Before Harry Wallace went to golf he assigned the task of supervising his two younger sons, Paul and Brian, to Jarod, who was eighteen years of age.
Both Paul, who was just twelve months younger than Jarod and Brian, who had just turned fourteen, were given firm instructions that they were to mow the lawns and to clean the back yard and that their brother would be responsible to see that the job was done satisfactorily.
However, when Harry arrived home exhausted at the end of a long day on the golf course he was confronted with a problem and he was certainly not in the frame of mind to tolerate such a situation.
He saw that neither of the two boys had completed the tasks he had assigned them as a punishment for their misbehaviour during the past week.
Jarod was already in bed watching television and Paul had just come out of the shower. Brian was nowhere to be seen.
"Paul. I left you and Brian a job to do today and it's not done. Why and where is Brian?" their father asked.
"I don't know," the boy replied.
"Great, I leave you to do a job as punishment for disobedience and we have even more disobedience around here. Get Jarod in here immediately."
"Yes, Sir."
Paul summoned his elder brother and the two lads stood sheepishly in front of their father. Jarod, who had been responsible for supervising the two boys was asked for an explanation.
Before he could even speak, Brian came in the door, clad in his football gear and carrying his football.
"And just where have you been, young man? It's after eight o'clock. You're not supposed to be out this late."
"I've been at the park, Dad, playing football."
"And what should you and Paul have been doing?"
"We were supposed to clean the yard, Sir," Brian replied.
"It doesn't look too clean to me. In fact, it doesn't look as though you've done a thing."
Addressing Paul, he asked why he didn't have the sense to commence the work on his own rather than waiting for Brian to come home.
"I kept expecting Brian to come back, Sir," he replied and added in a rather hesitant tone, "and I didn't see why I should do it on my own."
"I think it might have been a little more sensible if you had started. At least you wouldn't be in trouble now as well."
"And what do you have to say about this, Son," he asked, addressing Jarod. "I put you in charge to supervise and I expected you to at least act responsibly and do the task I gave you!"
"Brian asked me if he could go to the park for a while and promised he would be back by lunch time, so I said they could wait until after lunch to start the work," Jarod replied.
"And this is after lunch time?" he asked. "Your brother has just come home!"
"I told them if the work wasn't finished it would be their own fault if they were punished." Jarod said.
"I think it's time you all had a good dose of punishment. I'm quite sure you know my attitude to disobedience and the consequences for disobedience."
"Why, me?" asked Jarod. "It wasn't my fault Brian didn't come home."
"No, but as I explained to you, it was your fault you allowed him to go out in the first place. You were put in charge and your sense of responsibility stinks! Or wouldn't you agree, Jarod?"
"But I tried, Dad."
"You might have tried, but quite obviously not well enough. The three of you are going to get a _d_a_m_n_ good hiding. You, Paul and Brian for not doing what you were told and also you, too, Jarod. If I give you a job to do, I expect you to do it properly. You're supposed to be adult but you still behave like a child and that's why you're going to be punished like a child. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Brian, you can strip to your briefs. Paul, as you've just come out of the shower, I think you're really going to feel this thrashing, aren't you, boy?"
"Jarod, go and get me both the cane and the whip and we'll start with you as an example. As for you two, I trust you can understand that it's basically your fault that Jarod's going to be flogged."
There was no doubt that the three of them were regretting the added disobedience that had occurred.
Harry Wallace loved his sons dearly but he was determined, for their own good, that it was most necessary for them to learn obedience.
From experience, both he and the boys knew that the best way to learn obedience was for them to be given a good flogging across the bare buttocks.
The cane was a metre length strip of relatively thick but flexible bamboo and the leather whip, whilst slightly shorter, was about eight centimetres wide and split into four supple thongs at the receiving end.
The pain was excruciating, but providing it was given severely and in sufficient quantity, the results were generally lasting and most effective. Whenever it was necessary to give the boys punishment, Harry always ensured that it was given with sufficient intensity.
The boys were frequently given both a caning and a whipping to emphasise the punishment but on occasions, the lads would be given a choice. If the caning were to be chosen by the boys for their punishment, although it would be a solid punishment, they would be given twice as many strokes as it was considered to be much less severe than the leather whip.
The three boys dreaded the coming punishment!
Jarod returned quickly with the the whip and the cane and placed both on the dining room table. He was instructed to remove his boxer shorts. He did so instantly and stood at attention awaiting the next command.
"Fifteen strokes of the whip or would you prefer the cane?" Jarod was asked.
"I'll take the whipping, please, Sir."
First, it meant fifteen less strokes, but secondly as the eldest, he felt obliged to set an example and to take the more severe punishment.
Jarod handed his father the whip and then immediately approached the table. He spread his feet apart as far as possible so his buttocks would take the full force of the flogging and he bent down low across the table.
"Paul. Brian. Witness your brother's punishment!"
They waited for what seemed line an eternity whilst his father repeatedly flexed the whip and then gently positioned the split ends across his son's bottom, ready to take aim and to commence the beating.
He drew the whip back high over his shoulders in readiness for the first stroke. It flew through the air culminating in a loud thwack as the four supple thongs of leather were laid to rest across Jarod's naked bottom.
It was the custom for the recipient to count the punishment and as it flayed across Jarod's buttocks, the lad called, "One, Sir."
And so the flogging continued. . . "Two, Sir. . . Three, Sir. . . Four, Sir. . . Five, Sir. . . Six, Sir."
Jarod realised that the next stroke lacked the intensity of the earlier lashes and knew that if he didn't advise his father, he could be in for a caning as well.
"Sir, the last stroke needs to be repeated," he advised his father.
His father paused, and again lightly flexed the whip before it again cut across the boy's buttocks.
"Seven, Sir. . . Eight, Sir. . . Nine, Sir. . . Ten, Sir. . . Eleven, Sir. . . Twelve, Sir. . . Thirteen, Sir. . . Fourteen, Sir. . . . Fifteen, Sir."
"Get up, now, Son and put your shorts back on."
"Thank you, Sir. Next time you put me in charge I'll do a better job."
Jarod stood in immense pain as the four thongs had each torn savagely at his flesh on no less than sixteen occasions. His buttocks were raw.
"Now, observe your brothers' punishments. Paul, what's it to be the cane or the whip?"
"If Jarod can take a whipping, I can too, Sir."
"Then remove the towel and get over the table!"
"Do I get the same, Sir?"
"Yes, boy. Fifteen lashes."
And so Paul dropped the towel and bent as low as he could over the dining room table.
The lad counted each stroke as the whip savagely lashed across his buttocks.
"One, Sir. . . Two, Sir. . . Three, Sir. . . Four, Sir. . . .Five, Sir. . . Six, Sir. . . Seven, Sir. . . Eight, Sir."
He lasted just eight strokes before he screamed as the four leather thongs struck his bare backside.
"Paul. Do you want to change to the cane? You may if you wish."
"No, Sir," the boy replied. "I've only get seven more lashes and if you change to the cane I'll have fourteen to go. I'd prefer to complete the punishment with the whip but I'm sorry, Dad. It hurts so much I just can't stop yelling."
"Well, you'd better try, Son, or you'll have no choice but to take a caning."
"I'll do my best," the boy replied and held his breath as he awaited the next blow.
And so the punishment continued. Fifteen strokes of the whip in fact meant sixty cuts with one of the end thongs and he felt every one of them! The last two strokes were so severe that the leather thongs had cut into his skin.
"Punishment is completed. You may get up now, Paul," his father advised.
Although Paul was 17 years old and with a solid build, he was totally unable to take a good flogging without breaking into tears. His reaction was certainly of no help to Brian who knew he was next in line for punishment.
"Thank you, Dad," said Paul as he stood. "I'm sorry for my disobedience. It won't happen again."
"I certainly hope not, Paul. Because the next time I see any sign of disobedience you can expect exactly the same sort of treatment again. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Now, your turn young Brian. Briefs off, please. How do you want your punishment?"
"How many am I going to get, Dad?"
"Twelve, Son."
"May I have half the punishment with the cane and the other half with the whip, please?"
"You may, but that will mean six strokes of the whip and twelve cuts of the cane. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Right, Brian. We'll start with the caning. Get yourself over the table," commanded his father.
Brian bent low and held the other side of the table to steady himself. The cane was gently positioned across his buttocks and then the blows commenced. The cane swished across his buttocks, and the lad commenced the count.
"One, Sir. . . Two, Sir. . . Three, Sir. . . Four, Sir."
Jarod and Paul stood at attention, observing their young brother's punishment, as instructed. They were impressed that the boy had not yet audibly screamed; yet they knew he was screaming 'on the inside'.
Jarod really felt for Brian, who was so much younger than himself."
"Dad," he interrupted. "How about just giving Brian the whipping and I'll take the rest of the caning for him? I don't think he can take another eight cuts of the cane as well."
"If Jarod is willing to take part of his punishment, I'd like to take part of it, too," added Paul.
"All right, then. Four cuts each. O. K. ?"
"Yes, Sir," both boys agreed.
"Get up, Brian. I'll give you your whipping after your brothers take the rest of your caning.
"Sir, it's my fault. I'll take the rest of the punishment," Brian pleaded. They've both been whipped already."
"Oh, get up before I change my mind and I cane the three of you!"
The two eldest boys again stripped and, in turn, each was called to the table to receive four very heavy cuts of the cane on the bare buttocks.
For both of them, the punishment was extremely painful as their buttocks were so tender after their whipping.
Nevertheless, they took this additional punishment for the sake of their younger brother.
Following this additional punishment, Brian was told to resume his position over the dining room table as his father reached for the whip. Having avoided such a large part of his caning, his father was determined to really lay in with the whip so the boy would learn from his punishment.
Brian took a strong lashing with the whip, crying uncontrollably as he counted each of the six strokes.
Punishment completed, the boy stood and thanked his father. He also apologised for his disobedience and he thanked his brothers profusely for taking part of his punishment.
"It was my fault that we were all punished tonight and I'm really sorry," he said.
To make amends for his misbehaviour Brian was instructed by his father to complete the cleaning of the yard entirely by himself.
He was warned that if he slipped up this time, he would take all the punishment himself. But the lesson he had learnt was long lasting and ensured that he did the job perfectly.
As for Jarod, the eldest, he was determined that whenever left in charge again, he would ensure that everything was carried out to his father's satisfaction.