Campfires
By Patch
The Cartwrights aren't mine no matter how hard I wish they were. ;)
"Another please?" Hoss said sitting his glass down.
"Sonny, I think you have had enough tonight. Why don't you
go on home?" the
bar tender replied rubbing his hands through his hair.
"No sir, I aint had near enough." Hoss replied,
"pour me another."
The man silently obeyed muttering to himself.
"Now what could a handsome fellow like yourself have to
be worrying about?" a lady wearing more paint on her face
than Hoss had ever seen and showing more skin then he had ever
seen asked taking a seat next to him.
"Well, ah ma'am....I have a lot to be upset about." he
replied then downed his entire drink, wincing slightly.
"Well, now I am real good at cheerin' fellas up." she
replied rubbing her hand down Hoss' chest.
"Um...ah...I am sure you...ah..." Hoss mumbled turning
redder by the minute.
"Another drink for my friend, Tom!" She yelled
suddenly. Tom brought two more drinks.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Lily. And I like you ah
what did you say your name was?" Lily said rubbing her hands
through Hoss' hair. Hoss downed both drinks before replying.
"Hoss, ma'am."
"HOSS? Well, now you do look as strong as a horse."
Lily replied, continuing to play with his hair.
Hoss smiled at her, at least he thought it was Lily, he was
feeling slightly dizzy.
"Lily! Honey, leave this one alone. He is just a boy."
a lady said walking up. Hoss turned around at the sound, upset to
be called a mere boy, ready to protest when he began to fall
forward. He grabbed hold of the counter to steady himself and
looked up. The lady, if you could call her that, reached out as
if to catch him.
"You alright?" she asked, "maybe you should sit
down."
"I'm fine!" Hoss replied, but sat down.
"Now Maggie. I saw him first." Lily whined, her lower
lip sticking out in a pout.
"Well he is mine now. Get!" Maggie replied.
Lily was about to protest, but spotted a cowboy sitting alone in
a corner. He'll do, she thought and walked off.
"Now, Hoss is it?," she asked, continuing at his nod,
"I think you best head on home. You don't belong here."
"I can't ma'am." Hoss whispered.
"Sure, you can. It can't be that bad." Maggie replied
patting him on the shoulder.
"I can't go home cause I don't have a home to go home
to." Hoss replied and to Maggie's horror his eyes filled
with tears.
"Oh no you don't, boy. I can't stand drunks that cry. Stop
it!" Maggie said frowning.
"I'm not cryin'!" Hoss replied on a sob.
"Good! Now, tell me why you can't go home." Maggie
ordered.
"I burnt the *sob* Ponderosa!" Hoss said crying harder.
"The Ponderwhat?" Maggie asked, but Hoss just cried
harder.
"Please stop." Maggie asked desperately. She reached
between her breast and pulled out a hankie.
"Here." she said handing it to the sobbing boy.
Hoss took it and blew his nose noisily, then proceeded to put it
back where it came from, when he was satisfied the hankie would
stay he laid his head down on Maggie's ample bosom and began to
sob in earnest. "It's gone. Gone! Just like my doggie....all
gone!"
"There, there." Maggie said patting him on the head
looking around to see if anyone was watching, she glared at a few
men who quickly looked away. "What is gone? Your dog?"
she asked.
Hoss sobbed louder. "Yes, my puppy. It ran away *hiccup*
when I was 4!"
"Now, come on Hoss." she said getting up and leading
him out the side door.
"No, I can't go with you. Pa would kill me." Hoss said
looking scared to death.
"Hoss, trust me." Maggie said rolling her eyes.
"How do I get myself in to these messes?" she asked
herself.
"I don't know!" Hoss replied crying again.
Maggie led him to her room. She put on a pot of coffee and
ordered him to sit down.
"First thing we gotta do is get you sober enough to start
making sense." Maggie said placing a cup of coffee in front
of him.
"I am sober." Hoss replied sniffling "I drink all
the time."
"Umhmm." Maggie replied, "drink."
"No, don't wanna." Hoss replied, crossing his arms.
Maggie raised her eyebrows and pointed at his drink.
"Now." She looked and sounded so much like Pa, Hoss
didn't even hesitate and began to drink it. Two pots later, Hoss
was ready to talk.
"Now, why don't you start at the beginning." Maggie
said picking up some knitting.
"Well, it really isn't my fault. It's all Paint's
fault!" Hoss began.
"Paint? Who is that?" Maggie asked.
"He's a horse." Hoss replied.
"Well, what did your horse do?" Maggie tried again.
"No not mine, Little Joe's." Hoss replied.
"Who is Little Joe?" Maggie asked.
"My little brother. He threw a shoe." Hoss replied
remembering her earlier
question.
"Why did your brother throw his shoe?" Maggie asked
completely confused.
"NO, not my brother. Well, he did throw his boot once. He
was really mad at Pa and he chunked it at the door. Unfortunately
for him, Pa had decided to come in at that exact moment and the
boot got him right in the breadbasket. Needless to say, after Pa
was through with him, Little Joe never wanted to see his boot
again much less throw it." Hoss replied.
Maggie rubbed her temples. This was going to be a long night.
"You got a headache ma'am. It could be your coffee. It is a
might strong. You could.........
"HOSS!" Maggie yelled interrupting him "please
continue your story."
"Oh, well see it all started when Paint threw a shoe....
Hop Sing sat the last dish on the table.
"Food ready." he said to Ben. Ben nodded and went to
the door to call everyone in. Adam and Hoss were washing up at
the basin when Joe and Mitch came running inside.
"Phew! We made it!" Little Joe said shoving Adam out of
the way and splashing water on his face.
"Excuse me little brother. Didn't mean to get in the way
there." Adam said sarcastically, drying his hands.
"That's okay, Adam." Little Joe replied snatching the
towel from him.
The boys finished up and sat down for lunch, Mitch squeezing in
by Little
Joe.
"Little Joe since you have a guest why don't you ask the
blessing?" Pa asked.
Little Joe frowned but decided to not make a scene in front of
Mitch.
"Sure thing, Pa." he waited for everyone to bow their
heads, "Thank you God for this day. Thanks for my family and
for Hop Sing and oh yeah for Mitch. Help me find my horse shoe
and ah bless this food. amen."
"Amen", Hoss echoed, "pass me those rolls."
"so what is this about a horse shoe?" Adam asked Little
Joe.
"Paint threw a shoe today. You think you could help me fix
that Hoss?" Joe asked hopefully.
"Sure, little buddy." Hoss replied in between bites.
"We gotta find that shoe." Mitch added while buttering
a roll.
"Why? We have extras." Adam replied.
"But it is my lucky horse shoe, Adam." Little Joe
replied.
"Your lucky horse shoe?" Pa asked.
"Right and I have to have it for tomorrow." Little Joe
answered.
"What's tomorrow?" Pa asked.
"The horse race!" Mitch replied excitedly. Little Joe
scowled at him. "oops" Mitch said looking sheepishly at
Ben.
"What is this about a horse race, Joseph?" Pa asked.
"Well, see Pa it isn't a real horse race....not a bad
one." Little Joe began.
"It's either a horse race or it isn't." Pa interrupted.
"Well, okay it is a horse race. Mitch and I are going to
race tomorrow and all the guys are going to be there and we
already told everyone and it's okay cause Mitch's Pa will be
there to supervise and he said it was okay and um Adam said he
would watch us, Pa and that it would be okay." Little Joe
said all this in one breath ignoring Adam's scowl.
"Oh well if Adam said it was okay...." Pa replied,
looking at Adam who quickly looked at his plate.
"Oh Pa please let us!" Little Joe begged.
"Your father says it is okay?" Ben asked Mitch.
"Yes sir." Mitch replied deciding it was best not to
mention that he only agreed after they promised that Ben had said
it was okay.
"Alright. You can but you be careful." Pa admonished.
"Yay! Then the bet isn't off." Little Joe said
excitedly.
"Not a real bet Pa but a bet bet." all three boys said
at the same time.
"I see." Ben said smiling at Hop Sing.
"So, Hoss will you help me find my horse shoe?" Little
Joe asked a few seconds later.
"Little Joe, Adam and I still have chores to do and a fence
to mend." Hoss replied.
"Yeah, little brother, some of us didn't get the day off to
spend with our friend." Adam replied a little bitterly.
"OH alright! You and Hoss can have the afternoon off."
Ben said sighing.
"You mean it Pa?" Hoss asked excitedly.
"Yes, I do. You guys have been working really hard. I need
to go into town anyway. But all three of you make sure you do
your regular chores tonight--without complaint!" he added.
"Yes sir Pa" they replied, Joe winking at Mitch.
"Hoss, can you and Adam help us look now?" Little Joe
asked as they watched their father ride further off into the
distance.
"Sure short shanks. Tell me where Paint threw the shoe. It
should be around there somewhere." Hoss replied.
"Well ah you see Hoss" Little Joe said looking
nervously at Adam and then back at Hoss, "we aint really
sure where it came off at."
"What? You ran your horse without its shoe!" Hoss
yelled.
"We didn't know it came off." Mitch added quickly,
"We would never do that."
"And how could you not know?" Adam asked looking at
them both.
"Well, we were sorta kinda practicing for tomorrow."
Little Joe said looking at the ground.
Adam gave them both his best Pa look. "You could have been
thrown when that happened, Little Joe. You know how dangerous it
is to race without an adult around. Give me one good reason why I
shouldn't tell Pa. "
"Cause your my brother and you love me?" Little Joe
asked hopefully.
Hoss began to laugh. "Alright Little Brother. Tell us where
you guys were racing and we will go look." Hoss replied.
"Well, we raced by the lake and then in the north pasture
and then back through the pines and...." Little Joe replied
ignoring Adam's scowl.
"Alright. You and Mitch take the lake. I'll look in the
north pasture and Hoss you go back through the pines." Adam
directed.
"yes sir" Mitch said saluting him. Adam took a step
toward him and the boys took off running.
"So, Miss Maggie that is how I ended up in the woods looking
for a horse shoe." Hoss said sighing.
Maggie got up and refilled their drinks, nodding for him to
continue.
"So, I had been searching for what seemed like forever when
I saw something glistening in the sunlight. I hopped off my horse
and made my way towards it when I slipped on some well, manure
and fell right into a fresh patch. And there right beside me was
that dang horse shoe. I stood up and surveyed the damage. My
shirt was covered in it. I knew I would never hear the end of it,
so I took off my shirt and rinsed it in a near by spring. I
decided it would be wise to start a campfire to dry my shirt
faster...after all it was close
to dinner and I was gettin' pretty hungry. I most have dosed off
waiting because when I woke up, it was dark. So, I threw on my
shirt, put out my fire and made my way to the house."
"Then what happened?" Maggie asked holding up the scarf
she was knitting for Hoss to admire.
"Very nice ma'am. Pretty color. Well, right in the middle of
dinner, Charlie, he works for my Pa, came running in yelling
there was a fire. We all took off running and Pa made Joe go to
town and get some help." Hoss rubbed the back of his neck.
"A couple of hours later we got the fire out, but half our
ranch had burned. I knew it was my fault but I didn't want to say
anything. Roy told Pa it was started by a campfire and that
confirmed my
fears....so I took off and came here."
Maggie just looked at Hoss. "Well, Boy I guess you better
spend the night here and we can discuss what you should do next
in the morning."
"I can't stay here ma'am." Hoss replied.
"You got somewhere else to go?" she asked, pointedly.
Hoss shook his head, causing it to throb. Maggie smiled. "I
have two bedrooms, Hoss. Follow me."
************************************************************************
Ben surveyed the damage and then turned to his three sons. He saw
the looks of shock on their faces. "Boys, let's go inside
and clean up. Mitch you better go on home with your Pa"
Mitch nodded and headed towards his father. Adam and Hoss
followed their Pa, while Little Joe stopped and looked around.
Roy came up behind him, placing his arm on his small shoulders.
"Come on Little Joe." He said leading him to the house.
"You want some coffee?" Ben asked Roy as he walked in.
"Might could handle some." Roy replied, "Ben, I
gotta tell ya. Some of the men saw the remains of a campfire. We
think that is what started this fire."
Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe gasped at the same time. Hoss looked
at his father with tears in his eyes and took off for the barn,
saddling a horse and taking off. Little Joe ran the opposite
direction to the bunk room, throwing himself on his bunk and
bawling. Adam looked at his father. Ben could see the anguish
clearly on his face.
"I'm so sorry Pa. I never meant for this to happen."
Adam whispered and then walked out the door.
Ben just looked at the spot where his three boys had once been
standing.
"I think I will just pass on that coffee, Ben." Roy
said letting himself out as Ben turned and made his way up the
stairs to the bunk room.
Ben slowly opened the bunk door. Little Joe lay face down on
his bunk, his
little body shaking with silent sobs.
"Little Joe.." Pa said walking towards him and laying
his hand on his back, "whatever is the matter? We will
bounce back from this. Come on tell me what is wrong."
Little Joe shook his head and began to cry harder.
"Joseph, tell me what is wrong." Ben said a little
firmer, but still Joe continued to cry. Ben scooted him over and
sat down on the bunk. "Joseph, look at me." he waited
till Little Joe rolled over and looked up, "tell me what is
wrong. I'm not asking."
"Pa, it's all my fault! All mine!" Little Joe managed
to get out between sobs.
"What's your fault?" Ben asked gently.
"The fire, Pa. I am so sorry!" he replied as more tears
streamed down his
face.
"Joseph, I think you better start from the beginning."
Ben said sitting him up. "Here, blow." he said handing
him a handkerchief. Joe obediently blew.
"You mad at me Pa?" Little Joe asked looking at him out
of the corner of his
eyes.
"Not yet. Now start from the beginning." Ben replied.
"Okay, well it is actually all Paint's fault, Pa. See, he
lost his shoe..." Joe began.
"I'm aware of that, Little Joe. What does that have to do
with this fire?" Ben asked interrupting.
"I'm getting there, Pa. See, we, that is me and Mitch, were
looking for my lucky horse shoe and we had been searching for
hours and hours, Pa, honest and we were so hot and tired so we
stopped by the lake . . .
"Mitch, I am sooooo tired." Little Joe said stopping.
"I can't take another step."
"Me neither, Little Joe. Let's take a break." Mitch
said plopping down beside the lake. Little Joe joined him.
"You think Mean Ole Jones is gonna make us take that test on
that war?" Mitch asked laying down and resting his head on
his hand.
"You know it and aint nothin' we can do about it. She even
makes wars boring." he replied leaning back against a tree.
"I wish Adam was our teacher. He tells the greatest stories.
Remember the one about the boys running off to join the war and
they got to make their own bullets and everything?" Mitch
asked.
"Oh yeah, boys back then had all the fun. Fighting and
stuff, no school, no one to tell them what to do." Little
Joe replied.
The boys fell silent, both lost in their own thoughts.
"JOE!" Mitch yelled sitting up, causing Little Joe to
jump." We could make our own bullets. All they did was melt
some metal down and I have that metal horse Pa gave me here in my
pocket."
"You sure you want to melt it down?" Little Joe asked.
"It's a baby toy, Joe." Mitch said all superior,
"all we need is something to make it round to melt it
in."
"How about an acorn shell?" Little Joe asked picking
one up. "we can scrape out the nut and then put the horse in
it. Then after it melts just peel the shell off."
"Great idea!" Mitch said excitedly.
In a few minutes the boys had their shell all ready and a small
campfire going. Little Joe carefully stuck the shell on a forked
stick, then Mitch placed the small horse inside and they held it
over the fire and waited and waited and waited.
"I'm tired of holding it. It's your turn." Little Joe
said holding the stick out to Mitch, when suddenly the acorn
fell, taking the horse with it right in the center of the fire.
"LITTLE JOE!" Mitch yelled.
"Quick put out the fire." Little Joe yelled. The boys
began to throw dirt on the fire. Soon it was out and Mitch
carefully rolled his horse out with the stick.
"Dang thing still didn't melt." Mitch said laughing.
"Then we rolled it into the water to cool it off and came
back here." Little Joe finished looking up at his father. To
say his father was angry would be a gross understatement. Little
Joe's eyes filled with tears again. "I guess you are gonna
want me to leave now, huh Pa?"
Ben's anger melted. "Joseph, this ranch will never mean more
to me than you or your brothers. I love you more than
anything."
Little Joe wrapped his hands around his Pa's neck. "I love
you too, Pa."
"Now, get some sleep" Ben replied sitting Joe back
down, deciding to deal with this in the morning when they both
were not so tired.
"Okay, Pa." Little Joe agreed laying back down.
"Hey Pa, is this going to be one of those things were I have
already punished myself enough so you wont need to?" he
asked hopefully.
Ben stood up. "What do you think, Joseph?"
"Oh" Little Joe replied. "goodnight Pa."
"Night Joe."
It didn't take Ben long to find Adam. He always went to the
same spot when he was upset. Adam sat with his back against a
tree looking at the remains of the Ponderosa. Ben sighed and made
his way to his son.
"Adam" he said sitting down beside him, "What's
wrong?"
"Pa...this is all my fault." he said swinging his arm
out.
"How could this be your fault Adam?" Ben asked,
"please look at me."
Adam looked up but quickly looked down again. He couldn't look,
because he didn't want to see the look of disappointment he knew
would be there. He had single handedly destroyed all they had
worked so hard for. He couldn't forgive himself, how could he
expect his Pa to.
"Adam, please tell me." Ben whispered placing his hand
on his son's back. He hated to see his son in so much pain.
"Pa...I...well to be honest I'm not really sure what
happened. I started a campfire and well I think I put it out...I
can't remember." Adam said so quietly Ben had to lean down
to hear.
"You can't remember, Adam that makes no sense...wait! Tell
me you weren't with Beth!" Ben replied suddenly.
Adam didn't dare look at his father.
"ADAM! You know you go plumb to foolish when she is
around." Ben said running his hands through his hair.
"I know Pa. I thought I could handle it this time. I don't
know what happens." he answered sneaking a peek at his
father. He was glad to see he didn't look angry, but amused.
"Why don't you start from the beginning, son." Ben said
getting comfortable.
"That's the problem, Pa. I can't remember. I mean..it's
kinda silly...I was looking for Little Joe's horse shoe and come
to think of it this is all Paint's fault!" Adam said
suddenly.
"So I've heard." Ben replied dryly.
"Well, I was searching when I came across Beth and she was
reading this book, Pa on surviving on the trail. She
was trying to make a campfire and doing it all wrong. So, I had
to the gentlemanly thing and help her. So, I think I made a fire
and I don't really remember what we talked about. I am pretty
sure I put out the fire though, Pa. I would remember that.
Right?" Adam said all this in one breath.
"I would think so, son." Ben replied seriously hoping,
when Beth was around it amazed him that Adam could put one foot
in front of the other.
"So, see Pa. This is al my fault. I am so sorry." Adam
said looking down at his hands.
"Adam...look at me. This ranch will be fine. We have made it
through worse things. We can make it again. I don't blame you at
all. If you started this fire, I know it was an accident."
Ben said taking Adam's chin in his hand. "I love you Adam. I
am so proud of the man you have become and I would not have made
it this far with out you."
Adam smiled at his Pa. "I love you too Pa. Thank you."
"Why don't you get some sleep." Ben suggested standing
up.
"Sure Pa. See you in the morning." he replied making
his way to the house, already feeling better.
"Well, two sons down, one more to go." Ben muttered
following his eldest.
Ben sat down on the porch steps. He had tried to get some
sleep, but to many memories had been running through his
head--memories of his boys. He loved each of them so much and he
couldn't understand how they could think this ranch would ever
mean more to him than them. He sighed and rubbed his hands over
his eyes. The sun was about to rise and they had a lot of work to
do. He slowly got up, his back popping and muscles protesting.
'When did I get so old?" he thought. As he was turning into
the house he saw Hoss returning. He watched his son, slowly
descend and take his horse into the barn. He
smiled as he thought of how gentle Hoss was with each of the
animals on the farm. Inger would be so proud of their son. Ben
sat down and waited for Hoss.
Hoss took his time, putting off this meeting with his Pa.
Finally, he knew he had to get this over with. He straightened
his shoulders and made his way to the house. He was a little
surprised to see his father sitting on the steps.
"Hey Pa."
"Hello Son." Ben replied calmly, "thought you
would spend a night in town?"
Hoss swallowed hard. He knew to an outsider that would sound like
a simple question, but not with his Pa. "Well, uh Pa...it's
like this." he looked around at the ranch, "see....
"You left your brothers and I here to deal with the ranch,
without thinking of any one else. You made me worry myself sick
about you and what could of happened to make you so late!"
Ben said interrupting.
"But Pa...you don't understand." Hoss tried again.
"Yes I do son. You ran away from your
responsibilities." Ben interrupted once more angry now.
"But Pa! I did this! I burnt the ranch down. It's all my
fault..well mine and Paint's!" Hoss said looking at the
ground. When his father remained quiet he slowly looked up. He
was shocked to see the anger in his father's eyes. He knew his
father would be mad but he had hoped he would put his arm around
him and tell him all was forgiven.
"Erik! You have been drinking haven't you?" Ben asked
looking him up and down.
"Pa, don't you hear what I am saying to you? I burnt the
ranch down." Hoss said once more.
"I don't care about this ranch! We are not discussing that
right now. I want to know where you were last night. I know
Shelby would not have given you anything to drink. Where did you
spend the night?" Ben yelled.
Hoss looked down again. He couldn't understand why his Pa was not
getting this. Did he not understand that he had caused the fire?
"Erik, I am waiting for an answer." Ben said quietly.
He had called him Erik again. "I went to Tom's place in El
Paso, sir." Hoss replied hoping his father would not ask him
for all the details, "Pa, I'm sorry."
Ben nodded. "I see. We will discuss this later. We have
chores to do and two more people to wake up."
"But Pa....don't you wanna know about the fire?" Hoss
asked.
"Not really, son. I know you would never purposefully start
a fire like that, Hoss", he put his arm around Hoss'
shoulders, "You know that you mean more to me than this
ranch ever will, don't you?"
When Hoss didn't reply right away Ben spun him around.
"Don't you?" Hoss looked deep into his father's eyes
and saw the love and acceptance there.
"Yes sir. I do." he whispered.
"HOSS!! YOU'RE BACK!!!" Little Joe yelled, leaping off
the porch, the tail of his night shirt flying behind him. He
tackled Hoss in a giant bear hug.
"Miss me did ya, little brother?" Hoss said laughing.
"Little Joe! You do realize the sun is just now
rising?" Ben asked raising his eyebrows. "You secret is
out now, boy. You can get up this early!"
"Pa!" Little Joe said rolling his eyes.
The Cartwrights gathered around the table for breakfast, Hop Sing
joining them. No one was speaking much. Adam was still not awake,
having spent most of the night thinking of the fire and how he
was responsible for it. Little Joe and Hoss did everything in
their power to keep the attention off of them, not wanting to
remind their father of his promised discussions. Hop Sing
respected everyone's moods and remained quiet. Ben had just
refilled his coffee when there was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it, Pa!" Joe said taking off towards the
door. "It's Dan....I mean Mr. Dan!" he yelled as Dan
made his way into the kitchen.
"Um Ben. Boys...I have something to tell ya." he said
nervously twisting his hat in his hands.
"Yes?" Ben asked concerned.
"Well you see, I started that fire." he whispered.
"What?" All four yelled.
"It weren't my fault. I was up there with a 'friend' and we
was enjoying the sunset and it got chilly and I started a fire. I
was sure I put it out, but I didn't double check it and it is all
my fault...I'm sorry." he replied.
"You didn't start that fire, Dan." Adam replied.
"No, you didn't! I did!" Hoss said standing up.
"YOU?" Little Joe and Adam asked at the same time.
Before anyone else could respond, Shelby came busting in.
"Benjamin. Boys. I have something to tell you." she
took a deep breath, "I started that fire."
"No you didn't! I did!" Big Dan said turning towards
her.
"No, I did it." Adam and Shelby said at the same time.
Little Joe decided it would be wiser to stay quiet. Everyone
began to speak at once all claiming they were the one's
responsible for the fire as Mitch made his way into the kitchen.
He had knocked twice but no one could hear him. He tried to yell
over everyone but no one was listening. Finally, he placed his
two fingers to his lips and whistled. Everyone froze and turned
towards him. Ben glared at him. "Um sorry sir, but I have an
announcement." He looked apologetically at Joe. "Mr.
Cartwright. I started that fire."
"No you didn't!" Shelby yelled and that started it
again. Ben listened for a while amused, then slowly stood up. He
held up his hand and one by one everyone stopped talking.
"Well now, seeing how you all are responsible for this fire,
you can all do the cleaning up. I am going fishing!" and
with that he turned around and headed for the door, "oh and
Joseph, Erik I would like a word with each of you when I
return."
Little Joe and Hoss both groaned and sat down. Ben smiled,
reached for his hat and left the room whistling.
THE END