By dinner time, they had cleaned two halters, one bridle and one harness. Cat put Fury back in the stall with Lady and closed the door so he couldn't run out in the rain again. Adam, Hoss, and Joe rode into the yard a few minutes later. After they had taken care of their horses, Joe looked at the buckets and the bridle lying on the hay bales where Ben and Cat had been working and said, "I have a feeling I know what we're going to be doing after dinner."

His brothers looked at the equipment and Hoss said, "I recon you're right little brother. It's a rainy day an' Pa usually has us cleanin' tack when it's rainin'."

"It looks like Cat has been helping him," said Adam. "I wonder what he bribed her with to get her to help."

"I recon we'll find out just as soon as we go in the house. I don't know about you fellers, but I'm starving."

"So what else is new?" quipped Adam. "You're always hungry."

They walked into the house and sat down at the table just as Hop Sing was serving dinner. While they were eating, Ben informed his sons that everyone would be spending the afternoon cleaning tack. "There are plenty of bridles, halters, and harnesses that need cleaning and the saddles need to be cleaned and polished also. Your sister has been helping me clean halters, harnesses, and bridles all morning and the three of you can help us this afternoon."

A collective sigh came from the three brothers, causing Ben and Hop Sing to laugh. "See Cat," said Ben. "I told you that nobody likes cleaning tack, but it has to be done."

"Sons help father and sister with tack or clean whole house top to bottom," said Hop Sing. "Beat rugs and scrub floors too."

Ben laughed at the expressions on his sons' faces.

"I don't know about my brothers," said Adam, "but if it's all the same to you, I'll help with the tack." Hoss and Joe also said they would help with the tack. Ben smiled to himself, knowing that Hop Sing would get all three of his sons to help do a thorough cleaning in the house another day.

After dinner, the whole family walked out to the barn. Adam and Joe chose to polish saddles, so Hoss helped clean bridles, harness, and halters. Since Cat was still helping, Ben decided to pay her for everything Hoss cleaned too. By the time they finished, Cat had earned ten dollars. Ben asked if she wanted him to give it to her, keep it in the safe or put it in her bank account. Cat couldn't believe that she had earned ten dollars. "Ten whole dollars! WOW! Counting the money Miss Kitty has for me, I have twenty three dollars toward Uncle Matt's new saddle. I only need another eighteen dollars until Miss Kitty can order it for me. Can I send it to her now?"

Ben smiled at Cat's excitement. "Why don't I keep it in the safe for you and then when you earn more money, you can send all of it to her at once?"

"Ok. You can keep it in the safe for now."

After supper, Cat soaked her injured rib in hot water for a little while, then she sat in Adam's lap and helped him set up the chessboard so he could play their father. Since she had never seen chess pieces before, Adam had to tell her what each piece was and where it went on the board. "Why don't you just call the horse a horse instead of calling it a knight?" she asked. "A knight wears shiny armor and rides a horse but this horse doesn't have a knight in shiny armor riding it, so it can't possibly be a knight. It's just a horse." Then she asked about the rook. "Why do you call the castle a rook? I read in one of your books about animals that a rook is a bird in England. This piece is a castle, not a bird, so you should call it a castle."

"I tend to agree with you about the names of some of the chess pieces. I don't know why they have those names and I don't ever remember reading anything that says why. Maybe rooks used to nest on top of castles. Now, you can sit here in my lap and watch me and Pa play or you can go and play checkers with Hoss or Little Joe. If you decide to stay in my lap and watch the game, you won't be able to ask a lot of questions. Each piece has a certain number of squares it can move and some of them can only move in certain directions. I'll explain it all to you sometime soon, just not right now."

"If you won't eggsplane the game to me while you're playing it, I guess I'll see if Hoss or Joe will play checkers with me."

"The word is explain," laughed Adam. "I promise that I will teach you about the game. It's just hard to do when you're playing because it's not easy to play chess and teach it at the same time. Why don't you go and offer to play whoever wins the checker game between Joe and Hoss? Then you can sit in my lap and watch me and Pa play until they finish their game."

Cat walked over and talked to Hoss and Joe who agreed to let her play the winner of their game. Then she went back and sat in Adam's lap. Ben came out of the kitchen carrying two cups and saucers and a pot of coffee. He looked at Cat in Adam's lap and asked, "What are you doing with my best girl in your lap?"

"Finders, keepers," laughed Adam. "I found her so I'm keeping her."

"I'm not worried. You'll want to give her back as soon as her wild streak shows up."

"Her wild streak doesn't bother me. I know how to handle it."

"Oh, and how is that?"

"That's my secret. You'll just have to figure it out for yourself."

"I see. So, who am I playing, you or that wild thing in your lap?"

"You'd like to play her, wouldn't you? That way you would be assured of victory."

"Well, I haven't won in a long time and I know I would win if I played her."

"Ah yes, but not if I tell her what moves to make. In fact, the next time we play when it's not close to her bedtime, I may do just that."

Ben laughed. "You do have a point. Let's get this game going before that wild thing has to go to bed."

Cat watched as Ben and Adam played chess. Both of them explained some of the rules during the opening moves. After they had been playing for about ten minutes, Hoss told Cat it was her turn to play checkers. She played Joe and won a close game. Then she went and sat in Adam's lap to watch the chess match again. When the clock chimed eight, Adam stood up, put Cat over his shoulder and said, "I'm taking this wild thing to the outhouse. That way we can be certain that the only other wild things accompanying her back into the house will be her puppies. She's too much like Hoss and I don't want to wake up with a bear cub in my bed tomorrow morning."

"Awwwwww, you're no fun," complained Cat. "I was going to get you one for your birthday."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did. Now, let's get you outside and then up to bed. No nightmares tonight or I will be forced to tickle you." After Adam brought her back in the house, she hugged Ben and Hoss goodnight. Then Adam said, "Here Joe. I have something for you. Catch." He pretended like he was going to throw Cat to Joe.

"Boys," scolded Ben. "What have I told you about throwing things in the house? If you want to play catch, please do it outside where you won't break anything. Since it is late and your 'ball' needs to go to bed, I recommend you do it during the day when it's light outside."

Cat giggled at her brothers being scolded.

"Sorry Pa," said Adam and Joe together.

"I forgive you. Now please take that wild thing upstairs and put her to bed. She's going to have a busy day tomorrow."

At breakfast the next morning, Ben told his sons that they needed to oil all of the harnesses, bridles, and halters that had been cleaned the previous day. He said that he needed to take Cat to town so Paul could check her injuries and that Mr. Parker and Mr. Michaels were going to talk to her about what happens during a trial.

"I still don't want to go there on Thursday," said Cat. "That mean nasty lady will be there and she's going to try and hurt me and my puppies again."

"Don't worry Punkin'," said Hoss. "Me, Adam, Joe, and Pa will all be there to protect you. We won't let anything happen to you. Roy will be there to protect you too."

"Don't forget what I told you yesterday," said Ben. "Roy has an idea to make you feel safer during the trial. While Paul is checking your injuries, I'm going to talk to him and see what his idea is. I'm also going to talk to Mr. Parker and ask him if will be ok for you to play over at the school until you are needed at the trial. If he says yes, we'll stop at the Devlin ranch and see if Mike can come along tomorrow. We'll also stop at the Ingalls and see if Laura and Mary can come. That way you will have friends to play with while you're waiting to testify and after you're done. Now you need to stop worrying about tomorrow and eat your breakfast. We have a long ride to make to town and I don't want Paul yelling at me because you're hungry."

"Hop Sing go to court and take big knife. No let nasty lady hurt Missy Cat. You too skinny. Need to eat mole and get big like number two son. If you no eat breakfast, you get no dessert after supper. Now eat or I make you wash dishes and clean kitchen."

"You are welcome to come with us, however you won't need to take a knife with you," said Ben. "Cat will be well protected and Mrs. Warren won't dare do anything in the courtroom. If she does, it will prove her guilt."

After breakfast, Cat went out to work with Fury until Ben was ready to leave for town. She decided to see if he would let her brush him, so she got a brush out of the tack room before going to the pasture. Thaddeus spotted her leaving the barn with the brush and said, "Good morning Cat. Where are you going with that brush?"

"Hi Thaddeus. I'm going to see if Fury will let me brush him."

"Won't that hurt your rib?"

"I don't think so 'cause I'm not going to do it hard and he might not even let me."

"May I come with you and see what he does?"

"Sure. You can if you want to."

They walked out to the pasture and Cat squeezed through the gate. "You could open the gate and walk through," said Thaddeus.

"Yeah I could, but this is more fun. I might climb the gate on the way out."

"No you won't. If you do that and fall, I'll be in trouble for not stopping you and you'll be in trouble for doing something to hurt your rib. The best thing to do is to walk back out through the gate."

Fury ran up to Cat who hugged and kissed him. "Let him see and smell the brush before you try using it on him," said Thaddeus. "If he runs off, call him back and try again."

Cat did as Thaddeus suggested and to their surprise, Fury let her run the brush lightly down his back and on his neck for a few minutes before running off. "That was very good. Don't worry about trying to do any more today. Just do exactly what you did for a few minutes every day and it won't take long before he lets you brush him properly. You should pick his feet up once a day too so he will let you clean them when he's older." When Fury came back to Cat, she handed the brush to Thaddeus and proceeded to pick up her colt's feet. He let her pick up his two front feet but ran off when she tried to pick up his back feet. "That's fine. You're doing a very good job training him. Just keep being patient and work with him every day. He'll be fully trained in no time at all."

Fury put his chin on Cat's shoulder so she walked around the pasture with him. While she was doing that, Ben came out to tell her it was time for them to leave. He looked at the brush Thaddeus was holding and asked why Cat had brought it out to the pasture. "She was introducing it to Fury. He even let her brush him a little bit. Don't worry, she didn't do anything to keep her sore rib from healing."

Cat and Fury walked back up to Ben and Thaddeus who handed her the brush. "Pa, look what Fury lets me do," she said excitedly. She lightly ran the brush down the colt's back a few times.

Ben hugged her and said, "That's very good. You are doing an excellent job training him and I am very proud of you. Quint is right. You do have a way with horses. I think I'll make you my head wrangler after you finish school."

"I don't need to go to school to work with horses. Since I already know everything I need to, I shouldn't have to go to school."

"We've talked about this before Sweetheart. You don't know everything you need to yet and you have to attend school until you graduate. Hoss and Joe didn't like it either but they attended school until they graduated and so will you."

"No I won't. I'm taking Uncle Sam's job when I turn ten and I'm going to pass a law that says kids don't have to go to school after they know how to read, write, add, subtract, and multiply."

Ben gave one of Cat's braids a playful tug. "That's fine, but until you do become president, you have to go to school. Now, say goodbye to Fury because we need to start for town." They walked back to the barn and Cat put the brush away, walked out to the hitching rail and mounted Beauty. Ben put a puppy in each side of her saddle bags. "It's a good thing these saddle bags of yours are large. Otherwise your puppies wouldn't fit in them. As is, they're getting too big but they're not big enough to keep up with a horse. We'll have to figure out how you can carry them on your horse until they're big enough to run with a horse. We'll stop at the saddle and harness shop while we're in town. Maybe Mr. Miller will have an idea of what we can do."

While Cat and Ben were riding to town, Adam was telling his brothers about their father being scolded by his friends because he had treated their sister like she was Joe. Hoss and Joe laughed hysterically, causing Hop Sing to come out of the kitchen to see what was wrong. When Adam told him about Ben being scolded by Roy and Paul, Hop Sing began to laugh also. "Sheriff Roy and Dr. Paul good men. They know when father wrong and tell him so. Hop sing tell him too."

When Cat and Ben reached Virginia City, they tied their horses up in front of Paul Martin's office. Ben helped Cat down off her horse and she said, "I can get down by myself. I don't need help."

"I know, but helping you get down gives me an extra chance to do this…" Ben replied as he hugged Cat tightly. "I might just go to school with you so I can hug you every fifteen minutes."

"If you do that, I won't go to school because all the kids would laugh at me and I would have to fight all of them."

Ben pretended to think and said, "I'll tell you what. I'll ask Paul about that and see what he says. If he thinks me going to school with you so I can hug you every fifteen minutes is a good idea, then I'm going to do it and you will not be allowed to fight all of the other kids even if they laugh at you. If he doesn't think it's a good idea, I won't do it."

"I hope he says it's not a good idea."

"Well, let's go and ask him."

When they walked into Paul's office, he looked up from his reading and said, "You're here. Good. Ben I need you to leave and come back in a little while. I am not about to try and examine Cat with you hovering. I heard all of your excuses for staying when Joe was a boy so scoot."

Cat giggled to hear her father being ordered out of the doctor's office as though he were a misbehaving child. "Alright, I'll go under protest but before I leave, I have a question for you. I told Cat that I should go to school with her so I can hug her every fifteen minutes. She doesn't think that's a good idea, so I told her I'd ask you. Do you think I should do that?"

"No, absolutely not! DO NOT go to school with her. All you would do is embarrass her in front of all the other children and that would not be a good thing. If you insist on doing something so foolish, I promise that I will embarrass you in front of all your friends at the next town council meeting. Or better yet, I will embarrass you at the next school board meeting because there will be more people in attendance. Then Virginia and I will be forced to steal her from you." Ben sighed and left Paul's office. Cat stuck her tongue out at her father's retreating back. Paul saw what she did and laughed. "Alright, that's enough of that silliness. Take your shirt off so I can check your injuries. I know that you're tired of not being allowed to run and you're not going to want to tell me if your rib still hurts. However, it is very important for you to tell me if it does. If it is not healed and I let you start running again, it could get worse and I know you don't want that to happen."

Cat sighed. She was tired of having to walk everywhere and had planned on telling Paul that her rib didn't hurt any more. He checked the cuts and was pleased that they were almost healed. When he pushed down on her rib, Cat said, "It still hurts a little but not as much as it did on Sunday."

"That's very good. Your cuts are healing nicely and your rib is almost healed. You're not going to be happy, but I am going to keep your restrictions in place until Saturday. It won't be that bad. You'll be here in town for the trial most of tomorrow. Your Pa will probably drive you in the buggy so you don't get your good clothes dirty before the trial, so you won't have to worry about trotting or galloping your horse. That only leaves Friday and I know you can go just one more day with those restrictions, can't you?"

"I guess so," replied Cat who was not happy with what she had been told. She could only hope that Paul did not tell her father her restrictions would be in place for two more days.

Paul laughed at the expression on her face. "Come on Cat. It's not that bad. If you run and fall, your rib could get hurt even worse and then it will be a month before you feel better."

"How about if I run and don't fall down?"

"Sorry little one. I'm not willing to take that chance."

While Paul was examining Cat, Ben walked over to talk to Roy. "I'm curious to know what your idea is to help Cat feel more secure in the courtroom tomorrow. Did you talk to Richard about it and what did he say?"

"I'm sorry Ben. I got busy and plumb forgot. Let's go talk to him now."

They walked over to Mr. Parker's office and he greeted them when they entered. "Hello Roy, Ben, I didn't expect to see either of you until tomorrow."

"Hello Richard. I needed to talk to you about tomorrow," said Ben. "Catherine is very afraid of going to court tomorrow because Millicent will be there. She's afraid that she will be attacked again. Roy has an idea that may make her feel more secure while she's testifying and I have an idea that will make the whole day a little less traumatic for her. I don't know what Roy's idea is, but I would like to keep Catherine out of the courthouse until you want her to testify. My plan is to bring some of her friends with us tomorrow and all of the children can play at the school until you need Catherine."

"I was going to suggest the same thing to you," replied Mr. Parker. "Let me hear Roy's idea and then I'll tell you why I was going to suggest keeping your daughter out of the courthouse until I need her. What is your idea Roy?"

"My idea is to put a chair between the witness chair and the defense table and have Hoss sit in it. Having Hoss between her and Millicent should help Cat feel more secure about testifying. There are very few people in this town who would try and do anything to anyone Hoss was guarding and I know Millicent won't even think about doing anything with Hoss there."

"That's an excellent idea Roy. Since that's not normally done during a trial, I'll ask the judge to allow it when the time comes. I don't think he'll say no. Ben, the reason I don't want your daughter in the courtroom until I'm ready for her is because Millicent has questioned her parentage. I remember you saying that she was standing next to her mother when she was murdered and I don't want her reliving that moment all over again. I'm concerned that she'll become so upset over that memory; she won't be able to testify. I know it's deeply personal but I need to know exactly what happened to cause your sister to be murdered and you to adopt your niece." Ben told Mr. Parker everything that had happened since Cat's father was killed in the war. "Thank you for telling me. I am going to have to ask you to repeat that in court tomorrow. I am assuming that Catherine does not know all of the facts concerning how she came to live in Dodge and why her mother's husband was so anxious for her to return to Australia with them."

"No she does not and I do not want her to know until she is old enough to understand everything. Catherine has only been told that her mother was only pretending to try and get her to move to Australia because was going to divorce her husband because he did not treat her the way a lady should be treated."

"Then I definitely don't want her in the courtroom until I'm ready for her. I am certain that the judge and Tom will understand when I tell them some facts will come out that she is not old enough to understand and that her family and I do not want her to have to relive her mother's death all over again. Where is she right now?"

"She's over at Paul's office. He wanted to check and see how well her injuries are healing. He's probably done by now."

"Alright. Why don't you go and get her while I get Tom. We'll meet you at the courthouse in a few minutes."

Ben and Roy went over to Paul's office to get Cat. "Paul, how is she?" asked Ben.

"Angry at me but fine otherwise."

"Why is she angry at you?"

"Because I told her I was keeping her restrictions in place until Saturday. Her cuts are almost healed but the rib is still a little tender so I want her to take it easy for two more days. You can imagine how that little spitfire took that news."

Roy and Ben laughed. "I hope she wasn't rude or disrespectful," said Ben.

"No she wasn't. She made a very angry face, complained and asked if she could run if she promised not to fall down. I don't have to tell you what my answer was."

"Where is she now?"

"I believe that she's in the kitchen. Virginia is baking today and asked Cat to sample the cherry pie to see how it tasted. Of course Cat was more than happy to taste the pie. Let's go and find out what else Virginia has her tasting."

They walked into the kitchen and laughed when they saw a Cat eating a piece of pie with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies also in front of her. "Virginia, you're spoiling my daughter," laughed Ben.

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mrs. Martin. "She's not being spoiled at all. In fact, she's helping me by telling me which of my creations tastes best."

"Virginia, you are incorrigible. At the rate you're stuffing her with baked goods, Catherine won't be able to eat any dinner."

"Of course she will because you are coming back here for dinner when you're finished at the courthouse and she'll be hungry by then. As you remember, I used to do the same thing with your youngest son and he still ate his share of my fried chicken." Ben started to tell Cat to leave her treats and come with him when Virginia said, "That child is not going anywhere until she finishes that piece of pie. Those lawyers can just wait a few minutes. In fact, since my baking is done, I may just come with you and give them a piece of my mind just in case they plan on getting her upset."

"They're not planning to get her upset Dear," said Paul. "All they're going to do is explain how a trial works and what everybody's job is. They'll probably have to explain to her why Millicent needs a lawyer because she's never seen a trial before, let alone testified in one. You can attend the trial tomorrow and give them a piece of your mind then if they upset her. Cat, once you finish your pie and milk, we need to go. You can eat the cookies later."

Cat finished her pie and milk then everyone walked over to the courthouse. Ben introduced Cat to Mr. Parker and Mr. Michaels and they explained their jobs to her. "Why does Mrs. Warren need a lawyer?" asked Cat. "I'm not lying about what she did to me."

Before Ben could say anything, Mr. Michaels picked Cat up, sat her on a table and said, "The law says that everyone who has been accused of a crime can have a lawyer to make sure they get a fair trial. For example, your Pa has told me that you are raising a colt and I'm sure that these puppies are yours too. Am I right?"

"Yes sir."

"Ok. Good. Now, let's pretend that your colt and puppies are all grown up and you and your family are visiting a town where nobody knows you. Now, while you are visiting that town, a man rides in, sees your horse and dogs, and decides that he wants them for himself. So he goes over to the sheriff's office and tells the sheriff that you stole his horse and dogs. The sheriff is going to tell your Pa that you have been accused of stealing your horse and dogs. He's also going to tell the prosecutor and the judge will decide to have a trial. Your Pa is going to have to get a lawyer to defend you so the strange man doesn't get to steal your horse and dogs. The lawyer is going to ask your Pa who knows that the horse and dogs really belong to you and not the strange man. What do you think your Pa is going to tell him?"

"He's going to say that all of the hands on the Ponderosa know they're mine."

"That's true, but the prosecutor could say that they're just saying the horse and dogs are yours because they work for your Pa. Who else could the lawyer send telegrams to?"

"Let me think a minute. I know. Sheriff Roy, Dr. Paul, and Reverend Long. Mr. McLeod too because his brother gave Lassie to me."

"That's very good. They are all very good men to ask. Now do you understand why Mrs. Warren needs a lawyer? My job is to make sure she gets a fair trial."

"I guess I do."

"Good. We'll talk more about what I do during a trial in a few minutes. Right now, Mr. Parker and I want to tell you more about where everybody sits during a trial and what their job is."

"Do you see that big desk up front in the middle?" asked Mr. Parker. "That's where the judge sits. He's in charge of the courtroom and makes the rules everyone has to follow. If the judge tells us we can't do something, then we're not allowed to do it. For example, if I get up on the table in front of Mrs. Warren, start jumping up and down on it and yelling at her, the judge is going to scold me and tell me I have to stop. If I don't stop, he's going to yell at me and then I'll be in a lot of trouble."

Cat giggled at the thought of a grown man jumping up and down on a table and yelling at someone at the same time. Mr. Parker continued. "Do you see that chair next to the judge's desk? That's the witness chair. People sit there and tell the judge and jury what they saw. They're called witnesses. The prosecutor and defense lawyer ask them questions and they do their best to tell everything they remember. Now those twelve chairs near the witness chair are where the jury sits. The jury's job is to listen to everything the witnesses say and decide if the accused person is guilty or innocent. They tell the judge what they have decided. If they say a person is guilty, the judge will tell them what their punishment is going to be. If the jury says a person is innocent, the judge will tell that person they're not in trouble any more and can go home. Do you understand everything we've explained to you so far?"

"Yes sir."

"That's very good so let's continue. The table on your left is where the accused person and their lawyer sit. The accused person is called the defendant because they are defending themselves against something they have been accused of doing. Like in our pretend story of you and your family in that strange town, you and your lawyer would sit at the table on the left. The chair near that table is where Sheriff Coffee will sit. The prosecutor sits at the table that you're sitting on. The prosecutor's job is to try and convince the jury that the defendant did what they have been accused of doing while the defense lawyer's job is to convince the jury that the defendant did not do the thing they have been accused of."

"Both Mr. Parker and I are going to ask the witnesses some questions," said Mr. Michaels. "Neither one of us is allowed to say a witness is lying unless we know for sure that they are. For example, if I ask you what color Santa's suit is and you say it's green, I can say that you're not telling the truth because everybody knows that Santa's suit is red and his elves wear green. Now, as Mr. Parker told you, my job is to make sure that Mrs. Warren gets a fair trial and to try and convince the jury that she's innocent. You are going to have to sit in the witness chair and Mr. Parker will ask you questions about what happened on Sunday. When he's done, I'm going to ask you questions about what you said. I might ask you questions to see if maybe you may have remembered something wrong."

"I don't understand."

"That's ok. Mr. Parker, will you please help me? I want to try and give this young lady an example of what I meant when I said I might ask questions to see if she remembered something wrong."

"Sure, I'll be glad to help. I don't want Catherine to be confused about anything tomorrow."

"Thank you. Now Catherine, Mr. Parker and I are going to pretend like he's a witness at a trial. I'm going to ask him a question to see if he might have remembered something wrong. Mr. Parker, what color horse does Little Joe Cartwright ride?"

"He rides a paint horse."

"I think you might be mistaken. I am certain that he rides a sorrel."

"No, I am not mistaken. Little Joe rides a paint horse and Adam rides a sorrel."

Mr. Michaels continued insisting that each of the Cartwright men rode a different color horse than they actually did. By the time they finished, Cat was laughing at them. "That was funny."

"Yes it was," answered Mr. Michaels. "But I wanted you to understand how I might try and see if you remembered something wrong. Remembering something wrong is not the same as telling a lie. For example, if I ask you what the weather was like on your eighth birthday and you say it was sunny when it was really raining, that's ok. Your eighth birthday was a long time ago and you might have forgotten that it was raining. If either one of us asks you a question and you don't understand the question or don't remember, that's ok. Just tell us that you don't understand or don't remember. You won't get in trouble for it. If you don't understand a question, we'll try and ask it in a way you do understand."

"Do you understand everything we have tried to explain to you about how a trial works? Even though it's my job to try and convince the jury that Mrs. Warren is innocent, it is important that you're not confused about what is going to happen tomorrow."

"There is nothing to be nervous about," added Mr. Parker. "All you have to do is answer the questions we ask the best you can and everything will be fine. There is one more thing we forgot to tell you. When you are in the witness chair and we are asking you questions, we will be calling you Miss Cartwright because that's how we have to talk to everybody in court. Even though Mr. Michaels and I have known each other for several years, if he was a witness in court, I would have to call him Mr. Michaels. Do you have any questions for us?"

"Yes sir. What are all the chairs in the back of the room for?"

"I'm sorry. We forgot to tell you about them. The chairs in the back of the room are where the witnesses sit while they're waiting their turn to answer questions. People who are interested in watching trials also sit in them. Do you have any other questions?"

"No sir."

"Very good because it's almost dinner time and your Pa is waiting for you. I will see you in the morning." He helped Cat down off the table and said, "Here you go Ben, you had better take her before I decide to keep her for myself."

Ben laughed. "You would have to wait in line. Roy, Paul and Virginia have been trying to steal her for a long time, so you would have a long wait. Come on Kitten. Mrs. Martin wants us to come there for dinner. Then we'll go and see Mr. Miller about something to carry those puppies in until they're big enough to run along side a horse."

After everybody else had left the courtroom, Mr. Parker turned to Mr. Michaels and said, "There are a few things you need to know concerning Cat for tomorrow." He told him of their plans and Mr. Michaels agreed to them.