for you?" said Mr. Fritz, looking at his visitors
very kindly and trying not to show that he was surprised to see them.

"I'm Bobby Blossom," Bobby introduced himself, "and this is my sister
Meg. We came to ask you if you would care if your kittens weren't
drowned."

"Eh? My kittens--not drowned?" repeated Mr. Fritz. "But they are--I
gave that Charlie--what's his name--Black, I gave Charlie Black fifty
cents to drown them for me this afternoon."

Meg looked ready to cry. Any one that _paid_ to have kittens drowned,
must, of course, get what he paid for.

"He didn't say you paid him," Bobby said slowly. "Meg and I thought
perhaps you wouldn't care and we could keep them."

"Are those the kittens in that bag?" asked Mr. Fritz. "Do you mean
to tell me that worthless boy hasn't done anything with them? And he
sends them back to me? Wait till I catch him!"

"Oh, he didn't send them!" Meg cried in quick alarm. "He told us he
had them and Bobby and I wouldn't let him drown them. Then he said
they were your kittens and you wanted them drowned. And of course you
can do anything you want to with your kittens, but I thought you
wouldn't mind if we kept them."

Mr. Fritz nodded his head several times.

"I see," he said at each nod. "I see--you want to save the kittens and
let them grow up and howl on the back fences. Well, I think there are
enough cats in this world already. But as long as I don't have to take
care of the kittens, it makes no difference to me what becomes of
them. You may have them, if you wish."

Meg thanked him and was ready to go, but Bobby had something else on
his mind.

"Do you want that fifty cents back from Charlie Black?" he asked.

"You could get it for me, I suppose," Mr. Fritz said with a laugh.
"No, Bobby, let him keep his fifty cents. After all, he earned it, for
the stipulation was that he was to dispose of the kittens. I didn't
say they _must_ be drowned."

Mr. Fritz shook hands with Bobby and Meg and asked them to come and
see him again. He went to the door with them, which was fortunate for
the hall was so dark Meg was afraid Bobby would fall downstairs a
second time, and watched them go down the gravel path.

"We'll have to hurry," said Bobby. "Mother will wonder where we are."

The twins saw them coming and their sharp eyes spied the bag the first
thing.

"What have you got, Bobby?" shrieked Dot. "Bobby, what's in the bag?"

"You needn't tell the neighborhood," Bobby said a