MURDER
AT THE RANCH
It happened
on a winterday in January. Only the wives of Adam and Hoss Cartwright, Mary and
Lily, and their children Mitch, Lisa and Amber were present at the ranch. First
Burt Watts looked at the big ranch house and knocked then at the door. Mary
answered the door carefully. She recognized the visitor at once.
“So sis,
you have made it far. Is this all yours?”, he asked mocking.
“No, my
father-in-law is the owner of this ranch. He runs it together with my husband
and brothers-in-law. Now get lost because of you and your parents I have missed
the first few living years of Mitch gemist. You made sure that he disappeared
just after I have had him”, answered Mary.
Lily heard
the row and came nearer with the children. Lisa went to play but Mitch remained
with the grownups.
Burt looked
with disgust at the boy and said, “So thatis my nephew? What a scrag!”
Mary didn’t
take that insult and hit her brother in the face. Burt was not already in a
good mood but now not anymore. He grabbed his revolver and shot Mary dead.
Because Omdat Lily and Mitch saw it they got show down too. To make the
disaster worse Lisa and Amber got a bullit too. At that moment Cody came
running and he got hit in his left forepaw. Burt went laughing away.
After some
time the Cartwrights came home. They were in an excellent mood unil they saw
what had happened at the yard. Adam jumped from his horse and ran to Mary. He
kneeled down near her, took her into his arms and started to cry. Hoss did the
same thing with his wife Lily. Ben, Little Joe and Candy looked at the children
Cody. Griff went to get the sheriff and the doctor. Ben examined Mitch and
discovered that he was still alive.
“Adam, your
son is still alive”, said the rancher.
Adam looked
up and was somehow relieved.
“Pa, Lisa
and Amber are dead too but Cody has only a grazing wound”, said Little Joe.
Pam, the twinsister of Mitch, went
to sit on the porch and slowly started to cry very much. Mitch slowly woke up and
saw what had happened.
“Mitch, what has happened here for
heaven’s sake?”, Adam asked directly.
The boy went to sit and looked
confused out of his eyes.
“Uncle Burt came by. He made a
hateful remark about me and mamma didn’t take that. Then Uncle Burt shot us
down”, Mitch said slowly.
“Where have you been hit?”, asked
Ben.
Mitch pointed at his right ankle.
The rancher looked at the shot wound.
“It is fortuantly not so bad”, said
Ben.
He helped his grandson up but the
boy nearly fell down again. The rancher lifted him and carried him to the
guestroom, followed by Pam. Mitch got put to bed but he moaned due to the pain.
At the yard vowed both Adam and Hoss
for revenge.
“That brother-in-law has lived his
longest time on earth”, Adam groaned furiously.
“When I get him into my hands I will
squeeze him so fine until he gets all red in the face”, Hoss said angry.
Suddenly Griff came riding towards
them.
“Adam, Hoss, I just ran into aman
and he said that he had just been here. He is on his way to town”, the ranch
hand said hasty.
The brothers didn’t think any
further and grabbed their horses to go to town as well. Griff went along.
Arrived in Virginia City Griff
appointed the person. They saw him going into the Silver Dollar saloon.
“You warn the doctor and the
sheriff. We will handle this further”, said Adam.
Griff nodded and did what he was
told to do. The brothers went to the saloon.
In the Silver Dollar saloon the
brothers stood at the bar. At a given moment Burt Watts came to stand next to
them.
“You are two of those notorious
Cartwrights of the Ponderosa ranch?”, he asked laughing.
“Why do you want to know that?”,
Adam asked distrusting.
“So that I can kill you too”,
laughed Burt.
The brothers looke dat each other
and they thought the same thing. Burt looked at them challenging.
“Do you do it or must I do it?”,
asked Adam.
“You are the eldest but I am
stronger”, Hoss answered light-hearted.
“That is true but I got more
brains”, his brother reacted.
“What you got more of brains is with
me power”, answered Hoss.
Adam couldn’t deny that. Burt became
nervous of their conversation which the brothers wanted excatly. To cause some
action Burt hit Adam in the face.
“Where was that good for?”, Adam
asked amazed.
“Because I get nervous of your
nagging”, answered Burt.
“Then you have a bad concious. Hoss, go ahead”,
said Adam.
Hoss winked at his brother and took
Burt outside. Adam ordered another two beer.
Outside asked Burt, “Let me go
creep. I haven’t done anything to you, have I?”
“You have killed our families
though. And I don’t take that on behalf of my brother”, Hoss said angry.
Burt tried to pull himself loose but
his opponent had him too tight. The outlaw hit around him but hit nothing.
After a while Adam came outside and
called, “Hoss, your beer is getting
warm.”
Hoss let the outlaw go so that this
one ended up seven meters further and broke his neck because he ended up
against the water trough. The brothers watched him and were more than
satisfied.
Deputy Clem Foster came nearer and
asked the boys, “What is the matter here?”
“That was my brother-in-law who has
killed our wives and kids at the ranch. He injured Mitch but Pam escaped
because I had to take her to the dentist”, Adam explained.
“I leave it hereby and you have our
sympathy and that of Roy”, said Clem.
The brothers drank up their beer and
went back home.
Arrived at home Adam went straight
to his son and got to hear from his father, “Mitch has only a grazing wound. He
has to stay in bed for a week though.”
“We want to bury the ladies as soon
as possible but in private”, said Adam.
Ben nodded.
Two days after the killings the
ladies Cartwright got buried at a private field. Although this tragedy had much
effect it had brought the Cartwrights also closer together.