CHESS GAME
By: Debra P.
The
two opponents stared at each other from opposite sides of the
chessboard and
neither one blinked. Adam Cartwright leaned back on the settee,
settling
himself to wait for his brother’s next move. Hoss sat on the
stones by
the hearth where a low fire burned and lowered his eyes to focus on the
board
which rested on the low table between them, trying to read the
possibilities to
be found in the position of the pieces. After a couple of minutes
he scrunched
up his brow and hesitantly reached out his hand to move one of his
white pawns
a single space ahead.
In response, Adam leaned forward and gazed at the altered position with
the
same intent absorption that he would have brought to the reading of a
Shakespearean
play.
“Don’t
take all day now, Adam,” Hoss chided gently.
Adam
looked up at his brother, preparing to remind him that he tended to
take more
time for each move than Adam did. But then he happened to notice
the
slight abrasion on Hoss’ cheek, and that turned his thoughts in another
direction, to the incident that had taken place in town earlier that
day.
Twenty-two-year-old
Adam, who had only recently arrived home after graduating from college,
had
been assigned to go into town and pick up a load of supplies, and
sixteen-year-old Hoss had asked their father if he could go
along.
Recognizing the brothers’ need to spend some time together after having
been
separated for so long, Ben had readily agreed, and the two young men
had set
off happily seated side by side on the wagon.
Their
business at the Mercantile went smoothly. As Hoss began to carry
boxes
outside to be loaded Adam was checking over the bill to make sure that
the
amount being added to the Ponderosa’s account was correct and obtaining
a few
additional items. Just as Adam was turning to leave he heard
voices being
raised directly outside the store. Hoss was
confronting
two boys of about his own age whom Adam recognized as Mack and Harry
Keefer, even
though he had not seen them since before he had left for college.
The
Keefer twins had been notable as the ones who, more than anyone else,
had
teased and tormented Hoss over his size all through his school years,
and it
seemed, from what Adam could tell, that they were still out to cause
trouble. As Adam came up to the door, one of them was throwing
the words
“big, fat, dumb old ox” at his brother, which made him as angry as it
must have
made Hoss.
But
Hoss had learned by hard experience how to rein in his anger and not
let it get
the better of him. With a disdainful toss of his head he turned
away from
the Keefers and stepped toward the wagon to load the box he held.
Unfortunately, the Keefers were not inclined to simply let the matter
go, and
one of them stuck out his leg, tripping Hoss, sending him sprawling to
the
sidewalk and causing him to drop the box.
At
that, Adam stepped through the door and confronted the Keefers, his
feet spread
apart and his hands on his hips in a threatening posture.
“I
think the two of you had better get as far away from here as you can as
fast as
you can,” he said in a deadly cold voice, “before he gets up and he and
I start
taking the two of you apart!”
The
Keefers had not counted on taking on this second imposing
personage. With
uncomfortable smirks on their faces they began to back away, then
turned and
moved rapidly down the street.
Hoss
had made it to his feet and was dusting himself off.
He
appeared to be none the worse for wear except for a slight scrape on
his cheek where
it had contacted the boards of the sidewalk. He looked after the
retreating bullies with a frown on his face.
“Shouldn’ta
let ‘im catch me like that, dang it!,” he said.
“Oh,
they were just looking to make trouble and no matter what you did it
wouldn’t
have made much difference,” Adam tried to reassure him. Then he
noticed
the look on his brother’s face. “Say, you aren’t letting what
they said
get to you, are you? I thought you had grown out of that.”
“How
can I when the ones who say those kind o’ things don’t seem to grow out
of
it?,” Hoss muttered, not looking directly at his brother.
“Sometimes they
still can make me feel like I really am just a big, fat, dumb old ox.”
“Don’t
do that to yourself, Hoss,” Adam said quietly. “You know better
than
that.”
“I
suppose so,” Hoss replied in a tone that belied his words. “Come
on,
Adam. Let’s get goin’ home.”
Together
they picked up the box that had been dropped and finished loading the
rest of
the supplies onto the wagon. Then they took their places side by
side on
the seat and headed out of town, much less happily than they had headed
in.
Hoss
hardly said a word on the way home, and he remained unnaturally quiet
through
the rest of the afternoon and even through dinner. That caused
their
father to look at him with concern, and immediately after the meal Ben
drew
Adam aside to ask him if he knew of anything that might be upsetting
his
brother. Adam described briefly what had happened in town, but he
tried
to reassure his father that it was just a minor incident and that Hoss
would
soon shake it off. In truth he was trying to convince himself as
well.
A
little while later, Hoss was sitting in front of the fire staring into
it
unhappily when Adam approached him suggesting a game of chess. At
first
Hoss attempted to decline, a chess game not being exactly what he had
on his
mind at the moment. But Adam was persistent.
“Come
on, Hoss. What do you say? Just one game?”
“Don’t
see why I should. I never can beat you anyways.”
“You
never know. Anything can happen. You don’t seem to want to
do
anything else tonight. Why not this?”
Still
with some reluctance, Hoss at last gave in. The board was set up
on the
low table between the settee and the hearth. They used a coin
toss, which
Hoss won, to determine who had the choice of black or white
pieces.
Finally, play began with Hoss moving the pawn in front of his king
ahead two
spaces and Adam responding in kind.
A
half hour later Adam was glad to see that Hoss had become so wrapped up
in the
game that he seemed to have forgotten everything else. In truth,
Adam
himself had not thought of the earlier events since the game started
until the
sight of the scrape on his brother’s cheek brought them back to mind.
Adam
looked down at the board again and, with sudden crystal clarity, he saw
the
combination of moves that would give him a checkmate. It was all
so
simple. He would begin by moving a knight.... He was about
to reach
out his hand to pick up the piece when something made him raise his
eyes to his
brother’s face once more. And the look there made him
pause. Had he
somehow telegraphed to Hoss that he had the winning moves in
mind?
Whatever the reason, Adam saw in his brother’s eyes a painful sense of
discouragement...and
vulnerability. Adam closed his eyes for a second and took a
calming
breath. Then he opened them again and reached out a steady
hand...passing
over the knight to move the bishop instead.
Hoss
looked down at the board for a long moment. Then his expression
began to
change. At first a look, almost of disbelief, passed across his
face. It was followed by the beginnings of a slow smile which
grew wider
and wider until it captured his whole face and put a gleam into his
eyes.
“Adam,
I think I done got ya this time!,” he declared, rubbing his hands
together. He reached out to move his own knight.
After
several more moves by each player in quick succession there was a
pause.
Adam examined the position of the pieces for quite some time. He
looked
at his brother and then back down at the board. Then he slowly
and
deliberately tipped over his king in surrender.
Hoss
sat back, and his face was aglow with excitement and triumph.
“Will
ya look at that! I fin’ly beat ya, Adam! I really done
it!
Maybe I ain’t such a dumb old ox after all!” He scrambled to his
feet. “I gotta tell Joe about this! Joe! Joe!
Where are
ya?” Hoss hurried out the door to find their younger brother, who
had
gone to play outside after dinner.
Adam
began to gather up the chess pieces to put them away. He was
interrupted
by a voice saying his name.
“Adam.”
Adam
looked over to where his father sat in the blue char by the corner of
the
fireplace. “Yes, Pa?”
“I
saw what happened there.”
Adam
smiled at him. “I didn’t realize you were watching us. Just
what do
you think you saw?”
“You
could have won that game. You had the opportunity.”
Adam
squared his shoulders. “Could you be implying that I threw the
game? You can’t possibly believe that I would do that!,” he
said
with a show of indignation.
“To
make your brother feel better...I think I can,” Ben replied mildly.
Adam
shook his head. “I misplayed my opportunity this time. And
Hoss
made all the right moves to take advantage of it. He deserved to
win.”
“That
may be. Still, if anyone was to imply that his great victory was
anything
less than fully earned...it could hurt him badly.”
Adam
looked directly into his father’s eyes. “Which is why neither of
us is
ever going to imply any such thing. Right, Pa?”
“Right,
son. By the way...I’m very proud of you.”
“Thanks,
Pa”.
And
father and son smiled at each other in perfect understanding
THE
END