The Portland daily press., 1880-12-25
living and loving pet--she sang him Jingle
about q kitten:


With twenty pins in twenty toes
soft long tail, and little pink nose,
And two or three ounces of nice gray fur;
Add to this, If you please. purr,
With NEW to your taste, and frisk and fun;
Keep warm in abasket-the kitten is done.
As Mrs. Wilson ended her song, Uncle Jer-
ry came up the front walk, and Tommy ran
to him and told him all about Trips mis-
hap.
Uncle Jerry went up into the garnet and
took careful notice of the exact place
where puss had fallen. Then he
went down stairs. Tommy follow
ing close behind him ;!and Tommy's mother,
feeling sure that Uncle Jerry would set
matters quite right, Went to dust her pretty
parlor. Uncle Jerry went to his tool-chest
in the barn and took out chisel and ham
mer.
"What are you going to do, Uncle Jer-
ry?" asked Tommy.
Meanwhile Uncle Jerry, and Tommy af-
ter him, went into room which was seldom
used. 1t was opposite the kitchen, and had
been meant for spare bedroom, but Mrs.
Wilson had little need of it except to keep
her best dress and bonnet in the closet.
"You see, Tommy" said Uncle Jerry,
''your kitty fell down between the walls,
about three feet from the north corner of
the garrett"
sob, don't you hear her mew," cried
Tommy. ''poor little Trippy, she's inside
there. Do you suppose you can ever get
hAr ont TIpnlo TorruCs,
go, yes, in two minutes. She is mewing
to let us know just where she is. Keep on
mewing, kitty, We'll soon let you out of
jail"
So Uncle Jerry put the edge Of his chisel
under the mop-board, (which is the narrow
board that runs around the sides of the
room, next to the floor) and struck the han
die of the chisel with his hammer, until he
had pried off the board. Then he waited
moment. Trip mewea. Then Uncle Jerry
picked away the plastering of the wall pre-
cisely where he heard the little voice, and
soon made hole as large as a nut. Through
this hole popped white, furry paw. Tom
my fairly danced with delight. Then I'm
Gle Jerry made the hole larger so that he
could put his hand in to take out the kit.
ten. But what was this that his
hand touched as he lifted Trip out of the
wall? Nothing but a piece Of paper. But
Uncle Jerry took that out too, and forgot
all about Tommy and Trip until Tommy
spoke: 4
''Why, Uncle Terry, what is that letter,
what do you look so hard at it for? Aren't
you glad Trippy is safe again?"
Thomas j. Wilson," said his uncle,
"bring your express cart round as quick as
you can. l want to send valuable pack
age to Mrs. Lucy Wilson, if you know such
person in this town."
Tommy ran, and soon brought the express
wagon out from its stable under the front
stairs. With rattle and clatter of wooden
wheels and Tommy's. heels, Trip running
beside the wagon, and Uncle Jerry following
with chisel and hammer in hand-Wilson's
Express Company drew up in style at the
parlor-door. Mrs. Wilson left her busting and
came to see the procession, which, as she
supposed, was to Celebrate Trips escape.
"a package for Mrs. Lucy Wilson," said
the dignified driver of the express-wagon.
Of course all the little readers have
guessed that the paper which Uncle Jerry
found in the wall was the grant of Western
lands. How it got there, no one knows. It
is hard to suspect any one of fraud; but it
was thought by some people that when
Tommy fell down the front steps and his
mother ran to see if he were hurt, leaving
the papers that were kept in the old hair
trunk, lying on the garrett foor--Mrs. Mou-
sey took the opportunity to carry off the pa
per to make nice nest for her babies, but as
it was too heavy for her small paws aud she
was not used to conveying titles to real es-
tate, it fell down between the partitions un-
til Trip and Uncle Jerry found it, For
Tommy always gave much credit to Trip in
telling the story of the lost and found paper.
The next day Captain Wilson came home
from his voyage; he found his wife and
Tommy and Uncle Jerry living happily in
the house where he had left them, and quite
ready for the Christmas presents that he had
brought them in his seaman's chest. And
Trip was not forgotten; fine china bowl
that came all the way from Japan was for
her Christmas present. And when Miss
Abby Horner said it was ga most too hand
some dish for cat," Tommy's mother only
said, eff it had not been for the kitten, we
should not have house to call our own
to-day" So you see, Wilson's Express Com
pany, Thomas and Trip Wilson, proprietors,
was great and prosperous concern. And
here the story ends, with many happy
Christmas wishes to all the little readers,
and the hope that the express-wagons.
that 60 about so busily Christmas morning,
may bring to each one of them some delight
full Christmas gift. Merry Christmas to
all!