With a look of utter disbelief, Joe Cartwright
turned to
look at his
brother
Adam, letting out a snort of derision as he contemplated the
words just
spoken.
"Come on, Adam, you're just pulling our leg, right?! I mean, there is
no way
you're going to sit there and tell me that a grown man sat and played
with
apples unless he was a bit teched in the
head!"
A shake of chestnut curls as he punctuates the statement with a gesture
of
dismissal, glancing at his brother as if to say "I think you might
just be a
little teched too, older brother."
For his part, Adam rolls his eyes expressively toward the ceiling and
lets
out a long-suffering sigh at the antics of his younger sibling.
With
an air
of superiority born from four years at college he holds out the book,
his
finger jabbing at the words written.
"There it is in plain black and white; see for yourself. Assuming of
course
that you can read, Joseph."
With a scowl leveled at Adam for the questioning of his reading
skills, Joe
snatches the proffered book and scans the page quickly, letting out a
low
whistle as he reads, the look of disbelief replaced with one of
incredulous
wonderment.
"Holy
sense, but
you were right!"
Another eye roll and a shake of his head is the only answer given by the
elder Cartwright brother before taking the book back.
"You know, Joe, if you had paid as much attention to the lessons in
school
as you did to the girls you would know this already."
Warming up to the subject, Adam proceeds to give a rather long and
detailed
lecture on the importance of schooling, the physics of gravity and the
life
of Isaac Newton, all rolled into one, leaving his brother fidgeting on
the
settee impatiently. When he could stomach no more, Joe holds up
his
hand to
silence his brother, who has finally paused for a breath..
"Now hold up there, Adam. I still say it's a bunch of hogwash; a
grown man
playing with apples. So they fell on his head; so what's so
important
about
that? Not real scientific if you ask me and this
plumb teched in the head for making such a
big fuss
about it! That don't
prove nothing except he liked to nap under apple trees!"
"Oh brother!"
Adam groaned and slapped his palm to his forehead; it was a relatively
easy
theory, why was Joe just not getting it?! Racking his brains for
a better
way of explaining, a sudden inspiration dawned on him and he jumped up
in a
most un-Adam like burst of excitement, grabbing his little brother by
the
arm and practically hauling him toward the stairs.
"Get up there. I'll be right back, and I'll show you once and for
all how
it's done!"
Joe, for his part, was now convinced that Adam `had' been reading too
long
and with a grimace and a muttered "you really need to get out more, big
brother" did as he was instructed and climbed the stairs. Once
Adam
was on
a roll about his "educational theories" there was no dissuading him,
best
just to go along with it and be done with the matter. It was
easier that
way.
In short order, Adam returned with an armload of objects.a
ball of
string, a
piece of cloth and two apples among the treasures. With barely
concealed
amusement twinkling in hazel eyes, the younger brother listened to the
prattle about the law of gravity, nodding gravely at the appropriate
points
and pretending great interest.
Adam, for his part, attacked his mission with gusto..he would see
to it
that this brother of his furthered himself on the road of education,
even if
he had to do it single-handedly! With careful precision, he
monitored the
dropping of the various objects starting from the lightest and
pointing out
their rate of falling, thus reaffirming
Despite
his earlier skepticism, even Joe was enjoying himself and with
vigorous zeal
followed by whoops of "Did ya see it,
Adam?!" the experiment proceeded.
So caught up were the two budding "scientists" in their
"work" that they
failed to notice the front door opening, signaling the arrival of their
father, Ben Cartwright, followed by Roy Coffee, the newly appointed
Sheriff
to Virginia City. Both men were engaged in deep conversation,
their
attention drawn immediately upward as twin apples cascaded from the
balcony,
landing with a plunk on two unsuspecting heads of the Cartwright
patriarch
and his guest.
`WHAT IN TARNATION IS GOING ON HERE!!?!! "
Their father's bellow was enough to stop them in their tracks, Joe
peering
below with a look of stunned, open-mouthed horror, Adam's own expression
mirroring that of the younger. Exchanging glances, the two stared
mutely
down at the two men, no words seeming to come to mind..at least not
quickly
enough for a now very irate Ben Cartwright.
"JOSEPH!! ADAM! GET DOWN HERE INSTANTLY!"
Wiping their hands on their pants legs, the two miscreants
clambored down
the steps; when Pa spoke like that, not even Adam was brave enough to
refuse
Wiping their hands on their pants legs, the two miscreants clambored
down
the steps; when Pa spoke like that, not even Adam was brave enough to
refuse
Again, both pairs of eyes locked. Taking a collective
breath, the
explanations began in earnest..
"You see Pa, there was this guy sleeping under a tree..."
"Isaac Newton, Joe"
"Yeah, him, anyway, Pa, an apple fell on him and he discovered
umm..what did
he discover, Adam?"
"Gravity, Joe"
"Yeah, gravity. And that's what we were doing!"
Ben shook his head, clearly not following the crazy dialogue between his
oldest and youngest sons and silenced them with a wave of his hand..
"WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!!"
With as much dignity as he could muster under the circumstances, Adam
went
on to explain that he was merely trying to give his brother a lesson in
scientific theory, Joe nodding in agreement as the explanation was
given.
"That's right,
all
Closing his eyes and praying for patience in dealing with his sons,
Ben's
next words were low and measured.
"Isaac Newton did not run a ranch, nor did he have chores, which you two
seem to have forgotten! If you are quite finished with your..experiment.
and throwing apples at our guests, I suggest
you see
to them. Now."
"
outside, both
drawing deep sighs of relief as they managed to escape without further
chastisement.
"Well, that went well, dontcha think,
Adam."
"Just work, Joe."
As was his wont, Ben invited Sheriff Coffee to share the evening meal
and it
was with particular delight that the men gathered around the table later
that day; Hop Sing had truly outdone himself. Delicious
aromas
wafted from
the kitchen, among them the unmistakeable cinnanomy,spicy sent of
warm, hot,
apple pie. Licking his lips in anticipation, Joe looked up from
his
plate.
"You know what, Adam? I think ol'
"Oh, how so, little brother?"
Well, he didn't have to go through all that trouble about apples. All
he had
to do was come and watch Hoss here drop
that apple
pie down his
stomach and
that would have been proof enough about how fast apples fall down!"
"You might just have something there, Joe, you just might!"
Jovial laughter rang out, even Ben forgetting his earlier irritation and
joining in. Good friends, good food, good sons..what more could a man
want
after all.
The end
Denise