Ben and John Winter laughed at Joe's statement as they watched the pair walk out of the feed store. As Joe and Cat walked toward the general store, they heard someone calling Joe. He turned around and saw Mitch Devlin walking toward them. Joe greeted his friend. "Hi Mitch. When did you get back?"

"Last week. We have a lot to catch up on. Let's go and get a beer."

Joe started to go with Mitch when Cat said, "Little Joe, are you going to break your promise to me?"

Joe looked at his sister and then at his best friend and said, "I'm sorry Mitch. I can't. I promised my sister that I wouldn't go into the saloon today and I need to keep that promise."

"You have a sister? When did your father get married again? I know that I've been gone for a long time, but you could at least have written to me and told me."

"Pa didn't get married again. My aunt was killed in June and Pa adopted my cousin. This is my little sister, Cat. Cat, this is my best friend, Mitch Devlin. You're really going to like him. The two of us used to get into a lot of mischief when we were your age. Once you get settled in, we can tell you some of the things we did to annoy Adam. Mitch, Cat and I are on our way over to the general store. I promised to buy her a sarsaparilla. Why don't you come with us? Then you can come back to the feed store. Pa's there now and I'm sure he'll be glad to see you again."

"Alright Joe. I'll come with you and Cat. I want to get to know your little sister better."

"She's a lot like me. You probably don't remember, but she was born on my tenth birthday. Pa says that we're so much alike, if he didn't know better, he would swear that we had the same mother."

Mitch laughed. "Cat, you and I are going to get along just fine. I can't wait until Joe and I start teaching you what to do to annoy Adam."

"We're going to have to take it slow Mitch. I don't want Cat getting into trouble. You know what Adam is like when he gets angry. Don't forget, he thought it was his job to be harder on us than our fathers did. I'm sure that he'll be just as hard on Cat although I don't think he'll be too hard on her if Hoss is around. Hoss protected us from Adam's wrath when he could and I'm sure he'll protect Cat even more."

"Yeah Joe. You're right. How old were we the day we hid his saddle and bridle, eleven or twelve? He was going to use his belt on our bare bottoms until Hoss stopped him. I hope he's not going to be like that with Cat."

"I hope not either Mitch. I'll do my best to protect her from his anger and so will Hoss, but we've got to go slow. We can't teach her too much all at once. Right now, we'd better get our drinks and go back to the feed store. Pa will want to leave soon."

The three of them walked over to the store where Joe let Cat pick out twenty five cents worth of candy while he got their drinks and peanuts. Then they walked back to the feed store. "Look who we found," said Joe.

Ben turned around and saw Mitch with Cat and Joe. "Hello Mitchell. It's nice to see you again. When did you return home?"

"Hello Mr. Cartwright. I got back home last week and haven't had time to get out to the Ponderosa."

"Can Mitch come to supper?" asked Cat.

"Of course he can. He knows that he's always welcome at our table. Have you decided what you want to do tomorrow?"

"Yes, I want Laura and Mary to spend the day at the Ponderosa. We can play and we can go riding. I know how to get to Lake Tahoe from the house."

"That's fine. We'll stop at the Ingalls on the way home and ask if they can come over. I know that you know how to get to Lake Tahoe and you girls may ride over there, but I do not want you to go swimming in the lake unless an adult is with you." Cat was disappointed but didn't argue. "We need to head back to the ranch. Mitchell, in case you've forgotten, supper is at six. We'll expect to see you around five thirty. John, we'll expect you and your family around four thirty or five on Friday."

When they walked outside Cat and Joe climbed up on the wagon seat. Cat picked up the reins and Ben said, "Cat, let Joe drive the team home. You've never driven a full wagon before and it's a lot different than driving an empty one. You can take over driving when we get close to home. Joe, don't forget, we need to stop by the Ingalls to see if the girls can come over and play with Cat tomorrow.

Joe turned the wagon into the Ingalls' yard almost an hour later. The girls were playing in the yard and Laura ran into the house to tell her parents they had company. Charles and Caroline went outside to greet their guests. They hugged Cat and invited everyone in for coffee and sweet cider. "What brings the three of you out here this evening?" asked Charles. "Are you giving Cat to us already?"

Ben laughed. "No, not yet. We stopped by to see if Laura and Mary would like to spend the day tomorrow on the Ponderosa playing with Cat."

"Please Pa," pleaded both girls together.

All of the adults laughed at the expressions on the girls' faces.

"I don't see why not unless Caroline has other plans for them."

"No, I don't have any plans. I think it's a wonderful idea. I'm sure Cat is tired of only being around adults all the time."

"That settles it then," said Ben. "Cat knows how to get here, so she can ride over with a couple of horses for the girls after breakfast. They need to bring swimming clothes because we may go swimming. I know that Cat is planning on the three of them riding out by Lake Tahoe and she knows that they are not to go swimming in the lake unless an adult is with them. However, I may join them so they can swim. They'll spend the entire day on the Ponderosa and either I or one of the boys will bring them home after supper."

"Those plans make me wish that I was still nine years old," said Caroline. "I would love to spend a day playing with dolls, swinging, riding, and swimming. I know. All four girls can stay here and do the cooking and laundry and I'll go and spend the day on the Ponderosa."

The girls laughed at Caroline's suggestion. "Actually," said Ben. "Cat does know how to cook. When Adam and I went to get her from Lucas McCain's ranch in New Mexico, Cat and Mark went hunting. They made a delicious rabbit stew. Lucas' friend, Millie, realized that they had probably forgotten about bread and dessert, so she brought those things. Both Adam and I were surprised that a pair of nine year old children could cook such a wonderful meal. With Hop Sing's help, she also made rabbit stew for us on Saturday. Maybe we'll go hunting one day and Cat can cook the meal. I know that Hop Sing wouldn't mind letting her in the kitchen. I don't know if Cat knows how to made bread and dessert, so Hop Sing will probably have to make those things."

"That sounds wonderful," said Charles. "I'm looking forward to that meal."

"So am I," said Caroline. "I've been teaching Mary and Laura how to make bread, so maybe with Hop Sing's supervision; they could make the bread and help Cat with the rest of the meal."

"That's fine with me," replied Ben. "I'll have to ask Hop Sing if he'll mind having his kitchen invaded by three little girls."

"He probably won't mind," said Joe. "He thinks that Cat belongs to him. She's only been home a week and he's already threatened to go back to China and take Cat with him twice."

"I'm positive that you're right about him not minding if the girls take over his kitchen for a meal. However, you and your brothers are going to have to help clean the rabbits. It won't be fair for your sister to have to clean the rabbits and cook enough food for eleven people. She and Mark worked together to cook for seven and it took them several hours to do everything."

"I know that Hoss and I will help but I'm not sure about Adam."

"Adam will also help. I don't think the girls will let him eat if he doesn't. Charles, Caroline, thank you for your hospitality. It's getting late and we've got to get home before supper. I don't want Hop Sing yelling at me because we're late for supper. Cat will be here shortly after breakfast with some horses for Mary and Laura. Girls, don't forget, you still have to keep your parents out of trouble for two more days so we can have our big picnic by Lake Tahoe on Saturday." All four girls started giggling at the thought of Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls getting into trouble.

When they got near the road leading to their house, Joe handed the reins to Cat and said, "You can drive from here. Just take it slow and don't worry. I'm right here if you end up needing help. As Pa said, driving a loaded wagon is a lot different than driving an empty one. When we get in the yard, stop the wagon in front of the barn. That way, we won't have to carry the sacks of feed all the way across the yard."

They were about a mile from the yard when a rabbit ran out in front of the team causing them to bolt. Cat tried but she couldn't hold them. "Joe, help! I can't hold the horses!" Instead of taking the reins from her, Joe put his hands over hers and helped her stop the team.

By the time Joe got the team stopped, Cat was shaking like a leaf. Joe wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Ben was off his horse in a flash, ran over to the buckboard and asked, "Is she alright?" He climbed up on the wagon seat and hugged Cat close to him.

"Yeah Pa. She's fine, just scared. Don't feel bad Cat. I was thirteen the first time a team ran away with me and I was so afraid, I wet my pants. If Pa hadn't been with me, the buckboard might have flipped over with me in it."

"Cat," said Ben. "I hope you understand now why I won't let you drive the buggy or buckboard unless an adult is with you. The thought of what could have happened to you if Joe hadn't been next to you frightens me beyond belief. I don't ever want you to get hurt and if I could, I would wrap you in cotton wool and put you on a shelf until you are all grown up."

Cat had calmed down by then and giggled at Ben's last statement. "You're silly Pa. I can't sit on a shelf until I'm all grown up. I would at least have to get down to eat. Hop Sing wouldn't let me eat up there."

"You're right. I am being silly but I just want to keep you safe. Now, let's go home. Mitchell will be at the house by five thirty and we've got to get the feed and other supplies put away before then."

Ben remounted his horse and Joe handed the buckboard reins to Cat. "No Joe. I don't want to drive any more."

Ben dismounted and climbed back up on the wagon seat. He hugged Cat and said, "I want you to drive Sweetheart. It's very important. What happened after the first time you fell off your pony?"

"My Apache father made me get back on. He said if I didn't, I would always be afraid to ride."

"That's right. If you didn't get back on your pony after you fell off, you would be afraid to ride now and you wouldn't love Fury as much as you do. It is important for you to drive the wagon home for the same reason. If you don't, you will always be afraid to drive or ride in a wagon or the buggy. If you would like, I will sit here and you can sit between me and Joe, but you will drive. Both Joe and I will be here if anything happens again."

"Ok. I would like that."

Ben tied his horse to the back of the buckboard and then sat down next to Cat. Joe handed her the reins and Ben said, "Ok Cat. Let's go home. Remember, both Joe and I are right here if you need help, but you are driving." Cat reluctantly took the reins and drove the rest of the way home. By the time they reached the yard, she was more at ease driving. She stopped the wagon in front of the barn and Adam and Hoss came out of the house to help put everything away. Adam noticed that the things they had purchased in Denver were on the wagon, so he carried those crates into the house and up to his room. He planned on surprising her with some of the toys the next time Laura and Mary came over.

Once the buckboard had been emptied, Hoss picked Cat up and put her over his shoulder. "I've never seen anything like this before. Where should I put it?"

"That's something Joe and I picked up in town as a treat for that black colt out in the pasture. You might want to carry it out there and see how the colt reacts."

Hoss carried a giggling Cat out to the pasture where Fury was and set her down inside it. Fury immediately ran up to her and demanded to be loved on. After Cat hugged and kissed him, he put his nose down to the ground where it was immediately kissed by Lassie and Silver Chief. Hoss stood there for a little while, watching in amazement. He had been working with horses for many years and had never seen a foal act like Fury did toward Cat and her puppies. Before heading back to the house, he said, "Don't stay out here too long. It's almost five o'clock and you'll need time to wash up before supper."

"Ok Hoss. Little Joe's friend Mitch is coming to supper tonight."

"Oh is he? I didn't know he was back in town. Adam won't be happy."

"Why won't Adam be happy that Mitch is coming to supper?"

"Because Joe and Mitch used to get into a lot of mischief together when they were boys and they played a lot of tricks on Adam. None of their tricks were dangerous but they shore did make Adam mad, especially when they hid his saddle and bridle. I hope they don't teach you none of their tricks 'cause I don't want Adam getting mad at you too."

"They said they were going to teach me how to annoy Adam and it sounds like fun."

"Girl, you are going to get yourself into a whole heap of trouble with him if you do that. Pa's right. You are too much like Little Joe."

"You'll keep Adam from getting mad at me, won't you Hoss?"

"It depends on what you do. I'll protect you as much as I can but if you do something dangerous, I won't be able to help you. Now, you've got about fifteen minutes to spend with this here colt of yours and then you've got to get washed up for supper. You don't want Pa and Hop Sing mad at you 'cause you're late for supper."

"Someone will have to tell me when I have to come in. I'm not real good at knowing what time it is or how long I've been somewhere."

"Alright sis. Someone will come and get you when it's time to come in. Just be sure you don't argue with them."

"I won't. I'm getting hungry and I don't want Pa telling me I can't have dessert."

"I'm with you there. I always hated being told I couldn't have dessert."

Hoss walked back to the house and Cat played with Fury and her puppies. Fifteen minutes later, Adam came out and told her it was time to wash up for supper. "Ok. I just have one thing I need to do." Adam was about to scold her when she kissed and hugged Fury and then climbed the pasture gate.

"You know you could open the gate and walk through it."

"I know, but it's more fun to climb over it."

Adam sighed, put his arm around his little sister and said, "You are entirely too much like Joe and you are probably going to drive me crazy like Joe did when he was a boy."

"I hope so. Joe said it was lots of fun when he did it."

Adam sighed and mumbled, "I'm going to kill him," under his breath. He picked Cat up, put her over his shoulder and said, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you in the trough before taking you into the house."

"Because I'll get all wet and Pa and Hop Sing will get mad at you if I get the house all wet."

"Sorry kiddo. They won't get angry at me because I won't be the one who's all wet. They'll be angry at you."

"But it will be your fault for throwing me in the trough."

"I'll just tell them that you tripped and fell in or that you wanted to go swimming but didn't have time to go to the creek, pond or lake, so you decided to swim in the trough instead."

"If you throw me in the trough, I'll sneak into your room tonight and hide your boots."

"You don't want to do that little one. I guarantee I will be very unhappy with you and you will not like it if I am unhappy with you. I am already upset with you for inviting Mitch Devlin to supper tonight. You should have asked me before doing that."

"You weren't there and Pa is the one who invited Mitch to supper. Why don't you want Mitch to come to supper? I like him. He's funny."

"He is not one of my favorite people. He and Joe used to annoy me as often as they could when they were boys."

"I didn't know we were only supposed to invite people you like to supper. I'll tell Pa you said that."

"You are a brat just like Joe was. I did not say that."

"Yes you did. You said we shouldn't invite Joe's friend Mitch to supper because you don't like him."

"If you don't stop now, I will throw you in the trough."

"I don't care. I'm still going to tell Pa what you said."

Just then Ben walked out the door to see what was taking Adam so long to get Cat from the pasture. He couldn't believe it when he saw his oldest son about to toss his sister in the trough. "What are you doing Adam? Why are you going to toss your sister into the trough?"

"He's going to throw me in the trough because I said I was going to tell you he doesn't want Joe's friend Mitch to come to supper because he doesn't like him. He only wants people he likes to come to supper."

Ben didn't see Joe follow him out of the house. "Older brother, I swear, if you throw Cat in the trough because she asked Pa if Mitch could come to supper, you will have a bloody nose at supper and if I don't do it, Hoss will!"

Ben sighed. He had hoped the peace and quiet would last longer than a week. "We'll discuss that later. Right now, everyone needs to get washed up for supper. Adam, please put your sister down and I do not mean in the trough." Adam put Cat down on the ground and she ran to the house, stopping long enough to hug her father and brother. Joe followed her into the house. "I'm disappointed son," said Ben as Adam walked up to him. "I know that you don't like Mitch because he and Joe used to do things to annoy you, but they were young boys having fun and nothing they did was harmful to anybody including yourself. In fact, I thought some of the things they did were funny. Also, that was a long time ago. Both Joseph and Mitchell are nineteen now and haven't played any pranks on you in several years. Remember son, I also had a younger brother and John and his friends used to annoy me too. I got angry at them one day and Father told me his younger brothers used to do things to annoy him too. That's what younger brothers do. That is also what younger sisters do. Believe me, Kate did her best to annoy the rest of us when she was a girl. Now, let's get washed up. Mitch should be here any time now."

Adam went upstairs to wash up and started thinking. His father was right. Nothing Joe and Mitch had done to him was harmful and nothing had been destroyed or ruined. The book he had been reading hadn't even been harmed when Joe had moved it off of the night table. Joe had put the book under his pillow and left the end of the bookmark sticking out enough to be noticed. He had just been too angry at not finding it in its place to notice the bookmark sticking out from under his pillow. The boys had gotten a good scolding from his father for hiding his saddle and bridle one day, especially because they had only been twelve and not allowed in the hayloft without an adult. Since he had been delayed in getting started on things he had to do on the ranch, besides the scolding, the boys had to do his chores that day. Adam found himself wondering what kinds of things they were going to teach Cat to do and how angry he was going to get with her for doing them. She was already entirely too wild and didn't need Joe and Mitch teaching her how to annoy him. Although, she would probably come up with the same ideas on her own. She had just threatened to hide his boots and the two boys hadn't even started teaching her how to annoy him.

Mitch knocked on the door a few minutes later. Joe opened it and greeted his friend. Mitch greeted the rest of the family and everyone sat down in the living room to talk. They had been talking for about ten minutes when Hop Sing announced that supper was ready. During supper, Mitch began telling everyone about his travels after graduating from school the previous year. "Cat, the next time your Pa or one of your brothers goes to San Francisco, make them take you along. You can always take your books if school is in session. It's a fun city with a lot to see and do. I think you will enjoy watching the fishing fleet coming back in every evening. The boats are always followed by a lot of seagulls hoping to get some of the catch. If you're lucky, you might get to see some dolphins playing in San Francisco Bay."

"I've never been to the ocean. Is it bigger than Lake Tahoe?"

"Oh yes, lots bigger. Your Pa used to be a sailor. He can tell you more than I can, but I think you could probably put a thousand Lake Tahoes in the ocean and still have room for more."

"What do dolphins and seagulls look like?"

"Seagulls are white birds. Some of them have black on their wings and some of them have grey heads. Dolphins are gray fish like creatures but they have holes on top of their heads instead of gills to breathe with. But they're not fish. They're long and their bodies curve. They have noses that are long and narrow. They travel in groups and you should see them jump. They can jump quite high. I'm not doing a very good job describing them. Adam or your Pa probably has a book with a drawing of one. You can also see seals on the beaches and if you're really lucky, you'll get to see a whale. They're really huge. They're longer than two barns."

"WOW! That's really big. Do whales look like dolphins?"

"Not really. As I said, they're much larger and the one I saw was a blue gray color."

"I'm pretty sure that I have a book that has drawings of dolphins, whales, sea turtles and different seagulls," said Adam. "I'll look after supper.

"I'll go up in the attic tomorrow," said Ben. "All of my journals from my sailing days are up there. I may have made some drawings of different sea creatures while I was off duty."

"Gee thanks. I would love to go to San Francisco and see those animals for real instead of in a drawing. I don't even know what a sailing ship looks like. I just know about the canoes the Indians use."

"I'll take you to San Francisco one day," said Ben. "It probably won't be before next year though. School is starting in a few weeks and I want you to get used to going to school here, meet new friends and get to know your new teacher. Adam's grandfather lives in Boston and I haven't seen him in many years. Maybe I'll take you there some day too."

At the mention of school, Cat made a face like she had bitten into something sour causing everybody to laugh. "Cat likes school as much as we did Mitch," said Joe.

"Cat, I hope you don't skip school as much as Joe and I did," said Mitch. "I'd hate to see you end up with a very sore bottom and having to ride to school double with an adult like we did. Believe me, there's nothing worse than having all of your friends laughing at you because you have to ride double like a little kid."

"I'll just have to figure out how to not get caught. I hate school. It's boring and there are more important things to do like hunting and fishing and I get tired of being scolded for looking out the windows all the time. It might be better if school was outside because being stuck inside all day is terrible!"

"You won't get any argument from Joe and I about that, but believe me, no matter how much we tried not to, we always got caught when we skipped school. Sometimes Miss Jones told our fathers and sometimes other kids did. Reverend Jonas caught us one day. He took us back to the school and then told our fathers what we had done."

"Yeah, I remember that day," added Joe. "We thought we were being clever by hiding in some bushes while we were fishing, but Reverend Jonas saw our fishing poles and found us. It sure was embarrassing when he walked us back into the school and made us apologize to Miss Jones in front of the whole school. I know you hate school Cat. So did Mitch and I but skipping is not worth the trouble you'll be in when you get caught."

Adam was about to remind Cat that she would also get a spanking and a lot of extra chores every time she skipped school but Ben caught his eye and shook his head no. Joe and Mitch were doing a good job of convincing her not to skip school.

"Mitch, where else did you go besides San Francisco?" asked Cat.

"Well, let's see, I spent a couple of months in St. Louis. I also spent some time in Denver and I was in Chicago for three months. Now, that's a really big city. It's bigger than San Francisco and Denver combined. Lake Michigan is so big you can't even see the other shore."

"Wow that is a big lake. I would like to see the places you visited. We spent a little bit of time in St. Louis and Denver on the way here but didn't have much time to see the cities."

"Traveling and seeing new places is fun, but coming home again is nice. I loved seeing my family again after being gone for more than a year. I can't tell you how much I missed all of you and how great it is to be sitting here with you instead of alone in a restaurant."

What are your plans now that you're home again?" asked Adam.

"I'm going to stay here and help Pa with the ranch. Besides that, I met a girl today and I think I'm in love. The problem is that she's only nine and I need to wait for her to grow up. So, I've got to make something of myself or she won't want anything to do with me when she grows up." Cat giggled as he gave one of her braids a playful tug. "There's a dance coming up next week Saturday. Cat, will you save a dance for me?"

"Sure Mitch," giggled Cat. "You're the only one who's asked me and I don't know any other boys yet."

"Well I hope you never do meet any other boys. I want you all for myself. I'm not even sure I want to share you with your Pa and brothers," he teased.

Gat giggled. "You're silly. I'm gonna meet boys at school unless you can convince Pa I don't have to go and you have to share me with my family"

"I don't know if I can convince your Pa of that or not. I didn't have any luck convincing my own father to let me stay home from school when I was your age. How about it Mr. Cartwright, will you let Cat stay home from school so she won't meet any other boys besides me?"

Ben laughed. "I'm sorry Mitchell, but the answer is no. Catherine has to attend school until she's eighteen just as you boys did. I'm hoping she'll decide to attend college after she graduates."

"I don't even want to go to school now and you want me to go to college. "EWWWWW YUCK! I'd rather play with a bunch of rattlesnakes. It would be more fun."

Everyone laughed and Ben said, "Cat, you need to finish eating if you want dessert. I happen to know that Hop Sing made chocolate cake for dessert and that is your favorite dessert. If you don't finish your supper, I will eat your piece of chocolate cake as well as mine."

"That's not fair."

"Sure it is. I have always had a rule that children who do not finish their supper are not allowed to have dessert. Ask Adam. He can tell you how many times he missed dessert as a boy because he didn't finish his meal. So, if you don't finish your supper, you will not get dessert. Since I wouldn't want that piece of chocolate cake to go to waste, I will have to eat it myself."

Cat ate all of her food and when Hop Sing served dessert, he gave her two pieces of cake and none to Ben. "Hop Sing here Mister Ben say Missy Cat get two pieces of cake and he no want any," causing everybody to laugh.

"Gee thanks Hop Sing. That was really swell of you to give Pa's piece of cake to me. The only thing better than your food is your chocolate cake. If Pa would let me, I would eat it for breakfast, dinner, and supper."

"Well Pa, I guess you learned what happens when you try to come between Cat and her chocolate cake," laughed Joe. "It's obvious who Hop Sing thinks is the most important person in this family. He never did that for me when you said I couldn't have dessert. Also, he never said he was going to take me with him when he threatened to go back to China. He's already done that twice with Cat."

"Cat, may I please have one of your pieces of cake?" asked Ben.

"I don't know. I was going to eat both of them. After all, you were going to eat my piece. What do you think Mitch?"

"I think you should. After all, you might get an upset stomach if you ate two pieces of cake after that large supper."

"Ok. That's a good idea."

Cat handed one piece of cake to her father. "Thank you Sweetheart. I like Hop Sing's chocolate cake almost as much as you do."

After supper, everyone went into the great room to talk with Mitch for a while longer. Adam went up to his room and returned with a book containing drawings of sea creatures and handed it to Cat. She sat on the settee between Joe and Mitch and looked at the drawings with them. Cat was amazed at all of the strange creatures displayed in the book. Her eyes lit up when she spotted the seals. "Those seals sure are cute. I'd love to have one for a pet."

Mitch laughed at her. "No you wouldn't Cat. They would make terrible pets. Seals look cute and cuddly but they're wild animals that bite very hard and cannot be tamed. Also, they would not be happy here. They only eat fish that are found in the ocean and they would not be able to live in Lake Tahoe."

"Oh, that's too bad. I really want one for a pet."

"Catherine," said Adam. "You want every wild creature for a pet. I think you're worse than Hoss was when he was your age."

"That's a little girl thing Adam," said Mitch. "Everywhere I traveled, I saw little girls wanting to have wild animals for pets. When I was in San Francisco, a little girl broke away from her parents and started running toward a bunch of seals sunning themselves on the beach. Her older brother and I took off running after her and caught her just before she reached the seals. I can't tell you how much that frightened me. The babies are small, but the adults are quite large and that girl could have been seriously hurt or worse. After seeing that, I've decided that if I ever have any daughters, I'm going to tie a rope around their waists so they can't run off like that. I might even put hobbles on them."

"It won't work Mitch," laughed Ben. "Cat's uncle had tried everything he could and she still ran off and got into mischief."

Mitch stood up and said, "It's getting late and I really need to be going. Thank you again for your hospitality. My Ma is a good cook, but nowhere near as good as Hop Sing." He shook hands with Ben, Adam, and Hoss and hugged Cat. Joe walked out of the door with him.

"Let's plan on going to town for a beer tomorrow afternoon Joe. We have a lot to catch up on."

"Sorry Mitch. I'm restricted to the ranch for another three and a half weeks. The only reason I was in town today is because Cat asked Pa if I could come along and he said yes."

"What did you do this time?"

"When Pa and Adam left to go and get Cat to bring her home, Pa left a whole list of stuff for Hoss and I to do while they were gone. We didn't even finish half the list and to make matters worse, Pa found out I had been gambling while he was gone and you know how he feels about that."

"It's a good thing I came back. Somebody's got to keep you out of trouble."

"Believe it or not, Cat is trying. I was only allowed to go to town today because I promised Cat I wouldn't go into the saloon and I wouldn't get into any trouble."

"Good for her. I really like your little sister and can't wait to spend more time with her. Well, I'd better head for home before Ma thinks I decided to go traveling again. I'll come out again in a day or two."