The Night They Would Never Forget

By Tennessee

One night when Ben and the boys were sound asleep, they suddenly heard a window break, and all four of them woke up at the same time. Ben made his way to the bedroom door and opened it. It was dark and he could not see anything, but he heard a loud noise and he hit the floor.

Adam jumped up and so did his brothers, and they heard someone run out the door. Adam and his brothers ran to their bedroom door. As Adam opened it, he said, "Little Joe, you stay here."

"But, Adam . . ."

"I mean it, Joe. Hoss, get a light."

Hoss and Adam went to see what the noise was and then they saw their pa.

"Pa!" Adam exclaimed. "Hoss, help me turn him over."

They turned Ben over and saw blood. He had been shot.

"We need to stop the blood, Hoss. Get me some water and clean rags."

Hoss came back with the water and rags and cleaned Ben’s arm. "I wish Hop Sing was here to help," he said.

Adam said, "I need to go tell Little Joe what happened." He opened the bedroom door.

"Adam, what was that noise?"

"Sit down, little brother."

"Why? What’s the matter?"

Adam said, "It’s Pa, Little Joe. He’s been shot. On the arm."

Little Joe ran out of the bunkroom before Adam could stop him. "Who would do that to Pa?"

"We don’t know," Hoss said. "But we’ll find out."

"Hoss," Adam said, "ride and get Hop Sing. He’s helping that woman who just had a baby."

It took Hoss four hours to collect Hop Sing. Adam and Little Joe stayed with Ben.

When Hop Sing got to the house, he shooed Adam and Joe out of the way. "I need to check your father." He took off the rag and looked at Ben’s arm. It was a fresh bullet wound but had passed through the arm without breaking any bones and, in time, would heal fine. He cleaned the wound and put a cloth on it. The bleeding had stopped now. Ben had a little fever now, and Hop Sing gave him something for the fever and the pain. Then Hop Sing went to talk with the boys.

They were at the table, and Hop Sing told them, "Your pa will be fine."

The boys went outside to do their chores. When they got to the barn, Little Joe said, "Adam, there’s horse gone."

Adam and Hoss looked at each other. They looked around to see if they could find evidence of a thief, but they found nothing.

It took a few days for Ben’s fever to go down and he slept a lot. But when he woke up he was feeling better, albeit weak and sore.

Adam asked him, "Pa, did you see who shot you?"

"No, Adam. It was dark. I did not see anything."

"A horse is gone, Pa."

Ben said, "I’m just thankful you boys weren’t hurt too. If you had opened your bedroom door . . ."

"We’re fine, Pa. We’ve been taking care of the ranch."

Ben smiled. "My three sons."

Hop Sing came in and said, "You must rest now, Mr. Cartwright."

Adam and Hoss went to town to see what they could find out but no one knew anything about the crimes at the Ponderosa. So they went back home. When they got to the yard, Little Joe ran outside to meet them. "Pa’s fever is high again!"

They all ran into the house and into Pa’s room.

Hop Sing said, "His fever has gone up again and his arm is very red. Not good."

"What can we do?" Adam asked anxiously.

Hop Sing said, "Keep cold rags on his head and keep his arm clean. Talk with him."

Adam knew by the look on Hop Sing’s face that their pa was in bad shape, but he smiled at his brothers. Little Joe was crying. Adam said, "Joe, Pa needs us to be strong now. We are the Cartwrights, and we stick together."

"But what if Pa . . ." He was crying so hard to couldn’t finish the sentence.

Adam put his arms around his little brother. "Little Joe, Pa will be fine."

Little Joe cried, "Pa," and then ran out of the room. Adam and Hoss ran after him. Little Joe ran so fast that it took his brothers a few minutes to catch him, but when they did he was almost to his ma’s grave. Adam and Hoss sat down on each side of Joe.

"Leave me alone," Joe said.

"We can’t do that, little brother," Adam replied.

"What if Pa don’t make it?" Joe sobbed.

"He will, Joe. You’ve got to believe that. We need him and he needs us."

Adam said, "That’s right. Joe, we need to get home to Pa."

"OK," Little Joe said.

When they got home they all three sat up in Ben’s room. They helped Hop Sing put cool cloths on Ben’s head and keep his arm clean. By the next morning, Ben’s fever was gone and he was looking better. He opened his eyes and again and smiled at his sons. "I heard you boys talking to me."

Adam said, "Your fever was really high, Pa."

"But it’s gone now," Hop Sing said. "You be fine."

"My arm hurts," Ben said.

"You got shot in the arm," Adam said.

"I know that, son."

"You need some soup. I’ll get it," Hoss said.

"A few more days of rest and you’ll be fine."

"Thank you, Hop Sing."

"Don’t thank me. Thank your sons. They stayed right with you and helped me take care of you."

Hoss brought the soup, and Hop Sing encouraged Ben to eat.

Adam said, "Pa, did you see who shot you?"

"No, son, it was dark."

"But how will we find who did this?"

"We might not find out, son. Let’s just be glad that none of you boys got hurt."

"But Pa -" Hoss said.

"Hoss, we do not need to find out who did this. I’ve taught you boys not to take revenge."

Adam said, "But if we could just find our missing horse . . ."

"Adam, stop thinking about finding the person. Let’s move on with our lives."

A week later Ben was up and around, but the boys wouldn’t let him do any work. Finally, one night at supper, Ben said, "I plan to start working the ranch again tomorrow."

"Yes, Pa," the boys said.

The next day Ben worked the ranch, happy to be doing something productive again. For a while Ben had dreams about the night of shooting, and every unusual sound he heard made him jump, but in time, he got over it. He knew he and the boys would never forget the night he was shot. But he was happy the boys were not hurt and he had fully recovered.

The End