Billy Whiskers in France

by Frances Trego Montgomery

“Now if she only doesn’t see me until the basket is safely on the window ledge I shall be lucky. I am afraid if she sees me, it will frighten her and she will let go the basket and down I will fall with a dull thud.”

But just as the basket reached the ledge of the window her attention was called to something inside and she turned her head to look, at the same time reaching her hand out and pulling the basket on to the window sill from force of habit. When she turned back to the window, there on the sill sat a black cat with big, yellow eyes looking at her. It startled her so she screamed and pulled the basket in off the sill, and then let go the handle, and it rolled under the bed of one of the patients, spilling out bottles of milk, biscuits, sliced chicken, and many other good things.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Button jumped down from the window and ran under the beds until he came to the one occupied by Stubby. Then he moved softly so as not to frighten Stubby, and crawled in bed under the sheets so no one could see him. No one did see him do it for every dog in the ward was sitting up in bed, straining their eyes to see what had happened by the window.

“The cat! The cat! Where did it go?” the nurse kept calling in an excited voice. For when she turned to look for him, the cat she had seen was gone. After all the nurses had looked under every bed and in all the corners and in every other conceivable place, they began to tease her and tell her it was an illusion, that she had only imagined she saw a cat. After awhile she began to think that perhaps this was the case. Still what would make her think she saw a cat when she did not? Especially as she had not even been thinking of cats? The only thing that looked as if she had seen one was that half the dogs’ suppers had been eaten or at least they were short some food. That nurse went to bed that night with a headache from trying to decide whether or not she had seen a cat.

Soon after supper the dogs in the hospital were given their last dose of medicine, their bandages were straightened, and then they were ready to be tucked in for the night. The nurses patted the dogs on their heads and said good-night to them just as if they were people. Then they turned down the lights and went out, leaving only the night nurse in charge in one corner of the room where she sat by a shaded light knitting for the soldiers and dreaming and praying for the safe return of her brothers and sweetheart after the war was over. Button did not stir until Stubby stuck his head under the sheet and whispered to him that he could talk now, as the nurse was so occupied in picking up some stitches in her knitting that she had dropped that she would not hear them.

So there the two lay all curled up under the sheet, Button telling of the finding of Billy and Stubby listening with all his ears. When Button had finished, Stubby gave a great sigh and said, “Isn’t it wonderful to think that we should have found him in this big, big country across the sea? My, I am so glad it will make me well soon. For life was not half worth living without our dear chum Billy. I know you agree with me, Button.”

“I surely do!” exclaimed Button. “How is your leg, old fellow? Healing fast, I hope.”

“Oh, yes. The nurse said they would take the splints off to-morrow, and she doesn’t think I am going to be lame, it was healed so straight and fine. Isn’t that grand? For I would hate to be bothered limping along on a lame leg on our trips. It would be very inconvenient when I wished to run away when some one was chasing us, too. I hate to hurry you off, Button, but the night nurse will be coming around soon to straighten our beds and give us our last drink for the night so I am afraid she might lift up the sheet and find you. But how are you going to get out of the door into the hall, as it is shut?”