‘Did you think of home and your sister?’ Sally ventured to ask. ‘Yes, Sally.’ Oxford was never one to show much affection. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I thought of home, and of the hunting in the Wild Wood. I thought, too, of Blackie; I am glad to see he is not about.’ ‘Captain Ebony Black has had to go on another journey,’ said Sally. ‘I am glad of that; and Peter, where is he?’ ‘Peter was around last night, I think. It is getting cold. I think he slept in the cellar last night.’ Oxford was hungrily eating some haddock at the time. How good it tasted! ‘When I have got back to my full weight,’ said he, ‘I hope to show Peter once for all that this is not his home.’ ‘I am glad it is your home, Oxford,’ said Sally. ‘Aren’t you glad to get back?’ Oxford was in truth very glad, indeed, but he did not like to show his feelings. ‘A fellow might do worse,’ he said. [Illustration] [Illustration] CHAPTER XVIII SALLY HAS HER WISH One morning some weeks later, Elvira had the surprise of her life. She came down into the kitchen and looked around for the two cats. Oxford was stretched out on his woolen blanket under the table, but Sally was nowhere to be seen. Elvira remembered that she had left the lower drawer of the kitchen dresser open thinking that Sally might like to sleep there for a change, so she went over and looked in. For a moment she was startled and thought she must have seen wrong and that Sally had caught two mice. But although the furry objects were the smallest kittens she had ever seen and hardly larger than mice, there was no mistaking their fur coats. One was black with four very tiny white paws and a white breast, and the other was white with a tiger tail and a tiger blanket on its back. ‘Miss Harvey,’ Elvira called, ‘did you ever see anything so sweet?’ Sally’s whole expression had changed. Instead of having a sad little face, she looked proud and happy. It seemed as if she were saying: ‘See what I have got for wishing for it? I have had to wish for a very long time, but at last I have got just what I wanted, twins, a brother and a sister, just like Oxford and myself, and the darlings shall have a happier kittenhood than we had. And she said to herself, If I cannot have a mother, a mother I will be With some darling, furry children of my own, The furriest, purriest kittens, the most harum-scarum kittens, The liveliest, gayest kittens ever known. It seemed this time as if Miss Harvey understood everything she said, for she remarked, ‘Dear Sally has got her wish at last; see how blissfully happy she looks, Elvira!’ They decided it would be wiser not to mention the kittens to Miss Winifred for a few days, as she had a friend staying with her who was taking all of her thoughts at present. So the kittens were almost a week old before Miss Winifred knew about them. One morning Elvira said, ‘Sally has two little kittens.’ ‘Kittens!’ Miss Winifred said in astonishment. ‘I am very sorry to hear it.’