sie's arms and made a dash for it. The kitten's claws caught fast
in the tail, and in a moment more the kite went up into the air and
Snoop with it.

"Oh, my kitten!" called out Freddie. "Snoop has gone up with the kite!"

CHAPTER XXI

THE RESCUE OF SNOOP, THE KITTEN

It was certainly something that nobody had been expecting, and as the
kite went higher and higher, and Snoop with it, both Flossie and Freddie
set up a loud cry of fear.

"Snoop will be killed!" exclaimed the little girl. "Oh, poor dear
Snoop!" and she wrung her hands in despair.

"Let him down!" shrieked Freddie. "Oh, Bert, please let my dear kitten
down, won't you?"

Bert did not hear, for he was running over the common just as hard as he
could, in his endeavor to raise the kite. Up and up it still went, with
poor Snoop dangling helplessly at the end of the swaying tail.

At last Bert ran past the old barn which I have already mentioned. Just
as he did this he happened to look up at the kite.

"Hullo, what's on the tail?" he yelled. "Is that a cat?"

"It's Snoop!" called out Freddie, who was rushing after his big brother.
"Oh, Bert, do let him down. If he falls, he'll be killed."

"Well, I never!" ejaculated Bert.

He stopped running and gradually the kite began to settle close to the
top of the barn. Poor Snoop was swinging violently at the end of the
ragged tail. The swinging brought the frightened creature closer still
to the barn, and all of a sudden Snoop let go of the kite tail and
landed on the shingles.

"Snoop is on the barn!" cried Bert, as the kite settled on the grass a
few yards away.

"Oh, Snoop! Snoop! are you hurt?" cried Freddie, running back a
distance, so that he might get a view of the barn top.

Evidently Snoop was not hurt. But he was still scared, for he stood on
the edge of the roof, with his tail standing straight up.

"Meow! meow! meow!" he said plaintively.

"He is asking for somebody to take him down," said Freddie. "Aren't you,
Snoop?"

"Meow!" answered the black kitten.

"Oh, dear me, what will you do now?" cried Flossie, as she came chasing
up.

"Perhaps I can get to the roof from the inside," said Bert, and he
darted quickly into the barn.

There were a rickety pair of stairs leading to the barn loft and these
he mounted. In the loft all was dark and full of cobwebs. Here and there
were small holes through the roof, through which the water came every
time it rained.

"Snoop! Snoop!" he