Cat slept late the next morning. By the time she went downstairs, her brothers were finishing up the morning chores and Ben was on his second cup of coffee. She yawned and stretched as she walked down the stairs and almost bumped into Ben who put his coffee down, hugged her and said, "Good morning sleepyhead. I can tell that you're not fully awake yet."
"How?"
"Because you have your moccasins on the wrong feet and your shirt is backwards."
"Oh."
"You should fix them before your brothers tease you."
"I need to use the outhouse first. I'll 'xplode if I don't."
Ben laughed. "Well, I wouldn't want to you explode, so you had better use the outhouse. I think your puppies need to use it too."
"Ok. They will."
Cat walked out the door and headed for the outhouse. Her brothers came out of the barn and noticed that she was dressed wrong. "Hey Cat," said Joe. "Did you forget how to get dressed? Do we need to help you in the mornings?"
"Come here Punkin'," said Hoss. "Let me help you get your shirt right."
"Go 'way. I need to use the outhouse before I 'xplode. I'll fix it later."
Hoss laughed. "Ok Punkin'. You go and do what you need to do. You can fix your clothes later."
Adam, Hoss, and Joe walked into the house and greeted their father. "I guess a very busy day and a late night were too much for Cat. We noticed that her shirt is on backwards and her moccasins are on the wrong feet," remarked Adam.
"Yes, they probably were, but it doesn't hurt to let a child stay up late occasionally. It never hurt any of you boys. Cat was so well behaved with the Winters, I decided she deserved the privilege of staying up a little later than normal. Although I must admit it was funny to see her coming down the stairs dressed all wrong. At least she put her pants on right."
After Cat finished using the outhouse, she thought pumping some cold water on her head would help her wake up so she walked over to the trough and started pumping water. She wasn't fast enough and the water stopped running before she got to the front of the pump. Thaddeus came out of the bunkhouse and saw her trying to pump water on her head. "Good morning Miss Cat. Would you like some help?"
"Good morning Thaddeus. You can just call me Cat. So can Joshua. Yes, I would like some help. Thank you."
"My pleasure. If you'll walk around to the front of the pump, I'll work the handle and you can tell me when to stop."
Cat walked to the front of the pump and put her head under the spout. Thaddeus pumped water until Cat said, "Stop please. Thank you."
"Do you feel better now?"
"Yes I do. Thank you."
"You know, a little girl like you shouldn't go out and stay in town late at night," he teased.
Cat giggled. "But it was a lot of fun. I moved all of the cowboy's horses around so they wouldn't know which one was theirs. It took a long time because there were a lot of horses."
"That does sound like fun. Now, I think you had better go back in the house before you're late for breakfast. From what I've been told, Hop Sing doesn't like it when people are late for meals."
"You're right. I don't want him to yell at me this morning. Thank you for helping me with the pump."
"You're very welcome. Have fun today."
"I will. Thanks."
Cat and her puppies ran toward the house while Thaddeus walked over to the outhouse. When he returned to the bunkhouse, Joshua looked at him and said, "What took you so long?"
"I was helping Cat with the pump."
"That's Miss Cat to you pup," growled one of the other hands. "What makes you think you can address the boss' daughter by her name?"
"Because Cat said they could," said Pete walking in the door.
"And what gives you that right?"
"You're new here, so I'm going to tell you just once and then you're going to drop the subject. I have worked here ever since Mr. Cartwright built this ranch and have earned that right. Both Mr. Cartwright and Cat told me I could call her by her name. Now, I suggest you drop the attitude, finish your breakfast and get to work. This ranch won't run itself."
"That brat is just a baby and doesn't know what she's talking about. Also, I don't see the boss' sons doing anything to help keep this ranch going."
"Then you must be blind," replied Dave. "Those three work just as hard as the rest of us and they've been teaching Cat how to work cattle and mend fences too. Jason and I were out working with them earlier this week and she was real cute pounding nails into the posts. She kept apologizing to the nails for hitting them and bent a lot, but she tried real hard."
"I don't know what your problem is Frank," said Pete. "But if you're going to keep working here, you'd better drop the attitude. If you don't want to work here, fine. I'll go up to the house and ask Mr. Cartwright for your wages. Then you can be on your way and get a job somewhere else. It's your choice. Nobody's forcing you to stay."
Breakfast wasn't quite ready when Cat walked into the house. Ben looked at her wet head and asked, "Do you feel more awake now?"
"Yes. Thaddeus pumped the water for me."
"That was very nice of him. Now, I think you had better go upstairs and put your shirt on the right way."
"Can Thaddeus and Joshua come on the picnic today?"
"They can if they want to. Adam, will you please go out to the bunkhouse and tell Joshua and Thaddeus that they have been invited to join our picnic today?"
Nobody in the bunkhouse noticed Adam standing in the doorway while the exchange with Frank was happening. "Good Morning Pete. Is there a problem?"
"Good Morning Adam. Frank here has taken offense at the fact that Joshua, Thaddeus, I, and many of the hands have permission to call your sister 'Cat' instead of calling her 'Miss Cat'."
"Frank, what people call my sister and how much work my brothers and I do on our ranch is none of your business! Furthermore, Catherine is neither a brat nor a baby and, as Pete stated, you can either fix your attitude or collect your pay and find another job! I will be letting my father know about this problem and he can make the final decision as to what will be done about it. Now, for the reason I came out here before breakfast. Joshua, Thaddeus, how do the two of you feel about spending the day with four little girls?"
The brothers looked at each other, shrugged, and Thaddeus replied, "It's ok I guess. Why?"
"The Ingalls family will be joining us for a picnic at Lake Tahoe today and Cat has invited you to join us. Joe's friend Mitch Devlin and his younger brother Mike will be there also. We'll spend the day fishing and swimming. Hop Sing always packs enough food to feed a small army and Hoss."
"Adam," laughed Pete. "That's no way to talk about your brother. You act like he's a big eater. Everyone who knows him knows that Hoss doesn't eat much more than a baby elephant."
Everyone except Frank laughed.
"Sure Adam," said Thaddeus. "Josh and I would love to join everyone for the picnic even if it does mean spending the day with four little girls. Besides that, we're kind of fond of one of those little girls."
"You've just made that little girl very happy. We've got plenty of fishing poles if you don't have any. Everyone should be here by ten. Cat will probably want to show Fury to Mitch and his brother. She's quite proud of that colt and can't wait until he's old enough to ride."
Adam walked back into the house. Joe looked at him and said, "It sure took you a long time to invite Joshua and Thaddeus to the picnic."
Adam saw Cat coming back downstairs and said, "There was a problem. I'll tell you about it later." He looked at Cat and teased, "Well little sister, did you forget how to get dressed this morning? Do you need us to help you from now on?"
Cat stuck her tongue out at her brother and said, "Only if I can help you get dressed."
"Heavens no," he replied. "Not the way you got dressed this morning. Everything would be in the wrong place and backwards."
"Yeah," teased Hoss. "Our shirts would be where our pants go and our pants would be backwards where our shirts go."
"We'd probably end up wearing our boots on our heads, our socks on our ears, and our hats on our feet," added Joe.
"I think you'd look cute with your socks on your ears," said Cat. "You should do it tomorrow morning."
Ben walked over, picked Cat up and hugged her. "Come on silly girl. Breakfast is ready and if we don't sit down soon, Hop Sing will throw our food away and go back to China." He carried her over to the table, set her down and pulled her chair out.
During breakfast, Hoss asked, "Cat do you remember that hurt cow you found last week?"
"Yes, why?"
"Well, her leg is better and we need to take her back to her friends this morning before the picnic."
"Is her leg really all better?"
"Yes it is. I'll show you after breakfast before we take her back to her friends. Adam, Joe, and I talked and since you found her, you get to take her back."
"All by myself?"
"Do you remember how to get there?"
"No."
"Well then, we'll go with you and show you the way so you don't get lost.
"Cat," said Adam. "You'll be happy to know that Joshua and Thaddeus will be joining us for the picnic today."
"That's good. I really like them."
"I know you do and they like you too. It was very nice of you to tell them that they didn't have to call you Miss Cat like the other hands do."
"They're my friends. They rescued me after my mamma died. I'm glad that they're here now."
After breakfast, Joe went up into the attic to see if he had any boots for Cat while Adam and Hoss went out to the barn to saddle horses. Cat helped Hop Sing clear the table then walked up to Ben who was sitting in his chair with a book and a cup of coffee. "Pa, if I tell you something will you promise not to get mad at me?"
Ben had an idea what she was going to say, pulled her into his lap and said, "Of course I won't get angry with you if you tell me something. What's on your mind?"
"Sometimes I wish my mamma had never come back."
Ben hugged her and said, "I know you do."
"You do and you're not mad at me?"
"Of course I do and I am not angry at you. I understand how you feel. Your whole life and world were turned upside down because she came back. If she hadn't come back, you would still be living in Dodge and just coming here on school holidays. Living here is a big change from what you have been used to. That's why the only rules I'm concerned about right now are safety rules and they are the same rules Uncle Matt had for you. No running indoors and no jumping your horse over fences. Once you start school, I'll be enforcing two more rules you had in Dodge. You have to go to school and you are not allowed to start fights. I really want you to understand that I love you very much, even when you do things you're not supposed to, and I am very happy that you're my little girl now. Does that make you feel better?"
Cat hugged him and said, "Yes it does. Will I ever get used to being here and stop wishing my mamma had never come back?"
"Of course you will Sweetheart. It will just take time. Remember, you haven't even been here two weeks yet. One day, it will seem like you've always lived here but it won't happen overnight. You will also look back on that week you had with your mother as a chance to get reacquainted with her. Just be patient and take things one day at a time. Now, here comes Joe and it looks like he found an old pair of his boots. Let's see if they fit you."
Joe walked back downstairs and handed a pair of boots to Cat. They were brown with a fancy design on them. "These were my dress boots when I was eleven or twelve. I don't know why I kept them. I guess I was always hoping to give them to a little brother but I never dreamed I'd be giving them to a little sister. They're going to be big on you, so why don't you go and get two more pairs of socks? Then you can try the boots on and we'll hope they fit with three pair of socks inside them."
Cat went up to her room, got two pairs of socks and came back downstairs. She put the extra socks on and then tried the boots on. "They're still too big," she said sadly.
"Try taking the extra socks off and wearing your moccasins inside them."
Cat did as Joe suggested. "They fit now," she said happily.
"That's very good," said Ben. "Now you have a pair of boots to wear when the weather is wet. We'll take them with us the next time we go to town and see if anyone can figure out how to make them fit better so you don't have to wear your moccasins inside of them. I would prefer it if you also wore them when you're helping your brothers with ranch work. They'll give you a little extra protection in case you happen to drop something on your feet."
"Ok. I can do that."
"That's my girl. Now you and Joe need to join Adam and Hoss so you can take that cow back where she belongs."
Cat and Joe walked outside to where Adam and Hoss were waiting. "Come on Punkin', let's go look at that cow so you can see that her leg is all better now."
"Ok Hoss. I really hope her leg is all better."
"It is. You'll see in a few minutes."
Once Hoss and Cat walked off, Adam said, "I need to talk to Pa about what happened in the bunkhouse this morning. You need to know it too."
The two brothers walked into the house. "I thought you were going to take that cow back where she belongs," said Ben.
"We are," replied Adam. "Right now, Hoss is taking Cat to show her that the cow's leg is better and to get her. Something happened in the bunkhouse that you need to know about."
Ben grew concerned. "What happened son?" Adam told his father about Frank's attitude and that both he and Pete had told the man to fix his attitude or draw his pay and leave. "Thank you for telling me about that problem. I'm going to talk to Pete and see if this man is a good worker or not. I'm also going to talk to some of the other hands to see how well he gets along with everyone. Once I know what he's like I will talk to him with Pete present and let him know if he still has a job or not. Have you told Hoss about this?"
"Yes I did. That's why I asked him to help saddle the horses while Joe was looking for boots."
"Thank you and I appreciate your decision not to involve Cat right now. She's got enough on her mind without worrying about one of the hands. Now you had better get outside because your sister will want to know why you were in the house instead of outside."
Ben walked outside with his sons and smiled as his daughter walked up leading the cow. "Look Pa. Hoss was right. Her leg is all better. Now she can go back with her friends."
"I see that Sweetheart. You had better take her back now because everyone will be here for the picnic in a few hours."
"Ok Pa. I wish I had a bigger horse than Star to ride. I rode a big horse in Dodge and don't know why I can't ride one here. I've ridden Sport and Cochise and Hoss said I could ride Chub sometime soon. I'm not a baby any more."
"I'll think about it. Right now, you had better take that cow back where she belongs." Cat mounted Star and Hoss tied the cow's rope to her saddle. Then he mounted his horse and all four of them rode out of the yard.
Ben walked over to the bunkhouse where the hands were leaving to go about the day's work. He talked to them about Frank and learned that the man was not a very good worker and none of the men wanted to be around him. Frank walked out of the bunkhouse and Ben told him to go back and walked in behind him. Everyone else left and Ben asked Pete to stay. Then he looked at Frank and said, "Adam told me about your attitude toward my daughter. What anyone calls her is none of your business. The same goes for what my sons and I do on our ranch. I have also spoken with many of the hands and have learned that you are not a very good worker and have a very bad attitude about everything. I pay an honest day's wage and I expect an honest day's work in return. If you do not fix your attitude and start doing your share of the work, you will be looking for other employment. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"
"Yes sir Mr. Cartwright."
"Very well then. Get your horse and attend to whatever work you have been assigned to do today."
Ben walked out of the bunkhouse and spotted Joshua and Thaddeus mending the corral fence and chopping wood for the bunkhouse. He walked up to them and said, "Well boys, I understand that you are going to be spending the day with four little girls. Now, that decision wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you are quite fond of one of those little girls, would it?"
"Oh no, not at all," they both lied, causing Ben to burst out laughing. "That's what I thought. She's thrilled that you're going to be joining us. And to be honest, I am glad also. I haven't had a chance to talk with you since you came here and this will give me the chance. I'd like to get to know you better. Oh, and since we're going to be in a family setting, you may call me Ben while we're out at the lake."
"Thank you," said Joshua. "We are looking forward to spending the day with that certain little girl. The last time we spent any time with her, she was pretty banged up."
"Yes, I know. I know that you've been told this before, but I can't tell you how grateful I and the rest of the family are for what you did for her. She's the youngest child in the family and my younger sister's only child and it would have killed the rest of us if she had died."
"We just couldn't leave her at the bottom of that ravine," said Thaddeus. "It's going to be fun watching her grow up."
"Well, I'd better let the two of you get back to work. We'll see you at ten. Be sure to wear or bring clothes you can swim in and prepare to be outfished by at least one little girl."
"Little girls like to fish?" asked Thaddeus incredulously.
"Not all of them do but Cat and Laura do."
"This should be an interesting day," replied Joshua. "Do they bait their own hooks or does someone have to do it for them?"
"Believe it or not, they bait their own hooks. They also take the fish off their hooks and know how to clean them."
The two brothers looked at each other in amazement. "Next you're going to be telling us that they aren't afraid of frogs and toads either," said Thaddeus.
"You are correct. "Frogs, toads, and snakes don't bother them at all. In fact, her Godparents said that on the way to Arizona, a snake sleeping in the road startled Cat's horse and Ginger ran off with her. Once she stopped the horse, Cat went back to find the snake and yell at it for sleeping in the road where it could get hurt. I almost had to spank her the other night because she was trying to catch some raccoon kits that were on top of the outhouse. I wouldn't put it past her to climb out her bedroom window one night to try and catch them."
Joshua and Thaddeus laughed. "Mr. Cartwright," laughed Joshua. "You certainly do have a little Wild Cat on your hands. Like my brother said, it's going to be a whole lot of fun watching her grow up."
Ben laughed. "Yes it is but I wish she weren't quite so wild. I went through that with Joseph and although he has settled down some, he's still wild. Catherine is wilder than Joe was and isn't afraid of doing dangerous things."
"I certainly hope not," said Thaddeus. "I didn't risk my life getting her from the bottom of that ravine only to see her risk her life again by doing something dangerous."
"I'll tell you about it later. Anyway, finish what you're doing and then take the rest of the day off. Hop Sing will most likely cook whatever fish we catch for supper and many hands will be needed to clean them. You will also be eating supper with us. I'll let Pete know."
Joshua and Thaddeus were surprised at the supper invitation. "Thank you Mr. Cartwright," said Joshua. "It will be a pleasure to join everyone else for supper. We'll see you at ten."
Ben walked back to the bunkhouse and told Pete that he had given Joshua and Thaddeus the rest of the day off and that they would be joining the family for supper. Frank overheard the conversation and became irritated. He thought he should get the day off, go on the picnic, and have supper with the family, not Joshua and Thaddeus. Ben looked out one of the windows, saw Frank eavesdropping and told Pete that he wanted Frank working as far away from Lake Tahoe as possible and that he wanted two of the most experienced hands with him to keep him from interfering with the picnic. Then he walked out the door and confronted Frank. "It has been at least ten minutes since I told you to get your horse and attend to the work you were assigned for the day. Instead I find you standing here listening in on my private conversations. I will tell you this once only. I do not tolerate eavesdropping from anyone, especially my hands. The next time you are caught eavesdropping, your employment on the Ponderosa will be terminated immediately. You have until Friday to straighten yourself up and do the job you were hired to do or you will be unemployed. This is your only warning. Now go and see Pete. He has a new assignment for you today."
Ben walked into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and told Hop Sing about the problems with Frank. "He no like Missy Cat. You tell Pete keep him far from her so he no hurt her."
"Don't worry, I will. I'm also going to tell Pete to keep him with experienced hands who can do just that. Once school starts and she's going by herself, I'll make sure he's working as far away from the road as possible. I don't want him anywhere near her until his attitude improves. I hope it does because I need as many hands as possible for the fall roundup next month. I'll even have Cat out there chasing strays. I'm not looking forward to telling her that she won't be allowed to go on the cattle drive."
While Cat and her brothers were taking the cow back to the rest of the herd, the first west bound stage of the day was pulling into Virginia City. A tired Reverend Jonas exited the stage, stretched and accepted his bag when it was handed to him. Then he walked over to the Sheriff's office to see Roy, who was just leaving to get some breakfast. "Good morning Reverend Jonas. If I had known you were going to be on the early stage, I would have met you. Have you had any breakfast? I'm on my way to get some now and would be grateful for the company if you would care to join me. You can put your bag in my office and retrieve it after we've eaten."
"Good morning Roy. No, I haven't eaten breakfast. Thank you for the invitation. I gladly accept." The two men walked over to the café and ordered breakfast. Roy asked about Oklahoma and the Reverend told him that he and his wife had settled in and his new congregation was more than twice the size of the one in Virginia City. Reverend Jonas asked how things had been in Virginia City since he left and how the new minister had been accepted.
"Things here have been pretty quiet. Mrs. Thompson had twins, a boy and a girl, and they are very happy. Amy Nicols and Robert Andersen are betrothed and plan to marry in the spring. Ben Cartwright adopted his niece and Catherine is learning to adjust to life on a ranch instead of in a city. It's not an easy adjustment for her because she had a lot of freedom in Dodge, which she doesn't have on the Ponderosa."
"I understand. It will take time but I am certain that she will eventually adjust. Please tell me, what did my niece do to have her employment as the school teacher terminated? I'm assuming that the theft of the books was discovered after she was terminated."
"Yes it was. I don't know what she did, I just know that the school board meeting was very noisy. Paul Martin is on the school board. He'll be able to tell you why they made their decision. If you'd like, we can walk over there after we finish our coffee."
"That would be fine. Thank you. I am looking forward to seeing Paul again."
The two men finished their coffee and walked over to the doctor's office. He was sitting at his desk, reading the latest medical journal and looked up when the door opened. He shook hands with Roy and Reverend Long and said, "Good morning Roy. Michael, it's good to see you again. I trust your trip from Oklahoma was uneventful. I'm sorry you had to make the trip on such short notice, but this problem needs to be dealt with."
"I understand and I am sorry my niece has caused problems. Please tell me what she did to cause the school board to terminate her employment."
"Please sit down and we will talk."
"Thank you. Roy, you are welcome to stay and listen if you want to. Then, I would appreciate it if you would accompany me to talk with Judge Taylor."
Roy sat down and Paul began to speak. "You are not going to be happy, but I need to tell you that I wanted to terminate your niece's employment long before you left for Oklahoma. However the majority of the school board overrode my recommendation. The younger children were not allowed to use the outhouse and were punished if they had an accident in their pants. Your niece favored a handful of students and neglected the rest. The children were expected to complete assignments with no instruction on how to do them and were given low grades when the assignments were wrong. Ben Cartwright took his daughter's books to the school to ask if they were the same ones being used here. Your niece has never met Catherine but told Ben that she was stupid and so were most of the students in the school."
Reverend Jonas listened to what Paul had to say and asked, "Why wasn't I informed of this sooner? I would have removed her from the teaching position myself."
"I wanted to tell you but I was forbidden to do so by the majority of the school board. They kept her on as the teacher out of loyalty to you. I should have ignored them and told you anyway."
"That is utter nonsense and grown men should know better! They should have known that as a man of God, I would not have tolerated that behavior from anyone, let alone my niece."
"I know that, which is why I wanted to tell you. I did the best I could and with their parents' permission, had the older students come over here after school where I assisted them with their Arithmetic and Grammar. I believe that some parents got together to help the younger students."
"I am glad that the students weren't left to struggle because of my niece. Paul, let me ask you something as a doctor. Is it possible that Prudence is insane? She has always been slow and even as a child tended to take things that didn't belong to her, even if she didn't need them."
"No Michael. I do not think your niece is insane. She may have a mental defect that causes her to behave the way she does, but my professional opinion is that she does not need to be institutionalized. You probably should take her to a specialist in New York or Boston for their opinion. I recommend keeping her under close supervision and finding something she can do where she doesn't have to be responsible for handling other people's belongings. She should never be allowed to teach again."
"Thank you for your professional opinion. Judith is a seamstress and has started making dresses for some of the ladies in the congregation. Prudence could help her with the sewing. Rest assured, she will never step foot into a classroom again. Now, if you two will accompany me, I need to go and make my apologies to Judge Taylor. When is the next school board meeting? I need to apologize to the parents and let the school board members know that I am not happy with their decision to keep my niece's behavior problems hidden from me. I am her guardian and as such, I should have been notified immediately."
"The next school board meeting is Monday night. Adam Cartwright and his brothers inspected the school for soundness and he is going to report his findings at the meeting."
"Well, since I am certain that Prudence has not obeyed my instructions to pack her belongings, I will attend that meeting and leave on Tuesday. Does the teacher's house have one or two bedrooms? If possible, I should stay there to supervise her packing."
"It has three bedrooms," replied Roy. "Given what you have just told us, I think you will need to supervise her with her packing. You can leave your bag in my office until you're ready to go over there."
The three men walked over to the courthouse and spoke with the judge who was very understanding. He said that he had only instructed Miss Smith to report to him and Roy because he was afraid she would run away before Reverend Jonas arrived. He also said that because all of the stolen books had been returned and the school board was not pressing charges over the threat to burn down the school, Reverend Jonas was free to take his niece with him when he returned to Oklahoma. Reverend Jonas thanked the judge and walked out of the courtroom with Paul and Roy. "Let's walk down to the parsonage," said Paul. "I want to introduce you to Reverend Long and his wife."
"I really should ride out to the Ponderosa and apologize to Ben for the way Prudence acted toward Catherine."
"They're not home," said Paul. "The Ingalls, and Mitch and Mike Devlin are joining them for a picnic at Lake Tahoe today. They probably won't return to the house until close to suppertime."
"Well in that case, we may as well walk down to the parsonage." They walked down to the parsonage and introduced Reverend Jonas to the Longs who invited them in for coffee. Everyone sat and talked for a while then Reverend Jonas said, "I had better get my bag and see my niece. I am certain that I will need to supervise her packing."
Reverend Jonas got his bag from Roy's office, walked over to the teacher's house and knocked on the door. Miss Smith opened it and said, "Hello Uncle Michael. It is good to see you. I haven't seen you in a long time. Where have you been?"
"Aren't you going to invite me in Prudence? We have much to talk about."
"Of course Uncle. Please come in."
Reverend Jonas walked into the house, looked around and said, "I moved to Oklahoma in June. I told you before I left. Why haven't you started packing? I sent you a telegram telling you that I would be here today to take you back with me."
"But I can't go with you. I am the teacher and school starts in a week."
"No child. You are no longer the teacher. You did some very bad things and need to come and live with me and Aunt Judith. She is looking forward to seeing you again."
"But those children were stupid and needed to be punished. So I made them soil themselves and stay in their soiled clothes all day. Aren't I clever? They won't be so stupid this year."
Reverend Jonas sighed. "No Prudence. Those children are not stupid. They are young and needed to be taught. The way you treated them was very wrong. This was your last chance to show the family you could live by yourself and earn a living. You failed again, so now you have to come and live with me and Aunt Judith. We have a room all prepared for you. Now, you and I need to start packing your things because we are leaving for Oklahoma on Tuesday."
"I am not going with you. This is my house and I am staying here. I need to start preparing lessons for my special students."
"I am not going to argue with you. I am your guardian and as such, I am responsible for you. I have told you that you are coming to live with me in Oklahoma and that is the way things are going to be. You are twenty one years old now, but if you insist on acting like a child and defy me, I will punish you like a child. Now, we are going to get some crates and start packing your things so we can leave on Tuesday." Miss Smith pouted but accompanied her uncle to the freight office to buy some crates so they could pack her things.