Thanks to my
good friend, Linda Stover for her feedback and help with the grammar and also
thanks to Joan Sattler for her encouragement and suggestions. Thanks too, to my
grandson, “Nicholas Joe” for the inspiration.
Guns and Gold
September, 2002
“No! And that is final! Now, if you are done with your chores, go outside and find something to do….. Go!” Ben Cartwright stood with his left hand on his hip and his right arm and index finger extended toward the entryway. After the door slammed shut behind his youngest son, Ben waited several more moments. When he was fairly certain Little Joe was not going to return, he turned to his left and walked back toward his desk.
Ben grumbled to himself and looked up to see his oldest son, Adam, sitting on the corner of the desk. Adam was grinning.
Ben pointed his right index finger again. This time, at his oldest son. “Oh, you think it’s funny, do you? Listen to me, young man! If that boy persists in whining about the need for a pistol and gunbelt, he will get a belt all right! But it will be mine!” The irate father walked behind his desk. “For the last month, all Joseph has talked about is getting a pistol and that is no laughing matter.” After briskly pushing some papers around on the desk, the patriarch commanded, “Now let’s get on with our work.”
Adam immediately wiped
the smile from face and stood up. “Of course,
“Of course he’s too young. When you and Hoss were 14, the only firearms in this house were a couple of old rifles. The very thought of Joseph as a hot headed, pistol toting, sharpshooter, gives me goose bumps.” Ben shuddered as he sank into the rich leather desk chair and faced his disheveled pile of important business papers. He frowned at the mess.
Adam slipped
around the corner of the desk, to the other side of his father. As he pulled up
the extra chair, he continued. “It’s different for the kid,
“Well, he can just figure otherwise.” The white-haired owner of the Ponderosa ranch reached for his pen. “Let’s try to add up these figures again. Where is that paper?”
“Here,
Little Joe had ridden his pinto pony far from the ranch house. His anger caused him to ride hard and fast. He was not sure where he was going, and he didn’t really care. He knew he was darn good with a gun. Heck, last week his brothers had let him shoot glass bottles off fence posts for target practice and he hardly ever missed. Pa was wrong. Pa was the most stubborn person on the whole earth. He leaned into the wind as he raced Cochise over meadows and past green fields. He climbed higher and higher into the foothills on the Ponderosa. However, when he reached a bubbling mountain stream, he slowed down. The water looked so inviting, he had to stop.
“Coochie, let’s get us a drink. I’m mighty thirsty. How about you?” The sleek young horse bobbed its head and Joe hopped down from his saddle.
Thirst satisfied, the young boy stretched out on the ground. As he lay on his belly, chin propped in his hands, he gazed into the water. It sparkled in the warm spring sunshine and the boy lay mesmerized by the beautiful sight. Something in the water caught his eye and he got to his knees and scooted closer.
“Look at that, Cooch! See all those sparkly things on the bottom? What does it look like to you?”
The Pinto came closer and nudged her master’s ear.
“Yeah, girl, I know. It’s probably just Fool’s Gold. Wish it was real. If I had some real gold, I could buy me a brand new pistol.”
Joe scooted around until he was sitting on his bottom with his legs crossed in front of him. A dreamy glaze came to his face. “It would have a pearly white handle with a big golden “J”, right in the middle. That’s stands for Joe, Cooch.” The horse whinnied in understanding.
“I’d get me that gun by myself, too. I wouldn’t need no help from Pa or nobody. Wish I could find some gold.” Joe sighed as he thought about the remote possibility of that happening. He thought about his friend, Seth, who bragged about his new handgun and his friend, Mitch. Mitch’s pa had at least given him his old pistol. Joe had nothing except an old ‘coon hunting rifle. It was just not fair.
The youngster sighed at life’s injustices and lay on his back, his arms behind his head. He squinted at the bright blue sky, littered with fluffy white clouds, marching across the great expanse. Stretched out on the soft grass, listening to the bubbling brook, and feeling the warm sun on his face, Little Joe Cartwright fell asleep and dreamed about guns and gold.
“You better get Cochise stabled and get in the house right quick! It’s dinnertime and you know how Pa is when we’re late.”
“I know, I know, Hoss. I’m hurry’in.” Joe hopped to the ground and led his beloved pony into the barn.
Hoss followed. “Where you been, anyways?”
“I was just ridin’ around. Me and Coochie found a real pretty mountain stream up by Rocky Ledge. I sorta fell a….” Joe stopped in mid-sentence. To admit falling asleep would sound too much like a child and he didn’t want to encourage that kind of thinking.
“I sorta’ found some big animal tracks and I was following them. You know, we need to protect the herd. Right?” Joe grinned proudly, much happier with this story.
“Sure, Joe. Might want to wash the sleep out of your eyes before you go inside, though.” Hoss winked and then lumbered toward the house.
Joe felt his face get warm as he watched his big brother walk away. Then he hurried to take care of Cochise and then wash up for the family meal.
“Yes! I beat you again!” Joe grinned
a toothy smile as he swiped the remaining checkers from the board. He and Hoss
played checkers most evenings and most evenings Little Joe won. Being six years
younger and half the size of his brother, there was little he could do better
than Hoss. Checkers was one skill he excelled at and each evening, it satisfied
his young ego, to know that he was the champion. At least with Hoss, he was.
Joe also played checkers with brother Adam who was much older, and in Joe eyes, a boring
adult. Adam always beat him at checkers. Adam never lost any game or argument
for that matter, except with
“Better luck next time, Hoss.” Little Joe grinned smugly as he confidently sauntered across the room to return the box of checkers to the bookshelf.
Ben looked up from his newspaper and announced, “Time for bed, Joseph.”
In an instant, Little Joe was brought back down to earth, with a thud. “Why…?” he began in a whiny voice.
Ben put his paper
down and scowled at his son. “How many times do we have to go through this,
Joseph? It is
“Yes sir”, Joe answered reluctantly. He had never won this argument, either. As he slowly climbed the steps to his bedroom, Joe mumbled under his breath, “I ain’t even tired.”
Hoss smiled as he caught his little brother’s words. His brother was probably right about that.
“I don’t understand why you was so dang blamed determined to go with me today. You really like lookin’ fer strays?” Hoss pulled his large mount to a halt and turned in the saddle to face his little brother.
Joe slowed down, as well. “Of course I don’t. Come on, let’s go, I want to show you somethin’!” Joe was off at a gallop.
Hoss just shook his head and galloped off to follow his brother. He had no choice, really.
“Hey, Joe, ain’t this where you were yesterday? Rocky Ledge?”
“Yep.” Joe climbed down from Cochise. “Look in this water and tell me what you see, Hoss.”
“Dadburn you, Little Joe. We ain’t got time to go starin’ into water.” Hoss complained.
“Just look. It won’t take no time to just look.” Joe replied with exasperation.
Hoss slid from Chubb’s saddle and led the horse to the bubbling brook. As the animal drank the cool water, Hoss bent low to take a look. “Yeah? What am I supposed to see, anyways?”
“Don’tja’ see? Look again.” Joe exclaimed.
Hoss bent lower. “Well, it is kinda purty. That what you want me to see?”
“Oh, Hoss. It’s pretty all right. But what about the sparkles down there on the bottom. Think it’s gold?” Joe knelt down next to his big brother.
“Is that what you are so all fired excited about? I hate to tell you this, Joe, but this probably ain’t gold. More like Fool’s Gold.”
Joe sighed. “Thought so. Dang it. I was hopin’ I was wrong.”
Hoss put his arm around
his little brother. “Don’t feel so bad, Punkin’.
Joe watched his brother laugh, not finding it to be all that funny. There had to be a way to get that pistol and gunbelt. There just had to be a way. Maybe there was a way….
“Hoss, what are you going to do today?” Joe plopped down next to his large brother, who was sitting on the front porch steps, eating an apple.
“I ain’t had a day off in a whole week. Think I’ll just take it easy. Maybe check on what Hop Sing’s cookin’. Why?” Hoss looked down at his brother with suspicion.
“Oh, nuthin’ much, big brother. You probably aren’t interested anyways.” Joe sighed and leaned back on his arms, so he could get a good look at Hoss’ face.
As he expected, he had Hoss’ attention. “Try me little brother.”
Joe tried to act casual. “Just thought you might like to go for a little ride. Well, maybe a long ride.”
“Why?” Hoss asked, simply.
Joe scrunched his face. “I wanna show you somethin’?”
“Dadburn it, Joe. It ain’t Fool’s Gold, again, is it?”
“I sure hope not. I mean…. well, it could be real gold,” Little Joe answered quietly.
“Why are you so all fired up to find gold, anyways? What are you going to do with a bunch of gold? Ain’t like ya’ need nuthin’!”
Joe stood up, angry at his brother’s accusation. “What do you know? It just so happens that I do need somethin’!”
“
“You know what? I have a secret. I’ll tell ya’, but don’t go blabbin’ it to nobody, hear?” Joe leaned over and rested his arms on Hoss’ shoulders. In a hushed voice, he whispered into Hoss’ right ear
“A gun!” shouted Hoss.
Little Joe slapped his small hand over his big brother’s mouth. “Shut up!” He looked around to see if anyone may have heard.
“Git down here.” Hoss pointed to the spot next to him on the
wooden boards of the front porch steps. He continued in as hushed a tone of
voice as was possible for Hoss. “You want me to take you to the other side of
“Listen, Hoss.” Little Joe hissed in a quiet voice. “I know just where to look. It won’t take so long and when we get the …..” he looked around apprehensively, “When we get the stuff, we’ll both be rich. I’ll share.” He pronounced with a smile.
“You little imp,”
pronounced Hoss, “You make it sound so simple. I bet you haven’t thought of a
single thing. Like, what are you going to dig the stuff out with, or how you going to haul the stuff to the assay office? Or even if there is any stuff!
We ain’t in the
“See Hoss, that’s exactly why I need you. You can think about all those details and I’ll just show you where the stuff is at! Come on, the day’s a wastin’.” Joe slapped his big brother on the back and stood up.
“Hold up there, youngin’. Who said I was going?”
Joe shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Fine, you don’t have to go. I can do it by myself. The stuff will be all mine” And he walked away.
Hoss sat on the steps as his brother headed for the barn. He watched Joe pull his imaginary gun from his imaginary holster, shoot an imaginary bad man and blow off the imaginary smoke.
“Wait!”, Hoss shouted.
Joe stopped and turned around quickly, his left hand still in the shape of a handgun.
“I guess I should go with you. Dang it, anyway. If I don’t go and you get hurt, I will be in trouble. If I do go and you get hurt, I’ll still be in trouble.” Hoss slapped his thigh in frustration.
Joe smiled and walked back. He tried to pull Hoss up off the step. “You are forgetting one thing, big brother. When we find the gold mine, nobody’s going to be in trouble. We’re just going to be rich! Now be quiet, before someone hears us.”
“Pa is going to have a fit when he sees the bill for all these supplies we charged at the general store.”
“But Hoss, you’re the one who said we needed this stuff,” replied Little Joe.
“Joe, let’s talk
about this some more. First of all, there ain’t no
gold around
Little Joe interrupted his brother. “Stop being so gloomy, will ya’. Everything is going to be all right. Trust me.” Joe smiled and patted his brother on the back. Then he gave further instructions. “Come on now. We don’t have all day. Pick that stuff up and let’s get going.”
“Dang you Little Joe. I ain’t no pack horse,” grumbled Hoss Cartwright.
“Well, you don’t expect me to carry all that stuff, do you?”
“Hoss gritted his teeth and shook his head in disgust. “Of course not, little brother.”
“Stop, Hoss! It’s right around here, I think.” Joe pulled up the reins of his pinto.
Hoss pulled Chubb to a halt, as well. “Yeah, you’re right. We found you over there, stuck in those rocks, six years ago. That time when you ran away from me.”
Joe looked at Hoss with a look of shock. “Ran away? I didn’t run away. I walked. And besides, you didn’t care at the time, if I remember right. You were too busy with your marbles. Remember?”
Hoss laughed, “Remember? How could I forget? Seems to me the story goes like this. You sneaked off, caused the whole town to be out lookin’ for you all night and I got the spankin’. Yes, I do remember.”
Joe just ignored his larger brother.
Hoss scanned the horizon. In the distance, he could see the main shafts of several large silver mines. “See those wooden structures, Joe? Those are silver mines. That’s what they got around here, lots of silver mines. Ain’t no gold mines.”
“Well, they used to look for gold around here,” Joe replied.
“That was a long time ago, Joe. They found a little gold. But back then, they didn’t know that the real treasure was silver, not gold. Ain’t you never heard Pa and Adam talkin’ about this stuff?” Hoss asked.
“Yeah, yeah. I heard ‘em. But they could be wrong. I’m telling you, Hoss, I found a cave when I came here when I was a little kid. I was looking for gold back then, and I found something that was all sparkly. Sparkly like that stuff at the bottom of the stream I showed you yesterday. Only this was real gold sparkles. You gotta trust me.” Joe jumped down from his saddle. “Come on, it’s up there. Let’s go!”
Hoss sighed with resignation. “Wait for me. Don’t want you gettin’ hurt again. Be careful walkin’ around those rocks, youngin’.”
Joe stood, squinting in the bright sun, surveying the area. “I’m pretty sure it was right around here.”
Hoss mopped his sweaty brow with a red and white checked bandana. “Joe, you been saying that for the last hour. Maybe you had a dream and just think you remember a cave. Let’s go. We can return these supplies, go home and nobody needs to be the wiser.” Hoss started down the side of the hill.
“Nooo! Don’t leave. Pleeeease?” Joe pleaded with his best impression of a sad hound dog.
Hoss could never refuse his little brother, especially with that look. “Okay, but if you don’t find it soon, we have to leave. Understood?”
Reluctantly, Little Joe agreed, “Understood.”
An hour later, just as Hoss was about to insist they give it up and head for home, Little Joe let out a whoop. “I found it, Hoss! I found it! The opening is much smaller than I remembered.”
The boys began chipping away at the earth and rocks surrounding the opening in the side of the hill. Finally, the hole was big enough for Hoss to crawl through.
“Hand me that lantern, Joe. It’s dark in here.” Hoss pulled out some matches and struck one on the surrounding rocks.
“That was real smart to bring a lantern, Hoss. Glad you thought of it. And I’m glad you’re with me.” Joe looked on his brother with admiration, as he crawled into the opening.
Hoss smiled. “I’m sorry I doubted you about this cave, Joe. You were right all along.”
Joe stood up and reached his arms halfway around his big brother giving him a tight squeeze. “You’re gonna see, Hoss! I’m right about the gold, too!”
The opening in the side of the hill was small, but as they entered the cave, the space widened considerably. The roof was high enough for even Hoss to walk comfortably. As they explored deeper into the dark cavern, the lantern caused strange shadows to move across the walls. Joe shivered. “It’s sort of cold in here.”
“Yeah. It’s always cool in a cave. That’s ‘cause it’s under the ground where the sun don’t shine.” Hoss stopped and leaned against the closest wall, his nagging conscience troubling him again. “Joe, I don’t see anything. There ain’t no gold or anything in here, except rocks. Let’s go. We can still return most of this stuff and make it home before dark.”
“We can’t leave yet. We hardly begun lookin’ around!” Joe wailed.
With worry lines creasing his forehead, Hoss replied, “It’s just that, well, it ain’t safe in here. Pa don’t like for us to explore caves. What if the roof fell on us? Nobody even knows we’re here.” Hoss turned to leave, suddenly convinced that the whole adventure would lead to nothing but trouble. Hoss just hated to be in trouble.
“Are you crazy, Hoss? Gold is just around the corner. I can feel it. I can smell it! Trust me! We can’t give up already!” Joe kicked the ground. “Boy, some brother you turned out to be. Well, go ahead and leave. Just give me the lantern.”
At that moment, the boys heard a low rumbling noise. It continued for several seconds and then stopped.
Joe ran to be closer to Hoss. “W-w-what was that?”
“I don’t know, Shortshanks. Sounded like it came from inside the mountain. We gotta get out of here.” Hoss pulled his brother toward the way they had just come from, no longer wanting to debate the issue.
Just then, a wall of rocks fell from the roof of the cave, right in front of the brothers. The rubble quickly piled up in the passageway, effectively cutting them off from escape.
When the Cartwright brothers opened their eyes, they found themselves covered in dust. They also found the rock pile.
“Uh - Oh,” stated Little Joe.
“Are you alright, Punkin’?” Hoss peered into his brother’s round, dirty little face.
“I’m okay. Are you alright?” asked Little Joe, with fear and trepidation in his voice.
Ben leaned back in the rocking chair situated near the front door of the house. He breathed deeply of the pine scented air.
“Sure smells good out here, today. Feels good to be clean, too.”
Adam pulled a straight back chair up beside his father and eased himself into the woven wicker seat. He stretched his long, weary legs out in front of himself. “Hop Sing is a miracle worker. He had those baths all ready for us when we got home. I think I could have soaked in mine for the rest of the afternoon.”
“Where do you suppose those two brothers of yours are?” Ben asked.
“Oh, probably fishing or swimming; some sort of fun thing. Hoss was really looking forward to his day off,” replied Adam.
“Mmmm. I’m sure Little Joe invited himself along, whatever it is they are doing. At least I haven’t heard about his need for a new pistol and gunbelt today. Maybe he finally realized I meant business when I told him, no.” Ben reached into his pocket for his pipe and a match.
Adam smiled. “Like I said before,
Ben took a long draw on his lit pipe, savoring the aroma. “I am enjoying the peace for now. Hope you’re wrong, Adam.
Joe and Hoss were trapped. The rocks had piled up high, blocking their passage to the outside world. The boys surveyed the area around them, then checked their supplies by the light of the lantern. Luckily, the lantern stayed lit.
“W-w-what are we gonna do, Hoss?” Joe asked, sure that his big brother would take care of everything.
“Dang it, Joe. Less you have a better idea, the only thing we can do is dig our way out, one rock at a time. Boy, is Pa gonna be mad.” Hoss held the lantern up and examined the wall of rock.
Joe stood with his hands on his hips, and scanned the sight before him. “Golly, that’s gonna be a lot of work.”
“Joseph, what are you doing?” Hoss had just noticed that his partner was no longer working beside him. They had been digging out rocks steadily, for what seemed like hours.
“Gee, Hoss, my arms are hurtin’ terrible. There’s too many rocks and I think my hands are bleedin’. Wish I had my gloves.” Joe sat against the far wall, looking as pitiful as possible.
“You plannin’ on just staying here, then?” Hoss asked casually.
“I just need to rest a minute, Hoss. That’s all. You can sit down, too, Hoss. If ya’ want.”
“That’s plum kind of you. Think I’ll take you up on that offer.” Hoss replied sarcastically.
“We still have some water in the canteen and there’s six biscuits, two apples, and one piece of candy. I counted everything. How long do you think it will take to get us out of here, Hoss?” Joe tried to keep his voice from cracking. He was afraid, but the boy wanted to act as brave as possible.
Hoss was not fooled. He put a comforting arm around his little brother and responded patiently, “Don’t worry, Punkin. There ain’t nuthin’ to movin’ those rocks. How about handin’ me a couple of them biscuits. I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse.”
Suddenly Joe sat up straight and snapped his sore fingers. “That’s it!”
“What’s it?”
“Our horses, Hoss. They’re still down there, tied to the trees where we left them. Someone will notice them, figure we went in this here cave, find the rock slide and dig us out.” Joe beamed with his brilliant solution to their dilemma.
Hoss just shook
his head. “What makes you think anyone is going to notice our horses, much less
this hole in the ground. It’s not like it’s
Little Joe plopped back down on the ground and watched his motionless brother for several minutes. Maybe he was right. Maybe they would never be found. Maybe they would die, right there, inside a stupid old mountain. Pushing down the rising panic, Joe quickly stood up and wiped his sore hands on the front of his shirt. There was only one thing to do, keep moving the rocks.
“Ben! Ben Cartwright!”
Ben had been drifting off in a pleasant dreamy sleep as he sat in the rocker on the front porch of his Ponderosa house. But the man calling his name, roused him to consciousness.
“What is it Pete? Calm down, man!” Ben demanded. Pete was one of the foremen on the ranch and was known for getting excited about things.
“Ben, I just came from town. There’s been a real bad cave in at the Bumblebee mine. There was a whole crew down there – ‘bout 25 men. Everyone is trying to figure out how to get them out. It’s real bad. Said they needed more timbers for shoring. I told them you had a pile already on a wagon, ready to go. We better get those timbers down there right away.” Pete was breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath.
Just at that moment, Adam sauntered back out of the house, polishing a bright red apple on his black shirt. “Hey, Pete, what’s going on?”
As Pete retold the story, Ben was quickly going over in his mind what they needed to gather together – ropes, chains, pulleys, and of course, the load of freshly cut timbers.
The light from the lantern cast an eerie yellow glow on the rocky walls of the cave, making it look quite spooky. Joe gritted his teeth, determined not to let it bother him. The last rock he pulled out had sent a shower of smaller ones down on his head. The dust billowed out and caused the youngster to cough. As he turned to get another drink from the canteen, the flickering light caught a glint of something shiny in the side of the cave. Forgetting his need for a drink, Joe moved toward the unusual surface. He let his fingers feel the different texture of the rock. Then he stepped back to let the lantern light shine more brightly on the area.
“Uhhh… Hoss. HOSS! Come here, quick! Look at this! Look what I found!” Joe ran to his sleeping brother.
Hoss opened his eyes in a flash. “JOE, JOE, what is it! Are you hurt? Are you okay? Dang, I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
“I’m fine, Hoss. I just found somethin’. Ya’ gotta come look!” Breathlessly, Joe pulled Hoss to his feet and dragged him to the other side of the cave, finding renewed strength in his excitement.
“That’s it! Ain’t it?” Joe’s smile went from ear to ear.
“Well, I’ll be a hound dog in a butcher shop. I think you may have found somethin’ here, little brother.” Hoss held the lantern up and studied the shiny rock surface.
Joe was full of excitement, he jumped up and down and ran around their cramped space whooping and hollering.
Hoss looked on, with a silly grin on his face. But he couldn’t escape the reality. They were trapped inside this cave and unless they got out soon, they would probably suffocate to death.
“Joe, Joe…. Calm down, boy.” Hoss tried to pull his brother’s arms together and force him to stand still. In a serious voice, he continued, “Joe, look at me. That may be gold, but all the gold in the world ain’t gonna do us no good, ‘less we can walk out that hole over there. We got work to do. Right?”
Forced to be still, Joe listened quietly to his brother. He grimaced and looked toward the pile of rocks. “Yeah, you’re right, Hoss.”
But the exuberant boy could not be held down for long. He broke free from Hoss’ hold and ran to the rocks. “Come on, Hoss! I got a pistol to buy!”
The scene was a mass of confusion. Men were running in all directions. Small groups of women huddled together, weeping and wailing. Ben walked forward, looking for someone in charge.
“Ben! Ben! Over here! Bring those timbers over here, quick!”
Ben recognized Hank right away. Hank was a big man with a full growth of bushy beard. Today, his beard, his skin and his clothing were covered in white dust. As the foreman of the Bumblebee mine, he was the desperate man in charge.
“Ben, I’m so glad to see you and your timbers. We need more. Have Adam bring the wagon over there.” Hank gestured to a muddy field near the mine opening. “We’re trying to dig down to the miners through that old air shaft.” Hank pointed to a spot where at least a dozen men with shovels were working feverishly.
Ben nodded,
needing no further instructions. It did not look good. Many men had lost their
lives, trying to dislodge the silver ore from the
“Joe, I think I see a little bit of daylight!” Hoss pointed up to a spot in the rock pile. The boys had been digging non-stop for the last hour. Slowly, the pile was diminishing. As they worked, the rocks were moved to the back of the cave and the entire space was now more cramped than ever.
Joe was exhausted. He sat down on the floor and wrapped his aching arms around his knees. “I sure hope so, Hoss. I don’t feel so good.”
Hoss glanced down at his brother, covered in rock debris. “You probably just breathed in too much dust, Joe. Get yourself another drink and rest a bit.”
“Can’t, Hoss. There ain’t no more water.”
At that moment, the light from the lantern flickered and then went out. A quiet darkness fell on everything.
Little Joe needlessly pronounced, “Ain’t no more oil for the lantern, either.”
Hoss gulped. Things were getting serious. Then he peered in the direction of the opening. “Look, Joe! You can see it real good, now! See that little bit a light common’ in through there?”
Joe looked up and keeping his eyes focused on the thin shaft of light, he slowly raised himself from the floor. A grin spread across his face and he slapped his thigh. “Yes! We can do it, Hoss! Just a little more diggin’ and we are goin’ home!”
Hoss grinned. Yessir, they were going to make it out of this hole in the ground, after all. But then he frowned as he thought about the “going home” part. He was not looking forward to explaining this mess to Pa, gold or no gold.
Ben solemnly
stood with his son, Adam, watching the throng of women, weeping and trying to
console one another. They had worked all afternoon and into the evening, trying
to rescue 25 men at the bottom of the Bumblebee mine. At first, they thought
the timbers would reinforce the air support tunnel being widened into the side
of the main shaft. But hope was dashed when that opening also caved in, nearly
trapping eight more men. The rescuers barely escaped being buried alive, when tons of rock
and soil slid into the hole. It was hopeless. The ground had swallowed up
miners, too eager to take up its treasures. Sadly, the earth had won again.
Twenty-five families would now be without husbands, fathers, brothers and sons.
Children would go without a parent and families would be without support. It
was a sad time for
“We made it, Hoss! We made it!” Little Joe crawled through the small opening and stretched out his arms. The air was fresh and life was great.
It was a little tighter fit for the larger boy, but soon Hoss was standing beside his brother. “Dang, it sure feels good to be out here! We’re lucky, Little Joe. Real lucky.” Hoss shook his head as he looked back at the collapsed entrance to the cave.
Joe looked up at his brother, his eyes wide and bright. “We ain’t just lucky, Hoss! We’re rich! Real rich! I can buy me a hundred pearl handled pistols now. Heck, I might even buy ‘ole Mitch a new one. Hey Hoss, you want one, too?”
That was it. Hoss had reached the end of his patience. He grabbed hold of his brother’s shoulders, turned the boy around and peered into his grubby face. “Dang you, Joe! Don’t you think about nuthin’ but pistols? We near got ourselves killed today and all you care about is buyin’ a gun. You worry me, little brother.”
Joe just smiled and opened his hand to reveal a shiny chunk of gold rock. Calmly, he tried to reason. “Sure we almost got killed. But we didn’t, did we? Ya’ gotta stop thinkin’ so gloomy, big brother. Once we show Pa this piece of gold, we’ll be sittin’ pretty. Trust me.”
Hoss shoved his brother away from him in disgust. “You better just hope you can sit, Little Joe.”
“I’m sorry, Hank. I wish we could have rescued your men.” Ben put a comforting arm around his friend.
“It isn’t your fault, Ben. You and Adam did all you could to help. We all tried. Sometimes it just isn’t enough. Some of those men, I knew real well. They had children and families. Some of them wives over there are expecting little ones, too. Wish I could take care of them all.” Hank hung his head in despair.
“Don’t worry, Hank. We’ll all pitch in. We’ll find a way to help those families. They won’t starve. We have plenty of beef cattle to spare. It’s the least we can do to help.” Ben tried to smile.
“Thanks, Ben. You’re a good friend.”
By the time Hoss and Joe got home, it was quite late. Luckily, the full moon was bright enough to light their way down the Ponderosa road. However, the closer to the house they got, the slower they moved. Eventually, they got off their horses and walked them quietly, hoping to not be noticed.
“The house looks kind of dark, Hoss. Do you think Pa and Adam already went to bed?” Whispered Joe as he pushed open the large door to the barn.
Hoss carefully maneuvered Chubb through the opening and Joe followed. In as quiet a voice as Hoss could muster, he responded, “Oh, golly, I hope so. Let’s take care of these animals real quick like and get inside. Maybe nobody will notice us.”
Hoss and Joe worked silently, caring for their animals. When they were done, they slipped back out the opening and Hoss turned to shut the barn door.
“Hold up there!” A loud voice came out of the darkness.
Both boys stopped in their tracks, unable to move, let alone breathe. The clop of horse feet filled the air as around the corner of the barn, emerged a wagon, with Pa and Adam sitting high up in the seat. Joe was too scared to speak and stood with his mouth open and his hands flew behind his back. Hoss took off his hat and fumbled with the brim, also unable to speak.
“Glad you boys are out here. Give us a hand with the horses, will you? They need watered and fed,” Ben ordered as he jumped from the wagon. “Adam and I are beat. You boys can handle this. Come on Adam, let your brothers take care of things.”
Adam sighed heavily and climbed down his side of the wagon. “Thanks, brothers.” He said simply and followed his father into the house.
Hoss and Joe stood still, astonished; their mouths still hanging open. Their eyes followed the two men across the moonlit yard. After they heard the front door open and slam shut, they finally looked at each other and felt safe enough to breathe.
“Golly, Hoss. What was that all about? I don’t think they even noticed we just got home!” Joe whispered as he began unbuckling the leather straps holding the large work horses to the wooden wagon tongue.
Hoss lifted the heavy equipment from the backs of the horses and let out a long sigh. “I don’t know, Joe. It sure don’t seem right. They was kinda’ spooky. Pa and Adam seemed plumb wore out, too.”
“Yeah. Kinda sad too, if you ask me.” Joe replied as they reentered the barn and began caring for the two new horses.
“Maybe we’re havin’ some kind of luck and Pa’ll never know what happened today.” Hoss suggested.
“Yeah. Or maybe it’s some kind of a trap.” Joe frowned as he thought about the possible consequences of his day’s adventure.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Ben looked around the dark and silent room. “Hmmm, seems rather quiet in here. Hop Sing must already be in bed and it sounds like a good place for me to be, too.”
Adam carefully wrapped the belt of his holster around his pistol and laid it in a neat pile on the chest by the front door. “Sounds good to me, too.”
Ben yawned, and rubbed at the pain in the middle of his back. “Goodnight, Adam. We’ll work on this problem in the morning.” Ben was already starting up the staircase as he finished speaking.
Adam responded,
“Goodnight,
Little Joe and Hoss stood outside the front door, trying to decide how to enter the house.
“Just act natural, like nothin’s wrong”, Joe whispered a little too loudly.
“Oh, Lordy. What if Pa’s in there, waitin’ for us? What if he wants to know what we done today.” Hoss moaned as he scrunched his big hat with his massive hands. He looked quite ill.
“Now cut it out, Hoss. You’re workin’ yourself up into a mess. We don’t know if Pa knows about the hole in the ground and the cave-in. We just havta’…..”
Suddenly, the door swung open, casting the low light from inside the house onto the two brothers. Silhouetted in the light was the black figure of the oldest brother.
Hoss and Joe blinked in the illumination. Before them stood Adam, looking very authoritative with his arms crossed across his chest and feet spread slightly apart and firmly anchored to the wooden floor.
“Well, are you two coming in or are you going to stand in the doorway all night?” Adam asked with a twinge of sarcasm.
“Oh, oh sure. We were just wipin’ our f-feet. That’s all. J-just wipin’ our feet. Right Hoss? Sure don’t want to make ole’ Hop Sing mad trackin’ all that dirt…. ” Joe tried to smile convincingly as he side-stepped around Adam.
“Uh. Oh yeah, our feet are real dirty like. Not that we been doin’ anything to get them dirty, of course. Just got dirty normal-like ya’ know. Just a little dirt…..”
“Come on, ya’ big galut ” Joe’s whispered voice sounded strained as he pulled Hoss into the house.
Adam stood quietly, with a knowing grin, as he watched his two younger brothers. “Sure, whatever you say, fellas.”
Ben rose early the next morning. At first, it was just another day and then he remembered the tragedy of the night before. He felt a certain urgency to get back into town and assure himself that the widows and orphans were being cared for as well as possible.
As he sat down quietly at the breakfast table, Hop Sing brought in a mug of steaming black coffee and plunked it down, hard on the wooden dining table. He then scurried back into his kitchen, muttering under his breath.
Ben sighed, wondering what was bothering the Chinese cook this time. He shook his head slightly and decided he would learn soon enough.
Before he was halfway through his cup of brew, Ben looked up to see Adam quietly descending the steps. He was dressed smartly, in his black shirt and pants, his hair combed neatly to the side. Adam had already shaved and his dark eyes sparkled, ready to meet the new day.
“Mornin’,
“Humph! Hop Sing bring coffee. Hop Sing bring
breakfast. Hop Sing brew coffee; cook eggs, fry bacon. Hop Sing make all kind
food. Nobody eat food, but Hop Sing work all time, make food. Hop Sing go back
Ben and Adam quietly watched the housekeeper as he shuffled back to the kitchen.
Adam raised his eyebrows and looked at his pa. “I thought he knew where we were going yesterday. He even packed us sandwiches. Wonder why he’s so upset?”
“I don’t know,” responded Ben. “Unless it has something to do with your brothers.” Ben furrowed his brow as he thought about the two boys, still lying in bed.
Adam rested his elbows on the table and laced his strong, weather worn fingers together. He pursed his lips and nodded in agreement. “Yes, my brothers. Could very well have something to do with them.”
As if on cue, the brothers appeared at the top of the stairs. They did not usually come downstairs in the morning, side by side, with bright smiles, chattering on about the beautiful day…. This behavior was unusual. Adam’s suspicions were definitely aroused.
Ben and Adam continued to watch Joe and Hoss, as they slipped into their places on either side of the dining table, pulled out their napkins with a flourish and placed them on their laps.
“Bring it on, Hop Sing!!! I’m starved”, called out Hoss.
“Me too, Hop Sing! Bring some of that good lookin’ eggs and bacon”, declared Little Joe, spying the remains on Adam’s plate.
Hop Sing appeared
at the entry door to the kitchen, hands on his hips and a very unhappy
expression on his face. “You hungry? Hop Sing glad you
hungry. Little boys deserve to be hungry when they no come home and eat food. I
cook all day, very hard work! Hop Sing throw away all food from dinner last
night. Nobody come eat. Umph. I go visit cousins in
Ben watched as Hoss’ expression of joy turned to horror.
“Wait a minute, Hop Sing! You can’t go, I’ll starve to death. Please Hop Sing, I need you!” Hoss started to get up from his seat, ready to talk sense into his favorite cookie baker.
Ben reached out and gently pushed Hoss back into his chair. “Hold on, son. You and Joseph have some explaining to do.”
Joe twirled his empty milk glass around in his nervous fingers as he expressed his most innocent of faces. “Me, Pa?”
Adam tried to hide his smirk, while Ben just sighed.
“Yes, you and Hoss. Adam and I had to see to an emergency in
The two boys looked at each other, puzzled for a moment. They hadn’t thought about this happening.
Suddenly, Little
Joe had an explanation. “Well, huh, Hoss and me caught a whole mess a’ fish,
Hoss paused for a moment, his mouth hanging open, then decided to fall right into the hole. Nodding in agreement, he joined in the tale. “Oh yeah. They were great.”
Ben shook his
head in disgust, “You boys owe Hop Sing an apology. You had no business not
coming home for dinner last night when he expected you. You could have brought the fish home. He has
every right to be very angry with both of you and I wouldn’t blame him in the
least if he left for
“Oh no,
“Oh yes, Hoss.” Ben replied. He pointed at the boys, one at a time, “Now both of you,,,,, go tell Hop Sing you are very, very sorry and you will never do this again. Then, I want you to offer to take care of all his chores today. Maybe then, he will agree to stay with this ungrateful family.”
Hoss was out of his chair in a flash. “Come on Joe, we got work to do!”
Joe was less than eager, but followed Hoss to the kitchen.
The dining room was suddenly quiet again…..
“I don’t buy it.” Adam stated simply, as he hugged his warm coffee mug in both hands, elbows still on the table.
“What?”
“I don’t buy their sad story. They are up to something and that’s all there is to it. It’s written all over them.” Adam then set his mug down and rose from his chair. “Well, I have work to do.”
“Where in the heck did Hop Sing get all this silverware from, anyway?” whined Little Joe.
Spread out on the dining room table, were all the knifes, forks, and spoons on the Ponderosa ranch. There must have been enough dinner settings to serve a crowd of a hundred people.
“Yeah, and why do they all have to be cleaned right now?” added Hoss, plainly not enjoying himself.
Joe dropped his cloth and the fork he was working on. Putting his hands behind his head, he leaned back in the chair and looked across the table to his big brother. “They all have to be cleaned now, because now is when Hop Sing has us for slave labor.”
Just then, Hop Sing entered the room, eyes wide at the boy obviously not involved in his chore. He shouted, “Little Joe! You vely bad boy! You want I tell father what you not do?”
Joe quickly sat up and grabbed his cleaning cloth, “Heck no, Hop Sing. I’m workin’, see?” Joe picked up another fork and fiercely rubbed the handle, bringing back the bright silver shine.
“Humph! When this all done, have silver platter and tea set ready for you.” With that depressing news, the cook retreated back to his kitchen.
Hoss and Joe just stared at one another, mouths open in disbelief.
Later that day, Ben and Adam came home. They had been in town, trying to find help for the twenty-five families now without a breadwinner. Hank, the foreman, had been fired and the owner of the mine, the greedy Sylvester McSwain would not even listen to Ben’s pleas of help for the families of the lost miners.
After hanging up his hat and placing his gunbelt on the credenza, Adam walked over to the massive stone fireplace. Only a small fire was burning, but it felt good to the young man as he rubbed his hands together, letting the soothing warmth calm his spirit.
He and his father had talked about the predicament in town, all the way home and they continued their conversation. “Those miners work all day and sometimes all night, in those stuffy, stinking mines. They risk their lives, just to make other people rich."
Ben also hung his hat and placed his gun and holster on the credenza next to the door. As he strode across the room, he took note of his two youngest sons, sitting in the dining room. He paused to stare in wonder at the silverware, platters, cups and candle stick holders covering the table in front of his sons.
“Hi, Pa,” Little Joe greeted.
“Yeah, hi, Pa,” echoed Hoss.
Ben nodded a greeting and hooked his thumbs into his belt as he walked towards the duo. “Well, it looks as though we are quite guilty ourselves, of buying the silver that men die to retrieve.” He scowled at the mass of dinnerware.
Adam looked up and noticed for the first time, his brothers sitting at the table. With a questioning face, he walked over to join his family. As he scanned the pile of now shiny silver cutlery and dinnerware, he blew a soft sound from his mouth. “When you put it all together like this, it’s amazing, isn’t it?”
Hoss and Joe looked at each other, unsure what to say. They had heard about the mine cave-in and the men who had died. Several of the ranch hands filled them in on the news during morning chores. All day long, the brothers had talked to each other about the disaster and how lucky they had been in not being buried alive, themselves. Even Joseph was subdued in his exuberance over his newfound gold mine. This was not a good time to tell Pa about the gold and especially how he had found it.
Ben sadly shook his head. “It’s hard to believe, that with all the riches being taken from the earth, that the silver barons find it so hard to help support the widows and orphans who are suffering from their greed.”
Adam pulled a chair out from the dining table and sat down heavily. “It is disappointing. There needs to be a fund set up, just for disasters like this. A fund of money set aside for all the past and all the future widows and orphans. A fund that will provide food, shelter and schooling. It is the only fair thing to happen.”
Ben leaned on the
back of Little Joe’s chair, staring at nothing. “A fund like that certainly is
necessary. The trouble is, there would have to be a
gold mine, just to support the needs of the hard rock silver miners. It would
take a lot of money to support the growing numbers of needy people in
Ben suddenly stood straight and grabbed Little Joe’s shoulders, squeezed tightly and pronounced, “But, the likelihood of finding a gold mine for widows, is slim indeed!”
Joe’s face turned strangely white as he bit down on his bottom lip. Does Pa know I found a gold mine?” He thought to himself.
Hoss loudly cleared his throat and caught Joe’s eyes. “Um, me and Joe better get out to the barn and do our evening chores. Come on, little brother. We got work to do.”
Hoss got out of his chair, walked around the table and grabbed Joe by the arm. He pulled the boy along, as he quickly headed for the front door. Joe was too surprised to protest being dragged. He was too surprised to say anything.
Once the two brothers were inside the barn, they scurried to a far back corner, to talk.
“Do you think Pa knows about our gold mine?” asked Little Joe, grateful to express this thought burning brightly in his mind.
“It just don’t seem possible, Joe. No way he could know about it. He’s been over at the Bumblebee Mine ever since last night.” Hoss said.
“Maybe.” Joe stated simply. “Hoss, I been thinking….”
“Oh, not again, Little Brother” moaned Hoss.
“This is real serious, Hoss, quit jokin’ .“ Joe stood with his thumbs looped in the suspenders holding up his pants, his face etched in concern.
“Okay, Little Brother, what brilliant ideas you got, now?” Hoss moved to sit on the low milking stool.
“Well, you know how Adam said that the mine owners didn’t want to help the kids and their ma’s?”
“Yeah. That’s plum unkind,” replied Hoss.
Joe found a large wooden crate near Hoss, pulled himself up on top and sat Indian style. “It’s worse than unkind, Hoss. It’s being downright evil. It ain’t right.”
Joe took a deep
breath, as if in preparation for plunging into the icy cold waters of
Hoss looked at
Joe and grinned widely, the gap showing plainly between his two front teeth. “Shortshanks,
that’s just exactly what I was thinkin’, too.
There ain’t no need for us to have that gold, not when there’s so much
hurtin’, right there in
Both boys jumped from their seats and gave each other a big hug.
“But, Joe, what about your pistol?” Hoss asked, hoping that maybe Joe had abandoned the idea of being a sharpshooter. But that was not to be.
Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out the chunk of gold he had picked up off the mine floor and held it up for Hoss to admire. “Do you think maybe this is enough gold to get a shiny new pistol, Hoss?”
Hoss just laughed, “I didn’t think you were going to just forget that ole’ pistol, Joe. Let me see that rock.”
Joe handed his brother the prized possession and Hoss turned it over and over, examining it from every angle. Finally, he said, “Joe, I reckon this little piece of shiny rock would get you a new pistol, a new gun belt and a bunch of other stuff, to boot!”
“Give it back, then. I gotta keep it real safe.” Joe took the rock and once again, stuffed it deep into his front pants pocket.
“Hoss, you deserve somethin’, too. I’m gonna share my gold with you, ‘cause you are the best brother in the whole wide world.”
Now that the boys had
made the decision to give away the mine, to help care for the less fortunate in
Adam held his knife and fork up in the light being cast from the ornate oil lamp, which hung over the dining room table. “Will you look at this? I don’t think I remember the last time these utensils shined so brilliantly. You know, the two of you ought to help Hop Sing out more often.”
“Very funny, Adam. I hope I never clean another stupid piece of silver again as long as I live,” grumbled Little Joe.
Ben cleared his throat, “Just see to it that you are on time for meals, young man. Upset Hop Sing again and you will be seeing a lot more silverware and any other kitchen chore needing to be done.”
“Yes, Sir.”
At that moment,
the Chinese cook entered with a flourish. “You like chicken, Mr.
Cartlight? Is new recipe from number one
cousin in
Ben patted his full tummy and declared with enthusiasm, “Oh yes, Hop Sing. It was very good.”
Hoss sat up straight in his chair, eager to please the cook. “That was the best dang blamed chicken I ever ‘et, Hop Sing. Why, I could eat a wagon full of them critters, they was so good.”
Hop Sing beamed with delight and nodded his head. “Velly good, Mr. Hoss. You eat much. I think I forgive Mr. Hoss, now.”
Hop Sing then looked at Little Joe’s plate of half eaten food and his happy expression turned to one of disappointment. “Why not eat food, Little Joe? Not like? I work all day make food and you no eat? Little boy no appreciate hard work. Hop Sing not happy with Little Joe. Humph!”
Joe attempted to defend himself, but all he got was the quickly retreating back of the small cook. The boy had been thinking about the gold mine. He was also thinking about how to tell Pa about the gold mine. Half of his conscience could not wait to tell everyone about the gold and the other half of his conscience was afraid of his father’s reaction to exploring a forbidden cave and nearly getting killed by a pile of rocks. It was a problem and thinking about problems always ruined his appetite.
As the family left the table and headed for their favorite chairs in front of the massive stone fireplace, Little Joe made a decision. He would tell Pa about the gold mine this very evening.
Ben sat down in his worn leather chair, set close to the fireplace. He reached for his favorite pipe and the small bag of tobacco, sitting on top of the side table. Adam headed for the blue velvet chair, snagging a book from the sturdy wooden coffee table as he walked by. He settled into the soft velvet, eager to read another chapter in his newest library addition. Neither of the men noticed the unspoken signaling going on between Hoss and Little Joe.
As the two younger boys left the table, Joe cleared his throat and patted the lump in his left front pants pocket. Hoss nodded slightly, in unspoken understanding. It had been agreed upon earlier, that Joe would tell the story about the gold. Hoss would fill in details, only if Joe seemed at a loss for words. Hoss was certain that was very unlikely to happen as Joseph never seemed to be at a loss for words.
Hoss took his time, sauntering over to the settee. He finally plopped down on the end closest to Adam, and crossed his right leg over his left, resting his right ankle on his left knee. He clasped his hands in his lap and watched expectantly as his little brother finally reached a spot on the floor, in front of the crackling fire.
Joe stood between the hearth and the low coffee table, unsure of what to do with his hands. Finally, he clasped them behind his back. He swallowed once, looking across to his big brother, Hoss. Hoss smiled slightly, giving Little Joe the courage he needed.
Meanwhile, Adam watched the antics of his two brothers over the top of his book. Obviously, something was about to happen.
Joe swallowed again, took a deep breath and began his story.
Ben listened quietly as his youngest son told him about golden glitter in the bottom of a mountain stream. Then there was something about how Cochise agreed it was Fool’s Gold. He continued to listen as Joe told him how he had fallen asleep and dreamed about gold in a cave. He listened with increasing interest as the boy reminded him about the time he had gotten caught in the rocks while looking for gold a few years ago. He made himself listen patiently as Joseph retold the story of how Hoss was playing marbles that day and didn’t watch him very well. The rambling story of his young son seemed to be going nowhere and the older man could contain himself no longer.
“Joseph, what is all this leading to? Do you have something important to tell me, son?”
Adam leaned back in his chair and tried to suppress a grin. He could not hold his comment any longer, “Ah yes, the long sad story is being told.”
Ben gave his oldest an irritated look.
Hoss was concerned about the way the story was being told. “Joe, just get to the good part, okay ?”
“Oh yeah, the good part.” Little Joe stretched his arms out
to the side and then dropped down to his sides. “Well, the good part is, you
don’t have to worry about the widows and orphans anymore,
Ben blinked his eyes in bewilderment and stared at his youngest son. Joseph was grinning widely, acting as if all had been explained; his story now crystal clear.
“Joseph, will you please explain yourself. What gold mine are you talking about and please makes sense. Hoss, maybe you should be explaining this.” Ben looked to his middle son, who quietly groaned with an expression of total discomfort.
“Well, Pa, it’s just like Little Joe said. Me and him found a gold mine. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.
Adam had sat quietly as long as he could. “I knew you two were up to something. I told you, didn’t I, Pa?”
Ben glared at his oldest, “Hush! I don’t need your comments right now.”
Adam rolled his eyes in response.
Little Joe licked his lips and remembered his prize chunk of gold. Reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out the rock and waved it front of his father. “Look, Pa! This is real gold and I found it in the gold mine.”
“Let me see that.” said Ben as he reached out for the rock.
Joe moved close enough to hand the gold to his father and then quickly retreated to his original position. It made no sense to get too close to Pa when you might be in trouble.
Ben held the rock up in the light, so he could see it better. He turned it around and around.
Adam was
intrigued and rose from his chair and passed by Little Joe as he walked the
short distance to the other side of the coffee table. As he reached out for the
rock, he said, “Let me feel it,
Ben handed him the heavy chunk and Adam studied it closely. He tried to bite into the metal.
“Where did you get this, Joe?” Adam asked.
Joe sighed, wondering why his brother had not heard him the first time. With just a little too much irritation, he replied, “I told ya’! Me and Hoss found it in a gold mine. Remember?”
“Joseph, that’s enough. Your brother is just asking a question.” Ben gave Little Joe a stern look.
Hoss felt a need to step in; “We found it up by that rock pile Joe got stuck in a few years back. There’s a cave up there and it’s got gold inside it.”
Joe nodded in agreement.
Ben spoke up, “I thought you were told not to go near that rock pile, Joseph. And what is this about a cave? What are the rules about going into caves?” The older man looked at the boy sternly.
Joe looked to Hoss for help, but found none. Finally he answered, “Well, Pa, I needed to go look in that cave ‘cause I ‘membered seeing some gold in there, when I was just a kid. I ‘membered it in my dream and then, well, I just had to go get it! I was thinkin’ ‘bout my pistol….”
“I knew it…” Adam broke into the explanation.
Ben was working himself into a real angry mood and he glanced at Adam with an expression that said, ‘don’t continue”. “What in the world does a cave have to do with a pistol?”
Joe looked at his father with surprise, “Well, I gotta have some way to buy a gun. Nobody ‘round here will get me one. After the cave in, well, my problem was all solved… there’s a bunch more of that there gold – way back in the cave. ‘Course you gotta get past the pile of rocks that fell…..”
Ben had heard enough. He pointed his right index finger toward Joseph and shook the room with his loud voice, “Joseph Frances Cartwright! Stop talking right now. I don’t want to hear another word about gold or guns or anything else from you. Go to your room! You and I will continue this conversation later.”
Joe was stunned, he had just told his father that he found a gold mine and he was being sent to his room.
He reached for his golden nugget, still in Adam’s hands and cringed as his father’s voice bellowed. “Leave it!”
“But it’s mine,” the boy whined.
Hoss shook his head slightly. Joe caught his movement and put his hand down to his side. Thinking better of the situation, he wisely retreated, his own anger increasing as he ran up the steps to the refuge of his bedroom.
By now Ben was out of his chair and he moved closer to his middle son. “Hoss, I want to know the whole story and I want to know it NOW!”
Hoss looked up at his father. His Pa was angry, real angry. There was no use in trying to keep anything from Pa now, even the part about being nearly killed in a cave-in. So, the whole sad story was told.
The atmosphere at breakfast the next morning was tense. Everyone was on time; it would not be good to sleep in on this day. Hoss’ ears were still ringing from the lecture he had gotten the night before. But he knew Joe had gotten it worse and so he kindly placed a soft pillow on the chair for his little brother. Joe weakly smiled an unspoken thank you.
Ben looked around the table at his three sons. Hoss quickly ate his eggs and bacon, never taking his eyes off the plate. Joe sat morosely, holding his head up with one arm, elbow on the table. His other hand pushed eggs around the plate with a small piece of toast. Adam was the only one who whose gaze would meet his eyes.
“Well, I need to get going. I’ll take that rock to the assay office and then take a look at that cave the boys found. Hoss, you want to go with me? You know all about where this gold is supposed to be.”
Ben nodded in agreement. “That’s an excellent idea, Adam. Hoss, go saddle up. And remember what I said son, you are to go nowhere unsupervised. Your extra chores will be waiting for you, too. Adam, Hoss is not to leave your sight and please do be careful.”
Joe’s curly-haired head popped up at once and looked from Adam to Hoss and then to his father. “Can I go? I know where it is, too!”
Ben looked to his youngest and raised his eyebrows. “You, young man, are going nowhere. I believe we discussed what you would be doing today. We had that conversation last night. Surely you haven’t forgotten already. I have quite a long list of chores to be done and I am afraid you will be too busy for trips to town or anywhere else for a very long time.”
Joe slumped back down in his seat with the look of a very unhappy boy.
Meanwhile, Hoss hurried from his seat, to grab his 10-gallon hat hanging by the front door. He was eager to be as far from Pa as he could get today.
Later that evening, Joe had been sent to bed before Hoss and Adam got back from town. He didn’t even protest as Pa had given him so much work to do. He was very worn out and welcomed his soft comfy bed.
Ben rose from his chair when he heard two horses come into the yard. He hurried to the window behind his desk, pulled back the curtain and peered into the night. It was Adam and Hoss, back from town. By the time he had brought out a coffee pot and three mugs, the brothers were inside, shedding their gun belts and hats. Ben was eager to hear what news the boys had brought and invited the pair to sit down on the settee. Ben sat in his worn red leather chair and leaned forward in expectation, “Well?”
Adam smiled and
looked at Hoss, then back at his father.
“Good news,
Ben looked at Hoss and Hoss looked down at his coffee mug.
Adam continued, “Once we got deeper into the cave and started looking around, it was easy to find. It seems there is a small vein of some of the richest, purest gold ever mined around these parts. Lenny said it was a miracle it was overlooked years ago. It’s only a small vein, but he also said it was worth thousands of dollars.”
Ben listened intently. “Did you find out if the area is owned by anyone else? Are there any claims on the cave?”
Hoss sipped his coffee and Adam answered, “I checked and there is some good news about that. Nobody has a claim anywhere near there. It seems Hoss and Joe have a gold mine.”
“Humph!” Ben
grunted as he gave Hoss a steely-eyed look. “I think the boys already donated
this mine to the widows and orphans of
Hoss quickly
looked up from his coffee and earnestly nodded in agreement. “Of
course,
Ben tried to hide his smile. As angry as he was with his son’s for risking their lives, he was also very proud of them. It was an unselfish act to give up the riches of a gold mine, to help others. He appreciated the caring personalities of his sons. Sometimes they made him angry and sometimes they made him exasperated, but he loved them deeply. For all their foolishness, he cherished his sons, especially the one who instigated most of the pranks, his youngest boy, now sleeping soundly upstairs. Or so he thought.
Joe sat on the
cold wooden floor, at the top of the stairs, just out of sight of his family.
He had his nightshirt pulled down as far as possible to cover his bony knees.
He listened to the news that Adam and Hoss brought back from
As he did so, he overheard his father talking to his brothers.
“That gold nugget will go into a bank account for the boy. It will make a nice addition to his savings account and he knows that money is not to be touched until he his 21.”
Hoss and Adam looked at each other and smiled, “Sure, Pa, whatever you say.”
Joe scowled as he heard his father’s words. This was not what he expected. It definitely was not in his plans. He silently pushed his bedroom door shut and scurried back to his warm bed. He crawled under the covers and put the pillow over his head, just in time.
The door opened slightly and Ben peeked inside at his precious son. He smiled at the still form, obviously deep in sleep and then silently shut the door.
“Goodnight sons.”
“Goodnight,
“ ’Night,
When he heard the door shut, Joe pulled the pillow from the top of his head and stuffed it under his arm. He bit his lower lip and scrunched up his face in concentration. There had to be a way to get a pistol, there just had to be. Soon the boy was breathing steadily and evenly, dreaming about glittering gold, tooled leather gun belts and bright shiny revolvers with pearl white handles.
The End? Probably not.