As they were getting ready to leave town, Ben asked Adam to please go over to the newspaper office and invite Sam Clemens to supper and to tell him to plan on spending several nights on the Ponderosa. Adam rode over to the newspaper office and returned a few minutes later. He said that Sam was going to finish his article about the trial and would ride out to the Ponderosa when it was finished. On the ride home, Mike asked, "How come you didn't bring your puppies today Cat?"

"I wanted to but Pa made me leave them at home. He said that the courtroom would be too crowded and there wouldn't be anywhere for them to lay down without getting stepped on. He also said they need to get used to not being with me all the time because I can't take them to school with me."

"That's a shame. It would have been nice if you could have had them with you when you told what Mrs. Warren did to you."

"Too bad you can't bring them to school," said Laura. "It would be lots of fun to have them there."

"And that's precisely why she can't take them to school. You children would be busy playing with the puppies instead of doing your school work." That statement was greeted by three sighs causing Ben to laugh.

When everyone arrived at the Cartwright's house, there was still time before supper, so Cat, Laura, and Mike spent time playing with their new toys and Cat's puppies. Sam Clemens arrived at about five forty five and was introduced to the Devlins and Laura. During supper, Mitch asked Cat if she was still going to the dance on Saturday night. "I want to but I don't know if everyone else is going. If they don't go, will you take me?"

"Of course we're going," said Ben before Mitch could answer. "We always go to the dances."

After supper, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and said, "Little girls and little boy stay at table. Lest of family clear table." He pointed at Mitch and said, "You family and help clear table too."

"Of course I will Hop Sing. That was a wonderful meal and I wouldn't dream of not helping to clean up after."

Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Mitch got up from the table and started clearing it. Hop Sing looked at Ben and said, "You head of family. You help clear table too."

"Alright Hop Sing. I'll help." He looked at Mr. and Mrs. Devlin and said, "As you can see, I may own the Ponderosa, but Hop Sing is really in charge."

While the table was being cleared, Mrs. Devlin said, "Hop Sing, those biscuits were wonderful. They tasted better than the ones you fixed the last time we dined here. I know I won't be able to fix them as well as you did, but please give me your recipe."

"Hop Sing happy to give you recipe. Come to Ponderosa any time and I show you what I do."

"You can count on it. I'll probably come over sometime next week."

Once the table had been cleared and everyone was sitting down again, Hop Sing brought out a fresh pot of coffee for the adults and a fresh pitcher of milk for the children. Then he brought a large chocolate cake out and gave a very large piece to Cat before serving everyone else. Hoss looked across the table at Cat's piece of cake and said, "That's an awfully big piece of cake little sister. In fact, it's almost as big as you are. That's too much for you to eat all at once, so you should switch pieces with me." He began to reach across the table and Cat picked up her fork and held it, ready to stab her brother's hand if he tried to take her piece of cake.

"You touch my piece of cake and Dr. Paul is going to have to dig this fork out of your hand. The last person that tried to take my food ended up with a sharp knife and lots of stitches in his hand and I was only six then. I didn't get to eat like this much when I was in Dodge and ain't nobody gonna take my food away from me even if you are my brother!"

Mike and Laura stood up. "You might be bigger than us Hoss, but Laura and me ain't gonna let you take Cat's cake away from her. You'll have to fight all three of us to get it!"

"Alright, that's enough!" exclaimed Ben. "Hoss, you know better than to try and take anyone's food away from them. Hop Sing wouldn't give your sister more than he thought she could eat. Laura, Cat, Mike, would you like more milk?"

"Yes please," came three replies.

"The pitcher is full, so if you'll pass your glasses to me, I'll pour for you." Three glasses were passed to Ben along with three Thank Yous when they were passed back.

After dessert was finished, everyone took their drinks into the great room. Adam played his guitar and everyone talked and sang until Mr. Devlin noticed the three children having a hard time staying awake. "Ben, thank you for dinner today and a wonderful meal tonight. It's been too long since we've done anything like this. We need to start for home as these three youngsters are having a hard time staying awake. If you'll give Mary those dolls for Laura's sisters, we'll take her home and leave the dolls with Charles and Caroline and tell them why Laura has a yo-yo and a top and why her sisters have new dolls." Everyone walked outside and Joe and Mitch got the Devlin's horses from the barn. Once Dan, Mary, and Mitch were mounted, Adam handed Laura to Dan and Hoss handed Mike to his brother and the Devlins rode out of the yard.

Ben picked Cat up and carried her over to the outhouse. Then he carried her back into the house where all three of her brothers and Hop Sing hugged her and said goodnight. "I don't think she'll stay awake long enough to read tonight Joe. In fact, I'm willing to bet that she'll be asleep almost as soon as her head hits the pillow."

The rest of the family looked at Cat who was almost asleep with her head on Ben's shoulder and said quietly, "No bet. She'll be asleep before you get half way up the stairs."

Ben chuckled, knowing they were right. Cat was asleep before they reached the second floor. He sat her down on her bed, got her night clothes out and proceeded to get her ready for bed. He took her dress of and said, "I'll put this in the laundry and Hop Sing can wash it tomorrow. That way it will be clean if you want to wear it to the dance on Saturday night." Ben chuckled as Cat mumbled something unintelligible and finished getting her ready for bed. Once she was in her night clothes, he kissed and hugged her goodnight, put her and her puppies in bed, covered them up and blew out the lamp. When he left the room, he left the door part way open so everyone could hear if she had a nightmare and went back downstairs. Ben no sooner reached the bottom of the stairs when someone knocked on the front door so he walked over and opened it. "Hello Pete. What brings you to the house this late?"

"Sorry to disturb you so late but I wanted to wait until your company left. Dave and Josh were working in the south pasture when they noticed the pond there was low and not getting any water. It was getting late when they noticed it so they didn't have time to find out why. It was almost dark when they got back here. I didn't want to interrupt your supper because nobody can do anything about it until morning."

"Thank you Pete. I'll have Adam, Hoss, and Joe check it out in the morning. They can take their sister with them so she can start learning what it takes to run a ranch this size. I am curious, was anybody on the ranch this morning or was everybody at the trial?"

"Pete laughed. I figured you saw us. Only ten of us went to town this morning. Everybody else stayed here. The cattle, chickens and horses wanted to come and were upset when we told them that there wasn't enough room for them. That little black colt tried following us too. We finally had to put him in the house with the puppies. When we saw Hop Sing with that big knife, we kept him in the back with us so he wouldn't decide to use it on Mrs. Warren."

Ben laughed at Pete's description of the livestock wanting to attend the trial. "I hope you cleaned up the house after that black colt before Hop Sing got home. I saw the size of the knife he had with him."

"Don't worry boss. Some of us rode home real fast, got that colt back with its mama and cleaned up after it long before Hop Sing got back here. None of us wants Hop Sing mad at us, especially when he's carrying a big knife."

"That's a very good thing. I'd hate to see some of my best hands laid up because they made Hop Sing angry when he was carrying a big knife. Tell the men thank you for attending the trial. I'm positive Cat noticed you were there and between you, Hop Sing, and Hoss, she felt safe."

"I'm glad we were able to make things a little easier for her. I know you've had a long day so I'll see you tomorrow. Give Cat a hug for me."

"Will do Pete. Have a good night."

Ben walked back into the great room to find his eldest and youngest sons in a heated argument with their brother. "I can't believe you tried to take Cat's dessert," said Joe. "What were you thinking?"

"Yes brother," said Adam. "Please tell us what you were thinking when you decided to get our sister upset again. Wasn't she upset enough earlier that you had to add to it?"

"I agree," said Ben. "Please tell us what you were thinking when you tried to take your sister's dessert. It's bad enough that you tried to do it when we had company, but to get your sister all upset again after what she went through today was a terrible thing to do. I'm going to leave part of your punishment up to Hop Sing since he was the one who gave Catherine such a large piece of cake. However, beginning on Monday, you will be doing your sister's chores for the next two weeks. In fact, Joseph, you no longer have to do your sister's chores. Hoss will be doing them beginning tomorrow until two weeks from Sunday. I still can't believe you did that Hoss. You haven't done anything like that since you were twelve years old. So, please enlighten us and tell us what you were thinking."

"I was just tryin' to help her out. That piece of cake was too big for her to eat so I offered to swap with her."

"That piece of cake was not too big for your sister to eat. Hop Sing knows what he's doing and would not give your sister more than she could eat. Joe, would you please ask Hop Sing to come out here so your brother can tell him what he tried to do tonight?"

Hop Sing came out of the kitchen and glared at Hoss. "Hop Sing know what you try to do at supper. Mr. Hoss very bad boy to try and take Missy Cat cake. You get no dessert for two weeks. Next time, you get no dessert for one month. Missy Cat already feel bad. You make her feel worse. Starting tomorrow, you do Missy Cat chores until Hop Sing say different!"

"Now Hop Sing, I was just tryin' to help little sister out. You done give her such a big piece of cake I figured she couldn't eat it all. Pa said I only have to do her chores for two weeks. Why you changin' it?"

"You older than Missy Cat and know better. You not thinking of little sister. You just jealous she get bigger piece of cake than you. You do her chores until Hop Sing say different."

"By the way brother," said Adam. "If you had succeeded in taking Cat's piece of cake, she would have ended up with three pieces because Joe and I would have given her ours. So she still would have had more than you."

Sam just sat in Ben's chair, chuckling to himself at Hoss getting in trouble for trying to take his sister's piece of cake.

"Alright, that's enough discussion of that subject," said Ben. "Tomorrow morning, I want the three of you to take your sister and find out why the south pasture isn't getting any water. By the time Dave and Joshua noticed the pond was going dry, it was starting to get dark and they didn't have time to look for the source of the problem." Before he could say anything else, they heard Cat cry out in the beginning of another nightmare. The four of them rushed up the stairs to be with the youngest family member while the bad dream played itself out. It was the worst nightmare Cat had experienced since moving to the Ponderosa and it took a while to get her calmed down. By the time the dream had passed, Cat was shaking like a leaf. Ben wrapped her in a blanket and held her close in his lap. Before taking her to the outhouse, he said, "Put her pillow and favorite blanket on my bed. She can spend the rest of the night there." He picked Cat up, still wrapped in the blanket and started for her bedroom door.

Lassie and Silver Chief jumped off the bed to follow, lost their footing and somersaulted over each other causing everyone to laugh at them. Hoss picked them up, put them on their feet and said, "It won't be long before the two of you are gettin' on that bed by yourselfs."

Cat was still shaking when Ben carried her outside so he left the blanket wrapped around her when he set her down inside the outhouse. When he carried her back into the house, he took her into his room and sat on his bed with her in his lap, holding her close until she stopped shaking and fell back to sleep. He put her and her puppies in his bed, covered them up, turned the lamp down low and walked out of the room, leaving the door part way open so the family could hear Cat if she had another nightmare. He walked back downstairs, sat down in his chair, and said, "Sorry Sam, but I had to take care of my daughter."

"There's nothing to apologize for Ben. The needs of a young child always take priority over company. I am concerned about those nightmares. How long has she been having them?"

"Ever since her mother was killed. That was the worst one since she moved here."

"That is totally understandable given what she's been through in the last few months, especially this week. I thought she did a remarkable job with her testimony in court this morning. I was able to see the faces of the jury and it was obvious that they completely believed her testimony. I truly hope that she never has to go through that again but I have a feeling that woman is not going to abide by her restrictions once she is released from jail. The judge may have to find a family member in another state and send her to live with them. Oh by the way, I gave Dan some money to send a rider out here with the paper once it's published in the morning. Then you'll be able to read my article about the trial."

"Thank you Sam. I appreciate you doing that. How much do I owe you for the paper and rider? Unfortunately, I believe you are correct about Millicent Warren. She believes that the rules are meant for everyone but her. My main concern is when school begins in two weeks. I'm concerned that Millicent will go to the school and try to hurt Cat again."

"I don't think you'll need to worry about that Ben. After all, it is highly unlikely that Mrs. Warren will try anything when Cat has a school yard full of children to protect her and witness anything that happens. I believe that her big mistake was in thinking that a jury would believe her over a nine year old child."

"I hope you're right Sam. I really don't want to have to keep one of my hands at the school all day to protect my daughter from another attack. Well, it's getting late and we need to be up early. Let's get some sleep." They walked upstairs. Sam entered the guest room that had been prepared for him while Ben got his night clothes from his bedroom, changed in Cat's room and then returned to his own room. After ensuring that Cat was asleep, he blew out the lamp and got into bed. Cat sensed he was there, snuggled up close to him and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning while everyone was eating breakfast, Ben told Cat that she would be riding out with her brothers to find out why the south pasture wasn't getting any water. After breakfast, Cat took Sam out to the pasture and introduced Fury to him. He laughed at the colt's antics and was amazed at what Cat had taught him to do in only three weeks. They had been playing with Fury for about fifteen minutes when Joe walked out to where they were and said, "We're ready to go Cat. You need to get your hat and gloves. I've already put your saddle bags on Beauty so you don't need to worry about them." Cat started to run toward the pasture gate when Joe said, "Cat, you're not supposed to be running until tomorrow. Be glad it's me out here instead of Pa or Adam."

"Thanks Joe. Are you going to tell Pa? I really don't want to get a spanking and spend an hour standing in the corner."

"I won't tell him unless he asks. I love you but I won't lie if Pa asks me if you were running, so you had just better hope that he doesn't ask."

"Don't worry Cat. The newspaper should have come by now so I'll talk to him about my article. That way he won't think about asking Joe if you ran."

Cat hugged Sam and said, "Gee thanks Mr. Sam. That's really nice of you."

"That's alright Cat. I know it's hard for a young child like you to walk when you want to run. Just remember, you'll be able to run tomorrow so be careful today so you don't get in trouble."

"I will. I promise."

"That's a good girl. Now go with Joe and find out why that pasture isn't getting any water."

"Come on Squirt. Climb up on my back," said Joe. "That way if Pa does ask, I can honestly say you were thinking about it and that's why you're on my back. You won't get in trouble for thinking about running. As Roy likes to say, "If people got in trouble every time they thought about doing something wrong, the jails and prisons would be full and there wouldn't be anybody to run the shops."

Joe carried Cat back to where their brothers were waiting with the horses. Ben was there and had Cat's hat and gloves in his hands. "Why are you carrying your sister son?"

"Two reasons Pa. First, she was thinking about running and I wanted to keep her from getting in trouble and it was a lot faster to carry her. If she would have seen a rabbit or any other critter, she would have been off chasing it and we'd never get anywhere near the south pasture today."

Ben laughed. "You're right about that son. Your sister is a lot like Hoss when it comes to the wild creatures. I am concerned about her running though. How far did she get?"

Joe spread his arms apart to indicate how far Cat had run and said, "Just enough to put one foot in front of the other. She looked like she was going to take off running so I had her climb up on my back."

"Thank you for keeping your sister out of trouble Joe." He reached up, put Cat's hat on her head and said, "As for you young lady, you only have one more day before you can run. I am certain if you try hard enough, you will remember to walk instead of run. I really don't want to have to punish you for running when you'll be able to do it tomorrow without getting in trouble. Promise me that you'll think and remember not to run before tomorrow."

"I'll try Pa. Really I will."

"That's my girl. Now let's get you on your horse. You need to find out why there's no water going into that pond in the south pasture." Ben put Cat on her horse, then put her puppies and gloves in the saddle bags, and watched her ride out of the yard with her brothers. After his children had ridden out of the yard, he turned to Sam and said, "Why don't we get some coffee and sit out on the porch. It's a nice morning and we can get caught up on what's happened since we last saw each other.

"That sounds like a good idea to me. If I knew anything at all about ranch work, I would move in with you just so I could eat Hop Sing's cooking all the time."

Ben laughed. "You and half of Virginia City. I can't even begin to tell you how many people have tried to steal Hop Sing away from here."

"I can believe it. He's an excellent cook and you were extremely lucky to find him."

"You won't get any argument from me on that point."

While Ben and Sam were talking, Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Cat rode out to the south pasture. They saw the almost empty pond and the dry stream leading to it. They followed the stream bed to a small lake just north of Lake Tahoe and found a beaver dam right where the stream left the lake, causing the water to back up behind it. "Joe, ride back to the house and get some dynamite and long fuses," said Adam. "I'm going to get rid of these beavers once and for all."

"Why do you need dynamite?" asked Cat.

"Because I want to blow up this beaver dam and the lodges so I can get rid of them. They are a nuisance."

"You said a cuss word and I'm tellin' Pa. If you blow up the beaver's house, you'll kill them."

"That's exactly what I intend to do. They're pests. You are a pest and a nuisance also."

"You can't kill the beavers. I won't let you and I'm still tellin' Pa that you said a cuss word."

"Exactly how do you plan on stopping me from blowing up that beaver dam and the lodges? You're too small to do much of anything."

Hoss and Joe stood together near their horses, laughing at how angry their sister was getting about Adam wanting to blow up the beaver dam and kill the beavers. "Watch me. They're my beavers and I'm not going to let you kill them!" With that, she ran to the water's edge and climbed up on top of the dam, followed by her puppies. "You can't blow up the beaver's houses now because if you do, I'll get hurt. So will Silver Chief and Lassie and Pa will kill you."

Adam sighed loudly while Joe and Hoss kept laughing. "Get off of there now! We have to get rid of the beavers. The cattle in the south pasture need water."

"I don't care. You're not gonna to kill my beavers!"

"How are we supposed to get water to that pasture so the cattle don't die."

"I don't care. You're an arkitekt. You went to college and are supposed to be smart. You figure it out."

"That's architect and I am also an engineer."

"You're not an engineer. You don't drive a train. Now I'm going to tell Pa that you said a cuss word and told a lie."

"There are different kinds of engineers little sister. There are engineers that drive trains and there are engineers that build things like bridges and buildings."

"Oh ok. But I'm still not gonna let you kill my beavers."

"I should just pull you off of there and set your bottom on fire."

"You can't 'cause Pa will get mad at you. I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm just sittin' here to keep you from murdering my beavers."

Adam sighed again and looked at his brothers. "Any suggestions?"

"No older brother," said Joe, laughing the entire time. "As little sister said, you went to college and are supposed to be smart. You should be able to figure it out."

"No," said Hoss. "But ya gotta admit that little sister shore is cute sittin' up there on top of that beaver dam. She's right. She ain't doin' anythin' wrong and you know we're not allowed to spank her."

Adam sighed. "Yes she is cute, but she's also a royal pain in the neck. The cattle need water but I can't get rid of the beaver dam because she's sitting on top of it. Do you suppose the two of you can stop laughing long enough to take a look around and see if you can help me figure something out?"

"Shore, we can do that. Come on Joe. Older brother needs our help." The three brothers mounted their horses and started riding around the lake. They found another stream coming from the lake that was flowing in the general direction of the pasture before curving away from it.

"How about this stream Adam?" asked Joe. "Why can't we make this one meet up with the one the beavers have blocked?"

"Because that one is flowing to a good, healthy stand of timber we may need in the future."

"Ok," said Hoss. "But how about ifn we put a fork in it? Then part of it will go to the timber and part of it will go to the pasture. Also, there's no trees on this side of the lake so the beavers can't block it and ifn we have it join with the dry stream far enough away from the lake, the beavers won't be able to block it between here and the pasture."

"That might work, but how are we going to get that channel made? We can't use dynamite and Cat won't come off that beaver dam until she knows it's safe."

"I guess we'll have to dig it out by hand," said Joe. "That means one of us is going to have to ride back to the house and get a bunch of hands with shovels. Pa will probably want to see Cat sitting on that beaver dam himself. I'm sure he and Sam would enjoy a good laugh. Too bad we don't have a way to get a picture of it."

"Alright, you two keep an eye on little sister and make sure she doesn't fall in. I'll ride back to the house and have Pete round up as many hands as he can. I'll tell Pa and Sam what's happening and get my sketch book at the same time. We won't have a photograph of Cat but I can draw her sitting on that dam." Adam mounted Sport and rode off toward the house. When he reached the yard, he walked into the bunkhouse and said, "Pete, I need at least eight hands with shovels to go out to the small lake that's just north of Lake Tahoe. Make sure that Frank is not among them. You should come too and bring Joshua and Thaddeus. The three of you are going to want to see this. So is Pa."

"Ok Adam. I'll round up as many hands as I can including Joshua and Thaddeus. What's going on? Why do you need the hands with shovels?"

"I'm not going to spoil the surprise by telling you. All I'll say is that Hoss and Joe were still laughing when I rode back here."

Adam left the bunkhouse and walked into the house. Ben was surprised to see him. "I didn't expect to see you back here so soon. Did you find the source of the problem?"

"Yes we did. There is a beaver dam blocking it."

"Well, that should be easy to get rid of. Just break or blow it up."

"We can't. There is a problem…"

"What kind of problem would keep you from destroying a beaver dam?"

"Why don't you and Sam come with me? Then you can see the problem for yourself. I think you'll think it's just as funny as my brothers do. I certainly don't." Adam walked upstairs to get his sketch book.

"That sounds interesting Ben. I'd like to ride out and see what he's talking about."

"Alright Sam. I would like to see what's got him so upset and causing his brothers to be amused." Adam came back downstairs carrying his sketchbook and pencils. Ben looked at him and asked, "Why do you need your sketch book Adam?"

"You'll see when we get out there. I don't want to spoil your surprise." He walked out of the house and put his sketch book and pencils in his saddle bags. Then he walked over to the tool shed, took some string and three shovels out, tied the shovels together and then tied them to his saddle horn. Then he put the string in his saddle bags, walked back into the barn, saddled Ben's and Sam's horses and led them out to the hitching rail. His father and Sam joined him a few minutes later and the three of them rode off toward the lake.

As they approached the lake, Sam spotted Cat sitting on top of the beaver dam and said, "Ben, do you see what I see? That must be Adam's problem."

"I see it but I'm not sure if I believe it or not. Adam, is that your problem son?"

"Yes it is! I have better things to do with my time than cater to a nine year old's whims! She's pulling at least eight hands off their jobs and creating a lot of extra work by her actions. I've half a mind to pull her off of there and blow that thing and the beavers to kingdom come."

"You need to learn to relax son. Your sister has been through Hell in these last three months and this week was extremely hard on her. Do you have any idea what it will do to her if you do pull her off the dam and blow it up? If you think if her nightmare was bad last night, go ahead and follow through with your plans and see how bad tonight's is. Then you may as well help her pack her things and take her back to Dodge because she won't be able to trust us to take care of her. The ranch won't fall apart because several hands are going to do something here instead of their other jobs. I don't remember you being this upset when Joseph was nine and did something similar."

"You weren't there and I was plenty upset. If he hadn't run for home with his tail between his legs, I would have blistered it for him! I didn't have time for that nonsense then and I don't have time for it now!"

"Well now I know why he came home several times saying that you were going to kill him. We'll talk about that later. Now settle down and relax before Sam gets the idea that you don't like your sister and youngest brother. Several hours of lost work won't hurt the ranch and you know it. You're just frustrated because your sister is protecting animals that you consider to be a nuisance. Remember, God created animals, including beavers, before He created man." They rode up to the lake and dismounted. Adam took his sketch book out of his saddle bags and started drawing his sister on the beaver dam. Ben and Sam walked up to the water's edge, looked at Cat and her puppies and started laughing. "What are you doing up there Kitten?"

"I'm keepin' Adam from killing the beavers. They're my beavers and I'm not gonna let him murder them!"

"Well now, when did you get pet beavers?"

"When we got here and Adam said he wanted to murder them. I'll name them as soon as I see them."

"I hope you realize that you can't bring the beavers home. They won't be happy out of the water and have to live here. How long do you plan on sitting there?"

"Until I'm sure that Adam isn't going to murder my beavers, even if it takes all night."

"What if Adam promises not to hurt them."

"I don't trust him. Little Joe says that he doesn't always keep his promises. He'll kill my beavers as soon as I get on the ground."

Sam, Joe, and Hoss stood there laughing while Ben tried convincing Cat to get off the beaver dam. Pete rode up with ten hands including Thaddeus and Joshua. Since most of them had known Cat since she was five, they joined in the laughter when they saw her and her puppies sitting on a beaver dam. "She sure is cute Ben," said Pete. "I think everyone else agrees with me. Josh, Thad, are you starting to learn why the family calls her Wild Cat?"

"Yes we are," laughed Joshua. "I agree. She is cute sitting up there. But why is she there?"

"She's keeping Adam from blowing up the dam and beavers," replied Ben. She has decided that the beavers are her pets and is bound and determined to protect them from her brother at all costs. Adam is sketching her now but I wish there was a way to get a photograph of her. The rest of the family won't believe this."

"Perhaps I can help," said a voice behind Ben who jumped at the sound of a strange voice behind him. He turned around and saw an older tall, thin man with a small enclosed wagon. "Please allow me to introduce myself," said the man. "My name is Abel Goss and I am a photographer. I was trying to find Mr. Ben Cartwright and the Ponderosa ranch when I took a wrong turn and ended up here."

Ben shook Abel's hand and said, "I'm Ben Cartwright and you are on the Ponderosa."

"That is excellent. I am a friend of Lucas McCain. I just came from Northfork. He said that you had adopted your niece and might be interested in having a family portrait done. It would seem that my wrong turn was fortuitous. Please allow me to retrieve my camera equipment from my wagon and I will be more than happy to photograph the little girl, whom I assume is your new daughter. May I ask what she is doing sitting on that beaver dam?" Ben told him and he started laughing. "Lucas said she was high spirited and I can see that he was correct."

As Abel started getting his camera equipment out of the wagon, Ben asked, "Will you be able to make more than one copy of the photograph?"

"Oh yes. I will be able to make as many copies as you need."

Pete walked up to Adam just as he finished his drawing of Cat and said, "I've got ten hands here and everyone has a shovel. What do you want us to do?"

"Give me a few minutes and I'll show you." He put his sketch book back in his saddle bags, took the string out, picked several small sticks up off the ground and walked over to the other stream. Using his shovel, he pounded two sticks in the ground and tied a piece of string to each stick and walked back toward the blocked stream, stopping two times to put more sticks in the ground and wrap the string around them. Once he had his desired channel marked, He showed Pete what he needed done, grabbed his shovel and said, "Hoss, Joe, grab some shovels and lend a hand. We have better things to do than stand out here all day and watch our sister sit on a beaver dam."

"Go on boys," said Ben. "Help Adam and the hands. I'll keep an eye on your sister to make sure she stays safe."

Hoss and Joe grabbed shovels but before joining Adam and the hands, they walked up to their father to talk with him for a minute. "Me and Joe were talkin' an' we figure there's something important you need to know."

"Oh, what is that?"

"Adam threatened to pull Cat off that dam and set her bottom on fire," replied Joe.

"Yeah," added Hoss. "He's real mad she won't let him blow it up and kill the beavers. We had to remind him she's not doin' anythin' wrong and we're not allowed to spank her."

"I don't want him treating Cat like he treated me when I was a boy," said Joe. "If he does, we'll lose her for sure."

"Thank you boys. I appreciate you telling me that. I had already planned on having a talk with Adam about how he reacted to your sister today. Now it appears I need to remind him that he is not allowed to do more than give her a swat if she's misbehaving, which she is not. Go and help your brother before his mood gets worse. I'll talk with him later."