"Lizzie, run inside and change your clothes. I need to speak to your grandpa in private. We'll be inside in a few minutes," Adam said as they entered the yard of The Ponderosa.

"All right, Papa," Lizzie said nervously as she climbed down out of the buggy.

"It's all right, honey, you're a good girl." He smiled at her as she ran inside.

Adam turned to Ben who was leaning back against the seat with his arms crossed.

"Pa, I was hoping I might impose on you a bit this evening. I hate that I had to cut Lizzie's fun at the bazaar short. Today's her last day of freedom before school starts and I wanted her to enjoy the day, but I can't have her getting into fist fights." Adam sighed.

"I know, Adam, sometimes it's hard to provide discipline for a child," Ben said, then paused, "especially when you sort of agree with what they did, huh?" Ben arched an eyebrow at Adam.

"Well, yes, I suppose that's true, but I'm not going to raise a child whose first inclination is to sail in with her fists when she gets angry about something."

"Good luck with that, son, I hope you have more success than I did with your brother, Joseph," Ben said wryly.

"That doesn't give me much comfort," Adam said, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I think that the fact that you're raising a girl may help a bit in that direction, although, I do think you may need to get tougher on her if it happens again," Ben said shaking his head. "As much as I hate to say it."

"I know, Pa," Adam said, staring off into space and thinking about Lizzie. "She does need to control her impulses and I guess I'm hoping she'll learn to do that without some stern motivation from me in that area. This has been a hard one since she comes by her temper honestly."

"Ah, you always seem to give Lizzie just what she needs and I have confidence that you'll do the same in this situation," Ben clapped him on the shoulder, then changed the subject. "You had said you had a favor you wanted to ask?"

"Yes, Pa," Adam said snapping out of his reverie. "I've asked the Masons to dinner tonight and since I didn't want today to end without some sort of fun for Lizzie, I was hoping you might take Lizzie and Jenny up to that cave the bats use. I think it's about the right time of year to see the bats fly out and I think she and Jenny and whoever else might like to go would enjoy that. You'd have to go up on horseback or I'd take her myself. Would you be willing to take her, Pa?"

"Of course I would, Adam. I think Hoss and Joe should be home in time to go along as well. I'm sorry that your arms won't allow you to come along. I think it's a fine idea."

"Thanks, Pa. I'll go in and tell her," Adam said as he climbed down out of the buggy, giving his father a grin.

Adam walked through the kitchen to let Hop Sing know that there would be guests for dinner, then came into the main room and took a seat in his chair, just as Lizzie came down the stairs.

"Lizzie, honey, come over here, I want to talk to you," Adam said quietly.

When Lizzie drew near, he pulled her into his lap.

"Lizzie we've already talked about you not starting any fights, and I want to be sure you know that you are never, ever to throw the first punch," Adam said firmly.

"I know, Papa," Lizzie said nodding.

"Good…" Adam said and arched an eyebrow keeping her gaze until she finally looked down at her hands.

"I was also thinking about tomorrow," Adam said after a moment, "and I think it would be best if you and I stop by the Phillips' house before school so that you can make your apologies. Do you think that's a good idea?"

Lizzie swallowed deeply and didn't take her eyes off her hands.

"Lizzie," Adam said softly, "have you changed your mind about apologizing?"

"No, Papa," Lizzie said, twisting her hands in her lap.

"Then, what?" Adam asked.

"I'm just nervous. I wish I could have apologized today and have it over with," Lizzie said, glancing up at him through her eyelashes.

"I know, honey, it's always harder the longer you wait, but I think it would be easier than waiting until school and you can make your apologies to both Mrs. Phillips and Jimmy," Adam said kissing the top of her head. "All right?"

When Lizzie nodded, Adam said, "Good. Now about tonight…"

"Tonight?" Lizzie asked, looking up at him quickly.

"Yes," Adam said with a smile, "I didn't want the summer to end without one more good memory, so I've asked the Masons to supper and your grandpa said that he would take you to the bat cave. Does that sound like fun?"

"Really?" Lizzie asked happily and hugged him, "will you come too?"

"I can't, Lizzie, my arms aren't healed enough to let me ride up there, but Grandpa will go and maybe your Uncle Joe or your Uncle Hoss, along with Jenny and I expect Mr. Mason will want to go too."

"I love you!" Lizzie said with abandon, hugging him tighter.

"I love you too!" Adam said just as enthusiastically. "Now, go get busy with your chores so they'll be done before our guests arrive, all right?"

Lizzie jumped out of his lap and ran out the door without another word.


The Mason's arrived late in the afternoon and Lizzie and Jenny quickly ran off to the barn, leaving the adults with barely a word.

"You'd think that hadn't seen each other in years," Jim Mason laughed.

"I think Lizzie needs to be reminded of how to greet guests," Ben said with a growl.

"Oh, Pa, she knows the Masons aren't guests, they're family," Adam said with a smile as he took Lily's arm. "Besides it's been almost half a day since Lizzie saw Jenny, they need some time to catch up."

"Hey, Will," Hoss said, squatting down, "you wanna go see some horses? We got a pretty little filly who's just waiting for an apple from you."

"Can I, Ma?' Will asked earnestly.

"Of course," Lily said she said as she ruffled his hair and then allowed Adam to lead her into the house.

Jenny and Lizzie had run into the barn and up into the loft to see Lady's kittens.

"How old are they?" Jenny asked as they began picking each one up and playing with them.

"Dunno, three weeks maybe?"

"Do you think I could have one?" Jenny asked as she picked up a tortoise shell colored one.

"Yes, if your folks say you can, Papa won't let me keep any of them. He says that we only get to have one cat," Lizzie sighed.

"Are you in big trouble with your papa? I saw that he made you sit under the tree. My pa told me I wasn't allowed to go talk to you, but I sure was glad that you gave that bully, Jimmy Phillips, what he had coming to him."

"Papa was pretty upset at me for stomping on Jimmy's feet…" Lizzie said shyly.

"Did he spank you?" Jenny asked quietly.

"No," Lizzie said with a blush, "but he said if I get into a fight again he will.

"My ma and pa doesn't want me to get into fights either, but I just hate that Jimmy Phillips. I'll bet we could get him into trouble once school starts."

"I don't know Jenny, I don't want to get into trouble because of him, but it would be fun to see" Lizzie said with a quiet giggle.

"Not big trouble, just something small. I'll bet we could think of something and if we get caught we can say it was just a joke."

"Getting Jimmy into trouble and then lying about it is not the best plan I've ever heard, Jenny." They heard a male voice say.

Lizzie and Jenny both looked quickly towards the ladder leading into the loft and saw Joe's head popping up.

"Hi, Uncle Joe," Lizzie said, blushing.

"Hi," Joe said with a frown, "planning how you'd like to get even with someone is all right. I used to do it myself when someone got me angry enough, but it's a far cry from actually doing it. It's double the trouble for you two: get in trouble at school and get in trouble at home, right Lizzie?"

"I guess," Lizzie said, staring at the floor.

"You guess?" Joe asked in an angry tone.

"Yes, Uncle Joe, I've never gotten into trouble at school. We were just talking," Lizzie whined.

Well, you two better be sure it never goes farther than just talking," Joe said staring at them with a frown. "Now, supper's ready, time to come down and wash up."

"Yes, Sir," the girls said together as they watched his head disappear down the ladder. Jenny and Lizzie glanced at each other and waited a few moments to be sure that Joe was out of the barn before they climbed down the ladder.

They washed their hands at the pump in the yard and ran inside to find the adults moving towards the table.

"Come on girls," Ben said as he took a seat. As they approached the table, they both saw Joe frowning at them and they ducked their heads as they took their seats.

"We are just so pleased that you could come to join us," Ben said heartily.

"We always enjoy coming out to The Ponderosa, Ben," Lily said with a smile. "The children always have such a good time here."

"Well, we have special plans after dinner tonight. I thought the girls might like to go up to a cave nearby and watch the bats fly out. There are so many, it darkens the sky," Adam said.

"Oh, that sounds fun," Jenny said, nudging Lizzie and giggling. "I've never seen a bat up close."

The conversation turned to animals they had seen and wanted to see and soon dinner was over.

"Well, I guess it's time to head off to the cave and see if we can catch the fly out," Ben said putting his hands on the table and standing up.

"I'll clear the table for you tonight, Lizzie," Adam whispered.

Lizzie looked up at him with a huge smile, "Thanks, Papa," she reached over to hug him.

"You're welcome, go and have a good time!"

"Will and I will be happy to help with that chore too, Adam, since we'll be staying here with you," Lily said as she stood and started to collect the plates.

"You're a guest, Lily, I can handle it," Adam said coming around to take the plates out of her hands and giving her a smile. "Perhaps you'd like to find a game that Will might like to play, since it will be just the three of us. There are some over by the fireplace." He indicated the direction with his head and then turned to go into the kitchen.

"Ma, I want to go see the bats," Will said vehemently.

"Oh, Will," Lily said shaking her head, "I don't know."

"I want to go too!" Will whined. "Pa, tell her I can go! You'd let me go, won't you?"

Jim took a big breath and sighed before he said, "Will, your mother always makes good decisions for you, so I am sure whatever she decides I will agree with."

"But I want to go," Will said as he threw himself back into a dining room chair.

Jim walked over and picked Will up. Taking the seat himself, he settled Will into his lap.

"Son, I'm going to tell you a secret. Your mother is still making up her mind about whether or not she is going to let you go," Jim said and glanced up at Lily. "The secret is that whining, almost always will result in a no. What I suggest is that you go over and ask your ma very politely if you can go and remind her that your pa is going to be there and will keep a sharp eye out for you. All right?"

Will nodded and climbed out of his lap and walked over to his mother.

"Ma, please can I go?" He begged. "Pa said he'd be there…" Will finished with a bit of a whine.

Lily reached out to stroke his cheek, before she said with a soft smile, "Well, since your pa's going to be there, I supposed it will be all right, but I expect you to stay with him the whole time and not stray. Promise?" Lily asked glancing up at Jim as she said it.

"Yes, Ma. I promise! Thank you!" He jumped up and down and ran over to where his father was still seated at the table. "Ma said I could go! I just have to stay with you."

"Wonderful!" Jim said excitedly. "We'll stick together just like she asked, right?" He looked up at Lily and winked.

"Right!"

"Well, now that that's settled, let's load up," Ben said with a smile.

They walked outside to find that Joe had three horses saddled and ready to go.

"Where's Blaze?" Lizzie asked.

"I think it's best that we ride together tonight. It will be getting dark by the time we come back and I don't think you're quite ready to ride at night yet, Lizzie. You'll ride with me, Jenny can ride with your Uncle Joe and Jim, if you feel comfortable you and Will can ride together?"

"That sounds fine, Ben, I think I can sit a horse well enough," Jim said, picking Will up and depositing him in the saddle.

"It isn't far and the trail is clear, so you shouldn't have any trouble at all," Ben said, picking up Lizzie and putting her in the saddle.

Jenny hung back a bit when she realized she would be riding with Joe. He gave her a smile and after swinging her into the saddle, he mounted up behind her. "You don't need to worry," he whispered, "I don't intend to scold you further about what I over heard in the barn. It was between us and I won't mention it again as long as nothing happens to Jimmy. All right?"

Jenny nodded tensely, but when Joe patted her leg she relaxed back against him and enjoyed the short ride to the cave.

They dismounted and got settled just as the bats began to slowly exit the cave. It soon became a sea of black bodies flying and swooping and turning in the twilight sky. Everyone was mesmerized with the display and were so taken with how many bats there were that they didn't realize it was slowing and then stopping.

"I want to go inside," Lizzie announced eagerly.

"All right," Ben said, "you'll need to tie my neckerchief around your mouth and nose, so that you don't breath in any of the dust."

"I want to go too!" Jenny said, looking at her father who nodded.

"All right," Jim said, pulling his handkerchief out of his pocket to tie around her face.

"Joseph, the lantern is on my saddle horn, so you can take the girls," Ben said.

"Yes, Sir, Pa," Joe said lighting the lantern, then tying his own neckerchief around his mouth and nose, "The bats will think we're coming to hold them up!" He said with a laugh as he looked around at the two girls, who laughed nervously.

"I want to go too!" Will said loudly.

"No, Sir," John said, "We promised your ma that we'd stick together and I'm not going into that cave."

"But Jenny gets to go!"

"Yes, she gets to go, but you and I will be staying out here. You don't want to break our promise to your ma do you?"

"No," Will said grumpily.

"Good man," Jim said heartily.

Jenny was glad the handkerchief covered her mouth because she smiled in relief that Will wasn't coming. She thought it was better that it was just she and Lizzie who were going to go. She loved her little brother, but sometimes he was a pest.

Ben, Jim and Will watched the three of them walk slowly to the cave and watched the light disappear as they went inside. About ten minutes later they emerged, removing the neckerchiefs from their faces and smiling.

"What did you see? Was it fun?" Jim asked eagerly as they drew closer.

"There were a couple of bats and lots of babies!" Lizzie said excitedly.

"They were all over the ceiling!" Jenny said excitedly. "That's why we didn't stay very long, we didn't want to upset the babysitters."

"Babysitters?" Ben asked.

"That's what Mr. Cartwright called them," Jenny giggled. "He said that he thought there were probably a few adults who stayed to watch the babies while the parents are out on a date." She giggled again.

"Well, he may very well be right," Ben said, getting to his feet. "We should probably head back though, since tomorrow is a school day."

"Ah, did you have to remind us?" Lizzie said sadly.

"Sorry, Lizzie," Ben said tousling her hair and putting her up in the saddle.

They rode quickly back to The Ponderosa and after a few good byes and thank yous the Masons loaded up in their buggy to head back to town.

Hop Sing had prepared a bath for Lizzie and Adam quickly had Lizzie bathed and in bed.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Adam asked as he pulled the covers up.

"Yes, Papa, thank you for inviting Jenny over and for letting me go see the bats."

"You're welcome, Honey, I'm glad you had such a good time. Good night," he said, kissing her cheek, "pleasant dreams and I'll see you in the morning."

Lizzie dutifully closed her eyes, but as she thought about her day, she began to worry about what her Uncle Joe has said to Jenny and her in the barn. She had seen how reticent Jenny had been to ride with her Uncle Joe at first, but she had seemed to get over it so Lizzie thought it was probably over and done with, but the more she thought about it the more worried she got. Lizzie tossed and turned for over an hour before she finally got up to find her Uncle Joe.

"Uncle Joe?" Lizzie said quietly as she stood in his doorway.

Joe looked up at Lizzie in her white nightgown and messed hair and said, "What are you doing up? You should have been asleep an hour ago."

"I know, but can I talk to you?"

Joe frowned, "Of course, what's wrong?" He beckoned with his hand for her to come into the room.

Lizzie slowly closed the door and took a couple of steps into the room.

"It must be serious if you're closing the door," Joe said with a slight smile.

"Are you mad at me?" Lizzie asked, looking at him intently.

"Mad at you, why do you think I'm mad at you?"

"Because of what happened in the barn…" Lizzie said, staring at the floor.

"Come over there, Lizzie," Joe said, putting his pencil down. "No, I'm not mad at you, you haven't done anything wrong."

"Then how come I feel guilty?" She asked, walking over to him and allowing him to pull her up on his knee.

"Because you are a sweet girl, Lizzie and your conscience is bothering you. You're not the type to take your temper out on people like you and Jenny were talking about."

"But I get in trouble with Papa about my temper all the time," Lizzie said, looking up at him with questioning eyes.

"It's true, you do have that Cartwright temper, but what I'm talking about is planning to do something unkind as opposed to your temper flashing and you saying something you shouldn't. You and Jenny were talking about planning something mean to do to Jimmy Phillips, weren't you?" When Lizzie dropped her head and stared at the buttons on his shirt, Joe gently lifted her chin to draw her eyes back to him and continued. "That you thought about intentionally getting Jimmy Phillips in trouble because you're angry about the way her treated Sally is what's bothering your conscience. It's vengeful and you are too kind a person to want to take revenge like that. Aren't you?"

Lizzie nodded.

"Like I told you in the barn, I have thought the same sorts of things and I always felt bad about myself for thinking them and when I acted on them, I felt even worse."

Lizzie's eyes opened wider, "You acted on them?"

"I'm not proud to say it, Lizzie, but I've taken revenge on people and it still bothers me. You don't want to go down that path, Honey. I've found, as I have gotten older, that life has a way of taking care of the Jimmys of the world. It's always better to not act on those feelings. You're much wiser than I was, Lizzie, your conscience is bothering you and you already don't want to get even with Jimmy, do you?"

"No, not really, but he was just so mean to Sally."

"Trust me, honey, Jimmy's not going to get away with behaving like that. At some point in his life, he'll pay for it and you won't have to do a thing. You've got a good conscience and it's a good thing that you're listening to it," Joe set her on her feet, "Now, do you think you can get to sleep? Do you feel better?"

"Yes, Uncle Joe, as long as you're not mad with me," Lizzie said as she reached out to hug him.

"I am not angry with you," He reassured her. "Do you want me to tuck you in?"

"No, I can do it," Lizzie said as she let go of his neck.

"All right, sleep well and I'll see you in the morning. I love you," Joe said turning back to his desk and picking up his pencil.

"I love you too."

Lizzie left his room and was making her way back to her own, when Adam came up the stairs.

"What are you doing out of bed? It's late," Adam said with a frown.

"I know, Papa. I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep and I needed to talk to Uncle Joe," Lizzie said, avoiding his eyes.

"It couldn't wait until morning?" Adam asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No, Papa, I couldn't have slept," Lizzie said ashamedly.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Adam asked, cupping her face.

"No, Papa," Lizzie said, turning to go into her room.

"Are you sure?" Adam asked following her and lifting the bed covers so she could climb in.

"I'm sure," Lizzie said, snuggling down into the pillows and looking up at him.

Adam raised an eyebrow and looked at her for a long while, before he said, "All right, sleep well."

He leaned down to kiss her and left the room, closing the door behind him, then walked down the hall to Joe's room.

"Hey, Joe, Lizzie said she was in here talking to you. Is there anything I need to know?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, Adam. Lizzie just had something that she wanted to discuss with me," Joe said, not looking up for his paperwork.

"She seemed to be a little ashamed about something. She hasn't done something wrong has she?"

"No, Adam and if she had, I would be telling you about it. You're her Papa and you need to know about those times that she's gotten herself in trouble. I have always told you when she's stepped out of line and this time is no different. What we discussed isn't something you need to know about," Joe met Adam's eyes directly and didn't look away.

"All right," Adam said with a sigh, "I'll trust your judgment on that."

"Curiosity killed the cat, big brother," Joe said with a grin, as he turned back to his desk.

"Indeed," Adam said, once again raising his eyebrow and grimacing before leaving and closing the door quietly behind him.