FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111  
112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   >>   >|  
ke for a well-informed carpet to make! Oh, what a night we're having!' 'Do go away,' said Robert, nervously. 'We're just going to bed--that's our bedroom candle; there isn't any row. Everything's as quiet as a mouse.' A wild chorus of mews drowned his words, and with the mews were mingled the shrieks of the musk-rats. What had happened? Had the cats tasted them before deciding that they disliked the flavour? 'I'm a-coming in,' said the policeman. 'You've got a cat shut up there.' 'A cat,' said Cyril. 'Oh, my only aunt! A cat!' 'Come in, then,' said Robert. 'It's your own look out. I advise you not. Wait a shake, and I'll undo the side gate.' He undid the side gate, and the policeman, very cautiously, came in. And there in the kitchen, by the light of one candle, with the mewing and the screaming going like a dozen steam sirens, twenty waiting on motor-cars, and half a hundred squeaking pumps, four agitated voices shouted to the policeman four mixed and wholly different explanations of the very mixed events of the evening. Did you ever try to explain the simplest thing to a policeman? CHAPTER 8. THE CATS, THE COW, AND THE BURGLAR The nursery was full of Persian cats and musk-rats that had been brought there by the wishing carpet. The cats were mewing and the musk-rats were squeaking so that you could hardly hear yourself speak. In the kitchen were the four children, one candle, a concealed Phoenix, and a very visible policeman. 'Now then, look here,' said the Policeman, very loudly, and he pointed his lantern at each child in turn, 'what's the meaning of this here yelling and caterwauling. I tell you you've got a cat here, and some one's a ill-treating of it. What do you mean by it, eh?' It was five to one, counting the Phoenix; but the policeman, who was one, was of unusually fine size, and the five, including the Phoenix, were small. The mews and the squeaks grew softer, and in the comparative silence, Cyril said-- 'It's true. There are a few cats here. But we've not hurt them. It's quite the opposite. We've just fed them.' 'It don't sound like it,' said the policeman grimly. 'I daresay they're not REAL cats,' said Jane madly, perhaps they're only dream-cats.' 'I'll dream-cat you, my lady,' was the brief response of the force. 'If you understood anything except people who do murders and stealings and naughty things like that, I'd tell you all about it,' said Robert; 'but I'm cert
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111  
112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

policeman

 

candle

 

Robert

 
Phoenix
 
kitchen
 

mewing

 
squeaking
 

carpet

 

pointed

 

lantern


yelling
 

treating

 

naughty

 

caterwauling

 

meaning

 
loudly
 

wishing

 

brought

 

Policeman

 
stealings

visible

 
children
 

concealed

 

things

 

silence

 

daresay

 

Persian

 
comparative
 

softer

 

grimly


counting

 

understood

 

opposite

 

people

 

response

 

including

 

squeaks

 

unusually

 

murders

 

tasted


deciding

 

happened

 

shrieks

 

drowned

 

mingled

 

disliked

 
flavour
 

coming

 

chorus

 

informed