By HelenB
“I’m telling you Pa, his drinking’s getting worse. At least before he was just hung over in the mornings. Now he’s started drinking during the day. We can’t allow it to go on. You wouldn’t have tolerated it for this long if it had been one of the other men.” Adam tried to keep the anger out of his voice.
For a moment Adam thought his father was going to refuse to discuss the problem, the same way he had been doing for the last three months but Ben nodded his head in agreement.
“I know Adam,” Ben said, “but I just don’t know what to do about him. He’s worked for us for a lot of years. We owe him for that.”
“There has to be a limit to it
“We both know what it’s like to loose someone, Adam. He just needs some time. You boys are taking those supplies to Scott’s Crossing in a couple of days. I’ll send him with you. Some time away from here might be good for him.”
Adam nodded reluctantly. “Alright
Ben nodded as Adam left. He sat down and his thoughts turned to the day that had changed everything in the life of Nathan Turner. Nathan, his wife Sarah and their son Jake had lived in a small house on the Ponderosa that Ben had given to them. Nat had now worked for the Cartwright’s for fifteen years. One day three months ago, Nat had been driving his family into town in his buckboard when the team had suddenly bolted. Nat had been trying to pull the team to a stop when a wheel broke and the buckboard over turned killing Sarah instantly. Sixteen year old Jake had been pinned under the wagon and had died before his father could lift it off him. Nat had been trying to escape the memories by drinking himself into a stupor every night. Everyone felt sorry for him but Ben knew Adam was right. The men wouldn’t put up with someone who wasn’t pulling his weight for long.
****************************************
The buckboards were packed, the Cartwright brothers and Nathan Turner were ready to leave.
“You boys look after yourselves,” Ben said. He’d seen them off on trips away many times before, he knew they were grown men who could look after themselves but try as he might, Ben could never stop the worry that seemed to seep into his very core.
Joe smiled and quickly hugged his father, saying, “We will Pa, you do the same.” He jumped up into the seat beside his brother Hoss.
“
“See you in about a week Pa,” Hoss said as he pulled his team out behind Adam.
Out of the corner of his eye Adam looked at Nathan. He was going to have to keep a close eye on him. He didn’t want Nathan’s drinking causing any problems for them. Like his father, he felt sorry for Nathan but he also thought it was time the man pulled himself together. Once friends, he now found the man hard to tolerate and wished his father hadn’t told him to take Nathan along.
The end of that first day couldn’t come fast enough for Adam. Nathan had been solemn and moody for the entire day. Any attempt to draw him into a conversation was met with stony silence.
Adam could hear parts of the conversation between his two brothers in the buckboard behind and he found himself wishing that he was riding with one of them. Both were always good company. Adam heard Joe laugh and the sound of it brought a smile to his own lips.
As the sun started to set Adam pulled the buckboard to stop, turning to his brothers when they pulled up beside him. “Let’s camp here for the night.” Hoss and Joe nodded in agreement.
They quickly got everything set up for the night. Nathan did what was required of him but nothing more. The brothers sat around the fire talking and eating. Nathan sat away from them not wanting anyone’s company.
****************************************
Early the following morning at about
Furious, Adam got up and stormed over to the man, knocking the bottle from his hand he shouted, “I told you not to bring that.”
Adam’s shouts woke his brothers and they were quickly by his side.
“Don’t tell me what to do, boy,” Nathan reached for the bottle intending to save as much of it as he could.
Adam grabbed the bottle first and poured the contents out. Nathan stumbled to his feet but was in no condition to do anything. Adam easily pushed him away. “Sleep it off,” he said disgustedly. Nathan slid down to the ground and the brother’s walked away leaving him there.
Later that morning just before dawn, Adam walked over and roughly shook Nathan Turner awake. “There’s work to be done,” Adam said, “we’re not going to do it while you sleep.”
Hoss approached and said, “Looks like we’re in for a storm.”
Adam looked up at the sky and nodded. “That’s all we need,” he said.
Nathan got to his feet and Adam said, “Go and check the ropes and covers, make sure the loads are secure.” While that was being done the brother’s gathered up their gear deciding that they would miss breakfast. There was a river to cross about five hours away, they wanted to get across that before the storm hit.
Walking over to the buckboards, Adam saw that the teams hadn’t been harnessed up. “You could have harnessed them,” Adam told Nathan angrily.
“You told me to check the loads.” Nathan replied.
Adam pulled a face. “Do you have to be told to do everything?” Adam asked. Nathan didn’t reply.
Adam silently shook his head as he and his brothers went about their work. This was so unlike Nathan Turner, Adam thought to himself. Well, it was unlike the Nathan Turner of three months ago. Up until then he’d been one of the best workers around.
“I’ve had about enough of him as I can stand,” Adam grumbled quietly.
“I’ll ride with him,” Joe said.
“Are you sure?” Adam asked.
Joe had been two when Nathan Turner first came to work on the ranch. Nathan had always been nice to him. Joe had spent a lot of time playing with Nathan’s son. He wanted to help the man if he could.
Joe nodded and Adam smiled, slapping his youngest brother on his back. “Thanks Joe. We can trade back again in a few hours if you want.”
When the buckboards pulled out Joe and Nathan were in the lead with Nathan driving. Once it started raining it wasn’t long before Joe started to regret offering to change places with Adam. Secretly, Joe had hoped that he’d be able to get Nathan to open up and talk to him but the man hadn’t said a word despite several attempts at conversation by Joe. The weather only added to the gloomy atmosphere.
When the river came into sight Joe saw how fast it was flowing and it seemed to be fairly high. He knew they’d have to test the depth of it, he didn’t think Adam would risk the buckboards, better to wait for it to go down. It didn’t usually take long and it would be safer. Joe was shocked when Nathan drove the team on into the river seeming to not even slow down.
“What are you doing, stop!” Joe shouted, reaching over for the reins.
Nathan knocked Joe’s hands away. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Don’t,” Joe shouted, “we don’t know how deep it is.” But Nathan continued on.
Adam pulled his team to a stop, watching in astonishment as Nathan drove on. “What the….what does that fool think he’s doing?” Adam watched as Joe attempted to grab the reins out of Nathan’s hands and was pushed away.
“Pull it up now!” Adam shouted as loudly as he could.
Hoss hit the side of the buckboard in anger and turned to his older brother. “What should we do?”
Adam ran to the back of the buckboard and grabbed a rope, tying it around his waist he handed the other end to Hoss. “Tie it off, best to be prepared incase it’s needed.”
The words were no sooner out of his mouth when they saw the buckboard in the river lurch to one side, the horses broke free and it flipped over on to it’s side.
“No!” Adam shouted as he quickly threw off his rain slicker, pulled off his boots and ran forward to enter the rushing water. Hoss finished tying the rope to the buckboard and stood watching Adam, wishing there was something more he could do.
Adam made his way through the current as quickly as he could. As he neared the over turned wagon he could see Nathan Turner holding on to the side of it, the man looked alright but Adam didn’t waste time asking him if he was hurt, right at that moment Adam couldn’t have cared less how Nathan Turner was. “Where’s Joe?” Adam shouted above the roar of the water.
“I don’t know. I don’t think he’s come up.” Nathan shouted back.
Adam immediately dove under the water looking for Joe. With horror he saw that his brother was conscious and struggling to free himself from under the wagon where he was pinned by his left arm.
Adam realized Nathan was beside him and together they tried to lift the wagon, they couldn’t get it to budge.
Nathan pulled a knife out of his boot and suggested to Adam, pointing at Joe’s arm.
Even in his panic Joe realised what Nathan was going to do and he kicked out in terror, his frantic struggles making the situation worse as he used up the last of his air.
Nathan grabbed Adam’s arm pulling him up, knowing they both needed air. Adam hated to leave Joe but he knew he couldn’t help his brother if he didn’t go up for a breath of air.
As they gasped to pull the air in to their lungs Nathan held the knife up and said, “We have to, it’s the only way to free him.”
“No!” Adam shouted as he shoved Nathan away.
Nathan grabbed the wagon to stop the current from pushing him away. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get Jake free, I’m not going to let him down this time.”
Adam was about to yell for Hoss to come out before diving under again when he realised the big man was beside him, having just made his way out.
“Joe’s trapped,” Adam said and no more words were needed as they both dived under. Nathan followed.
Joe was unconscious now and everyone knew that soon there would be no hope of saving him. Adam and Hoss both pushed with every ounce of strength they had cursing the fact that the buckboard was so heavy due to the supplies they had been carrying. With a burst of relief the older brothers finally felt it shift and were able to lift it up high enough for Nathan to pull Joe free. Once they saw that Joe was completely clear, Adam and Hoss dropped the buckboard. Hoss reached for Joe and pulled him up with him to the surface.
Adam and Hoss quickly got Joe to shore. As soon as they were on the bank Adam lay Joe down and turned him on to his stomach and pushed on his back, hoping to force some of the water Joe had swallowed out of him, Adam didn’t know what else they could do. Once the water started to come out, it poured out in a rush but Joe lay still.
Adam gently turned his brother over and placed a hand on his neck, feeling for a pulse.
Hoss felt as if his own heart had stopped beating. “Adam?” he asked quietly.
“He’s alive,” Adam replied.
Adam shook Joe and tried to wake him up. “Little Joe, come on,” he repeated but after a few attempts he shook his head at Hoss. “We’ll have to let him do it in his own time.” Looking up at the sky and the rain that was still coming down Adam said, “There’s no where close by that we can take him to get out of this rain, we’ll just have to head for home and hope it stops soon.” Adam brushed the wet hair back from Joe’s forehead as he said, “We need to get a doctor for him as quick as we can anyway.”
Hoss turned a furious face towards Nathan Turner. “Why did you try to cross there,” he yelled, “what were you thinking?” Adam could see Hoss clenching his hands.
“Hoss,” Adam said, “we don’t have time to argue about it now, we have to help Joe,” he too threw an angry look Nathan’s way and continued, “we’ll get some answers later.”
Adam nodded to some trees away from the bank of the river and said, “Unload the buckboard, we’ll leave everything here.” He leaned over Joe, protecting him as much as he could from the rain and set about cleaning him up and setting his arm while Hoss and Nathan unloaded everything.
Once Hoss had everything ready he walked over to Adam and said, “Has he woken up yet?”
Adam shook his head.
“We’re ready to go,” Hoss said.
Adam looked over at the buckboard and saw that it was empty and Hoss had spread their rain slickers over part of it.
Hoss reached down and lifted Joe up, taking him over to the buckboard and placing him inside under the little cover that was provided.
Hoss nodded toward the buckboard and goods that were still in the river. “What about that?”
“We’ll leave it,” Adam said, “we’ll send someone back to salvage what they can.”
Hoss climbed into the back of the backboard with Joe and Adam climbed up onto the seat.
“Come on Nathan, we need to get going,” Adam said. Nathan climbed up on the seat next to Adam and they started on the journey home.
Hoss undressed Joe and wrapped him in a blanket, knowing it wasn’t much better but at least he would be a little dryer.
Adam drove the team carefully, preying that they wouldn’t bog. He heaved a sigh of relief when the rain started to slow and finally stopped. Hoss pulled the slickers down, just leaving one up to protect Joe’s face from the sun. He hoped that now that the clouds were clearing they might start to dry out.
Nathan sat in silence. Adam noticed that the man kept looking back towards the men in the back.
As night approached Adam and Hoss discussed what they should do. Both were frightened by how still Joe was, they feared there was something seriously wrong as he was showing no signs of waking up. They felt it was imperative that they get him home as soon as possible but they also knew the horses needed a rest and with the coming of the night, the temperature was starting to drop and the blankets that covered Joe were still damp. They decided to make camp for the night.
Quickly they got a fire started, placing Joe as close to it as they could while making sure he was far enough away not to get burnt. Adam sat with Joe while Hoss saw to the horses and then started making them something to eat.
Adam looked up at Nathan Turner who was staring at Joe with a blank look on his face. Suddenly Nathan dropped to his knees, reaching out his hand to touch Joe he said,” I’m sorry Jake, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry. I’ll look after you, Jake.” Nathan tried to push Adam out of his way.
Adam knocked Nathan’s hands away. “What’s wrong with you? What are you talking about?”
“He’s my son,” Nathan said. “I know you want to help Adam but I can see to Jake by myself.”
Adam and Hoss looked at each other in confusion.
“Jake’s dead,” Hoss said.
Nathan shook his head, “No! Stop lying to me. I can see he’s still alive.” This time he attempted to pull Joe from his brother’s arms. Adam held Joe tighter to himself and shouldered Nathan away. “Don’t touch him,” Adam snapped.
Once more Nathan reached for Joe and this time Hoss grabbed him, pulled him up and shook him, shoving him forcefully away. “Stop it! It’s Joe. I don’t know what’s gotten into you but that’s Joe not Jake. Jake’s dead!” Hoss hoped he had finally gotten through to the man.
Nathan stared at them all for a moment and then he turned and walked away, he stood and watched them from a distance.
The Cartwright’s let him go, preferring the distance from him. “What do you thinks wrong with him? What are we going to do?” Hoss asked nodding over towards Nathan Turner.
Adam shook his head. “I don’t know. I think his minds snapped. We’ll have to keep an eye on him. There’s no telling what he might do.”
They turned their attention back to Joe, they had been able to get some water into him but knew it would be pointless to try and get him to eat.
As Adam sat eating with Joe’s head pillowed in his lap he couldn’t help but reflect on how different this night was to so many others that he had spent camping out with his brothers. Mostly they spent hours talking and laughing but tonight the older two were too worried about the third.
As soon as Adam and Hoss finished eating, Hoss said, “You get some sleep, I’ll take the first watch and wake you in a few hours.”
Adam nodded and wrapped an arm over Joe to pull his younger brother to him incase Joe should roll towards the fire while he slept.
****************************************
Adam felt himself being shaken awake. “Adam,” Hoss said, “wake up.”
“What’s wrong? Is it my turn for watch?”
“Nathan went off into the trees a little while ago. Thought he was just going to relieve himself, you know.”
Adam nodded, “What about it?”
“He ain’t come back.”
“How longs he been gone?”
“Bout an hour. Do you reckon somethin’s happened to him?” Hoss asked.
“I don’t know but there’s no use looking in the dark. We’ll have to wait for morning.” Adam checked on Joe and said, “You get some sleep. I’ll watch.”
“Okay,” Hoss replied as he lay down next to his young brother, draping an arm protectively over him the same way Adam had.
****************************************
The next morning it was still dark when Adam and Hoss worked by the light given off by the fire to get everything together and Joe comfortable in the buckboard for the trip home. They searched around for Nathan Turner but found no sign of him.
“We don’t have time to look anymore. We need to get Joe home. We’ll send someone back to look for Nathan.”
“Reckon it’s the only thing we can do,” Hoss agreed.
****************************************
Ben was saddling Buck in the barn when he heard the buckboard pull into the yard. Going to the door he was surprised to see Hoss driving. Surprise turned to worry in the blink of an eye when he saw that Adam was seated in the back.
Ben rushed over to the buckboard. Looking down into the back of it he saw his youngest son wrapped in blankets, his head in Adam’s lap, his face shockingly pale.
“What happened?” Ben asked as he reached to stroke Joe’s cheek.
“Let’s get him inside Pa and I’ll tell you,” Adam replied.
“I’ll go for the doc,” Hoss said as he jumped down and ran for the barn to saddle a horse.
Ben and Adam got Joe out of the buckboard and carried him into the house.
Upstairs as Ben and Adam made Joe as comfortable as they could, Ben looked to Adam for an explanation.
“Nathan tried to cross the river when it was raining. He didn’t check the depth, it was too high and the buckboard tipped. Joe was riding with him, he’d tried to stop Nathan but Nat wouldn’t listen. When it tipped Joe’s arm was caught. He was pinned under it.”
“Was he under the water?” Ben asked, not taking his eyes off Joe.
“Yes he was. We couldn’t lift the wagon. We couldn’t get him free. Nathan was going to…..” Adam stopped, not sure if he should tell his father the full story.
Ben looked up sharply, knowing his son was keeping something from him. “Nathan was going to what?” he asked.
Adam took a deep breath. “He was going to cut Joe’s arm off.”
“Dear God,” Ben uttered as his legs gave out and he sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at his son who was lying so still.
There was silence in the room as Ben fought the nausea that rose up within him, he stroked back the hair on Joe’s forehead, his eyes stayed glued on Joe. “How long was he under the water?”
“A few minutes.”
“Has he been conscious at all?” Ben asked. Fear that even those few minutes had been too long tugging at his heart.
Adam swallowed the lump in his throat. “He was conscious at
first,
Bens face visibly paled and then he nodded for Adam to go on.
Adam told his father how Hoss had come out and they’d gotten Joe free. “Joe was unconscious before we pulled him up. He hasn’t come around at all.”
“He has a broken arm but there might be worse damage that we can’t see,” tears came to Bens eyes.
“We don’t know that,
Ben was gently stroking Joe’s head when he suddenly stopped. “He’s got a lump on the side of his head.”
“I felt that too, it hasn’t bled though. He must have hit his head when the buckboard went over.”
“It might be why he’s still unconscious. Maybe it’s not because he was under the water too long.”
“I don’t know,
Ben realised he hadn’t seen Nathan Turner in the yard, “Where is Nathan?”
Adam explained to his father what had happened.
Ben was shocked. “I had no idea the man was so unstable. Why did I send him with you boys?”
Adam heard the incrimination in his fathers voice, he knew his father was feeling responsible. “Pa, Nat had a drinking problem but none of us had any idea that his mind was going. I think he just snapped when he saw Joe pinned like that. It must have brought all the memories of Jake back.”
Right at that moment Ben didn’t care what happened to Nathan, he hated the man. He turned his attention back to Joe, wanting only to focus on him. Ben and Adam continued to sit with Joe. Hop Sing continually came in to find out if there was anything they needed or wanted him to do but there was little anyone could do except wait. It was with relief that they heard a buggy enter the yard, knowing that finally the doctor had arrived. It wasn’t long before Hoss rushed into the room with the doctor in tow.
Hoss immediately went over to the bed and gently touched Joe’s face, assuring himself that his little brother was still alive.
Paul Martin approached the bed and Hoss reluctantly stepped aside. “Ben, Adam,” Doctor Martin said as he approached the bed, “Hoss told me what happened, has he woken at all?”
“No,” Ben said, “we found a lump on his head though.” He gently touched it to show Paul.
“Alright, let’s have a look at him,” Paul tried to wake the young man but got no response. After carefully examining him, Paul said, “I’ll splint his arm. That’s about all I can do. We’ll just have to wait and see how he goes. I know this is hard but it’s impossible to tell if it’s the knock on Joe’s head that’s keeping him out this long or if it might be something even more serious.”
Ben tried to talk Adam and Hoss in to going to their rooms to try and get some sleep but they refused to leave their brothers side.
As Adam stared down at the young brother that he’d protected and looked after all his life, he felt like he was being crushed by guilt; had he let Joe down when he needed him most? Looking over at Hoss, Adam knew he was suffering with the same feelings.
“Maybe we should have done it. We might have gotten him free sooner,” Adam said.
With tears in his eyes Hoss shook his head, “I don’t know.”
Ben swallowed the lump in his throat.
“Done what?” Paul Martin asked.
Adam took a deep breath and said, “Nathan wanted to cut Joe’s arm off. He thought it was the only way we’d get him free in time.”
“I see,” Paul said, “I know how you all must be feeling right now. There’s no point in my lying to you, you know Joe may have suffered some brain injuries from the length of time he was under the water.”
Adam got up and went to stare out of the window, trying to get control of his emotions. Hoss didn’t bother to try and hide his tears. Ben’s heart was heavy with sorrow and pain for all of his sons.
“But,” Paul continued, “I think you did the right thing. If you had amputated Joe’s arm, yes, you would have freed him but I don’t think he would still be alive. Blood loss, shock, pain, then infection would have sent in, I just don’t think Joe would have survived it. At least now you’ve given him a chance.”
Adam turned and looked at the still form in the bed and preyed his brother would be okay so that he would be freed from the awful uncertainty that he’d made the wrong decision.
Adam returned to his chair. Ben stroked the hair back from Joe’s forehead and then looked at his other two sons. “Whatever happens I want you to know I don’t blame you. This isn’t your fault, it’s mine.”
“No, Pa,” Hoss said, “why do you think that?”
Ben wiped a tear away and looking at his oldest son he said, “Adam warned me about Nathan but I wouldn’t listen. Oh no,” Ben said bitterly, “I knew better, I had to keep Nat on. Worse yet, I sent him on that trip with you and because of that it nearly cost Joe his life,” Ben took a deep breath, “it still might.”
“Don’t say that, Pa,” Hoss said, “Joe’s gonna be okay, you’ll see. It’s not your fault Pa, you couldn’t have known this would happen.”
Adam put his hand on his fathers shoulder, “Hoss is right. You felt loyalty to a man who’s worked for us for years, a friend. Don’t you think we know that you would have fired him without a moments hesitation if you thought he would cause something like this.”
“I should have fired him,” Ben said.
Adam and Hoss knew there was nothing they could say to relieve their father’s feelings of guilt because in truth, there was nothing anyone could say to relieve their own.
The family and Doctor Martin stayed with Joe, talking to him and repeatedly trying to wake him. Joe finally began to stir.
Ben who was sitting in a chair beside the bed, held his sons hand and urged him to open his eyes. Joe’s eyes flickered open and he stared at his father.
“Joseph, it’s alright. Just lie still,” Ben was startled when he saw a look of panic cross the young man’s face.
As remembrance came flooding back to Joe, he pulled his right hand free from his father’s grasp and moved his hand across to feel for his left arm. Joe’s thinking wasn’t clear and he began to get upset when he couldn’t feel it.
Ben grabbed Joe’s hand again and moved to sit on the bed. “It’s alright Joseph. Son, listen to me. Everything’s fine your arm’s just broken.”
Joe thrashed his head away and Ben pulled his son’s face back towards him. “Listen to me, Joseph.” He moved Joe’s hand so he could feel his arm strapped to his chest. “See, it’s still there. You’ve broken it, that’s all. You’re going to be fine.”
Joe’s eyes filled with tears, “Oh,
Ben gently pulled Joe into an embrace. Paul let Ben hold his son until he had calmed down and then he said, “Ben, I need to check him over.”
Ben nodded, reluctantly lying Joe back down, he immediately reached to hold his sons hand again.
“Drink,” Joe asked
Adam quickly poured a glass of water and handed it to his father, glad to be able to do something, he then lifted Joe’s head up. Once Ben had helped Joe drink all he wanted, Adam moved out of the way so Paul could examine his brother.
Paul Martin gave Joe such a thorough examination that by the end of it Joe was sick of being poked, prodded and questioned. Joe’s family though had become happier with each new test Paul carried out. It became clear that Joe had suffered no brain damage. He felt very tired and he was sick and sore but everyone knew that was normal after all Joe had been though.
****************************************
A week later Joe was on the road to recovery though the family had been woken every night as he relived the events in nightmares. Ben hoped that given time the memories would fade and the nightmares would stop.
Roy Coffee and a search party had looked for Nathan Turner but had found no sign of him.
On this day, Ben, Adam and Hoss had all left for work. It
was the first day that Ben had left Joe since the accident. He left Hop Sing in
charge with strict instructions that Joe was to do nothing but rest. They
returned to the house at about
Going inside, Ben was surprised that Joe wasn’t on the settee where he had been when they’d left.
“He must be upstairs,” Ben said as he headed up to check.
Ben opened Joe’s door quietly, expecting to see him asleep but he found the bed empty and Adam’s call from downstairs almost stopped Ben’s heart for he knew something was wrong.
“Pa, come down here quick,” Adam shouted.
Ben took the stairs at a run. As he reached the landing he saw Hop Sing standing in the room with his two older sons.
“Hop Sing,” Ben shouted, “where’s Joe?”
“Hop Sing not know,” Hop Sing said, clearly upset.
“We found Hop Sing tied up and gagged in the kitchen, Pa,” Hoss explained.
“What happened?” Ben shouted, “who was it?”
“Nathan Turner,” Hop Sing said, “he come to house. All sudden he grab me, put gag in mouth, no time to warn Little Joe. He tie me up and leave. Not know what happen after that. Not know where he take Little Joe.”
“I’ll check the barn,” Hoss said as he ran for the door. The others quickly followed him. They were coming across the yard as Hoss ran out of the barn. “Two horses are missing.”
“There’s tracks every where here. Where do we start looking?” Adam said.
“Hop Sing,” Ben said, “go into town and tell Roy Coffee what’s happened, that we need help to search for Joe. Tell him we’ll start looking at Nathan Turner’s cabin.”
As the Cartwright’s rode toward Nathan’s cabin, Adam said, “Do you really think he might have taken Joe to his house, Pa. Surely he knows we’d look there.”
“I don’t know Adam. I don’t know where he might have taken him but we have to start somewhere and it’s as logical as any.”
****************************************
Nathan had indeed taken Joe to his home. In Nathan Turner’s mind he had no reason to hide, he’d done nothing wrong, he’d brought his son home.
Joe had been dozing on the settee when he’d been surprised by someone shaking him awake. Realsing who it was, there had been nothing he could do. He’d tried to fight Nathan off but had been easily over powered. Joe was still suffering the effects of his head injury as well as being hampered by having the use of only one arm.
As they rode up to the house, Nathan dismounted and went over to Joe’s horse, untying the rope that had bound Joe’s right hand to the saddle horn. “I don’t know why you are fighting me like this Jake. I just wanted to bring you home where you belong.”
“I’m not Jake! How many times do I have to tell you that,” Joe shouted.
As Nathan reached up to help Joe down, Joe kicked out at him and slid from the horse, taking off at a run.
Joe ran down the side of the house and headed for the trees. Nathan Turner picked himself up off the ground and took off in pursuit.
Thinking nothing of Joe’s injuries, he caught the young man and pulled him to the ground. Joe cried out as his injured body hit the ground.
Twisting free and turning over, Joe realised where he was. He was lying next to the graves of Sarah and Jake Turner.
“Look Nathan, there’s your son!” Joe shouted, “I’m sorry, but he’s dead!”
Nathan starred at the two graves in front of him. Dropping to his knees he looked over at Joe. “I’m sorry, Joe.” Then he collapsed to the ground.
Joe sat for a moment, too shaken to do anything, then he reached for Nathan and turned him over, seeing the man was dead.
Joe felt himself start to tremble and he couldn’t have stood if his life depended on it. Hearing horses he looked up and saw his family.
“Pa!” Joe shouted.
Looking towards the direction the shout had come from, the three men were off their horses and to him in a matter of moments.
Ben grabbed Joe and pulled him into his arms. Glaring at the body of Nathan Turner.
Adam could see Joe was shaking and took off his jacket, wrapping it around his little brother.
“Are you alright?” Ben asked, rubbing his hand down Joe’s back.
Ben felt Joe nod. The family sat together with Ben holding his youngest son until he felt the tremors in the young mans body cease.
Adam and Hoss were kneeling down next to their father and
young brother. Adam put his hand on Joe’s back, then
looked up at their father. “Pa, you and Hoss take Joe home. I’ll take Nathan in
to Doc Martin’s. We better get him to look at the body. I’ll probably meet up
with
“Thank you son,” Ben said, “Do you think you can ride, Joseph?”
Joe nodded. Ben pulled him away from him a little so Adam and Hoss could put Adam’s jacket on him properly. Helping him to his feet, Ben and Hoss slowly supported Joe over to their horses, helping him on to their father’s horse. Ben climbed up behind his son and they started home.
****************************************
The following day the Cartwright family sat in the great room talking. They had just returned from Nathan Turner’s funeral. Ben hadn’t been sure it was a good idea for Joe to attend but Joe had felt it was something he had to do so his family had gone with him. Paul Martin had ruled that Nathan had died from a heat attack.
“How do you feel, Joe? Do you want to go upstairs and lie down? Ben asked.
“No,
“You’re very quiet,” Adam said.
“Just thinking,” Joe replied.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Ben asked, moving from his chair to sit on the armrest of the settee next to Joe.
“I just don’t understand why he was like that,
“There’s so much we don’t know about the mind, Joe. I can only guess at what was going on with Nathan. I think the shock of the accident, happening the way it did just did something to his mind. I don’t think he was able to distinguish between the two accidents. They became one in his mind.”
Adam moved to sit on the table in front of Joe. “You know Joe, remember when Sarah and Jake were killed, that first day after the accident, before Nat started drinking. He told us how Jake was still alive and every time he tried to lift the wagon, Jake cried out because it hurt so much. It made Nathan hesitate because he thought he was hurting Jake worse.”
Joe nodded, “I remember.”
“Well I think Jake regretted that he didn’t just get the wagon straight off Jake. I think he felt that if he had, Jake would still be alive. When you were trapped under the water……” Adam stopped as he saw Joe’s body tense at the memory.
Ben gave Joe’s shoulders a squeeze, “It’s okay Joseph, you’re safe.”
Hoss who was sitting beside his brother patted his knee.
Ben motioned for Adam to continue.
“You right buddy?” at Joe’s nod Adam continued, “Well, it was really strange, I didn’t have time to think about it then but the first time Nathan called you Jake was when we came up for air just after he’d pulled his knife and he kept calling you Jake from then on. Thinking about it now, what he said, it all fits.”
“What did he say,” Joe asked.
“He said that he wasn’t going to let Jake down this time, that he’d free him no matter what,” Adam said.
Joe shuddered and looked at his brothers. “I’m glad you stopped him.”
“We weren’t sure we’d done the right thing when you took so long to wake up,” Hoss said, still shaken by the events of that day. “We’d never have forgiven ourselves if you’d died little brother.”
“Don’t say that,” Joe said urgently, “there would have been nothing to blame yourselves for. You can only do what you think is right at the time and I know that all of you would do what you thought was best for me just like I would for you. You can’t blame yourself for that. Look what feeling guilty did to Nathan.”
Adam nodded, “As terrible as the situation was at the time at least we can look back now and know we did the right thing.”
Ben pulled Joe to him, “Thank God,” he whispered as he held his son tightly.
THE END
May 2003