For a few weeks Adam and Hoss Cartwright were behaving mysteriously. In their conspiracy were also the twins of Adam, Mitch and Pam. They knew that the youngest Cartwright brother was fond of danger and played in it very handy. Via via they had arranged that Little Joe could start working there as sheriff. The father of the brothers, Ben Cartwright, just played the game along.
One afternoon Little Joe came home enthousiastly. He saw only his father on the porch and stopped his horse Cochise. The young Cartwright jumped from his horse and walked to his father.
“Pa, I have here good news for me but bad news for you”, said Little Joe.
The rancher suspected this already when he had seen his youngest son coming.
“What is it?”, asked Ben.
“I am invited to take a job as sheriff in Rubicon. So I won’t be able to do my chores here at the ranch anymore”, said Little Joe.
He let the letter seen in which was all was written. Ben read the letter through and didn’t let show that he had read it all before.
“Congratulations son. We shall miss you but will come by. One day”, Ben said while he gave the letter back.
That evening during supper Ben had news for everyone.
“Boys, one of us shall be leaving us soon”, he said.
“Who then?”, Mitch asked amazed.
“Joseph wants to take a job...as sheriff... in Rubicon”, his grandpa said.
“Who gets his room then?”, Pam, the twin sister of Mitch, asked.
Everybody except Little Joe laughed. Adam looked at his younger brother Hoss and they understood each other.
“Why in Rubicon?”, asked Hoss.
“That sounds fun to me”, replied Little Joe.
“There are also advantages when uncle Joe works and lives there”, said Pam.
“Which then?”, asked Ben.
“We can stay there when daddy is bored with us”, she replied.
“Uncle Hoss has more to eat including a bigger piece of pudding”, Mitch added.
Hoss began to look very pleased with this news.
“When do you start?”, Hoss asked his younger brother.
“Yesterday”, said Adam.
Again there was laughter.
“Do they know in Rubicon that uncle Joe sheriff becomes sheriff of their town?”, asked Mitch.
“I have gotten a personal invitation to go working there”, replied Little Joe.
“Who is now such an idiot to give you personally a job?”, asked Hoss.
“The people of Rubicon”, replied Adam.
“You are just jealous of me”, said Little Joe.
“Uncle Joe, when must you now really start?”, asked Mitch.
“April 1 coming up”, his uncle replied.
Now Adam and Hoss couldn’t stop laughing anymore. To prove that he really had gotten the job offered he let Adam read the letter. Adam read the letter and looked then at his youngest brother seriously.
“You are also very gullible”, the eldest Cartwright boy said.
“How do you mean?”, Little Joe asked amazed.
“How can Rubicon now appoint a sheriff when there is already a marshal working and living there?”, Hoss asked hiccupping of laughter.
“What about the starting date?”, asked Adam.
Little Joe quickly looked at his family members and realized that he had fallen into their trap.
“Very funny. And you ain’t going to tell me that those two kids also knew about it?”, Little Joe asked indignant.
“They did come with it anyway”, Adam confessed.
Even though Little Joe didn’t really like the April 1 joke he was still glad that he remained at the Ponderosa. Even it is was only to be able to tease his brothers.