The Great Escape
Little Joe couldn't believe that Adam had really carried out his
threat. The two brothers were on a horse buying trip for the ranch,
the first one for Joe since he'd left school and become a full time
ranch hand. The 16 year old was really looking forward to having
the
chance to prove to his father and his brothers just how good he was
at spotting good horseflesh and had spent most of the trip bragging
to Adam that he could really manage without his big brother's help.
"Maybe you could, buddy, but Pa wanted me to come along with you
and
you don't argue with Pa," said Adam.
Joe giggled. "I guess you don't. I didn't think he was ever gonna let
us leave home, his list of do's and don'ts, mostly don'ts, just
kept
getting longer. I was finding it real hard to concentrate on what
he
was saying, as I was anxious to get going, and I was praying that
he
didn't ask me to repeat all he'd said, cos
I knew
I couldn't."
"Well, the main thing he said was that you are to mind me, got
that,
buddy?" said Adam. "We have several places to visit and until I
have
seen all the horses available, I am not going to make any offers on
any of them. So when we go to a ranch, please leave me to do the
talking. I don't want you letting the sellers know how we feel
about
their stock, before we are ready to start negotiating, as it might
affect the price we have to pay. You are along to observe, that's
all, just to learn how it's done, got that?"
Joe rolled his eyes. "You sound more like Pa than Pa does. Lighten
up
a bit. I know better than to start shooting my mouth off in front
of
the sellers, I ain't a little kid no
more."
"Well, that's debatable," said Adam, causing Joe to frown.
"We're
nearly at
go out to the Flying W spread, they're our first stop."
By the time they were settled in the hotel, it was lunch time, and
so
Adam and Joe went to a small cafe for a bite to eat and then headed
out to the Flying W ranch.
Mr Williams had some mixed
stock to show
them, some good, some not so
good, but Adam said very little, as he ran an expert eye over them.
Joe tried to do as Adam had told him to, and keep quiet, but he
couldn't help himself and said, in a loud whisper, "Does this man
think we were born yesterday, older brother? Most of these animals
are ready to be retired, they're hardly breeding stock."
Mr Williams heard Joe and was
not happy.
"I think you should keep your opinions to yourself, sonny. You
don't
look like you have been long outta the
schoolyard; what would you
know about breeding horses?"
Adam gave Joe a warning look, but the boy took no notice and,
rather
rudely, addressed Mr Williams.
"I might have only just got outta the
schoolyard, but I know more
about horses than you obviously do. I've been around 'em
all my life,
old man. Your stock is not good enough to wear the Ponderosa brand."
Adam groaned to himself. Mr Williams
was an old
friend of their
father's and the Cartwright's usually bought a few horses off him,
each time they visited, as Ben knew that the old man was in ill
health and wasn't able to catch as many wild horses as he used to.
It
was a way of helping the man, who had, in the past, done a few
favours for Ben, without it
appearing
that they were offering him
charity.
"I'm surprised that your father allows your little brother to speak
to his elders in that tone, Adam," said Mr
Williams. "He certainly
wouldn't have let you or Hoss get away with such disrespect."
"I apologise for my brother, Mr Williams," said Adam. "You are right
about what you say about our father. He wouldn't have let me get
away
with being so rude, and neither will I let Joe. I will be having
some
serious words with him, when we get back to the hotel. And when I
come back tomorrow, to make my final choice, I will not be bringing
him with me. Thanks you for your time, sir, I will see you
tomorrow.
Come on Joe," and Adam mounted up, with Joe following suit.
As they rode back to town, Joe tried to defend himself.
"Those horses were a rough bunch, Adam. Pa would think we'd lost
our
minds if we took back that lot."
"I have no intention of buying them all," said Adam, crossly.
"But I
will pick out a couple of the better ones. He's been a friend of
Pa's
for many years and now he's older and in ill health, Pa likes to
help
him out. You had no right to speak to him like you did."
"Sorry, how was I to know that Pa did that?" said Joe, angry that
he
hadn't been given all the facts.
"I didn't feel that it was necessary to tell you, as I had already
instructed you not to say anything at all, about the quality of the
stock," said Adam. "I think it's best that you don't come and
visit
the ranches, if you can't do what I say."
"The whole point of me being along on this trip,
is to visit the
ranches with you," said Joe. "So you're not leaving me
behind."
"We'll see about that," said Adam.
The next day, Adam was preparing to go out to the Flying W again
and
he told Joe to remain in town. When Joe argued with Adam, the young
man became angry.
"Look Joe, you're not coming with me and that's an end to it. If
necessary, I will lock you in our room."
"Aw, come on Adam, don't be ridiculous," said Joe, also getting
angry. "I'm coming with you and that's an end to it."
"You're not, and that's an end to it."
Joe launched himself at Adam and tried to get past his older
brother,
but Adam was a lot stronger. He pushed Joe back into the room and
went out, locking the door.
"I'll only be about two hours, Joe, then I'll be back to let you
out.
You can come with me to the Johnson place, this afternoon, but I
told
Mr Williams that I wouldn't
let you
accompany me to his ranch."
Adam set off, leaving his little brother, fuming, in the room.
There was no way that Joe was just going to accept being locked up
and he began to look for ways to get out. They were on the third
floor and so the window wasn't an option, but Joe suddenly noticed
another window, above the door. He used a chair to enable him to
reach the transom, and opened the window. He then managed to
squeeze
through the gap and jumped down into the corridor.
'I'll show him,' thought Joe. 'Who does he think he is, locking me
in
like that?'
Joe headed out to the Johnson place and introduced himself to Mr
Johnson. He was hoping to look over the stock, without Adam, and
buy
some horses, to prove to his big brother that he was capable of
doing
so, but Mr Johnson wasn't prepared to
do business
with him.
"Sorry, young fella," said Mr Johnson. "I know you are Ben's boy,too,
but I prefer to negotiate with your brother. He said he was coming
out this afternoon, so I'll wait to see him. No offence, but he's
got
a lot more experience than you have, boy."
Joe had to leave, without buying any horses, and was not that
happy.
He returned to town, to find that Adam was back from the Flying W.
"Where the hell have you been?" said Adam, when Joe arrived at
their
room.
"I went out to try and buy some horses, to prove that I was just as
good at it, as you were, but Mr
Johnson wouldn't
deal with me. Said I
wasn't experienced enough."
"Well, I did tell you that, buddy,
but you
didn't want to believe me,
did you? Look, I'm sorry about earlier, it was wrong of me to lock
you in, but you can be so stubborn, at times."
"Wonder where I get that from, huh?" said Joe. "I'm sorry
too. I
shouldn't have been so rude to Mr
Williams, and I
should have kept my
mouth shut, like you asked me to, when I didn't know all the facts."
"I think we were both in the wrong," said Adam, a lot calmer, now
that he knew that Joe was all right. "Let's have some lunch and
then
we'll both go and see Mr Johnson.
You've already
seen what he has on
offer, so as we ride out there, you can fill me in on which horses
I
should be concentrating on, okay?"
Joe perked up, at these words.
"So you are interested in my opinion, then? Thanks, Adam, of course
I
will tell you about his stock, he did have some real nice looking
mounts," and the two brothers headed off for some lunch, their past
disagreement forgotten.
THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne