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Show 1 Mr. Bowser's I War on Rats J By M QUAD j it.B'il'011 "wny months ji door with n, pane of glass In It which had once J YiKJ 'belongylvb n cupboard had reposed In n shed of tho Bowser i S'l houao. Mrs. Ilowscr had asked Mr. Dowser a scoro of times to yS'" carry It down cellar nnd got It out of tho way, nnd, though wlll- SL ,riK enough, ho had kipt putting It off. After dinner on a late ' " ecnlng sho said to film. "Mr. liowser, tho cook wants to clean out tho shed. That old door Is still there, nnd If you can't carry It down cellar tonight I shall hire tho first tramp that comes along tomorrow." So Mr. Howser took It down with a look on his fnce llko a martyr going to his doom nnd leaned It up against tho wall opposite tho door of tho hot air furnace. It Is one of tho duties of tho Dowser cook to descend tq tho cellar before golntf to bed to shovel somo conl Into tho firebox and see that all drafts are tightly closed. Sho went down, as usual, on this evening. Suddenly a scream rang through tho house, and tho cook was henrd coming upstnlrs like a run-away run-away horse, gnsplng nnd screaming nt overy s'tep. Mr. Bowser sprang to his fcot and exclaimed: "Woman, whnt In tho namo of heaven alls you 7 Did you soo a ghost down collnr?" "Oh, sir, worso than that! I won't stay In this houso another hour! I saw a r-rnt!" sho gasped out with a great effort. "He almost ran over my foot, and I think ho tried to blto mo ns he passed. If you have got rats In this houso I can't stay hero. Indeed, I can't!" "Moggie, you can go up to your room, nnd Mr. Bowser will go down nnd sco If thero won n rat," said Mrs. Bowser. "If a rat has mado his way Into tho cellar ho must bo routed out nt once." "Yes; I'll go, nnd I'll rout him," bravely replied Mr. Bowser. "It's Just poi-slblo poi-slblo that a rnt might havo got In hero whllo tho coal holo una open when wo got tho last ton of coal, but J think It will provo only Imagination." Mr. Bowser proceeded downstnlrs, whistling as ho went. When he got down thoro ho found tho gns Jet still burning, and, with tho help Of a few matches, ho explored every nook nnd corner of tho collar. No rats and no sign of rats! Tho cook had Imagined It all. Ho was about to turn out tho light and ascond tho stairs when a big rat ran past him like a flash. Ho had not brought GAVE A JUMP AND A QA8P. a club or nny other weapon with him, and, with a wild yell, ho Jumped for the foot of tho stairs. Mrs. Bowser was standing at tho head of tho flight, and she cnllod out: . y '' "What Is It? What Is It?" "It's a rat, suro enough!" was tho reply. "Tho girl was right!" "But why didn't you kill him?" ' "I I dunno. I expect ho startled me." "But you tako that llreplaco poker and go down again and brain htm. If you don't I will. If you can't find him look for tho placo ho got In at and stop It up with something." "I'll havo his llfol" was tho resoluto rejoinder as Mr. Bowser got his nerve back. "I wonder It I hadn't better tnko tho cat down with mo?" "Yes. Hero sho Is." With tho cnt under one arm and tho poker In tho other hand Mr. Bowser descended again, but ho was not whistling this time. Ho put tho cat down on tho cement floor and again started n search of tho cellar when dash dash-flash, dash-flash, and tho rnt nin past him as before. This time his size appeared to bo that of a cat. Mr. Bowser Kao a Jump of alarm, but did not conduct himself as before. Ho walked upstairs to say to Mrs. Bowsor: "That darned old rat Is running about the cellar, but don't tell Maggie. Thoro must bo a holo somewhere that I can't And. I will stop and order two or thrco traps In tho morning and bait thorn when I, como homo." On tho way downtown ho stopped at a hardware storo and ordered six rat-traps rat-traps at CO cents apiece, and thnt night they wore baltod for victims. Next morning they were still baited. The rats had pot been fooled Into such traps as those. That evening Mrs. Bowser accompanied Mr. Bowser down cellar to seo I It the traps wero all right. Thoy were. Sho was standing In front of tho 1 furnace, and ha was prowling around when sho thought she saw a rat run i past hor. She gavo a Jump and u gasp and next broko out Into laughter. J Sho had seen that when tho kob Jet was turned full on It cast flickering X shadows on the glass pane of tho old cupboard door exactly opposite. This was tho cook's rat nnd Mr. Bowser's rat. Mr. Bowsor came over to hor and soon convinced himself that he had been fighting shadows. "You and jtho cook," begun Mrs. Bowser after another outburst of ! merriment, "had better" "Stop I" exclaimed ho as he raised the poker to cmphaslzo his word. "Tho blamed old door Is all to blame for my mistake! Don't you date to t bully mo about this now or hereafter!" f And Mrs. Bowser, not looking for troublo, has not oven said a word to I the cook about rats great big rats, rats with menacing looks, rats that cost Mr. Bowser $2 and then had not been captured. Copyright, 1910, McClure Newspaper Syndicate. |