The NEWPROSE WRITERS' FORUM

[bookworm18]

Author's Notes/Disclaimer: I don't own Bonanza or any of it's characters. They belong to David Dortort. This is just a story from my imagination that is about the Cartwrights.

This story was written before A Poet at Heart, it might not have as much detail as it should and the whole thing is, again, pretty simple. It's about a young man who happens to be a half-breed who is semi-blamed for a robbery, he overcomes prejudice and gets justice with the help of Little Joe Cartwright. Now, I'm not sayin' who I patterned the young man after, but if you look to your left... *ahem* Also there is a death in this fanfic, it's not graphic or anything, but if you don't like reading about someone passing away than you won't like Chapter 5. - Caroline.


A Wilder Half-Breed

By Caroline S

Chapter 1

It was early in the afternoon in Reno, Nevada. Sheriff George Baxter, a rather pudgy man, and some of the town's folk were at the bank. There was a robbery the previous night; someone stole fourteen thousand dollars. The banker, Frank Harris, was furious "I can't believe this. Someone came in here last night and took every cent in this here safe. George, You better find out who did this!" he pointed to the empty steal safe. Frank Harris was a tall man, dark hair and eyes, in his late 30's, a very handsome man.

"I will, I will, Frank. I've already sent out a posse! You're just gonna have to cool yourself off and relax until we find somethin'."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that half-breed-ruffian Johnny Wilder did this."

"Now don't go blaming Johnny just because he has a bad-boy rep-"

"I have a feeling he did it and I ain't gonna change my mind."

"Look, if it'll make you calm down, I'll go over to the saloon now and question him." the sheriff assured him.

"How would you know if he's in the saloon or not, Sheriff?" said an older woman standing with the other people.

"Because he's always there, ma'am." replied Frank.

Meanwhile in the saloon Joe Cartwright was having a beer with Johnny Wilder, a young man just abut Joe's age. Black hair, blue eyes, high cheek bones and he was 6 foot tall, a very good-looking boy.

"You can't find work?" Joe sipped his beer.

"Nope." said Johnny, looking at his pocket watch.

"You ever worked on a ranch?"

"Are you trying to give me a job on that "kingdom" of yours?" Johnny smiled.

Joe laughed, "Yeah! How about it?"

Johnny took a sip of his beer, "Well..." before Johnny could say anything else, Sheriff George and Frank walked in.

"Johnny!" called George.

He turned around "Oh, hi there, Sheriff," he thumped George's badge "I see you've been polishing that badge of yours,"

"Aw shut-up, Johnny," George directed his attention to Joe "Young man, I suggest you leave, I gotta have a word with Mr. Wilder here."

Joe, bewildered, got up from his seat and went over to the bar. The two men sat down at the table with the young man. Johnny glanced at Frank sitting next to George "Does he have to be here too?"

"Yep, this concerns him. The bank was robbed last night and-"

"Oh! So just because I'm a half-breed you think I did it?"

"I didn't say that, I didn't think that either. I'm just trying to find out, since you're out at night all the time, if you happened to see someone lurkin' 'round the bank late last night."

"No, can't say I did." Johnny took a sip of his beer.

Sheriff George stood up and turned for the door "Allright, that's all I wanted to know."

"He did it, I know he did!" exclaimed Frank, pointing at Johnny.

Joe turned around and looked at the man "You got any proof, Mister?"

Frank stood up from his seat, "He's a savage. He's got 'worthless animal' written all over him. Someone like that is capable of anything."

Johnny stood up getting ready to fight Frank, but Sheriff George pushed him back in his seat and told him to "Cool off!"

"Looks like it's the other way around to me." Joe said calmly.

"Oh it does, does it?" Frank challenged.

The banker walked over to Joe and punched him in the jaw, Joe fell to the left, got back up and punched Frank in the stomach. He fell backwards but got up and tried to punch Joe's face and missed, Joe gave him a swift upper-cut and a quick punch in the nose. Sheriff George grabbed Frank and pulled him away "That's enough, stop it! You had your fun. Now you go on home, Frank, until I find out who did this."

Frank wiped the blood from his nose and looked at Joe with vengence in his eyes. Joe looked right back. Frank walked out, but stayed close by the swinging doors that gave entrance to the saloon and listened to them talk. Johnny slammed his beer mug on the table, got up from his seat and walked over to Joe, "You didn't have to do that, I can take care of myself!!"

"Just settle down, Johnny," George rolled his eyes, "You all right, sonny?"

"Yeah, just fine." Joe said as he held his jaw.

"I don't think I've ever seen you here in town before, what's your name?"

"Joe Cartwright."

"You're from the Ponderosa, ain't ya?"

"Yeah."

"What are you doin' here?" asked the Sheriff.

"Just taking a little vacation."

George patted Joe's shoulder, "Well, you oughta get yourself a whisky, it'll calm your nerves."

Frank saw George coming out and quickly hid in the alley right next to the building. He left the saloon and went to the jailhouse.

"Joe Cartwright of the Ponderosa, huh?" Frank said aloud to himself.

Back in the saloon...

"You're ordering a whiskey? You ain't even finished your beer." said Johnny.

Joe held up the shot glass, "Sheriff's orders!" he smiled before downing it. He let out a satisfying "Ahh," and looked at Johnny "you want the job?"

Johnny sighed "Why not? But I don't want to work for long, after I get enough money I'm gonna move myself to Arizona."

The next morning, Joe and Johnny were about to leave town when Frank stopped them "Where do you think you're going, half-breed?"

"None of your business, tin-horn!"

"Get off that horse, 'tough guy' and let's see if you can walk the walk." Frank smiled evily.

Johnny was about to get off his horse and pulverise Frank, but Joe stopped him. He looked at Frank "Why don't you just go back to where you came from?"

"Not till he pays for robbin' my bank."

"I didn't do it, you no-good-"

Joe interupted him, "Ignore him, let's go."

"Naw, I'm gonna beat his brains out!!" Johnny was just about to get off his horse but Joe grabbed his arm, "If you fight him you're just giving him the attention he wants!"

Johnny sat back down in his saddle "Well, I wouldn't want to do that!" he said with a smirk. They turned around to leave. But Frank stepped in front of Joe's horse, "You're a stranger in town, Cartwright. Maybe you did it."

Joe gave him a look, held his temper the best he could and then rode around him, Johnny followed and they left.

...................
_________________
Caroline

"It's nice to be important,
but it's important to be nice."

- Sam Butera

[bookworm18]

A Wilder Half-Breed

Chapter 2

That night, the boys camped out. They talked as they drank coffee.

"Has that Frank-guy always given you a hard time?"

"Yep. Always. He ain't the only one either."

Joe shook his head in disbelief, "I can't believe someone could hate a man just because of his race."

Johnny sighed, "Yeah, well, that's the way it is. And that's the way it'll always be."

Joe, feeling uncomfortable talking about racism with Johnny, changed the subject "Who do you think did it?"

"Did what?" asked Johnny.

"Robbed the bank." Joe said before taking a sip of his coffee.

"I don't know for sure, but I'd say Frank did it himself."

"I doubt it. But if he did do it, he sure has me fooled!"

A few days later, at the Ponderosa Ranch house it was about 8:30pm, Ben was sitting by the fireplace in the red chair, watching the bright embers from the fire fly while in deep thought. His thoughts were interupted by Joe coming through the door along with Johnny. Ben got up, walked over to Joe and welcomed him back home.

"Good to see you back home, Little Joe," he shook his son's hand. "Who's your friend?"

"Thanks, Pa. It's good to be back. Oh yeah, Pa, this here is Johnny Wilder. I figured we could give him a job."

"Nice to meet you, Johnny," Ben said as he shook Johnny's hand "we could use some extra help around here!"

"Thanks. I hope I do a well-enough job." he replied.

"Hey, Pa, where's Hoss and Adam?"

"Your brothers are on a cattle drive."

"Whew! Glad I wasn't here to go on that drive." Joe smiled.

"That's right. But, you and Johnny get to do all of their chores while they're gone."

Joe's smile faded after hearing what his Pa said. Johnny smiled trying not to laugh and Ben patted Joe's back "Why don't you show Johnny the bunkhouse and then get to bed? You two have a long day tomorrow." Ben smiled and went upstairs.

"Dadburnit!" said Joe.

Johnny looked at him, "Huh?"

Joe then realized what he said, "Oh, it's just a saying."

"'Never heard it before." said Johnny.

"I'm sure a lot of people haven't heard it before. C'mon, I'll show you the bunkhouse." Joe and Johnny went out to the bunkhouse. There were two other hired hands there.

"Here, you can take this bed over here." Joe said pointing to a top bunk. He then looked over at the two men playing checkers, "Hi Bobby, Dean."

"Hi, Little Joe. Good to see you back. Gettin' kinda boring 'round here since you been gone!" Dean was younger than Bobby, he hadn't shaved in days, he looked like he was trying to grow a beard. And one look at Bobby and you could tell he was either in his late 30's or early 40's, he had a rugged looking face and semi-dark skin from working long in the sun.

"Hey, who's the new guy?" Bobby said in his rough voice.

"This is Johnny Wilder. He'll be here for a little while helping you guys out." said Joe.

"Good!" Bobby said under his breath.

Johnny furrowed his brow, "What'd you say?"

"Nothin'." Bobby replied, never taking his eyes off the checker board.

Joe looked a little worried "Well, I'll be goin' now. See you all in the mornin'."

Before leaving, Joe whispered to Johnny asking him not to get into a fight with Bobby. Johnny, with a scowl on his face, told Joe "I ain't no child!" Joe left and went to his room.

Back in the bunkhouse...

As Johnny put his things on his new bed, he kept looking over at Bobby. He recognized this guy, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" he asked.

"I don't think so. I don't hang around Indian villages or sleep in them stupid looking teepees or-"

Johnny became angry and punched Bobby. He was about to punch back but Dean stopped him "That's enough, Bobby, shut up and go to bed!"

Johnny shot a look over at Dean "I don't need you to help me!"

"That's right!" chimed in Bobby.

Dean sighed "Look, it's too late for fighting. Tomorrow morning you two can bash each other over the head with hammers till dusk for all I care. But right now I want to go to bed." Dean blew out the lantern, went to his bed and fell asleep. Johnny and Bobby looked at one another with cold eyes and then went to their own beds.

.................
_________________
Caroline

"It's nice to be important,
but it's important to be nice."

- Sam Butera

[bookworm18]

A Wilder Half-Breed

Chapter 3

The next morning, Joe and Johnny were in the barn cleaning out all the horses' stalls.

"After this experience I'll never cut down another Livery Stablesman as long as I live!" Johnny coughed from the smell.

Joe laughed, "Say, why is it you wanna move to Arizona?"

"There's a girl there waiting for me."

"Oh, she pretty?"

"You better believe it! Joe, when I see her again, I wanna arrive by stagecoach, dressed in a nice suit and have plenty of money in my pocket. I don't want her to see me looking like some broke dirty-good-for-nothin'-cowboy."

"You're really serious, ain't ya?"

"I sure am." Johnny continued to shovel.

"How long have you been courtin' her?" asked Joe.

"Two years."

"How come you left her?"

"I got run out by the townsfolk. But before I left I told her I'd be back."

Joe raised an eyebrow, "You really think she's still waitin' for you, huh?"

"I know she is. She said she would and when Betsy McClusky says she'll do somethin', she does it. I can guarantee you that!"

Meanwhile Bobby and Dean were mending fences "Any word from Frank yet?"

"Yeah," replied Dean "got a telegraph yesterday from Reno but forgot to tell you about it-"

"You forgot!?" Bobby almost yelled.

"Well you got it now!!" Dean said as he took out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and gave it to Bobby. He quickly opened it and read the contents outloud "Bobby, Dean, I got it. STOP. See you tomorrow night at 10 o'clock. STOP. You know where to go. STOP."

"The caves?" asked Dean.

"The caves."

"But how do we sneak out of the bunkhouse without that half-breed noticin'?"

Bobby thought for a moment, "I'll go and you stay with Wilder."

That night, as soon as Bobby was sure everyone was asleep, he grabbed his clothes and slowly tip-toed out of the bunkhouse. In some bushes nearby he changed into his clothes and walked to the caves about 100 yards away from the ranch house. He didn't take a horse because he didn't want to make any noise on his way there that might attract someone's attention. He arrived and there was the sound of the cocking of a gun.

"Who's there?" a man asked.

"Frank, is that you?"

"Bobby?"

"Yeah!"

Frank uncocked his pistol, came out from behind a tree and put his gun back in his holster "I thought you were one of them Cartwrights."

"How'd you get out of Reno so fast?"

"I told the Sheriff I was taking a little visit to my cousin in Placerville to get away from the stress of the 'robbery'."

"Real clever, Frank. Real clever."

Frank smiled, "Hey, where's Dean?"

"That Little Joe Cartwright brung back a half-breed from Reno, you probably seen them both while they were there. He has him working for them. So I told Dean to stay with him."

Frank snorted thinking of the pair, "Yeah, I saw them in town. Which reminds me, before we leave, we're gonna make old man Cartwright pay for some damage his son caused me."

"That's stupid, when we leave tomorrow night we should get out right away!"

"We don't leave until I say so, got it? I'm the brains of this operation, so we do what I say."

Bobby was frustrated but he agreed, "Fine. But how's he gonna pay?"

Frank gave a sly smile, "In cash."

The next morning, Ben was sitting at his desk writing some inportant things in that big book he keeps, when Bobby and Dean walked in. Ben closed the book and looked up at the two men "Mornin', boys!"

"Mornin', Mr. Cartwright." said Dean. Bobby just stood beside him with an unpleasent look.

"What brings you two here?" asked Ben.

"We decided to quit." said Bobby.

"Oh?" Ben asked with a furrowed brow. "Is it because of Johnny?"

"Yep." said an unashamed Bobby.

"That's a real shame. You two are really good hands. Well-" Ben got up from his chair and kneeled down in front of the safe behind his desk. He opened it and took out two envelopes. Dean saw a pretty good amount of money in there. Ben then closed the safe and got up. He handed them each an envelope "Here's your pay, sorry to see you boys go."

"Thanks, Mr. Cartwright. Hey, maybe some time soon we'll come and visit." Bobby smirked.

"You're always welcome to come back." said Ben.

Without saying another word they both walked out the door, went to the barn and saddled up their horses. As soon as they exited the barn Joe and Johnny came back from town with a wagon loaded with supplies. Joe saw Bobby and Dean, he got out of the wagon and stepped in front of them.

"Hey, where are you guys goin'?"

"We quit." said Dean.

Joe was confused "Why?"

"We have our reasons." Bobby said as he glanced at Johnny

Joe now realized their prejudice, "That's a pretty stupid reason to be quitting."

"Well, we can do whatever we please. C'mon, Dean."

They both mounted their horses and left the Ponderosa. Joe walked over to Johnny and the wagon filled with supplies.

"They quit, didn't they, Joe?"

Joe rested his arm on a wooden crate "Yeah, they did."

"I have a hunch on why they did." Johnny looked angry.

"Don't worry about 'em. Who needs them, right?" Joe patted his friend's arm.

.................
_________________
Caroline

"It's nice to be important,
but it's important to be nice."

- Sam Butera

[bookworm18]

A Wilder Half-Breed

Chapter 4

Late that night at the caves...

"Good to see you, Dean!" Frank shook his hand.

"Do you have the money?"

"Of course I have the money."

"Show it to me." Dean demanded.

Frank walked over to a huge grey rock, lifted it with one hand and pulled a sack out from under it with the other. He put the rock down and threw the sack to Dean. He opened it and Bobby took out several rolls of money and looked at them in awe "How much is in here?"

"Fourteen thousand dollars. Now, put it back in the bag. Before we leave, we got some business with that kid's Pa to transact."

"I never thought I'd be holding so much money." Bobby shook his head as he placed the bills back in the bag.

Frank snatched the bag from them and put it back under the rock. Dean spoke up "Hey, Frank. I got a real good look at the inside of Cartwright's safe; whole lotta money."

Frank smiled "Good. Is there anyone in that house besides the old man and the kid?"

"Nope." replied Dean.

"Alright then, tonight, we're gonna have more money than we can count after we're through with those Cartwrights!"

They got on their horses and quietly rode to the Ponderosa ranch house, they hid their horses back in some brush nearby. Bobby went into the bunkhouse where Johnny was sleeping and hit him on the head with the handle of his pistol and then went outside to guard the house. Dean and Frank broke in through the guest room window and walked out into the living room. They whispered as they talked "You know where the kid's room is?"

"Yeah."

"You go in there and knock him out, then go to the old man's room and bring him down here."

Dean did as he was told. A few minutes later he came downstairs with Ben while holding a gun to his back.

"Allright, old man, you go over there and open the safe."

"No." replied Ben.

"Why not?" asked Frank.

"There's nothing in there. I made a business deal earlier this afternoon. It's completely empty." Ben told the ingnorant man.

"That's a bunch of horse dung, Frank! I saw inside that safe and it was practically filled to the brim."

"You weren't here at 3 o'clock, Dean." snapped Ben.

Frank looked at Dean, nodded his head and then looked at Ben, "You better open that safe, or you'll be sorry."

Meanwhile outside, Bobby was just leaning against the wall of the house his hat pulled down over his eyes when he heard a pistol behind him cock followed by a man's voice "Any fast moves and I'll kill you."

The man took Bobby's gun from his holster, "Turn around."

He did as the man said, then he saw his face "Adam!?" he was worried for his pals inside.

"Bobby, what are you doing out this late?" Adam said as he gave Bobby back his gun, and put his back in it's holster.

"Oh, no special reason." Bobby lied.

Hoss then came from the back of the house, "Adam, there's some gangsters in the house robbin' Pa!"

"C'mon, we'll surprise them through the kitchen," Just as Adam turned around to go to the back door, Bobby cocked his pistol and aimed it at Adam "You do and I'll kill you."

................
_________________
Caroline

"It's nice to be important,
but it's important to be nice."

- Sam Butera

[bookworm18]

A Wilder Half-Breed

Chapter 5

Hoss was shocked, "Bobby!? Don't tell me you're in on this,"

"Drop your guns." he ordered.

They did and he motioned them to go in front of him, "Now, get in the house."

They went inside, Frank turned around and saw them "Who've you got there?"

"The high and mighty Cartwright boys." replied Bobby with a smirk.

Frank chuckled, "Bobby, Dean, keep your guns on them two."

"What's goin' on here!?" Hoss demanded.

"Shut-up, fatso." He pushed the front of the gun's barrel at Hoss' belly.

"I'm getting real impatient, now this is the last time I'm asking you, old man: open the safe! If you don't, I'll make sure the Cartwright clan will be extinct." Frank laughed at his comment. But before Ben could answer him, a dark figure came out from the kitchen with a rifle.

"All of ya, put down your guns or I'll send you to a real hot place!" said the shadow.

They did as he said, but Frank kept his in his holster without anyone knowing.

"Good. You two by the fireplace, take care of Bobby and Dean." the man threw Hoss and Adam a couple of pistols.

"Harris, outside, NOW." the man ordered.

Frank did as he was told and the man followed behind closely with the rifle poking Frank in the back. They reached the front yard of the Ponderosa and the man threw his rifle into the bushes, "Allright, Harris. Let's go. Put up your hands and fight." the man clutched his fists and got into a boxing position.

Frank snorted, "You're that half-breed, ain't ya?"

The man didn't answer but simply punched Frank in the jaw. The Cartwrights and the other two hoodlums watched as Frank got up and punched the man in the stomach followed by another punch to the face. The man was furious. He tackled Frank to the ground and began choking him. Bobby and Dean were about to interfere but Hoss and Adam held them back. As he was being choked, Frank grabbed his gun from his holster, about to shoot the man. The man felt the gun touch his leg as Frank pulled it up closer. He quickly grabbed the gun from Frank's hand and threw it two feet from them. Frank bent his knees, kicked the man off of him, grabbed the gun and pointed it at the man.

"Now I know that's you, half-breed. I have the gun now and I'm in control. So stand up and take your killin' like a man."

The man acted like he was going to stand up, but instead he quickly swung his leg at Frank and tripped him, making him drop the gun. The man then grabbed it, "Now, I'm in control."

Frank laid in the bushes where he was tripped and was about to get up when he felt the rifle that the man threw earlier. Frank slowly got up with the rifle behind his back "I guess you're right, Mister."

Frank brought out the rifle quick as lightning, shot at the man and missed, but he shot Frank right in the chest. The man walked over to Frank who was taking his last few breaths of air, the man whispered to him "Yeah, Harris, it's Johnny Wilder," he picked up the rifle "just thought you'd like to know who did ya in."

Harris struggled to speak his last words, "You no-good-son-of-a...." he didn't finish, he was dead.

..............
_________________
Caroline

"It's nice to be important,
but it's important to be nice."

- Sam Butera

[bookworm18]

A Wilder Half-Breed

Chapter 6

After a moment, Johnny then went inside of the ranch house, took a match from a box on the table and lit the lamp, revealing his identity to everyone.

"Johnny, if it wasn't for you, we all would've been in big trouble." Ben put a hand on his shoulder.

"Who's he, Pa?" asked Adam.

"Joe hired him a few days ago while he was in Reno."

"Well, any man who stops some hooligans from robbing us is officially my life long friend!" Hoss shook his hand.

Johnny smiled, took out some rope from his back pocket and handed it to Adam. He took the rope and tied the men up while Hoss stood guard making sure they wouldn't try anything.

"Johnny, thank you so much, how can I ever repay you?" asked Ben.

Johnny just shrugged, "It was nothin', Mr. Cartwright,"

"Hey! What'd I miss?" said Joe while holding the back of his head as he stood at the top of the stairs.

"Are you allright, Joe?" asked Ben.

Joe walked down the stairs, "Yeah, Pa. Just got my head bashed in, that's all."

Joe turned and saw his brothers, "I didn't think you two would be back from the cattle drive so soon!"

"We finished sooner than we expected, little brother." Hoss replied.

"Listen Hoss, Adam, Johnny, I want you three to take these men to jail right now, Roy should still be there."

"Hey, I wanna go too." said Joe.

Ben turned to his youngest, "Someone has to stay here with me incase anyone else decides to show up. And that someone is you!"

"Aw shucks." Joe was dissapointed. "Ask Hoss to stay, he can take care of you better than I can..."

"Josepth Fran-"

"I'll stay, I'll stay!" Joe interupted his father from saying his full-name.

Adam, Hoss and Johnny loaded the two men into a wagon and went to town. Sheriff Roy Coffee arrested Bobby and Dean, they were both wanted in several cities for robbery. Frank Harris, real name Justin Briggs, had been a wanted man for eleven years for several accounts of murder, horse stealing and robbery. How the three men met was back in Reno two weeks before while they were with Adam picking up some misplaced deeds. They met Frank and planned the whole robbery with him while they were there. Johnny, Hoss and Adam explained everything that happened that night to Roy.

"Where's the money now?" Roy Coffee asked the two.

"We ain't sayin'!" Bobby snapped.

Dean gave a weary sigh, "Frank hid the loot under a big rock near the caves."

Bobby elbowed his friend "You idiot! If you hadn't of told him, as soon as we got out of jail that money would've been ours."

"Shut-up, Bobby. You won't be out of jail for quite a while. Anyway, Adam, Hoss, since you both caught these two clowns here, the reward for them each is three hundred and fifty dollars. Johnny, since you got Frank, the reward was five thousand dollars, dead or alive."

Johnny was in shock, "Really?"

Roy nodded his head. Johnny threw his hat across the room and literally jumped for joy "Yahoo!!" he shouted.

The next morning, everyone, including Johnny were having breakfast. Joe was being told for the first time of the money the three men earned "What do you mean you got rewards?"

"It's just like we said." replied Adam.

Joe was getting impatient, "How much?"

"We each got three fifty." smiled Hoss.

Joe's eyes became wide, "Three hundred and fifty dollars?"

"Well, my reward was five thousand." Johnny boasted.

Joe looked over at Johnny, "Five thousand dollars!? You got that for killin' Frank Harris?"

Johnny, with a smirk, nodded "Now I can quit working here, go see my gal and ask her to marry me."

"I didn't think a guy like you would wanna get hitched. She must be some gal."

The next morning in Virginia City at the stageline, Johnny was dressed real fancy and proper, looking like the richest man in America. The stagecoach arrived, but before he got inside he turned to the Cartwrights, "I really appreciate you givin' me a job even though I'm a half-breed."

"Johnny, you're just as ordinary as me, Adam, Hoss, Pa or anybody else in this world. So you keep that chin up and don't give up. Ya hear?"

Johnny shook Joe's hand, "Thanks, friend" Johnny then shook Ben, Adam and Hoss' hand.

"You come back and see us real soon!" said Ben.

Adam agreed, "Yeah, and bring that pretty new wife of yours along with you."

"Don't forget to bring along your youngin's too!" Hoss grinned.

Johnny gave a big smile, "I will. Once I get 'em." he then got into the stagecoach and left for Arizona.

They were all waving to Johnny, except for Joe who was thinking. He then spoke to his brothers, "Hey, I was thinkin' since I had to do your chores while you were gone, I think I deserve a little pay for my hard labor..."

THE END
_________________
Caroline

"It's nice to be important,
but it's important to be nice."

- Sam Butera