The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1886-07-01
THE LINKS THE CAT FORGED.
BY w. J. HENDERSON,

%sHE - $780, "a ~ i
BY w. J. Henderson, =.
1t was past II O. clock when opened
the door and the black cat walked slow
~ out and down the steps waiting to
see if 1 followed. turned up the col
lar3of my coat, for the air was chilly,
and went out again into the beautiful
October night. The street was as ST.
lent as the footballs of the 1.-the animal
softly walking down the steps. The
black cat led the way, andI followed.
Why, / do not know. s$: s
Two nights before I had walked up
from my Office late with a friend. 1t
was long past midnight when we turn
ed into the quiet street where I lived,
talking about / know, not what. Sud
denly there stepped outof the shadow
of a, huge tree.5a black cat Looking
neither 10 the right nor the left, she
walked deliberately before'us.
...Ha!' said my friend, with a tragic
air, ga cat!-a black cat! Let us fol-
low the cat! - A +: sl5s 4. sl
And then he laughed, and even as he
walked the echoes down the street,
can not tell why--I shivered. The cat
walked silently along past the lower
steps of the flights leading down from
the houses, keeping a pace or two ahead
of u.s. My friend left me at. his door,
saying; "Good-night. Beware of the
cat. ~ I went to my house not far be-
yond. At the steps the. cat stopped,
:hesitated for q moment, and then walk
up to the door. Somewhat surprised, I
followed. y. H., >,
& I do not like cats. They. seem to me
to be treacherous, dangerous brutes,.
and lam even half afraid of them. But
when the black cat stopped at my door
I determined, for some 1nexplicable
reason, to admit her. She seemed to
know my room, for she walked up the
single flight Of stairs before me and en-
tered the room as [ opened the door. I
found her stretched out on the floor
when I had lighted the gas, and if she
had lived in my room all her life she
could not have appeared more at home.
For the same inexplicable reason that I
admitted the cat to my house I allowed
her to remain in my room.
The next ,evenmgI came in earlier;
it may have been 10 o'clock. The
black cat met me at the door and dart
ed by. me as I stepped over the TIRES
bold. Then, as turned to see With
er she had gone, I felt a pull at the. leg
of my trousers, and saw that the cat
had fastened claw there and was
certainly trying to draw me from the
house. e I stopped down and softly
stroked the animal back. at the same
time disengaging her claw. Then
turned and entered the house, and the
cat, after q moment of apparent ire
solution, followed me, mewing strange
~. 5: 4:
The next night she again met me at
the door, and the effort to draw me
from the house was repeated. The
desire was SO apparent that was puz-
-zled, and, I own, little disturbed.
The Invent with ME to my room, and,
sitting there in the fire light, with her
brightseyes starring at me, I formed a
purpose to yield to this curious whim
if 1t were again displayed. tried to
reason with myself, but reason seemed
to have given way to an impulse as
uncon trollable rs twas mysterious.
Ipassed an uneasy night and then q
day, half hoping that when evening
came my unbidden and unwelcome
guest would be gone. I heard the
clocks in the houses along the street
where | lived strike I'll as I walked
down toward my door. AS! I stepped
over the threshold I saw the fiery eyes
of the cat in the dark hall. A cold
SILVER passed through my frame. I
I trembled with an excitefnentsas intense
as twas sud den. NY heart began to
beat so loudly that IFinYoluntarily held
my hands over it as if to still it. Then
sunlmoning my resolution I followed
Z the cat down the steps and strobe after
her as she fitted down Gle street.
.sE It was a black night. Heavy, swol-
len 4grayclouds had been hanging low
in the sky when darkness came on, and
now they draw an impenetrable veil be-
tween the earth and the stars The
old, winding streets Of the quarter of
the town in which ] lived were silent
and deserted. Now, and then gust of
wind swept down and swung some shut
ter back upon its hinges with a hoarse,
grating sound. The moaning of the
wind was full Of strange meanings to
me-. Ny thoughts wandered off through
the black arches of that dismal night,
and asI strobe down the street drawn
3irresistibly after the noiseless black cat,
there came up before me avivid picture
sof the tragedy which had come into
my life only q year before, when I had
completed my college course. s, 5. 5@s5.
3= saw my fathers house large
white building, surrounded by spacious
spiazzas and standing in the middle Of Il
wide, velvet-like lawn. saw my faith
Ter sitting in his comfortable library,
from wllich two bay wind lows opened
upon the piazza. He had left my sister
and mother and myself in an adjoining
room, and was sitting at a table facing
soneSo of the open wind lows. A5student's
lamp cast soft, mellow light over tile
room. Behind my father stood his safe,
which contained d large sum Of money,
put there to pay his workmen on the
following morning The door between
the library and the room in which we
were was open: and occasion ally he
spoke to us. Then came nlong silence,
and we heard only the. soft patter 81
the rain on the piazzass Sss32 ii;
hat can father be- doing, asked
my sister at length, s.that Keeps him
so guietp ~ ys.
FITTING, suppose. q said my
mother. .'He is making up the pay
rolls, you know. 3 3
Then he'll never get through q re:
Piled my sister, '.f0r he has fallen
asleep, I'm sure. 4