WINNING II EE WAY 



13 



"I don't know what I'm going to do with 

 Yon ! I can't keep running to the barn 

 witli YOU, and I don't suppose you'd sta}' 

 there if I did. If you ivill stay here, you'll 

 haYe to take the chances. But I tell you 

 what it is, Miss Spotty, you'Ye got to keep 

 out of the house. If you don't there'll 

 he trouble, as I'Ye told you before, and I'm 

 afraid to think what might happen to you. 

 You dear little thing, you don't know how 

 sorry I'd feel if something dreadful should 

 happen to you !" 



^lary hugged the kitten in such a close 

 embrace that the little runaway took it 

 for granted that she had been forgiven 

 for her disobedience, and curled down in 

 her mistress' arms, purring in a most 

 contented fashion. 



Mary knew very well that Spotty could 

 be induced to stay in the old barn no 

 longer, now that she had found the way 

 to the house, and' the problem of AYhat 

 to do with her came up for consideration. 

 She finally decided to make her a nice 

 bed in the old granary back of the garden, 

 and shut her up there nights. Of course, 

 it would be out of the question to keep 

 her there all the time, therefore the solu- 

 tion of the rest of the problem would 

 have to be left' to circumstances. Mary 

 hoped for the best and feared the worst. 



For a day or two Miss Betty did not 

 discover the new comer. But there came 

 a time when its presence was found out, 

 and trouble began immediately. 



"Fer the lan's sake I Ef there ain't a 

 cat hangin' 'round the house !" said Miss 

 Betty, from the kitchen door. Spotty was 

 sitting in the path, very much at home, 

 and washing her face with one white paw 

 in a most energetic manner. As Miss 

 Betty appeared in the doorway she sus- 

 pended operations and looked the woman 

 over with considerable curiosity. 



"Scat, there ! Scat !" cried Miss Betty, 

 flirting her apron at Spotty. "Ef I had 

 somethin' I'd throw it at ye. I jest abom- 

 inate cats. I'll hev to put; out some 

 p'ison." 



Marv turned pale when she heard that. 



Spotty to be poisoned ? It must not be I 

 How could she give up her little friend? 

 And to think of such a terrible death as 

 poisoning must be ! 



"Oh, Aunt Betty, please don't poison 

 Spotty !" she cried. '^Please don't I" 



"Ah, ha, that's how the cat comes to 

 be here, is it?" cried Miss Betty. "It's 

 some o' your doin's, eh? Wall, I guess 

 ye'll think you've had yer trouble for y'r 

 pains when it gets a good dose o' rough-on- 

 rats down. I'll fix some now," and Miss 

 Betty, seeming to take savage delight in 

 the child's distress, began to hunt for the 

 package of poison which she kept some- 

 where on the upper pantry shelf. 



She discovered that there was none in 

 the house. 



"I'll send fer some next time John goes 

 to town," said Miss Betty. "But 'twon't 

 make no diff'rence with the cat. I'll see 

 she's got red of. Ye needn't worry none 

 'bout that !" * • 



But poor Mary did worry about it. She 

 took Spotty back to the old barn that 

 afternoon, and fastened her in, as she 

 supposed. She knew that this gave only 

 a temporary relief to the situation, but 

 she determined to ward off the danger as 

 long as possible, hoping that something 

 might happen in the meantime that would 

 prove to Spottv^s advantage. 



The next morning Miss Betty had a bad 

 headache, and was very cross. Everything 

 went wrong. Mary did everything she 

 could to help about the work, and did it 

 well, too. Miss Betty could not deny that, 

 although she constantly found fault 

 with it. 



Miss Betty took the water pail and 

 started for the well. As she opened the 

 wood shed door Spotty darted in, and so 

 tangled herself up with the woman's feet 

 that she came near falling headlong out 

 of the door. The kitten, as soon as it got 

 itself untangled, sprang upon Clary's 

 shoulder with a mew of delight. 



Marv was washing the tin dishes which 

 Miss Betty thought it safe to trust her 

 with, and the sudden appearance of the 



