GREEN EYED ACCUSATIONS

WHN THE FRIENDSHIP

Written by Katja (Danny and Adam) & Lynne C. (Little Joe and Pa)

Little Joe

As me and Danny raced for home, after sorting out the misunderstanding over what happened to Anne, I was feeling real happy. From the time that I met him, when he and the other prisoners had come to work on the Ponderosa, I had really liked Danny. He was only two years older than me, eighteen to my sixteen, but his life had been much more eventful, and a lot less pleasant, than mine had. His parents had died when he was five and he'd been sent to an orphanage. While there, he'd got into a fight with another boy, who stole his apple pie, and he had been sent to prison, after stabbing the kid with a fork. To me and my family, it seemed a strange thing to have a fight about, but when Danny explained that they only received dessert, once a month, then I understood better.

For five long years, he had been held in Yuma prison, until he'd come to the Ponderosa to work on the road. When I first saw Danny, I was riding a young horse, still fairly new to a saddle. I shouldn't have been riding him, as I'm very much the junior member of the horse breaking operation on the ranch, and Adam said that Concho was a mite too skittish for me. However, I'm not too good at following orders and decided to put the horse through his paces. A rifle shot, fired by the prison guard, was enough to prove that Adam was right. The horse took off, like a bullet out of a gun, causing me to be unseated and to be dragged along, with one foot caught in the stirrup.

I thought I was a goner, but Danny calmly stood in front of Concho and, grabbing the reins, forced the horse to stop. Apart from a few scratches and bruises, and a very sore behind, I was unhurt. I wanted to thank Danny for what he did and Pa did, too; after all Danny'd saved my life. So Pa, Hoss and me travelled to the prison, with a letter from the Governor, in which there was a request for Danny to be released. The warden of the prison was not keen on the idea, but when Pa offered to sign a paper, making him Danny's legal guardian, and therefore responsible for him, until he was twenty-one, the warden agreed. Danny had to keep outta trouble for a year, and then he would be a free man. But during that time, if he got into trouble with the law again, then he would have to go back to jail.

It took a while, but Danny eventually began to see that we wanted to be his friends and he relaxed, but it was difficult, at first. He jumped at every sound and looked on any nice gesture, as an attempt to make him drop his guard, and so be vulnerable, and open to attack.

I had several chats with Pa, about what was the best way to help Danny, and he and I often worked together, forging a close friendship, while I was on vacation from school.

One of our first jobs was nursing Concho back to health, as the animal had become ill, while we'd been away. I promised Danny that if the horse lived, he would be his, and fortunately, Pa agreed. He did make it and Danny and I had great fun, racing our horses against each other; although I made sure that Pa didn't find out about that, as he doesn't like me racing.

I was in my last year at school and it was decided that Danny would go with me, when I returned after the spring break. He had received very little schooling while in the orphanage, and none in the prison. He wasn't that keen on going, but Pa can be very persuasive, and so he reluctantly agreed. Pa explained that if he wanted to be a rancher, he had to know how to keep records and accounts and be able to add up.

On the first day, I had to practically drag him out of bed, but we made it to the table in time for breakfast; not that Danny felt like eating much. Although he was two years older than me, we were about the same size and so we'd kitted him out in some of my clothes. Pa said that we could get some more, in town, after school that day, and either him or Adam would meet us, with the money.

Danny was mainly worried about meeting up with Anne again, but I assured him that she was not the kind of girl to bear a grudge. Anyway, she had admitted that she had been the one leading him on and so there was nothing for him to feel guilty about. Even her father, who had been against Danny, at first, was beginning to see that he wasn't that bad. He certainly knew a lot about horses and had been able to advise Mr Carter on the purchase of a brood mare.

As we rode out of the yard, on our way to school, Pa reminded us to wait for him or Adam to collect us. I just waved and said 'okay', glad that Pa was too far away to see me roll my eyes and sigh. Sometimes he treats me like I'm two, instead of almost full grown; guess it's cos I’m the baby of the family. Danny said I was lucky to have a father who cared that much about me, and I know that he's right, but it still doesn't mean that I like being fussed over, all the time.

Danny

School! Me! How did I let myself get talked into this? I must have been out of my mind. And Mr. Cartwright too. He should be happy to let me work on the ranch, make sure I earn my keep, instead he insists I go to school. I reckon I know everything I need to know to get by in the world; I don’t need some fancy education to complicate things.

Of course a part of me liked the idea of going to school with Joe and even though I knew he didn’t like school very much, he tried to tell me about the positive sides, like pulling pranks. He made sure his Pa wasn’t around when he told me about that, but I had a feeling he knew how to have fun in school.

There was of course another problem with me going to school: Anne. We had a good time at the party that Mr. Cartwright gave on the Ponderosa, but that didn’t last long. Those two lowlifes that called themselves ranch hands made sure of that. Her father didn’t want me anywhere near her after he knew I’d been in prison. Deep down I can’t even blame him, if I had a daughter like that I’d want to protect her too. And me losing my temper like I did fighting them, no matter how provoked, didn’t help.

Worst thing happened later, of course, when she came back to the ranch and came into the barn while I was working. I’ve never met a girl like her before. Come to think of it, I never had much contact with girls at all! And boy, did she come on strong. I just had to kiss her. Somehow I knew she wanted that, but then something strange happened: she got mad at me for doing exactly what I was certain she wanted. Accusing me of taking advantage of her……I didn’t understand. All I knew was that Joe believed her and got mad at me too. He wanted to take me back to prison, so I ran off, hitting him over the head. Oh well, that's all in the past now.

As you know everything turned out okay; she told them it had been her fault and she was really sorry for hurting me. Even her father warmed up to me a little and later Mr. Cartwright talked to me about girls not always knowing what they want, about how she probably had been very confused about her own feelings.

I don't think I'll ever understand them, but there is something about girls that makes them worth the trouble. That doesn't mean I was looking forward to meeting her again. So I took as much time as I dared getting ready for that first day at school. I already found out Mr. Cartwright didn't have much patience with dawdling, but I managed not to push him too far.

Sometimes I can't understand Joe though. He doesn't seem to appreciate what he's got here. Okay, so his father wants to protect him a little too much, as if we couldn't find our way home without Adam holding our hands, but it felt good to know someone cared about us enough to be worried. I tried to make Joe understand that, but I don't think I was really successful. I hope he'll realise someday how important that is.

As we arrived in the schoolyard I tried to keep a low profile, not wanting to rile anyone or draw attention to myself. Joe seemed right at home though, greeting everyone, flirting with the girls. I didn't see Anne yet, but I dreaded the moment, no matter how often Joe told me I shouldn't be worried about her.

Little Joe

I could tell that Danny was nervous, first day in school an’ all, and I tried to make it as easy as I could for him. I introduced to him to all my friends; some he’d already met, when they’d been at the house, some were new to him. I noticed a few of the girls giving him more than just a quick glance, too. I guess he is a good-looking fella, but he’s not used to girls and so didn’t know how to respond. As we walked towards the schoolhouse, I just told him to relax and let the girls do all the talking; that’s what they like to do anyway, talk, that is. All he had to do was stand there and let them admire him; girls like strong, silent types.

I took him inside and introduced him to Miss Jones. Pa had already explained to her about Danny’s background and so she didn’t ask him too many awkward questions. However, she did warn him about me and told him not to use me as an example of how a student should behave in class. In fact she said that I was an example of how a student shouldn’t behave. I didn’t say anything, but I gave her one of my famous pouts, just to let her know that I was not impressed by her words. At least they gave Danny a laugh, though. As we returned to the schoolyard, he told me that big brother Adam had told him more or less the same thing. It sure is nice to know what your family thinks of you.

The day passed by, pretty well, considering it was a school day. Danny fitted in quite easily, although he was a bit wary of talking to Anne, when she came to join us at recess. However, she was happy to see him and the previous incident was never mentioned. I did notice that Danny paid special attention to Sally Brown. She’s a real nice girl; she’s not been in the school that long herself and is rather shy, so she stood at the edge of the circle of people, who were chatting to me and Danny. Every time I stole a glance at Danny, I could see that he was looking at Sally. I didn’t wanna burst the guy’s bubble, but once I got him on his own, I felt I had to warn him about Sally. Now, she’s fine, but the warning was to let Danny know that she had another admirer, in the shape of Sam Roebuck. Sam is not a guy who you wanna get on the wrong side of, his Pa doesn’t like mine and so he doesn’t like me, or any of my friends. Sally isn’t that interested in him, but he thinks she is and regards her as his property. Danny listened to what I said, but I could tell by the look on his face that it wasn’t gonna stop him from pursuing Sally. He could almost be a Cartwright, with a look like that; it was one of sheer determination and stubbornness, no one was gonna tell him who he could go out with, except the girl concerned.

Danny

As Anne kept talking to me something happened. To start with my wariness disappeared, but only to be replaced by something else. The realisation that she was a pretty, but shallow girl. I got the feeling the main reason why she was interested in me was because her father objected. I was sort of a conquest for her. An inexperienced guy to play with. Not to mention the fact that she talked way too much. Okay, maybe I was wrong, I don’t know that, but fact of the matter is she lost her appeal to me.

Instead there was this shy girl, called Sally. She was a bit quiet, but she had the nicest smile I’d ever seen and brownish eyes that were sparkling. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her and I’m sure she looked at me quite a few times too.

Then Joe almost had to spoil everything by telling me about some guy Sam who thought of her as his property. Now I don’t care who or what he is, as long as she doesn’t like him and is not his girlfriend, I’m not staying away from her. And I only had to see her trying to avoid him, to know she was more than not interested.

So I was determined to try and win her over. And if Sam had a problem with that he'd have me to deal with. There are certain advantages of spending time in prison: you learn how to fight dirty.

After school I dawdled a bit so I could talk to her, but I didn't get much further than to say hi and tell her my name, really dumb move as I had introduced myself in class that morning, so she already knew my name. She didn't show how stupid I was, though, and gave me the brightest smile I'd ever seen. I melted right there and then.

Unfortunately for me her father came into the schoolyard at that moment and she had to go. I rode home dreaming of her. I have no idea whether Joe was talking to me or not; my mind was elsewhere.

Pa

I was pleased for Joe when things worked out, and Danny returned to the ranch, with us. My youngest had put a lot of faith in Danny and I was happy that it proved to be justified. It was hardly surprising that the boy had been close to fleeing, though. Throughout his young life, he had never had anyone believe in him and when things turned nasty with Anne, he naturally expected everyone to take her side and blame him.

However, we got it sorted out, and before he did anything that was going to send him back to prison.

I gave him a couple more weeks to settle in and then suggested that he might like to attend school with Little Joe. He had received some rudimentary schooling, but not a lot and I knew that Miss Jones would be happy to help him, as he was obviously a bright boy. Joe was leaving school in the summer, but that was still a few months away and I thought that Danny could accompany Joe, until then. He was not sure, mainly because he felt that he would be unable to earn his keep, if he was in school for a good part of the day. But I assured him that he could do enough before and after school and over the weekend to make up for it. He certainly was a beaver for work; he was even able to encourage Little Joe to do a bit more. And he was grateful for the chance to go to school, something that Joe couldn’t understand, as school was his least favourite place. I hoped that Danny might also be able to change Joe’s attitude towards learning. I was still hoping that he might decide to stay on and maybe go to college, as Adam had done, but it wasn’t likely. I’d agreed to him leaving at the end of the school year, in which he was sixteen, and he seemed determined to do so. All he wanted to do was work with the horses, and I had to admit that he was good with them.

Danny looked rather nervous, as the boys set off, that first morning, after the Spring break, and I did wonder if I was asking too much of him. Adam was going to meet them after school, and take Danny to get him outfitted and I knew that my eldest would be able to let me know how the boy had gone on. Adam was very astute and could always tell when someone was troubled and so I knew I would get the true picture. I hoped that Anne wouldn’t give Danny any grief, although I was pretty sure that things were now settled between them.

I turned my attention to the ranch accounts and looked forward to some calmer waters ahead, after the rough seas we had encountered, when Danny first arrived.

Adam

Pa had asked me to meet Joe and Danny after school. Not because he thought the two of them couldn't ride home by themselves, but because Danny needed some new clothes. He only had the clothes he had when he came here, which meant one pair of pants and two shirts. In our book that wasn't nearly enough. So Pa asked me to go and do some shopping with them.

Even though things were rather busy and I didn't really have the time I didn't mind either, as I wanted to know how school had been. I did try to stay away from the schoolhouse so Abigail Jones wouldn't see me. I mean that woman just won't leave me alone and it's hard staying polite.

So I waited under the tree and as the students came out of the school I waved Joe and Danny over. They immediately came over and judging by their faces the first day hadn't been too bad at all. Joe started a stream of words and Danny just stood there smiling. It turned out he had been able to keep up with the lessons and assignments without much trouble, I could have told him that of course. The boy was brighter than he realised himself. And then there was something about a girl in school.

I hoped we wouldn't have a repeat of the incident with Anne. Even though the girl had come clean and had apologised she hadn't acted very nice or ladylike. And from what Joe was telling me this Sally could mean trouble.

I put it from my mind though, glad that the first day had gone this well and not wanting to ruin that for the boy. While we were talking I directed the boys towards the store and I managed to get the boy fitted with enough clothes for quite some time. He seemed uncomfortable in his new Sunday suit with string tie at first, but once he saw himself in the mirror he seemed pleased with it and so we were ready to head home, in time for chores and supper, not to mention homework. I had to laugh at the change in their faces at the mention of the mere word…. homework.

Little Joe

Big brother certainly knows how to ruin the mood. Why did he havta go and mention homework, when he did? I was enjoying myself in the outfitter’s, even managed to persuade Adam to put a shirt for me, on the bill, and was just about to suggest that we went to Daisy’s for an ice cream sundae and then he hasta go and say ‘homework’. Oh well, guess it’s gotta be done and I don’t want Danny getting in trouble, after only one day in school.

It was fun buying the clothes, though, but kinda sad, too. It was obvious that Danny couldn’t recall ever having any new clothes; his had all been hand me downs in the orphanage and then uniform, in the prison. Something that I just took for granted was a whole new experience for him and I decided that I was gonna let Pa know, more often, how grateful I was for all the nice things he did for me.

While we were choosing the clothes I didn’t like to bring up the subject of Sally, but I knew I should at least try and warn Danny about her, again.

Once we got home and were on our own, in the barn, doing our chores, I mentioned her. I told him that Sam and his friends were not ones to get on the wrong side of, as they fought dirty. Not that I ever shied away from a fight, but I didn’t want Danny getting into trouble and jeopardising his parole.

However, I could see that I was wasting my time and to tell the truth, I didn’t really blame Danny. That Sam was far too big for his boots and Sally didn’t even like him, and would be much better off as Danny’s gal, anyway. So I just said I would help him all I could, and we finished the chores and headed for the house, to have supper.

Danny had quite enjoyed school; he was a lot brighter than he’d let on he was. Adam, particularly, was pleased to hear that he’d got on so well, going so far as to say that Danny might be a good influence on me and make me knuckle down a bit more. I nearly choked on my fried chicken when he said that. My plan was just to coast along and get through the last few weeks of school, with the minimum of effort. However, Pa was interested in what Adam was saying and I could tell that the conversation was going to head towards college, pretty soon. Pa has mentioned it, a few times, but I don’t wanna go. The Ponderosa is where I see my future, working at producing the best possible saddle horses that we can, and no college degree is gonna make me any better at doing that.

So when it came up again, I excused myself from the table, using homework as the reason, and Danny followed me.

We went up to my room and actually did do our homework, as Danny was anxious to impress Pa, and I understood why. He felt that he owed Pa a lot, for standing up for him like he had and he didn’t wanna let Pa down. That made sense to me, none of us boys like to make Pa disappointed, if we can help it. As Danny was doing his homework, I did mine, too, so maybe he was proving to be that good influence, after all.

When Pa came up to say goodnight, I did thank him for all that he does for me. He looked a bit surprised, until I explained why I was saying it. He said he was glad that I did realise what a hard time Danny had had, and that he hoped I would help him all I could, to get the best out of his life, from now on. I nearly mentioned the business with Sally, but then decided not to, as I hoped it could be resolved, without any trouble. Pa kissed me goodnight, turned down the lamp and left the room. I was soon asleep, managing to put my fears about Danny and Sam, to the back of my mind, for the time being.

Danny

Joe tried to warn me again, but I didn't want to hear it. I had a really good day and I wasn't going to let Sam spoil it for me.

After doing homework, which wasn't quite so bad although I kept thinking I should do more work on the ranch too, we went to bed and somehow I couldn't get to sleep. I kept looking at my new clothes, not believing my luck. How on earth did I end up in this amazing family?

Being at the fitters was just wonderful. I thought I would get a pair of trousers and a shirt or two. I was already wondering how I was ever going to be able to pay for it when I couldn't work as much, because of school, and then it turned out that I was getting even more, and didn't have to pay for it. Talk about stunning. I even got a Sunday suit. It felt real strange, but when I had it on and saw myself I couldn't believe it was me. I know Joe and Hoss hate those string ties, but if I'm honest I liked wearing it. It makes me feel like a gentleman.

I got up from bed and walked over to the wardrobe and touched the suit. I started to think about going to church wearing it. I was hoping Sally would like the suit and I tried to imagine what she looked like in a Sunday dress. I bet she would look good. Thinking of her I went back to bed.

I didn't fall asleep though until after Mr. Cartwright had come up to say goodnight. Somehow he had included me in the ritual of checking up on his sons before he went to bed himself. He even stopped at Adam's room and you'd think he's too old to be tucked in. Not to Mr. Cartwright though and I don't think his sons will ever tell him they are.

It felt good to be cared for for a change. I couldn't really remember that feeling and enjoyed it. I was starting to feel right at home on the Ponderosa.

Little Joe

Danny settled in real well and he soon became popular at school and with the older folks, who had been a bit wary, at first, about their kids mixing with an ex prisoner. He had a nice way with him, polite, and not too pushy; you couldn’t help but like him.

However, life was getting just a little bit dull and I thought it was time to liven things up, a tad.

On Sunday we would be going to church, as we usually did, and I reckoned that the singing could be much improved, by the introduction of a few new members to the congregation. I suggested to Danny that we took along some frogs. We couldn’t take them with us in the surrey, or else Pa would see them, or at least hear them, so Danny and I sneaked into town and left them, in a box, at the back of the church, in the early hours of Sunday morning. The box had plenty of air holes and some water in it and so we hoped they would be okay, until we let them out. Danny was not that sure about being involved in the prank, but I talked him round. I got the feeling that he hadn’t had much opportunity to just be a boy and kid around. I guess prison is not really much of a playground.

He was mostly worried about Pa’s reaction, but I dismissed his fears and said there was no reason for Pa to suspect it was us.

So we set the plan in motion and on Sunday morning we rode to church, dressed in our best suits, looking and behaving, as angelic, as we could manage. I think, maybe, I overdid that a bit, as Adam kept glancing at me, from under his hat, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

While Pa, Adam and Hoss chatted to our neighbours, before the service, Danny and I went round the back and collected our friends. We slipped them into the church, through the back door, and then returned to Pa.

As the service progressed, the frogs became more active and soon made their presence felt. Some of the congregation, mainly the female members, began to get rather agitated and a few screamed when the frogs joined them on the pews.

Our friends from school saw the funny side, though, and started laughing, as some people shifted around in their seats and even left the church.

The Reverend Hammond tried to continue with the service, but eventually had to give up and he asked for volunteers to stay behind and gather up the intruders. Danny and I offered and Pa said that he and my brothers would help too. I’m sure he strongly suspected that I had been the instigator of the prank, but he didn’t seem that annoyed about it. In fact, on the way home, he thanked me for introducing my friends to church, although he did say that they would probably be happier worshipping at their usual haunt, the creek at the back of our barn. I just smiled and he had to admit that he was rather relieved that the reverend’s sermon had been cut short. It was a very warm day and I said that it was much nicer being outside. I hoped that didn’t sound irreverent, but Pa didn’t look too mad with me, although he swatted my butt, as I headed for the house, and warned me not to try anything like it again. I had been planning a plague of locusts for next week, but maybe not!

Danny

After church, which had ended differently than I thought it would, Joe showed me the cave. He made it sound very interesting and to be honest when I saw it it really made quite an impact on me. It was a bit hidden from view and it was much bigger than I had expected. There were all sorts of things you could use if you wanted to be on your own for a bit. There was even some dried food and sugar and bread……I have a feeling Hop Sing's kitchen was raided to stock the cave and I have a feeling he is still looking for some of those supplies AND utensils.

Anyway, we met up with some of Joe's friends there. Mitch of course and Seth was there too. Seth was more my age and we got along pretty well. We didn't actually do much, just talked and cooked some fish we caught. It was great fun. I got the complete story on Sam and I must admit that I understood why Joe was wary of me tangling with him, but I suppose I'm a pretty stubborn kinda guy and I was determined not to let him stop me from seeing Sally.

The next day we had a math test and I was kinda nervous about it. I wouldn't have admitted it to just anyone, but there in the cave I felt among friends and so I didn't feel embarrassed talking about my fears in school…..not as much anyway. The three of them started grilling me on the material and I must say it didn't take long before something sort of clicked in my mind and I got the hang of it. When we went home I was feeling pretty confident about the test. I did apologise to Joe for turning his afternoon of fun into study-time, but he didn't seem to mind that much. He was grinning a bit, but I wasn't sure why and I didn't ask.

The next day in school Miss Jones started the day off with the big test and although I wasn't afraid of failing anymore my nervousness had returned. Joe kept grinning and that didn't help much. I took a deep breath and looked at the first problem and to my relief noticed I could solve that one without any problem. The same thing with the next one and soon I was writing down the answer with ease, as if I'd gone to school my whole life. I finished before the rest and looked around a bit to find out others were working with strained faces, which surprised me. I looked back at my paper trying to think where I might have missed something, but couldn't find anything.

Not long after that Miss Jones collected the papers and started correcting them, while we were working on the next assignment. Just before lunch she handed us back our papers and to my total surprise I had the best marks. Joe congratulated me enthusiastically. He had passed himself and seemed content with that. I had a feeling he could have done better, but just wasn't very interested. Strange, but I guess not everyone is the same.

While we were eating our lunches outside in the sun Sam suddenly came over and started taunting me. I wasn't sure what triggered it, but it was obvious the boy had some sort of problem with me. He was definitely spoiling for a fight. Joe didn't let me deal with it alone and really stood by me like a brother and while he was talking heatedly to Sam I suddenly understood what the boy's problem was. I had just beat him at the only subject he was good at, in fact always ended up getting the highest mark for. And he was upset about it……pretty upset. So upset that he dared me to meet him out of town after school to fight. I couldn't for the life of me understand why getting a better grade in school would make him want to fight me, but fight he wanted. I finally had to agree, reluctantly, as I didn't want to look like a coward.

Little Joe

Despite all that we’d said to Danny about Sam, he ended up allowing the boy to challenge him to a fight. Oh, I guess Danny didn’t have a lot of choice, really, but Sam is bad news and Danny could end up back in prison if he gets caught fighting.

Sam was real sore that Danny had beat him in the math test and wanted revenge. I did try and warn Sam that Danny wasn’t gonna be the pushover that Sam thought he was. Danny’s a lot smaller than Sam, skinnier, that is, but he’s whipcord strong and knows all the dirty moves, after being in prison for so long.

Sam just laughed in my face and said he could whup Danny with one hand tied behind his back. I said that it wasn’t worth the effort, then, if it was gonna be that easy and so why didn’t he take me on instead, but he wasn’t gonna take the bait. He wanted Danny and no one else.

I didn’t know what else to do, but I knew I had to stop that fight from taking place.

My luck was in, as who should come by the schoolyard, but big brother Adam. He had business in town and dropped by to tell us that he’d take us to Daisy’s after school. I was able to fill him in about the fight and asked him to arrive in time to stop it happening. Big brother understood and promised to be there, before things got outta hand.

Adam

Just my luck. I go to town to do some business, think it would be nice to take the boys to Daisy's after school for some pie and cocoa and end up having to prevent a fight. I don't know how the boy had done it, but he had actually got under Sam's skin. Not that that was hard to do. There was so much history between the family now that nothing anyone close to the Cartwrights did or said was good in their eyes.

But Danny could be in serious trouble for fighting. This was more than just some schoolboy fight for him. He could jeopardise his parole and end up having to go back to prison. So I promised Joe I'd be in time to stop it before things took a wrong turn.

I concluded my business which wasn't too difficult, in fact not even challenging, and figured I had a bit of time left to get some pie. If we couldn't go for pie I could at least bring some home. I took two different kinds of pie and made sure they were safely stored away in the wagon along with the supplies Hop Sing had asked for.

I made my way to the meeting point just outside town to find the boys just arriving and Sam wanted to take a punch right away. The only thing stopping him was me arriving at the scene. He scowled at me and then looked at Joe and Danny asking them if they always needed a babysitter. I cringed knowing how a remark like that would upset him, so I quickly went over to make sure little brother wouldn't do anything rash.

I tried to reason, but that didn't seem to help. I should have known, you can't argue with a Roebuck. I know I shouldn't let a 17 year old boy get to me like that, but I felt my temper rise and had to use all my self control to stay on top of things. Just as I had more or less made sure there would be no fight (don't ask me how, maybe Sam had just got tired of it) and Joe and Danny were headed for the wagon and their horses, I felt a hand on my shoulder. As I quickly turned around to see who it was a fist made contact with my jaw and Sam's brother Frank yelled at me to pick on someone my own size. It actually got to a real fight, but not between Danny and Sam fortunately. Somehow the boy was completely stunned by the fact that I was there fighting his fight. Joe made sure Danny stayed out of it, while Seth made sure Sam didn't jump on me too. I'm not proud of fighting Frank as I know better than to fight the Roebucks, but it sure felt good to teach that guy a lesson.

I did manage to finally send him on his way and after that Sam fled after him. I sighed. At least Danny hadn't endangered his parole and we had Seth and a few kids from school as witnesses to that.

Little Joe

I was real glad to see Adam arrive when he did and stop the fight taking place, although I nearly took a swing at Sam, myself, when he called Adam my babysitter. We nearly got away with there being no fight at all, until Frank Roebuck arrived on the scene and decked Adam for picking on his brother. My big brother soon dispatched him, in record time; he’s such a smooth operator, even when he’s fighting; I was so proud of him.

However, he wasn’t so happy about the black eye he was sporting and knew that Pa would want to know what had happened. Even though Adam is a grown man, Pa doesn’t like him fighting and he can still reduce Adam to feeling like a naughty schoolboy, when he gives him one of his withering stares. I did apologise for getting him involved and he was very nice about it, mainly, I think, to stop Danny from feeling bad; after all, it should have been his fight. I know that Danny was upset about it and was hoping that Sally wouldn’t think him a coward, but I talked to him, on the way home, and told him she had more sense than that. She knew the score and understood that Danny was likely to go back to prison if he was caught fighting and so would be glad it hadn’t happened.

Adam said it was too late to go to Daisy’s, but he had bought some pie and so we ate it as we rode along. The other two were fairly quiet and so it was left to me to do the talking. I mentioned the dance that was coming up and said that all the kids at school were talking about it. It was going to be held on the last day of the school year, but was open to everyone, not just the students. We all wanted to take our favourite person and it signified who was going to be our sweetheart for the summer break. Although I was gonna be starting work on the ranch, full time, Pa said I could have a couple of weeks off, before I did so, and so I would get a chance to hang round with the gang, one last time. After that, we were all gonna be working men and women, not that Pa would say I was a man yet. He says that I am about to start my apprenticeship, as a rancher, and it will take a good while before I know it all, in fact he reckons he’s still learning. Of course I want to learn everything, so that one day I can run my own spread, but the horse breaking is the most interesting part to me and I’m already pretty good at that. Adam’s been letting me help him for a while now and even he hasta admit that I know what I am doing. He reckons that a good horseman is just born that way, not taught. However, there is, of course, a lot more to it than just being able to stay in the saddle, but that does help.

Once we reached home, I offered to stable Sport for Adam and left him to go and talk to Pa, while Danny and me did our chores. I wasn’t really being cowardly, it was just that Adam was so good with words and I knew he would be able to explain about the fight, better than I could. Danny wanted to go in and talk to Pa, as well, but Adam said it would be better coming from him and so Danny stayed to help me.

Danny

I really wanted to go in with Adam and tell Mr. Cartwright what had happened and that it had all been my fault, but Adam wouldn't let me. I guess he was right, but I still felt guilty.

There was no shouting inside though and at supper they both seemed fine. Mr. Cartwright just asked me to try and avoid situations like that in future. I promised, but wasn't sure Sam would try to avoid something.

Anyway, the next day at school was pretty strange. Most kids seemed to know about the fight and what Adam did and some teased me for staying out of it. I didn't let them rile me though, I had more sense. Sally didn't seem to feel that way though and she came over at recess to talk to me. I felt on top of the world. Heck, I even shared my lunch with her, feeling like a schoolboy…..Oh uh I was of course. I still had to get used to that.

In fact I started to feel so good that I was getting a bit antsy. In prison I had been a very serious guy, but the more time I spent with the Cartwrights the more I discovered life could also be fun. And no one could be around that family for long without getting a taste for pranks.

After the day we’d had, the day before, I could do with a little joke, a bit of a laugh. During the lunch break I went over to my horse and searched my saddlebags. I thought I remembered something being in there and yes it was. I immediately went to Joe with the dime novel I had. It was a very thin one, but with a very risqué picture on the cover and the content wasn't much better….I liked it of course, but I figured Mr. Cartwright wouldn't like books like that very much, so I hadn't finished it yet.

I figured I could sacrifice the book for the idea and together with Joe we looked for the best two pages to take out. We snuck into the schoolhouse while Miss Jones was in the outhouse. We took out the book we had been reading out loud from, for the past two days, and went to the last page she read, turned the page and carefully pasted the pages over the original pages, making sure we did a good job. We didn't want anyone to realise what happened before the students started to read out loud.

As soon as we were finished and the book was back in its place we went back outside and tried not to attract too much attention.

Little Joe

Pa didn’t comment on Adam’s black eye, not to me and Danny, at least, although Adam said he chewed him out, a bit, about setting a bad example to the students. I wanted to defend Adam and was ready to talk to Pa, to do just that, but Adam said it was better leaving it alone. He agreed that Pa had a point, even though Adam didn’t have much choice, what with Frank throwing the first punch.

I was pleased to see that Danny was okay after what happened; in fact he was up for some mischief, the next day at school. When he explained the plan, I thought it was a real good one and was happy to help him carry it out.

We all returned to the classroom, after lunch, and the little ones settled down for a nap. Miss Jones handed the reading book to the person in the first desk, and asked them to read a paragraph, and pass it on.

Jimmy stood up and being that he’s only 10 and not a very good reader, he just began to read the words on the page, without much expression in them. At first, because the boy read in a boring monotone, not too many people picked up on what he was saying. But then, suddenly, my friend Johnny started to laugh and pretty soon the whole class erupted into giggles, as these were definitely not the words Jimmy should have been reading.

Miss Jones clapped her hands and demanded silence, which she got, eventually. She took the book from Jimmy and inspected it closely. By doing so, she was able to see where we had glued in the pages. She said nothing, for a few minutes, just fixed us with her famous stare, which makes me feel like a rabbit about to be carried off by a bird of prey.

Finally, she spoke and said that the person responsible was to own up by the end of the day, or else the whole class was going to have a lunch time detention, for a week. This brought loads of groans from the students and I knew I was gonna havta own up. It wasn’t fair that everyone suffered for our prank.

At afternoon recess, I talked to Danny and he agreed that we should fess up. So we went in, there and then, and told Miss Jones it was us. She told us to sit down and as soon as the other students returned, she called Danny and me to the front of the class. We both received three swats with the ruler, across our open palm, and she also said that we had to pay for a new copy of the book. That alarmed us more than the sore hands did, as neither of us had any money and so we knew we would have to ask Pa to lend it to us. I wasn’t looking forward to doing that, as it meant he had to know what we’d done, but he was pretty decent about it. He gave us a top grade lecture on defacing valuable school property, though, and said we could pay him back out of our allowances.

Adam

I couldn’t believe Pa. This was not about a few frogs in church. He’d already let them off with a warning for that one and now again nothing more than a slap on the wrists and the warning not to do it again. Oh and pay for the book out of their allowances. Well, with what he was giving them that shouldn’t take them more than two weeks.

I know if it had been me at that age I wouldn’t have sat down in comfort for supper. Even before Danny came Pa would have taken more of a stand with Joe. He isn’t like most fathers around who double whatever punishment a teacher dishes out at school, but Pa usually doesn’t take trouble at school lightly. Especially not this kind of trouble. I would have expected him to give them some extra chores at least, preferably some of the most awful ones. Considering the nature of the prank it might even have been some more forceful punishment.

I almost spoke up, telling Pa that he was letting them get away with it, but the memory of yesterday’s lecture was still fresh on my mind. Pa hadn’t been very pleased with me, that’s for sure. He has the ability to reduce me to a mere schoolboy just with his glare. I know I don’t show it, but he always gets to me. It may sound odd to those who don’t know me, but deep down all I still want is for him to be proud of me. Really, a grown man and still wants his Pa’s approval! Oh well, no point in denying it, it’s the truth. And I didn’t get that approval yesterday, not by a long shot. It was more like the verbal equivalent of a necessary talking to.

No matter how much I bristled at the lecture I didn’t let on to Joe. I just told him that Pa had yelled a bit, but that he’d been right. That little brother of mine was all fired up to go inside and tell Pa he shouldn’t yell at me. It’s nice to know he’d do that, but it would have landed him in some hot water, so I had to talk some sense into him.

Anyway, I kept my mouth shut about it, but I wasn’t happy about it. Pa was obviously trying to ease up because he wanted Danny to experience the last bit of a lost childhood. Problem is you can’t do that like this. He would have to set some boundaries and stick to them or things would get out of hand. And Joe was clearly enjoying the freedom he suddenly got.

I decided to stay out of it once more and sit back.

Pa

I knew that Adam didn’t approve of me showing clemency to the boys, but I wanted Danny to feel settled with us, before I started having to be the disciplinarian. I did warn both of them that they had used up their chances and anymore mischief would lead to more serious consequences for the pair of them. I knew that Danny had been beaten in the children’s home, and in prison, and I tried to explain to him that any discipline that was meted out in our house, didn’t bear any resemblance to that, but that he might have trouble sitting for a few hours. He understood and accepted the fact that I was going to treat him exactly as I would Joe. All children and young people do need a structure to their lives; they need to know how far they are allowed to go and what the consequences are, if the rules are broken. Most of the house rules come down to basic common sense and consideration for those who you live with. I will not tolerate lying and I am not too happy about anyone showing a blatant disregard for the rules. I think I am a fairly benevolent boss and father, but when I give an order, I do expect it to be obeyed.

I warned Danny and Joe not to cause anymore trouble at school, and for the next 10 days or so, things went fairly smoothly. What I didn’t know was that Sam was still giving Danny a hard time. He managed to keep his temper, but the fact that Sam was unable to provoke a reaction in Danny, made him all the more determined. I wish Danny had told me what was going on, but, of course, with Little Joe as his sidekick, the boys thought they could handle things themselves.

Sally, too, was getting angry that Sam was being so mean to Danny and so was a willing accomplice when Joe and Danny suggested a way of getting back at Sam. I never knew anything about any of this until after the event, of course.

Sally agreed to write a note to Sam, asking him to go skinny-dipping with her, the next morning, and to give it to him at the end of the school day. It meant they would have to play hooky from school, but that didn’t bother young Master Roebuck, who was not a very keen scholar. Danny and Joe told Sally that she didn’t really have to skip school, but they were going to, and would follow Sam to the swimming hole. Once he was in the water, as Sally had asked him to be, in her note, before she arrived, they were going to steal his clothes and leave him to make his way home, naked as the day he was born. The boy was bound to receive a tanning from his father, for playing hooky and for being outside without his clothes on. However, if he tried to make excuses and explain that he had planned to meet a girl and she had tricked him, then he would be in even worse trouble.

The boys’ plan worked like clockwork. Sam almost ran all the way to the swimming hole and flung off his clothes, as he approached it. Joe and Danny were hiding in some bushes and once they could see that Sam was sufficiently far enough away from the bank, they swooped in and grabbed his gear. As it turned out, he didn’t even see them, as he was scanning the road, which led to Sally’s house, anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Not wishing to leave Sam’s clothes out on the trail, in case the boy found them, Joe stuffed them in his saddlebags and then they rode off. They spent the rest of the day riding around the Ponderosa and arrived home in time to make it look like they had been in school.

In the meantime, Sam had realised that Sally was not going to turn up and had got out of the water. On finding his clothes missing, the boy made his way home, but when he was nearly there, he saw a buckboard coming towards him. Embarrassed that the occupants would see him naked, Sam dived into a wooded area nearby and landed in some poison ivy. By the time the boy arrived home, he was suffering from the heat and with a rash, courtesy of the ivy.

Call it a father’s intuition, but I was rather suspicious about what Danny and Joe had been up to, as soon as I saw them. Danny had obviously perfected a poker face when in jail and was not giving much away, but Joe was rather edgy and kept chewing his bottom lip. Neither boy took their lunch pail to the kitchen and Hop Sing went looking for them. As he removed Joe’s from the horn of the saddle, he noticed a shirt sleeve hanging out of Joe’s saddlebags. Thinking that it was a dirty one and it would get overlooked on wash day, Hop Sing took it out of the bag. He then found the pants and the underwear and realised they were not Joe’s clothes. He brought them to me and I called Joe down from his bedroom, to ask him whom they belonged to.

It took a while, but I eventually extracted the truth from the pair of them. Danny joined us when he heard what I was questioning Joe about, and was anxious to take the blame. However, Joe insisted that it was his idea and so I decided that the fairest course was to punish both of them. The thing, which annoyed me the most, was that they had played hooky. The prank on Sam was harmless enough and when Joe told me some of the things that Sam had done, it was well deserved, but I could not condone them missing school. It always worries me that something awful will happen to them when they are not where they are supposed to be, and, if it did, I wouldn’t have a clue where to find them.

I had warned them about getting into any more trouble and what I would do if they did. One thing my boys can be sure of is that I always keep my promises, good or bad. I sent them up to their rooms, let them reflect on what they’d done, for a few minutes, and then went upstairs to deal with them. I did wonder how Danny would react to the tanning, but I was his guardian, until he became of age, and he seemed resigned to it. Joe, too, accepted his, without resorting to his famous puppy dog look, which he likes to use to make me change my mind about punishing him.

Once the punishment was over, I told both of them to stay in their rooms, until they were ready to come down and join the rest of the family. I wasn’t able to leave Joe until he apologised and we’d made up. My youngest hates to have me cross with him and I hate to be cross, but sometimes he pushes me to it. However, I am always quick to forgive, as long as I am sure that the apology is genuine.

By the time I went downstairs, I think that both Adam and Hoss were aware of what had taken place. I very nearly asked Adam if he was happy now that his little brother had finally received a tanning, but knew that sounded harsh. Adam loved Little Joe very much and was only concerned about the boy’s tendency to find trouble. I was too, but figured that between us, we were doing a pretty good job of raising him.

Danny

I was a bit shocked that Mr. Cartwright really tanned me. I mean I won't say we didn't have it coming and he did tell us what would happen next time we got in trouble, but still I was very surprised. I didn't show it. I knew better than that. In jail showing any sign of resistance would have led to an even worse whipping. So I resigned to my fate and took it. Of course it was nothing like what would have happened in jail. I've been beaten all my life and the difference was obvious. He almost seemed reluctant to do it and afterwards he had some nice words for me, telling me it was dealt with and he wouldn't speak of it again.

I'm glad he left me alone after that, as I needed time to collect my thoughts. I didn't really understand what was happening in my life. It seemed like all of a sudden everything bad was gone and here was this family prepared to treat me as one of their own. Mr. Cartwright was worried if I wasn't where he thought I was. Worried that something happened. No one had ever felt that way about me and I actually had hope for the future. Hope that I wouldn't end my days in jail or in crime, but maybe even with a family of my own. I hadn't even dared to dream about that before, but now, even though my backside was burning, I knew that people cared about me and that things could change. All it took was a bit of luck and meeting the right people at the right time.

Sam was missing from school for a few days and I did feel guilty about that, hearing that the heat and the poison ivy had gotten to him, but all feelings of guilt disappeared when he returned to school. If he didn't like Joe or me before it was obvious he hated us now. Especially me since Sally had dumped him and helped us with our little prank.

Still it was easier now to put him from my mind. I more or less had a family now and no one could take that away from me. And Sam left me alone. No insults, no name-calling, no pranks, nothing. I was relieved, as I didn't want this to go any further. I was happy with a sort of coexistence, ignoring each other, and so was he.

Not that life in Virginia City was boring after that. When we picked up a few things for Hop Sing after school Mr. Cass complained to us that he was starting to miss things. He hadn't caught anyone and at first he hadn't been sure, but it had been going on for a few days now and he now knew that there were actually less marbles than there should have been and two dime novels were missing. He was sure it was just some kid and these little things wouldn't ruin him, but it did bother him and I could imagine it would.

Joe and I talked about it all the way home, trying to figure out who it was. I like a good mystery and we decided to play detective a bit. Keep an eye on things to see if we could catch this thief.

I knew it wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it if we caught him. It would show people that I could be a worthy member of the population. It would show Mr. Cartwright his faith in me wasn't misplaced.

Pa

Over supper, Joe told me about the thieving that was going on at Mr Cass’ store and how he and Danny were planning to track down the culprit. I couldn’t see that it would cause any problems if they did try and find out who was responsible, but reminded them not to get in the way of Sheriff Coffee’s investigations.

I was pleased that Danny was settling down a bit more and beginning to feel at home with us. I sensed in him, at first, a wariness to let his guard down and relax. This was very understandable, as he’d had to live on his wits for so long, with no one to look out for him, and so was not used to having a family to support him. I was almost glad when he had got into some trouble, as I knew then that he trusted us enough, to feel he could even be bad and still know that we would be there for him.

Joe was enjoying the company, too, and I think it was making him more aware of how lucky he was. There was a certain amount of ‘there but for the grace of God go I’ in his thinking, as Danny wasn’t the only young man we knew who had ended up in jail after being orphaned or abandoned. Unfortunately, there are many people who become parents when they are really not fit for the role and the ones who end up suffering are the most innocent, the children themselves. I knew this was not the case for Danny; his parents had been killed in a wagon train accident, but the supposed carers in the orphanage had abused him, and this had led him to commit a crime.

Now, to see him laughing and joking with my boys, was a wonderful sight and I sincerely hoped that the Sam Roebuck’s of this world, were not going to spoil it for him.

Adam

Two days later I was in town on some business. While I was in the bank I decided to pay a visit to the men's fitters to get measured for a new suit. It was high time. There would be another social soon and I wanted to impress. I couldn't show up in my old suit again. Pleased with my decision I headed there right after finishing up at the bank.

As always Mr. Johnson kept talking and talking while he was measuring me and showing me some suits and materials. At first I didn't pay much attention, as I don't really like the gossip he usually tells his customers, but suddenly something he said did catch my attention. He was talking about thefts in town. It seemed every single store was missing little things and small amounts of money.

And not just stores had fallen victim. Things had started disappearing from gardens too. Mostly from gardens around the schoolhouse and so there was talk it might be a student. With Abigail Jones watching over those kids like a hawk that seemed hardly possible, but I could imagine the rumours.

It certainly was starting to look like there was a real problem. A few missing things from the general store was one thing, but this was starting to look like more. Like there was a thief at work. I decided to pay Roy a visit to see if he knew more, but although the case had his attention, with the growing town and more people coming in every day to try and find a fortune, Roy was run off his feet. He was breaking up saloon brawls every night and the previous night he had arrested two guys, who had been fighting with knives. No one had got hurt, but it was only a matter of time, according to Roy. So petty theft wasn't the highest thing on his priority list.

Little Joe

When Danny and me got home from school, we started doing our barn chores. Big brother Adam came to join us and I could tell at once that he had something on his mind. He told us about all the thieving that was going on in town; not that he needed to, as we already knew. Sam Roebuck had been stirring it all day; taking every chance he could to put the idea into the students’ heads that Danny was likely to be responsible. Most of the guys who I considered to be friends, Johnny, Tuck, Will and Mitch, didn’t take any notice of what Sam was saying, but there were some who did. Matt Jennings, who lived fairly close to the school, said that his house had been robbed and his Ma had lost a real expensive pendant, given to her by her grandmother. He never came out and accused Danny, but he kept giving him mighty mean looks and there was a lot of whispering going on at recess.

I was ready to pound the lot of ‘em, as Danny’s my friend, and no one messes with Joe Cartwright’s friends and gets away with it, but Danny told me to forget it. He said it would only cause more trouble if I started a fight. I knew he was right, but I was still mad about what they were saying.

Adam asked us if we had any idea who might be responsible and although I wanted to say it was probably Sam, I had no proof and no reason to think he was thieving. I didn’t like the guy, but as far as I knew, he wasn’t a thief. Adam said it was probably a drifter, who would most likely move on soon, and I hoped this was the case, as then people would stop pointing the finger at Danny.

On Saturday, Pa gave Danny and me a list of chores to do and one of them was to go and search for some strays. After riding together for a while, we decided that it made more sense to separate, giving us the chance to cover more of the area, in a shorter time. I was anxious to get into town, before the stores closed, as I wanted to buy a gift for Sarah. She’s one of my best friends and it was soon to be her birthday. Danny was gonna take the section where a public road runs alongside our land, and I was gonna search in a more wooded area. We planned to meet up, on the road to town, in an hour, and when I got there, after finding nothing bigger than a few woodchucks, Danny was waiting. He had Roy Coffee with him and the sheriff filled me in with what had been going on.

Turned out that while Danny had been looking for the strays, Todd Hayes, one of the younger kids from school, came by. He told Danny that his little brother was hurt and could Danny help? He said that Robbie was at their home and he’d fallen down the stairs. Danny went with him and Todd told him to go into the house. Todd said he was gonna hitch up the wagon so they could take Robbie to the doctor. When Danny got inside, there was no sign of the little boy and so he began looking for him. He couldn’t find him and so he went back outside to tell Todd. He found that Todd was missing too, and was just about to leave, realising that it was a hoax, when the sheriff rode into the yard. He said that Robbie had come to his office, saying that their house was being burgled, and Todd was in danger, so he’d ridden out to check. Danny explained about the prank, but then Todd and his father arrived and Mr Hayes said that there were some things missing from the house. They insisted that the sheriff searched Danny and they found the items in his saddlebags; a ring belonging to Todd’s Ma and his father’s pocket watch. Roy had no choice but to arrest Danny and when I met them on the road, he was taking him to the jailhouse. I told Danny not to worry and I would bring Pa to town to sort it out. I then rode home, as fast as I could, to tell the family what was going on. They all accompanied me into town, where Danny was waiting for us, behind bars, looking very scared.

Danny

I really should have known better. I've been dealing with lowlifes and bullies and liars all my life and still I fell for that trap like a naive little boy. I could kick myself! I was angry with myself, but after a while I realised there was another feeling, a feeling I had become unfamiliar with since the first weeks in prison: fear. I hated the feeling, but somehow I couldn't help myself. I knew that since I was on parole no one would believe me and I would be back in jail within days. There was no one who could change that.

The Cartwrights coming to see me right away did help a bit and I know they meant it when they said they believed me and would do anything to help me, but let's face it: what could they do? Now I was in the county jail Sam nor his accomplices would try stealing again and they would have hidden the stolen goods well, so there was no way to catch them now. And when it came down to my word against theirs my prison record would decide the discussion before it even started.

They did their best and I tried to keep up a brave face for their sakes. I wasn't sure if they bought it, but I guess they didn't. In the time I spent with them I had let my guard down and so they knew me pretty well.

After they left I lay down on the bunk and stared at the ceiling. I tried to put the wall around my heart back up, but it wasn't easy and I felt the tears threaten. I had come so close only to lose it again. Life was not fair.

Pa

It really tore at my heart, seeing that boy locked up again. I had no doubt that he was innocent, but proving it was not going to be easy, especially with the stolen goods being found in his possession.

All the way to the jailhouse, Joe kept saying that it had to be Sam Roebuck’s doing and why didn’t I do something and get Danny out of jail. I was touched that Joe had that much faith in me, but after talking to Roy, I had to admit to Joe that there wasn’t much I could do, unless the real villain was caught. It was unlikely that anymore crimes would take place, if the intention was to implicate Danny. If it wasn’t, then there might be more thefts. That would mean we could clear Danny, as there was no way he could be breaking the law while he was in jail.

It did not please my youngest, that we had to leave Danny with Roy, when we returned home. However, it was a condition of his parole that if Danny was suspected of a crime, he would not be allowed out on bail. Joe just kept saying it was unfair. I agreed with him, but my hands were tied and it wasn’t going to do Danny any good trying to fight the law.

As it was, Joe was rude to Roy and I had to speak rather sharply to him, before he apologised. I knew that Roy was just as upset about this as we were. He had seen a fair bit of Danny, since the young man moved in with us, and he was impressed that Danny was making such an effort to integrate into the community.

I did visit Hiram, the family lawyer, before we left town, and he wasn’t able to offer much advice, either. Joe told him of his suspicions about Sam, but Hiram wasn’t too hopeful of catching the boy. He did say he would go and talk to Sam, though, along with some of the other pupils from the school. That way, he might pick up on any threats that Sam may have made to Danny. Hoss, in particular, was very anxious to be in on that talk, but I told him to keep well away from young Roebuck. If we wanted a chance at catching the boy, we didn’t need to make him wary of us. Sam was likely to become over-confident and slip up, if he didn’t think he was a suspect. Besides, I knew that Hoss’ talk was likely to involve his fists and I wanted any confession the boy made, to stick. If Hoss beat it out of him, he could well turn round and say that he only said he did it, as he feared for his life. I did understand my middle boy’s frustration, though. We all felt the same, not being able to take Danny out of that jailhouse.

Adam, as was so often the case with my eldest, wasn’t saying much at all, but I could tell he was thinking a great deal. I knew that all three of the boys had become quite fond of Danny, since he moved in with us. Adam, in particular, was impressed with the young man’s intelligence. Despite having very little schooling, Danny was obviously a bright boy and he and Adam had enjoyed several conversations on the subject of Art and Literature. Danny had been allowed access to the prison’s rather meagre library and he’d devoured every book in there. In addition to those in the library, the prison’s spiritual provider, a Reverend Brooks, had also fostered the boy’s interest in reading and provided him with several books, over the years.

I knew that Adam was willing to do all he could to help Danny and, on the way home, he and Joe rode along together. I managed to hear part of what they were saying and I could tell that Adam was reassuring Joe. He was letting Joe know that we were going to do all we could to clear Danny’s name.

Adam

It had been very frustrating having to leave Danny there in jail. It was obvious to all of us, including Roy, that Danny had been framed. I couldn’t really blame Joe for flying off the handle at Roy. He shouldn’t have, of course, as Roy was only doing his job, but he was voicing what we were all thinking.

Even Hiram couldn’t help us and my own brain started to work overtime. Pa and Hiram were right: beating a confession out of Sam wouldn’t help much. There had to be a way to catch the boy red handed. I couldn’t believe we had to sit back and watch Danny get dragged back to prison. I wouldn’t.

As we rode home Joe and I lagged behind a bit and while we were talking a plan was forming in my head. All we needed was a good trap. Important thing was that Sam needed to be convinced Danny was out of jail, maybe on bail or escaped. That way he would feel the need to try to set him up for good. I told Joe and he seemed interested in trying.

We started to talk about how we could trap Sam, because just letting word out that Danny was out, while in fact he wasn’t, wouldn’t be enough to prove Sam was the culprit. We needed to catch him with his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. Joe suggested we could try to let word out that Danny was thinking about leaving, getting his things together to leave town and break his parole. If it became known that he was planning on leaving Sam might be tempted to steal gear that one would need for a trip like that. Like a bedroll, canteens, food. You wouldn’t take much with you, as you’ve only got your horse and you’d want to travel fast, and light, but there are still things Danny would need.

Maybe this plan would work.

We would need Roy’s help too, as it had to be beyond any doubt that Danny couldn’t have done it. In fact it had to be beyond any doubt that Danny was in fact still in jail. Whose word was better for that than the sheriff himself? And it would also be better if a deputy caught Sam stealing than if we caught him. After all, we weren’t exactly impartial bystanders.

While we were still trying to figure out the best way to go about this, Pa called us to pick up the pace a bit. We decided it would be best to let Pa and Hoss in on the plan and talk it over, finalise it and plan it in detail at home. We hoped Pa wouldn’t object.

Little Joe

I know it wasn’t gonna do Danny any good, but I was so mad when we left the jail, that I was ready to go and pound a confession outta Sam.

As very often happens when I get mad, Adam came alongside of me and started calming me down, by explaining that we weren’t intending to abandon Danny. He said that we had to go very carefully if we wanted to catch Sam and be able to prove Danny’s innocence.

It made a lot of sense and by the time we got home, Adam had pretty much worked out a plan to present to Pa and Sheriff Coffee.

Adam wanted Pa to get Sheriff Coffee to agree to release Danny on bail. However, one of the sheriff’s deputies would tail Danny all day and he was going to be spending each night back in the jailhouse, locked in a cell. Therefore, someone would know where he was and what he was doing, all the time. Danny was going to put about this story that he was planning to jump bail and leave Virginia City and hope that by doing so, Sam would do another robbery and try and pin it on Danny. Adam’s idea was that Sam would also be followed and he would get caught committing the crime.

Sounded a pretty solid plan to me and Pa was also impressed. He said he would talk to the sheriff and Danny, the next day, and see what they thought of it. In the absence of anything better, I was sure that Sheriff Coffee would go along with the idea. I was so glad that my family were prepared to do this for Danny and thanked them all, before turning in. I slept a lot better than I’d feared I would, now that I knew something was going to be done and Danny was unlikely to go back to prison.

Danny

I couldn't believe it when they came back the next day with a plan. At first I didn't hold out much hope that it would work, but as they kept talking I could see the chances of success and I got a glimmer of hope.

What did I have to lose? Nothing I suppose. All I had to do was pretend to be planning to jump bail. No big deal.

So when they finished explaining we all kinda looked at Sheriff Coffee to wait for his final decision. It was the longest minute of my life. If he said no I had no hope, no future. His yes would mean a fighting chance.

He said yes. He thought it was a brilliant idea and was only happy to help. After that things went pretty fast. I was released on bail, got a deputy to tail me and after the Cartwrights had wished me good luck and given me tons of advice, I headed for the Bucket of Blood figuring that would be the quickest place to spread the news. I ordered myself a beer and hung around at the bar. I pretended the alcohol made me talk more easily and I started telling the bartender about how this town had never given me a fair chance, that they could all go to hell, I wasn't gonna stay in this town. I knew that at least three others could hear me and behind me I heard the news spread. Pretending to be affected by the alcohol I ignored it and just continued my rant hoping the news would reach Sam.

Little Joe

Danny didn’t accompany me to school, once he’d been let out on bail, as he was pretending to be angry with us all. He continued telling anyone who’d listen that he was gonna jump bail, just as soon as he got himself a stake.

I managed to sneak up on Sam and a couple of his friends, in the schoolyard, and heard him planning something to set Danny up with, but I wasn’t able to work out what he was gonna do. He caught me hanging around and gave me a black eye, before Miss Jones broke it up. Sam was given a note to take home to his father, about the fight, but he said it was worth a tanning to hurt me. Charming guy, ain’t he?

Pa was none too pleased when he saw my injuries, but I explained what happened and so he calmed down. However, he did say I was to be careful, because we didn’t want Sam getting suspicious that we were on to him, as then he might not commit another crime.

I promised I would keep my distance, but I was getting impatient, as Danny had been out on bail for several days, and nothing was happening.

Adam knew I was getting antsy and said I had to stop fretting. He was sure that Sam would do something to try and make certain that Danny would be going back to prison. I just hoped he would do it soon, before I bust something trying to stop myself taking a swing at Sam, who seemed to get more obnoxious, as each day passed.

I wasn’t even allowed to spend time with Danny and I was missing him, as we’d become good friends. Pa had arranged for Danny to do some chores for Mr Braddock and his wife. They had a small ranch just the other side of town and welcomed the help. Mr and Mrs Braddock had lost their only child, Michael, to the influenza, when the boy was thirteen. He was born about the same time as Adam, and came to the Braddock’s late in life. Mrs Braddock couldn’t have anymore kids after him.

Well, eventually it happened, and another of Sam’s pals went running into Sheriff Coffee’s office, to tell him that Danny had some of the goods reported stolen from the mercantile, stashed with his horse at the livery stable. The store had been robbed the night before, but Danny had the most reliable witnesses in town, to stand up for him; the sheriff and his deputy, who had kept a constant watch on the cell, in which Danny was sleeping. Another deputy had followed Sam and was able to explain how Sam and a friend had entered the store through the back door, taken goods required for a trip, and had then planted some of them, with Danny’s tack, in the livery stable. Sam even still had some of the stolen goods in his house and so there was no way for him to weasel out of it.

Danny was overwhelmed when we were able to tell him that he was cleared of all the charges and couldn’t speak for a while. I was so pleased that I gave him a hug and offered to treat him to a beer. Pa was happy for us to go, but Danny wanted us to celebrate together and so we all went.

Danny

I was glad that Adam had needed me to execute his plans. I had felt even more frustrated if he hadn't. At least now I was able to do my part, help, instead of just sitting in a cell waiting for others to rescue me.

I also liked helping the Braddocks. I liked Mr. and Mrs. Braddock right from the start and so it was my pleasure to be able to help them. They could really use my help too. It was nice to be needed for a change. I mean, I loved working on the Ponderosa and being a part of the family, but they didn't need me. Not like Mr. Braddock did. The Braddocks were less fortunate. They had lost their only son and weren't as wealthy as the Cartwrights. He did most of the work himself with just two ranch hands.

I think Mrs. Braddock felt I was starved or something as she kept feeding me. She was a very good cook and I didn't mind one bit. It was obvious she enjoyed having someone around to take care of.

Still, every evening after supper I had to report to the jailhouse and was locked in. I know it was important to do so if Adam's plan was to succeed, but it was frustrating. Not the part of being locked in, I can handle that, but the part of having to sit and wait, not being able to do a thing. That part was getting to me. The more time went by the less hopeful I got.

And so when one morning as I was released from my nightly captivity again and found the entire family waiting for me, all wearing big grins, I just didn't know what to say. I was so relieved and happy. I think I was a bit passive for a while, just too overwhelmed to realise it was really over, but when Joe wanted to buy me a beer I knew I wanted them all there. I owed them my life and freedom and wanted to celebrate that freedom with them. And boy, we DID. It was wonderful being able to sit in the saloon with my head up high, not having to watch what I was saying; not having to tell lies so Sam would take the bait. I only had to be me and be happy. I felt great.

Pa

The look on Danny’s face when we were able to give him the good news, was a joy to behold. For most of his eighteen years, Danny had only known the harsher side of life and now the boy finally had a future to look forward to. What’s more, he knew he had friends who wanted to share in that future with him.

Little Joe, in an impulsive gesture, typical of him, gave Danny a hug and offered him a beer. Although it was rather early, we all headed off to the saloon. Over a couple of beers, we told Danny the whole story and explained that Sam had also confessed to the earlier crimes and Todd Hayes had admitted his part in setting Danny up at his family’s farm.

It was a good lesson for my boys, too, the two younger ones, that is. The whole business had been resolved, legally, and without it being necessary for anyone to pound on anybody. Not that I really blamed the boys for feeling like they did. Maybe if Roebuck had set a better example to his son and disciplined Sam, instead of letting him run wild, none of this would have happened.

Much as I was enjoying the celebration, I thought it was best that things got back to normal, as soon as possible, and so I suggested that we all returned to the ranch. Danny wanted to go and see the Braddock’s to thank them for letting him work there and giving him his alibi. I agreed and had a feeling that the boy might have something more to celebrate, by the end of the day, if I was reading the signs right.

Danny

I was so grateful to the Braddocks that right after that drink I went over to see them and thank them for everything they’d done for me. Mrs. Braddock seemed to have been expecting me and she welcomed me with a big hug and apple pie. I tell you, Hop Sing is a good cook, but Mrs. Braddock is a great cook. She and Mr. Braddock both insisted that it had been their pleasure to help me and there was no need to thank them, instead they thanked me for helping them. Mrs. Braddock kept ruffling my hair and offering me more pie. If I had eaten everything she wanted to give me I wouldn’t have been able to walk afterwards. I wouldn’t want her any other way though. She is one heck of a lady.

Then they both got a bit quiet and I thought that was it, they were glad I was all right, but no need to come back. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Mr. Braddock said they had talked about it and they knew I was happy with the Cartwrights and Joe and I had become good friends and all, but still they wanted to ask me to stay with them. They wanted to take over the guardianship from the Cartwrights. He made it look like Mrs. Braddock needed someone to fuss over and make pie for and he only needed some sort of foreman in training, but I had a feeling it was more than that. They didn’t even want me to live in the bunkhouse. In fact Mrs. Braddock had already got a room ready for me, my own room and they still wanted me to finish school.

Well, you can imagine I didn’t know how to react at first. Deep down I knew I’d love to help them, be there for them, they needed me more than the Cartwrights did, but I was shy with all the attention. I also knew they had lost their son and knew I could never take his place. Mrs. Braddock seemed to read my mind and she took my hand in her hands and told me they knew I could never take Michael's place, but she missed having a young man in the house, missed having to take care of someone. In the time I had been there she’d really taken a liking to me, feeling I needed a place in the world to call my own and they needed to feel needed, know that their little ranch was in good hands. She had tears in her eyes when she was finished. I didn’t know I would be able to be all that, but I knew I would do anything for these two wonderful people. I had a lump in my throat when she was talking and before I knew what I was doing I had put my arms around her, telling her not to cry.

Well, all that was left to do was tell the Cartwrights and I was a bit nervous about that. I wasn’t sure what they would think of their proposal and my wish to live there. Well, again I had been worried for nothing. Joe started whooping, jumping around me and Mr. Cartwright put his hand on my shoulder as soon as he got the chance, saying they were all very happy for me and he would do his best to make sure the legal paperwork wouldn’t take too long. Adam and Hoss both slapped me on the back, congratulating me. Hoss immediately told me I would have been a fool to say no considering the fact Mrs. Braddock was such a good cook and he asked me to make sure to invite them a few times. I laughed and promised to do so.

After that, things went pretty fast and before the end of the week I was living with the Braddocks, who now insist I call them uncle and aunt, which does sound nice. Mr. Cartwright had kept his word and the very next day we had gone to the lawyers and the judge to get the guardianship transferred. Everyone was great about it.

Sally had agreed to go to the town social on Saturday with me and we decided to make it a double date with Joe and his girl. I was so nervous for the first date in my life and couldn’t eat, couldn’t fix my tie; in fact I was a total wreck most of the day. Aunt Louise helped me pick out the right clothes, though, and some flowers for Sally, which she made into a corsage. And Uncle Steve gave me an encouraging talk, telling me not to worry about anything, except to respect the girl, not do anything I shouldn’t, oh and be home by midnight. I couldn’t help but smile at the two of them fussing over me; I didn’t even mind the curfew. I wouldn’t want to miss this family for the world. After some more fussing from Aunt Louise and more words about how good I looked, I finally managed to get into the buggy to pick up Sally, and meet up with Joe and his date to have ourselves a great evening. Life sure was good.

THE END

August 2003

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