THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
17 
it in his overcoat for concealment, thereby greasing it so 
badly that it could not be worn until newly lined. But 
since Christmas he had received a remittance from home, 
and early on New Year’s morning he started on a tramp 
to Farmer Higgins, who lived about two miles from the 
village, and of whom he had engaged a turkey. He 
found that Mr. Higgins had sold all his turkeys except 
one which he had reserved for Tom, and which was as 
lean and pin-feathery a specimen of its race as that dis¬ 
gusted young man had ever seen, and it weighed only 
seven pounds. But it was “ Hobson’s choice,” and Tom 
paid for the turkey, and taking it by the feet trudged 
away, too thoroughly vexed at having to offer Mrs. 
Deming so poor a fowl to be conscious that the turkey 
was not wrapped up. He reached Mrs. Deming’s door 
at breakfast-time, and, standing the turkey on its head 
against the door, laid on it a slip of paper on which he 
had written, “ A New Year’s lark, from a friend.” Then 
Tom rang the bell and took to his heels, and before the 
door opened was in his own room two houses away. 
Kitty, when the bell rang, was in the midst of an im¬ 
promptu lecture to the oldest boarder on the “ unbecom¬ 
ing familiarity and glaring impropriety ” of omitting the 
“ Miss ” from her name when addressing her. The ar¬ 
raigned boarder pleaded in excuse his seniority of age, 
and superiority of wisdom and attainments, and his long- 
continued residence beneath her mother’s roof, and, last 
and most important, her mother’s consent, while the 
other boarders laughed outright at her pretty assumption 
of dignity. Altogether Kitty was not sorry of an excuse 
for leaving the table and the room, though her dignity 
forbade all appearance of haste in doing so. 
Kitty opened the door just in time to see Professor 
Ryder’s dog dragging Tom’s turkey through the gate. 
Her quick wits comprehended the situation at once, and 
she dashed down the steps in pursuit of the thief, stoop¬ 
ing as she went to pick up the slip of paper that had 
fallen from the turkey. Up the hill ran the dog, half 
carrying, half dragging the turkey, and up the hill in hot 
pursuit flew Kitty. There had been several warm days 
melting the snow until the village street was an uninvit¬ 
ing mixture of mud and snow, and Kitty’s foot slipped, 
and headlong into the mud plunged Kitty. She hastily 
scrambled up again, but the front of her pretty morning 
dress was wet with snow and smeared with mud, her 
face was streaked with mud, her hair had tumbled down 
and hung a long, brown mass down her back, streaming 
behind her as she renewed the chase. Young ladies, 
walking for exercise, and young gentlemen, coming from 
breakfast at the different clubs, turned to look at her, the 
young gentlemen putting the well-worn question, “ Does 
your mother know you’re out, Miss Kitty ? ” Kitty 
answered the question by an upward tilt of her nose, 
which gesture was robbed of the expression of dignified 
contempt intended by a clump of mud which adhered to 
that useful feature of Kitty’s face. Kitty also called out 
a merry “ Happy New Year, girls,” to her wondering 
schoolmates, but never slackened her steps, or took her 
brown eyes from the dog ahead of her. 
At the top of the hill the dog turned in at his master’s 
gate, which Kitty reached just in time to catch a dissolv¬ 
ing view of a canine caudal appendage as it disappeared 
beneath the barn. On went Kitty to the barn and called 
persuasively, “Tiger! Tiger! good fellow, come here.” 
But the “good fellow,” having secured a good dinner, 
paid no attention to Kitty’s request, but proceeded to 
enjoy his feast. Kitty ran to the side-door, and, pulling 
the bell violently, called for assistance, and in a few 
minutes Professor Ryder, Mrs. Ryder, their two little 
girls, the servant, and two students, who roomed in the 
house, were gathered with Kitty before the barn, peering 
through the break in the underpinning, through which 
the dog had entered with his plunder. 
“ Tiger! come here, sir, this minute," commanded Pro¬ 
fessor Ryder, severely. 
“ Come, Tiger, good Tiger,” called Mrs. Ryder, coax- 
ingly. 
“ Tiger! Tiger! here, sir!” called the two little girls 
and the servant, in chorus. 
Thus appealed to by the united family, what could a 
decent dog do but yield ? Accordingly, Tiger came out, 
licking his chops and wagging his tail, but leaving the 
turkey behind him. 
“ Go back, sir; go back and bring that turkey here,” 
said Professor Ryder, sternly, feeling that he was being 
improperly trifled with in the presence of his scholars. 
The obedient animal started back with great alacrity, 
but no commands or persuasions could induce him to 
bring out the turkey, and he went on gnawing and 
crunching it in a heartless manner, which increased 
Kitty’s indignation. 
“Can’t one of you go in after it? Mr. Miller, you are 
so small, you could easily do it; oh, please do ! ” implored 
Kitty. 
“ Miss Deming, I think you forget to whom you are 
speaking,” replied that young man, in a tone of offended 
dignity. He was a dapper little senior, who tried to 
make up for his lack of inches by extra heels on his boots, 
extra dignity in his manners, and a tall hat. 
“ The turkey is past all usefulness now, Kitty, even if 
you should get it,” interposed Mrs. Ryder. 
“ And Tiger has eaten it more than half up,” excitedly 
announced one of the children. 
“ I don't care,” replied Kitty, recklessly; “ I shall not 
go home until I get the rest of that turksv, if it isn’t more 
than one claw! Nobody shall ever say that I raced 
through the streets like a mad woman and got covered 
with mud, and then made nothing by it.” 
At this moment Tom Rollins appeared on the scene. 
He had witnessed the chase, and came to see who won 
the game. Kitty turned to him, and, clinging to his arm, 
appealed to his heart. 
“Tom, you will go under and get that turkey, won't 
you ? I will be your friend forever if you do. Somebody 
stole our Thanksgiving turkey, and now Professor 
Ryder’s dog has got this, and I must have it.” 
Poor Tom began to feel as if he were never to get 
away from that stolen turkey, though it did seem as if he 
had suffered enough in its behalf. It had cost him a 
night of mental and physical suffering, and embittered 
many a retrospective hour; it had occasioned a heavy bill 
at the tailor’s; a long tramp to and from Higgins’ for a 
