The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1912-02-19

wis " cucuD uluIiu ClUCk' Ht btl ~ iVA
half-past five. At that hour II nwolSe
him with extreme difficulty lie nwoke
Erebus with extreme difficulty. Five
minutes later they sailed forth into
bitter morning. armed with rags,
string and valcrlnn. They bicycled to
Muttle Deeping. There the Terror
poured valerian on one of the rags and
tied it to the bicycle of Ercbus She
started TO trail II TO the Cats Home.
lie rode on TO Great Dccping and
trnlled his rag from there. In the
Cats Home he found Erebus awaiting
him.
"That ought to catch the morning
cats" he said.
II did.
But the best-laid plans of mice and
men gang ait aglcy, when cats are
concerned
At half-past six the Twins went TO
bod They oversight themselves. 1t
.NYas hnlf-past nine before they had fiu-
ishcd breakfast. AS they rose from
the table the front door bell rang. and
Lady Rychampton entered the housc.
rhoy rushed 60 greet her. She greeted
the Terror with the greatest warmth;
Erebus. the instructor OF parrots. she
greeted coldly she greeted Mrs. Dam
gertled and Sir Maurice with unusual
eordnlity.
Then she said to tho Terror. "Now
take me TO your Cats Home mt once.
I'm dying TO sec Il. | always pnv sur.
prise visits to my Homes first thing IN
the morning ! came down last night
ana stayed nj the Plough in order to
be here first thing"
Az they came out OF the bGclS-door.
I,.t.. N..f Lee ~
high-pltched din. Az they walked
down the paddock. the din grew louder
and horrible. Sir Maurice was pnle--
tiny beads Of ,persplratiCn stood on bis
brow; they were cold The Terror
was serene.
"They lnusS he crewlng--crowng 10
welcome tire morning. said Sir Mahi-
rice family.
lie had lately seen "Chantcclers"
and the noise confused him.
Growing? Cats don't crow!" said
Lady Ryehamptph>. Y EN1
Those are stiie visiting cuts," said
the Terror firmly, in his clear, young
voice.. -,
YES" said the Terror... "We. Let the
, cats around about como TO the Homie
so that If ever they're turned out OF
their own homes they'll know whe@
60 come"
But wllat' are tneyy'uolnsH" said
Lady RychnmptGn& N.4AN.A a
at sounds 10 me MS II they were
quarrelng, They're like that,' said
the Terror
It did sound as II they were quaf
rcllng At the door Of the Home the
din was ear-splittlny. excruCiatlng.
llendiSh. II sounded rs II the voices
Of all the cats In the county were
raised in one piercing battle-song.
The Terror waved TO his klnsfolk to
stand clear then he threw open the
door. Cats did not come out A huge
ball of cats came out, gyrating swiftly
in haze of flying fur. Ten yards
; from the door IL dissolved suddenly
into its component parts, and some
thirty cats tore, yelling, TO the four
quarters of tho heavens.
After that battlc-song the air seemed
thick with silence.
The Terror broke It he said sadly.
81 sometimes think 1t sets bad ex-
ample TO the kittens" WreE
Yes; and | don't think they were
quarreling quite 0s badly as some
: times" said Erebus penslvely.
oil hAdhi lulHtu Nv III III lbt kilD
of some uncomfortable emotion. lie
walked hurrledly round to the back of
the Home TO hide 1t from human ear.
The grass was white and wet with
hoarfrost. He did not care he flung
himself down. BURIED his face In a
thick tuft, and kicked.
But the Terror ushered Lady Rye
hampton into the Home with an air
of modest pride. little dnZed. SHE
entered on n scene OF perfect pence.
Twenty-three kittens and eight cats sat
staring earnestly through the bars Of
, their hutches in dead stiffness. BY
a kindly provision of Nature they had
, been able, In the darkness. TO follow
, the fortunes Of that yoclferous fray.
, Their eyes were very bright.
In two minutes Indy Ryehampton
hnd forgotten the battle-song. She was
charmed-lost In admiration OF the ar
rangement of the Home. the fitness
= and healthiness of the kittens, the neat
= ness and the cleanliness. She gushed
! enthusiastic appreciation ITO think"
she cried, that you have done this
yourself A boy of thlrteen"
'Erebus did quite as much as |
did" said the Terror quickly.
"And Virgins helped a lot. He's n
, friend of ours" said Erebus.
! Lady Ryehampton's face softened
, to Erebus-to Erebns, the instructor
OF parrots
Then she said uneaslly, "But you
must be heavily III debt" III
'In debt?" said the Terror. "Oh.
no; we couldn't be- Mother would
; hate us to be in debit
, IL thought-ra Cats Home-Oh. but
| am glad | brought my cheque book
with me-" cried Lady Ryehampton.
} Sir Maurice was leaning ngainst the
door-post, wiping his eyes, Perhaps he
was affected by the peaceful scene.
perhaps not When they came out lie
contrlved to fall behind with the Ter
J ror. lie laid hand ON his shoulder
: and said, "rerror ! salute you. | sa-
} lutte genius, whenever / meet II.
have never met II before You have
: the mnklngs OF a millionaire IN you."
The Terror looked at him with euiIe-
less eyes; yes; ! know what you
! mean," he said ''Thoso visiting cats
were a little awkward,