'How did this
happen?'
thought Adam, for the hundredth time, since
he'd found himself in this jail
cell, in an
unfamiliar town, two
day's ride from home.
It had sounded like an easy job.
Deliver
half a dozen horses to a Mr
Miller in Morris Flats, collect the
money
and return home
Joe had begged to come along and as
he was
on vacation from school,
Adam agreed to take the 10 year old
with
him. He had enjoyed the
boy's company on the trail and it
had given
them the chance to catch
up a bit more on what they had both
been
doing during the time that
Adam had been away at college. Joe
still couldn't
understand why his
big brother would've volunteered to
go away
to school, and Adam had
tried to explain to Joe that it
wasn't like
going to school in
that he did understand a bit better
now, but
still couldn't see
himself ever wanting to do the same.
"Just as soon as Pa says I can
leave, I
will be outta there and I
won't be looking to going on for
more
learning. All I wanna do is
work on the ranch, with the horses.
In a few
years you won't havta
come on a trip like this, I'll be
able to
take care of it."
"I'm sure you will, little buddy,"
said Adam, ruffling the boy's
hair, and the thought of that
conversation,
such a short time before,
brought a lump to his throat, as he
wondered
where Little Joe was,
now he was in jail.
They arrived at the Miller ranch and
delivered the horses. Mr and Mrs
Miller had greeted them warmly and
offered
them a meal, which the
boys were happy to accept. Mr Miller
paid
them the asking price for
the horses and then Adam and Joe
rode into
town, to find a room for
the night.
In the middle of the night, they
were woken
up by the sheriff, who
accused Adam of robbing the bank and
demanded to search their
belongings for the money. The notes given to him by Mr
Miller
were
some from the robbery, the serial
numbers
matched, and so Sheriff
Clooney took Adam over to the jail.
Joe was left in the room in the
hotel,
telling anyone who would
listen that his brother was innocent.
The following morning, after a
sleepless
night for both Adam and Joe,
the two brothers were re-united,
when the
sheriff allowed Joe in to
visit Adam.
"I was scared, Adam, being in that
room
all alone," said Joe. "I
didn't know what to do, so I just
stayed
put."
"That was the best thing to do,
buddy,
but now I want you to send a
wire to Pa and get him to come here
as soon
as he can. Here, I have a
bit of my money left, as it didn't
match the
bills from the bank, so
the sheriff let me keep it. Get
yourself
something to eat and then
stay in the hotel room. Only leave
it when
you want to get some food,
okay?"
"When will they let you out, Adam?
You
ain't done nothing wrong. I
don't like being here on my own,"
and
Adam could see that Joe was
fighting hard not to cry.
Adam's heart ached to see his little
brother
so upset, but there was
nothing he could do.
He reached through the bars, and
squeezed
Little Joe's hand.
"It will be all right, Joe. Just
wait
in the hotel and things will
soon be sorted out. I don't want to
have to
be worried about you
wandering round a stange town alone,
so stay
in the room."
"How can they be sorted out, Adam?
No
one believes you about getting
that money from Mr Miller. The
sheriff said
he'd never even heard of
him and his wife," said Joe.
"Don't worry, I've asked for a
lawyer
and I'll get him to check out
my story. Now go and have some
breakfast and
then go back to the
hotel."
"OK, Adam," said Joe, and he left
the jail house.
Joe made his way to the nearest
cafe, after sending
a wire to Pa, and
managed to eat a little bit of
breakfast. He
went back to the hotel,
but couldn't just sit there, knowing
that
Adam was in jail. Although
Adam had told him to stay put, he
felt that
he had to do something to
help his big brother and decided to
ride out
to the Miller ranch and
confront them.
As he made his way to the livery
stable to
fetch his pony, Joe
noticed two men and a woman arriving
in
town, and they were riding
the horses that he and Adam had
brought from
the Ponderosa. It was Mr
and Mrs Miller and another man. They
felt
safe riding into town, to
pick up some supplies, before
leaving the
area, as they figured that
Adam would be in jail and no one
else would
know who they were.
The two men, who were brothers, had
been the
ones who had robbed the
bank and then hidden out at the
ranch, which
was up for sale. The
lady was married to one of the
brothers, and
it had been her idea to
buy the horses from Ben, giving them
unknown
mounts to make their
getaway on.
Paying for the horses with some of
the
stolen money meant that Adam
would be suspected of the theft, and
that
the sheriff would not be
searching for anyone else in
connection with
the robbery.
Making sure that he wasn't seen by
the
robbers, Little Joe returned
to the jail and told Sheriff Clooney
what
he'd seen. Adam could hear
what Joe was saying and he gave the
sheriff
a description of the
horses and of Miller and his wife.
The sheriff and his deputy went over
to the
mercantile and when they
began to question the men about the
robbery,
the younger brother,
Carl, panicked and began shooting at
the
sheriff, who returned the
fire and wounded Carl. Craig, the
older
brother, and his wife, gave
themselves up and admitted what they'd done.
"Seemed like a good idea, at the
time," said Craig, once they were
safely locked up. "Rob the bank, get
some fresh mounts and let
Cartwright take the blame. But we
reckoned
without the kid, here."
"I wasn't gonna let you get away
with
stealing our horses and putting
my big brother in jail," said Joe,
happy now that he was sat on
Adam's lap in the jailhouse.
"Thanks buddy," said Adam. "I
know I told you to stay put in the
hotel, but this is one time that I'm
glad
you disobeyed me, or else
they would have got away with it."
"
Joe, giving Adam one of his million
dollar
smiles.
THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne