No sooner had Hoss and the girls ridden out of the yard when Ben began pacing. Finally Adam couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Pa, will you please sit down and relax? You can't keep her next to you all of the time. She'll resent it if you try and we'll lose her. I'm positive that our little experiment next week will show that Cat is very good at hiding her tracks. If I'm right and she tries to get to Rip or Matt, it may be days before we find her, if we ever do. You don't see Charles and Caroline keeping their girls next to them all of the time, do you? In fact, have you ever seen any parents keeping their daughters next to them all of the time? I know I haven't, so why do you want to do it to Cat?"

"She's been hurt so much that I just want to keep her from ever being hurt again."

"She hasn't been hurt much more than other kids Pa," said Joe. "Lots of kids are orphaned and raised by relatives. Except for the occasional nightmare, she doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she was standing next to her mother when she was killed. When I read with her last night, she told me that she wished her mother had never come back. Then she'd still be in Dodge where she was happy. Cat loves the Ponderosa but she's not happy because you're being so overprotective. I was just as frightened as you were when the team got away from her but she wasn't hurt, just scared and she was over it by the time we got back home. You saw that fire she built today. There aren't many nine year olds who can build a fire and know how to keep it from getting out of control but that's exactly what Cat did. From what I've seen since you brought her home, except for not being very good at building a lean-to, she can pretty well take care of herself."

"Joe's right," said Adam. Remember what we were told in Dodge? Cat is very independent, can take care of herself, and doesn't think she needs people. If we don't start showing her around the ranch so she can go places without one of us being along, we could lose her. Besides that, depending on what I find when I inspect the school tomorrow, she'll be starting school in another week. Do you plan on one of us riding with her every day? I certainly hope not. That would embarrass her in front of all the other children and she's liable to start some fights and then just leave."

"You're both right. I'll try to stop being so overprotective. I just want to keep her from getting hurt. I was fine until the team ran away with her. Once that happened, I became overwhelmed with the desire to keep her from ever getting hurt. She's my little sister's little girl and I need to do my best to keep her from harm."

"That's understandable," said Adam. "But you will never be able to keep her from ever getting hurt. Nobody can. You weren't that overprotective of Little Joe, even after Marie died. Why is Cat so much different? She's not much smaller than Joe was when he was nine."

"I guess it's because she's a girl. My little sister's little girl. That's the only explanation I can think of right now."

Adam and Joe just sighed. "Come and play checkers," said Adam. "Your pacing won't bring Hoss and Cat home any sooner. They'll be here as soon as they're done at the Ingalls'." Ben sat down and tried to concentrate on the game of checkers with his oldest son.

About an hour after leaving to take Laura and Mary home, Hoss and Cat rode into the yard at the Ponderosa singing a silly song they had made up. "And the cat said ribit," sang Hoss.

"And the frog said meow," sang Cat as she and her brother burst out laughing at their silly song.

"They're home. Now will you relax?" asked Joe. "Come on Adam. Let's give them a hand with the horses. It will take Cat a while to groom and feed two of them." The two brothers walked out to the barn where they spotted Cat trying to take the saddle off of Cochise. "I'll take care of Coach for you," said Joe.

"And I'll take care of Star," said Adam. "You take care of Ginger. She's not as big as the other horses, so it won't take you as long to groom her."

While they were grooming the horses, Cat said, "Thanks for letting me ride Cochise today Joe. I had fun. And you know what?"

"No, what?"

"Cochise can jump higher than Sport can."

"He can? Wow! I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me. But are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. The last time I rode Sport, he could only jump over a mountain that was ten miles high. Cochise jumped one today that was at least twelve miles high. It might have even been fifteen miles high."

"I am impressed, but didn't Pa tell you that you were only allowed to jump over mountains that were five miles high?"

"Yes he did, but that's only when I'm riding Star. He didn't say anything about when I was riding Cochise."

"Well, I'm making that rule now. No jumping Cochise over any mountains that are higher than five miles unless Pa, Adam, Hoss, or myself are with you. If you had fallen off when you were jumping that very high mountain, you could have been badly hurt. Mary and Laura aren't big enough to catch you. If one of us are with you and you fall off, we can catch you."

"Oh. I didn't think of that. Ok. I won't jump Cochise over any mountains that are higher than five miles unless one of you is with me."

"Thank you for that promise. Now, it's getting late so you need to finish grooming Ginger and get her fed. Then you need to use the outhouse so you don't have to do it once you're ready for bed."

Cat finished grooming and feeding Ginger and walked over to the outhouse while Joe went into the house. After Cat and Joe walked out of the barn, Hoss decided to talk to Adam about sending telegrams to Matt and Rip. "I talked with Charles and Caroline tonight and we think when you go to town tomorrow, you should send telegrams to Rip and Matt to let them know how overprotective Pa is being of Cat. Charles said to tell them they don't need to do anything now because Cat's only been here a week, but they should know what's happening."

"That does sound like a good idea. Pa will be in town tomorrow so I think I'll have Roy send them. Pa won't question why Roy is in the telegraph office but he will question why I am. Since I need to inspect the school, I think I'll take you, Joe, and Mitch along. With four of us looking things over, we shouldn't miss much."

"I'll be glad to help. It shore will be funny to see little brother have to ask Cat if he can have a beer with us when we're finished."

Adam laughed. "Yes it will be but it's his own fault. If he spent as much time working as he does trying to get out of it, he'd get a lot more work done and not always be in trouble."

"That's true, but he wouldn't be our little brother ifn he did that. You know he's always been like that, even when he was just a little tyke. Ma would tell him to put his toys away and he would try and get one of us to do it for him."

"I remember that. Marie would scold him and he would try to blame us. At least he's outgrown that."

While Cat was using the outhouse she heard strange noises on the roof. She walked out and looked up to see a pair of raccoon kits playing on the outhouse roof. "They are so cute," she said to her puppies. "I want them for pets. How can we get them to come down?" She looked around the yard for something to stand on and finding nothing, decided to try calling the pair down. "Here babies. Come down here so I can play with you. I want you to be my pets. I'll call you Bandit and Pirate but you need to come down here because I can't get up there."

After Joe had been in the house for a little while, Ben asked, "Joseph, where is your sister? She should have been finished grooming and feeding one horse by now."

"She was using the outhouse. I'd better check on her to make sure she's ok." Joe walked out of the house and looked toward the outhouse where he saw his sister trying to coax the young raccoons down from the roof. He picked Cat up, ignoring her protests and put her over one of his shoulders.

Cat kicked and pounded Joe in the back. "Put me down!" she demanded. "I want to play with the baby raccoons. They're cute and I want them for pets!"

He continued ignoring her and walked into the house followed by his brothers who wondered why their sister was over one of his shoulders.

Ben looked up from his book, saw his daughter over her youngest brother's shoulders and asked, "Why are you carrying your sister like that?"

"I caught her trying to coax a pair of raccoon kits down from the outhouse roof. This was the easiest way to get her to come into the house."

While Ben, Adam, and Hoss laughed at Cat, she kept kicking and pounding Joe on the back. "Put me down! I want those babies as pets. I've already named them, so they are mine now!"

Ben held out his arms. "Give her to me son. I'll settle her down."

Joe handed Cat to his father and said, "Good luck. Hoss named her right. Wild Cat is perfect for her. She fights like one."

Ben took Cat, sat her in his lap and held her tightly as she struggled to get loose. "Alright Cat. Settle down now. You can't have those raccoon kits as pets. Between you and your puppies we already have enough wild things in this house."

"But I've already named them so that makes them mine."

"You may have named them but that doesn't make them yours. They are wild animals and belong outside. Now settle down before I make you go to bed early." Cat continued to try and get loose while Ben tried to calm her down. He finally ran out of patience, turned her over and delivered a very hard smack on the seat of her pants. Cat yelped in surprise. "Now settle down before you end up going to bed with a very sore bottom. You have a choice. You can either settle down and play a game of checkers with Joe before bed or I can send you to bed right now with a sore bottom. Which will it be?"

"I'll play checkers but I still want those baby raccoons."

"I said no and that's the end of the discussion," he said sternly. "If you continue, not only will you be going to bed with a sore bottom, you will be spending tomorrow afternoon doing chores."

Cat didn't want a sore bottom and to spend the following afternoon doing chores, so she reluctantly went to play checkers with Joe. When she went upstairs to get ready for bed, she looked out her bedroom window but didn't see the raccoons any more. "If they're back on the outhouse after Pa blows out the lamp, I'm going to climb down the tree and try to get them to come in the house with me," she told her puppies. "I'll prove to everybody that they can be good pets."

While Cat was getting ready for bed, Joe said, "I'll bet a day's chores that if those critters are on top of the outhouse after she goes to bed, Cat will climb down the tree and try to get them to come in the house."

"No bet," said Adam. "That one would be too easy for you to win. I've seen what she's like around baby animals and we're going to have our hands full keeping her away from them."

"I ain't takin' that bet either," said Hoss. "That little Wild Cat is worse than I ever was."

"I hope she doesn't do something that foolish," said Ben. "I don't want to have to punish her for disobeying me." He walked upstairs a few minutes later to find Cat in her nightclothes taking her braids out. He picked up her brush and said, "Come and sit on your bed when you're finished and I'll brush your hair for you." While he was brushing her hair Ben told Cat, "If those raccoons come back tonight, you are NOT to go outside after them."

"But paaaa…"

"Catherine, if you disobey me on this, the spanking I gave you on Tuesday will seem like nothing compared to what you will get. This is your only warning. DO NOT go outside after those raccoons if they come back. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes sir but it's not fair. They're so cute and I really want them for pets."

"What did I tell you downstairs?"

"I couldn't have them for pets."

"That's right, I also told you that we were not going to discuss it any more, didn't I?"

"Yes sir."

"What else did I tell you?"

"I don't remember."

Ben smiled to himself. He remembered his father having a similar discussion with his younger sister and receiving the same response. "I told you that if you continued to discuss it, you were going to go to bed with a sore bottom and that is exactly what is going to happen."

"That's not fair. You're the one that started talking about them."

"No Catherine. I did not start talking about the raccoons. I told you what would happen if you went outside after them and you chose to start talking about having them as pets after you had been told not to do it any more."

"Yeah, but if you didn't tell me not to go outside after them, I wouldn't have said I wanted them for pets."

"Catherine…" Before he could say anything else, Adam interrupted.

"Pa, I need to talk to you."

"It can wait until I finish with your sister."

"No, it can't."

Ben sighed and walked out into the hallway. "What is so important that it can't wait for a few minutes?"

"Cat is right. You opened the door for her to say she wanted those raccoon kits as pets by telling her not to go outside after them and what would happen if she did. Until now, she hadn't mentioned them again until you brought the subject up."

"Were you eavesdropping on my conversation with your sister?"

"No. I've been standing in the doorway for several minutes waiting to talk to you."

"What do you need?"

"Once she's ready for bed, I need Cat to come downstairs for a few minutes. Since you put her in charge of Little Joe, I need to ask her something."

Ben chuckled. "Alright son. I'll bring your sister downstairs as soon as I apologize to her." He walked back into Cat's room, sat down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap. "I need to apologize to you. You were right and I was wrong. If I hadn't told you not to go back outside to look for those raccoons, you wouldn't have told me again that you wanted them for pets."

"They are really cute."

Ben hugged her and laughed. "Yes they are. Almost all baby animals are cute. Now, we need to go back downstairs. Adam needs to ask you something about Little Joe." They walked downstairs Ben sat down in his chair and pulled Cat into his lap. "What do you need to ask your sister Adam? It's time she was in bed."

"Gerald Miller asked me to inspect the school to make sure it was structurally sound. I want to take Hoss, Joe and Mitch Devlin along to help. With four of us looking at the school, we shouldn't miss much. Cat, you're in charge of Joe, so it's up to you if he comes with me or stays home."

"I should say no because you're going to inspect the school and I don't want to go to school. Joe, if I say yes, will you promise to do what Adam says and stay out of trouble?"

Ben, Adam, Hop Sing, and Hoss laughed at the expression on Joe's face. He was not happy about needing permission from his little sister to go to town. "Yes, I'll listen to Adam."

"Ok. You can go but nobody is allowed to fix the school. You have to tell me what's wrong with it so I can push it down. If I push the school down, I won't have to go to school."

Everyone laughed at Cat and Ben hugged her. "I'm sorry to tell you Kitten, but even if you push the school down, you would still have to go to school. We would just find somewhere for school to meet until a new one could be built."

"No! That's not fair. If there is no school building, there should not be any school."

"Missy Cat be silly tonight," laughed Hop Sing. "If you no go to school, how you learn to lead and wright?"

"I would find a way."

Ben hugged his daughter. "Not every child is as clever as you are. That's why we need schools. Now, say goodnight to everybody and go up to bed. Joe will be up to read with you in a minute." He hugged her again, kissed her on the cheek, gave her a playful swat and sent her on her way. Cat hugged Hop Sing, Hoss, and Adam goodnight, called her puppies and went upstairs. Joe joined her a few minutes later. They read a chapter in King Arthur. Then he put her puppies on the bed with her, hugged her, blew out the lamp and went back downstairs.

"So, exactly what are we going to be doing at the school tomorrow?" he asked Adam.

"We are going to be doing a thorough inspection of the building to make sure it is sound. Laura and Mary said that the roof leaks but I won't know how bad the roof is until we get up there. The building is old and Gerald has no idea if it's ever been inspected or not. I don't want to take a chance that the roof could come off or a wall collapse with Cat inside. She's already been through a lot these past several months and I honestly think that if something happens to that school while she's inside of it, we'll never get her to go into any school building again."

"I agree son. If something happened to that school building with Catherine inside of it, we would never get her to go anywhere near one ever again. I'm afraid we'd be lucky to even get her to go inside of a church. I want to thank all three of you for looking out for her well being and safety as well as those of the other children in and around Virginia City."

"Why are you going to town tomorrow Pa?" asked Adam. "If there's something you need, we can get it while we're in town and save you the trip."

"Thank you son, but the dresses the girls had made last week are finished and they need to try them on. Also, your sister said she would wear a dress to church, so I want to get her some more."

All three of his sons laughed at his statement. "Anyone want to wager a day's chores on how long that will last?" asked Joe. "I'll give it three weeks."

"I'll take that wager," said Hoss. "I think she'll go four weeks."

"Count me in," said Adam. "I think she'll go until the weather turns cold. What about you Pa?"

"Apparently I seem to have more confidence in your sister than you do. I think that she'll keep wearing a dress to church and not wear her buckskins."

Just then Hop Sing walked in with a fresh pot of coffee. "What you bet on?"

"Pa told us that Cat said she was going to wear a dress to church on Sundays. We're bettin' a day's chores how long it will be until she changes her mind and starts wearin' her buckskins," said Hoss. "Little Joe says it will be three weeks. I say it will be four weeks. Adam here says when the weather turns cold and Pa says she won't start wearin' her buckskins."

"Hop Sing think Missy Cat go until end of October before not wearing dress to church."

"I am surprised that none of you seem to have much faith in Catherine," said Ben.

"It's not a matter of faith Pa," said Joe. "It's a matter of knowing Cat. There is a very good reason why Hoss named her Wild Cat and I think that she will continue to be wild long after she is married and has children of her own."

"Joe's right," said Hoss. "That little gal ain't never going to settle down. Whoever marries her is going to have his hands full."

Ben just sighed. He hoped that his sons were wrong and that Cat would eventually settle down. But then again, her mother never had. Even when she was pregnant, Kate had ridden like she was trying to outrun the wind. Michael had been the calmer of the two and Ben hoped their daughter had inherited some of her father's calmness. The five men sat and talked for a while then Hop Sing announced he was going to bed. Ben decided to take a walk while Adam, Hoss, and Joe went upstairs to get ready for bed. Joe had left Cat's bedroom door open and as the three brothers walked to their rooms, they heard Cat call out in the beginnings of a nightmare. They rushed into her room and sat with her until the bad dream passed. They hugged her and reassured her that all was well and she was safe. Once she had recovered from the nightmare, Adam said, "I'll take her to the outhouse this time. I think Pa wants her in his bed so if you two would please put her pillow and favorite blanket in there, I would appreciate it." He picked his sister up and carried her downstairs and outside to the outhouse. Ben returned from his walk and saw his eldest son carrying his little sister. Before he could ask what was going on, Adam said, "She had another nightmare. I said I'd bring her out here and Joe and Hoss are putting her pillow and favorite blanket in your bed."

"Thank you son. I wish I could find a way to prevent these nightmares. They have got to be hard on her."

"I'm sure they are. Hoss, Joe, and I also wish we could keep them from happening. We hate to see her all upset like that."

Cat walked out of the outhouse and Ben picked her up and gave her a big hug. "I'm sorry that you had another nightmare Sweetheart. I hope they go away and never come back very soon. Adam's going to take you back upstairs and put you and those wild beasts that keep following you around in my bed. I'll be up shortly."

"Come on squirt. Climb up on my back so I can get you back to bed." Adam carried Cat up to their father's room and put her in his bed. Hoss put her puppies next to her and Joe put the blanket over all three of them. After all three of her brothers hugged her, Adam turned the lamp down low and they walked out of the room.

"Come into my room for a minute," said Joe. "I have an idea and I want your opinion."

They walked into Joe's room and closed the door behind them. "What is your idea?" asked Adam.

"I'm not real sure, but I wonder if the nightmares might have something to do with the fact that Cat hasn't been able to grieve for losing her mother."

"Sure she has," said Hoss. "She's had two months now."

"Not really," replied Joe. "Everyone has kept her very busy and I think she needs time to sit and grieve for her mother. If the two of you don't mind, when we're in town tomorrow, I want to ask Reverend Long and Paul Martin what they think. If they agree with me, we can take Cat out to work with us tomorrow afternoon and when we're finished, I'll take her to her parents' graves. I'm going to teach her how to get out there so she can go there whenever she wants to. And before you ask, no, I'm not going to ask Pa if I can. He'll just say no. I think you'll both agree with me that she needs to be able to visit her parents. You know I go out there to my mother's grave when I need to be alone and think."

Hoss and Adam thought about what their brother had said. "I think it's a good idea," answered Hoss. "Joe is right Adam. Little sister ain't had time to cry over losing her mamma and I think she should."

"I don't know if that's the solution or not," said Adam. "However it certainly can't hurt. Cat does need to know how to get to her parents' graves and she certainly needs time to grieve. Pa had time to grieve for my mother, Inger, and Marie and all of us had time to grieve for Marie. We showed Joe how to get to her grave not long before I left for college. I'll take my folding ruler with us tomorrow but I'll forget to bring a pencil and paper to write down the measurements of any wood we'll need. I'll tell Joe to go and borrow a pencil and piece of paper from someone. That way if Pa comes over to the school and wants to know where Joe is, I can honestly say that I sent him on an errand. Believe it or not Joe, I agree with you not asking Pa if you can show Cat where her parents are buried and how to get there. He's being so overprotective right now, I'm certain he would say no because he knows it would upset her. I'm going to check on Cat and head for bed. I suggest you do the same before Pa comes up here and asks what we're doing. I'll see the two of you in the morning." He walked out of Joe's room and into Ben's to check on his sister.

"Adam's right," said Hoss. "Ifn Pa comes up here, we'll have to tell him what we're plannin' for tomorrow. I'm goin' to bed. Goodnight little brother. I'll see ya in the morning." Hoss walked out and Joe got ready for bed. Then he walked down the hall, entered his father's room and sat with his little sister.

When Ben walked into his bedroom, he was surprised to see his youngest son sitting with his sister. "Hi Pa," I thought I'd sit with Cat for a while. I feel so sorry for her when she has those nightmares. I wish I could keep them from coming."

"I know son. So do your brothers, Hop Sing, and I. Go on to bed. Your sister will be fine. I'll change clothes in her room and then I'll go to bed."

The next morning Cat showed no signs of the nightmare she had experienced the night before. She took Adam's hat down from the hat rack above the armoire and put it in his chair in the great room. Ben watched her from his desk and laughed to himself. Adam came downstairs and almost sat on his hat. He glared at his sister who was helping Hop Sing set the table and demanded, "Cat, did you put my hat in my chair?"

Before she could answer, Hop Sing said, "Missy Cat help Hop Sing get ready for breakfast. No have time to move Adam's hat. Number one son need to put hat where it belongs!"

Joe and Hoss walked downstairs in time to hear Adam questioning their sister about his hat. They hugged their sister and laughed at Adam's frustration at his hat not being where it belonged. "What's the matter older brother?" laughed Joe.

"Did ya forget where your hat goes?" laughed Hoss.

"I don't suppose the two of you had anything to do with my hat ending up in my chair?"

"Now, you know we all went upstairs together and little sister was having a nightmare," answered Hoss. "Joe and I stayed upstairs while you took her to the outhouse and we just now came downstairs. So besides you, the only one who could have done anything with your hat is Pa and he ain't likely to go messing with your dumb ol' hat."

"I can't see Hop Sing moving your hat either," said Joe, immensely enjoying the prank his sister was playing on their eldest brother. "That means you must have put it in your chair yourself because Cat's puppies aren't big enough to take it down and put it in your chair."

Before the discussion could go farther, Hop Sing carried the food to the table and said, "Breakfast ready. Everybody sit down at table."

While they were eating, Ben asked, "Joseph, since you and Hoss came downstairs just before breakfast was served, who gathered the eggs this morning?"

"I did," answered Cat. "Joe let me ride Cochise all day yesterday, so I said I'd get the eggs this morning. Hop Sing showed me how to make flapjacks."

"That right," said Hop Sing. "Missy Cat get eggs and make flapjacks. She do good job and not burn any. She forget frying pan handle hot and almost burn self. Hop Sing tell her use towel just in time. If she be older, maybe Hop Sing not tell her but she just little girl and just learning to cook, so Hop Sing not let her burn hand."

"These flapjacks sure are tasty," said Hoss. "They're almost as good as Hop Sing's."

"Thank you for not letting Catherine burn herself Hop Sing," said Ben. "Hoss is right. These flapjacks are very good." Adam and Joe added their praise to their father and brother's.

"Missy Cat good pupil," said Hop Sing. "She learn quick when to turn flapjacks over. She not sure when to take them out of pan but she do good job for first try."

Cat blushed from the praise. "Thank you," she said quietly and went back to eating her own breakfast.

"What time were you boys thinking of going to town?" asked Ben.

"I thought we'd leave around nine," replied Adam. "That will give us time to get some work done around here first. Hoss and Joe are almost done with that list you gave them before we left to get Cat. If they work at it, they should get one more item about half done before we leave. I want to stop and get Mitch Devlin on the way to town. It won't hurt to have a fourth set of eyes looking at the school."

"That's an excellent idea. We'll probably be leaving about the same time. We need to stop and pick up Caroline and the girls. We'll be having dinner in town. The three of you and Mitch may as well join us. Catherine, since your brothers will be leaving for town at the same time we are, you can go out and watch them work. Joseph still has to do the morning chores, so after you help Hop Sing clear the table, you can go and work with Fury for a little while."

"Little sister made the flapjacks this morning, so I'll clear the table," said Hoss to everybody's surprise. "Her hard work needs to be rewarded and I don't mind clearing the table from time to time."

"Thanks lots Hoss," said a surprised Cat.

"T'ain't no problem at all little sister. Now you can spend a little more time working with that colt of yours."

"How is the training coming?" asked Adam.

"He lets me touch his legs now. He still won't pick his feet up, but he doesn't run away anymore when I touch them."

"Does he let you brush him?"

"Yes but he doesn't let me use the curry comb. He also doesn't like his mane and tail brushed and combed."

Ben laughed. "That sounds like your brothers when they were boys. They didn't like having their hair brushed and combed either."

"Paaaaaa," complained all three of Cat's brothers together.

"Don't tell little sister what we were like when we were boys," said Adam. "We're trying to convince her that we were perfect and still are."

Ben laughed. "I hate to disappoint you son, but none of you were perfect when you were boys and you still aren't."

"Mr. Cartwright not perfect either. Only Hop Sing and Missy Cat."

Hop Sing's statement made the entire family laugh. "Hop Sing," laughed Ben. "You know as well as I do that Catherine is far from being perfect."

"Missy Cat only girl in family. That make her perfect. Hop Sing say so."

"I give up," said Ben. "Catherine, finish your breakfast and then go work with Fury. Don't spend too much time with him so you can ride out with your brothers for a while."

"Ok Pa. Thanks for saying you'd help Hop Sing clear the table Hoss."

"That's quite alright little sister. You go ahead and spend some time working with that colt of yours. Just be patient with him and before long, he'll let you pick his feet up and use the curry comb on him."

"Missy Cat come to kitchen and get carrots for baby horse," said Hop Sing. Cat followed him into the kitchen where he gave her two carrots and sent her on her way. She stopped in the tack room and grabbed a brush before heading out to work with Fury. She gave him one of the carrots before starting to work with him. He stood still while she brushed him and to her surprise, he let her pick up one of his feet. When she tried to pick another one up, he ran off and came back a few minutes later.

Cat started to get upset when she heard Joe say, "That's ok Cat. He's only two months old. Give him time. Like Hoss said, just be patient and it won't be long before you'll be able to pick all of his feet up. I know you don't have a lead rope with you but see if he'll walk next to you. I know that he'll follow you but I want to see if he'll walk next to you. Fury walked beside Cat for a few feet and then ran off again. "Don't worry about it Cat. You're doing a good job with him. Give him his other carrot and then go and saddle Star. We're almost ready to go and we don't have a lot of time to spend working this morning. After you saddle Star, go and get your hat and gloves. By the time you finish doing that, I'll have the wood boxes full and Cochise saddled."

Cat gave Fury his other carrot, hugged and kissed him and followed Joe back to the barn where she started to brush Star before saddling him.