Bag Full of Money

By Tennessee

Little Joe was riding Paint around the lake when he saw something on the grass. It looked like a bag. He stopped his horse and got down to see what it was. He picked it up and saw it was a bag, so he opened it. His eyes got big. It was full of money. Lots of money. And there was a gun in the bag too.

He had a feeling someone was watching him. He got the bag, jumped on Paint, and took off. When he was riding he saw a man behind a tree so he went faster. He heard a horse not far behind him so he went even faster.

When Little Joe got home he hid Paint by the house and took the bag inside. He shut and locked the door behind him. He yelled for his pa, Adam, Hoss, and Hop Sing, but no one was home.

He sat at the table a minute. There he saw a note with his name on it. He opened the note. It read, "Little Joe, Your brothers and I are cutting wood and Hop Sing is helping us. See you at supper. Love, Pa."

Little Joe was all alone. He heard a horse ride up, and he jumped up to see who it was. He looked out the window and saw a man with a patch on his left eye. It was the man Little Joe had seen behind the tree.

The man looked around then got off his horse and came to the door. Little Joe got down on the floor. His puppy was barking. The man stopped at the door. Little Joe got a chair for the table and leaned it against the door and sat beside it.

The man came to the door and tried to open it. When he put his weight behind it, the chair moved. Little Joe crawled to his pa's room, taking the bag of money with him. He locked Pa's bedroom door. He heard the kitchen chair fall and footsteps coming into the house.

The man saw the note. He said, "Little Joe, I know you're home alone. You know what I've come for. Come out and give me the bag.

Little Joe was crying. The man said, "I won't hurt you if you give me the bag." The man looked in the kitchen. Little Joe heard him in his room. He knew his pa's room would be searched next, so he went to the window with the bag and climbed out the window. He heard the man at his pa's bedroom's door. "I know you're in here, boy!"

Little Joe got to Paint, but his puppy started barking. The man saw him out the window. He yelled, "Just drop my bag and I will leave you alone!"

Little Joe rode off. The man ran to his horse and rode after Little Joe.

A rock hit Joe's feet. The man yelled that he'd hit Joe again if Joe didn't drop the bag. Little Joe kept riding. Another rock hit his head close to one eye. He started crying. He dropped the bag in the grass and kept riding.

Little Joe looked back after a few minutes and the man was gone. Joe knew where his pa and brothers would be working so he kept riding until he got to where they were cutting wood.

"You come to help us, little brother?" Adam asked.

"About time ya got here, Little Joe." Hoss said.

Ben and Hop Sing were loading the wagon. Little Joe fell off Paint and hit the ground. Adam, Hoss, Ben, and Hop Sing ran to him. Adam got there first. He yelled that Little Joe was hurt and bleeding.

Pa said, "Go get the water, Hoss."

"Yes, Pa."

"Son? Little Joe?" Tears were rolling down Ben's face.

Hoss got the water and Adam helped Joe take a drink.

"We need to get him home," Ben said.

"No!" yelped Little Joe. "The man might still be there."

"What man, son?"

"I found a bag on the grass. It had money, lots of money, in it. And a gun. I had a feeling someone was watching me and I saw a man behind a tree. I rode home on Paint as fast as I could. I got home and read your note, Pa. I heard someone coming, and I got down on the floor by the window. There was a man with a patch on his left eye. He came to the door."

Ben asked Hop Sing to get Joe cleaned up while he went to make sure things were okay at the Ponderosa. When he got there he saw the chair on the floor. He looked around everywhere in the house and outside.

Hop Sing treated the bruise on Joe's foot and cut on his heard. "It got very close to eye but do not hurt his eye. Will be fine," Hop Sing said.

Ben rode back to tell the boys and Hop Sing that everything was fine at the Ponderosa. "No one is there. We can take Joe home."

"But Pa, he might come back."

"He got what he wanted, son. He won't be back."

"Little Joe, did you know the man?" asked Adam.

"Nah. I never seen him before."

"Ok, son. Let's go home now."

Hoss helped Joe onto Paint. Hop Sing drove the wagon. When they got Joe home, he started crying.

Ben said, "It's all right, son. No one will hurt you."

Little Joe jumped at every little noise for weeks. Soon his foot was not hurting but he had a black and blue place close to his eye. In time, he got over that. And then he was the old Little Joe again.

The End