Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Bonanza or anything affiliated with it.
The morning was bright and shining as a girl in her late teenaged years trekked through overgrown grasses. She had a bright smile on her face that contrasted with her ripped and dirty clothes, but complemented her clear, green eyes. The girl had two books clamped in her left hand that had varying degrees of wear and tear. Webster's Speller for Young Children was the thinner and rattier of the two and 1001 Remedies for Every Occasion was its thicker companion. Rebecca, as the girl was named, turned her head to look over her shoulder at the young boy trying to keep up behind her. "Hey Buddy, how are you doing back there?" She asked before tossing her light brown hair out of her line of vision.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," the boy- William- panted. At the tender age of nine, Will was slightly small for his age and the skinny legs hidden under ripped cotton pants couldn't keep up with his elder sisters' longer strides. His green eyes were also clear and happy, and his sandy-blond hair shone in the early morning sun. "Can you give me another spelling word?" Will carefully clambered over a large, fallen long Rebecca jumped over a few seconds earlier.
"All right," Rebecca looked up towards the cloudless blue sky in thought.
"Something hard. I don't want an easy word."
"Oh, don't worry," Rebecca reassured loftily, "I will most definitely make this word difficult."
"What's the word?"
"Difficult," Rebecca turned on her heel and grinned at her brother. She turned back ahead and enjoyed the sun as she waited for her brother's answer.
Will's forehead gently creased as it always did when he was concentrating or deep in thought, "D-i-f… -f… diffi-diffe… cul… cult… d-i-f-f… -i… c? Oh!" Will brightened up triumphantly and grinned at his sister's back, "D-i-f-f-i-c-u-l-t. Difficult! Wow, Becky, 'difficult' was kind of difficult!" Will giggled.
"But you did it, Bud!" Rebecca spun around to flash her brother a smile, "Good job."
Emboldened by his success, Will begged for another, "Next word, Becky, another one!"
Rebecca hummed a tune while thinking of a second word as she tried to look past trees and brush for water. Suddenly, Rebecca heard hooves quickly advancing to the north. She strained her ears to listen harder and realized there were two horses. "How about we play a different game instead? It's much more exciting than a spelling game." Rebecca turned towards Will and shortened the gap between them. She outstretched her empty hand.
"What game is it?" Will's eyes were bright and excited and grabbed his sister's hand.
"It's called 'Hide and Find.' We hide together in the bushes and somebody tries to find us. If they don't, then we win!" Rebecca quickly led an excited Will into the thicket where she knew the riders wouldn't give a second glance, "But we have to be very quiet, Bud, you hear?"
Will nodded eagerly. Rebecca grinned and pulled her brother in between her books and her body to shield him if needed, though passing it off as just trying to compact them even smaller. A patch of sunlight fought though the branches covering the two siblings. Will thought the small patch of light looked like a flying bird; he wanted to tell Becky, but she told him to stay quiet. He didn't want to lose the game.
The two riders were now close enough that Rebecca could pick out their conversation. "Tell me, Little Joe," a dry, baritone spoke, "where exactly did you lose that bull?"
"I didn't lose it, Adam," Joe's voice sounded younger and angry, "I just-"
"-Misplaced it, yes, you told me before. Though I still don't understand how you could misplace a bull of that size without losing it."
"If you're just going to josh with me then you can go back to the house." Joe spoke angrily, still out of view.
Adam's voice took on a humorous tone, "Oh, I wouldn't do that, little brother. Joshing you is just too much fun."
Rebecca heard a huff, though the large exhale did not come from the younger-sounding male. She flicked her eyes to the left and saw the large, hairy bull the two brothers were squabbling over. Her heart sank and she whispered, "I think we're gonna lose, Buddy. Look to your right."
Will perked up and turned to his right, resting his head on Rebecca's arm. He saw the massive amount of beef ten yards away and his green eyes grew the size of dinner plates, "He's big," he whispered, looking up into Rebecca's eyes, "but that doesn't mean we're going to lose." Rebecca held Will's head closer in an embrace and hoped Will was right. The horses and their riders were now within Rebecca's sight and they were dangerously close.
"There! Ha! See, Adam? Just misplaced." Rebecca stopped breathing as Joe trotted around the bush too close for her comfort.
"What is lost will most nearly always be found," Adam spoke to himself with a smirk. He followed his younger brother towards the docile creature. Joe mocked his brother and glared at Adam before he took a length of rope from his saddle and unfurled it. The rope was long enough to reach the bull from his distance on his pinto, and he lassoed the bull's horns in one fluid motion.
"Becky, did you see that?" Will blurted in awe. The two men on their horses whipped their heads to the direction of Will's voice, surprised. Joe quickly replaced his round mouth and wide eyes with a coy grin towards Will. Adam's surprise took the opposite direction: his features grew dark with suspicion. Rebecca's stomach lurched unhappily.
"You liked that, kid?" Joe sat taller in his saddle and he sent a smirk in Adam's direction. Adam didn't take his eyes off of the trespassers.
"How'd you do that?" Deep admiration and excitement created a glow around the boy that only sat Joe higher on his horse. Will broke free of Rebecca's hold and nearly bolted to Joe. Rebecca let out a shaky sigh and stood up as well. She brushed off her tattered, brown dress before looking up at the two men.
Adam's unwavering gaze met Rebecca's. "You're on private land. Who are you and what are you doing?"
Rebecca quickly looked at her infatuated brother that was oblivious to the interrogation she was getting from Adam. "My name is Rebecca. That's my brother William." She looked up at the dark man dressed in black, complete with a black hat, "We are trying to find water. I apologize; I didn't know this was private property." She smiled and stuck out her empty hand.
Adam shook her hand out of courtesy with an "Adam Cartwright," before asking her another question, "How long have you been travelling?" He looked at her ragged appearance and her tattered books in evaluation.
"Three weeks. Maybe a month," Rebecca responded. "The treks are slow when you're taking care of a nine-year-old." She paused, "What private property are we on, if I may ask, Mr. Cartwright."
"The Ponderosa," Adam said with a twinge of homely pride in his voice, "my father owns the ranch and my two younger half-brothers and I live and work here." He looked over at Joe showing Will how to lasso the bull. The bull hadn't moved since Joe spotted it the first time, so it proved as an easy bull to use for practice. "What were you doing with our bull?" Adam asked when he turned back to face Rebecca.
"We weren't doing anything with it," she answered, "we were just passing through and didn't notice it until a minute before you did." Adam's dark eyes clouded in thought, no doubt considering what to do next. Rebecca saw this and suggested, "Mr. Cartwright, if you could lead us to a horse trough, we'll take our fill and leave your property. We aren't looking for trouble, just two mouthfuls of water."
Adam was silent for a beat. Then: "Joe and I will take you and your brother back to the ranch house to clean up and have a bite to eat and you will tell us why you're travelling."
"That sounds fair," Rebecca grinned, "thank you." She then turned to her brother and called, "Hey Buddy, come over here!"
Will was bouncing up and down with happiness. "Becky! Joe's teaching me how to lasso a bull!"
Rebecca laughed and knelt in front of Will to reach his eye level, "That's mighty nice of Joe to teach you, Bud. Have you thanked him yet?" He nodded his head quickly and Rebecca went on, "Joe and Adam are going to lead us back to their house so we can take a quick bath and eat a meal before we leave their land, all right?"
"Yeah," Will answered like a distracted nine-year-old would, looking over at a smiling Joe, "can I ride horseback with Joe?"
"You're going to have to ask him. Maybe he doesn't want to share his horse," Rebecca stood up and shifted her books to her right arm to hold Will's with her left, leading him to the two Cartwrights.
Joe happily agreed to Will's request and hopped off of his pinto to help Will into the saddle before jumping up behind him. Adam likewise helped Rebecca climb onto his horse side-saddle. The four travelers set off for the ranch house with Adam in the lead and Joe bringing up the rear leading the slow-moving bull, all the while answering questions Will kept firing his way.