Dwight Madison took to haunting Silver Bush that winter and it was quite plain that he had, as Sid said, “a terrible ailment called serious intentions.” Pat tried to snub him. Dwight wouldn’t be snubbed. It never occurred to Dwight that any girl would want to snub him. Aunt Hazel was hot in his favor but Judy, for a wonder, was not. He was a too deadly serious, solemn, in-earnest young man for Judy.

“De ye be calling that a beau?” she demanded after his first visit in a tone that implied she would rather call it something the cats had brought in. Pat said she thought he snored and Cuddles remarked that he looked like spinach. After that, there was no more to be said and Long Alec, who rather favored Dwight because he had prospects from a bachelor uncle, concluded that modern girls were hard to please. Aunt Hazel was quite cool to Pat for a time.

Bold-and-Bad had pneumonia in March but got over it, thanks, it was believed, to Tillytuck’s ministrations. Tillytuck sat up with him two whole nights in the granary chamber, keeping him covered with a blanket in a box by the open window. Twice during each night Judy ploughed out to him through the snow to carry him a hot cup of tea and “a liddle bite.” Gentleman Tom did not have pneumonia but he had a narrow escape of his own, which Judy related with gusto.

“Girls dear, niver did I be hearing av such a thing. Ye’ll be rimimbering that whin we had the rolled roast for dinner Sunday I did be taking out the string afore I tuk it to the table and throwing it into the wood-box? Oh, oh, and this afternoon whin I come in didn’t Gintleman Tom be sitting there be the stove, wid something hanging from his mouth like a rat’s tail. Whin I looked closer I saw it was a bit av string and I tuk hould av it and pulled it. I did be pulling out over a yard av it. The baste had swallied it till he was full av it and cudn’t quite manage the last two inches and it did be that saved his life for niver cud he have digested it. But, girls dear, if ye cud have seen the look on his face whin I was pulling at the string! And from this out it’s burning ivery roast string at once I’ll be doing for we don’t want inny more av our cats committing suicide in that fashion.”

“Another joke for you to write to Hilary, Pat,” said Cuddles slyly.