To Kathy Seffron, Thank you for your kind comments on chapter 26. I appreciate you taking time to read my story. For some reason, when you post a review, it comes up as a guest review with your name, so I am unable to reply directly to your comments.

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At breakfast the next morning, Adam asked Cat what her plans were for the day. Before she could answer, Mr. Michaels came up to the table and said, "Catherine, I'm glad you're here. If you don't have any other plans, would you please go fishing today? I've had some guests asking for fresh fish."

"Sure Mr. Michaels. I'd love to go fishing. I was thinking about going fishing anyway so I will now."

"Thank you Cat. I'll tell you what. I've been told that you're not going to be living here anymore, so I'll pay you fifteen cents each for large fish and ten cents each for small ones."

"Gee thanks Mr. Michaels. I'm going to be spending my summers here, so I'll still be able to catch fish for you, just not all the time."

"That's fine Cat, but my offer is still the same. Fifteen cents each for large fish and ten cents each for small ones. I'll see you later this afternoon."

After Mr. Michaels left, Adam asked, "Would you mind if I went fishing with you Cat? I haven't gone fishing in a while and it sounds like a nice way to spend part of the day."

"Sure, you can come if you want to but I don't know if Mr. Michaels is going to pay you for the fish you catch."

"That's ok. I don't want to be paid. I just want to go fishing and spend some time with my little sister."

"Ok. I need to go, get my saddle bags so Silver Chief can come too. My fishing pole and small shovel are at Mr. Quint's shop and I can get them on my way out of town."

Cat started to run out of the hotel and Matt called to her. "Catherine, you're running inside again. This is your third warning in two days. The next time, you won't get a warning. Running inside and on the boardwalk isn't safe. You or someone else could get hurt. Now walk over to my office and get your saddle bags." Cat walked out of the hotel and as soon as she was out the door, she ran over to Matt's office. "That girl is going to hurt someone or get hurt one of these days. Ben, I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've told her about running inside. I scold her and she stops for a little while but as soon as she gets excited or is in a hurry, she starts up again. Sometimes I think I should put hobbles on her."

"Well, she'll have plenty of room to run on the Ponderosa and I'll just have to be firm with her about not running in the house. The last thing I want is for her to fall down the stairs."

"I'll walk over and meet her at Matt's office," said Adam. "Maybe I can keep her from running to the livery stable. Please let me know when her teacher wants to meet us. Since I'll be the one helping Cat with her schoolwork most of the time, I really want to talk with her."

"Alright Adam," said Matt. "I'll let you know what time Miss Jackson would like to meet with you and Ben. Right now, you'd better go if you're going to try and keep that little Wild Cat from running through the town and possibly destroying it."

Adam walked over to Matt's office in time to catch Cat running out of it. He grabbed her by the back of her shirt, gave her a swat and said, "Slow down there little sister. Uncle Matt just scolded you for running inside and on the boardwalks and here you are doing it again. If you don't slow down and stop running inside or in town, either you are going to get hurt or hurt somebody else and nobody wants to see either of those things happen. I promise you that the fish aren't going to jump out of the pond and run away if you walk. What will happen if I tell Uncle Matt that you were running indoors and on the boardwalk again? I know he said that was your third warning."

"I'll get scolded and have to spend thirty minutes standing in the corner behind his desk."

"Well, what would you rather do, go fishing or stand in the corner?"

"Go fishing."

"Ok. Then stop running where you're not supposed to run."

"I'm trying Adam."

"No you're not Cat. It's barely been five minutes since Uncle Matt scolded you and you're running inside and on the boardwalk again. You keep telling me that you're not a baby any more, so start acting like a nine year old." He put his arm around his sister and hugged her. "I know that you think I'm being mean by scolding you but I'm trying to keep you from getting in trouble. Once we get home, you'll be punished if Pa catches you running in the house. Believe me, I know. Hoss, Joe and I have all ended up bottom side up over Pa's knees for running in the house and Pa hits hard. It hurts bad, even with your pants up. Now, you get our horses, I'll get some dinner to take along, and we'll go fishing."

"Ok Adam. I'll meet you at Mr. Quint's shop. That's where my fishing poles are at. Thanks for trying to help me."

"You're welcome. That's what family members do for each other Cat. Hoss and I have both spent a lot of time trying to keep Little Joe out of trouble. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but the important thing is that we tried. The three of us will do the same thing for you too."

Adam and Cat spent most of the day fishing. At two o'clock, she said, "I need to take the fish to Mr. Daniels. He needs time to clean them before he cooks them."

"Ok Cat. Let's see how many we have. How many did you catch?"

"I caught thirteen. How many did you catch?"

"I caught twelve. So, how many do we have altogether?"

"We have twenty five fish."

"If Mr. Daniels pays you for all twenty five, how much money will you make?"

Cat wrote in the dirt and said, "We have fifteen big fish and ten small ones. I'll get a dollar for the small ones because he said he was going to give me ten cents each for the small ones. He's going to give me fifteen cents each for the big ones so ten times fifteen is one dollar and fifty cents. Half of that is seventy five cents. So, I'll get two dollars and twenty five cents for the big fish and three dollars and twenty five cents altogether."

"That's very good. Now, how much will you earn if he only pays you for the fish you caught?"

"I caught ten big ones and three small ones, so I'll get thirty cents for the small ones and one dollar and fifty cents for the big ones. That means I'll get one dollar and eighty cents for my fish."

"That is absolutely correct. You did a great job figuring that out. See, Arithmetic isn't so bad after all."

Cat gave him a mad look and said, "It's worse than bad. It's awful and needs to go away. Just wait until I'm ten and take Uncle Sam's job. I'm going to make Arithmetic go away."

Adam laughed and said, "Good luck with that little sister. Like it or not, we need Arithmetic. Right now, let's get these fish back to town. Pa and I are supposed to meet with your teacher and we still have to get ready for supper at your friends' house."

They rode back to town and Adam took the horses over to the livery stable while Cat took the fish to Mr. Daniels. She handed her fish to him and said, "These are the ones I caught. Adam caught the others."

"That is wonderful Catherine. My customers will be very happy tonight. Now, let me pay you for them so I can start cleaning them. You have twenty five fish altogether. Fifteen are large and ten are smaller. I promised you fifteen cents each for the large ones and ten cents each for the small ones." He wrote on a piece of paper and then said, "That means I owe you three dollars and twenty five cents."

"But I didn't catch all of the fish. I caught thirteen and Adam caught twelve."

"That's quite alright. I'll pay you and you can give some to your brother if he wants it." He took some money out of his pocket and gave Cat the money for the fish.

"Thank you Mr. Daniels. I've got to go, find Adam and give him his money." Cat walked out of the hotel and found Adam on his way over to Matt's office. "Mr. Daniels paid me for all of the fish. Here is the money for the fish you caught."

"I don't want it Cat. You keep it. What are you going to do with all of your money?"

"I'm going to give almost all of it to Miss Kitty for next year's birthday present for Uncle Matt. I'm going to ask her to give me ten cents. That way I can buy some licorice for now and then I can buy more before we leave for the Ponderosa."

"I'll tell you what. Why don't I buy some licorice for both of us and you can give all of your money to Miss Kitty? Then when it's time to leave for home, I'll buy enough for all three of us to have on the trip."

Cat hugged her brother. "Gee thanks Adam. That's swell."

"You're welcome. Now, let's go buy some licorice and see when your teacher wants to meet with me and Pa." After buying licorice, they walked over to Matt's office where they found him and Ben waiting to go over to the school.

After her family left, Cat decided to go over to the Long Branch to give her money to Kitty. When she got there, she realized it was open and she could not go in. She looked around for someone she could ask to get Kitty for her when she spotted Mr. James. "Excuse me Mr. James. Would you please go in the Long Branch and ask Miss Kitty to come out here? I need to talk to her. I don't know why, but I'm not allowed to go in there."

"Certainly Catherine. I'll be more than happy to go ask Miss Kitty to come out and talk to you. When I see your family, I'll be sure to tell them how polite you were and that instead of going into the Long Branch, you asked someone to go in for you. They will want to know how well behaved you are."

"Thank you Mr. James."

"It's my pleasure Catherine. Now wait right here and I'll get Miss Kitty for you." He came out a few minutes later and said, "Miss Kitty said that she'll come out here in five minutes to talk to you."

"Thank you for telling her for me. I'll sit here on the edge of the boardwalk and wait for her."

Kitty walked out of the saloon a few minutes later and said, "Hi Cat. Mr. James said you needed to talk to me."

"Yes ma'am. I earned three dollars and twenty five cents for the fish Adam and I caught today and thirty cents yesterday for running telegrams. I want to give you the money to put toward next year's birthday present for Uncle Matt."

"I'll be more than happy to do that for you," Kitty said as Cat handed her the money. "Do you know what you're going to get for him?"

"No I don't. He needs a new saddle, but I think they cost more than winter coats. Since the Ponderosa is so far from town, I don't think I'm going to be allowed to have jobs like I do here."

"Well, don't worry about it right now. I'll look and see how much saddles cost and we'll figure something out when you're here next summer. The coat should be here tomorrow. Why don't you give it to Matt before you leave for the Ponderosa? I know his birthday isn't until the end of summer, but you won't be here and I think it would mean a lot to him if you gave it to him before you left."

"Ok Miss Kitty. I'll find out what day we're leaving and give it to him the day before."

Just then, Matt, Ben, and Adam walked up. "Oh there you are," said Ben. "We need to get ready to go to supper at the Tanners. Go, wash up and put some clean clothes on." Cat wanted to argue about changing clothes but thought better of it since there were four adults standing with her.

"She was not happy about being told to change clothes," laughed Kitty. "I can't say that I blame her. When she and those twins get together, they usually end up quite dirty. The three of you should put clean clothes on also. Cat will notice that you're still in dirty clothes and will put up a fuss about having to change clothes when you didn't."

"You're right Kitty. I've tried that before and she put up a big fuss, saying it wasn't fair I made her change clothes while I was still in dirty ones," said Matt. "Well Ben, there's another thing you've learned. You and the boys are going to have to wear clean clothes if you expect Cat to, so we had better go and change." Ben and Adam walked over to the hotel while Matt went into his office and called. "Cat, are you dressed yet? I need to change clothes also."

Cat walked out of the little room they shared, followed by Silver Chief. Matt picked her up and hugged her. "Did Miss Kitty tell you to change clothes?" she asked.

"Yes she did. She said it wouldn't be fair if you had to change clothes and we didn't."

"Good. I'm going to go and give her a hug. Come on Chief." She walked over to the Long Branch and spotted a cowboy getting ready to go in. "Excuse me sir. Could you please ask Miss Kitty to come out here for a minute? I'm not allowed to go in there."

"I'll be glad to help you young lady. Wait right here and I'll get her for you."

"Thank you very much."

Kitty came out of the Long Branch a few minutes later and Cat hugged her. "Thank you very much Miss Kitty. You made Uncle Matt, Uncle Ben, and Adam wear clean clothes too."

Kitty picked the girl up and hugged her. "Of course I did Sweetheart. It wasn't fair for them to make you wear clean clothes if they weren't going to."

"I wish you could come to the Ponderosa too. I don't think I'm going to like being the only girl there."

"You'll get used to it. Just give it time. Hop Sing, Hoss, and Joe will be spoiling you in no time at all. Adam probably will too. They all love you very much and I know how happy they are to have you as a permanent member of their family. Now, I want you to have fun at the Tanner's tonight and remember. Peter and Michael don't know why you went away and they don't know that you're moving to the Ponderosa, so you're going to need to tell them. It will be much better if you tell them than if their parents do."

"Ok Miss Kitty. I'll tell them but what should I do if they get mad?"

"Tell them that you're not going away forever because you'll be here every summer. Also, remind them that you're leaving Spot with them, so they'll always have a little bit of you here with them. Now here comes your Pa, Adam and Matt. Tease them a little bit and tell them that you've been waiting for them for a long time and it's not nice to keep a lady waiting. Don't worry, I promise you won't get in trouble for doing that."

When Adam, Matt, and Ben walked up, Cat said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time. Miss Kitty says it's not nice to keep a lady waiting."

All three men laughed. Ben picked Cat up, hugged her and said, "Miss Kitty is absolutely correct. It's not nice for a gentleman to keep a lady waiting. So next time, we'll change clothes first because it's perfectly fine for a lady to make a gentleman wait for her. Now, let's go, get our horses and ride out to your friends' house."

When they reached the stable, Cat stuck her tongue out at Adam and said, "I'm going to ride Sport this time."

"Oh. You are, are you?"

"Yes I am."

"Well then, I'm going to ride Fury when we get home."

Cat laughed. "You're silly. You can't ride Fury. He's still a baby. Only Silver Chief can rid him because he's still a baby too."

"Now that's something I want to see," laughed Ben. "I've never seen a puppy riding a foal before."

"Silver Chief is very smart. He can do anything."

They got their horses out of the stable and to her surprise, Adam helped Cat mount Sport and handed her the saddle bags with her puppy in them. She started to ride off when Adam said, "Hold on a minute Cat. I've got to shorten the stirrups for you. Then I've got to lengthen Ginger's stirrups for me."

Once he had the stirrups adjusted correctly, Adam mounted Ginger and they rode toward the Tanner's farm. "Are you sure it's safe for her to ride your horse?" asked Matt.

"Yes, Matt. Cat is a good rider and she's fine on Sport. He's a little taller than Ginger, but he won't give her any problems."

Just then Cat urged Sport into a canter. "Come on Sport. They're being poky and I want to see my friends."

Matt laughed at his niece's comments and said, "Good luck keeping up with her once you're on the Ponderosa Ben, especially once she starts riding her colt. I watched him in the pasture and he's faster then the foals who are bigger than he is. Cat is fearless and willing to try anything at least once, even if she gets hurt. We'd better catch up with her before she decides to take a shortcut and jump fences rather than take the road."

They arrived at the Tanner's twenty minutes later. John Jr. met them in the yard and took their horses. Cat put Silver Chief on the ground and ran into the house. "Doesn't she knock?" asked Ben.

"Not here," answered John. "She's family. My mother would like nothing better than to have her live here permanently. She's a great kid and I wouldn't mind having her for a little sister. In fact, if you want to leave Cat here, I'll give you the twins."

Ben laughed. "No thank you. I saw those two in action at the train yesterday. They're more of a handful than my youngest son and Catherine put together."

"They're not that bad. They were excited yesterday because they hadn't seen Cat in two months and they don't know why she went away so suddenly and didn't even say goodbye. They also don't know that she's not going to be living here anymore, so I expect to hear loud howls of protest when she tells them. Anyway, my parents are waiting for you. Go on into the house. I'll take care of your horses."

Cat ran into the house and hugged Elizabeth and John who picked her up and hugged her back.

Just as Matt, Ben and Adam were entering the house, Peter and Michael walked up to Cat. They hugged her and Silver Chief. Then Michael said, "We're sorry about the way we acted at the train yesterday Cat. Please don't be mad at us. It's just that you went away and didn't even say goodbye and we were happy to see you."

Before Cat could answer, Elizabeth said, "Boys, where are your manners? The Marshal is here and so are Mr. Cartwright and his son, Adam."

The boys walked up to Matt, Ben, and Adam, said hello, and apologized for their behavior at the train. After the boys had apologized for their behavior, John greeted his guests and introduced the rest of the family. One introductions had been made, Elizabeth said, "Supper will be ready in fifteen minutes. Whose turn is it to set the table?"

"Mine, Pete, and Eric's," said Michael.

"Catherine, you can help them," said Elizabeth.

"Yes ma'am," replied Cat, much to Ben and Adam's surprise and proceeded to help the three boys set the table.

During supper Peter asked Cat, "Why did you go away and why didn't you say goodbye?"

"I had to go away because my mother was killed and I had to go to her funeral in Nevada. I didn't say goodbye because I was hurt. It's my fault my mother was killed and I jumped off a cliff. Two men found me and took me back to Dodge."

"We're sorry your ma was killed and you got hurt, but you're back with us now and we won't ever let you get hurt again," said Peter.

"I'm sorry Pete, but I'm not back to stay. I'm only here for two weeks. My Uncle Ben adopted me, so I have to live on his ranch in Nevada now." Both boys put up howls of protest. "Just because I'm not going to live here anymore doesn't mean we're not going to see each other again. Except for spending two weeks with my uncle and the Apaches in Arizona and another two weeks with my uncle and cousin in New Mexico, I'll be here every summer. We'll have lots of fun. Also, remember, you have Spot here and Miss Kitty says that will be like having a little bit of me here. Maybe you can come to Nevada sometime and visit me on the Ponderosa. It's a really big ranch and there's lots to do. We can even go fishing and swimming in Lake Tahoe."

Before the boys could protest any more, Mary asked, "Cat, are you going to the dance on Saturday night?"

"I didn't know there was going to be a dance on Saturday night. I don't have anything to wear to it. All of my clothes are in Nevada."

"I have some dresses I'm going to give to Erin because they're too small for me. You're not much smaller than she is so after supper, come up to the bedroom and let's see if you like any of them. It won't take much time to remake it for you."

"Gee thanks Mary. That's really swell of you to give me a dress for the dance."

"Will you dance with us?" asked Michael.

"Of course I will. Don't I always dance with you and Pete?"

Seeing Ben and Adam's concerned looks at the talk about the dance, John said, "The late spring through mid fall dances are open to everyone six and older. The children really enjoy them and Cat is becoming quite the dancer."

"Cat, will you partner with me for the Virginia Reel?" asked Robert.

"Sure Robert. You're really good at it and I had a lot of fun at the last dance."

Peter and Michael started arguing over which one of them was going to dance the Cotton Eyed Joe with Cat when she said, "If the two of you are going to fight over me like you fight over marbles, I may not dance with you at all. I might dance the Cotton Eyed Joe with David." The two boys quit arguing and just sat there with their mouths open at what they had just been told.

When supper was over, Elizabeth asked, "Whose turn is it to clear the table?"

"It's Erin's, Mary's and my turn Mama," said Rebecca.

"That means it's Robert, Elizabeth and Michelle's turn to wash the dishes."

When the adults took their coffee into the living room to talk, Cat said, "I would like to see Spot. I need to tell him that he's going to be living here now."

"Who is Spot?" asked Ben.

"He's the pony Cat got from the Apaches when she was four," replied Adam.

"Oh, that's right. I had forgotten about that. Matt, I have to admit you were right. Cat certainly does know how to handle those two boys. I can't believe that she's only nine and has them eating out of the palm of her hand. I'm dreading her teenage years. I'm going to need to keep a loaded shotgun by the front door. Did I hear her say she was going to wear a dress to the dance? How did you manage that?"

"Her teenage years won't be all that bad Ben," laughed Elizabeth. "The girls got Cat to agree to wear a dress to the dances because they're special occasions. She wears dresses to church at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas because they are special occasions also."

Cat came back into the house just as the girls finished clearing the table and went upstairs with them to the room the younger girls shared. Mary took several dresses out and showed them to Cat. "I think the green one will look good on you. What do you think Becky?"

"I agree with Mary. I think the green one is perfect for you Cat. Try it on and let's see how well it fits." Cat tried the dress on and the rest of the girls looked at it.

"You were right Mary," said Michelle. "That dress is perfect for our littlest sister. Let's take her downstairs and see what Mother thinks."

"What have you girls done with my daughter?" teased Ben. "That's not my daughter in that dress. The whole family knows that Catherine would rather play with a hornet's nest than wear a dress."

"I agree Pa. My little sister would rather cuddle up with a rattlesnake than wear a dress," teased Adam. Cat ignored both of them.

Elizabeth asked Robert to bring a chair from the kitchen and she asked Mary to get her sewing kit. Robert and Rebecca helped Cat stand in the chair while Elizabeth pinned the dress. When she finished, Elizabeth told Cat to go upstairs and change out of the dress, so Robert and Rebecca helped her down from the chair. When she came back downstairs, Michael asked, "Do you want to go fishing tomorrow?"

"Aren't you forgetting something Michael?" asked his father. "You and Peter are still restricted to the yard for your behavior yesterday. However, since Catherine is only going to be here for two weeks, she can come for dinner tomorrow. If your older brothers will help me, I will hang the swing from the tree and the climbing rope in the barn. Just remember, no climbing the rope unless there is at least one other person in the barn with you and at least two bales of hay under you. In fact, I think I will put four bales of hay under the rope just to be safe."

"I've got an idea," said Elizabeth. "If Cat's father and uncle agree, she can stay for supper and spend the night here."

"Are you sure it won't be too much trouble?" asked Ben. "If it isn't, it's fine with me if Catherine spends the night here tomorrow."

"Having Cat here is never any trouble. Didn't the Marshal tell you? I've been trying to steal her away from him ever since your sister left her in Dodge. She is family. The older girls and my two eldest sons call her their littlest sister."

"You know it's alright with me Elizabeth," said Matt. "You and your family have been a Godsend to me ever since Kate left her daughter with me. I don't know what I would have done without your help these past eight years, especially when I had to be gone overnight."

"Why don't you children go back upstairs and play for a while longer?" asked Elizabeth. "Remember, Cat's leaving at the end of next week and won't be back until next summer."

Once the children went upstairs, Elizabeth said, "Ben, besides the fact that I am going to miss that child greatly, I wanted to talk to her about what she said at supper. I know that the Marshal, Kitty, Doc, and others have talked to her about it, but maybe she'll listen to me. She needs to stop blaming herself for something she had no control over"

The adults talked for a little while longer. Then Matt looked at his watch and said, "It's getting late and I need to get back to town. Ben, you and Adam are welcome to stay for a while longer if you want. Cat knows how to get back to town." Ben and Adam decided to leave then too. Adam helped her mount Sport and they rode back to town. Before she went to sleep, Cat and Ben read another chapter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Before going back out to the Tanners the next day, Cat took a telegram out to a farm outside of town. She jumped Ginger over one fence and was going to jump another one when she spotted Quint riding in her direction. Knowing she would be in trouble if he caught her jumping fences, she dismounted and led Ginger through the gate. Quint caught up to her and said, "I saw you jump that last fence. Are you supposed to be jumping fences?"

Cat hung her head. "No sir."

"Then why did you? Everyone has told you how dangerous it is but you still keep jumping them. You are lucky that I'm not heading into town. If I were, I would be stopping by Matt's office to tell him what I saw. The next time I catch you jumping fences, I am going to put you over my knee right where we are and use my belt on your bottom. Then I am going to take you to Matt. I know you think we're spoiling your fun, but we all love you and want you to be safe. Jumping fences is not safe. That's why nobody wants to see you do it. So STOP jumping fences!"

Quint rode off and Cat hugged Ginger. "I sure got lucky that time girl. If Mr. Quint had been going into town instead of away from it, I would be in really big trouble. Uncle Matt would scold me, give me a whipping and make me stand in the corner. He also wouldn't let me stay at the Tanners tonight. I've got to make sure nobody is around when I jump fences. Festus told me the same thing that Mr. Quint did. I don't want to stand in the corner and I sure don't want a whipping. We'd better get going. I need to deliver this telegram and go back to town so I can go to the Tanner's. I guess we'd better walk through gates in case Mr. Quint is hiding behind a tree." Cat delivered her telegram and rode back to town, being careful not to get caught jumping fences. Once she was back in Matt's office, she put her night clothes in one side of her saddle bags, said goodbye to Matt, Ben, and Adam and rode off to the Tanner's.

Cat arrived at the Tanner's about thirty minutes before dinner. Since the older girls were preparing the meal and the twins were doing chores, Elizabeth took the opportunity to talk to Cat about what had happened to her mother. As everyone else had done, Elizabeth told Cat that she was not responsible for her mother's death. She told the girl that her mother had just been pretending to want to take her back to Australia but was working with the judge to divorce her husband because he was not a nice man and did not treat her the way a lady should be treated. Then she told Cat that even if she had agreed to go back to Australia, she might not even be alive because ships are very dangerous places and if there was a very bad storm, the ship could even sink. Elizabeth also told Cat that it takes several months to get to Australia and ships are very small and crowded. People often get very sick on them and some ships don't even have doctors. When she finished talking to Cat, Elizabeth put her arms around her and hugged her. Then she said, "I talked with your mother before she was killed and she did not want to go back to Australia and she did not want you to go there. She was planning on taking you back to Nevada and live in your house on the Ponderosa. Please stop blaming yourself for what happened because it was not your fault. Now, I believe dinner is ready, so let's go and eat. Then you can play with the boys for a while. I also want to take a few minutes and finish fitting that dress for you while the light is good."

After dinner, Cat helped clear the table and put the green dress on so Elizabeth could finish fitting it to her. John, Robert and John Jr. had hung the swing and climbing rope that morning, so once she was back in her buckskins, Cat went outside to play with the boys and the younger girls. They took turns playing on the swing and climbing the rope in the barn. Cat climbed almost half way up before she didn't have the strength to climb any more. Silver Chief started chasing chickens and Cat scolded him. When he didn't stop, Cat put him in the house and left him there. He was so sad that Elizabeth let him back out after fifteen minutes. This time he didn't chase the chickens but ran after Cat and the other children as they chased each other around the yard. Elizabeth supervised as Cat and the younger girls prepared supper. Once supper was over and the dishes washed, John Jr. played his guitar and everybody sang. Since they knew Cat would probably not be spending another night there until the following summer, John and Elizabeth allowed all of the children to stay up late and play with their toys if they wanted to. When they were finally told it was time for bed, all of the younger children went upstairs and got ready for bed. Cat slept in a bed that had been put into the younger girls' room for her and John and Elizabeth kissed and hugged each child goodnight before blowing out the lamp.