Thank you for all the great reviews.
I will not be posting a chapter this weekend. Im sorry I have a wedding that i will be going to. So until next tuesday... Happy Reading ^_^
Next the morning Samantha came down stairs holding her newly mended dolly.
"Good morning, Samantha. I see your dolly was fixed." Joe stated picking her up.
"Good morning, Uncle Little Joe. Yes my dolly is fixed. Daddy said Miss Emily spent half the night fixing her."
"Well she did a really good job." Joe hugged his niece.
"Uncle Joe, I don't like Mary. She is mean, spoiled and yells too much. She also broke my dolly. Do you think you could help me teach her a lesson?" Samantha asked giving her uncle the puppy dog face.
"Well, it would be wrong if we did, but nobody messes with my niece. Although whatever we do, we need to make it look like an accident, that way we don't get in trouble."
"Good idea, Uncle Joe." She hugged her uncle.
"Hey don't I get a hug too." Adam said coming down the stairs with his pa and Hoss.
"Of course you do daddy." She said running over to her daddy in her little blue sundress.
Picking up his beautiful daughter, "Don't you just look like a little angel." Adam hugged and kissed his daughter who gave a giggle.
After breakfast Ben announced to the families the plans for the day.
"Adam, I need you to ride up to the lumber site and check on the men with cattle in the north pasture. Make sure everything is in order. Joe, I need you to stay around here and do the chores in and around the barn. Also check on the hands that are breaking the horses. Hoss, I need you to go to town with me. We have several things that need to get done and supplies to pick up. James, Mary, Matthew and Emily will be going with us so I'll need you to take the buckboard and we will take the carriage."
"Daddy, what about me what am I going to do?" Little Samantha asked.
"Well, Sweetheart, you will stay here with Hopsing and Uncle Joe. I want you to help out Hopsing and Uncle Joe if they ask for your help." Adam responded to her.
"Yes Sir." Little Samantha smiled up at her daddy.
"Mr. Cartwright, if you it's alright with you and Adam doesn't mind, I would like to go along with Adam and see more of the Ponderosa." Emily shyly asked.
"Emily! You would just be in the way as you always are." James rudely stated.
Adam cleared his throat, "Well, Pa, if it is alright with you. I wouldn't mind if Emily rode along with me, the company would be much appreciated."
"I don't mind, Son. And James, Emily wouldn't be a bother." Ben replied.
After everything was settled, they families started on their different ways. Hoss, Ben, James and the twins left for town. With a kiss and a hug goodbye to Samantha, Adam and Emily were off, riding on Sport and Starlight.
"Well, Little Sam, it's just us and Hopsing and right now Hopsing doesn't need your help. So my, Little Sam, what shall we do first?" Joe said with a little wicked grin.
"Humm…. Well you know I'm still very mad at Mary. I think it's time to teach her a lesson." Samantha gave a wicked smile.
If only Mary knew what kind of night she was in for. With evil grins on their faces Joe and Samantha started to work out the revenge on Mary. First thing they did was loosen the bolts on the bed, to make sure it would fall. The second thing they did was put some itching powder in her nightgown and slippers. The third thing to was change her face powder with flour.
"This is going to be great, Uncle Little Joe. That will teach her a lesson." Samantha stated.
"It sure will my Little Sam, nobody messes with my niece. Maybe she will learn her lesson about fussing or she will just fuss more. It sure is going to be funny. But Sam we have to make sure we act innocent." Joe stated taking Samantha into her room. "You know Sam, we will most likely get in trouble."
"I know, but I'll take all the blame, so you don't get in trouble and miss the dance this weekend in town. Do you think Daddy is going to ask Miss Emily to go to the dance with him? I hope he does, I think Daddy likes Miss Emily." She stated while putting her dolly on the bed.
"Well that sweet of you to want to take the entire blame sweetie and maybe your daddy will take Miss Emily to the dance. But enough talking sweetie we need to get you changed into work cloths so you don't mess up your pretty dress." Joe said. After helping Samantha change into her work cloths and boots, Joe and Samantha went to do the chores in the barn.
"Oh Adam, the Ponderosa is so beautiful. Your family has taken wonderful care of the land. It is a wonderful place for Samantha to grow up." Emily stated as they stopped their horses at the top of a hill.
"It is a beautiful place and Samantha loves it here, especially with all the animals and flowers. Emily, I was wondering if I could ask you something."
"Of course you can Adam." She smiled at him.
"Emily, I know we haven't known each other but for a few days , but I was wondering if you would accompany me to the dance this weekend?" He asked giving her one of his famous smiles.
"Adam, I would be honored to go with you to the dance." Emily blushed.
Later that day, everyone had arrived back at the house.
"Well I'm going to freshen up. I better have some fresh coffee waiting for me, with some sugar on the side." Mary demanded making her way upstairs.
"I'll go make some coffee." Joe stated.
"I'll help." Samantha went with Joe into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Joe went to making the coffee; Samantha went to get the sugar. Joe was watching Sam put the sugar into the sugar dish but instead of sugar she put salt into the dish.
A few minutes later, Mary returned her nose white as snow, everyone gave a giggle.
"Mary! What in the world is all over your face?" her father questioned.
"What? What do you mean? Why are you all laughing?!" Mary yelled.
James went over to his daughter and wiped her nose off with his handkerchief.
"You use too much powder. You know Mary it sort of looks like flour."
"Well I…I…I am going to have my coffee now." She said marching over to the table. She poured her cup of coffee and added her sugar.
Taking a big gulp of her coffee, her face goes pale and she spits out her coffee.
Everyone gasped, "Mary, my child, are you alright?" Her father asked with concern.
"That was not sugar! It was salt!" Mary yelled.
"Mary, I'm sure it was just an accident." Ben stated trying not to laugh.
"Aaaagggg…someone is trying to kill me!" she yelled. At that everyone busted out laughing.
Dinner was quite for Mary who was still mad and not speaking. Everyone was talking about the dance this weekend. Who was going with whom.
"Adam, have you decided on who you wanted to take to the dance?" Ben asked.
"I have, Pa." Adam replied and continued to eat his supper.
"Well, Son, are you going to tell us?" Ben inquired.
"Well, Pa, I will have the honor of taking the beautiful Emily." Adam said with a smile while looking at Emily who blushed.
Mary went to bed after dinner, but it wasn't even a half hour before she started to scream.
Mary ran down the stairs yelling and scratching all over.
"Mary, what is going on now?" James ordered.
"The bed it broke and now I'm all itchy. What is going on!" She yelled.
"Well I for one don't want to be around for all this yelling I'm going to feed the horses. Come on little Sam, let's go feed Starlight." Joe said picking up his niece out of Adam's lap.
Matthew and Hoss went upstairs to fix the bed, while Emily helped Mary get cleaned up and a bath.
Ben and James didn't know what to do or say they were both mad at what was going on.
"I don't know what is going on, Pa, but I'm going to figure it out." Adam said walking out of the house and into the barn.
"Okay, you two. Why do I have a feeling that you two are in on all of this?" Adam questioned Sam and Joe.
"What do you mean Adam?" Joe replied.
"You know what I mean Joe. Tell me. "Adam demanded.
"It was me, Daddy." Samantha whispered.
"You?" Adam said kneeling down in front of her.
"Yes Sir."
"Do you want to tell me why?" he asked looking at her directly in the eye.
"Well, she is mean and she yells a lot. I wanted to get her back for breaking my dolly." She said looking down at the ground.
"You couldn't have done it all by yourself. Did Uncle Joe help you?"
"Yes sir, but please Daddy, don't let Uncle Joe get in trouble it was all my idea." She pleaded.
"Well thank you for being honest with me. As funny as it was, it was wrong of the two of you to pull pranks on Mary. But because you were honest and the fact that I also think that Mary need a lesson, you two are not in trouble; next time you do it you will be punished. Both you and your Uncle Joe will have a hard time sitting. Now let's get these horses feed then I think it's time that we all head to bed."