The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-10
A BASKET FULL OF KITTENS
Ry Phil Fl. Armstrong;

Obadiah Green. attracted by . small whining noise. on the front verandah,
 flung open the shutters and thrust his
 sabaceous features and bald head sur
 %Hunssa Window win ik froMn hssss cap out " '"'
 Casting his eyes auixicaliy down.
 ward. he espied a basket fuii of kit
 tens directly uislef his window,
 the face of Obadiah. as he leaned far
 out and reached for the basket and Its
 unusual contents. At length. with
 aeh sl Iii. aud S. h.
 his bed room. hastily pulled down the
 window and lowered. the shade lest
 some chance passer-by had observed
 Drawing back the cloth that partial ly covered them, he counted i've of the yoaas were s tsy each M ye5 one eryns his ed hls breakfast ana the bell boy had forgotten to call him.
 dressed hImseif Then lifting the bas- ket and it's ccttents. he went back to the kitchen. deposited 1t on the long carefully washed his hands. made q
 wry face, and at once went perfuncto- rily about his usual morning duties of preparing breakfaBt.s
 back porch where he had left it over night in a large earthen jar as was his custom, he gave the little beasts in u Childish delight as the rapacious iit- tie inips licked the platter clean.
 ! Picking each small cat up by the neck and depositing it on eshoor un- the basket turning 1t over and over and closely scrutinizing 1t in an at tempt to discover a mark or writing that would effer some soiuti6n1 i61 as o4 e4 Its sender. But he round hothihs. Hos even the slightest clue. |.
 The whole thing was a mystery; it was the practical joke of some boy sn the neighb9rhoSS oUla 0sadiaH ,s1 i%Tfe ew ana keep dark and somebody's hide would get e tanning"
 Obadiah was q solitary bachelor and inc suburbs of the .one -hoss" college town. He had occupied the house. had done his own cooking and cleaning UP and had minded his own business, nay- ns,d especially the female contingent. ever since his mother had died ten. years ago. Why he had never married no Sns n the ,t1n y,fSs soms s0als free from ai if e cumbrances. plenty of money. ana the whole village of girls to choose from
 He wasn't so old. either. But some tms: thi9gs agSs.Siab Sf was s9r an enigma that the town had long ago given up trying v In consequence of his solitary mode meals Obadiah had acquired sour, crsbby and dyspeptic disposition, a dis- position something ike . pas IaiI esI to make the comparison more ,,,, apdsDposs dra~ redhot iron into their midst. Perhaps this is the solution of his never having nlarried. a disposition that even q good home and plenty of money . ccsaSt ceuntry m fo
 fss His nnIy companion was big mangy dog as crabby and alsaBree- aDae fsw eommonplace remarks sufficed him for conversation and these were nniv rsassed in a matter of business He seIdom spoke unless spoken to, |. monotonous and As convent onsl as s fife could well be, and the episcSe as inc basket of kittens had been tne only thing to perturb its usual serehi- y oha M aiah's house stood but few yards from the girls ..SSS SSSs!eS Se.nr "a. auote the local paper, Tne ounS rrsa dies' Seminary" but IL 1sxst tSe enisode of inc Kittens with anyone of the na lnnapis 70 tants of the big dormitory across sne way The thought was too Rsep0Jhenl enl 0Ss the ss iaes 9f 9se sSaSeisg Os Cs venture dasds Of pfxht. No, he hastened 70 ols- nias that idea from his nina: mi nsvar,e for b z hs d nearly fallen asleep as he sat hsfore the stove contemplating tne pas ket of Kittens. came the .aaSis cries to remind him of their ex- istence and how dependent they were
 had truly white hnrssG s5sPhhaos Pahrousa ph Sis @ hands. and as ne a[sss, nus[s1 their cries Krew simply exasperating: ,.. ft csn be truthfully said that opa- diah scorched his grits ana pSTnaS ,Sr saffss nss
 oast, thss hat, %SEpiah aSa ths wR xroSnds S nearly "u Al last the meal was over and he had fed his dog being yEom gsrX ihe p1Eritt Eittsns, had keep him sysTv swsSa SalaS 1 and had settled %nsn S%,mself to figure olit the mystery: The more he thought about It ehe ino nre grew to believing selnIg.,an anaf setween I ct the iit- tis mewinK Kittens and the big froWn- ins dormifory across the way:
 Why not drown the little 6easLs; ana thst nnve ,vonld be an act of heartless cruel tv and deep down In the heart or ODa- dian there was a latent love TOT all ah' imal kind. No. he couiont oS sir M has. kat and placing them under the sL1vs where they would keep warm Cor0hn or tha thinking to dismiss the mater TOT the the time being. walked to the rent snon} 9h Sae vae rsndsh. started down town for hls "1e All ne walked down the steps. his eve fell upon a small object that gut tsrsS Mbat.s in sAf shisg sSH' said Obadiah as he
 "HhNa clue" he turned the object over in his hand and discovered IL 10 he 2 small enamelled pennant. or col iege pin such as girls year Mb,ch T's atooS sos Tor the college (though they stood for fhe college It was more than Ooadlah cnvld do7 while on the back were fSintly engraved in small letters the ih15lnts Hers was the solution of the kitten Those college girls had ac- tuaiiy had the audacity to perpetrate inc deed, and the ring-leader was probably Miss "A. R." . ,,
 "oh hoS Sny,.h my snars nave AsH Hon now. 4u have to do is to call upon the prin- cinai. show her the basket of kittens, and confront her with the pin, then Misa A, R. of the picturesque cogno- men VIII be ordered ire a1 1S 9;sh 5sGS her % bed clothes and hike home. ,,,.
 In fact Obadiah chuckled to himselt all the way down to the postomce. ne even condesc6nded to Speak pleasantly to a man he had not spoken to TOT nI3 teen years, man wno ha2 cno1'e" him in a horse trade.
 In his goodness of heart he gave boy 3 cents change that Wns left from buying a stamp with nlekIe, master that he caused that startled in- diyIdual to knock over bottle Of ink and spoil a dollars worth of stamps.
 Oh, all the world looked gooa 70