JINNIE'S EAR GETS A TWEAK
Bobbie had been at the Grandoken home scarcely a week before Jinnie
again got into difficulty. One morning, wide-awake, beside the blind
boy, she happened to glance toward the door. There stood Peg, her face
distorted by rage, staring at her with terrible eyes. Jinnie sat up in
a twinkling.
"What is it, Peggy, dear?" she faltered. "What have I done now?"
Without reply, Peggy marched to the bed and took the girl by the ear.
In this way she pulled her to the floor, walking her ahead of her to
the kitchen.
"I don't know what I've done, Peggy," repeated Jinnie, meekly.
"I'll show you. You'll know, all right, miss! Now if you've eyes,
squint down there!"
She was pointing to the floor, and as the room was rather dark, Jinnie
at first could discern nothing. Then as her eyes became accustomed to
the shadows, she saw----
"Oh, what is it, Peggy? Oh, my! Oh, my!"
Peggy gave her a rough little shake.
"I'll tell you what, Jinnie Grandoken, without any more ado. Well,
they're cats, just plain everyday cats! Another batch of Miss Milly
Ann's kits, if y' want to know. They can't stay in this house, miss,
an' when I say a thing, I mean it! My word's law in this shanty!"
She was still holding the girl's ear, and suddenly gave it another
tweak. Jinnie pulled this tender member from Peggy's fingers with a
delighted little chuckle.
"Peggy darling, aren't they sweet? Oh, Peggy----"
"Ain't they sweet?" mimicked Peggy. "They're just sweet 'nough to get
chucked out. Now, you get dressed, an' take 'em somewhere. D' you
hear?"
Jinnie wheeled about for another tug of war. It was dreadful how she
had to fight with Peggy to get her own way about things like this.
First with Happy Pete, then with Bobbie, and now--to-day--with five
small kittens, not one of them larger than the blind child's hand. She
looked into Mrs. Grandoken's face, which was still grim, but Jinnie
decided not quite so grim as when the woman appeared at her bedroom
door.
"I suppose you'll go in an' honey round Lafe in a minute, thinkin'
he'll help you keep 'em," said Mrs. Grandoken. "But this time it won't
do no good."
"Peggy!" blurted Jinnie.
"Shut your mouth! An' don't be Peggyin' me, or I'll swat you," vowed
Peg.
The woman glared witheringly into a pair of beseeching blue eyes.
"Get into your clothes, kid," she ordered immediately, "then you----"
"Then I'll come back, dear," gurgled Jinnie, "and do just what you
want me to." Then with subtle modification, she continued, "I mean,
Peg, I'll do just what you want me to after I've talked about it a
bit... Oh, please, let me give 'em one little kiss apiece."
Peggy flounced to the stove.
"Be a fool an' kiss 'em if you want to... I hate 'em."
In the coarse nightdress Peggy had made for her, Jinnie sat down
beside Milly Ann. The yellow mother purred in delight. She'd brought
them five new babies, and no idea entered her mother heart that she
would have to part with even one.
Out came the kittens into the girl's lap, and one by one they were
tenderly lifted to be kissed. Both Peggy and the kisser were silent
while this loving operation was in process. Then Jinnie, still
sitting, looked from Milly Ann to Peggy.
"I guess she's awful fond of her children, don't you, Peg?"
Peggy didn't answer.
"You see it's like this, Peg----"
"Didn't I tell you not to Peggy me?"
"Then it's like this, darling," drawled Jinnie, trying to be
obedient.
"An' you needn't darlin' me nuther," snapped Peggy.
Jinnie thought a minute.
"Then it's like this, honey bunch," she smiled again.
Peg whirled around on her.
"Say, you kid----"
"Wait, dearie!" implored Jinnie. "Don't you know mother cats always
love their kitties just like live mothers do their babies?"
Peggy rattled the stove lids outrageously. Hearing these words, she
stopped abruptly. Who knows where her thoughts flew? Jinnie didn't,
for sure, but she thought, by the sudden change of Mrs. Grandoken's
expression, she could guess.
The woman looked from Milly Ann to the wriggling kittens in Jinnie's
lap, then she stooped down and again brought to view Jinnie's little
ear tucked away under the black curls.
"Get up out o' here an' dress; will you? I've said them cats've got to
go, and go they will!"
Jinnie returned the kittens to their mother, and when she got back to
her room, Bobbie was sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes.
"I couldn't find you, girl," he whimpered. "I felt the bed over and
you was gone."
Jinnie bent over him.
"Peg took me out in the kitchen, dear... What do you think, Bobbie?"
Bobbie began to tremble.
"I got to go away from here ... eh?"
"Mercy, no!" laughed Jinnie. "Milly Ann's got a lot of new babies."
Bobbie gave a delighted squeal.
"Now I'll have something else to love, won't I?" he gurgled.
Jinnie hoped so! But she hadn't yet received Peg's consent to keep the
family, so when the little boy was dressed and she had combed her hair
and dressed herself, they went into the shop, where the cobbler met
them with a smile.
"Peg's mad," Jinnie observed with a comprehensive glance at Mr.
Grandoken.
"Quite so," replied Lafe, grinning over the bowl of his pipe. "She had
frost on her face a inch thick when she discovered them cats. I
thought she'd hop right out of the window."
"She says I must throw 'em away," ventured Jinnie.
"Cluck! Cluck!" struck Lafe's tongue against the roof of his mouth,
and he smiled. Jinnie loved that cluck. It put her in mind of the
Mottville mother hens scratching for their chickens.
"Hain't she ever said anything like that to you before, lass?" the
cobbler suggested presently.
"She said it about me," piped in Bobbie.
"An' about Happy Pete, too," added Lafe.
"I bet I keep 'em," giggled Jinnie.
"I'll bet with you, kid," said the cobbler gravely.
"I want to see 'em!" Bobbie clamored with a squeak.
But he'd no more than made the statement before the door burst
violently open and Peg stood before them. Her apron was gathered
together in front, held by one gripping hand; something moved against
her knees as if it were alive. In the other hand was Milly Ann,
carried by the nape of her neck, hanging straight down at the woman's
side, her long yellow tail dragging on the floor. The woman looked
like an avenging angel.
"I've come to tell you folks something," she imparted in a very loud
voice. "Here's this blasted ragtail, that's went an' had this batch of
five cats. Now I'm goin' to warn y' all----"
Bobbie interrupted her with a little yelp.
"Let me love one, Peggy, dear," he begged.
"I'm goin' to warn you folks," went on Peg, without heeding the
child's interjection, "that--if--you don't want their necks wrung,
you'd better keep 'em out of my way."
Saying this, she dropped the mother cat with a soft thud, and without
looking up, dumped the kittens on top of her, and stalked out of the
room.
When Jinnie appeared five minutes later in the kitchen with a small
kitten in her hand, Peg was stirring the mush for breakfast.
"You hate the kitties, eh, Peg?" asked Jinnie.
The two tense wrinkles at the corners of Mrs. Grandoken's mouth didn't
relax by so much as a hair's line.
"Hate 'em!" she snapped, "I should say I do! I hate every one of them
cats, and I hate you, too! An' if y' don't like it, y' can lump it. If
the lumps is too big, smash 'em."
"I know you hate us, darling," Jinnie admitted, "but, Peg, I want to
tell you this: it's ever so much easier to love folks than to hate
'em, and as long as the kitties're going to stay, I thought mebbe if
you kissed 'em once--" Then she extended the kitten. "I brought you
one to try on."
"Well, Lord-a-massy, the girl's crazy!" expostulated Peg. "Keep the
cats if you're bound to, you kid, but get out of this kitchen or I'll
kiss you both with the broom."
Jinnie disappeared, and Peggy heard a gleeful laugh as the girl
scurried back to the shop.