Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-17
harness the horse in front of the wagon"

harness the horse in front OF the wagon"
The lath-b boy looked incredulous. "In
front? Why, how can you tell where you re
going and doesn't the horse kick up mud
and dust in your face and shed his hairs
on you?"
why, yes" said Sandy.
Then why do you do it?"
Because our fathers have done II for
hundreds of years." said Sandy with a grin,
and his answer sufficed the lath-boy. They
had been riding for some minutes when the
latter uttered cry of terror.
whats the matter?" asked Sandy, who
had heard nothing more dreadful than the
miaowing of several cats.
1.-The cat-pack. They are pursuing u.s."
Sandy looked over his shoulder and saw six
or seven rather furry looking cats run
ming after them, and as he was exceedingly
fond of cats he was glad to see them. but
the th-boy said, as he urged the horse
along, why, cats are the most terrible
animals that we have. They destroy the rats,
but that isn't the worst thing they do. They
chase us, and If they ever caught us they
would tear us to pieces"
1t was now Sandy's turn to be incredu-
lous. However, the speed OF the horse was
SO great that at last the miaowing of the
terrible cats grew faint in the distance and
the boy breathed easier.
You spoke of their destroying the rats"
said Sandy Don't you want the dirty
creatures killed."
xiii a rat?" said the lath-boy. "Why,
they are pets. We teach them to run after
cheese balls and not eat them until we
give the word and they also rid the house
of troublesome MICE
why, rats are as bad as mice and both
OF them are awful pests. Mamma says"
but here the lath-boy yawned. He was evil
IDENTIFY not interested in the doings of the
earth Sandy thought that he was not
nearly as pleasant as the Green Boy of Har-
rah, and he began to think about return
ing. ..t..
The horse had dropped into gentle trot
and Sandy's quick ear heard the miaowing
OF the cats again. They had evidently not
given up the chase and Sandy was glad of it.
He had five cats at home and could do
about as he liked with them. and he wasn't
afraid of any cat that ever purred. But the
terror OF the lath boy when he heard the
sound was awful to see.
"oh. Well be scratched to DEATH" said
he
Sandy laughed. "Did you ever hear OF
anybody being scratched to death by one
Of these cats?"
"Why, of course not" said the lath- boy
with shudder. mo one ever gave them
a chance to do 1t. We always get away
frcm them, but II they did catch us 1t
would be horrible"
"Oh, rats" said Sandy, forgetting his
manners. "Those cats are hungry for pet
ting and they are following us so we'll
stroke them. I'm going to get out and
play with them"
II you will try to imagine yourself being
pursued by wolves in Russia and then
imagine your companion suggesting that he
get out and play with the dear creatures. you
will get some idea of the way the lath- boy
felt. But before he could say anything Sandy
had leaped from the wagon.
They were on a yellow plain. Not a tree
was in sight or rather out OF sight. for
miles He faced the cats and said: Here,
puss, here puss, puss, puss, puss." And as
he had expected the cats came running to
him and allowed him to scratch them in
stead of scratching him and they purred just
like earth cats.
They were all a bright purple color and
their hair was longer than Angoras and they
had nine tails apiece Otherwise they were
exactly like your cat and no larger, certainly,
Sandy had often heard OF cat-o- mine tails,
but he had never seen any before. He had
a ball in his pocket and he threw 1t to the
cats and they played with 1t just as any cats
would
The lath boy had stopped the horse as
soon as Sandy jumped out He was not an
agreeable companion in mauy ways, but he
was not mean enough to leave Sandy to his
awful fate. His astonishment at seeing the
boy play with the cats was boundless.
Finally he walked up TO one and held out a
trembling hand. The cat rubbed against his
leg aud arched her back and looked over his
shoulder at him, purring loudly,
If they won't eat my rats I'd like to take
them home No one ever touched a cat be-
fore" said he OF a sudden. overcoming his
fear and strokng their heads boldly.
Are there many OF them up here?" asked
Sandy
These are the only ones ever heard Of"
said the lath- boy.
well, they certainly eat the rats. be-