The School Trip to the Mountains

By Tennessee

Little Joe could not wait to go on the class trip. They were going into the mountains for a weekend, and hiking up the tallest mountain. Hoss did not want to go on the field trip, but his pa told him to had to. Hoss had a bad feeling about this trip but it was just a feeling so he tried to put it out of his mind.

Hoss had the same bad dream every night for a week. He was hiking up the mountain with Little Joe in front of him and then Joe was gone. Hoss looked and looked but could not find his brother. Hoss yelled for him, but Joe didn't answer. Then Hoss looked off the mountain and there was Little Joe, far down, yelling for help. Hoss would wake up then.

Two days before the mountain trip, Hoss told Adam about the bad feeling and the dream. Adam said, "Hoss, you don't like hiking, do you?"

"No."

"You don't like hiking and you're having a bad feeling about the trip."

Hoss shook his head. "You don't understand." He walked away.

Hoss had the same dream the next night, but still joined the school group a daybreak. He had waved goodbye to Pa and Adam without a word, and Little Joe had done all the talking on their ride in to town. When they got to the school, everyone was there, and they headed off up into the mountains, singing as they walked. All Hoss could do was watch Little Joe to make sure he stayed safe.

It took them almost all day to walk to where they planned to camp out. They made camp and Joe and some other boys had a plan: wait until everyone was asleep and then go looking around and have some fun in the dark.

Hoss had not slept much the night before so he was asleep early. Little Joe, Ray, James, and Frank left camp. They could see pretty well in the moonlight, and they ran and played and ran some more. Little Joe ran ahead of the other boys. The other boys heard a yell. They looked around. Frank asked, "Where's Little Joe?"

No one knew. The boys ran back to camp, curled up in their blankets, and fell asleep.

When Hoss woke up and looked at the place where Joe had laid out his blankets, he saw that his brother was not there. Hoss thought of his bad dream and began yelling for Joe. The three boys Little Joe had been with do not tell of their nighttime adventure. Everyone came running to see what Hoss was yelling about. Hoss asked each person if they'd seen his brother. No one had.

When Little Joe awoke, he was on the ground in a big hole. He looked around, but his feet hurt so badly he could barely move. The hole was big enough that he could not climb out. He yelled for help, wondering where his friends had gone. Joe knew something bad had happened, but he wasn't sure what.

The three boys who had been with Joe collected their stuff from camp and left to go home without telling anyone. The teach and the other kids looked for them.

Adam was in town at the trading post when he saw Ray, James, and Frank. "Thought you boys were on a campout," he said. He noticed Ray had tears running down his cheeks.

"Um, Adam . . . Little Joe . . ."

Adam grabbed the boy's arm. "What happened to my brother?"

"No one can find him."

"What happened? You three boys better tell me what you know."

James told Adam about their plan to sneak off after everyone was asleep and about hearing Joe yell but not being able to find him. "We didn't tell anyone about sneaking off. We ain't sure where Joe is," James said. "Everybody's looking for him."

"You didn't tell Hoss or anyone?" Adam asked.

"We didn't want to get in trouble," Ray said.

"Let's go," Adam ordered. "Show me where you were camped."

Hoss and the others were still searching for Little Joe when they came across a large hole. Hoss ran to the brink and looked down. There was his brother, just like in Hoss's dream. He yelled to Joe, but Joe was lying on the ground and didn't answer. He yelled again, louder.

Joe moved slightly. "We need a rope!" Hoss shouted.

When Adam got to the campsite, he found only two children there. "Did they find Joe?" he asked.

"Yeah, he's trapped in a big hole."

Adam and the boys followed the children to the hole.

"Glad to see you here, brother," Hoss said. "Somebody's gotta go down there to get him. I'm too big."

Adam got the rope and put it around his waist. Hoss helped him over the edge of the hole and held the rope as Adam climbed down. Adam made his way to where Little Joe was curled up.

Little Joe was crying a little, and Adam whispered, "I'm here, little brother."

"My feet hurt, Adam. And I'm so cold."

Adam said, "We'll get you out of here right now. Once you're out, we'll see if you can walk."

Adam put his arm around Little Joe and called, "We're ready, Hoss!"

Hoss pulled his brothers to safety. Once they were out, Hoss helped Little Joe remove his boots. Joe's feet were black and blue but it didn't seem like anything was broken.

Ray, James, and Frank walked up.

"Where were you?" asked the teacher.

"We're sorry. We thought you'd be mad that we'd left during the night."

Adam said, "If someone is in trouble or hurt, you must always go for help."

The teacher asked, "Since Little Joe is all right, do you all want to go on the hike or go home?"

"The hike!" the kids yelled.

Little Joe whimpered. "I wanna hike."

Hoss looked at Adam. "What do you think?"

"You can if it doesn't hurt too badly, Joe."

Hoss nodded. "You can lean on me, if you need to."

They helped him get his boot back on.

Adam headed home to tell Pa what had happened. Hoss and Little Joe had fun on the hike, and that night at the campsite Hoss told Joe about how his dream had come true. "I'm so glad you're all right, brother."

Little Joe smiled. "I'm just glad you're so strong!"

The next morning it was time to pack up camp and go back to town. Ben and Adam were waiting for them in town. When they saw them, they waved and yelled.

"Hi, Pa! Hey, Adam!" Joe called.

Hoss told Pa all about how his dream had come true. "I sure had a bad feeling something would happen. I ain't never predicted the future like that before."

Ben smiled. "Yes, son. But did it all happen the way it did in your dream?"

"No," Hoss answered.

Ben said, "A dream is a dream, Hoss. If Joe and the other boys had stayed in camp, it wouldn't have happened."

"But you know what is funny, Pa?" Hoss said. "I didn't dream at all last night."

Ben said, "I guess because you knew how the dream ended. Your little brother was okay."

Hoss smiled and nodded. And that night he had a great night's sleep.

The End