Once they got Cat and Tommy separated, Susan and Ben took them over to Paul Martin's office. Because the two children were still trying to fight each other, Susan held on to Cat while Ben held onto Tommy who tried to get away. Paul and Virginia looked at the two children's injuries and asked what had happened. After listening to Ben's explanation, Paul glared at his friend and said, "We'll talk later Ben. Go and see if you can find Thomas' father while I fix him up and Virginia can take care of Cat. Don't worry, he won't give me a hard time, will you Thomas?"
"No sir."
"You see Ben, Thomas here has felt the sting of my paddle on more than one occasion so he has decided that cooperating with me is the better of the two options."
Ben looked at his bruised and bloody daughter and regretted not listening to his family. They tried to warn him what would happen but he let his pride get in the way and ignored them. He was going to do things his way and nobody could tell him differently. Now Cat was hurt, it was his fault and he didn't know how he was going to make it up to her. He left Paul's office to see if Mr. Roberts was in town. Ben found him at the feed store. "Hello Ben. I didn't expect to see you this soon."
"Hello Ted. I'm glad I found you. I've been looking all over town. Your son and my daughter got into a fight at school. They're both over in Dr. Martin's office right now."
"My son fought with your daughter? Why did he do that? I raised him better than to hit a girl." Ben told Mr. Roberts everything that had happened that morning. "So let me get this straight. My son and William Davis were picking on some of the younger children when you and Catherine arrived at the school. Then they decided to tease her because she had to ride double with you and when she tried to ignore them, William pushed her and Thomas tripped her?"
"I'm sorry to say that is exactly what happened."
"How badly is your daughter hurt?"
"Not as badly as your son. She had a bloody nose and has a black eye."
Mr. Roberts laughed. "I like that little girl. She has a lot of spunk. She gave better than she got. I admire that because she was defending herself against a boy who is several years older, head and shoulders taller, and must outweigh her by fifteen pounds. My son on the other hand is in a lot of trouble and I can guarantee you that the only time he will be spending any time with William will be at school. Among other things, I plan to restrict him to the ranch with enough extra chores to keep him busy until after the new year. You have given me some food for thought. An old friend of mine is the Commanding Officer at Virginia Military Institute and has suggested several times that I enroll Thomas there. He'll get a good education and the discipline he needs. I'll send him a telegram when we finish at the doctor's office. Well, let's go over to Dr. Martin's office so I can see what your daughter did to my son."
They walked into Paul's office in time to hear Tommy say, "This isn't over Cartwright. Nobody beats me in a fight and gets away with it, and if you tell my Pa that I tripped you. I'll make your life a living Hell for a long time to come. That's not a threat, it's a promise. If you don't believe me, just ask Jeff Michaels what happened to him when he told Billy's Pa that he ripped up his homework."
"Just exactly what are you planning on doing to Catherine son?" asked Mr. Roberts. "She doesn't need to tell me what you did because Mr. Cartwright already did and I'm quite certain that your teacher and Dr. Martin would also have told me. You are in more trouble than you realize. You tripped and hit a girl and now I have learned part of the truth about why young Jeff Michaels was trying to ride William's horse and got hurt. Ben, do you happen to know the entire truth about what my son did to Jeff?"
"Yes, I believe I do. Joe said he was told that John Winter saw William rip up Jeff's homework and told William's father. The boy was punished and he and Thomas decided that Jeff had told William's father and they needed to teach the youngster a lesson. Thomas put several burrs under William's saddle, picked Jeff up and sat him down hard in the saddle."
"Thank you Ben. It's nice to finally know the truth about what happened. Thomas, we will discuss your punishment after school and I expect you to come directly home when school is dismissed."
"I'm going fishing with Billy and won't be home until almost suppertime."
"No you are not! You are to come directly home from school. You are in enough trouble already. Don't make it worse by disobeying me. Now get yourself back to school and see to it that you behave for the rest of the day!"
Ben sat down next to Cat, pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly. "I am so very sorry that I didn't listen to your brothers and Hop Sing. They were right and I was wrong. I let my pride get in my way and you got hurt because of it. I never intended for this to happen and I promise you that I will never again make you ride double to school with me. You are my little girl, I love you, and I don't ever want to be the cause of you getting hurt. I want to assure you that you are in absolutely no trouble for that fight. In fact, I am very proud of you for trying to avoid trouble when it came looking for you. Will you please forgive me?"
Cat thought for a minute and said, "Yes, but I won't again if you break your promise."
Ben hugged her again and said, "Thank you. Now, if Paul and Virginia are done with you, you should go to school. A horse will be waiting for you when school is dismissed for the day. I'll rent one from the livery stable and you can return it on your way to school in the morning. If your head or eye starts hurting or if your nose starts bleeding again, I want you to come back here and see Paul. If that happens, he can send someone out to the ranch and we'll come and get you in the buggy. I don't want you riding any horse if your head or eye is hurting or if your nose is bleeding. Head on back to school and always remember that I love you very much."
When Cat left Paul's office, she ran over to see Roy before returning to school. He took one look at her black eye and asked, "What happened to you? Who hit you? Does Ben know about it?"
Cat told him about having to ride double with Ben because she got caught running in the house and about her fight with Tommy. Then she said, "Will you please send telegrams to my uncles and tell them what happened? Adam, Hoss, and Joe gave me money this morning. Pa said he'd never make me ride double to school with him again, but I'm not sure."
Roy sighed. Ben's pride got in the way of his common sense again and this time his nine year old daughter got hurt. "Keep your money. I'm going to talk to your Pa and if I need to send telegrams, I'll pay for them. Right now you need to go to school before I lock you up for skipping." Cat giggled, hugged Roy and ran over to the school.
After the children left his office, Paul turned to Ben and said, "What on God's Green Earth ever possessed you to make that child ride double with you to school?"
Before he could say anything else, Roy's voice came from the doorway. "I'd like to know the answer to that myself. Didn't Joe tell you what could happen to Cat if she rode into the school yard on your horse with you?"
"Yes he did. So did the rest of the family. They all tried to talk me out of it and deep down inside, I knew they were right. However, because we had decided that part of Cat's punishment for running in the house was to ride double with someone, I let my pride get in the way of common sense. She did something wrong and needed to be punished for it and nobody was going to talk me out of following through with the promised punishment. Mike Devlin even tried to get me to let Cat ride double with him but I insisted on carrying through with her punishment."
Tommy couldn't believe that Cat wasn't going to be punished for the fight when she was the one who attacked and hit him. He decided that he needed to talk to Billy and plan his revenge for her beating him in a fight and the whipping he knew he would receive when he returned home after school. He and Billy talked at recess and dinner to start planning their revenge. After school, he decided to ignore his father's instructions and went fishing with Billy instead. They finalized their revenge plans and decided to put them into action the following day.
When Tommy finally rode into his yard carrying his fishing pole and stringer of fish, he father was furious. He took the fishing pole from his son, snapped it in half, told him to put the fish in the water barrel and come into the barn. Tommy put the fish in the water barrel and sauntered into the barn as though he hadn't done anything wrong and didn't have a care in the world. Mr. Roberts became even angrier at his son's attitude and decided to teach him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. He took the strap down off its nail, told Tommy to drop his pants and bend over a saddle stand. Then he used the strap on his son's bare bottom fifteen times and informed him that he was restricted to the ranch with extra chores until after the new year and possibly longer if he didn't fix his attitude and behavior in a hurry.
At supper, Mr. Roberts spoke to his eldest son. "Richard, I know you have your hands full with helping me run the ranch, however I need to put more on your plate. Your brother decided that there was nothing wrong with tripping and hitting a girl and deliberately disobeying me. I told him to come straight home from school but he chose to go fishing with William instead. He is restricted to the ranch with extra chores until next year but since I can't trust him, I am going to need you to pick him up after school and supervise him doing his chores. Since this will be in addition to your regular duties, I will be paying you extra for supervising your brother. He is to come home from school, complete his homework and then do his chores. I will give you a list of what he is to accomplish every day in addition to his regular chores. If he is not at the school when you arrive or refuses to do the chores I assign, let me know and he will receive more of what I gave him in the barn."
Tommy couldn't believe what he was hearing and glared at his father. "You aren't going to treat me like a little kid! I'm a man now and I don't need my stupid brother looking after me! I'll be sixteen in May and that means I'm a man! I can do whatever I want to whenever I want to and nobody is going to tell me any different!"
"Thomas, finish your supper and go wait for me in the barn. It seems you need a lesson in the proper way to talk to an adult. You are fifteen years old and that is nowhere near being an adult. You are acting like a six year old, so I am going to treat you like a six year old. I am hoping that two months of not being allowed to spend time with William outside of school will change your attitude. You will not be permitted to speak with him on Sundays except to say hello and goodbye before or after church."
"This is all Cartwright's fault. I'm going to pay her back just as soon as I can!"
"Thomas, I am not going to speak to you about this again. It is not Catherine Cartwright's fault that you chose to trip and hit her. Consider yourself fortunate that she wasn't hurt worse than she was because if she had been, I would have allowed Mr. Cartwright to give you a whipping in the doctor's office. I am warning you now, if you do anything to hurt his daughter, the whipping you got earlier and are going to get after supper will be nothing compared to what you will get! Now finish your supper and go out to the barn!"
When Cat got home from school, Ben was in the yard to greet her. He hugged her and said "I'll take care of the horse for you. Fill Hop Sing's wood box and then I want you to get your winter hat, coat, and mittens. It's been warm but Indian Summer is over, it's getting colder, and we'll see the first snow soon. I want to make sure your winter things fit so we can buy new ones if they don't. I would like to you try your long underwear on too so I know if I need to replace it or not. While we're talking about winter, I want to warn you about something now so you won't be surprised when the time comes. Once the weather gets cold and we start getting snow, you will have to do your homework in the barn or the house. It will be much too cold to do it outside and I do not want you to get sick. The same rules will still apply. Unless you need help with something, your homework needs to be finished before supper. I'm going to have to teach you how to safely light a lantern and I'll put a nail on the post in the barn low enough so you can reach it to hang the lantern there."
"Ok Pa."
"That's my girl. How is your eye? Does it still hurt?"
"It stings a little bit but not too bad. I think Tommy got in even bigger trouble with his Pa. When we were in Dr. Paul's office, Mr. Roberts told Tommy he couldn't go fishing with Billy but he did anyway. I'm sure glad I'm not him."
Ben chuckled. "You would never go fishing after being told not to, would you?"
"I don't know. It depends."
"What does it depend on?"
"Well, ifn Adam, Hoss, Joe, or one of the hands said they saw a whale in Lake Tahoe, I would have to try to catch it and take it back to the ocean. Adam says that whales have to live in the ocean so it wouldn't be happy in Lake Tahoe."
Ben laughed and hugged his daughter. "You are a little scamp. I'll tell you what. If one of your brothers or the hands says they saw a whale in Lake Tahoe, come and get me. I'll help you catch it and take it back to the ocean."
"Would you really do that for me?"
"Of course I would. I love animals too and wouldn't want a sad whale living in Lake Tahoe. Now go, fill Hop Sing's wood box and get your winter things before I change my mind and make you groom every horse and clean the barn before supper."
Cat laughed, stuck her tongue out at Ben and ran to the wood pile. She tried on her hat, mittens, and winter coat. The hat and mittens had just been made by her Apache mother so they fit just fine but her coat was several years old and much too small. Ben sent her upstairs to try on her long underwear. When she came downstairs wearing it, he started laughing and called Hop Sing who started laughing too. The set she was wearing was way too small for her. The arms were almost up to her elbows, the leg cuffs were half way between her ankles and knees, and several buttons popped off when she tried to button them. He carried Cat over to his chair, sat down and proceeded to hug her tightly. "OWWW! Pa that hurts. Why are you squeezing me so hard?"
"I'm trying to squish you back to being a very little girl again. That way I'll have a long time before you outgrow the clothes you have."
"No do that," said Hop Sing. "You tly that with number two son and look what he like."
Ben laughed. "You're right Hop Sing. I don't know if I could afford to feed two of Hoss." He gave Cat a playful swat and sent her upstairs to get redressed. When she came back downstairs, he pulled her into his lap and asked, "Didn't Matt ever buy new clothes for you? Your long underwear looks like something you've had since you were six or seven."
"He did if I told him something didn't fit or if Miss Kitty saw that something was too small."
"Well, didn't he notice that your clothes were getting too small?'
"I don't know. He was always pretty busy. The stuff I have is fine. I don't need new things."
"That is utter nonsense. You cannot wear winter clothing that is too small. Meet me at Mr. McLeod's store after school tomorrow and we'll see if he has anything to fit you. I am not too busy to make sure my children have the things they need. I am quite certain if you would have said something to Matt, he would have gotten the things you needed. In fact, I'm willing to bet that if I wrote and told him what you said, he would be upset because you didn't tell him that your clothes were too small because you thought he was too busy to take care of your needs. You need to stop trying to be so independent and learn to trust and depend on the adults who are there to take care of you. You are only nine years old and it is the job of the adults in your life to see to it that you have the things you need, including clothes that fit. Now, you had better go, see Fury and get your homework done. And remember to ask for help if you need it. Nobody expects you to do everything all on your own."
During afternoon recess the next day, Tommy and Billy pulled Cat away from her friends. "We hear you lived in Dodge City," said Tommy.
"Yeah, I did. So what of it? Lots of kids lived in Dodge."
"We heard about the saloons there. Did you ever go in them?"
"Only when the Long Branch was closed. Miss Kitty had my birthday parties there and there was a real bad twister last year. Miss Kitty closed the Long Branch and Doc and Newly used it for a hospital. Miss Kitty also used part of it so people could sit and eat. Me and my friends carried buckets of water for Doc and Newly and food for the other people."
"Didn't you ever go in when it was open?" asked Billy.
"No I didn't. I wasn't allowed out of Uncle Matt's office after bedtime."
"Why didn't you sneak out?" asked Tommy.
"Because a boy and his father threatened to kill me when I was five. After that, I was never alone in the office after dark. One of the men was always in there with me, even when I was in bed."
"Didn't you ever try to go in the saloon during the day?" asked Billy.
"No. Uncle Matt would have spanked me if I got caught trying to go into the Long Branch when it was open."
"You sure are a chicken," said Billy. "You are too chicken to even look in the saloon when it's open."
"I'm not a chicken and I don't care what happens in a saloon. If I try and go in there and get caught, Sheriff Coffee will give me a whipping and so will Pa."
"Prove you're not a chicken," said Tommy. "Meet us at the Bucket of Blood tonight at eleven thirty and we'll look under the door to see what happens in there."
"I'm not going to risk getting two whippings to look in the saloon."
"You are a yellow-bellied coward," said Billy. "Prove that you're not a coward. I double dog dare you to meet us tonight at eleven o'clock and look under the saloon door."
Cat didn't like being called a coward, but she didn't want to get in trouble for sneaking out at night and going to the saloon. However, a double dog dare was not to be ignored. "I'm not a coward. Alright, I'll meet you but if I get caught, I'm going to beat the stuffing out of both of you, no matter how much trouble I get into for it. Now go away and leave me alone. I'll see you tonight. Don't forget what I am going to do to you if I get caught."
"We're not done with you yet. Like I told you yesterday, nobody beats one of us in a fight & gets us in trouble with our Pas," said Tommy. "We both got whippings because of you yesterday and you're gonna to pay for it. Don't even think about telling what we're gonna do because nobody will believe you if you tell anyone. "You're a charity case and adopted and nobody believes anything charity cases and adopted kids says. But if you don't show up or tell anybody, or we get caught and get in trouble, we'll burn down your house and barn and bunkhouse while everyone is sleeping, And we'll burn down your friends' houses and barns too while they're sleeping and it will be all your fault."
Cat got a horrified look on her face. It was bad enough it was her fault her mother had been killed. Now she had to do what the boys said because if she didn't, they would kill her family and friends. The boys just laughed at the look on her face.
Cat left the boys and rejoined her friends. "What did they want?" asked Laura.
"Something dumb. They said I was a chicken when I lived in Dodge because I never snuck out at night and looked in the Long Branch to see what happens in there. I couldn't have snuck out. After Mark Hansen threatened to kill me when I was five, I was never alone in Uncle Matt's office after he went out to make his rounds. I was mad because Uncle Matt punished me for skipping school and I was going to run away. I tried sneaking out but Festus was in the office."
"Well, it's a good thing somebody was there to protect you from that boy," said Mary. "It would have been awful if he had shot you."
Before they could continue the conversation, Miss Winter rang the bell and everyone went back into the school. Cat kept thinking about what the boys said they would do if she didn't ride into town that night and had a hard time concentrating on her schoolwork. Cat met Ben at the General Store after school. All of the children's long underwear and winter coats were too small for Cat. Mr. McLeod said he would be getting another shipment in two weeks and should have something to fit her then. After supper, Ben asked Joe to see if he still had any of his old jackets that might fit his sister.
After Ben went to bed that night, Cat got up, dressed and snuck down the stairs. Hoss wasn't home, so the door was unlocked. She opened it, let her puppies out and closed it behind her. When she entered the barn, Fury nickered, glad to see her. "Shhhhh," she whispered. "I'll be in real big trouble if you wake Pa. I wish I could ride you but you're not old enough yet so I'm going to have to ride Beauty. I have to go to town, but you've got to be real quiet when I leave. I don't want to get a spanking 'cause I went for a ride when I'm supposed to be asleep in bed."
Cat led her horse out of the barn and closed the door behind her. She walked until she was certain she was far enough away from the house so she wouldn't be caught. Then she mounted Beauty and eased him into a canter. About half way to town, she came across Hoss who was on his way home. "What in tarnation are you doing out here alone at this time of night girl?! Do you have any idea what time it is and how much trouble you are in?"
"Hi Hoss. I just wanted to go for a ride. I'm not hurting anything."
"Girl, you are in real big trouble. It's almost eleven o'clock at night and you were supposed to be asleep in bed hours ago, not out here riding around the countryside toward town! I'm going to give you a choice. Either I can deal with you right here and now or I can take you home and wake Pa and let him deal with you."
"I don't like either option, but I choose you. If you wake Pa, he'll kill me. It will be at least a month before I'll be able to sit down."
"Alright. I'll deal with you myself this time but the next time I catch you. I'm going to use my belt on your bare bottom and then take you home to Pa even ifn I'm not supposed to spank you yet. Follow me. I need to find someplace away from the road to deal with you. If you try and run off, I will find you and when I finish with you, I will wake Pa. Also, you've got school in the morning, so if you don't want Pa to know what you were up to, you'd better be sure and get up on time to do your chores."
"Don't worry Hoss, I won't try and run off. What you're going to do to me is going to hurt, but what Pa would do to me would hurt a whole lot more."
Cat followed Hoss into the woods. When he was a good distance from the road, he dismounted and sat down on the stump of a fallen tree. "Alright, we're going to take care of this now. Come over here and bend over my knees." Cat did as she was told and her brother gave her three smacks. When he was finished, he said, "Ok. I'm done. You need to thank your lucky stars I was the one who caught you, not Adam or Pa. I don't need to tell you what would have happened if either of them had caught you."
"I am glad it was you that caught me Hoss. If it would have been Adam, he would have given me a bare bottom spanking and then take me home to Pa and he would kill me."
"I need to get you back home before Pa or Adam find out you're gone. Get on your horse and come with me." Cat rode next to Hoss until they reached the yard. "Where are your night clothes?"
"They're in the barn."
"I'll take care of your horse," he said. "You get your night clothes and go to the outhouse. Leave your clothes in there when you finish changing."
"Why do I need to go to the outhouse?"
"So's if Pa catches you outside you can honestly say you were in the outhouse. Now go before I decide to give you a few more swats."
Cat ran to the outhouse and Hoss took care of the horses. He decided to wait for her to finish and walk back to the house with her. As the two of them were walking back to the house, Ben opened the door and asked, "Catherine, what are you doing out here at this hour of the night?"
Before she could answer, Hoss said, "I saw little sister going into the outhouse and decided to wait for her before she decided to go looking for some wild critter to bring home as a pet."
Knowing Hoss' statement was pretty accurate; Ben laughed, hugged his daughter, gave one of her ears a playful tweak and sent her back to bed. "Thank you son. There's no telling what she'll bring home next. Sometimes I think her puppies have more sense than she does. Let's go, get some sleep. There's no telling what she'll be into tomorrow."
"I'll be in shortly. Now that little sister is safely back in the house with no wild critters in her arms, I'm going to use the outhouse before going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
When Hoss entered the house, he had Cat's clothes in his hands. He opened her bedroom door and said quietly, "I brung your clothes. Where do you want me to put them?"
"Thanks Hoss. You can just hang them on the back of the desk chair. I'll wear them again tomorrow. And I am real glad it was you that found me. My bottom hurts but not as bad as it would if Adam or Pa had caught me."
"You're welcome little sister. Just remember what will happen to you if I catch you again."
"I'll remember. I'll also remember to be more careful the next time I decided to go for a ride in the middle of the night."
"You best not be going for no more middle of the night rides. You even think about it and I'll tell Pa what you were really up to tonight. Then you'll really be in big trouble. Now close your eyes and go to sleep." Then he pointed at her puppies. "You two keep her out of mischief. No more middle of the night rides." The puppies just looked at him. "Yeah, I know. That's easier said than done. My little sister is definitely a handful. That's why I named her Wild Cat when she was just a little bitty thing."
The next day at school, Tommy and Billy walked up to Cat. Billy pushed her and said, "I knew you were a coward. We were there but you never showed up."
"I was on my way when Hoss found me. My bottom still hurts from where he spanked me. You don't know how lucky I am that it was Hoss that found me. He only gave me a spanking and didn't tell Pa. If Adam had caught me, I would have gotten a bare bottom spanking from him and then he would have taken me home and told Pa and Pa would have given me a bare bottom whipping."
"We don't care," said Tommy. "You're still a coward. You could have run away from your brother."
"You are crazy. I couldn't have run away from Hoss, even if I had wanted to. Nobody can. If I had tried to run away from him, I would have gotten a bare bottom whipping and Pa probably would have used a razor strop on me."
"Prove you're not a coward," said Tommy. "Meet us at the Bucket of Blood tonight. If you don't, we're going to everything we said we'd do and we're going to do everything we can to get you in trouble in school and we're going to do all that to your friends too. You know we can because we do it all the time and never get caught."
"I can't meet tonight."
"Why, don't you want to know what happens in a saloon, or are you just a yellow-bellied coward?" asked Billy.
"I don't care what happens in a saloon and I'm not a coward. I have to wait a few nights to make sure Hoss isn't watching me. I don't want to get two whippings. Remember, if I get caught, I am going to beat the stuffing out of both of you. I already beat Tommy once and I can do it again."
"Alright, we'll meet on Friday night and you had better be there. Don't forget what will happen if you don't show up or if you tell anybody and we get caught," said Tommy.
"I'll be there, but you had better be there too. Cause if you're not, I'm going to tell everyone in school what chickens you are."