THE CHESHIRE CAT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 208, 3 September 1938, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE CHESHIRE CAT.

(By Shirley Arnold, S3, Tukapa Street, New Plymouth.

Squatting on the mantelpiece, it's ol«ck ivory body shining where the' li<rht struck it, the Cheshire cat presented an unusual eight. It was a small image, four inches high, and its moon-like" face bore an amusing grin which seemed to stretch from ear to ear. It had come into the possession of Dr. Lockwood, just prior to the Great War, having been given him by a kiillla i was afterwards killed in action. The doctor recalled the mans strange words as he gave the miage into his care. "John," he had 21 «n ♦i!^ an A 3 ? OU to P romise me never to sell this little ornament. Keep it in your family. if you come upon bad tunes, open it, but not before. The Cheshire cat will bring you good luck." The years rolled happily on. Dr. Lockwood occupied an influential post at a Surrey hospital, and was able to send his two children, Nigel and Irene, to a good finishing school. They had been away barely two months, when there descended upon the little family their first real misfortune. Dr. Lockwood contracted a severe chill, which rapidlv developed into pneumonia. He was forced to resign his position at the hospital, for the illness had weakened hi* lungs, resulting in another doctor takin~ ms place. In the meantime and Irene were called home. Time again marched on. The monev which the good doctor had saved quickl'v disappeared, and the little family regarded their dwindling resources with dismay. Mr. Lockwood had long forgotten the strange words of the French soldier, but an accident happened which revealed to them the secret held bv the Cheshire cat This is how it happened. rpel and Irene were plaving tennis outside the big casement windows of the drawing room, when it chanced that Irene with a vigorous thrust, drove the ball through the window, where it T m C J lcsllire cat °n the end of its tail. The force of the impact knocked it to the floor. They heard a crash., and rushed into the room.

"Great Scott!" gasped Xigel as he looked ruefully at the broken pieces. '"The Cheshire cat!" he groaned. '"It would be something valuable," and stopped to pick it up. , .1 hcn . Irene ga y e a startled cry. Nigel,'' she said excitedly, "it's hollow. There's something inside "it." The "something" proved to he a roll of paper. With trembling fingers they flattened it out, and Xigel read it aloud. The message was written by the Frenchman who had given the image to Mr. Lockwood. It was brief and to the point, and told them that the man was very wealthy, and had left '•» considerable fortune for them in his house on the outskirts of Paris. This was a token of gratitude to Mr. Lockwood for having twice saved his life. The Frenchman also mentioned that he had lost his wife and children through a terrible disease, and having no relatives alive, he had decided to enlist as a soldier. Nigel and Irene showed the paper to their mother, and the little family's jov knew no bounds at the thought that they would soon be prosperous once more. Shortly afterwards Mrs. Lockwood travelled to France, and had the money, which amounted to several thousands, in safe keeping in England. A few days after her return, the family were able to claim it as their own. Mr. Lockwood went to Egypt, where the dry climate cured him completely. In a few months' time he came home strong and sunburnt, and ready to carry on his work at the hospital. ""But," said Irene when they were sitting round the fire a few days after his return, "why didn't the poor Frenchman tell you where he had hidden his monev, instead of hiding his will in the cat?" "He was a peculiar man, Irene. It was just a whim of his. I suppose. But I will say this anyway," said her father, turning to the mantelpiece with a smile "if it was not for that man's 'peculiar* ways I would not be here to-dav." The Cheshire cat grinned down at him once more, only a few marks showing where it had been cleverly mended. Was it a trick of the light, or did it wink at him?