When Miss Jackson arrived at school the next morning, she found that the door had been removed from its hinges. She walked up the stairs and looked inside. What she saw made her want to cry. Everything that had been on her desk was on the floor and the desk had been turned on its side. Some student desks had been unbolted from the floor and turned on their sides also and one of the black boards had been split in half with an axe. Mr. White lived closest to the school, so she ran over to his house and knocked on the door. Mrs. White answered the door, took one look at the frightened look on Miss Jackson's face, put her arm around her and brought her inside the house. Then she called her husband. When Mr. White appeared, Miss Jackson told him what she had found at the school. He left the house and hurriedly walked over to the school with his wife and Miss Jackson following close behind. When he saw the mess in the school, he turned to the two women and said, "Go, get Marshal Dillon and bring him here as quickly as you can. Once he is here, I will go and get the other school board members who live in town. We have got to get this school put right as best as we can before the children arrive."
The two women walked over to the Marshal's office and told him what had happened at the school. He said that he would go over there as soon as he got Kitty to look after Cat. She was fussing about not wanting to go to school and Kitty was the one person he was certain could get her to go. Matt walked over to the Long Branch, told Kitty what had happened at the school and asked her to please get Cat ready for school. Then he walked over to the school. "Thank you for coming Marshal," said Mr. White. "Is there any doubt in your mind as to who did this?"
"No," said Matt. "I'll go and talk to Nelson later but right now, let me try and find some men to help get this place fixed up before the children arrive. First, I want Judge Michaels to see this because I want him to ride out with me when I talk to Jonah. That way, he can't say I tried to hurt him or anything like that."
"I'm going to get the other school board members who live in town," said Mr. White.
"That's an excellent idea," replied Matt. The more hands we have, the sooner we'll have this place fixed up. Be sure and tell them to bring some tools."
Both men left the school to get more help. On his way out, Mr. White told his wife to take Miss Jackson back to their house. There was nothing either of them could do and they would just be in the way. Miss Jackson didn't want to leave the school but realized that Mr. White was right so she left with Mrs. White.
Matt walked over to Judge Michaels' house and knocked on the door. Mrs. Taylor answered the door and told her husband that Matt wanted to speak with him. Matt told the judge about the mess at the school house and he got his hat and coat and walked over there to see for himself. Matt left the judge's house and walked over to the Dodge House where Festus, Quint, and Doc were just getting ready to order breakfast.
"Mornin' Matt," said Doc. "Where's your little shadow?"
"She's still over at my office. Kitty's getting her ready for school. Festus, Quint, I need your help. The school was vandalized last night and we've only got a short amount of time to put it right before the children arrive." He went on to tell them what had been done and they both said that they'd get some tools and be at the school in a few minutes. The destroyed black board was a different matter. There was no way to fix it so Mr. White said he would talk to Mr. James and the rest of the school board about buying another one. In the mean time, Miss Jackson would just have to do the best she could with one.
All of the available men showed up at the school with tools and had everything put back where it belonged in less than an hour. Judge Michaels told Matt that he would ride out and tell Mr. Nelson everyone knew he and Mark were the ones who vandalized the school and as soon as it could be proven, he would personally ride out with Matt to have him arrested.
Cat and the Tanner twins had made their plans to leave the school just as soon as Matt dropped Cat off. However, when everyone arrived at the school, they found a bunch of adults there. "There's too many grown ups," Michael said. "If we try to leave now, they'll stop us and then we'll be in real big trouble. I don't know about your uncle, Cat, but our Pa hits hard when he spanks us and I don't want a spanking." Cat said that Matt hit hard too and she didn't want a spanking either, so they had better go to school. If things were still bad today, they wouldn't go to school tomorrow.
A few minutes later, Miss Jackson rang the bell and all of the students went into the school. All of them were shocked to see the black board split in half and wondered what had happened. Mr. White walked up to the front of the classroom and said, "Good morning boys and girls. Last night, some very bad people came into our school and made a big mess. All of the men you see here came over this morning to help make things right. As you can see, the only thing they weren't able to fix was the black board. The school board will be buying a new one for you. Before you ask, we don't know who did this but Marshal Dillon is trying to find out. Now, before Miss Jackson begins your lessons, will you please say "Thank You" to the men who fixed your school for you?" All of the students thanked the men, who then left the school so Miss Jackson could begin the day's lessons.
The five year olds spent the day learning and writing more letters and numbers again. "I know that you're getting tired of writing letters and numbers," Miss Jackson told them. "On Monday, you're going to start learning the sounds the letters make and how to make words with them. You're also going to start learning how to add two numbers together to make a bigger number." Cat, Michael and Peter didn't care. All they wanted to do was get as far away from the school as possible. School was boring and they didn't want to go any more. At morning recess, they managed to get away from the twins' older siblings and Julie to make their plans for the next day.
"I couldn't hide my things last night," Cat said. "I was going to sneak out with them when Uncle Matt went to walk around the town, but Festus was there, so I couldn't sneak out. He saw me out of bed and asked why, so I told him I had to use the outhouse. If I have to leave forever, I might not be able to take any of my things with me because when Uncle Matt isn't in his office at night, someone else is. If I get caught sneaking out, I'll get a spanking."
"Oh wow!" exclaimed Michael. "I really hope you don't get caught. Spankings really hurt. We'd better go back by the others before Robert or Rebecca start looking for us. They might figure out what we're going to do. We can talk more after dinner and at recess this afternoon." They walked over to where the other Tanner children and Julie were. "There's an empty swing," Michael said to Robert. "Will you please push us on it?" The children walked over to the swings where they found two empty ones so Rebecca and Robert pushed the younger children on them until Miss Jackson rang the bell to end recess.
After dinner the three five year olds had the opportunity to work on their plans more. "Where are we going to hide tomorrow morning?" asked Peter.
"How about in those big bushes near the outhouse?" asked Michael. "Nobody ever plays over there, so nobody should see us."
"That's great Michael," said Cat. The bushes are close to the trees so we can run and hide in the trees and go out of town that way. Nobody can see us then."
"We can come back that way too," said Peter. We can be with everyone else when school is over and nobody will know that we weren't there all day."
"I wish we could take fishing poles with us," said Michael. "I want to go fishing."
"The Apaches taught me how to make a fishing pole. We can use branches on the ground for poles, but we need to bring string and something to use as hooks," explained Cat.
"Pa's got lots of string around the farm and I know where John has fishing hooks!" exclaimed Peter. "Me and Michael can get them today and put them in our pockets in the morning."
"We should go by Rebecca and Robert before they find out what we're going to do," said Cat. "If they find out, they'll tell Uncle Matt and he might spank me. They'll probably tell your Pa too and he'll spank you too."
"You're right," said the boys together."
"Let's go play ball with the big boys," said Michael. "Then Rebecca and Robert will think we've been with them instead of over here talking." The three of them found David and Eric who gladly included them in their ball game. A few minutes later, Robert Tanner realized that he hadn't seen his brothers or Cat in quite a while, became concerned about where they were and went looking for them. He stopped worrying when he found the three youngsters playing ball with his friends who invited him to join the game. A little while later, Miss Jackson rang the bell and the student went back into the school to begin their afternoon lessons. At afternoon recess, Cat, Peter and Michael had one last opportunity to finalize their plans for the next day.
"As soon as Uncle Matt leaves me here in the morning, I'm going to go over by the outhouse and hide in the bushes," said Cat.
"We'll watch for you and come there just as soon as we can," said Michael.
"I'll get the string and fish hooks and put them under my bed," said Peter. "Me and Michael can put them in our pockets in the morning. Ma never checks our pockets, so if we're careful, she won't know that we've got them. Right now, we had better play ball or on the see saw or ask Robert and Rebecca to push us on the swings before they find out what we're going to do and tell Pa and Marshal Dillon." The three children ran off to ask Rebecca and Robert to push them on the swings.
After Matt dropped her off at school the next morning, Cat ran and hid in the bushes near the outhouse. Peter and Michael joined her in a few minutes. They had string and fish hooks with them. "How are we going to dig for worms?" asked Peter.
"None of us has a shovel so we'll have to use rocks, sticks and our hands," replied Cat. "We'll wash our hands before we come back so nobody will know we were digging for worms."
The three children hid in the bushes until Miss Jackson rang the bell and everyone entered the school. Then they ran off into the woods and headed for the pond where Cat liked to fish. They found fallen tree branches to use for fishing poles and dug for worms with small rocks and their hands. They spent the day fishing and playing catch with stones. Little did they dream of the trouble they were going to be in when they got back to town.
Shortly after the students took their seats, Rebecca noticed that her brothers and Cat were not in school. She raised her hand. "Yes Rebecca?" asked Miss Jackson.
"May I please have permission to go over to Marshal Dillon's office and tell him that Cat and my brothers are not in school?" she asked. "I know that Cat was here because I saw Marshal Dillon drop her off and she went to the outhouse. Peter and Michael were in the wagon when our parents dropped us off at school this morning. They've been saying that school was boring and they didn't like it, so I guess they decided to skip school today. Marshal Dillon can ride out and tell my parents that my brothers aren't here today. I don't know if they'll look for them or just wait until they come home, but they need to know that Peter and Michael aren't here."
"That's too bad," said Miss Jackson. "Yes, you may go and tell Marshal Dillon. Five year old children should not be running around unsupervised. There are too many things that could hurt them."
"Thank you Miss Jackson," Rebecca said as she left the school.
Matt looked up from the papers on his desk when the door opened. He was very surprised to see Rebecca Tanner walk in. "Hello Rebecca. Why aren't you in school?"
"Hello Marshal. Miss Jackson gave me permission to come over here. Cat is not in school today and neither are my brothers. I saw you drop Cat off at school this morning and my brothers were in the wagon when our parents brought us to school today. They've been saying that school is boring and they didn't want to go, so they must have found a way to leave without being seen. Will you please let my parents know? I have to get back to school."
"Thank you for telling me that Cat is not in school. I'll ride out to your farm right away and tell your parents. They can advise me on what to do about Cat. I do know that when I find her, she is going to be in very big trouble, as, I'm sure your brothers will be also."
"Thank you Marshal. I'm sure that my parents will help you deal with Cat. She's a sweet kid, just kind of wild. Now, I have to get back to school. Miss Jackson was kind enough to give me permission to come over here and I can't stay here any longer."
"Go on back to school Rebecca. I'll get my horse and ride out to your farm now." Rebecca went back to school while Matt got his horse and rode out to the Tanner farm. When he got there, he found John Jr. mending the corral fence.
"Hello Marshal. What brings you out here at this time of day?"
"Hello John. Are your parents at home?"
"Yes they are. Ma is in the house and Pa is out working in one of the fields."
"Would you please go and get him for me. I have some news they need to hear and I believe that you will be interested in it also."
"I'll go and get him right away. First, let me tell Ma that you're here. You can have some coffee while you wait for Pa and I to get to the house." John walked to the house, up the stairs and went in. His mother was in the kitchen, preparing to bake some pies. "Marshal Dillon is here Ma," John said. "He says that he's got some news we need to hear. I'm going to go and bring Pa in from the field now."
"Thank you John," said Elizabeth. "Marshal, won't you come in, sit down and have some coffee while we wait for John to return with his father?"
"Thank you Elizabeth. A cup of coffee is always welcome."
Ten minutes later, John Jr. returned with his father. "Hello Marshal," said John Sr. "John says that you've got some important news for us."
"Hello John. Yes, I do have some important news for all of you. Rebecca came over to my office shortly after school started. It seems that Cat, Michael and Peter decided not to attend school today."
Elizabeth started laughing. "Those little rascals! We suspected that they were up to something but couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Rebecca and Robert have done the best they can to watch the three but they can't watch them every second."
"Should I look for them or just wait until school is over and see if they show up?" asked Matt.
"There are too many places they could be Marshal. It's best to just wait and see if they show up at dismissal time otherwise you'll spend all day searching for them and not get any work done. It would also be a good thing to question Cat and see if she lies to you. That's what I plan to do with the boys. This is the age where they start telling lies to avoid being punished for misdeeds. We've been through it with all seven of our older children, now we'll deal with it in the twins and, in a few years, we'll deal with it and Eric too. If Cat tells the truth, just make her sit in a chair for fifteen minutes. If she lies, give her a spanking and make her sit in the chair. Be sure to tell her what the consequences will be the next time she lies and/or skips school. That way, when it happens again, which it most likely will, and you punish her, she can't say that she didn't know what would happen."
"Thank you for the advice John. I appreciate it. Elizabeth, I wish you lived closer to town. If you did, I'd come for coffee more often because you make better coffee than either Festus or I do. I'll see you this afternoon when school is dismissed. Oh yes, before I go, how many days should I take Cat's pony away from her for? She has been going for a ride every day for quite a while now."
"If she doesn't lie, take him away from her until Saturday," said John. "If she does lie, take him away from her until Monday. If, and when it happens again, take him away for two more days. Be sure to include the loss of her pony and for how long when you tell her what the consequences will be if she does it again."
"Alright John, I'll take your advice. If Cat doesn't lie about not going to school today, she'll spend fifteen minutes sitting in a chair and won't be allowed to ride Spot until Saturday. If she does lie to me, she'll get a spanking, have to sit in the chair for fifteen minutes and won't be allowed to ride Spot until Monday. Thank you again for the advice and the coffee. I've got to get back to town. I'll see you this afternoon."
When he got back to town, Matt went over to the Long Branch and told his friends and Sam what Cat and the twins had done. They all laughed. "Well," said Kitty. "We knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but I didn't think she'd do it this soon. Are you going to go looking for her?" Matt said he wasn't and told them what the Tanners had told him to do. "Alright Matt," replied Kitty. "She won't get any sympathy from me after you punish her. I really do hope that she does not lie about skipping school."
"So do I Kitty," replied Matt. "I'm going to hate having to punish her for skipping school and don't want to have to punish her for lying too."
Michael, Cat and Peter were having a lot of fun and didn't want their day to end. Between the three of them, they caught a lot of fish. Since they didn't want anyone to know that they hadn't gone to school that day, they released all of the fish they caught. It started getting late and Michael said, "I think we better go back to town. I don't know what time it is, but we've been here a long time. If we're not back at school when Miss Jackson lets everyone go home, our parents and Marshal Dillon will know that we didn't go to school and we'll be in lot of trouble."
"I wish our day didn't have to end," sighed Peter. "You're right Mike. If Pa finds out we didn't go to school today, we'll get spanked and have to sit in chairs for fifteen minutes. What should we do with our fishing poles and worms? We can't take them with us."
"Let's put the worms back in the ground and bury them again," said Cat. "We can hide our fishing poles in the woods so they'll be here when we come again."
The three children put the worms back in the hole they had dug and filled it in. Then they found a good spot in the woods to hide their fishing poles. Finally, they rinsed their hands off in the pond and started back for town, arriving at the school about five minutes before the students were dismissed. "I'd better ask Tommy what our homework is," said Michael. "That way we won't get in trouble for not doing it."
As soon as the rest of the students exited the school, Cat, Michael and Peter joined them. Michael asked Tommy what their homework was and then told his brother and Cat. Rebecca and Robert had told their younger sisters not to say anything to the twins about not being in school because their parents would take care of it.
Matt, John and Elizabeth decided not to tell the twins and Cat that Rebecca was the one who had told Matt they weren't in school, because then they might not listen to her. Instead, they were just going to tell the trio that Miss Jackson had sent an older student to tell Matt that Cat wasn't in school and he had asked if the twins were there. When they arrived at the school, they found Cat, Peter and Michael with the rest of the Tanner children.
Once they were away from the school, Matt asked Cat if she had stayed in school that day.
"Yes," she replied. "It was boring and I don't want to go any more."
"You are in very big trouble young lady!" Matt replied. "I know that you were not in school today. Miss Jackson sent one of the older students to tell me that you weren't there. I am very angry with you. Not only did you skip school today, you just told me a lie. I will not tolerate you skipping school or telling lies. When we get back to my office, you are going to get a spanking and have to sit in a chair for fifteen minutes. If you wiggle or rub your bottom, you will have to sit in the chair longer. Also, you will not be allowed to ride Spot until Monday."
When they reached his office, Matt put Cat over his knees and gave her a good spanking and then told her to sit in the chair that was facing the wall. Then he said, "The next time you skip school, tell me a lie, or both, you are going to get a bare bottom spanking, sit in the chair for twenty minutes and not be allowed to ride Spot for a week. Now, sit in the chair for fifteen minutes, and remember, if you wiggle or rub your bottom, you will have to sit there longer."
Cat thought it wasn't fair that she got a spanking, had to sit in a chair and that it was going to be four days before she was allowed to ride her pony. After all, it wasn't like she had done anything bad, she just didn't go to school because she didn't like school. She thought if she didn't like something, she shouldn't have to do it and shouldn't be punished for not doing it and planned to run away to the Arapahos as soon as Matt left to make his rounds that night.
When Cat's fifteen minutes in the chair were over, Matt asked her if she had asked one of the other students what the homework was for that day. "Yes, Michael asked Tommy what it was."
"Good. Now go over to the table and start on your homework. I need to go and walk around the town. If you leave this office while I am gone, I will give you another spanking and you will not be allowed to ride your pony for two more days."
Cat started doing her homework while Matt made his rounds and then stopped by the Long Branch. He told Kitty that Cat had lied to him and asked Sam if he would stay with Cat when he made his rounds after she went to bed. "She's very upset that I punished her and won't let her ride her pony until Monday. I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to sneak out of my office and run away again. I'll make sure she uses the outhouse before bed, so she won't have that excuse for leaving the office."
"I'll be more than happy to Matt," Sam replied. "Don't worry. She won't leave the office and if she really does need to use the outhouse, I'll carry her over there and back again. Maybe I'll even have a little talk with her about why it's important to stay in school and not tell lies."
"Thank you Sam. I appreciate your help."
"You're welcome Matt. Remember, I love her too and will do everything in my power to keep her safe."
Before going back to his office, Matt asked Kitty if she would like to join them for supper at Delmonico's. Kitty said that she'd love to join them for supper. Matt said he'd stop by Doc's office and Quint's shop to see if the two of them would also like to join them for supper. Both men said that they would enjoy eating supper with Matt, Kitty and Cat.
When he returned to his office, Matt checked to see if Cat had finished her homework. She had most of it done but needed help finding pictures for the last seven letters in the alphabet. Since she had skipped school today, Matt had to tell her what the letters were. He also had to tell her what the numbers were that she had written. He was going to scold her about her messy handwriting when he remembered that she was just learning how to write, so he just helped her look in books to find pictures she could draw that started with the letters she had written. When they found a picture, Matt told Cat what it was and wrote the word under the picture she drew. Then he asked her what the letters were that he had written. Once her homework was finished, Matt read a book to her and then told her to wash up for supper. They enjoyed a nice supper with Kitty, Doc and Quint who all told Cat how important it was to stay in school and tell the truth. After supper, Matt read her another story and told her to get ready for bed. Before tucking her in, he put her in his lap and said, "I'm sorry I had to punish you for skipping school and lying, but it is important that you go to school and always tell the truth. Many people who end up in my jail started by skipping school and telling lies. When they didn't face consequences for doing those things, they started doing bad things, like stealing. Eventually they did so many bad things that they got arrested and had to go to jail. I love you very much and don't ever want that to happen to you." Then he hugged and kissed her good night and tucked her into bed.
The next morning at school, Peter and Michael told Cat that they had also lied about not going to school and had received the same punishment as her. Rebecca, Robert, their friends and Julie all kept a close eye on the trio to try and keep them from skipping school again. Even though they didn't like it, the three youngsters stayed in school for the rest of September and most of October.
The weather started getting cooler and then Indian summer happened. The warm weather was too much for Cat and the twins to resist, so one day they hid in the bushes near the school outhouse again and went fishing. This time Robert went over to Matt's office to tell him that Cat and the twins had skipped school again. When they were confronted by the adults in their lives about staying in school, they lied again. Matt reminded Cat of what he had told her would happen if she skipped school again, lied to him, or both. Matt gave her a bare bottom spanking, made her sit in a chair for twenty minutes and told her that she wasn't allowed to ride her pony for a whole week. "The next time you skip school, lie to me, or both, I will use my belt on your bare bottom, you will have to sit in a chair for thirty minutes and you will not be allowed to ride your pony for two weeks," he warned her. Cat planned to run away, but couldn't because somebody was always in Matt's office while he was making his rounds after she went to bed.
There was one more warm day about a week before Thanksgiving and Cat, Peter and Michael decided to go fishing one more time before it got cold. After the second time Cat had skipped school and lied about it, Matt asked the Tanners what he should do if she did it again. They told him and when Cat lied to him about staying in school, he used his belt on her bare bottom, told her she wasn't allowed to ride her pony for two weeks and that she was going to have to sit in a chair for thirty minutes. This time, instead of having Cat sit in a chair near his desk, he carried it into a cell and put it so it was facing the wall. After instructing Cat to sit in it, he walked out, closed the door and pretended to lock it. He also pretended to lock the outer door. Cat was devastated. She had never been treated like that before and she felt all alone and abandoned as tears began to roll down her cheeks. When her thirty minutes were up, Matt told her that the next time, he would use his belt on her bare bottom again, she would have to sit in a chair in a cell for an hour and wouldn't be allowed to ride her pony for a month. That was too much to bear and she vowed to never tell a lie again.
She still didn't like school and kept trying to think of ways to skip it without getting in trouble when at supper a few days after Thanksgiving, Matt asked her, "How would you like to spend Christmas on the Ponderosa with your Uncle Ben, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe? I received a letter from your Uncle Ben today and he would like you to spend Christmas with him and your cousins."
Everybody in Delmonico's laughed when Cat got up, danced a little jig and hugged her uncle's neck. "Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "Can I really go to the Ponderosa for Christmas?"
"Yes you may. However, if you skip school again, you will not be allowed to go to the Ponderosa and will have to stay here." Cat promised not to skip school and that night, after Cat went to bed, Matt wrote to Ben and told him that their niece could spend Christmas on the Ponderosa. He also told Ben that someone would have to come and get her because he never knew if he was going to be in town or out chasing criminals at any given time.
Cat was so excited that she couldn't wait to tell her friends about her good news. The days seemed to drag and even though she liked school a little more now that she was learning how to read, Cat could hardly wait for the school days to end so she could see if Uncle Ben had come yet. One day a little more than a week before Christmas, Cat walked out of school to find another man waiting for her instead of Matt. It only took a second for her to realize who was standing there, waiting for her. "Uncle Ben!" she squealed with delight. She ran up to her uncle, jumped into his arms and hugged his neck. "When are we going to the Ponderosa? Can we leave tonight? I want to go right now."
Ben laughed, hugged and kissed his niece and said, "Not yet little one. You still have two more days of school before Christmas vacation. We will leave the day after school lets out for Christmas vacation. Now tell me, have you been a good girl?"
"Well, mostly," came the reply. "I don't like going to school. It's not fun."
"Not everything in life is fun Kitten. Everybody has to do things that they don't like doing. Adam and Hoss don't like mending fences but they do it because otherwise the cattle and horses will get out and some of them could get hurt or killed. I don't like doing the books but I do it because I have to make sure all of the hands get paid and that there is enough money to keep the ranch running. Little Joe doesn't like doing his chores but he does them because if the wood boxes aren't filled, Hop Sing won't be able to cook and the house will be cold at night and in the winter. If he doesn't gather eggs and milk the cow, there won't be any food for breakfast."
"Oh. Well, I still don't like school."
"You don't have to like it little one. You just have to go and learn everything you possibly can. You'll understand why when you're older. Right now, I want to see this pony I've heard so much about."
Cat took Ben over to the Blacksmith's shop where he admired Spot and told Cat what a good job she was doing taking care of him. "Can he come to the Ponderosa for Christmas too?" she asked.
"No, I'm afraid not Sweetheart. The stagecoach goes very fast and Spot won't be able to keep up with the big horses because he is so small. He'll be here waiting for you when you come home after Christmas."
Cat wasn't happy but she was afraid that if she argued with her uncle, he wouldn't let her go to the Ponderosa for Christmas.
The next morning, Ben walked Cat to school and met Miss Jackson. He told her that Cat wouldn't be skipping school any more because if she did, she wouldn't be allowed to visit the Ponderosa at Easter vacation, in the summer or at Christmas vacation.
To Cat, the next two days at school seemed to go on forever. She thought school would never let out for Christmas vacation. Finally, on the second afternoon after Ben arrived, Miss Jackson dismissed the children for the remainder of the year. Cat practically flew out of the schoolhouse door and into Ben's arms. "Can we go to the Ponderosa now?" she asked. "I don't have to go back to school for a long time."
"Not right now Kitten." Ben laughed at his niece's eagerness. "We'll leave on the stage tomorrow. Right now, we need to get your things packed. Then we'll eat supper with Uncle Matt and his friends and then you'll need to go to bed early because we have a long trip to make."
Since Cat wouldn't be there for Christmas, supper with Matt's friends was a Christmas party. Everyone gave her a gift and Matt gave her a new winter hat, coat and mittens so she would not catch cold while she was in Nevada. Finally around ten o'clock the next morning, Ben and Cat boarded the stage coach that would take them to Virginia City where one of her cousins would meet them with the buggy and take them to the Ponderosa.