*35 
A Joyful Reunion 
lighted, and to fitly celebrate my return, she brought 
out the song box and made it play “ The Cat Came 
Back." 
Of course, I had to give Jack an account of how 
I happened to disappear so suddenly, and when I 
told him about my black companion and that woe- 
ful night he expressed great surprise. 
“ That explains Nig’s absence," said he. “ His 
people, the Mortons, have missed him for several 
weeks. I don’t blame him for leaving, because 
they made him stay outdoors on the coldest 
nights ; and they gave him his food in an old tin 
pan big enough to water a horse with ; and his 
usual fare was plain boiled potatoes, or oat meal 
mush." 
I told Jack the condition Nig was in when I last 
saw him, but he said that was nothing unusual for 
Nig, and that he had often seen him with both eyes 
closed after a night’s outing. 
It was many weeks before Guy went to school 
again, and as soon as he was able to be up, the 
nurse permitted me to stay in his room all the 
time ; so I spent many pleasant days with him. 
He told me about a big Maltese cat that came to 
the house just before he was taken ill, and how 
