THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR

by

Lynne C.

"I really don't think this is gonna work," said Joe. "I've been
trying to teach you just the basic skills, for the past two hours,
and you ain't even begun to grasp them, yet. The duel is only a
couple of days away. Let's face it, buddy, you are gonna get
massacred."

"Do you havta use such words?" said Joe's friend, Seth. "I came to
you for some help and encouragement, after all you are supposed to
be my friend, and so far all I've got is doom and gloom. I've gotta
know how to use this fancy toothpick, by dawn, on Wednesday, else I
forfeit the whole thing and am branded a coward."

"Better a live coward, than a dead duellist," said Joe, sitting down
on the low table, in front of the fireplace, in the main room of the
Ponderosa. "I still don't understand what made you agree to fight a
danged duel with this Jose Romero guy. One minute we were just
having a few beers and the next minute, it was like being in the
middle of the Alamo. I only just managed to get out, with my body
still reasonably intact, but not enough for Pa not to notice I'd
been fighting. Oh boy, his yelling, on top of the alcohol, and then
coupled with the Reverend Hammond's sermon, the next morning, was
almost more than my head could stand. Then, if that ain't enough,
you come sidling up to me, after the service, and ask me to teach
you how to fight with an epee."

"It sure weren't my idea, Little Joe. I was just talking to that
pretty little senorita, who'd come into the Bucket of Blood to do
that flamenco dance, as part of the floorshow. I wasn't to know she
was involved with the guitar player, was I? She was a right little
hussy, leading me on, like that; knowing it would drive him wild
with jealousy. Next thing I know, he's yelling something in Spanish
at me. I didn't understand, but tried to laugh it off, and that's
when the trouble really started. He got even madder when I laughed,
and grabbed a hold of me, so I punched him. Then his friend tells me
he wants to challenge me to a duel and as he's the innocent victim,
he gets to choose the weapon. So, he chooses epees. What could I do,
but agree?"

"Duh? You could've refused and said you'd never used one before.
That would've been the most sensible thing to do, but showing good
sense ain't never been your strong point, has it, Seth?"

"Quit bellyaching at me, Little Joe, and teach me some more. I'll
havta go soon; my chores are piling up, at home, and Pa's gonna get
suspicious, if I don't get them done before supper."

"And what about my chores?" said Joe, standing up and preparing to
try and show Seth a few more moves. "You said if I took the time off
to help you, you'd lend me a hand to catch up, but if you're going,
soon, you won't be able to. I'm in enough trouble with Pa, already,
what with the fight and the bill for the damages being presented to
him. I told him I'd have to work it off, as I didn't have enough to
pay it. If he gets back and finds I haven't done my chores, he'll
have my hide."

"Just a few more minutes, Joe, and then I'll get outta your hair.
And I will come over real early, in the morning, and help you catch
up with your chores. That way, you can give me another lesson."

"Okay, but it would make life a lot simpler if I could just tell my
Pa why I was getting behind with my chores. If he knew I was helping
you, I'm sure he'd understand."

"Now, Little Joe, you promised not to breathe a word about this to
anyone, especially not your Pa. You know that if you do, he'll go
straight to my Pa, and tell him what I'm planning to do, and then Pa
will get involved and try and stop it. Again, I'd lose face."

"The only person you would lose face in front of, would be that
Maria, and she's leaving town, in a few days," said Joe, circling
around Seth, and making a few thrusts and parries, in his
direction. "So what? You won't ever see her again," but Joe knew,
deep down, that if he were facing the same predicament, he would go
through with it. "Come on, then, let's see if you've remembered
anything."

The two young men continued practising, for a while longer, and then
Joe said that Seth had to go.

"Adam's due back from the lumber camp, soon, and if he sees me
playing around with this, instead of working, it's sure to start a
row. He's bound to be in a bad mood, anyway, as he's been gone for
several days, and that means he's been deprived of a decent bath and
shave, and of Hop Sing's cooking, too."

"Okay, Joe, and thanks for helping me out. I doubt if I'm gonna be
good enough to beat him, but at least I'll be able to put up a
fairly good show against him. I'll be over straight after breakfast,
so make sure you get up early."

Seth left and Joe carried on practising his skills, for a bit
longer. This proved to be his downfall, as his father arrived home
and caught Joe, as he was standing on the table, about to jump off
and skewer his imaginary foe, right in the shoulder.

"Joseph, it is my understanding that I pay you wages so that you
work on this ranch, and yet, as I rode in, I could see that precious
little of that work has been done, today. At first, I was concerned,
as I feared that you might be ill, and unable to do your chores. But
then, I arrive home and find you playing with that epee. Could you
please explain to me why am I handing over wages to a boy who is not
pulling his weight around the place? You are very fond of telling me
that you are all grown up, and that I should treat you as such, and
then you pull a stunt like this."

"Sorry, Pa, I was just having a bit of fun, is all. I'll go and do
my chores now."

"There is not enough time for you to do everything that you were
supposed to do, this afternoon, in the short amount of time there is
left, before supper. And I will not have you upsetting Hop Sing, by
coming to the table, late, so you may eat first, and then do as much
as you can, before it gets dark. In the morning, I will personally
come and get you out of bed, at least an hour earlier than your
usual time for getting up, and that way you might be able to catch
up. If you haven't managed to complete all the chores, by tomorrow
evening, then I will be docking your wages, and that means it will
take you even longer to pay back what you owe me, for the damage you
did to the saloon. And I might also forget that you are now
eighteen, and all grown up, and take you out to the barn, for a
necessary talking to. This ranch takes all of us, working as a team,
to keep it going, and I won't tolerate you slacking, understood?"

"Understood, Pa," said Joe, who decided it was useless to argue with
his father, as it was likely to make matters worse.

He knew that despite what Ben said, he was allowed more leeway, when
it came to getting his work done, than he would have been, had he
not been the son of the ranch owner. But he also knew he could not
trade on that, all the time. As he got older, Ben expected more from
him, not less, and that was only as it should be, seeing as how he
and his brothers shared in the profits of the ranch, as well as
drawing a wage. As yet, Ben still held Joe's share, in trust, for
when the boy reached twenty one, but it was there for him, and so he
knew it was wrong to abuse his position. He just wished that Seth
hadn't put him in this awkward situation, of having to deceive his
father, in order to keep his friend's impending duel, a secret.

Adam and Hoss arrived home, not long after Ben, and, as Joe had
predicted, Adam was rather short tempered, having been without his
home comforts, for several days. As a child he had endured worse
hardships, but since settling on the Ponderosa, they had all enjoyed
a much better lifestyle, and Adam preferred it that way. The young
man decided to have a bath, before supper, and so paid little
attention to what Joe was doing.

Joe offered to see to his father's horse and joined Hoss in the
barn, as his older brother took care of Chubb and of Adam's horse.

"You look a bit down in the mouth, shortshanks," said
Hoss. "Anythin' on yer mind?"

"No, not really," said Joe, sighing. "Pa's been on my back, is all,
cos I ain't finished my chores. I gotta do `em after supper and get
up even earlier than usual, to finish off, in the morning."

"Well, I sure hope Pa don't expect me ta git ya outta bed, any
earlier. I have enough trouble, wakin' ya, when it's past our normal
gettin up time, let alone any earlier."

"No, you're off the hook, brother. Pa's gonna wake me up, so no
chance of getting away with it."

Joe worked hard, after supper, but he still had a fair few things
left to do, by the time he had to give up and go inside, as it was
too dark to do any more.

When he entered the main room, only Adam was there. Hoss and Ben had
already turned in, as both of them had early starts, the next
morning.

Adam was holding Joe's epee, and he said, "Why was this off the
wall? And where's the other one that usually hangs with it?"

"I was just foolin' with it," said Joe. "The other one's around,
somewhere."

"If you had both of them down, does this mean that one of your
friends was here, fooling around with you?"

"No, I just took `em both down, thought I might polish `em."

"Well, where's the other one, then?"

"I dunno, somewhere, why are you so bothered?"

Adam was immediately suspicious, as Joe was exhibiting all the signs
of a guilty conscience. His little brother was not good at hiding
his feelings and Adam was concerned as to just what Joe was getting
into.

He answered Joe, in a more conciliatory tone.

"No need to bite my head off, buddy. I was just curious, that's all.
If you want to improve your skill, at any time, you only have to
ask. As you know, I enjoy the art of swordfighting, and so am always
happy to spar with you."

Joe realised that he was making Adam suspicious, and so, he too,
calmed down, before he replied.

"Sorry, Adam. That'll be good. I know that Mama taught you a lot
about how to use an epee, and then you took lessons at college, and
I'm glad that you agreed to teach me. It means a lot to me, being
able to learn a skill that Mama loved. There's the other one," he
said, spotting the epee, over on the circular table, at the bottom
of the stairs, where Seth must have left it.

As Adam was sitting in the blue velvet chair, next to the gun rack,
the table was behind him, and that was why he hadn't noticed the
other sword.

Joe picked it up, and then held out his hand for the one Adam was
holding.

"I'll return them to the wall," he said.

"You do that," said Adam. He was sure Joe was hiding something, but
decided not to push things.

Both young men declared they were tired, and headed for bed, saying
nothing more about the epees.

The following morning, true to his word, Ben woke Joe up, and the
boy managed to complete all his back chores in time to join the
family for breakfast.
He quickly ate a plate of scrambled eggs and toast, washed down by
two mugs of coffee, and then went outside to saddle up Cochise.

He was just about to leave, in order to meet up with Seth, at the
cave they had used since they were children, when he realised that
he didn't have the epees. The rest of the family was still at the
breakfast table, and this meant that he couldn't retrieve them,
without being seen.

Cursing, under his breath, Joe returned to the house, to wait for
the others to leave.

"Hello again, Joseph," said Ben. "I thought you had already left, to
get an early start on your chores for today?"

"Erm, I was going to, Pa, but something came up," said Joe,
desperately trying to think of a reason for not having left, yet.

"What's the trouble, son?"

"Erm, I err, I need to use the outhouse," said Joe.

"Well, why did ya come back into the house, shortshanks?" asked Hoss.

"I dunno. Excuse me, I'll see ya later," and Joe headed off to the
outhouse, intending to stay there, until the others left.

Joe remained in the outhouse for about twenty minutes, and then,
once he was sure the coast was clear, he returned to the house and
collected the epees. Unknown to the boy, Adam was watching, from a
spot overlooking the house, and when he saw Joe mount up, with the
epees in his scabbard, he decided to follow him.

Seth was waiting for Joe, and the two young men began the lesson.
Adam remained hidden in some bushes, close by, for a little while,
as he was hoping to find out what was going on. His patience was
rewarded when Joe and Seth began talking about the duel.

"Honest, Seth, I don't mean to put you down, pal, but I don't think
you are ever gonna be good enough to go up against that Romero. He
wouldn't have suggested using epees unless he was an expert with
one, and you just ain't got the right co-ordination. He's likely to
kill you."

"I ain't got any choice, Joe. I accepted the challenge, and so I
havta go through with it."

"No, you don't," said Adam, walking towards the boys. "It would be
like committing suicide, Seth. Joe's right, you are not good enough
to take part in a duel. And as such practices are against the law, I
think the best bet, in order for you to save face, and get out of
this, in one piece, is for the sheriff to find out about it. You
tell me when it is to take place, and I will make sure he knows."

Joe was rather angry that Adam had followed him, but he was also
relieved, as he had feared for his friend's life.

"Thanks, Adam. I know I complain when you make my business, your
business, but this is one time that I'm glad you have."

"Anytime, buddy. Now, may I make the suggestion that you go and get
on with your chores, or else Pa might just forget that his baby son
is supposed to be all grown up now, and take you for that trip to
the barn."

"Yeah, I guess I'd better," said Joe. "I'll see you at the house,
tonight."

Seth also thanked Adam, although he was still a little worried as to
what Sheriff Coffee might do to him, when he came to stop the duel
taking place.

As it was, he needn't have worried. Roy got there before either
party was able to inflict any damage on his opponent, and he took
them both to the jailhouse. As Romero was only a transient, he
offered the young man the option of leaving town immediately, or
facing a 28-day jail sentence. Romero decided to leave, and once he
had, Seth was given a stern warning not to let his quick temper land
him into any more duels, as if he did, he would not be treated so
leniently.

When Ben learned about it, Joe, too, was given a lecture about
getting involved in such things, but his father did say that it was
honourable of Joe to want to try and help his friend.

THE END

Little Joe forever
Lynne
May 27th 2005

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