By:
Sherri P.
“Everybody
out!”
Joe blinked his eyes
rapidly as he
shook the confusion from his head. Scratching his arm, he could feel
his body
being overrun by fleas, at least that’s what they looked like when he
held his
arm in front of his face. Moving his legs in front of him, he slowly
eased his
body into an upright position and took a cursory glance around him,
trying to
figure out where he was. Putting his
hands down, he realized that he was sitting on the floor of a moving
wagon. Looking up from his position on the
floor he
could see that there were bars surrounding the wagon with a poorly
built bench
taking up the interior of the wagon wall.
From what Joe saw, it was enough for him to realize that he was
in a
prison wagon. Sitting up quickly, Joe
felt a stab of pain shoot through his head sending a spell of dizziness
through
his body. As he slowly eased himself
into a sitting position, he dared to take a look across the wagon to a
man
sitting on a bench just above him. The
man was clawing in the air making a guttural-noise with his throat when
suddenly he lunged towards Joe. Jumping
from his spot on the floor, Joe relaxed his muscles slightly as he
watched the
man be jerked back to his seat by a taunt chain that had encircled his
waist
and arms. Still on edge from his spot on
the floor, Joe watched as the man leaned back and began to rock back
and forth
as he continued to claw at the air.
Looking quickly away, Joe’s eyes rested on a rather pretty young
blonde
girl dressed in a light colored smock.
Smiling at her, his smile quickly disappeared when she turned to
face
him. He sat in shock watching as her mouth twitched into a grimace just
as she
threw her head back and gave a muted scream.
Swallowing hard, Joe tried not to look into her glazed eyes as
he leaned
his head back against the bench. Just as
his head connected with the wood, he felt tears come to his eyes when
the wood
hit a spot on the back of his head, sending daggers of pain down into
his back.
A headache already in full swing, Joe reached his hand through his hair
and
found the spot where he could feel a large knot beginning to swell. Feeling the sticky feeling of blood, Joe
pulled his hand forward and could see the fresh blood that was streaked
across
his fingertips. Realizing that was where
his headache was coming from, he leaned forward and placed his head
into his
hands while trying to figure out how in the world he ended up in a
prison
wagon.
The last thing he
remembered was being
in the buckboard on the road to
“I
told you get out, you lazy cus!”
Reaching across the wagon, the guard pulled on the larger mound
of
chains that were attached to Joe, causing him to lose his balance from
where he
stood and tumble back down on the floor.
Banging his head on the same spot as before, Joe lay there
groaning
while he saw stars float across his vision.
Feeling
the sensation of his body being drug by the chains from the wagon, Joe
couldn’t
help but snarl, “I’m coming! Give me a
chance to get to my feet!” Sliding his
bottom
across the floor of the wagon, he made his way over to the edge of the
wagon,
and dropped his feet down onto the ground before pulling himself to a
standing
position. Rubbing his head, Joe began to look around the surroundings
to try
and place where they had stopped. Before him stood a large imposing
building
built entirely of wood, with no windows on any part of the building,
other than
the door. Surrounding the back of the
building was a fence about six feet tall enclosing the back section of
the yard,
with a spindly tree occupying the center of the ground.
But it was the lack of windows on the
building that captured Joe’s attention.
Feeling a tug on the chains around his feet, Joe was relieved to
discover that the chains had not been attached around his waist or
wrist like
it had been done with the others. As he
stumbled across the ground, a large grizzly guard came over to where
Joe was
and began to poke him in the back.
Trying to avoid looking into his face, he couldn’t help but see
the ugly
scar that spread from his cheekbone to the bottom of his chin. Joe shivered slightly as the guard put his
face into his and called out to the other guard, spewing bad breath,
“Hey
Frank! We got ourselves a looker in this one, look at them purty green
eyes!”
Smelling
the other guard rather than seeing him, Joe tried to pull away from
their
physical inspection of him, when he found himself being grabbed from
behind by
the one called Frank. Nearly gagging
from the stench of body odor that seemed to saturate his body Joe took
a glance
at him and wished that he didn’t. Some
of his teeth was missing and were in the process of rot, while his hair
didn’t
look like it had been cut in a year.
Trying to struggle out of his grasp, Joe found himself thrust to
the ground. As he picked himself slowly
from the ground,
he heard the guards continue to talk among themselves.
“Ya ought to feel his muscles, he’s stronger
than he looks.” Trying not to look at
the second guard, Joe couldn’t help but notice the black patch that
covered his
left eye. Deciding he didn’t like the
direction the current conversation was headed, Joe decided to find out
where he
was. Pulling himself up from the
ground, Joe asked, “Where am I?”
Spitting
out some saliva that landed down near Joe’s feet, Frank wiped his mouth
before
answering, “This new home of yours is the Reno Insane Asylum, just
built
recently for the likes of you.”
“INSANE
ASYLUM?!” Stunned, Joe was speechless as
he tried to
absorb what he was told. “Wait a second,
what am I doing here? I don’t belong here!”
“Sure
you do Tom. Got your paperwork right
here.”
“No
wait, see now, there is your problem. My
name is Joe Cartwright.”
“You
have proof on you?”
“Yes
I do.” Reaching into his jacket, Joe was
relieved when he felt his wallet.
Knowing that the proof inside would set him clear, he pulled out
the
paper where he kept his name, handing the folded piece of paper to the
guard.
“Tom
Jones of
“What! Let me see that!”
Handing
Joe the sheet of paper, he turned white as he saw the writing on the
paper
clear as day, “Tom Jones of
“Stop
your arguing, Jones. Join the rest of
them.”
“No
wait! I’m Joe Cartwright of
Seeing
only the color red from the anger that was building up from within him,
Joe’s
thoughts had one goal in mind and that was to get out of this place.
Balling
his hand into a fist, Joe swung at the guard.
Easily the guard caught hold of Joe’s hand in his beefy hand,
stopping
him before he made contact. Twisting the
fist he had in his possession, the guard threw a blow of his own,
catching Joe
on the side of his face. Already off
balanced from the chains around his feet and his twisted hand, Joe fell
hard to
the ground. Pulling on the chains, the
guard yanked on them causing Joe’s face to rub against the ground. “Get up boy, or there ain’t going to be much
left to that purty face of yours.”
Realizing
that at that moment there was nothing that he could do, Joe rolled over
onto
his knees and quickly stood up. Stoically he stood there, shaking in
his
determination to get out of this situation and get someone listen to
his pleas
when he felt a tug on his chains.
Looking up, Joe realized in surprise that the other prisoners
were
having their chains undone and were being corralled closer to the door. Shuffling forward, Joe stood in line to have
his undone also, not missing the glare of the guard who had punched him
earlier. Watching as the guards unlocked
the chains and pulled the clamped manacle from his ankles, he could
feel the weight
drop away as he stood there looking up at the massive door in front of
him. He was staring at the one and only
window that was on the door, properly barred up when he suddenly felt a
sharp
sting slice across his shoulder. Crying
out in shock, Joe felt his body being yanked as the guard shouted out
to him,
“Didn’t you hear us, get them clothes off now!”
Shooting
a glare at the guard, Joe glanced over to where the other prisoners
were
standing. There was the clawing man,
already undressed down to his underwear and was in the process of
removing
those also. Suddenly aghast at the
thought of stripping down in front of these men, Joe stood there
determined
that he was not going to willingly remove his clothing.
“Hey
Purty Boy! Didya hear me? Get them clothes off!”
Taking
a look at their troublesome prisoner, the one guard motioned to Frank
and began
to advance towards Joe. Seeing the long black whip and the pair of iron
handcuffs being picked up from the ground, Joe suddenly remembered the
lack of
chains around his feet. Slowly Joe began to back away from the guards
then as
he regained his balance, he began to pick up his feet and run. The only thing on his mind was run from the
building. Just run. Just
as it felt that he was going to succeed,
Joe felt a sharp stinging sensation strike him across the back. Refusing to stop and submit to the pain, he
continued to run stumbling over rocks and brush in his quest for
freedom. Suddenly he felt his body fall
towards the
ground as he faintly remembered the sound of the whip whizzing through
the air
before wrapping his feet in its sharp coil.
As he tumbled to the ground, he saw that his pursuers were
almost upon
him. Crawling to his feet, he kicked the
whip loose and before he could make it to his feet one of the guards
came
crashing towards him and with one vicious punch knocked him back to the
ground. Bravely he fought, but soon he
was outnumbered with the two guards and despite the desperate attempt
of his
flight for freedom, Joe was caught, and now sprawled out on the ground,
unconscious from a blow to his head
.
****************************
Dusting
off his dark clothing, Adam peered out of the corral down the road
looking for
his youngest brother. Getting irritated
at their waiting, he couldn’t help but ask,
“Pa, when is Joe getting back from
Having
already paced the length of the fence, Ben couldn’t help but express
his
frustration, “He should have been back hours ago. Dang
it!
Can’t that boy go into town and get back at a proper hour?”
Pulling
his large, hulking frame from the edge of the water trough, Hoss tried
to
defray the anger that he knew had to be building up within Ben, “Pa,
maybe he
got caught up in town.”
“Hoss,
I understand your concern for your brother, but he knew we needed those
supplies tomorrow.” Running his hand
through his pepper-white hair, Ben continued, “Who do you think is
going to
unload the wagon when he gets home late tonight?”
“But,
pa..”
“Pa
nothing. Hoss, I want you and Adam to
ride into
Slapping
his hat against his leg, Ben turned and went back inside the house,
knowing
that his anger at the moment would have to be put to use somewhere
other than
working on paperwork. Watching Ben stomp
indoors, Hoss and Adam shrugged their shoulders as they entered into
the barn
to ready their horses for a trip into town.
*****************************
Groaning,
Joe slowly regained consciousness as the darkness from his head faded
away and
was replaced with a tremendous ache between his eyes.
Blinking his eyes rapidly, it wasn’t until he
moved his body that he realized that he was no longer laying on the
rocky
ground, instead a flat hard surface had taken its place.
Just by lifting his shoulder, he could feel
the raw feeling on his back from where the whip earlier had sliced into
him. Slowly Joe moved his eyes around
the room where he was held, noticing that there was nothing of interest
in
these four dingy walls, other than a bright candle in the corner. There was a door that was located at the end
of the bed where Joe laid, but there were no windows, nothing. Hearing a noise that sounded like rats, Joe
tried rolling over to pinpoint the noise.
But when he rolled over, he discovered with alarm that he
couldn’t move
his arms nor or legs. Struggling briefly, he strained his neck and
looked down
the table. Gasping out loud, he
discovered that his body was tied with leather bands to a table, the
table he
was lying on. His wrists and ankles were
trussed up, along with a leather band that was tugged tight across his
chest
and his legs. Panicking, Joe didn’t like
the feeling of confinement and the inability to move.
Fighting at the bonds that held him, he found
out that no matter how hard he struggled the bonds remained steadfast. Out of breath, Joe panted as he tried to
catch his breath. It was then that he saw
that his own clothing had been replaced with a long gray shirt and a
pair of
trousers. Disbelieving the situation he
was in, he lay there as he listened to noises congregating at the door
just
outside of the small room where he was held.
Lying still on the bed, Joe cocked his head and watched the door
from
the corner of his eye. The door swung
open and the doorway was filled with the body of one of the guards,
followed by
a tall thin man. Talking, they came over
to where Joe lay.
“Dr.
Percale, this be Tom Jones,” the guard said, as he swatted a fly out of
his
face. “Them papers that came with him
judged him insane and gave us the right to rehabilitate him, whatever
that
means.”
Frowning,
the new thin man looked down at Joe, who was glaring at him, “Why was
he judged
insane? ”
“Over
in
Nodding,
the thin man digested it all as Joe began to struggle once again at the
bonds
that were tying him down. Clearing his
voice, Joe spoke up, “Wait a sec, there’s been a mistake.
My name is Joe Cartwright. Not Tom
Jones. I already told the guards that
there has been
some sort of mix up.”
With
a look of boredom on his face, the doctor ignored what Joe had to say
as he
looked down at Joe, “My name is Doctor Howard Percale.
How are you feeling?”
“Damn
it! My name is Joe Cartwright. Untie me!”
Looking
over at the doctor, the guard flicked a piece of meat from his teeth as
he
glanced down at Joe before speaking, “He sez his name is Joe
Cartwright, but the
paper inside his wallet shows Tom Jones.”
“My
name is JOE CARTWRIGHT! Send someone to
“Calm
down young man, you’re going to cause more trouble for yourself,” said
Dr.
Percale.
Ignoring
the doctor, Joe was more intent on getting out of the restraints that
held him
down rather than listen to the prattle of the doctor.
Struggling, he watched as the doctor called
out to someone in the hall. Still
thrashing around, fighting at the binding on his arms and feet, Joe
couldn’t
hear what was being said, until he saw someone walk into the room. Peering around the doctor, Joe could see a
short, stout dark-haired woman walk into the room holding in her hand a
thick,
long needle filled with liquid in her hand.
Squirming within the restraints on the bed Joe began crying out,
“No! Get that away from me!”
Looking
down at Joe with his beady eyes, the doctor explained, “We can’t have
you here
disrupting the others. This will help
you calm down and control yourself.”
“I’m
fine!” yelled Joe, as the woman approached his bed.
“Get that away from me, I’ll calm down.”
Ignoring
Joe, the doctor motioned over to one of the guards while he took the
needle
away from the woman. “Help me push him
over.”
Grabbing
hold of Joe, the guard roughly grabbed him, and clamped his fingers
into his
side while twisting his side over as much as he could despite the
restraints,
while the doctor pushed down Joe’s trousers.
Watching Joe still struggling in his captive’s hand and cry out,
the
doctor felt no remorse as he tapped the needle, then roughly plunged
the needle
into the fleshy part of Joe’s buttocks.
Feeling the cold hands of the doctor then the stab of the
needle, Joe
could feel the fluid as the medicine flowed into his body.
Yanking the needle out, the doctor stepped
aside and handed the needle back to the woman.
Turning back around he motioned to the guard to let him go, then
turned
back to Joe. “You should be feeling better soon.”
Embarrassed
by the tears that began to fall involuntarily down his face, Joe could
still
feel the spot where the needle had invaded his body as he continued to
cry out
more softly, “My name is Joe Cartwright.
Joe Cartwright. Where’s my
pa.
***************************************
“Pa!
Pa! Where are you?”
Ben
wiped his hands on his pants as he rushed out of the barn, looking up
into the
concerned face of his middle son,
“What’s wrong Hoss?”
“We
can’t find Joe, pa. He never made it
into
Sagging,
Ben went over to the water trough and sat on the edge.
“What happened?”
“We
don’t know pa, but I’m going to retrace the route that Joe might have
taken on
his way to
“Go
get something to eat Hoss, and I’ll settle you a fresh mount while I
get one
for myself.” Waving Hoss inside the
house, Ben went into the barn to get their gear together for a ride
back
towards
*****************************************
Slowly
Joe woke up from the induced medicated sleep, feeling beneath him a
lumpy
bed. Scratching at the mini-bug bites on
his arms, he belatedly realized that he was free from any restraints. Shivering in the darkness that overtook the
room, Joe’s eyes adjusted to the room and he could see a thin sliver of
sunshine that made it’s way across the floor from a crack near the
ceiling. Pulling his hands up to his
face, he relished the feeling of the freedom although he could tell
that his
muscles were sore from the forced stretch and the ensuing struggle. Rubbing at the raw spots on his wrist, Joe
pulled himself to a sitting position and gasped as he felt the material
from
his shirt rubbed against the whip mark on his back.
Leaning his head against the wall, he saw
that this room was no different than the room he was in earlier. All walls and one door was his new habitat,
while on the floor straw was littered around.
Feeling his stomach growl from hunger, Joe sat on the edge of
the bed
not sure what to do. Slowly, he pulled
himself upright and looked at the door before pushing himself from the
bed to
tug on the handle. Locked.
The energy that he had collected to make it
over to the door ebbed away as he moved back to his cot.
With nothing to do but wait, Joe was about to
lay back down on the cot when he heard keys rattling at the door. Turning around, he saw a guard stick his head
in the doorway.
“Let’s
go kid. Git over here and follow
me.”
Stepping
aside, the man waited for Joe to move over to the doorway.
Feeling the guard poke him in the back with
his finger, he was pushed down the hall towards a door at the end of
the
hallway. “Hold up a second.”
Grabbing the set of keys from his pocket, the
guard selected one and then opened another door, calling out to the
person
inside. “Time to go outside!”
A few seconds later, another man emerged from
a cell and locked eyes with Joe. His eyes, which initially appeared
lifeless,
had a glitter of hope when they landed on Joe.
From what Joe could see, he apparently was a tall man at one
time, but
now was so stooped over that he was shorter than Joe was. Shuffling out
of the
building, Joe watched as the guard pushed the door open and shoved him
from
behind into the courtyard. When a beam
of sunshine fell on his face, he found he had to cover his face from
the
brightness of the sunshine. Dropping his
eyes to the ground, Joe couldn’t help it when he stumbled over rocks on
the
ground and fell into someone ahead of him.
Feeling himself being shoved backwards, Joe squinted and saw it
was a
rather skinny woman that he had run into.
“Excuse
me, ma’am,” Joe apologized, as he stared at her. Her
blonde hair was matted and looked like
huge knots ran through it as it hung down her back, apparently it
hadn’t been
combed in weeks. Catching a glimpse of
her eyes he could feel them piercing straight through him.
Uncomfortable, Joe dropped his eyes but
looked up again when he noticed her still staring at him.
Moving out of her way, he looked up and
realized that she wasn’t staring at him, rather just staring straight
in front
of her. Stepping carefully around her,
Joe began to move freely in the yard, free from his cell and from the
chains
and leather thongs that had bound him since his stay at this
God-forsaken
place. Looking up at the sky, he noted
that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but he was able to see a few
birds flying
up high in the sky above him. With his
eyes adjusted to the light, Joe took a moment to look around his
surroundings. Joe and the others had been
herded into the
courtyard that he had observed on his entry into the place. Any chance of escape would be impossible from
this location, with the six-foot fence surrounding them.
There was one tree in the middle of the yard,
and it was of no use other than the bits of shade that were at that
moment
grabbed by the various inmates of the institution.
Looking at their garb, he noted that they
were dressed as he was, with the same dull gray clothing.
Sighing, Joe walked around the yard trying to
get as much fresh air in his lungs as possible.
Passing by the various occupants, Joe was still trying to figure
out how
in the world he ended up in this place, but mainly how in the world his
wallet
contained the name Tom Jones. My name is
Joe Cartwright, he chanted to himself.
They can’t take my name away from me.
My name is Joe Cartwright and my pa and brothers will find me, I
know
they will! Hearing a noise next to him,
Joe looked up from his musings and saw that in his wanderings he had
ended up
next to the man who occupied the cell next to him.
A little unsure as to whether or not to
approach him or not, Joe decided that it didn’t harm anything to say
hi.
Hearing Joe’s voice, the man looked up and then around him before
focusing his
eyes back on Joe. Clearing his voice, he
answered back, “Hi.”
“My
name’s Joe Cartwright.”
“Bob
Miller.”
Unsure
of what more to say, Joe stood there shifting from one foot to the
other. “Uh, how long have you been here?”
Ignoring
the question, Bob looked up at Joe, suddenly it seemed put him in focus. “You’re the one who arrived last night. I heard ya yelling a lot and that ain’t good.
Don’t make a fuss and they’ll leave you alone.”
“But
I’m not supposed to be here!”
“I
ain’t either, but I am and I’ve accepted my lot. Best
you can do, is the same. Ain’t to bad once
you get used to it. Meals a couple of
times a day, and we get to
go outside during the day for exercise.”
As he flexed his biceps to show Joe what little muscle he had.
Trying
to think of something to say a loud banging of a bell sounded over the
courtyard. Joe watched with a fixated
stare, as the courtyard suddenly became alive with the rush of humanity
rushing
towards the doors. Following the mob indoors, Joe stopped in his steps
as he
observed the meal room. Several long
tables ran the length of the room, with planks set down on top of
barrels for
their seats. Following the shuffling
group, Joe looked ahead as each person grabbed a plate and then waited
until
the cook sloshed some sort of brown slop onto each dish.
Taking a whiff of it, Joe nearly gagged. Carry
the plate over to a table he tried to
swish the substance around on his plate, although he couldn’t quite
place the
origin of the stuff. It looked vaguely
like oatmeal, but very lumpy. Finding a
place at an empty table, Joe found a fork and slowly dipped it into the
mixture. Segregating the lumps, he
fished around in the mixture trying to pick up the fork and put it into
his
mouth. As hungry as he was, he pushed
his plate away from him, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Glancing over, he saw that it was the man
from the courtyard, Bob Miller.
“Are
you going to eat that?”
Grimacing,
Joe shook his head, “No, I don’t know how…”
“May
I have it?” Bob asked, interrupting the rest of what Joe was going to
say.
“Help
yourself.”
Grabbing
the plate, Bob quickly switched his plate with Joe’s before digging
into Joe’s
food with a smile on his face. Making a
face, Joe grimaced and looked away studying the others in the room. But what he saw, didn’t give him much
hope. All around him, there were people
rocking back and forth, shaking, talking to them selves, and spilling
out all
sorts of foul language. One woman kept
getting up from her seat, and then would take her plate and move down a
seat. If someone was in a spot that she
wanted, she would mumble then turn around and move back to the seat she
originally came from. Sitting there, Joe
almost wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t a laughing matter considering he
was a
prisoner here also. He was in the same
predicament as these people. Feeling an
overwhelming feeling of sadness overtake him, it was quickly taken over
by
anger that he was even in this facility.
Hunched over in his seat Joe began to scan the room looking for
the
guards and a way out. Counting two
across the room, he looked around and saw that there was a door close
to his
table that looked to be close to the outside wall.
Moving around in his seat, Joe quietly pushed
away from the table and started to get up.
“Don’t!”
With oatmeal dripping from his lips, Bob grabbed hold of Joe’s arm in
an
attempt to keep Joe from getting up.
“What?”
“Don’t
leave this room.”
“But
why?” Joe asked, frustrated with the lack of answers he was receiving.
Sitting
there, Bob said nothing more other than, “Don’t” before turning back to
his
food and rocking back and forth in his seat.
Watching
as Bob began the repetitive motion of rocking made Joe begin to wonder
how sane
the fellow really was. Ignoring the
caution given to him, Joe slowly got up from his seat with his plate in
hand. Looking around him, he took
care
to note where the guards were, and when they turned their heads the
opposite
direction, Joe took one step to the side, dropped the plate on a table
by the
door then stealthily pushed the door open before slipping through the
doorway. Panting quickly on the other
side of the door, he peeked around the corner to see if anyone had
noticed his
removal from the room. Gently pushing
the door back into place, he turned around and leaned against the wall
in an
attempt to breathe easier. Looking
around him, he saw that he ended up in a hallway that stretched quite a
distance both ways. Trying to decide
which way was out Joe could barely see a flicker of light down to the
right. Walking in that direction, Joe
made sure he was quiet lest anyone was around to hear him.
It wasn’t until he rounded a corner that he
found that he was closer to the source of light, the outdoors. As he approached the door to the outside, he
felt himself being grabbed from behind.
Letting out terrified yell a hand was clamped over his mouth
before he
was knocked to the floor, banging his head roughly on the hard surface.
*********************
“Pa,
I don’t know where Joe could be. He
ain’t in Carson City, and as you heard, no one has seen him today.”
Sitting
on his buckskin horse, Ben pulled his horse to a halt and looked around
him. “We should have gone slower on our
way to Carson City, we could have missed something on our way in. But I was so sure that Joe was somewhere in
Carson.”
Nodding
his head, Hoss had to agree with him, “I was hoping the same thing pa. Say, is that riders up ahead?”
Just
ahead of them, Hoss and Ben could see a cloud of dust rising up from
the riders
approaching them from the direction of town.
Hailing them to a stop, one of the men stopped his horse while
the
others rode on up ahead. “Evening
men. We got a report of a dead man up
the road a bit. Have you seen anyone
around?”
Feeling
the blood drain from his face, Ben had to ask, “Where did they find the
body?”
“Just
up the road a bit, it was off in the bushes next to a buckboard. Looks like some fella was headed into Carson
City.” At that, the man kicked his horse
with his knees and traveled down the trail to catch up with his buddies.
Looking
over at Ben, Hoss could tell that Ben was fighting his emotions. “Pa, there ain’t no proof that is little
Joe.”
Dropping
his head, Ben raised it and looked Hoss in the eyes.
“You’re right son. Let’s go check
this out.”
Kicking
there horses forward, Ben and Hoss were soon upon the scene of the
crime. Jumping off their horses, they
approached the
other men. One of the men pointed off
towards the trees, “That’s the buckboard
the man was driving.”
Following
the sweep of his hands, Ben and Hoss’s eyes landed on the Ponderosa
buckboard
nestled in a hollow among the trees with the horses that Joe had
hitched up to
the wagon earlier that day munching on grass.
Feeling a bit queasy at what they were about to see Hoss pushed
Ben
aside and went over to where the body was spread out face down on the
other
side of the buckboard. Rolling the body
over, Hoss let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Pa, it ain’t Joe. It looks like
whoever this is, was killed over there by the road, and then drug the
buckboard
and horses over to this hiding spot.”
Hearing
that, Ben sank down against the buckboard, all the pent up tension
within him
released. “Thank God.”
Feeling a bit of strength return to his body,
Ben pushed away from the buckboard, and made his way through the
tangled weeds
to where Hoss stood over the body. “Who
is it Hoss?”
Bending
down, Hoss rifled through the man’s pockets until he came across a
wallet. Pulling it open, he pulled out a
slip of
paper and announced with shock, “Joseph F. Cartwright.”
Before
either one of them could say another word, they could hear the sound of
hoof
beats coming up the road. Turning
around, they saw Adam, along with the sheriff and doctor from Carson
City.
“Hi
pa! I heard about the body, is it….”
“Not
Joe Adam, but someone else with Joe’s buckboard.”
Nodding
his head, Adam jumped down from his horse and introduced the sheriff
who was
striding over to where the Cartwright’s stood.
“Pa, this Sheriff Kincade from Carson City.”
Sticking
out his hand, Ben watched as the sheriff ignored it and exclaimed
instead,
“What is Tom Jones doing out here. He
was supposed to be in a prison wagon on his way to Reno!”
“Tom
Jones? Prison wagon? What
are you talking about?” Ben exclaimed,
as both Hoss and Adam hovered closer to Ben.
“Tom Jones just had a
trial in Carson
City and the jury convicted him of killing his girlfriend.
He was sentenced and sent to the Reno Insane
Asylum for rehabilitation yesterday. But
the question is what is he doing here?
And why didn’t I receive wire from the institution that he was
dead!”
With
a fearful feeling in their souls, the Cartwright’s bid a hasty goodbye
to the
men and headed their horses towards home.
There they planned on changing out their horses and collecting
gear for
several nights on the trail in a quest to find their family member in
Reno.
***********************
“You
were sent here for rehabilitation.
Therefore you must learn there is a consequence for your
actions.”
“No!
Wait….”
Ignoring
Joe, the doctor shook his head as he motioned over to the guards. Grabbing Joe from behind, they drug a
struggling Joe out of the hallway and into a rather large room. Rather curious, Joe stopped struggling for a
moment allowing the men to grasp a better hold on him.
From his brief view of the room, Joe saw a chair
and a large pool of water situated near the middle of the room. As he got a closer look at the chair, he saw
that there were leather ties attached to the seat.
Suddenly fearful of another series of
torture, Joe began to struggle in his captors’ hands.
“NOOOOOOO!” he screamed as they forced him
into the chair. With strong iron grips,
they literally held him down as the leather straps were tied around his
waist,
wrists and ankles. Grabbing hold of an
extra leather strap, the doctor handed it the guard.
“Tie this one around the top of his head.”
Begging
to be let free, Joe couldn’t see any way out of this situation, “Please
no. Please don’t tie me down.
Oh please!”
With
one guard clasping hold of Joe’s head, the other wrapped the leather
strap
around his forehead and tied it to the back of the chair.
Firmly encased in the chair, Joe found that
his struggling was to no use. He was
stuck. Feeling shivers of fear race down
his back, Joe felt the chair lift up from the floor and hover in the
air as it
moved its way over to the tub of water.
Tensing up, Joe had no idea of what was about to happen, he just
knew
that it wasn’t going to be good.
Suddenly the chair dropped, dunking him fully beneath the water. With shock, he gasped out and felt his mouth
fill with water. A few seconds later,
Joe was able to sputter the water out when the chair was swung up out
of the
water. With just enough time to take a
breath, he was plunged once again into the icy cold water.
Each time, he came up for air he couldn’t
help but sputter his outrage at the treatment bestowed upon him. It wasn’t until the fourth dunking that Joe
could feel the life from within flow out, with his energy in struggling
spent. Tired and limp, he could feel the
chair once again drop into the water. No
longer caring if he made it out or not, Joe began to fade away waiting
for his
next dunking. This time, as he was
brought out of the water he could feel the breeze hitting his chilled
skin as
he was swung back around to the floor.
Vaguely he could feel the ties around his body being removed. As he was pulled up from the chair, Joe fell
against the guard who hooked his hands under Joe’s arms and with the
help of
the other guard, swung him over to the cot.
Making sure his arms and legs were on the cot, they rolled him
down the
hallway to his cell. Unlocking the door,
they moved him from his cot, and placed him none too gently on his bed
before
leaving and slamming the door shut behind them.
As
he faded in and out of consciousness, Joe could feel his clammy
clothing
sticking to his body as he tried to think of a way to get out of the
place.
Barely able to make sense in his head, he drifted off to sleep.
For
the next two days, each morning he was escorted back to the water tub
room, and
given what they called, a “water treatment”.
By the second morning, Joe had almost resigned himself to this
torture,
when an image of his family entered his head.
With that image holding him on, he was determined that he was
not going
to give up getting out of the place.
Even though his body appeared to be under the control of the
doctor, he
refused to allow him access to his mental state.
Meal
times seemed to run into another, as the same brown lumpy mess that Joe
had
experienced the first day was being offered.
It was on the second day of treatments that Joe was allowed back
into
the courtyard for exercises. Walking
around the courtyard’s boundary’s, Joe was lost in thought in his plans
to get
out of the prison. So lost in thought,
he nearly ran into Bob who stood rocking against the fence.
“Afternoon
Bob”
Looking
up at Joe, Bob blinked his eyes several times before they focused on
Joe. “Joe.
How are you?”
“Honestly,
I’ve been better. This water treatment
is horrible, but I think I’m done with that for awhile.
They think they’ve rehabilitated me on
whatever it was they were rehabilitating me on, although I feel like my
body is
becoming a prune.”
Grinning
slightly, Bob nodded. Encouraged by his
smile, Joe decided to risk his question.
“Is there any way out of here?”
Swiftly
looking around him, Bob grunted and motioned him towards the wall, away
from
everyone else. Whispering, he began to
talk, “There is a way, but it is tricky.
Follow me.” Following Bob, they
circled the grounds several times, before he stopped by a fence on the
opposite
side of the yard. “Look, there is a door
here, and it leads to the outside. No
one in the yard knows it is here, but I saw it the day I first arrived.”
“Why
haven’t you tried to escape before?”
“I
have, but I was caught. That is when
they started the water treatments, thus my warning to you that you
ignored.”
“Why
are you willing to try again?”
“Because
I don’t want to die in this place, and I think that with you I might
have a
chance to get away.”
“But
how can we get out without being seen?”
“See
the tall blonde girl over there, the one
with the stringy hair?”
Glancing
over, Joe recognized her as being the one who he had bumped into on the
first
day. “Yes, what about her?”
“She
doesn’t like anyone to touch her. If too
many people touch her, she throws a screaming fit and it takes at least
three
guards to hold her down to get the medication in her.
Just after they bring us in here, there is
only one guard. If we can get a lot of
people around her, we can cause an attack, and then it will allow us
enough
time to slip out that door.”
“Are
you sure this door is open?”
“It
is, look on the side…quickly, no one is looking. Along
the doorframe, you don’t see a latch
tying it down. It’s open, almost as
though they are playing with our minds.”
“When
can we do this?”
“The
next time we come to the yard is tomorrow morning.
Eat your food tonight, it’ll give you energy
to get across the desert into Reno.”
Nodding
in agreement, both men split apart and began roaming the grounds until
it was time
to return to the cell rooms. Picking up
some rocks, without thinking Joe began to toss them lightly up in the
air.
“Hey
you, put those rocks down!”
Surprised
at the sound of the voice, a rock that Joe had just begun tossing up in
the air
instead veered out of his hand and landed in the soft middle of the
guard’s
stomach. Grimacing, Joe watched as the
guard began to advance on him. “I’m
sorry, it slipped out my hand,” Joe stuttered, trying to explain his
way out of
the situation. Feeling the massive hand
clamp him on the back of his neck, Joe was suddenly fearful for what
was in
store for him next. Feeling himself
propelled inside, the door behind him to the courtyard was slammed shut
as he
was manhandled into a room. Groaning,
Joe recognized the cot with the leather ties to it and began to push
his way
from the guard. Exchanging a few
punches, another guard appeared on the scene and knocked Joe’s legs out
from
underneath him. Trying to crawl out of
the room, he was kicked in the side and fell tumbling down into the
flea-ridden
straw littered around on the floor. Bent
over in pain, Joe could feel the guards grab him by the arms and
literally
throw him on the cot. Hazy with pain,
the leather ties were soon in place.
Breathing heavily, Joe didn’t pay any attention until he felt
his body
once again being roughly pushed over and caught a glimpse of the
dreaded needle
on its descent into his body, before he passed out.
****************************
Pulling
his horse to a stop, Adam waited for Hoss and Ben to catch up to the
view of
the town in the distance. “Pa, that’s
Reno up ahead.” Looking off towards the
east, Adam saw the breaking of dawn appearing as they sent their
exhausted
mounts towards town and the sheriff’s office.
Waving Hoss and Adam towards the stables to find some fresh
horses, Ben
went directly to the sheriff’s office.
Meeting
up with Ben at the sheriff’s office, Hoss and Adam found him talking
with the
deputy. Apparently the sheriff was away
on business, but the deputy was more than willing to help the
Cartwrights with
their questions. Sitting behind the
massive desk, his feet were propped up on the top of the desk as he
told them
about the Reno Insane Asylum. “About
eight months ago, the prison opened up to the east of town. Most of the town’s people were against it, so
they moved it off into the desert about 4 miles outside of town.”
“But
that doesn’t seem that far away from town, once someone gets away,”
Adam
commented.
“It
ain’t if you got boots on. As soon as
those people are admitted, they are stripped of their clothing and
their shoes
are taken away. Anyway, they have a new
doctor there, administrator I think they call him, straight from
England. He’s the one who wanted it opened
up. Anyway, they say he is a real tyrant,
so if
anyone tried to get away, they probably wouldn’t get too far. And if they did, they probably would live to
regret it.”
Exchanging
glances, the Cartwrights suddenly had a bad feeling.
If Joe was there, they knew that he would try
and escape. Thanking the deputy, they
took the directions and headed out to their horses, mounting up to
leave town.
*************************
Hearing
a sound outside of his door, Joe rolled over on his cot.
Waking up suddenly, he realized that once
again he was free. Feeling the raw skin
around his wrists, Joe became even more determined in his resolve to
leave this
place. Rolling onto his side, he had
just barely put his feet on the floor when he heard the clank from the
door,
announcing the door was being opened.
“Get up! Time to get outside for
fresh air and exercise.”
Blinking
rapidly, Joe slowly pulled himself from his bed and staggered out of
the
room. Holding onto the side of the wall,
he felt utterly weak from the lack of food the night before and that
morning. Walking on, he was barely aware
of Bob Miller’s presence. It wasn’t
until they were pushed into the yard, that he felt someone grab hold of
his
arm. “Joe!”
Looking
at the man standing to his left, he recognized Bob.
“Hi Bob.”
“You
look terrible! What did they do to you?”
“Restraints
in bed, then a shot. I feel like hell. I
think they were making up for not using the water treatment again.”
Lifting
his hand, Bob handed him some bread, “We had bread last night for
supper, and I
saved you some. Should we save our
escape for another day?”
“NO!”
Joe answered empathetically. “I gotta
get out of here.” Munching on the bread,
Joe began to feel a little better, adding some strength to his sore and
tired
body.
Whispering
to Joe, Bob said, “We have one guard now.
This has to be our moment. Look,
everyone is gathering around the tree again.
You go on that side and push everyone, and I’ll go on the other
side of
this group. Blondie is in the middle
next to the tree, which is where she always goes.”
Walking
to the other side, Joe went up to some of the people and pushed them. Seeing that they weren’t budging, he shoved
harder and saw that they in turn were pushing on the people in front of
them,
creating a domino effect. Looking over the crowd, he could see that
Bob’s side
was having the same affect. Within
moments, a shrill scream could be heard from the middle of the group,
as the
blonde girl began to freak out. Arms
waving, she shrilled and went berserk pushing everyone away from here. Surprised by the commotion, the guard ran
into the chaotic crowd to try and calm her down.
“This
is our chance Joe.”
Shoving
Joe towards the door, both men ran to the door and after tugging on it
a
moment, found that it opened for them.
Pulling the door shut, they stopped for a moment to look at
their
surroundings. In front of them, there
was nothing but flat land, cactus and freedom.
Looking at the freedom, both men grinned and began to run. Running, they were soon a fair distance away
from the asylum, before they heard noises coming from somewhere outside
of the
asylum. Taking a moment to look behind
them, they saw several men running after them.
Fueled on by their desire not to be captured, they continued to
run. Hearing guns being fired, both men
continued to run even after Joe saw Bob fall to the ground. Stopping briefly to help, Bob begged for Joe
to go. “Run Joe Run! Don’t let them
catch you! I’d rather be dead than for
me to return to that place, they’ll kill me being as this is my second
attempt
to run. You have a chance.
RUN!”
Looking
down at Bob, Joe wavered a moment then began to run.
Feeling the rocks and cacti rub beneath his
stocking feet, he stumbled on a rock and found that the distance
between him
and his captors was close. Hearing
another gunshot, Joe felt nothing as he fell to the ground and was
knocked
unconscious.
*************************
“Say
pa,” Hoss questioned, “What exactly did the deputy say about this here
asylum?”
“He
mentioned that some of the hardened and crazy prisoners were sent to
this
prison, supposedly for rehabilitation.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Ben continued, “As much as I want to
find Joe,
I almost hope that we don’t find him here.”
As
Ben spoke, they could see a flurry of dust up ahead of them several
miles
away. Adam pulled his horse aside as he
hollered out, “Pa! Look!
There’s something going on up there, I can
distinctly hear the sound of shots being fired.”
“Boy’s,
let’s hurry!”
With
their fresh mounts, they covered the distance to where they had seen
the
earlier ruckus within an hour. Sliding
to a stop, Hoss jumped off his horse when he saw a body of a man
clothed in
dirty gray clothing sprawled out on the rocky terrain.
Rolling the man over, Hoss silently shook his
head to the men as the man on the ground gasped for breath, “Ya gotta
help him…
ya gotta help the kid…”
Hearing
the man’s words, Ben shoved the reins of his horse into Adam’s hands
and pushed
Hoss aside. Grabbing hold of the dying
man’s
shredded shirt, Ben demanded an answer, “Is my son there?
Joe Cartwright? Do you know someone
by the name of Tom
Jones?”
Hardly
able to listen to the man’s wheezing Hoss turned away and peered into
the
distance at the imposing windowless structure in the distance.
Opening
his mouth, blood seeped out the side of his mouth as Bob struggled for
words in
his fight for life. “He’s….” Unable to
finish his sentence, the man choked once more on the blood collecting
in his
throat, before his eyes rolled back in his head.
Looking
down, Adam reached down to help Ben up from the ground.
“He’s dead pa.”
Slapping
his hand away, Ben cried out, “Is my son there!
Talk to me!” Grabbing hold of
Bob’s shirt, Ben shook him in an attempt to bring him back to life. Watching as the blood from the dead man’s
mouth splattered around on the dirt, Hoss grabbed hold of Ben while
Adam tried
to pry Ben’s fingers away from the dead man’s shirt.
“Pa, let him go,” urged Adam.
Letting
go of the shirt, Ben dejectedly stood up and looked down at the man
lying still
before them. Urged on by an inner
intuition, Ben suddenly had a feeling of needing to hurry.
Turning to Hoss and Adam, he motioned them on
towards the asylum.
******************************
“He’s
stirring, I think he’s waking up.”
“Let’s
get him tied up in this here jacket before he puts up a struggle.”
“Did
you get that bullet out of his leg?”
Feeling
someone tugging on his arms, Joe cried out in pain as someone else
banged his
leg against a hard object. Realizing
from the conversation around him that he had been shot, the memories of
what
had happened outside came rushing back to him.
Fighting away the weakness that seemed to have overtaken his
body, Joe
began moving his head around as he tried moving his arms.
Feeling them wrapped around his body, he
struggled to get them loose, while looking down to try and untangle
them. His eyes widened suddenly. Someone had placed him in a long heavy burlap
wrapping, covered with leather bindings that were tied in front of him.
“Hey!”
Joe cried out, as all sleep escaped him, panicking at the thought of
once again
being restrained. “What happened! What is this thing?” While
trying to free his arms, Joe groaned
out in pain as the movement sent spasms of pain from his thigh shooting
up
through his body. Twisting around, Joe
could see a guard left in the room.
One
of the guards that Joe recognized from the yard, came over to him,
“You’s
lucky, we could have killed out there, but the doctor wanted one of you
brought
back as an example to the others. Guess
today was your lucky day.”
Feeling
a bit faint and feverish from his wound on his leg and the previous
day’s water
treatment, Joe breathlessly pleaded, “Please get me out of this, I
can’t
breathe. It’s too tight.”
Looking
down at Joe, the guard did notice that his face was red, but chalked it
up to
the exertion it took to get Joe inside.
“You’re okay, just an excuse to get out of that.”
Bending down, the guard fiddled some with the
leather and commented, “Kinda neat ain’t it.
Just got this in yesterday, you’re the first one to try out our
new
straightjacket. What ya think of it?”
“Please,”
panted Joe, “it’s too tight.” Feeling
the circulation being cut off, Joe tried to roll over and lesson the
pressure
from his arms, which at the moment were wound around his middle before
being
pulled behind him. Feeling a bit of
pity, the guard reached down to help push him to his side.
“I
don’t know. We followed the directions,
this will have a nice calmin’ affect for ya, so the doctor says.”
Gagging
from an internal need, Joe spewed out vomit while he continued to fight
for his
breath. “Help me, I can’t breathe.”
“Uh,
breathe slower fella.” A bit concerned
at the status of the man in the straightjacket, the guard stood up
while
scratching a scab on the side of his face.
Thinking a moment, he looked down at Joe, “Let me go find the
doctor and
see what he has to say.”
“Please
don’t leave me,” gasped Joe.
Ignoring
him, the guard briefly looked down at Joe before taking the candle and
walking
out the door. Watching the guard close
the door firmly behind him and take the light with him, Joe felt all
hope fade
away.
******************************
“I
know my son is here in this place!” yelled Ben, as he approached the
tall thin
doctor.
“I’m
sorry sir, but we have no record of a Joe Cartwright having been here.”
“Well
then check your records for a Tom Jones.”
“Yes
sir, we’ll do that as soon as we get an opportunity, until then why
don’t you
have a seat over here and wait while Sarah checks our paperwork.” Escorting the Cartwrights to the chairs, the
guard who had just left Joe’s room approached the doctor.
“Johnson,”
demanded Dr. Percale, “What are you doing in this part of the building?”
“It’s
that man, Tom Jones, that we have in the straightjacket.
He ain’t looking too good.”
Hearing
the guard’s words to the doctor, Adam whipped his head around, “Tom
Jones?” Then looking directly at the
doctor, he demanded an answer, “I thought you didn’t know if you had a
record
on Tom Jones here.”
As
the doctor stammered for a reply, Hoss took two large steps to where
the doctor
stood and grabbed him by the shirt, “If I was you, I would be talking
about
now. Where is my little brother?”
Feeling
the air squeezing out of his windpipe, the doctor gasped for air as he
motioned
over to the guard, who stepped over to where Hoss stood.
“If you let him go, I’ll go show you where he
is.”
Pushing
the doctor from his grasp, Hoss didn’t even pay attention to where he
threw
him, intent on finding his brother.
Jumping over to where Ben and Adam stood anxiously waiting, they
followed the guard down a long dark corridor, cringing at the wails and
cries
coming from each of the rooms. Seeing
the door open in one room, Adam caught a glimpse of what was called the
“water
treatment” center. Shivering slightly at that images that swam before
him, he
nearly ran into Ben. “What’s that son?”
“I’ve
heard about them from some friends from college,” whispered Adam. “They were used quite often when a patient
was difficult. From how they spoke, a
man could contract pneumonia from a consistent dunking with one of
those
things. The water is frigid, and as you
can tell this place isn’t the most comfortable in regards to comfort
for the
inmates.”
“What
if…?” Ben began to ask the question, almost fearing the answer.
“I
don’t know pa,” Adam answered, already guessing the question. “But I hope that Joe was not here long enough
to experience that.”
Just
when it seemed like they were running out of rooms, the guard stopped
before a
room and pushed the door open. A smell
of vomit overtook their senses as they stood there trying to peer into
the
darkness. Squinting in the dark room the
guard pulled out a match and lit a candle, before stepping aside and
giving it
to Ben. Pushing their way in side, they
could hear the soft grunts of someone in the room, down on the floor. Throwing the flicker of the flame to all
points in the room, Hoss stumbled upon a body.
“Pa!
Bring the light down here.”
Bending
down, the light shone down on Joe’s face showing the exertion he was
having in
taking a breath. A thin layer of sweat beaded on the top of his
forehead and
trickled down on his cheeks and neck.
Lying on his side, Joe had given in once again to his sick
stomach,
obvious by the smell and sight of vomit, with the remains splattered
down the
front of the jacket. Shining the light on down his body, his family
gasped in
shock at the condition he was in. Getting down on their hands and
knees, they
began to fumble with the leather straps, their hands sore and tender in
trying
to frantically get the binding off Joe.
Once they got the straps undone, they pushed Joe up from his
position on
his side and pulled the straightjacket off of him.
Feeling freedom from the straightjacket, Joe
took several large gulps of breath as he leaned against the strong
chest of
Ben. Forgetting about his leg, he began
to stretch until he cried out weakly from the pain stemming from the
gunshot
wound on his leg. Opening his eyes, Joe
softly began to cry out, “
“I’m
here son, I’m right next to you.” Ben chanted as he held his son in his
arms as
Adam bent down and removed the rest of the straightjacket.
As he pulled the leather restraints from
around his waist, Adam noticed a trail of blood leading from a point on
Joe’s
leg.
Lowering
his voice, Adam spoke up, “Pa, he’s been shot, and it looks like its
getting
infected.”
Leaning
forward, Hoss hunched down and examined the wound, “We gotta get him to
a doctor,
pa. The bullet went clear through, but
there’s a bunch of swelling around the area.
Looks like it ain’t been cleaned.”
“Pa,”
whispered Joe, as his eyes briefly open.
Then just as he was about to speak again, he fainted away.
Moving
his arms around Joe, Ben could feel the dead weight of his son lying
fully in
his arms. Seeing the difficulty that Ben
was having moving from the floor, Hoss leaned down and gathered Joe up
in his
arms. Pushing the door open, Adam led
the way back down the hallway and back toward the front entry. Glancing over to the side, they saw the
doctor lying on a couch with a cloth pressed up against his forehead. Watching as Hoss sent a deathly glare towards
the doctor, Adam had to admit that his feelings were pretty much the
same at
that point for the doctor. Making a
motion to step towards the doctor, Ben grabbed hold of Adam before he
put into
action what he was thinking. Looking at
the doctor, cowering on the couch, Adam turned to Ben and admitted,
“You’re
right pa, he’s not worth it.” Stepping
in front of Hoss, Adam pushed the door open and welcomed the sight of
bright
sunshine that seemed to wrap it’s cloak of warmth around all those who
stepped
outside. Feeling movement in his arms,
Hoss looked down and saw that Joe was waking up.
“Pa,
Joe’s waking up.”
Hearing
the sound of familiar voices, Joe struggled to wake up.
When he had been restrained in his
straightjacket, he thought he had seen the image of his family, but
knew it
couldn’t be so. But out here, in the
sunshine
he weakly reached his hand up and cupped his hand on Hoss’s chin. “Hoss, is that really you?”
“It’s
me buddy, it really is me.” Hoss answered, as he struggled to keep his
voice
even as he looked down onto his brother’s face. “We’re going home.”
“I was scared, Hoss. I really was scared,” Joe admitted, as he
rested his head in Hoss’s shoulder.
Relaxing against the strong shoulder of his brother, he could
feel a
hand on his forehead, and when he looked up saw the concerned faces of
his pa
and Adam. “Hey you two,” Joe sighed,
while a grin threatened to emerge. The
emerging grin spread across his face, Joe couldn’t help but tease, “It
took you
long enough to get here.” Wiping his
nose with the back of his hand, Ben returned his grin with one of his
own as
they all linked their arms together and headed for their horses and
eventually
home.
#
# #