The Silver Lining
By Julie Jurkovich
October 2002
Hoss yanked the door open. His huge frame filled the doorway as his eyes adjusted to the dark. “Pa?” he called hopefully. He stepped further inside as his brothers crowded behind him. “Hey, Pa!” The room was swathed in blackness, illumined only by dimly glowing embers covered with a silky layer of ash in the fireplace.
“Pa should be here,” exclaimed Joe, and Adam murmured his agreement as he peered intently from the dark bulk of the sofa, to the chair, the table, and up the steps.
The solemn tick-tock of the grandfather clock accompanied Hoss as he tossed his hat on the credenza and slowly felt his way through the sitting room. He lit the lamp on the table before the fireplace. “I'll see if Pa's upstairs.” Enveloped by the small glowing circle of flickering flame, Hoss slowly ascended the steps.
Adam threaded his way about the furniture to the window just past the dining room table. A match flared in the darkness as he lit the lamps on either side of and before the window. “I've never seen such a dark night. Must be a storm coming up for sure.”
“Not a breath of air out there right now,” said Joe. “When it hits, I reckon it'll hit hard.”
As they spoke, they heard thumps and creaks above them as Hoss searched the bedrooms. Finally, they heard his lumbering tread return down the hall and descend the stairs.
“He's not up there. Not anywhere. I checked every room.” Hoss put the lamp on the coffee table in front of the fireplace, and stared moodily at the flickering glow. “Where could he be?”
“We have to go back out there and find him!” Joe walked decisively toward the door, but Adam pulled him back.
“Now, hold on, Joe. A bad storm's coming up out there, and we're not sure what happened-”
“You're saying we should leave him?” Joe yanked his arm from Adam's grasp. “Well, you can stay here if you want, Adam, but I'm looking for my pa!”
“Now, hold on, young'un.” Hoss intercepted his brother at the door, and laid a beefy hand on his chest. “We have no idea where Pa is, and to run out there halfcocked would mean we'd all need search parties lookin' for us come morning.”
“Let go of me, Hoss!” Joe fought to get past him to the door.
Hoss easily held him at arm's length. “We need supplies,” he said. “Food, water, camping supplies. Adam, suppose you see what you can put together?” Adam nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.
“Now, Joe, you go get us some fresh horses. Ours are plumb wore out. And don't forget oilskins and bedrolls. We may be gone a while. You go get them things together. Oh, we'll need some matches, too.” He released his brother. “Now, listen, little brother, you run off lookin’ for Pa, and Adam and I'll have to split up, lookin' for both of you. You want to find Pa, you do as I say.” Joe nodded soberly, and went to the stable.
Hoss started for the kitchen to help Adam pack some food. He hadn't even gone past the table when he heard the thud of hooves, a loud neigh, and some shouting outside. As he ran out the door, he could barely see Joe talking with a man. Joe helped the man pull a limp figure from the horse. As Hoss drew nearer, he recognized Buck, and realized that the man now leaning against and staggering alongside Joe was Ben.
“Hoss!” Hoss recognized the voice and tall, thin form
of Rudy from the telegraph office in
“What's going on here?” Adam moved out of the way as they came through. “Pa! Hoss! Rudy! What happened? Who hurt Pa?”
Hoss laid Ben on the couch, and Adam brought the lamp close. They saw blood running down the side of Ben's face.
“What happened?” thundered Hoss.
“He got in a fight.” Rudy was breathing hard. Ben Cartwright was not an easy man to hold on a horse while drifting in and out of consciousness.
“With who?” Adam snapped after he told Joe to get water and cloths.
“With Miss Samantha's brother,” said Rudy. He wiped the sweat from his face. “He said -”
“You mean Tom?” exclaimed Hoss. “Why'd he hit Pa?”
Rudy moved aside so Adam could begin washing Ben's face and scalp. “Well - he claimed that a - a Cartwright trifled with his sister's affections.” Rudy glanced suspiciously at Hoss before looking down sheepishly.
Hoss's jaw dropped in astonishment. “Me! What? How - I mean, how - why -”
“Someone go for the doctor,” interrupted Adam.
“Not with that storm coming on, Adam,” said Rudy. Lightning flashed in the distance, and a loud rumble of thunder promised a mighty drenching to anyone who ventured outside.
“I don't understand!” Hoss looked from Ben to Rudy, then to his brothers, with amazement clearly etched across his brow.
“Never mind, that, Hoss, just get out of my way!” Joe crowded past his dumbfounded older brother and prodded his father's ribs and abdomen, searching for other injuries.
“He's only got the knot on the head and a couple of bruises, Joe,” said Rudy. “A few of us stopped Tom before he did any more damage. A lot of the fellows had way too much to drink, and were mighty quick to believe
Tom. I got your pa away from town as quick as I could.” He looked at Hoss. “Tom said a Cartwright broke Samantha's heart,” he accused. “Course, he was drunk when he said it.”
Hoss's mind was whirling. “Why, I'd never hurt that gal! Never!!”
Adam glanced at Hoss, then fixed Rudy with a doubtful eye. “There must be more to it than that, Rudy. You know Hoss would never do harm to a lady, and he'd never trifle with her affections, either.”
“Well, Tom hurt Pa because he thought he did!” Joe viciously wrung out a cloth and wiped Ben's face.
“Easy, Joe! Easy!” Adam restrained Joe's overzealous ministrations.
Joe brushed Adam's hand aside. “Pa's hurt because of him!” He pointed at Hoss. “And you didn't even want to go looking for Pa! I had to make you!”
“Joe, you know that's not true! Rudy said Tom was drunk, and I only wanted to make sure that you -”
Joe pushed Adam away from him. With clenched fists and a defiant glare, he tried to stare down his confused older brother. Hoss stepped between them and put a hand on Joe's chest. “Joe,” he said quietly. Pa's hurt. You keep your mind on business, you hear?”
Adam retrieved Joe's discarded cloth, carefully rinsed it, and resumed wiping Ben's face, while Hoss removed his boots. Standing to the side, Joe watched with knitted brows and troubled eyes.
Rudy went quietly to the front door, unnoticed by the brothers who were intent on their father's care. As he softly shut the door behind him, he glanced at the sky. Not a star met his gaze, and the air was thick and heavy. He heard thunder grumbling in the distance, and saw the dull shimmer of heat lightning to the west. He stopped and looked uncertainly about the yard.
His horse whinnied in alarm when a bright flash of lightning illumined the yard. Rudy saw a horse tethered next to his own, and realized that Buck had not yet been stabled. Sighing in resignation, Rudy led the two horses inside the barn. He might as well tend the horses and bed down for the night in the barn, rather than trying to return to town. The Cartwrights certainly didn't need any guests in the house this evening. And fetching the doctor was out of the question, with that storm approaching. Come morning, he could ride to town early and send the doctor out, in case Ben needed him.
**********************************
The pale lamps flickered dimly against the midmorning sun as it shone brightly through the window at the other end of the room. Adam rubbed his eyes, unfolded himself from the blue chair, stretched, and blew out the lamp on the table. He padded softly to the couch and carefully tucked the blanket more tightly around Ben's shoulders, noting with relief that his breathing was slow and steady and that he had no fever. He straightened
up and saw Hoss watching him from the red chair.
“He's going to be fine,” Adam assured him.
Hoss looked at his father with troubled eyes. “Adam. I never meant to hurt Miss Samantha. I -”
“You didn't.” The brothers turned toward the voice, and saw Joe emerge from the Indian blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace. He turned his haggard eyes toward them. “I hurt her.”
Two puzzled stares were his only response.
“Joe, what are you talking about?” Adam finally asked.
Joe hung his head. “I thought Samantha was real pretty, and decided to spark her. She didn't seem sweet on me at first, but I figured I could make her like me. Sooo, I - I went to see her a few times. After a while, I convinced her to come on a ride with me, and finally took her on a picnic.
“Then I saw Hoss talking to her one day after church, and I realized he liked her, too.” Joe swallowed. “At first, I was mad, but I saw how he was looking at her, and I knew he was really smitten.
“I kept on seeing her for a little while, but Hoss was moonin' around, and I was feeling worse and worse about the whole thing. I could tell Samantha liked me a lot more as time passed, but - I just couldn't go on seeing her. Not since I knew how Hoss felt about her. So I just sorta dropped her. I must have hurt her something awful.” Joe hung his head and waited for the holocaust to begin.
“Why, you little scalawag!” Hoss stepped around the couch and lifted Joe by the collar, blanket and all. “You played with her! You hurt her! Right under my nose, you did! My own brother! And I didn't see it, 'cuz
who woulda thought that my own brother would - “
“Now wait a minute, Hoss!” Adam tried to disengage the huge hands from Joe's collar. “Joe's trying to apologize.”
“Apologize!!” roared Hoss. “For trifling with a lady's affections? My girl, who I'd been seeing? For playing games with her?” His grip tightened on Joe's shirt, and Joe gasped, looking at Adam with wide,
pleading eyes.
“Hoss! Hoss!” exclaimed Adam. “Just listen.”
Hoss turned his clenched jaw and narrowed eyes toward Adam.
“We'll both go to Miss Samantha,” said Adam. His words spilled out quickly, hurrying to appease his powerful brother's anger before he did some real damage to Joe. “Joe and I will go.” He tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry. He glanced at the table, hoping that Hop Sing would have brought in some coffee, but then remembered that Hop Sing was gone for the week. “We'll tell her - Joe will tell her - that he's sorry. He'll explain that he saw you liked her, and he realized he couldn't get in between his brother and his girl like that, and felt really bad, so he just quit seeing her, because he didn't want to hurt his brother.”
Adam watched his brothers uneasily in the silence that followed. They both looked back at him, one desperately, and the other with a grim, calculating glare.
“You'd best clear it with Tom first.” The voice behind them sounded husky and weary, but the three men turned in delight toward it. “He's determined not to let any of you near his sister,” continued Ben. “But I'll let you work that out.” He struggled to sit up, and Adam ran to help him. Hoss released Joe, who fell in a tangled heap on the Indian blanket, and hurried to Ben.
“Pa! Are you all right?”
“Pa, did Tom really hit you?”
“Did he say I hurt Miss
Adam succeeded in propping Ben in a reclining position on the couch. “I have two gems of wisdom for you young men,” said Ben. He waited until he was certain that he had their attention. “Number one: Never tell a woman that you love her, or indicate such, until you are ready to follow through on those words with a commitment.” His eyes pierced Joe, who swallowed hard and looked at the floor.
“Number two...” He changed his position slightly, and groaned. “Number two: Never trifle with a young lady unless you are first prepared to pay the price.” Ben shifted his gaze to Hoss, and gave a slight nod.
Hoss turned his blazing eyes toward his younger brother, who quaked with trepidation. Hoss grabbed Joe by the arm, and moved him in front of Adam's favorite chair, released him, drew back his left arm, and lightly
punched him in the right shoulder.
Joe collapsed into the chair, and put his left hand over his right shoulder. He bit back the angry protest that instinctively rose to his lips, sprang quickly to his feet, and glared at Hoss, who matched him with a fiery stare of his own. Joe drew his left hand back, but hesitated when he saw Hoss preparing to easily block him. He knew he was no match for Hoss in a fight.
“Hoss,” he faltered. “Wait a minute. I -” He bit his lip and fought tears as they came to his eyes. “Look, I know this is my fault. I'll try to do what I can to make it right. I don't know if Miss Samantha will listen to me, but I'll try to talk to her, and apologize.”
“Let me talk to Tom first,” said Adam. “He may not let any of us near her.”
“Hoss -” Joe fought with himself and impatiently brushed away tears. “I feel so awful! I didn't mean to do this to you!” He gulped. “When I saw Pa hurt last night, and heard why, I knew it was my fault. I just yelled at anyone who was handy. I didn't want to tell you what had happened. It was easier to blame you.” He strove to get himself under control.
Hoss unclenched his fists, and his jaw relaxed. “Hey, Short Shanks. We all make mistakes.” He clapped Joe on the arm, knocking him back into the chair. “You didn't know I was sweet on her, and when you did, you stopped seeing her.” He extended his hand and helped his brother up. “We'll all go to Miss Samantha's. Maybe we can straighten out this mess.” He poked his index finger into Joe's chest. “But don't you ever do this again, y'hear? Not to anybody!” He narrowed his eyes and whispered, “Especially not to me!”
Adam backed away, and said, “Uh, I'll go to the kitchen, and see what Hop Sing left for us. We could all use some food!”
Joe nodded, still looking at the floor. Hoss rumpled his hair and slapped him on the back, almost knocking him over.
Adam returned from the kitchen with cups and the coffee pot that had been left on the back of the stove. He set them on the table, and. blew out the lamps by the window. “Everyone get some coffee, while I fry up a batch of bacon and eggs.”
“I'll come help you, Adam,” said Joe. He hurried after his brother into the kitchen. His stomach was starting to tie itself in knots at the thought of what was before him. “Uh, Adam?” he asked as soon as he had joined his oldest brother. “Do I really have to go with you to see Samantha?” He picked up a fork and began turning the bacon, which had barely started to get warm. “I mean, can't you just talk to Tom, and then Hoss can go see Samantha? I haven't seen her for a while, and it might be better if I don't go.”
Adam raised his eyebrow. He put down the bowl of eggs he was scrambling and snatched the fork from Joe's hand . “Do you want Hoss to smack you in the left shoulder next time?”
Joe bit his lip and stared at the bacon, which was beginning to bubble and pop. Finally, he turned a level gaze toward his older brother. “All right, Adam. We'd better both go see Tom. I need to apologize to him, too. I guess since his pa died, Tom's been weighed down awful heavy with too much responsibility. Probably why he's been drinking so much lately.” He sighed softly. “Do you think he'll listen to me?”
Adam clapped him on the shoulder. “I think he'll listen to the two of us. I hope he'll at least give us a hearing.” He tightened his grip on Joe's shoulder. “No guarantees, though. You realize that?”
Joe shut his eyes and nodded. “I know. Hoss may not be able to see Samantha again. At least, not for a while.”
“Not until Tom simmers down,” agreed Adam. “But that's not the only problem, Joe.” He touched his brother on the arm, and caught his eye. “Can you look him in the eye while he yells at you, and not yell back? Or stand firm when he hits you, and not hit him? If you can, Hoss may stand a chance.” Adam looked piercingly at his youngest brother.
Joe looked at the floor, then raised his eyes to Adam. “Yeah. Yeah. I can do it. I never wanted to mess anything up for Hoss. I just -” he swallowed and looked down “- didn't think.”
******************
Hoss sat down at the foot of the couch, oblivious to his father's grimace and shifting position. “Pa, whoever woulda thought that Little Joe woulda done that?” He shook his head. “I know he didn't mean to, but he hurt her. Least ways, her brother thinks so!” He clasped his hands together and looked gloomily at the floor. “Guess that's the reason why Miss Samantha acted so funny last time I saw her. She was real awkward, and seemed to be thinkin' about somethin' else the whole time. I didn't know Joe was trying to spark her, too!”
“Hoss.” Ben wished that he could put his hand on his son's shoulder, but his side and head hurt too badly. “Joe is young, and impulsive. He doesn't always think before he acts. The fact that he is sorry is a good sign. He wants to help make this right. Give him a chance to do that. He's growing up a little through this. I can see it.”
Hoss looked at his father with
troubled eyes. “I sure hope so,
“I'm fine, son,” Ben assured him. “Why don't you go help -”
A loud knock startled them. Hoss brushed the wood dust from his hands and answered the door. “Why, howdy, Doc!” He stepped aside to let the doctor in, and took his jacket and hat.
“Hello, Hoss.” The doctor stepped inside after carefully wiping the mud from his boots. “Quite a storm we had out there last night!”
“Yes, it was,” agreed Hoss. “A real gully washer for sure!”
“Rudy stopped by early this morning,” explained the doctor, “and suggested I check on your father. I was planning on stopping out here, anyway, after talking to Tom Willet last night.”
“You talked to Tom?” Hoss asked in surprise, as he led the doctor to Ben.
“Yes, I did. After Rudy got Ben out of town last night, Tom got in an ugly brawl with several others. He'd had a sight more to drink than was good for him. I had to go patch him up a bit. He told me what had happened
earlier.” He began to examine Ben.
“Good morning, Doctor!”
The doctor looked up briefly, then returned his attention to his patient. “Hello, Adam.” He frowned as he carefully probed Ben's side. “Doesn't seem to be anything broken, just some bruises,” he mused. Without looking
up, he asked, “Where's Joe?”
“In the kitchen, finishing up breakfast,” Adam replied. “Care to stay and join us?”
“Mmm, now it smells real fine,” said the doctor. “Do I smell bacon?”
“You shore do,” replied Hoss enthusiastically before Adam could respond.
Adam raised an eyebrow and gave a slight smile. “Anything else you smell, Hoss?”
Hoss sniffed, wrinkling his brow in concentration. “Well, I smell the coffee, and toast. And eggs. And something else. Smells like chicken.”
“Chicken broth for Pa,” confirmed Adam. “I'm heating up some of that soup Hop Sing left for us so Pa can have something to eat.”
“That's good thinking,” said the doctor. “Solid food might not go down so well right now.”
“Joe's been in enough fights for me to know that,” laughed Adam.
“Speaking of Joe....” The doctor gingerly touched Ben's eye, and applied some salve to a cut beneath it. “Tom mentioned him last night.” He pulled the blanket back up around Ben. “You rest for several days,” he
ordered. “No riding, and no lifting or digging, for a week. Give yourself time to heal.”
Hoss watched as the doctor gathered his instruments, jars, and bandages. “What did Tom say about Little Joe, Doc?”
“Well, he mentioned you, too.” The doctor snapped his bag shut. “Tom said that his sister was real upset because she was sweet on you, Hoss, but you had stopped coming around. She thought maybe you were sore because she'd been sparked by Little Joe. Tom says she's really sweet on you, Hoss. And there's no good way to say this, but he doesn't like Little Joe seeing his sister. Tom thought he was trifling with her.”
Hoss nearly danced with excitement. “She likes me? Pa! Did you hear that? She likes me! She still does! She really does!!”
A thump and the clank of dishes resounded as Joe entered through the kitchen door with a tray of eggs, bacon, and toast. “Hey, everybody! I've got breakfast for us. Come eat!” He set the tray on the table. “Howdy, Doc! Come join us! I'll set an extra place.” His eyes turned toward Hoss's beaming face. “What in the world are you so happy about? It's just eggs and bacon!”
“Joe, you'll never guess what the doc just done told me! He said -”
Ben cleared his throat loudly. “I think, Hoss, Joe, Adam, that we'd better eat. Quickly. We have a long day ahead of us, with lots of, shall we say, unpleasant responsibility. Isn't that right, Little Joe?”
Joe's eyes dropped before his father's, and he gave a heavy sigh. “Yeah. I'll go get the plates and silverware.” He shuffled into the kitchen like a man facing a death sentence.
Hoss suppressed a smile, and his eyes twinkled as he said, “Can I help you to the table, Pa?”
Adam turned toward the kitchen to
hide his smile. “I'll just go check on
the chicken broth for you,
“No, no thank you,” said the doctor as he hurried to the door. “I'd best go back home and have something to eat there. The Missus gets angry if I don't show up for meals when I can, you know. Says it's a waste of her time and good food.”
Adam paused by the kitchen door. “Good thing Hop Sing isn't here. He'd take offense that you don't want to eat his food.” He opened the door. “However, as it's Little Joe doing most of the cooking this morning, I certainly understand why you don't want to stay.”
“Hey!” Joe's shout reverberated from the kitchen before the door swung shut after Adam. “What's wrong with my cooking?! You've eaten it plenty of times before!”
The doctor blurted a hasty goodbye, and scrambled out the door. Ben and Hoss laughed as Hoss helped his father up from the couch, accompanied by the dim cacophony of Joe's protests and Adam's calmer replies.
“You think Joe will be up to talking to Tom and Miss Samantha?” asked Hoss.
“Well, at least he'll have a bit of fire inside him,” replied Ben. “That's better than the hangdog attitude he had before. I'd rather see him with some spirit. It'll give him more determination to fix this situation.”
As Ben sank gratefully into his chair at the table, Joe exploded through the door, followed by Adam. “Yeah, you think you're so smart, Adam!” He began angrily slamming dishes onto the table.
“Joseph! Take it easy!” exclaimed Ben.
“Joe!” Adam said in exasperation. “I didn't mean anything. I was just -”
“Enough!” thundered Ben. “Let's eat!”
As stomachs filled, tempers cooled, and they relaxed as the edge was taken from their appetites.
“I'll go saddle the horses,” said Joe when his plate was empty.
Adam stood. “I'll help you.” He looked at Hoss. “You'll stay here, with Pa?”
Hoss fidgeted. “I don't know, Adam. I figure I ought to be there to talk with her myself.”
“It'll be too awkward with both you and Joe there,” Adam gently replied. “Let me defuse Tom first, then Joe can apologize, and you can see Samantha later. Don't you think that's best?”
Hoss thought for a moment. “Yeah, Adam, I reckon you're right. You tell her I'll be in town any day to call on her, now, will you?”
Adam smiled and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “You bet I will, Hoss. If it's all right with Tom. Take good care of Pa while we're gone.”
Adam and Joe bustled outside, and the door slammed behind them. As the sound of their footsteps faded toward the barn, Hoss and Ben were left alone with the crackling of the fire and the smell of bacon, eggs, and chicken.
Hoss glanced at his father. “Well, Pa,” he finally said into the silence, “I shore do wish them luck!”
Ben stared at the fire, which whooshed and flared up as a log shifted. “They'll do their best. The rest depends on Tom.” He looked up at Hoss. “And on you. You don't really suppose that a man like Tom Willet is going to keep you from seeing his sister? I could tell how sweet you were on her. So could Tom, apparently, from what he told the doctor and Rudy. I'd say it's safe to assume that sooner or later, this will all be settled.” He reached out stiffly and touched Hoss on his arm. “In your favor.” He winked.
Hoss laughed, and slapped Ben's arm happily. Ben bit back a gasp of pain, stifled a protest, and laughed with his son.
THE END