By the time the Cartwrights left Virginia City, Cat looked like a little caterpillar in a cocoon. Paul and Virginia had wrapped her up in the quilts and muffler so all anyone could see was her eyes. Virginia also gave them a small pillow to use to make Cat more comfortable if she fell asleep. Paul looked at the family and said, "I want Hoss, Ben, and Able in the front seat. All of you are big men and will help to block the wind from reaching Cat. Yes Ben, I know you want to ride home with your little girl in your lap and if it was warm outside, that wouldn't be a problem. However, it is very cold and she needs to stay warm. Right now, she's better off in the back seat between Adam and Joe with her dogs keeping her feet and legs warm."

Cat's temperature went back up and she fell asleep on the ride home. Adam reached up and tapped Hoss on the shoulder. "Stop a minute Hoss, will you? Cat's asleep and with help from Joe and Hop Sing, I want to get her laying down. She'll be warmer that way."

"Shore Adam. I'll give ya my coat for her ifn ya think it will help."

"Thanks Hoss but keep your coat. We don't need you getting sick also. Paul and Virginia have Cat wrapped up good in the quilts and she's got her coat on under them, so she should be good and warm. Her temperature seems to have gone back up, so we'll have to work on it when we get home. Right now, I just want her to lay down so she'll be more comfortable."

When they reached the house, Ben took Cat from Adam and carried her up to her bedroom. Hop Sing went into the kitchen and filled a pitcher with cold water and carried it and a small towel up to Cat's room before going back downstairs to begin fixing dinner. The scene in Cat's room was one of utter chaos as the entire family tried getting her out of the blankets, muffler, coat, hat, and mittens before getting her into a nightgown and her bed. Mary Devlin knocked on the door and was admitted by Hop Sing. "Hello Hop Sing. How is Cat?"

"Hello Missus Mary. Missy Cat very sick little girl. She have bronchitis. Family upstairs trying to get her in bed. I think they need help. Last room on right."

"Thank you. I'm sure you're right so I'll go and see if I can help them." Mary walked up to Cat's room, saw the chaos and said, "The five of you are making things worse. Go, take off your hats, coats, and gloves, and change clothes. I'll get Cat in bed for you. She needs to be in her long underwear as that will keep her warmer than a nightgown will."

Ben started to protest. "Catherine is my daughter and I will take care of her."

"Ben, I am not going to take over your job of caring for Cat. I'm just going to help get her into bed so the five of you can get out of your good clothes. Hop Sing has started dinner, so I will sit here with Cat until all of you have eaten. If she wakes up and is hungry, what were Paul's instructions on food?"

"Thank you Mary. It's just that..."

"Yes Ben, I know. You are very possessive of your children when they are hurt or sick. I don't fault you. Most parents are, but sometimes you need a little bit of help."

"Believe it or not, I do appreciate your help. Paul said that if Cat is hungry, to let her eat however much she wants. He also said that if she isn't hungry, to try and get some soup into her."

"Ok. Now, all of you scoot and let me get this child into bed. It will be easier if the room isn't so crowded. If she wakes up and is hungry while you're still eating, I'll ask Hop Sing for some food. Once all of you have eaten, I'll let you take over her care. I know that you normally spend almost all of your time at the bedside when it's someone is hurt or sick, but with a blizzard due any day now, if there are things all of you need to do during the day to finish preparing, I will be more than happy to sit here. Remember, I love this little girl as if she were my own daughter." As soon as the family left Cat's room, Mary lay Cat on her bed while she searched for warm socks and long underwear.

Mary quickly found what she needed and proceeded to get Cat out of her dress and into her long underwear and a pair of warm socks. Cat woke up, saw Mary and said, "Hi Mrs. Devlin. How come you're here? I have to..."

"Hi Sleepyhead. I'm here to help you while your family eats dinner. I know what you need to do and I'll help you right now."

"Thank you. I'm kinda hungry too."

"That's very good. Let's get your needs taken care of and get you under the covers so you'll stay warm. Then I'll let the family know you're awake and hungry." Once Mary got Cat settled in bed, she went downstairs. "Ben, Cat is awake and says she's hungry. Do you want her to eat upstairs in bed or down here on the settee?"

Hop Sing answered, "On settee. Missy Cat need to breathe in steam with eucalyptus and ginger in it. If she real hungry, I give her chicken, corn and biscuits. If she not real hungry, I give her chicken soup."

All five members of the family jumped up from their chairs and started to rush toward the stairs, but Mary stopped them. "Honestly, sometimes I don't know how you manage to survive without a woman around. If the five of you go charging upstairs like that, you're going to injure each other and Cat. Ben, go and get your daughter. Adam, go and bring blankets and pillows down here so she stays warm and comfortable. Hoss, Joe, move the table closer to the settee so your sister will be able to sit close to the bowl of boiling water and breathe in the steam. Abel, would you please get a towel large enough to go over Cat's head and the bowl of water?"

As soon as Ben and Adam got Cat settled on the settee, Hop Sing appeared with a bowl of steaming water. He and Mary put the towel over Cat's head and the bowl and Cat immediately pulled it off her head. "Breathe steam like in doctor office," said Hop Sing, replacing the towel. "It help you feel better. You breathe for ten minutes and Hop Sing bring you warm chicken, corn, and biscuits to eat."

The rest of the family went back to finish their dinner. While they were eating, Hoss said, "We promised Winnemucca and Silver Hawk we was gonna bring them cattle today, but I don't know how we're gonna do it with little sister bein' sick."

Abel spoke up. "There is no reason why the four of you can't take cattle to the Indians. I am positive that Hop Sing and I are perfectly capable of taking care of a sick nine year old child. If Mary wants to stay and keep the three of us company, she is more than welcome to do so. Catherine's temperature is down, she doesn't have pneumonia, and she's not in danger of dying. However, those Indians will starve if they have nothing to eat. Cat's temperature will most likely go up and down a lot over the next several days. I seem to remember Elizabeth's doing the same thing when she had bronchitis."

"You're right Abel," said Mary. "Both of my sons have had bronchitis several times and their temperature went up and down quite a bit during the course of the illness. The important things are to keep Cat warm and keep her temperature from getting too high. I will be more than happy to stay and keep you, Hop Sing, and Cat company while everyone else is taking cattle to the Indians. I always wanted a little girl to mother and right now, Cat needs some mothering."

After Cat finished breathing in the steam, Hop Sing brought her a piece of fried chicken, half an ear of corn, and a biscuit. "That's not much food," complained Cat.

"You eat that, Hop Sing bring you more. You sick and maybe not eat as much. Bring hot cocoa in a minute."

As Hop Sing had predicted, Cat wasn't as hungry as she thought she was and barely finished her food. Abel took her tray, set it on the table and said, "Why don't you lay back, close your eyes and take a nap? When someone is sick, they need to spend a lot of time resting so their body can heal. The settee is too small for your dogs to lay with you, but if you'd like, I'll go and get the doll Mary and Laura gave you for Christmas."

"Thank you Grandpa."

"My pleasure Sweetheart. Give me a minute to take your tray into the kitchen and I'll get your doll for you. Would you like me to bring your favorite blanket downstairs also?"

"Yes please."

"Your wish is my command. I'll be back in a few minutes." Abel brought Cat's doll and blanket downstairs and tucked all of the blankets in around her. Seeing that there was enough room between the bottom of Cat's feet and the end of the settee, Silver Chief hopped up there and lay down at his little girl's feet. Abel chuckled, petted the dog, and said, "I might have known you would find a way to be close to her. Take good care of her now. She's a pretty sick little girl." Abel and Mary had been sitting and talking for a while when Abel decided to check Cat's temperature. She felt too warm to him, so he asked, "Mary, would you please check Cat's temperature for me? She feels too warm to me, but it's been many years since I've worried about a young child's temperature."

"I'll be more than happy to Abel." Mary put her hand on Cat's forehead and said, "She's running a fever, but it's not too high and nothing to worry about. I'm going to ask Hop Sing if he has anything to give her for that cough."

Just then, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen carrying a cup of tea. "I make tea with honey, lemon, and ginger. It help Missy Cat cough get better. It been too long since she breathe steam. She need to drink tea and I bring boiling water with eucalyptus and ginger in it."

"Hop Sing, you are a wonder. You always know exactly what is needed before anyone asks you. Honestly, I don't know how this family would survive without you."

"They not do good. Number two son starve."

Mary and Abel laughed at Hop Sing's last statement, waking Cat up. Abel helped her sit up and Hop Sing handed her the cup of tea. "This not too hot. Drink all of tea. It have honey, lemon, and ginger in it and will help cough. Then you breathe steam for five minutes."

Cat drank the tea, made a funny face, and said, "YUCK! That tasted awful. It needs sugar and chocolate."

"No put chocolate in tea. Sugar in tea not help you get better. I put more honey in it next time. Then it taste better. I bring bowl of hot water so you breathe steam for five minutes. Help you feel better. Missus Mary stay for supper."

"Thank you Hop Sing, but I have no way of letting my family know and telling my husband to fix something for himself and the boys to eat."

"You can write a note and Lassie and Silver Chief will take it to Mike," said Cat. We do that a lot when we're fishing or hunting and need something. They know where you live so all I have to do is tell them to go there. Their collars and leashes are on the hat rack by the door. Lassie's is gold and Silver Chief's is blue. You can roll the note up, stick it inside the collar and maybe tie it with a string. Then it won't fall out."

"Thank you Cat. Where does Ben keep his paper and pencils?"

Cat started coughing again, so Abel answered. "They're in his desk. Paper is in the top left hand drawer and pencils are in the middle drawer." He walked over to the hat rack, got Lassie's collar, and handed it to Cat. "That was very sweet of you to offer to send your dogs to Mary's house with a note. Keep breathing that steam. I know you don't think it's helping, but it is. Everything you cough up and spit out is less junk in your lungs making it hard to breathe. You're a sick little girl and it will be several days before you feel better. Once you're done breathing the steam, I'm going to ask Hop Sing to bring you some soup. You didn't eat much for dinner and you need to keep your strength up so you will get well."

Mary wrote her note and gave it to Cat who put it inside Lassie's collar and tied it with a string to make sure it didn't fall out. "Take this to Mike. Go to Mike's house." The dog got up and started for the door while Silver Chief stayed on the settee. Cat looked at him and said, "Go with Lassie. Go to Mike's house. Grandpa, would you please let my puppies out and tell them again to go to Mike?"

After letting the dogs out, Abel took the bowl of hot water into the kitchen and returned carrying a tray with a bowl of soup on it. "Your pups are on their way. Now little girl, you need to eat some soup and get more sleep. You won't get well if you're hungry and tired."

Lassie and Silver Chief ran to the Devlin's house and barked at the door. Mr. Devlin heard them but didn't know why dogs would be barking at his door since they didn't have one. Mike heard them and said, "That sounds like Cat's dogs. I'm going to let them in." He ran to the door and opened it before his father and brother could tell him to look out a window and make sure it was Cat's dogs before opening the door. He let the dogs in and said, "Lassie, Chief, what are you doing here? See Pa, I told you it was Cat's dogs at the door. I wonder why they're here."

"Bring them in here and get them a bowl of water. They probably ran all the way here from the Ponderosa and will need something to drink," replied Mr. Devlin. Mike took the dogs into his father in the great room and went to get a bowl of water for them. Mr. Devlin petted the dogs and asked, "Well, what brings the two of you here on this cold winter afternoon? I hope Cat isn't too sick." He saw the note tied to Lassie's collar and said, "Now I know why you're here. Let's see what this note has to say." He read the note and told his sons, "The note is from your mother. Hop Sing invited her to eat supper with the Cartwrights. Cat is a very sick little girl. She has bronchitis and her temperature keeps going up and down, but it's not getting dangerously high. She won't be back in school for at least a week. Mitch, will you please go out to the barn and bring in a set of saddle bags and something to tie them to Silver Chief with? Your mother says that she may be eating supper late because the Cartwrights took cattle to the Paiutes and the Shoshones. I think that Ben may invite her to spend the night, so I want to send some things to her that she'll need. Mike, will you please go in the kitchen and see if we have a little bit of something these dogs can eat? I know that they'll get fed when the family eats, but it's cold outside and I want to give them a little something for extra energy to get back home."

Mike looked in the ice box, returned to the great room and said, "We've got fried chicken left from dinner, but dogs can't have cooked chicken bones, and the meat Ma wants to roast for tonight's supper. There's a ham in there too, but I don't know if Cat gives them ham."

"Thank you son. I'll go and cut some of that roast for them in a few minutes. Don't worry, your mother won't be upset. I'm cooking supper tonight and will send a note to her, telling her what I did and why."

After giving the dogs a little bit of the roast, Mr. Devlin wrote a note to his wife, put some things she might need in the saddle bags, tied them to Silver Chief, and asked, "Mike, what do you say when you want Cat's dogs to find her? It's time for them to go back to the Ponderosa."

"Just tell them to go, find Cat."

Mr. Devlin laughed at his son's response. "Thank you son. I should have thought of that myself. Come and say goodbye to these two so I can send them home." Mike hugged the two dogs and his father let them out. "Go, find Cat," he told them. "Your little girl is waiting for you to come home."

Cat was sleeping when Abel let the dogs in. He took the saddle bags off Silver Chief, gave them to Mary, and told both dogs, "You're cold and will wake Cat if you go to her now. Go and sit by the fire for a few minutes until you're warmer. Then one of you can get on the settee with her." After the dogs sat by the fire for a little while, Abel, Hop Sing, and Mary laughed as they raced to the settee. Lassie won the race and got up on the settee and lay down at Cat's feet, while Silver Chief lay down on the floor near her head.

Mary looked in the saddle bags and read the note from her husband. "I knew that there was a good reason I married that man. He thinks of everything. While I am not overjoyed at him giving part of my roast to Cat's dogs, he had a good reason for doing it and said he only gave them a little bit, so I am not going to scold him when I return home. He also sent things in the event that Ben invites me to spend the night here. He and our sons said to tell Cat that they hope she makes a speedy recovery from her illness. Michael said to tell her that he'll pull her sled up the mountain the next time they go sledding and Mitchell said when it's warm enough for her to use her swing, he'll see if he can push her high enough to touch the top of the trees."

"You and Daniel have raised two very kind and considerate young men Mary and you should be proud of them. Laura said that both Jasper and Michael take care of all four horses when they reach the school and saddle them after school. Mary said that they even help the girls into their saddles but none of the other boys lift a finger to help any of the other girls with their horses."

"Yes, I am proud of both of my boys and Jasper too," said Mary. "I'll have to let Betsy know how considerate her son is the next time I see her. However, it looks like I may have to talk to some mothers after church next Sunday. There are more boys than girls in that school and there is absolutely no reason why they can't saddle the girls' horses for them."

Because Joe was attracted to Winnemucca's daughter, Sarah, Ben sent him and Hoss to the Shoshones with cattle, while he and Adam took cattle to the Paiutes. Silver Hawk's daughter was married so there wouldn't be any problems with Joe and the girl. Joe, of course, had been looking forward to seeing Sarah and was upset with his father's decision and started to argue. Hoss grabbed him by his coat collar, pulled him over to his horse, and said, "Come on Shortshanks. Let's get them cattle to Silver Hawk. It's cold out here and I want ta deliver them and git back home to hot coffee and a warm fire as soon as possible. Arguing with Pa ain't gonna get you nowheres except in trouble."

Joe complained about not being able to go to the Paiute village the entire time he and Hoss were taking the cattle to Silver Hawk, who was very grateful for them. When they returned home and walked into the house, Joe was still complaining about not being able to see Winnemucca's daughter. Hop Sing stormed out of the kitchen, carrying his spoon. He hit Joe hard five times and scolded, "Missy Cat very sick and just go back to sleep. If Little Joe wake her, Hop Sing use spoon on him again and tell puppies to bite him. You do nothing but cause trouble if you see Indian girl."

Mary also scolded Joe. "The reason your father sent you to the Shoshones is because the last time you saw Sarah, you almost started a war. When are you going to grow up and stop chasing every pretty girl you see? You've been courting Sally Ann Morgan for a while now so why don't you just settle down and start acting like you're going to be twenty in June instead of acting like a love sick pup? Your brothers don't act like that, so why do you? Now be quiet before you wake your sister. She just finished breathing in the steam and eating some soup and has only been asleep for about five minutes. I swear, if you woke her up, Hop Sing won't be the only one using his spoon on you!"

Joe did wake Cat up, she became very angry with her brother and said, "Lassie, Chief, I'm sick and Joe was mean and woke me up. Make him stop being mean."

Hop Sing, Abel, Mary, and Hoss all laughed at Joe as the two dogs bit him in on his bottom, pushed him down and began chewing on him. Ben and Adam walked in just then and started laughing at Joe also. "I take it Joe was mean to Cat," laughed Ben.

"Yes he was," replied Abel. "She finished her breathing treatment and some soup and had barely been asleep for five minutes when Hoss and Joe walked in. Joe was complaining loudly about not being allowed to go to the Paiute village and woke his sister up. The three of us have been standing here, watching the dogs and since they're just chewing on Joe a little bit and not biting him hard, I thought I'd let them have fun for a few minutes before having Cat call them to her. Mary, Hop Sing, do the two of you think those two have chewed on Joe enough or should we let them have some more fun with him?"

"I think another two minutes might serve to teach Joe a lesson," replied Mary. "They seem to be the only ones who can get him to think of someone besides girls for a while."

Hop Sing agreed with Mary.

Abel looked at his watch and when two minutes had passed, said, "Cat, it's time to call your dogs off. They've been chewing on Joe for five minutes now so I think he may have learned his lesson about waking you up."

Cat called her dogs to her and hugged them. "Thank you for making Joe stop being mean to me. Maybe Hop Sing will give you something special for supper."

Ben asked why Joe had woken Cat up and Hoss told him. Ben reminded Joe of what had happened the last time he saw Winnemucca's daughter.

"That was more than two years ago," complained Joe. "I've grown up since then."

"No you haven't," replied everyone except Abel and Cat.

Since Cat was awake, everyone went into the great room. Before putting his hand on her forehead, Ben warmed his hands in front of the fireplace. He was pleased that her temperature wasn't too high. "How are you feeling Sweetheart?"

"Fine as frog's hair."

Adam, Hoss, and Joe burst out laughing. "That's my little sister," laughed Adam.

"Adam Cartwright," scolded Mary. "You didn't teach your sister that ridiculous saying, did you?"

"Of course I did. What kind of brother would I be if I didn't teach her everything she needs to know about being part of this family."

"Paul is going to kill you."

Adam laughed. "You may be right, but he'll probably laugh the first time she says that to him. Well little sister, since you're not feeling too bad, we have time to start school."

"School? But it's Sunday and Pa said I don't have to go to school until Dr. Paul says so."

"Ah, but this is a different kind of school. In fact, it's a very special kind of school and your early lessons can be completed from the comfort of the settee or your bed. You my dear are about to become the first student in the Adam Cartwright School of Drawing, Architecture, and Engineering. By the time you graduate from my school you will be building bridges and castles."

"That's great. I always wanted to live in a castle."

"And so you shall. You are a princess and everybody knows that princesses are supposed to live in castles."

"When can I build my castle?"

"We have to work on your drawing first. You need to be able to draw it before you build it. I'll be right back with a sketch pad and pencil."

"Cat?"

"Yes Mrs. Devlin?"

"When you build your castle, may I live there too?"

"Yes. I'm going to make it big enough so all of my friends and their families can live there too."

"Thank you. That is a very sweet thing to say."

"You're welcome. Maybe Uncle Luke will let Mark come and live with me too."

"I don't know. I suppose it's possible, but you have to build your castle first before you can ask Lucas if Mark can live with you."

When Adam came back downstairs, he handed Cat the sketch pad and pencil and put a book on the table. "Your first assignment is to draw the book. Don't worry about the title, just draw the book as best as you can. Take your time and don't rush."

Cat drew a rectangle and Adam said, "Ok. Now let me show you how to make it look like a book." He added some lines to Cat's drawing and said, "Do you see what I did? By adding these lines, I made it look like a book instead of a rectangle. Now I want you to try and draw the book the same way I did."

Cat tried to draw the book the way Adam did and when he looked at it, he said, "Well done little sister. If you look at both drawings, you'll see that they look almost alike. We'll make an architect out of you yet. That's all for now. You're sick and I don't want to tire you out. If you feel up to it, we'll do a little more after supper. Since I haven't heard Hop Sing say that supper is almost ready, why don't you lay down and try to get a little sleep? You can't build a castle if you're sick so you need all of the rest you can get if you're going to get well."

Cat was still asleep when Hop Sing called everyone to supper. Ben felt her forehead and said, "Cat's temperature is up again.

"It's going to be up and down for several days Ben," said Mary. "When Michael had bronchitis last winter, his temperature went up and down for five days. Just keep checking to make sure it hasn't gone too high. Now come and eat. You were in the saddle all afternoon, taking cattle to the Paiutes so I know that you're tired and hungry. You're not going to do that little girl any good if you get sick from not eating."

"You're right Mary, but..."

"Yes Ben. I know how much you worry about your children when they're sick or hurt. Cat isn't in danger of dying. She's sick, but not that sick. However, if you don't eat, you will get sick and that won't do Cat any good."

"Mary is correct Benjamin," said Abel. "Catherine's temperature has been going up and down all afternoon. She has been sleeping when it is up and wakes up when it goes down. When she wakes up, Hop Sing has her breathing in steam from boiling water with eucalyptus and ginger in it. He gives her tea with honey, lemon, and ginger in it for her cough and gets her to drink some soup. All three of us have been checking her temperature all afternoon and it hasn't been too high. As I'm sure Paul has told you many times, a higher than normal temperature is a sign that the body is fighting an infection, which Cat's is doing. Come and eat. Then you can sit with your little girl."

Cat woke up while everybody else was eating and said, "Pa, I have to use the outhouse and I'm kinda hungry."

Everybody started to get up from the table but Hop Sing said, "Everybody eat. Hop Sing take care of Missy Cat now. You do it later." He walked Cat to the downstairs bedroom so she could take care of her needs and helped her back to the settee. "I bring hot water and you breathe steam for five minutes. Then I bring some food." Cat grumbled about having to breathe the steam and Hop Sing answered, "You no breathe steam, you no get better. Get under blankets and I bring water." After Cat spent ten minutes breathing in the steam, Hop Sing brought her a plate of food with a small piece of steak, a biscuit with butter on it, mashed potatoes with gravy, and vegetables. "You eat that. If you still hungry, Hop Sing bring you more. I get hot cocoa now then feed puppies."

While Hop Sing was taking care of Cat, Ben said, "Thank you for helping to take care of Cat Mary. I do appreciate your help. Why don't you plan on spending the night here? I'm sure we can find something for you to sleep in."

"Thank you Ben. Daniel anticipated your invitation and sent everything I need."

"How did he know Hop Sing invited you to stay for supper?"

"I sent Cat's dogs to him with a note. He sent them back with saddle bags tied to Silver Chief."

"I didn't know Cat had trained her dogs to find people."

"Neither did I," replied Abel. "Apparently the children did it while they were fishing. She must have taught them who each family member is because when she told them that Joe was being mean to her, they started chewing on him."

"That also happened not long after Adam and I brought Cat home last summer. She and Joe were playing checkers and Joe started cheating so she told the puppies he was being mean to her and they started chewing on him. I don't know if they know any other family members, but they definitely know Joe."

"I know that they know who I am," said Adam. "The day Cat and I went hunting, I sent her off in a different direction so she didn't accidentally get shot. We agreed to meet in two hours, but since she doesn't know how to tell time by the sun yet, she told Lassie to stay with me. When the two hours were up, I sent Lassie to get her."

"That's good to know," replied Ben. "That way if the four of us are out on the ranch and Cat needs us, she can send one of the dogs for us. No, that doesn't mean that we're not going to start showing her around the ranch come spring. It means that Cat has a way of getting help if she's hurt and I'm sure all of us can agree that's a good thing. Not being able to get help if she needs it is one reason I've been hesitating to teach her how to get around the ranch."