minutes before the train started.

"It's about halfway down," said Lalage, "on the left-hand side."

"I think we might----" I said.

"Yes," said the Canon. "In fact we must."

We moved together across the platform toward the porter's barrow, on
which Lalage's trunk lay.

"I should like to see the article," I said, fumbling with the strap.

"It isn't so much that," said the Canon. "Somebody is sure to unpack her
box for her to-night, and if Miss Pettigrew came on the thing and read
it----"

"She would be prejudiced against Lalage."

"I'd like the poor child to start fair, anyhow," said the Canon,
"whatever happens later on."

We unpacked a good many of Lalage's clothes and came on the second
number of the _Anti-Cat_. Lalage took possession of it and turned over
the pages, while the Canon and I refolded a blue serge dress and wedged
it into its place with boots.

"Here you are," said Lalage, when I had finished tugging at the straps.
"'Sneaking, Second Example. The Latest Move of Cattersby. Such a move! A
disgrace to any properly run society, a further disgrace to the already
disgraceful tactics of the Cat! How even that base enemy could do such a
thing is more than we honourable citizens can understand.'"

"The other honourable citizen," I said, "is Tom Kitterick, I suppose."

"No," said Lalage. "There was only me, but that's the way editors
always talk. Father told me so once.--'Yet she did it. She sneaked. Yes,
sneaked to the grown-up society, complained, as the now extinct Tommy
used to do."

"The allusion," I said, "escapes me. Who was the now extinct Tommy?"

"The one before the Cat," said Lalage.

"Her name," said the Canon feebly, "was Miss Thomas. She did complain a
good deal about Lalage during the six weeks she was with us."

"Is that the whole of the article?" I asked. "It's very short."

"There was nothing more to say," said Lalage; "so what was the good of
going on?"

"I thought," I said, "and hoped that there might have been something in
it about the effect the stuff had on Tom Kitterick. I have never been
able to find out anything about that."

"It didn't do much to Tom Kitterick," said Lalage. "He was just as
turkey eggy afterward as he was before. It didn't even smart, though I
rubbed it in for nearly half an hour, and Tom Kitterick said I'd have
the skin off his face, which just shows the silly sort of stuff it was.
Not that I'd expect the Cat to have anything else except silly s