A Long Way From Home
Pt.2
Written by: Lynnette S.
Disclaimer: Bonanza and it's original characters are owned by David Dortort
and NBC. Any resemblance of any extra characters added by myself is purely
coincidental.
Synopsis: When Ben kills a member of the notorious Thompson gang during
an attempted bank robbery, he has no idea of the danger in which he has placed
his son.
Note: I would recommend reading the first part of this story before reading
the second part.
****Dan Thompson paced the floor of the cabin. His gaze came to rest on
the bolted door at the corner of the room. He was getting uneasy. It had
been four days and he knew that a posse was still out looking for him. Suddenly
the front door opened.
"I was beginning to wonder if something had happened pa," Dan was the first
to talk. "When are we going to get rid of the kid and head on out of here?"
He asked. "When I say so," Jeb said with a little hostility.
He was in no mood to argue. He had been out towards the Ponderosa and he
didn't like how many men he saw. He knew that they would have to be on their
way soon if they didn't want to be found.
“I don’t understand why we didn’t just kill him right off and leave him
for the old man to find.” Jimmy, the younger of the two Thompson boys said.
“And that was the original intent,” Jeb replied. “But then I got to thinking,
that would be to easy and why would I make it any easier on Cartwright for
what he did to me?"
Dan looked at his father in a look of obvious question. Jimmy on the other
hand a smile on his face that was widening by the minute. "So," Jeb continued.
"I figured if I had to watch my son die.." "...Then he should have to watch
his son die," Jimmy finished." You know pa you always were one for great plans.""...So
what I thought we'd do," Jeb once again continued."Is get Ben Cartwright
alone and somehow lore him here."
Dan wouldn't say it out loud but he was getting nervous. Sure in the beginning
he too had wanted revenge for the killing of his brother but now he wasn't
so sure. He had been there when his brother was shot and he knew it had been
self-defense but he knew he couldn't think about that now he had to prove
himself to his father and his brother. He had never killed anyone before and
if he backed out of this one he would be betraying his family especially Cal.
**********Joe couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had been listening
to every word the Thompson's were saying from the dark room. He knew that
he had to do something. He couldn't let them lore his Pa here. He had to somehow
escape. But how?
He was getting worse by the hour and he had been in and out of conscientious
so often that he wasn't even sure how many days had passed since he had been
captured. But as he was thinking this, one thought kept returning to his mind.
He couldn't let anything happen to his pa. He had to escape.
**********Adam rode on aimlessly. He wasn't even sure of what he was doing
or were to look. One thought was driving him and that was that Joe had to
be out there somewhere and Adam had to find him. He had passed one of the
ranch hands, John Carter, on his way and had asked him to inform his pa and
his brother that he was going to work at one of the mines for a while and
not to worry about him, he would return in a couple of weeks.
He felt bad about leaving his family right now when they needed each other
most but he had to know. As long as he thought that Joe might be out there
he couldn't just sit at home. He would continue to search for Joe no matter
how long it took, he just had to be sure.
**********Ben Cartwright sat at his desk consumed by worry. John Carter
had just stopped by and re-laid the message from Adam to him. His first reaction
was anger. How could Adam just leave like this when Ben needed him around
the ranch? He just lost a son and he needed Adam and Hoss to be around. But
his anger soon turned to worry. It wasn't like Adam to just go off, but then
again they all had never had to face the loss of a brother or son. He knew
Adam and Hoss both just needed some time alone.
Hoss hadn't come out of Joe's room since the night before when Ben had to
practically drag him to the dinner table for supper but even then Hoss wouldn't
eat much. Ben hadn't eaten or slept for that matter himself for a couple of
days now. He only hoped that God would help them through their sorrow right
now and that this tragedy wouldn't tear their family apart.
**********Hoss hadn't moved since the night before. He couldn't tear himself
away from Joe's room. He had just sat in the chair in the corner of the room
all night staring at the empty bed of his youngest brother.
It was now 9:00 in the morning. Hoss chuckled to himself as he thought about
how every morning at this time they were usually having to drag Joe out of
bed. Like their father, Adam and Hoss had always been early risers in the
morning. Adam was always one to make sure that he got an early start on his
chores in the morning and Hoss was the same. But their little brother did
not share in their enthusiasm for work that early in the morning. Hoss knew
that Joe always pulled his weight when it came to work on the ranch though,
maybe even more. Joe had gone on a number of the last cattle drives, had repaired
several of the line shacks over the last few days before their father's return
from his trip, and had even managed to find enough time to break a few of
the stallions from the string of horses they had recently acquired.
Adam and Joe had been getting along quite well while their pa had been gone.
Of course Joe had been working mostly with Hoss though. After Ben had been
gone for a week Adam had received a telegram saying that there was a problem
at one of the mines. A level of the mine had caved in and some help was needed
to free the men that were trapped inside. Adam had gathered many of the ranch
hands and had headed towards the mine leaving Hoss and Joe in charge of the
ranch for the five days that he had been gone.
Hoss and Joe had enjoyed working together during that week. It seemed as
though he and Joe never argued. What Hoss didn't enjoy was having to haul
Joe out of bed every day. It had become an every day chore ever since Joe
was little and had to be drug out of bed every day for school. He couldn't
remember how many times he had complained about it to Joe, now he wished everything
was the way it was a week ago and he was having to haul Joe out of bed today.
Tears sprang to Hoss's eyes as thoughts of his baby brother, his short shanks,
flooded his mind. He had no regrets. He and Joe had been so close and had
gotten along so well. They were never afraid to share with each other their
hopes and their plans for the future.
Hoss only wished that he had had more time. It just wasn't right. Joe was
just 24 years old with his whole life in front of him. He would never have
the chance to get married and have children of his own like Hoss knew Joe
had wanted. Only last week, Joe had showed Hoss an old house on the West corner
of the Ponderosa that they had once built for their old foreman and his wife.
When the foreman's wife had died of the fever last spring, their foreman
had told them that he needed to move on so he had packed up and headed to
San Francisco to find a new job away from the memories of his wife. Joe had
said that he hoped to fix up the old house and maybe add an extra room or
two so that when he got married he could live right on the Ponderosa. The
three brothers had always shared in the dream of continuing with the building
of the Ponderosa so that their children and generations of Cartwright's after
would always find a home there. Now it looked as if Joe would never be able
to take part in that dream.
Tears streamed down Hoss's face now as grief overwhelmed him. He buried
his head in his hands as sobs shook him.
**********Joe awoke as the sound of a key unlocking the door to his 'prison'
jolted him awake from unconsciousness. He was unaware of how long he had been
out but he guessed that it must have been a few hours. The door opened and
one of his captors walked in with what seemed to be a tray. The light from
the lantern the man was also carrying stung Joe's eyes and it was a moment
before his eyes could adjust.
When Joe's eyes became clear he looked at the man setting the tray of food
on the floor a few feet away from him. It was the youngest of the gang. "Pa
told me to give you this grub but that don't mean I'm about to untie your
hands so if you want it your gonna have to crawl for it."Jimmy sneered.
What Jimmy didn't know was that Joe had been working at the ropes tied around
his ankles and had managed to slip one foot out of the ropes. A plan began
to form in his mind and suddenly he lunged at a surprised Jimmy knocking him
to the ground . The lantern crashed to the ground and the flames caught fire
to Jimmy's sleeve. Jeb and Dan came rushing into the room at the sound of
Jimmy's screams. Jeb yanked Joe off of Jimmy as Dan grabbed a blanket and
began to pound out the flames first on his brother than on the floor.
Dan helped Jimmy to his feet. "I'll kill you Cartwright," Jimmy yelled.
He seized Joe by his injured arm and punched him twice in the stomach before
Jeb and Dan grabbed a hold of him and held him back. Joe fell to the floor
unconscious. "Tie him up again and this time make sure he's bound tight,"
Jeb ordered Dan as he led Jimmy out of the room.
**********Adam awoke with a start. Glancing up at the sky and the position
of the sun he guessed that it must be 10:00 in the morning. He cursed at himself
for sleeping so late. Adam had wanted to keep looking last night but he knew
that he wasn't going to find Joe if he didn't get any sleep. Even now he
felt as if he hadn't slept in days and really he hadn't. Last night was the
first time he had stopped for rest ever since he had left the ranch four
days ago.
Adam knew that he wasn't getting anywhere in his search. Up until this point
he had searched all of the passes that horses could ride through and even
most of the old passes that hadn't been used by neither man nor beast in years
but still he found nothing.
After Adam had packed up his supplies, he remounted Sport and set off towards
the line shack that Joe had been working on just five mornings ago. They had
never found any horse tracks other then some of Cochises outside of the shack
or on any of the roads leading from the shack. Adam felt that they
had to be missing something.
When Adam reached the line shack he dismounted and began to look around.
It seemed so cold and dark all of the sudden, he hated this place. He went
inside and glanced around the inside of the shack. He knew he wasn't going
to find anything in here. Roy Coffee and the posse had already scoured the
place for any clue to Joe's whereabouts.
Adam stepped back out into the doorway his gaze turned down to the floor.
Some of the sheriff's men had been kind enough to clean the blood off of the
floor so that the Cartwright's or their hired hands, many of them good friends
of Joe's, wouldn't have to do it. No amount of scrubbing however could hide
what had once been there and Adam's stomach lurched as he looked at the wood
now stained red.
Adam quickly stepped outside slamming the door behind him as he walked over
to Sport. He didn't think he could ever go in there again. The sight of the
blood had haunted him ever since that terrible morning. He suddenly felt sick
again and he grabbed onto Sport's saddle to keep himself from falling.
He breathed in the fresh air and after a few moments he was again able to
stand on his own again. He felt so hopeless and discouraged as tears stung
his deep brown eyes. He didn't know where to even look anymore. He wanted
desperately to find his little brother but it seemed as though he and the
men that had took him had completely disappeared. He had tried to remain optimistic
about the situation but despair was finally setting in.
He gave a last glance around the shack. There were three paths leading from
the shack. One on either side of it and one leading right up to the front.
Behind the shack there was nothing but a wooded area that Adam knew reached
a ways and then beyond that, miles and miles of desert.
Suddenly an idea struck Adam. No one would ever try to get a horse through
the thick over growth of trees and underbrush in the backwoods behind the
shack. That is no one, except someone trying to cover their tracks. Another
thought suddenly came to Adam. Beyond the woods, he knew of a shack a couple
of miles into the desert. An old hermit once lived there but he had died some
time ago leaving the building an old abandoned shack.
This new idea renewed the hope in Adam and he quickly remounted and headed
toward the woods.
**********Joe was in and out of consciousness the rest of the morning. Visions
of his father and brothers flashed through his head as tears streamed down
his face. He had to get home. He couldn't let anything happen to his pa.
Joe forced himself up to a sitting position. Fever ravaged his body and
his arm once again felt like it was on fire from the mistreatment he had
suffered earlier. Through gritted teeth, Joe managed to drag himself a few
feet across the room. His body screamed in pain and he struggled to keep
from vomiting.
Joe finally reached where the shards of glass from the broken lantern lay.
In all of the commotion they hadn't thought to clean it up. His plan had worked.
Joe picked up one of the larger pieces of glass and began to work at his
ropes.
It seemed as if hours had passed when Joe finally cut through the ropes.
He could now add sliced up hands to his list of injuries. His strength was
declining and it took him some time to untie the rope around his ankles. Now
there was nothing to do but sit and wait. He would have to figure out some
way to surprise his captors. The next time they tried to enter the room, he
would be waiting.
**********Ben was worried now. It had been four days since Adam had left.
He was beginning to think about going up to the mine that John Carter had
told him that Adam would be at. Just then, Ben heard a horse trot into the
yard. Ben knew that it had to be his oldest son but when he opened the door
he realized that it wasn't Adam but it was Matt Smith, one of the workers
up at the mine north of Virginia City- the same mine that Adam was supposed
to be working at.
"Matt Smith! What a pleasant surprise,"Ben said trying to sound convincing,
he had really hoped it would be Adam." What brings you down here?" Ben enquired.
"Well Mr. Cartwright, we're pretty short handed up at the mine right now
and I was hoping Adam or Hoss and any ranch hands you could spare could come
and help us out. I can understand if your busy with everything that's happened
lately and all but sometimes a man needs a little work to get his mind off
his troubles."
Ben's face turned to question. " You mean Adam's not up at the mine already?"Ben
asked
"No," Matt replied, "I can't say that I've seen Adam for some time. Was
he supposed to be up at the mine Mr. Cartwright?" "John Carter stopped by
a few days ago and said that Adam had told him that he was going to work
up at the mine North of Virginia City." Ben replied with concern growing
in his voice." It worries me that he never showed up."
" Maybe John heard him wrong or maybe he just decided to go up to one of
the other mines. I could check the other mines if you want Mr. Cartwright,"
Matt offered.
"Thanks Matt, I'd appreciate it if you would. After you check the other
mines please make sure to send me word whether you find him or not." "Of
course Mr. Cartwright. I'll ride in and personally tell you myself." "Thanks
again Matt. I'm very grateful for the help." Ben said as Matt left the house.
Remounting his horse, he rode out of the yard.
Ben wasn't about to wait to hear word from Matt. Somehow he didn't think
that Adam was up at one of the other mines and Ben wasn't one to sit around,
he would go look for Adam. He prayed silently that nothing had happened to
him. He didn't think he or Hoss could bear the loss of another son. Ben grabbed
his gun belt and coat and headed for the door. His first thought was to check
that line shack that Joe had been taken from.
"I'm coming with you pa." The sudden voice surprised Ben but he didn't need
to turn around to know who it was. "Hoss, I think you should stay here and..."
" Pa, he's my brother," Hoss cut him off, "And from what I've heard he may
need our help so there's nothing you can say to keep me here." A smile formed
on Ben's face, "Actually son, I was hoping you would say that. Let's go"
**********Adam was happy to finally reach the edge of the woods. It had
been very difficult to get his horse through the mass of trees and brush.
He knew that he was probably on the right track though for in the woods he
had noticed many horse tracks and it wasn't like many people traveled through
those woods.
Now that Adam had reached the edge of the woods, he would be able to quicken
his pace. He was trying not to get his hopes up but he couldn't stop the rapid
beating of his heart. He had to keep telling himself that even if the tracks
would lead him to the Thompson gang that wouldn't mean that Joe was still
alive and with them. Still somehow he felt a sense of urgency and he urged
his horse to a gallop.
**********It had been a couple of hours before Joe heard horses ride up
to the shack. He knew that the Thompson's were returning, it was time to
set his plan to action. The couple hours that it had taken the Thompson's
to return had given Joe time to rest and regain some of the strength he would
need if he hoped to escape.
He had no idea of what he was going to do. All he knew was that he was going
to escape, he couldn't let anything happen to his pa. Joe positioned himself
behind the door.
"Check on the kid and make sure his ropes are still plenty tight. Another
accident like yesterday and this whole plan will have been for nothing." Joe
listened to Jeb's words through the door. He heard footsteps as one of the
Thompson boys walked to the door and unlocked it. Joe tensed ready to spring
at whoever came into the room.
The door opened and Jimmy stepped in a look of surprise on his face at the
empty room. The moment of surprise was all that Joe needed and he lunged at
Jimmy knocking both of them onto the floor. Joe quickly pulled himself back
on his feet. Jimmy looked to be out at least for the moment. Hearing yells
from the other room Joe knew that he needed to act fast. He ran for the door
just as Dan appeared with a gun in front of him. Joe dove at him and they
both struggled for the gun. Just when Joe didn't think he could fight anymore
the gun went off and Dan dropped to the floor. Jeb who had been out in the
barn for a few moments came rushing in at the sound of the gun going off.
Trying to think quick, Joe could hear Jimmy coming too in the other room
just as Jeb burst through the front door blocking Joe's only exit. Suddenly
he ran toward the window and charged through it falling to the ground outside
amidst broken glass. Dazed with the need for escape driving him. He pulled
himself once again to his feet and began to run with no idea of where he was
going.
**********Adam's head jerked up. He was almost sure he'd heard it. A sound
that he had heard many times before, a gunshot. He urged his horse a little
faster but he didn't want to go at a gallop for fear that he would be heard
riding up.
**********Joe kept running. He didn't really know what direction to run
in. His escape seemed to have used what little strength he had left. But
thoughts of home, his pa, and his brothers willed him to push on. He could
hear Jimmy not far behind.
Suddenly Jimmy caught up to him and tackled him to the ground. He quickly
stood up and aimed his rifle at Joe. "Looks like the end of the line Cartwright,"
Jimmy seethed. "I'm going to enjoy killing you." Jimmy cocked his rifle. Joe
didn't move and even if he had wanted to his strength was completely gone.
He closed his eyes and waited for the end.
The sound of a shot rang through his ears but surprisingly he didn't feel
anything. "Joe?" He heard someone say. He recognized the voice and he opened
his eyes. When they adjusted he found himself staring up into the concerned
eyes of his brother Adam. "Joe are you all right?" Adam asked. "Adam! I've
never been so happy to see anyone." Joe answered. "How did you ever find me?"
"It's a long story little brother. How about we concentrate on getting
you home?" "Home never sounded so good Adam." Joe answered."There was a third
one Adam. Jeb Thompson." "I know," Adam replied. "Well it looks as if he
made a run for it. After I heard a shot I rode towards the area I thought
I had heard the sound. Just as I reached the cabin I saw a man on a
horse tear out of there faster than any thing I'd ever seen. I thought of
riding after him but then I heard the commotion over here. Looks like I got
here just in time." " Well Adam I must say, your timing couldn't have been
any better." Joe said .
Adam cocked his gun at the sound of approaching horses. A look of relief
flooded his face at the sight of the brown and buckskin horses. " Pa! Hoss!"
Adam called. Hoss and Ben quickly dismounted and ran over to where Adam sat
holding Joe. "Joe!" Was all Ben managed to say as tears began to stream down
his face. He pulled Joe into his arms and held him. Adam and Hoss saddled
the horses leaving father and son to their moment of reunion alone.
Joe held onto his pa afraid that if he let go his pa would be gone, he would
be back in that dark room, and he would find that it was all a dream. "Joseph,
thank God you're all right." Ben said. He could barely speak he was so emotional.
Ben was also shocked at Joe's appearance. His right shoulder was in bad shape
from the bullet wound and he looked to have a fairly high fever. He also looked
very exhausted and Ben knew that he needed to get Joe home.
Ben carefully helped Joe to his feet and helped him over to Buck. Hoss gently
assisted Joe in climbing up on the horse and Ben climbed up behind him. He
held his son against him as he grabbed onto the reigns.
Joe rested his head against his father's chest. He felt safe in his father's
warm embrace. His family meant so very much to him and these last few days
seemed only to strengthen and increase that already intense love that he felt
for his pa and his brothers. Just yesterday he had begun to think that he
might never see his family again but here he was now, on his way home. Home.
Just the thought of the word brought tears, once again, to Joe's eyes. Never
again would he take it for granite.
Joe looked up at the face of his father and then around to that of each
of his brothers. With his green eyes still glistening with tears and a smile
spreading across his face Joe told his family the words they all wanted to
hear, "Let's go home."
They all rode off with joy once again in their hearts. They knew that everything
would be all right, now that they were all back together again. With these
thoughts they headed towards home- Ben, Adam, Hoss... and Little Joe Cartwright.
A family once again.
~The End~
Lynnette Smith
February 2003
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