The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1909-06-16

"a heartiness in your welcome. The
result is that she is placed in an en-
barrassing position"
Its news to me that an old parrot
can be embarrassed"
"Perhaps so. l had no hope from the
first that you would make her well
come or have any sympathy for the
poor boy that had to part with her.
He had to hasten from the door to
keep you from seeing the tears in his
eyes. Another moment and he would
have burst into sobs."
Another moment, If he had seen a
policeman coming, he'd have jumped
of the stoop and over the fence. He
no doubt stole bird and cage some
where: How much did your sympa-
thetic heart dictate that you should
pay for the utft?"
/. Mr.. Bowser treated the question
with the contempt it deserved, and
there was long interval Of silence
be1bre he said:
can realize the feelings Of this
bird. She doesn't wish to be under
any obligations to you. I positively
/ forbid you to give her food or drink.
I will attend to those things myself.
And in the same breath warn you
against any malevolence. II I come
home any evening and find her with
a broken leg Of lying dead, there will
be "a, cataelysm around here. I shall
behble to lay my hand on the murder
er without trouble.e
Mrs. Bowser made no reply to that,
but went down to the kitchen to tell
the cook. about breakfast. Left alone
and bis heart still melting with SYM
pathy, Mr.. Bowser reached into the
cage, to take Poll of her roost and
tell her how welcome she was to the
house. She didn't come off the perch.
On the contrary, she hung there and
gave him such bite on the wrist that
he went dancing about the room and
using bad words. His sympathetic
heart got a bad jar, but he had to
conceal the fact from Mrs. Bowser,
who had no sooner returned than she
asked:
What were you cavorting around
the room for just now"
81 wasn't cavorting."
"And who were you talking top
"No one"
She seemed to doubt him, but moth
ing more was said, and after smoking
a cigar and glancing over the evening
paper Poll was carefully covered up,
the cat locked in the kitchen, and the
Bowser family went upstairs to bed.
Sleep had not yet come when there
was q wild, weird shrek from below,
and Mr.. Bowser bounced up with the
exclamation:
"What on earth ails the cat?"
Midnight Disturbance.
"Nothing. It's that old parrot Of
yours"
But it can't be. No parrot on
EARTH
There was a succession Of gurgles,
screams and shrieks, and Mr.. Bowser
ran to the head Of the stairs. After
listening a moment he said:
Mrs. Bowser, If that yaller eyed old
cat of yours has murdered my parrot
I will have blood in repayment"
"You know the cat is locked up" she
answered. Its that bird. There she
goes again. She's lonesome for you, or
else she's trying to swallow her own
feet. Why don't you 60 down and see?
If she keeps that noise up much longer,
we'll have the police in here"
"Where-where is my revolver"
'Nobody knows, and you don't need
It anyway. Go right down aud tell
poor Polly how your heart beats for
her and how mine doesn't. and she
may shut up. If she doesn't you will
have to sit up with her all night"
Several further shrieks sent Mr..
Bowser down the stairs and as he
lighted the gas and advanced to the
cage the bird uttered one terrific
shrek and fell off the perch and kick
ed its last.
What Is it?' asked Mrs. Bowser
from the top of the stairs,
Mr. Bowser did not answer. He
reached into the cage and gave the
dead body q cuff, and then, taking the
cage to the door, he gave it heave
into a snowdrift alongside the fence.
What was it, repeated Mrs. Bow
ser as he came upstairs with shivers
chasing up and down his spine.
what was it? What was it!y he
shouted. 1T was that you broke that
poor birds heart. and she is dead OF
grief. and tomorrow morning you can
take the train for your mothers and
stay there while the lawyers arrange
the divorce and alimony."
NJ. QUAD.