But neither Arthur nor his sister could make Blackie stand up on her hind legs. Blackie just did not want to do it, or perhaps she could not.
“Maybe when I come back, after having run away, I’ll do it for them,” thought the black cat, as she rubbed up against Mabel’s legs.
[“Now jump through my hands, Blackie!” called Mabel], and she made a loop of her arms in front of Blackie. This trick the black cat knew very well.
“If she would only do the standing on her hind legs trick as well as she does yours she would be a fine cat,” Arthur said.
“Blackie is a nice cat anyhow, and I love her,” spoke Mabel, cuddling the cat in her arms.
That night, when the children were studying their lessons, Blackie lay on a soft cushion at their feet, purring happily. And, all the while, the black cat was thinking about running away.
“I suppose Mabel and Arthur will feel badly at first,” thought Blackie, “but I won’t be away very long, at least not the first time. I think I’ll run off to-morrow.”
The next day came, and after breakfast, when Arthur and Mabel had gone to school, Blackie went out in the yard. She had made up her mind to run away, and she wanted to see if Speckle might not like to go along.
Blackie did not have to pack up any clothes, or take anything to eat with her, when she started to run away. Cats can’t do those things. The only clothes they need is their coat of fur, and that is always with them. I have seen dogs with little blankets on, and even a sort of overcoat, but cats are different and do not wear them.
And Blackie could not take with her anything to eat. She thought she would have no trouble in picking up what she wanted as she went along.