ONE LAST TIME
By: Shady Grove
 
 
Adam Cartwright arrived home. How good it was to be there. When he looked 
at the house, he thought about what it represented to him. Family. Adam 
walked to the front door, listening to the sound his boots made on the 
wooden entryway. He reached in his pocket to retrieve the key to the lock, 
and opened the front door. It was dark inside. He walked to the dining 
room, and opened the shutters on both windows. The sunlight flooded in, 
making the house light up. Adam walked to his father’s study, opening the 
curtains on both windows, allowing the light to flood in there as well. He 
looked at the fireplace. He walked over to it, picturing the many fires 
that kept both he and his family warm through the years.
 
Adam walked back to the dining room. He pulled out his chair, and sat down. 
 He smiled, as he recalled the many happy meals his family had eaten there 
together. He thought about his brother Hoss, and how he would take more 
than his share of food. How Hop Sing would curse in Chinese at him every 
time. How his father would say grace every Sunday with their dinner. Adam 
could hear his father’s voice saying that prayer. “Thank you for this food, 
Dear Lord, and for my sons who gather around this table with me, to partake 
of the food you have provided for us. Thank you for all the many blessings 
you bestow on our family, each and every day. A-men.” He thought about the 
many conversations that went on at this table with his family. His family, 
Adam thought. He would see them later.
 
Adam walked to the blue chair in the living room. He sat down, running his 
hands along the arms. How many books had he read, sitting in this very 
chair, in this very spot? How many conversations had he held with his 
family, while seated here. He looked at the sofa. He pictured his brother 
Joseph sitting there, his feet on the sofa. “Joseph, how many times do I 
have to tell you to get your feet off the sofa?” his father would ask. 
Adam smiled, recalling his brother promptly removing his feet, only to 
return them to the sofa, when his father wasn’t looking.
 
His father. Adam looked at the burgundy leather chair. He walked over to 
it. Standing behind it, he ran his hands over the back of it. He could 
picture his father sitting there smoking his pipe, or reading a book.
 
Adam looked over at his father’s study. He walked to his father’s desk , 
sitting down in the chair. He thought of the many times he had seen his 
father doing paperwork at this very desk, or giving the orders for the day, 
to one or all of them. He ran his hands over the top of the desk.
 
Adam looked at the stairway. It seemed to be calling to him. He got up and 
climbed it. He stopped at his father’s bedroom door. He opened it, walked 
in looking around. He smiled, then left, closing the door. Adam walked to 
Little Joe’s room. He opened the door and went inside, looking around. He 
smiled, and walked out, closing the door behind him. He walked to Hoss’s 
room. He opened the door, and walked in. He looked around, and smiled. He 
left the room, closing the door behind him, as he went to his own room. He 
opened the door. He walked in, and headed to the window. He opened the 
curtains, and the sunlight flooded the room. He smiled. He looked at his 
room. He walked over to the desk, where he had spent many hours drawing 
architectural plans. He picked up one of the rolled up plans from the 
floor, spreading it open on the desk top. He put a paperweight down on 
each side to keep it from rolling back up. He looked at the plans. They 
were for the house he was going to build for himself someday on The 
Ponderosa. Adam rolled the plans up, and put them back. He walked to his 
bed, and laid down. He was tired, and the bed felt good. He rolled on his 
left side. He had time to nap, because he would see his family later.
 
When Adam awoke, he took one more look at his room, closed the curtains, 
walked out and closed the door, but this time, he didn’t smile. He walked 
downstairs. It was time for him to see his family. He paused at the front 
door. There on the pegs to the right of the door, were his brother Hoss’s 
hat and vest, and his brother Joseph’s green jacket and hat. He opened the 
front door. It was time to see his family, and he knew where he would find 
them.
 
Adam walked slowly to where they were. He walked to the right side of the 
house. It wouldn’t be much longer now. They were just up that small hill. 
He slowed his steps, when he saw the iron fencing. He didn’t want to go 
any further, but he forced himself, tears running down his face. As he 
stood in front of the iron fencing, he went down to the ground, and sobbed. 
The pain of seeing the gravestones, with the names of his family on them, 
was almost unbearable for him. “Oh God,” he managed to say between his 
sobs. Adam realized right then and there, that he was the only one left. 
Not only of his family, but everyone he had ever known, in that part of his 
life.
 
Adam felt a hand on his shoulder. “Father, are you alright?” the voice 
asked. Adam looked up into the face of his son, Adam Jr. who they called 
AC, who was looking down at him. His son. His only child. If Adam 
hadn’t known better, he would have thought he was looking at himself at the 
age of 33. He looked and sounded exactly like he did at that age. Adam 
saw the look of concern in his son’s eyes. His son was concerned for his 
seventy-seven year old father. He held his hand out for his father to 
take, then helped his father up. Adam put his arm around his son. His son 
did the same to him. Adam took one last look at the graves before him. He 
started with Marie’s, which had been transferred here. Then Hop Sing’s. He 
was always part of their family, and deserved his place among them. His 
brother Hoss’s. Adam thought about how Hoss was taken so very young. Too 
young. His father’s. He started to cry again. His son held him closer. 
Through his tears, he looked at his brother Joseph’s grave. His baby 
brother. Adam sobbed, remembering Joseph’s beautiful smile. AC led his 
father back to the house.
 
Once inside, AC sat his father in the blue chair. He knelt in front of 
him. “I’m alright,” Adam said, wiping the tears from his face. AC sat on 
the hearth. He wanted to ask his father a question, that he never dared ask 
before. Not because he was afraid to, but because he knew it might hurt 
his father to talk about it. Adam looked at his son. “You want to know 
why I left The Ponderosa, and this life, and my family, don’t you?” he 
asked. His son nodded. Adam closed his eyes. His son sat eagerly, 
waiting for the words he had longed to hear most of his life.
 
“I guess it’s time I told you. People talked about where I went, and what I 
did, after I left The Ponderosa. I became almost a legend here. You 
couldn’t believe the stories people came up with, that my family would write 
me and tell me about. As you know, I went to college in Boston, where I 
attended Harvard. I got my Architectural Degree there. When you study 
architecture, you also study engineering. I used the engineering part of my 
education around here, more often then the architectural part. It came in 
handy for designing grain mills and windmills, among other things here. One 
day, I was approached by The Central Pacific Railroad out of Reno, to be a 
surveyor and civil engineer for their railroad. I gave it much thought, and 
decided to take the position. My father told me, before I left, that I’d 
always have a home here on The Ponderosa, if I ever wanted to return. When 
the line reached Promontory Summit, Utah, I met some Union Pacific 
officials, who wanted me to bring my engineering skills back to their 
company, to expand their lines east from Nebraska. I worked for Union 
Pacific until 1872, when The Credit Mobilier Scandal came out that year. I 
couldn’t stay with the company, once I found out they were corrupt. My 
father had taught me well in life. So what to do? Go back to The 
Ponderosa, and start where I left off, or go to Chicago, and accept a job 
there, working as an architect? I thought, and prayed about my decision. 
It led me home to The Ponderosa.” Adam said. .
 
Adam continued. “When I arrived home, it was my birthday. I wanted to 
surprise my family, and give myself the best birthday gift I could have ever 
gotten. My family. I was here to stay. When I got to Virginia City, the 
whole town looked deserted. I walked the town, and when I came to the 
church, I realized somebody must have died, and they were having a funeral. 
That explained the empty streets. I walked in the side door of the church. 
There was a small room that had a door, which opened into the church. I 
opened it carefully, just enough to look in, to see if I could figure out 
who had died. I figured it must have been someone important, because of all 
the people in attendance. I saw my father, and my brother Joseph, sitting 
in the front row, but I didn’t see my brother Hoss anywhere. I looked at my 
father, and brother again, this time closer, and I realized by their 
faces, that it was my brother Hoss who had died,” Adam said as he began to 
cry.
 
Adam took a deep breath and continued. “I didn’t even know I had done it, 
but I walked into that room, and sat down next to my father. He broke down, 
as did my brother Joseph. I broke down as well. We held each other, and 
cried for our loss. Your Uncle Hoss and I had a bond. I know you might 
think that sounds odd, but we did. We were very close. He was very, very 
special to me. I wish you could have known him, and he you. You would have 
loved him They say time heals all things, but not this time. It wasn’t the 
same anymore without Hoss. It took Ben Cartwright, and his three sons, to 
make it home. My father tried telling me that once, when he came to visit 
me. He told me, that it just wasn’t the same without his three sons there. 
 Hoss came to visit me not long before he died. We spent two weeks 
together. I think his visit was what made me decide to go back home. I 
realized how much I had left behind on The Ponderosa, and how much I missed, 
and needed my family. After his death, I stayed about a month, then left 
to take that job in Chicago. On the way to Chicago, I met your mother, 
Sarah,” Adam said.
 
AC sat in his Grandfather’s chair. “Father, tell me about it,” he asked. 
Adam smiled. “I met your mother, as fate would have it, on a Union Pacific 
train to Chicago. She had the most beautiful dark brown hair, that she 
swept up on top of her head, and the greenest eyes I’d ever seen. Her skin 
was so soft and fair. She sat across from me, and we talked the whole way 
it seemed. It felt like we had known each other all our lives. By the time 
we arrived in Chicago, I had asked her to be my wife. We were married that 
day, and then in time, you arrived. Your mother insisted on naming you Adam 
Stoddard Benjamin Cartwright, Jr., after me. Her reason, was because she 
loved me so much. I wanted to name you Benjamin Eric Cartwright, after my 
father, and my brother Hoss. She told me I could name the next boy that, 
but as you know, that never happened,” Adam said.
 
“Because of mother’s health?” AC asked. “Yes, because of her health. 
That’s the reason I never went home again, until now, because I couldn’t 
leave her, and she couldn’t travel. My father and brother understood, and 
that’s why they came to visit at least twice a year. Your mother loved my 
father so, and he her. She was like the daughter he never had. You sure 
looked forward to his visits, especially since your Grandfather spoiled you 
rotten. He’s lucky I sent you out to visit him, and your Uncle Joe, during 
the summers. I always got a spoiled brat back at the end of the summer. It 
took time, but I de-spoiled you. Why is it that father‘s don‘t spoil their 
own children, but find it so easy to spoil their grandchildren?” Adam 
asked.
 
Adam continued. “As you know, I took that job as an architect in Chicago, 
and I was one of the architects who designed The Home Insurance building, 
which was the first skyscraper ever built, in the year 1885. I helped 
engineer the mechanical elevator used in skyscrapers as well, so people 
didn’t have to climb all those stairs. I was pretty proud of myself.
 
AC smiled, then said, “I never knew about your coming home to find your 
brother had died. How that must have hurt. I wish I could have been there 
to comfort you, but I couldn’t. I loved my visits here during the summers 
at The Ponderosa, and working on the ranch. I loved hearing Grandpa tell me 
the stories of when you, Uncle Hoss and Uncle Joe were young. I loved 
hearing all the mischief you three used to get into. I loved being spoiled 
by Grandpa. I loved it here. I love this ranch, and I knew that 
someday, I would return here, and run this ranch, that you and and your 
family worked so hard to build, but I couldn’t until mother died. I just 
couldn‘t leave her,” AC said sadly.
 
Adam continued. “When you mother passed away recently, I knew I had to 
return one more time to The Ponderosa to it, this house, and to say good-bye 
to my family, but I can’t stay here. Not without my family. Without them, 
it’s not home anymore. You are my legacy son, and the only legacy to The 
Ponderosa. Love it, and work it, with the love you have for it, like my 
family did.” Adam stood. “Now, it’s time for me to go, and leave you here 
to carry on The Cartwright Legacy, but first, there is something I have to 
do,” Adam stated.
 
Adam climbed the stairs, his son watching. A few minutes later, AC saw his 
father come down the stairs, with his hands full. Adam walked to the front 
door, and looked at the rack that held Hoss’s hat and vest, and Joe’s hat 
and green jacket. He put with them, his own black hat, that he had worn so 
many years ago, and his yellow coat. He hung his father’s hat and vest as 
well. Adam looked at his son. AC walked to where his father was standing. 
Adam said, “Promise me son, that you’ll always leave these here, because it 
tells the story of the family who once lived here. Also promise me you‘ll 
keep the furniture, and keep it in it‘s place.”
 
AC said, “I promise.” Adam hugged his son, then looked at him. “All the 
accounts are in your name. You have good men working here for you already. 
Men I’ve trusted these past years to run the ranch, since your Uncle Joe’s 
death. Um, I’ll warn you in advance that you are going to be so sick of 
cattle, and fence repairs. I love you son,” Adam said. AC looked at his 
father. “I love you too, father,” he said. They hugged.
Adam walked near his father’s study, and looked at the living room, one last 
time. He stared at the fireplace, one last time. He looked at the dining 
room, one last time. He turned, and looked at his father’s study, one last 
time. He looked at the stairway, one last time. He looked at the 
furniture, one last time. He looked at his blue chair, one last time. He 
looked at the grandfather clock by the front door, which told him the time 
for so many years. He walked to the front door, pausing to look at the 
clothes, and hats that hung there on those pegs, one last time, before 
walking outside. He heard his footsteps on the wooden entry outside, one 
last time. He walked to the barn and looked back at the house. The home 
that had once been filled with so much love, happiness and most of all, his 
family. The home that was filled with so many wonderful memories of them. 
The home that would now have new memories now.
 
He walked to the cemetery, one last time. He couldn’t leave without saying 
good-bye to his family. “Good-bye Hop Sing. I miss how you used to get mad 
so easily. How you always threatened to go back China. Good-bye Marie. 
Thank you for being my mother, even if it was for a short time, and for 
loving me. Thank you for making my father happy, and giving me my brother 
Joseph. Good-bye Hoss. I really miss you a lot. I think of you so often. 
I think of the wonderful person you were. You were the nicest person I have 
ever met. I think everybody who knew you, loved you. I know I did. Adam 
walked to Joe’s grave. Good-bye little brother. I wish I could hear you 
laugh one more time. How I loved your laugh. I wish your wife had lived, 
and your child had been born. I think of how nice it would have been, to 
have your child, and my son take over for us here on The Ponderosa. Adam 
walked in front of his father’s grave. “I saved you for last Pa, because 
yours hurts the most.” Adam said crying. “How do you say good-bye to your 
father? I can’t seem to find the words. The only words I can find are, I 
love you Pa, and I always will. Thank you for everything. Thank you being 
my father, and thank you for being the man you were. I was always so proud 
of you, and proud to be your son. My son Adam, your Grandson, is taking 
over The Ponderosa now. I know you’d be proud of that. He’s just like me 
Pa, except the road led him to The Ponderosa, where my road leads me away. 
 I wish I could stay here, but I can’t. Not without the three of you. My 
life is back in Chicago now, where Sarah is. Adam looked at the graves one 
more time. “Good-bye,” was Adam’s final word, before walking back to the 
barn.
 
Adam stood by the barn, and took one last look at the house before leaving 
The Ponderosa forever. AC walked on the wooden entryway outside, listening 
to the sound his boots made, watching his father leave. He knew his father 
would never return to The Ponderosa. Tears came to his eyes. He hoped his 
father would be as proud of him, as he was of his father. Proud of the man 
he was here on The Ponderosa, the man he became afterwards, and the man who 
found the courage, and the strength to come back to this place he loved so 
much, one last time.
 
88888888888888888888888888888888
 
 
Years later Adam Cartwright, Jr. was sitting in the living room, in the blue 
chair, listening to his children, six year old Adam Stoddard Benjamin 
Cartwright III, and four year old Amanda Elizabeth, playing on the stairs. 
He would take them to see their Grandfather Cartwright soon. How he looked 
forward to seeing his father again. It had been six months since he’d last 
visited him. His wife Katie read his thoughts. She sat in his lap. 
“Thinking about your father?” she asked. AC smiled. “How did you know?” 
Katie smiled. “You always get that same happy look on your face, when you 
think of him, Adam,” she replied. AC smiled. “You always call me Adam. 
I like that. I think I’d like everyone to call me Adam from now on. 
Afterall, I’m proud of the man I was named after,” Adam said.
 
 
Later that day, AC was alone in the house, when one of his ranch hands 
brought him a telegram. He looked at it. It must be from his father, 
acknowledging the dates they would arrive for their visit. He opened it 
with excitement, a smile on his face. When he read the telegram, the smile 
left his face. He dropped it to the floor. His father had died that 
morning peacefully. AC began to sob for his loss. After awhile he said to 
his father, “At least you’re with your father, and brothers now, and your 
mother, and my mother and Inger., and Marie and Hop Sing, as well as all 
the other people you used to know here. I just wish you could give me a 
sign that you were alright,” AC said out loud. He looked over at the 
clothes, and hats that hung on those pegs by the front door, that hadn’t 
been touched, since his father placed them there. Just then, his father’s 
black hat fell to the floor. AC walked over and picked it up, holding it 
in his hands, looking at it. He looked up and smiled, realizing it was his 
father’s way of telling him that he was alright. AC smiled, then placed 
his father’s hat on his head. After a few minutes, he replaced it on the 
peg, where it had sat all those years.
 
 
THE END
 
 
 
 
 
I WROTE THIS STORY, BECAUSE PART OF THIS STORY TELLS MY STORY, THROUGH ADAM, 
OF HOW IT WAS TO VISIT THE CARTWRIGTHT HOME AT THE PONDEROSA RANCH, KNOWING 
IT WOULDN’T BE THERE ANYMORE. I STOOD THERE, TAKING IT ALL IN. THE LIVING 
ROOM, THE FIREPLACE, THE DINING ROOM, THE STAIRWAY, THE STUDY, THE 
FURNITURE. IT WAS LIKE SAYING GOOD-BYE TO SOMETHING THAT HAD BEEN A PART OF 
MY LIFE SINCE 1959. I REMEMBER STANDING ON THE OUTSIDE ENTRYWAY, AND 
LOOKING AT THE FRONT DOOR.  THE FEELING WAS UNBELIEVEABLE. I HEARD MY 
FOOTSTEPS AGAINST THE WOODEN FLOOR. I REMEMBER THE INCREDIBLE FEELING OF 
STANDING IN THE LIVING ROOM, AND LOOKING AT IT, AND THE OTHER ROOMS. I 
REMEMBER SEEING HOSS’S HAT AND VEST, AND JOE’S GREEN JACKET AND HAT, ON 
THOSE PEGS BY THE FRONT DOOR, AND THE IMPACT THEY MADE ON ME. THAT’S WHY I 
HAD TO ADD ADAM’S HAT AND COAT, AND BEN’S HAT AND VEST, BECAUSE THEY 
BELONGED THERE AS WELL. I REMEMBER LOOKING FROM THE BARN TO THE HOUSE. IT 
WAS LIKE YOU EXPECTED ONE OF THE CARTWRIGHT’S TO COME OUT AND GREET YOU. I 
REMEMBER TRYING TO STAY A FEW MINUTES MORE TO TAKE IN THE HOUSE, BECAUSE I 
KNEW I’D NEVER GET ANOTHER CHANCE. I CAN STILL SEE IT SO CLEARLY IN MY 
MIND, AND WHEN I DO, IT’S STILL AN INCREDIBLE FEELING. I REMEMBER THE 
GRAVEYARD, THAT WAS ADDED FOR ONE OF THE BONANZA MOVIES FILMED THERE. HOW 
HARD IT HIT YOU, SEEING THOSE NAMES ON THE HEADSTONES, NAMES YOU HAD COME TO 
KNOW AND LOVE THROUGH THE YEARS.
 
 
RETURN TO LIBRARY