APRIL 1

To pull his brothers their legs Adam Cartwright had thought a very sneaky plan. Via a befriended drawer the eldest Cartwright boy had made a wanted poster of his two younger brothers.

Sheriff Clem Foster didn’t know what he saw when he was passing by his office. The authority-carrier of Virginia City stopped to read the poster well.

“Hoss and Joe have robbed a bank robbery Here in Virginia City? I don’t believe it but they are up to it anyway”, Clem said to himself.

He grabbed his horse and rode to the Ponderosa.

On the way Clem ran into Adam.

“Adam, did you know that your little brothers have robbed the bank of Virginia City? There hangs a wanted poster near my office with their heads on”, said the sheriff.

“I have made that poster to pull their legs. If you play the game along with me you share into the fun”, Adam replied smiling.

The sheriff looked at him questionable.

“You just go to the ranch and speaks with them about the bank robbery. Then you take them down to your office. Then they get locked up until they get raved. I will come and get them by evening time”, said Adam.

Clem asked, :“You know what date it is today?”

Adam nodded and replied, “That’s why.”

The gentlemen rode away from each other.

At the ranch of the Cartwright family the brothers Hoss and Little Joe were sitting on the porch laughing and talking.

“Joe, what would you do if you would get off found suddenly a large sum of money?”, asked the eldest of the couple whom was Hoss.

“Take all beautiful ladies in the area out to dinner. What would you do with it?”, Little Joe wanted to know.

“I would start a restaurant with it because then I am the best customer myself”, was the reply of Hoss.

“And hire Hop Sing as a cook for sure? Then you would hear pa”, his brother laughed.

“Pa may serve as washing-up helper ”, howled Hoss.

Both brothers were rolling on the floor laughing. So bad that they didn’t even saw that Clem had rode upon the yard and was looking seriously at them.

“Finished with laughing gentlemen Cartwright?”, asked the sheriff.

“Err what Clem?”, Hoss asked amazed.

Little Joe too looked amazed at the visitor.

“Would the gents now like to mount on their horses for to go with me to?”, asked Clem.

“Clem, we always go with you. You are a good friend of ours. You know that”, Little Joe said while he got up.

“I know that indeed”, sighted Clem.

Hoss mounted on his horse, just like his brother. They left the yard and rode in a quick tempo to town.

Out of pre-caution Adam had removed the wanted poster and hung it up at the office of the sheriff. When the brothers Cartwright and the sheriff arrived in town Adam was already in the Silver Dollar Saloon. In front of him stood a filled glass of beer. From where he was standing Adam saw his brothers going into jail. He turned around and enjoyed the gold yellow liquid.

“Clem, why did we actually have to be here. Are you lonesome as a sheriff?”, Hoss asked amazed.

“He just needs our genius support to be able to solve the crime in Virginia City”, joked Little Joe.

They started to laugh again.

“Very funny boys. I dare to bet that you won’t be laughing anymore in your working room”, Clem said dry.

He got the keys of a cell and pushed the boys into a cell. Here after he locked the door.

“Keep working boys”, the sheriff said smiling.

Just then the brothers realized that they had fallen into it.

“Why are we here?”, groaned Hoss.

Little Joe had become so angry that he couldn’t think of anything sense.

“I have never arrested two bank robbers so easily before”, said Clem.

“Which bank have we robbed then?”, Little Joe asked furiously.

“The bank in this town”, was the answer.

“We haven’t done that!”, said Little Joe.

“Are these then your twin brothers?”, asked Clem asked while he showed the poster.

Both brothers were quiet at once. They looked at each other and thought the same thing.

“Dadburnit. That brother of ours is behind this”, groaned Hoss.

“Adam? That sounds unlikely to me. He would never do such a thing”, reacted Clem.

“Hoss, you must admit that we have giving him a hard time lately”, said Little Joe.

“That is so but then he doesn’t have to get back at us like this”, his brother reacted.

Clem left the brothers alone in the cell and went to do his round.

In the saloon Clem ran into Adam.

“Your brothers are furious because they are in jail”, said the sheriff.

“Nice. Then at least they cannot get into any trouble”, reacted Adam.

“That’s true”, assented Clem.

The sheriff went ahead.

At four o’clock Adam left the saloon to pick up his brothers. Near the prison he heard them raving against everything which was loose and fastened.

He went inside and said to Clem, “I come to get the prisoners.”

“Finally. I thought you would never come to get them”, said the sheriff.

He got up and walked to the cell.

“You may go”, said Clem.

“Why? Do you finally understand that we are innocent??”, asked Hoss.

“You are just as innocent as Santa in the summer”, said Clem.

They walked to the office and saw a smiling Adam sitting.

“What are you sitting there so smiling? Because of you we have wasted a whole afternoon by sitting in the cell”, raved Little Joe.

“You really are as stupid as you look like. Don’t you know what date it is today?”, asked their brother.

“No, just you tell us that then”, Little Joe asked inpatient.

“It is April 1 today. Are you coming home?”, Adam asked cheerful.

There was nothing else to be done for the brothers than to go along. Grumbling Hoss and Little Joe rode with Adam back home where their father Ben waited for them.