Salty O'Brian had been on clipper ships most of his life, traveling between
Ireland and the east coast of America.
Born in 1809, Salty was the only child of August and Emily O'Brian, who lived
on the eastern coast of Ireland in the small village of Wicklow.
When Salty was four years old his parents were killed in an accident, and
since all of Salty's family had died from an illness before he was born, his
neighbors, the Ryan's took the boy in and they raised him, and he was much
loved by the Ryan's.
At the age of nine, Salty decided to leave home and join the crew of a clipper
ship as a cabin boy. He was given the name Salty by the crew members of the
ship. Ever since then, Salty had been at sea.
Around 1832, Salty decided to give up his life at sea and live on the land
now. He found odd jobs between Boston and the west coast of Amercia and he
enjoyed his new life.
One day in 1838, Salty rode into Virginia City to see if any of the ranchers
were doing any hiring at that time. The only rancher hiring at that time was
Ben Cartwright, owner of the largest ranch in the Nevada Territory.
1847
There was something about the kind and very friendly man who was Ben's age,
who had been working at the Ponderosa for nine years now, that Ben liked very
much.
Like himself, Salty had been on clipper ships since he was young. Both men
never grew tired of telling or listening to stories about their life at sea.
As Ben watched Salty working one day, he thought back to the day when Salty
first came to the Ponderosa looking for work.
It was in 1836, the day Salty rode into the yard of the Ponderosa, and he
immediately looked at the large log ranch house and he loved the looks of
it.
" Can I help you mister ?" a boy asked as he looked up at the smiling
man who sat on the horse. " Yes laddy, I'm looking for a Ben Cartwright,"
Salty replied as he looked at the boy.
" That's my Pa. My name is Adam. Pa's in the house. You can come with
me and I'll take you to see my Pa," the boy suggested. Salty got down
from his horse and tied him up. " Thank you laddy," Salty said,
as he and Adam walked in the house.
" Pa, this man wants to talk to you," Adam told Ben. Ben stood up
from his desk, smiled at Salty, and said, " Thank you son. Please sit
down. My name is Ben Cartwright, and how may I help you ?"
Both men took a liking to each other right away, and that started their friendship.
" Thank you Mr. Cartwright. My name is Salty O' Brian, and I am looking
for a job. I understand that you are looking for men to hire on at your ranch
?" Salty explained.
" Yes I am. Have you ever worked on a ranch before Salty?" Ben asked.
" Yes sir, I have since 1832, on ranches between here and Boston,"
Salty answered.
" I see. My goodness that is a long way to come. What did you do before
you worked on ranches Salty?" Ben asked. " I worked on clipper ships
since I was nine years old, between Ireland and the east coast of America,"
Salty explained.
" I worked on ships out of Boston myself before I came west. There are
times when I miss being at sea, but I can happily say, that I am glad to be
living here now, " Ben told Salty. That surprised Salty what Ben had
just told him.
" I would be very happy to hire you Salty. Welcome to the Ponderosa,"
Ben said as he and Salty shook hands. " Thank you so much Mr. Cartwright,"
Salty excitedly said. " Please call me Ben," Ben suggested. "
Ben it is," Salty replied.
Back to present time, 1847.
Everyone got along great with Salty and everyone loved his stories about his
life at sea, especially five year old, Little Joe Cartwright, the youngest
son of Ben's.
Salty had become like a grandfather to Adam, Hoss and Little Joe. He loved
Little Joe, and he got a big kick out of all mischief this little boy could
get into.
In his spare time, Salty loved to carve things from wood. He had made several
ships for Little Joe, as well as animals too. He especially loved to carve
horses for the little boy. He also had carved a whale for the little boy because
the child loved the book " Moby Dick" so much. Little Joe was so
excited to have his own Moby Dick whale to play with.
Salty had taught Hoss to carve and the boy took to carving very fast, and
he was very good at it too. Hoss had only been six years old when Salty taught
him how to carve.
Little Joe wanted to also learn how to carve too, but Salty told the little
boy that he was still too young, but as soon as he was older then, Salty told
the boy that he would be happy to teach him how to carve if it was alright
with Ben. Little Joe agreed to that.
Salty was a very hard worker for which Ben was grateful for. He never caused
any trouble and he didn't drink either, which was something Ben didn't approve
while the men worked. They could drink during their non-working hours if they
wanted.
Ben was surprised that he had never met Salty while he was on ships. They
had most likey seen each other from time to time, but then again, there were
many ships at the harbor in Boston, and many sailors at that time.
Another thing Ben and Salty had in common was that they knew some of the same
sailors and Salty did know Adam's grandfather, Abel Stoddard. Adam enjoyed
the stories about his grandfather from Salty, as he did from Ben too.
Adam had written his grandfather about Salty, and Abel had written back telling
Adam that Salty was a wonderful, very caring man, and they had been friends
for many years.
One day Salty wanted to talk to Ben about a personal matter. " Ben, as
you know, I have really enjoyed my life here with you and your wonderful sons.
You are like my own family, since I don't remember any of my own family,"
Salty said as he was having a hard time trying to say what he wanted to say.
" Ben, I think it is time for me to move on. I have decided that I'd
like to get back to sea again, but this time out of the Pacific Ocean. I've
never been there before, and I think that I would really enjoy that,"
Salty explained. Ben was shocked by Salty's news.
" Salty, I hate to see you leave us. You are like family to us, but if
that is what you want to do, then you have my blessing. When do you plan to
leave ?" Ben asked as he felt very sad by Salty's words.
" I thought in about three weeks or so, if that's alright with you Ben?"
Salty asked. " If that is when you want to leave, I don't see any problems
with that. I can't tell you how much you will be missed, especially with my
boys.
Little Joe thinks of you as his grandfather, and that has meant a lot to him
and to me also. You have taught my boys so much while you were here with us.
I will always be very grateful for that," Ben softly told Salty.
" Thank you Ben for what you have told me. It will be extremely hard
to leave all of you, especially that precious little boy. At least I have
three weeks to say ' good bye ' to him, which I know won't be easy,"
Salty sadly said.
" Would you like me to explain to Little Joe why you are leaving us ?"
Ben asked. " No Ben, if you don't mind, I want to be the one to explain
this all to him. I know he's just a little boy and so young and he probably
won't understand, but I will try my best to explain this to him," Salty
replied.
Everyone except Little Joe knew that Salty was going to leave the Ponderosa
and go back to sea very soon, and that made everyone feel very sad.
One day Salty had taken Little Joe down to the lake and put him in the row
boat and they went for a boat ride. Little Joe loved to go for boat rides.
Salty had taught the little boy how row a boat, and Salty was very surprised
at how fast the child learned to row and at how well he could row for being
so small.
" Laddy, I need to talk to you about something that is so very important
to me, and it's something that will make me so very happy too," Salty
started out.
The little boy looked up at Salty with his big green eyes, and he couldn't
wait to hear what Salty was going to tell him.
" Laddy, you know how much I loved to sail on those ships like your Papa
did many years ago. It's been a longtime since I have been on a large ship,
and I have really missed it so much, and now I want to go back to sea again,"
Salty softly explained, hoping the little boy would understand what he was
trying to say.
Little Joe had carefully listened to what Salty had just told him. He looked
up at this man whom he loved very much, and he said, " Ya mean yer gonna
go away ta find a ship?"
" Yes, laddy I am. I hate to leave here and you and your wonderful loving
family, but I hear the sea calling me," Salty replied.
The child thought for a few seconds before he said anything. " I dunt
hear nuffin callin' ya Salty," Little Joe said as he was sort of confused
at Salty's statement.
Salty smiled at the child's answer, then he said, " Only I can hear the
sea calling me laddy."
Little Joe didn't know to think about that. " I dunno that the sea could
talk," the child replied very seriously. Salty had to laugh at the little
boy's statement.
"Laddy, the sea really can't talk, but it does send me messages though
since I have spend most of my life at sea," Salty told the child.
" I am going to miss you so very much. I love you as if you were my own
family," Salty said as he didn't want to cry in front of the now sad
looking little boy.
" Imma gonna miss ya so much Salty. Does ya really gotts ta go ta sea?"
Little Joe asked hoping Salty would change his mind and stay on the Ponderosa.
He had tears running down his sweet little face.
Salty reached over and he picked up Little Joe and he held the child. This
was much harder than he thought it would be. He wasn't sure how the child
would react to his news. The little boy was crying against Salty's chest,
as the man rubbed the child's back.
" Please laddy, don't cry. I want you to feel happy for me, not sad,"
Salty pleaded as he too had tears in his eyes.
" Salty, can I's come wiv ya please? I ain't never seen an ocean before,"
Little Joe said. That statement by the little boy caught Salty by surprise.
He had no idea the child would say something like that.
" Laddy, I don't think your Papa would let you come with me. He would
miss you too much, and he would be very worried about you also. Your brothers
would miss you too," Salty said with concern in his voice.
" We dunt gotts ta tell Papa. Please Salty, I's just wants ta see the
ocean, then ya can bring me back home again. Please?" the little boy
begged.
Salty wasn't sure what to say. He knew how badly the child wanted to see the
ocean and he also knew that he wouldn't let anything happen to Little Joe,
but his biggest concern was that the child might try to follow him, and he
would end up getting lost, and that was something that Salty feared the most.
" Alright son, but this is our secret and you can't tell anyone. As soon
as you see the ocean, I'll bring you back home," Salty told the now happy
youngster. " Oh goodie ! Fank ya Salty, the child excited said.
Finally the big day arrived for Salty and Little Joe. Ben, Adam and Hoss had
said their ' good byes ' to Salty the night before, since they would be leaving
early in the morning to start their busy day.
Salty had helped pack some clothes for Little Joe, and as soon as the little
boy's family had left, Salty quickly saddled his horse and he and Little Joe
were on their way to San Francisco.
Hop Sing was busy in his garden and he thought that Little Joe was still in
bed sound to sleep, as it was still very early in the morning.
Little Joe was having a great time riding with Salty as he was looking forward
into seeing the ocean. He loved camping with Salty and he felt very safe,
plus all of Salty's stories were so interesting for the little boy.
Little Joe didn't know that Salty had left a letter for Ben explaining about
Little Joe wanting to go with him so he could see the ocean, and he promised
Ben that he would bring Little Joe safely back home. He mentioned in his letter
that he was afraid that the little boy would try to follow him and end up
getting lost, so that was why he had decided to take the child with him.
By the time Ben had returned home, he was met by a frantic Hop Sing, Adam
and Hoss. They had been out looking for the missing child as soon as Hop Sing
had told them that the little boy was missing. They still hadn't found the
letter that Salty had left for Ben in Ben's room.
Ben didn't know what to think, as he was worried sick about his baby boy and
where he might have wandered off to this time. The little boy did tend to
wander off from to time to time, which worried his family to no end, even
though he knew he wasn't suppose to leave the yard by himself.
After a quick dinner, Ben, Adam and Hoss decided to go out and look for the
missing child again. Ben made a quick trip up to his room to get his coat,
as it was getting cold outside.
While he was in his room, he noticed an envolope laying on his bed, so he
quickly picked it up, opened and began to read the short letter from Salty.
He couldn't believe what he was reading, but he knew how his little son could
talk anyone into doing what he wanted. Ben quickly headed back downstairs
to show Hop Sing, Adam and Hoss the letter.
They were all shocked at what they had read in the letter, but then they all
knew how the little boy could talk his way to get what he wanted. They weren't
sure who to be upset with, Salty or Little Joe. They could understand why
Salty had taken the boy because he was worried that the little boy would follow
him and get lost, and they also knew that Salty wouldn't let anything happen
to Little Joe either.
" Pa, are we going to go after them?" Adam asked. " Yes we.
If Little Joe were older, than I wouldn't be so worried about him, but he's
only five years old, and I know that Salty will keep him safe. Ben really
didn't approve of any of this, because of the child's age. " That boy
!" Ben declared.
Salty and Little Joe rode long hours each day, and they soon had reached San
Francisco late in the afternoon. After they had spent the night in their hotel
room, and after breakfast, they got Salty's horse and rode out to the ocean.
Little Joe was still very excited about seeing the ocean, but he was also
getting homesick, and he missed his family so very much. Salty could tell
just by the way the boy acted that he was homesick and that he wanted his
family now.
It wasn't long before the two arrived at the ocean, since San Francisco was
on the coast.
Little Joe gasped at his first sight of the ocean. He just sat there on Salty's
horse and stared at the huge ocean with his mouth open and his eyes as wide
open as he could get them.
" Well laddy, here's the Pacific Ocean !" Salty declared as he looked
the Pacific Ocean for the first time too.
" I ain't never seen anything so big ! Did ya knowed that Hop Sing comed
across that ocean ta comed here?" Little Joe said as he continued to
look at the ocean.
" That is right laddy. It probably took him almost a year to cross the
ocean. Did you know that the Pacific Ocean is the biggest ocean in the world
laddy?" Salty told the child.
" It is?" the child said as he continued to look at the ocean. "
Yup, it sure is laddy," Salty confirmed.
Salty and Little Joe rode onto the beach and got off the horse, so Little
Joe could go down to the water. Salty kept very close to the little boy because
it can be very dangerous around the ocean and it's under towes.
They sat down on a log so Salty could take their boots and socks off and roll
up their pant legs, so they could walk in the water. Little Joe was very nervous
because the ocean was so big and very loud.
Salty kept a hold on Little Joe's hand as they slowly walked out into the
cold water, that took their breaths away. Little Joe gasped at how cold the
water was.
" This water is really cold, ain't it Salty?" the little boy said
as he stood in the ankle deep water tightly holding onto Salty's hand. "
Yes it sure is laddy," Salty replied as he smiled at the child's comment
about the cold water.
Little Joe didn't know what to think as it kept feeling like the sand wash
washing out from under his feet as they stood in the water.
" Salty, it feels like the sand is movin' from under my feet !"
the child nervously stated as he had never felt anything like that before.
Salty smiled at the excitedment written all over the little boy's face and
he explained, that it does feel like because of the waves action when it goes
in and out.
Little Joe bent over and he put his tiny hand in the water, and then he tasted
his fingers, and he got a surprised look on his face. " Hey, it really
is salty tastin', ain't it Salty, just like ya saided it was !" the child
declared as he again tasted his fingers. " Yes, it is very salty alright,"
Salty replied.
Salty let Little Joe play in the sand for a while, before they returned to
their hotel so Little Joe could have a nap.
Little Joe was having a fun time playing in the sand like he did whe he was
at the lake. After about three hours, Little Joe was getting very sleepy,
so Salty decided it was time to head back to their hotel room. Little Joe
had gathered up several shells from the beach to take with him. He was excited
at seeing shells, since he had never seen them before. He also had picked
up a few small flat stones too from the beach to take with him as well.
On the way back to their hotel, Little Joe fell asleep. Salty felt happy that
he made the little boy's dream of seeing the ocean come true. He too, had
had a good time watching the little boy on the beach and to see all the excitement
on the child's face was priceless to him.
After Little Joe woke up, Salty took him to a small toy shop because he wanted
to buy the boy some toys.
Little Joe was so surprised that there was a shop that was filled with toys.
" Look at all them toys Salty. I ain't never sawed a shop wiv only toys
in it !" the child squealed. Salty loved that magical look in the child's
big bright green eyes that were sparkling like diamonds.
Salty and Little Joe looked at every toy in the shop. Salty carefully watched
the little boy to see what toys he seemed to like the best. Little Joe was
behaving himself and he didn't touch anything unless Salty said he could.
" Laddy, what toys would you like to have?" Salty finally asked.
Little Joe looked up at Salty in surprised. He didn't know that Salty had
planned to buy him any toys.
As they continued to walk around the small shop, Little Joe noticed a teddy
bear that was wearing a sailors shirt. " Salty look at that bear, he
gotts a sailors shirt on ! Ain't that somethin'?" the excited child squealed
as he pointed to the bear that was sitting on a shelf.
" Well, would you look at that ! That's the same kind of shirts we wore
on the ships. Your Papa wore one like that when he use to be on ships many
years ago," Salty told the little boy.
" Really ?" the youngster excited declared. " Yes. That is
a sailors shirt. Would you like to have that bear ? I would really love to
buy it for you," Salty replied as he really wanted the little boy to
have the bear.
" Oh yes please. I really wuv that bear !" the child declared. Salty
reached up and picked up the bear and he handed it to Little Joe who was so
excited.
" Oh fank you Salty !" the child cried. Salty loved the happy face
of the little boy, and he could see how much the little boy loved the bear.
The bear was about thirteen inches tall and made out of brown wool. The sailors
shirt was made out of blue wool. Little Joe was hugging his bear and he told
the bear that he loved him.
Salty had also bought Little Joe some carved horses, some boats and some marbles.
It felt like Christmas to Little Joe. He couldn't wait to show his family
all of his new toys.
After Salty had paid for the toys, the shop clerk carefully wrapped up each
toy and he put all of Little Joe's treasures in a bag for the little boy so
he could carry them.
At another shop, Salty bought a set of carving knives for Hoss and at the
book shop, he bought Adam a book about Tales of the High Sea.
From their shopping trip, Salty and Little Joe headed back to their hotel
room to leave their packages, and then they headed down to the diningroom
for some dinner. It would be a day that Little Joe would never forget.
The Cartwrights arrived in San Francisco late that night. After they had taken
care of their horses, they checked into their hotel room, got something to
eat, and then went back to their room for for a good night's sleep. That next
day they had planned to try to find Salty and Little Joe, which they knew
would be hard.
The next morning after Salty and Little Joe had had their breakfast, the headed
down to the harbor so Little Joe could see all the large ships.
The Cartwright had also had some breakfast, and now they had to decided just
where to start their search for Salty and Little Joe.
As Salty and Little Joe sat there watching all the large ships coming in and
out of the busy harbor, and those that ships were docked there, Little Joe
couldn't believe how many ships there were, and at how big they all were.
It was like nothing he had ever seen before in his very young life.
" Salty, is them ships like the ones you and Papa was on?" Little
Joe asked as he continued to watch the ships in total awe.
" Yes they are laddy. They sure are big aren't they?" Salty said
to the little boy. " They sure is," Little Joe replied as he looked
back at the ships and he became very sad, just thinking about his Papa.
" Salty, can I go home now?" The child softly asked. " Yes,
if you want to, we can leave in the morning," Salty suggested as he saw
the very sad look on the little boy's face and the tears that were beginning
to form in his eyes.
Salty had really enjoyed being with Little Joe, but he also knew that he needed
to get the child back to his family.
As Salty and Little Joe continued to watch the ships, Ben, Adam and Hoss were
walking towards the docks too.
After about ten more minutes, they saw Salty and Little Joe sitting on the
bench watching the ships. They noticed Salty pointing out things to the child
as he had his arm around the little boy's shoulder. The Cartwrights quickly
ran over towards the bench.
" Little Joe !" Ben shouted. Little Joe quickly stood up and he
turned around as soon as he heard Ben's voice calling out to him. " Papa,
Papa !" he shouted as he ran towards Ben and into his waiting arms.
" Oh Little Joe, baby. I have missed you so much !" Ben cried as
he held onto his youngest son for dear life.
" Hi ya Papa, Adam, Hoss. I missed ya ta. I gotts ta see the ocean and
I gotts ta taste it too. Hey Papa, did ya knowed that the ocean tastes really
salty?" the child excitedly said.
" Yes I know it tastes salty sweetheart," Ben replied as he got
a kick out of what his baby had just said.
" Ben, I hope you didn't get too upset. I know I shouldn't have let the
boy talk me into this trip, but I just couldn't say ' no ' to him, and I didn't
want him to follow me, and end up getting lost," Salty explained as he
apologized to Ben.
" Salty, we'll talk about this later. I know how hard it is to say '
no ' to this little imp, believe me, but right now I just need to be with
my baby for a while if you don't mind?" Ben told Salty. Ben wasn't really
upset with Salty, just worried about his baby son.
Little did they all know, but they were all staying at the same hotel, which
they found very handy.
While Little Joe took his nap, Ben went to see Salty, who had just come back
to his room after signing up as a crew member of one of the ships that would
sailing out in the morning heading towards China.
" Salty, I thank you for taking such wonderful care of Little Joe. He
seems very happy about his trip here with you, but I really wish you would
have just said ' no ' to him," Ben said.
" I am so very sorry Ben. I tried, but he wouldn't take ' no ' for an
answer, and I didn't want him to try to follow me. Please don't think bad
of me Ben I wanted to make that little boy's dream of seeing the ocean, come
true. We were going to head back to the Ponderosa in the morning. Please believe
me Ben," Salty pleaded.
Ben smiled at Salty, and he said, " I believe you Salty. What did he
do when he first saw the ocean?"
" Ben, you should have seen that look on his face. He had no idea at
how big the ocean was. The thing that really surprised me the most, was when
he told me that Hop Sing had come across on the ocean. I knew that, of course,
but I was surprised he knew about that with being so young," Salty explained.
" Yes, Hop Sing told him all about that. I'm surprised he remembered
that," Ben replied, feeling so proud his boy for remembering.
" He was really surprised at how cold the water was too. I held his hand
while we stood in the water, and when we walked in the water. We only went
ankle deep," Salty told Ben.
" He was a little nervous at the way the sand moved out from under his
feet. I told him that the ocean did that because of the wave action. He had
a fun time playing in the sand too. He is such a wonderful little boy Ben,"
Salty said with a lot of emotion in his voice.
" Thank you Salty. I am happy he got to experience this. I could tell
how happy and excited he was when he told me all about the ocean and all of
the things you had explained to him too," Ben told Salty.
" Ben, I hope you don't mind, but I took him to that small toy shop down
the street, and I bought him these toys," Salty said as he showed Ben
the toys that he had bought Little Joe.
" That was very nice of you Salty. Of course I don't mind. Hey, this
bear is dressed in a shirt just like the ones we wore. For heavens sakes,
isn't that amazing !" Ben declared as he carefully look at the bear with
a big smile on his face.
" Yes, I tell you that I was really surprised by this bear too. I told
Little Joe that you and I wore shirts just like this. He was so excited !
I tell you Ben, just seeing all that excitement and magic written all over
that sweet little face of his, will stay with me forever !" Salty explained.
Ben was speechless as he nodded at Salty. He put Little Joe's treasures back
into their wrapping and into the bag, along with shells and stones that the
child had brought back from the beach with him.
Salty told Ben about the carving knives he had bought for Hoss and about the
book for Adam. Ben told him that they would be thrilled with their gifts,
and he thanked Salty.
After dinner, Salty gave Adam and Hoss their gifts, and just as Ben had said,
they were both loved their gifts and they thanked Salty. Little Joe was so
happy to have his new toys again.
Early that next morning, Salty and the Cartwright had to say their very sad
' good bye's'. It was very hard for all of them to say ' good bye' to Salty.
He was much loved by the family and they knew that they would all miss him
dearly, as he felt like a member of the family.
" I promise I will keep in touch. I love you all so very much. You are
the only family I ever had," Salty said. He picked up Little Joe and
held him while the child cried. They all had tears in their eyes.
" You be a good boy now laddy. You are very lucky to have such a wonderful
loving and caring family. I will miss you so very much laddy. Just think,
the next time I see you, you'll be a big boy. I love you laddy !" Salty
sadly said as he was in tears.
" I wuv ya ta Salty. Fank ya fer takin' me ta see the ocean, and fer
all my new toys. Ya know what Salty, Imma gonna name my new bear Salty,"
the little boy said as he was still crying.
" Thank you Little Joe. I feel very honored that you named your bear
after me. That means so much to me," Salty said as he kissed the little
boy, then he handed the boy back to Ben. He then boarded the ship. A few minutes
later, the ship left the harbor and headed out to the ocean.
The Carwrights stood there in tears and watched until the ship was out of
sight.
" Come on boys, lets get our horses and ride out to the beach and continue
to watch the ship," Ben suggested. " Oh goodie !" Little Joe
shouted as he was still in tears.
They walked quickly to the stable to get their horses and they rode out to
the beach. " Papa, there's Salty's ship !" Little Joe shouted as
he pointed at the ship that was heading west in the ocean.
They got off their horses and Ben reached up and got Little Joe down from
Dusty, Ben's horse. They walked down towards the water to watch the ship heading
farther out to sea.
They watched until the ship has gone out of sight. " BYE SALTY. I WUV
YA !" Little Joe shouted as he waved his tiny hand in the air. In his
mind, he hoped that Salty could see him waving to him.
" Well boys, how about we head back into town and get some lunch ?"
Ben suggested. " Sounds great !" they all agreed. " Papa, can
we come back ta the beach after lunch ta play on the beach and walk in the
water too ?" Little Joe asked. " We sure can sweetheart," Ben
replied as he hugged his little son.
The afternoon went fast for Little Joe. He had enjoyed his afternoon at the
beach playing and walking in the water. They all had enjoyed their fun afternoon
at the beach.
Ben had suggested that they would leave for home that next morning, but first
they needed to get some supplies for their trip home.
Ben could tell that Little Joe was getting quite sleepy, so he suggested that
they should leave the beach now and head back to town. As they were starting
their way back to town, Little Joe took one last look at the ocean and he
said, " Bye, bye ocean."
By the time they had returned to their hotel, Little Joe was sound to sleep.
Hoss said he would stay with Little Joe, since was sleepy too.
Ben and Adam went to get their supplies, and then they headed to the stables
so they could put their supplies there so they could pack it up in the morning.
The stable owner told Ben that he would have their pack horse already packed
for them, so they could leave right away. Ben thanked the man for his kindness
and gave the man a nice bonus for all the extra care he had given their horses.
The man was very grateful for the bonus. Ben had also paid the man the money
for stabling the horses while they had been in San Francisco.
When Ben and Adam returned to their hotel room, they smiled at Hoss and Little
Joe who were both still sleeping. Little Joe had Salty tucked safely under
his arm.
After dinner, they walked back down to the harbor to watch the ships for while.
It was rather chilly outside, so they didn't stay too long, as they wanted
to get a nice early start in the morning.
After an early breakfast the next morning, the family headed for home. Little
Joe took turns riding with each member of his family all the way home. He
was very excited to be heading home. To him it seemed like forever since he
had left with Salty. He really missed seeing Hop Sing, and he couldn't wait
to see him and to tell him all about his exciting trip with Salty.
Little Joe loved camping out at night with his family. He slept with Salty
at night, but during the day, Salty was safely packed away so he wouldn't
get lost on the way home.
About six days later, four tried Cartwrights rode into the yard of their home.
They were warmly greeted by Hop Sing, who was so happy to finally have his
family back home again.
" Welcome home. Hop Sing miss family very much, especially little boy.
House much too quiet without little boy here," Hop Sing told them.
" I really missed ya Hop Sing. I gotts ta see that ocean you comed across
ta gets here. It sure is big. I ain't never seen anything that big before,"
the boy excitedly told Hop Sing.
" Yes, Pacific Ocean very big !" Hop Sing replied as he looked at
little boy.
Hop Sing really liked Little Joe's bear, Salty, and carved horses, boats and
marbles. " Mr. Salty very nice man. Hop Sing very much miss nice man.
He have nice time on ships," Hop Sing declared.
" Yes Hop Sing, Salty is a very nice man and he took wonderful care of
Little Joe too. I am very thankful that Salty came into our lives, and I hope
that one day he will come back to see us," Ben thoughtfully said.
" I hope your right about him coming back Pa," Adam replied. "
I will never forget him Pa," Hoss added.
" I hope that your little brother will have wonderful memories of Salty
too. He sure loved that man. I'm very happy he named his new bear, Salty,
and I know that really meant a lot to Salty too," Ben said. Both Adam
and Hoss agreed to what Ben had just said.
Little Joe fell alseep with Salty safely tucked under his arm. Just before
he fell asleep, he very softly said, " Night night Salty. I love you.
Please come back to see us again sometime." Then he fell sound to sleep
with his thumb in his mouth.
The End.