When Adam and his grandfather returned to the great room, Ben said, "Let the girls sleep in tomorrow morning. We can wake them in time to get dressed before breakfast. I want them to get as much sleep as possible. I'll let Susan know what happened tonight so she won't be surprised if they're not at their best tomorrow. I fully intend to have a long discussion with your brothers tomorrow. I told them to be sure and check the fire in Cat's room because it was low when I checked on the girls. How much wood did your brothers have in their rooms?"

"It looked to me like each of them had at least six logs in their rooms," replied Adam. "I don't know why they had that many as three large ones will last an entire night. I got a good fire going in each of our rooms and there's more then enough wood in them and Cat's to last until morning."

"Thank you son and thank you Abel. As Adam said, you are a guest and don't need to be bringing firewood into the house."

"And as I told my grandson, that is absolute nonsense. I am family and family members help each other."

"Well be that as it may, neither you nor Adam will need to worry about bringing firewood into the house for the remainder of the winter. That will be Hoss and Joe's responsibility. I am tired of them doing the bare minimum and thinking they've done too much. Joe has always acted like that but this is new for Hoss. I think I'll separate them and see if that helps. Adam, I'll let you and Hoss work together and give Joe assignments he can do alone. If they don't get done, I'm afraid one of us will have to supervise him. He's going to be twenty in June and wants to be treated like an adult so he'll have to start acting like one."

"If it becomes necessary for someone to supervise Joe, I will do that for you," offered Abel. "As I'm sure you remember, I was always good at getting lazy seamen to do their work. I am certain that if I use the same motivation on Joe as I did on the seamen, he will start pulling his own weight in no time at all."

Ben laughed. "Yes, I remember all too well how you used to motivate us to work harder and faster. You weren't planning on doing the same thing to Joseph, were you?"

"Of course I am. It worked on you and your mates, so there is no reason why it won't work on Joe."

"What are you talking about?" asked Adam.

"Go up to my room and look in my trunk. You'll find your answer there."

Adam did as his grandfather said. When he came back downstairs, he had a confused look on his face. "You didn't use that whip on your men, did you Grandfather?"

"No Adam, or at least not the way you're thinking. The only time I would have had one of my men flogged would have been for attempted mutiny and I never had that problem. Think of the whip as a giant bee and the tip its stinger. I found that if I stood far enough away and flicked my wrist just right, a seaman who wasn't performing up to his full potential would get stung on the bottom. The only damage done was to the man's pride. I rarely had to use it, just on some of the younger men when they first became part of my crew and thought to let the older, more experienced men do most of the work. After being stung two or three times, they started doing their jobs correctly and the bee went back into its hive. If I end up having to supervise your youngest brother and he decides not to do his job, he will get stung. I guarantee that after being stung a few times, he will start pulling his own weight. Before you start worrying, I would never use it on your sister. There are many better ways to motivate a young child."

"You didn't do that to Pa, did you?"

Ben laughed. "Yes Adam, I felt the bee's sting several times. You see, I was under the mistaken impression that once I became a seaman, I wouldn't have to work as hard as I did when I was the cabin boy. Your grandfather let me know just how mistaken I was. Of course the older men had a good laugh at my expense when it happened and it only took being stung two times for me to start pulling my own weight. To this day, I don't know which was more embarrassing, being caught taking it easy while everyone else was working or the older men laughing at me when I jumped after feeling the whip's sting on my bottom."

When Hoss and Joe came downstairs the next morning, Ben scolded them for not ensuring everyone had enough firewood in their bedrooms to last the night. He also told them that they owed the girls an apology because the fire in Cat's room had gone out and they woke up because they were cold. He informed them that because they made sure they had enough firewood to last the night but couldn't be bothered checking the other bedrooms, they were now responsible for ensuring all of the occupied bedrooms had firewood before retiring for the night.

Then he addressed all three of his sons. "Whatever happens at breakfast, do not laugh at anything I say to your sister. Judging from what she said to Adam last night when he carried her back to bed, she may try and say she doesn't need to go to school any more because she already knows everything she needs to know. Abel made a great suggestion last night and I intend to follow through with it. If you laugh, it will ruin what I am trying to do. Because they woke up in the middle of the night, I am letting the girls sleep a little later this morning so don't worry about them, just get your chores done."

When Susan came downstairs, Ben told her about the girls waking up because the fire in Cat's room had gone out. "I wanted you to know in case they're not quite as attentive to their lessons as they usually are."

"Thank you for telling me. I know that they'll do their best even if they are tired."

"You're welcome. Also, Cat may try and say that she shouldn't have to go to school because she knows everything she needs to. That is a discussion we've had several times since I adopted her and last night, Abel gave me a suggestion that may convince her she needs to go to school. I intend to follow through with that suggestion, so please don't laugh at anything I say to Cat or her reaction."

"That does sound interesting. I will do my best not to laugh at anything you tell her."

When Adam came back inside, Ben asked him to wake the girls. "Breakfast will be ready soon and they need time to dress and wash."

Adam went upstairs and knocked on Cat's bedroom door. Receiving no answer, he opened the door and found all three girls still sleeping. He gently shook each one and said, "It's time to wake up girls. Breakfast is almost ready and you know how much Hop Sing hates it when someone is late for meals." The girls just groaned and snuggled deeper into the covers. "If the three of you don't get out of bed now, I am going to carry each one of you outside and drop you into the trough. Then you'll start your day wet and cold and believe me, that is not a good way to start a day."

"Go 'way!" mumbled Cat.

Adam looked at Lassie and Silver Chief who were laying on the end of the bed and said, "Why don't you two earn your keep and get those three up? They have to eat breakfast before leaving for school and they're running out of time. I don't want to dump them in the trough because there isn't enough time for hot baths so you need to get them up."

The dogs got up, stretched, started pawing at the girls, and put their cold noses on the girls' necks, causing them to snuggle farther down under the covers.

"Alright. Don't say I didn't warn you. All of you are about to go into the trough." Adam pulled the blankets off of the girls, pulled them together at the edge of the bed, picked them up, and carried them downstairs.

Ben looked at his son carrying the girls and asked, "What are you doing with the girls?"

"You'll see. I warned them what would happen if they didn't get out of bed and now I'm about to follow through. Hoss, Joe, please lend me a hand. This will be a lot easier if I have some help." Hoss and Joe took Mary and Laura from Adam and followed him outside as did Ben, Abel, Susan, and Hop Sing. Adam walked over to the trough and stuck Cat's feet in it.

"Hey! That's cold! Stop!" she complained, causing all of the adults to laugh.

Adam handed his sister to Ben who carried her back into the house while Adam put Laura and Mary's feet into the trough also, causing them to complain just as Cat had.

When the girls came downstairs for breakfast, Cat walked up to Adam and started to kick him, only to be stopped by Joe. "I'm mad at you!" she said to her oldest brother. "Why did you put our feet in the trough? You just should have let us sleep!"

Laura and Mary added their complaints to Cat's.

"I warned you what would happen if you didn't get up, but you decided to stay in bed. Just be glad that there isn't time for hot baths right now or more than just your feet would have gone into the trough. You need to eat breakfast before leaving for school."

When everyone sat down to breakfast, Hoss and Joe apologized to the girls for not putting more firewood in Cat's room. "Hoss thought I was going to do it and I thought he was," said Joe. "I promise that won't ever happen again, even if I have to fill your room so full of firewood, you'll have to sleep under the bed." The girls giggled at Joe's words.

During breakfast, Ben told the girls that he was going to give them money to buy their new readers and asked if they needed more tablets, pencils, and slate pencils. Before Laura and Mary could answer, Cat said, "I shouldn't need to go to school anymore. I already know everything I need to. I can read, write, add, subtract, multiply, and divide. That's all I need to know."

"That's fine," said Ben, trying to keep a straight face. "You can stay home from school. There's plenty of work on the ranch to keep you busy. You can start by cleaning the barn and tack room after breakfast. When that's done, you can clean the hen house and chicken coop. The hens also need new nesting material put into their nesting boxes. If you finish that before dinner, there is a lot of wood that needs to be stacked. Harnesses, halters, and bridles always need cleaning and oiling and you can clean and polish saddles until I can see myself in them. There are always fences that need mending, so you can add that to your list of jobs to do. You may as well put your toys, ice skates, and sled away for your children. You'll be too busy working to use them."

Cat got a very sour look on her face while all of the adults were having a hard time keeping themselves from laughing at Ben's words and the expression on Cat's face.

"I am positive that if I ask Hop Sing, he will say that there are a lot of things you can help him with here in the house. In fact, let's ask him. HOP SING!"

"Why Mr. Cartlight yell? Hop Sing always know when he needed. Have plenty of work. Keep Missy Cat busy for long time. Floors need sweeped and scrubbed. Lugs need beating. Silver need polishing. Laundry need washing. Beds need changed. Mattlesses need mole stuffing. All fileplaces need cleaning. Evelything need dusting. Much work to be done in house."

"But I don't want to do all of that!" protested Cat. "I want to work with the horses and cattle!"

"You can work with the horses. I'm sure that your brothers and the hands won't mind if you groom their horses for them. I know I won't mind if you groom Buck for me."

All of the adults tried to keep straight faces, knowing that if they laughed, Cat would become very angry.

"That's not what I meant! I want to train them! I'm training Fury so I can train the other foals too!"

"Last year's foals are as trained as they're going to be until spring. They just need to be fed and groomed. You can let them out in the pasture while you clean the barn. All we're doing with the cattle right now is keeping them fed. You can hitch a team to a toboggan, fill it with hay bales, and feed the cattle also. Your brothers and at least two of the hands are going to Carson City today to buy more hay, grain, and salt, so someone is going to have to take hay and salt to the cattle. Since you're not going to go to school, that someone may as well be you."

"That's not fair! You're being mean to me! I don't want to do all of that work!"

"This is a working ranch and everybody works. Do you think your brothers and I just sit around in the house drinking coffee all day?"

"Yes."

"'fraid not Punkin," replied Hoss. "Me and Adam and Joe and Pa are busy on the ranch all day. Pa or Adam sometimes stays here and works on the books, but they're workin'. Yesterday, me and Adam and Joe had to go and buy hay an' we got to do it again today. Pa says we're due for a blizzard any day an' we gotta have enough hay, grain, and salt for the horses and cattle 'cause we'll be snowed in an' won't be able to buy more until spring. Like Pa said, all we're doin' with the cattle right now is feedin' them. They's in winter pastures now. We'll do roundup and branding in the spring and start the cattle drive then too. The cattle that don't go to market will be moved to spring pastures then."

"We're taking three wagons and two buckboards," added Joe. "Since we're going to Carson City, it's going to take almost all day to go there, get the feed, and come back home. Once we're back here, all of the feed needs to get put away. Also, one of those wagons belongs to Mr. Ingalls. Remember, as part of their Christmas present, we're keeping their hayloft full, so after we put all of our hay away, at least two of us need to drive the Ingalls' wagon to their house and put their hay away. It will be almost suppertime before we're done and we'll still have barn chores to do."

"Since you're going to be working on the ranch all day, when we get home, you can help one of us put the hay in the loft while the other two take Mr. Ingalls' hay and wagon to him," said Adam. "Then we won't have to rush through evening chores to have them done before supper."

Susan held her napkin to her mouth and coughed to hide the smile and laugh that were threatening to break through.

Cat's frown deepened. "I'm only nine! I can't do all that work in one day! You're being mean to me! I'm going to tell my uncles and my Godparents and they'll make you stop!"

By now, all of the adults were really struggling hard not to laugh.

"Your uncles and Godparents will agree with me. Everybody on this ranch works. You don't have to do everything all in one day," answered Ben. "Cleaning the barn, chicken coop, hen house, and stacking wood will probably take you until dinner time. After dinner you can take hay out to the cattle. When you get back home, you can help Hop Sing around the house. You'll be cleaning the barn every day, but the hen house, chicken coop, and tack only need to be cleaned once a week. Of course the horses need to be groomed every day. Your brothers probably won't cut more wood until the weekend, so you won't need to stack wood every day. We usually give the cattle enough food to last three or four days, so you won't need to feed them again until Sunday or Monday. Someone is always riding and repairing fence, so you'll spend at least one day a week doing that also."

"That's not fair! I don't want to do all that work and shouldn't have to!"

"As I said before, this is a working ranch and everybody works. You can work on the ranch, doing the jobs I tell you to do, or you can go to school. Which is it going to be? Go to school or work?"

"I guess I'll go to school," grumbled Cat. "But I won't like it."

"You don't have to like it Kitten. You just have to do the best job you can. Now do you girls need anything besides your new readers?"

"I need a new tablet and pencils. My tablet's almost empty and I only have one pencil left."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I thought I wouldn't have to go to school if I ran out of them."

"Scamp! I would still send you to school with an empty tablet and no pencils. Then I would buy some and embarrass you by bringing them to you in school."

"That would be awful."

Laura and Mary agreed with their friend.

"Well then, tell me when you're running low on the things you need and I won't have to embarrass you."

Mary and Laura said that they also needed more tablets and pencils. When breakfast was finished, Ben gave each of the girls enough money to buy the school supplies they needed and their new readers. Then he said, "If you need the tablets and pencils before school, you had better leave a few minutes early. That way you can go to Mr. McLeod's store and get to school on time."

Joe volunteered to saddle the girls' horses and hitch the horse to Susan's buggy. As the girls were getting ready to leave, someone knocked on the door. Cat opened it and saw Charles standing there. "Hi Mr. Ingalls. Come in. I'll let Pa know you're here. Pa, Mr. Ingalls is here."

Laura and Mary greeted their father who hugged them and asked, "Have you been behaving for Mr. Cartwright?"

"Of course not," replied Mary. "That's no fun."

"That's what I thought." He laughed and hugging the girls again.

Ben heard Cat yell for him, chucked to himself and thought, 'Sometimes that girl is just too much like Joe.' He walked over to the entryway, greeted Charles and invited him into the house. "Cat, there was no need to yell. All you had to do was just come into the great room and tell me Mr. Ingalls was here. Have a good day at school girls and don't forget to go to Mr. McLeod's store and buy the things you need for school."

Just then, Hop Sing appeared with five napkin wrapped packages. He handed them to the girls and said, "Four cookies each for daughters and four cookies each for little boys. Daughters have good day at school. I have nice snack for when you get home." The girls thanked him and left for school.

Before Charles could ask Ben about Hop Sing calling the girls his daughters, Susan said, "Ben, your conversation with Cat at breakfast was priceless. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. However, I was surprised that you allowed her to speak to you so forcefully."

"Normally I wouldn't, but since I was the one to make her angry, I figured it wouldn't hurt if I allowed her to express her frustrations at my statements."

"She was very frustrated. You told her what she wanted to hear but put conditions on it that she didn't like. I am going to laugh all the way to town and hope I stop laughing before I reach the school so Cat doesn't think I'm laughing at her about this morning. Thank you for taking such good care of me last night and this morning. I can't remember the last time I've spent such an enjoyable evening."

"It was my pleasure. You are welcome here anytime. Have a safe trip to town. I can send a hand with you if you'd like me to."

"That's not necessary. I'll be fine, but if I don't leave now, the teacher will be late for school and that won't be a very good example for the children." She said goodbye to everyone and left for town.

Ben took Charles' coat and hung it on the back of a dining room chair and invited him into the great room. "What brings you here this early in the morning?"

"Caroline and I talked last night and we decided that since some of the hay your sons are getting today is going to be for us, the least I could do is help to get it. Now tell me, did I actually hear Hop Sing call the girls his daughters? Please tell me what you said to Cat that had Susan wanting to laugh all the way to town."

Ben laughed. "Yes you did. Hop Sing has claimed our daughters as his. He did the same thing with my sons years ago. Have some coffee. I believe the boys are getting the wagons hitched up now." Ben proceeded to tell Charles about his answer to Cat not wanting to go to school any more.

"Susan is right. That was priceless. I wish I had been here to see the look on Cat's face when you told her she could stay home and work all day. I can imagine her reaction. Abel, you are a very wise man. I don't know that I would have thought of telling her those things."

Abel laughed. "My daughter was just as wild as Cat is and hated school just as much, so my wife and I learned what to say in order to get her to go to school without a big argument. It doesn't seem like you need to use my methods with Mary and Laura, but remember them if Carrie gives you a hard time about going to school."

"I don't think Cat hates school altogether. I've talked with her several times and the thing she hates the most is being cooped up inside and made to sit still. She wouldn't mind going to school if it was held outdoors. Arithmetic is problematic for her because until now, she's never had anyone to help her. Or at least I hope she's getting the help she needs without asking for it, because one thing I've learned about that little girl is that she won't ask for help with anything."

"Yes I know. I've lost count of the number of times I've almost been hit by a flying arithmetic book. I don't think she needs help right now though. Susan said that both Cat and Laura caught onto multiplying fractions right away. Dividing fractions is almost as easy as multiplying them, so she didn't think they'd have a problem with that, but they might have a problem multiplying and dividing mixed numbers."

Adam, Hoss, Joe, Joshua, and Thaddeus walked into the great room, greeted Charles and said that the wagons and buckboards were hitched up and ready to go. Joe said that Joshua and Thaddeus had volunteered to make the trip to Carson City with them.

Hop Sing walked into the room carrying six canteens, a coffee pot and a sack containing six cups. "It vely cold outside and Calson City long drive. Here canteens with coffee and cups. If coffee get cold, stop, make fire and make coffee hot again." All six men thanked Hop Sing for his thoughtfulness.

As the girls rode toward town, Cat said, "Mike won't know we left early so we're going to have to go to his house and get him. I need to tell him and Jas how mean Pa was to me this morning too."

"I can't believe he said you would have to do all of that work if you didn't go to school," said Mary.

"That sure was mean of him," added Laura. "I don't think our Pa would do that to us."

When they reached the Devlin house and knocked on the door, Mrs. Devlin let them in. "Good morning girls. What brings you over here? You usually meet Michael on the road."

"We have to go to Mr. McLeod's store before school so we can buy tablets and pencils," said Mary. "Also, Cat needs to tell Mike and Jasper how mean her Pa was to her this morning."

"I can't believe that Ben was mean to you Cat," said Mr. Devlin as he and his sons walked into the kitchen. "What did he do?"

Cat told them what Ben had said about all of the work she would have to do if she didn't go to school. Mitch started to laugh as Ben had used other tactics with Joe when he and Mitch were boys, but a look from his parents stopped him.

"WOW!" exclaimed Mike. "Your Pa really was mean to you. That's a lot of work to do every day. I'm glad you're still going to go to school with us. I would miss you if you didn't."

"I don't think Ben was trying to be mean to you Cat," said Mr. Devlin. "I think he was trying to show you how much work it takes to run a ranch. Everybody on a ranch has to work. Even though he's just visiting, I believe that Adam's grandfather has been spending some time helping Hop Sing in the kitchen. Your job is to go to school and learn as much as you can so you'll be able to run the Ponderosa someday."

"Pa's right," said Mitch. "Now that Joe and I aren't in school anymore, we're both working on our ranches all day. Even though it's winter, we still have to ride fence & repair any broken sections. And with all of the snow on the ground, there's no grass for the cattle to eat, so we have to take hay out to them."

"You can talk later," put in Mrs. Devlin. "These girls have to stop at Gerald's store before school and if they don't leave now, they'll be late for school. Michael, get your things, saddle your horse and get going."

Once the children were on their way to school, Mike's parents and brother started laughing at what Ben had said so Cat would go to school.

Since they were leaving early, Mike and the girls rode to Jasper's house. They told him about all of the work Ben said Cat would have to do if she didn't go to school and he agreed that Ben was being mean to Cat. Jasper's father said the same things Mr. Devlin had said earlier. When the children arrived at the school, the boys offered to take care of the girls' horses so they could go to the store.

When the girls reached the general store, they found Mrs. Anders, Mrs. Thomas, and Mrs. Warren were inside. "I can't go in there," said Cat. "The judge said those ladies had to stay away from me and Pa said I can't go into a store if they're in it." She dug in her pocket and pulled out the money she had been given to buy school supplies and handed it to Mary. "Here's the money Pa gave me. I need tablets, pencils, and the eighth grade reader. I'll wait right here for you."

"I'm sorry those women have been so mean to you," said Mary. "I'll get everything you need."

Mary and Laura went into the store to buy the things they needed for school, but the women had seen Cat and blocked the girls' attempts to get their pencils, tablets, and readers. They stood in front of the school supplies, gossiping and refused to move, even when Mary asked them to repeatedly and said that they were going to be late for school. Mr. McLeod saw what the women were doing and ordered them out of his store, but they refused to leave. He went into his house and got his wife who also ordered the women to leave, but they kept refusing.

"Too bad Cat isn't allowed to bring her dogs to school," said Laura. "They'd make those women leave in a hurry."

"You're right," replied her sister. "Now we're going to be late for school and Miss Winter, Pa, and Mr. Cartwright are going to be angry at us."

Mr. McLeod asked his wife to watch the store while he went to get Roy and Clem. He entered the jail and explained the problem to the two lawmen who went into the store, drug the women out by their arms and marched them to the courthouse to see the judge.

As soon as the women were no longer in the store, Cat went inside where it was warm. Laura and Mary got the tablets, pencils and two of the readers. They were unable to find the seventh grade book and asked Mr. McLeod if he had any. "I'm sorry girls. All of the school books I have are on the shelf. As you know, Miss Jones made everyone use the readers for their grade level all year, so I won't have any more books until just before school resumes in September."

Mary got upset because the sixth grade reader was too easy for her and she needed the seventh grade book. "You can use my book Mary," said Cat. I won't need it after tomorrow's test because I'll be using the eighth grade book."

"Thank you Cat. That's very nice of you. We had better go. The school bell rang at least five minutes ago, so we're going to be in trouble for being late. I've never had a note sent home before. I hope Pa and Mr. Cartwright understand why we were late."

"You won't be getting a note sent home today," said Mr. McLeod, putting on his coat and gloves. "I'm going to school with you so I can tell Miss Winter why you are late. The three of you did nothing wrong and I'll make sure she knows what happened. I'm also going to find out what Roy and Clem did with those women and make sure Mr. Cartwright learns that they kept you girls from getting to school on time."

He walked over to the school with the girls and before Susan could scold them for being late, motioned for her to come and talk to him. He explained why the girls were late and she became upset with the women.

"I'm sorry those women caused the three of you to be late this morning," she said to the girls. "Once you hang your coats up, please take your seats. Your arithmetic tests are written on the board. I'll give you enough time to finish them before collecting your papers." Once the girls were in their seats, she turned to Mr. McLeod and said, "Thank you for bringing the girls to school and explaining why they were late. I knew they left early this morning so they could stop at your store and still be on time for school, and I was worried when they weren't here. I hope Sheriff Coffee took those women to the judge. They had no business making the girls late for school this morning."

"I'm going to go and see Roy when I leave her to find out what he did with the women. Like you, I hope he took them to the judge and he threw the book at them. The only reason they did what they did was because they saw Cat outside, waiting for Mary and Laura. Once I find out what happened with the women, I'm going to write a note to Ben and hope that someone from the Ponderosa comes to town today. He needs to know about their actions. Because they have been ordered to stay away from Cat and he told her not to go into any store if one of them was already in it, she stayed outside in the cold instead of coming into the store where it was warm. That way, if Cat gets sick, Ben will know to tell Paul to give the bill to those women. Now, I had better let you get back to your students, but before I leave, would you like me to bring in some more wood for the stove?"

"That would be very nice. Thank you very much. I had planned on asking some of the boys to do it after they finished their tests, but thanks to your kind offer, that won't be necessary now."

"It's my pleasure. Since I don't want to distract the students from their test, I'll leave the wood here in the coat room and you can have the boys bring it into the classroom when everyone has finished their test."

After leaving the school, Mr. McLeod went over to the jail where Roy told him that the judge had fined the women five hundred dollars each with the promise that if they ever did anything like that again, the fine would be one thousand dollars each and they would spend a week in jail. Roy also told him that the women complained about all of the fines draining their bank accounts and that the judge had told them if they would stop disobeying his instructions, the fines would stop. George returned to his store, wrote his note to Ben and hoped a Ponderosa hand would come in because he didn't want to send his son out to the Ponderosa just to deliver a note. He was rewarded when Jason walked into the store needing some new clothes. George looked at him and asked, "You work for the Ponderosa, don't you?"

"Yes I do. What can I help you with?"

Mr. McLeod handed the note he had written to Jason and asked, "Would you please give this to Ben when you get back there?"

"Sure. I'll be happy to do that for you."

"Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Ben needs to know about something that happened this morning and I didn't want to send my son out to the Ponderosa just to deliver a note."

When Jason returned to the Ponderosa, he gave George's note to Ben. He sat down in his chair, opened the note and swore when he read the contents. "Damn those women! If it wasn't against the law, I'd ride to town right now and put a bullet in each one of them! How dare they do that to those girls? Making Cat stand out in the cold so they could stay in the store and gossip is unforgivable! If Cat gets sick, I'm going to tell Paul to charge them triple what he'd charge me!"