DEAD MAN’S CANYON – FINAL PART
Despite
his overwhelming sense of fatigue, Little Joe’s sleep was not a peaceful one
that night. The cold seemed to seep
deep within him until he could scarcely
stop
from shivering. The only heat present
was that from the fever that still burned within him.
By
dawn’s early light, Joe opened slightly glazed eyes to greet the day. He was feeling incredibly light headed from
lack of food and sleep. The pain in his
hand
had
dulled to a constant throb but as the boy gazed down at the injury itself, he
truly began worried.
The
skin was now grotesquely swollen and the bruising more prominent in the early
sunshine, varying from dark black and purple to a motley shade of gray where
the skin was least discoloured. Joe
gathered all the strength he could muster and walked slowly down to the small
waterhole he had taken a drink from the night before.
Luckily
for him, the water was icy cold due to the over night chill. He winced slightly as he placed the injured
limb in the frigid water and almost made a move to pull his hand back out
again.
But
Joe was truly afraid of his hand’s appearance and was worried what sought of
damage had been done to his hand. He
was a little frightened that the doctor wouldn’t be able to fix it properly and
he might lose some permanent use of his left hand.
Joe
looked up from his submerged hand when the chestnut horse made a soft noise as
if gesturing good morning to his young master.
Although the night had been cold for both animal and human, the horse
seemed to have come through it better.
He showed very little sign of any distress from the previous night and
now nibbled at some green grass shoots underneath the tree he stood beside.
It
was only now that there was a movement amongst the rocks over yonder that the
horse now made noises towards the pair of eyes it could see peering back at it.
At
first the eyes made the horse take a few steps backwards as if ready to flee,
but it was only as the creature started to stir further and moved forward that
the horse determined he was of no real threat.
Joe
looked towards where the horse keep it’s attention and
noted a small animal coming out from the niche in the rocks. It took a few seconds to recognize the
animal as a cat of some kind.
A
few more seconds and Joe was able to tell that it was a mountain lion cub. A very young one, possibly only three or
four months old at the most and that’s why the horse had decided that the cub’s
size was of no real threat.
Joe’s
dull, bloodshot eyes lit up slightly at the small fuzzy animal and he held out
his right hand and made slightly clicking noises with his tongue and teeth,
gesturing for the cub to come forward.
At
first the cub took a couple of steps backwards, a bit wary of the human boy’s
presence. It was now on closer observation
that Joe was able to see that the cub was injured.
Instead
of having a normal inquisitive like tail that didn’t stay still, this little
cub only had about a foot long stump of a tail. There was dried blood on the end signalling
that the injury was only very recent.
Joe
beckoned for the cub to come closer again and this time after hesitating and
almost taking a step back, the mountain lion put the foot in front of him and
moved closer to the smaller human.
The
cub was finally close enough for Joe to reach out with his uninjured right hand
and place it on the soft fur of the cub’s back. The cub made a small mewing sound at the
strange touch.
Joe
now began to stroke the little cub’s back in an attempt to gain it’s trust. The cat
began to relax and enjoy the boy’s hand through his fur. Joe now pulled the cat’s small furry body
onto his lap and continued the stroking action, finding it therapeutic for both
the cat and himself.
The
cat’s fur felt so soft under his fingertips Joe said inwardly to himself. The little cub began making slight purring
noises as it lapped up the attention it was being afforded.
As
the trust between animal and human grew, Joe’s hand moved from the cub’s back
to the top of his head and down his front legs.
Joe was careful to avoid the injured tail, knowing that it might be
still hurting the cub. There were no
flies around the wound due to the coolness of the morning, but he could still
see the dried blood and pieces of torn skin surrounding the stump.
“I
think you should be called Half Tail Joe whispered to the cub. But the cub didn’t hear the words spoken as
its eyes began closing and the small body began fully relaxing at the boy’s
touch.
After
a few minutes, Joe realised that the cub was asleep. He gently moved the cub from his lap and
placed it on top of the pile of leaves he had used as a pillow the night
before.
Joe
now looked over towards the horse he had ridden and noted that it was happily
munching away at some grass it had found not too far away. “Well at least one us is getting breakfast
this morning,” Joe
said grimly as his stomach grumbled loudly at it’s emptiness.
Joe
decided to sit back against the large rock while he waited patiently waited for
the horse to eat his fill. He was in no
particular rush to get going this morning even though he had had definite plans
the night before. He began wondering
whether he should turn back despite the trouble he would find himself in.
The
pain in his wrist flared again, only adding to these feelings. At least if he went home he could sleep in a
nice soft warm bed. The nice soft bed
may be even more inviting if he got the tanning he almost expected off his
father when he did get home.
Looking
down at the little mountain lion cub, Joe’s attention was drawn away from his
own pain and loneliness to the cub’s injured tail. It really did look as if it needed some
attention to stop it from getting infected.
He didn’t have any supplies with him to use, but the water in the stream
had been nice and cold when he had submerged his own hand.
Joe
now slowly got to his feet, the weariness and heat his body felt still very
evident as he used the rock briefly to steady himself. Joe now tore a piece of cloth from the right
sleeve of his shirt and dipped it into the cold water. He wrung out the excess moisture and walked
back to where the little cub was peacefully sleeping.
Joe
knelt beside the little furry ball and gently placed the damp cloth on the bloodied
stump of what was left of the cat’s tail.
He was unprepared for the reaction he was about to receive.
Without
warning, the little cub suddenly came awake with a start at the pain that the
cold, wet fabric caused to his tail.
He used the only instincts he knew and lashed out with his claws at the
source of the discomfort. The cub had
yet to grow any adult claws, but the ones he had were sufficiently sharp to
slice easily through the young skin of the boy’s arm.
Joe
yelped out with fright as he attempted to jump back from the agitated cub. He felt something warm and sticky on his
arm and now saw three long gashes down his upper arm where his shirt had been
torn.
Joe
dropped the piece of sleeve he had been using on the cub and attempted to pick
it up with his injured left wrist. He
was going to use the other end of it to stop the blood coming from the claw
marks but stopped up short at the sudden wave of pain that he caused my moving
the injured wrist.
Joe
looked up slight, his damp curls falling over his forehead due to his fever, to
where the cub was now sitting. The cub
had moved quite a few feet away from the boy but had briefly stopped and
sniffed at stump of his tail. He now
looked back at the human who had caused the pain.
As
the brown eyes of the cub met and locked with the glassy green ones of the boy,
there was a look of understanding between the two. The boy didn’t speak and the cat didn’t make
any noise. There was no further
physical contact between them, but somehow both of them felt a distant
connection with each other.
With
that the cub turned and ran back into niche it had been hiding in the night
before.
***********************************************
The
little chestnut horse that Joe had been riding, now
walked over towards his young master who was still kneeling on the ground,
gritting his teeth at the pain through his wrist and the dull ache from the
scratches on his arm.
Joe’s
head was hurting from the headache he had caused by the fever that was present.
And whilst his forehead felt hot to the touch, the rest of him felt incredibly
chilled still.
Joe
now started to realise that all of the symptoms he was feeling was due to his
injuries. It was about now that Joe
made the decision he should mount the horse and try heading back to
The
little horse wasn’t standing too far away from Little Joe and when it
recognized, the gestures from the boy’s hand, it obediently walked towards
him. Joe was grateful that he didn’t
have to walk any sort of distance to get to the horse. At the moment, the world was very hazy to him
indeed and he found himself leaning against the wide berth of the horse’s rump
just to stay on his feet.
Joe
used a similar method to mount the horse as he had used at the livery stable,
with three fingers inter-twined in the horse’s mane to gain the steadiness he
needed.
But
as soon as he was on the animal’s back, the boy found that from this height,
the world only seemed to spin more.
Little
Joe put his right hand to his temple and tried to massage the throbbing away
with his fingers. With a gentle nudge
with his feet, the horse began to walk forward, back through the trees that
they had passed the night before. Joe watched
through glassy eyes to make sure the horse was headed back towards the town,
his strength was quickly waning and he hoped that he reached the town and his
family very soon.
a few miles away:
Ben
and the search party had not had much sleep the night before but where
determined to get started at first light.
They had forgone breakfast to save time and only had last night’s brewed
black coffee to fill their bellies as they mounted their saddled horses and
headed out once again in search of Little Joe.
They
had only gone about ten miles past their campsite when they spotted a lone
horse standing alone the long, quite a way in front of them. There didn’t appear to be a rider at
first, but then upon second glance, it looked as though there was. The rider however, looked to be laying over the horse’s neck rather than sitting upright in
the saddle.
Ben’s
heart filled with anxiety and anticipation that this might be his son they were
looking for. If it was truly Little Joe
and his horse, Ben’s worry now only doubled at the sight of the motionless
rider. Ben now spurred Buck into a full
gallop to get closer to the horse in front of the search party.
Adam,
Hoss and Roy had quickly followed Ben as they saw him race towards the inert
rider and mount. It looked so out of
place to see a horse just standing there on the roadway, in the middle of
nowhere.
“Joseph,”
Ben shouted as he jumped off his horse before it had barely pulled up beside
the chestnut one. He could see the
curly head slumped over the horse’s neck did indeed belong to his missing
boy. He was alarmed even more though
when there was no response to his call or his shouting.
Ben
was now close enough to reach out for his son and immediately felt the warm
radiating from the small body. Adam and
Hoss were now standing beside their father, both equally concerned by the lack
of response from their younger brother.
“Joseph
can you hear me boy?” Ben asked, almost pleading with the boy to open his
eyes. “Oh boy, what has he done to
you?” he added when he saw the streaks of dried blood down the boy’s right arm
and the torn sleeve of his shirt.
Ben
tried to gentle awaken his injured son again and was rewarded by the curly head
lifting slightly and looking back at him with dull, glassy green eyes. “Hi Pa,” Joe managed to croak, the effort
almost too much for him.
“He
didn’t mean to do it Pa,” Joe now said, meaning the cat’s scratches to his arm.
He didn’t want Ben to get angry at the little mountain lion cub. The cub had only been doing what came
naturally to it when it felt threatened or hurt.
Ben
looked back at the boy with astonishment at first. He thought the boy meant Mr Watson the
teacher. But before he could ask
another question, Joe’s strength finally came to an abrupt end and he gasped
out loud as Joe all but tumbled out of the saddle and into his father’s
arms. Ben had scarcely recovered
enough to catch his son as he fell.
“Quick
boys, give me a blanket to wrap him in,” Ben cried out as he looked down at his
son’s unconscious face. He could see
beads of sweat forming on the boy’s forehead from the fever that was present,
but he could feel the trembling from the rest of his body, signalling he may
have caught a chill from the overnight temperature.
Hoss
quickly untied his bedroll and tossed Ben his warm blanket to wrap around Joe’s
body. “Is he alright Pa?” he now asked,
knowing it was a silly question before the words left his lips. He could see the blood on his brother’s arm
and noted the fever glazed eyes before he had fainted.
Adam
was also worried about his brother’s condition, but his attention was drawn to
the injured wrist that was now very discoloured and swollen. He swallowed hard to think that they may
have been too late in finding Joe before further injury was caused to his
hand. Would he ever be able to write
with it again, left-handed or not Adam found asking himself secretly.
“
Ben
took the canteen from his eldest son and whilst Hoss helped to hold Joe, gentle
trickled the water over the boy’s lips and into his mouth. Only small amounts at
first
due to the boy’s unconscious state. He
didn’t want him choking. That would
only sap his already depleted strength.
Thankfully,
the group could see Joe’s throat working slowly to swallow the water. Ben
stopped the process when he was satisfied that Joe had enough in him to see
him
through to
“I’ll
ride back as fast as I can and tell Paul to get ready Ben,” Sheriff Roy Coffee
now offered and spurred his horse into a gallop towards
slight nod of gratitude.
Hoss
held his brother for Ben while his father mounted, then making sure that his
sons was safely secured on the saddle in front of him, tucked the blanket tails
around Joe to keep him warm for the remainder of the ride into town.
The
trio of horses now rode as quickly as Ben dared to
and
under the cloak of the blanket. The
whole family just prayed that the boy would be okay once they got him back to
Paul.
*************************************************
The
time was approximately
a
short distance in miles, had been a very long one for Ben’s heart to bear
knowing that his son was sick and hurt.
“Here
they come,” Roy Coffee shouted to Paul, who quickly strode out of his office
and stood on the edge of the wooden decking.
Ben
pulled up along side of the hitching rail in front of the doctor’s office. Adam got of his own mount and now tied both
horses to the railing.
“He
hasn’t moved at all since we started riding back here Paul,” Ben found himself
explaining to the doctor as Adam now took his unconscious brother from Ben’s
horse
and began carrying through to the doctor’s office.
“Lay
him down here Adam,” Paul said quickly, forgetting all about idle conversation
and concentrating on the condition of the patient in front of him.
Adam
did as he was requested,
he too alarmed at the amount of heat he could feel through the
blanket. The shivering Ben had felt
earlier had now been entirely
consumed by the fever in Joe and he wasn’t quite sure whether
that was a positive sign or not.
“Has
he been conscious at all Ben?” Paul asked.
“Only
for a few seconds back when we first found him doctor. It took a few attempts to get him to
rouse. We found him slumped over the
horse’s neck. I am not sure how long he
and the horse had been standing there before we arrived.” Ben explained.
“Did
he seem to recognize you at all?” Paul enquired.
“Yes
Paul he did, you won’t believe it but he asked me ‘Not to be angry at him’ Ben
said as he repeated the few brief words Joe had spoken. “That’s all he said and then collapsed and
fainted into my arms.”
“Don’t
worry Ben, we will fix him up, you’ll see,” Paul said, trying to reassure his
friend. He could see that Ben was
almost beside himself with guilt and worry over Joe’s condition. “Hoss and Adam why don’t
you see if you can get something to eat and then wait outside while your father
and I attend to Joe.”
Hoss
and Adam were about to object, wanting to be there to help out as much as
possible. “And get something for your
father as well, he looks as though he could
use
it too,” Paul said as he saw the lines of tiredness around Ben’s eyes.
Hoss
and Adam reluctantly agreed, for their father’s sake. Because like them, they knew all too well that
Ben would even consider taking time for himself before Joe was better
again. They now left to go to the hotel
and get some meals ordered up for themselves and their father.
For
the next half an hour, as Adam and Hoss waited impatiently outside for news of
how their brother Joe was doing: Inside
Ben and Paul worked together as a
team
to assess the injuries of the little boy and make him as comfortable as they
could.
“These
gashes here were made by an animal Ben,” Paul said as he expertly examined the
claw marks the mountain lion cub had made on Joe’s arm. “They are not very deep fortunately, but they need
cleaning out thoroughly all the same to avoid infection. Animals bites and scratches can be quite
nasty if they are not treated quickly.”
“It
makes my blood run cold to think that Joe was out there all alone Paul and was
anywhere that he could have come across a wild animal,” Ben said as he gently
used a ball of cotton wool in a solution the doctor had prepared to clean the
scratches.
“It’s
not your fault Ben,” Paul said, trying gently to admonish his friend and get
him to let go of the guilt he was holding onto with an iron grip. “That teacher has a lot
to
answer for as far as I am concerned. We
are just lucky that you found Joe so quickly.”
While
Ben went about cleaning out the scratches on Joe’s arm, Paul now could go about
taking a look at the boy’s wrist. It
obviously needed the most attention
and
was more than likely the cause of Joe’s fever.
Paul
noticed that the wrist itself was still protectively held against Joe’s chest,
even in sleep. He looked quite concerned
at the amount of discolouration and
swelling, but didn’t voice his opinion out loud. He used his finger and thumb to try and
carefully pry it out in the open so he could take a closer look.
But
even that slight movement caused Joe to release a moan at the pain that
resulted. He started to turn his head from side to side as it rested on the
pillow and attempted to pull his injured wrist away from the doctor’s probing
touch.
“It’s
alright son,” Ben cooed to his son as he brushed the damp curls away from his
forehead, trying to help him cope with the pain but allow the doctor to do his
job.
“No
don’t!,” Joe said in his fevered sleep as Paul
attempted to examine his wrist again.
“You can’t do this.” he said caught somewhere between reality and his
subconscious about what Mr Watson had done.
“I
need to examine this wrist Ben,” Paul said in a serious tone of voice but understanding
that Joe called out because he was in pain.
“I will give him a light
sedative which should give him a break from the pain and allow
me to set in while he sleeps. When he
wakes it should be splinted and bandaged and the pain should not be so bad.”
Ben
nodded his head in agreement to the medication being administered to his son
and watched as Paul prepared a small amount of clear liquid in a syringe.
He
gently held his boy’s right arm still as the doctor inserted the needle and
injected the fluid into Joe.
It
didn’t take long for the medicine to work and although Joe never opened his
eyes, his slight struggles ceased all together and his head lolled to one side
on the pillow, signalling he had fallen asleep. It almost brought tears to Ben’s eyes that
he had to adopt harsh methods against his son because of the abuse and cruelty
of others.
With
his patient now sleeping soundly and oblivious to any examination, Paul now got
on with the examination of the injured wrist.
He still took every care to be as
gentle as possible although he knew that Joe wouldn’t be able to feel
very much.
“It
is definitely broken Ben, that’s why there’s so much swelling and
discolouration to the skin,” Paul now commented as he continued his
doctoring. “It looks as
though it has lost some of the inflammation around the bone. That’s a good sign because it means that the
break may only be a small one.”
“Will
you need to splint it?” Ben asked, remembering the general cause of remedy for
a broken bone.
“Yes,
and with a boy Joe’s age that’s the best thing to do. He may feel a little poorly now, but knowing
this young man, once he is beginning to recover, he is undoubtedly going to
knock his hand around by just doing general day to day activities,” Paul stated
in earnest.
A
little while later, Adam and Hoss could no longer stand to just stand outside
and wait for news of how Little Joe was doing.
Adam silently turned the door
knob
and pushed the door open slightly to gaze in and watch what their father and
the doctor were doing.
“What
are you two doing in here?” Ben asked in mock sternness. Paul could see the worried looks on two older
boy’s faces and didn’t have the heart to send them back out of the room.
“We
were just wondering how he was doing Pa,” Adam said for the both of them.
Hoss’s eyes were wide with concerned as he saw the amount of bandaging around
his little brother’s hand. He seemed
so still. Not the little brother he was
used to.
As
Ben looked down at his youngest son, Joe appeared to be still sleeping very
soundly so he saw no reason that Adam and Hoss couldn’t see how their brother
was doing, so long as they remained quiet and didn’t disturb him.
“He’s
doing okay boys,” Paul answered for Ben.
“He needs a lot of rest and care over the next few days. But he will okay after a while.”
“What
about this fever Paul?
Is that anything to be overly worried about?” Ben now asked as he felt
his son’s forehead and noted the fever still holding on.
“It’s
probably a little higher than it should be for such an injury Ben, but given
that he has spent a very cold night out on his own with no food and little
water, it’s not out of the question. I
think he is suffering from a little bit of exposure to the elements but after a
day or so the fever should be sufficiently lower if not gone altogether.” Paul
said.
“Will
he have to stay in town tonight doctor?” Hoss now asked. He didn’t like the idea of his little brother
having to stay in the doctor’s office.
Hoss wanted him back home in his own warm bed where the rest of the
family was.
Paul
looked briefly at Ben and winked slightly before giving his reply, “Well Hoss,
normally I would say yes he would have to stay here. He is still a quite sick little boy. But
given the amount of stress that he has been under the last couple of days, I
think a strange environment such as this office or even the hotel would be
unjust.” “What he should have is his own
bed with lots of good food and rest. But
there will have to be somebody watching over him, maybe more than one,” Paul
suggested with a grin and a sparkle in his eye.
“Oh
me doc, me,” Hoss declared with excitement.
He wouldn’t have thought of anything more he would like to do than to
take care of Little Joe when he was sick and hurt. He was sure that big brother Adam would be
there to help out too and
Adam
smiled at his larger younger brother and then at the doctor and his father. He
knew that the doctor was trying his best to cheer Hoss up as well as the rest
of the family about taking care of Joe.
Hoss was well known for his care of injured and sick animals.
Adam
was sure that Hoss’s care for Little Joe would benefit both Hoss and Joe. And he knew that if he and Hoss helped out,
then their father would have an excuse to get some rest of his own and take
care of himself too.
“Adam
you go down to Charlie at the livery stable and tell him that we found Joe okay
and to pass the word around. After that
can you organize to get a wagon from him to take your brother home,” Ben now
instructed.
“Hoss
I want you to go and collect Joe’s horse from the school and bring it back
here. We can pull him along with the other horses as well,” Ben continued. “While you two are doing that, the doctor and
I will finish up here and get your brother ready to go home.”
Adam
and Hoss just smiled at each other and then went to do exactly what was asked
of them. They were both bursting with
happiness that Joe was going to be alright and home very soon. This day was certainly turning out to be a
happier one than yesterday had been.
After
Adam and Hoss had gone to do their assigned tasks, Paul concentrated on making
sure the splints around Joe’s wrists were in place correctly and the bandaging
around them tight enough to prevent movement of any kind.
The
doctor then wrapped a light bandage around the scratches that Ben had cleaned.
He gave Ben a small bottle of the solution he had prepared and instructed Ben
to use it twice a day to continue cleaning out the scratches on a daily
basis.
“I
will give you some powders for any pain Joe might have over the next day or so
Ben, but after the swelling goes down on that wrist, I think he should be
fine. Give him only a small dose and
see if that helps. I have also given
you two sleeping powders, just in case the trauma of what has happened starts
making him have
bad
dreams or sleepless nights. He really
does have to rely on rest to get him back on his feet now. It is the best medicine I can prescribe other
then a great deal of love and understanding over the next few weeks,” Paul said
to Ben.
“How
much of an effect do you think this whole teacher thing will have on him Paul?”
Ben asked honestly. Apart from the physical
injuries he had been asked to endure, Joe had been humiliated in front of his
class mates and made to feel an outcast.
He wanted to know how long before he got his Little Joe back again.
“I
can’t answer you that right now Ben,” Paul replied truthfully. “Only time will
tell how he handles the memories and flashbacks. He may be jumpy around people at first,
particularly strangers, so try and limit the number of visitors until he is
fully recovered. Just try and include
him in the normal everyday activities of the household and I think he should
bounce back fine.”
“I
will come out to check on his wrist late tomorrow Ben,” Paul said as Adam and
Hoss arrived back at his office, informing their father that the wagon was
ready. “I think he will sleep most of
today and tomorrow anyway. You might
want to try and get some food into him once you get him home. The roughness of the wagon might be enough to
wake him gently once he is in his own bed.
Just a bowl of meaty broth or something light but filling at the
moment. He can have something more
substantial once he has had a good sleep.”
“Thank you for everything Paul, truly,” Ben with
meaning in the words. Lord knew that this family had come to rely
on the good doctor’s services and advice more and more all the time lately.
Ben
now very gently lifted his deeply sleeping youngster from the treatment table
and carried him close to his chest. At
the moment he felt as if he never wanted to
let
his boy out of his sight again. He had
felt so guilty about what had happened to Joe over the last few days and now
had everything to be genuinely thankful for.
“You
just get that boy home and show him how much he is loved Ben,” Paul
answered. “That’s all I ask in return,”
he added. Sometimes being all alone
had it benefits. He had always been made feel welcome and part of the
Cartwright family. He hoped that tradition continued for a good many years to
come.
************************************
On
the journey towards the Ponderosa, Ben had used his hat as much as possible to
shade Joe’s face from the harsh sunlight that prevailed. It was now just after
Adam
had driven the wagon team with Hoss opting to ride beside the wagon on his own
mount. From time to time he would
look back into the wagon to make sure his brother was doing okay. Ben saw his son’s attempts and would gesture
with his hand to let Hoss know that everything was just fine.
When
they got to the ranch itself, Hop Sing came out at the sound of the wagon
pulling up out front. He had heard the
conversation between the Cartwrights, Mr
Scott and Joe’s friend Johnny.
When the family hadn’t returned that night, the little oriental man had
lain awake much like the rest of the family out of worry
for
them all.
“Hop
Sing will you get Joe’s room ready for me please,” Ben asked as he got down
from the wagon and immediately went to lift his son out.
“Room
already Mr Cartwright,” Hop Sing said with a smile. He had made sure that the boy’s room was
already prepared yesterday after they left for the school.
He
also had a pot of broth already heating on the stove. If it had turned out that it wasn’t needed
then so be it, but Hop Sing knew from experience that it wouldn’t
go
to waste.
“Thank
you Hop Sing,” Ben said, returning the smile.
He didn’t know what he would do without the little helper at times. Hop Sing was more than just their house
keeper and cook. He too was a member of
the Cartwright family.
Ben
now walked through the front door as Adam opened it and made his way up the
stairs towards Joe’s bedroom. Making sure that he didn’t jostle the boy too much. He
hadn’t come fully awake yet after the Doctor’s medication, but like Paul
assumed, the ride in the wagon saw him open his eyes a few times just before
they pulled up in the front yard.
Ben
laid Joe down onto the bed and then went about removing the boy’s shoes. After
he unwrapped his son from the blankets, he removed
what was left of his
torn
shirt and threw it towards the door to be discarded later.
Hoss
had gotten a bowl of cold water from Hop Sing after his father and Adam had
taken Joe upstairs. He also had a cloth
and now, as the other went about
making Joe more comfortable in the bed,
in between their fussing, Hoss tried his best to help out by wiping
Joe’s still warm forehead with the damp cloth.
The
coolness of the cloth seemed to revive Joe just that little bit more and he now
moaned audibly for everyone to hear as he moved about slightly on the bed and
tried
to become with his surroundings.
Once
Joe was dressed in a clean night shirt and his wrist was elevated on two
pillows beside him, Adam helped prop him up into a sitting position. Ben took the bowl of just warm broth from Hop
Sing and tried to get his son to each some before he got too tired again.
Ben
only managed to get about half a dozen spoonfuls across Joe’s lips before the
boy’s head bowed, signalling that he was asleep again. He had only opened his eyes to slits the
whole time and made no attempt to talk to his family during that short period
of half wakefulness.
At
least they had gotten some nourishment into him Ben conceded. They could try again when the boy was more
awake and alert. For now his stomach was
satisfied and Joe seemed content enough just to sleep and regain his strength.
“Joe,
are you okay?” Hoss asked, not able to
keep from asking the question. He knew
that getting his brother to talk might be too taxing for him right now. But he
still
needed to know for his own peace of mind.
His father hadn’t voiced any objections to his asking and neither had
Adam.
“Fine
Hoss, just a little tired is all,” came the mumbled
reply. “Didn’t get my homework done yet
Hoss, sorry,” he added. “Will do it in the
morning before school,
promise. Don’t tell Pa
on me yet,” the boy said just as sleep stole him once again.
Ben
couldn’t help but grin at the boy’s incoherent speech. Obviously Joe had no idea of where he was at
the moment and what had happened earlier in the day.
He
certainly didn’t remember that it was school holidays tomorrow and that there
wouldn’t be any homework for a few weeks at least.
“Don’t
worry Hoss, it’s just all the medicine working in him that makes him sound a
little confused,” Adam now said to Hoss.
Hoss however hadn’t even heard much of what his brother had said. He was just happy to have him home again in
his own bed and be with his family who loved him. Starting tomorrow, Hoss made a solemn vow to
show Joe just how much he meant that and make time to be with him.
For
the rest of the day, Joe was left to rest as much as possible just like the
doctor ordered. Hoss had offered to
spend the first few hours with his brother and try and cool him down slightly.
Adam
and Ben had agreed mostly due to them seeing the desire and need for Hoss to
get over his selfishness and guilt. They
too would have to do that themselves but they could do
the late and early morning hours while Hoss slept.
**********************************************
By
dawn’s early light the next day, Adam was dozing in a chair beside his
brother’s bed after relieving his father some hours ago.
Joe
had remained asleep throughout the night and with the constant application of
cool compresses to his forehead, his fever was now almost gone completely. His
forehead only slightly warm to the touch and part of that was
probably due to his cocoon of blankets during the night.
Joe
opened his eyes slowly and tried to focus his mind on where he was. He turned his head slightly and now could
make out the familiar looking furniture and ornaments that decorated his own
bedroom. He could scarcely hold back
the gasp of relief that he felt once he realised where he was.
He
looked over at the figure beside him and noted Adam sleeping in the
uncomfortable chair. His brother looked
as though he had been there for quite some time and would wake up with a sore
back and neck no doubt.
To
get a better look around without waking his brother, Joe now attempted to pull
himself up into a sitting position.
When he had first awoken, he had momentarily
forgotten about his wrist or the scratches on his right
arm.
Unfortunately
he had mistakenly tried to put his weight instinctively on his left arm as was normal
for him. But he bit his lip and
couldn’t hold back the cry of pain that he emitted when the wrist collapsed
underneath him and fell back against the pillows.
Adam
was startled awake by the cry of pain from his brother. He immediately tried to put a restraining
gentle hand on his brother to stop him from attempting to get up any
further. Joe was holding onto his
bandaged arm with his eyes squeezed shut and a few tears were now trailing down
his cheeks.
“Joe,
are you alright buddy?” Adam asked softly with fresh
concern over his brother. They hadn’t
quite counted on the fresh pain that Joe would feel first thing this morning
when he awoke from his long sleep. The
medication that Doc Martin had given him had long since worn off.
“Yeah,”
Joe said shakily as he tried to put the pain out of his mind. It was very hard to do so though and he could
help but wince quite a few more times as Adam helped to prop him up higher in
the bed again.
Hoss
now appeared at Joe’s bedroom door, drawn in by the sound of his pain. He repeated the same question as Adam, “You
okay Little Joe?” he asked as he sat on the other side of Joe’s bed.
“Thanks
Hoss, yeah I will be okay,” Joe replied, but his face showed a very different
truth. Even after a long sleep, Joe’s
eyes were still blood shot and his face still drawn at the mouth and eyes in
tiredness.
“How
about I get you some breakfast Joe?” Hoss now offered, sensing his own need for
food but putting Joe first this morning.
“Maybe
a little,” Joe admitted, as his stomach grumbled slightly at the mention of
food. “Thanks Hoss,” he added and gave
an award winning smile that sent Hoss’s heart into cartwheels. Hoss was so happy that his brother was a
getting better. He could scarcely hold
all the happiness inside. Hoss now went
downstairs to get Joe’s breakfast.
“How
else are you feeling Joe?” Adam now asked, knowing that the wrist was already
brothering him. He waited patiently
for Joe to take check of all of his hurts before answering.
“Arm
hurts some where that cat scratched me,” Joe now said in a
uninterested tone of voice. “But the
rest of me feels okay.
Just a little tired still.” he admitted.
“What
cat scratched you?” Adam asked now in confusion. It was the first time he had heard anything
about any animal being near Joe yesterday.
“Well
while I was camped out near those rocks a little mountain lion cub came out. He
had had his tail partly chopped off, that’s why I called him “Half-tail” Joe
explained as he spoke all in a rush. “I
tried to clean the area up with a piece of my shirt, but he got a bit
frightened and that’s when he scratched me.
He didn’t mean to. He was just
hurt. Anyway he ran off into the rocks
again and I haven’t seen him again.”
Adam
tried to take in everything that his brother was telling him. At least now they had a plausible explanation
for the torn shirt sleeve and the scratches on his arm. Somewhere in Joe’s story there was the whole
reason behind it all. Joe just spoke
too fast for Adam to fully understand what had happened out there while he was
all alone.
Hoss
now walked back into the room, holding a tray of freshly made toast, a boiled
egg and a glass of orange juice. He
placed it in front of Joe and waited to see if his brother approved of the
morning menu.
Joe
gave his thanks in return and to show his appreciation, started eating what was
on the tray. Whilst he was eating, Adam
reiterated to Hoss, the parts of Joe’s story that he had understood.
Hoss’s
worry had turned into envy when Adam told about Joe’s encounter with the young
mountain lion cub.
“Well
Good Morning all of you,” came a voice from the bedroom door. Everyone turned their gaze towards the source
and found Ben smiling back at them. The
sight of his three son’s sitting around enjoying each
other’s company for the first time in weeks was one to behold indeed.
“And
how are you young man?” Ben asked his youngest as he walked over to Joe. He was
grateful to see that Hoss and Adam had been taking extra care of their
brother and that they had already seen to his breakfast
needs.
“
Adam
once again found himself telling Ben about Joe’s encounter with the mountain
lion and how he had gotten the scratches on his arm. Ben then informed Adam what the doctor had
said the day before about keeping them extra clean and bandaged for the next
few days.
Ben
was about to motion for some time alone with his youngest son when Hop Sing
appeared at the door. “Sheriff Coffee need to see you downstairs Mr Cartwright.”
“Thank
you Hop Sing,” Ben replied. “Joe I will
be back to talk to you in a minute, I promise.” He briefly even contemplated whether he
should talk to Joe first and ask the Sheriff to wait or come back later. Especially seeing the promise he had made to
himself about spending more time with the boys and putting them first from now
on.
Upon
consideration though,
“Good
Morning
“Sorry
to disturb you so soon again Ben, I know Joe only just came home from the doc’s
yesterday,”
Ben
could see that
a
raised eyebrow.
“Well
Ben, I know you
got your hands full getting Little Joe better at the moment, but I thought you
might like to know………….,” he started to say, leaving the
question unfinished.
“Like to know what?” Ben asked good
naturedly. Something inside told him
that whatever it was,
it couldn’t be particularly good news. But
messenger, not the source.
“The
judge spoke to me about that teacher Mr Watson this morning,”
though he assault Little Joe, he didn’t think it was very likely that the
man would get any real jail time for it,”
face
change a dozens times during that sentence.
A dozen different emotions, but only one outcome: anger and disappointment.
“He’s
not going to let him get away scott-free is he?” Ben
said, trying to keep his temper in check like had taught his sons. He didn’t even want to think that all
the
pain and anguish that Little Joe had gone through was for nothing.
“No
Ben, he will get some hefty fines for his deeds and probably ordered to do a
good deal of community work when he gets back home,”
that
the man would go free.
“He’s
letting the man go back to his former life?” Ben said as he felt the outrage
pouring out of him but not willing to put the feelings into words or actions.
“Doesn’t
he realise that the man will only go back teaching the way he has to Joseph’s
class?”
“Yes, and the judge said that he would do everything he could
to see that the man didn’t teach again anywhere. But he also said that in reality that was
totally out
of
his jurisdiction and he doubted be could get the school board to just sack the
man. There are a lot of other teachers in the system that victimise their
students for various reasons including left-handedness.”
“I
am more sorry than I can say Ben, I really am,”
“Thanks
system but right now that sense of “justice” seemed a long way off.
“How
is Joe Ben?”
“Well
he’s awake a few hours earlier than the doctor said he would be
long
though. I was just about to talk to him
about what happened when you knocked on the door.”
“I
will let you get back to him then Ben.
Sure glad he is going to be okay.
Tell him I said hello for me and hope he gets well real soon,”
towards the door and bid Ben good day.
Although
he wasn’t happy with the outcome, he didn’t want to keep his son waiting any
longer. They would just have to deal with the
outcome of the
teacher’s fate as time went by.
For now he decided to keep the information from his young son until he
was doing better physically and able to understand
why
people made the decisions they made.
Ben
now climbed the stairs towards Joe’s room again. As he got nearer, he could overhear the two
voice of his two older son’s still in the room. He then
could
hear the sound of giggling and laughing and that brought a smile to his face
and made his heart feel a little lighter before he walked through the door.
“I
told ya to keep still Little Joe,” came
Hoss’s voice.
“Both
of you aren’t making this any easier,” came the deeper baritone voice of Adam.
Ben
decided now was the time to see exactly what his three sons were up to.
“It
would be better if you weren’t tickling me Hoss,” Joe exclaimed and then began
giggling again. Ben could now see all
three sons sitting on the bed.
The
tray that had held Joe’s breakfast was still sitting on the boy’s lap, but now
there was a large sheet of white paper covering the surface.
In
Adam’s left hand was a large pencil. Hoss
was gently holding Joe’s right hand splayed onto the paper and Adam was trying
to trace around the little
boy’s
fingers.
“There
all finished,” Adam declared and Hoss let go of Joe’s hand so he could lift it
from the paper. They all stood
staring at the outline for a few seconds.
One
or two of the fingers looked slightly on the too skinny side and the thumb
looked way too long. They all looked
at each other and began laughing at the time they were spending together. Joe didn’t care what they were doing, so long
as he was doing it with the two brothers he adored most.
Ben
now looked at Adam for a second, their eyes locking so that Adam knew his
father had some information to share with him later on with the younger two
boys
were
not listening.
Whatever
it was, Adam could see that it didn’t sit well with his father, but Ben was
trying hard to make an effort for his brother Joe. They all had to pour their efforts into
helping him get over this ordeal and becoming a family again.
“Come
on Hoss, you and I can start on those chores outside,” Adam said, slightly
prodding his younger brother so that Pa and Joe could talk. Or Joe could get some more sleep, which ever
came first.
“Sure
Adam,” Hoss replied, sensing the need for his younger brother and his father to
have a father and son chat.
Hoss
and Adam now walked out Joe’s bedroom, but curiosity got the better of both of
them and what Pa might say to help Joe through his emotional pain and
distress. They now stole up beside the
door, thinking that neither of them could be seen. They almost held their breaths so that their
father wouldn’t hide them either.
However,
Ben smiled to himself. He knew all three
of his sons better than they thought he did.
He knew perfectly well Hoss and Adam were listening outside
the
door. He didn’t mind though. He hoped that somehow he could help his
youngest son to start the healing process, but some of what he was going to say
would be relevant to all of them.
Ben
sat on the bed, but he waited for Joe to say the first words. He was a little worried about what his son’s
first question might be. He could see
the fatigue
etch
on the young boy’s face and knew it wouldn’t be long before Joe was needing to
sleep again.
“I
am sorry you had to come and find me Pa,” Joe said, his bottom lip trembling
slightly as he said the words. “At first
I wanted to run away, but then after I did,
I
knew it was wrong and I didn’t want to do it anymore. But by then I wasn’t feeling too great and it
was harder than I thought trying to get back to town.”
“Tell
me something Joseph,” Ben asked, trying to respond to his son’s comments. “Why did you run away from the livery stable. I know you
were hurting son
because of what Mr Watson did to you, but that wasn’t the whole
reason you ran away was it?”
Joe
could only look back at his father with amazement and shock at first. How could this man come to know so much about
him. More than
Joe could ever say he knew about himself.
He couldn’t remember saying anything about running away before his hand
was hurt. He decided it best to answer
the question with honesty.
“I
ran away because I heard those men talking about you being angry. I thought you might be mad at me for leaving
school early and then for taking the horse
without permission,” Joe replied. There were probably a few other reasons he
had thought of back then that escaped his memory right now.
“Joseph,
I know that you have been feeling a little bit lonely around here lately. Maybe a lot lonely right?”
Ben now asked and saw his son nod his curly head in a
silent yes.
“And
I am right in thinking that you were beginning to feel a little unloved around
here?” he now added. Again the boy
nodded in reply.
“Well
let me tell you a little secret son,” Ben began, knowing that his other two
sons were listening intently. “This was
something that my father said to me when I was about your age. And he said that it was a secret just between
me and him, just like I am telling you now.”
“Daddy’s
just don’t love their children every now and then Joseph,” Ben continued seeing
tears coming into his son’s eyes as he spoke the words. “It’s love without end amen.”
“I
will always try to be there for you Joseph,” Ben now said. “And if I am not, I want you to remind me,
okay?”
Little
Joe couldn’t hold his tide of emotions back any further and collapsed his
father’s broad chest, wrapping his good arm around him and snuggling against
him as close as he could get.
In
response, Ben wrapped his son with both arms and allowed his son to dwell in
the safety of his embrace for as long as he needed to. Ben could hear a few soft sniffles from
the boy. A few moments later when all
was silent, he looked down and could see that Joe had fallen asleep. Ben didn’t release his embrace straight
away though. He wanted to hold his
boy. Hold him through the good times
and the bad. Through
all the happy times and the not so happy times.
Love
without end…………… Amen
THE END – Except for the author’s notes
below……………………
Author’s Notes:
Firstly, I finally reached the end
YAYYYYYYYYYYY.
Secondly, a few people may not be entirely
happy with what did or didn’t happen to Mr Watson. Let me explain why I wrote that he didn’t
much of a punishment: My Dad was born in 1938 and was left-handed,
as was all of his family. Even during
his school years in the 1950’s, there was wide-spread
victimisation of students who didn’t fit in, lagged behind a little in their
studies, had the wrong skin colour or were left-handed. Most of the teachers during that time and
well before then, right back to Little Joe’s time were bound by their own sense
of what was right and wrong with little or no fear of any reprisals or repercussions
should they over step the mark between teacher or abuser. And I still believe strongly that even
back then there would have been little or no retribution for a fictional
character like Mr Watson.
Sorry if I disappointed some of you readers
about him getting his just deserts and a good smack in the mouth by Ben and his
boys.
Thirdly, hope you enjoyed this story and hope
you will read future one.
Fourthly and finally – the little mountain
lion cub Half-Tail will make a come-back. The story will be called The Mountain
Lion. It is not a sequel to Dead Man’s
Canyon and will commence about 12 years from now when Joe is 19 or so. I needed a way to introduce him when he
was younger and thought this story was the perfect way to do just that. He will survive his severed tail but will he
remember the boy who afford him some tenderness when
he was only a cub. They find themselves
as foes rather than friends.
JULES