By
Lynne C.
Adam had been listening to the rather garbled explanation that was
coming out of his big, younger brother's mouth, for the past ten
minutes, or so, and he still wasn't sure that he understood much of
it. He heaved himself off the doorframe, which he had been leaning
against, and headed for the first, available chair, in the saloon.
"I need a drink," he said, and Hoss ran off to get him one, anxious
to
keep his older brother on side.
While Hoss was fetching the beers, Adam tried to make sense of what
Hoss had been telling him.
It appeared that Hoss was in a bit of a fix and he was relying on Adam
to get him out of it.
"I dunno how it happened, Adam," Hoss had said. "One minute
I was
standin' at the bar, jest passin' the time of day, as ya do, and the
next minute I'd bought a share in this horse. Now, it wouldn't have
bin so bad, iffen things were still goin' accordin' ta plan, but the
jockey's broke his leg, in trainin', and now the horse is likely ta be
scratched from the race and I won't get my money back, and the thing
is, it weren't all mine."
Adam waited until he was about halfway down his glass of beer, before
he asked Hoss to tell him more.
"Let me guess, you used some of Pa's money from that cattle sale,
to
buy your share of the horse, right?"
Hoss nodded.
"And Pa's going to be back from Sacramento in a few days and you want
to be able to tell him that you have put all the money from the sale,
in the bank?"
Hoss nodded, again.
"Yeah, so can ya lend it ta me?"
"Well, I could, but knowing how long it takes you to pay me back,
whenever you borrow money, I'm not that inclined to. I think that the
best course would be to find a new jockey and let the horse take part
in the race, that is if it's as good as you say it is. Is it?"
"Well, I've looked him over and I reckon he stands a real good chance,
Adam. I mean, I pretty much know the horses he'll be comin' up
against, as it's a local race, and he's the only entry from outta
town. If you put a bet on him, and lend me the money so I can, too,
then, when he wins, I'll have enough to pay Pa back and make a bit of
a profit."
"Let me see the horse, first," said Adam, and Hoss nearly tripped
over
his feet, as he led Adam down the street to the livery stable, where
Black Jack was staying, so anxious was he to get Adam there, before
his brother changed his mind.
Adam had to admit that the horse was a fine specimen, and so he agreed
to help Hoss out of his predicament, as long as they could find a good
enough rider.
By the time they arrived home, both of them had come to the conclusion
that the best man for the job was their little brother, Joseph. At
sixteen, and just out of school, there was no one in the area, better
suited, to the task.
"He's perfect," said Adam.
"He is, sure enough," said Hoss. "He's nice and light, so
won't weigh
the horse down, and Chris, the guy who was gonna ride Jack, said he'd
lend us his lightweight saddle. The horse'll fly, we're bound ta win."
Adam, being more of a realist than his younger brother, wasn't ready
to go that far, but he did think they stood a pretty good chance.
However, they hadn't reckoned on Little Joe.
"No thanks, I ain't interested," said Joe, after hearing what
was
required of him.
"Why in tarnation not?" demanded Hoss. "You're always crowin'
`bout
what a great rider you are, and that no one else can come close to ya.
This is a great opportunity fer you ta show the whole town jest how
good you are. I reckoned you'd jump at the chance to do that."
"I think I know why our little brother is not being that co
operative," said Adam. "You want to know what's in it for you,
don't you?"
"Well, I don't see why I shouldn't make a bit of money, if I'm saving
you from having to face Pa with the news that you've spent some of his
money," said Joe, leaning on the pitchfork, which he was using to muck
out the stalls.
Adam was wishing that Hoss hadn't been that open, and told Joe about
his predicament, but it was too late now. It meant that Joe was in a
good bargaining position, knowing how desperate Hoss was for Joe to
help him.
"You'll get a third of our share of the prize money and we'll pay
you
$20 for riding the horse," said Adam.
As Joe had only just started working full time on the ranch, and was
on a fairly low wage, this was a good offer, and Adam could tell that
Joe was very tempted to agree. However, being Joe, he had to try for a
little bit more.
"Make it $30, and you've got a jockey," he said.
Adam, who knew the way his little brother's mind worked, had been
prepared to go up to $30, and so they shook on it.
Over the following three days, before the race took place, Joe and
Black Jack trained every day. Adam and Hoss did his chores on the
ranch for him, so that he could concentrate on getting ready for the race.
The day of the race arrived and found all three brothers at the livery
stable, in town, very early in the morning.
Steve Leggett, the man who owned the lion's share of the horse, was
there, and declared that Black Jack was in tiptop condition.
"He just loves to run and run, so on the home straight, give him his
head, Little Joe, and he'll do the rest," said Steve. "I'm real
grateful to you for stepping in like this. When Chris fell off and
broke his leg, I thought I was gonna havta sell Jack, as I didn't even
have enough money to pay his feed bill. But with Hoss' investment and
now you doing the riding, things are looking up."
Adam and Hoss' faith in the horse, and in their little brother, proved
to be justified and Black Jack finished well ahead of the rest of the
horses. Joe got his $30, plus another $50, as his share of the prize
money, and Hoss sold his share in the horse, and made a tidy profit,
after replacing the money he'd `borrowed' from Ben.
The only cloud on the horizon was that, because of Joe's success, Ben
heard about the race, when he returned home, and eventually learned
the full extent of his sons' involvement in the race, and in the
horse. Because of this, Hoss had to endure a lecture from Ben, about
allowing his heart to rule his head.
"You had no right to use my money and enter into a venture, which
was
as risky as this one was. I would have advised you to be cautious, had
it been your own money, but using mine was extremely foolhardy. If the
horse had lost, then you would have been even deeper in debt, as you
would've owed money to me and to Adam, who put up the money for you to
bet with. And you still had to pay Little Joe, whether he won or lost.
Think yourself very lucky that Black Jack won. I hope you have learned
something from this."
Hoss accepted the lecture and promised his father that he wouldn't do
anything like it again. He didn't say as much to Ben, but he felt that
the best lesson he'd learned was that he could always count on his
brothers to help him out, when he was faced with a problem, although
he had to admit that he'd always known that.
THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne
April 12th 2006