"You should put them into strait-waistcoats," said Psmith. "Passing, however, lightly--" "Say, ever have a cross-eyed cat?" "Comrade Jackson's cats," said Psmith, "have happily been almost free from strabismus." "Dey's lucky, cross-eyed cats is. You has a cross-eyed cat, and not'in' don't never go wrong. But, say, was dere ever a cat wit one blue eye and one yaller one in your bunch? Gum, it's fierce when it's like dat. It's a real skiddoo, is a cat wit one blue eye and one yaller one. Puts you in bad, surest t'ing you know. Oncest a guy give me a cat like dat, and first t'ing you know I'm in bad all round. It wasn't till I give him away to de cop on de corner and gets me one dat's cross-eyed dat I lifts de skiddoo off of me." "And what happened to the cop?" inquired Psmith, interested. "Oh, he got in bad, sure enough," said Mr. Jarvis without emotion. "One of de boys what he'd pinched and had sent to de Island once lays for him and puts one over him wit a black-jack. Sure. Dat's what comes of havin' a cat wit one blue eye and one yaller one." Mr. Jarvis relapsed into silence. He seemed to be meditating on the inscrutable workings of Fate. Psmith took advantage of the pause to leave the cat topic and touch on matter of more vital import. "Tense and exhilarating as is this discussion of the optical peculiarities of cats," he said, "there is another matter on which, if you will permit me, I should like to touch. I would hesitate to bore you with my own private troubles, but this is a matter which concerns Comrade Windsor as well as myself, and I know that your regard for Comrade Windsor is almost an obsession." "How's that?" "I should say," said Psmith, "that Comrade Windsor is a man to whom you give the glad hand." "Sure. He's to the good, Mr. Windsor is. He caught me cat." "He did. By the way, was that the one that used to tie itself into knots?" "Nope. Dat was anudder." "Ah! However, to resume. The fact is, Comrade Jarvis, we are much persecuted by scoundrels. How sad it is in this world! We look to every side. We look north, east, south, and west, and what do we see? Mainly scoundrels. I fancy you have heard a little about our troubles before this. In fact, I gather that the same scoundrels actually approached you with a view to engaging your services to do us in, but that you very handsomely refused the contract." "Sure," said Mr. Jarvis, dimly comprehending. "A guy comes to me and says he wants you and Mr. Windsor put through it, but I gives him de t'run down. 'Nuttin' done,' I says. 'Mr. Windsor caught me cat.'" "So I was informed," said Psmith. "Well, failing you, they went to a gentleman of the name of Reilly." "Spider Reilly?" "You have hit it, Comrade Jarvis. Spider Reilly, the lessee and manager of the Three Points gang." "Dose T'ree Points, dey're to de bad. Dey're fresh." "It is too true, Comrade Jarvis."