Bad Example

On a nice day the brothers Hoss and Joe Cartwright were Virginia City. They had to behave themselves because their nephew Mitch and niece Pam (twins of 12) were with them.

“Shall we go to the saloon?”, Joe suggested.

He was the youngest Cartwright brother.

“Uncle Joe, you forget that we are not allowed to go in there yet due to the fact that that we only 12 years walk around on this earth”, Mitch said almost poetic.

Hoss and Joe looked at each other amazed.

“Did you have to study this excuse from your father, didn’t you?”, asked Hoss.

“No, but it is so though”, answered his nephew.

Again the brothers looked at each other amazed. Pam had keep her laughing in.

“We give you some money so that you can go to the ice-cream parlor. Then we meet each other again here in 1 hour’s time.”, said Joe.

He grabbed a note of 1 dollar out of his wallet. Mitch was so quick with grabbing the wallet of his uncle that it looked like that there was a short but heavy whirlwind rushed through Virginia City.

“Have a ice drink, sweet uncles”, Pam called while she and her brother ran to the ice-cream parlor.

“Is that crippled nephew of ours who just very quickly nicked your wallet the same as that little lad who just ran away with his sister?”, asked Hoss.

“Unfortunately yes. But luckily you have your wallet with you. Haven’t you?”, asked Joe.

Hoss looked in all of his pockets and answered ashamed, “No, I left it at home. But fortunately we still have your dollar.”

He grabbed the money and walked with it to the Silver Dollar Saloon. Joe thwarted him. He mumbled cursing the children of his oldest brother Adam. The twins looked a bit too much like their father what words and deeds were concerned according to Joe.

Once inside the saloon the brothers saw their old friend Mark Baker.

“Hello Mark. How is it?”, asked Hoss.

“With me it goes very well. With you too?”, asked Mark.

“Our nephew has just nicked my wallet. All my money was in there”, answered Joe.

“Then you would use it for booze anyway. I am here to rescue you, Joe. And that goes for you too Hoss”, said Mark.

Hoss and Joe looked at each other amazed.

“Eh Mark, how do you want to recue us?”, asked Joe.

“It is Reverend Mark. I have seen the light and bring that over to others”, answered Mark.

It was silent for a second but then the brothers began to laugh hard. Mark knew that the Cartwrights were hard to convince but decided to try it anyway.

The brothers took a sip of beer when Mark said, “Alcohol is the poison of the devil. It costs you money and you better can give that to the reverend in exchange for saving your soul.”

“Said the biggest boozer of Nevada. Cheers Hoss”, said Joe.

They laughed but hadn’t counted on the reaction of Mark. He became angry and hit the beer glasses broken. Hoss and Joe looked at each other for a second and started then to fight with Mark. In no time everyone was fighting in the saloon that it was a pleasure.

The Cartwright twins were on time at the agreed place and time but their uncles weren’t.

“And then they say something about it when I lose track of time”, said Mitch.

He was the only Cartwright who didn’t have a sense of time.

Pam said, “They are still sitting in the saloon of course. Let’s go to there.”

They did that and deputy Clem Foster was there already too.

“You stay here”, he said to the twins.

The couple nodded. Clem went inside to come outside again with 3 prisoners.

Mitch asked, “Uncle Hoss, shall I with Pam pass on at home that you have moved again?”

“Very funny. You tell nothing about this at home!”, Hoss answered indignant.

“Hoss and Joe, you are now a very bad example for them”, said Clem.

Mitch and Pam watched smiling how also the reverend got dragged away to the prison.

In the prison Clem got to hear everything.

“You stay here tonight and the twins go home. Reverend , you also spend the night here”, said the deputy after everything had been told.

He locked the cells and went outside.

“Boys, your uncles stay tonight in jail so I send you home. Give your parents and grandpa the regards of me”, said Clem.

“We do that. Do you give the regards to our uncles?”, Pam asked while she and Mitch mounted on their horses.

“I will”, said Clem.

He watched them go and went then back inside again.

“Hoss and Joe, you must have the hearty regards of your nephew and niece”, the deputy said smiling.

The brothers didn’t react to it because they knew that they had been a bad example again for 2 children of 12. But they also knew that they would and have to hear this often.