The first snowflake fell unobserved by the children bent over their books in the schoolroom.  The second and third stuck to the window and slowly melted from the warmth of the room but within a few minutes the larger thicker flakes were settling on the wooden sill.  It was not surprising that Joe Cartwright was the first to notice the snow.  Joe could never keep his mind on lessons for more than a short time and window gazing was his preferred pass time, especially when Miss Jones was regaling them with romantic stories of her historical heroes.  Snow and the fun it could bring were much more interesting than Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth of England.  I mean who cared about some stupid queen who had lived and died more than two hundred years ago.   He nudged his best friend.

    “More snow.” he mouthed  “It will be heavier in the mountains, we can go tobogganing.”

    Mitch nodded  “We can try out the new one Dan and me built.”

    Joe leaned forward and tapped Seth’s shoulder and pointed to the window.  In this manner the message was carried around the room until only a handful of students were listening to Miss Jones while the others watched the snow and made weekend plans.

    Joe boldly raised his hand.

    “Yes, Joseph.  You wanted to ask a question?”  Miss Jones advanced toward him smiling, it wasn’t often Joe Cartwright contributed anything to the class except mischief.

    “Well sorta, Miss Jones.  Its snowing real hard and I gotta a long ride.  I was wonderin’ if maybe we could go early?”  He grinned as his classmates nodded in approval.

    Miss Jones’s expression changed to one of distinct disapproval.  “It’s barely two o’clock.”  She shot back at him.  “No you may not go.”

    “But Miss Jones, my father doesn’t like me to be out in a snow storm and my house is almost as far as Joe’s.”  Sarah piped up, earning her a big smile from Joe and Seth, her favorite boys.  She really wasn’t sure which one she preferred right now.

    Miss Jones walked to the window and peered out, it was snowing quite hard now and settling quickly into a thick carpet.  Some of the children did live a long way out of town.  She was reluctant to acquiesce to Joe’s request but then again she didn’t want worried parents berating her for children stuck out in snow drifts until after dark.

“Oh very well then, I’ll just give you your homework assignment and you may go.”  The uproar that greeted her drowned out most of the end of the sentence and she had to shout to be heard.

Most of the children headed home but a small band of boys and a few of the more adventurous girls gathered at the top of Taylor Street.

“Its not thick enough yet.”  Seth observed drawing his boot through the soft snow.  “We need it to snow for hours yet.”

The others nodded in agreement.

“How about we meet tomorrow afternoon.” Mitch Devlin suggested.  “It’s Saturday and we can all bring toboggans or something to slide on and we try it then.”

While the discussion was going on Joe and Sarah had been treading down some snow and making a simple slide on the sidewalk.  “Hey, there’s enough for a short slide.”  Joe called and soon all of the children were trying out the few feet of slippery board.

“Joe!  Look out!”  Sarah yelled as her friend careered down the hill with his head down and arms outstretched to balance himself.  She had seen what he had not; Miss Jones walking up the hill toward her house on A street.

The collision was inevitable, so was the exodus of children from the scene.  Mitch, Seth and Sarah were the only ones brave enough to stay to face the music with Joe.  They rushed forward to help Miss Jones to her feet.

“Joseph Cartwright”  she stormed  “ I might have known.”  She pushed the children away and began brushing down her dress and cape, which were now, wet and muddy.  “And Sarah Wilkins, I thought you had to rush home.”  She added sarcastically.

“We're sorry Miss Jones.”  Sarah said quickly before Joe could say something unforgivable.  Sarah knew him well and he tended to speak first and think afterwards.  “We're on our way home now, we only stopped for a minute.”

With a sound lecture from Miss Jones ringing in their ears the four youngsters set off for home.  Before they split up to go their own ways, they had fixed to meet on Saturday afternoon at the same spot but this time with toboggans.

Joe arrived home on time for once and went into the house with a big grin on his face no one could yell at him for being late tonight.  He stamped his feet on the porch and shook his coat to get rid of the snow.  There he had done everything right for once.  Just lately Pa had been in a real bad mood and even the smallest misdemeanour had earned him a lecture.  He pushed open the door and called out.

“Hi Hop Sing, I'm back.  It sure is cold out there.”  He dropped his books on the dining room table and peered into the kitchen.  Something delicious bubbled on the stove and the aroma filled the kitchen.  Joe loved this time of day; school was over and home felt warm and comfortable.  There was no sign of the Chinese cook and he grabbed a handful of cookies from the jar and wandered back into the living room.

“Oh, hello Little Joe.  You're back early.”  Ben said distractedly as he came down the stairs.

Joe looked up puzzled.  “Not early Pa, on time is all.”  He relaxed into a grin then his frown returned when Ben didn't smile back.  “What's wrong Pa?”

Ben looked up and smiled  “Oh, nothing much, Hoss isn't feeling too well.  It’s only a cold but you know how difficult it is to get him to stop work.  He has a bit of a fever so I've made him go to bed and he's grumbling about it.”  There was no need to tell his youngest son that it was only the last in a long line of things to go wrong this month.

Joe stuffed another cookie into his mouth.  “Gets him outta chores, I wish I had a cold.”

Ben shook his head  “You do not.  You are the world's worst patient, at least Hoss does as he's told.  Adam's in the barn and you can help him with Hoss's chores tonight.  He's done yours often enough.”

“Aw…Pa.  I don't mind doin' Hoss's chores but Adam's so darn bossy.   Do I have to work with him?”  he groaned.

Ben smiled “Go on with you.  It won't hurt you to try to get on for one evening.”

Joe went out of the door with as much enthusiasm as a man on the way to his hanging.  The snow was thicker now and the yard had a good covering.  He crunched through it making patterns in the snow with his boots.

“Do you have to take all day getting here.  There's plenty of work to do before supper.”  Adam complained as he opened the door and saw Joe's slow progress.

Joe waited until his brother turned his back and then stuck out his tongue as far as he could.  He then giggled as snowflakes melted on it and made him shiver.  He worked as slowly as possible using the same tactics he did when working with Hoss, it usually ensured that Hoss did seventy per cent of the work.  However, big brother Adam wasn’t so accommodating and after about twenty minutes he walked over and leaned on Cochise’s stall.

“Taking all day over your own pony won’t get you out of looking after Chubby or Buck so don’t try it.”  Adam said sternly.  “I’ve already looked after all the others, so those two are your responsibility and you’ve still got the logs to split and take in before supper.  I’m going to feed the pigs and collect the eggs for Hop Sing so don’t take all night over it.”

Joe shrugged.  “You could do some more.”  He said grumpily.

“I’ve done my share and I don’t intend to do yours.  I’m not Hoss.”  He threw back over his shoulder as he left the barn.

“No you sure ain’t.”    Joe muttered under his breath.

He worked slowly at his chores until all except the logs were done.  He grimaced at the wood box, it was almost empty and it would take the best part of an hour to fill it and supply each of the fires in the house with kindling and logs for the night.    His brain worked on the problem and came up with an ingenious solution.  Tomorrow it would be Adam’s turn to do the wood and in his opinion Adam was being plain mean not helping him out the way Hoss did.  He chopped a few logs slightly larger than usual and arranged them on end in the box, then laid another layer the other way.  This meant that the box had a lot of spaces but from the top looked full.  Very pleased with his subterfuge he brushed the splinters off his coat and headed indoors with an armful of logs for the basket by the fire.

He dropped the logs noisily into the basket and then moved over to perch on his father’s desk.  “All done Pa.”  He grinned.

Ben grunted in disbelief   “That was quick.  I hope you’ve done all your chores.”

“Everything Adam told me to.”  Joe grinned.

“Well get off my desk and go wash up for supper.”  His father replied, beginning to stack away his ledgers and paperwork.  The figures wouldn’t change overnight and worrying about them wouldn’t change them either.  He tried to be optimistic but it was a hard road.

Joe slid to the ground and began to take off his jacket.  “Pa is it okay if I go into town tomorrow?”  he asked as casually as he could.

Ben snapped the final ledger shut and stood up.  “As long as your chores are done first, I don’t see why not.  But you be back here before dark.”

Joe grinned. “Sure Pa.”  That had been easier than he had expected, Pa seemed preoccupied today.  Although he was usually free to do as he liked on Saturday afternoons, getting permission to go to town was sometimes difficult.

Next morning Joe skipped through his chores as fast as he dared.  He tried to avoid Adam knowing that he’d be given some of Hoss’s chores if he was seen around the barn for too long.   Hoss was still in bed, lucky guy.   Joe had looked in on him after breakfast and he didn’t seem too sick, just a sore throat and a head cold.  Pa said he had to stay in bed and Hoss was complaining bitterly.   Joe had managed to extract a quarter from him to buy candy and a promise that he’d share it if Joe bought it when he was in town.  He made sure that he was ready to leave for town long before Adam got to fill the wood boxes;  he didn’t want to be around for those fireworks.

A group of children had gathered at the top of Taylor street, most had toboggans or sheets of tin that would make fine substitutes.  A few of the older boys had begun to tread down the snow on the sidewalk to make a slide and the younger ones were throwing snowballs at each other.  Joe spotted Mitch and Seth and headed over to them.

“You got sumthin’ to slide on?”  Seth asked.

Joe shook his head  “I’ll find sumthin’.  There’s plenty of sheets of tin by the old mine workings behind A street.”  He rubbed his toe in the snow.  “Sticks pretty good.  I wonder if you can slide all the way down to the canyon.”

Mitch snorted  “Only if’n you wanna get killed.  You’d have to slide on the street and cross six more streets.”

Seth glanced from one to the other and saw a chance to have some fun.  “I dare ya.”  He nudged Joe in the ribs.

Joe’s eyes lit up.  He could never resist a dare.  He moved out into the middle of Taylor Street and stared down the hill.  Way below him was the canyon road where the ground levelled out again.  Once started on that slope there would be no stopping until he hit…no he mentally amended …until he reached the track to Six-Mile Canyon.

Mitch caught his friend’s arm. “Don’t be an idiot Joe.” He begged.  “The horses and wagons on C Street never stop, you’ll get yourself killed.”

Joe shrugged off Mitch’s hand  “You willin’ to make that dare a bet?”  he asked with a cocky grin.

Seth’s face broke into a slow smile.  “Dollar says you can’t make it to the canyon road.”

Joe nodded. “Dollar says I do.”  He took his only dollar from his pocket and handed it to Mitch.  “You hold stakes.”  He said firmly.

Mitch tried once more to talk Joe out of this foolishness but Joe was adamant he could do it.  He chose a piece of tin that was just big enough for him to sit on with his knees hunched up under his chin.  He could hold the sides, if he bent them up a little, but there was no way he could steer it.  Once started he would have to trust to luck and his overworked guardian angel.

Word soon spread that Joe Cartwright planned to slide the length of the street and more side bets were being placed.  Sarah sidled up alongside Mitch.  “Can’t you stop him?”  she asked her eyes wide with fright.  “He’ll get hurt.”

Mitch grunted.  “Aw c’mon Sarah, you know you can’t stop Joe once he decides to do somethin’, ‘specially when he’s got a bet going.”  He felt a little guilty that his words had not succeeded and Sarah’s plea only made him feel worse.

Joe settled the tin sheet into the middle of the street, almost no traffic came this high and there were no adults to see him.  One or two of his school friends gasped at his audacity but no one else tried to stop him.  He seated himself comfortably and gripped the sides of the tin.  For one tiny moment he was apprehensive;  what he was proposing to do was dangerous in the extreme and his father’s face flashed in front of him. “Joseph Francis Cartwright why don’t you ever think before you do something stupid”  he could hear the lecture.  He shrugged.  It was too late now, nothing would make him back down and appear a coward in front of his friends.

“Give me a push.”  He asked Mitch.

Mitch shook his head  “I ain’t getting’ into this.  Seth started it.”

Seth grunted and bent down to give Joe a mighty heave, which sent the tin sliding down Taylor street.  The street was icy and the tin gathered speed remarkably quickly.  Joe saw B street flash by and heard a yell from a woman on the sidewalk as he narrowly missed a cart heading up town.  He looked ahead and saw C street looming.  Horses and wagons were criss-crossing in front of him and he knew he could do nothing to change direction.  As he hit the edge of the street he saw a large conestoga wagon coming from his right, he closed his eyes and prayed.  Seconds later he opened his eyes and was amazed to see D street approaching, he had passed right under the huge wagon.  His speed was now such that hanging on for dear life was all he could do.  The tin raced across D street and on towards E and its final destination, F street and the canyon road.  At the junction with E street, Joe’s luck finally ran out, the sheet of tin hit a particularly large rut in the road and turned over throwing him against the front of one of the seedy saloons.

Sarah and Mitch had been running as fast as they could down the sidewalk but they had to dodge other pedestrians and they were a few seconds behind the improvised sled.  Sarah rushed to Joe’s side.  “Are you alright.” She cried, bending down to comfort him.

Joe sat up and shook his head, which had taken a glancing blow from the sidewalk.  “I think so.”  He muttered, starting to scramble to his feet.  His hands were bleeding where the rough edges of the tin had cut into the palms when he tipped but otherwise he was relatively unscathed.  His clothes hadn’t come off so well, there was a large tear in his jacket and his pants were covered in snow and mud.  He tried to brush himself down but only succeeded in making things worse.  He looked up in fear as a firm hand descended on his shoulder and gulped as he was fixed by the angry glare of the Sheriff.

“Of all the…”  words failed the man.  He had watched in horror as the youngster cheated death by inches and now all he could do was stare in amazement at the boy in front of him.  “You coulda bin killed or caused an accident young fella.  I oughta march you right off to my jail and send someone for your Pa.”

Joe swallowed hard again.  Pa would not be amused of that he was certain.  His stomach sank even further at the next voice.

“No need for that Roy, I’ll see he gets home.”

Joe craned his neck and looked up into the dark eyes of his older brother.  “Adam!”  it came out in a squeak.

Adam nodded.  “I saw that crazy stunt.  Whatever made you think you could pull that off?”

“I almost did.”  Joe couldn’t help but boast.  He noticed that the other children had faded into the side streets at the appearance of the sheriff and he was now alone with his brother and a very angry Roy Coffee.

“Don’t get smart”  Adam growled.  “You’re in enough trouble with me over chores without getting me riled up anymore.”  He half dragged his brother to C street where his own horse was tethered.  “I came into town for a peaceful afternoon off and a few drinks this evening, now it looks like I’ve gotta take you home.”  He grumbled.  “Where’s Cochise?”

“Up near the bakery on A street.”  Joe replied a little more quietly.  “You ain’t really gonna  take me home and tell Pa are ya?”  he almost begged.  Since Adam had got home from college they had experienced more than their fair share of arguments but often his big brother would cover up for him and Joe hoped this was one of those times.  He conveniently forgot his trick to give his brother extra work today.

Adam stood for a moment with Sport’s reins running through his hands.  He ought to take his brother home and make sure Pa knew what dangerous games he was playing.  If he did he was fairly certain Joe would get a sharp taste of his father’s belt.  He agonised for a few more moments.  He really did want to play a few games of billiards with Ross and Cal and then maybe a nice meal and a few drinks.  His later plans included discovering if a certain dark haired beauty in the Silver Dollar would spend the evening in his company.  Nowhere in his plans did he figure on riding back to the ranch until the early hours at least.

Joe watched the various emotions play across his older brother’s face and wisely kept silent.  Whining never got him anywhere with Adam.  He bit his lip and shuffled his feet in the dirty slush at the side of the street.  His hands hurt and he self-consciously fiddled with the hole in his grey jacket, even if Adam kept quiet that was going to take some explaining.

“Okay…” Adam sighed.  “You promise me you’ll go straight home and you won’t do anything so stupid again and I’ll forget I saw you.  You owe me a day of wood chopping too.” he added with a frown.

He knew it was wrong but he desperately wanted a night in town, there hadn’t been many since he had got back from Boston.  Sometimes he wished he were back at college, at least there Saturday nights were a guaranteed night for drinking with his friends.  Here he seemed very much alone.  He and Ross had somehow lost touch and it was particularly difficult since Ross had begun courting Delphine.   Somehow Ross had changed while he had been away, but then he guessed they all had.   Cal Devlin his only other  real friend from before college had now married and although he still came drinking, he was a moaner and Adam found his company depressing.  He longed for some intellectual company or better still an intelligent woman to spend time with him.  He envied Ross, Delphine was beautiful and bright.  Maybe that was the problem between them.  It wasn’t that he wanted Del, more that he wanted someone like her.  His thoughts went back to a feisty Irish girl who still filled his dreams.

Joe knew that Adam wasn’t really being generous to him, it was more a selfish decision but at this point he really didn’t care.  He was going to get off scot-free and that was all that mattered.  “Thanks Adam, I promise I won’t do it again.” He said quickly before his brother could change his mind.  “I’ll go get Cooch and we’ll go straight home.”

Adam watched him race off up the street and his conscience kicked in again.  He really ought to have taken him home and made sure Pa knew what he had been doing.  He smiled to himself, he was sure glad he hadn’t had a big brother when he was Joe’s age, he’d never have been out of trouble.  It wouldn’t hurt just this once to let him get away with something.
 

Hoss rolled over in his comfortable bed and sighed.  He was hot and his head and throat hurt but most of all he was bored.  He hated being sick.  He could usually fight off most things but Pa had insisted that a fever meant keeping warm in bed.  He could only remember one occasion when he had pretended to be ill to get out of a school test.  His father had discovered the deception and he had never tried anything so foolish again.  No, Hoss only stayed in bed when he was forced to do so.

He heard rapid footsteps outside in the hallway, it had to be Joe, it was too light for Adam,  too noisy for Hop Sing and too quick for Pa.  “Joe…Joe…” he called urgently.

A moment later his door was pushed open and his little brother slipped through the opening as if hiding from someone.  When he saw the state of his brother’s clothes Hoss could guess exactly who he was hiding from too.

“Whaddya want?”  Joe asked impatiently.

Hoss’s face fell a little. It seemed everyone was in a bad temper these days.  “Nuthin’ much…”  he muttered  “I was lonesome and wondered what you bin doin’ today”

Joe immediately felt contrite.  He knew how much Hoss hated to be stuck inside much less in bed.  He felt the same way.  “Went into town and met up with Seth and Mitch.  We were supposed to be tobogganing down the side streets.”  He screwed up his nose and debated whether to tell Hoss the whole story but decided against it.  Hoss was no good at keeping secrets from Pa.  “I fell off and hurt my hand so I came home”

Hoss looked a little surprised, it wasn’t like Joe to give up that sort of fun for a minor injury.  He had a feeling there was more to the story but it didn’t look like Joe was going to elaborate.

“You'd better get cleaned up 'afore Pa sees ya.”  Hoss suggested eyeing Joe's torn and muddy clothes.

Joe brushed at his jacket and inspected the rather large tear.  “You think Hop Sing could mend this?”  he asked hopefully.

Hoss shrugged and settled lower in the bed.  “Not so's Pa won't notice it.”  He replied with a grin.

“I'll go get cleaned up and come back for a game of checkers if you like.”  Joe offered generously.  At least it would keep him out of Pa's way until supper.  “You gonna be better for Christmas ain't ya? I mean it’s a good job we got the tree before you got sick but you gotta be okay for Christmas.”

“Oh sure I will.  It’s more’n a week yet.  I ain't never bin sick that long.  I could get up now but Pa would get mad at me.”  Hoss complained as he wriggled to try to get more comfortable.

“You stay put.”  Joe replied seriously.  He didn't want Pa mad at anyone, he wanted his father in a good mood for the next week, or at least a better mood than he had been recently.

Joe's luck was in.  Ben was called away to a sick horse leaving Joe to eat his supper in company with his brother in Hoss's room.  In fact his luck held until breakfast next morning.  He got up early and worked hard on his chores and even did some of Hoss's.  It seemed strange that there was no sign of Adam.  Joe giggled.  His older brother must have got home late and overslept.  Pa would sure give him hell for that.  He heard Hop Sing calling him for breakfast and headed into the wash house to get cleaned up.  He groaned as he realised he'd have to change for church too.  He could hear his father in conversation with Hop Sing; he couldn't tell what was being said but the tone and the volume suggested Pa was angry.  He found out why at breakfast.  Adam had not come home and although trying not to show it to his youngest son, Pa was mad.

Virginia City looked halfway decent with a covering of snow and the church looked prettier than usual with its decorations of evergreens.  Without Hoss and Adam, Joe felt the full weight of his father's bad mood and as they waited for the service to start even a slight movement was enough to earn him a glare.  He had tried to signal to Seth and Mitch that he wanted to talk but his signals had been cut off by a stern glance from his father and Mr Devlin.  The first hymn was beginning and Joe got to his feet glancing slightly backwards to catch Mitch's eye.  He caught something much better and almost giggled, his older brother was trying to slip unseen into the place beside him.  More than six feet tall and dressed in his dark jacket and slightly rumpled white shirt, Adam wasn't designed to slip anywhere unobserved.

Joe gave him a lopsided grin as he tried to avoid antagonising his father.  Ben had seen his oldest son and made sure Adam saw his displeasure.  Later as they walked from the church he leaned over and spoke with a certain amount of sarcasm.

“Very nice that you could join us.”

Adam sighed.  “It was late and it seemed foolish to ride home in the dark when I could stay at the hotel and be here for church this morning.”

Ben glared.  “A small matter of morning chores wasn’t considered I suppose.  Just what were you doing all night?”

Adam bit his lip and stared at the ground, while Joe allowed a small grin to creep across his face.  Ben saw the grin and grunted.  He didn’t intend to say more with Joe listening but his  oldest son was going to hear more of this later.

Joe joined Mitch after church but Seth waylaid them.  “Hey, where's my money?  I won that bet fair and square.”

Joe sighed.  “You never said only one try,  I ain't given up yet.  I'll do it after school Tuesday  Miss Jones always let's us go early on the last day.”

Mitch almost choked.  “You crazy?  If the ride don't kill ya, your Pa will.”

Joe grinned.  “Pa don't know nuthin' Adam didn't tell him.”
 

Hoss lay back in his bed and sighed.  He was still feeling a little tired but mostly tired of being alone.  His father had put his head around the door when they family got back from church but neither of his brothers had put in an appearance.   He'd heard raised voices once or twice and half guessed that one or both brothers were in trouble for something.  Less than a week to Christmas and he was stuck here and the atmosphere in the house was decidedly chilly and a long way from goodwill to all men.   He heard footsteps and then the door was pushed open and his little brother bounced in.

“Hi, big moose.  When you gonna get up and do your chores.”  Joe virtually leapt on to the bed and made the joints creak.

Hoss grinned, a wide gap toothed grin.  “Thought I'd let you do 'em for a while to make up for the ones I done for you.”

Joe giggled.  “Adam's doin' 'em.  Pa's mad at him 'cos he didn't come home last night so he's doin' yours and his own to make up for the ones he missed.  I'm s'posed to be doin' homework but I got bored with verbs and nouns and decided to come visit.”

“Well don’t let Pa catch ya.  I want him in a good mood so he’ll let me get outta here.”  Hoss grumbled.

Joe giggled.  “Not much chance o’ that.  He’s real mad at Adam.  It was a real good lecture on the evils of drink and women.”

Hoss had to laugh as Joe raised his eyebrows and showed from his expression that he had very much enjoyed eavesdropping.  They chatted for half an hour before Hoss reminded Joe that he was supposed to be finishing his homework and it wouldn’t do to get Pa anymore riled than he already was.
 
 

The last day of the school session was always fraught and Miss Jones was having trouble controlling the class.  The younger ones were dreaming of Santa and the older ones just dreaming of getting out of the classroom.  Joe Cartwright was standing in the corner following his parting prank.  She had to admit it had been a good one.  She had come into class after recess to find a very fine drawing of Santa and his sleigh on the blackboard.  She was pleased that someone had made the room festive, until she looked closer and realised that each of the elves around the old man had been given the face of a teacher or a member of the school board.  Mr Macdonald, the President of the Board, was depicted as Santa and shown with a stick urging the reindeer to go faster.   She was represented by a particularly sour faced fairy that happened to have her arm around an elf.  The elf was quite obviously meant to be the artist’s older brother.  She had threatened Joe with a caning but relented and made him stand in the corner where he couldn’t cause anymore trouble.  Somehow he still managed to disrupt the class until finally, she decided that no more knowledge was going to be absorbed and she was losing the battle.  “Alright, children you may go.”  Her Christmas greeting was lost in the mad scramble to get out of the door first.
 

    Joe's second attempt at the sled run was all set.  Maybe twenty or more children had gathered to watch this one and side bets were being made all around him.  Sarah and Mitch had made further attempts to talk him out of it but to no avail.  He was ready to go and was sitting in the middle of the street on his improvised sled trying to judge a gap on the streets below.

Ben Cartwright pulled up with the wagon in front of the timber yard on the corner of F street and Taylor.  Once he had delivered this load he planned to collect Hop Sing's supplies and head home, before the snow began again.  He looked upwards, the sky was dark and threatening.  That's all they needed, to be snowed in over Christmas.   Hoss was already crazy with boredom and Adam, well he was no doubt missing Boston, but that was no reason to take it out on the family, or to take to drinking and heaven only knew what else.  He heard a shout and a commotion from the next block and looked up to see a crowd of children racing down the street towards him, ahead of them a boy on an improvised sled was barrelling down the hill missing horses and wagons by inches.  He stared for a second then closed his eyes in silent prayer.  When he opened them again the boy was accepting the accolades of his peers as they cheered his successful run.

Ben moved swiftly to the crowd and the children parted like a wave in front of him.

Joe held out his hand to Seth oblivious to the imminent danger.  “How about my dollar then?”

Seth scowled but nudged Mitch to hand it over.

“Give it back.”  Came a quiet but stern voice.

Joe closed his eyes and wished the ground would swallow him up.  Seth, Mitch and Sarah moved back leaving a wide space around Joe and his father.  Joe opened his eyes slowly hoping he had been hearing things.  His eyes travelled up from a pair of snow covered black boots, to grey pants and a heavy brown coat and finally to the dark forbidding countenance of his father.

“The wagon is by the sawmill, fetch your horse and meet me there in five minutes..”  Ben spoke very slowly and deliberately, his temper barely under control.

Joe started to stammer a response but one look at his father’s expression stopped his words.  He was turning to do as he had been told when he collided with Sheriff Coffee.  “Don't you learn nuthin' boy.”  Roy shook his head in disbelief.  “I'm surprised you allowed him in town alone after last time, Ben.”

Ben looked from his son's guilty expression to the sheriff.  “What last time?”  he said slowly, as Joe swallowed hard.  Uh..oh!  This was gonna be even harder to explain.

“Saturday.”  Roy explained patiently  “Didn't Adam tell you he pulled this stupid stunt Saturday afternoon, damn near got himself killed then too.”

 If it were possible, Ben’s expression got even darker and more formidable.  “No he did not tell me, but he will, believe me he will.”

Joe stumbled up the street to get his horse.  Things looked pretty black for his older brother and even blacker for him, he’d have Pa and Adam to contend with.
 

Hoss listened intently.  No sounds now, he waited another five minutes and then cautiously got out of bed and gathered his robe from the chair.  Creeping to the door he stopped and listened again.  Adam wasn’t back from his chore of taking hay to the north pasture yet and Pa had stomped down the stairs several minutes ago and he had heard the front door slam.    His door creaked a little as he eased it open and looked along the hallway.    Slipping out quietly for so big a man he inched his way the three or four feet to Joe’s door and gently pushed it open.  His young brother was curled up on the bed facing away from him, his shoulders hunched and his face buried in his pillow.  Hoss hesitated a moment then closed the door as quietly as he had opened it and moved over to sit on the bed.

He rested a hand on Joe’s shoulder.  “Wanna tell me about it?”  he asked softly.

Joe shuddered at his touch but firmly shook his head.

“Sounded like Pa was pretty mad at you for sumthin’.  I couldn’t help hearin’.”  he apologised.

Joe grunted and realising Hoss wasn’t going to leave relaxed a little.   “He caught me sliding down Taylor street on a makeshift sled.”  He muttered.

Hoss took a minute to understand what his brother was saying, but when he did, he gasped.  “Whew...I can see why he was so mad.  You crazy or sumthin’.”

“Don’t you start.  Adam’s mad at me ‘cos I cheated him on my chores and he’s gonna be madder still when Pa yells at him over this.”

Hoss gave a puzzled frown.  “Whaddya mean? What’s Adam got to do with it?”

Joe sighed and almost rolled over on to his back then stopped and looked over his shoulder instead.  “Adam caught me Saturday and told me not to do it but he didn’t tell Pa, so Pa’s mad at him too.”

Hoss grunted and tucked his feet up under the end of Joe’s quilt.  Now he was out of bed he was beginning to shiver and feel sick again.  “Seems like Pa’s mad at everyone but me.  Ain’t gonna be much of a Christmas if he’s in a bad mood.”  he grumbled.

Suddenly Joe put his finger to his lips  ‘Shhh..’ he cautioned, but it was too late.

The door was pushed open and Ben stood there his hand gripping the doorknob and his voice as icy as the temperature outside.

“Erik, what are you doing out of bed?”

Hoss scrambled to his feet  a second before Joe.  “Uh...I...uh...”  He stuttered.

“Get back to bed right now and don’t move from that bed until I say you can and it won’t be anytime soon.”  Ben barked.

He watched as Hoss almost scuttled back to bed.  “You have chores to do young man.”  He addressed Joe sharply.  “And you had better start doing them properly and behaving yourself or the only thing in your Christmas stocking will be a switch.”

Adam’s homecoming was no more pleasant today than it had been on Sunday.  This time the lecture centred around his little brother and responsibility and Adam had a hard time keeping his temper.  He knew he should have brought Joe back, but he was tired of being held responsible for his brothers’ pranks and shortcomings.  He didn’t answer back but his manner was as close to dumb insolence as he dared go.  The atmosphere, which pervaded the house for the next few days, was blacker than the winters’ nights and colder than the icicles on the eaves.   Adam avoided his father whenever possible and was openly irritated with Joe.  Never one to be upset for long over a punishment, Joe recovered quickly from his tanning, but he did his best to stay out of the way of both his brother and his father.  Hoss was still smarting from his reprimand and didn’t move out of bed.  He hated to be at odds with Pa and the bad feeling that existed between them all made him feel much sicker than he really was.   Hop Sing padded between them getting more irritated by the hour with this crazy family.

Christmas Eve morning was dark and dreary, snow threatened and the atmosphere in the house was almost as cold as the world outside.   Hoss was feeling much better but he didn’t dare leave his bed.  He heard footsteps going downstairs first Pa’s and Adam’s then after a while Little Joe’s.  A few minutes later he heard Pa’s voice raised in anger again and he sighed, “what now?”

Downstairs Joe had crept up to the big dark green fir tree and stood gazing at the decorations, the red and white wax candles, the strings of popcorn and the tiny wooden ornaments that reminded him so much of his mother.  If she had been here the candles would have been lit this morning.  Mama always lit the tree on Christmas Eve, she had said it was welcoming.  Well it wasn’t welcoming today.  In the years since her death first Adam and then Pa had lit the candles on Christmas Eve morning.  Today neither of them had thought of it and for one small boy a tradition had been abandoned.  A lump formed in Joe’s throat.  He wished Mama was here to hug him and make Christmas happy.  He saw Pa’s pipe and matches on the table and the temptation was too much for him.  He struck a match and began lighting the candles; with each new flame his spirits lifted.  This was more like Christmas.

“What on earth do you think you are doing?”  his father’s voice thundered in his ears.  The matches were snatched from his hand and he turned to find his father towering over him.  “How many times have I told you not to touch matches and candles in the house or the barn?”

Joe shrank away his expression one of hurt and disappointment.  “I’m sorry, I only wanted to light them like Mama used to.”  he almost whispered.

“Go get on with your chores, you’re late as usual.”  Ben snapped, his anger mixed with something he couldn’t quite identify.

Joe gave a quick glance up at his older brother, who was standing in the doorway watching the scene with a certain air of detachment, then, grabbing his jacket, he raced outside.

Adam sauntered over to his father.  “He’s right.  Marie would have lit them and so would we if we hadn’t both been so wrapped up in our own troubles.”  he said softly.  He didn’t wait for his father to answer but followed his little brother out to the barn.

Ben gazed up at the tall tree and automatically began to light the remaining candles.  He brushed at his eyes in an effort to clear the mist forming.  He had a lot to do today and no time for this foolishness.  He must spend some time drawing up a new timber contract for one of the mines and he had to prepare a proposal to show the bank.  He needed to borrow money to tide him over the rest of the winter and it was worrying him.  He had hardly thought about Christmas.  Months back he had bought presents for the boys in Sacramento and he knew Hop Sing would deal with all the supplies.  It had been one worry he had pushed away until he had time to think about it.  What with his money problems and then Hoss being sick and Joe getting into trouble and Adam...well Adam being difficult, there had been no time.  He finished lighting the candles and then without really looking at the tree he hurried away to get on with his work.

The day passed in a haze of work and meals until supper had been cleared away and Ben was back at his desk working on his accounts.  He was vaguely aware of Adam and Joe playing checkers but he paid them no mind and worked on.  Several times during the evening Adam glanced at his father and then at the Christmas tree.  He had extinguished the candles after breakfast as they usually did but they were always re-lit after supper by Pa.  The family would then spend the evening making and eating popcorn and listening to Pa read or tell stories.  Just before bed the boys would hang up their stockings and Pa would read the Christmas story from St Luke’s gospel.  Tonight it was almost as if Pa had forgotten it was Christmas Eve.

After two poor games of checkers, Joe pushed back his chair and shrugged at his older brother.  “I’m going up to see Hoss.”  he said quietly.  His face sad and pale.

Adam nodded and waited to see if his father noticed Joe’s absence, when there was no sign from the desk, he got up and stopping briefly at his own room followed Joe to Hoss’s bedroom.  He quietly pushed open Hoss’s door and smiled to see Joe snuggled up against his big brother.

“Got room for one more on that bed?”  he asked.

Hoss nodded.  “We can make room, cain’t we Joe.”

Joe scooted closer to Hoss leaving Adam a small space on his other side.  Adam settled himself comfortably and glanced at his brothers.  “ We could go hang up our stockings.”  he suggested.

Joe grunted.  “What for, I’m gonna get a switch in mine for sure.”

Hoss’s eyes met Adam’s, their little brother’s head, both showing sympathy for the youngest member of the family.  This had to be hardest on him.

“Want me to tell stories?”  Adam tried.

Joe shrugged.  “If you like.  Won’t be the same though.”  he leaned against Adam  “Pa sure is mad.  I can’t remember him being this mad for so long.  He ain’t never bin like this at Christmas before.”

 “I think he’s worried about business stuff Joe.”  Adam attempted to excuse Ben’s forgetfulness and black mood.  “And we haven’t exactly been perfect sons lately, have we?”

 “Pa’s bin mad at us before but he ain’t never forgot Christmas Eve.”  Hoss said sadly.

“I miss Mama.”  Joe said with the hint of a sob.

Adam squeezed his shoulder  “Don’t you think maybe Pa does too?  She always made Christmas so good.  It must be hard for him to do it without her.”

“We always did the same things when you were away.”  Joe was almost accusing.  “Pa never forgot.”

Adam shrugged “Well he’s forgotten tonight so we’ll have to make the best of it. “ He pulled out the book he had brought with him.  “How about I read ‘Christmas Carol’ for a while.  The part with the ghosts, eh Joe?”

Joe shrugged.  It wouldn’t be like Pa reading but it was better than nothing.  As Adam began reading he found he was enjoying it.  Like Pa, Adam used different voices and made it sound creepy.  With Hoss’s arm around him and Adam’s voice reassuring him things hadn’t changed that much, he forgot his troubles and simply felt secure and loved by his brothers.

More than an hour passed and Adam heard the clock downstairs chime ten.  “It’s pretty much bedtime, Joe.” he said, reluctant to break the spell of the story but knowing it would only make Pa cross if Joe stayed up much later even on Christmas Eve.

Joe looked up into Adam’s eyes and shook his head.  “But Pa hasn’t read the Christmas story yet.”  he said sadly.

Hoss glanced at Adam.  “I don’t think he’s gonna, Joe.  It’s awful late.”

Adam closed the Dickens and made a sudden decision.  “I’ll read it.” he said quietly.  “I’ll be back in a minute.” he added as he slipped off the bed and headed downstairs.

Ben was still working at the desk, his head resting on his hand as he tried to make figures balance that were never going to be the ones he wanted.  Adam walked softly across the room to the table behind the sofa and gently picked up the family Bible.  It had been passed down through generations of Cartwrights and recorded all the major events of the family from birth to death.  He glanced once more at his father as he carried it reverently upstairs.

Ben caught a glimpse of a figure moving up the stairs and sat back and stretched.  Goodness it was late.  He’d better check that Joe was in bed.  He walked across to the staircase and as he reached the bottom step the moon came out from behind a cloud and the star at the top of the tree caught its pale light and twinkled.  Ben looked up and with shame remembered it was Christmas Eve.  He had been so caught up in his own troubles he had forgotten the most important night of the year.   He immediately began to light the candles and when that job was finished he stood back to admire the tree.  It was one of the most beautiful they had ever had in the house.  He recalled Christmases past and memories of the traditions the family had built over the years.   He must call the boys.  It was late but they couldn’t go to bed without hanging stockings and reading from the Bible.  Those things were ingrained in his memory as part of his own childhood and certainly part of his sons’.

He walked to the table and reached out for the Bible.  It was gone!  He glanced guiltily at the stairs; Adam.  He must have been the shadowy figure he had seen a few moments ago.  His first Christmas at home for four years and the responsibility had fallen to him to make sure the traditions weren’t broken.  Ben wearily climbed the stairs.  Hoss’s door was slightly open and he peeped in.

The three boys were comfortably ensconced on Hoss’s large bed.  Joe sandwiched between his brothers with an expectant look on his face as Adam carefully turned the pages of the Bible to find the right place.  Ben’s throat constricted and he felt a tear come to his eye.

“Mind if I join you?”  he said softly.  Three heads came up and three anxious faces waited for him to say more.  He moved over to the chair by the bed and Adam automatically handed him the Bible.  Ben took it and held it for a second before he spoke again.  “I guess I forgot what is really important for a while there.”  he said softly.  “There are some stockings waiting to be hung downstairs and I know Hop Sing will have hot chocolate and cookies even if it is late.”  he looked at the boys with a mute appeal.

Always the most volatile and the one first to forgive and forget, Joe’s eyes shone and he bounced off the bed.   “C’mon, or have you forgotten what Hop Sing’s chocolate tastes like while you bin away, Adam.”

Hoss looked nervously at his father.  He might be eighteen but just lately he had felt more like ten.  “Can I get outta bed and come down too?”  he asked.

Ben smiled.  “Sure son, you wouldn’t want to miss out on Hop Sing’s special Christmas cookies would you?”  Hoss’s broad grin was enough thanks.

As they followed Joe through the door, Adam leaned over and spoke to his father  “I wasn’t trying to take over Pa.  I know you’ve been worried the past few weeks, maybe I could share some of the load now.  I mean that was why you supported me through college.”

 Ben nodded.  “Thank you, son.” he said softly, a warm feeling spreading through him.  He was a lucky man to have such supportive and forgiving sons.  How could he have forgotten that.

Downstairs he seated himself in his chair by the fire, Adam and Hoss taking their chairs and Joe making sure he was closest to his father by curling his feet under him and sitting on the table.  Ben didn’t even tell him to take his feet off the furniture, it didn’t seem important tonight.  He waited until Hop Sing had brought the delicious hot chocolate and the much-loved cookies.  The smile on the Chinaman’s face like a sunrise, telling Ben he approved.  Ben knew Hop Sing would retreat but would hover in the doorway listening, as he always had since Ben and Marie had brought him here all those years ago.   Was she listening too?  He hoped so. He felt her near tonight.  He opened the book and gently moved the velvet ribbon that Adam had placed at the verses of Luke.  He began to read, his deep resonant baritone the only sound in the quiet house.  "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night."

Outside the wind increased and the snowstorm became a blizzard but it no longer mattered, inside it was cosy and warm as the family prepared to celebrate Christmas.

Merry Christmas.  Peace on Earth and happiness for all of us in 2000.
My Christmas wish for you, my special friends.