During the ride home, Cat rode ahead on Cochise, giving Ben a chance to talk to his sons. "Boys, thank you for taking care of your sister. As Adam and I found out, she is not afraid of anything and will push her boundaries to see what she can get away with. She loves jumping her horse over fences and other objects. Matt has reached his limit with her and jumping fences. He told her that his rule about that will be the same here. I intend to have a long talk with her about safety on horseback and I will tell her about what happened to Marie. Unfortunately after what she did in Dodge when Adam let her ride Sport, I think it's going to take more than talking to get her to stop. We'll talk more tonight after she's in bed. Right now, we need to catch up with her before she does something we'll all regret."
They urged their horses to go faster and caught up with Cat who jumped Cochise over a small tree that had fallen. "I'm going to kill her," said Joe.
"Hold on a minute son. We're not going to be able to stop her from jumping altogether for a while. Matt has tried and been unsuccessful. He has compromised with her and allowed her to jump objects a pony could jump and no higher, but she still jumps fences despite the fact that she has been punished for it many times. Everyone in Dodge has told her that jumping fences and large objects is not safe, but she doesn't think she'll get hurt. I've got to go to town tomorrow but when I get home, I am going to have a long talk with Catherine about safety on horseback and the consequences for jumping fences and other large objects."
When they reached the house Cat and Joe took the fish to Hop Sing. When they came back outside, Ben said, "Catherine, you rode Cochise home, so you're responsible for taking care of him today. That includes making sure he's cooled out, brushing and feeding him. Joe can show you how much to feed him. Then all of us need to help Hop Sing clean the fish we caught."
Cat looked at her father and said, "Can Hop Sing eat supper with us?"
"Of course he can if he wants to. He is always welcome at our table."
"That's good. I'm glad."
After ensuring Cochise was cool, Cat led him into the barn and started brushing him but had trouble reaching the middle of his back. "Lay down Coach." The horse just stood there. "Come on Coach, lay down."
"What's the problem Cat?" asked Joe.
"I can't reach the middle of Cochise's back and he won't lay down. I've got to find a way to get taller."
"Ok. I'll be there to help in a minute. Do you know how to clean his feet?"
"Yes, Mr. Quint showed me how to take care of Spot."
"Alright. You start cleaning his feet while I finish taking care of Ginger. Then I'll finish brushing his back for you."
When he finished with Ginger, Joe went to help Cat with his horse. He looked at the two feet she had already cleaned and said, "You did a great job on these feet Cat. Finish the other two feet and then get two scoops of grain for him. Give Ginger two scoops also and I'll give both horses their hay."
Once the horses had been cared for, the family joined Hop Sing outside the kitchen door to clean the fish. "You're going to eat with us tonight," Cat told Hop Sing.
"Thank you Missy Cat. Hop Sing always enjoy eating with family."
"You won't mind if Silver Chief eats with us too, will you?"
"No, puppy can eat by Missy Cat. Puppy is family too."
Cat hugged him and said, "Thank you Hop Sing. Silver Chief will eat in the kitchen when we have company except for Uncle Roy and Dr. Paul and Mrs. Martin 'cause they're like family."
"Speaking of company," said Ben. "We will be having company for supper tomorrow night."
"Who's coming?" asked Cat.
"You'll find out tomorrow afternoon."
"But I don't want to wait until tomorrow. I want to know now."
"This will teach you patience. You will find out who is coming to supper when they arrive tomorrow."
"But I don't want to wait until tomorrow."
"Catherine, this is the last time I will tell you this. You will find out who our supper guests will be when they come tomorrow. If you choose to continue this discussion, you will be eating supper in your bedroom. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes."
"Good. Because I don't want you to have to eat supper alone in your room. Now, let's finish cleaning these fish and wash up. Then I want to see what you did with your bedroom."
"Can you give me a hint about who's coming to supper tomorrow?"
Before Ben could say anything, Joe spoke up. "Sure Cat. I'll give you a hint. People are coming to supper."
"That's right Cat," said Adam, trying hard not to laugh. "People are coming to supper, not horses or cows."
"And no wild critters, dogs or cats either. Just people." added Hoss.
Ben burst out laughing in spite of himself.
Cat just sighed and said, "You win. I give up."
Ben hugged her and said, "Did you really think we were going to give you a real hint about who is coming to supper tomorrow?"
"Well, it would have been nice. I don't like waiting. At least I could have tried to guess who is coming."
Ben hugged her again. "I know Kitten but you need to learn to be patient and wait for things. Nobody likes waiting but they do because they know that they can't have everything right away. Think of it this way. How much fun would birthdays and Christmas be if everyone knew what their presents were before they opened them?"
"They wouldn't be much fun at all."
"That's right, so learning to be patient and wait is important. Now, let's finish cleaning these fish."
After the fish were cleaned, the mess cleaned up, and everyone had washed, they all walked up to Cat's bedroom. "This is very nice. Now tell me, did Adam and Joe help or did Hoss do all of the work himself?"
"Adam and Joe helped too. Adam even hung up the pictures of my parents and my father's sword, hat, and neckerchief."
"Good. I am very glad that they helped too. Now, wait right here. I need to get something." He left the room and returned with the cherry wood comb and brush set. "I got these for you when we were in Denver. Mrs. Long thought you would like them."
"WOW! Those are pretty. I really like them." Cat put the comb and brush on her dressing table and hugged her father.
Adam whispered something to his brothers and they all walked into Adam's room. They returned a few minutes later carrying the doll house, carriage, and rocking horse that they had helped her father make. "Why don't we put these under the pictures?" asked Hoss. "They seem to belong there."
"Yes please. That's a good place for them." After the items had been put in place, Cat hugged her brothers.
Adam slipped out of the room and came back carrying the dolls he had bought for her. "I thought you might like these," he said handing her the package. After she opened it, he said, "A doll house and carriage aren't much good unless they have dolls, so I got these for you from Hoss, Joe and me while we were in Denver."
"Gee, wow. Thank you. I never had any dolls of my own before."
"You're welcome. Yes, I saw that when I helped you pack your things in Dodge. There will be a few more toys for you when I get the things I ordered when we were in Denver." Cat was tempted to ask what the toys were but remembered the discussion she had just had with Ben, and decided to wait until Adam gave them to her.
Just then Hop Sing walked in carrying some flowers in a pot full of dirt with an old pie tin under it. "Little girl bedroom need flowers. Hop Sing plant just for Missy Cat. They look good on desk. Get plenty of sun." He was rewarded with a big hug.
"They're very pretty. Thank you Hop Sing. You'll have to teach me how to take care of them so they don't die." Hop Sing showed her how to check and see if the flowers needed to be watered and told her how much water to give them. He also told her to turn the pot several times a week so all of the flowers would get the same amount of sun. Then he said. "Supper almost ready. Family go to table now."
After supper, Cat watched as Hoss and Joe played checkers. When they finished, she played two games with Joe. Cat won the second game and Ben told her it was time for bed. She took Silver Chief outside and used the outhouse. Then she hugged her brothers and went upstairs and got ready for bed. Ben went upstairs a few minutes later and they read two chapters in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. When they finished, Ben hugged and kissed her, told her he loved her and tucked her and Silver Chief in. Then he blew out the lamp and closed the door behind him.
When he got back downstairs, he poured a cup of coffee for himself and sat down to talk with his sons. "Well, as you learned today, your sister is going to be a real handful. She seems to think that testing her boundaries is a game and doesn't think she'll get hurt from anything she does. I thought that Matt just allowed her to run wild but I was wrong. He had rules for her and punished her for disobeying them, but that didn't always stop her. I fully intend to talk to her about jumping fences, including what happened to Marie, and tell her what the consequences will be for getting caught. I'm going to have her start doing her chores on Monday. She'll have to gather the eggs in the morning, fill the wood box in the kitchen and take care of Ginger and Fury. Right now, Fury will just need to be brushed once a day and have his hoofs cleaned. We will have to help her train him to hold still so his feet can be cleaned."
"He seems to be a pretty smart colt," said Hoss. "Maybe if we do Lady's feet with him watching, it will be easier to teach him."
"That's an excellent idea son. It certainly can't hurt to try. We are also going to have to teach Cat how much to feed Ginger. Now, as far as discipline goes, for the next month, if Cat needs more than a good swat, let me deal with it. Have her stand in the corner, send her to her room, give her extra chores, etc, but let me deal with spanking her for now. I don't anticipate having to go anywhere in the next month, but if I do and she disobeys you Adam, deal with her as best as you can and I will take care of the rest when I return. Catherine needs to learn that I am her parent now and that there will be consequences for disobeying the rules, especially safety rules. Once she has learned that, I will tell her that if you boys catch her breaking the rules, you will be allowed to deal with her as you see fit. She won't like it. She doesn't have to. But I do want to give her some time to adjust to having a parent before the three of you start dealing with her.
While we were in Dodge, Cat told me some very disturbing things about the teacher at the Virginia City school. She said that Laura and Mary had told her those things. I went to the Ingalls' today and talked to Charles and Caroline. They confirmed everything your sister said. Joe, will you please go upstairs and if Cat is sleeping, try and get her school books out of the trunk without waking her up? Also, let me know if she is showing signs of having a nightmare. She had several on the trip home. I'm going to ride into town tomorrow and talk to the teacher. I want to take Cat's books and ask the teacher if those are the same ones the students here are using. Then I'm going to talk to Gerald Miller and request a meeting of the school board before the end of next week. No child of mine will attend a school with a teacher like that. If the school board will not replace Miss Smith, Caroline will be teaching her girls and Catherine at home. Adam, I know that you are capable of teaching your sister. I had thought about having you teach her, but as Caroline pointed out, I need your help with the ranch. She also pointed out that having one sibling teach another can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings. I don't want that to happen, so if it comes to that, your sister will be taught by Caroline."
Joe returned with Cat's school books. "Here are Cat's books. She and Silver Chief are sound asleep. She had kicked her covers off, so I put them back on her. Other than that, everything is fine. She's so angelic when she's sleeping. Why can't she be like that when she's awake?"
His father and brothers burst out laughing. "We used to say the same thing about you little brother," said Hoss.
"Joe, I can't begin to count the number of times I told Pa you were more trouble than you were worth," said Adam.
"Joseph," said Ben. "I guess you've forgotten all the times you got into more trouble than both of your brothers combined, including the time you tripped your teacher because you thought she was your friend Mitch. Catherine is a lot like you. She's going to push her boundaries as hard as she can. Today was just a small example of what she will do. It is up to all of us to do our best to keep her safe while still letting her have her freedom. When I go to town tomorrow, I would like the three of you to take her with you. She can look for strays and help you move the herd." At the strange looks he got from Hoss and Joe, Ben said, "Lucas and Mark taught her how to work with cattle. She also promised Lucas that she would not work with more than ten head at a time unless an adult was with her or if there was an emergency. Before I leave, I'll tell her that the three of you are in charge and she needs to do whatever you tell her to. Now, I suggest we all get some sleep because tomorrow will be another busy day."
"I'm guessing that the Ingalls are our mystery supper guests tomorrow," said Joe.
"Yes they are. I wanted to surprise your sister by not telling her who was coming. Thank you for helping me keep my temper when she wouldn't stop asking who our guests were going to be. I need to remember that she's not used to surprises like that."
At breakfast the next morning, Ben told Cat she was going to be working with her brothers. "Instead of just holding gates open as you have done, this time you are going to be helping your brothers move the herd. I will not be there so they are in charge and I expect you to listen to them. In fact, just so you don't get confused because all three of them are telling you to do different things, I am going to put Hoss in charge of you. Hoss if Catherine does anything that isn't safe, feel free to yell at her. When you get home, tell me and I will yell at her too. Now Catherine, you are in charge of Hoss. If he does anything that isn't safe, you have my permission to yell at him. If you have to yell at him, I will also yell at him."
Cat giggled at the thought of being in charge of Hoss. Adam and Joe found it funny too. "Ok. I'll tell you if Hoss does anything that isn't safe. Do I have time to go out and play with Fury before we leave?"
"I don't know about that, but you do have time to finish your breakfast young lady. You aren't going anywhere until that plate is empty. Are you going to be in this big a hurry to go to school?"
"No, but that's ok because I'm not going to go to school. I only went to school in Dodge because Joe, Adam, and Hoss said I couldn't come here on school vacations. I live here now, so I don't need to go to school. Besides that, school is boring and I already know everything I need to know, so I would just be wasting my time going."
Adam, Hoss, and Joe just looked at each other in amazement. They would never have dared to speak to their father that way, but Cat didn't know any better. Neither Hoss nor Joe had wanted to go to school, but Ben had been adamant. They had to attend school until they were eighteen, whether they wanted to or not. Joe had finished school the year before, two weeks prior to his eighteenth birthday.
Ben took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Catherine, school attendance is not optional. In this family children attend school until they are eighteen. As your brothers can tell you, every one of them attended school until he turned eighteen and Adam also went to college. I would also like you to go to college also when you are old enough. Unless you are sick or have injuries that prevent you from attending school, there will be severe consequences for not attending. I strongly suggest that you talk to Joseph and ask him what happened to him when he skipped school. I sincerely hope that you are paying attention to what I am saying because this is the last time I intend to have this conversation with you. Now finish your breakfast."
Cat finished her breakfast and then went out to the pasture to play with Fury. After she left, Ben looked at his sons and said, "That girl needs to settle down and start watching how she speaks to me. I came very close to warming her backside this morning."
"We'll talk to her Pa," said Hoss.
"Don't forget, as you keep reminding me, Cat is new to all of this," said Adam. "I know that Matt and Rip didn't put up with her being disrespectful, but I don't think she thought that she was. According to Matt, she has made it clear from the time she started school when she was five that she didn't like it and wasn't about to go. Just as Joe found it hard to sit still and pay attention in school, so does Cat. Matt said he punished her several times for skipping school but the only thing that got her to attend was the threat of not being able to come here on school vacations. She thinks that because she lives here now, she doesn't have to go to school if she doesn't want to. We may need to have Matt and Rip write to her and remind her that if she doesn't go to school, she won't be able to visit them in the summers."
"I'll talk to her and tell her what will happen if she doesn't go to school, but as Adam said, it may take letters from Rip and Matt to get her to go. Anyway, the start of the new school term is still more than a month away, so we don't need to push her on it right now," said Joe.
"You boys are right. I keep saying we need to give her time to adjust to being here and I'm ignoring my own advice. I'll let the three of you talk to her and we'll see what happens when school begins. I'll write to Matt and Rip then if I need to. Now, you had better get your work done around here so you can take your sister and move that herd. I've got some paperwork to do before I head for town."
Just then, somebody knocked on the door and Ben opened it. Mr. McLeod and his son James were standing there and James had something hidden behind his back. "George, James, this is a pleasant surprise. Please come in. Would you like some coffee?"
"No thank you Ben," said George. "We just came to see your daughter and need to get back to town. The store won't run itself."
"Catherine is out in the pasture with her colt. I'll send one of the boys to get her. Joe, will you please go and get your sister? George and James want to talk to her."
Cat walked in the door a few minutes later. "Hi Mr. McLeod. Hi James. Little Joe said that you want to talk to me."
"Yes we do," said George. "Thank you for coming in so promptly because we need to go back to town shortly. We have something for you."
James brought his hands out from behind his back and handed Cat a squirming collie puppy that was about the same size as Silver Chief. "Here, she is for you. Her name is Lassie."
Cat took the puppy and hugged and kissed it. Then she put her down and hugged James and his father. "Thank you so very much. She is very pretty and I love her." Just then, Silver Chief ran in from the kitchen where Hop Sing had been spoiling him. Cat picked him up and introduced him to the McLeods. "This is Silver Chief. My friend Little Bear gave him to me when I was in Arizona. I hope that he and Lassie will be friends."
"You are very welcome young lady," said George. "My brother raises collies in Virginia. James has been such a big help in the store that I wanted to reward him, so I wrote to my brother and asked him for a puppy for James. When I write to him, I tell him all of the news from Virginia City and I told him about how your mother was killed and your Uncle Ben adopted you to be his daughter. So, when he sent a puppy for James, he also sent a puppy for you."
"WOW! That sure was nice of him. Please tell him thank you for me the next time you write to him."
"I will do that. Here is a letter he wrote to you about your puppy."
Cat took the letter and read it aloud. "Dear Miss Catherine, My brother wrote to me about what happened to your mother and I decided that you needed a puppy. Her name is Lassie, which means young girl. I thought was an appropriate name to give a puppy that was going to be living with a young girl. She knows her name and has been trained to come when called. I am certain that your family can teach you how to care for a puppy. However, I am going to tell you a few things that will help to keep her healthy for many years to come. Do not let her have puppies until she is more than a year old, and do not let her have puppies every year. It is not good for a dog to have puppies when she is still a puppy. Nor is it good for a dog to have puppies every year. If you have any questions about taking care of puppies, please ask my brother. He will be able to answer them for you. Sincerely, Mr. Robert McLeod."
"Mr. McLeod, that sure was nice of your brother to tell me about how to take care of Lassie. I'll do everything he said. Look, she and Silver Chief are friends already."
"That is very good. I am glad that they are friends already."
"I need to take her out to the pasture and introduce her to Fury. I want them to be friends too. Do you want to see my colt before you have to leave?"
"Yes I would," said James.
"That's great. Come with me and I'll introduce you and Lassie to Fury."
Everyone walked out to the pasture and Cat introduced James and his father to Fury. She also introduced Lassie to him and said, "This is Lassie. She and Silver Chief are already friends and I want you and her to be friends too." The colt and puppy sniffed each other then the two puppies ran off to play with each other.
"He sure is a handsome colt," said James. "I'll bet you can't wait until he's old enough to ride."
"Yes James. I already wish he was old enough to ride. I like Ginger, but Fury is my horse and I've never had my own horse or puppy before now. Little Joe says that Fury has to be more than a year old before I can ride him."
"That's right. If you ride him before he's old and strong enough, you could hurt him."
"James, I know that you would love to stay here and play with Catherine, the puppies and Colt, however, we need to get back to town. Your mother is minding the store for us and you know how she feels about that," said Mr. McLeod. "Catherine, I'm very happy that you like your new puppy and your other puppy and colt are adorable. I hope that you and they will be very happy in your new home. I look forward to seeing you and your puppies the next time you come to town."
"Thank you again Mr. McLeod. I'll bring both puppies with me the next time I come to town."
After James and his father left, Adam said, "Cat, go get your saddle bags for your puppies and then get your horse saddled. We need to get moving if we're going to get that herd moved this morning."
"Ok. I want to stop in the kitchen and show Lassie to Hop Sing first."
"That's fine but don't take too long. Remember, moving a herd takes time." Once Cat left, Adam told his brothers, "We need to find a spot where the three of us can sit down and talk to her. She doesn't know how lucky she is that Pa didn't put her over his knees right at the table for talking back and saying she wasn't going to go to school."
Cat ran toward the house followed by her puppies and Ben. She ran into the kitchen and introduced Lassie and Hop Sing to each other. "Pretty puppy. Eat lots, grow big and take care of Missy Cat." Cat hugged Hop Sing and then ran out of the kitchen where she almost collided with Ben.
"Catherine Michael!" said Ben sternly. "This is your last warning. The next time I catch you running in the house, you will be punished. I know that Matt does not allow you to run indoors and I am quite certain that Rip does not either. Now, stop running in the house. It is not safe and I don't want you to get hurt."
Cat walked up to her room, got her saddle bags, picked up her bow and arrows off the armoire by the front door, and then walked outside to join her brothers in the barn. Ben walked into the kitchen, got a cup of coffee and said, "I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl Hop Sing. Even though Matt has punished her many times, she won't stop running indoors. This morning at breakfast, she started talking back to me and said she wasn't going to go to school. It was the same thing yesterday when we were cleaning the fish. How many times did I tell her that she would have to wait until today to find out who is coming to supper, but she kept pressing the issue? When they got to the lake yesterday, Adam told Cat how far she was allowed to swim out but she chose to swim out farther than she was supposed to."
"Missy Cat like Little Joe. He wild when he boy too. Not 'fraid of anything. Little Joe not want to go to school either. Give Missy Cat time. She settle down. Remember, she not used to family. Everything here new to her, make her excited and forget manners. Little Joe, Hoss, and Adam talk to her. Explain rules about talking back and saying she not do something. They explain consequences too. It take long time for Little Joe to remember rules. He get many spankings before he remember. Missy Cat maybe need many spankings too."
"I'm afraid you're right my friend. Catherine is a lot like her mother. Kate was wild and wasn't very good at following rules either. Unfortunately, because she was so much younger than Victoria, John and myself, Father tended to spoil her and she didn't face many consequences for her actions. That's why Victoria was so jealous of her. I have always absolutely hated having to punish my children but they needed to have consequences for their misbehavior. It seems that Catherine is going to experience many of the same consequences Joseph did when he was growing up."
"Boys know you love them. Missy Cat will know too."
"I know Hop Sing, but that doesn't make it any easier."
"Hop Sing know. You do what need be done. Boys grow up to be good men. Missy Cat grow up to be good woman."
"Thank you my friend. It is nice to know that I can talk to you about things that are bothering me. Now, I had better head for town. I need to talk to that teacher and then find Gerald Miller to get him to schedule a meeting of the school board."
On their way to move the herd of cattle, Adam found a good spot for everyone to stop so he and his brothers could talk to their sister. "We're stopping here for a little while," he told Cat. "Take your puppies out of your saddle bags so they can play while we talk." She was puzzled but did as she was told. Adam pointed to a tree and said, "Sit down Cat. The three of us need to talk to you." Once everyone was sitting down, Adam said, "Cat, what you did this morning at breakfast was wrong. You talked back to Pa and you told him you weren't going to go to school. You don't know how lucky you are that you are new to our family. If one of us had talked to Pa like you did, when we were your age, we would have been in a lot of trouble."
"That's right Cat," said Joe. "Believe me, I know. There were lots of times when I was growing up that I told Pa no or that I wasn't going to do something and the consequences were severe. I ended up bottom side up over Pa's knees more times than I care to count."
"Yesterday was just as bad as this morning," said Hoss. You were told how far you could swim out but decided you didn't need to listen to us. Then, when we were cleaning the fish, you wouldn't stop asking who is coming to supper tonight, even after Pa warned you to stop. The next time you might not be so lucky. When Pa says stop, he means stop and don't keep asking the same question over and over again. If Joe hadn't jumped in when he did, Pa may just have taken you to the barn and warmed the seat of your pants for you."
"Another thing," said Adam. "When Pa says something to you or asks you a question, you say yes sir or no sir or yes Pa or no Pa. You don't just say yes or no and you do not ever just say yeah. I know that you didn't talk to Matt like that and you don't talk to Pa like that either. It is rude and he does not tolerate us being rude to anyone including himself."
"Cat, I hope you're paying attention to what we're telling you," said Joe. "We're trying to help you adjust to having a family and we're trying to keep you from getting in trouble. We have all done the things we're warning you about and we have all suffered the consequences. Let me tell you how Pa handles it when we disobey, talk back or are rude. You won't usually get a warning. Knowing the rules is enough. The first time you break a rule, Pa takes you out to the barn, puts you over his knees and warms the seat of your pants with his hand. His hand hurts bad, even through pants. The next time, you go out to the barn, he uses his belt on the seat of your pants and that hurts even more than his hand. If you break the rule again, your pants come down when he takes you out to the barn and you get it on your bare bottom. Your punishment doesn't stop when you get spanked or whipped. You have to stand in the corner for a long time and you are restricted to the yard with a lot of extra chores to do. Depending on what you did and how angry Pa is, your restriction can be anywhere from a day to several months. That means no fishing, riding, swimming, going over to your friends' houses or anything fun, including going to Sunday School picnics. You have to stay home and do a lot of extra chores. If you skip school one of us will have to ride with you in the morning to make sure you go. You'll have to apologize to the teacher for skipping and take whatever punishment she dishes out. I should know, because I had to do it a lot. Even if Pa doesn't spank you, you'll still have to stand in the corner and be restricted to the yard with a lot of extra chores to do."
"We love you Cat," said Hoss. "And we're real glad that you're our sister now. We want to be able to do fun things with ya, but we can't if you're in trouble all the time. Before you do or say somethin', stop and think if it's going to get you in trouble. If it is, don't do or say it. Otherwise, you're going to be in a heap of trouble and we won't be able to get ya out of it. Another thing, when Pa ain't home the oldest one of us who is home is in charge and you have to listen to that brother. If one of us is in charge and you don't listen, we will punish you and then Pa will punish you too. When we were boys, Joe and I both found out the hard way what happens when ya don't listen to whoever is in charge, especially when the one in charge is Adam. We're telling you all this stuff now, so's you know what to expect. We don't want to see ya get in trouble. Now, call your puppies because we need to get that herd moved."