Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-08-17

am determined to take it home with me
and leave it with my little girl here.
Now. look at it; hasn't it the incest little
face cat ever had? How can you be-
ieve there's devil in the creatnre?'
"The devil" said one, "often hangs
out the prettiest fgureheads, sir"
"Well," said I "that's true But
now, you're sailors; you can't refuse
shelter, and you can't surely think i'll of
a poor dumb creature that was twice
thrown into the sea, and twice came back
to the old ship, and that after all licked
the hand that threw her out-ay, and
look we Hicks it now"
Hooray for the captain -
But, my hearties, said 1, "there's
another thing" And this was my strong
point. ''You see that bark out there
She's called the Lily, and believe she's
the same as struggled this cat aboard of
us. Now, has she gained anything by
losing the cat? When she's been caught
in the same hurricane as we have, and
she's come worse out of it; she's driven
far from her course, and she's leaking
dangerously"
They turned and looked at each other
and nodded; they evidently thought
there was something in it.
owe keep the cat, then" said I,
"whether the Lily would like it back or
no. SIS that agreed ?"
cay, ay, sir"
1t was a bad sea, but we lowered a
boat as we and the Lily approached: 1
particularly wanted to 60 aboard of her;
[ got the basket out in which pussy had
come to us, replaced heras we had found
her, and put the empty champaign bot
ties on top.
The crew Of the Lily were dropping
with fatigue when we went aboard, but,
Lord to see how the skipper and them
about him woke up when they saw us.
Astonishment is no word for it.
" Good God p he exclaimed. "And
you are the Seamew p
"And you are the Lily" said 7.
"That was nice present you sent me.
l have brought back the bottles and the
basket" and so saying, I uncovered
pussy, who, to my amazement, jumped
out at once and bounded off. I had only
intended to show the skipper she was
there. The poor man stared, his jaw
dropped, and he sank down on coil of
rope, with his head in his hands, utter
ing a long, hopeless groan.
"Come, my friend, cheer up" / said.
"We've almost nothing to eat," said
he, Twelve been at the pumps two days,
and now that brute has come back !!
There's no use standing by them any
more: our voyage comes to an end here,
and down, down we go. We might as
well have kept the beast; the old wretch's
words have come true, and we finish in
the middle, as she said."
[ doubted his mind was wandering.
Come" said [, "bestir yourself and
give orders. There's no use staying by
the ship any longer; you must abandon
her and come with me"
"What Leave the Lily? She's a
good old ship, and she's my own; no, I'll
go down with her and that cursed cat.
Take off the crew, sir, however, and I'll
thank you"
I could not make up my mind to think
him deranged, and yet Just then the
cat came bounding along the deck with
something in her mouth, and all the
hands paused and stared. She put it in
the basket at my feet where she herself
had lain, and again bounded away. It
was kitten! and alive! The skipper
stared stupidity. Presently pussy re-
turned with another.
"That's what's done it," cried the
skipper with gathering fury; ''after I
got rid of her, they were here, and I
never knew it !" He rose in his rage,
and, Selling a crowbar, would have
smashed basket and all, but he was east
ly restrained and disarmed.
"Let me have Them" said I; "my
little girl will like them
'What!" he cried, in something like
an ecstacy of gladness. ssAnd you will
take the mother, tool" Then, becom-
ing again Respondent, "but it's of no
use now. I feel we are going down"
Pussy had returned with her third kit
ten which was dead, and had begun to
purr with delight and to rub herself
round my leg, when he reused himself
and ordered all hands to take to the
boats. We stood by them in our own
boat with pussy and her brood in the
basket on the stern-seat), waiting to give
them tow-line to our ship. When all
the hands were in the boats, there was a
pause. Was not the skipper coming?
No. "Cast off. ;" The Lily was settling
down rapidly, and the crew cast off with
little concern. The shippers last act
was to launch with curse a broken
pully- block at the basket in our stern, as
we rowed off. It just missed the boat
and splashed into the sea. The Lily
went down before we reached the Sea-
new.
Next day we had fair wind, and our
crowded ship crowded all sail and went
merrily racing, dipping and splashing
for hime. In our new, bright hopes of
our voyage we all, think, felt rather
ashamed of our dreadful suspicion of
pussy. At any rate, everyone showed
the utmost tenderness and solicitude for
her and her two kittens.
How had the kittens been kept alive
on the Lily all that week? you ask. /
don't know: but I have heard of rat
playing mother under similar circum-
stances, and [ am certain there were rats
on the Lily.