"A stale crust was proffered. The cat ate it greedily, and afterwards
rubbed himself gratefully against the man's light trousers.
"This made the man ashamed of himself, likewise of his trousers. 'Oh,
well, let it stop if it wants to,' he said.
"So the cat was made comfortable, and stayed on.
"Meanwhile its own family were seeking for it high and low. They had not
cared over much for it while they had had it; now it was gone, they were
inconsolable. In the light of its absence, it appeared to them the one
thing that had made the place home. The shadows of suspicion gathered
round the case. The cat's disappearance, at first regarded as a mystery,
began to assume the shape of a crime. The wife openly accused the
husband of never having liked the animal, and more than hinted that he
and the gardener between them could give a tolerably truthful account of
its last moments; an insinuation that the husband repudiated with a
warmth that only added credence to the original surmise.
"The bull-terrier was had up and searchingly examined. Fortunately for
him, he had not had a single fight for two whole days. Had any recent
traces of blood been detected upon him, it would have gone hard with him.
"The person who suffered most, however, was the youngest boy.
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