BELIEVE IN ME
by
Lynne C.
Little Joe was trying to keep a lid on his temper, but he was finding
it increasingly difficult in the face of his big brother's refusal to
believe him.
"Can't you tell I've been working?" said the young man.
"Well," replied Adam, in that supercilious way he had of talking.
"You've been doing something to make yourself dirty, but that doesn't
mean to say you've been working, at least not on the chores you were
instructed to do."
"I started out mending the fence, but I told you, Mary Sue Howard
came
by."
Before Joe could say anymore, Adam held up his hand, in a gesture very
reminiscent of their father.
"Ah, now we are getting somewhere. A girl just happens to come by,
you
stop mending the fence and a dozen head of our cattle light out for
Lord alone knows where. That sounds more like what I would expect from
you, boy, arranging to meet a pretty girl instead of finishing your work."
"Don't call me boy," shouted Joe. "I'm eighteen and just
as much of a
man as you are. I never arranged to meet Mary Sue, it was just a
coincidence that she happened to go by, when she did."
Adam laughed and then said, "And you really expect me to believe that?
Come on, Joe, I wasn't born yesterday and I am not taken in by your
little boy act in the way our father and Hoss often are. And neither
of them are here, at the moment, to fall for it."
"It ain't no act," said Joe, clenching his fists, and itching
to take
a swing at Adam. "She stopped to say hello, that's all, and then she
rode on. But, she'd not gone far, when something spooked her horse and
it bolted. I went after her and in the process got a bit dirty, and
banged up, but I saved her from getting hurt. Then I took her home, as
she was too shaken to go alone. Her mother kindly tended to my bruises
and offered me a piece of pie and a cup of coffee, and by the time I
got back to the fence, the cattle must've already got through the
hole. I'm sorry, but what else could I do?"
"You could have done the chore you were told to do and not gone off
with one your harem, that's what you could've done," said Adam. "Now,
get back to the pasture and fix that fence. Dave and some of the hands
have gone after the cattle, but if they don't find them all, the cost
will come out of your wages."
"I'm real tired, Adam. Can't I fix it in the morning?" said Joe,
realising that he was sounding a bit whiny, but too weary to care,
that much.
"There's still a couple of hours daylight left, and I want that job
finished today, so off you go, NOW," insisted Adam, ignoring his
little brother's request. "Pa and Hoss should be back, tonight, and
I
want all the work to be completed, when I hand back the running of the
ranch to Pa."
"Okay, I'll go, but I sure ain't happy about it, and I'm not gonna
forget this, in a hurry."
Joe left the house, slamming the door, as he did so, and Adam returned
to his father's desk, to finish off the bookwork.
About thirty minutes later, Ben and Hoss rode into the yard, after
being on a cattle buying trip. Adam came out of the house to greet them.
"Welcome home," he said, shaking them both, enthusiastically,
by the
hand. "From the tone of your telegram I gather you've had a successful
trip?"
"That we have, sure enough," said Hoss, throwing his huge arm
around
Adam's shoulders and giving him a squeeze. "That Pa of ours is the
best at dickerin' I know, bar none. He got us a real fantastic deal on
some of the best stock I've ever seen, Adam. I tell ya, your eyes will
be out on stalks when ya see `em."
Ben had the good grace to look embarrassed by the praise being heaped
upon him, but Adam could tell that his father was rather pleased with
himself.
"Thanks for that, Hoss and I take it as a huge compliment, seeing
as
how you were the one to spot the cattle's potential, in the first
place. All I did was the negotiating for them, you're the one with the
eye for a good animal."
"Well done to both of you, then. Now all we have to do is make sure
that Joe's carelessness doesn't lose them for us," said Adam.
"What do you mean by that remark, Adam?" asked Ben. "What's
that boy
been up to, while I've been away, apart from saving damsels in
distress, that is?"
"Yeah, Adam, our little brother's a real hero, accordin' ta Mr
Howard," said Hoss. "We met up with him, as we came through town,
and
he told us how Joe saved Mary Sue, when her horse spooked, and took
off with her, hangin' on fer dear life. Seems Mr Howard bought her the
horse fer her birthday, and she ain't that used ta him, yet. Somethin'
caused him ta take off and iffen it hadn't been fer our little
brother, she could've bin seriously hurt."
Ben took in the way the colour had drained from Adam's face, as they'd
told him of Joe's heroics, and assumed that the young man was
concerned for his brother's wellbeing.
"Don't look so worried, Adam, your little brother is fine, apart from
a couple of bruises, and Mrs Howard took care of him. Hasn't Joe been
home and told you all about it?" said Ben.
"Erm, yes, sir, he has, kinda," said Adam, sounding rather flustered.
"Look, excuse me, will you? I know you've only just got back, but I've
something really important to take care of, so I have to go out, for a
bit. I'll be back for supper, okay?"
"Okay, son, that's fine," said Ben. "Hoss and I plan to
have a long,
hot soak in the tub, before supper, so we'll see you later."
Ben was a little worried about what was bothering Adam. However, years
of dealing with his eldest had taught him that the more he tried to
probe, the less Adam would tell him, and so he left him to go, without
asking anymore.
Adam soon had Sport saddled up and he made his way out to the pasture
where Joe was working on the fence.
As his brother rode towards him, Joe tensed up, expecting Adam to be
finding fault with him, again. So, he was surprised, when Adam just
dismounted, tethered Sport, and began working alongside of him.
For a while, Joe said nothing, but then his curiosity got the better
of him.
"Why are you helping me? You didn't believe me, back at the house,
when I told you why I hadn't finished fixing the fence. You said I'd
been off with a girl instead of doing my chores, and that I had to
finish this before supper. So, why the change of heart?"
Adam stopped what he was doing, and wiped the sweat from his brow,
with his handkerchief. He leaned against the mended part of the fence
and took his time, before replying.
"Just after you left the house, Pa and Hoss got back. They'd met Mr
Howard, in town, and he told them how you saved Mary Sue's life, after
her horse bolted. I'm sorry, Joe, for not believing you. I guess I've
got so used to you just being my kid brother and always messing up,
that I can't get my head around the all new, responsible you. I
shouldn't have gone off like I did, and so, to apologise, I thought
I'd come and help you finish repairing the fence."
Joe, also, took his time to reply. He knew how hard it was for his
brother to admit to being in the wrong, and to apologise like he had,
but he still felt a bit upset that Adam hadn't believed him.
Finally, he said, "Well, thanks for apologising, brother, as I know
that saying sorry kinda sticks in your throat, doesn't it? And you
have a hard time saying the words. It is about time that you started
believing me, but I do know that I ain't exactly given you cause to,
over the years, as I do tend to try and get outta doing my chores,
rather a lot. So, I reckon it was partly my fault that you weren't
able to believe my story. However, having said that, I think I deserve
a bit more than just a hand with the fence, by way of an apology. How
about treating your little brother, the hero, to a couple of beers in
the Bucket of Blood, tonight?"
Adam took in all that Joe said, and found himself smiling when the boy
said that he did try and get out of doing his chores, sometimes. That
was something he admired in Joe, his ability to admit that he wasn't
always in the right.
"Okay, you've got yourself a deal. Two beers in the Bucket of Blood,
but no more, or else, come the morning, it will be all my fault if you
don't wake up in time to go to church."
Joe laughed and the two young men finished repairing the fence. When
they got home, Hop Sing had cooked a supper fit for a hero and both
Hoss and Ben congratulated Joe on his good deed.
It would be nice to be able to say that Joe never did try to get out
of doing his chores, anymore, but I'm afraid that wasn't the case.
However, Adam did, at least, make absolutely sure that his little
brother was in the wrong, before bawling him out, again.
THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne
November 5th 2006