The Man with No ID

By Tennessee

Winter had been long and cold, but the days started to warm, the snow melted, and there was more daylight. The Cartwrights were counting the days until spring. The trees started to grow green leaves, and the grass turned green. Wildflowers began to bloom, and the sky was so blue it looked like a mountain lake.

It was time to see what the rough winter had done to the fences and the barn roof and the house roof. Hoss got on top of the barn to check it out. There were a few spots that needed repair. He yelled the information down to Pa.

"Fine, son. Come on down now."

Adam climbed up onto the house's roof. "There are some spots up here too, Pa."

Little Joe rode Paint along the fences, and he saw a place where the fence was down. It would need to be fixed before they moved cattle there. He rode back to the Ponderosa and told his pa.

Ben said, "I'll go to town and get what we need to complete the repairs. Adam, please work at cleaning the roof off. Hoss, you do the barn roof, and Little Joe, you and Hop Sing clear away the rotten boards from the fence that is down. I'll be back as soon as possible."

Ben rode off. Adam looked at the house roof again. He cleaned off the sticks and pinecones and broken boards. Hoss did the same on the barn roof. Little Joe and Hop Sing finished cleaning away the old boards on the fence. Still Ben had not returned from town.

"Pa should be back by now," Little Joe said when he and Hop Sing got home.

"He will be soon," Adam assured.

They waited and waited. No Pa.

Finally Adam walked to the front door. "I'm going to look for him." He hurried to the barn to saddle his horse.

Hoss and Little Joe did the evening chores. Then all they could do was wait on Adam and Pa. They did not show up before it got dark. Hoss told Little Joe to go to bed.

"But where are Pa and Adam?"

"They are fine, Joe. Now go to bed. Pa wouldn't want you up this late."

Hoss and Hop Sing stayed up all night. At daybreak Hoss said, "Something's happened to them. I'm going to town to see if either of them ever made it there."

"Be careful, Hoss," Hop Sing said.

Hoss got his horse and rode toward town. He went slow, searching the trail. Then he saw Adam's horse. He jumped down from his horse and ran to Beauty. "Adam! Adam, ya here?" He heard a moan and turned. Adam was on the ground. Hoss ran to him. "Adam?"

Adam opened his eyes.

"You okay, Adam?"

"I think so. Something hit me on the head."

"Did you get to town?"

"Yes, but no one had seen Pa."

Adam got up real slow but then fell back down. Hoss picked him up and carried him to Hoss's horse. Hoss walked beside his horse until they came almost to the Ponderosa. They saw Pa's horse running fast. Hoss raised his arms and got the horse to calm down. Ben was on the horse! His face was bleeding. He looked like someone had bet him up. "Pa!" Hoss shouted.

Ben didn't answer. Hoss lead the horses home.

Little Joe was outside. He saw them coming. He yelled to Hop Sing, who came out onto the porch to get a closer look. Little Joe ran to Hoss. "What happened?"

Hoss explained, "I found Adam on the ground on my way to town. And then when I was bringin' Adam back here, Pa's horse run up with Pa unconscious on him." Hoss helped Ben and Adam down and got then into the house with assistance from Little Joe and Hop Sing. Hop Sing got water and rags and cleaned Adam's and Ben's wounds. Adam awoke enough to thank Hop Sing for the care.

Hop Sing tended Ben's wounds. Ben stirred. "Adam, what happened to you?"

"Pa, when you didn't come home, I went to town. No one had seen you so I came back to the Ponderosa. Someone hit me on the head hard. I don't remember anything else until I heard Hoss calling for me."

"Did you see who hit you?"

"No, Pa. They hit me from behind."

Little Joe asked, "What happened to you, Pa?"

"I was riding to town when this man with a hood over his face pulled a gun and told me to give him money. I tried to outride him, but his horse was fast. The next thing I knew he was right beside me. He jumped off of his horse, taking me down in the process. We fought on the ground. When I woke up, he was gone. I saw my horse far away. I crawled to my horse and managed to get on. Soon after that was when Hoss saw me."

"Did he get your money, Pa?"

"Yes, son."

Adam said, "I didn't have any money with me when I went to town."

Ben nodded. "We need to rest now."

Ben saw the look on Hoss's face. He was going after the man. Ben said, "Son, I did not see the man's face. Adam didn't either.

"So we wouldn't know who to get?" asked Hoss.

"Right, son."

Hoss took care of the horses in the barn. Adam's horse had a cut on its leg, but it would be fine in a few days. Hoss rode to town and got what they needed to fix up the roofs and fenceline. He noticed someone following him when he was riding back. It was Big Dan. He stopped and waited for Big Dan to catch up. Hoss told Big Dan what had happened to his pa and Adam.

Big Dan shook his head. "Mr. Lightwood shot a man this mornin' who was trying to break into his house. Heard he had a hood over his head."

"So the man is dead?"

Big Dan nodded. When Hoss got home, he told his family what he'd heard.

Hoss and Little Joe fixed the roofs and put up new fencing. Little Joe asked about the man often, but his brothers knew nothing more than he did.

A couple days later Shelby rode up. She asked how Ben was doing. Then she told the boys that the man Mr. Lightwood shot had no wallet, no papers, and no ID.

Hoss said, "So we'll never know who he was?"

"All I know is he was new in town. I had never seen him before."

Hoss thanked Shelby for the information. Shelby rode back to town. It was a couple days before Adam and Ben were up and around, and by the time they felt well enough to begin chores again, Hoss and Little Joe and Hop Sing had done all the repairs.

Ben looked out the window. It's a bright sunny day. Why don't we all go fishing?"

"Yeah!"

They had a great day. They never found out the identity of the man.

The End