When the family reached the Ponderosa after church, Adam helped Hoss and Joe take care of the horses and alerted his brothers to what was going to happen after dinner. They agreed that Cat saying something about wanting to go back to Dodge and why while the rest of the family was there was a good idea.

Once dinner was finished and everyone was in the great room, Cat climbed into Hoss' lap. He hugged her and she leaned back and smiled at him. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly and said, "Uncle Matt, I want to go back to Dodge with you and Miss Kitty."

Ben got angry at Cat's statement and started to get up out of his chair. Victoria was sitting next to him, put her hand on his arm and said, "Sit down and listen to what your daughter has to say. She's not acting like a spoiled child who isn't getting her way. She has a legitimate complaint and needs to be heard."

"Why do you want to come back to Dodge with me Cat?" replied Matt.

"Because I'm tired of being treated like a baby. Pa doesn't love me and I don't think he even wants me here. I can't go anywhere or do anything by myself. I'm surprised he lets me dress myself and doesn't cut my meat up before I eat it. The only places I know how to get on the Ponderosa are our fishing spot on Lake Tahoe, the place where my mama, daddy, and Aunt Marie are buried, and the ice skating pond. Right now, I can follow the tracks and find the mountain where we go sledding but I won't be able to find it after the snow melts. I don't know why Santa brought me ice skates and a sled because I won't be allowed to use them after everybody goes home. When we were hunting yesterday, I asked Adam why nobody will show me around the Ponderosa and he said because Pa doesn't want them to. Adam, Hoss, and Joe showed me how to get to one of the pastures one day and Pa got mad at them. He wasn't even going to let me go to the fall festival and I got my best ever grade on an arithmetic test. He lied to Grandpa about not knowing there were kids games and a horse race because he didn't want to go so he didn't want Grandpa to go so I couldn't go. All of the posters in town talked about the kids games and the race. Also, once it's spring, I'm going to be home alone all the time and I don't want to be. I won't be able to go anywhere because nobody will be here to say I can."

"Pa loves ya Punkin," said Hoss, hugging her. "He just has a funny way of showin' it, that's all. He wants ya here and so do all of us."

The visiting family members became angry with Ben. "Cat has been home since mid August," said Matt. "Why doesn't she know how to get around? Why don't you want anyone showing her how to get to different places on the ranch and why didn't you want her going to the fall festival?"

"I'm just trying to keep you from getting hurt Sweetheart," replied Ben.

"But you make me go to church and school and I got hurt at both places. You were there when Mrs. Warren hurt me after church and it's your fault that Tommy, Billy, Richie, and the other boys hurt me."

"I know that and I'm sorry that Mrs. Warren hurt you. I should have been in the buggy with you instead of sitting on the church steps talking to Reverend Long. I know I shouldn't have made you ride double to school with me that day and I'm sorry I did. I feel like going to school with you just to keep you from getting hurt again."

Cat tensed up at Ben's words and started getting angry so Hoss hugged her tightly. "Take it easy," he whispered. "Take deep breaths and let everyone else handle Pa."

"That is a very poor excuse Benjamin," said his sister. "You can't be with children every moment of the day and you can't keep them from getting hurt."

"If you're so worried about Cat getting hurt, why do you make her go to church and school when she's been hurt both places?" asked Rip.

"I make her go to church and school because they are important."

"So is learning your way around where you live and having fun with your friends," said Andy. "If you remember, my mother was told she couldn't have any more children after I was born but my parents never kept me from going out and having fun. When I was six, I used to ride out with my father to check our herds and I helped with the branding and roundups when I was eight."

"You are so bound and determined to keep Cat from getting hurt that you're driving her away," said Adam. "If you don't stop, we're going to wake up one morning and find her gone. Cat, do you know how to get to Rip's fort?"

"My Godfathers and Uncle Rip showed me when they took me there. I'm pretty sure I could find it."

"You don't understand," said Ben. "I went to sea while Kate was still young and never got to know her all that well. Even when she and Michael lived here, I didn't spend a lot of time with them. I just can't let anything happen to her little girl."

"You're wrong Pa," said Joe.

Ben was shocked to hear his youngest son say he was wrong. "And what makes you such an expert young man? You're only nineteen."

"You're treating Cat exactly like you treated me when you came back after you disappeared when my mother died. You wouldn't let me out of your sight. Even though I was almost six, you wouldn't let me dress myself or sleep in my own bed. You cut my meat up for me and even gave my pony away because you were afraid I'd fall off. Adam and Hoss got him back for me. It wasn't until I ran away and Doc Martin, Reverend Jonas, and a lot of others, including Abigail Jones, told you that you were doing me more harm than good, that you started letting me be myself again. I don't think you would have even then except that the Martins said they would take me away from you and adopt me themselves if you didn't stop being so overprotective.

Look at it this way. Let's say that Cat, Hop Sing, and I are the only ones at home. You, Adam, and Hoss are somewhere out on the ranch. I'm coming downstairs, miss a step, fall and get hurt. If someone's in the bunkhouse, that person can carry me upstairs to my bed and ride for the doctor. If the bunkhouse is empty, Cat and Hop Sing can probably get me onto the settee and since she's not allowed to go to town alone, Cat can ride to the Devlins, Kings or Ingalls so someone can go for the doctor. Hop Sing can take care of me until the doctor comes and Cat can find you to tell you I've been hurt. However, Cat doesn't know her way around the Ponderosa and can't find you so she either stays home or gets lost. You come home, find that I have been hurt and start yelling about why didn't anyone find and tell you without considering the fact that the only other person at home who knows their way around the ranch is busy taking care of me. How is Cat going to feel when you yell at her for not finding you to tell you I had been hurt when she doesn't know her way around the ranch."

"Joe's got a good point Ben," said Heath. "If she doesn't know her way around, what is she supposed to do if she comes home from school one day and finds intruders at the house? How will she be able to find any of the hands or family members who are out on the ranch?"

"Me and Adam and Joe talked when we was takin' care of the horses after church," said Hoss. "We decided that yore not bein' fair to little sister so once the snow is almost gone, we're gonna start teachin' her how to get around the ranch. Yore lettin' her raise a colt but ain't about to let her ride him anywhere except in the pasture with the mares and foals, ifn ya let her ride him at all. This ranch will be hers someday. How will she be able to run it ifn she don't know her way around?"

Ben sighed loudly. "Alright, You've convinced me. Even though I'm just trying to keep Cat from getting hurt, we'll start teaching her how to get around the ranch once the snow is almost melted. However, until then, Catherine needs to have an adult with her even at the pond when she's ice skating unless her friends are there with her. She's not familiar enough with the weather here yet to know when it's going to snow and what to do if she gets caught in a blizzard." The other adults thought that was fair and said so.

"You need to start teaching her how to tell what the weather is going to be like and what to do if it starts snowing when she's out on the ranch," said Abel. "Otherwise, she could get caught out in a blizzard and we could lose her."

"Cat, why do you think you're going to be home alone all spring?" asked Matt.

"'Cause everyone's gonna be busy with ranch work and won't be home. They'll be fixing fences and moving cattle. They'll be busy with the roundup, branding, and trail drive. The one time you took me out to a drive camp, I talked to some of the men and they said it takes about two months to get the cattle to Dodge from Texas. The Ponderosa is farther away than Texas, so it's going to take a lot longer. Hop Sing will go with everyone as the cook and I won't be able to go since I have to go to school, so I'll be here all by myself."

Hoss chuckled and hugged her. "We don't take the cattle to Dodge Punkin. It's way too far. It would take a long time to get there. The cattle would be all skin and bones and the buyers would be gone."

"But all cattle drives go to Dodge."

Adam spoke up. "Not all cattle drives go to Dodge Squirt. We take our cattle to Sacramento and Denver. Joe, would you please get the map of the country so we can show our sister where we take our cattle and why?" Adam spread the map out on the table and said, "Cat, come and look at this map with me so you will understand why we don't take our cattle to Dodge. Look how far it is from here to there," he said pointing at the map. "That mountain range is called the Rocky Mountains. It is three hundred miles wide in places and some of the peaks are thirteen thousand feet high. It is almost fifteen hundred miles from here to Dodge and it would take a cattle drive almost five months to get there. As Hoss said, by the time we got there, the cattle buyers would be gone and our cattle would be nothing but skin and bones. Nobody would buy them. Now, if you look to the west, you'll see that Sacramento is much closer to Virginia City than Dodge is. That mountain range is called the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They're only eighty miles wide here at Lake Tahoe and the highest peaks near us are only nine thousand feet high. It is only about one hundred eighty miles from here to Sacramento and takes us eighteen to twenty days to reach it. The cattle are always fat when we get there and we get top dollar for them. Now do you understand why we don't take our cattle to Dodge?"

"Yes. I didn't know it was so far. It only took us five days on the train."

"I know that, however, the train travels much faster than cattle do. A cattle drive averages ten miles a day. Sometimes we can make fifteen miles in a day but that's pushing it."

"Oh. I didn't know cattle were so slow."

"They can move fast when they want to, but running them takes a lot of weight off of them. Also, if we find a place with good grass and a lot of water, we'll rest them for a day or two, especially if we don't know when we'll find water and grass again."

"All four of us rarely go on cattle drives together," added Joe. "We usually take turns. Pa and Hoss went this year so next year it will be Adam's and my turn to go. Hop Sing only goes if all four of us go. Otherwise, we hire a trail cook. Depending on what work needs to be done on the ranch, you may be home with just Hop Sing for company for a few hours, but not all day. You've helped move cattle, so you'll be helping with the branding and roundup too."

"That's right Punkin," said Hoss. "So's ya better practice yore ropin' because there are always a lot of calves that need ropin' and branding."

"I didn't think Pa would let me help."

"I'll want to wrap you in cotton wool so nothing happens to you, but you will be helping with the branding and roundup. After all, we don't want Thaddeus and Joshua thinking they wasted their money on the chaps and neckerchiefs they gave you for Christmas. Until you're older, you will not be handling hot branding irons. It's much too dangerous and if you handle one wrong, you could get badly burned or hurt the calf and nobody wants either of those things to happen. Joe was fourteen before we started teaching him how to handle a hot branding iron. Depending on what day of the week we start the cattle drive, you may be helping get it started. That will depend on if school is in session or not. There will be many cattle drives in the years to come and your education is too important to miss a day of school for the start of one."

"There is one thing you're forgetting Little One," said Abel. "Even if your Pa, brothers, and Hop Sing were to all be gone on the cattle drive, I would still be here so you would not be alone."

"I didn't know you would still be here. I thought you were going back to Boston when the snow melted."

"I don't know when I am going back to Boston but I will definitely stay through the roundup and start of the cattle drive. I've never seen either of those things before and those are two experiences I don't want to miss, so you don't have to worry about being left home alone. I am positive that Benjamin would never allow that and neither will I."

Jasper and Mike arrived back at the house about an hour and a half later. The four children talked about what they wanted to do that day and decided on sledding. "I'm sorry kids, but you can't go sledding today," said Ben. "There isn't enough time. It's a thirty minute ride to the mountain, it gets dark around five and it's already two thirty. You do have time to go ice skating for a while before it gets dark. Just remember to keep an eye on the weather and be back here before dark."

Victoria went up to the room she was sharing with Kitty, got one of the skate lace tighteners, handed it to Cat and said, "Try this and see if it helps you get your skate laces tight. Please let me know if it's strong enough. If it isn't, I'll take it back to the blacksmith and ask him to make one that's stronger."

Once the children were on their way to the pond, Abel said, "If none of you have any objections, I would like to officially adopt Cat as my granddaughter."

"I have no objections," replied Ben. "But I am curious why you feel the need to do that."

"There are several reasons. First, if God forbid something should happen to all of you and there was no adult family member to care for her, she could be sent to an orphanage and the Ponderosa broken up and sold. I am well aware of the number of people in Virginia City who would love to get their hands on your money and ranch. My adopting her as my granddaughter would prevent that from happening. Second, I intend to alter my will to include her. I have a nephew, my older sister's son, who, every time I see him, drops hints about how he, not Adam should inherit my money and the sooner I die, the better he'll like it. He is at least five years older than Adam and totally worthless. His spending habits are worse than those of a drunken sailor. His parents were well aware of that and as a result, stipulated in their wills that he only receive a small amount of money every year. The rest was given to several charitable organizations in Pittsburgh. He tried breaking the wills and failed. Legally, he has no claim on my money but has hinted that he knows how to get it. If I adopt Cat as my granddaughter and transfer all of my funds to the Bank of Nevada in Virginia City, he will have no legal way of getting her share of my money."

"I see," said Jarrod. "So, are you thinking of moving here permanently?"

"Yes. Although I haven't completely made up my mind, I have been giving it a lot of thought. The sea stopped calling to me years ago and I am tired of living alone. I have friends in Boston, but Benjamin and Adam are my family and they are here."

"Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?" asked Adam. "There is a reason we call her Wild Cat. As Hoss likes to say, she's as wild as the west Texas wind and harder to tame. When the two of us and Rip were taking her back to Dodge from Arizona when she was four, she found all sorts of mischief to get into, including trying to play with some wolf pups. She's been relatively well behaved lately, but that could change any day now."

"Adam, just who do you think raised your mother after my wife died? I see a lot of Elizabeth in Cat. I believe I have told you the story of how she climbed my ship's rigging when she was only eight, so I know exactly what to expect. I fully expect to walk out into the yard one day and find her riding the rope down from the hayloft in the barn. I also would not be surprised to find her on the roof with my spyglass one day, trying to see the Pacific Ocean from here."

"Yep," laughed Hoss. "That does sound like our little sister. Once she gets used to bein' part of our family, I wouldn't put nothin' past her. Heck, she's already tried catchin' two raccoon kits and makin' pets outa them and I wouldn't put it past her to try and make a pet out of a skunk. She told Adam she was going to catch a baby bear and give it to him as a birthday present."

The family laughed at Hoss' statements. "That sounds exactly like something my Elizabeth would have done," said Abel. "Since nobody seems to have any objections to my plan, Jarrod, would you please draw up the necessary papers and I'll accompany you, your mother and Benjamin to town tomorrow. Also, I have a copy of my will with me and would like your help modifying it."

"I'll be more than happy to help you Abel. If Ben doesn't mind me using his desk, we can look at your will now. I'll make any modifications you want and write a new one for you. Then I'll work on the adoption papers. If I don't get everything done before the children return, I'll finish it after they go to bed."

"The children aren't here right now Victoria," said Ben. "What did those women say to you after church?"

Victoria sighed. "They said that you aren't raising Cat right. They claim it isn't proper that she wears buckskins and pants, plays with boys, is raising a colt, her dogs sleep in her bed, that she goes sledding and ice skating, and she should be whipped with a razor strop until she starts dressing and acting like a girl. They also said if I don't take her home with me, they're going to find a way to take her away from you and raise her their way, which I assume means sending her to an orphanage since I know they're not interested in her, just your money."

Ben hit the roof and started yelling and swearing. He called the women every vile name he could think of and said he'd see those women in Hell before he let them anywhere near his daughter. He got up grabbed his hat, coat, and gun and said he was going into town to give those women a piece of his mind. Hoss blocked the door and said, "Ya ain't going anywhere Pa. Yore always fussing at Joe about controllin' his temper and now yore gonna act just like he does when he gets mad at someone."

"Your temper is why I wanted to wait until the children were asleep before I told you what those women said. What good is it going to do you to go and yell at them now?" asked Victoria. "None whatsoever. That's what good it will do. Now sit down and let's talk about this rationally."

"Mother and I already talked about the situation and I plan on writing something up for the judge to sign, telling those women they have to stay away from your family, especially Cat," said Jarrod. "Riding into town and yelling at them could make things worse. They could tell the sheriff you threatened them and they you'll end up in jail."

"Just yesterday morning, you threatened to punish Catherine because of her temper and now you're letting yours get the better of you. What kind of example is that to set for her?" asked Abel. "You cannot scold or punish a child for not controlling their temper and then allow yours to control you. Now sit down and have some more coffee. I'm going to ask Hop Sing if he has any cookies."

The children were cold and hungry when they returned from ice skating and since supper was almost an hour away, they were allowed to have some hot cocoa and two cookies each. Adam was concerned that the snacks would ruin their appetites but Victoria said, "That's nonsense Adam. These children walked through the snow to the pond where they just spent several hours ice skating and then walked back here. Two cookies and a cup of hot cocoa aren't going to spoil their appetites. I'll make you a little wager and the looser has to help Hop Sing with tonight's supper and tomorrow's breakfast dishes. I say that they'll eat as much or more than they normally do."

Adam laughed at his aunt. "Alright, I'll take your bet. I hope you enjoy washing dishes because I know I'm right."

"You should add doing my chores to your bet Aunt Victoria," said Cat. "I know that Hoss and Joe will like not doing them tomorrow."

"That sounds fair. Well Adam, how about it? Do we add your sister's chores to our wager?"

"That's fine with me. Just remember, the kitchen wood box has to be filled before breakfast so Hop Sing can cook."

Cat and Mark laughed at the thought of Victoria or Adam washing dishes and doing Cat's chores. Cat was hoping Adam would lose and was looking forward to teasing him if he did. The children were hungry and Adam lost his bet with his aunt. The children followed him into the kitchen and started teasing him about having to wash dishes. "It won't take anything at all for me to pick all four of you up and throw you in the trough."

"You can't do that," said Mark.

"And just why not? The four of you together don't weigh much more than a bale of hay so it will be easy to pick all of you up at once."

"Because everyone will get angry at you. It's cold outside and there isn't time for all of us to take hot baths before bed."

"That's what you think. I'll just throw all of you in the tub at once and get four baths out of the way at the same time."

Joe walked into the kitchen just then and said, "Pa said you kids have teased Adam long enough and need to come into the great room. You barely have enough time for two games of checkers before bed."

Once the children were in bed and goodnights had been said, Jasper said quietly, "Mike, did you see the old hens corner Mrs. Barkley after church today? I talked to Mitch Harris and he's going to activate the slingshot brigade."

"What's the slingshot brigade?" asked Mark.

"Shhhh," replied Jasper, creeping out of bed and slowly opening the door to make sure no adults were within earshot. He climbed back into bed and said, "You can't tell Cat or anyone else what I'm going to say, because if you do, Mike, I, and some of our friends will be in a lot of trouble. It all started on Cat's second Sunday here." He told Mark about Mrs. Warren pulling Cat out of the buggy and injuring her and how the other widows and older unmarried women were always being mean to Cat and told her lies, causing her to run away twice. "A bunch of us boys made new slingshots and hid them around town along with acorns and small stones. We were just using them on Mrs. Warren until the other old hens started being mean to Cat and made her run away, so we're using our slingshots on them too. We haven't been using them since it started snowing because someone could follow our footprints and catch us. Mitch said he'd figure a way for the boys in town to use them without getting caught."

"But what if someone finds a slingshot? Won't they know who it belongs to?"

"No," replied Mike. "That's why we all made new ones and didn't carve our initials in them. If someone finds one, they won't know who it belongs to."

"Why can't I tell Cat? I'm sure she'd like to thank you."

"If Cat doesn't know who's using the slingshots, she won't be tempted to lie when she's asked about them," answered Jasper. "I know that Mrs. Warren has been blaming Cat and Sheriff Coffee has ridden out here and talked to her and Mr. Cartwright to see if she has a slingshot or knows who has been using them on Mrs. Warren. Sheriff Coffee keeps telling the old bat that Cat isn't allowed in town by herself and since none of the other Cartwrights were in town when she was attacked, Cat couldn't have done it, but she doesn't care. I'm going to see if I can find out what they said to Mrs. Barkley. If I hear anyone coming up the stairs, I'm going to say I was going to the kitchen for a drink of water, so if anyone opens the door, pretend to be asleep."

Jasper crawled to the stairs, hid out of sight and listened to the adults talk. Ben was still very upset about what the women had said to his sister and even though it was late, still wanted to ride to town and give them a piece of his mind. After listening for a few minutes, he heard someone starting to come up the stairs so he quickly tip-toed back to the bedroom he was sharing with Mark and Mike and started walking toward the stairs. "What are you doing up Jasper?" asked Joe, stretching and yawning.

"I'm thirsty so I'm going to the kitchen for a glass of water."

"Ok. Just don't wake Mike and Mark when you go back to bed."

"I won't."

He walked downstairs where Adam asked him the same question Joe had and he gave the same response. After getting a glass of water, he walked back to the stairs and Ben said, "Be very quiet so you don't wake the other two when you go back to bed."

"Don't worry Mr. Cartwright. I'll be extra quiet."

"What did they say?" asked Mike when he returned to the room.

"I'll have to tell you tomorrow when there aren't any adults around, because they're all going to bed in a few minutes and you know they're going to check on us, so we need to act like we're asleep."

When the adults went upstairs, Matt and Rip checked on Cat and found that she had kicked her covers off. Matt covered her up and said, "I miss doing this. I did it every night starting when Kate left her with me and I'd still be doing it if she had stayed in Australia."

Rip put an arm around his brother's shoulders. "I know, but we can't change what's happened. We both know that Cat is better off here than living with either of us. She needs a family and our jobs are too dangerous. Either one of us could ride out one day and not return to where we started from."

"I know and so does Cat. That's why she asked us to give up our jobs and move here. I'd like to wring Sam, Bill, and Phil's necks for talking our brother into going back in the Army."

"So would I and I'm sure Ben and Victoria feel the same way. Since we're leaving on Wednesday, we need to spend some time with Cat and talk to her about trusting and depending on the adults in her life to take care of her. She's only nine and shouldn't be trying to take care of herself. I do hope that Ben meant what he said when he told her that she would be learning her way around the ranch once the snow melts. Joe made a very convincing argument for why she needs to learn how to find her way around."

"Yes he did. You and I also need to talk to Ben about wanting to punish Cat whenever she says she wants to go back to Dodge. She's not acting like a spoiled child, she's frustrated because he's being so overprotective." They kissed their niece on her forehead, petted her dogs and quietly left the room, closing the door behind them.

After checking on the boys, Ben went into Joe's room and asked, "Did Jasper hear what we were talking about?"

"No. I don't think so. He wasn't anywhere near the stairs when I came up here. It looked like he had just come out of the room the boys are sharing."

"That's good because Cat doesn't need to know what those women said to Victoria."

"I'm sure she has a very good idea of what they were saying. Except for the part about trying to take her away from you if she doesn't go to California with Aunt Victoria, Jarrod, and Heath, they've said everything else on several occasions and Cat already knows what they have been saying. You and I were in George McLeod's store with Cat when Mrs. Anders said those things to Mrs. Thomas and she was loud enough to be heard outside. It's a good thing I was standing next to Cat because she wanted to set her dogs on the women and probably would have if I hadn't stopped her."

Concerned that he may have been caught eavesdropping the previous night, during breakfast, Jasper asked, "Mr. Cartwright, is someone sick? When I came downstairs last night, I thought I heard someone say something about seeing the doctor."

"That was me Jasper," said Victoria. "Thank you for your concern but I'm not sick. I wasn't feeling well when I got here, so I went and saw the doctor. He said I didn't have enough iron in my blood and told me what foods I need to eat to fix that problem. He also gave me a wonderful prescription that has worked great. He said I need to spend time visiting with my family, eating Hop Sing's cooking, looking at the lake and mountains and breathing in the cool mountain air. He said he wanted to check my blood again before I went home, so since I am leaving this week, I am going to see him tomorrow."

"Did you hear anything else last night?" asked Ben.

"Just Adam asking where I was going, you telling me not to wake Mark and Mike, and everyone saying they were going to go to bed."

"That's fine. What are you kids going to do today?"

"Depending on what time Mary and Laura get here, we're going sledding, but if they don't get here soon, we won't have time to do much sledding before we have to be back here for dinner."

"Why don't you kids ask Hop Sing to pack dinner for you? Then you can stay out at the mountain most of the day. If Mary and Laura arrive after you leave, Adam, Hoss, or Joe can bring them out to the mountain. Just remember to keep an eye on the weather and the time."

As usual, Hop Sing had anticipated what Ben would say and had dinner ready for the children to take with them. "Missy Cat bling puppy bags to kitchen. Dinner leady to go with plenty food and jars of milk with cocoa in them."

When the boys and Cat reached the mountain where they had been sledding, Jasper said, "Before we start sledding, we need to make a lean-to."

"Why do we need a lean-to?" asked Mark.

"So we have somewhere out of the wind to build a fire and eat our dinner. We need to make a big one in case it starts snowing and we don't have time to get back to the house, so our horses have somewhere out of the wind to stay also."

"Why don't we just start riding for the house if it starts snowing?" asked Cat.

"It depends on how hard it's snowing," answered Mike. "If it's just snow flurries, we'll ride as fast as we can toward the house. But if it's more than that, we'll need a safe place to wait it out, especially if it turns into a blizzard. That's why we brought all of our bedrolls and extra blankets. We can tie some of the blankets over the opening to keep the snow out and the heat from the fire in. Hop Sing packed a lot of food, so we won't go hungry. We can melt snow over the fire and put the water in our hats for our horses to drink. Also Adam put sacks of grain on my and Jas' saddles so our horses will have some food too. At this time of year, you have to be prepared for a lot of snow to fall in a short amount of time."