Chapter 8: Farmer, Not A Fighter

Charles sighed as he put down his axe and tossed the wood he had just chopped to the side. The Ingalls were going through firewood like free money with the nights being colder than normal. He wiped away some sweat from his forehead, he looked up the hill from his property and saw his wife walking towards the house. By the look on her face, it must have been a long day at the restaurant.

"Hello, darlin'." Charles smiled and waved to Caroline. But instead of her flailing her arms and running to him like she almost always did, Caroline kept her eyes on the ground.

Charles waited for his wife, concern growing as she finally approached him. "Caroline, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." She answered, but it was an obvious lie. The worn down look on her face told him that there was another truth. "I'm just tired."

"Come on." Charles put his hands on Caroline's shoulders for support. "I can tell something's wrong. Now, what is it?"

Caroline hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. She sighed, knowing that certain things she could not keep from her husband. "At the restaurant, right before we closed..."

Charles was left in suspense as she paused mid-sentence. "What?"

"There were these men." Caroline finally found the will to say what had happened. "They were making jokes and talking loud. I assumed they were all drunk. One of them...one of the men tried to grab me."

Within an instant, Charles was consumed with rage. Nobody laid a hand on his wife. "Who were they? What did they look like?"

Caroline shook her head. This was what she was afraid of. She knew Charles better than he knew himself. "I don't know. Charles, just stay here with me. Please."

"I can't let someone try to hurt you and get away with it." Charles left Caroline's side and went over to the barn.

"Charles, please don't go after them!" Caroline pleaded, worried that something terrible might end up happening.

Charles turned back around. "Caroline, go inside and stay there until I get back."

Then, he went into the barn and saddled up one of the horses. As he mounted and started his ride into town, he heard his wife scream for him. "Charles. Charles!"

Back in Walnut Grove, Andy was glaring around town to make sure no one saw him run up the steps into the Silver Coin. It was pretty empty, besides three men who kept to themselves sitting by the player piano. Andy came up to the bar and was immediately greeted by Pierce, who he could not deny had become a friendly acquaintance of his.

"Andrew." Pierce smiled as he reached for the usual. "Nice to finally see you again. Thought when you weren't in with Albert and Willie, you were done with this place."

Andy sighed. "My parents were starting to get suspicious of me staying out so late."

The older man nodded as he sat down a full glass. He had kept secrets for patrons of his many times before, but sooner or later the truth always seemed to come out. "You boys really think you can keep your nightly outings a secret for much longer?"

"I don't know." Andy sighed as he took a drink. "I just don't want to hear it from them. How many times has my pa been in?"

"Two or three times in the past few months. I can tell you two are related. You take after him."

Normally, Andy would have taken that statement as a compliment, considering how much he looked up to his pa as a kid...literally. But now, he was starting to see his parents in a new light. "Is Sarah in tonight?"

Pierce smirked. "She'd been asking about you, too. I don't think she's comin' tonight."

Outside of the saloon, a horse was riding into town. First it trotted by Nellie's hotel, but then made its way over to the Silver Coin. Pierce noticed this through the windows and prepared himself for a new customer. That was until the rider dismounted and he realized it was a familiar face walking up to the establishment. By the enraged look on the man's face, the quiet night was about to end.

"Not tonight." Pierce sighed.

"What?" Andy asked, not knowing what the bartender had seen outside.

"Some angry lookin' farmer outside. Probably coming' to start trouble. I've seen him around town before." Pierce explained.

Andy slowly turned his head around and was immediately struck with panic. "That's Mr. Ingalls."

"Albert's father?"

"I am not here." Andy rushed behind the bar and into the small back storage room. Out of all the people in the world, besides his own parents, Charles Ingalls was the last person he wanted to catch him here in the saloon.

Pierce watched as Charles made his way into the building, stopping in the doorway and taking in the grandness of the saloon, like how every new customer did the first time they stepped inside. From what Albert had said about his father, Charles hated the Silver Coin the most out of everyone in Walnut Grove. Pierce figured he was probably an ex-drunk who did not like the temptation, but apparently Charles avoided booze like the plague.

"Pierce." Charles walked up to the bar top, still as furious as when Caroline first told him about her attacker.

"Mr. Ingalls, am I correct?" Pierce asked.

"Yeah. I'm looking for a group of men who were at Nellie's restaurant right before it closed." Charles said in a demanding tone.

So he was right after all. Now the only question was could this farmer throw a punch. "Why you askin'?"

"Because I have business with one of them. Now, do you mind telling me if they're here, so I can get out of this place."

Pierce nodded his head and gestured to the other side of the room. "Those three guys in the corner came in right after seven."

Charles wasted no time walking over to the group and standing his ground. When the three men looked over at him, they were confused at what some dirt farmer was so angry about. "You men were at the restaurant earlier tonight, weren't you?"

One of the men stretched out his arms. "What's it to ya'?"

"I was told that one of you tried to put your hands on the woman who runs the kitchen there. Well, she happens to be my wife. So, which one of you is going to answer for it?"

One of the other men spoke. "That's a pretty presumptuous accusation, friend."

"I'm not your friend." Charles gritted his teeth.

"I can see that." The second man took a slow sip of his drink, assessing the situation in his mind. Three on one. "Why don't you have a seat, so we can all have a drink and talk about your beautiful wife."

In a split second, Charles grabbed the shirt of the man who spoke those vile words and began smashing his fist against the man's face. He was able to get in a few good blows until the man's other two friends jumped up to hold Charles back. With his arms restrained, the man who Charles had hit, now with blood seeping from his nose, regained his posture and stood in front of Charles. He then started continually punching Charles in the face and ribs. He tried kicking and whipping his head around to break free, but with little success.

Then, a gun was pulled.

"Ingalls, get out of my saloon!" Pierce yelled from behind the bar, his fingers wrapped around a pistol that was aimed across the room.

"What!" Charles fumbled in disbelief as the men halted their brawl and let him go at the sight of the firearm. "These men assaulted my wife!"

"You're the one that came here picking for a fight." Without a proper bouncer on duty, Pierce did whatever he needed to keep relative peace in his bar. "Now get out of here, farmer! You're nothing but trouble!"

"I'm trouble!" There was nothing he could do. Charles backed up slowly and walked out of the Silver Coin, anger still burning inside of him. He jumped back on his horse and rode out of town, praying that he would never again have to step foot in that building.

The next afternoon in the schoolhouse, Albert was completely ignoring his sister's history lecture. His mind was spiraling on other matters. Charles had told his son about him going into the Silver Coin to explain his black eye and bruised ribs, and Andy had told him how he was almost caught. All of this made Albert realize that he needed to be way more cautious about the next planned night out.

Bret Morgan was apparently passing back through town in a few days and Albert was praying that he would bring more morphine with him. He had a huge craving for another hit that was getting even worse than his itching to gamble.

He had not realized how late it was, until everyone started getting up from their seats to leave school for the day.

"Albert, can I speak with you for a moment?" Eliza Jane called to him as the rest of the students rushed outside.

Albert stood up and walked to the front desk, half expecting to be scolded at for not paying attention during class. "Yes ma'am."

"I spoke with one of my colleagues at the state university and he's arranged for you to take the school's scholarship exam in a few months."

Albert was taken back. "A scholarship exam?"

"Yes." Miss Wilder nodded her head and smiled. "Albert, when you told me that you wanted to become a doctor, I inquired about the state university's medical program. Now considering your grades, I feel that this school has given you all that it can in regards to learning. I believe that you are ready to take the next step in your academic career."

"I thought I still had another year left of school. I didn't think I was old enough yet to attend the university."

"Well, you are a bit too young for the medical program right now, but there are general academic courses that you can begin taking next year. That way you can be even better prepared for when you start learning to become a doctor."

"I can start at the university next year?" He was astonished. Albert had been waiting for the day where he could start his dream of becoming a doctor, never truly knowing if it would ever come.

"Yes, so long as you qualify for your school certificate at the end of the year. But with your high grades, I don't have any doubts about that. Then, there's also the scholarship exam. I know that your family is very meticulous when it comes to finances. If you pass the scholarship exam, you can have half of your tuition covered by the university. Maybe even more if you do really well on it."

Albert's smile finally broke out. His dream was finally becoming real. "I can go to the university. Thank you, Miss Wilder."

"We're welcome, Albert. I can have all of the information you need for both exams by the end of the week, so you can start preparing and so you can talk it over with your parents."

"Thanks."

Filled with excitement, Albert ran out of the school and practically jumped down the steps. Almost landing on top of someone who had been minding their own business.

"Hey!"

Albert stumbled back as he heard the cry of the other person. "Oh! I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's alright, Albert." The girl who Albert had knocked into said.

The boy looked over and immediately recognized who it was, with a serge of embarrassment taking over him. "Oh. Michele! Hi. Look, I'm really sorry about running into you like that."

"Albert, it's fine." Michele smiled in understanding. "I shouldn't have been standing at the bottom of the steps anyways."

He had no idea what to say. Did Michele know that Albert had been staring at her from a far for months now? "Can...can I make it up to you?"

Michele took a moment to answer. "Well, would you maybe want to walk home together?"

Albert was stunned. He thought Michele had no idea who he even was and now she was asking him to walk her home. The only thing that could make this day better was getting another hit of morphine. "Yes. I mean sure. I can carry your books for you if you'd like."

"Okay. Thank you, Albert."

"You're welcome, Michele." The two started down the road out of town, never losing the smiles from their faces. However, before they could completely leave Walnut Grove, Albert glanced back down the road at the Silver Coin as if it was calling to him.