WHN THE FLAPJACK CONTEST
Or THE MYSTERY OF THE FAKE RUBY
Written by Katja (Adam) and Lynne C (LJ)
I was glad to get away from Pa and his questions about my gambling, and go over to the saloon to buy another window pane. Once it was safely stowed away in the buckboard, I headed for the bank to collect my reward. My joy in having $1,000, for catching the bank robber, was short-lived, though, as Pa made me hand it over to Adam, along with the $500 that Hoss got for winning the flapjack contest. I protested and said that if Adam had been foolish enough to buy a chunk of glass, then why did I havta suffer, too? Pa said we’d talk about it once we got home, and we left town.
Hoss helped me replace the window pane in my room, at least I would now be able to sleep in my bed, and as we worked, we talked over what had happened. I said I was sorry about him losing his winnings and that I would pay him back, somehow. He was real decent about it, wish my other brother was so understanding.
I knew that the subject would soon be brought up, again and, sure enough, when we were sat at the supper table, Adam wanted a full account. He was adamant that the ruby he had sent home was genuine, he’d had it appraised before he bought it, but Pa assured him that the one which arrived in Virginia City was just a piece of coloured glass.
However, that was the least of my worries. As I sat there, it became apparent that Pa knew all about my sneaking out, my poker playing activities and my bets with Trager for the flapjack contest. Now, Pa has some very definite views about 16 year old boys (that’s me) getting involved in such things, and I knew that I was in big trouble, as my catalogue of crimes was paraded in front of me. To give him his due, Pa did give me the chance to defend myself, but there wasn’t anything I could say; I was guilty as charged. I tried to slide down in my seat and make myself invisible, but that wasn’t gonna work. As Pa explained things to Adam, I could see that he was getting more and more angry, until there was nearly steam coming outta his ears.
Eventually, he said the words that I had been dreading, that we would continue this discussion in my room. I excused myself from the table and made my way up the stairs, trying out one of my famous puppy dog looks as I went, but it didn’t work.
Pa soon joined me; he didn’t say much, but his belt did the speaking for him and, boy, it talked up a storm on my backside.
Pa told me to get ready for bed and he would come up and say goodnight, shortly. I did as I was told and was lying, face down, in my bed, when he returned. Pa’s not one to bear a grudge and he was happy to forgive me. He gently rubbed my back and told me that he set the rules for my own safety. He said that playing poker in the back room of a saloon was too dangerous an activity for a boy of my tender years, as I had found out to my cost, when Trager had bushwhacked me. I told him that I was sorry and that I would stay outta saloons, from now on, and I did mean it, well, when I said it, I did. Pa gave me a kiss goodnight and left the room.
I found it hard to sleep, my butt was sore, but the main thing that was keeping me awake, was the mystery of the fake ruby. Somewhere along the line, the real ruby must’ve been stolen and the fake one sent home to Pa. Adam said he’d had it appraised and knew it to be genuine. What I needed to know was who had wrapped up the parcel? Did the appraiser do it for Adam, at the jewellers, or did he get them to do it at the post office? Wherever it was parcelled up, was where the swap had to have been made. I couldn’t sleep, until I knew, and so I snuck along to Adam’s room and asked him. He wasn’t as mad with me as I thought he’d be, as he had begun to wonder about what had happened, too. He said that the appraiser, a Mr Thompson, at the San Francisco Quality Jewellery Store, had wrapped up the ruby, after doing the appraisal. Now, he might have switched it for a fake, off his own back, or been in cahoots with Adam’s friend, the sea captain. Adam said that Captain John Meredith was an old friend and he couldn’t believe that he would have been involved, but he couldn’t be absolutely sure of that.
I went back to bed, but still couldn’t sleep. Adam hadn’t said whether he planned to go and try and track down the real ruby or not, but now that he had the money, I guess he wasn’t that bothered. However, I wasn’t happy about losing out on my reward and so decided that I would go. The more I thought about it, the better the idea seemed, probably because I was light headed from having no sleep!
Once I was sure that everyone was asleep, I decided to leave. I got up and scribbled a note to Pa, telling him what I was doing, and threw a few things into my saddlebags. My main problem was lack of money, but then I remembered that Seth was playing in an all night poker game in the Bucket of Blood and so I planned to go there first, in the hope that he was winning.
I headed down the stairs, missing out the
creaky ones, grabbed my coat and hat and left the house. Cochise wasn’t too
happy about being disturbed in the middle of the night, but once we were on the
road to
My luck was in and so was Seth’s, he was
winning, and so was happy to lend me some money. Seth offered to take Cochise back
to the Ponderosa for me and so I left her in the livery stable, until he was
ready to go home. I stayed in the saloon with Seth until the early morning
stage for
That was some strange homecoming. I had missed a lot. Somehow Little Joe wanted to buy my ruby, but didn’t have the money and there had been a contest and something about window panes. I couldn’t understand a thing they were saying, but knew that all would be clear in due time. So I decided to savour the memory of my trip, which had been great and just wait for the answers.
Well, the answers came over dinner. It was quite a tale and it had my youngest brother’s name written all over it. I was stunned to hear what he had been up to. Actually the long list of broken window panes was extremely funny, but pa’s face told me he didn’t think so. Neither did he think the gambling and sneaking were funny. But what really got to me was their insistence that my ruby had been fake. That just wasn’t possible. I had it appraised and it was worth every cent I paid for it and more. So why insist it wasn’t?
All through the story pa had been working up a temper and it didn’t surprise me that he resorted to giving that boy a tanning. Not wanting to hear the sure to follow strangled yelps coming from upstairs, Hoss and I went to the barn. We had both been there in our time and didn’t want to add to his embarrassment by being in the house. Not to mention the memories it brought up.
I had an early night as I was very tired, travelling by stage does that to a man and in bed I started to trace back the buying and appraising of the ruby. Where could it have gone wrong? Mr. Thompson had appraised it and wrapped it up for me. After that I didn’t think anyone could have switched it. So if there had been a switch it must have been then. But why? Even though it didn’t really matter, I had my money back after all, it still bothered me that I had been swindled and robbed. I hoped John Meredith didn’t have anything to do with it. He was an old friend and I hated the thought of having misjudged him so badly.
I was still pondering about all this when
Little Joe came into my room. The whole affair was really bothering him. I
assume losing out on 1500 dollars had something to do with it, but I couldn’t
blame him. I would have been just as upset. In fact I was, but I didn’t let him
know that. He seemed to agree about the appraiser doing the switch. It was the
most logical explanation. He was relieved I wasn’t angry with him anymore and
believed the ruby that arrived had been a fake and he returned to bed. I
couldn’t sleep after that talk. I didn’t want to go back to
The next morning Little Joe was late for breakfast. That was nothing new of course, but when Hoss went upstairs to wake him up, Hoss-style, I couldn’t help starting to laugh. That was how that whole window business had started. I hoped Hoss made sure Joe’s shoes were out of reach this time. But there came no shout, no noise from upstairs and a couple of moments later Hoss came down alone. It was obvious he had news he didn’t want to share with pa. None of us like to give pa news that will make him mad.
He reluctantly showed pa a note. While pa
was reading I could see the flow of emotions running through him. From anger to worry. He told us Little Joe had taken off to
I packed up some things and saddled Sport to go to town to catch the afternoon stage, promising pa to keep him informed by wire. He still wasn’t happy with me leaving too, but didn’t see another solution since he needed to be at the ranch at the moment.
When I got to the livery to leave Sport
there (one of the hands would pick him up later), I saw Cochise in one of the
stables. As I still had an hour before the stage left I did some research. It
seemed Little Joe had brought her in last night before returning to the saloon.
It seemed there was an all night poker game going on and it didn’t take me long
to figure out that his good friend Seth would be in that game. I went over to the
saloon and found Seth still in there. He confirmed the story. Little Joe had
borrowed some money from him to go to
The journey to
They were very kind to me, though, and shared their food. I was grateful, as I didn’t have that much money and wasn’t sure how long it was going to have to last. I didn’t know how long I was going to have to be away from home.
We spent two nights in way stations and Mr and Mrs Hughes did some gentle probing as to why I was travelling alone. I didn’t like having to lie to such nice people, but couldn’t tell ‘em I had run away and so said I was going to see my brother. They were concerned about me and it was nice having someone looking out for my well being. I like to pretend I’m all grown up and able to take care of myself, but I havta admit, if only to myself, that I ain’t that grown up, yet. In fact, I had Bo, my faithful, childhood cuddly toy, in my saddlebags, along with a picture of Pa, Adam and Hoss and I looked at them, each night, before I went to sleep. I hoped they would understand why I had run off and not be too mad with me, when I returned home.
Once we reached
As soon as I reached
I went along to the hotel and they welcomed me with open arms. They were a bit suspicious about me being on my own, but I made up a story about having travelled with Adam and that he’d had business across town and would be joining me in a couple of days. Because of this, they gave me a suite, which consisted of a living room and a bedroom, containing two beds. After a bath and a short rest, I had some fun jumping back and forth across the beds, glad that none of the family could see me, acting like a big kid.
I enjoyed a decent meal in the dining room,
the first one in three days, and then headed off to the
I must have gone in every bar in the place. In a lot of ‘em, I never got as far as asking a question, before I was shown the door, usually by some very large man, who I wasn’t about to argue with. They said I was too young to be in there and even when I tried to say that I was only looking for someone and I didn’t wanna drink, they still turned me out.
In one bar, I did manage to enquire about Captain Meredith, but was told that no one of that name had ever been in there, and so I left.
These two guys approached me, once I was outside, and said that they thought they might be able to help. Now, if I had been thinking straight, I probably would have been suspicious, but it was getting late and I was tired. They said they could take me to the captain and so I went with them. They led me down a maze of back alleys, which all looked alike, and we finally arrived at a warehouse. They unlocked the door and held it open, pushing me inside. The force of the push was so strong that I stumbled and fell to the ground. As I went to stand up, I realised that they had locked the door on me. I began hammering on the door and yelling at them to let me out and the next thing I knew was that someone had crept up behind me and hit me over the head.
When I came to, I was lying on a cot, in the corner of the warehouse, and this man was tending to my head. He told me what I had already guessed; I had been shanghaied. I groaned, from the pain in my head, and for my stupidity. The man, who said his name was Jim, told me that we would be kept there, until buyers could be found for us. I felt like crying, but realised that wasn’t gonna get me anywhere. How could I have been so naive? None of the family was close enough to help me; the hotel might start to wonder where I was, after a day or two, but by then I could be on my way to Lord knows where. I lay back, in despair, and wished I had never left the Ponderosa.
All the way to
In
They were surprised at my “early arrival”, which in turn surprised me, but I soon found out Little Joe told them I would be joining him in a couple of days. He must have been able to see into the future. Well, actually I was sure he was just using me as an excuse.
When I found out he had rented a suite I
was stunned. The boy had guts. I wouldn’t have dared charge a suite to pa’s
account at his age. Pa was going to kill him. Well, make him wish he was dead
anyway. But I didn’t have time to think about that just now. I needed to find
him first. The clerk at the front desk informed me he hadn’t seen my brother
since dinner last night and I was starting to get a little worried. Knowing my
little brother he would have gone to look for John, which meant he would have
gone to the waterfront, but to be sure I asked the clerk if he had seen in
which direction he had left. After some thought he pointed in
the direction of the
I left my things at the hotel and walked in
the same direction. Since Joe hadn’t returned there was a good chance he was in
trouble. And trouble on the
Well, he was and when I told him the short version of the story he came up with a plan. He assured me he didn’t know anything about the switched ruby and that he had never bought sailors for his crew, but being a captain he knew where to look for them. So he got me some suitable clothes and took me to a very obscure bar. He whispered something to the guy behind the bar and we were taken through a door hidden behind a curtain. I really didn’t like the look of this, but was putting my faith in my old friend.
We came into a scarcely lit room, where two men were playing cards. They looked up as we entered and one of them got up. The other one remained seated and he did the talking. John said something that didn’t make sense to me, but I assumed it was some sort of password and the standing guy relaxed a little. John told the seated man that we weren’t looking for sailors, but were in great need of a cabin boy. He said our last one had drowned and he had had a hard time replacing him. It seemed we were lucky as the man happened to have a boy for us. We asked if we could see him, to judge if he was healthy enough. The man agreed and we were taken through a dark hallway to a closed door. There was a small hatch, which he opened and we could look into the room. I managed to remain stoic, but my heart leaped when I saw the small figure lying on a cot. It was Joe alright. John looked at me and I remembered our signal. I started scratching my ear and said he looked very young and small for a cabin boy. John asked the man what he wanted for the boy, making it sound as if he was only slightly interested. The price started high, but John managed to get it down to 100 dollars. But that was a very small price to pay to get my brother back.
We paid the man and while I stayed out of sight, I didn’t want Joe to jeopardize the whole deal by recognizing me, Little Joe was handed over to John. He was trembling, but struggled quite a bit. He was no match for the strong captain though and soon we were outside. John had a good hold of the boy’s arm as he pushed him through the streets. We wanted to get as far as possible before letting Joe know he was safe. I was feeling sorry for him though. I could see he was scared and he had tears in his eyes. But we weren’t safe yet. Besides John and I had agreed that the boy needed a little scare to make sure he’d stay away from the waterfront from now on. So we went over to John’s ship and went aboard, to John’s cabin.
John lit a lamp and turned Little Joe around. As soon as he recognized me the relief was obvious. He almost shouted my name and grabbed me. I was so relieved to have him back safely, I forgot my normally reserved manner and hugged him tightly. We stood there for a couple of minutes, but then he suddenly realized he had been tricked and he started getting angry. I didn’t give him a chance to voice his anger though and started reading him the riot act about running away, worrying us, getting himself a suite at pa’s expense, being stupid enough to go to the Barbary Coast alone.
Oh, the list was long and by the time I was finished he was very subdued. He had his hands clasped behind his back and I think he fully expected me to do some damage to his backside to get my point across. I was tempted, but decided I would leave any physical action to pa. He was the boy’s father after all. Besides I could really rub it in that I now owned him.
But as he walked past me to leave I couldn’t resist the urge to give him a good
hard swat on his seat. It practically made him jump in the air.
When I realised that it was Adam who had bought me, my first reaction was one of relief. All the way to the dock, I really thought that I would never see my family again. I had never been so frightened in all of my life. Spending all that time in that damp, dark warehouse, with no food and a pounding head, wasn’t much fun. Jim had done his best to clean up the wound, but it was still hurting. I think I must have passed out for a while, but as it was so dark in there, I had no idea whether it was day or night and so I don’t know how long I was unconscious.
Then, when I discovered I had been sold,
well, that was the worst moment of all. I had been thinking that as long as I
remained in
I fell into his arms and held on tight, just in case I was dreaming and he disappeared. Thankfully, I wasn’t and he didn’t, although I did kinda wish that he would when he started yelling at me. Okay, I know I deserved it, and I did start yelling first, but I was tired, hungry and hurting and all I really wanted was some fussing over. Adam shouted me down and forced me to listen to him and by the time he finished, ending with a non too gentle swat to my backside, I felt thoroughly ashamed of myself.
Before we went back to the hotel, he did hug me again and tell me that he was glad I was safe and I swear I saw a tear in the corner of his eye, but I know the old Yankee granite head would deny it was ever there.
We both thanked Captain Meredith for his help and then Adam hailed a cab to take us to the hotel. Adam said that he would leave a message with the harbour master, for John, as to how the search for the ruby went, as he was sailing with the morning tide.
We got to our suite and the first thing I did was have a bath, I was filthy. Actually, Adam insisted I did, before he would feed me; he’s kinda fussy about cleanliness. I was too tired to get dandied up enough for the dining room and so Adam suggested that I put my nightshirt on and he’d order room service. I was happy to fall in with his plans. He checked out my head and said I had a nasty bump ( I could’ve told him that) but that he didn’t think it was too bad a cut and it would soon heal.
I did manage to eat a little of the meal, but I was so tired I couldn’t really do it justice. Before I fell asleep, Adam nipped out and sent a wire to Pa to tell him that I was safe and inform him where we were staying. I asked him to send Pa and Hoss my love, although I knew it wasn’t likely to be very well received. My name was probably mud on the Ponderosa round about now.
Adam wanted to discuss the plans for
tracking down the ruby, but could see that I was just too tuckered out to
listen and so he turned in, as well, and we were soon fast asleep. I must admit
I felt a whole lot happier, knowing that my big brother was in the bed next to
me;
As I lay in bed I watched my little brother. I was glad he was safe again, but I wondered if I hadn’t been too easy on him. I know what pa would have done. But as I watched him sleep I knew the whole thing had taught him a lesson a tanning never could have. Then again I vowed to myself I was going to have fun using him as a slave for a while. He deserved it and now he was safe I could allow myself to have some fun. With that thought in my head and probably a big smile on my face I dozed off.
The noise of the big city woke me up. Unlike Little Joe I was used to waking up early, but in the city it was always harder for me to sleep in. I decided it would be good to have an early start. It was already a long time ago since the ruby had been switched and I knew the longer we waited the smaller our chances of finding it. So I gave Little Joe a shake, which didn’t work. I never thought it would have. I got up and pulled the blanket off him, opened the curtains, so the sun fell right on his face. He turned around and put the pillow over his head. It didn’t look as if he was going to get up anytime soon. I needed to take more extreme measures. I took the water jug and started pouring water on his back. He immediately shot up, gave me an angry look, but I told him we needed to get a start on looking for the ruby if he ever wanted to see his money back. That shut him up. He continued glaring at me, but got up and we both got dressed.
Since we forgot to ask for breakfast in our rooms last night, hey, it was late and we had been through a lot, I had a sudden idea. I asked Joe nicely to go down and get the both of us some breakfast. He looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. Why didn’t we just go downstairs. Still very nicely I said I just felt like having breakfast in the suite and wanted him to go get it. He was obviously back to his old self, because he started protesting. If I wanted that, then I should get it myself. Then I dropped the bomb: until he could pay me back the 100 dollars I had paid for him, I owned him, in a way he was my slave. So the sooner he got us some breakfast, the sooner we could be on our way, the sooner he’d have his money back. I watched his face as it dawned on him that I had every intention on going through with this. I had expected a fight, but he gave in quickly, shrugged and went down without saying a word. Once he was outside I couldn’t contain myself any longer, I started laughing and nearly couldn’t stop. That first look had been priceless. Yes, this was definitely a better punishment than anything else I could have thought of.
After breakfast I had him call for a carriage and we left for the Jewellery store to question Mr. Thompson. He was just opening up the store as we arrived and the fear on his face told me he hadn’t forgotten me. He staggered backwards into the store and we followed him in.
Seeing this man was like a red rag to a bull, to me. He was the reason I had lost $1,000, was $500 in debt and was now my brother’s slave. I couldn’t blame him for the tanning I had got from Pa, because that was for my gambling and poker playing activities, but I wanted to.
I grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and pushed him up against the counter. I pulled back my arm, in readiness to punch him, but Adam grabbed my hand and stopped me. As usual, my brother was being the voice of reason and he reckoned we would get more outta Thompson by being gently persuasive. I didn’t agree, but Adam was in charge and I had to do as he said, or face the consequences, which I knew would involve damage to my hide. Adam had pointed it out to me, very clearly, in the hotel room, before we left. I was his slave, until he felt that I had paid off the $100 he had paid for me.
I pushed the snivelling Thompson down into the nearest chair and started firing questions at him. Where was Adam’s ruby and why had he stolen it? Adam locked up the shop and leaned against the door, leaving it to me to get the answers. Thompson was so eager to tell us everything, he was falling over his words. The man was petrified and I wasn’t naïve enough to think that it was me he was frightened of. He said that about a month ago, two men had come to the shop and demanded that Thompson paid them protection money, or else the shop was liable to suffer from a series of thefts and small fires. At first, he refused and, sure enough, the damage started. Then he received a threat to his children and, at that point, decided to pay. He was desperate for money and when Adam brought the ruby to be appraised, saw his chance. Adam asked him to wrap up the jewel and so it was easy to make the switch. He then took the ruby and gave it to the men, who said it would pay for a year’s protection. Most of the other stores in the area had also been targeted and nearly all of them had agreed to pay up, as they, too, had suffered from thefts, fires and beatings, to themselves and their families.
After listening to his story, I began to feel kinda sorry for Mr Thompson; it must’ve been difficult for him, when he feared for his kids.
Adam, too, looked concerned and, knowing my brother as I do, I knew that he was thinking of a way to help. He started to ask the names of the people who hadn’t yet paid the protection money. I wasn’t sure where all this was leading and when I asked, he told me to be quiet and so I did as I was told. He had that Pa look on his face that told me I best mind him. I decided to stay put and wait and see what would happen next.
It was a horrifying story. I could understand why he had done what he’d done, even though it didn’t make it right. The man was protecting his family and I know I would do anything to keep my own family safe. While I was listening a plan started to form itself in the back of my head. It wasn’t much of a plan at first, because there were too many risks and loose ends, but slowly everything feel into place.
It wasn’t just a question of getting the ruby or the money back anymore. It was more than that now. Maybe it had to do with wanting to be the hero, I don’t know, but I just wanted to help this man and his family. And the others who were being blackmailed. We have been raised not to stand for injustice and all through the years no one of us had just stood by when someone was being hurt, robbed or treaded unjustly, strangers or not.
I knew Joe would agree with me and I started to ask Mr. Thompson about the other storeowners, hoping to find out where those two men were likely to strike next. There were owners who hadn’t given in yet. They would probably get another visit. Mr. Thompson told us that his neighbour, Mr. Stein, the antique dealer, had gotten a visit every day now for the past 3 days. Every time they came in at the end of the afternoon, around 4. They had started with talking, but he knew from his own experience that by now they probably wouldn’t be that nice anymore. Yesterday there had nearly been a fire in the store and Mr. Stein was on the verge of giving in.
I took Joe aside, leaving Mr. Thompson to
drink a glass of water and calm down a bit. I asked Joe if he remembered our
trip to
Joe and I
went back in the direction of our hotel. We both hoped Mick and Jack would
still be training in the Carlton Club just down the street from the hotel. If
they weren’t we would have a hard time finding them and might even have to come
up with another plan. Once there we went inside.
I had very fond memories of that holiday, which we had taken, just after Adam returned from college. We had made some good friends and still kept in touch with Mick Shaughnessy and his family. He and Jack would be a real help in carrying out Adam’s plan. Having a smart brother is useful, sometimes, although not when he works out when I am plotting mischief!
It was a great idea; we would pretend to be a rival protection gang and we would lean on the ones who had taken the ruby and get rid of them, after relieving them of the gem. When I say ‘we’ I know that Adam wasn’t thinking of having me involved, just him, Jack and Mick, but I wasn’t about to be left out of things, seeing as how it had been my idea to come and track down the ruby, in the first place. I sensed that I might have a battle on my hands convincing Adam that I could go along, but I was confident I would win. ‘Sides, Adam knew how stubborn I could be, and would know I would just follow him, if he didn’t include me.
We were soon at the Carlton Club and Adam asked at the desk if Jack and Mick were there. Our luck was in, as they were, and they were overjoyed to see us. Mick engulfed me in a bear hug, like the ones Hoss gives me, and nearly squeezed all the breath outta me, but it was lovely to see him. He was no longer fighting, but he and Jack now ran a school for training new fighters and they were both still very fit.
Over coffee and pastries, Adam explained
what had brought us to
Adam gave them the address of Stein’s
Antique Store and they agreed to meet him there just before
We took our leave of Mick and Jack and went back to the hotel. As soon as we got to our room, Adam began putting forward all the reasons why I shouldn’t go with him. I let him say his piece and then I just said I was going, anyway. A lot of the time, I think that Adam and I have nothing in common, until our stubborn streaks rear their heads, and then you can really tell we are brothers. The more he dug his heels in, the more I did, mine. He tried the slave routine and ordered me not to go, but I said it didn’t matter what he said, or did, I was still gonna go. I could see that he was having real trouble controlling his temper, he nearly wore out the carpet, pacing up and down and he was breathing hard and clenching and unclenching his fists. I came very close to getting that clobbering that had been hanging between us since Adam had arrived, but he managed to control himself. In the end, he agreed to me going, as he said I was likely to come to more harm by sneaking around and getting in the way. However, he warned me that I had to do exactly as he said and not say a word and I promised that I would obey him.
That brother of mine can be positively infuriating. He’s the most stubborn person I know, not counting family-members including myself, that is, and even though my hands were itching to give him a tanning he wouldn’t soon forget, I knew that wouldn’t change things. I would still have to bring him with me. No tanning would prevent him from sneaking out, following me and Lord knows what trouble he might cause then. No, better take him with me and be able to keep an eye on him, at least that way I had a chance to control his actions.
And somehow it was nice doing this together. Of course I knew I shouldn’t take him with me, pa would have made him stay in the hotel and he might even have obeyed pa, but I enjoyed working together with him. Not that I’d let him know that now, but I did.
We needed different clothes to pull off this stunt though. We wouldn’t be very convincing looking like cowboys and neither of us had taken the time or trouble to pack a suit. We needed to buy something new, which meant Little Joe would owe me even more money, but he would be a suit richer, so I figured he wouldn’t mind much. And he didn’t. We got ourselves a really expensive looking suit. All black, the only touch of colour were the shirts. We bought some cigars, which I made Little Joe promise not to smoke for real, put our gun belts and new hats on and then looked at ourselves in the mirror. We looked like regular crooks.
Looking like this we went over to Mr. Thompson. He was waiting for us in the store. He was still very scared and not entirely sure of our intentions, I think he even thought for a moment we were part of the gang, but after we explained our plan, he seemed to relax. When we told him about Mick and Jack he finally started to think his ordeal might be over.
Wanting to stay out of sight we left the
store through the back door and Mr. Thompson led us to Mr. Stein’s store. He
knocked at the back door and after a while it opened. A very frightened little
man peeked through the door. He relaxed a little when he recognized Mr.
Thompson, but he gave us a suspicious glare. Mr. Thompson immediately reassured
him of our good intentions and we were let into the backroom of the store,
where we explained our plan in detail. We would hide there. A little before
Mr. Stein was impressed with our plan. He was obviously a very brave man, as he had resisted the gang for a long time, but that near fire yesterday had him on edge. Now that he saw the end was in sight he started to get excited. We tried to temper him a little. Things could go very wrong if we didn’t play it right. He understood completely and promised us he would play his part. Mr. Thompson went back to his own store, Mr. Stein went to work, every now and then looking out of the window to see if anyone was coming and we stayed out of sight in the backroom. I sure hoped this would work, there was a lot at stake here.
At
At exactly
Of the two men who entered the store, one was very large and must have been the bodyguard, and the other one was obviously the boss. He made his way straight to the counter. He spoke to Mr Stein, in a very low voice, and we could not hear what he said, but we guessed he was asking for money. Mr Stein refused and looked towards the backroom door. My brother, who I must admit was looking the part of a first class villain, stepped up to the counter and told the man to leave. He explained, in a menacing tone, which made even me shiver, that he was looking after Mr Stein’s store for him, as he was all the others in the area, from now on. He insisted that the other store owners had their money returned, as they were now going to be paying him to look after their properties. The man, who was known as Mr Smith, though I doubt that was his real name, just laughed and beckoned to his bodyguard. The big man advanced on Adam, but Jack stepped in between them. Adam asked for everyone to calm down and said there was no need for violence. He explained that he had plenty of men at his disposal and they would be happy to oblige if Mr Smith really wanted a fight, but he would much rather settle things, without getting physical. He repeated his request that everyone should have their protection money returned and I put my hand on my gun, to reinforce his words.
Outside, Mick and his two trainee fighters had been joined by Mr Thompson and some of the other store owners, anxious to see how things were going. Mr Smith could see them, through the window, and so knew he was outnumbered, but he still wasn’t prepared to give up. He suddenly darted across the store and grabbed hold of my arm, yanking my gun out of its holster, with his other hand. Smith threatened to kill me, unless Mr Stein and all the other store keepers paid him for protection. I was more than a little scared, but angry, as well and wasn’t going to let this man get away with it. He obviously wasn’t that used to handling a gun, as he usually had others to do his dirty work for him and he was waving it around, in a rather haphazard fashion. I elbowed him in the midriff and he dropped the gun. As he bent down to retrieve it, I kneed him in the groin and he fell back on the floor. His bodyguard ran over and punched me in the face, but before he was able to land a second blow, Jack was onto him. Adam opened the door and Jack punched the guy out into the street, avoiding causing any damage to Mr Stein’s stock. Adam followed him, dragging out Mr Smith, who hadn’t fully recovered from my attack on him.
Adam and Jack made short work of impressing on the two crooks that it was time to retire from the protection racket and we then went with them to collect the money, and Adam’s ruby. Adam continued to let Smith believe that he was the boss of another gang and he said that Jack and Mick would be making regular calls on the store owners to collect their payments. By doing this, we hoped that any other protection gangs would be discouraged from trying to muscle in and the shopkeepers would be safe. Mick and Jack had already agreed to do this for us; they were happy to play heavies once a month and help out their fellow businessmen.
Smith took us to his office, a small room at the back of a brothel. He opened his safe and handed over the money and the ruby. Mr Thompson came with us and made sure he had given us the correct amount and then Adam took it off him, to look like he was now providing the protection.
As we left, a couple of the girls approached us and told us how much they charged. I smiled at the younger one of the two and looked at Adam, who just grabbed my arm and led me out of there. Honestly, that brother of mine is no fun at all.
We returned to Mr Thompson’s store and spread the word that we had recovered the protection money. The store owners came over and Adam returned their money to them. They were all extremely grateful and Mr Thompson apologised for switching Adam’s ruby. I was very happy that my brother now had the real gem, as this meant I would get my money back.
We thanked Mick and Jack for their help and invited them back to the hotel for a celebration dinner.
As we washed up, in preparation for the
meal, Adam couldn’t resist giving me a bit of a lecture about provoking the
fight, by looking like I was going for my gun. He said that Smith would not
have attacked me, had I not done that, and I had put myself at risk, when there
hadn’t been any need. I decided now was not the time to argue with him. I guess
he was right, and I was feeling too happy to want to start a fight. The store
owners were free from having to pay protection money, Adam had his ruby and I
would have my money, once we got home. Thinking of home, brought Pa into my
mind and I began to wonder about what he was likely to do, when he saw me. I
suppose I knew the answer to that one and so decided to push it to the back of
my mind and enjoy the rest of our time in
I had had a lot of fun playing the bad guy for once. It reminded me a bit of the acting I had done in college. Of course this wasn’t Shakespeare, but still it was fun and I played the part with conviction.
Of course Little Joe hadn’t been able to contain himself and he just had to provoke that fight. But in a way that fight needed to happen. Mick and Jack needed to establish their authority and power over them and the only way these guys would understand was showing them they were stronger. You don’t just do that by standing there. So I knew they would have to fight.
But why did it always have to be Little Joe who started the fights? Somehow that little brother is mine is incorrigible. He just had to reach for his gun. Sometimes I wonder if he is mature enough to wear one. He just seems to love trouble. Just like in that brothel. I could see the trouble coming as soon as I realized what kind of place it was, which was pretty quick. And I can tell you one thing: if I hadn’t been there that brother of mine would have landed himself right into the bed of some sleazy whore. And how could I have brought him home after that? I wouldn’t have been able to look pa in the eye knowing what his baby-son had been up to.
So when we got back to the hotel to get ready for the celebration dinner I started chewing him out, in my best pa-imitation. I just lectured him about the provoking of the fight and learning to control his temper and decided to leave the matter of that girl in the brothel for now; we would be leaving soon, so I didn’t see a problem.
When I felt he was properly chastised, or at least felt I had given it my best shot, as my brother will probably never learn, I told him to make sure to wash behind his ears, which got me an angry glare, and to behave, which resulted in a “yes, sir” but with too much sarcasm to be respectful. I let it go, hoping that he would try to behave himself.
Downstairs in the lobby Mick and Jack were already waiting for us and we went to a fine restaurant just on the other side of the street. It was a fancy restaurant without being posh. Very good food and service. And we had a very enjoyable evening. We had a superb dinner and I ordered a bottle of very good French wine. I even let Little Joe have a glass, but only one. And we toasted to our success.
We started reviving old memories, Mick talked about his kids. One of them was a bit like Little Joe and some of the stories Mick told us I’d rather he hadn’t, because they might give my brother some ideas. And he really didn’t need any more ideas. But we had a good laugh over most of the antics of that boy. I didn’t want to embarrass Little Joe, so I kept most of the stories about him to myself, couldn’t contain myself completely, though, and started relating some of Little Joe’s antics. Little Joe took it quite well, fortunately, he even managed to laugh about it. Sometimes it was hard to predict his reactions.
But somewhere during dinner I got the feeling he had something on his mind. He seemed to be searching for the right moment. I knew it wouldn’t do any good probing for it, so I waited. Finally over dessert he looked at me, almost with the puppy dog look that always gets him what he wants with pa, and he started saying what a pity it was we didn’t always get along like this and how much fun it was to be here in San Francisco, just with me, without pa and Hoss. I knew what he meant, because in a way I felt the same, but I knew he was trying to manipulate me.
Mick recognized the look I think, being a father of a kid like Little Joe himself, but Jack jumped in and started naming all the things we could do while we were here. Little Joe looked at me with those big expectant eyes and he suggested prolonging our stay for a couple of days, making it sort of a holiday. He tried to sound nonchalant, but I knew my brother well enough to know how much he wanted this. Of course I also realized he wanted to put off the confrontation with pa over all of this for as long as possible, but I was very tempted to give in. I really needed a little holiday myself and my brother could be a lot of fun to be around, if he managed to behave himself just a little. I decided to give ourselves a little break.
I could see that I was winning big brother over to the idea and when Jack started talking about places we could visit, Adam got real interested. I nearly let out a Southern battle yell there and then, in the restaurant, but decided that might make Adam change his mind, and so forced myself not to.
After the meal, we returned to the hotel, for a nightcap, although I got sent up to bed. I was gonna protest, but, once again, common sense prevailed and I did as I was told, saying goodnight to Mick and Jack and thanking them for their help. They promised to keep in touch and pay regular visits to Mr Thompson and the other store owners, just to make sure they weren’t being bothered no more.
When Adam finally joined me, a little worse for drink, I might add, I thanked him for saying we could have a holiday. He began teasing me and said he hadn’t actually said we could, but he was too drunk to keep it going and started laughing. He was real funny, as he attempted to remove his trousers and ended up falling flat on his face! I jumped out of bed and tried to help him, but he seemed like an octopus, with a mass of legs and trouser legs and we both ended up on the floor, giggling like a couple of loons.
When we eventually stopped laughing, Adam said that he was looking forward to having some fun with me, but I was to behave myself and do as he said. He just can’t help himself, being the responsible big brother, that is. I said I would do my best to live up to what he expected of me, but didn’t actually say what that was, and he was still too drunk to realise what I meant.
The next morning, to my surprise, I was the
first one awake. This hardly ever happens, but then Adam doesn’t get drunk that
often, either. I lay there, debating whether or not to slip out on my own and
do some exploring, but decided against it, as Adam was likely to have a
headache, when he did wake up, and so would not look on me too kindly, if I
messed him about. He had warned me that if I didn’t behave, he would be giving
me that tanning that I should have had when he first arrived in
So, I got outta bed and crept along the corridor, to have a bath. When I got back, Adam was awake and looking like something that a fisherman would throw back. I cheerfully, and noisily, greeted him and he threw his boot at me. I scolded him for his bad temper, but then offered him a headache powder, which I had asked for at the desk in the hotel lobby. He grabbed at it, like it was his last hope for survival, and I waited for it to work its magic. After about half an hour, he felt well enough to get up and go and have a bath.
We then went down for breakfast and as we ate, we talked about what we were going to do. First of all, Adam was planning to send a wire to Pa, telling him that we had found the ruby and were staying on for a few more days. Then he said that he was going to take me to an art gallery, as he wanted me to learn something on this trip. I groaned and he reminded me that he owned me and gave an imaginary yank on a chain. I smiled, through gritted teeth, and asked if I could choose our next outing. He agreed and I said I wanted to go to a show, where there was dancing girls. He was about to say no, but then had a change of heart and said he would see if there was anything suitable showing.
Once we finished breakfast, we took a cab to the art gallery. I resigned myself to trailing around after Adam, as he explained the artist’s decision to depict a person in a certain setting or light and the subtleties of the various styles of painting. Personally, I think a lot of the time, the motivation for painting a particular person must have been purely financial, as some of them were extremely ugly. However, I was persuaded to change my mind when we came upon a large portrait of three naked young ladies. I was happy to stand and gaze upon this masterpiece for as long as Adam wanted to and so was rather annoyed when he seemed anxious to move on. I asked him, in a loud voice, why the artist had chosen to add some shading around the breast area of one of the young women, but he just grabbed my arm and moved me on to the next room, totally embarrassed by the question. However, after a few minutes, in which he regained his composure, he decided that I should be allowed to view all the paintings, whether they depicted clothed or unclothed figures. I did try and find out why it was all right for me to look at naked women, when they were works of art, but I wasn’t allowed to, when they were in magazines, or on the stage. My usually loquacious brother seemed at a loss for words and he mumbled something that completely confused me. I wasn’t really that bothered, anyway, just as long as I could stare at all that naked flesh, I was happy.
We went to a really nice restaurant, which
served delicious seafood, for our lunch, and then we checked out what was
showing at the theatre. We found one which was presenting a vaudeville show. Adam
was satisfied that it was suitable for me to go and see it and so bought two
tickets for the evening performance. I rather resented being treated as a child
and said so, but he just pulled on the ‘chain’ again and that shut me up, as I
knew he had me over a barrel. If it hadn’t been for Adam’s intervention, I
would have been on my way to
We returned to the hotel, to have dinner and to get changed for the theatre. It was a good job that Adam bought those new suits, as San Francisco was a fancy place and we were expected to dress up to eat. I remembered how much Hoss had hated it, when we had come there on holiday, before. He always reckons that he feels strangled when he has to wear a tie when he’s eating and I agree with him.
I stood in front of the mirror, inspecting my chin for any sign of a beard. It really bothered me that I hadn’t started shaving yet, particularly as Adam could easily do so twice a day. Adam was watching me and he offered to lend me his razor, but I knew he was only teasing and so I refused it. He tried to make out that it wasn’t much fun having to shave and told me I was lucky that I didn’t havta, but I still wished I did. It was just another way in which I felt very much the little brother. Adam let me use some of his cologne and sorted out my tie, before we went down to the dining room. The suit was very smart and was exactly the same as Adam’s and it made me feel a bit more grown up. Being the youngest, by such a big gap, was something that I hated. I felt that Adam and Hoss had so much more fun than me and I was always being sent to bed, just when things got interesting. Of course, Adam in particular, argued that being older was no picnic, either, especially as he was expected to take care of annoying little brothers, but as he said it, he did have a twinkle in his eye and a little smile was trying to escape from around his mouth. I suppose there was good and bad points for both of us, but it’s always a case of the other man’s grass appearing to be greener, isn’t it?
We left for the theatre, but not before Adam issued me with my orders for the evening. I was to stay as close to him, as a flea on a hound dog. I couldn’t see that I would want to do anything else; after all I wanted to see the show and that was where Adam was going.
We had seats, with a good view of the stage, and I was really looking forward to the show. The entertainment was varied, dancers, jugglers, singers, magicians and comedians. I reminded Adam that this was the same theatre that Pa had brought us to, on our visit, five years earlier.
I really enjoyed the show, not sure that Adam was so impressed, but then he prefers the more serious stuff, plays and concerts of classical music. However, even he laughed at some of it and he was very appreciative of the dancing gals and so was I. Not really sure if Pa would’ve approved, as the girls weren’t wearing much, but I thought it was pretty good.
By the time we got back to the hotel, I was real tired, and was glad to see my bed. However, Adam insisted that I tidied up and hung up all our clothes in the closet, before he would let me rest. I said it was child abuse, but all that got me was a kick in the butt and yet another reminder that I was his slave.
The next day I was determined to get away from my keeper and see some things on my own. After that visit to Mr Smith’s office, which had been at the back of a brothel, I was rather keen to see the inside of one of those establishments, in more detail. I had to admit to being curious to find out just what went on in those kind of places. I mean I had a pretty good idea, but it’s not the kind of thing that a 16 year old boy can ask his Pa about, not if he wants to carry on living, anyway. I was even wary of raising the subject with Adam, as I knew that he thought I was too young to be visiting such places, too. I guess I am, but that don’t stop me from being curious.
Adam wanted to do some shopping, as he
needed some shirts and underwear and he also planned to visit a bookstore,
which he always went to, whenever in
I then had to wait for a chance to slip away and it came, later that afternoon, when Adam was in the bookstore. Although I wasn’t interested, he made me go in with him, but I managed to lose him amongst the huge floor to ceiling displays of books. In our hotel, that morning, I had found a book of matches on the breakfast table, left by another guest. It was advertising a club, which sounded very much like the kind of place I would want to visit. I had picked it up and put it in my pocket and now I decided to go and investigate. I didn’t have a clue as to where the street was, in which the club was situated, and so I asked a man, who was working in the bookstore. He seemed surprised that I would want to know where such a place was, but he gave me instructions and I left the store.
It took me about fifteen minutes to find
the street and once I did, I felt like I was in Heaven. The whole street was
filled with clubs, a sort of upmarket version of
It cost $5 to get in, but I was told that my first drink was included in the price. I was surprised that they let me enter, being that I am only 16 and do look young for my age, but all they seemed to see was my money. As long as I had the entrance fee, I was old enough, in their eyes.
I sat down on a high stool at the bar and a drink was placed in front of me; I think it was whisky. I took a swig and looked around the room, but it was hard to see much, as it was quite dimly lit and was in a basement, and so there was not much natural light, either. A quartet of musicians was entertaining us in the corner of the room, but they all seemed to be playing a different tune.
Suddenly I was aware that the seat next to me had been taken. I looked over and could see that the occupant was a blonde, possibly in her mid twenties, wearing not much more than the girls in the vaudeville show had been wearing.
She didn’t say much except to tell me that
her name was
I was down to my underwear, and just about to remove that, when the door burst open and in came my brother, Adam, looking like he was ready to explode.
I grabbed my trousers and tried to get them on, but my body was reacting to the sight of those naked breasts and I found it difficult to do them up. My shirt was on the floor and as I bent down to pick it up, Adam landed a hefty swat to my rear end and knocked me off my feet. I sat on the floor, attempting to get my clothes on, as Connie also got dressed.
I couldn’t believe I got drunk like that. It had been quite a while since the last time I was really that drunk and somehow I’d forgotten how you feel the next day: like a wrung out towel or something. All I wanted was for the pounding in my head to stop and Little Joe standing there smiling brightly was a little too much to bear. Throwing my boot at him only hurt my head more and I regretted it the instant I did it. I was glad I didn’t break anything though. Well, he had his fun, laughing at me, even scolding me, glad the boot was on the other foot for once I guess, but he did get me something for my headache, so I suppose I ought to be grateful for small blessings.
It took a while, but finally my headache subsided enough to get up. And a bath made me almost feel like a new man. A man with a mission. A mission to educate his little brother. He might not like it, but I had him on a leash. And as long as he couldn’t pay up he would just have to do as I said. I knew that was pushing it a bit, because technically he had his money back, but since the money was still at home and I wasn’t about to sell the ruby, he couldn’t pay me back just now. I tried to come up with the best (and worst) ideas to “educate” him. I did plan to have some fun too, but he didn’t have to know that just yet.
One of my ideas was taking him to an art-gallery. I’d read about it and had been rather put out I couldn’t go the last time. So I took the opportunity.
Of course I should have known taking my brother to an art-gallery would only lead to trouble. Oh it was educational alright. Just not in the way I would have liked it. Or pa for that matter. There were actually a lot of paintings with scarcely clothed women and as soon as he saw those, his carefully hidden sullen attitude changed. He couldn’t get his eyes off them. Well, they were quite nice, um I mean well painted of course.
He even started asking embarrassing questions. Now I could understand a 16 year old boy being very interested in seeing female breasts and this was art, so I couldn’t even object, but he was old enough to know questions about them in public were not appropriate. He had been taught manners. Didn’t always show it, but I must admit I didn’t either. Sometimes a man just has to show he’s a man. But in mixed company I always behave myself like a gentleman.
But somehow he managed to corner me and I knew I had to relent.
The show in the evening was a little
risqué, but very funny and I was glad we went. We had a great time and I
actually started to relax a little. All day I had been afraid he’d give me the
slip and go off to find some forbidden fun or explore, although I was sure he
wouldn’t go to the
So the next day I was a little more sure he wouldn’t try to pull a crazy stunt. We went shopping, which I knew would bore him to death, but he didn’t even complain. I thought he was finally maturing and in the bookstore I left him going through some dime-novels, while I lost myself in books about architecture. I found one written by one of my old professors and I just had to buy that one. I had learned so much from that man, not just about architecture. My mind went back to those days and I had to admit I sometimes missed the intellectual challenge college offered. You can’t have a meaningful conversation with a cow. Well, Hoss can, but then he claims they can talk too.
After I’d paid for the book I looked around to find Little Joe. He wasn’t there. I was a little worried, but then I remembered there was an entire section about horses and horse breeding, so I thought he might have found that. He wasn’t there either. The store assistant must have remembered I hadn’t been alone when I came in, because he asked me if I was looking for my brother. He told me Little Joe had asked him for directions to a certain address. I didn’t know the address and in my worry about my brother didn’t see the expression on his face, so I just asked him where I could find that address. He told me, but before I could leave he added that it wasn’t the kind of place he would want his younger brother visiting and his brother was already 19. It didn’t take me long to figure out what he meant. How could I have been so stupid? I just hoped I wasn’t too late. I practically ran all the way, in my head going through all the things that could happen to him in a place like that and by the time I got there I had worked up quite a temper.
It didn’t help that the girl downstairs didn’t immediately answer my question about my brother’s whereabouts. I almost forgot everything I had been taught and I nearly flattened her. Fortunately I came to my senses just in time, well, not completely, but enough to prevent me from hitting her, but I must have scared her, because she pointed upstairs, telling me to go to the third door on the right.
The sight of my brother in his underwear and this, this woman should have been a relief maybe, it could have been much worse after all, but it made my blood boil. By the look of things I had just gotten there in time and Joe did have the decency to look worried and embarrassed, but the boy couldn’t even put on his trousers! The target before me when he bent over to pick up his shirt was too tempting and I couldn’t resist giving it an example of what would follow.
I didn’t mean to knock him off his feet, but as he was fumbling with his shirt I hauled him back to his feet and pinned him down, bent over the bed, took off my belt and raised it. I didn’t let it fall though.
I don’t know what made me stop. Maybe it was the sight of that woman, who was already preparing herself for her next customer with total disinterest for the both of us, knowing this session was over, probably wishing I’d finish with him soon. Or maybe, more likely, it was the thought of pa. I know all three of us have had our share of tannings in the past, but pa had never hit anyone of us in anger. He always waited until he had calmed down a bit. No matter how much I hated the waiting when I was in for a necessary talking to in those days, I know I was glad he never just lashed out.
So I let him up and curtly told him to get dressed. I think for a moment he thought I would let him off the hook like I’d done before, but I guess the expression on my face told him otherwise. I suppose there was steam coming out of my ears, because I felt like exploding. As soon as he was more or less dressed I pushed him out of the room. On our way to the stairs I landed another swat on his rear to speed him up a little.
The way home was a long one. I decided I needed to walk to blow off some steam, but I wasn’t in the mood for talking. Little Joe didn’t try and so we were both occupied with our own thoughts. I know I was. I was thinking about the dangers of these places. Dangers he didn’t have a clue about. Not just the fact that there were often fights and a lot of men had lost everything they had on them: money, watches, even clothes sometimes. They were also raided by the law quite often. And then there were all sorts of diseases a men might catch there.
I know I had been thinking about taking him myself in a year or so, maybe as sort of a birthday-gift. That’s what older brothers do. After all a man has to be prepared. He might be the first son of Ben Cartwright to get married. Well, he could! But I would have made sure it was safe.
All these thoughts went through my head on the way home. And I realized I had been right not to give him that tanning right then and there. There were things to talk about first. I needed him to understand all this. Back in the hotel room I had him sitting on his bed and I sat opposite of him.
He looked a mix of anger and shame and embarrassment and guilt. I could imagine how he felt. I started with an apology for what I almost did in that brothel. He looked up in surprise. I went on though and talked to him about all those things that had gone through my head the last hour. For the first time I had the feeling I was getting through to him. He seemed to understand what I was saying. I was relieved about that. Maybe it would prevent him from doing it again.
But I still had another duty to fulfil, so I told him to change into his nightshirt. There was shock in his eyes as he realized what I was going to do and for a moment I thought he was going to defy me, but then he relented.
I know I gave him a very hard tanning, but he took it like a man and I told him so. I also told him tomorrow we would be going home. I knew it wasn’t going to be fun for him sitting down for days in a stagecoach, heck I knew from my own experience that a buggy ride to town was sheer torture after a tanning and that was only a relatively short drive, but I wasn’t going to spend another day in San Francisco where there seemed to be trouble and temptation on every corner for a 16 year old. I didn’t want that responsibility anymore at the moment. And well, we did have the boat trip first, maybe he’d be recovered enough by the time we got off the boat.
I told him I wouldn’t tell pa about all of this; pa doesn’t have to know everything and since we already dealt with it, it was over and forgiven. I didn’t want him facing another tanning back home from pa.
When Adam burst through the door of Connie’s room, I had one of those experiences which are supposed to happen, just before you die. My whole life flashed before my eyes and I knew that the end was in sight. As I sat on the floor, struggling to do up my clothes, I saw Adam descending upon me, like the Grim Reaper. He hauled me to my feet and threw me, face down, onto the bed. I heard the whooshing sound, as his belt came free of his belt loops and braced myself for the first blow. However, it didn’t come and the next thing I knew, I was being pushed outta the door. Connie never said a word, presumably she had witnessed similar scenes before. As long as she had her money, she didn’t care what happened.
As I went along the landing, Adam landed another swat on my butt, nearly pitching me down the stairs and I picked up my pace a bit, to put some distance between me and my brother’s large hand.
Adam chose to walk back to the hotel; I think he needed time to cool off and I was glad that he did, as I havta admit, he’d scared me when he’d arrived in Connie’s room. I don’t think I’d ever seen my brother so angry, at least not with me.
I did try to talk to him and apologise, but he just ignored me and walked a bit faster.
Once we got into our hotel suite, he told me to sit down and then he began his lecture. He was extremely thorough, and left me with a very vivid picture of all the dangers which could have befallen me, in a place like that club. In fact, by the time he had finished, I was very relieved that Connie and I hadn’t done anything.
He asked me where I’d got the money from and I told him that I’d taken it outta his wallet. I did explain that I was intending to pay him back, when he gave me my $1,000, but he said that didn’t excuse me from stealing it, and I guess it didn’t.
I thought my butt was safe, after Adam didn’t tan me in the brothel, but I began to have second thoughts, as the lecture progressed. He explained that he hadn’t hit me then, as he was too angry, and that it was wrong to lash out, in a rage. I was happy to agree with him, as I knew he was worried that he might have been too hard on me.
However, when he finished with the lecture, he told me to put my nightshirt on. I protested that it was a bit early for bed, but he insisted and, as I was changing, I saw him remove his belt. For a brief moment, I thought about resisting, but I could see the determined look in Adam’s eyes and knew that it would be worse for me, if I did. He told me to bend over the bed and he proceeded to give me the worst tanning of my life.
When it was over, he told me to get into
bed. I did so, quickly, and buried my face under the covers, so that I could
cry, without Adam seeing me. He said that he was going out to send a wire to
Pa, informing him that we would be heading for home, the next day. He said he no
longer wanted the responsibility of looking out for me and would be very glad
to hand me over to
Adam was gone for about ten minutes, during which time I had a good weep. I wanted to hate Adam for what he’d done, but I knew that he’d acted out of love and concern for me and so couldn’t really blame him.
When he returned, I was still hidden under the covers and I did not acknowledge his arrival. He came and sat down on the bed and rubbed my back, as he apologised for being so hard on me. He said that he loved me and just wanted to keep me safe. He reminded me of the promise, which he’d made to Mama, to always take care of me, and he said that he took that responsibility very seriously. I knew he did, Adam always gave any job he undertook, his total commitment.
I raised myself to a sitting position, wincing as I did so, and told him I was sorry. I was hoping for a hug and he didn’t disappoint me. I shed a few more tears and apologised again, telling him that I didn’t deserve to have someone who cared about me, as much as he did.
We were in danger of getting very emotional and so, to diffuse the situation, Adam suggested ordering a meal, from room service. I readily agreed, as I was feeling kinda hungry. I guess that cleansing the soul works up an appetite.
Adam made some excellent choices and even allowed me to have a couple of glasses of wine, with the meal. We spent the rest of the evening playing cards and telling each other silly jokes. By the time we settled down for the night, we were both feeling a lot happier. I was actually looking forward to going home. I knew that Pa was gonna be mad with me, for running off like I had, but at least Adam wasn’t gonna tell him about my close encounter with Connie. He didn’t want me being punished again, plus I don’t think that he wanted to have to explain to Pa how I’d managed to give him the slip.
It took me a while to get my emotions in check again. The worry and anger had drained me, not to mention my own feelings of guilt for not keeping a better eye on my brother. If anything had happened I would never have been able to forgive myself. But when I came back we had a good talk and I although I’m not one for hugs, I must admit I needed it almost as much as he did.
We had a very nice evening after that. Somehow
we had come to understand each other a little better and we were able to joke
and have fun as if we were almost the same age. It didn’t change my mind about
going home though. I had told Joe I wasn’t going tell pa about him giving me
the slip tonight, but I have to admit, if only to myself, that the thought
about the status of his backside wasn’t the only reason. I wasn’t looking
forward to telling pa how I had managed to lose his baby-son in a simple
bookstore and where I had finally found him. Not to mention all the other
things that had happened here in
No, pa had to be told a somewhat polished version of this all. I couldn’t lie to him, but that doesn’t mean pa has to know everything. Over the years I had gained a lot of experience in telling pa just enough to keep him happy. But that didn’t make it any easier.
The next day we checked out of the hotel bright and early and left for home. The first hour on the boat was fun, as we walked around a bit, watching the people. We were being total kids, talking about them, commenting on conversations (just between the two of us, mind you) and on their clothes. We were awful and I was glad no one overheard us.
I felt like a teenager, but after an hour we’d seen everyone twice and we looked for a place to sit down. Well, I wanted to sit down, Joe sort of leaned against a wall, so to try and end his awkwardness, if only for a while, I asked him to get us something to drink, and he jumped to it.
It took him quite a while though and just as I was going to look for him, I saw him coming, saying goodbye to some girl. I smiled, no matter what and no matter where he was, that brother of mine could never resist a pretty face. The trip went fine after that. We tried to get as much sleep as possible, because we knew the journey by stage coach would be exhausting and uncomfortable, to say the least.
And it was! On me, but more so on Joe and I
really felt sorry for him. I offered to buy him a cushion in
I was very glad that Adam and I had managed to clear the air, between us, before we started the journey home. It made the whole thing that much more pleasant. We acted like a couple of kids on the boat, giggling, as we observed our fellow passengers. In fact, it was like we were equals, until I tried sitting down, and then I knew that we weren’t really that equal, after all. Truth is, though, that I am glad that he isn’t the same as me. It’s kinda comforting, knowing that he’s around, looking out for me, though I wouldn’t tell him so!
When we got to
We had the Hughes’ family travelling back with us and so, once again, I had to endure the incessant chattering from Emily. She told me all about the wedding and how she had been a flower girl. In fact, she gave me so much information, that I felt I had been there, as well. However, I rather enjoyed it, most of the time, as it stopped me from thinking about my sore butt and what I was going to say to Pa, when we got home. I was really looking forward to seeing him, but I knew that he was going to be cross with me, for running off. Adam said he would talk to Pa, on my behalf, and try and explain my actions, but I knew that Pa would still have plenty to say. I just hoped that he would express his anger in words and not by deeds, my backside was not up to taking anymore punishment, just yet.
On the last leg of our journey, Adam buried
himself in the book on architecture, that he had purchased in
As the stage entered
The first face I saw when we got off the stage was pa’s. The set jaw, the typical stance, hands on the hips. All telltale signs pa wasn’t happy. I got off first with Little Joe right behind me.
I guess Little Joe was just so happy to see pa again that he momentarily forgot the trouble he was in. He just grabbed pa in a big hug and immediately pa’s face softened. It always amazes me how Joe does it, but it happens all the time. Pa returned the hug and took us to our horses. It was strange, I know I’m not one for all that closeness, but when he put his arm around my shoulder for a minute it felt really good. I was glad to be home.
The ride home was pretty quiet. None of us wanted to talk about everything that had happened before we got home, but since there was little else to talk about, we didn’t say anything. That all changed as soon as we were home. While Hop Sing brought in some coffee the interrogation started. If was obvious pa wanted to know every little detail, before even yelling at Little Joe for running off like he had. Well, that was fine, as it gave me the chance to give my version of our adventure.
Like I said, I didn’t tell him everything. No need for that. I just told him it hadn’t been very difficult to find Little Joe, as he had checked in our regular hotel. Fortunately I had just in time remembered to pay the bill myself, so there was no need to tell pa about the suite. Nor did I tell him about Little Joe being shanghaied. That would only have worried pa, so why tell him, as everything turned out fine. Well, that’s what I told myself.
I did tell pa a lot about how we found out how the ruby got switched and how
we’d helped the store-owners getting their money and especially their safety
back, of course leaving out how the fight really started and the fact our
celebration got out of hand a bit.
Pa seemed pleased to hear it. He could even understand that we took a couple of days to enjoy a little holiday, visiting art-galleries, the theatre and do some shopping.
There was one thing I couldn’t hide though
and that was Joe taking off like he had. I made sure to tell pa that without
Little Joe going to
I could see Pa standing by the stage depot and I was so glad to see him, that I forgot, for a moment, all the trouble I was likely to be in, and just gave him a hug. He hugged me back and then welcomed Adam home. Standing in the middle of the main street was not the time to be discussing our trip and so we headed for home. No one said much and, as we got closer to the house, I began to feel a bit worried. I chewed on my lower lip and prepared myself for the inevitable third degree.
Over coffee, Adam began telling Pa all about the trip and he was very selective over what he told him. However, I knew that this was to protect my hide and so I was grateful for his smooth tongued delivery. Pa was happy to hear that we had been able to help Mr Thompson and the other shopkeepers, as well as getting the ruby back. Adam showed it to Pa and he was very impressed; it was a very beautiful gem.
Pa was fine about us staying on, for a bit of a holiday; in fact he was surprised that we had come back when we did. Of course, that was because of me and my foolishness in the brothel, but I just said that I was homesick and wanted to come home.
Adam did such a good job, that there wasn’t much for me to add, apart from to answer Pa when he asked if I had enjoyed the art gallery and the theatre. Obviously, I did not comment on the content of either, but just said that I had learned a lot, winking at Adam, as I said it.
Then we got to the part which I was dreading. Pa said that he was very pleased that the outcome of the trip, had been the recovery of the ruby, but he was still extremely angry that I had taken off, like I had. He began to list all the dangers, which could have befallen me. I tried not to look too scared, when he mentioned shanghaiing, even though the very word gave me the creeps. He also talked about the possibilities of me going to bars, or houses of ill repute, and coming to harm, or being corrupted. He said that he was glad that I had not been tempted by these places and then spelt out, in very graphic terms, what he would have done to me, if I had. I was so glad that Adam had decided to deal with me, himself, and not tell Pa what I’d been doing.
However, I wasn’t completely off the hook.
Even though Pa thought that I had behaved myself in
Once Pa had finished delivering the
lecture, we had a meal and then I was ready to go to bed. The long journey had
left me exhausted and so I left the family and headed upstairs. Pa gave me a
few minutes to get settled and then came up to say goodnight, as he always did.
He gave me a hug and said that he was glad to have me back, safe and sound. He
did say that I could have one trip to town, the following day, as I needed a
haircut. He said I could go in with Adam and, at the same time, deposit the money, which Adam was going to repay me, into my
savings account. This meant that I was not going to be allowed to spend it, as
I could not make a withdrawal from the account, without Pa’s signature, until I
was 21. Again, I knew that there was no point in me complaining and so said I
would pay off Sam for the rent and the windows, Seth, for my fare to
I felt a little sorry for the kid to have
to listen to practically the same lecture twice, as I had told him most of it
myself back in
Later that night pa asked me to take Little Joe to town the next day for a one time only visit to deposit the money at the bank and get a haircut. I groaned at the haircut and pa looked at me asking if there was anything wrong with that. He darn right knew there was, but just as I wanted to tell him that, I saw his eye were sparkling and knew he was taking me on. So I just laughed and said no problem.
Before I went to bed I put the ruby in the safe. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, but it seemed a good investment and heck maybe it might make a nice engagement gift someday, even though at the moment nothing could be further from my mind than the concept of marriage. Pa seemed to like the thought though.
I knew there would be a lot less money to be deposited than pa thought there would as Joe also had to repay me. If only to be a free man again. When he handed me the money I teased him a little, trying to sound as if I’d rather have a slave than the money, but for once he didn’t take the bait. He just laughed and said that pa would be bound to notice that and then he would be asking questions. Of course the answers to those questions would get him into a lot of trouble, but he didn’t have to remind me there would be some very awkward questions for me too and although the consequences are different when you’re my age, there would still be consequences, if only losing pa’s trust. I had to admit my brother is learning. I gave in and took the money and he went over to the bank to deposit what was left of it. He even got a haircut without any argument. That stunned me a little.
After that we could put the whole trip behind us. There had been a major change in our relationship and pa did catch up on that. He said if he’d had known this would be the result he’d even have sent us himself. He was happy to see us get along so well for a change. Little Joe seemed to accept the restriction without any argument or pouting about it and worked hard for a while trying to get back in pa’s good graces. And I could relax knowing he was back to being pa’s responsibility.
After a good night’s sleep, I felt a lot better, and decided that I would do my best to stay outta trouble and complete my restriction. Having to put all that money in my savings account really rankled, though, and I couldn’t resist holding back just a little, for a rainy day. I paid all my debts, including the one to Adam, who was tempted to keep me as his slave for a bit longer, until I pointed out that Pa might get a bit suspicious. Actually, Adam and I were getting on very well; we seemed to have reached a new understanding in our relationship. I didn’t even give him a hard time about the haircut, for which he was grateful.
However, after about two weeks, I was finding it extremely difficult to maintain my good boy image. I was so fed up at being confined to the ranch and not seeing any of my friends and Pa was certainly getting his money’s worth outta me. I was having to do all the least favourite jobs around the place, cleaning out the hogs, digging ditches, whitewashing the smokehouse. To make matters worse, when I did see my friends at church, all they could talk about was what a great time they’d had, at a dance or a picnic; I was so jealous.
The final straw came when Seth told me about a poker game that was taking place in the back room of the Bucket of Blood. Some dude from the east had organised it, and Seth said the man had more money than sense. His poker playing was very amateurish and it would be like taking candy from a baby, to beat him. I saw a way of making my rainy day money grow big enough to cope with a torrential downpour.
The night of the poker game arrived and I went up to bed, at the normal time. Pa had already retired for the night, as he had a headache and Adam and Hoss weren’t far behind me. Within an hour, the house was deadly quiet and I got up and made my escape. I had perfected the art of leaving the house, without being detected, and rode into town, confident that I could win a bundle and return home, without anyone being the wiser. However, unknown to me, just after I left, Pa got up, as he needed another powder for his headache. He went downstairs for a drink of water and saw that the front door was unlocked and my hat and coat were missing. It didn’t take him long to get dressed, saddle Buck and follow me into town.
The game had attracted several pretty good players and so I could see that it might not be the walkover, I had hoped for. However, I was still fairly confident, as I took my place. Matthew Collins, the dude, was surprised to see me join them and said that he thought I was a little young, but Seth and Steve Parker vouched for me and once he saw my money, Collins was happy. The game began slowly, with no one really coming out that much ahead of the rest, and I could see that it was going to be a long night. I had a couple of beers, but no more, as I needed to keep a clear head.
Things began to hot up and one of the players left, saying that it was getting too rich for him. I had a couple of good hands and was really getting into my stride. Seth was right, this guy was going to be easy to beat. Because he had plenty of money, he played recklessly and was not that difficult to read.
Just then, I was aware of some commotion in the saloon and we all looked over at the door, wondering what was going on. As it burst open, I heard the sound of my father’s voice.
“JOSEPH!”
I was dead.
THE
END
Bo bear appears by kind permission of Helen Adams, who first
introduced us to Little Joe’s cuddly friend in her story, Care Package.
* The