Joe and his friends had been steadily drinking the afternoon away, and
he could no longer feel his legs. He looked down to check if he still
had some, and was relieved to find it to be the case, although he was
a little worried, as he only remembered walking in the saloon, on two
legs, but now, if his eyes weren't deceiving him, he had three.
Anyway, however many he had, he was sure they wouldn't carry him back
to his horse; if he could even recall where he'd left Cochise.
He also had a vague recollection that he'd been sent to town on an
errand, but he couldn't for the life of him, remember what it was. He
screwed up his eyes, in an effort to try and concentrate, and thought
back to earlier that day.
His father had said, at the breakfast table, "It's about time you
had
a haircut, young man, and today is the day you are going to get one.
And while you are in town, please collect the mail and deliver a
message to Roy for me. Tell him that we are meeting up at Paul's house
at 7.30, not 7, as Paul might be a bit later getting home. And Little
Joe, you be back here by lunch time, there's plenty of chores waiting,
with your name on them."
Joe smiled at his father, and carried on eating his breakfast. A ride
into town, instead of mending fence with Hoss, was a treat for the
boy, who had only been working as a full time ranch hand for a few
weeks. He wasn't keen on having the haircut, but figured if he was on
his own, he could tell Frank not to take too much off.
The ride into town was uneventful and Joe went and picked up the mail,
as soon as he arrived. He placed it in his saddlebags, and was just
about to head for the barber's, when his friend, Seth, hailed him from
the other side of the street.
"Hey, Joe, it's my birthday and Pa's given me the day off. Come and
have a drink with me, to celebrate."
As he was speaking, Seth crossed the street and joined his friend, on
the boardwalk.
"Happy Birthday, Seth. I'd love to come and celebrate, but some of
us
are not so lucky to have the day off, and I've got chores waiting, at
home. Pa'll skin me alive if I go into a saloon, in the middle of the
day, when I should be working. I've gotta have a haircut and deliver a
message to the sheriff, and then get back to the ranch. `Sides, you're
having a party on Saturday night, to celebrate your birthday, so I'll
drink with you, then."
"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport, Joe. The folks will be there on
Saturday and they'll be watching us like hawks, we'll probably only be
allowed one beer," and Seth pulled a face. "If we go to the Bucket
of
Blood, now, we can have a few more `n one, and no one will be around
to disapprove."
Seth was eighteen, two years older than Joe was, but they had been
friends since being at school together.
"Mitch said he'd join me, and Johnny, too. Come on, won't be the same
without you, and after all today is really my birthday, not Saturday."
It didn't take much to persuade Joe to go to the Bucket of Blood. And
soon, all thoughts of haircuts and messages to the sheriff, left Joe's
mind, as it became as scrambled, as his breakfast eggs, from the
effects of the whisky, which Seth insisted he drank.
"I don't even like the taste of this stuff," said Joe, slurring
his
words, after his fourth glass. "So why am I drinking it?"
"Because you are helping me celebrate my birthday and I wanna drink
whisky, and I want my friends to drink it, too," said Seth, who was
also rather drunk, and getting very noisy. "It's a man's drink, and
we're men, now, so drink up."
He jumped up onto the table and said, "Listen up, all you citizens
of
Virginia City. Today is my birthday and I want everyone to feel as
good as I do. So drink hearty and have some fun, cos tomorrow we may
all be dead."
Mitch, Joe and Johnny started laughing at their friend and this only
encouraged Seth to become bolder. He started dancing on the table, and
singing a rather rude sea shanty, which the others joined in with.
One of the men sitting at another table, demanded that Seth sat down.
"I came in here for a quiet drink, not to witness such behaviour.
You
all look too young to be in here, anyway. I'm sure your parents would
have something to say, if they could see the way you were behaving.
You should all be at work or in school."
"Oh shut up, you old fogy," sneered Seth. "Just because
you're too old
to remember how to have a good time, don't give you the right to try
and spoil our fun."
The man was a rancher friend of Ben's, called Mr Potter, and Joe was
trying to remain inconspicuous, but the man had already seen him.
"How dare you speak to me like that?" he said. "If you were
mine, I'd
take a razor stop to you, and I know that Ben Cartwright would react
in the same way. I can see you, Little Joe. Trying to hide under your
hat won't work with me, and I mean to tell your father, the next time
I see him, just what you get up to, when you are away from him."
These words had a slightly sobering effect on Joe, and he attempted to
walk the short distance from his table to where the man was sitting.
He was going to ask Mr Potter not to say anything to his father.
However, his legs refused to co-operate and he ended up falling into
Mr Potter's lap and spilling the man's beer all over him.
"Damn, I'm real sorry, sir," said Joe, attempting to soak up
the beer
with the first thing that came to hand, Mr Potter's newspaper. "I'll
buy you another drink, okay? Only please don't tell my Pa about this."
"Leave me alone, boy," said Potter, standing up and depositing
Joe on
the floor. "I came into town, because I had an appointment, and now
I
will have to cancel it and go home and change. And if this beer stain
doesn't come out of my suit, your father will be receiving a very
large bill for a new one."
"Hey, you big bully, lay off our friend," said Johnny, as he
helped
Joe to his feet. "It was just an accident and Joe offered to buy you
another beer. We were only having a bit of fun, is all."
"Yeah," said Seth, poking Mr Potter in the chest, with his finger.
"Just leave us alone, you ole misery."
"Don't you push me," said Mr Potter, and he tried to get past
the
young man. "I am going to insist that the barman throws you out. If
you can't hold your liquor, you should be made to leave the premises."
Seth went after him, grabbed him by the arm, and punched him, in the
face. This started a full-scale fight, with Mr Potter's friends
defending him, and Mitch, Johnny and Joe coming to the aid of Seth.
The fight was in full swing, when a gunshot silenced the room. Sheriff
Coffee stood in the doorway of the saloon, brandishing his rifle.
"That's enough," he yelled. "Now, I want the ones who started
this
fracas to head over to my jailhouse, where I will listen to what you
all have to say and then decide on the punishment. Bruno, please
prepare a bill for the damages to the saloon, and have it sent to my
office."
Mr Potter walked over to where Roy was standing and said, "Now, listen
here, Sheriff. This was none of my doing. I was set on by this bunch
of hooligans."
Roy raised his hand, to silence the man.
"I will listen over at the jailhouse, sir, so please make your way
over there, now."
Johnny, Seth, Mitch and Joe helped each other to make the short walk
to Roy's office.
Mr Potter was the most vocal and explained what had happened.
"It comes to something when a man can't enjoy a drink in peace,
without being set upon, in this manner."
After hearing what Mr Potter had to say, Roy said, "I quite agree
with
you, Ken. These boys were very wrong, to behave in such a way, and I
will be making sure that they fully understand that, before I allow
them to leave my jail."
Once Mr Potter was assured that the boys were going to be punished and
that he would receive compensation for the damage to his suit, he
headed for home.
As he was riding along, he met Adam, who was on his way into town,
looking for his little brother.
Mr Potter was only too happy to have another person to tell his story
to, and by the time that Adam arrived at the jail, he knew exactly
what Joe had been up to.
`Pa is going to skin him alive,' thought Adam, as he entered the
jailhouse.
By this time, the four boys were in a jail cell, and Joe was rather
relieved to have the bars between him and Adam, when he took in the
look on his big brother's face.
Joe managed a rather sickly grin, and said, "Hi, Adam, bet you didn't
expect to find me in here, did you? But I had to come over to the jail
to deliver a message to Roy, from Pa. And I did tell ya, didn't I,
Roy? It's 7.30 at Paul's, not 7."
"That's Sheriff Coffee, to you, boy," said Roy. "And yes,
you did
mumble something like that, at me, but it sure didn't make a heap of
sense. Nice to see you, Adam, but how did you know Little Joe was in
here?"
"I didn't, until I met Mr Potter, on the road, and we had a nice long
chat," said Adam. "Since when did you get your haircut in the
Bucket
of Blood, Joe? I don't recall Pa telling you to go anywhere near a
saloon. But he did say you were to be home in time to do your chores,
and guess what, you're not, and so I've done them, and had to come and
find you. Can you imagine what Pa's going to say when he hears about
your latest little adventure?"
"I'm not so worried `bout what he says, as much as I am about what
he's likely to do to me," said Joe. "Please Adam, help me out
here,
will you?"
The boy looked awful, and if there was one thing guaranteed to tug at
the heartstrings of ole granite head, Adam, it was the sight of his
little brother in trouble. He tried to fool himself that, unlike his
father and his brother, Hoss, he was immune to Joe's puppy dog look,
but he knew it wasn't true.
"I don't see why I should, but I guess we could keep this from Pa.
He
doesn't know about any of this, yet. He finished work, a bit earlier,
today, as he wanted to have a bath and get changed, before going to
dinner with Doc Martin and Sheriff Coffee. So, if I pay off your fine,
get you over to the barber's, before it closes, and then we head for
home, you can be tucked up in bed by the time Pa returns to the ranch.
Would you be prepared to keep quiet about this, Roy? I'll pay for the
damages and I'll talk to Mr Potter and settle up with him, too."
Roy rubbed his chin, and took his time, before answering. He wanted
Joe to think that he might still tell Ben, but he had no intention of
doing so. Roy knew the family well enough to be happy leaving Adam to
deal with Little Joe. He knew that the young man would take the time
to stress upon the boy, the error of his ways, and that, hopefully,
Little Joe would listen.
"Very well, Adam, I will release Little Joe into your custody and
when
I see Ben tonight I won't mention the incident, at all. But just you
mark my words, boys. If Joe ends up in my jail, anytime soon, I will
be after both your hides and your father will be told, is that
understood?"
Adam and Joe both nodded, although Joe soon wished he hadn't, as the
movement caused him to be violently sick.
Once the fine was paid and Joe was cleaned up, Adam took him over to
the barber's and insisted that Frank give him a very short cut. Joe
didn't dare object, seeing as how he was so deeply in his brother's debt.
Before they left for home, Adam made Joe drink several cups of black
coffee and have something to eat. At first, Joe refused.
"I can't eat, Adam," he whined. "I feel terrible and this'll
only make
me feel worse."
"Do as you're told," commanded Adam. "Big brother knows best."
"Actually, I do feel a bit better for that," said Joe, as they
went to
collect their horses. "Thanks for insisting I ate."
Adam smiled and said, "You see, big brothers do know best. Now, let's
get you home and into bed. I'll just tell Pa you were tired and so
didn't wait up to say goodnight. By the morning, you'll be fully
recovered and so Pa doesn't need to know about any of this."
Joe was going to protest about being sent to bed, but by the time they
got home, he was happy to go.
Just before he fell asleep, Adam came in to say goodnight.
"Feeling better now, buddy?"
"Yes thanks, Adam, much better. And thanks for saving my hide. Pa
would've removed a layer of it, if he'd found out what I'd done."
"Probably, and it would've been no more than you deserved. But, us
brothers have to stick together, and I know there was no malice
intended, when you spilt the drink on Mr Potter. It was just a case of
high spirits, and you did have an excuse, as you were celebrating
Seth's birthday. But don't think I am condoning you spending time in a
saloon, especially when you are supposed to be working. You know how
Pa feels about you frequenting such places, you are still a little
young, and you are only supposed to have one beer and be with me or Hoss."
"I know, Adam, and speaking of spirits, I'm sure not about to become
a
whisky drinker. I didn't even like the taste, and it did strange
things to my body. I couldn't feel my legs and when I looked at `em, I
had three. It was a bit scary, to tell you the truth."
Adam laughed, and attempted to ruffle Joe's hair, although there
wasn't much left, now he'd been to the barber's.
"Well, you just hold on to that thought, in case you feel like taking
a drink, again, okay? I might not be around to bail you out, the next
time."
Joe was nearly asleep, as Adam said these words, but he did hear them.
"I hope you are, cos I reckon I'm gonna need you, brother, for a
little bit longer. I guess I'm not as grown up as I like to think I am."
"Don't worry, buddy. I'll be here, for as long as you need me.
Goodnight, Joe," and the boy went to sleep, secure in that knowledge.
THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne
Oct 20th 2005