“I don’t think so,” Rose said thoughtfully. “I think it decided to go. I’m sure it did.”
“What do you mean? What do you mean?” Christabel cried. “Had you something to do with that, too?”
“Not that I know of.” Rose laughed. She was tired of considering every word before she uttered it.
“With that too!” Christabel repeated a little wildly, and then in a firm voice she said, “You’ve got to tell me.”
“But I don’t know. You must make all inquiries of the cat. It was a wise animal. It knew the time had come.”
“I think you’re mad,” Christabel said.
“Animals are very strange,” Rose went on easily, “and rats leave sinking ships.”
A cry of terror came from Christabel. “You mean I’m going to die!”
“No, no!” Rose became sane and reassuring. “I never thought of that. It might have known it was going to die itself and an animal likes to die decently alone. It had been getting unhealthily fat.”
Christabel kept an exhausted silence, and Rose regretting her cruelty, aware of its futility, said gently, “Shall I get you a kitten?”