{"id":6756,"date":"2014-05-04T20:02:02","date_gmt":"2014-05-05T00:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6756"},"modified":"2025-02-18T19:12:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T00:12:22","slug":"the-crazy-lady","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6756","title":{"rendered":"The Crazy Lady (by Jayne)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"label\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Summary: \u00a0<\/span>Joe and Hoss scare themselves one night, come to Adam&#8217;s room and tell him the story of the crazy lady. Prequel\/Young Cartwrights\/Humor<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"label\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Rated:<\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0K+ \u00a0WC \u00a0700<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Crazy Lady<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"pagetitle\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"chapter\">\n<p><strong>His bedroom door creaked open,<\/strong> and two sets of feet crept across the wood floor. Adam squeezed his eyes shut and pretended not to hear his little brothers approaching. Maybe, if they thought he was truly asleep, they&#8217;d actually go to bed like he told them to an hour ago.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Adam,&#8221; eight-year-old Joe whispered, his voice pitching fearfully, &#8220;we&#8217;re scared.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Adam inwardly groaned. &#8220;What has Pa told you about telling ghost stories?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But it wasn&#8217;t a ghost story,&#8221; Hoss said, &#8220;it was a true one!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Humph,&#8221; Adam retorted, reaching over and turning up his lamp. He glared at his brothers. Joe&#8217;s eyes were like hazel saucers, staring back at him. Hoss was avoiding his gaze, keeping his eyes focused on the floorboards. Adam sighed and pulled back his blankets. &#8220;Get in.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Joe leapt up on Adam&#8217;s bed crawled across him to the other side. He burrowed under the covers and curled into Adam&#8217;s side. Hoss, while accepting of Adam&#8217;s invitation, seemed embarrassed that he was scared and needed his big brother for comfort. However, he slid onto the bed as well.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So what was this terrifying true story?&#8221; Adam asked gruffly. In spite of himself, he was curious.<\/p>\n<p>Joe sprung up. &#8220;It was about a widow who killed her husband and then buried him in her barn.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;d you hear a story like that?&#8221; Adam demanded.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Johnny told me at school,&#8221; Joe said matter-of-factly.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Well, Johnny is too young to be talking about murder,&#8221; Adam said, &#8220;and he shouldn&#8217;t be telling other children. However,&#8221; Adam added, &#8220;I don&#8217;t see why that story would scare you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But that ain&#8217;t the whole story,&#8221; Hoss spoke up.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m listening.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Joe looked across the bed at Hoss. &#8220;You tell &#8216;im.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; Hoss began, swallowing uncomfortably, &#8220;this lady, she was crazy. That&#8217;s why she killed her husband. But then, the next day, she forgot what she did, and so she went out to look for &#8216;im. Her husband, he had dark hair, and because she was crazy, she killed the first dark haired man she saw. But she ran away before the law caught her. And so she went on and on, killing every dark haired man she met.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;She&#8217;d stab &#8217;em, shoot &#8217;em, push &#8217;em off of roofs,&#8221; Joe said.<\/p>\n<p>Adam interrupted. &#8220;Push them off roofs? How many times has she done that?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Only once so far,&#8221; Joe admitted. He got quiet, then whispered. &#8220;In Virginia City.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Virginia City?&#8221; Adam started laughing. This had gone too far. &#8220;I think I would have heard if someone got pushed off a roof in Virginia City.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s true! And it just happened too,&#8221; Hoss said.<\/p>\n<p>Adam stared. &#8220;What? You don&#8217;t mean you think Mr. Roberts falling off his store roof was because of that crazy lady.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Joe and Hoss nodded solemnly.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And she wasn&#8217;t caught,&#8221; Joe said. He looked at Adam&#8217;s window. &#8220;That means she still out there, looking for dark haired men.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hoss gently touched Adam&#8217;s head. &#8220;You&#8217;ve got dark hair, Adam.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And you&#8217;re a man,&#8221; Joe added soberly.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You two are being perfectly ridiculous!&#8221; Adam said, &#8220;There is no crazy woman running around killing dark haired men. What happened to Mr. Roberts was a complete accident, plain and simple.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;How do you know?&#8221; whispered Hoss.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Because I do,&#8221; Adam stated.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Were you there when he fell?&#8221; Joe asked.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; Adam said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Was anyone there?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Adam hesitated, knowing he was stepping into a trap. &#8220;No.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Then how do you&#8230;or anyone&#8230;know\u00a0<em>she<\/em>\u00a0wasn&#8217;t?&#8221; Joe asked cryptically<\/p>\n<p>How could an eight-year-old be so creepy?\u00a0 Adam glared. &#8220;This is beyond idiotic! It&#8217;s time for bed.&#8221; Adam leaned over Hoss and turned down the lamp.\u00a0 All was quiet for a few moments.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Adam,&#8221; Joe said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Do you really think that story is just made up?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not so scared if you don&#8217;t believe it,&#8221; Joe said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Good. Now go to sleep.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Okay. Goodnight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Goodnight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Long after his brothers were asleep, Adam was still awake.<\/p>\n<p>He didn&#8217;t sleep the rest of the night.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>END<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"toplink\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"copyright\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Disclaimer:<\/span>\u00a0All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/div>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_6756\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"6756\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif?resize=16%2C16&#038;ssl=1\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary: \u00a0Joe and Hoss scare themselves one night, come to Adam&#8217;s room and tell him the story of the crazy lady. Prequel\/Young Cartwrights\/Humor \u00a0Rated:\u00a0K+ \u00a0WC \u00a0700<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1009,4,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brothers","category-humor","category-short-stories","wpcat-1009-id","wpcat-4-id","wpcat-8-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1548,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/bonanza-1.jpg?fit=193%2C140&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19105,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=19105","url_meta":{"origin":6756,"position":0},"title":"Camping Trip (by Arien)","author":"Arien","date":"November 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: The brothers go camping, and there's nothing better than telling a 'ghost story' around a camp fire, unless you try to tell the tale with these brothers. Rating: G (1,220 words)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Brothers&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Brothers","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1009"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/ghost-town.jpg?fit=400%2C239&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7161,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7161","url_meta":{"origin":6756,"position":1},"title":"Dah-Gey:  A Fable Told by Hop Sing (by JoaniePaiute)","author":"JoaniePaiute","date":"May 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0An extremely silly response to a Chaps & Spurs challenge. Also partly inspired by the thread \"Feminizing the Cartwrights.\" Little-Little Joe is driving Adam crazy. Hop Sing has the solution: it's story time! Rated:\u00a0K \u00a0WC \u00a01400","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Adam \/ Joe&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Adam \/ Joe","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1091"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/vsy.jpeg?fit=248%2C203&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19775,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=19775","url_meta":{"origin":6756,"position":2},"title":"A Hot Day, a Cold Lake, and a Bare Brother (by DJK)","author":"DJK","date":"January 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Little Joe recounts the tale of his encounter at the lake with a not so proper lady. Rating: Teen for adult insinuations Word count: 1598","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Brothers&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Brothers","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1009"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/654766.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/654766.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/654766.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/654766.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/654766.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2867,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2867","url_meta":{"origin":6756,"position":3},"title":"Hiding in Fear (by BluewindFarm)","author":"BluewindFarm","date":"August 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"SUMMARY:\u00a0 An unenviable situation finds the brothers in hiding and praying they won't be found.\u00a0 Rating:\u00a0 K \u00a0(640 words)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Brothers&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Brothers","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1009"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Da-brothers-bonanza-16935311-400-264.jpg?fit=400%2C264&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14397,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14397","url_meta":{"origin":6756,"position":4},"title":"The Commitment of Charlie Angelus (by Robin)","author":"profrobinw","date":"January 12, 2000","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0If only they hadn't stopped in that town. Rating: T \u00a0(1,140 words)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Humor&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Humor","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15524,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15524","url_meta":{"origin":6756,"position":5},"title":"Back from Back East (by Robin)","author":"profrobinw","date":"December 4, 2001","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: An explanation of why only one son went to college. Rating: T (860 words)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Drama&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ARLE-e1497282889671.png?fit=570%2C416&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}