Summary:\u00a0 Could Hoss’ behavior ever give cause for Ben to take him on the Grand Swing through the Ponderosa?
\nRated PG
\nWord Count: 26,900<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chapter 1<\/strong><\/p>\n Two fourteen-year-old and two fifteen-year-old boys were hiding behind the big tree past the outhouse of the school, giggling and laughing like girls. One of the boys had found some tiny, but rough drawings his father had hidden in one of his tool boxes in his barn and brought them to school.\u00a0 As boys have from time immemorial, they wanted to see the things their parents had forbidden them to see.\u00a0 The crude drawings, consisting of varying stages of nude women were certainly things of interest to the budding young men, and they were simultaneously intrigued and fearful. Intrigued, certainly, by what they were viewing. Fearful for the consequences should they be found out.\u00a0 One boy, however, kept wondering if he really wanted to participate.\u00a0 He knew his father wouldn\u2019t approve, and he himself wasn\u2019t all that keen on what they were doing.\u00a0 But he didn\u2019t want to be odd man out, and he didn\u2019t want to incur their derision and teasing, so he went along, laughing when they laughed and basically just following the crowd.<\/p>\n When they heard the bell ringing, signaling the end of recess, the pages containing the tiny, crude images were given back to their rightful owner, who folded them and put them into the pocket of his vest, as the boys gathered their own belongings and headed back to the schoolhouse.\u00a0 They jostled and laughed as they went, feeling more like \u201cmen\u201d in their exploration of the fairer sex while trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy and not bring attention to the enormous deception they felt they had just perpetrated on their schoolmaster and parents.\u00a0 One large boy, however, felt some semblance of shame and deceit for his behavior, but continued to hide that from his classmates.<\/p>\n For his part, Professor Thornton – that\u2019s what he expected to be called:\u00a0 Professor \u2013 was a hard, but fair man. He was well into middle-age, was fairly tall at almost six feet, slightly overweight, with a large bulging belly and his ever increasingly greying head was balding badly \u2013 a condition he himself loathed. He had never married but instead had traveled to every corner of the country after extensive studies in some of the most prestigious schools in Europe. Following that adventure he taught in the ever-expanding United States and expected everyone to acknowledge his professorial accomplishments. He had been teaching in the small one-room schoolhouse for those in and around Eagle Station for about three years. In his mind, it seemed to fit with his ideas of \u201cexpanding his horizons while simultaneously enriching the lives of his back-water students\u201d as he eloquently explained to anyone who wondered about his current station in life. \u00a0He was making his way to the great Pacific Ocean and points beyond.\u00a0 His reputation as a fair and competent teacher earned him rave reviews with the parents of all the students who attended his school.<\/p>\n Prof. Thornton sensed all was not well as the boys came bounding in with large smiles, joshing and shoving each other, but barely acknowledging him. Ordinarily, they would be most solemn, anticipating a dreary afternoon of more reading lessons and even more excruciating mathematics problems.\u00a0 Instead, each seemed in a most jovial mood and eagerly skipped or hopped up the steps and into their seats \u2013 which were fairly close together in the back of the room, given their large sizes, compared to the younger, smaller students in the front of the class.<\/p>\n Even as Professor Thornton droned on about Shakespeare and iambic pentameter, the boys would occasionally break out in smirks and giggles, causing the other children to turn and look about. It seemed to Professor Thornton as though the boys could not control their mirth. Several times, he stopped his lecture and called to the boys for quiet.\u00a0 They maintained it for approximately four minutes at a time before one or another of them would start giggling again, and the others would follow suit.\u00a0 Finally, out of sheer frustration, Prof. Thornton asked the boys to stand, all of them.\u00a0 Then, walking slowly and deliberately toward them, he asked what the problem was.\u00a0 Of course, they each shook their heads and said that there was no problem at all.\u00a0 One boy, Josh Bridger even going so far as to proclaim, \u201cCan\u2019t we just be happy we is in school?\u201d\u00a0 which cause deeper laughter from the other three and confused looks from the other eighteen children in the room.<\/p>\n Finally, when it appeared that even the intimidation tactic of making them all stand in front of the entire class did not deter them, and after another several attempts to preserve quiet and maintain order in his classroom, Professor Thornton dismissed the younger children to be dismissed.<\/p>\n \u201cChildren, school is almost over for the day.\u00a0 You will be allowed to be dismissed now. If your parents want to know why I dismissed school early today, have them see me on Monday or write me and I will be happy to explain everything. Everyone is dismissed for the week-end, with the exception of these four individuals:\u00a0 Joshua Bridger, Harper Stolter, Erik Cartwright, and Baylor Sanderson. If you are the younger sibling to one of these individuals, you may wait outside until I am finished talking with them and they will be dismissed to go home with you.\u201d<\/p>\n When the children heard the names of the four oldest boys in the school being kept after, no one loitered. They did not want to be anywhere near the school when those four got into trouble! So the oldest boys watched as everyone else marched past them and out the doors in the rear of the schoolhouse.\u00a0 Each of the younger children attempted to make eye contact with one or more of the bigger boys. Younger siblings especially tried to get the attention of their older brothers to figure out what was going on, but the boys were mostly looking at their desk tops or the floor. One or another of the older boys would on occasion stick a foot out to trip one of those leaving the room, usually their own younger sibling.<\/p>\n When the room was emptied, Professor Thornton walked to the back of the room and stood between the boys, who sat two in one desk on the left side of the aisle and two on the right side. He looked left to right and back again.\u00a0 All the boys managed to avoid eye contact.<\/p>\n Finally, he spoke, \u201cWould someone care to volunteer to tell me what is going on today?\u201d<\/p>\n No one spoke, most just shook their heads, and one shrugged his shoulders.<\/p>\n He turned to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cMaster Cartwright, would you like to explain your behavior today?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss quickly looked at the other boys, and then at the teacher.\u00a0 Hoss opened his mouth to speak but could only shrug.\u00a0 Hoss\u2019 face turned beet red and he looked around at his classmates, hoping for some back-up.\u00a0 Professor Thornton had said nothing, but continued standing there, looking at him for a long time. Seeing no further response from the large boy, he stepped over next to Harper.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Stolter?\u00a0 Perhaps you can enlighten me?\u201d<\/p>\n Harper just shook his head, which set his bright white hair to shake like wheat in a windy field.\u00a0 Harper was so pale, his skin looked translucent and his bright white hair didn\u2019t just lay down on his head, it kind of \u201cflew\u201d all over the top of it!\u00a0 His only answer was, \u201cNo, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Thornton then turned to look at Josh Bridger.\u00a0 Josh was the one boy who looked the most like a sad soul.\u00a0 He was gruff and motley, his hair very short, his father shaving it off every two weeks or so, probably to prevent having to wash it often.\u00a0 He usually wore the same trousers and one or two shirts to school most days.\u00a0 Prof. Thornton reasoned that with as many siblings as he had, cloth for new clothes was a luxury at their home and Josh being one of the oldest siblings there were probably no hand-me-downs for him.<\/p>\n \u201cMaster Bridger, do you have anything to say?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan\u2019t say I do,\u201d Josh answered while slouching at his desk, his arms stretched across the front of the desktop, his eyes focusing on the blackboard at the front of the room.<\/p>\n The other boys tittered over that smug answer. Professor Thornton knew he needed to quickly take control of the boys and the conversation. He slammed his hand down on the desk, \u201cENOUGH!\u00a0 I have put up with this disrespect all afternoon, and it will end now.\u201d<\/p>\n The boys all jumped at his hand slamming, and all stopped smirking and smiling.<\/p>\n Then Professor Thornton deliberately and slowly walked to Bay Sanderson\u2019s desk.\u00a0 He stopped and looked down at him. Bay looked like a boy who had a chance to become someone influential\u2026if only he would apply himself.\u00a0 He was quite good looking, with alert, hazel eyes and light brown hair that wasn\u2019t too long or too short.\u00a0 With his well-built physique his clothes looked as though a tailor made them exclusively for him\u2026probably a talent his mother had mastered.\u00a0 He was as tall as Professor Thornton himself, the tallest of the four boys, except for Hoss Cartwright, of course.\u00a0 Professor Thornton theorized that Bay was probably beginning to discover the beauties and mysteries of the fairer sex, which \u2013 if not kept in check \u2013 would cause the boy to abandon any chance at all he may have to succeed in anything long lasting.\u00a0 He had seen the boy approaching several of the older girls to tease or whisper in their ears. Some seemed to like it, others put off by the action.\u00a0 Yes, Thornton thought to himself, Baylor Sanderson was just about to break out into a phase of \u201cgrowing up\u201d that could be painful for him \u2013 and his parents \u2013 for a time. At first Bay didn\u2019t look up while being scrutinized by the teacher, but the professor stood there so long, he had no choice and his curiosity of what the professor was doing got the better of him. Once he looked up, Professor Thornton held out his hand.<\/p>\n Bay frowned and shook his head.<\/p>\n Professor Thornton spoke then.\u00a0 \u201cI would like to see what is in your vest pocket, Master Sanderson.\u201d<\/p>\n The large boy began showing red on his neck and up into his face.\u00a0 Beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead, but he tried to keep his composure.\u00a0 \u201cWHAT?!?! You ain\u2019t got no right\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Thornton cut him off.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026.give me what is in that vest pocket, or I shall ride straight to your farm with you this instant and you can give it to your father.\u201d<\/p>\n Bay\u2019s face went white and he gulped hard.\u00a0 All of the boys followed suit.\u00a0 Then they all held their breaths. What would happen when he saw what they were looking at?\u00a0 They knew they were caught, and suddenly no one found anything to smile or smirk about.<\/p>\n Bay reached into his vest pocket, pretending not to have found anything, until Professor Thornton swiftly reached into the pocket and pulled out the wadded up pieces of paper.\u00a0 Bay looked away as Thornton unwadded the pages and looked over them.\u00a0 The other boys appeared to look away but were intrigued and wanted to see if Professor Thornton found them to be as interesting as they themselves had.<\/p>\n He did not.<\/p>\n He quickly wadded them up again and walked back to the front of his desk.\u00a0 He placed the wadded up pieces on his desk and then walked behind it, reached onto the wall for the paddle he had hanging there and brought it down and walked back to the place where the boys still sat.<\/p>\n Pointing back at his desk, where the pictures lie, he said, \u201cThat is unauthorized and illicit material. It has no place in my classroom. Each of you know the rule about such items, do you not? \u201d<\/p>\n Each boy squirmed and shifted side to side, but nodded ascent.<\/p>\n \u201cEach of you know the consequences for breaking that rule, do you not?\u201d<\/p>\n Each squirmed even more.<\/p>\n \u201cMaster Sanderson, since these disgusting images belong to you, I expect you will go first.\u00a0 Please stand and place your hands upon your desk, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, Professor Thornton. I didn\u2019t mean no harm.\u00a0 We were just curious, about, well, you know. Please don\u2019t paddle me and tell my Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get it twice as bad once I get home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaster Sanderson, please do not grovel.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t attractive, and it certainly isn\u2019t manly.\u00a0 And since you boys have exhibited such urgency to become men, I expect you to act like men.\u00a0 You have broken school rules and therefore you must accept your punishment.\u00a0 You know what to do, so please assume the position.\u201d<\/p>\n Bay Sanderson\u2019s eyes began to water as he bent over his desk, and Professor Thornton just as quickly administered four swats to his backside.\u00a0 It probably truly did not hurt his body as much as it hurt his pride.<\/p>\n When the swatting was completed, Professor Thornton announced, \u201cYou are free to leave now, Master Sanderson.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure your siblings will report to your father that you were kept late and I\u2019ll leave any further explanation of the matter to you.\u00a0 After that I\u2019m sure he will handle it the way he sees fit.\u201d<\/p>\n Bay could only mutter, \u201cYes, sir.\u201d Then he quickly left the room, only slightly glancing back at his remaining compatriots.<\/p>\n This ritual was followed with each of the boys, until only Hoss Cartwright remained in the room with Professor Thornton.\u00a0 This was done mainly because Hoss was the only one of the older students who did not have a younger sibling waiting outside.\u00a0 His younger brother was just getting over a fever and had been at home for half the week.<\/p>\n Professor Thornton then charged Hoss to stand for his punishment. Instead, Hoss slowly leaned back and slid low in his chair, hands grasping the desk and declared, \u201cI ain\u2019t a\u2019gonna do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did you say, young man?\u201d<\/p>\n Chapter 2<\/strong><\/p>\n Hoss was in a dilemma now.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want a paddling.\u00a0 He truly felt his only crime was looking at the sketches and he hadn\u2019t been all that comfortable doing that.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t brought them to school and he\u2019d only looked at them along with his friends so they wouldn\u2019t call him a sissy or something else.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t feel his actions warranted a paddling.\u00a0 He looked at Professor Thornton, really took his time looking him up and down slowly and deliberately.\u00a0 His teacher waited, not entirely sure what the boy was thinking.\u00a0 Finally Hoss said, \u201cYou know, Professor Thornton, I think I could take you.\u201d<\/p>\n The Professor was shocked by that statement, but kept his composure.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure how to take this comment.\u00a0 Could be a threat, could be empty bravado.\u00a0 In either case, he admired the boy\u2019s gumption but knew he had to stem the rise of it.<\/p>\n He raised his eyebrows in shock.\u00a0 \u201cOh?\u00a0 Do you think so, Master Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sir.\u00a0 I figger I\u2019m about 4 inches taller\u2019n you and outweigh you by about thirty pounds. \u2018Course, I\u2019m sure I growed some since I last figgered it out, so mebbe I\u2019m more.\u00a0 Yes, sir, I think I could take you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, what exactly does that mean for our present situation, Master Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, sir, I don\u2019t rightly know, but I don\u2019t want no paddlin\u2019, that\u2019s fer shore, and I ain\u2019t gonna take one.\u201d<\/p>\n Thornton nodded.\u00a0 He rubbed his chin.\u00a0 He stood a long time just staring down at Hoss, unsure what his next course of action should be. Then he turned and began walking back toward his desk.\u00a0 He sat down at his desk, looking to the back of the room at Hoss, his elbows on the desk and his hands steepled in front of his face, fingers touching his lips.\u00a0 He stared at him a long time. In some small way he understood what the boy was trying to do, but it was so out of character for this \u201cgentle giant\u201d of a boy, the professor was taken aback and not sure how to proceed.<\/p>\n Hoss was churning and shaking on the inside.\u00a0 He had just thrown down the biggest bluff of his life.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t really believe he had done it.\u00a0 Or that it might actually work!\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t usually the one who defied authority\u2026that would be his little brother.\u00a0 But this just seemed wrong to him.\u00a0 After all, he was bigger than all the other kids \u2013 maybe not older, but bigger.\u00a0 He knew his father wouldn\u2019t approve of what they had been looking at, but what they had done just didn\u2019t seem like something that warranted all of them being paddled. Maybe Professor Thornton should have just told their parents and let them handle it.\u00a0 He knew he\u2019d probably get a paddling by his father, if the Professor sent a note home, but after watching what he felt was the humiliating paddling of all his friends, he\u2019d just made up his mind that he didn\u2019t want to be paddled by his teacher.\u00a0 This could end very badly for Hoss, to be sure, but he just wasn\u2019t up to being paddled today, and so he decided this bold play was his only ticket.\u00a0 He waited for Thornton to speak.<\/p>\n There was about two minutes of silence between them \u2013 although it felt longer \u2013 \u00a0Professor Thornton staring at Hoss sitting at the back of the room and Hoss staring at his desktop, afraid to look up. Thornton studied the large boy, and Hoss thought furiously about what he had said, studied his hands, folded atop his desk, and considered taking back his brave declaration.\u00a0 Suddenly Professor Thornton stood.\u00a0 The abrupt move startled Hoss, and he jumped, then jumped to his feet, too.<\/p>\n Professor Thornton motioned Hoss closer.\u00a0 \u201cWould you come to my desk, please, Master Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss moved cautiously, slowly, in case Thornton was going to try to swat him even after what he\u2019d said.\u00a0 Hoss thought furiously about what he would do if that happened.<\/p>\n Once Hoss was standing close to the desk the professor came around from behind the desk and stood beside Hoss arms folded across his chest, sizing him up.\u00a0 He nodded and humm\u2019d to himself a few times.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I see.\u00a0 You certainly are quite a bit larger than I am, aren\u2019t you, son?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYessir.\u00a0 And I jest don\u2019t want a paddling for something I didn\u2019t really wanna do anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPossibly, but you did participate in an infraction against school rules, Erik.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked away, shrugging slightly. Then he muttered, \u201cIt weren\u2019t me brought them pitures into tha school.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHmm, no, that\u2019s true. But you did participate, did you not?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss had to nod. \u201cKinda.\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Thornton continued, \u201cHave I been disrespectful to you at all, young man?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 Then he answered, \u201cNo sir, \u2018cept for wantin\u2019 to paddle me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause this is still an infraction of a school rule and you broke it, is that not true?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss thought a minute.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t rightly sure I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Thornton laughed.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about defying my effort to give you a just punishment for wrongful actions?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss ignored the part about his actions, \u201cWell sir, I just don\u2019t think I deserve that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you could \u2018take me\u2019 if it came to that.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what you said.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did say that, yessir. What I meant was, I\u2019d just sooner not be paddled, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, so you said.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded some more.\u00a0 Then he turned and sat back down at his desk.\u00a0 He pondered the large boy standing before him.\u00a0 Hoss stood with his hands clasped in front of him looking down at his feet.\u00a0 He fully expected Professor Thornton was now going to write a note to his father.\u00a0 When that happened, well, he knew how that would end at home!<\/p>\n Instead Thornton spoke, \u201cWell, then I supposed we\u2019ve entered into some kind of impasse, haven\u2019t we, Erik?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSome might refer to it as an \u2018Indian stand-off.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded, \u201cAh!\u00a0 Yeah, I suppose!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, then, I suppose you are free to go, Master Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss almost couldn\u2019t believe his ears! He gulped audibly and almost said out loud, \u2018Do you really mean it<\/em>!?\u00a0 And no note to my Pa?!<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 but then decided that would betray his bravado which had led to this amazing streak of luck he had just been blessed with.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sir.\u00a0 I reckon I\u2019ll see you Monday, then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHmm. Yes, Monday it is, Master Cartwright. Good afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss then wheeled around on his heels and calmly walked down the center aisle of the schoolroom – although he wanted to jump up and race out – he left slowly and quietly.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n Hoss didn\u2019t even remember the ride home. In his mind, he kept replaying the scenario he had shared with Professor Thornton and won!\u00a0 He didn\u2019t even know what had possessed him to speak up in such a manner.\u00a0 Then in the next thought, he was enormously proud of the fact that he had wormed himself out of a paddling!\u00a0 Wait till his friends heard about that!\u00a0 He\u2019d intermittently laugh to himself and then worry about whether he\u2019d pushed his luck too far.\u00a0 Would it have really been so terrible to just take the paddling?\u00a0 At the time he spoke up, yes, he thought it would be. \u00a0He just didn\u2019t think it was fair to be paddled!\u00a0 He had a whole litany of reasons for that:\u00a0 he felt his part in the \u201cinfraction\u201d wasn\u2019t that serious, he wasn\u2019t the one who brought the pictures in for the other boys to look at, he really hadn\u2019t wanted to participate in the first place, he felt he was too old, and too big.\u00a0 Yes, he was sure he was happy he\u2019d spoken up. How would his friends feel about that stroke of luck?\u00a0 Would they speak up and demand they never be paddled again?\u00a0 Would they be angry Hoss had gotten out of it?\u00a0 Would they tell their parents, and then his father would hear about it?\u00a0 Oh, no! <\/strong>\u00a0He hadn\u2019t really thought about what his father might think about his actions.\u00a0 What if his father DID find out?\u00a0 He only entertained that thought for a minute or two, then pushed it out of his mind.<\/p>\n Before he knew it, Hoss was home.\u00a0 Once he rode into the yard, his little brother came running out, glad to have his beloved companion home again. Since their oldest brother Adam had left for college, the two younger Cartwright boys had become closer than ever. Now they relied on each other for all the strength Adam used to convey to them. Hoss jumped down and scooped the small boy up into his arms.\u00a0 He swung the boy into his saddle and walked his horse into the barn.\u00a0 Together they groomed, fed and watered the faithful animal, talking all the while about what had transpired at school.\u00a0 Little Joe didn\u2019t particularly care for school, much like Hoss himself, but when he wasn\u2019t there to see it for himself, suddenly school activities were immensely interesting, especially since Little Joe had spent the past three days bed bound. Hoss was careful to omit anything that might lead to a discussion about his talk with Professor Thornton.<\/p>\n Once his horse was cared for, they walked together into the house, and Hoss all but forgot the entire incident for the remainder of the week-end.<\/p>\n Chapter 3<\/strong><\/p>\n Monday morning found Little Joe healthy enough to go to school, but not particularly eager. Between Hoss and his father, they finally got the small boy prepared to leave for school.\u00a0 Ben announced he would be traveling into town with them, as he had business to attend to, which made Little Joe much more acquiescent.<\/p>\n Since Ben didn\u2019t trust Little Joe to safely ride a horse alone all the way to the town, he rode double behind Hoss.\u00a0 The three of them made small talk, and Ben made some jokes to keep the mood light so Little Joe didn\u2019t enter the schoolhouse in a dark mood.\u00a0 He was hard enough to deal with in school without adding a bad mood to the mix.<\/p>\n Before the morning bell, the other older boys tried to get alone to talk and commiserate, and Hoss was secretly glad his little brother was acting very clingy.\u00a0 This prevented him from answering their questions about how his paddling had gone.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t thought about how he would answer them about that since he\u2019d pushed the entire incident out of his mind all week-end.<\/p>\n At lunch, Little Joe tried to sit with Hoss, but he pushed him off onto some of the younger children, almost being slightly rude, because Hoss wanted to talk to his friends.\u00a0 Well, he wanted to know how it had gone with them with their folks but wasn\u2019t all that keen to talk about his own experience.\u00a0 As they talked each had a horrible tale to tell about how their parents had taken the news. They were still sharing when lunchtime ended, making Hoss glad he hadn\u2019t been asked yet.<\/p>\n Hoss spent much of the afternoon musing about what he would tell his friends about his time with Professor Thornton.\u00a0 He wanted to tell them what he\u2019d done, and its consequence, but he was afraid they\u2019d all turn on him and tell their parents, and then it would go worse for him.\u00a0 He was torn and spent much of his \u201cstudy time\u201d thinking through his dilemma.<\/p>\n During the afternoon recess Josh Bridger snuck up behind him and jumped out in front and asked him outright.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about you, Cartwright?\u00a0 You don\u2019t look none the worse for wear.\u00a0 What\u2019d your Pa say about your tanning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNone of yore business, Josh.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u00a0 All the rest of us shared.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t so bad.\u00a0 My Pa\u2019s tanning was about as bad as Ole Man Thornton, meanin\u2019 I didn\u2019t even feel it!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood fer you,\u201d Hoss muttered as he tried to walk away.<\/p>\n Josh grabbed his arm.\u00a0 \u201cWhattya mean \u2018good fer you?\u2019\u00a0 What happened when Thornton paddled ya?\u00a0 Huh?\u00a0 Did ya cry?\u00a0 Is that why you won\u2019t talk about it?\u00a0 Oh!\u00a0 I get it!\u00a0 Ya cried like a baby all the way home to yer Pa and then HE paddled ya agin, and ya cried AGIN!! Ain\u2019t that what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss opened his mouth to speak, but the other two boys were now circled around him.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Hoss!\u00a0 Are ya a big baby?\u00a0 Did ya cry like Josh said?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked around.\u00a0 He was getting hot under the collar.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to tell them anything, but he knew he was probably trapped now.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I didn\u2019t cry.\u00a0 Ok?\u00a0 Is that it? Is that what you want\u2019ta know? Let\u2019s git back inside\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He started to walk away.<\/p>\n \u201cIt ain\u2019t time yet,\u201d Bay said as he stepped in front of Josh and blocked Hoss\u2019 way.\u00a0 \u201cTell us.\u00a0 Why haven\u2019t ya told us?\u00a0 It must be like Josh said. You must\u2019a cried all the way home!\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t think a fella as big as you would\u2019a felt Thornton\u2019s paddle.\u00a0 But, he must\u2019a, right fellas?\u201d\u00a0 Bay laughed and turned to look at the other 2 boys, who began to laugh then, too.<\/p>\n The bell then rang and it was time to go back inside for the afternoon session, so Hoss brushed past the three boys and took his seat inside.<\/p>\n ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~<\/p>\n Just a few minutes before 3:00, the back door of the schoolhouse opened and a man entered.\u00a0 Hoss was busy trying to hurry and finish his sums after spending way too much time being angry at his friends and didn\u2019t look up, but his little brother did.\u00a0 When he saw his father, Little Joe forgot he was in school, and blurted out, \u201cHi, Pa!\u00a0 Are ya here to ride home with us!?\u201d<\/p>\n Then Hoss looked up at his father, still standing next to the front door.\u00a0 He looked from his father to Professor Thornton.\u00a0 Then he looked at his friends, who were giving him questioning looks as if to say, \u201cWhat\u2019s your Pa doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss just shrugged, apparently completely ignorant of possible ramifications from the strange incident he and Professor Thornton had shared just three days ago.<\/p>\n Ben stood in the spot.\u00a0 Professor Thornton then spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph, please attend to your work and do not call out without permission.\u201d\u00a0 Then he addressed the entire class.\u00a0 \u201cChildren.\u00a0 School will be ending now.\u00a0 Please collect your readers and slates.\u00a0 You will file out in an orderly and quiet manner, please.\u00a0 Master Joseph Cartwright, I believe it would be beneficial if you would move outside and wait on the steps, please.\u00a0 Master Erik Cartwright, you may remain seated.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe looked at Ben, then Hoss.\u00a0 Hoss wasn\u2019t looking anywhere except his hands, which were folded on his desk as illumination of his situation suddenly struck him.\u00a0 Little Joe then looked back at Ben, who was just standing, out of the way of the children filing out of the schoolhouse, mostly saying nothing at all.<\/p>\n Little Joe walked down the aisle, stopping briefly in front of Hoss.\u00a0 Then he walked back to his father.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben never looked at him; he continued watching Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cYou heard Professor Thornton, Little Joe.\u00a0 Wait outside on the steps until Hoss and I are finished here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut what\u2019s happening, Pa? Why is Hoss just sittin\u2019 there? Can I stay in here with you and him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, son.\u00a0 Go outside and sit on the step and wait for us as you were instructed, please. We won\u2019t be very long. Then we\u2019ll all ride home together.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe started to protest again, but something about the set of his father\u2019s face told him he should just obey, so he did.<\/p>\n Once Little Joe closed the door behind him, Ben walked to the professor\u2019s desk, where he was standing. They shook hands and then Ben turned and addressed Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, would you come up here, please?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss gulped hard and laboriously lifted himself out of his desk and moved slowly to the front of the small classroom.\u00a0 Once he was up front, he shoved his hands into his pockets and kept his eyes cast to the floor.<\/p>\n Ben looked from his son to Professor Thornton.\u00a0 He then turned back to Hoss and addressed him. \u201cHoss?\u00a0 Look at me, son.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked at his father.\u00a0 It pained him and he tried to not hold his attention. He cast his eyes back down to the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, Professor Thornton told me a disturbing story about an incident that occurred Friday.\u00a0 Would you care to tell me about it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t reckon I would, Pa.\u00a0 I reckon you already know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to hear your side of it, son,\u201d Ben answered in a very calm, reassuring voice.<\/p>\n Hoss looked at his father.\u00a0 Then he looked at Professor Thornton, who was looking at Ben.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, sir.\u00a0 Professor Thornton thought I should\u2019a been paddled for somethin\u2019 that happened, but I didn\u2019t wanna\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy did you have a paddling coming to you?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss\u2019 face was even more pained now.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t you already know, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to hear you tell me, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked like he wanted to cry.\u00a0 \u201cMe \u2018n some fellers was looking at some \u2013 stuff \u2013 we shouldn\u2019a\u2019 been lookin\u2019 at.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSuch as?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u00a0 Don\u2019t you know?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGo on, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, one of the fellers had some pit-ures, of, uh, some ladies\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI see.\u00a0 Is that something you think I would approve of?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shrugged his shoulders.<\/p>\n Ben took a step closer to him.\u00a0 \u201cSon?\u00a0 Is that something you think I would approve of?\u201d\u00a0 The words were more pointed now.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I suppose not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou SUPPOSE not?!?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss quickly reversed his answer.\u00a0 \u201cNo, sir.\u00a0 I don\u2019t reckon you would approve.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I would not and I\u2019m sure you know that, don\u2019t you?\u00a0 You knew it Friday, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n Ben continued.\u00a0 \u201cAnd so when Professor Thornton found out \u2013 as was his duty \u2013 he attempted to dole out the punishment for your misdeed.\u201d\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t a question.<\/p>\n \u201cDid, did you ask me a question?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I need to.\u00a0 You already know the answer, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben continued.\u00a0 \u201cAnd then, you made things worse for yourself, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss could only nod miserably.<\/p>\n Ben continued.\u00a0 \u201cYou made things worse for yourself by defying Professor Thornton and telling him you would TAKE HIM DOWN if he tried to paddle you?!?!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked up quickly.\u00a0 \u201cNo, SIR!\u00a0 I did not tell him no such of a thing!\u00a0 I\u2026I\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen what did you say?\u00a0 And what were you thinking when you said what you said, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI said\u2026I ccc\u2026I\u2019m not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben waited.\u00a0 Finally, he turned to the professor.\u00a0 \u201cProfessor Thornton, what did you infer by what my son said to you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t exactly sure what he meant, Mr. Cartwright.\u00a0 I assumed I might be harmed if I tried to paddle him.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s how I would have taken it.\u201d He turned to face Hoss again.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, do you understand how bad that was?\u00a0 To threaten your teacher?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss took a step forward.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Pa!\u00a0 I didn\u2019t threaten him!\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean to, anyways.\u00a0 I just meant\u2026.I mean, I just meant\u2026.I just\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He took a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cPa, I just didn\u2019t want a paddling.\u00a0 That\u2019s all.\u00a0 I\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He took another deep breath and then just shrugged. He was trying very hard not to cry.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you said was extremely disrespectful, Hoss.\u00a0 Surely you knew it then, and you know it now.\u00a0 You were not raised to disrespect those in authority, were you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo threaten violence to a man in authority over you?\u00a0 To disrespect him?!\u201d<\/p>\n Ben walked behind Mr. Thornton\u2019s desk and took the paddle from the hanger where it had been put back since last Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you need that paddling more than you realize.\u00a0 Drop your trousers, son.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked up, startled, with a frightened look in his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cPA!\u00a0 You ain\u2019t gonna\u2026.I mean, I\u2026.I\u2026.Pa, please!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDrop your trousers, son.\u00a0 You know you had it coming Friday, and it\u2019s still due.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss was fighting tears.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t wanna\u2026.I don\u2019t\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, are you defying me, <\/strong>now?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss took a deep breath again in an effort to keep the tears from falling.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 He was afraid to speak.<\/p>\n \u201cDrop \u2018em, son.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stood and waited.\u00a0 Hoss stood rod still, afraid to move, and humiliated. He dared not look at his father or Professor Thornton, who had now turned his head and looked away.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss started to undo his trouser buttons and tears were forming in his eyes. He dropped his trousers, and was standing with them around his ankles, but still wearing his long johns.\u00a0 He hoped that was all his father would require.\u00a0 He put his hands on the closest desk.\u00a0 He wondered if his father really intended to paddle him right here in front of Prof\u2026.<\/p>\n THWACK!<\/strong><\/p>\n The first swat came across his rear end with such ferocity that Hoss literally felt his breath taken out of his chest.\u00a0 He saw stars and briefly saw the world turn red.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t remember if his father had ever paddled him that hard. He fought to catch his breath. While he tried to catch his breath and determine how hard his backside hurt, there came a second smack.<\/p>\n THWACK!!<\/strong><\/p>\n The next one was even harder than the first. This one lifted Hoss off his feet, and he couldn\u2019t help himself.\u00a0 He yelped out loud.\u00a0 He closed his eyes, trying to manage the pain. He found himself hopping from one foot to the other to try to manage the burning, stinging pain searing through his entire backside.\u00a0 He took another half breath and there came another swat.<\/p>\n THWACK!<\/p>\n This one didn\u2019t feel as hard as the first or the second one, or maybe his backside had just gone so numb he couldn\u2019t feel the pain get any worse.\u00a0 Hoss braced himself, as there was so much pain, he wasn\u2019t sure he could even tell what burned and what still didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Ben finally spoke.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s all, son.\u00a0 Pull up your trousers and fasten them.\u00a0 Then, go out the back door and head toward home.\u00a0 Little Joe and I will catch up with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss could only nod, as he was fighting tears as he buttoned up his pants.\u00a0 As he walked past the professor, he muttered, \u201cI\u2019m real sorry, Professor Thornton.\u201d\u00a0 He kept walking.\u00a0 He may not have even heard the professor say, \u201cAs am I, Erik.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the door closed and Hoss was gone, Ben turned to Professor Thornton and again shook his hand.\u00a0 \u201cThank you for letting me know, Professor.\u00a0 Hoss was not raised to disrespect women in such a manner, nor his elders and those in authority. I doubt there will be any further need for my assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Mr. Cartwright. Yes, I\u2019m sure there will be no further need to follow up. I\u2019m truly sorry, too.\u00a0 Erik is a kind hearted boy.\u00a0 It appears he just had a few moments\u2019 lapse of rationality, trying to fit in with his friends.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProbably, but I don\u2019t want that to become a common occurrence.\u00a0 He is being raised to be his own man, with his own mind, knowing right from wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n They bid each other good-bye and Ben turned and walked out the front door where Little Joe still sat on the steps waiting for them.<\/p>\n Chapter 4<\/strong><\/p>\n Little Joe jumped up off the step he was sitting on when the door opened and his father stepped out. Little Joe looked back at the door and was going to ask where Hoss was, but from the look on Ben\u2019s face, Little Joe knew enough to know not to ask any questions.<\/p>\n Once Joe was seated on the front of Ben\u2019s saddle and they began to ride, Little Joe\u2019s curiosity could not stay contained any longer.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened to Hoss?\u00a0 His horse is gone but he didn\u2019t come outside with you.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t leave him at the school, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s already started for home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t see him leave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe went out the back door.\u00a0 I wanted a few minutes with Professor Thornton alone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut why didn\u2019t Hoss come out to get me?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t see him leave\u2026we could\u2019a rode together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI asked him to leave through the back.\u00a0 We\u2019ll catch up to him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut why did he leave first\u2026.?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe was still questioning his father about his brother\u2019s whereabouts when they spotted him walking beside his horse a little ways ahead of them on the road toward their ranch.<\/p>\n \u201cThere he is!\u00a0 Pa?\u00a0 Why\u2019s Hoss walking?\u00a0 Is his horse lame?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben said nothing.<\/p>\n They rode up to Hoss and he stopped walking.\u00a0 He looked up at his father, then looked over at Little Joe.<\/p>\n \u201cDid your horse come up lame, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cMount up, son.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be very late if we have to walk all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u00a0 Can\u2019t I just walk home and get there late?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got chores to do and it will be very late if you walk the whole way.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss only stood and looked at his father.\u00a0 Maybe if he stood long enough, his father would reconsider his order.<\/p>\n \u201cMount up now, son.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to be late.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben started to ride.\u00a0 Little Joe was confused.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u00a0 Why is Hoss walking?\u201d\u00a0 He turned back to look at his brother.\u00a0 \u201cHoss? Are ya coming?\u00a0 Mount up!\u00a0 Come on!\u00a0 Pa\u2019s leaving.\u201d\u00a0 Then turned back to speak his father. \u00a0\u201cPa?\u00a0 Can I ride with Hoss now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, you can stay on my horse with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Before he could speak, Ben was riding off.\u00a0 Little Joe turned to watch Hoss mount up, not noticing how gingerly Hoss hoisted himself into his saddle.\u00a0 The burning pain was now accompanied by searing pain shooting all the way down his legs. Hoss tried to find a comfortable position to sit, but it was just not possible.<\/p>\n As they rode, Ben kept up a slow, steady pace, and Little Joe kept turning to look at Hoss, who tried to keep up, but each step brought more pain and burning to the affected areas.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~ \u00a0~<\/p>\n It was quite late when they reached home, as Ben had slowed the pace a bit for Hoss.\u00a0 Ben dismounted and then set the small boy on the ground.\u00a0 Then he walked his horse into the barn and had removed his saddle as Hoss arrived.\u00a0 He turned to him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou and Little Joe can care for the horses.\u00a0 Then, go see Hop Sing for some linament for your pain, son.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe knew the word \u2018pain.\u201d\u00a0 His head whirled around to look at his brother.<\/p>\n \u201cYou got pain, Hoss?\u00a0 Where does it hurt?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t ya tell us?\u00a0 We could\u2019a went slower, right Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben had already started walking into the house and didn\u2019t respond.\u00a0 Little Joe thought his father hadn\u2019t heard the question, so he turned to ask Hoss.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t ya tell Pa ya had pain?\u00a0 He would\u2019a went slower comin\u2019 home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s awright, Punkin.\u00a0 It ain\u2019t that bad.\u00a0 Let\u2019s get the horses bedded down, and then Hop Sing\u2019ll help fix me up.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe loved helping with the horses, so his attention was diverted rather quickly, \u201cOkay!\u201d<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~ ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n The two boys pushed through the front door, well, the smaller one pushed through the door, with the larger one close behind.\u00a0 Little Joe announced their arrival by bellowing for their beloved housekeeper.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing!\u00a0 Hop Sing!\u00a0 Where are you?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben heard the commotion from his seat at his desk, and called to the boy, \u201cLittle Joe!\u00a0 Hop Sing is where he always is at this time of the day.\u00a0 He\u2019s preparing supper, now stop yelling so loudly in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing, as well, heard the boy bellowing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat little boy want?\u00a0 Hop Sing busy, always busy fix food for hungry boys, and now you yell.\u00a0 What you want?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing, Hoss is got pain!\u00a0 Can ya help him?\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing rushed to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cWhat wrong?\u00a0 What happen?\u00a0 Big boy fall off horse?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss grimaced as he tried to think of a way to explain where his pain was.<\/p>\n \u201cNaw, Hop Sing, it ain\u2019t that bad\u2026..I\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben interrupted.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe, would you come here, please?\u201d<\/p>\n He was not to be deterred from assisting his beloved brother, \u201cBut, Pa!\u00a0 I gotta help Hoss get fixed up!\u201d<\/p>\n But Ben did not want Little Joe involved in the assisting. He slammed his hands down on his desk and bellowed:\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe, unless you\u2019ve earned a medical degree in the last 2 hours, your help is not needed. I want you to let them alone and come here.\u201d<\/p>\n He was adamant.\u00a0 \u201cBut, why, Pa?\u00a0 Can\u2019t I help them?\u00a0 Hoss don\u2019t seem in too much pain, but I better make sure\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stood up and came around the desk and pointed to it.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe Cartwright, I said you need to come to see me right now, and unless you want some of what Hoss got this afternoon, I suggest you follow my instructions!\u201d<\/p>\n Uh, oh!\u00a0 The cat was out of the bag.\u00a0 Little Joe now knew Hoss had gotten a paddling.\u00a0 But how?\u00a0 When?\u00a0 And by whom?\u00a0 Was it the professor?\u00a0 Not Pa!\u00a0 They\u2019d not been home since morning, and Little Joe knew he hadn\u2019t gotten a paddling before they left home.\u00a0 Now things were even more confusing.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t \u2018pain.\u2019\u00a0 It was soreness from a paddling!\u00a0 But how had that happened?\u00a0 Little Joe knew he\u2019d probably be better off not asking, but he just couldn\u2019t help himself.<\/p>\n He wheeled around and looked at his big brother, who was gingerly making his way around the credenza, through the dining room and into the kitchen. \u201cHoss! Ya got paddled?!? How\u2019d ya get paddled?\u00a0 Did ole Professor Thornton do it?\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 What\u2019d ya do?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shook his head and opened his mouth, but Ben had walked over near the front door where they were standing and put his hand on Little Joe\u2019s shoulder by then.<\/p>\n \u201cCome with me now, please.\u00a0 I\u2019ve already asked you twice, and both times you\u2019ve ignored my call.\u00a0 I suggest you follow it now, or you will be paddled next for disobeying me.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe was more than a little intrigued, but he knew that tone when his father used it, and he knew he\u2019d better do what his father was requesting and do it quickly.<\/p>\n He turned and went to the big desk with his father, who kept his hand on his shoulder the whole way.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n Hoss and Hop Sing headed into the kitchen, and the cabinet where Hop Sing kept all the miracle medications he used to keep the family safe and healthy.<\/p>\n As Hop Sing looked for liniment to take the burn out of a paddled backside, Hoss dropped his trousers and his long johns.\u00a0 When Hop Sing turned to look at Hoss\u2019 backside, he almost dropped the medication out of his hands.<\/p>\n He gasped some words in Chinese that Hoss did not know, but the tone of voice they were spoken in told Hoss that Hop Sing was shocked by what he saw.<\/p>\n Hoss looked up quickly.\u00a0 \u201cWhat!? What is it, Hop Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho do this?!?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u00a0 I just got a paddling\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVery, very BAD paddling.\u00a0 This bruised. This very hard paddle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I know, I was there\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWHO DO THIS?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss was torn.\u00a0 He wanted to tell his friend, but he certainly didn\u2019t want to tattle on his father.\u00a0 Obviously, it was quite bruised and Hop Sing was upset, but Hoss knew he\u2019d deserved what he had gotten.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know it would bruise, but he knew it was bad, as he never remembered pain quite so severe from a paddling given by his father before.<\/p>\n \u201cIt don\u2019t matter.\u00a0 I deserved it, that\u2019s all that matters.\u00a0 The ride home on my horse prolly made it look worse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt matter to Hop Sing.\u00a0 This look cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAww, it ain\u2019t nuthin\u2019, Hop Sing.\u00a0 It just looks bad, I guess.\u00a0 Jest put the salve on it, and in a couple days, I\u2019ll be fine.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss tried to sound jovial and make the injuries look trivial, but Hop Sing was outraged by what he saw.<\/p>\n Hop Sing gingerly treated the bruises and instructed Hoss on what he should do to ease some of the pain as well.\u00a0 Hoss listened carefully and nodded with every instruction. Then he tenderly and slowly slipped his long johns and pants back on, careful not to rub off the liniment.<\/p>\n He tried to walk normally back into the big room where his father was sitting at his desk and Little Joe was nowhere to be seen.\u00a0 As he drew closer to the settee, his father looked up and spoke to him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou may go to your room now, Hoss.\u00a0 There will be no supper for you tonight.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see you in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss stood there a moment, torn between questioning his father about it without further contravention, quieting his empty, growling stomach, and not pushing his luck after the trouble he\u2019d already stirred up today.<\/p>\n He nodded and headed up the stairs.<\/p>\n Ben kept his head down but watched from the corner of his eye as Hoss climbed the stairs.\u00a0 He felt very bad for making such a proclamation, but he wanted Hoss to remember this lesson and never defy authority, think of women as playthings, or threaten someone because of his size advantage again.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~ \u00a0~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n Once Hoss had ascended the stairs, Hop Sing came into the office and stood in front of the big desk where Ben appeared to be quite busy. He stood, Ben continued working.<\/p>\n Finally, Ben looked up at him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it, Hop Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know.\u00a0 Why boy got such bad paddle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you questioning my parenting skills?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust ask question.\u00a0 Injuries very bad.\u00a0 Very bruised. Never before look so bad after paddle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss was quite insolent to his professor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVenerable teacher do that to Hoss!?\u00a0 Maybe not so venerable, maybe bad teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, it wasn\u2019t his teacher.\u00a0 I did that.\u00a0 Hoss was very disrespectful to his teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing was so taken aback about what had happened to Hoss, he forgot all protocol and ventured further.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss not bad boy.\u00a0 Fatha never punish big boy so much before.\u00a0 Why now?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben began to wonder why he almost felt compelled to explain himself to their housekeeper. He knew the reason, deep down.\u00a0 He knew Hop Sing cared for the boys deeply; as much as he did.\u00a0 He debated with himself about explaining it all to Hop Sing. In the end, he decided he didn\u2019t need to explain anything at all, because the more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt.\u00a0 \u201cI felt it was proper.\u201d\u00a0 Then Ben put his head down again and proceeded to begin writing in his ledger.<\/p>\n Hop Sing had never known Ben Cartwright to punish his boys in anger, so he had to believe the behavior was severe enough to warrant what he saw, but even that was hard to believe for it was Hoss they were talking about. Hoss!\u00a0 The sweetest, most gentle, compliant child God ever placed on the earth. He stood for a long time and studied his beloved boss, but the boss did not look up.<\/p>\n Finally, Hop Sing made a sort of \u201chuff\u201d noise and turned and walked back into the kitchen.<\/p>\n After he had walked away, Ben looked up after him, then looked at the stairs.\u00a0 Did he do the right thing?\u00a0 Was<\/strong> the punishment too severe? Had he overreacted to Hoss\u2019 behavior?\u00a0 Had he hurt Hoss?\u00a0 Or worse, had he caused Hoss to wonder at his father\u2019s love, and consider that he had experienced \u201cabuse?\u201d<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n Suppertime brought another test of Ben\u2019s patience.\u00a0 Little Joe wanted to know why Hoss wasn\u2019t allowed to eat.\u00a0 Ben patiently explained that Hoss was being punished which brought another round of questions as to what Hoss had done to deserve such torturous actions. Ben then patiently explained that Hoss had been disrespectful to their teacher.\u00a0 That brought a lecture, which Joe felt was undeserved as he had done nothing wrong, about how to behave in their classroom and toward all their future teachers.<\/p>\n It was obvious Little Joe wasn\u2019t the only one who felt what Hoss was experiencing was unjust.\u00a0 Every time Hop Sing came into the dining room, he looked a long time at Hoss\u2019 place and muttered to himself in Chinese. Ben tried to ignore it until he could stand it no longer.<\/p>\n Ben angled his head toward Hop Sing and declared, loudly, \u201cHop Sing, I will handle my sons\u2019 discipline my way, and you will either accept my decisions on these matters or you can search for other employment.\u201d<\/p>\n Hop Sing wasn\u2019t cowed.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe Hop Sing go.\u00a0 Maybe go all way back to China. Huh!\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe became extraordinarily upset.<\/p>\n \u201cNO!\u00a0 Don\u2019t go, Hop Sing!\u00a0 Pa\u2019s just worried about Hoss, right Pa?\u00a0 You don\u2019t want him to leave, do ya, Pa?\u00a0 Hop Sing!\u00a0 Me \u2018n Hoss\u2019d miss ya too much!\u00a0 DON\u2019T GO!!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEat your supper, Little Joe.\u00a0 Hop Sing\u2019s just blowing off steam.\u00a0 He\u2019s not going to China.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh!\u00a0 You think Hop Sing no can leave?\u00a0 He go tonight.\u00a0 He got cousins!\u00a0 Cousins take Hop Sing in. Hop Sing leave for China tomorrow! Huh!\u201d<\/p>\n Ben could take it no more.\u00a0 He stood quickly threw his napkin onto his plate and stalked off through the main room and up the stairs.\u00a0 Little Joe watched him go.\u00a0 He wanted to cry.\u00a0 What was going on?\u00a0 Hop Sing knew the little boy was upset.<\/p>\n \u201cLittle Joe eat supper.\u00a0 Then Hop Sing have nice dessert for little boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut, what about Hoss?\u00a0 He ain\u2019t had no supper.\u00a0 Can he have dessert?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFather say no supper for Hoss.\u201d\u00a0 In a quieter voice, he added, \u201cBut he no say about dessert!\u00a0 Maybe Hop Sing bring dessert later, if little boy can keep secret.\u201d\u00a0 Joe and he smiled conspiratorially to each other about the deception they would pull over on his boss, whom he was still angry at.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n The quiet knock on his door startled Hoss.\u00a0 He turned partly over onto his side, as he was lying on his stomach.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stuck his head in the door.\u00a0 \u201cCan I come in, son?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss thought Little Joe was coming to console him.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t expect his father but didn\u2019t really think he could have said no, so he nodded yes.<\/p>\n He stood up, as sitting was just as painful as lying on his back.<\/p>\n Ben walked in and hesitated before speaking.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, you know why I had to paddle you today, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI guess I was purty stupid, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you certainly were disrespectful.\u00a0 And then dishonest by not telling me about the incident. Not to mention the original indiscretion that set this whole ordeal into action.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to scare ole\u2026I mean Professor Thornton.\u00a0 You know I wouldn\u2019t\u2019a done nuthin\u2019 bad to \u2018im, doncha, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what your intent was, son.\u00a0 The disrespect and the implication of violence toward anyone \u2013 whether someone in authority over you or any other human being \u2013 isn\u2019t the type of person I want you to be.\u00a0 You cannot think you can use your size to intimidate a person.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the kind of man I want you to be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just didn\u2019t want a paddling, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen you probably shouldn\u2019t have broken a school rule.\u00a0 Furthermore, I\u2019m pretty sure you knew when you were with those other boys looking at those drawings, you might have had a moment or two where you knew I wouldn\u2019t approve, nor would Professor Thornton.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI s\u2019pose so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen you should have stood up and refused to go along with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s jest it, Pa! \u00a0I wanted to, I did.\u00a0 But they would\u2019a laughed at me, they might\u2019a called me yella or somethin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben looked at the large boy at the precipice of manhood for a long while.\u00a0 Then he took a deep breath and shoved his hands deep into his pockets before he spoke again.\u00a0 \u201cBest decide the kind of man you want to be, Hoss.\u00a0 Do you want to be carried away by the opinions of others, or stand up for right and wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t others wanna do the right thing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCuriously, many times they don\u2019t.\u00a0 Sometimes one man can have a very bad idea and the ability to persuade others to follow that path of perdition.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s purty hard to be a man sometimes, ain\u2019t it, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it is. Sometimes it\u2019s hard to distinguish right from wrong.\u00a0 But this wasn\u2019t a hard choice to make. Life will hand you many more lessons, much harder than this.\u00a0 You need to know ahead of time the kind of person you want others to see. And that begins with following your own head and heart, knowing right from wrong and doing right.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded and thought about the choices he\u2019d made, and those he could have, or should have made. Then he asked his father, \u201cPa? Didn\u2019t you never do nuthin\u2019 like that before?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGoing along with the choices of so-called \u2018friends?\u2019 Of course I have! The consequences of those decisions are what taught me I needed to be my own man, and make my own choices, and not let others influence me.\u00a0 But the disrespect for the female of the species is what concerns me more.\u00a0 Women are delicate creatures.\u00a0 God created them from the man, for him to hold and protect and provide for.\u00a0 When we start to see them as less than that, we can begin to treat them badly.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded again.\u00a0 He was silent and Ben waited.<\/p>\n Finally, Hoss took a deep breath and asked another question.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, son?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy\u2019d you hafta paddle me right there in front of Professor Thornton? Couldn\u2019t it\u2019a waited till we was back home?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause it was his rule you broke. You had a paddling coming, and it should have come from him.\u00a0 I may have followed up with punishment at home, and that would have been the end of it. But I wanted him to know you had received the punishment he had proclaimed. And I wanted him to know I agreed with him about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut couldn\u2019t you have just done it at home, and told him you done it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI could have.\u00a0 But you humiliated him somewhat by refusing to take your punishment.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want him to feel intimidated by you or hold anything against you in the future. I want him to know that you were punished properly and now the incident is forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut, why\u2019d ya hafta paddle me harder\u2019n you ever did before?\u00a0 Hop Sing says they\u2019s some mighty bad bruises. And it hurts a whole lot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am sorry about the bruising, I guess that paddle is harder than the belt I use. If you would have allowed him to paddle you and then I did so at home, it might have come out the same, but what troubles me most isn\u2019t the paddling \u2014 it\u2019s the disrespect you showed your teacher, and then not telling me the truth about what happened. I shouldn\u2019t have had to hear it from him first. I don\u2019t ever want to see you defy an authority figure again. That never ends well.\u00a0 It leads to lawlessness and haughtiness, like it says in the Good Book: \u2018Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall\u2019.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHauty\u2026what\u2019s that, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it would be good if you looked it up.\u00a0 It\u2019s in Proverbs 16. Find it and read about it, why don\u2019t you? Now, it\u2019s time for bed. Try to get some sleep, Hoss. I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben turned and left, and Hoss reached for his Bible.<\/p>\n Chapter 5<\/strong><\/p>\n By Tuesday morning Hoss figured his \u201cfriends\u201d had forgotten all about him not sharing what happened when he went home Friday afternoon. In part that was true. In fact, now they were more interested in what his father was doing at school the previous afternoon.<\/p>\n At first recess, Bay walked toward Hoss, who was stooped over helping a littler child rehook his boot laces and didn\u2019t see him coming.\u00a0 Bay walked up behind him and pushed him down.\u00a0 Hoss landed face first in the dirt.\u00a0 He got up, dusted himself off and turned to look at Bay.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s yer problem?\u00a0 Leave me alone, would\u2019ya?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t leaving nuthin\u2019 alone, Cartwright.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure of it now, Yore a yella-belly.\u00a0 Ya cried like a stuffed pig when Perfessor Thornton paddled ya and yore Pa came yesterday to threaten him if he ever did it to ya agin.\u00a0 That\u2019s the truth of it, ain\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, that ain\u2019t the truth of it.\u00a0 Jest git along and leave me be, why don\u2019t\u2019cha?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCause me\u2019n the others wanna know.\u00a0 We told what happened to us when we got home, but you didn\u2019t.\u00a0 That means you prolly got it so bad yer afraid to say so cause yer Pa\u2019ll give it to ya agin if anyone don\u2019t think he\u2019s such a good guy as he wants the whole town to think.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThink what you want.\u00a0 I know my Pa\u2019s a good man and all his friends know it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u00a0 I bet plenty of folks in town talk about him in a whole other way when he\u2019s not around.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t care what you or anybody else thinks about him, and that\u2019s the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI say yer yeller and yer Pa\u2019s yeller too!\u00a0 I say he came inta town and tole ole\u2019 Thornton to lay off ya or next time yer Pa\u2019ll give HIM the paddlin\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n The other boys were laughing at Bay\u2019s last comments.<\/p>\n Hoss started to say something, but the bell rang and \u2013 once again \u2013 it saved him from saying or doing something he knew his father wouldn\u2019t approve of.<\/p>\n \u00a0~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n Lunchtime brought another round of interrogations and derision.\u00a0 While he tried to peacefully eat his lunch, Bay and his cohorts circled him and tried to goad him into a fight.\u00a0 Hoss was determined to obey his father\u2019 mandate.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Cartwright,\u201d\u00a0 Harper called, \u201cBay says you tole him your ole man beat you twice as hard as ole Thornton did when ya got home.\u00a0 Is that what really happened?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss just wanted to finish his lunch.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to have this conversation, or have a fight start over whatever he might answer.\u00a0 He looked around for Little Joe.\u00a0 Curious as it sounds, he wanted to \u201cuse\u201d Little Joe as cover.\u00a0 He could suggest he couldn\u2019t fight around his little brother as the \u201clittle brat\u201d would tell on him to their father\u2026anything to prevent what he knew was inevitably going to happen.<\/p>\n Hoss turned and without any forethought whatsoever, he swung and knocked Bay to the ground.<\/p>\n The laughing stopped.\u00a0 Bay got up and charged Hoss, but Harper grabbed him and held his shoulder.\u00a0 The two boys stood glaring at each other when Little Joe ran up.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Hoss, c\u2019mon, Ole Man Thornton is comin\u2019.\u00a0 You guys better git inside quick.\u201d<\/p>\n They stepped away from each other and started for the schoolhouse door, Hoss with his fists balled up and Bay rubbing his chin.<\/p>\n The rest of the afternoon, all four boys sat and glared at each other while they pretended to be working.\u00a0 It was difficult to concentrate on their work, and the only consolation Hoss took was that Professor Thornton hadn\u2019t seen the altercation and issued more punishment.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~ ~<\/p>\n The next day at school led to another matter Hoss had to navigate.\u00a0 His so-called friends still wanted to know what was going on.\u00a0 They wanted to know what his father had been doing at school on Monday.\u00a0 Two were of the opinion that Ben had gone to school to threaten Professor Thornton, angry that Hoss had gotten a paddling from him, but Bay Sanderson had said Hoss\u2019 father was probably giving the professor a bribe to keep from paddling him!<\/p>\n Since Hoss was still not talking about it, Josh, Bay and Harper were ignoring Hoss for the most part. But Bay still hadn\u2019t gotten over the fact that Hoss had punched him and vowed to get even.<\/p>\n During lunch on Wednesday, Bay decided to bring things to a head.\u00a0 He ate quickly and then told his cohorts to watch how he handled ole Hoss.<\/p>\n He walked over and stood over Hoss, who was relegated to eating alone, since his friends had all but abandoned him.\u00a0 \u201cHey, Cartwright!\u00a0 You think yore such a big man.\u00a0 You think cause yore Pa\u2019s got a big ranch you can get away with anything in this town,\u201d\u00a0 Bay taunted. \u201cMy pa says he ain\u2019t even sure you own all that land, prolly stole it from the Indians.\u201d Hoss swallowed hard but ignored the biting words and kept eating.<\/p>\n Bay wasn\u2019t going to let Hoss ignore him like that!\u00a0 He kicked at Hoss\u2019 boot, and the large boy\u2019s sandwich fell out of his hand.\u00a0 Hoss shot up straight and stared Bay down.\u00a0 They stood like that, boring holes into each others\u2019 eyes.\u00a0 The other older boys sat at a distance and watched and sniggled together.\u00a0 But Little Joe knew Hoss would face their father\u2019s wrath again if anything came of this confrontation, so he ran to his brother\u2019s side.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss!\u00a0 Hoss, fergit about him.\u00a0 He\u2019s no good, and ugly to boot.\u201d\u00a0 Joe turned and stared at Bay the same way Hoss was.<\/p>\n Bay looked down at Joe for just a second, then back up at Hoss.<\/p>\n \u201cTell yer tappy little pipsqueak puppy to mind his own damn business, Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss quickly jumped to his feet and confronted Bay \u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s ma little brother and he kin say whatever he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u00a0 Well, I don\u2019t like you and I really don\u2019t like him.\u00a0 Now, if\u2019n you want, I\u2019ll shut him up first and then start in on you.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss took a step toward Bay, causing the other boy to step back.\u00a0 \u201cYou threaten to hurt my little brother and you\u2019ll find out what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh!\u00a0 I\u2019m so scared, Cartwright.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019m scare o\u2019BOTH o\u2019ya\u2019s!\u201d\u00a0 He turned and walked away, laughing.<\/p>\n Hoss looked down at Little Joe, who was looking every bit as fierce as his three-foot-eight-inch tall self could, hands balled into fists and resting on his hips, his face frowning.\u00a0 The other three boys were now grouped together and laughing as they pointed at the Cartwright brothers.<\/p>\n Hoss looked down at Little Joe and almost started laughing himself.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t help it.\u00a0 Little Joe mostly saw himself every bit as big and strong and tough as Hoss, his own size notwithstanding.<\/p>\n \u201cLittle Joe, you gotta jest let me fight my own battles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u00a0 I just\u2026I just got all mad when he kicked ya and yer sandwich went flyin\u2019 is all.\u00a0 I mean, I know you was hungry\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI kin take care o\u2019the likes of him.\u00a0 Next time, just let me handle it, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut what if they all three come at ya?\u00a0 What if ya need my help?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, if\u2019n I do, I\u2019ll call for ya, how\u2019ll that be?\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe nodded and put his arms down at his sides.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, that\u2019ll work.\u00a0 Okay, Hoss, I\u2019ll wait till ya ask fer my help.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss smiled, ruffled Little Joe\u2019s curls as he started walking back toward the school house, \u201cI\u2019ll be glad to have it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~ \u00a0~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n By the next morning, the three boys were even angrier at Hoss than they\u2019d been the previous day!\u00a0 Bay had intimated to them that Hoss Cartwright saw himself as mightier and more respectable.\u00a0 Bay had gone on and on with all the things Hoss had threatened to do to all three of them, none of it true.\u00a0 He was fostering bad feelings toward Hoss that he himself felt but didn\u2019t want to have all alone.<\/p>\n Another face-down occurred at lunchtime, but this time a gauntlet was thrown:\u00a0 Bay challenged Hoss to face him at the edge of the creek where the two roads they took home diverged.\u00a0 There they could settle things \u201clike gentlemen\u201d and see who was in the right.\u00a0 Hoss tried to talk his way out of it, but the more he talked about why it was a bad idea, the more Bay teased that it was all because Hoss was a chicken-livered yellow-belly.\u00a0 To Little Joe, those WERE \u201cfighting words,\u201d and he totally backed the plan to meet Bay and take care of business once and for all!<\/p>\n When Hoss finally agreed, it sent shock waves all throughout the school.\u00a0 It was all any of the students talked about, even the littler ones.\u00a0 Hoss felt like he was being swept away in an hysteria that was not of his making.\u00a0 He now felt he had no choice, unlike the \u201cchoices\u201d his father had lectured him about just a few days before.\u00a0 The more he tried to think of a way to get out of the fight, the less able he was to find anything that would dissuade the other boys.\u00a0 Now all three of the other older boys were involved and all were looking for a confrontation;\u00a0 one where the \u201chigh and mighty Hoss Cartwright\u201d would finally get his come-uppance.<\/p>\n Even Little Joe seemed eager for a fight.\u00a0 \u201cYou got this, Hoss.\u00a0 You got height, weight, reach and smarts on that pipsqueak!\u00a0 You\u2019ll wipe the ground with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss didn\u2019t lecture his little brother on any of his statements.\u00a0 He was just getting sicker and sicker at the thought of having to fight, after his father had tried to warn him off of such behavior.\u00a0 He had a really bad feeling this was going to end badly for him whether he won or lost the fight.<\/p>\n Things seemed to have settled down after the agreement to meet and fight, but it was only a temporary reprieve.\u00a0 Hoss knew he had to show up for the fight after school or never show his face in school again!<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n Apparently Bay felt as though he had achieved what he wanted, and was willing to wait until they faced off at each other to get his revenge. \u00a0So that afternoon once school had ended the boys started toward the creek to the scene of the fight.\u00a0 There were many more children there than Hoss would have anticipated.\u00a0 Many of them were kids who lived out of town, like he and Joe did, and would be on their way home down this road.\u00a0 But some lived in town and had come out this far simply to watch two older boys duke it out so they wouldn\u2019t be left out of the \u201cfun.\u201d<\/p>\n When Bay and his \u201cposse\u201d arrived it seemed to be with all the fanfare of a Presidential visit!\u00a0 They squeezed Bay\u2019s shoulders, held his hat, patted him on the back and generally kept whispering encouraging words in his ears.<\/p>\n Hoss had Joe, of course, but he couldn\u2019t drown out the sick feeling in his stomach that he was going against something his conscience told him was wrong.<\/p>\n Finally, Bay strode over to the center of a clearing between the trees and stood waiting for Hoss.\u00a0 Hoss still stood beside his horse, hands on his horse\u2019s saddle pommel.\u00a0 He did not want to do this.\u00a0 He was still trying to find a way to end it before it came to fists.<\/p>\n \u201cBay, we don\u2019t hafta do this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know\u2019d you was chicken, Cartwright.\u00a0 I knew you didn\u2019t wanna fight me.\u00a0 I\u2019m even surprised you came at all!\u201d\u00a0 Bay continued to taunt.<\/p>\n The other children all joined in now.\u00a0 They were chanting:\u00a0 \u201cCartwright!\u00a0 Cartwright!\u00a0 Cartwright!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss saw no other option.\u00a0 He walked toward Bay, his arms swinging at his side with each stride.\u00a0 A big cheer came up from the crowd.\u00a0 The boys squared off against each other.\u00a0 Bay held his arms up to his chest, with fists tightly balled. Hoss stood with his arms at his side. They circled and circled, until someone in the crowd yelled out, \u201cWhat\u2019r\u2019ya waitin\u2019 for?\u00a0 Rush him!\u201d<\/p>\n And Bay did so.\u00a0 He rushed in to punch Hoss in the chest, but Hoss side-stepped and pushed him down due to Bay\u2019s own momentum.\u00a0 Getting up off the ground, dusting himself off and putting his hands back up in a \u201cfighting\u201d position, Bay again attempted to rush Hoss.<\/p>\n Hoss tried to stop the fight.\u00a0 \u201cBay, jest turn and walk away.\u00a0 There ain\u2019t no shame in it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll die first, Cartwright.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t fixin\u2019 to walk away and give you braggin\u2019 rights.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that all this is, Bay?\u00a0 Braggin\u2019 rights to who kin fight and who\u2019s chicken?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u00a0 I want a piece of your ass, Cartwright, as high and mighty as you think you are.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBay, I don\u2019t think none o\u2019that.\u00a0 All this was yore idea.\u00a0 I jest wanna git it done with and go home.\u00a0 Now how about we call a truce and go home now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYER A CHICKEN, YELLOW-BELLY, DIRTY ROTTEN BABY!\u201d\u00a0 And with those words, Bay rushed toward Hoss again, this time getting in a punch before Hoss landed one of his own.<\/p>\n It was on.<\/p>\n Hoss punched Bay in the stomach.\u00a0 The boy doubled over, stood up again and punched Hoss in the face, which did nothing.\u00a0 Hoss swung a right round-house at Bay which he quickly moved away from.<\/p>\n Then Bay tried a round-house on Hoss, which ended with him twirling himself so hard HE landed in the dirt for the second time.\u00a0 Now Bay was angrier than at any time since he\u2019d decided he needed to teach Hoss Cartwright a lesson.<\/p>\n Bay came out swinging again and never letting up.\u00a0 Hoss decided the best defense was to put up little to none.\u00a0 So he allowed Bay to punch him two to three times before Hoss swung on him again with a straight jab to his nose.\u00a0 Once again, Hoss\u2019 punch landed the other boy flat on the ground when his head flew back.\u00a0 He landed flat back on his keister!\u00a0 All the other kids laughed and Bay just jumped up, wiped off the seat of his pants and charged Hoss again.<\/p>\n This time Hoss grabbed him around the middle and held him against his own body.\u00a0 He figured since he didn\u2019t want to punch him anymore, he\u2019d just hold Bay until the boy wore himself out trying to hurt Hoss.\u00a0 It mostly worked.\u00a0 Bay was weakening.<\/p>\n Suddenly a horse rode into the middle of the fracas and children who were circled around watching moved swiftly out of the way.<\/p>\n A loud voice declared, \u201cWhat\u2019s going on here<\/strong>??\u201d<\/p>\n When everyone looked to see who the man was with \u201cthe voice\u201d they were startled to see Professor Thronton.\u00a0 The younger children who were merely spectators started moving away, many to their own homes. \u00a0The professor got down off his horse and moved toward the two fighters. \u00a0Not many of the children were left standing around now as most started departing when they heard the man\u2019s voice. Just Bay, Hoss, Harper and Little Joe were left.<\/p>\n Hoss let go of Bay and Bay stepped back, and wiped his lip, which was bleeding.<\/p>\n The man stood between both boys and said again loudly, \u201cI said what\u2019s going on here?\u201d<\/p>\n Bay spoke first.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t none o\u2019yore business, it\u2019s outside of school.\u201d<\/p>\n The man made a move toward Bay and the boy stepped back.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m MAKING it my business.\u201d<\/p>\n Bay decided he could turn the story to his advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cThis big galoot, here\u2026\u201d he pointed to Hoss, \u201c\u2026jumped me an\u2019 started wailing on me!\u00a0 It\u2019s true!\u00a0 Ask my friends\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He turned to look at his friends but only saw Harper.\u00a0 Everyone else had abandoned the goings-on.<\/p>\n \u201cHarper\u2026.tell him.\u201d<\/p>\n Before Harper could speak, Hoss spoke up.\u00a0 \u201cTell the truth, Harper.\u201d<\/p>\n Harper looked from one to the other, but before he could speak, Little Joe spoke up.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s lyin\u2019!!\u00a0 He called my brother out and wanted to fight \u2018im.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know why, cause jus\u2019 look at him!\u201d\u00a0 Joe pointed to Hoss, then continued defending his brother with all he had in him, \u201cWHY would anyone wanna fight him?!\u00a0 If he wanted to, my brother could\u2019a wiped the floor with him, but he wouldn\u2019t fight \u2018im.\u00a0 THAT galoot wouldn\u2019t quit!\u00a0 What was my brother supposed to do?\u00a0 Huh?\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Thornton looked from one boy to the other.\u00a0 It was true, Hoss was taller and broader than Bay.\u00a0 Bay HAD taken the worst of the fight\u2026.but he still wasn\u2019t sure what the truth was.\u00a0 Was it as the little boy had said?\u00a0 Was it the \u2018loser\u2019 who had instigated the fight?\u00a0 After all, just a week ago, Hoss had threatened to take HIM on.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned back to Harper.\u00a0 \u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n Harper jumped.\u00a0 The teacher addressed him:\u00a0 \u201cDid you see all of this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, yessir.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs Joseph tellin\u2019 me the truth?\u00a0 WAS Master Cartwright trying to not fight him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSort\u2019a\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat isn\u2019t actually an answer, Master Stolter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBay\u2019s my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re going to defend him.\u00a0 Is that it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026he\u2019s my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you?\u201d\u00a0 He pointed to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cYour little brother?\u00a0 He\u2019s defending you pretty vehemently.\u00a0 Is what he said true?\u00a0 You didn\u2019t want to fight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, yeah, what he said is right.\u00a0 I kept tryin\u2019 to git Bay to quit, but he wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Bay finally spoke up.\u00a0 \u201cCause yore a CHICKEN, Cartwright!\u201d<\/p>\n The professor had heard enough.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, that\u2019s enough. \u00a0I think I\u2019ve got the picture now.\u201d<\/p>\n He took off his hat and wiped the brim, taking the time to think, while all the boys stood and watched him.<\/p>\n \u201cThis fight is over.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what it was about\u2026.it really doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 No one was seriously hurt, which is a blessing in itself, and now it\u2019s time to get about your business.\u00a0 I suspect most of you have chores waiting at home and parents you\u2019ll now have to lie to about why you\u2019re late coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n With only an angry glare back at each other, Hoss and Little Joe and then Bay and Harper mounted up and headed in opposite directions home.<\/p>\n Luckily, Bay had not landed any punches on Hoss that led to discoloration or bruising.\u00a0 His father would not be the wiser concerning this business.<\/p>\n Chapter 6<\/strong><\/p>\n An uneasy truce was declared at school on Friday.\u00a0 Bay kept his mouth shut, his friends hardly speaking to either he or Hoss.\u00a0 The declared fight had settled them all down enough to endure each others\u2019 company for now.\u00a0 That was all Hoss could hope for.\u00a0 Since he WAS fourteen, he was hoping his father would soon see fit to allow him to stop attending school, but even if he didn\u2019t, one or two of the older boys would be leaving at the end of the term and Hoss\u2019 life would be infinitely more peaceful once that happened.<\/p>\n As happens with confrontations of this sort, time alone settled things down and the boys began to speak to each other, if only in short necessary sentences.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n When the Cartwright brothers arrived home from school on Friday afternoon, Ben was gathering some things together in a small pile near his big mahogany desk in his office.\u00a0 As Little Joe and Hoss walked in they spied the pile and gravitated toward it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s all that, Pa?\u201d ever inquisitive Little Joe wanted to know.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got to take a business trip and I\u2019m gathering my things so I don\u2019t forget anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss asked his father, \u201cWhen you leaving, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow morning.\u00a0 I\u2019d like you to accompany me, son.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you go pack up a few days\u2019 clothing?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss turned and headed for the stairs to do as he was asked.<\/p>\n Of course, Little Joe wanted in on the fun, \u201cCan I come, too, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019m afraid not, son.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut why not?\u00a0 I wanna be with you and Hoss!\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stopped thumbing through his papers to face his small boy.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe, whining does no good, and you know that.\u00a0 I said you may not come with us and that should be the end of the matter. You will take a note to Professor Thornton telling him Hoss had to go with me for a few days.\u201d\u00a0 He turned to pick up his papers again.<\/p>\n Little Joe was insistent.\u00a0 \u201cBut why not, Pa?\u00a0 Where ya goin\u2019 that I can\u2019t come?\u00a0 I wanna go, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben was running out of patience.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe, I told you, this isn\u2019t a pleasure trip. I\u2019ve business to attend to, and I can\u2019t be worried about where you might wander off to or take the time to watch you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut Hoss is goin\u2019\u2026..an\u2019 he could watch me.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben slapped the papers down on his desk and swiveled his chair back toward the small boy.\u00a0 \u201cCome sit down over here, son.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe walked over to the chair beside his father\u2019s big desk and sat quickly with a plop.\u00a0 Ben ignored that behavior.\u00a0 He addressed his youngest son.\u00a0 \u201cI said you are not going with us because Hoss and I have some things to discuss concerning his behavior in school last week. I think us talking it over together in private would be appropriate.\u00a0 For that reason I will not be taking you with us.\u00a0 Do you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean about the fight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWHAT fight??\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh!\u00a0 Yyy\u2026you mean when he got paddled.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWHAT fight were you referring to, Joseph?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, I don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph, what are you referring to?\u00a0 When did this fight take place?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, I\u2019m not sure.\u00a0 I, uh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Ben knew he\u2019d have better luck with Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, I think he\u2019s upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGo get him and tell him I want to talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYessir.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe got up quickly and ran up to Hoss\u2019 room.\u00a0 He felt a little guilty getting Hoss in trouble that way, but \u2013 well, better Hoss than HIM!<\/p>\n Joe ran until he reached his brother\u2019s bedroom door.\u00a0 Then he took a deep breath and calmed himself.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want to arouse Hoss\u2019 suspicions that anything was amiss. He slowly opened the door.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOver here, punkin.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss was piling some clean shirts on his bed.<\/p>\n \u201cPa wants ta talk to ya.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d and he turned to walk away. \u201cAny idear what he wants?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0 Joe turned.<\/p>\n \u201cDo ya know what he wants?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, not sure.\u201d and he ran.<\/p>\n To himself, Hoss said, \u2018I bet you ain\u2019t<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n Hoss walked down the steps to the left to Ben\u2019s study.\u00a0 \u201cPa, Little Joe said you wanted to talk to me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I want to ask you about this fight you supposedly had the other day?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss almost choked.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did Little Joe say?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat fight was he referring to, son?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stood up and walked around his desk to stand before Hoss, legs apart and hands on his hips.\u00a0 Hoss took a step back.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat fight, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh\u2026well, it wasn\u2019t what you think, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do I think?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, well, I didn\u2019t start it, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u00a0 Who did?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, the way it was was:\u00a0 Bay Sanderson kinda called me out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you fought him?!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, we was fightin\u2019, I guess\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t know if you were fighting?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t actually fighting him, Pa.\u00a0 More like keepin\u2019 HIM from fighting ME.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true.\u00a0 You kin ask Little Joe.\u00a0 I was barely hittin\u2019 him at all.\u00a0 He was trying to hit me, but I stopped him and\u2026.and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Ben put his head down and shook his head.\u00a0 Then he put his hands on his hips and faced Hoss again.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, I thought we just talked about this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe did, Pa!\u00a0 I tried all them things you said.\u00a0 I told him I didn\u2019t wanna fight him, I told him we wasn\u2019t gonna fight, I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yet you ended up in a fight, anyway\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Ben shook his head in unbelief.<\/p>\n He then walked back to his chair, picked up the list he was making, turned to Hoss and said, \u201cJust make sure you\u2019re ready to go early in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still going?!?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss was sure the trip was off now because the fighting incident had gotten out.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, yes.\u00a0 More so now.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss quietly turned and softly walked back upstairs, completely baffled by his father\u2019s answer.<\/p>\n Chapter 7<\/strong><\/p>\n Morning came early and Hoss and Ben were riding out before dawn.\u00a0 The morning was crisp and clear.\u00a0 There was a chill in the air, but then there usually was so high up in the mountains.\u00a0 The fresh air felt good and the day promised to be pleasant.<\/p>\n They rode at a good lope for a couple of hours.\u00a0 Hoss didn\u2019t seem particularly moved by where they might be going.\u00a0 He enjoyed the out of doors, and he enjoyed spending time with his father alone.\u00a0 There didn\u2019t seem to be much time to do so lately, as with Adam gone, his father seemed to be busier than ever.\u00a0 And then there was the issue of Little Joe.\u00a0 Since Adam had gone away to school, Little Joe clung to both his father and his older brother more tightly.\u00a0 The loss of his mother had taken a toll on the small boy, and now some of those same feelings returned with the sense of \u201closs\u201d of his oldest brother. Hoss tried to fill that empty feeling in the little boy but sometimes felt like his own world was getting suffocated.\u00a0 Being out of doors, just riding for the enjoyment of it, and now spending this time with his father felt good.\u00a0 It invigorated him!<\/p>\n Finally, at about noon time, they stopped beside a brook and unpacked some of the packages Hop Sing had given them to tide them over. One would think, from looking at the size of the packages, that they would surely starve to death in a day or two had Hop Sing not given up half his kitchen stores!<\/p>\n Hoss was now becoming curious as to their destination, as they hadn\u2019t taken the usual route toward town.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u00a0 Where we headed?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve business with a few people over near Hangtown.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be out probably five or six days. We should arrive there sometime early the day after tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n So they were going to Hangtown.\u00a0 Hoss knew his father didn\u2019t really like that place.\u00a0 The name alone was enough to give a body nightmares!\u00a0 It had derived its name from the obvious suggestion.\u00a0 A rough and tumble place, it deserved to be forgotten.\u00a0 Or abandoned entirely, or burned down, buried and THEN forgotten!\u00a0 Nonetheless, Hangtown, here they came.<\/p>\n The two Cartwrights spent their first night on the trail at the southern-most line shack on the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Ben checked the line shacks, or had one of his men check them, at least twice a year.\u00a0 In this way, the little lean-to\u2019s could be kept in good stead, ready for anyone needing a place of rest or respite because of weather or other conditions which might befall them.\u00a0 This one was in pretty good shape and Ben was pleased.<\/p>\n Later, lying in his bedroll, Hoss asked his father, \u201cPa?\u00a0 What kinda business you gotta do in Hangtown?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t rightly think you liked that place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like that place.\u00a0 Mainly for its reputation.\u00a0 But there are a few people there who are decent, good people.\u00a0 I like to see how my friends are doing from time to time.\u00a0 This trip will give us a chance to meet up with them and catch up on their lives.\u00a0 Most of the ones we\u2019ll see don\u2019t write letters, so the only way I have to see how they\u2019re getting on is by riding over to see them.\u201d\u00a0 He didn\u2019t add that one in particular didn\u2019t write letters because he couldn\u2019t write them.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n The next morning found them continuing on toward Hangtown.\u00a0 Breakfast was a hurried affair as Ben knew they would arrive in Hangtown in time to have a late breakfast if they wished, or lunch if that\u2019s what they felt like.<\/p>\n True to his word, about the middle of the day Hoss and Ben rode into Hangtown.\u00a0 Even though it was fairly early in the day, the bar was open and quite a few horses were milling around, tied to the hitching post. The soulful sounds that passed for music from some broken down player piano wafted out through the bat wing doors and onto the street as they rode past it.\u00a0 They made their way to a small, non-descript house at the other edge of town.\u00a0 It was a small one-story home, with bright window boxes and a short picket fence all around it.\u00a0 Hoss had seen that same fence around many residences in Eagle Station.\u00a0 The ladies who owned the homes always seemed to want to put that fence around, whether to stave off unwanted guests or make their home seem more \u201chomey,\u201d Hoss couldn\u2019t discern.<\/p>\n They dismounted, tied the horses to the fence and went through the gate to knock on the door.\u00a0 A bespeckled, but smallish lady about 50 years old opened the door.\u00a0 She had an apron on, flour in her hair which was reddish sprinkled with grey, flour on her face and hands, as she swiped away at the stray hairs that had escaped the bun on her head.\u00a0 Her greenish-grey eyes sparkled as she laid eyes on the duo.<\/p>\n \u201cLand\u2019s sakes, Ben Cartwright!\u00a0 How are you?\u00a0 It\u2019s fine to see you!\u201d\u00a0 Then she swept her eyes over to Hoss.<\/p>\n Ben took her hand and they shook. \u201cMartha.\u00a0 Nice to see you, too.\u00a0 This is my son, Erik, well, we call him Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n Martha smiled.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, how sweet to meet you.\u201d\u00a0 She stuck out her hand after wiping it on her apron to wipe away the flour.<\/p>\n Hoss took her hand and shook.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled sweetly at her.\u00a0 He liked her, she had a nice smile; warm and comforting, he thought.<\/p>\n \u201cCome in!\u00a0 Come in, don\u2019t let me keep you standing on the stoop.\u201d\u00a0 She swept her hand as though the very action would carry them into the parlor.<\/p>\n She followed behind as they moved into the room.\u00a0 It was neatly furnished, though not overly fraught with furniture.\u00a0 In fact, Hoss thought there really wasn\u2019t much furniture in the room at all.<\/p>\n \u201cSit right down, the both of you, and I\u2019ll make us some refreshments.\u00a0 Hoss, would you like a slice of pie?\u201d\u00a0 Before he could answer, she answered for him!\u00a0 \u201cOf course you would!\u00a0 Never met a growing fella like you that didn\u2019t!\u201d\u00a0 And then she turned and fairly glided out of the room.<\/p>\n Ben and Hoss sat next to each other on the settee, as the only other place to sit in the room was a high back chair, where \u2013 they surmised \u2013 Martha would sit when she returned.\u00a0 The room was big enough for another chair or two, or even a settee, but there wasn\u2019t another chair, just a table at the end of the settee and one beside the chair. It made the room feel \u201clopsided,\u201d as there was plenty of room for more furniture, but there wasn\u2019t any.<\/p>\n While she was gone making their refreshments, Hoss looked around the room.\u00a0 Ben sat still but watched his son.\u00a0 Hoss noticed the trophies and ribbons hanging on the walls and adorning the shelves built into the walls.\u00a0 He was curious but did not stand and walk over to look closer.<\/p>\n Finally, Martha bustled into the room with a tray and their refreshment on it.\u00a0 Coffee was served for the adults, and a glass of lemonade was set out for Hoss.\u00a0 Each was then given a plate with a slice of rhubarb pie.\u00a0 It was quite sweet, and Hoss enjoyed it while the adults \u201ccaught up\u201d with talk of what had gone on since they\u2019d last met\u2026.talk of \u201cinvestments\u201d and such.\u00a0 It was too confusing for Hoss to follow, so he concentrated on his pie.<\/p>\n Finally, when his pie was consumed and there was a lull in the conversation, Hoss asked, \u201cMa\u2019am?\u00a0 Kin I ask a question?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are all these here trophies fer?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss saw Martha and Ben exchange glances.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Hoss, those belong to my husband.\u00a0 You see, he used to be a champion boxer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUSED to be?\u00a0 Is he dead?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben was horrified.\u00a0 \u201cHOSS!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, no, Ben, it\u2019s all right.\u00a0 I guess the way I phrased it, it might have sounded like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Hoss, he\u2019s alive.\u00a0 He just doesn\u2019t box any more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not, ma\u2019am?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben broke in before Martha could answer. \u201cUh, you\u2019ll get to meet him before we leave, Hoss.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t we let him tell you his story?\u201d<\/p>\n With that comment, he stood.\u00a0 \u201cMartha, thank you for the refreshment.\u00a0 We\u2019ll go get settled over at Mrs. Wilson\u2019s boarding house and then why don\u2019t we plan to see you later this evening?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat would be wonderful, Ben.\u00a0 Plan to come around seven, and we\u2019ll have supper!\u00a0 I\u2019ve been dying to try out my new chicken recipe on someone!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I\u2019ll be happy to be your next experiment!\u201d\u00a0 He laughed.<\/p>\n They left Martha\u2019s house and went back toward the center of town and found Mrs. Wilson\u2019s boarding house and brought their bedrolls into their room.\u00a0 Then, they walked their horses to the livery stable to board them while they stayed in Hangtown.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n Once they had settled in at the boarding house and the horses were boarded at the livery it was after two o\u2019clock and Ben asked if Hoss was hungry.\u00a0 Silly question, he knew!\u00a0 After all, it\u2019d been all of three hours since he\u2019d had the piece of Rhubarb pie at Martha\u2019s house. He had no idea why he\u2019d bother asking if Hoss was hungry!\u00a0 Once he\u2019d received the affirmative answer he knew he\u2019d get, he guided the way to a small, intimate restaurant beside the general store.<\/p>\n The atmosphere was pleasant and the front window looked out across the street to the school house which doubled as a church building on occasion.\u00a0 As school had dismissed just a bit earlier no one should have been in the schoolhouse\/church building.\u00a0 A man was clearing up some debris which cluttered the entrance to the building in order to give a better appearance for arriving church goers the next evening.\u00a0 He was a fairly young man, perhaps thirty years old.\u00a0 His hair was dark. In fact, he resembled the eldest Cartwright son, Adam.\u00a0 Medium build, fairly tall, with dark hair combed neatly and parted to one side.\u00a0 Ben watched him work, without giving too much away, and secretly hoped he would still be working when they finished their meal.\u00a0 As luck would have it, he was.<\/p>\n So, as they left the restaurant, Ben walked across the street.\u00a0 He caught the preacher\u2019s eye, who stood and waited for them to get close enough to talk.<\/p>\n He smiled when they were close enough to greet each other. \u201cBen Cartwright!\u00a0 It\u2019s been awhile!\u00a0 How are you doing, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m well, Jason.\u00a0 How are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m better than I deserve, don\u2019t ya know!\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at Hoss.<\/p>\n Ben introduced them and they shook hands.<\/p>\n \u201cStill in the preaching business, I see.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, yes!\u00a0 I\u2019m doing a circuit.\u00a0 Hangtown\u2019s one of five churches I serve.\u00a0 I am in one each week and then repeat the circuit.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot of traveling, and no real home of my own, but it\u2019s interesting work, and I have plenty of good friends to keep me occupied.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s great, Jason.\u00a0 Hopefully, one of the churches will decide one of these days to make your visits permanent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI hope so, too.\u201d\u00a0 He looked over both of them.\u00a0 \u201cSo?\u00a0 What brings you to Hangtown?\u00a0 Will you be here for prayer meeting tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, business brought us here, but since you\u2019re here this week, of course we\u2019ll be in church tomorrow!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss spoke up now.\u00a0 \u201cBut, Pa?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know we was going to go to church in the middle of the week.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t bring no nice clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n Jason laughed, \u201cThat\u2019s all right, young man.\u00a0 God looks on the heart, not the outward man, you know.\u00a0 You\u2019ll look just fine if you come in with the right heart attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, right you are Reverend, and we\u2019ll have that.\u00a0 Well, we\u2019d best leave you to your cleaning up, or the OUTside of your church won\u2019t look good enough to receive the INside of your parishioners tomorrow!\u201d\u00a0 Both men laughed.<\/p>\n Hoss wasn\u2019t sure he understood the joke, but smiled and waved good-bye to the Reverend Jason Harness.<\/p>\n Chapter 8<\/strong><\/p>\n Supper with Martha and her husband Dan was unlike anything Hoss had ever experienced.\u00a0 Dan Bremmer was a giant of a man.\u00a0 He was bigger than Hoss would ever be.\u00a0 But he was in a wheelchair and couldn\u2019t use his legs at all, which had made them atrophy.\u00a0 They looked to Hoss like little sticks coming out from the bottoms of his trousers.\u00a0 He had limited use of his arms, and not much more of his hands.<\/p>\n Martha had to cut his food and even feed him.<\/p>\n Hoss had been startled when he first saw him, but he knew it wasn\u2019t polite to stare or even ask what had happened.\u00a0 So he ate his meal in silence and tried not to stare.\u00a0 The adults gave nothing away and conversed about town goings on as if this meal spectacle was normal.<\/p>\n Once the meal was consumed, the foursome made their way to the parlor once again.\u00a0 Now it became apparent to Hoss why there was so little furniture. With the wheelchair in the room, everything became very close.\u00a0 Martha was very attentive to Dan\u2019s needs.\u00a0 She stroked his face often and smiled at him at every turn.\u00a0 Ben, Dan and Martha held lively discussions, shared a few jokes and laughed easily.\u00a0 Hoss was uncomfortable and wondered how they could all be so \u201chappy\u201d in light of the man\u2019s obvious disability, but he kept silent.<\/p>\n Finally, during a lull in the conversation, he decided he could speak up about something that wouldn\u2019t focus on the obvious elephant in the room, he thought!<\/p>\n Hoss cleared his throat and then spoke up.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Dan?\u00a0 Kin you tell me about them there trophies and such? My Pa said you would.\u201d<\/p>\n There was a hush in the room that was palpable.\u00a0 Martha and Dan looked at each other and then each looked at Ben.\u00a0 Ben gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head.<\/p>\n Dan locked his eyes on Hoss, and then he began to speak.\u00a0 \u201cWell, Hoss, as you can see from the trophies I used to box. I was quite a boxer in my day.\u00a0 Yep.\u00a0 I was a champ!\u00a0 Got all the trophies and medals to prove it.\u201d He smiled and stopped talking, looking over the trophies and then at Martha, who stroked his face again.<\/p>\n Then he wheeled to the fireplace.\u00a0 Martha got up and walked beside him.\u00a0 He nodded at one trophy and she took it down and looked at it.\u00a0 Then they looked at each other, a silent message passed between them.\u00a0 She turned and handed it to Hoss.<\/p>\n Dan spoke again.\u00a0 \u201cSee that there date, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n He took the trophy and read it.\u00a0 \u201cIt says San Francisco, 1843.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep.\u00a0 I fought and won that night, too.\u00a0 It was my last fight ever.\u201d<\/p>\n She turned his wheelchair to face the large teen now.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost my ability to use my limbs that night, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss was stunned.\u00a0 \u201cIn the fight?!\u201d he blurted out.\u00a0 He continued to stare at him, his mouth hung open.\u00a0 He was too stunned to know what to ask, or how.<\/p>\n Dan shook his head to convey, no.\u00a0 Then he got a far away look that caused him to look away for a long time.\u00a0 A full minute or more. In the silence, Hoss stared at the trophy, looking perhaps for a clue as to what had happened. \u00a0Everyone sat dead still.\u00a0 Only the ticking of the clock could be heard. Then Dan spoke again.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was right after the fight.\u00a0 I went back to my room, to get cleaned up, you know?\u00a0 I was gonna take my best girl out for the biggest steak dinner she\u2019d ever enjoy.\u201d\u00a0 He looked over at Martha and she looked back at him with a large smile on his face, but tears were streaming down her face.<\/p>\n Hoss looked from one of them to the other.\u00a0 And then he looked over at his father, who had not moved so much as a muscle since Dan had started talking.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were happy.\u00a0 We were laughing, teasing, making plans for the future.\u00a0 Children, a big house, money in the bank.\u00a0 Security.\u00a0 This was the biggest bout I had ever won.\u00a0 I was the champion, and now I had the money and the trophy to prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n He stopped speaking.\u00a0 Hoss just watched him.\u00a0 His demeanor changed but Hoss couldn\u2019t explain what the mood was that came over the large man.\u00a0 It was dark.\u00a0 Almost frightened.\u00a0 Frightening.\u00a0 It was hard to read.<\/p>\n Dan started speaking again, after clearing his throat.\u00a0 To Hoss, it sounded like Dan was trying hard not to cry.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just crossing the street to enter the restaurant.\u00a0 It was the fanciest place in San Francisco, remember Ben?\u00a0 Near the wharf\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs we walked, a man came out of the shadows.\u00a0 He jostled against me.\u00a0 I moved, said, \u2018Excuse me,\u2019 even though I knew I wasn\u2019t the one who bumped him.\u00a0 He turned around and jostled me again.\u00a0 Deliberate like, this time.\u00a0 I put myself between Martha and the man.\u00a0 He was slightly smaller than you. I was taller than he was and outweighed him, but he didn\u2019t seem to notice. Every time I moved, he moved.\u00a0 By now I knew we had a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned to look at the boy to make certain Hoss was following the scene.\u00a0 Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cI tried to avoid him.\u00a0 He moved when I moved.\u00a0 Did that about three times.\u00a0 Finally, I looked him straight in the eyes and asked, \u2018Have we got a problem here, friend?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He replied, \u201c \u2018You ain\u2019t my friend.\u00a0 You\u2019re a fake and a liar.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t know why such a pretty little girl like her wants to be with you’.\u201d\u00a0 Dan cleared his throat and continued.\u00a0 \u201cHe started saying things to Martha.\u00a0 Things about how he could be good to her, things a gentleman doesn\u2019t say to any woman, ever.<\/p>\n \u201cI tried to redirect him to pay attention to me because he was looking at Martha a little strange, like he was going to grab her away or something.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what his intention was, but I know it scared her.\u00a0 She moved closer to me, grabbed my hand and stepped behind me a little.\u00a0 Good thing the man was too drunk to notice that.\u00a0 Then he turned his attention to me.\u00a0 He seemed to get more agitated then.\u00a0 Finally he spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018You cost me a whole lotta money tonight. You wasn\u2019t supposed to win\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI shook my head.\u00a0 I laughed a little and said, \u2018I don\u2019t know what that means, friend.\u00a0 Anybody could have won.\u00a0 I just had a better fight, that\u2019s all.\u00a0 Now if you\u2019ll excuse me, my wife and I would like to go on with our evening and have some dinner\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe just stood there and shook his head \u2018No\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were kind of at a stand still.\u00a0 So, finally, I took Martha\u2019s hand and started to walk around him.\u00a0 He flew into a rage, told me NOT to walk away from him; said she was going with him. Said even HE could have beat me and I must have cheated to win that fight.\u201d<\/p>\n He stopped speaking and had a faraway look in his eyes, as if remembering everything.\u00a0 Thinking, probably not for the first time, if there might have been something he could have done to prevent what was coming.<\/p>\n Martha reached out for his face and stroked his cheek.\u00a0 He smiled back at her.<\/p>\n Then he continued the story, \u201cI know enough to know when someone is looking for a fight.\u00a0 I\u2019d been a boxer for most of my adult life, and I know to stay out of situations that might lead to someone getting hurt.\u00a0 I had been trained to box.\u00a0 I know how to land a punch that would put an ordinary man into a coma.\u00a0 This man wanted a fight, not to box. My fists are a lethal weapon.\u00a0 I would have hurt him.\u00a0 Badly. \u00a0And that could have landed me in jail for the rest of my life. \u00a0I just wanted to be on my way.\u00a0 But he was also disrespecting my wife in a very uncomfortable way. Saying things a man should never say or even think about a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, he stopped speaking and cleared his throat.\u00a0 Martha now went and brought a handkerchief to his eyes and wiped the tears away.<\/p>\n Hoss wanted to jump up and say he was sorry for even bringing the subject up!\u00a0 It was almost more than he could bear to watch the big man being brought to tears, and then not even to wipe them away by himself.\u00a0 Hoss himself felt tears forming in his eyes.<\/p>\n Ben spoke now.\u00a0 \u201cDan, if you\u2019d\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Dan cut him off by turning quickly and interjecting, \u201cNO!\u00a0 Ben, I will tell him. I want to tell it all.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned his face toward Hoss. \u201cHoss, the man wouldn\u2019t give it up.\u00a0 He continued talking garbage about my wife.\u00a0 He\u2019d sized me up and figured that if he riled me enough, I\u2019d fight him.\u00a0 I guess he had decided I wasn\u2019t all that much to take on, or that I might have been tired out from the bout and he was planning to take me out.\u00a0 I just wasn\u2019t going to give him the chance. We turned to head back to the hotel then.\u00a0 I thought maybe if we walked completely away, the man would settle down and head home, or somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n Dan sat there shaking his head, as if even now trying to stop the situation from escalating.\u00a0 It was silent for a long time.<\/p>\n Hoss was now concerned for their well-being, even though the event had happened years before. So, in a very small voice, the boy asked, \u201cWhat happened then?\u00a0 Did he leave you alone?\u00a0 Did you make it back to the hotel?\u201d<\/p>\n Dan looked him in the eyes.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Hoss.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t.\u00a0 The man started screaming at us.\u00a0 At me.\u00a0 He threatened me, threatened my wife. I turned back around. Prolly shouldn\u2019t have, but I was angry then.\u00a0 I walked right up to his face and said, \u2018You need to go on your way, and take your loss.\u00a0 It was your fault you lost money tonight, not mine.\u00a0 Now don\u2019t bother me again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Before I could turn around again, the man said to me, \u201cI could beat you.\u00a0 I could take you down in a fight.\u00a0 You ain\u2019t nuthin\u2019! You\u2019re a cheat and a liar\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was screaming, getting more and more hysterical, so I just turned away and walked back to where Martha was standing. A crowd had formed now, and some were calling on him to go on his way.\u00a0 Others were screaming at me to beat him down.\u00a0 I just wanted to get out of the situation safely, to keep Martha safe.\u00a0 We were walking away, I was holding her hand.\u00a0 I remember looking at her, squeezed her hand, as if to say, \u2018We\u2019ll be all right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Again he stopped to remember the events of that night.\u00a0 Then he spoke again.\u00a0 \u201cBut we weren\u2019t all right. The man was enraged.\u00a0 I heard someone scream.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t turn to see why, but almost immediately I found out why.\u00a0 I never heard the shot. I don\u2019t remember anything other than falling.\u00a0 My legs just seemed to go out from under me and \u00a0I went down.\u00a0 Face down.\u00a0 In the middle of the street.\u00a0 The last thing I remember is Martha screaming for someone to get a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n Dan stopped talking.\u00a0 He seemed to be breathing very heavily now. Once again, the only sound to be heard was the clock on the mantle as it ticked off the seconds.<\/p>\n Finally, after some soft sobbing, Martha picked up the story.\u00a0 \u201cDan was shot by that man.\u00a0 In the back. People were scuffling to hold him until the constable came.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know what happened to him because I was just concerned about getting Dan to the doctor.\u00a0 I thought he would die.\u201d<\/p>\n She stopped talking and wiped her eyes, then continued.\u00a0 \u201cHe lay in a coma for four days.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t know if he would live or die.\u00a0 I never left his side.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know anyone in San Francisco, but your father had seen what had happened.\u00a0 He came to see us.\u00a0 He brought me food and sat with Dan while I took short breaks to try to sleep or whatever else I needed to do while he was comatose\u2026.\u201d She smiled over at Ben.\u00a0 Hoss followed her gaze to his father, who smiled back at her.<\/p>\n Ben picked up the story now.\u00a0 \u201cMartha was very upset, understandably. But since they didn\u2019t have any family or friends in town, I felt she couldn\u2019t be left to deal with the situation on her own.\u00a0 I had a day or two left to deal with my own business before I needed to head home, so I stayed to give whatever aid I could whenever I had a moment\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a God send, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben and Martha smiled at each other again.<\/p>\n Ben continued. \u201cWhen Dan came out of his coma, he was confronted with the news that the bullet had torn into his spinal column and he was paralyzed.\u00a0 His arms and legs would never work again.\u201d<\/p>\n Martha took up the story again.\u00a0 \u201cThat man put an end to our lives.\u00a0 Dan has spent all these years since then in this chair.\u00a0 He cannot do what he used to do.\u00a0 He\u2019ll never walk again, he\u2019ll never box again. But he\u2019s alive, and for that I am eternally grateful.\u00a0 He\u2019s my husband, and I love him more than my own life.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what I would have done if he\u2019d died that night\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Dan cut in. \u201cI am grateful, too, that my wife stayed by my side.\u00a0 A man who isn\u2019t a whole man anymore?\u00a0 Who would stay with a man like that?\u00a0 My angel did. I guess I\u2019d be dead now, or in one of those sanitoriums if she\u2019d decided she didn\u2019t want the likes of me anymore\u2026.I wouldn\u2019t fight that man, knowing I could end up hurting him and landing me in jail, but I guess I ended up another kind of jail after all\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Martha broke in again.\u00a0 \u201cYour father did more that week than sit by Dan\u2019s side with me. Once we got the news that Dan would be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, your father helped me take the fight winnings and invest and diversify into several ventures that would ensure we had an income for the rest of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben completed the story.\u00a0 \u201cThe man who shot Dan was tried on charges of attempted murder and sentenced to fifteen years hard labor and ordered to pay for Dan\u2019s care for the rest of his life. It was soon obvious the man didn\u2019t have enough of an \u2018estate\u2019 to give them a guaranteed income to live on. A hard lesson for trying to be a braggard and taking on a situation he should have stayed out of. Of losing his temper over next to nothing.\u00a0 I was just glad I had the connections to help in some small way so their future could be secure.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss certainly could see the injustice.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, shootin\u2019 a man in the back like that. Jest cause he wouldn\u2019t fight for no reason\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Dan summed it up completely and for all.\u00a0 \u201cTurned out there were no winners that night.\u201d<\/p>\n After that, a dark quiet took over the room.\u00a0 No one spoke for several minutes.\u00a0 All that could be heard was the occasional sob from Martha.<\/p>\n Finally, Ben spoke.\u00a0 \u201cDan?\u00a0 Martha?\u00a0 I think we\u2019ve intruded quite enough on your evening\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot an intrusion, Ben.\u00a0 It\u2019s always good to see you again.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stood up.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s always my pleasure to see you again, nevertheless, I think the evening has come to an end.\u00a0 I thank you, Martha, for another wonderful meal!\u00a0 I enjoyed it, and I\u2019m sure my son did as well.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled and looked over at Hoss.<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes\u2019m.\u00a0 It was a right good recipe. I\u2019m shore glad you tried it out on us!\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone laughed and it was a good way to end the evening.\u00a0 The Cartwrights bid their good nights and left the Bremmers\u2019 home.<\/p>\n They were quiet on the walk back to the boarding house.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n Once in their room and lying in their beds in the dark, Hoss had questions for his father.<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, son?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo, Dan cain\u2019t use his arms or legs for nuthin\u2019 at all?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot much, no, he can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean, Martha does everything for him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean everything<\/strong>??\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLove is a beautiful thing, son.\u00a0 When you make a vow of marriage, part of the vow is \u2018For better or worse, in sickness and in health.\u2019\u00a0 Most people don\u2019t really consider that it might actually come to that.\u00a0 Martha is a very special woman.\u00a0 As Dan said, a lot of women would have sent their family member to a sanitorium if they ended up in that condition.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a whole lot of love. Did the man who shot him have a family, too?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe did.\u00a0 But his wife left him because the judge ordered him to pay for Dan\u2019s care.\u00a0 His wife felt that with him in jail, and his \u2018estate\u2019 \u2013 meaning any money she made since she was his wife – ordered to go to Dan for his care and his housing; she left him.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t want to also pay for his crime.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss considered that sad consequence of that night.\u00a0 \u201cThen there really weren\u2019t no winners that night, were there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, son, there weren\u2019t.\u00a0 As we\u2019ve discussed before, a man\u2019s actions may have long-standing consequences that can follow him the rest of his life. Part of the man\u2019s issues were also that he thought things about Martha that led to him behaving quite inappropriately.\u201d\u00a0 Ben yawned.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been a long day Hoss, so I think we need to get some sleep now.\u00a0 Good night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood night, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 But Hoss wasn\u2019t tired now. He lay in bed for a long time thinking about Dan and Martha.\u00a0 The images of that night, the conversations he\u2019d been told that took place between Dan and the angry man, the thought of someone being so angry they would actually shoot someone in the back\u2026.and how a man and wife\u2019s whole life was changed because of it.\u00a0 He thought back to what his father had told him to look up in the Bible about a \u201chaughty spirit,\u201d and was sure it fit that man who shot Dan Bremmer that night.\u00a0 Then he compared some of his actions lately to what he\u2019d heard about how to treat and think about women and wondered if the man who had shot Dan had one day acted like he did when he was in school.\u00a0 It all just swirled around in his head until he finally fell asleep.<\/p>\n Chapter 9<\/strong><\/p>\n Hoss was gently shaken awake by his father.\u00a0 He had finally fallen asleep, but his dreams hadn\u2019t been relaxing at all.\u00a0 Now it was time to get up.\u00a0 Ben had business at the bank in Hangtown, he explained, then they\u2019d have dinner and later in the day meet the Reverend Jason Harness for mid-week prayer services and study.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n The reverend was very passionate!\u00a0 His sermon was a lively affair. Hoss never took his eyes off the preacher.\u00a0 Of course, it was hard to do so, as the man was very vocal, and often jumped up and shouted \u201cAMEN!\u201d or other praises.\u00a0 Right in the middle of the service!\u00a0 Hoss had never heard anyone preach like that.\u00a0 Most of the preachers they had come through their town were very sedate and almost monotone enough to put one to sleep.\u00a0 Except you didn\u2019t want Pa to catch you sleeping in church!\u00a0 Reverend Harness was different. And the message seemed to be directed only at Hoss!\u00a0 The title was \u201cA soft answer turneth away wrath,\u201d and Hoss immediately thought of Dan Bremmer and how he\u2019d tried that \u201csoft answer\u201d path.\u00a0 All it got him was a bullet to the back that altered his life forever.\u00a0 Hoss waited for the preacher to give an answer to his unvoiced question of how that \u201cwrath\u201d was turned away.<\/p>\n Soon enough, the sermon was over and Hoss never heard the answer he sought.\u00a0 He was slightly disappointed, but not in the preacher himself.\u00a0 He was certainly a charismatic enough fellow!\u00a0 Ben stood in the middle of the church and visited with several people he knew.\u00a0 They all asked how things were going\u2026.the usual type of things people who didn\u2019t see each other often would say.\u00a0 After several minutes of that and shaking hands and nodding \u2018Hello\u2019 to various strangers, Hoss was getting bored.\u00a0 And hungry!\u00a0 Just as he was trying to figure out how to ask his father when they were leaving, his father turned to him and said, \u201cWell, son?\u00a0 Are you hungry?\u00a0 Are you ready for some dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n They walked out the front door and met Reverend Harness.\u00a0 He fell in step with them as they crossed the street over to the restaurant.\u00a0 Most of the townsfolk had made their own way to their own homes.\u00a0 Eating out at a restaurant was a luxury most people were not able to indulge in, so the place wasn\u2019t overly crowded.\u00a0 Just a few visitors and travelers, as they themselves were.<\/p>\n After sitting and ordering their food, the conversation shifted.\u00a0 Reverend Harness asked Hoss how he enjoyed the sermon.\u00a0 Hoss decided this was his opening to try to get an answer to his question.<\/p>\n \u201cI kinda did, Rev. Harness, but I have a question you never did answer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d\u00a0 Jason looked over at Ben, who just shrugged.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I was wondering about that \u2018soft answer\u2019 thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about it?\u00a0 Did you find it in the scriptures?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, sure I kin find where God said that and all.\u00a0 But I was wondering, well, I wanted to ask ya\u2026how do ya do that?\u00a0 I mean, a soft answer\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Jason took a breath.\u00a0 Ben sat back and watched the young preacher carefully.<\/p>\n Jason scratched the back of his neck.\u00a0 He was thinking, and Hoss could tell that.\u00a0 He appreciated that the reverend really wanted to give him the right answer to his question.\u00a0 Hoss had his own reasons, but he never expected to hear the answer he got!<\/p>\n Jason took a deep breath and began to talk. \u201cWell, Hoss, you see, that verse has become my life verse.\u00a0 There was a time in my life when I did not use a \u2018soft answer.\u2019\u00a0 A man died because of it.\u201d\u00a0 He stopped talking and looked over at Hoss and then at Ben.<\/p>\n Ben just sat and watched the preacher. Hoss did too and hoped the preacher would continue and tell the details of what that meant.<\/p>\n Before Jason could continue, the food was served, so they dove into their food and enjoyed their meal.\u00a0 Hoss hoped the preacher would pick up his story after eating.\u00a0 If he didn\u2019t, Hoss was determined to make sure he didn\u2019t forget to do so!<\/p>\n Hoss began to enjoy his meal so much, he almost forgot about the question, but Rev. Harness did not.\u00a0 Once he cleaned his plate and pushed it away from in front of him, he leaned his arms on the table and looked over the table at Hoss.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, a man died because I killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss almost swallowed his mouthful of food whole!<\/p>\n \u201cHUH??\u00a0 But yer a preacher!\u201d<\/p>\n Jason nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I am now.\u00a0 But when I was younger, I killed a man.\u00a0 I murdered him.\u00a0 I was an angry young man. You see, my father was a drunk.\u00a0 A mean drunk, he beat me from as young as I can remember.\u00a0 Because he was so mean, my mother left him from before I can even remember her. I guess I was 3 or 4 years old. Some said he murdered her but they never found her body, so he never went to jail for it.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t ever find out the truth.\u00a0 After that it was only us two and I had to learn to be mean. It was easier to be mean than to just be a punching bag. \u00a0Once I was old enough, it kept him from hurting me too badly. I learned at a young age that if anyone angered you, you lashed out at them.\u00a0 You hurt them, you beat them.\u00a0 Whatever it took to make the anger in you go away and keep them from hurting you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat don\u2019t rightly sound like the sermon I heard today.\u201d<\/p>\n Jason laughed.\u00a0 \u201cNo, it\u2019s not the message I preach today.\u00a0 You see, I got meaner and meaner as I grew up.\u00a0 I got even meaner when my father was killed one night because he tried to beat another man.\u00a0 That man was able to overtake him and stab him to death.\u00a0 He was found in the morning laying in a pool of his own blood in an alley next to his favorite saloon. I guess he would have lived if someone would have found him sooner.\u00a0 But no one was looking for him, as he had no friends, and no one who cared where he was or what he was doing.\u00a0 I was fourteen years old.\u00a0 And I was all alone in the world.\u00a0 And angry.\u201d<\/p>\n He stopped talking and looked down at his hands.<\/p>\n The waitress came by and asked if they would like dessert.\u00a0 Ben ordered dessert for all and she cleared the plates and left to bring the delicacies.<\/p>\n Jason looked up at Hoss, as though just then remembering what they were talking about.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see, Hoss, I was alone in the world and had had no training in how I was supposed to go through life.\u00a0 All I knew was to fight, to hurt others, to be mean and angry. I was about your age.\u00a0 You\u2019re fifteen-sixteen?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss corrected him, \u201cFourteen.\u201d\u00a0 He tried to imagine his life if it was the one Rev. Harness was describing, rather than the one he and his brothers enjoyed.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, so you can understand how I felt.\u00a0 Would you like to suddenly be left all alone?\u00a0 With no one to help you out?\u00a0 It might sound funny, that my Pa would \u2018help me out,\u2019 when he was such a terrible person.\u00a0 But he was all I had.\u00a0 He was all I knew, and then he was gone, and I had no one else.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t like that\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNeither did I.\u00a0 But it was my life.\u00a0 So I rambled around for awhile, trying to figure things out.\u00a0 I needed to find a way to make a living or get money.\u00a0 I was getting tired of living in the loft of the nearest livery stable, always making sure to stay out of sight, for fear of getting caught and hauled out to jail or an orphanage, depending on who found me\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n During a break in his narrative, the dessert came, so the men ate their dessert.\u00a0 As they ate, Jason continued.<\/p>\n \u201cI even started stealing food so I could eat.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to get work at fourteen.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t big like you, I was scrawny cause I was always hungry growing up.\u00a0 My Pa didn\u2019t really provide very good for us.\u00a0 He\u2019d rather drink away the money he earned rather than pay for food for us.\u00a0 Once I was on my own, I turned to stealing to get what I needed.\u00a0 I ran away.\u00a0 But it was the same in every other town.\u00a0 No matter where I went, no one wanted to hire a scrawny, mean kid. I figured I\u2019d had a bad deal, and it made me angrier and angrier.\u00a0 And the angrier I got, the harder it was to get along.\u00a0 I got caught too many times stealing. Some nice folks tried to help me have food, but they also wanted me to stay with them.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want anyone else telling me what to do. I figured they\u2019d beat me, too.\u00a0 That\u2019s all the way I knew folks treated their kids. After my Pa died, I figured I knew what was best for me, so I didn\u2019t let anyone \u2018take me in.\u2019\u00a0 I didn\u2019t understand about love.\u00a0 I guess some good folks wanted to love a poor orphaned son of a drunk, but I figured they were only doing it cause they must have felt guilty about not helping my Pa with a job or something.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t understand what it would have been like to have been loved and cared for.\u00a0 After all, that wasn\u2019t my experience.\u00a0 So I just drifted around.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben broke in.\u00a0 \u201cYou see, son.\u00a0 When someone grows up with one type of experience, they have no knowledge of how different things can be.\u00a0 It also seems to be the case that they might actually be afraid to change things.\u00a0 People don\u2019t like change in their lives.\u00a0 Even if the things in their lives are damaging to them.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t make sense, and maybe someday some people will figure out why folks are made that way, but it seems it\u2019s just how folks are.\u00a0 They\u2019d rather be around things they\u2019re familiar with than try something different.\u201d<\/p>\n Jason broke in again.\u00a0 \u201cI finally did find work!\u00a0 Funny as it is, I got a job in a saloon.\u00a0 As a swamper.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cYou know what a swamper is?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the guy paid to clean up the saloon before it opens each day.\u00a0 Usually the job starts pretty early in the day, because some saloons don\u2019t really want to close at all.\u00a0 See, some drunks would drink 24 hours a day if they could.\u00a0 Good thing saloons are closed on Sundays!\u00a0 Well, anyway, I was working as a swamper.\u00a0 It\u2019s miserable work.\u00a0 The floors are often messy with spilled over spittoons, vomit, blood or spilled drinks.\u00a0 They stink and sometimes the stuff might have been there for hours before you get to clean up.\u00a0 But I figured it was honest work, and I could buy my food instead of stealing it.\u00a0 I vowed to never drink, though, on account of my Pa.\u00a0 But when you\u2019re just a kid, and living in the shadows of life, and don\u2019t have anything else to do except work a few hours a day, you\u2019re bound to get into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n He finished his dessert and then continued speaking.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t really a trouble-maker.\u00a0 I just didn\u2019t know what to do with myself.\u00a0 While my Pa was alive, I had school or chores, or taking care of him as much as I could.\u00a0 Then, after he died, I didn\u2019t have anything or anyone to answer to, so I kind of drifted in and out of trouble.\u00a0 I still didn\u2019t drink but had no problem hanging around in the saloon.\u00a0 I even started gambling, but I didn\u2019t always have a lot of cash to gamble with.\u00a0 Good thing, I think now! Well, one night, it was a busy night in the saloon, so I thought it might be easier to clean up if I hung around and cleaned up as the messes were made.\u00a0 Some drovers came into town to blow off steam after a cattle drive\u2026.they got good and drunk.\u00a0 Once they spied me trying to stay ahead of their messes, they seemed to be deliberately spilling their drinks, spitting on the floors\u2026.laughing at me as I ran to clean it up.\u00a0 It seemed like it became a game. It just made me plain mad!\u201d<\/p>\n Jason stopped talking and Hoss commented.\u00a0 \u201cSounds like things was getting bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Jason nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOh, yeah, but things got a lot worse.\u00a0 After about an hour like this, I just threw down the bucket and mop.\u00a0 All the drovers just laughed and laughed. They reminded me so much of what my pa had been like. Tully, the barkeep tried to settle them down.\u00a0 He knew I was just about fed up, but they just laughed more and more.\u00a0 He turned and told me to just go into the storeroom in back, where I slept and wait till they left.\u00a0 But a couple of men blocked my way.\u00a0 They were having way too much fun at my expense.\u00a0 So they weren\u2019t about to let me leave the game\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss, sweet Hoss, with his strong sense of right and wrong, was very offended.\u00a0 \u201cWhy didn\u2019t Tully or somebody stop \u2018em?\u00a0 Weren\u2019t fair the way they was doin\u2019 you!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u00a0 I think instead of getting madder and madder, which only fed them, if I\u2019d just laughed a little and found something else to do, well, things might have ended differently.\u00a0 But I was a kid.\u00a0 I was too mad at them – at the world – to think clearly.\u00a0 Well, to tell ya the truth, I just didn\u2019t know any better.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know how to do anything other than get angry and mean and lash out at someone. Didn\u2019t know about \u2018a soft answer\u2019 then.\u201d<\/p>\n Jason stopped talking to take a drink of his coffee.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I lashed out. I threw myself at the biggest cowboy, who was standing against the bar and closest to me.\u00a0 I grabbed hold of him.\u00a0 I jumped on his back and started punching him with all my might.\u00a0 But he was big, and strong.\u00a0 And I was scrawny, and small.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t hurting him at all.\u00a0 And all his friends were really laughing hard now.\u00a0 The more they laughed, the madder I got.\u201d\u00a0 He looked Hoss in the eye then.\u00a0 \u201cHonestly, Hoss, I don\u2019t even know what happened then.\u00a0 I was told I grabbed a bottle off the bar and smashed it over his head.\u00a0 It broke, of course, and he staggered a little, but I was hanging onto his back.\u00a0 I still had the neck of the broken bottle in my hand, so I smashed it against the man\u2019s neck.\u00a0 Straight into his neck.\u00a0 He went down.\u00a0 I fell off his back.\u00a0 The others all stood up and I thought for sure I would die then. But the sheriff busted through the door and bellowed out to know who had started it.\u00a0 Everyone pointed to me.\u00a0 And there I stood, standing over the man with that bottle neck in my hand.\u00a0 And he was on the floor, dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss was speechless.\u00a0 Finally, he found his voice.\u00a0 \u201cDid you get arrested?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I did.\u00a0 I was charged with murder.\u00a0 I went through a trial.\u00a0 They wanted to hang me.\u201d\u00a0 Jason had tears in his eyes.<\/p>\n Hoss had tears in his eyes, too!\u00a0 \u201cBut they didn\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n Josh laughed, \u201cNo, they didn\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss wanted to know the rest of the story, so he asked, \u00a0\u201cSo what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I was put into the town\u2019s jail.\u00a0 The sheriff fought so I didn\u2019t have to go to the penitentiary. He argued that I would probably be killed there, being as I was just a kid, and a scrawny, small-for-my-age kid at that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo then what happened?\u201d Hoss was trying to picture himself in that scenario and was scared witless!<\/p>\n \u201cThe sheriff waited for the circuit judge to show up.\u00a0 He and I spent a lot of time talking.\u00a0 I mean, he would set down outside that cell and we\u2019d play checkers.\u00a0 He taught me to play chess, too. We talked.\u00a0 He said I needed goals.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know what that meant but he talked and I listened cause I couldn\u2019t really get away from him anyway.\u00a0 He opened my eyes to a lot of stuff.\u00a0 He was the first one who showed me that verse about \u2018a soft answer\u2026\u2019\u00a0 Well, after a few weeks, the circuit judge was due into town, and I got all worried that he was gonna send me to the prison, so I got all angry again.\u00a0 Don\u2019t know why.\u00a0 I knew it was all my own fault that I was even in that mess. But once the judge came and the case was heard, I didn\u2019t really know what happened, but I do now!\u00a0 The sheriff spoke up for me, explained about how my life had been\u2026.if I\u2019d known it I wouldn\u2019t have let them say some of the things they said, but it came out all right, as the \u2018court had mercy on me\u2019 is how it was explained. So the town leaders got together and made a plan.\u00a0 Mind you, no one asked ME what they should do with me.\u00a0 \u2018Course, if they had, I probably would have just said, \u2018Send me to the prison.\u00a0 I\u2019m no good \u2013 no account.\u2019 But in my case, they didn\u2019t even ask me.\u00a0 I guess cause I was just a kid, and a prisoner who was charged with murder.\u00a0 So because of the sheriff asking the judge, or the court to have mercy\u2026.I was left in his care.\u00a0 I stayed in the jail awhile more.\u00a0 At first, I thought I was still being jailed because of the murder, but really, it was because the sheriff wanted me where he could keep me contained and get through my thick head with the good values he was feeding me.\u201d<\/p>\n The young reverend laughed.\u00a0 A laugh at the irony of his turn of circumstance.\u00a0 Then he continued his narrative.<\/p>\n \u201cEventually, a preacher came to the jail, and I was introduced to him, and then I was sent to live with him and his wife.\u00a0\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know them, but Sheriff Simmons said I needed to go and consider it my \u2018jail time.\u2019\u00a0 Because by that time, I liked and respected him, I did what he said. They were real good folks.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t give them a hard time or get angry or anything.\u00a0 I guess it had something to do with all the praying those folks did!\u00a0 It seemed like they prayed \u2013 a lot!\u00a0 I got used to it, though.\u00a0 And after awhile, I kinda liked it.\u00a0 It seemed to take away my anger.\u00a0 They prayed about it, and one day I even prayed to forgive my father for how he had treated me.\u00a0 And my mother for leaving the way she did.\u00a0 After that, the reverend took me on his circuit route.\u00a0 I listened to him preach.\u00a0 And after a couple of years or so, he actually let me get up and speak once in awhile.\u00a0 I guess I got the idea that I could be a preacher after that. It took me a long time to think I was \u2018worthy\u2019 to do that.\u00a0 I still hadn\u2019t forgiven myself!\u00a0 I didn\u2019t believe a murderer could preach to folks.\u00a0 But that preacher and I talked a lot more, and he told me that God had forgiven me and I needed to forgive myself and if I could do that, God could do anything with me. I guess He is now, cause here I am!\u201d<\/p>\n Jason sat back, as though his entire life story was now told.<\/p>\n Hoss just looked between him and his father.\u00a0 He just didn\u2019t know what to say.\u00a0 It was quite a life story all right!<\/p>\n Ben spoke up now.<\/p>\n \u201cJason how are Reverend Milford and his wife?\u00a0 Where are they living now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, they\u2019re down in Tucker\u2019s Grade.\u00a0 He\u2019s there permanent now. It\u2019s better than traveling, especially at his age\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben had to smile.\u00a0 The reverend Milford wasn\u2019t even Ben\u2019s age, but he understood Jason\u2019s sentiment.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, send my regards next time you\u2019re over that way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI sure will, Mr. Cartwright. Next time you\u2019re over that way be sure you visit them, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben promised to do so, and then the men stood up, so Hoss stood, too.\u00a0 They all shook hands and walked out of the restaurant. After saying their good-byes, Ben and Hoss walked to the livery to gather up their horses and head to their next destination.<\/p>\n Chapter 10<\/strong><\/p>\n They rode for several hours in silence.\u00a0 Hoss had a lot to think about.\u00a0 Ben left him to his thoughts.\u00a0 He knew Hoss had to mull a thing over in his mind quite a lot until it \u201cjelled.\u201d\u00a0 Once it did, Ben knew Hoss would want to run his thoughts past his father. As they had left the restaurant quite late in the afternoon, they stopped a lot sooner than Ben had planned.<\/p>\n Their supper was a small affair, as they had eaten a big dinner at the restaurant later than usual.\u00a0 After that, they bedded down near a small lake and built a fire for warmth.<\/p>\n Before falling asleep, Hoss decided he needed to discuss some of what he\u2019d heard with his father.<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u00a0 Are you awake?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, son.\u00a0 What\u2019s on your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo, that feller Dan.\u00a0 That guy that shot him was jest tryin\u2019 him, weren\u2019t he?\u00a0 Wantin\u2019 to see if he was tougher\u2019n him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose it was partly that.\u00a0 The man had bet heavily and lost a great deal of money as well.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying it was all about that, but maybe the man thought Dan \u201cowed\u201d him something for the losses he had incurred.\u00a0 Maybe he thought he\u2019d take Martha with him to help \u201cpay him back\u201d for what he\u2019d bet on the fight.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if he counted the price of taking a confrontation to that level.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that why you wanted me to meet Dan?\u00a0 Did I sound like him when I said \u2013 what I said to Professor Thornton.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think you sounded like him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Maybe some, now I think on it.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t really think it would come to nuthin\u2019 like that, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly the incident in school wouldn\u2019t have escalated to what happened to Dan, but there may come a day when there may be another man, that would take you on, who WOULD \u2018take it to that\u2019. Someone could be killed.\u00a0 I certainly don\u2019t want that for you, son.\u00a0 I am sorry that you were paddled so hard to cause bruising, Hoss.\u00a0 I never meant to hurt you.\u00a0 I suppose I was overreacting to the message I was given by Professor Thornton.\u00a0 That just didn\u2019t sound like you at all, and I was taken aback.\u00a0 I will try to keep from overreacting from now on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s ok, Pa.\u00a0 I know I done a dumb thing and I guess I should\u2019a expected somethin\u2019 like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, you shouldn\u2019t have expected something like what you got.\u00a0 I was very wrong.\u00a0 Maybe I should have taken the paddling to our barn\u2026forgive me, son.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAw, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s over and forgot already.\u00a0 Anyways, I guess I did deserve it. I really don\u2019t know what made me say what I said to Professor Thornton.\u00a0 It jest seemed like once I started in, I didn\u2019t know where to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou sound like your little brother now!\u201d<\/p>\n They laughed together.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I guess I do!\u00a0 I thought about how it was sumthin\u2019 he would\u2019a done on my way home that day.\u201d<\/p>\n Then Ben got serious again.\u00a0 \u201cI just want you to know I feel like the punishment was harsh and I promise I won\u2019t do that to you ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou ain\u2019t never punished us when we didn\u2019t deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour memory is probably very bad if you think that!\u201d\u00a0 Once again, Ben got serious.\u00a0 They were having such a relaxed time, he wanted to make sure to drive home his point.<\/p>\n \u201cI just don\u2019t want you to ever take advantage of a situation because of your size.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t always end well.\u00a0 Nor would I want you to have to shoot someone to stay alive because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded his head.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I\u2019m learning that, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n After a short silence, Hoss asked his father another question.<\/p>\n Hoss asked his next question, \u201cYou see the way Miss Martha\u2019s always strokin\u2019 Dan\u2019s face?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben answered, \u201cUmm hmmmm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy\u2019s she do that, you reckon?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the only part of him he can still completely feel.\u00a0 She wants him to FEEL her love through her fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019d like to live like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, there\u2019s no guarantee what your life will hold.\u00a0 Only God has that knowledge.\u00a0 All we can ask Him is to give us the grace to live the life He does plot out for us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, speakin\u2019 of God\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout that Reverend.\u00a0 Jason?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, son?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI reckon his life didn\u2019t go the way he figured it would, neither.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure he had a plan of how it might go.\u00a0 When you have no direction, or a parent with a problem, life is harder to figure out. It\u2019s unfortunate when a child has to grow up in a sad situation like his.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you figure he would\u2019a turned out like?\u00a0 If\u2019n he\u2019d\u2019a been sent to jail?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, like he told you, he was a small guy, small for his age.\u00a0 And he was young\u2026that\u2019s not a good combination in prison.\u00a0 He would certainly have been beaten and such by the other prisoners.\u00a0 Maybe even some of the guards.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been in prisons where some of the guards should be locked up right next to the prisoners.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt might\u2019a made him mean.\u00a0 Meaner\u2019n he was already, ya reckon?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure.\u00a0 Probably.\u00a0 But more likely, he wouldn\u2019t have survived in prison.\u00a0 It\u2019s a tough place, and it makes the men there tougher.\u00a0 A young fella like he was would have had it bad with the other inmates.\u00a0 Especially when the other prisoners found out he was in there for murder.\u00a0 There\u2019s some kind of \u2018code\u2019 among prisoners.\u00a0 A system, I guess you could say\u2026.depending on your crime.\u00a0 I guess they figure if you are tough enough to murder someone, you must be pretty tough and they want to see if they are tougher than you are.\u00a0 I expect his temper would have made the situation worse for him.\u00a0 Lucky for him, though, that sheriff knew he was just a mixed up kid and probably saved his life by persuading the judge to let him stay with him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGod again, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would say so.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure Jason thanks God every day for that sheriff taking him in the way he did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the Reverend Milford and his wife.\u00a0 Like he said, he didn\u2019t cotton to no one tellin\u2019 him what to do at first.\u00a0 You reckon why he changed his mind?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think the sheriff had him in his jail for quite some time.\u00a0 Maybe as long as 4 or 6 months.\u00a0 That\u2019s\u00a0 a pretty long time to work on someone, help \u2018convince\u2019 them of trying a better way.\u00a0 I suppose after all that time, you start to hear what a person is trying to tell you that is for your own good.\u00a0 And I\u2019m sure he grew up a lot after he faced the fact that he killed someone with his bare hands.\u00a0 That\u2019s a burden he has to carry the rest of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 I reckon me and my brothers don\u2019t thank you enough fer\u2026.you know\u2026.fer bein\u2019 our Pa. Fer being how you is\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben was glad it was dark out because he had to wipe his eyes before he answered.\u00a0 \u201cThank you, son. It\u2019s my job before God to mold you and make you into good, faithful, honest, productive men.\u00a0 Hasn\u2019t always been easy!\u00a0 But I\u2019m glad you\u2019re my son, too, and I thank God every day for the three of you and how you are turning out.\u00a0 Now, it\u2019s getting late and we have a long ride tomorrow. I love you, son. Good night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Night, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of all they\u2019d seen and heard, both Cartwrights slept soundly that night.<\/p>\n Chapter 11<\/strong><\/p>\n After rising early and enjoying a breakfast of hot coffee, beans, biscuits and bacon, they headed out.\u00a0 They had a lot of miles to cover this day.\u00a0 They were headed to a few more of their line shacks to check on the condition of each. Before winter each year, the line shacks had to be checked, repaired if needed, and restocked.\u00a0 No one would ever want to take shelter from a blizzard or other danger in a line shack just to find it empty and unable to give respite to the traveler.<\/p>\n Another long day of simply riding.\u00a0 Hoss and Ben discussed many topics.\u00a0 It seemed to Ben that Hoss was finding the answers from their encounters in Hangtown that he needed.\u00a0 Occasionally Ben would offer some insight, but mostly, Hoss was figuring things out for himself.\u00a0 Ben knew this was the best option, because if all he did was lecture the lesson to Hoss, much of it would be lost.\u00a0 If Hoss figured it out for himself, it would stay with him so much longer.<\/p>\n Other topics came up.\u00a0 The upcoming winter \u2013 were they prepared?\u00a0 What still needed to be done for their stock and at the ranch house.\u00a0 How soon did Hoss think the first storm would arrive?\u00a0 He seemed to have a knack for knowing things like that!\u00a0 They discussed what they could do to keep Little Joe occupied during a blizzard.\u00a0 After all, this was the first winter that Adam would be away, and Little Joe would be out of sorts with yet another change\u2026.considering this was a very big change \u2013 almost as big as right after his mother had perished.\u00a0 This would be the next challenge for the little boy who was adjusting to his life without his mother, now without his oldest brother.<\/p>\n They had so much to discuss and they arrived at the first line shack before either realized they had traveled that far and had not stopped to eat dinner!\u00a0 They found this line shack in fairly good shape.\u00a0 It had a stack of wood beside the barn and inside next to the fireplace.\u00a0 No holes in the roof of the lean-to built to protect the animals; no holes in the shack roof.\u00a0 They only needed to sweep out the chimney, for squirrels had taken up residence there! They shook out the linens and beat the mattress.\u00a0 Then they took inventory of the food stores they found there.\u00a0 If anything seemed to be low, Ben would make a list and arrange to have it delivered back to this place once they got home.<\/p>\n Once the work was done, they settled down, ate some of the stores themselves, then bedded down.\u00a0 In the morning, they would straighten up and move north to the next line shack on their property line.<\/p>\n ~\u00a0 ~ \u00a0~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~\u00a0 ~<\/p>\n The next morning, after assuring everything was in top shape and they had marked down what did need to be brought to this place, they left it and moved to the next shack.<\/p>\n This one needed a little more work, which irritated Ben.\u00a0 In fact, it irritated him a whole lot!\u00a0 Hoss wasn\u2019t sure why he was so upset over this.\u00a0 It happened.\u00a0 People stay in these shelters, and stores get used and have to be replaced.<\/p>\n After they had nailed down a few loose shingles the roof, took inventory of what stores needed replaced and fixed the hinges on the lean-to for the animals, Ben and Hoss sat down to have their dinner. \u00a0It was obvious Ben was still quite irritated.<\/p>\n Hoss spoke first.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u00a0 Why are you so upset that there\u2019s little supplies here?\u00a0 We\u2019ll jest replace them, won\u2019t we?\u00a0 We done it before\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the idea that the supplies are low, son.\u00a0 It\u2019s that I got a report from a man that this shack was good to go, and now I find that it\u2019s not.\u00a0 Someone didn\u2019t do their job here. It was not only the food stores, the roof on the lean-to was rotted, too.\u00a0 What if it didn\u2019t get repaired before winter came? What if a blizzard had blown in here before we repaired it?\u00a0 Someone could have lost their animals out there without those repairs.\u00a0 I had counted on all this being completed by now, and without their animals, they might not be able to get to the nearest town for safety.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWal, I don\u2019t know why that roof has holes, but maybe someone hadda stay here.\u00a0 Maybe it had supplies, but they got used?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded and thought to himself, \u2018Yeah, maybe that\u2019s it.\u00a0 But that doesn\u2019t explain the repairs are not done on the roof, and there\u2019s no wood stacked.\u2019<\/p>\n They had to cut a tree or two to shave materials to make shingles for the lean-to roof, which was a time-consuming activity, and took all afternoon. It was obvious Ben was not happy with the state of this place.\u00a0 Hoss wondered at his father’s bad mood, as repairing line shacks was just part of maintaining such structures.\u00a0 Kind of “came with the territory.”<\/p>\n Once Ben felt the repairs would hold through the coming winter they prepared their supper.\u00a0 This meal consisted of canned preserves and biscuits and jerky.\u00a0 Once it was dark, they bedded down inside the line shack.\u00a0 It was nice enough outside to have slept under the stars, but as he aged, Ben found it was more pleasant to stay in a bed than to sleep on the hard ground!<\/p>\n In the morning they worked together to chop wood and stock a fairly high stack of firewood in the cabin next to the fireplace and a stack out back in the lean-to.\u00a0 The bedding was shook out and the animal shelter mucked out.\u00a0 They checked on the barrel to keep water beside the shack and found a small hole about halfway up!\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t have held enough water for more than half a day in its present condition, so Ben made a note to send someone up who could either repair it or have it replaced.<\/p>\n Once he was satisfied this line shack was safe enough to be used as a shelter, Ben and Hoss rode out for the next line shack.\u00a0 This would be the last one they would visit, and then they would be heading home!\u00a0 Hoss had already missed two days of school and would also miss two more.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t that he missed school, but that Prof. Thornton would expect him to make up the missed work.\u00a0 That would mean double assignments until he caught up!<\/p>\n They arrived at the last line shack of this trip in fairly good time.\u00a0 Once again, it wasn\u2019t up to the standard Ben wanted.\u00a0 He was quite irritated now!\u00a0 It was becoming obvious someone hadn\u2019t done their job.<\/p>\n They spoke little as they worked.\u00a0 Hoss could see that his father was very irritated, and he didn\u2019t want to poke that bear!\u00a0 The window was secured, as it had broken loose in a wind storm, parts of the rotted wood on one wall of the cabin had to be replaced, so that meant another tree felled and the logs shaped to fit into the wall.\u00a0 Chinking had to be mixed from mud in the creek to put between the logs and added to the brick fireplace to keep the weather out.<\/p>\n The two Cartwrights sat in silence and ate their dinner.\u00a0 Finally, Hoss thought he\u2019d try again to assuage his father\u2019s bad mood.<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u00a0 Maybe these shacks are jest too far gone to keep up?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not an option, son.\u00a0 We need these line shacks to be maintained, and they serve well if they are.\u00a0 They must be checked out every year before winter sets in.\u00a0 Everything we just did, someone was paid to do a few months ago. Someone\u2019s not doing their job.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the second time you said that.\u00a0 You got any idear who ain\u2019t getting\u2019 it done?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, as a matter of fact I do.\u00a0 I sent a man up here to repair all the things we just did and bring stocks up to the shacks.\u00a0 Now here we are, it hasn\u2019t been done and we\u2019ve had to do it.\u00a0 I expect to have a man do a job if I pay him to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho didn\u2019t do it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBeecher Young.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss thought a few minutes.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t actually place that name.\u00a0 \u201cHow long has he worked at the Ponderosa?\u00a0 I cain\u2019t quite place him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been with us for a few months now, I think.\u00a0 Come to think of it, I can\u2019t remember the last time I saw him either.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe he quit?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf he did, I\u2019ll find him and take the salary I paid him out of his hide!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u00a0 Why you so hepped up over this feller?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, a man is only as good as his word.\u00a0 I trusted Beecher to do this job.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lonely job.\u00a0 It\u2019s a hard job because you do work alone.\u00a0 No one would really know if you did the job or not until disaster struck.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the person you hire to do this job has to be trustworthy.\u00a0 Obviously, Beecher has proven himself not to be such a man.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss thought a few minutes before he spoke again.<\/p>\n \u201cYou put high store in a man\u2019s word bein\u2019 worth somethin\u2019 doncha, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cA man\u2019s word, his honor, is really all he has, son.\u00a0 If you are trustworthy, people know they can trust you, they like you.\u00a0 If you are not trustworthy, you\u2019ll find men tend to steer clear of you or watch you with a distrusting eye.\u00a0 I don\u2019t find that an attractive trait\u2026.to be the kind no one wants to turn their back on.\u00a0 Reminds me of a rattlesnake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can see that!\u00a0 I shore wouldn\u2019t turn my back on a rattlesnake!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly my point,\u201d Ben grumbled.<\/p>\n They finished their dinner and set out to complete the other repairs: shaking the sheets and mattress out, as well as the small carpet by the fireplace, then inventory the food stuffs, as well as clean pots and pans and the buckets in the lean-to and in the house.\u00a0 The fireplace had been checked for squirrel or rats\u2019 nests before they\u2019d cooked their supper in the shack.\u00a0 They would spend the night here and move on in the morning.<\/p>\n Chapter 12<\/strong><\/p>\n The next day, satisfied the shack would serve well if needed through the coming winter, they rode until they reached a point where a marker had been set down to \u201cmark\u201d the northernmost border of their property.\u00a0 There was a tree line above, just below the rim leading to the high country.\u00a0 Ben dismounted and stood looking down at the marker. Hoss rode his horse to stand beside his father.\u00a0 Ben pointed to the marker.<\/p>\n \u201cHere is where the northern property line starts.\u00a0 Adam and I placed this marker here to help us know where our property starts. Ben pointed toward the tree line, to the west. There are several more to help us know where our property line is.\u00a0 It helps keep trespassers out, too, if they notice it.\u201d<\/p>\n Just a few yards off from the marker, there was one lone tree.\u00a0 After he pointed the marker out to Hoss, Ben walked closer to the tree.\u00a0 He stood looking at it for a long time.\u00a0 Hoss dismounted and followed.\u00a0 He had no idea what his father was looking at.\u00a0 It was just a tree!\u00a0 Almost as if Ben could \u201chear\u201d his thoughts, he motioned for Hoss to come closer.<\/p>\n \u201cSon, this tree is right near our marker back there, where our property starts to the north and west.\u00a0 It tells all who see it that this is the first pine on the Ponderosa ranch.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.\u00a0 He then looked at his father.\u00a0 Ben placed his hand gently on the bark. Hoss looked where his father was touching and saw his brother Adam\u2019s name!<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u00a0 Does that say \u2018Adam\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt does.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s Adam\u2019s name doing there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis tree is a type of \u2018Remembrance Tree.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA remembrance tree?\u00a0 What\u2019s that?\u00a0 What\u2019s that got to do with Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI brought your brother here when he was a little younger than you.\u00a0 Now it\u2019s your turn.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss took a long time looking at Adam\u2019s name.\u00a0 Then he turned and faced his father.\u00a0 \u201cDid he git to fightin\u2019 too, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben laughed,\u00a0 \u201cNo, it wasn\u2019t that.\u00a0 He had his infractions, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019d he do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll have to ask him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss just nodded, then looked again at the tree and Adam\u2019s name on it.\u00a0 He tried to imagine Adam taking this trip with his father.\u00a0 As he did, Ben stood there, kicking the ground around the tree, his hand still resting against the bark.\u00a0 After a short while, he addressed Hoss.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you enjoy our trip, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you learn anything?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded again.<\/p>\n \u201cTell me what you learned, son.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss walked closer.\u00a0 He kicked the ground, too.\u00a0 He thought about what to tell his father.\u00a0 Where to start?\u00a0 He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and looked into his father\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cI learnt it don\u2019t make ya a big man to call somebody out fer no reason. I learned I gotta watch my temper.\u00a0 I learned there\u2019s always somebody bigger\u2019n me.\u201d<\/p>\n He stopped talking.\u00a0 He kicked the ground some more.\u00a0 Ben reached over with an outstretched arm and leaned on the tree and waited.\u00a0 Then Hoss started talking again.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned to give a soft answer\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 He thought some more.\u00a0 Ben waited.<\/p>\n Hoss sighed.\u00a0 \u201cI learned I ain\u2019t no better\u2019n no other body.\u00a0 But I gotta earn trust by bein\u2019 trustworthy.\u00a0 I want to be a man of my word, Pa.\u00a0 And I want that word to be a good word.\u00a0 I don\u2019t wanna be like Reverend Jason\u2019s Pa, a mean man who bullies people.\u00a0 I don\u2019t wanna be like the man who shot Dan.\u00a0 I like Dan, but I don\u2019t wanna be a feller other fellers wanna try, so\u2019s I gotta fight\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stepped in now.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think you could ever be the kind of man to start a fight, son.\u00a0 You\u2019re just too kind-hearted for that.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t want you to think your size works in your favor, either.\u00a0 Because sometimes it doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 It might work against you, and you\u2019ve got to work hard to make sure that doesn\u2019t happen.\u00a0 Learn to give a soft answer and many situations will just sort themselves out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow do I know to do that, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a lot further along that path than most, Hoss, just because of your personality.\u00a0 You\u2019re already a soft-spoken person, most of the time.\u00a0 Your gentle way puts most folks at ease. But you\u2019ll always be bigger than most men, I expect, so you\u2019ve got to remember that your size alone might intimidate some people.\u00a0 You\u2019ll have to take care not to let that be an excuse for bad behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYessir.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss thought a minute, looking out over the empty plain they had just ridden to get to their present spot. Then he asked, \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, son?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI sure don\u2019t wanna be like that feller Beecher, neither.\u00a0 Someone who says they\u2019ll do a job and then don\u2019t do it.\u00a0 A man of his word wouldn\u2019t do somethin\u2019 like that, would he?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I expect he wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wanna be worth my word, and a man who kin stand on his own two feet and say no to anyone who wants \u2018em to do somethin\u2019 they know is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked away, at the far away mountains before he spoke again. \u201cMostly, I wanna be a man you\u2019re proud of, Pa,\u201d then he turned to look at his father.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud of you and your brothers every day, son.\u201d Ben shuffled his feet in the dirt a little bit, then looked into Hoss\u2019 eyes and spoke again. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s that, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want the Cartwright name to be known for integrity, and for honesty.\u00a0 I want my sons to be men whose word is their bond.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want that too, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stepped forward and gave Hoss\u2019 shoulder a squeeze.<\/p>\n \u201cLearn anything else, son?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss swallowed hard and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben waited.<\/p>\n Hoss looked up at the sky, seeming to form his words.\u00a0 Then he turned and looked at his father and spoke.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t wanna be a man who disrespects a woman. Them\u2019s delicate creatures that God made and men should respect \u2018em. It ain\u2019t right to be lookin\u2019 a wimmin in that\u2019a way. I shouldn\u2019t\u2019a been lookin\u2019 at them pitures, with them other fellers. I should\u2019a walked away, no matter what kinda names they called me.\u00a0 I was afraid they\u2019d call me chicken and be mad at me and all.\u00a0 Turns out all that happened anyways!\u201d<\/p>\n Ben smiled and nodded at him. \u201cI\u2019m glad you realize that, son.\u00a0 Sometimes the ramifications for one\u2019s unpopular actions happen no matter how hard to try to prevent them.\u201d Then he took a step closer to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cWould you like to put your name here, on the Remembrance Tree with your brother\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss smiled large then and nodded vigorously.<\/p>\n \u201cIf\u2019n I can, I would, Pa.\u00a0 I won\u2019t forget them lessons, neither.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know you won\u2019t, son.\u00a0 Once you\u2019re finished there, let\u2019s head home.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got chores and school tomorrow!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss moaned, \u201cAw, Pa!\u201d<\/p>\n Ben laughed a hearty laugh then.<\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n Author’s Notes:\u00a0This story was borne out of a real life incident I heard from a man I met recently. Most of the incidents in the first two chapters are fashioned after what I was told really happened to the gentleman, and I immediately thought it sounded like something Hoss would do! In fact, the man I met is big and powerful, like Hoss, a gentle and fine human being. From his recounting of the incident, his father sounded a lot like Ben Cartwright, too!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n