The Mason-bees 



short of criminal to abandon the poor crea- 

 tures, whom we had so often petted, to di- 

 stress and probably to thoughtless persecution. 

 The shes and the kittens would travel with- 

 out any trouble: all you have to do is to put 

 them in a basket; they will keep quiet on the 

 journey. But the old Tom-cats were a seri- 

 ous problem. I had two: the head of the 

 family, the patriarch; and one of his descend- 

 ants, quite as strong as himself. We decided 

 to take the grandsire, if he consented to come, 

 and to leave the grandson behind, after find- 

 ing him a home. 



My friend Dr. Loriol offered to take 

 charge of the forsaken one. The animal was 

 carried to him at nightfall in a closed hamper. 

 Hardly were we seated at the evening-meal, 

 talking of the good fortune of our Tom-cat, 

 when we saw a dripping mass jump through 

 the window. The shapeless bundle came and 

 rubbed itself against our legs, purring with 

 happiness. It was the Cat. 



I learnt his story next day. On arriving at 

 Dr. Loriol's, he was locked up In a bedroom. 

 The moment he saw himself a prisoner in the 

 unfamiliar room, he began to jump about 

 wildly on the furniture, against the window- 

 114 



