The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-08-03
i'm WOLFE AND THE TOM CATS.

hNEW ny Jne sympatneuc glow
i upon his bald head-I knew by the
thoughtful look upon his face-I knew
by the emotional flush upon the straw
berry on the end of the old free llver's
nose, that Simon Wheeler's memory
was busy with the olden time. And SO
prepared to leave, because all these
were symptoms of reminiscence-sign
that he was going to be delivered of an
other of his tiresome personal expert
ences-but was too slow; he got the
start of me. AS nearly as l can recol-
lect, the inhiction was couched in the
following language
"We was all boys then, and didn't
care for nothing only how to shirk
school and keep up a revivin' state of
devilment all the time. Thish var Jim
Wolfe l was talking about, was the
prentice, and he was the best hearted
feller, he was, and the most forgivin' an
onselfsh, ever see-well, thar couldn't
be more bullifier boy than what he
was take him how you would; and sor-
ry enough L was when seen him for
the last time.
Me and Henry was always pestering
him and plastering hoss bills on his
back, and putting bumble-bees in his
his bed, and so on, and sometimes we'd
crowd in and bunk with him, not'th-
standing his growing, and then we'd
let on to get mad and fight acrost him,
so as to keep him stirred up like. He
was nineteen, he was, and long, and
lank and bashful, and we was fifteen
and sixteen, and tolerably lazy and
worthless.
$50 that night, you know, that my
sister Mary gave the candy pullin' they
started us off to bed early, so as the COM
pany could have full swing and we rung
on Jim to have some fun.
Our window looked out unto the
roof of the ell, and about 10 o'clock a
couple of tom-cats got to rarin' and
chargin' 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 right smart crust of ice on it, and
the moon was shinin' bright, and we
could see them cats like daylight. First
they'd stand off and e-yow-yow-yow,
just the same as if they was cussin' one
another, you know, and bow up their
backs and bush up their tails, and swell
around and spit, land then all of a sudden
the gray cat he'd snatch handful of
fur off the yaller cats ham, and spin
him around like button on a barn
door. But the yaller cat was game, and
he'd come and clinch, and the way they
would gouge, and bite, and howl, and
the way they'd make the fur fly was
powerful.
"Well, Jim he got disgusted with the
row and lowed he'd climb out there and
shake 'em off'n that roof. He had RELY
no notion of doin' it, likely, but we ev-
erlastingly dogged him and bully ragged
him and lowed he'd always Dragged
how he wouldn't take dare, and so on,
till bimeby he histed up the winder, and
10, and behold you he went-went just
as he was-nothin' on but a shirt, and
IL WAS 6nOIl' IOu OuShb w SOSh uinl
creepin' 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 seen that shirt fiappin'
in the wind, and them long, redicklous
shanks of his'n glistenin' in the
moon light.
Them comp'ny folks was down thar
under the caves, the whole squad of 'em
under that ornery shed of dead WASH
ton Bower vines-all sett'n round about
two dozen sassers of hot candy, which
they sot in the snow to cool. And thar
was laughin' and talkin' lively; but
bless you, they didn't know nothing
about the panorama that was going on
over their heads. Well, Jim, he went a
sneakin' and sneakin' up onbeknown
to them TOM cats-they was a swishin'
their tails and -yowin, and threat
enin' to clinch you know and not payin
any attention, lie went sneakin' and q
sneakin' right up to the comb of the
roof, till he was in foot an half OF
'em, and then all of a sudden he made a
grab for the yaller cat But, by gosh, he