Author’s note--This story is dedicated to Terri and Deb, who both helped more than they know with the writing of this story -- Terri with story ideas and proofing , Deb with wording and proofing--so that I feel I want to list them both as creative consultants. I also want to thank Carol for her support while I was writing this.  So thank you for being there for me once again.  It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that you have sisters you can count on.  


Train to Samaria
by
Leesa Olson

Creative Consultants
Terri Carey and Deb Farwell    

    As the Cartwright family sat around the dinner table, Ben Cartwright had an announcement to make.  “Well, boys, as you know, I’ve been in meetings in town all day and it was ultimately decided that I should represent the Virginia City Cattlemen’s Association at the regional conference being held in Salt Lake City next week.”
    
His youngest son, Joseph, immediately had something to say about this bit of news.  “Next week, Pa?  That would mean you have to leave right away.  No way!  You just got back from a business trip to Sacramento a few days ago!  You can’t leave me here with old dictator Adam again!  He worked me to the bone last week!  Isn’t that right, Hoss?” Joe asked, appealing to his middle brother for help.
  
 Hoss just shrugged and said, “I reckon he did work you pretty hard, Little Joe, but no harder than the rest of us, including his own self.”
  
 “I can’t believe you’re takin’ his side, Hoss.  We couldn’t even go into town that whole two weeks!” Joe said loudly.  He knew better than to actually yell at his father’s dinner table, but he came as close as he dared.  
    
“Yeah, that was the good part about all of us having to work so hard,” Adam interjected, “I didn’t have to worry about you getting into trouble in town for a change while I was in charge.  You were too tired.” Adam looked at Joe with what the younger brother considered a superior, condescending smile.  
    
Joe started to rise from his seat, intending to foolishly try to take his oldest brother down a peg or two, but he was stopped by a not so gentle pressure as his father grasped his wrist and indicated with a slight nod of his head for Joe to resume his seat.  Joe settled back in his chair.
    
“Now, if I may continue?” Ben asked and his sons all nodded, slightly embarrassed at having interrupted their father.  “Thank you. First off Joseph, you will not tell me what I can and cannot do.  Is that clear?” Joe nodded and Ben continued,  “As I was saying, I’m going to represent the Virginia City branch of the Cattlemen’s Association at the regional conference in Salt Lake City.  As I was going to ask before I was so rudely interrupted; Joseph, would you like to come with me?”
  
 Joe looked at his father in astonishment.  “Me, Pa?  Really?  You mean it?  Yes, I’d love to go!  Thanks Pa!” Joe was all smiles now.
  
 Ben turned to his other sons and said, “I hope you two don’t mind, but Adam, I need you to run the ranch while I’m gone and Hoss, with branding starting next week, I just can’t spare you.”
  
 “Nah, it’s all right, Pa.  We don’t mind Little Joe going with you,” Hoss answered good naturedly.
    
“Yeah,” Adam threw in, “go ahead and take him. It gets him out of my hair.”
  
 Joe looked hurt at that comment for a moment but quickly regained his lost smile and said, “Aw, you’re just jealous ‘cause I get to go, Adam, so go ahead and say whatever you want,” then he turned to his father and said, “Pa, I’m too excited to eat now, may I be excused please?”
  
 “Not just yet, Joseph.  There’s a little more to tell you.  You see, the convention is coming up too soon for us to be able to get there by horseback or by stage, so the Association is paying for me to go on the Central Pacific Railroad.  I don’t want to make the long trip alone and I haven’t spent much time with you lately, Little Joe, so that’s why I thought I would spring for a ticket for you.  How does that sound, Son?”
  
 “A train, Pa?  I’ve never been on one!  That sounds great! I can’t wait!”  Joe could barely contain his excitement now.  The young man was only seventeen and therefore young enough to still show his feelings of excitement over a new experience.      
  
 "Hey, I've been on a train once, Little Joe. You'll like it. Sure is a better way to travel than some old stagecoach," Hoss told his younger brother.
  
 "Oh, I was on quite a few of them back when I was in college," Adam stated. "The novelty wears off quickly, believe me." At a warning look from Ben, Adam added, "You'll have a great time this first trip though, Little Joe. You can just relax and watch the scenery glide by. No better way to travel."
    
"All right, that's settled then. Joe, we leave the day after tomorrow, so you and I will have plenty to do getting ourselves ready tomorrow. Why don't you go through your clothes tonight so that you can give Hop Sing plenty of time to wash whatever may need cleaning, okay?" Ben instructed.
    
"Sure Pa, I'm finished eating, so I'll get started right now," and with those words Joe left the table and bounded up the stairs to begin his packing.
  
 Ben decided to speak to his other sons once again to make sure they understood his reasons for taking his youngest son along on the trip instead of them. He loved each of his sons in a different way, but none more than the other, and he wanted no hard feelings between them. "Adam, Hoss--now that Joe has left the room, I need you to be honest with me. You both are all right with me taking Joseph along with me, aren't you?  I mean, even though he is practically grown, he is still quite young and I haven't spent much time with him over the last few months. Seems more and more business deals have been coming up to keep me from paying the attention to him that I should have lately. I'd like to make up for that now, if I can."
  
 "Pa, we're just fine with it," Adam said. "As much as I tease him, he has been working hard lately and the trip and time with you will be good for him."
  
 "Sure thing, Pa. Take the youngin' along and don't give it another thought. Adam and I have sure 'nough had our share of trips alone with you over the years. It's time Little Joe had one, too," Hoss added his opinion to Adam’s.
  
 "Thanks, boys," Ben said, his mind now at ease and feeling pride for the way his older sons accepted his decision to take Joe along.

    Two days later, all of the Cartwrights were standing on the platform of the railway station near the Truckee River, waiting for the eldest and youngest members of the family to board the train that would take them on their much anticipated trip.  It really wasn’t much of a station; this was simply a stop for picking up and delivering mail and restocking of coal and wood for the train; however, passengers would be taken on from this point if they chose.  The train was already there when they arrived and Ben and Joe were simply waiting for the word to board.  
  
 Joe was pleased when at last he heard the word, “Board!” called out.  
  
 He turned to his brothers and shook hands with each of them. “Bye brothers, don’t work too hard and try not to miss me too much.”  
  
 Adam returned his handshake, but that wasn’t good enough for Hoss.  He reached out and pulled his younger brother into a quick bear hug.  “You didn’t think you were gonna get away with just a hand shake, didja Short Shanks?” Hoss said with a laugh.
  
 Joe grinned back at Hoss and playfully punched him in the arm, then turned to board the train.  Ben shook hands with each of his sons and after a few last words of instruction, also boarded the train.  
  
 Joe was disappointed to see that there were no other passengers in the car in which they would be traveling.  He commented on this to the conductor as the man passed through.
  
 “Oh, don’t worry, Son, you have fellow passengers.  They just stepped out to stretch their legs for a few minutes while we were loading.  The ladies will be back momentarily,” the conductor informed Joe, before moving on to the next car.
    
Joe turned to his father, “Did ya hear that, Pa?  The ladies will be back in a few minutes. Won’t that be nice, having ladies as traveling companions?”
  
 Ben had to smile at his son’s excitement, “Joseph, for all you know, these ladies could be old enough to be your mother!  Or even your grandmother!  I wouldn’t get my hopes up too much if I were you.”
 
  Joe answered his father with his usual confidence, “Nope Pa, I have an instinct when it comes to the ladies, you know.  They’ll be young ladies, I’m sure of it.”
  
 When the ladies in question entered the car a few moments later, Joe shot his father a triumphant smile.  “My instincts about women are never wrong, Pa,” he whispered to his father.
 
  Ben just smiled back, knowing that Joseph’s experience with women was quite limited thus far.  He knew the boy would be in for a rude awakening about his so called instincts once he got to know a few more of the beguiling creatures.
  
 Ben did have to admit that Joe’s instincts were correct this time however, for taking seats just a little further down the aisle were four fairly young, attractive ladies.  Ben figured one of them to be a year or so younger than Joseph and another one a couple of years younger than that. The older two looked to be in their early twenties.  They were obviously sisters; even with their different hair colors, they still had a familial resemblance.  Ben and Joe both had a feeling that the younger Cartwright was going to enjoy his first train trip even more than originally anticipated.

    Joe marveled at the beautiful scenery for a short time, but the smiles and glances thrown at him by the two youngest girls down the aisle soon looked more appealing to him than the mountains passing by outside.  He stood up and started to walk as casually as he could manage down the aisle, toward the young ladies.  The two younger girls noticed this and decided to meet the handsome young man halfway.  They rose from their seats as casually as Joe had, and while pretending to look at something outside the window, slowly drew closer to the youth.  
  
 As soon as they were near enough to speak, Joe greeted them, “Hi Ladies.  My name is Joe Cartwright.  Are you enjoying the trip so far?”
  
 The older of the two young girls said, “Yes, we’re enjoying it very much.  My name is Melissa Stafford and this is my little sister, Carolyn.” She turned and indicated the other two ladies, “Those are our older sisters, Deborah and Theresa.  We’re on our way to Salt Lake City. Well, of course, we will get off the train in Ogden and then travel down to Salt Lake. Where are you headed?”
  
 “That’s where my pa and I are going, too.  This is great.  Now we can get to know each other better.”
  
 The young people all sat down together and began conversing.  They got on well with each other right away.  Ben decided to read his newspaper since Joe was now otherwise occupied and the older sisters each had out a tablet of paper and were busy with those. They still kept a close eye on the younger girls, making sure they were properly chaperoned while in the company of the handsome young man.
  
 Joe noticed the womens’ tablets and asked what they were doing.  
    
Melissa answered, “Oh, Deborah is sketching; she has a wonderful way with drawing pictures, and Theresa is writing.  You wouldn’t believe the stories she can come up with!”
    
“Yes,” added Carolyn, “They both are really talented. They’ve entertained us for years with their drawings and stories. So, do you have any brothers or sisters, Joe?”
 
  Joe told the girls all about Adam and Hoss and how they were working hard back home while he was on this trip with his father.   He explained why they were going to Salt Lake City and then asked what was taking them there.
  
 Melissa explained, “Well, we are originally from Utah and we still have aunts, uncles and cousins there. Anyway, our family moved to Sacramento a few years ago when our father was offered a great job.  Last year, both of our parents and our only brother all died of influenza. Deborah and Theresa have done a good job taking care of us, but things get hard sometimes. They don’t like the influence the city could have on us either.  So, now we’ve decided to move back to Utah where we can be with some of our kin.”
    
Joe thoughtfully asked, “Well, if you’re from Utah, does that mean you’re Mormons?”
 
  “Yes, we are,” Carolyn said, “That doesn’t bother you, does it?”
  
 Joe just shrugged, “Nope, doesn’t bother me none, but if you’re Mormons, then why couldn’t one of your father’s other wives take care of you guys so you wouldn’t have to move?”
 
  The girls looked at each other and giggled.  “Oh Joe, that is such a blown out of proportion rumor!  Everyone thinks all Mormon men have a bunch of wives when in actuality, very few do.  None of our relatives practice plural marriage and neither do any of our friends’ families. Isn’t that right, Carolyn?”
  
 “Yeah, it sure is.  A man is even supposed to have permission from the leaders of the Church to take a second wife.”
  
 Joe thought a minute. “Boy, I sure never knew that.  I always thought all Mormons had lots of wives.  Guess you can’t believe everything you hear, huh?”
  
 “No, you sure can’t,” said Melissa, “because to tell the truth, less than ten percent of Mormon men have more than one wife.”
  
 “So, your sisters have been taking care of you since your folks passed on?  Wow, I sure would hate it if my brother Adam was in charge of me!  I’d go nuts; he’s bossy enough with Pa around, I wouldn’t even want to imagine how bad he would be if he was left in charge!” Joe stated.
    
“Our sisters aren’t so bad.  They can be a little strict sometimes, I guess, but it’s only because they care about us. They’ve worked hard to keep our family together.  They’re both dressmakers and hope to open a shop in Utah.  We’re both getting pretty good at sewing, too, aren’t we, Melissa?”
    
“Yeah, Carolyn, we are; mom taught us how to sew from the time we were small and our sisters took over the lessons when she died.  I think the four of us will be able to get by fairly well once we get settled,” Melissa answered.
  
 All of the young people were quiet for a few moments.  Joe was trying to imagine what it would be like to not have his father and to be raised by his brothers instead.  While he loved his brothers, he was very grateful that he still had Pa.  
    
After a few minutes of introspection, the young people went back to their friendly chatter.

    Further down the line, three men were making their plans.  They had heard that this train was carrying a rather large gold shipment and they meant to have a piece of it, perhaps even all of it.  They had managed to fell a tree across the tracks just before the bridge that crossed the Reese River.  They figured the train would have to stop to avoid the fallen tree and at that time, they would make their move.  
  
 Derek, the self proclaimed leader of the little band of outlaws, asked, “Hey, Harston, is your friend in San Francisco positive there’s gold on this here train?”
  
 “For the last time, Derek, he’s not absolutely for certain, but he overheard a conversation that makes him pretty sure it’s there,” Harston answered.
  
 “I sure do hate to chance going to prison for something that might not even be there,” spoke up Collin, the third member of the group.
  
 “Look,” Harston said, “we discussed this and decided it’s worth the risk.  It’s a little late to back out now. The tree is already blocking the track, so alls we do now is sit back and wait for the train to stop and then help ourselves to all that gold.”
  
 “You’re right,” said Derek, trying to take charge of the group, “we’re not stopping now.  The wire we got from your friend back in Californy said there were only four or five passengers and three or four employees on the train.  This should be a piece of cake; like taking candy from a baby.”
  
“Don’t you think there would be a few guards on a train with a bunch of gold and not just railroad employees?” Collin reasoned.
 
  The other two didn’t want to think about the fact that the gold might not exist.  “Nah, they’s probably just trying to throw people off by not having a bunch of guards drawing attention to it. Lucky for them they did it that way, cause some guards would find themselves dead if they interfered with our plans,” Derek said.
  
 “I thought we all agreed...there would be no killing,” Collin countered, not at all certain he should have gotten in on this deal.
  
 “Too late to back out now,” Derek said. “Let’s get behind those bushes over there and wait on the train to stop....right here in front of us.”
  
 With that, all three outlaws hid themselves in the bushes and waited for the arrival of the train and the riches they were certain were on their way.

    “I think the kids have been flirting with that young man long enough,” Deborah said to Theresa, “I’ll get out the supper we packed and you tell them to come over here and eat, all right?”
 
  Theresa walked down the aisle to retrieve the younger girls.  When she reached them, Carolyn introduced her to Joe.  When Theresa looked into the young man’s emerald eyes as he greeted her, she could see why her sisters were so taken with him; he was handsome and charming as well.
  
 “It’s nice to meet you, Joe.  I hate to take my sisters away from you, but it’s time for them to come and have a bite to eat.”
    
“Oh, we’re not hungry yet, Theresa, we’ll eat later,” Melissa said.
  
 “Deborah said to bring you to eat now, girls, so let’s go.  Joe, would you and your father care to join us?” Theresa asked, as both of the younger girls’ faces lit up at the prospect of spending more time with Joe. “We have plenty.”
  
 “Thanks, we have our own basket of food,” Joe replied, “but I’ll try to get my pa and our food; maybe we can all eat together, and even share our food, if  that’s all right.”
    
“That will be just fine,” Theresa said.
  
 Joe hurried back down the aisle to his father. “Come on, Pa, the ladies asked us to join them for supper.  Get our basket and let’s go sit with them, okay?”
  
 “Oh, nice of you to come back and get your old pa, Son.  I thought you forgot all about me there for awhile,” Ben said, pretending to feel hurt at being ignored all afternoon.
 
  Joe was immediately contrite, “I’m sorry, Pa.  This trip was supposed to be for us to spend some time together and I haven’t spent any time with you all day. Let’s eat by ourselves and talk.”  
 
   Ben smiled at his son, happy that he was willing to make that sacrifice, but then he let him off the hook, “I was only joshing with you, Little Joe.  I didn’t mind you talking to the young ladies; I was your age once too, remember; and I don’t mind eating with them now.  I am not adverse to a little female companionship myself, you know.”

    Later, the six passengers were all eating together and enjoying friendly conversation.  Ben found the older two girls quite intelligent and fascinating conversationalists, besides being attractive.  The young ladies also enjoyed conversing with the dignified older Cartwright.  He didn’t talk down to them as so many men seemed to do with ladies and it didn’t hurt that his classic good looks were pleasing to the eye.
  
 All of the leftover food had been stowed away and everyone was enjoying the company of new found friends, when suddenly the train lurched forward with enough force to knock the two younger girls to the floor and slam Joe into his father.  This was followed by a high pitched screeching sound that went on and on.
  
 “What in heaven’s name is that?” asked Deborah as she pulled Melissa onto the seat next to her, while Theresa was helping Carolyn back to her feet and seating her between herself and Melissa.  
  
 Ben put an arm around Joe and pulled him close to keep him from sliding to the floor as the younger girls had and answered, raising his voice to be heard over the incredible din, “It’s the brakes!  Sounds like they’re trying desperately to stop the train quickly for some reason!  Hang on!”  
 
  Younger sisters clung to older sisters, while Joe moved even closer to his father and they all waited to see what would happen next.  Within moments, there was a crashing sound and another jerk and the screeching sound stopped.  What followed was more terrifying than the sound had been.  The train swerved from side to side and lurched dangerously.
  
 “I think it’s left the tracks!” Ben shouted.  “Hang on and pray!”
    
Everyone tried desperately to hang on, but it was a lost cause.  The train suddenly flipped on its side, throwing the passengers every which way.  The terror seemed to go on endlessly, as the six people were tossed like rag dolls while the train plunged down the hill, plummeting over rocks and crashing through trees.  
  
 The screams were as frightening as the grinding, crunching, crashing sounds going on around the ones emitting them.  As the train reached the bottom of the hill, the engine plunged into the Reese River, followed quickly by the coal car.  The passenger car, still lying on its side from the force of the flight down the hill, went the way of its mother car, into the river.  The caboose crashed on top of the passenger car and everything came to a standstill.
 
   The deathly silence that followed was more ominous than the screams and grinding metal had been; it was as if time had decided to stand still.

    The three would-be train robbers watched with horror from their hiding place in the bushes as this devastating play of events unfolded.
  
 They observed the train round the bend and knew the engineer had immediately seen the tree blocking the tracks.  He had instantly thrown the brake with all the force he could manage and the screeching had begun.  There was no way to stop the train in time and the outlaws watched as it crashed into the fallen tree and the force caused it to leave the tracks.  They were horrorstruck as the cars flipped in different directions and plunged down the hill and finally came to rest in the river.
  
 They were momentarily paralyzed by the intense silence of the aftermath until finally Collin spoke, “We have to look for survivors!  Come on!”
 
 Derek reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping the burly young man’s intentions to help the victims.  “There’s no one alive on that thing, Collin and you know it.  You saw the conductor thrown from the train and he was probably crushed when it left the tracks.  The engineer most likely done drowned down there and the caboose man was thrown out the window and into the river when that car flipped on top of the other one.  Any passengers that were in that other car gotta be dead, too.  They’re half under water with another car on top of them!”
    
Harston agreed with him, “Derek’s right.  Ain’t no way anyone survived that.  We gotta get outta here.  We need to be long gone before anyone discovers this or we’re gonna hang for murder!  Come on!”
  
 With that, Derek and Harston ran to their horses and mounted them.  Collin stood watching for a moment, torn about what he should do.
  
 “Come on! There’s nothing you can do!” Derek shouted.  
  
 At last Collin sadly turned and fled with his companions.


    The scene inside the passenger car was heart wrenching.  There truly appeared to be no survivors to the devastating accident.  After a while, however, there was some movement from one of the bodies lying in the wreckage.
    
Ben Cartwright let out a moan and held his aching head.  Blood poured down the side of his face from a wound on his forehead.  Every fiber of his being ached and he wasn’t sure what had happened or where he was.  Slowly, memory began to return to him and he remembered that his youngest son was with him before the catastrophic events took place.  He began to look around for Joe.  Luckily, a few windows of the car were above water and not covered by the car lying on top of theirs; the light left in the sky allowed Ben to see inside the car.
  
 He didn’t see his son though and began to call for him.  “Joe?  Joseph!  Where are you, Son?”  
  
 He heard a low moan and crawled toward the sound.  When he reached the body in the shadows, he found Deborah slowly sitting up, holding her arms around her ribs.  Blood was running down her arm from a series of cuts on her shoulder. She hurt all over.  
    
“Are you all right, Miss?” Ben asked her.
  
 “I’m not sure.  I seem to hurt everywhere,” she answered.  
  
 Ben noticed where she was holding herself and reached out to check her ribs.  “Forgive my boldness, Miss, I just want to see how badly you’re hurt.  It feels like you have a couple of broken ribs.  Try not to move around too much, you don’t want to puncture a lung.”
  
 “I can’t worry about that right now,” she told Ben.  “I have to find my sisters.  Have you seen them?  And where is your son?”
  
 “I haven’t found them yet.  I just came to and then you were the first one I heard.  Let’s look around.  They have to be here somewhere,” Ben replied worriedly.
  
 They both began to carefully search the car and within minutes, located Carolyn.  She was still unconscious, but was breathing.  Her left arm was laying at an odd angle and was obviously broken.  Deborah gently patted her face, trying to bring her around.  She at last got a response as the young girl began to wake up.  Carolyn opened her eyes and saw her oldest sister looking at her with a mixture of worry and relief.  
  
 “Are you all right, Kiddo?” she asked.
  
 “You mean besides everything hurting and my arm killing me?  Yeah, I think I’m okay.  Where are the others?” young Carolyn asked.  She too, had numerous cuts and scrapes from having tumbled around with fragments of wreckage.
  
 “We’re still looking for them.  You sit here and don’t move around too much,” Deborah was saying to the girl, as a call came from Ben. He had been carefully moving some debris, trying to locate the other missing girls and his son, and Theresa was under it.
  
 “Here’s Theresa, Deborah.”
 
  Deborah slowly crawled over to the two and was relieved to see Theresa also regaining consciousness, although she was moaning painfully.  
 
  “Where do you hurt, Sis?  Everywhere?” she asked her sister and closest friend.
 
  Theresa answered carefully, “Yeah, I didn’t know this many places could hurt on a person.  My back hurts and I think maybe my shoulder is dislocated, it hurts the most; I don’t know where all this blood is coming from.”
 
  Deborah looked her over and found that her right shoulder was indeed dislocated and the blood was coming from a deep gash on the top of her head.  The oldest sister was doing her best to make her comfortable and not move her back around too much, while Ben was still frantically searching for the two missing teenagers.
  
 “Over here, Deborah, I found Melissa.”
  
 Ben was gently helping the young girl sit up as Deborah reached them.  Her leg was swelling and most likely broken from where a dislodged seat had fallen on her.  Her right arm had been slashed in several places from glass fragments that were now scattered on the floor beside her.      
  
 “Hey there, Little Sis, how are you doing?  You going to make it?” Deborah asked.
  
 “Yeah, I think so.  What about everyone else?  Are they okay?  Are you?  You don’t look too good,” Melissa said.
 
  “Thanks a lot, Pia,” she answered, now relieved that all of her sisters were alive and accounted for.  “Yes, Theresa, Carolyn and Ben are all right, too.  We’re still looking for Joe.”
  
 “Pia?” Ben inquired, catching the name Deborah had called her sister.
    
“Hmmm?” Deborah said absently, while checking the girl more closely and wiping some of the blood from her arm.  “Oh, it’s just a nickname I gave her years ago.”
  
 Melissa spoke up, “It stands for pain in the...”
    
“That’s enough, Melissa!  Don’t say it,” Deborah warned, embarrassed for Ben to hear what the nickname stood for. Young Mormon girls weren’t supposed to use words like that.
  
 The elder Cartwright would have found the nickname funny if he weren’t so worried. Ben left Deborah to tend to all of her younger sisters while he continued to look for Joe.  He was getting desperate now.  He was grateful that all of the young ladies, while injured, were alive.  He just hoped that he would find his son in that condition as well.  
 
  Since none of the girls appeared to be critically injured, Deborah moved them close to each other so that they could look after one another, and started helping Ben search for his son.  They were both carefully moving pieces of the wreckage, wondering where the boy could be.      
  
 Finally Theresa called out from her place amongst the debris, “I think I see something over there, Mr. Cartwright!  It looks like it could be Joe; I think I can see his hand!” she said excitedly.
  
 Ben and Deborah hurried over to where Theresa had pointed and indeed found Joe. They quickly started to remove the pieces of metal that had hidden him.  Both gasped as they realized that the boy’s body from the chest down was pinned under some pieces of wreckage. The murky, chilling river water had seeped in enough that Joe was immersed to his shoulders, barely escaping being drowned.  The father threw off a few lighter pieces of the rubble, but couldn’t free his boy’s legs.
  
 Ben gently reached out and patted Joe’s face.  “Son?  Wake up now, Joseph.  Come on, I need to see those eyes open up.” Ben was carefully looking the boy over for injuries while trying to bring him around.  He patted his face a little harder, fear settling in when his first attempt to awaken his son had failed.  At last he began to get a response and Joe’s eyes fluttered.  
  
 “Pa?  Is that you?  What happened?” he whispered as he tried to orient himself to his position.  “I can’t move my legs, Pa.”
  
 “I know, Son.  You’re pinned under some debris.  We’ll see what we can do to get you free as soon as I’m sure you aren’t hurt,” Ben said gently, so as to keep the young man calm.  He was fairly certain that there was no way he and a bunch of injured girls could get the weight off of his son’s legs.  
    
“I’m c...cold, P..pa,” Joe said, “Why am I s..s..so c...c...cold?” Joe still didn’t seem to be fully aware of his surroundings yet.
    
Ben hated to tell him why he was so cold.  “Joseph, I’m afraid water somehow got in here and you’re lying in it.”
    
“Where d...did the water come from, P...pa?” Joe asked.
  
 Deborah and Ben looked at each other over Joe’s head, realization beginning to dawn on them that the train must have ended up in the river; both were afraid of the implications of how much more trouble they were in now.
  
 “We’re not sure yet, Joseph,” Ben told his son, while pushing the wet curls back from his head and then lifting the boy’s upper body away from the water as much as possible.  He crawled behind the young man and gently laid him back against his own chest to at least allow part of his body to dry.  
 
  “P...pa, are all the g...girls all right?” Joe asked.
  
 Ben was proud that his son still thought of others even as he was pinned down and stuck laying in cold water.  
  
 “Everyone has some cuts, bruises and a few broken bones, but yes, Joseph, somehow, miraculously, we all made it,” Ben answered, realizing for the first time that it truly was a miracle that none of them had died in the accident.
  
 As Joe was lying back against Ben, the father noticed blood seeping through the young man’s shirt front.  He hadn’t noticed the injury earlier because the water the boy had been submerged in had been washing it away.  In the dim light remaining in the car, Ben hadn’t seen the red tinge of the water either.
  
 Ben reached his arm around his son and gently pulled the shirt open to see how serious the injury was.  He gasped as he realized he could see the white of one of Joe’s ribs under all the blood.  Deborah saw the wound also and quickly made a decision.  She knew they would need bandages for everyone, so she removed her petticoat to tear into strips.  Luckily, she had on a thick skirt, so she was still properly covered.  She went about fashioning a bandage to place on the young man’s wound to restrict the flow of blood.  Ben took the proffered bandage gratefully and pressed it onto the gash, then took a long strip of cloth from the young lady and wrapped it around Joe as gently as he could, securing the bandage.  
  
 In the meantime, Theresa had seen what her older sister had done and she made the same decision about her petticoat.  The girls would have to forego a little bit of modesty in order to tend to all of the various wounds everyone had incurred. Theresa gently wrapped a strip of cloth around the cut on Melissa’s arm and then tended the most serious of Carolyn’s injuries, which wasn’t an easy task with a dislocated shoulder.  
    
Melissa then folded up a piece of cloth, placing it over the laceration on Theresa’s head to staunch the flow of blood.  
  
 Once Theresa had her sisters’ wounds bandaged as best she could and Melissa had finished with hers, she made her way painfully and carefully over to the older Cartwright with some of the strips of cloth and tended to the cut on his forehead.  The man had taken the time to find each of the sisters while desperately worried about his son, and Theresa figured that was the least they owed him.
  
 Ben smiled weakly at the girl, expessing his gratitude, “Thank you, Miss, I appreciate you doing that.  But you better sit back down and rest that back.”
  
 “It’s not feeling as bad now,” she explained.  “I need to find something to splint the girls’ broken bones.  There should be something in all this rubble that I can use.”  
    
“I’ll take care of that, Theresa,” Deborah told her sister, “You don’t need to move that shoulder around anymore than you already have.  Sit here with Mr. Cartwright and Joe, while I try to splint the girls’ arm and leg.”
    
“Just a minute, Young Lady,” Ben said to Deborah, “You are in no better shape than your sister.  You need those ribs bound up.  Come over here.”
  
 Between Ben -- with Joe resting against him, and Theresa -- with her one good arm, they were able to wrap some of the torn up petticoat tightly around Deborah’s ribs, to prevent them from moving any more than necessary.  Deborah fashioned a sling for Theresa to rest her arm in to keep the shoulder still, then went to splint the broken limbs of her younger sisters.  
    
    Later, after everyone had been tended to as best as possible under the circumstances, the six people were sitting around wondering how they would ever get out of this predicament.  The four sisters were huddled together for warmth and comfort, with the younger two dozing off and on against the older two.
  
 Ben was holding Joe as close as the situation would allow, but the young man was beginning to shiver uncontrollably.  Ben sunk himself further into the freezing water in order to pull Joe further out of the water and higher up on his lap.  The boy now was high enough to rest his head back on Ben’s shoulder. Ben rubbed Joe’s arms vigorously, trying to get some warmth into them.  He noticed that blood was again seeping through the make-shift bandage on Joe’s abdomen.
  
 The father carefully removed the suit jacket he was wearing.  It took him a few minutes, as he didn’t want to let loose of his son and chance his slipping back down into the frigid water.  Finally, he had the jacket free and carefully placed it over Joe.  He wrapped one arm around Joe and the jacket to keep him secure and put the other hand under the jacket and on top of the wound, hoping to slow the bleeding.  He then said a prayer that help would arrive soon, before it was too late for his youngest son.  
    
After the prayer, he kept up a steady one sided conversation with his son, whispering encouragement to the young man. “Hang in there, Joseph,” Ben softly spoke into his son’s ear, “help will be here soon, I know it will.  You just have to stay with me.”
    
“I’m t..t..trying, Pa,” Joe murmured back, “but it’s so hard, I’m getting s..s..so tired.”
  
 “I know, Son, but you need to try to stay awake; keep talking to me,” Ben said.  He was afraid that with the combination of blood loss and cold water, his son would fall asleep, never waking up and Ben wouldn’t allow that to happen. Instead of the one sided conversation he had been having, he decided to get Joe talking, too.  “Joseph, remember when we all took that trip to San Francisco a couple of years ago?” Ben shook the boy a little to bring him fully awake again.  “Joe?  Are you listening?”
    
“Hmmm?  Y...yes, Pa, I’m listening.  The trip to San F..francisco, w...what about it?” Joe roused himself enough to pay attention to his father.
  
“Don’t you remember, Son?  That was where you had your first beer.  Of course, it wasn’t my choice.  You made that decision all on your own.  Remember?”
  
 Joe smiled slightly at the memory.  “Y..yeah Pa, I remember that.  How c..could I f..forget?  I k..kept asking you t..to buy me one, but you s..said I wasn’t old enough yet.  Adam wouldn’t give in either and I c..couldn’t even g..get Hoss to take me for one.”
  
 “Yes, but did my youngest son let that stop him?  Nope, he considered it a challenge,”  Ben said, remembering how the fifteen year old had waited until everyone else in the family was asleep and then had sneaked out in search of that much desired beer.  
  
 “I had to do it, P...pa.  I knew no one in Virginia City w..would sell me a beer without your permission, so I figured I h..had to get it in San Francisco.  I g..got one, too!”
  
 “Yes, you did, but only because a nice gentleman offered to buy it for you.  Do you know what could have happened if that policeman hadn’t spotted you in that guy’s company and hauled you back to the hotel?  I’ll never forget opening that door and seeing you standing there with a law man; well sort of standing there.  That nice man had bought you more than one beer and you were barely standing.  When the policeman told me the man you were with was a known crimper, I nearly passed out myself for a moment, knowing you could have been shanghaied and we never would have known what had happened to you,” Ben reminisced, hugging the young man a little tighter at the thought of how close he had come to losing him that time and frightened at how close he might be to losing him this time.
 
  “Yeah, but you know what I remember most about that time, Pa?” Joe continued.  “I remember how you didn’t even y..yell at me or lecture me that night. You just put me to bed.  I f...felt awful the next m..morning and you didn’t yell at me then either.  You j...just took care of me while I g..got sick.”  Joe paused for a minute, remembering, and put his hand on top of his father’s hand that was holding the jacket close to him. “You sure jumped my case when I felt b..better though, Pa, and didn’t let me out of your sight for the r..rest of the trip. Pa?”
 
  “Yes, Son?”
  
 “I think I’m ready to move on to whiskey about now.”
  
 “Joseph, if I had some whiskey right now, I’d sure let you try it,” Ben said, turning over his hand and squeezing his son’s fingers comfortingly.
  
 Ben was distressed at how cold Joe’s hand felt in his.  At least their conversation was keeping the boy awake for now, but when would help arrive?  Surely someone was aware that the train was extremely late by now and would send out a search party.  His son’s life depended on it.
  
 Joe had started to drift off again and Ben shook him back awake.  “Stay awake, Joseph.  I need someone to talk to.  You don’t want me to be lonely, do you?  I think all of the ladies are asleep, so it’s up to you to keep me company.”
    
“All right, Pa. No, I don’t want you to be lonesome,” Joe answered.  “You know what, Pa?  I don’t feel so cold anymore.”
 
  That worried Ben.  He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he knew his son shouldn’t be feeling any warmth while in the icy water.  Ben certainly wasn’t feeling any warmth in the parts of his body that were in the water with Joe.
  
 Suddenly, the train lurched as it settled further in the water.  The movement woke up the girls as it slid them all screaming down into the water with Ben and Joe.  Ben clung tighter to Joe, trying to protect him from the unexpected movement.  The train stopped its downward skid as quickly as it had started, but no one knew for how long.  One good thing that resulted from the train’s deeper slide into the water, was that the caboose that had fallen on top of the passenger car was jarred loose and slid with a horrendous scraping sound and floated off down the river.    
  
 Joe spoke up to his father, “Pa, you have to get the girls out of here.  This train could sink more at any time.You can’t let everyone die in here. Look for a way out.”
  
 “I can’t, Joseph.  I have to hold you out of this water.  You’re too weak to do it yourself right now,” Ben answered.
  
 “Pa, if you don’t find a way out, everyone will die, you and I included.  At least this way, you can save the women, and even yourself.  You’ve always taught me that the safety of women comes first; didn’t you mean it, Pa?” Joe asked.
  
 Ben now faced a moral dilemma; should he do as Joe asked and try to save the women at the possible cost of his son’s life?  Or should he stay with his son and hope that help would come in time?   He held his son closer and laid his head gently on the top of the boy’s head.  He could feel the young man’s hair brushing his face and didn’t think he could possibly let him go, not even to save others.  Ben’s tears fell into the boy’s hair as he prayed for guidance in this hardest of decisions.      
    The girls had heard what Joe had requested of his father and they observed Ben wrestling with the decision.  Theresa decided to speak up and put the man’s heart at ease, “Don’t worry about us, Mr. Cartwright.  You can’t leave your son. We’ll all wait down here together until someone shows up to rescue us.  It’s the only way.”
  
 “She’s right,” Deborah added.  “In the meantime, why don’t we see if the five of us can get Joe free of this debris.”
 
  Ben knew it was pointless; one girl had a broken arm, a second had a dislocated shoulder, one a broken leg, and another had probable broken ribs.  He was grateful to the girls for being willing to give it a try though.  The five people gave it all they had in them, but the broken fragments of the ruined train would not budge, keeping the young Cartwright in its deathly hold. Ben’s body sagged in defeat.
 
  Suddenly, the train had yet another jerky movement. The strong current was trying to grasp its victim and claim it.  Ben knew that Joe was right; the wrecked passenger car would become a coffin that carried them all to a watery grave if he didn’t do what he could to get the others out.  The decision made, Ben began to look around the now dim interior of the car, trying to figure a way out for the young ladies.  He knew that he would never leave his son down there alone; he would help the girls out if possible and then stay and die with his boy, if that was what it came to.
  
 Ben formulated a plan in his mind for getting the others out of the car and he carefully began sliding out from under Joe.  He looked around for something to place behind his son to prevent him from lying completely back in the water.  
  
 Melissa volunteered, “I’ll hold him up, Mr. Cartwright.  I’m not sure I can climb out with this broken leg anyway, so let me keep him out of the water while you get my sisters out of here.”
  
 Ben was touched at the girl’s offer. “All right, thank you Melissa. I appreciate your offer, and I’ll take you up on it, but I promise, we will get you out of here, too.”  
  
As Ben finished sliding out from under Joe, Melissa took his place behind the young man.  Ben tried to get to his feet, but the effects of being in the icy water for so long left his legs numb.  He fell to his hands and knees. He sat back down and began rubbing his legs vigorously, trying to get the feeling back in them.  
  
 Deborah was beside him and reached out and began to rub his legs below the knee while Ben concentrated on reviving his legs above the knees, “Mr. Cartwright, this time you will have to forgive my boldness, but I think you can use a little help here getting your legs functioning again.  You’ve been sitting in that cold water under your son for quite a while.”
 
  “I appreciate the help, Miss and I don’t consider you bold in offering it,” Ben said.
  
 After a few minutes of massaging his legs, Ben felt there was sufficient feeling back in them to hold his weight.  Theresa and Carolyn helped him get to his feet and steadied him as he took a few tentative steps.  He was soon able to stand by himself, with only a few tingles in his legs.
 
  Ben went to work devising a way out of the car. He found a window he could reach by climbing on some debris. The window was on what was now the ceiling.  Ben dug around in the rubble and found a metal rod.  He had the others cover their faces and he slammed the bar into the window, shattering it.  He soon had piled up enough wreckage for makeshift stairs to the window. There was still quite a reach, but the girls should be able to manage it with Ben’s help.  
 
  Ben decided that Deborah should be the first one to climb out so that she could help pull the others through.  It would put undo pressure on her ribs, but at least both of her arms still functioned.  Theresa wouldn’t be able to pull anyone up by herself with a dislocated shoulder and young Carolyn was too small to pull up her sisters, even without a broken arm.  Melissa would need help getting up because she only had one good leg to balance on.
  
 Deborah climbed up as far as she could but still couldn’t reach the edges of the window.  Ben had her step over onto his shoulders in order to reach the opening and she was able to pull herself up and out. By the time she was outside, she had to lay still a moment and catch her breath.  The pain in her ribs had grown by leaps and bounds from the exertion.  A slight movement from the train beneath her as it slipped a little more was enough to force her to put her pain aside and turn back to help her sisters get out.  
    
Theresa was the next one Ben helped up and she also used his shoulders as a step. She was surprised at the strength of the man as he lifted her by her legs to the point that Deborah could reach down and help her out. Theresa did all she could to pull herself out with her one good arm and within moments, she too was on top of the car, or on the side of the car, as it were.  
  
 Carolyn was the next one out. Ben kept his hands on the young girl’s waist as she carefully climbed towards her sisters.  She reached up and Theresa grabbed her good arm and pulled. Deborah grabbed a handful of cloth at the back of her blouse and between them, the older girls were able to pull the younger one out of the car.  
    
Ben then went over to Melissa.  “It’s your turn, Young Lady.  Are you ready?”  
  
 “But what about Joe?  I can’t get out by myself and you can’t let him lie here alone in the water, it’s too dangerous.”
    
Ben looked around and found a flat piece of a broken seat. “I’ll wedge this behind Joe while I help you out.  It should hold his head out of the water long enough to get you out and then I’ll get back to him.  Does that sound good to you, Joseph?”
    
“Sure Pa, I’ll be fine, just get all of the ladies out.  You’re doing great so far, Pa. I’m real proud of you,” Joe told his father quietly.  He had never had any doubt that his father would do the right thing and save the women. The man’s character would allow him to do nothing less.  “I’ll be all right, Pa, just finish what you started. If you do the noble thing and save the women, I just know we’ll be okay, too. Have faith, Pa.”
  
 Looking at the boy’s face, Ben knew he meant every word he said.  Joseph didn’t even look frightened anymore, he was quite calm.
 
  Ben helped Melissa slide out from behind Joe and carefully placed the piece of wood behind the young man to prevent his head from going under the water.  Ben raised the girl to her feet and with a firm arm around her waist, he helped her to the window.  Being careful of her broken leg, he lifted her up.  Melissa, like Theresa before her, was astonished that he lifted her quite effortlessly.  Of course, Joe had told her and Carolyn how hard his father had worked all of his life building their ranch, so she shouldn’t have been surprised.  Melissa reached up and the older sisters reached down and grabbed her and pulled her out of the car.  Now all four sisters were out and just needed to get off of the dangerously slick car and back on solid ground before it slipped further into the river.
    
Carefully crawling their way back towards the shore, the sisters slowly made progress and at last slid off of the top of the train and into the edge of the river. Helping each other, they soon were all on dry land, exhausted, injured, but alive and safe for now. Moments after the girls collapsed on the shore, the train again shifted and went a little deeper into the water.  The sisters were terrified for their benefactors back in the train.  

    Inside the train, the latest shifting caused Ben to lose his footing and fall.  He heard the rush of additional water entering the car and tried desperately to reach his son before more water could cover the young man.  The movement of the train again came to a standstill and Ben scrambled over to Joe.  He was horrified to find the boy had slipped from the board placed behind his back and was now completely immersed in the icy water and struggling to reach the surface so he could breathe. Ben tried desperately to pull the boy up enough to catch a breath of air, but it was useless, he couldn’t do it. Tears streamed down his face as he helplessly watched his youngest son’s struggle to live.  
  
 Suddenly there was a voice beside him saying, “Hurry, let’s get this wreckage off the boy! Come on, we can do it!”
  
 Ben didn’t try to figure out who the man was or where he came from, he just joined the stranger and they both grabbed the large piece of debris pinning Joe in the water and with a rush of adrenaline, pulled it off of the boy’s legs.
  
 As soon as Joe was free, Ben rushed to the no longer struggling young man and pulled him from the water.  Ben was devastated to realize that his son didn’t appear to be breathing. In the dim light remaining in the train, Ben could see that the boy’s face was a frightening shade of blue.  
  
 “No!” Ben screamed out in anguish. “Joseph, don’t leave me!  I can’t go on without you!”  Ben grabbed the boy up in his arms and held him to his chest and wept.  He couldn’t bear the loss of his youngest son.  He couldn’t let him go, there must be something he could do.
  
 Acting purely on instinct, the father bent over his son and putting his mouth to the boy’s, breathed into his mouth. He repeated this several times while begging his son to stay with him, when suddenly  Joe coughed and water spewed from his lungs and mouth.  Ben held him close again and lifting his eyes heavenward, he whispered a prayer of gratitude.
    
The man beside Ben quietly asked, “How did you know to do that?  I’ve never seen anything like it.”
    
Ben looked at him and said, “I have no idea. Something just told me to breathe for my son and I did.”
    
The man shook his head in wonder and then they felt another small movement of the train. “We better get out of here,” the stranger told Ben.
  
Ben stood and picked his son up in his arms.  The other man walked over to the broken window and quickly scrambled up the pile of wreckage, grabbed the edges of the opening and pulled himself out.
  
 “Hand me the boy,” he yelled down to Ben.
  
 “Joseph, we’re going to need your help here.  I’ll lift you up, but you have to stretch your arms as high as you can so the man can reach you.  Can you do that for me?” Ben explained.
 
  Joe nodded his head tiredly and slowly reached towards the man who had helped save his life.  The man was very strong and soon had Joe safely out of the train.  Within seconds, Ben had climbed up and pulled himself out to join the others.  
  
 The car slipped yet again and Ben pulled Joe close; the three quickly followed the path the sisters had taken earlier, jumped into the water at the edge of the river and then crawled ashore.  They lay trying to catch their breath and turned back to look as the river finally won the battle and claimed its prize, dragging the car further into the current.  They all understood that but for the grace of God, it would have been their final resting place.    
    
Ben sat there contemplating their close call for a few moments and finally turned to their rescuer and held out his hand, “My name is Ben Cartwright and this is my son, Joseph.  I can’t thank you enough for coming along when you did. You saved our lives.”
  
 The man slowly reached out and took Ben’s hand, “My name is Collin Gibson and I’m just glad I got here in time to help.”  Collin quickly shook Ben’s hand, but was unable to look the man in the eye.  He was indeed grateful that he had been able to get there in time to save the man and his son, but the guilt he felt at his part in causing the accident was overwhelming.
    
    After resting and catching their breath for a short time, they decided they had better see about setting up a camp site since it was now quickly becoming quite dark and it didn’t look as if a rescue party would be showing up tonight.  
  
 Collin helped Ben get Little Joe over to the tree that the four girls were resting beneath and then he found some matches in his saddlebag and he started a fire to help everyone to dry out and regain some warmth in their bodies.  He only had two blankets in his bedroll, so Collin let the sisters have one to share and gave the other one to Ben and Joe to cover up with.  
  
 As Ben settled under the blanket with his son held close, Joe looked up at him with a small smile and said quietly, “See Pa, I told you if you did the right thing and saved the girls, that we would be okay.  I was right, wasn’t I?”
  
 Ben smiled back at the young man and gently ruffled his hair, “Yeah Son, you were right.  I’m proud of you for the faith you showed and for making me do the right thing. You’re becoming quite a man, you know that, don’t you?”
    
“Thanks Pa, it means a lot to me, hearing you say that. Now maybe you’ll listen to me more often,” Joe said as he snuggled closer to his father’s side, still trying to warm up from the cold that permeated his body.  
  
 Ben chuckled softly, and pulled the young man that he loved more than life itself just a little bit closer.  He had come so close to losing him and was extremely grateful to still have him with him.  To lose one of his sons would be more than he could ever recover from.
    
    After he had everyone settled as comfortably as possible with the meager supplies, Collin said, “I wish I had something in my saddle bags for you to eat, but I’m afraid there isn’t anything.”
 
  “That’s all right,” Ben said.  “You’ve done more than enough for us already.”
  
 “Yeah,” Theresa chimed in, “I doubt if any of us are really hungry anyway after all that has happened.  I know I’m not.”
  
 The others murmured their agreement with the girl and expressed further gratitude to Collin for arriving in time to save the two Cartwrights and then taking care of everyone and getting a fire going. Collin felt even guiltier when they were all so nice to him and thanking him.  
  
 Soon the weary, bandaged survivors were dozing.  They were exhausted from their ordeal and fell into sleep easily, too tired at the moment to even think much about the pain their broken and bruised bodies were feeling.  The sisters were huddled together under the blanket Collin had given them and Ben had Joe pulled close to him under the blanket they were using, hoping they would draw warmth from each other after their experience of sitting for several hours in the icy water.

    Hours later, Collin was lightly sleeping when he was awakened by a sound. He wasn’t sure just what it was that had disturbed him, so he listened for a few moments until he heard it again.  It was coughing and it was coming from one of the injured people.  
    
He got up and approached the girls, trying to see which one was coughing.  He studied them for a few moments, but when there was no sign of undue distress from any of the four, he moved over to Ben and Joe to check on them.  As he reached them, he heard the coughing again.  It was coming from the father and it was getting deeper.  Collin reached down and touched the man’s forehead and was dismayed to find him quite warm and yet shivering.  He then touched Joe’s forehead to make sure he wasn’t ill also and found the young man slightly warm, but not to the extent that his father was. They had left Ben’s suit coat in the train in their hurry to get out, so Collin removed his jacket and gently covered the man.  He then fetched his canteen and holding Ben’s head up, gave him some water to drink, hoping to ease the coughing.  
  
 “Thanks,” Ben whispered.  Then he looked down at his son to make sure he was all right.  The boy was sleeping deeply.
  
 Collin saw the man’s concern for his son and said quietly, “I checked. He’s a little warm, but is sleeping peacefully for now.  Don’t worry about him, you just concentrate on getting yourself better.”     
  
 Ben nodded and didn’t tell Collin that asking him not to worry about Little Joe was like asking him not to breathe.  

    By the time the first glow of dawn began to lighten the horizon, Collin was becoming quite concerned with his little band of injured people.  All of them had alternately moaned with pain throughout the night.  Ben’s coughing was worse, Joe had begun to cough a little and the wound on his chest was seeping through the bandage again and it appeared that infection was beginning to set in. Collin noticed that a few of the cuts on the girls were beginning to fester also and Deborah was beginning to have a little trouble catching her breath; Collin feared that her broken ribs were puncturing a lung.  Theresa couldn’t even move her arm at all anymore because of the pain of the dislocation and the younger girls were experiencing deep pain in their broken limbs.  
    
Collin did his best to tighten bandages and splints once again. There was one problem Collin thought he could fix and that was Theresa’s dislocated shoulder.  He approached the young lady and explained that he could pop her shoulder back into place if she would allow it.  She nodded her assent.
    
“I have to warn you though,” Collin explained, “this will hurt like the devil while I’m doing it, but a lot of your pain will ease once it’s back in place.  I think I need to try to ride for some help though, and if we can fix you up a little, you can watch over the others while I’m gone. So, do you still want me to do it?”
  
 “Yes, I can take the pain for a minute, especially if it will be better once you’ve done it. Go ahead,” Theresa answered the young man.
  
 She braced herself for the pain, and Collin jerked the shoulder into place as quickly as he could.  Theresa couldn’t help but cry out, but within minutes, she was feeling much better.  The shoulder was still sore, but at least she could move it a little bit now and the pain had eased to a dull ache.  The pain in her back had become minimal some time ago.  She felt she would now be able to take care of the others while Collin rode after the help they so desperately needed.
 
  Before leaving, Collin made sure his canteen was filled with fresh water from the river.  Theresa would need it in caring for the others, especially Ben and Joe, whose fevers were in need of cooling down.  
 
  Theresa walked Collin to his horse when he was ready to head out.  He knew that he could ride away and never look back. No one would ever find out what he had done and he would not be held accountable for the crime he had committed.  He looked over at the sick and wounded passengers and then looked into the lovely eyes of Theresa and saw the trust she held there that he would bring back the help they needed.  He knew then that he would indeed come back.  He could not let these people die because of something he had done.

    After the young man rode off in search of help, Theresa turned back to the others.  She made sure her sisters were all resting as comfortably as possible.  She didn’t like the slight rasp in Deborah’s breathing, but after giving her some water, the oldest sister drifted back to sleep.  Theresa then went over to the two Cartwrights.  She was worried about the heat pouring from the older man’s body and wanted to do what she could to cool him down a little.  She dampened a cloth torn from what was left of her petticoat and gently wiped the man’s forehead and arms, trying to cool the heat.  
  
 She then turned to Little Joe.  He wasn’t as hot as his father, but he did have a fever.  Theresa also wiped the boy’s forehead with cool water.  She undid the bandage on the young man’s abdomen and did her best to clean out the wound there.  She went down to the river’s edge and cleaned the bandage as best she could, then carefully re-covered the gash.  
  
 Ben had woken up and watched as the girl had tenderly taken care of his son and he was touched. When Theresa came back over to him to again cool his forehead, he said softly, “Thank you for all you’re doing. I’m very grateful.  That boy means everything to me and I’m appreciative that you’re watching over him for me even though you are injured yourself.”
  
 Theresa answered the man saying, “It’s the least I can do, Ben. If not for your son insisting you get us out and you doing as he asked, my sisters and I would have died in that train. I just hope help arrives soon so that everyone will survive.”
 
  Ben reached out and gently stroked the young lady’s arm in comfort, “Have faith, Theresa. Help will get here soon.  I’m sure of it. It has to.”  Then he fell back into a light sleep.

    The hours passed slowly and Theresa continued vigilantly taking care of the injured. She was becoming quite tired but she refused to close her eyes and rest, even for a short time.
    
The younger sisters woke up and were now feeling hungry, but they knew there was nothing to eat and didn’t complain.  However, as Theresa was giving them water and again making sure their splints were tight, she heard Carolyn’s stomach growling.  
  
 “Are you hungry, Baby Sis?” she asked.
    
“No, I’m fine, Theresa.  Really, don’t fret about me,” Carolyn answered.
  
 “You never could lie to me, Carolyn,” Theresa then looked to Melissa and asked her, “What about you, Little Sister.  Are you hungry, too?”
  
 She shook her head and told her sister, “Don’t worry about us, Big Sis, just take care of Deborah and the Cartwrights.”
 
  Theresa was proud of the way the younger girls were being so brave in a frightening situation, but they hadn’t eaten since the day before and she decided to look around and try to find something to feed them.  She was careful not to wander too far away, and luck was with her.  She found a bush laden with blueberries just a short distance into the trees. She removed the bonnet that was hanging down her back and quickly filled it with as many of the berries as it would hold and hurried back to the campsite.
 
  When she came out of the trees, she saw that her little sisters had moved over closer to the others. Carolyn was holding Little Joe’s hand and Melissa was holding Deborah’s.  It looked like the girls were singing.  As Theresa moved closer, she could hear them singing one of their favorite songs from childhood, a song they had learned in Sunday School.  She listened as they tried to bring comfort to the others with their sweet, pure voices--
    
Heavenly Father, are you really there?
    And do you hear and answer every child’s prayer?
    Some say that heaven is far away
    But I feel it close around me as I pray.
    Heavenly Father, I remember now
    Something that Jesus told disciples long ago:
    “Suffer the children to come to me.”
    Father in prayer I’m coming now to thee.

    Theresa stepped up close to the small group and began singing the second verse, the one that the adults usually sang in church after the children would finish their part. After the first couple of words, Deborah did her best to join her, singing quietly.
  
 Pray, He is there;
    Speak, He is listening.
    You are His child;
    His love now surrounds you.
    He hears your prayer;
    He loves the children.
    Of such is the kingdom.
    The kingdom of heav’n.

    The girls then sang the two verses together, blending in perfect harmony.  When they had finished, Ben Cartwright had tears in his eyes and Joe was looking at the girls in wonder.
  
“That was lovely,” Ben told them, “and somehow it brought me comfort and made me feel much better.”  He smiled at the girls.
    
Joe then spoke up, “Yes, it was very nice. But I don’t understand something in the song.  It mentioned Jesus, but I always thought that Mormons didn’t believe in Christ.”
  
 “Joseph!” Ben whispered, trying to stop his son.
  
 “No, it’s all right, Mr. Cartwright, we don’t mind answering,” Melissa said.  “Joe, we very much believe in Christ.  The actual name of our Church contains his name--the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  That’s why we can’t understand why so many people think we don’t believe.”
 
  “Wow, that’s another thing I never knew about your people.  I think from now on I’ll study something myself before automatically believing what others say,” Joe said.
 
  “Well, Joe,” Ben said, “as bad as this trip has turned out, I’m glad that you at least learned something from it,” then he turned to Theresa, “Young Lady, I’m feeling some better and you look like you could use some sleep.  Why don’t you rest while I look after everyone for a little bit?”
 
   Theresa reached out and touched Ben’s forehead, “Ben, I’ll admit you aren’t as hot as you were before, but you do still have a fever. I think I better stay up and take care of everyone, including you.”
    
Ben wouldn’t take no for an answer though and insisted that the exhausted girl lay down by Deborah and take a nap. Theresa handed the bonnet full of berries to the others and gave in to her exhaustion.
    
    Ben had been tending to the others for a while when he noticed something moving in the grass a little ways off.  He slowly got to his feet and went to investigate.  He was surprised at what he found.
  
 “Carolyn!” he called back towards the camp site, “Can you come help me?”
  
 The youngest girl made her way over to Mr. Cartwright as quickly as she could, cradling her broken arm carefully against her body.  She also was surprised at what she saw.
 
  “Who is he?” she asked, seeing a man in the weeds, struggling to rise to his knees.
 
  Ben was helping the man get to his feet.  He couldn’t stand alone, so using her good arm, Carolyn got on the other side of the man and helped Ben slowly move him near the others and then lay him gently on the ground.  
  
 “I’m not positive, Carolyn, but I think he’s the conductor from the train,” Ben answered, while holding the canteen to the man’s mouth so that he could drink.  He had only seen the conductor for a few moments when he first boarded, so he couldn’t be sure it was him beneath the dirt covering the man’s face.     
  
 After he had satiated his thirst, the man looked at Ben and said weakly, “You’re right, I am the conductor.  I woke up under some bushes last night and I saw the light from your fire.  I couldn’t get to my feet, too weak, but I’ve been crawling towards the fire ever since, of course having to stop to rest quite often.”
  
 Ben was amazed. They had been granted yet another miracle.  Another person, who by all rights should be dead, was still very much alive.  Now he only hoped that help would arrive soon, before night fall if possible.   He was beginning to feel feverish again, but was determined to stay awake and look after his son and the others.
    
    Ben was relieved and very grateful, when a few hours later, Collin finally returned.  What was even better was that he had brought with him two wagons and some men to help get everyone to the nearest town, where they could get some help.      
    
Ben was even more gratified when one of the men was introduced to him as Dr. Stephens.  Now everyone would get the care they needed.  
  
Dr. Stephens went right to work on the wounded.  After looking everyone over, he determined that the gash on Little Joe’s abdomen needed the most urgent care.  He wasn’t happy with the less than sanitary conditions he would be forced to work in, but there was no choice.
 
  He carefully cleaned the wound out with the antiseptic he had brought with him in his black bag.  He then threaded a needle in preparation for the stitches he would need to take.  The doctor didn’t have anything to give Joe to knock him out for the procedure, but luckily one of the other men who had come to help, had brought a bottle of whiskey along.
 
 Ben sat next to Joe and said, “Well, Son, looks like you’re finally going to get that whiskey you were wanting yesterday.”
    
Joe smiled weakly at his father, a little fearful of what was to come, and said, “Well, this isn’t exactly the way I wanted to have my first strong drink, Pa, but I’ll take what I can get.”
  
 Ben smiled back at the young man and holding the boy’s head up, brought the bottle to Joe’s lips so that he could take a large swallow.  As the burning alcohol went down Joe’s throat, he began to cough and sputter.
  
 “Dang Pa, that stuff’s awful!  Why would anyone want to drink it?  Think I’ll stick with beer from now on.”
    “
Yeah, it is pretty bad your first time, Son, but you need to take some more,” Ben answered.
    
When the doctor decided Joe had enough whiskey in him to dull the pain of what he was about to do, he turned to Ben, “I want you to hold the boy as still as you can while I do this.  While the pain is deadened some, and he’s lightheaded, he will still feel this.”
    
 Ben carefully pulled Joe up against his chest to hold him still.  He wrapped both arms around him and whispered words of comfort the entire time the doctor was stitching.  Joe winced in pain as the doctor first stitched the inner layer of muscle back together.  Joe tried his best to be tough, but he had to cry out a couple of times while the doctor was working.
  
 It brought tears to Ben’s eyes to see Joe in so much anguish and to watch a needle go in and out of the boy’s muscle and then skin.  The doctor worked as quickly as he could in order to end the young man’s pain as soon as possible, but he also wanted to do his best so that the wound would heal properly, so quickly wasn’t fast enough for Ben and Joe.  
  
 Finally, Ben felt Joe relax in his arms as the boy passed out from the pain.  He continued to hold him close, because even though Joe was no longer aware of him, it brought Ben comfort to hold Joe, knowing that now that he had a doctor’s care, he would most likely fully recover.
    
After the doctor had Joe stitched, bandaged and resting as comfortably as possible, he turned to helping the others.  He examined Deborah and determined that while two of her ribs were indeed broken, she didn’t have a punctured lung.  One of the ribs was putting pressure on her lung and that was causing the difficulty in breathing.  The doctor manipulated the ribs back into their rightful place and the young lady was immediately able to breathe much easier.  He bound her ribs tightly to prevent them from moving again.
  
 The doctor then moved on to Carolyn and Melissa.  He tried handing them the whiskey bottle saying, “I need to set your bones, girls, so you will want to take a little bit of this whiskey so it doesn’t hurt quite as much.”
    
The girls both looked at the bottle and shook their heads, “We don’t drink, Doctor.  We can’t have alcohol at all. It’s against our religion.”
    
Deborah spoke up from her place on the ground, “Girls, it’s all right if a doctor gives it to you.  It’s sort of like taking medicine then, wouldn’t you agree, Doctor?”
    
“Of course.  This is to take some of the pain away, purely medicinal,” the doctor agreed.
  
 Both girls then looked to their other sister, Theresa and she also nodded her agreement.  Carolyn and Melissa decided that if their sisters and the doctor all thought that it was okay, then they would drink it.  They choked on it even more than Little Joe had, but they both managed to get some of it down their throats.
  
 Once the girls had enough to dull the pain, the doctor went to work setting their broken limbs.  He took care of Carolyn’s arm first.  She cried out in pain just as the bone snapped into place, then it was over and the doctor re-splinted the arm.  He then went to Melissa and repeated the procedure with her leg.  Once he was finished, the girls laid back, trying to catch their breath after the quick but painful settings.
  
 The doctor then examined the conductor, who had told them his name was Russ, and found that the man had a slight concussion and the wind had been knocked out of him when he was thrown from the train.  His legs were badly bruised from the fall and his ankle was sprained, but considering what he had been through, he was doing remarkably well.
  
 “All right,” Dr. Stephens said, “I have everyone as stable as possible, so let’s get them loaded in the wagons and back to Clearwater as quickly as we can. I don’t like the sound of the coughs on Mr. Cartwright and his son, and I want to have them settled in my clinic in a warm, clean bed before the sun goes down.”
  
 The men who had come with Collin quickly did as the doctor instructed, and helped Collin get everyone loaded in the wagons and covered with the blankets they had brought along.  
  
 The four sisters were put into one wagon, and Russ, Ben and Joe were loaded into the other and they were soon on their way, with a couple of the rescuers staying behind to look for the bodies of the two employees of the railroad who were still missing.
 
  Joe had awakened a short while after they had started on the trip back to civilization, and Ben explained to him what was going on.  “Don’t worry, Son.  We’ll be just fine now.  As soon as we get to this town they’re taking us to, I’ll have a wire sent to Adam and Hoss, letting them know we’re okay.  Once the doctor gives us the go ahead, I reckon we’ll have to decide whether to go on to Utah or go back home.”
  
 “Pa?” Joe asked, “Whichever place we go, do you mind if we don’t take a train?”
  
 Ben laughed and hugged the boy close, “Don’t worry, Joe, I’m with you. I don’t care to travel on a train again anytime soon either, so I promise that we won’t travel that way.”
    
Joe smiled and relaxed, happy that he wouldn’t have to take a trip like that again.

    As the wagons got closer and closer to Clearwater, Ben felt worse and worse.  He had managed to put his coughing, fever, and fatigue out of mind while he was needed to take care of the others, but it was coming back with a vengeance.      
    
When they at last reached the town, Ben was feeling quite awful.  The doctor’s small clinic couldn’t hold all seven patients, so it was decided that Ben and Joe, being the worst off, would be kept in the clinic and the four sisters and Russ would stay in the boarding house across the street.  The owner, Widow Spencer, who loved taking care of people, would look after all of the patients and the doctor would check in on them several times a day.
 
  By the time Ben and Joe were settled in their beds, Ben’s fever was very high and the cough came from deep in his chest.  Joe’s wound was aching and he still had a slight fever, but he was now faring better than Ben.  

    A few hours later, both patients were cleaned up and resting in clean, warm beds.  The doctor had given Ben some strong medicine, hoping to halt the progress of his illness.  Since Ben seemed to be sleeping as well as could be expected, the doctor decided to take a little nap on the cot he kept in the corner. It was there so that he could be near any patient he might be keeping overnight.  
  
 Late that night, Joe woke up and heard his father coughing.  Sitting up carefully and looking around, he saw the sleeping doctor and decided to check on his father himself.  Holding his hand over his injury to prevent any pulling on it, he slowly walked over to his father’s bed and poured him a glass of water.  Gently putting his hand behind Ben’s head, he lifted it enough to put the glass to his lips and let him drink.  He was surprised at the heat pouring off of the man.  He reached over to the bowl of water the doctor had on the nightstand next to the bed, and wringing out the cloth that was in it, softly wiped his father’s forehead with it, trying to cool the fire that was there.
  
 Joe sat lightly on the edge of Ben’s bed and continued rinsing out the cloth and washing his pa’s forehead, neck and arms over and over.  He felt guilty because he knew that the only reason his father was in this condition was because he had sat under him in the icy water for hours, trying to protect him as best he could. Joe figured that sitting up with his father the entire night and cooling him off was the least he owed the man who would do anything for him. Just as life would be meaningless for Ben if something happened to one of his sons, it would be just as meaningless for Joe if something happened to his father.

    When the doctor woke up with the light of dawn coming through the window, he was touched to see his younger patient next to his father’s bed.  At some point during the night, Joe had pulled a chair up close to Ben’s bed and apparently had fallen asleep.  His head was lying on the bed next to his father’s shoulder and one hand was resting on top of Ben’s hand, with the other hand lying on the bed clutching the cloth he had used on his father all night.   
 
  As Dr. Stephens reached out to check his fever, Ben’s eyes fluttered open.  The doctor was pleased to find that the temperature was much lower and the man’s eyes much clearer than they had been the night before.
  
 “Doc,”  Ben said quietly, “how is everyone and what’s my prognosis?”
  
 “They’re all going to be just fine, Ben and it looks like you made a big improvement during the night, so I would have to say you will recover fully also.  I’m embarrassed to say that it wasn’t due to me though.  I fell asleep. It was the work of your other doctor there,”  he said, indicating the sleeping young man.
  
 Ben glanced down and his eyes filled with tenderness at the sight of his son sleeping there.
    
Ben reached out and tenderly stroked the boy’s head and asked, “Doc, is this good for him?  He’s injured pretty badly himself.”
    
“Well, normally I would say no, it wasn’t good for him to be up all night like this, but in this case, I think maybe it was the best medicine for him,”  the doctor answered with a smile. “I do think it would be wise if I got him back in his bed now though.”
    
Ben gently shook the young man awake. “Pa?  How are you feeling?”  Joe asked sleepily.
  
“Much better, thanks to you, Joseph.  I remember being vaguely aware that you were cooling me off all night.  But now, the doc wants you back in bed and taking care of yourself, okay?”
    
Joe nodded his head and Dr. Stephens helped him climb back in the bed, being mindful of the stitches in his abdomen. Within moments, Joe was back asleep with a small smile on his face, knowing his father would be all right.

    A couple of days later, Ben and Joe were recovering nicely and the doctor brought them the news that their fellow passengers were also doing remarkably well.  In fact, Russ, Theresa and Carolyn were well rested and up and around.  Melissa was able to get around on crutches fairly well now and the doctor was very pleased at everyone’s progress.  He was also quite amazed.  He had seen what was left of the train wreckage and couldn’t believe this many people had survived it.
    
Dr. Stephens still had Deborah resting in bed to insure the ribs would remain in place and Ben and Joe were also still on bed rest, although all of them could sit up in a chair for a couple of hours a day now.  Ben still had a cough and even though Joe had never become as ill as his father, he still carried a cough as well.  It wasn’t as deep a cough as his father had when he was so ill, but it didn’t seem to be getting better.  On the other hand, the doctor was relieved that it didn’t get any worse either.
 
  Theresa, Melissa, and Carolyn spent most of their time helping to care for Deborah, but they also found time to come across the street and visit the two Cartwrights as often as the doctor would allow. Collin also visited all of the passengers quite often.  He was extremely relieved to see all of them recovering.    
 
  Ben had a wire sent to Hoss and Adam assuring them that both he and Joe were fine and well on their way to recovery and that they would return home just as soon as the doctor felt like they could safely travel.  The older sons sent a wire back saying that they would leave right away in order to bring their father and brother home, but Ben wrote back insisting that they stay and run the ranch, as there was no longer any danger to worry about.

    In another couple of days, both Ben and Deborah were also released by the doctor from constant bed rest.  Russ had been completely released by the doctor and had returned to his family in another town.  
    
Ben and all four of the sisters were sitting around the doctor’s office visiting with Joe when Collin suddenly ran in, full of excitement.
  
 “You’ll never guess what happened!  A wire came from a town downriver.  You won’t believe this, but the engineer and the man from the caboose were both found washed ashore just a couple of miles from each other.  Both of them are still alive! Can you believe the miracle of that?” Collin was overcome with gratitude that no one had died in the accident he had helped to cause.  
  
 Ben and the others all voiced their pleasure at the wonderful news. The passengers in the room were also thrilled that their fellow riders on the train had been found alive, but they were a little confused at the tremendous happiness and relief Collin was expressing.
  
 Ben was giving Collin a quizzical look when Dr. Stephens came in announcing that visiting hours were over and that his patients had all had enough excitement for the day. He had also heard the good news and was pleased, but he decided that now all of his patients could use some more rest.  
  
 As the sisters were leaving to return to their rooms across the street and Collin was leaving to go back to his hotel room, Ben called out to the man, “Collin, I’d like to speak with you for a moment, if you don’t mind.  Doc, I’m just going to step into the other room with Collin for a few moments, we need to talk privately.”
    
“All right, Ben,” the doctor agreed, “but only for a few minutes.  I want you back in bed, too.  You’ve had a lot of excitement and it’s getting late.”
    
Ben nodded his agreement to the doctor and then stepped into the other room with Collin.
  
 “What is it, Ben?” Collin asked.  He had seen the questioning look on Ben’s face and was afraid he knew where this conversation would lead.
  
 “Collin, how did you come to help me with Joe on the train that day?  You’ve been very solicitous in helping all of us.  Don’t get me wrong, we are all extremely grateful for all you’ve done, but it seems to me you have gone over and beyond what you needed to do.  Now, your happiness at the discovery of the other two people on the train, while understandable, also seems extreme.  I’m not sure exactly what is going on, but I have a feeling there is something you would desperately like to confide in me.  Am I wrong?” Ben asked.
  
 Collin hung his head and was quiet for a few moments.  When he looked back up at Ben, the older Cartwright was surprised to see tears in the man’s eyes. “Ben, it was my fault, all of it; the train leaving the tracks, crashing into the river, all of you almost dying; it was my fault and I am so sorry.”
  
  Ben didn’t know what to say at first.  He knew the young man had been holding in a secret that was heavily burdening him, but he didn’t know it would be this bad.
    
“I think maybe you’d better tell me about it, Collin.”
    
Collin was relieved to finally confess everything to someone.  He just hoped the man wouldn’t hate him when he was finished, for he had come to admire Ben greatly in the few days he had known him.  He told Ben all of it; the plan to rob the train of the gold one of his cohorts had heard was on it, putting the log across the tracks and then running when they saw what had happened.
 
 “I swear to you, Ben, we had no idea the train would leave the tracks like it did.  We thought the engineer would see the log and stop the train, that’s all.  The other two guys I was with convinced me that no one could have survived the crash and we all left.  I couldn’t put the guilt out of my mind though.  I had to go back and find out for sure if there were survivors or not.”
  
 “Thank goodness you did,” Ben said quietly. “My boy and I would both be dead now if you hadn’t come back.”
    
“Yes, sir, but you wouldn’t have been in that position in the first place if it hadn’t been for me and my friends,” Collin replied.
 
  Ben nodded his head and said, “What are you going to do now, Collin?  You could just keep your mouth shut and no one would ever know what happened.  Is that what you want?”
 
  Collin just looked at Ben with his mouth hanging open for a moment and then said in astonishment, “Aren’t you going to tell anyone what I’ve done?”
 
  “No, Collin, I’m not.  I’m going to leave that up to you.  If you think you can live with the guilt, then you have my blessing to walk out that door and it will never be mentioned again. If you are the kind of man I suspect you are, then I think you will walk over to the sheriff’s office and tell him what you just told me.  It’s your choice though.”
  
 Collin couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  He had never met a man like Ben Cartwright before.  He knew what he must do now.  This man was confident that he would do the right thing and that is exactly what he intended to do.  He reached out his hand to Ben and the older man reached out and took it.  The men looked at each other and shook hands without another word,  then Collin turned and left the room, heading for the sheriff’s office.

    The next morning the sheriff came to see Ben and tell him what was going on with Collin. “He came forward on his own, confessed everything and even told us the place where  he parted company with his fellow would-be bandits.  I’ve sent wires to that town and any towns surrounding it and hopefully the two of them will be picked up soon also.”
  
“What’s going to happen to Collin, Sheriff?  Do you know?” Ben asked.
  
 “You like him, don’t you?” the sheriff asked in surprise.  
 
  Ben nodded.  He did like the young man, in spite of what he had done, there was something Ben respected about him and the fact that his conscience wouldn’t let him walk away from what he had done.     
    
“Well, then, I’ve explained the case to the judge here in town and you will be happy to know he thinks Collin will only have to serve a couple of years in prison.  He did confess and he did come back and rescue everyone from the train, then rode for help.  He will have to pay for his part in causing the accident in the first place, but the fact that no one died and that he had a great deal to do with that fact, should bode well for him,” the sheriff explained.  
  
 Ben was pleased.  He thought that Collin was a good man deep down inside and that after paying for his crime, he would walk the straight and narrow from that time on.
  
 The others were all understandably shocked when they heard about Collin, but all agreed that he deserved a light sentence, after having come back to rescue them.

    A couple of days later, the four sisters came to bid farewell to the two Cartwrights.  “Our aunt wired us that our uncle was on his way to come get us and take us to Utah.  He left a couple of days ago and arrived today.  We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning, so we wanted to come by and thank you again for all you did for us and to say good-bye.  I hope you’ll keep in touch with us,” said Deborah, handing Ben a piece of paper with the name of the town where they would be living from now on.
    
“Of course, we will,” Ben told the young ladies, “and you know where to reach us if you want to keep in touch, too. If you ever need anything, just write or send a wire.”
  
 After hugs all around, the four sisters left, hoping that one day they would see these new friends again.

    “Doctor,” Ben asked the next day, “do you think it would be all right for Little Joe and I to head for home now?”
  
 The doctor pondered for a moment and then said, “Well, his wound is healing nicely. I still don’t like that cough he doesn’t seem to be able to get rid of, but I think maybe being back home may be the best thing for him.  I’m not thrilled with his pale complexion, but maybe going home and getting some sun, will restore his healthy color. It’s warm enough that the weather won’t make his cough any worse and if you take things slowly, I think he can make the trip just fine.”
 
  Ben thanked the physician and then went to tell Joe the good news.  “Son, the doctor says we can go home.  What do you think about that?”
  
 Joe was sick of being in the doctor’s little clinic and was thrilled with the news.  His stomach had been hurting more than just at his wound area for the last couple of days, but he wasn’t about to tell his father this and chance having to stay here any longer.  He just wanted to go home.
  
 “That’s the best news I’ve had all day, Pa.  When can we leave?” Joe asked.
 
  “Well, I’m going to see about making arrangements on the stage and if everything works out, I hope to leave tomorrow.  So you just get some rest so the doctor doesn’t change his mind, you hear?”
  
 Joe nodded and obediently tried to take a nap.  He was too excited to sleep now, but he closed his eyes and let his father and the doctor think that he was dozing.  

    The next day, Joe and Ben were at last boarding the stage that would take them back to Virginia City.  Both of them were excited to get back home again after their harrowing ordeal.
    
They had been traveling for several hours and Joe was finding it more and more difficult to conceal the throbbing ache in his stomach that was becoming steadily worse. Every bump in the road was causing a pain to shoot through him like a hot poking iron, until finally he couldn’t keep in a moan when they hit a particularly deep rut.
    
“Joseph, are you all right, Son?” Ben asked worriedly.  The boy was looking much worse than he had when they left on this trip and he was beginning to think he had rushed his son into heading for home too soon.
  
 “I don’t know, it hurts, Pa,” Joe said quietly, wrapping his arms around his middle as he bent forward into the persistent throbbing.
  
 “Is it your stitches, Joe?” Ben put an arm around his son and looked at him with concern.
  
 “No, Pa, I think it’s something else.  I’ve some bad pains deep in my stomach, nowhere near the stitches.”
  
 “How long have you had this, Joseph?” Ben asked.
  
 Joe was afraid to answer that question. He knew his father would not like the answer. He considered lying about it, but he knew Ben could always see through his lies. “A couple of days, I guess,” he finally answered.
  
 “A couple of days?!  Why didn’t you say something?  Joseph, I don’t know what gets into you sometimes.”
  
 “I’m sorry, Pa, I just wanted to go home, so I didn’t say anything,” Joe answered miserably.  He rested his head on his father’s shoulder, trying to will the relentless ache away.  There was no doubt that it was getting worse though.
  
 Ben was surprised at the warmth he felt on his shoulder from his son.  The boy’s fever was back and his coughing had increased.  After days of no change in the cough, it finally decided to get worse instead of better, and now they were stuck in a stage, in the middle of nowhere.  There were no other passengers on this leg of the trip, so Ben had Joe stretch his legs out, making him as comfortable as possible.  
 
  For the next couple of hours, Joe dozed off and on against his father, occasionally moaning in his sleep.  Ben was growing more concerned as his son continued to sound and feel worse.
 
  What happened next nearly stopped Ben’s heart.  Joe had a fit of coughing and then suddenly threw up blood, staining the front of his shirt and even splattering his father’s clothing with the crimson liquid.  The smell of copper filled the inside of the stage and Ben’s blood ran cold.  The only time he had ever seen anyone cough up blood, the person had not lived more than a few hours.  
 
  Ben tried to get Joe to talk to him, but all the boy could manage was, “I’m sick, Pa. Help me,” and then the young man closed his eyes and drifted back into a fitful sleep.
  
 Ben leaned Joe against the seat and climbed out the window to the driver. “How long until we get to a town?” he shouted at the man, over the noise of the horses’ hooves.
  
 “A couple more hours, why?” the man yelled back.
  
 “My son is sick, he’s coughing up blood!  Is there anywhere you can divert the stage so I can get him to a doctor?” Ben pleaded.
  
 “I think there’s a doctor in a little town off the road a couple of miles.  The junction is coming up soon. We’ll stop there and see if we can get your boy some help,” the driver yelled to Ben.
 
  “Thanks,” Ben said gratefully and then crawled carefully back through the window to his very ill son.
  
 “Hang on, Joseph,” Ben said, again putting his arm around Joe and pulling him close.  He took off his neckerchief and tried to at least clean the blood off of Joe’s face.  The young man was trembling in his arms and Ben was worried that they wouldn’t get to the doctor in time. “We’re getting you to a doctor, Son, just stay with me,” Ben begged.  He couldn’t believe he was close to losing his son yet again.  Had they survived a train wreck only for the boy to become desperately ill?

    The stage driver drove the horses hard and within a short time they were pulling into the tiny town of Fallon.  It didn’t actually even qualify as a town to Ben’s eye, but just a little village.  He hoped that the driver was right and that this place did indeed have a doctor.
    
“I’ll find the doc for you,” the driver said as soon as they stopped.
    
Within just a few minutes, the driver was back with a man he introduced as Dr. Blake.  
The physician took one look at the boy in the stagecoach and said, “Hurry, let’s get your son to my office.”
    
Ben climbed from the stage and picking Joe up in his arms, quickly followed the doctor to a little cottage.  He carried Joe in and laid him on the bed the doctor indicated.  The man went right to work examining his patient.  He asked Ben questions as he worked and the older Cartwright explained about the train wreck and the injuries Joe had sustained.  
    
After a thorough examination, during which Joe never woke up, the doctor turned to Ben sadly and said, “I’m sorry, but there isn’t anything I can do for your boy.  Apparently, he was injured far worse in the accident than you or the other doctor knew.  I hear blood gurgling in his abdomen, meaning he has some kind of internal injury.  Didn’t you say he was buried under a lot of rubble for a time?”
    
Ben nodded, in shock, “Yes, he was.  We got off as much of it as we could, so that only his legs were left trapped, but yes, at first there was debris on his chest also.  He was immersed in water, too.”
  
 “Cold water?”
    
“Yes, why?” Ben asked.
    
“The cold water probably slowed the bleeding for a time, perhaps even stopped it.  That would explain why the doctor who treated your son didn’t discover this, although, I would have imagined that Joe was feeling some pain. As you traveled on the stage, it jostled him and reopened whatever is bleeding inside of him,” the doctor explained.
    
“Yes,” Ben said, “he mentioned a couple of hours ago that he had been feeling pain but didn’t mention it because he wanted to get home,”  Ben sat next to Joe, holding his hand with one of his hands and gently pushing back his son’s hair with the other, “Isn’t there anything you can do, Doc?  An operation or something?  I can’t just sit here and watch my son die,”  Ben said, with his voice full of sorrow and desperation.
    
“I’m sorry, I don’t have the knowledge or the equipment to perform the kind of surgery he needs.  Only a hospital would be able to help him and the nearest one is in Sacramento, over a hundred miles from here. I don’t think there is any way the boy would survive long enough to get there.”
    
“I have to try, Doc, I have no choice. I can’t let him go without at least trying. You don’t know what a fighter this kid is, he’s been through a lot of injuries in his short life and he’s always pulled through,” Ben said, desperately hoping for another miracle. He silently said a small prayer, Heavenly Father, you’ve granted us quite a few miracles in the last week, and I’m grateful.

I’d like to ask for just one more though, Lord, if you could see fit.  Please, keep my son alive until I can get him to the hospital. Thy will be done. In Jesus name, Amen.    
 
  The doctor said to Ben, “I’ll do my best to stabilize the boy for the trip. There really isn’t much I can do, but I’ll try.  The rest is in God’s hands.” Ben nodded his gratitude.  “The fastest way to get the boy there is going to be the train, you know.  You’ll have to take a wagon a few miles north where you’ll be able to connect with it at the mail depot. That’s the only chance you have of getting him there in time.”
  
 Ben worried for a moment about the promise he had made to Joe about not having to ride another train, but he knew that for the boy’s own good, he would be forced to break that promise.

    The doctor did his best to prepare Joe for the trip, but like he had told Ben, there really wasn’t much he could do.  He iced Joe down to lower the fever and hopefully slow down the bleeding, wherever it was coming from.  It had worked in the cold water of the river, so the doctor hoped that the ice would do the same thing. He prayed it would last long enough for the boy to get to a hospital where he might have a chance. The small town physician felt immense frustration at his inability to help his patient with the limited resources he possessed.  
  
 Ben finally gave in to exhaustion and was able to sleep for a couple of hours on the cot next to Joe’s bed.  The doctor had insisted that he lay down, knowing that the man would need all of his strength to get his son to a hospital as quickly as possible.

    When Ben awoke at the first light of dawn, he found that the kind citizens of this small town had already prepared everything for his trip.  A local farmer by the name of Bart had brought his wagon to the doctor’s office and had volunteered to drive Ben and Joe to the small mail stop that the train would make. Other residents had loaded the wagon with a mattress and blankets to cushion the injured boy and avoid jostling him as much as possible.  Some of the kindhearted women had packed food for Ben to take on the train, including a light broth for Joe.  Someone had even remembered to check to see what time the train came by that station in order to ensure that the Cartwrights were there on time.  Ben was grateful that the train was running again only a little more than a week after the wreck. Luckily the railroad owned other cars and engines and were able to get back on schedule after just a few days.  The wreckage was still being cleared, but the Central Pacific Railroad was back in business.
    
Ben and Dr. Blake carefully carried Joe out to the wagon and gently laid him on the mattress, covering him with a blanket. Ben was moved by all that the townsfolk had done for himself and his son, but when he tried to express his gratitude, they simply waved him off, saying it was nothing anyone wouldn’t have done.
  
 Ben climbed into the back of the wagon next to Little Joe and Bart started on the way to the train.  They had a leeway of a couple of hours to go the few miles, so Bart took it nice and slow, making sure not to cause undue pain to the boy behind him.  Ben held onto Joe’s hand the entire time, whispering to him to hang on, because he was getting him to the help he needed.  Joe would wake up from time to time and groggily answer Ben.  He was vaguely aware that they were on their way to seek help somewhere, but wasn’t certain of the details. Everything was so hazy to him; he didn’t fully understand what was happening and why he felt so terrible.
    
They reached the tiny depot a short while before the train arrived.  Joe was still lying in the back of the wagon with Ben next to him when he heard a sound that brought him fully awake for the first time since the day before.  It was the long loud whistle of a train, then the chug- chugging as it pulled in and finally, the long squeal of brakes, that made him catch his breath at the memories it invoked.  
  
 “Pa!” Joe said with rising panic, “Is that a train?  What are we doing near a train?”
  
 Ben tried to soothe the young man, but knew he had to tell him the truth, “Joseph, it’s all right. Please stay calm, you’ll hurt yourself.  Yes, that’s a train you hear. Listen to me, Son, we have no choice.  We have to get you to a hospital as quickly as possible and the only way to do that is to go by rail.”
  
 “No, Pa!  You promised. You said we wouldn’t go on a train again.  I can’t do it. What if it wrecks again? Please don’t make me do this,” Joe pleaded, as tears pooled in his agonized eyes.
  
 “Joseph, it will be fine, I promise.  Figure the odds of another train we are on crashing again so soon.  It just isn’t logical,” Ben explained.
  
 “You sound like Adam now, Pa.  I know that makes sense, but I still don’t want to do it,” Joe said.
  
 Ben sighed, “I’ll be honest with you and tell you that I am not exactly thrilled with the idea right now either, but in order to get you better, I’m willing to overcome my fright and get on this train. Now, will you do the same thing for me?  Will you overcome your fear so that we can get to the hospital?  For me?”
  
 Joe looked into his father’s eyes and knew the man had won.  He would get on the train because his father asked him to; he trusted his father when he said they would be all right. “Yes Pa, I’ll do it.  I still don’t like it, but I’ll do it,” he said quietly.
  
 “Thank you, Son,” Ben said with relief, gently straightening the blankets around Joe, and pushing back his hair from his face. The calmer Joe could be while on the train, the better it would be for the boy.
  
 Bart had disappeared for a while as Ben was trying to convince Joe that they had to ride the train. He came back and informed Ben, “I’ve talked with the conductor and made arrangements for you and the boy to ride to Sacramento.  I explained the circumstances, and the conductor agreed that we can load the mattress and blankets into the passenger car so that your son can ride as comfortably as possible.  He’s having a couple of seats removed right now so that we can fit the mattress in.”
  
 Ben said to Bart, “That’s very kind of you to arrange that and very considerate of the conductor to agree to it.  But won’t the person who leant us the mattress want it back tonight?”
  
 “Don’t worry none about that, Mr. Cartwright, it was Mrs. Gilbert who said you could borrow it and I know she won’t mind you taking it with you.  The conductor even said that he would see to it that it’s returned to this depot on the return trip, so that we can get it back to her,” Bart explained.
  
 “Well, it seems you’ve taken care of everything, Bart.  How can I ever thank you and the people of Fallon enough?”
  
 “Just get that boy well, Sir, that’s all any of us ask.  Now, let’s get him on this train, shall we?” Bart answered.
  
 Ben tenderly carried Joe over to a bench on the small station platform, while Bart and the conductor took the mattress, blankets and lunch, loading them into the space the conductor had made in the passenger car.  Bart came back, helped Ben get Joe up the steps into the car and then onto the makeshift bed.  Ben tucked the blankets back around Joe, then turned and shook hands with Bart, again thanking the man and asking him to thank the others of his town.
  
 Ben was grateful that all the activity of moving onto the train had exhausted  Little Joe and sent him back into a deep sleep.  He opted to sit next to his son on the mattress instead of in one of the seats.  He wanted to be close to the young man should he wake up, start having more pain, or Heaven forbid, start throwing up blood again.  
  
 The trip seemed long and arduous to Ben, even though they actually made good time.  There were no delays along the way and the trip went smoothly.  Fear for his son’s life made the trip seem like an unending nightmare to Ben though.  
  
 After traveling for a couple of hours, Joe woke up and Ben decided and try to get some of the broth down him to help him keep up his strength. He poured some of the clear liquid into a cup that had been thoughtfully provided and gently lifted Joe’s head and held the cup to his lips.  Joe took a couple of sips and then turned his head away.
  
 “I don’t want anymore, Pa,” he whispered.
  
 “All right, Son,” he answered, “just relax and try to rest.”  Joe seemed to be getting weaker by the minute and Ben was becoming even more concerned.  He couldn’t bring himself to let go of the boy; he needed to feel him breathing to assure himself that the young man was still with him.  Ben leaned back against the wall and kept his arm around Joe’s shoulders, holding him close for the rest of the trip and saying a silent prayer of thanks with each inhalation his son took.

    At long last, the train reached Sacramento.  Ben was wondering how he was going to get Joe to the hospital from the train, when one of his fellow passengers came to his rescue.
 
  “I have a buggy meeting me, Sir; if you will allow me, I’ll take you and your boy to the hospital,” the man said to Ben.
  
 Ben looked up at the man, again filled with gratitude for the kindness of strangers, “I would be obliged, Sir.  Thank you.”
  
 Ben picked up Little Joe and followed the man as he exited the passenger car and went out to his buggy.  Once they were settled, the stranger asked his driver to take them to the hospital.
  
 They arrived in short order and Ben climbed out of the buggy with Joe in his arms. He turned to thank the stranger who had brought them safely to the hospital, but the buggy was already pulling away.  “Good luck,” the stranger shouted back as they drove off.
  
 Ben was disappointed that he didn’t get to thank the kind stranger and worse, didn’t even get the man’s name.  He was heartened to learn in the last week, that there were still many people in the world who would willingly help others, expecting nothing in return.
    
    As Ben was starting towards the entrance to the hospital, Joe suddenly started gagging and then coughed up blood all over the front of his shirt, just as he had on the previous day.  Ben clutched his son a little closer and rushed into the medical building, shouting for help.
 
  “Please help me!  My son is coughing up blood!”
  
 A nurse rushed over, calling for a doctor.  As she was leading Ben over to a bed to lay Joe on, a young physician came up, took one look at the boy and had an orderly bring a stretcher over.
 
  “Put your son on this stretcher, Sir!  We need to get him into an examining room right away and find out what is causing this,” the doctor told Ben.
  
 Ben laid Joe on the stretcher and the doctor and orderly each picked up an end and started down the hall with Joe.  Ben started to follow, but the healer called back, “Stay here and fill out some papers with the nurse.  We need to know as much about what caused this as possible, so be thorough with the boy’s history.”
  
 Ben didn’t like letting Little Joe out of his sight, but he knew the doctor would need all of the details of the accident in order to give his son the best care possible.  He went to the nurse and together they filled out the necessary papers.  Once they were completed, the nurse took them down the hall to the physician, so he would know what they were facing.

    It was close to an hour later when the doctor finally emerged from Joe’s room and approached Ben with his diagnosis.
  
“Mr. Cartwright, first let me introduce myself. I’m Dr. Ferris. I’ve been examining Joseph and thanks to your thorough job of filling out the papers and the examination I’ve given him, I know there must be something bleeding internally in your son.  We haven’t been able to stop it and I’m afraid the only way we’ll even have a chance of getting it under control, is to do exploratory surgery on the boy.  Hopefully, once we get inside, we’ll be able to see what is causing it and repair it.  Time is of the essence, Mr. Cartwright.  I need your permission to take your son to surgery.”
  
 Ben had already been prepared for the probability of surgery by Dr. Blake back in Fallon, so he readily agreed to it.  He knew if anything else could have been done for Joseph, then Dr. Blake would have done it.  He didn’t like the idea of his son being cut open without the surgeon even being certain of what he was looking for, but there was no other option if he wanted Joe to have a chance of being healed.
 
  After Ben consented to the surgery, Dr. Ferris hurried to the operating room to try and save Little Joe’s life.

    The distraught father had been pacing in the waiting room for an hour when the nurse came up to him with a cup of coffee. “Mr. Cartwright, it will be several hours before they finish with your son.  Here, drink this, then why don’t you take a walk around the hospital.  I know it won’t take your mind off of your son, but at least maybe you can walk off some of the tension you must be feeling.”
  
 Ben took a sip of the steaming beverage and said, “Thank you, nurse, I appreciate the coffee, it’s really hitting the spot.  I couldn’t leave the waiting area though.  I want to be here if they send out any word on Little Joe.”
  
 “I promise you, Mr. Cartwright, I will come and find you if there is any information about your boy.  Now, please, finish your drink and then do yourself a favor and take a little walk,” she said kindly.
 
  Ben nodded as he sat down and finished drinking from the cup.  Perhaps he would take the nurse’s advice and walk around a little bit.  He was going stir crazy in the waiting room, wondering what was going on down the hall with his son.  
 
  A few minutes later, Ben had finished the coffee and he looked up to see the nurse returning to talk to him once again.
    
“Mr. Cartwright, I went to check on your son’s progress for you, so you wouldn’t feel guilty about going for a walk.  The doctor assured me that Joseph is holding up well during the operation thus far, but that it would certainly be several hours yet until they finish.”
 
  Ben appreciated the nurse’s kindness in getting that information for him and he agreed to take a short walk.

    Ben was walking down a hallway of the hospital when he heard the cry of a baby. He didn’t know why, but he followed the sound and discovered a small window through which he observed three very tiny babies lying in small cradles, being cared for by a nurse.  Another nurse walking by stopped for a moment and also looked in at the little people that were fighting for their lives.  
 
  Ben spoke to the nurse, “I didn’t realize I would find babies here in the hospital. I thought babies were always born in their parents’ homes.”
  
 “We don’t get many,” the nurse confided.  “The babies you find in a hospital are here because there was a problem.  As you can see, they are all quite small.  They were born much too early and are in need of constant care.  We  hope that they will survive and eventually be able to go home to their mothers and fathers, living long, normal lives.  Unfortunately, far too many babies born this early and this small don’t ever make it to that point.”
  
 “I see,” Ben said sadly.
  
 With a last look at the tiny babies, the nurse left to go back to her duties, leaving Ben with his thoughts.  
  
 Seeing the incredibly small infants transported Ben’s mind back to a time when he had seen another extremely tiny baby.  He would never forget the arrival of his youngest son seventeen years ago.  His child, like these in the hospital, had also decided to come early and when he came into the world, weakly crying, Ben couldn’t imagine how someone so small could possibly survive.  Since the youngest Cartwright had decided to enter the world a couple of months early, Ben had sent for Dr. Martin instead of the midwife they had originally planned on having deliver the child.
  
 Ben had stepped into his bedroom a few moments after hearing the child’s feeble cries and had been taken aback at how tiny he was.  The doctor handed Joseph to his father and turned to care for Marie.  After checking to be certain that Marie was doing well, Ben looked down at his newest son in wonder.  Except for being so small, the baby was perfect.  He had all of his fingers and all of his toes.  Ben didn’t want to show any partiality, but he thought that this child was his most beautiful at birth.  He had his mother’s coloring, a head full of dark curls, and the most intense green eyes that Ben had ever seen.  Ben’s heart swelled with love for this new life God had entrusted him with.  Each of the three times he had first held a newborn son, Ben had been amazed at the miracle of the entire process of bringing a child into the world.  A man could not doubt the existence of God when he was holding a new life in his hands.  
    
Although Ben had been frightened that his small son would not survive, his fears had been unfounded.  Everyone in the family, from Ben and Marie, to Adam, Hoss and Hop Sing, had lovingly nurtured the child.  It seemed that when Marie wasn’t nursing him, someone else was giving him a bottle.  The baby thrived on all of the love and attention he received and by the time he was a couple of months old, there was no doubt that he would make it.  
    
Ben had developed the habit, from the first night of Joseph’s life, of going in before he went to bed and checking on his son.  It started out as an assurance to himself that the baby was still breathing, but over time, it became a ritual that he enjoyed very much.  Sometimes when he would check on the baby, he wouldn’t be able to resist picking him up, snuggling him close and placing a gentle kiss on his head.  He loved the baby smell on the child, just as he had with his older two boys.  The wonder of creating a new life with a woman he loved never ceased to amaze Ben.  
    
As Little Joe continued to grow, he also continued to have problems.  He came down with every childhood disease there was, but after causing a scare for his family, he would rally and get well.  He also had numerous accidents with injuries throughout his life, which he always managed to recover from.  With every illness and injury, Ben would sit with his son through the night, watching over him and taking care of him.  He, along with his family and Dr. Martin, had brought Little Joe through every crisis of his life.
  
 This was the first time in memory that Ben hadn’t been right by Joe’s side while he went through a traumatic situation. It was tearing him up inside not knowing what was going on with the boy at this moment.
  
 Ben came out of his reverie and with a last look at the tiny newborns, continued his walk around the hospital.  As Ben turned down a different hallway, he came across another window, this time in a door.  The window had a cross etched into the glass and Ben was pleased to discover that he had found a chapel.  He opened the door and entered the small room.  There were only four short pews in the room and a small pulpit up front with a crucifix standing on it.  
    
Ben had a sudden feeling that he needed to pray immediately. He entered one of the pews and went down on his knees.  He folded his hands and said a heartfelt prayer for his son, pleading for his life, if the Lord were willing.  As he ended the prayer, a feeling of peace came over him.  He knew now, that live or die, his son would be just fine. Either the boy would recover completely and go home with his family or he would find eternal life without pain in the arms of the Lord.  Ben would let his faith in God carry him through the rest of this crisis.
    
As Ben exited the chapel a while later, he came across the waiting room nurse.
    
“Mr. Cartwright, I was looking for you.  Your son is out of surgery and if you will return to the waiting area, the doctor will be out to talk to you just as soon as he cleans up,” she told him.
  
 As Ben hurried back to the waiting room, he couldn’t help but think about the fact that what the doctor was cleaning off of himself, was his son’s lifeblood.  Ben tried to put that thought out of his mind as he made his way back to hear what the doctor had to say. He still had a prayer in his heart that the news he would receive would be good news.

    After what seemed like hours to Ben, but was really only minutes, the doctor came out to speak with him.  “Mr. Cartwright, your son made it through the surgery.  He had a damaged artery that was bleeding into his abdomen. His spleen was also ruptured and we had to remove it. It was touch and go for a while, we even thought we had lost him at one time.  Your son seems to be a fighter, though, and he came back to us.   He’s in the recovery room now.”
  
 Those words chilled Ben to the bone, more than the icy water on the train had. “Will he be all right, Dr. Ferris?  Is he going to make it?” Ben asked, hoping for an affirmative answer.
    
The doctor thought for a moment and then answered, “I honestly don’t know, Mr. Cartwright.  He’s made it this far and that in itself is encouraging.  However, the boy did lose an awful lot of blood and then we also face the risk of infection from the ruptured spleen and surgery.  The next few days will be critical. But as I said before, Joseph seems to be a fighter.  It’s up to him now.  Asking for some help from the Almighty wouldn’t hurt either.”
  
 “Believe me, Doctor, I’ve been doing that.  Thank you for all you’ve done for Joseph,” Ben said, shaking the man’s hand. “May I see him now?”
  
 “I think it would be all right if you sit with him for a while, but let him sleep, don’t try to wake him up.  It wouldn’t hurt if you tried to get a little sleep yourself, so I want you to promise me that you will only sit with him for a short while and then go to a hotel and get some real sleep.  There is a nice one just across the street that many of our patient’s families use,” the physician said helpfully.
 
  Ben avoided making a promise to the doctor by saying, “All right, Dr. Ferris, thank you.  I’ll check into the hotel as soon as possible.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to see my son.”
  
 With one last thank you, Ben followed the nurse to Joe’s room.  She showed him in and then discreetly left father and son alone.
 
  Ben walked over to Joe’s bed and took his son’s hand in his own.  It was cold to the touch and the boy was extremely pale, but Ben could see the rise and fall of Joe’s chest and knew that he was still with him.  The father sat down carefully on his son’s bed, grateful to be near him again.  He marveled at the way his youngest son had taken care of him during his night of illness a few days ago, when inside him, the boy had been gravely injured and must have been feeling pain at the time. Tears spilled down Ben’s cheeks as he wept for his son.  He would give anything to be the one in the bed fighting for life, instead of his boy. He stroked Joe’s cheeks, trying to will his warmth and strength into him.  
    
After a while, a nurse came in to check on Joe and told the older Cartwright that he would have to leave for a while.  Ben reluctantly released Joe’s hand and then leaned down and kissed the young man’s forehead.  With a pat to Joseph’s arm, he turned and departed from the room.
  
 Ben left word with the receptionist that he would be at the hotel across the street as the doctor had suggested, in case there was any change in Joe before he returned.  Then he walked to the entrance and stepped outside.
  
 He was surprised to see the sun shining.  At some point during his son’s surgery, another day had arrived.  Ben suddenly realized that he needed to find a telegraph office and inform Hoss and Adam of what had happened.  His older sons must be desperate with worry that he and Joe hadn’t made it home yet.
  
 He was given directions to the telegraph office and after sending the very late message, Ben went and checked into the hotel. He didn’t see how he would possibly sleep, with his son across the street in critical condition, but within moments of laying his head on the pillow, exhaustion took over and he fell into unconsciousness.  

    When Ben opened his eyes and looked at his pocket watch on the night stand, he was shocked to learn that he had slept five hours.  He quickly climbed out of bed and went over to the wash stand and cleaned up. He pulled his clothing back on and left his room.  He exited the hotel and crossed the street to the hospital.  He was a little concerned about how long he had been gone and kept telling himself that if anything had happened, the hospital staff would have sent someone to inform him.  
  
 After entering the medical building, he asked the nurse how his son was doing and was relieved to learn that Joe was still in stable, albeit critical, condition.  He still hadn’t awakened, but he hadn’t gotten any worse either.  
    
Ben thanked the nurse and went down the hall to Joe’s room. As he entered, he was aware of how quiet it was.  Joe was usually so full of energy and life, that it was unsettling to see him so still and silent for so long.
  
 Ben again took Little Joe’s hand in his and sat on the bed next to him.
    
“Joseph,” he said quietly, “it’s time to wake up now.  You’ve been sleeping long enough.”
  
 Joe stirred a little but remained asleep. Ben decided he would just sit and be with his son until he was ready to wake up.  He would talk to him once in a while and encourage him to open his eyes.  At last, after Ben had been visiting the boy for over an hour, Joe began to awaken.  His eyelids fluttered and finally, Joe opened his eyes and looked at his father with confusion.
  
 Joe tried to speak, but his throat was dry and all that came out was a dry raspy sound. Ben quickly poured him a glass of water and brought it over to him.  He held his head up a little and let Joe drink as much as he wanted.  At last, his thirst was sated and Ben laid Joe’s head back on the pillow.
    
“How do you feel, Son,” Ben asked solicitously.
    
“I’m not sure, Pa,” he whispered, looking around the room. “Where am I?”
  
 “You’re in a hospital, Joseph.  Don’t you remember?  You became ill on the trip home and we had to come to the hospital in Sacramento.”
  
 “I guess I remember a little. We rode on a train again, didn’t we?”  
  
 “I should have known you would remember that part of the trip,” Ben said with a small smile.
  
 “Pa?”
  
 “Yes, Son?”
  
 “What were you praying about earlier?” Joe asked his father.
  
 “When Joe?  I’ve said a few prayers in the last week or so,” Ben answered.
  
 “Not that long ago, Pa.  I saw you kneeling in what looked like a little church.  You had your hands folded on a pew in front of you, so I figured you were praying.”
  
 Ben was baffled by what Joe had told him.  The only time he had kneeled in a church to pray recently had been yesterday while Joe had been in surgery, so there was no way he could have seen him.
  
 “I was looking for you, Pa. I wanted to tell you good-bye,” Joe continued.
    
“Good-bye?  Where were you going, Joseph?” Ben asked, not certain he wanted to hear the answer.
    
“I don’t remember exactly, Pa.  I just know I was going to tell you good-bye, but I didn’t want to disturb you while you were praying.  Then I suddenly didn’t need to say good-bye anymore and I went out of the chapel.  Next thing I know, I wake up and you’re holding my hand.  Guess it was a dream, huh Pa?”
  
 Ben tried to regain the composure he had lost while Joe was explaining his dream before answering, “I’m not sure exactly what it was, Son.  You see, I really was in a chapel, kneeling and praying for you while the doctor was taking care of you.  I had gone in the chapel and then I suddenly had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to pray and pray right then.”
  
 Joe looked confused again, “But Pa, if I was in with the doctor, how could I have seen you in the chapel?  I don’t understand.  Did I die, Pa?”
  
 Ben didn’t even want to dwell on that possibility.  “No Joseph, you didn’t die.  You’re still here with me, aren’t you?”  He reached out and caressed the boy’s arm for a moment to assure himself that his son was still there and very much alive.  
  
 He now remembered the doctor mentioning something about almost losing Joe during the surgery and then the young man coming back to them. The thought of how close he had actually come to losing his youngest son caused Ben to tremble with fear, but then a feeling of gratitude overtook the trembling.  He said another silent prayer, this time thanking the Creator for returning his son to him.
 
  The soothing motion of Ben’s hand rubbing Joe’s arm, had the young man back asleep within just a few minutes. Ben continued to sit by his son, watching over him.  It comforted him to watch the rise and fall of Joe’s chest and to hear the soft wisp of breath as the boy exhaled.

    Ben was still sitting there a couple of hours later when a tray was brought in with Joe’s supper on it, just a simple meal of broth and tea, which is all the young man would be able to handle right now.  There was also another dish on the tray with a sandwich on it and a cup of coffee.
 
  “I’m Miss Isabelle Adams,” the nurse told Ben, “and I believe it’s time your son had something to eat.”
  
 Ben looked at the nurse and asked in surprise, “Is Joseph able to handle this solid food already?”
  
 “No Mr. Cartwright, only the broth and tea are for Joseph.  Woman’s intuition tells me you haven’t been eating since you brought your son in, so I slipped the sandwich and coffee on the tray for you.  Now, no argument, you eat every bite of that. You’ll need your strength to help take care of your son,” she told Ben.
  
 Ben smiled at her and said, “Yes ma’am, you’ll get no argument from me; and I thank you.”
  
 The nurse went over to Joe and began to wake him up so that he could eat.  He was still very groggy, but she did manage to get him alert enough to eat a little bit. Ben ate his supper as Miss Adams carefully spooned broth into Joe’s mouth.
    
After just a few spoonfuls of the liquid, Joe turned his face away, refusing any more.  The nurse was having none of that however, and said, “Oh no you don’t, Joseph.  I’ll tell you just like I told your Pa; you are going to eat this supper so you can get your strength back and I’ll take no argument from you.”
 
  Ben grinned at Joe and said, “You better do as she says Joe.  I think she means business.”
  
 “Darn right I do. Now, open your mouth, Joseph,” she told him.
  
 If she could tell his pa what to do, Joe figured he didn’t stand a chance with her, so he obediently opened his mouth and had a little more broth.  Miss Adams managed to get half of the nourishing liquid down Joe and several swallows of the tea as well.  At last, much to Joe’s relief, she seemed satisfied that he had enough and she allowed him to stop eating.      
    
She looked at Ben’s plate to see how he had done with his meal and Ben held it up saying, “Don’t look at me, Ma’am.  I ate every bite of mine.”
 
  She was pleased at how much each of the Cartwrights had eaten, so she gathered up the tray and left father and son alone once more.  Joe and Ben looked at each other, both amazed that the nurse had been able to make the other eat.
 
  Joe was still warm with fever, although not dangerously so, therefore Ben took a bowl of water and bathed his son’s face and arms, much as Joe had done for him when he had the fever a few nights ago. The coolness of the water soothed the heat and soon the boy was feeling drowsy again. Ben stayed with Joe until the young man had drifted back to sleep.  Then the same nurse came in and informed him that visiting hours were over and he would have to depart for the evening. Ben didn’t want to leave his son for the entire night, but he could tell that he wouldn’t be able to convince Nurse Adams that he should be allowed to stay.  He thanked her again for the supper she had brought him earlier and left.  
    
    The next morning, as Ben was leaving the hotel to return to the hospital, he was shocked to meet up with Hoss and Adam, who were just on their way into the entrance.
  
 After exchanging handshakes and hugs, Ben asked, “How in the world did you two get here so soon?  I just sent the wire yesterday telling you that Joseph was in the hospital here in Sacramento.”
    
“Well, Pa,” Adam said, “it wasn’t your wire that brought us here. As a matter of fact, we never saw your message.  We got one from a Dr. Blake in Fallon, telling us you were taking Joe to Sacramento for emergency surgery.  We started out right away and rode hard to get here.”
  
 “That’s right, Pa. Now tell us, how’s Little Joe?” Hoss asked anxiously.
 
  “He was stable last night, even managed to eat about half a bowl of broth. I was just on my way in to see him. He sure will be happy to see you two, come on,” Ben answered.
 
  They all walked into the hospital and straight to Joe’s room.  Ben didn’t see a nurse at the desk to stop the three of them from entering the room, so they all walked right in.  As they entered, they halted in surprise.  The bed was empty!
  
 Ben’s heart stopped for a moment and then began to race rapidly.  Where was his son?  Why hadn’t someone been sent to the hotel to get him?  He turned around and pushed past his other sons, going in search of a doctor or nurse who could tell him where his boy was.  Hoss and Adam followed him, frightened at the look they had seen on their father’s face and also wondering where their little brother could be.
    
Nurse Adams was back at her station now and Ben hurried to her, yelling frantically, “Where is my son?  Where’s Joseph, Miss Adams?”
  
 “Calm down, Mr. Cartwright.  Joseph is still with us, but he had to go in for a bit more surgery just a short time ago.  His fever shot up during the night and the doctor discovered he had serious infection in his abdomen.  He had to go in and try to drain the fluid from it, hoping that will help your son,” she informed him.
  
Ben and his sons did their best to calm down and trust that Joseph would make it through this latest crisis. They knew that Joe was in good hands, but were distressed that he was again in surgery.  
  
 “Why didn’t someone come and get me over at the hotel?” Ben asked her.
    
“I’m sorry about that, Mr. Cartwright.  We were busy tending to your son and just didn’t have an extra person on staff last night to send over.  Someone would have been to get you if you hadn’t come in soon.”
  
 Nodding his understanding, Ben, Hoss, and Adam went to sit down in the waiting room, hoping it wouldn’t be long before they had good news about Little Joe.  Ben didn’t think he could have stood another long wait while his son was being operated on if he hadn’t had his other sons there with him. He honestly thought he would have gone out of his mind with worry if he hadn’t had Adam and Hoss there, sitting and fretting beside him.

    Ben used the time waiting for word on Little Joe, to fill Adam and Hoss in on all that had happened to them since they had left on the train heading for Utah.  His two oldest sons had been told in a wire about the wreck and had read some of the details in the paper, but they were a little shocked to hear all of the particulars related by their father.  They knew that Ben and Joe had each been injured, but thought everything was fine since they were on their way home. Of course, Ben had assumed the same thing.  He had been taken completely by surprise when Joe had become weaker and then started coughing up blood.  The first surgery had taken it’s toll on the young man and now, waiting for the outcome of this second surgery, the father was beside himself with fear that his youngest son would succumb to his injuries.  He was grateful he had Adam and Hoss waiting with him this time, at least.  They didn’t speak much, they mostly prayed and worried, but they were there to offer moral support to each other.
    
When Dr. Ferris came into the waiting area, Ben wasn’t sure if he should be relieved that the surgery hadn’t taken as long this time or if he should be frightened that the doctor was already back.  All three Cartwrights stood and waited to hear what the doctor had to say.
  
 “Mr. Cartwright, I’m sorry we had to take Joseph back into surgery without informing you, but it was an emergency.  The boy’s fever had risen drastically and there was every indication that he was suffering from a serious infection.  I decided that the best course of action was to open Joe back up and drain the fluid that was building up.  It turned out to be the best decision because not only did we find the fluid from the infection, but also Joe was still bleeding slowly into his abdomen from a stitch that had come loose.  I repaired that also and now, we wait.”
    
Ben and his sons let all of this information sink in and then Ben finally asked, “We wait for how long?  When will we know if this worked?  Is Joseph going to be all right now?”
  
 This time the physician paused before answering, “I wish I could tell you that he will be just fine, Mr. Cartwright, but there is just no way of knowing at this point.  If Joe’s body can fight this setback, then hopefully he’ll pull through.”
    
“Hopefully?  Oh no, Doctor, I don’t want to hear a hopefully where my son is concerned.  You said before that he’s a fighter and he’s going to prove that to you.  Wait and see,” Ben stated adamantly, then turned and walked down the hall trying to get his emotions back under control.
  
 After his father had walked away, Hoss asked the doctor, “What do you think his chances are, Doc?  My pa is right, Little Joe is a fighter.  Don’t you believe he can fight this?”
  
 “As I said to your father, I hope he can.  Right now, to be perfectly honest with you, your little brother’s chances are fifty-fifty.  I wish I could give you better odds, but I would be fooling myself and I would be dishonest with your family, if I did that.  I’m sorry,” Dr. Ferris said.  “Tell your father you all will be able to take turns sitting with your brother once he is out of the recovery room and back in his room.”
  
 Adam spoke up then, “Doctor, this family won’t give up on Little Joe, so you just get ready to see him beat the odds.”
    
“I pray he will,” Dr. Ferris said quietly, “I pray he will.”  With that the doctor turned and went back to see to his patient.

    A short while later, the phycician decided that it would be all right if all three Cartwrights were allowed into the room to see Little Joe, at least for a little while. He was still unconscious, but they were all relieved just to be able to sit with him and see for themselves that he was still hanging on.  
    
Adam and Hoss were especially shocked at the sight of their little brother.  They thought that he looked much smaller than he had when they last saw him a couple of weeks ago; his face was almost as white as the pillow he was lying on, and his chest barely appeared to be moving with each breath the young man took.  
    
“Oh Pa,” Hoss said, with tears coming into his eyes, “he looks ...”
    
“Fine,”  Adam interrupted, “he looks like he’s going to be just fine.”  Adam had seen the look in his father’s eyes and didn’t want to add to his distress.  He was also hoping to make Hoss feel better, but he knew that no one in the room was fooled.  Little Joe was in serious condition and there was no denying that.
    
Hoss took his cue from Adam and said, “Yeah, he looks like he is going to wake up any minute and I know when he does he’s gonna get better right fast.”  Hoss’ and Adam’s eyes met and they made a silent agreement not to share with their father the odds the doctor had given on Little Joe’s recovery.  They figured he had enough to worry about without dwelling on the fact that Joe only had a fifty-fifty chance of getting better.
  
 “You two are right,” Ben said to his older sons, resolving to himself that he would rely on his faith in God and in Joe, in beating this, “Joe is going to be just fine.  There isn’t a doubt in my mind.  He had his chance to leave us several times in the past couple of weeks and he is still here.  So, we will take care of him and pray for him and before we know it, we will be taking him home again.”
 
  Ben then took Little Joe’s right hand in one of his hands and reached for Adam’s hand with the other.  Hoss took Joe’s other hand and reached for Adam’s with his left hand; the four Cartwrights stood silently together for a few minutes praying, absorbing strength from each other, and giving strength to one another.  They knew that no matter how difficult the next few days may be, they would be able to get through it together.

    The next couple of days were very trying on the family.  Joe continued to sleep, which worried his older brothers, but Ben, while of course concerned about his son, somehow had faith that the boy would recover, in time. When Hoss and Adam would worry, Ben would be the one to reassure them that their little brother would eventually wake up.  
    
Even Dr. Ferris wasn’t overly concerned about the fact that Joe still slept on.  “The sleep is just what he needs right now,” he explained, “while he is sleeping, his body is repairing itself.  Since the fever is remaining at a reasonable level and not rising like before the surgery, I am feeling more and more confident that we got the infection and the cause of it out of his system. Be patient, I feel like Joseph will wake up when he is good and ready.  Just keep spooning in the fluids as you’ve been doing and I am hopeful that the boy will recover.”
 
 Dr. Ferris was impressed with the care this family gave to its youngest member.  Someone was always with him.  At first it was almost always the father, but the other sons had eventually been able to persuade him that it would be best if they took turns taking care of Joe so that they all could keep up their strength.  The doctor had even given permission for the family to remain with Joe around the clock, since they were doing such a fine job with the boy’s care.
  
 Nurse Adams walked into Joe’s room late one night to find Hoss gently washing his little brother’s face.  
 
  “You’re very good at taking care of him,” she observed.
  
 “Ma’am, I’ve been taking care of him his entire life.  Only difference this time is, he’s so dad burned quiet!  I’m used to this kid fighting me every step of the way.  I’d give anything to hear him argue with me about now,” Hoss replied.
    
“Well, with the care your family has been giving him, I’m sure he’ll be awake and telling you off before you know it,” the nurse said kindly.
  
 “I surely hope you’re right, ma’am, I surely do,” Hoss answered.
  
 Nurse Adams patted Hoss gently on the arm and left him alone with his brother.
    
    A few hours later, the same nurse came in again and this time watched as Adam carefully spooned broth into Little Joe’s mouth for his breakfast.  This was actually quite a chore, as the boy was still unconscious.  Adam would gently open Joe’s mouth just enough to slip a straw between his lips. He would then pull a little broth into the straw and put it in Joe’s mouth and release it a little at a time.  The swallowing reflex then took over and Joe would manage to get some of it down his throat.  
    Nurse Adams was thinking that her job would be in danger if too many families took as good care of the patients as this family did.  She had a feeling that would never happen though. While most families did indeed help with the care of their loved ones, she seldom had a patient who was taken care of round the clock like young Joe Cartwright.

    As if in a long slow dream that seemed to never end, four days had passed and the doctor was beginning to get concerned.  At first, he had not been too worried, figuring the sleep was good for his patient and that it was giving his body a chance to heal.  Four days were too long, though.  Joe needed to come back around now and there was no sign that he was going to any time soon.
  
 All three Cartwrights were sitting with Joe during the fourth afternoon when there was a soft knock on the door. Adam opened the door and saw two men dressed in suits standing there.
 
  “Mr. Cartwright?” one of them asked.  “May we come in for a moment?  We’d like to see Joe and Ben Cartwright, if we may.”
 
  Adam stepped aside and allowed the men to enter.  He indicated his father and said, “That’s Ben Cartwright and that would be my little brother, Joe, in the bed.  I’m Adam Cartwright and this is my other brother, Hoss.”
 
  One of the men shook Adam’s hand and introduced himself, “My name is Jason Lawson and this is my friend, Ethan Reid.  I’m the bishop of the local congregation of the Mormon church and Ethan is my first counselor.  I received a wire from the Stafford sisters in Salt Lake City telling me of your son’s illness and asking me to check on him.”
  
 Adam and Hoss looked at Ben quizzically.  Ben told them, “I sent the girls that were on the train with us a wire a few days ago.  They had asked me to keep in touch with them, so I sent the wire telling them what is going on with Joseph right now and asked them to say a prayer for him.  They were sweet girls and I knew they wouldn’t hesitate to pray for your brother. I also sent a wire to Virginia City asking our friends there to say a prayer for Little Joe.”
  
 Bishop Lawson continued, “The Stafford sisters were members of my congregation until they moved a few weeks ago.  They wanted me to come and see if there is anything we can do for your family.”
  
 Ben was grateful that the young sisters had thought to ask someone to check on his son, but he could only think of one thing the gentlemen could do for the boy. 

“The only thing I can think of that you can do for my son, is to pray for him.  It seems that may be all that will help now. But I am confident that the prayers of so many will return Little Joe to me, healthy and happy again.”
  
 The Bishop nodded and said, “The wire from the girls did mention that you were a man of great faith.  If I may be so bold, Mr. Cartwright, I would like to ask you if Ethan and I may do something for your son.  You see, in our faith, we believe the scripture in the Bible that says that if any one is sick among you, let him call upon the elders of the church and let them pray for him and anoint him with oil and the prayer of faith will save the sick. Ethan and I are elders of our church, and we would be honored to give your son a blessing, if you will allow us.”
  
 “I’m touched that you would offer to do such a thing,” Ben said, “but you do realize that I am not a member of your church, don’t you?”
 
  “You don’t have to be a member of our church to partake of the blessings offered by God, Mr. Cartwright.  We all worship the same Heavenly Father. You only have to have faith in Him.”
  
“In that case,” Ben replied, “then it is I who would be honored to have you give my son a blessing.”
    
Ben nodded to Adam and Hoss to move aside so that the men could approach Little Joe in the bed.  Ethan pulled a small vial from his pocket and then turned to Ben.
  
 “I need your son’s full name, Sir.”
  
 “Joseph Francis Cartwright.”
    
Ethan nodded and then carefully poured a small drop of oil on the top of Joe’s head from the vial he had taken from his pocket. Both men then placed their hands on the top of Joe’s head and Ethan spoke first, “Joseph Francis Cartwright, by the power of the priesthood which I hold, I anoint you with oil that has been consecrated for the purpose of blessing the sick. I seal this anointing and do so in the name of Jesus Christ.”
    
Then Bishop Lawson began to speak, as both men kept their hands on Joe’s head, “Joseph Francis Cartwright, by the power of the priesthood which I hold, I offer this blessing.  May your body heal and may you find a return to the health you had before the accident.  Your faith and the faith of your family will be able to help restore your body to its former state.  May your doctors continue to be blessed with the wisdom and knowledge to correctly diagnose and treat your injuries.  Joseph, you and your father have found favor with our Heavenly Father by your willingness to help others at risk to yourselves and He will bless you for it. I seal this blessing in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
  
 “Amen,” the Cartwrights all said as the blessing ended. Each of the men had tears in their eyes from the Spirit they had felt in the room during the blessing.  Ethan and Jason shook hands with each of the Cartwrights and then quietly left the family alone with their youngest member.  
 
  “Pa,” Hoss said softly, “I’ve never felt anything quite like that in my life.  What was it?”
    
“I think we just felt the Holy Spirit in this room, Son.  It’s a powerful feeling, isn’t it?” Ben answered.
  
 “It sure is,” Hoss replied.
    
“Pa, Hoss, look!” Adam was standing next to Joe and called the rest of his family over to the bed.  Joe was stirring and looked like he was about to wake up at last.
    
Ben encouraged the boy to open his eyes. “Joseph, come on, you’ve been asleep for a long time, Son.  It’s time to wake up now.”
  
 “Come on, Little Brother, I’m about tired of doing all your chores; you open up them eyes,” Hoss said.
  
 “That’s right, Joe, we got so sick of doing your chores, that Hoss and I just rode on over here to Sacramento to get your lazy butt out of this bed!” Adam added.
  
 That did it for Joe.  He opened his eyes and said drowsily to his brothers, “Sorry, brothers, but I think I want to sleep just a little longer. You won’t mind doing my chores just a couple more days, will ya?”  
    
The three older members of the family smiled over the boy’s head, happy that he was at last speaking to them again.
  
Ben extended his hand over to Joe’s face and stroked his cheek gently, saying, “Your brothers won’t mind doing your chores a few weeks more, Joe.  You just take your time catching up on your rest.”
 
  Joe smiled up at his father and replied, laughing slightly, “Thanks Pa. Well, it might be even longer than a few weeks; besides, I never really got that vacation we were going to take.”
 
  “Why you little...” Hoss started and then reached out and ruffled Joe’s hair affectionately.
    
“All right, Kid,” Adam added, “we’ll let you get away with that one...for now anyway.”
  
 The family was all so grateful to have Joe back with them that they would have granted him anything he asked at that moment.  It had been a long week.

    As the next few days passed, Joe continued to improve rapidly.  The doctor was almost as pleased with his progress as his family was.  Soon, it was practically impossible to keep the young man confined to bed, but the doctor insisted that he remain there, at least until his stitches were ready to be removed from his abdomen.
  
 Now family members had to constantly watch over Little Joe, not because he was sick in bed, but because he was still injured but wouldn’t remain in bed.  All of the Cartwrights were pleased to have Joe well on his way to recovery, but were becoming exhausted with trying to keep the boy from getting out of his bed.
    
“Joseph!” Ben said, as he entered Joe’s room one afternoon, “What do you think you’re doing?”  
  
 Joe was standing at the window looking out.
 
  “Did Dr. Ferris say you could get up?” Ben could tell by the guilty look on Joe’s face that the doctor had not given permission for Joe to get out of bed.  “No, you don’t even have to answer that.  I can see it on your face.  Now get yourself back in that bed, right now. You are really trying my patience the last couple of days, Joseph.”
 
  “Guess I’m not your favorite son anymore then, huh Pa?” Joe said with a grin.
    
That grin almost never failed to win Ben over, but he knew he must be firm with his youngest son, “I don’t have a favorite son, Young Man, and you know it. Now move.”
    
Wiping the grin from his face, Joe slowly went back to his bed.  “When can I get out of here, Pa?”
 
  “When the doctor says you can and not a moment sooner.  He doesn’t even want you out of bed yet, let alone out of the hospital,”  Ben came and sat next to Joe on his bed and took his hand in his, “Joseph, you were extremely ill. It’s going to take time to fully recover.  As the doctor told your brothers and I while you were still sleeping, have patience.”
    
“I’ll try, Pa, really I will,” Joe answered his father, squeezing the hand that was holding his.

    At last the day Joe had been waiting for arrived.  Dr. Ferris was removing his stitches and he would be allowed to get out of bed for short periods of time that would slowly be increased until he would finally be able to return home.  Joe was so excited, that he could barely sit still.
  
 “Hey, Doc,” Joe said, “I had whiskey to get some of those stitches put in. I think I should get some to have them taken out too, don’t you?”
  
 The doctor just shook his head at the boy with a slight smile, as Ben hissed at him to be quiet.    
 
  The entire family was in the room as the doctor went to work, snipping each stitch and gently pulling it out of Joe’s skin.  The young man would wince a little as each one came lose, but he didn’t complain.  He was just happy that they were finally coming out, so that he could get around a little again.  After the last stitch was removed, the doctor carefully put a bandage back over the wounds, the earlier one over Joe’s rib, as well as the two from his surgeries, so that the incisions could finish healing properly.
    
Joe then wasted no time climbing out of bed and walking around the room a little bit. “This feels great!  Can I leave my room now?”
    
“Maybe a little later,” Dr. Ferris said, “why don’t you start with spending a little time out of bed, but in your room, and then tomorrow we’ll see about letting you walk around the halls a bit, all right?  You’re going to find that you’re a lot weaker than you realize, Joe. So take it slowly at first.”
 
  “I will, Doc, don’t worry,” Joe answered, just happy not to be ordered back to bed.

    A little while later, Joe found himself alone in his room, something that hadn’t occurred much lately.  Just as he was thinking he might try to sneak out for a bit, Nurse Adams came in with his dinner tray.  When she handed it to him, he was pleased to see that it no longer held just broth and tea. He had moved up to soft foods at last.
    
“Wow, thanks Miss Adams, this looks great!” Joe said happily.
    
“Well, I’m going out for a nice dinner tonight, so I thought maybe you would like a nicer dinner, too, and the doctor did say it’s okay.”
  
 Joe smiled at the nurse and said, “Nice dinner out, huh?  So, do you have a date?”  Joe had gotten close to the nurse during the past few days and felt comfortable asking her such a personal question.
  
 “As a matter of fact, Joe, I do have a date--with your handsome big brother,” she said smugly.  “We spent a few nights talking while he was taking care of you and now that you’re better, he asked me to dinner.”
  
 Joe smiled; he liked the nurse and was happy that his brother was taking her out. “So, old Adam went and asked you out, huh?  Well, I’m glad.”
  
 “No, not Adam, I said your handsome big brother,” she answered.
  
 At that moment Hoss walked in and asked, “Well, Miss Isabelle, are you almost ready?”
 
  “I just need to go down and change and then I’ll be right with you, Hoss,” she said, and with a last smile at Joe, she turned and left the room to prepare for her date with Hoss.
  
 After she left, Joe was sitting there staring at Hoss with his mouth hanging open.  He was used to women considering Adam handsome and quite a few even thought of him as quite good looking, but somehow he just didn’t think of Hoss as a ladies’ man.  He was pleased though. He did think Nurse Adams was nice, and he was glad that she and Hoss had hit it off.  
    
As Hoss was waiting for Isabelle to return, he sat and visited with Joe.  There was a knock at the door and Ethan and Jacob came in.
 
  “We just wanted to see how you’re coming along, Joe,” they said.  “We had heard that you were recovering nicely and wanted to come by and tell you how happy we are about that. Also, I received another wire from the Stafford sisters and they wanted us to convey their happiness at your recovery also.”
 
  Joe had been told all about the men and the blessing they had given him and he was pleased to see them.  They visited for a while and when the men were ready to take their leave, Hoss said to them, “I just wanna thank you fellas for saving my little brother the other night.”
 
  Bishop Jacob Lawson looked at Hoss and said, “Hoss, we didn’t save your brother.  God and your family’s faith saved your little brother. We don’t have the power to save anyone, so you be sure to thank the One really responsible, you hear?”
  
 Hoss nodded his understanding and said, “Believe me, Bishop, we’ve been doing plenty of that.”
    
    Finally, almost a week later, the day the entire family had been waiting for arrived. It had become impossible to keep Joe in his room and the doctor had at last decided that he could be released from the hospital.  Dr. Ferris wanted the family to spend a couple of more days at the hotel before embarking on the journey for home, but at least Joseph was some of his freedom.  He couldn’t have been happier.
    
“Now, I still want you to take it easy, Joe, understand?” Dr. Ferris told him.
    
“Don’t worry, Doc, I’m sure Little Joe will be more than happy to take it easy once we get him back to the Ponderosa where his chores are waiting,” Adam said sarcastically.
  
 Joe just stuck his tongue out at his big brother and then quickly jumped behind his father when Adam acted like he was going to take a swing at him.  Ben reached back and putting an arm around Joe, brought him up next to him and said to Adam, “Didn’t you just hear the doctor tell Joe to take it easy?  Now don’t rile him up.”
  
 Adam shook his head as Joe grinned at him from the safety of his father’s arm.  It looked to Adam like things were quickly getting back to the way they had always been.
 
  Hoss watched this exchange from across the room and he also grinned.  Adam was picking on Joe and Joe was hiding behind their father and being a smart aleck like always. It also looked to Hoss like things were getting back to normal and he couldn’t have been happier.

    A couple of days later, the Cartwrights were making their plans for returning to the Ponderosa.  The doctor had completely released Joe with a clean bill of health.  He still had to take things easy for a while, but he was free to go home at last.
  
 “Well, Joseph, it’s time to make a decision,” Ben said, “we can either take the stage home, which will take a couple of days or we can take the train and get home in less than one day. The doctor thinks it would be better for you to take the train, but if you are afraid to do it, I completely understand and we’ll take the stage.  I’m leaving this up to you, Son.”
 
  Joe was deep in thought for a few minutes.  He was terrified to get onto a train again, especially since this time he would be wide awake and aware of the entire trip.  He didn’t want to admit that in front of his brothers though and he didn’t want his father to be disappointed in him and think he was a coward.  Finally, taking a deep breath, Joe said, “We can take the train. I can do it.”
  
 Ben could see the fear in Joe’s eyes, but he was proud of his son for making this choice.  He really was growing up.  Ben went over to the young man and put his arm around his shoulders and squeezed gently.  “I’m proud of you, Son.  I’m not too excited about riding the train again either, but I do think you made the best choice.  It will be much easier on you to travel this way.”
  
 Joe smiled up at his father, happy to have his approval.  “Well, Pa, faith has brought us this far. This time I have faith that the train will get us where we’re going without a problem, don’t you?”
 
  Hugging his son close, Ben said, “Yes, Joseph, I do. Let’s get ready to go home.”

Epilogue:

    The family made it safely back to the Ponderosa without further incident.  
  
 After getting his youngest son back on the ranch where he belonged, Ben talked to Dr. Martin and with his help made a generous donation of medical supplies to the small town of Fallon.  The people had been very unselfish with their limited resources and Ben wanted to return the favor.  
  
 The Cartwrights also got word that Collin’s cohorts had been arrested and had each received a five to ten year term in the state prison for their part in the train crash.  Collin was given a two year term, but with good behavior he could be out in one year.
    
    Eight months after the train crash that had nearly taken the lives of the youngest and oldest Cartwright, the Ponderosa hosted a barbecue.  Ben paid for the Stafford sisters to come to the ranch for a visit.  He had also brought to Virginia City Dr. Stephens, Widow Spencer, Dr. Blake and many of the citizens of Fallon, Bishop Lawson, Ethan Reid, Isabelle Adams, which pleased Hoss very much, and Dr. Ferris.  
    
When they had a few moments alone, Melissa and Carolyn Stafford handed a small gift to Little Joe as Ben stood beside them looking over his son’s shoulder.  When he unwrapped it, he was surprised to see a children’s book called Train to Samaria.  
    
“What’s this?” he asked.
    
“It’s a book, silly,” said Melissa, “by our sisters.  Theresa wrote it and Deborah illustrated it.  It’s about the train wreck. Of course, they toned down the accident a bit since it’s for children, but it’s still pretty exciting. The actual accident isn’t what it’s really about anyway. What it is truly about is all the good people that came from everywhere to help. You know, like Collin coming back to save you and your pa, helping all of us, and then even turning himself in. Then the Widow Spencer taking care of all of us in her boarding house and refusing payment when our uncle tried to reimburse her.”
  
 “Yeah,” Carolyn added, “and then all the people you wrote us about when you got out of the hospital. Remember?  You wrote about the people of Fallon, who didn’t have much, but shared what they had and helped your pa get you to the train.”
  
 Ben reached over and took the book from Little Joe and looked through it. “You even have the conductor helping to fix the mattress for Joe and the man who gave us a ride to the hospital without so much as telling us his name.  I see that the Bishop and Ethan are in here also and the doctors who helped so much.  Girls, I don’t think your sisters left out any of the good Samaritans we encountered on our adventure.”
  
 Deborah and Theresa had come up as the four were talking and Theresa added, “No Ben, we tried to include everyone; including two heroes who are very special to us--you and Joe.  If not for your selfless act of getting us out of that train wreckage, we wouldn’t be here today, enjoying newfound friends and writing about the good people we discovered in the world.”
 
  Ben was touched at Theresa’s words.  With tears coming to his eyes, he said, “We weren’t heroes.  We just did what anyone would have done.”
 
  “No, Ben,” Deborah added, “you put others before yourself, even before your own son,” then she turned towards Joe and said, “and he did that at your insistence.  That makes you both heroes or good Samaritans, in our eyes.”  
 
  Joe and Ben were both blushing at all the kind words the sisters had bestowed upon them. Father and son looked at each other, knowing they were each thinking the same thing. They truly didn’t consider themselves heroic.  In their minds, the true heroes were the many guests at the barbecue who had given of themselves, asking nothing in return. Ben and Joe were grateful that the world held so many people who followed the example of the Good Samaritan and helped others without thought of what they would get in return.  The book written by Theresa and Deborah would have a special place in their home, just as the guests on the Ponderosa this day would always have a special place in their hearts.


The End
10/5/02


Footnote:  The song that the Stafford sisters sing at the campsite--A Child’s Prayer was written by Janice Kapp Perry.  It was not yet written in this time period, but it is my favorite primary song and I took the liberty of using it anyway. No infringement of copyright was intended.


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