Mike Flannery | Page 5

long as the
cat had gone also. He turned to the tasks of the day with a light heart.
The afternoon mail brought him a letter from the New York office.
"Regarding W.B. 23645," it said, "and in answer to yours of yesterday's
date. In our previous communication we clearly requested you to have
a veterinary look at the cat. We judge from your letter that you
neglected to do this, as the veterinary would certainly have told you
what to feed the cat. See the veterinary at once and ask him what to
feed the cat. Then feed the cat what he tells you to feed it. We presume
it is not necessary for us to tell you to water the cat."
Flannery grinned. "An' ain't thim th' jokers, now!" he exclaimed. "'Tis
some smart bye must have his fun with ould Flannery! Go an' see th'
veterinary! An' ask him what t' feed th' cat! 'Good mornin', Misther
Pomeroy. Do ye remimber th' dead cat ye looked at yisterday? 'Tis in a
bad way th' mornin', sor. 'Tis far an' away deader than it was yisterday.
We had th' funeral this mornin'. What w'u'd ye be advisin' me t' feed it
fer a regular diet now?' Oh yis! I'll go t' th' veterinary--not!"
He stared at the letter frowningly.
"An' 'tis not nicessary t' tell me t' water th' cat!" he said. "Oh, no, they'll
be trustin' Flannery t' water th' cat. Flannery has loads av time. 'Tis no
need fer him t' spind his time doin' th' ixpriss business. 'Git th'
sprinklin'-can, Flannery, an' water th' cat. Belike if ye water it well ye'll
be havin' a fine flower-bed av long-haired cats out behint th' office.
Water th' cat well, an' plant it awn th' sunny side av th' house, an' whin
it sprouts transplant it t' th' shady side where it can run up th' trellis. 'T
will bloom hearty until cold weather, if watered plinty!' Bechune thim

an' me 'tis me opinion th' cat was kept too long t' grow well anny
more."
Mrs. Warman was very much surprised that afternoon to receive a letter
from the express company. As soon as she saw the name of the
company in the corner of the envelope her face hardened. She had an
intuition that this was to be another case where the suffering public was
imposed upon by an overbearing corporation, and she did not mean to
be the victim. She had refused the cat. Fond as she was of cats, she had
never liked them dead. She was through with that cat. She tore open the
envelope. A woman never leaves an envelope unopened. The next
moment she was more surprised than before.
"Dear Madam," said the letter. "Regarding a certain cat sent to your
address through our company by Hibbert & Jones of this city, while
advising you of our entire freedom from responsibility in the matter, all
animals being accepted by us at owner's risk only, we beg to make the
following communication: The cat is now in storage at our express
office in Westcote, and is sick. A letter from our agent there leads us to
believe that the cat may not receive the best of attention at his hands. In
order that it may be properly fed and cared for we would suggest that
you accept the cat from our hands, under protest if you wish, until you
can arrange with Messrs. Hibbert & Jones as to the ownership. In
asking you to take the cat in this way we have no other object in view
than to stop the charges for storage and care, which are accumulating,
and to make sure that the cat is receiving good attention. We might say,
however, that Hibbert & Jones assure us that the cat is your property,
and therefore, until we have assurance to the contrary, we must look to
you for all charges for transportation, storage, and care accruing while
the cat is left with us. Yours very truly."
When she had read the letter Mrs. Warman's emotions were extremely
mixed. She felt an undying anger toward the express company; she felt
an entirely different and more personal anger toward the firm of
Hibbert & Jones; but above all she felt a great surprise regarding the cat.
If ever she had seen a cat that she thought was a thoroughly dead cat
this was the cat. She had had many cats in her day, and she had always

thought she knew a dead cat when she saw one, and now this dead cat
was alive--ailing, perhaps, but alive. The more she considered it, the
less likely it seemed to her that she could have been mistaken about the
deadness of that cat. It had