The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1880-09-02
1t was The Cat.

The fact that Mr.. Oliver lived in g.
uniform row of houses in the Four
teenth ward, was the reason why he
was unfortunate. One moonlight night
last week the noise made by the cats
on his roof was simply awful. Mr..
Oliver lay in bed, trying in vain to get
to sleep and grinding his teeth in rage,
until at last the uproar overhead be-
came uncomfortable. Mr. Oliver crept
out of bed softly, so that his wife would
not be wakened. He put on his Slip
pers, seized boot with each hand,
and, clad in the snowy robes of night,
he opened the trap-door and emerged
upon the roof. There were thirty or
forty cats out there holding kind of a
General Synod in the cool of the even
ing, enjoying the bracing air and sing
ing glees. As Mr.. Oliver, approached,
the cats moved over to the next roof.
Mr.. Oliver advanced and flung boot
at them. They then adjourned sud
denly to the summit of the ad joining
residence. Mr.. Oliver projected an
other boot, and went over after the
first one. In this manner the Synod
retreated and Oliver advanced until the
end of the row of twenty houses was
reached, when the cats arranged them
selves in line along the parapet:
ruftled up their fur, curved their spines,
and spat furiously at Oliver. That
bold warrior gathered up his boots and
determined to retreat. He walked
over Il dozen houses, and descended
through Il trap-door. He went down
stairs to his bedroom, and opened the
door. There was q man in the room,
in the act of walking up and down
with a baby. Before Oliver had recov-
cred ftom his amazement the man
flung the baby upon the bed, and,
Selling revolver, began firing rapid
ly at Oliver. 1t then dawned upon
Oliver that he had come down the
wrong trap-door. He proceeded up
stairs again suddenly, the man with the
revolver practicing at him in a painful
manner. When Oliver reached the
roof. he shut the trap quickly and
stood upon it. The man fired through
the boards twice, and en- hooked the
door upon the inside. A moment af-
ter, Oliver heard him springing IL watch
mans rattle from the front window.
AS soon as the neighbors knew there
Was {: man on the roof, they all flew up
stairs and fastened their trap-doors.
and Mrs. Oliver fastened hers, with the
firm conviction that some predatory
villain had entered while she slept and
stolen her Oliver When he tried the
door it was fast, and Mrs. Oliver was
screami so fercely that he could not
make himself heard. BY this time the
street was filled with policemen, all of
whom were blazing away at Oliver with
their rcvolvers, while the young men
in the houses across the street kept up
a steady fire with pistols, shot-guns
and miscellaneous missiles. Oliver,
with every advantage for forming an
opinion, said that Gettysburg was a
mere skirmish to it. He hid behind a
chimney, and lay up against the bricks
to keep himself warm, while the po-
licem Ell stationed themselves all around
the square to capture him when he
slid down one of the water-spouts. But
Oliver did not slide. He sat out on
that roof all night, with the bitter air
circulating among his too-tritiing gar
ments, listening to the yowling cats
and the occasional shouts from the
OC1ON ttAleA VI C1lC
old Jews who used to pray from their
housetops, and wondering if Mussul-
men were ever shot at or bothered
with cats and policemen when they
practiced their evening devotions on
their roofs. And then he wondered
how it would do to take off his night
shirt and wave it over the edges as
flag of truce! He concluded not to,
because Of the danger of a bullet from
some misguided policeman not familiar
with the rules Of war. When daylight
came, the neighbors rallied in crowd
armed with all kinds of weapons from
howitzers, down, and mounted to the
roof. Oliver was taken down and put
to bed, and he now has more influenza
for a man of his size than any other
citizen of the Fourteenth ward. He
says he is going to move as soon as he
gets well-he is going to move into
house that is next door to nobody,
house that stands in the middle of
prairie of some kind, and he intends
to stencil his name in white on the trap
door.-Eclto,ege.
About Masons.