GUNPLAY

By: Debra P.

Joe Cartwright had never been so scared in his life. Having just turned fifteen he figured he had pretty much grown out of his childish fears. But none of those at their worst had come close to what he was feeling now - the deep down bone chilling dread that went with the idea that he might just possibly have killed his brother.

This was supposed to have been such a happy day. And it had certainly started out that way. When Joe had bounded down the stairs to breakfast that morning he had been bursting with impatience to discover just what his family had in store for him for his birthday. He knew about the big party being planned for Saturday night. But somehow he was sure that they wouldn't let the day itself go by without a certain amount of fuss. And he had not been disappointed. To start out with, Hop Sing had made his favorite cinnamon rolls for breakfast. And beside his place there were three brightly wrapped packages waiting to be opened. The one from Adam had proved to be a fine new hat of tan felt which looked very dashing perched at a jaunty angle on his head. Hoss had given him a beautiful new bridle for Cochise which he had made himself.

But it was the gift from his father that really took his breath away. It was a shiny new revolver of the exact model that he had looked at so longingly in Mr. Dickson's gun shop every time he had been to town recently. Oh, he knew that his pa was aware of how much he coveted this beautiful gun. He had spoken of it often enough. But he had never thought that his pa would actually get it for him. Not for this birthday anyway. Yet here it was, gleaming in his hands.

Ben had instructed Joe firmly that he was not to do any shooting with his new gun until he or Adam had a chance to work with him and make sure he could handle it safely. Joe had nodded his agreement. Ben had promised that one of them would make the necessary time within the next couple of days. Then he and Adam had set off to take care of some business in town.

Even though it was his birthday, Joe still had his chores to do, and even while he was doing them his mind was on the gun. He and Hoss worked together through the morning, only finishing up just before Hop Sing appeared to call them to lunch. Afterwards, the cook shooed them out of the kitchen so that he could set about preparing the special chocolate birthday cake that the family was to have with supper that evening.

Pa had said that Joe should be free to enjoy himself as he wanted for the afternoon, provided his work was finished. The problem was he didn't really know what he wanted to do with that freedom. It was too cold to go swimming or fishing. Hoss was planning to work on maintaining and repairing some of their tack. He would have welcomed his brother's company, but that idea didn't appeal to Joe at the moment. So when Hoss headed off to the barn, Joe was left pretty much on his own.

Joe finally admitted to himself that what he really wanted to do was try out the new gun. But there were his fathe's instructions against that. He held out until about three o'clock in the afternoon. But after puttering about the house and not doing much of anything for a couple of hours or so his impatience finally got the better of him and he thought that it couldn't do any harm to fire off a couple of shots just to see how it felt.

He grabbed the gun and some ammunition and headed out into the yard. It wasn't very hard to figure out how to load this particular gun. In that respect it was very similar to other guns he was familiar with. And it felt good and comfortable in his hand. Joe raised the gun, aimed it toward the corner of the barn and began to apply a very gentle pressure to the trigger, intending simply to get the feel of it. But the trigger on this gun was much more sensitive than anything he was used to, and the gun went off before he was prepared for it.

It was at that exact moment that Adam and Ben, returning from town, came riding around the corner of the barn. Joe watched, horrified, as Adam was struck by the errant shot and gasped in pain. His horse, startled by the noise, reared, causing Adam to slide off backwards. He hit the ground hard and lay there, still, with a bright red streak of blood along one side of his forehead. Ben, his face gone suddenly white, quickly dismounted and knelt down at his son's side. Joe stood frozen, the gun still in his hand, as he heard his father call out to Hoss, who had appeared at the barn door, to help carry Adam inside. As Hoss hurried over and carefully lifted Adam up in his arms Ben was instructing one of their hands who had appeared on the scene to ride for the doctor as quickly as he could. Hoss began moving toward the house, carrying his brother easily, with their father right at his shoulder. Ben looked over to where Joe was standing, hesitated for a second, then came over and took the gun out of his hand.

"Joseph," he said in his sternest voice, "I want you to go inside, sit down somewhere by the fireplace and stay there until I come for you, however long it takes. Do you understand?" Joe nodded, unable to speak. Ben turned and hurried to catch up with Hoss, who was just reaching the door.

Joe wasn't really aware of how much time had elapsed since then. He had obeyed his father's instructions and come in to sit on the settee in front of the fireplace. After what seemed an endless wait he had seen Dr. Martin arrive and hurry upstairs. How long he had been up there Joe couldn't say. So far nobody had come to bring him any news and he was left to imagine the worst. He kept casting his eyes in the direction of the stairs, hoping, yet dreading, to see the doctor or his father. But the only one who went up or down was Hop Sing, carrying various things that the doctor apparently needed, and, intent on his business, he said nothing to Joe. And Joe sat there, trembling, with a fear such as he had never known coursing through him, feeling like a man on trial, waiting to hear the verdict that could send him to the gallows.

Upstairs in Adam's room, Ben was hovering anxiously as Doc Martin finished working over his son. The doctor gave a final check to the bandage on Adam's head, then, apparently satisfied, he turned to give his patient's father a reassuring smile.

"You can rest easy, Ben," he said."This time it's not as bad as it looks. I'm sure it doesn't feel like it to Adam right now, but in truth there's really not much damage. The graze from the bullet is actually quite light. I believe that hitting his head on the ground was what actually knocked him out. But the fact that he regained consciousness so quickly is encouraging. He'll have a headache for several days and he may experience some slight disorientation, but I expect him to recover quickly. Just keep him quiet until the headache goes away."

Ben looked at him uncertainly, so used to hearing caution from the doctor that he wasn't quite sure how to react to his optimism.

"You're sure, Paul? There was quite a lot of blood."

" I'm as sure as it's possible to be. As I said, it looked worse than it actually was."

Ben wiped his hand over his eyes as he breathed a silent prayer of thanks. He stepped forward and leaned over the bed to speak quietly to his half-awake son.

" Adam, did you hear what Paul said? You're going to be fine, son."

Adam nodded slightly. "He was right that it doesn't feel that way now...but I'll take his word for it". His voice was a little weak, but steady, and his words brought a smile to his listeners' faces. His eyes focused on his father with a serious expression. "Pa, what are you going to do about Joe?"

Ben looked back at him soberly. "I don't know, son...I really don't know."

A few moments later Ben and Dr. Martin were making their way down the stairs. They stopped at the bottom to exchange some brief words and a handshake. Then Ben escorted the doctor to the door and let him out. After closing the door Ben turned toward the fireplace where Joe still sat with a frightened look on his face. Ben stuck his hands into his pockets and moved towards him, looking thoughtful.

As his father approached, Joe stood up shakily and swallowed nervously. "Pa...?"
" Joseph, Adam is going to be all right. He'll just need to rest for a few days."

Joe's eyes closed and the tension seemed to drain out of him. He sat back down on the settee, burying his face in his hands. "Oh thank God!" he said in a low, fervent voice.

" Indeed," Ben responded solemnly. "We all have a very great deal to be thankful for...you especially I think. But you must understand, Joseph, how serious a thing this was and how easily it could have ended otherwise. Your brother might well have been killed."

" I know, Pa. I haven't been able to think about anything else."

Ben sat down next to his son. "I suppose I share some part of the blame for this. I made an error in judgement and gave you a weapon that was more than you were ready for. But that doesn't alter the fact that you deliberately disobeyed the specific instructions I gave you concerning that gun. And in doing so you behaved with a recklessness that very nearly had tragic consequences."

Joe bowed his head, feeling the truth of it.

Ben looked at him with a penetrating gaze. "Now, whatever reason you had for doing that...do you think it was important enough to justify the endangering of your brother's life?"

Joe's eyes remained cast down. "Of course not, Pa."

Ben continued. "Son, when I give you instructions like that I have a good reason for it. I don't do it just to keep you from enjoying yourself. I do it to keep you, and those around you, safe from harm. I hope you can see that now."

Joe nodded. "I sure can, Pa," he said.

Ben almost smiled at the boy's earnestness, but he was careful not to let him see it. "I believe you, son, but I have to be sure that there will not be a repeat of this kind of recklessness in the future. Joe, I'm going to confiscate that gun for now. We'll see how you conduct yourself going forward. And if I'm satisfied that you have learned your lesson from this incident, you might...just might...get it back again for your next birthday. Do you understand?"

" Yes, sir."

" Very well. Now I think you should go up and see your brother. He wants to talk to you. And I'm sure you have some things you want to say to him. And, by the way, you'll be doing his chores for the next few days until he's back on his feet. Hoss is with Adam right now. You can tell him to start getting cleaned up for supper."

" Right, Pa." Joe paused for a couple of seconds, then spoke hesitantly. "Are we still going to have my birthday cake?"

Ben reached out a hand and caressed the back of the boy's neck reassuringly.
" Of course we are. It's still your birthday, isn't it?," he said gently. And Joe was finally able to smile a little bit.

As Joe headed upstairs he was making a vow to himself. He'd show Pa that he had learned his lesson. And he'd show Adam too. Pa was right about him having a lot of things to say to his brother. Things like just how sorry he was for having injured him, and how scared he had been at the idea of losing him. Things like how glad he was to have him for an older brother, though it might not always seem that way. Joe was a little concerned about what Adam might want to say to him, but considering the fear that he had just been going through, that concern seemed very manageable...almost insignificant. Whatever Adam had to say to him, he could take it like a man. After all, he was fifteen years old, wasn't he?

THE END

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