Page:Master Frisky (1902).djvu/71

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the butcher gave Rollo a bone, he always saved a choice bit for Snow; and many a time the big white cat would come home with some dainty morsel, and going up to Rollo would rub fondly up against him and lay it between his feet.

Snow was the acknowledged lord of the cat community, and he ruled with an iron hand. His great size and long experience made him a terrible antagonist, and bold indeed was the cat that dared face him.

He had often put dogs of very good courage to flight; and among other peculiarities he cherished a strong dislike for Jimmy Brown, a neighbor's dog, and the two never spoke civilly or passed a kind word. Jimmy was a brindle bull-dog, not of a quarrelsome disposition, but of a quick temper. This quality in Jimmy, and Snow's hatred for him, led to the latter's undoing.

It happened this way. Jimmy had been calling upon some friends, and was going home by the Bakers' when he espied Snow upon the front porch. Snow at once arched his back, crooked his tail, and began spitting.

"What do you want, you old hunchback?" asked Jimmy.

"I'm not a hunchback," said Snow, stretching out his paw and extending the claws upon it to their full length, and shaking it at Jimmy. "Where have you been? Up street, playing with the new pups?"