ONE

oooooo

"I don't want your brother to hear this. Do you understand?"

Little Joe Cartwright had been dawdling. Breakfast was over and he'd gone back upstairs to get his school books and change his shirt since Pa said the one he had on was too threadbare to wear. He couldn't see it, but he hadn't argued since it had been one of those mornings where his pa and older brothers - seventeen-year-old Hoss and twenty-three-year old Adam - were so caught up in discussing business at the table that he might as well not have existed. At eleven he was too old to be considered a baby and left out of all the conversations, but too young to really care about Mister Hargreaves' complaint about water rights, Mrs. Smith's bellyachin' about how the horses she'd bought from them were too 'high-handed', or the fact that the mine up near Reno Pa had bought a share in was in bad shape. That last one meant about an hour of older brother Adam showing off his college-educated smarts with charts, graphs, notations, and thousands if not hundreds of thousands of boring words.

This was something different.

Joe took a step back into the shadows that lined the upper hall. Dropping his books and his bottom to the wood floor, he scooted as far forward as he thought was safe and then settled in so he could listen to whatever it was his pa had to say that he wasn't supposed to hear.

"Pa," Adam began as he dropped his red-checked napkin to the table, "I don't agree. You can't protect the boy forever. When I was his age - "

"You were never Little Joe's age," Pa interrupted, his tone kind of funny and sad.

Older brother was frowning. "Of course, I was."

"No." Pa tossed his napkin down too. "No, Adam, you weren't. You were forced to grow up far too quickly. By eleven you were a man, burdened by man-size troubles and with man-size responsibilities." Joe watched as his pa's gaze went to Hoss who was still eating. Probably so he didn't have to say anything. "I regret it to this day."

"Pa, it's…." Adam's voice was quiet and kind of funny too. "It's okay. I'm...okay. You did what you had to do."

There was a pause and then Pa said, "Yes, and I don't have to do that with your little brother. Adam, we need to let Joe be a boy while he can be a boy."

Joe scooted a little bit forward. He sure wished everybody would get up from the table and move into the hearth area so he could see and hear better.

Hoss cleared his throat. He put his napkin down too and glanced at Adam and then at their father. "Sir, can I say somethin'?"

Hoss asked for permission 'cause he was still a 'boy' too.

"Go ahead, son," Pa replied.

"I think..." His giant of a brother cleared his throat. "I think Adam's right on this one."

"Oh, you do?"

"Yes, sir. I know you don't want to scare the little scamp, but Little Joe, well, he...don't always listen, Pa. S'pose he decides to go off on his own and runs into them renegade Indians."

Joe's frown deepened. He'd been frowning 'cause, for a minute there, it sounded like Hoss was telling on him. It deepened because of what his brother said.

Renegade Indians!

Pa'd had some dealings with the Indians in the area. Mostly to keep the peace. He'd taught him and his brothers to respect the natives and their ways - and to keep out of their way. He'd only seen a few and that had been from a distance. When Pa went to the Indian villages, he took old fancy-pants Adam with him since he was the oldest. During another conversation a few days back that he wasn't supposed to listen to, he'd heard his pa say that an Indian man was living in the settlement now and running the livery. Pa thought it was great since Indians knew everything about horses there was to know. The people in the settlement seemed to think otherwise. Pa said there'd been trouble. Someone had set fire to the livery one night, but it had been put out quick. The Indian man was Paiute and he was called Captain Jack. Pa said his name was really John Williams and he didn't know where the 'captain' part came from. Maybe he'd been in the wars. Anyhow, Captain Jack just built that livery right back up and went back to work. Joe shifted to find a more comfortable position. His foot was going to sleep. As he rubbed the circulation back into it he thought to himself that he sure hoped he got to meet Captain Jack one day.

Hearing his name brought Joe's attention back to the present.

"Hoss, I agree. Your brother doesn't always listen - unless he's not supposed to. Joseph! Come down here right now!"

Oops.

He almost stumbled on his way down the stairs because his foot was still all funny-like. But then, maybe that was a good thing. Maybe the fact that he was limping would help him when he got to the table and had to face his father.

Joe swallowed hard as he came to a stop. From the way the three of them were staring at him, he kind of figured...not.

"Yes, Pa?"

His father was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. Pa had that look on his face - the one where he arched one of those black eyebrows of his so high it brushed the silver hair above.

"Joseph? What have I told you about eavesdropping?"

Now, he had a couple of choices. He could say he hadn't heard that he wasn't supposed to hear what they were talking about. But if that was true, he wouldn't have been sittin' in the shadows listening. He could make up a story about how he was coming to the table and tripped and hurt his ankle and just happened to end up sitting at the top of the stairs when he heard his name and got curious.

Or he could fall on the mercy of the court.

Hanging his head down so the curls nearly brushed his nose, Little Joe Cartwright worked his magic. Tears entered his eyes, he sniffed, and then he looked up and said -

"Sorry, Pa. I knew I shouldn't have listened, but I just couldn't help myself."

Hoss always said that if Pa had been a block of ice, he wouldn't have had a chance.

His father's tone softened instantly. "Son, come here," he said.

"Yes, sir."

That 'sir' was mighty important.

When he got to his father's chair, his pa pulled him onto his knee. "Joseph, I don't want you to think that I think of you as a child. There are simply some things that, at your age, are beyond your comprehension and understanding. It's a father's role to protect his children." Pa paused and looked at Hoss and then - wow! - even at Adam. "I didn't want to unnecessarily frighten you."

They were always doing that - all three of them - protecting him when he didn't need protected.

Joe nodded as he knew was expected. "I understand, sir."

His pa smiled at that second 'sir'. "Since you are always with me or one of your brothers," Pa paused to pin him with those deep brown eyes of his as if to say - 'and you will always be with one of us.' "I didn't feel it was necessary to tell you what was happening. As it is, since you chose to listen anyhow, I will now. One of the ranch hands returned from the settlement last night with news that there is a renegade band of Paiutes in the area looking to cause trouble."

Paiutes?

He'd been listening, but now he was paying attention.

"Joseph, these men as dangerous. They hate white men and, while it may be true some have a cause for that hate, the things they are doing are unconscionable"

Joe blinked. "They're un-what -shunable?"

His pa laughed. "They can't be justified." A moment later the laughter died from his eyes. "Joseph, you know the Jacksons who live on the other side of the settlement?"

The Jacksons were homesteaders. Their son Billy was two levels above him at school. His sister was still at home. Billy didn't come all the time, but he was there when the planting was done and the crops were harvested.

He nodded.

"They were...burned out. Mister Jackson, son, he was killed."

Terror gripped him. Death. That...thing...that took his mama. That...thing...no one could fight against and win no matter how strong or brave or smart they were.

"What about Billy?" he asked, his voice hushed.

"He survived. So did his mother and sister. Joseph, they've...left. They packed up and went back to St. Louis. Mrs. Jackson has family there."

"Will they..." He swallowed again as he looked from his father to Hoss and then at Adam, imagining finding one or all of them with arrows through their hearts. "Will the Indians come here?"

His father drew in a deep breath. "I can't guarantee they won't, but we're not like the Jacksons. We have dozens of strong, able men working for us. But this is why it is important that you keep close to your brothers and me right now and don't go off alone. Do you understand?"

"I do, Pa. I..." Joe hesitated. In his mind's eye that picture - of his pa dead from an arrow - remained. It wouldn't go away. And when he thought about it, he thought about how Billy must feel and how mad he must be and how Billy would want to hurt the Indians just as much as they hurt him, and how much he would want to too. "I guess...well... Maybe those people in town are right to be afraid of Captain Jack."

His father looked surprised. "Joseph, I thought I had reared you better than that."

"It's an honest thought, Pa," Adam said. When Pa stared at him too, older brother added. "I remember, after Inger...died, I felt the same way. I couldn't understand why anyone would trust an Indian."

His pa nodded. "It is honest. "I'm sorry, Joseph. I shouldn't' have reacted that way." Pa thought a moment. "You remember that wild mustang we had. The one that threw your brother?"

It had been a bad time. It was right after Adam came home from college. The horse was a beauty with his sleek black coat and extra long mane and tail. The men called him a 'widow maker'. Adam thought he could break him and it ended up that that old horse broke him instead. Adam nearly died.

"Yes, sir. I remember."

"So do you think all horses are dangerous and should be killed?"

"Of course not. That would be stupid!" The words were out before he could stop them. Joe slammed a hand over his mouth. Pa didn't like it when they used the word 'stupid'.

His father let out a little sigh before continuing. "So why, because a few Indians go renegade, would you fear them all?"

"I... I don't know," he said.

"Ignorance, Joseph," Pa said. "It is one of the deadly sins - if not the deadliest. It leads to all the others."

He was thinking hard. "You had that mustang put down, Pa. Is that what you have to do with bad Indians?"

Adam did a little intake of breath. Hoss was staring at him.

Joe winced. "Did I say somethin' wrong?"

"No, son. It was just the 'way' you said it. The law in the West can be harsh. It's an untamed land and it often calls for quick and decisive action. It would be preferable for men - renegades and outlaws - to be brought to justice through the courts, but it doesn't always happen. One day, civilized men will occupy this land and they will see that it happens."

"Are we 'civilized men', Pa?" he asked.

"Yes, we are. You and your brothers and me. It is our duty to see that justice is upheld, that each man is given a chance to prove what he is made or - no matter the color of his skin or his beliefs. Do you understand?"

It took a second or two. "I think I do, Pa. Miss Jones read to us out of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. You're talking about pre-judging, right? Like people did with him because he was a negro."

"Yes, son. That is exactly what I am talking about. The Good Book calls on us not to judge any man. He'll be known by his fruits."

He remember that reading too, by the preacher from the Bible.

"Now, young man, I think it's time you got to school. Hoss, will you see Joe into the settlement today? One of your brothers will pick you up when class ends."

He wanted to protest that he didn't need anybody to 'see' him to school or home, but he'd argued it before and lost and with the renegades around, he knew it was pointless. When his brothers dropped him off at the schoolhouse, the bigger boys made fun of him.

Of course, since he was small for his age, they made fun of him most of the time anyway.

"Yes, sir."

His Pa slipped him off of his knee, ruffled his hair, and then gave him a little swat on the behind. "Well, get going then, you young scamp! I noticed you don't have your books."

Oops. He'd left them at the top of the landing.

Joe looked at his pa. That image was still there, though it was fading. It was another thing the boys made fun of him for - how close he was with his pa. Most of the time he didn't care about that one, though their words could sting just like those Indian arrows he was imagining. He had the best pa in the whole Nevada territory.

On an impulse, Joe flung his arms around his father's neck. "I love you, Pa," he whispered in his ear, and then let go and headed for the stairs.

Somehow he knew it was gonna be a good - no, maybe one of the best days in his life!