Protective Urges
By: Rona Y.
“Honest, Pa, I feel much
better,” Joe protested. “I’m fine.”
“Hey, listen, Pa, if Joe’s
volunteering to go back to work, don’t stop him,” Adam joked. “It’s a novel occurrence
and we might as well get the most out of him while he’s willing!”
Shooting Adam a look, Joe
tried very hard not to sniff, or wipe his nose. He had had a cold for over a
week now, and although he had only taken time off work when it was at its height,
he had been restricted to light duties around the yard and barn and he was
desperate to get out and about again. His cough had gone and his head wasn’t
quite as stuffed, even though his nose was still running continuously, much to
his disgust.
“All right,” Ben agreed,
reluctantly. “We do need every hand for the branding.”
“Thanks, Pa,” Joe grinned
and managed to get in a surreptitious swipe of his nose while Ben wasn’t
looking.
As they went out to the
barn, Joe stuck his finger in his ear and swallowed hard in the hopes that he
might get his right ear to pop. The left one had obligingly cleared the
previous day, but the right one was holding out. It was so blocked that Joe
sometimes didn’t catch everything that was said when the person talking stood
on his right side.
“Do you have to do that?”
Adam asked, sounding disgusted. “The sniffing is bad enough without you pulling
faces and poking your ears!”
“Sorry,” Joe retorted. “I
was trying to make it pop, but it won’t.”
“Then leave it alone,” Adam
snapped. “Poking it won’t help.”
“Thanks for the advice,
doctor Adam,” Joe sneered. “I’ll be sure not to sniff when I’m near you.”
“Thank goodness for that,”
Adam muttered. “Try blowing your nose; it might help.”
Glaring at his older brother,
Joe did as he was bid, finding that it just made his ears more blocked than
they had been and did nothing to stop the continuous drip from his nose.
“That’s the last time I take your advice,” Joe grumbled as he saddled his
horse.
“Listen, you were the one
who said he was fit to work,” Adam told him. “Don’t start trying to weasel out
of it now.”
“I’m not!” Joe protested.
“I was poking at my ear quite happily without bothering anyone when you stuck
your nose into things!”
That was true, Adam reflected
as he led his mount out of the barn. Joe hadn’t actually complained until he
had done as Adam suggested. Ah well, he thought, Joe would no doubt start
complaining before the day was out and they needed every hand at the branding.
He rode off as Joe came out of the barn, shooting his sibling a single glance.
“I accept your apology,”
Joe mused to himself, and smiled slightly.
******************
Branding was hot, hard
work. Adam and Hoss supervised at the fire, Hoss roping the calves while Adam
branded them. Joe rode out with the men looking for strays. The cattle all
seemed to know when branding was coming up and took to the brush. But Joe and
the other cowboys were determined, and soon the calves were being brought in
with their mothers in penny numbers.
Bringing in two bawling
calves, with their mothers not noticeably quieter, Joe consulted with the hand
doing the tally at the pen and found that they were down to a handful of beasts
missing in that section. He rode over to where Hoss and Adam were having a
drink and stepped down from the saddle before turning to tell them the good
news.
As he turned, Joe’s head
became suddenly light and he staggered wildly, almost falling into the branding
fire. Only Hoss’ quick reactions saved him from a nasty burn. “Hey, slow down
there, little brother!” Hoss scolded. “Joe, are ya all right, boy? What made ya
stagger like that?”
“I must’ve turned too
quick,” Joe replied, shaking his head. “I’m fine, Hoss, honest.” He sniffed,
for his nose still hadn’t stopped running.
“When did you last eat?”
Adam asked, moving up to stand beside his brother. He thrust a canteen into
Joe’s hands and he drank deeply.
“At lunch,” Joe replied.
“Adam, I’m fine, I just turned too fast.” He smiled. “We’ve got almost all the
steers from this section. I’m going out to look for the last few.”
“Maybe ya should take a
break,” Hoss ventured, but Joe just rolled his eyes at him.
“Hoss, I’m fine.” He
mounted Cochise in one fluid leap and grinned at his brothers. “You guys just worry
about gettin’ these calves branded, ‘cos I’ll be comin’ along with the rest
real soon.”
“He’s ill,” Adam stated
with conviction as Joe rode away.
Hoss shot his older brother
a concerned look. “How d’ya reckon that?” he asked. “He looks all right.”
Returning the look with
amusement, Adam replied, “He’s working hard. He must be ill!”
Making a face, Hoss turned
his back on his grinning older brother. “Let’s get on,” he grunted. “Or Joe’ll
be back with them calves jist ta shut ya up.”
******************
The last few animals, not
surprisingly, were more difficult to find. Joe began to cast his net wider,
moving to the outer limits of this section of grazing. He was drawing closer to
the lake when he heard the terrified bawling of a calf and the frantic lowing
of its mother. Heading in that direction, Joe was surprised to find Cochise
suddenly playing up. When he heard the growl of a mountain lion, he understood.
Breaking through the brush,
Joe saw the lake stretched out before him. The calf was fleeing towards the
water, with the big cat on its tail. The cow was struggling unsuccessfully to
get to its feet. Joe took all this in at a glance and drew his rifle from its
scabbard. He fired at the cat and although he didn’t hit it, he diverted it
from its purpose. The calf, terrified by the shots, kept running, and charged
straight into the lake.
Joe didn’t have time to
worry about the calf right then. The mountain lion had turned and was looking
at him, its ears laid flat against its head. Cochise danced nervously, but Joe
held the horse as steady as he could while he aimed at the cat.
He fired at the same moment
that the cat lunged at him. Cochise reared, the shot went wide and Joe was
dumped onto the ground. His rifle clattered from his hand and went off once
more. The bullet gouged dirt into the big cat’s face and it decided enough was
enough, turned tail and fled.
More relieved than he was
willing to admit even to himself, Joe dragged himself upright and whistled
piercingly for Cochise. The horse hadn’t run far, for which Joe was thankful.
It would’ve been a long walk back to the branding pens!
Catching and soothing the
horse, Joe went to see how the cow was and discovered that it had a broken leg.
There was nothing Joe could do for it, apart from put it out of its misery. He
did that and then turned, remembering the calf.
The little animal had
managed to get itself out far enough that it was having trouble standing, but
not so far that it would be difficult to catch. Or so Joe thought. But the stubborn
little beast was thoroughly spooked by the lion and the shooting and Joe’s
every attempt to rope it fell short. The calf kept retreating, step by step,
further out into the water.
Suddenly, it floundered,
and Joe realised that although every animal can swim, this one was too young
and too scared to realise that. He couldn’t stand by and let the calf drown, so
he hastily shucked his hat, jacket, gun belt and boots and dived into the
water.
With the snowmelt still swelling
the streams, the lake was icy. The cold water snagged the breath from Joe’s
body, but he kept going. In a few moments, he was beside the calf and dragging
the little creature towards shore. At long last, the calf found its feet and,
finally headed in the right direction, it trotted out of the water. Joe
staggered after it and collapsed to the ground, worn out.
It was far too chilly to
stay there for any length of time and Joe slid his jacket and boots on and
retrieved his hat and gun before mounting Cochise and roping the calf. He
shivered all the way back to the pens as he dragged the orphaned calf behind
him.
*****************
“What happened to you?”
Adam asked, rising to his feet. Hoss, glancing up, swiftly followed him.
“It’s a long story,” Joe
hedged, handing the rope to one of the hands.
“You’re soaked and filthy,”
Adam observed. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m all right.” Joe
slowly told his story while Hoss sent a hand to get some hot coffee for his
brother. Joe was glad of the warmth. The spring day had been fine, but it was
afternoon now and it was cooling down, and the water had been freezing.
“You’d better get home and
have a hot bath,” Adam ordered. “We don’t want you coming down with another
cold.”
“No, that might slow the
branding down,” Joe agreed and twinkled at his brother. He sniffed pitifully.
“Go on, Joe,” Adam urged.
“We won’t be long. Thanks to you, we’ve accounted for every head.” He watched
critically as Joe mounted his horse and rode off carefully before he sent a few
hands to retrieve the carcass of the cow. There was no point in feeding all the
vermin of the neighbourhood.
*****************
Riding on a wet saddle was
not a pleasant experience, Joe reflected as he jogged homewards. He really
wanted to travel faster, but knew that with the saddle being so slippery, he
might well be heading for another fall. But that didn’t make the ride any
warmer and Joe was shivering well when he arrived home.
The barn felt warm as Joe’s
chilled fingers struggled with the buckles on bridle and cinch. But he soon had
Cochise settled, even if the grooming didn’t last as long as usual. Then, with
a martyred sigh, Joe headed for the house.
At first glance, the place
seemed deserted and Joe began to tiptoe across the room. He had shut the door
very deliberately so as not to alert Ben, who might possibly be in the kitchen,
but he hadn’t got more than one foot on the stairs when Ben exclaimed, “What in
heaven’s name happened to you?”
Sighing, Joe turned and
gave his father a smile before launching once more into his story. Ben listened
intently, his eyes searching Joe for signs of injury, but even he had to admit
that his accident-prone son had come off lightly this time, with just a few
bruises and a soaking.
“Better get out of those wet
things,” Ben suggested, when Joe had finished. “I’ll ask Hop Sing to heat some
water for a bath.”
“That would be nice,” Joe
agreed. “Thanks,
“Next time, be more
careful!”
*******************
Despite the warm bath and a
roaring fire in his room, Joe still felt a little chilled when he went down to
supper later on. Adam and Hoss had come home and over supper, the talk was of
the mountain lion Joe had seen. Adam and Hoss had gone and scouted the tracks.
“He was a big one, Joe,”
Adam told him. “Almost 9 feet long, I’d guess. You were crazy taking him on
alone.”
Swallowing down some
chicken pie, Joe muttered, “I didn’t think he looked that big from where I
was.”
“We’ll have ta go lookin’
fer him,” Hoss sighed. “Adam said he’d come back an’ eaten a good bit o’ that
heifer.”
“When were you thinking
of?” Ben asked.
“The sooner the better,”
Adam replied. “A cat that big could decimate the calves if he got half a
chance.” He frowned. “We’ll be finished the branding in a day or two. Perhaps,
since Joe is feeling better, we could hunt the cougar tomorrow, and then help
the men finish up the next day?”
Chewing thoughtfully, Ben
thought this through. Nodding, he agreed, “That sounds feasible. You boys can
go hunting it tomorrow and I’ll go down and help the men at the pens. I’ve done
all the paperwork I have to for the moment. But I can’t spare you more than one
day and please be careful, all of you. We’ve got far too much to do for one of
you to get injured.”
“Don’t worry, Pa, we’ll be
careful,” Adam assured him. “And I won’t let Joe out of my sight, I promise.”
He grinned at Joe, expecting a stinging retort, but Joe just gave him a bland
smile in return, not having heard exactly what Adam had said.
With the prospect of the
hunting trip in the morning, none of them lingered by the fire that night. Joe
was the first one to go up to bed. His right ear felt even more blocked than it
had earlier in the day and Joe poked at it as he went into his room. His ear
felt slightly hot and Joe hoped fervently that his unexpected duck in the lake
wouldn’t make his cold come back.
*********************
It was an early start the next
morning. Joe’s right ear was still blocked and he discovered that he couldn’t
hear anything out of it. He put it down to his dip in the cold lake but thought
no more about it and didn’t mention it.
Breakfast was soon over and
the boys went out to saddle their horses. Ben hovered, not wanting to show his
anxiety, but unable to hide it all the same. As his sons mounted up he said,
“Be careful.”
“We will, Pa,” Adam assured
him and cast a glance at his youngest brother. Ben understood completely. Adam
would be watching out for both his brothers, but for Joe especially, as they
had all noticed that he wasn’t hearing properly. Ben had wanted to make Joe
stay at home, but as Joe seemed to be all right otherwise, Adam persuaded him that
Joe would come to no harm. After all, both he and Hoss were there to look after
him, and all of them knew better than to split up when hunting a big cat.
There was a cold wind
blowing that day and although the sun shone, it wasn’t warm. They all had their
jacket collars turned up.
They started the hunt down
by the lake where Joe had seen the cat. The tracks were easy to follow and by
mid-morning, Adam thought they must be getting close to the cat’s den. As the
tracks led into the rougher high ground, they dismounted, tethered their horses
securely and went on on foot.
A sudden, rank smell hit
Adam’s nostrils and he stopped, reaching out a hand to halt his brothers. They
looked at him questioningly, until the wind shifted slightly and they, too,
smelt the stinking remains of rotting meat.
Scouting the area, Adam
skirted around the carcase of a deer and spotted a dark depression that could
be a cave. He signalled silently again and pointed to what he had seen. Hoss
and Joe both nodded and they went on, ready in case the cat should smell them
and come out fighting.
They were only about a foot
from the cave when the cat appeared. It dived out of the cave, knocking Joe,
who was nearest, off his feet, and fled down the hill. Adam pivoted and fired
at it at exactly the same moment as Hoss. The cat had no chance and tumbled
head over heels down the slope to lie dead at the bottom.
Joe had tumbled a bit down
the slope, too and was just sitting up as Adam and Hoss reached him. “Are you
all right?” Adam demanded, fear roughening his voice.
“Sure,” Joe replied,
grinning. “He dead?” He craned his neck to try and see the cat, and had to gulp
hard as his head suddenly swam.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Adam asked, as Hoss caught Joe and supported him. Adam began to feel through
Joe’s curls, sure that his brother had banged his head in his fall. “The cat
didn’t claw you?”
“I’m fine,” Joe assured
them, shaking Adam out of his hair. “Where’s my hat?” Spotting the errant
headgear, he jammed it back on his unruly curls and scrambled to his feet, with
Hoss assisting him. The bigger man didn’t let go of Joe until he saw that his
brother was steady on his feet.
“Let’s go home,” Adam
suggested and as Joe led the way, he nodded to Hoss, who nodded back. They
would both keep a discreet eye on Joe, just in case. Twice in two days, Joe had
had a lucky escape from the big cat. They were determined that he wouldn’t have
a third mishap while they were around.
****************
It was mid-afternoon when
they reached the branding pens. Ben diagnosed success, both from their earlier
than expected arrival back and the big, smug grins they wore. Going across, Ben
smiled at them all. “Good hunting?” he asked.
“Very good,” Adam agreed. He
succinctly told the story, with Joe and Hoss nodding and adding sounds of
agreement. Ben eyed Joe askance as Adam told of his youngest son’s brush with
the cat, but Joe just grinned at Ben, clearly unhurt.
“Well done,” Ben praised.
“Now, do you think you could do some real work here for a while?”
“Sure thing,” Hoss was
quick to agree, while Joe and Adam exchanged resigned looks. They went to
tether their horses before mucking in to lend a hand.
By the end of the
afternoon, Joe had decided that he was coming down with another cold. His nose
was still running, although not quite as persistently as it had been for the
past two weeks, and he was very hot, despite the cold wind. Spring, always a
capricious season, was now threatening to turn back into winter and the rain
that began to fall held a suggestion of sleet. They were all soaking when Ben
called a halt for the day.
The hot stew that Hop Sing
had waiting for them was most welcome and they continued the thawing process in
front of the fire with coffee. However, Hoss was quite perplexed when Joe
didn’t want to play checkers that night. “Ya all right?” he asked. “Ya didn’
bang yer head when ya fell after all, did ya?”
“No,” Joe replied,
impatiently. “I’m just tired. I’m fine.” He aimed this last comment at his
father, who was frowning at him. “Honest, no bump, I’m just tired.”
“All right,” Ben replied,
mildly. “No need to jump on us, son, we were just asking.”
“Sorry,” Joe apologised. He
stood up and wavered slightly. “I’ll see you all in the morning.” With a bright
grin that belied his light-headedness, Joe went steadily upstairs to fall,
exhausted, into his bed.
*******************
Ben always cherished those
first few minutes at the table alone in the mornings. Adam was usually next to
appear, then Hoss, and lastly Joe. He smiled into his coffee as he saw Adam
coming downstairs, with Hoss on his heels.
As there was usually an
hiatus before Joe appeared, Ben wasn’t too surprised that there was no sign of
his youngest son. Putting his napkin onto his plate, Ben thought he would go
and wake Joe when there was an horrendous smashing sound from upstairs. “What
on earth?” Ben exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Exchanging glances, Adam and
Hoss quickly rose and hurried in their father’s wake.
Throwing open the door to
Joe’s room, Ben looked in stunned disbelief at the scene that greeted him. Joe
was hunched on his knees, retching painfully into the basin from his dresser.
The ewer lay smashed in a pool of water around him.
Hurrying over, Ben knelt
carefully by his youngest son. “Joe? What happened?”
Lifting a pale, sweaty to
face to Ben, Joe squinted at him. “Pa?” he whispered. “I don’t feel so good.”
His body heaved again and Joe was sick once more.
Glancing at his other sons,
who stood frozen in the doorway, Ben ordered, “Get Doc Martin. And bring me
another basin and something to clear up this mess.” He tenderly held Joe while
his son retched hopelessly.
Finally, Joe’s sickness eased
and Ben wiped his mouth with the damp cloth Adam had brought. “Come on, Joe,
let’s get you back to bed,” Ben suggested, trying to lift Joe to his feet. Joe
was hot, and there was blood on the back of his left hand where the flying
porcelain from the ewer had caught him.
“I can’t… stand,” Joe
panted, resisting with all his might. He had his eyes closed, Ben saw. “I’m too
dizzy.”
“Adam,” Ben nodded and
between them, they carried Joe over to his bed. As Ben tucked him in, he saw
that Joe had cut his foot, too. Adam removed the noisome basin and came back
with an empty one that he positioned strategically on the bed before he set
about sweeping up the broken ewer and mopping up the water. Joe lay back,
looking pale and wan. Ben stroked his head gently. “How do you feel now, son?”
he asked. “Less dizzy?”
“No,” Joe replied. The
whole room seemed to be spinning around him and he had double vision that made
everything worse. “And there are two of everything, and it’s a bit blurry,
too.”
“Have some water,” Ben
suggested, at a loss to know what else to suggest.
“’k,” agreed Joe, and
allowed Ben to lift his head while he took a couple of cautious sips. It was a
relief to be lying down again, as he at least knew that he was staying in one
position when on the bed. Otherwise, his vertigo made him feel as though he was
moving in a different direction to the walls.
**********************
It seemed an interminable
wait for Hoss to arrive back with Doc Martin and was in fact all of four hours.
The doctor hadn’t been in his office and Hoss had had to go hunting for him.
Joe roused from a restless sleep as he sensed the movement in his room. He
groaned horrifically as the room immediately swung into motion around him. His
hand groped for the basin and if Ben hadn’t helped him, Joe would have brought
up the water he had drunk all over his bed.
Once the spasm was over,
Paul Martin crowded in close to examine Joe. “Keep him sitting up, Ben,” he
instructed as he looked Joe over with a professional eye. Ben began to tell
Paul all Joe’s symptoms.
From what he had seen, Paul
already had an idea what was wrong with Joe, but he checked him out thoroughly
to be sure. But Joe’s right ear was bright red, hot and tender to the touch.
Peering in, Paul could see the delicate membranes were badly inflamed,
suggesting a severe ear infection. He looked closely into Joe’s eyes, but saw
nothing out of place there. Allowing Joe to lie down again, Paul continued his
examination by checking carefully around Joe’s abdomen, but apart from a slight
tenderness over his stomach, caused by the hopeless retching, Joe’s abdomen was
fine. He looked at the cuts Joe had on his hand and foot, but they were
superficial.
“All right,” he started,
straightening up. “Joe has a very severe ear infection, which is causing the
vertigo – dizziness,” he explained to Hoss, who looked puzzled, “and is
probably also responsible for his double vision. Joe’s eyes are fine; there’s
nothing wrong with them. The dizziness should settle as the infection starts to
clear.”
“What can we do for him?”
Ben asked.
“Ginger tea should help a
bit with the nausea,” Paul began, thoughtfully, his eyes still on Joe. The
young man was desperately pale. “You need to keep his fluids well up if he
keeps throwing up. Don’t offer him anything solid in the meantime. Let his
stomach settle. The ginger should help with that. Tincture of goldenseal
dripped warm into his ear three times a day should help with the infection.” He
sighed. “But really, with an infection as bad as this, time is the only cure.
Keep him warm and still.”
“No gruesome tasting
medicine this time?” Joe whispered, trying valiantly to appear more like
himself.
Everyone smiled. “I didn’t
say that!” Paul protested. “In fact, here it comes now; some quinine to help
with that fever you’ve got.” He glanced at Ben. “Don’t be too worried if it
doesn’t stay down; Joe’s fever isn’t that high and I don’t expect it to get any
higher.”
After searching in his bag,
Paul found a small vial of the goldenseal tincture and showed Ben and the
others how to heat it up. “Test the warmth on Joe’s arm,” he explained. “The
ear is very sensitive and the tincture must be the same temperature as Joe’s
body. It’s a bit like testing a baby’s bottle. If Joe doesn’t feel it
particularly, it’s the right heat.” He demonstrated and soon was dropping the
solution into Joe’s ear. He popped a tiny bit of cotton into the outer part of
the ear to stop the tincture running out. “I’ve only got a small amount, so
you’ll have to go into town for some.”
“Thanks, Paul,” Ben
replied, his relief almost overwhelming. He had thought there was something
dreadfully wrong with Joe. An ear infection seemed quite minor.
“Is your ear sore, Joe?”
Paul asked, observing the tightened lips of his patient.
“Mm,” Joe agreed, closing
his eyes again. It was much easier when he couldn’t see two of everything.
“I’m going to give him
something to help him sleep,” Paul told Ben. “When he wakes up, give him the
ginger tea. If the nausea abates, then you can think of offering him some food.
Otherwise, keep to fluids only.” Paul mixed up a sedative which Joe drank, then
waited while it took effect. Joe was soon slumbering peacefully.
“You could be in for quite
a task looking after him,” Paul mentioned as they went downstairs. “Ear
infections can be unpredictable in how long they last. Don’t let him wander
about alone, whatever else you do. The danger of him losing his balance and
falling downstairs is very real.”
“We’ll watch him,” Ben
promised and Paul nodded, knowing that they would.
*********************
This time, it was Adam who
went into town with the doctor and he eventually returned home with the
goldenseal solution. He found Ben alone in the house, apart from Hop Sing.
“Where’s Hoss?” he asked, looking around, although his middle brother was hard
to miss when he was in a room.
“He went off to help with
the branding,” Ben replied. He rose and took the tincture from Adam. “Thank
you, son.”
“How’s Joe?” Adam asked. He
tossed his hat onto the credenza.
“Still sleeping,” Ben
sighed. “Hop Sing has made up the ginger tea for him and there’s some broth
there if he feels up to it.”
“Did Paul give you any idea
how long this might last?” Adam asked. “He didn’t say much to me.”
“There’s no way to tell,”
Ben replied. “But this complicates things, Adam. We’ve still got the branding
to finish and we’re behind now. Plus, we need to move the herd to fresh grazing
soon.”
“You let Hoss and I deal with
that,” Adam told his father firmly. “You concentrate on getting Joe better. Do
you suppose this has anything to do with him getting wet the other day?”
“Paul said it’s more likely
because he hasn’t quite been able to shift that cold he had, but I’m sure the
soaking in icy waters didn’t help.” Ben sighed again. “I know this isn’t Joe’s
fault, but the timing is bad.”
“Well, I do have some good
news,” Adam ventured. “I hired a couple of new men while I was in town. They
came into the store looking for work. They are experienced with cattle, so I
offered them jobs. We could do with them.”
“That’s fine,” Ben
approved. “I trust your judgement. Bring them up to the house when they arrive
and I’ll get their names put in the book.”
“They should be here by dark,”
Adam replied. “I told them to come here. Their names are Bart and Nathan
Connelly.” He smiled at Ben. “We’ll get through this, like we’ve got through
everything else,
Smiling, for Adam was
offering hope, Ben nodded. “You’re right, son,” he agreed.
“I’ll go and give Hoss a
hand,” Adam smiled, picking up his hat. “See you at supper.”
As Adam left, Ben took the
tincture into the kitchen to leave beside Joe’s ginger tea. Then he made his
way upstairs and sat down at the bedside of his slumbering son, waiting
patiently for him to waken.
********************
Joe’s awakening didn’t show
any improvement in his condition and he was hopelessly sick again, just moments
after opening his eyes. Ben shouted for Hop Sing to bring the ginger tea, but
the pungent smell made Joe retch again.
After a bit, Joe’s stomach
settled and he was able to take a sip of water. By experimenting, he discovered
that his sight was marginally better if he kept one eye closed. Any movement of
his head brought the nausea back, but eventually, he was able to sip the tea.
Ginger wasn’t his favourite flavour, but after a time, he did feel a little
less sick.
“I’m sorry for being a
nuisance, Pa,” Joe whispered.
“You’re not a nuisance,”
Ben assured him. “This isn’t something you could help, Joe.”
“But you’re so busy,” Joe
went on. “You don’t have time to mollycoddle me.” His tone was curiously
bitter.
“The only time I
mollycoddle you is when you’re ill,” Ben pointed out. “You don’t give me a
chance, otherwise!”
“I bet Adam wouldn’t
agree,” Joe muttered, almost under his breath. He had heard Adam accuse Ben of
mollycoddling him the previous week, when he had been off work. Adam had got a
flea in his ear that morning.
“Adam doesn’t like to be
mollycoddled,” Ben pointed out. “Not even when he’s really ill. But just in
case you hadn’t noticed, Joe, you and Adam are different people. As I pointed
out to him last week. I gather you overheard that conversation.”
“Yeah,” Joe murmured. He
only remembered at the last possible moment not to nod his head. Even the
thought made him feel sick. He closed his eyes, as fighting to make sense of
the blurred, duplicated world he now inhabited was making his head ache. “When
am I going to feel better?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know
the answer to that, son,” Ben told him, regretfully. “It seems to be a pretty
bad infection. Hopefully just a few days.”
A sigh was his only
response. Joe didn’t want to voice the thoughts circling in his head. He didn’t
know if he could bear a few days of this. His ear hurt all the time and the
vertigo was appalling. The double vision was just the last straw. It meant he
was unable to even read to pass the time. Joe wanted to scream out about the
unfairness of it all, but he couldn’t. Complaining wouldn’t get him anywhere;
it would just use up the energy he needed to keep still. He could feel tears
burning behind his closed eyelids and he willed them away.
Watching Joe, Ben could
almost read his thoughts. He knew that he’d once had earache as a child; time
had robbed him off the memory of it, but he was sure it hadn’t been as severe
as Joe’s was now. That Joe felt extremely ill was plain to see and Ben wished
with all his heart that he could do something to help his son. “Is there
anything I can get you?” he asked, softly.
“No, thanks,” Joe replied,
briefly, but Ben could hear the tears in his voice. He put his big, warm, hand
onto Joe’s arm and moved his thumb in small, comforting circles. Eventually,
the tense muscles under his hand relaxed, and Joe slept once more.
*************************
“Mr Cartlight!” Hop Sing
opened the door to Joe’s room and beckoned imperiously to his employer. Ben had
been trying to read, but he put his book down and went out of the room. Joe was
still sleeping.
“What is it, Hop Sing?” he
asked. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing wrong. Men come to
see you.” He gestured to the stairs and Ben remembered Adam saying he had hired
two new men.
“Oh, yes, thank you.” With
Hop Sing following behind, Ben went downstairs. He paused a moment to look at
the men, who were gazing around. He smiled at them as he descended the stairs.
“I’m Ben Cartwright.”
“Bart Connelly,” said the
oldest looking one, doffing his hat. “This is my brother, Nathan.”
Offering the men a seat,
Ben went over the wages he offered. Both men nodded. “You’ll take orders from
my son Adam, who hired you, my middle son, Hoss, myself, or my youngest son,
Joe.” Ben frowned slightly. “You can’t miss Hoss; he’s a big guy wearing a tall
white hat. But right now, Joe is laid up, so it might be a while before you
meet him.”
“All right, sir,” Bart
agreed. He seemed to talk for them both, Ben thought, amused.
“Very well, come and make your
mark.” He opened the book at the right page, wrote their names and pushed the
book towards them. He was interested to see that they could both sign their
names, as many of the men he hired could neither read nor write. Their
handwriting was rounded, and clumsy, as though they hadn’t had much schooling,
but you didn’t need an education to push cows. Ben pointed out the bunkhouse to
them and shut the door behind them, promptly forgetting about them completely.
*********************
“Nice house,” Nathan
commented to Bart as they went over to the bunkhouse. He had a thin,
whiny-sounding voice.
“Real fancy,” agreed Bart.
“What we heard in town was right; the Cartwrights got plenty o’ money.” He
sniggered. “I reckon this place is gonna suit us.”
Looking at his brother,
Nathan grinned. “I reckon it is,” he replied and they went off down to the
bunkhouse.
*************************
“Did you see those two
men?” Adam asked, over supper.
“Yes, I did,” Ben replied,
reminded. He was a little preoccupied as he ate, thinking about Joe, who had
been violently sick a short time after eating some of Hop Sing’s broth. The
ginger tea didn’t seem to be helping and he had winced miserably as the drops
of tincture were put into his ear. “They seem all right.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll keep an
eye on them, until they’re settled in,” Adam assured him.
“How did it go out there
today?” Ben enquired, making an effort. He felt dog-tired. They all did.
“Another day should see us
through it,” Adam responded.
“But we sure do miss Joe
bringin’ those cows in,” Hoss remarked. “He’s right good at findin’ their
hidin’ places.”
“The men are doing fine,”
Adam replied.
“I didn’ say they wasn’t,”
Hoss agreed. “I jist said they ain’t as good at it as Joe, is all.”
Silence fell for a few
minutes, then Ben spoke up again. “I’m going to send over to Bill Haynes’ place
and ask him to wait a few weeks before he sends those horses over to be
broken.” He chewed for a moment as Adam and Hoss looked at him, waiting for him
to go on. “He said it wasn’t urgent, but if Joe shouldn’t make a quick
recovery, and Bill needs those horses done, will you do them, Adam?”
Having seen where his
father was going, Adam was prepared for the question, but it didn’t make it any
easier to agree. “Of course,” he replied and applied his attention to his
plate. Adam would never admit to anyone – sometimes not even himself – how
relieved he had been when Joe showed such talent for horse-breaking. Somewhere
along the line, Adam had unknowingly hurt his back doing it, and now found that
even one ride per day left him limping painfully for days. Since aches and
pains were associated with old men, Adam never admitted to having any, but he
always knew when it was going to rain.
“I’ll help ya, Adam,” Hoss
volunteered and Adam smiled at him.
“Its all right, Hoss, you
don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Adam told him. “Besides, Joe will probably
be driving us nuts tomorrow, insisting that he’s well enough to get out of
bed.”
“It won’t be tomorrow,” Ben
sighed.
“No,” Adam joked, “it’ll be
the day after branding is over!”
But Ben’s sense of humour
wasn’t working too well right then. “Are you implying that your brother is
lazy?” he demanded, angrily.
Taken aback by the tone,
Adam gazed at Ben open-mouthed for a second before remembering he had food in
his mouth. He shut it with a snap and swallowed hastily. “No, I wasn’t!” he
protested indignantly. “I was making a joke.”
“I’m sorry,” Ben
apologised. He looked down at his empty
plate in surprise, for he couldn’t remember eating more than one bite. “I’m
tired, I guess.”
“Let me sit with Joe this
evening, Pa,” Adam offered, trying to make amends for his bad joke. “You go and
get some sleep.”
“I’m not that tired,” Ben
objected. “Besides, you’ve been working hard today, too.”
“If you go to bed now, I’ll
waken you at
“All right,” Ben accepted.
“I’ll do that. But you waken me, son.” He wagged his finger threateningly at
Adam before rising and going upstairs to sleep.
**********************
A short time later, Adam
made his way to Joe’s bedroom. As he went in, one green eye opened and Joe
looked at him without any expression. Then the eye closed again and Adam tried not
to feel hurt, as Ben had said that Joe was mostly shutting the world out so he
didn’t have to see it spinning and doubled.
“Pa’s getting some sleep,”
Adam said, conversationally as he sat down with a book. “He’ll sit with you
again later. Hoss has gone to bed, too. We’ve hired a couple of new men, but
Hoss says no one’s as good as you at finding the cows.”
“That’s nice,” Joe replied,
tonelessly.
“Hop Sing is bringing you
up something to eat,” Adam went on. “And Pa says its time for your drops, so
Hop Sing is bringing those up as well, once he’s heated them.” The only answer
to this was a grunt.
Disgruntled, Adam settled
in to read until Hop Sing appeared a few minutes later with the tray of soup
and the hot tincture. Carefully, they helped Joe sit up and Adam fed him the
soup while they waited for the drops to cool enough. Later, Adam would regret
his decision, but it seemed eminently sensible at the time.
Putting the basin aside,
Adam gently pulled Joe over to lean against him as Hop Sing administered the
medicine. Joe clutched Adam’s arm throughout, as he felt like he was liable to
fall off the bed any moment.
“All done,” Adam assured
him as he allowed Joe to lie back down.
But he hadn’t been quite as
slow and careful as he should have been and Joe heaved upright, desperately
spewing over the side of the bed. He mostly missed the basin that rested by
Adam’s feet, but he sure didn’t miss Adam’s boots!
Leaping to his feet, Adam
let out a disgusted yelp. Joe flopped back on the bed, oblivious to what he had
done, just knowing that he felt very ill once more. His left hand clutched the
edge of the bed as it seemed to gyrate wildly in circles, threatening to spill
him out.
The door opened and Ben
came charging in, his hair dishevelled, and his dressing gown only partially
closed. Hoss was hot on his heels. He still wore his pants and boots, but had
shucked his shirt, in preparation for going to bed. “What’s wrong?” Ben
demanded, clearly still half asleep.
“It’s all right,” Adam
denied, realising that Joe had not meant to throw up all over him. “Joe just
lost his supper, that’s all.”
Following his older
brother’s disgusted gaze, Hoss couldn’t restrain a whoop of pure glee as he
realised the source of Adam’s discomfiture. “He got ya good there, big brother!”
he cried, as tears of glee filled his eyes.
Glaring ferociously at
Hoss, Adam hissed, “Get a cloth, will you?” He sent another glare to Ben, who,
having come awake enough to grasp what had happened, looked as though he might
laugh, too!
The only person who did not
know what was so funny was the cause of the whole thing. Ben went round to the
other side of the bed to clean Joe up and offer him a sip of water as Adam
eased out of his boots and went to take them outside.
“I want it to stop!” Joe
cried in anguish, as Ben stroked his head. “Why won’t it stop?”
The cry almost broke Ben’s
heart. It was then that it occurred to him that Joe didn’t just have a sore
ear; he had a very serious condition that was making him very ill. He couldn’t imagine
what it must be like to have a throbbing ear, appalling vertigo and double
vision. All three things were alien to him. Ben had thought that the worst that
might happen was that Joe’s hearing was slightly impaired. But now, the vision
of Paul Martin’s grim face came back to haunt him, and he began to wonder if
this was something that Joe would get over, or if he would be left like this
forever. There was so much they didn’t know about the working of the ear. How
would Joe cope if his balance was forever disturbed?
Pushing the unwelcome
thought away, Ben glanced up to see his two older sons standing there, open
mouthed, looking at Joe. He realised that this was the first inkling they’d had
that Joe was very ill.
How blind they had all
been.
*************************
Eventually, they got Joe
settled for the night. He had been unable to stomach any more food and hadn’t
drunk enough water to please Ben, who was terrified that Joe wasn’t getting
enough fluid. However, as his son’s body finally relaxed into sleep, Ben
slumped back into his chair, exhausted.
“Go and get some sleep,”
Adam insisted. He had cleaned up the mess on the floor and Hop Sing had kindly
taken his boots away to clean up for him. “I’ll be fine for a few hours,
“You’re right,” Ben
whispered. “Thanks, son.” He rose and left the room, reflecting that Joe did
indeed need him right then. He was too ill to even manage to use the chamber
pot alone and Ben was well aware of how much that embarrassed his fiercely
independent youngest son.
Adam sank into the seat Ben
had vacated and looked at Joe. His brother’s face was pale and there were dark
circles under his eyes, as though he wasn’t getting enough sleep. Remembering
Joe poking at his ear a few days earlier, he wondered if he shouldn’t have sent
Joe to the doctor then, and perhaps the infection wouldn’t have been so bad.
But Joe had seemed well - and then Adam’s head lifted. He remembered Joe
staggering and almost falling into the fire, and his dizziness after being
knocked over by the cat. Were those signs he had missed? Adam silently berated
himself for not seeing, but in truth, he had never known anyone with an ear
infection and couldn’t be expected to know the symptoms.
As the night wore on, Adam
fell asleep in the chair and the next thing he knew, Ben was shaking him awake
and dawn was lighting the sky. “Have you been there all night?” Ben whispered.
Rubbing his eyes, Adam
glanced around the room and nodded. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but
exhaustion had taken over. Joe was lying on his side and a grimace of pain
suggested that he was close to wakening. Adam hoped that the good night’s sleep
might have helped his brother’s condition.
Rising stiffly to his feet,
Adam stretched out the kink in his back and winced. Sleeping in a chair wasn’t
the best thing for his back. At that moment, Joe’s eyes opened and he peered
blearily at Adam and Ben.
“How’re you feeling, Joe?”
Ben asked, going over to him.
Closing one eye, Joe
replied, “The same.” His fist tightened on the covers and he winced as his ear
started throbbing again. In actual fact, Joe wasn’t sure that the room hadn’t
slowed its whirling slightly, but as he still felt nauseous, he couldn’t swear
to it.
He lay there with his eyes
shut, listening as Ben and Adam walked about the room. He had no idea what they
were doing and at that moment, didn’t care. “I’ll be back in a minute, Joe,”
Ben told him.
“Okay,” Joe replied, still
with his eyes shut. He listened until he heard the door close, then cautiously
opened one eye to make sure the room was indeed empty. Only then did he allow
the tears to come. Joe didn’t think he could ever remember feeling as bad as
this before. Even though he knew that it had only been a couple of days since
this started, to Joe it seemed as though it had always been this way. Despair
washed over him. Ben had said it might be several days before he began to feel
better. What if Pa was wrong? What if this lasted more than several days? Joe
didn’t know if he could bear it.
Overwhelmed with despair,
Joe threw back the covers and staggered to his feet. The room was spinning
faster now, and Joe risked opening his eyes for a moment. His vision was blurry
and distorted and he desperately wanted to get away from it. He thought that if
he could just get outside for a few minutes, he would feel much better.
Somehow, Joe made it across
his room without falling, although he had to lean heavily against the wall for
a moment before he opened the door. He
swallowed hard before he lurched in the direction of the stairs, still
stubbornly determined that fresh air would make him feel instantly better. Joe
knew in his heart that it wouldn’t, but he felt he had to try.
Luckily for Joe, Hoss came
out of his room at that moment and saw his brother stagger drunkenly towards
the stairs. “Joe!” Hoss didn’t hesitate. He thundered down the hallway and
grabbed the back of Joe’s nightshirt just as his brother’s balance gave way at
the head of the stairs.
For a horrible second, Hoss
feared that the fabric wouldn’t hold and he frantically reeled Joe in while Ben
and Adam raced across the great room to see what was going on.
And then Hoss had him, and
wrapped his arms around Joe, who went limp, leaning into Hoss’ comforting bulk.
He knew that Hoss was not actually gyrating and allowed himself to relax into
his warmth. His despair began to ebb away and he admitted to himself that he
had just been incredibly foolish and if it hadn’t been for his brother, he
would have had an unfortunate accident.
“You all right, Punkin?”
Hoss demanded, clutching Joe as tightly as he could.
“Gonna be...sick,” Joe
responded and Hoss moved with speed stunning for a man of his build. He had Joe
whisked off his feet and back in his bedroom, and the basin thrust under his
chin in a matter of seconds.
“What were you thinking
of?” Ben demanded, as he tucked Joe back into bed after his sickness had eased.
“You could’ve broken your neck.”
“I know,” Joe replied,
wretchedly. “But I just couldn’t stand it any longer and I thought that if I
could just get some fresh air, I would feel better.” He ran a shaky hand over
his eyes, blotting away the tears that threatened. “I’m sorry; I know it was
stupid.”
Ben’s first reaction had
been anger, but it drained away as he got an idea of how wretched Joe was
feeling. “Its all right,” he soothed. “No harm done, thanks to Hoss. But, Joe,
promise me you won’t do that again. Please.”
“I promise,” Joe replied,
such a depth of hopelessness in his voice that Ben felt tears in his eyes.
Glancing at his older sons,
who stood in the doorway, Ben saw that Hoss was blinking back tears of his own,
while Adam looked angry. Ben could understand that anger; it was the natural
response to fear and he was railing against the fates that had laid his brother
low.
*******************
Nothing much changed over
the next few days. Joe grew progressively thinner as he was unable to keep
anything down. Paul Martin had come out a few times, but there was little he
could do. The odd thing, as he explained to Ben out of Joe’s hearing, was that
Joe’s ear was now looking much better. His hearing in it had returned properly,
and the redness was dying away nicely. So why were there still signs of
infection? It was a complete mystery.
While Ben struggled to keep
cheerful in the face of Joe’s despair, Adam and Hoss managed to finish the branding
and were now preparing to move the herd to fresh grazing. The two new men, the
Connelly brothers, were working out better than they could have hoped and it
wasn’t long before Adam decided they didn’t need to be supervised all the time.
**********************
“We’ll be gone until after
dark,” Adam told Ben over breakfast.
“Fine,” Ben nodded. He
looked tired, Adam thought, feeling a pang of pity. Ben was having to deal with
the brunt of Joe’s illness alone. “Be careful, won’t you?”
“Yes, sir, we will,” Hoss
promised. He, too, was worried about Ben. At the moment, it seemed like they
were away from dawn to dusk and although Joe no longer needed anyone sitting
with him at night, he knew that Ben often got up and went through to check that
Joe was all right.
As they rode off after
breakfast, Hoss muttered, “Dadburnit, Adam, I feel right bad about leavin’ Pa
alone all the time.”
“So do I,” Adam agreed.
“But what can we do?”
“We could get Charlie an’
Dave to finish the last of the move, an’ we c’n come home early.” Hoss beamed
at Adam and his older brother couldn’t help but smile back. Hoss looked like a
little kid.
“Why not?” Adam replied.
“There have to be some perks to being the boss, apart from working all the
hours of daylight.”
They both felt better
knowing that they could do something concrete to help their father, even if it
was just to insist he have an early night.
******************
“Much as I hate to say it,
seeing as how it’s a huge risk,” Ben commented, “I feel constrained to point
out that you haven’t been sick at all today, young man.”
“Neither I have,” Joe
agreed, sounding surprised. He risked looking at Ben with both eyes open. His
vision was still blurred, but it was better than it had been. “I don’t think
the room is spinning now,” he added. “But it’s still kinda tilted over to one
side.”
“Which side?” Ben asked, as
though that made any difference.
“It depends which eye is
open,” Joe replied, solemnly. He wondered why on earth Ben started laughing.
Seeing the indignant look
on Joe’s face, Ben spluttered, “I think you might be on the mend, son!”
A great hope sprang onto
Joe’s face and caused his green eyes to sparkle like peridots. “Do you really
think so?” he cried and the mixture of hope and despair were almost too much
for Ben to bear.
“Yes, I do,” he replied,
softly. He gently ruffled Joe’s hair, a pleasure he had been denying himself
for the last week while Joe was so ill. “You haven’t been sick, your ear isn’t
sore any more and now you say that the room isn’t spinning. That seems like an
improvement to me, Joe.” He smiled ruefully. “Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s
going to be an instant cure, so you just stay in bed, young man! No more
escapades at the top of the stairs. My heart isn’t up to it.”
Joe smiled. It was the
first time Ben had seen his smile in a week and he delighted in it. After a few
minutes, he noticed that Joe was beginning to look sleepy. As that was the first meal that Joe had been able to keep
down since he became ill, Ben reasoned that his full belly was making him
drowsy and quickly suggested that Joe have a nap. Joe agreed without any
resistance and snuggled into the pillows.
“I’ll be downstairs doing
some paper work,” Ben told him. “I’ll leave the door open. Shout if you need
anything.”
“All right,” Joe agreed and
closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for sleep to sweep over him.
*******************
Charlie and Dave agreed to
Hoss’ plan so quickly that the brothers wondered if they shouldn’t have taken
the whole day off! However, they were cheered by the thought of stopping early
and surprising Ben. They divided the men up, some staying with the main body of
the herd and others scouting around for strays, and got to work.
Safe behind the foliage
where they had been sent, Bart and Nathan watched as the Cartwrights rode out
with the herd.
“We’ll give it an hour or
two,” Bart instructed his younger brother. “Then we’ll mosey on back ta the
house an’ help ourselves. Adam said Joe’s still sick an’ his pa’s takin’ care o’
him. Joe ain’t gonna be well enough ta stop us, an’ we c’n give the old man
what for.”
“Sure thing, Bart,” whined
Nathan. All his life, he had done what his older brother told him, because it
was safer that way. Bart could get riled, and there was often no knowing what
had annoyed him. Nathan had discovered that it was easier to just do as he was
told because that way he wouldn’t get the blame. Somehow, it never quite seemed
to work out that way, but Nathan had decided that as a child and believed in it.
They had a leisurely
morning, dozing in the warm spring sunshine, then, after eating some jerky for
lunch, they rode off towards the house. They dismounted before entering the
yard, and went quietly across to the front door. Bart drew his gun, so Nathan
copied him. Nodding approval, Bart boldly threw open the door and went in.
Ben was sitting by the
fire, reading a book. His paperwork was done and since Joe was still asleep, he
had decided to take the chance to relax for a while. In fact, his head was starting
to nod when the door burst open, and he looked up, disorientated, into the
barrel of Bart’s gun.
********************
As they stopped for lunch,
Charlie, the foreman went over to Adam and Hoss. “Look, why don’t you two go back
now? Give yer Pa a real break. We c’n manage.”
Frowning, because he was
indeed tempted, Adam began to protest, “But, Charlie…”
“Go on,” Charlie chided
kindly. He jerked his head in the direction of the house. “Scoot!”
“Come on,” Hoss urged and
Adam gave in gracefully. They turned their horses and rode off at a
ground-covering lope, feeling like kids let out of school early. Hoss glanced
at Adam and a moment later, both horses stretched out into a gallop as the
brothers raced each other home.
*******************
“What’s the meaning of
this?” Ben demanded.
“Jist shut up,” Bart
advised him. “That way you won’t get hurt an’ we won’t have ta hurt yer boy
upstairs.”
Anger flared within Ben,
but he kept control of his temper, knowing how vulnerable Joe was right then.
He couldn’t risk them hurting Joe. He eyed Nathan for a moment, but the younger
man was waiting for instructions from his older brother. “What do you want?” he
asked.
“Money,” Bart replied,
scathingly. “What do you think?”
“I don’t have much money in
the house,” Ben ventured. “But you can take what I do have and get out.”
“You don’t give orders
here, old man!” Bart shouted. His face flushed dangerously as he became quickly
angry.
There was something in
Bart’s eyes that told Ben he was dealing with an unpredictable killer. He
suddenly realised that neither he nor Joe would be alive when Bart and Nathan
left. “Please just take the money and go,” Ben said, in a reasonable tone.
The bullet buried itself in
the floor by Ben’s foot and he flinched. “I said, you don’t give the orders!”
Bart repeated. “Now get that money!” He grabbed Ben by the arm and hauled him
out of the chair. He gave the older man a push towards the desk and Ben
stumbled across, hoping desperately that Joe hadn’t been wakened by the shot.
Upstairs, Joe had been
lying awake for a while, just drifting. It was such a relief not to feel the
room spinning around and Joe felt his body relaxing. Sleep was tugging at him
again when the shot sounded from downstairs.
Pa
Moving as quickly and
quietly as he could, Joe found some clothes and quickly dressed. He didn’t
bother with socks or boots, as he wanted to stay silent. When he was dressed,
Joe cautiously made his way to the door, alarmed by how much his head swam when
he was upright.
There was no one in the
hall and Joe went on silent feet to Adam’s room, where he knew his brother kept
his favourite rifle. Joe picked it up, surprised to feel the rifle heavy. He
realised that his muscles were shaky from all the time he had spent in bed. He
quickly loaded the rifle and stuck some more bullets into his breast pocket.
Then he made his way to the stairs.
From his vantage point in
the shadows, Joe could make out two people by the desk. How he wished his
eyesight was back to normal! One of them was Ben, Joe was positive, by his
father’s white hair. He had less than no idea who the other man was, and at
that point it didn’t matter. What did matter was saving his father’s life.
Just as he was about to
step forward and challenge the intruder, another man spoke from out of Joe’s
sight and he froze, barely breathing. This complicated things, but Joe was
still determined that they wouldn’t harm Ben.
As Ben slowly rose from in
front of the safe, some bills in his hand, the second man came into view. Joe
didn’t hesitate. He stepped boldly into view and ordered, “Hold it right
there!” His voice was calm, cold and menacing.
Caught off guard, Bart
gaped up at Joe. Ben took the chance and crashed his hand down on Bart’s gun
hand. The gun clattered to the floor. Ben backed away, ready to bend down and
reach for it.
At that moment, the door
opened and Joe was distracted. His gaze swung round to see who the newcomers
were. Bart threw himself at Ben, knocked him out of the way and dove for the
gun. Nathan paused, looking in horror at Adam and Hoss and began to lift his
weapon. Adam drew and fired his gun in one swift motion. Nathan went down,
bleeding from the leg.
Reaching his gun, Bart
turned it on the person who had destroyed his plans, and even as he pulled the
trigger, Ben launched himself at him.
Bart’s first bullet went
wide. Joe flinched away from the sound and lost his tenuous grip on his
balance. He toppled forward as the second shot was fired and tumbled head first
down the stairs, stopping in a crumpled heap on the landing.
Furious, Ben hit Bart with
all of his might, and the younger man slumped down. Then Adam was there,
pulling the gun from Bart’s hand, and Ben staggered to his feet. “Joe!” he
cried and hurried across to the stairs.
Hoss had reached Joe first,
but he gladly relinquished his position to his father, who knelt tenderly by
his son and looked anxiously at the blood on his head and shoulder. “Joe, can
you hear me?” he demanded, but Joe was unconscious.
While Adam and Hoss tied up
the Connelly brothers, Ben continued to exhort Joe to waken and he was rewarded
a minute or so later by a groan as Joe came back to consciousness. “Pa?” he
muttered.
“I’m right here, son,” Ben
assured him, taking his hand while Joe squinted vilely.
“Are you all right?” Joe
asked. He wished he could see more clearly. Then he winced as his head began to
throb.
“I’m fine,” Ben replied.
“More to the point, how are you?” He pushed aside Joe’s curls and looked at the
bleeding bump on his son’s head. The second bullet had gone into Joe’s right
shoulder and Ben ripped Joe’s shirt open to assess the damage. The bullet had
gone straight through, and although Joe’s shoulder was a mess and bleeding
heavily, it wasn’t as bad as it might have been. Ben breathed a sigh of relief
and sent a silent prayer of thanks to heaven.
“How’s he doing?” Adam
asked, coming over and peering at Joe over the banisters.
“I’m recovering,” Joe
responded, dazedly.
“Help me get him upstairs,”
Ben smiled and between them, he and Adam helped Joe back to his room.
*******************
Later that night, Ben sat
once more by Joe’s bed. His son was just coming round from the anaesthetic he
had had while his injured shoulder was put back together. Earlier, Adam and
Hoss had taken the Connellys back to town, where Paul Martin had been obliged
to operate on Nathan to remove Adam’s bullet from his leg. It had been quite a
long operation and it had been early evening before Paul had reached the
Ponderosa.
“Joe’s going to be just
fine, Ben,” Paul assured the anxious father as he tidied up his instruments.
“And I gather he’s feeling much better, since he was once more demonstrating
his protective urges towards you.”
“Yes, he hadn’t been sick
at all today, and he said the room was spinning less,” Ben agreed, slightly
absently. “Will this bang on the head make any difference to that?”
“To be honest, I’m not
sure,” Paul replied. “It might, it might not. I can’t say. This isn’t like any
ear infection I’ve dealt with before. I’ve never known the symptoms to linger
for longer than the actual infection.” He turned back to the bed as Joe
groaned.
“Easy, son,” Ben urged,
capturing Joe’s hand as it drifted towards his shoulder. “Don’t touch that!”
“Pa?” Joe whispered. He
opened his eyes and peered at his father.
“How are you feeling, Joe?”
Paul asked, watching his patient’s breathing and gauging if there was any
concussion from the bump on the head.
“Fine,” Joe replied. He
licked his dry lips and Ben helped him to drink.
“What exactly does ‘fine’
mean this time?” Paul enquired, dryly, all too familiar with Joe’s attempts to
divert people away from his problems.
“The room is still!” Joe
announced, triumphantly. “My eyes aren’t as blurry and there’s only one of you
now, Pa!”
It was indeed a cause for
celebration, but Joe had been ill and soon the after-effects of his accident that
afternoon and the excitement got the better of him and he fell asleep. Ben went
down to see Paul out. “Thank you once more,” he said, as he shook hand with his
friend.
Grinning, Paul replied, “I
was going to say any time, but I would like the chance to sleep before I’m
called out here again?” Ben laughed.
“How is he?” Adam asked, as
Ben shut the door.
“He’s a lot better,” Ben
replied. “Oh, he’ll be sore for quite a while with that shoulder, but Paul
hopes he’ll be back on his feet soon. His balance and his eyes have settled
down.” He accepted a brandy from Hoss. “Anyway, that reminds me. What were you
two doing back here so early? Some disaster you haven’t mentioned?”
Exchanging glances, Adam
and Hoss sighed in unison. “That’s what you get for coming back early to lend
your father a hand,” Adam complained.
“Lend a hand?” Ben echoed.
“With what, exactly?”
“With Little Joe,” Hoss
replied, earnestly. “Ya’ve bin lookin’ real tired lately, Pa, an’ Adam an’ me
thought ya might like an early night.”
Looking at Ben’s scowling
face, Hoss suddenly realised that he had been rather less than tactful. Adam
pinched the bridge of his nose and resisted groaning aloud. He just knew that
they were going to get the lecture about him being in the prime of life, and perfectly
capable of handling his side of things… Adam could almost recite it word for
word.
But it wasn’t to be.
Shaking his head, Ben muttered, “I wish you boys would learn to curb your
protective urges a little bit. It almost got all three of you killed this
afternoon.”
Glaring at Ben indignantly,
Adam retorted, “We’ll curb ours when you curb yours, Pa!”
“Yeah!” Hoss agreed.
“It’s a deal,” Ben
twinkled. He rose and stretched theatrically. “But since you boys were kind
enough to offer me an early night, I think I’ll take you up on it.” He stopped
half way up the stairs. “Oh, and, boys?”
“Yeah, Pa?” Hoss replied,
suddenly anxious that there was something else they should have said, or not
said.
“Don’t bother to wake me in
the morning. You fellows just get your breakfast and go out to help with moving
the herd. I’m sure Charlie and Dave would like a day off, too.” He smiled
benevolently and disappeared from view before his laughter could escape.
Glumly, Hoss looked at Adam.
“It ain’t bin much o’ a day off,” he moaned.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Adam
contradicted him. “Its not every afternoon you get to fight with gun-wielding
thugs in your own home, watch your little brother falling downstairs or get
hoodwinked into giving the foreman and assistant foreman the day off.”
“I never thought o’ that,”
Hoss responded, starting to smile.
Adam made a quick getaway.
The End
The infection that Joe had
is called labyrinthitis. It is severe and can last anything from days, to weeks
to months. Luckily there are much more effective antiemetics available these
days.