"What did the women do?" asked Abel. Ben handed him the note from George McLeod. After reading it, he shook his head and said, "I can understand why you are so angry. They took advantage of the fact that they were already in the store and you told Cat not to go into a store if they were already in it. I hope that Cat doesn't get sick, but if she does, having Dr. Martin give each of the women a bill for what he'd normally charge you sounds good to me. I haven't interfered yet, but maybe I'll have a little chat with them after church on Sunday and tell them exactly what I think of them. You need to show that note to Reverend Long also. Maybe excluding them from Sunday services for a month will straighten them out. At least the judge isn't taking this laying down. George said that he fined the women five hundred dollars each and said that if anything like that happens again, the fine will be one thousand dollars each and they'll have to spend a week in jail."

"Five hundred dollars isn't enough for everything they have done to Cat. The judge should drain their bank accounts!"

"You don't mean that and you know it. If the judge did that, those women would blame you and take it out on Cat. Don't forget, Roy said that Mrs. Warren will be leaving right after Easter, so that will be one less of them you have to deal with. Hopefully the school board will give their approval to Cat missing school for a month or more, so you'll be able to ignore them while she is in Boston with me and Adam. In fact, I think I'll attend that meeting with you tonight. That way I can answer any questions they have. Maybe Reverend Long will be there and we can show him that note from George. The sooner he knows what happened, the sooner he can take action. Like you, I am also tired of those woman trying to make Cat's life miserable and it's high time they were held accountable for their actions. Since the law hasn't seemed to affect their actions, maybe being excluded from church services for a while will."

Charles decided to ride to Carson City with Adam who told him about his conversation with Susan. "Well? Is she correct?" asked Charles.

"I don't know."

"Then think about it while you're driving. We've got a three hour trip just to get to Carson City and another three hour trip home, so you have plenty of time to think. Personally, I think you already know the answer but just don't want to admit it. Talk to Hoss too. I'm sure he already knows the answer."

The men stopped about half way to Carson City, built a fire and heated up some of the coffee Hop Sing had sent with them. Adam talked to Hoss, told him what Susan had said, and asked, "Is she right Hoss? I'm not sure."

"I ain't gonna answer that question Adam. You know the answer just like I do. Ifn ya look deep inside yoreself, ya'll see it. Ifn ya don't, then ya ain't as smart as I thought ya was. Why don't ya let Charles drive the rest of the way? That way ya can sit back with yore hat over yore eyes and think about what Susan said. I'll tell Joe that ya got some heavy thinkin' ta do so's he don't accuse ya of sleepin' while everyone else is drivin'."

Hoss left Adam to his thoughts and walked over to tell Joe that Adam had some thinking to do so Charles would be driving the rest of the way to Virginia City. When Joe asked what Adam was thinking about, Hoss replied, "Miss Susan said some stuff ta him last night he needs ta think about. And afore ya ask, I ain't gonna tell ya what they talked about. Adam'll tell ya when he's ready so don't be askin' him."

While the men were traveling toward Carson City, the children attending the Virginia City school were taking their weekly arithmetic test. Unknown to his or Tommy's parents, Sam and Tommy had been secretly meeting before church on Sundays. Tommy wanted to get even with Cat because he blamed her that he was experiencing consequences for his actions. "Do something to get her mad at you and start a fight," Tommy told his friend. "She'll be punished for starting the fight but you won't because you didn't start it."

Sam agreed with his friend, thought about what to do, and came up with a plan. When he finished his arithmetic test, he walked up and put it on Miss Winter's desk. However, instead of returning to his seat, he walked over to Cat's desk and took her paper away from her. "That's mine! Give it back!" she exclaimed.

"Samuel, return Catherine's paper to her immediately and return to your seat!" demanded the teacher.

"Alright, I'll give it back, like this." He tore the paper in several pieces and threw them at Cat who exploded. She launched herself out of her seat and tore into Sam with all she had, hitting him as hard as she could. It took Susan and two of the oldest boys several minutes to separate the combatants. When they were finally pulled apart, Cat would end up having a black eye while Sam had a broken nose, would have two black eyes, and a cut on the back of his head where it hit the wall when Cat shoved him backwards.

"Samuel, you have just earned a zero on your test, a note home to your father and a paddling when Jeffrey and Michael bring you back from Dr. Martin's office. Boys, please take Samuel to the doctor so he can look at his nose. Catherine, you were provoked and I will not punish you, however, I will be sending a note home to your father. You need to learn to control your temper. How many problems did you have left on your test?"

"Just two. Now I gotta do all of them again."

"Not necessarily. Pick up the pieces of your test and bring them to my desk." Cat did as she was told. Susan took the pieces from her, laid them out on another piece of paper and put a little bit of glue under each one. "Now you don't have to solve the problems again. Just copy what you have already completed and finish the remaining problems. I will allow you enough time to complete the test." Then she looked at the class. "Does anybody know why Samuel did that?"

Jimmy raised his hand. "I think Tommy put him up to it. He keeps saying that he's going to get even with Cat because he's in trouble with his father and the judge. I saw Tommy and Sam meeting by the outhouse before church the last several Sundays."

"Thank you for that information. I will include it in the note to Mr. Kinkaid and have a talk with Mr. Roberts after school. Now, there are still several students working on their tests, so I would like everyone else to please read quietly so those students can finish." She sat down and wrote a note to Sam's father, telling him about his son's actions, including the fact that he hit a girl, and that he had been meeting with Tommy before church. Then she wrote a note to Ben.

Dear Mr. Cartwright,

This is to inform you that Catherine was involved in a fight at school this morning. She did not instigate the fight. She was taking a test and was provoked. After another student turned his arithmetic test in, rather than returning to his seat, he walked over to Catherine's desk, took her test and ripped it up. She became very angry and attacked him. I was able to piece it back together enough so she could copy the problems she had completed onto another sheet of paper and she was given enough time to complete the test. As Catherine did nothing to cause the fight, she was not punished. However, I would like you to work with her and teach her to control her temper. She fights with such ferociousness that I am afraid that one of her opponents will be seriously hurt.

Sincerely,

Susan Winter

As soon as Cat finished her test, Susan sent her over to Paul Martin's office so he could check her eye. He cleaned around it, checked it, had her sit with a cold, wet towel on it, said to come back if it started to hurt too bad, and to have Hop Sing take care of it when she got home,

When Jeff and Mike brought Sam back to school, Susan used the paddle on him, made him stand in the corner, and would not allow him to have recess. Sam complained that Cat should be punished also because she hit him. Susan informed him that he was the one who started the fight because if he had not torn Cat's test up, there never would have been a fight, so he was the only one who would be punished.

As the wagons approached Carson City, Charles looked at Adam and asked, "Well, what did you decide?"

"What you and Hoss already know. Susan is right."

"I'm glad you admitted it. If you hadn't, I was going to take a two by four to your head and knock some sense into you. Now, what are you going to do about it?"

Adam sighed. This was going to be the hard part. "I'm going to have to talk to Joe and Cat. I have to apologize for the way I've treated them, explain why, and ask for forgiveness."

"Very good. When are you going to do it?"

"Today. I guess I'll ride part way home with Joe and talk to him then. I'll talk to Cat while Laura and Mary are playing checkers after supper."

"See to it that you do. I will be asking both of them if you talked to them and I hope they say you did. That's the only way you can start making things right with both of them."

After eating dinner, the men walked back to the feed store and started for the Ponderosa. Adam walked up to Joe and asked, "Do you mind if I ride with you for a while? I need to talk to you about something important."

Joe was surprised by Adam's request and said, "Sure. I'd welcome the company."

Once they were out of town and on the road to the Ponderosa, Adam said, "Joe, I have something very important to tell you. Please just listen to everything I have to say and think about it before replying. Susan and I had a long talk last night and she said some things to me that made me look deep inside myself. That's what I was doing on the way to Carson City. I want and need to apologize to you for the way I treated you when I got home from college. You were six when I left and ten when I returned, but I was still expecting you to be six. That's why I kept insisting that Pa was letting you run wild and get away with murder. Also, Susan made me realize that I was jealous of the childhood you had and that's another reason for the way I treated you.

I know you've heard the story about how Pa left Boston with me when I was an infant and how we traveled with the wagon train. There was very little time for the children to play and have fun on the wagon train. We were always moving and when we stopped, there were chores to be done. The stock needed to be cared for, firewood had to be carried and water for cooking and washing had to be brought from whatever body of water we stopped near. Except for tending the stock and carrying firewood and water, only the oldest boys were allowed to leave the safety of the train to hunt and fish. Most of the Indian tribes did not want us passing through their territory so we always had to be looking out for an attack, which happened on several occasions, including at Ash Hollow when Inger was killed. After that happened, I had to take care of Hoss, so I had no free time at all unless one of the women was nursing him. When we reached the Ponderosa, I had to watch Hoss while Pa got the ranch started and worked on it. After he married your mother, she watched Hoss and I had to help with the ranch. I was only ten and wanted to run and play like other children my age, but I wasn't allowed to very much. I also wanted to go to school, but there wasn't one yet and Pa needed me on the ranch, so I wouldn't have been able to go anyway.

I hope you will accept my apology and can find it in your heart to forgive me. You are my brother and I love you very much. We don't always get along, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. Like Pa with Cat, I want to follow you around and wrap you in cotton wool so nothing bad will happen to you. It would break my heart if I ever lost you. Your smile and laugh always bring me out of a bad mood. Hoss swears that they can chase storm clouds away."

Joe put both reins in his left hand and hugged his brother with the other one. "I accept your apology Adam. I love you and I forgive you. Now, what about little sister? You've done a lot in the last four months to hurt Cat and even though you've apologized, she still doesn't trust you. I still don't understand why you punished her for looking under the saloon doors when she said the boys had threatened to do something bad if she didn't. Don't say you thought she was lying because Matt told us that she won't lie. Not only that, we weren't supposed to even spank her, let alone give her a bare bottom whipping."

Adam sighed. "Yes I have and I need to apologize to her again. I was wrong to punish her when I found her in town, looking under the saloon doors and Susan helped me to see just how wrong I was. I was angry and convinced myself that Pa wouldn't do anything and I just assumed her statement about the boys threats were just an attempt to get out of being punished. Susan also pointed out that Cat grew up in Dodge and lived in Matt's office with him. Since he was out making rounds after dark, Cat had plenty of opportunities to see what went on in saloons, so she had no need to risk severe punishment by riding to town to look into one when all she had to do for the last eight years was walk to one."

Just before dismissing the students for the day, she gave Cat the note for Ben as well as the torn test and asked, "Jennifer, you live near Samuel, don't you?"

"Yes Miss Winter. I do."

"Thank you. Would you please take this note and give it to Mr. Kinkaid? I don't trust Samuel to give it to his father. Let me know if Samuel tries to take it away from you. Also, be sure to tell his father if he does."

Before they even left the school yard, Sam tried to get the note away from Jenny. He hit her and tried pushing her out of her saddle, but she hit him back and kicked him. Susan walked out of the school, saw what Sam was doing, and said, "Please give me that note Jennifer. I'll take it to Mr. Kinkaid myself and tell him what his son just did to you. Thank you for trying to give it to him for me."

Susan got her buggy and drove to the Kinkaid ranch, gave the note to Mr. Kinkaid, and told him about Sam hitting Jenny and trying to push her out of her saddle because she was bringing the note to him. He read the note, apologized for his son's behavior and said that the boy would be severely dealt with. Then Susan drove to the Roberts ranch and told Mr. Roberts about Tommy meeting Sam before church and what Sam had done to Cat and Jenny. Like Mr. Kinkaid, Mr. Roberts promised that Tommy would be severely dealt with.

When the girls reached the Ponderosa and went into the house, Ben became very concerned when he saw Cat's black eye. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"I got into a fight in school. Here's a note from Miss Susan."

"I see. I am not happy about this at all and we will be discussing this later. Right now, go into the kitchen and ask Hop Sing to take care of your eye."

Cat hoped that after Ben read the note, he would not punish her, but not wanting to chance getting in even more trouble, just said, "Yes sir," and went into the kitchen.

Ben read the note, looked at the pieces of Cat's test that had been glued to the paper, and handed them to Abel. Then he looked at Laura and Mary and asked, "What happened? Who did that to Cat's test and why?"

"Sam took Cat's test off of her desk, ripped it up, and threw it at her," replied Mary. "Jimmy said that Tommy probably told him to do it because they have been meeting before church."

"Cat got real mad at Sam and attacked him before Miss Susan could do anything," added Laura. "It took Miss Susan, Jeff, and Mike a few minutes to get them apart. I thought Cat was going to kill Sam."

"I see. Is Sam's desk anywhere near you girls?"

"No sir," replied Mary. He sits near the back on the other side of the room. The only reason he went by Cat's desk was to get her to start a fight."

"Thank you girls. You've given me something to think about. Don't worry. From what Miss Winter's note said and you have told me, Cat did nothing to cause the fight so I will not punish her for it. However, your teacher is correct. Cat does need to learn to control her temper. I wonder if Mr. Kinkaid will be at the school board meeting tonight and if he is, what he will have to say about his son's behavior. Go ahead and start on your homework, but don't worry if you don't finish it. I have a school board meeting tonight so we're having supper early."

"All we have for homework is to study for our reading and grammar tests tomorrow," said Mary. "I've spent a lot of time studying for them already and was going to help Laura and Cat with their grammar because they're having some problems."

"That is very nice of you Mary. I'll go and see how Cat is doing." He walked into the kitchen and found Hop Sing stirring something on the stove and Cat sitting with a towel wrapped snowball on her eye. "Hop Sing, don't tell me that we're out of steaks."

"Plenty snow outside for eye. No need to waste steak and upset Number Two son."

Ben laughed at Hop Sing's statement. "How is your patient doing? Mary wants to help her and Laura study for their grammar test tomorrow."

Hop Sing took the towel from Cat and gently pressed down on the skin around her eye. "This hurt you?"

"No. It doesn't hurt anymore. Thanks Hop Sing."

"Good. Put towel in sink and study for test."

Ben could see how worried Cat was as she started walking past him on her way to the dining room, so he pulled her into a hug. "You had a rough day, didn't you Kitten? Everybody has days like that from time to time. Mary's waiting to help you and Laura study for your grammar test so you'd better scoot before I decide to turn you upside down and tickle the bottoms of your feet."

When the six men returned from Carson City, they were able to get everything put away in no time at all. Joe and Joshua offered to go with Charles and help him put his hay and oats put away. Before anyone could leave, Ben came outside. "Charles, Joshua, Thaddeus, the three of you are invited to supper tonight."

Joshua and Thaddeus thanked Ben and accepted the invitation.

"Thanks Ben," replied Charles, "But Caroline is expecting me home soon. I'm going to go and hug my girls and then head for home. I need to warn them that their mother and I would like them to come back home after church on Sunday. Carrie's behavior is much better and, as much as I hate depriving Cat of her "sisters", I want my girls back."

"You'll have to talk to Hop Sing about that. Remember, he claimed them and Cat as his own."

Charles walked into the house and hugged his daughters. All three girls got upset when he told Mary and Laura they had to return home after church on Sunday. Then he saw Cat's eye and became upset himself. "Cat, who did that to your eye and why?"

"Sam did. He took my arithmetic test and ripped it up and I got mad and attacked him. He hit me while we were fighting."

"I am very sorry he did that to you. I hope his father teaches him a lesson about destroying other people's property and hitting girls. Now I know you are upset because their mother and I want Laura and Mary to come home on Sunday, but we have talked and decided to allow them to spend one weekend a month here with you. Caroline and I have come to think of you as part of our family and you are always welcome at our house whenever Ben says you may come over. Alright girls. I need another hug from all three of you and then I need to go. Joe and Joshua are waiting for me. They're going to help me put my hay, grain, and salt away and I don't want to keep them waiting."

After Charles, Joe, and Joshua left, Ben walked up to Hoss and said, "Son, I need you to spend as much time with your sister as possible and help her learn to control her temper."

"Shore Pa. I'll spend time with little sister. Did something happen at school today?"

"Yes it did. I'll let Catherine tell everyone about it at supper. I have a school board meeting so we're eating early tonight."

Adam, Hoss, and Thaddeus had the barn chores finished by the time Joe and Joshua returned from helping Charles. They washed up and walked into the house just in time to hear Hop Sing say that supper was ready. Once everyone was seated at the table, Thaddeus saw Cat's black eye and asked, "Cat, what happened to your eye?"

"Sam ripped up my arithmetic test so I fought him. I only got a black eye, but he got two black eyes, his nose had a big bandage on it and so did his head. I wish Miss Winter hadn't stopped us because I wanted to kill him."

"Why did you want to kill him?" asked Thaddeus.

"Because he's Tommy's friend. Tommy is my enemy so Sam is too and enemies need to be killed."

"While I am not happy about the fight," said Ben. "Your teacher said you did nothing to cause it, so you will not be punished. However, you will be spending a lot of time with Hoss so he can help you learn to control your temper."

"I am going to be an Apache warrior and don't need to control my temper. Besides that, Joe doesn't, so why should I?"

Before Ben could reply, Hoss said, "I think we're gonna to take a ride and talk ta Winnemucca after church on Sunday. Then ya can ask him about ifn ya need to control yore temper. Joe's been workin' on his and ain't near as bad as he used to be. Ya shouldn't have fought that boy. Yore teacher would of taken care of him."

"She punished him after he came back from Dr. Paul's office, but he still would have done something else to me if Tommy told him to. Maybe he won't now that he knows I'm not afraid to fight him."

"He may know that you're not afraid to fight him, but that may not stop him from trying to hurt you," said Thaddeus. "Look at what those other two boys you fought have done to you. You fought them twice and they're still trying to hurt you."

"You're lucky Mrs. Myers isn't your teacher," added Joe. "When she was my teacher, it didn't matter who started a fight or why, both people got punished. She would have used that paddle on you and Sam and the note she sent home wouldn't have said you didn't cause the fight. It just would have said you were in a fight and Pa would have punished you. He never asked me who started the fight or why I was fighting. All he cared about was that I had been in a fight at school."

Abel glared at Ben over the way he had treated his youngest son and vowed to prevent it from happening to Cat.

"There's something else you need to think about," said Joshua. "Those boys are old enough to carry guns. One of them could easily go home after school, get a gun, and shoot you while you were on your way home. Just because you know how to fight isn't going to keep someone from hurting you."

Adam decided to join the conversation. "Knowing how to defend yourself is important. You're less likely to be hurt then. However, fighting someone because they ripped up your test is not defending yourself. That's something you should have let your teacher handle. Now Sam may try to hurt you because he was punished and you weren't. I'm sure that Tommy told him that if he got you to start a fight, you would be punished and he wouldn't. Pa's right. You need to learn to control your temper. All hitting or kicking someone who does or says something that upsets you is going to do is get you in a lot of trouble."

Mary spoke up. "They're right Cat. Look at everything that Annabel has done to you since you pushed her down in a mud puddle because she tried stealing your saddle bags. Just like Tommy and Billy, she blames you because she is being punished for her actions. She tried pushing you down the school steps and I heard that she attacked and tried to kill you at the school board meeting. You should have just let Miss Winter take care of Sam. Now he could try to hurt you because you fought him and won."

When supper was over, Ben said that Adam was in charge while he and Abel were at the school board meeting. Adam surprised Ben when he said, "Not tonight Pa. I need a break. I've been on little girl duty since before Christmas and I'm tired. I've been following these three into town every night to try and keep them out of trouble. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be in three places at once? While I'm trying to stop Cat and Laura from moving all of the horses around, Mary is in the Bucket of Blood, cheating at cards."

"I don't cheat!" exclaimed Mary indignantly.

"I saw you pull that ace out of your sleeve."

"I didn't pull it out of my sleeve. I pulled it out of the air. A magician taught me that trick when I was three."

"Cat's right, moving all of the cowboys' horses around is fun," added Laura.

Ben and Abel laughed. "Alright son. You may have the night off. Hoss, you have little girl duty tonight."

"'Tain't no problem at all Pa. Them three little mischief makers ain't goin' nowheres tonight even ifn I gotta spend all night huggin' all of 'em at once."

Ben laughed. "Alright girls. I've got to go. Give me a hug and I'll see you in the morning. Do try to stay out of mischief tonight and no going to town. You have school in the morning and I don't want you falling asleep in class."

Once Ben and Abel left, Adam picked Cat up and said, "Hoss, I'm borrowing little sister for a while. I need to talk to her about what you and I talked about on the way to Carson City."

"That's fine. She ain't gonna get into any mischief while you're with her."

Adam carried Cat up to his room and gently tossed her onto his bed, causing her to giggle. He sat down and said, "Come and sit by me. I need to talk to you about something important and don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong." Cat sat down next to her brother who pulled her into a big hug. "I need to apologize for the way I've been treating you. Susan and I had a long talk last night and she said some things that made me look deep inside myself and realize how wrong I've been about the way I treated Joe when I came home from college and how I've been treating you since you came to live with us. Susan made me see that I am jealous of the childhood Joe had and you have.

I don't know how much you know about my childhood, but I didn't have one like you do and Joe did. Pa left Boston with me when I was an infant and we spent most of my childhood traveling west in a wagon. Pa married Hoss' mother when I was five and he was born when I was six. Inger was killed in an Indian attack when Hoss was only a few months old, so I had to look after him while Pa was driving the wagon. I was eight when we settled here and I had to watch Hoss while Pa got the ranch going and worked it. I was ten when he married Marie and since he had her to watch Hoss, I had to help with the ranch. Joe was six when I left for Boston and ten when I returned home, but I expected him to still be six, which is why I thought Pa was spoiling him and letting him run wild. He wasn't running wild, he was doing things with his friends that ten year olds do.

Because I thought that Pa was letting Joe get away with murder, when you came to live here, I decided that I wasn't going to let you get away with anything. That's why I kept telling you to do your chores and homework when you got home from school and why I was ready to punish you for being late coming home when you and Mike raced to his house and were given lemonade and cookies. That's also why I kept going through your things to make sure you didn't have anything I didn't think you should have, why I tried to find out what you were doing after school at Gerald Miller's shop, and why I was hiding in the bushes the day Pa said you could go fishing after school. It's also why I ignored you when you said that Thomas and William threatened to do something bad if you didn't go to town and look under the saloon doors with them. Even though I wasn't supposed to punish you, I thought you were just trying to get out of being punished. Susan made me realize that if you had wanted to look into a saloon at night, all you had to do anytime in the past eight years was walk to one while Matt was out making his rounds. There was no need for you to risk severe punishment by riding to town in the middle of the night. I do wish you had told Hoss about the boys' threats when he caught you the first time. That way their fathers would have been told what they were up to and you wouldn't have had to worry about them following through on their threats.

I am very, very sorry about the way I have been treating you and I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I love you very much and although I am sad that you are growing up without your parents, I am very happy that you are my sister now."

"I forgive you, but I might not if you do it again."

"I promise that from now on, I will do my best to be the brother you need. If I mess up, please remember that I am human and humans make mistakes a lot."

"I don't. I'm a cat and everyone knows that cats are perfect."

Adam hugged Cat and laughed so hard that if the windows had been open, the hands would have heard him the bunkhouse. Hoss looked up from the newspaper and said, "I wonder what little sister said ta Adam that tickled his funny bone like that. He ain't laughed that hard in a coon's age."

"I don't know," replied Joe. "I guess he'll tell us when he's ready, but it sure is good to hear him laugh. He doesn't do it often enough."

When Adam was finally able to stop laughing, he said, "Thank you for that Cat. I haven't laughed like that in a long time and it felt good. Why don't you bring your guitar downstairs. You know the three chords I taught you, so it's time you started learning how to play Early One Morning."