Soon she caught up with her indignant parent and said in a conciliatory tone of voice:
"Surely, mother, you don't suppose I would steal a cat from any one else! But Lord —— is trying to take my country, why should I not take his cat?"
"Two wrongs never made one right," her mother answered, "but do as you please. You always do."
Hansie kept that kitten and, after Carlo, loved it better than any other pet, and even Mrs. van Warmelo relented as she watched the playful creature hiding in the shadows and springing out at every passer-by.
"What are you going to call her?" she asked her daughter.
"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps I'll go and ask Lord —— what he called her."
She stopped, observing her mother's frown, and then went on:
"We must think of a name, a nice, appropriate war name."
A few moments later the kitten crept into a corner, with a small mouse held firmly between her jaws.
"Oh, mother, look, she has caught a mouse already. She is going to be a splendid mouser. And oh, now I have a name for her. We'll call her 'Mauser,' mother dear!"