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Nomad of the Nine Lives - Abby Frances Friebe · The Autobiography of a Thief

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Speaker 1: Preface of the Nomad of the Nine Lives. This is
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Speaker 1: a lirivox recording. All lirivox recordings are in the public domain.
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Speaker 1: For more information are to volunteer, please visit liverrivox dot org.
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Speaker 1: Recording by Sharon Kilmer. The Nomad of the Nine Lives
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Speaker 1: by Abby Francis freeby preface. Uncle, why don't you write
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Speaker 1: the story of your life? So says my nephew Tom
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Speaker 1: to me when he comes in and finds me sitting
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Speaker 1: in a brown study before a comfortable fire. I have
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Speaker 1: finally granted his request for I have spent many an
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Speaker 1: hour in relating my thrilling adventures to him, and am
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Speaker 1: sure that he has enjoyed them and even profited by them.
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Speaker 1: Thus have I been persuaded to write this little book
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Speaker 1: in the hope that it will be interesting to people
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Speaker 1: as well as to cats. Of course, I am only
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Speaker 1: a cat, but I have tried to be a good one,
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Speaker 1: and I think that a good cat is of more
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Speaker 1: use in the world than a bad human being. There
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Speaker 1: is no doubt but that cats are important members of
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Speaker 1: almost every household. What is home without a cat? Great
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Speaker 1: is the comfort and companionship that have been brought by
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Speaker 1: them into the lives of solitary spinsters. Earnestly and faithfully
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Speaker 1: have they slaved to free homes of destructive rats and mice,
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Speaker 1: and have protected the corn in the farmer's barns. When
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Speaker 1: one reads of the terrible loss caused by these rodents,
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Speaker 1: it is astonishing to think that their destroyers could ever
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Speaker 1: be ill used or abandoned. I shall quote as nearly
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Speaker 1: as possible from a newspaper which I once heard my
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Speaker 1: master reading, so you can see how a good many
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Speaker 1: faithful cats are treated. There were probably few people in
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Speaker 1: the city of Boston who realized that over twenty five
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Speaker 1: thousand abandoned cats and three thousand dollars are electrocuted each
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Speaker 1: year by the Animal Rescue League by means of a
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Speaker 1: cage which is charged with a strong current of electricity.
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Speaker 1: After entering and the door is closed, they die without
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Speaker 1: pain or struggle. June is the time of the year
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Speaker 1: that people abandon dogs, cats and other pets, for at
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Speaker 1: this time they move to the seashore and disregard their
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Speaker 1: four footed friends, leaving them to wander in the streets.
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Speaker 1: It is the aim of the Animal Rescue League to
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Speaker 1: procure and dispose of all animals thus abandoned, and whenever possible,
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Speaker 1: they are provided with good homes. There were twenty seven thousand,
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Speaker 1: six hundred seven cats rescued by the League in nineteen twelve,
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Speaker 1: and each year the number increases. Oh the pity of it.
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Speaker 1: This little story will, I hope, appeal to many, as
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Speaker 1: it shows how keen are the sufferings of a pampered pet,
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Speaker 1: thrown on its own resources and forced to wander day
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Speaker 1: by day without food or water. Surely it may save
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Speaker 1: some poor beast from misery, and I sincerely hope that
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Speaker 1: it will not have been written in vain. End of preface.
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Speaker 1: Chapter one of the Nomad of the Nine Lives by
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Speaker 1: Abby Francis freeby this livervox recording is in the public domain.
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Speaker 1: The first thing I remember is that all was dark,
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Speaker 1: but that I could feel a mother's loving caress, and
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Speaker 1: knew that there were other helpless things in the same
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Speaker 1: box with me. After several days, something large and strong
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Speaker 1: lifted us, box and all and carried us up into
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Speaker 1: a much more pleasant place. I can still remember how
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Speaker 1: good it smelled. Upon opening my eyes the next day,
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Speaker 1: I beheld the face of my mother and found that
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Speaker 1: we were seven and were comfortably settled at the rear
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Speaker 1: of a provision store. Mother did not feel at all safe,
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Speaker 1: that I could see by the uneasy manner in which
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Speaker 1: she looked about her and started and trembled as people
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Speaker 1: came to look at us. Once, if I remember correctly,
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Speaker 1: she tried to buy it a small boy who would
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Speaker 1: persist in picking me up by the tail. Her claws
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Speaker 1: showed also, and she took good care of us. In
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Speaker 1: many like emergencies. She continued to be uneasy, and one day,
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Speaker 1: when mister Carver, the butcher, had stepped out on business,
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Speaker 1: she took us one by one in her mouth, lifting
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Speaker 1: us carefully by the nape of the neck, and carried
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Speaker 1: us back into the cellar. Again. It was dark and cold,
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Speaker 1: and we did not like it very well, but Mother
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Speaker 1: cuddled us up in her warm embrace and tried to
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Speaker 1: make us feel that it was best for us to
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Speaker 1: be away from people. When mister Carver came back and
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Speaker 1: saw the empty box, he came down into the cellar
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Speaker 1: and skulled poor mother, saying, now, old lady, I want
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Speaker 1: you and the kittens to stay upstairs, for I am
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Speaker 1: going to give them away. Besides I want you to
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Speaker 1: kill the mice which are getting into everything up there.
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Speaker 1: You may keep one of your children, however, for we
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Speaker 1: need two cats here. Mother looked worried, but followed as
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Speaker 1: he carried us up again. We remained there after that,
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Speaker 1: and grew larger and more attractive, so that one by
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Speaker 1: one my brothers and sisters were given away, with the
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Speaker 1: exception of Tom's father, who stayed at home and lived
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Speaker 1: on the fat of the land to a good old age.
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Speaker 1: Our childhood was bright and happy, for Mother taught us
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Speaker 1: many things and brought us up well. I remember that
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Speaker 1: there was a door leading from the rear of the
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Speaker 1: store into a garden. Sunny days, Mother would take us
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Speaker 1: out and give us lessons in natural history. She taught
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Speaker 1: us not to kill our main songbirds, but said that
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Speaker 1: we could kill and eat field mine, our little blind moles,
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Speaker 1: although we never saw any of them. She warned us
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Speaker 1: that bees and wasp were too heating to the blood,
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Speaker 1: and not to eat them, but if very hungry, a
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Speaker 1: grasshopper was not to be sneezed at. Positively, no toads, however,
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Speaker 1: how we played in the garden, chasing the elusive sunbeams,
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Speaker 1: rolling over and over and learning to box and jump.
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Speaker 1: It all came to an end too soon, however, for
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Speaker 1: one day a very neat little girl came in and
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Speaker 1: said that her father, who was a janitor in a
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Speaker 1: grammar school, wanted a kitten because the mice were getting
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Speaker 1: the best of him. She picked me up, and I
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Speaker 1: knew at once that I should like her, as she
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Speaker 1: was so gentle. Some children are very rough and squeeze
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Speaker 1: one so hard. Mister Carver parted with me unwillingly, for
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Speaker 1: as he expressed it, I was the smartest one in
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Speaker 1: the bunch. I said goodbye to with tears in my eyes,
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Speaker 1: for she had been very good to me. Once. She
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Speaker 1: had even defied a dog who came into the store
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Speaker 1: and ventured too near our box. I still remember how
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Speaker 1: handsome she appeared, with her eyes blazing, her arched back,
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Speaker 1: and her open mouth hissing and spitting at him. Her
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Speaker 1: sharp claws could be seen outside of her velvet paws.
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Speaker 1: While we terribly frightened, crouched low and kept quiet, the
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Speaker 1: dog ran away as fast as he could and never
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Speaker 1: returned to trouble us. She had taught us how to
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Speaker 1: catch and kill rats and mice in the stillness of
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Speaker 1: the night, and had given us many an object lesson. Thus,
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Speaker 1: when we left her we had a knowledge of these things,
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Speaker 1: and had also been worn not to steal, which, living
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Speaker 1: as we did in a meat market, had been a
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Speaker 1: very hard task. She had likewise taught us to be
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Speaker 1: careful of our appearance, and especially to keep this latter
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Speaker 1: she showed us by wetting her paw with her tongue
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Speaker 1: and washing her face with it. And moreover had told
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Speaker 1: us we need not go over our heads and back
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Speaker 1: of our ears unless it looked like rain. So considerate
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Speaker 1: of her, for cats as well as boys, hate to
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Speaker 1: have their ears washed. Of course, she taught us to
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Speaker 1: hate water, and always to step over a puddle to
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Speaker 1: keep good company are none, and above all things not
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Speaker 1: to stay out late at night or walk on back fences.
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Speaker 1: She did not approve of voice culture either, but later
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Speaker 1: I shall relate my sad experiences in that direction. End
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Speaker 1: of chapter one, chapter two of The Nomad of the
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Speaker 1: Nine Lives by Abby Francis freeby this Livervox recording is
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Speaker 1: in the public domain. I was, indeed glad to find
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Speaker 1: that my ambition to have an education was to be realized.
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Speaker 1: In my early days at the meat market. I used
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Speaker 1: to slip out on the sidewalk and try to spell
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Speaker 1: out the words on the daily bulletin blackboards, such as
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Speaker 1: spare ribs twenty five cents, best spring lamb thirty cents,
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Speaker 1: and best rump roast forty five cents. I used to
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Speaker 1: wait until some plump old lady with the market basket
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Speaker 1: came along and read these signs. She often scolded, but
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Speaker 1: I did not then know why. I have since learned
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Speaker 1: that my childhood was in a time when the high
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Speaker 1: cost of living was in everybody's mouth. As I had
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Speaker 1: learned so much in that way, I felt that I
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Speaker 1: was able to skip the primary grade, and so started
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Speaker 1: in with a great deal of confidence to pick up
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Speaker 1: an education. For instance, the fact that I was allowed
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Speaker 1: to roam in the various rooms in the evenings permitted
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Speaker 1: me to observe, among other things, how the earth revolved
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Speaker 1: on its axis. I often proved this fact by tapping
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Speaker 1: a large globe with my paw and watching Africa chase Asia,
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Speaker 1: and Asia in turn pursue America as it turned swiftly around.
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Speaker 1: The janitor had an office in the basement, and I
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Speaker 1: was supposed to stay there during the school session, but
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Speaker 1: I used to creep softly up the staircase and listen
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Speaker 1: at the classroom doors. Often the door of a dressing
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Speaker 1: room chanced to be open, and I could enter here
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Speaker 1: and watch through the crack of the schoolroom door. I
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Speaker 1: learned to read in this manner and took up arithmetic,
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Speaker 1: which was rather difficult. But I studied hard evenings and
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Speaker 1: made good progress until I came to vulgar fractions. Remembering
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Speaker 1: mother's dislike of anything unrefined, however, I closed the book
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Speaker 1: and did not dare to go on. I fared very well,
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Speaker 1: for the janitor's wife sent me bread and milk, and
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Speaker 1: occasionally bits of fish and meat. I had the run
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Speaker 1: of the school at night, and consequently could learn a
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Speaker 1: great many things while prowling around in quest of rats
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Speaker 1: and mice. In fact, I always managed to catch a
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Speaker 1: few and leave them where they could be seen. I
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Speaker 1: did not care to eat them before I settled down
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Speaker 1: to hard study, and so revealed to the janitor that
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Speaker 1: I was doing my duty. I used to find some
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Speaker 1: choice tidbits in the desks, some of which opened at
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Speaker 1: the end and did not lift at the top. Pieces
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Speaker 1: of cake, numerous pickled limes for which I did not care,
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Speaker 1: and also plenty of cookies and sometimes a sandwich. I observed,
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Speaker 1: by the aid of a mirror standing on the floor
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Speaker 1: in a teacher's closet, that I was growing large and
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Speaker 1: good looking. My dark coat was smooth and glossy, my
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Speaker 1: white shirt front set off a well poised head. And
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Speaker 1: I possess as fine a pair of whiskers as ever
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Speaker 1: graced a cat. Of these. I was extremely proud, but
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Speaker 1: used to keep my entire person well groomed, as well
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Speaker 1: as that particular portion of my features. I exercised in
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Speaker 1: the school yard in order to keep in good form,
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Speaker 1: and also took boxing lessons from an acquaintance who occasionally called.
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Speaker 1: I soon began to tire of the school life and
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Speaker 1: dull studies, however, and longed to go out somewhere during
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Speaker 1: the evening, but the janitor was careful to lock me
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Speaker 1: in the school. At eight o'clock one evening, I found
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Speaker 1: that a window on the ground floor had been left open.
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Speaker 1: It was but the matter of a moment to vault out,
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Speaker 1: and I found myself on the street alone at night.
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Speaker 1: For the first time in my life. I remembered mother's
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Speaker 1: advice but thought that she was rather too particular. Indeed,
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Speaker 1: I felt that I could come to no harm. So
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Speaker 1: I walked down the street, keeping an eye out for dogs,
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Speaker 1: as mother had warned me to do. I soon perceived
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Speaker 1: that the broad Highway was too much exposed for my traveling,
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Speaker 1: and so I proceeded into a back yard, jumped a fence,
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Speaker 1: and found myself on a back road where market men
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Speaker 1: delivered their goods. It was really quite attractive and sociable,
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Speaker 1: for I came upon a group who seemed to be
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Speaker 1: serenading some mutual acquaintance. I had listened to the children
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Speaker 1: singing at school, and had looked over the song books,
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Speaker 1: and had even practiced a few scales. In this way,
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Speaker 1: I discovered that I had a very clear tenor voice,
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Speaker 1: so I immediately joined the group. They did not seem
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Speaker 1: particularly anxious to have me do so, and as I
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Speaker 1: now look back, I can see how young and fresh
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Speaker 1: I was. Jumping upon a fence, I at once threw
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Speaker 1: out my chest and proceeded to give them a tenor solo.
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Speaker 1: I was wholly unprepared for what followed. In an instant
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Speaker 1: they all charged at me, howling, spitting, and finally succeeded
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Speaker 1: in knocking me from my high position down on the ground.
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Speaker 1: We rolled and struggled, fur flew. Oh how they scratched
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Speaker 1: and kicked and plumbled me. One bit pieces out of
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Speaker 1: my ears. Another gave me a black eye. In my agony,
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Speaker 1: I thought of Mother and that her warnings were right
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Speaker 1: after all. I found out afterwards that the object of
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Speaker 1: their serenade was a lady, and my find appearance and
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Speaker 1: good voice made them wild with jealousy. I could have
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Speaker 1: put up a good fight against one or two enemies,
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Speaker 1: but an army of five proved too much for me. However,
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Speaker 1: I got in a few savage bites and scratches, which
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Speaker 1: I think they remembered for some time. During this terrible battle,
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Speaker 1: we all gave vocal selections in different keys which could
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Speaker 1: hardly be called pleasing to the ear, and were rewarded
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Speaker 1: by a shower of empty bottles, old shoes, hair brushes,
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Speaker 1: and finally, some unkind person threw a picture of ice
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Speaker 1: water at us from a window above. This last offering
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Speaker 1: served to break up the encounter as well as the picture.
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Speaker 1: Upon being invited behind the scenes of a theater some
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Speaker 1: weeks later, and peeping from the wings. I noticed that
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Speaker 1: a young girl who gave a song and dance was
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Speaker 1: showered with roses, violets and other beautiful flowers. I could
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Speaker 1: not understand this great difference, as her voice did not
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Speaker 1: sound any better than mine. I thought, although it may
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Speaker 1: sound conceited in me to say this. I finally escaped
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Speaker 1: with the remains of my ninth life, and when I
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Speaker 1: got away from my new friends, I leamped painfully back
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Speaker 1: to the schoolhouse, thinking how glad I should be to
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Speaker 1: clamor in again and nurse my wounds. When I reached
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Speaker 1: there and I looked for the open window, I found
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Speaker 1: to my horror that it was closed. What should I
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Speaker 1: do two weeks to run from an offensive dog, Must
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Speaker 1: I lie helpless in an open school yard? It was
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Speaker 1: not to be thought of. End of chapter two, Chapter
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Speaker 1: three of The Nomad of the Nine Lives by Abby
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Speaker 1: Francis freeby this livervox recording is in the public domain.
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Speaker 1: I rested awhile and felt a little better. No bones
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Speaker 1: were broken. I could walk slowly, and as mother's provision
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Speaker 1: store was not far away, I decided to take the
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Speaker 1: risk of finding a cellar window open there, so painfully
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Speaker 1: limping along back streets and resting in dark corners. I
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Speaker 1: arrived at my destination at midnight and found that a
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Speaker 1: window had been left open. It was it a brave
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Speaker 1: task to jump down, but better than staying out all night,
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Speaker 1: so I set my teeth and leaped softly in. I
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Speaker 1: was greeted with a snarl and a hiss, which sounded
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Speaker 1: like a bunch of firecrackers going off. And there was
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Speaker 1: mother on guard, standing with arched back in front of
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Speaker 1: a box of newly born kittens in a dark corner.
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Speaker 1: I crept toward her, and with a cry of delight,
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Speaker 1: she recognized me. I told my pitiful story while she
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Speaker 1: gently led me to another corner and bade me lay
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Speaker 1: down on some carpeting, near which stood a saucer of milk.
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Speaker 1: She lapped my wounds and comforted me with kind words.
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Speaker 1: She said she was afraid at first that I was
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Speaker 1: a bad quarrelsome cat, and that it almost broke her heart.
17:48
Speaker 1: Judging from remarks that she dropped, and as she had
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Speaker 1: such sad eyes and sighed so often, I am sadly
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Speaker 1: afraid that Father himself was not exactly a Sunday School model.
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Speaker 1: I was stiff and sore, the next day and stayed
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Speaker 1: in my corner. Mother brought part of her dinner to me,
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Speaker 1: but I could not bear to take the food from
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Speaker 1: a nursing mother. The cries of the kittens wore on
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Speaker 1: my nerves to such an extent that I wondered if
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Speaker 1: I could ever settle down to a domestic life. As
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Speaker 1: soon as I felt able to go out into the world,
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Speaker 1: I did so, for I knew that it made extra
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Speaker 1: work for Mother to have me there. I therefore took
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Speaker 1: my departure, deciding that I should not go back to
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Speaker 1: the school, for after all, it was a dull place.
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Speaker 1: It is needless to state that I thanked Mother for
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Speaker 1: her kindness. Notwithstanding my first experience, I was anxious to
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Speaker 1: see life, so set out with a brave heart, but
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Speaker 1: without friends and no prospects of a place to lay
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Speaker 1: my head. Fortunately, as it was summer and the nights
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Speaker 1: were warm, one could sleep out quite comfortably. I did
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Speaker 1: not look quite up to the mark, but I do
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Speaker 1: that time alone would cover the ball places and restore
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Speaker 1: my former agility. In the daytime, I did not venture forth,
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Speaker 1: but slept most of the time in a quiet nook
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Speaker 1: in a back yard where the people had gone away
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Speaker 1: for the summer. At night I came out, and a
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Speaker 1: few uncovered garbage pails helped me wonderfully. Although it hurt
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Speaker 1: my pride to eat this sort of food. I was
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Speaker 1: young and healthy, however, and enjoyed the free life in
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Speaker 1: the open air. I had made a few good friends,
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Speaker 1: some of whom I have kept to this day. I
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Speaker 1: remember that I learned to shun boys, for they were
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Speaker 1: apt to throw stones. How they can be so cruel,
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Speaker 1: I cannot understand. If they realized how the stones cut
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Speaker 1: and stung, they would never use them for missiles and
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Speaker 1: us for targets. I nursed a wound on my hip
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Speaker 1: bone for weeks, which was very painful, and was caused
19:57
Speaker 1: by a boy hitting me with a sharp stone. What
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Speaker 1: satisfaction can it be to them? Harming a defenseless animal
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Speaker 1: can surely give none, but it always seems a great
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Speaker 1: temptation to them to do so. Once I saw a
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Speaker 1: group of small boys stoning a kitten which they had
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Speaker 1: tied to a raft. I was glad when a big
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Speaker 1: policeman caught them at it. Dogs and boys were the
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Speaker 1: only drawback to what was otherwise a perfect life and
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Speaker 1: a lazily lounging about one first a feast and then
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Speaker 1: a famine, no matter how intense were the pangs of hunger,
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Speaker 1: I followed mother's advice and never ate sparrows or any
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Speaker 1: other birds. About this time I made the acquaintance of
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Speaker 1: a cat who lived in a theater, and one night
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Speaker 1: he invited me to go behind the scenes with him.
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Speaker 1: My eyes were opened. That night, strange looking girls in
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Speaker 1: stranger looking costumes came upon the stage and attempted to
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Speaker 1: dance and sing. The like of this I had never
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Speaker 1: seen before, nor I hope will I ever again. When
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Speaker 1: their gowns were not too short, they were much too
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Speaker 1: loud for my taste. But nevertheless, it seems that people
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Speaker 1: sit for hours watching them rave, dance and scream. These
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Speaker 1: peculiar people were kind to me, though, for I ambled
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Speaker 1: about with considerable interest. One young female called out Larry Pipe,
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Speaker 1: the new cat. Now I had seen mister Carver smoke
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Speaker 1: a pipe, and sometimes he would pick me up and
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Speaker 1: playfully blow rings of smoke in my face and laugh
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Speaker 1: at me. So I scurried away for fear I should
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Speaker 1: have to take one of those nasty things in my mouth.
21:47
Speaker 1: As I was leaving the theater. One man called out
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Speaker 1: to me beat it, and as I could not understand
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Speaker 1: their language, which was not in the text books at school,
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Speaker 1: I made good my escape with the kindly help of
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Speaker 1: an old shoe, which accompanied me part way. That is
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Speaker 1: no place for a self respecting cat, I thought, so
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Speaker 1: went out into the night. I was a homeless wanderer,
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Speaker 1: but managed to find a quiet corner in a dark
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Speaker 1: alley and soon went to sleep. I awoke much refreshed,
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Speaker 1: but very hungry, as my friend of the theater had
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Speaker 1: neglected to treat me to anything more substantial than a
22:26
Speaker 1: chance to look on. Oh how I longed for a
22:30
Speaker 1: drink of milk or water. I was sorely tempted and
22:34
Speaker 1: fell on a doorstep. A short distance away was a
22:38
Speaker 1: jar of milk. It was a moment's work to tip
22:41
Speaker 1: it over and remove the paper top. With a sharp claw.
22:45
Speaker 1: I lapped my fill and left some in the bottle
22:48
Speaker 1: for the family. That theft was bad enough, but I
22:51
Speaker 1: fell still lower. One day I was very hungry and
22:56
Speaker 1: happened along just as some masons had ceased working in
22:59
Speaker 1: order to eat their lunches. One of the men took
23:02
Speaker 1: the cover from his dinner pail, and, leaving it open
23:05
Speaker 1: on the ground, walked away for a few minutes. I
23:09
Speaker 1: darted quickly to the pail, and to my delight, saw
23:12
Speaker 1: a large slice of corn beef. It was quick work
23:16
Speaker 1: to snatch it and run away, and how good it tasted.
23:20
Speaker 1: I ate it so fast that I remember I suffered
23:23
Speaker 1: afterwards from indigestion. Or perhaps it was a bad conscience.
23:30
Speaker 1: End of chapter three Chapter four of the Nomad of
23:40
Speaker 1: the Nine Lives by Abby Francis freeby This lever box
23:44
Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Things were going from
23:48
Speaker 1: bad to worse, and I was becoming tired of my
23:50
Speaker 1: present life, but there did not seem to be any
23:53
Speaker 1: way out of it. When I went back to my
23:56
Speaker 1: dark alley, I fell asleep, but tossed and turned, and
24:00
Speaker 1: was very uneasy. At midnight, I was aware of hearing
24:03
Speaker 1: hoarse voices whispering together. Alert and listening, I heard two
24:08
Speaker 1: men talking about lifting some swag. I did not know
24:13
Speaker 1: what that was, but kept still. One said that he
24:17
Speaker 1: would watch outside while the other forced a dining room window.
24:22
Speaker 1: If the job is done, quietly, said one, we can
24:25
Speaker 1: get all the silver without waking the family. I then
24:29
Speaker 1: understood the expression. It takes a thief to catch a thief,
24:34
Speaker 1: for after the milk and corned beef episodes, I felt
24:37
Speaker 1: like a branded criminal. They started out to do their
24:41
Speaker 1: dishonest work, and I followed my velvet paws, making no noise.
24:46
Speaker 1: They were so intent with watching out for the policemen
24:49
Speaker 1: that they did not notice me, and when they looked back,
24:52
Speaker 1: I dodged behind trees or posts. I soon found that
24:57
Speaker 1: we were getting into a very refined neighborhood, for it
25:00
Speaker 1: had a wide street with a park between the sidewalks.
25:04
Speaker 1: The men did not walk on the main street, but
25:07
Speaker 1: resorted to the alley in the rear of the block.
25:11
Speaker 1: They finally stopped, and, looking up and down, cautiously unfastened
25:15
Speaker 1: the gate with a few twists, for it had been locked.
25:19
Speaker 1: They were now inside of an enclosure, surrounded by a
25:22
Speaker 1: high fence, and where the light did not shine upon
25:25
Speaker 1: this house as on some of the others. I sneaked
25:29
Speaker 1: in when the gate was open, and following in the darkness,
25:32
Speaker 1: found myself under the coping, watching one lift the other
25:36
Speaker 1: so that he could reach in and unlock a window.
25:40
Speaker 1: Slowly and quietly, he raised the sash and stepped in
25:44
Speaker 1: while the man below watched, ready to give the alarm
25:48
Speaker 1: if anybody should come along. I immediately followed the burglar into
25:52
Speaker 1: the house. Here, indeed was a new experience, thought I.
25:57
Speaker 1: As I hid under the dining table and watched, my
26:00
Speaker 1: mind acted quickly, and I decided to take a chance,
26:05
Speaker 1: run upstairs and give the alarm. Dodging out of the
26:08
Speaker 1: dining room, I ran into the hall and swiftly up
26:11
Speaker 1: a long stairway, and found the Master and mistress sound
26:15
Speaker 1: asleep in a large room. I went up to the bed,
26:19
Speaker 1: gave the bedclothes a quick tug, uttered a low cry,
26:23
Speaker 1: and stepped back out of sight. The Master jumped up,
26:28
Speaker 1: exclaiming what was that. At the same time, he touched
26:32
Speaker 1: a button on the wall and flooded the house with light.
26:35
Speaker 1: He listened intently, and, hearing a noise downstairs, rushed down.
26:40
Speaker 1: I followed in time to see the man jump out
26:42
Speaker 1: of the window, leaving on the floor a large sack
26:46
Speaker 1: which was filled with silver. The Master rushed to the telephone,
26:50
Speaker 1: and almost before one could turn around, several policemen were
26:53
Speaker 1: in the house. I heard him tell them about the
26:57
Speaker 1: strange cat who cried out and woke them up. Saying
27:00
Speaker 1: that he wanted to find me, and as I had
27:02
Speaker 1: saved the silver, he would keep me henceforth and give
27:06
Speaker 1: me a home. Hearing this made me happy, but I
27:10
Speaker 1: realized that such a beautiful house was no place for me,
27:13
Speaker 1: especially in my present condition, as I was more of
27:17
Speaker 1: a slum cat than one to grace such a position.
27:21
Speaker 1: I quietly slipped out into the night, feeling more hopeless
27:25
Speaker 1: and homeless than ever before. Hungry and forlorn, wishing that
27:31
Speaker 1: I was somebody's pet. I wandered along, looking at the
27:34
Speaker 1: fine houses, wishing that I had a home there, for
27:38
Speaker 1: I did not at the time really know what a
27:40
Speaker 1: square meal was like, nor did I know what a
27:43
Speaker 1: home meant. Neither a provisioned store nor a school is
27:47
Speaker 1: really a home. In fact, I have heard of cats
27:51
Speaker 1: who slept on beds, and some who had bassinets, who
27:55
Speaker 1: sat by open fires and dined on the fat of
27:58
Speaker 1: the land. What is more, during my recent wanderings, I
28:03
Speaker 1: met one of these aristocratic animals who had lost his way,
28:07
Speaker 1: and he told me great tales of wealth, what his
28:10
Speaker 1: folks did, how he went to the sea shore every summer,
28:15
Speaker 1: even going in a motor car. Oh, how important he felt.
28:20
Speaker 1: He said that he slept in a basket lined with down,
28:24
Speaker 1: and as he wore a very expensive collar, I had
28:27
Speaker 1: no reason to doubt him. He had rung from home,
28:31
Speaker 1: and I afterwards heard that a reward had been offered
28:34
Speaker 1: for him. He was a regular sissy and cried and
28:38
Speaker 1: sniffled when he was obliged to stay out all night.
28:42
Speaker 1: I offered him some of my picked up food, but
28:45
Speaker 1: he turned up his aristocratic nose and said that he
28:48
Speaker 1: always had liver for breakfast cook to otter. Upon asking
28:54
Speaker 1: him what his name was, he proudly replied Lord Roberts.
29:00
Speaker 1: Two friends of mine street cats who were listening, turned
29:04
Speaker 1: aside to snicker, and when I looked fiercely around, pretended
29:08
Speaker 1: that they were only sneezing. One ventured to ask him
29:12
Speaker 1: if he had his coat of arms engraved on his collar,
29:15
Speaker 1: and the other offered to exchange visiting cards. He saw
29:20
Speaker 1: that they were making fun of him, and it hurt
29:22
Speaker 1: his feelings, for I saw him turn away and wipe
29:26
Speaker 1: his eye with one paw, as he evidently left his
29:29
Speaker 1: lace handkerchief at home. They stepped on his toes and
29:34
Speaker 1: pushed him around with the intention of picking a fight.
29:37
Speaker 1: With him, but he had no fighting blood, so they
29:41
Speaker 1: finally let him alone. I tried to assist him to
29:45
Speaker 1: find his home, but the majesty of the law intervened,
29:49
Speaker 1: and he was carried away in the arms of a
29:51
Speaker 1: stalwart policeman who knew probably of the reward. This incident
29:57
Speaker 1: opened my eyes to the possibility of a home and
30:00
Speaker 1: made me long for one. But my affairs became worse
30:04
Speaker 1: instead of better. I soon reached the lowest ebb of despair,
30:08
Speaker 1: and if it had not been that I had only
30:11
Speaker 1: one remaining life, I should have been tempted to end
30:15
Speaker 1: my existence. I was sitting down by the docks one day,
30:19
Speaker 1: looking at the dirty green water, which by the way,
30:23
Speaker 1: did not appeal to me for suicidal purposes, when I
30:27
Speaker 1: was accosted by a kind faced lady, who held out
30:30
Speaker 1: her hand to me, saying, you, poor homeless creature, come
30:35
Speaker 1: with me. Could it be possible that anyone wanted me?
30:40
Speaker 1: I could not believe my senses. She drew nearer I crouched,
30:45
Speaker 1: as everyone who had spoken to me recently had either
30:48
Speaker 1: kicked or sworn at me, or ordered me away in
30:51
Speaker 1: language more forcible than elegant. Consequently, I was rather doubtful,
30:57
Speaker 1: not knowing whether the hand held out to me would
31:00
Speaker 1: strike or caress, I looked into her face once more,
31:05
Speaker 1: and seeing peace and happiness there, allowed her to take
31:08
Speaker 1: me up gently and place a bag over my wasted body.
31:12
Speaker 1: She carried me in her arms to an electric car,
31:15
Speaker 1: which she entered. After we had gone some distance. She
31:19
Speaker 1: alighted at a quiet street and stopped before a sort
31:22
Speaker 1: of shop, over which was a sign which read Animal
31:26
Speaker 1: Rescue League, Oh Joy and Happiness A home at last.
31:32
Speaker 1: It was too good to be true. Once inside, I
31:36
Speaker 1: was bathed with some queer smelling substance, fed in small
31:40
Speaker 1: amounts at a time, and put to bed in a comfortable,
31:43
Speaker 1: clean place in a row with a number of other cats.
31:48
Speaker 1: End of chapter four, Chapter five of The Nomad of
31:58
Speaker 1: the Nine Lives by Abbey five Francis freeby this LibriVox
32:02
Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. You may imagine how
32:07
Speaker 1: fond I became of my rescuer. It may seem hard
32:10
Speaker 1: to believe, but once she actually patted me on the
32:13
Speaker 1: head and stroked my fur with her gentle hands. No
32:18
Speaker 1: one had ever done that before. It made me feel
32:21
Speaker 1: like crying. Such kindness made life worth living. And thanks
32:26
Speaker 1: to good care, good food, and a contented mind, I
32:30
Speaker 1: was getting better every day. One day I heard her
32:34
Speaker 1: say that I was improving and must have once been
32:37
Speaker 1: a handsome cat. I wanted to tell her of my
32:40
Speaker 1: wonderful voice, but did not do so, and compromised by
32:45
Speaker 1: squaring my shoulders and combing out my whiskers with my claws,
32:49
Speaker 1: for I had saved them and felt that they were
32:52
Speaker 1: still a credit to me. I think she admired them. Also,
32:57
Speaker 1: hearing occasional barkings, I soon found that there were dogs
33:02
Speaker 1: of all descriptions there also, but in another room where
33:06
Speaker 1: they could not molest us. Oh what a beautiful place
33:10
Speaker 1: it seemed after all my wanderings and hardships. Time went on,
33:15
Speaker 1: and from remarks I overheard, I knew that I had
33:18
Speaker 1: regained my former excellent appearance. People frequently came in and
33:24
Speaker 1: looked at us, and occasionally some man or woman would
33:28
Speaker 1: take one of the cats or dogs away, never to
33:31
Speaker 1: be seen at the league again. One day, a motor
33:35
Speaker 1: car stopped at the door, and an attractively dressed woman
33:38
Speaker 1: entered and said that she was seeking a good cat
33:41
Speaker 1: to take home. She looked carefully at each one of us,
33:46
Speaker 1: and my heart almost stopped beating when she paused before
33:49
Speaker 1: my cage and said, I like his looks best of all.
33:54
Speaker 1: May I have him? The kind lady replied, well, he
33:58
Speaker 1: is such a dear good thing that I hate to
34:01
Speaker 1: part with him, but I want to get him in
34:03
Speaker 1: a good home, so you may take him along. I
34:08
Speaker 1: did not like to leave her, but trusted that she
34:11
Speaker 1: knew my welfare best, and so putting my mute thanks
34:14
Speaker 1: into my eyes, I gave her a long last look
34:18
Speaker 1: and was hurried into the motor car. I thought of
34:22
Speaker 1: Lord Roberts, but was even more delighted when we stopped
34:26
Speaker 1: on the very same avenue where I had followed the burglars.
34:30
Speaker 1: To my surprise and pleasure, I found that it was
34:34
Speaker 1: the very house of my adventure. As I recognized the
34:37
Speaker 1: hall and carpets. Later on, I happened to look out
34:42
Speaker 1: one of the dining room windows, and if you will
34:44
Speaker 1: believe me, there was Lord Roberts sitting out in the
34:49
Speaker 1: next yard's sunning himself. As he got up and paced
34:53
Speaker 1: around in a dignified manner. I tapped with my paw
34:57
Speaker 1: on the glass, but he would not deign to to
35:00
Speaker 1: look up. The next day I was allowed to go
35:03
Speaker 1: out for a walk, and since he was in his
35:06
Speaker 1: yard and our adjoining gate was open, I made bold
35:10
Speaker 1: to walk in and attempt to renew our acquaintanceship. He
35:15
Speaker 1: proved to be a snob, but did not recognize me
35:18
Speaker 1: as his alley friend. When in need, of course, I
35:22
Speaker 1: understood that it was not my place to call first,
35:25
Speaker 1: because he was very haunty and showed that he was
35:28
Speaker 1: unwilling to make my acquaintance. However, I wore a collar
35:33
Speaker 1: which was newer and more expensive than his, and he
35:37
Speaker 1: knew that my people belonged to the four hundred. So
35:41
Speaker 1: he finally condescended to notice me and asked me a
35:45
Speaker 1: few questions concerning my pedigree. I told him that my
35:49
Speaker 1: ancestors came over in the Mayflower, for was not Carver,
35:54
Speaker 1: a name of which to be proud. He said that
35:57
Speaker 1: he belonged to the English Aristocra, but soon discovered that
36:02
Speaker 1: my education was better than his, for he had learned
36:05
Speaker 1: his letters only from playing around on the nursery floor
36:09
Speaker 1: and seeing them on blocks. His lessons of life had
36:13
Speaker 1: been acquired from a mother goose book. When the children
36:16
Speaker 1: babbled Hey Diddlediddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow
36:20
Speaker 1: jumped over the moon, or some other such silly jumble
36:24
Speaker 1: of nonsense. He put on a great many errors, but
36:28
Speaker 1: knew nothing. I had acquired a little style myself, and
36:33
Speaker 1: finding he knew so little, took the upper hand and
36:37
Speaker 1: patronized him shamefully. If he had remembered my picking him
36:41
Speaker 1: out a choice bone from a garbage box and his
36:45
Speaker 1: dignified refusal, all would have been lost. But he didn't.
36:51
Speaker 1: My looks had undergone a great change. I was sleek
36:55
Speaker 1: and glossy, for one of the maids had used some
36:58
Speaker 1: hair brilliantine belonging to the mistress on my coat. Accordingly,
37:04
Speaker 1: Lord Roberts asked me to call again, and I thanked him,
37:07
Speaker 1: saying that I should be pleased to do so. We
37:11
Speaker 1: saw each other quite frequently after that, and became firm friends,
37:16
Speaker 1: for he soon found discretion to be the better part
37:19
Speaker 1: of valor. As my time spent in the slums had
37:23
Speaker 1: not been in vain. In one respect, I knew how
37:27
Speaker 1: to fight. End of chapter five Chapter six of the
37:37
Speaker 1: Nomad of the Nine Lives by Abby Francis freeby this
37:42
Speaker 1: libvox recording is in the public domain. My owners finally
37:47
Speaker 1: recognized me as the cat who had saved their silver.
37:51
Speaker 1: It happened as follows. One night in the winter, a
37:54
Speaker 1: nurse was up with one of the children who was ill.
37:58
Speaker 1: She gently soothed it and carried some damp clothing into
38:01
Speaker 1: the sitting room placed it before the open fire to dry.
38:05
Speaker 1: She returned to the child, and I lay down by
38:08
Speaker 1: the fire. I must have slept for some time when
38:11
Speaker 1: I was awakened by a suffocating sensation. To my horror,
38:16
Speaker 1: I saw that the clothes had caught fire, and that
38:19
Speaker 1: the woodwork around the fireplace was burning. Also, what should
38:24
Speaker 1: I do? Oh, how my eyes smarted. I had a
38:28
Speaker 1: hard task to find my way to the door, and
38:31
Speaker 1: was very glad to find it not quite closed. I
38:35
Speaker 1: crept through the small opening, rushed to my master's room,
38:39
Speaker 1: and stood by his side, giving the same cry of
38:42
Speaker 1: warning that I did when the house was entered. He
38:45
Speaker 1: jumped up, and, touching the button, exclaimed, that is the
38:49
Speaker 1: same cat who gave the alarm before. At the same instant,
38:54
Speaker 1: he smelled smoke and made his way out into the hall,
38:57
Speaker 1: where he found the fire. All was confusion at first,
39:01
Speaker 1: but as the chemical engine was just around the corner.
39:04
Speaker 1: The firemen were soon in the house and had the
39:07
Speaker 1: fire quickly extinguished. One of them said that if the
39:11
Speaker 1: Master had not waked as soon as he did, all
39:14
Speaker 1: would have been burned in their beds. Perhaps I was
39:18
Speaker 1: not a hero. No one could do enough for me.
39:21
Speaker 1: I had an entire chop for breakfast. I thought of
39:24
Speaker 1: Lord Roberts and his liver. I did wish that Mother
39:28
Speaker 1: and my nephew Tom, who I had heard was helping
39:32
Speaker 1: Mother keep the mice away from the store, could see
39:35
Speaker 1: me now. They called me hero, I who had never
39:39
Speaker 1: had a name before. After the fire, the Master and
39:42
Speaker 1: Mistress did not want me out of their sight, and
39:45
Speaker 1: I heard the Master say, Emily, don't you think we
39:48
Speaker 1: ought to get another cat for the heavy work downstairs,
39:52
Speaker 1: such as killing the rats and mice. She said yes.
39:56
Speaker 1: My heart gave a great bound for I thought of
39:59
Speaker 1: tom My nephew, who was a fine young cat. The
40:03
Speaker 1: next day I took a walk unknown to the household.
40:06
Speaker 1: My collar gave me prestige, and no one dared molest me.
40:11
Speaker 1: I made my way to the old provision store and
40:14
Speaker 1: found Mother, who was getting quite stout dozing in the garden.
40:18
Speaker 1: She was pleased to hear of my prosperity, and thought
40:21
Speaker 1: I looked extremely well. I told her about the chance
40:25
Speaker 1: for another cat at our house, and suggested Tom, whom
40:28
Speaker 1: I knew she had labored to bring up, to be
40:31
Speaker 1: a credit to us all. I explained to her how
40:34
Speaker 1: I had the run of the library and could direct
40:36
Speaker 1: his education. This made her see what a great advantage
40:40
Speaker 1: it would be to him. She said that my brother
40:44
Speaker 1: Teddy had grown fat and lazy and was not very
40:47
Speaker 1: valuable to her, thus making it harder to spare Tom,
40:51
Speaker 1: but that she would not stand in his way. So
40:54
Speaker 1: Tom went in and spruced up a bit, and I
40:56
Speaker 1: took him home with me. The cook took a lot
41:00
Speaker 1: to him at once, and that meant a good deal
41:03
Speaker 1: for his future welfare. The Master and mistress liked his
41:07
Speaker 1: looks and were satisfied with my choice, and the cook
41:10
Speaker 1: allowed me to take him upstairs whenever our people were out.
41:15
Speaker 1: Thus I taught him many things so that when I
41:18
Speaker 1: passed away, he could take my place in the household.
41:22
Speaker 1: I began to settle down into a calm middle age,
41:25
Speaker 1: happy and contented. My working days were over, and I
41:29
Speaker 1: felt that I had earned a rest lord Robert's people
41:33
Speaker 1: went to the same seashore resort that ours did, and
41:36
Speaker 1: to my delight, I was to go, also, leaving Tom
41:40
Speaker 1: with the caretaker to protect the house from rats and mice.
41:43
Speaker 1: In our absence. I enjoyed myself every summer by going
41:48
Speaker 1: down to the beach and watching the children in bathing,
41:52
Speaker 1: and then sunning myself on the piazza. I did not
41:56
Speaker 1: have much to do, but an occasional mouse would find,
41:59
Speaker 1: to his sorrow that I slept with one eye open.
42:04
Speaker 1: We did not remain very late in the fall, but
42:07
Speaker 1: one summer, as Lord Robert's family wished to make a
42:10
Speaker 1: longer season, we stayed. Also. I had noticed that after
42:14
Speaker 1: the houses were closed there were many cats about. Some
42:18
Speaker 1: would come to the back door, and our cook, who
42:20
Speaker 1: was tender hearted, would throw food out to them. I
42:24
Speaker 1: did not understand this at first, but soon found out
42:27
Speaker 1: what it meant. Their owners had returned to the city
42:31
Speaker 1: and had left them to look out for themselves. The
42:34
Speaker 1: only excuse was that it was too much trouble to
42:37
Speaker 1: carry them back, or very possibly they were forgotten. In
42:42
Speaker 1: the movie Oh What a Hungry Heard, we saw them
42:46
Speaker 1: become as we stayed through October, their gaunt bodies and
42:50
Speaker 1: hollow eyes, which glowed like coals of fire, would have
42:54
Speaker 1: been a reproach to the ones who had left them.
42:58
Speaker 1: Our people finally began to pack up, and word was
43:00
Speaker 1: given that the next day we should all go back
43:03
Speaker 1: to the city. I was pleased, for it did seem
43:06
Speaker 1: good to think of returning to my beautiful home. Lord
43:09
Speaker 1: Roberts announced that his people were going the same day,
43:12
Speaker 1: and was as pleased over it as I was. While
43:16
Speaker 1: the things were being put on express teams, I went
43:19
Speaker 1: out to say goodbye to some of my friends. As
43:22
Speaker 1: I had made the acquaintance of a number of cats
43:24
Speaker 1: during my stay at the shore. It astonished me to
43:28
Speaker 1: find them in such pitable condition, and to find that
43:32
Speaker 1: they had given up hopes that their people would ever
43:35
Speaker 1: return for them. I could not understand this state of things,
43:39
Speaker 1: and spent some time trying to console and cheer them.
43:44
Speaker 1: They paced wildly up and down, their thin bodies and
43:48
Speaker 1: hungry faces, revealing their inward sufferings, and they now began
43:52
Speaker 1: to realize that the cold weather was approaching. Their plight
43:56
Speaker 1: was a serious thing to me, and the time passed on,
43:59
Speaker 1: for I hated to leave them to their misery, going
44:03
Speaker 1: back as I was, to a comfortable home. When at
44:06
Speaker 1: last I hurried back, what was my horror to find
44:10
Speaker 1: that the family had gone and that the house was
44:12
Speaker 1: boarded up. I walked around the house several times, but
44:16
Speaker 1: no one was there. I became frenzied with fear. The
44:21
Speaker 1: wind was north and it was getting colder with the
44:24
Speaker 1: approach of night. I thought of Lord Roberts and proceeded
44:28
Speaker 1: to his house, where I found that not only had
44:31
Speaker 1: his people gone, but that he had been left locked
44:34
Speaker 1: up in the house. End of chapter six chapter seven
44:45
Speaker 1: of The Nomad of the Nine Lives by Abby Francis
44:48
Speaker 1: freeby This livervox recording is in the public domain. I
44:54
Speaker 1: tried to be brave, but when I heard the pitiful
44:57
Speaker 1: cries of Lord Roberts, I broke down and all almost
45:00
Speaker 1: gave up in despair. This then was the end of
45:03
Speaker 1: my dreams of a happy life during my old age,
45:07
Speaker 1: Oh human beings, could you realize how dependent we are
45:11
Speaker 1: upon your kindness? You would never forget us. In a
45:14
Speaker 1: time like this, I wished that I was a human
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Speaker 1: being possessed of a soul and could pray to God
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Speaker 1: for deliverance from such misery as I had witnessed. When
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Speaker 1: suddenly I remembered that I had heard a teacher in
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Speaker 1: one of the classrooms read from the Bible one morning
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Speaker 1: that not even a sparrow could fall to the ground,
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Speaker 1: and he not heed. It gave me courage, for I
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Speaker 1: thought if he could care for a sparrow, he would
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Speaker 1: surely protect us from harm. I felt better, and, saying
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Speaker 1: words of encouragement to Lord Roberts, went back to the
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Speaker 1: house where I crawled under the piazza and remained there
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Speaker 1: throughout the dreary night. What a cruel awakening, no fire
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Speaker 1: and nothing to eat. I dragged myself to Lord Roberts
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Speaker 1: and found that he had fared somewhat better, for he
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Speaker 1: had discovered a pan of water under the ice chest,
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Speaker 1: and he hated to admit it had caught and eaten
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Speaker 1: a mouse. I thought again of his liver for breakfast.
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Speaker 1: He said that he knew they would come back for us,
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Speaker 1: and I really thought myself that they would as soon
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Speaker 1: as they found out that we were missing. It had
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Speaker 1: not rained for some time, and as I walked down
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Speaker 1: to the beach, I saw some of the cats who
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Speaker 1: had been left go down and try to lap up
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Speaker 1: the salt water. It seemed to make them more frantic
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Speaker 1: and miserable than ever. Some of these cats had been
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Speaker 1: kept alive by eating such things as they could find
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Speaker 1: in the refuse left by the summer people. A few
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Speaker 1: brats and mice had helped to keep them alive. And
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Speaker 1: one poor creature had been so hungry that he had
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Speaker 1: pushed his head into an empty tomato can, and as
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Speaker 1: he could not get it out, was rushing wildly about,
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Speaker 1: shaking the can with such violence he got to be
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Speaker 1: a horror to us all. But we could not help him,
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Speaker 1: and he finally smothered to death. O peace bowl, release
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Speaker 1: from torture, such maddening thirst, and not a drop of
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Speaker 1: water to be had. I went around to see how
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Speaker 1: Lord Roberts was getting along, and found him discouraged and
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Speaker 1: heart broken. He said, it cannot be possible that our
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Speaker 1: people have abandoned us. It must be some horrible mistake.
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Speaker 1: I went every day to the main road and watched
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Speaker 1: for motor cars, which never came. I grew thinner and thinner.
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Speaker 1: There were no city streets to get a living from,
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Speaker 1: no milk jars, nothing but a barren waste over which
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Speaker 1: the wind howled like a lost soul, and the cruel
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Speaker 1: sea with its waste of water, but none to drink.
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Speaker 1: What torments we all suffered, Yet it was all so needless.
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Speaker 1: How could our people eat, drink, and be while we
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Speaker 1: were starving. I got so hungry that I became delirious
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Speaker 1: with fever. In the long watches of the quiet nights,
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Speaker 1: I dreamed of my mother and my childhood. Soon in
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Speaker 1: my vision, I was wandering without a home. Then came
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Speaker 1: to my new people and my bountiful home. I woke
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Speaker 1: with parched mouth, weak from hunger and thirst. The next morning,
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Speaker 1: I dragged myself to the front path and feebly lay
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Speaker 1: down in despair. When suddenly, what was that I heard?
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Speaker 1: I started up? Surely a dream, no, a reality, the
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Speaker 1: welcome sound of a motor car. In a few minutes
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Speaker 1: a car came thundering up the drive. It was our own,
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Speaker 1: my own, and I was saved. They all jumped out
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Speaker 1: and lifted me gently up, and I saw tears in
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Speaker 1: the eyes of my mistress. It seemed that they thought
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Speaker 1: I had been lost from the car and had given
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Speaker 1: me up, until one of the family said, perhaps we
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Speaker 1: did not take him on at all. Let us go
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Speaker 1: back and see business. However, had kept the master so
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Speaker 1: tied up that he could not spare the car. After
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Speaker 1: my rescue, they tried to make me comfortable, but I
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Speaker 1: thought of poor Lord Roberts and tried to tell them
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Speaker 1: of his plight. And when the car was slowly nearing
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Speaker 1: his house, I flung myself out and crept to his window.
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Speaker 1: And when they followed, his cry of despair made them understand,
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Speaker 1: and Lord Roberts was saved. How happy I was when
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Speaker 1: we reached home, and how grateful when the mistress went
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Speaker 1: to the telephone and called up the kind lady of
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Speaker 1: the Animal rescue League. She told her that there were
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Speaker 1: a dozen or more abandoned cats at the shore, and
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Speaker 1: giving directions to her, begged her to go our sinned
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Speaker 1: at once, to see that if they could not be saved,
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Speaker 1: they would be put out of their misery. A happy,
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Speaker 1: peaceful life with dear Tom for a companion. Onion followed
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Speaker 1: from then on. Everyone is so kind and considerate to
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Speaker 1: me now in my old age, that I plead for
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Speaker 1: the others, the less fortunate ones of my species. And
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Speaker 1: I also pray that all who read these simple annals
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Speaker 1: of my life will find it in their hearts to
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Speaker 1: remember their faithful feline friends, and never, under any circumstances
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Speaker 1: be tempted to ill use or abandon them. And as
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Speaker 1: I sit in the gentle glow of the firelight, the
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Speaker 1: light of my life growing dimmer day by day, waiting
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Speaker 1: to join the great majority, I thank the God of
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Speaker 1: my Master that I am no longer a nomad, a wanderer,
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Speaker 1: And my heart goes out to those who are. Shall
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Speaker 1: ye willfully abandon his creatures, ye shall not enjoy peace
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Speaker 1: in the hereafter. End of Chapter seven recording by Sharon Kilmer, Rio, Medina, Texas.
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Speaker 1: End of The Nomad of the Nine Law Lives by
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Speaker 1: Abby Francis, freeby