“Mind? What do you mean by that? Anyway, you can’t prove it.”
“Yes, I can, right now!” The little girl, full of enthusiasm for her beloved yellow cat, went over and laid her hand impressively on Billy’s arm. “You know the dining-room window screen hung from the top, that has the broken catch on one side?”
“Uh huh.”
“Well, Tom jumps up from the outside, hangs on the sill with one forefoot, and pulls out the edge of the screen with the other till he gets his nose in, when he can pry out the screen and slip through easily.”
“Yes, he can do that; I’ve seen him myself.”
“Well, Flash can’t do that.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve watched, and called to him from the inside; but he only stands and mews. Did you ever see him climb up and open the screen?”
Billy could not remember that he had.
“But, Billy, Tom opens it for him! He climbs up, gets his nose in, and the largest part of himself; then he crowds along as hard as he can, and calls to Flash, ‘The way is clear; come’;—you needn’t laugh; he says it just as plain as words,” she protested. “And Flash springs up, creeps through, and jumps to the floor, with Tom after him; and the screen slaps to with a big noise. I’ve seen them do it three times this week. Isn’t that a wonder?”