On a nice day Hoss and Joe Cartwright were in Virginia City. Suddenly they ran into a man with a painting.
“Gentlemen, are you interested in a painting?”, asked the man.
“That depends on what the painting looks like”, answered Joe.
“That’s so beautiful that you become blind of it. For you it’s just 50 dollars”, said the man.
The brothers looked at each other laughing.
“Hoss, you know that pa wants that we do something with culture?”, asked Joe.
His brother nodded and looked at him questionable.
“Now we have the chance to do something about that. We pay each 25 dollars and take that painting home. Then our nephew also gets some culture from us”, Joe explained.
Hoss began to smile and said, “Then that little one can’t call us culture barbarians anymore.”
They paid and got the mysterious painting. The salesman had disappeared right away.
On the way to the ranch said Joe, “It’s just as good that pa, Adam and Mitch are still away.”
“Why?”, Hoss asked amazed.
“If they were at home they surely would have comments at our purchase”, Joe explained.
“They are coming home today anyway. Mitch must go to school again next week”, reacted his brother.
To their big relief nobody except the Chinese cook Hop Sing was at home. Quickly the brothers smuggles the painting inside. Hoss took the painting which hung near the front door away and the new painting got hung. The black fabric wasn’t removed from it yet. Satisfied the brothers went to their chores.
Around an hour or 3 Ben, Adam and Mitch Cartwright rode upon the yard.
“Mitch, we are home again. Hopefully your uncles haven’t done any stupid things during our vacation”, said Ponderosa owner Ben Cartwright.
“Well grandpa, the ranch house is still standing anyway”, his grandson reacted light-hearted.
His father and grandpa laughed. They dismounted and grabbed their luggage. Cody, the dog of the Cartwrights, saw his little master and ran to him. Mitch cuddled Cody like they haven’t seen each other in a 1000 years. Here after they went inside.
Ben saw right away the black fabric and suspected the worst. He put his bag down and went outside again.
“Eric Haas and Joseph Francis Cartwright! Come inside at once!”, the rancher said at a very stern tone.
The mentioned Cartwrights came inside very quickly.
Inside the ranch house Mitch asked, “Daddy, grandpa is probably very cross with your brothers, isn’t he?”
“He is that indeed and then you put it very lightly yet”, answered Adam.
They went to stand by the big clock while Ben, Hoss en Joe came inside.
“Gentlemen, what is the meaning of this black fabric?”, Ben asked stern.
“Well, we were in Virginia City when a man wanted to sell us a painting”, said Hoss.
“You mean to fob you with something”, reacted Mitch.
“The art painting is dazzling. Shall I unveil it?”, asked Joe.
“Just let it show”, Ben said worried.
Hoss and Joe took the black fabric away and all Cartwrights looked at a completely white painting.
“This is art?”, Mitch asked carefully after a while.
“Of course this is art”, said Joe.
“How much have you paid for it?”, Ben wanted to know.
“Only 50 dollars”, confessed Hoss.
For a moment it was silent but then the youngest Cartwright said laughing, “My uncles pay 50 dollars for a painting that’s white. There is not even paint on it.”
Then Ben and Adam had to laugh as well. Hoss and Joe knew that they had been conned but also that they couldn’t do anything about it anymore.
From then Hoss and Joe didn’t kept themselves busy with art paintings anymore.