Unbreakable

By Marion

Rating: G

Synopsis: New neighbors cause some trouble on the Ponderosa.

The Ponderosa and the Cartwrights are not mine (except for Annie, of course) Thank you to Mr. Dortort for allowing me to play on the Ponderosa for a little while. This story is purely for entertainment and is not intended to infringe on the rights of anyone else involved with Bonanza and Ponderosa.

Thanks to Nancy and to Christine for their beta-read and comments!

The trading post was almost empty when I entered. No doubt everyone was at Shelby’s, watching the proceedings before the circuit judge. Judge Orson Rogers was here on his monthly visit, and anyone who had nothing better to do spent the day watching the goings on. Fortunately, I had no business before Judge Rogers today; to be honest, I had had enough dealings before him in the past three years to last me a lifetime.

I can always count on Eli for a friendly greeting, and this morning was no different. He turned from his task of taking inventory and smiled.

"Good morning, Ben. How are you today?" He peered over my shoulder, no doubt looking for a child to spoil with a few pieces of candy, or a new book to lend. "You are alone?"

I smiled. "Good morning to you, Eli. No, I’m not alone; Hoss is on the porch introducing himself to a young lady."

Eli nodded. He knew as well as I what an achievement it was for Hoss to speak to a girl that he knew, let alone introduce himself to a stranger. I handed my friend the list that Hop Sing had carefully written this morning. "Do you think you have everything Hop Sing needs?"

Whatever Eli was going to say was lost when Hoss poked his head in the door. "Pa, you gotta come here."

Hoss’s agitated tone caught my attention immediately, and I strode across the room. He gestured toward the sheriff’s office, across the street.

"Finleys took Annie in there, Pa."

"Annie?" What was she doing in town? "And the Finleys?" I didn’t give Hoss a chance to answer, but instead hurried across the muddy street, taking care to avoid horses and wagons. We’d had trouble with the Finleys since they bought a bit of land along our boundary. First there had been quarrels about the actual boundary, and then we had had problems with their cattle grazing our land. Hoss and Adam had been in at least one fight with the Finley boys, although I suspect there had been more.

What made things worse was the Finleys’ prejudice against the Chinese. They’d been warned more than once to leave the few Chinese citizens of Eagle Station alone, although those warnings had fallen on deaf ears. At least they were smart enough to leave Hop Sing alone.

I pushed the door open and stood in the doorway a moment. Sure enough, Jasper Finley was standing in front of Roy Coffee’s desk, yammering about something. His oldest son, Jake was beside him, and the two younger boys, Jebediah and Jethro were leaning against the wall. Annie stood at the side of the desk, shoulders slumped, hands folded in front of her. All heads turned toward me when I entered.

"Roy, what the devil is going on here?" I strode into the room, my eyes never leaving my niece.

Finley whirled on me. "Your girl here done killed my prize mare. On my land!" Finley brandished a rifle. "With this!"

A white anger seared through me as I recognized the gun as one of my own. Annie was forbidden to touch the guns.

"Is this true, Anna?"

Annie swallowed hard and looked away from me. "Yes, sir," she whispered softly.

This was intolerable! I pulled out my pocketbook. "How much for the horse?" I had no choice but to make restitution.

Finley sniffed. "Five hunert."

My head snapped back. "Five hundred? No horse is worth that!"

"I’m sayin’ this one was." Finley smiled. "She was fixin’ ta foal, and I reckoned she coulda had more."

"I don’t have five hundred dollars," And I wouldn’t give it to you if I did, although I did not say the last out loud.

"Well then, sheriff, I reckon you gotta put this girl in jail. I’m gonna press charges."

I glanced at Annie, who was close to tears. Angry as I was with her, I wasn’t about to allow that to happen. "Roy, you can’t do that! She’s just a little girl."

Finley’s eyes slid up and down Annie. "She don’t look that little to me." His sons laughed.

I took a deep breath, willing myself to resist the urge to knock Finley’s leering face into the wall. Roy must have known what I was thinking, because he stepped between us.

"There’s no need to put Annie in jail. Circuit judge is over at Shelby’s. I’ll go fetch him." He pointed to the door. "Finley, I expect to see you and your boys back here in half an hour."

No one spoke as the Finleys walked out, but as soon as the door closed, Roy handed the rifle to me. "You and Annie can stay here. I’ll let Hoss know you’ll be a while." Roy headed out the door. I was grateful to him for not subjecting Annie to a public hearing.

I turned to Annie, ready to set her ears on fire, but my anger abated slightly when she stared up at me, her eyes wide, as frightened as I had seen her in a long while. I prayed she wasn’t frightened of me.

"Am I going to jail, Uncle Ben?" Her voice was choked, and tears welled in her eyes.

I cupped her cheek gently with my hand. "No, sweetheart, you aren’t going to jail." I pulled a chair close to the desk and sat down. She leaned against me, and I could feel her trembling.

"Annie, I need you to tell me what happened today." I tried to keep my voice calm. There would be time enough for scolding later.

Annie stared at her hands. "I decided I wanted to prove that I could hunt, so I took the gun but I shot the horse accidentally. I’m sorry, Uncle Ben." She glanced up but I could tell she wasn’t really looking at me.

"You disobeyed me, Annie, when you took the gun."

"Yes, sir, I know that." She looked at me then, and I could see she did know that, and she knew what the consequences would be.

"We’ll discuss that at home. Right now I want to talk to you about what is going to happen." I rubbed my chin. "The court is at Shelby’s, but Sheriff Coffee is going to bring Judge Rogers here, so that you don’t have to appear in front of all those people. The judge is a stern man, but fair. Mr. Finley will get to say his piece and then you will be allowed to speak. The judge will probably ask you questions, and I expect you to answer them truthfully."

Annie’s eyes flicked to mine but she quickly turned her head. I lifted her chin so she would look at me, but she still did her best to avoid my gaze. There was something going on that I was missing, I was sure of it.

"The judge will make his decision. You’ve already admitted it was your fault, so he will decide how much we need to pay the Finleys as restitution."

"What if he says five hundred dollars?"

"Then that is what we’ll have to pay, Annie." I was fairly certain the judge would agree with me and not Finley but I didn’t want to give Annie any false hope.

"You’ll have to take that from my father’s money, won’t you, Uncle Ben?"

"Yes, Annie. And then you and I will discuss how that will be repaid."

Annie licked her lips nervously. "And that’s all the judge will do?"

I shrugged. "I don’t know, Annie, but I think so. He will probably give you a warning, and I expect he will leave any further punishment to me."

Annie took a deep breath. "And then what, Uncle Ben? I mean, between us." She glanced at me quickly before looking down, and I could see the tears spilling from her eyes.

I stood. "I don’t punish you for mistakes, Annie, you know that. But when you took that gun, you disobeyed one of my most important rules, and I know I don’t need to tell you what the consequences are." I put the chair back where it belonged and walked to the window. I could see Roy and the judge crossing the street. The Finleys were lounging against the wall of the trading post, but quickly headed toward the jail.

"They’re coming, Annie. Remember what I said about telling the truth."

Again Annie had that odd look on her face and I was more convinced that there was something I was missing.

Everyone entered the jail, and Judge Rogers strode across the room, not looking at anyone before he sat. The marshal stood on his left and Roy stood on the judge’s right. I gave Annie a gentle push and we stood in front of the desk.

"All right, let’s get started. Sheriff Coffee has told me the basic facts of the case." The judge faced Annie. "I assume you’re the gun-wielding young lady?"

Annie looked confused as she turned to me. I nodded and she looked back at the judge.

"Yes, sir." Annie glanced away. "I shot the horse by accident."

The judge leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk. "Now, I haven’t sworn you in, but I want you to answer like I did. Tell me what happened."

Annie licked her lips. "I wanted to prove to my uncle and my cousins that I could hunt as well as they could. I. . . um. . .snuck out of the house and took my uncle’s rifle. I wanted to be far away from the house so no one could catch me, but I didn’t realize I was on the Finleys’ land. I heard the noise and I shot the horse dead."

The judge frowned at her. "You didn’t look to see what you were shooting?"

Annie rubbed her hands on her dress. "Well, sir, it was an animal, I knew that."

Of all the stupid things I have ever heard from one of my children, that took the prize. She knows better!

The judge raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "I think, Miss Cartwright, that I shall leave it to your uncle to explain the foolhardiness of your actions."

He looked around the room as he leaned back in the chair. "All right, the girl has admitted her fault. Who owns the horse?"

Finley stepped forward. "I do, yer honor. I told Cartrwight what the horse was worth, but he don’t want to pay. I got rights. If he don’t pay, that girl’s gotta get punished."

The judge looked up at me, and then down at Annie. "I have no worries on that account, Mr. Finley." Annie flinched. "What do you claim the horse is worth?"

Roy Coffee leaned forward. "Mr. Finley demanded five hundred dollars."

The judge made a rude noise. "No horse is worth that. What kind of horse was it?"

I noticed Finley seemed a little less certain of himself. "Brood mare. She was fixin’ to foal. I’m out two horses."

The judge appeared to think a minute. "All right. Cartwright, give the man seventy-five dollars."

Even seventy-five was excessive, but I wasn’t going to argue with the judge. I had the money as I was planning to settle my bill with Eli and with Daniel and pay Annie and Joe’s tuition for the semester. I would just have to go to the bank again before going to the Ponderosa.

I could sense Annie watching me as I counted out the money. No doubt she was trying to figure how many months of extra chores she was going to have to do to repay me. The chores were the least of her worries.

Finley crammed the money into his pocket and he and his sons headed out the door. He turned to scowl at me before leaving. "You keep you and yourn away from my land, Cartwright." The door slammed behind him.

The judge gestured for Annie to come closer. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, his expression solemn. "Young lady, I don’t want to see you back here again."

Annie stared at her feet until I tapped her shoulder and she looked at the judge. "Yes, sir, I understand."

He smiled slightly. "As long as you promise to behave, I think I can leave any further punishment to your uncle."

"Thank you, sir." Annie glanced at me, and then back at the judge.

I put my hand on her shoulder and turned her toward the door. "Go wait for me in the wagon. I want you sitting on that seat when I come out."

"Yes, sir." A quick bob of her head and she was gone from the room.

Judge Rogers stood and held out his hand, which I shook. "Good luck when you get home, Cartwright. Speaking as a father, I can say you’re going to need it." He lifted his chin toward the door. "She’s what, fourteen? Fifteen?"

"Fifteen." My tone apparently conveyed more than I intended for the man laughed.

The ride home was quiet. Annie must have explained everything to Hoss, for he opted to ride her horse home rather than sit with Annie and me. Annie sat in the corner of the seat, making herself as small as possible. She didn’t speak the whole way home, although I did hear her sniffle occasionally.

I remained silent. I did not relish what I knew was coming after lunch, but neither would I set aside my duty. She had disobeyed me. To make things worse, she did not follow the basic principles of weapons safety, not the least of which is to not fire without seeing what you’re shooting. That action alone guaranteed a serious punishment. I shook my head. Annie knew better than to do any of these things.

We rode into the yard just as Adam and Joe came out of the barn. Adam took one glance at me and at Annie, and shook his head. Joe, too, seemed to recognize the signs that someone was in trouble, but he looked faintly relieved.

"Are you boys just getting back?" I pulled the wagon to a halt in front of the house.

"Yes, we are. That sluice was clogged and it took most of the morning to clear it." Adam leaned close to me. "I think it was blocked intentionally, Pa. It’s near the Finleys’."

I helped Annie from the wagon and pointed to the door. "Go help Hop Sing with lunch. We’ll discuss this after we eat."

"Yes, sir." Annie ran into the house.

"Adam, did you hear a gun shot this morning?" My oldest son shook his head slowly. I quickly explained what had happened; Adam rolled his eyes.

I saw Joe grabbing a sack from the back of the wagon and I thought again of the sense of relief on his face when he saw Annie. "Was Joe with you the whole time?"

Adam raised an eyebrow. "He was never out of my sight."

Sighing, I reached into the back and grabbed a crate.

Annie was in the house, speaking urgently with Hop Sing. Both of them stopped speaking the moment I put the crate on the table, but I thought nothing of it. No doubt she was telling him what had happened. The two of them had a very close relationship, born of the time they spent working together.

Lunch was ready as soon as my sons and I finished unloading the wagon. I spent the meal half listening to Joe describe the work he and Adam had done, although to hear Joe talk, Adam didn’t spend much time actually working. Adam appeared vaguely amused at the storytelling.

As soon as I was done, I headed outside for some quiet to gather my thoughts. After about ten minutes, I turned to go inside when the door opened and Adam stepped out.

"Pa-"

"Adam, I don’t want to discuss this."

Adam nodded sympathetically. "I know, Pa. I wanted to tell you that Hoss and I are going to take Little Joe fishing for a while."

I smiled slightly, grateful that the boys would not be home. "Thank you, son."

"Pa?" Adam looked directly at me. "She’ll get over it."

I rested my hand on his shoulder briefly. I knew what he was trying to say.

When I entered the house, Annie was talking quietly with Hop Sing. They both jumped when the door closed.

"Anna, go to your room please." I poured myself a glass of water and drank it quickly before turning to Hop Sing. "You might want to find some outside work, Hop Sing."

Hop Sing bowed slightly, and I could put this off no longer. I took a deep breath and headed to Annie’s room, unbuckling my belt as I went.

"Mr. Cartwright." Hop Sing hurried to stand between Annie’s door and me. "Mr. Cartwright, you must not do this."

I tilted my head back to regard the young man. "Hop Sing, I appreciate that you want to protect Annie, but she was disobedient. She could have been killed."

Hop Sing shook his head. "Annie was not disobedient." He sighed slightly and he looked away. "Annie did not shoot horse. I did. I am not protecting Annie. Annie is protecting me."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It was I who took gun. I wished to prove that I, too, can hunt for food. When I shot horse, Annie was behind me, she saw everything. She heard men coming, told me to run." Hop Sing looked at his feet. "And I listened." He looked up, but not at me. "I was frightened."

Suddenly Annie’s hesitancy, her inability to look me in the eye, her frantic whisperings with Hop Sing – even that foolishness of shooting at something she hadn’t seen - made more sense. I pointed toward the sofa. "I think you’d better explain everything to me."

Hop Sing sat with his back perfectly straight, staring at the fireplace. "This morning, Adam make comment that I must leave hunting to him and to Hoss, they know how and I do not. I knew he was right, so I decide to practice. After you leave, and after Adam leave, I take gun and go far from house. I do not realize but I am trespassing on Finley land. I hear a noise, I think it is a deer so I shoot.

"I did not know, but Annie was following me, and she came when she heard shot. She could hear shouting of men, and she took gun from me. She told me to hide, that she would say she shot horse. She was sure they would not hurt her."

Hop Sing closed his eyes. "I am ashamed. I listen to her and I hide in the bush. My horse is where they cannot see." Hop Sing’s voice was monotone as he recited the series of events. "The Finleys came into clearing, see Annie with dead horse. Mr. Finley start to shout and oldest son tries to hit Annie. I think I must come from bushes to help, but I hear Mr. Finley say to son to leave Annie alone. Finleys do not fight women and girls. He take gun from Annie and grab her arm. He tell her he will take her to sheriff and sheriff will make Mr. Cartwright pay for horse."

I was incredulous. "And you let them take her?"

Hop Sing still wouldn’t look at me. "I followed behind, where they cannot see. I watch them bring Annie to sheriff, I see you enter jail. I knew Annie was all right so I came home." He rubbed his hands on his trouser legs. "I want to tell you, but Annie beg me not to." Hop Sing licked his lips. "But I cannot allow you to punish her for wrong that I commit."

I was becoming angrier, although whether at Annie or at Hop Sing I did not know. I stood and stalked to Annie’s door. I threw it open and she scrambled to her feet.

"Come with me." I turned on my heel and headed back to the fireplace, not waiting to see if she would follow.

I leaned against the mantle and gestured for Annie to sit. She glanced at Hop Sing, but said nothing. She sat with her hands folded on her lap, and she looked everywhere but at me.

"Now I would like to hear your explanation, young lady."

Annie faced me and told me a story very similar to the one that Hop Sing had told a few minutes earlier.

"Why would you do that, Anna?" I folded my arms and glared down at her.

She looked confused. "To protect Hop Sing, of course." Her tone suggested that I was making no sense.

"From what?"

Annie half rose from her seat. "From what?" She waved her hand toward Hop Sing. "Uncle Ben, those men threatened to kill Hop Sing if he ever set foot on their land." She slumped down on the sofa.

"What?" My eyes bore into Hop Sing. "When did they do that?"

Hop Sing closed his eyes. "Two months ago."

"Two mo-" I put my hands on my waist and bent toward Hop Sing. "And why am I just hearing about this now?"

Hop Sing shifted nervously. For the first time in our acquaintance my anger was directed at him. I looked at Annie.

"Go do barn chores."

She sprang to her feet. "Yes, sir." She started to slip past me but I grabbed her arm.

"We’re not done discussing this, young lady."

She bit her lower lip. "Yes, sir."

I waited until the door was closed before I turned to Hop Sing and gestured for him to stand.

I tried to keep my voice low. "Please tell me why I am only hearing now that you were threatened by the Finleys?"

Hop Sing drew breath as though to speak, but instead looked away suddenly. "I do not wish to make trouble." His voice was so quiet I had to lean close to hear him.

I threw my hands in the air. "Hop Sing, you were threatened! Telling me would not create trouble, it would avoid it!"

Hop Sing shook his head sadly. "You would fight these men."

"I would tell them to leave you alone, yes." I tried to relax my jaw, which had clenched.

"I did not wish to create trouble." The young man repeated, as he looked at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Well, you’ve certainly succeeded there, haven’t you?" I hooked my thumbs into my belt and stared at Hop Sing. "You decide to sneak off, do some target practice on a neighbor’s horse, and you blame it all on Annie!"

Hop Sing’s head shot up. "I blame nothing on Annie!"

"You allowed her to accept the blame. She’s fifteen, Hop Sing, young enough to think she can save the world. She could have suffered a world of hurt today."

Hop Sing looked at the floor again. "I have angered you, and brought shame to this house. I will leave."

What the devil? My finger shot toward him in what the boys call my revolver pose. "You will not. That’s not how things are done in this family, young man. We acknowledge our errors, we accept the consequences and we resolve to learn from them. We do not walk away."

Hop Sing stood, ramrod straight, only his head bowed. I had seen that stiff posture before, in the stance of my eldest son as I lectured him. Not for the first time, I marveled at how much alike Hop Sing and Adam were – hard-working, responsible young men a father could be proud of.

How could I explain this to him? I pulled the box of lucifers off the mantle and held out one to Hop Sing. "Break it," I commanded.

Hop Sing looked at me quizzically before snapping the match in half. I counted out six more lucifers and handed them to Hop Sing.

"Break these."

Hop Sing tried, but he could not. I nodded.

"One Cartwright is easily broken, Hop Sing. The six Cartwrights together are unbreakable." I returned the box to the mantle. "We can’t help you if you don’t let us."

"I am not Cartwright." Hop Sing finally looked me in the eye.

Did this young man not understand how much he meant to us? "I know five people who would disagree with that, Hop Sing."

My friend blinked several times. "I do not know what to say, except I am sorry."

"Do you promise that if anyone threatens you again, you will tell me or Adam?"

Hop Sing bobbed his head. "Yes, I promise."

"Very well. I accept your apology." I leaned an elbow against the mantle. "Now, there’s a small matter of the money you owe me for the horse."

Hop Sing winced. I knew he sent most of his wages to family in California.

"I think we can find plenty of extra chores around the house for you to pay me back."

The young man’s lips curled slightly. "You are punishing me?"

I regarded him as I tilted my head. "There are advantages to being a Cartwright, and there are disadvantages."

Hop Sing bowed in acceptance.

"Now I need to go see Annie." I resisted the urge to smack the young man on his backside, settling instead for a slap on the shoulder. "Oh, and Hop Sing? Plan to spend some time with Adam or me. You need to learn about gun safety."

I walked across the yard wondering what I was going to say to Annie. I was so proud of her, and yet I wanted to throttle her. When I entered the barn, she didn’t hear me so I leaned against the barn door to watch her work. She was attacking the hay with a vigor that meant that little would actually be accomplished by her efforts. How like her father she was – impetuous when it came to doing what she thought was right. I smiled. Impetuous when it came to a great many things, truth-be-told. Truly it was one of the qualities I had loved most about my brother.

I pushed myself to stand upright and sighed. Today I had to realize that Annie’s impetuousness could have resulted in serious consequences. I needed to make sure she understood that without quashing her sense of justice.

"Anna."

Annie whirled around, almost dropping the pitchfork. She leaned it against the wall, pulled the hay from her hair and hurried to stand in front of me. I led her to the side, so I might sit on a box while we talked. She stood, hands behind her back, waiting for me to begin. That surprised me, for I had expected her to insist on justifying her actions.

"I’d like to understand why you did what you did, Anna."

Annie pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. "Not so long before Papa died, he and I were out riding. We did that every Sunday. That day, we came upon a Mexican man who had been lynched." Annie shuddered but stood straight. "Whoever did it was gone. Papa rushed to cut him down, but the man died in Papa’s arms. It was…it was the most horrible thing I have ever seen, Uncle Ben."

No doubt it was. I had seen men hanged. They did not die easily or well.

"I had nightmares for weeks. I remember one night, Papa came to me when I cried out. His friend, Herr Levy, was visiting. Papa rubbed my back and stayed with me as I fell back asleep. I heard Herr Levy ask Papa if Papa thought I would ever forget the sight. Papa said that he hoped I would not."

Annie smiled slightly, no doubt at the memory of her father. "I asked Papa about it the next morning. I wanted to know why he hoped I would remember the horror that I had seen. He took me in his arms and explained that he wanted me to never forget how cruel injustice is."

That sounded like my brother.

Annie looked at me with as solemn a face as I have ever seen on her. "I never have forgotten, sir. I wouldn’t wish that death on my worst enemy, let alone my best friend."

How could I answer her? I stared for a minute, and she spoke again.

"I knew those men would kill Hop Sing, Uncle Ben. They care nothing for the life of a Chinese man. I knew they wouldn’t kill me. They wouldn’t even hurt me. I was in no danger when I told them I shot the horse."

"I understand all that, Annie, but I want to know why you didn’t tell me?" I asked the question that had been worrying me. "Are you afraid of me?"

Annie wrinkled her nose. "Afraid of you? No sir, I couldn’t be afraid of you." She smiled shyly. "Chary of your temper, to be sure, but never afraid."

"Then why not tell me the truth?"

Annie shrugged. "I don’t know, Uncle Ben. When I first got to the sheriff’s office, I couldn’t tell, because the Finleys would know. Then, I wanted to tell you when we were alone, but I was afraid that if the judge asked you, you would tell him what happened."

"But you lied to the judge, Annie." I could tell by her sigh that that fact weighed heavily upon her.

"I know, Uncle Ben. I knew I would have to, and I understand that I should be punished for that, but I didn’t think it was right to make that decision for you. If I had told you, you would have either had to lie to the judge, or let the Finleys know that Hop Sing had done it."

I ran my fingers through my hair. I suppose she was making sense, at least to herself. "What I don’t understand, Anna, is why you did not tell me the truth when we got home." My tone was sharper than I intended, and Annie squirmed uncomfortably.

"I lied, Uncle Ben. I lied to the Finleys, although I do not regret that. I lied to Sheriff Coffee and to Judge Rogers, but most importantly I lied to you. I know the consequences of lying as well as I know the consequences of disobedience."

I hoped she was old enough to understand what I was going to say next. "Annie, sometimes it’s right to tell a lie. Sometimes a person needs to lie to prevent a greater sin, which is what you did here. Your lie protected Hop Sing, Annie, and I cannot tell you that you were wrong to do it." I stood. "But there was no need to lie to me after we left that sheriff’s office." I walked over to the workbench, where Adam had a pile of sticks leftover from some kite-making endeavor, no doubt. I gathered seven of them and returned to her. Her face drained of color, and I smiled.

"I’m not going to use these to tan you, if that’s what you’re thinking, Annie." She relaxed slightly but still looked wary as I handed one to her.

"Break it."

"Huh?" She took the stick from my hand and stared at it.

"I said break it."

She shrugged, raised her knee and broke the stick over it. She looked at the two halves and dropped them on the ground. I handed her the other six sticks.

"Break those."

She tried, but could not.

"Annie, I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Hop Sing." I took the sticks from her. "One Cartwright alone can be broken. Six Cartwrights together are unbreakable."

A slow smile crossed her face. "I understand, Uncle Ben." I pulled her close for a hug. "I’m sorry, Uncle Ben."

"I forgive you, Annie." I rubbed her back slowly until she relaxed. Finally she pulled away.

"Annie?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I think you can help Hop Sing with his extra chores to pay me for the horse."

She laughed at that. "You punished Hop Sing?"

I nodded. "And you can stay in the yard until the money is paid back. Now let’s go help Hop Sing with supper."

We left the barn just as the boys came home, several fish each strung on a stick. They took one look at me and Annie laughing and Joe shook his head. Annie hurried over to take the fish from them, for she usually cleaned the catch. Hop Sing stepped onto the porch, no doubt anxious to see how many the boys had caught. I could hear Joe demanding to know how Annie could be brought home from jail a second time and yet come out of the barn laughing.

I told the boys what had really transpired during the day. I did not do this to embarrass Hop Sing, although he did duck his head and squirm slightly. I did it because I did not want my sons to think that Annie had behaved so foolishly.

The responses were about what I had expected. Annie blushed as she received praise from the cousins whom she adored. Joe vowed he "woulda done the same thing" to which Hoss and Adam added vehement nods. Hoss muttered that the Finleys had best never pester Hop Sing while he was around, and Adam agreed wholeheartedly. While I might need to caution my sons about taking the law into their own hands, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride as they rallied to Hop Sing’s defense. I was right – the six Cartwrights are unbreakable.