By: Lynne G.
" Oh I feel just awful thanks to my big brothers !
Golly, I thought they loved me, but guess not ! I gotta stay in bed cuz
I got this really awful chest and head cold, but the only good thing is
that they gotta do all my chores. Ha ha ha, serves 'em right !" the
boy said to himself just before he started to sneeze and cough yet again
which shook his young body.
Once the youngster was finally able to catch his breath again he thought
back to several days earlier when this whole mess started.
As the Cartwrights sat down for breakfast Ben handed out his list of chores
for the day to his three sons, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe.
Before Ben had a chance to speak out, Little Joe suddenly spoke up. "
Golly Pa, with school closed cuz old Jonesy, um...I mean Miss Jones has
a bad cold, I thought that....that I could...um really use a nice...um...vacation,
cuz I work so hard ya know ."
Almost spitting out their coffee at what the youngest Cartwright had just
declared, Ben, Adam and Hoss just shook their heads in disbelief as they
looked at the boy in question who sat there looking so innocent.
" Joseph, it is Miss Jones and you don't need a vacation ! As for working
hard, you do work hard at times, but only when you want to. Yes, you do
a good job with your chores and school work-well most of the time, but you
also have a lot of free time because of your age. Do I make myself clear
young man ?" Ben explained as he stared at his young twelve year old
son who wasn't now looking very pleased at the turn of events.
Looking down at his plate, the youngster mumbled a soft, " Yes sir."
Adam and Hoss were enjoying the breakfast show so far and it was hard for
them to hold in their laughter at the sour look on their little brother's
face.
" You know little brother, you can certainly come up with the craziest
ideas !" Adam teased. " He's right you know Punkin," Hoss
added. " Gee thanks brothers !" the boy proudly replied with a
silly little grin on his face.
Ben sat there not knowing whether he should laugh at his son or not, but
he did look up towards the ceiling and slowly shook his head once again.
That youngest son of his was certainly a little character.
" Now as I was saying, Ben began as he looked at Little Joe, I have
some business to take care of in Virginia City today boys, so Adam, Hoss,
I want you two to please head to Rocky Creek and check out that section
of fencing to see if it needs to be replaced."
" Little Joe, I want you to please go over to Pine Needle Meadow and
reattach the railings that came down in the last weeks windstorm. Hopefully
there aren't too many downed rails, and once you take care of that, I want
you to please come straight back here and finish chopping that pile of wood,"
Ben finished suggesting.
Looking up at Ben, Little Joe slowly nooded. In his mind he thought, 'some
vacation this isn't ! He tried to look as unhappy as he could in hoping
that Ben just might change his mind and feel sorry for him, but that wasn't
to be.
Little Joe grumbled his way to the barn to saddle Cochise, and he slowly
rode off to the dreaded meadow.
Standing in the yard his family watched the sad looking boy ride off. "
You'd think he was about to be hung the way he was acting," Adam said.
" That little brother brother of yours could be a famous actor some
day by the way he can put on show like he does. Those looks he get on that
face of his can get him almost anything he wants, and it is so hard not
to give in to him," Ben said as he looked at Adam and Hoss. They both
agreed to Ben's statement.
After Little Joe had reattached all the downed rails he was feeling warm
even though the day was very cool if not cold, but he loved the cool weather
so that didn't bother him.
He stood there and petted the love of his life, his beautiful black and
white pinto, Cochise that had been a birthday gift on his twelfth birthday
at the end of October of this year.
Ben had certainly surprised his youngest son with the pinto, a horse that
the boy had dreamed of owning since he was very little. All he could talk
about was that some day he would have his very own pinto, and now he did.
" Ya know Cooch, I'm feeling kinda hot and sweaty so I think I'm gonna
do something that ya just dunt do this time of year. I'm gonna go for a
quick swim in the lake," the boy told his horse. Cochise nudged his
young master's chest which made Little Joe giggle.
" It will be our secret boy," the youngster added as he leaped
up onto the saddle and off to the lake they went.
It didn't take Little Joe long to reach his favorite place at the lake for
swimming. He quickly got out of his clothes, which he laid across his saddle
and he ran down to the lake and into the water.
The coldness of the lake water took his breath away, but he didn't let that
stop him, and he quickly began to swim as fast as he could. As cold as the
water was, he was thoroughly enjoying his very cold swim, which was causing
him to giggle quite a bit.
After Adam and Hoss had finished their job at Rocky Creek, they decided
to ride over to Pine Needle Meadow to see if their little brother needed
any help with his job.
As they neared the lake which was a short cut to the meadow, they could
hear their little brother giggling near by.
" Hey Adam that sounds like little brother gigglin' to me," Hoss
declared. " It sure does Hoss, but isn't he suppose to be at the meadow
reattaching the downed rails and not at the lake ?" Adam replied as
they couldn't figure out why Little Joe would be at the lake.
" We had better go and see what kind of mischief that boy is up to
now," Adam suggested as he and Hoss rode closer to the lake, and their
giggling baby brother.
What they saw when they reached the lake took them by total surprise and
at first they didn't think they were seeing what they thought they were
seeing-their little brother swimming in Lake Tahoe in the middle of November
!
Speechless at first, Adam declared, " I don't believe this ! "
He just sat there on Sport in shock at what he was seeing, his little brother
happily swimming in the cold, very cold Lake Tahoe in the middle of November.
Hoss was speechless, not sure if his blue eyes were playing a trick on him
or not. He just sat on Chubb with his mouth open.
" JOSEPH FRANCIS CARTWRIGHT, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING SWIMMING
AT THIS TIME OF YEAR ? Adam shouted as he and Hoss continued to stare at
their brother.
Startled back to reality, Little Joe knew that he had been found out and
that he was now in very big trouble. He suddenly felt very cold.
" H...hi big b..brothers. J...Just s....swimmin' is all. W....Why dunt
ya join me the w....water's j....just fi....fine," the boy mumbled
as his teeth were chattering badly by now.
" I think his brain is frozen Adam !" Hoss declared. " I
think you're right about that Hoss and look, he is turning into an ice cube
too.
" Baby brother, since your brain seems to be frozen and you don't mind
being cold, you can just walk home ! That should give you time to come up
with some kind of excuse to explain to Pa as to why you have turned into
an ice cube !" Adam suggested as he took Little Joe's clothes, boots,
hat and Cochise and he and Hoss rode home.
" HEY, COME BACK HERE WITH MY CLOTHES NOW ! PLEASE !" the boy
shouted as he ran out of the water and after his brothers. '" PLEASE
COME BACK PLEASE !!!!
Adam and Hoss could hear their little brother shouting for them, but they
continued on home.
" Hey Adam, maybe we should take his clothes back to him so he can
get warmed up and can walk home. I don't think Pa would be very happy to
have his baby boy walking home without any clothes on," Hoss suggested.
" Sorry Hoss, but that boy can just walk home naked and cold. Hopefully
this will teach him a lesson not to go swimming in the middle of November.
Why can't that boy use his brain. He is smart after all, at least I thought
he was smart, but after today I'm not so sure," Adam explained to Hoss.
Back at the lake, Little Joe wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to swim
anymore. He just wanted to get warm and go home.
" Boy, some bad idea this was. Me and my big ideas ! How could they
do this to me ? They are so mean !" the youngster told himself just
before he began to sneeze non-stop for several minutes. " Bless me
!"
Not wanting to be caught without any clothes on, Little Joe walked over
to the wooded area near the beach and he hid behind a downed large pine
tree. He was able to find several downed branches to cover up with, and
he hoped that the branches would help keep him warm.
He had planned to wait until it was dark then he could run home without
anyone seeing him.
When Adam and Hoss returned home they quickly took care of the horses, including
Cochise, then headed for the house with Little Joe's clothes in hand. Once
in the house they took their brother's clothes up to his room.
As they were now relaxing in front of a nice warming fire in the fireplace,
Hoss couldn't think about anything else but his little brother and he was
starting to get concerned. They had been home for almost two hours now and
the boy still hadn't come home.
" I thought that little brother would have come home by now. We've
been home for two hours and no sign of Little Joe. He should have been home
by now Adam, and I hope he's alright and not too cold," Hoss said as
he looked at Adam.
" Come to think of it, he should have been home by now," Adam
replied as he was thinking back that they should have left the boy his clothes.
We shouldn't have taken his clothes Hoss and left him behind like that.
Let's go back and get him," Adam suggested as he felt very guilty now.
Just as they were getting ready to go and get their little brother, they
heard a horse enter the yard. They both thought, " Oh no, it's Pa !"
" Hi boys," Ben said as he walked in the house and straight over
to the fireplace and he began to rub his hands together to get them warmed
up.
" Hi Pa," they both said rather sheepishly knowing that once Ben
heard what they knew they were about to say, he would be more than angry.
As Ben stood there rubbing his hands together he looked around for his youngest
son.
" Where's Little Joe ? I saw Cochise in the barn," Ben said as
he looked at his older sons. Adam and Hoss looked at each other nervously
which Ben noticed right away.
" I asked you, where is your little brother?" Ben asked a little
louder this time.
" He's...he's at the lake Pa," Adam answered softly as he wouldn't
look at Ben. Hoss looked at the floor waiting for Ben to erupt.
Ben stared at Adam and replied, " At the lake ? Why in the world is
he at the lake ? He's suppose to be here chopping that pile of wood that
I asked him to do, and you tell me that he's at the lake !" Ben was
very angry to say the least.
" Well ya see Pa, when me and Adam finished at the fenceline we decided
to ride over to Pine Needle Meadow to see if Little Joe needed any help.
We took that shortcut that goes along the lake, when we thought we heard
little brother giggling, so we went to see why he was at the lake instead
of at the meadow," Hoss started to explain.
" Please continue Hoss," Ben suggested.
" Well, we got to the lake and there was Little Joe...swimming in the
lake," Hoss finished saying.
Shocked, Ben stared at Hoss and shouted, "HE WAS WHAT ?" Not sure
if he had Hoss correctly or not. " He was swimming Pa and when I asked
him what he was doing he simply said that he was swimming and he asked Hoss
and myself to join him. Of course since Hoss and I have brains and little
brother seems to have lost his, we just sat on our horses not believing
what we were seeing," Adam explained to Ben, who was still in shock
that his young son could be doing something so stupid for in the first place
in the middle of November.
" I told him to get out of that lake immediately, but he stuck his
tongue out a me. I decided to teach him a lesson once and for all and I
took his clothes, boots, hat and his horse and Hoss and I headed for home,
and left little brother at the lake. Problem is, is that he hasn't come
home yet," Adam finished telling Ben.
Ben was so angry that he felt like tanning both Adam and Hoss, but decided
not too. " How long ago was that, that you both left your baby brother
at the lake ? Ben shouted. " A little over two hours ago," Adam
replied softly.
Standing there in total shock at what he had just heard, he shook his head
in disbelief before he could say anything.
" I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU BOTH COULD BE SO STUPID AS TO LEAVE YOUR
LITTLE BROTHER AT THE LAKE WITHOUT ANY CLOTHES TO PUT ON, AND NOW YOU TELL
ME THAT HE STILL HASN'T COME HOME AFTER TWO HOURS !"
" I'LL TELL YOU WHY HE HASN' T COME HOME YET ! BECAUSE HE DOESN' T
HAVE ANY CLOTHES TO WEAR AND HE IS PROBABLY TOO COLD TO EVEN TRY TO WALK
HOME IN THE FIRST PLACE ! ADAM GET ME LITTLE JOE' S CLOTHES NOW ! Ben shouted
as loud as he could. Hoss knew that everyone in Virginia City could certainly
hear Ben shouting at them at this moment.
" YOU SIT HERE AND WAIT TILL I GET BACK WITH YOUR LITTLE BROTHER AND
YOU TWO HAD BETTER HOPE AND PRAY THAT YOUR LITTLE BROTHER IS ALRIGHT AND
THAT HE BETTER NOT GET SICK OR ELSE !!!! Ben continued to shout.
" DO YOU TWO REALIZE HOW COLD IT HAS TURNED AND THAT IS JUST MIGHT
START SNOWING AT ANY MOMENT ! I...I " was all Ben could say at that
time. He was much too angry to continue.
Ben grabbed Little Joe's clothes from Adam and headed out the front door-slammed
the door shut which seemed to shake the house. Ben also grabbed a quilt
before he left.
" Oh man, I have never seen Pa so angry before. I tell you Hoss, I
thought he was going to kill us kill or something," Adam nervously
said. " I wish I could hide in a small hole or something," Hoss
added. " Don't you mean a big hole Hoss ?" Adam teased. Hoss just
nodded.
From his hiding place at the lake, Little Joe was so cold that he couldn't
think straight. He was in tears and sacred to death as he was shivering
badly. His fingers tips were starting to turn blue, so he decided to blow
his warm breath on them and he kept rubbing his hands together too. He figured
that his lips were probably starting to get blue as well.
Ben rode as fast as he could to the lake. He knew where Little Joe's favorite
swim area was.
Back at the house, Hop Sing had heard the shouting match and he quickly
gathered up several thick quilts so he could get them heated up so Little
Joe could wrapped up in them as soon Ben brought him home. He also made
some hot chocolate for the boy.
" What wrong with you two ? You try to kill little brother ?"
Hop Sing yelled at Adam and Hoss. " No Hop Sing, we just wanted to
teach him a lesson, and as usual it backfired on us," Adam replied
as both he and Hoss hoped that their little brother would be alright.
As soon as Ben arrived at the lake he quickly took his son's clothes, boots
and the quilt out of his saddle bags.
" JOSEPH, WHERE ARE YOU SON ? PLEASE ANSWER ME LITTLE JOE !" Ben
shouted out to his son with worry in his voice as his eyes searched for
the missing boy.
From his hiding place, Little Joe thought he heard his Pa calling out to
him, but he wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him or not. He
was so cold by now that he didn't know what was going on.
Still hearing his name being called, the youngster answered very softly.
" Pa, Pa help me please !"
Ben stopped as soon as he heard a weak voice call out to him. Again, Ben
called out to his young son and there was a weak, " Pa," again.
Ben ran towards the sound of his son's voice and he saw a slight movement
under the pine branches.
Ben quickly began to gently remove the branches and his heart skipped a
beat as he saw his badly shivering son with blue lips, very pale face and
eyes that were barely open.
" Joseph let me get you dressed and warmed up," Ben told the boy
as he quickly began to get his son dressed and wrapped up in the quilt.
Once the boy was dressed and wrapped up in the quilt, Ben held him in his
arms and he sat down on the tree. All he wanted to do was to hold his son
and he kissed the top of the boy's head. He thanked God that he had found
his son in time. All his anger was gone.
A couple of minutes later, Ben found his voice and he said, " Come
on son and let's get you home and warmed up. Are you alright ?"
Little Joe was still extremely cold, but he did manage to nod as his teeth
were still chattering loudly.
Ben carried him over to Buck and he put his son in the saddle and he quickly
climbed up behind his son and held him tightly and he urged Buck into a
semi-fast trot for home.
Ben could feel his son shivering badly as they rode home. Little Joe kept
his eyes closed as he was very tired and all he wanted to do was sleep.
Even thought he was dressed and wrapped up in a quilt he felt even colder
on the ride home. Plus he was sneezing most of the time as well.
It didn't take long for Ben and Little Joe to get home. As soon as Ben pulled
Buck up, Hank quickly went over to Ben and he told Ben that he would take
care of Buck for him, for which Ben was very grateful. At the moment, his
main concern was his young son.
Ben quickly climbed down and then he took Little Joe off of Buck and he
ran to the house with his son in hs arms.
As soon as Ben reached the front door, Hop Sing opened the door and said,
" Put boy on settee. Hop Sing just put warm quilts on settee to wrap
up number three son. " Thank you Hop Sing. Adam and Hoss just watched.
Ben took the cold quilt off his son then wrapped him up in the warm quilts
that Hop Sing had ready for him. Little Joe was still shivering badly even
though he was now wrapped up in several very warm quilts.
Hop Sing quickly headed back to the kitchen to get some hot chocolate for
Little Joe.
" Is he alright Pa?" Adam softly asked as he looked at his very
cold little brother and he felt awful at what he and Hoss had done.
Without looking at his other son's, Ben replied, " No he isn't alright
! The boy is nearly frozen to death !"
Hoss reached down and he ruffled up his little brother's thick curly hair.
" I am so sorry Punkin. We never should have left you at the lake like
that. Please don't get sick. I love you little brother," Hoss tearfully
said.
Hop Sing rushed back over to the settee. " Boy need hot chocolate to
help from inside out," Hop Sing said as he looked down at the young
boy he loved so much. " Thank you Hop Sing. I'm going to add a little
brandy to this and that will help warm him up even faster," Ben explained
as he added a small amount of brandy to the hot chocolate.
After Ben stirred the hot chocolate and brandy mixture, he put a couple
of pillows behind LIttle Joe's head to help prop up the boy's head so he
could give him the hot chocolate.
Ben then put the mug up to the boy's lips, he suggested, " Take small
sips now son and as soon as you finish this, you should feel much warmer."
Little Joe did as he was told. The hot chocolate felt nice and warm as he
swallowed it. Between the warm quilts and the hot chocolate, the boy felt
a little warmer, but he was so very sleepy and still feeling cold. He continued
to sneeze quite a bit too.. He quickly fell asleep.
Adam sat down on the coffee table and he looked down at his sleeping little
brother as he ran his fingers through the boy's hair.
" I am so sorry little buddy. I never should have left you at the lake
like that. I hope you can forgive me. It was my idea to leave you there
and to take your clothes with me. You get nice and warm now. I love you
little buddy," Adam softly told the sleeping boy. He planned to say
this same thing to the boy once he woke up too, but he needed to say it
now first.
" Pa, is Little Joe going to be alright ?" Hoss asked as he looked
sadly at Ben. " I hope so Hoss, but it wouldn't surprise if he does
come down with a bad cold though," Ben replied as he looked down at
his sleeping son once again.
About two hours later, Hop Sing announced that dinner was ready. "
Thanks Hop Sing. I'll wake up Little Joe," Ben said.
Ben walked over to his sleeping son and smiled. The boy looked like an angel
when he slept, but when he was awake, that was another story.
Ben gently shook his son and said it was time for dinner. " Time to
wake up now son. Little Joe wake up son. Open your eyes for me. That a boy."
Little Joe slowly opened his eyes as he slightly moved his legs under the
warm quilts. " Hi Pa. How'd I get home ?" Little Joe asked as
he couldn't remember coming home.
Ben sat down on the coffee table, smiled and told his son, " I brought
you home sweetheart. Don't you remember ?" Ben asked. He really wasn't
surprised that the boy couldn't remember that as he was so cold at the time.
" No sir. I 'member being too cold ta think," the boy mumbled.
" Do you feel warmer now ?" Ben asked as he continued to look
at the boy who was so special to him. " Sorta ," the sleepy boy
replied back.
" That's good. Now lets get some food into you and that should help
you feel warmer too," Ben suggested as he helped the boy take off the
quilts.
At the table the beef stew looked and smelled delicious and it was steaming
hot. Adam and Hoss looked at their little brother and they asked him how
he felt.
Looking at them, Little Joe softly answered, " Still a little cold."
He was sort of angry at them for what they had done, but he was too tired
to talk about that. All he wanted to do after dinner was to go to bed.
The stew did help to make him a little warmer. He wasn't very hungry, but
he ate just enough to make Ben happy.
" Pa, may I be excused please. I'm really tired and I wanna go ta bed,"
Little Joe asked as he yawned With a smile, Ben said, " Yes you may
son. Are you feeling alright ? " He was concerned at the paleness of
the boy's face.
" Just tired is all. Night Pa, Adam, Hoss," the youngster said
as he slowly headed for the stairs " Night son " Night Little
Joe," both Adam and Hoss replied as they all watched the boy head up
the stairs.
" I sure hope he's alright. He was so quite at dinner and he really
didn't eat much," Adam said with concern in his voice. " Me too
," Hoss added.
" Your little brother is tired and being as cold as he was took a lot
out of him. He needs a good night of sleep, and he should feel better tomorrow,'Ben
explained.
Over the next several days, Little Joe came down with a nasty head cold
and chest cold. As the colds grew a little worse, Ben send for Dr. Paul
Martin.
Once Paul had checked over the boy, he said, " He'll be fine Ben. He
has a very nasty head and chest cold. Just keep him in bed for several day
and give him this medicine. It will help his cough and help the stuffiness
in his head too. If his fever goes any higher, by all means, send one of
the hands to get me.
Looking back at Ben, Paul smiled and said, " Good luck with keeping
that boy in bed. He will most likely not complain for several days because
he feels awful. Now you young man, no more swimming in the lake in the middle
of November. Wait till summer. Do you hear me ?" Paul asked as he smiled
at the boy in question.
A sleepy Little Joe just nodded as all he wanted to do was go back to sleep.
As Paul and Ben left the boy's room, they both looked at back at the now
sleeping boy. " That boy ! Ben said as he smiled. " He sure keeps
you on your toes doesn't he Ben ? Paul teased. " He certainly does.
I hope he never decides to go swimming in November again, Ben replied.
As soon as Ben and Paul came walking down the stairs, Adam, Hoss and Hop
Sing stood up anxiously waiting to hear what Paul had to say. They were
very relieved to hear that Little Joe would be fine once his cold was gone.
After Paul had left, Ben turned to face Adam and Hoss. " You two will
be doing all of your little brother's chores until he is able to do them
again, and I expect you both to keep him entertained while he is confined
to bed."
" Don't you worry Pa, we will do all his chores and as hard as it will
be to keep that boy in bed once he starts to feel a little better, we will
try our best to keep him entertained," Adam said knowing that keeping
their little brother in bed was going to be one very hard chore that they
really weren't looking forward to, but they didn't have any say in that
matter.
Even though Little Joe was one very sick little boy and feeling totally
awful, Ben had given him a very long lecture about swimming in the very
cold Lake Tahoe in the middle of November.
" Dunt worry Pa, I ain't never gonna do that again. Sneeze, sneeze,
cough, cough. Oh I feel so awful !"
The End