Cat wandered around the fort for a while but all of the men were busy doing their jobs. Then she spotted several of the older boys riding out to go fishing and decided she wanted to go fishing also. She ran over to where her Godparents were sitting outside in the shade and said, "I want to go fishing. Will someone please take me? I'm not allowed to leave the fort by myself and the older boys have already left."

"Sure Cat, I'll take you," said Sheridan.

"That sounds like a great idea. I'll go too," said Sherman.

"Philip Henry Sheridan, I swear, if you harm one hair on that child's head I will not speak to you for a month and you will be sleeping outside during that time."

"Don't worry Irene. I'm not going to hurt her. I'm just going to use her for bait. Maybe I'll catch a whale." Then he turned to Cat and said, "See, I told you Aunt Irene was angry at me. That's the second time today she's called me by my full name." Cat giggled.

"Wow, you really are in trouble Uncle Phil. Uncle Matt never called me by my whole name twice in one day. If he had, I wouldn't have been able to sit down for three days. Can we go fishing now before Aunt Irene decides to make you stay here?"

"Sure Cat. Let's go, get our horses and some fishing poles. We can dig for worms when we get to where we're going."

The three of them spent most of the rest of the day fishing and returned to the fort shortly before supper. Just before they returned, the sergeant major walked into Rip's office and said, "Major, the men all asked me to ask you if you would wear your dress uniform to supper tonight. They really like seeing you in it wearing major's bars and know that you probably won't wear it again until the president visits us again."

Rip thought about it for a minute. He hated wearing his dress uniform and thought of a way to get out of it. "I'll tell you what. I'll wear my dress uniform if you can convince that little Wild Cat of mine to wear that pretty dress she wore today."

The sergeant major laughed and said, "Alright Major you've got a deal. I'll convince your niece to wear her dress and you'll wear your dress uniform. All of the men will be impressed."

Rip just laughed. "Go on with you. You'll never convince her to wear that dress again today. I think she'll probably get married in her buckskins."

"We'll see Major. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." When the fishing party returned to the fort, the sergeant major met them in front of the Grant's quarters. "Miss Cat, I have a really big favor to ask. Everyone wants your uncle to wear his dress uniform to supper tonight but he won't do it unless you wear that pretty dress you wore earlier. So, will you please wear your dress again tonight?"

Cat made a face. "I don't like wearing dresses."

Before the sergeant major could reply, Sherman said, "I could order him to wear the uniform."

"Thank you General, but that wouldn't be fair. The major said he'd wear the uniform if his niece wore her dress and it's up to me to convince her and I'm not above bribery. Miss Cat, if you'll wear your dress to supper, I'll ask the cooks to give you an extra large piece of chocolate cake for dessert."

All of the adults laughed. "Sergeant Major, you are devious," said Julia Grant. "Well Cat, are you going to wear your dress?"

"Thank you ma'am. I'll take that as a compliment."

"Well, Uncle Rip does look nice in his dress uniform and I love chocolate cake. So, yes, I'll wear my dress to supper. Who's going to tell him?"

"We all will," replied Ellen Sherman. "I for one, want to see the look on his face when he learns he has to wear his dress uniform. Why don't you go and shake out your dress? We'll be over to help you as soon as we tell Uncle Rip the bad news." Then she turned to the men and said, "Since Rip has to wear his dress uniform tonight, so do you." Cat laughed at the looks on their faces and ran over to Rip's new quarters to shake out her dress.

Everyone else walked over to Rip's office. He looked up when the door opened and was surprised to see everyone. "Don't tell me, Cat's started the fort on fire."

Everyone laughed and Grant said, "No, but we do have some bad news for you."

"You have to wear your dress uniform tonight," said Julia. "The sergeant major talked Cat into wearing her dress."

The shocked look on Rip's face made everyone laugh so hard, the clerk ran in from his office to see if anything was wrong. When he saw that everything was fine, he returned to his office. "How did he do that? Cat hates wearing dresses and will probably get married in her buckskins."

"That's our secret," replied Grant. "You'll find out later."

"Don't feel bad," said Sherman. "Our wives decided that we also needed to wear our dress uniforms. So we'd all better go and change clothes. Supper will be served in a little while."

They walked back over to Rip's quarters where they found Cat getting dressed. "Please let us rebraid your hair," said Ellen Sheridan. "You're wearing that pretty dress, so your hair should look nice too. What did you do with your hair ribbons from earlier?"

Cat went up to the head of the bed and pulled them out from under the pillow. "I didn't want them to get dirty, so I put them here."

They had Cat's hair rebraided in no time at all and tied the ribbons onto the end of each pigtail. "Now, we need to go, wash up, and make sure our husbands are obeying orders" said Ellen. Why don't you knock on Uncle Rip's door and see if he needs help getting dressed?"

The women returned to their own quarters and Cat knocked on Rip's door. He opened it and she said, "Aunt Ellen said I should see if you needed help getting dressed."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I hate all of these buttons and I always have to try several times before I get them right."

"I can help you with the buttons," Cat said as she hopped up on the bed. "You sure did make a mess with them. Unbutton all of them and let me do it." It took several minutes but she got the shirt buttoned correctly. Then they walked over to join the others for supper.

When they reached the mess hall, Rip was shocked to see that twelve of the officers were wearing their dress uniforms and were serving as an honor guard. The sergeant major gave commands and the men saluted the party with their swords and then crossed them overhead, forming an arch. Rip was going to enter first but Grant stopped him. "You are the guest of honor tonight, so you and your adorable little escort will enter last."

Once everyone but Rip and Cat had entered, the honor guard quickly entered the hall and reformed their sword arch. Since it was a special occasion, even the married soldiers and their families were present and all of the men were wearing their dress uniforms. When Rip and Cat entered the hall, the sergeant major said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you our new Commanding Officer, Major Ripley Masters and his niece, Miss Catherine Cartwright." Everyone stood up and cheered.

Rip and Cat walked over to where her Godparents were waiting at a large table in the center of the two rooms. The president and generals seated their wives and Rip did the same thing for Cat who giggled. Then he asked, "What do you want for supper tonight Cat?"

Before Cat could answer, everyone who heard the question responded, "Chocolate cake."

Rip laughed. Many of the people at the fort had known Cat since she was four and knew that chocolate cake was her favorite food.

"You can have chocolate cake for dessert Kitten, but, as I told you last night and the night before and the night before that, you need to have meat, potatoes and vegetables for supper."

"You sound like Uncle Matt. He says that all the time."

"All grownups do Cat," said Ellen. "Uncle Bill and I say the same thing to our children all the time."

Cat sighed and decided on steak. Once the server left their table, Rip stood up and asked, "Sergeant Major, will you please tell me how you got my niece to wear a dress tonight? You know as well as many of us do that she would rather play with a hornet's nest than wear a dress."

"I'm sorry Major, but that's going to remain a secret for a little while longer. You will find out soon."

At supper, Cat asked Rip if she could taste his wine. Remembering her reaction when she tasted Matt's coffee, he handed her his glass. She took a sip, made a funny face and said, "EWWWWW Yuck! That tastes almost as bad as coffee. May I have some more milk please?"

When dessert was served, the server put a very large piece of chocolate cake in front of Cat and said, "For you Miss Catherine with everyone's compliments." Cat wasn't sure what that meant, so she just said thank you.

Rip was laughing so hard he could barely speak. He knew stood up and said, "Sergeant Major, did you bribe my niece to wear her dress tonight?"

"Yes I did Major and I will gladly do it again when the occasion arises and especially when you are promoted to colonel."

Everyone in the mess hall laughed. Rip just threw up his hands and laughed. "Alright, you win this time. Next time might not be so easy, especially as I'm wise to your tricks now." Then he looked at Cat who was busy devouring her cake. "Are you going to be able to eat all of that? It's an awfully big piece."

Cat drank some milk and said, "Of course I am Uncle Rip. I could eat a whole chocolate cake if you'd let me."

Everyone at the table laughed. "She's definitely a normal nine year old Rip," said Ellen. "Most of our brood feels the same way."

As very young children began getting sleepy and were carried out by their parents, their fathers stopped at the president's table to congratulate Rip on his promotion. Shortly after Cat finished her cake, she began to yawn. Rip noticed and said, "If you will excuse me for a little while, it's time this little one was in bed. Climb onto my back Cat and I'll give you a ride back to your new room."

After getting Cat into bed and ensuring she was asleep, Rip returned to the mess hall. Everyone sat and talked for a while before deciding to head to bed themselves.

The next morning, Cat was up before the sun. She ran into Rip's room, pounced onto the bed and woke him up. He groaned, rolled over and looked at his watch. "Don't you ever sleep until sunrise?" he asked. "Revile isn't for another two and a half hours. Go back to bed." Seeing the disappointed look on her face, he pulled her under the covers with him and said, "I'm going back to sleep for a little while. You can stay awake if you want to but please don't wiggle too much or I might have to tickle you when I wake up." Cat snuggled up in her uncle's arms and fell back to sleep, feeling more secure than she had since her mother had shown up in Dodge. She let out a deep sigh and Rip instantly knew that she had been feeling insecure and felt bad about making her sleep with the Grants.

At breakfast, Grant said, "Cat, I know that you're eager to ride out to your Apache friends and I want to meet them. But I have a little bit of work to do before we can leave. I promise I'll only take one hour and then we'll go. Maybe we can get Uncle Rip to wear his dress uniform again," he teased.

"Only if Cat wears a dress again and you, Bill and Phil wear your dress uniforms."

Julia Grant scolded her husband. "Ulysses, it's not nice to tease Rip this early in the morning. He hates wearing his dress uniform as much as you, Bill and Phil hate wearing yours."

After breakfast, Rip said, "Come on Cat. You can help me in my office for a little while. I'm going to let you throw some of those papers from my desk into the stove. There's no fire in it right now, so you won't get burned." After forty five minutes, he said, "Let's go and remind Uncle Sam that he promised to be ready in an hour. He forgets about the time when he starts working." On the way over to the Grant's quarters, he saw the lieutenant who was his second in command. "I'm going to be riding out to take Cat to the Apaches in a little while. I should be back in about two hours. You're in charge until I return."

When they reached the Grant's quarters, they were a little surprised to find only three horses saddled and waiting. "Bill and Phil said that they wanted to spend some time with their wives and Julia didn't feel like going for a ride this morning."

Just then Cat exclaimed, "I forgot my bow and arrows! I have to go and get them and I want to show my pretty saddle bags to Little Bear." She ran to Rip's quarters, got her things out from under the bed and ran back to where her uncle and Godfather were waiting. She was thrilled to see that Tom and David had decided to join the escort. She mounted Ginger and everyone rode out of the fort.

While they were riding, Rip told her, "I'm feeling very selfish right now and I don't want to share you with the Apaches. In fact, I don't even want to share you with the rest of the family, including your new father and brothers. I just want to keep you all to myself."

Cat just laughed and said, "I'll race you to that big tree down the road." Cat lost the race and laughed, "Just wait until Fury grows up. Then I'll never lose a race again. He's going to be the fastest horse in the world."

Before long, they reached the Walker's farm where Elizabeth and John were waiting outside to greet them. "Please come inside and sit down. The Apaches should be here shortly," said John. They both hugged Cat and admired her saddle bags.

About ten minutes later, the two Apache chiefs and a handful of braves, including Little Bear rode into the farm. John welcomed them and invited them into the house. They already knew Rip and congratulated him on his promotion. "Uncle Rip is in charge of the fort now," said Cat. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Then she spotted Little Bear and ran up to him. Before she could hug him, he pulled something out from under his shirt and handed it to Cat. It was a silver gray puppy that looked more like a wolf than a dog. "My dog had puppies and I saved the best one for you. His name is Silver Chief. His father is a wolf and his mother is half dog and half wolf. I have been telling him about you and he will protect you when he grows up." Cat put the puppy down and hugged Little Bear tightly.

"Thank you Little Bear. I will take very good care of him."

"Just don't over feed him like you did with Spot when you were four."

"I won't. I promise."

Everyone laughed and Elizabeth explained to Grant that when Cat was four, she was feeding her pony too much because she thought that would make him grow up as big as a horse. Cat took Silver Chief outside to show Tom and David giving the men an opportunity to talk. They talked for about twenty minutes and then Cochise said, "We need to leave. We only have a short time with Wild Cat and have much to teach her." The men all shook hands and Grant told him and Geronimo that he was very happy to have met them. He said that they also needed to get back to the fort as Rip had a lot of work to do now that he was in command. Once they were outside, Cochise said, "Come Wild Cat. We need to leave. Say goodbye to the Walkers and your family, get your puppy and come with us." Cat did as she was told and then tried to figure out how she was going to even mount her horse with a wiggling puppy in her arms. Then she decided to put him in one side of her new saddle bags and followed her Apache father and Grandfather out of the Walker's yard.

While they were riding, Little Bear told Cat that he had another surprise for her when they got back to the village. "OOOOH. I love surprises. It is a nice surprise?"

"Yes, of course it is. Those are the best kind."

The party arrived in the village and Cat ran to hug her Apache mother and grandmother. Then she took Silver Chief out of her saddle bag and put him on the ground. Little Bear walked up to her and said to come with him. They walked over to his parent's teepee, he entered it and came out holding the hand of a girl who was the same age as him. "Wild Cat, this is Morning Dove. She has agreed to become my wife."

Cat was thrilled and hugged her brother. "I am going to have a sister. Do you really love her?"

"Yes Wild Cat. I do love her very much."

Then Cat turned to Morning Dove and asked, "Do you love Little Bear?"

"Yes I do. I love him more than anything else."

Cat hugged her and said, "I'm glad you're going to be my sister now."

Then Little Bear told her that he and Morning Dove were going to be married the next day. Cat hugged both of them tight. Then they spent the next hour teaching her how to train her puppy. Morning Dove tied a long thin piece of deer hide around Silver Chief's neck and gave the other end to Cat. "Now," she said, "Call his name and give a very gentle tug on the lead, but no harder than this." She gave a very gentle tug on one of Cat's braids. Cat did as she was told and after several tries, the puppy figured out what was being asked of him and ran to Cat. She hugged, kissed, and praised him. Before long, she no longer needed the lead. The puppy followed her wherever she went.

Later that day, Cat was allowed to accompany the men when they went hunting to get food for the next day's wedding feast. She wasn't big enough to kill a deer but her adopted father and grandfather watched with approval as she rejoined them, carrying six rabbits. Silver Chief had followed the hunting party and everyone had a good laugh as he tackled a rabbit that was as big as he was. Cat was going to help him when Little Bear stopped her. "No. Let him do it. He will learn that way."

The puppy eventually won his battle with the rabbit and ran back to Cat dragging his prize. Cat picked him up, hugged and praised him. All of the men praised him too. "He will be a good hunter when he grows up," said Geronimo. "Your hunting skills have also improved. You will learn how to make a fire while you are here. Then you will never go hungry."

"Thank you Father," said Cat. "When will I be big enough to kill a deer?"

"Not for several more years daughter. Maybe when you are eleven or twelve, if you keep practicing and build up your arm strength, you will be able to kill a deer. Just remember, you need to be patient and give yourself time to grow up a little more. Little Bear was fourteen when he killed his first deer. I was sixteen when I killed mine. Everybody is different. One thing you must remember is to never kill an animal except for food or to end its suffering. When you kill an animal for food, you must always thank it for giving its life for yours. When you end an animal's suffering, you must talk to the animal and tell it what you are going to do and why."

"I'll remember Father."

The hunting party returned to the village. The men dressed the deer and Cat took care of the rabbits, earning her more praise. Then she took the rabbits to her adopted mother and learned a new way of fixing them for a meal. Cat gave the skins to her adopted mother and said, "Mother, I will need a hat and mittens for the winter. My mother's brother adopted me and I will be living on his ranch in Nevada. It gets very cold and snowy there. Will you please teach me how to make some hats and mittens? Then I can also make some for my friends, Laura and Mary."

Cat's request earned her a bear hug. "My daughter, you are growing up. I am very proud of you. Not so many years ago, you would not have asked to learn how to make your own things. Now you are asking to make things for your friends. Your father and grandparents will also be very proud of you. Now, please go and tell them that the meal is almost ready. We have enough food so you may also invite Little Bear and Morning Dove."

Cat ran off to as she had been told. While they were eating, she was praised again for providing the meal and for asking to learn how to make mittens and hats. She wasn't used to having a puppy and had forgotten to feed Silver Chief who tried to steal food from the meal. "Wild Cat," said Little Bear. "Did you remember to feed Silver Chief tonight?"

"No. I didn't. I am very sorry. I've never had a puppy before and don't know how much they eat, when they eat or what they eat. I know about horses but not puppies. Will you please teach me? I should have asked earlier."

Little Bear cut a large piece of meat off one rabbit and handed it to Cat. "Give this to him. If he is still hungry when he finishes, we will give him one more small piece. When you wake up in the morning, give him another large piece. Tomorrow I will teach you how to take care of him."

Cat took the meat, picked up her puppy, hugged him and said, "I am sorry I forgot to feed you Silver Chief. I've never had a puppy before. I promise that I will never forget again." The puppy licked her chin then she set him down and gave him the meat. When she rejoined the family, she realized that she had forgotten something else. "Do puppies need to drink water? I know that horses, cows, chickens, and people do but I don't know about puppies."

Cochise answered her. "Yes granddaughter. Every living creature needs to drink water. Go over to my teepee and you will find a large bowl there. Fill it with water and give it to your puppy. When he is grown, he will be able to drink from streams, rivers and lakes but while he is still small, he must drink from a bowl." After Cat left to get the bowl of water, Cochise said, "My granddaughter is growing up. She is asking how to do things instead of waiting to be told. She is thinking of others now also instead of only thinking about herself." When Cat returned, gave the water to her puppy and rejoined the family, Cochise told her, "Granddaughter, you are growing up and I will miss the little girl who demanded her father give her a ride on his horse when we found you. However, I am very proud of the big girl you are becoming."

"Thank you Grandfather," replied Cat.

Then Morning Dove spoke up. "I know that this is Wild Cat's first night back with the family but tomorrow we will become sisters. May the two of us please share a tepee tonight so that we may learn about each other?" Permission was given and Little Bear left to find an empty tepee and start a fire in it.

When the meal had ended, Cat got her blanket, bow and arrows and Silver Chief's water bowl and started to go with Morning Dove. "Come on Silver Chief, it is time for us to go to bed." The puppy got up and started to follow her but then looked at a large bone he had been given. "Bring it with you silly. Nobody is going to steal it from you."

"Some of the bigger dogs might and Silver Chief might get hurt because he is still so small," said Morning Dove. "I will carry it for him." She picked up the bone, the girls left the teepee and walked over to the one Little Bear had provided for them, followed by a small silver gray bundle of fur wagging his tail as hard as he could. The girls put their blankets on the sleeping skins that had been laid out and Morning Dove put more wood on the fire. Then they both lay down and began talking to each other. After a little while, Silver Chief walked over to Cat and curled up next to her. It wasn't much longer before both girls fell asleep, Cat with her arms wrapped around a warm puppy. She thought she was the luckiest girl in the world. She had a horse (or at least he would be when he grew up), and a puppy and tomorrow she would get a sister.

The next morning was very busy. Morning Dove's village would be joining Cochise's village for the wedding celebration which was expected to last into the night. The deer were being roasted and the vegetables prepared. Everyone was taking part in the preparations but Little Bear found time to talk to Cat and teach her about how to take care of her puppy. He told her that he was proud of the way she apologized to the puppy, promised never to forget to feed him again and then asked if he needed water to drink. Then he told her that he was going to put Silver Chief's mother in his teepee and she should put him in there also. "There will be a lot of people here for the celebration and a young puppy can easily get stepped on or someone could steal him. I will tell you when it's time and we will feed them in there and give each of them a large bone. Nobody will go into my teepee and if they do, Silver Chief's mother will protect him."

"Do you think I should take him to the Walker's and ask them to take care of him until tomorrow? I don't want him to get stepped on and hurt and I don't want anybody to steal him."

"I don't know. Let's go, ask your father or grandfather what they think."

They found Cochise first and asked him. "That will not be necessary. He can stay with you until after the feast. Before the dancing begins, give him a large bone and put him with his mother in Little Bear's tepee."

"Thank you Grandfather. I wish the Walkers, Uncle Rip and my Godparents could be here for the wedding."

"Good. Now, I believe that Morning Dove is looking for you."

Cat ran off and found Morning Dove who was holding a buckskin dress that had been dyed a pretty shade of blue. She also had moccasins to match the dress. "I made these for you. I know that you do not like wearing dresses, but I would like it very much if you would wear them to the wedding today." Before Cat could answer, Morning Dove showed her the dress and moccasins she would be wearing to her wedding ceremony and feast.

"They match!" exclaimed Cat. "They're pretty. Thank you for the pretty dress and moccasins. I will wear them to your wedding and then everyone will know that we are sisters."

The two girls hugged and then Morning Dove said, "Come. Let us go down to the river and bathe. Then we can rebraid our hair so it will look nice for the wedding." The two girls walked down to the river. Since Silver Chief decided to jump in the water with them, they bathed him too. When they were finished, they walked back to the tepee they had shared the night before where they found Little Bear's mother as well as Cat's Apache mother and grandmother waiting to help them dress. The three women were surprised to see Cat excited about wearing a dress and praised her.

"Morning Dove is going to be my sister and she made this dress for me so everyone would know we were sisters. So, I told her I would wear it." The women helped Morning Dove dress first and they rebraided her hair. When they were finished, Cat looked at her and decided she needed something else but couldn't figure out what. Then she said, "I know what you need. I'll be right back." A few minutes later, she returned, both hands full of wildflowers. "You need flowers. Little Bear likes flowers. He will like it if he sees you wearing flowers. The women put several of the flowers into Morning Dove's hair. Cat held still while the women dressed her next. After her hair had been rebraided, they put flowers in it too. Then Morning Dove had an idea. She asked for a long, thin piece of deer hide. When it was given to her, she measured Silver Chief's neck, cut the deer hide in three pieces, braided it and tide it loosely around the puppy's neck and put some flowers in the braids. The puppy looked silly but didn't seem to care.

Early that same morning, Cochise rode to the Walker farm. He told them that Little Bear was going to be married that afternoon and that Cat was going to be part of the celebration. Then he invited them to the wedding. He also asked them to go to the fort and tell Rip and the president's party that they were invited too. He also said that Tom and David should come. Then he said that the men should wear their dress uniforms. The Walkers said that they would love to attend the wedding and would ride out to the fort right away. Cochise thanked them and went back to his village.

John rode out to the fort and told Rip, the Grants, Shermans, and Sheridans about the invitation. The men didn't want to go because they had to wear their dress uniforms but the women said it would be rude to decline the invitation, especially as Cat was going to be part of the ceremony. "How upset will Cat be with the four of you when she finds out you were invited and refused to go?" said Julia Grant. "The three of us will go without you and we will tell our Goddaughter that her uncles acted like nine year olds because they didn't want to wear their dress uniforms."

"Philip Henry Sheridan, just yesterday, you whipped our Goddaughter because she didn't want to wear a dress," said Irene. "Now you are acting just like she did by refusing to wear your dress uniform. What kind of an example are you setting for that child? Do you want her to grow up thinking that adults don't have to obey the rules they make?"

The men surrendered and told John they would be at his farm by two. John rode back to his farm, laughing the whole way and eager to tell Elizabeth about how four grown men, all of them Army officers, and one the president, were acting like little children.

"Now boys, said Ellen. "In exactly fifteen minutes, I want to see four men outside brushing their own uniforms. You will notice that I said 'Brushing their own uniforms'. That does not mean you get some hapless private to do it for you. That means you do it yourselves. If the three of you are going to act like nine year olds, we are going to treat you like nine year olds." Then they walked into their quarters to decide which dresses they were going to wear. They started in the Grant's quarters and giggled like school girls while helping Julia decide which dress to wear. They did the same thing in the Sherman's and Sheridan's quarters also.

Once the women decided which dresses they were going to wear and went outside to see if a major and three generals still knew how to take orders as well as give them. They were not disappointed. Rip wasn't married but each of the other three men did not want to face his wife's wrath by not doing what they were told. Rip looked at the women and said, "I hate these buttons. They drive me crazy. It took me thirty minutes to dress yesterday morning but yesterday evening, because Cat did the buttons for me, it only took me fifteen. Will one of you ladies please help me with my buttons? My best girl isn't here to do it for me."

The women looked at each other and burst out laughing. "He does sound like a little boy, doesn't he?" said Irene.

"Don't you just love the sad look on his face?" said Ellen.

"Yes Rip. Of course we'll help you," said Julia. "It won't do for you to embarrass Cat by having your shirt buttoned wrong. Now, why don't the four of you go and see how much work you can get done in Rip's office before dinner? We'll need to change clothes and leave right after dinner. By the way, has anybody bothered to tell Tom and David that they are invited to the wedding celebration?"

The men just looked at each other and the women sighed. "Rip," said Julia. "I really don't know how you function without a woman in your life. Will you please go over and tell those two young men about the wedding, that they are invited and have to wear their dress uniforms? I know that they will want to be there since Cat is going to be part of it."

Rip walked over to where Tom, David, and other members of the president's security detail were playing with some of the fort's children. "Tom, David, may I please see you for a moment?"

They stopped what they were doing, walked up to Rip and saluted. "What can we do for you Major?" asked Tom.

"Well boys, I've got some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is that you, along with the Grants, Shermans, Sheridans, and I have been invited to a wedding. Cat's friend Little Bear is getting married today and she's going to be part of the celebration. The bad news is that we have to wear our dress uniforms."

They sighed and got funny looks on their faces. "Don't feel bad. At least you're not going to have three women treating you like nine year olds. We made the mistake of acting like Cat when we were told we needed to wear our dress uniforms and the women are making us pay dearly."

Tom and David laughed long and loud. "I'm sorry Major, but that is just too funny," said David. "I wondered why all of you were outside brushing your dress uniforms. Too bad Cat wasn't here to see you, the generals and president acting like her. She sure would have thought it was funny. Don't worry; we'll be sure to tell her all about it if you don't."

"I'm quite certain that her Godmothers will have fun telling her themselves, especially as General Sheridan gave her a whipping for arguing with them about wearing a dress yesterday morning."

"Thank you for the invitation," said Tom. "What time do you want to leave?"

"We should leave no later than thirteen hundred hours."

"Alright Major," said Tom. "We'll be ready. In the mean time, David and I should go and see about horses for all of us."

"Thank you. Julia may be right. Maybe I do need a woman in my life just to remind me of things I forget."

Tom and David laughed. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you," said David. "You've got a lot on your mind right now. We don't envy you being given command of this fort right now. We had a look at your desk yesterday and wouldn't wish that mess on anyone, friend or foe."

Rip walked over to his office while Tom and David walked over to the stables. "You know Tom," said David. "This is going to be fun. We get to tell privates what to do for a change."

"Yes it is, but don't forget, we're part of the president's security detail and our behavior reflects on him, so we can't be rude."

They reached the stables and entered. They found a private brushing one of the horses. "Excuse us private," said Tom. "Would you please direct us to whomever is in charge?"

The private looked up from his work at the sound of Tom's voice. He looked at them and saw that they outranked him and said, "Yes, I will. Please come with me."

He led them to an office and knocked on the door. A voice on the other side said, "Enter." They walked in and found a sergeant sitting at a desk. "What can I do for you men?" he asked.

"Hello Sergeant. We need to have nine horses saddled and ready at the President's quarters no later than thirteen hundred hours. We need one each for President Grant, General Sherman, General Sheridan, their wives, Major Masters, and ourselves," said Tom.

"They'll be ready," said the sergeant.

"Thank you Sergeant. We appreciate your help," said David. Then they left and went back to playing with the children.

"Sergeant, why do those corporals get to come in here and order you around?" asked the private. "I've been watching them and the others. They haven't done a lick of work since they arrived here but nobody says anything to them."

"Private, you have only been in the Army a very short time, so I will explain things to you. Those men have a very important job to do. It is more important than even the major's job. They are part of the president's security detail. Their job is to keep him safe when he's not in a protected area like the fort. Because the White House is nowhere near as secure as a fort, they also have to protect him while he's there. When you are not on duty, you can talk and play cards with your friends, go fishing, riding, or do anything else you like. As long as they are with the president and he is not in a fort, unless they are told differently, they are on duty. The president, generals, and their wives were at the major's niece's mother's funeral. Even though part of the trip was by train, it still probably took at least five days to reach Nevada from Washington. Major Masterson was gone for a little more than two weeks, so those men have been on duty every day for at least three weeks. Now those two particular corporals have had an additional job for the past three days. They have also been charged with protecting the major's niece and keeping her out of trouble, which is not an easy task. From what I was told, one reason they were promoted yesterday is because they kept her from drowning on the trip down here. Don't you think they deserve a few days to relax?"

"Wow Sergeant. I didn't know there was that much to being part of the president's security detail. Yes, they do deserve some time to rest."

"Yes there is. I was part of President Lincoln's security detail. He was a great man and Mrs. Lincoln was very gracious to us. We all loved the boys and were very sad when Willie died. Mrs. Lincoln was never the same after that. I don't pity those soldiers who were supposed to be guarding him that awful night at Ford's Theater. They assumed he was safe, left their posts to have a beer and he was murdered by a madman. Now, let's get those horses ready. One doesn't keep a president, generals and a major waiting for anything."