After leaving the courthouse, Abel and Hop Sing waited in the buggy while Ben and Mr. Miller walked over to the school to tell Susan Winter that the boys would not be returning to school until the fall. Mr. Miller told Susan that if she would give him the boys' tests, he would ensure that the boys would be supervised while they took them so they couldn't cheat. Then he addressed the students. "How many of you saw William, Ronald, David, and Richard hurting Catherine yesterday morning?" Most of the students raised their hands. "If you saw what was happening, why didn't you come inside and tell your teacher? Don't say it's because you're afraid of those four boys because you could have come in the back door and nobody would have known.
Think about this. Every adult, including William's father, who knows what happened, believes that William was trying to kill Catherine. This is Tuesday and Christmas Day is Saturday. The rest of Catherine's family will be here tomorrow to spend Christmas on the Ponderosa. What kind of Christmas do you think they would be having if her brothers had not arrived in time to prevent their sister from being badly hurt or killed? Also, what kind of Christmas do you think those boys' families would be having, knowing their sons were sitting in jail, waiting for the prison wagon to take them away for at least twenty years? This school has two doors and at least one of you should have told your teacher. I am quite certain that Catherine, Jasper, and Michael would have done that if it had been one of you that was being hurt. I am not saying these things to embarrass anybody. I am saying them to make you think about what you should have done and should do in the future if you see one of your classmates being hurt. Now before I leave, I would like to hear some of you read. Let's start with the seventh grade reading class. Catherine, would you please begin?" Cat sighed, stood up and began reading. After she had read a page, Mr. Miller said, "Thank you. You read very well. Your Pa is waiting to talk to you and I would like to hear Samuel read."
Cat walked outside where Ben was waiting to talk to her. He picked her up, hugged her and said, "You don't need to worry about those boys hurting you again. They won't be coming back to school for a very long time and Mr. Davis was talking about sending his son to military school. The school board decided that the boys will not be allowed to come to school until the fall and except for weekends, the boys will be in jail until March first. When they're not in jail and even when they are released, they will not be allowed to leave their ranches without an adult. The judge was so angry at them, he even let Hop Sing use his spoon on them. I debated whether or not to tell you now or wait until you got home, but I didn't want you to spend the rest of the day worrying if they were going to hurt you again. Now give me a hug and get back to class before your teacher thinks I kidnapped you."
"I can't give you a hug."
"Why not?"
"'Cause I lost them on my way to school this morning."
"Little scamp. You had better find one or I am going to tickle you until you wet your pants. Then all of your classmates will laugh at you. Look in your pockets. Maybe a hug is hiding in one of them."
Cat dug in her pockets and pretended to find a hug in one of them. She hugged Ben tightly and said, "You were right. There was a hug in one of my pockets. If I go and look now, maybe I can find where I lost the rest of them."
Ben laughed. "You are a little stinker. We should call you Skunk instead of Cat. You can look for your lost hugs on the way home from school. Now scoot before I decide to tickle you so much you won't be able to reach the outhouse in time."
Unknown to Ben and Cat, Gerald Miller had walked out of the school and witnessed their little interaction. "I'll bet that there are very few dull moments on the Ponderosa with Cat there."
"You are right about that my friend, but I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Well, you finally got your little girl, but somehow I can't see her in frilly smocks, petticoats, and pantaloons."
"You are correct, but that's alright. As long as she's happy and healthy, I'm satisfied. Believe it or not, when we were in Carson City on Saturday, she let me buy her a fancy party dress, pantaloons and petticoats."
"How on earth did you manage that feat?"
"Remember, President Grant is one of her Godfathers. I explained that if he ever came to visit us, I would have to throw a party and all of the guests would be in very fancy clothes. I told her that I was sure she wouldn't want to be the only one at the party not wearing fancy clothes. She agreed and I bought her that dress and underthings. What I didn't tell her is that President and Mrs. Grant are planning a visit after Easter or she would be so excited, she wouldn't be able to sit still anywhere. Since Cat will be the hostess, when it gets close to their visit, I'm going to need one of the ladies to teach her what she needs to do as the hostess."
"I can understand how she would be that excited. I saw how much they love her and she loves them when they were here for your sister's funeral. Well, I had better get back to my shop and I believe Hop Sing and your father-in-law are waiting for you in your buggy. Remind me at least a week before their visit and I'll ask my wife to talk to Cat and explain the duties of a hostess to her."
The two men shook hands and as Ben started to walk away, Susan Winter came out of the classroom. "Oh good, you're still here Mr. Cartwright. I came out her to ask you to bring Cat's puppies to school after dinner tomorrow. We'll be having our Christmas party then and I thought the children would like to play with them during it. I've seen how well behaved they are in church so I know they won't be a problem here. Also, would you please ask Adam if he will come, bring his guitar, and lead the children in singing Christmas carols?"
"Yes, I will ask Adam and bring the puppies tomorrow afternoon. Cat will definitely be surprised when they come into the classroom. I'm going to have to figure out how to let them in the classroom and still be able to see the look on Cat's face when she sees them."
"Thank you Mr. Cartwright. I know the children will be surprised."
Mr. Davis walked up just as Ben climbed into the buggy. "I'm glad you're still in town Ben. I need a large favor. If you wouldn't mind, would you please take out to Fort Churchill and introduce me to the commanding officer? I have decided to send William to military school in the fall and would like some recommendations from him. Thomas will be attending Virginia Military Institute so I would like to send William to a school in California as his father and I want to keep the boys as far apart as possible."
"I'll be more than happy to take you out to the fort. Abel, Hop Sing, you may come with me, stay in town or go back to the ranch with the boys."
"I stay in town and visit my cousins," said Hop Sing.
"That's fine. I'll drop you off at Lee Chang's and I'll make arrangements at the livery stable for a horse in case you decide to return home before I get back to town."
"I think I'll ride home with my grandson," said Abel. "I missed having him around the house after he graduated from Harvard and returned here. If Hop Sing doesn't mind me invading his kitchen, maybe I'll prepare dinner for the boys and myself as I doubt he'll be home before then."
"Mr. Abel always welcome to use Hop Sing's kitchen. Unlike sons, you clean up when you make mess."
"That's fine Abel. Adam is over at the general store and Hoss and Joe are getting hay. Climb in Bill and we'll go out to the fort."
When Ben and Mr. Davis reached the fort, Ben introduced him to the commanding officer and Mr. Davis explained the reason for their visit and explained he wanted his son as far away from his best friend as possible. "I'll be happy to recommend some schools to you," said the Colonel. "In fact, there's an excellent one in Oakland. It's called California Military Academy and the commandant was a classmate of mine. I'll be more than happy to write him, explain about your son and have him contact you. What grade is the boy in now?"
"He's in tenth grade and because of his actions yesterday, the school board voted to exclude him and his three friends from school until the fall which means he'll have to repeat the tenth grade."
"I'll let Peter know. He'll want to administer some admissions tests to your son so he knows exactly what grade to place him in. Your son will be in good hands there. Peter is tough but fair. The boys all know the rules and the consequences for breaking them. Last year, a cadet captain was verbally abusing some of the boys in his company and finding excuses to punish them. Peter learned of the abuse, demoted the boy to private, and promoted another boy. There is tutoring available for all subjects, so if your son struggles with anything, he will receive help. He will learn to take responsibility for his actions and to stop blaming others for them."
"Thank you Colonel. Please do write to your friend. William will not be happy when I inform him of my decision but he will eventually come to realize that it was made with his best interests in mind."
"You are very welcome Mr. Davis. I will write to Peter today. It was a pleasure meeting you and believe me, I understand your concerns about your son's actions. Ben, it was nice seeing you again. You need to get out here more often. I need a good chess opponent."
"I'll get out here when I can Jack but I'm raising my nine year old niece now. Her father was killed in the war and her mother was murdered in June. I adopted her and am raising her as my daughter. As Bill can attest, she can be a handful."
"Catherine is a very sweet little girl who was dealt a rotten hand in life," said Mr. Davis. "Part of the problem is that Ben is either being overprotective and not wanting her to do anything except sit on the settee and read or he's trying to enforce rules she didn't even know existed."
"Guilty as charged," said Ben. "However, I am trying to change. I have been allowing her to drive the surrey to and from church and let her drive the buggy to Carson City and back on Saturday. The day Adam's grandfather arrived, I allowed her to drive the buckboard to school and she drove the surrey home. In an effort to teach her that she's not ready to be on her own yet, I allowed her to camp out by herself the day after Thanksgiving." He explained what happened that night and Cat's reaction to having her horse and food stolen. "Yes, the boys and three hands kept watch all night but that was only in case a wild animal attacked, she fell into the lake, or somehow got seriously hurt. Since none of those things happened, she had no idea six men were keeping an eye on her. A month ago, I wouldn't have let her ride Joe's horse to school and Santa is bringing sleds for her and Laura and Mary Ingalls. As I told George, I'll probably have a heart attack the first time I watch my little girl go head first down a hill on her sled."
"Then I suggest you close your eyes," said both men together.
"That's what George and Abel said. Bill, we had better start heading back to Virginia City. I've got a nine year old who is going to want to drive the buggy, surrey, and buckboard to town in the morning. I'm not sure how she plans to accomplish driving all three at once but I need to explain that she can only drive one at a time."
"Having seen Cat in action, I think I can explain it to you," said Mr. Davis. "She will drive the surrey but tie the horses from the buggy to the back of the surrey and the horses from the buckboard to the back of the buggy. Either that or she will try and have the four extra horses ride in the surrey and tie the buggy and buckboard to the back of it."
"You're probably right. Knowing her, she'd prefer to have all of the horses ride and her brothers pull the surrey, buggy, and buckboard. I'll tell you what she says when I see you tomorrow. Jack, thank you for seeing us and offering to put Bill in touch with your friend."
When Cat returned home from school, Ben asked her which vehicle she wanted to drive the next day and she said all three. When he asked how she planned to do it, as he predicted, she said she was going to tie the buckboard and buggy to the back of the surrey, the horses were going to ride in the surrey and her brothers were going to pull it. He pulled her into his lap, hugged her and said, "I've said it many times and will say it again, "You have got to be the silliest little girl I've ever met. First of all, horses won't fit in the surrey. Second, even if they could, your brothers would not be able to pull the surrey with six horses in it."
"Why not? The horses are always pulling things. They should get to ride for a change. I could take the top off the surrey. My brothers are strong and the surrey has wheels so they should be able to pull it with me and six horses in it." Ben, Abel, and Hop Sing were unable to control their laughter.
"I'll tell them that when they get home. Now what do you have for homework today?"
"Just reading."
"Ok. Why don't you go out to the barn, read to your puppies and colt and then work on whatever it is you and your brothers are doing in Hoss' room until they get home? I know Adam wants to go over those hymns one more time. He said something about doing things differently and wanted our opinion on the best way of doing them."
"Pa?"
"Yes Kitten?"
"Can Jas and Mike come and help make gingerbread cookies tomorrow too?"
"As long as Hop Sing and their parents say they can, it's alright with me."
"Little boys always welcome," said Hop Sing. "Little boys and little girls should spend night and help get tree in morning."
"I think that's an excellent idea," said Abel. "I know that the children will enjoy spending the night, getting the tree, and helping to decorate it."
"I'll stop and talk to their parents on the way to town tomorrow. Cat, I want you to get your reading done. You need to work on whatever it is you've been doing in Hoss' room, work on those hymns with Adam, and Paul wants you to sit in a tub of hot water for a little while again tonight. If you don't get your reading done soon, you won't have time to play checkers before bed."
Cat read to Fury and her puppies, gave Fury his oats and went up to Hoss' bedroom where she found his desk covered with newspaper, paint, brushes, and a note to start painting the pine cones that were going to be used as trees. When Adam, Hoss, and Joe returned home, Ben told them what their sister had said about having them pull the surrey, buggy, and buckboard with her and six horses riding in the surrey. They had a good laugh and wondered how Cat was going to fit six horses in the surrey. "Where is she now?" asked Joe.
"She's in Hoss' room, working on whatever it is the four of you have been doing in there."
The brothers walked upstairs to Hoss' room where Cat was busy painting pine cones. She didn't even know they were there until she found herself being picked up out of the chair and hugged by Hoss who gave her to Joe, who hugged her and gave her to Adam, who also hugged her. "How are you going to fit six horses in the surrey tomorrow?" he asked. "And what makes you think that we can pull it, the buggy, and buckboard with six horses in the surrey?"
"I'm going to take the top off the surrey and put it in the buggy. If all the horses won't fit in the surrey, I'll put the top in the buckboard and two horses can ride in the buggy. They're always pulling stuff so they should be able to ride for a change. You're strong and the buckboard, buggy, and surrey all have wheels, so it shouldn't be hard for you to pull them."
"I think little sister done got into some loco weed," teased Hoss. "'Cause she shore is sayin' some crazy stuff."
"You may be right Hoss," replied Adam. "I don't think I've ever heard someone say such silly things as our little sister has been saying."
"If it wasn't so cold outside, we could put her in the trough to see if that helped," said Joe. "I could go and ask Hop Sing if he's got anything to help her, or we could just fill the bathtub with cold water and put her in it."
"That is an excellent idea little brother," said Adam. He picked Cat up, put her over his shoulder and the three brothers took their sister downstairs.
Ben looked up when he saw Cat struggling to get away from Adam. "Where are you taking your sister?"
"Well Pa," replied Hoss. "We figure she done got into some loco weed and are fixin' to help her. It's too cold to put her in the trough, so's we figure putting her in a tub full of cold water will work."
Ben and Abel laughed. "I'm sorry boys but that won't work. You can put her in a tub of hot water for a little while after supper, but cold water won't do anything but upset her and an upset Wild Cat is not a good thing to have around the house. Besides that, there's too much snow on the ground for her to have found any loco weed, so I think she just has a bad case of being a silly little girl and there's no cure for it except to wait for her to grow up. Cat, there is one thing wrong with your plan. Even if all six horses would fit in the surrey and your brothers could pull it, they can't go as fast as horses, so it would take at least twice a long to get to town. That means you would have to leave for school at five o'clock tomorrow morning instead of at seven. Breakfast is usually served at six, so you and your brothers would miss breakfast. You know as well as the rest of us do that Hop Sing would be very upset if that happened."
"Yuck. That's really awful. I don't even want to go to school and I really don't want to have to leave two hours early and miss breakfast. I guess I'll drive the surrey."
"That's my girl. Adam, since we still have some time before supper is ready, why don't you get your guitar and go over those hymns with Cat so we can help you decide the best way of doing them?"
Adam got his guitar, told Cat they were going to work on the first hymn, she should sing the first line of the first verse, he would sing the second, and they would both do the chorus. He said she should sing the entire two lines of the second verse by herself and he would join her on the chorus. He went on to say that he would sing the third verse, she would join him on the chorus and both of them would do the last verse and chorus together. After they sang the hymn, Joe said, "I really like it that way. Each verse is sung a little differently than the one before it and that makes it very interesting."
"What do you think Cat?" asked Adam. "Do you like doing it that way?"
"It's ok I guess."
"What's wrong? Are you still worried that those boys and Annabel will laugh at you?"
"Yes."
"Don't be. Pa and I talked to their fathers and they have been warned that if they misbehave during the service, they will spend the rest of the service, Christmas Day and possibly a week not wanting to sit down."
"That's right Sweetheart," added Ben. "All of the men promised me that they would be sitting on the aisle and if their children even hinted at misbehaving during the service, they would be taken out and given a bare bottom whipping with the promise of a razor strop being used on their bare bottoms when they returned home. Not only that, they will have to spend Christmas Day alone in their rooms and will not receive their presents until March. So you have nothing to worry about."
"I tell ya what Punkin," said Hoss. "Ifn I didn't believe them fathers would take care of their youngin's, I'd be sittin' behind them during the service and ifn they acted up, I'd pick them up, carry them out and throw them in a trough. Does that make ya feel any better?"
"Yeah. Thanks Hoss."
"Anytime little sister. Now, let's hear that other song before Hop Sing tells us supper is ready."
"Alright Cat. This one only has three verses but they are longer than the first one. You sing the first verse and I'll join you on the chorus. I'll sing the second verse and you join me on the chorus and we'll do the last verse together."
When they finished, Abel said, "That sounded very nice. Your voices blend nicely and I agree with Joe about the first song. I can't wait to hear how you sound on Friday night. I know you'll both do well."
"That sound very nice," said Hop Sing who had come to tell the family supper was ready. "Maybe Hop Sing go to church Friday to hear number one son and number one daughter sing."
Ben was surprised and said, "That's fine Hop Sing. You are welcome to join us any time you feel like it."
When Cat and Mike met up the next morning, he was surprised to see her driving the surrey. "The rest of the family's coming in today so Pa said I could drive the buggy, surrey, or buckboard today. I wanted to bring all three of them, let the horses ride in the buggy and surrey and then Adam, Hoss, and Joe could pull everything but Pa said if I tried to do that, I would have to leave two hours early and miss breakfast."
"That would really be bad. I'm glad you decided to just drive the surrey."
"I can't wait to drive the sleigh to church on Friday. I bet it will be a lot of fun."
"It probably will. I wish I could ride in it with you."
"I almost forget, we're making gingerbread cookies today and Hop Sing said you and Jas could come help. He even said you should spend the night and come with us to get the Christmas tree in the morning."
"That sounds like fun. I hope my parents will let me."
"Pa said he was going to talk to your parents and Jas' too and ask them to let you, so I'm sure they will. They might get on Santa's naughty list if they say no."
The morning passed too slowly for the children, who couldn't wait for the school Christmas party to start. After what seemed like an eternity, Miss Winter dismissed the class for dinner. While the children were eating, she looked out a window several times. "Miss Winter," asked Sally. "Why do you keep looking out the window?"
"I'm expecting visitors and was looking to see if they had arrived yet." Ben arrived with the puppies a few minutes later and Miss Winter met him on the front porch of the school. "Why don't you take them to the back door? You can let them in from there and see the expression on Cat's face when she sees them."
Jasper saw Ben and the puppies at the school's back door, pointed toward it and said, "Cat look!"
Cat turned around and found herself being pushed to the floor and smothered in puppy kisses. She hugged them and asked "Lassie, Chief, I sure am glad you're here. How did you get here? I wish you could come here every day. Then school wouldn't be so bad." Ben laughed at Cat's comments and quietly left the school without her even knowing he was there.
Adam walked in a few minutes later. Cat spotted him and hugged him tightly. "You brought my puppies to me. Thank you. That's the nicest thing you've ever done for me."
Adam started to say that it was their father who brought the puppies but Miss Winter shook her head no so he just said, "You're welcome little sister. I thought you'd like to know that Hoss, Joe, and I bathed them this morning so they'd be clean to come here and for our company."
Cat hugged him again. "That was real nice of you to do that. Thank you. I was going to try and bathe them when I got home so Jas, Mike, Laura, and Mary could help me get them in the tub. Now we can just work on making gingerbread men and maybe they'll help me with Grandpa's present."
Adam addressed the class. "Miss Winter asked me to come and lead the class in singing Christmas carols as part of your party. Now, since I don't want everyone sitting in desks while we're singing, with your teacher's permission, I'm going to ask Jeffrey and Peter to please move her desk back against the wall. Then there will be room for everyone to sit on the floor in front of me."
While the desk was being moved, Miss Winter whispered to Adam, "I know that you and Cat have had some problems, so letting her think you brought the puppies will help to mend your relationship. I'm certain your father won't mind if you take the credit."
Adam smiled and replied, "You're probably right." He picked up the teacher's chair and sat it in front of her desk. "Alright children, come and sit down in front of me. I want everyone to have a chance to choose a song to sing, so this is what we are going to do. Starting from my left, I'm going to start with Jimmy Hawks and ask each one of you to tell me what you want to sing. We'll sing the song Jimmy picks and then I'll ask Doug. Ok Jimmy, what song do you want to sing?" They spent more than an hour singing Christmas carols and after the last student's song had been sung, he said, "Miss Winter, what song would you like us to sing before I leave?
"Would you please play Joy to the World? It's always been a favorite of mine."
"I would be more than happy to play that for you." Once the final chorus had been sung, Adam said, "Children, I have enjoyed coming here and playing Christmas carols for you to sing. Thank you for inviting me. I would love to stay and enjoy the rest of your party, but the rest of the family will be arriving on the stages this afternoon and I need to be at the depot with my family to meet them."
"Where are they coming from?" asked Doug.
"My aunt and two cousins are coming in from California. One uncle is coming from Arizona, another uncle and cousin are coming from New Mexico, and a third uncle is coming from Kansas. We're going to have a very full house this Christmas. Now you children enjoy the rest of your party. I need to go because the stage from the east should be here shortly." At Miss Winter's insistence, he took two cookies each for himself, his brothers, father, and grandfather. When he joined the rest of the family, he told Ben about taking credit for bringing Lassie and Silver Chief to the school. Ben laughed and said not to worry about it as anything to help the relationship between his eldest and youngest children was worth the little white lie. "I don't understand why Cat said my bringing her puppies to school was the nicest thing I've ever done for her. I've done a lot of nice things for her."
"Let me see if I can explain it," said Abel. "Cat is still learning what being part of a family means and right now, those puppies and her colt are her whole world. They love her unconditionally and will never intentionally do anything to hurt her. I know that you and your father also love her unconditionally, however, you have both hurt her on more than one occasion and she's not completely sure how you really feel about her. Think about your words and actions since you brought Cat home from Dodge. The week before I arrived. Benjamin made her ride double to school with him and she got into a fight with two boys who teased, pushed, and tripped her. They forced her to go into town in the middle of the night and look under the saloon door. She told you that they had threatened to do something very bad but instead of finding out what they had threatened to do, even though you aren't supposed to, you punished her very severely. Then there's the day I arrived. Even though she didn't know what she was doing and she wasn't supposed to have any chores, Cat unharnessed the team, put herself in danger by stacking two crates on top of each other, stood on top of them to groom the horses, and fed them because she thought you would say it was her responsibility because she drove the surrey.
Yes, you have done many nice things for her, but you have also done things to hurt her so she isn't sure about your feelings to her. In her mind, bringing those puppies to school was the nicest thing you've ever done for her. Remember that the next time you are tempted to call her a pest and a nuisance or say you want to throw her back and catch her when she gets bigger. Words hurt more than physical punishment or wounds. The pain from them goes away after a while but words are not easily forgotten and if they're said often enough, they are never forgotten. I'm not saying you can't tease her, just choose your words carefully. For example, she thinks it's funny when you threaten to feed her to Fury or put her in the trough when she's in her night clothes. Even though she was trying to get away from you last night, she was laughing the entire time Hoss said you and your brothers were going to put her in a tub of cold water because the three of you thought she had eaten some loco weed."
As part of the Christmas party, Miss Winter decided to have the children exchange gifts with the instructions that the gifts had to be something they made, either by themselves or with help from an adult. That way no child would feel bad because they couldn't afford to buy something. Cat drew Sally's name and gave her a carving of her cat that Hoss had made and she had painted. Mitch Harris drew Cat's name and gave her two collars and long leashes he had braided. "They're for when you go and visit your uncles in the summer. That way Lassie and Silver Chief can't run off, chasing a rabbit and have to get left behind."
"Gee thanks Mitch. They are really swell."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you like them. Since your puppies are still growing, I made the collars big. That way you can make them smaller if you have to."
Jasper walked up to Miss Winter and said, "I need to go over to the jail. I got Billy's name and have to give him his present." Three other children also said they needed to give the other boys their presents. While the children were talking to their teacher, Mr. Davis walked into the school, carrying three gifts.
"These are the gifts from the boys for the children's names they picked."
"Thank you Mr. Davis. These four children have gifts to deliver to the boys and some of the others feel that we should take them some apple cider and cookies. Would you please ask Sheriff Coffee if he will permit all of the children to bring the presents, cookies and cider to the boys?"
"I'll be more than happy to ask him. Have you asked Catherine Cartwright how she feels about the plan as she is the one they hurt?" He called Cat over to him and asked her how she felt about going to see the boys who had hurt her.
"It's ok. I'm mad at them but I don't hate them and I'm sorry they have to stay in jail. I guess I should forgive them. If they apologize and ask me to, I will."
"That is very nice of you and I hope the boys do apologize for what they did. I'm not going to tell them to because that's something they shouldn't have to be told to do. Let me go and talk to Sheriff Coffee. I'll be back shortly." He returned a few minutes later and told Susan that Roy had said the children could come and share their Christmas party with the boys. All of the boys except Billy apologized to Cat, promised not to ever hurt anyone again and asked her forgiveness, which she gave them. Billy, on the other hand, kept blaming Cat for all of his problems, saying it was her fault he wasn't allowed to play with Tommy any more and he was stuck in jail instead of being at the school Christmas party or out hunting. Ron, Rich, and Davy all told Billy he was being stupid and it wasn't Cat's fault he was in a lot of trouble. Mr. Davis just shook his head and went home to tell his wife how their son was behaving. She became very angry, took her husband's razor strop, walked over to the jail and told Roy she wanted to see her son. Roy unlocked the cell door and told Billy his mother was there to see him.
"I don't care," said Billy. "I don't want to see her."
"William Randolph Davis, if I have to come in there after you, I guarantee you won't be sitting down until after Christmas! Now get out here!" Billy refused to come out, so his mother went in after him. She hit him hard on the back of one thigh with the razor strop and said, "I have had enough of your attitude, actions, and disrespect! You alone are responsible for your actions. Catherine Cartwright did not force you to become a bully. Nor did she force you to say the things you said about her mother. You are just angry because you finally found someone who wasn't afraid to fight back and whose father happened to be there when you hurt his daughter. Now pull your pants and underwear down, and bend over that cot!" When Billy refused, she hit him with the strop again and threatened to have Roy and Clem force him to obey her. He was already embarrassed at the thought of his mother giving him a whipping in front of his friends and didn't want Roy and Clem to witness his punishment so he finally obeyed his mother. When she finished, he was quite certain he would not be sitting comfortably until after the new year began. "I am sorry I had to do that to you son, but you brought it on yourself. I hope and pray that you will think about your actions that have put you in this place and decide to become the nice young man we raised you to be. I will see you on Friday. The judge has allowed Sheriff Coffee to release the four of you in time to bathe and eat supper before church."
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a/n: My fur kids and I would like to wish all of you a Meowy Christmas and a very happy Mew Year. We hope that 2020 brings many blessings for you and your families. In case you're wondering, besides the usual jingle balls, catnip toys, special canned food, etc, they are getting a very special Christmas gift. I bought a new bird feeder and will be setting it up in front of the living room window so they can sit on the back of the couch and do some bird watching. Maybe I'll give them a field guide so they can tell me what birds they see.