Atthisaccusationandtheawfulthreataccompanyingit，Mary-’GustaforgotherterroroftheBacheldors，ofthegun，forgoteverythingexceptherpetanditsdanger。
“Ishan’t！“shecriedfrantically。“Ishan’t！Heain’t！He’smycatandhedon’tstealchickens。“
“Yes，hedoes，too，“roaredCon。“PopandIseehimdoin’it。“
“Youdidn’t！Idon’tbelieveit！Whendidyouseehim？“
“Yesterdayafternoon。Weseehim，didn’twe，Pop？“
“Youbetyourlifewedid，“growledAbner。“Andhewasonmylandagainjustnow；comin’tostealmore，Ical’late。Fetchhimhere。“
“I——Ishan’t！Heshan’tbeshot，evenifhedidsteal’em。AndI
knowhedidn’t。IfyoushoothimI’ll——I’lltellUncleZoethand——
andCap’nGould。AndIwon’tletyouhavehimanyhow。Iwon’t，“
withsavagedefiance。“Ifyoushoothimyou’llhavetoshootme，too。“
Conclimbedoverthewall。“Youjustwait，Pop，“hesaid。“I’lltakehimawayfromher。“
Buthisfatherhesitated。Therewerecertainreasonswhyhethoughtitbestnottobetooarbitrary。
“Holdon，Con，“hesaid。“Lookhere，sis，I’msorrytohavetokillyourcat，butI’vegotto。Hestealschickensandthemkindofcatshastobeshot。Iseehimmyselfyesterdayafternoon。ItoldIsaiahChasemyselfthat……why，youwasthereandheardme！YouheardmetellhowIwaslookin’outofthewinderatquartetpastfourandseethatcat——“
Mary-’Gustainterrupted。Herexpressionchanged。Shewasstilldreadfullyfrightenedbutinhertonewasanoteofrelief，ofconfidenttriumph。
“Youdidn’tseehim，“shecried。“Itwasn’tDavid；itwasn’tthiscatyousaw。IKNOWitwasn’t。“
“Well，Iknowitwas。Nowdon’targuenomore。YoufetchthatcathereorI’llhaveContakehimawayfromyou。Hurryup！“
“Iknowitwasn’tDavid，“beganMary-’Gusta。Then，asConstartedinherdirection，sheturnedandran，ranashardasshecould，bearingDavidinherarms。Conranafterher。
Itwasthecatthatsavedthesituationanditslifeatthesametime。Mary-’GustawasneartheedgeofthepinegroveandConwascloseatherheels。Davidgaveonemoreconvulsive，desperatewriggle，slidfromthegirl’sarmsanddisappearedthroughthepineslikeagrayprojectile。
Mary-’Gustacollapsedonthegrassandburstintofrightened，hystericalsobs。Contookoneortwostepsaftertheflyingcatandgaveupthechase。Mr。Bacheldor，frombehindthewall，sworeemphaticallyandatlength。
“Comehere，Con，youfool，“heyelled，whentheexpressionofhistruefeelingshadreachedatemporaryend。“Comehere！letthekidalone。We’llgetintotroubleifwedon’t。Asforthatdummedcat，we’llgethimnexttime。He’llseehisfinish。Comeon，Itellyou。“
Conreluctantlyrejoinedhisparentandthepairdeparted，mutteringthreats。Mary-’Gusta，thetearsrunningdownhercheeks，ranhometofindDavidandpleadwithMr。Chaseforherpet’ssafetyandprotectionfromitspersecutors。ButIsaiahhadgoneuptothestoreonanerrand。David，however，wascrouching，atremblingheap，underthekitchenstove。Thegirlpulledhimout，fledwithhimtothegarret，andthere，withthedoorlocked，satshiveringandsobbinguntilCaptainShadcamehomeforsupperthatnight。
TheCaptain’sfirstquestionwhenhearrivedwasconcerningMary-
’Gusta’swhereabouts。Isaiahsaidhehadnotseenherfortwohoursormore。Andjustthenthechildherselfappeared，enteringthekitchenfromthedoorleadingtothebackstairs。
“Hello，Mary-’Gusta！“hailedShadrach。“Thoughtyouwaslost。
Supper’saboutreadytoputonthetable。Why，what’sthematter？
Beencryin’，ain’tyou？“
Mary-’Gustawentstraighttohimandclutchedhishand。“Please，Cap’nGould，“shebegged，“willyoucomeintothesittin’-roomaminute？I——Iwanttoaskyousomethin’。Iwantyoutodosomethin’
forme，willyou？“
“SartinsureIwill。Whatisit？“
Mary-’GustaglancedatIsaiah’sface。“I’d——I’drathertellyou，justyoualone，“shesaid。“Pleasecomeintothesittin’-room。“
Shetuggedathishand。Muchpuzzled，hefollowedherthroughthedining-roomandintothesitting-room。
“Well，Mary-’Gusta，“hesaid，kindly，“nowwhatisit？What’sthebigsecret？“
Mary-’Gustaclosedthedoor。Shewasverysolemnandherlipquiveredbutshedidnothesitate。
“It’saboutDavid，“shesaid。“Somethin’shappenedtoDavid。I——
I’mgoin’totellyouaboutit，Cap’nGould。“
ShetoldofheradventureandofDavid’speril。Shadrachlistened。
Whenheheardoftheaccusationwhichwasthecauseoftheaffairheshookhishead。
“My，my！“heexclaimed。“That’sprettybad，thatis。I’dhatetohaveyourcatkilled，Mary-’Gusta，landknowsIwould。Butifthecritter’sachickenthief——“
“Butheain’t！IKNOWheain’t！“
“Humph！Youcan’talwaystell，youknowcatsarecatsand——“
“ButIknowDavidwasn’tthecatthatdidit。IKNOWhewasn’t“
“Oh，youknow，doyou。Hm！youdoseemprettysartin，that’safact。Howdoyouknow？“
Thegirllookedathim。“Please，Cap’nGould，“shesaid，“I——I’drathertellyouovertoMr。Bacheldor’s。That’swhatIwantedtoaskyou；won’tyoupleasegorightovertoMr。Bacheldor’swithme？
I——I’lltellyouhowIknowwhenwe’rethere。“
CaptainShadrachwasmorepuzzledthanever。“YouwantmetogotoAbBacheldor’swithyou？“herepeated。“Youwanttotellmesomethin’overthere？Whynottellmehere？“
“’Cause——’causeMr。BacheldorthinksDaviddiditandhe’llkillhim。Hesaidhewould。IwantHIMtoknowDavidwasn’ttheone。
Andif，ifyou’retherewhenheknows，he’llknowYOUknowheknowsandhewon’tdastshootatDavidanymore。Pleasecome，Cap’nGould。Please，rightaway。“
Shadrachtuggedathisbeard。“Humph！“hemuttered。“There’smore’knows’inthatthanthereisknotsinasnarledfishline。Youwantmeasawitness，nigh’sIcanmakeout。Isthatit？“
“Yes，sir。Willyougowithmerightoff？“
“Rightoff，eh？Can’titwaittillaftersupper？“
“I——Idon’twantanysupper。PLEASE！“
Sosupperwaspostponed，inspiteofIsaiah’sgrumblings，andtheCaptainandMary-’Gustastartedforthwithforthehomeoftheirnearestneighbor。Mr。Chase，hiscuriosityaroused，wouldhaveaskedadozenquestions，butMary-’GustawouldneitheranswernorpermitShadrachtodoso。
TheBacheldorfamilywereatsupperwhenthecallersarrived。Abnerhimselfopenedthedoorandhelookedratherembarrassedwhenhesawthepaironthesteps。CaptainShaddidnotwaitforaninvitationtoenter；hewalkedinandMary-’Gustafollowedhim。
“Nowthen，Ab，“saidtheCaptain，briskly，“what’sthisaboutourcatstealin’yourchickens？“
Mr。BacheldorandCon，separatelyandtogether，burstintoatiradeofinvectiveagainsttheoffendingDavid。
“That’sallright，that’sallright，“brokeintheCaptain，crisply。
“Ifthatcatstoleyourchickenitoughttobeshot。Butareyousureofthecat？Doyouknowoursdidit？Thisgirlheresays’twasn’toursatall。“
“Iknowadumsightbetter，“beganAbner，savagely。ButthistimeitwasMary-’Gustawhointerrupted。
“Cap’nGould，“shesaid，“pleaseaskhimwhattimeitwasyesterdayafternoonwhenhesawthecatrunoffwiththechicken。“
Bacheldordidnotwaittobeasked。
“’Twasquarter-pastfouryesterdayafternoon，“hedeclared。“Iknowthetime。“
“Idon’tseewhatthetime’sgottodowithit，“putinShadrach。
“Butit’sgoteverythingtodowithit，“urgedMary’-Gusta。“Honesttrulyithas。“
“Oh，ithas，eh？Why？“
“’Cause——’cause——Askhimifhe’ssure？“
AgainAbnerdidnotwait。“CourseI’msure，“hereplied。“ItoldIsaiahChase——yes，andItoldthatyoung-one，too——thatIlookedattheclockjustaforeIlookedoutofthewindowandseethecritterintheveryact。Yes，andConseehimtoo。“