New Beginnings:
Ch.19
Bad Luck
Ethan has brought Aaron, his young houseguest into town to discuss the boy's taking of a pocketknife.
"Well young man, would you like to tell me what happened yesterday while you were here with Ben, George and Joseph? I know those three boys pretty well and if they are friends with you then you must be as nice as they are. Now just explain to me what went on with the pocketknife."
"Yes sir. I am so sorry sir. I have never ever even thought of taking something without paying and I didn't mean to do it then." Aaron says stopping to try to keep the tears from falling.
"Go on son, tell him what happened." Ethan encourages the boy putting his hands on Aaron's shoulders.
"Ben and I were looking at the pocketknives. I've never had one and just wanted to hold it. I was holding it and George came up excited about getting a soda. I stuck the knife in my pocket without even thinking and we went to get a soda. I forgot about having it until I emptied my pockets at bedtime."
"When you found you had it in your pocket, what did you do with it?" Mr. Axelrod asks.
"I got scared because I had stolen something. I didn't know what to do but Ben told me to go tell Uncle Ethan about it so I did. I was scared he would whip me but I told him anyway."
"Did you get a whipping for stealing my pocketknife, young man?"
"No sir, he said you would be deciding my punishment. If that is what you think I should have for punishment, I won't complain sir."
"If I thought for one minute, that you had meant to steal, I would tell Ethan to put you over his knee right here. If he did, you wouldn't sit comfortably for awhile. Aaron, I can see that you are telling me the truth and I am proud of you for doing that. Your punishment is going to be for not thinking instead of stealing. This was a case of not thinking."
Aaron, trying to figure out what he means, asks Ethan "Do you want me to go out back, sir? My Pa whips me in the back behind the building if I get one while in town."
"No son, I believe Mr. Axelrod is saying he has a different punishment in mind." Ethan answers nodding to Cyrus to continue.
"Alright Aaron, your punishment for not thinking is going to be to wash my front windows and sweep off the front porch. You'll find a bucket with soap in the broom cupboard by the counter. There's a ladder there also. You be careful on that ladder."
"Yes sir, Mr. Axelrod. I'll get right to work sir."
"Aaron, I'm going over to the jail while you are busy here. I'll be back to get you later. Be sure to do exactly what Mr. Axelrod tells you and don't leave the store." Ethan tells the child.
"Yes sir."
Walking down to the Sheriff's office, Ethan greets several ladies and men as he passes. "Thank you sheriff for catching the Robin Hood Bandit. I am grateful to know my livestock is now safe." One man says stopping Ethan on the boardwalk.
"Yes Hiram, your livestock should be safe. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to take care of."
"Have a good day, sheriff." The man replies as Ethan leaves. Entering the Sheriff's office, he finds Mitch sitting at the desk.
"Hello Mitch, any news on the trial?"
"Yes, now that you have received word from Judge Henry, the federal marshal will be arriving in a week. If I figure correctly, we'll start the trial on that Tuesday."
"That's good to know, I'm ready to have this behind us. I'm going to go talk to the prisoner." Ethan says leaving the room to go to the jail cells down the short hallway.
"Hello Matthew. Are you finding yourself well treated in our jail?" Ethan asks walking up to the bars.
"Hello Ethan, I can't complain. I get two hot meals a day, a sandwich for lunch, a bath every three days and a shave every two days. Not at all the conditions you might find in some places. You treat prisoners quite well. In fact, I'm surprised people aren't flocking to come to your jail. I eat better here than some men do at home!"
"We try to treat people well. I don't believe in cruelty no matter what crime someone commits."
"Even if someone killed someone else, you'd still be this cordial?"
"We wouldn't house that type of prisoner long. For that type of crime, the district judge has arranged for transport to the state prison the next day. Thankfully it's only happened once and that was when I was a deputy sheriff. There was a gunfight in town and two men were killed. As soon as I became sheriff, guns were outlawed within the town limits. All guns are checked here if someone visits the town. Residents know they are to leave firearms at home."
"And they abide by that?"
''Yes, they do or they have their firearm confiscated for several weeks."
"I met your young house guest the other day. You have to be really loving or crazy to keep that many children. You adopted our niece and nephews, then you become legal guardian to another half grown child, now you've taken on the responsibility of two more for who knows how long, I couldn't handle it."
"Yes, well Claire and Rob help take care of the younger ones so it's working out just fine. I only do for others what was done for my own. Someone took in the children for me for a month after Lucy died. It took that long to get the message to me and for me to get to Missouri to fetch them. I try to do the same for other children. That's what neighbors do in this area, we look out for each other. I'm not surprised you don't understand it. You don't have an ounce of real caring in you or a sense of what a family really is either. If you did you wouldn't have manipulated your own young nephews into a criminal act! I am doing my best to raise the boys to be law abiding decent young men unlike their father. You come along and practically ruin what I've taught them for the last three years, in two weeks! They now think I'm the bad guy for putting you in jail!"
While Ethan is at the Sheriff's office, Aaron is busy washing the store windows. Having finished one of the two long front windows, he moves the ladder to the other side of the doorway. Climbing up, he begins washing the window. The long handled tool, Mr. Axelrod brought out after Ethan left, gets the job finished very quickly. The handle has a sponge tied to the end and makes it much easier to wash a large part of the window at one time.
"WHHOOOEEEE Bob, look at the little slave! Ole Ax has found himself a slaveboy to wash for him! I wish Tom were here to see this!" Aaron hears below him. Looking down he sees two boys staring up at him.
"I'm not a slaveboy. I'm doing a job here." Aaron replies.
"A job huh, well are you getting paid to do this job?" One of the boys asks.
"No, I'm not. I have to do it though. If I don't I'll get a whipping. It's part of my punishment for misbehaving."
"Well if you didn't have that ladder you couldn't do that job. Ole Axe needs to wash his own windows. Right Bob?"
"Yeah Ted. We'll just get rid of that ladder!"
"Hey! You can't move the ladder, I'm ON it! Do you want me to fall off of it?" Aaron calls down as the boys begin to shake the ladder.
"Doesn't matter what you do. We are taking the ladder!" The boys answer as they continue to shake the ladder.
Feeling himself losing his grip, Aaron looks around to find something to hold on to. Seeing the wooden awning that is over the store's entrance, right beside him he leaps off the ladder to land on the awning. Looking down he sees the ladder being carried away by the boys. After sitting on the awning for what seems to be a long time, he hears the front door open and Mr. Axelrod call angrily "Aaron? Where are you? Come here!" Too afraid of the man to speak, Aaron stretches out on the awning as if lying on a bed. He plans to just wait until Mr. Axelrod stops being angry.
Not receiving an answer Mr. Axelrod mutters to himself "Took off on me did he? Took that ladder and hid it probably! Should have known better than trust some boy I don't know! Tried to give him a break and look what he does! I'll fix him! He won't sit for the rest of the day when I tell Ethan about this!"
Listening to this while on the awning, Aaron buries his face in his arms and lets the tears come. It's always the same no matter what he does, people think the worst and he winds up getting whipped! He hoped it would be different now that he was away from his Pa but in town it's the same. He is sure Mr. Cord will believe Mr. Axelrod over him so he keeps quiet.
Finished with his office business and noticing he's been gone over thirty minutes, Ethan walks back over to the Mercantile to check on Aaron's progress. Coming into the store, he finds an angry Cyrus Axelrod shelving cans behind the counter.
"Cyrus? I didn't see Aaron out front. Has he finished already?"
"The boy took off soon after you left. I walked out to check on him. He was gone and so was my ladder! He's just run off instead of completing his punishment!"
"That really doesn't sound like something Aaron would do, Cyrus. He's been with us two weeks and has completed every chore given him plus more without being asked. Did you call for him? Perhaps he just went to the outhouse."
"I called and looked around. No sign of the boy or the ladder either. Why would he take the ladder if he was going to the outhouse?"
"I don't know that Cyrus but something isn't right here. I'm going out to look around."
Walking out front, he stops to examine the ground beside the front porch. There are two sets of footprints leading away from the store. Following the footprints to behind the woodshed in back of the store, he finds the missing ladder. "Aaron? If you can hear me come on out. We need to talk son." Ethan calls loudly as he opens the woodshed door. Not finding the child in the woodshed even after looking behind the stacks of kindling, Ethan walks back around to the front of the store.
Seeing him coming and having heard him call out, Aaron flattens himself down on the awning to keep from being seen. He can't forget what Mr. Axelrod said about Ethan giving him a whipping so he keeps quiet and still.
"Cyrus, I found the ladder behind the woodshed. It looks as if two people carried it from the store. I haven't seen any signs of Aaron. Did you happen to see or hear anything before you went out to look for him?"
"Now that you bring that up, I did hear him talking to someone. I couldn't make out who. I wasn't looking at the front, I've been busy restocking these shelves and had my back to the window."
Just then the bells on the storefront doors jingle as the Anderson twins come in. "Hello Sheriff, is Joseph with you today?"
"No Jeff, he's at home working with Rob." Ethan answers.
"Mr. Axelrod, did you know there is a young boy sleeping on your awning? We spoke to him but he didn't wake up." Jason says grinning.
"Jeffrey! Jason! What have you done to the boy? This better not be your idea of a joke! If it is, you two are in for a sore seat! My young house guest is missing and we have no idea where to look for him." Ethan says giving the twins his best glare.
"Umm, we don't know anything about your house guest, sir. We are telling the truth though. There really is a boy on Mr. Axelrod's store awning!" Jason replies.
Hurrying out front to where he can see on top of the awning, Ethan sees Aaron stretched out face down on the awning. Feelings of anger follow the relief at finding the child safe. Knowing the boy has been there from the point he came back and has been able to see and hear what went on makes Ethan angry.
"Aaron McGinnis! Look at me right this minute!" Ethan snaps angrily. When Aaron looks up at him he says "Just what are you doing up there? Why didn't you answer when we called for you?" Not getting any response at all, Ethan turns to the twins who have followed him out.
"Boys? There's a ladder over beside the store's woodshed. Would you go get it please? I need to get him down."
"Yes sir." Jeff answers as he and his brother run for the ladder. Coming back with it a few minutes later, the boys help Ethan prop it up by the awning.
"Thank you boys for the help. Now you two go on and finish what you came here to do. This is a private matter between myself and Aaron. If your Pa agrees, come on out to the house tomorrow after morning chores and we'll all take a picnic lunch to the lake. I know Joseph would like to see you."
"Yes sir, we'd love to go and we'll be there! I'm sure Pa will let us but we'll ask." Jason quickly adds the last part when Ethan's brows go down. He knows from experience that lowered eyebrows mean you better obey what he says! Ethan said to ask his Pa first so he quickly agrees to do just that.
After the twins go inside, Ethan climbs the ladder and reaches Aaron's hiding place. "Well son, let's go. You can't stay up here forever so you might as well come down. Slide over and I'll help you get on the ladder."
Doing as he is told, Aaron finds himself standing on the ground a few minutes later. When Ethan looks at him he just drops his head and refuses to meet the man's eyes.
"Our business here is done, let's go home. You and I will talk more about this." Ethan tells the boy sternly.
"Yes sir."
Stopping the wagon in a grove of trees not far outside of town, Ethan turns to look at the boy sitting beside him. "Okay Aaron, it's time to talk to me. Why were you hiding on the store awning? Were you trying to get out of your punishment? Did you ask someone to take the ladder away?"
After waiting for an answer and not seeing a sign of a response, Ethan becomes stern "In my house, if you are asked a direct question and fail to answer, you will be punished. So I ask once more. Why were you on that awning? Answer me now."
Still not getting an answer Ethan sighs to himself. "All right Aaron, if you insist on doing this the hard way, we'll do it." With that said, Ethan gets down, walks around and lifts the boy from the wagon. Taking him into the trees, he sits on a tree stump and puts the boy beside him.
"Aaron, refusing to answer when called and refusing to answer when I asked you a direct question several times is disrespectful. If you insist on being disrespectful, you will be spanked." Ethan bends the boy over his knee and applies his hand to the child's bottom five times before he hears "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be bad! I'll tell you!"
Raising the child to stand beside him, Aaron says "Those boys took the ladder! They said if I told they would beat me up. I was scared. Please don't spank me anymore!"
Nodding, Ethan tells him "Aaron, It's over but you will be spanked for being defiant or disrespectful. You are to answer when asked a direct question. If you do not know the answer then say so. Now tell me this: What boys are you talking about? Do you mean the Anderson twins? The boys who brought the ladder back?"
"No Sir, some other boys."
"Do you know the names of these boys? Have you seen them before? Why would they take the ladder from you?"
"I've never seen them before, sir. They arrived at the store and saw me working. They started calling me a 'slaveboy' and said something about Mr. Axelrod needed to wash his own windows. They shook the ladder and I was going to fall so I had to climb off to the awning. Then they ran off with the ladder. They called each other Bob and Ted. I'm not making this up sir. They took the ladder and left me there." Aaron says wiping the tears off his face.
"I believe you, Aaron. Tell me, why didn't you answer when Mr. Axelrod called for you or later when I did? I know you heard both of us and knew we were looking for you. "
"Mr. Axelrod said I had just run off and he knew I shouldn't have been trusted and he was going to tell you to whip me when I was found. He was talking out loud to himself but I heard him. I was scared you would listen to him so I didn't answer. Then I didn't finish my punishment job so I figured I was in for a whipping anyway so I might as well not answer you"
"So, you did know that not answering someone could put you in trouble?"
"Yessir." Aaron whispers looking down again. "I'm sorry, I was bad. Are you going to whip me now?"
"I'm not going to be giving you a whipping, Aaron. None of this was anything you could control except for the not answering part. I think we just discussed what will happen if you do that again, didn't we? You must always answer when someone calls your name. "
"Yes sir." Aaron answers rubbing the slight sting in his britches.
"Come, we're going back to town to sort this out. I believe we can find out who those boys are really quickly. I have some things I'd like to say to them and their parents."
On the way back into town, Ethan says "Aaron, I've been around you two weeks and I've been wondering something. If I ask you a question will you tell me the truth?"
"Yes sir."
"Are you and Alyssa really twelve years old? I don't mean to say you are not acting your age, it's just that you are both so much smaller than Joseph and he's not that much older than twelve."
"We're not twelve sir. We are really only ten. Our Pa makes us say we are twelve so he won't have to try to send us to a school. Don't tell him I told you, Please Sir!"
"Nodding at the confirmation to what he had already surmised, Ethan reassures the boy. "Relax son, your secret is safe with us." The boy's emotional outbursts reminded him of Ben or George more than Joseph. That plus the fact the twins were small for twelve as they claimed, made him suspicious. "Would you mind if I told the rest of the children?"
"I think Rob has already guessed I'm not twelve. Joseph and Claire too. Your kids are smart, Sheriff."
"It's still Uncle Ethan and thank you Aaron. You are pretty smart yourself."
"I could be smarter if I could just go to a school sometimes." Aaron whispers but Ethan hears him.
As they stop beside the Mercantile, Aaron begins to squirm on the seat sending worried glances at Ethan.
"What is bothering you son?" Ethan asks after the third time he sees Aaron glance at him and then away.
"You're going to make me apologize again to Mr. Axelrod aren't you?"
"I believe you owe him an apology and an explanation to why you acted the way you did, don't you?"
"Yessir, I'm scared he's going to spank me! I just don't want him to spank me."
"No one is going to punish you again. Let's get this over with and go find those boys who were tormenting you. Come with me, please." Ethan says swinging the boy off the wagon and down to the ground. Ethan takes him by the hand and leads him inside the store.
"Cyrus, Aaron has something to say to you."
"I'm really sorry Mr. Axelrod. I didn't mean to worry you or cause more trouble. These boys came and took the ladder away. I couldn't get down and then I got worried I'd be in big trouble for not doing my punishment job so I stayed quiet."
"You are forgiven child. I should have watched after you better. It's my fault for not paying attention. Do you forgive me also?"
Shocked that a grown person would ask for his forgiveness, Aaron manages to whisper "Yessir."
"Cyrus, do you know a family with boys named Ted and Bob? Aaron says they are around twelve or thirteen. They must be new as I don't recall children by that name."
"There is one family who has moved into the Dennison's place two weeks ago. They have children but I don't know how many or the ages. The family name is Albritton and he is one of the miners I believe."
"Thank you, I'll check into that family. I think as sheriff, I should pay them a 'Welcome to Paradise' visit. Aaron, let's go. We'll see if this is who was bothering you."
Riding in the wagon past the saloon and into the mining camp, Aaron wishes Ben and George were with him to see this. He thought his own house was small and old. These houses were even smaller, all except for the one they were now stopping in front of. It was bigger and nicer than the others."
"This is the foreman's home, Aaron. The foreman is in charge of the workers." Ethan explains at Aaron's baffled look.
Walking up to the door, Ethan knocks and waits to see if anyone is home. The door opens to show a tall man dressed in a black shirt and pants with a wide leather belt. "Hello, may I help you?"
"Mr. Albritton, my name is Ethan Cord, I'm the sheriff in Paradise. This is my young house guest, Aaron. I wanted to welcome you to Paradise. I only heard of your arrival, today. We have a peaceful town sir, where women and children are able to enjoy being together without worrying for their safety. Firearms are not permitted in the city limits. Do you have a family?"
"Yes, come in and meet my family."
"Bertha, this is Sheriff Cord from Paradise. Sheriff, this is my wife Bertha."
"Hello Ma'am, welcome to Paradise. This is my young house guest, Aaron. I also have five children ranging in age from fifteen to nine. Do you have young ones?"
"Why yes, as a matter of fact we also have five children. Three boys and two girls. Thomas is sixteen, Bobby is thirteen, Teddy is twelve, Susan is ten and Samantha is six."
"Mr. Albritton, I'm sorry to have to ask you this but would you call your sons in please? There's been a report of trouble concerning them. I just need to see if it is true."
A few minutes later, three boys are lined up all looking at their stern father. "Explain to me why I am getting a report of trouble being caused in town today. I was under the idea that all three of you had outside work to get done."
"That's them sir." Aaron whispers tugging on Ethan's hand to get him to bend down enough to whisper in his ear.
Nodding and giving the boy a reassuring squeeze on his hand, Ethan straightens up. "Mr. Albritton? Aaron here, was tormented this morning by your two younger boys. They found him on a ladder outside the Mercantile and caused him to have to crawl on to the awning to keep from falling. Aaron tell him what they said."
"They said I was a slaveboy since I was washing the windows. They shook the ladder until I nearly fell and when I jumped on the awning they took the ladder and ran off with it. They never came back."
"That's a lie! We weren't even in town. He's lying Pa!" Ted tells his father.
"Young man, what makes you so sure these are the boys who were tormenting you?" Mr. Albritton asks Aaron.
"They called each other Ted and Bob and I saw their faces sir. These boys are the ones who ran off with the ladder in front of Mr. Axelrod's store this morning. They also said they wished Tom were there to see this."
Grasping his two sons by their shirt collars, the man says "Robert! Theodore! THE TRUTH! DID YOU DO AS THIS CHILD SAID?"
"I'm sure they did Pa. They've been calling Sue a slavegirl all week because she's helping clean the house. They disappeared on me this morning also. I was going to tell you after I finished the chores." Thomas tells his Father.
"BOYS? ANSWER ME!"
"Yes Pa. Yes Sir." The two boys answer quietly.
"Then before we head out back, you apologize to Sheriff Cord and his young friend."
After they apologize, Mr. Albritton says "I am sorry for the trouble they have caused. I will see to it that they are punished. If you have any more problems with any of my children, let me know and I will take care of it. Let's go boys!"
"Well, I'm sorry Mrs. Albritton, for bringing this news today. I see you are busy so we will leave. I do hope you and your family enjoy Paradise. Let's go Aaron."
"Uncle Ethan?" Aaron asks as they ride back past the trees where he and Ethan had a private talk.
"Yes?"
"Do you think those boys are in for a thrashing with a whip? My Pa would have beaten me with a whip for doing that."
"I doubt the boys are being given a thrashing, Aaron. I would say they received a whipping though. Most fathers around here use a strap, belt or their hand to punish their children. Don't you think they deserved one?"
"I guess. If one of your boys had done that, what would you do?"
"That behavior is not allowed in our family. No one is to behave as a bully. Deliberately causing hurt or worry to someone else will result in a whipping. Are you thinking you will get back at those boys? If you are you need to rethink that. Revenge is equal to bullying in my family. You are a part of my family as long as you are visiting us."
"No Sir! I wasn't planning to do anything to them and I won't be either."
"That's good to hear Aaron and I hope you mean what you say." Ethan replies with a smile.
Just as they rode up into the ranch yard, Claire comes out of the house followed by the boys.
"I'm so glad to see you back! Something is wrong. I just know it is. Rob and Joseph took the horses to the new pasture and aren't back yet. It's been three hours and they said they'd be back in an hour or less!" Claire tells her Pa.
"Were they planning to work with any of the horses, do you know?"
"Rob said they were only moving them today. He said they'd work with them later. I think he was planning to work with the stallion again today."
"Let me unhitch the team and you boys rub them down and feed them. I'll go check on Rob and Joseph. They probably just decided to work with the horses today." Ethan tells the worried children.
Walking past the smokehouse and woodshed to the newest cleared pasture, Ethan sees horses clumped together in one area and a stallion circling the fence line. Wondering why a stallion is in the same pasture as the mares, he begins walking slowly towards the animal. Taking a rope off the fence he quickly makes a loop and continues walking. When the stallion comes close enough, he throws the rope settling the loop over the animal's head and tightening it enough to be able to control him. Tying the rope around the fence post after having pulled it enough so he can't step on it or choke himself, Ethan continues walking looking for the boys.
"Pa! Down here! Hurry! " Joseph yells seeing his Pa walking their way.
Hurrying over to where Joseph and Rob are sitting on the ground, leaning on the back fence, Ethan asks "What's happened?" Rob looks pale and seems to be in pain. Joseph seems close to tears.
"The stallion stomped on Rob's foot. He's hurting bad and I couldn't move him by myself. He can't walk on his foot at all. We tried it." Joseph answers.
"Rob? Do you think you could stand and walk if you were leaning on me?"
"No sir, every time I stand, I feel nauseous and my foot hurts even more. I just can't move Pa. I'm sorry."
"Joseph, listen to me. I want you to go hitch up the pony cart and drive it down here. We'll load Rob into that and I'll take him back to the house. While I do that, I want you to go to town to get Dr. Americus."
"Yes sir, I'll be back with the cart as quick as I can. I'm sorry Rob." Joseph answers before running back towards the barn.
Seeing Joseph hitching up the pony cart, Ben asks "What are you doing? We didn't ask to ride the cart."
"Rob's been hurt and we need the cart to get him home from the back pasture. I have to get it down there fast and go for the Doctor. Stay back out of the way."
"I'm not in the way! I can help, Joseph! Let me go for Dr. Amy. I'll be in town by the time you could get Rob settled in the house. Please?"
"I'll probably get in trouble but I'm going to say yes. Take Brown Betsy and ride, Ben. Don't go too fast to get hurt as that won't help get her here faster. Just be safe, okay?"
"Yes, Joseph. Thanks for trusting me to help."
"You're ten now, Ben. I, for one think you can do more than Pa lets you. Go on, get her saddled and get out of here."
Riding the cart down to where he left Rob, Joseph jumps down to help get him on the cart.
"OHHH, my foot! Joseph, BE CAREFUL of my foot!" Rob gasps as Joseph accidentally knocks into it.
"He's in the cart, Joseph. I can manage from here. Take your horse and ride for the Doctor now." Ethan tells Joseph.
"I sent someone for Dr. Amy already. I thought we could save time."
"Claire went? I'm surprised as she doesn't ride much anymore."
"No sir, it wasn't Claire. I sent Ben to town."
"Ben is too small to run all the way to town, Joseph! That's why I told you to take a horse and ride!" Ethan tells him, eyes dark and snapping.
Swallowing in an attempt to control the nervous feeling he now has, Joseph says "I didn't ask him to run, sir. I asked him to ride Brown Betsy for the Doctor."
"You've overstepped your boundaries, Joseph! Right now, I want you to help hold Rob's leg still in the cart. You sit up here with him and keep it from moving around." Ethan says sternly.
Pulling the cart up to the barn, Ethan says "Help me hold him up. We're going to take him inside the barn first. I want to see what the damage is."
"Rob? We're going to have to cut the boot off, son. We'll buy you a new pair. I don't want to pull the boot off and maybe damage your foot."
"Okay. Please don't move it much. I can't take the pain much more."
"Joseph, go into the house and start heating water in the largest cookpot we have. Tell Claire, I need bandages and a large towel. Do not let any others come out here. You tell them I said to stay inside. When the water is hot, both of you bring everything out here. Understand?"
"Yes sir."
After Joseph leaves, Ethan pulls out his pocketknife and begins to cut the boot away from Rob's foot. Looking up from cutting the stitches at a sound from Rob, Ethan sees he is pale and sweating."
"Son?"
"I'm going to be sick!"
Grabbing a nearby bucket, Ethan hands it to him just as Rob loses his breakfast. When he's done, Ethan hands him a handkerchief to wipe his mouth off.
"Thank you for the help." Rob whispers holding himself as still as he can.
"You are my son, I'll help you any way you need me to at any time. You should know that by now. Let's get this boot off. It's going to hurt Rob. There's not a way to do this without causing you pain. I'm trying to be quick but gentle."
Finally cutting enough where he can slip the boot off sideways, Ethan gently pulls the boy's sock off wincing a little as Rob moans in pain. Looking down at Rob's foot, Ethan can easily see the toes are broken. There's a place on the top of his foot, that is also red and swollen.
Hearing the sound of horses riding up into the yard, Ethan goes to the barn door. Seeing Ben with Dr. Americus, he calls out "We're in here, Doctor. Ben, leave the horse for now and go inside. I'll take care of Betsy."
"Yes Pa."
After Ben is far enough away, Ethan says "Rob was stepped on by a stallion. His toes appear to be broken and the upper part of his foot is red and swollen. He's in a lot of pain also. Every time he moves he feels sick. He's thrown up once, already."
"Thank you for telling me all of this. I'll check him over while you take care of the horse."
Walking the horse into the barn, Ethan sees the front door of the house open and Joseph coming followed by Claire. Joseph has the large pot of water while Claire is carrying the linens. Waiting to see if any of the younger children are following, Ethan stands until they reach him.
"What are the other children doing? I don't want them down here."
"They're making lunch. I told them all to stay inside until they were told differently." Claire answers.
"You did the right thing. Rob is hurt badly and I don't want them upset by it. His toes are broken and possibly his foot also. Dr. Americus is with him now." Ethan tells them.
"Ethan? I could use some help if you can come now." They hear the Doctor call.
"Yes, we're here with the water and bandages. What do you need?" Ethan asks hurrying into the barn followed by Joseph and Claire.
"Hello Joseph, Claire. I need a small thin board, a knife and some cloth strips. I also need some cool water and some kind of bowl to pour the hot water in."
"Joseph, Claire, you two go gather what she needs and hurry please."
Motioning for the Doctor to follow him and walking just outside of the barn doors, Ethan asks "Dr. Americus, what is it you plan to do?"
"I have to set his toes, Ethan. As you suspected, they are all broken. I don't believe his foot is broken as it just appears to be a bad bruise. I'm going to have to give him something to put him out while I set his toes. I'm going to have to pull them and that is going to be very painful. What I'd like for you to do is to carve out a groove for each toe on the piece of wood. Then we'll wrap the foot in cloth strips to keep it motionless. I'm sorry to say he's going to be too sore to move around for a few days. I'm going to leave some powders for the pain. Don't give him more than one packet every five hours. It's not going to last that long so he will feel some pain, I'm afraid."
"When do you feel it would be alright for him to get out of bed?"
"He'll probably feel like getting up in the next day or so but don't let him try to walk on his foot. He's to keep the weight off the foot for at least a week. I'd say two would be even better. I know he's a strong, active, young man and this is going to be difficult for him."
"If you want him off of his foot for two weeks, then I will see to it he stays off of it for two weeks. We will follow your instructions."
"Pa, here's the board and the cool bucket of water." Joseph says handing the items to Ethan.
"Thank you, now go inside and stay with the younger children. I need Claire out here for a time."
"Yes sir." Joseph answers.
Claire tears the cloth into strips while Ethan washes Rob's foot in warm water. By the time he is finished he also needs to wash the sweat off of Rob's very pale face.
"It's over now son, I won't be touching your foot again. I'm so sorry I'm hurting you like this but it must be done. Dr. Americus is going to give you something now for the pain."
"Rob, I'm going to need you to just breathe deeply while Claire holds the cloth over your nose. You won't be feeling any pain in a few minutes." The doctor tells him handing a damp cloth to Claire. In just a few minutes Rob is asleep.
"What is on the cloth, Dr. Amy? He's completely asleep already." Claire asks.
"That is what chloroform does, Claire. It puts people to sleep very quickly. It's also dangerous so we won't be giving him anymore than what's on the cloth. If Rob seems to be waking, put the cloth over his nose once more. We need to work quickly now Ethan. I'll stretch his toes, while you hold the board steady. We'll wrap it after we're finished."
Glancing once to see if Rob is still asleep, the Doctor takes each toe and straightens it out carefully placing it in a groove Ethan made on the slim board. "Slowly, wrap a piece of cloth around the toes and under the board, Ethan. Good, now take another and wrap again starting on the other side. Good, now Claire, I need you to come and wrap the next two bandages around his whole foot and ankle. Tie each one off at the ankle. Thank you both for the help. We can move him inside now." She tells Ethan and Claire.
"Claire, please go get his bed ready and tell Joseph to come back out here. I'll need his help for this part."
"Yes Sir, I'll send him right out."
"Claire, I'll come in with you if you don't mind. That way I'll be out of the way but inside."
"Yes Ma'am, that will be fine."
Answering his Pa's summons, Joseph pokes his head into the barn. "Yes sir? Claire said I was to come out here." He asks trying not to let on how nervous he is feeling.
"Yes son, I need you to help me by opening the door and keeping the younger children out of the way. I'm going to have to carry Rob into his room. I need you to be my assistant."
"Yes sir. Is he passed out from the pain?"
"No, from the chloroform. Dr. Americus put him to sleep using chloroform so she could set his broken toes. He'll be coming out of it soon so let's move please."
Bending down, Ethan puts one arm under Rob's head and the other under his legs, gradually standing up he's holding Rob whose legs are swinging over Ethan's arm.
"Hurry Joseph, he's a bit heavy! I tell you holding a fifteen year old isn't the same as a ten year old!" Ethan says sending Joseph to hold the front door open.
Walking into the house carrying Rob to his bedroom, Ethan hears George gasp "Is he dead? " and then sees him begin to cry.
"He's not dead George, stop crying. Rob is asleep right now and we are going to be very quiet so he can sleep."
Taking Rob into his room, he places him down on the bed. "If you'll excuse us ladies, I'll just help Rob into his nightshirt."
"Ethan, if you'll just split the pants at the seam and ease them down over his foot, they can be sewn up again later." Dr. Amy tells him.
"I hadn't even thought about how to get the pants over his foot! Thank you. I'll call you back when he is dressed again."
"George, Rob is going to be hurting some for a few days but other than that he'll be just fine. Do you remember when Ben fell and broke his arm? Do you remember how much that hurt him at first?"
At George's nod, Dr. Amy hugs him as he sits on her lap. "Well with Rob it's his toes instead of his arm. He's going to have a special drink that your Pa will fix for him. That will help him feel better. What all of you boys can do is be very helpful to your Pa and Claire. If they ask you to do something then you do it."
"We always do that Dr. Amy." George tells her earnestly. "If we don't do what we are told, we wind up with a sore bottom or confinedid to our room! It's not good to be confinedid to your room 'cause then you can't do anything fun."
Joseph and Claire swap an amused look at this as Dr. Amy smiles. "No I suppose being sent to your room isn't much fun at your ages. Well, there's your Pa, so let me go check my patient." She adds as Ethan comes to the doorway of the hall.
"What was it George was telling you? I heard you say that about being sent to their room."
"I was telling them to be sure to obey and not cause trouble for Rob the next few days. George informed me that they always obey or they have a sore bottom or are confinedid to their room."
"He still has trouble pronouncing a few words at times. It's quite funny sometimes but we don't dare laugh or he gets his feelings hurt."
"It's quite cute, actually. Is it the truth? Do you still whip them? I was of the idea you had taken my advice to use other punishments."
"Now look, Doctor. How I raise MY children is MY business. I will kindly ask you to keep your opinions and comments to yourself. When you are raising five children, then come talk about how to punish them! For your information, I do not only use a whipping. It has to be something serious before I do that. Yes, I spank the younger boys on occasion. I use what I need to at the time to get the message across. You will find others much more harsh with their children than I am."
"That may be. Now, if Rob seems to be in a lot of pain, mix only one of these packets in a full glass of water. It's going to be bitter but he'll have to put up with the taste. Adding anything else to the powder will make it useless. This is morphine, Ethan. He can become addicted to it if you are not very careful. I want you to keep the packets and only give him ONE every five to six hours. No more than three in a day. It's not going to be enough but that's all he can have. Agreed?'
"I will follow all of your instructions as I've already said." Ethan tells her stonily.
"Thank you, I will see myself out and check in with you tomorrow. If anything happens, not that I think it will, send someone for me."
Taking the morphine packets off the top of Rob's chest of drawers, Ethan takes them into his room and places them in the top drawer of his chiffarobe. Walking back to the front room, he sees the table set for lunch and the children just sitting around glumly.
"Rob's going to be just fine children. He's hurt but he will get better in time. I heard you young ones made lunch today. May we eat now? I'm hungry!"
"There's not much to eat Pa. We only made some sandwiches since we can't use the stove." Ben says.
"Well Ben, sandwiches on a warm day like today is just what we need. Claire, if you'll slice up some of those tomatos I saw in the garden and then maybe put out some cheese, I think we'll be all set."
"Yes sir, I'll also open a jar of fruit. We have some peaches I bought a few weeks ago. Some ladies passing through town sold Mr. Axelrod their excess canning so we get to have peaches."
After eating, Ethan says "Joseph, let's you and I take a short walk. Claire, if Rob needs me, just send someone to the barn or the corral."
"Joseph's in trouble!" George whispers to Alyssa and Aaron.
"Why? How do you know"' Both children ask at the same time.
"If Papa says to take a short walk, that means he's going to scold you or spank you for something you did. I don't know what Joseph did." George answers.
"I know what he did. He was told to go get Dr. Amy but he let me go instead." Ben tells them.
"Why would that put Joseph in trouble?" Aaron asks curiously.
"Because of two things. One is Pa told HIM to go not someone else, so he disobeyed. The other is he told me to do something that he knows Pa doesn't allow us to do. George and I can't ride a horse unless someone is with us. It's a safety rule and Joseph broke it. That's why he's in trouble. I just hope I'm not in for a whipping for breaking that rule too. I only did what Joseph told me to do and I was trying to help."
"I think Pa will understand that you were trying to help, Ben. I don't think you need to worry about being punished this time. I wouldn't recommend taking a horse off by yourself again though. You would be in big trouble if you did." Claire tells him, having listened while cleaning up.
"Joseph, what were you thinking today? Why would you send your brother off that way?" Ethan scolds him as they stand beside the corral.
"I'm sorry sir. I just wanted to get help quickly. I thought if Ben went while I took the cart to you, Dr. Amy would be able to get here faster."
"I understand that but you know how I feel about the boys riding horses without supervision! We could have wound up with Ben being hurt also. He's not old enough to take on a task like that especially one where he would be upset during it! He could have been hurt, Joseph!"
"He wasn't hurt! He's old enough to do more than you let him! Ben is not a little baby anymore. He's old enough to do more than you think he can!" Joseph says before thinking about his words or tone of voice.
"Young man, YOU do not make the decisions here. I do. I told YOU to do something and you deliberately disobeyed me, then you told your brother to do something that was dangerous knowing how I felt about it. Now you stand here lecturing me on what Ben can and cannot do! You need some thinking time young man. For the next three days you are confined to the ranch. No friends, no activities other than those that can be done here. You will do your chores and then spend the rest of the time in your room until mealtime. Do you understand me, Joseph?'
"Yes sir."
"You'd better think about how to discuss things with me in a civil tone of voice without lecturing me. If you ever speak to me that disrespectfully again or tell one of your brothers to do something knowing they are not allowed to do it, I will give you a whipping! Understood?"
"Yes sir and I apologize Pa. I overstepped as you said. I'm sorry."
"Thank you Joseph. You are still housebound however."
"Pa!" Ben calls, running closer. "Claire says Rob's asking for you and needs help."
"I'm coming Ben. You stay out here. Joseph has something he needs to say to you."
"You got in trouble for letting me go by myself didn't you? Did you get a whipping Joseph? What about me? Am I in trouble too?" Ben asks seeing the sad look on his brother's face.
"No, I didn't get a whipping but I nearly did! He was really mad about me letting you go off like that. He was lecturing me and I got mad and answered back. I really thought he was going to put me over this fence and take his belt to my backside but he didn't. I got lucky this time. I don't think he's upset with you because I'm the one that told you to do it. I was wrong and I knew it then but I did it anyway."
"What is it you are supposed to tell me if it's not that I am in trouble too?" Ben asks.
"He didn't say but I think I'm supposed to tell you I'm sorry and that I was wrong. I can't be contradicting his orders Ben. Whatever Pa says is what we both better do. He'll punish us if we don't! I didn't get a whipping but I'm housebound to my room except for meals and chores for the next three days. As George said, it's not much fun to be confined to your room."
It won't be much fun if Pa finds out what else I did either! I just knew he was going to ask about that but I got lucky so far. I hope it lasts! Joseph thinks following Ben inside.