Affinity
By: Rona
“Joe, I think you and Danny
should be the ones to go over to Mr Andersen’s place and give him a hand,” Ben
Cartwright decreed over breakfast. “It’s only for a couple of weeks, until he’s
fit to work again.”
“Yes, sir,” Joe murmured.
He took another slug of his coffee and stifled a yawn. “When do we go?”
“Tomorrow,” Ben decided.
“You tell Danny today and you can leave first thing tomorrow.” Ben glanced at
Joe’s empty plate. Although his youngest son’s silence was more indicative of
his tiredness after a late night doing goodness only knows what, it had allowed
him to eat his meal before it got cold, which was something of a change for Joe
in the morning. Once Joe got to wrangling with his brothers, his meal was
forgotten.
“I’ll go tell him now,” Joe
said, and excused himself from the table.
Glancing up, Ben caught a
speculative glance from Adam. “Well?” he queried.
“Do you really think Joe
and Danny are the best choices to send to Andersen’s?” Adam asked, in his
blandest tone. Ben wasn’t fooled for an instant. He cocked an eyebrow to invite
Adam to go on. “They can both be kind of volatile, you know, and Andersen isn’t
the most tolerant guy we know.”
“Oh, I don’t think there’ll
be a problem,” Ben replied. “Sven has become more easy going over the years.
And you know your brother; he’s always charmed Sven. And both he and Danny are
hard workers, you can’t deny that.”
“I guess,” Adam responded,
doubtfully. But he wasn’t convinced. Sven Andersen was a man of his father’s
age, a bachelor with a short temper. It was true that Joe had always got along
very well with the curmudgeonly man, but that had been on short visits lasting
a matter of hours, not days, or even weeks. And for all Ben’s assurances that
Andersen was more relaxed these days, Adam had heard that since he had hurt
himself the previous week, his tolerance was even more limited than it had
been.
“Its settled, Adam,” Ben
told him. “We have enough to do round here without you questioning my every decision.
Now, let’s get to work.” He pushed back his chair and Hoss, the middle son,
stood too, looking relieved. For a few days now, Adam and Ben hadn’t been
getting along. The disagreement they had had was quite minor, but both men
thought they were right and both were too stubborn to let go of the argument
quite yet. It made life very uncomfortable for everyone else round about.
Heaving a sigh, Adam rose,
too. He couldn’t quite say why he was suddenly so uneasy about this new
assignment of his brother’s. He hoped it was simply that he was out of sorts,
not some kind of premonition.
****************
“Sure thing, Joe,” Danny
responded. He was rhythmically brushing his horse, Concho, prior to saddling
him. “When do we leave?”
“After breakfast tomorrow,”
Joe replied. He went across the barn to saddle his own horse, Cochise.
“What’s Mr Andersen like to
work for?” Danny asked. He’d been with the Cartwrights for two years and people
who didn’t know often mistook him for Joe’s brother, as they were of a similar
lean build, with dark curly hair. Joe’s hair had a more chestnut tinge to it,
and his smile flashed more readily, for he had had an easier life than Danny,
but they were both good looking young men. “I don’t recall ever meeting him.”
“I don’t think you have,”
Joe replied, trying to think back. “We haven’t seen as much of him in recent
years. He and Pa started out here about the same time. But I think he’s all
right. I’ve never worked for him, myself.” He flashed a grin at Danny.
Grinning right back, Danny
jibed, “Some people round here would say you’ve never worked for anyone at
all!”
“Oh, so now you’ve been
talking to those brothers of mine, have you?” Joe scolded. “You ought to know
by now not to listen to a word they say! Huh, some friend you are!”
But he was unable to keep
up the front of being offended when he saw Danny’s grinning face. Laughing
together, they led their horses out of the barn and mounted up. As they rode
away, Adam came out of the house. He paused as he watched them leaving and
again felt that pang of foreboding. He wished he could think of a way to stop
them going to Andersen’s the next day.
****************
“Take care of yourself,
son,” Ben said, as Joe swung into the saddle the next morning. “Be sure and do
everything you can for Sven. And behave yourself, Joe.”
“I will, sir,” Joe replied.
“Bye, Pa. Bye, brothers.” He lifted a hand in farewell and rode across the
yard. Danny fell into place beside him and they headed off for Sven Andersen’s
place, which was about 35 miles away.
“Its sure goin’ to be quiet
with Joe gone, ain’t it?” Hoss said, as he and Adam went to get their horses.
“At least I’ll get peace to
read,” Adam replied. His disagreement with Ben still wasn’t healed and, knowing
that Joe was siding with Ben, Adam found it difficult to be pleasant to his
youngest brother. His farewell had been
decidedly cool and Joe had responded in kind. They had had a brief spat, in
which little was said, but much was felt and Adam had had the final word by
turning his back to Joe and refusing to watch him ride away.
“Dadburnit, Adam, if’n you
ain’t worse than Joe when you’s in a mood,” Hoss grumped. “Good thing one o’ us
Cartwrights c’n keep their temper, that’s what I say.”
Blinking, Adam wondered if he’d
really been that bad. Worse than Joe? Was that possible? He resolved to try and
keep his bad mood under better control as he mounted his horse and followed his
younger brother out of the yard.
*********************
It was well into the
afternoon before Joe and Danny arrived at the Andersen ranch. Andersen was a
tall, heavily built man, with greying fair hair and piercing blue eyes. Joe had
explained on the way over that he was Swedish, like Hoss’ mother had been. He
was going around on a stick, his right foot swathed in bandages where he had
burnt it the previous week.
“I had a fire,” Andersen
told them, gruffly, as he showed them into the house. “My barn burnt down and
my hand was killed. Until I am well again, I asked your father if he could help
me. So you are here.”
“It’s good to be back
again, sir,” Joe replied. “This is Danny Kidd. Danny’s worked for us for the
last two years.”
Shaking Danny’s hand,
Andersen looked him over. “Danny Kidd,” he mused. “It seems to me that I heard
Ben talk about you.”
“Could be,” nodded Joe.
“Danny’s a real good worker.” He grinned at his friend.
“It wasn’t that,” Andersen
replied, doubtfully. He shrugged. “It will come back to me. Now I will show you
where you sleep.” He led them into the small bunkhouse adjacent to the main
house. It had a couple of bunks in it and was clean and warm. “I don’t allow
drinking or swearing,” he informed them. “You will eat with me in the house. If
you are not on time for a meal, you will not eat. Supper is at 6.” He left.
“Phew, he’s tough,” Danny
commented, rolling his eyes.
“I guess he is,” Joe
replied, throwing his saddle bags down on a bunk. He sat down to test the
bedsprings.
“What do you think we’ll be
doing?” Danny asked, copying Joe and finding that the bunks were firm but
comfortable.
“I dunno,” Joe replied.
“Chores, pretty much like at home, I guess.” He stretched. “I just hope he
doesn’t want us to rebuild the barn!”
“Joe,” Danny ventured,
after a moment’s silence. “You don’t suppose he remembers your Pa talking about
me being in prison, do ya?”
Sitting up, Joe met his
friend’s worried eyes. “He might,” he replied, honestly. “We didn’t make a
secret of it, Danny. And apart from that trouble with the Carters, things have
gone well, haven’t they? After all, you’re a free man now, and have been for
over a year.”
“I know that,” Danny
muttered. “But, Joe, you know there are always people who don’t believe that a
person with a prison record can ever go straight. And they are right, a lot of
the time. How do I convince him I’m not one of that kind?”
This wasn’t the first time
that Joe and Danny had had this discussion, and Joe didn’t for one moment
suppose it would be the last. For all that Danny had been free for the last two
years, it hadn’t been easy for him to overcome the conditioning of the last 10
years. In fact, Danny had been institutionalised since he was five, and Joe was
learning that that created habits that were hard to break. But most of the
people he had come in contact with since his release after saving Joe’s life
had accepted him at face value. Joe just hoped Sven Andersen did the same.
“You convince them the same
way you always have,” Joe replied. “By working hard and being honest. I know
it’s hard, Danny. But you have to prove yourself a lot less now than you did in
the beginning, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Danny answered. He
found a crooked grin for Joe. “I was right that day, when we fought, you know.
I asked if I’d have to prove myself to everyone I met and you said yes. And
then I said something about it being hard and not wanting to do it. Well, I was
right, it is hard, and there are still days that I don’t want to do it.”
“I know,” Joe said,
quietly. He had been a witness to Danny’s journey from wounded, caged animal to
the happier, more relaxed individual he now was. It was a testimony to Danny’s
strength of character, and to Joe’s steadfast friendship that he had completed
the journey. Right from the beginning, Joe and Danny had been friends, and
their affinity had just deepened over time. “I wish you didn’t have to.”
“Well, I do,” Danny
replied, briskly. “And it has been worth it, Joe. It has been worth it.”
“Good,” Joe answered,
smiling. He knew they had come through another crisis.
***************
Supper was surprisingly
good, but mindful that they had to be up early next morning, and had had a long
ride that day, Joe and Danny didn’t linger after the meal. They washed up the
supper dishes and brought in kindling for the morning before heading off to
bed.
But sleep didn’t come easy
to either of the young men that night. Joe was thinking about what Danny had
said to him earlier and wondering, not for the first time, if Danny would one
day leave to go somewhere where his name wasn’t known, where he wouldn’t have to
prove himself to everyone he met. Joe wouldn’t blame him if he did go, but he
would miss him.
Across the room, Danny
listened to the faint howling of a wolf. He was uneasy. Andersen had eyed him
speculatively all over supper and some deep instinct was telling Danny that
this man would not be happy to discover that he had an ex-con working on his
place. Sighing, and rolling over again, Danny tried to convince himself that he
was just tired. It was natural to be apprehensive, he chided himself silently.
He’d only ever worked at one place – the Ponderosa, where tolerance was
expected from everyone and enforced. Of course he was going to be nervous
working for a new boss, even if it was only for a few weeks.
The night was well advanced
before either of them slept.
****************
Danny’s instinct was proved
right as they went in for breakfast the next morning. Andersen glared at them
both as they trooped in, yawning. Silently, he pointed to the frying pan on the
stove and sat down by the fire.
Exchanging glances, Danny
and Joe went to fry the bacon and eggs that were sitting out. The silence was
stifling, and it wasn’t until they were at the table that Andersen spoke. He
gave thanks to the Lord and they began to eat. Almost at once, though, Andersen
began his attack.
“I know what you are,” he
declared, looking at Danny. “I remember what Ben said to me. You are a
convict.” He shot a sour glance at Joe. “How could you bring such a man here?”
“Danny’s not a convict,”
Joe protested, hotly. “Its true, he was in prison, but he’s a free man now.
He’s worked for us since getting out and he’s proven himself honest and
reliable.”
“You Cartwrights always
were a trusting lot,” Andersen answered, sceptically. “Once a convict, always a
convict.”
“I’ll leave this morning
and go back to the Ponderosa, sir,” Danny interjected, quietly.
“No you won’t!” Andersen
objected. “I don’t want you going about my land without someone to keep an eye
on you. Who knows what you might do?”
“Mr Andersen,” Joe began,
but the older man talked over him.
“You stay here and do the
yard chores where I can see you, young man. Soon as you finish eating, you get
to work. Joe, I want to talk to you.” Andersen filled his mouth and glared at
them.
After another exchange of
glances, Joe and Danny went on eating, although neither of them had much
appetite now. It was going to be a long couple of weeks at this rate. Joe was
incensed by Andersen’s attitude, but he remembered his father’s warning about
behaving himself and bit back the harsh words that sprang to mind. Losing his
temper wasn’t the way to make Andersen see sense.
As soon as they finished
eating, Andersen gave Danny a verbal list of yard chores to do and motioned to
the door. Shooting Joe another look, Danny meekly said, “Yes sir,” and went out
to get on with them.
“Now that he is gone,”
Andersen began, “I can tell you what I intend to do. Joseph, I have sold this
ranch. I move in two weeks, which is why I asked your father for help, rather
than hire someone new to help me. I have bought a house near here, but I don’t
want everyone knowing where I have gone. I don’t want people ‘visiting’ me.
Being nosy more like. What I want you to do, Joseph is start taking my
belongings to the new house. I will tell you how to find it. But I don’t want
you telling the convict where it is, understand? I don’t want him going over
there some night and stealing my stuff. I am sorry you have to share the
bunkhouse with him.”
“Danny is my friend,” Joe
stated, quietly, although his temper was flaring. “I don’t mind sharing the
bunkhouse with him. I’m perfectly safe, as is your new house. Danny isn’t a
thief.”
“Believe what you will,
Joseph,” Andersen returned patronisingly. “But I know I’m right.” Beckoning to
Joe, he led him into the other room, where several trunks and boxes stood
ready. “Hitch up the wagon and you can take these over to the other house.”
**************
For a single man who’d
never been married, Andersen sure had a lot of stuff to move, Joe thought, ruefully,
as he manoeuvred a large sideboard into the new house. He had been given explicit instructions as to
where all the stuff was to be left, so he shoved the sideboard over to one wall
and dusted his hands off on the seat of his pants. That was the last load for
the day, and he left the house, carefully locking the door behind him.
It was a lovely house, Joe
thought as he drove away. It was secluded, but not too far from the main road,
with views over to the mountains and
Supper was a strained meal.
Danny’s closed face reminded Joe only too clearly of the months when he had
first arrived at the Ponderosa and he made no attempt at conversation. Joe
tried, but found Andersen almost as silent as Danny. Finally, even Joe’s
ebullience was dampened by the atmosphere, and after doing the dishes, they
headed back to the bunkhouse as quickly as possible. Joe was infuriated when
Andersen patted him consolingly on the shoulder as he was leaving.
“Tough day, huh?” Joe
asked, as they walked across the dark yard.
“You could say that,” Danny
responded. “He rode my back all day, Joe. Nothing I did was good enough for
him, but he sure knew how to sing your praises.”
“I’m sorry,” Joe replied.
“I didn’t know he was going to be like this and I’m sure Pa didn’t either.”
“It’s not your fault, Joe,”
Danny assured him. “I was just letting off steam.” He smiled sideways at Joe.
“So what have you been doing all day?”
“Well, keep it under your
hat,” Joe confided, “but he’s moving off the ranch in a couple of weeks, which
is why we’re here, and he has me moving his stuff for him.” He groaned and
stretched his back theatrically. “I’m not supposed to tell you where the house
is, but I’m going to anyway. If something were to happen to me between here and
there, I’d rather someone reliable knew where to come looking for me.”
“Makes sense to me,” Danny
replied, touched by his friend’s declaration of trust. “Given the amount of
accidents you have, that sounds really sensible. In fact, that’s not like you
at all, Joe. Are you ailing?”
“Ha-ha!” Joe retorted, but
was unable to hide his laughter. As the two of them settled for the night, Joe
described the location of the house and what it was like inside.
*******************
Over the next two days, Joe
helped Danny with the neglected chores around the yard. They worked well
together, able to chat without the chat slowing their hands any, which was why
Ben had assigned them to work together. Unfortunately, despite Joe’s attempts
to charm Andersen, he was still coming down hard on Danny. Had it not been for
Danny’s insistence that Joe say nothing, there might have been an almighty
explosion of Joe’s temper. But with his friend working so hard to prove
himself, Joe bit his tongue.
On the third day, Joe was
sent back to the new house with a bed frame that Andersen had purchased, and
which had just been delivered to the ranch. Joe was given strict instructions
as to which of the bedrooms it was to go in. “Set it up for me, son,” he asked
and Joe agreed.
“I’ll be back as soon as
I’ve done this,” Joe told him. “I hope it won’t take too long.”
“You’re a good boy, Joe,”
Andersen told him. “I wish I had a son like you.”
Smiling, for he couldn’t
think of a way to answer that statement, and he couldn’t tell Andersen that he wasn’t
a boy anymore, Joe climbed into the wagon once more and set out. He could see
Danny chopping wood, and knew that at least some of that wood would have to be
transported up to the new house. Well, that would probably be his job for
tomorrow. Andersen was certainly working them hard.
It was a warm day and the
air in the house was stuffy. Joe carried in the pieces of the bed frame and
laid them all out on the floor before he set to and put it together. He tried
desperately hard to open the window in the bedroom and let some air in, but it
was painted shut. Joe thought about hunting for something to pry it open with,
but in the end decided that it would be quicker to just build the bed and
leave.
It was a handsome frame of
wrought iron with brass knobs on each post. Joe had never seen one quite like
it and wondered how on earth it would hold together, as he began to slot the
pieces into place. However, once he’d figured out a way to brace the already
built bit against a wall to stop it all falling apart, it went together quite
easily and was then screwed into place. By the time he was finished, a couple
of hours later, Joe was quite confident that it wouldn’t come apart.
Tidying up the rubbish that
had come wrapped around the frame, Joe wiped the sweat from his forehead. The
inside of the house was like an oven. Checking the windows, Joe discovered that
they were all painted shut. He knew that Andersen would be furious with whoever
had painted the house, but that wasn’t his problem.
Going back out to the
wagon, Joe stood for a moment, relishing the cooler air outside. He would hate
to be stuck inside that house for any length of time, he thought. Climbing back
onto the wagon seat, Joe smiled as he realised that their first week was almost
over. He could bet Danny knew that too and was counting the days until they
were headed back to the Ponderosa.
Getting the horse moving,
Joe’s smile faded. He couldn’t wait to get home either.
*****************
As Joe had expected, his
chore for the next day was to stack the wagon with wood and take it up to the
new house. “The convict can help you load up at this end,” Andersen observed,
scathingly. Danny’s face darkened, but he didn’t say anything.
“At least we’re working
together this morning,” Joe commented, as they hitched the wagon. “I’m sorry
this has been such a bad trip. I’m sure Pa wouldn’t have asked you to come
along if he’d known what Andersen would be like.”
“Guess I shouldn’t
complain,” Danny sighed. “He’s at least just sticking to insults. After all, we
both know some men would have come after me physically.”
“I’m still sorry he’s being
so horrid,” Joe persisted. “It’s not fair. You’ve worked really hard this last
week and he’s done nothing but complain.”
“Its not your fault, Joe,”
Danny reminded him. “Come on, let’s get this wood stacked. Remember, you have
to do all the work at the other end!”
Grimacing, Joe grumped,
“Thanks for reminding me, pal!” They grinned at each other as they began to
stack the wood.
The wagon was half full
when disaster struck. Joe had noticed the previous day that there was a loose
board in the side of the wagon, but by the time he had got back to the ranch,
untacked the horse and gone in for supper, he had forgotten all about it. As
Danny moved away to pick up a log that had rolled away from the rest of the
stack, the board gave way as some of the logs in the wagon settled. One moment,
everything was fine, the next, the logs were pouring out of the wagon on top of
Joe!
Hearing the noise, Danny whirled
and stood frozen for a moment. “Joe!” he cried and leapt forward, pushing logs
aside to grab his friend beneath the arms and haul him free.
It was perhaps not the most
sensible thing to do, but Danny was terrified that the rest of the logs would come
toppling out of the wagon, and he was right. He had barely dragged the
unconscious Joe clear when the side of the wagon gave way completely.
Kneeling by Joe’s side,
Danny took in his condition. Joe was unconscious, his head bleeding from a
wound near his hairline. His clothes were dusty and torn, and Danny could see
blood on Joe’s skin. He wasn’t sure enough of himself to find out if there were
broken bones, but he thought it likely.
“What are you doing?” cried
a voice and Danny turned to find Andersen covering him with a gun.
“The wagon gave way,” he
panted. “Joe got caught under the logs. I’ve got to go for the doctor, Mr
Andersen. Joe might be hurt bad.”
“You did this to him!”
Andersen cried. “I knew you were up to no good! I’ll see you swing for this!”
“What are you saying?”
Danny shouted. “Joe’s hurt; he needs a doctor! I’ll go into
**************
“Sheriff Coffee! You must
help me!” Sven Andersen burst into the jail house in
“What’s the trouble?” he
asked, in his gruff but kindly way.
“Joe Cartwright,” Andersen
puffed, putting his hand onto his heaving chest while he tried to get his
breath back.
“What about Joe?”
“He’s disappeared,”
Andersen panted. “That convict, Kidd, he went off with Joe today and when he
came back, he had blood on his clothes and Joe was gone.”
Going white,
“Tied up in my buckboard
outside,” answered Andersen, his breathing now under control. “I managed to
knock him out.”
Hurrying outside,
Bringing Danny in and
putting him, reluctantly, in a cell,
“I don’t think you’ll get a
coherent answer,
“Danny,”
Blinking, it seemed for a
moment as though Danny didn’t understand the question. “Joe…wagon…help him,”
Danny muttered.
“What’s he talking about?”
“The side of my wagon gave
way when they were loading it,” Andersen replied. “It was after that that they
rode off, to borrow one, and only Danny came back.”
Frowning, for this made no
sense to
“Only on his face,” Paul
replied. “The rest belongs to someone else.”
“I’ll keep him here for the
meantime,”
“I will go home,” Andersen
said. “I am quite willing to testify against him, sheriff.”
“I doubt if it’ll come to
that,”
*******************
Consciousness seeped back
into Joe’s mind and he tried to move slightly and relieve the ache in his lower
back. He had barely moved his legs an inch when pain assaulted him from all
over and caught his breath. Joe’s stomach roiled queasily and his head began to
pound. Joe couldn’t stop a groan from escaping.
After a time, the pain
subsided slightly and Joe opened his eyes. He had no idea what he had expected
to see, but this wasn’t it! He was lying in the upstairs bedroom of Sven
Andersen’s new house, on the very bed frame he had constructed the previous
day.
None of this made sense to
Joe, and he tried to sit up and look around. Just lifting his head provoked
such a feeling of nausea as his head whirled alarmingly, that he lay back down
at once. Breathing shallowly though his nose, Joe closed his eyes in the hope
that the walls would stop spinning and they eventually did.
Memory was coming back now,
and Joe could remember the wagon side exploding at him and the logs falling. Mercifully,
his memory stopped there. But now Joe knew why he hurt all over. But what he
couldn’t figure out was why he was where he was. The accident had happened at
Andersen’s ranch. How had he come to be out here?
Realising that he was lying
in a desperately uncomfortable position, Joe tried to bring his arms down from
their position beside his head. It was only when he did that that he realised
that he was a prisoner, for his hands were tied to the head of the bed.
Snapping open his eyes, Joe
ignored the sick feeling as he twisted around until he could see the knots
binding him. His body screamed in protest at the movement, and despite his
determination, he could not maintain his position and slowly straightened up.
It didn’t really help. His ribs were agony; his hips ached, his back throbbed
and his legs were so sore that a simple look carried enough weight to make them
worse. And as for his feet… Joe choked back a mirthless laugh. Whoever had
brought him here had taken off his boots, but not done anything to tend his
injuries. He could see blood on his body through tears in his clothes and the
familiar, persistent throb of his head told Joe he had some sort of head
injury.
Later, he wouldn’t be able
to guess how long he fought and struggled against the ropes that kept him
captive. The pain and nausea became so bad that he was glad when he slipped
into oblivion once more.
********************
The thunderous knocking on
the front door drew Ben Cartwright out of sleep and he was still rubbing his
face groggily as he opened the door. “
Closing the door, Ben took
a closer look at his friend and felt an unaccountable throb of alarm. “
“Ben, it’s Joe,”
“Joe?” Ben repeated. He
paled. “What about Joe?”
“It seems there was some
kinda accident at Andersen’s place,”
“What?” Ben said, shaking
his head.
“Andersen, he claims that
Danny killed Little Joe. He knocked Danny out, an’ he’s back in my jail right
now. He ain’t well enough ta be moved, Doc says. He’s got blood on his hands
that ain’t his though. I’m gettin’ up a posse, Ben.”
“I’m right with you,” Ben
replied, snatching up his hat and gun belt. “Adam and Hoss are just down by the
corral. They’ll come too.” He paused and looked at
“You know I don’t, Ben,”
“Let’s go,” Ben suggested.
*****************
“Joe?” The voice was
persistent. Joe wished it would go away
and let him die in peace. However, the voice repeated his name once more and
Joe finally opened his eyes.
The walls were spinning
violently and Joe instantly felt sick. “Pa,” he muttered. “I don’t feel so
good.”
“Poor boy,” the voice went
on, and Joe realised that it wasn’t Ben who was talking. He squinted
desperately to focus on the face above him.
“Mr Andersen,” Joe croaked.
He tried to move, but discovered that he was still tied to the bed. “Let me
go.”
“My poor son, are you not
comfortable?” Andersen crooned. He fumbled with the ropes holding Joe’s right
hand, and for a moment, Joe thought his nightmare was over.
His muscles were so cramped
that the pain as his arm was brought down to his side took Joe’s breath away.
His ribs throbbed and breathing was painful. But as Joe’s head cleared again,
he realised that instead of setting him free, Andersen was tying him to the
side of the bed.
“What are you doing?” he
cried. “Let me go!” He struggled against the restraints, but his awkward
position and the pain that seemed to consume his whole body effectively
combined to prevent him from breaking free.
“Joe,” Andersen
soothed. “Don’t fight me, Joe. You will
be happy here with me. I’ve got rid of the convict for you and once he is dead,
I will send you back to your father.”
“What?” Joe whispered.
“What have you done?” Raising his head, and ignoring the nausea, Joe called,
“Danny!”
“Now, Joe, you don’t have
to pretend with me,” Andersen told him. “I know you were too scared of your
father to tell him you didn’t like the convict, but I understand.”
“No, it’s not like that!”
Joe cried, but his throbbing head was now making speaking difficult and bright
lights were going off at the peripheral of his vision. He swallowed against the
bile rising in his throat. “Please, get my Pa,” he begged. “Please,” he
mumbled, his voice trailing off.
Within moments, Joe was
unconscious again. Andersen finished tying his hands to the side of the bed and
patted Joe on the head. He didn’t see the injuries Joe had sustained and didn’t
realise how ill the young man was rapidly becoming. The only thing Sven
Andersen was thinking of was ensuring that Danny Kidd was hanged.
“Convicts,” he muttered as
he left the room, locking the door behind him. “Too many convicts in this
world. They should all be hanged.”
******************
As the posse rode up to the
Andersen ranch, they could see Sven Andersen sitting on the front porch. He
made no effort to join them as they dismounted from their horses and didn’t
even turn his head. Perplexed by this behaviour, Ben mounted the steps and
called his name. “Sven?”
When there was no response,
he went over and shook the man gently. Andersen’s head lolled on his shoulders.
Alarmed, Ben knelt by him, but he could see he was too late. Glancing up, he told
the others the bad news. “He’s dead.”
His sons’ grim faces grew
grimmer at his words. Now, the only person who could help them find Joe was
Danny, and from what
“We’d better have a look
around here afore we take him into town,”
They split up, although
there wasn’t much to search. Hoss went into the house.
“You can see the blood on
the ground,” Adam said to
“It’s going to be dark
soon,” Ben commented and his voice was strained.
“There ain’t nuthin’ else
we c’n do here,”
“I hope so,” Ben muttered.
“I hope so.” He went over to mount his horse, and stood for a moment, eyeing
the fallen logs, before mounting. He wondered where Joe was and how he was. It
was Ben’s unspoken fear that wherever his son was, he was alone, and dying.
********************
When next Joe opened his
eyes, it was dark. It didn’t matter to him particularly. Just because he
couldn’t see the walls spinning didn’t mean that he couldn’t feel them spinning. The heat was
stifling. He felt dreadful; his head was throbbing, his mouth was dry and his
body was wracked with pain. Moving his legs slightly to relieve his cramped
muscles caused pain to shoot up his left leg from his foot. There didn’t seem
to be a single bit of his body that didn’t hurt.
The worst problem for Joe
was his thirst. His tongue was so dry it seemed to be sticking to the roof of
his mouth and even licking his lips didn’t help. Cracking open his eyes, Joe
peered through the rosy darkness in the hopes of spotting some water nearby,
but, as far as he could tell, the room was empty apart from the bed.
Lying carefully back down,
Joe tugged once more at the ropes that held him captive, but they were no
looser than they had been and he was unable to break free. His wrists were raw
from his struggles, but Joe hardly noticed them. They were just one more misery
among many. His temperature was beginning to climb as his dehydration
increased.
“Please come, Pa,” Joe
mumbled, barely able to form the words. Nausea gripped him again and this time,
Joe wasn’t able to conquer it. He leaned as far over the edge of the bed as he
could and retched helplessly. The uncomfortable position, combined with the
heaving, played havoc with his injured ribs and by the time Joe had recovered
enough to lie flat, he could hardly manage to catch his breath.
There seemed to be only one
way for him to bear the pain and that was to lie absolutely still. Gradually,
concentrating hard, Joe forced his tense muscles to relax, but he discovered
after only a few short minutes that they were all tight again. A moan escaped
his lips and he could feel tears burning behind his closed eyelids. Eventually,
he slept again.
********************
As the posse arrived back
in
“What’s goin’ on here?”
Clem Foster,
Turning to the crowd,
“Andersen said he did,”
shouted an anonymous voice from the crowd.
“We all know Andersen
didn’t have no time for folks as had had a brush with the law,”
“Don’t you want him charged
for killin’ your boy, Cartwright?” the voice shouted.
Turning, Ben sent a burning
look into the crowd. “I don’t know that Joe is dead,” he said, coldly. “But I
do know this; Danny Kidd would never hurt Joe. Never! Why don’t you folks go back to your homes and
your families?”
“Yeah, go on, get outa
here,”
“I’m real sorry about that,
Ben,”
“It’s not your fault,
“Let’s see Danny,” he
suggested.
**********************
All that day, Danny had
drifted in and out of consciousness. When he was awake, he knew who he was, but
not where he was. Clem, following the advice Doc Martin had given, didn’t tell
him he was in the jail. He simply kept an eye on Danny, cleaning up the bucket
when necessary and giving him water at regular intervals. Danny often spoke
Joe’s name when awake, but without any realisation that he was doing so.
However, by the time the
Cartwrights arrived, Danny’s periods of lucidity were growing longer. As Ben
went into the cell, Danny stirred and opened his eyes. For a moment, he gazed
at Ben in disbelief then blinked furiously, as though to clear his vision.
“Take it easy, Danny,” Ben
soothed, sitting down on the edge of the cot beside him. “How do you feel?”
“Not too good,” Danny
ventured in a cracked voice. A hand passed a tin cup to Danny from behind Ben
and the young man drank eagerly.
“Danny, do you remember
what happened?” Ben asked, gently. The urge to shake the answers from him was
almost overwhelming, but Ben resisted.
“We were loading the
wagon,” Danny reported, in a dull voice. He put one hand onto his head, and
winced. “The side of the wagon collapsed and Joe got caught under the logs. I
pulled him out and then Mr Andersen said it was all my fault and I think he hit
me on the head.” The dark, worried eyes, still slightly glazed, came up to meet
Ben’s. “How’s Joe? Is he all right? He looked hurt bad.”
“Danny,” Ben began, then
hesitated, trying to compose himself.
The colour leached out of
Danny’s already pale face. “Joe’s not dead?” he gasped.
“No, no,” Ben cried. “Joe’s
not dead.” He swallowed hard. “At least, as far as we know, Danny. Joe has
disappeared. Andersen said that you’d ridden off together and come back alone.
Danny, he said you’d killed Joe.”
“I’d never hurt Joe,” Danny
denied, vehemently. “You gotta believe me, Mr Cartwright. That isn’t true!”
“I do believe you, Danny,”
Ben assured him. “But, Danny,” he leant forward. “Joe is missing. Andersen is dead.
Can you think of anywhere that Joe might be?”
Silence fell. Danny closed
his eyes and screwed his face into a frown as he forced his sluggish brain to
work. Ben glanced over his shoulder and exchanged looks with his sons and Roy
Coffee. Ben had no idea what time it was, but he could feel the grains of sand
trickling through the hourglass of Joe’s life as they sat there. Out in the
main room of the jail, the big wall clock ticked away the seconds solemnly.
Suddenly, Danny’s eyes opened,
and he struggled onto his elbows. “The house!” he exclaimed, as though that
enigmatic statement made sense. “I bet he took him to the house!”
A surge of disappointment
passed through Ben’s body. “But we checked the house, Danny,” he said. “There was
almost nothing in it.”
Again, the frown creased
Danny’s face. Ben could feel the effort he was making. Then his face cleared.
“Not the ranch house,” he said, his voice excited. “The new house!”
“What new house?” Adam
asked, crowding in.
Impatient, both with his
own weakness and the others’ lack of understanding, Danny shook his head,
wincing at the pain. “You don’t understand. Andersen had sold the ranch. He’d
bought this house, and he told Joe where it was. Joe was taking all his stuff
up there for him, while I did the chores. Joe wasn’t supposed to tell me where
the house was, but he did.”
“Where?” Adam demanded.
Again the pause. Danny
looked uncomfortable. “I only know how to get to it from the Andersen ranch,”
he admitted. “I can’t quite remember…” He lapsed into silence again.
“This isn’t getting us
anywhere!” Adam exclaimed.
“Adam, hush!” Ben ordered,
annoyed. Danny was doing his best and it was clear to them all that he’d had a
bad head wound only a few short hours before. He was doing very well under
pressure.
“Take me to the ranch,”
Danny begged. “I can tell you better from there. Please, Mr Cartwright.”
“I’ll get a wagon brought
to the back door,”
“You’re right,” Ben agreed.
“Danny, are you sure you’re up to this?”
“I’m sure!” Danny insisted.
He sat a bit further up and tried for a smile. It wasn’t convincing, so he
abandoned the attempt. “Joe’s my friend. I don’t want any harm to come to him.”
“Thank you, boy,” Ben
breathed. “Thank you very much.”
*********************
The wagon was brought to the
back door of the jail by a round about route, to avoid the few men who still
hung around outside the jail, waiting for the chance to make trouble for Danny.
Ben thought they were contemptible.
Dawn was only a few hours
away, and as they neared the Andersen ranch, the first faint tendrils of light
could be seen along the eastern horizon. Danny was dozing, warmly wrapped in
blankets against the chill of the night.
“We’re here, Danny,” Ben
said, rousing him. He looked at Adam and Hoss and wondered if he looked as bad
as they did. Adam’s face was darkened by a day’s growth of his heavy dark
beard, and even Hoss looked slightly shaggy, although his blonde beard was more
difficult to see. Ben felt his own chin and sighed at the rasping sound his
hand made.
It took a few minutes for
Danny to wake properly and he peered around blearily. After a moment, he closed
his eyes, and was clearly reliving a conversation under his breath. After a
minute, his eyes popped open and he nodded. “I remember now,” he stated firmly.
“Follow this track for about half a mile and there’s a turn off to the left.
Joe said it was faint, but he’s been up there quite a few times since then, so
it should be more noticeable now. A bit
further along there’s another left turn and the house is about a mile further
on.”
“Let’s go,” Adam urged and
they set off at once.
As Danny had said, the turn
offs were more noticeable and they found them without any difficulty. By now,
the light was growing and Hoss hurried the team slightly. Ben could feel his
breath shortening as his anxiety grew. His heart hammered erratically in his
chest and his hands were shaking. He resolutely did not allow himself to wonder
what they would do if Joe was not in the house.
The moment the house came
into view, Adam touched his heel to his horse and raced towards it. Pulling up
by the porch, he flung himself from his horse and dashed up the steps. The door
was obviously locked by the way he rattled it. By then the wagon had reached it
and Ben jumped down, admonishing Danny to stay where he was.
“Come on, Hoss,” Adam urged
and together, they put their shoulders to the front door.
It took several attempts
and both men were bruised when the door finally gave way, but neither of them
seemed to notice. Inside the hall, they paused. “Spread out,” Ben told them. He
hurried into the downstairs rooms, while Adam took the stairs two at a time.
Hoss went to check the kitchen at the back of the house.
The downstairs rooms were
empty and Ben was part way upstairs when he heard a crash, then Adam’s voice
shouted, “He’s up here, Pa!” There was such urgency in his voice that Ben found
himself running upstairs.
Hurrying through the door
of the room, Ben stopped in dismay as he beheld the figure on the bed. Joe’s
breathing was an audible grunt, and he lay desperately still. The room stank of
vomit and was like an oven. Ben crossed to Joe’s side, taking in the torn,
bloodstained clothing and the terrifying pallor of his youngest son. And then
his eye fell on the ultimate wrong done to the boy – the ropes tying him to the
bed.
“We’ve got to get him to a
doctor,” Ben cried and with Hoss’ help, they gently freed Joe and carried him
downstairs to the waiting wagon.
*******************
It was a nightmare trip
back to town. Ben’s concern was chiefly for Joe, who was very ill, but Danny
had exhausted himself helping the Cartwrights to find their missing loved one
and had taken a turn for the worse, too. Ben was very relieved when they
reached the doctor’s office and Paul was in.
Joe was quickly settled in
the office, while Danny stretched out on the couch in the waiting room. Paul,
after a single look at the Cartwrights, knew he had no chance of getting them
to leave. Sighing, he began to cut off Joe’s clothes.
“Has he moved at all?” Paul
asked.
“No,” Ben replied,
worriedly. “He’s taken some water, but that’s about it.”
“Well, that’s good,” Paul
replied. He began to check Joe over, beginning with the head injury. By the
time he reached the young man’s feet, he had a catalogue of injuries. “All
right,” he began, straightening. “Joe’s got a serious concussion. That’s just
to begin. He’s got broken ribs on both sides His left fore arm is broken just
below the elbow. His left ankle is broken. Both knees are dislocated. He’s
covered in cuts and bruises and there is some evidence of crush damage to his
pelvis. He’s very dehydrated and he’s running a fever. I’ll do what I can for
him, but the only person who can pull Joe through is Joe.”
******************
Time had developed an elastic
quality, Adam thought as he glanced at the clock in the waiting room again. The
hands didn’t seem to move for what felt like hours at a stretch, then, when he
looked again, they had leapt onwards, leaving him with huge blank spaces in his
memory.
Across the room, Ben and
Hoss sat slumped in their chairs. There were sandwiches on the table, provided
by one of the local cafes, but none of them had been able to eat a single bite.
The coffee had long gone; it was the only thing they had been able to stomach.
Nearby, Danny was sleeping
again, but he was looking better. The rest had done him good and Roy and Clem
had made sure that everyone knew that Danny had been instrumental in saving
Joe’s life. However that had not stopped a hardened few, who still insisted
that Danny was to blame for everything that had happened to Joe. Andersen’s
poison had found more than a few sympathetic ears.
Looking at Danny, Ben
wondered if he would stay on. A lot had happened to him and Ben wouldn’t blame
him if he decided to leave and go somewhere where he could leave his past
behind. He would be sorry if that happened, for Danny was a good worker and a
nice man to get along with. He and Joe had a special affinity that Ben would be
sorry to see broken. Right then and there, Ben resolved that if Danny did
leave, he would leave with money in his pocket; good money, so that if he
wanted to buy a spread of his own, he would be able to do so. They owed Joe’s
life to Danny twice over now. Giving him money seemed such a small thing to do
in comparison.
At last, the surgery door
opened and Paul came out. He looked utterly weary, but he was smiling slightly.
“Joe’s conscious,” he reported, and stood back so that he didn’t get crushed in
the rush. With a smile, he followed them into the room.
Sure enough, the youngest
Cartwright son was awake and he managed a slight smile as he saw his family. “I
thought I’d never see you again,” he whispered. “Andersen took me to his house
and left me there.”
“It’s all right, Joe,” Ben
soothed, stroking his hair. “You’re safe now.”
“Is Danny all right?” Joe
asked, his eyelids dropping. He felt no pain, thanks to the injection Paul had
given him.
“Yes, Danny’s all right,”
Paul said. “He’s like you, got a hard head.”
“Good,” Joe replied and slipped
into a healing sleep.
********************
It was almost a week before
Joe was well enough to be allowed to go home. Danny had gone back with Adam and
Hoss that first day, while Ben stayed in town with Joe. To begin with, Joe
slept a great deal, but when he was awake, he told his story in dribs and
drabs.
“Andersen had a real down
on Danny from the start,” Joe told Ben. “I was annoyed when he tried to make
out that you had forced us to be friends, and he wouldn’t believe me when I
told him that it wasn’t true.”
“Sven Andersen had
undergone a change, Joe,” Ben told him. “You remember that I told you he had
died?” Joe nodded. “Well, Paul examined him after we brought him back and he
determined that Sven had had a series of strokes and they were gradually
altering his personality. By the end, we don’t think he was completely aware of
what he was doing.”
The bitterness that Joe had
been feeling towards Sven Andersen dissolved in a rush of pity. How awful, to
lose oneself like that, he thought. “How’s Danny coping?” he asked.
“Oh, not too bad,” Ben
replied. “The talk in the town is dying down, but there will always be one or
two people who don’t believe he’s innocent, the same as there were before, I’m
afraid.”
“He’ll leave,” Joe mumbled.
“I know he will.” He raised tired, teary eyes to Ben. “I wish there was some
way to show him how grateful I am.”
“I’m sure we can find a
way,” Ben soothed and watched as Joe fell into sleep once more.
*********************
Months passed before Joe
was finally on his feet again. He had had a hard time of it, being virtually
helpless for a lot of the time. However, time had once more brought about
recovery and Joe was back in the thick of things as soon as he was able.
During his time in bed, he
and Adam had managed to resolve their differences again. Joe hadn’t realised
that Adam hadn’t bid him a proper goodbye the day he left for Andersen’s and so
hadn’t been nursing the grudge Adam had been expecting. It had come as rather a
blow to realise that he had offered an apology when it wasn’t needed and he
felt a bit snubbed that Joe hadn’t noticed his turned back. But, in retrospect,
it did seem an extraordinarily childish thing to have done and he was glad that
he had apologised for doing it.
About six weeks after he
had begun working again, Danny sought Joe out in the privacy of the barn. “Joe,
I’m leavin’,” he stated, simply.
Putting down the brush he’d
been using to groom Cochise, Joe looked at Danny. “I knew you would,” he
replied. “Where are you going to go?”
“I don’t know,” Danny
answered. “West, into
“I wish there was something
I could do for you,” Joe told him. “I owe you my life twice over!”
Smiling, Danny tried to
hide the moisture that sprang into his eyes. “If not for you, I wouldn’t be free
now,” he reminded his friend. “And your father’s given me money. Enough money
to buy a small spread. Who knows what I might do, Joe? The sky’s the limit!”
Moving away from his horse,
Joe threw his arms round his friend and gave him a brief hug – all that Danny
could tolerate. “I’m gonna miss you,” he quavered. “Be sure and write, you
hear?”
“I hear,” Danny replied, in
a voice as unsteady as Joe’s.
And to Joe’s delight, he
threw his arms round Joe and hugged him back.
********************
“Post for you, Joe,” Ben
Cartwright called as he came into the house from town. “Looks like Danny’s
writing.”
“Thank, Pa,” Joe replied,
catching the letter and tearing open the envelope.
Looking round at Joe a few
minutes later, Ben saw that there was a big smile on Joe’s face. “That looks
like good news, son,” he encouraged. “You gonna share it with us?”
“You know Danny bought that
spread in
Cries of delight came from
all round. Ben found himself blinking back tears. So much good had come from
the friendship between these two young men, and he couldn’t now regret that
Danny had left them two years previously. He was a good man, and he no longer
had to prove himself to anyone.
Good could sometimes come
out of evil. In fact, Ben thought good frequently did come out of evil,
although it wasn’t always apparent at the time. Here was another example and he
hurried to open a bottle, pour out drinks and offer a toast.
“To friendship,” he
declared.
His three sons lifted their
glasses high.
“To friendship.”
The End
For Claire, my sister and
my friend