Some weeks previous to this, while the campers still thought they had the whole summer before them, a little white kitten with gold spots, had come, seemingly from nowhere, and had sought admission—not to Edwy’s camp—but to his Uncle’s, across the lake.
His Uncle’s wife was the dearest, the most teasable aunt in the world. She was known sometimes as “Aida,” from a pet name one of them had given her. They had never called her Aunt, but always some nice pet name and always pretended they didn’t care a flip for her, but she knew better, for wasn’t she their own mother’s sister, who had also a pet name of her own? And were they not both daughters of this great chum of theirs, who, as their father had told them was entirely their own contemporary and equal, but at the same time they mustn’t tease her or treat her as if they were playing football; and mustn’t touch her pretty white dress with their “candy” fingers.
Edwy was glad that the kitten had come to visit them. He was afraid that the winter would be hard on the poor thing.... Everybody said it could take care of itself, but why couldn’t it take care of itself now? It came every morning, to ask them for food and would give its high-toned purr of satisfaction when they had fed it.
Much as Edwy liked it, he was glad that it had not come to his father’s camp, for they had some little rabbits.
They had brought them, when old enough, from their own home, and had let them run wild through the woods and underbrush, near the woods and the lake.
“But would you believe it, Willard?” he said to his brother, “they come back to our camp, just as soon as they hear my voice shouting to them, half a mile away, and then they begin to show up out of the underbrush.”
It was always jolly at his Aunt’s camp, for in his own camp, he feared the rabbits and the kitten might not agree, and he and Willard were quite as much at home in the one place as the other.
The only time when the kitten had visited their camp on the hill was once, when they had all been away a few days, and when both camps were empty for that length of time.
On coming back, the very first thing they saw, in front of Edwy’s father’s camp, was the little white kitten sitting on the door-step, crying a glad welcome to them, arching its back, and reaching up for them to pet it. Very soon Edwy took the megaphone from its corner and called over the lake....
“Hello!”