Christmas Mourning

By Beppina

December 23^rd 1863 

The snow was deep, crisp, and even as Joe and Hoss Cartwright made their way gingerly along the top of the ridge leading to Gabrielle’s grandfather’s wooden house. Silence prevailed across the snow-covered mountain. Eagles, residents above this level, seemed to have stayed in the warmth of their nests rather than venture out on this bitterly cold day before Christmas Eve.

Both riders wore thick winter coats, woolly scarves, gloves, and heavy-duty boots. Snowshoes were strapped to the back of their saddles in preparation for the final trek to the house. In this depth of snow, they had no hope of just riding in. Joe, and Hoss, had previously decided they could safely leave their mounts and pack horse beneath a nearby overhang of rocks out of the chill wind and any further flurries. Most importantly to Joe and Hoss, it wasn’t too much of a walk as they would be laden with foodstuffs and Christmas gifts for the old man, Zacharia and his granddaughter, Gabriella.

“Reckon they’ll be surprised to see us Hoss?” Joe twisted in his saddle to speak to his brother trailing behind.

“Sure do, little brother. Can’t be much further now, can it?”

“Nah, just over this ridge and down a way then it’s all on foot.”

“I just hope it’s nice and warm in there. I’m freezin’!”

“Do you reckon Gabrielle will have grown much since last Christmas?” Joe questioned as he pulled Cochise to a halt.

“It’s getting real icy here Hoss, might be better to walk the horses for this bit.”

He slid from the saddle and almost landed on his butt as his feet slipped from under him. Cochise, remaining still, saved him from a wet backside and injured pride. Hoss managed to stifle a grin as he watched from atop Chubb.

“Guess so, Gabrielle is probably as tall as you now!” a chuckle rumbled up from Hoss’s belly as he climbed down to his brother’s level.

“Ha, ha, ha!” came the sarcastic retort, accompanied by a swiftly constructed snowball. 

They pulled on the snowshoes, and with Joe taking the lead, they continued to make their way across the snow-covered ice sheet. The going was very slow as they tried to prevent either themselves or the three mounts from slipping and causing unwanted injuries.

“Hey Joe, how do you think they’ve coped up here on their own?” Hoss asked his brother. He was trying to relax as he ploughed on and was hoping to get Joe to do likewise. The brothers were tense at the enforced walk, and Hoss was conscious that even the slightest slip could be disastrous for them in these conditions.

“Dunno,” came a muted reply, ” I know I wouldn’t like it. Too far from civilisation for me. Hey Hoss, don’t you think it’s a bit too quiet up here?” Joe looked around at the white-covered terrain. The snow absorbed all sound, including the swish of their snowshoes as they moved across the snow. 

Eventually, after securing the horses at the agreed spot and after a half-hour of slipping and sliding on foot, the Cartwright brothers made their way towards the snow-covered house.

“Looks real pretty like this, like something out of one of those stories your Ma used to tell us.” Hoss reminisced.

“Yeah, one of them fairy stories. All glistening like diamonds and the mean ole witch hiding behind the door!”

“Well, we certainly ain’t no little Red Riding Hood!”

The windows were dark, no sign of light showed, the curtains and shutters still open to the elements.

Joe’s laughter rippled around the open space, then stopped.

“There’s something wrong here.” Placing the packages on the ground,  Joe pulled his gun from its holster.

“What’ve you seen Joe?”

“It’s too quiet, and look,” he pointed up to the chimney, “there’s no smoke. There isn’t a fire burning in the house. Come on…”

Moving as quickly as the snowshoes permitted, they crossed the open space, guns ready.

Joe stopped sharply and put his hand up to stop his brother from rushing into the dark and quiet building. Joe moved to one of the windows, put a hand up to reduce the glare and peered in. The room was in darkness, but he saw someone sitting in front of the unlit fireplace. By the fading light, he could see the room was in complete disarray. Chairs upended on the floor along with cushions, books, and covers. The table appeared to have been swiped clear, the china dishes lay shattered in numerous pieces across the floor.

“It’s a mess.” Joe’s only words as he pushed open the already ajar door.

“What the…?” he exclaimed as he stepped into the open doorway.

The smell rolled out on the stale air to greet the brothers.

It was sweet and putrid.

The smell of death.

“Hell Joe!” Hoss exclaimed, clamping a hand over his mouth and nose, “This don’t look good at all.”

Joe edged into the house. He didn’t want to be there but now he had no choice.

He moved across the dark room to the fireplace. The figure sat there unresponsive. Without seeing the face, Joe knew they were dead.  Stepping around the body, he knew it was Gabrielle’s grandfather. The eyes were closed; the mouth hanging open, and human detritus covered the front of the shirt and the floor surrounding the corpse. Joe’s stomach heaved at the sight, he wanted to get outside and throw up, but first, he needed to find the girl. Hoss, meanwhile, had found a lantern with oil and soon got some light to illuminate the room.

“It’s her grandfather,” Joe spoke, “he’s been dead a while. I’ll go check if Gabrielle is in the back.”

Hoss approached the body by the fireplace, one hand covering his nose and the other holding the oil lamp high.

By the glowing light of the lamp, he could see the injuries that had killed Zacharia, the face bore witness to what was a bear attack. Long gouges from forehead to throat caused by razor-sharp claws; similar injuries across his chest and legs, with a massive bite mark on his thigh. If the claws hadn’t killed him, the bite on its own would have caused a mortal bleed out. A dark stain on the floor was dried blood.

“You found her yet?” he called out to his younger brother, hoping beyond hope that somehow she had escaped the bear attack and blood bath.

“In here, Hoss. She’s in here.” Joe’s response was desolate with sadness. Holding the lamp to one side, Hoss picked his way through the debris to the small bedroom. He pushed the door wide and stood at his brother’s side.

The golden-haired girl was sprawled across the bed. Her clothing was ripped to shreds, her body exposed to the brothers’ shocked gaze. She also had massive claw injuries across her whole being. Her arms and legs were deeply gouged. A large chunk of flesh ripped from her torso. Her face too was destroyed by the attack. Gabrielle was barely recognisable as the pretty blonde child they had reunited with her grandfather only a year before.

“Bear attack, a bear attack.” Joe muttered. “They should be hibernating now, how could this happen?” He pulled a blanket over the body to hide it from sight. “What do we do now Hoss?” he asked as he turned and faced his brother with tears very close to the surface.

“Let’s get outside where we can breathe.” Hoss said as he led the way back out into the gathering darkness.

“We need to get away from here, as soon as we can.” Hoss cast an eye around the open space leading across to the forest. “That killer bear could still be about.”

Joe didn’t answer, his eyes on the tree line. One part of him was hoping the bear had disappeared back into the wilds, but another part knew it could still be nearby, watching them and waiting to attack.

“Let’s get back to the horses, we can’t travel tonight an’ I reckon we’ll be safer with them than staying here.” he suggested as he grabbed one of the saddlebags filled with provisions they had brought as gifts.

They rounded the overhang to where the horses had been hidden and sighed with relief at seeing the horses were safe and rested from their wait.

It didn’t take too many minutes to find kindling and some not-too-damp branches to light a fire, and soon they were crouching together, hands above the flames trying to warm up.

“What are we going to do with the bodies Hoss? We can’t bury them, the ground’s frozen solid, an’ we can’t take them down the mountain.” Joe asked as he chewed on a piece of jerky. Neither had fancied the idea of food but had made a pot of coffee to keep them awake and alert. Experience and good sense also told them that the smell of food cooking could bring the bear back as an unwelcome visitor.

Hoss sat thinking; he pulled the collar up tight to his neck, wrapping his thick scarf closer to his throat, one hand clamped around the now hot tin mug.

“We’ll burn it!”

“Burn it? It’ll be too damp with the snow.” Joe frowned at this suggestion

“There’s enough dry stuff in there, if we put them together in the bedroom, get all the dry stuff there too, some oil and set it afire. That’s the best I can think of.”

Joe nodded in agreement. He and Hoss had both been instrumental in Gabrielle going to live with her grandfather on the mountain. They had supported Gabrielle’s argument to go and live with her grandfather, and now both felt guilty for having persuaded their father to agree with them.

“We could go back and do it now,” Joe muted, “then we can get going home at first light. I don’t want to be here any longer than need be.”

“It’ll keep the bear away too,” Hoss conceded. “OK, let’s get it done, little brother.”

Again, they trudged back to the death-filled house.

Both searched for more lamps and gathered up all the dry fabric and paper they could find. Joe yanked the cloth from the wrecked table, together they manhandled the decomposing body from the sofa into the bedroom, and then placed him beside Gabrielle’s body. Turning out a drawer of the girl’s clothing, they covered both bodies and added the wood to the bed.

“I’ll do the oil; you get all the windows open then get outside,” Hoss ordered. Doing as asked, Joe moved from room to room, opened the windows as he went and created a good draught.

“Ready Hoss.” He called out and stepped towards the door,  catching sight of a slip of paper fluttering across the table and grabbed it as he heard the whoosh as the lamp oil caught alight.

“Come on…” he shouted, “let’s get out of here!”

Hoss staggered into the main room as smoke drifted through, and bright orange light flickered against the darkness.

“I’m here…let’s go.”

Together they ran to safety as flames began to lick their way into the rest of the building and smoke poured out through the door.

It took only moments for the timber building to become a roaring inferno. Timbers crackled and popped as the drier wood ignited. A crash, then a shower of sparks burst through a front window as the glass shattered and flames curled their way up the outer walls.

Hours later, the fire began to die down. Eventually, the building was reduced to a smouldering pile.

With smoke rising from the ruins, they trudged back to the waiting horses. Daylight was only an hour away, so they decided to make their way home. The brothers swiftly downed a mug of scalding coffee as they made ready to get on the road. As luck had it, they hadn’t a sight of the bear or seen any signs it was still in the area, but they took all precautions as they began to move down the mountain.

Christmas Eve 1863

The journey down was as hazardous as the journey up. With care, they picked a way through snow drifts and over ice slicks until they reached the lower levels below the snow line. At last, they could pick up speed, aiming to get home before dark, although they knew they would have to break their journey if only to rest and feed the horses. The fact was, they were both tired and were awake all night also had a bearing on their decision.

 Ben and Adam were busy playing host to Roy Coffee and Paul Martin. Because Joe and Hoss had ventured up to collect Gabrielle and her grandfather for Christmas, Ben had invited his two closest friends to spend the holiday in their company.

The living room had become a veritable winter wonderland, filled with pine boughs and cones. Several bright, red-berried branches adorned the fire mantle, while long woolly socks dangled to one side ready for  ‘Santa Clause’ to fill overnight. The Christmas tree was gaily bedecked with glass baubles, old family treasures and popped corn strings, while small candles glittered at the end of many branches. Beneath the tree, parcels of various sizes and colours waited for their distribution on Christmas morning. The staircase had not been forgotten, with green and red ribbons interwoven amongst the spinels. All in all, the room looked and smelt very festive.

Hop Sing had prepared a veritable feast for his boss and guests, with the dining table laden with delicious food at every mealtime, which in turn was devoured with great pleasure by all. 

Christmas Eve dinner was almost ready to serve!

Hop Sing had informed Mister Ben he would be serving in ten minutes, giving all enough time to wash up before eating.

Adam lit the lamp in the office window, a beacon to lost travellers, before making his way to the table.

“Someone riding in Pa.” he called out as he heard horses in the yard.

“Not expecting anyone,” Ben muttered, “I wonder who it could be? Have a look please Adam.”

“It’s Joe and Hoss.” Adam called back as he stepped out to greet the riders. “Joe, Hoss, we weren’t expecting you until tomorrow?”

He caught sight of the still-laden pack horse and wondered at the lack of Gabrielle and her grandfather, “What’s happened?”

Joe just shook his head as he dismounted, ” I’ll tell you later.” his only words. 

Hoss followed as they led the horses into the barn. 

“Could you ask one of the hands to deal with the horses please?” Hoss asked as he stepped up to the door. Adam just looked at him, nodded, and turned to the bunkhouse. 

“Boys, welcome home, we…” Ben moved to greet them. Joe peeled off his coat, hat, and scarf and placed his gun belt on the dresser.

“They’re dead Pa.” He almost whispered as he faced his father, “Gabrielle and her grandpa are dead.”

Roy and Paulstood alongside Ben, shock on their faces.

“What happened?” Roy asked.

Hoss took over from his brother and told the sorry tale. He left out some details, but enough for them to gasp in horror at what had happened. Joe sat on the table, head in his hands as his brother recounted everything.

“We couldn’t bury them Pa, so we burnt the house. We didn’t know what else to do.”

Ben poured Joe and Hoss large brandies and ordered them to drink them down. His sons were to eat, have hot baths and get to bed.  The tragedy would be discussed after they had some sleep.

Both protested they weren’t hungry and certainly not for the rich food prepared and waiting on the table. Instead of forcing the issue, Hop Sing soon rustled up some scrambled eggs with fresh bread and hot drinks to be eaten by the fire.

“I found this, Pa,” Joe handed his father the sheet of paper he’d grabbed at the last minute. “It tells a bit about what happened.”

With a sad look, he turned and left the room.

Ben fixed his gaze on Hoss, “Care to explain, Hoss?”

“Just read it Pa, I’m gonna get cleaned up.”

Adam went to speak, but aglare from his father killed the words before he could say them, he shrugged his shoulders in resignation and took his seat at the table. Roy, and Paul taking the hint, sat at their designated places and waited for Hop Sing to bring out the reheated meal.

Ben tucked the sheet of paper into his shirt pocket. It could wait another hour or so before being read; he had an uncanny feeling that if he read it before the meal, he would not enjoy his food!

After his youngest sons had excused themselves and retired to their bedrooms, Ben sat down with Adam and his friends; the paper on the table beside his glass of brandy.

“Well?” Roy questioned, “Are you going to read it or not?”

Ben held the sheet up, adjusted, drew on his pipe and began to read through the scrawled note, his face went from its normal ruddy tanned colour to pale, then to ghostly white.

“Ben?” Paul spoke, breaking the silence.

“Awful, just awful. That poor girl. What did we do, encouraging her to go with that monster?”

Adam, Roy and Paul sat waiting patiently for Ben’s explanation

“Gabrielle died of starvation. They ran out of food; he couldn’t catch anything, Gabrielle died and he…he…” Ben couldn’t speak, “God forgive us.” His final words as he passed the paper across to Roy.

Roy scanned the page, frowning as he went.

“She passed first, starved to death. Seems he couldn’t hunt for a good while. He fell off the roof an’ broke both legs an’ couldn’t splint ‘em. Managed to keep going for a while then the cold came, couldn’t get enough wood or food. The stock died an’ the bears got the cow an’ chickens.” He shook his head as he carried on reading, “The child passed, he tried to set a trap for rats in the house, an’ failed. He was goin’ to turn cannibal, ‘give me strength’, an’ thought he’d survive, but couldn’t go through with it. He wished he’d taken you up on the offer of the place on the ranch. All too late, much too late.”

Another brandy was poured and consumed. All four sat staring into the blazing log fire. There was nothing anyone could do now for the young blind girl who had turned up at the ranch more than a year previous. They could only mourn her passing and give thanks that Joe and Hoss hadn’t been at the house when the bears had smelt death and come to visit.

Unknown to Ben, Adam, or their friends, Joe had crept into Hoss’s room. There, he perched himself on the end of the big bed, with feet tucked under his nightshirt and a blanket around his shoulders. Hoss sat upright in bed. Neither brother was comfortable putting into words how they felt. Both were still in a state of shock.

“I can’t believe he would do that to Gabrielle,” Joe started, “it doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Me neither little brother, but who knows what you would do if you were that desperate.”

“I think I would rather die than…than…do what he did.”

“I guess when he fell off the roof an’ broke his legs, it just all went wrong, Gabrielle couldn’t go hunting or trapping and I shouldn’t think they had too much put by for winter. You know how he was before, constantly out getting stuff an’ then being stuck inside, he probably gave up trying.” He shook his head at the memory of the old man,” she was so happy to go live with her grandpa, and he was happy to have her with him, gave him something to live for.”

“Guess we’ll never know the whole truth.” Joe stood to return to his room, “I just feel so sorry for them both and what could have been.”

“Me too Joe, me too. Let’s try and get some shut-eye, morning will be here all too quick!”

“I think it’s time to turn in,” Paul said, breaking the silence, “it’s almost Christmas Day, so let’s try not to spoil it by dwelling on what has happened. I doubt we can get up there now and probably won’t be able to for a couple of months. We can’t do anything until then.”

“I doubt I’ll need to,” Roy stated as he scratched at his balding head, “they had no other family so no one to notify. I’ll deal with the paperwork when I get back to town. Just need to get statements from Joe an’ Hoss here to tidy it all up.”

Christmas Day 1863

It was a sleepy, and subdued Joe who was first to come down to the living room. Still dressed in his nightshirt and robe he sat on the table in front of the blazing log fire andwaited for his family to appear. Hoss, closely followed by his father, wandered down, dressed in the same fashion as Joe.

“Merry Christmas Joseph.” he greeted as he flopped onto the settee.

“And to you.”

“Merry Christmas boys!”

“Merry Christmas Pa.” Joe and Hoss greeted in unison.

In the kitchen, Hop Sing was busy cooking breakfast. The smell of fried bacon wafting through to tempt empty stomachs as Ben poured the first coffee of the day. The others, roused by the voices from below and the delicious odour of bacon cooking, soon joined them by the fire and the room echoed with Christmas greetings.

For now, the tragedy would be put to the back of their minds. The Cartwrights, with Hop Sing, Roy, and Paul, would celebrate, albeit subdued, Christmas Day on the Ponderosa.

                                                The End.

Authors notes:

Episode referred to:  Gabrielle  Writer: Anthony Lawrence