GRIMALKIN THE CAT 177 
In the hour of danger old ties had reasserted them- 
selves. She was going back to man, for with all his 
ignorance he had treated her better than the wild 
had done, and already four of the kittens lay in the 
Rectory hayloft. 
She put up her back when she saw Grimalkin, 
but he made no attempt to stop her, and only trotted 
behind with a puzzled air. They came to the gate 
of the Rectory yard, and Zoe crawled underneath ; 
but Grimalkin heard the scorched woods calling to 
him, and he could not follow, for he hated the 
abodes of men. ' Meaow ! ' he cried, but Zoe took no 
notice. At that moment a girl came into the yard, 
and stopped short in surprise : ' Why, Zoe, my pet ! ' 
she cried joyfully. Zoe, trained in caution by weeks 
of woodland life, climbed into the hayloft. The 
girl knew better than to follow her there, but 
presently she came back bearing a saucer of milk 
for the parched throat, and laid it down outside. 
Grimalkin turned and crept away. 
That night the drought broke, and a thunder- 
storm burst over Knockdane. The rain poured 
in torrents and doused out the fire completely. But 
for many months there was a wide black clearing 
where the ' Jungle ' had been ; and a charred log in 
the middle was all that was left of Zoe's nursery. 
