Summary:<\/b>\u00a0 Joe persuades his father and a very reluctant Adam, to tell the story of the black powder.
\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (5,500 words)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Gunpowder Plot<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s still snowing, Pa and you promised.\u201d\u00a0 Thirteen-year-old Joe Cartwright gave his father a hurt look.\u00a0 In fact, it was his best pathetic puppy dog look, which he knew his family found hard to resist.\u00a0 He was standing in front of his father\u2019s desk and obviously didn\u2019t plan to move until he got a satisfactory answer.<\/p>\n \u201cI did no such thing, Joseph.\u00a0 I told a story yesterday because you found your great, great-grandfather\u2019s picture in the attic.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t mean I can stop working and do that everyday,\u201d his father replied.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s only boring bookkeeping and you know you hate it.\u00a0 Adam could do it for you and you could tell us the story about the black powder,\u201d Joe persisted.\u00a0 \u201cI wanna know what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked up from his seat on the hearth and grinned at his older brother.\u00a0 He could see that Adam wasn\u2019t at all keen on this idea and not because he didn\u2019t want to do the account books.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, Pa.\u00a0 I wanna hear, too.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember much about it \u2018ceptin\u2019 that you was real mad at him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the part I want to forget,\u201d Adam mumbled, sinking back into the blue chair and trying to hide.<\/p>\n Ben could see that Joe wasn\u2019t about to budge and if thwarted would be a real nuisance all afternoon.\u00a0 He hated doing the monthly accounts and any excuse was tempting.\u00a0 If Joe was denied a story then he\u2019d make everyone\u2019s afternoon miserable and Ben had experienced too many confrontations this winter to relish the thought of another.\u00a0 \u201cLet me finish this page and then we\u2019ll see,\u201d he prevaricated, hoping Joe would find something else to occupy him.\u00a0 He glanced over at his eldest son, or maybe Adam would find something for him.\u00a0 He could tell, from the way Adam held his book, that the prospect of this particular story was causing a certain amount of tension.<\/p>\n Joe grinned; he\u2019d got his own way as usual.\u00a0 He knew now that it was only a matter of time.<\/p>\n \u201cLittle Joe, why don\u2019t I give you a game of checkers?\u201d\u00a0 Adam suggested.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re getting good at it now and Hoss isn\u2019t a real challenge for you anymore.\u201d\u00a0 He hoped a little flattery would steer Joe away from the story idea.<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s eyes crinkled up in laughter; his brother was so obvious sometimes. \u201cSure,\u201d he replied taking down the box of checkers from the shelf as he passed and then spreading them on the coffee table and perching himself on the arm of the sofa opposite his brother.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019ll pass the time while Pa finishes those figures.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s mind was not on the game and Joe almost beat him, but he managed to salvage it at the last moment.\u00a0 Immediately after the game was finished Joe began to pack away the checkers.\u00a0 He had seen his father stop writing and stretch and knew a further campaign was required.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Pa, you ready now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReady for what?\u201d\u00a0 Ben feigned ignorance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe story, Pa.\u00a0 The one about Adam and the black powder.\u201d\u00a0 Joe sighed, impatiently.<\/p>\n Ben got slowly to his feet and raised an eyebrow at Adam.\u00a0 \u201cDoesn\u2019t look like I have much choice, son,\u201d he chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cAll right one story, but you sit properly on the sofa.\u201d\u00a0 He admonished, Joe, giving him a gentle push down on to the settee as he passed to his own chair by the fire.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure I can recall all the details\u2026\u201d he hid a smile as he glanced over at his eldest son\u00a0 \u201c\u2026you might have to help me out in spots.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam groaned.\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure you can recall the incident, can\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0 Ben grinned openly now.<\/p>\n \u201cOh sure, in vivid detail,\u201d\u00a0 Adam grunted, resigning himself to the inevitable.\u00a0 \u201cAnyway it was all Hoss\u2019 fault\u2026 it started with him wanting candy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss pressed his nose wistfully against the glass and licked his lips.\u00a0 It was hot and he was tired and hungry. Breakfast seemed like a lifetime ago and Pa\u2019s hard biscuits and oatmeal hadn\u2019t nearly filled Hoss\u2019 stomach.\u00a0 That candy sure did look good.\u00a0 Maybe, just maybe Pa would buy some today.\u00a0 The five-year-old wasn\u2019t too hopeful.\u00a0 Pa always said \u2018another day\u2019 when he had asked before.\u00a0 He wandered back to the family wagon and leaned against it.\u00a0 His older brother, Adam was sitting on the wagon, dangling his legs over the end and with his head stuck in some paper or other. Hoss couldn\u2019t read yet but he liked it when Adam read him stories.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatcha readin\u2019?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n Adam didn\u2019t even look up.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a paper for grown ups,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n \u201cThen why you readin\u2019 it?\u00a0 You ain\u2019t growed-up,\u201d Hoss challenged. He didn\u2019t like it when Adam shut him out and pretended to be a man.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t so much bigger after all.\u00a0 \u201cYou reckon Pa\u2019ll buy us some candy today?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss persisted, this time tugging at his brother\u2019s worn shirtsleeve.<\/p>\n \u201cNope,\u201d Adam said, shortly.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t have money for truck like that.\u00a0 Pa\u2019s gotta buy flour and molasses and coffee and things we can eat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can eat candy,\u201d Hoss responded eagerly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt ain\u2019t real food, silly.\u00a0 You\u2019re too little to understand.\u201d\u00a0 Adam folded the paper and put it in his pocket and turned his attention to his little brother.\u00a0 \u201cPa don\u2019t have much money right now, Hoss, he\u2019s gotta go sell our furs first.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen will we have candy?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019 voice wavered a little.<\/p>\n Adam put an arm around his little brother\u2019s shoulders. \u201cYeah, maybe,\u201d he comforted, though deep down he knew that there was never enough for treats like candy.\u00a0 He had almost forgotten what it tasted like.\u00a0 The last peppermint sticks he\u2019d had was at Christmas and he knew Pa had gone without tobacco to provide those.<\/p>\n Hoss climbed wearily on to the wagon beside his brother.\u00a0 As he did so there was a loud bang from behind the store, this was followed by several more and two boys ran into the street throwing small brown sticks into the road.\u00a0 Hoss grabbed the side of the wagon and Adam stuck out a hand and hauled his little brother in by his shirt.\u00a0 The horses reacted in terror and stamped and tossed their heads almost making off down the street.\u00a0 Luckily Pa came out of the store at that moment and grabbed for the reins, dropping his packages as he did so.<\/p>\n Ben managed to calm the frightened team but cursed under his breath when he saw the split sack of flour and the molasses seeping out in a gloopy mess on to the sidewalk.\u00a0 He quickly bent to pick up the barrel and stop it all leaking away, pushing the bung back in tighter this time.\u00a0 Then he tried to salvage what was left of the flour.\u00a0 The combination of the two left him covered in a brown sticky goo.<\/p>\n Pa sure did look funny, Hoss thought, but one look at his father\u2019s face and then at his older brother fiercely shaking his head and he knew better than to laugh.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam scrambled down from the wagon to help but Ben waved him away.<\/p>\n The journey home started in silence.\u00a0 Adam knew that his father was angry and it was never wise to try to make conversation when Pa was mad.\u00a0 Hoss scrunched up against his brother in the back of the wagon and waited until they were well out of town until he could no longer contain his curiosity.\u00a0 \u201cWhat was them things, Adam?\u00a0 Them sticks that made a noise?\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cFirecrackers,\u201d Ben snapped from the wagon seat.<\/p>\n Hoss bit his lip and glanced at his older brother, wishing he hadn\u2019t spoken.<\/p>\n Adam held a finger to his lips to quiet his younger brother and whispered, \u201cI\u2019ll tell you later.\u201d<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n \u201cBut when did ya make \u2018em.?\u201d\u00a0 Joe interrupted.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m coming to that,\u201d Adam replied, trying to keep patience.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s putting off the best \u2018til last,\u201d their father laughed.\u00a0 \u201cAnd it was a good thing you didn\u2019t laugh at me.\u00a0 As I recall I was quite angry at the amount of supplies we\u2019d lost.\u00a0 Money was tight in those days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah, but what about the fireworks?\u201d\u00a0 Joe persisted.<\/p>\n Adam shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, I\u2019ll get there.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Much later as the two boys settled for the night in their loft bedroom, Hoss raised the question again.\u00a0 Rolling on to his side he peered across at the other bed.\u00a0 \u201cTell me \u2018bout them fire things, Adam?\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n Adam sat up for a moment and glanced nervously at the ladder down from the loft to the main cabin as if expecting his father to appear.\u00a0 Then he relaxed and lay back with his hands behind his dark head.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBe quiet, then,\u201d he whispered back.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re called firecrackers and they make a bang when you set light to them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss asked, truly puzzled.<\/p>\n Adam shrugged\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s fun, I guess.\u00a0 They\u2019re fireworks and folks let them off on special occasions, like\u2026 well, like Independence Day and stuff.\u00a0\u00a0 I remember once when I was a kid, Pa took me to see some real pretty fireworks.\u00a0 They made bangs but they had pretty colored stars and lights, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss resisted the temptation to tell his older brother that at eleven he was still a kid; he was too fascinated by the thought of stars and lights.\u00a0 \u201cWhat sort of colors and how did they do it?\u201d he asked, eagerly leaning forward to hear.<\/p>\n \u201cAll colors like in a rainbow,\u201d\u00a0 Adam replied, his expression growing sad as he remembered that Hoss\u2019 mother had been with them.\u00a0 \u201cI dunno how they make them.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced across at Hoss, anticipating the next question\u00a0 \u201cAn\u2019 they\u2019re expensive so don\u2019t ask Pa if you can have some,\u201d he said sharply.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t gonna,\u201d Hoss protested, though it had been the next thought in his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou think we\u2019ll ever have lots of money for stuff like that and candy?\u201d\u00a0 he spoke wistfully.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, go to sleep.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s voice was frustrated and angry now as he turned on his side away from his brother\u2019s hurt expression.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A few days later Adam managed to be in the store alone and he peered at all the goods on display.\u00a0 He was thinking of buying some candy, it had to be enough to share with Hoss but he couldn\u2019t afford two peppermint sticks, maybe they could share one.\u00a0 Then he remembered the fireworks.<\/p>\n \u201cYou lookin\u2019 for something special, Adam?\u201d\u00a0 Will Cass asked him.<\/p>\n Adam looked embarrassed and stuttered a little then said the first thing that came into his head.\u00a0 \u201cDo\u2026 you sell\u2026 those firecracker things?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure do.\u00a0 But you think you\u2019re Pa would approve of you having them around your place with the animals and all?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam bit his lip.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d have to ask him first, but how much do they cost?\u201d<\/p>\n Cass said a figure that made Adam\u2019s mouth drop open.\u00a0 He fingered the three cents in his pocket and sighed.\u00a0 He had only wanted to buy them for Hoss, but even if he used all his money it wasn\u2019t enough for even one.\u00a0 He could see Cass was waiting to see if he wanted some so he moved away from the counter.\u00a0 \u201cLike I said I\u2019d have to ask my Pa, first,\u201d he said as he backed to the door.<\/p>\n Cass watched him go.\u00a0 \u201cAnd it ain\u2019t likely he\u2019ll say yes.\u00a0 He can\u2019t even afford to pay the bill for essentials,\u201d the storekeeper remarked to no one in particular.<\/p>\n As Adam left the store he saw a spent firecracker in the alley and bent to pick it up. It didn\u2019t look too complicated, just a tube made of layers of brown paper with a wooden stop at one end and what looked like burnt string at the other.\u00a0 Maybe he could make a firecracker for Hoss.\u00a0 He had no idea how they made them with colored stars but perhaps he could find out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The family was seated at supper when Adam made his first enquiry.\u00a0 \u201cPa, can I ask you something?\u201d he began, alerting his father to the fact that this was a serious question.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly, son.\u00a0 Anything, you know that,\u201d Ben replied setting aside his plate and toying with his mug of coffee.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Hoss was asking about firecrackers and\u2026 well, why do folk have them? What are they for?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben smiled at his youngest son \u201cFireworks have been around for hundreds of years.\u00a0 The Chinese made them first and they use them to celebrate.\u00a0 Don\u2019t you remember those fireworks we saw in Independence just before we came west, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cBut what are they made from?\u00a0 The colored stars and things I mean, how do they do that?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben frowned in concentration,\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure, son. I think they add different metallic powders and other things to black powder.\u00a0 The black powder gives the bang when it\u2019s fired, just like in a musket and the powders give different colors when they burn.\u00a0 You\u2019ve seen how the fire can burn with blue or green when there is something on one of the logs.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded eagerly.\u00a0 \u201cSo you put all the stuff in a tube and then light it?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben laughed. \u201cThat\u2019s a little simplified but, yes, I suppose so.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never really looked at a firework that closely.\u201d\u00a0 He pointed a finger at his sons. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want you two playing with them either, even if your friends have them.\u00a0 Matches and fireworks are dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019 face fell.\u00a0 \u201cCouldn\u2019t you get us just one, Pa?\u201d he whined\u00a0 \u201cI wanna see the stars Adam tol\u2019 me about.\u00a0 I promise not ta touch.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben shook his head\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, son.\u00a0 I can\u2019t afford fireworks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFirecrackers don\u2019t cost so very much, Pa,\u201d Adam suggested.\u00a0 \u201cI asked Mr. Cass and he said\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, I said no.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have money to waste on such things.\u00a0 You\u2019re old enough to know that.\u201d\u00a0 Ben spoke firmly and rose from the table showing that the conversation was at an end.<\/p>\n Adam could never take no for an answer when there was a question burning in his brain.\u00a0 His first stop next day was at Washoe Diggin\u2019s.\u00a0 He knew that some of the miners used blasting powder to open up the rock and he guessed that they would know how to make an explosion.\u00a0 After a few pertinent questions he moved on to talk to one of the miners who carried a gun and who Adam had seen making his own bullets a time or two.\u00a0 It all seemed fairly straightforward, now all he had to do was get the ingredients together.\u00a0 It was kinda like cooking a stew<\/em>, he chuckled to himself.\u00a0 He was pretty sure after the conversation last night that Pa wouldn\u2019t be too pleased at his experiment but he was sure Hoss would be delighted.\u00a0 If he could produce real fireworks with stars then Pa would soon see how much money he\u2019d saved and he\u2019d come around.<\/p>\n He began by searching for anything that would burn with a colored light and soon realised that he also needed it to burn slowly once the explosion had taken place.\u00a0 Pine- cones had pitch in them so he add those to his store and he knew charcoal burned slowly so he spent a day making some.\u00a0 Finally, he shaved some rust off an old plough share as one of the miners had told him that it would make his firecrackers burned red and he knew from experimenting once before that sulfur would burn yellow so that was included.<\/p>\n The next day he hid himself away in the woodshed and began his work.\u00a0 First he cut his paper into squares. He had only been able to find old newspapers and they tore easily but they didn\u2019t look much like the firecracker tube he had acquired.\u00a0 He soaked the paper in his flour paste glue and then rolled it around a stick.\u00a0 For a moment he felt guilt at the amount of flour he had taken from the store but he soon put that aside.\u00a0 The first time he tried he waited too long and the paper stuck to the stick.\u00a0 The second time he didn\u2019t wait long enough and he crushed the tube taking it off the stick, but after several attempts he succeeded in getting a recognizable tube, which he set aside to dry.\u00a0 He made about half a dozen and then hid them on the highest shelf in the storeroom next to the woodshed.<\/p>\n It was a few days before Adam could get back to his project but when he did the tubes had set hard.\u00a0 He searched the storeroom for something to use as a bung and finally cut the bottom from the corks in two bottles, replacing the half corks so that the contents wouldn\u2019t leak.\u00a0 He then fashioned these to fit the tubes, sealing one end.\u00a0 Next he crept into the house, checking to see if his father was around.\u00a0 He hesitated for just a moment before lifting a blue tin down from the cupboard and cracking open the lid.\u00a0 Good it was almost full, he could take some and Pa would be none the wiser.\u00a0 Very carefully he tipped a handful of black powder into a mug and carried it out to the woodshed.<\/p>\n Once safely inside the woodshed again, he carefully poured the sulfur he had taken from the kitchen earlier in the day, into the cup with the powder.\u00a0 Pa only used it to make awful medicine anyhow.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure how much he needed of each to make colored stars so he simply poured until the cup was full then mixed them together.\u00a0 He added some charcoal and some iron shavings to the mixture and shook it together.\u00a0 Finally he surveyed the cone and tried to decide how to extract the pitch he needed.\u00a0 Nothing came to mind so he simply crushed the cone into the mixture.\u00a0 The whole concoction was then shaken into the tubes.\u00a0 Using the end of a wooden spoon he rammed it down tight, jumping a little when a spark flew out of one of the tubes.\u00a0 Now all he needed was a fuse and this he had seen at the mining camp, it looked like twisted lengths of string covered in black powder, so that was what he used.<\/p>\n It was getting late so he quickly packed away his \u2018fireworks\u2019 and tried to clean the shed so that no evidence remained.\u00a0 The bench he had been working at was a little stained but he didn\u2019t think Pa would notice, it was so dirty anyway.\u00a0 He washed quickly and was a little disturbed that his fingers stayed black.\u00a0 He\u2019d just have to try to hide them.<\/p>\n His attempts at hiding his hands were unsuccessful.\u00a0 In fact his father was made more suspicious by his fidgeting until he actually asked to see what the boy was hiding.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not hiding anything, Pa,\u201d Adam protested.<\/p>\n \u201cShow me both hands together,\u201d Ben instructed, he\u2019d long ago learned that any other phrasing got one hand and then the other and wasted a considerable amount of time.<\/p>\n Reluctantly Adam spread out his hands, revealing the stained fingers.<\/p>\n \u201cGood heavens, boy!\u00a0 What have you been doing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI made some charcoal\u2026 for drawing,\u201d Adam answered quickly, his brain working overtime to come up with an excuse.<\/p>\n Ben frowned.\u00a0 \u201cI thought I\u2019d told you often enough not to play with matches.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t Pa.\u00a0 Jake helped me.\u00a0 I gathered the wood and made the pit and he made the fire.\u201d\u00a0 That bit at least was the truth.\u00a0 Adam hadn\u2019t yet reconciled the reason for the charcoal or how he was going to light the fireworks with his promise not to use matches unsupervised.<\/p>\n Ben grunted.\u00a0 \u201cWell, go wash your hands properly.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how charcoal stained them that way but you are not eating at this table until they are clean.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam went into the kitchen and tried again and this time with the help of lye soap and a scrubbing brush he almost removed the skin but at least they would pass inspection.\u00a0 By the time he returned Ben and Hoss had almost finished supper.\u00a0 He put some rabbit on his plate and some sweet potatoes and then looked for the gravy and biscuits.<\/p>\n \u201cYou ate all the biscuits and gravy,\u201d he accused his little brother.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I din\u2019t, there weren\u2019t none,\u201d Hoss replied with a quick glance at his father.<\/p>\n Ben bit his lip.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, son.\u00a0 We must have spilt more flour than I thought.\u00a0 There\u2019s hardly any left and it\u2019s got to last until next week at least.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have biscuits for breakfast, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam bit his lip and nodded.\u00a0 That was one complication he hadn\u2019t considered.\u00a0 At least Pa had blamed the spillage and not looked further.\u00a0 He prayed Pa wouldn\u2019t notice the black powder was less, too.\u00a0 That would be harder to explain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n \u201cSo you see, that\u2019s how I made them and Pa was none the wiser,\u201d\u00a0 Adam concluded.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, not then,\u201d Ben added for him.\u00a0 \u201cBut I think Little Joe is less interested in how they are made and more in how they worked and the consequences,\u201d he grinned.<\/p>\n Hoss chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cI can remember that part.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou would,\u201d\u00a0 Adam grumbled.\u00a0 \u201cPa, maybe it\u2019s not such a good idea to tell Little Joe about it. I mean, it might give him ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben smiled and Adam knew his goose was cooked.\u00a0 \u201cIt might, since you\u2019ve only told him how to make the fireworks and not what happens to boys who steal, lie and disobey me.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam sat up, shocked.\u00a0 \u201cPa I did not\u2026\u00a0 oh, yeah, I guess I did, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou did,\u201d Ben confirmed, nodding for him to continue.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The next morning after he had finished the chores Adam called Hoss over to the shed. \u201cI got something to show you, but you gotta promise to keep it our secret.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded vigorously.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShhh\u2026\u00a0 you go out to the pasture down by the bend in the stream and I\u2019ll meet you there in a few minutes,\u201d Adam whispered, looking over his shoulder to where Ben was in conversation with Jake.<\/p>\n Adam gathered the fireworks and hide them under his shirt then checked his pocket for the matches he had borrowed from the mantelshelf.\u00a0 With one last glance in his father\u2019s direction he slipped away to join Hoss.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are they?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss asked, when Adam extracted the rather grubby tubes from his shirt.<\/p>\n \u201cFireworks,\u201d Adam replied, proudly.\u00a0 \u201cI made them for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019 eyes lit up. \u201cReally?\u00a0 Like them ones you tol\u2019 me about, with stars?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam didn\u2019t want Hoss to be too disappointed so he tried to lower his expectations a little.\u00a0 \u201cThey might not be quite like those.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t never made any before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhadda we do with \u2018em?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss asked, jumping up and down in his excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t do nothing,\u201d Adam said sternly\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re too small to use matches.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou ain\u2019t allowed, neither,\u201d Hoss muttered.<\/p>\n Adam ignored him.\u00a0 He\u2019d done an awful lot of things he wasn\u2019t supposed to lately; one more hardly made any difference. \u201cYou go hide behind that tree.\u201d\u00a0 He pointed to an old oak about five feet away.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll light one and then come over to you.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure how much they move when they go off.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam watched as Hoss did as he was bid and for the first time doubts began to creep into his head.\u00a0 Pa was awful strict about touching the black powder and his gun. If the small amount of powder in the gun could move a ball enough to kill someone then maybe the tiny amount he had used would \u2026\u00a0 nah, there was no ball for it to propel, just metal shavings and powders and a bit of paper.<\/p>\n He took one of the tubes and set it up on a piece of bare earth. It took a few minutes to make it stand up but eventually it did and he carefully struck a match on his boot heel.\u00a0 With a slightly shaky hand he touched the match to the powdered end of the string and almost fell back in surprise when it spluttered into a tiny flame.\u00a0 His heart in his mouth he raced back to where Hoss was hiding. The flame spluttered for a moment then went out.<\/p>\n Adam waited a minute or two then sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYou stay here, \u201c he ordered and I\u2019ll go and light it again.<\/p>\n The fuse had shortened now and it didn\u2019t occur to Adam that this presented a problem.\u00a0 He re-lit the end and moved away as soon as it started to splutter.\u00a0 This time the tube fell over but the fuse continued to burn.\u00a0 When the flame reached the paper tube it ignited the black powder and with a small bang the tube shot across the bare ground spluttering and throwing out small sparks as it went, it finally came to rest when it hit the grass less than a foot from the tree.\u00a0 Adam had made it behind the tree just in time.<\/p>\n Hoss frowned . \u201cDon\u2019t it do no more?\u00a0 \u00a0There weren\u2019t no stars,\u201d he accused.<\/p>\n After the initial shock that it had worked at all, Adam, too, was disappointed.\u00a0 \u201cIt fell over, that\u2019s why, I got a bigger one that I can fix in the ground better,\u201d he said confidently.<\/p>\n Once again he instructed Hoss to stay put and he chose the largest of the tubes, this one he embedded into the dirt and packed a few small stones around the base.\u00a0 He lit the match and slowly touched it to the end of the string fuse.\u00a0 This time it burned much better and Adam stood up full of confidence that it would work.\u00a0 He turned his back on the firework and headed for the tree.<\/p>\n Suddenly every bit of confidence drained away, coming across the meadow was Pa.\u00a0 Uh Oh!<\/em> There was no where to hide and no way to stop the firework.\u00a0 He glanced from the spluttering fuse to his father striding across the grass.\u00a0 Pa couldn\u2019t know what they were doing from this distance maybe he could rush back and stamp out the fuse.\u00a0 He stood for a second, undecided.\u00a0 In that second, all hell broke loose.<\/p>\n The firework fuse reached the tube and exploded, sending sparks, and burning paper tube everywhere.\u00a0 The base was firmly stuck in the ground and it contained most of the black powder, when this caught it sent showers of earth and pebbles in every direction.<\/p>\n Hoss ducked behind the tree and missed what few colored stars there were, he was the lucky one.\u00a0 Ben and Adam were caught in the open.\u00a0 Ben was peppered with tiny stones and earth, surprised but unhurt.\u00a0 Adam however, was covered in burning powder and paper.\u00a0 Sparks burned his shirt and pants, scorched his black hair and blistered exposed skin on his face and hands.<\/p>\n Not knowing what had caused the explosion and seeing only that Adam was hurt, Ben rushed to him and bodily threw him into the stream, landing almost on top of him but extinguishing any sparks.<\/p>\n It took a moment for them all to recover but soon Ben was standing on the bank hands on hips looking from one son to the other.\u00a0 Adam was indeed a sorry sight, with small holes all over his clothes, his hair in disarray and water dripping from every inch of him.\u00a0 \u201cWould someone like to tell me just what you were doing?\u201d Ben asked.\u00a0 Then he spied the remaining fireworks in a small heap beside the tree.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what are these?\u201d There was definite temper in his voice and Adam shivered both from the shock of the explosion and the cold water and from his father\u2019s expression.<\/p>\n \u201cFireworks, Pa,\u201d Hoss piped up.\u00a0 \u201cAdam made \u2018em!\u00a0 Ain\u2019t he clever?\u00a0 They had stars an\u2019 all just like he said\u2026\u201d His voice faded away as he saw the angry expression on his father\u2019s face.<\/p>\n Ben drew in a sharp breath and tried to control himself.\u00a0 \u201cHoss go back to the yard and help Jake with the chores.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked nervously at his brother.\u00a0 Pa must be mad \u2018cos Adam had used matches. With one last look he turned and ran back toward the house.<\/p>\n Adam shifted nervously from one foot to the other.\u00a0 He had no excuses so he\u2019d better just keep quiet and take whatever was coming.<\/p>\n Ben drew in a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cHow many times have you been told not to play with matches?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam mentally counted but decided that an answer was not required and was probably inadvisable since the number was quite large.<\/p>\n Looking down at the remaining fireworks in his hand Ben studied the workmanship.\u00a0 \u201cSo now we know where the flour went and quite a large quantity of black powder.\u201d\u00a0 He looked up and shook his head,\u00a0 \u201cAdam, what possesses you to do such crazy things?\u00a0 You must have known it was dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n Again Adam considered remaining silent but Pa was waiting for an answer this time.\u00a0 \u201cHoss wanted to see fireworks and I didn\u2019t think it would be dangerous if we were behind the tree,\u201d he excused himself.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what about when you were making them\u2026\u00a0 how did you know what to do?\u201d Ben\u2019s initial anger was being replaced by a fear of what might have happened.\u00a0 Adam had obviously spent time surrounded by quantities of explosive and had been experimenting long before this morning.<\/p>\n \u201cI asked at the Diggin\u2019s.\u201d\u00a0 He spoke without thinking, and then swallowed hard.\u00a0 The Washoe Diggin\u2019s was one place he was not permitted to go.<\/p>\n Ben nodded. \u201cDo you take any notice of ANYTHING I say?\u201d he thundered.\u00a0 \u201cOh, get on home and go to your room until I\u2019ve cooled off enough to deal with you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n \u201cDid Pa give you a tannin\u2019?\u201d\u00a0 Joe grinned.\u00a0 The idea of his older brother on the receiving end instead of him filling him with a certain dubious pleasure.<\/p>\n Adam shook his head\u00a0 \u201cNo, I wish he had.\u00a0 He got imaginative.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss and Joe both groaned.\u00a0 They knew exactly what Adam meant.\u00a0 Pa had a nasty habit of finding the most dreadful punishments that, as he put it, \u2018fitted the crime\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pleased to know I hit the spot, if you\u2019ll excuse the phrase,\u201d Ben grinned.<\/p>\n \u201cYou knew we\u2019d prefer a tanning, didn\u2019t you, Pa?\u00a0 That\u2019s why you always tried to find other things,\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI never like to resort to physical punishment if I can find something that will last longer and make you think a bit more about what you did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe tannings I got always seemed to last long enough,\u201d Hoss observed.<\/p>\n \u201cMine, too,\u201d Joe agreed.<\/p>\n Adam nodded and gave a wry grin.\u00a0 \u201cWell, this one was real imaginative.\u00a0 He made me sit down with a sewing needle and darn everyone of those d\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh huh!\u201d Ben warned, wagging a finger.<\/p>\n Adam blushed and changed his words.\u00a0 \u201cHe made me darn over a hundred holes in my clothes and gave me yard chores for weeks.\u00a0 Oh, and because I\u2019d used the flour I wasn\u2019t allowed biscuits for a month,\u201d Adam grumbled.<\/p>\n Joe gasped.\u00a0 \u201cHe made you sew?\u201d\u00a0 There was nothing worse to Joe\u2019s mind than being made to do girls\u2019 chores.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is nothing wrong with sewing.\u00a0 All good sailors do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but I don\u2019t wanna be a sailor,\u201d Joe muttered.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd there weren\u2019t a hundred holes and the month was two weeks until we went to town again for supplies,\u201d Ben corrected.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we didn\u2019t get to go to the Independence Day picnic either,\u201d Hoss added.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I wasn\u2019t about to let you two near anymore fireworks,\u201d Ben laughed.\u00a0 \u201cEven if I did think you\u2019d learned your lesson.\u00a0 Mind you it didn\u2019t last that long. I seem to remember a herd that got stampeded with firecrackers not so much later.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa that\u2019s not fair, we all know that one.\u00a0 Anyhow, next time its Hoss\u2019 turn to be the star of the story,\u201d Adam chuckled, nudging his brother.<\/p>\n \u201cI never did nuthin\u2019 to tell stories about,\u201d Hoss said, rubbing his vest with his knuckles and examining his fist. \u201cI was the good one.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam got to his feet and moved away a little\u00a0 \u201cSure, you were.\u00a0 Now, was it a raccoon or a bear cub that you kept in your room?\u00a0 And what about those snake eggs you hatched in Mama\u2019s sewing basket?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe jumped up between his brothers.\u00a0 \u201cTell me about it, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, no, you don\u2019t,\u201d Hoss growled, advancing on his older brother.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we should all be getting to those chores,\u201d Ben suggested.<\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow then, Pa,\u201d pleaded Joe.<\/p>\n Ben looked from Adam to Hoss. \u201cWe\u2019ll see, son.\u00a0 After all, Hoss, it\u2019s only fair.\u201d<\/p>\n Three Cartwrights burst into laughter.\u00a0 Only one, thinking of certain stories Adam could<\/em> tell, was not amused.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n <\/p>\n