AW, SHUCKS, ADAM
by
Lynne C
"Aw shucks, Adam, `tweren't our fault," said Hoss, when Adam arrived
at the jailhouse, and took in the sight of his two younger brothers,
who were behind bars.
Joe, the youngest, was rather glad, at that moment, to have the bars
separating him from his oldest sibling, as the look on Adam's face
told the youngster that murder was on his mind.
`I think he's thinking how nice it would be if he were an only child,
around about now,' thought Joe.
Hoss continued with the explanation, although it was such a garbled
one that Adam wasn't able to make much sense of it all.
"Well, Pa told you ta keep an eye on Joe, then you told me ta keep
an
eye on him, cos you were gonna be spendin' the night keepin' an eye on
Rosie. But, then I met Molly and she was jest plumb gorgeous, Adam,
and that gal sure knew how ta shimmy on the dance floor. So I kinda
got busy keepin' an eye on Molly and while I wasn't keepin' an eye on
Joe and neither was you, he kinda started keepin' an eye on this
little gal called Katie. But, Katie already had a fella keepin' an eye
on her, so he got mad with Little Joe's eye bein' on her and they got
inta a fight."
"I'd have flattened him, iffen he hadn't brought his friend along
to
help him," said Joe. "But I had to call on Hoss and you know what
he's
like when he gets in a fight? He just don't know when to stop and it
all got outta hand and before we knew it, Roy was involved and he
arrested us. I mean, can you believe it, Adam? Our Pa's best friend
and yet he takes the side of some saddle tramp over us, and we're the
ones who end up in jail."
"Don't know when ta stop, indeed," said Hoss, turning his attention
from Adam and onto Joe. "The guy was bein' real polite, at first, jest
told ya to stop makin' eyes at his gal, and what did you do, little
brother? You flew at him, like a man possessed, that's what, and
that's when his buddy got involved, which then meant I had ta get
involved, too, else there would've bin nothin' left of you to take
home fer Pa to skin."
A look of panic came over Adam's handsome features, as he considered
the possibility of his little brother having been seriously hurt. He
often tried to give the impression that he didn't care, that much, but
really he cared a great deal.
"Well, he called me a little kid and told me to go home and play with
my toy soldiers," said Joe. "And that made me mad, and when I
get mad,
it ain't pretty."
Adam pulled on his earlobe and said, "Which is exactly why Pa was
reluctant to allow you to come to town with us, as he knows, only too
well, just how good you are at getting into trouble. I have been
working up at the lumber camp for nigh on four weeks, without a break,
and I was looking forward to a nice, peaceful evening, enjoying a few
hands of poker, a couple of beers and the company of a young lady, and
what happens? Hurricanes Joe and Hoss hit the saloon and I'm the one
expected to come and pay the bill and pick up the pieces. And I
suppose you are hoping that I will keep all of this from Pa, too?"
Despite the tone in Adam's voice, Joe managed a smile, as he was
confident that his big brother was going to bail them out, like he
usually did, whenever they were in trouble.
But the smile was premature, as when Adam saw it, it was his turn to
become the angry member of the family.
"Well, not this time, little buddy. I am sick and tired of always
having to look out for you and keep you out of trouble with Pa. This
time, you can be the one doing the explaining. I am going back to
Rosie, now, and you two can stay there until Pa starts wondering where
you are and comes searching for you. Goodnight, brothers."
Both Hoss and Joe were lost for words, and they watched their brother
leave the cells, in shocked silence.
However, what they didn't know was that Adam stopped to talk to Roy
Coffee, the sheriff, before he left the office, and he paid off his
brothers' fine, and for the damages to the saloon.
"I'll be back first thing in the morning, so please hang on to them,
until I get here," said Adam. "Pa won't be fretting, as I warned
him
that we might stay in town, overnight, but please don't tell Hoss and
Joe that. I want them to suffer, a bit, for disturbing my evening."
Roy smiled and agreed to keep quiet.
Hoss and Joe spent a rather uncomfortable night, worrying about what
Ben was likely to say, or in Joe's case, do, when he came to get them,
and they were very surprised when it was Adam who arrived at the
jailhouse, the following morning.
When Joe asked why he had helped them, Adam said, "Well, I suppose
I
should accept some of the blame, as I know how difficult it is for
just one person to keep an eye on you. I should've stuck around and
made sure you were okay, little buddy."
As they rode home, Adam told them that Ben needn't know about their
indiscretions, as long as they paid him back for their fine, and the
damages.
"If you were to blame, Adam, then I think you should be the one to
pay," said Joe, cheekily.
"Don't push your luck, little brother," said Adam, sternly. "I
could
always change my mind about telling Pa, and then you'd not only have
to pay me back, but you'd be taking a trip to the barn, too."
The sixteen-year-old knew that Adam spoke the truth and so he and Hoss
promised that they would pay. Once again, they were in debt to their
older brother, who, although he often complained, thought the world of
Hoss and Joe and would do just about anything for them, even though he
preferred to keep that information to himself.
THE END
Little Joe forever
Lynne
June 4th 2006