A girl, a hammock, a book and a day in June: a happy combination for memories, idleness and half-sadness, with no end of interesting possibilities that might come to one who loves and responds to the allurement.
It was one of those hot early June days in a California valley when all nature seems held in quiet suspense. The wonderful and unusual stillness brooding over this little sunny spot in the world, at last arrested the girl's attention as she lazily swung in the hammock under a group of giant oaks, and she let her book fall to the ground in unconscious neglect. Suddenly her ear caught a feeble wail borne on the quiet air, a sound that held her breathless, with a little sobbing catch in her throat. It was too indistinct to have attracted attention save for nature's sympathetic hush, and scarcely seemed separated from the throbbing silence all about her; yet, responsive and expectant she held her breath to listen to the secret it might unfold. The faint cry was insistent and at last revealed itself to her unmistakably as thetiny mew of a tiny kitten. When convinced of this she was roused to alertness in an instant for she had a special predilection for baby cats, the smaller the better. The pathetic little cry for help seemed to grow weaker and fainter as she blindly followed the sound, which finally led her to the loft of the stable. Even then, although she realized that she was "warm on the scent," she could not locate the exact spot this weak little mew came from. But presently she felt sure that it must come from the depths of a huge packing case, half-filled with books, which was stored in a far corner. The box being almost her own height, she could by no possibility lean over sufficiently for her eyes to pierce its dusky depths. Hastily getting a bench for a perch and a lighted candle to set at a knot hole half-way down the side of the box, she discovered its dark secret to be a small bit of coal black glossy fur, without much form or shape, lying flat as a pancake on one of the cold hard books; the tiniest mite of a live cat she had ever seen.
As she lifted the little limp, cold bunch to her warm hand, it ceased to mew and, she thought, to breathe, but she carried it to the house and found it alive and able to take a little warm milk from a spoon. With repeated doses of this nourishment at regular intervals the baby began to revive and at bedtime was quite a normal kitten, except that its frame was so unusually small and meager.
Thinking that the mother-cat would surely return at night to the place where she had left herone wee infant, the girl returned this "special edition" to the books in the packing case, making it as warm and comfy as possible. In the morning her first waking thoughts flew to her tiny protégée and on going to the box she found the poor little thing just as she had left it the night before—no mother, and evidently abandoned. This time, on carrying it to the house she made it a permanent abiding place and continued to feed it with a spoon, as it seemed to grasp with readiness the idea of getting its food in this fashion and after a few lessons, took very kindly to it.
The mystery of how this little orphan came to be in the case of books, alone and deserted, was never satisfactorily solved, although on inquiry the girl was told that a neighbor had found a black mother-cat dead in her laundry about the time of the discovery of the little kitten. It was thought that this must have been the mother of the little waif and that she had doubtless met with an untimely death.
At any rate, no mother ever appeared to claim the baby, so she was adopted and given the name of Thursday, that being the day of her advent. She was so wee that until she was able to help herself to a grown-up cat's food, she was always fed from a spoon, and soon grew to look upon this useful article as the source of all motherly comfort, and to take milk from it as the chief object in living. In all her after life, the sight of a spoon seemed to give her a thrill and it was always very funny to watch her keenness in discoveringanyone at the table using this, her foster-mother, which she, very naturally, regarded as her own special property. This ridiculously small defender of her propriety rights would make her resentment of this trespass on her claim manifest in various cunning ways. Often she would watch with impatient, glaring eyes, from her vantage ground, the floor, each and every spoonful, as it passed from plate to mouth, hoping in time to stare this particular offender out of countenance. But if her jealous, concentrated round eyes failed to attract the desired attention, when longer forbearance became impossible, she would jump to the lap of the transgressor, thrusting her little pink nose into the hand that had so basely ignored her indignation, and intercept the spoon with a dainty paw and a comical air of haughty rebuke, as if saying: "Little Thursday's! Have you forgotten?"
This impertinence, which the affront had been designedly coaxing forth, never failed to bring her a very substantial reward, and certainly no reproof. And so the baby was spoiled and encouraged in her wilful little ways which were considered the "cutest ever." There was never a time in all her life when she would not willingly leave affairs ordinarily attractive to cats, to come and sit serenely on some lap, with a bib about her neck, a sweet smile of peace on her face, to be fed with a spoon. She never reached the full stature of an ordinary cat, but grew into a wondrously beautiful little beastie and developed the most independent, self-contained, evasive personalityimaginable, for a cat. Looking no more than half-grown she was the very perfection of dainty symmetry, her coat a solid glossy black, almost blue in its depths. She was remarkably quick in her graceful motions, even for a cat, and had the dearest little round blue eyes, just scintillating with mischief and flaming with an inordinate love of fun which radiated to the tip of her inquisitive little nose and from there to the quivering end of her wicked, ecstatic tail. She also possessed such queer twists in a highly strung and very nervous temperament, that her erratic moods were variable and often startling surprises. But she was always singularly human and steadfast in one feminine quality and that was in liking to do just as she pleased. One of her "queer twists" was, at various intervals, to have sudden spasms of hilarious gaiety and to give vent to these frantic spells in play that were the times of her life. She never had any company in these grand romps, but was strangely independent and wildly happy, the imp of play which had possession, seeming to have endless sources of its own in the way of society and amusement. She would race "sideways" through the house, her "baby blue eyes" black as coal, turn double "upside downs," and play a kind of hide-and-seek all by herself, plainly just play for play's sake until her frolic, which sometimes rose to a frenzy, had exhausted her crazy mood.
Among our precious lares and penates, was a magnificent Irish setter, a handsome fellow with a coat of wavy golden red hair and eyes of suchbeseeching softness that he won all mankind. Until the advent of Thursday he had been sole proprietor and sovereign owner of the sunny back porch and playground, not to mention the hearts he ruled. But with the coming of the little black lady all his previous rights were changed, she, with nonchalant impudence, taking cool and unchallenged possession of all, including the king himself, who seemed one of her most willing subjects. She quickly learned and presumed on her power over him but with heroic patience this handsome fellow yielded glad obedience and was ever ready to bend before her small feminine coquetry, his gallantry seeming boundless. Like a knight of old, he was always rushing to her rescue and ever espousing her cause, using his strength generously at all times in her behalf. If she happened to cry within her privileged precincts of the house, screened from his entrance, if he was anywhere on the grounds within sound of her call, he would instantly come to her succor, peering through the screen with such an anxious, troubled expression in his dear goldy-brown eyes, his head turned first on one side and then on the other, a way setters have when trying to fathom mysteries. Having satisfied himself that she was in no serious trouble or in need of his gallant protectorship, he would lift his appealing brown eyes to us with an air of unutterable reproach for his unnecessary disturbance, and drop to the floor with a huge sigh, perhaps to try again for a few quiet winks. Life with him was no longer dull or lacking in color after Thursday became a member of our household,but was full of rich and varied interests for every waking hour, which were many more than formerly, as it was only under the greatest difficulties that he could get even half of his accustomed hours of greedy sleep through the interrupted days. Of old, his choice of pleasant places of repose had been the shady back porch, where he would stretch himself at full length, his velvety ears lying broad and flat, and he still indulged himself in this chosen spot, although under difficulties. For Thursday had soon learned that to snuggle close to his curly coat meant warmth and comfort, but not for the dog, for it teased and worried his naps dreadfully to have her cuddle so close. However as he seemed loathe to surrender this adopted spot, his by "right of domain," he was most gentlemanly and patient, never even saying "bow." When sleepy time came the kitten would boldly hunt his resting place and nestle under the softness of his downy ear for her siesta. Feigning sleep, his nose between his paws and one eye half-open, the dog would bide the time when she was fast asleep and then, most cautiously and carefully, draw himself away in order to have his ear to himself. Little Lonesome, feeling the want of her comfortable covering, would sleepily creep under his ear again and the setter would again, with touching resignation, watch his chance and get away. This exchange of courtesies would go on until the dog evidently realized that he might as well give up and let the little wilful torment have her way. Or there might be times when he would get hislazy self up and off, but even this manœuvre might be only temporary relief, if the kitten still longed for his companionship. Never once was the dog known to growl or fail in politeness, even when the kitten trespassed on his hospitality to the extent of selecting such dainty bits from his dinner plate as pleased her fancy. At such times he would stand by, big and stern, wistfully watching the choice pieces disappear, and patiently wait until she had finished her selection and was seated on her haunches near by, washing her little black face, before he would presume to take that which, in her gracious indulgence, she had left for him. In this elaborate ceremony of her toilet, she would sometimes pause, and with a kind of pensive wondering, gaze at her now greedy host. In this attitude, with one tiny paw raised meditatively, and her mouth half-open showing a bit of pink tongue between her gleaming teeth, she looked as if actually smiling in supreme affability on an attendant chamberlain. At all times, the attitude of affected condescension assumed by this mite of a kitten toward her big gentlemanly comrade, was so absurd as to be very funny.
THURSDAYAs She Never Attained the FullStature of an Ordinary Cat, She AlwaysLooked But Half GrownBut Was the Very Perfection of DaintySymmetry, Her Coat a SolidBlack, Almost Bluein its Depths
THURSDAYAs She Never Attained the FullStature of an Ordinary Cat, She AlwaysLooked But Half GrownBut Was the Very Perfection of DaintySymmetry, Her Coat a SolidBlack, Almost Bluein its Depths
And so the summer and fall months passed and the dog and kitten grew in friendship and intimacy and were an endless source of interest to the family. Unfortunately for these pets, the country home was soon to be broken up and closed for the winter. Thursday's devoted friend and protector, the setter, was sent to the hunting lodge, and a home was provided for the kitten with a friend who lived only a couple of miles away.
The girl cherished this little darling kitten which she had rescued, devotedly, and was very sad at the necessary parting, but never dreamed for a moment but that she would be the only one to experience any regret. She thought, of course, that the heart of her apparently frivolous little pet would readily accept the new conditions without a homesick thought, as it meant the same kindness, food and shelter to which she had been accustomed, and to leave her alone at the country house was out of the question, as it would be to risk letting her perish with cold and hunger. So the kitten was carried to the home of the friend and left, with a big heartache but, as the girl thought, only on her part.
The next day through the telephone came the report that Lady Thursday did not take at all kindly to her change of residence, but expressed a decided dissatisfaction with the new order of things, scorning all food with a painfully injured air, staring straight ahead in black misery, ignoring everybody and all overtures in the way of coaxing, petting and comforting. Every means possible was tried to make her feel settled and as happy as a kitten ought to be in such a good home, but all in vain. Late in the afternoon this bonnie wee bit of homesickness appeared at our door, looking so pathetically small and weary, but still determined, that it made the tears come just to look at her. She was as quiet and demure as an injured saint but there was an anxious wistfulness in her big pleading eyes that went straight to one's heart. She evidently realizedthat she had transgressed the law in eluding the vigilance of her keepers, and in running away, and her trembling little heart was thumping a wild tattoo. But her mental and physical rapture at being in her own home once more was glowing in triumphant satisfaction in every movement. And that she had been shrewd enough to find her way back all by herself in a road where there were no sign-posts a cat might read, but only scent for guide was also obviously a source of great self-congratulation to her. This demonstration of preference on the kitten's part for her home, and for her, was a surprise to the girl and touched her heart, for she had not thought her saucy, independent little favorite capable of such deep appreciation. It was so evident that this obstinate little pet objected to this change of abode that it was with the greatest reluctance that the girl felt forced to send her back again. There surely could be no mistaking the small queen's sentiments in the matter, for her manner was so haughty and reproachful. It might be a lovely joke her perfidious family were playing on her, but they had made a sad mistake, if they were serious, to think for one moment she would condone such treachery or that she would tolerate the other house as home, even for one day. She bestowed a royal "not-to-do-it-again" sort of threat on all, but in spite of her scathing remonstrance, she was told of the absolute need she had of another shelter, consoled and again carried to the distant home, rather than be allowed her stubborn way and left at the deserted countryplace to take her chances against starvation and neglect.
This time the little black visitor was shown special attention by the rather indignant friends of the girl, and more carefully guarded. If she showed a tendency to wander, she was made a prisoner in the hope that she would soon forget her former home and accept the inevitable, which from their point of view, was certainly very nice. Although the kitten was unnaturally patient and seemed to look upon their soothing efforts with a desire to be soothed, time showed that she remained, through all, unmoved in purpose, proving that in her apparently indifferent and trivial nature there were depths that had not been suspected.
The great master passion of home-love and, for a small cat, a tremendous wilfulness were developing in her sturdy little body. She would not be reconciled to this new home but was slyly on the alert, constantly devising all sorts of shrewd ways in which she might cheat her keepers and gain her end.
One day toward evening, their vigilance being somewhat relaxed, owing to her seeming submission, she managed to escape. She had been very crafty in her "seeming submission" as it had evidently been only a subterfuge, for she showed she had not been vanquished by any manner of means, or even discouraged by the delay. All the time she had seemed so sad and passive she must have been only biding her time and opportunity, scheming all the while desperately infeminine ingenuity to outwit her jailors. When finally she was rewarded, and the instant she was free, she went scampering down the path, through the timberland, taking by instinct the "short cut" which was the nearest and straightest way to the one place on earth to her, each bounding step keeping time to the homesick beat of her heart.
Oh, poor, plucky, obstinate morsel of a kitten! If there had only been some kindly hand to have turned you back; turned you back from that demon, hungry and savage, lying in wait for you in the narrow path through which you were sure to pass! Oh, that there had been some Spirit of Pity that cherishes the kittens, to have had a saving compassion on you!
But on sped the flying feet, with eyes blind to all but the one big home-impulse that was giving her the courage of ten. All grief, disappointment and heartaches forgotten as the old friendly place grew nearer and nearer. Down through the valley and up the fatal hill, racing as fast as she could go on the ragged path, clearing brambles and ditches and fallen tree-trunks with flying leaps, turning neither to the right nor the left, going straight for home. Panting and throbbing she finally reached a tiny roadway among the briars and undergrowth, a narrow trail seldom used except by small fur and those in a hurry, like Thursday. Faster and faster she went exultingly on through this shadowy thicket to the next descent, and deeper and deeper into the depth and mystery of the woods, where loomed a silent murderer, set in rabbit land for the unwary, whichhad marked this little pitiful victim to clutch in its fatal curve.
Have courage, little Thursday, and turn back. Oh, in mercy turn back and save yourself from the horrible fate of this half-concealed shadow so near to you now! Or, halt an instant and go round this deadly trap. Home is so near, only a little way now. Home! Home! almost in sight, in answer to the burning desire in your heart. A sudden stop! The twinkling of a black shape twirling in the air, and the path is empty!
The deadly grip of the cruel wire has borne Thursday home in a flash.
A MINE, A MINER, AND A CAT
The mining camps of California in the days of '49 are full of romance and history and any man who has once tasted their free independent adventure can never more escape the influence. The gambling chance which every miner took in those fascinating days, is continually tempting him again to the old life. This charm, which that most merciless Enchantress of the California Hills casts on all alike, is unfathomable, and grips the mighty as well as the weak. The quest of gold, which rewarded some and eluded others in those days, still has a grappling temptation to every man who has once been under its spell. To the pioneer Californian, it is a summons forever luring him to that old battle ground round the big shaft where the sky is big and it feels good just to be alive. You will find that the old-time miners forever chafe in the dullness and conventionalities of any humdrum existence along commercial lines, and for any slight excuse will exultantly take the wide tramp road that leadsto what they call "God's own country." They are found ever eager to give body, and soul if necessary, joyously, in the intoxicating excitement this fickle sorceress holds out to them in the game of chance which they thinkmustwin in the end.
One of these sturdy relics of the early days in the golden west, after years of struggle and vain trials to settle down into the drudgery of precarious success in trade, grew tired of waiting for the miracle of prosperity to even begin to happen, and was in despair. In his blue discouragement those dream ghosts of the happy mining days were ungovernable in their insistent presence and pulling at his heart strings with an almost visible and steady line.
Long ago when he first came to the west, in the mad rush after gold in '49 he had been one of the "pardners" to locate and work a certain claim. In the fever and scramble of making a fortune in a minute, and expecting to pick up handfuls of gold with little trouble, this company had become discouraged at the slow profits yielded by this claim, and had abandoned it upon the report of much richer discoveries farther on, he following with the others. During all these years that he had tried to settle down into steady, legitimate business a haunting certainty had grown in his mind that they had been too hasty in abandoning this mine. The remembrance of a promising lead, which had been discovered in one of those hustling days and which, in their breathless hurry for big lumps, had not been followed faithfully enough, and consequently had been overlooked andforgotten, obsessed his present gloomy outlook until it could no longer be ignored.
One especially desperate day, when affairs had been unusually irksome, he sat down in dejection and thought deep and hard on this inward and tantalizing urge to the old mountains. Immediately following this quiet hour with himself he gave up the effort of trying to succeed in his present uncongenial work, and throwing discretion to the winds, yielded in glorious abandon to the call in his blood, ringing too loud to longer oppose. Fortunately there were no ties of family or responsibilities other than business to shake off, so shouldering his pick and shovel, treasured through all these years, he joyously started with his chin up and his back straight, for the splendid freedom of the old familiar hills. His destination the long abandoned claim hidden away in the far-off wilds, where there was a chance, sure, and no one had yet, as far as he could learn, discovered the "lead."
He determined to go there again, to work it alone this time, and to be deliberate and to stay with it until the hillsdiddeliver up to him their royal secret. To this miner-man it meant life, real life, health and above all, freedom, with a big chance of a fortune. If it were a fool's folly, he would gamely take a "flyer" and abide by the result at any cost.
So this strong-handed, broad-shouldered man, big in heart and big in soul and a lover of the silent places, in answering the call of his old miner days, set his hopeful face toward the great mountainsand the days to come, in reckless venture, with only faith, a pair of strong arms and a pick and spade to help him solve the problem. It is a well-known fact that these men going into the wildness and loneliness of these rugged heights, cherish a cat as indispensable to their camp life; as important an addition to their "grub stakes" as beans and coffee. And so intimate do these two become under their isolated, and often desperate conditions, that an almost human friendship and affection springs up between them.
At the last trading post nearest the mine the man planned to "outfit" and to secure a four-footed partner. The cat he thought would be so easy that he never gave it a second thought, but on his arrival at the little town busied himself packing and getting everything in light transportation order for the "return horse" on the morrow. These arrangements off his mind, he got very busy in looking about for the last requisite, a cat. His intentions in regard to acquiring one were perfectly honorable. He would beg one if possible, buy one if necessary, but he must have a cat at any price, not only for its company and usefulness, but in accordance with all past traditions of mines and miners. There were cats and cats a plenty in this little mining town, clinging to the rough side of the granite hill, but, as it seemed, none to spare. Not one to give away and not one to sell, and he might as well have tried to barter with the air, as no price or accommodation could induce any one of them to part with one of their precious little beasts,and he was in despair. After strenuous hours of vain persuasion, which had eliminated the question of choice or price in regard to the cat, he had gone to the public house for supper, exhausted and out of patience, but none the less determined on having the desired "partner." The early starlight found him sitting on the dark veranda, solitary and alone, pondering the cat question, not as to spots or breeding or even a cat, but as to which, and how. He must have a cat and these people being the last resort would have to furnish it at whatever cost. With his chair tilted back, his hands deep in his pockets and his face turned heavenward he seemed to be looking at the stars for inspiration, and from the short, quick puffs and lively glow of his pipe, it was evident he was thinking hard. After he had finished his smoke in silent cogitation with the sky, he seemed to have settled the difficult problem to his satisfaction, for when he rose to "turn in" there was the gleam of a slow smile on his rugged face. Knocking out his pipe and brushing the ashes from his breast, with a huge yawn, he stretched his arms up over his six feet of length, hardening his muscles for the morrow, and sauntered indoors for the few short hours of rest in a bed, which luxury he allowed himself as a grand finale to civilization.
In what seemed to him but a moment later, it was the next morning, and throwing aside the blankets he was up and out in the chill gray dawn without disturbing any of the household. As the eastern sky lightened the purple mists, he trudgedcheerily along under the frosty twinkle of the receding stars, his back to the dusty little hamlet and a triumphant smile of contented satisfaction beaming on his happy face, turned toward the gleaming snow peaks of to-morrow. No one would have suspected this big happy tramp of having an infamous secret on his conscience or have surmised that he harbored a wee felony snuggled closely inside of his outer flannel shirt. As he had been in somewhat of a hurry in committing this crime, he had not been over-scrupulous in selecting any particular kind of a cat. Still, as he was at last in possession of a live kitten, a something he felt he could not have faced the solitude and silence of his lonely camp life without, in sweet content he would never be critical. This victory in the small matter of a small cat, attested well for his future, showing that he had resources and skillful ways of his own in circumventing an adverse fate, and that he was made of the stuff that wins in the end.
Just as the white mountain peaks, far above the timber line, caught the first pink glory of the coming sun, the man with the light of hope in his dark eyes, reached the foothills. He crossed the first low divide, and in the sheltered ravine beyond stopped beside a tiny trickle of snow water, flashing gently down among the boulders, and made camp for breaking his fast. Here for the first time he took from his bosom the scraggy little treasure for which he had risked his honest reputation, and which had safely slept, curled in its snug quarters, all the way.
The very first act of the astonished small tenderfoot on this rather rude awakening and introduction, was to make a wild dash for liberty, which came near being a total eclipse of their acquaintance. It was only after a very lively chase, in which the man had to hide his terrible anxiety and to use the utmost patient cunning, that the frightened little animal was captured by his more than frightened mate. In the quiet moments that followed, when they were sizing each other up by the comfort of their little friendship fire, their intimacy began. In admonition his baby highness was given a serious and profound lecture on the futility of having such independent ideas as he seemed to possess. The poor little motherless captive looked meek and helpless enough beside the big man, and in this big unknown world, his great baby eyes glancing and searching about in vague apprehension; but although he was terribly puzzled over the situation, he was finally brought to reason and to the straight and narrow path of obedience.
With a firm and tender touch, electric with love and sympathy, the man stroked his prize, answering the questioning, luminous yellow eyes so steadily fixed on his own dark ones, with a gaze of such mysterious power and assurance that the kitten sat charmed, with curling paws, the wonder-stare melting into one of understanding and implicit trust, that was to be lifelong. So comforting was the man's trick of hand and voice, that this trying moment ended forever all controversy as to doctrine or discipline between them.From that momentous time on, as long as they lived together, they fought out the grim battle in moments of importance, as of one mind. Already the touch of his master hand and the sound of his commanding voice had taken tight hold of the baby heart and held it like magic, and as the kitten grew in wisdom and caution he learned to trust this big man more and more, as one who understood and sympathized.
In resuming their tramp, the rougher country began and the trail was a puzzle. The man could not find even a ghost of a track, as he worked his way through the thick masses of underbrush, for it had been years since anybody had traveled this way. But mile after mile, crossing cañons, over small mountains, up and down, in and out, the hardy pioneer picked his difficult way across the trackless country, going straight, guided by a miner's mysterious sixth sense, which is an instinct enabling him to see things and read things to which others are blind.
Toward the last of the daylight, on the second day, these tired tramps, the man footsore but with unwearied spirits came upon the small clearing of the old mining camp of the halcyon days of '49. Once it had swarmed with eager, buoyant men, but now it lay deserted and wrapped in solitude. In great exhilaration they took possession of the one and only remaining dilapidated shack, standing, dark and doorless, silhouetted against the fading light. Nobody had been in this forsaken place or probably thought of it for years and years. In its prime it had been a ratherpretentious cabin of the regulation kind built of logs but was now only a suggestion of its former grandeur. Hordes of small furry tribes were "holding down the claim" and using its shelter to rear generations of their kind. The fireplace, with its great outside chimney, built of mud and rocks, was standing intact, the smut of the old log fires still clinging inside where myriads of bats had hung their nests against its sooty walls.
The new arrivals took possession of this old-timer under a torrent of abusive, squeaky protest that sounded very much like "cussing," this intrusion into their domain being highly resented by the present tenants. But the strangers had come with a purpose, and to stay, so took possession of the hut as with a flourish of trumpets, making preparations for the night, scattering the scolding families to temporary hiding, and anticipating no end of fun in banishing them forever to their own territory. In time the miner settled down into a daily routine of business and pleasure, with only the cat and the solemn and magnificent trees for company. He was wholly happy in getting the cabin into living order, delightfully systematic in regulating the primitive housekeeping arrangements, and shamefully contented with the homely result, but always on the lookout for golden possibilities. He was not conscious of a dull or lonesome moment in the heavenly largeness of the pure mountain air, but every day was one of stirring fascination to him in the thought of what might come with the next turn of the shovel.
The great peace and majesty of the California mountains, glowing in their summer fulness, was marvelous to the city man, who had been aching for these exuberant heights so long. The crisp keen air was like wine in his veins and made his blood tingle. As he bared his arms with cheerful determination his whole being thrilled and he struck and dug into the flinty rock with a strength born of a faith, that however he might blunder, the gods would be kind and he would come to his own in the end.
Each wonderful day was followed by another as wonderful, the weeks speeding as lightly as homing birds. If there were troubles that sometimes seemed dark and dreadful, and difficulties hard to overcome, the two were happy, the cat being the very heart of the camp life and living on the most intimate terms of love and equality with his devoted master in the leveling process of their primitive life. The kitten had grown into the utmost splendid stature of his race, going from strength to strength, being all muscle and nerve, unusually broad of chest, looking as if bred to the mountain fastness and able to endure all sorts of pioneer hardships. His baby coat was now thick and silky fur and was growing more glossy and beautiful every day, so that the man in his pride gazed upon him with an eye of rapture in the possession, and felt sure that in his successful raid into the enemy's camp, he had unwittingly stumbled on something beyond the common kind. Handsome, shining and saucy, he was wonderfully wise and cunning for a cat,having no equal in the chase. The vain little creatures of the forest, grown bold and reckless and almost fearless during the years that they had been unmolested, did not have half a chance, and learned that they must exert their utmost to escape this cruel forager.
THE CATThe Kitten Had Grown Into theMost Splendid Bigness of His Race,Handsome, Shining and Saucy,All Muscle and Nerve, Unusually Broadof Chest and Looking as if Bred tothe Mountain Fastness andAble to Endureall Sorts of Pioneer Hardships
THE CATThe Kitten Had Grown Into theMost Splendid Bigness of His Race,Handsome, Shining and Saucy,All Muscle and Nerve, Unusually Broadof Chest and Looking as if Bred tothe Mountain Fastness andAble to Endureall Sorts of Pioneer Hardships
It was in the evening, when pick and shovel were standing sentinel in the corner and the chimney sending its curly blue beacons of comfort toward the sky, that this wonderful "pardner" of the miner shone in all the glory of his domestic virtues, giving the rough cabin the grace and semblance of home. This evening hour bestowed happiness on both the man and the cat, and marked the very height of their goodfellowship. The man, his day's work over, steeped in the tang of the pine logs roaring in the huge fireplace, was at rest and at peace with all the world, puffing voluminous clouds from his pipe. His drowsy friend, too, was filled to the heart with the warmth from the ruddy logs and, in blinking satisfaction, would occasionally relieve his overflowing gratitude by low throaty murmurs of blissful content. These tranquil hours by the fire certainly atoned for many hardships, and feeling such a glow of nameless satisfaction in the snug, solitary enjoyment of them, the thankful man was more than compensated for all the sacrifices he had made. Being a willing, self-imposed exile, he felt that his blessings were more than he really deserved.
In the narrow canon at the base of these mountains, closing it in on both sides, was where theminer was following the old lead in which he had so much faith. In the rocky bottom grew scraggy fir and pine trees and in the crevice at the very bottom, a little stream hurried along, a trifling affair at this time of the year, but in the winter assuming the proportions of a raging torrent, as it was fed from the great volume of water that fell from the heights above. Here the miner washed his "pay dirt" at the "clean up," and it was also the cat's happy hunting ground, for it was the home of the wood mice, chipmunks, squirrels and other "small deer" nutting among the pines and going their ways boldly and busily, thoroughly intent on the business of living and making a living.
The cat roamed these wilds freely, foraging unchallenged, exploring with eyes and nose every tree, hollow and boulder, for he, too, was a practical, busy cat, making a living, as he had to work out his own salvation in this respect. He certainly had the right of way in this world of forage, and the thrifty little bodies that in the days of abundance would prepare for a day of need, had to be very wily as to where they laid their stores, for the cat would nose and ferret out their most secret hiding places.
One morning the miner, taking his dirt to the ravine, found the cat vigorously digging in the loose earth at the opening of a gigantic fissure in the rocky peaks, a fissure that led in gradual ascent, its sides sheer and steep, to the peaks above. So intent was the cat on his quarry that he did not notice his master's greeting, but keptthe dry earth briskly flying to the right and left. The man supposed, as a matter of course, that he was on a scent and had cornered some game in its den, and in careless sympathy thought to help him out and struck his shovel deep into the loose earth. As he turned the heavy load he gasped, for he found it freighted with sparkling metal. He rubbed his eyes in wonder, dazed with astonishment, looking first at the cat now sitting demurely by with a satisfied air, as if he had done his part and then at the twinkling scales of gold blinking up at him as he shifted it through his shaking fingers. This sudden realization of the hopes of all the long hard years and the past months of active search, staggered his faculties. In a bewildered way he fingered the gravel in his hand, and wondered if it could be that he had "struck it rich" this time; if so, it was surely this prince of cats, either by chance or luck, that had proven the cleverer prospector of the two.
He followed the deep narrow gulch on and on, up and up, not for an instant suspecting the marvelous wealth it would reveal. He was lured on by frequently finding deep and rich pockets of yellow ore, mixed with water-worn loose rocks and dirt, which evidently had been collecting in this rough trough for a million years, washed down from the steep sides and many peaks above and around.
When night came down, shutting the cañon in absolute darkness, it roused the man from his golden dream with a start, and he straightened his bent, aching body and mopped his hot forehead.His first thought was for the cat, totally forgotten through all these absorbing hours, and an instant of self-reproach for fear he had not followed, but had gone back to the cabin at the usual time. At his startled call the neglected cat came rubbing his comforting presence about his feet, showing that he had been faithful all through the long day in which he had not been noticed. This God-sent lucky chum, that had brought him the great good fortune, had unmistakably an air of triumph gleaming from the depths of his great black pupils, and his beautiful sleek body assumed an attitude scandalously near a swagger, as if waiting for this opportunity to presume on his partnership in this affair, to advise his master that they had better be getting home. The miner instantly recognized the justice of his impertinence and caught him up in his arms, and they camped right there where they were through the short, starry night, hugged close.
At the first faint glimmering of day, the miner and the cat found their way back to the cabin. The man had pulled himself together by this time and had his nerve steadied back into its wonted control and his brain normal, in good working order. After his night's rest, in which the calm had returned to his overwrought imagination, he was able to meditate reasonably on the good fortune which began now to assume definite shape. To convince himself past all doubting, he drew from his pockets the yellow proof. There was no doubt about its being the real thing and helifted his hat in gratitude to the cat, for this little prospector had certainly opened up for him the best lead in the whole country. The magnitude of what this developed was more than he ever dreamed could be. It seemed to him that all the gold that God ever gave to the world was in that one gulch, and there it lay unappropriated from end to end. It was like an Aladdin's fairy lamp, a gift of the gods. Millions were there and all there was to do was to pick up the yellow lumps. How this golden placer could have lain there, hidden in the sand and gravel of this fissure so long undiscovered, was a mystery that baffled even the miner's most profound attempts to conjecture. He had simply to accept his good fortune with a glad heart, as one of the favored caresses of the Enchantress of the Hills. His luck in being the "hundredth man" was, he claimed, all owing to his wonderful mascot, that in a time of desperation he had just gone out and annexed. His mate shared sympathetically in the sense of well-being in these great days of success, and must have realized, from the almost reverent homage that was accorded him, that he had played some very important part in winning the game.
And the partners linger and linger, rejoicing in the big loneliness of this little paradise all their own, ever happy and without a care, their cheery hearts growing bigger and bigger in unbroken friendship. The miner knows that just "over yonder," beyond the purple twilight, is the busy world and that he can "clean up" andgo back to things and the life of people of affairs at any moment. Yet he stays on, loving this life under the sky, of joy and independence, hardship and adventure, with its splendid achievement, too much to make any change in the happy order of things.
AÏDA AND SAADI
The contented purr of "Home Sweet Home" on the hearth, by a resident kitten, was the one touch of coziness lacking in our newly acquired country bungalow.
Seeing an exhibition of thoroughbreds advertised, with many for sale, a trip was made for the sole purpose of filling this pleasant need in our comfortable chimney corner, and so making our little ménage complete. On arriving at the crowded display rooms, where each cat's family ancestors were found carefully recorded, the problem of selecting the correct kitten, among so bewildering a collection of purple pedigrees, was a rather serious one. They all looked so fuzzy, chubby and attractive that we wanted them all, and it was impossible to decide on just one. After long and careful consideration, two babies were finally selected for their special beauty and daintiness, as the ones most likely to blend harmoniously with the crackle of our cheerful fire, and the singing of the evening tea urn in our bungalow.
The homeward journey, with the tiny princesses carried carefully and almost awesomely, was one of suppressed, but anticipated triumph, in being the fortunate possessors of something worth while in cats and something that would doubtless become real blessings under the careful training and wise discipline we were already planning.
On reaching home and joyously throwing back the cover of the padded traveling basket, we found the expected excitement painfully lacking; there was no eager bounding of the released little captives as would be most natural in ordinary kittens, and which we had expected twofold in these extraordinary ones, not even a friendly mew—just an awkward silence, with two of the most pathetic, tired looking bunches of royalty staring up from the basket, with frightened eyes.
We gently lifted the scared, chrysanthemum-like blossoms of fur from the basket and silently but proudly placed them on the floor in order to display their blue-blooded points, that all might be properly awed. But even then, in spite of their beauty, which all acknowledged, they failed to make any sort of pleasant impression, but lay just as they had been placed, crouching almost flat in shrinking terror of their new surroundings. As they cowered there in cringing, pathetic helplessness, they looked like almost anything but kittens to be proud of, and the audience smiled incredulously, while I as their sponsor in momentary chagrin and contrition, wondered if, perhaps, in pride, I had not been too ambitious inmaking a selection of such royal daintiness. For, might it not be that the solemnity of such a long line of lineage would result in their being a terrible disappointment as mere kittens, and what we had planned on having was nice, fat, cheery, comfy playfellows. The poor small mites of big pedigree were certainly woefully depressing under the present strain, and at this rather inopportune moment it was cheerfully suggested that I might possibly have done better in my investment, and perhaps realized a greater profit, with the homemade "just cat" variety. But I ignored these sarcastic insinuations and would not be disheartened, for my treasures were of the renowned Persian species and I was still hopeful that the purity of the blood which circulated in their veins would yet prove its worth. Even to the skeptical, they showed that they were unmistakably the real article by an elegance of finish throughout, and that they were of the purest breeding, for their coats were unusually long, with soft, full, fluffy scruffs and little tufts of hair growing out of their thin pink ears and between their darling chubby toes.
At first itdidseem as if, with their advent, a rather serious and unnecessary responsibility had been thrust upon an inexperienced household, for the risk in rearing these tender thoroughbreds was perhaps too great to assume without the aid of a natural parent. Fortunately for us, the melancholy period of their abrupt and rather shocking orphanage soon passed, and under our loving care the memory of mother gradually faded away.They grew and throve like plain ordinary kittens and soon began to frolic and take on the gladness of life, in spite of the deprivation of a real mother's cuddling and nursing.
As our acquaintance grew into one of weeks, we discovered that there would be no lack of entertainment, for the royal babies took life in doses of "doing things" most of the time. Surely no one could accuse them of being bereft of temperament, as we had feared, for they possessed an intense and heartbreaking inclination for excitement in various varieties all the time, quite enough to reassure even the most doubting that we were in no danger of not getting our money's worth in lively kittens. In fact the innocent infants' progress along the lines of cute and daring adventure caused daily and almost hourly shocks, as they seemed uncanny in resourcefulness and absolutely fearless in devising all sorts of startling surprises in the way of miscellaneous mischief, counting that day as naught and unprofitable which brought forth nothing new in the way of satanic curiosity and inspiration for getting into trouble.
The whole household fell under the spell of their charm and were their faithful adorers, the kittens being the deities before which were offered up daily homage, and all lent a helping hand in their "spoiling" as well as in their education. In no time, it seemed, they became quite accomplished in the understanding of certain words taught them in painful seriousness and were soon trained to ask for many little services with suchcharming and almost human ways as to have conquered the most obdurate heart, had there been any. They were wondrous wise and certainly marvellously clever for kittens, and we could not help being very proud and a little boastful of their achievements along kitten lines, as well as of their strikingly elegant appearance. There was nothing commonplace about them. Even their wild and hilarious playfulness was high tragedy, having such concentration of energy in it that, as they grew older, it developed into a big bump of bad, bold destructiveness. Also, time proved that they possessed a decidedly feminine and insatiable love of investigation and a tragic thirst for information, especially in natural history.
This swelling protuberance of inquisitiveness as regards the earth and its various productions of feathered creatures was taking them nearly every day on long excursions into the near-by woods, often keeping them absent for hours at a time causing us growing anxiety as to their safety. As this trip to the woods became an almost daily after-breakfast custom my curiosity was roused to such an extent that I determined that I, too, would stroll forth the next morning to contemplate nature, and if possible, incidentally discover the fascination that was keeping the infants so much from home. The suggestion that they might be even looking at the little birds with evil intent, made me indignant; it was unbelievable those ingenuous eyes could be so guileful, yet somehow I shivered with a vague premonition. Resentfully I argued that they were too young forsuch cruelty; moreover they were of such royal blood, princesses of their kind, that one could hardly imagine their doing anything so scandalously plebeian.
However, the next morning, with secret and rather ominous forebodings, I sauntered away in the bright May sunshine, through our old-fashioned garden and up toward the woods, two small downy puffs bounding along by my side as lightly as if blown by the wind, their round little eyes like shining suns in their tiny fluffy heads. They scampered aimlessly, far and near, their heels a-tingle with mischief, poking their noses into all sorts of out-of-the-way places and having a lot of terrifying experiences, getting frightened at everything that could possibly be made into anything scary. They were so seriously determined on investigating all alluring possibilities that not a moving thing escaped their vigilance, from the bees in the bushes to an aeroplane that flew overhead; nor would they have failed, if possible, to help it along with their paws or turn it over and make it go the other way. Occasionally they would stop and scent a flower or perhaps glance warily about, Indian fashion, pretending to see nothing, but raising their eyes with a sweet pretence of innocence to the trees, especially, I noticed, if there happened to be a twitter among the branches. In fact, they appeared to think there was something truly wonderful about those trees—the plain ordinary green ones with the usual number of fine feathery limbs in which the birds love to rest their wings. Further than that,however, their conduct was absolutely blameless, and as we all scurried home I was comfortably convinced that the matutinal walks of these dainty elegances were simply due to an overpowering longing for the green things of earth and the fresh air, possibly from the tree branches, but just the love of being out of doors, with a special desire to enjoy the wonderland beauties of our own woody range, in which we ourselves took great pride.
While still in their tenderest baby days, the kittens developed such an ardent talent for clinging together in all their activities that they seemed like two branches swayed by the same breezes. It was more than the usual natural bond of kinship, even between twins; more like something prenatal, as if one thought instigated all their doings. They ate together, walked together, snoozed together, and were never separated; to see one was always to see both, and everything that happened took place in pairs. They breathed one common atmosphere of trust and faith in each other. Their little feminine hearts may have been often false to us, but to one another they were always faithfully loyal, enduring with unswerving devotion in this oneness everything good or bad that was theirs to share. In living mischief and in the joy of their great discoveries, they were always as of one mind. Ever frolicking together in the sunshine of happy days and generously sharing the sorrows of this vale of tears on hard ones. As one galvanized body, they went through kittenhood in good and bad ways, suffering and enjoyingin the everlasting bond of an alliance offensive and defensive.
Their good qualities were so many, and their allegiance to the entire household apparently so faithful, that it came as a sickening disappointment when a little murdered bird, the result of their prowess, was brought and laid at my feet. After this there was no further mystery or doubt as to their inward viciousness, and that it was pure murder-lust just for the delight in the killing was shown by their never once offering to eat their victims. Sometimes they would bring them home and simply "lay them away," and sometimes leave them, all bloody, under the trees. Feeling that I was the one most responsible for the morals of these little heathens, and the one most blamed for their wickedness, an ardent missionary fever began to burn in my indignant blood, and I secretly determined that there should be one hand, strong enough in love, to at least discipline this scandalous feature in their otherwise gentle breeding. If our little aristocratic babies could not live in friendship with our feathered beauties of the woods, they should be forced by some kind of vigorous training to leave them in peace; for we loved the little birds, and their sweet songs in our woods, too much to be reconciled to any such disloyal warfare upon them.
It was with a sinking sensation that I sadly and quietly followed the marauders one morning as they stole off for their usual "after-breakfast" diversion of seeing things in the woods. I was firmly resolved to find out how and where the fledglingswere captured and cut off so untimely in their innocent careers and took good care that the kittens did not see me or know that I was waiting grimly in hiding until I could catch them red-handed, and there could be no mistake.
At last my time came, when the degenerates were both crouched near a tree, with wide open, flaming eyes cruelly set on a little chirping songster. Then as they crept forward with eager desire and all the cunning stealth of plain, common, feline ancestry, and were just ready to spring on their unconscious game, I burst upon them in such a frenzy that it frightened them into a state of absolute dismay. But before they could feint, the pair of abject and convicted criminals were hustled back to the house in terrible disgrace, and, hardening my heart, such discipline and argument was administered as was deemed expedient.
Naturally better things had been expected from such beautiful, saint-like looking cherubs, who did not have to make a living by their wits, and this depraved, red-flame blood lust in their being was a double surprise and disappointment.
Under surveillance, these injured innocents became very artful and sly and would resort to all sorts of deception in order to avert suspicion. If caught loitering about their favorite hunting ground, the hypocrites would dally about in gaping pink yawns of boredom, in the most indifferent manner, or play Jack and the Bean-stalk by darting madly up the trunk of a tree and chasing their own tails down, just to show that joyous exercisewas the chief, and in fact the only reason for their fondness for the woods. There was no doubt but that they understood perfectly their transgression, and if they were discovered in the delirium of the hunt, we faithfully did our dark and dreadful duty. But they took their discipline so meekly that it was simply heartbreaking to see their tiny, shrinking little bodies after such rudeness, hiding in out-of-the-way places, with terrible fear in their big scared eyes, that were wont to look up at us in such love and expectancy. The touching resignation of these tiny criminals under our correction made us feel almost ashamed of our power, especially as they seemed so superior to it. Moreover it did not seem to make any lasting impression, nothing resulting from such painful experience to both, in the way of reform, that could be detected by the naked eye. But, as we explained to them over and over again, if we had only been able to correct this one little evil in their hearts and make them half as penitent and guileless as their beautiful, remorseful eyes looked, our pains would have been rewarded by their becoming the very best of citizens.
Bearing so calmly and patiently our severity, as if suffering an injustice, they fortunately, bore no malice in their baby hearts and neither punishment nor disgrace could suppress for long their indomitable spirits. Although they acted for the time being as if their hearts were broken, smashed beyond repair, as soon as it was deemed advisable for consolation to be administered, they were coaxed back to life and soon were as fearlesslyand beautifully happy as ever, trifles of this kind passing as a little summer cloud in their otherwise blue sky. From their humble resignation they evidently took this peculiar morality on the part of big mortals as being just one of the mysteries included in their cup of experiences in this queer world they were trying to fathom, but in which they had expected only sunshine.
There were times when they escaped vigilance and, in spite of the retribution which we surely had impressed upon them would follow as inevitably as a shadow, they would abandon themselves recklessly to their one dissipation and we were helpless before their defiance.
These disgraceful pets of ours were known to come back from such gory adventure, unshamedly, with the blood of their victims still wet on their lips, telling the horrible tale without apology. After such a stirring incident they usually seated themselves very close together on the porch steps, singularly calm, their two hearts beating as one, their little pink noses at the same angle high in the air, in that habitual attitude of "united we stand or united we fall" which was always and ever their bond of fellowship, and simply await unflinchingly for developments. If an accusing finger was raised at these demure hypocrites, their meek expressions were simply angelic, as if they were just waiting for halos. Under threatening and closer scrutiny, they would sanctimoniously lift their round, reproachful eyes and insolently lick their impudent chops as if scornfully saying:
"Oh, lady, you surely do not suspectusof having seen your birds this morning?"
Their innocent and demure air was positively exasperating and we were in despair over the prowling slaughter which made our hearts ache. In the stress of many other affairs, however, we feared that we would be obliged to give up our strenuous watchfulness and let these murderous little beasts pursue their deadly war on the feathered tribe as they willed, when one joyful day we discovered in the column of "What others have found out," a permanent remedy.
A quiet resolve was taken and another trip to town, and now these dainty little aristocrats go about in quest of experience with gleaming collars about their throats, upon which dangle little tinkling bells, so that they never escape the music which gives warning of their approach. From their look of appeal and almost of terror when these warnings sounded the first alarm, I imagine that it has lessened their confidence in the kindness of mankind and taken a great deal of joy out of the world for them.