cestors. He alone will give us some difficulty; the others, the
babies and the mothers, can be removed without trouble. We put them into
baskets. The Tom has one to himself, so that the peace may be kept. The
journey is made by carriage, in company with my family. Nothing striking
happens before our arrival. Released from their hampers, the females
inspect the new home, explore the rooms one by one; with their pink
noses they recognize the furniture: they find their own seats, their own
tables, their own arm-chairs; but the surroundings are different. They
give little surprised miaows and questioning glances. A few caresses and
a saucer of milk allay all their apprehensions; and, by the next day,
the mother Cats are acclimatised.

It is a different matter with the Tom. We house him in the attics, where
he will find ample room for his capers; we keep him company, to relieve
the weariness of captivity; we take him a double portion of plates to
lick; from time to time, we place him in touch with some of his family,
to show him that he is not alone in the house; we pay him a host of
attentions, in the hope of making him forget Orange. He appears, in
fact, to forget it: he is gentle under the hand that pets him, he comes
when called, purrs, arches his back. It is well: a week of seclusion and
kindly treatment have banished all notions of returning. Let us give him
his liberty. He goes down to the kitchen, stands by the table like the
others, goes out into the garden, under the watchful eye of Aglae, who
does not lose sight of him; he prowls all around with the most innocent
air. He comes back. Victory! The Tom-cat will not run away.

Next morning:

'Puss! Puss!'

Not a sign of him! We hunt, we call. Nothing. Oh, the hypocrite, the
hypocrite! How he has tricked us! He has gone, he is at Orange. None
of those about me can believe in this venturesome pilgrimage. I declare
that the deserter is at this moment at Orange mewing outside the empty
house.

Aglae and Claire went to Orange. They found the Cat, as I said they
would, and brought him back in a hamper. His paws and belly were covered
with red clay; and yet the weather was dry, there was no mud. The Cat,
therefore, must have got wet crossing the Aygues torrent; and the moist
fur had kept the red earth of the fields through which he passed. The
distance from Serignan to Orange, in a straight line, is four and a half
miles. There are two bridges over the Aygues, one above