The Bite

Savage winter storms had brought down a lot of trees in one of the higher areas of the Ponderosa. The Cartwrights decided that the fallen trees would be hauled off to their lumber mill located on the ranch, once all the branches had been chopped off.

The wood from the downed trees would come in handy for not only use in the fireplace, but Hop Sing's cook stove and the stove near Ben's desk, but the wood would have to seasoned for at least six month or better yet, for one year, before the Cartwrights could use it for burning. The wood would also come very handy for other projects on the ranch too.

One day while Little Joe was in school, Adam and Hoss rode to the upper Northern wooded area of the ranch to mark the downed trees that they would use.

" Thank goodness there's not as many trees down as we thought. That should make Pa happy. I'd say it looks like around twenty five trees down," Adam told Hoss.

" That's what I counted too Adam. I know ya ain't gonna like what I'm gonna suggest, but ya know how upset little brother was that he couldn't come with us today cuz he had ta go ta school, but why can't we have him help us chop the branches off them downed trees ? That way he'd feel like he was helping out too," Hoss suggested.

" I suppose he could. We'll have to ask Pa first before we say anything to the kid. Are you sure you really want him to help Hoss?" Adam questioned his big younger brother.

Hoss looked at Adam, slightly confused by his question. " Yes, I do mean it. What's the matter with that? Don't you want him to help us?" Hoss asked.

" Look at it this way, little brother will slow us down. He doesn't like to take orders from me, and he wastes too much time goofing off," Adam explained his thoughts.

Hoss glared at Adam, sighed and said, " That ain't true and you know that Adam. Sure Little Joe is young and small, but he can work hard big brother. Maybe not as fast as you would like him too, but I certainly don't have any problems working with our little brother."

" When you were away at college, Little Joe and me worked together a lot and he did a good job. You're just not use to being around kids anymore," Hoss told Adam, as he was trying very hard not to be upset at his big brother.

When Adam and Hoss returned home, Hoss asked Ben if it was alright if Little Joe could help them chop the branches off the downed trees. " We could get it done faster if little brother could help us Pa. What do you think?" Hoss asked.

Ben listened to what both Hoss and Adam had to say about their little brother helping. " I think that is a wonderful idea Hoss. After all, Little Joe does a good job at chopping firewood, so I don't see a problem with him helping," Ben said as he noticed the look of disappointment on Adam's face.

" Adam, Little Joe might be young, but he can do a lot of chores on the ranch, and he has done a good job, so don't worry, he will do as I tell him, and he will listen to you and Hoss. I'll have a talk with him," Ben told Adam.

Adam still wasn't happy about the idea though. " Pa, don't get me wrong, I love my baby brother, and I don't mind him helping do some things, but I really don't enjoy being around him that much. Sorry Pa, but he's a spoiled little brat, and that's all I'm going to say about that," Adam stubbornly said.

Ben and Hoss were a little put out with Adam's statement. Hoss was getting a little angry, so he went outside to sit on the porch for a while.

" Adam, I admit that Little Joe is a little spoiled, but I don't appreciate you calling him a brat. Maybe if you'd learn to have a little more patience with him and stop criticizing him so much, maybe he would behave himself around you. After all, he's only ten years old, and if I remember right, you helped spoil that boy before you went to college," Ben reminded Adam.

Adam smiled at Ben, as he knew that Ben was correct in what he had just told him. " I'll try Pa, but you know it won't be easy," Adam replied. " Thank you son. That's all I ask is for you to give him a chance," Ben responded.

" Really, I get ta help chop them branches off them trees? Ya won't be disappointed Pa, cuz I'll do a good job, but please could a tell old Adam ta stop yellin' at me cuz I dun't work as fast as he wants me to ?" an excited Little Joe asked.

Ben smiled at his excited young son and he replied, " I have already spoken to Adam about that." He was rewarded with that wonderful smile of his youngest boy.

Saturday morning after their barn chores were finished, the Cartwright brothers rode off to the area of downed trees, so they could begin to chop the branches off the trees.

They had brought axes and a picnic lunch with them, plus full canteens of water also.

After Adam had given his orders, he glared at Little Joe and he reminded the youngster, " I mean it Little Joe, you get out of line once, and you go back home !" That statement hurt the boy and it made Hoss angry, but both boys kept their mouths shut and went right to work.

" Hey Punkin, why don't ya head over this way with me and we'll get started. Ok ?" Hoss suggested. " Sure Hoss," the boy softly said.

Little Joe worked very hard and very seriously at his task of chopping the branches off the downed trees. Hoss glanced over at his little brother from time to time and he felt very proud of the boy as was doing a good job.

" Here Punkin, have a drink of water," Hoss suggested as he handed the boy a canteen. " Thanks Hoss," Little Joe said as he took a nice long drink of the cold water. The day was rather cool so the water stayed cold in the canteens. Both boys enjoyed the cold water as it seemed to hit the spot.

They continued to chop branches until Adam suggested that they take a lunch break for which Hoss was very happy about.

" So Hoss, how is it going with you and little brother?" Adam asked. " It's goin' great big brother. Ain't that right Punkin?" Hoss said. " Sure is Hoss," Little Joe replied.

" How much trouble have you gotten into little brother ?" Adam sarcastically asked. The youngster looked up at Adam and he smiled and said, None at all, and if'n ya dun't believe me, ya can ask Hoss."

" Don't you get smart with me little boy !" Adam angrily said. " I wasn't Adam," Little Joe replied. " Adam, little brother here has been doing a great job. There hasn't been any problems at all. He has been working very hard the whole time !" Hoss told Adam as he was angry with his big brother.

Little Joe finished his sandwich, had another drink of water and he went back to work.

" Dang you Adam, why do ya have ta keep pickin' on Little Joe. That boy ain't causin' any trouble at all. I know he was hungry, but thanks to your constant badgerin', he only had half a sandwich. For your information, he has already finished ten trees, and I'm very proud of him !" Hoss ranted as he grabbed for another sandwich.

" I'm sorry Hoss. Your right. I'll apologize to him later. I guess I just can't believe he can work without goofing off and causing some kind of trouble," Adam said, feeling guilty now.

The boys worked hard all day, until Adam called it quits for the day. They had finished all the trees, and they were all very tired. They had made many piles of tree branches that they would take care of at a later time, but now all they wanted to do was to go home.

On the way home, Hoss looked at Adam and he pleaded with his eyes to apologize to their little brother. The boy was almost asleep on Tony, his horse.

" Hey little buddy, you did a great job today and I'm very proud of you. I am very sorry that I picked on you earlier today. I had no call to say what I did," Adam said.

" Thank you Adam. I did my best," the exhaused boy replied as he as almost asleep.

During dinner that night, Little Joe did fall asleep, so Ben picked him up and carried him off to his room and put him to bed. He then gently kissed his son and wished him sweet dreams, before he returned downstairs.

" Pa, ya would have been so proud of Little Joe today. He worked really hard and he did a wonderful job !" Hoss proudly told Ben as he had a big grin on his face.

" Thank you Hoss. I'm happy you told me. I didn't want to bring it up during dinner in case the boy gave you a bad time," Ben replied.

" Little Joe didn't cause any trouble at all, and I'm very proud of how hard he worked. He did great !" Adam happily told Ben. Ben smiled back at Adam and he was thankful the day had gone so well.

During the next week, most of the trees had been hauled to the lumber mill, while the rest of the trees were hauled back to the yard where they were cut up in sections, so it would be easier to cut them up for firewood.

Adam and Hoss had built two large wood storage sheds. One shed was for the firewood that needed to be seasoned and the other shed was for the wood that could be burned now.

It had been just over a week since the Cartwright brothers had chopped all the branches off the downed trees, and Little Joe wasn't feeling quite right. He felt tired and a little uneasy, so he wasn't eating very much. He decided not to say anything about how he felt.

One evening while he was getting ready for bed, and before he had put his nightshirt on, he noticed a pimple like lump on his chest near the left side of his body. It was very angry looking and very sore to the touch. It also felt very hot too.

Little Joe decided that he would try to squeeze it, but that made him very dizzy and he fell back on his bed in a lot of pain as he was breathing hard because of the pain. The boy was getting really scared as he had never had anything like this before. He decided that he needed to say something about this to Ben.

He got up from his bed and he slowly walked towards his door, just as Ben was approaching the room. As soon as Ben saw how pale and sweaty Little Joe looked, he become very concerned.

" Little Joe, what's wrong son?" Ben nervously asked. " Papa, I dun't feel so good," the boy softly said as his legs buckled on him and he began to fall. Ben caught him and carried him back to his bed where he laid the now fevered boy down.

That is when Ben saw the inflamed lump on the boy's chest. Ben was shocked at what he saw. " Joseph, how long has that lump been there?" asked an extremely concerned Ben.

" I dunno. I just found it Papa, and it really hurts," the boy cried. Ben took a good look at the lump and he noticed two tiny red spots on the lump which made his heart skip a beat. " I'll be right back sweetheart," Ben said as he left the boy's room.

" Adam, I need you to please hurry into Virginia City and get Paul out here fast," Ben said as he looked quite concerned. "Pa, what's wrong?" Adam asked as he was becoming concerned with the way Ben had asked him to hurry.

" Son, I think Little Joe has been bitten by a spider on his chest and its all festered up. Please son hurry," Ben explained. " I'm on my way Pa," Adam declared as he ran out of the livingroom and out to the barn to get his horse saddled.

Hoss stood there very worried at what he had just heard Ben say. " Pa, is Little Joe gonna be alright?" Hoss nervously asked. " I hope so Hoss. I hope so," Ben softly said as he and Hoss hurried up to Little Joe's room.

Ben was bathing Little Joe's body trying to cool the child down. His fever was going up fast and Ben was worried sick.

Little Joe was in quite a bit of pain also. Hoss kept talking to his baby brother as was Ben. Ben knew that there were poisonous spiders around the area and he was also sure that one had probably bitten his young son.

Finally Dr. Paul Martin and Adam, closely followed by Hop Sing hurried into the child's room. " Thank God you're here Paul ! I think Little Joe has been bitten by a spider," Ben told Paul.

Paul was closely looking at the lump on the boy's chest and he was very concerned by what he saw. " It's a spider bit alright, but I don't know what kind of spider for sure. He has a high fever too," Paul worriedly said.

" Ben, Adam, Hoss, I want you three to please wait downstairs for me. Hop Sing, could you please get some hot water, soap and some towels for me? I need to lance this and get out as much pus as possible," Paul explained.

After everyone had left the room, Paul looked down at Little Joe and he sat down on the edge of the child's bed, and he took the one of the boy's small hands and he softly told the youngster, " Little Joe, I need to lance that spider bite and squeeze out as much of the poisoned pus as I can. It is going to be very painful, but it needs to be done son and I'm so sorry."

Little Joe looked up at Paul through his tears and he nodded. He was in a lot of pain and burning with fever too.

Paul very carefully washed the entire area around the spider bite, as he looked up at Hop Sing. Both men were very worried and they felt so bad at what Paul needed to do next, knowing at how painful this was going to be for the boy.

" Ready Little Joe ?" Paul asked as he gave the little boy a kiss on his forehead. Little Joe nodded again. " Hop Sing, I need you to please hold him down so he can't move," Paul told Hop Sing. Hop Sing nodded back.

Paul took a deep breath and he gently made a small cut in the middle of the lump, and he began to squeeze the lump from it's sides. Pus shot out, which Paul got with a towel. Little Joe screamed in pain and he tried to jump up, but Hop Sing held him down as he was talking in Chinese to the boy.

Downstairs, the Cartwrights heard Little Joe scream out in pain and it made them sick. " My God, my poor baby. Please God help my baby!" Ben cried. Hoss was crying as was Adam.

Paul continued to squeeze the lump and luckily the boy has passed out, for which Paul and Hop Sing were grateful for. After a few minutes, Paul held a towel down on the bite, and he looked up at Hop Sing and said, " Hop Sing, this needs to be squeezed three times a day until all the pus stops coming out."

" I've brought some very strong medicine for Little Joe. I usually don't like giving this strong of medicine to a child, but I don't have a choice, he needs it badly. I know this is going to be very hard for all of you to do, but it needs to be done. You saw how I squeezed the lump, and I want you to do it the same way. Give him the medicine twice a day. Keep trying to get his fever down. It's now up to the medicine and God," Paul explained to Hop Sing.

" Hop Sing understand. Boy will get better, Hop Sing know this. I make him good broth to help him get better too," Hop Sing said. " I know Hop Sing. It's just so hard to see him like this and knowing that what you have to do will hurt him," Paul replied as he put his hand on Hop Sing's shoulder.

As soon as Paul walked down the stairs, he was met by three very worried Cartwrights. " Paul, how is my baby ?" Ben asked as he looked at Paul, trying to read his face.

" Ben, Adam Hoss, Little Joe is a very sick boy. That is a poisonous spider bite. We have a real battle on our hands trying to keep the boy alive. I lanced the bite and squeezed out as much of the pus as I could. You are going to have to do that everyday, three times a day until all the pus is finally out."

" I have left some very strong medicine with Hop Sing, and I told him that Little Joe needs it twice a day . I tell you, I hate to give children medicine that strong, but it can't be helped. Little Joe needs it badly. Keep trying to get his fever down, and give him a lot of liquids. Broth is all he should have for food for a few days. It will be easier on his stomach."

" You should keep an eye on the skin around the bite area, because some spider bites can cause the tissue to die and it will need to be cut away. I'm so sorry Ben, I wish I could be more positive about Little Joe, but I can't. I'm going to stay here and help him and you too for a few days, until I can be sure he will be alright," Paul explained.

The Cartwrights were shocked at what Paul had just explained to them and they were at a loss for words. Ben finally spoke up, " Paul, can we go and see him ?" " Sure, spend as much time as you want with him. I've given some something for pain, so he will sleep for a few hours. He really needs to have someone with him at all times for several days. I also gave him a double dose of the medicine, which again, is something I don't normally do, but Little Joe needs it," Paul explained.

Ben looked down at his little boy, who looked so small and helpless. He sat down on the edge of the bed and he looked at the large bandages around the boy's small chest, as he gently brushed off the damp curls off the child's sweat covered face.

" Please baby, fight this as hard as you can. I love you so much sweetheart," Ben softly told the sleeping boy. " Ben, Little Joe is exhausted, so he will be doing a lot of sleeping over the next several days," Paul said. Ben nodded back.

Adam and Hoss stood there looking down at the little boy that they loved so much. They prayed to God to please make their baby brother better.

All through the night, Ben continued to bathe his son's fevered body. Paul came into the room several times during the night to check on Little Joe's fever which remained unchanged.

Little Joe felt very peaceful in his mama's loving arms. " Mama, I have missed ya so much," the child said. " I know my precious boy, and I've missed you you too. I watch over you all the time as I do with your father, and brothers. I want you to stay with me so much baby, but it's not your time yet, not for a very long time, but at least I get to hold you for a little while, until it is time for you to return to your father and brothers," Marie told her son.

" Mama, can't I stay here with you? It doesn't hurt anymore.
I'll be good mama. Please let me stay," Little Joe begged.

" Oh my precious, I wish you could, but your father and brothers need you so much baby. They wouldn't want to live without you. They love you so much sweetheart. I will love you forever my baby," Marie told him as she held him and kissed him.

Little Joe lingered between life and death for almost a week, when his fever finally began to drop. Thanks to God, the powerful medicine and his family squeezing the poison out of him, Little Joe began to show signs of improvement. Some of the skin around the bite did have to be cut away, but thankfully, it was just a tiny amount.

" Usually the bite from a poisonous spider can move through a person's blood stream very fast, but for some reason, it moved very slow in Little Joe. Had he said anything to you Ben that he wasn't feeling good, before he noticed the lump?" Paul asked.

" No he didn't, but then again, he wasn't acting like his normal self for a few days. I asked him if he felt alright, and he said that he did, but he was tired. Why didn't I send for you then, and maybe he wouldn't have gotten so ill," Ben replied.

" Ben, we all know that that boy will never admit when he is sick unless he is very ill. We can all thank God for sparing the boy. The boy will be very weak and he will still sleep most of the time. He will have a tiny scar where the bite is, which knowing this boy, he will be proud of it, " Paul chuckled.

" He will also be feeling the effects of that bite for a few weeks, but don't worry. Just make sure he gets a lot of rest and eats, which will help him get better faster too. I tell you Ben, I thought we were going to lose that boy, and that scared me nearly to death," Paul told Ben.

" I could tell Paul, and we all felt the same way. I wonder when he got bit?" Ben asked. " It could have been while he was helping chop the branches off the trees, or it could have been anytime. I guess we will never know. After all Little Joe doesn't remember getting bit. Who know's," Paul tried to explain.

Little Joe's recovery was slow, but the child was so tired that he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to sleep.

Little by little, Little Joe slowly began to regain all the strength he had lost. The boy had never felt so tired before. The lump slowly going down, and even though it was still sore to the touch, it was better. It was now easier for Little Joe to lay on his left side when he was in bed.

About one month later, Little Joe felt more like himself, for which he was very happy about. The one thing he didn't like, was that he had to go back to school again. He thoroughly did enjoy being at home, but not being sick though.

Everytime he saw a spider now, he became very nervous. He really hadn't given spiders much of a thought before he was bitten, but now when he saw one, he would kill it.

As time went on, Little Joe did end up with a very small scar where the spider had bit him. Of course he thought that having a scar was great and it made him look tougher too.

The End.

Footnote:
The idea for this story was from a Brown Recklous spider bite I had several years ago, which was very bad. It was a very long recovery and it did leave a small scar.

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