Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1867-10-09
8ltsfeIlany.
jim WOLF AND TIE TOz CATS.
BY MARK TWAIN.

I KNEW by the sympathetic glow up
on his bald head-I knew by the thought
ful look upon his facet knew by the
emotional flush upon the strawberry on
the end of the old free liver s nose, that
'Iimon Wheeler's memory was busy with
the olden time. Aud so I prepared 10
leave, because all these were symptoms
of a reminiscence-signs that he was
going to be delivered of another of his
tiresome personal experiences-but 1
was too slow; he got the start of me
As nearly as can recolIect, the iuhic-
ton was coUched in the following Ian
guage
We was all boys, then, and didn't care
for nothing only how to shirk school
and keep up a re7ivin' state of devilment
all the time. Thish-yar Jim Wolf I
was talking about, was The prentice, and
he was the best hearted fe,ler, he was,
and the most forgivin' and onselfsh I
ever see-welI, there couldn't be a more
bullifer boy than VIII. t he was, take him
how you would: aud sorry enough was
I when 1 see him for the last time.
Me and Henry was always pestering
him and plasteriug hand bills upon his
back and putting bumble-bees in his bed,
aud so on, aud sometimes we'd crowd in
and bunk with him, notwithstanding his
growing and we'd let on to get mad and
fight across him. so as to keep him stir
red up like. He was nineteen, he was,
and long, aud lauk, and bashful and we
was fifteen and sixteen, and tolerabIy
lazy and worth ess.
So that. night, you know, that my
sister Mary gave the candy pullin', they
started US off to bed early, so as the
comp'ny could have full swing, and we
ran in On Jim to have some fun,
Our winder looked out onto the roof
of the ell, and about ten o'clock a couple
of old tom-cats got to rairin' and charg-
in around on it and carryin' on like sin.
There was four inches Of snow on the
roof, and it was froze so that there was
a right smart crust Of ice on it, aud the
moon was shiuiu' bright and we could
see them cats like daylight. First they'd
stand off and e-yOw-yow VOW, just the
same as if they was cussin' one another,
you know, bow up their backs aud bush
up their tails, and swell around aud spit,
and then all of a sudden the gray cat
he'd snatch a handful of fur of the yal-
lar cats ham, and spin him around, like
the button on the barn door. But the
yallor cat was game, and he'd come and
cinch, and they'd scratch and bite, and
howl, and the way they'd make the fur
fly was powerful.
Well, Jim he got disguised with the
row aud lowed he'd climb out there and
shake 'em of7n that roof He hadn't
RELY no notion Of doin' it, likely, but
we everlastiugly dOgged him and bully
ragged him, and lowed he'd always bragg
ed how he wouldn't take dare, and so
on, till bimeby he histed up the winder,
and 10 and behold, out he weut-went
Just as he Was-nothin' On but a shirt, |
and it was short. You ought to a seen
himl You ought to a seen him cree
pin over that ice, and diggin' his toe
nails and his finger nails in for to keep
him from slippin'; and above all, you
ought to a seen that shirt fappin' in the
wind, and them long rediclous shanks of
his n glistenin' in the moonlight.
Them comp'ny folks was down there
under the ewes, the whole squad of m
under that ornery shed of dead Wash.
ton Bower vines-all settin around about
two dozen sasser of hot candy, which
they sot in the snow to cool. And they
was laughln' and talkin' lively; but
bless you, they didn't know nothing
about the panorama that was goin' on
over their heads. Well, Jim, he went
a sneakin and a sneakin up, onbeknowns
to them tom cats-they was a swishin'
their tails and yow-yOwin and threaten
in to clinch, you know, and not payin'
aby attention-he went a sne-kin' and a
sne-akin' right up to the comb Of the
roof, till he was in foot and half of
EN-, and then all Of a sudden he made a
grab for the yalIer cat But, by gosh,