A Saddlebag of Trouble

By Tennessee

Little Joe was riding Paint when he saw a saddlebag in the road. He picked it up and looked in it. It was full of money. He knew he had to hide it, and he knew what to do. He rode to a cave and put the saddlebag there. It had a lot of money and bank notes in it.

He rode home. He had nightmares all night and woke up the whole house with his yelling. He was very upset. He kept trying to tell Ben what he'd found, but he couldn't.

Little Joe was so tired the next day that he fell asleep at school. He told Hoss on the way home about the saddlebag. Hoss asked where it was, and Little Joe took him to the cave. When Hoss opened the bag, his eyes got big. "We need to tell Pa about this," he said. And they rode home fast.

When they got home, they saw two men talking to Ben and Adam. Ben was saying, "We have no work for you. I'm sorry."

The men looked at each other. Suddenly one of them yanked Little Joe off his horse. "Where's our money?"

"What money?" Ben asked.

"We were riding and dropped our saddlebag with our money in it. We came back to get it and saw tracks on the road. We followed them here. I figure the boy knows what happened to our money"

"Let my son go," Ben said angrily.

"No, not until we get our money back," said the man. "Get back on your horse, kid."

Little Joe looked at his pa and brothers then got back on Paint. When Hoss tried to stop the men, they hit him hard on the head. Joe had tears in his eyes as they rode off with him.

Adam and Ben helped Hoss into the house. His head was bleeding, and Hop Sing cleaned him up. When Hoss awoke, he tried to get up.

"No, son," Ben said. "Don't get up."

"But I know where the money is, Pa. It's in a cave near here."

"Where?"

Hoss told him, and Ben and Adam went to get the saddlebag.

The men had taken Little Joe to an abandoned house. Little Joe would not tell them where the money was.

Ben and Adam got home and counted the money in the saddlebag. They found over one thousand dollars.

"Pa, what are we going to do?" Adam asked.

Ben thought about it. "If we get the law involved, they might hurt Little Joe. If we give them the money, they still might hurt him. And I think this money is probably stolen."

"Someone's coming," said Hop Sing.

Big Dan and a lawman rode up. Ben told Adam to hide the saddlebag before he went outside to greet them. Big Dan asked Ben if he'd seen two men headed this way. Ben answered that he hadn't. Big Dan and the lawman rode off, and Adam retrieved the saddlebag. They waited for the men to come back.

Later they heard a rock hit the house. They ran outside.

"You got our money?" grumbled one of the men.

"Yes," answered Ben. "But I want my son first."

"We'll be back in the morning," said the man. "We'll give you your son and you'll give us the money."

"I want to talk to my son," Ben said. "Are you okay, Little Joe?"

"Yeah, Pa," Joe answered quietly.

"I want you to let my son go now," Ben said.

"We will if you let us stay here and give us some food."

"Ok," Ben said.

The two men came out from behind a tree and went into the house. Big Dan and the lawman were on their way back to the Ponderosa. They looked in the window and saw the men they were tracking.

Eventually the two men fell asleep. Ben knew he needed to get the boys out of the house to keep them safe. Big Dan made sure Ben saw him through the window. When Ben told the boys to get to bed, the two men jumped up. "No one goes anywhere," they said.

Hoss saw Big Dan through the window in the bunkroom. Big Dan came in the door in the bunkroom and stood behind the door. Hoss yelled from his bed. "Can you bring me some water?"

When the man brought water, Big Dan jumped him. The lawman got the other man, and they tied them up. Adam gave the lawman the saddlebag and all the money.

The lawman said, "These two stopped a stagecoach with a banker on it. He was going to open a bank in California. They took all his money and tied up everyone on the stage. The law thanks you for all your help."

Big Dan and the lawman took the two bandits to town.

Ben put his arm around Little Joe. "Son, you should have told me about the saddlebag."

"I know, Pa. I'm sorry. Next time I find a saddlebag full of money I'll bring it right to you."

Ben and Adam laughed as they went back into the house.

The End