Doc's
by
Leesa Olson
and
Judy Schneck
Creative Consultant
Wrangler
People were spewing out of
Ben Cartwright and his three
sons, Adam, Hoss, and Joseph, had just managed their way around one group of
adults and children when Ben spotted longtime friends, Roy Coffee, the town's
sheriff and Paul Martin, Virginia City's long time physician, chatting
together.
"Ben, boys, good
morning," said
"Morning Roy, Paul,"
replied Ben as his family walked up to the two men.
"Good to see you all this
glorious morning," said the doctor, smiling, "I was sure that you
were out of town, Little Joe, haven't been called out to the Ponderosa in at
least two weeks to patch you up!"
The group laughed
good-naturedly, all except Little Joe, whose face flushed a bit. Ben put a hand
on his youngest son's shoulder and grinned at him, causing Joe to smile.
"
It was common knowledge that
Little Joe Cartwright was one of Doctor Martin's most frequent, and one of his
most favorite, patients. Not to mention the fact that he was one of the first,
for he had been present at the boy's birth, almost eighteen years earlier.
"So, what's new in town,
Roy?" asked Adam, the eldest of the Cartwright boys.
"Not too much,
Adam," said
Little Joe and Hoss immediately
stopped smiling and looked down. Ben noticed and smiled to himself. They had
not been allowed into town since they had gotten into a bar fight a couple of
weeks ago. Although damage to the boys was minimal, they wound up owing the
Bucket of Blood Saloon seventy-five dollars for repairs and twenty dollars each
for bail, after the sheriff had arrested them. Since then, under their father's
scrutiny, they had been working very hard at their ranch, the Ponderosa,
earning extra wages to pay the expenses. Ben had made sure there was no time
for more trouble.
"Couple of drifters came
in, but they both got jobs at the Lucky Dollar Mine, other than that, things
been pretty calm," added
"Well, I can assure you,
Roy, that the next time these two come into Virginia City, things will remain
calm," said Ben sternly, looking at his sons.
While the embarrassed brothers
were still looking down at the ground, the doctor changed the subject and said
brightly, "Well, I hope you continue to stay in one piece, Joe. I'll be
out of town for a few days, and even though Dan Walker will be here from Reno
to cover things for me, I don't want to have to hear he'll never come back to
help again because you've kept him busy!"
"Paul?" said Ben,
"Where are you off to?"
"Well, Ben, as I was just
telling
"Hmmm," Ben was
thoughtful for a moment, "How about
"Yeah, Doc," added
Hoss enthusiastically, "Them fish was so eager to be caught they were
practically jumping right out of the water."
"Sounds like a good spot,
but I don't know if I could find my way up there," said the doctor,
looking a little wary.
"Tell you what,
Paul," Ben said, "Hoss and Joe still have some extra chores to take
care of and as I need Hoss around to help with the roof repairs, how about
going up that way with Joseph? He'll be heading out tomorrow morning to take
supplies to some of the line shacks and there's one near the lake that he'll
have to stop at. I'm sure he'll be happy to escort you. The cabin at
"In that case, I'd like
to make a reservation!" exclaimed the doctor, smiling.
Hoss looked relieved, even
though fixing the roof was not an easy chore, but Little Joe looked stricken.
Supplying the line shacks was one of their least favorite jobs, but Joe would
do anything for Paul Martin, so he swallowed his protest and said, "Sure,
Doc, I'll be happy to show you up that way. Who knows? Maybe I could help you
catch a couple."
Frowning, Ben said,
"Joseph, this is a working trip. You'll have plenty to do."
Joe hung his head so his
father wouldn't see his disappointment, "Yes Sir," he said glumly.
"But," Ben
continued, "Should you get those line shacks supplied before Paul is ready
to head back, I guess a day or two of fishing wouldn't hurt anything. I want
Paul back and not wandering around up there lost for a couple of months!"
He knew that Doc rarely, if ever, took any time off and he wanted to make sure
he enjoyed himself. With that, he started laughing and noticed Joe giving him a
tentative grin.
"You mean it, Pa?"
asked Joe.
"You just get your work
done first, young man, and worry about the fishing later," he replied.
Turning to the others, he suggested that Paul head out to the ranch that day.
He would then have time to enjoy one of Hop Sing's delicious Sunday dinners and
be ready to leave with Little Joe first thing in the morning.
Doctor Martin agreed, thinking
that would be a good way to start his fishing trip. He was happy that Little
Joe would be accompanying him. It would be good to have a little 'healthy' time
with him. The time he usually spent with the youngest Cartwright was too often
during an illness or some other medical crisis.
Shaking hands all around, the
group broke up and Paul promised to be on his way to the ranch just as soon as
he informed his temporary replacement of his plans. He was also glad that the
sheriff was there and knew where he was going. He wanted to be able to be
reached in case of an emergency. After telling
The Cartwright family had
mounted their horses and were on their way home as the two old friends started
to walk down
"Sheriff! Sheriff Coffee!
Come quick! There's been a break-in at the bank!" the man exclaimed,
panting heavily from his run.
"Whoa now, Tom,"
said
"Was anybody hurt?"
asked the doctor.
"No, sir," said Tom,
"somebody broke open the front door; being Sunday morning, with nobody
around, they just walked in pretty as you please and helped themselves. The
safe door was wide open!"
"Tom, you go fetch Jim
Clark, President of the Bank," ordered
"Matt already went,
Sheriff, he ran after him while I was fetchin' you, should be there by the time
we are," he said.
Realizing what he had said was
true, Dr. Martin nodded and told
>>>>>>>>>>
A few hours later, Paul pulled
up in front of the main house of the Ponderosa and was warmly greeted by Ben
and Hoss.
"Well, Paul," said
Ben, "I'm glad you didn't change your mind about your trip! Dinner will be
ready in about an hour, so you have time to freshen up and we can have
something to drink before we eat."
"Sounds wonderful,
Ben," said Paul.
"Hey, Doc," said
Hoss, "I'll take care of your rig and horse."
"Thanks, Hoss, but it's
not 'Doc', I'm just going to be Paul Martin for a few days," he replied.
"I ain't never called you
nuthin' but Doc, don't think I can stop now!" Hoss answered. "So I
hope ya don't mind that I do anyway."
"That's okay, Hoss, I
guess it comes with the job," said Paul, chuckling.
"Hoss," said Ben,
"after you finish, see if your brothers have the supplies for the line
shacks organized and we'll all sit down and relax before dinner."
"Sure thing, Pa,"
and Hoss was on his way towards the barn.
All the members of the
Cartwright family had just assembled in the living room when their guest made
his way down the stairs. Ben had just poured some drinks.
"You know, Ben, boys,
this life of leisure may just have something to it," said Paul, accepting
the drink, and seating himself in the soft blue chair near the fireplace.
"Oh, I don't know, Paul,
I think being the kind of person you are, you'd get bored rather quickly,"
said Ben, as he handed him a drink.
"Well, we'll find
out!" he said, laughing.
Little Joe raised his glass
and gave a toast, "Here's to Doc's time off, may he catch so many fish
that the packs on the horses will be just as full on the way home as they are
right now!"
Everyone in the room raised
their glasses and laughed.
"Before we get carried
away, I thought I'd better tell you what went on in town this morning during
church," and Paul solemnly proceeded to inform them of what happened.
"Does
"Not as of when I left,”
replied Paul.
"Pa, maybe Hoss and I
ought to ride into town and see if
Ben paused for a moment,
"Well, why don't you wait till after dinner and if he needs any help, we
can join him in the morning. If you leave now, I'm sure Hop Sing will not be
very happy, he's been cooking all day."
"You're right Pa,"
said Hoss, "we sure don't want to upset ole Hop Sing any." Hoss was
quick to agree because he worried that someday his favorite cook would carry
out his threat when he was upset and quit and go back to
Just as he finished, Hop Sing
came around the corner from the kitchen and announced that dinner was ready and
that everybody should come to the table quickly, before it was ruined.
"We're comin' Hop
Sing," Hoss called over, "I'm starved and it smells
deeeelicious!"
"We'd better follow soon,
Doc," said Little Joe grinning, "You know when Hoss here decides he's
hungry, it's every man for himself!"
Dinner conversation that
evening was lively. Paul Martin was considered almost a member of the family,
and he knew a lot of the goings on around the Ponderosa. He was always
interested in what was happening. Plus, there was speculation on the bank
robbery in town. They were just finishing dessert when Adam said, "Well, I
guess Hoss and I will head back into town and see if
"I'll saddle the
horses," said Joe.
"Who said you were going
along?" inquired Adam.
"Well, I thought I'd come
along and see if …," Little Joe stopped short as he realized his father
was gazing at him with the 'look' that told Joe in no uncertain terms, that he
wasn't going anywhere.
"Joseph," said Ben
in a tone that matched the look, "you have plenty to do right here tonight
if you're going to be ready to leave first thing in the morning."
"But, Pa," Joe
started anyway, hoping for a chance to go to town.
"No buts, son," Ben
stopped him in his tracks.
"Yes, sir," muttered
Little Joe, defeated.
"But Hoss and I will take
you up on that offer to saddle our horses," said Adam with a wry smile.
"Yeah, thanks there
little brother, it'll give me a chance to have one more piece of pie before we
go," added Hoss, with a big grin on his face.
Knowing he was outnumbered and
that he had opened his big mouth, Little Joe asked to be excused and headed off
to the barn to get his brothers' horses ready.
“How do I get myself into this? Hoss and Adam get to go into town and probably join a posse, having all the excitement and what do I get to do? Saddle their horses!” Joe griped to himself. “Oh well, at least while they’re chasing bank robbers or working here, I’ll be out fishing and relaxing with Doc. After I finish stocking the line shacks, that is, but I’m sure I can do a fast job of that, with a couple of days off as motivation!”
>>>>>>>>
Hoss
and Adam had made it into
“I
know which direction they headed and I’m takin’ a posse and startin’ after ‘em
tonight, while we still have a couple of hours of daylight. Adam, you and Hoss
gonna be able ta join up with me?”
“Of
course,
“Thanks,
fellas. We have a few others goin’ with us and as soon as they get here, we’ll
head out,”
In
short order, all members of the posse were on their way out of
As nightfall descended upon the determined posse, they were forced to make camp. They were certain they were on the right path and wanted to get a good night’s sleep, so that they would be fresh in the morning to continue their pursuit.
As
they spread out their bedrolls around the campfire,
“They sure ‘nough don’t seem to be travelin’ very fast,” Hoss added his observation, “so I imagine we’ll come across ‘em tomorrow sometime.”
“Yeah,” Adam continued, “it’s almost as if they think no one is even lookin’ for them as slow as they’re going.”
The
men of the posse were soon settled down to sleep. While most of the posse were
trying for some shut-eye, some had been designated as guards to stand watch,
just in case an unwelcome visitor came into camp. There really wasn’t much
chance of the bandits coming upon them in the night, but
>>>>>>>>
Back at the Ponderosa, Ben, Doc and Little Joe were also preparing to turn in for the night. Joe was doing a little grumbling once he realized that his brothers wouldn’t be returning home. “It’s not fair, Pa! Adam and Hoss must have joined the posse. I could have gone with them. Now, I’ll be workin’ supplyin’ some of the line shacks, while they’re out having fun catching bank robbers. I even had to load up the wagon myself since Hoss left for town without doing it like you asked him to.”
“Joseph,” Ben frowned, lecturing Joe, “I hardly consider hunting down bank robbers fun. And it didn’t kill you to load that wagon.” Ben then softened his tone and added, “Besides, just think about the fun you’ll be having, relaxing and fishing with Paul, while your brothers are at home catching up on the chores they got behind on while having a good time chasing bank robbers.”
A smile spread across Joe’s face then, “You’re right, Pa! That is something to think about!”
The youngest Cartwright’s mood could change in the blink of an eye, something that had always amazed Ben. The father smiled as his son bid them good night and headed off to bed, wanting to get plenty of rest in preparation for the early start in the morning. Ben and Paul gave up on the evening a short time after Joe had turned in. They were soon settled in their rooms and fell off to sleep with little difficulty. The fresh air and quiet of being away from the city were especially relaxing for Dr. Martin. It had been ages since he had slept as well as he did that night.
>>>>>>
The next morning, as Dr. Martin and Joe were departing for Grass Lake, the posse members were back on the trail of the bank robbers. They had been searching for a couple of hours, when at last, luck was with them.
Matt, who had been riding ahead a ways, raced back to the others and said, “I spotted riders about a half mile ahead. Looked to be about four of ‘em. If we hurry, we can catch up with them before they hit the high country. It’ll be near about impossible to trail them through that rocky terrain.”
Spurring their horses, the posse were soon in hot pursuit of the thieves. As they drew closer, Roy gave a signal and everyone split up, hoping to come at them from all sides. Obviously being tipped off by the approaching posse, the bandits spurred their horses faster. The chase was short, as the posse caught up and all riders on both sides dismounted and ran for cover.
Within moments, shots were being fired from both the posse and the robbers. The gunfight was fast and furious. Matt was the first to fall victim to a well aimed shot. He clutched his side and writhed in pain. Tom was the next to become a target. His gun dropped from his hand as he was hit in the shoulder.
The posse had no time to celebrate as they saw one of the bandits hit the ground when a bullet found its mark. They had to keep firing. Suddenly, Adam fell to the dirt, a red stain blossoming on his pant leg.
“Adam!” Hoss shouted, “Roy, we got three men down now, we’re the only two left. I gotta help Adam and the others.”
As Roy and Hoss gave up the fight in order to aid the injured, the bandits took advantage of the lull in gunfire to make their escape. Leaving their fallen comrade, the other three mounted their horses and headed further into the hills. Seeing them go, Roy squeezed off a few more shots, one of which hit a fleeing robber.
Holstering his weapon to check Matt’s wound, Roy told Hoss, “I hit one of them varmints as they ran away. He stayed on his horse, but it looked like he was hit pretty bad. At least with the one we kilt, there are only three of them left and that one carrying a slug will slow ‘em down considerably.”
“That’s good news, Roy, cause we’re gonna have ta let ‘em go for now so’s we can get these three back to town and let Dr. Walker fix ‘em up. Tom’s wound ain’t too bad, the bullet went clean through. I think Adam will make it all right, too, if we can get him to the doc, but Matt’s in a bad way. Hit right in the side, no way of knowing if anything important was hit, but we gotta get him back quick,” Hoss explained to Roy. He had looked over each of the injured men, bandaging them with neckcloths and handkerchiefs as best he could.
“Yeah, no way just one of us can get all three of ‘em back to town alone. We’re gonna have to start over hunting down them robbers after getting these three some help,” Roy agreed. “Reckon we better take the one we kilt with us. You get our men ready to travel the best they can and I’ll get the dead slung over his saddle so’s we can take him back to town. Least ways we may get a clue as to who we’re lookin’ for when we check out his bags.”
>>>>>>>
As Roy and Hoss were readying to go back to Virginia City with the dead and injured, the three robbers were putting as much distance between themselves and the posse as they could.
“Sam, we gotta slow down,” Jack said to the man in the lead, “Dean’s hit pretty bad. He can’t take this fast pace.”
“Look,” Sam replied, “we already lost Al back there. Maybe we should leave Dean, too. The posse will take him back to town and get him some help.”
Dean objected, “No, I can make it. I’d just as soon take my chances with this bullet as with the posse. Besides, we hit a couple of them back there, if anyone dies they’ll charge us with murder. So let’s keep goin’.”
“Well, I did hear around town that the doctor went on a little holiday anyhow, fishin’ or somethin’,” Jack agreed, “so, guess it wouldn’t do much good for them to take ya to town anyway.”
“Sure wish I knew where he was fishin’ at, cause I’d love to have this bullet taken out,” Dean lamented, “It hurts somethin’ fierce.”
“Yeah, well, maybe we’ll get lucky and run across him,” Sam said without conviction, “In the meantime, let’s keep movin’!”
>>>>>>>
While the posse was battling the outlaws, Joe drove the Cartwright wagon with Dr. Martin sitting next to him. They made casual conversation as they traveled towards Grass Lake and the cabin which the doctor would call his home away from home for the next few days. Joe had known the doctor his entire life, having been brought into the world by the man, and he had always found him easy to talk to, providing his health wasn’t the topic of conversation. Whenever that subject had arisen over the years, Joe’s standard answer to the man, when asked how he felt, was “fine”, no matter how badly he might be hurting. This time, Dr. Martin was on holiday, so the topics they discussed remained light and fun and Joe enjoyed the man’s companionship.
When at last they reached the cabin, Joe helped Paul settle in. He showed him where everything was kept, and made sure the cabinets were well stocked from the supplies he had on the wagon.
“I’m impressed, Little Joe,” Paul told the boy, “This is really nice. Your pa was right, it is more a cabin than a line shack. Look, even the woodboxes are filled!”
“Oh yeah,” Joe replied, “ every time we stay here, Pa insists that we fill both the fireplace box and the kitchen one before we go, so it’ll be ready for the next time and we don’t have to worry with it when we first get here. That way we can just go right to fishin’.”
“Ah, good thinking. Leave it to Ben to think of everything.”
Joe grinned, “Yeah, that’s Pa, all right. Well, Doc, if you’re all set, I guess I better get to taking these supplies to the other line shacks in the area. The sooner I get started, the sooner I can get back here and teach you how to fish!”
“Teach me?! Why I’ll have you know, I was an expert fisherman long before you were born, Boy!” Paul laughed. “Go on now, get your work finished. Then when you get back, I’ll teach YOU to fish!”
As he went out the door, Joe waved and said, “Have fun, Doc, see ya in a day or so. You better have a good fish dinner waiting for me or I’ll know you were making it up about bein’ an expert fisherman!” With that, the young Cartwright left to go about his assigned chores, leaving the doctor to relax for the first time in months.
>>>>>>>
With impassioned haste, Roy and Hoss had managed to get their fellow posse members back to Virginia City, delivering them to Dr. Walker. He was busily tending to his first patients in his temporary practice. Tom was easy to fix up; all he required was having his shoulder wound cleaned out and a few stitches put in. Adam’s injury was a little more precarious to take care of; the doctor had to remove the bullet before he could stitch the wound closed. Matt required much more serious care; Dr. Walker had to perform surgery on him in order to repair the damage caused by the bullet that had torn into his left side.
Hoss had been pacing in the waiting room while the doctor worked on his three patients. At last Dr. Walker came from the back room to fill him in on the other posse members.
“Well, I believe they’re all going to make it,” the doctor informed him. “Tom will be able to head on home tonight, provided he takes it easy. I’ll just want him to rest here a little longer. Adam will need to stay here until morning, and then he may go home, too. He’ll need to stay in bed for a week, giving that leg time to heal before he’s able to get around on crutches. If I can be guaranteed he’ll follow my instructions, I’ll release him in the morning.”
“Oh, I can promise ya he’ll do just like you say, Doc,” Hoss said, “Our pa will see to that, believe me.”
“All right, Hoss, I’ll take your word on that. As for Matt, he’ll need to stay here for a few days. Luckily, nothing vital was hit by the bullet, but he did lose a lot of blood and I’ll want to watch him for infection,” the doctor finished explaining each of the injuries.
“Thanks, Doc, for everything,” Hoss said. “Now, I reckon I better get out to the ranch and let Pa know what’s happened. I’ll see ya in the mornin’ when we come to fetch my brother, Dr. Walker.” Hoss then shook the man’s hand and left the office.
He ran into Sheriff Coffee as he was leaving and filled him in on the condition of each of the men. It set Roy’s mind at ease a little to learn that all of them would pull through. They had willingly helped him track down the robbers and he would have been aggrieved if any of them had died of their wounds.
“Glad to hear they’ll all be fine, Hoss, real glad,” Roy told him. “I just come from over to the funeral home where Bill Thresher was laying out the body. I didn’t look at him none too good out where the shootin’ took place cause we were in a hurry to get the others back here, but now I was able to see that it was Al Simpson. He was always runnin’ around with the Jenkins brothers, Jack and Dean, along with Sam Johnson, so I bet anything those are the fellas we’re looking for. They’ve all gotten in some minor trouble over the years, but I sure ‘nough never expected nothin’ like bank robbery from any of them.” Roy shook his head, disappointed that the robbers turned out to be some of his own town folk instead of strangers.
“Well, leastways you know who you’re lookin’ for, Roy,” Hoss said, “and now, I better get on home and tell Pa what’s happened to Adam. Let me know when you get ready to go out lookin’ for those fellas again and I’ll go with ya.”
“I will, Hoss, and thanks for your help today,” Roy answered, waving as Hoss mounted his horse and rode away.
>>>>>>
Paul Martin had enjoyed his day of fishing and he had been lucky. He had a whole string of fish just waiting to be cleaned and fried up for dinner. He felt he could almost taste them already. Whistling as he approached the cabin, he opened the door and was shocked when he suddenly felt intense pain in his right arm and he collapsed. Looking up from the floor where he lay holding his arm, he saw two men in the room that he vaguely recognized but couldn’t quite place.
“Who are you and what are you doin’ here?” growled Sam, holding his still smoking gun on Paul.
Before Paul could answer, Jack spoke up, “Wait Sam, this here is Dr. Martin. Remember us talking about him bein’ on a fishin’ trip out here somewhere? Can’t believe our luck at comin’ across him like this!”
“Well, I guess we would of been a mite luckier ifn I had recognized him before shooting him like that,” Sam replied. “Sorry about that, Jack. I know your brother could use the doc’s help.”
“You have an injured man?” Doc asked with concern, “Where is he? I’ll take a look.” Paul Martin was a man dedicated to his work as a doctor and quickly put aside his own pain and tried to rise to his feet.
Jack helped Paul stand, saying, “Yeah, my brother Dean took a bullet. He’s here in the bedroom.”
The two men went in the other room of the cabin, and Paul observed before even touching Dean that he was in a bad way. The robber was lying on his stomach, as the bullet had entered his lower back. His skin was pale and glistened with sweat from the fever that was already invading his body. Dr. Martin was fearful for the man’s life, and knew there wasn’t much he could do to save him. The bullet needed to come out and the damage repaired and that wasn’t something he could do with his right arm hanging uselessly at his side, with a bullet imbedded deeply in it.
“Can ya help him, Doc?” Jack asked anxiously.
Paul shook his head sadly, “He might have had a chance if I could get that bullet out, but I’m afraid that’s something I just can’t do with one hand. We’ll keep him comfortable and try our best to get that fever down, but other than that, I’m sorry.”
Sam had walked in behind the other two men and Jack suddenly spun around, slamming his partner into the wall. “Why’d ya have to shoot the doc, Sam?! He’s my brother’s only chance and you just shoot first, without thinking!”
“Hell, I didn’t know he was the doc! He surprised me coming in like he done! I’m sorry, Jack, I like Dean. I sure don’t want nothin’ to happen to him either!”
Jack released his friend, the fight gone out of him, “Yeah, I know, Sam, but that don’t help Dean none.” He thought a moment and then said, “We have to take him back to town. I can’t just let him lay here and die.”
“He’d never survive the trip,” Dr. Martin informed the distraught brother, “especially on horseback. We’ll just have to take care of him here and hope for the best.”
As the hours passed, Dean’s condition did not improve any and the fever seemed to go higher. Jack sponged the heat from his brother’s skin over and over, to no avail. He gave him a low dosage pain killer that Doc had in his bag, but there wasn’t much else to be done.
Dr. Martin had also developed a fever as time went on, and he was becoming weaker. The bandage that he had managed to place over his wound to stop the blood had to be changed a couple of times, as the blood loss didn’t completely abate. It had slowed down finally, but it didn’t stop.
Sam had cooked up the fish that Paul had caught, but he was the only one who ate much of it. Dean wasn’t even conscious, Jack was too worried about his brother to eat much, and Paul was feeling too weak to eat more than a few bites. After eating, Sam stretched out on one of the bunks in the front room of the cabin and tried to get some sleep. He figured there wasn’t much danger of Dr. Martin trying to escape, considering his weakened state, and Jack would be watching over his brother all night, so why not get some rest himself?
The next morning went much the same way as the night before. Jack continued looking after Dean as best he could, while Sam made breakfast and then paced around, anxious to be on the move again, before another posse formed and tracked them down. By this time, Dr. Martin was lying on a bunk, tossing uncomfortably, trying to sleep, but the pain would not allow him to fall fully into that state.
He must have finally dozed, because the next thing he knew, Sam was shaking him by his good arm, trying to get his attention.
“Wake up, Doc! Someone’s outside. You expecting a visitor?”
Trying to regain his senses, Paul heard the sound of a wagon pulling to a stop and realized who it must be. Oh Joe, what are you doing back here already? he thought to himself. He had hoped it would take the boy at least another day to stock the line shacks, thus keeping him safe from the hostage situation he found himself in. He should have known better though--if there was something dangerous going on anywhere nearby, Little Joe Cartwright could be trusted to find himself right in the middle of it!
“It’s Joe Cartwright, the boy who brought me up here to get some fishing in. Don’t hurt him, please. He’s just a kid,” Doc told Sam, hoping the man wouldn’t be as quick with his gun this time as he had been when he came into the cabin yesterday.
Sam stood beside the door with his gun drawn as footsteps approached the cabin. Joe opened the door and walked in saying, “Hey Doc, how come I don’t smell any fish cooking? Guess I’ll have to teach you how to fish after al....,” Joe’s words drifted away as he felt a gun pressing against his side.
“Hold it right there, kid,” Sam said, while relieving Joe’s holster of his gun. Pushing him into the room and shutting the door, the outlaw continued, “Have a seat, you won’t be going anywhere for a while.”
Seeing Paul lying there in obvious distress, Joe sat near him and asked, “Doc, what happened? Are you hurt bad?”
“Took a bullet in my arm, Joe, but don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” Paul said quietly.
With a half hearted smile, Joe replied, “You sound like me now, Doc, and you know what? I don’t believe you’re fine any more than you ever believe me!” He was trying to maintain a light, unworried demeanor with the man who was almost a member of his family, but one look at his bloody shirt, swollen hand and fevered brow told Joe he wasn’t doing well. The bullet needed to come out in order to relieve the pressure, pain, and infection and it didn’t look like they would be receiving any help in that department anytime soon.
Joe tried to appeal to the outlaw who was guarding him, “Look, the doc needs help or he ain’t gonna make it. Why don’t you let me go and find someone to help him! You could be long gone before I ever get back.”
“Can’t do it, boy,” Sam went on to explain, “on account of one of our men is lying back in that bedroom with a bullet in him, too. So, we’re all stuck here with each other, till we know if Dean is gonna pull through or not.”
Jack ran into the room just then, shouting, “Sam! Dean is gettin’ worse! He needs help and he needs it soon!”
“I told ya, Jack, ain’t nothin’ we can do about it. The doc here is hurt, and he done told us that Dean could never make the trip to town. What do ya expect me to do? I’m sorry for your brother, but I ain’t goin’ to jail on account of him!” Sam answered.
Dr. Martin tried to sit up, “I have to try to do something for the young man. I’m a doctor and I just can’t lay here and let a man die without at least trying to help him.”
Joe gently pushed the man back down on the pillow. “Doc, you’re in too much pain to do that man any good. You’ll just pass out if you try to get up. Now, like you’ve told me a hundred times--stay in that bed!”
Paul relaxed back on the pillow and thought a moment, “Joe, you can help me. If I can get this bullet out of my shoulder, the pressure will be relieved on my hand and I might be able to work on Dean.”
Joe looked confused, “Yeah Doc, but no way to get it out, so why even talk about it?”
“Joe, YOU can take it out for me.”
Joe was astonished, “Me? Are you nuts? I wouldn’t know the first thing about takin’ out a bullet. I’d kill ya or somethin’!”
Paul spoke calmly, “Joe, you can do this, I have confidence in you. You’ve seen me work so many times, some of that knowledge has probably sunk into that brain of yours. I’ll tell you exactly what to do and I’m sure you can do it. Will you try? For me? And for that man lying in there possibly dying?”
The young Cartwright still looked undecided, so Paul added quietly, “Joe, we’re going to do this one way or another. Now, if you won’t try for me, then I’ll have Sam over there do it. I would feel much better about it if you were the one working on me. I trust you and I’m counting on you. Will you help me?”
This man had saved his life numerous times over the years and Joe knew that he could not deny him this request, no matter how frightened he was about performing the task. If he did something wrong and caused the doctor’s death, he would never forgive himself, but Doc had said he was counting on him and he couldn’t let the man down. He felt he owed it to him to do his best to try to get the bullet out. Joe slowly nodded his head and Paul gave him a small smile of encouragement.
Joe brought a couple of lanterns as close to Paul as possible and then spent the next few minutes preparing the items taken from the man’s medical bag that he would need to use to perform his first surgery. Dr. Martin instructed him in sterilizing the scalpel, probe and tweezers. He also gave him a short lesson in the names of the instruments and what he would be having him do to remove the bullet.
“Doc, can I ask you a question?” Joe asked as he sterilized. “Why did you bring your medical bag way out here with you? Don’t get me wrong, as it turns out, it’s a good thing you did. But you were on holiday, so why?”
“After all these years, I guess it’s just an automatic thing for me to do, Joe. That bag has gone everywhere I have throughout my entire career,” Paul explained. Then smiling slightly, he added, “Besides, one Little Joe Cartwright was going to be traveling with me and I try to always be prepared when I know you’re going to be around!”
“Very funny, Doc! But look who’s lyin’ in bed injured this time!” Then turning serious once more, Joe said, “All right, Doc, I’ve got these things clean. Guess I’m ready as I’ll ever be. What about you?”
“Ready, Joe. Let’s do this.”
Joe then pulled a bottle and a cloth from the medical bag. He turned to Paul, who said, “No, Joe, no ether.”
“But Doc, you’ve always given me this when you’ve operated on one of my injuries. You need it or the pain will be too intense,” Joe said with a worried tone.
“I’ll have to get by without it, Joe. I have to talk you through this, remember?” Paul explained.
Joe looked a little relieved that he wouldn’t be performing the surgery on his own, but he hated to cause the man so much pain. “Well, guess I just figured you would explain it to me before I started. Didn’t think you would be awake for it.”
“I have to be, Joe. If something would go wrong, I would need to tell you what to do,” then Paul added, “Don’t worry, Joe, we can both do this. And nothing will go wrong.”
Sam had been listening and had to finally speak up, “Doc, are you really gonna let this kid cut on you?”
Paul fixed his gaze on the man and then said firmly, “Yes, I am...and it would help greatly if you would put your gun away while he is working on me. We’re both going to be nervous enough, without having to worry about a gun going off.” Noticing Sam’s hesitation as he considered the request, Paul continued, “We aren’t either one going to try to overtake you or escape during this procedure, trust me, so please, put it away.”
Dr. Martin was a man who was used to having his orders followed and this must have come across in his tone of voice, for Sam slowly holstered his weapon and gave the doctor a slight nod.
Satisfied that they wouldn’t be accidentally shot, Paul then turned to Joe and said, “All right, Joseph, let’s do this. First, you’ll have to remove the bandages and clean the area around the wound.” Joe proceeded to do as he was told and shortly had the wound as sterile as possible. “Now pick up the scalpel and you’re going to have to make the hole just a little bit larger, like we talked about.”
With a visibly shaking hand, Joe brought the scalpel close to the wound. Paul braced himself for the pain to come, but the boy pulled back at the last second, unable to do it. “It’s gonna hurt too much, Doc, I can’t do this to you!” he cried miserably.
“Joseph!” Dr. Martin said in his best Ben Cartwright voice, “You can and you will do this! No more argument now, take that scalpel and make the cut. Do it quickly so it will be over faster. Mind me now, Joe!”
“Yes, sir,” Joe nodded and once more approached Paul with the scalpel. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Joe did as he had been instructed, opened the wound further and then took a clean cloth and wiped away the blood that began flowing once more.
“Good, Joe, now pick up the probe and the tweezers and put them right where you cut. I have to warn you, I may grimace some during this part, but don’t let that slow you down. I want you to carefully dig for the bullet with the probe, then grasp it with the tweezers and do your best to get it out of there. Steady hand now, son, take another deep breath.” Joe followed Paul’s instruction, breathing deeply and getting himself prepared. “Ready now?” Joe nodded. “All right, then do it, carefully and quickly.”
Putting all of his fears aside, Joe did what he was told and was pleased when he had the bullet in the tweezers and out of the wound within just a few seconds. He held it up for Paul to see, but the doctor was still trying to regain his composure after the intense pain he had just felt. He had done his best to hide it from his young friend, not wanting to make the boy feel bad about the misery he had to cause, but now that it was over, he was trying to catch his breath. The deep ache eased considerably after a few minutes and Paul opened his eyes and smiled shakily at Joe.
“You did great, Little Joe. I’m proud of you.” Joe beamed at the praise coming from a man he admired so greatly. “Now all that is left is for you to stitch up the hole. After digging out the bullet, this will be a piece of cake, believe me.” Dr. Martin knew that this part would be painful also, but he had told the truth--compared to having the bullet dug out, it would be relatively easy to take.
Joe had threaded the needle when he was sterilizing the instruments, so he was ready to complete the operation. “I have to warn ya, Doc, I sure ain’t too good at sewing. Hop Sing has always done all the mending of my clothes, so I’m afraid this won’t be neat. You might even have a scar to show for it later!” Joe stopped a moment and looked at Paul smiling, “Which is more than you ever gave me. Do you know how much I’ve wanted a little scar to make my baby face look tougher? But nooo, you always have to do a great job stitching me up!”
“Sorry about that Little Joe, I’ll try to do better next time---or is that worse? Whichever, let’s get this over with,” Paul smiled weakly and indicated for the boy to begin. “Remember what I told you--first you have to sew the muscle back together. Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter how neat this part is, as long as it’s pulled close. That will help you get the outer layer of skin tighter after you finish.”
Following Paul’s instructions as well as he could, Joe soon had the muscle layer sewn together. Reaching for the second threaded needle, he then carefully stitched the outer layer of skin, doing his best to make it as tight and even as possible. When he at last stood back and observed his handiwork, he couldn’t help but feel pleased with himself. His sewing wasn’t half bad.
Without needing to be told how to finish up the operation, Joe then carefully cleaned the wound one more time and covered it with fresh bandages. He noticed that Paul was sweating rather profusely after putting up with so much pain without anesthetic, so he dampened a cloth with cool water and bathed the man’s forehead, trying his best to make him as comfortable as possible. Paul’s eyes slowly closed.
“You rest now, Doc, it’s over. Get some sleep so you can start getting better,” Joe whispered.
Dr. Martin’s eyes snapped open at these words. “I can’t sleep, Joe, I need to help the man in the bedroom. He’s in a bad way. Give me a half an hour to regain my strength and then I want you to wake me up so I can tend him.”
“All right, Doc, I will,” Joe answered, but something in the young man’s face must have betrayed his feelings; he had no intention of waking the man up after so short a recovery period.
“Joseph, promise me!” Paul demanded. “That man’s life depends on you doing what I ask. I can rest after I take care of him.”
“I promise,” and this time Joe meant it. Paul would never forgive himself if the man, even an outlaw like Dean, died because he slept too long. Within moments, Dr. Martin was sleeping deeply. Joe cleaned the medical instruments and watched over Paul carefully and before he knew it, the time had arrived to wake the man back up.
“Doc,” Joe said, gently shaking Paul awake, “it’s been thirty minutes. Are you sure you wanna wake up now?”
Paul was a man who had been waking quickly for years to deal with medical emergencies. It took him a little longer to be fully coherent this time, but he was still faster than the average man in this situation would have been. “Yeah, Joe, I need to check on Dean. Help me up, will you?”
Joe helped Paul out of bed and had him lean against him as he led him into the bedroom to check on Dean. Dr. Martin could see immediately that Dean was much worse. After pulling the blanket aside and checking the wound, he knew that he could no longer put off removing the bullet. It was probable that too much time had already gone by and the man wouldn’t live no matter what he did, but he had to try.
“Joe, I need you to sterilize my instruments with alcohol again and bring them in here,” he instructed.
“Already did that, Doc, I’ll just get them.” Joe hurried into the other room and retrieved the medical bag for Paul, then quickly laid out the needed instruments on the small bedside table.
“Thanks, Joe, now I want you to get a clean cloth and pour some of that ether you had out earlier on it.” The young man did as he was told, and then took the cloth and placed it gently over Dean’s mouth and nose for a few seconds.
“Doc, why are we doing this when the guy’s already unconscious?” Joe asked.
“This will insure that he doesn’t wake up right in the middle of the surgery, Joe. All right, that should be enough, remove the cloth. Now I want you to clean his wound the same way you did mine.”
Joe cleaned it thoroughly and then stepped aside so that Paul could begin surgery on his patient. He grasped the scalpel and moved closer to make the incision. Then he stepped back and placed the scalpel back on the table and turned to Joe.
“I’m not going to be able to do this, my hand just can’t hold the instruments tight enough and I’m shaking so badly that I would make things worse. You’re going to have to take his bullet out, too, Joe.”
Before Joe could answer, Jack interrupted, “No way, Doc! This kid is not cuttin’ on my brother!”
Paul confronted the outlaw, “I can’t do it myself, so someone else will have to. It’s either this kid, you or your friend Sam there! Now, who will it be?”
Jack didn’t know what to say, “I can’t cut on my own brother, not a chance. Sam, you do it for me, all right?”
Sam looked sick at the thought, “Sorry, Jack, there’s no way I could do it. Blood makes me sick, you know that. I would hit the floor the minute I saw a drop of it.”
“That settles it then,” Paul said, “Joe is doing it.”
Joe shook his head, “I can’t do it, Doc. Working on you was one thing, but look at this wound! Even I can tell it’s much worse than yours.”
“I won’t lie to you, Joe, it is worse, but you can do this. I’ll be standing right next to you, telling you what to do every step of the way. You’re this man’s only chance, if you don’t try, he’s going to be dead soon. Will you try?”
Joe thought for a moment and then slowly nodded. He did not want to do this; it had been nerve wracking enough taking the bullet out of Paul and this wound was much more serious. It also didn’t help matters that Dean was so weak from lying with the bullet imbedded in his back for more than a day.
Reaching over and picking up the scalpel, Joe was waiting for Paul to tell him what to do first when Jack pulled his gun from its holster, aimed it at the doctor and his enlisted assistant, and said, “If my brother dies during this operation, I’ll kill the kid! As a matter of fact, I may kill you both!”
Looking Jack in the eye, Paul said, “Now saying something like that isn’t going to help matters any. You’ll just make us both more nervous so that we’re more likely to make a mistake. I think Joe and I can work better if you and Sam wait in the other room.”
“I’m not leaving you two in here alone to carve my brother up anyway you want!” Jack argued.
“And we’re not working on him with you hovering over us with a gun in your hand. Now, it’s your choice--do we try to save him or not?” Dr. Martin asked.
Sam spoke up then, “Come on, Jack. They aren’t gonna help Dean if we don’t go, so let’s just wait out here. We can leave the door open so we know what’s happenin’.” Sam gently took Jack by the arm and led him from the bedroom, leaving the door ajar as they went. He didn’t think the doc or the boy would try to escape instead of helping their comrade, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
Trying to lighten Joe’s mood a little and get his mind off of what Jack had promised to do if something happened to his brother, Paul asked, “Ready to begin your second operation, Dr. Cartwright? Two in one day, not bad for a brand new doctor!”
Joe smiled weakly at the man and said, “Yeah, let’s do it. I want to get this over with before I chicken out.”
With Paul’s careful guidance, Joe began the surgery. He carefully followed the doctor’s every instruction, just as he had with the first operation. He felt a little more confident this time because at least Paul was standing right next to him, able to see exactly what was going on. Much of this procedure was the same as the previous one. Joe took the scalpel and enlarged the bullet hole, then took the probe and searched for the piece of lead that was deep in Dean’s back. It was taking much longer than Paul’s operation and the doctor would occasionally wipe nervous perspiration from Joe’s brow. At long last, Joe had the bullet in a position where he thought he could remove it. He picked up the tweezers and after a few stressful minutes of digging, managed to extract the bullet, dropping it on the table with an audible sigh of relief.
“All right, Joe, you’ve finished the hard part, now all that’s left is sewing him up and hoping for the best,” Paul said.
Joe had just taken the first couple of stitches, when Dean’s body suddenly shuddered lightly and then relaxed.
“Move, Joe, let me check him,” Dr. Martin said with a worried tone to his voice that frightened the young Cartwright. Joe stepped aside and Paul took his place next to Dean, picking up the man’s wrist with the hand on his uninjured arm, checking for a pulse. He then placed his fingers on the man’s neck, hoping to detect even slight movement there.
Paul looked at Joe and quietly said, “We lost him, Joe. He was just too weak.”
Shock filled Joe’s eyes and he whispered, “No! You mean I killed him? Doc, I know he was a bank robber, but I didn’t want to kill him! Are you sure he’s dead?”
Dr. Martin nodded, “I’m positive, Son. We did all we could, but it was too late. The bullet was deep and had been in him too long.”
“Why, Doc? Why did you make me do this? If I hadn’t cut into him, he’d still be alive!” Joe turned to run from the room and Paul reached out to try to stop him, but with only one good arm, the boy slipped from his grasp and ran towards the door, wanting to escape from the room and the dead man lying there.
“Joe! Stay here, boy!” Paul called.
At that moment, Jack came into the room with his gun drawn, demanding, “What’s going on in here? How’s my brother? Are you finished?”
“Yeah, we’re finished,” Joe said with anguish, “I’m sorry, but he died!” By now, Joe had tears in his eyes; he truly felt that he had put a scalpel into this man’s back and killed him.
Jack shoved Joe back into the room, “What? He’s dead? I told you what I would do if you killed my brother!” Aiming his gun directly at Joe, he fired, the bullet driving into the young man with enough force to slam him into Dr. Martin, knocking both of them to the ground.
Tears were now in Paul’s eyes as he held the boy he had known since he had brought him into the world, watching as blood spread across Joe’s shirt, slowly draining his life away.
>>>>>>
Early in the morning, the day after Adam had been wounded, Ben and Hoss brought Adam home. Ben had insisted that he and Hoss both return to Virginia City the night before, so that he could see for himself that his oldest son was all right. They had spent the night at the International House Hotel after staying with Adam for some time. Dr. Walker assured the worried father that his son was doing just fine, no sign of infection so far and he seemed to be healing nicely. Ben promised the doctor that Adam would go directly to bed and remain there until he was recovered enough to walk.
Shortly after settling Adam in his room, Ben and Hoss heard the sound of riders entering the yard in front of the house. Opening the door to see who it was, Hoss found Roy Coffee with three new men in his posse.
“Howdy, Roy!” Hoss greeted the sheriff. “Back on the trail of the thieves, are ya?”
“Yep, we sure are, Hoss and I came by to see if you were serious about joining up again and helpin’ me out. Seeing as how they still seem to be on your land somewheres, I could use your expertise some more, but I understand ifn ya need to stay here and tend to Adam,” Roy answered.
“Pa and Hop Sing can take care of Adam, I’ll be right with ya, Sheriff,” Hoss answered as he turned back to get his hat and gun. He practically bumped into Ben, who was just reaching for his own holster.
“Pa? You goin’ somewhere?” Hoss asked.
“I’m joining the posse, too,” he replied, “Hop Sing is perfectly capable of tending Adam and there are bank robbers out there on the Ponderosa some place, and I can’t help but think about my youngest son being out there stocking line shacks, perfect places for those outlaws to hide out. I want to find either him or the robbers before he possibly runs into them. Besides, Adam heard the posse ride up and he insisted that I go along and make sure Little Joe is all right.”
As both Cartwrights finished strapping on their holsters, Hop Sing came into the room carrying their bedrolls and saddlebags with provisions.
“Thanks, Hop Sing,” Hoss told the caretaker of the family, “but how’d ya know Pa was goin’, too?”
“Hop Sing know father well, Mr. Cartlight not rest ‘til youngest son home safe and sound.” Ben had to smile at that. Hop Sing wasn’t exaggerating when he said he knew him well. “You two not worry about Mister Adam, I take good care of number one son, while you bring home number three son.”
Ben patted the diminutive Oriental on the arm. “Thanks, Hop Sing, I have no doubt you’ll take care of Adam. I wouldn’t be going if I didn’t have complete confidence in you,” Ben and Hoss then went to saddle their horses and soon were riding side by side with Roy and his men.
The posse searched diligently that entire day. Hoss was able to pinpoint the general direction the outlaws had taken, once leaving the site of the shootout, but then he lost their trail.
“Dadburnit,” Hoss complained, “I don’t know how I lost them like this. It ain’t like me!”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Hoss, we’ll pick them up again,” Ben comforted his middle son.
“I sure hope so, Pa. I’m like you, I don’t like thinkin’ about Joe out here someplace with those yahoos on the loose.”
Ben had been right about the posse once again being on the outlaws trail, for a few hours later, Roy saw signs of them and they were soon heading in the proper direction once more. Unfortunately, by that time, night was descending and they were forced to make camp.
Sitting around the campfire, sipping coffee, Hoss noticed the worried expression on his father’s face. “Pa, I’m sure Little Joe is just fine. Why I bet he ain’t seen hide nor hair of them bank robbers.”
“I hope you’re right, Hoss, but I was worried about someone else besides just your brother this time. Haven’t you noticed what direction the thieves seem to be traveling in now? Where they’re headed?” Ben asked.
“Well, yeah, Pa, the tracks are going towards Grass Lake, so....,” realization suddenly dawned on Hoss, “so, that’s where Doc is fishin’, that’s what you’re worried about ain’t it, Pa?”
“Yeah, that’s it, Hoss. I’ve been so worried about Little Joe, that I didn’t even give a thought to Paul, and I’m ashamed of myself for that. We got so far off track for a while today, that it will be late afternoon before we can even check on him tomorrow.”
“Well, Pa, one good thing about it if they did happen across the doc; Roy put a slug in one of them and they’ll be needin’ his services, so they ain’t likely to hurt him,” Hoss tried comforting his father, “don’t ya think?”
That lightened Ben’s mood a little, “Yeah, Hoss, I didn’t think about that, you’re right. Thanks, that makes me feel a little better. Now to hope your younger brother takes his time checking on the other line shacks and doesn’t end up back there with Paul before we can check on him.”
“Well, Pa, we’ll get to the cabin tomorrow afternoon and I bet ya anything we find Paul relaxin’ and fishin’ and not wanting to come back to town anytime soon and not a sign of those bandits. Now, what cha say we get some shut-eye? We got a long day tomorrow.”
Ben patted Hoss’ leg and said, “You got it, Son. Our turns at standing guard will come sooner than we expect, so guess we better get some sleep. See you in the morning.”
>>>>>>
By lunchtime the following day, the posse had no doubt that they would find the bank robbers at Grass Lake. Several times, the trail had led in another direction, which wasn’t surprising, since the bandits didn’t know about the cabin by the water. Eventually though, the tracks trailed down towards the lake and never changed their course again.
Roy’s small band of men were at last approaching the cabin by late that afternoon. They noticed several horses in the small corral next to the shack, so their fears were confirmed that the outlaws had indeed happened upon Dr. Martin.
“Well, looks like Paul didn’t get much of a holiday after all,” Ben pondered quietly, as they observed the cabin from the safety of the surrounding trees and shrubbery. “He’s had to spend it tending to the robber who has the bullet in him.”
Roy was about to explain his plan of surrounding the cabin and attempting to apprehend the outlaws, when they suddenly heard a shot ring out.
“That came from inside the cabin!” Hoss shouted. “We better get in there!”
“Hold up, Hoss!” Roy ordered. “We can’t just run in there. No telling what they’ll do to the doc.” Realizing that the sheriff was right, Hoss stopped and waited for Roy to tell them what to do. “All right, men, spread out and cover the cabin from every side. I’ll try to get them to give themselves up without a fight.”
>>>>>>
Inside the cabin, Jack stared down at Joe lying on the ground. Dr. Martin had his hand on the boy’s abdomen trying to staunch the flow of blood. Sam had run into the room and was momentarily mesmerized by the sight before him.
“Jack, why the hell did ya shoot the kid?” he asked in disbelief.
“He killed Dean!” Jack explained angrily, “Just look at my brother lying there and then ask me again why I did it!”
Sam looked at his friend lying on the bed, the pallor of death showing on his face and the stillness of his body confirming what Jack had told him.
“I’m sorry about Dean, Jack,” he said quietly, “and I understand your anger, but you just killed someone. Now we face hangin’ instead of just prison!”
“Hell, I wasn’t thinkin’ about that, I just wanted revenge for Dean! We probably killed a couple of guys back in that posse anyhow, so it don’t change nothin’!” Jack justified.
“Well, we best get out of here now, before someone shows up. Come on, Jack, let’s beat it!”
“I can’t just leave Dean here.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Sam explained, “Dean would want us to take care of ourselves and you know it. They’ll give him a proper burial, won’t they, Doc?”
Paul looked up with the worry he was feeling showing in his eyes, “What? Oh, yeah, I’m sure he’ll get buried proper. You two better go on and try to get away.” He just wanted the two men gone so that he could try to help Joe as much as possible.
Jack thought a minute and then said, “All right, we’ll go, but we can’t leave the doc here as a witness to what I done to the boy.” Aiming carefully at Paul, he was about to pull the trigger when he heard a voice from outside the shack.
“You men inside the cabin--throw out your weapons and come on out of there with your hands up and nobody gets hurt!” Roy shouted.
“Damn! The posse found us!” Sam yelled. “Let’s get out that window in the back!”
It was too late for that, as Roy continued, “We have the place surrounded, you got no place to go, so give it up!”
Sam ran back into the main room of the cabin and went to the window, being careful to conceal himself. “We got two hostages in here, Sheriff and if you don’t want them kilt, you’ll back off and let us walk out of here!”
Ben and Hoss looked across at each other from the cover of the bushes they were crouched behind only a few yards apart. They now knew that Joe had returned and was being held along with Paul. As they stared toward the cabin, fear was evident on their faces.
“Now you know I can’t do that!” the sheriff shouted back, “Give it up and I’ll see to it that you get a fair trial.”
Ben wanted to fill Roy in on what he and Hoss now knew, so he crawled carefully over to his old friend’s place of concealment and said, “Roy, he’s got Joe in there. You have to do what he says. Let them go and we’ll go after them. We can catch them again once Joe and Paul are safe.”
“Ben, you know I can’t just let them jaspers walk away. I took an oath!” Roy replied.
“I’m not asking you to let them walk away, Roy, I wouldn’t do that. The minute they’re away from the cabin, we go after them. We need to make sure Paul and Joe are safe first though. You heard that shot as we arrived the same as I did and I’m afraid one of them might be hurt already. Didn’t you also take an oath to protect the citizens of your town?” Ben pleaded.
Roy knew exactly what Ben was doing, trying to sway him, but he decided to go along with it for the time being, and said, “All right, Ben, you know I don’t want nothin’ happenin’ to Little Joe. The doc either; Paul and I’ve been friends near about as long as you and I have.” Turning back towards the cabin, he raised his voice again and shouted, “You men in there! You got a deal! I’m letting you walk out of there and get a head start, so long as you don’t hurt the hostages!”
“We got your word on that, Sheriff?!” Sam yelled back.
“You got my word! You boys been living around Virginia City long enough to know I’m a man of my word!” Roy told them.
Back in the cabin, Sam said to Jack, “Come on, let’s get out of here, the sheriff gave his word he wouldn’t try to stop us till we’re away. I know he ain’t a man to go back on his promise.”
“All right, Sam, we’ll take that chance, but the doc is coming with us. We need some assurance that they won’t follow us.”
Sam smiled at his partner, “Great idea, Sam, now you’re thinkin’. Get the doc and let’s go.”
When the door to the cabin opened and the two desperadoes stepped out, the members of the posse were surprised to see Dr. Martin standing in front of them as a shield. He had his arm in a sling, blood on the front of his shirt, and was a little shaky on his feet.
“No one come after us and we’ll let the doc here go in a few hours!” Sam shouted.
“The deal didn’t include taking any hostages with you!” Roy said. “Now, turn the doc loose and you can walk away.”
“We’re walkin’ away anyhow! Don’t try to stop us!” Jack yelled.
Ben stood up from his hiding place, threw down his gun as a sign that he meant no harm, and asked, “Paul, are you all right? You don’t look so good.”
“Caught a bullet in my shoulder, Ben, just a little weak is all. Joe is hurt bad though. Let me leave with these men so you can get to him,” Paul explained, “I’ll be fine.”
That was all Hoss needed to hear. Stepping up next to his father, also without his weapon, he appealed to the outlaws, “If my brother is hurt, he’ll need the doctor. Take me in his place. I promise I won’t give you no trouble, I just want my brother to get the help he needs. The doc here looks like he won’t be able to set a horse for long and will just hold you up anyhow.”
“What do I care if your brother gets help or not?” Jack sneered. “It’s his fault my brother is lying in there dead!”
Sam interjected, “Jack, he has a point, the doc here will hold us up, weak as he is. Besides, this one here will be a bigger shield for us.” Jack just shrugged, he didn’t really care who the hostage was, and he assumed Joe was already dead anyway.
Sam beckoned Hoss closer and as the largest Cartwright took his place, he told the worried doctor, “I’ll be fine, Doc. You just take care of Little Joe. Promise?”
Paul nodded and said, “I’ll do my best, Hoss, you know that.”
“Watch yourself, Hoss,” Ben said with pain in his voice. He was going to have the chance to help one son, but would it cost him the other?
“You know I will, Pa, you just watch out for Joe.”
Within minutes, two of Roy’s men had saddled horses for the outlaws and brought over Chubb for Hoss. Being careful to keep a gun aimed at Hoss, the men mounted and quickly rode away, trusting the sheriff to keep his word and give them a head start.
Ben watched as his son rode out of sight with the bank robbers, then shaking himself from his sadness at seeing him go, he hurried into the cabin to find his younger boy. Paul was right behind him.
“In the bedroom, Ben, hurry!” Paul directed the frightened father. As he followed Ben in, he heard Roy and the other members of the posse mounting up and riding after the bandits and their hostage. He prayed they would be able to safely rescue Ben’s brave son, who had selflessly taken his place.
Both men ran into the bedroom and the dead man lying face down on the bed gave Ben pause momentarily, as he for an instant thought it was his son. Paul grabbed his arm and said, “Over here, on the floor behind the bed.”
Temporary relief, that the body on the bed was not that of his child, turned to fear as he saw the amount of blood on the boy’s body, when Ben came around the bed. Joe was extremely pale and still.
“Can you get him onto one of the cots in the other room, Ben? I can try to help.”
“No, I’ve got him, Paul,” Ben replied, bending down and picking his son up in his arms. He held him close to his chest as Paul led the way back into the outer room.
“Lay him here on this bunk, Ben, and get his shirt off so I can see the wound.”
Ben laid him gently down and started unbuttoning his shirt. His trembling fingers slipped on the blood coating each button, but he managed to get each one undone quickly. He slipped Joe’s right arm from the shirt, then lifting the boy gently towards himself, he pulled the shirt around to the other side, laid Joe back down, then removed the other arm from the shirt. He gasped as his eyes fell on the injury on his son’s stomach. It appeared deep to Ben and blood was still seeping from it.
Paul had retrieved his medical supplies from the bedroom as Ben was undressing the patient and instructed the father, “Use the alcohol in my bag to sterilize those instruments while I have a look at Joe.” Ben moved from his son’s side and began doing as he had been told, as Dr. Martin slipped into his place.
Using his good hand, Paul carefully cleaned the area around the entrance hole the bullet had made. He was distressed to see how deep it appeared and could only pray that it hadn’t hit any vital organs.
“How is he, Paul?” Ben asked worriedly, as he worked.
“I won’t lie to you, Ben, it’s not good. He’s lost a lot of blood already, so you’re going to have to work as fast as possible to stop the bleeding.”
“What did you say?” Ben was taken aback at what he had heard, “I’m going to have to work fast?”
“Of course,” the doctor said matter of factly, trying to keep the father calm, “did you think I was going to be able to do it with only one arm?”
Ben hadn’t really thought about it as he had been concentrating on helping Joe, but now he shook his head and answered, “Well, no Paul, I guess not, but I can’t operate!”
“Ben, do you mean to tell me your young son could perform an operation and you can’t?”
Ben looked confused, “My son? I don’t understand.”
“Who do you think took the bullet out of me? I sure wouldn’t have trusted one of those outlaws to do it.”
“You mean.....,” Ben looked towards Joe and Paul nodded.
“That’s exactly what I mean, Joe did what had to be done. Now, you are going to do the same thing, so pull yourself together and come over here. I’ll talk you through this just like I did Joe. Together, we can save his life.”
After carefully cleaning his hands, Ben did as Paul had
told him and walked over to his son. He administered ether as directed. The
thoughts going through his head were terrifying. How can I perform surgery
on my own child? If something goes wrong, I’ll never forgive myself. But, I
have to do it, because it would be worse to stand here and do nothing and allow
him to die. I have to trust God and Paul to get me through this. We can do it,
we must do it, because I won’t let my son go without a fight.
With this new found resolve, Ben, with as much confidence as he could muster, picked up the scalpel that Dr. Martin indicated and began the procedure. He had removed a couple of bullets in his lifetime, so he wasn’t flying blind as Joe had been, but this was the first time he had to take one from a child of his, and it frightened him. In the previous men he had worked on, there had not been quite so much blood either, and Ben was afraid of what that might indicate. The worry he observed on Paul’s face did little to ease that fear.
Ben was relieved when he at last was able to grasp the bullet with the tweezers, preparing to extract it. That relief was short lived though, when after pulling the bullet free of the wound, blood began spurting freely. The father realized just how serious that was when Dr. Martin suddenly shoved him aside and moved in to work on the patient himself.
“The bullet hit an artery, Ben! Luckily the slug blocked it and kept him from bleeding to death. Hurry, hand me one of those sutures and keep them coming!” Paul had pulled his arm from its sling and, ignoring his own pain, began working to save the child of his close friend. Dr. Martin was a physician used to putting the needs of others above himself and shortly, the adrenaline rushing through his body as he operated on his favorite patient had him not even recognizing his own discomfort. He was fully focused on saving a life.
As both men continuously said silent prayers, Ben anxiously handed Paul suture after suture, until at last, the bleeding was under control. Blood was still seeping, but it was no longer pumping dangerously.
Paul turned to Ben and the eldest Cartwright could see that the doctor’s hand, that had been so steady while working on his patient, was now shaking noticeably.
“Ben,” Paul said with a quivering voice that betrayed the pain that had now returned to his arm once he had the bleeding abated, “I have it under control now, but you’re going to have to finish for me. That artery needs a few more stitches to seal it closed completely, then you’ll be ready to suture the wound closed.”
Ben nodded somberly and once again took his place by his son’s side. Paul talked him through the application of the delicate stitches needed to finish repairing the artery, and then finally, he was able to close the wound. After placing bandages on the injury, Ben was emotionally exhausted from the tension of operating on his own child and he said another prayer that the surgery would be successful and that Joe would recover.
Ben walked over to the pump by the stove and began washing his hands. Watching the blood wash away, he was overcome with the thought of it being his son’s blood disappearing down the drain, and tears began rolling down his cheeks. Joseph, you have to get well, Ben thought to himself, I wouldn’t be able to bear my life without you. Then his thoughts also turned to his other son who was in danger, Hoss, return to us safely. I couldn’t handle life without you either. He was grateful that Adam was at home, and no longer in peril. If all three of them had been in jeopardy, he thought he would lose his mind.
Gathering his emotions, he dried his hands, grabbed a bucket of water and a cloth, and returned to Joe’s side. He pulled a chair up beside Joe’s bed and carefully washed the remaining blood from his son’s body. He then gently sponged the sweat from the boy’s forehead, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Putting the bucket aside, he brushed the hair away from the young man’s eyes, then picked up his hand. Holding it in his, for some reason it seemed small to him, much smaller than it actually was. He imagined it was because he was thinking back to all the other times he had sat just this way, holding the hand of the boy when he was younger. He prayed that the outcome this time would be as it had been in the past, when Joe had recovered each time.
>>>>>>
Hoss had been riding with Sam and Jack for some time, when they pulled the horses to a halt for a short break.
“All right, fellas, don’t you figure you’re far enough away now, so’s I can get on back and see how my little brother’s doin’?” he asked his captors.
“I can tell ya how your little brother is, Cartwright,” Jack sneered. “He was already dead when we left! We was bluffin’ about havin’ two hostages.”
“You’re lyin’!” Hoss replied angrily. “I heard Doc Martin say he was hurt, but he would have said so ifn he was dead. Doc stayed behind so’s he could take care of him.”
“Yeah, you keep tellin’ yourself that. Reckon there was a slight possibility that he was still barely hangin’ on, but if the kid wasn’t dead when we left, well, I’m sure he is by now. I shot him in the gut right after he killed my brother! Besides, how do ya think the doc was gonna help your brother after Sam here shot him?!”
Seeing the anger in Hoss’ eyes, Sam pulled his gun from his holster, “Settle back down, Cartwright and don’t try anything stupid,” he ordered. “Don’t worry, the doc wasn’t hurt all that bad, I’m sure he was able to help your brother. It was an accident that I shot him. He came bargin’ in on us and my gun just kind of went off.”
Hoss had to force himself to relax in the saddle and regain control so that he wouldn’t go for Jack’s neck, though he made a vow to himself that before the last card was played, he would make him pay for shooting Joe .
After Sam’s comments, Jack turned on him, “Hell no, the doc wouldn’t be able to help his little brother! He couldn’t help mine, remember? Thanks to you, that kid had to operate on Dean and now he’s dead! You’re lucky I don’t plug you, too!”
Taking advantage of the distraction while the two men argued, Hoss leapt from his horse aiming for Jack. He lunged into the man and they both fell to the ground. Using Jack’s surprise at the sudden attack to his benefit, Hoss landed a few good punches, knocking his adversary cold. While this was going on, the shock of the two men falling had spooked Sam’s horse, causing him to hit the ground also. Sam was knocked out when his head hit a rock, but unfortunately, as the gun he had held in his hand fell, it discharged, the bullet hitting Hoss in the upper arm.
By the time the posse caught up with the three men a couple of hours later, all three men were lying unconscious on the ground.
>>>>>>
Ben had been hovering over his son for several hours, alternately holding his hand or brushing back his hair. He would occasionally hold up Joe’s head, putting a cup to his lips, encouraging him to take some water. Paul had fallen asleep on another bunk, at last giving in to the fatigue caused by his own injury and his almost nonstop care of others since it had happened.
Ben was relieved to finally see Joe’s eyes flutter as the boy struggled towards wakefulness. “Joe? Joseph, can you hear me, son?”
“Pa? Is that you? How’d you get here?” the boy asked as he became aware of his surroundings. “What happened to me?”
“Don’t you remember, Joe? You were shot, but don’t worry, you’re going to be fine, now.”
Joe’s eyes clouded over as the memories flooded back. “Yeah, I remember, Pa. I was shot because I killed that man’s brother. I didn’t mean to though, Pa, I didn’t!” Tears replaced the clouds in the young man’s eyes as he recalled the operation that had taken Dean’s life.
Ben moved from the chair to the edge of Joe’s bed in order to be closer and try to calm his son down. “Joe, it wasn’t your fault, Boy. Paul told me all about it before he fell asleep. He was proud of you for trying so hard and he said the man would have died even if he had performed the operation. You have to believe that, Joseph! You know Paul wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
Joe struggled to sit up, but Ben pushed him gently back against the pillow, then placed his hand on the boy’s cheek, trying to calm him so that he wouldn’t pull his stitches and start the bleeding again. He brushed the tears aside with his thumb and spoke softly to the boy, gently lulling him back to sleep, much as he had when Joe was a small child. He had never been able to fight sleep as a youngster when his father used that comforting tone, and he wasn’t able to resist sleep now as a young man when the elder Cartwright used that same soft whisper. He gave in to the desire to slumber and Ben was relieved when his son’s breathing told him that Joe was once again in the arms of Morpheus.
Paul had been awakened by the voices of his two friends, but the nap of several hours duration had done him a world of good. Rising slowly from his bed, he walked to the other bed and carefully looked Joe over. He lifted the bandage and was pleased to see that there had been no further bleeding. Placing his hand on the boy’s forehead, the lack of a fever also encouraged him.
“Ben,” he said quietly, “as much as I hate to move him, I think it would be a good idea to get Joe home. He’s slept for several hours and he doesn’t have a fever yet, which is a good sign. I would just rather have him closer to help if he were to take a bad turn. If we take it slow, I think we can get him back to the Ponderosa and send for Dr. Walker to check him over. It wouldn’t hurt for Dan to look at my wound either. Joe did a good job on it, but I’m not one of those doctors who’s too stubborn to have myself taken care of and I don’t want to take a chance on infection. The wagon that Joe used to stock the line shacks is out back. Why don’t you hitch up the team, put these mattresses in the back, and we’ll get the boy back to civilization?”
“I’ll be glad to do it, Paul, if you’re sure it won’t hurt Joseph.”
“I’m sure. I’ll give him something to make sure he sleeps all the way home and we’ll just take it easy.”
Ben had just finished putting the mattresses from two bunks in the back of the recently hitched wagon, when the posse rode into the yard. The two bank robbers, with their hands tied in front of them, were on their horses, being led by two of the sheriff’s men. A moment later, Ben was relieved to see Roy and the other man arrive with his son riding between them. His relief turned to distress as he noticed the blood on Hoss’ arm.
“Hoss! What happened to you? Are you all right?” Ben asked worriedly.
“Ah, don’t worry, Pa, I’m okay. Bullet went clean through, I’m just a little sore, is all,” he answered, easing his father’s mind, as he climbed down from his horse. Ben walked over and embraced him close to his heart for a minute, saying a prayer of gratitude that his son had been brought back to him safe and relatively sound.
“Um, how’s Joe, Pa? Those varmints let on like he was near about dead,” Hoss asked worriedly.
“He’s hurt pretty bad, Hoss. We got the bullet out and sewed him up. He’s been resting for a while and so far, no sign of infection. Doc decided we should try to get him on home, so I was getting this wagon prepared. It’s just about ready now,” Ben explained.
Paul had come out by this time and immediately went to inspect Hoss’ wound. “Well, glad to see someone did a fairly decent job of cleaning this up, Hoss. Come on inside with me and I’ll put some antiseptic on it and a bandage. We can tend it better when we get back to the house.”
Soon, the wagon was ready and Ben went to get Little Joe to load him in the back.
“You want me or one of the boys here to fetch Little Joe for ya, Ben?” Roy asked helpfully.
“That’s okay, Roy, I can do it. I’ll be right out with him. Thanks anyway,” Ben said as he went inside and gently lifted his son into his arms. Paul had already medicated the young man to insure that he would sleep until they arrived back at home.
“All right then, Ben, while you tend to Little Joe, my men and me will just get Dean’s body put over the back of his horse so’s we can get it on in to the funeral parlor,” Roy replied.
Once they had Joe and Paul settled in the back of the wagon, with blankets covering them, Ben climbed in next to his son. Dr. Martin ordered Hoss to take the seat in front of the wagon, with one of Roy’s men sitting next to him, doing the driving.
“Ah, Doc, I can set my horse, I don’t need to ride in the dadburn wagon,” Hoss complained good naturedly.
“Hoss, you aren’t gonna argue with me like your young brother here does all the time, are you?” Paul asked, with a slight smile.
Hoss thought a minute and then answered, “Nah, I reckon not, Doc. He might not realize you always win yet, but I sure do.” With that, Hoss took his place on the seat next to the driver, who had tied his horse to the back of the wagon along with Chubb.
“Ben, the rest of us are gonna head on back to town to lock these fellas up and get this body taken care of proper like, ifn you think the rest of ya can get back to the ranch all right,” Roy said.
“Yeah, Roy, we got Ted here to help us out,” Ben answered, indicating the man holding the reins, “so I’m sure we’ll be just fine. You go on and take care of your prisoners.”
The wagon and riders all traveled side by side for a while, until they reached the point where the buckboard turned in the direction of the ranch house and the horses went towards town. As Roy waved good-bye to the passengers on the wagon, he promised to send Dr. Walker out as soon as he got to Virginia City.
“How’s Little Joe doin’ back there, Pa?” Hoss asked, pivoting in his seat to try and observe his brother for himself.
Ben stroked the boy’s hair tenderly and told Hoss, “He’s the same. Paul has him pretty much out of it so he won’t be hurting any.” Looking up at his older son, he asked, “What about you, Son? You in a lot of pain?”
“Me? Heck no, Pa. It would take more than a little ole bullet going through my arm to get me hurtin’. You just worry about little brother there, I’m fine,” Hoss answered, then continued, “Doc, you doin’ okay, too? Can’t believe how many of us done got shot the last couple of days.”
“I’m not bad, Hoss. Little Joe did a pretty good job of fixing me up,” Paul replied.
Hoss had been filled in earlier, before the posse separated from the wagon. “Yeah, I still can’t believe my little brother did that without faintin’ or anything!” Hoss was impressed by what his young sibling had done. “Doc, I bet you could use another holiday after this, couldn’t ya? You sure didn’t get much of one this time!”
Ben noticed that Paul’s face paled a bit and it wasn’t due to pain, “Holiday, Hoss? You know, I think I’d just as soon pass on any more vacations for some time! They aren’t all they’re cracked up to be!”
Hoss laughed and Ben said, “Yeah, sorry about that, old friend. We sent you to a peaceful lake for some relaxation and fishing, and you’ve had nothing but outlaws, tension, getting shot, and dealing with more patients than usual, including yourself! Not to mention, in primitive conditions!”
“Well, if we can just get all the patients to your nice warm house, into bed, and on the road to recovery, then I’ll be happy,” Paul said.
They made the rest of the trip in relative silence, as Paul dozed off and on, and Ben hovered over his youngest son, checking for bleeding from time to time and making sure he was comfortable. By the time they pulled into the yard of the house, Hoss was looking a little less fit than he had been bragging about earlier.
Dr. Martin awoke as they came to a stop, and quickly went back into physician mode--checking Little Joe once more before Ben and Ted carried him upstairs and settled him in his bed. He noticed that Hoss seemed to have a touch of dizziness as he climbed from the wagon and he firmly ordered him to bed also. He could tell that the middle Cartwright brother was about to protest and cut him off before he could get started.
“I don’t want to hear any argument about it this time, Hoss. You may be big and strong, but you are just as susceptible to pain and infection as anyone else. Now go!” Paul’s tone would allow for no backtalk.
“Yessir, Doc, I’m goin,’” Hoss answered sheepishly as he headed for the house and the comfort of his bed. He had to admit to himself that he wasn’t feeling quite as infallible as he had been earlier and rest was sounding good.
After Ben had Joe changed into a nightshirt and tucked into bed, Paul came in to check on the boy once again. Ted had wished them well and left the house to return to town.
“While you’re looking Little Joe over, I’ll just check in on Adam,” Ben told the doctor. “I know he was doing fine when we left, but I still can’t help but worry about all of my boys.”
“I think I know that by now, Ben, you go on and look in on him. Joe and I will be fine without you for a few minutes. Then I’ll be in shortly to see how Adam’s doing, too.” Paul had heard about Adam’s injury and couldn’t believe that all three Cartwright sons had been shot within a couple of days of each other.
>>>>>>
When Dr. Walker finally arrived at the house, he was surprised to find Paul going from room to room, taking care of all the patients. He immediately put his foot down and sent his colleague to bed.
“Paul Martin, I’m surprised at you! Here you are with a gunshot wound, running around tending to everyone. I’m sure a house this size has an extra bed somewhere that you can use, and I want you in it.”
Hop Sing had just come in with a tray of broth, overheard what Dr. Walker had told Dr. Martin, and threw in his opinion, “Hop Sing tell doctor same thing, but he no listen. We have plenty beds. Hop Sing show him to room. Come!”
There weren’t many people who would argue with Hop Sing when his mind was set on something, so Paul meekly followed him up the stairs to a guest room. He didn’t realize just how exhausted he was, until his head connected with the pillow. Giving in to the fatigue, he was asleep within seconds, happy to give up the care of his patients to the able hands of Dr. Walker.
Making his rounds to check on the condition of each patient, Dan found that he needed to take a few stitches in Hoss’ wound. It wasn’t too serious; a few days of rest and no strain on the injury would return the middle Cartwright son to his former health. The doctor looked in on Adam and was pleased to see that he continued to do well, and after a few more days of bedrest, would be able to get around again, although with the aid of a crutch for a while. Dr. Walker then went into Dr. Martin’s room. The man was, by this time, in a deep sleep, so Dan gently pulled back Paul’s shirt and checked Joe’s handiwork. He had to admit to himself that the young man had done a fairly decent job of repairing the damage. There would most likely be a small scar, but considering that an untrained layman had performed the surgery, it looked good.
Lastly, he went in to see how Little Joe was faring. He found the boy’s father solicitously taking care of his young son. Ben was just tucking a blanket around the young man as Dan entered the room.
“How’s the boy doing, Mr. Cartwright?” Dan asked quietly. “Has he come around yet? The medication Paul gave him for the trip should be wearing off by now.”
“Yes, Doctor, he woke up a short while ago. He was still very groggy, but I did manage to get him to take a little bit of broth and a few sips of water,” Ben replied softly so as not to re-awaken Joe.
“That’s good, very good. He needs the nourishment. I’ll just take a quick peek at his injury and then you can both get some rest.”
Ben stood nearby as the doctor lifted the bandage and examined the stitches. It didn’t take long since Paul had already checked the boy earlier.
“All right, it still looks good, no sign of infection,” Dan informed Ben, “so hopefully he’ll sleep through the night. I suggest you go to bed and do the same thing.”
“I’ll try to get some rest, Doctor,” Ben promised, “but I’ll do it right here in this chair in the corner.” Seeing the doctor’s look of disapproval, Ben was quick to reassure him, “Don’t worry, I’ve spent many a night in that chair watching over this boy when he’s been sick or hurt. I’m used to it and actually sleep pretty well in it by now. You can even verify that with Paul tomorrow, if you like. He knows how often I’ve done it.” Ben gave the man a small smile and went to sit in the chair to show that he wasn’t leaving his son’s room.
Seeing the determined set to Ben’s jaw, Dan gave up and patting the father gently on the shoulder, bid him good night.
>>>>>>
When Joe woke up several times throughout that night, Ben knew he had made the right decision in staying in his son’s room. While it appeared to be discomfort that awoke the boy a couple of times, it was nightmares that caused him to fight sleep a few times also. When the young man would moan and cry out in his restless slumber, Ben would immediately go to him, gently waking him completely in order to chase away whatever was frightening him. He would sit next to the bed, holding the boy’s hand and speaking softly to him until he would fall back asleep. The third time it happened, it was early dawn and the father was barely dozing, but he was doing it right next to his son. He had finally stayed on the edge of Joe’s bed, leaning back against the headboard, with one hand resting softly against the boy’s shoulder, hoping it would bring him comfort and allow him to sleep without dreams.
The sounds of Joe crying out, “I’m shot! Pa, help me!” pulled Ben quickly out of his light sleep.
“It’s okay, Joseph, I’m right here. Wake up, Son,” he said, while gently shaking him awake.
Joe opened his eyes and finally focused on his father. “Pa?” Not seeming completely sure that he was awake and that his father was actually there, Joe reached out and put his hand on the man’s face. He was relieved to find that he was truly there and not just part of another dream.
Ben reached up and wrapped his hand around the fingers that were caressing his face. “Joseph, you’re safe. No one is going to hurt you anymore.”
“I know, Pa, I remember what happened now and why I was shot. I killed that man Jack’s brother and he did it. I can’t say as I blame him either, Pa, I deserved it. I had no business cutting on anyone!” Tears were once again in Joe’s eyes as he recalled how he came to be hurt.
“Joe, I explained this to you earlier. It was not your fault, you were only trying to help the man. You didn’t kill him. Can’t you understand that?” Ben tried to get through to his distraught son.
Joe turned his head away from his father and said softly, “I don’t know, Pa. All I know is a man is dead and I’m the one who was cutting on him when he died. How can it not be my fault?”
Ben didn’t know what else to say to convince his son, so he simply took him carefully in his arms and held him close.
>>>>>>
Dan was in Paul’s room that early morning. Dr. Martin had woken up as Dr. Walker was checking him over once again and he found that he felt quite rested. The men were quietly conversing, discussing the events of the past few days and the conditions of the many patients in the house.
“Well Paul, you didn’t tell me you had a hospital out here in Nevada,” Dan joked.
“A hospital? No, we haven’t progressed that far here just yet,” Paul answered.
“Are you sure? I mean, look around you, there’s a hospital right here with a patient in almost every room.”
“Very funny, Dan!”
“Yeah, and the way I hear it, you’ve become a teaching doctor, too, with two interns performing surgery under your tutelage,” Dr. Walker continued.
“Well, I do have to admit, they were good students,” Dr. Martin replied, “but I think they will be dropping out of school, which is just as well; I plan on retiring from teaching, too!”
The two men were chuckling when they heard a shout from down the hall.
“I know that sound,” Paul said, “that’s Little Joe having a nightmare. Let’s go check on him.” With that, Paul climbed out of bed, pulled on a robe and both men went down the hall to check on their youngest patient.
They walked into Joe’s room to find his father gently holding him, trying to ease his heartache.
“Ben, is he in a lot of pain?” Dr. Walker asked, walking over, intending to check Joe’s bandages.
“He’s had a little pain throughout the night, but that’s not what’s got him so upset. He still feels guilty about Dean’s death. He thinks it’s all his fault and I don’t know how to convince him otherwise,” Ben explained.
Dr. Martin came up next to the bed and gave it a try, “Little Joe, I thought we told you earlier that this was not your fault. You did your best to save the man. If you hadn’t tried, he would have died for sure, but you did try. It wasn’t your fault that he had been injured for too long for it to do any good.”
Ben had moved slightly so that Joe could see Paul and Dan. “It is my fault! I should never have picked up a scalpel!”
“Joe,” Paul said gently, “if you hadn’t picked up a scalpel, I probably wouldn’t be standing here now. I was getting a fever and my hand was swelling from the pressure. You saved my life. If it’s anyone’s fault that Dean died, it’s mine. Maybe if I hadn’t slept that half an hour after you took my bullet out, it wouldn’t have been too late, who knows?”
Joe still didn’t look convinced and now Paul looked distressed also, when Dan decided to give his opinion, “I’m assuming that Dean is the body that the posse brought in?” Dr. Martin nodded and Dan continued, “Well, before I came out here, Sheriff Coffee asked me to take a look at the man, just to make it official and all. Paul, Joe, I examined that injury. In my opinion, the only way he could have been saved, was if he had been treated right away, and I’m not talking about when he first got to you, Paul. I’m talking about shortly after he was shot. The way the sheriff explained it, the man rode for quite some time after it happened. So it wasn’t the fault of either of you. It was his own fault for robbing a bank, having a gun fight with a posse and then fleeing with a serious injury.”
Paul thought a minute and then turned back to Joe, “I’ve known this man a long time, Joe, and he’s one of the best doctors around, or else I wouldn’t have asked him to take my place while I was on holiday. We can believe him if he says we neither one killed Dean.” When Joe still looked a little doubtful, Dr. Martin added, “You trust me, don’t you?”
Joe nodded.
“Then take my word for this. It’s sad that the man had to die, but if Dan says we didn’t do it, we didn’t. So now, what we need to do, is concentrate on getting ourselves well. What do you say?” Paul asked.
Joe looked to his father and the man smiled gently towards him and nodded. The boy then turned back to the two doctors and said, “All right, I’ll do my best to stop blaming myself, but Dr. Martin, please promise me that you won’t ask me to operate on anyone again. I just don’t think medicine is my line of work.”
“That’s a deal, Joe,” Paul replied, then turned to Dan. “Didn’t I tell you my interns would be dropping out of school?” Dan nodded and both men chuckled lightly at how well Paul knew his friends.
“Okay, Joe, you get some rest, and maybe, just maybe, you and I will finish that holiday when we’re both well again,” Paul promised. “I know I told Hoss I didn’t think I’d want a vacation again for a good long time, but I think I’ve reconsidered.”
“You’ve got it, Doc!” Joe smiled.
Ben had to add, “Do you think I could join you two on this vacation? With all three of my sons laid up with gunshot wounds, I’m gonna be mighty tired of doing all the chores by the time this vacation resumes. I’ll need a holiday, too!”
Everyone laughed as Paul said, “We’ll be glad to have you, Ben. You’re right, you will need a holiday after running this place single handed for a while.”
The End