"You will never see your Pussy any more," she replied. "She is dead."
"Oh, where is she?" I cried. "What killed her? Won't she come to life again?"
"No," said my mother; "she is drowned."
Then I knew what had happened.
"Who did it?" was all I said.
"Cousin Josiah," she replied; "and he took great care that Pussy did not suffer at all. She sank to the bottom instantly."
"Where did he drown her?" I asked.
"Down by the mill, in Mill Valley, where the water is very deep," answered my mother; "we told him to take her there."
At these words I cried bitterly.
"That's the very place I used to go with her to play," I exclaimed. "I'll never go near that bridge as long as I live, and I'll never speak a word to Cousin Josiah either--never!"