It was a very hot day. Ponderosa Ranch owner Ben Cartwright was in Virginia City with his three year old grandson Mitch. Because it was enormously hot the saloons were full.
Ben was visiting sheriff Roy Coffee.
“It is much too hot to commit a crime”, said Ben.
“Let it stay that way. Clem and I are glad enough that it is so quiet in town”, reacted Roy.
Then deputy Clem Foster came in.
He said, “Roy, Ben. An ice cream salesman has come.”
Mitch heard that and pricked up his ears.
“Grandpa, may I have an ice cream?”, he asked right away.
“One then. Are you coming?”, Ben asked on his turn.
Mitch nodded and went along with his grandpa.
Outside John Lewis stood with his ice cream car waiting for customers.
“Ice cream for sale, ice cream for sale. The most delicious ice creams of the world. Only available from me”, he called but not even a dog reacted.
John decided to make his ice cream more ‘delicious’ by adding a strong sleeping powder to it. Not much later he saw the Cartwrights coming.
“You would like to have a big ice cream, wouldn’t you?”, he asked Mitch.
The boy nodded. John created a big ice cream and added a big heap of arsenic powder to it.
“That is then fifty cents”, said the ice cream salesman.
Mitch got the treat and Ben paid.
Yet before they were at the sheriff’s office Mitch had finished it ice cream salesman had disappeared suddenly.
“Was it delicious?”, asked Ben.
“Yes, but it did have a funny taste”, replied Mitch.
“How do you mean?”, the rancher asked amazed and worried.
He didn’t get an answer though because his grandson collapsed. Ben caught him. Roy and Clem came outside and saw the unconscious Mitch.
“Ben, what has happened to Mitch?”, asked Roy.
“I bought an ice cream for him from that ice cream salesman. Mitch just ate it but did say that it had a funny taste. Then he collapsed”, replied Ben.
“Just bring him to the doctor. Clem and I go after that ice cream salesman”, said Roy.
So said, so done.
Doctor Paul Martin saw Ben already coming and waited for him at the door. Again Ben told what had happened while he put Mitch on the bed. Paul examined him and knew enough.
“I suspect that your grandson got arsenic inside him. I will make a liquid of water with mustard. He will vomit from that”, said he.
Mitch slowly woke up but looked confused around him. Ben sat beside him.
“Mitch, I want that you drink this totally”, said Paul said when he was with the Cartwrights.
Mitch got the glass and drank it all.
“How dirty”, he said after that.
A moment later he vomited so badly that the arsenic got out.
“Just leave Mitch here recover. That you can give that ice cream salesman a treatment”, said Paul.
Ben went straight to the sheriff.
At the school John was drawing customers but he had no success. Here by he began to annoy Virginia City. John didn’t even notice that Roy and Clem stood behind him.
“Sir, would you like to come with us?”, asked Roy.
“And if not , then too”, said Clem.
He grabbed John by the arm and put the handcuffs. The ice cream car got taken along too.
In the cell John said voluntarily, “I wanted to poison the little Cartwright on purpose. Due to him my sweetly daughter Helen has no chance anymore to get a marriage proposal from Adam Cartwright and to give him his first born.”
The sheriff and the deputy looked at each other amazed.
“Just wait till Ben hears this”, said Clem.
“Anyone called me?”, asked the rancher.
“We are here”, called Roy.
Ben came to the cells and heard why John wanted to kill Mitch.
“What a load of bull! Even though he would kill my grandson and his daughter would give Adam a child, then even still Mitch was the first born of Adam. Roy, Clem, I do know a suitable punishment for him”, said the rancher.
“And that is?”, asked Clem.
“We let him eat his own ice cream”, replied Ben.
“No, I rather go to jail for life than to eat my ice cream. I am allergic for it”, protested John.
His protest didn’t help because he had to eat his ice cream. Not much later the Grim Reaper came to collect him to sell ice cream at the Eternal Hunting fields.
“I am going to pick up my grandson and then back to the ranch. It has been a very interesting afternoon”, Ben said after a cup of coffee.
He got up and went outside to get the wagon. Here after he rode to the practise of Paul Martin where Mitch was already recovered.
“Are you coming lad?”, asked Ben.
Mitch nodded.
“He has come over it totally”, said Paul.
He put the boy next to his grandpa.
“From now on you only get ice cream from Hop Sing. Now we go home fast because I know for sure that he is preparing something delicious”, said Ben.
They went home and Mitch had learned never to take anything from strangers.