The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1901-04-25

brown cashmere, her hair falling, her
cheeks pink with excitement, dashed
the poor little woman. She hurried
plaintively up and down, calling pite-
ously: "Juliana" and Kitty" over and
over. There was no returning new. no
furry form on shed or fence. Miss Egg
lantine could not bear to return with
out her favorite, and again and again
she hurried up and down, calling in
the greatest distress.
And while she called there rode into
the alleyway big man on a brown
horse. He had CHEEKY face and
kind eye. It was the bad man, J. Bar
ton Fenton. He looked at Miss Eg-
lantine curiously, but she fairly few
at him, SO eager was she for informa-
ton.
''Oh, sir, will you please find out if
your dogs killed my cat this afternoon?
She-she got out-and I'm so afraid
she is dead. She is pet-black and
white-and her name is Juliana"
The big man looked at her tumbled
hair, her anxious face, her quivering
lips and trembling hands. He took off
his hat and said, very gently:
II hope that the cat is safe. ] will
certainly see about it. Will you come
into the yard, there, at the side gate?"
Miss Byzantine obeyed, and in few
moments the bad man came out of the
stable.
"Fm very sorry to give you such
news" he said; "some one threw the
cat over the fence when the pups were
out in the alley. They took it as a
challenge and at once killed it,"
"Killed IT." repeated Miss Eglan-
tine, in weak voice; "killed Juliana!"
snow, I'm ever so sorry" repeated
her host, "and I'll do most anything to
make up. Have one of the pups?
They're capital fellows and have long
pedigrees. You can take your choice"
Miss Byzantine shook her head. She
could not trust herself to speak or move
for fear of tears. She only stared at
him in the most helpless way. In that
disheveled and abandoned hour some of
her girlish beauty returned. Mr.. j.
Barton Fenton felt his heart stir as
never before. Why, here was one of
those women that existed in books, all
heart, all sensibilities. She was really
of arother age.
Mr.. J. Barton Fenton smoked some
very black cigars that night and looked
gloomy. He could not get the sound
of those awful sobs out of his ears.
He soon knew all about the little wom-
an and her hard life, for his hostler,
Confey's, and the full extent of the
tragedy was revealed to him.
"Her paw gwine trh kill 'er some
day." said Betty, confidentially; she's
drinkin' hard. She don know what ails
'im.''
1t seemed a really pitiful tragedy to
Mr.. Fenton, the death of the one thing
the poor little woman had to bestow
any love upon. He felt much to blame
somehow. and took it out on the pups.
Then bright thought struck him, and
he sent Sam away on the brown horse
and haunted the stable until he re-
turned.
Sam had a cat under his arms which
yowied at every step. 1t was a very
black, long-haired cat, with large green
gooseberry eyes, and it had tail that
was thing to be dreamed about.
"Dish heah's one OBJ de fines of cats,
sah,' said Sam. with great respect.
"Dish heah cat is wuth forty dollahs,
she say. De woman dat sells 'em say
she send the bill to yuh Office to-mor-
row."
Mr.. Fenton regarded it with a crit
ical eye. All cats were alike to him.
ut would be pretty expensive
Observation-Disclosures if the old man
got frisky, wouldn't it?" unused Mr..
Fenton. "but I'll risk it. Now, how'll
we send it, Sam, so as to do it in
great shape?"
"Oh, I'll fix all dat" said Sam.
"You see, gets nice basket, and I
puts the cat in, and ties de top down
wild a red ribbon an keard. Den 1
gets big bunch OBJ red roses, an
wild dem two in my hans. I walks up
to de front do bell. I ring dat bell,
an Betty she comes, an I bows an
says: Desc hyar air foah Miss Eg-
lantine Confey, wild de compliments
OBJ ma marster.' Dab, amt dat
fine?"
Mr.. Fenton was quite red, but also
laughing.
"Well, that is a rather pointed way,
but l don't care. Go ahead. Sam, but
don't break me up on roses"
And so a beautiful and strange
thing went into Miss Eglantine's life
to comfort her in the dark days that
were to come. The immediate result
was a little pink letter of thanks.
one quantity worded and earnest. It
made Mr.. Fenton very thoughtful.
It was not week after that when
Sam brought in the news, one morn
ing, of Mr.. Confey's sudden and seri-
Gus illness. Then there were some days
of uncertainty. Mr.. Fenton sent Sam
over to help, and ventured on a
note of sympathy. Sam was full of
the affection Miss Byzantine had for
that new cat. 1t seemed pleasant