The San Francisco call., 1910-12-18


would have won for him a Carnegie
medal were they ever bestowed upon
cats. The wind was blowing at ter
rife speed. inspiring us with the dread
of fire that raging winds in the coun-
try always do. We talked it over be-
fore we went to bed Soon after mid
night, when we were in our first heavy
sleep. Peter began to get on the ram
page. / was lying quiet at the time
and absolutely giving him no occasion
for complaint. but he walked up and
down my body with discordant cries.
jumped down to the floor, ran to the
hall and back again, making hideous
noise all the while Nothing that 1
threw at him in the way of language.
boots or pillows had any effect in
silencing him.
THE FIRE PERIL
IF 1 get up I'll throw you out where
you can't get back l threatened.
Meow -ow" replied Pete.
/ got up to make my threat good. but
as 1 reached the hall 1 cried out in
alarm. The house is afire." and dashed
down stairs. l had caught sight of the
hired mans room in an l. of the house
through the hall window and had seen
it aglOw with a dull, angry red flame.
Rushing through the kitchen /
snatched a pail of water and hurried
up the back stairs to Henry's room.
The smoke was so dense that I had to
stoop to see the source of the fire. but
/ dashed the water on the spot that
it seemed to come FROM and, getting
the stupefied man from his bed thrust
his head out of the window. while l
ran below for more water. l was just
in time to save Henry, and perhaps all
of us, from death, end the entire prop
erty from destruction Ten minutes
nd ha
been vain. Peter was our savior.
We promised him. in the first flush
of our gratitude. all the potatoes he
could eat into a comfortable old age.
Good old Peter.
/ experimental with incubators and
brooders the following spring and Peter
took keen interest in my enterprise.
I'm not sure but that he thought
chicken was included in the blanket
amnesty we had given him when he
saved our lives and property from de-
struction by fire
Having tested the earliest and
daintiest spring chickens, he developed
a greedy penchant for them that deci-
mated my little brood appallingly
When 1 came home one day and found
30 fewer than had left in the morning
| foresaw annihiliation of my baby
Leghorns.
Peters cunning in the chicken raids
was In Keeping win ms character L
had not suspected him in connection
with the missing chickens until one
day when l inadvertently found him
near the brooder and saw him scamper
in guilty haste from the place Now
how did Peter know that ii was wrong
for him to be catching chickens? Up
to that time he had not been punished
nor even chided for ii. Yet his whole
attitude and his conduct were those Of
a guilty cat
When / next looked for him. after
missing more chickens. did not find
him where he had been before. But, ON
walking around TO the other side of
the brooder, there he was in the tall
grass, and, as before, he fled with all
the speed Of guilt.
Whenever l searched for him after
that | would discover him in some new
position in the vicinity of the brooder.
and as soon as he saw that he was de-
tected he would leap madly away once
1 saw him before the brooder was
opened i'm the morning hiding behind a
tree and waiting for the downy chicks
which had been shut up for the night