“Did he turn his head?”
“No.”
I let the rest go, one every couple of minutes.
He never noticed it.
We got out to the place, and it was still dark.
I hadn’t had time to find the fuses, let alone put a new one in.
When I pulled in, the cop went past, and was there ahead of me.
“I’m taking a look at that fuse box, buddy.”
“Sure.
I’m taking a look myself.”
We all three went back there, and he snapped on a flashlight.
Right away, he gave a funny grunt and stooped down.
There was the cat, laying on its back with all four feet in the air.
“Ain’t that a shame?
Killed her deader than hell.”
He shot the flashlight up under the porch roof, and along the stepladder.
“That’s it, all right.
Remember?
We were looking at her.
She stepped off the ladder on to your fuse box, and it killed her deader than hell.”
“That’s it all right.
You were hardly gone when it happened.
Went off like a pistol shot.
I hadn’t even had time to move the car.”
“They caught me down the road.”
“You were hardly out of sight.”
“Stepped right off the ladder on to the fuse box.
Well, that’s the way it goes.
Them poor dumb things, they can’t get it through their head about electricity, can they?
No sir, it’s too much for them.”
“Tough, all right.”
“That’s what it is, it’s tough.
Killed her deader than hell.
Pretty cat, too.
Remember, how she looked when she was creeping up that ladder?
I never seen a cuter cat than she was.”
“And pretty color.”
“And killed her deader than hell.
Well, I’ll be going along.
I guess that straightens us out.
Had to check up, you know.”
“That’s right.”
“So long.
So long, Miss.”
“So long.”
Chapter 5
We didn’t do anything about the cat, the fuse box, or anything else.
We crept into bed, and she cracked up.
She cried, and then got a chill so she was trembling all over, and it was a couple of hours before I could get her quiet.
She lay in my arms a while, then, and we began to talk.