up at me and whined piteously, as though appealing for
help. It was an appeal that I could by no means resist; therefore,
taking the creature in my hands, I tore it free by main force, parting
thread after thread until all were severed.

Whether it was that the poor little beggar was too completely exhausted
to struggle further, or whether it instinctively understood that I meant
well by it, I cannot say, but the fact remains that from the moment it
felt itself in my grasp it ceased to struggle and, when it was
completely freed from the web, lay quite passively in my arms. I
carried it to where Billy still stood awaiting my return and, showing it
to him, said:

"Here is your `cat', Billy; but you mustn't touch it yet, for it is in a
filthy state, having been tangled up in the most amazing spider's web I
ever saw."

Of course the boy immediately fired a whole broadside of questions at me
relative to my recent adventure, also he must needs be taken to see the
web, and the defunct spider, after which, forgetting all about the fruit
which we had started to seek, we re-entered the boat and set out upon
our return to Eden, which we reached shortly before sunset. As we
worked our way back through the winding channels Billy beguiled the time
by taking our newest acquisition upon his lap and endeavouring to free
it from the clinging tangle of web in which it had enveloped itself, and
so agreeable did the operation appear to be to the animal that it lay
quite passive, permitting itself to be handled freely; and eventually,
to Billy's great delight, it started to purr.

For my own part, however, reflection caused me to question whether I had
been wise in introducing this new member to our family circle. Had it
been a dog I should have had no doubts; a dog would have been a
delightful companion for both of us, but this creature--what was it? As
I have already said, it was about the size of a full-grown cat, and it
undoubtedly belonged to the cat tribe; but despite its size I judged it
to be a mere kitten, and quite a young one at that. Its legs were much
thicker and more muscular and its fur was shorter and not so fine as
that of the domestic cat; and although I had seen a good many domestic
cats I had never seen one marked like this creature, a rich, ruddy brown
on the head, shoulders, and fore-quarters, shading off to a light tawny
colour at the hind-quarters and the tail, with just a suggestion of
darker spots here an