Chapter 11 "Cause and Effect".

Adam felt like a new man when he walked into their much bigger hotel suite. He had taken a bath, managed to get all the grime off and even get a close shave. He hadn't felt this good in a long time.

His two brothers lounged in the comfortable plush chairs that were positioned in the room. Adam looked at them skeptically, "Pa isn't back yet?"

"Nope." Joe replied lazily.

Hoss looked over this older brother and could not help but smile, "My, Adam, you sure do clean up real nice. You look like a new man!"

Adam grinned in reply, "I feel like one. I was beginning to think I would never see bath water again."

"You sure smell a lot better too!" Joe commented mischievously from his chair.

"Thanks a lot!" Adam took a seat next to Joe, relieved to once again have a comfortable seat. "Pa's been gone a long time. I wonder what's keeping him?"

Just then the door opened and Ben Cartwright strode into the room looking none to happy. "I'll tell you what's been keeping me!" he growled as he looked at each of his sons. "Do you realize how much damage you three caused? I had to pay that man a total of 800 dollars!"

Adam frowned, "Pa, I know we didn't cause that much damage."

"No, you didn't cause that much damage. I would estimate it to be only about $500, but in order to keep you boys out of court, I had to pay the owner a little extra to drop the charges!" he steamed.

The three brothers grimaced at their father's tone of voice. They all knew he was not through with them quite yet so they wisely remained silent.

Ben remained quite for a few minutes as he tried to control his anger. Joe couldn't stand the uncomfortable silence any longer. "We'll pay you back, Pa!"

Ben turned to his son angrily, "You can bet your life you're going to pay me back! All three of you are going to pay me back every last cent!"

All three humbly nodded in acceptance.

Ben took off his hat and threw it on a table. He then went to the complimentary liqueur cabinet and pulled out a bottle brandy. As he poured himself a drink he took his time and let his sons squirm behind him. Downing the drink in one quick gulp he slowly turned back to his sons. "All right. I want to know what happened. Why did you three get kicked off the stage? Why you got into a fight in the saloon and how you lost all your money!"

Adam cleared his throat, "Well, Pa, it's a fairly long story..."

Ben pursed his lips together, "I don't care how long it is; I want to hear it. Don't worry, I've got lots of time on my hands." He folded his arms across his chest and looked expectantly as his sons.

Adam furrowed his eyebrows. Before speaking again he looked to his two brothers for support.

Both nodded their encouragement. It was one of the first times in the last two weeks that they all actually supported each other.

Adam cleared his throat again, "Well, ya see, Pa, it all started in San Jose when we were all working on our different contracts. Joe was the first one to get his done, and well... he decided to celebrate…and I guess we weren't too happy Joe was already having fun."

Joe spoke up, "Well, Pa, mine was really easy to settle, and I guess I did kind of flaunt that fact in front of Adam and Hoss. In fact, you can say I was teasing them pretty badly." He smiled apologetically.

Hoss nodded in agreement, "Yeah Joe was being down right ornery!"

They all laughed at the recollection, that is, all but Ben. "And." he said, urging them to get back on track.

Adam picked up the story again, "And, well, the fifth night we were there, I was still in the process of negotiating my contract, and I had an early morning meeting. That night, however, Joe decided to go out on the town again. He didn't show up at the hotel when he said he would, so naturally Hoss and I started to get a little worried. We ended up going out to look for him around one o'clock in the morning. When we got back to the room, about three in the morning, Joe was sitting there, warm and comfortable, as if nothing was wrong. He proceeded to tell us how worried he was and that we shouldn't just up and leave like that."

Joe knitted his brow together; he was glad Adam didn't mention how drunk he has been that night.

Adam continued, "Well, Pa, Joe kept on talking, and I suppose that's when my temper got the best of me. Before I thought about it, I had hit Joe square in the jaw."

"Yeah, Adam was so mad I had to pull him off of Joe." Hoss added.

"Well, that's when it all started. Joe and I were not on good terms for the rest of the week, and we kept trying to needle the other and start another fight. We managed to keep from exchanging blows, that is, until we were stopped at one of the way stations on the trip back home..." Adam paused; hoping one of his brothers would jump in.

Thankfully, Joe did, "Well, Pa…we stayed the night at the way station, and all night me and Adam had been arguing with each other. I suppose I wanted him to fight me. I was itching for a reason to pay him back for the hotel. Well, as we were getting on the stage the next morning, I smarted off to Adam... and I guess it just got to him. Before I knew it, he punched me, and we were both fighting right there in front of the stage. Well, needless to say, the driver wasn't too happy with us, and he kicked us all off."

Hoss, Adam, and Joe continued with the saga of their journey as Ben listened without comment.

Once finished, Ben simply nodded. "Well, I hope you all learned something from this."

The three brothers exchanged surprised glances. This was not the response they had been expected from their father.

Ben stood up from his chair and picked up his hat from the table. Putting it on, he said, "Well let's go get something to eat. I haven't had a good meal in days."

Joe looked at Adam and then Hoss with wide eyes. He thought for sure they were going to be in store for a long lecture. Both his brothers shrugged and followed Ben out the door. They all wisely believed that it was best not to question their father's seemingly uncharacteristic response.

Ben stood just outside the door and as he waited for his sons to pass through. When his oldest passed he took Adam by the arm to walk by his side. "I must say, son, you look one hundred percent better then the last time I saw you."

A smiling Adam wrapped an arm around his father's broad shoulders. "Thanks, Pa. I feel it too."

The next morning the Cartwrights were preparing to leave on the early morning stage for Virginia City. Ben threw his bag up to the stage driver. As Joe started to do the same Ben grabbed his arm, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm... I'm putting my bag up there. We're going on the stage aren't we?" Joe answered, clearly confused.

Ben smiled, "No, we're not going on the stage... I'M going on the stage. You three can ride back on the animals you bought and paid for."

Three mouths opened in surprise, ready to protest. Ben's look quickly squelched any ideas of that. Adam shrugged dejectedly. Clamping his hand on his youngest brother's shoulder, he said, "Come on, we got a long ride ahead of us."

"Yeah, I guess we do, but if you think I am going to ride that stupid jack-ass...." Joe scowled.

Adam smiled warmly, "Relax, brother, you can ride my horse."

Joe perked up, "Really? You're going to ride the jack ass?"

Adam shook his head and answered calmly, "No, I'm riding Pa's horse; someone has to take it back home!"

Joe glared suspiciously at his oldest brother. "How come you always get the good horse?"

"Haven't you learned by now that the eldest always gets his way!"

Hoss couldn't help but laugh at his brothers' exchange. Draping his arms across their shoulders he said, "Come on you two; we got a long ride ahead."

Ben smiled at his sons; glad to see they were getting along so well. "You boys keep out of trouble, ya hear!"

"Don't worry, Pa. I think we've had enough trouble to last a good few years!" Adam replied.

"Well, just be sure you make it home. I'll see you three in a few in a few days," Ben said as he climbed into the stagecoach.

The three brothers stood side by side on the sidewalk. They watched their Father's stage drive towards Virginia City and their home; all three were envious of their father's comparatively short journey.

As the stagecoach disappeared around the corner, Joe spoke up, "I sure would like to be on that stage instead of riding all the way back to the Ponderosa."

Hoss placed a firm hand on his brother's shoulder. "And miss out on all these good times?"

All three erupted in laughter at the comment.

"Come on boys, I'd rather we not stay here any longer than we have to. We've still got a long journey ahead of us." Adam urged.

"Aww, come on Adam. I was thinking maybe we could get a drink first!" Joe said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Hoss yanked on Joe's arm, "Oh no you don't! Let's get goin' youngin' I've had enough of this town and right now the sooner we get home to Hop Sing's cookin' the happier I'll be."

THE END

William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors: I, ii