After saddling Star, Cat led him out to the hitching rail to wait for her brothers and was surprised to see the buckboard loaded with fencing materials. She tied Star's reins to the hitching rail and walked into the house to get her hat and gloves. "Why is that fence stuff in the buckboard?" she asked Hoss.

"Because some fences need mending."

"Why?"

"This is a big ranch and fences always need to be fixed."

"Why?"

"Because after a while, the fence posts get rotten and have to be replaced. Sometimes the cows knock them down and sometimes rustlers pull them down so they can steal the cattle."

"Why?"

"Because the wind, rain, and snow eventually make the wood rotten. If somethin' scares the steers, they will stampede and not care if the fence is there or not. Rustlers are bad people who are too lazy to work for what they want, so they steal from others."

"Why?"

Hoss picked her up, hugged her and said, "That's enough questions for now."

"Why?"

"Because we have work to do."

"Why?"

"Because this is a very big ranch and there is always a lot of work to do. No more questions. You need your hat and gloves if you're comin' with us." He put her down and Cat started to run toward the stairs. Hoss stopped her and gave her a very hard swat. "You just had a necessary discussion in the barn with Pa 'cause you was runnin' in the house. Do you want to have another one? 'Cause if you do, I can take you to Pa right now."

"No, I don't want another one."

"Then walk while you're in the house. 'Cause if Pa catches you runnin' in the house again, you're gonna have a very sore bottom and might not get to go to town today."

Cat walked upstairs and ran to her room, got her gloves and then ran back to the stairs, stopping just before Adam spotted her.

Joe walked into the house just as Hoss swatted Cat. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"She was runnin' in the house again."

"She'd better be glad you caught her, not Pa or Adam. If they had, she'd have a very sore bottom. I'll talk to her again when I take her out to Michael and Kate's graves this afternoon. I don't know what else we can do to get her to stop running in the house."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. The way she's goin', she's gonna end up feelin' Pa's belt on her bare bottom & I shore don't want that to happen."

"Me neither. I'm going to go and saddle Cochise. Maybe you'd better carry Cat when she comes downstairs so she doesn't run and get in trouble."

"I might just do that little brother. Chances are if Adam or Pa are nearby, I won't have to. I don't think she'll be runnin' in the house if they're close. I think we've made her understand that Adam will take her right to Pa if he catches her not behaving. Leastwise I hope we have. I shore don't want to see little sister havin' to sit on a cushion. Here comes Adam now & Cat is right behind him so I don' think she's gonna run in the house right now." Joe walked outside to saddle his horse and Cat walked up to Hoss who picked her up. "Girl, I declare I've picked up feathers that weigh more than you do. You gotta start eating more before a strong wind carries you away."

"Why?"

"'Cause we don't want a strong wind to carry you away."

"It might be fun to fly like a bird."

Hoss carried his sister into the kitchen where Ben was talking with Hop Sing. "Pa do you have any of them there ship anchors from when you was a sailor? Little sister here weighs less than a feather an' I'm afraid a good strong wind is going to carry her off."

Ben and Hop Sing laughed. "No, I'm afraid not son. Until we can put some meat on her bones, if the wind picks up too much, tie a rope around her waist and tie her to the wagon. That should keep her from flying off."

"But Pa, it might be fun to fly like a bird."

"Not today Kitten. We have to pick up Caroline and the girls in a few hours. I won't have time to look for you if the wind carries you away. Your brothers won't either. They have to go to town and inspect the school."

"If I fly away like a bird, I won't have to go to school."

Ben, Hoss, and Hop Sing laughed. "Sorry Kitten. You'll still have to go to school. Now scoot before I change my mind and make you stay here and help Hop Sing clean the house."

"EWWWWWWWW YUCK!" Cat started to run out of the kitchen only to be grabbed by Ben who delivered a very hard swat to her bottom."

"Would you like to have another necessary discussion in the barn?"

"Um no."

Ben delivered another hard swat. "No what?"

"No sir."

"Then stop running in the house. Now walk outside with Hoss. And remember, the next time I catch you running in the house, you will have a very hard time sitting down. The same thing will happen if you don't speak to me correctly. I know that Matt taught you how to speak to adults and I also know that Adam had a talk with you about how to speak to me. I don't tolerate disrespect from any of my children. Now go before I decide to give you the spanking you deserve."

Cat walked out of the kitchen with Hoss. "I told ya what would happen ifn Pa caught you runnin' in the house. You're lucky ya only got one swat. Ya won't be so lucky next time. Same goes with how ya talk to him. Adam and I told ya last week how to talk to Pa. Girl if ya don't watch yourself, you're gonna end up with a very sore bottom and there won't be nothin' me, Adam, or Little Joe can do about it. Now let's go before ya get into real trouble."

After Cat walked out of the kitchen, Hop Sing looked at Ben and said, "Missy Cat lot like number three son. Both test limits. Always need be reminded of lules. Suffer consequences of actions and words."

"Yes old friend. If I didn't know better, I would say those two had the same mother."

"Missy Kate and Missy Marie lot alike. Both strong willed and have stubborn children. Little Joe have to learn hard way. Missy Cat do too. Hop Sing know you not like punish children but do it to teach lesson and show you love for them. Little Joe know how much fathel love him. Missy cat learn too. It just take time. Now go enjoy peace and quiet with all children gone from house."

"That's a good idea. I was going to work on the books but I think I'll do some reading. I haven't had much time for that since I brought Catherine home."

"That good idea. Hop Sing fix flesh coffee."

As soon as they were outside, Hoss scolded Cat again. "Girl, you don't know how close ya came to going over Pa's knees again. I just got done scolding ya for runnin' in the house and ya go and do it in front of Pa. That spankin' ya got weren't nothin' compared to what you will get if ya don't stop doin' things ya ain't supposed to do. An' another thing, I know that ya know how to talk to Pa. I heard ya talk to Rip and Matt the right way so ya need to talk to Pa like that too. Me, Adam, and Joe are tryin' to keep ya out of trouble, but ya gotta do what you're supposed to do! Now get on your horse before I decide to give ya a few swats as a reminder of what you're supposed to do."

"What was that all about?" asked Adam.

"Pa caught her runnin' in the house again an' she didn't say no sir to him when he asked if she wanted to have another necessary discussion in the barn."

"I don't know what we're going to do about that girl. She's just as hard headed as Joe was when he was a boy. I guess she's just going to have to learn some things the hard way. Maybe I should talk to her again."

"Nah. Wait a bit. I done scolded her three times and swatted her once. Pa scolded her and swatted her twice. Also, Joe said he was going to talk to her again about runnin' in the house. It might do some good but probably not. That girl is just as hard headed as our little brother."

Adam laughed. "Yes, he was hard headed, wasn't he?"

"What do ya mean was? He still is. He's nineteen and thought Pa wouldn't find out about him gambling while you was gone to get Cat."

"I will have to agree with you about that. He should have remembered that sooner or later, Pa always finds out when we do something wrong. We had better get going. We only have a few hours to work before we need to have Cat back home and head for town ourselves."

Hoss climbed up on the buckboard seat and Adam mounted his horse. Cat rode up to Hoss and asked, "Hoss, can I drive the wagon?"

"Not this time Punkin'. Ya gotta get more experience driving it empty before ya can drive it full. Maybe when we get home from church on Sunday, I'll hitch it up and ya can practice driving it up and down the road to the house and around the yard but it will still be quite a few years before you're allowed to drive it full. Even though I'm lots bigger than Adam, I was eleven before Pa let me drive a full wagon. Adam was twelve before he was allowed to and Joe was thirteen because he was so small when he was a boy."

"Oh. Ok. Where are we going this morning?"

"We're going out to the west pasture," replied Adam. "We want you to pay attention to how we get there so you will be able to go there on your own someday soon. We'll point out landmarks that will help you find your way back out there."

Cat became excited and started wiggling in her saddle. "Really Adam?"

Adam smiled at his sister's excitement. "Really Cat. Hoss, Joe and I are going to start showing you how to get around the ranch. Now, let's go so we can get some work done before we have to go to town. Pa will skin us alive if we get you back to the house later than he wants to leave."

They rode out toward the pasture with Adam and Joe pointing out landmarks to help Cat remember how to get there. Once they arrived, Joe said, "Cat, I hope you remembered to bring your gloves. You won't be able to help us if you don't have them."

"I brought them. Lassie is keeping them for me."

"Alright then, let's get some work done," said Hoss helping Ca down from her horse. Adam and Joe each took a puppy out of its side of the saddle bags and Joe took Cat's gloves out.

"Wow!" exclaimed Joe. "Adam, Hoss, would you look at these gloves? I don't think I've ever seen work gloves that fancy." Adam and Hoss admired Cat's gloves too.

"Well, would ya look at that?" said Hoss. "Gerald Miller made sure everybody would know whose gloves these are." Each glove had a cougar and Cat's name burned into it on the back near the top. The cougars and Cat's name had been dyed different colors on each glove. The middle part of the back had the Ponderosa brand burned into it.

"I am extremely jealous," teased Adam. "I am the eldest and I never had work gloves that fancy. Since I am the eldest and you are the youngest, I think you should give those gloves to me."

Cat giggled. "They're too small for you."

"We'll just have to see about that." He took one of the gloves and pretended to try it on. "Well, it is a tight fit. It will stretch out after a while."

"Older brother, you couldn't put your whole hand into one of those gloves in two months worth of Sundays," teased Joe.

Adam gave a very loud sigh and said, "Yes, I suppose you are correct. I'll just have to let baby sister keep them for a while."

"I'm not a baby!" said Cat.

"Yes you are. Compared to the rest of us, you are a baby. You are the youngest member of the family and the only girl so that makes you our baby sister. If it makes you feel any better, I still call Joe 'baby brother'."

Cat looked at Joe and giggled. She couldn't imagine her nineteen year old "twin" being a baby. Joe grumbled at his eldest brother reminding him he was still being thought of as Adam Cartwright's baby brother. They started mending the fence and allowed Cat to put the last nail in each strand of wire. As she had done before, she apologized to each nail before hitting it and bent many of them. Her brothers just laughed and praised her each time she got a nail to go into the fence post. They finished the job, put everything back in the wagon and started for home. "Alright little sister," said Adam. "Let's see how well you paid attention to what Joe and I taught you on the way here. You're going to tell us how to get home.

Cat did her best and only missed three turns. When she missed each one, Adam gently corrected her and pointed out the missed landmarks. Once they rode into the yard and dismounted, Adam hugged her and said, "You did very good remembering how to get home. Only missing three landmarks was very good for the first time. You may not miss any the next time."

Ben still wanted to keep Cat close and was upset to learn that her brothers had taught her how to get out to the west pasture and back home again. "Why did you teach your sister how to get out there and back again? You know I'm not ready for her to learn that yet."

"When will you be?" asked Adam. "Do you plan to have someone ride around the ranch with her until after she's grown and married? I certainly hope not because she will resent you for that and will probably go back to Matt."

"Besides that," added Hoss. "You know how dangerous working with barbed wire is. What woulda happened if some of that wire broke loose and all three of us were hurt? Or what if she was out working with just one of us and we got hurt? How would Cat have known where to go to get help?"

"You keep telling her that this ranch will be hers one day," said Joe. "But you don't want her to learn how to find her way around it. How is that going to help her learn to run it? Will she have to depend on ranch hands to show her what needs to be fixed and how to get there?"

Just then Cat walked up after having unsaddled Star and rubbing him down so Ben changed the subject. He hugged his daughter and asked, "Well boys, how did this little one do today?"

"Same as last time," answered Joe. "She apologized to every nail for hitting it and bent a lot. But she tried real hard and did a good job."

Ben hugged Cat again. "Silly girl. You don't have to apologize to the nails for hitting them. I promise you, they don't feel a thing. Now, go, use the outhouse and wash your face so we can get Caroline and the girls and go to town."

"I'm hungry. Can I have a snack before we go? Fixing fences is hard work."

"It's 'May I', and yes you may. Just don't take too long."

Cat ran to the house, walked inside, closed the door and ran to the kitchen. "I'm hungry Hop Sing. Pa said I could have a snack before we go to town. Fixing fences makes me hungry."

"Missy Cat go wash hands and face and sit down at table. Hop Sing bring snack."

Cat left the kitchen, ran upstairs to the washroom, washed up, and ran back downstairs where Hop Sing had put a sandwich and glass of milk on the table for her. Ben walked into the house, smiled at his daughter eating her snack and walked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and to talk to Hop Sing. "I can't believe the boys showed their sister how to get out to the west pasture and back home again when they know I'm not ready for her to learn her way around yet."

"When you be leady? When Missy Cat all grown up and have children? You think she be happy to stay at house or have family member go evelywhere with her all time? You fool if you think so. Missy Cat nevel be happy to stay at house or have family member go evelywhere with her all time. You not do that with Little Joe. Why tly do it with Missy Cat?"

"I guess because she's a girl and she's been through so much in her young life that I just want to always keep her safe."

"That not possible. Horse can spook even when somebody else thele. Child can step funny and twist ankle even if somebody holding hand. Finger can get cut turning book page. Impossible to keep child from evel getting hurt. Missy Cat healthy stolng child and not be happy if not allowed to do anything alone. You ask Missy Ingalls. She tell you same thing."

Ben sighed. He knew Hop Sing was right but he just wasn't ready to give Cat more freedom. When would he be ready to let her go? Adam and Hop Sing had asked the same question. Was he really planning on holding her as close as possible until she was an adult? School would be starting soon. Was he planning on having someone ride with her long after she knew how to get there and back? That would cause big problems if he did. She would be teased and called a baby by the other students, causing her to start fights which would result in her being punished. He had a lot of thinking to do. Cat walked into the kitchen carrying her plate and glass. She put them in the sink and said, "Thanks for the snack Hop Sing. It was good. Pa, I'll be ready to leave as soon as I use the outhouse. Can Lassie and Silver Chief come with us to town?"

"Missy Cat welcome," said Hop Sing. "You too skinny and need eat mole and get big like Hoss." Cat giggled.

"Yes, of course your puppies can come with us," replied Ben. There are people in town that would be very angry with me if I made you leave them at home. Now go and use the outhouse so we can leave."

Cat walked out of the kitchen door and ran across the yard to the outhouse. Before Ben left the kitchen, Hop Sing said, "You think about what Hop Sing say. Then you know he light."

"I will Hop Sing. I'd better get outside before that wild child decides to go and play with her colt." He walked outside and found Cat waiting for him in the buggy with the reins in her hands. He climbed into the buggy and was tempted to take the reins away from Cat. Knowing what her reaction would be, he looked toward the mountains where he saw rain clouds. "Cat, do you have a rain slicker?"

"What is that?"

"It's a coat you wear to keep you dry when it's raining."

"No, I never had one."

"How did you keep dry when it was raining and you had to go to school?"

"I stayed on the boardwalk until it ended and I ran the rest of the way. Miss Jackson put extra wood in the stove and let me and the other wet kids sit by it until we were dry. If it was raining real hard, Uncle Matt kept me in his office until it slowed down or stopped."

"Well, you are going to need a rain slicker here. It's almost a two hour ride from the ranch to town and if it starts raining while you're on your way, you'll be soaked before you get there and could get sick. If it's raining too hard, you will stay home until it stops and dries out some. Nobody rides between the Ponderosa and town when it's raining hard unless it's an emergency. It's just too dangerous. Chores still have to be done because the animals need to be taken care of and you can get soaked just going from the house to the barn. Let's get going, we can talk more on the way to the Ingalls' house."

Once they were on the main road, Cat asked, "Will I have to go to school when it's snowing? I remember how much snow there is here at Christmas."

"No, you will not. Out here, a simple snowstorm can become a blizzard in no time at all and people can get lost. You'll study at home and Adam will help you until you are able to attend school again. When we see a storm coming, we tie a rope between the house, chicken coop, and barn so we can still take care of the animals. You will not be expected to do your chores during a blizzard. Once winter comes, we will put extra wood boxes by the kitchen door and on the porch and keep them full. Enough extra wood to last several days will be cut and stacked next to them so it will not be necessary to cut any during the blizzard."

"How will I use the outhouse if I can't go outside?"

"You won't. A Chamber pot will be put into each of the bedrooms and you will use that."

"I don't know what that is."

Ben hugged her. "Don't worry about it right now. Winter is still a long ways away. We'll show you everything you need to know before then. I will also be buying you a new winter coat, hat and mittens before then."

"I don't need a hat and mittens. My Apache mother just made some for me when I was there."

"That's good. I'll look at them before winter to make sure they'll keep you warm enough and that they still fit."

"I think the coat she made me for winter last year still fits."

"I'll look at that too. Winter here gets a lot colder than it does in Arizona and Dodge and I do not want you getting cold. Alright, we're here. Let's go and get Caroline and the girls so we can go to town."

Cat knocked on the door and Charles opened it and invited her and Ben inside. After pouring a cup of coffee for Ben and a glass of milk for Cat, Caroline said, "Who braided your hair this morning Cat?"

"Little Joe did and he got it all uneven again."

"I see that. Finish your milk and I'll fix it. Now Ben, don't look like that. It will only take me a few minutes to get it right. You forget, I've been doing this every day ever since Mary was little. Laura, please go and get your hairbrush for me. Cat, tomorrow at the picnic, I will do my best to teach your family how to get your hair even on both sides. I know they know how to braid, but they're just not used to doing a little girl's hair." Cat finished her milk and Caroline had her hair rebraided a few minutes later. "There you go. Now your hair is even on both sides. Laura, thank you for letting me use your hairbrush. Girls, we've kept Mr. Cartwright waiting long enough. Go outside and get in the buggy. Carrie, I want you to sit in the back with your sisters and Cat for right now. I need to talk to Mr. Cartwright about something." Once the buggy was on the main road, Caroline looked at Ben and said, "I understand you are being very overprotective of Cat all of a sudden. Why?"

"When we left here on Wednesday, I allowed Joseph to let Catherine drive the wagon when we got close to home. A rabbit spooked the horses and she couldn't stop them. I realized then how badly she could have been hurt. I felt that I had failed in my duty as a parent to protect her and keep her from harm. I want to keep her in the house or by my side all of the time so she will be safe. I reluctantly allowed her to ride out with her brothers this morning only to realize that they have decided to teach her how to get around the ranch. I am not ready for her to learn that yet. She could get hurt or worse."

"You are not being fair to Catherine. When will you be ready for her to learn how to get around the ranch? When she's an adult? Or will you ever be ready? You can't keep her from getting hurt. It's a part of life. Are you going to make her ride in front of you on your horse for school every day? That horse can stumble. Cat can be thrown and get hurt. She could step wrong coming down the school or church steps and twist an ankle or do you plan to carry her everywhere? There's nothing to prevent you from tripping over something and dropping her. I don't think you acted like that with your sons, so why are you treating Cat that way?"

"Because she's just a little girl. My little sister's only child. She has been through so much in her young life and I need to keep her from ever being hurt again."

"Charles and I have three daughters. We do our best to keep them safe but we realize that accidents are a part of life. How much longer do you think Cat will tolerate not being allowed to do anything before she rebels and tries to reach one of her uncles? I'm quite certain that she was thrilled at being taught how to get someplace on the ranch by herself instead of being told not to learn the way. If she doesn't learn her way around and you or one of her brothers is hurt, how will she know how to find help? Or will she just have to stay with the injured person and hope someone finds them before it's too late?"

Ben sighed. "You sound like my sons and Hop Sing."

"That's because we can all see that what you're trying to do is going to end up hurting Cat. You mean well, but you are going to end up hurting her in the long run. Why don't you ask Reverend Long and Dr. Martin to join us for dinner? The girls can go play on the swings at the school after we eat and you can ask them for their opinion on what you are trying to do."

"Alright, I'll do that. If they agree with what I'm doing, maybe everyone will allow me to raise my daughter the way I think is best."

"And what if they don't agree with what you are doing? Will you listen to the advice from the people who know and love you and Catherine?"

"Yes I will. Who told you that I was being overprotective of Catherine?"

"Laura and Mary told Charles and I how your sons and Hop Sing had to convince you to let her go with Hoss to bring them home after supper yesterday. They also told us how you kept checking the cinch on her saddle even though they had been riding part of the morning and afternoon but had not loosened the cinches. Mary also mentioned that you became upset when your sons swam out past the end of the tree and let the girls swim to them. She said you acted like you just wanted Catherine to stay in ankle deep water while everyone else was having fun."

While Cat was having her snack, Adam walked up to his room and returned with his folding ruler. He made a quick detour to the dining room where he gave one of her braids a playful tug and said, "Have fun in town today. We'll see you at dinner."

"Ok. Just remember, you're not allowed to fix the school. I want to push it down so I don't have to go to school."

"If you push the school down, you'll still have to do your lessons. You'll do them right here and I'll be your teacher. Little Joe can tell you that I'm not a fun teacher. I had to substitute for his teacher many times after I came home from college and he did not like it at all. If he misbehaved, I punished him and then brought him home where Pa punished him again. If I have to teach you here, I will be a lot harder on you than Miss Winter would. I will not accept any grade less than eighty percent. If you score less than eighty percent, you will be punished with extra work until your grade comes up. And since you will be taking me away from my ranch work, you will not be given recess. Your only break will be for dinner which will be eaten right here and when you are finished eating, you will go right back to work."

"That's not fair."

"Sure it is. I will have to spend most of my day teaching you and then I will have to go and do ranch work. Why should I give you play breaks when I will be working two jobs? Think about what I said and then decide if you really want to push the school down." He kissed her on top of her head and walked into the kitchen to let his father know he and his brothers were leaving. "I think I just changed Cat's mind about pushing the school down."

"Oh, how did you do that?"

"I told her if she pushed the school down, she would have to do her lessons here with me as her teacher. Then I told her that I would be a very mean teacher and she would not get any recess, even after dinner and if she received any grade under eighty percent, she would be punished with extra work until her grade improved."

Ben laughed. "Son, you are devious. I know you would never do those things to your sister, but you many have convinced her that attending school is much better than the alternative. I'll see you and your brothers at dinner."

While they were riding to get Mitch, Joe looked at his brothers and said, "I've decided that I want you there when I take Cat to her parents' graves. I think she's going to need all three of us. I also just realized that we can't do it today. There just won't be time. The Winters are coming for supper and will be at the house between four thirty and five. Even if we leave town at one, it will be three before we get home. Since Pa has to take Caroline and the girls home, it will be three thirty at the earliest before Cat gets home. It takes an hour to get to where my mother and Cat's parents are buried, so we wouldn't get there before four thirty which means Cat wouldn't be here when the company arrives. I don't know about the two of you, but I don't want Pa yelling at me because we had our little sister out on the ranch instead of home to greet the company, especially because one of the people coming is her new teacher."

"Joe's right," said Hoss. "Ifn we have Cat out on the ranch instead of at home when the Winters arrive, besides having to listen to Pa yell at us, it would probably be next year before we were allowed off the ranch. All of the work Joe and I were supposed to go when you and Pa were gone is done, so my restriction will end next Friday. It will be nice to be able to go to town whenever I want to, not just because I'm on an errand."

"I agree with both of you," said Adam. "As the eldest, I'll never hear the end of it from Pa if Cat is not there to meet her new teacher. Since we've got the picnic with the Ingalls' tomorrow, it looks like it will be Sunday afternoon before we can take her out there. Joe, I still want you to talk to Paul Martin and Reverend Long. We need to be sure we're doing the right thing before getting Cat all upset when she hasn't even been home two weeks." They rode into the Devlin's yard a few minutes later and asked Mitch if he would help them inspect the school. He agreed to help, told his parents where he was going and saddled his horse.

When they reached the school, Adam and Joe went up on the roof while Hoss and Mitch started inspecting the timbers under the school. Hoss found one he thought should be replaced, so he yelled for Adam and Joe to come down from the roof and look at the beam. "Yes Hoss," said Adam. "That beam should be replaced. Joe, I put a pencil and piece of paper in my saddle bags before we left the house. Will you get it for me?"

Joe returned a few minutes later and said, "There is no paper and pencil in your saddle bags. All that was in there was your folding ruler, so I brought it."

"I must have forgotten to get paper and pencil from Pa's desk when I was teasing Cat. Go over to Paul Martin's and ask him for some."

"Why do I have to be the one to do your errands? The pencil and paper were your responsibility so you should go and get them."

"Because I'm the eldest and I told you to do it. If you don't, I'll tell Cat you wouldn't listen to me."

Joe sighed, grumbled about having to listen to Adam and Cat and ran over to Paul Martin's house where he found the doctor bandaging Reverend Long's hand. "Hi Joe," said Paul. "Come on in. I'll be with you in a minute."

Reverend Long looked at Joe and said, "I'll be you're wondering what a minister could possibly do to get his hand burned. I was helping Joanne with the baking and forgot to use a towel to pull the biscuits out of the oven. You'd think a man my age would remember something simple like that but I didn't and now I'm paying the price. What brings you to town today?"

"My brothers, Mitch Devlin and I are inspecting the school to see what kind of repairs it needs. My official reason for coming here was to ask Dr. Martin for a piece of paper and a pencil."

"I take it there is an unofficial reason."

"Yes there is which is why I'm glad you're here so I don't have to look for you. Cat is still having nightmares and I started thinking it might be because she hasn't had time to grieve her mother's death."

"You mean she hasn't been out to her mother's grave since the funeral?" asked Paul.

"No. Everyone's kept her very busy since my aunt died and the last time she was at her mother's grave was the day after the funeral."

"How long ago was that?" asked Reverend Long.

"It was in early June. The week before mine and Cat's birthday."

The two men looked at each other with surprise on their faces.

"What on Earth is Ben thinking?" asked Paul. "He knows better than that. I know he took time to grieve when Marie died and even though Joe was only five, so did all three of you boys. No wonder that poor girl is still having nightmares."

"You and your brothers need to take Catherine out to her mother's grave as soon as you possibly can. Not allowing her to grieve will cause a lot of problems later."

"That's what I thought. Pa is going to go through the roof when we do it."

"What do you mean?" asked Paul. "Why would he do that?"

"He's being very overprotective of her and doesn't even want her out of his sight for any time at all. In fact, he would be very happy if all she did was sit on the settee and read or do needlepoint."

"Why is he doing that? He was never like that with you even when you were a small boy."

Joe told the two men about what happened with the wagon when they were on their way home on Wednesday and how his father felt he wasn't being a good parent and needed to keep Cat from ever getting hurt.

"I'll tell you what," said Reverend Long. "How would you and your brothers like it if Paul and I took the blame for you taking Cat to her mother's grave?" At seeing Joe's puzzled look he continued. "Your father invited Paul, Joanne, and I to join all of you for dinner. I know about Cat's nightmares because she had several on the train. After dinner, the girls can go and play on the swings at the school. Once they're gone, I'll ask if Cat is still having nightmares. Once someone says yes, I'll ask if she's been out to her mother's grave since the funeral. When you or one of your brothers says no, I'll tell you to take her out there today. Paul can back me up. Ben can't possibly get angry at the three of you if we tell you to do it. We'll also talk to him about being overprotective of your sister."

Joe thanked them. "Don't mention it," said Paul. "It's our pleasure to help your sister. Now here's your paper and pencil. We'll see you at dinner."