After the children left the school, Miss Jackson straightened up her desk, erased the chalk boards and began to sweep the floor. While she was sweeping, Eric's father walked into the school. "Hello Miss Jackson. How are you?"
"Hello Mr. James. I am fine, thank you for asking."
"I'm afraid that this isn't a social call. David Nelson has requested a school board meeting for tonight. As school board chairman, I'm not supposed to ask you what happened before we meet tonight, but I'm going to any way."
Miss Jackson told him about Mark teasing Cat, pushing all of the books and other things onto the floor and refusing to pick them up."
"I thought it might be something like that," said Mr. James. "That boy gets absolutely no discipline. His father lets him do anything he wants to with no consequences. Eric has told me about Mark's behavior in school before, but no parents complained to the school board, so there was nothing we could do about it. Now, before I leave, please tell me, except for the problem with Mark Nelson, how did your first day go? How did the five year olds do on their first day of school?"
Miss Jackson told him how the day went and said that the five year olds did just fine on their first day.
"I'm glad to hear it. I've got to go now. I have things to do before the meeting tonight. Please be at the meeting house at seven o'clock. Between you, me and these desks, you have nothing to worry about, but David Nelson and his son are going to be in for a rude awakening."
"I'll be there. In fact, if you don't mind, I have a few ideas that I'd like to bring before the school board."
"That's fine. We'll deal with the problem of Mark Nelson and then we'll hear your ideas. I'll see you at seven."
Miss Jackson finished sweeping the school floor and went home to prepare the next day's lessons and eat some supper before the school board meeting. She arrived at the meeting house shortly before seven and walked in. The school board members were there as well as Mark Nelson and his father. "Miss Jackson, thank you for coming," said Mr. James. "Please have a seat here in the front row."
Miss Jackson had no sooner sat down when the door opened and most of the students walked in. Everyone was surprised to see them, especially Mark and his father. Mr. James called the meeting to order and informed everybody why the meeting had been called. He asked Mark Nelson to come up to the front of the room and tell his version of what happened in school. Mark walked up to the front of the room and told everyone that he hadn't done anything and Miss Jackson had punished him for no reason at all. Before Mr. James could ask him any questions, the door opened and Cat walked in. She had heard Rebecca Tanner telling her parents, Uncle Matt and Kitty about what had happened in school and that Mr. Nelson was trying to have Miss Jackson fired. Cat didn't know what it meant to be fired, but she guessed it was something bad. Mr. James looked at her and asked, "Catherine, what are you doing here? Does your uncle know that you are here?"
"No he doesn't," Cat replied. "Mark's Pa said he wanted you to fire Miss Jackson. I don't like school, but I like Miss Jackson. She's nice. You should fire Mark instead. He's mean." Everybody in the room had a hard time keeping a straight face at Cat's comments.
"I'm sure that it's past your bedtime and we need to get you back to your uncle's office, so before someone takes you back, will you please tell us what happened in school today?" asked Mr. James.
"You were talking to my son," yelled Mr. Nelson. "We don't need to hear nothin' that brat has to say."
"Mr. Nelson, I am going to ask you not to yell in this meeting," said Mr. James. We've already heard what your son had to say. Catherine is a five year old child who should be in bed right now. We need to hear what she has to say so we can get her back where she belongs."
"Mark called me a dirty, stinkin' squaw and pushed me. I'm not a squaw. I'm an Apache warrior. I was going to hit him but Julie said not to, so we walked away from him. He followed us and called me a dirty, stinkin' squaw again and Miss Jackson made him sit on the steps. He did the same thing after dinner and the Tanners wanted to jump on him and hit him, so Robert took him to Miss Jackson. When it was time to play outside again, Miss Jackson told Mark he couldn't play, so he pushed a lot of books and things onto the floor. When we came back inside, Miss Jackson told him to pick everything up and he said no, so she told him again and he said no, so she hit him with the long rod."
"You ain't no warrior," yelled Mark. "You're nothing but a dirty, filthy, stinkin' squaw and you should be shot. I'm going to get my rifle and shoot you. Then you'll be dead like a good injun should be."
"Mark Nelson, that is totally unacceptable. Once this meeting is over, I will be telling Marshal Dillon about your threats to his niece. If anything happens to her, you will be in very big trouble. Catherine, thank you for coming here and telling us what happened today," said Mr. James. "Now it's late and we've got to get you back to your uncle's office so you can go to bed. Will somebody please take Catherine back to the Marshal's office?"
"I'll take her," said Mr. Nelson.
"No!" said Cat. "He's mean. He yelled at Miss Jackson today. I don't want him to take me back to Uncle Matt's office. I know the way, I can go by myself."
"You are only five years old and it's dark outside and not safe for a young child to be walking alone. Somebody needs to go with you." Eric and David stood up and said that they would walk Cat back to the Marshal's office.
When they entered Matt's office, he was at his desk doing some paperwork. He looked up and saw the two boys escorting his niece and said, "Cat where were you? You are supposed to be in bed, not out wandering the streets alone. Tomorrow after school, you will stay here instead of going over to Julie's house. If you need help with your homework, she can come here, but you will stay right here."
"I told Eric's Pa what Mark Nelson did today," said Cat.
"What?" asked Matt.
"She came to the school board meeting and told them what happened in school today. Mr. Nelson and Mark were not very happy that she did. "Now, we've got to get back to the meeting. Most of the students are there. We're trying to keep Mr. Nelson from having Miss Jackson fired."
"Thank you for bringing Cat back here boys. I appreciate it. Be careful going back to the meeting and I hope that you are successful in keeping Miss Jackson from being fired. Now Cat, it is long past time for you to be in bed. You have to get up for school in the morning. I'll be in there in five minutes and if you're not in bed, I am going to give you a spanking."
The boys went back to the meeting and since Cat didn't want a spanking, she changed into her nightgown and got in bed. When the boys returned to the meeting house, Miss Jackson was telling the school board what Mark had done in school that day. "I did not see him push Catherine," she said. "If I had, he would have been given a whipping and sent home. I explained the rules to everybody, parents included, this morning, so he knew what the consequences of his actions would be. This is my fifth year of teaching and it's the first time that I've had to punish a child on the first day of school. I gave Mark two chances to pick up the things he pushed onto the floor. When he refused, I had no choice but to punish him."
"She's just a stupid woman. Why are you listening to her and why did you listen to that brat?" yelled Mr. Nelson. "Women and children shouldn't be allowed to say anything about anything important."
"Mr. Nelson, I asked you once before not to yell in this meeting," said Mr. James. "The next time you do so, I will ask you to leave. If you refuse, I will send for Marshal Dillon and have him remove you. Now please sit down and be quiet. Now, most of the students are here, so I am going to ask them, does anybody have anything to say that is different from what Catherine and Miss Jackson said?" The students all shook their heads no. Then Mr. James said, "The school board and I will adjourn to the next room and discuss what we heard tonight. We will return with our decision shortly." He and the school board members walked into another room. "Does anybody here doubt the truth of what Catherine and Miss Jackson said?"
"No," said Mr. White. "Catherine risked severe punishment to come here tonight and tell us what happened. None of the other students contradicted either her or Miss Jackson's statements. I'd say that all we have to decide is what we're going to do about Mark Nelson. He has gotten away with this kind of behavior for far too long. We couldn't do anything before now because Mr. Pope allowed him to do whatever he wanted and no parents complained to us."
The other school board members agreed with Mr. White. "I propose that Mark be excluded from school for the remainder of the week," said Mr. James. "He will still be responsible for completing all of the assignments so that he will not fall behind the rest of his class, however, all of the assignments will receive failing grades. The next time he does something like that, he will be excluded for two weeks. If he does it a third time, he will be excluded for a month, fail the term and have to repeat the fourth grade. Does anybody have any other suggestions?" Everybody shook their heads no, so Mr. James said, "Since everybody agrees with my recommendations, let's go and tell Miss Jackson that her job is safe and inform Mark of his punishment. All of those children need to go home and get to bed so they can get up for school in the morning."
The men walked back into the other room and Mr. James told everyone of their decision. Mr. Nelson was furious and started yelling at the school board members. He said that they and Miss Jackson would regret the day they punished his son. Mr. Jackson said, "Mr. Nelson, this meeting is over; please take your son and leave. The board's decision is final. There is nothing left to discuss with you. Children, thank you for coming and showing support for a teacher you just met this morning. That speaks very highly of your character and I will be sure to let your parents know how proud I am of you. Now, it is getting late and you have school in the morning. Please be careful going home." The students all left the meeting hall.
Miss Jackson stood up and addressed the school board. "Before you adjourn for the evening, I have a few ideas I would like your approval for. As many of you know, I came here to Dodge more than a month ago. I wanted to see what kind of town I would be working in. I have discovered that there are some very talented people living here and I would like to take advantage of their talents. Mrs. White is a very talented musician and I would like to ask her to come to the school one afternoon a week and teach the children about music and play some songs they can sing. There is a piano in the school. I think it needs to be tuned, but it does work. Likewise, Mr. Peterson is a very talented artist. I would like to invite him to come to the school one afternoon a week and teach the children about art and show them how to draw. We might even discover that some of the students have talents for art or music. The students will still get all of the instruction they need in their subjects, and I know that many of them will grow up to be farmers and ranchers, but I believe it is important to expose them to things other than school work, farming and ranching. Perhaps Mr. Samson could come one afternoon and talk to the students about what it takes to publish a newspaper. That will help them to understand why using proper grammar is so important. If any of the older students are interested, maybe he could take them to his shop and show them how to print it. Almost everybody rides horses and sometimes those horses lose their shoes. I think it would be helpful if the blacksmith could come one afternoon and tell the students what to do if they're out riding and their horse loses a shoe."
The school board members listened to what Miss Jackson had to say. When she was finished, Mr. White said, "Those are wonderful ideas Miss Jackson. You are correct; the children do need to be exposed to things other than school work, farming and ranching. I'll speak with my wife when I return home and ask her to speak with you as soon as it's convenient for both of you. I will also ask our banker, Mr. Jones if he could go to the school on occasion and show the students how to keep books. That is something even farmers and ranchers need to know, and it will help the students to know why learning Arithmetic is so important. Maybe you will even be able to convince young Catherine that school isn't as bad as she thinks it is." Other school board members said that they would talk with Mr. Samson and Quint, while still others said that they would talk to other townspeople who owned shops and see if they would be willing to spend part of an afternoon talking to the students about what they do and showing those who were interested, how to do it.
Miss Jackson couldn't believe the response she got and tears came to her eyes. "Thank you so very much gentlemen. I am very grateful for your support. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return home and finish preparing for tomorrow before retiring for the night. I told the students that I would be at the school every morning at seven thirty to help those who had trouble completing their homework assignments."
Mr. Stevens spoke up. "You are very welcome Miss Jackson. My Tommy will be graduating next year and I have never seen him so interested in school and supportive of a teacher before. Now, it is late and some of us should escort you home. It is not always safe for a woman to be out alone this late. Marshal Dillon does an excellent job of keeping Dodge safe, but he can't be everywhere at once and sometimes, bad things happen to people. Please allow at least one of us to escort you home."
Before Miss Jackson could protest that she didn't need an escort, the door opened and Matt walked in. "Good evening everybody. I saw the children leaving and figured the meeting must be over. I've come to walk Miss Jackson home. It's dark out and she shouldn't be walking that far alone."
"That's precisely what I was just telling her," said Mr. Stevens.
"Good then. It's all settled. Walking Miss Jackson home will give me the opportunity to tell her what to expect from my little Wild Cat. Miss Jackson, if you're finished here, please get your wrap and I will escort you home. Good night everyone. Be careful going home."
While Miss Jackson was getting her wrap, Mr. James told Matt about Mark's threat. "Thank you Paul. I appreciate you telling me about the threat to my niece. Since she's so young, I don't allow her to wander around town alone. However, if Mark is serious, he could shoot at her anytime, whether she's alone or not. I'll just have to try and keep her as close to me as possible. I'll have to try and get volunteers to stay with her in my office when I can't be there. Maybe I'll take her out to the Tanners and let her stay with them for a while. I will definitely ride out to the Nelson ranch tomorrow and let Jonah know that if anything happens to Cat, I will be arresting him, not his ten year old son. Ten year olds don't come up with ideas like that on their own. Someone has to teach those ideas to them and that someone is usually one of their parents. The law takes a very dim view of parents teaching their children that it is ok to kill someone just because they don't like that person."
Miss Jackson got her wrap and said, "Marshal, how can you call that sweet little girl 'Wild Cat'?"
"That's because she is wild Miss Jackson. Her older cousin who gave her that nickname likes to say that she's as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame. I'll tell you a little about her while I walk you home." As he walked Miss Jackson home, Matt told her about Cat disappearing and living with the Apaches while they were in Arizona.
By the time they reached her house, Miss Jackson was laughing so hard, there were tears in her eyes. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "That little one sure is precocious, isn't she? I'll do the best I can to keep her from becoming bored. Thank you for walking me home Marshal. I'll see you in the morning when you drop Catherine off for school."
After ensuring that Miss Jackson got home safely, Matt made his rounds and stopped by the Long Branch were he found his friends sitting at a table. He told them about Cat's first day at school and how she showed up at the school board meeting and about Mark Nelson's threat to kill Cat. "I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl," he said. "Today was only the first day of school and, according to Julie, Cat and the Tanner twins are bored and planning on 'escaping' from it as soon as they possibly can. I don't have time to go over to the school every fifteen minutes to make sure that Cat is still there. Also, I fully expect Mark Nelson and his father to make as much trouble as they can. Mark is used to being able to do whatever he wants to and his father swore to get even with the school board and Miss Jackson for punishing the boy, and I am very worried about Mark's threat to kill Cat. I don't think he'll go into my office when I'm not there, but I don't want to take any chances. Festus, Quint, can I count on you to stay in my office with Cat when I can't be there? I'm going to ask Burke and some of the other men also. I just don't want Cat to be alone until something can be done about the Nelsons. I'm not sure what to do about protecting her when she's in school. Mark can hide a gun anywhere near the school and get it when the children are at recess or dinner."
Both Festus and Quint said that they'd be more than happy to stay with Cat while Matt was out doing his job. "Matt, why don't you ask Sam?" Kitty asked. "He loves that little girl as much as the rest of us do. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to sit with her when you're busy." Before Matt could answer, Kitty called Sam over and told him what Matt needed.
"You don't have to ask twice Matt. I love that little wild one as much as if she were my own daughter. That boy who threatened her needs a good thrashing and his father should be horse whipped for teaching his son things like that! In fact, if you'd like me to, I'll go and sit outside the school every day to make sure the boy can't get a gun while the children are out playing.
"Thank you Sam. I don't want anyone outside the school just yet. Cat is too young to realize the danger she's in, but from what I could see last night, I think that Eric James and his friends will do their best to protect Cat. I'm going to talk to Judge Michaels in the morning to see what can be done about having Mark removed from his father's care. After that, I'm going to ride out to the Nelson ranch and tell Jonas that if anything happens to Cat, I will be arresting him, not his ten year old son."
The next morning, Cat reluctantly got ready for school. She didn't want to go but since she went to the school board meeting the previous night, she didn't have time to put any of her things together and hide them near the Blacksmith's shop. After breakfast, Matt walked her to school, hugged and kissed her, and told her to find the Tanners and Julie. He watched her walk off and just as he was getting ready to leave the school, Eric James walked up to him. "Don't worry about Cat, Marshal. My friends and I will look after her while we're at school. We loved her statement last night about being an Apache warrior and think that she's cute. We thought that we'd teach her and her friends how to play ball with us. I think she'll love throwing a ball around."
"Thank you Eric and please thank your friends for me. You have taken a large weight off my shoulders."
"It's our pleasure Marshal. Cat has some real spunk for a five year old. There aren't many ten year olds who would try to hit Mark Nelson, so for a five year old to do it takes real spunk. It's going to be fun watching her grow up and seeing what she's like five years from now." Just then, Miss Jackson rang the bell and Eric said, "I've got to go. If I'm late, my father will kill me."
Eric walked into the school while Matt walked over to Judge Taylor's office. He wanted to ask the judge what could be done to remove Mark Nelson from his father's custody. After speaking with the judge, he planned on riding out to the Nelson ranch and telling Jonah that if anything happened to Cat, he, not his ten year old son, would be arrested. When he arrived, Matt was surprised to see several members of the school board there also. They had also come to ask the judge what could be done about removing Mark Nelson from his father's custody. The judge listened to what the men had to say and said that he would review the law concerning child custody and see what could be done. He also told them that they should not go out to the Nelson ranch and that he would go and tell Mr. Nelson that if anything happened to Cat, he, not Mark would be arrested. "I know that's your job Matt," he said. "However, in this case, you are personally involved and if you go out to the Nelson's, Jonah could say that you threatened to harm him because his son threatened your niece. It will be best for everyone if I go out there myself." Matt agreed to let the judge go out to the Nelson ranch instead of doing it himself.
After Matt and the school board members left the judge's office, he got his horse and rode out to the Nelson ranch. When he got there, he told Mr. Nelson that if Mark did anything to hurt Cat, he would be arrested and his son sent to a home for wayward boys. He didn't tell him that he was planning to see what the law had to say about removing the boy from his father's custody because of the threat that had been made. "I will be the judge at your trial Jonah and if the jury finds you guilty, I will give you the maximum penalty. Eight year olds don't learn to hate and threaten to kill people they don't like, on their own. Someone has to teach them those things and that someone is usually a parent. Rein in your son or you will both suffer the consequences of his actions." Before Mr. Nelson could say anything, Judge Michaels turned his horse around and rode away from the ranch.
After Matt dropped her off at school, Cat found the Tanners and Julie and told them about going to the school board meeting the previous night. She told them about Mr. Nelson yelling and Mark threatening to shoot her.
"Aren't you scared?" asked Michael.
"No I'm not," replied Cat. "If Mark teases me again today, I'm going to hit him. Even if I get in trouble for it, if he teases me again today, I'm going to hit him." Julie and the older Tanner children tried to convince her that hitting Mark was not going to solve the problem, but she didn't want to listen to them. Just then, Miss Jackson rang the bell and Cat told Michael and Peter, "If school is as boring today as it was yesterday, I'm not going to come tomorrow. I'll put some of my clothes in a bag and hid them near Quint's shop tonight when Uncle Matt goes out to make his rounds. Then when he brings me to school tomorrow and leaves, I'll go, get my things and ride Spot out to the Arapahos and see if they'll help me go to my Apache family."
"No Cat, don't leave," said Peter. "It might get better. Just go somewhere and hide for the day. Then come back when school is over. We'll tell you what the homework is, so you won't get in trouble for not being in school and not doing your homework."
"Maybe we'll come with you," said Michael. "I hate writing numbers and letters all day. It's boring."
Robert thought that Peter, Michael, and Cat were taking too much time getting to the stairs, so he went back to where they were, grabbed each of them by a hand and made them hurry up. When she entered the school, Cat looked for Mark Nelson and was surprised to see that he wasn't there and thought he might be afraid of her. Miss Jackson had decided not to tell the students about her plans until she and the school board had spoken with the people she wanted to teach the students about art, music, and other things. The second day of school for the five year olds was spent learning more numbers and letters and writing them, just as they had the previous day. By dinner time, Cat and the Tanner twins were quite bored and ready to leave school for the rest of the day. Rebecca and Robert must have guessed what they were thinking because they and Julie stayed with Cat and the twins until dinner was over and everyone went back into the school.
During afternoon recess, Rebecca, Robert and Julie stayed close to Cat and the twins when Eric and David walked over to the group. "I thought we'd teach Cat and your brothers how to play ball," said David. That will give them something to do at recess and after eating dinner besides waiting to take a turn on the swings and see saw." The older boys took Cat and the twins far enough away from the other children so that if a ball wasn't caught, it wouldn't hit anyone. They had invited Julie to come also but she said that she wasn't interested in playing ball. First they showed the three younger children how to hold their hands to catch the ball. Then Eric threw it to David, who caught it and threw it back to Eric. Then they showed Cat, Michael and Peter how to throw the ball. After showing the three what to do, Eric told them that he was going to throw the ball to them. First he was going to throw it to Cat, then to Peter and then to Michael. None of the three caught the ball the first time it was thrown to them, which made them upset. David said, "Don't worry. I didn't catch the ball the first ten times my Pa threw it to me. Just like with anything else, it takes time to learn. That's why Miss Jackson is having you write your letters and numbers so much. The more you write them, the sooner you'll know them. Now, Eric is going to throw the ball to you again. Do your best to catch it but don't get upset if you miss. We're a lot older than you and we don't always catch it. Eric threw the ball and this time Peter caught it while his brother and Cat missed. It several more tries, but Cat and Michael finally caught the ball. They were about to have the three younger children start throwing the ball, but Miss Jackson rang the bell, ending recess. As she had done the previous day, Miss Jackson read a chapter from Robin Hood to the class. When she finished, she closed the book, placed it on her desk and told the students that school was dismissed for the day.
While Cat, Peter and Michael waited to be picked up from school, Cat told the twins that she was not going to attend school the next day. "I'm bored and tired of just writing letters and numbers all day. I'm going to put some of my clothes and other things in a bag and hide it in Spot's stall. After Uncle Matt leaves me here tomorrow, I'm going to ride to the Arapahos."
"Don't leave, Cat," said Peter. "We're bored too. If we can get away from Rebecca and Robert, Michael and me will come with you. We can go fishing and then come back here just before school lets out. If we're here when our parents and your uncle come to get us, they won't know that we weren't in school." Cat agreed and the three of them decided to hide in some bushes near the school as soon as they were dropped off in the morning. Little did they know how and why their plans would change the following day.
That night, after Matt kissed and hugged her goodnight, Cat got out of bed and put some of her clothes and other things into one of the bags she had used when she ran away that summer. She waited until she heard her uncle leave to make his rounds. She picked up her bag and started to carry it out into the office. She was going to go out the side door and take the alley to the Blacksmith's shop where she would hide the bag. She started to walk out into the office when she saw Festus sitting at her uncle's desk. She quickly ducked back into the little room she shared with her uncle but not before Festus saw her. She was able to hide the bag under her bed just before Festus walked into the room. "What are you doing out of bed Cat? You should have been asleep a long time ago."
"I have to use the outhouse," she lied.
"Alright young'in, climb up here on my back and I'll give you a ride over there. It's much too late for you to be going over there by yourself."
"Why are you in Uncle Matt's office?" she asked.
"Matthew asked me ifn I wouldn't mind sittin' in there while he was out doin' his job. He doesn't like leaving you alone in case you have a bad dream or need to use the outhouse."
"Have you been doing that for a long time?"
"Oh yes," he lied because Matt didn't want Cat worried about Mark's threat. "I've been doing it ever since you first came to live with Matthew. So has Quint and Sam does sometimes too. Why, even ole Doc has sat in here a time or two just so's you wouldn't be alone at night. This is just the first time you woke up when one of us was here. Now, let's get you over to the outhouse so's you can get back to bed and get some sleep. You have to get up early for school in the morning and you won't learn nothin' ifn you're tired." Cat climbed up on his back and Festus carried her over to the outhouse, back to the Marshal's office and put her back in bed. He hugged and kissed her, pulled the covers up and turned the lamp way down. "Good night Little Cat. Sleep well and have sweet dreams."
When Matt returned to his office, Festus told him about Cat needing to use the outhouse and the lies he had told her. "Thank you Festus. I really appreciate you taking care of Cat for me. I don't want her worrying about Mark Nelson's threat. We'd better tell Doc, Quint and Sam what you told Cat so they will know what to say if she asks them. I hate lying to her, but it's better than having her worry about what Mark might do to her."
"Alright Matthew. I'm a fixin' to head over to the Long Branch. Do you want me to say somethin' to Doc, Quint and Sam or do you want to?"
"I'll do it Festus. I want to wait a little while and make sure that Cat's asleep. I don't think that Mark will try and do anything tonight, so she should be fine for a little while." Fifteen minutes later, Matt checked on his niece and found her to be sound asleep. She had kicked the covers off, so he covered her up again and kissed her cheek. Then he walked over to the Long Branch where he and Festus told Kitty, Doc, Quint and Sam about the lies Festus had told Cat. They all agreed to keep up the lies and Doc said that if nobody else could do it, he would sit in Matt's office with Cat as long as Mark Nelson was a threat.