ere hunting chipmunks on the wall."

Miss Kitty Cat made no answer. Naturally, it pleased her to be called a
beauty. But there were other matters that she didn't like in the least.
Her captor had forgotten to toss the scrap of meat into the basket--the
bait with which he had caught her. And it was somewhat breathless inside
her prison. And Miss Kitty Cat had no idea where the peddler was taking
her.

He had clucked to his horse and started him plodding up the hill. Every
time a wheel struck a stone Miss Kitty gritted her teeth. She never did
enjoy riding in a wagon, anyhow. And this one was not at all
comfortable.

"They'll wonder, back home, what's become of me," she thought. "And one
thing is certain: everybody will miss me!"

XIX

STRANGE QUARTERS

THE PEDDLER that took Miss Kitty Cat away in his cart drove long into
the night. Inside the basket into which her captor had popped her, Miss
Kitty kept her wits at work. She knew that there were many twists and
turns as they creaked up the hills and rattled down the other side of
them. Then there were level stretches where the peddler held his horse
to a swinging gait that fast put long miles between them and Farmer
Green's place in Pleasant Valley.

"Dear me!" Miss Kitty thought. "What a tramp I'll have getting back
home again!" For already she was planning to return to the farm. She
didn't care if they did need a good mouser at the stranger's house. They
needed one just as much at Farmer Green's.

"If Mrs. Green has to depend on traps to take care of the mice she'll
soon be eaten out of house and home," Miss Kitty mused. "The minute that
fat Moses Mouse knows I'm gone he'll be as bold as brass."

At last the wagon left the hard road and pulled up in a dooryard. A dog
barked. And Miss Kitty heard voices.

"I've brought you something in here that you'll like," said the peddler
as he handed Miss Kitty's basket to somebody. "But don't look at it out
of doors or it'll get away."

Later, inside the house, a woman let Miss Kitty out of her prison.

"What a big cat!" she exclaimed. "Where did you get her?"

"Oh, I picked her up on the road," said the peddler. "She looked as if
she wanted a ride," he chuckled. "I think she was hunting along an old
stone wall."

"She'll find hunting enough here," said his wife. "This house is overrun
with mice. I'll just put her down cellar and let her work for her
supper." Then she gave Miss Kitty a toss down the cellar