THE ORPHANS
Life on the Ponderosa just continued on the quiet way. The new generation Cartwrights took care of the ranch like their lives depended on it. But soon the quietness would get disturbed. And how!
One morning Josh Cartwright came into the ranchhouse with not very nice news. Everybody looked up when he came rushing in.
“Josh, you don’t have to reak down the house”, Jacob said, the hand who also lived at the ranch.
“Sorry Jacob, but I have discovered that apples getting plucked out of the orcard”, answered Josh.
His cousin AC asked teasing, “Do you know for sure that you are not doing it yourself or have done it?”
“Very funny cousin. Just soon there is nothing left anymore”, was the reaction of his cousin.
“We go find out who does or doing it”, said Benji.
The three cousins got their rifles and went out to search. No person had to try to touch the property of the Cartwrights. This was the case long ago and that had been passed on to the next generation.
In the orchard Jake and Lucy Miller kept themselves very well hidden. For no gold they wanted to be found. Jake was 100% sure that they would be send back otherwise to their extremely strict aunt Jane Miller. The children sat under a few closed bushes when the cousins went searching. The orchard wasn’t very big but with quite a few and closed bushed. It cost the Cartwrights quite some time and trouble before they had found the thieves. Suddenly AC heard a noise coming out of the bushes.
He held his rifle pointed at the bushes while he called with a loud voice, “Come out with your hands up!”
“Don’t shoot. We haven’t done anything”, Jake called scared while he and Lucy with risen hands came out of the bushes.
Josh and Benji rushed to their cousin. The cousins looked at each other with big amazing.
Josh said, “It are just children.”
“Who are you and what are you doing here?”, asked Benji.
“I am Jake Miller and this is my sister Lucy. We have ran away from home. Who are you?”, Jake asked looking at them.
AC asked, “Just let your hands drop. I am Adam Cartwright jr and that are my cousins Benjamin and Josh Cartwright. Why have you ran away?”
“Our aunty Jane mistreats us all the time. Our parents are dead”, Jake said who noticed that he could trust them.
“Just come along with us. We will help you and your sister with your problems”, said AC.
Jake grabbed the hand of his sister and his rucksack. The girl looked shy at the ground but didn’t say anything.
“Can’t your sister talk?”, Josh asked while they walked to the ranch house.
“Since dad and ma got killed she hasn’t said nothing anymore. That is now 4 years ago. We happened to be witnessed it”, told Jake.
He had light brown hair with green eyes which became chinks when Jake didn’t trust someone. Lucy just looked like him, only she was more shy than her brother.
When they walked upon the yard Jake was looking of amazing. Lucy too began to lose her shyness.
“This is the Ponderosa, isn’t it? The ranch of Ben Cartwright?”, the boy asked for the security.
AC nodded and said, “That was our grandpa. We live here now.”
Outside on the porch foreman Bronc Evans, Jacob (the hand) and Sara Cartwright stood watching.
“Bronc, Jacob, Sara, these are Jake and Lucy Miller. They have ran away from home”, Josh said to the others.
The children got received warmly at the Ponderosa. They each got a glass of milk and some cookies of cook Buckshot.
In the living room told Jake, “Aunty Jane hits us each time we don’t listen. Especially me have it tough then. She does that hitting with a whip.”
“That is just ridiculous. Hitting children with a whip”, Sara said with very big indignace.
“She doesn’t think so”, reacted Jake.
“This can’t go on any longer with you. We must step in”, said Bronc.
The Cartwrights thought that too. But nobody could come up with a paln very quickly.
Finally Bronc said, “You stay here for the time being.”
Jane Miller wondered where her nephew and niece stayed for breakfast. She had seen the children last the previous evening when she brought them to bed. When Jake and Lucy didn’t come downstairs Jane went to check out. She opened the door of their bedrooms and saw that both beds were unslept. Also clothes and some stuff of Jake and Lucy were gone.
“So those two have gone away. Well, I will get them back!!”, Jane said angry.
She wasn’t so thrilled with them but before Jake opened his mouth against others about her raising methods she really had to get them back. Jake always said exactly what he thought. That wasn’t always appreciated very well. The boy didn’t care about that anyway. But nobody had to bother his sister because then the fat was in the fire with him.
Jane Miller was the type of woman who didn’t stand resistance. Everyone who went against her literally got killed. This had happened too with Paul and Lisa Miller, the parents of Jake and Lucy. Jane didn’t know that the children had seen it. By the killing of her parents Lucy decided not to speak to anyone anymore. Not even to her brother. Jake understood her though. Their aunt waved the very strict scepter until the twosome had found a roof with the Cartwrights. Jake lied awake while his sister slept. He knew that they would inform their aunt about their current stay. He had to undertake action to prevent that they had to return. He decided to split. Lucy could better stay at the Ponderosa thought Jake at first. But a moment later he changed his mind. The boy got up and got dressed. Here after he walked to the bed where Lucy was sleeping. He woke her up.
“Lucy, you must wake up. We are leaving”, Jake said whispering.
Lucy got up and got dressed. When that had happened Jake grabbed their rucksack.
He asked, “Will you keep that one with you for a second?”
He opened the window and looked outside. He didn’t see anyone. He hinted Kucy to come but she didn’t really dare. Jake climbed out of the window but lost his balance. He fell off the rof and came down very unlucky. By the fall Jake broke his arm in 2 places. Quickly he got up and he ran away. Unfortuantely he ran into AC who just came home.
“Jake, what appened? Why are you leaving?”, AC asked amazed while he dismounted from his horse.
“You are going to inform our aunt about where we are now”, answered the boy.
“That won’t happen without your permission. Just come on inside. Buckshot will take care of your arm”, AC said calm.
Jake first didn’t know what he had to do. Finally he decided to go along with AC. Inside everybody knew about the failed runaway attempt of Jake. His fall hadn’t been unnoticed by the others. Jacob and Josh came outside and saw the twosome coming.
“AC, is he alright?”, Jacob asked worried.
“His arm is broken”, AC answered calm.
Jake saw how the hand looked at him and said, “We go away tomorrow.”
“Jake, where must you go to then?”, asked Josh.
“We will see”, was het answer of Jake.
Bronc checked the broken arm of Jake and said, “We go to Doc.”
With reluctance the boy went along.
On the way Bronc said, “We do want to help you but then you must cooperate as well.”
“We have ran away but each time they send us back to aunty Jane. The day before yesterday that woman hit Lucy for nothing. That’s why we don’t want to go back anymore”, Jake said who now was as tame as a lamb.
A while nothing was being said between both.
“As long as she isn’t behind bars you and Lucy remain at the ranch. We make sure that she won’t you anymore in her house”, said the foreman of the Ponderosa.
Because it was dark nobody noticed that Jake Miller was at Doc Clark’s.
While the arm of Jake got set into plaster was Bronc said to Doc, “Do you know something about a Jane Miller? She is the aunt of him and mistreats him and his sister very often.”
“Jake comes here very often when he has a working fact by the whip of Jane”, answered Doc.
By this Bronc knew that Jake was speaking the truth.
“Jake, I see you for your arm in six weeks time”, Doc said to the boy when the treatment was over.
In the meantime Jane didn’t know anymore what she had to do. She understood that her nephew and niece were gone for good. Her blood began to rezch the highest boiling point when she though of what Jake all would tell about what she did to him. Jane didn’t know yet that Jake and Lucy were with the Cartwrights and that they would stay there for the time being.
Quite soon Jake and Lucy were used to the ranch. Sara, the sister of Benji, spent a lot of time with Lucy whereby the girl became less shy and got her speech back again.
It was a sunny day when Sara and Lucy together made a nice and long walk in the area of the Ponderosa. Because Sara was the only female inhabitant of the ranch Lucy felt attracted to her. With Sara the girl was more comfortable than when the others were around.
Suddenly Lucy said, “I miss pa and ma so much.”
“I can imagine that very well”, said Sara.
“Do you know who has killed our parents? Our sweet aunty Jane”, said Lucy.
“Jake did tell that your parents were murdered but not by whom. I like you and Jake too”, said Sara.
They went to sit somewhere to rest.
“We like you too. Only Jake is sometimes so rough in his behavior”, said Lucy.
“Most boys are at that age. Benji was like that when he had the age of Jake”, answered Sara.
The fact that Sara spent lots of time with his sister made sure that Jake watched it with big argus-eyes. Jacob noticed that well.
One morning the hand asked him, “May your sister not get on with others?”
“I have promised my parents always to look at and look after her. Now Sara is the whole time with Lucy”, was the quite fierce answer of Jake.
“I believe that you are beside very worried also jealous”, said Jacob.
The hand shouldn’t have said this because now Jake was really insulted.
“Don’t interfere. I didn’t ask for your opinion, did I?”, the boy asked angry.
He turned his back to Jacob. The hand clearly had touched something by Jake because the boy got up and walked to the corral. Jacob walked after him. At the corral Jake suddenly started to sob. The hand took him into his arms.
“I miss pa and ma so”, Jake said still a bit sobbing.
Quickly he wiped his eyes dry so that nobody saw or could see that he had cried.
“We are here to help you”, Jacob reassured Jake.
He nodded.
Each afternoon Sara and Lucy made a walk while Jake spent time with AC, Benji and Josh. Because nobody wasn’t allowed to know that Jake and Lucy were at the Ponderosa Bronc had forbidden the children to go outside the yard with out the presence of one of the Cartwrights. That was promised.
When the Cartwrights were getting a new supply Jane came walking by. AC saw her coming and gave his cousins a push. The look in his eyes told them enough.
“Have you happen to seen my niece Lucy and nephew Jake?”, Jane asked him at that moment.
“No, why? Must we have then?”, AC lied without turning a hair.
He knew that his parents had taught him not to lie but this was an exception to the rule. Josh and Benji too didn’t give the answer which Jane had wanted to hear. Because she was met with a rebuff Jane walked by. But the Cartwrights weren’t released from her yet.
Jane rode around in her carriage looking for Jake and Lucy. But no matter how she searched, she didn’t find them. This to the big annoying of Jane.
Jake and Lucy played at the yard under the guiding eye of Jacob.
“Aunty Jane will discover once that we are here”, Lucy said Lucy a bit scared.
“That won’t happen so soon. The Cartwrights will help us”, was het answer of her brother while he looked at Jacob.
The hand came to the children and said, “You are very safe here.”
“By the way, I will protect you too”, Jake said to her.
He put his healthy arm around her.
Then Josh came outside and called to the threesome, “Lunch is ready.”
They got up and went inside.
After lunch the lunch Sara and Lucy went to make their daily walk again. Normally the girls would be back after 3 hours but not day. At a certain moment they happen to run into Jane Miller.
“Come along both!”, she said strict.
Besides she had pointed a rifle at Sara and Lucy. Both were too surprised to do or say anything. Jane blindfolded them and tied them up. They had to get into the carriage where after Jane rode back with her two hostages.
In the house the blindfold got taken off and they came free.
Jane asked, “What’s your name?”
“Sara Cartwright”, answered Sara.
“Not from the Ponderosa, the ranch of Ben Cartwright? From whom are you a daughter then?”, Jane asked shocked.
“My pa was Little Joe Cartwright”, was the calm answer of Sara.
She stayed by Lucy and didn’t trust Jane. The fact that Sara was a Cartwright came unlucky for Jane. All since she had come to live in Virginia City Jane had been into a fight with the Cartwrights. The row had started 1880. One day Jane went t olive in empty rent house on the spread of the Cartwrights. This had happened without permission of Ben Cartwright. The rancher tried to talk to her but Jane absolutely wouldn’t listen to his arguments. After a court case in favor of Ben Cartwright Jane was forced to move but her hate against the Cartwrights and the Ponderosa remained. Now, more than 25 years later, the hate hadn’t become less. Ben Cartwright was not around anymore but that didn’t matter to Jane. For her only meant: the only good Cartwright is a dead Cartwright!
When they discovered that Sara and Lucy were away a search got set up.
Jake looked at them and said nonchalant, “That search is useless. I know where they are.”
“Where then?”, asked Jacob.
“In our house”, answered the boy.
“Jake, you go along to show us where we must be”, said Bronc.
“Why has aunty Jane actually kidnapped Sara too?”, asked Jake.
“Well, pa told me once that she got a row with grandpa in 1880 because she had come living illegal in a rent house at the Ponderosa. Since then she always had been angry with us Cartwrights”, claimed AC.
“Adam has told me that story too”, said Bronc.
Jake became restless and said, “Are we going or not? Just now that woman has killed Sara and Lucy already.”
The old boss said, “We go now.”
He helped Jake into the carriage and climbed in it himself too. The others followed per horse.
Jane still kept the girls hostage. Slowly Sara began to understand how Jake and Lucy had suffered under her rule. Jane was just completely crazy and walked laughing waving with sticks of dynamite. Unnoticed Sara and Lucy saw chance to sneak out via the back door. The girls ran away and ran so into the Cartwrights. Bronc stopped the carriage and Jake jumped out of it. Benji dismounted from his horse and with Jake he ran to the girls. Suddenly they heard a gigantic bang. Everybody looked into the direction of the house of Jane that had been exploded by the many sticks of dynamite which were spread all through the house.
When everything was over they went to see how the land did lie. Carefully AC, Josh, Benji and Jacob entered the house where the Miller children had lived. In the living room Josh found quite soon the mortal remains of Jane Miller surrounded by exploded dynamite sticks.
He called to the others, “That woman lies here but her soul has flown away.”
The othwrs came to him.
“That is not only good for Jake and Lucy but for the human race as well. Josh and Benji, you bring her body to the undertaker while we go back home”, said the hand.
That got done.
After Jake and Lucy finally had come to rest at the Ponderosa the Cartwrights again faced a problem. Where did they have to bring the children under? They couldn’t get over their heart to just leave Jake and Lucy to their fate. Therefor they had become too fond of them.
Jake asked, “Can’t we stay here?”
Bronc answered, “For the time being yes but not for good.”
“Grandpa would have said that too. He even would have looked for other family members of yours or otherwise a foster family”, was the comment of AC.
While Sara spent a lot of time with Lucy Josh showed Jake the area of the Ponderosa. So also the graves of his father Hoss and grandpa Ben Cartwright. They dismounted off their horses and walked to the two graves.
Jake read the names and asked, “Were that your father and grandpa?”
“Yes, even though I didn’t know them in person”, answered Josh.
The boys kept watching for a second and continued then their way. Jake was clearly impressed from what Josh had showed him.
Because the inhabitants of the Ponderosa were friends with reporter Fenster Bronc used that to track down other family members of Jake and Lucy.
One evening Fenster came to visit to talk to the children. Earlier that day they were being told about the upcoming visit. Jake sat on the stairs with his sister next to him when there was a knock at the door. Unnoticed Lucy grabbed the hand of Jake. The one who had knocked on the door was Fenster who came a lot and often at the ranch.
The reporter got coffee and asked the children, “So you are Jake and Lucy Miller?”
“As far we know yes”, said Jake.
Everybody laughed. Hereby the ice was broken. Jake and Lucy told Fenster their life story.
“Hereby we hope to track down family members of you”, the reporter said before he left.
Fenster publiced in the local newspaper a series of articles about Jake and Lucy but it didn’t give the wanted result.
The reaction of Lucy was, “Nobody wants to have us.”
“We surely will find a family for you”, said Benji.
The girl refused to believe him but the young Cartwright would be right anyway.
A few days later an elderly couple arrived at the Ponderosa. Jake and AC happen to be outside and they saw the wagon coming.
Jake recognized the driver and called excited and with laughing eyes, “AC, that are my grandparents.”
The boy ran to them followed by AC. He helped the two people off the box.
“Hello Jake. Where is your sister?”, asked Dennis Miller.
“I believe inside. Grandpa, grandma, this is Adam Cartwright jr. AC, these are our grandpa and grandma”, said Jake.
“Dennis and Michelle Miller. Pleased to meet you young man”, said Michelle.
AC gave both a hand and said, “Do come inside. Bronc will tell you everything.”
They went inside, leaving the boys on the porch behind.
Dennis told his story and Bronc his. Lucy was also deliriously glad to see her grandparents again.
She asked, “May we stay by you?”
“That’s why we have come too. We have a ranch in Carson City”, said Dennis.
Outside Jake asked AC, “Have you known the grandpa and grandma from your father’s side?”
“Grandpa yes but not grandma. She died when my father was just born”, AC answered looking a bit absent ahead of him.
After a delicious and strong lunch the Millers said goodbye to the inhabitants of the Ponderosa.
While the new generation Cartwrights watched the departing inhabitants go again was proven that the unity of the Cartwrights couldn’t be broken.