really lit into them for it.\u00a0 It would be a terrible way to launch into Christmas.\u00a0 And besides, while admitting to it would be a little too sentimental for the air of savvy businessman Joe was currently projecting, it would be pretty sad to have anything spoil Christmas decorating.<\/p>\n The two brothers each took up the reins on a wagon, and soon their small caravan was on its way to Virginia City, heading to their first stop.<\/p>\n Joe pulled up as they reached the outskirts of town, and squinted at the list he\u2019d wriggled out of his jacket pocket.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, first delivery \u2013 Old Charlie Collins, from the livery stable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHey, maybe Miss Annie\u2019ll have a nice pie baking or something,\u201d Hoss said hopefully.\u00a0 \u201cShe makes a mighty fine pie.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe, but keep in mind this is a business call, not a social one,\u201d Joe said, folding up the paper again.\u00a0 \u201cAnd we\u2019ve got a lot of work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n They unloaded their first tree at the Collins\u2019 house, to the appreciative remarks of Charlie and his wife Annie, who ushered them and the tree inside \u2013 Hoss carrying the tree, naturally.<\/p>\n \u201cYessir, one best quality Ponderosa Christmas tree,\u201d Joe said with his finest showman air, while Hoss positioned the tree in the corner of the Collins\u2019 small and rather cluttered parlor.\u00a0 \u201cYou tell your friends for next year, best Christmas trees around.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt certainly is a lovely one,\u201d Miss Annie said, eyes shining.\u00a0 \u201cA little to the left, Hoss.\u00a0 I declare, I don\u2019t know when we last had such a nice tree.\u00a0 Why, we haven\u2019t had any at all the last few years, it\u2019s so difficult to get out to cut one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBusiness does boom around this time of year, you know,\u201d Charlie put in, matching Joe\u2019s grand style and very possibly outdoing it.\u00a0 \u201cSo many people traveling for the holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n If Charlie\u2019s business was booming, that was all the better for Cartwright Brothers\u2019 Christmas Trees.\u00a0 \u201cGreat to hear it,\u201d Joe said, beaming.\u00a0 \u201cNow, about the payment for the tree\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie coughed delicately and said the very worrying words, \u201cWell, about that\u2026why don\u2019t you come along through here into the kitchen, have some cider?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe resisted being nudged out of the room.\u00a0 \u201cCharlie, we\u00a0agreed<\/em>\u00a0on the price.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, yes,\u201d Charlie admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and looking distinctly embarrassed.\u00a0 \u201cBut, you see, I\u2019ve got a lot of money tied up in investments just now, and I thought for sure we\u2019d be having some dividends coming in by today, but, well, with the holidays and all \u2013 I\u2019m sure in the new year\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Joe tried to convince himself it wouldn\u2019t be so bad, getting paid in a couple of weeks \u2013 could he even charge interest?\u00a0 Would that be going too far?<\/p>\n \u201cWhat he doesn\u2019t want to admit,\u201d Annie spoke up, \u201cis that the preacher came by this morning to ask for donations for the poor, and Charlie was so inspired by the Christmas spirit that he gave him his last dime.\u00a0 Would you move that tree a little to the right after all, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s real nice of you,\u201d Hoss remarked, shifting the tree.\u00a0 \u201cThe donating, I mean.\u00a0 Real in the Christmas spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u00a0also<\/em>\u00a0have a lot of investments in play, you know,\u201d Charlie said hotly.\u00a0 \u201cA lot of very big deals going.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd<\/em>,\u201d Annie continued, \u201cour last paying customer paid in pears instead of money.\u00a0 Could Hop Sing use a bushel of pears?\u00a0 We\u2019ve got so many I don\u2019t know what to do with them all.\u201d<\/p>\n And before Joe could intervene, Hoss was saying, \u201cHey, I bet that\u2019s worth even more than a little ol\u2019 tree!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot the way I priced them,\u201d Joe hissed, but no one was listening.<\/p>\n Somehow, quite outside of his control, while Charlie was still talking about the big money coming in the new year and Joe tried and failed to get back into the conversation, Hoss and Annie agreed between them that the pears were the ideal payment, and no more need be said about the matter.\u00a0 Which led to Hoss and Joe being back out at the wagons, Hoss toting a big barrel of pears, with no money in sight or even promised for the future.<\/p>\n \u201cToo bad Miss Annie\u2019s pie was still in the oven,\u201d Hoss remarked, heaving the barrel up onto the back of one wagon.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can you think about\u00a0pie<\/em>?\u201d Joe demanded.\u00a0 \u201cYou just gave away our first tree for\u00a0pears<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked vaguely wounded.\u00a0 \u201cAw, you know Hop Sing\u2019ll really like \u2018em.\u00a0 And how could we insist on payment when Old Charlie gave all his money to the poor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou and your soft heart,\u201d Joe grumbled.\u00a0 \u201cWho has the business sense around here?\u00a0\u00a0Me<\/em>.\u00a0 Who\u2019s watching out for\u00a0our<\/em>\u00a0interests?\u00a0 Only me!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow stop fussing,\u201d Hoss said, utterly untroubled.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve got plenty more trees to deliver.\u00a0 You\u2019ll get your precious profit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot as much as there should be,\u201d Joe muttered, pulling out his list of customers again.\u00a0 They were spread all over town.\u00a0 \u201cIf everybody wants us to position their trees, this\u2019ll take longer than I figured.\u00a0 Especially if you\u2019re gonna be stopping for\u00a0pie<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Little Joe\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have to split up,\u201d Joe decreed.\u00a0 He had his doubts about sending Hoss out on his own, but at least he could be sure then of keeping control on the ones\u00a0he<\/em>\u00a0delivered, with no interference from big brother.\u00a0 \u201cYou deliver the trees to the Lanes and to Mrs. Riley.\u00a0 They\u2019re right by each other.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go over to the Chinese neighborhood with Su Ling\u2019s tree. And we meet back here when we\u2019re done to work out the next deliveries.\u201d\u00a0 He knew this was risky; the Lanes should go smoothly enough, but Mrs. Riley actually\u00a0sold<\/em>\u00a0pies.\u00a0 Maybe that meant she wouldn\u2019t give one away to Hoss for free.\u00a0 And Su Ling would probably invite Hoss in for a three-course meal if Joe sent him over there.\u00a0 \u201cAnd we take payment strictly in\u00a0money<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 no more pears!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know, Little Joe, I know,\u201d Hoss said soothingly, and climbed up into his wagon.<\/p>\n Joe was not reassured, but there was nothing for it but to climb into his own wagon to carry on the business of Christmas tree delivery.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2.<\/em><\/p>\n Hoss pulled up at the Lanes\u2019 house, and had just got down a fine, fragrant green tree, when little Benjie Lane came running out with his eyes shining.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Hoss!\u201d Benjie called.\u00a0 \u201cGosh, that\u2019s a beautiful tree!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnly the best for you,\u201d Hoss said with a wink.\u00a0 He and Benjie were old friends, a real nice kid.\u00a0 \u201cYou help me bring it inside and we\u2019ll get it all sorted.\u00a0 Your ma or pa home so I can get the business side sorted too?\u201d<\/p>\n The light in Benjie\u2019s eyes dimmed and his face fell.\u00a0 \u201cOh.\u00a0 Do you have to?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s warnings were ringing in his ears, but that didn\u2019t stop Hoss from bending down to Benjie\u2019s level and asking, \u201cWhy, what\u2019s the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n Benjie heaved a big sigh that ran through his entire small frame.\u00a0 \u201cAw\u2026I heard that Mr. Joe was selling Christmas trees, and I found him and said my ma sent me to order one.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t too hard to make the leap.\u00a0 \u201cBut she didn\u2019t really?\u201d Hoss guessed.<\/p>\n \u201cShe don\u2019t know anything about it,\u201d Benjie said, scuffing the toe of one boot in the dust.\u00a0 \u201cI thought I\u2019d surprise her \u2013 and I was sure I\u2019d have the money by today!\u201d<\/p>\n This was starting to sound familiar.\u00a0 \u201cDid you have a big deal planned?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorta.\u00a0 See, I\u2019m in business too, but\u2026it ain\u2019t been going as good as I thought it would.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe had said money only.\u00a0\u00a0Strictly<\/em>\u00a0money only.\u00a0 But Hoss wasn\u2019t about to tell a nice kid like Benjie that he couldn\u2019t have a Christmas tree.\u00a0 \u201cTell you what.\u00a0 Maybe we can work out some kind of arrangement, between our two businesses.\u00a0 What\u2019re you selling?\u00a0 Maybe I can take payment for the tree in stock.\u201d<\/p>\n It was all worth it for the way Benjie\u2019s face lit up again.\u00a0 \u201cYeah?\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 I\u2019ve got real\u00a0good<\/em>\u00a0stock, and you can have my best ones!\u201d<\/p>\n And when Benjie explained about the details of his business, Hoss\u00a0knew<\/em>\u00a0Joe wasn\u2019t going to like this.\u00a0 But, really \u2013 what else could he do?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3.<\/em><\/p>\n Joe did not like it, when they met back up near the Collins\u2019 Livery Stable, and he saw what Hoss had taken in payment for the Lanes\u2019 Christmas tree.<\/p>\n \u201cTurtles<\/em>?\u201d Joe said incredulously, staring at the two small turtles dwarfed by Hoss\u2019 big hands.\u00a0 \u201cYou took\u00a0turtles<\/em>\u00a0for a tree?\u00a0 What are we going to do with turtles, make\u00a0soup<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shifted uncomfortably.\u00a0 \u201cNaw, they ain\u2019t big enough for that.\u00a0 I figured I\u2019d turn \u2018em loose at the nearest creek.\u00a0 I know they ain\u2019t worth anything, but you should\u2019ve seen little Benjie\u2019s face\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, all right,\u201d Joe groaned, because it was no good expecting Hoss to have any sense when it came to kids.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about Mrs. Riley?\u00a0 Did you get actual money out of her at least?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss rubbed the back of his neck.\u00a0 \u201cWell\u2026\u201d\u00a0 And before he could say more, the answer came in a distinct clucking noise from the back of his wagon.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, don\u2019t even tell me,\u201d Joe said, circling around to look at what was nestled in near the remaining trees \u2013 a big wooden cage with three hens inside.\u00a0 \u201cChickens.\u00a0 Are you planning to open a zoo?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re real good chickens, Joe, and you know Hop Sing can use \u2018em \u2013 and a widow lady like that, I didn\u2019t want to ask her for money, you know how it is, and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid she give you a pie?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell \u2013 mebbe a couple slices.\u201d<\/p>\n And he couldn\u2019t expect Hoss to have good business sense while eating pie either.\u00a0 \u201cFine,\u201d Joe ground out.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s just get on to our next delivery\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019d it go with Su Ling?\u201d Hoss asked.\u00a0 \u201cYou worked it all out with her at least, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Yeah, it went fine.\u201d\u00a0 But Hoss was still looking at him inquiringly and he found himself saying, \u201cYou know, she\u2019s been doing really good work with Dr. Kam\u2019s clinic, and they do a lot of barter over there\u2026\u201d\u00a0 A grin was spreading across Hoss\u2019 face.\u00a0 Joe grimaced, and reached into his wagon to bring out the birdcage with four songbirds inside.\u00a0 \u201cThe cage alone is valuable,\u201d he tried, but Hoss didn\u2019t stop grinning.<\/p>\n Joe glowered at Hoss, and stowed the birdcage back in the wagon.\u00a0 \u201cAnyway, we\u2019d better go to the next one together.\u201d\u00a0 Which would give Hoss more time to grin at him, but he didn\u2019t see a good way around it.<\/p>\n \u201cThought we were in such a hurry?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but I don\u2019t think either of us wants to visit the Widow Hawkins alone.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4.<\/em><\/p>\n Joe hadn\u2019t even meant to sell a tree to the Widow Hawkins.\u00a0 Clementine Hawkins was someone he felt it best to leave strictly alone.\u00a0 But the widow bought pies from Mrs. Riley, to serve at her boarding house, and apparently somehow the two women got to talking about Christmas trees, and Joe had found himself accosted in the street by the Widow Hawkins, wanting to buy one.\u00a0 And the easiest way to escape had been to just agree to everything.\u00a0 Only now they had to go and\u00a0deliver<\/em>\u00a0the tree.<\/p>\n They went to the widow\u2019s front door together, because when the chips were down, Cartwright brothers stood by each other.<\/p>\n \u201cCoo, what a pleasure to see you boys!\u201d the Widow Hawkins said, beaming at them from her doorstep.\u00a0 \u201cAnd isn\u2019t that the loveliest of Christmas trees!\u00a0 Do come and bring it in, and you can tell me all about how your dear father is too.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss and Joe cast expressive grimaces at each other from behind the cover of evergreen branches.\u00a0 The Widow Hawkins had long had matrimonial designs on Pa, and the subject was never going to be a comfortable one for them.<\/p>\n It took even longer to position the Widow\u2019s tree than it had to arrange Miss Annie\u2019s, and somehow, in a way that neither man could quite explain afterwards, they got roped into decorating it too.\u00a0 The widow\u2019s taste in Christmas tree ornaments ran toward the glittering and the gaudy, everything just a little too big, including the collection of shining rings she pressed on them at the end, assuring them they were just the thing to put a touch of gold on their own tree.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you kindly, ma\u2019am,\u201d Joe said, tipping his hat and clutching the five rings.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019d best be on our way, lots more to do\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re\u00a0sure\u00a0<\/em>you won\u2019t stay for a cup of tea and a bite to eat\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Even Hoss didn\u2019t try to take her up on that, and with a few more strained pleasantries they managed to escape out the door again.<\/p>\n They were already to the wagons when Hoss suddenly said, \u201cHey, she didn\u2019t pay us for the tree.\u00a0 \u2018cept with those rings.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe couldn\u2019t say he hadn\u2019t noticed this, but he had been hoping\u00a0Hoss<\/em>\u00a0wouldn\u2019t notice.\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d he said curtly.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to go back in and ask her about the money?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 Sometimes, it just wasn\u2019t worth it.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve still got more\u2019n half our deliveries.\u00a0 So let\u2019s just get on with it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 5.<\/em><\/p>\n They tried their best to get on with it.\u00a0 They moved so quickly in dividing up their next deliveries, in fact, that Joe strongly suspected Hoss didn\u2019t fully understand what he was committing to do.\u00a0 So he wasn\u2019t really surprised to find Hoss waiting for him with a glare when they met up again.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t so sure why Hoss had white feathers all over him, but in the face of that glare, it didn\u2019t seem smart to ask.<\/p>\n \u201cHow was the delivery to Daisy\u2019s Caf\u00e9?\u201d Joe asked heartily, choosing the safe one to mention.<\/p>\n \u201cFine.\u00a0 But, Little Joe, you didn\u2019t tell me\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat Daisy really is nice, isn\u2019t she?\u201d Joe interjected.\u00a0 \u201cWas she cooking up something tasty?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss hesitated, then grudgingly said, \u201cYeah, roast goose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh-huh.\u00a0 Did you manage to get paid this time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe-ell, with all the goose I ate\u2026no, now wait a minute, Joe, don\u2019t get me side-tracked \u2013 you didn\u2019t tell me that you were sending me to deliver to\u00a0Abigail Jones<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n Joe opened his eyes up wide and looked as innocent as could be.\u00a0 It was a look that never worked on Pa, but once in a great while appealed to Hoss\u2019 soft heart.\u00a0 \u201cBut I told you to deliver a tree to the school house.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but I didn\u2019t think about \u2013\u00a0Abigail Jones<\/em>, Joe!\u00a0 What\u2019d you go and send me in there alone for?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe reached up to put a brotherly arm around Hoss\u2019 shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cBecause I knew you could handle it, Hoss.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t have sent Adam in.\u00a0 He can\u2019t cope with her at all, you know how it is, but\u00a0you<\/em>, big brother, I knew you could manage the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe-ell\u2026but, Little Joe, you know how she is \u2013 and did you know they\u2019ve got swans roosting on the pond behind the school house?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSwans, huh?\u201d Joe said, eying the feathers clinging to Hoss\u2019 clothes.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 And they didn\u2019t like it, a tree walking past their pond.\u00a0 And Abigail Jones was no help at all, and\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Hoss shuddered.\u00a0 \u201cYou know what, I don\u2019t want to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight, right,\u201d Joe said quickly, \u201cnot a problem, good work getting the job done.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t bother to ask if Hoss had got any money out of Abigail Jones.\u00a0 The answer appeared all too obvious.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve just got two stops left now, let\u2019s just get this done and over\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHey, wait a minute, what about your deliveries?\u201d Hoss interjected.\u00a0 \u201cYou must have done all right with the McClures and the Beales, yeah?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh \u2013 yeah, both went great.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019 eyes narrowed.\u00a0 \u201cI mean, they definitely can afford Christmas trees\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n They definitely could.\u00a0 Mr. McClure owned a bank, and Mr. Beale was one of the wealthiest mine owners in town.\u00a0 But besides both having money, they had something else in common \u2013 lovely daughters.<\/p>\n Joe had had every intention of insisting on monetary payment when he arrived at the McClures, but then Ellie McClure had emerged from the small barn behind the house carrying a pail of milk, looking all sweet and fresh and charming, and he\u2019d got to talking to her.\u00a0 One thing had led to another, and she\u2019d been so pleased about the tree, and started talking about how kind and generous he was, and it had somehow seemed the most natural thing in the world to insist on making the tree strictly a gift.\u00a0 And she\u2019d been so impressed by that, she had agreed to attend the next church social with him.<\/p>\n Since that had gone so satisfactorily, well, it was probably inevitable that the same sort of thing would repeat over at the Beales, where charming Jennifer Beale had been equally impressed by the beautiful tree and his strength in carrying it inside.\u00a0 And now he had himself a date for the next Saturday night dance too.<\/p>\n Joe didn\u2019t\u00a0say\u00a0<\/em>any of that, but sometimes, big brother could be a little too insightful.\u00a0 \u201cYou went and gave the trees away to Ellie and Jennifer, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s just say, all parties were satisfied,\u201d Joe said quickly.\u00a0 \u201cNext stop is the Jamisons, over on D Street.\u201d<\/p>\n Luckily, this news proved distracting.\u00a0 \u201cReally?\u201d Hoss said, expression of surprise crossing his face.\u00a0 \u201cHuh.\u00a0 All right.\u201d<\/p>\n It had surprised Joe too, when pale, thin Margaret Jamison had stopped him in the street to ask to buy a Christmas tree.\u00a0 Rob Jamison had been injured in a mine accident a year ago and never fully recovered, setting the family on hard times.\u00a0 People around did what they could to help, but the amount he\u2019d been drinking ever since didn\u2019t make the situation any better.\u00a0 Not somebody he\u2019d have guessed wanted to spend money on a Christmas tree, but a customer was a customer.<\/p>\n When they got to the Jamisons\u2019 small apartment, it didn\u2019t look like a likely candidate for buying a Christmas tree either, with its cramped, rather bare interior.\u00a0 Still, there were some signs \u2013 a bright rag rug on the floor, bunches of holly hung in the windows, a kind of scrupulous cleanliness to the space that spoke to someone making an effort around here.<\/p>\n Margaret Jamison directed the placement of the tree in one corner while three small Jamisons of uncertain age watched with big eyes and chattered comments on the size of the tree, the size of Hoss, the size of the Ponderosa, and the general excitement of Christmas coming the very next day.<\/p>\n It all was going well \u2013 right up until Rob Jamison came home.\u00a0 He surveyed the scene and demanded, in a voice with just enough slur to suggest the saloon had been his previous location, \u201cWhat do we want with a tree in the living room?\u201d<\/p>\n The children fell abruptly silent, and Margaret\u2019s lips thinned.\u00a0 \u201cI just thought, for the children, Rob\u2026for Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n Rob snorted.\u00a0 \u201cLot of frippery and nonsense.\u00a0 Why should good money go to a\u00a0tree<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe thought of asking why good money should go to whiskey either, but that wouldn\u2019t win any points here.\u00a0 Or he could suggest that Rob take his precious money, get drunk as a lord, and then take a flying leap, but that also wouldn\u2019t help.\u00a0 Instead, he did his best to step into the breach with the classic Joe Cartwright charm.\u00a0 \u201cPonderosa Christmas trees are the finest anywhere around \u2013 worth far more than money can buy.\u00a0 Think of the magic, of the\u00a0experience<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 you can\u00a0carry the wood indoors<\/strong>, bring the magic of the pines and the great outdoors into the house for Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n Rob only snorted louder.\u00a0 \u201cIf I want the outdoors, I\u2019ll\u00a0go<\/em>\u00a0outdoors.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t wasting my money on a\u00a0tree<\/em>\u00a0inside.\u201d<\/p>\n The classic Joe Cartwright charm always\u00a0had<\/em>\u00a0worked better on young women than on embittered miners.\u00a0 Joe looked at the newly subdued children, the tightness around Margaret\u2019s eyes, and when he looked at Hoss, it took barely a glance for the two to know that they were in perfect agreement here.<\/p>\n \u201cNo charge for the tree,\u201d Joe said.\u00a0 \u201cConsider it a Christmas gift.\u201d\u00a0 And it wasn\u2019t like anyone else had been paying anyway.<\/p>\n \u201cWell\u2014I guess\u2026\u201d Rob said grudgingly, which was not exactly enthusiastic but still enough for the children to perk up and for something in Margaret to relax and Hoss went back to grinning as he carefully positioned the tree in the chosen corner.\u00a0 And all of that really did feel like it was worth more than the price of the tree anyway.<\/p>\n They managed to get the tree placed and got back out to the street without further complications.\u00a0 Hoss was still grinning.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was real nice of you, Joe,\u201d Hoss said.\u00a0 \u201cReal in the Christmas spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, well,\u201d Joe said, uncomfortably aware of all his talk at the beginning of the day about business sense and a healthy profit.\u00a0 \u201cWhat else could we do?\u201d\u00a0 He reached into his pocket for his list of customers, more to have something to do than because he really needed to look at it by this point, and said, \u201cLet\u2019s get our last delivery done.\u00a0 Two trees to the orphanage.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss was looking unreasonably smug.\u00a0 \u201cWe ain\u2019t going to ask for any money on this one either, are we?\u00a0 Not from\u00a0orphans<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe tried.\u00a0 \u201cNo, not from orphans, from the Widow Manwaring who helps fund the orphanage\u2026\u201d\u00a0 But Hoss was still looking smug, and he could hear how ridiculous the words were anyway, under the circumstances.\u00a0 He sighed.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 No charge for the last two trees either.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a good man, Little Joe,\u201d Hoss pronounced.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe not so strong on business sense after all, but a good man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah,\u201d Joe muttered, but it was mostly just for show.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t really make himself feel badly about the outcome of the day \u2013 even though, maybe, they should have given Cartwright Brothers\u2019 Christmas Trees a different name.\u00a0 Santa Claus\u2019 Helpers, possibly.<\/p>\n They hauled the final trees over to the orphanage, where the only payment they received was an impromptu performance by the orphans, who had been gifted a large number of pipes and drums, and who were short on training but very big on enthusiasm.\u00a0 And Joe couldn\u2019t really argue that a lot of shining faces, looking at a pair of Christmas trees, wasn\u2019t its own kind of payment.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a good day\u2019s work,\u201d Hoss commented as they left the orphanage, heading back towards the wagons.<\/p>\n \u201cNot profitable,\u201d Joe said, but it was only a token by now.\u00a0 It\u00a0had<\/em>\u00a0been, in an unexpected way, a good day.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Little Joe,\u201d Hoss said, looking in the back of the wagon.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve still got one more tree in here.\u00a0 A real big one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure,\u201d Joe said, swinging up into the wagon seat and picking up the reins.\u00a0 \u201cThat one is\u00a0ours<\/em>.\u00a0 Only the finest tree from Cartwright Brothers\u2019 Christmas Trees for Pa. \u00a0So let\u2019s get home before he starts looking for it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Author\u2019s Notes: This story was written for the 2025 Bonanza Advent Calendar.\u00a0 My prompt was \u201ccarry the wood indoors,\u201d and my character was Joe.\u00a0 Credit to my husband, who suggested that Joe and Hoss start a Christmas tree business!<\/em><\/p>\n I loved featuring a lot of Bonanza guest characters who, according to their stories, should be regular faces in Virginia City.\u00a0 Charlie and Annie Collins appeared in \u201cOld Charlie.\u201d\u00a0 Benjie Lane appeared as a friend of Hoss\u2019 in \u201cA Man to Admire.\u201d\u00a0 Beth Riley and her pie business are in \u201cA Time to Step Down.\u201d\u00a0 Su Ling and Dr. Kam\u2019s clinic are in \u201cDay of the Dragon.\u201d\u00a0 The Widow Hawkins appears in \u201cThe Burma Rarity.\u201d\u00a0 Daisy and her caf\u00e9 appear in \u201cRich Man, Poor Man.\u201d\u00a0 Abigail Jones, of course, appears in \u201cThe Wooing of Abigail Jones.\u201d\u00a0 Joe romances Ellie McClure in \u201cShowdown\u201d and Jennifer Beale in \u201cThe Abduction.\u201d\u00a0 The Jamisons are original, but the Widow Manwaring, and her support of the orphanage, appear in \u201cA Christmas Story.\u201d\u00a0 This story is set somewhere in mid-Season Three, while Adam is still home and before Abigail Jones gets married.\u00a0 Characters who appeared in later seasons are long-time residents of Virginia City, who should already be here.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n~*~*~* Advent Calendar ~*~*~*<\/span><\/strong>
\nDay 3 *<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n