The Carson City trip

By: Lynne G.

It was late May and plans were being made for all the chores and repairs that would need doing on the Ponderosa for the upcoming summer season. Some of the higher areas of the ranch were still under several feet of snow.

One afternoon, Adam had returned from Virginia City after picking up the mail. Since the Cartwrights had been busy they hadn't been able to go into town to get their mail.

A lot of the time the youngest boy, Little Joe would ride over to the mail office after school to pick up the mail, but the boy had been very ill with bronchitis and hadn't been in school.

As Adam walked towards the house Hoss rode into the yard, so Adam waited for his brother so they could walk in the house together.

" Ya sure have a big pile of mail there big brother," Hoss commented. " You can say that again," Adam replied as they walked in the house.

Ben was walking down the stairs with his youngest son's breakfast tray in hand. Smiling at his son's, Ben looked at the large amount of mail and said, " Hi boys. Goodness, is all that our mail?"

" Sure is Pa," Adam declared. " I had no idea there would be so much," Ben said as he was still looking at the mail.

" How's little brother this morning? He sure didn't eat much breakfast I see," Hoss mentioned as he glanced at the nearly full plate of food.

" He seems to be better, but still coughing quite a bit. I wish that boy would eat more, but he says he isn't hungry. He wants to get out of bed so bad, but we'll have to wait to see what Paul says when he get here later today, and I know he will feel even better if he can get out of bed," Ben told Adam and Hoss.

" Poor kid. Trying to keep that boy in bed is hard enough. I think I'll go up and see him," Hoss explained as he headed towards the stairs. " He'd like that son. Thank you," Ben happily said.

As Ben sat down to take a look at the mail, Adam was happy to see that book he had ordered had finally come in, and he couldn't wait to get started on it.

Little Joe was sitting up in bed looking very unhappy, but as soon as he saw Hoss walk in the room he smiled at his big brother.

" Hi ya Punkin. How ya doin'?" Hoss asked as he smiled back at his baby brother and best friend. Hoss sat down on the side od the bed and ruffled up the youngsters thick curly hair.

" Hi Hoss. I'm just fine, 'cept for this stupid cough. I'm still tired too. Most of all is that I'm really tired of havin' ta stay in bed. I just know that I sure would feel much better if'n I could get up !" Little Joe told Hoss.

" Well, maybe Paul will let ya get after he checks ya out later today," Hoss suggested. " I sure hope so," the boy replied as he yawned and then he started to cough again. " DADBURN COUGH !" Little Joe grumped.

" This is interesting," Ben said as he was reading a letter that had come in the mail. Adam look up towards Ben and asked, " What's interesting?"

" It's about a luncheon meeting in Carson City in two weeks. It's for the Mine Owners Association," Ben explained. " Are you going Pa?" Adam asked.

" I don't know son, but since you've come back from college and you run the mines on the Ponderosa now, maybe you should go instead of me. I can fill you in on a few things and I know that you can more than handle it. Maybe you could take Hoss with you and he could get himself a new pair of boots and enjoy his day away from home," Ben suggested.

" That would be nice to have someone to ride with, but why does he have to get boots in Carson City? Can't he get them in Virginia City?" Adam questioned.

" They don't have his size at the Boot Shop, and Dan said it would be at least three to four more weeks until he gets more boots in Hoss's size. Since Carson City is bigger than Virginia City and they do have more boot shops, I'm sure Hoss will be able to find his size easier," Ben explained.

" Plus he can look around in some the other shops that we don't have in Virginia City," Ben added.

" That sounds like a great idea Pa, but I have one question, what about Little Joe? You know how much he'll want to go with us," Adam stated.

" I know and I have thought that. We can't use school as a reason since next week is the last week of school for the summer. Is there any reason why he can't go with you and Hoss?" Ben asked.

With a big sigh, Adam looked at Ben and he replied, " I don't know Pa. You know how he is and how much mischief he can get into. I don't like the idea too much if you want to hear the truth."

" I fully understand son, but lets see what Hoss has to say about it," Ben suggested. Adam nodded and he hoped that Hoss would say no.

When Hoss came back downstairs Ben called him over to his desk where he and Adam had been talking.

" Yeah Pa?" Hoss asked as he looked at Ben and Adam. He could tell that Adam didn't seemed to be very pleased at the moment while Ben had a pleading look on his face.

After Ben had explained to Hoss about the Carson City trip, both Adam and Ben looked at Hoss trying to read his face.

" Hoss, I want to know how you really feel about taking your little brother along to Carson City with you and Adam," Ben asked.

Still looking back and and forth at Ben then back to Adam, Hoss felt nervous. " Well Pa, Adam, I know how little brother can be, but I love being with him. He could keep me company while Adam is in that luncheon meeting. I'd take really good care of Short Shanks. We could have lunch and do some shopping. ' Sides, me and Adam went to Placerville last month and Little Joe couldn't go and ya know how upset he got. Heck, with him bein' in school he don't get to go anyplace with us," Hoss explained.

" Hoss, are you sure you really want little brother to go with us?" Adam asked hoping that Hoss would change his mind. " I'm sure Adam. I want little brother to go with us," Hoss replied as he saw that disappointed look on Adam's face.

" Thank you Hoss. Now, we won't mention anything about this until a day before you leave. You know that's all he'll talk about if we tell him now," Ben suggested. " Good idea," both Adam and Hoss declared as they chuckled.

Little Joe was very happy indeed that he was finally allowed out of bed, even though he wasn't suppose to do anything yet. At least he could get dressed and go downstairs again.

That next week seemed to take forever to finish up for Little Joe. He couldn't wait until three in the afternoon which meant school was over and it was time for summer vacation.

He was feeling better, but still he felt tired and was still coughing some. In his young mind the only good thing about being sick was that he didn't have to go to school and he didn't have to do his chores either.

That following Monday, Ben, Adam and Hoss decided to talk about the trip to Carson City that would be on Tuesday. They had planned to tease Little Joe a bit at first before telling him that he was going along with his big brothers.

Taken be surprise, Little Joe opened his mouth as he looked at his family. " What trip?" Little Joe asked as he continued to stare at his family.

" Your brothers are going to Carson City tomorrow so Adam can attend a luncheon meeting for the Mine Owners Association, and Hoss is going along to get a new pair of boots," Ben explained as he watched all the expressions play out on the youngster's face.

Little Joe wanted so badly to ask if he could go along, but he already figured out what the answer would be, so he mumbled, " Oh " and ran out of the house and into the barn and straight up to the hayloft.

Confused by the boy's reaction, Ben said, " I must say, I certainly didn't expect that kind of reaction. I thought for sure he would have pleaded to go along with you."

" I'm surprised too. I have a feeling little brother just figured he wouldn't be allowed to go with us, so he didn't bother to ask," Adam softly said as he felt sad for his baby brother.

Feeling bad also, Ben added, " You could be right about that son. Poor boy. I better go find him and let him know that he can go too."

" He's most likely up in the hayloft Pa," Hoss suggested. " I'm sure he is. Come on and let's go cheer him up with the good news," Ben suggested as they headed towards the barn.

Little Joe had hidden himself at the very back of the loft behind some large wooden boxes. He laid down and cried. He thought life was so unfair because he was the youngest brother.

After Ben, Adam and Hoss were in the barn, they could hear soft crying coming down from the loft and it broke their hearts. They decided to talk loud so Little Joe could hear them.

" It's too bad Little Joe ran out of the house before we could explain to him about tomorrow !" Ben declared. " Yes it is Pa. I think he might have liked what we were going to tell him," Adam added.

" Now he'll never hear what we was gonna tell him. I wonder where he ran off to ?" Hoss stated as he smiled, knowing that his baby brother could hear everything that they were saying.

Up in the loft, Little Joe was listening to his family and he was very curious as to what his family was going to say next, but he didn't want to give himself away.

Looking up towards the loft, Ben smiled and said, " Well, I guess we had better go and look for Little Joe. Ben, Adam and Hoss left the barn and walked over to their horses who were tied to the rail near the house. They mounted up and rode out of the yard.

They didn't go far, just behind the barn and they got off their horses, tied them up and slowly walked back towards the barn to wait for the youngest Cartwright to come out of the barn.

Little Joe quickly climbed down from the loft and as he walked over towards the barn door, he noticed that his family did ride off as their horses were gone.

He walked out of the barn with his head down and feeling even more upset as tears were now running down his face.

Suddenly he was grabbed and thrown over Ben's shoulder which caused him to scream out with fright.

" Got you, you little rascal," ben shouted as he patted the boy's little bottom. With a gasp, Little Joe almost shouted, " Pa, ya scared me !" Then he started to giggle as Ben continued to hold the boy on his shoulder and patting his bottom.

" Would you like me to put you back on the ground son?" Ben laughed. " Yes please ."

" Son, why did you run out of the house so fast?" Ben asked, already knowing what the boy would say. " I thought ya all rode out of the yard." " We did, but to the back of the barn only," Adam explained. " So why did you leave so fast?" Ben asked again.

Taking a deep breath, Little Joe looked up at Ben and said, " Cuz I knew if'n I asked ya if I could go with Adam and Hoss, ya'd just say no."

Smiling at the youngster, Ben replied, " Well, my dear son, you are going with your brothers. We were just teasing you a bit. Do you forgive us sweetheart?" The boy nodded.

With a gasp, Little Joe shouted for joy ! " Thank you Pa, Adam, Hoss. I promise I will be a good boy !" " That's good to know son, " Ben replied as he started to tickle his son. Loud giggling could be heard all over the yard.

Little Joe was so excited about going to Carson City with his big brothers that he found it hard to sleep that night. Morning couldn't come soon enough for this little boy.

As soon as the Cartwright brothers reached Carson City, they took their horses to the stables where they could be taken care of for the time they were in town.

" Ok Little Joe, I'm holding you to your promise of being a good boy for Hoss and to stay out of mischief. The meeting should be over at two this afternoon. I want you and Hoss to have the horses ready and I'll meet you at the park, then we can ride home," Adam explained.

" Sounds good to us big brother. Don't worry 'bout little brother none. I'll take good care of him," Hoss proudly said as he put his arm around the boy's shoulder.

" Have a nice luncheon meeting Adam, and I'll be good. I promise," Little Joe announced as he gave Adam one of his prize winning smiles. " Thank you little buddy. Now you two enjoy yourselves," Adam said. " We will," both Hoss and Little Joe said.

" What's we gonna do first Hoss ?" Little Joe asked. " Well, how's 'bout we go see if'n I can find some boots first. Then we can look around in all the shops," Hoss suggested.

" Ok. I hope ya can find some boots in yer size Hoss," the youngster said. " Me too !" Hoss replied as they walked towards one of the boot shops. Hoss had his arm around his little brother's shoulder.

" Wow, look at all them boots Hoss ! I ain't never seen so many boots 'n shoes in a shop before !" the boy said with much excitement in his voice. " Me either !" Hoss declared.

Much to his delight, Hoss found several pairs of boots in his size. Now the problem was which pair did he want. He tried several pair of boots on, and the pair he liked the best seemed to have the best fit, which made him very happy.

After Hoss paid for his new boots, Hoss and Little Joe continued on their way checking out the shops. " I sure like yer new boots Hoss," Little Joe said. " I'm happy you like them too. I know Pa will be pleased too.

At one of the shops they bought some tabacco for Ben, and some new pot holders for Hop Sing. " Now Hop Sing can throw away those old pot holders that got holes in em," Little Joe said. " That was a great idea ya had Short Shanks 'bout getting Hop Sing new pot holders. I know he will be happy to have new ones," Hoss said.

It was very near lunchtime. " I'm starvin little brother, lets get some lunch !" Hoss declared as he spotted a small restaurant down the street. " I'm hungry too," Little Joe stated. That made Hoss happy.

As they sat there reading over the menu, Hoss said, " There sure is a lotta good sounding food on this menu. It's gonna be hard on what to get."

With a surprised look on his face, Little Joe looked up at Hoss and said, " Hey Hoss, lookit, it says ' chicken stew '. I ain't never had chicken stew. Didn't know that ya could make stew with chicken. Bet Hop Sing ain't never thought of that !"

" Chicken stew sounds mighty interesting. Says here that it has the same stuff beef stew has in it, but has chicken gravy in it. I think I'm gonna try it Punkin. What sounds good to you?" Hoss asked as his mouth was watering.

" I want chicken stew too !" Little Joe declared as his mouth was watering too.

The waitress brought Hoss and Little Joe some freshly baked bread, some milk and two bowls of chicken stew.

" Thank you ma'am," they both said as they looked at the food in front of them. With a big smile on her face, the waitress replied, " You are very welcome boys. Enjoy !"

Hoss put his spoon in his stew and he slowly chewed the absolutely delicious chicken stew. He had never tasted anything like that before and he loved it. Little Joe felt the same way.

" Golly Hoss, this is really good. Chicken stew. Who woulda thought ta use chicken fer stew. We gotta tell Hop Sing 'bout this and he can make some chicken stew too!" Little Joe suggested as he was thoroughly enjoying every bit of his stew. " Good idea little brother !" Hoss addded.

Little Joe ate slower than Hoss did and he knew that one bowl of stew was enough for him, but Hoss had a second bowl of stew. They also enjoyed the bread as well.

After they had finished eating, the waitress came back to see if they would like dessert. The caramel apple pie sounded interesting to them. They both loved apple pie, but they had never had it with caramel in it. So they both ordered a piece of pie.

" Hey, this is really good ! Ya can taste the caramel in it too !" Hoss declared. " Ya sure can. I love it ! We gotta tell Hop Sing 'bout this too. I know he could make and I know that Pa and Adam would really love it too !" Little Joe suggested. Hoss nodded as he was too busy eating his second piece of pie.

After they had finished their pie, Hoss paid the bill and the brothers continued on their way.

" Hoss, lookit, it's a candy shop !" Little Joe squealed with true delight. " Sure is. Come on and let's check it out and get some candy ta take home !" Hoss suggested. " Goodie, goodie !" the youngster replied with excitement.

Hoss and Little Joe had never seen so many different kinds of candy before. They looked at every jar of candy and Hoss read the description of every jar of candy out loud to his little brother, even though Little Joe could read for himself, plus he was an excellent reader too.

The shop owner was getting a big kick by the way Hoss and Little Joe were looking at all the candy jars.

" It looks like you boys are having a hard decision on what kind of candy to get, I see," laughed Fred Carson. " Yes sir ! We ain't never seen so many different kinds of candy like this before," Hoss replied.

" I think I know what kinds I want Hoss, " Little Joe announced as his mouth was watering.

Fred smiled at the young boy and he thought what a cute little boy he was. " How much money do you have to spend son?" " Ten cents sir," Little Joe replied. He wished that he had more money to buy most of the kinds of candy that look good to him.

" You can get a lot of candy for ten cents son.. Just point to the kinds you want and I will put them into their bags for you," Fred suggested.

" Thank you sir," Little Joe said as he began to point to the kinds of candy he wanted. Little Joe stood there with his big green eyes wide open as his mouth continued to water as he watched Fred put each kind of candy in it's own bag.

Once Fred had each bag filled, he put all the smaller bags into a large bag so it would be easier for the little boy to carry.

As Fred handed Little Joe the large bag, the boy handed him ten cents and he had a big smile on his face. " Thank you again sir," the excited little boy squealed.

" You are very welcome son," Fred said as he smiled at the boy. Fred did the same thing with Hoss's choices of candy too. As the boys were geting ready to leave, Fred handed them each a piece of chocolate to eat.

" Thank you !" they both declared as they left the shop.

" Boy Hoss, ten cents sure got lots of candy, dun't it?" the boy announced. " Yeah it sure does. We each have enough candy ta last us a long time too, Hoss happily said as he was enjoying his piece of chocolate.

" I'm glad I gots me some of this here chocolate candy too. I love it !" Little Joe squealed. " Me too," Hoss added.

As they continue on down the street, Hoss noticed a bakery. " Why don't we head over to that bakery and get some cookies to take home, and just maybe we can all have a cookie to eat on the way home," Hoss suggested. Little Joe agreed so off they went to the bakery.

The wonderful smells of the bakery greeted the boys as soon as they entered the bakery.

" Hi boys, how may I help you?" Molly Wilson asked as Hoss and Little Joe walked in the bakery.

" Hi ma'am. We want to get some cookies to take home with us please," Hoss said as he and Little Joe looked at all the different kinds of cookies in the glass case.

" They sure look yummy Hoss !" the boy said as he continued to look at the cookies. " What kinds should we get Little Joe ?" Hoss asked his little brother.

" How's 'bout some of them chocolate ones, some butterscotch ones, them oatmeal ones and...a...a...you pick some Hoss," Little Joe suggested.

Hoss looked at the cookies again and he chose some apple cinnamon cookies. Molly put each kind of cookie in their own bags, and then into one large bag so it would be easier for the boys to carry them.. They had bough a dozen of each kind of cookie.

After Hoss paid for the cookies, Molly gave them each a sugar cookie to eat and both boys thanked her for their cookies.

As they walked along Hoss noticed a book shop. " Hey there's that book shop big brother loves so much. He goes there everytime he's here," Hoss said as he pointed towards the shop.

As they stood looking in the window of the book shop, Hoss suggested they go inside and have a look. " Maybe we can find somethin' for big brother," Hoss added.

" Hoss, what kinda book we lookin' fer. All Adam like is them boring books !" Little Joe told Hoss. " Tell me 'bout it. I dunt know how he can stand them kinda books. Maybe a poetry book. He sure loves them kind," Hoss suggested. " YUCK !" the boy replied as he thought about poetry.

The boys walked over to the section that had all the poetry books in it. As they looked at all the books, Little Joe noticed a book that he knew Adam had volume one of.

" Hey Hoss, dun't Adam got volume one of this book? the boy asked as he pointed to volume two of the book that Adam. It was the Classic Book of Poetry, volume two.

" He sure does. He got volume one last month and this must be the newest volume. Once they asked the shop owner if that was indeed the newest volume, which it was and it had just come in that morning. Hoss and Little Joe decided to buy it for Adam.

They had enough money with them as Ben had given them some extra money for their day in Carson City.

After they had left the book shop with the book for Adam, they headed on to the stables to get their horses then they walked to the park to wait for Adam.

They were both tired especially Little Joe as he still didn't have all his strength back from when he was so ill with bronchitis.

When they had reached the park, they sat down on one of the benches. They had put all their treasures they had bought into their saddlebags except for Hoss's boots and the cookies. Those they tied to to the back of Hoss's saddle.

As Adam arrived at the park, he saw his younger brothers sitting on the bench and Little Joe was leaning against Hoss Hoss's shoulder sound to sleep. He also noticed the horses were tied to the hitching post.

" Hi you two !" Adam greeted as he smiled. " Hi big brother. How'd your meeting go ?" Hoss asked softly. " It went very well, thank you. How did you two do and did our little brother behave himself?" Adam asked as he looked down at his sleeping baby brother and he continued to smile.

" We had a great time Adam, and little brother was as good as gold. Plus he also ate all his lunch too !" Hoss proudly replied as he smiled back at Adam.

" Now, that is what I wanted to hear. We had better wake him up and head for home. I think we should all use the outhouse by the stage depot before we leave town too," Adam suggested.

As they rode home, Hoss and Little Joe told Adam all about their fun day, which Adam was enjoying hearing about. They all each enjoyed a cookie on the way home too.

About half way home, Adam noticed that Little Joe had fallen asleep on his horse, Tony, so Adam suggested that they stop so he could put Little Joe on Beauty with him so the boy could sleep without him falling off Tony. Hoss took Tony's reins and they continued on home.

As soon as Ben heard horses enter the yard he went out to see if it was his son's returning home, and he was very happy to see them. He had to smile when he saw Little Joe sound to sleep in front of Adam on Beauty.

" Hi boys. Looks like your little brother is in dreamland I see," Ben said as he smiled as he reached up and gently took his young son off of Adam's horse.

" Yes he fell asleep about half way home. We''ll just take care of the horses and then we'll be right in Pa," Adam told Ben. Good, I can't wait to hear your day and the meeting too," Ben said as he carried Little Joe into the house.

Ben carefully laid his baby son on the settee and covered him up with a quilt, then he sat down and watch his son sleep.

During dinner, Little Joe told Ben all about his in Carson City with Hoss. Adam and Hoss had already told Ben about their day, but since Little Joe was sleeping, he didn't know that. Ben was very proud of his sons, especially Little Joe for being such a good boy for Hoss.

" Pa, that chicken stew was so good ! I gotta tell Hop Sing 'bout it so he can make some. That caramel apple pie was so good too ! Oh Pa, ya shoulda seen all that candy in that candy shop ! I ain't never seen so much candy in my life and that man who owned the shop gave me and Hoss a piece of chcolate ta eat just before we left his shop !" Little Joe explained. He had to stop to take in a deep breath before continuing on.

" And the nice lady at the bakery gave us each a sugar cookie ta eat before we left the bakery ! I was a good boy fer Hoss too Pa !" the boy finally finished telling Ben about his day.

" My goodness, you certainly did have a fun day didn't you sweetheart. I am so very proud of you for being so good for Hoss," Ben told him as he ruffled up the boy's hair. " Thanks again Pa fer lettin' me go with Adam and Hoss."

After dinner, Little Joe went out to the kitchen to tell Hop Sing all about chciken stew and caramel apple pie.

" Hop Sing, did ya know that ya can make stew with chicken? It's got chicken gravy in it. and about that caramel apple pie. All ya gotta do is put some caramel on top of them apples and when it bakes the caramel melts. I know ya can make chicken stew and caramel apple pie Hop Sing cuz yer the best cook in the whole wide world !" Little Joe excitedly told Hop Sing.

Of course Hop Sing knew how to make chicken stew and caramel apple pie, but he decided to act surprised at what the beaming little boy had just told him.

" Hop Sing not know that, but will make soon," Hop Sing said. Little Joe felt so proud that he puffed up his little chest with pride. It was hard for Hop Sing not to laugh at the little boy who he loved so very much.

" Did you enjoy your day with big brothers?" Hop Sing asked the child. " Oh yes I sure did. I had so much fun Hop Sing and I was a good boy too !" the boy proudly answered.

" Hop Sing very proud of Little Joe. Little boy very good boy," Hop Sing happily told the child. Little Joe smiled at Hop Sing then gave him a big hug. " I love ya Hop Sing !" " Hop Sing love Little Joe very much too ," Hop Sing softly told the boy.

Adam loved his new book and he was very happy that volume two had come out. Ben loved his new pipe tabacco and Hop Sing was thrilled with his new pot holders too. Ben was very impressed with the new boots that Hoss found.

As Little Joe sat on Ben's lap, he fell into a deep sleep, and Ben loved every moment that his youngest son was in his lap, and he hoped that the boy wouldn't grow up too fast.

The End

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