Chapter 5:
Finish

A few minutes after 3 o'clock on the next day Adam stopped the wagon in front of the school house. Little Joe pushed himself through the crowd of children and headed towards his brother.

"Sorry for being late… I had to stop and water the horses.", Adam said as Joe threw his books on the back of the wagon. He jumped up and flopped himself into the seat.

"Owww…", Joe moaned and jumped up.

Adam pulled a guilty face and handed him his jacket. Joe took it gladly, put it on his seat, and sat down.

"Are you alright?", Adam asked.

"Yeah, I guess so... Adam?"

"Yes." He set off the wagon.

"You gave me an idea yesterday… How much money do you think the fellas would pay me if I fight … let's say the biggest kid in class?

Adam wiped his face. "Joe…", he sighed. "Aren't you sore enough already?"

"I would do it after school, silly. Pa would never know."

Adam raised his eyebrow. "Didn't you learn anything from yesterday?"

"Sure! That losing your temper is wrong… but I don't wanna lose any temper, I wanna win me some money!", Joe said seriously and waved his finger at his brother.

Adam chuckled while Joe was counting coins in his mind. "Joe! Listen to the advice of your older brother: don't do it."

Adam turned to Joe and smiled. "… not until you're 21."

oooOOOooo

In the afternoon Adam was outside chopping wood when his little brother came up to him.

"Can I help you?", Joe asked.

Adam looked up and wiped the sweat off his face. "Alright… who are you and what have you done to Little Joe?" He grinned, gave Joe his hatchet, and took a saw out of a shelf next to the house.

The two were working for a while when suddenly a deep voice rang out the barn: "ADAM! JOSEPH!"
The boys startled, let go of their tools and hurried to the barn. They entered and saw Ben descending the ladder from the loft, holding the dead rattler in his hand. He glared accusingly at his sons as he reached the soil.

"Sorry, Sir. I forgot to put it away.", Adam said compunctious and scratched the back of his head.

Joe bit his lip and looked the other way while Ben planted himself in front of his boys.

"THIS THING ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK! HOW CAN SOMEONE BE SO INCONSIDERATE!", he yelled and waved the dead snake in front of their eyes.

Suddenly Ben dropped it on the floor and raised his finger: "GET RID OF IT! NOW!"

Little Joe stepped forward, picked up the snake, and looked up to his father.

"Don't lose your temper, Pa.", he said calmly and shook his head.

Ben looked like he was hit by a snowball. Then he chuckled. "Here I stand, listening to my own lectures... now get!"

Adam smiled and grabbed his little brother by the shoulder. As the boys walked out of the barn he turned to Joe and said: "Let's bury this thing real deep, so that no one will ever find it."

"Hmmm…", said Joe and scrutinized the animal. "Don't you think Miss Jones would want to take a look at this beauty!"

Adam grabbed the back of his brother's neck and squeezed it hard.

"Ahhh... stop it." Joe giggled and Adam ruffled his hair.

Ben was standing in front of the barn and gazed after his two boys. He shook his head, grinned broadly and walked slowly into the house.

~ The End ~

I want to thank you all for your encouraging comments and I'm very sorry for taking so long to finish the story.
Sometimes real life gets in the way. ;)