134 Pussy Meow 
he took no notice of me. 1 he house was very still, 
and everybody spoke in a whisper ; I could not un- 
derstand what it all meant. 
During the afternoon a very tall gentleman 
called, with a hand bag. They called him “ Doc- 
tor.” I heard him talk to the strange lady about 
“temperature” and “quinine” and “hot com- 
press” and other things that I had never heard of 
before. 
At supper-time Dennis came in and I went 
up to him and looked into his eyes. He put 
his nose down close to mine and gave a soft low 
growl ; perhaps he was scolding me for having 
stayed away so long. Early the next morning 
I scampered over to Jack’s house. I found him 
seated on the ledge of the fence, intently watching 
the ash box, but as soon as he saw me he came to 
meet me. 
“ Where have you been ? ” said he, joyfully, as 
he rubbed his side up against me in the most friendly 
fashion. “ I never expected to see you again, for I 
was afraid some of those dreadful college boys had 
got hold of you.” 
At this moment Jack’s mistress came out into the 
yard, and when she saw me she too seemed de- 
