Peggy in Her Blue Frock | Page 4

the trees, and the bare
branches looked black against the gray sky as they were tossed about
by the wind. There were patches of snow by the side of the road. It all
looked very dismal, for the house was closed, as the family did not
come back until June, and only the care-takers were living in the back
part of the house. It was where Clara lived in the summer. She was the
children's most intimate friend. She was a little more than a year
younger than Peggy and about a year older than Alice. The children
went around to the back door and asked if they could come in and
telephone.
"It is something very important or we would not have come," said
Peggy.
"I hope your mother isn't sick," said Mrs. Jones.
"No, it is about the cat."
"And you came out in all this rain about a cat?"
"She's as dear to us as if she was our child," said Alice.
"Well, I never!" said Mrs. Jones, as she led the way to the telephone
room.
Peggy called up their old number. It made her a little homesick as she
did so.
"Is Mrs. Carter there?" she asked as a shrill voice said "Hullo."
"It's a boy's voice," said Peggy. "There's one boy in the family. I'm glad
of that."
She heard the boy call "Mother," and presently Mrs. Carter came to the
telephone.
"Hullo," said Mrs. Carter, in a warm voice that Peggy liked.

"I'm Peggy Owen. Mother said I might come over and telephone you
about the cat. She's lost--I mean the cat. We thought she might be at
your house. She doesn't seem to like ours. Have you seen anything of a
gray pussy with dark gray stripes?"
"I really don't know whether that one has been around or not. I'll ask
them in the kitchen. We've been feeding a lot of stray cats."
"You didn't say enough about the way she looks. She may get her
mixed with the gray tramp cat," said Alice, taking the telephone from
Peggy.
"She's two shades of gray," she said to Mrs. Carter. "Such lovely dark
stripes and then light ones; and there are thirteen stripes on her
tail--first a dark and then a light, and so on; and her eyes are the
shiniest things--most as bright as lights, only they are a kind of green;
and she has a purr you can hear all across the room. Her name is Lady
Jane, and she'll come for it."
Mrs. Carter came back to the telephone presently. "There has been a
gray cat around," she said, "but she isn't here now. If she comes back
I'll send one of the boys up with her."
"One of the boys," said Peggy to Alice, "so there must be two anyhow."
The day passed and nothing was heard of the cat, and once more the
little girls had to go to bed with anxious hearts. It was still raining when
the children waked up the next morning, and no pussy had yet appeared.
They wanted to go back and hunt for her themselves, but it was too wet
for so long a tramp, and, besides, Mrs. Owen was sure Mrs. Carter was
too busy getting settled in her new house to want visitors.
"You don't seem a bit worried about Lady Jane, mother," said Peggy.
"I have a few other things to think about, and I am sure she is all right."
It was a three days' storm, and it was so wet on Sunday that they did
not go to church or Sunday School. The day seemed very long. They

helped their mother get dinner and they washed and wiped the inside
dishes for her. They both liked to wash better than to wipe--it was such
fun to splash the mop about in the soapy water.
"It is my turn to wash to-day," Alice reminded Peggy.
"But you are so slow," said Peggy. "I can do it a lot faster. However, it
is your turn," she said, handing the mop to Alice with a little sigh.
It was toward the end of the afternoon and they were beginning to get
tired of reading when the door bell rang.
"It is our first caller; go to the door, Peggy," said Mrs. Owen.
Alice followed Peggy as she ran to the door. As Peggy opened it, a
sweep of wind and a swirl of rain came in. The wind was so strong it
almost blew the door to. A freckled-faced boy with a pleasant smile and
honest blue eyes was standing on the doorstep. Oh, joy! He had a
basket in his hand.
"It's some rain," said the boy.
"Oh, have you got our cat in that basket?" Peggy asked.
"Now, what do