Ben wrote a note, walked over to the school and said, "Excuse me Miss Winter. Will you please give this to Jasper King and Michael Devlin at the end of the day?"

"I will be happy to do that for you."

Then Ben said, "Thank you very much. May I please borrow my daughter for a minute? I have something very important to tell her and it shouldn't take more than a minute."

"Of course you may. Catherine, please go with your father."

Cat was concerned that she had done something wrong and was in trouble but Ben calmed her fears. "Don't worry. You're not in trouble. I just wanted to let you know that you won't have to worry about Mrs. Warren for a while. The judge just put her in jail for a month."

Cat got excited, hugged Ben and said, "Really? That's great. I'm tired of worrying if she's gonna hurt me or not. Can I please go and thank the judge? I promise I'll come right back."

"I should say no but if I do, you probably won't be able to concentrate in school. Go ahead but come right back here. Your education is important and I don't want you to miss any more of it than is necessary." While Cat ran over to the courthouse, Ben went back inside the school to talk with Miss Winter. "Catherine will be right back. I gave her some good news and she wanted to thank someone." Then he lowered his voice and said, "The judge just sentenced Mrs. Warren to a month in jail and Cat went to thank the judge. She has been very worried the woman would attack her while she was here at the school."

"That's fine. I am certain that Catherine will return momentarily."

Cat ran over to the courthouse, hugged the judge's neck and said, "Thank you for keeping Mrs. Warren from hurting me. I wish you could make her go far away from here."

"You are welcome Cat. I am working on making Mrs. Warren go far away from here but I have to find a family member who will take her. Sheriff Coffee is sending letters to her family and hopefully someone will take her. Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

"Yes but Pa said I could come over here and tell you thank you."

"You are very welcome. Now go on back to school. It is important for you to get a good education. Your Pa has said that one day the Ponderosa will be yours and you need to learn a lot of things if you are going to run it as well as he has."

Cat ran back over to the school and got a quick drink from the pump. When she turned around, she saw Ben standing there & started getting angry. "You still don't believe me when I say I'll do something. Uncle Matt told you I always try to keep my promises. I came back just like I said I would so you can go home now. I'm leaving for Uncle Rip's fort in the morning. I don't want to stay with someone who doesn't trust me."

"You're wrong Kitten. I wasn't waiting her because I didn't believe you would come back. I knew you would come back even if I wasn't here. I waited for you to get back so I could tell you how much I love you and do this." He picked Cat up and hugged her tightly. Then he kissed her on her forehead and set her down. "Now that I've done what I waited to do, I am going home and you are going back to school."

"I'd rather go home and work with the horses like Joe does."

Ben laughed. "Sorry Sweetheart. You already have a job to do and that is to get a good education. Now scoot." He turned Cat toward the schoolhouse door, gave her a light swat and sent her back into the school.

Annabel was still blaming Cat because she had been punished for stealing and kept watching for the opportunity to get even. During dinner recess on Wednesday, Cat and her friends were playing with a ball when Sally threw it over her head. As she ran to try and catch it, Annabel tripped her and she hit her head on a bench. Cat got up off the ground and tackled her tormentor. She made a fist and as she drew her arm back to hit Annabel, Jasper grabbed her arm. "No Cat. Don't hit her. Mary got Miss Winter and she's coming. If you hit Annabel, you'll be in trouble too because she didn't hit you."

Miss Winter hurried over to where Cat was sitting on Annabel and said, "Catherine, get off of Annabel. What happened here?"

"I was running after the ball and Annabel tripped me," said Cat."

"She's lying," said Annabel. "I was just sitting here when she pushed me down and was going to hit me."

"Did anybody see what happened?"

"I did Miss Winter," said Julie. "Annabel is lying. Cat was chasing the ball and Annabel tripped her."

"Thank you Julie. Let's go Annabel. You are in a lot of trouble. Besides the paddling you are going to get, I will be sending a note home to your father. I am positive that he will not be pleased with your behavior. Just to make sure he gets it, I will be sending it to him with another student."

"It's all Cartwright's fault. I got punished for stealing because of her."

"No Annabel, it is not Catherine's fault that you were punished for stealing. You stole from others and your father punished you for it. You need to take responsibility for your own actions and stop blaming others for what you did. Nobody made you steal all of those things. Now go into the school and be glad I'm not going to wait for recess to end before I paddle you. The next time you try to hurt another student, I will have Sheriff Coffee come over her and use the big belt he keeps to use on children who break the law, on you in front of the entire school. Trying to hurt someone else is against the law. Now let's go!" Then she looked at Cat's head, saw that it was bleeding and asked, "Julie, will you and Amanda please take Catherine over to Dr. Martin's office? I want to make sure she wasn't badly hurt."

"I'm ok Miss Winter," said Cat.

"No you're not. Your head is bleeding and I would prefer that Dr. Martin examine you just to be sure it's not serious. Now go over to the doctor's office with Julie and Amanda."

The girls walked over to the doctor's office. Paul looked up from the medical journal he was reading and said, "Hello girls. What can I do for you?"

"Miss Winter sent us over here," said Amanda. "Cat was chasing the ball at recess and Annabel tripped her. She was real close to a bench when she fell and her head is bleeding."

"I'm fine Dr. Paul," said Cat.

Paul laughed. "If I had a nickel every time I heard that from a Cartwright, I would be a wealthy man. Now, since I have a medical degree and you don't, why don't you let me be the judge of whether or not you are fine?" Paul picked Cat up, put her on the exam bed and checked her over very thoroughly. When he was finished, he said, "It appears that you hit the bench when you fell. It's not a bad wound but I do need to clean it, put four stitches in, and bandage it so it doesn't get infected."

Cat grumbled. "I'm not hurt and don't need my head all bandaged up. I'll look silly and everyone will laugh at me."

"You are a true Cartwright. Your Pa and brothers always argue with me when they need medical treatment. Now sit still and let me take care of your head." Cat refused to sit still so Paul asked the girls to go over to Roy's office and ask him to see if any of the Cartwrights were in town. "Tell him if none of them are in town, I would like him to come over and hold Cat still for me while I take care of her head. Then you two can go back to school. Tell Miss Winter that Cat isn't badly hurt and someone will bring her back to school as soon as I'm finished with her."

Julie and Amanda walked over to Roy's office and relayed Paul's request to him. He laughed and said, "Imagine that, a Cartwright giving the doctor a hard time. Alright girls. Thank you for the message. Go on back to school and I'll see if any of the Cartwrights are in town. If they aren't, I'll help Dr. Martin with Cat. Don't worry. If she's arguing with the doctor, she's not badly hurt."

Roy walked outside and started looking around town to see if he could spot Hoss or Joe's horse tied up anywhere. He walked toward the general store and spotted Hoss and Joe loading supplies onto the buckboard. He walked up to them and said, "Boys, your sister was hurt at school. She's over at the doctor's office. Would one or both of you please go over there and help him with her? She's being a typical Cartwright and giving him a hard time."

"Alright Roy," laughed Hoss. "We'll go right over there and see if we can get little sister to sit still for Paul. Gerald, we'll come back for the rest of these supplies in a little while. Paul needs us to get Cat to sit still for him. I hope little sister ain't hurt too bad."

"I doubt that she is," replied Mr. Miller. "If she were badly hurt, Roy would have told one of you to ride for home to get your father and Adam. Instead, he said that Cat is giving Paul a hard time. So go over to Paul's office and calm your sister down. I don't know what's wrong with her but having the pair of you with her will be some of the best medicine she can have."

"Yore right Gerald. Come on little brother. Our little sister needs us."

They walked over to Paul's office and found Cat sitting on the exam bed, holding a towel on her head and refusing to take it off so Paul could treat the wound. She saw her brothers, hopped down off the bed and ran to them. "Help! Dr. Paul wants to put pins and needles in my head. Please don't let him do that to me."

Hoss and Joe tried not to laugh while Joe picked Cat up and said, "It's not that bad Squirt. Your head has been hurt and Paul needs to clean the wound so it doesn't get infected. Head wounds bleed a lot, so he has to put a few stitches in there to help it heal. It's not like when a lady makes a dress. He doesn't use pins and only uses a very small needle. Paul has put stitches in me several times and it only hurts a little bit. Here, look at my head." He pulled his hair back and Cat saw a scar on Joe's head. "This happened when I was seven or eight. Hoss will remember what happened. I had been watching birds fly and thought if I flapped my arms like their wings, I could fly too. I went up into the hayloft, flapped my arms as hard and fast as I could and jumped off. Of course I didn't fly. Fortunately, I landed on a hay bale but I hit my head on a stall. When I walked into the house with blood running down my head, I think people in Denver heard Pa and Hop Sing yelling. Hop Sing worked to get the bleeding stopped while Hoss rode to town to get Paul. He got me cleaned up and stitched the wound shut. It hardly hurt. I wish I could have said the same for the tanning Pa gave me after Paul left for going into the loft without an adult and putting my life in danger."

"I remember that," said Hoss. "You was only seven and had been told at least a hundred times not to go into the loft without an adult. But you was just as hard headed then as ya are now and went into the loft anyway. When you walked into the house covered in blood, we thought ya'd been attacked by a wild animal. You deserved every bit of that tanning Pa gave ya. Ifn I had been Adam's age, I woulda tanned ya too. I was wishin' he weren't away at college so he coulda. I know if mama had been alive, she woulda fixed ya but good. Ya coulda been killed! Ya shoulda seen him Punkin. His head was bleedin' somethin' terrible but he didn't care. He was just mad because he couldn't fly. When Pa finished with him, he had a real hard time sittin' down and Pa wouldn't let him put a pillow on his chair at supper. He had to ride to school the next day without a cushion on his saddle, Miss Jones wouldn't let him sit on his saddle bags and he was restricted to the yard with extra chores for two months. Now little sister, tell us how you got hurt and let Paul fix your head so you can go back to school."

"I was playing catch with my friends at dinner recess and Sally threw the ball over my head. I was running to catch it when Annabel White tripped me. I guess I hit my head on the bench."

"Well, you're definitely not in trouble," said Joe. "I hope Miss Winter and Annabel's father deal with her. Now, you need to let Paul clean up your head and put some stitches in it so it will stop bleeding." Seeing that Cat was still nervous, he asked, "Paul, will you still be able to work on Cat if she sits in my lap?"

"Yes I will. Cat, we're going to have to undo your right braid so I can fix your head. Even though I know your brothers know how to fix your hair, I'll go and ask Virginia to do it for you. Stay here with Hoss and Joe while I go and talk to Virginia."

He walked into his house and returned a few minutes later with his wife. Virginia looked at Cat and wanted to know what happened. Cat told her and she said, "That child has been spoiled rotten and now that her father is finally disciplining her, she is taking it out on other children. I'll talk to her mother but it probably won't do any good since she is the one who spoiled her to begin with. You need to talk to her father and let him know that his daughter hurt Cat and it's a miracle it wasn't worse."

"Don't worry dear. I'm sure that Miss Winter will be sending a note home to Annabel's father. Right now, I need to clean Cat's head, stitch and bandage the wound. Joe, if you'll sit on the bed, Cat can sit in your lap and she should be at the right height so I won't need to bend over to fix her head. Hoss, once I start to put the stitches in, I'm going to need you to hold her head so she can't move it. She only needs four stitches but I'll hurt her if she moves while I'm putting them in. Cat sweetheart, it's going to sting when I clean the wound and put the stitches in, but it has to be done or it will get infected and you will get very sick. I know that you will be brave for me because you want to be an Apache warrior when you grow up and warriors are very brave. Virginia, will you please unbraid the right side of her head and hold her hair away from the wound?"

"Hold my hands sis," said Joe. "If it hurts, you can squeeze tight. Don't worry, you won't hurt me. I've got you so just relax. It will make Paul's job a lot easier if you don't fight him when he's taking care of you."

With Joe holding her tight, Paul was able to get Cat's head cleaned up in no time at all. Before putting the stitches in her head, he showed her the needle he was going to use. "This is the needle I'm going to use to sew up your head. Do you see how small it is? That's so I can make small stitches and you won't have a big scar."

"Why is it curved?"

"It's curved because the body is curved. If it was straight, I wouldn't be able to sew a wound together correctly and it wouldn't heal right. Also, by using a small, curved needle, it won't hurt as much as if I used a straight one. Hoss, please hold your sister's head as still as possible. Cat, this is going to hurt some but I only need to use four stitches so it won't take long for me to close that wound up. Then I'll put a bandage on it, Virginia will rebraid your hair for you and you can go back to school."

With Hoss and Joe holding their sister, Paul was able to put the stitches in quickly. Having the stitches put in her head hurt but Cat just grabbed on to Joe's arms as tightly as she could and didn't make a sound. "Alright, I'm done. That wasn't too bad, now was it? I want to give those stitches time to set and I want to make sure you aren't hurt badly, so I want you to take it easy for the rest of today. That means no running and I would prefer it if you could get someone else to saddle your horse after school. If you ask nicely, maybe Hoss and Joe will do your chores for you today. Tomorrow you can go back to being your normal, mischievous self. Boys, Hop Sing knows what to do. Just make sure your sister keeps that bandage clean and dry so the wound doesn't get infected. Be sure to watch her for signs of a concussion.

Cat is a little young for laudanum but I'm going to send a little bit home with you anyway, along with some headache powders. If the pain gets too bad only give her one fourth of a teaspoon of the laudanum in a large glass of water. Better yet give her less than one fourth of a teaspoon and then give her a little more if that doesn't help. Otherwise, if her head is hurting and it's not too bad, give her one half dose of the headache powders in a glass of water. If Hop Sing has some herbs to help the pain, use them instead of the laudanum and headache powders. I'll check the wound every day after school and should be able to take the stitches out when we come for supper on Saturday. Cat, don't be afraid to let your family know if your head hurts or if you feel sick or dizzy. People with head injuries need to be watched for a day to make sure they don't get sick. You and Joe had better catch a lot of rabbits when you go hunting on Saturday because I'm planning to eat as much of your rabbit stew as Hoss does. Come back after school and I'll change the bandage before you go home. I'd give you a peppermint stick now but you'll want to eat it in school, so I'll give you one after school. Joe, why don't you take your sister back to school? I'll put some bandages and the medicine together, write out the instructions and give everything to Hoss."

Joe took Cat back to school and walked in with her. She sat down and Miss Winter said, "Catherine, we're finishing up the history lesson. Laura can show you what you need to read."

Joe talked to Miss Winter quietly. "I'm sorry it took so long but Cat needed four stitches and was pretty nervous about it. She thought Dr. Martin was going to put pins and needles in her head the way ladies do when they're sewing. Hoss and I had to hold her so Paul could clean her up and stitch her head."

Miss Winter covered her mouth with one hand to hide her smile and struggled not to laugh. "Oh, that is precious. Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. Paul just wants her watched for signs of a concussion today. He also told her not to do any more running today. Cat can still play with her friends, but someone else will have to run after the ball. He didn't say anything about letting her use the swings so I'll tell her not to use them. She can go back to her normal activities tomorrow."

"Thank you Joe. Please hurry and talk to your sister. I need to get the arithmetic lesson started." As Joe started to walk off Miss Winter stopped him and handed him a note she had written to Ben. "Please give this to your father and be sure to tell him that your sister is not in any trouble. I just wanted to make him aware of what happened today."

Joe walked over to Cat and squatted down by her desk. "Ask Mike or Jasper to saddle your horse after school. I'll meet you at the Devlins and ride home with you from there. Remember, no running and stay off of the swings. You can still play with the ball but somebody else will have to chase it today. Now give me a hug and pay attention to your arithmetic lesson. I think you have a test coming up soon."

Cat hugged Joe and said, "I love you big brother."

"I love you too little sister. I'll see you later. Right now, you need to pay attention to your teacher."

When Hoss and Joe arrived home, Ben was upset that they had been gone so long and said, "You should have been home quite a while ago. What kept you?"

"We had a little problem we needed to take care of," replied Joe.

"A little problem with a poker game in the saloon no doubt," Adam retorted. "How much money did you lose?"

"We wasn't in the saloon," replied Hoss. "Cat got hurt at school and Paul needed us to keep her calm so's he could work on her."

"A likely story," said Adam. "How could Cat have gotten hurt sitting in her desk at school? How much beer did you drink and how much money did Joe lose?"

"Adam, that's enough!" exclaimed Ben. "Your brothers said your sister got hurt so why do you keep insisting they were in the saloon? It's high time you started taking them at their word!"

"Because I am all too familiar with what happens when Joe goes to town."

Joe struggled to keep his temper, dug the note from Susan Winter out of his pocket and handed it to his father. Ben paled when he read it. "Your brothers are not lying Adam. This note is from Susan Winter. Annabel White tripped Cat and she hit her head on a bench. Boys, how badly was your sister hurt?"

"Not too bad Pa," said Joe while shooting daggers at Adam with his eyes. "She only needed four stitches in her head but she was frightened of what Paul was going to do to her. She thought Paul was going to stitch her head up like women do when they're making clothes. We had to hold her still so Paul could take care of her."

"No you didn't have to hold her still," said Adam. "All you had to do was put her across your knees and give her a spanking. Then she would have stopped fighting Paul."

Joe lost his temper and hit Adam as hard as he could. "Stop it both of you!" demanded Ben angrily. "The two of you are old enough to resolve your differences without using your fists. Adam, I don't know what your problem is but I never once punished you or your brothers for acting out because you were afraid of something."

"There was no reason for her to be afraid. I've seen that large scar on her head. She's had stitches before."

"Son, Doctor Adams put those stitches in your sister's head when she was unconscious. I talked to him when we were in Dodge. Catherine was seriously hurt and remained unconscious for three days. He said that if Joshua and Thaddeus hadn't found her when they did, we would have been burying her alongside her mother in June. So, no, she didn't know what to expect when Paul told her she needed stitches in her head. It seems that I also need to remind you that none of you are allowed to spank your sister yet. I am her parent and I will deal with her. If I am not here, Hop Sing can deal with her."

"So, in other words, you are going to let her get away with murder just like you did Joe when he was that age. She'd better hope I don't catch her misbehaving because I won't be as easy on her like you were with Joe. I'll treat her just like I did Joe when he was that age."

"Yeah," said Hoss. "I remember how ya treated Joe. When ya got home from college, you and Pa basically ignored me and Joe except to yell at Joe and punish him, most of the time fer stuff he didn't do. Ya wasn't even home from college a month when Bobby Richards threw Joe into the old well at school and it took him hours to climb out. When he got home, instead of lettin' him explain what happened, you and Pa yelled at him and Pa whipped him and sent him to bed without supper. He didn't want ta see either of ya the next morning so he got up early and went to school with no breakfast and no dinner. He got sick at school and Miss Jones sent him home with a note sayin' he was sick. He stopped at the creek to wash his face off and get somethin' ta drink. You found him and instead of lettin' him explain why he wasn't in school, ya figured he was skippin', pulled his britches down and whipped him. Ya was always real good at punishing him before lettin' him explain what happened and that day was no exception. He figured you and Pa didn't want him no more so he ran away. He was already sick and then he fell into the river. It took us two days to find him. That meant he spent two nights outside in the cold and was soaking wet the first night. In case ya've forgotten, he got real sick. He had pneumonia an' Doc thought he might have cholera from drinking some of that well water. Ifn he had died I woulda killed you and I'm tellin' ya right here and now, ifn ya treat little sister the way ya treated Joe, you and me is gonna tangle and I guarantee you won't come out on top!"

"Hoss, that's enough of that talk!" said Ben. "Adam, you and I need to have a long talk about the way I raised Joseph and the way I intend to raise Catherine. I repeat, you are NOT to spank your sister or use your belt on her. She has only been home for two months and is still not comfortable being part of a family. Even when she is older, if I am home and she does something wrong, bring her to me and I will deal with her."

Hoss gave Ben the medicine, bandages, and note Paul sent and said, "Paul said not ta worry about the bill. He's gonna to have Frank White pay it. Joe, you'd better get going. I'm gonna start on her chores."

"Where are you going?" asked Ben.

"To meet Cat at the Devlins. Paul wants her watched for signs of a concussion today so I said I'd meet her and ride home with her in case she gets dizzy. She and Mike should be there soon and I don't want her riding home alone."

"Thank you for looking after your sister. Are you doing her chores too?"

"Yes," said Hoss. "We're gonna do most of them. She can give the horses their oats and brush Fury but we're gonna do the rest. Paul says unless her head's hurtin' bad, she'll be fine tomorrow."

Joe met Cat at the Devlins. After she finished some cookies and lemonade, they rode home. While Joe unsaddled and brushed Beauty and Cochise, Cat walked into the house and handed Ben the newspaper and mail, keeping one envelope for herself.

"Why didn't you give that envelope to Pa?" asked Adam.

"Because it's for me."

"I don't believe you. Give it to me."

"No, it's mine and you can't have it." Cat took her letter and saddle bags and ran out the door in tears. She ran into the barn and told Hoss what Adam tried to do. He picked her up, comforted her and told her that he would take care of Adam. Then he reminded her that she needed to give the horses their oats and get her homework done before Adam decided to get on her about it.

"Adam!" exclaimed Ben after Cat went outside. "Your sister said that envelope was for her and you had no right to accuse her of lying and try to make her give it to you. I don't know what your problem is today, but I am extremely tired of your attitude toward your brothers and sister. If you have a headache or are ill, either see if Hop Sing has something that will help you or ride into town and see Paul. No matter what you choose to do, you owe your brothers and sister an apology. Because you decided to make an issue over a letter that had been written to your sister, she ran out of here with hurt feelings and I did not get a chance to see how she was feeling. I've got to go and find her and make sure she isn't feeling sick and her head isn't hurting too badly. Oh and by the way, Hoss is right. You were entirely too hard on Joseph when you came home from college and I will not have you treating Catherine that way. Now figure out what is wrong with you and do something about your attitude. I'm going to go and check on your sister."

Ben walked out to the pasture and nearly missed being hit by a flying arithmetic book. He picked it up, brushed it off and walked into the pasture. He sat down next to Cat, handed her the book and said, "I didn't know that arithmetic books could fly. Yours must be magic because I've never seen one fly before. Can I help you with anything?"

"It didn't fly far enough. It should have flown into Lake Tahoe. Miss Winter has us doin' this stuff called long division. It's dumb and I can't figure it out so I'm not gonna do it."

Ben laughed, hugged Cat and said, "You don't know how much you remind me of Joe when he was your age. He hated arithmetic too and tried to throw his book into the fireplace more than once. Didn't Miss White explain this and give you time to practice in school?"

"She explained it but Seth and Jackson got into a fight before she could practice with us. They share books and Seth said that Jackson was hogging their arithmetic book and Jackson said Seth was hogging it. Seth hit Jackson and they got into a big fight. They do that a lot. When they come to school, Tommy Roberts and Billy Davis get into a lot of trouble too."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'll talk to Mr. Winter. There is no reason why Seth and Jackson have to share books. Take your slate out and I'll help you with a few problems. I'll read the first problem to you. Once you write it down, I'll help you solve it. The first problem is two thousand five hundred twenty five divided by twenty five. Now, how many numbers are in the divisor?"

"Two."

"That's right. What are the first two numbers in the dividend?"

"Twenty five."

"Good. Now, what are the numbers in the divisor?"

"Twenty five."

"You're doing fine. Can you divide twenty five by twenty five?"

"Yes. It goes in one time."

"Correct. Now write a one above the first five in the dividend. Next you need to multiply twenty five by one and write that answer below the first two numbers in the dividend and subtract the bottom number from the top one. What is your answer?"

"Zero."

"Fine. That answer is called the remainder. Now, write the next number from the dividend next to the remainder. Can you divide your new number by the divisor?"

"No, you can't divide two by twenty five."

"Excellent. Now you need to write the next number in the dividend next to the two. What is your new number?"

"Twenty five."

"That's right. Can you divide twenty five by twenty five?"

"Yes. It's one."

"Correct. Now do the same thing you did before and your problem will be finished. What is your quotient?"

"One hundred and one."

Ben decided not to correct her pronunciation but said, "Very good. You have solved the first problem. Copy it onto your tablet and I'll help you with a few more problems." Ben helped Cat solve two more problems then asked, "How is your head? Does it hurt?"

"It wasn't hurtin' too bad until I started trying to do the arithmetic. Arithmetic always makes my head hurt."

Ben laughed, hugged Cat, kissed her on top of her head and said, "You are a silly little girl. It is very important that you tell me, Hop Sing, or one of your brothers if your head is hurting or if you feel dizzy. I know you want to be brave like an Apache warrior but even warriors get medicine if they're hurt. I want you to promise that you will let someone know if your head hurts or if you get dizzy." Cat promised and Ben hugged her and said, "That's my girl. Now finish your homework and I'll send one of your brothers to get you when supper is ready."