Cat decided that since the devil's advocate stuff worked on lumber contracts, she would try using it to get her out of going to school. "I shouldn't have to go to school any more. I've already learned everything I need to know. I can read, write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide. There isn't anything else to learn."

Having heard the same argument from Joe several times, Ben laughed. "Ok little one, Let's see how much you do know. Hoss, will you please look in the bottom right hand drawer of my desk? You'll know what I need when you see it."

Hoss looked in the desk drawer and asked, "Do ya want the one from when Joe was fifteen or the one you did for Cat just before school started?"

"The one I did for Cat will be just fine son. Thank you." Hoss handed him the paper and he handed it to Cat. "Ok. Let's see how well you do on these problems. These are the same ones I gave you before school started, so if you really do know everything there is to know, you should be able to solve them easily."

Cat looked at the paper and said, "That's not fair. I don't need to know that stuff."

"Yes you do. All of these problems are important for ranching. Read the problems and I'll let everyone tell you why they're important."

Cat read the first problem. "If a hayloft is forty feet long, ten feet wide and twelve feet high and a bale of hay is forty inches long, eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches high, how many bales of hay will be needed to completely fill the loft? How many bales of hay will be needed to fill a hayloft that is forty five feet long, fifteen feet wide and fifteen feet high?"

"We need to know how many bales of hay will fill the hayloft so the horses, milk cow, and cattle don't go hungry," said Joe. "If we don't buy enough hay, we'll run out and if we buy too much, there won't be any place to store it."

Cat scratched her head and read what was written next. "A rancher has twenty five horses. Each horse eats two thirds of a bale of hay and one third pound of grain a day, how much hay and grain will the rancher need to feed his horses for a year?"

"Once again, it's a matter of knowing how much feed to buy so the animals don't go hungry," said Adam. "We have to plan ahead and make sure we order enough every month to feed all of the animals. If we don't order enough, we'll have to make an extra trip to town to get more and that will mean some work won't get done on time. Also, we're not the only ranch in the area. Except for the men who grow their own hay or oats, all of the farmers and ranchers in the area buy their hay and grain from John Winter. He needs to know how much to order from the people he buys it from. If we don't order enough, he may not have any extra to sell us. If we order too much, someone else may not get enough."

Cat scowled and continued reading. "A rancher has three hundred head of cattle. How many pastures will he need if he only puts twenty five head in each one? I can do that problem if I had a pencil, but that's a dumb question. A pasture will hold more than twenty five cows. There's probably almost a million in each of our pastures."

"Not a million Punkin," said Hoss. "We only keep five or six hundred head of cattle in the small pastures and about two thousand in the big ones. Ifn we had more than that, they'd run out of grass in no time at all. A rancher needs to know how many head of cattle each pasture will feed so's he don't put too many in each one."

The scowl on Cat's face got bigger. The family could hardly contain their laughter at the expression on Cat's face as she kept reading. "A water tank holds five hundred gallons of water. How many times will a three gallon bucket need to be filled and emptied into it before it is full?" "I can do that one with a pencil too, but it's dumb. We ain't got a water tank. They're for towns, not ranches."

"It's 'don't have' Granddaughter," said Abel. "While the Ponderosa may not have a water tank, I have seen some farms that do have them and it's important to know how many buckets of water it contains. Those water tanks are used for watering crops and livestock. If a person keeps track of how many buckets of water they use each day, they'll know when the water in the tank is getting low and can use less water if necessary until it rains again."

Joe started giggling and Cat shot him a dirty look before she continued reading. "A fifty pound sack of grain costs four dollars and thirty five cents. How much will fifteen sacks cost? If one hundred pounds of grain will fill three buckets, how much grain does each bucket contain? I can solve those with a pencil too, but even Hoss couldn't carry a bucket that weighed that much."

"You would be surprised at how much Hoss can carry," replied Ben. "The idea is to know how much money to budget for feed and when more will need to be ordered. We don't want to wait until we're out of grain before ordering more."

Cat sighed deeply and gave her father a dirty look. "That's not fair. I hate arithmetic and it hates me!"

"I'm sorry Sweetheart, but as everyone just pointed out to you, those problems are important for ranching and farming. This ranch will be yours someday and it's important for you to understand everything that goes into running it, including how much hay and grain are used every day. Now, there are still several hours left until supper. What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Nothing. There's nobody here so nothing will be any fun."

"Why don't you and I go ice skating for a little while?" asked Joe. "My skates still fit and I would enjoy skating again."

"No! I'm mad at you. You laughed at me."

"I'm sorry Sis. I wasn't really laughing at you. I was just laughing because Pa did the same thing to me when I was your age and he did it again when I was fifteen and wanted to quit school."

"As I told Joseph when he wanted to quit school, you will attend until you are at least eighteen," added Ben. "If you graduate from the Virginia City school before you are eighteen, I will send you to a good college back east, probably Vassar, Oberlin, or Wesleyan Female College. They are excellent women's colleges."

"Yuuuuuuuuuck! That's not fair. I don't want to go to school tomorrow but you want me to go to college. Grandpa, help me."

"I'm sorry Cat but I agree with your father. As he has pointed out, this ranch will be yours some day and you need a good education if you are to run it properly. I think you should attend a good college after you graduate from the Virginia City school. They will be able to teach you things you didn't learn here."

"I'm leaving for Uncle Rip's fort in the morning. He and Uncle Matt won't make me go to school."

The family tried not to laugh. "Missy Cat be funny today," said Hop Sing. "Mr. Matt and Mr. Rip say they want her to finish school and maybe go to college. Mrs. Victoria do too. She say maybe she send Missy Audra to college. Mr. Jarrod say college be good for Missy Cat and Missy Audra. Missy Kitty say Missy Cat finish school and maybe to go college. Alithmetic important for cooking too. Have to make mole of evelything for Hoss."

"My uncles, Miss Kitty, Aunt Victoria, and Jarrod too? Doesn't anybody love me?"

The family could no longer contain their laughter. "We all love you granddaughter," replied Abel. "That's why we want you to graduate from school, so you'll know everything you need to know in order to run this ranch. You're going to want to be able to check the books to make sure you aren't being cheated. Attending college will help you prepare for the future. If Adam hadn't gone to college, you wouldn't be living in this nice house. You would still be living in a house, but it probably wouldn't be as nice as this one. Also, if you marry and have children, what are you going to tell them when they ask why they have to go to school when you didn't? Now, are you going to go skating with Joe or not?"

"I guess I will."

Abel decided to surprise the family with an announcement. "Before Cat and Joe go ice skating, I have an announcement to make. Benjamin, I have been giving it a lot of thought and have decided to accept your invitation to move to the Ponderosa permanently. The sea stopped calling to me years ago and my family is here now. Adam is my daughter's son and there is nothing in Boston for me except a lonely old house, which will be his to do with what he pleases when I die. I will return to Boston in the spring to dispose of my belongings and arrange to rent the house to someone who needs a place to live. I will ship whatever I want to keep here and sell anything Adam doesn't want. I have opened a bank account in Virginia City and had them transfer most of my money here from Boston. I left several hundred dollars there for any expenses I incur when I go there in the spring."

"That's wonderful news Grandfather," said Adam. "I had hoped you would accept the invitation to move here. What about your sister's son? Aren't you concerned he will take the money you left in your Boston account?"

"I must confess to being concerned about Bartholomew, so when I arranged to have my money transferred here, I also notified the bank manager in Boston that any bank draft or check made out to my nephew and signed by me would be a forgery and they were to take appropriate action. Hopefully that will keep him out of my account. If it doesn't, he can go to prison for forgery. It makes no difference to me what happens to him."

"I'm glad you're moving here Grandpa," said Cat. "Maybe then Adam won't be so mean to me."

"I thought you forgave me," said Adam.

"I did, but I won't ever forget what you did to me. I told you Billy and Tommy said they were going to do something bad if I didn't look under the saloon door, but you didn't listen to me. You just said that Pa let Joe get away with murder and you weren't going to let me do it too."

Ben sighed. Adam was going to have to spend more time working on his relationship with his sister. "Cat, if you are going to go ice skating with Joe, you need to go. There are only a few hours of daylight left, you have school tomorrow, and I don't want you out after dark."

After Cat and Joe left to go ice skating, Ben, Adam, Abel, and Hoss continued their discussion. "Benjamin, I remember Hoss telling Cat that this is Adam's and Joe's turn to go on the cattle drive. When do you plan on starting it?"

"I don't know right now. We have to wait until after most of the snow has melted. The cattle need grass and water along the way and if the mountain passes are still snowed in, they won't find either thing, not to mention the fact that they won't be able to get through. It could be as early as the middle of February or as late as the middle of March. Why do you ask?"

"I would like Adam to accompany me to Boston and I would like to take Cat also. Yes, I know that would mean she would be missing school, but if Adam and I do her lessons with her, she won't fall behind. It could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for her. Besides showing her around Boston, I plan on taking her to Lexington, Concord, Philadelphia, Washington, and Cambridge of course to see where Adam went to school. Time permitting, I would also like to take her to Williamsburg and Yorktown."

"I hope you don't intend on telling Catherine of your plans right now."

"Of course not. She would be so excited that she wouldn't concentrate in school. I don't plan on telling her until several days before we leave. I also want to talk with Miss Winter before then and ensure it's alright with her for Cat to miss that much school. After all, considering that it takes eight days to reach Boston from here, we'll be gone for more than a month. Hoss, I know you went on the cattle drive last year, but would you be willing to go in Adam's place this year? I would like to leave in early March so we're back before Easter. I wouldn't want my granddaughter to miss seeing her Godparents. Also, leaving after Easter means we would not return until the end of May and that's closer than I would prefer to the end of the school term. Your sister should be in school then so she is prepared for her final exams."

"Shore Abel. I'll go in Adam's place this year. I don't mind goin' two or three years in a row. Seein' Boston and all them other places would be good for Cat. Like you said, she might never get to see them again."

"Thank you Hoss. I appreciate it. Benjamin, with your permission, I will talk to Miss Winter this week. That will give her plenty of time to decide if she will allow Catherine to miss that much school."

"That's fine Abel. Susan Winter may want to discuss it with Gerald Miller or the entire school board. The older boys are usually absent from school in the spring and fall to help with planting and harvesting crops, as well as roundups, but the younger students are normally in school, so I don't know what the policy is for this particular situation. If it comes down to a vote by the entire school board, I will tell them Catherine has my permission to go with you and my reasons for that decision, but I will abstain from voting."

"Thank you Benjamin. I will go into town and speak with Miss Winter later this week. I don't want to do it tomorrow because I'm sure after not having school for two weeks, the students will have problems concentrating and she will have her hands full. Adam, you need to spend a lot more time working on your relationship with your sister. She may have forgiven you, but she still doesn't trust you. I could see it in the expression on her face when your father gave you and your brothers permission to deal with her if you see her doing something dangerous. Spend more time with her. I know you can't go fishing right now, but she seems to enjoy snowball fights. Challenge her to one and make the stakes something a nine year old can handle. School resumes tomorrow. Ask her if she needs help with her homework."

Hoss decided to join the conversation. "Ya need to teach little sister how ta play that guitar ya gave her for Christmas. All her friends are gone now so she'll have time to learn. Just remember to be patient with her 'cause ya shore weren't when ya tried teachin' Joe."

"I bought some snowshoes for your sister," added Ben. "She's never used them before and it would be a good idea if she did before the snow gets any deeper. Why don't you spend some time teaching her how to use them? We've already got a good two feet of snow on the ground now and could get hit by a blizzard any day now, giving us as much as another four feet of snow. Cat is going to need to be able to get around because you know she'll want to spend time with Fury. I'm warning you now, I fully intend on telling Cat what happened the first time you tried using your snowshoes."

"I don' remember that. What happened?" asked Hoss.

"You were only three, so I wouldn't expect you to remember what happened. Adam, do you want to tell your brother and grandfather what happened or would you like me to?"

"I don't want anyone, especially Joe and Cat, to know what happened to me. I have told them repeatedly that I am perfect and will not have them laughing at me."

"They already know ya ain't perfect," teased Hoss. "I done told Joe before ya came home from college an' ya proved it to Cat when she was four an' ya kept following her around Rip's fort 'cause ya didn't trust her to keep her promise to that Apache boy."

Ben decided to stop the argument before it started. "The first time Adam tried using his snowshoes, he fell into a tree and ended up being buried in snow. I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed that hard and I fully expect a good laugh when Cat tries using hers the first time."

When Joe and Cat returned from skating, she was hungry and cold. Hop Sing told her to sit in front of the fire and gave her a cup of hot cocoa and one cookie. When she complained about only getting one cookie, he said, "Suppel almost leady. You eat too many cookies, you no eat suppel and no get dessert. We have chocolate cake for dessert and you be sad not to get any."

After supper, Hoss and Joe played checkers and Cat started pacing out of frustration. "What's wrong Cat?" asked Ben.

"There's nobody here."

Ben knew what she was talking about but asked, "What do you mean? I'm here and so are your grandfather, Hop Sing, Adam, Hoss, and Joe."

"What I said. Nobody's here."

Before Ben could say anything else, Adam said, "Go and get your guitar. It's time for your first lesson."

"Really Adam?"

"Yes Cat. Really. Now go and get your guitar. I can't teach you how to play it if it's upstairs in your room." Cat started running toward the stairs. "Cat, don't run in the house."

"Oh. Sorry."

"I understand that you're upset because your uncles, friends and Mark have gone home so I'll overlook it this time," said Ben. "However, there will be consequences next time. Now walk upstairs and get your guitar."

"Ok Pa."

When Cat returned with her guitar, Adam was sitting in Ben's chair and said, "Come and sit in my lap so I can start teaching you how to use it." Once she was settled, he showed her how to hold the guitar.

"But I'm left handed."

"That's ok. It will be easier for me to teach you this way. Once you're comfortable using it, you'll be able to play either right or left handed. Now, before I start teaching you how to play, you need to know what the different parts are called." He pointed to each part of the guitar and told Cat what its name was. "Ok. Now let's see what you remember. Starting from the top, tell me what each part is."

Cat pointed at each part and named all of the parts she could remember. "Why are they called strings? They're wires, not strings."

"I don't know Squirt. That's just what they're called. You did a great job remembering all of the parts. Now I need to teach you what the strings are called. You need to know the name of each string so you can learn the chords. Each chord has its own finger placement on the strings. Starting with the narrowest string their names are E, B, G, D, A, and E. The thicker the string, the lower the note."

"But you said E twice."

Adam chuckled. "I know Cat. There are two E strings on a guitar. You can think of them as big E and little E, just like you and Joe call each other big twin and little twin." Cat giggled at being compared to a guitar string. "Since I know that "Early One Morning" is one of your favorite songs, I'm going to teach you the chords for it first. It's also an easy one to start with because there are only three chords in it. Now, to make a chord, you put your fingers behind the fret. They're numbered starting from the top so for example, when I tell you to put your index finger in the number two position on the big E string, you'll put it between the first and second frets. Don't worry if you don't remember everything I'm teaching you now because we'll go over it again until you remember. The first chord you're going to learn is the G chord. Put your index finger on the big E string in the number three position. Now put your middle finger on the A string in the number two position. Next, put your little finger on the little E string in the third position. You're doing fine. Now push them down against the fret board and strum the guitar starting from the big E string, going down to the little E string."

"The strings hurt my fingers when I push them down."

"Yes, they're going to for a while. The more you practice, the sooner you'll develop calluses and your fingers won't hurt any more. Now let's try the next chord which is the C chord. For that one, put your index finger on the A string in the third position, put your middle finger on the D string in the second position, and your fourth finger on the B string in the first position. Good. Now strum that chord. Do you hear the difference between the two chords? I have one more chord to teach you and that's the D chord. For that one your index finger goes on the D string in the second position. Your middle finger goes on the B string in the third position and your fourth finger goes on the little E string in the second position. Now strum that chord. You have now learned all of the chords for "Early One Morning". Don't get frustrated if you can't remember each cord because I'm going to draw diagrams for you of where to put your fingers for each of the three chords you just learned."

While Adam was in the middle of teaching Cat how to use her guitar, someone knocked on the door. Ben opened it to find Charles Ingalls standing there with Mary and Laura. He invited them in and Charles said, "Caroline and I talked and decided to take you up on your invitation for Mary and Laura to stay here for a few days so the two of us can spend time with Carrie. One of your hands put their horse in the barn already."

"That's fine. The girls are welcome to stay as long as necessary. Girls, you can put the saddle bags with your school books in them right here on the armoire. Then you can take your dinner pails into the kitchen. Hop Sing will put them with Cat's and fill them in the morning. I know that Cat will be very happy to see the two of you. Adam is teaching her how to play her guitar, so while he's doing that, you can take your clothes upstairs to Cat's room. He should be finished with the lesson by then."

"Thank you Ben. I can't tell you how much Caroline and I appreciate this. Is Joe home? I need to ask him to do something for me."

"Yes, he's home. Why don't you go into the dining room and I'll get him? I don't want to break Cat's concentration right now. Adam has given her a lot of information to remember, but she's doing a good job." Ben walked into the great room and quietly told Joe that Charles wanted to talk to him.

"Hello Charles. Pa said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes Joe. I have a favor to ask of you. While Carrie was napping after church, Caroline and I talked with Mary and Laura who had some good suggestions on how we can reward Carrie for not having tantrums. Would you be willing to take her sledding the next time the older children go? She could lay on your back and hold onto you."

"I'll be more than happy to do that. Just make sure she understands that because I want her to be safe, we're not going to start as high up the mountain as the big kids do. I don't want to take a chance that she'll let go of me, fall off, and get hurt. Carrie will still get a good ride and I'll take her more than once. We will just start closer to the bottom of the mountain."

"That's fine Joe. Thank you for saying you will take Carrie sledding. It will make her happy to know that she'll get to do something the big kids can. Laura and Mary offered to take her sledding, but Caroline and I would feel better if she was with an adult."

Knowing that Laura and Mary were there and Cat's attention to her guitar lesson would soon be lost, Adam said, "We've done enough for today. You've learned a lot so all you need to do now is practice. All I want you to do is play each chord twice a day. That will help you to learn them and also build up the calluses on your fingers so they don't hurt when you play. I'll have the diagrams of the chords done before you get home from school tomorrow. Now, if you'll go and look in the dining room, you'll find a surprise waiting for you. Give me your guitar and I'll hold it for right now."

Cat handed her guitar to Adam and walked into the dining room where she was surprised to see her friends. Much to the amusement of the adults, the three girls greeted each other as though they hadn't seen each other for weeks instead of several hours. "Are you going to stay here forever now?" asked Cat.

"I'm afraid not Cat," replied Charles. "They're only staying here for a few days so their mother and I can spend time with Carrie and try to figure out why she's having so many tantrums lately."

"Oh. But I want them to stay here forever."

"I know that's what the three of you would like, but their mother, sister, and I would miss them very much. You'll see each other every day at school and most weekends, so you're not going to be apart that much. Laura, Mary, I've got to be going before your mother starts to worry about us. Have fun and I'll see you in a few days."

After Charles left, Ben said, "You have about an hour before bed girls. That gives you enough time to play two games of checkers. Cat, why don't you put your guitar away, put your school books in your saddle bags and put them on the armoire? That way you won't have to worry about it in the morning."

"I really, really don't want to go to school. I don't like it and shouldn't have to go."

"Why don't you like school?" asked Mary.

"'Cause it's inside and we have to do arithmetic."

"You're silly. We can't have school outside. The boys wouldn't pay attention. I like school."

"That's 'cause you're good at everything. You and Adam should get married. He likes school too."

Ben laughed, gave Cat a playful swat and said, "Go put your guitar away and bring your school books downstairs. Then the three of you can decide who's going to play the first game of checkers and who's going to play the winner."

The girls decided that Mary and Laura would play the first game and Cat would play the winner. After Laura beat Cat, Ben told the girls it was time for bed. Once they were in bed, Laura said, "I wish the boys were here too."

"So do I," replied Cat. "I really miss Mark. We'll see Jas and Mike tomorrow, but unless we can figure out how to get Uncle Luke to let Mark live here, I won't see him again until July."

The three girls talked but were unable to think of a way for Mark's father to let him move to the Ponderosa. Joe walked in while they were talking and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"We're trying to figure out how to get Uncle Luke to let Mark move here."

"That's not going to happen Cat. Mark has to stay with his father. The three of you need to go to sleep. I can guarantee that if Adam or Pa come up here and catch you talking, you're all going to be in trouble and may end up with sore bottoms. Believe me, I learned a long time ago that when Pa says to go to sleep, he means it. You have school in the morning and if you're yawning all through breakfast, Pa will know you didn't listen to him." He hugged Cat. "Goodnight little sister. I love you."

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Georgia Female College was chartered on December 23, 1836 and opened its doors to students on January 7, 1839. The school was renamed as Wesleyan Female College in 1843, when its affiliation changed from the Methodist-Episcopal Church to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The college shortened its name in 1917 to the present Wesleyan College.

A pioneer for women's education and liberal arts education in the United States, Matthew Vassar founded Vassar College in 1861. Opening its doors to its first class of 353 students paying $350 for tuition and "residence" on September 26, 1865, the college offered young women a liberal arts education equal to that of the best men's colleges of the day.

A Presbyterian minister and a missionary founded Oberlin in 1833. The duo, the Rev. John J. Shipherd and Philo P. Stewart, became friends while spending the summer of 1832 together in nearby Elyria. They discovered a mutual disenchantment with what they saw as the lack of strong Christian principles among the settlers of the American West. They decided to establish a college and a colony based on their religious beliefs, "where they would train teachers and other Christian leaders for the boundless most desolate fields in the West.''