Synopsis: A companion story for the episode, Second Sight.
Category: Bonanza
Genre: Western
Rating: K+
Word Count: 9,680
Tinny sounds from a piano floated down the main street as the screeching of someone singing some bawdy song, horribly off-key, in accompaniment raked on his nerves. Screams followed by laughter echoed along the street as well as the customary Friday night gunfire.
The room was extremely dim with very little light from the waning moon shining through the bars concreted into the wall. A single lantern mounted on the wall, with the wick turned low, was the only real source of light illuminating the room.
On the far end of the cot, hidden in the shadows, he sat with his shoulder pressed into the corner, his arms wrapped tightly around his legs that he had drawn up to his chest, his head down. His sniffles and ragged gasps for the occasional breath weren’t heard beyond the perimeter of the room.
Curled into a sitting position, his brain attempted to shut down for sleep and occasionally succeeded, but soon the noises from outside broke through the darkness, startling him. He wished there had been a light from the front office shining underneath the closed door, enough to offer a small amount of comfort in allowing him to know that someone else was there, that he was not alone.
*****
Earlier that afternoon, when the firm hand clamped on his shoulder, he knew he shouldn’t have been there, but with youth comes the failing of common sense, replaced by inquisitiveness. He just wanted to know what all the commotion was about and didn’t think there would be any harm in looking. How was he to know a fight was going to break out?
The afternoon dragged on and turned to night as he waited for someone who would see him safely home.
*****
As morning dawned, he heard the front door open and two sets of footfalls crossed the wooden floor. A set of keys rattled before being inserted into the keyhole and twisted; the locked door opened. With bloodshot, weary eyes he looked up; hoping he would be there.
“Good morning, son,” the sheriff softly spoke to the figure still huddled on the cot.
“Good morning, sir,” he hesitantly replied, and looked beyond the lawman to see who else had arrived.
“Did you sleep well last night?” the lawman inquisitively asked, pulling the boy’s attention back to him.
“No sir, I…I didn’t.” He lowered his eyes in shame.
“Do you think you’ve learned your lesson?”
“Yes sir,” he answered quietly.
“And what might that be?”
He chewed on his lower lip and cocked his head to the right, “I should have gone straight home after school was let out early…”
“And?”
“I don’t belong at the Bucket O’ Blood…” the boy answered, then added, “with Frank Wright and Phinney McLean.” It was apparent with the way the sheriff had looked at him he was expecting there to be more said.
The Sheriff walked the final three steps to the door and saw the boy’s chin quiver, indicating his distress. The lawman inserted the key and unlocked the jail cell door.
“Come on son, there’s someone out front who’s here to take you home.”
Quickly he climbed off the cot, picking up his hat, and walked out the jail cell. He worried the brim of his hat, turning it in circles as he walked to freedom. The two entered the office area and the boy looked up to the figure standing there, waiting for him. As he stood between them, the men nodded to each other in silent understanding that no more need be said.
With a firm hand on his shoulder he was led across the floor. Moments later, he jumped as he heard the ring of steel against steel as a far door clanged shut.
*****
“Mount up Jamie,” Joe Cartwright stated as he jumped down from the boardwalk and tugged Cochise’s reins untied from the hitching rail in front of the Sheriff’s Office.
Fifteen year old Jamie stood immobile at the railing, his eyes intently focused on the ground.
“Joe?” Jamie tentatively spoke as he looked up for the first time since seeing his brother inside the Sheriff’s Office.
“Let’s just ride home, okay?” Joe responded as he touched the brim of his hat to bid goodbye to Sheriff Clem Foster, who had come out to the boardwalk to watch the brothers leave.
Jamie slipped his foot into the stirrup and pulled himself into the saddle to follow his brother home.
*****
Side by side the pinto and the chestnut horses plodded along, they had a job to do and did it. Just like the man who rode the black and white; he now had a job to do in being a big brother and he struggled with the repercussions and the memories from his past.
How many times had he been bailed out of Roy’s jail over the years by one of his brothers? Joe smiled and shook his head at the memories from a long time ago. Whenever it was Adam who appeared he had been angry, but now… he thought of his long absent brother, Adam, and silently gave thanks for the times it had been him and not their father who stood just inside Roy’s office, waiting… arms folded across his chest. The look on the eldest Cartwright brother’s face always asked the same unvoiced question, ‘When will you ever learn, little brother?’ His oldest brother’s expression caused the recipient to feel shame, anger, and humiliation all at the same time. But his brother’s expression was so much better than the look of disappointment on his father’s face; those times when Adam had not been present to bail out his youngest brother.
But now… The man on the pinto… All his life he had been the youngest son of Ben Cartwright, that is until the rain drought struck Virginia City and the surrounding areas the previous year. And with the drought came a youthful rainmaker. And now, he stood on the other side of the jail cell bars and was torn between his past and being an older brother; not an easy position to straddle, especially when he had only been an older brother for a few months.
*****
The brothers were only a few miles from home when Jamie halted his horse, who tossed its head at not being allowed to keep up with his stable mate. Realizing something was amiss; Joe halted Cochise and turned in the saddle. He waited…
His young brother sat so forlornly in the saddle, shoulders slumped, hands resting on the saddle horn, reins loose in his hands. Joe kneed his horse to walk back to Jamie and Pepper, closing the distance.
With tears in his eyes the youth looked up at Joe, “Why didn’t Pa come for me last night?”
Joe thought on what to tell the boy.
Without an answer, Jamie asked, “Is Pa mad?”
“Probably will be… But, no more so than he was with me after anytime that I spent a night with Sheriff Coffee,” Joe offered. “I made my own bed and had to accept the consequences, and you will too.”
“But no one was there…” Tears threatened to fall from the boy’s face. He had wanted to be so grown up, to prove to his new family that he was worthy of their name and love… But did they not really love him? He felt abandoned by his family.
“I was Jamie,” Joe softly answered.
“You? But…”
“Clem sent word to the Ponderosa and Hop Sing told me as soon as I got home. I arrived in town late last night…”
“But you weren’t supposed to be home until sometime today…”
“I finished my business in Carson City early enough that I decided to come home to spend some time with you instead of spending another night in a hotel room. Hop Sing met me at the front door, handed me a note from Clem saying he was keeping you because of the trouble you and two others got into.”
“Why didn’t you get me out?” Jamie’s eyes flared with anger. “Frank and Phinney didn’t have to spend a night in jail, they got out yesterday!”
“Clem and I thought it might be good for you to spend the night, give you time think on what you did.”
“But Frank and Phinney… they didn’t…” Jamie retorted.
“Their fathers wouldn’t stand for it. They… they insisted that Clem let them out immediately. Clem told me he had wanted to keep all three of you. Mr. Wright and Mr. McLean argued against keeping their boys.”
“But you didn’t fight for me!” Jamie shouted as he tightened his grip on the reins to his horse, another indication of his anger. Pepper danced in place as he felt the mounting tension within his rider.
“I did fight, Jamie,” Joe stated as he gently placed hand upon the boy’s forearm. “I fought myself all night long, told myself that I was doing the right thing. Being an older brother isn’t easy. Sure I could have ‘bailed’ you out last night, but what kind of a lesson would you have learned. Do you think your friends know about facing the consequences of their actions? No… They’ll expect their fathers to continually get them out of trouble. So I did what my… our brother Adam did for me!” Taking a deep breath, Joe tried to calm himself. “I knew I’d be able to take you home this morning and I prayed that you’d have time to realize what it would be like, should you continue to keep company with those two boys.”
Jamie allowed his anger to fade as he listened to his brother and saw the remorse on his face. “You said you were there…” Jamie looked out from under the brim of his hat.
“Clem let me spend the night, I snuck in during one of the few times you were able to sleep and I snuck out early this morning. Trust me, Clem would never have left, had I not asked to spend the night in the front office.”
“He shouldn’t have put me in there,” muttered Jamie. “You shouldn’t have left me there!”
“Jamie, Pa’s tried to teach you that for any action there are consequences. I had to learn the hard way that sometimes heaping chores isn’t the only consequence. Answer me this… do you really want to risk ruining the rest of your life because of something you do with the likes of those two boys?” At first Joe had decided to take the soft approach, so much like Adam had the first few times that Joe had spent the night in jail, but Joe realized that Jamie needed to wake up and face the truth. He demanded, “Did you enjoy last night?!”
“I’m not ruining my life…” argued Jamie.
“No, not yet. Think on it. You and I both know those two boys are trouble, and the only reason they’re not called on it is because of their fathers. Clem told me they were laughing this morning when they heard that you’d spent the night in jail. They laughed at the fact that I agreed with Clem to help teach you a lesson. Believe me, they’ll keep getting away with things they do wrong all because their fathers coddle them. Their fathers dote on them and believe everything they say; they think their boys can do no wrong. Who do you think they blamed for getting them into trouble in the first place…”
“Yeah, well… at least they have fathers who care.” Jamie’s voice dared Joe to object.
Joe’s eyes narrowed and his voice lowered, “Pa cares, and don’t ever let him hear you say otherwise. He would have been there last night, had he been home. You know he’s been in Reno negotiating a new lumber contract.” Joe tried to keep his temper under control, but Jamie was baiting him; so much like he had baited Adam. And now, Joe stood on the precipice, what he said next was critical in making sure his brother understood. “Jamie, you’re my little brother; and whether you believe it or not, I do have your best interests at heart. Now that you know what it’s like to spend a night in jail, are you willing to spend any more time there?”
Thinking long and hard, the boy sulkily answered, “No,” and cast his eyes downward.
“Jamie, I’ve been in your shoes. I know how you feel. Plenty of times it was Adam who came to get me in the morning. It wasn’t until years later that I came to appreciate all he did for me.”
“Does Pa have to know?” Jamie asked.
“It’s going to hard keeping this a secret from him; the Ponderosa does business with those boys’ fathers…”
“It was worth a try,” Jamie stated as he calmly signaled Pepper forward. “When’s Pa due back home?”
“When I arrived in town last night, Cliff handed me a telegram, Pa’s still stuck in Reno, the contract negotiations have become more complicated than he or Hiram foresaw,” answered Joe.
“What about Hoss?”
“He’s probably at home by now; I met him on his way home yesterday, he finished delivering that bull over to the Breesons. He rode out from town this morning to let Hop Sing know the two of us would be along later.”
“He knows too?” Any hopes of keeping his incarceration quiet were quickly evaporating.
“Let me let you in on a little secret that took me a while to figure out… Older brothers know everything.” Joe raised his eyebrows for effect and smiled. “At least Hoss got to sleep in a comfortable bed at the hotel last night.”
“Joe… I’m sorry. I really am.”
“I know you are. I remember how difficult it was to be the youngest, spent most of my life fighting to prove myself, to my friends and family, but mostly to myself.”
The two brothers rode in companionable silence, Jamie thinking hard about what his new brother had said.
*****
Brother… All his life he’d been raised an only child, and then he was on his own, until recently… His mother had died when he was very young and when he had barely reached his teens; his father had died, too, leaving him to make his way in the world without family. Jamie remembered traveling around with his father from town to town in an effort to alleviate droughts that plagued the regions.
Tears came to his eyes as he remembered feeling the lashes of the willow switch upon his back while they tarred and feathered his father before running both of them out of town. His father’s health had steadily declined; the boy had been happy to meet up with Dusty Rhodes when their wagon became stuck. His father wasn’t in any shape to help.
After his father’s death, Jamie was determined to prove to all the naysayers that being a rainmaker was an honorable profession, and he knew if given the chance he could actually make it rain. Besides, everything he needed to know his father had written down in a book. His father’s book was as sacred to him as if it were the Holy Bible.
As they traveled, Dusty filled a need, companionship and someone to watch over him, until they reached Virginia City.
For two weeks they followed his father’s instructions, and for two weeks the skies remained blue and cloud free. Ben Cartwright had taken an interest in the boy, fearing what would happen should he fail. He didn’t really believe in rainmakers, but there was something about the boy that gave him concern. As the boy’s time and supplies were running out, Ben said that the Ponderosa had some of the chemicals that he required. He promised to return before time ran out.
Night had fallen on their last day when the disgruntled ranchers arrived, not caring that the boy had a few more hours remaining; they destroyed everything – his wagon, his stand, his supplies, his dreams, his father’s book…
Ben Cartwright returned with the last of the ingredients needed for their final attempt, only to encounter the destruction. His heart went out to the youth; the loss of his father’s book had been the final blow to the child as he tried to prove his father was a great man.
Having raised three sons on his own, he realized that the boy was suffering some kind of shock and wanted to take him home, to protect him. As they stood, the miracle happened… the moonless night sky had hidden the fact that rain clouds had formed.
*****
For a day and a half the heavens wept.
*****
After all that happened, the youth was surprised when one of the leading citizens of the community stood up to say that he would take the boy in, giving shelter to someone who had no one else. At first Ben proclaimed the boy could stay at the Ponderosa because it would take time for the wagon to be repaired and to collect all the money from the ranchers, since it did rain within the two-week timeframe allotted. (Event occurred within the episode, A Matter of Faith)
But the wagon didn’t seem important anymore… and traveling around with no place to set down roots lost its appeal.
He enjoyed living with his guardian and two of his sons, Hoss and Joe; it was a new sensation to have someone who really cared about him like a father figure. Dusty had cared, but he’d been more of a friend, never was one to set down rules. The boy looked up to the three men who owned and ran the Ponderosa, and even looked up to Hop Sing for wanting to help steer him straight.
However, living among the Cartwrights wasn’t always as easy as he thought it should be; he wasn’t family. Their guardianship didn’t prevent him from being the target of cruelty from others; voices quieted and spoke behind hand-covered mouths as he approached and passed by folks while in town. He had hoped that his new circumstances would protect him, but it didn’t matter, he didn’t carry the Cartwright name.
*****
As if they were really a family, Ben had planned for Jamie to go to school. Unfortunately, the cattle drive was scheduled to coincide with the boy’s first day. Standing outside the main house, Joe and Hoss overheard the argument, Jamie proclaiming he didn’t want to go to school. Joe remembered his own growing up years and his own arguments against going to school. He understood a little better what his oldest brother had gone through, knowing what an education would mean to the youngster.
With Jamie’s declaration he wanted to be a cattleman and that he knew all he needed. Ben decided to test, him and was surprised at how Jamie could add multiple figures in his head. His next test was harder, he handed Jamie a written contract containing the specifications; and then asked if it was a good deal. When Ben explained the problem, Jamie attempted to work the problem out for himself only to admit he couldn’t do it.
But he professed he could learn if Ben would help him. But Ben explained that he wouldn’t be available all the time.
With Ben’s insistence there would be other round-ups, Jamie gave in.
*****
During his first day of school, Jamie thought it couldn’t get any worse than being humiliated by the teacher when she called him on being tardy and then assigned him to sit with the fifth grade students because of his lack for formal education. The teacher opted to belittle him by telling him he should know that his lunch pail belonged in the cloakroom. But life only went down from there; his placement gave the older boys fodder to bully him and to pick fights with him. As well as the fact that he was an orphan, saying the Cartwrights only took him in out of pity.
*****
Still wanting to make friends and stop the bullying, Jamie had bragged about Ben Cartwright’s gold inlaid rifle to Frank Wright and the others. Out to prove himself as one of the Cartwrights, the boy took the rifle that was special to Ben in order to show it off, in hopes of finally being accepted.
On his way home, a large cat spooked Pepper, dumping him and the rifle into the creek. The rifle was damaged as he landed on it. He returned the weapon back to the rifle rack in hopes that no one would notice. He felt guilty when Hop Sing informed him just how special the rifle was to the elder Cartwright.
*****
Wrestling with his guilt over the damaged rifle, and Frank taunting him that he had stolen the rifle in order to show it off. And then the calling him yella, Jamie was provoked into a fight. His emotions gave him the strength to fight back. But then Frank gained the upper hand. It was only when one of the other boys told Frank to let him go, that the fight ended.
To a young man who had always been on the outside looking in and wanted so much to belong, the school-yard tauntings and the extra chores for admitting he had taken the rifle, damaging it, and lying about it. Everything was just too much; it hurt.
Jamie ran away.
*****
Roy had wired the surrounding towns and received a reply from Mill City that Jamie was there, working in the livery.
Ben followed. During their talk, Jamie came to understand what family really meant. Ben told him, “I didn’t pick my sons-they were born to me. But I did pick you. I didn’t have to, but I did. You might consider that a point in your favor. Hoss and Joe and I want you to be a part of our family. And if you are a part of our family, you’re going to have to give up something… worrying about yourself. Know that you and your problems won’t always be the center of attention because we have our problems too. And you may have to worry about them.
“Oh, and if you do have a problem, don’t whine and mumble and start feeling sorry for yourself because nobody’s turned around. I may be busy, or plumb tired, so speak up. To my knowledge, we don’t have a single mind reader on the Ponderosa.
“But we do have a wealth of affection to give you… and respect and understanding. We do have to give them back; they’re all there, but they’re on a two-way street.
“And if you come back, and I sure hope you do… because I want you to… I’m going to treat you exactly as I treat one of my own sons. Which means sometimes, I’ll tell you to do things that… you… won’t… like.” Jamie tried to protest, but Ben continued. “Because I know more than you do. I’m older, it’s as simple as that. I try to be fair, but sometimes I make mistakes… so you might as well expect them because I’m also human.” (Ben’s dialogue from The Gold Plated Rifle)
Jamie listened to the rest of Ben’s words, and thought long and hard about what the man had said.
*****
Life settled into routine and Jamie accepted life living on a working ranch, yet… Having lived on his own without any real parental supervision, he wasn’t used to people telling him what he could and couldn’t do. He couldn’t accept that there were things he just wasn’t ready to handle, yet. If Joe and Hoss could, he didn’t understand why Ben wouldn’t let him do the same.
He learned another hard lesson, only this time it wasn’t a rifle that was broken. His actions caused one of the horses to be put down, a wagon was damaged beyond repair, and all the supplies were lost.
Ben knew it was time for Jamie to make the same rite of passage that his two youngest sons had made, at the same time in their lives. (Events from the episode, The Grand Swing.)
As he watched Jamie carve his name into the tree, he thought of the irony that Adam had never made the trip. Adam had always been older than his years, in words, his actions, and his abilities. No wonder his other sons always wanted to emulate their older sibling, and always seemed to get into some kind of trouble because of it.
Adam… His one son’s name that was absent from the tree had been absent from their lives for so long. He wondered what Adam was doing now… was he even still alive? It had been so long since they’d received any word… The last letter, several years old, had explained how he was preparing to travel to Europe, Africa, and possibly Australia, and would write when he could… they’d never heard anything more.
*****
As the months passed, Jamie dreamed of what it would be like to actually have been raised as a Cartwright, to have a real family who cared about and loved him. He wanted so much to be a real part of the family and it hurt that he wasn’t. He thought that after his return from Mill City that he would eventually be adopted by the Cartwrights. But time dragged on, and still he dreamed.
And then Phinney McLean took his paper, and wouldn’t give it back. Jamie returned home with one black eye claiming he’d walked into a door; only to have Phinney’s father bring his son to the Ponderosa, with two black eyes, demanding an apology and an explanation.
Through separate means, Hoss and Joe, and Ben determined what was behind the fight. And when the family finally announced their intention, Jamie balked… feeling sorry for himself once more. They were only going to adopt him because of the fight he’d be in, and the paper.
*****
Ben Cartwright met him after school the following day and drove them to the court house. They met with Judge Jed Taylor who reviewed all that Ben had done during the past six months to find any blood relatives to the boy; and declared that the petition for adoption had complete validity. Only that wasn’t good enough for Ben, he wanted Jamie’s consent for the adoption to proceed.
And then he received a visit from his deceased mother’s father, Ferris Callahan… wasn’t that a hoot. Jamie felt he was being sized up for auction by the man; and found lacking. The only thing he felt the man appreciated was the fine brand Ben had offered him. Callahan proceeded to explain how he had searched for his daughter and grandson for years, and finally managed to put the pieces together and ended up at the Ponderosa.
The words the older man spoke against Jamie’s father, calling him a “deadbeat and a charlatan”, angered the boy; and then to find out so brusquely that he would be going to Boston. The man was callous, the boy was his heir and he had his life all planned out for him with little consideration for the boy’s feelings.
“What he wants is what I can make of him, he’s only a boy.” Those words explained it all. (Ferris Callahan’s words from A Home for Jamie.)
As his grandfather took him away, Jamie realized that there was more to being a family than just being born to someone, being family meant you cared about each other. And he hurt, because he cared for the Cartwrights.
*****
The Cartwrights planned to dig in deep, Ben proposed going to Carson City to speak with the governor; he thought the man could so something to make the adoption happen through a legal battle.
*****
Jamie was faced with a different battle when the horses became skittish at the inept handling by his grandfather at the reins. Jamie tried to explain, but Callahan urged the horses on and they turned runaways; the buckboard striking a rut in the road which threw Jamie and his grandfather from their seats. Jamie left the old man with a broken leg where he’d landed.
Returning some time later with supplies from the buckboard, Jamie tended his grandfather. His resourcefulness at first aid and at catching a rabbit and some trout for supper surprised the elder man. Especially when Jamie told him about tickling fish in order catch them; that Mr. Cartwright, and Hoss and Joe had taught him a lot about living off the land. He explained how tickling came in handy when one didn’t have a string or a hook in their pocket.
Through their talks, Callahan came to realize all the Ben had said was true; the boy belonged on the Ponderosa.
*****
As he settled into his bed, he had a new name, Jamie Hunter Cartwright and he had a family. And as a member of the family he had additional responsibilities and obligations.
*****
Jamie’s thoughts turned to what would happen when his Pa returned home from Reno.
*****
Frank’s and Phinney’s fathers had kept up their appearances that their boys had done no wrong while in the presence of Clem Foster, but once they arrived home… Though neither boy had to spend the night in jail as Jamie had, they were restricted at home and given a list of additional chores to do, after having their backsides blistered. The fathers were embarrassed by their sons’ actions and for having to pay money to keep them out of jail.
Frank Wright and Phinney McLean vowed to get even with Jamie…
*****
It had been a long two weeks of negotiations, but Hiram and Ben had successfully negotiated the contract. Arriving home the following Wednesday, Ben was happy to see the boys working together in front of the barn as they moved grain sacks from the wagon to stack them inside.
*****
That night while Joe and Hoss played checkers, Jamie tried to focus on his studies. He looked up at hearing Joe clear his throat, the look he saw told him he had better confess before Pa asked.
“Pa?” Jamie tentatively asked of Ben who sat in his leather chair, reading a paper.
Settling the paper to his lap, Ben acknowledged the boy.
“I have something I need to tell you.”
“Oh?” Ben inquired, as he looked from one son to the next.
“I got in trouble last week…”
“Another fight at school?”
“No sir, I…” Jamie looked to Joe and Hoss for encouragement. “I was somewhere I shouldn’t have been and a fight broke out, and Sheriff Foster caught me.”
“I see… Where were you?”
“I sort of… snuck… I snuck into the Bucket O’Blood. I’m sorry sir, I know I was wrong.” Jamie hung his head.
“Seems like a punishment might be in order for going against my instructions to stay away from the saloons.”
“But…” Jamie began to protest.
“Pa,” Hoss interrupted.
“No, let me finish.” The look Ben cast Hoss quieted the large man. “I know that Clem handled the situation and I approve of his method and Joe’s agreeing…”
“You know?” gulped Jamie.
“Yes, I had to come through town on the stage coach… I bumped into Clem and he told me.”
“I’m sorry sir.”
“I know you are. And you’ve paid for your part of those events. However, have I not told you that you are not allowed to go into a saloon for some time yet?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So, for your disobedience, you will be charged with helping me this weekend in bringing the books up to date.”
Hoss and Joe burst out laughing as Jamie realized how lightly he was getting off compared to his friends; they both had trouble sitting down at school on Monday morning.
*****
During their restrictions, Frank and Phinney thought long and hard on how unfair it was that they’d been treated like children, paddled and restricted for two weeks. And then on Monday, to find out that Jamie hadn’t been tanned set the two boys off even more.
*****
It wasn’t enough that both boys served their restrictions; both were admonished on a daily basis to make sure they came straight home. The following two Fridays, both fathers was there to make sure they weren’t embarrassed by their sons sneaking into a saloon, again.
*****
“Ain’t fair that we got our backsides blistered!” Frank declared as he kicked and sent a stone flying across the ground. “’Bout time we got off restrictions.”
“Yeah, but he spent the night in jail,” Phinney tried to champion.
“Big deal,” Frank spat. “He was in the saloon same as us, he shoulda been whipped by old man Cartwright.”
“Then we shoulda spent the night in jail too,” Phinney attempted to use the same logic against his friend.
“My pappy’d never stand for that… too much of an embarrassment for him.”
“Well, my pa got me out a there too.”
“Still, he shoulda suffered as much as we done,” Frank declared.
“How can we make him suffer? He’s getting better about standing up against you and your punching him…”
As lunch recess continued, Frank watched as Jamie worked on his studies while sitting under a shade tree on the far side of the school grounds.
“How long’s it take to ride from school to the Ponderosa?” Frank asked as an idea came to him.
“An hour at least… Maybe more if he don’t run his horse,” Phinney answered.
“And how long do you think it’d take him to walk home?”
“Now why would he walk home if he rode his horse to school?”
“Because we’d scare his horse off,” Frank answered while a wicked grin beamed upon his face.
“He’d just go to the livery and borrow a horse…”
“Not if we spooked the horse after he was a ways out of town. You know that meadow you go through after the turn off?”
Phinney tried to remember the route his Pa had taken earlier and didn’t remember no meadow.
“There’s a different route that a rider can take than someone driving a buckboard or a buggy. The meadow leads into all them hills and high rocks, and he’s gotta travel over them.”
“Yeah, but how’re we gonna spook his horse, it’s wide open out there. He’d see us easily.”
“Not if we’re up in the crag of rocks and I fired my pappy’s rifle at the horse’s feet.”
“You’re asking for trouble if your pa finds out you took his rifle…” Phinney declared.
“Not if I ask him first. We’re off restrictions right? So, I’ll tell him you and me wanta go rabbit hunting after school… He knows how much we like to go hunting together…”
“I don’t know…”
“Come on Phinney, all ya have ta do is tell your pa the same. No one’d think we’d go hunting on the Ponderosa, so no one’d know we done it. It’ll be fun!”
“Well, tomorrow is Friday, and we got all weekend to do our homework…”
“Now you’re thinking!” Frank declared, happy they had put into place their plan to seek revenge against Jamie Cartwright.
*****
Phinney and Frank couldn’t believe their luck when Mrs. Grimm had asked for Jamie to stay after school for a few minutes; it gave them even more time to reach the meadow before their target.
*****
While on his way home from school, Jamie daydreamed about what would happen upon his arrival home and presenting his report card with almost all A’s, and only the one B. He’d been worried when his teacher asked him to stay after, but hearing what she had to say, he was so happy when she praised his improved grades, and told him his were the second best in his class.
It caught him unaware when the pain slammed into his shoulder, dumping him from his horse, and sending his horse galloping away
*****
From their perch, the two boys laughed at seeing their schoolmate dumped from his horse, it had reared as Jamie inadvertently pulled back on the reins as he fell. With no rider in the saddle, the horse took off at a mad gallop. The boys watched for a few minutes before thinking maybe they should check on Jamie.
“He coulda struck his head… He could be lying there unconscious,” Phinney nervously worried as he kept hoping Jamie would make a move to stand up.
“Oh, alright, if only to prove to you he’s gonna be okay. A little bump on the head and sore feet are mild compared to what my pappy gave me,” Frank stated as he mounted his horse, carrying his father’s rifle across his lap.
Slowly the two made their way down the back side of the hill, using a deer path to enter the meadow. As they neared the still figure, Jamie was lying face down on the ground.
Phinney slipped from his saddle and rolled the boy over onto his back.
“YOU SHOT HIM!” Phinney exclaimed, causing Frank to drop his father’s rifle as he saw the red stain on the boy’s shirt. “You were only supposed to shoot in front of the horse’s hooves! You said you were only going to scare him, make his horse dump him so he’d have to walk home!”
“I didn’t mean to shoot him!” the Frank cried out.
“We gotta help him!” Phinney shouted as he looked up to his friend who still sat in the saddle.
“You help him! I ain’t gonna go to jail!”
“Frank!”
The sandy haired boy watched as his friend turned his horse and raced away. He looked between his departing friend and the friend lying at his feet.
“Jamie,” Phinney called out to his friend, while shaking his shoulder. “Jamie, come on! Wake up! It were an accident! ”
The boy on the ground was pale and didn’t move or anything. Phinney thought on how his friend looked… dead. Nervously, he walked backwards to his horse and reached for the reins, he inhaled sharply before climbing into the saddle and riding away, thinking Frank was right. He didn’t want to go to jail, either.
*****
Jamie groaned as he moved, his shoulder felt on fire. Shaking his head, he remembered riding somewhere. But how he came to lie on the ground and why his shoulder hurt so bad; he couldn’t remember. Memories, flickered like a flame gasping for breath before being snuffed out, niggled at the edge of his consciousness, but he did remember a shot… the sound of a rifle firing.
His eyes opened and somehow he knew he was too exposed where he was in the grassy plain… something drove his need to head for cover, the trees or those boulders. Scrambling to his feet the red-headed boy set out with one goal in mind, to get away from whoever fired upon him.
He stumbled over clumps of tall grass and rocks hidden in the grasses. Broken tree limbs having fallen to the ground tripped him up as he entered the line of trees.
In the recesses of his mind he struggled to figure out where he was, with his brain addled from being shot and the blow to he suffered after falling from the saddle, nothing made sense. Nothing except one thing… “If you’re lost boy, climb to the highest spot so you’s can get a good look around. And I’ll find ya.”
*****
Trembling with fear and blood loss, Jamie finally gave in to his exhaustion. He’d gone as far and as high as he could, and failed; “I’m can’t do it. I can’t go any farther.” He looked up to the point he had hoped to reach. “Hoss… Joe…” He settled into the crevice and succumbed to the darkness.
*****
“I’m so sorry,” Jamie moaned. “I tried… I’m so sorry, Pa…”
“What’s he sayin’,” Hoss asked as he entered his youngest brother’s room.
“Something about being sorry and that he tried,” Joe answered. “I think you’d best wake Pa. He’s going to want to be in here if Jamie is coming around.”
A few moments passed before Ben entered the room he had vacated only an hour before.
“How’s he doing?”
“I think he’s waking. I can understand what he’s saying this time and he’s more active,” Joe answered as he stood from the chair closest to the bed.
“Should I go get Doc?” Hoss asked.
“He said he’d check in later this morning,” Ben replied before turning his attention to his youngest. “Come on Jamie, wake up. Open your eyes,” the worried father encouraged as his hand cupped the young man’s face.
*****
It was a dream, it was all just a dream. He couldn’t really have heard Hoss’, or Joe’s, or Pa’s voices. He hadn’t climbed high enough for them to find him. He’d failed. He’d failed his responsibility to his family. He’d failed his Pa.
But there was the voice again, the warmth, the worry….
‘Why’s pa worried?’
“Come on Jamie, try a little harder. You’re almost there,” Ben encouraged as the eyelids fluttered and opened before closing.
“Hey little brother, ya cain’t be sleepin’ all day away,” Hoss spoke.
“Pa?” Jamie groggily spoke as he fought the weights keeping his eyes closed.
“I’m here, son. I’m right here,” Ben answered as he lowered his face to his son’s ear.
Four pairs of eyes intently watched as a fifth set opened and closed, before they opened for good.
But the vision was blurry, causing the youth to blink and squint before he focused on the silver-haired man who sat on the edge of his bed.
“Pa?”
“Welcome back son. You had us worried.” Ben sighed in relief; his son was going to pull through.
“What happened?” Jamie asked, his voice hoarse.
When his father couldn’t answer, he looked to see Hop Sing, Hoss, and Joe surrounding his bed. Ben soon had a glass to the boy’s lips, offering him water.
“What happened?” Jamie asked again, his voice stronger.
“You were shot Jamie,” Joe answered.
“Shot?”
“Yeah, little brother,” Hoss acknowledged.
“How? Why? Who?”
“Easy there, you only just woke up,” Ben advised. “I think you should try drinking some of the broth that Hop Sing prepared. Doctor Martin said you lost a fair amount of blood and it will take a while for you to fully recover, but this will help.”
Ben held Jamie’s head with one hand while he held a cup with the warm beef broth for the boy to drink. All the while he insisted that Jamie take it slow and easy.
With only a little of the broth remaining in the cup, Ben laid Jamie’s head back to the pillow; the boy already asleep. The warmth of the broth had soothed his achy throat and filled the hole in his stomach; encouraging him to return to the welcoming darkness.
Ben’s concern shown on his face.
“I mix laudanum with broth. No taste, no fight like brothers,” Hop Sing announced as he took the empty glass from the nightstand where Ben had placed it.
“You’ll have to remember that the next time you get shot, Shortshanks,” Hoss teased.
*****
Two days after performing surgery on the youngest Cartwright, Paul Martin made a professional visit and was pleased with his patient’s progress. Leaving Hoss and Joe in the room with their brother he motioned for Ben to walk down the hallway with him.
“Ben, I think he’ll be just fine. Keep him in bed for the next few days and see how he handles sitting up. You’ve been through this enough with your other sons, you know what to do.”
“Yes, I know what to do,” Ben guiltily answered.
“Ben, you’ve nothing to feel guilty about.”
“I wasn’t here for him…”
“But you are now… Once you received the wire from Joe that Jamie was missing, you hurried back here as fast as you could.”
“Still, it doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“No, but he had two brothers and everyone of your ranch hands out looking for him. Also, Miss Coleman and Reverend Avery. By the way, they followed me out… they wanted to come sooner… They wanted to come to make sure he was okay.” Seeing that the worried father was hesitant to leave his son, “Jamie’s got his two brothers taking care of him at the moment, I think you can leave him long enough to go downstairs and thank Miss Coleman for her assistance.”
*****
“Ben, you remember Miss Coleman,” Paul inquired as Ben hesitated at the foot of the staircase.
“I do. Miss Coleman, please… I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you did to help rescue my son.”
“How is the boy?” Judith asked.
“I don’t think he or his brothers would mind you visiting; upstairs, third door on the left.”
“Ben, I’ll be back in a few more days to check on Jamie. Reverend Avery.” With that Paul left the Ponderosa.
Ben was now left to play host when he wanted nothing more than to return to his son. But a host he became. And while talking with the reverend, he came to understand more about his own doubts as he tried to help the man who skeptically looked down on what his fiancée had done.
As he headed back up the stairs and passed Judith, Ben thought to himself, ‘Yes, God does work in mysterious ways, and it’s not for me to know why, just that he does.’
*****
A week had passed since the shooting before Jamie was finally allowed downstairs to join the family for the afternoon.
“Pa?” Jamie asked as he sat wrapped up in a blanket to prevent any chill.
“Yes, Jamie,” Ben looked up from his newspaper.
“Do you know who shot my or why?” Jamie asked.
Knowing the question would ultimately be asked, didn’t make the answer any easier.
“Yes, we know who and why…”
“So?”
“Two of your classmates…” Ben replied.
“They were upset that Pa didn’t tan your hide a last month back because of the fight at the saloon,” Joe offered.
“Frank and Phinney?”
Hoss nodded.
“They coulda killed me all because they got tanned instead of having to spend a night in jail.”
“They swear they were only planning to fire at Pepper’s hooves in order for you to have to walk home, but that rifle was so old… the sights were out of alignment…” Joe offered.
“It’s a miracle Jamie wasn’t killed,” Ben glared.
“How did you find out? I mean, how did you know?”
“Pepper came home without you,” Hoss offered. “He was all lathered.”
“When we were out looking for you, one of the hands found a rifle lying on the ground and a pool of blood nearby.” Joe explained. “Hoss sort of figured out that something had happened and what direction you were traveling.”
Hoss added, “We saw Pepper’s prints and those of two other horses, and one set of footprints besides yours. The two other horses skedaddled, and you was staggering around while walking towards a line of trees and boulders.”
“Miss Coleman and the Reverend, they helped find me?”
“Miss Coleman did… She saw where she thought you were.” Hoss answered.
“You couldn’t track me?”
“To a point I could, but when you got up into the highlands… the ground became too rocky for me to figure out where you were.”
“We didn’t understand why you were heading to the high grounds, just that you were,” Joe stated.
“I don’t remember much, but I do know that my head hurt, and my shoulder… The only thing I could remember was Hoss telling me once that if I was lost and didn’t know where I was, to head to the highest point around. So I could get a good look around, and that he’d find me.”
“Well, I sure didn’t exactly find ya.”
“But ya did!” Jamie protested.
“Not on my own,” Hoss guiltily replied.
“But being family means you don’t have to do it on your own, big brother,” Joe answered.
“That’s what our friends are for, too,” Ben offered.
“But how did you find out about Frank and Phinney?” Jamie asked.
“After we found you, we sent one of the men for Doctor Martin and Clem while we brought you home. Harvey showed the rifle to Clem,” Hoss continued. “Clem recognized it as belonging to Frank Wright, Sr.”
“You were still unconscious from the surgery when Clem returned. He said that Frank forced his boy to tell him what happened,” Joe ended.
“What’s gonna happen to them?”
“Those two boys shot one of my sons and left him to die. If it were up to me, I’d press charges against them for aggravated assault, attempted murder, reckless endangerment, and anything else I could charge them with.”
Jamie looked strongly towards his father before allowing his eyes to drift to his brothers, stopping finally at Joe.
“You said they’d get into worse trouble…”
Joe nodded.
“That their fathers would keep bailing them out and coddling them. You said they’d never have the chance to learn…”
The brothers looked to each other, knowing what the other was thinking. Jamie was learning a difficult life lesson, involving more than living up to the Cartwright name. He’d not been in one lick of trouble since his one night in jail. But this…
“Jamie?” Ben spoke as he looked between his two youngest.
“They were my friends…” Jamie stated, still looking at Joe.
“Yes, they were your friends,” Joe solemnly answered.
“Will there be a trial?” Jamie questioned.
“They already admitted their part, it’s a pretty cut and dry case” answered Ben.
“Clem said they’ve already met with the prosecutor. Said it was pathetic watching them sitting there in his office,” Joe stated. “They were both bawling their eyes out. I’m not sure who was more upset, the boys or their fathers.”
“I feel sorry for them… but they shouldn’t a left me out there like that…”
“They shouldn’t have shot you!” Ben stated.
It appeared that Jamie didn’t hear Ben as he continued his conversation with Joe, “They need to face the consequences of their actions.”
Ben and Hoss looked between the two younger Cartwrights and listened.
“They’re just boys,” Joe answered.
“If they’re old enough to pull the trigger, they’re old enough to know not to aim a gun at a person unless their own life is in danger.”
“They were mad, they just wanted to get even,” said Joe.
“When does revenge end? Their idea of a prank… Using a gun is never a joke. They should know better.”
Joe smiled and he nodded his head in understanding. The lesson had been learned.
“Are they gonna go to jail?” Jamie asked as he finally remembered there were others in the room, and looked to Ben.
“We’ll talk with the prosecutor and see what he recommends,” Ben suggested.
*****
The circuit judge had been lenient on the two boys; they were sentenced to six months in a home for wayward boys in Sacramento, California. It was a fledgling program hoping to discourage those thought young enough to be redeemed from proceeding any further down the road of their own destruction. Once released; however, both boys would have to live until their eighteenth birthday on probation, and as long as they stayed out of trouble, their records would be cleared once they reached their majority.
*****
It had been a long and emotionally tiring day for the entire family as the older brothers recounted the events and their involvement in finding Jamie. The trial was to determine the sentence, as the boys had already confessed.
The Cartwrights returned home, no real worse for wear. Hop Sing had prepared a feast to feed them.
*****
Joe looked up as he heard someone coming down the staircase.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Jamie quietly stated as he hesitated on the mid landing, his arm still resting lightly in the sling.
Joe motioned him to come on down, indicating for his brother to have a seat next to him. He set the almost empty glass of brandy on the low table.
“You couldn’t sleep either?” Jamie asked as he made himself comfortable.
Joe shook his head no. “Haven’t gone to bed yet.” Flipping his hand to his head, Joe said, “Too many thoughts racing around.”
The room was quiet except for the crackle of the fire.
“You were right, you know,” Jamie said. He’d thought long and hard about the past few weeks before coming downstairs, he knew that Joe had not retired for the night.
“Right?”
“Leaving me in jail last month.”
“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
“You make a pretty good big brother, not that I know that much about big brothers,” Jamie offered. “I mean, I only have you and Hoss to go by.”
“Adam was a great example,” Joe answered; his eyes focused on the past.
“What about Hoss?”
Smiling at the question and how he would answer, “Oh, he’s a good big brother, but we are friends too. We got into about as much trouble together as I did on my own when we were younger.”
“And Adam?”
“There are twelve years between us, and after he came home from college, he took his role as a second Pa to me quite seriously. I used to call him old bossy boots or Yankee granite head. But looking back, I know he was looking out for my best interests, making sure I lived long enough to grow up.”
“He musta done a good job…”
Joe’s eyes drifted from the present, remembering his own youth, when he was Jamie’s age. He wondered had Adam not returned from college, what would his life have been. Would he have become the man that he had?
“Do you really have to go?” Joe asked as he came downstairs and saw his brother alone at the breakfast table.
“Yeah, my job here is done.”
“But we still have to prepare for winter, shut down the lumber mill, and…” Joe said as he slipped into his chair at the table.
“I’m not talking that job. I’m talking about you.”
“Me?” a perplexed Joe answered.
“The hardest job I’ve ever had, making sure you grew up to be all that you could. That you were prepared to stand next to Pa and run this ranch.”
“I don’t understand,” Joe ignored the cup of coffee Hop Sing placed near his hand.
“Joe, when I came home from college, I had so many ideas to improve this… our home, the ranch. Most all of them are prospering and were fairly successful from the beginning. But you… You took a lot longer than I expected.” Adam sipped from his cup of coffee, wondering if he was saying what he needed to say in a way that Joe would understand.
“I didn’t ask…” a little bit of the old Little Joe showed through in his tone of voice.
“No, you didn’t ask… but it’s an older brother’s obligation. The problem is, you’ve been ready for some time.”
“And if I asked you not to, said that I wasn’t really ready?”
“You doubt my abilities?” teased Adam, he knew what his brother was saying.
“Not you… me.” Joe averted his eyes.
“No you don’t.” Adam set his cup into the saucer and looked at his brother. “You’re ready Joe… You’ve been ready to fulfill Pa’s dream of expanding the Ponderosa for a long time. I’m happy that you and Pa, and Hoss share the same dream.”
“But it’s not yours,” Joe answered, looking into his brother’s eyes as Adam shook his head, no.
“My dream… I don’t know where it is, and maybe that’s the dream, to explore… to travel.”
“We’ll miss you.”
“And I’ll miss you, most of all I’ll miss you.”
“Penny for your thoughts…” Jamie offered.
“Just trying to figure out if I’m still living up to his expectations; thinking if I did what Adam would have done?”
“You miss him, don’t you?”
“Always.”
~The End
B ~ O ~ N ~ A ~ N~ A ~ Z ~ A
Author’s Note: This story began as a response to a Pinecone Challenge, write a short story (not to exceed 500 words) ending with the following:
“With a firm hand on his shoulder he was led across the floor. Moments later, he jumped as he heard the ring of steel against steel as a far door clanged shut.”
While writing, I had at first envisioned Joe as being the one kept in jail, and Adam being the one to bail him out. But as the scene evolved, I decided to leave it up to the reader to decide if it was Joe or Hoss or maybe even a young Adam who spent the night in jail. After the story was posted in the Bonanza Brand Forums, it was suggested that it could have been Jamie (who I hadn’t even considered). So it was even more fitting that I hadn’t identified which lawman or who else entered the Sheriff’s Office the following morning.
As I thought on the possibilities of this being Jamie, I remembered the episode, Second Sight. We never did learn who… how or why Jamie was shot. But there were other questions… Why was it only Hoss and Joe, and the ranch hands searching? Where was Ben? So with input from my writing muse, the story continued. My original story used different names for the two other boys involved; Frank Wright came from The Gold Plaited Rifle while Phinney McLean was in A Home for Jamie.
Credit must be given to the respective writers of the following episodes used as inspiration for this story; A Matter of Faith, The Gold Plaited Rifle, A Home for Jamie, The Grand Swing, and Second Sight.
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