Bennie and Eddie

By Marion

Rated G

Dinner on the Ponderosa was usually a boisterous meal. Ben Cartwright's oldest two sons were usually trying to outdo each other in telling their father what they had accomplished that day and his youngest son and niece were usually trying to tell him what they did at school that day. Ben would sit for a while listening to the noise until he could see that Hop Sing had had enough, then he would bang the table for silence. Tonight however, everyone was quiet. Adam and Hoss were exhausted from their day of hauling hay to the upper pastures for the cattle; even Hoss was too tired to eat much. Ben could understand their silence, but he was puzzled by the silence of the younger two. Normally they would talk his ear off, but tonight they just ate quietly, as if they were hoping to not attract his attention. His suspicions roused, he turned to Joe as he sipped on his coffee.

"So, Joe, how was the spelling test today?" Joe colored and looked at his piece of pie. Ben smiled to himself. Got it in one, he thought. Joe hadn't done well and was hoping his father had forgotten. Sure enough, Joe reached into his pocket and handed his father a crumpled piece of paper. Ben frowned as he smoothed open the paper. "Joseph, you know I expect you to give me notes from the teacher as soon as you get home." But, it wasn't a note. It was Joe's spelling test and he had most of the words wrong. Ben shook his head. "I think you and I will need to spend some time on spelling tonight." Joe groaned. He hated it when Pa decided he needed help with homework. Pa was relentless and wouldn't give up even when Joe was ready to play checkers with Hoss.

Satisfied that he knew why Joe was so quiet, Ben turned to Annie. "How about you, Annie, how was your spelling test?"

Annie looked up from her dessert. "Got 'em all right." She turned back to her pie.

Puzzled, Ben tried a different approach. "Are you feeling all right?" Annie looked at him curiously and nodded.

"Well, then, cat got your tongue?" She just looked puzzled. "I mean, you're awfully quiet tonight." Understanding dawned on Annie's face.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about Eliza." Eliza was a new girl who had started school the week before. She was Annie's seatmate, and despite all Annie's efforts, she was not a friendly girl.

Joe rolled his eyes. "She's a stuck up pri.."

"Joseph!"

"She kinda is, Uncle Ben. I've tried being friendly, but she just won't be nice."

"Well, sometimes people are like that. Just be polite, but don't let her upset you."

"Okay, Uncle Ben. May I be excused? I have a math test tomorrow and I need to study." Ben nodded and Annie started to clear the table. Hop Sing stopped her.

"I will do dishes. You study."

"Thanks, Hop Sing! It's on long division and I need to practice."

"Do you need help, Annie?" Adam looked up from his pie.

"Nah, you look like you're about to fall asleep in the pie. You'd probably tell me the wrong thing." She jumped away as Adam tried to pull her braid.

The next day in school, Annie sailed through the math test. Eliza seemed to be struggling, but Annie didn't pay any attention to anything except her paper. At the end of the allotted time, the students in her group passed their papers forward and then went outside for afternoon recess. Although it was December, the snow had melted and it was warm enough to play outside.

Mr. Taylor stepped outside and rang the bell to signal the end of recess. He stopped Joe as Joe headed into the school. "Master Cartwright, did I hear you say earlier that your father would be stopping by at the end of school today?"

Joe looked concerned, but he couldn't remember anything he had done wrong. "Yes, sir. In fact, I saw him go into the store just a few minutes ago."

Mr. Taylor nodded. "Good. Please go get him for me. No, Joseph, you have done nothing wrong."

Relieved, Joe ran looking for his father. Mr. Taylor followed the students into the schoolroom and then announced that school was dismissed for the day. All students, that is, except for Miss Cartwright and Miss Jenkins. Annie looked at Eliza. She couldn¹t figure out why they were being kept after. Eliza looked nervous for a minute, then composed herself. Mr. Taylor sat at his desk and wrote a note. After he sealed the note, he stood and walked to his two remaining students.

"You may be interested to know that I have corrected the math papers. You both got all but three problems correct." Annie smiled, but her smiled disappeared with his next words. "You each got the same three problems wrong and you had the same wrong answer for each. One of you cheated and I want to know who it was."

Eliza protested instantly. "It wasn't me. It was her. I don't need to cheat, I studied."

Annie shook her head. "I wouldn't cheat, sir. I don't need to cheat. I studied last night. You can ask my uncle."

Mr. Taylor nodded. "I intend to. I sent Joe to get him; he should be here any minute. Miss Jenkins, as you live too far out of town to speak with your father tonight, you will please give him this note. I expect to see him tomorrow morning." Eliza took the note, gave Annie a disdainful look and swept out of the classroom.

"Mr. Taylor, you have to believe me, I didn't..I wouldn't.." Annie was interrupted by the sounds of her uncle coming into the classroom.

"Mr. Cartwright, I'm glad you were able to stop by. I'm afraid I have a problem here." Mr. Taylor quickly explained what happened. Annie stood and looked at her uncle. Uncle Ben didn't look too happy as he stood listening with his thumbs in his belt.

"Uncle Ben, please believe me, I didn't cheat." She put her hand on his arm and looked him in the eye. "I didn't need to cheat, I studied all last night, remember?" Ben stared at her intently for what seemed like forever, then looked at Mr. Taylor."

"I don't believe Annie cheated. She did study quite some time last night and she has been doing well."

Mr. Taylor nodded. "Unfortunately, unless Eliza confesses, I am going to have to give them both a zero." Annie started to protest, but her uncle's hand on her shoulder silenced her.

"We understand. If those are the rules, Annie will abide by them." Annie nodded in agreement, but she looked miserable. "I'll bring Annie in tomorrow and you may tell us your decision then." Ben held out his hand and Mr. Taylor shook it.

"Thank you, Ben."

Joe rode on ahead and Annie followed her uncle home in silence. She was silent all through dinner, and didn't speak until Ben was sitting by the fire with his coffee. She sat on the edge of the sofa next to him.

"Thank you, Uncle Ben. Thank you for believing me."

Ben nodded. "I don't think you would lie to get out of trouble, Annie." Annie sat looking at her fingers for a few minutes, then looked up at him sadly.

"I did once, you know." Ben put his coffee cup down and looked at Annie quizzically. She looked down at her feet.

"I lied to my father once, to get out of trouble." Annie looked embarrassed. Ben nodded in understanding. "I broke something of Concetta's. I wasn't supposed to be in her room, and when she asked me about it, I told her I didn't do it. My father heard us talking and he asked me if I did it. I said I wasn't even in Concetta's room. What I didn't know was that my father had seen me come out of the room."

"What happened?"

"He told me that he saw me come out of Concetta's room. Then he told me that he was very disappointed that I had lied to protect myself, because that meant that someone else would get blamed for what I did. He said that he didn't think he could trust me knowing that I would lie like that." Ben smiled. He remembered hearing the same lecture from his father, and he knew that Ed had heard it too.

"Then what happened?"

"Papa gave me the worst spanking I ever had. But that wasn't the worst of it." Ben nodded for her continue. "A week later, something got broken, I don't remember what. Concetta thought I did it, but I didn't. But, when I told Papa that I didn¹t, he just looked at me sadly and said he couldn't believe me because I had lied before. So, I got punished for something I didn't do. I never lied again because I wanted Papa to know he could trust me. Why are you smiling?"

"Would you like to hear about how your father first learned that lesson?" She nodded and Ben pulled her onto his lap. She was such a tiny thing and he loved to snuggle with her. None of his sons allowed it anymore and he missed it.

"Well, I was nine, so your father was about seven." Ben smiled as Joe sat down close to him and even Hoss and Adam stopped what they were doing to listen. He knew they all loved to hear stories about when Ben was younger, especially if they knew their father had gotten into mischief.

Two boys scrambled over the dunes towards the beach. The sun was warm and the sky was bright blue. The younger boy, shorter by only a couple of inches, grabbed onto the older, darker-haired boy.

"Bennie, Father won't be too happy if he finds out we're here!"

Bennie pulled his arm away impatiently. "Then don't tell him, Eddie. Besides, we're already here. C'mon. Jimmy told me it was just over this dune." Jimmy Richards was a schoolmate and according to him, there were a lot of beached pilot whales. Bennie and Eddie were forbidden to go to the dunes by themselves. Their father considered them too young. He even considered their brother John, 11 years old, to be too young to go near the whales, even though John was normally allowed to go to the dunes. The boys didn't understand why he wouldn't let them go see the dead creatures; they thought it would be exciting.

Sure enough, the two boys came over the crest of the dune and there stretched out on the beach below were fifteen or so pilot whales in three groups. The boys had never seen a whale up close, and they were surprised at how big they were. There were several people gathered near the first group, so the boys decided to look at the whales farthest from them. It wouldn't do to be seen by one of Father's friends, and it seemed that all the adults in Plymouth were friends of Father's.

"Eddie, look at this!" Bennie reached the first whale and pointed to the big gash on its side. "I bet a shark did this!"

"Better not let Father hear you betting!" Eddie grinned. "But, I bet you're right! Hey, look at this." Eddie looked closely at the gash and pulled a tooth from one end. Sure enough, it was a shark's tooth. "Here, you're the one who noticed the gash, you keep it." Eddie handed the treasure reluctantly to his brother. He wanted to keep it, but he knew that fair was fair and Bennie noticed the gash first. Bennie grabbed the tooth and looked at it. In his eagerness to see the tooth, he didn't pay attention to where he was going and he tripped over the whale's fin. He fell into a pool of blood from another whale. The locals had been butchering the whales for anything useful, and the offal made a terrible mess on the beach.

Bennie looked down on his shirt and saw it was covered in blood. "Oh, no, look at me! Mother's going to find out." Eddie looked at his brother and frowned.

"Don't cry. I bet we can wash it out. C'mon." The two boys ran to the water, taking care to remain out of sight of the other people on the beach. Bennie took off his shirt and rinsed it out. "Can you see the stain anymore?" Eddie looked doubtfully at the shirt. "Nah. Hey, isn't that John's shirt?"

"Yeah. I borrowed it this morning cuz I couldn't find my own."

"If that stain doesn't come out, John's gonna pound you!"

"I'm more worried about Father than about John. Look, I think it's out." Bennie looked up at the sun. "Hey, it's almost lunch. We gotta run or we're gonna be late! If we can get home in time, I can change my shirt. I don't think this one will dry in time."

The two boys raced for home. They opened the front door quietly and snuck in without anyone noticing. They heard Mother in the kitchen and a quick look at the clock told them Father wouldn't be home for lunch for another 15 minutes. They ran into the room they shared with their brother and Bennie quickly changed. He shoved the dirty shirt behind the dresser and they reached the bottom of the stairs just as their Father came in the door.

"Good afternoon, boys." Joseph Cartwright was a large man, and his sons were in awe of him. He loved his sons fiercely but he didn't tolerate any disobedience on their parts. They knew if they got into trouble that Father's justice would be swift and quite often painful.

"Hello, Father." "Let me take your bag, Father."

"Where's John?" Both boys shook their heads. "I want to remind you boys not to go near those whales. Benjamin, your friend Jimmy Richards slipped on some of the offal and broke his leg this morning. Remember, it's dangerous." Both boys nodded their heads, but that wasn't good enough for their father. He raised his voice slightly. "Do you boys understand? Stay away from the whales!"

"Yes, Father. We won't go near the whales." The two boys tried to look innocent, but they were sure their faces were giving away their guilt. Father said nothing more, though and he went in to the kitchen. Just then, John came bursting into the house. He was filthy and his shirt was ripped.

"Move, runts. I've got to change before..." Before he could finish, Mother entered the room.

"John William Cartwright, what happened to you?" A tiny woman, especially when she stood near her husband, Martha Cartwright nonetheless commanded the same respect from her sons as their father did. John stopped and turned to look at her. "I'm sorry about my shirt, Mother. I was trying to help Mr. Carlson unload some wood and a nail caught on my shirt."

"Are you hurt, boy?" Father had come into the room.

"No, sir. I just wanted to change before lunch."

"Go on, then. Leave the shirt on your bed. I'll fetch it when I do my other mending this afternoon. Ben, Ed, sit down before your lunch gets cold. " Mother set the platter on the table and gestured for her husband to sit.

The boys ate lunch quickly and then spent the afternoon doing chores their father had left for them before he returned to work. John worked with them until he heard their mother call him in. Bennie and Eddie heard her raised voice, then John's in protest. Then they heard a slamming door but John did not come back to help them.

"Leave it to John to get out of chores!" Ben observed as he stacked the wood John had chopped.

An hour later, they had finished the chores and headed back into the house. Their father had just come home and their mother was talking to him angrily. She held the shirt that Bennie had been wearing earlier that day and she was shaking it to emphasis her point. Bennie and Eddie both stopped short when they saw the shirt. They looked at each other nervously, then waited for the storm to hit. They didn't have long to wait.

"John!" Father stood at the bottom of the stair and bellowed. Mother had given him the shirt and he was looking at it as he called his oldest son. "Come here, now!"

John shuffled slowly down the stairs and looked at his father. Father held the shirt under John's nose. "You've been to see the whales, haven't you?"

John shook his head adamantly. "No sir, I haven't. I told Mother I didn't wear that shirt today. I don't know how it got like that, sir." John kept his tone respectful, but he was obviously upset.

Joseph turned to his other two sons. "Do either of you know how the shirt got like this?" They shook their heads.

"John, I told you to stay away from those whales. First you deliberately disobeyed me, now you're lying to me." He grabbed John's arm and began to drag him over to his study. He unbuckled his belt as he went. John continued to protest his innocence but his father wasn't listening. Bennie looked at Eddie, who nodded.

"Father?" Bennie called out nervously.

"Benjamin, whatever you need to say can wait."

"Father, John didn't go near the whales." Bennie swallowed loudly.

Joseph stopped at the door to his study, belt in one hand, son in the other. "Are you saying you know how the shirt got like this?" Bennie nodded miserably, unable to look his father in the eye.

Ben Cartwright looked at his niece and his sons. "I'm sure you can guess the rest. Grandfather Cartwright gave Ed and I a stinging lecture on lying, disobedience and letting John take the blame. Then he gave us each a tanning. He told us the same thing I've told you boys and Ed told you, Annie. He said he was ashamed that we were going to let John take the blame and that he wasn't sure he could trust us now that we had lied to him. I knew I never wanted to hear that lecture and see the look of disappointment in his eyes again, so I made sure never to lie to him . I'm pretty sure Ed never did either."

"Uncle Ben, tell us another story, please!"

"Yeah, Pa. We wanna hear more."

"Not tonight. Joe, Annie, it's time you were in bed. No protesting, go. I'll be in to say good night in a few minutes."

Annie and Joe woke up to the wonderful news that it had snowed in the night and that Pa didn't want them to go to school that day. For once they didn't complain when he said they were too young to go into town on their own.

They spent the morning doing their chores and studying. After lunch, Ben settled on the sofa and Joe sat next to him. "Pa, can you tell us another story about Uncle Ed and you?"

Annie sat in the chair near the fire and pulled out her knitting. She was making a shawl for Mrs. Greene for Christmas and she was worried it wouldn't be finished. "Yes, please Uncle Ben ­ tell us another story!"

Adam got up from the table. "Come on, Pa. I'd like to hear another one too. I remember when Uncle Ed visited us in New Orleans. He made me think that you two had lots of stories!"

"I didn't know you met my Pa, Adam."

"And your mother, Annie. They came to stay with us shortly after they got married. In fact, Pa and Marie went on their honeymoon while Uncle Ed and Aunt Kathleen watched Hoss and me." Adam blushed suddenly and Ben grinned at him.

"Looks like you have a story of your own, Adam. What happened while we were gone? I always thought something did."

"You mean Uncle Ed never told you?" Adam was surprised when Ben shook his head.

"C'mon, Adam, ya gotta tell now." Hoss joined the family group and sat opposite Annie.

"Well, Hoss, you were about 4, I think and I was 9. Uncle Ed came to introduce his new bride to us, and when he and Aunt Kathleen found out that Pa and Marie had never gone on a honeymoon, Aunt Kathleen insisted that they go away for a week. I still wasn't too happy about Pa getting married again and I guess I was a little bratty."

Here Ben laughed and muttered "that's putting it mildly." Adam glared at his father and continued. "Anyway, before Pa left he gave Hoss and I a lecture about minding ourselves and he reminded us what would happen if we gave Uncle Ed any trouble. Hoss, of course, listened and did everything he was supposed to do. I saw it as a chance to do some things that Pa and Marie wouldn't let me do. The first couple of days, I did everything I was supposed to do. Then, on the third day, I decided could do what I wanted. After all, I didn't think Uncle Ed would really tell on me. He was too much fun. That went on for a day or so, then one day I came in just before lunch, having skipped my chores completely and found Aunt Kathleen in a terrible temper. She took one look at me and waved her wooden spoon. "Well, Adam Cartwright, you are in trouble with me, boy-o." She had that beautiful Irish lilt ­ she sounded like she was singing even when she was angry. I didn't think too much of it, and I said something sassy right back to her." Annie and Joe just rolled their eyes at this. "You can laugh, but I didn't know that Uncle Ed was standing right behind me. He grabbed me by the collar, bent me over the nearest chair and gave me a hiding. I was stunned that my fun Uncle Ed would do this to me and I just stared at him when he was done. He shook his finger at me and said "Lad, that one was between you and me. You step one inch out of line and your Pa will hear everything that has gone on this week. Are you clear on that?" I nodded my head quickly. I knew if Pa ever found out what I had done, he'd make Uncle Ed's tanning seem like a pat on the back. I made sure I didn't step out of line until Pa came home. I guess Uncle Ed never told on me."

Ben started to laugh. "Well, Annie, that's another lesson I remember your father learning the hard way!" She looked at him, puzzled and Ben started to explain.

One summer, when I was 13 and Eddie was 11, my mother became very ill. My father sent Eddie and me to his uncle's in Eastham, on Cape Cod. John was already working and Father needed him at home anyway. My great-uncle was the lighthouse keeper at Nauset Light and we had visited him several times. Eddie and I were worried about our mother, of course, but we were looking forward to spending a month with Uncle John. He was a lot of fun, not as strict as our father, and Cape Cod was as near to Heaven as we ever thought to get on earth. [author's note: it still is!] Our father had admonished us to behave ourselves and warned us that our great-uncle knew how to deal with naughty boys. He knew, because his uncle had raised him.

We had great fun, exploring the ocean and the bay, digging up clams for Aunt May's wonderful chowdah, fishing. We had chores to do, but the rest of the day was ours, as long as we stayed out of trouble. Sad to say, we didn't stay out of trouble for long.

**************************************************************

Two boys slept in a small room. The room was periodically lit up by the light of the lighthouse as it rotated, warning sailors of the rocks and shore. A storm raged outside, but the boys slept through it until they heard the voices of their uncle and aunt outside the room. "May, I'll bring any survivors to the house. Make sure those boys stay in their room. "

"I'll be ready John. You take care."

The oldest boy sat up in bed. "Eddie, I think a ship has wrecked. C'mon, let's go see."

"Bennie, I don't think we're supposed to. I heard Uncle John say.."

"Never mind that. He'll never know we're there. I just want to see what it's like."

They quickly dressed and opened the window. First Ben, then Ed crawled out the window into the storm. The wind was fierce and the rain pelted them hard. They headed towards the lights they could see by the rocks. Sure enough, a small fishing boat had dashed against the rocks. The boys watched from behind the rocks as their great-uncle and another man helped the injured fishermen to shore. The men had been banged up, but not hurt badly. Uncle John wrapped the men in blankets and then helped them up to the lighthouse.

Bennie and Eddie came out from behind the rocks and looked at the wreckage. They managed to pull some of the equipment onto shore.

"What are we going to do with it, Eddie? If we bring it to Uncle John, he'll know for sure that we were down here. But we can't let it float away."

"C'mon Bennie, let's pull it up away from the tide. The men will find it tomorrow." They worked diligently for about an hour, when they realized they needed to get home. They quickly ran up the hill to the house and climbed back in the window that they had left open slightly. They had just stripped off their wet clothes when suddenly the lamp was lit.

Uncle John sat in a chair near the bed the boys shared. "Well, lads, where've you been at this hour?"

The boys just stared at him, unable to answer. His weather-beaten face was impossible to read, but they could tell from his tone that they were in deep trouble.

He leaned forward. "Have you boys been down to the ship that was wrecked?" Finally Bennie was able to speak.

"Yes, sir. We pulled some of the fishing equipment up on shore for the men."

"Oh, and that makes what you did all right, is that what you laddies are thinking?" Somehow the boys knew that wouldn't be how it worked. They started to shiver, although whether it was from the cold air on their wet skin or the look on their uncle's face, they weren't sure.

He stood slowly and nodded. He unbuckled his belt and pointed to Bennie. "You're oldest lad. Bend over the bed, if you please." Eddie watched nervously as his brother got a thrashing from fun Uncle John. He gulped as Uncle John finished with Bennie and then bent over when Uncle John pointed to him.

The two boys were in tears when Uncle John was done. "Now, laddies, that was between us. But, step one toe out of line, and your father will hear everything that went on while you were here. Even if one of you gets in trouble with me again, your father will hear about both of you." The two boys paled. Although this was the first time they had been in big trouble, they had gotten into a lot of minor scrapes the first two weeks of their visit. Father would not be understanding at all. They both nodded their agreement. They resolved to behave after that. "Now clean up this mess and put some clothes on." Uncle John sat back down and made sure the boys did as they were told. When he was satisfied with their work, he put them back to bed and left the room.

Ben stopped and looked at Adam. "Unfortunately, Eddie wasn't as smart as Adam was in New Orleans. A week later, we rushed through our chores and went swimming near some rocks that we had been forbidden to go near. We didn't know it, but there was a bad rip-tide. Eddie almost drowned and it was Uncle John that managed to save him. He marched us back to the house and sat us down. 'Now laddies. I won't be punishin' you.' he said. 'Your father is coming tomorrow and you didn't keep your word. He'll be hearing everything you did to get in trouble on this trip.'

Uncle John was as good as his word. He told Father everything and Father gave Eddie and me such a thrashing that we stood for the entire ferry trip home and for several days after that. We were standing by the rail of the ferry, feeling very sorry for ourselves when Father came up behind us. 'Well, boys, I warned you about misbehaving for your Uncle John, didn't I?' We nodded. 'Don't forget, Uncle John raised me. I know first hand what he does to boys who get into trouble.' Then he smiled and we knew he had forgiven us.

"So, Adam, you know where your uncle first learned the lesson of behaving for an uncle. I wondered if you had gotten into trouble with him. When he and Kathleen left, he told me that I had my hands full with you and that he hoped that the baby Kathleen was expecting would be a girl. I was so pleased to hear their news that I didn't ask what had happened."

"Tell us more about Great-Uncle John, Pa. I don't think I remember you mentioning him before." Adam, who loved stories of the sea, leaned forward and urged his father to tell more.

"I could tell you stories about him all day and night, Adam, and not finish. He was an old salt!" He laughed at the looks his children gave him.

"An old salt is someone who spends his life on the ocean. Uncle John ran away to sea when he was 14. He spent 10 or so years on a whaler, then when he married and his first son was born he decided he'd had enough of whaling. But, you couldn't take the sea out of him, and he found a job as a lighthouse keeper on the Cape. He and Aunt May had two more sons, and took my father in when my grandfather was lost at sea. My father was only 8 when his father died and he considered Uncle John to be his father. He was the closest thing to a grandfather I ever had.

"We used to go visit Uncle John every summer for a couple of weeks with our parents. I think I told you the Cape was like Heaven to young boys. We had a lot more freedom than we had at home and even my father would overlook some of our mischief. Not all of it, to be sure, but we loved the relaxed rules of vacation.

The lighthouse itself was on the ocean side, but the Cape is so narrow at that point that it wasn't a long walk to the bayside. When the tide went out on the bayside we could walk out for miles. That's when Uncle John would teach us to go clamming. We'd have to look sharp for the clams that would bury themselves in the mud. If we were lucky, we'd find crabs for lunch. Sometimes we would have to fight the gulls for our food! Aunt May would cook up the lot for us. Mother loved the vacation time too, because Aunt May wouldn't let her do any work. Aunt May loved to cook for people and she missed her boys. They were all grown of course, and out to sea. None of them had married and so we were the only grandchildren John and May had.

"Anyway, Aunt May would cook up all the clams and then we would shuck the shells. She took the good broth that the clams cooked in, added some potatoes, vegetables and the cooked clams. Some people added tomatoes or milk to their chowder, but not Aunt May. She thought that would ruin the chowder. She'd bake some bread and we'd feast on the food we caught.

"Some days Uncle John would take us boys hunting for gull eggs. I remember one time, the summer before Mother got sick.."

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Two boys pelted down the stairs of the lighthouse while a third boy, older than the others, walked down slowly, sulking. The smallest boy launched himself from the bottom step towards his father, who was waiting at the bottom.

"Are we going, Father? Are we going?"

The boys' father, Joseph, laughed as he caught Eddie. "Aye, son, we're going. Uncle John's got the basket and the rope, let's head out." He put Eddie down, then looked at his oldest son. "John, I've decided to give you a second chance. You can go with us today, but you tow the line. No more second chances. Get in trouble again, and you'll be standing in your room for the rest of vacation. "

The oldest boy's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Father. No more trouble, I promise!" He playfully punched the third boy in the arm. "Hey, Bennie, bet I get more eggs." He winced as his father tweaked his ear. "I didn't mean really bet, Father, it's just an expression."

"Make sure it stays an _expression, you pup. Bennie, go see Aunt May for the picnic." Joseph put his arm around his oldest and youngest sons while his middle son ran to see his aunt.

Hours later, the two men and three boys stopped along a deserted stretch of beach, miles from the lighthouse. "Gee, Father, we must be halfway to Provincetown by now!" Bennie ran ahead, trying to figure where he was.

"Bennie, you come back here. I don't want you going too far out on the dunes." Bennie's great-uncle waved the boy back.

Bennie started to protest, but one look from his father silenced him. The boys spread out the blanket and started to empty the basket while the men looked out to sea. "Look at the birds, Uncle. Some fine fishing out there today. Too bad we didn't have the dinghy."

"It's been a long time since I went that way to go fishing, Joseph. Not since you and the boys left anyway. Had a letter from Charlie, by the way. He was in the South Seas, managed to get a letter on a whaler coming back. Doing well, hopes to come back a rich man."

Joseph laughed. His cousin always hoped to come back a rich man. He usually lost his money at the gambling tables on the voyage home. It was one reason that Joseph Cartwright prohibited his sons from gambling. He knew all too well what it could do to a man.

"Lunch is ready, Uncle John, Father." Eddie tugged on his father's sleeve. He was hungry and he knew they couldn't start without the adults.

"C'mon Father ­ Aunt May's outdone herself this time!" John beckoned his father and great-uncle to the blanket. The boys had laid out fried chicken, cold potatoes, bread and cheese.

"Your Aunt May always packed the best picnic baskets. I remember one time my cousins and I were going egg hunting, not too far from here. She gave us such a picnic lunch that we couldn't move for hours. We were late coming home, too."

Uncle John laughed and gestured to his nephew. "I notice you don't tell the boys the whole of that story!"

Joseph glared at his uncle. "My sons don't need to know all the misdeeds of my youth!"

"C'mon, Uncle John, you tell us the rest of the story!" All three boys cajoled their great-uncle into talking.

"Well, the boys told me they were late coming home because they fell asleep after the picnic. Unfortunately for them, a friend of mine had seen them climbing on the dunes up yonder, the ones I just warned you off, Bennie. Those dunes are notoriously unstable and people have been killed when the sand buried them. The boys were forbidden to go on them. That didn't stop them, though. So, they got done with their whopper of an explanation and then I told them what I knew. They tried for a few more minutes to convince me they had fallen asleep for the afternoon, but they could see I wasn't believing them.

Eddie turned to his father, eyes wide. "You lied, Father?" He turned back to Uncle John.

"Ay-uh, he did. Told them I wouldn't tolerate lying and if they lied I wouldn't be able to trust them. If I couldn't trust them, they'd have to stay in the yard. They did, for two weeks. Stood most of the time, too."

All three boys crowed in delight. Joseph just shook his head. "Why is it boys like to hear stories about their fathers getting into trouble?"

His uncle clapped him on the shoulder. "Seems to me I spent a lot of time telling you boys stories about your father and me. You four boys kept me going through your childhood, seems only fair that your boys keep you on your toes!"

"In that case, Uncle John, my grandchildren will take these boys on a merry chase!"

"Aye, laddie, if there's any justice, they will at that."

Ben Cartwright shook himself from the past and looked at all his children. He reached out and ruffled Joe's hair. "I think somewhere my father is laughing right now. Of course, I take consolation knowing that someday you will all have children of your own! Boys, it looks like the snow has stopped. Time to get to chores. Annie, help Hop Sing with dinner like a good girl." His children hurried to do his bidding, and he stood up from his chair to go help his sons. He paused as he stepped out on the porch. The wave of nostalgia was strong, and he almost thought he could smell the salt air and hear the gulls crying. Those times on the Cape with his father were so special to him, because he saw his father in a different light. He could see more than just the stern father with a family to support. He saw the boy that still lived in the man, the boy that could still have fun and not be weighed down by cares. Ben looked at his sons and hoped that from time to time they could see the boy that he knew still lived in him. He stooped down, picked up a handful of snow and knocked Hoss's hat off with the snowball.

(The end for now.)