The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1903-10-22
WATERHOUSE.

luihSU, uuu oO SOillS SuSp1CIOu VoSSSf1S
on his show. However, the people still
! paid their money to see the cat, and sc
Bob was satisfied.
He. was in the very heydey of his
prosperity when he returned to Fire
steel, where the cat had begun to whis
tie. He housed the animal in his little
dwelling and then sailed forth to meet
the inhabitants in his new role of a
conquering hero. He rather overdid
the part, and this it was that led to
his downfall, for, although his old
neighbors did not object to his prosper.
ity. they did object to his throwing ii
in their faces. .-,-.-. ....,
One evening he was sitting in Or
mund's place of business, and, as
usual, was talking about his remarka'
BILE cat and its still more remarkable
owner. After a while Doc Lee, Tom
Bowker and Bill Collins got up and
went out, one at a time, ,sbut as eight
or ten of the boys were left he paid no
attention to that and just kept on brag-
ging.
It must have been an hour or two
before they returned and sat down,
looking rather mysterious, but Bob
did not mind them; he went right along
with what he was saying: -
Z 81 tell you, gents, when that Iank-
ton audience of 5000 people came to
look at the cat"
/ ooh, blame the cat!"
Tom Bowker said that, and Bob
looked at him reproachfuily before he
continued: (
Gas was saying, when rudely inter-
rupted, gents, the cat
"I'm sick of your drafted cat. 1t
doesn't amount to whoop, anyway"
The boys except Doc Lee and Bill
Collins, didn't know what Tom meant
by these Interruptions, but they were
middling sick of the cat themselves,
and so they welcomed them. Bob
could see on their faces how they felt.
and he recognized that the time had
come for him to defend his source: Of
income, so be said: ..
THAT'S the most remarkable cat"
"It's nothin' Of the kind"
s.It's the only cat ever known that
whistles instead of yowling; positively
the only feline that MARBLES like CAN
ary an cfirps like a silver-throated
nightin-
"The deuce it is! I've got plain, OF
binary. yaller cat Of no special peder-
gree, an that never was advertised at
all, that kinwhistle all round your cat
an not halftry."
"You-you-what's that you say"
"PYe got cat that I've been ryin
to give away that kin whistle better
than yours kin" -. ...-.,,.. .s.,.-,.s-s.
How much money you got that says
se%' 3 Is - - q
"Well, I've got al hundred OF two. '
'I'll bet yeu thousand that your cat
can't whistle in the same day with
mine.", ......
Bob didn't expect the proposition
would be taken, but that amount just
sized up the pile that Tom had>brought
with him for the emergency, so he said
Done" and the money was put up.
PEBBLES would have been very we'll
satisfied to have had that end the matt
ter. but it didn't, for Doc and Bill then
offered to .bet five hundred each,
and he, hoping that he had sure
thing, and knowing that he must main
tain the reputation Of his cat anyway,
took the bets. Some Of the other boys,
too, got an idea or so, and within ten
minutes Bob had put up $4,000, which
was pretty near the total Of his avail
able capital .....,..-. 49,.
Then Tom went out and got his cat,
which looked as if it had lost eight of
it's nine lives and was considering the
advisability of letting the other go,
and the crowd Immediately adjourned
to Bob PEBBLES house to decide the
matter.
Bob set his cat in one corner, and
Tom placed his in another, and they
drew cuts to see which should stir bis
feline up first, that being the manner
In which Bob had been accustomed to
make his pussy whistle. Well. Tom
had to take the first try, and when he
punched his cat it let out whistle
that would have stood for successful
competition with q locomotive.
Bob's face showed that he was sur
prised and: middling anxious, but he
put on bold front and gave his cele-
brated cat punch to remember. She
let loose a genuine cat-yowl that was
success in its way, but nobody could
have mistaken it for whistle.
The look on Bob's face when his cat
did that was. something saddening to
remember, and the animal herself
looked both surprised and disappointed,
for she had been accustomed to the
adulation Of the masses, and she real
lied that her effort had not been
crowned with success. She tried again,
and it seemed almost as If she would
shed tears when she heard the result.
After the faithful creatures second
attempt Bob PEBBLES acted as if he
were almost dazed by grief. He looked
at Tom Bowker's cat and then at his
own; then he looked at the crowd in
dispirited way, gulped, and said:
take the money, gents; it's yours.
But after you've got it would-would
you have any objections to my-to my
looking in your cats throat:"
"None at ALL" says Tom Bowker,
reaching for the money in the stake
holders hand, ''but you'll have to allow
that it's settled, and"
Just then something curious hap
pened to Bowker's cat. 1t gulped,
gasped, threw itself on its back, and
clawed the air madly. At first the
boys thought the creature was going
into q fit, but after little it straight
ened up and appeared to be all right.
They had to chloroform the animal to
let Bob PEBBLES look into its throat,
but this was soon done, as he hap
pened to have some of the drug on