Cat came out of the house wearing her jacket. As she passed by Adam, she started to kick him. "Catherine Michael!" scolded Ben. "I promise you will not like the consequences if you do that."
"I'm mad at him."
"I've told you before and I'm telling you again, you cannot go around kicking people just because you are angry at them."
"Why not? Hoss and Joe are allowed to hit Adam so I should be able to kick him."
Ben sighed. "Hoss and Joe are not allowed to hit Adam and I am angry at them for doing that. I will speak to them about it later. I suggest you go saddle your horse and get your fishing pole if you are going fishing."
"Adam was mean to me and didn't get in trouble for it but I'll get in trouble if I kick him because he was mean to me and I'm mad at him. That's not fair."
"I will deal with Adam while you are fishing. If you choose to continue this discussion, you will be taking a trip to the barn with me instead of going fishing." Cat sighed, gave her father and eldest brother mean looks and walked into the barn.
"She's a lot like another nine year old you had around here not too long ago," said Pete, walking up to Ben.
Ben chuckled. "Yes she is. Too much so sometimes."
"I wouldn't worry too much. The other one grew out of it and I'm sure this one will too. Look at it this way. I'm positive that you'll never catch her in the saloon drinking whiskey, gambling, and starting fights."
"From your lips to God's ears. I don't think there is anything she wouldn't try at least once."
"I don't think she'd try that but think of it this way. If you're lucky, she'll be married by the time she's old enough to go into a saloon."
"I don't even want her to turn ten next year, let alone be old enough to marry."
Pete laughed. "Why is she angry at Adam this time?" Ben told him what happened and he let out a low whistle. "Well, I don't blame her for being angry but you're right, she can't go around kicking people just because she's angry at them. If she does, she's liable to kick the wrong person and get seriously hurt. As far as those boys go, well, I know what you wanted to do to them."
"That's why I let Hop Sing deal with them. I am very angry with them and could have hurt them badly. However, Cat has got to learn to use words instead of her fists and feet to resolve differences with others. I don't want my daughter fighting any more than I want my sons fighting."
"That not happen," said Hop Sing, walking up to the men. "Missy Cat been fighter all life. She born fighting and fight to stay alive just like Little Joe. When Little Joe born, we think we lose Missy Marie and Little Joe. Both fight to stay alive. Same with Missy Cat. When she born, we think we lose Missy Kate and Missy Cat. Both fight to stay alive. Missy Cat learn to control temper when she spend time with Hoss and get older."
Cat walked out of the barn leading her horse only to find herself being picked up by Hoss. "Don' worry about worm cans Joe," he called. "I got the bait right here. Hey Adam, get yore horse and fishin' pole. I got enough bait here so's 'most everyone can go fishin' today."
"Yes Hoss, I do think you have enough bait there for everyone to use," said Adam, checking Cat's cinch. "You're getting better at getting your cinch tight Cat. It was just a little bit loose this time. I think I will go fishing with you. It will be interesting to see what we can catch with this piece of bait." He pulled one of Cat's moccasins off and started tickling her while Hoss held her tight.
"That's no fair," said Cat, giggling. "Two against one ain't right."
"I think it is," said Adam. "What do you think Hoss?"
"Well, considerin' I've done told her a hundred times not to talk like me, I think it's quite fair. But if we're gonna have time for fishin' you'd better get your horse an' fishin' pole."
"You just gave me an idea. Every time little sister uses poor grammar, we'll tickle her. Maybe she'll start speaking like a proper young lady then."
Ben started to say something about needing to speak with Adam when Pete said, "Let him go with them. Spending time alone with his siblings will go much farther to mend things between him and Cat than your lectures will. I have a feeling that he's feeling pretty bad about the way he treated her last night. She needs to learn to trust him and he needs to get to know her. The two of them spending time together is the only way that will happen."
Hoss put Cat in her saddle after Joe put a cushion on it and put the puppies in their pouches. "These two aren't going to fit in these pouches much longer Cat. They're getting too big for them and they're also getting too heavy for you to pick up. They're almost big enough to start keeping up with a horse. I don't want you putting them on Fury's back any more either. They're too heavy and could hurt him. He's way too young to have any weight on him."
"I want them to stay little puppies forever."
"Yes and the rest of us want you to stay nine forever but neither of those things are going to happen. I would say that by Christmas, these two should be able to keep up with a horse. Adam, Hoss, what do you think?"
"I think we should let them run with us on the way home and then put them in the pouches when they start getting tired," said Adam. "That way, they'll start building up their strength and stamina. I'll bet that I catch more fish than you do today Cat. If you catch more fish than I do, I'll do your chores for a week and if I catch more fish than you do, you groom Sport for a week."
"Ok, but you have to teach Sport to lay down so I can reach his back. I need to figure out how to get taller. I hate being the shortest one here."
"You are getting taller Squirt. When we get home, put on the buckskins you got when you were in Arizona. I think you'll find that they've gotten a bit short. Anyway, if you lose our little wager, I'll put a crate in Sport's stall for you to stand on."
"Ok. When can I ride Sport again?"
"I don't know. We'll see what happens. Maybe when Little Joe is bigger than Hoss."
"That won't ever happen. Hoss is bigger than you and Joe and Pa together."
When the boys left the Ponderosa with their fathers, they rode straight to the school where Susan Winter was preparing the following week's lessons. The men ordered their sons to stay with the horses while they went inside to talk to her. She looked up from her work and said, "Good morning gentlemen. What can I help you with today?"
"I'm Ted Roberts and this is Bill Davis. We're Thomas and William's fathers. We understand that you've sent several notes home about our sons."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Yes I have. Both boys get into quite a bit of trouble when they bother coming to school."
"Are you telling us that our sons don't always attend school?" asked Mr. Davis.
"Yes I am. They rarely attend more than three days a week. Haven't they given you the notes I send home? The notes are always signed when the boys return them."
"No they haven't," replied Mr. Roberts. "That's why we're here. Do you happen to have those notes?"
"Yes I do." She pulled two envelopes out of her desk and handed them to the men.
"This isn't my signature," said Mr. Roberts.
"This isn't mine either," added Mr. Davis.
While their fathers were talking to Susan, two of Tommy and Billy's friends came by the school and asked why they were at school on a Saturday. The boys told their friends about what had happened. Then they came up with a scheme to cause trouble for Cat.
"Look Rich, Dave, we need you to do something for us," said Tommy. "This is all Cartwright's fault and we're in trouble because of her."
"Sure," said Dave. "What do you need us to do?"
"We need you to make sure all of the town gossips know what happened last night," said Billy. "Be sure they know that Cartwright brought a gun to school and threatened us if we didn't go to the saloon with her."
"Yeah," added Tommy. "Also tell them that her father was a coward, she's a bastard and her mother was a whore. I told her she wasn't going to get away with getting us in trouble and hopefully this will fix her good."
"Tommy's Pa is making him go to a military school in Virginia in the fall and it's all Cartwright's fault."
"Gosh Tommy," said Dave. "I'm sorry your Pa is gonna do that to you. We'll make sure all the town gossips know what happened that that it's all Cartwright's fault."
"Thanks fellas," said Tommy. "I'm glad we can count on you. You had better go before our Pas come out here and find us talking to you. If they do, they'll make us tell them what we asked you to do and we'll get in even more trouble."
No sooner had Jeff and Dave started to ride away when Mr. Roberts called the boys. "Thomas, William, get in here now! The two of you have a lot of explaining to do!" The two boys reluctantly entered the school and walked up to their fathers and teacher. "Whose signatures are these?" he demanded. "They don't belong to me or William's father!"
"It's Cartwright's fault," whined Billy. "She made us do it." He yelped as his father delivered a very strong smack to his bottom.
"Stop blaming a nine year old child for your actions. Some of these notes were written by Abigail Jones when she was your teacher and Catherine Cartwright was still living in Dodge. Now I want to hear the truth for a change. I promise if I hear one more lie from you today, you will not be able to sit down for a week!"
"They're ours," Billy sighed. "I signed Tommy's and he signed mine."
"I see. That is one more thing to add to your list of transgressions. Now what were you and Thomas talking to Richard and David about?"
"Nothing Pa. We were just having some fun."
"I said I wanted the truth," replied his father, delivering another strong smack to his son's bottom. "What were the two of you talking to your friends about?"
"We told them what happened last night and asked them to make sure the town gossips knew about it and that Cartwright forced us to do it. We also asked them to let the gossips know what we said about her and her parents."
"You boys are in a lot of trouble," said Mr. Roberts. "Miss Winter, I apologize for the actions of my son and his friend. Please separate them even if it means one of them has to sit with the youngest students."
"I have separated them on many occasions but they sit have no respect for authority. In fact, since neither of you had come to speak with me about them, I was planning on asking Mr. Miller to call a special meeting of the school board to discuss their behavior as well as their lack of attendance and work."
"I see. Rest assured that you will not have any further problems from either of these two boys. We will be paying someone, probably my oldest son, to ensure they attend school, do not give you any further problems, or speak with each other."
"That will be fine. Whomever you send can sit at the small table at the back of the classroom. I must inform you that both of the boys have failed this semester due to their attendance and not completing any assignments. I will be sending grades home next week and right now, the boys have a zero in all of their subjects. If they complete all of their missing assignments, I will give them half credit and I expect all further assignments to be completed and handed in on time. Boys, it's all or nothing. If you want any credit at all for your missing work, all of it must be completed and turned in by Thursday including the work I give you next week. Also, you are not to neglect your chores at home. You have had six weeks in which to complete the assignments but you chose not to attend school or do the work. So consider yourselves fortunate that I am even offering to give you half credit."
"Miss Winter, we've taken up enough of your time today," said Mr. Davis. "Please accept our apologies again for our sons' behavior and our assurances that they will never cause a problem in your classroom again. Say goodbye to your teacher boys and let's go. William, you and I are going to have a long discussion about your behavior and I am quite certain that Thomas will be having a similar discussion with his father."
When they arrived home, Mr. Roberts told Tommy to wait for him in the barn. He went into the house, had a cup of coffee to calm down and then got his razor strop. His wife looked at him and asked, "Is that really necessary? He's just a boy. Can't you just use your belt on him?"
"He's done too much for that this time and I have decided that he will be attending Virginia Military Institute in the fall."
"What has he done?" He told her everything the boys had done and said.
"Yes. I understand now why you must use that. Please have another cup of coffee to make sure you have completely calmed down before punishing him. The waiting and worrying about what is going to happen will also help to teach him a lesson. I am just sorry he needs to learn it."
When he was sufficiently calmed down, Mr. Roberts walked out to the barn where his son was waiting. Tommy looked at the razor strop and realized he and Billy had gone too far this time. "Son, your mother and I are very disappointed in what we have learned about you today. Since I cannot trust you to do the right thing, you will not be leaving this ranch without an adult until you leave for military school in August. Your brother will be at the school babysitting you so he will not be able to help me on the ranch. Therefore, you will be doing your chores and his every day. Except for church, your weekends and school holidays will be spent helping me run the ranch so he can have some time for himself. If it is raining or snowing, you will be helping your mother in the house. You are not to associate with William or speak to him except to say 'good morning' at school and church. If you misbehave in school, Richard will have permission to use a switch on you and then I will deal with you when you return home. Because of your threats to burn down the Ponderosa and other ranches and farms, you will be locked in your bedroom at night and the window will be nailed so that it can only be opened a few inches. If you attempt to remove the nails or otherwise force the window open and sneak out, you will receive more of what I am about to give you. I am sorry I need to use this on you but you have given me no choice. Now pull your pants and underwear down and bend over that saddle stand." Mr. Roberts used the razor stop on Tommy and when he was finished he said, "I am very sorry I had to do that to you son and I hope I never have to do it again. Get your and Richard's chores done then sit at the kitchen table and do your schoolwork. You have four days in which to complete six weeks worth of work and as your teacher said, completing your missing work is not to interfere with your chores here."
While Mr. Roberts was dealing with his son, Mr. Davis was having a very similar discussion with Billy. When they were finished, two very unhappy fifteen year old boys sat on hard kitchen chairs, working on their missing school assignments.
When Richard came into the house, his father took him aside, told him everything that his brother and Billy had said and done. Then he said, "Please saddle your horse and ride over to the church and the Ponderosa and tell Reverend Long and Ben Cartwright to expect the old busy bodies to cause problems for Cat at church. Also, your brother will be doing your chores from now until he leaves for school in the fall. Let me know if he doesn't do them correctly and I'll deal with him. Starting on Monday, Bill Davis and I will be paying you to sit at the school and babysit the boys. They are not allowed to spend any time together and they are only allowed to say 'good morning' to each other, nothing else. If either of them gives you or the teacher a hard time, you have permission to use a switch on them and Bill or I will deal with the offender when you bring them home. Since you will be at the school and unable to help me on the ranch, Thomas will spend his weekends and school holidays helping me and you will have them free to do whatever you please."
When Cat and her brothers reached their fishing spot, she started to take her jacket off. "Leave it on Cat," said Joe.
"I don't see why I have to. It's not that cold."
"Pa said to and as I learned long ago, that's the only reason necessary. Hoss, Adam, am I right about why Cat needs to keep her jacket on?"
"Yes you are," answered both of his brothers. "That is the best reason to do it." Cat grumbled but kept her jacket on and looked for a good place to dig for worms.
"Hoss pulled Joe aside and said, "Them two need to spend time together workin' out their differences. What do ya think about a fishing contest between us and them? Losing team does the winnin' team's chores for two weeks."
"As much as I hate doing extra chores, if it means the two of them trying to work things out without trying to kill each other, I'll do it."
When Cat returned with a can full of worms, Hoss told her about his idea for a fishing contest. She thought about it for a minute and asked, "Does that mean if I beat Adam and we beat you and Joe, I won't have to do my chores for three weeks?"
"That's right Punkin. Ifn you beat Adam and you an' him beat me an' Joe, except for takin' care of Fury since yore trainin' him, you won't have any chores for the rest of the month."
"That's great. I hate doing chores."
Adam chuckled at his sister's statement. "Alright you two, you're on. I hope you have fun doing our chores for two weeks. Cat, I hope you are going to enjoy grooming Sport because I fully intend to catch more fish than anyone else."
Cat found a spot she wanted to fish from and sat down. Adam sat next to her, hugged her and said, "I want and need to apologize to you for last night. I was wrong to punish you the way I did. In fact, I shouldn't have punished you at all. You said the boys had threatened to rip up your school work and books, get you in trouble in school, and do something very bad but I didn't listen to you and that was very wrong of me. I should have waited for Roy to get their fathers and have you tell all of us what the boys threatened to do. But I was so angry at finding you in town and putting yourself in danger by looking under the saloon door that I decided you needed to be punished. I was positive that Pa wouldn't do anything about it, so I decided that I wasn't going to let you get away with it. I punished you and I was wrong. I'm glad those boys had left the Ponderosa by the time I found out what they had threatened to do. If they had still been there, I probably would have done something I would have regretted as soon as I did it. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I can't promise that I will never make a mistake like that again. I am human and far from being perfect. But I do promise that I will try my best not to make a mistake like that again. I need you to be able to trust and depend on me to look after you. If anything ever happens to Pa where he can't take care of you, that will be my job and although I probably won't do as good a job as Pa would, I promise that I will do the best I can. You are my little sister and I love you very much and I will always do everything I can to keep you from being hurt."
"Nothing is going to happen to Pa so you won't have to take care of me. Besides that, I don't need anybody to take care of me. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for a long time now. Uncle Matt wasn't always around so I had to take care of myself. Sometimes I went to the Tanner's but mostly I took care of myself. I can hunt and fish and know how to cook what I catch and I'm even learning how to make my own clothes, so nobody has to take care of me."
Adam laughed at his sister and hugged her again. "Little Wild Cat, you are too independent and there's no reason for it. You don't need to take care of yourself anymore. That's what your family is for, to take care of you. We love you and it is our job to make sure you have plenty to eat, clothes to wear, and are protected from danger. If Pa gets hurt or sick and can't do those things for you, then it will be my job to do them until he is well. Now if you don't want to have to groom Sport for two weeks, you had better get your hook baited and into the water."
"Two weeks?! You said one week."
"I was just teasing. If I catch more fish than you, you only have to groom him for one week."
"Good because I'm still mad at you and I don't know if I'm going to ever forgive you or not. If I lost and had to groom Sport for two weeks, I would be even madder at you and probably would never forgive you."
"I hope you do forgive me Cat because I do love you very much and I am very, very sorry about what I did to you last night."
While Mr. Roberts and Mr. Davis were dealing with their sons, some members of the Operation Slingshot brigade noticed that Mrs. Warren was out of jail. They retrieved their hidden slingshots, found some acorns and small stones, and shot her several times. She walked into Roy's office and demanded that he arrest Cat.
"None of the Cartwrights are in town and except for school, Catherine is not allowed to come to town without a family member. She is only nine years old and Ben does not want her riding this far alone. She rides into school with some friends. Also, she does not have a slingshot. If I catch whoever is doing that, I'll take them to their parents but you have to stop blaming Catherine Cartwright for everything that happens to you."
"That's not what I heard. I heard she forced two innocent boys to come into town last night and look into the saloon."
"I don't know where you got your information from, but those boys are far from innocent and threatened to do some bad things to Catherine so she would come into town last night. Remember, if you do or even threaten to do something to that child, you will end up right back in that cell again. Only this time it won't be for just a month. It will be until a relative or the prison wagon comes to get you. Believe me when I tell you that at your age, you won't live for more than a month after you enter prison. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Good day Mrs. Warren and remember my warning. The judge won't be lenient with you again."
Ben was in the yard when his children rode in after spending most of the day fishing. "Hi Pa. Guess what!" exclaimed Cat excitedly.
Ben helped her down from her horse, hugged her and said, "Your brothers let you swim all the way across Lake Tahoe."
"No," giggled Cat. "They wouldn't even let me put my feet in the water."
"Don't tell me that your brothers swam all the way across the lake without you."
"No. Starting Monday, I don't have to do any chores for three whole weeks!"
"And just how did you manage to do that? Did you beat your brothers up to get them to do your chores?"
Cat giggled some more. "No. Hoss is too big for me to beat up. I caught more fish than Adam and me and him caught more fish than Hoss and Joe did. Adam said if I caught more fish than him, he'd do my chores for a week and Hoss said if me and Adam caught more fish than him and Joe, they'd do our chores for two weeks."
Cat was so excited Ben didn't have the heart to correct her grammar. "Well now my little fisherman, remind me not to bet with you when we go fishing. If I do, I might end up doing your chores for a whole year. Now I think you and your brothers had better get those fish cleaned so we can eat some of them for supper."
After Cat walked off, Ben pulled Adam aside and asked, "Did you and Cat get anything worked out?"
"I don't know. I apologized and told her I was wrong but she hasn't forgiven me yet. I hope she will because I feel very bad about what I did to her."
"I hope so too son but it has to be her decision and I am not going to pressure her."
By the time they arrived at church the next morning, Ben had forgotten about the warning Richard Roberts had brought and didn't pay attention when Cat walked off to talk with her friends. Before she reached them, one of the women grabbed her by the arm, led her off and pushed her up against the church. "You are a very wicked child," said Mrs. White. "You were responsible for my Annabel getting into trouble and you threatened two innocent boys to get them to sin by looking into a saloon."
"You have been pretending to be a good girl," continued Mrs. Thomas, "However, all the time you were conceived and born in sin and are continuing to sin. Your parents were not married when you were conceived and born. Also, your mother was a prostitute. Ben Cartwright and his sons are going to go to Hell because they took you into their family!"
Cat's friends saw what was happening and tried to get the women to stop being mean to Cat. Laura tried defending her only to have Mrs. Thomas slap her across the face. Mary ran to her father and Ben for help. "Pa, Mr. Cartwright, come quick. The old hens have Cat up against the church and are saying very bad things to her. When Laura tried to defend her, Mrs. Thomas slapped her." Caroline started to scold Mary for calling the women old hens and Mary said, "I'm sorry Ma but they were just like chickens pecking at corn the way they were attacking Cat."
Ben and Charles ran over to where the women were standing. Ben looked for Cat but she had already escaped her tormentors and run off. "Where is my daughter!?" he demanded. "What have you done with her?"
"The little heathen is gone, for good we hope," replied Mrs. Anders. "A wicked child like that has no place among good people like us."
"I am warning you now that if anything happens to Catherine because of you, my sons and I will not be responsible for our actions." He stormed off, found his sons and said, "Your sister is missing. Richard Roberts rode out to the Ponderosa yesterday and warned me those women might cause trouble. I forgot about it because I didn't think they'd actually do anything at church. Anyway, we need to find her. Let's split up and search the town."
"Somebody should be here in case she comes back," said Adam. "Why don't you stay here and the three of us will look for her."
Ben walked into the church while his sons started searching for their sister. He looked at the women and said, "I demand to know what you said to my daughter any why you did it!"
"We heard about her forcing those poor innocent boys to look into the saloon on Friday," said Mrs. White.
"And we learned the truth about her and her parents," added Mrs. Thomas.
"And just what might that 'truth' be?" demanded Ben, giving the women a scorching look.
"Well, that her parents weren't married when she was conceived and born and that her mother was a prostitute."
Ben became even angrier at the women. "That is my sister you are talking about. Kate was many things but she was not a prostitute. And as far as her not being married when her daughter was conceived and born goes, most of you were at her wedding and most of you were here when Catherine was baptized almost two years later."
"I remember that wedding," said Pete Dawson. "Adam came home from college for it and went back a few days later. Little Joe got to be the ring bearer. I was jealous because I was a year older than him and thought I should be the ring bearer. He was eight and I was nine. I asked my Pa why Little Joe got to be the ring bearer and not me and he said it was because the lady getting married was Little Joe's aunt. I don't ever remember seeing him try so hard to stay out of trouble. He stayed right by Adam's side until the wedding started. I also remember when Cat was baptized. Little Joe was ten and he got to hold her the whole time. He was proud as a peacock and that baby sure loved him. She didn't cry at all the whole time. He said it was because she was born on his birthday and he got to hold her before her Pa did."
Just then, Mr. Simson ran in. "Ben, I know where your daughter went. She borrowed one of my horses and left this note on my desk at the livery."
Ben read the note. "Dear Mr. Simson, I borrowed one of your horses. I'll bring it back in a little while. I have to go to the Ponderosa and get my things and go back to Dodge before something bad happens to my family. If it does, it will be all my fault just like it was my fault my mama got killed."
"I've got a horse all saddled for you outside. Go and get that little girl before something happens to her. Don't worry about paying me to use the horses. Seeing that little girl safe in your arms is all the payment I need."
"Go on Ben," said Reverend Long. "I'll deal with these 'fine' women." Ben rode off at a gallop. When his sons returned to the church, they were told where their father had gone and decided to wait outside for him to return with Cat. Reverend Long addressed the women. "I would like to know why you said those things to that poor child. Even if they had been true, there was no need to say them."
"The Bible says that the sins of the fathers will be visited upon their children," said Mrs. Warren, "and we don't need that kind of child here."
"I'll tell you why," said Pete.
"Alright Peter. Why do you think they said those things to Catherine?"
"Because all of the old widows want to marry Mr. Cartwright. He's rich, they want his money and they don't want to raise another woman's daughter. I was in the general store on Wednesday and heard Mrs. Thomas talking to Mrs. White. Mrs. Thomas said she was certain that Mr. Cartwright had been ready to ask her to marry him when his sister died and he adopted Cat. She said that he shouldn't have adopted Cat because when she got older, she would replace her in Mr. Cartwright's affections and also, she didn't want to be bothered teaching another woman's daughter to cook and sew. She was also upset that Mr. Cartwright allows Cat to dress like what she calls a heathen and that Cat should be whipped until she dresses like a girl all the time but Mr. Cartwright wouldn't let her do it."
"I see. You ladies have broken several of the Commandments and some of the other rules God has set down for us to follow. I am going to let the children tell you which ones you have broken and why. However, before I do that, I would like Thomas and William to come up here and tell everyone the truth about what happened Friday night and why."
Cat had only ridden her pony Spot bareback and wasn't used to riding a horse bareback so she kept the horse to a canter and it didn't take Ben long to catch up with her. He stopped her horse, helped her down and hugged her tightly. "I have to leave Pa. Those ladies said you, Hoss, Joe, Adam, and Hop Sing were going to go to Hell because you adopted me and it will be my fault just like it is my fault that my mama got killed."
Ben hugged her again. "Those ladies lied to you and Reverend Long is dealing with them right now. It is not your fault that your mother was killed and the next time somebody says or does something mean like that to you, don't run away. Come and tell me or one of your brothers. We'll take care of you. That's what we're here for. You are more important to us than the Ponderosa is. We can always rebuild the ranch if something happens to it, but we would be lost without you. You don't have to handle your problems alone any more. You have us to help you with them."