By
Debbie Beshears
And
Jennie
Allender
"There
is no way, do you understand me young man, no way am I eating opossum for
Thanksgiving!" shouted Ben.
He
had been having like conversations such as this with his two youngest sons for
over a month now. Why in heaven’s name had he ever agreed to allow these two to
talk him into keeping the old Tom as a pet? Ben rubbed his chin; he must have
been out of his ever-loving mind to agree to something so stupid.
It had begun just about six weeks earlier when Hoss
who was fifteen and Little Joe who was nine had begged him to be allowed to
snare the Thanksgiving Day turkey and keep it in a pen to fatten up for the
holiday meal. Adam had advised against it but Ben, who could rarely refuse his
younger sons anything, had willingly agreed to their plan. That had been his
undoing, as now the two young boys had grown attached to the gobbler and when
he had made mention of eating the turkey for supper on Thanksgiving, Little Joe
had burst into tears, Hoss had whined and complained all evening against the
fact. Little Joe had kept them up half the night with nightmares, resulting in
the entire family losing a night’s sleep. Since that night two weeks ago,
things had gone from bad to worse. The boys had brought home rabbit for the
holiday meal, only to decide they were too cute to kill and eat. Next, Hoss had
suggested squirrel and when he had found several babies, he brought them home
and ended up having to hand feed them. With Hoss’ natural tender heart, he then
stomped around muttering for days that he would not, nor would he allow anyone
to have his babies as their evening meal.
Ben was at a loss as what to do about Thanksgiving
dinner, he really wanted turkey, Adam agreed that
without it, the holiday would seem just like another day to them. He had
suggested chicken or roast pig but they dined on that fairly often, so neither
father nor oldest son thought much of that idea. Hoss had jumped in about that
time and suggested raccoon. All four had almost agreed at that point but then
Hop Sing, refused to cook it, saying it went against some belief of his people
to harm raccoons, so the little masked rodent had also been eliminated from the
menu.
Deer and bear had been brought into the
conversation, but bear was ruled out, it was too close to the time that bear
went into the high country to hibernate. Deer was an option, if one could be
found but neither Ben nor Adam had much time for hunting at this time of year.
Ben suggested killing a calf and roasting it outside in the bar-b-q pit. But when the word, kill, slipped through his
lips during the conversation, Little Joe again became upset at the idea of
killing and eating one of the big sad eyed, soft nosed, cute as pie, baby cows,
as Joe had put it to his father. They even talked about fish for the main
course but after the boys had spent hours fishing, the five rainbow trout that
they had brought home, were now calling the water trough, home. The boys had
decided to keep them for pets instead of allowing them to become supper.
Duck and geese were abundant now, most were flying
on a southern route for winter and were stopping over at dusk on the lake. Ben
rather liked that idea; at least it was still in the bird family and had
feathers. Maybe, just maybe he thought, Hoss and Little Joe would agree to that
and then perhaps he could encourage them to release the numerous creatures that
seemed to have taken up permanent residence in his barn. Tonight thought Ben,
during the supper hour, I will bring the idea out into the open to see how his
younger two sons would except this idea.
Suppertime arrived and Ben was thankful that all of
his sons had managed to find their seats on time. Hop Sing brought the meal in
and grace was said, Ben giving thanks for the blessings that each of his sons
brought to him, for the health of his family and for the food that was provided.
Ben also asked a special blessing for the one whom had, for many years,
prepared those meals.
"Adam, Hoss, Joseph, we need to decide what we
are going to do about Thanksgiving supper. Now Joseph, let me finish, before
you go off half cocked," Ben said as he raised his hand in the air to
silence his youngest son’s protest.
Ben knew that Little Joe would be the first to speak
out against having turkey and Hoss would follow his younger brother’s lead, protesting
against eating any such creature that the two of them had sheltered in his
barn.
Adam continued eating his meal; he knew what had
been going on with his brothers and his father. Poor Pa had made the mistake of
mentioning killing the ole Tom that his brothers had penned out behind the barn
and in so doing had unleashed a barrel full of tears
and complaints. Adam had tried to warn his father about allowing those two to
keep the turkey until such time that the death of said Tom would take place, but
had his father listened? No, he had instead given in to Hoss and Little Joe, so
decided Adam, let Pa figure how to worm his way out of his little problem.
"Pa, I don’t rightly know what to have, I jest
can’t see eating any of them critters Joe and I have in the barn. Don’t seem
right ta me somehow," Hoss told his father.
Little Joe was watching Hoss as his brother
explained to their father and turned to check his father’s reaction.
"Pa, ya always said that murder was wrong,
wouldn’t it be murder if’n ya kilt’em?" Little Joe asked innocently.
"Well, yes murder is wrong son, but this is
different," Ben started to explain. "You see son…"
"How’s it different? Ya goin’ ta kill’em, that
makes’em dead, then you ‘spect us ta eat’em, I’d call that murder, wouldn’t
ya?"
Joe cast sorrowful eyes at his father. From the
other end of the table, Adam had a coughing fit.
Ever since Ben had taken the boys on a hunting trip
to get a turkey for Thanksgiving, Little Joe had refused to eat meat. Night
after night Ben would try to reason with him about his nonsense. Joe didn’t see
it that way. He had never thought about the fact of eating meat involved
actually killing an animal. No matter how many times Ben or Adam had tried to
explain the circle of life to him, the stubborn streak in Joe would not let it
sink in.
"He’s got you there Pa," Adam said softly
when he was able to get his cough under control.
Ben shot Adam a warning look, indicating that such
thoughts be kept to himself. Adam only smiled at his father. Ben glared at his
oldest, he knew he would get no help from him, Adam had tried to warn him and
Ben knew that now Adam would gloat, I told you so, would soon follow. How had
his oldest son become so smart, Ben wondered? And when had all
this taken place?
"Never mind boys, I’ll think of something, we
still have about two weeks before Thanksgiving Day." Ben gave up the
conversation, not sure yet what he would do, but right now he was tired of
worrying about it.
Later that evening, Ben rested in his favorite chair,
Adam sat reading in his blue chair and Hoss and Little Joe were playing a game
of checkers. Ben’s thought’s turned again to the holiday meal, not sure how he
would handle it. Perhaps, he thought, he could send Charlie or one of the other
trusted hands out to hunt a turkey. If he had Hop Sing, prepare the bird while
the younger boys were away, maybe they would not realize that what they would
be eating would have once been alive. Ben knew he was grasping at straws, Hoss
wasn’t that nieve, Joseph, on the other hand might just fall for it. Maybe he
could talk some sense into Hoss and get him to go along with his idea. Ben
smiled to himself, perhaps, he thought, I have just found my answer, and with
that thought in mind, he ordered his youngest son to bed.
Little Joe had sat down at the top of the stairs
listening to his Pa and Adam talk, something that he had gotten very good at
doing. He couldn’t make out everything that was being said but he did manage to
pick up on a few words, and they included the word hunting. He quietly tipped
toed down a few steps and watched them leave the house. Joe made sure that Hop
Sing wasn’t around and slipped out the front door, following them to the barn.
Little
Joe stopped short of the entranceway when he heard his father talking to
Charlie. They were discussing him leaving in the morning on another hunting
trip, a turkey-hunting trip! ‘Oh, no, he ain’t gonna kill a turkey,’ he thought
as he ran back towards the house. He slammed the large oak door and ran past
Hop Sing who was starting to set out coffee for his older brother and
"No
run in house, Lit’le Joe. Very, very bad boy. Mister
Cartlight be very angry at boy for run in house."
Hop Sing shook his head as the boy ignored his command and continued running up
the stairs. "No one listen to Hop Sing. Hop Sing quit. Go back to
Upstairs,
Joe had flung himself onto this bed. "Ain’t no way that man is gonna kill
a turkey. It ain’t right. We can eat veggies and pie for dinner, ain’t gotta
have meat."
Now
alone in his room, he thought hard about how he could stop that man from
hurting one of Tom’s kin. He didn’t hear the door open nor see anyone enter the
room, until Ben sat down on the edge of the bed. He placed a comforting hand on
Joe’s back and began to rub.
"Hop
Sing said that you seemed upset over something. Anything I can help you
with?" Ben continued to rub the boy’s back as he spoke softly to him.
"No,
Ben
automatically reached and felt his son’s forehead. "You don’t feel
warm." Ben shifted his weight on the bed and resumed the back rub as he
probed for answers. "Joseph, I sent you up to bed over a half hour ago. Why
were you up again? What’s bothering you?"
Joe
shrugged his shoulders, suddenly finding it difficult to stay awake. His Pa
always had a way with his back rubs.
"I
don’t know, just don’t feel myself." His eyes closed indicating to his
father that he wanted to sleep.
"Well,
goodnight then, son. Call if you need anything and I will be up later to check
on you." Ben took Joe’s boots off and pulled up the quilt from the foot of
the bed. He gently covered his son and leaned down to place a kiss on his cheek.
"Sleep tight, little one."
It
was a rainy night and the owls had started their nightly conversation as they
sat perched in the Ponderosa pines just outside Joe’s window. He sat up in bed
trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"WHOOOM,
WHOOOM."
Joe
slipped out of the warmth of his bed and stumbled to the window. With his nose
pressed tightly against the glass he strained to see the owls. His eyes grew
wide with fear as he backed away from the frosted window. Joe turned around and
ran to his door flinging it open. He could feel his heart racing as he ran down
the hall to Hoss’ room.
"Hoss,
wake up, quick. They’re comin’, Hoss." Joe
grabbed a tight hold of Hoss’ shoulder and shook with all of his strength.
"Hurry, Hoss. They’re after us."
Hoss
sat up and shoved his brother off him.
"What
in tarnation is wrong with ya, Joe? It’s the middle of the night."
"Hoss,
they’re comin’. We have to hide." Joe reached out and pulled on his
brother’s arm. "Come on, hurry!"
"Dadburn it, Joe. Who and what is comin’?" Hoss allowed his
brother to pull him from the comforts of his bed.
"This
better be good, Joe, else I’m gonna skin ya alive."
"You
won’t have to skin me, they are goin’ to," Joe cried out as he continued
to pull Hoss across the room. "Hurry, we have to get Pa and Adam."
Both
Adam and his father stopped Joe in the hallway.
"Would
someone like to fill me in as to what in God’s name the two of you are doing up
in the middle of the night carrying on like this?" Ben's voice echoed in
the stillness of the hallway as Adam lit the lantern on the table. "Does
anyone care to know what time it is?"
"Pa, quick! They’re comin’." Joe tried to push his father back into his room.
"They are gonna kill us." He was becoming incoherent as the sweat
broke out on his young body.
Ben
was prepared to carry Joe back into his room when he heard something or someone
coming up the stairs. He motioned for Adam to take the boys into his room as he
quietly pulled out a gun that he had hidden in the drawer of the table. Ben
cautiously walked toward the stairs and held the lantern up so he could get a
better view of what was making the noise in his home.
He
gasped and ran into his room, slamming the door behind him.
"What
is it, Pa?" inquired Adam as he placed Joe on the bed next to Hoss.
"Who’s out there?"
Before
Ben could answer him, Adam walked toward the door.
"No,
Adam. Don’t open that door. Joseph was right, they are coming for us." Ben
sat down on his bed and drew his two younger sons towards his chest. "Get
the other gun out of my nightstand and be ready to shoot, Adam."
As
Adam withdrew the gun from the drawer, the bedroom door was kicked in and there
stood the biggest tom turkey they had ever laid their eyes on. Behind it stood
a buck, a boar, four rabbits, one raccoon, two squirrels and one goose. All
held hunting knives in the air ready to strike out at their enemies.
"See,
Pa I told ya, didn’t I?" asked Little Joe as he pulled the blanket over
his head. "They’re gonna kill us."
Ben
finally found his voice and stood from the bed. "What do you want from
us?" he demanded.
"Mister,
you know what we want. Revenge! Revenge for all the kinfolk
that you and your sons have slaughtered over the years. ‘Eye for an
eye,’ that’s what the bible says. Now who dies first?"
The
tom turkey started toward Ben.
"PA!!
No, no, not my
Adam
was the first to arrive, wearing only his black jeans. He tried unsuccessfully
to wake the boy from the nightmare that held him tightly in its grasps of fear.
He stepped back as Ben hurried across the room. Ben knew that this had to be
the nightmare of nightmares. Never before had he heard his youngest cry out in that
magnitude before.
It
took the better part of an hour to calm Little Joe enough to get him back into
bed. Out in the hallway, Adam stopped Ben.
"So,
now what do we do about Thanksgiving dinner? It’s quite obvious that all this
talk about killing animals is now affecting his mental status."
Ben
shook his head in defeat. "I just don’t know what to do with that one. Dreaming of animals wanting to kill us."
Ben
had to smile as he thought back on the story that Joe had told them in his
room. "Maybe Paul could have a talk with him."
Adam
chuckled and placed his arm around Ben’s shoulder.
"Sure,
Ben
slid out of Adam’s embrace and headed for his room. "I’m going to
bed."
He
stopped in the doorway, turned around and jabbed a finger at Adam’s chest.
"And I don’t want to hear another word about turkeys. Good night,
son."
Joe
sat up in his bed. He had heard the other bedroom doors close. He slid from
beneath the covers and quietly dressed himself. While he waited for the rest of
the house to surrender to sleep, Joe quickly packed his satchel, making sure
that he had packed his most prized possessions. He included his bag of marbles,
even though most of them belonged to Hoss; his slingshot; his wooden gun and
Adam’s old leather holster to hold his gun. Joe made sure he also packed the
photo of his mother and last but not least, Scruffy. He sneaked down the
stairs, making sure that he avoided stepping on those steps that would be an
instant alarm call to his family. Joe hesitated momentarily as he watched the
embers glowing in the fireplace. Joe shook his head to clear the thoughts of
his family before picking up the book that Adam had left lying on the planked
table. He glanced around the great room and saw that his Pa had left his pipe
sitting on the ashtray. He quickly snatched it up, not realizing that the
tobacco had fallen to the floor, and placed it in his satchel along with Adam’s
book. He knew his father had another pipe in his desk and didn’t think his
father would be too upset about losing one of them.
A
small smile crept across his face while holding a lantern in his hand. He thought of a way that he could light the lantern without
disobeying his father’s stern words that he was never to touch the forbidden
matches. Joe took a piece of kindling out of the hold box and cautiously
poked it into the hot embers of the fire. He used that to light the lantern
allowing him to make his way through the darkness out to the barn. Joe was
getting antsy as he impatiently waited for Hoss to arrive.
"Hey,
Joe!" whispered Hoss, a bit too loud for Joe’s liking, causing the young
boy to jump. "What are we gonna do ‘bout our critters."
Joe
had taken a deep breath and decided not to harp on Hoss at the moment.
"We’re gonna take ‘em with us. Can’t leave ‘em here, they’ll be sure to be
eaten if we do."
Hoss
decided that lifting the washtub up on the back of the wagon was out of the
question. The boys were further delayed while they went in search of something
to transport their fish in. Little Joe found Hop Sing’s laundry tub near the
side door of the house and with Hoss’ help they loaded it on the wagon. Using
the dipper from the water bucket, they transferred the fish to the laundry tub.
After spending the better part of an hour loading their animal friends in the
back of the buckboard, the two young boys struggled to hitch up a team of
horses.
Hoss
took hold of the bridle to lead them out of the barn. Joe closed the barn doors
and extinguishing the lantern, climbed aboard to sit next to Hoss.
"Where’s
we gonna go, Hoss?" Joe asked as he nervously glanced up at the second
story of the house. He wanted to make sure that no one had heard them leaving.
"Reckon
we ought’a go to one of the line shacks. Pa always makes sure that there is plenty of canned goods stocked up there for the
winter." Hoss gave the signal to the team and together he and Little Joe
escaped the murderers that their older brother and Pa had become.
Adam
was already seated at the breakfast table when Ben joined him.
"Morning,
Adam. I expected to see Hoss already downstairs," he commented as Adam
poured him a hot cup of coffee.
He
passed his father the plate of scrambled eggs.
“He’s still in bed, along with that little one of yours."
"You
will need to get them up and moving, Adam. You and I have a long day ahead of
us and we really need to get moving." Ben motioned toward the kitchen as
Hop Sing entered the room. "Do you have everything you need for
Thanksgiving?" he asked the loyal cook.
"Mister Cartlite, Hop Sing need to get supply for Thanksgivin’
dinner.
I find that my vegetable supply very short this morning."
"Short?
What do you mean short?" Adam asked as he stood from the table, drinking
the last of his coffee.
"Just that, Mister Adam. Someon’ or somethin’ done took my bushel of
vegetables. Apples gone too. Can’t
make apple pie without apples." Hop Sing threw them a disgusted
look and stormed back into the kitchen.
Adam
held back on the smile that he wanted clearly to display, knowing already who
the culprit was, and strutted up the stairs in search of his younger brothers. Within
seconds, he appeared at the top of the stairs and yelled, "Pa, both boys
are gone, and by the looks of it, they have intentions of being gone for
awhile."
Ben
threw down his napkin and stormed up the stairs. He stood in the doorway taking
in the sight of his youngest son’s room. In his haste to leave, Little Joe had
dumped out his drawers on the floor and had picked through his clothes, taking
only what he felt was necessary. Adam was kneeling in the middle of the pile
and looked up at Ben.
"We
better get looking for those two, seems like all that Little Joe took with him
was his favorite belongings. By the looks of the clothes here, it doesn’t look
as if he took anything to ward off the colder weather settling in." Adam
stood up and using some force, stopped the smile that twitched at his lips.
On
this land, they put their brand
Cartwright
was their name.
They
killed our friends,
And
ate our kin,
But
they’ll ner’ do that again!
Brothers
Hoss and Joe
They
both know
A
plan to save the day
They
worked it out a special way
Now
Pa and Adam’ll hav’ta pay.
"Okay
now, ya critters settle down back there and stop that there chantin’,"
Hoss said as he turned around and spoke to the animals.
Joe,
who had nearly fallen to sleep, suddenly turned to his older brother, "Who
ya talkin’ to Hoss?" he said as he turned backward to see if there was
anyone following them.
Hoss
blushed slightly in the dim morning light and wondered how he could get Little
Joe to understand that he could interpret the critters in the back of the wagon
when they were talking to each other. He knew his youngest brother would laugh
and think he had finally lost his mind.
"Uh…no
one Little Joe," he fibbed.
Joe
turned his green eyes up to his brother’s face, "Yes ya were, I heard ya!"
"On
this land, they put their claim
Cartwright
was their name….
"Now
shut that up!" Hoss yelled.
"I
didn’t say nuthin’ Hoss! What’s wrong wif ya?" asked Little Joe startled
by Hoss’ sudden outburst.
Hoss
glanced down and saw the tears beginning to pool in his young brother’s eyes.
"I’m
sorry Punkin, I tweren’t yellin’ at ya. It’s them
critters back there, they keep chantin’ and it’s getting on my last
nerve," explained Hoss.
"Chantin’?
What’ll ya mean?" Little Joe asked, wondering if Hoss had gone over the
edge.
"Little
Joe, now don’tca laugh, but I can hear them and understand’em when they’s a
talkin’ to each other," Hoss explained.
Joe
looked at Hoss without speaking, shock clearly evident on his young face.
Slowly a smile began forming at the corners of his lips and within minutes, his
laughter, which was not commonplace, could be heard throughout the forest. Joe
doubled over and held his sides as he continued to giggle.
"Oh
Hoss," he laughed, "Ya gotta be jokin’?"
"Okay,
don’t believe me, I don’t care! I should have never let you talk me into the
stupid trick anyway. Pa’s gonna be mad at both of us and I’ll probably get
blamed and end up across his lap. Dadburnit Joe, stopped that laughin’ at
me," cried Hoss who was beginning to get angry with his baby brother.
Joe
did his best to bring himself under control, but could not help it when
occasionally a giggle would escape until they had finally made it to the line
shack.
Hoss
unhitched the team of horses and led them to the watering trough. As he saw to
the attention of the horses, Little Joe began unloading the small critters from
the back of the wagon. By the time Hoss returned to assist Joe, he had managed
to unload the rabbits and the two plucked chickens. Hoss stood at the back of
the wagon and directed Joe to slide the turkey crate toward him. Joe was having
a difficult time in carrying out Hoss’ request as he succumbed once again to
giggling.
"Dadburn
it, Little Joe," commented Hoss as he watched his younger brother fall to
his knees, overcome with laughter. "Ya’re makin’ me mad!" Hoss yelled
as he took a swing at Joe, lightly popping the boy upside the back of the head.
Joe
swallowed the next giggle and forced himself to stand. Abiding by his older brother’s
request, Joe pushed the crate to the edge of the buckboard so Hoss could unload
it. When Hoss returned to the wagon for the next cage, he noticed that Joe had
tears pooled in his hazel eyes.
"What’s
the mat’er with ya, little feller?" Hoss asked concerned that maybe he had
walloped his little brother a bit too hard.
Joe’s
dirty hand smeared away the now fallen tears and gazed into his brother’s face.
"You’re
scaring me, Hoss," whispered the boy as he wiped his nose clean using the
back of his hand.
Hoss
glared at Joe, knowing his nine-year old brother had heard him talking to the
turkey before returning to the wagon. Nonchalantly waving his hand in the air,
Hoss commented.
"Ah,
don’tcha worry none ‘bout me, punkin. I was jus’ talkin’ to myself."
He
held out his hand for Joe to take and pulled the younger boy to his feet.
"Let’s git this wagon unloaded and find us somethin’ to eat. I’m
starving!"
Minutes
later the two weary runaways entered the dark shack. Joe opened the warped
shutters to help brighten up the isolate cabin. Hoss rummaged through the
cabinets secretly hoping that Adam had restocked the shack for the upcoming
winter months. Together the boys wiped away the dust from the unleveled table
and sat to eat a can of cold beans and hard tack.
Hoss
had no qualms about eating the measly meal but could see that Joe was having a
difficult time with his serving.
"If
ya not gonna eat it, Little Joe, pass it over. Can’t have it
goin’ to waste. ‘Member what Pa said ‘bout wasting good food when so
many other people in the world are less fortunate then us?"
Joe
glared at his older brother and subconsciously blamed him for not packing up
something other than fruit from Hop Sing’s kitchen. He shoved his dented plate
across the table at Hoss.
"Well,
if ya think it’s so good, then you eat it." Joe pushed himself away from
the table and stomped off to sit on the soot covered hearth.
Hoss
recognized the homesick look that was etched on his brother’s face and sat down
next to him. He put an arm around the thin boy’s shoulder and hugged him to his
chest.
"Joe,
why don’t we take a breather and rest up some ‘fore we have to tend to the live
stock. I don’t know about ya, but I’m sure tired after gettin’ up before the
sun."
Joe
forced himself to smile and nodded his head in agreement. After fetching
Scruffy from his carpetbag, Joe unrolled his bedroll and laid
down. The dampness that still lingered in the air caused Joe to shutter and he
asked Hoss to build a small fire.
Tasked
completed, Hoss joined his brother on the dirt floor and closed his eyes. The
mumbling he believed came from his younger brother disturbed his sleep. Hoss
had grown accustomed to Joe’s nightmares and pulled the blanket over his head
to muffle out the sounds. It was the poking in his back that caused Hoss to
throw back his blanket and sit up. It was then that Hoss realized that Joe was
still curled up sound asleep. Puzzled, Hoss looked around attempting to find
out had awakened him.
"Hey, you big feller. Yea, you!" squeaked the tiny voice.
Hoss
looked down at the ground and shook his head, uncertain as to what he had seen.
He closed his eyes and when he reopened them, there was Scruffy still sitting
in the same place.
"Who ya talkin’ to me?" Hoss managed to ask as he pinched himself
and willed himself to wake up.
"Do
you see anyone else in the room; other than that sleeping thing you call your
brother?" Scruffy sarcastically asked.
Hoss
was quick to defend his little brother, not yet sure of what he was seeing.
"That thing, is Little Joe. Ya of all…"
Hoss
stopped himself before he could say ‘people’ and rephrased the sentence.
"What
I mean is, ya have known Little Joe since his Adam gave you to him," Hoss
explained still unable to understand how this was happening.
"It
must be somethin’ I ate last night," he pondered.
"Dadburn
it," Hoss snapped his fingers and tried to reason with himself.
"That’s it, yea, somethin’ I ate."
He
grinned now accepting the unsolved mystery as to why the critters chantin’ was
somethin’ that only he, him self could hear.
"Little
Joe was in bed last night when I helped myself to a late snack."
Hoss
laid back down and closed his eyes, thinking that this
was all a dream. The tiny paw scratched him in the small of his back, jolting
Hoss to sit again.
"Now
what do you want?" demanded Hoss. He was tired and was getting agitated
with all of the nonsense that was preventing him from taking a nap.
Scruffy
padded over closer and sat down to face Hoss. He pointed a stuffed paw at the
sleeping form and explained.
"It’s
that boy over there that has worn my body down to the shape it is in now. He
drags me around by one of my paws or hugs me to his chest with his skinny
little arm wrapped tightly around my neck." The dog stood at this moment
and poked Hoss in the chest.
"Do
you remember that time Joe brought me outside after that wicked rain
storm?"
Not waiting for an answer, Scruffy continued.
"Not
only did he keep me up all night with his screaming because of a little bit of
thunder and lightening, but then he drops me in that nasty mud hole."
Scruffy’s
eyes seemed to take on the appearance of two pieces of coal glowing in the
dark.
"Like
that wasn’t enough. That little china man shoves me under some hot soapy water
and then rubs my backside up and down that fur-pulling washboard. Do you know
what that feels like? No, of course not. Well, let me
tell you something. My backside hurt like the devil for days on end and all
that little boy could think about was holding on to my leg as he walked around
the mighty Ponderosa swinging me to and fro like a leaf blowing in the wind.
Talk about pain."
Hoss
could see the tears pooling in Scruffy’s eyes as he described what it was like
being a stuffed doggie belonging to a child. His heart went out to the stuffed
critter and he reached to pull him into a hug. Scruffy held up his right paw to
stop him.
"I
ain’t done yet," he snarled, showing his pearly white fangs.
"You
mean there’s more?" questioned Hoss, almost afraid to hear what else the
dog could complain about. He had always thought of Joe loving that stuffed dog,
sometimes more than life itself.
Scruffy
wiped away the cotton filled tears and proceeded. "Do you know what it’s
like to have someone preventing you from breathing? Why that little boy never stops to think
about the way he treats me. Even on the hottest night of the year, he has me
tucked up under his sweaty arm with my face jammed against his damp chest. How
am I suppose to get any sleep, heck he can’t even let me use the pillow?"
Scruffy
stomped his paw to the dirt floor and placed his other two paws on his hips.
"Come on, I’m waiting for an answer." Scruffy thrushed his head
forward and peered into Hoss’ eyes. "You don’t tend to cover for the boy’s
actions now, do you?"
"No,
I reckon I can’t," Hoss managed to stutter. "I can’t speak for the
scamp."
Scruffy
began to pace the floor, stopping to glare at Hoss on occasion. He finally
stopped and spoke again. "I want you to be my new master," the stuffed
dog demanded, pointing his paw at Hoss in emphasis.
"Me?"
questioned Hoss, totally surprised. "Why in tarnations would ya want
me?"
The
doggie hesitated momentarily before answering. "Because you know how to treat
the critters with respect, that’s why," explained Scruffy.
Hoss
squeezed his eyes shut. He opened them slowly and smiled at the tiny stuffed
dog.
"I’m
too old for sleepin’ with stuffed critters, how abouts if I talk to Little Joe
and make him understand how rough he is with ya? Would ya reconsider ya’re
decision?" Hoss kept his fingers crossed as he waited for Scruffy to
answer.
"I
reckon I could give him one more chance, but the first time he starts to bear
handling me, I’m coming to your room."
With
that the little dog strutted across the floor and climbed up on to the chair
near the table.
"I’ll
sleep here for now, giving you a chance to speak to that little brother of
yours. I want some changes taking place before he decides to drag me around by
my ear. Heck if he keeps that up, I am bound to lose one of them."
Scruffy
closed his eyes, indicating to Hoss that the discussion was now over, at least
for the time being.
Little
Joe rudely awakened Hoss, as the boy shook his shoulder. "I’m a gettin’
hungry, Hoss. What’s we gonna do about supper?"
Hoss
rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up. The first thing he did was to look
at the chair near the table and frowned when he saw Scruffy sitting there.
Sighing deeply he questioned his little brother.
"Why
is Scruffy sittin’ over yonder?" he asked pointing to the stuffed animal.
Joe
shrugged his shoulders and replied. "I don’t know, didn’t you put him
there?"
Hoss
shook his head to help clear the remainder of his so-called dream and went in
search of something more appetizing to eat than what they had eaten earlier in
the day.
Ben
was totally disgusted with the way his day had begun. Now instead of getting
the work finished that he and Adam had planned on doing, they had to go in
search of his two youngest sons.
"Come on Adam," said Ben as he reached for
his hat and buckled his sidearm on. "We better find those two before it
gets dark, for sure it isn’t going to get much warmer today and if we don’t find
them soon, both of them will be sick over the holidays.
Adam grabbed his hat and gun and followed his father
out the door. Adam was put out about his brother’s sudden disappearance but he
had to admit to himself, he found it rather amusing. He had tried to warn his
father, but had he listened? No. Now his father was on the verge of having a
full-blown temper tantrum of his own making. Adam didn’t like to see his father
get that mad, but Adam also had to fight the urge not to be telling his father,
‘I told you so’.
Father and son had no trouble picking up the younger
boys’ trail. It was obvious that they had taken the buckboard, and after
checking the barn and seeing all of their critters missing, they were aware
that the younger two had somehow managed to carry off their menagerie of
animals as well.
Ben and Adam followed the trail for most of the
afternoon and by the time they arrived at the line shack, both were well past
going. Tired and grumpy, they dismounted and tied their horses to some low hanging
branches a short distance away and slowly approached the shack. Adam had
suggested that they take the boys by surprise, seeing first what they might be
up to. Curiosity was eating away at him, wondering what his brothers were doing
with all of their critters here at the shack. It didn’t take him long to find
out. As he and his father stepped onto the porch, animals of all sorts came out
of nowhere.
"Stop!" squawked the big tom turkey,
taking Adam by surprise.
"Back off this porch, ya good fur nuthin’ low
down piece of pond scum!" the old fat goose shouted at Ben.
Ben took a step backward and looked at Adam who had
also retreated a step. His son had the same look on
his face as Ben was sure he wore on his own, disbelief, shock, uncertainty,
bewilderment and a bit of fear.
"Adam…son, do you see what I see, or is it just
me?" Ben spoke softly, looking in his son’s direction but keeping a
watchful eye on what he thought he was seeing on the porch. ‘A
talking turkey? And a goose?’ thought Ben. Ben rubbed his eyes, thinking
that might help clear away the scene before him.
Adam chanced a glance at his father but also watched Tom Turkey who seemed to
be advancing on him.
"Did you hear what I heard? Or are we both
losing our minds? This can’t be real…can it, Pa?" Adam asked,
his voice sounding much like his youngest brother’s did when he was in serious
doubt about something. That is what Adam decided he was in, serious doubt!
"I don’t know, son," started Ben and then
took more steps backwards as he saw several fat rabbits advancing on him.
One large rabbit wiggled his nose up at Ben. Ben
stood as if hypnotized by the bunny’s wiggly nose.
"See this here foot?" said the big rabbit
holding up a stump where a leg had once been, "I lost it in one of your snares!"
The other rabbits made rumbling sounds that came
from deep within their throats, and Ben took another step backward and
scratched his head.
Ben came to his senses, or he thought he did,
"Umm…I’m sorry about that," stammered Ben, not knowing what else to
say.
Adam turned worried eyes on his father, "Pa!
You’re talking to a stupid rabbit! And rabbits can’t talk!"
"Well, neither can turkeys, but we both heard
them didn’t we? Well? Didn’t we?" Ben was becoming unglued, something was terribly
wrong with his world and he began to sweat despite the cool breeze that seemed
to whisper throughout the tall pines that circled the old shack.
"Hey smart guy," Adam turned his head to
face the turkey and pointed to himself.
"Yeah, you, in black. Who you calling
STUPID?" shouted the turkey and made a dive for Adam.
Adam saw the large bird closing in on him and turned
to run but the turkey was quick to catch up with him and before Adam knew what
had gotten a hold of him, the tom grabbed his backside and held on.
"
Yeoweeee!" screamed Adam as he tried to run for
cover, hands swatting behind him at the big bird that refused to release it’s hold on his rear end.
Ben watched as his son fled and decided that he had
better join his son as soon as possible. But when he turned to follow, Ben
stumbled over the raccoon that had suddenly appeared from out of no where. When
Ben hit the ground the rabbits who had been watching from the porch, began
jumping on his back, up and down, up and down. The old goose honked in his ear
and began nipping at Ben’s ear lobes. Ben struggled to get up but the squirrels
had joined in the fun and one ran up Ben’s trouser leg causing Ben to roll
about the ground in the dust.
"Get off me you dad burn furry little
rodents," snapped Ben trying to rise to his feet.
Ben began flinging around his leg attempting to
shake the squirrel out of his pants leg. He wasn’t having any luck, what with
the goose flapping her wings and honking in his ears, the rabbits jumping all
over his body, he did the only thing he could think of, and that was to yell
for help.
"ADAM!
GET BACK HERE, NOW!"
Adam was still running around the yard trying to
shake the turkey from his butt and as he past by his father he kicked out at
the goose. The goose that was caught unaware landed on the porch honking
loudly.
"Murderer!" she screamed.
"Come on boys, let’s get’em," and the
goose flew off the porch after Adam.
Adam ran for his horse, finally having gotten free
from Tom Turkey and ran quickly as the rabbits, squirrels, raccoon, boar, who
by the way had been sitting on the porch laughing at the two men, all chased
after the fleeing young man.
Adam was quick to
Ben saw his chance to make his break and ran to
Buck, who was dancing around, frightened by all that had been going on. Ben was
finally able to mount his horse and headed off in the other direction hopefully
to meet up with his older son later.
The animals gave up the chase and returned to the
porch to stand guard over the two young boys who had saved their lives. A sense
of pride in their new duty filled each animal as they stood at attention facing
Tom Turkey.
"Good work men, and ladies," Tom smiled at
Mother Goose. “I think this calls for a song, shall
we?"
And the sound of their singing filled the cool
evening air, and those who believed could hear the victory song that they sang.
Bear and Boar and how many more?
Have fought to stay alive.
With a gun and a rope, and a hat full of hope,
They hunted us down from here to town,
We are the critters of the mighty Ponderosa!
Deer and Elk, coon and rabbit,
Cartwrights are their names,
Snarin’ and killin’ are their habits
But all of us have ended their game
We are the critters of the mighty Ponderosa!
Adam and Ben rode home in silence, neither man
wanted to talk about what had happened to them at the line shack. In truth,
neither man was sure if anything really had happened. Adam knew his rear end
was sore, and his black trousers had a piece missing in the exact spot where
his butt hurt. Adam glanced at his father and said not a word. Ben seemed lost
in his own world, and Adam wondered what his father was thinking.
"Pa?" Adam rode up beside Ben and reached
out to touch his father’s arm. Ben jumped when he felt Adam’s hand touch him.
"I’m sorry, son, I was thinking…You don’t suppose…"started
Ben and then shook his head. "No, I know I’m not
dreaming, I’m here, out in the middle of nowhere, cold, tired, angry at your
brothers and I hurt all over…This isn’t a dream…is it Adam?" Ben pulled
Buck to a stop and turned to face Adam.
Adam stopped his horse and rubbed his behind.
"More like a nightmare, Pa, than a dream. It sure feels real at least to
my butt it does, but how? They sure didn’t teach us anything in college about
things like this."
Ben gently kicked his horse forward. "Let’s ride, maybe those two young scamps are home by now. I didn’t
see anything going on at the shack, except for those…no, I’m just going to
pretend that never happened," said Ben and stopped once again. "Adam,
I think it would be best if neither of us said anything about this to anyone,
especially your brothers."
"I agree,
Adam smiled at his father, glad that they were in
agreement with each other. He would just have to let Hop Sing think he had
ripped his trousers on a nail or something, he knew the little man would find
the hole in his pants when the laundry was washed.
When Adam and his father arrived home it was very
late. Quickly they put their horses in the barn and cared for their needs.
"I’m going to bed, son, I suggest you do the
same. We will worry about your brothers in the morning. For now we know they
are safe at the shack."
Ben left Adam in the great room and slowly climbed
the stairs to his room. When Adam heard his father’s bedroom door close, he
reached for the brandy bottle. Not taking the time to find a glass, he turned
it up to his lips and swallowed several large gulps.
"I could take up drinking after a night like
this," he told himself as he placed the stopper back on the bottle and
returned it to its place.
Adam climbed the stairs, each step taking more effort than the last. All the while, Adam rubbed his sore bottom and tried to find a logical explanation for what he had seen and heard earlier. As he approached Joe’s room, he paused and opened the door to peer inside. The room was spotless; Hop Sing must have found the mess and cleaned it up after they had left to search for the two missing boys. Adam turned to close the door and caught his reflection in the mirror; he looked pale, tired, and haggard. When Adam turned his head from the mirror, he saw his reflection looking back at him and suddenly the face in the mirror winked at him. Adam quickly slammed the door shut and standing in the hall drew his breath in deeply, trying to fill his lungs. The only thing that Adam could figure was that he had downed the brandy much to quickly and now his mind was fogging from the strong drink. Practically running to his room and wanting this night to end, he quickly stripped his clothes and with nothing more than the flesh on his bones, crawled into bed and fell into a fitful sleep.
Adam
awoke to the bright sun shining through his window. Surprised that he had slept
later than normally, he quickly rose from his warm bed. When he was standing on
his feet, he stretched, it had been a long night and sleep had not come easy
for the young man. He kept having visions of run away boys and talking animals,
self images that winked at him, yes, it had been a long night and now Adam
wasn’t sure if he could tell what had been real and what had not been real.
Adam
filled the large wash bowl with the fresh water that Hop Sing had left earlier
that morning and washed the sleep from his eyes and shaved. Today was
Thanksgiving and already delicious aromas were emitting themselves from the
kitchen and making their way up the stairs. It all smelled wonderful to Adam
and he could not wait to meet his family at the table.
‘Better
hurry,’ thought Adam to himself as he reached for a clean pair of black
trousers and started to pull them on.
"Oh
damn," swore Adam to himself as he turned his backside to the mirror to
see what had caused the pain in his rear.
Adam
turned so that he could view his backside in the mirror and was surprised to
see the large bruise that was on his right cheek. Gently he rubbed the sore
spot and suddenly remembered that a talking turkey had bitten him. ‘
No,
just a turkey,’ he told himself, ‘just a plain everyday old gobbler, turkeys do
not talk.
When
Adam reached the table, his father sat alone sipping his coffee. As Adam sat
down, Ben looked up and greeted his son with a bright smile.
"Good
morning, sleepy head. Did you sleep well?" Ben said, appearing to Adam to
be just a little too cheerful.
"Not
really, did you?" Adam sipped his coffee and watched his father.
"Yes,
thank you. I slept like a log, nothing bothered me all night, not even those
old hoot owls that have roosted in the trees outside of Joe’s window,"
smiled Ben.
Adam
was having trouble thinking clearly and decided not to bring up the subject of
what had happened the previous night. His father seemed different this morning;
perhaps he was making a great attempt to put the incident behind him so Adam
decided that he had better do the same. He didn’t want anything to spoil today.
"Sure
smells good in here, don’t you think, Pa?" Adam asked, trying to make
conversation and keep his mind moving forward instead of retreating backwards.
"Most
certainly does. I hope Hop Sing fixed enough, you know we have lots of company
coming today?" Ben said and wiped his mouth and stood. "Well, better
get busy, I want everything finished before everyone starts arriving.
"I’ll
go start my chores and then we can go…" started Adam and then stopped not
sure whether to mention his missing brothers or not.
“Go
where, son?" questioned Ben, turning to look at his son.
"Umm,
go…get cleaned up," Adam stammered and reached for his hat and left for the
barn before his father could question him further.
When
Adam opened the barn door and walked in, he was surprised to see both of his
younger brothers tending to their regular chores. He stopped in his tracks as
he surveyed the barn and saw that all of his brothers’ critters were back as
well, each in their own little cages. Without a word to either of his siblings,
Adam walked to the rear door of the barn, opened it and stuck his head out. The
pen where the old tom had been kept for fattening was empty. Adam stood where
he was and did not say a word, thousands of thoughts and unanswered questions
poured into his mind, causing him to shutter.
"Hey,
Adam," called Hoss who had been watching his older brother ever since he
had come into the barn.
Hoss
tossed Joe a worried looked and Joe held his hands up, questioning the eldest
Cartwright son’s peculiar behavior.
Adam,"
repeated Hoss, "Are ya okay?" Hoss asked and stepped closer to Adam.
"What?
I’m sorry, Hoss, what did you say?" Adam turned from the door and closed
it.
"He
said are ya okay?" Little Joe answered for Hoss. "Ya sure are actin’
funny this mornin’," he added.
"I’m
okay, what happened to the turkey?" Adam asked as he started his chores.
"Aw,
Adam, don’t ya remember what today is? It’s Thanksgivin’. Hop Sing dun rung
that ole gobbler’s neck and got him on acookin’," beamed Little Joe.
The
rest of the morning and afternoon became a blur to Adam. He finished his chores
and decided to join his father for an early lunch. Things just didn’t seem
right to him and he found himself questioning his sanity. He remembered
drinking the brandy late last night. Perhaps that was the cause for these
strange feelings he was having. At any rate, coffee would help so he made his
way to the house.
Ben
was reading his paper, and smoking his pipe when Adam entered. ‘He looks so
rested,’ thought Adam. ‘I wish I felt that way.’
"Hey,
Ben
lowered his paper and watched Adam.
"The
boys returned? Where did they go?" Ben wondered out loud.
Adam’s
face took on a startled expression. "Where did they go? You know where
they went."
"Adam,
son, if I knew where they went, I wouldn’t have to be asking you, now would
I?" said Ben, wondering what was going on with his oldest. It wasn’t like
him to seem so addled.
Adam
stared at his father. No words were forthcoming for several seconds.
"Pa,
I think I’ll go lay down for a spell. If I’m not up in a couple of hours, will
you waked me before our guests start arriving?"
"Of
course son, have a nice nap. You do look sorta beat, son. Are you sure you’re
feeling okay?" Ben was concerned about his oldest.
"I’m
fine, thanks."
And
with that, Adam went to his room and stretched out across the bed falling
instantly to sleep. An
hour later Adam was awoken by the sounds of the first guests arriving in the
yard. He hurried to make himself presentable and joined his father
downstairs. His brothers were already welcoming the first arrivals and Hop Sing
began immediately to bring the meal to the table. It was only a matter of
minutes before the rest of the company arrived and Ben asked that they all
gather around the table, each taking their designated seats. Little Joe and
Hoss had worked for hours on making name cards for the table and they were more
than willing to help each guest find his or her place.
Adam
was the last to be seated at the opposite end of the table from his father. As
he started to sit down, he noticed the small pillow that had been placed in his
seat. Turning questioning eyes at his father, Ben smiled slightly.
"Just
in case you’re still sore from where that turkey nipped you in the bud last
night when you went to give him his last meal."
Adam
returned the smile with a weak smile of his own and sat down.
He
glanced around the room and smiled in satisfaction, it really was turning out
to be a good day. And then one guest opened his mouth to speak; Adam’s mouth
dropped opened as he turned startled eyes in the direction of the speaker. The
voice he heard sounded just like the sound make by the…no…not the talking
turkey!
Tom
Turkish was an old friend of Ben’s and living alone he had been invited to join
them for the holiday. Adam cast wary eyes around the table, Martha Goosenberry
sat across from Hoss, Stumpy Haire, his wife, Bunnie, and three of their
children sat on the other side of the table. Adam swallowed hard, Rick Koon, a
close friend of his brother Hoss, had also been invited, and with him was
another friend known to all that knew him as ‘Hambone’ Boarman.
Adam
looked at the last guests, Mr. and Mrs. Egbert McShiken, who had only been in
Adam
reached for his wineglass and not waiting for his father to make a toast,
downed it in one swallow and quickly refilled his goblet. Without wanting to
bring attention to him self, with his napkin he swiped at the beads of sweat
that had suddenly and without notice formed on his brow. Realization had set
in, what he had experienced the night before had been a dream, no, thought
Adam; a nightmare would be more like it. Each guest and family member had
played a part in his nightmare beginning from Joe’s screams that the animals
were going to kill all of them. Finally, the missing pieces of the puzzle had
fallen into place.
Ben
bowed his head and gave thanks to the Almighty for bringing together his
friends to share in a wonderful Thanksgiving with his family. As he finished
the prayer he looked at each of his sons and smiled, silently adding his thanks
for their being.
Ben
stood and picked up the carving set. It was one that had been in his family for
as long as he could remember. He jabbed the fork into the turkey and that
precise moment, Little Joe yelped out as if in pain.
‘Gobble,
gobble, gobble,’ he cried and was quick to follow with his infectious laugh.
Ben
frowned at his youngest but felt the corners of his mouth twitch before
erupting with his own laughter. The guests had joined in laughing as Little Joe
fought to stay in his chair.
No
one noticed how Adam’s hands trembled slightly as he held the platter for his
father to place the carvings on. That is, no one except Hoss. He gave Adam one
of his gapped tooth grins and burst out singing, Little Joe quick to join in.
On
this land, they put their brand
Cartwright
was their name.
They
killed our friends,
And
ate our kin,
But
they’ll ner’ do that again!
Brothers
Hoss and Joe
They
both know
A
plan to save the day
They
worked it out a special way
Now
Pa and Adam’ll hav’ta pay.
Bear and Boar and how many more?
Have fought to stay alive.
With a gun and a rope, And
a hat full of hope,
They hunted us down from here to town,
We are the critters of the mighty Ponderosa!
Deer and Elk, coon and rabbit,
Cartwrights are their names,
Snarin’ and killin’ are their habits
But all of us have ended their game
We are the critters of the mighty Ponderosa!
Hoss
and Little Joe bowed as the captivated audience clapped and cheered their
enjoyment of the little song that the boys had performed. Ben shook his head,
sporting a large grin on his face. ‘Those boys of mine never cease to amaze
me,’ he thought as he finished with the turkey.
Adam
had paled considerably and leaned back against the chair. He closed his eyes
and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘This can’t be happening,’ he thought as he
recognized the melody from what he believed to be his dream. ‘If this day would
only end now, I would be the happiest man on this ranch.’
Hoss
nudged Adam in his side, snapping Adam back from his thoughts. He returned the
smile that Hoss gave him and passed the turkey on to his father’s guests. Ben
threw him a puzzled look and Adam simply shrugged his shoulders. Curiosity got
the best of him and he leaned over to Hoss.
"Answer
one question for me, please," he seemed to beg his younger brother.
Hoss
nodded and waited for Adam to continue.
"Where
did you and Little Joe learn that song?" asked Adam, almost afraid to know
the answer.
Hoss’
laughter filled the room, bringing silence to the table. In between bouts of
laughter, Hoss managed to reply.
"Don’t
ya remember, Adam? Last week Little Joe and I wanted to surprise Pa with a
jingle and you offered to help when we done got stuck for words."
Adam
closed his eyes and then opened them slowly.
"Yea,
now I remember." was all that was said as the two younger brothers burst
into another round of giggles. This time Adam, feeling immensely relieved,
joined in as well.
The End
November 2001
HAPPY
THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!