"Tick-Tock" Talk 



fault of staying out late o' nights. 

 He is just a model; that's all you can 

 say about him. And I use that word 

 advisedly, for he was first cast in clay 

 or something, then duly decorated, set 

 in an oven and baked, and lo! behold 

 the best kind of a cat in all this world 

 a life-size china cat! 



I dearly love a good dog, and I have 

 no quarrel with those who may be 

 fond of cats, but to my mind the 

 best cat is like the best Indian. They 

 may be all right around old barns and 

 corn cribs built before this cement age 

 of ours. I suppose they scare some 

 rats away, and now and then get one, 

 but you can get more effective rat and 

 mice exterminators at the druggist's or 

 your hardware dealer's that eat no 

 meat and consume neither milk nor 

 songbirds, so I stand by our china cat. 

 As a living-room decoration he fits 

 in with the clock, and adds a little 

 touch to the picture made by the fire 

 at night. 



[105! 



