The Journey

By Tennessee

Ben and the boys were planning a long journey to buy a bunch of horses from a friend of Ben's who was selling off all his horses, planning to only raise cattle now. It would take Ben and the boys a week to get to the man's ranch, and with the need to drive the horses, it would be at least a two-week trip back, provided they had good weather.

Ben had sold all the horses he and the boys had raised and gentled to ride for a good price and he now had the money to buy several more horses of quality bloodlines. Ben hired Big Dan to help Hop Sing at the ranch while he and the boys were gone.

Ben and the boys could not wait to start the trip. They were all looking forward to getting away for a while. They got everything read the night before: food, clothes they'd need, and sleeping gear.

Little Joe could not sleep the night before the start of the trip. Hop Sing got up at five a.m. and cooked the family a hearty meal of pancakes, eggs, ham, and toast with butter.

Hoss smelled the good food and made his way to the kitchen. Adam and Joe dressed and went to eat too.

When the sun came up, they were on their way. The weather was good, and they were all happy.

Big Dan moved in to Ben's bedroom after the family had left.

Ben and the boys talked and laughed the whole day, and that night they camped by a small lake and watched the starry sky. They went to sleep early and were awake and ready to ride by daybreak.

It started raining at noon, and it rained hard for hours, but they rode on, even though they were wet and cold.

Eventually Ben saw an old barn and directed the boys, "In here."

They took care of the horses, and Ben made a fire and warmed up some beans for them. They all ate and went to bed.

The next morning the ground was muddy and wet. Water came up every time one of them took a step. They ate breakfast and traveled slowly. The sun came out mid-morning and began to dry up all the water. The land was green and pretty.

They rode all day and ate biscuits Hop Sing had sent while they were riding. The moon was so bright that night they were able to ride even after nightfall. But soon they were too tired to ride any longer, so they built a campfire, ate a quick supper, and went to bed.

The next day was hot, and the sun was so bright it hurt Little Joe's eyes, but he went on riding. At noon they stopped to water the horses. They sat by the lake and ate bread and got on the road again. They all fell asleep fast that night.

On the next day no one talked much. They just rode, and when Ben asked if the boys wanted to stop for lunch, they said they'd rather keep going and get the trip over with.

Little Joe began to wish he'd stayed at the Ponderosa. The next day the wind was blowing so hard and the temperature was warm. Ben said a storm was coming and told the boys to ride faster.

It began to rain, and Little Joe was chilled to the bone. They could not find dry wood to build a fire. None of them could sleep much that night.

The next day there were a lot of clouds in the sky. But it was warm and Little Joe was glad. The family talked and had a good time. By noon they'd made it to Ben's friend's house. The man's name was Frank Seawood.

Ben greeted Frank and introduced his sons.

"Nice to meet you," Frank said. "Come in, and we'll have some food and tea, and then I'll show you the horses."

"Sounds fine to us," Ben said.

As they ate, Frank said, "I'm glad you want my horse stock. I know you'll raise them well and that they'll got to good homes."

"You're right," Ben said. "Hoss can break a horse in no time and so can Adam. They will be good ranchers one day."

"Me too, Pa," said Little Joe.

"Yes, you too," Ben said with a smile. "Let's go see those horses now."

They went to look at the twenty-four horses Frank had to sell. They were pretty and healthy and Ben decided to buy them all. "At the price we talked about?" Ben asked as he handed the money to Frank. He didn't want the boys to know how much he'd paid for the horses.

Frank said, "I hope you'll stay a few days and rest."

"Frank, we'd love to," said Ben, "but we're needed at home. If we start now, we might make it home a few days early. Boys, get the horses moving. I'll catch up in a minute."

"Ok, Pa," they said and they all said goodbye to Frank.

Ben turned to Frank as the boys got the horses rounded up. "Goodbye, my friend and thank you."

"I should be the one to thank you, Ben."

Ben smiled and waved as he rode off to join the boys. He caught up with them and the horses. "Adam, you and Hoss take the front side. Joe, stay with me in the back."

They rode for hours and then stopped and roped off a pen to hold the horses for the night and went to bed.

At daybreak they got the horses moving again and were making good time. Then the horses began to run faster and Ben yelled for Adam and Hoss to slow them down. They managed to get the horses under control and were back on the right track, and the moon was so bright that night that they rode for most of the night, eating only bread and water. They would be home a few days early for sure.

For the next two days they rode out at daybreak and stopped to sleep only when it was dark. The next two days it rained and the rain blew so hard it was difficult to keep the horses under control. But they kept up a steady pace. After the rain stopped it got real hot.

Ben knew Little Joe was having a hard time. He was sore and tired and not sleeping well. He talked to Adam and Hoss and they said if the moon was high and bright they should keep going that night, so they rode all night and all the next day until dark, when they made a pen and warmed some food and ate by the fire. Little Joe fell asleep before he was done eating, and Ben put him in his sleeping bag.

Ben said, "We are making good time. I think we should start at six tomorrow." They got up at that time and saw that the horses were gone. They'd broken the pen and scattered. It took most of the day to round them all up. And so they camped in the same place that night and started out again the next day.

Adam saw the lake. "We're almost home!" he said.

Hoss yelled out, "Let's let the horses run faster." And they did.

They put the horses in the horse field on the Ponderosa and rode as fast as they could to the house. Hop Sing and Big Dan were eating supper, and Ben yelled, "We're home!" Hop Sing and Big Dan ran out of the house to greet them.

Ben said, "The Ponderosa looks great. You two did a good job."

"Food," Hoss said eagerly.

"No," said Hop Sing. "Not until you clean up and take a bath. You too, Mr. Cartwright."

Ben smiled. "We will."

Hop Sing nodded. "Will prepare supper now. You come home early." He went in the house to get a change of clothes for each of them as well as the hot water.

Big Dan said, "I'm going to pack and get back to town. Want to see what's going on at the livery."

"Thanks, Big Dan," Ben said, "You did a great job."

"You're welcome, Ben."

Adam and Hoss filled the tub for Little Joe and he took a bath and put on his clean clothes while his pa and brothers took care of the horses. Hoss was the next to clean up and then Adam and then Ben. They were all fresh and clean and ready to eat. Hop Sing had cooked them a great meal, which they all ate and then went to bed.

The next day Little Joe slept late. Ben, Adam, and Hoss got up at their usual time to check on the horses.

"How much did you pay for the horses?" Hoss asked Ben as they looked them over.

Ben said, "When a man makes a deal with another man to buy horses, the deal is between the two of them."

"Ok, Pa," Hoss said, though he still wondered.

Adam said, "This is good stock, Pa. We'll make money on them."

"How do you know that, Adam?" asked Hoss. "Pa won't tell us how much he paid for them."

Ben laughed. "I think we'll make money on them."

When they went back to the house Little Joe was up. "Pa?" he asked.

"Yes, son."

"I'm glad we got to go on the journey together, but I'm so sore I can't move."

"You're too little for such a long ride," said Adam.

"Am not!" Little Joe countered.

Ben said, "We went as a family on the journey. Everyone helped, and I'm proud of the work that everyone did. The Cartwrights can do anything as long as we stick together, do you boys understand?"

They all nodded. "Cartwrights always work together," said Little Joe.

"Now let's go get our chores done," said Ben.

They were all happy to be home again, on their land, and they did the work happily.

The End