Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-11
ly Advertiser Publishing company.1

Copyright, Newark Daily A.
Dorothy Dear was telling Davie
a story, a scary kind of a witch
story that made big chills and lit e
shivers travel up and down that
young mans spine.
They were sitting in the library.
on the wide, slippery davenport, be-
fore a cracking fire, as cosy as two
little dear Dear bugs in a rug.
Davie was intensely interested, .
a trifle frightened, because when
she came to the exciting parts Dor
othy narrowed her eyes and
screwed up her fingers until they
looked like claws, and In spite of
himself, Davie would get to think
ing that every word was true.
THE black cats name was Nick"
Dorothy went on, "and Nick was as
black as night and a great deal
bigger than any cat you and
ever saw. Right on top of his head
there was a white spot about as big
as a penny, and this was the only
bit of white on him. They say II
was where a fairy patted him one
time, when he gave her a ride on
his back across the forest one eve
ming When 1t grew dark early and
she couldn't find her way.
"You see, Nick wasn't wicked at
all, even If he did live with witch
He was just a nice, good-hearted
cat, and cats don't know enough
to dislike people that are good to
them, no matter If the people are
wicked. Dogs are that way, too.
Even that terrible Bill Sykes, in the
story father read to us, had a dog
that loved him"
"He wasn't good to his dog,
though" cut in Davie.
"N-no." reflected Dorothy, "he
wasn't, but the dog loved him any
how. Dogs are funny, aren't they?
Fuunier than peop'e."
well. what about the old WITCH
demanded Davie, crossing his legs
under him, Turkish fashion.
"Le-et me see said Dorothy,
slowly. as she supported her round
chin in her right hand. II was tell
ing about the old witch's house,
wasn't I? We-ell, nobody had ever
seen the inside of 1t, and people
used to say the most dreadful
things. They said that under the
floor were the bones of hundreds
of children that the Old witch had
eaten. and that up in the rafters
where the old yellow owl sat and
blinked, there were" Dorothy's
voice sank to a shrill whisper,
"s-skull-'ls!"
"Oo-ch" Davie hr' tightly to the
back of the big sofa to keep from
L.. nj
recovered and said, breathlessly,
land then what?"
Dc~1thy ,m'led gleefully. She
loved to see Davie become excited
over her stories.
"We-ell," she said, pushing back
her hair from her farehead. away
over at the other side of the fores
there was a village, and the people
that lived in the village used to
wonder about the witch a great deal.
Many had seen her in the woods,
when she was gathering sticks for
he~ fire; but nobody had ever been
very near her house. because. peo-
pie said, th0re was an enchanted
circle about it and anybody that
stepped over the line was in her
power
what does that mean" asked
DAVE.
CT don't know exactly" de-
clared Dorothy, looking puzzled.
"all the witches and COLLINS, and
some dragons. have power to turn
peonle into animals and statues and
things. It's very queer, but they
do.
"Anywav, everybody was afraid
to step over this line. and nobody
would go very near because nobody
v,as s"ra &C 10 lust whore the line