Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1900-04-19

would persist in attaching grea> hlar.
to nerssf for having left out that win
dow sash. One phase of her charao
ter however, | was at loss to ac.
count for, and that was the sn5,dap
and unaccountabls aversion she had
taken to Aunt Samy1a's poor old vol.
low cat.
Formerly, I remembered. she hod
been the cats greatest chamn;on and
many time had shared meal with
pussy; but now she actually shiyered
II the animal happened to brush
against her.
But it was many years before dis
covered the cause of that aversion.
Aunt Samyra was dead; pussy had
died and been buried by me with
many tears under the cypress tree in
tie back yard; Susan Ellen had mar
riede Mr.. Wentworth, the young man
who had been her escort to the concert.
the night of Uncle Ralph's death: the
old home had been broken up and /
was drifting about the world in an
aimless way.
Susan Ellen had invited me to spend
a week with her, and as her husband
was away on business, we had ample
opportunity for the exchange of long
condolences about old times.
One night, as we sat by the fire, the
subject happened to turn on Aunt
Samyra's old yellow cat, I asked her
why it was that she took such sud-
den and unaccountable aversion to that
poor animal?
1T is something have often want
ed to tell you," she answered, "but
somehow always shrank from doing
so. At first I was afraid, and after
ward l just kept putting it off because
| knew ought to have told it at first.
You remember the night Uncle Ralph
was khled?'
II certainly do.''
"Well, that evening went to a con-
cert with Mr.. Wentworth. We got
home about 1890 and stood talking
at the front gate a few minutes, he
meanwhile calling my attention to the
comet, which was then the universal
topic of conversation. I felt guilty
standing at the gate, for Aunt Samyra
had often told me not to do so, and
involuntarily l glanced toward the
house, expecting to see her looking at
me. Instead, two curious objects in
Uncle Ralph's window caught my
eye.
"You remember it was such a bright
moonlight that one could see very dis
tinctly; you remember, also, about my
washing the windows just before I'm
Gle Ralph came to visit US. The bot
tom sash was in, but hoisted on a
piece OF broomhandle so as to take
the place OF the top sash, leaving the
bottom of the window open.
"Now then, on the window sill,
walking backwards and forwards,
looking at the comet, too, / suppose,
was Aunt Samyra's old yellow cat,
while Uncle Ralph, with his head
poked out from the window, was also
regarding the comet with rapt in
tentness.
"My first feeling was one of guilty
dismay; he was looking at the comet
now, to be sure, but if he were to
glance in nay direction, and then to tell
Aunt Samyra!
while I hesitated what to do, pl-s-
sy began running herself against the
piece of broom-handle that held up
the window. The broom-handle, am
afraid, had been put up in very
slanting, insecure fashion; l realized
this in a flash as l noticed Uncle
Ralph's pistol lying on the window
sill. And had barely realized it when
the broom-Landle slipped, the window
came down on the pistol, and you
heard the shot, and know the rest
She paused and took a deep breath.
And now I want to know which
| was responsible for the murder, the
cat or the c0met?"