It was snowing when the children woke up the next morning so at breakfast, Ben said, "Kids, I know you wanted to go sledding this morning, but I would prefer it if you stayed close to the house. It's still snowing and I don't like the way the sky looks. If the snow stops and the sky clears before dinner, I'll ask Hop Sing to pack dinner for you and you can go sledding then. Otherwise, if the weather has improved by the time we finish dinner, we'll all go out to the mountain. Adam, Hoss, Joe, I need the three of you to make sure the cattle have food and salt. Take hay and salt with you because I believe the hay barns are getting low on feed and salt."
The children went outside to play. They pulled each other around the yard on sleds and threw snowballs at each other. Then they decide to make snowmen. They made seven in different sizes and used branches for arms and wood chips for eyes, noses, mouths, and buttons. Then the boys had an idea and Mike went into the house. "Mr. Cartwright, do you have any old hats and gun belts we can use?"
Ben was curious what the children needed them for, but, not wanting to spoil their fun, didn't ask."I'll look in the attic and see what's up there. Give me a few minutes." He returned about ten minutes later, carrying five hats and four gun belts.
"Thank you," said Mike. Then he walked into the kitchen and asked, "Hop Sing, do you have any twine we can use?"
Hop Sing handed him a ball of twine and said, "Bling back what you don't use."
"Thank you Hop Sing. You'll see what we need it for in a little while."
"Mike welcome. Childlen have fun. Hop Sing look forward to see what you do."
Mike took everything back outside where the hats were placed on five of the snowmen with Hoss' on the largest and one of Joe's on the smallest. The boys tied the gun belts on four of the large snowmen while the girls braided straw and twine to make a pair of braids for the smallest and one braid for the next smallest. "We still have to do something for the last snowman," said Mary.
"If we had some cardboard, scissors, and glue, we could make a spyglass," suggested Laura.
"That's a great idea!" exclaimed Cat. "I'll go and ask Pa for some." She ran into the house, barely remembering to stop before reaching the end of the entryway. "Pa, we need some cardboard, scissors, and glue. Do you have any?"
Ben was trying to figure out what the children were doing but refrained from asking. "Go and ask Hop Sing if he has any cardboard. I'll get the glue and scissors for you."
Cat walked into the kitchen where Hop Sing, who had an idea of what the children were doing, handed her a large piece of cardboard and an old Taqiyah. She looked at him in surprise and he said, "Remember, Hop Sing know evelything." Hearing Ben walking into the kitchen, Hop Sing hid the Taqiyah under the cardboard.
"Here are your scissors and glue Cat. I can't wait to see what you children are doing."
"Thanks Pa. I promise, you'll see when we're done." After Ben went back into the great room, Cat looked at Hop Sing and said, "I sure wish I knew what a sailor hat looked like. We could use one of them too."
"Missy Cat wait here." He picked up an arm load of clean laundry, took it upstairs and returned with an arm load of dirty laundry and Ben's old sailor cap. "Take, show friends and make but hully. Hop Sing need to put it back."
Cat hugged him. "Thanks Hop Sing. We'll hurry. Do you have a pencil so we can trace it? I'm afraid Pa will ask what we're doing if I ask him for anything else."
He handed her a pencil and said, "Hele. Take and hully. Must put hat back."
"Thanks Hop Sing. I'll bring it back as soon as we trace the hat." She took everything outside and before anyone could scold her for telling Hop Sing, she said, "Hop Sing always knows what everybody is doing. Nobody can keep any secrets from him. We have to hurry and trace the sailor hat so Hop Sing can take it back where he got it from." They went into the barn and traced the top part of the cap and the bill and used twine to measure the height and circumference of the middle part so Cat could take it back to Hop Sing. She walked back into the kitchen, handed it to him and said, "Thank you. We traced the top and front and measured the middle. When you take it back upstairs, will you please get my old quiver out of my wardrobe?"
He took the cap and hid it under clean clothes in the laundry basket, returned it to Ben's room and got Cat's quiver out of her room. He put it in the bottom of the basket and covered it with dirty clothes. When he returned to the kitchen he handed Cat the quiver and a large piece of canvas and said, "Missy Cat welcome. Hop Sing happy to help. Take this and hide project before brothers come home. Then they no see what you doing."
Cat hugged the cook and said, "You always think of everything. Thank you for your help."
She took the canvas out to her friends and said, "Hop Sing said to use this to hide what we're doing so my brothers don't see it before we're done."
"That's a great idea!" exclaimed Jasper. "You're right. Hop Sing really does know everything. Getting your old quiver was a great idea. We still need to make the spyglass and two snow dogs. Do you know what a spyglass looks like?"
"Yes. Grandpa showed me his. It has three pieces that fit inside each other. The biggest one is at the bottom and the smallest one is at the top."
"I think I know what you're talking about," said Mary. "I'll make the spy glass and once the glue is dry on it and the sailor hat, we can put both of them on their snowman. We can use the twine to tie the quiver onto its snowman."
"Mike, will you please come and help me put this canvas over our snowmen before Adam, Hoss, and Joe come home and spoil everything?" asked Jasper. "We can take it off when we're ready to finish."
When the boys reentered the barn, Cat looked at her puppies and said, "Lassie, Chief, when Adam, Hoss, and Joe come home, don't let them look under the canvas. They'll spoil our surprise if they do."
Adam, Hoss, and Joe returned home about five minutes after the boys put the canvas over the snowmen. "I wonder what's under that canvas," said Hoss.
"I don't know, but I'm sure Pa will tell us when he wants to," replied Adam.
"There's only one way to know what's under that canvas and that is to look" said Joe. He dismounted and walked over to the canvas covered snowmen. He started to pick up the front edge of the canvas and look under it when he found himself laying on the ground under an almost full grown puppy who was barking very loudly, as was his mate.
Hearing the commotion, Ben came out of the house and the children came out of the barn. Seeing Silver Chief sitting on top of Joe, everyone knew what he had tried to do. The children were very angry and Cat started to kick him but Ben stopped her. "I know you children are angry at Joe and I'll talk to him. However, Catherine you need to work on controlling your temper. We have talked several times about how kicking someone because you are angry at them is wrong. It's almost dinner time, so you kids need to finish what you're doing if you want to go sledding this afternoon. The sky has cleared and I see no reason why you can't go sledding after dinner." They went inside where Ben scolded Joe about looking under the canvas and told him that he knew if something was covered up, he had no business trying to see what it was.
Once the spyglass and sailor cap were finished, the boys took the canvas off the snowmen. Mary put the cap on one of the snowmen and tied the spyglass to one of the branches that served as arms. With help from Laura, Cat tied her old quiver onto the smallest snowman. Then Laura asked, "How are we going to make snow dogs?"
"I've been thinking about that," answered Jasper. "We're going to have to make them so they're sitting down. We'll use two snowballs for each one and make tails and paws out of snow. If we can't make ears out of snow, we can cut small pine cones in half and use them. I'm just not sure how to do the mouths."
"How about we use medium size pine cones for the mouths and cover them with snow?" suggested Mike. "Then we can use small wood chips for the noses."
"That's a great idea!" exclaimed the others.
Once the snow dogs were finished, Mary looked at them and said, "We need a way to tell one from the other."
"I have an idea," said Laura who ran into the kitchen and talked to Hop Sing. He took a pair of shears, went upstairs into the attic and returned with two long pieces of yarn, one blue and the other gold. Laura thanked and hugged Hop Sing and took the yarn outside. The boys took the blue yarn and tied it around one snow dog's neck like a string tie while Mary made a bow out of the gold piece. She broke a small twig in half and used it to hold the bow on top of the other snow dog's head.
The five children stood back, looked at their creations and laughed. "Since Hop Sing helped us, he should get to see this before everyone else," said Mary. "
The others agreed so Cat went into the kitchen to get the cook. "We finished what we're doing and thought since you helped us, you should get to see it before everyone else."
He followed Cat out the door and looked at what they had done. He smiled, laughed, and hugged all five children. "Little boys and little girls vely funny. Do vely good job. Hop Sing like what he see. He proud to call you his children." Before he went back into the kitchen, the boys refolded the canvas and handed it back to him while everyone thanked him for letting them use it and all of his help.
After giving Hop Sing several minutes to reenter the kitchen and put the canvas away, Cat walked into the great room and said, "We finished what we were doing outside. You can come and see it now."
"I want to see just what it is that caused me to be attacked by Silver Chief and Lassie," said Joe. "I still can't believe my sister's dogs attacked me."
"They didn't attack ya Shortshanks," said Hoss. "Silver Chief just knocked ya down and sat on you. It serves ya right for lookin' under that canvas. Them kids put it there so's we wouldn't see what they was doin' until they was finished. Now, I want to see just what they was doin'."
Everybody walked outside and started laughing when they saw the snowmen and dogs. Abel Goss got his camera and was about to take a picture when Grandpa Stoddard said, "Wait a minute Abel. Cat, go up to my room, open the trunk at the foot of my bed, take out one of the caps that are in it and bring it back here." When Cat returned, he said, "Thank you. Now put this on that snowman in place of the cardboard one."
"But it will get ruined being out here in the snow Grandpa."
The old Captain laughed. "Trust me granddaughter. It will not. That cap has been through more storms than I care to count and soaked with sea water many times. Being out here in the snow won't harm it one little bit."
Cat replaced the cardboard cap with the one Grandpa Stoddard gave her and Abel Goss took pictures of the snowmen and snow dogs. Then he had each family member stand next to their snowman and asked Cat to have her dogs sit next to theirs. After taking more photographs, he put his camera back into his wagon and everyone went inside to eat dinner. After dinner, everyone went out to the mountain so the children could go sledding. Hoss helped Abel Goss take his camera off the pack horse and carried it to the base of the mountain. "Children," said the photographer, "I would like all five of you to take one sled about half way up to where you usually start your runs. Once you are there, I would like all five of you to get on the sled with the heavier children at the bottom. I wish I would have thought about this while Lucas and Mark were still here." Once he took several pictures of all five children on one sled, he said, "Thank you very much children. Enjoy your afternoon of sledding. Hoss, if you would be so kind as to help me put my camera back on that horse, I will return to the house, develop today's negatives and start making prints for everyone who wants them."
The children spent the afternoon sledding and tried unsuccessfully to get Abel Stoddard and Ben to use their sleds. On the way back to the house Ben rode next to his father-in-law and said, "I think we'll have a family meeting after dinner on Sunday. I've decided it's long past time for me to give Adam more responsibility running this ranch. I'll let him pick which operation he wants and he'll be in charge of it. I'm assuming he'll want lumber, so I'll play devil's advocate for any contracts he wants to bid on and also for those he chooses not to. That way he'll have to explain the reasons for his decisions. I'm also going to give the boys permission to punish Catherine if they see her misbehaving."
"Giving Adam more responsibility is an excellent idea. However, it is too soon for him and his brothers to be given carte blanche when it comes to disciplining their sister. It has only been four months since she moved here and it hasn't even been two months since Adam punished her for doing something she had been coerced into doing. He has been working on his relationship with her but still needs to work on it more. Qualify and quantify the permission. Tell them they have permission to punish her if they catch her doing something dangerous and make sure they know what she is allowed to do. Tell them exactly how many smacks they are allowed to give her and right now, they should only be using their hand on the seat of her pants. I would wait until she's been with you at least a year before giving them permission to punish her for any misbehavior. Remember, Catherine hasn't been part of a family since she was a baby and is still adjusting to the change."
"You're correct of course. I'll tell them they have permission to punish Cat if they see her doing something dangerous and make sure they know exactly what she is allowed to do. They will not be allowed to give her more than five smacks with their hand on the seat of her pants. If they think further punishment is warranted, they can bring her to you, me, or Hop Sing and we will take any further action if it's necessary."
Friday and Saturday passed too quickly for the children. Saturday supper was over before they knew it and it was time for baths. None of them were looking forward to Sunday because all of Cat's friends would be returning to their own homes after church and school would resume on Monday morning. It had been an enjoyable two weeks and none of them were ready for their vacation to end. Abel Goss gave Ben copies of all the photographs he had taken. After Ben paid him, he said, "Ben, I want to thank you and your family for your hospitality. As I told you last summer, I rarely get to sleep anywhere besides in my wagon or eat such wonderful food. If I could, I would stay here forever, but I need to earn a living. So I will be leaving after breakfast tomorrow. I need to get on the road before the weather turns bad and I get trapped by a blizzard. I will telegraph you in the spring with my location, you can let me know if your family has anything planned you would like me to photograph, and I will return here as soon as I can."
"Thank you Abel. Catherine's Godparents will be here around Easter and I would love to have photographs of her with them. I will let you know as soon as I can once I know when they're coming so you will have time to make your way here."
"That will be fine. I'm looking forward to being with your family again."
When everyone was getting ready to leave for church on Sunday, Hop Sing said, "Little boys and little girls families come to dinner or childlen stay on Ponderosa."
Ben sighed. He had planned on having a family meeting right after dinner, but it was going to have to wait until their guests left. "Alright Hop Sing. I'll invite them. I can't guarantee that they'll come, but I will invite them."
"They no come, little boys and little girls stay here!"
The children giggled at Hop Sing's declaration. They hoped their parents would say no to dinner at the Ponderosa so they could live there. Ben was also secretly hoping the parents would say no. For the past two weeks, the house had been filled with the sound of children's voices and laughter, something he sorely missed. It had been too many years since his sons were children and he wished at least one of them would marry and give him grandchildren. It would be another nine years before he would allow Cat to marry so right now, his sons were his only hope for grandchildren and Joe was the only one who was courting.
When they reached the church, the children ran off to talk with their friends while Ben looked for their parents. He found the Devlins and Kings talking with other friends. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, he looked for the Ingalls but they weren't there yet. When they arrived five minutes later, it was obvious that Carrie had been crying so he guessed she was still giving her parents a hard time. He invited them to dinner and Charles said, "We'd love to Ben, but Carrie has been misbehaving all morning and will be spending the day in her room with only her books."
"Alright Charles. I'm sorry that Carrie hasn't been behaving lately. I'll tell Hop Sing what you said but I have a feeling that I'm going to get to keep Mary and Laura. Have you had Paul look at Carrie to make sure she's not sick or injured?"
"Yes we have and there's nothing wrong with her. She hasn't started getting her permanent teeth yet so that's not the problem. Paul agrees with your sister that the most likely cause of the problem is jealousy of the new baby. Carrie will be six in August and is entirely too old to be having temper tantrums like she has been. Caroline has been too tired to deal with her so now that I'm done helping Tom Willard for now, I'll be home more and will be able to deal with Carrie."
"Why don't you & Caroline talk with some of the other families with children of different ages and see what they think? I believe Victoria also suggested Carrie may just be needing reassurance that she will still be loved once the baby arrives. I didn't have your problem when Hoss and Joe were born so I can't be of much help. If it will help, Mary and Laura are more than welcome to stay on the Ponderosa while you try and figure out why Carrie is acting out. I'll send them home after dinner today and then they can get their books, dinner pails, and more clothes. Cat loves having children her own age to play with and I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing the sound of children's voices and laughter these past two weeks. That's something I have sorely missed for the past several years."
"Alright Ben. What you're saying makes sense. I'll talk to Caroline and see what she says. I appreciate your offer to have Laura and Mary stay with you for a while until we figure out why Carrie is acting the way she has been. We'd better get into the church before Reverend Long closes the outer doors. I don't want to be scolded like a child for being late to services."
"Neither do I. Can you just hear the children laughing at the pair of us being scolded like misbehaving children?"
"They would enjoy that immensely, so we had better get inside the church before that happens."
They reached the church steps just as Reverend Long started closing the doors. "It's about time you two decided to join us. What kind of example are you setting for your children? If your girls had waited until just now to enter the church without a good reason, they would have heard no end of it from you after the service and probably would have been punished once you returned home. Please hang up your coats and go, join your families. By the way, don't think I'm letting you get away with this. Your children deserve to know that you are the cause of the service beginning late." He walked up to the front of the church and greeted everyone. "I apologize for the delay in beginning the service. It seems that Ben Cartwright and Charles Ingalls decided to set a poor example for their daughters and join us late. Mary, Laura, Catherine, since everyone knows what would happen if it had been one or more of you who was late, you have my permission to tease your fathers after the service. Now, let us begin our service with the opening hymn, number twenty five, "As With Gladness Men of Old". The three girls looked at each other and giggled at their fathers being scolded by the minister and the thought of teasing them without getting in trouble. Before dismissing the congregation at the end of the service, Reverend Long said, "Children, enjoy your last day of vacation. I will see all of you tomorrow morning at the school."
Once everybody was outside, Caroline scolded Charles for being late for the service and turning down Ben's dinner invitation. "You and Ben could have talked after the service. Do you know how embarrassed I was when you came in late? If that had been one of our girls, you would have scolded them all the way home and punished them once we got there. Turning down Ben's invitation was wrong. Carrie is only five and even though she has been misbehaving, still needs to eat. Or were you planning on making her go hungry as well as confining her to her room until tomorrow? Go, tell Ben that we will be joining him for dinner while I follow though on his suggestion of talking to some of the other parents." Caroline talked to several families who had children of varying ages and they all said the same things Victoria had, Carrie was either jealous of the unborn baby or was afraid it would replace her in her parents' affections. All of the mothers said that Caroline and Charles needed to spend time with Carrie to reassure her that she is and will always be loved, no matter how many children are in the family.
While Charles and Caroline were talking, Ben located the Kings and Devlins and told them about Hop Sing's dinner invitation. "You can keep this one and his buddy over there," teased Mitch Devlin, ruffling his little brother's hair. "They're more trouble than they're worth."
"You know son," said his father, "I seem to remember another older brother saying the same thing about you and Little Joe not too many years ago."
"Adam still says that about Joe and I," replied Mitch.
"He was probably right," said Mike, ducking a pretend swat aimed at his head by his older brother. "I don't know about Jas, but I sure wouldn't mind living on the Ponderosa. Ma, Pa, I love you very much, but Hop Sing is the best cook in the world."
Having heard that statement from their older son many times, Mary and Dan just laughed. "Thank you for the invitation Ben," said Dan. "We gladly accept."
"I can't say I'm glad," replied Ben. "I've gotten used to having these little rascals around and wouldn't mind keeping them for myself. It's been too many years since the sound of children's voices and laughter filled my house and I have missed those sounds greatly. That reminds me, since I am certain Michael will be spending a lot of time on the Ponderosa this winter, it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to keep a few changes of clothes there just in case we get hit by a blizzard while he's visiting. I'd better mention that to Charles and Caroline and Ted and Betsy too."
"That is an excellent idea Ben," said Mary. "We'll stop by our house on the way to the Ponderosa and Michael can get three changes of clothes to leave with you." Ben talked to the Ingalls and Kings. Betsy said the same thing Mary Devlin did, while Caroline said the girls could bring extra clothes the next time they visited the Ponderosa.
On the way home, Cat teased Ben. "Joe, how come there's one rule for grownups and another one for kids? If I had been late for church, Pa would have yelled at me and probably spanked me when we got home. He was late for church today, but I can't yell at him."
"I don't know Squirt. You're right about what would have happened if you had been late. I was late twice and it wasn't my fault either time. I wasn't feeling well and needed to use the necessary once and the other time Mrs. Jones stopped me and wouldn't stop talking about how much her daughter liked teaching me in school, but I should try harder, especially on my arithmetic. She wouldn't stop talking and I was late for church. Pa started yelling at me as soon as church was over and said we were going to have a necessary discussion in the barn when we got home. If Miss Jones hadn't apologized to me in front of Pa for her mother making me late, I would have had a very sore bottom and extra chores for something that wasn't my fault."
"It's not fair. Grownups should have to follow the same rules they make for kids or we should be allowed to do the things they do. Since Pa was late for church today, maybe I'll be late for school tomorrow. I don't want to go anyway, so if I'm late, I'll have a little bit more vacation. I know Reverend Long is going to be there tomorrow morning, so if he and Miss Susan say anything, I'll just say I'm late because Pa was today. They can't get mad at me for doing something Pa did, can they?"
"I wouldn't think so. After all, you would only be following Pa's example."
Adam, Hoss, and Abel chuckled to themselves at Cat's words. Much to his frustration, Ben couldn't say a word as Reverend Long had told Cat to tease him about being late. While Cat was teasing Ben, Mary and Laura were busy teasing their father with similar words.
Everyone had an enjoyable dinner and the children didn't want to go home. They wanted to remain on the Ponderosa with Cat and the rest of the Cartwrights. Charles told Ben he would talk to Caroline about his suggestion to have Mary and Laura spend a few more days on the Ponderosa. After their dinner guests left, Ben suggested everyone change out of their church clothes and told them he wanted to have a family meeting. Hop Sing brought coffee, milk, and cookies out and set them on the table in the great room. Hoss brought an extra chair over and sat in it so Hop Sing could sit on the settee.
Knowing Cat was going to be upset by some of what he said, Ben pulled her into his lap and hugged her. Once everyone had coffee or milk, he said, "We are in a new year and I have decided to make a few changes. The first change involves Catherine. Adam, Hoss, Joe, I am going to allow you to punish her if and only if you see her doing something dangerous." Cat started getting upset so he hugged her again. "That permission comes with some restrictions. First, she has to know what she was doing is dangerous. For example, when she and her friends climbed the water tank in Dodge when they were five, they didn't know it was dangerous so their only punishment was a single swat and a good scolding. Second, you are only to use your hand on the seat of her pants and cannot give her more than five smacks. No belts being used on bare bottoms. If you think that is necessary, bring her to me, Abel, or Hop Sing. We will determine if additional punishment is needed and administer it. Third, if you see her doing something dangerous, ask her why and listen to what she says. I don't want a repeat of what happened in November." Cat became slightly less upset when Ben clarified the permission he had just given her brothers, but she wasn't sure Adam wouldn't just ignore their father's instructions and treat her the way he did when she, Tommy, and Billy looked under the saloon door.
"Just so there are no misunderstandings, these are things Catherine is allowed to do. She is allowed to pet the bull, brush and give him treats through the fence. She is allowed to climb over the gate to the pasture where we keep the mares and foals and she is allowed to jump her horse over objects as high as three feet. She doesn't like guns, so I don't think anyone of us will ever catch her playing with one. Sitting on a beaver dam is not dangerous. I know it's annoying, but it's not dangerous." Then he tickled Cat and said, "As for you little one, I don't want to catch you jumping any horse over a mountain that's more than five miles high unless an adult is with you. Someone will need to be there to catch you if you fall." Cat giggled. "You are not allowed to climb up on either the barn or the house roof and jump off unless the snow is as high as the hay doors. If I catch you jumping off either roof and the snow isn't high enough, I will put you in the trough and keep you there until you turn into a giant ice cube. Seriously though, I do not want you on the house or the barn roofs. They're much too high and you could be killed if you fell off. Also the rule about going in the hayloft without an adult still stands. It's a lot higher than the one in Mr. Ingalls' barn and I don't want to take a chance on you falling and getting seriously hurt. I'll probably let you go up there without an adult in a few years when you're older."
"Ok Pa. I'll go on the house and barn roofs and in the hayloft. I'll jump my horse over a mountain that's twenty miles high. I'm going to try and ride Sampson too. Are you supposed to steer him with his horns like the handlebar on that velocipede all us kids rode or should I put a bridle and saddle on him?"
Ben groaned. "I think I just got a lot more gray hair." The rest of the family laughed.
"Yore kinda small Punkin and I don't think ya could reach his horns, so I think ya should use a bridle and saddle," replied Hoss. "That bull's bigger than yore horse, an' I think ya should ask one of us ta saddle him for ya. That way you'll know the cinch is tight."
Cat thought about what Hoss said. Sampson was much bigger than Beauty and she probably wouldn't be able to reach his horns unless she sat on his neck. "Ok Hoss. I'll use a bridle and saddle and ask someone to saddle him for me. I don't want to fall off because the cinch isn't tight."
"There is another reason I called this family meeting," said Ben. "Adam, it is long past time for me to give you more responsibility in running this ranch. It's something I should have done years ago. I know that you're working with Andrew Holloway and overseeing our interest in the Ophir mine, but I am going to turn over control of one of our other operations to you. Cattle, horses, or lumber, the choice is yours."
Adam was surprised at his father's words. "I'll take lumber Pa. I spend more time at the camps than Hoss or Joe so the men know and trust me."
"That's fine. In fact, I thought that's what you'd say. Along with supervising the lumber camps, you'll be decided whether or not to bid on contracts, although I'd better warn you now. I fully intend to play devil's advocate on all of the contracts, even if you decide not to bid on them."
Before Adam could respond, Cat asked, "What's a devil's advocate and why do you want to be one?"
"A devil's advocate is someone who argues the opposite point of view," replied Adam. "In this case, if I decided to bid on a contract, Pa is going to tell me all the reasons I shouldn't and if I decide not to bid on a contract, Pa is going to tell me all the reasons why I should."
"By doing that, I'll know what Adam's thought process was when he decided if he wanted to bid on a contract or not," added Ben.
Seeing that Cat was still confused, Joe said, "It lets us look at both sides of a decision. For example, Pa wanted to bid on a contract last year so he had all of us read it over several times. He and Adam thought it was a good idea until I pointed out that they wanted too much lumber in too short a time and it wouldn't have been been safe to try and fill that contract. The men would have had to rush to cut all of the trees and accidents happen when things are rushed."