THE MURDEROUS CAT 209 



huge colony of Petrels. A protected colony of 

 Least Terns on Cape Cod has been broken up, and 

 the game warden in charge reported that he could 

 not kill enough cats every night to keep the 

 ravages do^vn. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, 

 one of my books says, the most death-dealing 

 scourge of bird-life is the feral cat, which, in 

 most cases, is the stray cat that has resumed wild 

 life. He fears no law and knows no master. You 

 cannot train his claws not to rend, nor his teeth 

 not to tear. He is a beast of prey wearing the 

 disguise of a fireside pet. He is protected cruelty, 

 purring by the fire." 



Bull Adam smiled inwardly at these phrases, 

 evidently learned by heart for the occasion, but 

 not a line of his face relaxed its sternness. 



''Go on," was all he said. 



** Nobody has any idea," the boy went on, ''how 

 many bird-hunting cats there are in the United 

 States. Most animals are kept down by their 

 natural enemies. The cat hasn 't any, though, per- 

 haps, once in a long while, a Great Horned Owl 

 may pick one up. Besides, cats are protected by 

 Man. Farms and country towns are full of cats 

 which prey in the neighboring woods. The cities 

 are full of masterless ash-barrel cats. These 



