Life's Little Challenges
"Well boys, I have to be going now if I expect to make the meeting on time. I don't know why it just couldn't have waited until the scheduled meeting on Thursday but something important must have happened to warrant it," Ben Cartwright said, as he stood up placing his napkin on the table in front of him and strode purposely to the credenza to get his hat and coat.
His eldest son eyed his little brother suspiciously and leaning in towards his young sibling he whispered, "I trust you haven't been up to any of your mischief, little brother?"
Little Joe looked up from his plate, an indignant look on his face as he faced his oldest brother but before he could form a retort his father once again approached the table to issue last minute orders.
"Little Joe, finish that homework directly after supper; Adam, you see to it," Ben said as he buckled on his gun belt. "Oh Adam, can you also please go over the contract on my desk? I need to sign it tomorrow. And Hoss, will you check on the new mare? I think she might have a problem with one of her hind legs".
A trio of less than enthusiastic "yes sir" was his reply. Smiling, he bid them good-bye and departed for Virginia City.
Back at the Ponderosa dining table, Little Joe was playing with the remains of his dessert, wondering if the rumors he had heard today in school had been indeed correct. Brightening at the prospect that they might just be true, he finished the apple pie he was eating with undisguised relish.
Watching his little brother, Adam noticed the sudden change in his mood and decided to inquire the reason why. "What's put you in so good of a mood all of a sudden, little buddy?"
Little Joe grinned, wondering whether or not to enlighten his brothers. No! he thought smugly, let them keep wondering. It wasn't often that he knew something that they didn't, so now he needed to milk this for all that it was worth. He just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly in answer to Adam's question. The grin however that was plastered on his face told a different story and only further compelled his elder brother to find out his knowledge on the subject.
"C'mon Little Joe, you know you're dying to tell us," Adam ventured, knowing his young brother couldn't usually keep any secret information to himself for any length of time.
When this failed to budge Little Joe, Hoss, joining in on the discussion, tried a different tactic.
"Ya know Adam, how abouts we just save ourselves some time and tickle the information out of him," he said and menacingly got out of his chair and advanced on his little brother.
Little Joe wasn't about to let this happen so he bolted from his chair for the safe haven of the adjoining living room, foolishly thinking that his large brother would quit his pursuit if he departed from the table and the remains of his supper. Hoss, however, was not to be put off, now joined by Adam, they parted and circled the room in opposite directions, effectively cutting off any escape routes Little Joe had in mind. Little Joe watched both brothers apprehensively as he continued to back-pedal all the time; that was, of course, until he came in direct contact with something very hard and immovable behind him -- his fathers large oak desk. Adam and Hoss grinned like Cheshire cats, knowing that they all but had him now.
"Ah, c'mon fellas, this ain't fair. Two against one and 'sides which, you two are a lot bigger than me. It will just be a big waste of your time, 'cause I don't really know anything," the little boy pleaded but he hardly had the last word out of his mouth when his brothers, totally immune to his pleas, pounced on him.
They wrestled him easily to the floor, warding off any feeble attempts to escape. Then grinning at each other they engaged in their well practiced rite of sibling torture - the age old art of tickling. Little Joe could hardly breath he was laughing so much but his brothers were relentless and it was not until he managed to convey to them that he was about to throw up and that he would tell them anything they wanted to know, did they cease with their torture.
They sat him up but never released their grip on him, only too aware what a little con artist he could be and would most probably try to escape the minute they let their guard down. Little Joe, trying to compose himself took a couple of very dramatic deep breathes, as Adam and Hoss look on in amusement.
"Well little brother, spit it out or it's back to the torture," Adam said, his brown eye twinkling with undisguised merriment, not often seen.
"What was the question again, Adam?" Little Joe innocently asked, obviously buying for time.
"That's it, you're obviously not that sick so more torture coming up," was all the reply he got as his brothers descended on him again.
"Nooooo......, okay okay, I'll tell you," he screamed in hysterical laughter as he attempted to push their hands away.
They relented once again but this time left him lying on the floor. Sighing he knew when he was licked, so struggling to a sitting position he reluctantly told his brothers the details he knew.
"You see, Mitch and me overheard Miss Jones tell the Reverend Allen that her cousin was getting married at the end of next week and that she and her mother have been invited. The wedding, you see, is in San Francisco so she would have to be away for at least two weeks." Little Joe revealed his information with a glint in his eye, that was, until he looked at his oldest brother's face and the frown that was forming on it.
"What have you been told about eavesdropping on other peoples private conversations?" Adam admonished.
Little Joe just rolled his eyes in response, Adam could be such a pain sometimes; how else did he think ten year olds got their information? Hoss interrupted before either one of his brothers said anything else.
"What's that got to do with Pa and this here meeting tonight?"
"Don't ya see, Hoss, Miss Jones didn't think she would have time to get a replacement teacher so she was going to ask the School Board to close the school until she gets back, at least that's what she told Reverend Allen," Little Joe enlightened his brother quickly.
"That's just wishful thinking on your part, Little Joe; it's only Tuesday. The Board has plenty of time to find a replacement by Monday,” Adam interjected and his young brother’s face fell at his statement. Little Joe hadn’t even considered the School Board in his scenario and how their intervention might dent his plans for a two week unexpected vacation.
“Oh no, I hadn’t thought of that,” he moaned.
“Well it’s no use wondering about the outcome, but it is time you finished your homework; after all, Miss Jones is still the teacher for another three days and I’m sure she won’t be impressed if you turn up without your assignments completed. Now jump to it.” Adam stated, pulling Little Joe to his feet and pushing him in the direction of his scattered books.
**********
Ben Cartwright sat in the stuffy meeting room with the other members of the Virginia City School Board, trying to find a solution to this unforeseen problem. All the members, Ben included, agreed that Miss Jones had earned the right to a two week mid term vacation, but were not keen on the idea of closing the school. The teacher had always worked tirelessly giving one hundred and ten percent to her job, so nobody could object to her unexpected holiday request.
Miss Jones fidgeted in her chair, concerned that she had placed the board in an awkward situation; she truly loved her job and would never under ordinary circumstances ask for any time off. But this was her cousin’s wedding; Sarah Jones was going to be married to one of San Francisco's elite and the wedding was going to be a quite a lavish affair. Abigail just had to attend; her head was filled with all kinds of romantic ideas that she would somehow find the man of her dreams there. Thinking of the local man of her dreams, she suddenly found a solution to their predicament.
"Excuse me gentlemen but I think I might have a solution to our little problem, with Mr. Cartwright's help, of course," she smiled in Ben's direction.
It was now Ben's time to shift nervously in his seat; whatever could the woman mean and why was she singling him out?
"Whatever do you mean, Miss Jones?" Doctor Martin asked a hint of amusement in his voice as he glanced at his nervous friend.
"Well, if you would permit me to explain." She giggled at their confused expressions but continued nonetheless. "I have been writing around trying to find a replacement for the last three weeks to no avail and we have been sitting here for the past hour trying to solve this problem when the solution is right under our very noses. There's no need to close the school when we have a perfectly well educated man to take over until I come back." She paused to let this information sink in, when they still looked confused she decided to enlighten them. "Don't you see, gentlemen, it's Adam Cartwright, of course." She clapped her hands in an enthusiastic manner as she noted their favored responses, that was, all except Ben Cartwright who sat stunned in his seat unable to find his voice to utter an objection.
"That's a wonderful idea, Miss Jones. Why, young Adam would certainly do a fine job and at least we could keep the school open. What do you think, Ben?" Mr. Morley, the banker enthused.
"Well I'm not sure. Adam's not a teacher and we are awfully busy at the Ponderosa at the moment," Ben stammered out. How could he explain to these people that nothing good could come of situation of placing his youngest and his oldest sons in the same small room together all day long? Especially as one would be in charge and the other didn't want to be there in the first place. He groaned inwardly as he thought of the clashes the two had had since Adam's return from college six months ago. Adam had expected the hero worshipping six year old that he had left behind and was not in the least prepared or equipped to deal with the feisty ten year old that had taken his place. No! thought Ben, no good would come of Adam being the replacement teacher, at least, not for Hoss and himself, but before he could voice a stronger objection, another board member was already seconding the proposal.
"We'll leave it up to you, Ben; let us know as soon as possible if Adam accepts,” Frank Morley said shaking Ben's hand as if the deal was already done.
"What do you mean, Frank, if he accepts? Of course he'll accept. Adam is a fine young man; he knows the value of a good education and I'm sure he won't let us down. Tell him we are all depending on him, Ben," Harry Craig, a local shopkeeper, clapped Ben heartily on the back as he too exited the room.
They all left one by one secure in the knowledge that their little problem was being sufficiently dealt with, leaving just Ben and Doc Martin behind.
"What am I going to do, Paul? These people think it's all sorted. Adam's not going to be too trilled at the prospect and as for Little Joe, it doesn't bear thinking about. I think I need a drink," Ben said wearily.
"As your doctor, I second that," Paul laughed and steered his friend in the direction of the Silver Dollar Saloon.
Ben looked at his friend and knew of all the people on the board, only Paul could fully understand his concern. Noting the amused expression on the doctor's face, Ben relaxed and the two men laughed at the inevitable fireworks that were sure to come when the opposite ends of Ben's family were thrown together, sparks would undoubtedly fly, catching both Hoss and Ben in the crossfire.
************
Little Joe sat cross-legged on the large square low table in front of the fireplace, studying the checker board intently in front of him. He knew he had a beating of Hoss in two easy moves, but the longer he delayed the moves, the longer he got to stay up. Adam had already told him to wrap the game up and go to bed; that had been ten minutes ago and Little Joe still hadn't made a move. He knew he was pushing his luck but heck, who wanted to go to bed at eight o clock? Glancing over to where Adam sat reading the newspaper, he wrongly surmised that his big brother had forgotten about him as he appeared to be totally engrossed in what he was reading. But just as he thought he was safe, the unmistakable clear distinct voice of his big brother quietly rose behind the paper.
"You have precisely until I count to ten to be up those stairs, little brother. One, two, three ...."
"Gosh Adam, which little brother do you mean?" Little Joe asked innocently while Hoss raised an eyebrow and snorted.
Turning down one side of the paper, Adam narrowed his eyes and coolly replied " Well I hardly meant Hoss, now, did I, little buddy, but just for further annoying me..." He skipped ahead in his counting from four to seven.
Little Joe stalled a second longer until the count came to eight, before he jumped Hoss' remaining checkers to win the game. He scooted past Adam on the count of nine and just about managed the second stair as Adam's smooth menacing voice uttered ten.
"Night Adam, night Hoss," Little Joe called over his shoulder but once again halted his progress to his bedroom. "You don't think they will really find a replacement, do ya, fellas?"
"Bed!" Both brothers responded at the same time, neither one of them even looking in his direction.
Muttering under his breath, the ten year old once again lamented on being the youngest as he trudged his way to his bedroom.
Fifteen minutes later, Adam poked his head into Joe's room to check that the boy was indeed in bed. Little Joe was kneeling on his window seat, looking out the window.
"Joe why aren't you in bed yet?" Adam groaned, shaking his head in annoyance at his little brother's inability to follow simple instructions. He crossed over to where his brother sat to see what the boy was looking at.
"Hey Adam, I just thought I heard Pa ride in, but it was only Charlie. I guess he must have been in town. Do you think Pa will be much longer?" he asked, looking up into Adam's face.
"I don't know Joe, but I do know Pa will be mad if he catches you still up. Now c'mon, get in bed will you and don't give me any more hassle," Adam grabbed hold of Joe's arm and led him to the bed.
"Alright, alright I'm going," Little Joe said, as he rubbed his eyes and he smuggled down into the bed. Adam turned down the lamp and was just about to leave the room when a sleepy voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Adam"
"Hmm, Joe, what is it now?" he asked softly
"Do you really think they'll find someone to take Miss Jones' place?" Little Joe yawned as he awaited the reply.
"Go to sleep, little brother," was all the reply he got.
Adam descended the stairs to find Hoss had already set the checkers board up for their match. The two elder brothers looked forward to this time of the evening, especially when it was just the two of them, when peace and tranquility descended on the Ponderosa. Since Adam's return from college, the two have fallen back into the relaxed, easy going relationship that they had enjoyed as boys growing up together. Albeit they were as different as night and day and separated by gap of six years in age, the two had always enjoyed a unique relationship. They seldom fought or argued, which made them such a good team; in fact, they just seemed to complement each other, always ready to listen to the other person point of view. Adam had missed Hoss' easy going outlook on life whilst away; whereas he himself was naturally suspicious of people, Hoss never seemed to see any bad in anyone, especially their mischievous young brother.
"Do ya think Pa and the others will find a substitute teacher by Monday, Adam, or will we be left babysitting that little scamp for the next two weeks?" Hoss asked as Adam plopped into the chair opposite him.
"Oh Lord, I hope so; nothing spells trouble like Little Joe with too much free time on his hands. It's going to be hard, though, to find someone; after all, it's midterm and I'm sure all the new teachers have secured positions by now. If they do find someone, they'll be lucky and I don't envy whoever it is, I can't imagine a worst fate than trying to keep Little Joe in a seat all day long doing school work. I have to hand it to Miss Jones - rather her than me. I don't know how she does it."
"She doesn't judging by all them letters that Pa gets," Hoss guffawed.
Adam grinned too; their little brother sure managed to keep their father on his toes.
***********
Ben Cartwright rode into the yard of his homestead just as the grandfather clock in the living room chimed ten. The door opened and a shaft of light from the large room illuminated the ground in front of him, Hoss strode out and greeted his father, offering to take care of his father's horse in his usual thoughtful way, while Adam went to the kitchen to prepare the coffee his father was sure to need after the long trip. Ben smiled as he clapped his middle son on the back and disappeared inside to the warmth of the inviting room. Adam appeared with three cups and a plate of cookies just as his father had hung up his coat and hat and left his gun belt on the credenza.
"Coffee will be ready soon, Pa. How did the meeting go?"
That's great, just want I needed, it's kind of chilly out tonight," Ben said rubbing his hands together as he extended them to the large open fireplace that dominated the room "What did I ever do to deserve such thoughtful sons?" he continued, carefully ignoring his eldest son's question for the moment. He would drink his coffee first and then spring the surprise.
"Any trouble tonight?" Ben inquired; he hadn't anticipated any but it never hurt to ask, though his eldest son at twenty-three was more than capable to deal with anything that may have arisen.
"Nothing other than the usual -- Little Joe and his delaying bedtime tactics."
Ben smiled; his youngest son could always be counted on for ruffling Adam's feathers. Still he wouldn't have him any other way; his little imp was the heart and soul of the Ponderosa and the Cartwright family and despite everything that Adam said to the contrary, he wouldn't change his little brother either. At least that was what Ben hoped, after what he had to tell his oldest son tonight.
"Hot diggity, is that Hop Sing's fresh batch of cinnamon cookies and coffee I smell, older brother?" Hoss burst into the room as only he could after tending to his father's horse. Adam, at that moment, had just rounded the dining room table with a steaming pot of coffee and was approaching the smaller table in front of the fire, where his father sat in his favorite chair.
The three sat and shared in the simple delights of Hop Sing’s considerable culinary talent, enjoying the warmth of the fire and each others company. They talked about the ranch, the men, the new contracts, in fact about almost everything but the meeting tonight. Adam was beginning to wonder what had transpired at that meeting but glancing once more at his father's face, he decided to let Ben tell him in his own good time. Hoss, on the other hand, sensed that his father wanted to speak to Adam alone, so not wishing to interfere, excused himself and retired to his room for a well earned good night’s sleep.
"Pa, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you were being quite secretive about what transpired at this meeting tonight.” Now that they were alone, Adam felt he could pry some information out of his seemingly reluctant father.
Ben looked up from his cup and glanced in Adam's direction; it was now or never, he thought! "Well son, the meeting tonight was somewhat unusual, to say the least. It seems that we have a bit of a staffing problem"
"Now I am intrigued," Adam said, fully aware of why the meeting was called, courtesy of his little brother's eavesdropping but playing along as if he didn't know. "Don't tell me temperance thumping Abigail Jones has succumbed to the evils of drink, in her daily attempts to control my little brother and his little band of eager followers?" Adam teased.
"Of course not, Adam, don't be absurd. Miss Jones just has to go away for a bit, that's all," Ben replied, annoyance clearly creeping into his voice at his eldest son's ridiculous comment.
"Sorry Pa, I couldn't help it, but you've asked for it, the way you have been behaving since you came home," Adam apologized and then added in a more serious tone, "How long is she going to be away for?"
"Two weeks, possibly three depending on travel arrangements. Her cousin is getting married in San Francisco and she really wants to attend. She has been such a dedicated teacher in the past that the Board couldn't refuse her request for some time off." Ben stopped to have another sip of his cooling coffee, unsure how to proceed with the School Board's request.
"Two to three weeks -- that's a long time to close the school, though I'm sure Little Joe for one wouldn't object. Anyway, where are you going to find a replacement this late in the semester to take over for such a short period?" Adam asked, unaware that he had just given his father the opening he needed.
"Adam, I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll just come right out and say it. The School Board has nominated you to step in as local school teacher until Miss Jones' return from San Francisco." Ben paused to gauge his son's reaction. Adam just starred back at him, a stunned expression on his face. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that his father was going to spring this piece of information on him. A school teacher! No, he was dreaming this; he had simply misunderstood his father's statement. "Son, I know this is out of the blue, but we really are in a fix. I was shocked myself when your name was mentioned as a possible replacement but the other board members thought it was a great idea. I simply couldn't get them to see reason or indeed explore other avenues. When Abigail Jones proposed you, I felt that I was hitting my head against a brick wall to get them to eliminate you from their search. They just wouldn't hear me out. I have to tell you, son, they are pretty much counting on you to accept the job and will be very disappointed if you turn it down." Ben finished with a pleading look on his face that, under different circumstances, would have made Adam laugh.
"You're kidding, Pa, right?" Adam leaped from his chair like a wild cat pouncing on his prey. He walked to and fro before the fireplace unable to think of anything else to say.
"Adam, you can do this job; you know you're the best person in Virginia City for the position." Ben took advantage of Adam's silence to try and calm his son. “Give me any reason why you would refuse the town’s request?"
Adam glared at his father and stopped his pacing.
"I'll give you one good reason and he's sleeping soundly directly upstairs," Adam retorted angrily.
"I know, son, it'll be difficult but I also know that you can handle Little Joe quite effectively, probably much better that some unsuspecting stranger," Ben reasoned, noting that his words were having the desire affect on his sons logical mind. Adam visibly calmed down and returned to his seat and nodded in response to his father's statement.
"Of course the decision is yours, son; they can't force you against your will, but three weeks is a long time for the school to be closed and the ones to suffer in the long run will be the children." Ben thought this piece of logic would help convince his hardheaded son.
Adam snorted; surely even his father could tell how ridiculous that statement was. He couldn't think of one child who preferred to go school instead of an unexpected holiday. Even himself, despite loving school and the work it entailed, had not been adverse to the odd week off in the middle of a term. No! What his father should have said was the parents were the ones to suffer, not the kids, and especially in their household. Keeping a lively and mischievous ten year occupied when managing a large ranch like the Ponderosa was not something that any of them enjoyed. The alternative on the other hand, didn't bear thinking of. What if he accepted the position? Could he cope with his little brother and his ill-behaved ways all day long? Adam groaned and sighed heavily; he didn't appear to have any choice. The Board would never accept his refusal. Sometimes it was very hard to be an educated man.
"Okay Pa, I give in, I can't think of one reasonable excuse that the School Board will buy." He threw up his hands in defeat, "But just one thing before I do agree; we don't tell Little Joe until Monday morning. That way he can't think of any tricks to play on me until it's too late." Adam put forward his condition.
"Agreed, son; I knew you wouldn't let us down. Don't look at it as a mere job, Adam, more as one of life's little challenges," Ben smiled sheepishly.
Adam just groaned in response; he might have no choice in the matter but he didn't have to like it.
"Well it's been a long hard day. I think I'll go on up to bed; are you about ready to turn in too, Adam?"
"I'll be up in a few minutes; goodnight Pa"
"Goodnight son".
Ben made his way upstairs confident that Adam would excel as ever in his new job; now his only problem was behind the door he was about to enter. He tiptoed into Little Joe's room and over to the bed; the covers as usual were scattered to the four corners of the bed with Little Joe himself lying uncovered curled up in the top right hand corner. Ben smiled at the sight of his youngest son; the boy was never still, even in sleep. Yes indeed, Adam was sure to have his work cut out for him to keep his little brother in check for the next fortnight or so. Straightening the covers, Ben repositioned Joe and tucked him in and once again noted how angelic the child looked whilst sleeping, something he was most undeniably not when awake. Lovingly the father bent to kiss his youngest son's forehead and slowly departed from the room.
*******
Little Joe woke unusually early the next morning, anxious to know the outcome of the meeting his father attended on the previous night. Throwing back the covers, the boy shivered as he dressed warmly for the day ahead. Exiting his room, he bumped into his father as he too was making his way downstairs.
"Good morning, Little Joe, it's not often you're up before your brothers, especially on a school morning too," Ben said as he ruffled his young son's unbrushed hair.
"Morning Pa. How did your meeting go last night? Adam wouldn't let me stay up and wait for you"
"He was quite right in doing so; I was very late getting home, way past your bedtime. Come on let's get some breakfast," Ben said putting his arm around Little Joe's slender shoulders and propelling him downstairs.
"You never said how the meeting went Pa; anything I need to know about?" Little Joe probed again.
Ben was somewhat taken back; his young son never expressed any interest in his meetings especially School Board ones. He frowned at Joe as he took his seat at the table, his suspicions already piqued, before he answered nonchalantly. "Nothing that need concern you. Why the sudden interest in School Board meetings all of a sudden? You usually try and avoid any topic relating to school, hmm?" Ben raised his eyebrows as he faced his son expecting an answer.
Little Joe just smiled and shrugged his shoulders in response; he wasn't about to reveal to his Pa that he had been eavesdropping on adult conversation and that his friends were depending on him to come to school today with some hard facts, not just hearsay. It now looked like he was not going to get the information that he needed from his father from this conversation. Pa was being tight lipped and that could mean only one thing -- the Board was still hoping to get a replacement. Little Joe knew that he would have to confirm this before he told his friends, and thinking for a moment, surmised that Hoss was probably his best bet for doing so.
Hoss and Adam's footsteps on the stairs distracted Ben from further investigating Joe's interest in the subject much to his young son's relief. Adam had regained his good humor after the shock of last night and greeted his father and brother with a rather cheery ‘good morning’, Hoss following suit but in a less exuberant manner. Adam had been awake for most of the night pondering on his new job and had finally come to the conclusion that he might actually enjoy the challenge. He planned to make the schoolwork as enjoyable as possible, unlike some of the teachers that he himself had who seemed to go out of their way to make extraordinary events sound mundane and boring. Sitting down opposite his father, he helped himself to a hearty breakfast. Ben was pleased that his eldest son had come to terms with his new employment. Sometimes Adam could be so stubborn if backed into a corner and Ben had not relished the thought of telling the other board members that he had failed to persuade his son to take up the position. Sipping his coffee he relaxed, delighted to be able to report back to the board a positive result.
Whilst Adam looked content this morning, Little Joe on the other hand looked like he was scheming as he idly played with his food and Ben eyed him suspiciously. What could his baby son be up to this time? No doubt time would tell. Well at least Little Joe didn't know what was in store for him on Monday and Ben planned on keeping it that way. He would ride into Virginia City this morning and alert the board to the good news but ask that they refrain from telling anybody the identity of the substitute teacher. Adam was right; Little Joe and his cohorts could make Adam's first day unbearable if they had prior knowledge.
************
Little Joe was leading his pony out of the barn when Hoss appeared to saddle his own horse for the day ahead.
"Here Shortshanks, these might jus' come in handy for you today," Hoss said handing Little Joe his school books and lunch.
"Oh yeah, thanks Hoss, I guess I nearly forgot them." Little Joe grinned accepting his things from his brother's outstretched hands. "Hoss, did Pa say anything last night about the meeting? Do you know if they are going to close the school or did they get a replacement teacher?" he wheedled looking hopefully up into Hoss' face.
"Pa didn't say anything to me, but he and Adam were talking when I turned in last night, so I'd say Adam is your best bet for any information," Hoss replied as he brushed past his brother to enter the barn.
Little Joe's face grimaced as he digested that piece of knowledge; his eldest brother was highly unlikely to tell him anything he needed to know, Adam was just like Pa in that respect. He leaned against his pony trying to think of a solution to his problem and was totally unaware of his father's approach, that was, until his Pa spoke.
"Stop dawdling, Little Joe; get going or you'll be late for school and see to it that you behave yourself today, I don't want to see any notes coming home. Do I make myself clear?" Ben said.
"Yes sir. Good-bye Pa." Little Joe vaulted into the saddle and waved to his father.
"Good-bye son, take care." Ben smiled in response. He watched as his youngest son disappeared from view; the boy was a constant joy to him despite being a bundle of energy and a mischief magnet. He was a much more challenging child to rear than his brothers had been and Ben was glad that he had Adam and indeed Hoss to help him with raising Joseph.
Adam left the ranch house still in a good mood for a long day out at the branding corral, confident that his father would convince the members of the School Board to keep his identity secret. This was important to him as he did not want his first day to be marred by embarrassing moments that he was sure to encompass if his little brother had anything to do with it. Substitute teachers were always a source of amusement and his kid brother excelled at making their lives miserable. No! thought Adam I will have the last laugh; he could just imagine Little Joe's face when he accompanied him to school on Monday morning; the kid was definitely not going to be amused.
"Pa, I'm just off to the branding corral. Are you off to town?" Adam said seeing Ben standing outside the barn.
"Yes I am son. I'll meet you and Hoss later, okay," Ben replied. The three remaining Cartwrights left for their destinations bidding each other good-bye.
Little Joe made his way slowly to school; he knew his friends were counting on him to have some relevant information. He was disgusted with himself for his lack of ingenuity in seeking the knowledge he and his classmates needed to know. He should have asked Adam outright but that probably wouldn't have yielded anything either. His Pa was being secretive, that was a fact, but this didn't deter Little Joe, it only made him more determined to find out. With this new resolve, he urged his pony to quicken his pace in order to keep his promise to his Pa and not be late for school.
Arriving at the small school house, his usual bunch of friends awaited his appearance by the side of the wooden building. Little Joe took care of his pony's needs and quickly joined his friends hoping to have a few moments with them before Miss Jones rang the school bell.
"Sorry fellas, I couldn't get anything out of Pa this morning. All he told me was it didn't concern me." He apologized as he stood amongst them. He was the youngest and the smallest of the group but was by far the leader and the usual proposer of all the mischief the group regularly found themselves in. His friends were disappointed but before they could voice their opinions, the familiar figure of their teacher appeared on the steps of the school building and began to ring the bell. The group reluctantly moved from their position and headed for a long day confined to their seats. Miss Jones was as cheerful as she had ever been and greeted all her students as they filed past her, even the last of the stragglers, Little Joe and his entourage.
Ben Cartwright had been waiting for this moment, watching from across the street. He had left the ranch some ten minutes after his son, but his much larger horse had made the distance in almost the same time as his son's fleet-footed pony. Now as he witnessed Joseph entering the building, he saw his chance to speak to the teacher alone about Adam's decision.
"Oh how wonderful, Mr. Cartwright; I just knew that Adam would rescue me in my hour of need. He is ever so gallant, just like the English knights of Camelot. The children will be trilled to have such a well traveled and knowledgeable gentleman as their teacher. I can't wait to tell them," she enthused with glee.
"Well that's why I came to see you, Miss Jones, because there may be just one child who might not be so trilled, if you get my meaning"
"Oh, Little Joseph, of course, Mr. Cartwright, but why wouldn't he be trilled to show off how well read and how clever his big brother is?" The teacher asked in a confused manner.
"It's like this, Miss Jones. Adam and Little Joe don't always see eye to eye and that is why Adam would prefer that we keep his identity secret until the last possible moment. We wouldn't want any mishaps on his first day, shall we say?"
Miss Jones grinned, fully aware what the youngest Cartwright was capable of organizing if he was prepared with the said information. "My lips are sealed, Mr. Cartwright; you can count on me. I will let the children know on Friday that they will be having a new teacher but I will say no more on the subject."
"Thank you, Miss Jones, and now I have taken up enough of your time so I will take my leave." With that Ben doffed his hat and hurried down the stairs.
Totally unaware what had just transpired outside, Little Joe Cartwright was holding court at his desk in the middle of the room. Seating himself on the desk and using his chair as a foot stool he opened the floor for suggestions of possible pranks they could play if they did have a new teacher to contend with; after all, it never hurt to be prepared.
"We'll have to think of something pretty good to unnerve whoever it is, especially if he's new and never taught a class before. Do you remember that fella from last year, what was his name?" He scrunched up his face trying to recall the poor gentleman in question.
"Mr. Johnson," Seth supplied the name.
"Oh yeah, Mr. Johnson." Little Joe and his friends laughed as they remembered the various pranks that they had played on the poor unsuspecting teacher. That was of course until their parents found out and the ringleaders suffered the consequences of their actions. But all agreed it had been worth the punishment they had each received seeing the teacher running away from the school house with his pants torn at the seat after disentangling himself from the glued chair. Whatever else they had to say on the subject was swiftly brought to an end when Miss Jones called the class to order.
***********
The week had almost ended and still the students of the Virginia City school were unsure whether to expect a most welcome and unscheduled break or a new teacher. Miss Jones had maintained her good humor all week long and even Little Joe had managed to keep her sweet and had not taken home any notes at all to present to his father. The teacher had hummed to herself wedding marches as she collected homework assignments, stopping now and again to gaze distractedly out the window. Nothing seemed to annoy or anger her and she finished the week with the announcement that she would set no homework as a treat for the children. She then informed them that she was going away for a few weeks and the students held their breaths in anticipation but all groaned when she finished her narrative with the news that they were getting a new and in her words 'wonderful replacement' teacher on Monday.
Leaving the school, Joe and his friends stopped at the side of the building for one last discussion before each departed in different directions for home.
"It's just as well that we've planned ahead. Mitch, you're always here the earliest, so you put plan number one in to action. Pete, you organize plan number two, Miss Jones didn't say if this new teacher was a man or a woman. We better not go ahead with our other plans until we find out." Little Joe instructed, he liked to have fun with new teachers but it was only so far he would go if the replacement turned out to be a lady. He left the group, bidding them good-bye until Monday; it was a long ride to the Ponderosa and his father didn't like him to be late.
Supper that night was a lively affair, Ben had secured a rather large timber contract which would bring considerable wealth to the Ponderosa's holdings; Adam had successfully completed breaking the horses for the Carson City auction and Hoss had returned to the wild a baby raccoon that he had nursed back to health. Ben youngest son was also in a good mood; he had a whole weekend free and took great pleasure in announcing this to all who would listen to him.
"Boys, boys settle down, I think Hop Sing is getting a headache with all the chatter tonight. One at a time please," Ben said, he was quietly enjoying the banter between his sons but felt it was not been appreciated by their cook.
"Pa?"
"Yes Joe"
"Pa, Miss Jones is going away but I expect you know that already. Do I still have to go to school on Monday? Ya know these substitute teachers are usually pretty awful and we never learn anything new, just old stuff. So couldn't I just stay home and help out on the ranch?" Little Joe asked eagerly sensing his father's good mood.
Ben cleared his throat and glanced at Adam before answering his young son.
"No Little Joe, you'll be going to school as always. This new teacher might surprise you and be full of new and exciting teaching methods".
"I seriously doubt it, Pa; if it's a man he'll probably be some old back east stuffed shirt who never been out this far west, and if it's a woman, she probably have us knitting or something equally dreadful." Little Joe was not pleased with his father's response and so conjured up the worst possible scenario.
"Joseph there's no need to be rude," Ben said, outwardly frowning at his youngest son's descriptions but inwardly smiling about how accurate he had been concerning the last lot of replacements.
"Sorry Pa," Little Joe responded automatically but tried once more to plead with his father. "Pa, are you sure you couldn't use my help? After all we might be short handed around here with the upcoming roundup and all, and I probably wouldn't miss that much"
"Nice try, young man, but the answer is still NO and don't keep whining on about it; you're going to school and that's final. I'll hear no more on the subject. Now eat your dinner and be quiet" Ben said effectively closing the discussion.
Little Joe pouted and returned to playing with his dinner, his appetite now completed evaporated. Adam and Hoss had watched the familiar scene with undisguised amusement; as frequent bystanders to such episodes, they knew that there was always just one winner, but fair play to their little brother, he never gave up.
After the supper dishes were cleared away, the Cartwrights adjourned to the spacious living room area of the great room. Ben seated himself in the tall backed red chair and settled back with his pipe and newspaper. Adam sat opposite his father in the blue chair and continued reading the book that he had started during the week. Hoss and Little Joe jostled each other in their attempt to be the first to the couch. Hoss effectively won, since one of his pushes sent his little brother careering in to Adam's lap.
"Take it easy you two, Joe, get off me," Adam said, annoyed with his brothers antics. He pushed Joe from him none too gently and in doing so his little brother bumped his knee heavily off the sharp corner of the fireside table. Little Joe yelped as the pain registered and he hopped around, holding his injured knee, alerting his father to what had been going on. Ben quickly rose from the chair and grabbed hold of Joe and quickly examined the injured area whilst admonishing his older sons for their rough handling of their small brother. Little Joe relished in seeing his grown-up brothers being reprimanded and yelped again for extra emphasis as his Pa once again fingered the bump on his knee. Adam and Hoss both knew he was overplaying his hand but apologized nonetheless. The little scamp, Adam thought, always found a way to come out on top despite being the instigator in the first place.
Ben accompanied Joe to the kitchen where he applied a cold cloth to reduce the swelling. The two returned a few minutes later laughing after one of Ben's tickling session; the older boys just looked on, not in the least bit amused with their brother's antics. Anyone would think that they had broken his knee with the anguished display of just a few moments ago; the injury couldn't be that bad since now he was laughing and walking with only a slight limp, though it was now becoming more pronounced as he neared his brothers. Ben however was fusing over him, hugging him as the child once again moaned about how much his knee hurt, bringing his father once again to berate his brothers. Little Joe just smiled as he sat beside his father, fully protected from his brothers by his Pa's strong arms. Adam gave up and returned to his book; his Pa was in one of his mother hen modes and nothing good would be accomplished by arguing with him over who started the jostling in the first place. Better just to keep quiet and accept the blame’ after all; isn't that what he as the oldest generally did.
Ben kept Little Joe beside him as they sat together on the couch and Ben resumed reading the paper with his arm still securely around his youngest son's shoulders. Little Joe eyed his brothers, both appeared to be ignoring him at that moment, so he nestled his head on his Pa's shoulder and read the paper with his father. He became bored with this almost immediately; the articles that interested his father were to him boring and unexciting. He eased himself away from under Ben's protective arm, now longing to play checkers with Hoss but wondering what kind of reception he was likely to get if he approached his big brother. Hoss was generally very easy going and always ready to forgive, unlike Adam who was prone to being a grouch when he was annoyed.
"Hoss, do you want to play a couple of games of checkers?" he asked in a well practiced pleading tone that Hoss rarely refused.
Hoss looked up from cleaning his gun, which he had taken to cleaning for want of something to do. He too was very bored as he was not a big reader and usually spent his evenings entertaining his kid brother. Just one look at Joe's face and he knew he hadn't got the heart to refuse his baby brother. Even though he and Adam had got the blame, the facts spoke for themselves, Little Joe had got hurt and they, being older, should have known better.
"Okay Shortshanks, set up the board." He winked. Little Joe was elated, he ran instantly for the board setting up the checkers in record time, forgetting completely about his limp, in his eagerness to begin to play. Adam snorted behind his book watching his little brother out of the corner of his eye. Tranquility once again descended on the Ponderosa, that is if you could call hoops and squeals as tranquil as the two younger Cartwrights resumed their nightly entertainment.
***********
The weekend passed all too quickly for the youngest Cartwright and now as it approached eight o clock on Sunday evening, his thoughts turned to school the next morning. He felt sure his father was aware of the identity of this mystery teacher but was revealing no information in that department. Well, whoever it was, there was no point in wasting the last few precious minutes of the weekend dwelling on it; tomorrow would unfortunately come soon enough. He hastily set up the checkers board once more in the hopes that his Pa would let him finish a game already in session and that way he would get to stay up a few more minutes. His father was otherwise occupied over at his desk going over some details about something or other with Adam, so Joe was confident that he could accumulate the extra time unnoticed. Fate, though, was not to be on his side; that darn old ever reliable grandfather clock chimed just as he was about to set the last of the checkers in place.
"Goodnight, Joseph," his father called from the alcove.
"Pa, can I just finish this game first," he begged with just a hint of a whine in his voice and poking Hoss to get him to second his request.
"Yeah Pa, we'll be finished real soon," Hoss hastily added.
"Okay, but be quick about it," Ben called back from his desk, not bothering to check the state of play as he resumed his conversation with Adam.
Hoss and Joe proceeded with their championship, Hoss was just in the lead and he aimed to keep it that way. Every week they started new contest, the winner always proclaimed on Sunday night at the end of play. The prize for the winner was that the loser had to do two of the victor's chores for two days. In the event of a draw, each did their own chores. The state of play tonight was that Little Joe was just behind by one so if he managed to win this one, he would only have to contend with his own workload. As the game progressed, Hoss was beginning to feel that maybe he shouldn't have allowed his little brother to convince him of a need to play another game as Joe was easily winning this one. Dadburnit, his kid brother always seemed to have luck on his side. He then watched in horror as Little Joe jumped a series of Hoss' checkers in one easy slick move.
"Isn't that game over yet?" Pa bellowed once again, but this time came to check for himself.
"All done Pa," Little Joe said triumphantly collecting the last of Hoss' men.
"Dadburnit Little Joe, I ain't so sure all them moves you jus' made are strictly legal," Hoss accused, flopping back on the couch with a disgusted frown on his face.
"They are too. You're just sore because I won," Little Joe retorted, his hands swiftly going to his hips as he leaned in to Hoss' face to rub his victory in.
Ben on the other hand had enough and without saying a word turned Joe in the direction of the stairs. "Bed," he commanded. “Or else you'll be the one that's sore. Say goodnight Joseph"
"Goodnight Pa, 'night Adam, night Hoss and it was too legal; you jus' wasn't paying attention." With that, he flew up the stairs, not bothering to listen to Hoss' heated response.
Adam and Ben both grinned as they watched Hoss muttering under his breath about all the things he was going to do to his ornery little brother the next time they played. Both knew that these were just idle threats as Hoss was the most forgiving of souls especially where Little Joe was concerned.
"I think it's time to tell Hoss about tomorrow, don't you think Adam? I'm pretty sure he could use a good laugh about now. Why don't you tell him while I go check and make sure nobody is eavesdropping?" Ben laughed, clapping Adam on his back and winking at Hoss as he made his way upstairs.
Hoss turned to his eldest brother confused. Whatever was Pa talking about! Adam seated himself beside his brother and told him all about the town's request and how he had accepted the position. Hoss' hearty laugh could be heard all the way to the Ponderosa rafters. Boy was their little brother in for a well earned pay back tomorrow morning! Upstairs the little boy in question attempted to exit his room to find out what all the commotion was about, that was, of course, until his father's large hand restrained him and led him back to bed.
"Aw Pa, what's so funny down there? Now I'll never get to know," he sighed dramatically.
Ben smiled to himself. Oh you'll get to know alright Joseph! he thought to himself pulling back the covers of the bed and watching indulgently as his little son curled up on his right side and smuggled down onto the feather pillow. He tucked the covers securely around his child and bent down to kiss him on the forehead, Little Joe's arms automatically flew around his neck and he pulled his father towards him for a bear hug. Laughing Ben returned the fierce hug, oh how he loved this little rascal. Settling Joe once more in the bed, Ben turned down the lamp to its lowest setting and exited the room to the sound of a sleepy "goodnight, Pa".
Returning downstairs, Ben joined his elder sons for some coffee, brought in by the ever reliable Hop Sing, who set it on the low table before the glowing fire.
"Pa, I can't wait to see that little scallywag's face tomorrow morning when Adam announces that he's the mystery teacher. I know for sure that he ain't got a clue about this. But Adam, are ya sure 'bout this? I know I'd rather wrestle a big ol’ steer than ride shotgun over them there kids especially that one upstairs?" Hoss inquired whilst wolfing down the last of the raisin cookies.
Adam leisurely uncurled and extended his long legs before he answered.
"I can handle Little Joe, don't you worry about that. I just have to keep one step ahead of him; so far at least I've managed to do that and I'd like to keep it that way. So I don't think I tell him at breakfast like we planned Pa, I think I'll just eat early and ride on in to Virginia City. I have to stop by Abigail Jones' house anyway first to pick up some text books she's been working from. Abigail and her mother, I'm told, are catching the nine thirty stage so I think I'll be safe." He laughed along with his father and brother at the underlying reference to the amorous teacher.
"Little Joe ain't gonna be too trilled with any of us for keeping him in the dark so we better enjoy this peace while we can get it," Hoss acknowledged and his father and elder brother nodded their heads in complete agreement.
**********
Adam was true to his word. The following morning he was up and down at the breakfast table earlier than usual. He was always the first to rise in the household, a habit that he had from childhood, crossing the vast open country by wagon trail. Early morning was his favorite time of the day unlike his youngest brother who generally had to be dragged from the bed every morning but most especially on school mornings. Since his return from college six months ago, Adam had resumed his duty of ousting Little Joe from bed every morning. He was the most effective member of the family at the task; Hoss was too easily conned and taken in by Joe's stubbornness and Pa either got too angry or not angry enough with the little scamp. Joe, on the other hand, knew that Adam meant business from word go and was most likely to adhere immediately to his threats.
Adam sat back and enjoyed Hop Sing's delicious settings in peace and tranquility, something he now rarely enjoyed. Back in Boston, he had stayed with his grandfather and old Grandpa Stoddard had only sporadically joined his grandson for the morning repast; generally the two did not meet up until supper. Returning home after four years of dining alone for breakfast had taken him some time to readjust. Breakfast on the Ponderosa was normally a very boisterous affair where plans were discussed for the day ahead and nosy little brothers were complaining about one thing or another.
Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, Adam looked up and greeted his father. “Morning, Pa"
"Morning, son. I can see that you're all spruced up and ready of the day ahead," Ben returned the salutation, gesturing to Adam's immaculate attire of crisp white shirt and black string tie.
"Well I figured I'd better make an effort. Didn't want to turn up on my first day dressed as a ranch hand; the School Board might not have been too impressed."
Ben nodded, agreeing with Adam's decision. Settling down in his seat at the top of the table opposite his son, he poured himself a cup of coffee. He hoped that Adam was as confident as he appeared, but knowing his son, he probably was. There weren’t many things that fazed Adam; he just had a natural streak for taking control and an analytical mind that worked through any problem that he encountered. Oh how Ben had missed him for the four long years that he had been away; there had been times during that period that he had worried that Adam might not return, setting up a life for himself in Boston away from all the hassle that ranch life offered. Ben knew that he would not have denied his son a chance to branch out on his own if that had been his desire. Thankfully he never had to contend with that as his beloved eldest son did return to resume his position within the family. Now Ben wondered how he had ever run the ranch or taken care of his younger sons without Adam's help; indeed he was his right hand man not only in the ranch but the family as well.
"Well I'm about ready to face the day ahead. Wish me well Pa, I have a feeling I'm going to need it" Adam rose from his seat tossing his napkin on the table.
"Of course I wish you well son and I have every confidence in you." Ben looked up from his plate with smile on his lips but added as son was about to leave. “Adam, just one thing before you go. Just remember that your brother is only ten years old and I'm sure not everything that goes on at school is his fault"
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, but I'll keep it in mind. See you later, Pa. I'd better get going; I can hear stirrings upstairs." With that, Adam grabbed his hat and headed out the door.
Just as Adam departed, Hoss and a yawning Little Joe made their way downstairs, Hoss having dragged his protesting little brother from beneath the covers. Ben frowned slightly at Joe's scruffy appearance and tousled hair; obviously his young son was still asleep if he thought his father would allow him to go to school in such a manner.
"Joseph, sit down and eat your breakfast and then return to your room to finish dressing properly," Ben ordered.
Hoss grinned as his young brother tried in vain to convince his father that his attire was indeed okay by simply trying to smooth the wrinkles from his crumpled shirt. Ben just glared back at him and shook his head. Sighing Little Joe resigned himself to the fact that he would have to change his shirt and maybe wearing yesterday discarded one was not the best idea he had ever had. His father was such a stickler for hygiene and presentation, the boy should have known that he would get no further than the table dressed like this.
"Where's Adam, Pa?" he inquired diverting the conversation away from his appearance.
"Adam has gone to town already," Ben answered, telling the truth but not elaborating any further.
Little Joe accepted the answer, not truly bothered where is big brother was; he had simply inquired to stop his father from going on about the importance of dressing acceptably. Finishing his breakfast, he placated his father by returning to his room and appearing once more downstairs in a clean shirt and brushed hair. Ben awaited him at the bottom of the stairs with his books and his lunch, reminding to hurry up or he'd be late.
"You behave yourself today, Little Joe and give this new teacher a chance to settle. Remember it's not always easy to be the teacher, especially coming in on short notice," Ben added as Little Joe mounted his horse for the journey ahead.
Little Joe nodded and turned his pony in the direction of Virginia City. Not always easy to be the teacher, trying being the student for a change he thought. Teachers had all the power. How could it not be easy for them? No! Pa had just supplied him with a valuable piece of information -- this teacher was new, green to the job in hand and new teachers were always much more a source of amusement than their more seasoned counterparts. Armed with this new knowledge Little Joe spurred his pony to a faster gallop, anxious now to meet up with his friends and plan some more torture.
He covered the ground to the school in record time; he tended to his pony's needs and quickly ran to meet up with his friends to check the plans for today.
Mitch, watching his arrival, from the window joined Little Joe in the front porch of the school house. "No sign of the new teacher yet. I've taken care of my end and Seth putting the finishing touches to his part," he quickly updated his arriving best friend.
"Great, I got here as quick as I could. No sign yet of the part-timer? I got one last thing left to do. Miss Jones leave her usual name tags on her desk?" Little Joe probed, a wicked grin creeping on to his otherwise innocent face.
"Yeah," Mitch answered fully aware of what his friend intended to do. Their teacher always left a plan of the children desks with their names for ease of reference for whoever was replacing her. She arranged in fastidious fashion these cut out pieces of cardboard in the exact replica of the room with each child's name clearly displayed. Little Joe's intention was to rearrange these names, causing untold havoc as Miss Jones would have undoubtedly have told her replacement who were the troublemakers in the class; so it was his intention to label the most studious, lest troublesome members and so earn a reprieve for himself and his friends, at least for a short time. With this accomplished, he and Mitch reported to their friends their new identity and pointed out who in the class had become them. This proved to be a hysterical conversation, Joe's chosen candidates being very appropriate choices indeed.
Mitch was the first to recover and looking out the window he caught a glimpse of Adam making his way purposely to the school house.
"Hey Joe, look out! Adam's coming!"
"Adam? Whatever could he be doing here? Maybe there's some sort of problem at home and they need me?" Little Joe jumped from his seat on his desk and headed in the direction of the door, thinking he was saving his brother the bother of coming in.
Adam squared his shoulders and taking a deep breath and ventured into the unknown. He was just about to open the door when it flew open and he came face to face with his little brother. Little Joe looked up at him anxiously but before he could question his brother, Adam cut him off with "Return to your seat please, Joseph; it's time to start class."
Little Joe stood rooted to the spot flabbergasted; he had never in his wildest dreams even given a single thought to his big brother being the substitute teacher. This was truly awful, the events of the last week all becoming clear in his brain; his Pa's refusal to tell him anything concerning the school board meeting. Hoss and Adam laughing last night, it was all a big joke to them, well we'll see whose laughing by the end of this wee, thought Little Joe as he reluctantly returned to his seat.
Adam stood behind the teacher's desk and addressed the class for the first time.
"Hello, I'm sure that quite a few of you already know me but for those of you that don't, I'm Mr. Cartwright and I'll be your teacher until Miss Jones returns. I'm sure I'll get to know all your names real soon as Miss Jones has kindly left me a seating chart," he said glancing quickly at the names tags on his desk before continuing. “Miss Jones has also acquainted me with the assignments that each of the grades are currently working on so we can start work straight away."
At this statement, a groan resounded around the room, causing Adam to pause and smile at his reluctant students. The biggest groan was definitely coming from the center of the room where his little brother and his friends sat.
Emily Wilkes, a sixteen year old in her last year of school, sat glued to Adam's every word and was most annoyed at the bunch of groaning ten years olds that sat in front of her. "Hush up, you lot, Mr. Cartwright is talking"
Little Joe turned around in his seat and made a face at her -- Mr. Cartwright indeed! he thought. Emily ignored him and returned her gaze to the top of the class where his big brother was leafing through papers with one hand and pulling out his chair with the other. She had never felt like this before -- her heart was fluttering, her palms were sweaty and she was having trouble breathing. She had once noticed her older sister depicting the same symptoms and asked her mother whatever was the matter with her. Her mother had laughed and said that there was nothing wrong with her sister except being in love. She blushed, recalling her mother's words realizing that she too must be now in love. Her daydreaming was suddenly brought to a halt when she heard a crash and the man of her dreams disappeared abruptly from her vision, while the gang in front of her giggled a little too knowingly in her opinion.
She rushed from her seat to offer assistance but upon getting to the top of the class, Adam had already managed to disentangle himself from the debris of the shattered chair.
"Are you okay, Mr. Cartwright? You're not hurt, I hope," she asked tentatively.
"No I'm fine....." He searched his memory to recall her name, having met her family once at a county fair
"Emily, sir," she smiled back at him.
"Thank you, Emily"
Her heart leapt when he returned her smile and shivers went up her spine as he spoke her name. She stood rooted on the spot for several seconds, just starring up adoringly into his face unaware that he had spoken again. Vaguely at the back of her mind, she could hear his words but at that moment she could not respond to them, not until the giggles behind her became louder drawing her back to reality.
"You may return to your seat," he repeated again for her benefit.
As Emily slowly backed away from the desk, Adam looked down at the debris at his feet and then quickly turned his gaze to the center of the room where his young brother seemed to be enjoying his mishap a little too much. He picked up the broken chair, the splintered severed missing leg looked for all intensive purposes as an accident but he couldn't help feeling that this so called accident had been orchestrated.
Little Joe dropped his head to avoid eye contact with his eldest brother, only too aware how suspicious Adam could get. Adam wasn't easily fooled, so Little Joe thought he'd better watch his step if he was going to survive these two weeks. He watched as Adam cleared away the broken piece of furniture and replaced it with Miss Jones’ proper chair that he located in the little store room behind the backboard. The broken chair was one the boys had found a week ago and had stored for just this precise moment. Little Joe had seen it's potential right from the start as the chair appeared okay at a glance and it was not until somebody actually put some weight on it did it crumple to the floor. He had got Seth to look after it as he lived closest to the school and could get to the schoolhouse early to replace the chair with Miss Jones usual one. It was a faultless idea as no one could be accused of mischief as it appeared as just an accident.
Adam returned to his table, new chair in tow; it wasn't the start he had hoped for, ending up on his rear end in the first few minutes of his new career. He didn't for one minute think that it had been an accident; knowing his young brother, he knew that more mishaps were most likely coming his way. He sat down and smile at his tormentors, refusing to allow them the luxury of seeing him ruffled this early in the morning. No! he would get them back in his own way. Glancing at he name tags on his desk he decided to get better acquainted with his students. How thoughtful of Abigail to leave him this layout he thought, it must have taken her quite some time to arrange them. Adam started to randomly check through the name tags noting the children that he was unfamiliar with, glancing up now and then to put a face to the name. He scrolled through Abigail's notes on her various students, good points and bad, noting potential hot spots for mischief, although he didn't need any pointers in that direction. She also highlighted certain students who would benefit for more in depth tutoring in areas that he was more familiar with than her, science and mathematics. Here she spotlighted Myles Anderson, a sixteen year old potential medical student, and Philip Morley, the banker’s twelve year old son. Adam already knew Myles, having tutored him last month for a state exam in science; Philip he wasn't familiar with. He knew Mr. Morley of course but his young son he hadn't recalled ever seeing him. He glanced at the grid on his table noting where the boy sat, fours seats down from the top, two from the left, no that couldn't be for that was where his own young brother sat. Adam quickly looked back at the name tags and looked up his brother's name and surprise, surprise who bore the name of Joseph Cartwright other than Philip Morley. According to Abigail, young Philip was the quietest most studious pupil in the entire school with Joseph being the exact opposite. Adam smiled to himself, knowing exactly what his little brother was up to, switching the identities of himself and his friends with the quieter members of the class.
Feeling he had been humiliated enough for one morning, Adam turned his attention away from the name tags, but made a mental note to have a few words with his little brother before recess.
The morning passed slowly for Little Joe as he watched Adam proceed through the various lessons of the morning without any further incidents. Joe glanced in Mitch's direction and coughed to get his attention, but his friend ignored him, much too wary of Adam to carry out their next plot. Mitch had seen Adam's temper up close a little too often and wasn't prepared to help his friend cause more trouble for them this early in the day. Little Joe was annoyed with his best friend as Mitch refused to make eye contact with him; there was just no way he could pull their next prank on his own. He looked around to try and catch Seth's or Pete's eyes but both seemed to have adopted Mitch's sudden interest in their workbooks too. A sudden tap on the head made Little Joe look up into the smug face of his eldest brother. Adam pointed to the workbook in front of his young brother and with sigh, Little Joe turned his attention too back to his work. As the bell rang for the end of the morning lessons, Adam asked his Little Joe to join him at the teacher's table before he joined his friends outside for lunch. Hiss little brother sauntered up to the top of the class, as the rest of his classmates filed out to enjoy their lunch, with a definite air of bravado about him.
"You wanted me Adam?" he asked trying to look innocent but failing miserably.
"Yes indeed I do. Hmm, let me see, it would appear that according to this chart that Miss Jones has complied for me, that Pa has been taken home the wrong child every night for the past ten years. Strange, don't you think, that Miss Jones only made mistakes where you or your friends were concerned?"
Little Joe shrugged his shoulders and retorted quickly "Why are you asking me, when it's Miss Jones' fault"
"Yes I'm sure it is," Adam replied, the sarcasm dripping in his tone. "Not that I wouldn't like to take home Philip Morley but I'm sure the Morleys would be up in arms about putting up with you for any length of time. Now change that back to the proper setting and oh while we are in school, it's Mr. Cartwright or Sir to you." With that Adam left his brother to correct the chart while he departed the room to enjoy his lunch in the open air.
Little Joe made a face at Adam's retreating back, groaning to himself yet again about the injustice of having a know-it-all overbearing older brother.
Outside Adam inhaled the fresh air, glad that his initiation into teaching hadn't been too bad so far. He felt that he had everything under control now and he was confident that his natural sense of awareness should keep him alerted to any further mishaps. Sitting down on the steps of the schoolhouse, he opened his book, blissfully unaware of what lay ahead.
Little Joe finished the task that Adam had set for him, angry that his brother had made him miss out on the first few minutes of recess, Little Joe favorite part of the school day. Wouldn't it be great if he could find a way to prolong recess, he thought to himself. As he placed the last of the name tags in its proper place, a simple plan popped into his ever mischievous mind. He approached the door of the schoolroom and noticed Adam sitting on the bottom step, head bent, reading as usual. Little Joe quietly took hold of the already loose door handle and using a small piece of metal he had in his pocket, he helped loosen the handle completely. This ensured that when he pulled the door behind him, the door would lock but no amount of turning the handle on the outside would release the lock. Somebody would have to climb inside through a window to reattach the handle and open the door. He had seen this happen once before when one of the ranch hands had accidentally pulled the inside handle off and had closed the door of the bunkhouse behind him, completely unaware what he had done. There was indeed pandemonium that night, as the tired hungry ranch hands returned home for their supper and try as they may they just couldn't open the door to the bunkhouse. Fortunately for the Ponderosa workers, the window was right beside the door and open already. Little Joe remembered being quite useful that day, usually he was told to keep out of the way because he was too small, but not that day. That day his size was indeed an asset to the ranch, as being the smallest, he was hoisted into the open small window to assist to the opening of the door. The school house windows now they were a different case, being that they were high up from the ground, since there was a number of steps leading up to the front door of the building. There would be only two ways to access the building, Joe surmised, by ladder or by breaking down the front door and Little Joe was pretty sure his oldest brother would not want to be responsible for school damage on his first day. The little boy wickedly closed the door behind him, his green eyes dancing with mischief knowing only too well the kind of mayhem this little incident was going to cause his brother.
**********
Back at the Ponderosa, the two remaining Cartwrights were enjoying an afternoon treat of coffee and freshly baked cinnamon cookies on the front porch.
"Wonder how ol' Adam's making out, Pa," Hoss grinned, leaning back in his chair and patting his now contented belly.
"I trust your brother is coping adequately, at least I hope so for all our sakes. It won't be too long before we know, though; school should be let out pretty soon" Ben prayed that all was going well for his son, in fact both his sons. "C'mon Hoss, we'd better get back to work; it wouldn't do for your brothers to catch us lounging about. We'd never hear the end of it."
"I guess you're right, Pa; ain't nobody can get as riled as them two brothers' of mine," Hoss guffawed, as he and his father made their way to the barn.
The two worked together in peace and quiet for another hour, before returning to the house. Ben had plenty of paper work to do, so after cleaning himself up, he sat at his desk and delved into the enormous stack of paper work piled on his table. Usually Adam helped with this task, sometimes having started it before Ben came home but alas tonight and for the next two weeks, Ben would have to tackle this all by himself. Adam would have papers to correct tonight and preparation work to do for tomorrow’s classes; there was a lot more to teaching than some people thought.
While his father buried himself in the mountain of invoices, receipts and contracts, Hoss thanked his lucky stars that his father had never enlisted his help on that particular side of the business. Never one be to at a loose end though, he turned his attention to a broken toy horse of his little brother's. The little horse was in one sorry state to say the least, with one broken leg on a half charred body. Hoss smiled as he recalled how the toy had got into such a state.
Little Joe had been playing with his fort on the floor in front of the large fireplace a week earlier. Having heard about the story of the 'Wooden Horse of Troy' in school on the previous day, he decided to act out the story with his fort and toy soldiers. So choosing one of his bigger horses, a horse that Hoss had carved for him sometime earlier, he played out the story adding a few unusual twists. In Little Joe's version, the city was better prepared and not so easily conned. They allowed the large horse to enter the city gates but instead of the surprise attack from inside the horse, the city had its own surprise to spring. He smiled wickedly to himself as he set his plan in action; he opened the gates of the fort and slowly pushed the large horse through until the horse was centered on his perfectly placed slingshot that lay very taut across the bottom of the fort. As he placed the 'wooden horse' in the center of the fort and closed the gates, he grinned impishly as he released his hold on the slingshot and the light-weight horse catapulted high into the air. He jumped up, clapping his hands at his ingenuity but his enjoyment soon turned to dismay as he watched the small horse hit the rafters and descended at a high speed directly for his oldest brother's bent head. He shouted at Adam to move but his older brother was slow to react and before he could move completely out of the way, the wooden horse had collided with Adam's shoulder and redirected itself to the blazing fire. Hoss himself at that point had jumped up and grabbed hold of the tongs to fish out the toy, but not until the little horse had become quite charred, its leg having been broken upon collision with the rafters.
At this stage Ben had moved quickly from his desk to check out the commotion in his living room. Adam was shouting at his little brother and rubbing his shoulder and Hoss was trying to save 'something' from the fire with Little Joe's 'help'.
"What's going on over here?" Ben asked sternly.
"Your baby son has been up to his usual tricks again, that's what" Adam replied, now clearly annoyed.
Ben turned his attention to his youngest son and arching his eyebrows inquired "Well?"
"It was an accident, Pa." Joe decided it was safer to get that statement in first before explaining what led up to the incident. He then related to his father and brothers how in school they had read about the 'Wooden Horse of Troy' and that he was just acting out the story...... with a few modifications that was of course. He glanced up now and again to gauge his father's reaction before finishing his explanation.
Ben was having a hard time not laughing outright at his youngest son report and once or twice he had to cover his mouth pretending to cough. He looked across at Adam and noticed that he too was having a hard time keeping a straight face throughout the whole confession. Little Joe sensed that he wasn't in any trouble here and so spurred on by this good fortune, he embellished the story for all it was worth.
"I think that's what we should do if a large wooden horse ever tried to invade the Ponderosa. My plan worked really well, didn't it Pa?"
"It sure did, son, but I'm not sure your older brother would agree," Ben finally gave in to the laughter that he had tried in vain to suppress. He ruffled his youngest son's hair as he once again marveled at his smallest boy's vivid imagination. "What do you think, Adam?"
"I think we'll keep little brother's plan on file as a definite backup if we are ever unfortunate enough to be invaded by a large wooden hostile horse, but let's just make sure that we are all safely out of the way before we implement it," Adam wickedly retorted as he once again rubbed his shoulder to emphasis his point.
Hoss' reminiscence was abruptly brought to a halt as the door opened and his two brothers entered, arguing loudly with each other. Totally ignoring Ben and Hoss, as if they were not there, they continued to quarrel as they removed their coats and hats. They renewed their argument as they crossed the room and climbed the stairs. The altercation seemed to reach a crescendo as they arrived at the top of the landing and neared their respective bedroom. The remaining two Cartwrights winced as they heard first Little Joe's door slam followed shortly by Adam's.
"Well, that seems to answer my question" Ben said.
"What question was that, Pa?" Hoss inquired scratching his head whilst still looking upstairs.
"Did they have a nice day?" Ben replied, clapping Hoss on the back as the two laughed.
************
Ben busied himself with his breakfast anxious to get on with his hectic schedule. The previous night he had fallen behind with his paper work having had to pacify in turn both his eldest and youngest son. Adam had recollected his day of mishaps for his brother and father after Little Joe had gone to bed that night.
He started with the incident of landing on his rear end in front of the whole class, much to the amusement of his father and brother and then continued with the sorry tale of locking out the entire class at recess when the door handle was 'accidentally' loosened from the inside and then pulled tight from the outside. The class, he explained, was of course ecstatic at their prolonged lunch break and laughed as he had to climb into the open window, ripping his shirt as he did so, to open the door. Of course to make matters worse, Mr. Morley, the banker and school broad member picked that precise moment to pay a visit to see if he had needed anything. Needless to say, Adam had not been amused to be caught in such an awkward position. Ben knew that this had not sat well with his eldest son as it just wasn't in Adam's personality to appear this incompetent.
Furthermore it didn't escape Ben's attention that Adam seem to blame his young brother for all the things that had happened to him, as Little Joe, Adam said appeared just a little too smug and grinned just a tad too innocently as each incident unfolded. Ben knew his youngest son was quite capable of such mischief, especially as Adam was the recipient, but on the other hand all could have been accidental, as Little Joe would undoubtedly claim.
Adam relaxed a bit as he joined his father in an after supper brandy and calmly seemed to accept his father's 'accidental' theory for the moment at least. He watched as his father climbed the stairs to tuck in his little brother and marveled once again at his father's ability to keep the peace in the family.
Ben opened the door to his youngest son's bedroom and frowned when he saw the small boy practically hanging out the window. He crossed the room in large strides to grab hold of his son before a mishap ensued.
"What are to trying to do, young man, give your father a heart attack?" he asked lifting Little Joe back inside the room.
"Hi Pa. I was just trying to get to my homework," he replied none too fussed at being caught.
"And pray tell, just what is your homework doing out on the roof and this better be good?"
Little Joe grinned up at his father with his most disarming smile and answered innocently
“Well I didn't mean for it to fly out the window, Pa; it just happened. I guess it just wanted to be a bird after all."
"I'm not sure I'm following this conversation, son. Please explain for your bewildered father one more time" Ben said with a look of total confusion on his face.
Little Joe twirled the retrieved rolled up piece of paper in his hand and proceeded to demonstrate, launching the paper into the air. The light weight paper once again veering for the open window, that was of course until Ben caught hold of it.
"Good catch, Pa; ya see that's what happened the last time but you weren't there to catch it the first time is all"
"Yes Joseph I understanding the flying part; what I just don't understand is why was your homework floating around the room in the first place?"
"It was a dumb ol' essay that Adam or should I say Mr. Cartwright," Joe wrinkled up his nose in disgust before continuing "got us to write about a bird's eye view of our surroundings. Did you ever hear of a more silly thing to write about, Pa?"
Ben unrolled the crumpled piece of paper and tried to smooth out the creases. "I don't think it's a silly topic at all, Joseph, in fact I think it is a very clever way to get you to use your imagination. You still haven't answered my question though"
"I couldn't think what to write Pa, so I was looking for............." Little Joe searched for an appropriate word.
"Inspiration" Ben supplied.
"Inspiration, that's it Pa," Little Joe replied quickly.
"And did you get any inspiration from nearly falling out the window to finish your essay?" Ben said as he perused his son's meager offering.
"Kinda, Pa," Little Joe said not feeling as confident now as he was earlier.
"Well then I suggest you put pen to paper and rewrite your essay and be quick about it," Ben handed Joe a new sheet of paper.
"Do I have to Pa? I'm too tired now. Adam gives way too much homework, I never got to play at all tonight or anything," Little Joe grumbled, usually he would do just about anything to stay up past his bedtime, anything that was except homework of course.
Ben frowned, thinking that his eldest son had rather rubbed it in on his first day. Little Joe did seem to have a lot more homework than he usually had and it was true that he didn't have any free time to himself that evening.
"You sit down and write your essay and I'll have a word with Adam about the over abundance of homework. Now how's that?"
"Ah, you needn't do that, Pa; I expect I was just slow tonight getting it down," he lied, not wanting his father to know that only a few members of the class, those not paying attention had got this much homework while others had got very little homework indeed. If his father confronted Adam, the truth would undoubtedly come out and that was something that Little Joe definitely wanted to keep quiet about.
Ben, on the other hand, wasn't fooled for one moment. "Is it fair to say that some pupils were not paying attention to their studies today, Joseph, and that is why they are still doing homework when they should be asleep, hmmm?"
Little Joe just smiled nervously in response.
"You have twenty minutes to finish that essay and see to it that we don't have a repeat of this discussion tomorrow night. Do you hear me, young man?"
"Yes Pa".
With that Ben left Little Joe alone to complete his work with promise that he would return in twenty minutes to tuck him in.
The week that followed did nothing to improve relationships between the youngest and oldest of the Cartwright brothers. Each morning the boys went to the school house in silence and returned home in the evening arguing loudly for everyone to hear. The discussion at the dining room table was the same every night for the past week, Adam claiming he was the victim of Joe's mischief as he encountered one mishap after the other; Little Joe whining that Adam was picking on him and blaming him for every little thing that happened. Although Ben had sympathy for Adam's plight, he couldn't punish his youngest son as he didn't have any evidence that indeed Little Joe had done any of the things he was being accused of. If the ten year old had thought up all of the mischief that had taken place in the last week and implemented most of it, he had indeed covered his tracks well as none of the trails led back to him; in fact if the truth be told, they led nowhere and to nobody. It appeared to everyone that all that had happened were unfortunate accidents, that was, of course, with the exception of Adam
Adam had encountered this last week: a fall from a broken chair; a climb through a narrow window, which resulted in a ripped shirt; a face smeared with black soot, with no clean water to wash; a school room full of hysterical girls as six mice evaded the desks of the most squeamish female members of the school. He had to put up with a greased chalk, muck instead of ink in his ink well and deafening sound of tone-dead screeching boys as he prepared them for an end of term musical pageant. These were but a few of the hardships that had been inflicted upon him as