A Treasure Map and A Lot of Trouble

By Tennessee

 

 

This story follows Adam Moves on with His Life.

 

Little Joe and Sue, the new girl in town, were the best of friends. They spent a lot of time together whenever they could. They went on long horseback rides and fishing trips. Little Joe never thought a girl would be his best friend. He did not like girls. But Sue he liked, and he told her so.

"That's 'cause I'm a tomboy," Sue replied. "At least, that's what my ma told me."

"Sue, you are my best friend."

"You're my best friend, too, Little Joe."

Little Joe told Sue about his pa's upcoming trip. "He'll be gone for a week. That means I will have more work to do on the ranch while he is away."

Joe rode with Sue to her house and said goodnight to her. She said goodnight to him and went in the house. That night at the Ponderosa Ben told the boys to take good care of the ranch and that he'd be back in a week.

"Okay, Pa" all the boys responded.

Ben got up early the next day. He was gone before the boys got up and there was a letter on the table:

"Sons, take care of the ranch and each other while I'm gone. Hoss, Little Joe, Adam, I will miss all of you. Love, Pa."

That day everything went well on the ranch. Ann and Tess came over to see if they could help with anything, but Adam and Hoss told them all the work was done for the day. They asked the girls to stay for dinner, but they said they had to go to town and would see them later. Adam gave Ann a kiss and Hoss gave Tess a kiss. About that time, Hop Sing came to the door and told the boys dinner was ready.

At dinner, Little Joe asked if he could go fishing with Sue since all the work was done.

Hoss teased, "Little brother is in love with Sue."

"Un uh! We are best friends, that's all."

Hoss laughed. "Is this the same Little Joe who said a month ago that he didn't like girls at all?"

Adam said, "That was before he met Sue. She's a tomboy and liked all the things Little Joe loves to do. I'm glad Little Joe has a friend like Sue."

"Me, too," agreed Hoss.

"You can go fishing with Sue, Little Joe," said Adam, "if it's all right with her ma and pa."

Little Joe went to Sue's house and asked her pa if she could go fishing. Mr. Goodman said she could as long as all her housework was done. Sue's ma came to the door and said Sue's work was done and Sue could go fishing with Little Joe.

Sue ran out the door and went to get her horse.

"Don't be late for supper!" Mrs. Goodman called.

"I won't, Ma!"

When they got to the lake, Sue asked, "What's that over there?"

Little Joe ran over to see. It was a map of something, kind of like the map his brothers had found last spring. He took it to show Sue.

"What is it?"

"It's a map."

"It looks like a treasure map!" Her voice was full of excitement.

"What kind of treasure?" asked Little Joe.

"I’m not sure yet." She sat down by the lake and looked at the map. Joe sat down beside her and they looked at the map for a long time, trying to decide what to do.

Finally, Sue asked, "Do you think we should tell someone about this?"

Little Joe said, "No. We should find the treasure and surprise everyone."

"But we don't know what the treasure is."

"But Sue, we can look for it and see. I know where this land is and no one lives there right now."

"OK, Little Joe, let's see if we can find it. We better start home now 'cause it's getting late and we'll be late for supper."

"Do you want me to keep the map tonight or do you want to keep it."

"You keep it, Little Joe."

"OK. I'll meet you early in the morning and we'll look for the treasure."

On the way home all Little Joe could think about was the map. When Little Joe got home, supper was ready. The next morning Little Joe and Sue both got up early and did their morning chores and wrote notes and put them on their beds. Little Joe rode up and Sue was waiting on her horse. They were both excited.

When Ann woke up, she saw the note her sister had left and thought something was up. Everyone else was still asleep when she got on her horse and rode to the Ponderosa.

"Hi Sweetheart," called Adam when he saw her approaching.

"Is Little Joe here?" Ann asked.

"I think he's still asleep. Why?"

"When I woke up I found this letter from Sue."

Adam asked Hoss to go in and check on Little Joe. When Hoss returned he had Little Joe's note in his hand. Both notes read, "We went fishing. Be back before supper."

Ann said, "Adam, I know they're up to something. What if it's something dangerous?"

Adam said, "We'll find them.

About that time Tess rode up and Ann asked her if she'd help find Sue and Little Joe.

Adam said, "Why don't you two go see if you can find them at the lake. If you don't find them there, look in town. Hoss and I will get our work done then join you in town if you haven't come back with the kids before then.

Hop Sing came out of the house then and said, "I'll help you with your chores so you can look for them sooner."

Ann said, "I need to go home and finish my chores and tell my ma something about Sue."

Adam said, "Don't tell her they are up to something. Just tell her they went fishing until we know more."

Tess said, "I'll ride to the lake to see if they're there and then I'll go help Ann with her work and we'll meet you in town."

"OK," Adam said, "But if you find them at the lake, ride back and tell us."

"I will Adam." The girls got on their horses and rode off, Tess to the lake, Ann to her house.

Adam, Hoss, and Hop Sing finished the morning chores at the Ponderosa. Tess got to the lake and looked all around but found no sign of Little Joe and Sue, so she rode on to Ann's house.

Ann told her ma that Sue had gotten up early, done her work, and went fishing with Little Joe. Her ma said that was all right. Tess helped Ann complete her chores and then they rode to town.

Adam, Hoss, and Hop Sing got all their work down. Adam and Hoss went to get their horses. Hop Sing went to the house and made some food for them to take with them in case it took a while to find the kids. He ran out and handed the food to Adam and Hoss, who thanked him and rode off to town.

When they got to town they saw Tess and Ann and the girls told Adam and Hoss that they'd asked around in town and no one had seen them.

Tess said, "I went to the lake and they weren't there."

"What do we do now, Adam?" asked Ann.

Adam said, "Well, since they said they were going fishing, let's go back to the lake and look for clues."

They all got on their horses and rode to the lake, but they didn't find much there. Adam recommended that Ann ask her ma if Sue could stay a few days with Tess since her ma was out of town visiting family.

Tess offered, "Some of our ranch hands can do your work at the Ponderosa until we find Sue and Little Joe."

Ann asked, "What about my and Sue's work?"

"You can tell your ma Tess has a real bad cold and Sue stayed to help her."

Ann said, "OK," and went home to ask her ma. Her ma said that was OK. When Ann returned to the lake, there was still no sign of the kids. "What do we do now?" asked Ann."

Adam sighed. "Let's go to the Green ranch and talk about it."

When they got to the Green ranch, Adam asked Ann if Sue had said anything that might give them a clue.

Ann shook her head then said, "Wait, last night in her sleep she mumbled something about a map. What does that mean?"

Adam asked Hoss he'd heard Joe say anything about a map.

Hoss said, "Nope, I don't think so."

Adam said, "Well, let's start looking for them. Ann, you come with me. Tess and Hoss, look for their horses."

They all mounted and rode off.

Hoss said, "Tess, where could them kids be."

"I don't know, but we have to find them. It's not safe for them to be out alone."

Meanwhile, Ann asked Adam where they should look.

"Everywhere," he responded. "Until we find them."

They met at the lake to eat the food Hop Sing had made. Adam asked Hoss if he and Tess had looked at the old Freeman farm and Hoss shook his head.

Adam said, "I took Little Joe there one time."

Ann said, "Well, why don't we go look there."

"It'll take hours to get there," put in Hoss.

"Hoss is right," said Adam. "And I don't know if I can find it in the dark."

"But Adam," said Ann, "What about Little Joe and Sue?"

"Try not to worry," said Hoss. "Little Joe took some food with him. He'll take care of Sue."

Little Joe could not find the farm and it was getting dark. Finally the house came into view. "There's the house. We can start looking for the treasure first thing in the morning."

"But Little Joe, if we don't show up tonight, we'll be in so much trouble when we get home."

Little Joe said, "I put a second noted at the Green ranch to tell Tess where we really went. I put it where she'll see it. She'll tell our families that we're all right in the morning." He took out the food he had with him. They ate and went to sleep on the floor of the abandoned farmhouse.

Adam, Hoss, Tess, and Ann got to the Green ranch later that evening. Tess went to her bedroom and found the note on her bed. She picked it up and saw it was from Little Joe: "Tess, we have gone on a treasure hunt. But we are OK. We have a map and we are looking for the treasure."

Tess went to the barn where the rest were and showed them the note from Little Joe.

Hoss asked, "Where would those two get a treasure map?"

Tess thought of something. "Wait. When I was a little girl my pa told me about a map that has the key to our treasure. But he said he lost the map about the time Mr. Freeman worked for my pa."

Adam added, "My pa said your pa never talked to each other again."

"They must be at the Freeman farm," decided Hoss.

It was daylight by then so they all got on their horses and started for the Freeman farm. Little Joe and Sue were already looking for the treasure.

"The map says the treasure should be right here," said Little Joe. Suddenly he fell into a big hole. He hurt his leg.

"Little Joe, are you OK?" cried Sue.

"I hurt my leg. I can't get out."

"What can I do to help you?"

"See if you can find some rope."

Sue looked everywhere but did not find any rope. "What are we going to do now, Little Joe? I can't find my way back by myself." She started to cry.

About that time Adam and the others rode up. Sue ran to them. "Little Joe fell in a big hole and hurt his leg!"

"Show us," instructed Adam.

Adam looked into the hole. "Are you OK, little brother?"

"Yeah, but I can't get out."

Hoss reached in and got Little Joe to take his hand. He was able to pull the boy out, and even though Little Joe's leg ached, he could walk on it.

"Little Joe, do you know how much trouble you are in? What if we wouldn't have found you?"

"I'm sorry, Adam."

"I'm sorry, too," echoed Sue. She ran to her big sister.

"Where are your horses?" asked Adam.

Little Joe pointed.

"Let's get them and go home."

"Wait, Adam," begged Joe. "Help us find the treasure first. Please?"

Hoss said, "You know, Adam, Tess would really like to find her father's treasure."

Adam said, "OK." He took the map and read it. "It's somewhere over there under that tree."

When they got to the tree, Hoss said, "Look, Tess, in the hollow of the tree." He pointed to a box. Hoss got it out and gave it to Tess.

"This is my pa's handwriting on the box," Tess said.

"Open it!" cheered Little Joe and Sue.

Tess sat down under the tree. In the box was a letter from her pa. She opened the letter: "My little girl Tess. In this box is all my treasure of you growing up. It's not gold, but it is the key to my hear and my love for you every time you look at this box, think of me and how much I love you. Tess, you are my treasure and always will be. Love, Pa."

When Tess got done reading the letter, she was crying. Hoss put his arms around her and said, "Honey, your pa loved you very much.

Tess looked in the box. She found a drawing of herself when she was a baby, the first tooth she had lost, a lock of her hair, and a favorite childhood toy. "Why would Mr. Freeman take this from my pa?" she asked.

"Maybe he thought it was gold," offered Hoss.

"This is better than gold," said Tess. "It is a love box from my pa."

Tess kissed her. "Let's all go home."

On the way home Little Joe asked Adam, "Are you gonna tell pa about this?"

Adam said, "Don't you think we should?"

Joe shook his head. "No, I don't, Adam."

Hoss said, "Adam, they did help Tess find something special from her father."

Adam thought about it. "OK, I won't tell Pa this time."

Sue said, "What about my pa and me? I'll be in big trouble."

Ann said, "No, they don't know you were gone. I told them you were staying with Tess for a few days."

"Are you going to tell them the truth now that you found me?"

"Not this time."

Ann never did tell on Sue, and when Ben returned from his trip, the Ponderosa and the boys looked great. The boys never told Ben about Sue and Little Joe's adventure. Little Joe and Sue never went on another treasure hunt, but they found other ways to get into trouble.

The End.