Cat was up early the next morning and helped Mark with his chores before she went to town with him and his father. When they reached the hotel, she was delighted to see that her Godparents were not downstairs yet. Before Lucas could stop her, Cat dashed up the stairs to the second floor, followed by her puppy, where she found Tom and David standing guard in front of the Grant's room. The three of them hugged and Tom said, "They're not awake yet. The Shermans are next door and the Sheridans are directly across the hall."
Lucas reached the Grant's door right after Cat went in. "Why didn't you stop her?" he demanded angrily. "It's your job to keep the president from being disturbed, even by his Goddaughter."
"Mr. McCain," said David. "We just got these corporal's stripes and would like to keep them until we make sergeant. Cat has been waking her uncle and Godparents ever since we left Virginia City. They expect it. We could lose our stripes if we stopped her." Before Lucas could reply, Cat came bouncing out of the room and dashed into the Sherman's room. Lucas tried stopping her, but she ducked under his arm. Once the Shermans were wide awake, she bounced into the Sheridan's room and woke them.
When Cat came out of the Sheridan's room, Lucas started scolding her for waking her Godparents and Tom knocked on the Grants door. Julia opened the door and heard Lucas scolding Cat. "Lucas McCain, stop scolding that child! Except for the two weeks she spent with the Apaches, Cat has been doing this every morning ever since we left Virginia City. It's something we enjoy and will greatly miss after today. Wait until you see what Bill and Phil do to see who gets to carry her downstairs on their back. Oh, and by the way, these two young men standing guard have adopted Cat as their sister and she has adopted them. They are family and will be joining us for breakfast. When we are in a family setting, they are allowed to call us by our names, so don't scold them either. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish dressing. Cat, if Uncle Sam isn't out of bed by the time I'm finished dressing, will you please come and get him up?"
"Sure I will Aunt Julia. I'll come and do it now if you want me to. It's fun waking him up."
"Yes dear, that is an excellent idea. He's being lazy this morning. Come back in and wake him up. Do not stop until he gets out of bed."
Lucas stood there in amazement at what he had just heard while Cat went back into the Grant's room to wake her Godfather again. She pounced on him and Silver Chief licked his ear. Finally, Tom, David, Lucas and Mark could hear him yell, "Alright, you win. I surrender. Julia, who let this wild Indian in here?"
"That is not a wild Indian and you know it. That is a Wild Cat and, as you are so fond of telling Rip and the others, you will be fine once your neck recovers. Now, get out of that bed and get dressed or I will allow her to attack you again."
Tom and David started laughing when they heard Grant surrender. Tom pulled a quarter out of his pocket and handed it to his brother. "You win this time little brother. It only took two times before he surrendered. I thought surely it would take three times like it has before."
"Well, to be fair," David replied. "Cat didn't have the puppy until she joined the Apaches, so I'm guessing she had some help this time."
"Will you two please tell me what's going on and why you are betting on how long it takes the president to wake up?" asked Lucas.
"As we said earlier, Cat has been waking Rip and her Godparents up early every morning since we left Virginia City. Sam doesn't like getting out of bed when Cat's around, so the two of us have been wagering on how many times she will have to try before he gives up. We've passing this quarter back and forth between us the entire time. We're brothers and we have a little sister that's about Cat's age," said David.
"We adopted Cat as our sister because she reminds us of Samantha a whole lot," said Tom. For example, when we stopped for dinner, we usually stopped by a lake. Rip would tell Cat that she wasn't allowed to go swimming and she would tell him that she was going to go swimming just because he said she couldn't. Our sister would have done the exact same thing. Cat wants to meet Sam and we're going to do our best to keep that from happening because the country will never be the same if they ever do get together. There is one other thing you should know about Cat. She plans on becoming president when she's ten and having your son, our sister, Laura, Mary, and some of her friends from Dodge help her run the country. She said that she intends to get rid of arithmetic and grammar."
"Say, that's a great idea," said Mark. "I wish we were ten already. Cat's not the only one who doesn't like arithmetic and grammar."
Just then, Sherman and Sheridan came out of their rooms, said good morning to everybody and started their pretend argument over which one of them got Cat for the day. "You had her the day we left the fort and Sam had her yesterday, so I get her today," said Bill.
"You're forgetting, you had her the day before yesterday, so it's my turn," said Phil.
"But you had her the day we left the fort and Sam had her the following day, so that makes it my turn."
"I guess there's only one way to settle this. Swords?"
"Yes, definitely. Swords it is." Both men walked into their rooms.
"What's happening?" asked Mark.
"They're going to fight a duel over who gets to carry me downstairs on his back," replied Cat.
"With swords?" asked Mark.
"They don't use real swords. Watch what happens. I think it's funny."
The two men emerged from their rooms with the tree branches they had used the day they left the fort and began their mock battle. Mark couldn't believe what he was seeing and his father stood there and laughed. The hotel owner heard the commotion, ran upstairs and shook his head at the sight of the nation's two top generals acting like children.
The Grants came out of their room and laughed at the spectacle. "Again?" laughed the president. "Will those two ever grow up and learn to share?"
"Probably not Uncle Sam," replied Cat. "Today really is Uncle Phil's turn, but Uncle Bill wanted me too."
"We're going to miss this," said Tom. "You're the president. Is there anyway you can just claim Cat for your own and send her back once we reach Washington?"
"I'm sure there is Tom, but I'd have the entire family wanting to wring my neck if I did. If things work out, maybe we can escape Washington for the Ponderosa at Christmas. We'll just have to see what things are like then."
Sheridan won the duel again and the two men walked back to the Grant's room, laughing the entire way. "Bill, when are you going to learn that I'm a better swordsman than you are?"
"No you're not. I just let you win both times."
"Would you like to go again?"
"No you will not," said Ellen Sheridan.
"We have two hungry children standing here waiting to be fed while the two of you act like nine year olds," said Irene. "Sam and Julia are ready. Put your toys away and let's get these children fed." The men didn't dare argue with their wives and soon the entire party was on its way downstairs to eat breakfast.
While they were walking downstairs, Lucas asked Grant, "What was that duel all about?"
"It seems that Rip went and got himself promoted to major and given command of the fort, so he had to stay behind. Cat was in very low spirits and showed no interest in anything, even her puppy. So Bill and Phil decided to do something about it. They started a pretend argument over which one of them Cat would ride with. The argument escalated to a duel and before long, Cat was laughing. They've been doing it every day since then. Yesterday, they allowed me to help her in and out of the carriage and let her ride to supper and bed on my back. We're all going to miss the time we've gotten to spend with her."
During breakfast, Cat's Godparents told Lucas and Mark all about Cat's adventures since they left Dodge. They were both impressed when Grant told them about Gray Eagle adopting Cat, the size of the knife he used and Cat's bravery. They were also impressed when they were told how Silver Chief attacked Gray Eagle in defense of Cat. Julia gave the letter she had been writing to Lucas, told him to read it and add his insights before giving it to Ben.
Breakfast was over too soon and Cat's Godparents needed to start their journey back to Washington. Cat reluctantly hugged them goodbye. Before helping her mount her horse, Sheridan gave her some money and told her to send him and her other Godfathers a telegram if Ben or Adam tried to take Silver Chief or Fury away from her. Then, as he had done four days earlier, Sheridan made a great bow, helped Cat to mount her horse, put Silver Chief into one side of the saddle bags and handed them to her. Cat watched with tears in her eyes as her Godparents left town and rode out of sight. Then she followed Lucas and Mark back to their ranch. On the way to the ranch, Lucas apologized to Cat for scolding her for waking up her Godparents. "That's ok Uncle Luke. You didn't know that I was supposed to wake them up. Aunt Julia says that I'm better at waking Uncle Sam up than she is."
Lucas laughed. "I'll be you are Cat. I'm sure that Ellen and Irene say the same thing about their husbands."
Cat's week with the McCains went quickly. Lucas and Mark taught her how to work with cattle. Lucas told her that working with cattle can be dangerous and, until she was older, she should never work with them alone unless there was an emergency or she was looking for strays. He taught both children how to throw a rope. Cat and Mark laughed and laughed as they tried to rope each other without much success. Lucas threw a big loop, caught both children, pulled them to him, hugged and praised them for trying so hard and not giving up.
One day, Lucas showed Cat how his rifle worked and how well he could shoot. Mark asked Cat if she would like a rifle like that one day.
"No!" she said. "I don't like guns. If it wasn't for guns, my parents would still be alive. I wish I could take all the guns in the world and throw them into a big fire until there was nothing left of them!"
They went hunting and Cat impressed Lucas with her hunting skills. All three of them laughed as Silver Chief tackled a rabbit bigger then he was. Cat dressed the rabbits she killed and showed Lucas and Mark one of the ways her Apache mother had taught her to cook them. They spent one day fishing and swimming. Cat and Mark cleaned the fish and Lucas cooked them. Before long, the week was up and Lucas told Cat that Ben and Adam would be there the next day. That night after the children went to bed, he added his insights to Julia Grant's letter to Ben. He hoped and prayed that Julia's fears would amount to nothing. Lucas knew that Ben and the boys loved Cat but like Julia, he was concerned that they were going to try and break her spirit. He decided to try and convince Ben and Adam to spend a few days there so they could learn some of what Cat knew how to do.
The next afternoon they rode to town to meet the stage. Ben and Adam greeted Lucas warmly and hugged Mark. Then Ben picked Cat up, gave her a big bear hug and teased her saying she hardly weighed anything and Hop Sing was going to have to work overtime to fatten her up. Then he handed her to Adam who hugged her and echoed his father's words. Adam spotted Silver Chief sitting by Mark and told him he thought his puppy was cute. "He's not mine Adam. Silver Chief and Cat belong to each other. He's already a good hunter and just wait until you hear how brave he is."
"We can talk about Silver Chief and other things during supper," said Lucas. Right now, we need to get Ben and Adam settled. Ben, do you and Adam want to stay at the hotel or out at the ranch? I've got two more cots I can set up if you want to stay at the ranch." Ben decided they were going to stay at the hotel, so Lucas picked up their bags and walked over to the hotel. Before walking over to the hotel, he told Cat and Mark to take Ben and Adam's horses over to the livery stable and then meet them at the hotel.
Once they were inside the hotel room, Lucas gave Julia Grant's letter to Ben. "What's this?" Ben asked.
"It's a letter from Julia Grant. It's insights into what Rip, and her Godparents have learned about her since leaving Virginia City. I have also added my insights based on what I have seen this past week. Cat is a very remarkable girl and everyone wanted to let you know how remarkable she is. The letter is not an attempt to tell you how to raise Cat. It's just information about her based on the observations of the people who have spent a lot of time with her lately."
Cat and Mark knocked on the door and everyone went down to the restaurant for supper. While they were eating, Lucas told Ben and Adam he had an idea. "Instead of leaving tomorrow morning, why don't the two of you spend two days here so you can see some of what Cat has learned how to do? I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised."
"That's an excellent idea," said Ben. "The entire idea behind this trip is to give us a chance to get to know Cat better before we get back to the Ponderosa. Now Catherine, tell me about this brave little puppy. He's not very big, so I don't see how he can be very brave."
"He is very brave," said Cat. "He even earned an eagle feather for bravery." She went on to tell them all about Little Bear's wedding ceremony and how she was adopted by Morning Dove's father. She used her hands to show how big the knife was that Gray Eagle had used. "Silver Chief didn't like that Gray Eagle cut my finger so he attacked him. Gray Eagle said that only a very brave puppy would attack a chief, so he gave him an eagle feather."
"Wow, that is brave," said Adam. "When he grows up, anyone who tries to hurt you is going to be in a lot of trouble. So, what else happened after you left Virginia City?"
Cat told them about being adopted by Tom and David as their sister, how she woke Rip and her Godparents every morning, and about Rip getting promoted and being given command of the fort.
"I'll bet Rip and your Godparents loved being woken up by you every morning," said Adam dryly.
"Actually, they did," said Lucas. "It turns out not only did they enjoy it, they expected her to do it. The morning after they brought her here, I reamed out those two young corporals for letting her into the Grant's room to wake them up. They told me that they'd lose their stripes if they stopped her and I didn't believe them. So after she finished waking everyone, I started scolding her only to be scolded by Julia. After Julia finished scolding me, she had Cat go back in and wake Sam up again. It seems that he didn't want to get out of bed and Julia needed Cat and her puppy to get him up. They weren't back in the room five minutes when Sam surrendered and got out of bed."
Both Ben and Adam started laughing. "That is just too funny," laughed Ben. "I wish I could have been there to see the president and two generals needing to be woken up by a nine year old."
"That's not the only silly thing they did. Bill and Phil fought duels using tree branches as swords, to see which one of them got Cat for the day."
"You're kidding," laughed Adam. "They used tree branches as swords and fought duels over Cat? That's the silliest thing I've ever heard of."
"Apparently it happened every day after they left Rip behind at the fort. Mark and I got to see them in action."
"Who won?" asked Ben.
"Uncle Phil did," said Cat. "He let Uncle Bill and Uncle Sam each have me for a little while. When we stopped for dinner or the night, I rode everywhere on his back. I told him I could walk but he said that he was my knight and that I should ride on his back."
They talked until both Cat and Mark started yawning. "I'd better get these two back to the ranch before they fall asleep in the saddle," said Lucas.
"Why don't you stable your horses and spend the night here?" asked Ben. "Then we can all have breakfast and ride out to your ranch together."
"Can we Pa, please?" asked Mark. "We hardly ever get to stay in town, just when Micah has to be gone and you fill in for him."
"Alright, we may as well. It's getting late and I don't want either you or Cat falling out of the saddle. You two stay here. I'll take care of the horses and get a room for us."
When Lucas returned to the hotel, the owner handed him a key. "Here you go Lucas. I gave you a room that has two small beds as well as a large one so both children can have their own bed."
Lucas thanked him, took the key and returned to the dining room where he found both Cat and Mark struggling to keep their eyes open. He picked Mark up, Ben picked Cat up and Adam, picked up Silver Chief who was fast asleep on the floor next to Cat. He started to put the puppy on the floor when Lucas said, "Silver Chief sleeps in the bed with Cat. He's been doing it ever since she got him." After getting both children and the puppy into bed, they walked over to the room Ben and Adam were sharing where they talked for a while. "Cat really is a remarkable girl Ben. She wasn't exaggerating about the size of the knife that chief used. All six of her Godparents described it to me and it was every bit as large, if not larger than what Cat described. They said she didn't even flinch when he took it from his sheath. And, she didn't cry out when he cut her finger. I wish I could have been there to see it for myself. Read that letter from Julia and learn as much as you can about Cat. It provides a lot of insights into the way she thinks and some of the things she does. I'm heading for bed. The kids and puppy will be up early and the three of them are always hungry."
After Lucas returned to his room, Ben read the letter from Julia Grant. Except for a note from Sam telling Ben if he or Adam tried to break Cat's spirit, he would use his power as president to nullify the adoption and place her with Rip, the letter was exactly what Lucas said it was. Julia told Ben about their experiences with Cat since they left Virginia City and Rip also added his insights into his niece. Lucas had put his comments at the end of the letter. Ben was impressed by what he read and handed the letter to Adam who also read it. "Cat is just going have to learn to settle down, act and dress like a girl, not a wild Indian," he said.
"No Adam, she will never do that," answered his father. "She is too much like her mother and will be miserable if we try and force her to do that. Even if she doesn't telegraph her Godfathers or uncles, she may take Fury, Ginger, and her puppy, leave and try to make her way to Arizona. It's your choice. We can all make adjustments and Cat can be happy living with us. Or we can let her go back to Rip. You are the only member of the family who seems to have a problem with Catherine not dressing like a girl. You didn't have a problem with the way she was dressed when she was just visiting us at school holidays. Why do you have a problem with it now? She's the same girl. The only difference is that now she is your sister instead of your cousin. I have the feeling that you're only wanting her to change so you won't be embarrassed introducing her to your friends as your sister. Your brothers aren't embarrassed by her, so why are you?"
"I don't know Pa. I guess it's because all of my friends' sisters dress and act like girls and I don't want my sister to be any different."
"Alright, now that you've admitted the truth to yourself, what is your decision going to be?"
"Cat comes to live with us and I adjust my way of thinking."
"Thank you son. I knew you'd make the right decision."
"We're not the only ones who are going to have to make adjustments. Catherine is not only going to have to adjust to having a father and three brothers, she's also going to have to adjust to a whole new set of rules, a new school and a new teacher. We're going to have to introduce the rules to her slowly and give her time to adjust. The first few times she breaks a rule, we're going to have to remind her of the rule and why it is so important. After the second time, we tell her what the consequences will be the next time and we follow through if she breaks the rule again. Now, I suggest we both get some sleep. Cat and Mark will be up early and we're going to have to try and keep up with them all day tomorrow."
The next morning Ben and Adam were leaving their room when Cat came back upstairs after taking Silver Chief outside and Adam asked, "That puppy is too small to keep up with a horse. How do you carry him when you're riding?"
Cat laughed. "I'll show you." She went into the room she shared with the McCains and came out with her saddle bags.
"Wow!" said Adam. "Those sure are nice. Where did you get them?"
"Tom and David gave them to me. This is how I carry Silver Chief." She picked the puppy up and put him into one side of the saddle bags.
"That sure is clever," said Ben. "I never would have thought about doing that. Are Uncle Lucas and Mark awake yet?"
"I don't know. Silver Chief needed to go outside, so I took him. I'll go and look." Before Cat could walk into the room, Lucas and Mark walked out and everyone went down to get breakfast.
As they approached the McCain ranch, Lucas saw some stray cattle and told Mark and Cat to go and get them. "You taught her how to work with cattle?" asked Ben.
"Yes I did. If I didn't, she probably would have tried herself and I wasn't about to risk having her get hurt. I've also been teaching her and Mark how to throw a rope. They're not very good at it but they have fun trying." All three of them started laughing as they watched Cat and Mark try to deal with a stubborn cow. They did everything they could to get her to move but she wouldn't budge. "She's got a calf somewhere around here kids. Find her calf and she'll be more cooperative," called Lucas.
Cat and Mark found the calf and thought it was just the cutest little calf they'd ever seen. They lost track of time and the adults got worried and started looking for them. When they found the two children and the calf, Cat and Mark were petting and fussing over it like it was a puppy. Cat was hugging him and telling him that she thought he was the cutest calf she'd ever seen. The three adults started laughing and Adam said, "She may dress like a boy, but there is a little girl hiding under those buckskins. I wonder how often we'll see that little girl."
"As long as there are cute baby animals involved, I predict you'll see her quite a bit," said Lucas. "Beyond that, I would say you won't see her much until she starts growing up and becomes interested in boys. Come on you two," he said to Cat and Mark. "Get the calf back with his mother and put them with the others. We have a lot of work to do today." Cat and Mark put the calf back with his mother and got her to join the others. Then they went to look for more strays.
Before supper, Lucas suggested that Cat show Ben and Adam the things Rip had given her. She went into the bedroom and came out with her father's hat, bandanna, sword and the pictures of her parents. Adam took the sword out of its sheath and admired it while Ben looked at the pictures of his sister and brother-in-law. "I promised Uncle Rip that I wouldn't take the sword out of its sheath unless an adult was with me," said Cat. "Uncle Lucas showed me how to take it out without getting hurt. He also showed me how to clean it and said that I should clean it once a month."
"Her word is as good as gold Ben," said Lucas. The only time that sword has been out of its sheath was when I showed her how to take it out of the sheath and clean it. Now, supper is ready. Cat, why don't you put your things back in the bedroom so we can eat on the table?" Adam put the sword back in the sheath and handed it to Cat who put it back in the bedroom along with her father's had and neckerchief. Ben followed her a moment later with the case of pictures.
During supper, Adam said, "I think I know the perfect place for your hat, neckerchief and sword. After you left for Arizona, we made a few changes that I think you'll like."
"What kind of changes?" asked Cat suspiciously.
"Well, for one thing, you now have a bigger bedroom," said Adam. "I swapped bedrooms with you and gave you mine. It's the one you were born in and it's bigger than the one you were in. It's a corner room, so it has two windows instead of just one. One window looks out over the ranch toward the mountains and the other one looks out over the ranch toward Lake Tahoe. You can see it on a clear day. We also took my old desk out of the attic and put it in your room. That way you'll have somewhere private to do your school work and write letters to Mark, your uncles and Godparents. Right now, it's under the window that looks toward the lake but we can move it if you want to. We can hang your pictures, hat, neckerchief and sword on the wall to the left of your desk. You'll be able to look at them while you're lying in your bed or working at your desk."
"I know that you like to read," added Ben. "So, Hoss and Joe are building a small bookcase to put in your bedroom too. Now, I guess we're going to have to make a bed for your puppy."
"Silver Chief sleeps with me," said Cat. "He even slept with me in Uncle Rip's bed."
Ben wasn't thrilled about a dog sleeping in Cat's bed but all he said was, "Well then, I guess we'll have to get him his own blanket."
"How is Fury?" asked Cat. "Does he remember me?"
"I'm sure he does," answered Ben. "Thaddeus is out in the pasture with him and Lady several times a day. He brushes him and talks to him about you. He's also been teaching him to accept weight on his back. Of course, he's too young to carry more than a few pounds, so Thaddeus puts a saddle blanket and an old flour sack with a little bit of dirt in it on him and walks him around the pasture. I think Fury likes Thaddeus a lot. He doesn't run to him like he runs to you, but he does butt him with his head and demand to be petted."
"I'm glad that Fury remembers me and that Thaddeus is taking care of him for me. I wish I could have brought him with me. I really hope he and Silver Chief like each other. I can't wait until I can start riding him."
"I'm sure they will," said Adam. "Silver Chief is a likable puppy, so I don't see any reason why he and Fury won't get along."
"You'll be able to start riding Fury in the pasture when he's about one and a half years old," said Ben. "Once he's two, we'll see how well he listens to you and does what you ask him to do before you're allowed to ride him outside of the pasture."
"Why do I have to wait until he's almost two before I can ride him?"
"Because you have to wait until he's strong enough to carry you," said Mark. "If you ride him before he's strong enough, you'll hurt him. It is the same way with Blue Boy. He's almost two and Pa is just now allowing me to ride him in the pasture for a little while at a time."
When supper was over, Lucas said, "Mark, it's your turn to wash dishes. Cat can dry them."
"No Pa," said Mark. "It's your turn. I washed them last night and Cat dried them."
Lucas laughed. "He never forgets when it's my turn to wash dishes. Alright son. You're right. It is my turn. You and Cat can dry them." Once the dishes were dry, Cat took Silver Chief outside one more time and then she and Mark went to bed.
Lucas and Ben went in to tuck them in and tell them goodnight. "It's been too long since I've been able to do this," Ben said. "When he was thirteen, Little Joe decided he was too old to have his father tuck him in at night, so I'm going to enjoy doing this for as long as I can." After blowing out the lamp, Lucas and Ben walked out of the bedroom, joined Adam and talked for a while. "I read Julia's letter several times. You're right, Cat is a very remarkable girl and I am going to have my hands full with her. I can't believe that she didn't flinch at the sight of that large knife. One thing that concerns me very much is Rip saying that she's insecure right now."
"If you look at everything she's been through in the last month and a half, her insecurity is easy to understand," said Lucas. "Her world has been turned upside down and right now, she's not sure what's going to happen. Her Godparents, Mark and I have been trying to show her what it means to be part of a family, but she's going to need a lot of reassurance for a little while until she realizes that she has a forever home. Spend as much time with her as possible and let her help do things she might be too young to do alone. Be patient and give her time to adjust to her new rules. If you do those things, I predict she'll be completely settled in long before school starts."
"Thank you Lucas," said Ben. "Between Julia's letter and what you've told us, we definitely are going to have to change our way of thinking how we deal with her. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but right now, I think a lot of hugs and explaining one rule at a time and why it's important will be the right place to start. Right now, the main thing I'm going to want to stress when we get home is how important it is for me to know where she's going to be. The Ponderosa is a big ranch and we're going to need to know where to find her in case of an emergency."
"I agree Ben. Cat understands the need to be safe. That's why she promised Rip not to take the sword out of its sheath unless there was an adult present any why she promised me not to work cattle alone unless she was looking for strays or if there was an emergency. Would you mind if I gave you one piece of advice?"
"Alright Lucas. What is it?"
"It's about when Cat starts school. She's never ridden to town alone before, so she's going to need someone to show her the way. My suggestion is to do what I did with Mark when he started school. Tell Cat that for the first week, someone is going to ride with her to show her the way. The second week, someone is going to follow behind her to make sure she remembers the way. Once you are certain that she won't get lost between home and school, nobody will need to go with her."
"That's a good idea. That way she won't think we're treating her like a baby. I learned what happens when she thinks she's being treated like a baby and I don't want any repeat problems like that. Well, it's getting late and we want to be back out here early, so Adam and I are going to head back into town. We'll see you after breakfast."