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tired out. The lilacs "were just be ginning to bloom, and I sank down on the porch, inhaling their frag rance, and 'wishing there wasn't a tomorrow of drudgery; when mother -came out on the steps,, all excite jnent " 'Oh, Florence,' she said, 'I saw the most terrible thing today. You know the yellow cat that belongs to the big house? Well, I saw it run over to the house next door, that brown one, and a maid lifted the rwindow and poured scalding water oh it, and the poor thing just crawled away.' "I suppose you saw this through tbe-glasses. How do you know it was the yellow cat? " 'Why I could see it plain as day, "Florence. It's a regular canary yel low.' "Please do not mention this to anyone," I said firmly. , " 'I only told the grocer boy,' she answered meekly. 'I couldn't help it, because he said the Evans were wor rying over their big yellow cat be 'Cause it hadn't been home all day, .and I told him what I had seen, but I never mentioned it to another soul.' : ' "Of course, the grocery "boy was the only one she had seen that day. "The next night I worked very late, and as I wearily trudged from the , station, a voice spoke to me out of Ithe darkness. " 'May I take you to your door,' it 'asked politely. 'I am your neighbor -in the brown house, and you shouldn't be out alone so late at jnighL I "He talked very friendly to me all Ithe way home, and I just prayed he iwouldn't hear of what mother had told the grocery boy. 3 "When I opened the door, there sat mother, all dressed -in her best silk and her cheeks flushed with excite ment. " 'Oh, Florence she cried, before I Ihardly got into the room. 'I have had such an exciting day. The groc ery boy told. Mrs, Eyans, tte Jady j(n the big house, what I had een, and she came over in her automobile and took me to the magistrate's, and I told him just every bit of it.' "Did you tell him how you had seen this?" " 'Why, of course. Nobody sees anything wrong in that but you, Flor ence. He said he couldn't issue a warrant for the Jennings they're the people in the brown house but he was as sweet to me as could be. Mrs. Evans was cross, though, be cause he wouldn't arrest Mrs. Jen nings.' "I put her to bed, Jane, and then lay tossing, opeir-eyed until the morning when I fell into a doze from which I awoke at nine o'clock, when I should have left home at seven. Mother was still sleeping. "About half past ten I was ready to go to the city, and I stepped out on the porch just as a woman opened the garden gate. " 'You are Miss Barbour?' she said, pleasantly. "I nodded. " 'Well, I am Mrs. Jennings. I wanted you to know that Mrs. Evans' cat has come home.' "I murmured something incoher ent, but she was smiling. " "You mustn't feel badly, Miss Barbour. My husband says you did not get home until after eleven last night and you look very tired today. Isn't there something I can do for you?' "I began to cry. You mustn't blame mother, I pleaded. She can not go out and she is very lonesome she didn't mean any harm "She stopped me. 'Don't bother explaining, my dear girl,' she said. I have my own mother with me, and she is harder to keep out of mischief than my two boys. I was just think ing when Mr. Jennings spoke of how hard you worked, that it is too bad we cannot arrange to have the two mothers know each. other, so you wouldn't worry. They would be fine .companions, bgcuse they aje Qt the.