"Don't take on so, Hoss, it was an accident," said Erin, trying
to
rise from the bed.
"An accident, my foot," said Hoss, barely able to control his
anger.
"That little brother of mine is at the bottom of this, and when he
gets back from wherever he's hidin', I'm gonna see that he pays fer
what he's done. And please stay put, Erin, ya know what the doc said.
If ya keep off that ankle fer a couple of days, it stands a fair
chance of healin' a mite quicker than iffen ya keep standin' on it."
"I know what the good doctor said, Hoss," said Erin, also getting
angry. "But I'm afraid I'm not used to taking orders and I've looked
after myself, long enough, to know when I am able to get out of this
bed. And I say I am. Besides, this is a house of men, and there are
certain things I need ta do, that a man can't really help me with."
Hoss blushed, and then said, "Pa realised that and that's why he's
sent fer Kate Shaughnessy. She's known us since we moved here, when I
was no more than a shaver, and she'll help ya do all that female
feminine stuff," and Hoss felt his face go even redder, at the thought.
"Well, she might know you, me darlin', but she don't know me. We might
not get along and I don't want to end up offending one of your
father's friends, not after he's been so kind to me."
Hoss laughed.
"Ya couldn't offend Shaughnessy iffen ya tried. That woman has the
toughest hide of anyone I know. She's about the most ornery woman that
ever walked this earth, and one of the nicest. In fact, she reminds me
a lot of you, or should I say, you remind me of her."
"If I wasn't confined to this bed, Hoss Cartwright, I just might come
to blows with you, over a remark like that."
"Huh?"
"Well, ya tell me that she's ornery and then you say I am like her.
Not much of a compliment, is it?"
"Sorry, but it was meant ta be a compliment," said Hoss, reaching
out
for Erin's hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. "What I meant was
that Shaughnessy and you have lived very similar lives. You've both
bin raised in quite harsh parts of the country and you know an awful
lot about the seasons and the land and the critters who live around
us. That's what I meant when I said you were alike. You're both kinda
in tune with your surroundings and I guess that's why I like ya both,
so much."
Erin smiled, a sight that never ceased to fill Hoss' heart with joy.
"Thank you, Hoss, and it's the reason I feel like I do, about you,
too. If Shaughnessy is half the woman you say she is, then her and I
will get on fine. But, until she gets here, do you think you could
help me out of bed, so that I can attend to my personal needs?"
"What? Oh yeah, I get ya. Sure, here we go. Pa got this commode chair
sometime ago, when Adam broke his leg, and was stuck in bed fer a
while. It's a mite easier than tryin' ta use a chamber pot. I'll jest
help you on and then leave ya to it. Holler when ya want me to come
back, okay?"
Once Erin was settled on the commode, Hoss left the room and waited
outside the door. As he did so, he heard the front door slam and
guessed that it was probably heralding the arrival of his younger
brother, Little Joe. His first thought was to go downstairs and pound
the little devil into the ground, but he knew he had to wait until he
had returned Erin to her bed, so tried to curb his impatience and his
anger. It wasn't often that the middle son of Ben Cartwright lost his
temper, but when he did, it wasn't a pretty sight. It was probably as
well that he couldn't go downstairs, just yet, and confront Joe over
the boy's stupid prank, as he may have ended up doing something he
would regret.
Hoss and Erin had only known each other a few weeks, but already they
were very close. In fact, Hoss was planning to ask Erin to marry him,
but so far that was something he was keeping to himself. However, his
father and brothers, were well aware that Hoss was extremely fond of
her, and so what Little Joe had done was very hard for Hoss to understand.
Earlier that afternoon, after Hoss' chores were all up to date, he'd
planned to take Erin out for a ride around the Ponderosa and for a
picnic by the lake.
Sixteen year old Little Joe, newly released from the schoolroom, and
anxious to show off, just a bit, in front of his big brother's
girlfriend, invited Erin to watch him put a few of the horses they
were breaking for the Army, through their paces, while she was waiting
for Hoss. No mean rider herself, Erin agreed, and she enjoyed watching
the young man. Because he was doing so well, Joe began to get a little
bit over-confident and he tried to ride one of the mounts that was
still, mostly, unbroken. Even Adam, considered to be the best rider on
the ranch, was wary of this particular horse, and Joe had been told to
stay away from it.
The boy mounted up, but his ride was a short one and he soon found
himself flying through the air and landing on the ground, in a rather
undignified heap.
Hoss was just arriving at the corral, in order to let Erin know he was
ready to go on the picnic, and he saw his little brother fall. He
rushed into the corral, but Joe was already on his feet, by the time
Hoss reached him.
"I'm all right," said Joe, angrily. "Damn stupid horse ain't
got the
sense he was born with."
Once Hoss was assured that his little brother wasn't hurt, he began
shouting at him.
"It ain't the horse who's short on brains, it's you, little brother.
Adam told ya not to go anywhere near that one, he's dynamite on four
legs, and you ain't ready fer the likes of him, yet. When are ya gonna
start doin' as you're told? This ain't the schoolyard, it's a workin'
ranch, and if you mess up here, you're likely to end up crippled.
Iffen you're gonna be part of the workforce, you're gonna havta learn
to obey orders."
"Quit yelling at me, Hoss, Erin's over there and she can hear every
word. I'm just as good as any of the other hands when it comes to
working with the horses, there's no need to treat me like I'm a little
kid."
"Joe, you've jest proved you're still only a kid, by tryin' ta take
on
this horse, when ya ain't ready fer him. I guess you were doin' so, to
show off in front of Erin? Well, she's not gonna be impressed by
watchin' a dang fool kid come close ta breakin' his neck. She knows
more about horses than you ever will. Now then, get up to the house
and clean yourself up, afore I decide ta put you over ma knee and take
a harness strap to ya. You're not too big for that, yet, you know."
Hoss had no intention of doing such a thing, but the sight of his
little brother taking such a nasty tumble, had shaken him up, and he
was cross with the boy.
Joe didn't go to the house, but headed for the barn, intending to
saddle Cochise and go for a long ride. Once there, he saw that Chubb
and Nellie were all tacked up, waiting for Erin and Hoss to take them
out. Joe was really angry that Hoss had humiliated him, in front of
Erin, by bawling him out and threatening to tan him, that he allowed
his anger to override his common sense. Using his pocket-knife, he cut
through the cinch on Chubb's saddle, so that it was only staying
together with a very thin strand of the material. Joe knew that it
wouldn't take much for the cinch to snap, and then Hoss was very
likely to be the second Cartwright to end up in the dirt, that afternoon.
Unfortunately for Joe, things didn't go according to plan, as when
Erin and Hoss came to collect the horses, she asked Hoss if she might
ride Chubb.
"Of course you can, Erin. Unlike that little brother of mine, I know
you wouldn't attempt to ride a horse, unless you were sure you could.
And anyway, Chubb is a real gentleman, and he'll take mighty fine care
of you."
Just as they were leaving the yard, but before they were travelling
too fast, the cinch gave way and Erin fell off, injuring her ankle.
Joe saw what happened and made his escape on Cochise, knowing that
Hoss would soon discover how the accident had happened and would be
ready to commit murder.
As he rode away, Joe tried to justify his behaviour.
`How was I to know that Erin would ride Chubb, and not Hoss? It's all
big brother's fault for letting a woman get him all dewy eyed and
allowing her to ride his horse. He doesn't usually let anyone else
ride Chubb, so how was I to know he would, today?'
However, deep down, Joe knew there was no excuse for what he'd done
and sooner or later he would have to go home and face the music.
`I reckon it will be the Death March,' he thought.
Once Erin was safely back in bed, Hoss went downstairs and found Joe
and his father in the main room of the house.
It was obvious that Joe hadn't told Ben about his involvement in
Erin's fall, as Ben was talking to the boy and telling him about the
accident.
"So, you see, Joe, poor Erin will be laid up for a couple of days,
at
least, and so we must ensure that we do all we can to make the time as
pleasant as we can for her," said Ben.
"I'll be only too happy to help out, anyway I can," said Joe.
"Erm,
does anyone know how she came to fall off? I thought she was a very
good horsewoman."
It was obvious to Hoss that Joe was hoping to brazen out the
situation, and that was too much for the usually, even tempered, young
man, to stomach. If the boy had come to him and shown an ounce of
remorse, Hoss would have been prepared to forgive him, but not when he
was acting like he'd done nothing wrong.
"Don't play the innocent with us, Little Joe. You know dang well how
that accident happened and it weren't no accident, either. You cut the
cinch on Chubb's saddle, cos you wanted to see me fall off, only it
was Erin who did, instead of me. I'm gonna pound you into the ground,
little brother, just see iffen I don't," and the big man made a grab
for Joe.
Ben stood up and put himself between his two boys.
"Now just calm down a minute, Hoss, and let's be sure of all the
facts, before you start retaliating. How can you be sure that Joseph
is responsible? But, if he is, and there's any pounding to be done,
you can rest assured that I will do it."
At these words, Joe's stomach began to churn, as he saw no way to get
out of this, with his hide intact.
Hoss recounted what had happened up at the corral.
"And just because I tore a strip off him, in front of Erin, he was
out
fer revenge, I'd stake my bottom dollar on it," finished Hoss.
"Well, Joseph, what have you to say, in your defence?" said Ben.
"He ain't got no defence, Pa, he's guilty as sin."
"Be quiet and let the boy speak," said Ben. "I can well
understand why
you are upset, Hoss, but you must allow your brother the chance to
defend himself."
As his father spoke, Joe was trying desperately to think of something
he could say that would save his hide, but he knew that it was
impossible. Faced with both Hoss and his father demanding to know the
truth, he was unable to keep up the pretence, any longer.
"All right, you win, it was me, but I didn't mean for Erin to get
hurt, just Hoss. He had no right to tear into me, like he did, up at
the corral. He made me look really stupid in front of Erin and I
thought it would be funny if he ended up on his butt in the dirt, too.
Then I could laugh at him."
"I never laughed at you, Joe, and I was only mad, cos I was scared
you
might've hurt yourself," said Hoss. "You're lucky that Erin wasn't
badly hurt, think how you'd feel, if she had been."
Joe already knew that his prank had been a very foolish one, although
he'd been trying to push that thought to the back of his mind.
"I know it was a dumb thing to do, but I never wanted either of you
to
be really hurt. I guess I didn't think it through, too well, huh? I'm
really sorry, Hoss, and I'll go upstairs right now and apologise to Erin."
"Oh no you won't," said Ben. "You and I are taking a trip
to the barn,
first, and then you can go and apologise to Erin. I am finding it very
hard to believe that a son of mine would be so foolish, as to pull
such a stupid stunt. You have spent an awful lot of time, these past
few months, trying to convince me that you are now mature enough to
work full time on the ranch. But something like this makes me think
that I have made a big mistake in allowing you to leave school. One
thing I am certain of, is that you are going to spend every waking
hour making Erin's convalescence, as comfortable as you can, for her,
understood?"
"Yes sir, understood," said Joe, and he followed his father over
to
the barn, where Ben made sure that, for a few hours, Joe felt anything
but comfortable, at least when he tried to sit down.
Shaughnessy came to stay and she had Joe plumping up pillows, fetching
gallons of lemonade and cookies, reading to the patient, winding yarn,
and even brushing Erin's hair for her, as she, too, was annoyed about
what the boy had done. Little Joe worked really hard, in an effort to
make it up to Erin, and by the time Erin's ankle was better, both her
and Hoss had forgiven Joe for his prank.
One good thing that came out of all of this, was that Joe learned not
to tamper with another man's tack, and it was a lesson that he never
forgot.
THE END
Postscript – In my Bonanza world, Erin is the one whom Hoss marries.
Little Joe forever
Lynne
Oct 7th 2005