July 2011

A Gift To Be Earned

"Hoss, have yourself a nice weekend." Mrs. Millman shouted as she waved from her porch. "Please be sure and give your pa our best!"

"But, Mrs. Millman, I…" Hoss yelled, turning to face the Millman place.

"I'm sorry, Hoss! I plum forgot your workin' here's a secret! Never you mind 'bout givin' your pa our best, dear!"

"Thanks, ma'am. See ya Wednesday!" Hoss started down the path, his stomach growling with every step. He knew he'd be home in time for supper, but the rumble didn't seem to have patience for the passing of time. So far, he'd been able to come up with good reasons for not coming home immediately after school. Secretly earning extra money wasn't easy when Ben Cartwright was your father! As he passed the corral, he pulled himself up onto the second horizontal post and whistled as loudly as he could. The mare he'd named Cinnamon trotted toward the fence as Hoss knelt down and pulled up some fresh, sweet grass.

"Sorry I cain't stay, Cinnamon. I gotta git home right quick. But I'll be back ta see ya on Wednesday. And I'll bring ya somethin' special." Hoss reached across the fence as far as he dared and stroked Cinnamon's neck. "By for now, girl!" Hopping down, he hurried home as fast as his legs could take him. Turning the corner near the barn, he saw his father walking toward the house.

"Hey, Pa!" he shouted.

"Well, young man, I'd about given up on you!" Ben scolded. "Duffy said you asked if you could walk home from the main turn-off, but that was nearly two hours ago!"

"Sorry, Pa. I wanted to go by the corral 'n' feed Cinnamon. Guess I lost track a time. Where's Little Joe?"

"He's inside waiting on you! He's not too happy that you went to the corral without him. Maybe you can make it up to him with a game of checkers after dinner," Ben suggested.

"Sure thing, Pa. Let's go now, okay? My stomach's so empty, it's been remindin' me the whole way home!"

Monday's sunrise brought with it the promise of a lovely spring day at the Millman ranch.

"Mrs. Millman, I'll be back around noon ta git Little Joe," Duffy said.

"That's fine, Duffy. We'll keep a close eye on the boy while he works, don't you worry none," Mrs. Millman assured.

As Duffy drove the buckboard down the road, Joe and Mr. Millman headed into the barn.

"Little Joe, you've been workin' here for quite a spell. You should be close ta havin' enough money for your surprise by now."

"Yes, Sir! Taday's my last workin' day. Then Duffy's gonna help me with the s'prise. He's real good with secrets," Joe replied proudly.

"And what a great surprise it'll be!" Mr. Millman said as he and Joe started working in the barn.

Two hours later, Duffy arrived to collect Joe, and the two rode off to the Ponderosa.

"Thanks for keepin' my secret 'n' helpin' me get to the Millman's place. And don't forget, Duffy. You have ta take me ta town on Thursday," Joe said, excitement in his eyes.

"It's been a pleasure, Lil Joe. I won't forget!"

"Joe, what's wrong? You look like you lost your best friend," Ben asked when Joe walked into the house and plopped himself into a chair. "It's the middle of the week. Only two more days of school before the weekend!"

Joe sighed. "Hoss went 'n' decided ta walk home again 'n' he said I couldn't go with him!"

Ben sat next to his youngest son and offered the plate of cookies he'd just carried from the kitchen.

"Joe, sometimes Hoss just needs to be by himself for a bit. And besides, that means more cookies for you and me!" Ben grabbed Joe and tickled him mercilessly, bringing giggles from both the boy and his father.

At the Millman ranch, Hoss was busily mucking out the stalls when a clap of thunder startled the horses and him. Hoss hurried to finish, knowing he needed the full amount of his pay if the surprise was going to happen on time.

"Hoss, boy! Come help me saddle my horse, and I'll take ya home before it rains!"

"But, Mr. Millman, I need ta finish . . ." Hoss yelled, still raking as fast as he could.

"Oh, nonsense. You've done more than enough. Now come on, let's git you home!" Mr. Millman took the rake from Hoss and handed him his pay, bringing a twinkle to Hoss's blue eyes and a gap-toothed grin to his face.

Hoss had Mr. Millman take him as close to the house as he dared, thanked him, and ran into the house just before the skies let loose.

That evening, Hoss tip-toed from his room to Joe's and creaked the door open. "Little Joe?" he whispered. "You awake?"

"Yeah, Hoss." Joe sprung up in his bed with all the energy of someone who'd already had a good night's sleep. "Can't you sleep either?"

"Nope!" Hoss said as he leaped into Joe's bed and snuggled under the covers next to his little brother. "I got a surprise fer ya, 'n' I was gonna wait 'til tomorra, but I'm gonna tell ya tonight."

"You got a s'prise fer me? But, I got one fer YOU!" Joe whined, disappointed that his wasn't the only surprise.

"YOU got one fer ME?" What is it?" Hoss asked.

The door creaked again, and Ben popped his head into the room. "What are the two of you up to at this hour?"

Joe swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Uh oh . . . Pa, I got a s'prise fer Hoss. I been workin' at the Millman's ta save the money . . ."

Hoss swung his legs across the bed and pulled himself to his knees. "…'n' I got one fer Lil Joe. And I've been workin' there too!"

"What? You've both been working to earn money? Whatever for?" Ben asked.

In unison, both boys replied. "A surprise for Adam's birthday!"

Ben sat on the bed as the boys stared at each other. He nodded to Joe, letting him explain first.

Joe grabbed his father's right shoulder. "I didn't want Adam ta be lonelysome on his birthday, so I wanted to send him a telegram from all of us."

Hoss yanked on his father's left shoulder. "Me, too! So, I worked at the Millmans' n' was gonna send the telegram tomorra so's he'd git it for his birthday!"

"That's wonderful, boys!" Ben said, grinning at their excitement. "But why didn't you just come to me?"

Joe looked down and waited for Hoss to reply.

"Pa, we know there ain't always enough money, 'specially fer extra things, 'n' I reckon we wanted ta send a message ta Adam real bad . . . 'cause we miss him."

With tears glistening in his eyes, Ben wrapped his arms around both of his sons. "I miss him too, boys. And what you did was wonderful! We'll all go to town tomorrow and send Adam a birthday telegram!"

"Two, Pa! We kin send him two!"

"Alright," Ben said, a catch deep in his throat. "Two it is!"

~ ~ finis ~ ~