POW Challenge 308
By
Lynne C.
Ben and the boys were on a cattle drive that had, so far, lasted for
nearly three weeks, and tempers were becoming rather frayed, between
the four of them.
At the beginning of the drive, Joe, being the youngest, was really
excited about the trip, and greeted each morning, full of enthusiasm
and youthful exuberance. It was rather wearing on the rest of the
family, but they tolerated it, as at least it meant that he worked
well. Even when he drew the drag position, he took his turn, with good
grace, mainly because his father had warned him that he wouldn't put
up with any moaning.
Joe really tried to remain upbeat, but the heat, dust and constant
bawling of the cattle, was getting to him, as much as it was, to the
others.
As the four of them sat together, eating their evening meal, Adam and
Joe began arguing. Adam was complaining that Joe hadn't been as
attentive as he should have been, when working on the right flank of
the herd. Joe said that Adam was talking out of his hat, and that Adam
was the one who was not keeping step with him.
Poor Hoss, as was often the case, was caught in the middle of the two
of them.
"How dare this little pipsqueak of a brother of yours, try and tell
me
that I don't know how to keep a herd of cattle moving at the correct
pace," Adam said to Hoss. "I was driving cattle when he was still
in
diapers, so I think I know a lot more about this game than he does."
"Well, maybe if you've been doing it for that long, you've been doing
it for too long," said Joe. "Maybe it's time for a younger man
to take
over, and show you how it should be done."
"And just where do you think that Pa fits into this brave new world
of
yours, Joe?" said Adam. "If I'm too old, what about him?"
"Well, he's here in a supervisory role, so his age doesn't matter,"
said Joe.
"Will you boys stop talking about me as if I wasn't able to hear what
you were saying?" said Ben. "I am sitting no more than three feet
away
from you, and although, according to my sixteen year old son, I am
positively ancient, my ears are still very sharp. And my eyes are
pretty good, too, and from where I was watching, as I supervised,
today, you both looked as if you were doing a good job, so please stop
sniping at each other."
"Sorry, Pa, but your little boy needs putting in his place,
occasionally, and this is definitely one of those occasions," said
Adam.
"And your big boy has been top of the heap for far too long and can't
stand the thought that his much younger, and better looking, brother,
might actually be doing the job better than him," said Joe.
"That's it!" yelled Ben. "I can't stand listening to anymore
of this,"
and he stomped off, and disappeared into the brush, surrounding the camp.
"Wonder where he's gone?" said Hoss.
"Probably to take care of his personal needs," said Adam. "What
else
could he be doing?"
"Gettin' away from you two, I reckon," said Hoss. "Although
mebbe
listenin' to you two, has given him such a pain, he needs ta, well,
you know?"
When their father finally returned to the camp, he seemed to be a lot
happier, and they were all soon sleeping, well, all of them, except
for Little Joe, who was on first watch, keeping an eye on the herd.
Over the next few days, Ben very often disappeared into the bushes and
would be gone for quite a while.
Joe was getting rather worried.
"Do you think he's got an upset stomach, Adam? Maybe you should have
a
word with him and find out if he's okay? It would be better coming
from you, being the oldest an' all."
The constant bickering between the two brothers was put aside, as they
speculated over what might be wrong with their father, whom they both
adored.
Hoss, too, was worried.
"I agree with Joe. I think you should talk to Pa. If he's ill, we
need
ta git him to a doctor."
"Okay, I'll talk to him," said Adam.
The next time that Ben disappeared, Adam kept an eye out for his
father returning to the camp.
As Ben walked towards the chuck wagon, Adam stepped out in front of
his father, halting his progress.
"Pa, can we talk?"
"Of course, son, just as long as it isn't another complaint about Joe."
"About Joe? Why should it be about Joe?" asked Adam, who had
forgotten
all about the fact that he and his brother had been arguing, rather a
lot, lately. "Actually, it was about you. Hoss, Joe and I have noticed
that you have been taking yourself off into the bushes, an awful lot,
recently, and we thought that maybe you had an upset stomach. And if
so, do you think we should make a detour and go and see if the next
town has a doctor?"
Ben gave Adam a look, which, had it been a few years earlier, would
have made the boy think he was about to be on the receiving end of one
of his father's `necessary talks'.
"It's none of your business what I was doing behind those bushes."
"Well, no sir, I don't suppose it is, really, but we were just a bit
worried about you, that's all."
Ben's tone softened, when he realised that his son was genuinely
concerned about him.
"There's no need for you to be worried about me, son, my stomach is
fine, thank you."
"Okay, Pa, if you're sure you're all right, we'll say no more about
it," said Adam, and he walked away from his father.
`Phew,' thought Ben. `It's bad enough that the boys were worried about
me having an upset stomach, but if they knew that I was doing yoga, in
an attempt to keep my stress levels down, after listening to them
argue, they'd probably think I needed my head read."
THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne
March 7th 2007