A Question of Luck

From their vantage point near the top of a grassy knoll, Adam and Hoss Cartwright could easily track the movement of a lone wild horse they’d been trailing. The sleek brown-coated animal grazed, unaware of his audience - his beauty breathtaking, his freedom enviable.

Although they were too far away to be heard, the scene before them made Hoss whisper, “He’s sure fine lookin’.”  He grinned sheepishly at Adam.  “Kinda feel like I’m at Sunday service or somethin’.”

Adam nodded and pushed himself to a standing position in his stirrups. “That’s the one I want.” 

Forgetting his earlier need to be quiet, Hoss laughed.  “Brother, ya’d sure have your hands full with that one.  Look at the way he’s tossin’ his head.  He’d knock ya clean outta your saddle.”

Settling back down in his seat, Adam’s face took on that determined expression his family was so familiar with.  “He’s got spirit, Hoss.  I could train him not to do that - or get one of those special harnesses – or -”

“Sounds like ya got it all figgered out.  ‘Cept for one thing, of course.”

Adam tore his eyes away from the horse, squinting suspiciously at his brother.  “What’s that?”

“Ya ain’t caught him yet.”

Adam took a moment to digest that observation.  “I’ll catch him.”  He sounded more confident than he felt and Hoss saw right through his bravado.

“Uh hmm.”  Knowing that contradicting Adam would just put him in a sour mood, Hoss tried a different approach.  “What about old Beauty here?”

Adam stroked his mount’s neck lovingly.  “It’s getting time for Beauty to take it easy. I don’t want her to work so hard anymore.”

As if in agreement, Beauty nickered and glanced back at her rider.  Adam gave her another pat, then he looked around.  “Where’d Joe wander off to now?”

Their eyes caught for a moment before Adam and Hoss yelled simultaneously, “JOE!”

**

Little Joe Cartwright didn’t understand why his brothers were content to stop and gaze at that horse.  Adam had been going on about that particular animal for a week now and Joe figured it was time his oldest brother stopped talking and started acting.  The new corral was finished, just waiting to be filled.  If only Pa would let me, Joe thought, I’d go after that horse – and a bunch of other wild horses - in a heartbeat.  I’d catch so many that Adam and Hoss would have to build another corral, a bigger corral… 

Those thoughts foremost in his mind, Joe paid little attention as Paint meandered through some brush and away from Hoss and Adam.  Aware of their voices calling his name, Joe made no attempt to turn around - he wasn’t ready to go back yet.  It was his turn to muck out the stalls and he was in no hurry to begin that chore.  He clucked his tongue and urged his mount forward.  Paint took a few steps, then stopped abruptly.

“What is it, girl?”  Joe scanned the area for whatever it was that caused his normally docile horse to tense beneath him.  Turning a sharp ear for anything out of the ordinary, Joe heard nothing, but did spy a slight mound of freshly dug earth.  Disregarding Paint’s unease, Joe jumped to the ground and hastily tied her reins to some low lying limbs. The boy dropped to his knees and began digging furiously with both hands.  His imagination grew with each clod of dirt he sent flying.  Little Joe could already envision the stunned looks on his brothers’ faces when he appeared with…gold, jewels, cash…

Ten minutes later, the hole was already a good size when he struck some tree roots. His enthusiasm dimmed, Joe sat back on his haunches and swiped a filthy hand across his face.

“That was sure a waste of time, wasn’t it?”  he asked Paint, noticing for the first time that she wasn’t where he’d tied her.  His head swiveled around, searching, but still no sign of her.  “Oh great.  Now I’ll hafta walk back because of this stupid hole.”  Disgusted, Joe worked up a fair amount of saliva in his mouth and spit.  “Stupid hole,” he repeated, and rose to his feet. 

It was at that exact moment that the sun chose to shoot a ray of golden light through the treetops, past the lush foliage, over Joe’s shoulder and straight into the hole.   Something partially covered with dirt caught the beam and bounced the reflection right into Joe’s eyes.

“What the…” Joe never finished his thought as he laid on his belly and reached down, closing his fingers on something round and smooth.  He was about to examine it when he heard laughter behind him.  His eyes slammed shut as he readied himself for some brotherly teasing.

“Whoo-eee!  Would ya look at that pile of dirt!”  Hoss whistled.

“Which pile are you talking about?  The one with the boots?”  Adam’s eyes sparkled.

“Better be quiet, Adam.  I think our baby brother there is takin’ a nap.”

Joe rolled his eyes but didn’t turn around.

“I don’t know, Hoss.  Maybe he’s looking for something.”

Back stiffening, Joe wondered how Adam could possibly know.

Hoss smiled devilishly.  “Like what?” 

“His horse.”  The two older Cartwrights dissolved into laughter and Joe twisted his face, wondering how he could possibly be related to those two.  Not wanting to call attention to his treasure, Joe grabbed a fistful of dirt and flung it toward his brothers.  They howled louder as they ducked the spray of earth and tiny pebbles coming their way.  Joe slipped his other hand into his pocket.

“Is that the best you can come up with?  Thought you were s’posed to be so smart, Adam.” Joe brushed the dirt from his pants, coughing as a cloud of dust appeared.

Eyes wide and innocent, Adam looked at Hoss.  “I thought it was pretty funny, didn’t you?”

Hoss pushed his hat back on his head.  “Sure did.  In fact, that’s durn near the funniest thing I heard in a while.”

Adam leaned toward Hoss and whispered loud enough to be sure Joe heard.  “Well, I know of something even funnier.”

“Nah.”  Hoss raised his eyebrows in disbelief.  “Really?”

Against his better judgment, Joe’s ears perked up as Adam nodded solemnly.  “Sure.  It’s gonna be downright hilarious watching Joe walk all the way back to the Ponderosa.”

“You’re not gonna make me walk!”  Joe moaned.  “C’mon, Adam, let me ride with you.” 

Adam pulled Beauty’s reins and she backed up.  “No way.  You’re too dirty.”

Joe stopped himself from stomping his foot in anger – that would only spur them on.  “Hoss, you’ll let me ride with you, right?”

Hoss hesitated, enjoying the game.   “It ain’t such a long walk Joe – only a coupla miles.”

“I’m tellin’ Pa!”  Joe resorted to a threat he’d used quite a bit in the past.

The scowl on Hoss’s face told Joe he’d struck a nerve, but Adam’s expression remained smug.

“Go right ahead, Joe.  And then we’ll tell him how you wandered away from us after you’ve been told a million times to stay close and how you pretended not to hear us when we were calling you.”

“But…” Joe protested.

“Don’t forget how he musta forgot to tie Paint too,” Hoss added for good measure.

“I did so tie her!”  Joe knew when he was licked and kicked a nearby rock in anger and frustration.  As he began his trek, he turned the object in his pocket over and over in his hand.  If Adam and Hoss think I’m gonna share my treasure now, they’re crazy, Joe promised himself.  With each step he took, Joe planned the grand lifestyle he and his father would have – Hop Sing too.  Maybe if he was feeling in a generous mood, he might let Adam and Hoss work as their servants and do all the chores.

He was so deep in his own thoughts that the volume of his brothers’ voices finally jolted him back to reality. 

“I’m tellin’ ya, I ground tied her right here.”  Hoss pointed to a small bush.

Adam spread his arms out dramatically.  “Well she’s not there now, so I guess you didn’t tie her as good as you thought you did.”

A slow grin spread across Joe’s face.  “Whatcha talkin’ about?”

Adam and Hoss stared at him as if they’d forgotten he existed. 

“Somethin’ about a ground tie?”  Joe prompted as a slight flush rose on Hoss’s face.

“I swear I tied Paint up real good.  She musta pulled loose,” Hoss reasoned with his older brother.

“Paint’s real smart - I tied her too.”  Realization dawned in Joe’s brown eyes.  “So you weren’t gonna make me walk after all, were you?”

“’Course not.  Pa’d have our hides.”  Hoss motioned with his chin for Joe to mount Beauty.

Adam heaved a deep sigh as he hoisted his grubby little brother up and into the saddle.  Sometimes being the oldest was downright exhausting.

**

Riding into the yard, the first sight that met all three boys’ eyes was their father’s horse tied securely to a post. 

“Oh no.  He’s back from town already,” Joe mumbled as he slid off Beauty.  Hoss and Adam dismounted and slowly led their horses into the barn, no more anxious than Joe to face their father.

“Ain’t ya comin’?”  Hoss called over his shoulder when he noticed Joe wasn’t following.

“Nope.  I’m gonna wait right here till Paint shows up.”

Adam shrugged.  “Suit yourself.  You’re gonna have to explain sooner or later.”

Entering the barn, Hoss kept his eyes downcast, hoping to forestall any conversation.

Adam chewed the inside of his cheek, no closer to an excuse for coming home one horse short.  Seldom at a loss for words, Adam remained silent now, not wanting to get either brother – or himself – into trouble.

“Boys,” Ben nodded his greeting.  “Finish that corral?”  Ben leaned against the wall with his arms folded.  He looked from one to the next, waiting.

“Uh, sure.  It’ll hold fine.”  Adam cleared his throat and looked up for the first time.  There in the far stall stood Paint, lazily chomping on some feed.  His eyes flew to his father’s face to see his reaction.

“Hoss!” Adam whispered urgently, gesturing to Joe’s horse. 

Removing his hat, Hoss scratched his head and wondered aloud, “Well I’ll be danged. How’d she get here?” 

“That’s what I’d like to know.”  Ben unfolded his arms.  “Joseph!  Come in here now, please.”

Hands deep in his pockets and fingering the object he’d found, Joe trudged into the barn like he was walking to his hanging.    A familiar whinny met his ears.

“Paint!”  Relief and joy, mixed with a healthy dose of wanting to delay his father’s inevitable lecture, made Joe race unheeded to his horse.  Just a few feet from the stall Joe’s boot caught on something and he sailed through the air, landing face down in a huge pile of fresh, hot, horse manure, courtesy of Paint.  Joe sat, turned and faced his family, his shirt stained and his horrified face streaked.  He reached down his shirt and pulled out a handful of manure, flinging it in complete revulsion. 

Adam clutched his sides as if to keep from exploding with the laughter he couldn’t hold in.  Unable to stop himself, he hooted as tears streamed down his face. 

Hoss’s jaw fell.  He doubled over, alternately snorting and gasping for breath.

Ben blinked rapidly to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. 

“IT AIN’T FUNNY!”  Joe yelled, wrinkling his nose at the fetid stench.

“Oh – yeah – it  - is,” Hoss wheezed.

“It ain’t my fault!  Somebody left somethin’ on the floor!”  Joe pointed to the spot where he’d tripped, but nothing but old hay covered the spot.  His angry eyes flared his disbelief. 

“There’s nothing there,” Adam managed to choke out.  “Guess that means you’re full of…”

“Adam!”  Ben warned, trying to gain control of the situation – and himself.  “Joseph, go get cleaned up.  Then you can muck out these stalls. “  He turned to leave, Hoss and Adam close on his heels.  “And after dinner we’ll have a little talk about responsibility.” 

**

For once, Little Joe didn’t mind being sent to bed early.  He knew he should have paid closer attention to his father’s lecture, or at least looked like he’d been paying attention. Truthfully, all Joe wanted was for the day to end and his father’s edict to “go to bed and think about your behavior” was just what he needed to hear. 

Joe reached under his pillow and grabbed the round object he’d hidden.  He’d been disappointed when he first examined it earlier that evening.  It wasn’t a jewel or a gold nugget – it was just a rock – but none like he had ever seen around the Ponderosa.  It was reddish in color and polished smooth to a brilliant shine.  Someone had obviously taken the time to hide it, but Joe couldn’t for the life of him figure out why.  He could ask his father or his brothers, but right now he wanted to just hold on to it.  It would make a mighty nice addition to my rock collection, nicer than anything Hoss or Adam ever found, Joe thought.  Placing it back under his pillow, he flipped onto his stomach and fell asleep.

**

“Joe!  Joe!  Wake up!”  Adam shook his brother’s shoulders.

“PA!  IT’S A STAMPEDE!  HELP!”  Joe screamed as Ben flung open the door with such force that the latch shattered.  In the throes of a nightmare, Joe twisted and turned frantically while Adam tried to waken him.  Hoss hovered nearby, feeling very helpless.

Ben knelt beside Joe’s bunk.  “Joseph.  It’s a dream, son.  Just a dream.  Time to wake up now.”  He gently patted the side of the boy’s face, trying to rouse him.

Joe scanned the room wildly, still not released entirely from his nightmare.  “Pa, the horses - they were comin’ – and - and…”

Adam poured water into a cup and handed it to his father, who in turn held it to Joe’s lips.  “Easy now.”

Taking a few sips, Joe ran the back of his hand across his eyes, wiping away the tears.  “But it was so real,” he insisted.  “I thought I was gonna die.”

At those words, Ben pulled him close.  His voice was husky as he spoke into his son’s hair. “You’re safe.  Nothing’s going to hurt you.”

After a few minutes, a slightly embarrassed Joe pulled away. “I’m okay now.  You can go back to bed.”

Ben stood and eyed him once more.  “You’re sure?”

Joe nodded, but his father was still hesitant to leave.

“Don’t worry, Pa.  We’re here,” Adam assured him. 

“Yeah, Pa.  We’re here,” Hoss echoed.

Taking a deep breath, Ben left their room, leaving the door slightly ajar. 

Hoss climbed into his bunk and within minutes began snoring.  Adam lay on his right side, watching his youngest brother remain uncharacteristically still.   Adam couldn’t remember Hoss ever having a bad dream, and he hated when Joe’s sleep was invaded as it had been tonight.  Images of the nightmares that had plagued him as a young boy flooded Adam’s mind and he whispered, “Joe!”

The child’s eyes flew open.  Adam held up his blanket.  Joe needed no further invitation and climbed in beside his big brother.

**

The sun dawned on a new day and Little Joe was very happy to put yesterday’s events behind him – last night’s too.  He had overslept and shoved a biscuit into his mouth, anxious to go after those horses they’d seen yesterday. 

Hop Sing entered the cabin carrying a basket of eggs that Joe was supposed to have collected.  “Why you eat so fast?  Not good for digestion.”

“We’re goin’ after that horse Adam’s been talkin’ about today.  You should see him, Hop Sing…” Joe’s voice trailed off as Hop Sing shook his head.

“No, no.  Father say you stay home today, finish chores, help in garden.”

“What?  But…but…that ain’t fair!”

Hop Sing shrugged.  “Brothers have chores to do, you have chores to do.”  He held up the basket to underscore his point.  “Sometimes fair, sometimes not.” 

Joe kicked the heel of his boot against the chair leg.  “I guess.”

Knowing Hop Sing was right but not wanting to admit it, Joe headed toward the barn.  He took out the rock he’d found and stared at it. 

I got it!  Joe snapped his fingers.  I’ll show Pa I’m just as good as Hoss and Adam at catchin’ horses  – maybe even better!   Smile restored, he bounded into the barn and saddled Paint.

**

It was close to noon when Joe spied two horses standing near a stream, drinking greedily.  Joe looked around to spot the rest of the herd, but they were nowhere to be seen.  These two seemed calm enough – maybe they’re tired, Joe reasoned.  He pulled his rope from the saddle, heart pumping wildly in his chest.  One of the horses looked up – the opportunity Joe was waiting for.  He urged Paint closer, rope poised above his head – praying all that practice in the corral would pay off.  He whirled the lasso around to gather momentum – one, two, three times – then let the length out in the general direction of the horses.  He closed his eyes briefly, not sure if he was more afraid to succeed or fail – and felt the line tense.  Got him!

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YA DOIN’, BOY?”  

Jack Wolf stood with his gun drawn.  His shirt was unbuttoned and there was some grass in his hair.   Behind him was a young woman – Joe thought he recognized her from town.  She was pinning up her long brown hair. 

“I said, what the hell do ya think you’re doin’?” Jack repeated, holstering his gun.

“I…uh…I was catchin’ that wild horse,” Joe explained weakly, noticing that he had roped the horse – but it wasn’t really acting wild.  In fact, now that Joe looked closely, it bore a strong resemblance to Jack Wolf’s horse.  

“Does your daddy know he’s raisin’ a horse thief?” Jack sneered, yanking the rope off his horse.

“I wasn’t stealin’ him!  He didn’t have no saddle on, so I figured…”

“Well, ya figgered wrong.  Lila here thought the horses would be more comfortable without their saddles while we were…uh…restin’.” 

Lila spoke for the first time, annoyance plain in her voice.  “Well I’m done resting, Jack.  You just go on back to town without me.”  She walked in the opposite direction, her horse obediently following.

“But Lila…” Jack turned to Joe, sparks of anger shooting from his eyes.  He pointed to him.  “We’re goin’ to find your daddy.  Now.”

**

When Jack Wolf appeared out of nowhere, Joe thought the day couldn’t possibly get any worse.  He was wrong.  His father remained silent while he listened to Wolf rant about Joe’s error in judgment, his angry lips a thin seam of a line.  He waited until Jack rode off before he turned and started yelling.  Joe didn’t think he’d ever heard his father yell that loud – wagging his finger and waving his arms – his eyebrows forming one dark line across his forehead.  Accused of being irresponsible, disobedient and trying to get himself killed, Joe was ordered to his room so Ben could calm down.  Joe meekly hung his head, mumbled a quick “Yes, sir” and an apology, then ran to the bunkroom to await his punishment.

Throwing himself on his bed, hot tears stung the boy’s eyes.  A few minutes passed and the door flew open, hitting the wall with a resounding thwack.  Joe bolted to his feet.

“Oh, it’s only you.”  Joe plopped back down as Hoss entered the room.

“Where’s my pants?”  Hoss searched frantically through the clothes hung on the pegs behind the door.  “Ya seen my pants?”

“You’re wearin’ ‘em,” Joe observed.

“Not these pants!  My clean ones.” 

Joe shrugged his indifference.

“Tess and her ma are stoppin’ by and I wanna look…” Hoss scratched his head.   “Maybe Hop Sing’s got ‘em.”  He patted his little brother on the back.  “Don’t worry.  This run of bad luck ya been havin’ can’t last forever.”  He turned to leave.  “Leastways, I don’t think it can.”

“Gee, thanks,” Joe muttered to an empty room.  He mentally ticked off a list of all the things that had gone wrong in the past two days, from his impending punishment to having to take a bath in the middle of the week to wash off that manure.  When did it all start?  Rolling to his side, Joe felt something press against his thigh.  He reached into his pocket and pulled out that reddish stone.

The door squeaked open and Adam poked his head in.

“You okay?”

Joe nodded.  “Hey Adam, what do you call it when you want to try somethin’ out that you’re not sure of, so you kinda test it and…”

“An experiment.”  Adam narrowed his eyes.  “With the mood Pa’s in, I wouldn’t be experimenting with any of his stuff.”  He shut the door, then quickly reopened it. “Or mine.” 

“I know.”  Joe’s eyes fell on something on the floor, a piece of brown fabric peeking out from between Adam’s bunk and the chest at the foot of the bed.  Hoss’s clean pants.  Joe grabbed them.  He just managed to slide the rock into a pocket before Hoss entered the room.  Making a great show of dusting the pants off, Joe held them out. 

“Here you go.  Nice and clean.”

“Thanks.  Looks like this is gonna be my lucky day.  A visit from Tess, found my clean pants, and Hop Sing’s got a pie coolin’ - made my favorite with the last of them strawberries he was savin’.” 

Joe bit his lower lip, wondering what kind of luck his “experiment” would bring Hoss.

**

“Maggie!  Tess!  Good to see you.”  Ben smiled as he held his hand out to help the ladies down from their buggy.

Margaret Greene pulled a folded piece of paper from her reticule. “Thanks for looking over this contract, Ben.  I’m not too sure about the wording in the third paragraph.”

“Maybe Adam could look it over too,” Tess suggested sweetly just as Hoss joined them.

“Hi, Hoss!  Where’s your brothers?”

Hoss gestured towards the cabin.  “They’re inside.  Ya sure look nice today, Tess.”

Margaret’s lips curled slightly and she glanced at Ben, who seemed to be having trouble keeping a straight face.  He cleared his throat noisily.  “Why don’t we all go inside?  I believe there’s a pie waiting to be eaten.” 

Adam heard voices approaching the cabin and high tailed it into the bunkroom.  Placing his hand on Joe’s shirt, he yanked him into a standing position.

“Come on.” 

“But Pa said I gotta…”

“It’s not polite to stay in your room when we have company.” He pulled Joe towards the door.

“Aw, you just don’t wanna be out there with Tess.”  Joe resisted a bit, just for show.

Adam hesitated.  “That’s - that’s ridiculous.”  Joe’s face told him he didn’t believe him for a moment.  “Now get out there and try to stay out of trouble for a change.”  With a not-so-gentle shove, Joe found himself face-to-face with their guests.

“Hello, Adam.”  Tess gave him her best smile.  “My Ma brought over a contract so you and your Pa could look it over.  I told her that if anyone could figure out all those big legal words, it’d be you, bein’ so smart and all.”

A hectic flush rose all the way to Adam’s ears.  “Pa and I…” He tried to ignore Joe’s sudden coughing fit.  “Pa and I will be glad to help.”

Hoss looked from Tess to Adam and back to Tess.  “Uh, Tess, later on I wanna show you some horses I caught.” 

“How many did you get?”  She turned her eyes to Hoss, who beamed under her gaze.

Trying to act nonchalant, Hoss took a step backward.  “’Bout five or six.  There’s one I think you’re really gonna like.”  His hand grasped the edge of the table and he easily hefted himself to sit. 

“Hoss!”  Adam yelled, but it was too late.  With a squish and a splat, Hoss’s behind met the very hot strawberry pie Hop Sing had set out to cool.  Berries shot to the right and to the left, but most clung to the seat of Hoss’s once clean pants.

The silence that filled the cabin was deafening.  Tess’s hand flew to her mouth while Margaret politely turned away.  Already in enough trouble, Joe was afraid to laugh and quickly looked at his father, who had that same dazed expression as yesterday when Joe had fallen in the barn.  Adam winced, wondering just how hot those berries were.

“Dadburnit!  I was lookin’ forward to that pie too,” Hoss moaned. It was hard to tell which was redder – his stained pants or his flaming cheeks.

**

“I can’t believe I sat on that pie!”  Hoss groaned for what seemed like the millionth time that evening.  Sitting on the edge of the chest in the bunkroom, he covered his face with two big hands. 

Watching his brother wallow in misery from his bunk, a twinge of guilt pricked Joe’s conscience. 

“What did you do with those pants?” Joe asked quietly, really wondering where that rock was.

 “Please don’t mention those pants.”  Adam tugged his shirt over his head, making his hair stand on end.  “I think Hop Sing is still complaining about havin’ to get them clean.”

Joe and Adam shared a smile when they heard a deep sigh come from behind Hoss’s hands.

“Try to look on the bright side, Hoss,” Adam comforted. “At least Tess and her Ma didn’t stick around too long after that.” 

“Long enough.  I had to sit in that pie till they left – was afraid to get up.  Never got to show Tess that horse I caught…”

“You caught?”  Adam raised an amused brow.

Hoss ignored the implication.  “And that pie looked so good, too.”

“Not after you sat in it, it didn’t.”  Joe muttered truthfully.

“Goldangit.”  Hoss rose and kicked something – the reddish stone. It hit the post of the bunk and rested there.  Joe held his breath, waiting.

“You’d better go to bed, brother,” Adam advised as he neatly hung his shirt and pants on the wall pegs.  “Your saddle’s gonna feel a lot harder than that nice soft pie you were sitting in today.”

“Ha ha.”  Hoss placed a foot on Adam’s bottom bunk and rested his two arms on his own mattress to pull himself up, just as he did every night.  But tonight was different.  For a fleeting moment, Hoss felt the upper bunk shiver.  He jumped away just in time as it fell with a thud onto the lower bed, splintering one of the posts at the foot – the post the stone lay against.

“You could’ve killed me!” Adam shouted.

“But – but - “ Hoss sputtered.

Ben threw open the door, rifle in hand.  “What in Sam Hill is going on here?”

“The bed broke.”  Hoss stared blankly at the scene before him.

Ben walked over to where the upper bunk perched precariously on the lower bunk and ran his finger over the split post, amazed.

“You weren’t jumping on the bed, were you?” 

“I ain’t done that since I was a kid!”  Hoss was indignant.   

“It just collapsed,” Adam explained as he climbed onto the bunk above Little Joe.  “Told you he’s too big to sleep up top.”

“Just collapsed,” Ben repeated, his brow furrowed.  “We’ll see about fixing this in the morning.  I think we all should get a good night’s sleep.  Maybe tomorrow things will get back to normal around here.”

“But where am I s’posed to sleep?”  Hoss couldn’t keep the whine from his voice.

Adam stuck a long arm out from beneath his blanket and pointed to the floor.

“Paaaa.”  Hoss hoped his father would intervene, but instead Ben just shrugged, suddenly anxious to leave the room.  Hoss noisily threw some blankets and a pillow on the floor, making his displeasure known to all.

Conspicuously silent, Joe could not tear his eyes away from the small stone, nor keep his mind from imagining the horrible events that were yet to come.

**

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Hoss walked slowly into the main room of the cabin.  Hand pressed to the small of his aching back, he was surprised to see his younger brother on his hands and knees, sloshing soapy water onto the floor.

“’Bout time you got up.”  Joe wiped some imaginary sweat from his brow.

“What’re ya doin’?”  Hoss pulled out a chair and sank into it, still trying to massage out the kinks from a restless night’s sleep.

“Pa says I gotta scrub all the floors and clean out the barn and the outhouse and fix the latch on the bunkroom door.  Says it’ll give me time to think about my transgressions.”  He spread his hands, palms heavenward.  “Heck, I don’t even know what transgressions means.”

Hoss shook his head in sympathy.  “The outhouse?”  He shuddered and reached into his pocket.  “Where’s Hop Sing?  I don’t smell breakfast.”

Joe seemed to stop breathing.

“I said, where’s Hop Sing?  I sure am hungry.”  Hoss stared at Joe.  “You’re actin’ mighty peculiar.”

“Uh…Hop Sing went into town.  And – uh - Pa says if you’re gonna sleep late, then you can make your own breakfast.”  Joe stared at his brother.