“Poor Pussy! poor Pussy!” he kept saying, and presently I was eating from his hand, and he was stroking my ears as I ate. Then he stepped back quietly into the room. He didn't try to catch me, but he put the liver down where I could reach it.
I peeped in through the skylight. The young man and the old man were talking. “Yes, sir,” the younger one was saying, “we've got a refuge for dogs and cats, but it isn't half large enough. I look at the matter this way. The animals are put in the world by the same Creator that put us here. They've got their rights. Give them their share of room on mother earth, and if you don't love them, and love to take care of them, and you worship only your own selfish, old body, then take care of the animals out of that same love for yourself.”
“That's so, sir, that's so,” and the old man nodded his head.
“Because,” the young man went on, “a neglected animal is a diseased animal, and a diseased animal is a menace to the millionaire as well as to the pauper. Germs of disease can't be fenced in. So I say, kill sick and homeless creatures, if you can't get a good home for them.”
“Would you kill that cat?” asked the old man pointing to me.
As his hand pointed toward me, my nose pointed straight for the skylight, but the young man re-assured me.
“No,” he said thoughtfully, looking me over, “that is a young, healthy kitten, and part Angora. We'll get a home for her.”
By this time I had had enough liver, so I went smelling round the little table where the old man kept a basin and pitcher of water, and like the perfect gentleman that he was, he got up, and gave me a drink.
Then I went to sleep. I was dreadfully tired, and I knew that I could trust those two men, so finding that the softest place was the middle of the old man's bed, I jumped up there and had a beautiful nap while they went on talking.
I didn't sleep very soundly, and as soon as the young man rose, I rose too. He stretched out a hand, took me up gently, and put me in a nice, lined basket. Then he covered me up, and said “Good-bye!” to the old man.