THAT'S WHAT BIG BROTHERS ARE FOR
by

Lynne C

As 16 year old Joe waited for his big brother to give him his answer,
he realised that he was holding his breath, as well as crossing every
part of his body that he was capable of crossing.

`If Adam doesn't tell me soon, I'm gonna pass out on the spot,'
thought Joe.

Adam knew that Joe was sitting on the edge of his seat, waiting for
his reply, but he decided to make the boy sweat, for a little while
longer. He had every intention of granting the request that Joe had
made of him, but he wasn't quite ready to let the boy know this, just yet.

"So," Adam said, leaning back on his chair, and taking a long swig of
his beer, which Joe had bought for him. "Let me get this straight. You
want me to loan you some money so that you can get out of the fix you
find yourself in with Pa, is that right?"

Joe just nodded; his mouth was too dry to speak.

"And, you also want me to stay tight-lipped about what you have been
up to, as you know that Pa will be after your hide, if he finds out.
Am I still right?"

Joe nodded, again, looking rather green around the gills, at the
thought of his father's reaction to his latest round of mischief.

"And what, exactly, am I going to get out of all of this?" asked Adam.
"It seems to me that the only one to benefit will be you, and yet I am
the one making the loan and keeping my mouth shut. You know how Pa can
look at you in such a way that you find yourself confessing to things
that you didn't even do? Well, when he starts looking at me like that,
I'm going to have to work very hard in order not to let the cat out of
the bag, and at the end of the day, I'm not getting anything for all
my trouble."

"Well, I will pay ya back," said Joe, finding his voice, although it
was cracking with the strain of waiting for his brother to make up his
mind. "And you can charge me interest, if you like. Plus, I can do
some of your chores for you. Would that be enough?"

Adam pursed his lips and appeared to be considering the offer.

"Mmm, doesn't sound too bad a deal, I suppose. Okay, I'll lend you the
money and you'll pay me back at the rate of $5 a month for the next
twelve months. In addition to that, you will feed and groom Sport, and
clean out his stall, for a month. Do you agree to the terms?"

Joe was rapidly doing the math, in his head.

"So, I borrow $50, but pay back $60, plus taking care of Sport? That
sounds fine, Adam, and thanks for helping me out. It really was an
accident, kinda; me causing all that damage at the saloon, I mean.
That new barman just grabbed my pocket book off me, and took out the
money. I tried to explain that it wasn't mine and that I was taking it
to the bank for Pa, but he wouldn't listen."

"Well, I could point out to you that you are not allowed in a saloon,
unless you are with Pa or me, and that Pa had sent you to town to go
to the bank and to pick up his new bridle. He expressly told you not
to visit the saloon and you assured him that you wouldn't. And I could
also point out that he gave you a very graphic description of just
what he would do to you, if you disobeyed him."

"Yeah, I know he did, and that's why I don't want him to find out. I
met up with Seth and he suggested we just had one beer, that's all,
but then this guy started teasing me and, well, you know what I'm like?"

"Yes, little buddy, I know only too well what you are like. You always
have to go in, guns blazing, metaphorically, instead of just ignoring
it, when people tease you. I'd have thought that living with me and
Hoss would've taught you how to deal with being teased, a bit better
than that. But it still doesn't alter the fact that you shouldn't have
gone into the saloon, at all."

"I know that," said Joe, rather crossly. "Look, if all you're gonna do
is lecture me about this, then I might as well take my chances with
Pa. I asked you to help me so that I could avoid being lectured at."

"Fine, if you feel like that, then I won't lend you the money," said
Adam. "But I strongly suspect that what you are really anxious to
avoid is the session in the barn, which will accompany the lecture,
and you're not going to get that from me. At least not unless you
continue to act so ungratefully towards me. I came into town to
conduct some ranch business and to enjoy a quiet drink before I
returned home for supper. I do not need or deserve all this
aggravation, when all I am trying to do is help you and make you see
the error of your ways. I don't know how many times Pa and I have told
you that Seth leads you into trouble, yet you continue to hang around
with him, and the end result is always the same. I will help you out,
this time, but I am not going to make a habit of it. Perhaps a few
trips to the barn might make you see that doing what Seth tells you to
do, is not a good idea."

Joe was still rather resentful that Adam was lecturing him, but
decided not to say anymore, as he feared that his big brother might
refuse to let him have the money, if he did.

"I'll bear in mind what you said, Adam, but may I have the money, now,
as I need to get over to the bank, before it closes."

"Yes, you may," said Adam, and he handed over the cash. "I'll wait
here, while you take it to the bank, and then we'll ride home together."

Joe ran across the street, only to discover that the closed sign was
already hanging on the door.

`That's odd,' he thought. `It's another half hour before the bank
should be shut,' and he banged on the door.

"Come on, open up, it's too early for you to be closed. I gotta make a
deposit for my Pa."

Inside the bank, the reason for the early closure of the doors was
apparent; it was being robbed, and the leader of the gang was the man
whom Joe had fought with, in the saloon.

"It's that damn kid from the saloon, again," said Merv Johnson, as he
peered out of the window.

"Great, that's all we need," said his brother Russ. "If he carries on
making all that noise, someone's gonna get suspicious and come over to
investigate."

"Let him in, then," said Merv. "I'm happy to take the rest of his Pa's
money off him."

Russ opened the door and dragged Joe inside.

"Keep your mouth shut and do as you are told and we might jest let you
live," said Merv.

"Hand over the money, kid," said Russ. "Don't try anything, else we'll
havta kill you."

Joe pulled his pocket book out of his jacket and handed it over. He
was scared, but also angry that he'd now lost his father's money
twice, in the same day.

"You won't get away with this," he said, sounding a lot braver than he
felt. "I know who you are and I'll tell the sheriff."

"You've just signed your death warrant, kid," said Merv, bearing down
on Joe, and pressing the barrel of his gun against the boy's head.
"We're not about to let you go, if you're gonna go running to the
sheriff, as soon as we leave town."

The third member of the gang, Dan Talbot, was only a boy, who was not
much older than Joe. He was filling a sack with money from the safe,
when Joe entered the bank, but he stopped what he was doing, when he
heard Merv's words. This was his first robbery and he had no desire to
be part of a murder.

"Wouldn't it be better to use him as a hostage, Merv?" said Dan. "That
way, we stand a better chance of getting away. His Pa owns a big
spread and is well thought of in town. He's not gonna let anything
happen to his boy and so will stop the sheriff coming after us."

"That's a good idea, Dan," said Merv. "Okay, kid, sit down on the
floor, hands on your head, until we are ready to go."

Joe did as he was told, joining the bank staff, who were all tied up.

Meanwhile, over at the saloon, Adam finished his beer and then went to
collect Sport and Cochise. He walked them across the street, towards
the bank, surprised that Joe hadn't returned to him.

`How long does it take that boy to make a trip to the bank? He's going
to arouse Pa's suspicions by being so long in town.'

Just then, Adam noticed the sign on the bank door. He checked the
time, by his pocket watch, and then, like Joe before him, expressed
surprise that the bank was already closed.

`If the bank is shut, then where is Joe?'

Adam was immediately on his guard and he made his way over to the
sheriff's office.
He soon explained his fears to Roy and the sheriff agreed with him
that it was rather odd.

"Joe would've come straight back to me, if he couldn't get in the
bank, or if he'd got in, paid in the money, and left, before it
closed," said Adam. "He was already in trouble and so wouldn't have
gone off, anywhere else. Therefore, he must still be in there, and
it's likely to be against his will."

"Reckon you're right," said Roy. "We best go get us a closer look."

Once out on the street, Roy said, "Look over at the hitching rail,
outside the bank. There's three horses tied up there and they're all
new to me. I saw the riders go into the saloon, earlier today, but
thought they'd moved on, by now. Guess they must've doubled back, and
gone to the bank. That seems mighty suspicious to me. Why pretend to
leave and then return?"

"All I'm concerned about is getting Joe out of there, so let's get on
with it," said Adam.

The young man was not usually so impatient, but his fear for Little
Joe's safety, overrode his normal caution.

"I'm as anxious as you are to know that Little Joe is all right, but
we don't wanna go off half-cocked and end up putting him in more
danger, now do we? This needs to be handled carefully. I'll jest go
round me up a couple of deputies and then we'll decide the best way to
deal with things."

"Okay, Roy. I'll wait here and keep a look out, in case they try to
leave."

Roy was only gone for a few minutes when Adam became aware that the
robbers were about to go. The door of the bank opened and Russ was the
first one to step onto the boardwalk. He walked over to the hitching
rail and untied all three horses, holding the reins in his hands.
Being encumbered this way, he was unable to hold his gun, as well, and
he returned it to his holster. Adam saw his chance and he swiftly ran
up behind Russ, pressed his gun into the young man's back, with one
hand, and used the other to relieve Russ of his gun.

When Merv appeared, still holding his gun on Joe, he was surprised to
see his brother being held at gunpoint, too.

"What do ya think you're doing, mister?" he said to Adam. "That's my
brother you've got there."

"And that's my brother you've got," said Adam. "Looks like we have a
Mexican stand-off here. So, what are we going to do about it?"

Dan then came out of the bank, carrying the sack of money and he, too,
stopped in his tracks, when he saw what was happening. Him hesitating,
gave Roy and one of his deputies, the chance to get the drop on him.

"I guess you don't wanna see your brother hurt, no more than I wanna
see anything happen to mine," said Merv. "So why don't we just
exchange brothers and then he and I can get on our horses and ride
outta here? No harm has been done to anyone and you've got all the
money back."

"Thanks a lot, Merv," said Dan. "You and Russ wanna ride off, leaving
me to face the music; so much fer being partners."

"All three of you are going to my jail and you will stand trial fer
what you tried to do," said Roy, to Merv. "The fact that you didn't
get away with it don't make it any less of a crime, so jest be
sensible, son, and drop the gun."

For what seemed like forever, but was only a few minutes, Merv
continued to hold his gun to Joe's head. Adam appeared to be very
calm, and showed no sign of the turmoil that he was going through, on
the inside. He just stood, with his gun in the small of Russ' back,
waiting.

Suddenly, Merv pushed Joe away from him, and threw his gun to the ground.

"Okay, you win, Sheriff, that guy in black looks ready to fill my
little brother full of holes, and I can't let that happen. I promised
our Ma, when she was on her deathbed, that I would always take care of
him, and I always have. I guess I feel more for my brother than you do
for yours, mister, and so that's why I'm giving up."

Adam handed Russ over to the other deputy and then said, "Don't you
try and tell me what I feel for my brother. Like you, I made a promise
to our mother that I would always look out for him, and he and I are
not the ones facing a long jail sentence, so I reckon I've done a
better job than you have."

Joe ran over to join his big brother and Adam cupped a hand round the
back of Joe's neck, saying, softly, "Are you okay, buddy?"

Joe just nodded; he was too upset to answer Adam and felt that his
legs were about to give way under him.

"What do you want to do, Joe? Head for home, or stay in town, for a
while, to give you time to recover?"

"I wanna go home, Adam, but first I need to do something."

"What's that?"

"I need to pay this money into Pa's account, or else he will have my
hide."

Adam smiled and patted his little brother on the back.

"Good idea, and considering all that you went through, to get that
money into the bank, I'm going to let you off the chores and paying me
the interest on it."

"Thanks Adam, and you're right, you do a real good job looking out for
me."

"That's what big brothers are for, buddy. Come on, let's go to the
bank, and then we can go home."

THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne
October 1st 2005

RETURN TO LIBRARY