By
Debbie B
“Thank
you Miss Jones,” Ben uttered, his head dropped low in an effort to keep the
teacher from seeing his rising anger.
“I’ll have a word or two with the boy, just as soon as he comes home,
you can be assured of that.”
“Thank
you Mr. Cartwright, and…I’m sorry, really I am, but I thought that Joseph was
sick, and that was the reason that he has been out of school for the last
couple of days,” Miss Jones said.
Ben
glanced up at the teacher and shook his head, “Sometimes I worry about that
boy, just when I think he’s just about grown up, he goes and does something so
childish. Hooky, I would have thought he
had out grown that by now, after all, this is his last year in school, what
with being fifteen and all. Miss Jones?”
Ben
paused and pushed his hat back on his head, “You’re sure that the Morgan boy
was playing hooky with Joseph?”
Abigail
Jones stepped down one step, making herself to be on the same level with the
senior Cartwright. Her eyes were wide as
she met his dark anger filled chocolate ones.
“Absolutely,
Mr. Cartwright. Ever since Trae Morgan
came to school here four months ago, he and young Joseph have been as thick as
thieves, if you will pardon the expression.
When you see one, the other is usually close by, and if there’s trouble,
well…how can I say this without offending you…hmm…Joseph is usually right in
the thick of things. And Trae, though he
never gets into the actual fighting, he isn’t too far from Joseph’s side urging
him on, mind you,” Miss Jones stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
Ben
was well aware of the fact that the teacher was very confident in her
assumption of his youngest and most trying son and he had no cause to doubt her
words. “Miss Jones,” Ben said, almost
groaning as he turned to his horse and started to mount up, “again, I’m sorry
for my son’s actions, for his absence from school and for whatever lies he
might have made up to cause you to think that he was sick.”
Miss
Jones’ blond head was bobbing up and down.
“Thank you sir, but just one piece of advice…if you don’t mind?”
Ben
sat astride his big buckskin horse, watching Miss Jones who watched him with
eyes that spoke of her desire to speak her mind. “Yes?” Ben said in a low voice.
“Personally,
I think a good thrashing would be in Joseph’s best interest, and…I might
add…restricting him from keeping company with the likes of that Morgan
boy. Now please, don’t get me wrong…it’s
just that I happen to think that perhaps Joseph should pick and choose his
friends a mite more carefully. The
Morgans are fairly new here and they tend to keep to themselves, so there is no
way of knowing just what sort of people they really are.”
Ben
tipped his hat, “yes, I will agree with you on that point, but as far as a
thrashing, he is fifteen and I think a little too old for me to be putting
across my knee.”
Miss
Jones’ mouth dropped opened but before she could utter another word, Ben
quickly hurried on.
“I’m
not saying that he doesn’t deserve one, but I assure you, I have other methods
of dealing with his misconduct. Good
day, ma’am.” Ben turned Buck toward home
and gently kicked at the horse’s sides.
All
the way home Ben stewed about his youngest son’s deceptiveness, and with each
passing mile, his anger grew. Nothing
that his son would have to say, would defer the angered father from dishing out
much deserved punishment to his son. Ben
brushed his hand across his face and allowed the air to expel from his lungs.
‘I’m
getting too old for this nonsense,’ he muttered softly to his mount.
By
the time that Ben reached home, he was past being angry. He reined in his horse and tossed the reins
lightly around the hitching post and stomped into the house.
“JOSEPH!”
he roared loudly, bringing Hop Sing scurrying from the kitchen, his hands
coated in white flour from where he had been busy making biscuits for supper.
“What
all the shoutin’ about? Little boy not
in house!” ranted Hop Sing, slinging his arms about in the air and sending the
white flakes of powdery dust about in a cloud.
He turned, muttering in his native tongue, words that Ben was sure he
did not want to know the meanings to.
“Something
wrong, Pa?”
Ben
glanced up toward the top of the stairs.
Adam stood, clad only in his trousers and boots, a slight configuration
of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
He had recognized the tone of voice his father had used to summons the
youngest member of the family and knew without asking, that Joe had somehow
managed to get himself into some sort of trouble, again.
“Have
you seen that youngest brother of yours?” Ben demanded as he made his way to
his desk and pulled out the chair to sit down.
Adam
descended to the landing and stopped.
“No sir,” he said, watching his father pour himself a brandy. “Sort of early in the afternoon to be
drinking, isn’t it?” he dared to question Ben.
Ben’s
ebony eyes sought his oldest son’s face.
“No need to be sarcastic, young man. I think I’m plenty old enough to
decide when I need a drink and when I don’t, and for your information, right
now…I happen to need a drink.” Ben
turned the miniature goblet up and downed the brandy in one gulp. He glanced back up at Adam and saw the smile
that had deepened the dimple on the left side of his son’s face.
“What’s
so amusing?” he shouted.
“Nothing,
I’m sorry
Ben
couldn’t help but crack a smile, though he was still plenty angry with his
youngest son. “I think you figured that
out when I came through the door. Have
you by chance happened to have seen the little scalawag?”
“No,
I suppose he’s not home from school yet.
What’s he done this time, got kept late again?” laughed Adam lightly,
knowing his little brother’s tendency for finding or making trouble for
himself.
“School,”
muttered Ben to himself.
“What
was that?” Adam snickered.
Ben
glared up at his son and then repeated himself in a deep voice, “School! The boy has been playing hooky from SCHOOL!”
shouted Ben.
Adam
didn’t bother to make a verbal reply to his father’s outburst. His only reaction was to raise his thick
brows in response and turned slowly making his way back to his room. Once the door was shut, Adam chuckled to
himself, the shouting had only begun, he thought silently.
“Are
ya sure Trae?” Little Joe’s voice
dripped with emotion and he fought against the tears that threatened to flood
his eyes.
“Positive
Little Joe, I overheard my folks talking about it, last night,” Trae explained
to his friend.
He
had turned his head away the minute that he had seen the tears forming in Joe’s
eyes. He had thought it would be a
simple thing to do, to tell his friend of his predicament. Tears were the last things he had expected,
especially from Joe Cartwright. He
thought that he had cried enough of his own.
When his parents had broken the news to him the night before, he had
felt sure that he hadn’t any tears left to cry; then when he had seen Joe’s
eyes begin to water, Trae had had to turn his head to hide his own unexpected
ones.
“When?”
Joe asked, unable to make his voice louder than a mere whisper.
Trae
swiped his hand across the front of his face and turned to face Little
Joe. “I don’t know, but I think soon,
maybe a month, two if I’m lucky.”
Joe
dropped his head, sniffing his nose to prevent the seepage from rolling onto
his upper lip. He eyed his friend,
unashamed that Trae could see the pool of tears in his eyes. “Are ya scared?”
Trae
took a deep breath and then sighed deeply.
“I’d be lyin’ if’n I said I wasn’t, but I try not to think about
it. I just want to forget and then when
it happens, it’ll just happen.”
Trae
bent down and picked up a rock and tossed it at an imaginary target and then to
Joe, smiling. “Say Cartwright, when ya
gonna teach me to ride that pinto of yours?”
Joe
was surprised to see the smile that had suddenly appeared on his friend’s
face. “Are you serious?” asked Little
Joe.
“Sure
I am, I ain’t got nothin’ to lose, do I?” he grinned in reply.
Joe
seemed lost in thought. Trae moved to
pet the velvety end of Cochise’s soft nose.
Joe watched fascinated by his friend’s sudden change in attitude and the
inner strength that he could sense in the younger boy.
“Why
not right now?” tempted Joe.
“Now? But what about school, we’re already late,”
said Trae, surprised that Joe had suggested the present for a riding lesson.
“So? We ain’t got anything to lose,” Joe giggled,
repeating his friend’s phrase. “Why
don’t we just skip class today and go up to the lake? I know a secret place where we can wade in
the water and I’ll teach ya how to skip stones.
After that, we can eat our lunch and maybe do a little fishin’. By that time, school should be out and then
we can just go home. No one will ever
know…”
“But
what if the teacher should ask us tomorrow why we were out? Won’t she be mad when she finds out we played
hooky?” Trae asked in a skeptical voice.
Joe
started to giggle. “You don’t think
we’re goin’ to tell her we played hooky, do you? Look Trae, today’s Thursday, so we’ll just
stay out Friday as well. Don’t worry
pal, I assure you, no one will know.
Come Monday, we’ll just let her think we’ve both been sick…” Joe stopped
suddenly, the smile gone as he eyed his friend.
“Trae…”
“It’s
okay Joe, I think we can pull it off.
I’m game if you are…I really want to learn to ride and you can show me
how to skip those stones you were telling me about.” Trae slapped his friend’s back and moved as
if too mount Cochise.
“Hey,
wait, that’s not the right side,” yelled Joe, stopping Trae in his tracks. Joe started laughing and took the reins from
his friend’s hands and mounted Cochise on the correct side. He offered the boy his hand.
“Hold
my hand and pull yourself up and then toss your leg over his back.”
Trae
did as instructed and within minutes both boys were riding off through the
woods toward the lake, the schoolteacher already forgotten as they talked in
anticipation of their outing.
Ben
shuffled through his papers for the fourth time and finally placed them in a
pile in front of him. ‘Two days,’ he thought to himself. ‘Two days of hooky,’ he muttered.
Just as he scooted back his chair, the front
door opened and immediately slammed shut.
Ben gritted his teeth as Joe strolled past, unaware of his father
sitting at the desk.
“JOSEPH!”
Joe
stopped in his tracks, turned to face his father and smiled. “Oh, hi ya
“Come
over here, please,” Ben’s voice was stern and Joe’s brows raised in surprise at
his father’s tone.
Joe
ambled over suddenly suspicious of the way that Ben was eyeing him.
“Have
a seat,” Ben ordered, pointing at the chair on the opposite side of the wide
oak desk.
Without
questioning his father’s motives, Joe sat quietly down, dropping his head and
beginning to fidget with a button on his shirt.
“So…how
was school today?” Ben surprised Joe by asking.
Joe’s
eyes quickly swept his father’s face searching for something that would clue
him in as to why Ben was acting so strangely.
Joe gulped.
“School?”
he stammered.
“That’s
right, school?” Ben said as he fought to control his quickly rising ire.
Joe
gulped again and glanced at his father.
Surely his father had not found out already about his playing hooky from
school. There was no way, they had been
so careful not to be seen. Joe had taken
Trae for a long ride, up into the foothills of the high country, where the air
was cool and crisp. Joe had shown the
other boy the cave where the mama bear lived with her two cubs. They had sat for an hour or more and watched
the cubs playing. Trae had been born and
had lived all of his life in a big city back east before coming to Nevada with
his parents, so the experience was something new to him and the boy had seemed
to enjoy the time spent with his friend.
Joe
had laughed at his friend’s excitement; he had agreed when Trae had been
determined to follow the cubs and when mama bear had sensed their presence, the
pair of young boys had quickly mounted Cochise and rode off to safety, laughing
together. They had eaten their lunches
under a tall Ponderosa pine that had provided them with shade and had even
taken a little nap before starting back.
Joe had kept a sharp eye on his friend always cautious least the other
boy might grow tired and needed to rest.
On
Friday, the two boys had met at a place where Joe had secretly told Trae about
and had spent the day fishing and wading in the water. When the sun had risen to its highest point,
they had stripped down to their underwear and had swum around in the warm
waters. Trae had never learned to swim,
but by the end of the day, Little Joe had taught him enough so that he could at
least dog paddle from one side of the bank to the other.
Joe
had even taught his friend the fine art of skipping stones across the glass
like water. Joe had explained in detail
how Adam had taught him to skip the stones when he had been but five. He explained that during that time, his mother
had died and his father had all but stopped living, so great had his grief been
that Adam had stepped in and had taken charge of both Hoss and himself.
“How’d
she die?” Trae asked shyly.
“She
fell from a horse,” Joe explained, glancing sideways at his friend, all the
while tossing the smooth stones out across the equally smooth water.
“I’m
sorry,” Trae whispered.
Joe
stopped and turned to his friend.
“Thanks, but that was a long time ago.”
“Do
you still think about her? I mean, once
someone dies, they’re gone forever. Do
you think you’ll ever forget her?” Trae tried his luck as he tossed a rock out
into the water and watched the ripples as the stone sunk to the bottom.
“I
used to think about her all the time, back when it first happened. I missed her a lot, cause I didn’t understand
about death, I just thought she went away cause she didn’t love us anymore,”
admitted Joe. “I even had
nightmares. I still do sometimes.”
“Nightmares? I have those sometimes too. I wake up screaming, sometimes I cry,” stated
Trae as he selected another rock. This
time when he flung it, it skipped across the top of the water. “Hey, Joe, look I did it!” he shouted
excitedly.
“Hey
you did, didn’t ya?” laughed Joe and flung the rock he held in his hand.
“Joe?”
“Yeah?”
“Ya
reckon she went to heaven? Your ma, I
mean?” asked Trae.
Joe
stopped and glanced at his friend.
“Well, my pa says she did, and Adam, my brother says that if we’re good
and live like God wants us too, when we die, we all go to heaven, why?”
“I
was just curious. Ya reckon God will
hold it against me when I die, for playing hooky from school?”
Joe
straightened himself up and thought before answering the question. “I hope not…I mean, I’d hate to think that with
all the bad people running around in this world, I’d end up going to hell just
cause I skipped a couple of days of school,” Joe laughed softly.
Trae
giggled, “Yeah, me too.”
“Come
on, we’d best be getting back,” Joe said as he dusted off his hands and began
to gather his things. “We got to time it
just right, so that we can get home about the same time we normally would have
if we’d been in school.”
Trae
followed Joe around and gathered his things as well, stuffing the sack that had
held his lunch, down into the saddlebag with Joe’s.
“Joe,”
Trae said, turning to face his friend.
“Yeah
Trae,” Joe said as he skipped one last rock across the water. “Hey look, that one bounced five times,” he
laughed.
Joe
turned at the strange sound that his friend was making. “Trae, are you okay?” Joe asked as he turned
from the sight of his friend retching.
Trae’s
stomach heaved twice more before it was finished emptying onto the ground. He wiped his shirtsleeve across his mouth and
with tears still in his eyes, smiled slightly at Joe. “Sorry.”
“Are you okay?” Joe asked a second time, more concerned, that maybe his friend had over done himself.
“I
am now. Hey, don’t look so scared, I
said I was fine.”
“But
why…I mean, what made you sick?” Joe wondered aloud.
“Don’t
know, it just happens sometimes, don’t fret about it. Come on, we better get goin’,” Trae said.
Joe
watched as the boy finished stuffing his belongings into the saddlebag and when
he’d finished, Joe mounted up, offering the boy a hand up.
“Joe,
thanks…I mean, I’ll never forget all we’ve done the last couple of days. It’s been great,” Trae said when they were on
their way. “I just hope we don’t get
found out,” he snickered.
“It
won’t be the first time, I’ve done it before, though it has been a long time
ago. I had fun too Trae, whatever
happens if my pa finds out, will be worth it,” Joe called over his shoulder.
“Well,
it meant a lot to me, Little Joe. You’ll
never know how much. I’ve never had a
chance to do the things that I’ve done yesterday and today. Living in the city like I’ve always had to
do, didn’t give my father and me time to get out in the woods to hunt or
fish. I can’t thank you enough for spending
time with me like ya did,” Trae whispered.
“It
meant a lot to me, too,” Joe replied, glancing over his shoulder at the boy
behind him. His gaze was met with a
happy smile and Joe smiled in return.
“JOSEPH,
I asked you a question, I’m waiting for an answer,” Ben said, his voice growing
deeper, which only meant that his anger was rising.
“Hmm…I’m
sorry Pa, what did you ask me…I was…”
“I
know what you were doing, you were trying to avoid the question,” Ben shouted
as he stood to his feet and moved to stand in front of Joe who was trying to
avoid his father’s penetrating eyes.
“Hmm…school…”
stammered Joe.
“Look
at me when I talk to you,” ordered Ben, his hands placed firmly on his hips.
Joe
glanced up, seeing the deep scowl embedded on his father’s brow and instantly
knew that somehow, his father had found out that he had played hooky from
school. But did he know about both
days? Joe swallowed and dropped his
head.
“Well,
Pa…about school…you see…I, hmm…” Joe glanced up, Ben was not making this easy
for him at all, thought Joe to himself.
“I’m
waiting!”
“I
didn’t go to school today,” Joe blurted out in a rush. “But I can explain, Pa…honest…”
Ben
moved around Joe’s chair and was standing behind his son. When Joe glanced up, his father was gone and
he twisted his head around to find his father standing behind him. Joe stood to his feet and faced his
father. The look that Ben had on his
face left no doubt to his son, that he was mad.
“Pa…”
“Joseph,
I don’t want to hear any of your feeble excuses, because there are no excuses
for what you have done. You have skipped
school…not just one day…but two days.
You have led me to believe you have been in class, when all along you
have been…just where have you been?” ranted Ben, his voice booming.
“To
the lake,” confessed Joe. He omitted the
fact that he and Trae had ridden up into the foothills, and the meeting with
the bear cubs. Ben would tan his
backside for sure if he knew that his son had practically been within arms
reach of the young bears and had even been chased off by an enraged mama bear
out to protect her young.
“TO
THE LAKE!” stormed Ben moving to the other side of his desk. “And let me guess, you went for a little swim
as well?”
Joe
dropped his head. “Yessir,” he
replied. “But the water wasn’t
cold…honest
“Not
cold, heh? Well, that’s your opinion,”
growled the angry father as he pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and
handed it to his son.
Joe
accepted the cloth and wiped his nose.
“Thanks,” he said in a tiny voice.
“Sit
down,” Ben pointed to the chair where Joe had sat just moments before. Joe quickly did as suggested and watched as
Ben moved around the desk again and sat on the corner, facing him, staring down
at him. Suddenly Joe shivered.
“I
had to make an unexpected trip into town this afternoon. I had to have some papers signed at the
bank. By the time that I finished, it
was nearly
Joe
shook his head from side to side.
“Of
course you wouldn’t. I thought maybe
Joseph was being kept late, again, but just as I was getting down from my
horse, out comes Miss Jones, and you want to know what she was doing?”
Joe
shrugged his shoulders.
“She
was locking up. I knew right then that
you weren’t staying late, so naturally I asked her where you were. Needless to say, I was speechless when she
told me that she thought you must be sick because you haven’t been to
school…FOR TWO DAYS!”
“Pa…please…I
can explain…” begged Joe.
Ben
had started to pace and had his back turned to Joe. Suddenly, hearing his son’s words, he spun
around.
“Save
it Joseph…just don’t say anything…not one word.
I will do the talking, you will do the listening.” Ben had his hands on his hips, his head
slightly bent forward as he eyed his son.
Joe
sneezed again and then groaned slightly in aggravation at himself as he wiped
his nose.
“I
was informed that you have missed two days of school this week. Joseph, I am very angry with you…you have
begged me for months now to let you quit school and I had almost decided to let
you…you seemed to have grown up so much over that last few months but now I’m
not so sure! Hooky…Joseph…hooky is a
child’s game, not a young adult’s.”
Ben
stomped off and then returned. “I may
just make you go another year…until I am sure you are fully grown!”
“PA!”
Joe shouted as he jumped to his feet.
“That’s not fair…”
“NOT
FAIR?” yelled Ben. “I”LL TELL YOU WHAT’S
NOT FAIR! HOOKY, DECEPTION, BLANTANT
DISREGARD FOR AUTHORITY!”
Joe
was fighting back his tears. He could
explain why he skipped school, if his father would only give him a chance. “I didn’t do it on purpose,” he declared in a
weak voice.
Ben
spun around, his eyes a deep ebony as he glared at his son. “Joseph,” he said in a voice so low that Joe
had to raise his head and meet his father’s stance to be sure that Ben had
truly spoken.
“Purpose? You didn’t do it on purpose? Tell me something young man, did you plan on
playing hooky…you and that Morgan boy?” quizzed Ben.
“I…I…I
mean…well…I suppose…but Pa…”
“YOU
SUPPOSE? Then how in blazes can you say
it wasn’t on purpose?”
Joe’s
eyes filled with tears as he stood in front of his father with his head
lowered.
“Joseph,
I’ve a good mind to give you a good thrashing, just as Miss Jones suggested.”
Joe’s
head twisted upward, his eyes wide as he gazed at his father in shock.
“But,
as I explained it to the teacher, I feel you are too old for that, so…” Ben
watched his son’s face and noted the instant relief that crossed over the
boy. “You are restricted, for the next
month to…”
“A
MONTH?” shouted Joe, jumping to his feet.
“Pa…please, not a whole month!” pleaded Joe, his thoughts turning to
Trae and how much time his father’s punishment would take away from the time he
needed to be with his friend.
“That’s
what I said, a full month. You are not
to leave this yard. You will do your
chores everyday after school and when they are finished, you will remain inside
and…you will no longer be allowed to keep company with that Morgan boy, do I
make myself clear? Stay away from him!”
ordered Ben.
Joe
was stunned. “Pa…” he stammered
softly. “Why can’t I see Trae? He didn’t do anything…he’s my friend.” Joe’s tears had slowly filled his eyes and
were on the brink of slipping over the top of the rims.
“I
know he was with you Joseph…I know that the two of you planned this whole little
scheme together. I’m sure his father
isn’t any more pleased about his skipping school than I am. You are to stay away from him.”
“But
he didn’t do anything…honest….”
“JOSEPH! DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME! I HAVE MADE MYSELF CLEAR ON THIS…YOU ARE NOT
TO BE HANGING AROUND THAT BOY AGAIN!” shouted Ben, glaring at Joe.
“It
wasn’t his idea…It was mine, Pa…mine…he didn’t do nothing!” Joe yelled.
“Don’t
raise your voice to me young man. I
don’t care who’s idea it was, if he was so eager to follow along on such a
fool-hearted suggestion, then he’s just as much to blame as you are. Heaven only knows what he might think up for
the two of you to get mixed up into.
Besides, I don’t know his family; they could be hooligans for all I
know. His father might even be wanted by
the law, that boy might be…”
“STOP
IT, PA!” Joe shouted, the tears finally slipping free and rolling down his
face. “Trae’s not like that at all, and
you ain’t got right to call him names!”
Ben,
stunned, glared back at Joe, seeing for the first time the tears that coursed
down his son’s face. Taken back by his
son’s reaction, his voice softened.
“Joseph,
I wasn’t calling the boy names. I just
meant to imply that perhaps he isn’t someone with whom you should keep company
with…”
Joe
was still obviously upset. “Why? Just because he’s new in town, or because
he’s poor and not rich like you?” Joe
turned his back to his father and stomped toward the stairs, stopping and
twirling around to face his father.
“You
said more than once that we should never judge a man by the clothes on his
back, but by what’s in a man’s heart.
Now, just because my friend plays hooky with me and his folks are dirt
poor and have nothing, you think he isn’t good enough to be my friend. Well, that makes you very narrow-minded Pa,
plain and simple.”
Joe
turned and ran up the stairs, stopping on the landing and turning back around
to stare down at his father who had followed him as far as the bottom of the
steps.
Joe
dabbed at his falling tears and then cleared his throat that had become thick
with emotion. “You…don’t understand…you
won’t even give me a chance to explain…I don’t have a month…and neither does
Trae!” Joe turned and fled to his room,
the slamming of the door ringing loud in the silent house.
For
the next couple of days, Joe sulked about the house, doing his chores, keeping
to himself within the walls of his room and avoiding any contact with his
father. Ben had chosen to give his son
the time and space he needed to gather his anger and hurt feelings together
before approaching the boy to talk to him.
Joe’s
sneezing had continued and he had even begun to cough occasionally, clearing
his throat several times in an effort to keep the cough from being noticed by
members of his family. His body ached,
though he hid that fact as well.
By
Monday morning, Joe’s attitude, unlike his stuffy nose and hacking cough, had
seemed to improve, so when Joe joined his family at the breakfast table, it was
with a smile, however forced.
“Mornin’
Pa,” greeted Joe. “Mornin’ Hoss, Adam,”
he smiled as he reached for the stack of pancakes and began serving himself.
“Well,
good morning,” Ben returned the greeting with a smile at his youngest and a
swift glance around the table at Hoss and Adam.
Joe
hurried to finish his breakfast and then asked to be excused. “Pa, I have a couple of things to do in the
barn before I leave for school, may I be excused?” he asked.
Ben
nodded his head as he wiped his mouth.
Quickly, Joe rose and started for the door without a backward glance at
his family.
“Joseph,”
called Ben, pushing back his chair and standing, “while you’re in the barn,
could you please saddle my horse, I’m going to ride into town with you,” Ben
announced.
Joe
stopped suddenly in his tracks and turned to face his father. “Ride into town with me…why?” he asked.
Ben’s
eyebrows raised slightly and when Adam glanced over in Hoss’ direction, Ben did
not fail to see the movement. He eyed
both of his older sons with a look of hesitancy as he moved around the table to
speak with Joe.
“Because
I said I was, there are a couple of things I need to check on in town, so I
thought I would accompany you,” Ben informed the boy, who by now was growing
somewhat impatient.
Joe
scrunched up his face, forming a scowl to distort his handsome features. “Is that the real reason, Pa? Or are you tagging along to be sure I get to
school?” Joe’s voice had risen slightly and the touch of sarcasm in his voice
did not go undetected by his father.
“That
will be enough of that kind of talk, young man,” snapped Ben as he reached for
his hat.
Joe
dropped his head, instantly regretting having been so short with his
father. “I’m sorry,
Ben
pinched his lips tightly together. “I’m
sure you are, if I felt sure that was what you intended to do. As for being treated like a little boy, when
you stop acting like one, and begin acting like the young man you are supposed
to be, I will treat you as such. Until
then, I will treat you accordingly. Now,
please let’s go, you surely do not need to add tardiness to your list of
offenses.”
Ben
strapped on his holster as Joe turned on his heels and marched out the door to
the barn. Ben briefly closed his eyes
and shook his head.
“Take
it easy, Pa,” laughed Adam. “I think you
are still one step ahead of him.”
Ben
grinned, “I need to be about a mile ahead of that boy, not just one step,”
laughed Ben as he closed the door behind him.
The
ride into town was quiet. Joe would cast
his eyes over at his father occasionally but Ben too, was silent. Each had certain thoughts going through their
heads as they rode along. Joe couldn’t
wait to get to school; he wanted to talk to Trae to find out whether or not his
father had found out about them skipping school and if so, what had Mr. Morgan
done about it? Somehow, Joe thought that
Trae’s father would be more understanding, considering.
“I’ll
see you this afternoon Joe.”
Joe’s
attention was snapped back to the present by the sound of his father’s
voice. He had been so lost in his
thoughts that he had not even been aware when they had reached the school and
stopped.
Joe’s
eyes found his father’s. “See ya,” he
said as he slid from the saddle and led his pinto toward the stable.
“I’ll
meet you here after school,” Ben called.
Joe
paused, looking up at Ben. Ben noted the
unhappy expression on his son’s face and sighed softly, he hated treating the
boy as if he were a child in need of his father’s guidance.
Joe
shook his head gently. “You don’t have
to…I mean…if you’ve got work to do. I’ll
come straight home, I promise,” Joe told Ben.
Ben
hesitated momentarily and then smiled, breaking the tension that had seemed to
be hanging over them. “All right Joe, I
do have some paper work at home that needs my attention. I’ll see you at home then, after school.”
Joe’s
expression changed to one of relief as he returned his father’s smile. “I won’t be late, I promise.”
Ben
nodded his head and turning, made his way down the street.
“Hey
Little Joe,” a voice from behind him called.
Joe
turned and saw Trae step from behind the side of the building. “Trae, I was wondering where you were. How ya feeling?” asked Joe as he fell into
step beside Trae.
“I’m
okay. Was that your Pa with ya?” he
asked, glancing back over his shoulder as he watched Ben ride down the street.
“Yeah,
that’s him,” Joe said, following Trae’s gaze.
“How
come he rode in with you?” Trae continued.
“He looked mad.”
“Aw…he
used the excuse that he had some business in town this morning, but what he was
really doing was making sure I got to school.
He found out about us playing hooky and I got in trouble,” explained
Joe.
“Yeah,
my pa found out, too,” added Trae. “What
did your father do, did ya get a thrashing?”
Joe
shook his head, “No, worse, he grounded me for a month. I ain’t allowed to go any place except for
the house and barn. I can’t even go
fishing on Saturdays anymore. What about
you? What’d your pa do to you?”
Trae
couldn’t keep the smile from his face.
“He didn’t do nothing. Ma was
madder than a wet hen, but Pa all Pa did was laugh and say, ‘well Martha, boys
will be boys’. That didn’t set to well
with Ma, but she didn’t say no more about it, until she thought I was asleep,
and then my folks got into an argument about it.”
“Really? My pa yelled at me for nearly an hour, and
then he said that I wasn’t allowed to…” Joe suddenly realized what he was
saying and stopped in mid-sentence.
Trae
surprised him by laughing. “My ma told
my pa the same thing about you. She said
you were a bad influence on me and that I have to stay away from you. She made Pa tell me the next morning.”
Joe
couldn’t help but giggle. “I told Pa
that it wasn’t your idea about playing hooky, it was mine, but he said that if
you would follow along so easily with the idea, there was no telling what you
might talk me into.”
Both
boys had reached the front door of the school and had stopped. Trae placed his hand on Joe’s arm, stopping
him from opening the door.
“I’m
sorry ya got in trouble Joe, but I ain’t sorry we did it. I had more fun those two days than I have since…well…since
way before I found out,” said Trae, all traces of humor gone now from his voice
as he fought to control his emotions.
“Thanks
Joe, you’re a true friend.”
“Hey,
what are friends for?” laughed Joe as his voice cracked and he began coughing.
The
coughing spell lasted for several minutes and there were times that Joe thought
he might lose his breath. At last he was
able to bring it under control and the pair of friends slipped quickly into the
class. Miss Jones had her back to the
door but was well aware of the boys as they tried to hurry to their seats. When she was sure that they had sat down, she
turned, picking Joe to fix her eyes on.
“Young
man, you are late!” she snapped, not happy with the way that she had been
deceived the last two days of the previous week.
“I’m
sorry Miss Jones, but I started coughing and couldn’t stop,” Joe explained and
as if to prove his point, he sneezed and that set off another bout of coughing.
Miss
Jones snarled up her nose in distaste.
“Well for heaven’s sake Joseph, excuse yourself and go get a drink. But mind you, you and Trae will stay after
school this afternoon because of your tardiness.”
Joe
was half way to the back door when he stopped and twirled around, his hand
covering his mouth as he fought to silence his cough. “But Miss Jones…” he sputtered between
coughs, “I can’t…I promised my pa that I wouldn’t be late…”
Abigail
looked up from her papers and glared at Joe.
“Well, that’s a pity, but I’m sure Ben Cartwright will understand when
he reads the note that I am sending home with you. Now please, Joseph, go outside until you can
control that awful hacking noise!” Miss
Jones pointed her finger at the door.
Joe
quickly glanced at Trae, saw the anxious look on his face and then went
out. Quickly he made his way to the old
pump and pumped fresh water into the outside sink and taking an old tin cup
from the make-do shelf, filled it with cool water.
Joe
stood in the warm sun for several minutes, trying to warm himself with the
bright rays that filtered through the tall pines. He felt like running away, he wanted nothing
more than to signal for Trae to join him and then he and his friend could slip
off. Why not, he questioned himself, he
was in trouble again and there would be no way that his father would
understand. Ben had not even wanted to
listen when Joe had tried before to explain why he and Trae felt the need to
skip class the week before. Joe
convinced himself that Ben would never believe him when he tried to explain why
he had been late when Ben had delivered him to the school himself. Joe groaned, and then felt the trembles that
coursed through his body, making him to shiver.
His head ached, his stomach churned and when he started coughing again,
the stomach reacted and suddenly emptied itself onto the ground.
Joe
wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and re-entered the classroom. He cast Miss Jones a quick glance and then
sat down. The teacher handed Joe some
papers, gave him brief instructions as to what he should be doing and then
returned to her desk. Joe shuffled
through the work and with a quick look at Trae he began working.
Time
seemed to pass far too slowly as Joe worked on the problems that Miss Jones had
scribbled down on the paper for him. His
head throbbed, making thinking straight almost useless. He cut his eyes over at Trae and was shocked
to find the boy with his head down on his desk, his eyes shut tightly.
“Trae,”
whispered Joe softly, trying to wake the boy.
The boy behind Trae heard Joe’s muted whisper and poked Trae softly in
the back. Trae groaned softly, catching
the teacher’s attention and bring her to her feet.
“Trae
Morgan, you wake up this instant,” Miss Jones ordered in a commanding
voice. “There will not be any sleeping
in my class, do you hear me?” she said as she made her way to the Morgan boy’s
seat. Giving the sleeping boy a good
shake on the shoulder, Trae slowly opened his eyes. He was shocked to see the teacher towering
over him and more surprised to find the entire class laughing at him.
“Get
in the corner this second, young man!” demanded Miss Jones, pointing to the
nearest corner at the front of the class.
“You may join your friend, Joseph, after school by staying late this
evening.”
Joe
groaned; he knew that Trae’s parents would not be happy with having their son
held after school. It seemed to him that
the harder he and Trae tried, the worse things became for them.
Ben
paced the floor in front of the fireplace, his hands buried deep into the
pockets on the side of his trousers. He
stopped as the front door opened, revealing his youngest son. It was late, nearly
Joe
gave a swift glance at his father and noted the unhappy expression on his
father’s face. He pulled his hat off and
hung it on the peg behind the door and with evident dread written on his young
face, turned and faced his father.
“I
can explain…” he began as he walked slowly over to the fireplace and stopped in
front of his father. Joe was aware of
his two brother’s eyes following him and watching their father’s reaction to
his late home coming.
Ben
said not a word as he stood silent much like a statue and watched the boy
fidget nervously.
“Hmm…I…ere…I
mean…we were…late and when we…hmm…went…”
“Joseph,
what do you mean, late? I hope you are
going to try to make me believe that you…late…for school. I happen to know that you were there in
plenty of time,” Ben stated.
“Yessir,
I…know…but after you…left…I started talking to Trae and then I…”
“Talking
to Trae? After I told you to stay away
from him?” Ben was getting madder by the minute. “So you wasted time doing something that you
were told not to do and that made you late for class and…let me guess, Miss
Jones kept you after school, am I right?” Ben growled.
Joe
dropped his head; it was useless, he thought.
The way that his father worded it, it made it sound like there was much
more to it than what really happened.
Just at that minute, Joe began coughing.
“Hoss,
get him some water,” Ben instructed, his anger momentarily forgotten as concern
took charge. “Joe, are you all right?”
Ben said, gently slapping his son on his back.
Joe
was nodding his head up and down. When
Hoss returned with the glass of water and placed it in Ben’s outstretched
hand. “Here son, drink this.”
Joe
accepted the glass and took a sip, “thanks,” he said as the coughing
subsided. Ben’s hand remained resting on
Joe’s shoulder as he watched the redness in his son’s face fade away.
“Better?”
asked Ben.
Joe
nodded. “Pa…about what happened this
morning…”
“Joseph,
I don’t want to talk about it right now.
You feel a little warm, I want you to get ready for bed while I find Hop
Sing’s cough medicine for you.” Ben
smiled slightly and brushed back a stray curl from Joe’s forehead. “Go on, get upstairs, I’ll be up in a few
minutes.”
“Come
on Joe,” said Hoss, “I’ll give you a hand.”
Joe
and Hoss proceeded to the stairs but Joe stopped and turned back to his
father. “Pa…please don’t be mad at Trae,
he didn’t do anything…honest,” Joe said in a quivering voice. “I know you don’t like him, but he’s my
friend and I do like him. He’s…he’s…”
Joe gulped, his eyes suddenly filling with tears.
Without
finishing his sentence, Joe turned and rushed up the stairs, unable to speak,
as his emotions became too overwhelming for him.
Ben
exchanged looks with Adam and then Hoss, taken back by his youngest son’s
actions. “Well I wonder what in the
world that was all about?”
“Beats
me,” replied Hoss and followed after Little Joe.
By
the time that Ben had collected the cough remedy and taken it upstairs to Joe’s
room, Joe had already fallen to sleep.
Ben slipped softly into the room to the bed. He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his
lips as he gazed down into the face of his youngest son. Ben sat down on the edge of the bed, gently
shaking Joe’s shoulder to attempt to waken the boy.
“Come
on Joe, wake up son. I have this
medicine for you to take,” encouraged Ben.
Joe
moaned softly and finally after two more tries by his father, opened his
eyes. “Oh, hi Pa,” smiled Joe as he
coughed again.
Ben
poured some of the medicine into a spoon and held it to Joe’s lips. “Take this, it will help stop that cough.”
Joe
eyed the medicine in the spoon and then eyed his father. “Do I have to? I don’t feel so bad,” he asked hopefully.
“Yes
you have too. It’s either this, or I
send for Doctor Martin. Now what’s it to
be?” Ben said sternly, though a smile softened his words.
“You
don’t play fair,” moaned Joe as he relented and opened his mouth for his
father. Ben tipped the spoon up until
all of the medicine was gone and poured another spoonful.
“One
more,” smiled Ben as Joe scrunched up his face at his father and opened his
mouth a second time to receive the yucky tasting medication.
Ben
placed the cap back on the bottle and set it and the spoon aside, on the
table. He then arranged the blankets to
suit himself in an effort to make his son comfortable.
“Am
I going to die?” Joe surprised Ben by asking.
Ben’s
shock registered on his face. “Joseph,
of course not, you just have the beginnings of a cold. Probably from swimming in that cold water,”
he added. “But why would you ask such a
thing?”
Joe
pinched his lips together and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. What’s it like when you die? I mean…what’s it feel like, does it hurt?”
Ben
smiled softly at Joe. “Well son, I can’t
say for sure what it feels like. About
the only thing that I can tell you is that the actual dying, you know, when
your spirit leaves your body, that doesn’t hurt. Unfortunately, sometimes the thing that kills
you could hurt. Like when someone gets
shot and dies from the wound, or maybe someone is very, very sick, and has
suffered for a long time, the sickness might hurt the body, but then again, the
act of dying I don’t think would hurt.
Why son, why do you want to know?”
“I
was just wondering, that’s all. Do you
suppose that when mama died, it hurt?” inquired Joe in a soft voice.
“No
son. When your mother died, it was
sudden, very quick. One minute she was
there, riding into the yard and in a blink of an eye, she was gone. I honestly believe that she felt nothing, not
even the pain in her body before she passed.”
Ben brushed back the stray curls from Joe’s brow.
“Pa…why
does God let some people die quick like, and others are made to suffer for a
long time? Why does he allow someone so
young to die?” Joe was having a hard
time holding back his tears and when he blinked, tiny droplets of water
trickled down the sides of his face.
“Joe,
what’s wrong son? Why are you crying,
sweetheart?” Ben whispered while his thumbs wiped away the moisture.
Joe
quickly swiped his hands across his eyes and took a deep breath. “No reason, I guess I’m just tired. Can I go to sleep now?” he asked, his
questions forgotten now.
“Okay
Joe, close your eyes,” whispered Ben, tucking the edge of the blankets around
his son. Ben leaned down and placed a
kiss on top of the curls. “Good night
son, God bless.”
Joe
gave his father a tiny smile and turned onto his side. “Night Pa,” he said as his voice drifted
off. “Sorry…about…today…”
Ben
smiled, though the gesture went unseen by the recipient who had quickly fallen to
sleep. Ben turned the lamp’s wick down low and slipped from the room, his son’s
questioning fuel for his troubled thoughts.
By
the next morning, Joe’s cough seemed better.
Ben was reluctant to send Joe on to school, but with the missed days the
week before, he felt it necessary for his son to go and catch up on the work
that he had fallen behind on.
“Joseph,
please, try to stay out of trouble today,” smiled Ben. “I let yesterday slide, but if it happens
again, I promise you, I will take more drastic measures, ones I’m sure you will
not like, do I make myself clear?”
Joe
sat astride his horse as he absorbed his father’s words. “Yessir,”
“Good,
now get going,” said Ben as he stepped back, giving Joe and his horse time to
turn around.
“See
ya tonight,” called Joe over his shoulder as he disappeared around the corner
of the barn.
When
Joe reached the school, he hurried to stable his horse and once back out into
the bright morning sun, his eyes searched the group of children who were slowly
gathering, for his friend, Trae. Joe
strolled through the schoolyard but could not find Trae among the
children. He was just about to ask a
group of boys if they had seen him when Miss Jones began pulling on the rope
that was attached to the bell. The bell
clung noisily, a signal for the children that a new school day had begun. Kids seemed to have appeared from all about
the yard as they hurried inside. Joe
lagged behind, delaying for as long as he could for his friend.
“Joseph,
are you coming inside?”
Miss
Jones’ voice drew his attention away from his search and he had no other
recourse but to go inside.
The
morning dragged on endlessly for Joe. He
had expected to meet up with Trae in hopes that they might be able to spend a
few minutes together. Joe liked Trae,
though the other boy was nearly a year younger than Joe was, they had found
that they had a lot in common. A city
boy by birth, Trae loved the wide opened spaces around
“Joseph,”
Miss Jones’ had said as she stood at the side of his desk, “why don’t you go on
home? I see just by looking at you, you
feel terrible. I wouldn’t want any of
the other children to catch that awful cough.
I’ve written a note for you to give to your father, explaining why I’m
sending you home. Now please, gather
your things and go home, and young man, go straight to bed.”
Joe
felt awful as he took the note from the teacher and began gathering his
things. By the time that he had made his
way to the tiny stable to saddle his horse, he felt has if he had put in a long
day working. He could feel the tiny
beads of sweat gathering on his brow as he swiped his hand across his face in
order to wipe away the slowly dripping beads.
“Whew…come
on old boy, let’s go home.” Joe pulled
himself up into his saddle and gently kicked his mount’s side, urging him on.
Ben
was standing in the yard talking to Hoss when Joe arrived home. Hoss, who was facing Joe, glanced up and then
whispered to his father.
“Ut
Oh, looky who’s home early. Wonder why
he got sent home?”
Ben
turned, surprised to see Joe entering the yard.
He waited until Joe had stopped and dismounted before moving to his
son’s side. “You’re home a mite early
today,” commented Ben.
Joe
nodded his head in agreement, “Miss Jones sent me home.”
Ben’s
face formed a frown as his hands found their way to his hips. “Why?
What kind of trouble have you gotten into this time?”
Joe’s
eyes quickly sought his father’s face, stunned by the harsh words and the tone
of his father’s voice. He felt awful and
the only thing that his father could think about was what kind of trouble he
might be in. His temper quickly sprang
to life as he glared angrily at his father.
“Why
do always think the worst of me?” Joe snapped as he flashed his anxious, tear
filled eyes at his father.
Ben
was taken back by the sharpness of his son’s voice. “Joseph, do not take that tone of voice with
me! I only thought that since you were
home early that…”
“That I was in trouble again?