The next day, as she had done since she started spending school vacations on the Ponderosa, Cat got up early to help Joe with his chores. Considering everything she had been through, he expected her to sleep late and was surprised to see her. "What are you doing up so early Cat?"
"I'm going to help you just like I have been since I was five."
"You don't have to do that. You've been through a lot in the last week and need to rest so you can recover from your injuries."
"I'm ok Joe. I need to help you."
"Alright, let's get the wood boxes filled. Hop Sing needs wood if he's going to fix breakfast for us. He also needs eggs to cook." The two of them headed out the door to do Joe's chores.
By the time Matt and Kitty came downstairs, Ben was at the breakfast table with a pot of coffee on the table and a cup in front of him. "Where's Cat?" asked Matt. "I looked in her room and she's not in bed."
"I suppose that she's helping Joe with his chores. She's been doing that ever since she was five. I'm sure that Joe tried to talk her out of it, but if that's what she wants to do, I'm not going to stop her. Sit down and have some coffee. Breakfast will be ready soon."
At breakfast, Matt told Cat that Miss Jackson had sent her exams with him and that Adam could help her if she needed it. Cat wasn't very happy at the thought of having to do exams right then, but Adam said, "That's a good idea. I'm sure that school exams are the last thing on your mind right now, but they still need to be done. Since I know that you really don't like arithmetic, why don't we do it right after breakfast? That way you won't have to worry about it again. I'll correct it when you're done and you'll know right away how well you did. Then I'll let you pick which exam you want to do this afternoon."
"I wanted to go for a ride on Dusty this morning," said Cat.
"I understand, but your exams are important," Adam replied. "Let's get your arithmetic exam done and then I'll go for a ride with you and, I'll bet that if we ask real nice, Hoss and Joe will go with us."
"Ok Adam. I'll do the arithmetic exam after breakfast as long as I can ride Dusty when I'm done." Cat did her exam and only had questions about two problems, which Adam answered for her. When she was finished, he corrected the exam and told her that she had only gotten two problems wrong. He picked her up, gave her a big hug and said, "I'm very proud of you Cat and everyone else will be too. I'll have to ask Pa, but I don't even think I did that well when I was your age. Let's go and tell everyone how well you did and then see if Hoss and Joe want to go for a ride with us. I think you had better go and show your exam to Hop Sing. He'll want to know how well you did also."
Before Adam could show her exam to everyone else, Cat grabbed it from him and ran into the kitchen. "I finished my arithmetic exam Hop Sing and look, I only got two problems wrong. That's the best I've ever done on an Arithmetic exam."
Hop Sing looked at the paper and hugged Cat tightly. "Hop Sing very proud of Missy Cat. She work very hard and get good grade. Make special dessert for Missy Cat for supper. Now, go show paper to family so they know how good you do." Cat hugged him and ran off to show her exam to the rest of the family. She received lots of praise, especially from Matt and Kitty who knew how much she struggled with arithmetic.
Cat asked Hoss and Joe if they wanted to go for a ride with her and Adam and they said yes. As everyone was saddling their horses, Cat had an idea and asked if Kitty could come along on the ride. Her cousins said yes, so she ran back into the house. "Miss Kitty, do you want to come for a ride too?" she asked.
"Yes I would," came the reply. "Let me go upstairs and change into riding clothes and then I'll meet you at the barn."
Cat ran back out to the barn and told her cousins that Kitty was going to come with them. Hoss picked out a horse and saddled it for her. Once everyone left on their ride, Joshua and Thaddeus went to talk to Ben and Matt. "I'm afraid that we weren't completely honest when we met Marshal Dillon in Dodge," said Joshua. "Thaddeus and I talked last night and decide that you have been so kind to us, we owe you the truth. Our last name isn't really Daniels. That was our mother's name before she married our father. Our last name is really Wiley and there's a chance that we're wanted in Wyoming."
"Any relation to the outlaw?" asked Matt.
"Yes, said Thaddeus. He's our older brother. We rode with him and his gang for about a month but didn't like the things he was doing. That's why we may be wanted in Wyoming. When our mother got sick, we had a good excuse to leave the gang for a while. She begged us not to go back to our brother's gang and we told her that we had already planned to leave it. Since nobody crosses our brother and lives to tell about it, when Mother died, we took her last name and got as far away from Wyoming as we possibly could."
"You may not be wanted," said Matt. "Did you participate in any of your brother's raids?"
"Only one," said Joshua. "And we stayed as far away from what was going on as we possibly could. That's when we decided that we had to get away from him."
"Well, if what you're telling us is true and you only went on one raid and didn't participate in it, there's an excellent chance that you're not wanted."
"Thank you for telling us," said Ben. "We appreciate your honesty. As far as I'm concerned, your last name is Daniels and you still have jobs here."
"I've never seen any wanted posters with your names on them, so I agree with Ben. Your last name is Daniels and you saved our niece's life."
"Thank you," said Thaddeus. "I was afraid you were going to send us away. I'm glad that didn't happen because we like it here. As I told Marshal Dillon when we first met him, I can't explain it, but I felt a connection to your niece when I pulled her out of that river. I had a chance to get to know her a little better on the trip here and she's a really sweet little girl. I'm sorry that her mother was killed but I'm glad that I got to meet her."
Both Matt and Ben laughed at Thaddeus' comment about Cat being a sweet little girl. "Wait until you get to know Cat," laughed Ben. "There's a reason we call her Wild Cat. Hoss isn't too far from the truth when he says that she's as wild as the West Texas wind and harder to tame."
"Even though we didn't know Miss Cat's mother, we have gotten to know her a little bit. With your permission, we'd like to attend her mother's funeral tomorrow. It may not mean much to someone her age, but at least she'll know we care," said Joshua.
"Yes, of course you can attend the funeral if you want to. I'll let Pete know that any of the men want to attend are welcome to do so," replied Ben. Joshua and Thaddeus thanked him and went back to their jobs.
Ben looked at his watch and told Matt that he needed to get the buggy hitched up if he was going to meet Victoria and her family when the stage got in. "You're welcome to come along if you want to Matt. I'd like the company. I'd better take some horses along too. Luke and Mark McCain are due in shortly after Victoria's stage gets in and there won't be enough room in the buggy for everyone and their bags. I'll take three horses. I know that Victoria and Audra will ride in the buggy. Jarrod probably will too. I'm sure that Nick will want a horse but I'm not sure about Heath, Luke and Mark." Matt said that he'd enjoy the ride so the two men set off for town to pick up Ben's sister and her family.
When they arrived in town, Ben saw Roy Coffee and introduced him to Matt. They had enough time to get a beer before the stage arrived, so Ben invited Roy to join them at the Cattlemen's Association. While they were there, Ben received many condolences for his sister's death and Roy asked what time the funeral was going to be. "It's going to be at one o'clock," replied Ben. "We're burying her next to Michael. Why don't you come at eleven thirty and have dinner with us?"
"I'll be there," said Roy. "I always liked Kate and I adore her daughter."
"Thank you Roy. I know that Cat will be glad you're there. She likes you a lot too. I think that Hop Sing is planning supper after the funeral, so please plan on staying for that meal also."
"I'll be more than happy to stay. I think Cat would be heartbroken if I didn't. Now, if you're going to meet that stage, you'd better get moving. It should be here within the next ten minutes."
The three men left the Cattlemen's Association and the stage arrived less then ten minutes later. Ben greeted his sister and her family. She was surprised to only see Ben and Matt. "Where is my niece?" she asked. "Why didn't you make her come with you?"
"Our niece and Kitty are out riding with Adam, Hoss, and Joe," replied Ben. "She's been though a lot in the past week and still has a lot to go through. Tomorrow is going to be very hard on her. Right now, we're trying to keep things as normal as possible and give her time to heal."
"Why are you so concerned about Cat all of a sudden Victoria?" asked Matt. "She's been with me for eight years now and you haven't bothered to even write to her all this time. Jarrod, Nick, and Heath have all visited Dodge and spent time with her in the past eight years but you have ignored her. So, why are you so concerned about her now? Or are you just concerned that people will talk about the fact that an eight year old child didn't meet the stage carrying an aunt she doesn't even know?"
Victoria ignored Matt's questions. Nick spoke up. "Good, I'm glad that she's taking an interest in life again. We were all very worried when we got your telegram. How bad were her injuries?"
"They weren't as bad as they could have been," replied Matt. "She was pretty banged up but fortunately, there were no broken bones. She's still got some bruises, but they'll heal in time. I'm concerned about how she's going to react to the funeral tomorrow. She still blames herself for Kate's death even though I've told her that the reason her mother stayed in Dodge was to divorce Jacobs, not take her back to Australia."
"The buggy is loaded. Why are we still sitting here?" asked Victoria.
"We're waiting for the next stage. Luke and Mark McCain are on it. It should be here shortly. While we're waiting for it, why don't we go over to the hotel and get something cool to drink? I know that you've had a long trip and must be thirsty," said Ben.
Everyone agreed that was a good idea. After drinking some cold lemonade, Victoria's mood improved and she apologized for being rude earlier. The stage arrived with Luke and Mark McCain on board. "Where's Cat?" asked Mark. "I hoped she'd be here to meet the stage."
"She, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe took Miss Kitty for a ride around the Ponderosa," said Ben. "Miss Kitty hasn't spent much time visiting the Ponderosa and wanted to see some of it while she was here. Everyone should be back at the house and Hop Sing should have dinner ready by the time we get there. Since there isn't enough room in the buggy for everyone, I brought three horses. You can decide among yourselves who will ride in the buggy." Everyone talked and it was decided that Victoria, Audra, Jarrod and Heath would ride in the buggy with Ben and Matt. Once everyone was settled in the buggy and on horseback, they started out for the ranch. On the drive, Matt told everyone that they were trying to keep Cat distracted so she wouldn't get upset thinking about her mother's funeral the next day. The family agreed to do their part.
When they arrived back at the ranch, everyone had returned from their ride and Hop Sing said that dinner would be served in about fifteen minutes. Cat greeted everyone but Victoria and Audra warmly. As she hadn't seen them since she was a baby, she was a little suspicious of her aunt and cousin. Ben introduced her to his sister and her daughter and Victoria said, "Hello Cat. I know that you don't know me and that's my fault. I should have come to visit you when you were in Dodge. I can't fix the past but I can do better in the future and I would really like to get to know you. I am very sorry that you have to go through all of this at such a young age. I can't even begin to imagine what you are feeling, but I want you to know that I am here for you just as Miss Kitty has been and still is. Now, why don't you show Audra and I to our room so we can wash up before dinner?" Cat did as she was asked and dinner was served shortly after Victoria and Audra came back downstairs.
During dinner Adam talked to Cat about her school exams. "Why don't you do your reading exam after dinner? I've looked at it. You're a very good reader and I don't think it will take you more than thirty minutes to complete. Your grammar and history exams aren't very long and you should finish them in no time at all, so we can wait a few days before we do those. I just want to get your arithmetic and reading exams out of the way today so you won't have to worry about them."
Adam was right; Cat did enjoy reading, so she agreed to do her exam after dinner. She was unsure of the definition of one word, which Adam gladly provided her. Once Adam scored the exam, he told her that she had gotten a perfect score. She grabbed the paper and ran into the kitchen to tell Hop Sing, who heaped a lot of praise and hugs on her. Then she told the rest of the family who also gave her a lot of praise and hugs. Then Victoria suggested that the two of them go for a ride. Cat wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not. She looked at her aunt's dress in a funny way and Victoria laughed. "I know what you're thinking and, believe it or not, I have been riding horses since I was about three or four years old. Why don't you go and pick out a good one for me and I'll change into riding clothes?"
Nick was curious as to which horse his eight year old cousin would select for his mother, so he followed Cat out to the barn. She looked at the horses, trying to decide which one to select when she saw her cousin. "Nick, how good a rider is your Ma? I need to know so I know which horse to give her."
"She's an excellent rider Cat. As she said, she's been riding most of her life. Sometimes she likes to tease me and tell me that she was out riding when I was born."
"That's silly. I guess I'll give her Ginger. She's got a smooth gate and plenty of spirit."
"Now, how do you know so much about the horses here when you've been living in Dodge?"
"Don't forget, I've been spending all of my school vacations here ever since I was five. I wish I had a horse to ride. I love Dusty but I'm too old to ride a pony."
"Oh, that's right, I forgot. Yes, you are getting a little old to be riding a pony. Maybe Uncle Ben will let you ride Ginger once you get settled in."
"That would be nice."
Nick watched, amazed as eight year old Cat saddled Ginger and then saddled Dusty. "You are just full of surprises aren't you?" he asked. "Since you're so good with horses, why don't you move in with us and I'll give you a job when you get older? We can always use someone who is good with horses."
"You're silly Nick. I'm going to live here on the Ponderosa. Uncle Ben said so."
"Why is Nick silly?" asked Victoria as she walked up.
"He said I should go and live with you and he would give me a job working with the horses. Here's your horse. Her name is Ginger."
"Thank you. You're right, Nick is silly, but that's ok."
"Well then, I was going to offer to escort you on your ride, however, since both of you seem to think I'm silly, I guess I'll just go and drink some more of Hop Sing's coffee. You ladies have a nice ride," said Nick as he left the barn and went back to the house.
While Cat and Victoria were out riding, Ben and Matt began to talk to Jarrod about Ben adopting Cat. They both agreed that Cat would continue to spend two weeks in the summer with the Apaches and then spend the rest of it in Dodge with Matt. Then Lucas spoke up. "Now that Cat's getting older, how about letting her spend a week with me and Mark? I'd love to have her visit and I'm sure that Mark feels the same. He's only a few months older than Cat, so they'll be good company for each other."
"I don't see why not," said Ben. "Do you have any objections Matt?"
"No, I don't. In fact, I think it's a very good idea. Lucas and Michael were best friends and Margaret and Kate were also very close. It's only natural that their children should spend some time together."
"How about letting her come out to Stockton at Easter?" asked Heath. "I know that Mother would be delighted if she did."
"Let me ask Cat and see how she feels about it," said Ben. "I don't want to force her into it, but if she agrees, I'll be more than happy to let her spend Easter with your family."
"All of this doesn't need to be decided right now," said Jarrod. "Right now, we need to concentrate on getting Cat through tomorrow. From what I've seen, everyone's done a good job at keeping her distracted so far, but tomorrow is going to bring last week's events rushing back to her. I don't like the fact that she thinks it's her fault her mother was killed and we've got to do everything we can to change her thinking without letting her know the danger she was in. I think she's still too young to understand, so Ben can tell her when she's older."
While they were talking, there was a knock at the door. Ben opened and saw Rip standing there and a rental horse tied to the hitching post. "Rip, come in. Why didn't you let me know when you were going to arrive? Someone could have met you with a horse or the buggy."
"Thank you Ben, but I have to leave right after the funeral, so a horse from the livery stable is just fine. Where is Cat?
"She's out riding with Victoria. They should be back soon. Sam, Bill, Phil, and their wives should be here in a few hours. That will give you a little bit of time to spend with Matt before things really get crazy around here."
"Good. I don't see nearly enough of my brother. I wish he'd move to Arizona."
"I wish you'd take a post at Fort Dodge," came a voice from behind Ben.
Rip laughed, greeted his brother warmly and the two men walked into the great room.
A few minutes later, Cat and Victoria returned from their ride. They had talked about a great deal of things and decided that the next time they went for a ride, they would ask Audra if she wanted to go with them. About two hours after Cat and Victoria returned, a large carriage with a cavalry escort drove into the yard and Cat's Godfathers and their wives emerged from it. "Cat, I think your Godfathers are here," said Ben. "Why don't we go and say hello to them?"
Cat was out the door before he finished speaking. She spotted President and Mrs. Grant first and launched herself into his arms and hugged his neck tightly, almost knocking him off balance. Then she reached over and hugged Mrs. Grant. She did the same thing to Generals Sherman, Sheridan and their wives. Before General Sherman could tell the captain of the escort to find somewhere to bivouac, Ben said, "Bill, why don't your men use the extra bunk house while you're here? We only use it when we hire extra hands for the round up. There's plenty of room in the barn for all of your horses. The wood pile is over by the barn. Your men can help themselves to however much they need." The captain thanked Ben and told his men to take care of their horses and then they could go to the bunk house.
Ben invited his guests into the house where they greeted the rest of the family. The ladies wanted to wash up after their trip and Cat was given the job of showing them to their rooms while Adam, Hoss and Joe carried their bags upstairs. Mark McCain was awestruck at meeting the President, First Lady and the two most famous generals in the country and their wives. Once Cat was out of earshot, the President asked, "How is Cat holding up? We've all been very worried about her and we'd like to meet those young men who saved her life."
"We've managed to keep her distracted so far," replied Ben. "But tomorrow is going to be rough on her. I'll introduce you to the two men who saved her after supper. It's almost ready and Hop Sing gets very upset when anyone is late for meals."
"I certainly don't want to upset Hop Sing," said the President. "I'd travel a million miles to eat one of his meals and would steal him from you if I could."
Ben laughed. "With Cat coming to live here, you couldn't get him to leave, even if you offered to pay him one hundred dollars a day." Then he called upstairs, "Cat, supper is almost ready and we have a lot of guests. Why don't you come downstairs and help Hop Sing set the table."
Cat came flying down the stairs and her uncle stopped her at the bottom. "How many times have I told you not to run in the house? Now, go back upstairs and walk down. You're injuries are healing and the last thing I want is for you to fall downstairs and get hurt again."
Cat did as she was told, helped Hop Sing set the table and everyone sat down to a large supper. When it was over, Hop Sing brought out a large chocolate cake with chocolate icing on it as Cat's reward for doing well on her arithmetic and reading exams. After supper, Adam played his guitar and everyone sang. Then Ben noticed that Cat and Mark had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace. Matt picked her up, carried her upstairs and put her to bed while Luke did the same thing with Mark.
When they came downstairs, everyone talked for a little while and Matt asked General Sherman why Rip had to leave right after the funeral. Both generals and President Grant were surprised at Matt's words and told Rip that he did not have to leave right after the funeral and they would go back to Arizona with him and hold a surprise inspection at the fort. Then, knowing that they had an unpleasant task to do the next afternoon, everyone went to bed.
The next morning, Cat helped Joe with his chores and she and Mark went for a ride after breakfast. She rode Ginger and Mark rode Tex. "I wish this afternoon was already over," Cat told Mark. I don't want to go to my mother's funeral. I wish she had stayed in Australia. Then she wouldn't be dead."
"I know how you feel. I didn't want to go to my mother's funeral either. I wish we would have left Oklahoma before she got sick and died. I'll stand right next to you this afternoon and if it gets too bad squeeze my hand and we'll both leave until it's over. We're only eight, so we won't get in trouble like we would if we were eleven or twelve."
"Thank you Mark. You are a good friend. I wish we lived closer so we could spend more time together. Let's ride a little while longer and then we have to go back to the house. Hop Sing is planning an early dinner and then we have to get ready for the funeral. I know that Aunt Victoria and everyone else is going to want me to ride in the buggy but I'm going to ride Ginger. If they say I can't ride Ginger, I'll ride Dusty. I don't care how much trouble I get into, I don't want to ride in the buggy."
"You probably won't get into trouble. Just remember to be polite and say that you want to ride Ginger. You will get into trouble if you're rude."
"I know Mark. Thanks for reminding me though. I wonder how much trouble I'd get into if I didn't go to the funeral."
"You'd probably get in a lot of trouble."
"Yeah, you're right, but I still don't want to go to the funeral. It's my fault that my mother is dead and I don't want to go to her funeral."
"I know it's not your fault Cat. Maybe she just stayed in Dodge to try and get to know you. Remember, she hadn't seen you since you were a baby."
"You could be right. I don't know. Anyway, we had better head back to the house. Hop Sing will kill us if we're late for dinner."
"Well, I don't want to be late for dinner anyway. Hop Sing is a good cook and I wish we lived closer. Pa does a pretty good job of cooking, but Hop Sing is a whole lot better."
"Let's go then," laughed Cat. "I wouldn't want you to miss a good meal." The two children rode back to the house. When they arrived, they found that Roy Coffee had already arrived and Cat introduced Mark to him.
After dinner everybody got dressed for the funeral. Kitty helped Cat get into the black dress that had been bought for her before they left Dodge. "I don't want to wear a dress Miss Kitty and I really don't want to wear a black one. Why can't I just wear my buckskins like I always do?"
"You have to wear a dress because this is your mother's funeral. Everybody is wearing good clothes, including Mark McCain. It's customary for people to wear black to a funeral as a sign of respect for the dead person."
"Ok, I'll wear the dress but I'm not going to ride in the buggy. I'm going to ride Ginger instead."
"That will be up to your uncles sweetheart, but you really should ride in the buggy. Female family members of the dead person almost always ride in buggies for the funeral."
"I don't want to ride in the buggy. If I have to, I won't go to the funeral and nobody can make me!"
"Do you want to ride in the big carriage with your godfathers and their wives?"
"No, I want to ride Ginger or Dusty. I don't want to ride in the buggy or the carriage."
"Ok. I'll talk to your uncles but it's their decision. Right now, let's get you into the dress and rebraid your hair."
A short time later, Kitty and Cat came downstairs and went outside to join the rest of the family. Cat walked over to where she and Mark had tied their horses and started to untie Ginger.
"Cat, you have to ride in the buggy with Kitty, your Aunt Victoria and Audra," said Ben.
"No, I'm not going to ride in the buggy. I'm going to ride Ginger!"
"Catherine Michael, you are going to ride in the buggy! It's the proper thing for a girl to do for a family funeral."
"I'm going to ride Ginger. I don't want to go to the funeral and if I have to ride in the buggy, I won't go!"
Ben started to walk over to Cat to pick her up and put her in the buggy when Roy put his hand on his shoulder. "Pick your battles Ben. This is already very hard on her. It will be worse if you force her to ride in the buggy. You and I both know that she can easily mount that horse and ride off in a totally different direction. The important thing is that she attends her mother's funeral, not if she rides in a buggy."
Before Ben could answer Roy, Adam said, "Let her ride the horse Pa. As Roy said, if she gets too upset now, she'll mount that horse, ride off and we may not see her for days. Mark told me that despite being told otherwise, she's still saying it's her fault that Kate is dead. Do you really want to make it worse by forcing her to ride in the buggy?"
Ben shook his head. "Alright, I give up. Cat can ride Ginger."
Roy and Adam walked over to Cat. "When a lady is wearing a dress, a gentleman should always help her mount her horse. Will you allow us to help you?" asked Roy.
Cat giggled a little. "Yes, you can help me." Roy and Adam helped her into the saddle and Adam handed her the reins.
The preacher showed up a few minutes later and everyone set off for where Kate would be buried. Cat cried but did her best to stand still and listen to the preacher's words. Mark stood next to her with his hand in hers. Adam and Joe stood behind her, each with a comforting hand on one of her shoulders. When the coffin was lowered into the ground and everybody started to shovel dirt into the grave, it was more than eight year old Cat could stand. She squeezed Marks's hand hard and ran off. Mark went after her. Ben started to go too but Matt said, "No Ben. Let Mark go after her. Right now, the thing she needs most is someone her own age. It's only been two years since Lucas buried Margaret, so Mark knows what Cat is going through." Ben stayed where he was and they finished burying his sister.
Mark found Cat a short distance away, hiding in some rocks and crying. "It's all my fault Mark," she cried. "If I had gone to Australia with my mother, she would still be alive."
"No Cat, it's not your fault. Uncle Matt said that your mother was only pretending to try and get you to leave with her. She stayed in Dodge because she was going to divorce her husband. He was not a nice man and did not treat her the way a lady should be treated. She was going to divorce him and come back here to live with you."
"Are you sure Mark?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Miss Kitty said the same thing. They also said that they told you several times, but I guess you were too sad to listen. She and Uncle Matt wouldn't lie about something that important."
"I guess not. Maybe we should go back now."
"That's a good idea. Everyone is worried about you."
Before the two could start back to the family, they heard a strange noise. "What's that?" asked Mark.
"I don't know. Maybe we should find out."
The two of them ran toward the sound and stopped when they saw a very young colt trying to defend its dead mother from a cougar. "We've got to do something," said Cat. "If we don't, that cougar will kill the colt."
"What should we do?"
"I don't know. I don't have my bow and arrows with me and I don't know if I'm strong enough to kill a cougar if I did have them."
"I know. There are lots of rocks here. Let's throw rocks at the cat. If we hit it enough, maybe it will run away." They started throwing rocks at the cougar and hit it with several, causing it to run away. "Come on. That cat won't stay gone for long. Let's get the colt and go back to everyone else."
They ran over to the colt and gently forced it away from its mother. A few minutes later, everyone was surprised to see Cat and Mark walking toward them with a small black colt between them. "What happened?" asked Ben. "Where did that colt come from and where is his mother?"
"A cougar killed her," said Cat. "It would have killed him too if we hadn't scared it away."
"How did you scare it away?" asked General Sherman. "Neither of you has a weapon."
"We threw rocks at it," said Mark. "We hit it a couple of times and it ran away. I guess it didn't like being hit with rocks. I know I wouldn't."
"Well, doesn't that beat all?" said President Grant. "Two young children playing like David and Goliath with a cougar. You've got to hand it to these two. They know how to keep their wits about them in an emergency. If they weren't so young, I would give them jobs in my administration. They could teach the people who work for me what to do in a tight spot."
Before anyone could answer him, Cat asked, "Can I keep him Uncle Ben? He's an orphan just like me and he needs me. I'll take real good care of him and he can even sleep in my bed."
Everyone had a hard time not laughing at the last remark. "Yes you can keep him Kitten. But you have to promise me that you'll take very good care of him."
"Oh yes, I will Uncle Ben. I'll even stay home from school to take care of him and keep him from being lonely." Once again, the adults had all they could do to keep from laughing.
"You don't need to stay home from school to take care of him," said Hoss. "We'll find a mare to adopt him and she can feed him and take care of him while you're in school. He does need a name though. What are you going to call him?"
Cat thought and finally said, "I don't know. I didn't think about naming him. I just wanted to get him away from that mean ol' cougar."
"How about Fury?" asked Mark. "He sure was full of it when he tried to keep that cat away from his mother."
"That's a good name Mark. His name is Fury." Then she said, "I'm sorry I ran away from my mother's funeral but it hurt too much to watch her get buried."
"That's alright Cat," said Victoria. "Your mother was my sister and even though I'm grown up, it hurt too much for me to watch her get buried too. We didn't always get along but she was my sister and I loved her. I wanted to run away too, but adults can't run away from things they don't like."
"Would you two please show me where you found the mare and colt?" Ben asked Mark and Cat. "I need to know who Fury's mother is so I can put it in the books that she's gone and why."
"I can't take Fury back there Uncle Ben," said Cat. "He might get scared and run away if the cougar is back."
"I'll watch him for you Miss Cat," said Thaddeus. "I'll stand right where you are and pet him and tell him how lucky he is that he's going to have a special little girl like you to take care of him."
Cat looked at him with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you Thaddeus. I didn't want Fury to see his mamma like that again."
"You're welcome. Now, I'll look after Fury while you and your cousin take your uncle and show him the mare."
Mark and Cat took Ben to where they found the mare and colt. Ben looked at her and said, "Her name was Duchess. She was one of my best mares and would have had many fine foals. However, she does have a fine son and when he grows up, he will be the father to many fine foals. Now we had better get back to the house and find a mare to take care of Fury. He's not very old and needs to eat often."