Chapter 3 "A Quiet Respite?"

The rain came down hard.  It was icy and smelled of far off dark forests. It pounded into the dust, converting it instantly into mud.  They were soaked, miserable and shivering by the time they slogged the two endless miles to the saw the small farmhouse Joe had spoken of earlier. 

Adam was the first to dismount, as the brothers arrived in the yard. He stepped onto the porch and eagerly knocked on the front door. Joined by his two brothers, they all made a pathetic site as each huddled against the cold. Their clothes were soaked through to the skin and no longer provided their intended protection.

The door opened a narrow crack and a pair of faded blue and bleary eyes shadowed by shaggy white eyebrows peered out.  Adam smiled and moved closer to the door, he was about to say something when he noticed the barrel of gun poking through the doorway.  He stopped in his tracks and held his hands up slightly as he tried to show he meant no harm.    

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" An old man's voice demanded through the door.

Adam sucked in his breath, he didn't like it when strangers pointed guns at him for no reason. "Uhh, I'm Adam Cartwright and these are my brothers, Hoss and Joe. We're on our way to Virginia City and our ranch, the Ponderosa. We just needed some shelter for the night, and we saw your farm here...."

The door opened a few inches more and an almost bald head was thrust out.  He squinted closely at the men before him.  The gun did not waiver, however; it was still aimed at Adam and his brothers.  "Well, we don't want ya here! You'll jest have to go somewhere else!"

"Now wait a minute, couldn't we just stay in your barn? We need to get out of the rain and cold," Adam protested, annoyed at the man's inhospitably.

"No, I told ya! We don't want no visitors here!"

"Harry? What's going on out there? Who's at the door?" a new and decidedly female voice chimed in.

The old man lost his look of determination and glanced back into the house, obviously annoyed at being interrupted. "You just hush up now, Margie! I'll take care of this myself!"


Soon a short, round-faced woman was at his side peering at the three men standing on her porch. "Harry!  Why are these three young men standing out here? They look miserable! For goodness sakes, Harry, let them poor fellows in! It's much too cold and wet outside!"

The woman flung the door open and motioned for the brothers to come inside the house and ignored the red-faced Harry. The three men gladly entered the house, their clothes dripping on the floor as they followed Margie. 

"Margie! You can't just let them come in our house like this! You don't have any idea who they even are!"

Margie waved him off, much to the delight of the tired, wet and hungry Cartwright sons. "They don't look like they'll cause no harm, Harry. They just need ta warm up at the fire and get some food in their stomachs. Poor souls."


She ushered the men into the kitchen, "Now, I want you three to sit here at the table so's you can warm up.  I'll fix you some food and get you some warm blankets.  And you'll all be feelin' good as new."


Adam, Hoss, and Joe looked at each other, disbelieving their sudden change of fortune. Each took a seat, carefully easing their aching bodies into the wooden chairs that surrounded the well-worn kitchen table.  Joe raised his brows and grinned at his brothers as Margie left the room. 

"Now, who told you there was a farmhouse just down the road?"  he added smugly to Adam, who only glared in response.  

The old woman soon returned from the back of the house with three large blankets. Handing one to each, she said, "Now, iffen you want ta get out of those wet clothes, ya can change in the back room there. I don't have no clothes for y'all to wear, but these blankets are big enough to cover you boys while your clothes are dryin'."


Joe gave her his most charming smile as he accepted the blanket, "Thank you, Mrs…?"


The old woman smiled, "The last names Wilder, but you three can call me Margie. And don't you worry none about my husband; he gets a mite cranky round strangers. Seems like strangers are always after our grand-daughter, least that's the way Harry sees it."


Joe perked up, "Granddaughter? You have a granddaughter here, ma'am?"


Margie smiled, "Why, yes I do, young man. Her name's Doris. She's been living with us since her Pa, bless his soul, passed on a few years back."


Adam eyed Joe.  He didn't like the look in his brother's eyes. After Margie retreated to the back of the house once again, he leveled a finger at Joe and spoke in a clipped, hushed tone, "Joe...you stay away from that girl! We don't need any trouble tonight."


Joe looked up innocently and glanced at Hoss, "Did you hear that? Already brother is expecting me to cause trouble! We've only been here ten minutes!"  He stood up and clutched his blanket tightly. "Now, if you'll excuse me I'll try my best not to cause you any embarrassment while I get these wet clothes off!"

Hoss looked at his brother, his brows furrowed. "Now, why did you have to say something like that, Adam?  You lookin' for another fight?"


Adam frowned in reply, "Hoss, come on, you know how Joe is…  I thought it would be better to say something now than when we are all being chased out the door by old Harry there, with a rifle in hand."



Joe draped his wet clothes across the back of a chair in the small bedroom he was using as a changing room. He rewrapped the blanket around himself, relishing the warmth it offered. He gathered his wet closed and then stopped when he noticed his image in a full-length mirror that leaned against the wall.  He laughed quietly to himself. He looked much like a picture of one of the Romans he used to study in school.  Smiling, he stood up straighter and imitated the pose he had seen of Ceaser—one hand placed high on his chest, his chin raised slightly.  His images of ancient nobility were broken when he heard a noise behind him. 

He whispered as he scanned the room, "Who's there?"


He was alarmed to see one of the curtains by the window rustle with movement and even more so when a young, but somewhat homely looking, girl stepped from behind it. Joe immediately took her to be the granddaughter, Doris. The girl—who appeared to be about his age—stepped slowly towards him and grinned widely as she approached.

 
"Why hello there, handsome...."

Joe's eyes widened in surprise as questions ran through his head. How much had she seen? Why on earth was she in the room, while he had been undressing?


"I...uh... Excuse me…." His voice squeaked as he backed away, his hand grasping desperately for the handle of the door that would lead to the relative safety of the warm kitchen.


The girl, unperturbed, continued to smile seductively at him as she maintained her advance. "Hey where you going, handsome?"  The girl asked as Joe opened the door and made his escape; he did not stop to answer.

Adam and Hoss still sat in their wet clothes as they waited for the makeshift dressing room to become available.  Both looked up in surprise as a frantic Joe rushed into the room.

"Bout time you got back. Hoss and I are going to catch pneumonia waiting for you."  Adam arched his eyebrows at his brother's strange behavior but decided not to comment.  He pushed himself up from the table, "I'm going to get these wet clothes off."


Joe's eyes grew big, and he reached for Adam's arm.  "NO, ADAM! Don't go back there!" he pleaded.

Adam pulled his arm from Joe's grasp and looked at him as if he were mad.  "Why not?  I certainly can't change here. If I don't get these clothes off, I'll catch a cold."

"You don't understand... If you go back there, you're liable to get us kicked out of this house!"  Lowering his voice to a whisper, he said, "There's...there's someone back there…."


Adam sighed and spoke to Joe as if he were a small child. "Of course, there's someone back there. Margie went back there, don't you remember?"

Joe shook his head in frustration, "No, Adam, that's not who I'm talking about! D-D-Doris is back there...."

"No, I'm not." A young woman's voice exclaimed from directly behind him.  Addressing Adam she thrust out her slender hand, "Pleased to meet ya! I'm Doris."


Adam took her hand gingerly, "Pleased to meet you. I am Adam Cartwright and these are my brothers, Hoss and Little Joe."

Doris gave Joe a sly smile, "Yes, we've already met...."

Joe swallowed nervously as she winked at him. 

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I am going to get out of these wet clothes," Adam said.  He fingered the wet garments that still clung to his body.  With that he left the kitchen, leaving his brothers alone with Doris.


When Adam returned to the kitchen a few minutes later, he found Doris sitting in his chair and the room filled with an awkward silence. Doris had eyes only for Joe, who was playing nervously with a spoon that had been left on the table. 

"Hey, Hoss, the back room is all yours…."


Hoss jumped at the chance to escape the table.  Aside from the lack of conversation, he didn't particularly like the way Doris eyed Joe as if he were the night's special at a restaurant. "Yeah, Adam, I think I will get out of these clothes. Scuse me, Doris, Joe," he said politely as he left for the room.

Adam took a seat and smiled at both Joe and Doris, unsure of the cause of the awkward silence.  Doris turned her eyes to the elder Cartwright and appraised him much like she had Joe earlier in the night.  Adam looked from Joe—whose eyes were securely focused on the table—to Doris whose eyes were appraising them as if they were two prized head of beef at the local meat market.


It would be an understatement to say that her gaze made Adam feel uncomfortable.  He tugged on the blanket, wrapping it tighter as he tried to recover some semblance of modesty. He cleared his throat and made a nervous attempt to bring some levity to the table. "So...Doris...you get many visitors around here?"


Doris stared dreamily at Adam as she spoke, "No, we don't get too many and it seems like when we do they get chased away by my grand-daddy. He don't like strangers too much. Specially when they're men."

"Really?" Adam smiled in return and once again tugged at his blanket.


He welcomed the interruption that was provided by both Margie and Hoss entering the room.  While Hoss sat down, Margie glanced at the three heaps of wet clothes the men had piled next to their chairs.

"Here boys," she said, indicating the fireplace behind her, "why don't you put your clothes here so's they can dry out some."

Adam and Hoss were closest to the fireplace and quickly spread their clothes over the fire screen. By the time Little Joe had reached the fireplace, he was dismayed to find that there was nowhere for him place his damp clothing.  He frowned at his two brothers and their inconsiderate ways.

 Margie smiled at the young man's predicament. "In the other room, son, there's another fireplace where you can set your clothes." Looking down at Doris who still sat at the table, she said, "Doris, here, can show you where to put 'em."


Doris smiled widely at the suggestion. She quickly stood up and eagerly pulled on Joe's arm, leading him to the backroom. "Come on, this way."


Adam and Hoss, who were once again seated at the table, ignored their youngest brother's plight as their minds were focused expectantly on the food whose mouth-watering odors wafted from the stove. 


Joe followed Doris, albeit reluctantly, as she led the way down the short hallway.  Their jouney brought them to the same room that had earlier served as a changing room.  Once inside the room, Doris shut the door, and much to Joe's alarm, she also locked it.

She grabbed Joe's clothes from his arms and set them near the fireplace.  She took her time as she laid each article of clothing out, all the while stealing glances at the still shocked Joe Cartwright. When she had finished with the clothes, she turned to Joe, a seductive look on her face.  Not for the first time that night, Joe felt himself redden with embarrassment as the Doris took slow steps toward him.

 
With an anxious grin, he backed away, clutching his blanket tightly to him.  Holding up his hands, he said, "Look, Doris...I don't even know you...wh-what about your grandfather...."


Doris smiled, an almost evil look, "Forget about those things, just think about what we can be doing...."


Joe's eyes opened wide, and he swallowed as panic began to set it. "Look! I really should be getting back to my brothers..." He was alarmed to find himself pinned in the corner of the room; his attempted retreat had come to a halt.

Doris touched his bare shoulder, running her hand down his arm. "I don't think anyone so handsome has ever come to this ranch before..."


Joe shuddered at her touch, why had it suddenly gotten so hot in here?


Doris's eyes narrowed as she took in Joe's scantily clad form.  Wrapping her arms around his neck, she moved in for a kiss.

Joe attempted to duck away from her touch. "Look, Doris, I really don't think this is such a good idea..."


"You're not supposed to think!" she said, swooping in for another kiss. This time her lips connected with Joe's in a furious barrage. Joe backed against the wall, trying to get away from the girl, definitely a change for him, he thought absently between the silent screams for help from his brothers.

Margie set a steaming plate of hot food in front of Adam.  As the heavenly smells drifted towards him, he was reminded just how hungry he really was.  He remembered that he hadn't actually eaten anything since the mediocre breakfast they were served at the way station earlier that day. He sat there for a moment savoring the aromas drifting up from the plate. 


"Ma'am, you bet I am going to enjoy this! It smells DE-licious!" Hoss grinned as he picked up his fork ready to dig in.


Adam smiled, "My brother never passes up a good meal, Margie. This smells great; thank you for all the trouble you're going through for us."


Margie patted Adam on the back, "Oh I like having guests; we don't get many round here, and I don't get to pamper nice boys like you too often."

Adam picked up his fork and took a bite of the steaming food.  The bowl of roast beef stew was filled with carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans and various spices. He hadn't eaten anything that looked as good as this since they had left San Jose nearly a week ago.

 
As Adam and Hoss began to eat, Harry began to grow suspicious. He had been watching the three brothers from the shadows of the living room. He didn't like the way the youngest boy had been looking at Doris; he liked it even less when he had left to go to another room with Doris.

His shotgun was gripped hard and pointed straight ahead as he slowly made his way through the dark hallway to the room Doris and the young Cartwright had entered.  His eyes narrowed in anger when he saw the door was shut.  He reached for the doorknob and attempted to turn it.  His temper flared when he realized it was locked.  He cocked his gun with one hand as he kicked in the door.

  
"What the HELL do you think you're doing with my granddaughter!" he yelled at Joe.

Joe and Doris looked up in shock.  Joe was frightened by the look in the old man's eyes and backed away from the shotgun-wielding grandfather.  Doris stood in front of Joe protectively, her arm outstretched trying to keep Joe behind her.


"Grandpa, PLEASE DON'T!"

"Get out of my way, Doris, I want to take care of this little scalawag right now!"

"L-l-l-look, Mr. Wilder, this, this is all just a big misunderstanding! I, I'm not the least bit interested in your granddaughter!" Joe pleaded, hoping to comfort the distraught man.

Doris's mouth gaped open in shock, "What did you say? Joe I thought...?"  With that she burst into tears.

Touching her arm, he tried to calm her, "Please...Doris, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that..."

Harry grew angrier at his granddaughter's rejection. "How you can you trifle with a poor girl's affection like that. You're the worst kind there is, Cartwright!"  He took a menacing step towards Joe as he leveled his gun at his midsection. "You and your brothers got ten seconds to get out of my house before I start shootin'."

Joe stood there stunned; he couldn't believe what had just happened. His inaction made Harry even madder, "I said ten seconds, boy! Ten...nine..."


Joe snapped into action; grabbing his clothes from the fireplace, he quickly ran towards the kitchen, "Adam! Hoss! Come on, we have to get out of here!"

Adam and Hoss looked up from their steaming plates of stew, confused.  They had heard some muffled shouting, but they didn't expect to see their brother in such a state of panic.

"What's going on?" Adam asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.


Joe looked at them both, willing them to move before the old man did something they would all regret. "There's no time to explain, just move, or there won't be a later."

It took no more explaining on Adam's part; he jumped up clutching the blanket close to him and grabbed his clothes.  Hoss stuffed a few more forkfuls of stew into his mouth before he too got up and snatched his clothes. Together the three brothers ran hastily for the door, holding tightly to the blankets that covered their person.


The rain still poured from the sky as they ran out of the house; their bare feet sank into the muddy yard. The old man stood in the doorway with a smirk on his face. "You can stay in the barn since it's still raining, but if you're here when I wake up tomorrow mornin', I won't hesitate to blow your heads clean off. And I better not catch you within 5 yards of my house if you know what's good for ya." With that the man slammed the door shut. His head soon peaked through the window to watch the movements of the three stunned brothers.


Hoss and Adam were shocked at the new turn of events. They had been sitting down in a nice warm kitchen eating a warm bowl of delicious food when they were so rudely torn from the table by the anxious urgings of their younger brother.  Now they were back out in the cold night air, with blankets as their only protection from the rain that continued pour from above.

"I…" Joe started, stunned by the turn of events.

Adam cut him off, "We'll discuss this in the barn."  With that said he adjusted the blanket and walked briskly towards the barn.  At least it would be warmer than staying outside.

Once inside, Adam turned to Joe his eyes squinting dangerously. "You mind telling us what that was all about?"


Joe shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not really sure..."

Hoss turned, shaking his large index finger at his brother. "Well you better start explaining little brother cause you just got us kicked out of a warm house with warm beds and, most importantly, a warm meal!"

Adam and Hoss waited impatiently as he tried to formulate an answer that would save his hide. "Well...I...well, you see Doris, she, was, she was out to get me. She took me in that back room and well, well she locked the door and started kissing me! That's when the old man came in!"


Adam rolled his eyes.  He moved in front of Joe and looked him in the eye as he spoke, "I would think you could keep your hands to yourself for one night. It was pretty obvious Harry wasn't too keen on letting anyone of us near his granddaughter. You just had to push and see if you could get the girl again, didn't you?" 

Hoss shook his head as he passed Joe, he couldn't believe his brother had already got them kicked out of such a nice home. "I thought the stage was enough Joe; why'd you have to make trouble here too?"

With an exasperated sigh, Adam cut off any further arguing. "I think it's best that we all get some sleep.

"Yeah, good idea Adam." Hoss harrumphed.

Joe stood there a moment stunned.  He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was completely innocent, and they didn't even believe him!  With a shrug he decided, like his brothers, to find a place to sleep for the night.  Joe chose an area on the other side of the well away from his brothers.  He too began to scratch his skin; the blanket was beginning to make it crawl. Finally, he decided to discard the blanket for his own sanity and opted to put on his sodden clothing—at least they wouldn't itch.    


Adam plopped down on a haystack. He felt miserable; he was tired, hungry, wet, and itching terribly from the wet wool blankets. His sour mood was not helped as he began to scratch his now irritated skin.  He frowned as he considered his only other choice—putting on his still wet clothes.

Hoss, too, chose a private area; he wasn't about to talk to either one of them anymore then he had to.  Feeling the insistent itch of the wool blanket that served to protect him from the elements, he became more resentful of his two brothers.  If it weren't for them, they never would have gotten in this whole mess, he thought angrily. Grabbing his wet clothes, he unwrapped the blanket disdainfully—at least his clothes wouldn't itch as much.

Each brother found a section of the barn to sleep in. Adam opted for the loft, as did Joe, although each took opposite ends.  Hoss chose an empty area where some extra hay was being stored on the bottom floor. At least he wouldn't have to look at his brothers, he thought as he lay down uncomfortably in the hay.


Adam had slept fitfully through the night.  The cold, drafty barn was accentuated by the wet clothes, every cool breeze made him feel like he was sleeping in the unsheltered outside. Joe slept similarly; he felt miserable and regretted the day he had managed to get his father's permission to accompany Hoss and Adam on the long trip to San Jose.  And Hoss, although cold and hungry, snored peacefully down below, adding to his brothers' misery.



Joe shook Adam's shoulder as he desperately tried to wake him up before the old man came into the barn. "Adam, Adam, come on we have to get going. It's almost dawn!"


Adam awoke slowly; he felt as if he had just fallen asleep, and now, Joe was shaking him, telling him it was time to go already.  He sat up and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes as his brother's form did not want to come into focus.


Joe looked anxious as he watched his brother move slowly, "Come on, Adam! We have to get going!"

Adam pushed himself up wearily, "All right! I'm coming. Is everything ready to go?"


Joe nodded, "Yeah, Hoss and I already saddled the horses. Come on, I saw some movement in the house!"

Adam hurried as fast as he could down the hayloft ladder; he was feeling clumsy, as he was still not quite awake. Hoss, who had been waiting outside, handed Adam control of his horse.

"All right, let's get going." Adam said, his voice husky as he mounted his horse.

The day had dawned bright, cool and cloudless.  The previous night's storm had left pools of muddy water throughout the yard and surrounding landscape.  Hoss and Joe did not wait for their brother and were already well out of the yard by the time Adam had settled in his seat.  As he urged his horse into a faster gait, he saw Mr. Wilder step onto the front porch with gun in hand.   


Chapter 4 "On the Road Again"

The day passed slowly for the three sullen brothers as they continued their journey homeward. Adam had a dull headache, as did Hoss and Joe, which only added to their misery and sour moods. It was mid afternoon by the time Adam finally broke their silent trek when he spoke to Hoss.

"How much further to the next town?"


Hoss considered the question for a moment. "I don't rightly know. Think there's one about another day's ride from here."


Adam scowled at the idea of spending the night on the trail without proper provisions. All they had for guns were their pistols, and those were hardly adequate for hunting.  They had no blankets, as they had decided it was best to leave the ones they had been lent with their previous 'hosts.'


"I guess we'll have to make camp in a few hours then."

Hoss nodded; he wasn't very fond of the idea either. "I suppose so."


Without bothering to look behind him, Adam asked, "Is Joe still back there?"

Hoss turned around; he had almost forgotten about his brother. He was relieved to see him coming along at a slow but steady pace.  "Yeah, he's coming...surely but slowly."

A grin passed Adam's lips at the thought of his brother on the jackass. "Serves him right for getting us kicked out of that house."



Nearly four days since they had left the Wilder's house, the three brothers came into the small town of Springfield. Each looked the worse for wear. Adam had come down with nasty cold.  They were all covered in trail dust and mud from sleeping on the roadside and traveling unprotected in the rain storms that seemed to pop up frequently while they were on the road.


They wearily dismounted in front of the livery stable. Adam dug in his pocket and pulled out a handful of dollar bills. He counted them to himself then turned to his brothers, "Well, all I've got left is seven dollars. How about you two?"


Both Hoss and Joe reached into their pockets, repeating Adam's earlier actions. Joe looked up, "I've only got three."


Adam looked at him incredulously, "ONLY THREE DOLLARS??? What on earth did you spend your money on?"


Joe shrugged his shoulders, "Well I didn't figure I would need anymore between San Jose and home so I spent it on poker and Sarah."


Adam rolled his eyes; his brother was so irresponsible! "How about you, Hoss? What do you have left?"

Hoss counted his money one more time. "I've got ten."

Adam sighed, "That leaves us with a total of twenty dollars... not much."

Joe looked at him surprised, "Not much? That's plenty. That's enough to get us a hotel room, board the horses and get something to eat."

Adam shook his head, "Joe we have to make this money last. Remember there are three of us.  It's going to cost us $3 for the horses, about $4 for rooms at the hotel over there and at least $5 for meals. That only leaves us at most with six dollars to last us another week."


Hoss and Joe sighed; this trip was getting worse. Adam handed his horse's reins to Hoss, sneezing as he did so. "I'll go get us some rooms at the hotel. I'll see about getting us some baths too." With that he started to head for "The Victorian Palace". Stopping suddenly, he turned around, "What day is it?"


Hoss scratched his head. "I think its Saturday. Why?"

Adam sighed, "I was hoping to send a telegram to Pa. Maybe he can wire us some money... It will have to wait until Monday though."

Joe looked up, "Hey Adam that would mean we'll have to stay here another day."

Adam nodded. "I know, I just hope our funds last that long..." Turning around once again he headed for the hotel.