THE LAST LAUGH
Ben tried as hard as he could, but he could no longer contain the
laughter that had been bubbling so close to the surface, ever since
Adam had started telling him about his trip.
His eldest son was not amused by his father's reaction. He had been
expecting concern, or maybe a bit of anger, but didn't think that
Ben
would prove himself to be just as unfeeling as his younger brothers
had. Hoss and Joe were already laughing uproariously, after hearing
about all the misfortunes that had dogged the last few days in
Adam's
life.
"Well, thanks a lot," said Adam, rather huffily. "Nice to
know how
much your family thinks of you. I could've been seriously hurt,
even
killed, and all you lot can do is laugh like a bunch of hyaenas."
This remark caused Joe, especially, to laugh even more, so much so,
that Ben began to think his youngest boy might do himself some harm.
"Sorry, Adam, but you've got to admit, the story is rather
laughable," said Ben, once he was able to speak coherently. "I
mean,
you go on a perfectly innocuous business trip and you end up being
jailed, mistaken for someone else, accused of theft, in fact
accused
of just about every crime in the sheriff's unsolved crime book. And
you are supposed to be the level headed member of this family."
"Believe me, it certainly wasn't my intention to be in that
situation," said Adam. "I haven't had a decent night's sleep for
three days, my clothes feel that they are playing host to at least
half the insect population of Pine City, and if I don't get on the
outside of a bowl of Hop Sing's Hong Kong mulligan stew, very soon,
I
just might start eating my big brother over there, as my stomach
thinks my throat's been cut."
Hop Sing chose that moment to bring in the requested meal and to
inform Adam that there would be plenty of hot water available, for
a
long soak in the tub, by the time Adam had satisfied his appetite.
When Adam left the room, to rid himself of his dirty clothes, and
to
ease his tired muscles in the tub, the rest of the family stayed in
the main room and began to discuss all that he had told them, over
a
large pot of coffee.
"Well, Pa, you can't really blame Adam," said Hoss, who was
always
quick to defend his brothers, no matter what. "I mean, he walked
into
that saloon, to clear his throat of trail dust, with a couple of
beers, and that man just started yelling at him and accusing him of
jilting his sister. Poor Adam hadn't even met the man's sister, but
when he said so, the man went crazy and started pounding on Adam.
Then that other guy came to Adam's rescue and helped him get out of
the bar, only to then accuse Adam of being part of a gang that had
robbed a bank, and demanding a share of the money for saving Adam's
skin. Of course, Adam didn't have the $10,000 in his possession
that
the man thought he had and so he started pounding on him. The
sheriff
happened by, helped him out, and took him back to his office. Adam
began thanking him and thought his troubles were over and then the
sheriff draws his gun and arrests big brother, as Adam matches the
description of a con man wanted for robbing people of their life
savings in a dodgy land deal. Next thing, Adam's in a jail cell,
with
the sheriff not even allowing him to send us a telegram."
"Thankfully, that elderly couple came into town and told the
sheriff
that older brother was not the man who had taken their money," said
Joe. "But, unfortunately, his troubles weren't over, even then.
He'd
no sooner bin let out of jail and was making his way to the hotel,
when that young girl caught up with him and insisted that Adam made
an honest woman of her, before their baby was born. Once again, our
brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time, as the poor girl
was desperately looking for someone to lay the blame on, for her
condition. She was terrified that her father, once he found out who
was really responsible, would kill the boy she loved, as the two
families had a longstanding hatred of one another, and so used Adam
to throw her father off the scent. By the time that was all sorted
out, Adam had missed the horse auction he was supposed to have been
attending, and so lost out on buying the stallion that we wanted.
No
wonder he was worried about telling you,
"Do you think that Adam will ever catch on that we set him up,
boys?"
said Ben. "After all his talk about being too intelligent to fall
for
con artists and that he didn't believe in old wives tales, such as
bad things happening on Friday the 13th, it's a wonder he hasn't
realised why all those things did happen to him."
"Well, I hope he has learned a lesson, and is not so quick to get
on
my case, the next time I mess up, or get taken in by a smooth
operator," said Joe, and Hoss agreed, even though he was now
feeling
a bit guilty for being part of the conspiracy.
"Don't worry, boys, I'll have a word with him later, and let him
know
that we were the cause of all of his troubles, and that we were
just
trying to teach him that it can happen to anyone," said Ben, who
was
also feeling rather guilty, although still felt that Adam deserved
to
be brought down a peg or two.
Meanwhile, out in the bath house, Adam wallowed in the bath and
wondered just how long the laxative that he had mixed in with his
family's coffee, would take to start working.
'No one can outsmart me,' he thought and the bath house echoed with
the sound of the young man's throaty laughter.
THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne