The Portland daily press., 1885-12-07

The house, as previously intimated, is
running over with mice, or would run
over, were it not perforated with |
mouse holes to let out the surplus. BY dint /
of stopping these holes with distractions
saturated with solution Of cayenne pepper |
a small percentage of the little deyourers is
kept out of the rooms; but the jigs they |
dance in the wall are wonderful to hear. |
One Sunday they were unusually lively, and |
Bobby was much excited by their uncommon |
scufiing and squeaking. The idea at once /
occurred to him that it would be wen to in
troduce the cat to the attic, which is supposed |
to be mouse headquarters. So the cat was
tenderly carried up and deposited in the lit
tie prism-shaped cuddy under the caves, in
formed that she might have all the mice she
could catch, and left to her pursuits.
Half an hour later a fearful commotion
was heard in the sitting-room wall, a scratch
ing, scrabbling, rafting, tearing racket, as
though there were fight of wild beasts 60
ing on behind the wall paper, the whole ac-
companied by a most blood-eurdlmg yowing
and splitting. The unhappy three read in |
each others faces the dreadful fact-that cat |
had fallen down between the laths and the I
boarding!
OF course there was family consultation,
which Immediately adjourned to the attic.
The closet door was opened, disclosing to the
garish light Of day a lot of rubbish left by
the last tenant-(why don't people sclear out |
their trash when they moye9 an old cur |
tain, broken goblet mouldy boot, de-
bilitated hoopskirt-a yeritable skeleton in
the closet-a fragment Of pitcher. one leg |
of pair of tousers, an old chair bottom and |
some empty bottles, the whole rounded and |
finished" with the cobwebs and dust of years
but no cat Instead a prolonged howl,
ending in a spasmodic scratching that threat
ened to rip off the clapboards, came dismally /
up from the caves, where a narrow creyice /
at the ends of the floor-boardS showed the |
the only place where the cat could have de- |
scended. To this day, nobody understands I
how she cnIld- haze Sanaazad- herself down
there.
Fluff! fluff! phit! phit! mow NOW! ma
e-i-o-u-o-w!' came up through the crack, as
though dozen cats were swearing on a wa
ger Whereupon every listener began call I
ing kitty, kitty!" in every tone Of entreaty, |
endearment and absolute wheedling But I
all in vain Bob ran for the persuasive pan,
and scraped like mad, but nothing came of
it. When he ceased an ominous silence |
reigned. ''Shes stified! screamed Bobby, |
"she's just suffocated down in that horrid |
hole! wish you'd never told me to put her
up here" added he, quite forgetting that it |
had been his own proposal.
Presently two pale yellow phosphorescent
spots appeared in the black crack, accom-
panied by plaintiye "M-a-e-i-o-ww It was
that cat. She put her nose against the crack |
to show that she couldn't get her head |
through; she pushed her paw up to show |
that she couldn't set her body through, she |
evinced, or pretended, the most frantic ca
gerness to get OUTPUT all in vain.
Fetch me lamp, and the axe" said the
worried mother, in desperation; perhaps, |
if | can see, may be able to pry up board /
and let her out" The lamp and axe were
brought, and the edge of the latter was in
serted between the boards. Then the COM
bined family sat on the handle for pur-
chase, until groan from the axe warned
them that the handle might give way, when
hey dismounted. But the board being firm
ly fastened at the ends. simply bowed up
little in the middle, not enough to let mouse
through, and deGed all the mothers
strength, who was meanwhile burning off
her eyelashes over the lamp chimney, and
getting her hair tangled in the single nails
of the reof Brunette afterward declared
that even in this sore strait, the mother only
said under her breath, What would Mr.
Bergh say
But Brunette made no jocose remarks at
present. "What shall we do?" she walled
'.Wnen was in New FORK / knew a eat
that got down in the wall that way and died
there; and the family had to move away be-
Cause
Dear, DEAR" groaned the mother ''What
could we do?" and she struggled wildly at
the board, skinning her fingers and turning
back her nails recklessly. Get me wedge
shaped piece of kindling wood" she said,
perhaps | can drive it in and raise the
board a little more"
''The poor thing starved to death by
inches continued the dismal narrator of
New York experience, ''and it was dreadful
to hear her mewing growing weaker and
weak
''For mercy's sake" groaned the poor
mother, to whom every word was a fresh
goad, "do held this wedge While l drive it.
This wretched little hole Of Il closet isn't big
enough fer one to get into, even on ones
knees If I could only get to the other edge
Of the board, SO the axe handle wouldn't hit
the door casing every time [ pound, | believe
l could manage it,
'Let me come,p said Brunette insanely
anxious, I'm larger than you are, perhaps l
can get in
The poor mother, too much exhausted to
rebuke this folly by anything more than
reproachful glance paused moment and
wiped her wet forehead with an extremely
dirty hand, which left three black streaks
across her face diagonally she was quite I'M
mindful that the drops which anguish and
fatigue had called ont on her forehead had
entirely ruined her inchoate crimps. Final
ly, after everybody was covered with dust,
cobwebs, scratches and splinters, the wedge
was driven, giving about two inches and
half Of space for the cats egress.
The creature never can latten herself
through that" sighed the poor woman, alb
sently withdrawing hair pin which had
been driven too far into her head by contact
with the sloping roof 81 know she can't"
81 guess she can, )" chirped hopeful Bobby,
Il haven't given her anything but soda
cracker this morning, and she ate that fat
wise"
BY this time the piteous mewing had quite
cease. ''She has got caught somewhere, and
choked herself death, said Brunette who
was apt to take gloomy views
she's s-his-name-iated moaned
Bobby, wiping his eyes on his sisters over
skirt He had that morning been reading
about colliery explosion in Belgium