I shivered; but comfortable surroundings
And even diamonds would warm anybody but a
Half drowned cat....
I wonder if pink ribbons
And a silver-mounted collar would have made
Me warmer or less hungry ... and I was most
Interested because Irene’s father never paid
His bills without a lawsuit.... Perhaps I might
With ribbon and collar have had food for the asking.
But an honest cat must be kicked around
The kitchen by Maggie. Maggie was used to it:
“Haven’t you better sense than to bring such
Rubbish aboard, Jim? Old Brough will miss the
Milk and there’ll be the devil to pay.”—And
To think how I could rid this palace of vermin....
But that would cost Father Brough money and
It wouldn’t show....
Jim put me ashore ... but I was grateful!

SIXTH CATERWAUL

What a terrible contrast: from an interrupted
Yachting trip to the garbage can! The smell
Of the sea is sweeter but I wasn’t dressed
For it.... The lure of a square meal is sweeter
Than the glitter of paste.
Think of finding a
Half beefsteak on top of the can! There was no
Gravy but it was cooked to perfection. I ate it
With relish, but should have enjoyed it better
If only some one would let me work for it—
Especially such a meal.... And yet they say beggars
Cannot be choosers.... I found a lot more in the can
To eat, but the steak satisfied me.
I was very tired; so I went to sleep beside the
Can....
When the collector came he took counsel of
My presence and hunted through to see what he could
Find of value. He looked up and down the street
And then slipped a half-roasted-chicken into his
Blouse; but not before casting me a look of
Triumph.... But I never can eat two meals at a
Sitting and chicken doesn’t agree with me. Then,
Too, even honey is nourishing, but it may give
One indigestion.... I hope he enjoyed the chicken
As much as I did my banquet....
Why, thought I, not
Offer to stay in this house where plenty runs
To overflowing....
It proved to be Brough’s!

SEVENTH CATERWAUL

I prefer the street and the gutter
To the hospitality Brough’s might have offered.
How lucky to be a cat
Free to accept or—refuse
What is offered!

EIGHTH CATERWAUL

I found a door that was open.
The grass in the entry was cut close;
The hangings and drawing-room furniture
Immaculate in their smug neatness. Even the
Windows were clean and the books on the
Shelves were well dusted. I wandered into
The kitchen where oilcloth was spotless
And tidy. Even the walls were fresh-papered....
No doubt to keep the kalsomine-water
From evaporating....
Table-manners in such
A house, I fear, are more real than the eating.
I turned about and went out lest the hairs
In my coat might scatter.

NINTH CATERWAUL

I have been housed with Jerolamon Jones
And his wife, whom they call “tame cat,”
For what seems a fairly long time. Jerry
They call him for short and short is the Bible
He reads. Lovers they are to the world and
To each other still more—for that is the
Judgment that counts.... Jerry has nights
“At the club” and loves his dear wife’s
Friends. She can always reach him by ’phone
But she wouldn’t do it for worlds as she
Trusts him beyond cavil or guile....
And the tame cat sits on the laps of a
Dozen or more of his friends—but only
When Jerry is home.
I followed Jerry one night
But his club was not where he went....
We came home exactly at twelve—and Marion
(That was his wife) was fast asleep in the sheets.
Fulton had kissed her that night—and of course
She told Jerry next day.... He trusted his wife
As she him....
They were playing the game
When I left—I left because only I
Knew how to end the farce!

TENTH CATERWAUL

I have wandered over the city aimless and homeless,
Hungered in mind and in body.
Days are not irksome in sunshine
And rain promises more when it ceases.
But the nights are so intimate
And the rays of one’s mind
Are perlucid.
Like a criminal tracing his steps
Back to the scene of iniquity,
I found myself in Horton’s neighborhood....
But the house was still closed for the summer.

ELEVENTH CATERWAUL

Mrs. Horton’s maid, Alice, came home
With the keys. She left the window open
When she went to the corner for food.
I took unfair advantage—thus experience has taught me—
Climbed in at the first opportunity.
I hid in her bedroom—the only door that was open.
After all I had suffered
Perhaps Jack would come back
And then my troubles be over.
For the first time in months
I slept without fear and in comfort....
It must have been after midnight
When Old Horton came in. It was pitch dark
So he couldn’t see me. It gave me uncanny pleasure
To follow him. He stole up to Alice’s room
As if a hundred were watching. The door remained
Gaping to the empty house and—me.
Presently Alice screamed and the harrowing sound
Frightens me even now.
Horton went back to his room
And the house resumed its stillness.
I sat on the floor by his bed
Lulled by his heavy breathing....
Out of the darkness there gleamed
A flash from the crack of a pistol.
Alice was fully dressed and quietly turned on her heel;
Left the house by the basement; walked to the corner
And river; threw something deep in its water; then back
To the house where she’d killed him—
Leaving the front door open.... I followed her up to her room
Where she undressed and went back to bed....
Dead in his they found Horton,
And on his tomb they inscribed:

“