Summary: Adam and Joe bring down some trunks from the attic and Pa relates a hundred year old family story to amuse a bored Little Joe on a winter\u2019s day.
\nRating: G (6,840 words)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Treasures in the Attic<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Winter in the Sierras was a beautiful sight, but only when viewed from the warmth and safety of a fireside.\u00a0 The icicles, which hung from the eaves of the great Ponderosa ranch house, sparkled in the sunlight, but their weight dislodged the shingles and caused damage.\u00a0 The snow, which looked so picturesque on the branches of the pines could slip at anytime and bury the stock or a rider.\u00a0 Sudden blizzards could blow up and strand the unwary traveler or even kill in the freezing cold of a whiteout.\u00a0 It was just such a day today.<\/p>\n Through the study window of the ranch house the world was white; to open the door was to invite death.\u00a0 A rope led from house to bunkhouse and from bunkhouse to barn.\u00a0 Even in this weather the chores had to be done, the stock cared for, and the fires kept burning.\u00a0 The rope ensured no one wandered off into the whiteout to freeze.\u00a0 The morning chores had been accomplished with some difficulty by a few of the hands and the oldest two Cartwright sons; Ben Cartwright refusing to allow his youngest son to leave the house in these extreme conditions.\u00a0 Now they were settled until the evening chores needed attention; settled, all but one.<\/p>\n “Joseph, will you please find something useful to do?\u00a0 You\u2019re beginning to irritate all of us.”\u00a0 Ben Cartwright lifted his eyes from the ledgers spread out on his desk and spoke sternly to his youngest son.<\/p>\n Little Joe turned and paced back across the floor one more time.\u00a0\u00a0 He had already fallen over his older brother Hoss’ feet twice.\u00a0 Hoss sighed and moved the harness he was repairing so that it didn’t get knocked to the floor on Joe’s next pass.\u00a0 It was amazing how small this big room could seem when four people were imprisoned in it for days at a time.\u00a0 Hoss glanced at the window.\u00a0 It was still snowing and as he looked harder, he realized that the snow had drifted high enough to cover more than half of the panes of glass.<\/p>\n “There ain’t nuthin’ to do,\u201d Joe complained bitterly. It was bad enough for the adults to be shut up in the house for three days, but for thirteen-year-old Little Joe it was like a life sentence.<\/p>\n “I’m sure you can find some schoolwork to do and Hop Sing won’t need the table until supper,\u201d Ben replied, trying to keep his voice calm.\u00a0 There had been too many confrontations with his young son in the past week.<\/p>\n “I done all my homework and there ain’t nuthin’ else,\u201d Joe grumbled.<\/p>\n His older brother, Adam, looked up from the book he was reading.\u00a0 “You might try practicing some English.\u00a0 It sounds as though you could use it,\u201d he said sarcastically, slipping a bookmark into his pages and setting the book on the table.\u00a0 He stretched and looked at the grandfather clock. Another couple of hours before he and Hoss would have to make the cold journey to the barn again.oss would have to Hoss\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 H<\/p>\n Joe swung around to make some angry retort to his brother but caught a stern look from his father and decided he’d pushed things far enough for one afternoon.\u00a0 It was bad enough being stuck here in the living room but at least it was warm and he had his brothers for company, such as it was.\u00a0 His own room, where he had been sent on more than one occasion in the past month, was cold and lonely and only good for sleeping this time of year.\u00a0 He threw himself on to the sofa and earned another pained look from Hoss who had jabbed himself with the large needle he was using.<\/p>\n Adam got to his feet and stretched like a cat.\u00a0 “Pa, you mentioned wanting to store away some papers.\u00a0 How about Joe and I go fetch a trunk from the attic?\u00a0 We can clear it out and then put it back when you’ve decided what to keep.”<\/p>\n Ben hesitated for a moment not sure why Adam would want to go into the freezing attic now; then dawn broke.\u00a0 “I think that’s a very good idea.”\u00a0 He smiled at his oldest son.\u00a0 “Keep you both out of mischief for a couple of hours.”<\/p>\n Joe groaned. The attic was cold and sorting through a lot of boring papers didn’t sound much like fun.<\/p>\n “C’mon, little brother, let’s see if those muscles of yours can handle some heavy work.\u00a0 There\u2019re two trunks up there.\u00a0 If we bring both down and put the stuff into one, then Pa can use the other.”<\/p>\n Adam stood at the bottom of the stairs with a maddening grin on his face that made Joe want to hit him.\u00a0 He knew this chore was only being suggested to stop him pacing up and down.\u00a0 Chores that had to be done were bad enough but inventing work for the sake of it was just like Adam.\u00a0 He dragged himself reluctantly to the stairs and followed sullenly as his older brother led the way along the upstairs hallway to the narrow staircase that led to the attic above the storeroom at the back of the house.<\/p>\n The room was not large and, with its sloped roof, Adam had to duck to avoid the beams.\u00a0 Joe could almost stand upright but even he had to be careful.\u00a0 Stacked against the sides of the room were all manner of boxes.\u00a0 Most contained contracts and letters relating to the ranch business.\u00a0 Some, Joe knew, held old bits of equipment and furnishings that Pa or Hop Sing thought might be useful; both were inveterate hoarders of useless trash, in Joe’s opinion.<\/p>\n Joe picked his way between the boxes and piles of junk to where Adam had taken hold of a large cabin trunk.\u00a0 “This one has the oldest stuff in it.\u00a0 It was Pa’s sea chest.\u00a0\u00a0 We might find we can clear out some of it and make enough room for the things that are in that one.”\u00a0 He pointed to a flat green canvas covered trunk bound with some sort of wooden bands.<\/p>\n Joe sighed and took hold of the leather handle at other end of the sea chest.\u00a0 It was heavy and difficult to maneuver in the confined space.\u00a0 His fingers were cold and he almost dropped it as they started down the stairs.\u00a0 By the time both trunks were in the living room the boys were shivering and needed time by the fire to warm through again.<\/p>\n “It sure is cold up there,\u201d Adam commented, rubbing his hands to warm them.\u00a0 “A couple of shingles have come loose.\u00a0 As soon as this storm eases someone is gonna have to get up there and do some repairs or we’ll have the snow melting into the space and down into the storeroom.”\u00a0 He sighed, knowing he was the most likely candidate for the job.<\/p>\n Ben had barely looked up from his ledgers when the trunks had been dropped onto the floor in front of the fire and he only half heard his oldest son.\u00a0 He was satisfied that Joe was being occupied constructively for a couple of hours and he could come to grips with the figures.<\/p>\n Hoss looked at Adam then bent his head back to his work.\u00a0 He sure wasn\u2019t about to volunteer for roof repairs and he was pretty sure Pa wouldn\u2019t ask him to, not with his big feet.<\/p>\n Joe examined the green trunk, running his fingers over the wooden bands and then releasing the catches.\u00a0 He opened the lid slowly and wrinkled his nose as the musty smell assaulted his senses.\u00a0 “How long has this been up there?” he asked, touching the material on the top with distaste.<\/p>\n Adam glanced over at the desk but Ben’s head was bent over the books. “Must be about seven or eight years I suppose,” he said quietly.\u00a0 “I’d forgotten I packed so much stuff away.”<\/p>\n Joe noted the serious note in his brother’s voice and suddenly the significance of the trunk hit him and he dropped the material he had been holding as if it had burned him.\u00a0 “This stuff\u2026this stuff was \u2026Mama’s, wasn’t it?” he asked softly, looking at his older brother with sorrowful hazel eyes.<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 “Most of it, yes.\u00a0\u00a0 Do you want me to do it on my own?” he asked suddenly filled with concern. Maybe this was the wrong chore to offer Joe to keep him occupied.<\/p>\n Joe vehemently shook his head.\u00a0 “No, I want to see what’s here.\u00a0 I’m okay with it.\u201d\u00a0 He ran his hands over the soft green material on top of the trunk. \u201cWhy’d you keep her dresses?”<\/p>\n Ben glanced up as he heard Joe\u2019s denial. He drew in a small breath as he saw what his youngest son was touching.\u00a0 He had been too full of sorrow all those years ago.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t known what Adam had been storing or what he had thrown away.<\/p>\n Adam knelt down and his expression became a little strange and faraway.\u00a0 “Not dresses, Joe, just this one and her wedding dress.”\u00a0 He indicated a second cream lace dress packed in tissue paper then he carefully lifted the dark green velvet from the box and opened it out, touching the cream and green ribbons almost with a reverence.\u00a0 “She wore this for the first time when I was about fourteen and I fell in love.”\u00a0 He grinned at his younger brother.\u00a0 “I guess that was when I started to realize she wasn’t so bad after all.\u00a0 For a long time none of my girlfriends could measure up to her, not sure they ever have.”<\/p>\n Hearing the sad note in his brother\u2019s voice, Hoss looked up and saw the contents of the open trunk.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t recall the dress but suddenly he could smell Mama\u2019s perfume and he carefully fixed his needle in the leather and set aside his mending, allowing the memories to flood back to him.<\/p>\n Joe felt a lump in his throat.\u00a0 He had never heard his older brother speak of Mama in this way.\u00a0 Impulsively he reached a hand out and touched Adam\u2019s shoulder, feeling a bond that hadn\u2019t been there before.\u00a0 His other hand touched the dress with the tips of his fingers.\u00a0 “She was beautiful, wasn’t she?”\u00a0 Joe wasn’t really asking, in his memories, his mother was the most beautiful woman in the world.<\/p>\n “Yeah, she was,\u201d Adam said so softly that Joe had trouble hearing him, \u201cBut not just beautiful, she was a wonderful person too.\u00a0 She took on me and Hoss and a whole new way of life and made it work.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss felt tears prick his eyes as he watched his two brothers.\u00a0 Folks said Adam and Joe was always fighting but right here and now they needed each other and he needed to be a part of it.\u00a0 Swallowing hard he moved to the end of the sofa in an attempt to become part of the tableau around the trunk.<\/p>\n \u201cJohntown was hardly New Orleans but I never heard her complain,”\u00a0 Adam chuckled.\u00a0 “Except when she was yelling at Pa because she’d had a bad day and he wasn’t being sympathetic enough.\u00a0 I sure never made it easy for her either.”<\/p>\n Hoss could hold back no longer got up and took a few steps toward them, then bent over the trunk with his brothers.\u00a0 He was concerned at their melancholy mood; Joe in particular looked close to tears.\u00a0 He searched around for something to distract him.<\/p>\n “He sure didn’t,” Hoss commented to Joe as he spotted a dusty folder and pulled it out.\u00a0 “He was a real pain\u2026\u00a0 Hey, this is full of school stuff, mine and yours,\u201d he said, nudging Adam and holding out a picture of a rather badly drawn horse.\u00a0 “I did this my first week in school.”<\/p>\n Adam picked up the next item in the folder. “Yeah, and this is a letter from Mr Lawson telling Pa about the frogs.”\u00a0 Adam laughed, \u201cI wonder why Pa kept it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo embarrass us, I guess,\u201d Hoss grinned.<\/p>\n Joe delved further into the trunk.\u00a0 “Hey, what’s this?” he asked, pulling out a small white dress with a ruffle at the hemline.<\/p>\n “Your dress,” Adam grinned.\u00a0 “Hey, Hoss, can you remember him toddling around in this?”<\/p>\n “I never wore that!”\u00a0 Joe exclaimed in disgust.<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.\u00a0 “Yeah, you did.\u00a0 I remember Adam teachin’ you to climb stairs when you was wearing it and Mama havin’ a blue fit when you caught your foot in the hem and fell.”<\/p>\n The trunk continued to produce treasured memories for both Hoss and Adam but for Joe they were things he’d only heard about and he sat back and watched until Hoss drew out a wooden marionette.\u00a0 “Hey, I remember that.”\u00a0 He took it from his brother and tried to untangle the strings.\u00a0 He looked up at his oldest brother.\u00a0 “You made it for me for Christmas.”<\/p>\n Adam nodded, remembering the winters gone by and the things they had all done to while away the hours. “I think Pa suggested it as a way of keeping me out of mischief on a cold winter’s day,” he grinned.<\/p>\n Ben couldn\u2019t contain a smile at this one.\u00a0 He had been listening while pretending to be engrossed in his books.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t often that the boys reminisced about the past and he was intrigued at their memories.\u00a0 People said the three were different but right now he could only see the similarities.\u00a0 The marionette had indeed been a way to keep Adam quiet on a day such as this.\u00a0 He had been as restless and irritating as Joe.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss was the placid one but even he had found restriction to the house hard to bear in his younger days.\u00a0 In some ways Hoss had found it harder than his brothers.\u00a0 He was the one who loved the outdoors and who found books a chore.\u00a0 Adam could be relied upon to eventually settle with a book and even Joe could become engrossed in a good story, but Hoss needed fresh air and exercise to keep him happy.\u00a0 At this moment Ben could recall days gone by that had been just like this one.<\/p>\n Joe looked at his brothers and smiled.\u00a0 It was good to know that they had found winters hard sometimes.\u00a0 Now they were grown they both seemed to have adapted to long days trapped in the house.\u00a0 He didn’t think he ever would.<\/p>\n Adam picked up a tiny tin soldier in a scratched and faded blue, then another painted red.\u00a0 “These came all the way from Boston,” he said softly.<\/p>\n Hoss took one from him.\u00a0 “I remember playin’ with these.”<\/p>\n “We all did,” Adam agreed.\u00a0 “Then Pa bought Joe new ones and these got packed away.\u00a0 I remember one Christmas we were having a battle and I beat you and you got mad and threw one of them at me.”<\/p>\n Hoss nodded, remembering.\u00a0 “You ducked and it went in the fire and I cried when the lead melted and you said I’d killed him.”<\/p>\n Joe scoffed.\u00a0 “C’mon, you’re kidding me?”<\/p>\n Adam shook his head.\u00a0 “Nope.\u00a0 We fought over it and I got sent to bed,” he grinned at Hoss.\u00a0 “Because I shouldn’t tease the baby<\/em>\u2026”<\/p>\n Hoss guffawed.\u00a0 “I was only five and you were bigger than me in those days.”<\/p>\n “Didya fight much?” Joe asked.\u00a0 “I can’t remember.”<\/p>\n “Oh yeah, all the time,\u201d Adam grinned and gave Hoss a gentle push, “Until I got older and wiser.”<\/p>\n Again Hoss’s deep laugh rumbled around the room and he shoved back. “You mean until I got big enough to beat you.”<\/p>\n Adam grinned.\u00a0 “That’s what I said, older and wiser!”\u00a0 He reached into the trunk again and brought out a few books and papers and a whole heap of contracts.\u00a0 He flicked through the contracts and sneezed as the dust flew into his eyes and nose.\u00a0 “Eighteen forty eight, nine, fifty\u2026fifty four\u2026\u201d he recited.\u00a0 “Well, these can go. None of our current contracts need these to support them.”\u00a0\u00a0 He set the pile aside.<\/p>\n “Now, let’s see what’s in this one and then try to fit it all into one.”\u00a0 He shifted his position and moved a pile of papers to give them room to attack the other trunk.\u00a0 This one was black, its wooden bands ran around it horizontally and the lid was barrel shaped.\u00a0 The catches were rusted and when Adam tried to pry them open they didn’t budge.\u00a0\u00a0 He tried again using more force and one sprang open showering him in tiny particles of rust.\u00a0 The other barely moved despite his best efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long has this been closed up?\u201d he grumbled.<\/p>\n Ben finally gave up the pretence of working and closed the ledger.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s been opened since we moved from the cabin, so about fourteen years.\u201d He looked at the trunk and sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not even sure why I brought it here.\u00a0 Memories, I guess.\u201d\u00a0 He got up slowly and walked over to the fireplace.\u00a0 He had to pick his way through the contents of the first trunk, which the boys had strewn across the floor, table and chairs as they sorted through it.<\/p>\n Adam was still trying to force open the old sea chest and suddenly the second lock broke off completely and the lid creaked open an inch.\u00a0 Joe eagerly made a grab for it and threw it back.\u00a0\u00a0 The trunk had a tray at the top about eight inches deep and resting on ledges above the rest of the contents.\u00a0 Joe picked up the first thing to hand: a black book with faded writing on the cover.\u00a0 “What’s this, Pa?”\u00a0 he asked, turning it over and opening it.\u00a0 “The writing’s all strange.\u00a0 It ain\u2019t English, that\u2019s for sure.”<\/p>\n Adam winced and tried to see what Joe was holding but it meant nothing to him.<\/p>\n Ben sat down on the hearth facing the trunk.\u00a0 Taking the book from Joe he gently opened it.\u00a0 “This belonged to your mother, Hoss.\u00a0 It was a journal she wrote when she was a girl in Sweden.\u00a0 I\u2019d forgotten it was in here.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never been able to read it but I couldn’t bring myself to part with it.\u00a0 Maybe we could find someone to translate it for us.”<\/p>\n Hoss took the book from his father and gently turned the pages.\u00a0 He swallowed hard; there was so little of his mother in the house and any memento was treasured.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter that he couldn\u2019t read what she had written; it was enough that her hands had touched this book.<\/p>\n \u201cHey,\u201d Joe interrupted Hoss\u2019s thoughts. \u201cWhat are these?\u201d\u00a0 He held out a bundle tied with ribbon.<\/p>\n Ben smiled and held out his hand.\u00a0 \u201cLetters Adam\u2019s mother wrote to me before we were married.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe giggled and with a dramatic gesture held the bundle closer to his chest, his eyes closed and he gave a sighed.\u00a0 \u201cLove letters, huh, Pa?\u201d\u00a0 he said with an expression that he considered romantic but which made Hoss laugh.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s smile was indulgent. \u201cYes, Little Joe, love letters\u2026and private,\u201d he said, holding out his hand.<\/p>\n Adam was too far from his father to see the handwriting but he could imagine it from the faded inscription in his worn copy of \u201cParadise Lost.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He wondered what was in those letters and he hoped Pa might let him read some of them or at least read out passages to him.\u00a0 Pa rarely talked of his first wife, and Adam rarely asked.\u00a0 In fact they could only remember one real conversation about her and that had been more than ten years ago when he was just a kid.<\/p>\n Joe added another dramatic sighed and handed over the letters.\u00a0 Ben took them and stared at the handwriting on the top envelope; it had faded until it was almost illegible.<\/p>\n He turned to Adam. \u201cShe wrote these every week while I was at sea even if she couldn\u2019t send them.\u00a0 I guess they are rather like a journal, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam held his father\u2019s eyes and tried to send the right signals but Joe was tugging at Pa\u2019s sleeve and the moment was lost.<\/p>\n \u201cDid Mama write a journal, Pa?\u201d\u00a0 Joe asked eagerly.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s mood changed and he laughed.\u00a0 \u201cYour mother was like you, she never sat still long enough to write.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam sat back on his heels and tried to hide his disappointment.\u00a0 He would have liked Pa to say more about the letters but as usual Little Joe was the center of attention again.<\/p>\n Ben settled down beside the trunk and began to explore its contents for himself.\u00a0 He was so engrossed in things from his past that he didn\u2019t notice Joe picking up a worn leather pouch and a picture wrapped in oilcloth.<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s this, Pa?\u201d\u00a0 Joe asked holding up a small miniature of a soldier.<\/p>\n Adam glanced up from his sulk, his curiosity aroused as he noted the uniform and he took the picture from his younger brother.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, Pa, where did you get a picture of a British Redcoat?\u201d he asked, peering at the miniature.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s head snapped up, an eyebrow raised and the beginnings of a smile on his face.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s obvious curiosity amused him.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a long story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell us, Pa,\u201d Joe implored.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Pa, we got plenty o\u2019 time before chores.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss relished a good story and this one sounded as though it might be good.<\/p>\n Adam leaned back against the chair and folded his arms.\u00a0 \u201cGo ahead, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019ll admit to being intrigued on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben slid back into his chair and looked at his three sons: Joe, kneeling by the trunk with the leather pouch still in his hands, looking up eagerly; Hoss, keen to hear the story; and Adam, with his expression of intense curiosity.\u00a0 He slowly leaned back and reached for his pipe and tobacco.\u00a0 Once he had filled the bowl and tamped the tobacco down firmly he struck a match and lit the pipe, drawing deeply on it to ensure it was fully alight.<\/p>\n All three boys sighed with impatience; there was no hurrying Pa when he was in this mood.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a family story\u2026\u201d Ben began, \u201cOne from long ago.\u201d\u00a0 He took the picture from Adam and stared at the miniature as if thinking where to start.\u00a0 Finally, he looked up and allowed his eyes to settle on Adam, the others would enjoy the story but Adam was probably the only one who would truly understand the sacrifices and hardships involved\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis man, this soldier, was your great-great-grandfather\u2026\u201d he said, slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cHuh!\u201d\u00a0 Joe exclaimed, his jaw dropping open.\u00a0 \u201cBut he\u2019s a Redcoat. I thought the Cartwrights fought with Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben grinned. \u201cThe Cartwrights did but The Honorable Frederick Knollys Fitzsimmons was my mother\u2019s grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe gasped. \u201cDoes that mean he was royal or somethin\u2019?\u201d\u00a0 Joe asked.<\/p>\n Ben laughed. \u201cI don\u2019t think so, though the family may have had connections, I suppose.\u00a0 My mother told me that he was the fourth son of an Earl.\u00a0 In those days, the eldest son inherited everything and all younger sons went into the army or the church.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam chuckled and reached out to ruffle Joe\u2019s hair. \u201cPity we don\u2019t keep up that tradition.\u00a0 Can\u2019t you just see Joe as a preacher?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe scowled.\u00a0 \u201cGo on, Pa.\u00a0 Was your mother English, too?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot exactly but, in a way her grandmother was.\u201d\u00a0 Ben smiled at his youngest son.\u00a0 \u201cYou know that before independence all the colonists were answerable to the British crown.\u00a0 The colonies were ruled by the British and all the people living there were considered British, even those who had been born here.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe nodded \u201cAin\u2019t that what they argued about?\u00a0 I mean payin\u2019 taxes when they didn\u2019t get to choose who the government was.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s kind of a simplistic way to look at it,\u201d Adam started to explain in his best school teacher manner, making both Hoss and Joe groan.<\/p>\n \u201cTell the story, Pa.\u00a0 It don\u2019t matter about why,\u201d Joe complained.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Pa,\u201d Hoss agreed, throwing Adam an uncomplimentary look.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want Pa sidetracked into a history lesson.<\/p>\n Ben smiled and rested a hand on Joe\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, for now, we\u2019ll stick with the story.\u201d He touched the tiny portrait again.\u00a0 \u201cYour great-great-grandmother Ellen lived in a small community just outside of Boston.\u00a0 Her father was a judge and very respected in the area.\u00a0 Not far from where they lived there was a British garrison and the soldiers were often seen in the town.\u00a0 They mixed with the local people and were part of the community.\u00a0 My uncle kept the family Bible but I seem to recall that Ellen was born in about 1745.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you remember her, Pa?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course he doesn\u2019t,\u201d Adam said, scornfully.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, but I do,\u201d Ben disagreed.<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s smile was triumphant and he stuck out his tongue at his older brother, which earned him a gentle shove and he retaliated with the same.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, you two, let Pa tell the story.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss was impatient as he put a hand between his two brothers to stop any further nonsense.<\/p>\n Ben waited patiently until all three were paying attention again. \u201cI remember being taken to see her when I was very small, maybe five or so and John a year younger.\u00a0 She was a tiny lady with white wispy hair and a blue dress and she smelled of lavender.\u00a0 I recall her rocking in her chair and telling me I was a sweet child,\u201d he laughed.\u00a0 \u201cJohn and I were chasing each other and I fell over and hurt my knee but before I could cry, she told me to be a brave little soldier.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe giggled at the thought of his father being a sweet child, or a brave little soldier, come to that.<\/p>\n \u201cBut how come she married a Redcoat, Pa?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss interrupted, impatiently.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m coming to that.\u201d\u00a0 Ben settled himself more comfortably before continuing.\u00a0 \u201cYour great-great-grandfather was quartered at the garrison and he saw Ellen in the town and asked her father if he might call on her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy didn\u2019t he ask her?\u201d\u00a0 Joe wanted to know.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause it wasn\u2019t etiquette for a man to speak with a young unmarried lady unless they had been introduced,\u201d Ben answered.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019d kinda make life hard for ya, wouldn\u2019t it Adam?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss chuckled.<\/p>\n Adam grinned. \u201cMake it impossible for you,\u201d he retorted.<\/p>\n A pink glow rose up Hoss\u2019 neck and he glared at his brother.\u00a0 He might have known that Adam would get the better of him.<\/p>\n This time it was Joe who tugged at his father\u2019s sleeve.\u00a0 \u201cGo on, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, they courted in her parents\u2019 front parlor, probably for about two years.\u00a0 That was quite usual then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat sounds awful, having to make small talk to a girl\u2019s parents.\u201d\u00a0 Adam nudged Hoss, whose good humor had returned and the two brothers shared a pained expression as they considered the restriction of eighteenth century manners.<\/p>\n \u201cHmm\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Ben grunted.\u00a0 \u201cMight not be such a bad thing for a bit more of that now.\u00a0 Anyhow, eventually they got married and Ellen moved to the garrison with her knew husband.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWas she a Duchess or somethin\u2019 then if she married this fella with a title?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so,\u201d Ben replied.\u00a0 \u201cHe was only a younger son.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t very old when she married, perhaps about seventeen.\u00a0 Yes, younger than you are now, Hoss.\u00a0 Her husband was much older, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDidn\u2019t her family mind her marrying a British soldier?\u201d\u00a0 Joe queried.<\/p>\n \u201cNot then, Joe.\u00a0 It was quite common for the soldiers to marry local girls.\u00a0 They were far from home and many stayed here for years, some never going back to England.\u00a0 You have to remember that up until that time, they weren\u2019t thought of as an enemy.\u00a0 They were here to protect the settlers from Indians and then to act as a sort of police force.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYah mean like Sheriff Coffee and such, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked, puzzled.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, in a way, but more like the forts we had around here when we first came west.\u00a0 They represented the law,\u201d Ben explained.\u00a0 \u201cThey also kept an eye on the activities of the French, because England was at war with France.\u00a0\u00a0 Some resented their presence but most accepted it.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until about the time of her marriage that things began to be difficult.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know much about their early marriage but they had two children and I do know that your great-great-grandfather was re-assigned to Boston to keep the peace after the riot in the summer of 1768.\u00a0 Ellen and the children must have moved there with him, perhaps to a house in the city.\u00a0 My mother had some of her letters and they were living there at the time of the massacre and she wrote about the hardships that followed.\u00a0 She wrote about how her husband was set upon by people in the street and how he was often offered money for his flintlock or even offered inducements to desert.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut he didn\u2019t, did he?\u201d\u00a0 Joe asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, he didn\u2019t,\u201d Ben agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened to him then, Pa?\u00a0 Did he fight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Joe, he fought.\u00a0 He was an infantryman; his uniform is of the 10th<\/sup> Regiment of Foot.\u201d\u00a0 He waited to see if it meant anything to his sons.<\/p>\n Joe and Hoss made no comment but he heard Adam draw in a sharp breath.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was one of the soldiers who marched into Lexington, and then on to Concord,\u201d Adam said quietly.\u00a0 Suddenly he saw this unknown relative in a new light.<\/p>\n Ben nodded, solemnly. \u201cYes, he was.\u00a0 He wrote a letter to his wife about the march. I remember my mother reading it to me when I was about your age, Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy did she keep the letter Pa?\u00a0 I mean it was so old why would she want it?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n \u201cShe said she kept it because it was the truth and not what some politician wanted to be the truth,\u201d Ben replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWhaddya mean by that, Pa?\u00a0 Ain\u2019t what\u2019s in the history books the truth then?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n Ben smiled.\u00a0 \u201cMost of it, yes.\u00a0 But a lot of what we read in newspapers and then later in books is either innocently altered in the telling or deliberately changed to make people think a certain way.\u00a0 It\u2019s called propaganda and politicians use it to manipulate people.\u201d\u00a0 He saw Joe\u2019s puzzled expression and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe, remember when you sneaked some food from the kitchen to go hunt raccoons a while back and when Hop Sing yelled about it, you convinced me it was Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss growled. \u201cYeah, you sure did and I didn\u2019t have nuthin\u2019 to do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe rose to his feet in protest.\u00a0 \u201cI never said it was Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly,\u201d his father replied his eyes twinkling.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou didn\u2019t come out and tell a lie but you made me think it was your brother\u2019s doing by the way you spoke.<\/p>\n Joe swallowed hard. Pa had known all along and suddenly he realized what Pa was telling them.<\/p>\n Ben saw the dawn of understanding in Joe\u2019s eyes and smiled.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what I mean.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s not what is said but what is left unsaid, or the way a story is told.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam had remained silent but now he was impatient to hear what the letter had said.\u00a0 \u201cGo on Pa, what did he say happened?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe said his regiment was supposed to go from Boston to Concord but that there were not enough boats to transport the troops across the river.\u00a0 It was night and they had to wade through the marshes to reach the road.\u00a0 They were so delayed that they were marched in double-quick time toward Lexington but it was almost daylight by the time they arrived, tired and nervous at what lay ahead.\u00a0 Your great-great- grandfather related that there was a double row of minutemen on the green and the officer in charge rode forward and ordered them to disperse.\u00a0 There was some argument which he did not hear and then a few of the minutemen started to move away apparently following their own commanding officer\u2019s orders.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut they didn\u2019t go, did they, Pa?\u00a0 Miss Jones told us they fought,\u201d Joe insisted.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, they didn\u2019t all go.\u00a0 Frederick says a shot rang out, he knew not from where, and as he looked around to determine its origin the order came to fire a volley over the heads of the Americans.\u00a0\u00a0 When this was done some dispersed but others stood their ground and the British commander order his men to advance with bayonets.\u00a0 The British numbers were overwhelming and the result a foregone conclusion.\u00a0 That single shot started a revolution but no one knows who fired it.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cMiss Jones told us it was the British.\u00a0 She said that the American General told his men not to fire unless the British did.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam chuckled. \u201cYou just proved Pa\u2019s point, little brother.\u00a0 It was a Captain not a General, and he told his men to stand their ground. He did say not to fire unless fired upon but he also said, \u2018if they mean to have war let it begin here!<\/em>\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat don\u2019t mean one of the American\u2019s fired though does it?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss queried, not sure what was being suggested.<\/p>\n Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s a good point, son.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t prove a thing.\u00a0 Two armies facing each other\u2026 One tired after a long night march, probably comprising a good few youngsters who were scared and had never been in a situation like this before, and the others thinking that they needed to defend their homes and families, most with no experience of warfare of any kind.\u00a0 Tired and scared men can react in many ways, a nervous hand on a flintlock and a war is started.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt would have happened anyway.\u00a0 If not at Lexington then within a few weeks elsewhere,\u201d Adam said, confidently.<\/p>\n Ben sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYes, it probably would have, but on such small incidents whole nations fall.\u00a0 Who\u2019s to say after all this time whether it was a deliberate act or an accident?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam sat back feeling a little put out at Pa\u2019s response.\u00a0\u00a0 He had always considered that war had been inevitable.\u00a0 Pa\u2019s remark made him wonder if his view was too simple.\u00a0 Had other powers been at work?<\/p>\n It was Hoss that put his thoughts into words, \u201cWhy would someone do it deliberate, Pa?\u00a0 I mean if the orders was not t\u2019 fire\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho knows, Hoss?\u00a0 Maybe someone there on one side or the other had a hidden reason to want war.\u201d<\/p>\n The two older boys remained silent, thinking over the implications of Ben\u2019s words but Joe was impatient for the story to continue.\u00a0 \u201cBut what happened to our great-great-grandfather, Pa?\u00a0 Was he killed?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben came back to the present and ruffled Joe\u2019s hair.\u00a0 \u201cNo, he wasn\u2019t killed; no British soldiers were killed at Lexington.\u00a0 He marched on to Concord and then fought in several skirmishes.\u00a0 His letters found their way back to Ellen but only some of them survived to be handed on to my mother.\u00a0 It was the letters afterwards that mother kept. The letters smuggled to Ellen after the surrender.\u00a0 He was imprisoned with other junior officers in Maryland and more or less forgotten.\u00a0 But he never forgot his wife and children and for several years he managed to get letters to them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid he ever see them again?\u201d\u00a0 tender-hearted Hoss asked.<\/p>\n Ben smiled. \u201cYes, he did.\u00a0 Over time the prisoners were given more freedom to work and he managed to escape and return to Ellen. She was proud of her husband, and despite being ostracized by her neighbors she welcomed him home.\u00a0 Their life became impossible because no one would give him work so they moved north and he started to work on farms as an itinerant worker.\u00a0 For many years he couldn\u2019t reveal that he had once been a British infantryman and they moved from place to place to hide his identity.\u00a0\u00a0 He and Ellen paid dearly for being on the losing side, but she never doubted him.\u201d\u00a0 Ben looked thoughtful.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve often wondered where his loyalties really lay.\u00a0 He never returned to England, though many of his fellow officers did and presumably in England he would have been a hero with a comfortable way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean he was a spy?\u201d\u00a0 Joe asked, in awe.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I don\u2019t mean that.\u00a0 I think he was a man who believed in duty and he had taken an oath to his King and country.\u00a0 He fulfilled his duty, but after it was over he allowed himself to make his own decisions and he tried to make a new life in his adopted country for the sake of his wife and sons.\u00a0 After all, Ellen and his sons had never been to England; they were Americans.\u00a0\u00a0 His family had suffered for his loyalty more than he had.\u00a0 I believe at one point Ellen\u2019s father disowned her because she wouldn\u2019t leave Frederick.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe must have really loved him,\u201d Hoss said softly.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, she must have,\u201d Ben agreed. \u201cHe came back to Boston just before he died and he\u2019s buried in Charlestown within sight of the battlefields on which he fought.\u00a0 His sons never mentioned him after he died but Ellen never let his memory die and she kept this painting of him beside her chair.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s this in the pouch, Pa?\u201d\u00a0 Joe tipped up the dried and stiff leather purse and then pulled out the contents.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is his pay book.\u201d\u00a0 Ben opened a yellowed and worn booklet and showed Joe the pages.<\/p>\n \u201cBut there\u2019s nothing written except for the first few pages!\u201d\u00a0 Joe exclaimed pushing the book back to his father.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s because his pay never reached him,\u201d his father replied.<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean he fought for nothin\u2019?\u201d Hoss asked, shocked.<\/p>\n \u201cFought on the wrong side too,\u201d Joe put in.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, son, he fought for what he believed, just as Washington\u2019s troops did.\u00a0 He did his duty as he saw it and money wasn\u2019t a part of it. A man can only do what he thinks is right at the time.\u00a0 Who\u2019s to say that if the British had won, we wouldn\u2019t be sitting here discussing whether your great-great-grandfather Cartwright was a traitor for fighting against the Crown?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam raised an eyebrow; it was a view he hadn\u2019t considered before and it shocked him.\u00a0 \u201cThat would make Washington a traitor, too,\u201d he blurted out.<\/p>\n Ben lifted an eyebrow and surveyed his eldest son.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I suppose it would.\u00a0 It all depends on where you are standing.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss was more interested in practical things than philosophical arguments and he had been examining a horn with a carved silver top. \u201cIs this what he kept his powder in, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam took it from his brother. \u201cPa had one just like it when we were coming out here.\u00a0 I remember it took ages to prepare a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben laughed.\u00a0 \u201cNot for an expert like your great-great-grandfather.\u00a0 He would be able to re-load while the second rank fired.\u00a0 Two ranks of soldiers could set up almost continuous fire.\u00a0 I only used it for hunting. If my life had been at stake I\u2019m sure I would have been faster.\u201d\u00a0 He fished out some small black lead balls. \u201cThis is the shot and somewhere in the bag there will be some gun cotton to make the wad and a rod to tamp it all down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201dThere\u2019s no powder.\u201d\u00a0 Joe poked into the bag and looked up disappointed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d hardly keep black powder in a chest in the attic,\u201d Adam said, scornfully.<\/p>\n Ben raised an eyebrow and smiled at his oldest son. \u201cWe used to have some in the old cabin in a metal container but once I stopped using it I got rid of it.\u00a0 I recall a small boy trying to make fireworks with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe and Hoss both stopped what they were doing and looked at their older brother.\u00a0 Joe with a cheeky know-it-all grin and Hoss chuckling as he half remembered the incident.<\/p>\n Adam blushed.\u00a0 \u201cI was only a kid then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, and didn\u2019t know any better, or at least you said you didn\u2019t when I discovered your secret.\u201d\u00a0 Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cBut that\u2019s another story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell us, Pa,\u201d Joe implored.<\/p>\n Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot this afternoon.\u00a0 It\u2019s getting late and we need to pack all this away and go feed the stock.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam looked relieved, there were far too many stories Pa could tell if he had a mind to, and this was one of the worst.<\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow then Pa, please?\u201d\u00a0 Joe pleaded; his eyes alight at the thought of hearing a story about Adam doing something he shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see, Little Joe.\u00a0 Now let\u2019s get this cleared up before Hop Sing sees it.\u201d<\/p>\n As Hoss and Joe began clearing things from the floor, Adam looked up at his father with a silent appeal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt keeps him out of mischief,\u201d Ben whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, at my expense,\u201d Adam whispered back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nTHE END<\/h2>\n