The afternoon was hot. Summer was early this year in the Sierras and Joe was looking forward to summer vacation from school. This was the last week of school and he was getting restless. Five more days, and it was getting harder and harder to stay out of trouble in school today. At recess he was telling Mitch about his ride with his papa last week when they saw the wild horses cross back onto Ponderosa land.

"We could go up after school." Mitch said.

"I don’t know. Papa just let me off restriction last week. We could see about going on Saturday. We could make a day of it."

"Yeah, I guess we have waited this long, we can wait another five days. Do you think you can stay out of trouble for the next five days, Joe?"

"What are you trying to say Mitch? That I can’t stay out of trouble that long."

"Joe, that is exactly what I am saying. You’ve almost gotten in trouble twice this morning alone. Not to mention the amount of trouble you have been into in the last couple of months."

"Tell you what, Mitch. If I get into trouble anytime before Saturday, we’ll go up and see the horses after school on that day or the following day, that way, we can see the herd before I get restricted to the ranch for the entire summer. ‘Kay?" Joe recited with mock disgust.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Mitch answered as the teacher rang the bell to announce that recess was over. As they walked back into school, Bobby Plumber stuck his foot out to trip Joe. Joe saw him and tried to step over Bobby’s foot. Instead he ended up stepping on Bobby’s foot. The scream brought the teacher over to find out what was going on.

"Miss Jones. Little Joe stepped on my foot for no reason." Bobby lied.

"That ain’t true, Miss Jones." Joe yelled.

"That is enough out of both of you. Joseph. Did you step on Bobby’s foot?"

"Yes ma’am, but it wasn’t on purpose. He stuck his foot out to trip me and I was just trying to step over his foot." Joe explained.

"I weren’t tryin’ to trip him. I was jest standin’ here, mindin’ my own business."

Joe was getting angry. "You don’t know how to mind your own business." He turned to Miss Jones, "I ain’t lying ma’am. I promise. I didn’t mean to step on his foot."

"Well one of you is lying and I want to know which one. If the guilty party doesn’t tell me the truth before school ends, you will both be punished. Now get into class."

"Miss Jones. That ain’t fair. I told you the truth and Bobby is lying." Joe whined.

"Be quiet Cartwright. You’re the liar around here."

Joe got angry and moved to hit Bobby when Mitch grabbed his arm. At the same time, Miss Jones grabbed his other arm.

"Bobby get into the classroom now. You too Mitchell. I’ll be in, in a minute." After the other children were in the school, Miss Jones released Joe’s arm. Joe rubbed it where she had held on tighter that a girl should be able to. "Joseph. What is the meaning of this behavior?" When Joe didn’t answer, she said, "I think maybe I have found the guilty party."

Joe looked up at his teacher with shock in his eyes. She didn’t believe him. "I’m not lying!" Joe screamed.

"You will watch your tone with me young man. I think you can stay after school today and learn some manners. Now get inside. We are already behind in the afternoon lessons."

"But…"

"Not another word Joseph, or I will send a note home with Eric, to have your father fetch you after school and then I will discuss your behavior with him." They both walked back into the school. He tried to think about schoolwork to keep from crying. He was being treated unfairly and it made him angry. Joe stayed quiet for the rest of the day, but he was still angry by the last period of the day. He decided that he wasn’t paying any more attention to Miss Jones or stupid school. If they didn’t want to treat him fairly, then he wasn’t going to participate. When Miss Jones asked him a question, he would ignore her. This worked until the last twenty minutes of the day, when Miss Jones quizzed the students on the day’s work. When she asked Joe a question he looked at her and stared.

"Joseph. I want you to answer the question." Joe shook his head ‘no’. He knew she would get mad, but he was too angry to care. "Young man, if you do not change your attitude, I will change it for you. Now answer the question." Joe looked down at his desk and put his head down onto his folded arms. This made Miss Jones angry. She turned to the class and said, "Class you can be dismissed early. I will see you all tomorrow." Everyone started to leave, including Joe.

"Not you Joseph. You and I are going to have a heart to heart talk about your behavior, so sit down." Miss Jones noticed Hoss by the door. She walked over to him and handed him a note for his father, then he left. She turned back to Joe and noticed he had not sat down as asked. "Joseph I told you to sit down and I meant it." Joe decided it wouldn’t hurt to sit, at least not until his father got a hold of him.

"Would you like to tell me why you are being so difficult this afternoon?" Joe didn’t answer. He was trying his hardest not to cry. Miss Jones noticed he was on the verge of tears and softened. She sat down in front of Joe and spoke softly, "Joe please tell me what is wrong?" Joe looked up at her and a stray tear escaped down his cheek. Why did she have to soften up? Maybe if he told her the truth again, she would believe him.

"You won’t believe me anyway." He replied with anger.

"Watch your tone, Joseph. I’m trying to be understanding, but you are making it very hard for me."

"I wasn’t lying about Bobby." He said a little quieter. "Yes I stepped on his foot, but it was an accident. He was trying to trip me. My papa taught me not to lie. I didn’t lie to you I always tell the truth, but if you tell my papa that I lied he’ll believe you and not me and I’ll get a tanning just because Bobby tried to trip me." It all came out like a flood and with all the words came the tears that Joe had tried to keep back all afternoon. He put his head down and sobbed. Miss Jones didn’t know what to do. He sounded convincing, but she knew from experience that most 7 year olds didn’t always tell the truth.

"We’ll let your pa decide when he gets here." She moved over to her desk to wait for Ben Cartwright. She could hear Joe sobbing harder at mention of his father.

Joe cried for what seemed like hours. He was still crying when he father came through the door. It broke his heart to see his son crying so hard. Hoss had told him what had happened and how Miss Jones didn’t believe Joe was telling the truth. He also told his father that, on the way home, Bobby bragged about getting Joe in trouble when it was him that was lying. On the ride in, he decided to let Miss Jones tell him her side first, until he heard the heart wrenching sobs coming from Little Joe. He walked over to Joe and put his hand on Joe’s shoulder. Joe immediately turned and threw himself into his papa’s arms and sobbed even harder onto his father’s shoulder. Ben picked him up.

"Shhhh. Joseph, you need to settle down before you pass out." Ben soothed.

Miss Jones walked over to him and spoke. "I’m glad you got here so quickly. I didn’t know what else to do with him."

"What happened?"

"Joseph and Bobby had a little altercation this afternoon. Joseph stepped on Bobby’s foot. Joe said it was an accident and Bobby said it was on purpose. I was going to punish both boys if the truth wasn’t told. Then Joseph tried to take a swing at Bobby. The real problem didn’t occur until we got back into class and Joseph wouldn’t answer any of my questions or even talk to me. He completely ignored me. That’s when I decided to dismiss the others and sent a note home with Eric."

"Do you believe he was lying to you?" Ben asked as he rubbed Joe’s back to calm him down further.

"I don’t know. There is no way to tell which child is lying."

"Actually there is in Joe’s case."

"How?" She was curious.

"When Joe is lying, he doesn’t make eye contact. He also would not be so upset if he believed he deserved the punishment. He has a strong sense of fairness." Ben moved Joe off his shoulder so that he could look Joe in the eye. Ben saw his eyes were swollen from so much crying. "Joseph. Tell papa what happened."

"I… acci..dent..ly stepped on…Bobby’s foot. I.. did..n’t… lie." Joe turned his head to look at Miss Jones. "I didn’t lie."

"Joseph…" Joe turned back to look at his papa. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Ben dug out his hanky and gave it to Joe. "Use this Joseph, not your sleeve. Joseph, did you try to hit Bobby?"

"Yes sir. I was mad that he was lying."

"You do know that, that is no reason to loose your temper."

"Yes sir. I’m sorry."

"Were you rude and disrespectful to Miss Jones when you returned to the classroom?"

Joe started to cry again and just nodded. "I’m sorry. I was mad."

"Is that any reason to be disrespectful?"

"No sir." Joe cried on his papa’s shoulder again. He knew that being disrespectful was not allowed, for any reason. He also knew a tanning was the consequence of disrespect.

"Joseph, don’t you have something to tell Miss Jones?"

Joe looked at Miss Jones and said, "I’m sorry I was disrespectful. I won’t do it again." He turned to his father and saw love and understanding in his eyes. He put his head down and whispered, "I’m sorry papa."

"Miss Jones. I’m sorry Joseph was disrespectful and he will be punished for that, but I believe him when he says that it was an accident. My son doesn’t usually lie. I don’t kid myself, I know it’s in a child’s nature to lie, however, I have raised my boys to be honest."

"I can see that Mr. Cartwright. I am sorry about all this."

"Well, if there is nothing else, I would like to get this rascal home."

"No nothing else. Don’t be too hard on him. I’m afraid I set the stage for his temper."

Ben laughed. "It doesn’t take much. He knows what is expected and he also understands the consequences," he turned to Joe, "Don’t you Joseph?"

Joe looked at his father and said softly, "Yes sir." He snuggled back down onto his papa’s shoulder knowing that he would be spanked when he got home, but it didn’t matter at the moment. He knew his papa loved him.

"I’ll see you tomorrow Joseph." Miss Jones said.

"Yes ma’am."

"Good day Miss Jones." Ben walked out of the schoolhouse carrying Joe. Miss Jones followed them out. She was amazed at the amount of affection Ben Cartwright had for young Joe. Many fathers are distant from their children, but not Ben Cartwright. Maybe it came from having to be both mother and father to his sons. She watched Ben help Joseph up onto his pony and they rode off side by side.

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

The last day of school for summer vacation, was the longest day of the year; at least in Joe’s book. He surprised Mitch by staying out of major trouble after Monday. Although, Mitch suspected it was Joe’s sore backside that reminded him to behave every time he sat down. When the teacher finally dismissed the class, Joe let out a mighty "Yee Haw!"

"Joseph! Do that outside." Miss Jones rebuked.

"Sorry Ma’am. I’m just excited that I can actually go ‘fishing’ with Mitch tomorrow."

"Well, enjoy your vacation boys, because the next school year tends to sneak up on you."

"Yes ma’am it does." Both boys ran for their horses. They mounted up and headed for home. They talked about how they were going to track the wild horses tomorrow and what fun it will be. They stopped at the crossroads, between the Ponderosa and the Devlin ranch.

"Joe, You think you can stay out of trouble tonight?"

"Mitch. If I blow it, we’re still going. I’ve waited too long."

"You haven’t been restricted to the yard, and forgotten about it again have ya?"

"No. I would remember."

"What about Monday?"

"Papa believed me when I said I wasn’t lying. He punished me for being disrespectful, but when that was over, all was okay again. Trust me. I’ll get my morning chores done and we can head out as soon as you come get me. Don’t forget your fishing pole this time. You didn’t bring it last time. Good thing no one asked."

"Yeah, I thought of that afterwards. Probably a good thing you got in trouble huh?"

"I wouldn’t say that." Joe said as he rubbed his backside.

"Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, about 9?"

"Sounds good to me. See you then."

Both boys rode in opposite directions. Joe was so excited, that he let Star run as fast as he could. While Star wasn’t as fast as a real horse, he was faster than Shadow. He was so preoccupied with tomorrow’s adventure; he completely forgot to slow down coming into the yard, until it was too late. When the dust settled, he saw his father approaching from the porch.

"Joseph Francis Cartwright! How many times have I told you not to run that pony into the yard." He ran his hand down Star’s neck and could feel the sweat. "How long have you been running this horse?"

Joe dismounted, "I don’t know. Ten – fifteen minutes maybe."

"You had better give him a good rub down. Make sure he’s good and dry."

"Yes sir."

"And when you’re done with that, come find me and we will again discuss how to properly ride a horse."

"Yes sir." Ben turned and walked toward the house. Joe took Star into the barn to rub him down. He hoped his father would only give him a lecture and nothing more severe. He was going to track those wild horses tomorrow, with or without permission.

*********

Joe got lucky. His father gave him the customary lecture on not running your horse into the yard. Joe use to hear Adam talk about how his mama rode fast into the yard, and it made papa mad when she did it. He was stricter about it now, since mama died after her horse stumbled when she was running him into the yard. Joe promised not to do it again, but both of them knew he would forget. This time, however, was the last warning. His papa promised him a ‘sound thrashing’ if he did it anymore. Joe was then sent out to finish his chores. When he was almost finished, Adam rode in.

"Hey, Buddy. How was school?" He started to remove the saddle from Sport.

"It was the last day! I’m free for the entire summer."

"Free? I think I saw pa preparing a chore list to keep you out of trouble this summer." Adam joked.

"He wouldn’t do that. Would he?" Joe was a little nervous. He had plans for this vacation. "I’m on vacation!"

"There is no such thing on a ranch, Buddy. Besides, it may be a vacation for you, but not the rest of us. We have to spend twice as much energy just to keep you busy and out of trouble." Adam giggled.

"I don’t get into that much trouble. I do my share around here too. I think you’re fibbing me." Joe started to walk away from Adam.

"Hey Joe. I’m just telling you how it is. You know pa is going to make you do some kind of work this summer. You know, like mucking out the chicken coop; untangling the tack; chopping kindling; all those fun jobs. Maybe even a passel of house chores."

"I ain’t doing no girls work. You just shut your mouth Adam." Joe turned and ran smack dab into his father.

"Joseph. I don’t know what the argument is about, and I don’t care, but I don’t want you talking to your brother like that. Please apologize."

"But papa, he was saying mean stuff to me."

"Didn’t I just say, I didn’t care what it was about? I expect you to apologize." He held up his hand when he saw that Joe was going to argue. "And if I hear anything, other than an apology, I will tan your backside. Do I make myself clear?"

Joe wasn’t sorry, but he knew his father wasn’t bluffing. He said, "Yes sir." And turned to Adam. "Sorry Adam." He turned back to his father and said, "Sorry papa." He was fighting to keep back the tears when his father smiled.

"You’re forgiven, Joseph. I came out to tell you boys that supper was ready and to go wash up." Before Ben could say anymore, Joe ran toward the house. He wanted to get to his room and wash up before his brother and father saw him cry.

Ben just looked at Adam and said, "What was that all about?"

"It was my fault, pa. I was teasing him about having to do the less desirable chores this summer instead of playing. I guess I teased too far. I didn’t mean to upset him."

"Well, I have thought about giving him a list of chores for the summer. It might keep him out of trouble."

"Ha! I highly doubt it pa. He can get into trouble with or without trying."

"Well, I have to do something. If left up to him, he’d sleep until noon, and then get into as much trouble as he could before midnight."

They both laughed as they walked toward the house for supper.

***********

Joe got to his room just as the dam broke. He couldn’t believe how unfair his brother and father were being. Didn’t they understand that he had plans for this vacation? Didn’t they care how he felt?

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard his father. "Joseph! Supper is ready."

"I’m coming." He quickly washed his face and hands and checked to see if anyone would be able to tell if he had been crying. He then quickly walked down the stairs and joined his family at the table. His father noticed his eyes were slightly red and swollen but didn’t say anything. He would spend some time with Joe before he went to sleep tonight.

The meal was pleasant and somber. Joe didn’t participate much, but he was polite when spoken to. The conversation was about summer activities and things that needed to be done. When his father mentioned the chores the Adam had mentioned to Joe in the barn, Joe asked to be excused; after he ate what he thought was enough food to satisfy his father.

"Papa, may I be excused?"

His father looked at him with concern and then he looked at Joe’s plate. He wished Joe would eat more, but he decided to let it slide tonight since something was obviously bothering him. "Yes you may, Joe."

Joe got up and walked toward the front door. His father stopped him by saying, "Where are you going Joe?"

Joe turned around and asked, "May I go out to the barn?"

Ben was going to ask why, but changed his mind. He would find out later. "Certainly Joe. Don’t be out there to long, because it’s almost bedtime."

Joe sighed. He had hoped his father would let him stay up later now that vacation had started, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen either. He simply replied, "Yes sir," and went outside.

He ran to the barn and climbed the ladder to the hayloft and threw himself into a pile of straw and cried.

*********

Inside, Ben spoke to Adam and Hoss about Joe.

"Do either of you know what’s bothering Joe?"

"He hasn’t said anything to me?" Hoss said in between bites of roast beef.

"He seemed a little concerned that he wasn’t going to get to play this summer when I was teasing earlier. I really was kidding." Adam said.

"Well, I suppose I should go find out. No doubt he’s in the loft." His father stood up and headed for the door. He turned back to the table when Hoss spoke again.

"Pa? Maybe he has plans for the summer. I know he and Mitch have been talking at school about all sorts of things for the summer. I know I would like to do a few fun things when there isn’t too much work."

Adam added, "Yeah, pa. Joe’s just a little kid, but I don’t think he understands that there is a lot of work involved in running a ranch."

"You’re right Adam. He’s just a kid. I have no intention of making him work the ranch all summer. Yes, he will do more than when he’s in school, but I would never make him work and not allow him to play."

"Maybe he doesn’t know that." Adam said.

"Well, I’ll go find out." Ben walked outside and headed for the barn. When he walked through the doors, he heard soft crying coming from the loft. He knew Joe was upset about something. He just needed to find out what.

He climbed the ladder and looked for Joe. He saw a small boot sticking out from behind a large pile of straw. He approached the pile and spoke gently. "Joseph?"

"What." Came a soft reply.

"You want to tell papa what’s wrong?"

"No." Ben was a little shocked. Joe always wanted to talk.

"Come on Joe. Talk to me." Ben sat on a bale of hay in front of his sobbing son.

Joe wiped his eyes and shook his head ‘no’ and said, "You won’t understand or care."

"Now Joseph that isn’t true. I will always care about your problems and feelings. If I don’t understand something, we can keep talking until I do understand. Please Joe." Ben patted his lap. "Come tell me what’s wrong."

Joe slowly got up and moved over to his papa. He stood before his father for a minute. He wasn’t sure his father really cared about how he was feeling, until his father opened up his arms for Joe to get a hug. Joe’s face crumbled and he sobbed on his papa’s shoulder.

"Shhhhhhh. Joseph. What’s wrong?" Ben rubbed Joe’s back trying to calm him down.

After what seemed like forever, Joe calmed enough to speak. "Papa?"

"Yes Joe."

"Are you gonna make me work this summer like Adam said?"

"What did Adam say?"

"He said that I was gonna have to do all of the yucky chores, like mucking out the coop, and stuff like that."

"I might have you do some of that stuff. I really haven’t decided what I am gonna have you do this summer."

Joe’s tears started again.

"Joe tell papa what’s really wrong. You’ve done chores before. Why is this upsetting you?"

"Am… am.. I….gonna get to….play?"

"Is that what’s bothering you?" Joe nodded. "Joe. You’re 7 years old. How much work do you think I could get you to do?" Joe shrugged his shoulders. "Joe. I wouldn’t make you work and not play. I know how important it is to play." Ben wiped away a tear from Joe’s cheek. "Why don’t you tell me what you want to do this summer and I will tell you if you can do it or not?"

"It’s nothing bad, papa. I just want to fish and stuff with Mitch. I was even thinking I would like to build a tree house by the creek. Just kid stuff."

"Well, Joe. I’ll make you a deal. As long as you stay out of major trouble, and let me know before hand, what you want to do, we’ll just take every day as it comes. I promise, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to have fun with Mitch, okay?"

"Okay papa." He hugged his father tight. "I love you papa."

Ben smiled. "I love you too Joseph. Very much. Never be afraid to talk to me, even if you feel like you’re being treated unfairly. Okay?"

"Okay." Joe paused. "Papa?"

"Yes Joe."

"Can Mitch and me go fishing tomorrow?"

"Is Hoss going with you?"

"No. We sorta wanted to go alone."

"I’m not really comfortable with you out by yourself."

"I’ll be with Mitch. I’ve done it before."

"When?" Ben looked shocked.

"Last summer, remember?"

Ben thought about it. "You mean when you went with Hoss and Adam and they left you alone?"

"Yes sir."

"That wasn’t on purpose Joe."

"I know. But I was okay and I’m a whole year older now."

Ben had to smile at his little boy trying to be grown up. "I’ll make you a deal. I will let you go on two conditions."

"What?" Joe was hoping it wasn’t something that would ruin their plans.

"One: I will take you up to the lake and get you situated in a good spot, and second: you stay in that area and I will pick you up before supper time. Deal?"

Joe thought for a minute. If they worked fast they could do that and still see the wild herd, but if anything went wrong, he risked his entire summer. "Okay. Can I ask Mitch when he comes by tomorrow?"

"Certainly. Now let’s get inside. It’s time for you to be heading to bed."

"Papa? Can’t I stay up a little longer since school is out?"

"You still have to get up at the same time to do morning chores and eat breakfast with the rest of the family. Maybe on special occasions, but not regularly; and not tonight."

"Okay." Joe looked dejected.

"Come on Joe. How about we start a novel tonight. I’ll read some to you before bed every night. Sound good?"

Joe’s countenance changed completely. "Yeah. That would be great."

They both went back down the ladder and into the house. Joe got ready for bed and Ben read to him from Moby Dick and then tucked a sleepy boy into bed. Ben kissed him on the head and turned down the lamp. He would come back later to turn out the lamp.

*********

Joe was up bright and early the next day. He secretly hoped Mitch didn’t mind his father’s conditions on their outing, because he felt he had waited long enough to find the wild horses again. He finished his chores and ate breakfast. By the time Mitch showed up, Ben was ready to let them go off by themselves just to get Joe out from under foot. Hop Sing made the boys a picnic lunch and they were mounted and ready to go before Ben.

Ben took the boys to a quiet spot by the lake where they could fish. Once they were settled, Ben spoke. "Boys. I’ll be back this afternoon. Don’t wander to far from the spot and if you have any problems, come straight home. Is that understood?"

Both boys answered, "Yes sir."

"Good. I will see you later and we’ll have fish for dinner." Ben left and the boys fished for about 30 minutes. After they felt the coast was clear, they put their poles down, packed the lunch into their saddlebags, and headed for the northern border of the Ponderosa.

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

It was dinnertime by the time they found the wild horses. Joe and Mitch stopped to eat, but didn’t eat much because both boys wanted to chase the herd.

They tried to keep up with the herd, but their horses were too slow. They stopped to watch as the herd quieted down to graze.

"Some day Mitch, I’m gonna rope me one of those pintos and train him to do all sorts of tricks."

"Joe. Your pa ever gonna let you have a big horse?"

"Sooner or later, I’m gonna grow and he won’t have any other choice. I can’t ride Star or Shadow if I’m as big as Adam or Hoss."

"Hoss! You’ll never be that big. You said his mama was a big woman. Yer mama was small, like you."

"Papa’s big. I gotta grow more than this." Joe noticed that he couldn’t see the stallion and the other horses were starting to move around in a panic. Joe immediately thought maybe it was a cougar. "Something’s spooked the herd. Let’s go look."

"What if it’s a cat? We don’t have a gun."

"We’ll just look. If it’s a cat we won’t get too close and we can go for help." They approached the area that the herd just moved from. What they saw scared Joe more than a cougar.

There stuck in a mud hole, was the stallion.

"We’ve gotta try to get him out." Joe said as he readied his lariat.

"You think you can get him?"

"I don’t know. I’m not real good yet. Maybe you oughta run an get some help."

"Joe. If your pa comes up here, we’re dead."

"I know. But the stallion will hurt himself or die if we don’t help."

Mitch mounted up and headed for the Ponderosa ranch house. Along the way, he met Adam, who had been tracking two certain little boys, since dinnertime. Adam noticed the urgency in Mitch and quickly asked, "What’s wrong? Where’s Joe?"

"Joe and I found the wild stallion stuck in a mud hole. Joe’s trying to lasso him and I came for help."

"Show me." They both rode fast to where the stallion was stuck. When they arrived, they found Joe had not been able to lasso the stallion and was covered from head to toe in mud. Joe saw Mitch approach with Adam and look relieved. He ran to Adam.

"I couldn’t lasso him, Adam." Joe was almost in tears. Adam took the rope.

"Let me try." Adam tried several times, and finally got the rope around the scared animal’s head. He mounted Sport and tied the rope onto the saddle horn. "Back up Joe. When he comes out, he’s going to want to run." Adam gently backed Sport up, and pulled the stallion out of the mud. He dismounted and slowly walked to the stallion to remove the lasso. When he did, the stallion ran like the wind, almost knocking Adam onto his backside. Adam started to wrap up the lasso when Joe hugged him tight.

"Thanks Adam. I know he would have died if he stayed stuck."

Adam smiled. "No problem Joe." Then he remembered why he was sent out. "Joe pa left you at the lake to catch fish. Did he say you could come up here and chase the horses?"

"Not exactly. But he didn’t say I couldn’t either." Joe knew that his father wouldn’t see his logic.

"That’s not the point. You could have been hurt by that stallion or worse. We wouldn’t know where you were."

"Are you gonna tell papa?"

"I’m not lying for you. Look at yourself. You’re covering in mud. How are you going to explain that?"

"It’s still early. We could go back to the lake and I can wash the mud off in the water."

"Then you catch a cold because you have no dry clothes."

"Come on Adam. You won’t have to lie if papa doesn’t ask."

Adam didn’t like to see his baby brother get in trouble, but if his father found out and then found out that he knew and didn’t tell, he would be in trouble also. "If pa asks, I’m telling him, so you had better hope he doesn’t."

"Thanks Adam."

"And if I ever hear you have come this far north again without me or pa, I will tell pa everything. Understand?"

"Yes Adam." Joe turned to Mitch, "let’s go. I need a swim." The boys headed back to the lake and Adam only watched them go. He knew he should tell, but no one got hurt and as long as Joe never pulls a stunt like this again, his father will never know. Adam spurred Sport toward home.

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

When Ben arrived at the lake that afternoon, he found Mitch fishing and no sign of Joe. He dismounted, tied Buck to a tree, and walked over to Mitch.

"Where’s Joe?"

Mitch looked up and smiled. "He’s down the shore a little trying to dry his clothes."

"His clothes? How come they’re wet?"

"I guess you could say he decided to take a bath." Mitch wasn’t lying. A bath is exactly what Joe was wet for.

"The water isn’t warm enough for a bath. It’s too early for a swim." As Ben was speaking, Joe walked up in just his pants, trying to wring out his shirt. He was smiling to himself about how well he cleaned the mud off but when he saw his father standing next to Mitch, the smile faded.

"Hi papa."

"Joseph. What is this about a bath in a freezing lake?"

"It’s not freezing papa. It is cold though. I just wanted to wash up some."

Ben noticed Joe shiver and his lips had a slight shade of blue. He took off his shirt and wrapped it around Joe. "Young man you could catch your death in that water. How many times have I told you not to go in the water alone?"

"I wasn’t alone, papa. Mitch was here."

Ben stood there looking at his devilish son. How come this boy couldn’t stay out of trouble for more that 24 hours? "What am I going to do with you boy?"

Joe looked at his father to see if he suspected anything other than a swim. He saw his father smile. He simply said, "I’m sorry papa. I didn’t think."

Ben scooped Joe up into his arms and rubbed his arms and back to help warm him up. "Well, let’s get you both back to the house and warmed up. Mitch your pa stopped by and said if you want to spend the night you can. He brought your church clothes for service and they will meet you at church tomorrow."

Joe looked at his father and said, "Really, papa? He can sleep over?"

"I said it was okay. What do you say Mitch?"

"Sounds good to me Mr. Cartwright."

"Good." Ben set Joe on Star and turned to Mitch. "Did you boys catch anything?"

Joe looked at Mitch the same time Mitch looked at him. They were both thinking that they caught a horse, but Joe said, "Nothing much papa. We got a few fish." Mitch ran to get the poles and the fish.

"Well maybe we will have to try again after church tomorrow."

Mitch and Joe just smiled at each other and Ben never noticed the looks. They all three rode home to wash up for supper.

**********

As soon as they rode into the yard, Ben ushered Joe into the bathhouse to get a hot bath. Mitch took his clothes up to Joe’s room and Hop Sing brought Joe some clean, dry clothes. Hop Sing noticed that Joe’s boots were caked with mud, so he left them outside the bathhouse until he could clean them. He brought Joe an old pair of boots that were really too small. Joe told Hop Sing that he would clean his own boots, since he didn’t want his father to see the mud.

Once he was clean and dry, Joe and Mitch did the chores and were finishing up when Joe heard his father calling him.

"Joseph!"

"I wonder what your pa wants?" Mitch mused.

"Probably wants to tell us supper’s ready. I’ll go find out." Joe headed out of the barn and saw his father standing near the bathhouse with Joe’s muddy boots in his hands. Joe’s heart skipped. He had forgotten to clean them. Joe ran towards his father. "Yeah, papa?"

Ben looked down at Joe’s bare feet and then to his muddy boots. "Young man. You know better than to run around the barn with no shoes on. How did these boots get this muddy?"

Joe didn’t know how to answer without lying so he changed the direction of thinking. "I’m sorry papa. I meant to clean them. I’ll do it now." Joe reached for the boots, but his father held them out of his reach.

"You didn’t answer my question Joseph. How did they get this muddy?"

"I didn’t want them to get wet at the lake so I took them off." It was the truth. He just hoped his father would assume it was lake mud and not ask any further.

"And?"

"And what, papa?"

Ben sighed. "How did the mud get on your boots?"

"I wasn’t paying attention when they got muddy. I’m sorry." He was running out of loopholes. He really hadn’t noticed the mud on his boots until he got to the lake.

"I’m obviously not getting my point across." Ben handed the boots to Joe. "Clean these up and put some dry boots on. We will talk about this again, I promise."

"Papa? Those other boots are too small and they make my feet hurt."

"Do as I asked Joseph. If they hurt too much to wear, then stay in the house."

"But papa, that ain’t fair."

"Joseph. Unless you want Mitch to be witness to a tanning, you will obey me. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." Joe said sharply and started to walk away to wash his boots. He stopped when he felt a smart swat on his backside. "Ouch!"

"You had better watch that tone with me young man or you’ll get more than one swat."

"I’m sorry." Joe said quietly. "May I go wash my boots now?"

"Go ahead. Supper will be ready in 30 minutes. I expect to see you and Mitch at the table, with shoes on, at that time."

"Yes sir." Joe waited for his father to turn and walk back into the house. He walked over to the water pump to clean his boots and was met by Mitch.

"That was close."

"Don’t fool yourself Mitch. Papa knows I wasn’t at the lake. I can feel it. I think the only thing saving me right now is your presence."

"Me?" Mitch looked confused.

"If you weren’t here, papa would have kept asking me questions until I confessed. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day."

Joe finished cleaning his boots and then left them on the porch to dry. He went to find the other boots and forced his feet into them for supper. He was tempted to take them off under the table, but he didn’t want to get yelled at in front of Mitch. After supper, the boys played checkers and then were sent to bed. Ben stopped them from talking until all hours of the night, only after threatening to tan them both. When he checked them before he went to bed, they were both sound asleep.

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

Sunday service came and went. Mitch went home with his parents and the Cartwrights headed home to change. Ben was going to take everyone on a picnic and to do some fishing. Ben had been suspicious of Joe’s story yesterday, but he let it slide. If Joe were into some mischief, he would find out sooner or later.

When it was time to leave the lake that afternoon, Ben noticed the same kind of mud on Adam’s boots that was on Joe’s yesterday. He decided to ask, "Adam?"

"Yeah Pa?" Adam sat up from his nap and stretched.

"How did your boots get so muddy?"

Adam looked at his feet. He thought for a minute because his brain was still asleep. "I was up in the northern section yesterday and helped one of the wild horses out of a mud hole. Why?"

"I was just curious. Joe had the same kind of mud on his boots yesterday. I didn’t think much of it, since he took a swim."

"He told you he got his feet muddy from swimming?" It bothered Adam that Joe may have lied. He wouldn’t protect Joe if he had lied.

"No not really. I asked him how they got muddy and he danced around my questions. I didn’t press the issue because Mitch was staying over." At that moment Joe walked over to his papa and Ben noticed the mud from the lake on his boots again. He looked at Adam’s boots and compared the mud. They didn’t match.

"Papa? Look what I found?" Joe held out a rather large frog toward his father.

"That’s nice Joseph. Did you have to hunt frogs in your clean boots?"

Joe looked down at his boots and then smiled at his father. "Sorry. I wasn’t…"

Ben finished his sentence, "… paying attention. Yeah, I know."

Joe just smiled sheepishly. "I’ll go wash them off." Joe turned to leave when he stopped for his father’s voice.

"Joseph? Where were you when you got your boots muddy yesterday?"

Joe looked at Adam. He couldn’t tell if Adam told his father or not.

"Why?"

The question threw Ben off a little. "It doesn’t matter ‘why’ Joseph. Just tell me."

"I don’t remember exactly where I was papa." Adam had to smile. Joe was good at not telling the truth without lying. Ben on the other hand was getting frustrated. He decided to change his tactics.

"Adam. You said you helped a horse out of a mud hole? In the northern section?"

"Yes sir." Adam knew where his father was headed.

"Where exactly?"

"Couldn’t tell you exactly. I was still on Ponderosa land, maybe 10 miles from the Truckee strip."

"Where you alone?"

"No sir." Adam looked at Joe with sympathy. They both knew pa would know the truth today, and both brothers would be in trouble.

"I’m going to take a wild stab at this. Joseph, were you in the northern section with Adam, yesterday, when he helped the horse in the mud?"

Joe couldn’t see any more loopholes. "Yes sir."

"So you got your boots muddy helping Adam?"

"Yes sir."

"How would you like to tell me what you were up to yesterday before I have to drag it out of you." Ben stood looking expectantly at Joe.

Joe knew if his father had to drag it out of him, the punishment would be worse. "Promise you won’t get mad?"

"I will make no such promise. I am already quite angry, so just tell me the whole truth without dancing around the facts."

"Well. After you left me and Mitch at the lake we fished for a little while and got bored." No need to tell his father it was planned disobedience. "So we rode off toward the north section where the wild horses were last seen."

"And?" Ben said sensing there was more.

"And we found the herd. We watched them for a while as we ate our dinner. Then the herd got spooked. When we went to see what scared them, we saw the stallion stuck in the mud. I tried to lasso him, but I wasn’t able to. I sent Mitch back to the ranch to get help. He found Adam."

Ben turned to Adam and glared at his oldest. He knew better if Joe didn’t.

Joe noticed the look his papa gave Adam and tried to protect him. "Adam didn’t know we weren’t supposed to be there. When he asked me if you said it was okay, I told him you didn’t say I couldn’t."

"Not really the truth Joseph. You know you aren’t allowed in the north section without me and Adam knows that also. Don’t you Adam?" Ben looked towards Adam.

"Yes sir. I did know that." Adam replied.

"And you didn’t feel it necessary to tell me that my youngest son was found wondering alone in a section of the ranch that he has never been allowed in alone. Not to mention that he was trying to rescue a wild animal that could have hurt him."

"I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t. I’m sorry."

"We’ll talk about it again later." He turned back to Joe. "Finish your story Joseph."

"Adam lassoed the stallion and pulled him out. Then Mitch and I rode back to the lake to wait for you."

"Why were you wet when I got there?" He knew. He just wanted Joe to tell him.

"I figured I could wash away the mud before you came." Joe just hung his head. Ben turned to Adam and Hoss and asked them to head home.

"Joseph and I are going to have a long talk about telling the truth. Leave the buckboard. We’ll be along shortly." Ben stood holding onto Joe’s shoulders while Adam and Hoss headed home. After they were out of sight, Ben turned Joe to face him.

Joe was trying to fight back the tears.

"Joseph. I’m very disappointed in your behavior. I trusted you to stay at the lake, when you said you would. You knew I didn’t feel comfortable leaving you alone, and you proved to me that I cannot trust you to stay out of trouble when you are on your own."

"I’m sorry papa."

"Joseph. You have said that a lot over the last few months. Now you manage to deceive me and then you tried to cover it up. And it’s only 2 days into the summer vacation. What do you suppose I should do?"

Joe shrugged his shoulders. His father was right. He didn’t think about how this little adventure would affect his entire vacation. "I didn’t think."

"That’s not true Joseph. You do think these things out. You had a well thought out plan to go track the wild herd didn’t you?"

"I guess."

"You guess? I would almost venture to guess you have been planning this for months. Am I right?"

"Yes sir."

"Joseph. I am at a loss as to what to do with you this summer."

"Please give me another chance."

"Not for a while Joseph. You will be restricted to the house for a week and you can help Hop Sing with the house cleaning. After that, you will not leave the yard for 3 weeks unless you are with me. You will not ride your pony and if you go somewhere with me, you will ride up with me on Buck. You will not be allowed to have friends over and if you step out of line once during that month period, you will be spending the entire summer in the yard or your room. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir." Joe choked out. The tears were flowing freely now.

"Lastly…" Ben took Joe by the arm and led him to a fallen log. Ben let loose Joe’s arm and rolled up his sleeves. Joe watched him as he took out his pocketknife and cut a switch from the tree. Ben then turned back to Joe and sat down on the log.

"Papa, please don’t whip me. I’m sorry. I won’t disobey you again." Joe sat down on the ground with his hands covering his backside.

"Joseph. It’s my wish that you will remember how unpleasant this whipping is and will think twice before you try to deceive me again. Now stand up."

Joe couldn’t move. Ben stood and lifted Joe up. He set Joe on his feet and sat down again on the log. He then moved Joe over his knees. Joe was openly sobbing by the time Ben finished. Ben set Joe down and snapped the switch in half. He then gathered Joe into his arms and held him as he sobbed.

"Joseph. I love you very much and I’m sorry the punishment hurts so much, but it’s necessary for you to remember what behavior is and isn’t allowed. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Joe wiped his eyes and said, "Do you forgive me papa?"

Ben started to tear up. "Yes son, I do." Ben gave Joe a big hug and handed him a hanky. "Let’s get home. I still need to have a talk with you oldest brother.

"Go easy on him papa. He told me I shouldn’t have gone after the wild herd. He was just trying to protect me."

"From who Joseph? Me?"

"Maybe." Joe said mischievously.

"Well maybe he needs to." Ben said as he started to tickle Joe.

They headed home with Ben driving and Joe standing behind the seat. As they drove into the yard, Adam walked from the porch to the barn. Ben sent Joe into the house and he and Adam went to the barn.

"I’m sorry pa. I know I should have told you." Adam said.

"You’re right Adam. You should have told me. But I also understand you gave him a lecture on the dangers of running off like that, so all is forgiven."

"Really?"

"Really. Besides, I don’t want his last memories of his older brother before he disappears to college, to be negative ones."

"Pa? Do you think he has been acting up lately because I’m leaving in a month?"

"I doubt it, Adam. You know Joe. He gets into trouble without even trying."

"I’m going to miss the little troublemaker."

"Well, he isn’t going to be going anywhere for the next month, so you can spend all the time you want with him."

Ben and Adam walked toward the house; both hoping Joe can stay out of trouble this summer, while neither believed it possible.

The End