Sins of the Father, Sins of the Sons – # 5 (by Robin)

Summary:  Part five of Sins of the Father, Sins of the Sons

Word Count:  17,000

 

 

                            Sins of the Father, Sins of the Sons

 

 

 

Daughters and Wives

Adam is challenged by his daughter Elizabeth.

The Cartwrights try to make Meg part of the family

The Cartwright men miss their wives

Some former Virginia City residents return to town.

The young Cartwright brothers build a raft.

 

Chapter 1

 

Virginia City

1875

Adam Cartwright had bravely faced armed outlaws, angry desperados, and marauding Apaches. Once, he been bushwhacked by two men who left him without a horse in the middle of the desert. Another time, shortly after he returned home from college back east, he and his brother Hoss had been trapped by a blizzard in one of the line shacks for over a week. Hoss had a broken leg that had to be set and splinted and Adam didn’t get rattled even when they ran out of food.

He had survived being beaten by an escaped army deserter, a knife wound from a drunk in a saloon in Mexico and nearly drowned in a river with his brothers as a forest fire raged all around them. Adam had even survived the cave in of one of Jack Fischer’s mines. He kept himself calm despite his immense pain and water rising around him until his brother Joe dug him out of the rocky rubble.

Adam had effectively negotiated contracts with hardheaded businessmen for the Ponderosa and later as a partner in Stoddard and Bruce. He had even talked his way out of being hung by an angry anti- American mob in South America when he was building a railroad tunnel. Adam and his business partner Dennis O’Mara had beaten down a crooked sea captain and his belligerent armed crew who were stealing their cargo. Dennis and Adam fearlessly faced eight men and won. He had faced down every single one of these difficult challenges with dogmatic determination

As a boy, Adam had traveled west, sharing hardships with his father and helped Ben in raising the younger boys after Marie died. Adam incorrectly thought helping his Pa with Little Joe, had prepared Adam for anything that a child could say or do. He had raised Katie’s son Sam as his own son since the boy was small. Raising his stepson Sam as his own child had not really been difficult once they got used to each other and sorted things out. Sam tried hard to emulate Adam and there was rarely a conflict.

Despite his years of experience breaking wild horses and a college education and advice from his own father about raising his own three sons, nothing prepared Adam Cartwright for his most difficult challenge of his life. Nothing prepared Adam Cartwright for the most invincible adversary he had ever faced.

No matter what Adam had previously experienced, nothing had steeled the man for Elizabeth Cartwright. Being the father of a princess was nearly impossible. A lesser man than Adam Cartwright would have folded under the pressures and run for the hills like a frightened pup. Delicate Elizabeth with her long dark curls melted his heart with one look of her chocolate eyes and flicker of her long black eyelashes.

Adam decided that here was the same spirited flash in Elizabeth’s eyes and defiant curve of her chin as her mother. That flash was what always stopped Adam’s heart. Everyone always said how much the little girl resembled her handsome father. “She has your dark hair and eyes,” people would say seeing Elizabeth as if Kate had nothing to do with creating the little girl.

Kate Cartwright also insisted that their daughter looked just like Adam. As they stood side by side one night watching their daughter peacefully sleep Katie whispered, “Look at her, Adam she looks just like you. Good thing Elizabeth has your curls not my stick straight hair. She has beautiful black curls and if you haven’t noticed my hair is brown and straight. Your hair …”

”My hair is mostly gray and getting thin,” Adam laughed touching the top of his head.

”But it was dark and wavy when you were four years old and mine was light brown and poker straight.”

Adam wrapped his arm around her waist. “You were very cute when you were four years old. I remember you being very cute and very fresh. You were quite a pest too. You used to sit under the kitchen table with Little Joe when your father was trying to tutor me in mathematics and the two of you would pester us. But you were extremely cute.”

”Thank you, kind sir.” Kate smiled. “Elizabeth looks like you, Adam. Not me.”

“She is just like you my child bride,” Adam smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“She even has your meticulous nature and analytical mind. Look how neatly she arranged all those dolls and she goes wild if her books don’t get put away just so.” Kate gestured to the shelves Will Cartwright had built on either side of the windows. All the books were neatly lined up in size order. “Did I ever have my books in any sort of order, ever, until you straightened them out? Look at your desk and look at mine.”

Adam laughed and pulled his wife close. “ That is very true. You are a pack rat, Katie. Papers, books, letters, articles…”

”Elizabeth is just like her daddy.” Kate patted Adam’s arm.

Adam disagreed.” Elizabeth does look like me at first but underneath it all she is just like you Katie.” Adam bent over and kissed his daughter’s forehead and tucked the pink coverlet around her. “Very cute.”

Kate shook her head as she walked out of the room of the pink and white room. “I don’t see it at all, Adam. Not one bit.” She walked down the wide hallway to their bedroom. She sat at her dressing table. Pulling out the hairpins she started to take down her upswept hair. She picked up the silver backed hair brush and ran it through her tresses.

”Elizabeth has your dimples Adam. I don’t have any dimples.”
”None that the general public has ever seen,” Adam teased her. He took the brush out of her hand and started brushing out his wife’s soft brown hair.

“Adam Cartwright! You are so fresh.” She smiled at him in the mirror as he continued to brush. He winked at her in the mirror.

”That is what you love about me, Katie-Bird,” he smiled. Their eyes met in the mirror’s reflection. His were dark brown, almost black while Katie’s brown eyes were lighter, more hazel. “You are so fresh and cute, Katie.”

But it was Katie’s determination and the flicker of hazel in Elizabeth’s eyes when she got mad that Adam would see when he faced his daughter.

“Sing to me Papa, Elizabeth would creep into his lap when he tried to read the paper. She would cuddle up to him and pull the Enterprise from his hands. Adam would immediately put down the paper, smile and sing all the songs she loved. Elizabeth would sing along with him.

“Read to me some more Papa,” Elizabeth would flutter her long, black eyelashes and pull on her father’s hand when he tried to leave her room. Elizabeth would easily convince Adam to read an extra story to her and allow her to stay up well past her bedtime. “I love so much how you read to me, Papa.” When Sam was small and would try to connive staying up later, Adam would firmly turn down the lamp and kiss his son good night. With Elizabeth, Adam could never refuse her one more or five more stories.

“Play dollies with me Papa!” Elizabeth would plead and Adam would adeptly dress the herd of china headed babies and fancy lady dolls he had brought his daughter each time he traveled on business. “No one dresses my doll babies as well as you do Papa. Sam won’t play dolls ever and Grandpa can’t do the shoes and bonnets right and Uncle Joe never dresses them. He says they are naked boys not girls. He says they are skinny dipping in Cherry Creek.”

All the family had finished dinner at the Ponderosa the night of the infamous hair cutting incident. Eric had fallen asleep hiding under Ben’s desk and his grandfather had carried him up to his own bed. Joe was sound asleep upstairs too. He still had not looked in a mirror and realized he had been “scalped” by his tiny niece. Adam knew very well that he had to reprimand Elizabeth. As much as he didn’t want to discipline his daughter, he dreaded Kate reprimanding him for not reprimanding their daughter.

“Elizabeth, you do have to apologize to Uncle Joe for what you did to his hair.”

”Do I Papa? But I made him so pretty. He doesn’t really mind much. I’m very sure, Papa”

”He is still sleeping and doesn’t fully realize what a terrible, awful thing you did Elizabeth! You cut a big chunk out of his hair. Uncle Joe will have to go to the barber and get the shortest hair cut he ever hand in his life to get it evened out. “ Joe had finally awaked from his deep sleep on the settee while the family ate dinner. Adam had helped him stumble upstairs and Joe went back to sleep for the rest of the night. He had no clue that his little niece had mangled his hair while he was sleeping and would not realize it until he woke up the next morning.

“He can always wear his hat, Papa,” she whispered and climbed up on her father’s lap. “Should I cut your hair too, Papa?” Elizabeth smiled sweetly.

”Elizabeth! Tomorrow you are to go to Uncle Joe and tell him how sorry you are and ask for his forgiveness!” Adam untwined the little girl’s arms from around his neck. He knew he was supposed to be firm but she was so cute. “We are sleeping here on the Ponderosa tonight so you can tell Uncle your apologies first thing in the morning. First thing, Elizabeth. Even before breakfast.”

“I am so scared. Will you go with me Papa?” Elizabeth pleaded. “Uncle Joe will be so mad at me.” She rested her cheek against his vest. “Please Papa?”

Adam held his sweet baby to his chest and gently smoothed her hair. “Of course, sweetheart.”

 

Chapter 2

 

“You want to get some lunch? Or a beer? Or both?” Holding his hat in his hand, Joe stood in his brother’s Virginia City office looking over Adam’s shoulder as he worked at his drawing board. Joe had just come from the barber. He had the shortest haircut he had ever had since he had head lice as a boy. That time, Little Joe and Dean Newkirk decided to put axle grease on their heads to kill the itch. There hair was so gummed up that even though Hoss tried to shampoo them up with lye soap; he had to cut both boys’ hair to clean up the mess.

“Good haircut, Joe,” Adam glanced up from his drawing board for an instant.

“Too short for my taste. Guess it will grow back.” Joe set his tan hat back on his head.

“Can’t go to lunch until about two o’clock. Have a couple of appointments.”

”Fine with me. I’ll go do some errands. Whose house is this? It looks like a castle…bigger than that new fancy house Jack Fischer built on the hill.” Joe leaned on the back of his brother’s chair.

“Don’t jiggle me. Look at the name on the corner of the sketch, Little Brother.” Adam didn’t look up, as he knew he would probably laugh if he looked Joe in the face.

Joe looked down at the bottom of the sketch and read aloud “Residential design Cartwright.”

“Cartwright? You are moving Adam?” Joe’s heart skipped a beat. Adam had always wanted to live in Boston or San Francisco and it was only that Kate ran the Enterprise and refused to move from the security of the house she had inherited from her Aunt Mim that they had settled in Virginia City. “You are not moving away, Adam?” Joe gasped. He clenched his fists nervously so he wouldn’t start hollering.

“Move? Why would you think that, Buddy?” Adam continued sketching in the ornate detail work on the windows without looking up at his brother.

”The name on the drawing, Cartwright.” Joe ran his finger on the lower left hand corner of the sketch.” That’s a mighty big, fancy house. Like a castle. One of those big castle houses on Nob Hill or Beacon Street or Fifth Avenue in New York.” Joe bit his lip and silently prayed that he was wrong. What would he do if his brother and Katie moved back east or to San Francisco?

”Read the entire name, Little Brother,” Adam didn’t even look up from his drawing. He added some trim details on the roof line.

”E. and J. Cartwright. Elizabeth and Jessica? What the heck are you doing?” Joe asked.

”Look at the scale, Joe”

”Scale? How much a house weighs?” Joe was getting more confused. “What kind of scale?”

Adam pointed a long finger at the measuring line in the lower right hand corner of the picture. It looked like a little ruler. “This scale. One inch is one foot. This scale.”

”Still looks like an awful big house.” Joe stared at the ornate house. There were turrets and a crenulated roofline like the pictures in the King Arthur book Adam read to him when he was boy. It even had a draw bridge and one room that seemed to be labeled as a throne room.

”Joseph!” Adam laughed and pushed his chair back from the drawing board. He looked up at his brother’s anxious face. “Guess you know livestock and lumber better than reading architectural plans. This whole house is six feet tall. Six feet five inches to be exact. It is a playhouse for my girls. It is a castle for my daughters. I’m going to fit it out with furniture too.”

Joe laughed and looked at the Cartwright Castle. “Fit for Princess Elizabeth and Princess Eleanor Jessica. Or has Elizabeth promoted herself to Queen yet?”

Adam chuckled. “No, I think they are both still Princesses and letting Kate be the queen for a while longer.”

” Think the Princess will let any of her loyal peasants visit?” Joe smiled and sighed with relief.

Adam wasn’t going anywhere.

 

Chapter 3

 

Meg Cartwright was not a simple woman.

Joe had originally been drawn to her blonde luminous beauty and blue eyes. Joe soon learned that there was far more to the woman than her looks that made him fall in love with her. Then he found there was far more about Meg that made her love his wife more each and every day.

The longer the Cartwright family knew her, the more they realized how complex and inscrutable she was. On the surface, she was attractive, unflappable and fun loving. She could more than hold her own face to face with Joe, or stand side by side with him. She usually picked the stance.

Joe would battle with her and she would dig in her heels. Meg could raise the heat on him and he would melt into a puddle. That was until Joe decided he had more than enough of her shenanigans and he held his ground. He needed to settle down and stop his own wild ways. That is what happened when he insisted that she marry him or he would end their affair.

“Marry me or nothing,” Joe had insisted in her parent’s parlor. In a matter of weeks, the wedding on the Ponderosa was arranged and Meg was Mrs. Joseph Francis Cartwright. Adam and Kate were confident that the match was perfect. All the children adored her, especially Elizabeth who thought she was like a princess and Uncle Joe a prince. Eric was comfortable with Meg and everyone assumed he remembered her role in his rescue when his mother was murdered. Eric would allow her to care for him when Joe or Ben was not around. The weeks when Joe lay sick in bed, Eric would sit with Meg by his bedside and would contentedly sleep on her lap.

There seemed to be a wall between Meg and Ben. Ben had hesitations about Meg and he could never really explain why. He kept his own counsel and wisely told Kate and Adam that if Joe was happy, he was happy for his son. Meg was awkwardly polite to Ben. While Joe was sick she even helped him with the ranch ledgers. Joe had grudgingly been keeping them up while his father and brother were sick and no one could decipher his sloppy handwriting but Meg. She sat for hours neatly recopying her husband’s entries and rebalancing the columns to Ben’s great delight. Ben accepted her offer of keeping them up but that was about as far as their interactions went.

Joe decided to ask Adam for his observations and came by his office. He said something to his brother about how Meg seemed awkward around their father and how he seemed so cool to Meg.” Pa and Kate get on so well. How come he can’t feel the same about Meg? And why is she so afraid of Pa?”

Adam thought for an instant and couldn’t come up with a real reason “Don’t forget, Little Brother, that you and Kate grew up together. She was like one of the family long before she and I got married. How many times have you heard Pa say that Katie is the daughter he never had? Meg is sort of a stranger to Pa. Just give it time.”

“Giver her time?”

Adam nodded, “Come on, Little Brother. You ran up to Placerville, proposed and made that sweet girl marry you in the blink of an eye. Then you forced her to move in during the worst rainstorm in the Territory history and share your bedroom with Eric walking in an out and Pa down the hall.”

”But…” Joe tried to interrupt.

“You even have that picture of an Indian Chief opposite your bed that gives me the willies. The eyes follow you all over the room.”

”I asked her if she wanted to change anything around and she said it was fine.”

”That’s what she said. Doesn’t mean she likes it. And you didn’t even take her on a honeymoon, Pal. Thought you were supposed to be the romantic brother and I was the sensible one!” Adam laughed and leaned back in his desk chair.

“But.. The rain and I was sick and the barn burned and Eric and now its round up..” Joe raced to get the words out before Adam launched into another long lecture about the sanctity of marriage and respecting women and geometry and Shakespeare and whatever else he could toss in for good measure. Adam did love to lecture.

”Give her time.”

 

Chapter 4

 

Meg never had any close girl friends. Ever since her older sisters were killed, the only female she had really been close with was her mother. The rest of the time she had spent in the company of men and boys. She grew to be more comfortable with her younger stepbrothers and her stepfather and the wranglers working with horses and cattle at the auction lot.

She was used to the rough, wild ways of cowpokes and had learned to cuss and spit just like they did. Joe was always amazed at how his beautiful, blonde wife never flinched at the rudest remarks or the vilest manner of the roughest men.

“Joe, you have to realize that I had to run that auction business when my daddy wasn’t around or my brothers were really too small to be much protection.” She handed him a slice of her freshly baked chocolate cake. Ben was tucking Eric into bed while the newlyweds sat alone at the dining room table.

”Guess you had to be pretty tough to keep the customers and your wranglers in line.”

Meg grinned at her husband and playfully jabbed the knife in the air like a sword. “Nothing bothers me. I’m not afraid of anything or anyone,” she bragged. She lifted her head and smiled defiantly. Her freshly washed hair shined like pure gold in the light of the chandelier.

Joe laughed “No one? Looks to me like Pa scares you.”

Meg looked down at the cake she was slicing and didn’t answer her husband. She tried to change the subject. ”I like your haircut. It looks handsome so short.” She thought he looked handsome even with the chunk cut out of his curls.

“Pa does. Pa scares you, Meggie. Doesn’t he?” Joe smiled impishly as he took a big bite of cake. “Pa scares you Meg.” He persisted.

”Eat your cake.” Meg stood up from the table and walked briskly into the kitchen. “I’m going to make some fresh coffee.”

Joe sat alone at the long table looking his chocolate cake and trying to figure out what was going on. “How could Meg be afraid of my Pa?” Joe thought as he poked his fork at the cake. He could not understand any of this at all. Ben Cartwright was known for his kindness and gentle ways to women and small children. Joe had never seen him treat Meg with anything but respect and hospitality.

He heard Meg rattling around in the kitchen and the coffee pot bang on the black iron stove.

How could his father scare Meg? Joe poked his fork into the cake again. He was about to push the plate away from him but he remembered how much he loved the way Meg baked chocolate cake and changed his mind. Meg wasn’t much of a cook but her chocolate cake was mighty good and too delicious to leave behind. Joe decided he would finish his slice and maybe have a second piece with the coffee Meg was making. He would try to figure out why Meg avoided his father another time.

 

Chapter 5

 

Meg Cartwright had the natural grace and style that would allow her to rub elbows with royalty or the most persnickety snobbish ladies in Virginia City. She could put on her battered Stetson and her dusty navy blue woolen coat and stand in the wind all day supervising the corral with her blonde hair blowing in the wind and still maintain her amazing femininity. The men knew not to stare noticeably at Joe Cartwright’s wife if they wanted to avoid a fight with him. And they minded their manners if he wasn’t around too knowing that any of the other Cartwrights or the old timers like the Newkirks or Shorty Magee would reprimand them as well.

“She sure is one pretty gal,” a wrangler stared at Meg.

“Sure would like her beside me on in my bed,” one of the newer men eyed her as she walked away from the corral.

“She could keep my cold bones warm any night,” the first man grinned. He lit up a hand rolled smoke and offered the fixings to his friend.

“Your dead bones, if Joe Cartwright hears your remarks,” Casey Newkirk warned from behind them. “That’s Mrs. Cartwright.”

The two men realized they were looking to get punched out by the boss if he found out they had been eyeing his wife. They quickly got back to their work and watched what they said from then on.

Kate was always amazed that no matter what Meg wore she had a certain natural elegant style. “It doesn’t matter if she is wearing that new violet watered silk dress or one of Joe’s old work shirts, Meg just looks grand.” Kate smiled as she told Nancy Foster. The two women were sitting at Kate’s huge cluttered desk at the newspaper office reading the next edition of the Enterprise. Kate was proofreading the next edition for Phil Bartlett and Nancy was catching up on the latest news in Virginia City. “There is a sale at the that new dress shop and there is going to be a box social at the Grange Hall. Cattleman’s Association Meeting next week. And look who got engaged? Jake Harding and Mary Bellamy’s youngest girl.”

“I could go to the best dress maker in San Francisco and spend hours getting ready and doing my hair and all and Meg could just toss on a feed sack and look better.” Kate sighed.

Nancy laughed, “She is so pretty, Kate. You look fine too.”

“Me? Goodness look at me! Adam tells me I am a dirt magnet!” Kate threw her arms up in the air. She was wearing a new white blouse with a high neck and a black full skirt. There were already black ink smudges on her snowy blouse and white dust on her skirt. “Meg could clean out the barn and still look like she was coming to a tea party.”

“And you my darling friend could come to a tea party and look like you were cleaning out a barn,”

”Thank you dearest,” Kate laughed. “You always say the sweetest things.” She glanced over at the sleeping baby on the other side of her office. Jessica Eleanor was soundly sleeping in the same wicker bassinet that Kate had used in the Enterprise office for Elizabeth. She was the most easy going of all her children.

”No need to thank me Kate, darling. What are best friends for?” Nancy giggled. She turned the page to the obituary section. “Look who died! Obadiah Biel. You remember him? His daughter was that wild girl Jennifer?”

”No, not really. They lived here after I had moved to San Francisco with my parents,” Kate answered. “Wasn’t she that wild blonde girl that Little Joe went around with for awhile? She wanted to join the circus and got kidnapped and all?”

”That’s the one. She was even too wild for Joe. Hard to believe that. She even went around with Jack Fischer and he was already married. Can you imagine?”

”Goodness gracious! Jack Fischer is such a…”

”Despicable cad?” Nancy grinned. “It runs in the Fischer family. The Biels left town around then. The obituary says, “Mr. Biel is survived by his daughter Jennifer Lassiter and her two daughters, Mary Fran and Jacqueline. Guess Jennifer got married to someone or other Lassiter. Wonder if he was in the circus?”

”Or a kidnapper or a snake oil salesman. I told Adam if he spoiled Elizabeth that was who she would run off with. Or a riverboat gambler.”

”With long curly hair,” Nancy laughed. The two women had been friends since they started school. “I can’t imagine how you had a girl like Elizabeth. And now a second daughter. I always wanted a sweet little girl to fuss over and dress up. Not smelly, loud noisy boys like Roy and Clemmie and Charlie.”

Kate stacked up the papers and waved to the copy boy to come pick up the corrections for Phil Bartlett to run. “Elizabeth takes after my mother. Remember how she used to go wild when I wouldn’t wear my bonnet all summer and would ride horses out on the Ponderosa with Little Joe instead of sitting home and embroidering doilies?”

Nancy smiled at the memory. “ Oh you terrible, wild thing you! That is why she dragged you off to San Francisco.” They both knew it had really been the murder of Kate’s uncle, right in the Enterprise office that had made her mother insist on going somewhere “civilized”.

“Good thing Elizabeth has you and Meg to help her pick out all those flowery pink dresses and ruffled pinafores that she loves. She loves that eyelet petticoat you sewed for her. Did you see all those dresses and hats that Amanda O’Mara sent the girls from Boston?”

Nancy nodded and folded the paper she had been reading. “So beautiful. We should have a tea party for Meg next week to introduce her to all the ladies in town. Then we can let Meg meet all the ladies too. Invite Bessie Sue and Mrs. Victor and Mrs. Martin. We can have little cakes and sandwiches. Even invite Old Mrs. Stanley Fischer and Melissa Fischer too.”

“Even though Jack is a despicable cad?” Kate teased.

” Petite Fours and water cress sandwiches and crumpets and marmalade. Elizabeth can wear her new dress too.”

”And we can serve Clem and Adam the left over tea sandwiches for dinner. Such a manly feast! They will surely love it!” Kate said decisively. The two friends giggled like school girls at the thought of their hungry husbands coming home to a dinner of wilted tea sandwiches and Kate’s butter cookies and mint tea.

“Oh just let Clem serve them to anyone he has locked up in the jail. Some horse thief or one of the rowdy drunks from the Bucket of Blood. “They laughed so hard that Nancy go hic cups and Katie had to pound her on her back.

“Ooh Sheriff, please hang me rather than making me eat this sissy grub!” Kate imitated the imaginary prisoner.

 

Chapter 6

 

Ponderosa Ranch

Late spring 1875

The job was a simple routine that experienced crew did automatically with little thought or discussion among them. The rhythms were in place for years. Rope the calf, toss him down, brand the pine tree brand with the hot iron, notch an ear for the count, then one quick pass with the knife and the young bulls became steers. Occasionally one might have been held aside for the boss to scrutinize first and decide if the animal had potential for breeding stock, but that was the only break in the task. Simple as that. One man applied little dab of liniment to prevent infection and off the calf went back to the rest of the herd.

It was dirty, messy work, but essential to the round up and the livelihood of the cattle raising part of the ranch. Joe handled the next cow then turned to the men. “I have to go back up to the chuck wagon to check on Shorty. He burned his hand pretty bad when that white faced calf jumped up. I want to make sure Shorty goes back home and has his daughter Trudy tend to him..”

”Let Casey take his place, Joe. He’s up looking for strays on the ridge.” One of the men suggested as he slapped the rump of a calf to send back to the herd. “We need another pair of hands with you and Shorty not here.”

”I’ll see if I can whistle him back here. Otherwise I’ll send some one else up.”
Joe got on Cochise and trotted back to the camp. Shorty would come back to work if Joe doesn’t insist on him going home. His daughter Trudy would fuss over him and make sure the hand didn’t get infected. She was growing up to be a pretty young woman with a good head on her shoulders. She often helped out in the Cartwright house when Hop Sing was away or things got to be too much for him. Trudy really wanted to get a job in Virginia City and live in town.

From the time he could walk, Joe remembered watching the work of the round up. First, as a tiny boy, barely able to walk, Joe watched the branding as he sat in front of Pa in the saddle on Ben’s horse. Then Little Joe helped his brothers, trying desperately, and often unsuccessfully to prove he could keep up with them. There was a piece of time when the youngest brother was known for squirming out of work and finding a shady tree to nap under or his talent for claiming to ride off hunting strays but really to be riding off to meet up with some attractive girl.

As the years passed, Joe surprised everyone with how hard he worked and how good he was at motivating the crew and getting them to work as a team. Like his father, he would never ask any of his men to do a job he wouldn’t do himself or work any harder than he worked. Now he was the top man, proudly running the whole crew. A few of the old timers, like Shorty or Hays Newkirk had watched Joe grow up on the Ponderosa but a good many of the men were new enough that they only knew Joe Cartwright as boss. They had never worked cattle with Adam Cartwright. To them, Adam was a prosperous Virginia City businessman who came by every once in a while with his young son. Most of them never knew Hoss Cartwright; he had been dead three, four years when they came to work on the ranch. Mr. Ben Cartwright, the old man, the owner was the big boss. Joe Cartwright was the honcho on the job.

The summer Joe was laid up in Boston, he would make himself fall asleep by mentally counting cattle. He would picture a day just like this one, the warm sun on his neck, the sound of cows bellowing, the dust, the smell of the cattle and mixing with the strong scent of the pine forest. The gentle breeze blew down from the mountains. Joe would try to imagine it all while his shoulder throbbed painfully and he tried to deal with the plaster cast cutting into his arm on a hot, humid Boston night.

Now, as much as Joe desperately wished he could break wild horses, every time he was tempted to hop on a bronco he remembered that summer and knew that he would be crazy to risk smashing his shoulder again. Then he would think of those nights he struggled to soothe himself into sleep counting cattle on a hot Boston night and he would reconsider.

 

Chapter 7

 

Ponderosa Ranch

1846

The front door burst open and hit the wall with a loud bang, causing Marie Cartwright to jump and almost drop the pastries she was packing in the basket.

“Mama! The rig is all hitched up. Mr. Newkirk said that he can still drive us up to Pa if you changed your mind,” Hoss called to his mother. “And he said you are welcome to leave Little Joe with Mrs. Newkirk if you changed your mind.

“No! No, no! Mama. I want to go with you! “ Little Joe shrieked chasing after his brother. “I want to see Papa and Adam! Don’t leave me behind!” The four year old started to wail and clung onto his mother’s skirt.

“Joseph, darling. Don’t cry. You are going with Hoss and me to see your Papa and Adam. I am sure they miss you as much as you miss them. Maybe more.” Marie hugged her tiny son.

”I want my Pa!” Joe wept pitifully clinging to his mother.

Hoss patted his back. “I’m sorry Mama. I was just telling you what Mr. Newkirk said. I didn’t mean to get the baby crying.”

”I’m no baby!” Joe sniffed as his mother picked him up and kissed him. “ I don’t want to stay with Mrs. Newkirk.”

”Mrs. Newkirk has enough to deal with taking care of Dean and the girls. Now take these things into the wagon. Did you pack up those blankets?”

”Yes, Mama.”

”And the warm jackets. Don’t forget the jackets. It will get cold sleeping out tonight.”

“We are sleeping up there?” Hoss grinned with delight.

“Yes, Papa and Adam will be gone for weeks on the cattle drive and this will be the last time he gets to see us for quite a while. I know your father will be very happy to see all of us,” Marie smoothed her hair and smiled in the mirror. “I miss your father very much. I’ll miss him while he and Adam are gone too.”

”Me too Mama,” Hoss agreed. “But don’t worry, I’ll take good care of all the chores for Pa and Adam while they are gone.”

Marie kissed her step son’s chubby cheek.” You are a very good boy. Now you get Little Joe’s things into the buckboard and I will carry this basket of pastries and we shall leave.”

”Hooray!” Little Joe cheered. He had been afraid to be left behind and now he was going to see Pa and Adam and get delicious pastries too.

 

Chapter 8

 

Camp that night was made not far from one of the line shacks on the far edge near Cherry Creek. Little Joe sat on a rock and watched as Hays and Hoss tended to all the horses in the ramuda together until it was time to turn in. “Make sure you set just where I planted you Little Joe. Don’t want these horses stepping on you. This ain’t like the stable at home. And these horses are tired from working the cattle all day.” Hays Newkirk knew Little Joe from the day he was born and was aware of his fascination with horses and his fearlessness around them. “These horses don’t expect any little boys to be around and they will be spooked if you get where you don’t belong.”

“And if those horses get spooked, they can stir up the cattle and they can stampede,” Hoss reminded him.

The four-year-old boy desperately wanted to get up close to all the horses but Pa had told him he had to follow orders or he would not be allowed to stay. “Mama will be very upset if she has to take you all the way home,” Ben told him firmly.

Marie Cartwright smiled up at her husband “And Papa will be very upset if Mama has to go home.”

Ben blushed. “Marie, the men will hear you.”

Marie smiled coyly. “Joseph do what your Papa tells you to do and Hoss watch out for him. Adam watch both of the little ones.”

”Mama and I are.. Mama and I are…” Ben stammered holding Marie’s warm, soft hand in his. He was anxious to be alone with his beautiful young wife. He and Adam were leaving early in the morning on the cattle drive and Ben wouldn’t see Marie for weeks. “Mama and I are…” Ben started. He was at a loss for suitable words and anxious to be alone with his wife.

“Taking a ride up to the line shack.” Marie smiled and took his muscular arm and pulled him away from his boys.

After eating supper with the men, Adam took Little Joe by the hand. “Come on Hoss, time for you two to turn in for the night. Get your gear.”
He led the younger boys into a quiet corner away from the card playing and joking and harmonica music The two tired boys lay down on the ground near the front of the chuck wagon. “You don’t even have to put on a night shirt when you sleep out here, Buddy,” Adam grinned as he tucked his brothers in.” You two go to sleep. I’m going to sit with the men now. If you need me, just call out. I’m going to be just on the other side of the supply wagons.

The brothers lay there, bundled in their respective bedrolls, drifting toward sleep. The night sounds of the herd and the men on the other side of the fire talking and laughing were the only noises to break the silence.

Little Joe lay there, unable to fall asleep. He really wanted to go over and be with the men. They seemed to be having so much fun, like a big party. Next to him Hoss lay flat on his back, gazing up at the stars. His blue eyes were growing heavy and he was on the verge of falling asleep.

“Hoss?” Joe whispered.

Little Joe scooted closer to his brother, poking his shoulder. “Hey, Hoss,” he whispered louder. “Where is Mama? And Papa? I want to kiss them good night.” He thought it was a good way to get out of his bedroll.

Just like at home, Little Joe frequently snuck out of bed after he was tucked in with requests for a hug or a kiss or complaints about his nightshirt chafing him or a scary noise. Occasionally he fooled his parents and got to stay downstairs with everyone else by the fireplace. Adam had told him a story about the animals coming in from the barn for a party and dancing while Little Joe slept and the little boy believed every word.

“All the chickens dance and the horses sing, Little Joe,” Adam told him. He never intended his baby brother to take it seriously but the boy did. On a regular basis, Joe would creep downstairs to see what fun the older members of the family were having but was yet to find any horses sitting on the settee or chickens waltzing on the dining room table.

Hoss, who had just fallen asleep, awoke with a jolt. “Wh…what is it?” He rubbed at his blue eyes.

“I said, where is my Mama?” Joe slid over closer to Hoss. “I want my Mama, Hoss.” Suddenly Joe realized that he really missed his mother. He wasn’t just fooling to get out of bed. He wanted his mama.

Hoss wrapped his arm around his baby brother and pulled him close. “Mama and Pa went for a walk. A long quiet private walk. They said for you to go to sleep and they would be back to eat breakfast with you.”

”But I want my mama,” Joe’s lip started to tremble. “I want my mama.”

”Don’t cry Little Joe!” Hoss patted his brother’s back. Joe cuddled up closer and put his head against his brother’s chest and started to weep.

“Adam, there’s some baby crying over by the chuck wagon. You better tend to it before he stampedes the cattle,” One of the hands said.

“Someone go shut that kid up,”

‘Quit crying, Boy or I’ll give you somethin’ to cry about!” shouted another rough voice from the other side of the wagon.

Hoss heard the belligerent voice and pulled Little Joe closer protectively. “Stop crying, you’ll make a stampede.

“I want my mama!” Little Joe wailed louder “I want my mama and my papa!” He didn’t want a horse or a herd of cattle to step on him and squash him, either. “Mama!”

Hoss started to cry to suddenly he missed his parents and he felt terrible that his brother was so upset.

“Mama!” Joe wept. “I don’t want to be mashed in a stampede Hoss,” Little Joe whimpered.

Hoss rubbed his brother’s hair. “Don’t worry, Little Brother. No cattle is gonna stampede, just don’t cry and go to sleep.”

Little Joe sniffled “I want my Mama!’

“Adam, go tend to him or I will!” One of the men growled angrily. “I’ll take my belt to those two brats.”

Adam felt he was finally gaining their respect as a grown man, working side by side with the cowboys and pulling his own load. They gave him no special breaks as Ben Cartwright’s boy and he felt he needed to prove he could keep up and even do more than any of the other hands on the round up. And now he had to go take care of a crying baby.

His father had told Adam to keep track of things, especially his brothers while he and Marie spent a bit of time together. They would be gone for weeks moving the herd and this would be the last opportunity Pa would have to see his wife and Hoss and Little Joe before he and Adam left with the herd the next morning.

Grinning in spite of himself, Hays gave Adam an affectionate slap on the back before turning his attention back to the men. ”Go take care of those boys, Adam. Before the men get real nasty. Soon as they fall back asleep you can come back with the men, here. “

Adam grunted and clenched his fists.

“Go on now, boy. Your Pa and Marie are counting on you. You got plenty of time in the next month on the trail to sit with the men and listen to their talk. More than you can stand. Tonight your Pa is counting on you to tend those boys while he and Marie are..”

“Taking a walk?” Adam awkwardly looked down at the ground as he spoke. The tall dark haired boy blushed at the thought. He knew how much his father missed his wife when they were apart and they would be on the cattle drive for a long time.

Hays gave the boy a shove towards the shadowy corner where Joe and Hoss were crying.

“Shut those boys up!” Mick shouted as Little Joe cried louder.

Adam sighed and stretched his long legs. He was sick and tired of constantly playing nursemaid to his little brothers. He had really looked forward to sitting with the men after a long day riding drag on the herd.

The boy walked around the campfire to the other side of the chuck wagon and kneeled down next to his two younger brothers. “You both better not cry any more. Or one of those men will come over and tan your sorry butts. You are embarrassing me crying like a little girl for your mother. Pa too. No Cartwright cries like a girl.” Adam growled impatiently.

“Little Joe is scared Adam. Don’t be so cross,” Hoss wiped his own tears. He couldn’t bear to see his baby brother upset and he would cry in sympathy.

Adam sighed and kneeled down on the ground. He loved that baby brother more than he could dared admit. He pulled the boy up into his arms and held him close, just as his father would have had he been there.” Don’t be scared, Buddy, Nothing bad is going to happen to you. I won’t let it.”

Joe clung to him. “I miss my Mama, Adam. I want Pa” The little boy was more tired than scared. He could hear his brother’s heart beat as he rested his face against his soft flannel shirt

Adam set him back down and tucked the blanket around him. “Think how big that herd is, Joe. All that Cartwright cattle, our cattle. Can you figure how many we have Joe? Thousand or more, Pa said. He said we really have a good herd. Picture that.”

”Lot’s Adam,” Hoss smiled. “More than a thousand?”

Adam nodded. “Can you count them? Picture how many we got?”

”Lots!” Joe looked into his brother’s face. Adam dug out his bandana and wiped Joe’s nose and passed the dirty cloth to Hoss. He blew his nose and gave the bandana back to Adam.

“Can you count them? How high can you count Joe?” Adam soothed.

”Eight? One, two, three, seven eight,” Little Joe unsuccessfully imitated how his mother had taught him.

Hoss sighed wearily. “ He can’t count a lick Adam,”

Adam put his index finger across his lips, “Shh, Joe is counting the cattle. I think he is doing just fine.”

Hoss smiled realizing that Adam had calmed Little Joe down. They could see Joe had closed his eyes and was immediately asleep.

Hoss heard the angry voice of the disgruntled cowboy. “Adam?”

His older brother patted Hoss’ shoulder protectively.

“Hey don’t care if that kid is the bosses son, don’t want to hear no baby cry,” The angry voice came from the other side of the wagons.

”Ahh, Shut up! The kid is quiet, Adam got them settled in.” another cowboy commented.

“Hey, one day them boys will be your boss, “ Hays Newkirk warned firmly.

 

Chapter 9

 

June 1875

Ponderosa Ranch

”Mrs. Cartwright is up here, boys… watch your language fellers, we got a lady up here!” Joe heard his foreman Hays Newkirk holler to the hands. Hays was always a gentleman and insisted on his men acting respectfully around women and strongly enforced the Cartwrights rules about no drinking or fighting on the job.

Hays was especially concerned about Joe’s bride. He had known Joseph his entire life and even remembered Meg as a little girl when her father owned the Circle D. Carl Duprey was always nasty to him but Rebecca Newkirk and Meg’s mother, Emma had always gotten along. Hays was delighted that Joe had finally settled down and had married. He was also appreciative that Joe was so good to his youngest child Casey.

Sitting on Cochise, Joe watched Casey Newkirk lead three fat calves back up to the main herd. The spring might have been terribly wet; the rainiest in decades according to the Enterprise, but it had lead to the thickest emerald grass and the fattest herd of cattle that Joe Cartwright had seen in years. As he watched his men move the large herd to summer pasture, Joe was ecstatic at how well his cattle had thrived and the efficient job his men were doing. He had a seasoned hard working crew this summer and they worked well together with few conflicts. The sun was warm on his back and a cool breeze was coming off the mountains.

His father had come up to join him earlier in the afternoon just as the men were finishing up lunch at the chuck wagon. Joe hadn’t really expected to see him for a few days and was delighted to have Ben see how well things were going. Both father and son tried to figure out when they had ever seen a better herd of cattle than what was shaping up in front of them.

Joe pointed to some cowboys herding a few dozen head of cattle down the side of the hill. “See those white faced calves, Pa. That bunch is from that bull Meg told me to buy three years ago. That bull I argued with her about that came from over in Stockton? She was right. It was a good investment.”
Ben poured the dregs of his coffee into the ground. “She certainly was right on that bull. Look at those calves.”

”Hays said there are a few dozen more up on the other side of the rise. Casey and Shorty are headed up there now to drive them down. “

“Isn’t Sam coming up to help?” Joe checked tightened the cinch on his saddle.

Ben shook his head. “I think he had some other work to do for Adam or Kate or some one.” Joe looked at his father and raised his eyebrow.
”What else did that boy have to do?” Joe was a bit hurt that his nephew hadn’t come up to work. Adam had always insisted that Sam learned everything there was to running the Ponderosa even though it looked unlikely Sam would ever become a rancher. It was more likely Sam was going to join Adam in Stoddard and Bruce or Kate at the Enterprise or even study to be a doctor than work on the Ponderosa. “What did Sam have to do that he couldn’t come up with you? “

Ben shrugged and abruptly changed the subject. “Did the men finish up by the creek?”

Joe shook his head “Not yet Pa. Can you believe it! Look at the herd and we didn’t even do that whole other side by Cherry Creek or most of the west side over by the ridge. Can you believe it? “

Ben proudly patted Joe on the back. “Looks like this is going to be a mighty fine herd, Joseph. Maybe even the best turn out we ever had, son. Never expected this last winter, what with me and most of the hands being so sick and Adam hurt, then you getting sick too and the barn burning… We have some strong Ponderosa stock.”

”The cattle or the people?”

”Both. People and the cattle. . Looks like your hard work paid off, son. Strong Ponderosa stock.“ Ben smiled proudly.

”Our hard work Pa. All of us. You, Me, Meg, all the men. All of us.”

” I never thought we would get out from under last winter and this spring.”
Joe grinned broadly. “ Me neither, Pa. Getting married to Meg brought us all good luck. Meg and Eric.”

Ben smiled and nodded. He climbed up on Buck “I’m going to see how the boys are doing down by the creek. I’ll stay up here tonight.”

”You don’t need to Pa.” Joe was thinking how sick his father had been that winter and that he was just getting back to doing the work he used to handle with such ease. “Go home and sleep in a nice soft, warm bed not the hard ground here.”

“I’ve slept on hard ground before.”

”Then go home and keep Meg company.”

Ben kicked his heels into Buck “No, I think I’ll stay up here tonight. You may need an extra man up here tonight.”

Joe shrugged. “Glad to have your company Pa, but their isn’t any need. I have a good crew and plenty of help. Do what ever suits you.” He vault mounted Cochise and rode in the opposite direction of his father. “I want to see how the men are doing down towards the creek.”

”Mrs. Cartwright is up here, boys… watch your language boys, we got a lady up here. Joe heard Shorty relaying Hays Newkirk’s warning. “Mrs. Cartwright, Joe is over there down in the gully!” Joe could hear Shorty direct the female visitor from the other side of the cluster of trees.

“Mrs. Cartwright?” Joe thought as he turned Cochise around to face the visitor. “Why would Katie be up here? Then he realizes it is Mrs. Joe Cartwright that the men are talking about, Mrs. Cartwright is Meg. His Meg, his Mrs. Cartwright. Mrs. Joseph Cartwright. His bride of less than two months. He still wasn’t quite used to hearing Meg Thackery called Mrs. Cartwright.

Meg came up to see him. Joe smiled as he saw her ride up to him on Goldie. A cluster of oaks and brush separated them from the cowboys working the herd.

Meg looked so pretty. Her blonde hair was shining in the late afternoon sunlight and her sapphire blue eyes sparkled. She was wearing a dark blue skirt and a soft purple blouse that was open at her throat.

“Well, well, Mrs. Cartwright! What brings you up here?” Joe jumped off of his horse and lifted Meg to the ground. He held onto her a moment longer than he really needed to.

“I miss you so much, Joe. Come home soon!” Meg threw her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him.

He held her close. “I missed you too. We’ve been working mighty hard.” They stood like that for a long time holding each other. Finally, the kiss ended and Meg put her head on Joe’s dusty shoulder. Joe’s hand crept up her back until it was resting on the nape of her slender neck. He put his cheek on the top of her head as it rested against him. He could smell her hair; it was sweetly fragrant from the lilac soap she always used.

“You smell so nice. You always smell so pretty. Lilacs.” He sighed appreciatively trying to inhale all of her. “I’m so sweaty and dirty, Meggie. Haven’t had a bath or a shave since I left the house. “

”I don’t care.” She kissed his filthy, whiskery face. “I miss you. I don’t care how dirty or smelly you are. I love how you smell.”

“You must be crazy in love if you don’t mind how I stink,” Joe hazel eyes twinkled Slowly he leaned down and lovingly kissed his wife’s forehead, then her cheeks, then her lips. “I love you so Meggie. I’m so glad you thought to ride up and visit. Did you see how huge the herd is?

“It’s wonderful!” She turned, and again she was in his arms and lost in his kisses. They broke apart and both laughed. “I can’t believe you are here!” He smiled widely and held her out at arms length staring at his wife.

He realized that when he was away from here he used to count the cattle to fall asleep. The last few nights sleeping on the dirt, near the campfire, Joe had thought of Meg and how she felt next to him and the sound of her voice and the color of her eyes to put himself to sleep. “Now I know why Pa was so glad my mother came up to visit.”

”Are you glad I came up here? I was afraid you might be angry with me,” Meg looked at his face to monitor his reaction.

Joe laughed and pushed his hat back so she could clearly see his wide smile, his white teeth shining in contrast with his tanned, dirty face. “Do I look angry Meggie?” They both laughed again as Joe lifted her off the ground and twirled her around as if they were dancing. “Do I dance angry?” Joe teased. “ Do I kiss angry?” Joe kissed her quickly.

“No you crazy cowboy, you look surprised. Happy and surprised to see me here. Dirty too! But happy.” She was glad none of his men could see them behind the cluster of trees. If the wranglers saw the boss acting so foolishly goofy and love struck, they would tease him mercilessly for months. Meg knew that it was important for the ramrod to have the respect of the men and there was no way she was going to damage how Joe was viewed by his men.

Joe pulled her close. “We used to have so much fun together,” he sighed longing for some of the frivolous times they shared. “Remember when we would just be able to drop every thing just to be together and have fun.”
”We certainly did!” Meg laughed tossing her head back.

”Don’t think this all has been much fun for you here on the Ponderosa these last few months. First I got too sick to go on our honeymoon and now I am working day and night. And you’ve been taking such good care of Eric.”

“Hush, Joe. Just kiss me again.” Meg smiled at him.

“Yes, M’am, Mrs. Cartwright.” Joe leaned over and kissed his wife again. He found it very easy to follow Meg’s orders this time.

“Pa told me that my mother would come up with to the round up from when they first got married. Then later on she brought me up when I was just a little baby. Adam said the first times she put me in a basket in the buckboard and took me up to visit just like I was a picnic lunch. She drove up here with Hoss and me and a basket of pastries.”

Meg laughed. “She brought a little baby up here?” She could picture an infant in a basket tucked in with the napkins and the lemonade and a bowl of potato salad. Hopefully, someday soon she would be doing the same thing with the dozen babies she and Joe would have.

Joe nodded. “Every year, she brought me here. I always thought it was because Pa wanted me to learn about the ranch like Hoss and Adam; like Adam tries to do with his boy. I remember Pa would put me up in front of him on his horse and show me around to all the men and ask what I thought about the herd or the water hole and the like. He asked me real serious as if I knew something. Now I know I was wrong.”

“Wrong?” Meg leaned her head on his shoulder and held him tightly. She couldn’t believe how much she loved him but was totally unable to tell him in words.

”Pa missed my mother and she missed him. It had nothing to do with me and my brothers.”

“I missed you so much. Stay here for the night.” Meg pulled his hand “I miss you so. I want to stay here with you.”

“Here?” Joe looked around. There was nothing around but cattle and the cowboys tending them on the other side of the hill.

“ Gee it looks like it might rain, Joe” Meg commented threading her fingers through his.

“Rain? Not to me Meg? Rain? “ There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

”Maybe we should go over to that line shack over the other side of the hill.” Meg pulled on Joe’s hand.

“The line shack? Joe raised his eyebrows. “I have to go back to the men. We have a lot of cattle to move…”

“Your father is up there. They can manage without you for a bit. For the whole night.”

“I suppose so.” He leaned over and kissed her again. For an instant all Joe could think of was Meg. All the cattle on earth could disappear for all he cared. “I really missed you Meggie.”

“I missed you more.” She smoothed her soft hand over his dirty, unshaven face. “I forgot how handsome you are.”

Now Joe knew why his father was so insistent on staying up for the night. Ben knew Meg was coming up. His father and his wife had plotted something together.

“Where is Eric?” Joe asked.

“Sam is at the house with him. He will bring him into Virginia City for the night to Adam’s.”

Joe laughed “Now I know why my Pa came up here and why he couldn’t give me a straight answer about why Sammy was not coming to help like he usually does.”

Meg laced her fingers through his. “Now you know,” she smiled and squeezed his hand affectionately.

“Now I know,” Joe laughed and shook his head in amazement at the plotting and planning his family had contrived.

“It may rain… lets just ride over for a few minutes to the line shack,” Meg tugged on his hand again.

“You are crazy it is perfectly clear! There is not a cloud in the sky.” Joe waved his hands at the sky. The sun was beginning to go down in the west as he lifted Meg back up on her horse. He climbed into Cochise’s saddle and the pair rode over the hill to the line shack.

“Humor me, Joe!” She shouted over her shoulder as she raced ahead of her husband.

 

Chapter 10

 

When Joe caught up with his wife, she had stopped in front of the line shack and had tied Goldie’s reigns to the hitching rail. Joe quickly slid off Cochise.

Meg looked up at Joe, and clutching his hand led him inside the line shack and shut the squeaky wooden door behind them.

“Look!” Meg smiled and gestured with her hand as they came through the door.

He looked around the line shack and whistled between his teeth. The rough little cabin had been transformed into a honeymoon cottage.

In the fading light Joe could see the fresh white wash on the walls and the checkered cloth on the table. Instead of the lumpy narrow bunk, a blue and white quilt covered iron bed was on one side of the line shack. Candles in silver holders stood on the cloth covered table waiting to be lit. A bottle of wine stood next to two of Kate’s crystal wine glasses from Boston. A picnic basket covered with the same checkered cloth stood on the table. Wood was arranged in the fireplace and a bouquet of asters were on the mantle. They were the same purple-blue as his wife’s eyes.

Meg struck a match on the hearth a flame flared up for an instant she and lit the candles. “What happened here? Who did all this?” He smiled at his wife.

“Katie. It was her idea. She and Nancy Foster. Kate got your father to help too. Casey hauled all the things up with Sam and Clemmie Foster. You know, we never had a proper honey moon, Joe.”

”No, we didn’t. Just an improper one. Not too many brides have a sick, unconscious husband on the wedding night or share a bed with their mother for almost a week after.”

Joe tossed his hat on the bed. He unbuckled his gun belt and looped it over the back of the chair.” Think you are right that it might rain pretty hard. Very hard. Maybe even snow or hail or …” before he could say any more, his wife was kissing him so heatedly that he totally forgot about his weather forecast.

“Oh, Meggie, you make me wild,” Joe whispered as he bent to kiss her once again. Her lips were soft and he felt her move in deepening the kiss still further. Her mouth opened to him and he probed its depths with increasing aggression. One of Joe’s hands tangled itself in the silky strands of her honey blonde hair, cupping her head as his other hand lowered her to the soft quilt on the iron bedstead. He stretched out beside her and held her tightly to him, loving the soft, round feminine feel of her and the way she smelled and tasted to him. He wanted to devour her. “I missed you so, Meggie.”

“I missed you more,” She sighed as she wrapped her arms tighter around Joe’s neck.

“I can’t believe you are even here and that you did all this for me.” Joe gasped catching his breath for a moment.

“ For both of us, Mr. Cartwright. This is not just for your pleasure. I did it for me too, Joe. I slept with my mother on our wedding night. And for the next few nights while you were sick.” Meg pressed her self against her husband and molded herself to him. She had missed him so much the last week while he was gone.

Joe couldn’t help but laugh and despite the heat she had created in him he had to stop kissing her, thinking of his Meg and his mother in law sharing a bed while he lay in their bedroom sick with a fever for more than a week. The house had been so full of displaced guests that the only place for Meg to sleep was in the striped arm chair next to Joe’s bed with Eric on her lap or with Emma Thackery in the guest room.

“Not much of a honeymoon,” she giggled and pulled him back towards her. “You will definitely have to make up for it.” Her mouth moved from his lips to press hot kisses down his whiskery chin and onto his neck. She rested her face against his chest. Meg could hear the thumping of his heart through his shirt as she started to unbutton it. It was beating much faster now. Meg heard him moan with delight as he kissed her harder and rolled over on top of her.

They kissed like this for several long moments before she pressed a hand to his chest and pushed him reluctantly back. “Am I crushing you?” Joe asked falling back onto the pillows.

“We didn’t eat dinner, Joe. I brought a special picnic basket of dinner. And a bottle of wine.”

“Who needs dinner?” He said as he pulled her closer.

 

Chapter 11

 

Boston,

June 14, 1874

Dear Adam and Kate,

Congratulations on your wonderful new daughter! Jessica Eleanor sounds grand. Nothing like a new baby. You Cartwrights certainly have been busy, a baby and a wedding all in one month. Hope you all are healthy again very soon.

Send my regards to your father and the bride and groom. I imagine by this time next year there will be another little Cartwright.

Philip left for Nevada on the train yesterday and Emily is still trying to make up her mind about joining her husband “on the wild frontier” in Virginia City. I have been trying to convince my sweet little sister that you Cartwrights don’t live in a log cabin with wild red Indians shooting arrows at you and outlaws stealing the teeth out of your mouth. Amanda still thinks anything west of Philadelphia is dangerous and insisting that Em stay here in the East and make Phil come back here and work for Stoddard and Bruce in Boston.

I sincerely love that woman but you know how unreasonable my wife is at times.

Cowboy, you and I know Phil has his heart is back in Nevada working for Katie on the Enterprise. A man has to do what a man has to do. I know Kate truly needs his help and have been trying to do my best to push Emily to join him this summer permanently. Robert offered to accompany her. He is anxious to visit and see Joe and Sam and all the rest of you. He still holds Joe as his hero and loves to talk about him and brag to his snooty friends about his cowboy friend who shot outlaws and broke broncos.

Amanda cringes when he does that. I wouldn’t be surprised if that is why my son persists.

Speaking of my “difficult son”. Robert finally, finally, finally graduated from Deerfield Academy. He limped along academically but they finally gave him his diploma. I suspect they were as glad to get rid of him as he was to leave their gates. Thanks to all the discipline (or whatever it was) that Joe gave the boy that summer he was here, he has managed to stay out of serious trouble and not drive all of his brothers and sisters crazy. He is as big as I am and eats like a ranch hand or a bricklayer. He absolutely refuses to join his brothers at Harvard (or any other college) and insists he has his vocation planned.

Uncle Sean has been ailing and Robert wants to take over running the Golden Shamrock Bar with him. Maybe even expanding the place to accommodate more business. Maybe I shouldn’t have used swamping down the bar as a punishment for him each time he misbehaved. Sean laughed at the idea and welcomed him with open arms. What do you think? Never thought an O’Mara could make the full circle from tavern owner to tycoon and back in less than three generations.

It looks like Dennis, Junior is going to be the only one to work at Stoddard and Bruce. Francis is going to medical school and who knows about the rest of my sons.

I really thought all our sons would join us in Stoddard and Bruce. But I suppose your father wanted to you to stay on the Ponderosa. I am sure he is glad he has Joe there.

Remember, Sam is welcome here any time he wants to study back east.

Fondly,
Dennis

_____

The Fairmont Hotel,

San Francisco

July12, 1874

My Darling,

I miss you very much and have seriously considered everything you wrote in your last three letters. You are right, my beloved, circumstances of the past always kept us apart and things are not the same now as they have been.

It is time for a new beginning for both of us.

There is really no reason for us to be apart any more. I shall be returning to Virginia City by the end of the month.

Affectionately,

Barbara

_____

July 18, 1874

Virginia City, Nevada

Dear Mrs. Lassiter,

The settlement of your father’s estate includes a large amount of property in Virginia City and the environs. Obediah Biel had many lucrative investments in this community and set up trusts for you and each of your daughters. There is a large suitable house in one of the better sections of town for you and your daughters to move into upon your return to Nevada. If you so desire, I can arrange for it to be opened and refurbished. I have also taken the liberty of enrolling your daughters, Mary Fran and Jacqueline, in school here in Virginia City. I am sure you will find the level of instruction suitable.

Mrs. Victor and I are looking forward to welcoming upon your return to our community. I am sure you will find many changes since you last lived here with your parents fourteen years ago.

Please have your San Francisco attorney review the enclosed documents with you and return them with your signature at your earliest convenience.

Please send me your travel arrangements and when you will arrive and be assured that every thing will be in place for you and your lovely daughters.

Levi Victor, Esquire

_____

Darling,
I got your last letter just as I was packing my things to return to Virginia City. The flowers you had sent were remarkable. They filled the entire suite.

I miss you very much. I will be on the stage that arrives Tuesday afternoon. I can’t wait to have your arms around me once again.

All my love

Barbara

Chapter 12

Ponderosa Ranch

1847

None of the Cartwright brothers really could remember who had the original idea to build the raft. Adam claimed that it was Hoss who thought it would be good for fishing. Hoss insisted Little Joe had begged Adam for a ship one night after Pa had told them a story about his sailing days when he tucked Little Joe into bed one night. Little Joe didn’t care who came up with the idea. He just was happy his big brothers were taking him along to build the raft and promised to let him go along when they launched it on the lake.

“We can go to China and sail the seven seeds,” Little Joe said as the family ate supper.

”You mean ‘seas’ not ‘seeds’,” Adam corrected. “The seven seas.”

Ben filled a plate for Little Joe and cut some of the food up. Then he set it in front of his youngest son. “Don’t you boys dare put that thing in the water until I check it over,” Ben had insisted. Adam rolled his eyes. He had been building things his whole life, including helping his father build this very house. All of a sudden Pa was doubting that he could build a simple raft.

“And I don’t want you taking Little Joe along until you have tried it out.” Ben added firmly.

“But Pa..” Little Joe argued. “I want to be a sailor too. Like you. A rancher and a sailor.”

”You can’t swim, Joseph.” Ben warned. His beloved wife, Joe’s mother had been dead less than a year and there was no way he was going to ever loose anyone ever again.

“Not yet I can’t but Hoss is showing me how and I swim on Saturday night when I take a bath,” the five year old insisted. He swung his hands over his head as if he was swimming and just missed stabbing Adam in his ear with his fork. His older brother ducked. Ben put his large hand on Joe’s slender arm,” Sit still and eat your dinner.”

“Lake Tahoe is not a copper bathtub, Short shanks.” Adam smiled. “If you want to go on the raft you better do what Pa says.” At seventeen Adam was almost as tall as his father. To Joe and Hoss, Adam was a grown man and in charge when Pa was not around, his Pa’s right hand.

“Yes sir,” Hoss said obediently to his father.

Adam knew Pa was being a bit over protective of his boys but it was not worth arguing over that point once again. Adam would remind his father that when he was Little Joe’s age, they traveling west and he would do a full day of chores and would help Inger drive the wagon. Pa would tell Adam that things were different and that Little Joe was impetuous and a dare devil and Adam always had a good head on his shoulders. Adam would tell his father that he was coddling Little Joe and Ben would end the fight by telling him that he was the father and not Adam.

On a wrinkled sheet of paper, Adam had sketched out how he and Hoss were going to construct the raft. It would be primarily out of logs lashed together. Adam had cut some discarded boards to use as reinforcement and decking. Whenever the boys had a free moment from chores, he took them up to the lake to work on their project.

“If we built the raft in the barn, we could work on it more, Adam. We could finish up faster.” Hoss suggested. “After supper we could go out there and even work with a lantern when it got dark.”

”And I could help more too!” Joe earnestly nodded in agreement. “I really want to help.”

“No,” Adam shook his head. “We’re making this pretty big. Big enough for all of us to sail on.”

”Pa too,” Hoss added.

Joe smiled across the table at his father. “Make it real big for Pa and Adam and Hoss and me.” He measured with outstretched arms and his little hands just missed knocking over the gravy boat. Hoss grabbed it in the nick of time and moved it away from his baby brother’s enthusiastic gestures. “Big! Make the raft real big, Adam! So Pa can come too.”

”Pa too, if he wants to come along. If he is willing.” Adam looked at his father sitting at the head of the table. Ben hadn’t had much fun with his boys for a long time.

“Come with us Pa!” Hoss invited. “You ain’t been fishing with us for a good while.”

Ben tried to smile but his heart wasn’t in it. “Let’s get all those chores finished and I’ll try if I have the time.”

“Pa, make the time. We won’t always be together.” Adam started. The boy was thinking how he was planning to go back east to college in the next year but by the pained look on his father’s face, his comment brought other thoughts to Pa’s mind. Adam realized in an instant that his remark reminded his father who wasn’t sitting at the table with them anymore. Pa could only remember that Marie was dead. Pa was missing Little Joe’s mother and he was thinking of her empty chair not of Adam’s plans to spread his wings.

“Don’t want any of you getting hurt, boys,” Ben said protectively. “Promise you will be careful, especially with Little Joe around the water.”

“Sure Pa, I always watch out for Joe,” Hoss reached over and cut the rest of his little brother’s food and tied the checkered napkin neatly around the boy’s slender neck.

Joe squirmed and loosened the napkin “You are choking me Hoss. I can’t swallow.” He made a dramatic gasping noise and Ben gave him a warning look.

“We’ll be careful, Pa. Don’t worry,” Adam tried to reassure Ben but he knew it was useless, especially since Hoss almost strangled Joe by putting the napkin around his neck.

“I’ll help with the chores more, Pa. So you get more time to go on the raft,” Hoss offered. He reached for the bowl of potatoes and took another portion.

“Me too Pa,” Joe smiled. He surreptitiously put his uneaten potatoes on Hoss’ plate while his brother reached for the gravy boat. Then he quickly snuck the rest of his green beans to the same place.

“Look I am all done!” Joe exclaimed and stood up on the chair. “Can I have pie, now?”

Hop Sing had come out of the kitchen just at that moment to bring Ben some more hot coffee. “Sit down Lil Joe. You fall!” Hop Sing hollered at the boy. He poured steaming coffee into the man’s empty cup.

Joe slid down in the ornate mahogany chair. “Now can I have pie?” He smiled sweetly. “And some coffee too, please?”

“Not until we all have finished, Joseph,” Ben reached across the table and with one hand passed the ham to Adam and with his other hand wiped the napkin across Joe’s chin. “Pie and no coffee. Milk. Little boys drink milk not coffee.”

“Can we take the raft to China and visit with Hop Sing’s family?” Little Joe asked as his father took his napkin and swiped the gravy and crumbs off the boy’s shirt. “Hoss, wipe your chin.”

Adam laughed. “China? That is much to far. And it is Lake Tahoe not the Pacific Ocean.”

”So?” Hoss asked wiping his chin.

“I’ll show you on a map,” Ben told him

Little Joe was putting the spoon on his nose and trying to balance it. Ben glared at him and the boy put his silverware neatly down on the table. Marie had tried so hard to make sure his boys were well mannered and not rough hooligans on the frontier. The least he could do was try to keep up Marie’s standards of table manners. “Sit still politely at the table or ask to be excused, Joseph.”

“That raft is gonna be mighty big Pa. We can take Hop Sing to China.” Joe changed the subject trying to avoid his father’s ire.

“That’s why we should build the raft in the barn,” Hoss suggested again with a mouth full of food.

”It will be too big to move easily. That’s why we need to build it near the water,” Adam pointed out. ”Once it is built, it is going to be very hard to move it on dry land. If we work by the lake, it may take a bit longer, but we can just slide it down into the water.” For an instant, Adam pictured himself all alone, drifting on the raft. He would lie in the sun reading a book with no one bothering him. Adam Cartwright, alone enjoying his solitude and privacy for once. Maybe he would take a volume of Shakespeare or some poetry.
”If Pa would help it would be faster, right Joe?” Hoss put down his fork. He knew his little brother would agree with anything he said, especially if it meant getting the raft built.

“Uh huh!” Joe nodded as if his head was loose. He shook his head so furiously that he hit his chin against the table, bit his tongue and started to cry. He slid off the chair and climbed onto his father’s lap. Ben sighed and kissed his son’s curly head.

He continued to eat his dinner with one hand and comfort his little boy with the other.

“See what I mean about watching him? This boy gets into trouble just eating dinner.” Ben wearily shook his head and tried to juggle the crying child over to his other knee so he could reach his coffee.

“Don’t worry Pa. We always watch Little Joe,” Hoss repeated trying to reassure his father. “Joe stop crying or you won’t be able to eat your pie.”
”None of us can eat pie with you making such a racket,” Adam added. “And crying babies can’t go on rafts. Right Hoss?”

”Yup, no babies. Only men!”

Joe snuffled and whimpered an instant longer weighing his options. He really liked sitting on Pa’s lap and getting his father’s attention but sailing that raft to China or Carson City or New Orleans was very tempting.

Hoss could see that his father was loosing patience with Little Joe and would love to finish his dinner in peace. “Don’t worry Pa, we’ll watch out for him. Always.” Hoss stood up and pulled Joe off his father’s lap and returned him to his own chair. “Put your rump here and let Pa finish. Then we can have pie.”

“And coffee?” Little Joe never gave up.

 

*****

 

“Hand me that hammer, Little Joe.” Joe looked up at his brother. “Right now!” Adam called firmly. Joe had been sitting on the gravel using the hammer to smash acorns on a rock. “You are going to crack the head doing that.”

Joe rubbed his hand over his own curly head and tried to figure out what his big brother meant. How was pounding acorns into powder going to crack his skull? Joe slowly handed his brother the tool. Adam rubbed the acorn pulp off the hammer onto the sandy ground.

”Not your head, Shorty. The head of the hammer. If you hit the metal on the rock you can break it.”

”Look! Here comes Mr. Newkirk!” Joe saw the Ponderosa foreman galloping toward them.

“Adam!” Hays Newkirk shouted. “Your Pa needs your help right now. That herd by the creek broke down that fence line and are roaming over at the Circle D. Ben needs you to help round them up before Duprey gets more riled up than he already is! Our beeves already ate half of Mrs. Duprey’s lilac bush and old Carl is spitting tacks and threatening to shoot your Pa if he don’t get them out.”

“Shoot my Pa?” Little Joe looked alarmed.

Hoss laughed. “Mr. Duprey is jest talkin’. He won’t shoot nobody. He is jest an old sour puss.”

As Adam mounted up on his horse he instructed Hoss to keep track of Little Joe. “Keep on working on the raft, but don’t you dare put it in the water. Pa will kill you if you do. I’ll try to get back as fast as I can but if I am not back in an hour or so, head back up to the house for dinner and we can finish up the next time.”

”No, Adam! You said we would finish today!” Joe protested.” I want to go on the raft!”

”You do what I tell you, little brothers. I’ll try to be back as quick as I can. Pa needs my help. Mind Hoss, Little Joe.” Adam said as he reined his horse around to follow Hays. “And Hoss! Make sure you keep track of Little Joe or Pa will tan your hide. Then after that, you will have to answer to me!” Adam kicked his horse to a gallop and took off over the hill following Hays Newkirk toward the Circle D.

Hoss sighed and eyed Little Joe. “Let’s get back to work. Hold this.” The little boy held two logs together as Hoss lashed them. Then he watched as his brother nailed them onto the cross board just as Adam had shown them.

For some reason Joe became fascinated with the job. He and Hoss worked as one. Hoss lifted one log after another. Joe held them in place as his brother had requested with out complaining or squirming or letting things shift as Hoss pounded in the nails. Each iron nail went in smoothly and accurately. Every single log and board that Adam had cut fit together perfectly. Each piece of rope lashing tied smoothly. The raft quickly shaped up just as Adam had sketched it.

Hoss stood up. Closing one eye he walked around the raft and examined their hard work. He scratched his stomach and rolled his shoulders.

”What’s wrong Hoss?” Joe whispered as he watched his husky brother. “Did we make a mistake?”

”We are done!” Hoss grinned. “The raft is done!”

“We are done!” Joe danced around doing a little jig. He threw his arms around Hoss and hugged him. Hoss scooped Little Joe up under his arms and spun him in a dizzying circle.

“We built the raft!” the two brothers screamed. Their happy voices echoed off the pine trees that fringed the lake. Frightened by the cheers, a flock of wild birds took wing from the brush soaring into the cloudless blue sky.

“Now lets take it to China!” Joe shouted happily.

“China?” Hoss desperately wanted to try out the raft but he knew his father had said he had to check it out before the boys used it.

“We can sail it to China and be back for dinner,” Joe suggested. “Just there and back. You and me Hoss.”

”We can’t Little Joe. Adam said not to go in the water.”

“Just a little bit.” Joe pleaded. “Only partway to China. Or maybe we can go to New Orleans.”

“We can’t. The raft is too big for you and me to move all that way.”

Joe pushed on the raft with all his might, all forty-two pounds of muscle. He grunted and growled and the raft moved half an inch. “Push with me, Hoss. Don’t make me do all the hard work. I’m only a little boy. You are a big strong, boy,”

“Pa said no. Adam said no,” Hoss reminded his baby brother. “I’ll get in big trouble.”

“No means no?” Joe asked pushing harder on the raft. He grunted just as he had heard the men do. “Can I cuss too? “

”No!”

“Sometimes the men cuss when they push heavy stuff. Can’t we just go part way to New Orleans?”

“No means no,” Hoss repeated as firmly as he could to his persuasive baby brother. He put one boot up on the raft to make his point and kicked at it. Some how, because of the sandy slope the raft was on, and the angle of his kick the raft moved a few inches.

“It moved, Hoss!” Joe laughed triumphantly. “Do it again. You are so strong! And you got real big feets too!”

Hoss impressed himself. He couldn’t believe he had moved the big raft with just his foot. He didn’t realize that even at eleven years old he was as big as some full-grown men. He really had no comprehension of how big he really was. Hoss bent over and gave the raft a hard push.

It moved again, this time almost a foot.

“More!” Little Joe cheered. He moved so his tiny rump was next to Hoss and he pushed along with his husky brother. “Push!”

The raft moved down the slope towards the lake. It slid faster and faster as the two brothers pushed.

“More!” they both hollered in unison. “More!” With each shove, the raft moved again and again until it was on the edge of the lake. One more push and the log raft slid off the bank into the lake with a loud splash.

“To China!” Joe shouted. Before Hoss could stop him, Joe had waded into the raft. He sat on the edge and slid himself on. “Let’s go, Hoss!”

“But Pa said not until he checked it out,” Hoss reminded Joe.

”Just for a minute? Come on Hoss, you can be the captain. If Adam was here, you couldn’t be the captain. You would be a sailor. You be the captain and I will be the sailor.” Joe sat on the edge of the raft, and dangled his feet over the edge.

Hoss knew Joe was right. He would never ever be the captain when Adam was around. “Joe you are getting all wet. Get your boots off!” Hoss sat on the bank and yanked off his own boots and rolled up his pants legs. Grabbing a long branch, the big boy waded into the raft and climbed aboard.

“Howdy Captain,” Little Joe grinned and patted his big brother’s thick arm with his little hand.

“Just a little ride and then we go home,” Hoss smiled. “Pull off your boots, Little Joe.” Joe managed to pull of his boots and he handed them to Hoss. Hoss flung the boots, one at a time to the bank where they bounced next to his own boots.

He couldn’t believe he and Little Joe finished the raft and got it in the water. The day was still and the sun was shining off the smooth lake surface. They were in a little sheltered cove and Hoss decided he could easily pole the raft along the edge with no problem.

“Hair, hair, Captain Hoss!” Little Joe saluted.

“Hair?” Hoss pushed off with the long branch.

“Ear, ear, Captain?” Joe knew sailor said something like that but couldn’t remember.

“You mean aye, aye,” Hoss corrected,” Now sit down Little Joe and be still. No shouting or jumping around.”

“Aye, aye!” Joe knew he was supposed to say some body part. He just couldn’t remember if it was ears, eyes, or hair. He sat on the edge of the raft and dangled his feet into the cold lake.

“Don’t let the fish nibble your toes, Short Shanks!” Hoss grinned broadly as he poled the raft easily around the cove.

“Which way is China?” Little Joe asked.

Hoss shrugged. The big boy had no idea. “Ask Adam or Pa.”

Joe watched the bank. His stomach growled. “I’m hungry Hoss. I wish we had something to eat. When is supper?”

Hoss looked up in the sky. Suddenly he remembered what Adam had said when he left. They were not supposed to put the raft in the water and they were supposed to have headed for home in an hour. “A lot more than an hour has passed. Doncha think, Little Joe?”

Sitting on the edge of the raft Joe shrugged. He was watching a school of tiny silvery fish below the surface of the lake. “Don’t want my feet et,” Joe said nervously. He shifted his weight and the raft tilted just enough that the tiny boy slid right off into the water.

Hoss stood open mouthed as his baby brother sank silently below the surface of the lake with not a splash or a shout.

“JOE!” Hoss screamed. ”Oh Lord!” he prayed. They were done for. If he let Little Joe drown Pa would kill him. Then Adam would kill him a second time. He better save Joe or die trying because Hoss knew that he was coyote bait if he didn’t come back to the Ponderosa with his baby brother safe and sound. The tanning would be just the beginning of his demise.

“Joe!” Hoss hollered as he dropped the pole and jumped feet first into the lake.

He knew he had to save his baby brother or die trying.

Some how he managed to grab Little Joe and somehow the two brothers splashed their way to shore. Joe clinging on to his big brother.

The next thing Joe realized he was sitting on the rocky shore gasping for breath and Hoss was hugging him far too tightly.

“Are you all right? Oh Little Joe, please be all right. Please Little Brother” Hoss prayed hugging his baby brother.

“I can’t breath Hoss,” Little Joe gasped trying to get free of his husky big brother’s crushing embrace. ”Lemme go!”

“Are you all right? Hoss repeated desperately looking at his soaked brother.

“Lemme GO!” Joe shrieked trying to break free. “I’m fine. You are choking me to death,”

Hoss finally realized that he was squeezing the life out of his brother with his enthusiastic affection. Now Pa wouldn’t kill him nor would Adam kill him a second time. Little Joe was all right.

“Hoss I swimmed! I swimmed!” Joe crowed proudly pulling free from dripping Hoss.

“Little Joe, you almost drowned dead!” Hoss declared. He pulled his baby brother back by his hand. “You didn’t swim, you dunderhead. I pulled you out!”

“The raft!” Joe shrieked. He tried to pull free from his brother’s firm grasp and rush back to the lake. The two boys watched as the raft drifted slowly out of the cove towards the main part of lake.

“Adam will be mighty mad, Hoss,” Joe whispered nervously. “The raft will go to China without us.”

“Pa will be madder,” Hoss sighed. He knew he was surely doomed.

“Hey, you boys!” The two brothers heard someone call to them from up on the bank.” “You boys all right?”

Hoss and Joe looked up to see a stranger on a gray horse. The sun was behind him and it was hard to see who it was.

“You all right?” The rider repeated. The man had dark hair and eyeglasses. He was wearing a battered brown hat and a tan checked jacket.

“Yup! I swimmed!” Little Joe hollered back. Joe loved to share a little excitement with his audience even if he didn’t know who they were.

The rider slid from his saddle and tied his reigns on a low hanging pine branch. He walked closer to the two Cartwright brothers. As he got closer, Hoss could see that the stranger was an older boy, not a man. He looked to be a couple of years younger than Adam.

“You look pretty wet, kid. You go swimming with your clothes on all the time?” He looked vaguely familiar to the boys.

“Just this time, I sorta kinda had fish eating my toes and they drug me under. But my Captain saved me from drowning in the seven seeds.” Little Joe explained.

”Oh? Maybe we can put that in the Enterprise,” the boy said with a smile. ”Fish Eats Little Boy’s Toes in Lake Tahoe”

Hoss realized the boy worked for Foster Wallace, Katie’s uncle at the paper in Virginia City.

“We built that there raft and Joe fell in.” Hoss explained. “Now we lost the raft.”

The boy shook his head sympathetically. “Doesn’t look too deep there.”
”Adam is gonna kill us for losing it,” Hoss sighed. “And then Pa is gonna kill us for… for…”

”Not getting to China?” Joe asked sweetly. He was sure his new friend shouldn’t be made aware of their defying their father.

“I can get it for you. You got a branch or a long pole?”

Hoss spotted a fallen branch nearby and handed it to the boy. He and Joe watched as their new friend stooped down and pulled off his worn brown boots and stuffed his socks into them. He neatly folded back his trousers and waded out towards the raft. The dark haired boy swung the stick and on the second attempt, snagged the corner of the raft. Carefully he eased the captured raft closer and pulled it to the shore.

With Joe and Hoss’ assistance he pulled the raft onto the shore.

“Gee, thanks!” Hoss shook the boy’s hand appreciatively. “My name is Hoss Cartwright and that there is my brother Little Joe.

“We were going to China,” Joe said earnestly. “But we went swimming instead. We were really supposed to do all that.”

”You fell in the lake Little Joe. You didn’t go swimming.” Hoss clamped his hand over his mouth realizing he said too much. The older boy grinned. He had no doubt in his mind that the two little boys were doing something they were not supposed to do.

“I’m Philip Bartlett. Your name is Cartwright? I’m looking for Mr. Ben Cartwright. Got some messages for him from Mr. Foster Wallace.”

“That’s our Pa. We’ll show you.” Hoss said proudly. “We were supposed to be heading home now anyway.” Hoss turned around to spot their boots about a hundred yards away.

Phil took off his glasses and attempted to wipe them on his shirttail. “Thanks, Hoss. You look like you are getting cold, Little Joe.” He pulled his jacket off and bent down and wrapped Little Joe in it.

“What are you doing? Leave my brothers alone!” The boys heard Adam bellow as he galloped up. He kicked his horse to move faster and pulled his gun from his holster. Adam had arrived home and discovered Hoss had not brought Joe back as he had been directed. Worried that something might have happened to his little brothers, responsible Adam Cartwright backtracked to the lake. As he approached he saw a stranger with his brothers.

”Hi Adam!” Little Joe said brightly. “We have a new friend. Philip.”

”What’s going on?” Adam demanded. “Where were you?”

Hoss shuffled his feet nervously. He was still dripping wet and the raft was a hundred yards from where Adam had been building it. “Nothin’.”

“We were just doing nothing,” Joe repeated smiling his most angelic smile. His wet hair was plastered down and he was dripping wet. “Nothin’ at all, Adam”

“Nothing?” Adam climbed down from his horse and stared at the boys.

“We were helping this fella Phil here. For a long time. He was looking for Pa.” Hoss stammered. “He was kind of lost.” He was digging himself in deeper

“Oh what a tangled web we weave…” Phil quoted with a big grin.

Adam laughed.” Sounds like you know my little brothers. I’m Adam Cartwright,” He extended his hand.

“Philip Bartlett. I work with Mr. and Mrs. Wallace at the Enterprise. They told me about you. Said we had a lot in common,” The two young men shook hands and started a lifetime friendship.