The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-06-10


visits when the men OF the camp were
working their claims: and he was invar1-
ably accompanied by Tom. who trotted by
his side. and sprang on his shoulder while
he made his purchases. The saloon keeper
declared that when, once. by accident, he
gave Monty the wrong change, Tom loudly
called his friends attention 10 the error.
and insisted that il should be rectifed.
THAT there cat" said the saloon keeper
TO his assembled guests on the following
evening. "ain't no ordinary cat. for it
stands to reason that if he was he wouldn't
chum with Monty. A cat that takes up
with such pal. and that talks pretty near
as well as you or me, or any other Chris
tan. is, according t. what / learned at
Sunday school, POSSESSED with the devil.
You mark my words. Monty's sold his soul
to that there pretended cat, and presently
he'll be shown a pocket chuck full of mug
gets, and will go home with his ill-gotten
gains. while we stay here and starve."
The feeling that there was something un-
canny in the relations that existed between
Monte Carlo and the cat gradually spread
through the camp. While no man conde-
scended to speak to the boycotted Monty,
a close watch was kept upon him. slippery
Jim asserted that he had heard Monty and
Tom discuss the characters of nearly every
man in the camp while ne was concealed
one evening in the tall grass near Monty's
cabin.
First" said Jim. Monty asked kind
O. careless like. What may be your opinion
of that there Big Simpson,? The cat, he
just swears sort of contemptuous, and then
Monty says. Jest so! That's what I've al
ways said about him, and calculated that
a cat of your intelligence would say the
same thing BY and by Monty says,
What's that you're saying about Red
haired Dick? You think he'd steal mice
from blind cat, and then lay it on the
dog? Well. my son. don't say he wouldn't.
He's about as mean as they make 'em, and
If I was you 1 wouldn't trust him with a
last years bonel' Then they kept on jaw
ing to each other about this and that and
exchanging views about politics and relig-
ion, till after a while Tom let's out yowl
that sounded as IL 1T was meant for big
laugh. Monty he laughed, too; and then he
says. L never thought you would have no.
ticed it, but that's exactly what Slippery
Jim does every time he gets chance
81 don't KNOW" continued Jim, what
they were referring to, but do know that
Monty and the cat talk together just as
easy as you and me could talk, and / say
that If it's come to this, that we're going
to allow an idiot of man and a devil of
a cat to take away the characters Of re-
spectacle gentlemen we'd better knuckle
Har~ "a
camp. and to treat us like so many Injun
squaws."
Other miners followed Slippery Jim's ex-
ample in watching Monty and listening to
his conversations with the cat, and the in
dignation against the animal and his COM
panion grew deep and bitter. 1t was decld-
ed that the scandal of an ostentatious
friendship between a boycotted man and-a
cat that was unquestionably possessed by
the devil must be ended. The suggestion
that the cat should be shot would undoubt-
edly have been carried out had IL not been
that Boston, who a spiritualist,
serted that the animal could be hit only by
a silver bullet. The camp would gladly
have expended a silver bullet in so good a
cause, but there not particle of silver
in the camp, except what was contained In
two or three silver watches.
After several earnest discussions of the
subject il was resolved that the cat should
be hung on stout witch-hazel bush grow
ing within few rods of Simpsons cabin.
1t was recognized that hanging was
eminently proper method of treatment in
the case of a cat of such malevolent char
acter, and as for Monty himself more than
one man openly said that If he made any
trouble about the disposal of the cat he
would instantly be strung up to con-
venfent pine tree which stood close to the
witch-hazel bush.
The next morning a committee of six, led
by big Simpson, cautiously approached the
trench in which Monty was working. There
was nearly an eighth OF a mile between
Monty's claim and those of the other
miners. The latter had taken possession of
that part of Thompson's Flat which seemed
to hold out the best promise for gold. and
Monty, partly because he was a late ar
rival and partly because of his unprepos-
sessing appearance, had been compelled to
content himself with what was considered
to be the least valuable claim in the camp.
The committee made its way through
tie lOUS COdESe SIdSSs Hdu SpA dhS
up under the fierce heat of summer, and
was already as parched and dry as tin
der They had intended to seize the cat
before Monty had become aware of their
presence; and they were somewhat dis
concerted when Monty, with the cat
casped tightly in his arms, came run
ming towards them. There's Injuns just
over there in the woods he cried. tom
sighted them first, and after he'd called
me 1 looked and see three devils sneaking
along towards your end of the camp. You
boys, rush and get your Winchesters, and
I'll be with you in a couple of minutes"
The men did not stop to question the ac-
curacy of Montys story. They forgot their
designs against the cat. and no longer
thought of their promise to shoot the
boycotted man if he ventured to address
them. They ran to their cabins. and seiz-
ing their rifles, rallied at the saloon, which
was the only building capable of affording
shelter. 1t was built of stout logs and
its only door was immensely thick and
strong. BY firing through the windows the
garrison could keep at bay, at least for
q time, the cautious Indian warriors, who
would not charge through the open, so
long as they could harass the miners from
the shelter of the wood.