Shotgun Wedding
By: Rona Y.
Travelling by stagecoach
wasn’t Joe Cartwright’s favourite means of travel. It was bouncy, dusty and
uncomfortable and once, he had been involved in a coach crash. However, after
being away from home for more than a week, delivering a horse to a friend of
his father’s, Joe had no other option but to return by coach. He had taken only the horse he was delivering
with him, riding the animal on his outward journey. The horse safely delivered,
he had banked the money, getting the bank to wire it to
The passengers on the coach
with Joe were less than interesting, too, he reflected. The one woman was a
stout, elderly lady who complained about the dust and the heat non-stop. Her
husband, a small, thin, hen-pecked looking man, grunted agreement with
everything she said, and never voiced a single opinion.
The other passengers were
two middle aged men. They talked in quiet tones to each other, but seldom
addressed more than the most commonplace remarks to their fellow travellers.
Neither man was stout, but when they sat on the seat, there was precious little
room for Joe to sit next to them, and he certainly didn’t fancy sitting next to
the stout lady who, truth be told, smelt strongly of stale sweat and over-sweet
toilet water. Joe found himself sitting on the floor, trying to avoid being
kicked. He hoped that they weren’t all travelling to
Unfortunately for Joe, it appeared
that they were. The first night’s stop was in a way station hardly bigger than
the Ponderosa’s barn. The stout lady was vociferous in her complaints, but the
food was good and plentiful, if plain and at least the beds and couches
provided for them to sleep on were clean and free from fleas and bedbugs. Joe
knew that this place was an exception and only hoped that their accommodation
for the next night would be as pleasant.
As dawn broke, they were
off, Joe once more seated on the floor. He had yet to learn the names of any of
his companions, and they rebuffed conversational gambits each time Joe
proffered them. He sighed and pulled his hat down over his eyes. It was
uncomfortably warm in the coach and he doubted if he could even manage to sleep
the journey away. And perhaps, he mused, it wasn’t wise to sleep when your back
was resting against the door!
Trouble struck about
mid-morning. There was silence for the time being, the stout lady having ceased
her complaining because of a dry mouth. She had scorned Joe’s offer of a drink
from the canteen, presumably thinking it was below her dignity to do so.
Shrugging, Joe struggled to keep his feelings from his face. Well, he thought,
that would be the last time he offered to help her!
There was a sudden cry of
“Whoa!” from the driver and everyone sat up looking puzzled. There wasn’t a
stop scheduled for some time, a fact that Joe was coming to regret more and
more. He scrambled to his feet and peered cautiously out of the window.
“What’s up?” he called.
“There’s a tree down over
the road,” the driver replied. “It’s blocked.” The stage bounced to a
standstill, and Joe opened the door and jumped out to look. Sure enough, a tree
lay over the road.
Looking at it, Joe frowned.
There was something not right about that tree, but he couldn’t immediately see
what it was. Before he had any more time to think, half a dozen armed men burst
from the surrounding undergrowth. “Don’t move!” one called, pointing his gun
directly at Joe.
As Joe was relieved of his
pistol, the other passengers were urged from the coach. The stout lady, Joe
noticed, was no longer blustering, but was clinging to her husband’s arm. They
flicked a glance at Joe, copied his stance, and put their hands up.
“All right,” said one of
the outlaws, riding forward. “I want your valuables.”
It wasn’t a man’s voice, it
was a woman’s. What’s more, it was familiar to Joe. He lifted his head and
peered intently at the rider. All of a sudden, he knew what was wrong with the
tree on the road. It hadn’t been up-rooted; it had been cut down. One mystery
solved, Joe took a step towards the woman, trying to see her eyes, since the
lower half of her face was covered by a bandanna. The gunman at his back
clicked the safety off his gun. “Don’t move!” he warned again.
Her attention attracted by
the movement, the woman outlaw looked from Joe’s saddlebags, which had just
been thrown down from the stage roof, to the young cowboy. Her eyes widened.
Abruptly, the memory
clicked into place for Joe and he took another step forward, opening his mouth
to greet the woman by name. She saw the recognition in Joe’s eyes and nodded to
her companion who stood behind him. At once, the man clicked back on his safety
and reversed his gun, cracking it down on Joe’s head. The youngest Cartwright
boy collapsed soundlessly in the dirt by the coach while the other passengers
looked on in disbelief.
“Tie him up and bring him
along,” the woman ordered. “And bring his saddlebags, too.” She continued to
shoot little glances at her captive as her men efficiently tied Joe up and
finished looting the passenger’s luggage. Their haul wasn’t terribly
impressive, but the passengers looked distressed. “You’re free to go,” the
woman said, as Joe was slung onto a horse.
The outlaws turned tail and
disappeared.
**************
When the stage rattled into
its next stop, late, the driver jumped straight from the box and hurried into
the depot. There, he blurted out the story of the hold-up to the depot manager,
who in turn sent for the sheriff. Before very long, the story had travelled
around the small town like wildfire.
“An’ you know this boy they
took?” the sheriff asked the driver.
“Sure do,” the driver
answered. “I seen him lots o’ times in
“I’ll git a posse
together,” the sheriff muttered.
“I reckon y’ought to wire
the boy’s kin in
“Reckon so,” the sheriff agreed,
and with heavy steps went off to send his message.
***************
How much time had passed
before he roused, Joe didn’t know and had no way to tell. His head throbbed
miserably and he found that he was lying on the ground, with his hands and feet
tied. He opened his eyes and peered round blearily, unable for a moment to
remember where he was.
Seeing the outlaws, memory
came rushing back to him, and he struggled to sit up. The movement attracted
attention and a moment later the woman came over to him. The bandanna was gone
from her face.
She was about 5’6” tall,
slim, with long dark hair just beginning to be streaked with grey. She was as
beautiful as she had been the last time Joe had seen her, several years before.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. She had hurt Ben, Joe’s father,
immeasurably and Joe had never forgiven her for that. But there had also been
personal enmity between she and Joe.
“Well, Joe,” Madeline said,
standing over him. There was a gloating look on her face. “You haven’t changed
much, have you? Although it was the brand on the saddlebags that I recognised
first.”
“You have changed though,”
Joe retorted. “Robbing stages? Isn’t that rather a comedown for Madeline Ross,
who thought to be Mrs Ben Cartwright? What’s happened to all that money your
husband left you? You haven’t spent it all have you?” He was suddenly angry.
“Things change,” Madeline
commented. “I rob stages because its easy work and the pickings can be good.
Yes, the money is all gone. Does that please you?”
“I pity you,” Joe said,
truthfully. He glanced at the men, all of whom were watching closely. Joe
wondered if they thought he was going to attack her while bound hand and foot.
He wondered what she was going to do with him. The nasty thought occurred that
she knew his father was well off; she was bound to hold him for ransom.
“I don’t need your pity!”
she cried and slapped his face. “No, you haven’t changed, have you, Joe? Still
looking down your nose at me because I’m not a Cartwright.”
“That was never true,” Joe
denied. “You’re the one who drove Pa away.
He loved you, Madeline, but you ruined it because you were jealous of
us.”
Her face contorted with
rage, Madeline was visibly restraining herself from hitting him again. “Its
pathetic, a grown man hanging onto his sons like that! I bet you’re all still
living there with him yet, stopping him from having a life of his own!”
Shaking his head, Joe said,
softly, “You still don’t get it, do you, Madeline? Pa has a life of his own,
just as we do. It just so happens we all live in the family home and work with
each other. We aren’t stifled by the love we share. Don’t knock something just
because you don’t understand it.”
Turning abruptly, Madeline
shouted,” Let’s get going!” She turned and looked at Joe. “He can walk. Tie him
behind my horse.” The look she gave him promised retribution for the words he
had just spoken.
Swallowing, Joe forced
himself to hold her gaze as a rope was tied around his middle and made fast to
the saddle horn.
******************
“Pa!” Hoss called, as he
stopped his horse by the hitching rail in the yard. “Pa!” He jumped down and
wrapped his rein around the rail before hurrying towards the house.
As he reached the porch,
the house door opened and Ben Cartwright stood there. “What’s all the shouting
about?” he asked, eyeing his large middle son.
“This wire jist came,” Hoss
said, thrusting the piece of flimsy paper towards his father.
Taking the wire slowly, Ben
glanced at Hoss’ anxious face and knew that whatever lay in the wire was not
going to be pleasant. His heart contracted slightly and he felt fear fluttering
in his stomach. He unfolded the paper and read the stark words.
FROM THE SHERIFF OF BLACK
HILLS STOP
REGRET YOUR SON JOSEPH
TAKEN HOSTAGE STOP
AFTER STAGECOACH HELD
UP STOP
Looking at his father’s
white face, Hoss knew exactly how the older man felt. He had felt the same when
he read the wire in
“Why did they take Joe?”
Ben asked, anguished.
“I dunno,” Hoss admitted.
He kept his eyes fixed on his father, just in case Ben should need some
physical support, but he seemed to be all right.
“Saddle the horses and get
some supplies together. We’re leaving tonight.” Ben crumpled the paper in his
hands and turned back to the house to gather what they would need for the trip.
He didn’t know why Joe had been taken, but he suspected it was because he had
been recognised as a Cartwright and that the outlaws would want a lot of money
to free his son. Ben didn’t grudge one single cent of that price, for he loved
all his sons. He just hoped that the money would be enough to secure Joe’s
life.
Throwing some clothes
hastily into his saddlebags, Ben thought of all the things he had to do. First
stop would be the bank in
Packed, Ben went down to
tell Hop Sing, their cook and housekeeper what was happening. Hoss had briefed
their foreman, and they were soon on the road, knowing that the Ponderosa was
in good hands while they were away.
Ben made the bank minutes
before it closed. He spoke for quite some time to the manager, who was an old
friend and who promised to be on stand-by to send money whenever Ben needed it.
“I hope Joe is all right,” he said, earnestly as he let Ben out of the bank
building long after closing time.
“Thank you,” Ben replied.
It was comforting to know that his youngest son was held in such esteem by the
people they knew.
Together, he and Hoss went down
to the town jail. Roy Coffee, the sheriff, was dozing behind his desk as they
opened the door, but he jerked awake as they went in. “Ben, Hoss,” he mumbled,
rubbing his eyes. “What brings ya here?”
“Joe has been taken by
outlaws after the stage was held up just outside of
“
“No, I realise that,” Ben
muttered. “With Clem away, you’re needed here. If this man
“I’ll wire
“Thanks,” Ben answered and
left before his fragile control of his emotions shattered. He swung himself
onto his horse and glanced at Hoss. The big man’s face was impassive, although
Ben knew he was worried, too. He silently thanked God for this son, who was
willing to subject his own needs for those of his family. “Are you all right,
Hoss?” he asked, realising he’d been selfish in not considering Hoss’ needs,
too.
“I’ll be all right when we
git Little Joe home safe,” Hoss replied, his voice quiet but full of strength.
“Don’ worry, Pa; Joe’s a tough kid.” He nodded as though agreeing with himself.
“He’ll be all right, you’ll see.”
******************
The clapboard house that
was the outlaws’ final destination had once been very nice, Joe saw, but it was
in desperate need of painting, with the old paint peeling in weathered strips
from the boards. They dismounted and the horses were led round the back, where
Joe presumed there was a barn.
Madeline had been
surprisingly kind to Joe on their journey there. She hadn’t forced him to run
until he was too exhausted to stand, although he was done in. He struggled to
control his breathing, but Madeline had noticed him panting and looked pleased.
Tugging on the rope that was still around his middle, she forced him inside the
house.
The interior showed similar
signs of neglect to the exterior. The furniture consisted of big velvet chairs
and dark wood, but the velvet was moth-eaten and worn and the wood hadn’t seen
polish in many years. Some of the downstairs rooms were draped with dust
sheets, Joe noticed as he glanced around, drinking in his surroundings.
“This will be your home for
the foreseeable future, Joe,” she told him.
“So you’re holding me for
ransom,” Joe stated, quietly.
“You are a bright boy,”
Madeline laughed, stroking his cheek. He forced himself not to pull back from
her touch. “I am indeed going to hold you to ransom, Joe. And don’t tell me
your father won’t pay up. I know him, remember? He would pay anything for you
boys; anything. Ben will pay my price, Joe, or you will pay the consequences.”
Her hand lingered on his cheek. Every instinct screamed at Joe to back away,
but he forced himself to be still. The next instant, he regretted his decision,
as Madeline dug her fingernails into the lobe of his ear. He let out a cry of
shock and pain, and she viciously tightened her grip until blood ran from under
her nails. Satisfied, she let go and smiled at Joe. “Do we understand each
other?” she asked, and saw from his face that they did.
***************
On their arrival in
“There’s a wire here for
ya, Mr Cartwright,”
Carefully, Ben tore open
the envelope, dreading what he might find. Hoss crowded in close to read over
his father’s shoulder.
COME TO OLD PINE TREE STOP
TOMORROW
COME ALONE STOP
“Where is the old pine
tree?” Ben asked
“Back along the road a
ways,”
“I remember it,” Hoss said,
and Ben, when he bent his mind to it, could remember seeing it too.
“This wire come from
“It’s worth a try,” Ben
assured him. “Thank you.”
“I wouldn’t advise goin’
alone, Mr Cartwright,”
“I don’t have any choice,”
Ben replied. “My son’s life is in danger. I have to do what I can to get him
set free again.”
***************
The meal that Joe was fed was
better than he had expected. Madeline was a good cook, he remembered, although
she preferred not to cook if at all possible. He was slightly surprised when he
was offered a meal and even more surprised when his hands were freed to allow
him to feed himself. However, his feet were left bound and he was watched
warily throughout.
After the meal, his hands
were tied behind him again and he was dragged into a downstairs room, and
thrown on the floor. His hopes of being able to move about and perhaps find a
way to free himself were swiftly dashed, as his feet were tied tightly to a
vast, ugly mahogany sideboard with oddly shaped legs. There was no way that
piece of furniture could be moved by a lone man, never mind one bound hand and
foot. Joe was disappointed, although not surprised. The house looked so
dilapidated that a strong gust of wind might knock it over, and Joe had hoped
that he would be able to break free without too many problems. There were
distinct drawbacks to being held prisoner by someone who knew you quite well,
he reflected, trying to keep his spirits up.
Come morning, after a night
spent at least partly asleep, Joe was offered breakfast and a small amount of
liberty. He gratefully accepted the chance to wash, and peered at his ear in
the mirror above the basin. The ear was, as Joe had guessed, bright red. It
throbbed painfully. Blood had run down his neck and soaked into his collar. It
looked quite dramatic, he thought, as he washed it off his neck.
Joe lingered as long as he
could over his wash, but all too soon, he was man-handled into a chair and tied
to it. That was where he spent the rest of the day, watched over by one or
another of the outlaws. Joe tried hard to convince himself he was flattered by
the attention. The ropes were all together too well tied to allow him any
possibility of escape, yet he was guarded as though he might break free any
moment.
To while away the time, Joe
thought back to when he had first met Madeline. He had seen her briefly in the
store in
However, things began to go
wrong when Joe returned home injured after a minor accident. Madeline had been
angry that Joe’s arrival had interrupted their meal, and that his continuing
ill-health had caused Ben to cancel a date the following evening. It soon
became clear to Joe that he was not wanted by Madeline and that their earlier
friendship had vanished.
Then Ben announced that he
and Madeline were to be married on Christmas Eve. By then, Joe knew that
Madeline would not welcome he and his brothers living in the Ponderosa and was
wretchedly miserable. He had no idea what to do about the situation.
It was another accident, a
short seven days before the wedding, which had opened Ben’s eyes to Madeline’s
feelings about his sons. The sleigh horses had run away, and the reins had been
caught under a runner. Joe had been struck by the sleigh and had broken almost
every bone on the left side of his body. Adam and Hoss had both suffered
concussions. Madeline had insisted that Ben leave the doctoring to the doctor
and come and discuss their wedding plans. Ben had been shocked and had told
Madeline that his sons were just as important to him as she was. Madeline had
told him then that she hated children and that his love for his sons was
unnatural. Ben had sadly told her that they could not marry and he had never
seen her again after that night.
For some time, Joe knew
that Ben had wondered about Madeline; about where she was and what she was
doing. He had done so himself. But as the years had passed, the memory of that
time faded and was put aside. Joe had pretty much forgotten about her. Ben had
had other romances, most of them fleeting and not serious. He had had quite a
few himself. He wondered what Ben’s feelings were towards Madeline now.
That was one of the longest
days Joe had ever spent. His continuing captivity was onerous and Joe chafed
under the restrictions. When Madeline returned in the middle of the afternoon,
Joe was in a thoroughly bad temper. It wasn’t helped by the satisfied, feline
smile that played on her lovely face.
“Your father will be here
tomorrow, Joe,” Madeline told him. “You see, I told you it would be useless to
tell me he wouldn’t pay a ransom for you. I do know him, so very well.” She
stroked his cheek again, a gesture she seemed incredibly fond of, considering
she didn’t like Joe at all. “He wants you back, it seems, Joe. I can’t
understand him wanting you all around.”
“That’s because you don’t
really understand love,” Joe told her, rashly. “You loved Pa for what he could
give you, not for himself.”
“How dare you!” Madeline
spat, and slapped his face. Joe’s head snapped round, but he looked back at her
fearlessly, despite the fact his lip was bleeding.
“I dare because it’s true,”
he stated quietly. “You loved Pa because he could give you everything you
wanted, but it wasn’t real love. If it had been, you would have loved us, too,
because he does.” He looked up at her. She looked very beautiful when she was
angry. “The very fact that we are still living together at home should tell you
of the kind of bond we all share. Driving us away would never have made Pa
happy, and you know that. It just goes to prove what I said; you didn’t really
love
Hot colour stained her
cheeks. Jerking her head to the outlaw who was currently guarding Joe, she
said, “Get him out of my sight.”
“That won’t stop you
hearing my voice,” Joe said, as he was dragged to his feet. The ropes that
bound him to the chair fell amongst his feet, and he almost tripped over them as
he was hurried away. “Once you hear the truth, there’s nothing that will
silence it,” he called.
“Shut him up!” Madeline
screamed, and as Joe was shoved into the room where he had spent the night, the
outlaw came after him, kicking and punching the helpless youth. Joe curled up,
trying to protect his vulnerable midriff, but the beating went on, until he
could barely breathe. He was aware of a gag being forced into his mouth before
the door banged shut, leaving him alone.
*****************
“I don’ think you should go
alone, Pa,” Hoss protested again, knowing that his protests were useless.
“The sheriff says it’s too
exposed up there for you to be able to hide effectively,” Ben repeated, his
patience sounding strained. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, son. You
can track me, if you need to.”
“D’ya think Joe’s all
right?” Hoss asked. His misery was written clearly on his face. Neither man had
slept much the night before, wondering about Joe.
“I hope so,” Ben replied,
his voice low. He was deeply concerned for the safety of his youngest son. It
was so out of character for stagecoach robbers to take a hostage when they
weren’t being threatened that Ben was made very uneasy by it. To him, it meant
that Joe had been recognised and taken because of who he was. And that
suggested his captor had a personal grudge against Ben. He couldn’t imagine who
this person might be, but he feared the worst.
Mounting up, Ben found the
semblance of a smile for Hoss and rode out of the town towards the old pine tree.
His heart thumped uncomfortably against his ribs and his breath seemed to pant
away from him. Finally, he rode up to the tree. It was about ten minutes to
Time ticked past, as Ben
began to despair.
“Madeline!” exclaimed Ben,
his heart lurching. He gazed at her in disbelief, not understanding how she
came to be there, but noticing that she was still a beautiful woman. “What are
you doing here?”
She smiled at him and
gestured. Three armed men rode from the trees. Ben swallowed, his throat
suddenly dry. “I’ve come to collect Joe’s ransom,” she purred and revelled in
the shock on Ben’s face.
****************
The clapboard house had
seen better days, Ben thought, as he rode up to it. He was all too aware of the
guns trained on his back, but at least he hadn’t been tied up, he reflected.
Knowing that Madeline had Joe, Ben was more than willing to do what he was
told. Madeline had led the way and Ben had noticed that they made no attempt to
brush out their tracks. This gave him a small measure of comfort, for he knew
that Hoss would be able to track him.
“Come in, Ben,” Madeline
invited as they dismounted in front of the house.
“Where’s Joe?” Ben asked,
as they went inside. “I want to see him.”
“How tiresome you are about
those boys of yours, Ben,” she chided him. “I thought you’d want to visit with
me; catch up on all the news.”
“I want to see Joe,” he
repeated, stubbornly. “When I know he’s all right, we can discuss his ransom.”
A look that he couldn’t
interpret crossed her face. Before he could say anything, she turned away,
leading him across to a room on the ground floor. A gunman followed closely at
his back. Throwing open the door, Madeline gestured grandly. “There he is, Ben.
Satisfied?”
Gasping, Ben pushed past her
into the room. “Joe!” he exclaimed in horror as his son looked up at him. Joe’s
left eye was swollen shut and he lay curled up, as though he hurt.
“That’s far enough!”
Madeline said, sharply. She swept past Ben to point a gun at Joe’s head. “You
wanted to see him; well, you’ve seen him. Now out.”
Horrified, Ben was prodded
out of the room at gunpoint, his eyes riveted on his youngest son, who was
bound, gagged and had a gun pointed at his head. “Don’t worry, Joe,” he called
over his shoulder. “I’ll get you out of this.” He saw Joe nod slightly before
Madeline stepped out of the room and locked the door behind her.
“How could you do that to
him?” Ben asked. He wondered if he had ever known this woman at all. It had
almost broken his heart to send her away, and the memory of his love for her
had kept him awake at nights for quite some time. He had never regretted his
decision not to marry her, for he knew that she would have driven a wedge
between him and his sons. Now, the last vestige of his love for her curled and
died.
“Well, personally, I never
laid a hand on him,” she protested, smiling. “Oh, well, perhaps that’s not
quite true. I did slap him. But I needed to show you that I mean what I say,
Ben.” She went over to him and linked her arm though his. Ben drew away in
disgust. She glared at him. “Let’s discuss that ransom, shall we?”
**************
As evening fell, Hoss
turned to the sheriff. “Come dawn, I’m goin’ out lookin’ for him,” he stated.
His tone brooked no argument.
“The posse’ll be ready,”
“I knew Pa shouldn’t a gone
alone,” Hoss fretted. “I knew somethin’ bad was gonna happen.”
“No news is good news,”
“I hope so,” muttered Hoss,
but he wasn’t so sure. He went off to force himself to lie down, but he knew
that sleep would be in short supply that night.
************
Gazing at Medline, Ben
said, “What?”
“The ransom for your son is
marriage,” Madeline repeated patiently. “If it hadn’t been for your sons, we
could be married now. When I found fate had delivered Joe into my hands, I
could hardly believe it. Yes, I am holding him for ransom, Ben and the price of
his life and his freedom is your marriage to me.”
“That’s no basis for
marriage,” Ben spluttered. He was shocked rigid at her suggestion. “Why would I
stay married to you under those circumstances?”
“Because you would never
know when the boys were in danger,” she told him calmly. “They will never be
entirely safe, Ben. I would always have that as my ultimate threat over you. We
will be married and you will stay with me.”
“The boys will never accept
that,” Ben muttered. His mind was reeling. “How could you expect Joe to accept
that?”
“If Joe wants to live,
he’ll accept it,” Madeline stated flatly. “You will convince him of that, won’t
you, my darling. You claim to dote on your sons – well here’s your chance to
show me how much. You will marry me, or I will kill Joe. Once we are married,
you and I will live together at the Ponderosa. Joe will accept that, or face
the consequences. My men will come with us, so there’s always someone around
who could carry out my threat.”
Try though he might, Ben
could see no way out of this dilemma. He didn’t know what to say to Madeline
and so said nothing. He didn’t realise that his silence spoke for him quite
eloquently. She smiled. Gesturing to one of her men, she said, “Bring him.”
Rising, she led the way
across to the room where Joe was being held. She unlocked the door and went in.
Joe winced and turned his head away from the sudden light. Ben ached to run to
him, but the gun prodding into his back reminded him to do what he was told.
Setting down the lamp she
had brought with her, Madeline went over to Joe and crouched beside him. She
ran her hand down his cheek and Joe flinched. “Do you see what I can do, Ben?”
she asked, turning her captive’s head so that his father could see his
lacerated earlobe. Ben winced. “That’s not all I can do.”
“No!” Ben cried, sensing
what she was about to do. He was too late. With one smooth movement, Madeline
raked her nails down Joe’s face. Ben lunged forwards, determined to throttle
the life out of this woman. The man behind him sledged his gun onto Ben’s unprotected
head, and he tumbled to the floor, unconscious.
From where he lay, panting
against the pain and groaning into his gag, Joe glared at Madeline. He fought
his bonds, further tearing the skin on his wrists, but he was unable to get
free and take his revenge for her hurting his father.
Laughing, Madeline rose to
her feet and looked down at Ben. “Tomorrow, you will agree,” she whispered and
she and her henchman left.
****************
Ben roused a few minutes later.
He sat up groggily, and became aware of a pair of green eyes watching him
anxiously from across the room. “Joe,” he murmured and clutched his throbbing
head.
Somehow, he managed to
cross the room, and sat down next to Joe, gently removing the gag and taking
his son into his arms. “Joe, are you all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Joe answered,
thickly. His mouth was dry and his lower lip was badly split. He sat quietly as
Ben pulled him against his chest and began to struggle with the ropes that held
him captive. After a time, he got Joe’s hands free, and while his son began to
rub some life back into his hands, he untied Joe’s feet. “Are you all right,
Pa?”
“I’ll be all right,” Ben
answered. He freed Joe’s feet and sat back, looking closely at his son’s face.
The scratch marks on Joe’s cheek were still bleeding slightly and he hunted his
pockets for a handkerchief. He pressed the material carefully to Joe’s face,
but the youth winced anyway. Now that he was close, Ben could see a faint,
handprint bruise on that same cheek. “Where are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” Joe protested,
but Ben wasn’t having that. He held Joe’s gaze until the young man squirmed
slightly and dropped his eyes. “Just some bruises on my ribs, Pa, honest.”
Not convinced, and
accustomed to Joe’s evasion regarding his health, Ben gently probed Joe’s ribs,
satisfied that nothing was broken. Together, they stood up and made themselves
as comfortable as they could on the furniture in the room.
“How much money does she
want?” Joe asked bitterly. He avoided Ben’s gaze. He knew there was nothing he
could have done to avoid being kidnapped, but he still felt bad.
“Not a red cent,” Ben
answered, flatly.
Joe’s eyes flew up to meet
Ben’s, a question already formed on his bruised, bleeding face. “What?” he
asked. “I don’t understand. What does she want if not money?”
“Me,” Ben replied. “She
wants me.”
*******************
“She wants to marry you,”
Joe repeated, as though the words didn’t make sense. “But, how does she expect
that to work? You wouldn’t live with her. You’d get her arrested as soon as I
was…” His voice trailed off as the implications of his words hit him. “She’d
never let me go, would she?” he demanded. “She’d forever hold me as a hostage.”
“You or Hoss,” Ben agreed.
“She says she’d always have one of her men with you, watching you, so that I
could never leave her, or have her arrested.”
“Don’t do it!” Joe urged.
“Pa, she’s bluffing, she must be! Don’t do it!”
“I can’t call that bluff,
Joe,” Ben chided him gently. “You know that she means it. Look what she’s done
to you.”
Anguished, knowing that Ben
would marry Madeline to save his life, Joe could only gaze at Ben, tears
glazing his eyes. “Pa, you can’t,” he whispered. “There must be a way out of
this.”
Feeling a lump rise in his
throat, Ben drew Joe against him again. “I can’t risk your life, Joe,” he
murmured, one hand rising to stroke the boy’s head. “I would do anything to
keep you safe.”
They sat like that for a
long time.
*************
Dawn found Hoss,
“There’s quite a number o’
them, ain’t there?”
“Sure looks like it,” Hoss
agreed. “I reckon there are three or four diff’rent sets o’ tracks. I sure hope
my Pa an’ Joe are all right.”
It was slow going tracking
through the belt of trees. Once or twice, they lost the trail all together and
had to back track. At
The afternoon was half gone
when the trail led out towards a house in the distance. The posse stopped, and
dismounted. “I reckon we go on on foot from here,” Hoss said, taking his rifle
from the scabbard on his saddle. He glanced round at the men, all of whom
copied his actions. Receiving a nod from
****************
That same morning, Joe and
Ben were dragged from sleep by the sound of the lock clicking open. Ben sat up
hastily, but he wasn’t fast enough to jump the outlaw entering the room with
Madeline. He glared at the woman before going over to check on Joe. He hadn’t
meant to go to sleep, but his lack of sleep from the previous night had caught
up with him and he had dozed off.
Biting back a groan, Joe
sat up slowly. He was incredibly stiff, but he gave Ben a glance to reassure
him he was all right. He, too, glared at Madeline, feeling her gaze on his
bruised, scarred cheek. He could scarcely believe what she intended to do and
the very thought of Ben marrying this woman to save his life was repugnant to
him. He vowed to himself to make his escape if he could.
“Joseph, my pet,” Madeline
greeted him cheerily. “How pleasant it must have been for you to have your dear
father spend the night with you before his nuptials. I’m afraid that this will
be the last you see of your father for some time to come.” She laughed at the
identical looks that flitted over the faces of father and son. “You see, Joe,
it would be too dangerous to have you running around free, so you will have to
stay here. I’m sorry you can’t come to the wedding. Ben would no doubt love to
have you stand up with him, but that’s not possible, I’m afraid.” She nodded to
her henchmen, who started to prod Ben to his feet. “Let’s go, my love. You have
to get tidied up before we see the preacher.”
Enraged, and heedless of
his own safety, Joe lunged at Madeline, determined to stop her, somehow.
“Joe, no!” Ben gasped, as
he saw the men moving to protect Madeline. He had no idea what kind of hold she
had over these men, but their loyalty to her was absolute. The men behind him
grabbed his arms and twisted them up behind his back, stopping Ben from going
to help Joe.
The others grabbed at Joe,
but he twisted away from their grasping hands. He grabbed at Madeline and
managed to catch her sleeve. He was tackled from behind and driven to his
knees, but he didn’t relinquish his grip, and Madeline was dragged to the floor,
too. Joe kicked out frantically, desperate to keep the slight advantage he had,
but it was no use. There were too many of them. A rifle butt sledged down on
his hand, once, then again. His grip broke as agonising pain shot up his arm.
As Madeline scrambled to
her feet with undignified haste, Ben watched in horror as the men moved in on
Joe, intent on taking him apart. Ben struggled helplessly against the grips on
his arms. “Stop them!” he demanded of Madeline. “They’ll kill him!” He shot a
glance at her, and played the only card he had left. “I won’t marry you if
Joe’s dead!”
“Enough!” she commanded,
realising that Ben wouldn’t marry her if Joe died. Reluctantly, the men backed
off. Ben gazed in horror at his son.
Blood ran from Joe’s nose
and mouth; his shirt was torn in several places. “Joe!” Ben called, anguished, fighting the
men who had hold of him. “Joe!” His son didn’t stir.
“Tie him up,” Madeline
said, gesturing to Joe. “Your precious son isn’t dead, Ben,” she went on. “Now,
the preacher will be here within the hour. You need to get a move on.”
Glancing over his shoulder
as he was hustled out, Ben saw Joe, still unconscious, being cruelly tied up
again. As the door was closed behind him, Ben looked at Madeline. His heart
contracted within him at the thought of marrying her, but with Joe’s life on
the line, he knew he had no choice. He didn’t know how, but he vowed that
somehow, he would find a way out of this situation.
**************
Coming back to
consciousness wasn’t pleasant for Joe. He could barely breathe between the
blood caked and drying on his nostrils and the gag jammed into his mouth. He
had been left lying on the floor, his hands bound tightly behind him, and his
ankles tied to his wrists. His left hand throbbed painfully where he had been
struck. The hogtie position was desperately uncomfortable on his sore ribs,
too, and Joe knew that Madeline’s men had done this deliberately to make him
suffer.
Despite feeling ill, Joe
was determined to escape if he could. He struggled against the rough hemp, but
was unable to move the ropes so much as an inch. His already lacerated wrists
soon began to bleed again. Joe gasped for breath, and finally slumped in his
bonds, too exhausted by his injuries to keep fighting.
A sound from the window made
him lift his head, but he couldn’t see much. The curtains were drawn almost all
the way across the glass, and the light was further obscured by long net
curtains. The sound was repeated. Joe felt his heart suddenly hammer against
his chest. Slowly but surely, the window was being raised.
There was no way to tell
who it was. Joe wondered if one of Madeline’s frustrated henchmen was coming
back to finish off what he had started. He fought against his bonds once more,
his grunts and groans of effort and pain being absorbed by his gag.
The first person into the
room was a stranger to Joe. He had a gun in his hand, and Joe gazed at him,
wondering who on earth he was. The stranger looked at Joe for a long moment,
then beckoned to someone outside the window. Swallowing against the dryness in
his mouth, Joe gazed mesmerised at the person climbing through the window.
It was Hoss.
***************
“Joe!” The word escaped
Hoss’ lips and he tiptoed quickly across the room to take his younger brother in
his arms and gently take the gag from his mouth. “Are ya all right, Punkin?” he
whispered, while fumbling through his clothes for a knife to sever his
brother’s bonds.
Groaning with relief as the
ropes parted, Joe nodded. “I’m fine,” he whispered back, unable to speak any
louder because of how dry his mouth was. It had been well over 12 hours since
Joe had had anything to drink. He immediately betrayed the lie by burying his
head in his brother’s broad chest as Hoss untangled the rope from his injured hand.
The pain left Joe panting and nauseated, and he thought his hand might be
broken.
“Easy, Joe,” Hoss murmured,
rubbing his brother’s back gently until the pain eased slightly. “Here, take a
drink.” Tilting the canteen that
Gently, Hoss used his
neckerchief to wipe Joe’s face. “Thanks,” Joe breathed, leaning against Hoss.
“How did you get here?”
“We followed Pa’s tracks,”
Hoss explained. “Where is Pa? Is he all right?”
“Madeline’s going to make
him marry her,” Joe told him. “She was holding me to make him do as she wants.”
“Madeline?” Hoss repeated.
“Madeline Ross? Her what Pa was gonna marry?”
Remembering that this was
the first Hoss knew of this, Joe gathered his strength to tell Hoss the story
of his abduction and subsequent imprisonment. Hoss was silent as he listened,
but he kept hold of Joe all the while. Joe could gage the depths of Hoss’ anger
by the tightening of his brother’s grip on his arm. By the end of the tale, Joe
had to add, “Hoss, let go my arm, please?”
“Sorry, Joe,” Hoss said.
“Dadburnit, you was right about her all along, Joe. Where are they now?”
“I don’t know,” Joe
replied. “It’s been a while since they left me here.” He cast a curious glance
at Hoss’ companion, and Hoss hastily introduced
“The rest o’ the posse’s
outside,” Hoss explained. “Joe, we gotta leave you here while we get
“No way!” Joe protested,
sitting bolt upright. “I’m coming with you. It’s because of me that Pa’s in
this mess, and I’m not waiting here to find out what happens.”
“But, Joe,” Hoss began, but
got no further.
“I’m coming!” Joe stated
and Hoss didn’t argue. He knew it was a waste of breath when Joe got that look on his face. Instead, he gave
Joe another drink and helped him to his feet. Joe took a moment to regain his
equilibrium. He felt ghastly, but wouldn’t admit it to Hoss. He had to get to
his father before Ben did something he would regret for the rest of his life.
It was obvious to both Hoss
and
A little further towards
the front of the house,
“Joe, you stay back,” Hoss
ordered. He could see that Joe was feeling dreadful, even though he tried to
cover it up. He was cradling his injured hand, and was unarmed. “Let us handle
this.”
Reluctantly, Joe nodded. He
knew that he couldn’t be of any real help to the others, but that didn’t make
him feel any better about being kept out of the action. He hung back slightly
as they eased open the door into the hallway. There was no one in sight and
they followed the sound of the voices.
Suddenly, the sounds became
words, and Joe recognised the words of the wedding ceremony. He broke out in a
cold sweat, fearing they were too late. He shot a glance at Hoss, who nodded to
The outlaws reached for
their guns, but Hoss and the others had them covered. The rest of the posse
threw up the windows and covered the outlaws from that side. Ben and Madeline,
standing before the preacher, looked shocked. Ben, however, also looked
relieved.
“I’m afraid that this is a
weddin’ that ain’t gonna happen!” Hoss drawled. “The groom ain’t in a marryin’
mood t’day.”
With a scream of
inarticulate rage, Madeline threw herself, not at Hoss or Ben, but at Joe. The
startled youth, who had been grinning at his father, threw himself to one side,
hoping to avoid the woman’s mad rush. He landed hard on his left side, the pain
jarring his breath from his body, as Madeline hurled herself on him, throwing
punches and scratching at him.
Taking their cue from their
leader, the outlaws took the chance Madeline had supplied them and opened fire.
Hoss dove at Ben, forcing him to the ground and covering him with his own body.
In the melee, it took a
moment for Ben to realise that Joe was unable to hold Madeline off. Part of it
was his injuries; Joe was in pain and the fall he’d taken had hurt. Part of it
was his natural disinclination to hit a woman, and, knowing this, Madeline took
full advantage of the fact.
However, the instant that
Ben saw Joe was in danger, he leapt across the space separating them, and
dragged his erst-while bride from on top of his son. Screaming at the top of
her lungs, Madeline scratched at Ben’s face. He caught her hands and held her.
The temptation to strike her was almost overwhelming, but Ben resisted.
Holding her away from him,
Ben was startled when a bullet sang past his ear. He flinched and the next
moment, Madeline collapsed against him. She looked into his face, and
whispered, “I love you, Ben.” Her eyes suddenly went blank, and Ben realised
that the bullet that had nearly hit him had killed her. Gently, he laid her
down, feeling a pang near his heart for the waste of a life. The life of
someone he had once loved.
The shoot-out collapsed
when Madeline died, and it was an easy matter for the posse to take charge.
Leaving Madeline’s body,
Ben knelt by Joe. “What kept you?” Joe joked weakly. His hand had received a
fresh knock and Joe was white and sweating from the pain. “I’d never live down
being beaten up by a woman.”
Relieved that Joe could
joke, Ben gathered him carefully into his arms. “Thank goodness you’re all
right,” he murmured.
After making sure that
everyone that should be was in custody, Hoss went across to join his family.
“Pa, are you all right?” he asked, anxiously.
“Thanks to you,” Ben
replied. “I don’t know when I was last so pleased to see anyone.” He put out a hand
and squeezed Hoss’ beefy shoulder. The big man blushed.
“I was real pleased to see
him, too,” noted Joe. He suddenly felt all shuddery and leant against Ben.
“Thanks, big brother.”
“That’s what big brothers
are for,” Hoss replied.
Across the room, the
preacher was saying, “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
*****************
The doctor in
By then, Joe was too tired
to stay awake, and accepted help in undressing before falling into bed. Ben was
also exhausted, as was Hoss, and neither of them was far behind Joe in going to
sleep. It was the first good night’s sleep that any of them had had since Joe
had been abducted from the stagecoach three days before.
***************
The sun was well up when
Joe awoke the next morning. He ached all over and sat up cautiously. His hand
was in a cast, which reached to his elbow and his ribs were so tightly bound
that he couldn’t take a deep breath. However, these were now minor
considerations to Joe, who was simply relieved to be free.
The hotel suite was empty,
and Joe looked with disgust at his dirty, torn clothes. Spying his saddlebags
in the corner, he began to rummage through them for clean clothes, and was
struggling to get his shirt buttoned when the door opened and Ben came in.
“You’re awake,” Ben smiled,
and came over to assist with the buttoning. Within a few minutes, Joe’s hand
was tucked securely into a sling and he was ready to go down for breakfast.
“I’m starving,” Joe commented. The previous night, he had been too tired and
nauseated to eat more than a few bites of the meal he’d been offered. It had
been days since Joe had eaten properly.
Not much to Joe’s surprise,
Hoss was in the dining room, just finishing off the last of the bacon. He
grinned at Joe, and a waiter brought fresh bacon to the table along with some
coffee. Ben had to cut the bacon, but Joe managed to feed himself, although
both father and brother watched each mouthful anxiously to be sure it reached
Joe’s mouth. All the scrutiny made Joe uncomfortable, but it also made him want
to laugh, and he was never sure thereafter how he managed to get each forkful
to his mouth without bursting out laughing.
It wasn’t until Joe had
eaten that Ben brought up what they had to do that day. “Joe, you’ll have to
come to the jail and tell Sheriff Fullerton what happened to you,” he said. “So
do I, for that matter.”
“I guess,” Joe murmured.
Ben wished his son didn’t have to relive it all, but it was necessary. He drank
down the last of the coffee. It was strong and good. Swallowing, Joe nodded.
“Let’s do it,” he said, resolutely and Ben felt his heart swell with pride at
his son’s courage.
The walk to the jail was
quiet and Joe’s head was down most of the way. However, he gave his statement
in a confident, if low voice.
“Thanks, Joe,”
“Have any of them said
anything yet?” Ben asked as they rose to leave.
“Yes,”
“And they would’ve been,”
Joe commented bitterly. “Madeline was clever all right.” He remembered all too
clearly how she had fooled his father and brothers into thinking that he and
she had had a teasing relationship, when all the time she was getting at Joe
and making his life a misery. The thought of being her prisoner for a long,
long time made Joe shudder, even though the danger was past.
“When can we go home?” Ben
asked. He wanted to get back to his familiar surroundings and forget the
nearness of their escape this time.
“Whenever you’re ready,”
“Thank you,” Ben replied,
and shook the sheriff’s hand.
Standing outside the jail,
Ben said, “I think we should wait until tomorrow before we go home.”
“I want to go today,” Joe
protested.
“You aren’t up to it,” Ben
objected. Joe was still pale.
“I want to go home,” he
insisted. “Please, Pa, let’s go home.” Joe sounded strained and Ben nodded,
although he wasn’t sure Joe was up to a long ride and a night’s sleeping on the
ground. “I want to sleep in my own bed.”
“All right, young man, you
win,” Ben capitulated. “But if you feel at all unwell, you tell me at once,
understand?” Although quite what he would do on the trail if this happened, Ben
didn’t know.
“Joe’s right, Pa,” Hoss
added. “We need to get out a here.”
“I said we’re going,” Ben
protested. He followed them back to the hotel, where they stuffed their gear
into their saddlebags and went to retrieve their horses. Hoss had had the
foresight to bring Cochise for Joe and he patted his old friend lovingly before
mounting gingerly. There was no swing mount today, Ben noted.
There was no hurry for them
to get home. Ben wanted Joe to take things as easily as possible, but Joe
wanted to get home and as far away from
It was clear Joe was
exhausted, and he willingly rested while Ben and Hoss made camp. Hoss cooked
and Ben tended to the horses. “Tomorrow we’ll be home,” Joe commented quietly
as they ate supper.
“Good thing, too,” Hoss
mumbled through a mouthful of ham.
“That’s the second time
today you’ve said something like that,” Ben noticed. “Why is it a good thing?”
Snorting, Hoss replied,
“Well, what with Joe gettin’ abducted an’ all, I jist feel we’ll be better at
home.”
“And what’s the real
reason?” Ben enquired, for he’d never heard such a lame excuse from anyone
before, and Joe had had some beauties over the years. He saw Hoss and Joe exchange glances. “Come
on, out with it!” he demanded impatiently.
“Well, Pa, it’s like this,”
Hoss began, then glanced at Joe.
When it became clear that
Hoss wasn’t going to say anymore, Ben looked at Joe for enlightenment. His
youngest son shrugged. “We don’t want to have to rescue you from another
shotgun wedding, is all,” Joe dead panned.
For an instant, Ben just
sat there, gazing from one son to another. Hoss choked on the end of his meal
and Joe’s face paled. “A shotgun wedding, huh?” Ben repeated. “A shotgun
wedding!” Hoss leapt to his feet and backed away, but that wasn’t an option
open to Joe. His father’s hand snagged in his jacket.
“Hoss!” Joe objected.
“Help!”
“I’ll give you a shotgun
wedding,” Ben threatened.
“Help!” Joe cried.
Unable to keep a straight
face any longer, Ben let go of Joe and began to laugh. Hoss paused in his
retreat, then began to laugh, too. Joe looked at them both indignantly. “Some
big brother you are,” he chided Hoss, but the laughter was silvering his voice.
“Running away and leaving me alone when I’m hurt and unable to take care of
myself.”
“You should have seen your
faces,” Ben laughed. “Shotgun wedding indeed!” He slapped both sons on their
shoulders, and was thankful that they were able to see the funny side of it. He
knew, then, that they would be able to put this whole situation behind them, in
time. “Wait till I get you home,” he threatened, lovingly.
The End