The Centre reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, 1878-02-21

IL was too bad, Just after these nice
rains had filled the cistern up 80 finely,
too. Ii had been perfectly empty, aud
Mr. Millikens had just got IL cleaned
aud tixed up IN time for the welcome
showers which tilled IL with AN abund-
anco OF Moe pure water. And the next
morning Mr.. MllliAr..1 delivered his
family touching lecture on the bles-
sings Of water, and IN his beautiful and
Vivid imagery, he quite surpassed the
Davidson fountain And then when he
stopped the car at Maple street night
before last nnd walked rapidly 30 his
happy home, how do you suppose he
felt when his staring children met him
at the gute and yelled in excited chorus
"Oh pa, pa, pa, Mrs. Muggridgers
cat went and fell down our cistern and
drowned ="
Mr. Mlhkens always did hate that
cat Of the Muggridgars'. A great
brindled monster, with only one eve
and the hair saalded of its tail, IL had
killed more little chickens IN the Milli-
kens' cOops than there are rats IN Iowa,
and many time and oft. she had
found her way into the Milikens' cellar
and filled her bloatod form with cream
and sirloiu steaks. And Mr.. Millikens
could not remember the number Of
times ho hal sprained his arm and
nearly threw his shoulder on; of Joint
in hurting bricks az thai cat, which
would SIT on the back fence, singing
serenaies and Winking plt cidly at HIM
with its lone eye, and wondering what
III Al - t.al
been the chairman Of the an d midnight
district central committee for three
wears. and hal attended more caucnses
and called more conventions IN Mill
krns' back yl,ri than It Lad hairs on lis
buca. Ii hnl made the summer nights
a bupleu to MIllikens all It's life, and
nov Il llal drowned itself ia his cistoIn
10 Mas u piece ut drmuniAcal spite
work. Nou couldn't make Millikns
believe otherwise there was terrible,
heudish Intelligence ~ that cat, and It's
desire a. torment Millikens had been
greater than its love of life. Ever
since Mll,ikous hal sculiei the hair of
i,s tal hs hal been expecting some
thing like this
II il hal besrA decent kind Of cat.
hc said. as he pullei OF his coat, tucked
his trousers ia his boots and began the
painful labor of emptying the cistcru
with n bucket. he might have stood II a.
get the cat uut, and 20 on usiug the
water but that une-ryed, ra'-tailed,
hiicOus. srrruale scre,-chrr fauL Ia, The
disgusting fling, he would never use the
cistern again, be- would ill u up Rs soon
as he got the water ont, and wunld dig
another one Dog gone the eat. he said.
lie toilel maufully on. and the water
grew lower with terrible sluwncss. He
ielt the hucke, strike the hody of the
floating cat several times, but lac hadn't
haulef il up yet lie kept On tagging
AZ the bucket rope ill his arms achcd.
And his back. Aud his legs. And his
head.
No, he snappishly told Mrs MlllIkcus
IN ansWe- 10 her tenth summons, that he
wasn't coming 20 supper till he had
cmpiied this cistern. He iidn't care II
Il Was spelling. What We'll, ici the
flies eat everything mp. he didn't care /,
lie could ea, the flies. lac rvckun0d lsar-
casiicallyl, couldn't he Hey Well.
lac didn't care II II did take him a week.
lie was going 10 keep at Il TIL Il was
cmpticd. Dog gene the cat, he wished
II WAS Muggridecr himself that was IA
the cistrrn Blast a cat. anyhow.
How lac did haul water. aud splash his
clothes and ~, a. aud swear, aud how
the neighbor'S wives hung over the front
fence aud talked glibly 70 Mrs. Mill-
kens about the catastrophe, aud how he
wished they were al IA with the cat.
And Mrs. Muggrliar came and hung
over the fence and Wept, and told won
dcrtul stories of that cats sagacity and
is affection Tor children. Affections
for my chickens" Millikens muttered.
And the women talked and labbered, and
piticd Mrs. Nuggrider more than II IL
lad been one Of the children that had
been drowned. Mllllkens toiled on, his
face very hot at being made the focus uf
- many eyes. Dog gone the doggonned
cat 10 thunder. ha said, with considcra-
ble asperity. How he did hate cats, he
said.
The cistern was getting pretty low
now. The sun had gone down behind
the western hills, in glory OF peaceful
splendor, and tlIe ruddy tInts of the dy-
ing day iouched the clouds md sky with
serene, solemn beauty, almost too
ethereal to hang over a world tainted
with the blight Of sin and one-eyed cats.
The noisy prattlers at the front fence
fclt the hallowed Influence OF the hour,
aud Silence laid her fingers on their lips.
Only Mlliken's stertnrous breathin & and
tne plash, plash of the bucket bro'Ee the
oppressive silence. Thank heaven, Mill
kens sighed, il il nearly empty.
Minu. .ow-ow-oow
A weird, nnearthly shrek that curdlcd
the blood in the bravest heart and made
Millikens drop bucket, rope and every
thing down into the cistern. He stood
mp aud glared in spcechless amazement
at Muggridger's cat, perched on the back
fence. which winked pleasantly at him
with its lone eve, and went on calling
the names Of the delegates. There
wasn't damp hair on il. When Mill
kens could speak, he called his children
and savagelv demanded what they meant
hy telling him that lie about the cat
Well. pa" they said, "we thought
II fell down the eistern. anyhow; but we
cpnldn't see very well just where IL did
90. and maybe IL only run around the
box
There was weeping and wailing in
Millikens' house that night, but long
after the sobbing children had found y
place they could lie on without bowling,
( the voice of Muggridger's cat was dis
I tinctly heard clos,Eg the debate. which
had been unusually long and stormy, in
nn eloquent argument against the AL.
mission of violin strings free Of duty.
| AIillikens heard every word Of II, and he
pounded his pillow and hopPed over TO q
new position.
/ Dog gone that cat - he said. Bur.
| iington Hdwkcye.
The City OF IIong,r