DEAD MAN'S CANYON
Seven year old Joseph Cartwright sat at his father's business desk with
a sheet of white butcher's paper and an overly large crayon.
The little boy thought for a moment about what he might draw to please his
father and older brothers Adam and Hoss. Suddenly an idea came to him. He
sprawled his right hand out over the sheet of paper and gripped the black
crayon in between his thumb and fingers of his left hand.
Slowly and as carefully as he could he started to trace around the shape
of his hand onto the paper. When he got to the end, he laid the crayon back
on the desk and picked up the piece of paper to examine his work.
The fingers were a little on the skinny side. It was harder than he thought
to hold his hand still enough to draw around it. Plus it took all of
his five little fingers to hold the crayon just right with enough pressure
to make an impression.
He was surveying his handiwork with a smile on his face when he heard a
voice bellow from behind him:
"LITTLE JOE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING" came the angry question from his big brother
Adam.
Joe hadn't heard anybody approach him from behind and almost jumped out
of his skin as his brother yelled at him.
"I..... I was just making a picture for you and Hoss and Pa, Adam" he said
in a small voice.
Adam wasn't concerned about what the little boy was holding up to show him.
He was just worried that this was the second time in a week that the boy had
been caught at his father's desk when he was told not to.
"What were you told about going to Pa's desk, Little Joe?" Adam asked with
his hands on his hips. He had been outside in the yard all day while it was
hot and was in no mood for the explanations of a overactive seven year old.
"But Adam,......... " Joe tried to answer in his defence.
"No buts, Little Joe, except yours over my knee if I catch you at that desk
again" Adam said hotly. He didn't wait for a reply and walked out the door
ready to resume his task outside.
Adam was out the door when the crocodile size tears fell from his little
face. He didn't know what he had done to make his big brother so angry. He
thought he was drawing his family a lovely picture. He didn't think he was
doing anything naughty. Not naughty enough to receive a trip over Adam's knee.
He ran upstairs to his room with his picture tuck safely under his arm.
He dived on his bed, head first and buried his curly head into the pillow
and cried. He lifted his head up and spotted his teddy bear friend Bo and
clutched it close to his little chest and proceeded to cry tears all over
the stuffed animal.
"Why don't they want to play with me Bo" he said through sobs. There was
nobody else on the ranch to play with. His father was always out
with the men tending to the cattle with Hoss. Adam was too busy handling the
timber contract to bother about a lonely little brother.
The truth was he was lonely. Very lonely. He was banned from going into
the barn without his father or brothers. He couldn't go to the corral without
being under somebody's watchful eye. When everyone got fed up with him or
couldn't afford the time to be with him, he was banished to the inside of
the house. This is where he had found himself this afternoon.
The teddy bear just looked back at him with large black eyes. His face was
always poised with a smile no matter what his master had been accused of.
Bo never yelled at him. Bo always had time to play with him. Bo never got
bored with the endless stream of questions. Bo was the only true friend he
had.
He had been to school today. Hoss had come with him as far as the school
house but he had to return to the ranch to help his father and the rest of
the hands. Hoss was big for his age and when the hands were low in numbers,
Hoss was usually first to put up his hand to help out. He didn't enjoy school
anyway. Hoss always felt left out with his peers due to his size.
Little Joe didn't understand why he had to go to school and his brothers
got to stay at home with Pa. Little Joe had always staying at home with Pa.
Since his mother Marie had passed away a little over two years ago, he was
always when Pa went away that he wouldn't come back
When Adam had come to pick him up from the schoolhouse, Joe had been happy
enough. His day had been a quite one. First up he had a spelling
test from Ms Jones. He had spent his recess time talking to the new boy in
school. He was a strange looking kid with dark hair and olive skin. Joe had
talked to him because he seemed to be sitting all on his one like Joe was.
His name was Johnny Scott. He was seven and a half.
It was after they returned home that Joe began to feel all alone again.
He had put his little horse Star away in the barn with the help of his brother
Hoss. His big brother had shown him how to comb the little horse's mane and
coat. He showed Little Joe how much to feed the little horse at night time.
It had been Hoss who attended to most of the physical parts of the lecture.
Joe just listened to what his brother was telling him. Later when he was as
big as Hoss and Adam he wanted to ride all of the horses on the ranch. He
had to listen now to know what to do then.
Around the dinner table that night, the mood was sombre. Pa had only returned
just upon dusk. He was very tired and wasn't ready for the energy
of his youngest son. He gave him a half-hearted hug as the little boy wrapped
himself around his legs when he walked through the door. As soon as he managed
to pry Little Joe free, Ben was telling his son to wash up for supper. There
wouldn't be any time for play tonight.
Ben could see the depressed look on his youngest son's face. He had his
head bowed and was trying to stab a wayward pea on the plate with his knife.
The attempts he made failed and only resulted in a sharp screeching sound
of metal on porcelain which put the older Cartwright's nerves on edge.
"Little Joe do you really have to do that" Adam said impatiently. He had
a throbbing headache.
Little Joe just slumped lower in his chair and forgot all about the food
on his plate. Adam was yelling at him for the second time this afternoon.
Ben tried to ease the tension a little "Little Joe, what did you do after
school this afternoon?"
"Got roused on by Adam" came the hot reply from the youngster.
"Watch your tone, young man" Ben warned "You don't have to be so rude at
the dinner table, Little Joe."
This scolding only got the little man's temper up more. "Fine, may I be
excused, Pa. Everybody picks on me anyway." He didn't wait for his father's
reply. He stomped his way upstairs and went into his bedroom.
"What has gotten into your younger brother?" Ben asked his remaining two
sons.
"Don't know Pa" Hoss replied "Me and him helped brush Star down and he seemed
alright then in the barn." Hoss didn't like to see his little brother upset.
He would have to find out what was wrong with him.
"I found him at your desk this afternoon, Pa" Adam chimed in "He was told
twice earlier this week to stay away. It doesn't seem to matter what I tell
him these days, he does just the complete opposite."
"Oh Adam, I sure it's not as bad as all that" Ben said trying to defend
Little Joe somewhat. "Joe's a growing boy and needs things to keep him occupied.
He gets bored easily. You will just have to make some small allowances for
him. The school holidays are coming up at the end of this week. Maybe you
can all go fishing and get him out of the house for a day."
Adam just mumbled some other words under his breath and then excused himself
and went into his own room for a while. Pa was right. Little Joe was just
being a kid. He regretted that he had yelled at Joe at the desk, but he was
just tired and let things get the better of him. Little Joe was probably asleep
now so he would offer his apologizes in the morning.
Ben climbed the stairs and went to knock on the door of Joe's room. Like
Adam he fully expected the boy to be sleeping. Instead, he found that the
little boy hadn't noticed his presence yet and he was able to listen to the
heart to heart conversation he was having with his bear Bo.
"Bo, I wish Mama would come back" he said on the verge of a fresh set of
tears. "Adam wouldn't be so mean with Mama here. I didn't mean to make him
angry today. I just wished there was somebody for me to play with."
Ben listened to his son's words and felt his own heart grow heavy at the
emotion displayed. His little boy was hurting. Ben was even sadder that his
son was still so upset over Marie's death.
Ben coughed to alert his presence in the room. Little Joe was startled at
first that somebody else was in the room. He looked up and saw that it was
his father, but the tears couldn't be hidden.
"Little Joe," Ben started to say. He sat beside his son on the bed and was
greeted by the boy wrapping his thin little arms around his broad chest and
burying his head in his embrace and crying.
"I just want somebody to play with Pa" the little boy sobbed. Ben had to
fight back tears of his own at his son's obvious distress. He rarely thought
about there not being many children for Joe to associate with. With the running
of the ranch keeping him busy from sunrise to sunset, some of his youngest
son's most basic needs weren't being met.
"I'll try and put it right son" Ben said softly. "I promise, please don't
cry."
Ben just held his son for a bit longer. The little boy kept his grip tight
around Ben's middle. Soon Ben could feel the steady heart beat and rhythmic
breathing of Little Joe signalling that the boy had fallen asleep.
Ben laid his son's curly head on the soft pillow and ran his hand gently
down his face over the tear trails left behind. He brushed back a few unruly
curls and promised to make an effort tomorrow. He would speak to Hoss and
Adam too about spending some much needed time with their brother.
"Goodnight, my angel" Ben said as he dimmed the lantern and kissed his son
on the forehead.
********************************************************************
The next day was Tuesday, a school day. It started out like all the others:
"Hoss will you go and rouse Little Joe out of bed please and tell him to
get dressed for school" Ben said over his morning cup of coffee.
"Sure Pa" Hoss replied to the request.
Twenty minutes later a very grumpy Little Joe came down the stairs with
his shirt buttoned in the wrong holes and no shoes on his feet.
"Come here Joseph, please" Ben said trying not to get cross this time of
the morning.
Joe obediently went to his father while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
Ben re-buttoned the shirt into the right holes and tucked his shirt into
his trousers. "Go and get your boots please Little Joe. It's almost time for
you to leave. I want you to be able to eat a reasonable breakfast before you
start the day ."
"Yes Pa" Joe answered and went back upstairs to fetch his sock and boots.
He only managed to shovel a few mouthfuls of scrambled eggs and toast into
his mouth before Adam was hollering at the front door that it was time to
leave.
"See you this afternoon Pa and Hoss" the little boy said as he scrambled
out the door. Ben just shook at his head in dismay as the morsel of food the
boy managed to eat. That few mouthfuls was supposed to sustain that endless
energy until lunch
time. Ben just hoped that Hop Sing had packed a good lunch for the little
boy.
The ride to the schoolhouse was very quiet. Adam was too busy thinking about
the day's projects ahead to talk to his little brother. Joe was still angry
at his big brother for rousing on him for no reason, so he said nothing to
Adam either.
"Hoss or Pa will pick you up this afternoon Little Joe" Adam said as he
prepared to leave his Little brother in the hands of Miss Jones.
"Aren't you going to pick me up?" Joe inquired.
Joe was angry at Adam but he knew that his big brother would be leaving
for University in a few months and he wanted to spend as much time with him
as possible. Even if it meant both of them didn't talk to each other. Once
Adam left for Boston, the only communication would be by letter and that
just wasn't the same as being able to look at his brother Adam when he needed
to talk about something.
"No I haven't got time for that today Joe. I will meet you back at
home at supper time" Adam said in reply. He didn't realize that
his little brother would read a different meaning into those words altogether.
Yeah, don't have enough time for me Joe thought to himself.
"I'll see you at home tonight Joe" Adam said trying to make up for not being
able to pick Little Joe up from school. He intended to be at the lumber camp
today and he wouldn't have enough time to ride back in time to pick his little
brother up.
His brother didn't intend to hear any of Adam's explanations about his excuses.
He just walked towards the school room with his shoulders hunched and his
head hung low.
The morning passed quickly enough. Joe handed in his homework as requested
by Miss Jones. The teacher looked at his work while see set the children working
on a few simple arithmetic problems on the blackboard at the front of the
room. She frowned at first as Joe's homework assignment. It was all smudged
but seemed to be correct enough. She promised to herself that when she returned
from her break, she would spend some extra time with Joe so that he could
improve his writing skills. The smudges occurred because his hand would move
across the freshly written words and cause to ink to be spread over the page
by his hand.
She had thought it odd when she first seen the little curly head boy writing
with the opposite hand to everyone else. But in the end, if he was comfortable
enough in writing with his left hand, who was she to tell him any different.
He just needed some guidance and self confidence and she was sure that his
penmanship would improve considerably.
They all went out to lunch and Joe said with Johnny Scott again for companionship.
"What does your father do, Joe" Johnny asked.
"He and my brothers run a big place for cows. It's called the Ponderosa.
It goes for miles and miles. You can't even see some parts of it." Joe answered
with pride.
"Wow," Johnny replied in earnest "My Pa and me just moved to town. He's
a blacksmith. He started working at the Livery stable day before yesterday."
"What about your Ma?" Joe asked.
Johnny was a little hesitant is answering at first. "She's not here anymore"
he said without going into any more detail.
Joe could see that the boy didn't want to talk about his mother.
"Yeah, my Ma died too" Joe said. He was shy when it came to talking about
his mother Marie and it still hurt inside sometimes when he thoughts about
her or tried to remember something about her.
"I bet your Pa takes real good care of you don't he?" Johnny now asked trying
to change the subject.
"Yeah mostly" Joe replied, this time the hesitation was in his voice. "But
lately nothing I do seems to make them happy. Especially Adam my big brother.
Yesterday I was just drawing a picture and he roused at me for drawing at
Pa's desk. Told me he was going to give me a tanning just for drawing a picture."
"I know what you mean Joe" Johnny said. "I have been in trouble some myself
the last few days with my Pa. Just wish sometimes there was somewhere we could
go. Just to be on our own. Know what I mean?"
"Yes, I know what you mean" Joe said. "And I've know the perfect place.
It's called Dead Man's Canyon. I don't know how it got it's name. But it's
really neat. Me and my other big brother Hoss went there once and we called
it our "Happy Place”. There's all sorts of caves and rocks to climb over.
Lots of shady trees and a neat little stream that runs right through the
middle of the whole place. Someday I'm gonna go there. Just me."
Joe thought the need to escape to his little hiding place might come sooner
than everybody thought, but before he could explain to his friend Johnny anymore,
Miss Jones rang the bell and told them that recess was now over.
"Want to meet me after school at the lake for some fishing, Little Joe?"
Johnny asked before the two new friends separated inside the class room..
Joe thought a moment. His Pa didn't normally let him go off without one
of his brothers looking after him. Maybe he could do his chores quickly enough
and sneak away for a few minutes anyway. It wasn't as though anybody would
notice him not being there anyway.
"Sure Johnny, but I have to do my chores first. I'll meet there after that"
Joe replied and they quickly rejoined the rest of their class in the schoolroom.
The afternoon then seemed to drag for the little boy who was for the first
time in his life eager to get home and complete his chores on time. Of course
there was another reason behind it.
Miss Jones told them how they had done with the problems on the blackboard.
Joe had managed to get three of the five problems correct. He would have got
all five right, but his concentration had started to waver towards the end
of the lesson and he had just made a couple of adding up errors.
"Class before you are dismissed this afternoon, I have a couple of announcements"
Miss Jones said to the children.
"Firstly, there will be a new homework assignment for tonight" she said
and got innumerable groans for her efforts. She smiled slightly at the children's
over exaggerated response to the idea of homework.
"Secondly, tomorrow I will not be here." she continued. This comment was
met be stone cold silent from the class. The children had never known in their
short two years at school for the petite little school teacher not to be
there waiting for them every morning. "I'm sorry to disappoint you all, but
I have to travel urgently back East. There are only three days left for this
school semester, I will be back before school starts again."
A little blond girl Carrie in the front of the class spoke up for everyone
else "Who is going to teach us Miss Jones" she said in a small voice.
"A nice man by the name of Mr Watson will be here to meet you in the morning.
I expect that you will all complete that homework assignment for me because
I have left instructions for Mr Watson to check them all first thing in the
morning. Don't worry children, I will miss you all terribly over the summer
break, but I will be back before you know it. Class dismissed."
Miss Jones failed to note that the most confused look about her news came
from a certain little boy in the back of the classroom. He got up from his
chair and carried his books outside, but his mind was still trying to comprehend
what she had just told them.
Little Joe had never had any other teacher but Miss Jones. He didn't like
the idea of a stranger in the class room. He just hoped that the three days
Mr Watson was here went very quickly indeed.
Hoss was waiting for Little Joe as promised and holding the reins of his
little pony Star. He could see the confusion written all over the youngster's
face: "What's up punkin" he asked
Joe looked up in surprise when he heard Hoss talking to him "Oh nothin'
Hoss" he answered as he climbed aboard his small mount. "Miss Jones says
she is going away tomorrow. There is going to be a new teacher for the next
few days."
“Don't worry Little Joe" Hoss said trying to reassure his nervous sibling.
"I'm sure this new teacher is nice too like Miss Jones. Come on you've got
chores at home waiting for you."
Joe had almost forgotten about doing his chores quickly enough to meet Johnny
down at the lake. Without saying another word he spurred his little horse
into the fastest pace the little horse could manage. He needed to get home
in a hurry and get them done.
Hoss just looked at his brother's back in amazement. One minute the kid
looked like he had just lost his best friend, the next, he was riding so
fast he could barely keep up. He just shook his head and tried to catch up
to his young brother before he fell off the little horse and hurt himself.
When Hoss arrived back at the yard, he rode Chubb into the barn and saw
his little brother trying to unsaddle his horse Star. Even though the horse
was small enough in size for it's rider, Star's saddle was still too heavy
for Little Joe and the little boy
tumbled backwards into the soft hay from the unexpected weight of the leather
saddle as he lifted it off his mount.
Hoss chuckled out loud and immediately got a scowl from his little brother
in response. He immediately got of his own horse and went to help his brother
right himself.
"I can do it myself Hoss" Joe yelled back hotly, a little embarrassed at
having fallen over.
"I was only gonna help you Little Joe" Hoss said to the annoyed little boy.
"Why don't you go and start your egg collecting for Hop Sing" Hoss suggested,
trying to avert his little brother's hostility from the barn.
"Can I go and play after I finish my chores Hoss?" Joe now asked trying
to hide the fishing afternoon he had planned with Johnny Scott.
"You can do what you want as long as your chores are done first Little Joe"
Hoss said in a warning voice "You know what Adam will say if you forget to
do them."
Joe smiled at Hoss’s answer and had no reason in his seven year old mind
that his big brother’s words hadn’t meant that he couldn't meet Johnny down
at Lake Tahoe like he had arranged.
So for the next half an hour, Little Joe went happily about collecting the
eggs from the hen house and then gathering some of the kindling from the wood
box outside the barn to take into Hop Sing so he could start cooking dinner.
Adam had been inside the house when Little Joe dropped the wood beside the
stove in the kitchen. Little Joe walked out to see his big brother sitting
at Pa's desk looking over some of the ranch's accounts.
"Hi Adam" Joe said trying to sound cheerful. "I'm home" he said in a voice
that was probably a little loud for inside but Joe didn't seem to notice the
volume.
"So I hear from your shouting" Adam replied without looking up from his
books. "Have you got them chores done yet?" he asked his younger brother.
"Yep, almost done" Joe said trying not to let Adam's dark mood get to him.
"Fine" Adam said without to much interest "Supper will be ready in about
an hour or so." he continued as he kept his mind on the figures in front of
him. He wasn't actually trying to ignore Joe but at the moment with his father
busy at the lumber yard for most of the day, it was up to him to make sure
that the other chores around the ranch were done every day and that included
the awful job of paperwork.
Joe's shoulder slumped slightly before he took himself back out the kitchen
door. He tried hard not to let Adam's lack of interest get to him. He went
into the barn and got out his fishing pole and hooks and started walking towards
Lake Tahoe to meet his new friend Johnny.
Hoss had not seen his little brother headed towards the lake. He was busy
trying to get a stubborn cow into the corrals and his full attention was needed
to avoid the animal becoming aggressive and cause trouble.
By the time he made the quick five minute walk to the lake, Little Joe's
mood had improved somewhat and he was whistling once he reached the banks
of the lake.
Johnny Scott was already sitting on a rock with his fishing line in the
water when he spotted Joe and called him over. "Hi Ya Little Joe" Johnny
said with a grin. "Didn't think you were coming?"
"Had to do some yucky chores first" Joe replied "That big brother Adam of
mine is in a bad mood again."
"Boy, by the sound of that brother of yours, I'm glad he's not my brother."
Johnny said
"Oh he's alright some times, but he had been mad at me almost everyday this
week. He does it when Pa's away. I can't wait for Pa to come back tonight.
He'll want to spend time with me."
For the next forty minutes, the two young boys sat on the rock beside the
lake with their fishing lines in the water. Johnny didn't have much luck at
catching anything.
Joe had a fish on his line and was tugging pretty hard to try and reel it
in. He stood up to try and get some more strength in his actions but no sooner
then he had yanked back on the line, the fish pulled hard again on the other
line. So hard in fact that Little Joe was caught unexpectedly and ended up
on his knees in the water.
Joe stood up and tried to get a good look at himself. The fishing pole was
forgotten and started to float away into the deeper water away from him. Joe
could see that most of his trousers had gotten soaked from the water as had
his shirt. He knew that he would have to get home and changed quickly before
Adam or his Pa saw him otherwise he would be in big trouble.
Adam and Hoss were already seated at the dinner table when Joe walked into
the house with his sodden trousers and his sodden boots. He was more
worried about what Adam’s reaction would be and so almost jumped out of his
skin at Hop Sing’s voice berating him for walking his wet and muddy boots
all over the floor.
“Lil boy all wet and dirty. No supper to get washed up and clean.
Lil’ Joe always make mess for Hop Sing to clean up” the little oriental man
said. He turned around and stomped back into the kitchen
muttering to himself about having to reheat meals.
Little Joe had been startled at his little cook’s words, but now decided
he best do as he was told and get cleaned up so he could eat. He hadn’t
even reached the bottom step of the staircase when he heard another accusing
voice behind him yet again:
“And just where do you think you are going?” came the voice dripping with
sarcasm. Joe turned around and looked full on into the angry face
of his big brother Adam. Joe proceeded to roll his eyes at Adam in
response to what he knew was inevitable.
The look on Adam’s face when he saw the gesture only made the lines in his
face deepen with frustration at the young boy. His eyes narrowed and
he widen his stance and placed his hands on his hips in a demanding pose.
“I asked you a question Joe. Where have you been all afternoon?”
Adam now asked putting aside the wet and muddy clothes for the moment.
When he had first discovered his young sibling missing he went through the
various stages of anger for the boy’s disobedience, fear about where the boy
might by and worry about what
sort of trouble he might get himself into all alone. Now it was back
to anger as he could see Joe standing before him, obviously less than hurt
but deciding to be rude and obstinate instead.
Little Joe suddenly turned his attention to the flood boards and mumbled
his reply “Just went fishin”.
“What was that, and stand up straight and face me when I am talking to you”
Adam now barked back. Joe stood there for a minute tracing a pattern
on the wooden floor with his muddy boots. Finally he looked back into
the brown eyes of his brother and repeated “I just went fishin’ with a friend,
that’s all”.
Adam could feel his temper boiling over and knew that he would need to cool
down before dealing with this child any further tonight. “Get upstairs
and when you are cleaned up Hop Sing will bring your supper to your room.
You can wait for Pa to come home and explain your behaviour to him” Adam said
as he made himself turn and walk away from the scene.
Joe was now angry too. He knew he was wet and muddy, but didn’t think
that was enough cause for Adam to be so cranky at him. He made his displeasure
known by beginning to stomp loudly up the wooden stairs one at a time and
making sure that the noise sounded out hollow from each one as he went.
Adam knew what the kid was doing and could see the kid’s defiant manner
as turned at the stomping noise: “And you are restricted to the yard
for the next week” he said harshly back at the mop of curly hair. He
really want to say “For the rest of your life” but refrained.
“So what else is knew” Joe said in an uninterested tone. It wasn’t
as if he had any free time off the ranch lately anyway. He was always
being restricted to the house or yard. What made today any different?
Adam could see that the boy was determined to undermine him at every turn
and so ignored any more attempts to rile him.
About half an hour later he noticed still cranky but somewhat calmed down
boy walk down the stairs to the bathhouse. Joe had taken
about twenty minutes to scrub the dried mud from his body. He
gave his hair a wash too because he could feel the bits of grit and sand through
it as he ran his hair through the curls.
Joe walked from the bathhouse in his nightshirt and spotted Hoss and Adam
sitting in the living room. His father still wasn’t home and he started
to worry in the back of his mind about why his father might be so late.
He looked from brother to brother before climbing the stairs once more.
Adam wouldn’t even give him the satisfaction of looking at him. He got
a quick and concealed wry smile from his brother Hoss which said volumes without
hearing the words. Joe could even see the disappointment in the one
brother he thought would stand-by him no matter what.
“Night Hoss” Joe said loud enough to emphasis that he had no intentions
of saying goodnight to his older brother Adam.
Joe’s attempts to give him the cold shoulder treatment actually brought
a slight chuckle to Adam’s lips and he fought to keep it in until the kid’s
bedroom door was closed again.
Joe sat on his bed with his hands behind his head for a long time that night.
His meal tray sat where Hop Sing had left it, untouched. He really had
no stomach for any food tonight. He had too many thoughts going around
his head.
About an hour after Little Joe went to bed, the front door of the house
opened and in came Ben Cartwright. He had a little mud on his own boots
and was dog tired. All he wanted was a hot meal, a hot bath and a nice
bed before going out again in the morning.
Hoss and Adam could see the tiredness etched on their father’s face as he
hung his hat on the peg behind the door. Ben had only just
managed to unbuckle his gun belt and place it on the credenza when he was
greeted by the same tirade from Hop Sing that Joe had come home too.
“Boss walk mud all over Hop Sing’s floor just like son. How son get
in trouble when Boss do it too. Nobody listen to Hop Sing. Move
back to China and cook for clean family” he said and went back into the kitchen
to heat Ben’s dinner.
Ben was really tired and in no mood for the little oriental man’s lectures
he did however catch something about his son getting into trouble. It
didn’t take much nous to work out which son Hop Sing meant as he looked over
and could see Hoss and Adam sitting in the living room. He sighed loudly
and walked over to hear all about the day’s events involving his youngest
son Little Joe. He could see from the way Hoss tried not to look at
his father and the less than impressed look on Adam’s normally handsome features
that something else had happened earlier in the evening.
“Okay, out with it” he said in a no-nonsense tone. “What’s being going on
here while I have been gone?” “Hoss you care to start the conversation” Ben
said. Hoss never was good at hiding his feelings or emotions. His facial
expressions gave him away immediately.
“Better ask Adam Pa. I ain’t coming between those two at the moment.
Liable to get my head taken off by them both” Hoss said genuinely.
“Well Adam?”, Ben said now standing in a similar fashion as Adam had done
with Little Joe earlier. Hands on hips and in a questioning stance.
“Little Joe and I just had a little disagreement Pa that’s all. I
left things alone because I was too mad. I’ll talk to him again in
the morning when he’s cooled down some.” Adam said in exasperation.
He really didn’t know how his father coped all the time. Adam thankfully
only had to do it every now and then. His relationship had been a positive
one up until now, but with his absence at college looming, the two
could barely look at each other without arguing.
“And just what do you need to talk to him about in the morning may I ask?”
Ben said getting cranky himself about his two eldest son’s dancing around
the problem instead of just coming out plain and saying it.
“He took off from the ranch this afternoon without telling anybody and when
he walked in the door he was dripping with mud” Adam said as he explained
the scenario.
Ben sighed out loud again and now guessed at why Hop Sing had gone off at
him walking mud onto the floor as he walked in. He rubbed at his
temples tiredly and then glanced up the staircase to the closed door.
”I’ll go talk to him son” Ben said and started climbing the stairs.
Hop Sing had just laid Ben’s hot meal out onto the table when he saw his Boss
climb the stairs towards Little Joe’s room. Once again he went off
into a tirade of Cantonese as he pulled the plate off the table again and
mumbled out loud as he took it back into the kitchen to keep it off.
He knew of course that Ben wouldn’t take anytime for himself until the problem
with his youngest son was sorted out first.
Adam had also mumbled some words under his breath about Ben babying his
brother too much. He wasn’t too annoyed though and was a little grateful
to have someone willing to take the responsibility for a little while.
Hoss and Adam soon retired to their own beds knowing that the following day
would be a full one if not a tiresome one.
Ben now carefully opened the door to his son Joseph’s room to check if the
boy was awake or not. He looked over and could see the boy turned on
his side towards him, appearing to be asleep. Truth was, Joe still
had not succumbed to sleep and heard his father climb the stairs. He
evened out his breathing and closed his eyes so as to act asleep.
Normally Joe would crave his father’s touch and presence, even just to say
goodnight. But tonight, Joe was still feeling angry with every one in
the world. He didn’t feel like being cuddled and babied just to make
things better.
Ben quietly closed the door behind him and walked towards the bed.
It was now that he could see the full tray of food left behind by the ever
faithful Hop Sing. He sighed wearily at the uneaten food and knew that
it was another battle yet to be won with his son. The battles
at the moment just seemed never ending.
Ben could see that he wasn’t going to have much conversation with the boy
tonight. He had no intentions of waking the sleeping boy. He sat
on the bed giving his tired legs a rest, being careful enough not to disturb
Joe. He was still close enough to be able to reach out and brush back
the few stray curls that hung over the boy’s forehead.
It took all Joe’s inner concentration from opening his eyes and tumbling
into the embrace that his father would no doubt offer. He was determined
not to let his weakness show. He knew that Adam would have told
his father everything that happened today. He knew that his father would
be unhappy and disappointed in his behaviour once again.
”Help me Marie” Ben said as he gently placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Tell me were I am going wrong with our son. What do I have to change
to make things better?”
Joe could scarcely hold back his tears as he heard his father’s words to
his mother’s picture on the bedside table.
“I need your help too O Lord. Hold my hand as I guide him through
the years. Show me the patience and understanding that I need to learn
to help Joseph overcome these troubled times.” Ben then gently kissed
his sleeping boy and left the room to go to his own bed for the night.
*********************************************************************
Early the next morning a still tired but awake Ben sat at the breakfast
table sipping his coffee whilst discussing the day’s events with his eldest
son Adam.
“I’ll have a talk with him when he comes down to breakfast son” Ben told
Adam. But I’m afraid with all the problems at the lumber yard at the
moment, I probably won’t be back until late tonight again.”
“How long do you expect the delays to continue Pa” Adam now asked.
“Well with one of the blade’s broken and some of the men refusing to compensation
with some extra work, the schedule is getting further and further behind.
I have tried to hire more men, but there just aren’t many men willing to do
the work. I’m sorry son but I need you to run things here at the ranch
for the next couple of days.” Ben
said with genuine gratitude in his voice. There were many
times in the past that he wondered what he would have down without the steady
guiding hand of his son Adam.
”Don’t worry Pa, we’ll manage here. Hoss has been a great help.
As much as any full grown man” Adam admitted thinking about his 13 year old
brother. He might be only a teenager in years, but Hoss’s willingness
to put in a good day’s work matched his size and strength.
”I know you will son, but I hate to leave all of the responsibility to you
all the time. This trouble with Little Joe isn’t helping any either.”
Ben said.
Adam and his father were now joined at the breakfast table by Hoss.
“Morning Pa, Morning Adam” Hoss said in his usual cheery voice. It took
a lot before Hoss showed his grumpy side. Something which the rest
of the Cartwright family sadly lacked.
“Morning Hoss” came the reply from both men. “How did you sleep son?”
Ben asked Hoss. This was his usual question to his son’s in the morning.
“Great Pa, I’m hungry though” Hoss replied and started to fill his plate
with bacon and eggs. Ben smiled to himself. He knew that the only
time he needed to worry about Hoss in this house was when the boy said he
wasn’t hungry. The boy ate a grown man’s size meal and a bit more almost
every day and was still growing. Sometimes Ben wondered if Hoss was
eating for himself and his little brother Joseph. Considering how much
the youngest Cartwright brother ate, he could very well believe it sometimes.
Ben looked towards Little Joe’s closed bedroom door a number of times whilst
sipping at his coffee. He tried to hide his glances but knew Adam was
intently watching what he was doing. The look on Adam’s face told Ben
that his eldest son wanted the problems with Joe sorted out by his father.
“Hoss will you go and rouse your younger brother for school please” Ben
said as he glanced yet again at the closed bedroom door. He could not
hear any noises on the floor above signalling that Joseph had awoken on his
own and taken the initiative to get dressed before anybody came looking for
him.
“Sure Pa” Hoss said in a cheery voice. Hoss had forgotten about most
of the trouble his brother had been in the night before. Hoss was one to easily
forgive and forget and get on with life as though nothing had happened.
He was ready to start the new day afresh with everybody being friendly towards
each other again.
Hoss was surprised though when he did knock on Little Joe’s room and opened
the door to see his brother pulling on his socks and shoes. “Morning
short shanks” he said happy that he didn’t have to go through the almost daily
routine of pulling the bedclothes back and yanking Joe to his feet.
“Morning Hoss” Joe said in reply but his voice was already full of annoyance
and frustration at the day. It wasn’t even 8.00am and already Little Joe was
in a bad mood. The bad mood came from being away a great majority of
the night trying not to think about the things that had been happening between
him and Adam lately.
“Pa is waiting to talk to you downstairs and he ain’t about to take any
of your sass this morning Joseph” Hoss warned his brother before they exited
the room and headed down the stairs towards the breakfast table. Joe
just proceeded to poke his tongue out at Hoss as though telling him that he
didn’t need to be told what to do.
Hoss just sighed to himself and rubbed the bridge of his nose knowing how
Adam lost his temper sometimes with this most of wilful of children.
He just hoped that Joe knew better than to act badly in front of his father.
Tired or not, Ben Cartwright never did put up with back chat or saucy words
from any of his sons and they had all come to know it. Joe just like
to push the limits as far as he could at his age. Hoss could never remember
acting the way that Joe had been lately. Sure he had gotten into his
own fair share of trouble when he was younger but never to the extent that
his brother did. Joe just seemed to have a knack to attracting trouble.
Joe reached the bottom of the stairs and seemed to drag his feet as he walked
to the table with his head hung low. He knew that his father was about
to talk to him about his adventures yesterday and he wasn’t very happy about
getting a dressing down this early in the morning. He looked at his
older brother Adam briefly and thought he saw a scowl about the dragging of
the feet and the overdrawn out walk to the table.
“Morning Little Joe” Ben said in a greeting voice. He did want to
have a talk with his youngest son about his latest behaviour, but he also
wanted to start the day out on the right foot. He could see the unhappy
expression on Joe’s handsome boyish features and the efforts the boy used
to avoid direct eye contact with everybody seated at the table.
“Mornin” came the barely audible mumble as Joe took his seat. He pulled
the empty plate in front of him closer as though to put some food on it.
He glanced briefly at Adam again and muttered the same mumble of “Good
Morning” to his brother.
Adam responded in kind with a bare mumble of his own but his voice betrayed
his annoyance slightly and his face still bore the scathing words that he
was thinking about saying to Joe about his trip to the lake and his disrespectful
tones when he returned home.
Ben waited a few minutes for Joe to have some breakfast before he asked
him any questions. He knew that if an argument started from it then
Joe would be too upset to eat anything and he would go to school skipping
meals again.
Adam thought this ploy merely a delaying tactic on his father’s part but
didn’t say anything out loud to anybody.
Joe had eaten half a dozen mouthfuls of food before setting his fork down
on the half-empty plate and picking up his glass of milk to wash it down.
It was now that Ben decided to start the conversation.
“Do you have anything to tell me Joseph?” Ben asked, wanting to know if
Joe realised the effects of his own behaviour yesterday. Hopefully
the boy would realise that he couldn’t continue on in the same manner he
had been. If he could see the wrongfulness of his behaviour then half
of the result had already been achieved.
“About what Pa?” Joe said using his best angelic face. When all else
failed, Joe always resorted to using his boyhood charms and puppy dog eyes
on his father. They had worked for him many times in the past on both
his father and brothers, especially Hoss. He could only hope that they
would work for him again today.
Ben sighed aloud and told himself that Joe wasn’t really playing mind games
with him. Now he decided to use the direct approach to show his displeasure
at Joe’s vague answer.
“Tell me about what happened to you yesterday when you left the ranch when
you weren’t supposed to” Ben said in a sterner voice.
“Hoss told me I could” Joe said with all the innocence he could muster.
He knew that he had gone about getting his brother’s approval in a round about
manner, but it had worked and that was all that mattered. All he had
to do now was get Adam and his father to believe his story.
Hoss looked the most confused at the mention of his name. He could
feel the questioning glances of his father and brother Adam on him as if to
dare him to say that he had given the younger boy permission to leave the
Ponderosa on his own. Hoss knew that Joe wasn’t allowed to go off on
his own without telling anybody. He was trying to think back to the
various conversations he had with Joe yesterday and when he exactly came out
with this agreement he knew nothing about.
Ben wasn’t fooled though. One look at Hoss’s face and Ben knew that
Joe had taken advantage of Hoss’s good nature and twisted it to his own gains.
Adam just shook his head slightly and also knew that Hoss had been taken in
by Joe’s cunning and sly game.
“Just exactly what did your brother Hoss say to make you think you could
go off without anybody?” Ben now asked of his youngest son, trying not to
loose his temper at the child.
Joe however just put on the same angelic mask as he had done before. He
too was determined not to loose his temper this morning. Loosing his
temper would not only cause his father to get angrier at him, but to Joe
would also make the story he was trying to weave fall apart and admit his
knowledge and guilt in the whole affair. If he looked genuinely innocent
enough and told his father just how he saw the words spoken to him, there
was nothing to say that his father wouldn’t believe him.
“I asked Hoss if I could go off and play after I finished school and he
said that I could do whatever I wanted as long as I finished my chores” Joe
said.
Ben smiled inwardly as he could plainly see that Joseph had intentionally
left out certain bits of information to Hoss that would have shed more light
on what the smaller boy exactly planned to do after school.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it Joe” Hoss said a little annoyed
at his brother.
“What did you exactly mean Hoss?” Adam asked with a voice that dripped of
cynicism. Adam looked at Hoss with a face that shouted he was
just itching to know what Hoss had meant when he said the words.
“I think we all know that Joe knew all to well that Hoss didn’t mean for
you to be wandering off on your own, don’t we Joseph” Ben said and looked
at his youngest son with scolding words in his tongue.
The look was enough though and Joe felt himself shrinking into the seat
trying to avoid his father’s intent gaze.
Ben now changed the tone of the conversation all together and now spoke
in a very gentle voice. One that sounded like he was more worried that
angry. “Joseph,” he said and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder for
emphasis “You brothers and I just want to make sure you are safe. That’s
why there are rules about where you can go and where you can’t on your own.
It’s not that we want to keep you from playing or meeting your friends.
There are many things that could happen to you when we don’t know where you
are. You might get into trouble and nobody will be there to help you
because we don’t know where you are. Do you understand son?”
The softer touch had done it’s job as Ben watched tears trickle down the
young boy’s face in remorse. The idea that Joe worried his family was
a better weapon than threatening the boy for lying and conniving against them.
“Yes Pa” Joe said as he tried to choke back his tears. He wiped them
onto his sleeve and then shyly said he was going to be late for school.
“See you this afternoon Joseph” Ben said as he gave his son an awkward hug.
Hoss felt just as awkward as Joe after a while and excused himself saying
that he would go with Joe to make sure he got to school okay.
Adam and Ben sat at the table for a while without saying anything.
Both of them had different approaches as to how they handled the youngest
member of the family, but Adam had to admit that his father often got the
better results. His method might be more flawed or be gentler and softer
in punishment, but they had the same impact almost as the boy getting a stern
lecture or spanking.
“I have to be going too son” Ben now said to his eldest son. He apologized
a few more times about being away from the ranch for such long periods of
time and leaving Adam in charge again. He promised he would let Adam
know how things were going later in the day.
Adam sat at the table sitting at his coffee and trying to figure out how
to mend the relationship between him and Little Joe. He was planning
to go away to college very soon and different want to leave the current tension
between them all that time. He finally made himself get up and attend
to the work that needed to be done outside. These thoughts were never
far from his mind the entire day though and he went about the chores.
***************
Joe had dawdled a little on the ride to school the next morning. He
was still trying to sort out what he felt inside about what had been said
at the breakfast table that morning. Although he had been cranky about
Adam and his bullying tactics when his father left him in charge, he had never
wanted to worry his brother about being missing.
Hoss had seen his little brother lost deep in thought and had tried a couple
of times to get the youngster to talk about his problems. Joe however
was in no talking mood and either fell back behind Hoss or rode a few paces
in front to avoid the conversation all together.
Joe unsaddle his horse and put him in the stall near the schoolyard.
Hoss did the same whilst keeping a trained eye on his younger brother to see
if he was willing to share what was wrong with him.
“Have a good day today Little Joe” Hoss said cheerfully to his brother and
Joe walked away from the stalls towards the classroom.
“Um ‘kay” was the half-hearted reply Hoss got.
Joe had arrived just before the bell rang so there was no time to talk to
his friends before school this morning, but he didn’t mind. He took
his place at the back of the classroom as always and waited for the teacher
to arrive.
When he first saw Mr Watson the little boy had almost forgotten that there
was going to be a substitute teacher today. He frowned at first
when the stout little man stood at the front of the classroom but then he
sort of remembered that Miss Jones said there would be a new teacher for a
few days.
Only three more days to go Joe thought silently to himself. It was
going to be a very long day today. He didn’t feel much like doing schoolwork.
“Attention boys and girls” the teacher said in a loudish voice to get the
children to take notice. He was a well-educated man but he came from
a background which saw him teaching in a school for boys. The students
were of a much older age and he made sure that they worked in a classroom
of strict rules and discipline. He intended to make sure that
these young people, although much younger, that a similar respect of the rules
and a certain standard of discipline applied. Once students were allowed
to stray from their studies, the problem only got worse as they got older.
“My name is Mr Watson. You may call me Sir” he said sharply and looked
sternly at a couple of boys in the front row who were not giving him their
full attention.
“I will be your teacher for the next few days whilst your regular teacher
Miss Jones is away on family matters. Miss Jones has told me what lessons
you are to do before the holidays commence. I will assign homework every
night and expect it on my desk first thing in the morning ready to be checked.
Anybody not doing their homework or
not doing it in a suitable manner will be punished.” Watson said.
Some of the children whispered to each other. Never before had Miss
Jones threatened to punish them if they didn’t do their homework. There
were a number of occasions where she had told them how disappointed she had
been about them not doing it and there had even been occasions where they
were expected to stay in at recess time or after school to complete it.
But never had the teacher told them that they would be punished.
What did punish mean exactly. Punish was something your folks did at
home when you were particularly naughty or bad.
Little Joe was as surprised as the rest of his classmates about the teacher’s
harsh treatment. Although Miss Jones wasn’t the best teacher, at least
she didn’t yell at them or threaten to punish them. He didn’t think
he was going to like this Mr Watson very much.
The morning progressed very slow for the little students. They
found Mr Watson’s approach to teaching very difficult. He was either
shouting out his instructions or standing behind them making sure they were
doing their work. If he saw them not doing something right he would
be yelling at them to do it all over again. He was beginning to become
frustrated. He found this style of teaching almost below his normal
standards. He was supposed to be teaching students who had the gift
of learning. Here he was teaching in some backwards town in the middle
of
nowhere to a bunch of children who could barely even write their own names
correctly.
Mr Watson had kept his eye on one student in particular for the remainder
of the morning. A little curly haired boy in the back of the classroom
with green eyes. The boy wasn’t being disobedient. But neither
was he paying attention to the class. On a number of occasions,
Watson had deliberately caught the boy staring out into space
through the open window not far away. He had berated the boy
and told him to pay attention but a few minutes later he looked over and the
boy’s gaze had wandered out the window yet again. Watson could feel
his temper start to rise. He couldn’t prove that the boy was ignoring
his class on purpose.
The bell rang and it was soon time for lunch. All of the children
were shouting and yelling excitedly, ready to head out into the playground.
“Sit down class” Mr Watson roared in annoyance. “You will wait until
you are told you can go outside for lunch.”
He made the children sit in total silence for a further five minutes, constantly
checking his watch before he looked up and said “You may all go outside for
recess, except that boy at the back of the room” he instructed. He had
yet to learn the youngster’s name.
“Me?” cried a little blond haired boy sitting next to Little Joe, alarmed
that the teacher seemed to single him out of the rest of the class.
Timmy was sure he had done most of the work set and paid attention for
most of the morning.
“No not you, the other boy beside you” Watson said as he pointed his finger
directly at Little Joe.
It was now Joe’s turn “Me?” he said in utter astonishment. He hadn’t
said but a word all morning. He had been thinking too much about
what had been happening at home over the last day or so. He couldn’t
think of anything that he had done wrong.
“Yes you” Watson said back determinedly. “What is your name?” he asked
curtly.
“Joe Cartwright” he replied.
“Well Mr Joe Cartwright, I see that you managed to not pay attention for
most of my entire class this morning. For you behaviour you will stay
inside the classroom during your lunch time and do the work that you didn’t
do whilst you were busy staring out the window” Watson now said.
“You can’t do that” Joe cried out with a little temper starting to creep
in his voice.
“Oh but I can young man. You see it fit to waste my time when you
supposed to be listening to my class so I will do the same and waste your
free time where you will do the work set.” Watson said.
Hoss usually didn’t eat his lunch with his younger brother and so didn’t
particularly miss the youngster’s presence in the play ground that day.
Hoss usually ate his lunch by himself near the horses. When he was finished
the lunch that Hop Sing packed he would spend the rest of his lunch break,
patting and rubbing the animals noses.
Hoss didn’t think he fitted well with the rest of his classmates and so
was more comfortable talking to the animals. At least they didn’t
tease him about his undue size or have something to say about his learning
ability. Most people just assumed before of his size that he wasn’t
very bright like his little brother. Hoss didn’t try and correct
them though on his point. If people couldn’t take the time to learn
more about him and learn just how smart he could be then he didn’t think it
was worth wasting time on them becoming his so-called friends.
“I will be back in ten minutes and I want to see you working solidly on
the problems I set this morning. Any mistakes and you will stay after
school if necessary” Watson warned.
Watson walked out of the classroom and left Joe to do the assigned task
during the lunch break.
Joe could feel the pains of hunger in his stomach but didn’t dare defy the
teacher by trying to sneak a bite of his lunch to quell the emptiness.
He began doing the problems that had been completed by the rest of the class
earlier that morning. He was fuming the whole time and kept muttering
to himself about the dumb old teacher and hoping that the afternoon lessons
went by very quickly.
Watson had been gone from the class room about thirty minutes and came back
to check on his student about ten minutes before the other children were due
to come back for their afternoon lessons. He could see the boy with
his head down towards his books. At least the boy was still sitting
there. He had doubts that the boy would
actually do what he was told.
His gaze though was diverted as he watched the boy work at the work he had
set. His brows narrowed and he stared intently at the boy for a moment
, trying to figure out if what he was seeing was actually true. He kept
looking for a few more minutes and finally realised that it was true, the
boy was trying to write with his left-hand.
Watson’s frown deepened now as he tried to determine if the action was a
deliberate one to annoy him. Maybe the boy saw fit to make fun
of him because he was kept in at lunch time. But the boy still didn’t seem
to even notice his presence in the room.
“Um-hum” Watson interrupted deliberately and loudly, startling the boy who
was concentrating on what was in front of him. Joe looked up at the
teacher after regaining his composure. He didn’t like the idea of the
teacher sneaking
up on him to see what he was doing.
“Are you trying to mock me boy” the teacher said in a warning tone of voice.
“Because if you are I can assure you a lesson in manners you will never forget.”
“Mock you” Joe said in confusion trying to stop his own temper rising.
The teacher was accusing him of doing something wrong but he didn’t have a
clue as to what it was. Joe was hungry and tired and didn’t feel much
like butting heads with this man for the rest of the afternoon.
“When I came in just now you were scribbling on your page with your left-hand”
Watson now said, over-emphasising the action, hoping that the boy would pick
up on what he meant.
Joe scowled a little at the word scribbled. It sounded like the teacher
was talking to him about being five and writing on a piece of paper like a
first grader might do. “Yes I was” Joe finally admitted, not knowing what
else to say to the teacher.
“People don’t write with their left-hand’s boy” the teacher now told him.
“It’s unheard of in school and anybody who is found to be writing with the
wrong hand is soon given very strict instructions on how to write properly.”
“But I have always written with my left hand” Joe said in his defence.
“Then such nonsense is to stop this instance. It is obvious
that your regular teacher Miss Jones has had very little experience as a
teacher or she would have taken appropriate action. I will send a note
home to your parents and see to it that they are made aware of your improper
writing action.” Watson replied.
“Nobody has ever told me that it was wrong before” Joe now said.
“Well it’s about time somebody set you straight boy or you will fall behind
the rest of the class and never catch up.” Watson replied.
Watson was prevented from saying anything further about the matter due to
the other students coming into the classroom. All of them looked towards Joe
with sympathy written all over their faces. They were praying that they
didn’t feel the wrath of the teacher before the afternoon was out.
For the remainder of the afternoon Joe tried to pay attention to his classes
but every time he seemed to look towards Mr Watson, the man was only looking
at the pencil in his left-hand. The man would shake his head as though
in disappointment and give Joe a stern look to remind him that he was writing
with the wrong hand.
Joe could feel himself shrinking further and further down into his chair
as the teacher’s gaze remained on him until the bell rang for home time.
“Mr Cartwright here is the note to your father telling him about what I
saw today. I hope that your father is an intelligent man and
understands the need for your behaviour to be changed immediately if he is
to prevent your education being further hampered than it already is” Watson
said to the boy.
Joe only caught some of the words spoken. It sounded like the teacher
was telling him that he had a fatal disease or something rather than him writing
with what he called the wrong hand.
As Joe left the classroom he kept thinking about his left-hand. He
looked down at it trying to work out what was so different about it.
He looked at his right hand and couldn’t see any difference on the outside.
His mother Marie had taught him to write and he had always used his left hand
in front of her. Why didn’t she tell him that
it was wrong to write with his left hand?
Joe was still looking at his hands when he approached Hoss and the horses.
Hoss had already saddled Joe’s horse for him and now looked at the boy as
he walked over towards him. The boy was staring down intently as his
hands. Hoss couldn’t see anything wrong with them. He was hoping
his brother was in a better frame
of mind from when they had arrived this morning.
”Something the matter short shanks?” Hoss said in a cheerful mood.
”Huh, oh nothing Hoss. Just thinking that’s all” Joe answered as he
took the reins of his horse from Hoss and mounted to start heading home.
On the way home, Hoss tried to drum up a conversation with his brother to
pass the time. He had tried a number of different topics such as fishing
and hunting but Joe seemed interested very little in any of them.
Hoss had just about given up on his brother and was prepared to ride the
rest of the way home in total silence when it was Joe’s turn to start a conversation.
”Hoss which hand do you write with?” Joe said, thinking it was a simple
enough question.
“Well that’s easy little brother, my right hand” Hoss answered just as simply.
He didn’t realise though that a seven year old boy with troubles on his mind
would read more than simplicity into his answer. Did Hoss mean his right
hand as in left and right or did he mean his right hand because it was the
proper hand to write with like Mr Watson
said.
Joe couldn’t decide which was the correct answer so he decided to watch
his older brother Adam later on that night and see which hand he wrote with.
Adam would use the correct hand he assumed. Adam usually knew about
most things Joe had a need to ask about.
For now, the sealed envelope addressed to Mr Cartwright was still tucked
away in his shirt pocket and almost forgotten about during the ride home.
When they finally got home Joe put his question of right and left aside
for the time being as he went about his chores. His father wasn’t
home yet from the timber yard and he had completed the egg collecting and
wood collecting as usual. He was bored and looking for something else
to do. Adam and Hoss were handling the heavier chores of feeding
the livestock.
Joe walked into the barn and wondered what he could do until it was supper
time. He didn’t really like chores that much but he saw a pitchfork
leaning up against one of the stable walls and decided that he would help
out his older brother’s with their chores. That way he might have
more time to talk to Adam later on after they were all finished about his
problem.
The handle of the pitchfork was a little bit long for a seven year old but
using small movements, Joe managed to successfully manoeuvre the fork tines
back and forth through the straw. He didn’t get a lot on of fork each
time he lifted it but he felt like he was helping his family by help out.
He continued this routine uninterrupted for the next five minutes or so.
While he worked, Joe’s mind kept wandering back to what Mr Watson had said
about him at school today. He started to ask himself whether people
who wrote with their left-hand were really as bad as he said they were.
Joe was brought back to reality by the yelling of his name from behind.
Joe almost jumped out of his skin he was so deep in thought. He whirled
around, holding the fork outwards without realising it.
“JOSEPH” the voice called in sharp alarm.
As he turned he came face to face with an angry looking Adam who looked
even madder when he had to jump back quickly to avoid the tines of the fork
from piercing his trouser leg and possibly his leg even.
“Adam” Joe said sheepishly, apologizing to his brother about the fork almost
hitting him. He was about to say sorry again when Adam’s demanding question
came first.
“What do you think you are doing little boy?” Adam now said in a voice that
was very low in pitch. He was telling himself to calm down and not get
too angry at the boy.
Joe found his own temper rising at the mention of the words little boy.
Although he knew he was far from being full grown, Joe didn’t think he needed
to be reminded that he was the youngest member of the family too often.
Adam however found it necessary to tell this to the whole world all the time
and Joe was sick of it. He was
hungry from lunch and still hadn’t had anything to eat due to him thinking
to hard about his problem.
”What does it look like I am doing?” Joe snapped back before he heard how
harsh the words sounded. He immediately shut his mouth as he looked
into the dark smouldering brown eyes of his brother standing before him.
”I asked you a simple question boy” Adam now said through clenched teeth
as he struggled to keep his temper. “What are you doing with that
fork in your hand. Your lucky it wasn’t Pa that caught you.
You are too young to use the pitchfork.”
”I was just trying to help out” Joe said, feeling as though his efforts
were rarely appreciated around there. It didn’t seem to matter who
it was today, he just seemed to rile everybody.
Adam’s expression softened a little at the look on the boy’s face.
He probably did think he was helping out. Adam’s anger had been
more out of wrong of the boy injuring himself on the sharp prongs of the fork
than anything else. How was he going to explain to his father that
his youngest son, the one Ben treasured above them all that the boy had been
stabbed by a pitchfork. He shuddered at the thought of such a disaster.
”I know you thought you were helping buddy, but that work is too dangerous
for you. How about you go and see if you can find Hop Sing in the kitchen
and help him with supper?” Adam now suggested, hoping the boy’s feelings weren’t
too deeply hurt.
Joe didn’t say anything to the suggestion. Coming from Adam he felt
it was almost an order rather than a suggestion to occupy his time.
He leaned the pitchfork up against the wall of the stall again and walked
past his brother without so much as a word. He didn’t want his tongue
to run away with him and say something that his behind might regret.
Adam watched his brother walk out of the barn with his shoulders slumped
and his whole posture telling him that something was troubling the boy.
He promised himself and his brother that he would find out what. He
doubted that Joe would openly tell him what was wrong. He sighed loudly,
letting his frustration and worry out before getting back to helping Hoss
with the remaining chores before supper time.
*********************************************************************
Joe walked back to the house and headed into the kitchen, not really wanting
to help Hop Sing with supper. When he entered the kitchen he could
smell the rich aromas of meat and vegetables. With an empty stomach
for most of the day, the smells were almost overwhelming and his stomach grumbled
loudly in protest.
Joe was still thinking about what had happened at school today and his mind
was elsewhere rather than concentrating on where he was going.
He accidentally bumped into Hop Sing near the stove as the little oriental
man carried a saucepan of hot water. Some of the scalding water sloshed
over the side of the pan and Joe let go a yelp of pain as it splashed on the
top of his arm as it soaked through his shirt.
”Yeeahow” he screamed as he quickly pulled his arm away and grabbed at the
pained area. The water was very hot and his arm was stinging badly.
Hop Sing went off into a tirade of Cantonese about what Joe was doing in
the kitchen in the first place and then about not watching where he was going.
It was all out of worry for the boy and guilt over an accident that might
not have been totally his fault but had caused pain to someone he deeply cared
fore.
Hope Sing was trying to grab a hold of the boy’s arm to get a look at the
burn site. He wanted to get the boy to put his arm underneath the hand
pump near the sink so he could run some cool water over the scald mark.
At the moment Joe was being particularly difficult and was determined not
to let the little man near his arm. Every time Hop Sing reached his
arm out to gently grab a hold of the boy, Joe quickly pulled his arm away
in the opposite direction.
”It’s okay Hop Sing. It doesn’t hurt that much” Joe said as he still
winced in pain as he grabbed at his sleeve. Before Hop Sing could say
anything further, Joe then went out of the kitchen into the lounge room and
towards the staircase. When he got to his bedroom he closed the
door and leaned up against it from the inside. Hop Sing had followed
closely behind Joe, worried about the burn but the door would open no matter
how much he pounded on it.
It was his shouting out to Joe to open the door and the initial yelp of
pain that soon brought Adam and Hoss inside wondering about what all the
yelling was about.
“What’s going on Hop Sing?” Adam asked. He could hear the little oriental
man shouting at Joe on the other side of the door but his brow turned into
a frown at the genuine concern he saw on Hope Sing’s face. He knew that
the man wasn’t shouting at his brother because he was angry or upset.
“Lil’ Joe knock pot of hot water out of Hop Sing hand. Burn arm.
Want to help but Lil Joe don’t let me look at it. Need look at arm Mr
Adam. Boy in pain.” he explained.
”Go and get a washcloth and a bowl of cold water please Hoss” Adam now said
as his own concern for his brother’s welfare started to increase.
Adam now did some knocking on Joe’s bedroom door of his own “Joe, it’s Adam.
I want to know if you are alright?”
Hoss returned with the bowl of water and cloth “Any answer?”
”No, but I am not waiting any longer” Adam said sternly and now attempted
to turn the handle on the door. He was determined to go into the room
with an invitation from Joe or without. He was a little surprised when
the lock turned without any resistance. The door wasn’t locked as he
first thought.
Hop Sing and Hoss were both ready to follow Adam into the room to check
on Joe but one stern look from him and they both backed out of the doorway
and waited in the hallway.
When Adam entered the room, he was amazed to see the bed empty. He
thought the boy was simply ignoring them or maybe he had gone to sleep.
He didn’t stop to think that he wasn’t actually in the room to hear the shouting
or the knocking on the door.
A gentle breeze blew through the room, billowing the thin curtain in the
window. This told Adam where the young boy was. He placed
the cloth in the bowl of water and the bowl on the bedside table and looked
out the window to see the slim frame of his brother sitting hunched up on
the tiles of the roof eave. He didn’t feel like talking
to Joe with the wall of the bedroom between them so he too climbed out onto
the roof.
At first Joe was surprised to see anybody else out on the roof. He
had climbed out there as soon as he entered his room, wanting to be alone.
He had heard Hop Sing’s hammering on his door and the shouting to get his
attention. He simply chose to shut it out.
When Joe actually saw who it was getting out onto the roof with him he was
even more surprised and a little apprehensive. He didn’t know
if Adam was there to talk or to give him a lecture about something or even
worse a tanning.
”Mind if I join you?” Adam asked, trying to keep the conversation simple
before he started asking Joe about the real reason why he was sitting out
on the roof all alone.
“It’s a free country” Joe retorted back with a voice devoid of any emotion.
Adam told him to count to ten and keep a hold on his temper. He heard
the voice and the lack of emotion in it and knew that what had been troubling
Joe back in the barn this afternoon was obviously still something on his mind.
And it sounded like it was making the boy even more short tempered than usual.
”Hop Sing send you out here?” Joe asked. He could feel Adam’s eyes
on him.
“He’s worried about you if that’s what you mean.” Adam replied. “He
thought you might have hurt yourself with that hot water.”
Joe deliberately looked down at his sleeve. The material was now only
slightly damp but the pain was still there when he thought about it. “It’s
okay I guess, still hurts a bit.” he admitted and then resumed his gaze out
over the yard area from his lofty position.
”How about you let me take a look at it for you inside and you and I can
have a talk about what’s been troubling you.” Adam now suggested.
With the boy replying harshly to anything that was said to him over the last
couple of days, Adam wasn’t quite ready for the almost submissive boy that
obediently did as he asked and got to his feet ready to climb into through
the window again.
Adam followed his younger brother into the bedroom. Joe laid on his
bed and let out a loud sigh of frustration and pain, while Adam reclaimed
the bowl of water and cloth. Joe sat without saying anything at all
as Adam sat on the side of the bed and started to roll up the sleeve of Joe’s
injured arm.
“It might be easier if you took your shirt off Joe” Adam suggested softly,
as he looked at the stony expression on the boy’s face. His lips were
taught as though he was grimacing about something.
Truth was the boy was still thinking about what the teacher had said about
him being backwards today. It was the same thing that had been bothering
him since he arrived home from school. When he had caused the accident
in the kitchen with the boiling water, he couldn’t help but think that maybe
people were right when they thought
he was useless and no good. He couldn’t seem to do anything
right today.
Joe complied with Adam’s request and took off his shirt so his arm could
be tendered to. Adam inwardly gasped at the large reddened area
that appeared just below the shoulder on Joe’s right arm. The
skin around the area was beginning to blister and pucker at the corners.
It must still be hurting the boy a little he told himself.
Adam dampened the cloth in the water and then as gently as he could placed
the wet material over the reddened area. Joe gasped a little at the
pain but the cool water then seemed to stop the stinging sensation and he
was almost grateful for Adam’s administrations.
”Anything you want to tell me Joe?” Adam now asked as he kept one eye on
what he was doing with Joe’s arm and the other on his brother’s face.
“Not really” Joe answered casually. He thought about talking to Adam
about what the teacher said about him.
“Are you sure?” Adam asked again, now drying the burned skin. He then
gently rubbed in a soothing ointment that would restore some of the moisture
into the burned area. He then placed wrapped a bandage around the area
and tied off the ends.
“Thanks” Joe mumbled as he looked down at his brother’s nursing abilities,
ignoring his brother’s question all together.
”I don’t think it’s too serious. Must have hurt a little though.
I can take a look at it again before you go to school in the morning if you
like?” Adam now said as he stood up and cleared up the bowl of water and other
things he had used.
”When is Pa due home?” Joe now asked, changing the entire conversation.
Right at this moment he yearned for his father’s touch and understanding more
than ever.
Adam could read this and couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the
boy who obviously was looking for a fatherly point of view to his troubles.
Maybe if Ben was home Joe would open up to him and tell him what the trouble
was. His father was likely to have more success than he was having at
the moment.
”I’m sorry Joe, but I don’t think he is going to be home until after dark
tonight. There have been a lot of problems at the timber yard and Pa
is needed to sort things out.” Adam explained. I think you are needed
home right at the moment too Pa: Adam said silently to himself.
”Ready to go downstairs for a bit before supper?” Adam now asked knowing
that Hop Sing and Hoss would still be worried about Joe and the burn.
“Yeah” Joe muttered in an uninterested voice again. He really just
wanted to sit on his own again but did Adam’s bidding and followed him out
the bedroom door downstairs to the living room. Hop Sing had returned
to the living room and Hoss was sitting in Pa’s blue leather chair.
”You okay punkin’?” Hoss no sooner had Joe put his foot on the last step.
“I’m okay Hoss” Joe answered and went to sit on the settee.
A look from Adam to Hoss told the middle Cartwright boy that Joe was stilling
wrestling with something.
Adam went into the kitchen to enquire about supper and also to tell Hop
Sing about Joe being okay. Adam told the little oriental man about
dressing the burn and how it didn’t look too serious. He could
see relief in the little cook’s face.
About fifteen minutes later the three boys sat down at the table ready to
eat supper. Joe was seen to look at Ben’s empty chair and sigh.
Hoss and Adam both hoped that Ben would soon return home for their brother’s
sake.
Ten minutes later and not much food had been eaten from the boy’s plate.
He had pushed a few things around to make it look as though he had but he
had only managed to play with the fork. His head remained bowed and
he barely acknowledged his two brother’s presence at the table.
”May I be excused?” Joe asked. Adam could see that starting
the battle all over again about his eating wasn’t going to solve anything
tonight, and therefore reluctantly agreed to Joe leaving the table with his
dinner mostly untouched.
Joe went back to his place on the settee and now stretched out slightly,
leaning his head back against the cushioning of the couch’s armrest.
Within a few minutes he looked to have fallen asleep.
Adam and Hoss’s conversation at the dinner table was mostly about Joe’s
moody behaviour over the last day or so and what they were going to do about
it. Just as they too were about to leave the dining table, the
front door burst open and their father walked wearily through it.
Ben unbuckled his gun-belt and hung his hat on the pegs behind the door,
glancing briefly at Hoss and Adam, “Hello boys” he greeted. He frowned
a little when both of them shushed him quiet and pointed in the direction
of the settee.
Ben crept over to the settee and looked down at the sight of his youngest
son, appearing to be sound asleep. It brought a lump to his throat no
matter how tired he was. His frown soon returned though as it
dawned on him that the boy was wearing no shirt and a bandage now adorned
his son’s left upper arm.
Ben gave a questioning look to Adam, not wanting to disturb Joe. Adam
motioned for Ben to come closer to them and a litter farther away from the
settee and they would explain.
Adam then proceeded to tell Ben about Joe’s moody afternoon and the incident
in the barn with the pitchfork. Ben had then been told about the mishap
in the kitchen with Hop Sing and the boiling water, resulting in the bandage
on Joe’s arm. Adam assured him that the burn was painful but not serious
enough to warrant Paul’s presence.
Ben brow furrowed deeply in concern as he listened to what had been happening
to his youngest son while he was forced to be at the timber yard.
He agreed with his two eldest sons that Joe’s odd behaviour needed more attention
than they had been affording him. For the second night in a row he promised
that he would have
a talk to Joseph in the morning and try to figure out what was troubling
him so much.
“Maybe I should stick closer to home tomorrow?” Ben finally said, willing
to forgo other commitments when his son needed to come first.
“I don’t think that’s totally necessary Pa.” Adam said, not wanting to diminish
his father’s concern. “Joe will be at school most of the day anyway
so you can’t be there with him then. Maybe if you could make it home
a littler earlier it would help.” he then added.
“I just hate it when he knows something is wrong but won’t share it with
us. We are his family. He should know to come to us with any problem
he has and we will help him through it.” Ben said.
“I take him upstairs and put him to bed anyway since I haven’t been here
for the other things that have happened today.” Ben now announced. He
walked over to the settee and where his youngest son lay asleep.
Ben stood there for a few seconds, perfectly content enough to stand there
and drink in the sight of innocence in it’s purest form. He then placed
one arm underneath his son’s knees and one around Joe’s slim shoulders and
lifted him into his arms. The boy weighed next to nothing so he was
not a burden to his father’s strong arms.
Joe stirred a little when he felt himself being lifted. He opened
his eyes a little and wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. “Pa?”
he whispered, still not sure if his eyes were telling him the truth or not.
“Hello son” Ben replied softly with a smile. “You’ve had a rough time
of it this afternoon I hear?” he then said as he carried his son up the stairs
to his bedroom.
Joe chose not to answer his father’s question about his injured arm.
He was content though for some of Ben’s old fashioned fussing and laid his
head against his father’s broad chest. Ben could feel his son’s need
to be close to him right at this moment and he was willing to comply.
Ben lowered Joe onto the bed and started to take Joe’s boots off.
Joe lay against the soft white pillows with his eyes mostly closed, just content
enough for his father to be in the room. Ben then gently removed
the boy’s trousers and put a loose night shirt over his curly head, ready
for bed.
“How are you feeling now son?” Ben asked as he made himself more comfortable
on the edge of the bed, pulling Joe into his embrace once again so that his
son’s curly head lay against his chest again.
“I’m okay Pa” Joe said in a quiet voice.
For the longest time he and his father just lay there in silence, enjoying
the closeness that they both looked forward to. It was Joe however who
finally broke the silence with a question.
“Do you think I am backwards Pa?” Joe asked simply, not enlightening his
father anymore as to where the insinuation came from.
“Backwards?” Ben asked a little perplexed by the question. It sounded
like such an unusual question for such a young boy.
“No I don’t think your backwards Joseph, why do you think you are?” he replied
and then asked a question of his own.
“Oh just some of the things that have been happening lately. I can’t
seem to do anything without tripping over my own feet or somebody else’s that’s
all.” Joe replied “Just like today when I knocked into Hop Sing in
the kitchen and burnt my arm.” he said using it as an example.
“Oh Joe, sometimes accidents happen for no reason at all” Ben now said trying
to reassure his son. “Nobody thinks your backwards son.”
Joe continued to lay back against his father, but still unconvinced.
He knew of at least one person who thought he was. Mr Watson.
Ben gently began caressing his son’s forehead in a soothing and gentle show
of affection. It wasn’t long before it had the desired effect and Joe
started to drift off to sleep. Ben only hoped that when asleep Joe would
forget all about his problems and get a restful night’s sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED …………………………..
JULES
RETURN TO LIBRARY