It happened on a Friday. Ponderosa owner Ben Cartwright and his eldest son Adam were visiting one of their neighbours, Ken Miller. The relationship between the Cartwrights and Miller was so bad that there was a guaranteed there would be problems. That happen to be caused by the wife of Ken, Betty.
As first she saw the Cartwrights coming and knew there would come problems again.
“Ken, there come Ben and Adam Cartwright. They come to cause problems again for sure”, she called.
“Again? They do nothing else”, replied Ken.
“They think they are something. But we are better than they are”, said Betty.
“That is a fact”, her husband assented to.
They walked outside to greet the Cartwrights. Ben and Adam stopped their horses.
“Cartwright, what are you doing here? Causing problems again for us poor souls?”, Ken asked hatefully.
“No, not at all. I have just come to tell that it has ended now with the killing and eating of our cows. Or we are forced to take drastic measures with you”, replied Ben.
“We keep us to that. But you must keep yourself to that as well. We are not as rich as you Cartwrights”, reacted Ken.
“We always do that. You know that”, said Adam.
Meanwhile Betty went away to do shopping’s. She took the wagon along covered with a big cloth.
Arrived in Virginia City she saw as first walking a black cat. Betty got a scare but didn't let anything show. Because she was still looking at the black cat Betty first didn't see that she was walking under a ladder. Just till she almost bumped against it the woman noticed it. Quickly she got the wagon and rode to the school of Virginia City.
The twins Mitch and Pam Cartwright played near the school. ‘Those two are the key to our wealth which we are entitled to’, she thought. She stopped the wagon and climbed from it. Hereafter she walked to the twins.
“Mitch, Pam, your father had been injured seriously and he asked me to collect you from school”, Betty said serious.
“What has happened then?”, Mitch asked mistrusting.
“I don't know it exactly but he is so injured that for the time being he cannot take care of you. That's why I do it”, replied Betty.
She grabbed the twins by the hand and took them along. The children climbed on the wagon and Betty climbed on the box. Quickly she covered the children with the cloth. Hereafter she rode away quickly.
Outside of town Betty stopped the horses. She went to the children and tied them up tightly.
“You are now mine! One sound and you are dead”, Betty snapped.
Mitch and Pam looked at each other and understood that they had walked into the trap. Betty climbed back on the box and rode home. To her big relief Ben and Adam had left again.
Betty stopped the wagon and said, :“I have done the shopping.”
Ken took the cloth away and saw the twins. He dragged them from the wagon into the house.
Inside Ken said, “You live now here.”
“Not true. We live at the Ponderosa”, reacted Mitch.
“Ben Cartwright will have to pay a very high price for your freedom”, replied Betty.
“You too”, reacted Pam.
“You are very brutal for your age though”, said Ken.
“At least we are something then”, reacted Mitch.
“Tie them up and make sure they shut up”, said Ken.
Betty tied them up as tight as possible. Of course the twins offered much resistance whereby Betty became hysterical. Mitch kicked her as hard as possible whereby Betty had to let them go. Yelling of pain she grabbed her leg and didn't pay attention to the twins. Pam and Mitch ran away until they were safe. Ken wanted to go after them but he tripped over his wife. A diatribe from both sides was the result.
After having ran for half an hour the twins arrived at a deserted cabin.
“Sis, we shelter here for those creeps”, Mitch said gasping.
Carefully Pam opened the door and they went inside.
“When daddy notices that we aren't at school anymore he organises a posse at once”, said Mitch.
Pam nodded, sat down and looked at her brother
“I don't understand why grandpa let such mean people live near his spread”, she said.
“Sometimes I really can't follow grownups”, reacted Mitch.
His sister fully agreed with him.
At the ranch Adam said, “I go and get the kids from school.”
He got his horse and rode to town where the school was. He had the strange feeling that his twins wasn't at school anymore and rode for that reason in the direction of the house of the couple Miller. On the way Adam ran into his brothers Hoss and Little Joe.
“The kids are missing. This afternoon pa and I had a row with Ken and Betty Miller. Suddenly Betty went to do shopping while she never does that”, Adam said worried.
“We go along”, said Little Joe.
“They are so superstitious, aren't they?”, asked Hoss.
“That is so. Why?”, Adam asked amazed.
“It is Friday the thirteenth today. Unlucky day for them”, replied Hoss.
“That can be fun”, replied Adam.
In a hurry-scurry they rode to the house of the Miller family.
Ken heard the horse coming and stopped with scolding. He looked out of the window and began to curse so loud that all dead reverends could hear it. Betty got up and saw the Cartwrights coming.
“Now we are dead! In town I saw a black cat walking and I walked under a ladder”, said Betty said scared.
“What are you such a big tea-cosy. You know that those things bring unluck! Shall I break the mirrors too then?”, Ken asked furious.
He didn't even wait for an answer and threw in pieces one by one. Betty screamed like a skinny sucking-pig and went to fight with her husband. They hit each other so hard that they both moved to another world. The brothers came into the house and saw the bodies lying.
“Unfortunately they just had to die on Friday the thirteenth. But we must find the twins first”, said Adam.
They looked through the house but found no trace of the children. Then the brothers went to search further until they came to the cabin. They dismounted and withdrawn revolvers they went inside.
“Don't shoot. It's us, Mitch and Pam”, they called at the same time.
The revolvers got put away and with a deep sigh of relief Adam took his children into his arms.
“We got taken away by that scary with because she said that you were seriously injured and that she would take care of us for the time being”, said Mitch.
“You mean Betty Miller?”, asked Little Joe.
Pam nodded and continued, “She wanted to tight us but Mitch kicked her so hard with his brace that she had to let us go. We fled to here then.”
“They are dead and you go along with us home. You have had enough excitement for one day”, said Adam.
They went outside and mounted on the horses.
Arrived at home Adam remained with the twins and Hoss and Little Joe went to bring the sheriff up to date about everything that had happened. He took the bodies to town and let them bury. The black cat went to lie down on their grave since then.
The peace returned again for the Cartwrights. Though for the time being. But they would never forget that certain Friday the thirteenth.