94 MEMORIES OF MEN AND HORSES 



hearing that you were a chiropodist, and thinking that 

 you could, therefore, cure our poor cat there. For the 

 love of heaven, do, sir, or the Duchess will take on 

 awful. 



MUFFLER. Cure the cat? Well, I'll try. (Picks up 

 TOM by tail and nape of neck, and after a little manipula- 

 tion extracts fish bone from back of throat.) There, you 

 see, it is very simple. He is all right now ; but the 

 trouble is likely to recur if he gets a fish bone in his 

 throat again. 



MRS STOUT. Fish bone! Then you don't think he 

 was poisoned ? 



MUFFLER. Poisoned ? Of course not. What should 

 put that into your head ? 



MRS STOUT. Well, I didn't know what else could be 

 the matter with him, and Mr Johnson, the chemist, said 



he was poisonous 



(Enter JOHNSON.) 



JOHNSON. Excuse me, I said his scratch was poisonous ; 

 look at my hand (showing it). The cat, I see, is now 

 doing well. 



MRS STOUT (in amazement). And never was poisoned 

 at all? 



JOHNSON and MUFFLER. And never was poisoned at 

 all! 



SCENE IV 

 The Same 



(MRS STOUT. Enter MR JINKS, journalist.) 



JINKS. Madam, I understand indeed our editor has 



a telegram from the Duchess to say that it is her desire 



to have all the facts of this distressing outrage published 



as widely as possible. I represent The Daily Buster, and 



