*** I wish you could take it all away too, Pa! ***<\/em><\/strong> He thought to himself.\u00a0 The tip of Joe\u2019s tongue ran along the inside of his mouth, and he could still taste the blood just like he could still feel the sharp thin blade of the man\u2019s knife.<\/p>\n\u201cJoseph \u2013 it won\u2019t always be like this,\u201d Ben offered, doing his best to settle his son\u2019s nerves.\u00a0 Terror was still in Joe\u2019s smoldering eyes, which had the glint of tears inside of them though he could tell that his son was trying his best to keep them at bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m okay, Pa \u2013 you go on to bed,\u201d Joe said in a valiant effort to pretend like he wasn\u2019t still scared senseless.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould it help to talk more about it?\u201d Pa continued, knowing that there was no truth to what his son had said.\u00a0\u00a0 The boy was far from being okay.<\/p>\n
Dropping his face down into his hands Joe fought to control the range of emotions that he was dealing with at the time.\u00a0 He was scared, something he never liked to admit, not even to his father; the one person in the world who understood him.\u00a0\u00a0 And, laced with that feeling of fear was the almost uncontrollable feeling of anger and hatred for two people at the time; the man who had scarred him and his mother, who Little Joe now blamed for her role in the whole terrifying ordeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI – I still just don\u2019t understand, Pa \u2013 why?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t do anything to that man \u2013 I\u2019d never seen him before in my life!\u00a0 He hated my mother — fine \u2013 but why take it out on me?\u201d Joe\u2019s words were plaintively delivered as he lifted his head and peered into his father\u2019s eyes hoping for an answer that would make some sense to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just don\u2019t know, Son \u2013 I just wish –,\u201d Ben stopped short, not knowing what he could offer that might lessen his son\u2019s pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy am I always the one who pays for what she did?\u00a0 First it was Rene Marchant \u2013 and him insisting that he was my father and not you.\u00a0 Finding out about the affair she had with him was bad enough.\u00a0 And if I hadn\u2019t fallen and needed surgery, we might never have found out the truth that you are my Pa and not him.\u00a0 But this time \u2013 this time I end up scarred for life.\u00a0 How many more men are going to come after me for what my mother did to them, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n
Tenderly reaching over and resting his hand on the left side of his son\u2019s face, Ben shook his head filled with more sorrow than he could express in words.\u00a0 He wanted to explain that Marie would have been the first person who would have laid down her own life trying to protect the son she had loved so much.\u00a0 But Ben knew that Joseph wasn\u2019t ready to hear those kinds of things; not with the way he was feeling after just having gotten the many sutures out of his face and seeing the horrendous wound left behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cSon \u2013 we can talk more about this at another time \u2013 but right now you need to get some rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, Pa, I know you can\u2019t talk about it \u2013 because you still love her.\u00a0 I don\u2019t \u2013 she\u2019s ruined my life!\u201d Joe replied bitterly as he pressed the cloth against his face, still attempting to get it to stay put.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere,\u201d Ben whispered and gently pulled the bandage off his son\u2019s face. Reaching over to the nightstand, he opened the jar of collodion that Doctor Martin had been using to get the bandage to adhere to the wound.\u00a0 He spread a bit onto the four sides of the material and then turned and secured the bandage onto his son\u2019s right cheek, pressing down and holding it for just a minute.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t going to fuss at the boy for what he had said about his mother because Pa knew how badly he was hurting.\u00a0 \u201cDo you need something to help you sleep, Joseph?\u00a0 Doc left some sleeping powders in case you had any trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drawing in a deep breath Little Joe shook his head and blotted the tears which had involuntarily slipped out from the corners of his eyes.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNo, Pa \u2013 I don\u2019t want any.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow\u2019s the pain right now?\u201d He asked hesitantly.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben hadn\u2019t wanted to bring up anything about the laudanum, but he also didn\u2019t want his son to hurt, and Joe looked as though he was grimacing at the time.<\/p>\n
Joe shook his head once again, very surprised that Pa would ask him that question and especially not after what he had done that night.\u00a0 The bottle of laudanum had been purposefully hidden in the kitchen cabinet by his father.\u00a0 But Joe had found it and squirreled it inside of his bureau intending to use it to take the pain away forever.\u00a0 Pa had discovered that it was missing the previous night and had confronted him about it before Joe could do something more permanent about the scar that he now wore.\u00a0 He had promised Pa that he wouldn\u2019t do something like that again, and Joe had to keep that promise no matter how much he still thought about ending it all.<\/p>\n
Clearing his throat Joe tried to dislodge his increased feeling of hopelessness.\u00a0 He forced himself to sound like he was in full control when he replied, \u201cIt\u2019s nothing I can\u2019t handle.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need anything for it, Pa.\u00a0 Go on and get some sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hesitating at first, Ben finally pulled himself off the bed and dropped a hand down onto the boy\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cPromise to come and get me if you need me \u2013 or if the pain gets worse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry to sleep, Joseph,\u201d Pa whispered, running his fingers softly through the boy\u2019s hair trying to instill calm into him.\u00a0 \u201cRemember you agreed that you\u2019d be coming downstairs for breakfast, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will, Pa,\u201d Joe affirmed a little too quickly, attempting to relieve his father of any more worry over him that night.\u00a0 His eyes tracked to the door where Pa stopped and cast a reassuring smile aimed at him before he left.<\/p>\n
Joe stared over at his nightstand where the picture of his mother rested against the green velvet backing of the frame.\u00a0 He reached over and turned the picture faced down.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI hate you \u2013 and all that you were and all of the pain you\u2019ve caused me,\u201d Joe muttered, filled with disdain.\u00a0 He then reached for the lamp and turned the wick down low.\u00a0\u00a0 Closing his eyes, he prayed that he could keep the continuing assault of nightmares at bay for the rest of the night.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe \u2013 hey you up?\u201d Hoss called through his brother\u2019s bedroom door.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah \u2013 come on in, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walking inside the bedroom, Hoss noticed Joe was already dressed and now sitting pulling on his boots.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou about ready to get some grub?\u201d Hoss asked jovially, as he settled a forced smile onto his lips.\u00a0 He felt a bit edgy after the last conversation he had with his little brother the night before.<\/p>\n
Joe pulled on his second boot and stood up.\u00a0 He made sure that his bandage was securely in place and then crossed the floor to where his brother stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah\u2014hey, Hoss \u2013 listen \u2013 I\u2019m sorry for putting you on the spot last night,\u201d Joe apologized sheepishly.\u00a0 \u201cI shouldn\u2019t have done that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss placed a hand on his brother\u2019s shoulder and replied, \u201cI understand, Little Brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d Joe nodded over at the big man, who was always the first to forgive someone for a transgression.\u00a0 He knew that it had been an awful thing that he had done by asking Hoss to tell him the truth about the appearance of his wound.\u00a0 Pa had admonished Joe because of what he had done to his brother and how torn up it had made Hoss feel.\u00a0 It had come out during their conversation about the laudanum, and he knew that his father was right.\u00a0 Hoss hadn\u2019t wanted to hurt him, Joe knew that, and he felt remorseful for forcing him to be brutally honest and agreeing with him that the wound looked awful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Joe.\u00a0 You hungry?\u00a0 I know you can\u2019t have what I\u2019ll be eating but pretty soon we\u2019ll fatten you up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah \u2013 hey \u2013 Hoss \u2013 I need to ask you for a favor,\u201d Joe began, standing there next to his brother and nervously wondering how he was going to explain what was on his mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we \u2013 can we change places?\u00a0 I mean there at the table.\u00a0 Is it okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss\u2019 face took on a perplexed appearance as he stared down at the boy.\u00a0 \u201cHuh?\u00a0 You\u2019ve always sat there off to Pa\u2019s right \u2013 I mean you picked that place at the table way back when we wuz kids.\u00a0 What\u2019s up, Little Brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe shrugged his shoulders helplessly.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to tell his brother why it was suddenly so important to sit on the other side of their father, but it was.
\u201cOkay, it doesn\u2019t really matter to me, as long as I get fed.\u00a0 Come on let\u2019s get down there,\u201d Hoss grinned and put his arm around Joe\u2019s shoulder and steered him out into the hallway.<\/p>\n
************<\/p>\n
Ben walked in from the kitchen and noticed all three of his sons were there at the dining table.\u00a0 He cast a bewildered glance over to where his youngest son was sitting.\u00a0 Deciding not to say anything for fear of sending the boy back up to his bedroom, he simply took his place at the head of the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s nice to have the four of us sitting in here together for a change,\u201d Ben announced cheerily and reached for the coffee pot.\u00a0 He passed cups of coffee over to Hoss and Adam.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Joseph\u2014but maybe, if Doc gives you the go-ahead when he checks your mouth at the end of the week, you\u2019ll be able to have some coffee soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe sipped at the pale brown liquid inside his coffee cup and groaned.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, bad enough that I have to drink tea but to have to choke it down lukewarm isn\u2019t very easy,\u201d Joe admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cTea good for you, Little Joe,\u201d Hop Sing grinned as he walked over to the youngest and sat a bowl of cooled porridge in front of him.\u00a0 \u201cYou eat all up,\u201d He insisted and hurried back into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Staring first at the very unappetizing contents of the bowl in front of him and then across the table where Hoss was plowing into steak and eggs Joe sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t want to swap with me, would you?\u201d He asked his brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo ahead and try to get that steak from Hoss, Joe.\u00a0 You\u2019ll pull back a hand minus a few fingers,\u201d Adam quipped.<\/p>\n
Ben smiled to hear his boys attempting to avoid the unasked question about why Joe now sat to his left.\u00a0 He thought about it as he sipped his coffee and studied the boy\u2019s face.\u00a0 The side which carried the scar and was covered with the bandage was now facing him whereas if Joe had maintained his former seating arrangement the bandage would be facing Adam and would\u2019ve been seen more easily by Hoss as well.\u00a0 Evidently Joseph was more comfortable with only his father seeing the bandage and so he wouldn\u2019t mention it to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Little Brother, Harve Jenkins mare foaled and he\u2019s got the best-looking colt that I ever did see,\u201d Hoss remarked, trying his best to lift the boy\u2019s spirits.\u00a0 \u201cIn about three years I just betcha he\u2019ll want you to gentle it for him.\u00a0 Everyone knows that you\u2019ve got the makings of the best wrangler around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Absent mindedly Joe\u2019s right hand found its way up to his bandage, fingering it as he fell deep in thought.\u00a0 He knew he wouldn\u2019t be breaking horses for a long while, if ever again.\u00a0 Joe wouldn\u2019t dare get on a bucking bronc with a bandage on his face for fear it would come off, and everyone around the breaking corral would be staring at the horrid scar.<\/p>\n
Ben cast a quick glance at Joe and then shot a concerned look over to his other sons giving them the subtle nod that let them know to change the subject.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Kid, Mitch dropped over yesterday while Hoss and I were at the branding corral and asked about you,\u201d Adam remarked casually.<\/p>\n
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Little Joe bit at his bottom lip, a very apparent display of fear controlling his face.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to see anyone, including his best friend.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did he ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, he just said he missed you and hoped you would be feeling better soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Setting his tea down after taking a few nervous sips, he responded, \u201cI guess the word\u2019s out about me, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam stared apprehensively at his father as he wondered how to answer his brother\u2019s question.<\/p>\n
Trying to help his eldest, Ben jumped in, \u201cWell, the word did get out that you\u2019d gone missing, Joseph, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe shook his head adamantly, not accepting what Pa had used as an excuse.\u00a0 \u201cPa, I know everyone\u2019s heard by now that my face is messed up.\u00a0 Linda knew about it when we left the hotel just two days after it happened.\u00a0 You three don\u2019t have to try so hard to dance around what\u2019s going on in town.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure my face being destroyed is great fodder for the gossips in Virginia City,\u201d He retorted angrily.\u00a0 \u201cExcuse me,\u201d Joe threw his napkin on the table and stood.<\/p>\n
All three men watched as Little Joe hastily headed up for the safety and security of his bedroom.\u00a0 Ben frowned and shook his head sadly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Pa \u2013 I guess I shouldn\u2019t have mentioned Mitch,\u201d Adam apologized.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Son \u2013 it\u2019s not that \u2013 it\u2019s all that he\u2019s dealing with and trying to cope with something which would be hard on anyone of us.\u00a0 Joseph had another rough night, getting awakened by nightmares again.\u00a0 Sometimes we forget what that boy went through \u2013and how it must be weighing on him.\u00a0 Just the thought that anyone could cut –,\u201d Ben had to stop himself.\u00a0 Every time he thought about his youngest being tied up to a tree and getting cut with a knife his blood ran cold and all he wanted to do was to go and kill the madman who had done it.\u00a0 He would find that man somehow, Ben had sworn it to himself; but now wasn\u2019t the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything we can do, Pa?\u201d Hoss interjected, trying to break the mounting tension he felt coming from the head of the table.<\/p>\n
Ben sighed and shook his head at a total loss over what anyone could do to help his youngest.\u00a0 \u201cNot right now, Hoss \u2013 you two finish eating and I guess get back to that branding.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go up there in a little while and see what I can do about trying to get him to go outside for a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to head into town when we get done and maybe talk to Roy to see if anything turned up about who took the kid,\u201d Adam announced setting his coffee cup down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he wants to talk to Joe again\u2014it\u2019s been about a week since he tried back before Joe could speak.\u00a0 Go ahead and ask him when he plans to come out here, Adam, and then I\u2019ll let your brother know to expect a visit from Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing, who stood just inside the kitchen, had listened to everything that had been said at the dining table.\u00a0 He walked back over to the family and neared Adam.<\/p>\n
\u201cMister Adam?\u00a0 Please to mail letter for Hop Sing?\u201d He asked as he removed the letter from the pocket of his smock.\u00a0 Hop Sing sounded urgent in his request, and all three men took note of the serious tone to his voice.<\/p>\n
Adam took it from the cook\u2019s hand and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll mail it today while I\u2019m in town, Hop Sing,\u201d He paused and studied the name on the front of the envelope.\u00a0 \u201cI guess this must be a letter to one of your many cousins, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing shook his head and responded, \u201cNo \u2013 it for elder \u2013 honorable great Uncle Li Sing.\u00a0 He came America month ago.\u00a0 Hop Sing write letter \u2013 ask Uncle Li Sing come see me and meet my American family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben grinned over at Hop Sing and returned, \u201cWe\u2019d love to have your uncle come for a visit.\u00a0 You just let us know when he\u2019s due to arrive and we\u2019ll roll out the red carpet for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing stood there bewildered over what the other man had said.\u00a0 \u201cNo have red carpet, Mister Ben.\u00a0 Hop Sing not know where to get one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss and Adam laughed and then looked over to their father wondering how he would be explaining the words he had chosen to use.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh \u2013 Hop Sing \u2013 that\u2019s just an expression,\u201d Ben replied and shot his two sons a very displeased glare.\u00a0 They seemed far too amused to see him put on the spot at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cExpression? What it mean, Mister Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell \u2013 ah –,\u201d Pa paused and drew in a deep breath trying to figure out how best to explain to the cook what it meant.\u00a0 \u201cIt just means that we will do our best to make your great uncle\u2019s visit a pleasant one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing shook his head and stared into his boss\u2019 eyes with a very disgruntled look on his face.\u00a0 \u201cWhy not say what mean and mean what say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry,\u201d Ben apologized as he witnessed the cook\u2019s return to the kitchen and heard the long string of Chinese chastisements he sent out.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou handled that pretty good,\u201d Hoss laughed and patted his father\u2019s arm grinning.<\/p>\n
Pa just shook his head and sighed.\u00a0 *** As if I don\u2019t have enough problems \u2013 I\u2019ve got to watch what I say from now on, so I don\u2019t cause and international incident ***<\/em><\/strong> He thought to himself as he polished off his coffee.<\/p>\n***************<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph?\u201d Ben sang out as he walked inside his son\u2019s room a little while after breakfast.<\/p>\n
Joe had been caught up in his morose musings staring out the window at what used to be his life. \u00a0\u00a0He turned toward the voice, \u201cYeah, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow about coming outside with me? I\u2019m going to work on my ledgers out on the front porch since it\u2019s such a nice day \u2013 it\u2019s a shame to stay indoors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shaking his head in disbelief due to what his father had said Joe announced, \u201cPa \u2013 I\u2019m not going out there!\u201d<\/p>\n
Proceeding over to the window, Ben attempted to read what was on the boy\u2019s face at the time. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, Pa!\u00a0 You know why.\u00a0 Because of this<\/strong>!\u201d Joe sang out as he pointed to his bandage.<\/p>\n\u201cJoe \u2013 it\u2019s just going to be the two of us \u2013 no-one else.\u00a0 The hired hands are all out working on either fencing projects or are up with the herd.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is it so important that I go outside \u2013 I mean I can\u2019t do any work yet \u2013 at least according to Doc.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben dropped a hand down onto Joe\u2019s shoulder and forced his gaze.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t have to work \u2013 but I want you to get out of the house.\u00a0 How about going to see Cochise?\u00a0 I\u2019m sure she misses you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe stood and walked over to his bed and sat down.\u00a0 He lifted his hand up to cover his bandage and whispered.\u00a0 \u201cThis thing keeps coming down \u2013 I don\u2019t want that to happen outside, Pa \u2013 so I\u2019m not taking any chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walking over to his son\u2019s nightstand Ben opened the drawer and pulled out more bandage material and scissors.\u00a0 He carefully cut another bandage and then turned to Joe and said, \u201cThat\u2019s an easy fix, Joseph.\u201d\u00a0 Ben reached over and removed the old bandage from his son\u2019s face and then secured the new one into place once again by applying the collodion solution to the four sides and pressing down to get it to stay in place.\u00a0 \u201cNow \u2013 no more excuses, Young Man.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to stay out long \u2013 but you need to get out of this house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe pushed the bandage onto his face, still worried that it wouldn\u2019t stay in place.\u00a0 \u201cPa \u2013 if anyone stops by –,\u201d He trailed off, his voice shaking at the very thought of anyone outside of the family seeing him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll either be in the barn or out on the porch with me.\u00a0 If someone comes while you\u2019re out with Cochise, I\u2019ll keep them from going into the barn \u2013 and if you\u2019re with me on the front porch, you\u2019ll be able to see a rider if anyone were to come by.\u00a0 Now let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dropping his head into his hands Joe whispered, \u201cPa \u2013 you just don\u2019t understand —.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lifting his son\u2019s chin, he stared into the boy\u2019s troubled eyes and returned emphatically, \u201cI DO<\/strong> understand, Joseph \u2013 but you\u2019ve got to make an effort to get out some.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying you have to stay out long\u2014just long enough to get some air.\u00a0 It\u2019ll be good for you.\u00a0 For ten days now you\u2019ve been holed up either in this house or that hotel.\u00a0 You\u2019ve never liked being stuck inside any room for long, Joseph, and you\u2019ve always found a way to sneak out of here even when you were hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s different, Pa \u2013 I never had a big bandage on my face — and an ugly wound hiding underneath it either,\u201d Joe protested.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be okay, Son,\u201d Ben returned quietly trying his best to assuage his son\u2019s worries.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, you said we\u2019d be okay leaving the hotel and look what happened!\u00a0 Linda showed up and I had to hide my face so that didn\u2019t work either!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d Pa stated firmly and grabbed Joe\u2019s arm, pulling him to standing.\u00a0 He had to put aside his sympathy over what had happened to the boy so he could try to make him re-enter the life that was outside waiting for him.\u00a0 Ben needed to somehow get his son to leave the security of his bedroom, or he would continue to hide from the rest of the world.<\/p>\n
Joe\u2019s hand nervously pushed down on his bandage as Pa led him to the bedroom door.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
\u201cHi, Roy.\u201d Adam called over to the sheriff as he walked inside the jailhouse.<\/p>\n
Roy pushed his spectacles down his nose and peered up at the other man.\u00a0 \u201cGood to see you, Boy.\u00a0 How\u2019s your Pa and brothers?\u201d He asked coming out from behind his desk and reaching over to shake Adam\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine \u2013 well of course all of us except Little Joe.\u00a0 The kid\u2019s still having a hard time of it due to that wound of his,\u201d Adam returned as Roy offered him a chair and he sat down.<\/p>\n
Roy let out a discouraged groan and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI been going over everything that boy wrote down a week ago but I still ain\u2019t got a clue as to who cut him up.\u00a0 It just don\u2019t make the least bit of sense to me.\u00a0 Seems to me your brother thinks that man had some kind of a grudge with his Ma and took it out on him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam nodded and then stared over at the many notes that were piled up on the sheriff\u2019s desk.\u00a0 \u201cMind if I take a look at what Joe wrote?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHelp yourself,\u201d Roy answered and handed the scraps of paper to Joe\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n
Adam read all the notes and frowned when he saw the things that Joe had written about his mother.\u00a0 Then he stared at the strange looking knife that was in the one drawing the kid had done.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, this is supposed to be what that man used on Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what he said after we asked \u2013 well he didn\u2019t exactly say it \u2013 but he nodded when I asked him.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never seen a knife like that.\u00a0 The only solid clue I have so far is that description of the man and that Bill Gentry thinks it was someone who was staying there at the International House for about a week.\u00a0 He pulled up stakes the day before Little Joe got taken.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHey \u2013 would you mind if I kept this drawing for a little while?\u00a0 I\u2019d like to see what I can find out about it in some of the old books that I\u2019ve collected over the years.\u00a0 Maybe I can at least figure out what it\u2019s called?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see why not,\u201d Roy agreed.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut when you\u2019re done with that picture you be sure and give it back to me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got to keep it in case we find that jasper \u2013 it\u2019ll be evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam tucked the drawing inside of his shirt pocket and nodded his thanks.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cPa wanted to know when you\u2019ll be coming out to the ranch to talk to Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sooner the better \u2013 is the boy back to talking?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Doc lifted the restrictions so he\u2019s back to being able to speak again.\u00a0 You know that we all want to try and find this man \u2013 to take care of the problem and maybe smooth things over about the way Joe\u2019s feeling about his Ma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roy stood back up and walked around his desk.\u00a0 \u201cHow about I come on out tomorrow afternoon?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam smiled and stood, shaking the man\u2019s hand before leaving.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019ll be fine, Roy, see you tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be there\u2014good luck with your research!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d Adam returned and then, with renewed determination, he headed for the door.<\/p>\n
***************<\/p>\n
Ben\u2019s mind couldn\u2019t stay focused on his ledgers as he sat on the front porch and erased another two columns of his figures.\u00a0 Joe had gone into the barn almost an hour ago and hadn\u2019t reappeared.\u00a0\u00a0 He figured the boy was probably giving Cochise a good grooming or telling the horse his problems as was his habit.\u00a0 Hop Sing brought out some coffee for Ben and some watered-down tea for Joe and then returned to the kitchen.\u00a0 Finally, deciding that he should go check on Joe, he stood and closed his books.<\/p>\n
Joe was kneeling just inside of the open barn door when his father walked in.\u00a0 Ben couldn\u2019t see what his son was doing or why he appeared so pensive at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe had something cupped in his hand as he looked up at his father and replied, \u201cYeah, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben stooped down to see what the boy was doing.\u00a0 \u201cWhat have you got there, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n
Holding his hand out so his father could see, he answered, \u201cThat stray cat that\u2019s been hanging around for a while got spooked when I turned to leave and it dropped this out of its mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like a sparrow — but it\u2019s not in very good shape.\u00a0 Maybe we\u2019d best put it out of its misery?\u201d He said examining the small bird.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d Joe shouted and pulled the bird back towards his chest.<\/p>\n
Ben was shocked to hear his son yelling as loudly as he had over an injured bird.\u00a0 He wondered just what was going on in the boy\u2019s mind and why he had reacted that way.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph,\u201d He began and forced a calm into his voice.\u00a0 His son rarely, if ever, raised his voice to him but he knew that Joe was beside himself due to all that he had endured so he didn\u2019t admonish him over his outburst.\u00a0 \u201cThis bird has been mauled \u2013 the humane thing to do is to put it out of its misery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe shook his head insistently and then finally stared into his father\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 There was something in the boy\u2019s gaze that let Ben know that he wasn\u2019t going to kill the bird even if it was the right thing to do at the time.<\/p>\n
Ben watched as his son gently caressed the sparrow\u2019s beak where most of the blood rested.<\/p>\n
\u201cPa?\u00a0 Do you have a handkerchief on you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben stood and pulled one out of his pants pocket.\u00a0 \u201cHere,\u201d He called to his son and handed it down to him.<\/p>\n
Ever so gently Little Joe dabbed at the blood that was there on the side of the sparrow\u2019s face next to its beak.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s okay\u2014it\u2019s okay,\u201d He whispered.<\/p>\n
It was at that moment that Pa realized why seeing the injured bird had affected his son the way it had.\u00a0 The sparrow had been bitten by the cat in the exact same area of its face where Joe had been cut by his attacker\u2019s knife.\u00a0 Ben felt awful for not understanding why telling him to put the bird out of its misery had been the very worst thing that he could have said at the time.\u00a0 It was obvious that Joseph was relating to the injured creature due to his own pain.\u00a0 ***The Good Lord knows when even one sparrow falls. ***<\/strong> Ben thought to himself as he looked with empathy towards both the boy and the injured sparrow.<\/p>\n\u201cI want to see if I can save it, Pa,\u201d Joe explained as he pulled himself to standing, still holding the bird in his left hand.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m gonna see if Hop Sing still has that old bird cage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben smiled understandingly and nodded to the boy, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph \u2013 now you can try \u2013 but a small bird like that \u2013 well \u2013 it might not make it.\u00a0 I just don\u2019t want you to be upset if –,\u201d He trailed off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be more upset if I don\u2019t try, Pa,\u201d Little Joe answered sincerely.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, let\u2019s go check with Hop Sing,\u201d Ben returned and walked with the boy back to the house.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t quite sure how things would work out, especially if the sparrow were to die, but Ben reasoned that at least for the moment it had given Joseph something else to focus on besides his wound.<\/p>\n
***************<\/p>\n
Just as soon as supper was over Joe walked into the living room where he had temporarily placed the birdcage.\u00a0 He waved Hoss over to have a look at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me what you think, Big Brother.\u00a0 You\u2019re the expert on all creatures great and small,\u201d Little Joe said as he carefully lifted the sparrow out of the cage.<\/p>\n
Hoss\u2019 massive right hand held the small bird as he inspected the injury it had sustained due to the cat.\u00a0 He carried it over to the lamp next to his father\u2019s red leather chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cGosh, I don\u2019t know, Little Joe.\u00a0 Looks like that cat sure got this critter there by its beak.\u00a0 Has it been eating or just kind of laying around inside that cage all day?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe shrugged his shoulders and replied, \u201cHop Sing helped me get it some small seeds and a few berries.\u00a0 He said he thought that\u2019s what sparrows like to eat.\u00a0 But I haven\u2019t seen him eat anything yet.\u00a0 You think he\u2019ll make it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pa and Adam gathered around to hear what the family expert would say.\u00a0 They cast worried glances back and forth, neither wanting to be the one to suggest that Joe should just put the bird out of its misery.<\/p>\n
Hoss further examined the sparrow and then announced, \u201cWell, Little Brother, it don\u2019t feel like either wing is busted \u2013 so that\u2019s a good thing.\u00a0 But \u2013 well \u2013 he sure got it there by his beak.\u00a0 I guess that cat tried to get a good bite into the poor critter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe accepted the sparrow back into his hand and stared up at Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cYou think there\u2019s anything I can do for him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss turned to see both his father and older brother staring over at him.\u00a0 He knew what they were thinking and if he were to be totally honest, Hoss knew that he\u2019d have to agree and put the sparrow down.\u00a0 But Little Joe looks so pathetic as he held the bird close to his body that Hoss knew he couldn\u2019t say it to the boy.\u00a0 His little brother was just barely getting by due to his injury and all the worry he had bottled up inside of him at the time.\u00a0 Hoss knew he\u2019d have to try to offer him a more hopeful prognosis no matter what the outcome might be.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess if you\u2019re set on trying to heal that bird that you should just keep it warm and watch to see how it does over the next day or two, Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe nodded and patted his brother\u2019s arm, \u201cThanks — I\u2019m going to take the cage up to my room.\u00a0 I\u2019ll put him where there\u2019s no draft and see if he\u2019ll start eating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben, Adam and Hoss all watched as Little Joe placed the sparrow into the cage and headed up to his bedroom.\u00a0 Each man wondered how the boy would react should the bird die.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Son,\u201d Ben said and patted Hoss on the shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou handled that very tactfully.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss shrugged his shoulders and remarked, \u201cPa, I don\u2019t know all that much about birds, but that little thing got bit \u2013 and I\u2019m not sure if it will make it through the night.\u00a0 But I just couldn\u2019t tell Joe that.\u00a0 The kid\u2019s just barely hanging in there \u2013 I know he\u2019s hurting \u2013 I just couldn\u2019t tell him to let me put the sparrow out of its misery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taking a seat in his chair, Ben nodded up to his son and replied, \u201cI know — and the fact that the sparrow\u2019s wound happens to be in the exact area where Joseph\u2019s wound is on his face\u2013 well \u2013 I think it\u2019s played a big part in him wanting to save the little creature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam sat down in the blue winged back chair and drew out the drawing he\u2019d gotten from Roy.\u00a0 \u201cPa, Roy let me have a look at everything Joe wrote down \u2013and he gave me the drawing of the knife.\u00a0 I thought that maybe I could try and find something like it in one of the books up in my room.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if it will provide much of a clue for us in trying to find out who did this to the kid, but it\u2019s worth a try I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for not saying anything about it in front of Joe,\u201d Ben returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo \u2013 I wasn\u2019t going to.\u00a0 Oh, Roy\u2019s going to be out sometime tomorrow afternoon.\u00a0 You said you\u2019d let Joe know, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I suppose Roy will be asking Joe more about what happened to him to see if there\u2019s anything more that he can add.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sure isn\u2019t very happy with his Ma right now,\u201d Adam frowned.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s blaming her for what that lunatic did to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand?\u201d Hoss questioned, jumping in on the conversation.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t asked his father or little brother anything about what the boy had said to the sheriff a week ago.<\/p>\n
Ben sighed and shook his head at a loss over what to do about how his youngest was feeling about his mother at the time.\u00a0 \u201cThe man obviously told Joseph that he had known his mother and that he held a grudge against her for some reason.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know all that was said between the two of them that night \u2013 only Joseph can tell us that.\u00a0 But he did tell me that the man said that he was going to scar his face as a gift from Marie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s obviously insane,\u201d Adam returned filled with anger over what the man had done to his brother both physically and emotionally.<\/p>\n
Ben crossed his arms over his chest, attempting to hold in his pent-up rage due to all that had transpired between Joe and his assailant.\u00a0 \u201cInsane and deadly, Adam,\u201d He cautioned.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnd since we don\u2019t know where he is right now, we all just need to be extra diligent and watch our surroundings at all times just in case he\u2019s still somewhere close by.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam stood and walked over to his father, placing a hand down onto his shoulder to comfort him.\u00a0 \u201cWe will, Pa \u2013 don\u2019t worry.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to take this drawing up to my room and go hit the books.\u00a0 I\u2019ll let you know if I come up with anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Son,\u201d Ben smiled gratefully and then watched Adam heading towards the staircase.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ll go and check on Little Joe to see how he\u2019s doing with that bird,\u201d Hoss announced and headed up to his brother\u2019s room.<\/p>\n
Ben leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, falling deep in thought.\u00a0 There was something nagging at his mind that he couldn\u2019t quite put his finger on and all concerning Marie.\u00a0 He hoped that somehow, he\u2019d find the right words to get Joseph to understand that his mother would never have wanted her son to pay for anything she\u2019d done in her past.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on in, Roy,\u201d Ben bid the lawman inside the house the next afternoon, leading him over to the settee.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you doing, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine — sorry to have you come out here \u2013 we\u2019d have come into town but-\u201d<\/p>\n
Roy jumped in finishing his friend\u2019s thoughts.\u00a0 \u201cI know \u2013 I\u2019ve talked to Doc \u2013 I know Little Joe\u2019s having a time of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfraid so,\u201d Ben returned as Hop Sing entered the room and set down a coffee pot and two cups.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, Hop Sing,\u201d Ben commented and the cook nodded and returned to the kitchen.\u00a0 He poured a cup for the sheriff and handed it over to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, Ben,\u201d He smiled and took a sip.\u00a0 \u201cIs Joe up and around?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes \u2013 he\u2019s in his room right now.\u00a0 Do you want me to go and get him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Roy pursed his lips and tried to choose his words carefully.\u00a0 \u201cI kind of wanted to talk to you first, Ben.\u00a0 Then I\u2019ll ask Little Joe a few questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben settled back in his chair reading the expression on the other man\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, what\u2019s on your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t beat around the bush, Ben, we\u2019ve always talked straight with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
To that statement Ben simply nodded and waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis business about what Joe said about that man and his mother knowing each other.\u00a0 Well, do you have any clue as to who it could\u2019ve been?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo \u2013 I don\u2019t \u2013 I would\u2019ve already told you if I did, Roy.\u00a0 I want to catch that man probably more so than Joseph does at this point.\u00a0 He cut my boy!\u00a0 God help him if I get him in my sights.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to ask \u2013 I didn\u2019t know if you were trying to keep something from Marie\u2019s past a secret to prevent Joe from finding out about it.\u00a0 I remember that Marchant fellow showing up at the beginning of the year \u2013 and all that the four of you went through because of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben drew in a deep breath trying to purge the memory of Rene Marchant from his mind.\u00a0 He stood and reached for a book that Adam had left there on the coffee table.\u00a0 He opened it to where the earlier drawing that Joseph had made rested next to the picture that his eldest had pointed out to him earlier in the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam was able to match the drawing that Joe made to a picture in one of his books.\u00a0 Here,\u201d Ben handed it over to Roy for him to study.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing\u2019s called a stiletto?\u00a0 I ain\u2019t never heard of it,\u201d Roy frowned as he studied it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d forgotten that I saw several during my days there in New Orleans.\u00a0 Some of the men there like that type of a knife \u2013 it\u2019s easier to conceal,\u201d Ben returned with a frown drawing down the corners of his mouth.<\/p>\n
Shaking his head Roy sighed, \u201cThat thing sure can do some damage.\u00a0 I can\u2019t hardly think of what Little Joe went through that night.\u00a0 I feel so bad about it, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do too.\u00a0 The boy\u2019s having a real tough time \u2013 not only to be left with that wound on his face but he\u2019s dealing with some very horrible nightmares too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, if you ain\u2019t got anything else to tell me about Marie then I guess I\u2019d better talk to Joe now if you can go fetch him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be right back.\u00a0 You help yourself to the coffee, Roy,\u201d Ben answered and headed up to the boy\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
Little Joe turned when he saw the door open and his father approaching.\u00a0 He had been staring into the birdcage at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow\u2019s the sparrow doing today, Son?\u201d Ben attempted to slowly ease into the news of Roy\u2019s arrival by asking about the wounded bird as he drew near his son.<\/p>\n
Joe frowned as he stood from where he had been kneeling next to the cage which was perched on his nightstand.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot too good, Pa \u2013 I\u2019m not sure he\u2019s going to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it still bleeding?\u201d Ben asked as he examined Joe\u2019s face and read the worry etched there.<\/p>\n
Mindlessly pressing his bandage down on his cheek Joe answered, \u201cNo \u2013 it\u2019s not that, Pa.\u00a0 I think he\u2019s in shock \u2013 that cat must\u2019ve scared him half to death — hurting it like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben realized what his son had said could\u2019ve just as easily described what Joseph was still going through.\u00a0 In so many ways the boy still acted like he\u2019d never gotten over his own shock after having been cut the way that he had.\u00a0 Ben had to clear his throat to get to the point of his visit.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph \u2013 Roy\u2019s downstairs.\u00a0 Are you up to answering some questions?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe drew in a hesitant breath and dropped his head down for a minute to consider his pa\u2019s question.\u00a0 \u201cOkay \u2013 but could you help me — I need to get my bandage to stick better.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s humid in here or if I\u2019ve been sweating \u2013 but it keeps slipping, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben knew his son had been nervous about the sheriff\u2019s visit and he surmised that Joe\u2019s worry was causing him to perspire more than usual.\u00a0 \u201cSure, come on over to the bed and sit down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Removing the bandage, Ben realized that Joe had been telling the truth as both sides of the cloth were wet by the time he held it there in his hands.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s just redo it.\u00a0 It will only take a minute \u2013 I already cut a new one this morning.<\/p>\n
Sitting patiently, Joe waited for his father to prepare the new bandage.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to take a chance on it falling down while speaking to Sheriff Coffee or anyone else in the house for that matter.\u00a0 Pa patted his cheek with a towel to dry it good and then placed the new cloth over the wound and held it there for just a minute before removing his hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere \u2013 that\u2019ll do it,\u201d Pa smiled and patted his son\u2019s shoulder trying to offer the boy the reassurance that he knew he needed.\u00a0 \u201cYou ready?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe nodded and followed his father out of the room and down the stairs.\u00a0 He walked over to the sheriff and held out his hand to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi, Little Joe,\u201d Roy smiled as he stood and shook the boy\u2019s hand.\u00a0 \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe thought to himself how strange it was that anyone would ask such a question of someone wearing a huge bandage on their face.\u00a0 \u201cFine.\u201d He returned, thinking it was the expected response to such a stupid question.<\/p>\n
Ben cleared his throat after witnessing the exchange.\u00a0 \u201cGo ahead and sit down the two of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe settled on top of the coffee table and noticed the book lying there.\u00a0 He reached for it and was about to look at the page which was marked with a piece of paper sticking out of it when Pa jumped up and took it from him.\u00a0 Joe stared over at his father, bewildered by his sudden move.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is that, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben cast an uneasy glance over at Roy and then back to his son.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll explain later, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe could tell that whatever was held inside of the book must concern him somehow.\u00a0 Growing angered he shook his head and replied, \u201cJust show me, Pa!\u00a0 What \u2013 did you find a picture of the man who cut me or something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo \u2013 of course not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen give it here!\u201d Joe insisted angrily, holding his left hand out in front of him.<\/p>\n
Roy stared over at Ben and felt bad for the man to have been put on the spot by the boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph —,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPa \u2013 I\u2019m going to find out \u2013 whatever it is \u2013 just show me,\u201d Joe persisted.<\/p>\n
Frowning, Ben handed Adam\u2019s book over to his son.\u00a0 He watched as Joe pulled his drawing of the knife out from where it marked the page which described what a stiletto was.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d Joe muttered witnessing the sketch there inside the book. He then stood on unsteady legs intending to leave the room.\u00a0\u00a0 His father caught his elbow preventing his retreat.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph\u2014it\u2019s okay.\u00a0 Adam was just trying to figure out what kind of a knife you had drawn.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trying not to break down in front of either his father or the sheriff, Joe bit at his bottom lip and looked away from both men.\u00a0 Trying valiantly to hide his fear and the almost uncontrollable need to run out of the room, Joe held his position.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t you sit down and have some coffee, Little Joe?\u201d Roy asked when the room grew uncomfortably quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t have coffee because I\u2019ve got a big gash in my mouth and on my face, I guess due to a stiletto,\u201d Joe muttered ironically, still caught between anger and fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, Son,\u201d Ben whispered and placed a reassuring hand onto the boy\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 Joe felt stiff, possibly due to the memory that the picture of the stiletto had conjured up in his mind.\u00a0 \u201cJust sit down for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe shoved the book closed tossing it back on the table.\u00a0 He took a seat in the blue chair and dropped his head down.\u00a0 Knowing that he would have to pretend that he was in total control with both men staring over at him he finally spoke up, \u201cOkay \u2013 what do you want to ask me, Roy?\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheriff looked over at Ben with apprehension in his eyes.\u00a0 He tried to gauge if the boy would be able to hold up to his questions.\u00a0 It was then that he saw Ben nod his way sending him his approval.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe, do you think you could go over that night with me to see if I missed anything?\u00a0 I know you did your best that day that you had to write things down because you couldn\u2019t talk but \u2013well \u2013I just need to know if there\u2019s anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe stared over at his father and then back to Roy and then replied, \u201cWhat part do you need me to tell you about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s hard to remember everything –,\u201d Roy began but was cut short when Joe stood and raised his voice, interrupting him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHard to remember?\u00a0 Are you serious?\u00a0 I can tell you every single word that the bastard said to me before he gutted me with that \u2013 that –,\u201d Joe stopped and walked to the coffee table and pulled the book back into his hands.\u00a0 \u201cYeah\u2014stiletto \u2013 gutting me with that stiletto!\u00a0 You want to hear it all?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph— Joseph \u2013 settle down now,\u201d Ben tried to calm the boy as he drew close to him taking him by the shoulders.\u00a0 He could easily tell that Joseph was shaking but not in fear this time but in a blue rage over what had happened to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou honestly believe that I don\u2019t remember everything that happened to me the night that my life was destroyed forever, Roy?\u201d Joe shouted, more to the heavens than to the sheriff.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t mean it like that, Boy,\u201d Roy apologized trying to diffuse the boy.<\/p>\n
Joe dropped his head down, embarrassment spreading all over his face. He realized that he had blown up at Roy when it wasn\u2019t his fault that his face was cut up and hidden behind a bandage.\u00a0 \u201cListen, Roy \u2013 I\u2019m sorry,\u201d He apologized.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s just too soon,\u201d Ben jumped into the fray.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo \u2013 no, Pa,\u201d Joe sighed and walked back to the chair.\u00a0 He sat down and tried to regroup his emotions.\u00a0 \u201cI want to get it all out in the open.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell you everything I can remember, Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo on, Little Joe,\u201d The sheriff coaxed the boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got hit just after I made it inside the livery stable. Something hit the side of my head and knocked me down \u2013 but I was still conscious.\u00a0 I got to my feet and saw the silhouette of someone there in the doorway.\u00a0 Then he must\u2019ve hit me again because the next thing I knew I was tied to a tree somewhere with the ropes going around my chest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben retook his seat and held his breath as every minute detail began to pour out of his son\u2019s mouth.\u00a0 He could read the intensity on Joe\u2019s face along with the pain and fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said that he was a friend —and I asked him who he was \u2013 because I knew he wasn\u2019t any friend of mine.\u00a0 That\u2019s when he ran his hand through my hair and down my face saying that I reminded him of \u201cher\u201d.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know who he was talking about, but he later let me know that it was my mother that he was referring to.\u00a0 He said that he lavished her with gifts — you know jewelry and furs \u2013 stuff like that.\u00a0 And she repaid him by sharing her bed with him,\u201d Joe stopped as he noticed his father\u2019s head had dropped down to his chest.\u00a0 He hated to hurt Pa, but he had to get the story out.\u00a0 \u201cHe said that she used him until he ran through his fortune.\u00a0 When she couldn\u2019t get anything else off of him, she refused to let him into her bed again and when he tried to stay that she scarred him with her fingernails.\u00a0 He said the scar didn\u2019t last \u2013 unlike mine of course!\u201d Joe stopped and began pacing in front of the fireplace.\u00a0 Ben and Roy exchanged wary glances worried that Joe was pushing himself too hard at the time. However neither man made any attempt to stop the boy knowing that Joe needed to vent out what he\u2019d gone through for his own sake.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he would give me a scar that wouldn\u2019t go away \u2013 and it would be a gift from my mother and from him.\u00a0 He said it would \u2013 in his words \u2013 prevent me from living a life of whoredom like my mother had lived.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben almost jumped out of his chair after hearing those words but he somehow managed to hold back for Joe\u2019s sake.\u00a0 He knew the boy had to release the memories from his mind and he figured he was well on his way to doing that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said that he\u2019d been watching me \u2013 and was there at the dance all night.\u00a0 He even saw when I gave Linda a kiss on her cheek.\u00a0 He said that when he cut me up that I wouldn\u2019t have to worry about which girl to take to a dance\u2014because no girl would ever want to be with me again.\u00a0 He kept that promise as you can see,\u201d Joe laughed bitterly and shook his head over the way his life had ended that night.\u00a0 \u201cI told him that he wouldn\u2019t get away with it— and he showed me that he\u2019d already had it planned.\u00a0 There was a horse tied to the back of the surrey so he\u2019d get away before anyone could find me.\u00a0 I pleaded with him not to cut me \u2013 but he just laughed at me.\u00a0 I guess I stayed conscious until that long thin blade got sunk into my cheek and slowly began to slice my face open.\u00a0 Next thing I remember is Adam and Hoss untying me and then I guess I passed out again.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Exhausted and numb, Joe sank back against the back of the chair as he finished his story.<\/p>\n
Neither Ben nor Roy spoke right away, both men being horrified over all the ways that the boy there in the blue chair had been harmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry to have put you through all of that, Joe,\u201d Roy said quietly and stared over at Ben.\u00a0 \u201cBoth<\/strong> of you that is.\u00a0 I\u2019ll do what I can to find that man, and I\u2019ve already sent out some telegrams inquiring if anyone has been picked up with the description you gave me, Little Joe.\u00a0 Maybe we\u2019ll get a break in the case soon?\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cThank you, Roy,\u201d Ben nodded over to the lawman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI best be going, Ben \u2013 Joe.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be in touch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben walked the sheriff to the door and watched as he mounted his horse and rode out of the yard.\u00a0 He turned back to stare over at his youngest.\u00a0 Joe was sitting there with his face in his hands and Ben was unsure if he was crying or just resting after the long ordeal.<\/p>\n
He walked across the room and called down to Joe as he hovered over the chair, \u201cAre you okay, Son?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll never be okay, Pa,\u201d Joe answered shaking his head back and forth.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry \u2013 but I had to tell Roy all of it \u2013 I never wanted to hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben set a hand onto his son\u2019s neck and replied, \u201cIt\u2019s alright, Boy, I know you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe messed up all our lives, Pa,\u201d Joe indicated his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Joseph \u2013 she didn\u2019t.\u00a0 If it wasn\u2019t for her, I wouldn\u2019t have you,\u201d He whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe life would\u2019ve been better for you if I had never been —,\u201d Little Joe stopped in mid-sentence.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want Pa to think he was going to try to do anything like the laudanum incident a few days prior.\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019m gonna go lay down for a while, Pa,\u201d he announced and stood from the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure you\u2019re going to be alright, Joseph?\u201d<\/p>\n
Avoiding his father\u2019s eyes, he replied with irony in his voice, \u201csure, Pa, why wouldn\u2019t I be?\u201d\u00a0 He then walked to the staircase with his shoulders slumped and his head bowed, indicating how he felt after reliving the awful ordeal.<\/p>\n
Pa\u2019s fearful gaze followed his son up each step that he took to his room.\u00a0 *** Oh Joseph! ***<\/em><\/strong> He thought as he worried about his son\u2019s mental state.<\/p>\n*************<\/p>\n
\u201cPa?\u201d Adam called as he came down the stairs late that night.\u00a0 \u201cYou said you needed to talk to me in private?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben turned from where he stood in front of the fireplace and returned, \u201cYes, Son, thank you for staying up.\u00a0 Come on over here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam sat down in the blue chair as Pa retook his seat opposite him.\u00a0 \u201cWhy\u2019d you want to talk without Hoss or Joe around?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something that\u2019s been nagging at me ever since we brought Joseph home after he got hurt.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ve now figured out what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam questioned his father with his raised eyebrows.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I spoke to Roy today, he asked if I had been keeping anything from him concerning Marie.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t been \u2013 but now that I\u2019ve thought on it maybe there is something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGo on, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember my mentioning a man named Simon La Roche?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Sir, he was the man who had been blackmailing Marie \u2013 right?\u00a0 You killed him in a fair fight and were acquitted on all charges.\u00a0 What about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarie had been sent a list of men that she had known by LaRoche and that\u2019s when she began to pay him to keep quiet about her past.\u00a0 Of course, I found out about it a short while later and after he was killed it was never brought up again.\u00a0 But I told her to keep that list just in case there was ever another investigation into the charges which had been trumped up against me over the LaRoche killing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about it, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a list of men from her past \u2013 and \u2013 well I was wondering if it might lead us to the name of the lunatic who cut Joseph.\u00a0 It\u2019s worth a try.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut \u2013 do you know where it is?\u00a0 It\u2019s been an awfully long time since then, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cI haven\u2019t a clue \u2013 but there are several old trunks in the storage room.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s somewhere inside one of them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, but even if you happen to find it how are you going to figure out which man it was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I imagine by the process of elimination.\u00a0 I know one name we can take off the list.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRene Marchant,\u201d Ben nodded with a frown on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, he\u2019s gone permanently.\u00a0 So, when do you want to start looking, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already asked Hoss earlier today to get a hold of Mitch and he did.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to stop by tomorrow and try to get Joe out of the house for a bit.\u00a0 That\u2019ll give us the chance to search this place for the list.\u00a0 I\u2019ll fill Hoss in on what we\u2019re doing \u2013 but I want Joe to be left out of all this for now.\u00a0 That boy is just barely hanging on right now by a thin thread.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want him knowing anything about his mother\u2019s past.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I can understand that Pa.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s not very happy with his Ma right now and I sure hope somehow you can get him to change his opinion of her.\u00a0 But how are you going to get Little Joe to leave?\u00a0 I mean it\u2019s all we can do to get him to go into the barn \u2013 he\u2019s not going to want to go off with Mitch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben nodded his head and smiled, \u201cI think Mitch will have a better chance of getting through to your little brother than any of us.\u00a0 We don\u2019t need him to be gone too long— just long enough for the three of us to get through those old trunks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam stood from the chair and stretched.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, Pa \u2013 why don\u2019t we both get some sleep.\u00a0 Tomorrow might prove to be the break we\u2019ve been hoping for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben smiled and joined his son heading to the staircase.\u00a0 He draped an arm around his eldest\u2019s shoulder as the two men walked up to their rooms.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
Little Joe was not amused to hear that his friend Mitch was waiting in the living room early the next morning and he had argued with his father over even walking down the stairs to see him.\u00a0 But as was typical, Pa had won out and once he\u2019d secured the bandage to his right cheek, Joe met Mitch there in front of the fireplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitch,\u201d Joe nodded to his friend keeping his face bowed towards the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe, good to see you.\u00a0 I\u2019ve missed spending time with my old pal!\u201d Mitch sang out and approached him.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood to see me?\u00a0 Really, Mitch?\u00a0 Do you need to have your eyes checked?\u201d Joe finally looked at his friend and indicated the large bandage he sported.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, c\u2019mon, Joe \u2013 you think I care that you have a cut?\u00a0 I don\u2019t so get that out of your head.\u00a0 Now my pa gave me the day off so let\u2019s go take advantage of it, huh?\u00a0 I brought the fishing poles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe watched as his father approached him as he came in from the dining room.\u00a0 \u201cI think that\u2019s a wonderful idea,\u201d Pa announced smiling over at Mitch.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph could use a little time away from here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shaking his head in disbelief, Joe signaled his father over to his study.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be back in just a minute, Mitch,\u201d He called over his shoulder as he grabbed his father\u2019s elbow and walked with him to the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph \u2013 go on \u2013 get some air.\u00a0 Doc said it\u2019d be good for you to get out a little.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPa,\u201d Joe whispered as he bent down to where his father had taken a seat at the desk.\u00a0 \u201cThis thing might come off.\u00a0 I\u2019m not gonna have anyone \u2013and I mean anyone see what my face looks like!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere,\u201d Ben replied and opened his desk drawer.\u00a0 He withdrew a small brown package and handed it to his son.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s a few bandages I\u2019ve already cut and the collodion that you can spread onto them, so they\u2019ll stay put.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou set this whole thing up, didn\u2019t you?\u201d Joe asked suspiciously staring into his father\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n
Ben shook his head and replied, \u201cJoseph, I just bought the extra bandages and collodion in case we had to go someplace in a hurry.\u00a0 I realize you\u2019re worried about that bandage staying on so I thought it would make you rest easier to have some extra handy.\u00a0 Now just put that inside your saddlebags and go fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to ride either,\u201d Joe protested, though he kept his voice low so his friend wouldn\u2019t hear the exchange.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitch!\u201d Ben sang out and waved the other young man over to his desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Sir?\u201d he asked moving across the room quickly until he\u2019d gotten over to the desk and stood there next to his best friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t there a nice place to fish not far from here?\u00a0 Joe hasn\u2019t been out since he got hurt \u2013 and I don\u2019t want to tire him out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe shook his head angered that his father was setting everything up so he wouldn\u2019t be able to get out of going off with his friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah \u2013 there\u2019s a nice little pond that has lots of fish in it not more than a mile from here.\u00a0 We\u2019ll just be gone for a couple of hours.\u00a0 Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019ll be fine, Mitch,\u201d Ben nodded and smiled over at the two young men.\u00a0 \u201cNow you both go and have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d Little Joe frowned at his pa knowing that all his excuses had fallen on deaf ears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see you later this afternoon, Joseph,\u201d Ben grinned slyly as his son turned toward the front door along with Mitch.\u00a0 \u201cOh, Joe \u2013 don\u2019t forget to wear that nice new jacket of yours!\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe spun around and witnessed the well-placed amusement there on his father\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cYeah \u2013 I will,\u201d He remarked shaking his head upset that his father had pulled a fast one over on him and there wasn\u2019t a thing that he could do about it.\u00a0 Joe walked to the hatrack where he noticed his new green corduroy jacket was hanging.\u00a0 Pulling it down Joe shrugged into it and realized that his father had moved over to the grandfather clock and stood there grinning triumphantly over at him as he opened the front door.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreen is definitely your color, Joseph!\u201d Ben called across the room right before Joe moved out onto the front porch.\u00a0 Pa was certain that he had heard the boy\u2019s groan.\u00a0 It had been the first time in almost two weeks that he had felt both hopeful and amused.<\/p>\n
************<\/p>\n
While Little Joe and Mitch set their fishing poles down into the tall grass that surrounded the fishing hole, Ben and his other sons were busy going through all the steamer trunks that were in the storage room.\u00a0 It was slow going as there were numerous odds and ends, letters and various pieces of paper scattered throughout each trunk.\u00a0 One by one each man sorted through every item hoping to lay their hands on the piece of paper that Marie Cartwright had received by the blackmailer Simon LaRoche.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey Pa \u2013 I think I\u2019ve got something!\u201d Hoss sounded out and turned towards his father, handing him the single sheet of paper.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s got the names of seven men on it.\u00a0 Is this it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben set down the stack of old mail he had been searching through and studied what his middle boy had found.\u00a0 \u201cYes \u2013 good job, Son.\u00a0 This is it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam placed the stacks of papers he had been going through back inside of the trunk and turned toward his father and brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s put all of this away and then take this sheet of paper into my study and go over all the names on it,\u201d Ben announced and folded the paper, placing it into the pocket of his vest.<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re sure quiet, Old Buddy,\u201d Mitch said and nudged his friend\u2019s elbow.\u00a0 Joe had been sitting there next to him for a long while without saying a word.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry,\u201d Joe apologized and pulled his fishing line out of the water and set the pole down on the grass.\u00a0 \u201cI guess my mind has been a bit preoccupied here lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe \u2013 I ain\u2019t going to lie to you \u2013 we talk straight with each other, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe nodded, \u201cYeah \u2013 always have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour face \u2013 it\u2019s pretty bad, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to know, Mitch,\u201d Joe insisted with an intense sadness in his eyes as he stared at his friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe \u2013 if I could get my hands on the man who did that to you, I swear I\u2019d kill him for hurting you like he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d Joe whispered.\u00a0 \u201cHey, can we change the subject?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, Joe.\u201d Mitch nodded and set his fishing pole down on the grass next to his friend\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s going on in town?\u00a0 I guess everyone\u2019s looking forward to that church social next weekend, huh?\u00a0 You and Amy going?\u201d
Noticing the abrupt change to his friend\u2019s demeanor, Joe asked, \u201cMitch? You and Amy didn\u2019t break up, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNaw — nothing like that,\u201d He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpit it out, Mitch— we grew up together I know when you\u2019re trying hard not to tell me something.\u00a0 So just tell me already!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJoe \u2013 it\u2019s hard to tell you this \u2013 I mean you\u2019re my best friend –,\u201d Mitch trailed off.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m really your best friend then you can tell me anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe— I know you told me at the barn dance that Linda agreed to let you take her to the social.\u00a0 Did you ever hear back from her after that night?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe carefully studied his friend\u2019s face, and he came to the realization that Mitch didn\u2019t want to tell him some kind of bad news.\u00a0 He drew in a deep breath and summoned the courage to hear what his friend had to say.\u00a0 \u201cNo \u2013 I saw her at the hotel right after I got cut \u2013 but haven\u2019t heard from her since then.\u00a0 Now tell me — no matter what it is!\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitch reached inside his jacket and removed a small plain envelope and handed it to his friend.\u00a0 I got this the other day from Linda — she thought that I\u2019d be seeing you and asked if I would deliver it for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe took the letter and opened it.\u00a0 Reading the brief note inside he frowned and shook his head.\u00a0 *** I should\u2019ve seen this coming!\u00a0 I guess the word has gotten around about my face. ***<\/em><\/strong> He thought to himself.\u00a0 Joe wished that he had waited until he had been alone to read it, but he didn\u2019t want to make it appear to Mitch as though he was bothered by anything that the girl had to tell him.<\/p>\n\u201cHow\u2019d you know it was bad news, Mitch?\u00a0 I know you didn\u2019t open this letter because that\u2019s not like you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s it say, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda says she\u2019s got to break our date because she\u2019s going to be away next weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitch frowned and shook his head angrily.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re better off not seeing her anyway, Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe touched his friend\u2019s arm and persisted with his questions.\u00a0 \u201cOkay tell me the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sighing, Mitch put his hand on Joe\u2019s shoulder to try and brace the news that he had for him.\u00a0 \u201cWell \u2013 Joe \u2013 the other day Amy overheard a conversation between Linda and that troublemaker Anne Cowart.\u00a0 You remember her from school, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nodding, Joe answered, \u201cYeah, she loved stirring everyone up.\u00a0 What did Amy hear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to hurt you, Joe,\u201d Mitch reconsidered what he had brought up about the girl who Joe had wanted to date before his injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe a friend,\u201d Joe said, a hint of sadness in his tone of voice.\u00a0 He had already guessed it had to be something about the way he now looked.\u00a0 In his earlier talk with Pa, he had already addressed the fact that everyone used to think of him as the handsome member of the Cartwright family but now he was no longer that same young man due to the hideous scar on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda is going to the church social with Jeff Braxton.\u00a0 She said she wasn\u2019t going to be seen with anyone wearing a bandage on their face.\u00a0 Then stupid Anne Cowart said that half of your face was cut up and that you\u2019d never be much to look at ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe sent out an ironic sounding spate of laughter which surprised and confused his friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, come on, Mitch!\u00a0 It\u2019s funny when you think of it, huh?\u00a0 I mean that Anne Cowart — she never had a date in her life and she\u2019s talking about how ugly I am.\u00a0 And then there\u2019s Linda \u2013 well \u2013 it\u2019s no great loss.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need any girl who lies like she does,\u201d Joe pretended that he wasn\u2019t hurt over what his friend had told him.<\/p>\n
Mitch knew better.\u00a0 He could read it in the way Joe\u2019s lips had tightened until they had almost disappeared.\u00a0 He could also see that his friend was suddenly sitting very stiffly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah \u2013 there\u2019ll be other girls who won\u2019t two-time you and lie to you, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n
His wound suddenly beginning to throb, Joe pressed the bandage down on his cheek and whispered, \u201cHey \u2013 Mitch \u2013 I guess I\u2019m getting tired.\u00a0 You know I just started to get around the other day, and I haven\u2019t quite gotten my sea-legs yet.\u00a0 Would you mind if we just packed up and headed back?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitch patted his friend\u2019s arm and nodded, \u201cYeah, sure \u2013 let\u2019s get you home so you can rest up until you\u2019re back to feeling like yourself again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe closed his eyes and wondered if Mitch knew what he had just said.\u00a0 He would never feel like himself again, because he wasn\u2019t the same person who had gone to the barn dance two weeks ago.\u00a0 Joe felt like another person altogether now, only a shadow of the old Joe Cartwright at best.<\/p>\n
The two friends collected their fishing poles and made their way back to the horses.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitch, thanks,\u201d Joe nodded to his friend as he carefully pulled himself up in the saddle.\u00a0 *** Can\u2019t vault up on to Cochise anymore for fear of this stinking bandage flying off. ***<\/em><\/strong> Joe thought frowning.<\/p>\n\u201cSure, Little Joe \u2013 we\u2019ll do it again soon, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, sure,\u201d He nodded and turned back for home.\u00a0 All Joe wanted was to be by himself and mourn over what he had lost due to the man with the stiletto.<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
Ben read the list of seven names to his two sons for the third time.\u00a0 He shook his head and frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I can cross Rene Marchant off this list \u2013 along with Charles Benet, since I heard he\u2019d been killed not long after Marie showed me this years ago.\u00a0 That leaves us five now.\u00a0 One of these men may very well be the lunatic who cut your little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPa \u2013 hand it here for just a minute, will you?\u201d Adam asked, reaching his hand out.<\/p>\n
Ben, sitting in his chair at his desk nodded up to his eldest and handed him the piece of paper.<\/p>\n
Adam studied the five names, his face taking on a quizzical appearance.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was the name of that man that Bill Gentry said stayed at the International House and had a French accent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe apparently registered as Frank Brown,\u201d Ben returned.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam moved past Hoss and came around behind his father\u2019s chair and set the paper in front of Ben.\u00a0 \u201cLook \u2013 there\u2019s only one name on here with those initials.\u00a0 This one\u2014Francois Balantaire \u2013 and if I remember correctly Francois means Frank, right?\u00a0 So maybe he\u2019s using Frank Brown as an alias \u2013 and he\u2019s really Francois Balantaire?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben stared at the name and pursed his lips, his face taking on a severe expression.\u00a0 He nodded and looked over at Hoss and then Adam.\u00a0 \u201cYou just might have something there, Son.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s time I wrote a telegram to Judge Wharton in New Orleans to see if he can help us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMight not hurt to contact Avery Bastille too, Pa,\u201d Hoss suggested.\u00a0 \u201cHe sure helped us back when Joe was taken by Marchant.\u00a0 And he is a detective plus he\u2019s right there in New Orleans so he could check into that man\u2019s past.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood idea \u2013 I\u2019ll write to both and see what, if anything, they can come up with.\u00a0 Now \u2013 we need to keep all of this from Joe –,\u201d Ben paused when he heard the front door open.<\/p>\n
Hoss turned and peered towards the front door.\u00a0 He nodded to his father, letting him know that it was Little Joe.\u00a0 Ben placed the list inside his desk drawer and cast a subtle glance over at his two older boys.\u00a0 They both nodded that they understood not to say anything to Joe about the list of names that they had found.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Little Brother!\u201d Hoss called over to Joe as he stood by the credenza removing his jacket.\u00a0 \u201cDid you and Mitch have a good time fishing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe pressed his right hand to his cheek, making sure that his bandage was still secure.\u00a0 Drawing in a deep breath he hoped that he could make it up to his room before anyone else would see him or ask any further questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he said and advanced quickly to the stairs, attempting a fast getaway before he had to field more questions from Hoss.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph?\u201d Ben asked, standing from his desk and wondering why his son wasn\u2019t saying a word to anyone else in the room.\u00a0 \u201cAre you alright?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe stopped at the first step; his eyes trained on the floor.\u00a0 \u201cJust tired \u2013 gonna go lay down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben\u2019s concerned gaze tracked up the staircase as Joe disappeared back up to his room. He turned around and looked at both Adam and Hoss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wonder what happened?\u00a0 He sure left in a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, Pa — he didn\u2019t look very happy.\u00a0 I was hoping that him going out with Mitch would help him some,\u201d Hoss returned with worry etched on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe one of us better go ask Mitch \u2013 because the kid isn\u2019t going to tell us anything as usual,\u201d Adam added, also concerned for his youngest brother.<\/p>\n
Before Ben could offer his opinion, Hoss had already moved to the credenza and buckled his holster.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll go and talk to Mitch, Pa.\u00a0 I won\u2019t be long,\u201d Hoss nodded over to his father and donned his hat.<\/p>\n
Ben stood there shaking his head still attempting to figure out what had gone on with Mitch.\u00a0 \u201cI hope his bandage didn\u2019t fall off while he was out fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam reached over and put his hand on his father\u2019s shoulder and replied, \u201cHoss will find out, don\u2019t worry.\u00a0 C\u2019mon let\u2019s go get some coffee, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright,\u201d He sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThen I\u2019ll compose those two telegrams, and we\u2019ll send them off tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben slung his arm across his son\u2019s shoulder and the two men walked into the kitchen for some badly needed coffee.<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
Hoss sat at the dining table later that evening along with his father and older brother.\u00a0 He explained everything that Mitch had told him about what had happened and how upset Joe appeared to be after hearing about Linda Dow and what she had done.<\/p>\n
Ben shook his head and groaned.\u00a0 \u201cI wish Mitch had held back and hadn\u2019t told Joseph about what Amy overheard that girl say about him.\u00a0 That\u2019s the very last thing the boy needed to hear right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Pa, you know how Joe is \u2013 he tends to put people on the spot.\u00a0 Remember how he forced Hoss to tell him what he thought about how his scar looked the other night?\u00a0 He probably guilted Mitch into telling him all about what happened.\u00a0 And Joe probably guessed that something was up after Mitch gave the kid the note from her too,\u201d Adam offered his opinion.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe no eat?\u201d Hop Sing asked as he came into the dining room.\u00a0 He had been waiting to bring out the boy\u2019s meal, but he had failed to show.<\/p>\n
Ben turned and stared over at the cook.\u00a0 \u201cI tried to get him to come down, Hop Sing \u2013 but he refused.\u00a0 He said he wasn\u2019t hungry and I couldn\u2019t talk him into joining us though I gave it my best try at coaxing him down here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing frowned and turned back into the kitchen coming right back with a cup of broth in his hand.\u00a0 \u201cI go \u2013 Little Joe must have food \u2013even broth \u2013 doctor say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be upset if you can\u2019t get him to drink that,\u201d Ben warned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe drink,\u201d Hop Sing insisted and headed for the stairs.<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
Little Joe was spread out on top of his comforter and staring blankly at his ceiling when he heard the knock on his bedroom door.\u00a0 He frowned, assuming Pa had probably sent up one of his brothers to try and talk him into going downstairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Joe called across the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cHop Sing come in?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m okay\u2014I\u2019m not hungry, Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHop Sing come in?\u201d He called again unwilling to leave.<\/p>\n
Joe shook his head and frowned.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to talk to anyone, but he knew that Hop Sing wasn\u2019t going to leave until he saw him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome in, Hop Sing,\u201d He sang out and swung his legs over to the side of the bed.<\/p>\n
Hop Sing walked inside of the room and over to where the boy sat.\u00a0 He set the cup and saucer onto Joe\u2019s nightstand.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe need drink this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not thirsty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing grabbed the cup and pushed it towards Joe.\u00a0 \u201cNo care if thirsty\u2014must drink.\u2019<\/p>\n
Little Joe stared at the intensity on the other man\u2019s face and knew that Hop Sing wasn\u2019t about to leave unless he witnessed him polishing off the broth.\u00a0 He frowned but drank the entire contents and then handed the cup back to the cook.<\/p>\n
\u201cVely good,\u201d Hop Sing announced smiling.\u00a0 \u201cNow \u2013 why Little Joe not come down with family?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe shrugged his shoulders and replied, \u201cI don\u2019t know \u2013 it\u2019s just been a bad night I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo night so long that you can\u2019t find the day, Little Joe.\u00a0 Trouble come trouble go but family stay.\u00a0 You need remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe raised his right hand and firmly pressed the bandage onto his cheek, making sure that it wouldn\u2019t come loose.\u00a0 \u201cSome troubles nobody can help with.\u00a0 I just didn\u2019t feel like talking about it \u2013 I\u2019ve already made everyone upset because of this wound.\u00a0 No use talking about it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing tried to think of something that might help his young friend.\u00a0 He turned his attention to the birdcage and remarked, \u201cLittle bird eat some seed Hop Sing check on it when you gone, Little Joe.\u00a0 That good thing, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe stared at the sparrow and replied, \u201cIt\u2019s probably going to die anyhow.\u00a0 And if it does live it\u2019s gonna be scarred \u2013 just like me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing tenderly placed his hand onto Joe\u2019s bandaged face and said, \u201cSome time healing start inside, Little Joe \u2013 then go outside.\u00a0 You give time \u2013 little bird know— it just taking time to heal.\u00a0 Little Joe learn from bird \u2013 take time to heal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe dropped his head down to his chest and fought back the pain he carried inside of his heart due to the awful things he had heard from Mitch that day and how it had hurt him so deeply.\u00a0 He was having such a terrible time dealing with his injury, his nightmares and the anger he carried towards his mother now and there was no relief in sight.<\/p>\n
Hop Sing felt so sad for the boy and all that he was dealing with, but he was at a loss as to what he could do to help him.\u00a0 He hoped that his uncle would get his letter and that he would soon hear back from him.\u00a0 But that would all take time and Joe needed something to help him right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeal inside, Little Joe,\u201d He whispered.\u00a0 \u201cThen outside maybe so heal \u2013 you see.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood night, Hop Sing,\u201d Joe answered sullenly and eased back on his bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHop Sing have breakfast for you \u2013 you come down in morning, alight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure,\u201d Joe nodded towards the man as he walked to the door.<\/p>\n
*** No night so long that you can\u2019t find the day. ***<\/em><\/strong> Hop Sing thought to himself as he stared at the young man who he had helped to raise.\u00a0 His heart hurt due to the pain he read all over Joe\u2019s face.\u00a0 He muttered a few prayers in Chinese and then quietly walked out of the room closing the door behind him.<\/p>\n***************<\/p>\n
Ben had debated all evening as to whether he should go up to his son\u2019s room and try to speak with him about what had happened earlier that day.\u00a0 Hop Sing had given his own report after coming down the stairs and he wasn\u2019t very optimistic about how Little Joe was dealing with his problems at the time.\u00a0 Though Pa didn\u2019t want to hover, he did want to help his son through whatever he was feeling at the time, especially after he had been dealt yet another blow to his ego due to the girl who he had planned on taking to the church social now canceling their date.<\/p>\n
Once Adam and Hoss had gone on up to their rooms Ben sat for a long while just staring into the flames of the fireplace and contemplating his next move.\u00a0 He wished that he had the right words that could ease Joseph\u2019s pain, but he didn\u2019t, nor could he come up with any sugar-coated allegory which would give his son hope.\u00a0 The only thing that he could come up with at the present time was a plan to deal with the evil perpetrator once they had positively identified him.\u00a0 Though he would personally love to kill the man who had scarred his son, Ben knew that it wouldn\u2019t solve the boy\u2019s problems.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s opinion of himself was deeply rooted in his appearance and Pa hadn\u2019t gotten anywhere with his lecture about the source of true beauty.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t blame his son as he had always been able to turn heads even when he was a child.\u00a0 To Joseph, losing that ability was like losing part of himself and his father knew it all too well.<\/p>\n
It had taken a great amount of willpower on Ben\u2019s part, but he had walked past Little Joe\u2019s bedroom without walking inside and going to check on him.\u00a0 He hoped he\u2019d have the chance to talk to the boy in the morning when perhaps the hurt caused by what Linda had said wouldn\u2019t be quite as fresh as it had been when Mitch had told Joe about it earlier.\u00a0 Having spent far too much time pondering the latest events downstairs, Ben walked into his bedroom and hoped that he would get some badly needed sleep.\u00a0 It had been a very long two weeks and the problems involving Joseph weren\u2019t any closer to getting resolved.<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
It had begun like the first faint sounds of distant thunder long before a storm even appeared on the horizon.\u00a0 Gradually it increased in volume and then the noise changed pitch, suddenly becoming high pierced.\u00a0 Joe couldn\u2019t see anything due to the darkness that surrounded him, but he knew that if he could get his eyelids to open, he\u2019d be staring at something far worse than an impending storm.\u00a0 He felt the hot breath on his face and his heart pounded so hard that he was certain that it would stop beating permanently.\u00a0 The next feeling was of a cold clammy palm that slid from his jaw upwards to his cheek and then settled on top of his head.<\/p>\n
*** Much like hers \u2013 though perhaps a bit darker.\u00a0 You have your mother\u2019s smooth skin—and her charm \u2013 the kind that she had to lure men into her bed. ***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d Joe cried out, struggling to get the man\u2019s hand off his face.<\/p>\n
*** I\u2019ve come to save you! ***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cSave me from what \u2013 you?\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, Joe watched as the sharp thin blade of a strange-looking knife slithered out of the man\u2019s right boot.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo \u2013 please don\u2019t!\u201d Joe pleaded while staring into the stranger\u2019s face and witnessing the glee and satisfaction that he wore.<\/p>\n
*** I will save you by giving you this gift from Marie.\u00a0 As beautiful as she was, I would never have allowed her into my bed if she had the kind of scar that I will leave you!\u00a0 Now you will no longer have to worry about which girl to dance with \u2013 because none will want you after tonight. ***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cNO<\/strong>!\u201d Joe screamed so loudly that he woke himself up.\u00a0 Struggling to catch his breath, he pulled himself off the bed, falling down into the chair next to it.\u00a0 Joe dropped his face down into his hands and hyperventilated.\u00a0 He was sure that he was going to pass out from fright.<\/p>\nLamp in hand, Ben hurried into his son\u2019s bedroom just a few minutes after hearing the boy\u2019s shout.\u00a0 Joseph was there in the chair with his head held in his trembling hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph?\u201d He whispered as he drew closer.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph \u2013 are you –,\u201d He stopped before asking the same question he had so many times after his son had a nightmare.\u00a0 It was too ludicrous to say it anymore.\u00a0 Why would he bother to ask if the boy was okay when it was written all over him that he was terrified?\u00a0 Instead, Ben sat down on the bed opposite his son dropping a hand down onto his shoulder trying to steady him.\u00a0 \u201cJust breathe, Son, breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe reached for his water glass and tried to get down a few sips before speaking.\u00a0 His hand shook so much that half of the water spilled down his nightshirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake it slow, Joseph,\u201d Ben coaxed as he fought the desire to simply pull his son into his arms to shoulder his misery and vanquish the evil that just kept haunting his dreams.<\/p>\n
Little Joe sat the glass back on the table and dropped his head down to his chest feeling embarrassed about having caused his father to awaken due to another one of his nightmares.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, Pa,\u201d He whispered sadly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have nothing to be sorry for, Joseph.\u00a0 Now \u2013 tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shaking his head helplessly he replied, \u201cWhat good will that do?\u00a0 We both know what it was about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe knife again?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe nodded and then realized his bandage was gone.\u00a0 He stood and moved back to his bed to frantically search for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere,\u201d Ben offered quietly as he handed it to his son.<\/p>\n
Placing it on his face, Joe realized that he was sweating so profusely that the cotton material would no longer adhere to his face.\u00a0 He groaned and turned back to the nightstand and drew the wick to his lamp higher.\u00a0 His father watched as Joe cut a new bandage and then dabbed the collodion onto the material.\u00a0 Once it was saturated Joe began to lift it up to his face to cover his wound.\u00a0 He stopped suddenly, staring at the cloth and no longer seeing a bandage in his hand, but a reminder of what life had dealt him.\u00a0 Stark reality hit him square in the face when he realized that he\u2019d have to hide under a disguise for the rest of his life.\u00a0 \u00a0He angrily slammed the bandage down onto the nightstand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just can\u2019t do this anymore!\u201d Joe shouted and advanced across the room to his bureau.\u00a0 He swept his left arm across the top, scattering everything down onto the floor.\u00a0 Filled with increasing rage, Joe grabbed everything he could get his hands on, sending every one of them flying across the room.<\/p>\n
Ben jumped up from his position on the bed and hurried over to his son.\u00a0 He grabbed the boy\u2019s left arm right before Joe was about to send a water pitcher crashing onto the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet it go, Joseph \u2013 just let it go,\u201d He pleaded with the boy, trying his best to calm the tempest that had finally taken over after two solid weeks of dealing with nonstop turmoil.<\/p>\n
Little Joe strained against his father\u2019s tight grip on his arm until Pa was forced to fold both of his son\u2019s arms in front of him with a vice-like lock.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me go!\u201d Joe shouted as he continued to struggle trying to break free.\u00a0 It seemed like the more that he fought to pull himself away from Pa\u2019s hold the tighter it became.<\/p>\n
\u201cSettle down, Son\u2014just settle down now,\u201d Ben lowered his voice trying to instill calm into the boy and get him to give up on his attempts at freeing himself.<\/p>\n
Eventually realizing that he\u2019d never be able to match his father\u2019s strength or release himself from his tight hold, Joe took a couple of quick breaths and closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cPa \u2013 just let me go \u2013 let go,\u201d He whispered as his arms went lax.<\/p>\n
Ben slowly eased his hands off his son\u2019s arms and stared at him hard, making sure that the boy had calmed down sufficiently.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on over here, Joseph,\u201d he coaxed and placed his arm across the boy\u2019s shoulder, guiding him back to the bed.<\/p>\n
The fight now out of him, Joe didn\u2019t show any resistance as he walked with Pa over to the bed and sat down next to him.\u00a0 A painful stillness hung over the room with neither of them being able to speak their minds due to the sudden outburst.<\/p>\n
Finally, Ben broke the awkward silence, \u201cYou know, Joseph, in a couple of years you\u2019ll be able to get out of that arm lock I\u2019ve always used to calm you down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat will you do then, Pa?\u201d Joe attempted to play along though his heart wasn\u2019t in it.\u00a0 Still, he felt awful about what he had just done and didn\u2019t know what else to say at the time.<\/p>\n
Ben patted the boy\u2019s shoulder and remarked drolly, \u201cOh I know a few other moves that I haven\u2019t used on you before \u2013 guess they\u2019ll do in a pinch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe dropped his head down into his hands again.\u00a0 \u201cPa \u2013 I can\u2019t do this anymore \u2013 I just can\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 Just the mere act of cutting a new bandage to place over the horrible looking scar had sent him into a downward spiral of both anger and desperation.<\/p>\n
Ben was glad that his son couldn\u2019t see his face at the time because tears were leaving his eyes.\u00a0 His heart was breaking to have to watch the complete destruction of what had been such a vibrant and happy young man just a few weeks prior.\u00a0 Now the boy was suffering both day and night and all due to someone\u2019s evil and misguided need for vengeance.<\/p>\n
There were no magic words, nothing that he could offer Joseph that would pull him from the throes of despair this time.\u00a0 Ben simply reached for his son and pulled him into his arms and held on for dear life.\u00a0 He was afraid that he would lose him to the many battles going on in his mind and just the thought of that terrified him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you are hurting \u2013 but you\u2019re not alone, Joseph,\u201d He whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you that people only see what you are on the outside, Pa\u2014Linda said she didn\u2019t want to be seen with someone who had their face messed up,\u201d Joe choked out as tears welled up in his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she\u2019s not worth your tears, Son.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need anyone like that in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care about her \u2013 but I do care about what everyone else is saying about me and the way I look.\u00a0 I just feel like hiding up here in my room for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got some healing to do \u2013 we don\u2019t know what that scar is going to look like down the road, Joseph.\u00a0 And you\u2019re not going to give up on living because I won\u2019t let you,\u201d Pa replied with great resolve in his tone.<\/p>\n
The room grew quiet again with neither father nor son speaking.\u00a0 \u00a0After a few minutes had passed, Joe confessed sadly, \u201cIt still hurts, Pa.\u201d
*** Please help him, Lord. ***<\/em><\/strong> Ben prayed as he stared down at his son.<\/p>\n************<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, Little Joe, let me have a look,\u201d Doctor Martin said as he held the tongue depressor in his hand.<\/p>\n
Joe obeyed and opened his mouth so Paul could check the cut that had been on the inside of his right cheek.\u00a0 \u201cLooks better,\u201d he announced and turned and glanced over at Ben who stood flanking him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d say Joe can go back to a more regular diet.\u00a0 Nothing too spicey or very tough to chew for another week.\u00a0 I\u2019ll let Hop Sing know what\u2019s best for him right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s good to hear, right, Son?\u201d Ben attempted to sound hopeful so Joe\u2019s spirits would be a bit higher due to the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d He replied without much enthusiasm in his tone.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about this wound, Doc?\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul sighed and stared into his patient\u2019s eyes before replying.\u00a0 \u201cNow, Joe \u2013 I told you that it will be months before we know just how it\u2019s going to look in the long run.\u00a0 Have you been taking off the bandage like I asked?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe shook his head and frowned.\u00a0 \u201cIf you had this face, you\u2019d want to keep it covered too, Doc.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul firmly placed his hand onto the boy\u2019s shoulder and answered, \u201cNot if I wanted it to heal.\u00a0 Now I thought you were going to try to take it off at night?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe cast a suspicious glance over at his father who he suspected was the person who had told the doctor what he had asked him to do a few days earlier about not wearing his bandage when he went to bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to scare anyone if I happen to get up in the middle of the night,\u201d he replied, half sarcastically and half being totally earnest about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh?\u201d Paul asked, raising his eyebrows in gesture.\u00a0 \u201cJust who were you worried about running into anyway?\u00a0 As far as I know you\u2019re not running a hotel here, so you don\u2019t have to worry about strangers in that hall out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe frowned and dropped his head down.\u00a0 He never could get the best of the doctor, so he gave up.<\/p>\n
Doc patted Joe\u2019s shoulder to let him know that he did understand him and why he still needed the bandage for his own piece of mind.\u00a0 \u201cJust take it off at night, Joe.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t going to hurt anything \u2013and it just might help.\u00a0 Besides if you set a bandage right next to the bed you can just put it on real quick like in a pinch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay \u2013 I\u2019ll try,\u201d Joe conceded half-heartedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan Joseph have coffee now, Paul?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see why not\u2014if it\u2019s cooled down pretty good.\u00a0 Just take things slow, Little Joe \u2013 and you\u2019ll be able to tell better than I will what bothers your mouth and what doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHear that, Son?\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you come down with Paul and me, and we\u2019ll all get some coffee?\u201d Ben offered, hoping that he could get his son out of his room for a little while.\u00a0 Joe hadn\u2019t gone downstairs since the nightmare the previous night and it worried him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul watched the look which passed between both father and son and took note of it.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I\u2019ve got real patients to tend to now.\u00a0 You behave yourself, Little Joe— and if you have any trouble, you let me know, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, Doc,\u201d Joe nodded up to the man.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph?\u00a0 You sure you won\u2019t come down?\u201d Ben tried one last time as he and Paul walked to the bedroom door.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a bit, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get that coffee, Ben,\u201d Paul insisted, knowing that the anxious father had some things to get off his chest.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
Doctor Martin sipped his coffee and listened patiently as Ben went to great lengths to tell him everything that had recently happened concerning Joe.\u00a0 He could tell that the man was worried about his son and how he was coping with the scar on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it would be wise to try using those sleeping powders for a few days to see if that will help the boy get some uninterrupted sleep, Ben.\u00a0 I could see the exhaustion on Joe\u2019s face \u2013 and I might add \u2013 on yours too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sighing, Ben nodded over to the doctor.\u00a0 \u201cHis nightmares have been keeping us both up.\u00a0 I\u2019m worried about him \u2013 and then when he heard about what had been said about him yesterday \u2013well it really got to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul stared intently into his friend\u2019s eyes and asked, \u201cAre you still afraid that Joe might try to do something to harm himself?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben drew in a deep breath and shook his head, unsure of what to say.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know, Paul \u2013 after that laudanum incident \u2013 I thought that I\u2019d gotten through to him.\u00a0 But I just don\u2019t know how much more the boy can take.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s not borrow trouble, Ben.\u00a0 Go ahead and give Joe one of the packets I gave you.\u00a0 Just stir it into a glass of water and have him drink it about an hour before he turns in for the night.\u00a0 If he can just get some solid sleep, it should help him with some of the stress he\u2019s been under.\u00a0 Hopefully it will keep those nightmares at bay too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben stared down at the floor deep in thought, he was almost afraid to ask his next question.\u00a0 He finally piped up, \u201cWhat do you think about his scar, Paul?\u00a0 Is it always going to look as bad as it does now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow you sound like that boy upstairs!\u201d the doctor exclaimed as he sent over an understanding smile.\u00a0 \u201cYou know I can\u2019t make any kind of prognosis about how bad it\u2019s going to be.\u00a0 But I\u2019ve told you already \u2013 there\u2019s just no way that Little Joe isn\u2019t going to always carry a scar of some sort \u2013 no getting around that due to how badly that man cut him.\u00a0 Just how bad it\u2019ll end up looking \u2013well \u2013 we\u2019ll just have to wait and see.\u201d\u00a0 Paul reached inside his vest and handed Ben a sheet of paper.\u00a0 \u201cHere\u2019s a list of what I think Joe will be able to tolerate as far as solid food \u2013 you give it to Hop Sing for me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got to be heading back into town,\u201d He offered as he grabbed his medical bag and walked to the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, Paul,\u201d Ben returned as he walked along next to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBen \u2013 just keep those powders out of Joe\u2019s hands— not that I think he\u2019d do anything \u2013 but \u2013\u201d he trailed off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will,\u201d Ben nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see you soon.\u00a0 You\u2019re all going to the church social, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Frowning, Ben replied, \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t been on the fund-raising committee, I\u2019d sit this one out \u2013 but Reverend Hastings won\u2019t be happy if I don\u2019t show up.\u00a0 I know Adam and Hoss plan to go but Joseph\u2014well that\u2019s out of the question now– especially after hearing what that girl said about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless It\u2019d be good for you to get away from all of what you\u2019ve been going through, Ben.\u00a0 You can\u2019t help Joe if you don\u2019t get some time away from his troubles once and awhile \u2013 and it\u2019s only a couple of hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay \u2013 I\u2019ll see you Sunday \u2013 but if you need me before the church social just let me know,\u201d Paul smiled and patted his friend\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks again, Paul,\u201d Ben called as the doctor walked to his surrey.<\/p>\n
************<\/p>\n
Little Joe had decided that he would try to work on some chores hoping that the extra exercise might help wear him out enough, so he\u2019d be able to sleep soundly at night.\u00a0 However, two days after he had begun doing daily chores, he was still having broken sleep, so his father forced sleeping powders on him, which didn\u2019t make Joe very happy.\u00a0 But he didn\u2019t wake up with any nightmares the first couple of nights that he had taken the medicine.<\/p>\n
Busy working on cleaning the tack room which had needed it badly, Joe was oblivious to his brother\u2019s comings and goings.\u00a0 He had just figured that there might be a bit more errands lately which had forced Adam to head into Virginia City on a more regular basis.\u00a0 Joe had been told that Hoss was busy helping the hired hands with the large herd so it wasn\u2019t uncommon that the eldest Cartwright son would be handling contract negotiations or banking transactions there in town.\u00a0 However, Joe had noticed that both of his brothers seemed to huddle at their father\u2019s desk next to Pa almost nightly and when he\u2019d passed by the study, it seemed suspicious that the three of them spoke in hushed tones.\u00a0 It was only then that Joe\u2019s curiosity was piqued, and he decided to find out what was going on that he assumed he wasn\u2019t supposed to know about.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
\u201cAvery really knows how to go after a lead, doesn\u2019t he?\u201d Hoss smiled as he sat next to Adam and stared over at his Pa.<\/p>\n
Ben nodded and studied the newest information which had come earlier that evening from the telegraph office.\u00a0 It had been four long days waiting for an answer to their request, but it had paid off.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the description fit Francois Balantaire and once Avery dug into him a little deeper, he was able to find a lot of information concerning the time he\u2019d spent in jail and later prison,\u201d Ben returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cCutting up a prostitute with a stiletto — that sure sounds like our man!\u201d Adam exclaimed.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Judge Wharton confirmed it all too, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frowning as he scanned all the telegrams, they had received Ben addressed what the next step would be.\u00a0 \u201cNo one knows where he headed once he served the eight years for that attack.\u00a0 If he\u2019d killed someone —\u201d He trailed off when he noticed Little Joe coming down the stairs.\u00a0 Ben quickly shoved all the papers inside the desk\u2019s top drawer and changed the subject.\u00a0 \u201cSo, Boys, if you both will go check on the timber crews tomorrow, I\u2019d appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, Pa,\u201d Hoss returned as he watched his little brother heading over to the study.\u00a0 \u201cI thought you\u2019d turned in already, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n
Casting a suspicious glance around the desk at his family he replied, \u201cNaw \u2013 those powders haven\u2019t hit yet.\u00a0 I just thought I\u2019d come down and grab a book to read until I get sleepy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben stood and approached his youngest trying his best not to show the anxiousness that he was feeling at that moment.\u00a0 He wanted to come up with a plan on how to capture Francois but would have to take all the information into town and explain it all to the sheriff first.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just got the newest Dicken\u2019s novel, Joseph \u2013 would you like to read it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure,\u201d Joe nodded casting a quick glance over at Hoss and Adam.\u00a0 It was very evident that they were trying to look nonchalant to cover what they\u2019d all been up to that night.<\/p>\n
Ben walked to the coffee table and grabbed the book, bringing it over to Little Joe.\u00a0 \u201cHere you are \u2013 why don\u2019t you go on up to bed and see how far you get with this before that sleeping powder kicks in?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay \u2013 well \u2013 goodnight again,\u201d Joe called over to his brothers and turned for the stairs.<\/p>\n
As soon as Joe disappeared back up to his room Adam looked over at his father and said, \u201cThat was close.\u00a0 Maybe we\u2019d better make sure that the kid is asleep next time?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben retook his chair at the desk and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI thought the boy was down for the count \u2013 guess I didn\u2019t look as closely as I should have.\u00a0 Now \u2013 back to this.\u00a0 If Balantaire is our man \u2013 and it sure sounds like he is \u2013 then I\u2019ve got to go into town and tell Roy about all the information we\u2019ve received.\u00a0 I\u2019ll go tomorrow afternoon.\u00a0 And like I told you both before \u2013 I want everyone to be cognizant of your surroundings in case that man happens to be laying low and might be somewhere just watching us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss\u2019 face took on a worried appearance and he finally replied, \u201cPa \u2013 don\u2019t you think you\u2019d better say something to Little Joe?\u00a0 I mean he\u2019s the one that this man went after.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve already let him know that he\u2019s not to leave the yard quite yet.\u00a0 I told him that Doctor Martin doesn\u2019t want him to overdo it for a while.\u00a0 And with the way he\u2019s tried to avoid everyone I doubt he\u2019d go off anywhere.\u00a0 It was all I could do to get him to leave with Mitch last week and they only went about a mile from here.\u00a0 I just don\u2019t want to worry the boy about all this just yet.\u00a0 He\u2019s had a couple of nights without a nightmare but if he hears what we\u2019ve learned from Avery, it might start them up again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgreed,\u201d Adam nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, Pa \u2013 if you\u2019re sure Joe won\u2019t run off,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u00a0 Now I\u2019ll let you two know what Roy has to say after I go see him.\u00a0 Well, let\u2019s all get some rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three Cartwrights doused the lights in the living room after Ben stoked the fireplace one final time and then they turned in for the evening.\u00a0 None of them had noticed that Joe was hiding off to the side there at the top of the staircase listening to everything that they had said before heading up to their rooms.<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
Ben hadn\u2019t slept very soundly due to everything that was weighing on his mind that night.\u00a0 When he rolled over onto his right side, trying to fall back to sleep for the second time, he thought he heard footsteps out in the hall.\u00a0 Deciding to check to see if one of his sons wasn\u2019t feeling well, he donned his robe and slippers and eased out into the hall.\u00a0 He peered in on Hoss first and found him sound asleep in his bed and likewise was Adam in the room next door.\u00a0 That left Joseph.\u00a0 Ben slowly pulled the bedroom door open and could see that the bed was empty.\u00a0 Wondering how Joe could have awakened so soon after he had taken the medicine to help him sleep, he headed back out into the hallway and proceeded to the stairs.\u00a0 Noticing that the lamp on his desk had been lit and that his youngest was standing next to it holding a sheet of paper, Ben was momentarily rendered speechless.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph!\u201d He called over to the boy as he made it down into the living room and hurried over to the study.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doing going through my desk?\u201d He asked sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know that you were hiding things from me, Pa,\u201d Joe countered as he squared off with his father.<\/p>\n
Briefly closing his eyes Ben tried to let his worry subside and come up with a believable explanation to offer his son.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not hiding anything, Joseph.\u00a0 Now what were you looking for \u2013 is there something that you need?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, Pa \u2013 I need truth that\u2019s what I need,\u201d He countered waving the piece of paper out in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t a clue as to what you\u2019re talking about,\u201d Ben insisted.<\/p>\n
Joe shook his head angrily and returned, \u201cI found this piece of paper \u2013 it\u2019s a list \u2013 a list with the names of seven men on it.\u00a0 Two have been crossed out \u2013 one being Rene Marchant.\u00a0 It\u2019s not too hard to figure it out from there.\u00a0 These are all men who\u2019ve been with my mother, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben shook his head and answered, \u201cI\u2019m not going to discuss this with you right now, Young Man.\u00a0 You need to go to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeriously, Pa?\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because it\u2019s none of my business?\u00a0 You know that it is \u2013 if one of these men just happened to cut up my face!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLower your voice,\u201d Ben warned sternly.<\/p>\n
Little Joe wasn\u2019t going to stop trying to get answers from his father.\u00a0 \u201cWhich man \u2013 which man was it?\u201d He persisted though fear was easily read in his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph \u2013 it\u2019s not the time to go into any of this right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did this list come from, Pa?\u00a0 Tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben wasn\u2019t going to offer any kind of explanation to the boy; he couldn\u2019t, especially not after Joe had been consumed with hatred towards his mother ever since he had been cut.<\/p>\n
Joe stared into his father\u2019s eyes and could tell that he was stalling for time.\u00a0 He knew that Pa didn\u2019t want to spell it out, but he had already picked up on the implications of the list.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you trying so hard not to tell me what this is all about?\u00a0 You sure as heck have told Hoss and Adam!\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard you three talking in whispers \u2013 why is it that they know but I don\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben attempted to calm his son.\u00a0 He settled a hand onto the boy\u2019s shoulder and said, \u201cWe can talk about it tomorrow \u2013 you need to get to bed, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe shook his head and grew more frustrated to hear Pa placating him.\u00a0 \u201cI get it — this is a list of some of the men that my mother \u201centertained\u201d isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop it, Joseph,\u201d Ben warned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell me what it is or else I\u2019m right and you don\u2019t want me to know.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, Pa \u2013 I already know all about my mother!\u00a0 The man who carved my face told me all about the kind of woman that she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s enough!\u201d Ben shouted and gripped the boy\u2019s shoulders tightly.<\/p>\n
Joe dropped his head down and whispered, \u201cIs it, Pa?\u00a0 Look at my face \u2013 tell me that she\u2019s not the cause of me carrying this awful scar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben let go of his son and feeling defeated, slowly walked around to his chair sinking down into it.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t stay angry with his son.\u00a0 \u00a0The boy had gone through pure hell, and it wasn\u2019t hard to see how it had affected him.<\/p>\n
Forcing a softer tone to his voice he called to his son, \u201cJoseph, sit down please.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walking to the other side of his father\u2019s desk, Joe took a seat and stared over at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to tell you all about this \u2013 it just wasn\u2019t the time yet.\u00a0 You\u2019ve gone through the unimaginable, Joseph \u2013 and I know how badly you hurt,\u201d Ben tried to explain as he reached for the list there in his son\u2019s hand.\u00a0 Joe relinquished it to his pa.\u00a0 \u201cThis is a list that your mother had been given by a man named Simon LaRoche \u2013 I told you about him awhile back.\u00a0 He had blackmailed her until I found out and then we fought and I killed him.\u00a0 Do you remember that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Sir, I remember you told us all about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to try to find out who attacked you \u2013 that\u2019s when I remembered that we kept that list.\u00a0 Your brothers and I found it last week \u2013 and we sent some wires to Avery Bastille and Judge Wharton.\u00a0 We got back confirmation about a man named Francois Balantaire \u2013 we believe he is the man who cut you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe drew in a deep breath and tried his best to will away his fear just thinking about the man who wielded the stiletto.\u00a0 \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to talk to Roy later today \u2013 and let him know what we\u2019ve found out so far.\u00a0 The man did jail time for cutting a woman in New Orleans \u2013 and he served his time and then disappeared.\u00a0 Avery said he fit the description of the man you said hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe cut someone else, Pa?\u00a0 Did he use that same kind of a knife?\u201d\u00a0 Joe questioned his voice trembling from the vision of the sharp blade which had impaled his cheek and worked its way down to his jaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Joseph,\u201d Ben returned and watched his son dropping his head down to his chest.\u00a0 \u201cThis is why I didn\u2019t want to tell you \u2013 it\u2019s not what you need to hear right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe wanted to ask more questions, but they were stuck inside his throat at the time. \u00a0He couldn\u2019t get his mind off what had happened to him at the hands of his assailant.\u00a0 \u00a0The all too vivid memories of that night were always just below the surface no matter how hard he tried to forget them.\u00a0 \u00a0He could see Pa staring at him trying to gauge how he was handling the information that he\u2019d just received.\u00a0 Joe tried to play it off like he was just fine as he sat there rigidly in the chair. He knew Pa had read right through him.<\/p>\n
Ben stood and approached his son, dropping a hand down onto the boy\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI know you haven\u2019t been going anywhere — since you got hurt \u2013 and maybe that\u2019s a good thing.\u00a0 We don\u2019t know if he\u2019s left the area or not.\u00a0 So, I want you to continue to stick close to home, Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe raised his head and stared into Ben\u2019s eyes and said, \u201cWhere would I go?\u00a0 Look at my face, Pa.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want anyone to see me.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he did to me \u2013 and that\u2019s what my mother did to me too.\u00a0 Even if you catch him there\u2019s still a list of men \u2013 who knows what any one of them will plan to do to me in the future?\u00a0 This is what she\u2019s left me with \u2013 never knowing if I\u2019ll ever be safe \u2013 and never being able to look at myself in the mirror again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe stood and turned for the stairs, but his father prevented his departure.\u00a0 He grabbed the boy\u2019s arm and held on.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph— none of this was your mother\u2019s fault.\u00a0 And there\u2019s no reason to believe anyone else will come after you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t talk to you about her, Pa — not with the way you still love her.\u00a0 I want to go to my room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph\u2014just listen to me \u2013\u201d Ben pleaded but his son broke his hold and headed for the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Pa,\u201d Joe called over his shoulder as he walked up to his room.\u00a0 His father stood there distraught over the way that his son refused to listen to anything that he had to say concerning Marie.\u00a0 Ben wanted to smooth it all over with the boy so he wouldn\u2019t blame her for her past or for the men who had come after him; not Rene Marchant and not Francois Balantaire.\u00a0\u00a0 *** Oh, Joseph \u2013 if you\u2019d only listen with your heart. ***<\/em><\/strong> He thought after witnessing the sadness on his boy\u2019s face along with the fear that wouldn\u2019t let go of him due to Francois, the man who had so mercilessly cut him and left him scarred physically and emotionally.<\/p>\n**************<\/p>\n
The next morning the strange sound off to the right side of his bed awakened Little Joe.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t slept more than a couple of hours after speaking with his father.\u00a0 Joe rolled towards the sound and slowly opened his eyes.\u00a0 The sparrow was fluttering its wings and chirping loudly.\u00a0 Drawing himself up in the bed Joe flung his legs off to the side and stared at the cage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess you\u2019re still alive,\u201d Joe muttered and then stood to get a better look.\u00a0 He tapped gently on the bars of the cage and called into the bird, \u201cYou ate some of those seeds I see.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019ll take you outside for a little while today to see how you do?\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry \u2013 I\u2019ll keep you in the cage just in case that stupid cat\u2019s still out there.\u201d\u00a0 Bending down to get a better look at the sparrow, Joe stared over to where the bird had been bitten.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t look quite as bad as you did \u2013 wish I could say the same for me.\u00a0 Okay \u2013 let me get dressed and we\u2019ll both go and get some air.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe cut a new bandage and secured it over his scar.\u00a0 He pressed it firmly over the wound and then got dressed for the day.<\/p>\n
Everyone was already seated at the dining table as Joe made it down the stairs, birdcage in hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome and get it,\u201d Hoss sang out to his little brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cNaw— not hungry — gonna go do some work,\u201d Joe answered and walked to the front door.\u00a0 He pulled on his jacket, grabbed the birdcage, and hurried outside.<\/p>\n
Ben frowned and shook his head, frustrated.\u00a0 \u201cI told you that this would happen if Joseph found out about the information we received concerning Balantaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Pa \u2013 just let Joe work it out in his head,\u201d Adam tried to ease his father\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen are you leaving to go and talk to Roy?\u201d Hoss tried to change the subject.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust as soon as I finish eating.\u00a0 I\u2019ll have to tell him everything or he\u2019ll get as mad as a wet hen that I\u2019ve kept things from him.\u00a0 Well \u2013 you know Roy!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce Avery learns more it\u2019ll help.\u00a0 He said in that last wire that he\u2019s gonna keep digging.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to know where that detestable man is,\u201d Ben growled just thinking about what he had done to Joe.\u00a0 \u201cI hope he left the area \u2013 but if he didn\u2019t, we have to keep our eyes out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be okay, Pa \u2013 don\u2019t worry,\u201d Adam tried to sound sure of himself though he really wasn\u2019t at the time.\u00a0 Francois Balantaire could be anywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of you stick close to home, will you?\u00a0 Joe\u2019s just going to be working outside here\u2014but I\u2019m not taking any chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHoss has to join up with Fletcher and his crew, but I can stay and work on those contracts for you, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Adam, it\u2019d make me feel a whole lot better,\u201d Ben nodded over to his eldest and finished his coffee.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d better go and get ready.\u00a0 I\u2019ll let all of you know what Roy says when I get home later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing walked into the dining room with a grand smile on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeed more coffee?\u201d He asked Ben.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo thank you, I\u2019ve got to be leaving in a few minutes,\u201d He returned and then noticed how chipper the cook appeared.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you sure look happy.\u00a0 Care to tell the three of us why?\u00a0 We could use some good news for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHop Sing got letter back from venerable Uncle Li and he come soon,\u201d Hop Sing answered grinning from ear to ear.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s wonderful,\u201d Ben nodded and glanced over at his sons.\u00a0 \u201cWhen do we go and roll out that proverbial red carpet?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo say red carpet again, Mister Ben — you confuse Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUncle Li come next week.\u00a0 Please to have buckboard so Hop Sing can get from stage when he come?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, Hop Sing.\u00a0 We will go with you and bring your uncle here and make him feel welcome.\u00a0 You just remind me next week when he\u2019s due in, okay?\u201d Ben nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cVely good \u2013 I tell you when I hear he leave San Francisco — three day and he get here.\u00a0 I go bring Little Joe coffee \u2013 I see him out on porch with bird.\u00a0 Think maybe little sparrow live after all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s good to know \u2013 yes go take Joseph out some coffee \u2013 the boy didn\u2019t eat again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing filled a cup and hurried outside to give it to the youngest.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
Little Joe was busy chopping firewood as the cook walked onto the front porch.\u00a0 Hop Sing stopped and peered in through the bars of the birdcage examining the sparrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe!\u201d He sang out and moved to the edge of the porch.\u00a0 \u201cI bring coffee for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe turned and mopped his brow.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not really thirsty right now, Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need eat!\u201d Hop Sing protested.<\/p>\n
Joe set the axe down and approached the cook.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll eat lunch don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle bird look ready to fly, Little Joe,\u201d Hop Sing remarked as he pointed over to the cage.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think so?\u201d Joe asked as he made his way up to the porch alongside Hop Sing.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s a little perkier\u2014but what about that cat?\u00a0 Next time he might not win against that thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hop Sing touched Little Joe\u2019s arm and replied, \u201cMust not keep bird away from life no matter danger.\u00a0 Bird must live life, Little Joe.\u00a0 Not always can keep trouble away but bird learn to stay far from cat now I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe pressed down on his bandage making sure that it hadn\u2019t come loose while he had been busy chopping wood.\u00a0 He thought about what Hop Sing had said and wondered if he might be talking about both him and the bird at the time.\u00a0 \u201cA cage isn\u2019t such a bad thing, Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf stop from living it is, Little Joe,\u201d He nodded staring directly at the boy.\u00a0 \u201cYou build cage for you too, and that not good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dropping his head down to break the penetrating gaze that the cook wore Joe replied, \u201cI didn\u2019t build my cage, Hop Sing \u2013 the man who cut me built it for me.\u00a0 This bird doesn\u2019t have to worry about other birds looking at its scarred face—or talking about him either, but I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe so heal on inside, Little Joe \u2013 and then outside not be so bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe shook his head and frowned.\u00a0 He assumed that Hop Sing just didn\u2019t understand what it was like to look so ugly, so it was easy for him to tell him to just go on living just as though nothing had happened to him.\u00a0 \u201cI gotta go get to that wood.\u00a0 I\u2019ll come in for lunch, Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen let bird out of cage?\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe shrugged his shoulders and gave a halfhearted reply, \u201cSoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlight,\u201d Hop Sing nodded and left the boy with a quick pat to his arm and then hurried back inside the house.<\/p>\n
************<\/p>\n
Ben informed all three of his sons later that night that he had told Sheriff Coffee all about the information that they had garnered from both Avery Bastille and Judge Wharton and had assured Roy that they would keep him apprised as to anything else that they learned about Francois Balantaire.\u00a0 Hoss and Adam had listened intently to what their father had offered but Joe had simply toyed with his dinner and offered no input into the matter.\u00a0 Unless they knew where Balantaire was, Little Joe didn\u2019t think there was much of a point going over any other information they had about him.\u00a0 He had taken the sleeping powder that Pa had given him with little fanfare and had simply gone to bed leaving his family worried over his sudden acceptance about what was going on with the hunt for the vile man.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
When Sunday had rolled around everyone was busy getting ready to attend the church social.\u00a0 Hop Sing had prepared several pies and cakes to bring as his own donation to the festivities and would also be there to help serve the food.\u00a0\u00a0 The three older Cartwrights slipped into a little more formal attire than work clothes and readied to leave.\u00a0 Ben hadn\u2019t even wanted to suggest that Little Joe ride along, knowing how hard he had taken the news about what Linda Dow had said about his appearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph, Fletcher is staying behind and will kind of watch over the place today until we get back,\u201d Ben announced as he stood readying to walk out the door with his other sons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need a babysitter, Pa,\u201d Joe returned frowning.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve got my gun \u2013 nobody will get the drop on me like Balantaire did after the barn dance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Settling a hand down onto the boy\u2019s shoulder Ben replied, \u201cHe\u2019s not babysitting \u2013 he hurt his toe the other day and is taking it easy.\u00a0 I just wanted you to know that he\u2019ll be staying here that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe grabbed the birdcage there on the credenza and walked out of the door without another word said to his father.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to think about the church social since just three weeks ago he had great plans for attending with Linda there at his side.\u00a0 Now that was all in the past and he never wanted to see her again, which he figured was a good thing because it was obvious that she thought he was a hideous looking young man now.<\/p>\n
Adam and Hoss placed the various supplies and treats that Hop Sing had gotten together into the buckboard as they waited for their father to join them.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph?\u201d Ben said as he moved out to the front porch and noticed his youngest sitting there at the table.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019d like to go \u2013 you wouldn\u2019t have to stay long?\u201d He offered.<\/p>\n
Shaking his head Joe replied, \u201cAre you forgetting about this, Pa?\u201d He pointed at his bandage and frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a bandage, Joseph \u2013 that\u2019s all,\u201d He responded quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo on, Pa,\u201d Joe stated resolutely.\u00a0 There was no reason for him to take his ill mood out on his father and he knew it.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll see all of you later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben patted his son on the back and walked down the porch steps.\u00a0 He stood next to Buck and waited for Hop Sing to come out of the house and join Hoss in the buckboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Joe?\u201d\u00a0 Hop Sing called as he finally finished getting everything ready to leave.\u00a0 \u201cYou let bird out today?\u201d He asked, spotting the birdcage on the table resting next to where the boy sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know \u2013 we\u2019ll see.\u00a0 Go and have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember what Hop Sing say about cage Little Joe,\u201d He replied and then patted Joe\u2019s arm and made his way down to the buckboard.<\/p>\n
Little Joe watched as his father and Adam mounted their horses and Hoss sent the buckboard into motion with Hop Sing sitting there on his right.\u00a0 The four of them waved over to him as they rode out of the yard heading for Virginia City.\u00a0 His heart was heavy knowing that his days of enjoying social gatherings were now a thing of the past.\u00a0 After a few silent minutes went by, Joe stared down at the sparrow.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you think?\u00a0 You want to go back out into the world again?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe reached inside the cage carefully pulling the sparrow out and holding it gently in the palm of his hand.\u00a0 \u201cYou know there\u2019s always going to be things that will be out to get you, right?\u00a0 So, if I release you \u2013 well \u2013 you\u2019d better do a good job watching out for all of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drawing in a deep breath, Joe opened his hand and flattened his palm, so the bird was just standing there looking over at him.\u00a0 \u201cGo ahead \u2013 make your choice.\u00a0 You can fly off or go back inside that cage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sparrow tilted its head as though it had given Joe\u2019s advice a great deal of thought and then launched itself off his hand.\u00a0 It flew around the yard a few times and had even come close to Joe\u2019s face for just a few seconds before disappearing over the rooftop.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood luck,\u201d Joe whispered as the sparrow flew out of his view.\u00a0 He felt a sharp twinge of pain perhaps because he felt like the bird had more guts than he did.\u00a0 *** Sure, it doesn\u2019t have to worry about other birds talking behind its back.\u00a0 And I doubt any other bird will reject it just because it has a little scar there by its beak either. ***<\/em><\/strong> Joe thought to himself.<\/p>\nBusying himself with a few minor chores, Joe\u2019s mind kept nagging at him.\u00a0 He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and his hand fell onto the letter from Linda.\u00a0 *** I\u2019m sorry Little Joe but unfortunately something\u2019s come up and I won\u2019t be in town for the church social, so I have to break our date.\u00a0 Maybe sometime in the future I will make it up to you.\u00a0 Linda. ***<\/em><\/strong> Joe read the letter to himself and shook his head angered by the lie she had told him.\u00a0 \u201cYeah \u2013 sometime in the future you can make it up to me you lying little –,\u201d he said aloud.\u00a0 \u201cI just bet you\u2019re not there at that church social with Jeff Braxton, right?\u00a0 I ought to –,\u201d Joe stopped and felt a sharp pain shooting out from underneath his bandage.\u00a0 He turned around and spotted the cage and the open door to it.\u00a0 The sparrow hadn\u2019t chosen to live a life that was safer but wouldn\u2019t hold much enjoyment to it.\u00a0 \u201cI could just go for a minute or two and see Linda \u2013 then just come on home.\u00a0 It\u2019d be worth it to let her know that I\u2019m not a chump and know exactly what she did today.”\u00a0 Joe walked inside the house to get a clean shirt and brush his hair.\u00a0 He knew that it was probably a fool thing to do \u2013 going to the church just for a couple of minutes and all just to confront the girl who he wasn\u2019t even interested in anymore.\u00a0 But the more Joe thought about what both Linda and Anne had said about him the more that it ate at his insides.\u00a0 Yes, he had to agree that he wasn\u2019t anything to look at anymore, but he hadn\u2019t deserved the kinds of things they had said behind his back either.<\/p>\nFifteen minutes later Joe had changed clothes, cleaned up a bit and saddled Cochise.\u00a0\u00a0 When he pulled his horse out of the barn, he heard Fletcher\u2019s voice ringing out.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow just where do you think you\u2019re going, Boy?\u201d The hired hand said as he approached his boss\u2019 youngest son.<\/p>\n
Joe carefully pulled himself up into the saddle and looked down at the man.\u00a0 \u201cI forgot to tell my Pa something \u2013 so I\u2019m gonna go drop by that church social for a few minutes,\u201d He explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen here you little varmint, don\u2019t go pulling anything on me!\u00a0 I know you all too well, Little Joe \u2013 and I can\u2019t count the number of times that you got me in hot water with your pa over your lame-brained ideas.\u00a0 If you\u2019re dead set on going into town then I\u2019m gonna have to go and saddle my horse and ride along with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo need to do that, Fletcher \u2013 I\u2019ll be fine \u2013 I\u2019ve got my gun so nobody\u2019s gonna get the jump on me.\u00a0 Besides your toe is supposedly messed up \u2013 unless that was a little white lie my father told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fletcher held the side of Cochise\u2019s bridle in his hand and replied, \u201cYour Pa doesn\u2019t lie, Kid.\u00a0 And yeah, my big toe is banged up and hurts something fierce, but I\u2019d just as soon ride into town with you than to tell your father that I let you get away from me!\u201d<\/p>\n
Little Joe pressed his hand down onto his bandage and returned, \u201cI\u2019ll tell Pa that I slipped out when you weren\u2019t looking.\u00a0 Now let go of that bridle unless you want your hand yanked off when I kick at Cochise\u2019s sides in about two seconds!\u201d<\/p>\n
Fletcher released the bridle and before he could offer up a few choice words to the boy, Joe sent his horse off in a gallop.<\/p>\n
\u201cDarn fool cantankerous no good — worthless –,\u201d Fletcher began fussing as Joe disappeared from his sight.\u00a0 He finally just laughed and limped away.\u00a0 He had worried about the boy after hearing what had been done to him and Fletcher hoped that if Joe was really going into Virginia City at long last that it might just help him.\u00a0 *** Ben ain\u2019t gonna be very happy \u2013 but he knows that kid better than I do — so he\u2019ll know that I did my best trying to talk sense into him.\u00a0 Like talking sense into Little Joe Cartwright ever works! ***<\/em><\/strong> He thought to himself.<\/p>\n************<\/p>\n
The church grounds were full of tables, chairs, and lots of people that early Sunday afternoon.\u00a0 Many of the parishioners helped out with the food booths which were lined up on all sides of the grassy area and over at the far end of the church grounds stood a barbeque spit where a a steer had been dressed out and two men were rotating it as they added their special seasonings.\u00a0 Children ran around and ladies dressed in their Sunday best milled about talking to the men who had come to the event.\u00a0 Hop Sing was busy setting up the serving tables while Hoss was busy sampling the desserts that had been donated.\u00a0 Adam stood next to an oak tree tuning up his guitar to play alongside several of the musicians who had performed at the barn dance earlier in the month.\u00a0 While Ben Cartwright was standing close to the backsteps of the church next to both the Reverend and Doctor Paul Martin who were giving their congratulations to each other about what a great success the fundraiser had been.<\/p>\n
Little Joe had bided his time and waited for the right chance to confront Linda Dow.\u00a0 He had tied Cochise\u2019s reins up to a hitching post towards the front of the church and not in the back like most everyone else who had ridden in for the event had.\u00a0 He just wanted to make a quick appearance say what he had to and leave just as fast.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s mouth was parched and not because he hadn\u2019t drunk anything.\u00a0 He had a mouth full of canteen water right before he\u2019d gotten to town.\u00a0 His mouth was dry because he was worried about how he looked, though he\u2019d made sure that his bandage was secure and wouldn\u2019t fall off his face due to the humidity.\u00a0 Still, it was the very first time that Joe had been around anyone outside of his family and Mitch, bandage or no bandage, since he had been stabbed by Francois Balantaire\u2019s stiletto.<\/p>\n
As Adam and several other musicians began to play a lively tune and the attention of most of the attendees seemed drawn to one side where the music was coming from, Joe decided it was time to make his move.\u00a0 He stealthily walked around the perimeter of the church grounds and came to a halt next to a small table where Linda was standing alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda,\u201d Joe quietly called to the girl.<\/p>\n
Turning her attention towards the sound of her name, she looked up, surprised to see Little Joe standing there with a huge bandage covering the right side of his face.\u00a0 \u201cOh \u2013 Little Joe \u2013,\u201d she responded her face flushed with embarrassment.<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t mean to shock you, Linda,\u201d Joe replied and stared at her hard.\u00a0 \u201cI guess you made it here after all, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh\u2014yes \u2013 I mean\u2014I thought I was going to be gone today– but my parents changed their minds at the last minute, and we didn\u2019t have to go out of town, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that\u2019s good,\u201d Little Joe nodded and reached for her elbow.\u00a0 \u201cI guess that means that our date is back on.\u201d<\/p>\n
A man suddenly approached carrying two glasses of punch.\u00a0 He set them down onto the table behind Linda and said, \u201cIs he bothering you, Honey?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney?\u201d Joe asked feigning surprise over the fact that another young man was calling Linda that.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019ve got the wrong girl \u2013 Jeff, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right that\u2019s my name and she\u2019s my girl,\u201d The other man nodded and looked back and forth between Linda and Joe.\u00a0 \u201cNow get your hand off of my date\u2019s elbow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour date?\u00a0 You\u2019re mistaken\u2014you see Linda and I had a date today \u2013 isn\u2019t that right, Linda?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust let it alone, Little Joe — I\u2019ve found somebody else and I didn\u2019t want to hurt your feelings, so I said I\u2019d be gone,\u201d She attempted to lie her way out of the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sure found somebody else fast, huh?\u201d Joe said sarcastically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said get your hand off of my girl\u2019s elbow!\u201d Jeff insisted, growing louder.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have her \u2013 I don\u2019t like liars anyhow.\u201d Little Joe replied and dropped his hand off the girl\u2019s elbow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf your face wasn\u2019t messed up, I\u2019d hit you for that!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have one good side \u2013 don\u2019t let that stop you,\u201d Joe sneered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ain\u2019t gonna hit you \u2013 not at no church.\u00a0 I\u2019ll just get rid of you this way,\u201d he announced and before Joe had a clue as to what the other man was readying to do, Jeff snatched the bandage off his face and threw it down into the dirt.<\/p>\n
Linda gasped when she caught sight of the gruesome looking scar.\u00a0 Horrified that everyone could now see his face, Joe dove down to the ground, quickly grabbing the bandage and shoving it back onto his right cheek.\u00a0 After hearing the loud commotion, a few more people gathered around next to Linda and Jeff including Hoss and Ben.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t arrived in time to stop what had happened or say anything to Joe because after he had retrieved the bandage he ran from the church grounds as fast as he could and hurriedly mounted his horse.\u00a0 Hoss reared back a fist wanting to slug Jeff for what he had done to his little brother, but Pa\u2019s hand stopped him at the last minute.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo \u2013 no, Hoss \u2013 not here,\u201d Ben whispered as his eyes scanned the area to see where his youngest had run off to.<\/p>\n
\u201cI \u2013 I didn\u2019t know that kid was scarred up like that — -I\u2019m sorry \u2013 I just thought it was something minor,\u201d Jeff apologized to the people who stared over at him with disbelief and anger on their faces over what he had done to Little Joe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI owe you one,\u201d Hoss threatened Jeff and then neared his father.\u00a0 \u201cWant me to get Adam\u2019s horse and go after Joe, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben handed his son the glass of punch he had been holding and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d better go.\u00a0 Tell your brother what\u2019s happened.\u00a0 You both stay here and help Hop Sing \u2013 I\u2019ll catch up with the boy.\u00a0 And \u2013 Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Sir?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t hit that guy\u2014no matter how much you want to, this is a fund raiser we don\u2019t need to ruin it for everyone over some loud mouth inconsiderate —,\u201d Ben trailed off not being able to use the kind of language that he wanted to cognizant over the fact that they were standing on church property at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, Pa \u2013 we\u2019ll meet you at home.\u00a0 Tell Little Joe — well \u2013tell him hardly anyone saw him, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben nodded and hurried to mount his horse.\u00a0 He knew that he had to get to his youngest before he did something drastic.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s face having been uncovered like that, and in the company of several people with all of them getting a view of his scar, had to seem overwhelming to his son.\u00a0\u00a0 Ben found it hard to believe that Joseph would have ventured out that day but now having seen the look on Linda\u2019s face, he presumed that the boy had done it to, in some small way, show her that he knew she was a liar.<\/p>\n
************<\/p>\n
Not being sure just where his youngest would have gone, Ben tried to follow Cochise\u2019s tracks as best he could.\u00a0 After a couple of miles, he was relieved to see that the boy was apparently heading back to the ranch house though at a very fast clip.\u00a0 He picked up his pace and entered the front yard a short while after Joe had arrived.\u00a0 Fletcher limped outside from the bunkhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cBen?\u00a0 I saw Little Joe flying in here a little while ago.\u00a0 I tried to make that kid stay but –,\u201d Fletcher was cut short by his boss.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay— put our horses away will you, Fletcher?\u201d Ben sang out and jogged into the ranch house.<\/p>\n
Flinging the front door open, Ben\u2019s eyes began to scan the living room, falling first on the credenza.\u00a0 He noticed that Joe hadn\u2019t removed his gun when he had gone inside.\u00a0 The thought of the boy going upstairs still having his Colt on him filled his mind with the kind of dread no parent ever wanted to feel.\u00a0 Suddenly there were loud banging noises which filtered down the stairs.\u00a0 It sounded as though his son\u2019s rage had taken over and apparently Joseph was back to his former habit of taking his anger and pain out on inanimate objects again.\u00a0 But even still, there was the persistent nagging thought of Joe\u2019s gun being up in his room with him that Ben couldn\u2019t get past.\u00a0 Wondering if, in his son\u2019s grief over what had happened at the church social, it could make him snap and try to harm himself, Pa ran to the stairs taking them two at a time trying to get to the boy before it was too late.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph!\u201d Ben yelled as he pounded on the bedroom door.\u00a0 He had already tested the doorknob, finding it locked.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph \u2013 unlock this door right now!\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead of a reply Ben heard more objects being thrown around the bedroom, some of them making a crashing sound as they hit the walls and slid down to the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph!\u00a0 Open this door NOW<\/strong>!\u201d He demanded, his hands trembling as he twisted the doorknob once again. *** I know there\u2019s a key to this door somewhere!\u00a0 Is it in my desk drawer?\u00a0 Where the hell did I put it? ***<\/em><\/strong> Ben\u2019s thoughts raced in his mind hoping to prevent disaster if Joe were to grab his gun.\u00a0\u00a0 The room grew suddenly still and that made it even more frightening due to the implications.\u00a0 He wondered if Joseph was getting ready to turn the Colt on himself.<\/p>\n\u201cJoseph!\u00a0 Now I want you to open your door for me — right now!\u00a0 C\u2019mon \u2013 let\u2019s talk it out— everything will be alright.\u00a0 Just let me in!\u201d\u00a0 *** Who am I kidding?\u00a0 Nothing is alright \u2013 and we both know it!\u00a0 How in the world can I get him to believe what I\u2019m saying when even I don\u2019t believe what I\u2019m saying to him myself? ***<\/em><\/strong> He wondered and fought to figure out how to get the door open.<\/p>\nBen dug inside his pants pocket and finally came out with his pocketknife.\u00a0 He opened the blade and stuck it inside the keyhole.\u00a0 With his hand shaking and his breathing shallow, he jiggled the point of the knife around trying to spring the lock.\u00a0 The sound of success came just a minute or two later and Ben was finally able to turn the doorknob, pushing the door inward.\u00a0 He was terrified over what he imagined he would find inside the bedroom which had remained as quiet as a mausoleum for close to five minutes while he had fought with the lock.<\/p>\n
Ben had entered the room just in time to see Joseph falling down to his knees there next to the chair by his bed.\u00a0 The boy appeared to have exhausted his anger and now looked absolutely deflated in spirit.\u00a0 Cautiously Pa approached Joe, grasping for words which might offer some comfort to him.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t think of any.\u00a0 Ben was aware that his son felt humiliated and totally exposed the second that his bandage had been snatched off his face there at the church grounds.\u00a0 Only a few people had witnessed seeing the scar and even those handful hadn\u2019t seen enough of it to know the extent of damage Joe\u2019s face had taken due to his attacker\u2019s knife.\u00a0 However, that fact wouldn\u2019t matter to the boy.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t have mattered to Joe if there had only been a solitary soul who had viewed his scar, it would have been one too many.\u00a0 Ben drew in a deep breath trying to get his heart to stop racing as fast as it had for the last five minutes.\u00a0 He then exhaled wondering what the best course of action would be for him to take now.\u00a0 Should he go down onto the floor next to his son?\u00a0 Should he just stand there and say the same lie that \u201ceverything will be alright\u201d?\u00a0 He shook his head over the inane ways in which he had tried to help Joseph thus far, as none had worked.\u00a0 He would have to simply go with his gut on this one he decided.<\/p>\n
Ben leaned down to the chair where the boy knelt with his forehead resting on the cushioned seat.\u00a0 Gingerly reaching toward his son, he braided his fingers into those of Joseph\u2019s left hand and gently pulled him upright.\u00a0 No fight left inside the boy; he came up from the floor effortlessly.\u00a0 Ben was beside himself with worry when Joe felt so lifeless now held in his arms.\u00a0 He would have presumed that the boy had fainted, but he was still standing there next to him of his own volition.\u00a0 Ben held onto him but this time, unlike in the recent past, his hold wasn\u2019t fierce nor were the words that he whispered.\u00a0 There was a great need for calm as only that would provide the boy some solace this time.\u00a0 Joe had been pushed to the breaking point, and his father was keenly aware of that fact.\u00a0 He had been cut, cut many times and not just his face.\u00a0 Long before the coward who had tied his son to a tree had gone to work on the boy\u2019s face, he had cut Joseph in other ways.\u00a0 He had used his vile lies to carve his son\u2019s love for his mother out of his heart. Francois Balantaire had woven a tale of a whorish woman into the very few memories that Joseph had left of Marie.\u00a0 Now she was also cut, cut out of her son\u2019s life and that had left a hole deeper than that of the scar he bore on the right side of his face.\u00a0 Ben knew that he couldn\u2019t remove the wound or lessen the scar even though he would have given his own life to do so.\u00a0 However, he hoped that someday soon he would be able to repair the deep wound to Joseph\u2019s heart and put his mother back inside of it where she belonged.<\/p>\n
Sighing deeply, Ben thought about the fact that his son now carried another scar and this time it hadn\u2019t been delivered to him by an assailant but by the cruel way in which that man at the church social had removed Joseph\u2019s bandage from his face.\u00a0 The boy now felt like his secret had been on public display for all to see.\u00a0 He had a hard time trying to understand why Joseph felt shame for having a scar on his face since he hadn\u2019t caused it.\u00a0 Ben knew that the only way that his son had been able to cope after living through the frightening attack was by hiding behind a bandage and now that had also been taken from him.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know how much more Joseph could endure or if he\u2019d already gone beyond the breaking point and would give up on life and never again venture into the world any farther than his bedroom.\u00a0 Startled from his thoughts, Ben heard the whispered voice.\u00a0 He strained to hear his son and what he had said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that, Son?\u201d He asked softly, still holding the boy in his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeed it to be over, Pa,\u201d Joe whispered against his father\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand,\u201d Ben nodded.\u00a0 It had just been a short affirmation that he knew exactly how his son felt though he couldn\u2019t do a thing to accomplish the boy\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
\u201cNeed to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carefully easing his son over to the bed, he waited until he had spread out on top of the comforter and then pulled the quilt up from the footboard and placed it over the boy.\u00a0 Ben slowly ran his fingers through Joe\u2019s curly hair until he finally fell off into an exhaustive sleep.<\/p>\n
*** He can\u2019t take much more, Lord, please help him. ***<\/em><\/strong> Ben prayed once again, his heart breaking as he noticed the single tear which still rested just on top of the bandage on Little Joe\u2019s right cheek.\u00a0 Bending over he pulled it off him and shook his head sadly.\u00a0 Joseph had ridden all the way home with the filthy thing on his face just so no one could see his scar. The bandage had gotten dirty when the vile man had thrown it down on the ground making Joe scrounge it back up in a pure panic.\u00a0 Ben walked over to the water basin.\u00a0 He soaked a washcloth and brought it back over to his son to gently wash away the remnants of grime which had caked inside the scar.\u00a0 Ben would wait until Joseph awoke to rebandage his face.\u00a0\u00a0 His eyes surveyed the room and noticed the damage caused by his son\u2019s pent-up anger.\u00a0 He would see to that later, right now his son needed some peace.\u00a0 Ben walked across the room where Joseph had left his holster just resting on the floor next to the bureau.\u00a0 The Colt which he had been so worried about was still resting inside of it.\u00a0 Ben bent down and lifted the holster off the floor, slinging it over his shoulder.\u00a0 Sighing with relief he quietly eased out of his son’s bedroom.<\/p>\n************<\/p>\n
The reverend insisted that neither Hop Sing nor the two Cartwright boys stay and help put away the tables or help clean up knowing that they were all much more needed back home.\u00a0 They hurriedly left two thirds of the way through the festivities and headed back to the ranch.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow\u2019s Little Joe?\u201d Hoss called out of breath the minute he made it over the threshold.\u00a0 He had been worried about the kid for hours until it had grown almost unbearable to wait there at the church.<\/p>\n
Standing from his chair, Ben wearily crossed the room coming to a stop there in front of Hoss and soon both Adam and Hop Sing as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat boy is done in.\u00a0 He\u2019s upstairs sleeping.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should\u2019ve let me punch that Jeff fellow, Pa!\u201d Hoss insisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d have liked to get a few licks in myself,\u201d Adam agreed as he moved closer to his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cHop Sing go after with butcher knife!\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben groaned and replied, \u201cFine \u2013then we are all in agreement that we\u2019d have loved to hit that man.\u00a0 Now, everyone settle down it\u2019s been a very long day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything we can do for the kid, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBe patient with him all of you \u2013 and it sure wouldn\u2019t hurt to say some extra prayers either.\u00a0 I\u2019m at a loss right now as to what I can say or do.\u00a0 I think Joseph is at a loss too.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just take it one day at a time.\u00a0 See what he can handle and what he can\u2019t, and no one press him on anything for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHop Sing feel vely bad.\u00a0 Think maybe so my fault,\u201d He confessed sadly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is it your fault?\u201d Ben asked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell Little Joe he build cage for himself \u2013 and must get out like little bird.\u00a0 He say he not build cage \u2013 man who cut boy did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess that\u2019s why that cage out on the porch is empty, Pa.\u00a0 Joe must\u2019ve let that sparrow go \u2013 and then decided to go on into town,\u201d Hoss offered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou meant it for Joseph\u2019s own good, Hop Sing.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you blame yourself any.\u00a0 He decided to go into town himself,\u201d Ben tried to ease the man\u2019s guilt.\u00a0 \u201cBut from now on we do as he wants \u2013 if that means he doesn\u2019t want to leave the house—well we\u2019ve got to let him go at his own pace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s all been too much on the kid,\u201d Adam agreed.<\/p>\n
Hoss was just about to chime in with his own thoughts when there was a knock on the front door.\u00a0 He walked over to answer it and saw the telegrapher\u2019s assistant standing there.<\/p>\n
\u201cJim?\u00a0 What brings you out here?\u201d Hoss asked as he led the man inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t stay, Hoss.\u00a0 Hi Mister Cartwright — Adam \u2013Hop Sing.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have a telegram for you, but I was heading to Bob Wiley\u2019s place for supper and when I picked up my mail earlier Daniel asked if I\u2019d bring this letter out to you.\u00a0 He said it\u2019s from New Orleans and he figured you\u2019d all want it.\u00a0 He tried to get somebody to bring it out yesterday but none of you came into town and once he heard I was heading over to Bob\u2019s he thought I could bring it over to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoss stared down at the envelope and back over at Jim.\u00a0 \u201cCan I give you something for delivering this for us, Jim?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Hoss \u2013 but next time you see me at the Silver Dollar maybe you\u2019ll buy me a beer, huh?\u201d The man smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure thing,\u201d Hoss grinned and walked the man back to the door.\u00a0 \u201cThanks again,\u201d He called as the man headed to his horse.<\/p>\n
Ben neared his middle boy and took the envelope from him.\u00a0 He tore it open and read the note that was attached to a sketch.\u00a0 His face took on a severe look to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it, Pa?\u201d Adam asked as he moved over next to his father and brother.<\/p>\n
Ben held the drawing out so both Hoss and Adam could see it.\u00a0 \u201cThis is Francois Balantaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
The very last thing that Ben Cartwright wanted to do the next morning was to show his youngest son the picture that he had received from the detective, but he knew that Joe was the only person who could positively identify Francois Balantaire as his attacker.\u00a0 He waited until after breakfast and then moved over to his desk signaling Joe to join him there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it, Pa?\u201d Joe asked, his voice still sounding listless, which was how he looked as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis came yesterday, Son.\u00a0 It\u2019s from Avery.\u00a0 He dug up a sketch of Francois Balantaire from the trial notes when he was convicted of stabbing that woman in New Orleans.\u00a0 I wish that I didn\u2019t have to ask you this \u2013 but I do.\u00a0 Joseph, is this the man who cut you?\u201d Ben handed the picture across the desk to where his son stood.<\/p>\n
Joe\u2019s hand shook as he stared down at the drawing of the man who had stolen so much from him and who had harmed him in ways that he couldn\u2019t express in words.<\/p>\n
*** \u201cJagged or straight?\u201d Francois questioned, smiling. ***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nFeeling as though he might faint from the vision that the picture had conjured in his head, Joe leaned heavily on the desktop.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph?\u201d Ben asked again though he already had his answer just staring at the effect that the man\u2019s picture was having on his son.\u00a0 He was half tempted to rush around the desk just in case his son passed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s him,\u201d Joe whispered.\u00a0 Fighting to catch his breath, he stood erect and handed the picture back to his father.\u00a0 He then turned and simply walked away.<\/p>\n
****************<\/p>\n
Ben had gone to see Roy Coffee as soon as he had finished speaking to his son.\u00a0 He shared all the new information that he had received from Avery Bastille\u2019s letter and told Roy that Joe had positively identified him as the man who had cut him. \u00a0Afterwards the lawman had taken the drawing to the printers to have copied.\u00a0 Next Roy had three dozen posters with the man\u2019s likeness printed off and all of them read: Francois Balantaire, six-foot, medium build, dark eyes, wavy brown hair.\u00a0 Age fifty, wanted in connection for assault with a deadly weapon.\u00a0 Contact Sheriff Roy Coffee, Virginia City, Nevada.\u00a0 Reward of five thousand dollars leading to the arrest of this man.\u00a0 Roy sent the posters in all directions to every town within two hundred miles of Virginia City.\u00a0 The hunt was now officially on.<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
At the end of the week Hop Sing and the Cartwrights welcomed his great Uncle Li Sing into their home.\u00a0 The man was a spry ninety-year-old who didn\u2019t speak one word of English but had a smile which could warm even the coldest heart.\u00a0 Ben had offered him the best bed in the house, but the man insisted on sleeping on his own straw mat that he had brought over from China.\u00a0 Hop Sing explained to Ben that it was his uncle\u2019s way, and it had served him well for ninety years.\u00a0 Hoss enjoyed showing the man around the Ponderosa pointing out all the various animals while Adam had entertained the man with some ballads on his guitar each night.\u00a0 While Little Joe didn\u2019t have much to offer, he had remembered a few words in Chinese as a greeting that Hop Sing had taught him many years ago and he took the time to recite them every morning and evening to honor the elderly man.\u00a0 He had noticed that Li Sing seemed to stare at him a lot, especially at times when no one else was around.\u00a0 But Joe figured that it was because his right cheek was still hidden underneath a bandage and Li Sing probably just wanted to see how bad a scar he bore.\u00a0 The visit was due to end soon as Li Sing had other relatives in America to visit who all wanted to see the elder of the family at least one more time.<\/p>\n
On the final night of his stay, Li Sing stood in the living room and bowed to his hosts before heading into Hop Sing\u2019s quarters to go to sleep.\u00a0 They all did their best to thank him for coming to visit and had asked Hop Sing to translate their well wishes for a safe journey for them which he gladly did.<\/p>\n
*************<\/p>\n
Ben eyed his youngest and waited to see if he was going to ask for some medicine to help him to sleep or say anything to his brothers before he headed up to his room.\u00a0 Ever since the incident at the church social the boy had been tight lipped and only spoke a few words here and there.\u00a0 Pa had reminded Hoss and Adam not to pressure Joe and just allow him to go at his own pace to see if he would come out from under his depression soon.\u00a0 He had to abide by his own instructions though it had gotten harder to follow through on as Joe seemed to be growing more distant from his family members as each day passed into the next.<\/p>\n
************<\/p>\n
Ben awoke after he thought he heard voices across the hall.\u00a0 He wondered if Joseph was having another nightmare and pulled his robe and slippers on and headed out of his room.\u00a0 When he eased the door to Little Joe\u2019s bedroom open Ben was surprised to see both Hop Sing and his Uncle Li standing next to the boy\u2019s bed.\u00a0 They both had their hands resting on Joe\u2019s bare right cheek and were chanting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s going on, Hop Sing?\u201d Ben whispered as he drew closer a perplexed look on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cMister Ben \u2013 Uncle just saying prayer for Little Joe— not to worry.\u00a0 Boy sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Uncle Li stared over at Ben and nodded to him with eyes that seemed unearthly at the time.\u00a0 He cast a knowing smile at the worried father and then began to chant once more.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph might wake up, Hop Sing \u2013 you know he has trouble sleeping,\u201d Ben protested.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot tonight, Mister Ben, he sleep \u2013 no worry.\u00a0 You go bed \u2013 we through vely soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben shrugged his shoulders and gave a reverent bow to Uncle Li before leaving his son\u2019s room.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know for the life of him how Joseph could possibly sleep through the racket which was going on right above where he was lying at the time.\u00a0 But Ben knew how much Hop Sing loved the boy and would protect him, so he just let the two men do as they wanted.\u00a0 After all Uncle Li would be leaving the next day and that would be that.\u00a0 Ben eased back down onto his bed and was soon sound asleep.<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
Hop Sing stood alongside his great uncle and watched as he opened the ornamental alabaster jar and placed the small teakwood spoon inside.\u00a0 He ladled out a small amount of thick green looking ointment onto it.\u00a0 Uncle Li pointed to his nephew and Hop Sing held out his right pointer and middle finger to accept the substance from the spoon.\u00a0 Next, as his uncle whispered a prayer, he spread the ointment onto Little Joe\u2019s scar and rubbed it in until it vanished into the skin.\u00a0 Uncle Li smiled and nodded his way.\u00a0 He whispered in Chinese the reminder for his nephew to do that exactly as he had been shown every single night between two a.m. and three.\u00a0 Hop Sing looked lovingly at the sleeping young man and whispered, \u201cHop Sing take care you — like always, Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
The household had gone back to somewhat normal after the excitement of Uncle Li\u2019s visit.\u00a0 Ben kept in contact with Roy, expecting some news about the wanted posters and hoping that they would assist them in finding Francois Balantaire but that had yet to come into fruition.\u00a0 Hoss and Adam were busy most days with the herd but made it home every night for supper.\u00a0 And then there was Joseph, and nothing at all had changed with him other than the fact that he had become even more distant with everyone in his family including his Pa.\u00a0 After supper Ben moved into the living room where both Hoss and Adam were preparing for a checkers match.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see where your brother went off to, Boys?\u201d Ben asked as he sat down by the fireplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cGosh I don\u2019t know, Pa \u2013 I guess he\u2019s probably out in the yard like usual.\u00a0 He just sits out there in the dark until he gets tired and then goes up to bed,\u201d Hoss sighed.\u00a0 He missed his little brother and how the two of them used to hang out together, but that hadn\u2019t happened since he\u2019d been hurt now a month ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s the sound of thunder, Pa— guess we\u2019ll have a storm on top of us soon,\u201d Adam remarked, trying to divert his father\u2019s attention because he knew that Pa\u2019s concern just kept mounting over Little Joe\u2019s behavior of late.<\/p>\n
Ben listened as the rumble of more thunder shook the foundation.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe I\u2019d better go and let Joe know to come in before the rain is on top of us,\u201d He announced and headed outside.<\/p>\n
**************<\/p>\n
Walking around the outside of the house and inside the barn Ben tried to figure out where his youngest had gone.\u00a0 Finally walking behind the barn, he faintly made out the form of the boy almost completely cloaked in darkness.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph — I almost didn\u2019t spot you out here.\u00a0 It\u2019s awfully dark,\u201d Ben said as he walked over next to the boy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how I feel right now, Pa \u2013 my life\u2019s gone dark on me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben drew in a deep breath struggling to come up with any words that might help.\u00a0 Well, Son, every long night gives you one bright shining star,\u201d he mused and pointed up at the sky.<\/p>\n
Joe looked through the advancing clouds, following the direction where his father had pointed with his finger.\u00a0 \u201cNorth star,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u00a0 Now \u2013 tell me what you\u2019re thinking,\u201d Ben asked softly and set a hand down onto the boy\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n
Little Joe shrugged his shoulders, feeling at a loss over how to explain himself.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know exactly, Pa.\u00a0 I guess some nights are just longer than others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben draped his right arm down onto the boy\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI remember Hop Sing \u2013 when he\u2019d catch me in a somber mood \u2013 well \u2013 he\u2019d always tell me, \u201cNo night so long that you can\u2019t find the day \u2013 and no day so wrong that you can\u2019t find your way.\u00a0 It somehow made sense to me back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe stared down at the ground taking in his father\u2019s words.\u00a0 He suddenly grew quiet and didn\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it, Joseph?\u00a0 Talk to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI \u2013 I just don\u2019t know how, Pa \u2013 how to explain it.\u00a0 I guess I just don\u2019t know who I am anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben nodded his understanding and replied, \u201cYou\u2019ve been distancing yourself from all of us here lately.\u201d\u00a0 Pa stopped and pointed his finger.\u00a0 \u201cInside that house over there are three people who love you and don\u2019t see you any differently than they\u2019ve always seen you.\u00a0 And out here \u2013 well \u2013 you\u2019ve got to know how much I love you, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, Pa \u2013 I know.\u00a0 And I know that all of you care about me \u2013 but I don\u2019t know who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph –,\u201d Ben paused and smiled at the boy.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting for you to call on me \u2013 like you used to do \u2013 I still can show you who you are.\u201d\u00a0 Ben affirmed and patted the boy\u2019s back.<\/p>\n
Turning towards his Pa, Joe shot him a questioning look, wondering what he was planning on saying this time.\u00a0 He knew that his father had been trying his best to pull him up out of his doldrums, but nothing had helped.<\/p>\n
Ben cleared his throat to gather his thoughts and then set his hand onto Joe\u2019s shoulder again and began.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s see \u2013 the question of the hour is who you are, right?\u00a0 You are, depending on which brother we ask, either Short Shanks, Little Joe or \u201cthe kid\u201d.\u00a0 So, you are all that along with being someone who Hop Sing apparently thinks is at least partly his own son.\u00a0 So, there\u2019s that.\u00a0 And you are, of course, most importantly, my son, Joseph.\u00a0 You are also a wonderful friend, a thoughtful person, and perhaps one of the most ornery and hard-headed people the Good Lord ever created!\u201d Ben paused, hoping that he might have elicited a smile from the boy.\u00a0 After taking a good look at him, he considered it a partial victory that Joe was no longer frowning.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph \u2013 you are so much more than you think that you are.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to stop being consumed with what\u2019s underneath that bandage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Words wouldn\u2019t come; they were stuck inside Joe\u2019s heart.\u00a0 When the silence became uncomfortable Ben cleared his throat and pulled Joe around to face him.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph, that bandage \u2013 you don\u2019t need it with us \u2013 we love you,\u201d He whispered.\u00a0 He carefully reached for the bandage which hid the boy\u2019s scar.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t hide underneath this — not from us, Joseph,\u201d Pa gently eased it off Joe\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cThere,\u201d Ben paused and took a good look at his youngest.\u00a0 As far as he was concerned Joseph was just as handsome as he had always been.\u00a0 \u201cNow that\u2019s who you are,\u201d Pa smiled and placed both of his hands on either side of his son\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
Joe\u2019s eyes glazed over with tears.\u00a0 He stared at his father, and it was very apparent that Pa didn\u2019t see the scar but only his youngest there before him.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, Pa,\u201d Joe whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll keep my bandage off for a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben pulled the boy into his arms and hugged him tightly, relieved that his son was going to attempt to let his guard down around his family.\u00a0 That was a major victory as far as he was concerned.\u00a0 \u00a0Joe closed his eyes wishing that he could go back in time so he could be as he had been before.\u00a0 He drew comfort from his father\u2019s embrace and hoped that he would have the courage that it would take to face his brothers and Hop Sing without a bandage to hide his scar from them.<\/p>\n
Ben could read the apprehension in his son\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 Casting a reassuring smile he said, \u201cLet\u2019s go inside \u2013 Joseph \u2013 there\u2019s three people in there who\u2019ve missed you \u2013 and the other one is right here next to you trying to remind you who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe walked with his father inside the ranch house.\u00a0 Outside the sound of distant thunder rumbled louder and soon the rain joined in.\u00a0 It was the sign of an impending storm that was rapidly approaching and it would be a very rough one.\u00a0 But every storm runs out of rain.<\/p>\n
The End –<\/p>\n
Of part two, the series will conclude with the next story titled, \u201cEvery Storm Runs Out of Rain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Written by Wrangler<\/p>\n
1-28-2026<\/p>\n
(Dedicated to Rob the story consultant who is the logical one.\u00a0 And to both Carm and Rosalyn the two muses that kept me going and urged me to get this dang thing written. Thanks girls you\u2019re both peaches in my book!)<\/p>\n
*** The character of Simon LaRoche was from the Bonanza episode called, \u201cThe Stranger\u201d written by Laurence Heath and Oliver Crawford. ***<\/p>\n
*** The characters of Avery Bastille and Rene Marchant are from my story titled, \u201cAlways My Son\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summary: The sequel to “Beautiful in My Eyes”, Little Joe struggles with the scar Francois left on his face, the Cartwrights search for the attacker and Hop Sing has a plan.\u00a0