Wagon Accident

By Tennessee

Eli and Ruth did not know what to do. They were running out of everything in the store. Eli had a real bad cold and could not make the long trip to a big town to get the store stocked back up. All they had in the store now was a little sugar and a little flour and a little food. Without help, they’d had to close the store.

Adam and Ben went to town. They had not been in town for a week and did not know Eli was so sick. When they walked into the store, Ruth started to cry.

Eli said, "Ben, we do not have much left in the store."

Ruth said, "Eli is not well enough to go get the stock we need for the store."

Adam said, "Pa, why don’t you let me go for them?"

Hoss and Little Joe walked in, and Hoss offered, "I’ll go, Pa. Adam is helping the Goodmans build their new barn."

"Can I go with ya, Hoss?" asked Little Joe.

"Sure, little brother. If Pa says it’s ok."

Ben smiled at his sons. "All right," he said. "Hoss, you and Little Joe will go get the stock for the store."

Eli smiled and said, "Thank you so much, boys." He gave them the needed money and they said they’d leave at daybreak the following morning. Eli and Ruth thanked them again as the boys walked out of the store.

On the way home, Ben told them, "The trip will take you about two weeks. Hoss, get the wagon ready. Little Joe, get your clothes packed. Adam, brush the best horse team and put their feed in the wagon."

Hop Sing prepare food for the trip. Ben helped Little Joe get ready for bed. "Son, you do everything Hoss tells you."

Little Joe said, "OK, Pa, I will."

"And get a good night’s sleep."

"Good night, Pa."

"Good night, son."

Ben, Hoss, and Adam went over the route Hoss and Little Joe would take and then they all went to bed. At daybreak, the two boys were on their way. Ben and Adam waved and told them to have a good trip.

The weather was so pretty. The sun was out, the birds were singing, and Hoss and Little Joe rode and talked to each other. They rode half a day and then stopped for dinner. After dinner, they rode for a few more hours and then stopped to make camp and tend to the horses. Little Joe fed and watered the horses and Hoss fixed supper. Right after they ate, they went to bed.

The next day it was raining so hard that Hoss told Little Joe to lay in the wagon to keep dry. Hoss drove the team on, but with the rain, they would not move fast. Hoss and Little Joe rode for miles in the rain. About lunch time, it finally stopped raining and the sun came out. Little Joe got on the wagon with Hoss and sat down. He gave Hoss a piece of bread, since Hoss had not stopped to eat while it was raining.

Hoss said, "Thank you, little brother."

"Hoss, you should change your clothes now."

"I will after a while," Hoss replied.

They rode for miles, until Hoss said, "The horses need to rest, so we’ll make camp early today."

Hoss took care of the horses while Little Joe set up camp. Hoss fixed supper. After he’d eaten, Hoss fell asleep in the wagon.

The next day the boys got an early start and were again on their way at daybreak. They were able to make up some of the time they’d lost during the storm.

As they rode, they talked about Pa and Adam and what they were doing. Hoss thought about Tess a lot. He missed her.

Little Joe said, "We’ll be there in another two or three days if the weather is good."

That night at camp Little Joe said, "I miss Pa and Adam."

"We’ll be home soon, little brother," Hoss consoled. "I was thinking that if we leave at daybreak again and got until the horses need to rest, we might get home a few days early.

"Yeah, let’s do that," agreed Little Joe.

At daybreak, they were off. They ate on the wagon and stopped only to feed and water the horses. They rode until it was almost dark and then took care of the horses and went to bed. Hoss got up before daybreak and hitched up the horses and at breakfast and then set out. He let Little Joe sleep in the back of the wagon.

When he awoke, Little Joe saw the town in the distance. "We’re here!"

In town, they tied up the wagon and went exploring.

"This place is so big, Hoss!" Joe said excitedly.

"It sure is," agreed Hoss. "We need to make camp and then we can look around some more."

Once their camp was set up, Hoss took the list Eli had given him and shopped for supplies. He got everything on the list: sugar, flour, coffee, beans, and dry goods. He also got everything on the list Pa had given him.

Hoss and Little Joe slept on the ground that night, but the town was so loud, they couldn’t get much sleep. They got up early so they could eat and take care of the horses and then head for home. They went to thank the storekeeper for all his help.

He said, "You shouldn’t leave right now. Some people in town say a storm is coming. Lots of rain."

Hoss said, "Our friend need this stock for their store. We need to be on our way."

"You boys be careful, then."

They said they would and thanked him again. Hoss looked at the sky. The sun was out and it didn’t look like rain.

As they left town, Hoss asked, "Little Joe, what are you thinking about?"

"About what the storekeeper said."

Hoss smiled. "Little Joe, does it look like a storm is coming?"

"No."

But soon after he’d said it, the wind picked up and the sky darkened. They rode on. Then the rain started. Hoss tied the horses to a nearby tree. The boys had to lay under the stock to get out of the rain. The rain came in angry bursts. It rained all night and the boys had to stay under the cover. Little Joe fell asleep, but Hoss stayed awake. He knew they were in big trouble. If it kept raining like this, they’d never be able to get the wagon out of the mud.

The rain stopped about daybreak, and Hoss got out to look around. He checked they horses. They were ok. Now Hoss had to figure out how to get the wagon out of the mud. Little Joe came out of the wagon and ran to Hoss.

"Hoss, what are we going to do?"

"First thing, let’s feed the horses and get something to eat ourselves and then we’ll get the wagon out."

When they got done eating, Hoss said, "Mayve if your drive the horses and I push on the back of the wagon at the same time, we can get it out."

Little Joe said, "But the wagon’s real heavy, Hoss. Even you can’t push it out."

"Well, we won’t know until we try," said Hoss. "You make the horses pull and I’ll push the wagon."

Hoss got behind the wagon and said, "Let’s go, Little Joe! I’m ready."

Little Joe called to the horses and Hoss pushed, but the wagon did not move. Hoss yelled again. About that time, the wagon turned over, and Little Joe fell off. He was knocked out and Hoss was under the wagon and all the stock was around him. He yelled for Little Joe. He passed out about an hour later.

When Little Joe woke up, he was on the ground. He looked over and saw the wagon had turned over. He yelled for Hoss and then he saw that his brother was under the wagon. He ran to him with tears in his eyes. "Hoss!"

Hoss opened his eyes and saw Little Joe trying to remove the stock around him. "That won’t help, Little Joe. I’m pinned under the wagon. We need help. Take one of the horses and go back to town for help. We are just a few hours away."

"But, Hoss, I can’t find it by myself."

"Yes you can, little brother. Just go back the way we came and you’ll find it."

Little Joe got on one of the horses. He was worried about Hoss and rode faster than he normally would have.

Hoss was thinking about Tess when he passed out again. Little Joe rode and rode. He was sure he’d missed the town. He knew he had to find it. About that time, he saw buildings in the distance. He jumped off his horse and went into the store where they’d gotten most of the supplies.

Joe ran up to the storekeeper. "My brother needs help. Our wagon turned over on him. He’s stuck underneath."

"Is he hurt, son?"

"I don’t know, sir. He just needs help."

The storekeeper went to get some men to help get the wagon off Hoss. He also summoned the town doctor. They all ran to get on their horses. The doctor examined Little Joe. Joe had a cut on his hand and leg but was otherwise unharmed.

Hoss came to again. He thought he heard Tess yelling for him. It was be dark soon, he realized.

Little Joe got all turned around on the way back to Hoss. He started to cry. "I’m not sure where the wagon is."

The storekeeper said, "It’s ok, son. Just give yourself a minute. It will come to you."

Little Joe looked around and though about what Hoss had told him. He knew where the wagon was. "This way! Hurry!"

When they reached the wagon, Little Joe ran to Hoss. Hoss opened up his eyes and smiled at Little Joe. "I knew you could do it, Little Joe."

Them men got the wagon off Hoss. He was way down in the mud, and they pulled him out. The doctor checked the cuts on Hoss’s legs. The men took him back to town. The doctor put Hoss in bed. The cuts on his legs needed to heal before he could travel.

The storekeeper wrote a letter to Ben, telling him what had happened. Ben and Adam were working on the barn when Tess and Ann rode up.

"Here’s a letter for you, Mr. Cartwright," Tess said as she handed it to Ben.

"Who’s it from, Pa?" Adam asked.

"I don’t know." He opened it and read. "Hoss and Little Joe had an accident with the wagon."

Tess had tears in her eyes as Ben told them when the letter said.

"Adam, go to town and tell Eli what’s happened. Get Big Dan. We’ll go bring the wagon back."

Tess said, "I’m going too. Hoss needs me."

Ben smiled and said, "You’re right, Tess."

Adam went to town. He saw Mrs. Green and told her what’d happened and that Tess was going with them to Hoss. Mrs. Goodman was in the store and said, "Ann could go with Tess."

Eli and Ruth said, "Tell Hoss and Little Joe we love them."

Ben Dan was on his horse waiting on Adam. They met at the lake. Adam told Ann her ma had said she could go. They all rode very fast. They could ride fast because they had no wagon.

All Tess could think about was Hoss and how much she loved him. They rode until nightfall. The moon was so bright that they were able to ride much of the night, too.

The next day they arrived in town. Ben saw Little Joe in the store and yelled for him. Little Joe turned around and ran to Ben. "Pa! Pa!" Joe ran into his father’s arms."

"Are you okay, son?"

"Yes, Pa. I got a few cuts. That’s all."

Adam, Ann, and Tess walked up. Little Joe introduced them to the storekeeper, Mr. Seawood.

"How is Hoss?" Ben asked.

"He’s doing better. He’s got several bad cuts, but the doctor said he is healing well."

"Can we see him?"

"Yes, right this way." He opened up the bedroom door. Hoss was asleep. Tess walked over and kissed him and he opened up his eyes.

She whispered, "I love you, Hoss."

He said, "I love you too, Tess."

Mr. Seawood said, "We patched up the wagon and put all the stock back on."

Big Dan said, "I’ll start back with the wagon, Ben."

Ben said, "Adam, you, Ann, and Little Joe go back with Big Dan. Hoss’ll be ready to travel in a few days. Tess can stay with him."

They all said the goodbyes and headed for Eagle Station. Hoss told Tess and Ben how Little Joe had ridden back to town by himself. Ben was pleased with his youngest son.

Big Dan and the others made it home with four days of hard riding. The stopped in front of Eli’s store and unloaded the wagon. Eli said, "Thank you to all of you. Now we can open the store again."

Hoss was well enough to go home then. He rode on the horse Adam had left. They had to ride slow and stop often. Hoss fell asleep whenever they would stop to rest.

When they’d been home for four days, Adam and Little Joe saw Ben, Hoss, and Tess coming. Little Joe ran to Ben and smiled at Hoss. Tess headed back to her house.

Hoss said, "Thank you, Little Joe. If you had not been there and went for help, I don’t know what I would have done."

Ben said, "Hoss told me everything. Little Joe, you make me a happy pa." Just know you know what to do in a time of trouble makes me smile."

They all went to bed early and the next day Hoss was up and around like he always was. Ben smiled as he watched his sons. Little Joe was not so little. He was growing up.

The End