Little Joe
“Oh man, I really dun did it now! I wish I NEVER heard of the game of poker! DADBURNIT!!!!”
“I know I can’t ever go back home cuz I dun’t have no home anymore and ‘sides, I can’t face my family anytime soon. Maybe when I get older I can, but not yet cuz if’n I did see my family, I wouldn’t get any older than I am right now, fifteen years old.”
“So that is why I had Sheriff Coffee lock me up in this very lonely jail cell ta keep Pa from killin’ me! OH GOD, I CAN’T BELIEVE I LOST THE PONDEROSA PLAYIN’ POKER!”
XXX
Ben
“That youngest son of mine has to be taught a good but hard lesson! I know that he has been sneaking off to Virginia City at night and playing poker at the Bucket of Blood. Should I be surprised by this? No not really because I know my boy like a book!”
“I got in touch with a dear old friend of mine, Dexter Hanson to help me pull this prank on my son. Dex use to be a professional poker player several years ago, so he is the perfect person to teach Little Joe a very important lesson in life.”
“I know it might sound like a nasty thing to do to my young son, but hopefully that boy will learn a very important lesson from this, at least I hope so.”
“The plan is to have Dex get Little Joe into a few two man poker games. He will convince the boy to bet the Ponderosa towards the end and of course Dex will win the bet.”
“Adam and Hoss are just so so by the prank as they are worried about their little brother, but they too realize that the boy needs to be taught a very important lesson by all if this. I also needed to get Roy and Clem in on this too, oh and Bruno, the bartender at the saloon. Now everything is ready for our little victim.”
“Well, here it is two nights later and as Adam, Hoss and I wait for a certain boy to appear, we all feel a little nervous. Oh, here he comes, right on time. Little Joe is slowly climbing out of his bedroom window and he is heading towards the corner of the roof so he can climb down to the ground. I tell you, it makes me so nervous to see that boy climbing out on the roof like that then to climb down. He is now sneaking towards the barn.”
XXX
Dex
“I was really looking forward to Ben’s plan, but at the same time I feel a little sorry for Little Joe. The boy had won a little money during his late night poker games which made him be a little too cocky according to Ben.”
“It is very sad to see a youngster as young as Little Joe being so involved in this game of poker and not wanting to see another young life go in the wrong direction, I agreed to help Ben, after all I do owe him a big favor for the way he helped me out several years ago.”
“I plan to let the boy win a couple of games and when he thinks he is unbeatable, his luck will suddenly change.”
XXX
Bruno
“I certainly hope this plan of Ben’s works out. I like that boy and his family. It really bothers me when I see a boy of Little Joe’s age playing poker. I even told the boy that he is way too young to be playing poker like that, but he seems to think he can win a lot of money. He should be home sleeping at night and not in here playing poker with men who are so much older than him!”
“That boy is also much too young to be drinking beer too and to be in here in the first place. Well since Ben begged me to go along with his plan, his wish is my command.”
“Little Joe thinks he is so grown up, but he really isn’t. I plan to put water in his beer as I had been doing without him knowing it. After all can’t have that youngster getting drunk now can we?”
XXX
Dex
“Ah, here comes my young victim now and I must say that he looks very sure of himself, Poor boy!”
“After he wins a couple of games, I will beg him to let me have another chance to win back some of my money. I plan for us to have several short games that I will win and when he is deep in debt I will put the final part of this prank into action.”
XXX
Little Joe
“What happened? I was winning big, but not now! How am I gonna get out of this? I ain’t got no $300! How could I lose $300? Yup, I shoulda stayed home, but oh no, I just had to come to town to play poker. I dun’t feel so good.”
XXX
Bruno
“Little Joe sure looked nervous as I brought more beer to the table. He was beginning to look rather pale and that look in those big green eyes of his looked quite glazed now. It doesn’t take much beer, even a watered down beer to make a boy feel a little drunk.”
XXX
Dex
“I looked at the boy in front of me and he mumbled that he could see two of me, and that I looked a little fuzzy to him as well. I have to say that he looks even younger than fifteen years old especially with all those curls hanging down on his forehead.”
“He did burp out loud a few times quite by accident, which really surprised him. He kept saying,” Cuze me then he’d giggle and get a silly little grin on his face. His giggle is so funny, but it sure does fit that boy!”
“He leaned forward towards me and he mumbled something I couldn’t understand, but he still had that cute little grin on his face. I have to say that this boy is one really cute little guy.”
XXX
Sheriff Roy Coffee
“I made sure that I had made a lot of strong coffee for Little Joe. I know the boy doesn’t drink coffee yet, but I know that Hop Sing will give him some from time to time that has a lot of sugar and milk in it. Both Clem and I know that that boy will soon be needing a lot of strong coffee.”
“I sure hope that Ben knows what he is doing. I don’t like it, but I do agree with Ben, that the boy needs to be taught a good and very important lesson in his young life.”
XXX
Dex
“After Little Joe had lost four games, he was looking rather sorry for himself. I did feel bad for him, but I can’t let that get to me. Oh no, I have to stick to the plan. When I told him that he owed me $300, I thought for sure that he would pass out or that he would be sick. I tell you, my heart was breaking for this youngster who sat across from me at the table. Be brave Dex I kept telling myself.”
“I told him then that if he would agree to my plan [actually Ben’s plan, but I didn’t come out and say it was Ben’s plan], then I would forget about the $300. He nodded that he would.”
“I said, Little Joe, here’s what we will do. We are going to draw to see who gets the high card. If you lose you will give me the Ponderosa. If you win, you can keep the Ponderosa. Agreed?”
“The boy was so drunk by now that all he could do was to nod his pretty curly head at me. Of course I made sure that the youngster lost the bet.”
“I let Little Joe take the first card which he seemed to have trouble getting a hold of. I smiled at him while he kept trying to focus on the card that he held in his shaking hand, while I picked my card.”
“I told him to lay his card down on the table which he did, but he laid it down with the backside of the card showing instead. I laid my card down right side up and my card was the King of Hearts. Then I turned little Joe’s card right side up and he only had a Three of Clubs. The boy just sat there and stared at the table. I don’t think he could figure out at what had just happened.”
“I smiled at him and said, well, this must be my lucky day! The Ponderosa is now mine! Little Joe just sat there in total shock and my heart once again went out to this boy.”
“He slowly looked up at me with tears filling up his big sad, glazed looking eyes, and I could see him trembling badly. Oh Ben, I sure hope you know what you are doing to your boy.”
XXX
Little Joe
“Oh why is there two of everythin’ ‘round here? I have four hands now. How can that be? I keep lookin’ at my hands and sure ‘nough there are really four of em. This ain’t good!”
“I think someone put sompfin’ in my beer. Yeah, that’s gotta be it. Oh man, I wish this room would stop movin’ in a circle. I can hear myself talkin’, but what the heck am I sayin’?”
“What did Dex just say? Did I just bet the Ponderosa? Nah, that can’t be, but my voice dun said sompfin’ like that. Oh, I dun’t feel so good.”
XXX
Dex
“I thanked Little Joe and I stood up and left a very confused boy alone with a very strange look on his face, who just sat there not knowing what to do. Before I left the saloon, I informed Bruno that the plan had worked so now it was Roy and Clem’s turn with the boy.”
XXX
Roy
“I walked over to Little Joe who sat there looking extremely pale, scared to death with a very sick look on that young face of his and he also had tears running down his face. I noticed how badly his thin body was trembling and I wanted very badly to hold him and tell him that everything was alright, but I knew that I had to stick to the plan.”
“I asked him if he was alright. I tell you it was so hard not to laugh at that look on his face now, but the same time my heart was breaking for this very sensitive boy. Oh Ben I sure hope you know what you are doing to this youngster.”
“He looked up at me and mumbled that there were two fuzzy me’s looking at him and talking to him.”
“I pulled him up and out of the chair he was sitting in and into a standing position, but he began to sway badly so I put my arm around him and helped him over to my office. I ended up carrying him in my arms as he couldn’t seem to walk even with me helping him. He giggled and cried the whole way to my office.”
XXX
Little Joe
“Can’t stop gigglin’ fer anything’. I shouldn’t be gigglin cuz I just dun went and lost the Ponderosa in that dadburn poker game. How’d that happen?”
“I could tell that two Sheriff Coffee’s was carryin’ me and they was all fuzzy. I dun told Roy there was two Sheriff Offices comin’ inta view. I sorta ‘member being put in a chair and then a cup of hot coffee was put in my hand, but which of my four hands had the cup in it? Someone put the cup up to my lips and I was drinkin’ it.”
XXX
Roy
“Clem and I had a hard time not laughing out loud at Little Joe with all those silly looks he had on his face, poor boy. He looked up at me through his teary eyes and he begged me and Clem to please stop moving around the room, even though we weren’t moving at all. He also asked us to make the room stop moving too and why were there two me’s and two Clem’s looking at him.”
“Little Joe mumbled that he would feel so much safer in a jail cell, cuz as he put it, that way his Pa couldn’t kill him while he was in jail. That boy was in pure misery.”
XXX
Clem
“I sure hated to see Little Joe like this, but since Ben asked us to please help him out, I tried to block my feeling out of my mind. I had to laugh later on and after several cups of hot strong coffee, the boy slowly attempted to stand up and he slowly staggered towards the cells while softly mumbling something that Roy and I couldn’t understand.”
“The boy put himself in one of the cells and he slowly walked over to the cot with his curly head down and he gently laid down and cried himself into a very restless sleep. That part was so heart breaking to see.”
XXX
Ben
“I knew by now that my baby boy would be spending the night in town, which had been part of the plan, but I also knew that I would miss having him here at home with us where he really belonged. He was in good hands though, but I’m still worried about him. That boy is so sensitive and I hope and pray this won’t be too hard on him. I would ride into town in the morning and bring my son back home. I feel so guilty.”
“Dex had ridden back to the ranch to tell me that Little Joe had fallen for the plan totally unaware that the whole thing was just a prank. I wish I could have seen that boy’s expressions once he found out that he had lost the Ponderosa in that poker game.”
“I decided that Adam, Hoss, and I would pretend to be very angry and shocked with that youngest boy of mine. I hope that we can continue to pull this part off. It will be so hard to try to ignore that extremely sad looking face and those big green eyes that I’m sure will be full of tears once he has to face us for the first time. Oh God, please give us the strength to get through this, please.”
XXX
Roy
“It took several cups of coffee that Clem and I literally had to force into Little Joe before the boy finally fell into a restless sleep. His crying was so hard to listen to that I felt like telling him that he really hadn’t lost the Ponderosa, but I knew that I couldn’t.”
“As Clem and I watched the boy sleeping and mumbling, he looked so much younger and so innocent. If he were my son, I don’t think I could have put him through something like this, even if it was for his own good. This must be even harder for Ben, and I bet he isn’t sleeping any better than this boy in front of us.”
“We all hope that the boy will be able to forgive us for being part of this prank.”
XXX
Early the next morning, Ben who had spent a very restless night himself,
rode off towards Virginia City to get his young son and bring him home.
XXX
Ben
“I was very nervous at not knowing what to expect what I would find. Was my boy alright? Would he ever forgive me? Did I do the right thing? So many questions were running through my mind.”
“Hi Roy, how is my little bear cub doing this morning? I could tell that Roy looked tired. I looked towards the cells when I didn’t see Little Joe in the room with Roy and I became a little concerned.”
XXX
Roy
“I was going through the newest wanted posters when I hear the door to the office open up, so I looked up to see who was coming in, but I knew it was Ben, and he sure did look tired too. He probably didn’t sleep much the night before either. I could see him glancing around the room looking for Little Joe.”
“Hi Ben. I told him that the boy was still in a very restless sleep as he been all night long. I told him that Little Joe had also been mumbling a lot, and whimpering as well. Oh Ben, I sure hope you know what you were doing to your boy, old friend.”
XXX
Ben
“I keep asking myself that same question, did I do the right thing? I feel so bad for my son, but hopefully this whole thing will teach him a very good and important lesson in his young life. It is so hard to see any of my sons so upset, especially Little Joe, but it can’t be helped.”
“I keep asking myself, if I can continue to pull this prank off until the end, and knowing that when I take a good look at my boy he will be looking very sad, probably rather pale, and very scared at what he thinks he has really done. Of course he will have tears running down his face. Oh how will I ever be able to control my emotions?”
“It is hard enough to look at him when I’m upset with him, but to pretend to be extremely upset with him will be the hardest part. I know that Adam and Hoss are truly dreading that part of this prank too.”
“Well, I suppose I had better get this over with. God, give me strength I said as I walked towards the cells.”
“Once Roy had opened the cell door that he hadn’t had locked, we walked over to the bunk where my baby was restlessly sleeping and quietly mumbling words that we couldn’t understand. That tear stained face was just so heartbreaking.”
“He looked so incredibly young which he was, even though he doesn’t think so. His thick curly hair was all disheveled. At that moment Roy whispered in my ear and he asked me if I was still going to continue on with the rest of the prank.”
“As hard as this was getting, all I could do was to nod at Roy, that yes, I was going to continue on. I never took my eyes off of Little Joe the entire time. He looked so pale and that really bothered me.”
“I knew that I needed to wake up my son, so as much as I hated to, I did. I gently shook his shoulder and begged him to wake up and open his eyes for me. I waited for some action from my son who seemed to be struggling to wake up for me.”
XXX
Little Joe
I sorta felt someone shakin’ me and also thought that I heard Pa’s voice beggin’ me ta wake up. As I slowly tried to open my eyes I saw the fuzzy vision of Pa standin’ there next to Roy.”
“OH NO, MY WORSE NIGHTMARE IS HERE IN THE MORNIN’! It…it….it’s Pa and he’s gonna kill me now. How could Roy let him in here? I dun’t feel so good! Oh my head!”
“The vision of Pa is still here! Boy, it’s getting’ kinda hot in here and it’s getting’ so hard ta breathe too. Oh why did Roy have ta let Pa in here? Why? I dun’t really wanna die now. Guess I better say sompfin’. Maybe if’n I act like nuffin’ happened, just maybe Pa won’t kill me.”
“H…H…Hi Papa. Umm…mmm….mmm….Whatcha doin’ here? I wish he would say sompfin’, but he’s just standin there staring and he has his hands on his hips and that ain’t a good sight at all! Oh God, how do I tell him that I….that I dun ….lost the Ponderosa playin’ poker!”
XXX
Ben
“I was trying to look very angry, but at the same time I felt sorry for the boy. I could tell that he was trying to get me in focus and did you hear him say, Papa. I love it when he called me that, but it has been a few years since he called me that, and I have to say that I really missed hearing it too.”
“Getting back to answering his question as to why I was here, I just stared at him and said, I might you the same thing young man. The last time I saw you, you were in your bed sound to sleep and now I find you in jail! You, my dear son have a lot of explaining to do!”
“My heart was breaking as I watched all the emotions play out at what my boy was going through at that moment. He was staring at the floor as his thin body trembled and his tears fell onto the floor. I wanted to hold him so badly, but I knew that I couldn’t. I needed to be strong for my boy.”
XXX
Roy
“I couldn’t take it any longer and I had to leave the cells and go back to my desk. It was simply too hard to look at how miserable Little Joe looked and I could also tell that this was hard for Ben too.”
XXX
Clem
“I took the easy way out and I left and went to get some breakfast even though I wasn’t very hungry. I didn’t want to be part of this anymore. I sure hope that Little Joe will be able to forgive all of us for what we have done to him. I really like that boy and I hate to say this, but I even get a big kick out of all of his mischief-well most of it.”
XXX
Little Joe
“I couldn’t even look at my Pa fer anythin’. Heck, how could I be so stupid? Oh….my head hurts so bad!”
“Oh no, Pa is pullin’ me up ta my feet. I hope my legs dun’t give out. Now I know I gotta look at him and tell him what I dun. Oh God, please help me, please!”
XXX
Ben
“As I pulled my son to his feet I could feel him trembling and he looked so pale, and his warm tears were running down his face. I said, Joseph, look at me please. I made myself sound very angry and as I looked at his face again and I knew I had to continue to play this prank out. God, this is so hard.”
“Joseph, I am asking you one more time, now what are you doing in Roy’s jail?”
XXX
Little Joe
“Pa is asking me sompfin’ but I sure dun’t hear what he asked. OH GOD, help me please! Ummmm….mmmmm Hi ya Papa! Maybe if’n I say Papa, he will like that and not kill me. I dun’t feel so good.”
“Oh Papa, please….please dun’t hate…..me….please! Please dun’t kill me. I love ya so much Papa, I really do! You are my life Papa, you really are. I….I’m….I’m so….so sorry Papa! I….I….sorta snuck inta town ta play….ta play p….p….poker and…and I promise I’ll never…..never play that awful game again! Oh…Papa, oh Papa….I….I….I!”
XXX
Ben
“He was trying so hard to tell me about what he had done, but he seemed to be having a hard time of it, so I decided that I should still sound very angry with him.”
“You SNUCK out to come to town to..to play POKER, and by the looks of you, you are DRUNK too! What is wrong with you BOY? You are only FIFTEEN YEARS OLD! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
“Do you know how hard it was to be so hard on my little boy? I think I feel
worse than he does. So I asked him to continue on. JOSEPH, how much money
did you lose this time?”
XXX
Little Joe
“I looked at the floor again, but Pa lifted my chin up so I had to look at him, and boy did he ever look angry! Well, I guess I had better get this over with. I…I….I ….I…I….lost….um….I lost the……the Ponderosa… Papa.”
XXX
Ben
“He actually admitted to losing the Ponderosa. I knew I needed to sound completely shocked at what he had just confessed to me. YOU WHAT? I DON’T THINK I HEARD YOU CORRECTLY BOY!”
“I didn’t think he could get any paler looking, but he did. OH MY GOD, he passed out! Joseph, Little Joe! I managed to catch him before he hit the floor, so I picked him up and carried him back over to the cot he had been sleeping on, and I yelled for Roy.”
XXX
Roy
“As soon as I heard Ben yelled out for me I jumped up from my desk and ran to the cells. I was shocked when I saw Ben kneeling on the floor next to the cot and Little Joe laying there not moving and the boy was as white as a sheet. Ben was frantic with worry as was I.”
“I asked Ben what happened and he told me that Little Joe had passed out and he asked me to please get some cool water and a wash cloth for him. Ben was pleading with the boy to please open his eyes, but there was no movement from the cot.”
XXX
Ben
“I had no idea that Little Joe would pass out like that and it scared me to death when he did. Luckily I was able to catch him before he hit the floor. Come on son please wake up for me. I kept begging him to wake up, but he was so still and made no attempt at opening his eyes. I kept on lightly tapping his face and that didn’t seem to help.”
XXX
Roy
“I bought some water and a wash cloth for Ben and I stood there also pleading for the boy to wake up. Ben was so worried as was I. I had no idea that the boy would actually pass out like that. Finally a soft moaning sound came from the boy on the cot as he slowly started to move his head back and forth.”
XXX
Little Joe
“Oh….I feel so strange. Hey, how did I get back on the cot and why is everythin’ kinda fuzzy? Why is Pa lookin’ so worried? Papa, what happened?”
XXX
Ben
“Finally he woke up! I told him that he passed out, and I asked him how he felt. I also put a cup of water up to his lips and made him take some small sips of cool water which he did. He tried to sit up, but I told him just to stay lying down for a few minutes yet. I wanted to make sure he was alright before I let him sit back up.”
XXX
Roy
“I looked at the boy again and asked him if he was alright. With tears once again running down his face, he slowly shook his head that no he wasn’t alright. I have never seen anyone look so pale and still be alive. I sure do hope that the boy will be alright. I went back to my desk.”
XXX
Little Joe
“I was really surprised when Pa told me that I had passed out. I actually passed out? I was so scared at what would happen next that I wish that I could pass out again. I looked up at Pa and he sure did look worried. I told him that I was so sorry at what I had done and said that if he wanted ta kill me, then he could and I wouldn’t blame him.”
XXX
Ben
“I have to tell you that when Little Joe said I could kill him if I wanted, I was completely surprised by that statement. I could never do that, but I still wasn’t ready to let him off the hook just yet!”
“It was a very silent trip back to the Ponderosa. I kept glancing at my boy and I could tell just how awful he felt and too that he would probably feel even worse once we were back home. I know he wasn’t looking forward to facing his older brothers and telling them what he had done.”
XXX
Little Joe
“I dun’t’member much on the way home. What would Adam and Hoss say when they found out what I dun? Oh why can’t the road just swallow me up so I dun’t gotta face my brothers?”
XXX
Adam
“I couldn’t believe how bad that baby brother of mine looked as he and Pa rode into the yard. I heard Hoss whisper in my ear that he couldn’t go through with the final part of Pa’s plan. Heck after seeing that boy, I didn’t want to go on with it either.”
XXX
Hoss
“This has gone way too far! That boy looks as if he was going to be hung or something. All I wanted to do was to grab my baby brother and hold him in my arms and tell him this whole thing was a big old prank.”
XXX
Ben
“As I looked at Adam and Hoss, I could read their minds, and I knew this was hard for them, but what they didn’t know, was that this was even harder on me. I told them that their little brother had something to tell them. I looked at the quivering chin, the tears filling up his big green eyes and his trembling body and I shuddered.”
XXX
Little Joe
“I dun’t ‘member getting’ off Cooch, but I guess I did cuz I was standin’ on the ground and facin’ my big brothers. Oh, how do I tell em we ain’t got the Ponderosa no more? Sorry big brothers, but I….I…..I….lost the Ponderosa in a……p…..poker game. I know that ya must really hate me and I…..I dun’t blame ya, cuz I hate myself! I couldn’t look at em, so I took off and ran up ta my room and fell on my bed and cried.”
XXX
Adam
“I was shocked at what Little Joe said about us hating him and then when he ran to the house, I almost ran after him, but Pa shook his head. I told Pa that we needed to tell little brother the truth and tell him now!”
XXX
Hoss
“That’s it! This ain’t funny no more! I’m gonna tell him that this was just a prank! I am worried sick about my little brother. It just breaks my heart to see him like this!”
XXX
Ben
“I told Adam and Hoss that I would wait until Dex got here then we would tell Little Joe that this whole thing was just a prank. I knew that I had let this get out of hand and now my boy was suffering badly from it. I can’t ell you how awful I felt.”
XXX
As soon as Dex arrived at the Ponderosa, they all went up the stairs to
Little Joe’s room. As they stood in the hall in front of the door to the
boy’s room they could hear the deep heart wrenching sobs coming from the
other side of the door, which caused all of them to have their own tears
running down their faces. They all knew that there was no way they could
face the youngest Cartwright at that moment, so they returned to the living
room to compose themselves.
XXX
“I’ll go back up in a few minutes and have Little Joe come down here with
me, and that way we can all talk to him. This certainly hasn’t turned out
as I thought it would. I let it go too far and now I have destroyed my baby,”
Ben sadly said as he looked at the floor.
“Pa, were just as much to blame as you. Sure it might take little brother a while to be able to forgive us, but hopefully he has learned a lesson here. I hate to see him so upset like this, but it needed to be done,” Adam explained.
About an hour later, Ben slowly went back up to Little Joe’s room. He didn’t bother to knock on the door as he quietly opened the door and walked over to the bed where his young son was still in a very restless sleep as he was mumbling over and over, “I’m so sorry.”
As Ben’s heart was breaking, he gently sat down on the edge of the boy’s bed and he gathered up his son and held him in his arms and he began to whisper into the boys’ ear.
“I’m so sorry sweetheart, but you needed to be taught a very important lesson. I love you so much Little Joe,” Ben softly and lovingly whispered into the boy’s ear.
XXX
Ben
“I was finally able to wake up Little Joe and when he looked up at me with those incredibly sad looking big green eyes and looking like he had just lost his best friend, I hated myself.”
“I looked at him and said, Joseph I want you to please come down stairs with me now. We need to talk son. He nodded at me, but he wouldn’t look at me for anything. I went to get a wash cloth and I got wet with some cool water and I very gently washed his face before we went down stairs. I was surprised that he let me do that for him.”
XXX
Little Joe
“I dun’t know why Pa wants me ta come downstairs with him. I thought he was gonna kill me in my room, but I guess he decided that the living room would be better.”
“As I looked in the living room as I came down the stairs, I was surprised, well not really I guess, cuz there sat Dex with Adam and Hoss. Guess he’s here ta take over the Ponderosa now, but why are they all smilin’ at me. Ain’t nothin’ funny ‘bout this. I guess they just want ta see me suffer even more. Dun’t know if’n I can do this anymore.”
XXX
Ben
“Once we were downstairs I looked at the boy and saw him trembling badly again, so I told him to please sit down as I thought that he might pass out again, and I certainly didn’t want that to happen again. He was still very pale looking and that bothered me still.”
XXX
“Joseph, I can tell that you are surprised to see Dex here. What I want
you to do is to please listen to what I have to say to you before you say
anything. Alright?” Ben explained. The boy nodded but still wouldn’t look
at anyone. Little Joe just wanted to get this whole thing over with, but
he was still scared.
“Son, Dex is a dear old friend of mine and as you have already learned that he is an excellent poker player. In fact, he use to be a professional poker player a few years ago, but he only plays from time to time now just for fun.”
“When I found out that you had been sneaking off at night to play poker in Virginia City that made me extremely angry!” You are too young to play poker and too young to sneak out at night and I might add, you are also too young to be drinking beer!”
“Playing poker at such a young age can be destroy a person’s life. You could end up losing everything you own, including your life. I have been so worried about you and what you have been doing.”
“I love you Little Joe. Your brothers love you and don’t want to see you throw your life away at such a young age. Playing poker from time to time when you are older is fine, but you are too young now for that son. Do you realize what you have done?” Ben asked as he looked at his son, who was still looking at the floor and trembling. The boy nodded.
“Joseph this whole thing with you losing the Ponderosa was a prank. I knew that you needed to be taught a very important lesson in real life son. Dex only went along with my plan after a lot of persuasion. He has seen time after time men ruin their lives by becoming addictive to poker and he didn’t want to see you ruin your life.”
“Roy, Clem, Bruno, Adam and Hoss all agreed to help me out with this because we all love you so very much son. We didn’t mean to hurt you so badly. There is no way for you to know how much this hurt me to have to put you through all of this, but it was for your own good Little Joe,” Ben explained.
“Little Joe, you are a very lucky boy to have such a caring and loving family. You are the heart of your family and no one wanted to see you get hurt. You are too nice of a boy and a very caring boy too to have your young life ruined. I didn’t want to see you throw your life away and destroy your family. I have seen that happen far too many times to count.”
“I hope and pray that you have learned a very important lesson Little Joe, and please don’t be in such a big hurry to grow up. Enjoy being a boy because once you are a man, there will be many times you will wish you were still a boy,” Dex carefully explained to Little Joe. The boy was still silent.
“Little brother, Hoss and I would do anything to keep you out of trouble. We love you little buddy, so please enjoy your boyhood as long as you can,” Adam told his little brother as he messed up the boy’s curly thick hair. “Punkin, big brother is right about what he just said. You are the best little brother in the world and we want you to be safe and happy,” Hoss added.
Little Joe continued to look at the floor as he thought about everything he had just heard and he was getting a little angry that he had been hurt on purpose.
XXX
Little Joe
“I can’t believe my so called loving family could hurt me like this. I know I dun wrong and I thank God it was all a prank, but…….. As usual I didn’t think of what I was saying. So this whole thing was just a big prank! I didn’t really lose the Ponderosa after all. Thank God!”
XXX
“How can ya all sit there and smile? I….I…..I can’t…..” Was all Little Joe could say before he jumped up and ran from the house. He jumped up on Cochise and raced out of the yard.
Ben ran to the door and called out to his son, but the boy kept riding and didn’t turn around.
“Pa, want us to go after him,” Adam suggested as he was worried about his little brother. Ben wasn’t listening to Adam. “Huh, what, no lets let him be by himself so he can think about what we told him. I just hope he can forgive us,” Ben mumbled as he too was very worried about his sensitive young son.
XXX
“I feel so bad Ben. I had no idea the boy would bolt like that,” Dex sadly
said as he looked at Ben. “Don’t worry Dex, I didn’t think he would either.
He has a lot to think about and once he realizes that we were only trying
to help him, he’ll be fine and come back home. When he is upset like this
he always heads up to his mother’s grave where he feels some calming in
his life. He feels her presence there, in fact we all do,” Ben explained
as he hoped and prayed that his young son would be alright.
Little Joe raced to his mother’s grave and once he arrived there he just sat on Cochise, staring at the lake. His head was spinning with everything he was told just minutes ago. The boy didn’t know what to think as he finally slid off Cochise and slowly walked over to his mother’s grave.
As he sat there with his head leaning up against the headstone he cried and cried. He knew why his Pa had pulled the prank on him and he couldn’t blame him, but at the same time, he was deeply hurt that his Pa could actually do something like that to him
As the minutes went by, Little Joe started to get angry at what his father
had put him through. Sure he knew he had been doing something he shouldn’t
have been doing, but he didn’t think the prank should have been so cruel
and that is what was so hurtful.
As the boy continued to cry at his mama’s grave, he didn’t hear his family ride up. When they saw the crying boy, they were relieved to find him but they were feeling very guilty, especially Ben.
Ben quietly walked up behind his distraught son and he kneeled down next to his son. “Joseph,” Ben softly said as he put his arms around the trembling body next to him and he held the boy tightly.
A startled Little Joe didn’t move as he felt himself being held in Ben’s loving arms. The boy leaned into Ben’s chest and he continued to cry deeply. Where all the tears were coming from were unknown to Little Joe. They simply kept pouring out of his eyes.
Ben gently kissed the top of the boy’s curly head as his own eyes were filling with tears. “Joseph, please son don’t cry, everything is going to be just fine sweetheart. I feel so bad about the prank. I did it because I love you so much and I didn’t want to see you ruin your life son. I know that you probably don’t understand all of this. When you are feeling better I will explain it to you so you will understand it,” Ben softly said.
Adam and Hoss stood there in tears and feeling bad for their little brother’s distress and they prayed that the boy would be alright. It just broke their hearts to see him like this.
“It will be ok little buddy. You are the best little brother that Hoss
and I could ever have and we love you more than anything else in this world,”
Adam said as he and Hoss gently rubbed their brother’s back. They could
both feel the boy’s trembling body.
After several minutes, Little Joe lifted up his head and he looked up at
Ben and he softly said, Pa, I won’t ever do anything like that again. Please
don’t hate me.” “Son we could never hate you, never, so please get that
thought out of that pretty head of yours, ok?” Ben suggested. The boy nodded.
“Pa, can we please go home cuz I dun’t feel good and I’m really tired,”
the boy added.
“That’s a great idea son. Let’s get you home so you can get something to eat then you can get some rest. I love you Little Joe,” Ben said as he put his arm around his son’s thin shoulders and they walked over to their horses. “I love ya too Pa,” the boy said as he had never felt so tired in his short life.
By the time they rode into the yard, Little Joe was sound to sleep on his horse. His family hated to wake him up, but they knew that the boy needed to eat a little something first.
After Little Joe had something to eat he went up to his room and he quickly fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow. A couple of minutes later Ben entered his son’s room and he had to smile at the sleeping boy and he covered up his son with a quilt.
Ben sat down for a few minutes and he watched his son sleep. “I love you Little Joe. Please God, please let my baby be alright. I know you would have wanted me to do something like this to help teach my son a very important lesson for his own good. I thank you for giving me the strength to do what I had to do. This child is so precious to our family and we want only the best for him throughout his life. Thank you1” Ben said softly.
The End