While everyone was waiting for Ben and the children to come back from where they had found the mare and colt, President Grant and the two generals walked up to where Thaddeus was taking care of Fury. "Young man," said the President, "We can't thank you enough for saving our Goddaughter's life. She means a lot to us and we are very fond of her. I don't know what we would have done if there had been two funerals today instead of just one. If there's ever anything even one of us can do for you and your brother, don't hesitate to let us know. We are forever in your debt."
"Thank you Mr. President. Hopefully, Joshua and I will never need to ask you for help, but I'll remember your words if we ever do need it."
"Thaddeus, Julia and I were talking about you last night. She can't explain it, but she has the feeling that you are destined to become part of this family. So, whenever we're in a family situation, feel free to call me Sam and you can call my wife Julia. You can call them Bill and Phil," he said, pointing at the two generals. "Bill's wife's name is Ellen and Phil's wife's name is Irene. If you ever come to Washington while I am President, you and your brother have an open invitation to visit the White House."
"Thank you Mr…er… Sam. That is very kind of you. Would one of you please answer a question that's been bothering me for the last week? Why on Earth do you call that sweet little girl, 'Wild Cat'? She's not wild at all."
The President and both generals burst out laughing. "Wait until you get to know her," said Sherman. "You've only known her for a week. We've known her for her entire life. She's still in shock from the events of the last week and is on her best behavior. She'll be back to normal in a few weeks and then you'll know why we call her 'Wild Cat'."
Just then, Ben, Cat and Mark returned and everyone went back to the house. When they got there, Cat started to take Fury inside. "Where are you taking that colt?" asked Ben.
"I'm taking him up to my room. He can sleep in my bed." She was so serious; everyone had to fight hard to keep from laughing.
Just then, Thaddeus spoke up. "I know you mean well Miss Cat, but Fury wouldn't be happy in your bedroom and after a little while, you wouldn't be happy with him in there."
"I don't understand. Why not?
"Well, for one thing a colt his age needs to eat a lot. You would not get much sleep because you would have to feed him every two hours. Also, you would have to take him outside right after he eats, even in the middle of the night. You would even have to take him outside if it was raining or snowing. He has very hard, sharp feet that will hurt your back if he sleeps in your bed. He's little now, but as he gets bigger, he's going to need room to run so his legs will grow strong. There isn't a bedroom in the world big enough for a horse to run in. Why don't you let your cousins find a nice mare to adopt him and be his mamma? He'll be a lot happier that way. You'll still be able to spend lots of time with him, especially if you're going to train him, but he'll be where he belongs and you won't have a horse sharing your bed."
Cat thought about what Thaddeus said and told Hoss he could find a mare to be Fury's mother. "Thank you Cat," said Hoss. Now, let's go and look at the mares and see if we can find one to adopt that little feller." Mark accompanied them as they took Fury and walked over to a pasture that contained several mares, some of which had foals. Hoss walked up to a sorrel mare and told Cat to bring Fury over. Hoss didn't seem surprised when the mare allowed the strange colt to start nursing from her. "That's Lady," he explained. "She has raised several foals and I was hoping she'd adopt Fury. He has a mamma now and you won't have to worry about him. Now, let's go and fix up a big stall for the two of them. Right now she's in a small one but she'll need more room if she's going to take care of Fury."
As they were walking to the barn, Joe walked up and asked if they had found a mare. "Yes," replied Hoss. "Lady adopted him. Right now, we're going to fix up a bigger stall to move her and the colt into."
"I'm glad Lady adopted him. He sure is a cute little guy. Since it's getting close to suppertime, I'll help you fix up the stall. It will go faster if the four of us do it." They walked into the barn and Joe opened the door to a large stall. "This should do just fine. It hasn't been used in a while, so it will need to be swept out. Cat and Mark, why don't you sweep it out? Then Hoss and I can put straw down and fill the hayrack and water bucket. Once the stall is ready, we'll bring Lady and Fury in and get them bedded down. Supper should be ready by the time we're done."
The four got busy and the stall was ready for the mare and colt in no time at all. Then Joe handed a lead rope to Cat and they all walked out to the pasture. Joe told Cat to put the lead rope on Lady and lead her into the barn. When she worried about Fury being left behind, Joe told her, "Don't worry. He'll follow his new mamma. Foals always follow their mothers. Believe it or not, you're already starting to train him to be led. You're leading his mother and by following her, he will learn to allow you to lead him. Once a day, you need to come out to the pasture and lead Lady around. In about a month, you will be able to lead Fury without any problems. You won't be able to start riding him until he's a year old, but you can start training him right away. Adam, Hoss and I will help you."
Mark walked alongside Cat as she led the mare and colt into their new stall. Lady started eating the hay while Fury explored his new surroundings and then started to nurse. Once the horses were settled in, Hoss, Joe, Cat and Mark went into the house and washed up for supper. Since they had just buried a loved one, nobody felt like talking so supper was relatively quiet. After supper, Mark and Cat read books in front of the fireplace while everyone else sat around the table. When it was time for bed, Cat insisted on going out to the barn to say goodnight to Fury first. She didn't want to leave him, but Adam picked her up and carried her into the house and up to her room.
Two hours later, Hop Sing went upstairs to check on Cat and came back downstairs very upset. "Missy Cat no in her bed! Hop Sing go to check on her but she not there!"
Everyone but Joe became very upset and was about to start searching the house when Joe reached into his pocket and pulled out some money. "I have five dollars here that says I know where she's at."
"What are you going to do with all that money if you're right?" asked Mrs. Grant.
"I'm going to buy her something nice for her birthday next week. I don't know exactly what it will be, but it will be something very nice."
"Ok son," said Ben. "Where is she?"
"Follow me," was the reply and everyone followed Joe out to the barn. He walked over to Lady's stall and opened the door. There, sound asleep on the straw with her arms wrapped around Fury's neck, was Cat. The sight made everyone smile.
"What are you going to do Ben?" asked Rip.
"She's been through so much in this last week that I'm going to leave her where she is. I haven't got the heart to disturb her. Will somebody please go into the house and bring a blanket out for her? Even though it's warm outside, the barn is drafty and I don't want her to get chilled." Joe ran back into the house, came out with a blanket and covered his cousin with it. Ben told everyone that he would come back out and check on Cat just before going to bed.
Everyone left the barn and went back into the house and gave their five dollars to Joe. He counted the money and said, "There's one hundred dollars here. That's an awful lot to spend just on birthday gifts. How about if I save half of it to spend on Christmas gifts? Also, since I have no idea what to get Cat, I would appreciate suggestions or even help shopping." Everyone thought Joe's plan to save half the money for Christmas was excellent and decided that they would go shopping with him the next day. "That's great. I appreciate the help but there's just one problem. If all of us go to town, Cat will want to go with us and that will spoil our surprise."
Everyone started talking at once, making suggestions on what to do when Adam spoke up. "I know what to do with Cat. She and Mark can go out to Lake Tahoe and spend the day fishing. I'm sure that Hop Sing will be more than happy to fix food they can take with them. Then we'll be able to go shopping for Cat's birthday gifts."
"That's a great idea son," said Ben. "We'll tell her at breakfast." Then he addressed his guests. "I know that you all have important things to get back to but I was wondering if any of you will be able to stay until after Cat's birthday. Because we're in mourning, we won't be able to have a big celebration but we have to do something for her. Young children don't understand about birthday celebrations needing to be cancelled due to a death in the family."
"I'd love to stay Ben," said Rip. "Unfortunately, Major Bush is new to the frontier and has no idea what he's doing. We haven't had any problems with the Apaches since before Major Stone was promoted and left, but Major Bush is totally convinced that they're going to attack the fort at any time. I'm lucky I was allowed to come here for Kate's funeral. He wasn't going to let me but I told him that my brother's daughter was now an orphan because her father was killed in the war, serving under General Sherman and that the General had been my brother's friend, would be at the funeral and wonder why I wasn't there. The major said I could attend the funeral but had to return immediately afterwards."
"That is utter nonsense," said President Grant. "We told you yesterday that you will ride back to the fort with us and we are going to stay for our Goddaughter's birthday. Bill, when we go to town tomorrow, send a telegram to this Major Bush and tell him that Lt. Masters is on an assignment for me and will not be returning for more than a week."
"Mark and I will stay Ben," said Lucas McCain. "Those two children would never forgive me if Mark was forced to leave before Cat's birthday."
"I don't know about the rest of the family," said Jarrod. "But I was already planning to stay and try to get the adoption completed as soon as possible."
"Of course we're going to stay," said Victoria. "It's my fault that our niece doesn't know me or Audra and we want to spend time getting to know her."
"Kitty and I will also stay," said Matt. "Festus and Quint can take care of things in Dodge for Me and Sam is perfectly capable of running the Long Branch in Kitty's absence."
"I've got to be getting back to town," said Roy. "But two herds of wild horses couldn't keep me away from that little girl's birthday celebration."
"Thank you everyone, for staying to give Cat a good birthday," said Ben. "Roy, it's awfully late, why don't you spend the night and go back to town after breakfast? I'm sure your deputy can take care of things for the night. Now, I'm gong to go out to the barn and check on Cat. Then I suggest we all get a good night's sleep." Everyone followed Ben out to the barn where they found Cat still asleep with her arms around Fury. They marveled at the sleeping child as Ben pulled the blanket up over her and then went back to the house and to bed.
The next morning, Joe was surprised to see both Cat and Mark waiting to help with his chores. "Why don't you two fill the wood box in the kitchen and I'll fill the one by the fireplace? Then you can gather the eggs while I milk the cow. With three of us working, we'll be done in no time and you'll have a little bit of time to spend with Fury before breakfast is ready." Joe walked into the kitchen and got the egg basket down for Cat and Mark then all of them went outside to do his chores.
The wood boxes were full in no time at all and Joe went to milk the cow while Mark and Cat went to gather eggs. While they were doing that, Mark said, "You know Cat, you didn't say goodbye to your mother yesterday. I think we should go to her grave today and put flowers on it. Then you can say goodbye."
"But I don't want to say goodbye."
"I didn't want to say goodbye to my mother either, but Pa said it was important and I would never feel right if I didn't. He was right. I tried not to do it, but I had to and you do too. We don't have to stay there long, but you really do need to say goodbye."
"Alright. If you're sure, we'll find some flowers and I'll tell Uncle Ben at breakfast that I want to put them on my mother's grave."
At breakfast, Cat surprised everyone when she said she wanted to put flowers on her mother's grave. Lucas gave Mark a questioning look, Mark nodded his head and his father smiled at him. Ben asked Cat if she was sure that's what she wanted to do and she said yes. Mark nudged her and whispered something in her ear. She whispered back to him and said that they'd have to find more flowers. Since everyone knew that Mark was doing his best to help Cat through a difficult time, nobody scolded the pair for whispering at the table.
After breakfast, Hoss told Cat to lead Lady and Fury out into the pasture and walk them around it once. Then Adam said, "We've got a surprise for the two of you. Since Sam, Bill and Phil have business to take care of in town, the ladies want to go shopping, Jarrod has work to do, Pa, Hoss, Joe and I also have work to do on the ranch and Nick and Heath want to look at some of our cattle and horses, we thought that you would like to spend the day fishing. I'm sure that Hop Sing will fix some food for you to take with you. That way you can go all the way to Lake Tahoe and won't have to worry about being home in time for dinner."
"You can leave as soon as we return from putting flowers on Cat's mother's grave. Just be sure that you're home in time for supper. You know how upset Hop Sing gets when somebody is late for a meal and I don't want him upset," said Ben.
"Ok Uncle Ben, Mark and me will be home in time for supper. Maybe we'll even catch enough fish to feed everyone," said Cat.
"That's Mark and I," replied Ben. "I don't know how you're going to pass your grammar exam if you can't use proper grammar when you speak. If you do catch enough fish to feed everyone, you and Mark will have to help Hop Sing clean them."
"Ok Uncle Ben. We'll help Hop Sing clean the fish if we catch enough. Mark said that I should put flowers on my father's grave too, so after I lead Lady and Fury around the pasture, I'm going to get some more flowers."
"That's a fine idea Sweetheart. You go, take care of that colt and get your flowers. We'll leave whenever you're ready."
Cat and Mark went out to the barn where she put a lead rope on Lady, led her out to the pasture and then led her around it once before taking the lead rope off and hanging it on the fence. Then they dug more flowers for Cat to put on her father's grave and started back to the house. On the way, they were stopped by Joe who had found the lead rope on the fence. "Cat, why didn't you put the lead rope back in the barn when you were through with it? You've spent enough school vacations here to know we don't just leave equipment lying around everywhere. Now, go and put this back in the barn where it belongs and the next time I find it hanging on the fence instead of in the barn, I will be warming your backside with my hand. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Yes," came the reply.
"Good because I don't want there to be any misunderstandings. You're almost nine so you've got to start taking care of things. Even little things like lead ropes. I hope you do not leave it lying around again because I do not want to have to warm your backside. I will be letting Pa, Adam and Hoss know about our little talk so you won't be able to say you didn't know if it ever happens again. Now get going, put that lead rope where it belongs, ask Hop Sing to pack food to take fishing with you and get your flowers so we can get going."
Cat walked toward the barn and Mark stayed to talk to Joe. "You were awful hard on Cat, Joe. She didn't grow up on a ranch like we did and doesn't know everything that needs to be done."
"That's true, but she's been here enough to know that we don't leave stuff just lying around anywhere. What would your Pa have done if you had left a lead rope just hanging on a fence?"
"He would have scolded me but not the day after we buried my mother! I don't even think your Pa, Adam or Nick would have yelled at her like you did and threaten to spank her the day after her mother's funeral. Yes, I'm only nine and you can tell my Pa that I back talked you, but you know I'm right."
Ben walked out to the barn a few minutes later and found Cat laying on a bale of hay, crying. He took her in his arms and asked what was wrong. She told him about Joe yelling at and threatening to spank her because she left the lead rope on the pasture fence. He comforted the crying child and said, "Don't worry. You're not going to get a spanking for leaving a lead rope on the pasture fence. I'll talk with Joe and remind him of how much equipment he left lying around when he was a child. Now, go, wash your face and if you have your flowers, we'll go up to your mother's grave so you can put them on it. I'll even saddle Ginger for you."
Joe walked into the barn while Ben was saddling Ginger. His father looked at him and blew up. "What do you mean by threatening to spank that child for leaving a lead rope on a fence the day after we buried her mother? I have lost track of the amount of equipment you left lying around and didn't get punished for when you were a child! We just buried her mother yesterday and you're threatening to spank her for a lead rope left lying on a fence! That child has been through Hell in the past week. I should not have walked into the barn to find her crying because you yelled at her and threatened to spank her. What is the matter with you today? Do I need to treat you like you're going to be nine instead of nineteen next week?"
"No sir. I'm sorry Pa. I don't know what got into me. It just made me mad to see the lead rope on the fence. Cat's been here enough to know better."
"You were born and raised here and knew better but your brothers and I were still picking up equipment you left lying around when you were ten. I don't seem to remember you getting too many spankings for doing it until you were twelve and I decided that you were just getting lazy, which you were."
"I didn't get many spankings from you, but Adam made up for it every chance he got."
"If I had known, I would have done something about it. However, that was years ago and has nothing to do with the way you treated your cousin just now. Do you have any idea what that little girl has been through in the last week? In case you've forgotten, she was standing next to her mother when she was killed. She has been blaming herself for her mother's death. How do you think your scolding and threat made her feel? You know that if your brothers see her, they're going to want to know why she was crying. What do you think they're going to do?"
"They're going to kill me. I'll go and apologize to Cat and hope she forgives me, but that won't keep Adam and Hoss from killing me."
"Your brothers are not going to kill you. You spoke without thinking, which everyone, including myself, is guilty of from time. Now, go, find Cat and apologize to her. I'll deal with your brothers if it becomes necessary."
Cat walked into the house and Adam and Hoss took one look at her tear stained face and wanted to know what had happened. She told them about Joe scolding her and threatening to spank her and they both got very upset. "Don't you worry about Little Joe," Hoss told her. "We're going to take care of our little brother for you and when we're done with him, he's going to be very sorry that he made you cry. Now, go, wash up and get ready to go and put those flowers on your mother's grave."
After finishing his conversation with his father, Joe walked into the house where he was immediately confronted by his brothers. Before he could tell them he was on his way to apologize to Cat, they had him backed up against a wall and started yelling at him. Ben walked in before the confrontation got physical, saw what was happening and yelled at his older sons. "Adam, Hoss, leave your brother alone! Joseph knows what he did was wrong. He is sorry for it and was on his way to apologize to Cat. He spoke without thinking, which the two of you have done many times. Now, if we're going to take Cat to put flowers on her mother's grave, you need to get your horses saddled. Before you do, ask the rest of the family if they are planning on coming with us so you can saddle enough horses."
Joe found Cat in the kitchen, picked her up and sat her on the table. Then he apologized and asked her to forgive him. By the time he finished, he had tears in his eyes. Cat hugged him and told him that she forgave him. As he had done many times when she was little, Joe carried Cat out of the kitchen on his back and outside to where everyone was waiting for them. He asked her where her flowers were and she told him. When he noticed they had roots on them, Joe got a small shovel and a canteen full of water so Cat could plant them. Fifteen minutes later, everyone arrived at the small cove of trees where Joe's mother and Cat's parents were buried. With Mark's help, Cat planted the flowers on her parents' graves and watered them. When she was finished, she told the family "I'm going to find who killed my mamma and when I do, I'm going to kill them too."
"No Cat, you are not going to kill the person who killed your mother," said Ben gently. "That would be just as wrong as what they did to your mother. She would not want you to kill someone, even if they were the person who killed her. Your mother would want you to forgive that person the way the Bible teaches us to do."
"Are you sure Uncle Ben?"
Before Ben could answer, Victoria said, "Yes Sweetheart. Your mother would want you to forgive the person who killed her. It won't be easy, but you are a lot like her and I know that when the time comes, you will be able to forgive that person."
"Ok. I'll try."
"That's my girl," said Ben. "Now, let's head back to the house. You and Mark want to go fishing, the ladies want to go shopping and everyone else has work or errands to do." When they got back to the house, Cat went inside to get food from Hop Sing and Adam told Mark where to find the fishing poles and cans for worms. A few minutes later, Cat walked out of the house with a sack full of food. "Remember, you need to be back here before supper and if you catch a lot of fish, you need to help Hop Sing clean them," Ben said as the children mounted their horses.
"Don't worry, we will," both children said at the same time and rode off toward Lake Tahoe.
Once Cat and Mark were out of sight, everyone else prepared to go to town. The ladies decided to take the buggy and President Grant wondered if his Army escort should go also. "I don't think there's any need for them to go Sam," said Ben. "After all, you've got nine grown men and eighteen year old Joseph to protect you, not that you'll be in any danger. Do you really want to force your escort to stand around doing nothing while you shop for Cat's birthday present? If you're that concerned, I'll even put a few rifles in the buggy. I know for a fact that both Victoria and Kitty are excellent shots." Grant agreed to the two extra rifles in the buggy, so Ben asked Hoss to please go into the house and bring two out. Once they were under the front seat of the buggy, everyone left for town.
When they arrived in Virginia City, people were surprised to see the President, two famous generals and their wives with the Cartwrights. General Sherman went to send the President's telegrams while everyone else started shopping. By the time they were finished, the bill totaled almost one hundred dollars. "I thought we were only going to spend fifty dollars on Cat's birthday presents," said Joe. "That's all the money I brought with me."
"Don't worry Joe," said Adam. "We'll put in the rest and you don't need to pay us back. It's our fault that we got carried away with our shopping. I don't particularly enjoy shopping, but shopping for Cat is fun. I just don't know how we're going to get everything home today. There isn't enough room in the buggy."
Just then Mr. McLeod, the store owner spoke up. "Why don't you put everything in my wagon? James has been looking for an excuse to go for a long ride and this will give him that opportunity. I'm very sorry to hear about your sister. How is your niece holding up?"
"Thank you George. That is very kind of you. We gladly accept your offer," said Ben. "Thank you for your sympathy. Catherine is doing the best she can for an eight year old. We're doing the best we can to keep her distracted so she doesn't think about it too much. Right now, she's out fishing with her cousin so we can shop for her birthday gifts."
"When is her birthday?"
"It's on Tuesday and she's going to be nine."
"Well, from what I can see here, she's going to have a very nice birthday celebration. If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to let me know. She's an adorable child and we always enjoy seeing her when she visits you. Where is she going to live now that both of her parents are dead?"
"She's going to live on the Ponderosa and I'm going to adopt her."
"That's wonderful Ben. I know that she'll be very happy with you and the boys. Let me get James so you can get all of her birthday gifts home before she and her cousin return from fishing." Mr. McLeod called his son who gladly hitched up their wagon, helped the family load Cat's birthday gifts into it and drove it to the Ponderosa.
While everyone was in town shopping, Cat and Mark were having a good time fishing. After fishing for several hours, they decided to go swimming in the lake. After talking it over, they decided that they wouldn't go very deep because there were no adults around to pull them out if they ran into trouble. They swam and splashed water on each other for almost an hour. Although the day was warm, Mark built a fire to help dry them faster. Once the fire was built, they ate the food Hop Sing sent with them. When their clothes were dry and the food was eaten, they put the fire out and counted their fish. "We'd better catch more fish," said Cat. "I don't know if we even have enough to feed Hoss. He eats more than anyone I've ever met." Mark laughed and the two children went back to fishing.
After several hours, Mark said, "It's getting late Cat. We'd better go back to the house. We caught a lot of fish and have to help Hop Sing clean them so he can cook them for supper. It took us almost forty five minutes to get here and it's going to take us a long time to clean all of these fish, even with Hop Sing helping us." Cat agreed and they picked up their things and made sure their fire was completely out before starting back to the house.
By the time Cat and Mark got back to the house, everyone had returned from the shopping trip and her gifts had been hidden. They put their horses and fishing poles away before carrying all the fish into the kitchen. Hop Sing was impressed by all the fish they caught, told them to carry them out into the yard, picked up three knives and joined them in the yard. It took almost an hour, but eventually all of the fish were cleaned and ready to be cooked. Before going back into the house Hop Sing asked the children to pick some vegetables from the garden and to set the table. Both Cat and Mark gladly did as he asked.
At supper, everyone was surprised at the amount of fish Cat and Mark had caught. All of the adults praised the pair for their catch and made plans for the following day. The Grants, Sheridans and Shermans said that they would like to see more of the ranch. Jarrod said he had some legal work to do while Nick and Heath said they wanted to look at cattle and horses. Hoss volunteered to take his cousins to look at the cattle and horses, so it was decided that everyone except Jarrod, Nick, Heath and Hoss would go riding after breakfast. Hop Sing offered to pack a picnic dinner so they wouldn't have to rush back to the house in time to eat. When supper was over, the ladies surprised everyone when they announced that since Mark and Cat had caught the fish, picked the vegetables and set the table, while Hop Sing had helped clean the fish and made a wonderful supper, they would clear the table and wash the dishes.
The next day, while everyone was out, Jarrod got the adoption papers written up to take to the judge. Since not many of Ben's guests had spent much time on the Ponderosa, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the ride and picnic dinner Hop Sing had prepared for them. They got back to the house about two hours before supper, so Cat and Mark offered to help Joe with his chores and fill the wood boxes for him. Jarrod showed the adoption papers to Ben who said they could take them to the judge in the morning.
They took the papers to town the next morning. The judge was busy with other paperwork but looked them over quickly and said, "These seem to be in order. Tell you what Ben, I'll read them over thoroughly and sign them this weekend. This is Friday, so I'll bring them to church and give them to you on Sunday. Does your niece know that you're going to adopt her?"
"No, I thought I'd surprise her for her birthday on Tuesday."
"Well then, I'd say that she's going to have a very nice birthday and be given a very big surprise."
"Thank you Judge. I really appreciate you doing this on the weekend."
"You're welcome Ben. It's my pleasure. Your niece is a sweet child. Yes, I know she can be wild, but she's still a sweet child who has been through more than a child that young should be. This will help to make up for it. You've done a find job raising your sons and I know you will do just as well with Catherine. It will be interesting to see how that little girl turns out after all she's been through in her life."
Ben and Jarrod left the judge's office. When they returned to the Ponderosa, Mark and Cat were out riding, so they were able to tell everyone else the news without spoiling Cat's birthday surprise.
Everyone attended church services on Sunday morning. Cat, Mark, Laura and Mary were allowed to sit together and did not disappoint the adults who had trusted them to behave properly. When the services were over, the judge walked up to Ben, handed him the papers and quietly said, "Please tell me what her reaction is when she finds out that she's going to have a father and brothers to look after her."
"I will Judge. I still can't thank you enough for taking time to read and sign the papers on the weekend."
"It was my pleasure Ben. Now go and enjoy spending time with your visitors. I know that you rarely get to see them, so enjoy their company while you have it."
Ben joined the rest of the family and everyone went back to the Ponderosa where Hop Sing had dinner waiting for them. After dinner, Cat and Mark walked up to Lucas and asked if he could teach them how to milk the cow.
"Why do you want to learn how to milk the cow?" he asked.
"Because Little Joe's birthday is on Tuesday," replied Cat. "We don't have money to buy a present for him, so we thought we'd do his chores. We know how to fill the wood boxes and gather eggs. We can brush Cochise and make him shine so Joe can see himself in his coat, but we don't know how to milk a cow. I was going to ask Uncle Ben, Adam or Hoss, but they might accidentally tell Little Joe and spoil our surprise."
"I'll tell you what. Milking a cow is something that takes more than a day to learn to do properly, so I'll get up early with you on Tuesday and milk the cow. The two of you can carry the full pail into the kitchen. Now, I believe everyone is waiting for us so we can all go riding, so I suggest we join them outside before they wonder what we're doing." Cat and Mark hugged him and the three of them went to join the others for a ride.