The Nomad of the Nine Lives | Page 6

a thief
to catch a thief," for after the milk and corned beef episodes I felt like a
branded criminal. They started out to do their dishonest work and I
followed, my velvet paws making no noise. They were so intent with
watching out for policemen that they did not notice me and when they
looked back I dodged behind trees or posts. I soon found that we were
getting into a very refined neighborhood, for it had a wide street with a
park between the sidewalks.
The men did not walk on the main street but resorted to the alley in the
rear of the block. They finally stopped and looking up and down,
cautiously unfastened the gate with a few twists, for it had been locked.
They were now inside of an enclosure, surrounded by a high fence, and
where the light did not shine upon this house as on some of the others. I
sneaked in when the gate was opened and following in the darkness
found myself under the coping watching one lift the other so that he
could reach in and unlock a window. Slowly and quietly he raised the
sash and stepped in while the man below watched, ready to give the
alarm if anybody should come along. I immediately followed the
burglar into the house.
Here indeed was a new experience, thought I, as I hid under the
dining-room table and watched. My mind acted quickly and I decided
to take a chance, run upstairs and give the alarm. Dodging out of the
dining-room, I ran into the hall and swiftly up a long stairway and

found the master And mistress sound asleep in a large room. I went up
to the bed, gave the Bed clothes a quick tug, uttered a low cry and
stepped back out of sight. The master jumped up exclaiming, "What
was that?" At the same time he touched a button on the wall and
flooded the house with light. He listened intently and hearing a noise
downstairs rushed down. I followed in time to see the man jump out of
the window, leaving on the floor a large sack, which was filled with
silver.
The master rushed to the telephone and almost before one could turn
around, several policemen were in the house. I heard him tell them
about the strange cat who cried out and woke them up, saying that he
wanted to find me and as I had saved the silver, he would keep me
henceforth and give me a home. Hearing this made me happy, but I
realized that such a beautiful house was no place for me, especially in
my present condition, as I was more of a slum cat than one to grace
such a position. I quietly slipped out into the night, feeling more
hopeless and homeless than ever before.
Hungry and forlorn, wishing that I was someone's pet, I wandered
along, looking at the fine houses, wishing that I had a home there, for I
did not at the time really know what a "square meal" was like, nor did I
know what a home meant. Neither a provision store nor a school is
really a home. In fact I have heard of cats who slept on beds and some
who had bassinets; who sat by open fires and dined on the fat of the
land. What is more, during my recent wanderings, I met one of these
aristocratic animals who had lost his way, and he told me great tales of
wealth, what his folks did, how he went to the seashore every summer,
even going in a motor car. Oh, how important he felt! He said that he
slept in a basket lined with down, and, as he wore a very expensive
collar, I had no reason to doubt him. He had roamed from home and I
afterwards heard that a reward had been offered for him.
He was a regular "sissy" and cried and sniffled when he was obliged to
stay out all night. I offered him some of my picked up food but he
turned up his aristocratic nose and said that he always had liver for
breakfast, cooked to order. Upon asking him what his name was, he

proudly replied, "Lord Roberts." Two friends of mine (street cats) who
were listening, turned aside to snicker, and when I looked fiercely
around pretended that they were only sneezing. One ventured to ask
him if he had his coat-of-arms engraved on his collar and the other
offered to exchange visiting cards. He saw that they were making fun
of him and it hurt his feelings, for I saw him turn away and wipe his
eye with one paw, as he had evidently left his lace handkerchief at
home. They