<\/p>\n
Summary:\u00a0<\/span>A schoolyard bet leaves Little Joe in desperate need of some Spanish gold.<\/span><\/p>\n Rated:<\/span>\u00a0K+\u00a0 \u00a0Word count:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a01150<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Spanish Gold<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cDo you think them Spaniards really had as much gold as the stories are always saying?\u201d Mitch Devlin inquired in general of the group of boys sitting around him in the schoolyard. Swallowing the last of his sugar cookie, Little Joe Cartwright replied, \u201cSure they did; everyone who knows anything knows about Spanish gold.\u201d\u00a0 He brushed the last crumbs of his lunch from his pants.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat does it matter,\u201d drawled the sour voice of Manfred Tolliver, \u201cIt\u2019s not like there\u2019s any of that Spanish gold buried anywhere around Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThere might be,\u201d ventured Tuck Johnson, \u201cThere just might be.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Manfred shook his head adamantly and stated with distain, \u201cReally, Tuck, isn\u2019t there anything you won\u2019t believe.\u201d His lips twisted with condescension, \u201cNo way there is any Spanish gold within hundreds of miles of here.\u201d He finished his statement with an off-handed gesture that managed to declare his contempt for Tuck\u2019s childish belief in buried treasure.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Little Joe saw the crest-fallen look on his friend\u2019s face as Tuck ducked his chin and muttered, \u201cJust said maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Little Joe straightened and jutted out his own chin. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be so sure of that, Tolliver.\u201d The challenge was clear in Little Joe\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Snorting, Manfred spoke to Little Joe, \u201cWould have bet you\u2019d stick up for his foolish idea, Cartwright. Buried treasure. Buried by whom might I ask. A rich missionary, or do you think some Spanish pirate lost his way and took up residence on the lake?\u201d His laugh was filled with as much distain as a twelve-year-old could manage. \u201cI repeat: There is no Spanish gold within a hundred miles of Virginia City!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t know everything, Manfred, even if you think you do.\u201d Chet Brown added his two cents to the conversation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe\u2019s best friend Mitch saw the gleam come into Little Joe\u2019s eyes and smiled. He nudged Tuck, and the two boys waited expectantly for Little Joe to speak.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to bet, Tolliver, I\u2019ve got a bet for you. I bet you that I can bring some Spanish gold to school tomorrow, and since nobody can travel a hundred miles and back over night that will just prove you\u2019re full of hot air.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat have you got to bet, Cartwright? Even with your rich pa, everybody knows you never have any money jingling in your pockets.\u201d Manfred finished with a sneer; his own pockets always contained more money than any of the other boys.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBetting money is gambling, and Little Joe ain\u2019t allowed to gamble,\u201d Tuck interjected on his friend\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Little Joe and Mitch both sent a glare in Tuck\u2019s direction. \u201cThere are more interesting things to bet than money. That\u2019s if you\u2019re man enough, Tolliver.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMan enough!\u201d Manfred sputtered the words. \u201cAnything you\u2019re willing to risk is all right by me.\u201d Then he gave an elaborate shrug of his shoulders, \u201cReally makes no difference to me since I can\u2019t lose.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Silence settled around the boys. Having only just thought of betting, Little Joe had not yet proceeded to thinking of what the bet might entail.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chet jumped into the void. \u201cLoser has to moon Lillie May Caruthers.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Every pair of eyes in the group grew at least an inch wider at the thought of the preacher\u2019s daughter\u2019s reaction to the bare backside of any boy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019d tell,\u201d gasped Tuck. Each boy\u2019s mind then proceed to the fate that would await the miscreant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s lips curled up at the corners as he observed a slight flicker in the depths of Manfred\u2019s eyes. \u201cI\u2019m willing to risk it, Tolliver; are you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Manfred swallowed convulsively and then told himself he could not lose. \u201cI\u2019m willing.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Little Joe spit in his hand and held it out. Manfred looked at the hand with a wince of disgust but spit into his own palm. Clasping Joe\u2019s hand for seconds only, he sealed the deal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow before school then,\u201d Little Joe said as the bell rang calling the boys back to the classroom.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLittle Joe,\u201d Tuck\u2019s hand caught his friend\u2019s arm keeping him from entering the schoolhouse, \u201cIf you lose, your pa…\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Tuck, this bet is in the bag.\u201d Little Joe smiled with assurance. \u201cJust think, even Manfred\u2019s pa won\u2019t let mooning the preacher\u2019s daughter go by without a licking.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBoys!\u201d Miss Jones\u2019s voice ended the conversation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The next morning the five boys again gathered beneath the shade of the old poplar tree, but this time they stood in a ragged circle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAre you ready, Cartwright, to drop your drawers?\u201d Manfred Tolliver was the first to speak.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAre you ready to drop yours?\u201d Little Joe asked confidently as he reached into his pocket. Holding out his hand toward the center of the circle, he opened it to reveal three gleaming coins lying on his palm. \u201cTake a good look, Tolliver. These are gold, the words are in Spanish, and that head is the King of Spain.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Manfred snatched a coin from Joe\u2019s palm and clasped it tightly in his fingers. As he studied the coin, his fingers began to tremble. \u201cWh… where did you get it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPrecisely where doesn\u2019t matter \u2018cause I sure as blazes didn\u2019t go a hundred miles and back.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Three varying exclamations of agreement assailed Manfred\u2019s ears, and the coin fell from his fingers into the dirt. He started to back away shaking his head slowly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou have twenty-four hours to make good on the bet, Manfred,\u201d Little Joe intoned, \u201cor everyone will know what a welcher you are.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The four friends watched Manfred dart toward the schoolroom and chortled in glee. Little Joe bent to retrieve his coin from the dirt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhere did ya get them coins, Little Joe?\u201d Mitch asked as the laughter faded away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAdam just got back from buying a bull down in Mexico from Senor Valdez. I remembered he had these coins from down there sitting on his dresser. I borrowed them.” Little Joe preened under the admiring comments of the other boys until the school bell began to toll. Mitch caught his friend\u2019s arm and delayed Joe for a moment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDoes Adam know you borrowed them?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Little Joe swallowed. \u201cNot exactly, but if he don\u2019t get home until after me that ain\u2019t a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd if he does?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Little Joe shrugged, \u201cIf Manfred pays off the bet, even that will be worth it.\u201d Mitch nodded his agreement, and then the two boys dashed to the schoolhouse door.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Little Joe decided that Spanish gold must be the luckiest kind when he got home before Adam and Manfred proved himself a man of his word.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Summary:\u00a0A schoolyard bet leaves Little Joe in desperate need of some Spanish gold.<\/p>\n Rated:\u00a0K+\u00a0 \u00a0Word count:\u00a0\u00a01150<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":15228,"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_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,1007,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-joe-cartwright","category-prequels","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1007-id","wpcat-30-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/gold.jpg?fit=320%2C158&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7567","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\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}