Woodruff County news., 1901-12-21


 them; no one could prevent him. and the cats themselves were helpless Helpless? Yes, indeed, poor little things! And they were so soft and downy. Felicia had caught a glimpse of them as she went down the hall. It may be necessary to science that some creatures should suffer, but surely it was cruel to sacrifice this whole family of six Angoras-the devoted mother and her five worshiped, nestling babies.
 The Professor was out Felicia half opened the door of his room and peeped In. The alluring picture of domestic felicity that met her eyes decided her. Madam, the Angora mother, lay pur- ring, sleepily on a soft rug before the hearth, while five little bundles of soft down snuffied and wriggled against her maternal side. In moment Fe- llcia was on the rug beside them her dark locks mingling with the white fur, five pink noses rubbing in a search ing, puzzled way over her smooth cheek. For five minutes she gave her self up to this quiet ecstasy; then puss, resenting this prolonged interruption of her family privacy, gently but firm ly showed her disapproval.
 Felicia sat up and pushed back the rumpled hair from her face; then she looked around her at Prof. Max Eger's apartments. Just what a professors rooms should be, she thought-books, books with atrocious titles every where, along with profusion of very f-ln nI-i in ;e his sleeping room. and beyond. Felicia saw with a shudder, was the labora- tory What horrible collection of skulls, bottles, test-tubes. alcoholic specimens and internal machines 1t. was! And tomorrow these little dar- Hngs might repose on that shelf in bot ties marked "Felis domestica, !" and that inhuman wretch would smile with satisfaction at his ghastly work and feel no ? ore compunction than if he had taken a worthless watch to pieces to find out how it worked. s Could she stand by and countenance this slaughter of the innocents? Her whole soul revolted against it. Her mind pictured the terrible process He would do the cowardly deed to-mor- row. It was Christmas, a holiday he might find a bore unless occupied in the pursuit of his favorite science. Oh she would stay here until he returned and dare him to touch hair of their innocent heads! Then he would calm ly look at her through those formida- ble glasses-not at her, but at the wall back of her head-in a way she had seen him do, and inquire how long since she had acquired the right to enter his rooms. If he should ever look at her like that she felt she would sink through the floor. No, she would not defy, she would beg, entreat. There was still the intrusion.
 She heard the landlady puffing up the stairs; she might be discovered at any minute One moment of hesita- tion, and then the six cats were bun dled, wriggling heap, into her skirt, and Felicia was flying up the hall to her room. Once there she threw her self, flushed and breathless, on the bed, while the mother eat, with little solicitous cries, licked and fondled her jostled children. Now, Felicia was no coward; three years of journalism had thoroughly trained her woman's heritage of nerves, but at every step that passed her door the color that never failed her even during interviews deserted lips and cheeks until they were as white as the kittens she ca ressed. For Felicia was afraid of the professor; afraid of his voice, wheth- CT harsh or tender. afraid of the dark gray eyes that could be both cold and commanding. When she finally had to leave the kittens she slowed them away in the depths of her laundry basket, locked her door, and went away feeling as if she had left behind her some dark and terrible secret.
 Christmas eve in a newspaper office is like any other evening in the year except that there is twice as much work on hand. It was past midnight when Felicia went up the steps of her boarding house. A mixture of rain and snow was falling, and the wind was sweeping around corners with velocity that wrapped Felicia's skirts about her ankles like mummy-cloth, and threatened to carry off her um- brella. While she was struggling on the doorstep a firm hand grasped the refractory umbrella and deep mas culine voice at her elbow said:
 Permit me, Mees Fay" Once in awhile the Professors accept was de- cided.
 .Thank you. Isn't this weather beastly?"
 ''It is very bad weather