<h2 class='c006'>CHAPTER II<br/> <span class='large'>A CAT'S REFUGE</span></h2></div>
<p class='c010'>Where am I? Can I collect my thoughts
and reflect a little—was there ever such an
unhappy cat? Only last night I sat and
purred myself to sleep beside my dear
mother. Pressed close against her soft fur,
I had no thought of harm, and now where
am I? But I must not be silly. Let me close
my eyes, and purr hard for a while, then
sense will come to me.</p>
<p class='c000'>I must not open them. When I look round
this room, and see the shadowy form of cat
after cat, I think I will go crazy—and yet
what a simpleton I am. I am safe here.
Danger is over; let me be thankful that I
escaped as I did.</p>
<p class='c000'>Well, to go back to this morning. The east
wind was out of the air. When mother and
I, and father, and Serena, and Jimmy Dory
came yawning and stretching out of the sitting-room
<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>and looked down-stairs, the hall
door was wide open, the sun was pouring in.</p>
<p class='c000'>Mrs. Darley was so glad. She just loves
sunshine. She went round the house opening
doors and windows, and just as soon as
breakfast was over, we all ran out on the
sidewalk.</p>
<p class='c000'>Cats get dreadfully tired of a back yard,
and the back yards on Beacon Hill are so sunless
and dull. We like fun and excitement—a
little mild excitement—as much as human
beings do. So my father and mother sat on
the big sunny stone door-step, while Serena,
Jimmy Dory and I played on the pavement.</p>
<p class='c000'>We had a tiny round pebble that we were
rolling with our paws. It was such a funny
little pebble. I pushed it, and danced, and
caught it in my paws and tossed it, and had
a beautiful time, until my mother began to
warn me.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Black-Face, don't go down the hill;
there are bad boys there. Keep up here.”</p>
<p class='c000'>“I don't see any boys,” I said wilfully.</p>
<p class='c000'>“They will soon see you if you go down
there,” said my father severely.</p>
<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>I didn't believe him, and I thought my
mother was fussy. I see now that little cats
have to learn by experience. Nothing would
have convinced me that there were bad boys
at the foot of the hill, if I had not seen them
and felt the grasp of their unkind hands.</p>
<p class='c000'>While we were playing, the little pebble
suddenly began to roll down hill. How fast
it went! I watched it for a few instants, and
then something said: “Go after it, Black-Face!”</p>
<p class='c000'>I tried hard not to. I looked back at my
parents sunning themselves on the door-step,
I stared at Serena and Jimmy Dory who were
cautious young cats, and rarely disobeyed
their parents.</p>
<p class='c000'>“I'll just snatch it and run back,” I
mewed hastily; then I ran.</p>
<p class='c000'>I caught the little pebble, but alas! Something
caught me. Just as I put my paw on
it, I saw out of the corner of my eye a group
of boys standing in a near alley. I turned
to run, but it was too late. One of them
sprang toward me, and seized me by the
back.</p>
<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>Then he started to race, not up the hill, but
further down. I was nearly suffocated with
fright and pain, for the boy held me so
tightly that I could scarcely breathe. No one
had ever clutched me like this before. I had
never been whipped. I had never been
roughly handled, for Margaret and Billy
were good children.</p>
<p class='c000'>This boy was a monster. His face was red
and dirty, his eyes were bulging from his
head, and he stumbled as he ran, so that I
was afraid he would fall on me and kill
me.</p>
<p class='c000'>I may as well say here that the boy was
not as bad as he seemed to me. He had not
stolen me. He was merely having some fun,
or what he called fun. He was some poor
child that had had no one to teach him to be
kind to animals. He did not dream that I
was suffering. He did not think that a cat
was capable of suffering.</p>
<p class='c000'>So he hurried on and on, and some of the
other boys ran yelling behind him. I don't
know exactly what streets he took. I was too
terrified to notice the way we were going,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>but soon I saw a river in the distance. Was
he going to throw me in it? Half choked as
I was, I dug my claws in his coat, and gave
a frantic “Meow!” for, like all cats, I hate
water.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Boy,” called a policeman suddenly,
“what are you doing with that cat?”</p>
<p class='c000'>My captor was frightened and dropped
me, and he and the other boys turned and
ran back. You may be sure that I made a
dash for liberty. I sprang wildly past the
policeman, and not daring to follow the boys
who were going toward my home, I leaped
into a narrow, dirty street where there was
a dreadful confusion of wagons, cars and
throngs of people.</p>
<p class='c000'>I threaded my way among them all—I
don't know how I escaped being killed—until
finally I was forced to pause for breath.</p>
<p class='c000'>Unfortunately some boys and girls saw me
and gave chase. I don't think they wanted
to hurt me. They wished to catch me, but I
was in terror again, and ran into an alley.
They followed me, so I sprang on a heap of
boxes, and then to a low porch.</p>
<p class='c000'><span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>The children discovered me there, and
while some tried to coax me down, others
threw stones at me. I looked up desperately.
There was no help for me on the ground, for
a big boy had begun to climb on the porch.</p>
<p class='c000'>I examined the sloping side of the house
roof. Then I leaped on it. Two or three
times I fell back, but at last I succeeded in
making my claws hold. They were fine
sharp ones, or they never would have done so.</p>
<p class='c000'>In two minutes I was on the very roof of
the house, panting hard, my heart almost out
of my body, everything black before my eyes;
but I was safe.</p>
<p class='c000'>There I saw that I was free from pursuit.
The children had gone away. At the same
time, the roof was not very comfortable. It
was cold and slippery, for, by this time, the
lovely sun had gone behind a cloud, and soon
I began to be very uneasy.</p>
<p class='c000'>I thought of my father, and mother, and
Serena and Jimmy Dory—that distressed
group at the top of the hill—for I had had
one glimpse of them as I was snatched by the
boy. Oh, why had I not minded my mother,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>and not run away from home? What was
going to become of me? Must I spend the
night in this dreadful place?</p>
<p class='c000'>I thought of my little blue and white
saucer that Mrs. Darley's kind cook filled
with milk for me every noon. “Oh, meow!
meow!” I cried pitifully. “Will no one
help a poor little cat?”</p>
<p class='c000'>A skylight in the roof opened, and an old
man's face looked out. Such a kind face, but
still I did not trust him, and moved away to
the other end of the ridge pole. “Little
cat,” he said seriously, “there is help even
for such as you. I will go seek it,” and he
disappeared.</p>
<p class='c000'>I did not know what he meant, so I continued
to cry piteously. I wanted my mother
and dear Mrs. Darley. I was too far up to
be heard from the street, but a few persons
opened near-by windows, and looked at me
indifferently.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Only a cat,” they said. “Let her get
down the way she came up.”</p>
<p class='c000'>“Oh, dear! dear!” I mewed, “must I
stay on this roof till I perish from hunger?”
<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>For now it was beginning to get dark and
cloudy and to look like rain. “Oh, meow!
meow!”</p>
<p class='c000'>Just as I was giving up hope, the skylight
opened again.</p>
<p class='c000'>“There she is, sir,” I heard the old man
say, then a young man put his head out, and
looked at me.</p>
<p class='c000'>He had a good face. I'm only a kitten, but
I've found out that if a man spends his life
in doing good, he has a good face.</p>
<p class='c000'>I trusted him, and yet I was afraid to go
to him, if you can understand that.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Kitty,” he said soberly, “over there,”
and he waved his hand toward the heart of
the city, “is a place where lost dogs and cats
are sheltered. Come to me, and I will take
you to it. Come——” and he held out his
hand.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Oh, meow! meow!” I said, “if I go to
you, perhaps you will throw me away down
there in that raging, horrible street.”</p>
<p class='c000'>“No, Pussy,” he said seriously, shaking
his head. “No, I never have deceived an
animal. Come here, and I will put you in
<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>a nice basket where no one will see you, and
I will carry you through the noisy street.
Here——” and he threw me a tiny piece of
liver.</p>
<p class='c000'>Now, I am very fond of nicely cooked liver.
I think it is vulgar to eat it raw. Fortunately,
I caught the liver, and it did taste
good, and made me think more of the man.
He still had some in his hand. I smelt it, so
I crept timidly toward him along the roof.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Poor Pussy! poor Pussy!” he kept saying,
and presently I was eating from his
hand, and he was stroking my ears as I ate.
Then he stepped back quietly into the room.
He didn't try to catch me, but he put the
liver down where I could reach it.</p>
<p class='c000'>I peeped in through the skylight. The
young man and the old man were talking.
“Yes, sir,” the younger one was saying,
“we've got a refuge for dogs and cats, but
it isn't half large enough. I look at the
matter this way. The animals are put in the
world by the same Creator that put us here.
They've got their rights. Give them their
share of room on mother earth, and if you
<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>don't love them, and love to take care of
them, and you worship only your own selfish,
old body, then take care of the animals out
of that same love for yourself.”</p>
<p class='c000'>“That's so, sir, that's so,” and the old
man nodded his head.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Because,” the young man went on, “a
neglected animal is a diseased animal, and a
diseased animal is a menace to the millionaire
as well as to the pauper. Germs of disease
can't be fenced in. So I say, kill sick
and homeless creatures, if you can't get a
good home for them.”</p>
<p class='c000'>“Would you kill that cat?” asked the old
man pointing to me.</p>
<p class='c000'>As his hand pointed toward me, my nose
pointed straight for the skylight, but the
young man re-assured me.</p>
<p class='c000'>“No,” he said thoughtfully, looking me
over, “that is a young, healthy kitten,
and part Angora. We'll get a home for
her.”</p>
<p class='c000'>By this time I had had enough liver, so I
went smelling round the little table where the
old man kept a basin and pitcher of water,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>and like the perfect gentleman that he was,
he got up, and gave me a drink.</p>
<p class='c000'>Then I went to sleep. I was dreadfully
tired, and I knew that I could trust those two
men, so finding that the softest place was the
middle of the old man's bed, I jumped up
there and had a beautiful nap while they
went on talking.</p>
<p class='c000'>I didn't sleep very soundly, and as soon as
the young man rose, I rose too. He stretched
out a hand, took me up gently, and put me in
a nice, lined basket. Then he covered me up,
and said “Good-bye!” to the old man.</p>
<p class='c000'>I didn't like the basket, but I wasn't
frightened. Soon I heard round me the roar
of the street, then the jarring of an electric
car. Then, after a good while, I felt that the
young man was walking rapidly along another
street.</p>
<p class='c000'>In a few minutes he stopped short, opened
one door, then another, and then the noise of
the street fell away, and I heard other
noises.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Well, Mr. Green!” a woman's voice exclaimed,
“here you are at last. Do give me
<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>whatever you have got. Two urgent calls are
waiting. One for a mad dog in a yard on
Tremont Street, which, of course, means a
poor wretch which has been chased till he is
foaming at the mouth, and another for a cat
and kittens deserted in a cellar on Washington
Street—Do hurry.”</p>
<p class='c000'>I felt some one take the basket and lift the
cover.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Oh! a kitten, and half Angora,” and a
pleasant-faced young lady looked down at
me. “Well, she must go in the cat-room.
Mercy!” and she slightly raised her voice.</p>
<p class='c000'>I stared about me. I was in a kind of office.
There was a large desk and many pictures
of animals were on the walls. Then a
nice, motherly-looking woman came in, took
me up as if I had been a baby, and carried me
into a hall, and up some stairs. She talked
kindly to me all the way up, and presently she
opened the door of a room, put me down
gently, paused an instant or two to see what
kind of a reception I met with, then went
away.</p>
<p class='c000'>I gazed about me. Where was I? Was it a
<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>party? I had never seen so many cats together,
not even in the biggest yard congress
on Beacon Hill.</p>
<p class='c000'>The room was large and beautifully neat
and clean. Around the walls were boxes and
baskets, and in many of them cats lay asleep.
Others walked about the room, some ran up
to me—mostly young ones—and asked my
name and where I came from.</p>
<p class='c000'>I put up my back at first, but when I saw
they were all kindly disposed, I put it down
again.</p>
<p class='c000'>“What is this place?” I asked, sitting
down against the door.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Why, this is a cats' home,” said a young
thing with a yellow face. “Have you never
heard of it? Sick cats, lost cats, starved
cats, bad cats, good cats, young cats and
old cats are all brought here. You're kept
several days, and if you're not claimed,
you're mercifully destroyed, or else given
away. I say, do you suppose you'll be
claimed?”</p>
<p class='c000'>“Be what?” I asked.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Be claimed. Will your folks come to look
<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>for you? I wish mine would,” and she
gazed wistfully at the door.</p>
<p class='c000'>“I believe they lost you on purpose,” said
a little white kitten spitefully.</p>
<p class='c000'>My new friend had to box her ears for this,
so I turned to another cat who was politely
offering to show me around.</p>
<p class='c000'>She pointed out the warmest sleeping
places in the room, then she took me out
through a little swinging door to the roof-garden.</p>
<p class='c000'>Just fancy—a roof-garden for cats. I was
delighted with it. There were little trees in
boxes, and big pans of water, and a wire netting
over all to keep the cats from running
away.</p>
<p class='c000'>“No boys could chase you here,” I said.</p>
<p class='c000'>“Oh, no,” my new friend replied. “No
one chases us. It is a lovely place, but still
it has a serious drawback.”</p>
<p class='c000'>“A drawback,” I repeated, “what is it?”</p>
<p class='c000'>“You will see—just wait.”</p>
<p class='c000'>I have seen. I have found out that all these
cats are homesick. Now bedtime has come,
it is dreadful. They all look sad, and some
<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>of them are moaning in their sleep. They
have all been used to human beings. Cat
society is not good enough for them.</p>
<p class='c000'>Down below in the courtyard, for this is
a dogs' home as well, we can hear the big
animals crying out and howling. They are
dreaming of their dear masters and mistresses.
Oh! I hope Mrs. Darley knows about
this sheltering home for animals, and that she
will come in the morning to get me. Good
night, dear father Piebald Prince, and Mother
Dust-and-Ashes. I am not with you, but I
hope you will sleep well, and not think about
me. Good night, Serena, and Jimmy Dory.
You are often provoking, but I love you both.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>
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