The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-06-06
" CAT AND DOG.
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 In the middle of the doorway stood a cat--a maternal cat-who had spied nv black pointer, Jet, who stood at my elbow watching me eat. with ne mnrdeFous de. sign oa Cat aF kitten al all. But the kaina temperament is suspicious and wrashfnl !: and this cat vas a tesmagAnt anyhow, born under some evil star, and bent on having roS. Nov, 10 my mind, there IS always . terrible fascination in the process of preparation which a cat goes through preliminary to q combat. There s such deliberate spitefulness about it, such murderous maligni,y ef design as tt passes rom one phase of ex pFcssion to another, that 1t is impossible to withdraw your eyes from the creature 1x she naases through her sDasms Now, this cat was no exceptisn to her tribe. Her manner ism was perfect after its kind. When looked up she stood in the doorway with a suggestive curve in her back, and with a slightly swollen appearance about her tail. She stood and swelled. The curve in her back grew and grew. Her tail oulscd until II was enormous. Her eyes olsrsd hotter and hotter. Her mouth opened wider, and out of 1t came a sue. cession of noises that were simply fright tul, How that cat could keep anything inside oi her and spit 1t out that way was | a marvel.
 Of course, Jet had not been an unmind- fui spectator of the scene. She had been interviewed betore in this style and knew what was coming. Her hair ridged up on her back, her tail snffened straight as an iron rod, and her lips frightened over her white teeth. Any cat that was at all sensible would have let such dog alone
 But this feline had no caution at all And when she lett the doorway and be- gan to stride across the 'Hoor toward let l knew if things kept on much lcns ger the peace Of Europe would be disturb bed ii l was just lifting myself from my chair, or getting my legs out from under the table so l could lift myself from the chair, when that cat vent into the air like flash and exploded in a series of mos, unnearthly noises over lets back. Of course, DO deCen, dog would stand any such conduct as that, and let diin't. Now, you understand, this was a sud denly improvised affair. had no pro. gramme 10 so by, and d:dnt understand at all where the different parts came in !; and besides, the actors did DO, seem to require any special prompting. and evil denily needed all the room to themselves
 So, feeling that l wasn't wanted, and might actually be in their way if re. maiDed, retired out through the window to the piazza, where could contemplate the development of action from a back seat, as it were. Of one thing am cer- tain, l have never, in city or country, seen l a int Ia al very climax of high tragedy. The actors were up to their best key and going l, strong. saw that the thing was draw ing to fne point. Either 1 should not have any dog in a few minutes, or the man wouldn't have any cat te speak of One Of the two things was certain. At that instant the door burst open, and the man himself, with broom In his hand burst into the room and began to lay about him right and left But this only stirred Jet up tremendously. The cat and the broom together brought out her best points. The way she went after the cat, under the table, bet ~een the mans legs, back of the stove, was indescribable. But the actors were not all on lhe stage yet Again the door burst open, and a woman without hoops On and washboard in her hand, shot into the apartment with a look of interrogation on her countenance frightful to see. She didn't stand still more than a se-ond, for Jet came against her in way that sent her spinning. This was too much, dropped on the piszza, rolled of upon the ground, dug my fingers into the turf, and laughed.
 In less than four seconds saw a cat come out through the front door. abou, half way up from the door sill to the ceil- ing. followed by the dog in full bolt, with a big broom close behind. The cat lit on her feet, of course, and went up a tree in the door-yard faster than any cat has ever done that thing since the beginning of the world. 1 clucked to Jet, and sloped around the corner cf the house, and streaked 1t through the garden down back of the barn, where l laid myself down on the grass again and rolled over and over, wiping the tears from my eyes.
 This is all, this time. My pencil Is worn down to the last inch and must stop. if ever get to "Martin's" 1 will tell you what l see. But think will spend this | vacation travelling around with Jet and stopping at country hote's where they have plenty of cats. have an idea that such course would yield me a great deal of innocent fun, such as even dea-