fter some difficulty, we found a humble little house which
suited our change of fortune. Here we began seriously to muse over what
we should do. I proposed making a ferry-boat of my back, and, stationing
myself at the waterside near the "Mews," swim across the river with such
cats as required to go over and did not like to walk as far as where the
boat was accustomed to be. By these means I calculated on making enough
money to keep us both comfortably. Nip thought not. He said that the cats
would not trust me--few cats ever did trust the dogs--and then, though he
did not dislike cats, not at all, for he knew a great many very sensible
cats, and very good ones too, he did not like the idea of seeing his
friend walked over by cats or dogs, or any other animal, stranger or
domestic. Besides, there were other objections. Strong as I was, I could
not expect, if I made a boat of myself, that I could go on and on without
wanting repair any more than a real boat; but where was the carpenter to
put _me_ to rights, or take out _my_ rotten timbers and put in fresh
ones. No; that would not do; we must think of something else.

It must not be imagined that Nip made all this long speech in one breath,
or in a dozen breaths. It took him a whole morning to explain himself
even as clearly as I have tried to do; and perhaps I may still have
written what he did not quite intend, for his words came out with a jump,
one or two at a time, and often so suddenly that it would have startled a
dog who was not used to his manner.

Nip himself made the next proposal, and though I did not exactly like it,
there seemed so little choice, that I at once agreed to do my part in the
scheme. Nip was the son of a butcher, and though he had followed the
trade but a short time himself, he was a very good judge of meat. He,
therefore, explained that if I would undertake to become the seller, he
would purchase and prepare the meat, and he thought he could make it look
nice enough to induce the dogs to come and buy.

Our stock of money being very small, a house-shop was out of the
question, so there was no chance of getting customers from the better
class,--a thing which I regretted, as I had little taste for the society
of the vulgar; but, again, as it could not be helped, the only thing to
do was to make the best of it. A wheelbarrow was therefore bought by Nip,
with what else was necessary to make me a complete "walking butcher," and
having got in a stock