houses,
and making no provision for the poor cats that had been allowed to sit
snugly by the fire all winter. At last, Mrs. Morris got into the habit
of putting a little notice in the Fairport paper, asking people who
were going away for the summer to provide for their cats during their
absence.

CHAPTER XIII THE BEGINNING OF AN ADVENTURE

THE first winter I was at the Morrises', I had an adventure. It was a
week before Christmas, and we were having cold, frosty weather. Not much
snow had fallen, but there was plenty of skating, and the boys were off
every day with their skates on a little lake near Fairport.

Jim and I often went with them, and we had great fun scampering over the
ice after them, and slipping at every step.

On this Saturday night we had just gotten home. It was quite dark
outside, and there was a cold wind blowing, so when we came in the front
door, and saw the red light from the big hall stove and the blazing fire
in the parlor they looked very cheerful.

I was quite sorry for Jim that he had to go out to his kennel. However,
he said he didn't mind. The boys got a plate of nice, warm meat for
him and a bowl of milk, and carried them out, and afterward he went to
sleep. Jim's kennel was a very snug one. Being a spaniel, he was not a
very large dog, but his kennel was as roomy as if he was a great Dane.
He told me that Mr. Morris and the boys made it, and he liked it very
much, because it was large enough for him to get up in the night and
stretch himself, when he got tired of lying in one position.

It was raised a little from the ground, and it had a thick layer of
straw over the floor. Above was a broad shelf, wide enough for him to
lie on, and covered with an old catskin sleigh robe. Jim always slept
here in cold weather, because it was farther away from the ground.

To return to this December evening. I can remember yet how hungry I
was. I could scarcely lie still till Miss Laura finished her tea. Mrs.
Morris, knowing that her boys would be very hungry, had Mary broil some
beefsteak and roast some potatoes for them; and didn't they smell good!

They ate all the steak and potatoes. It didn't matter to me, for I
wouldn't have gotten any if they had been left. Mrs. Morris could
not afford to give to the dogs good meat that she had gotten for her
children, so she used to get the butcher to send her liver, and bones,
and tough meat, and Mary cooked them, and made soup and broth, and mixed