1 A bright fire glowed in the stove and the cat lay stretched before it, watching the table with a drowsy eye.
2 When he came back Mattie had set the teapot on the table and the cat was rubbing itself persuasively against her ankles.
3 They drew their seats up to the table, and the cat, unbidden, jumped between them into Zeena's empty chair.
4 The cat, unnoticed, had crept up on muffled paws from Zeena's seat to the table, and was stealthily elongating its body in the direction of the milk-jug, which stood between Ethan and Mattie.
5 The cat, profiting by this unusual demonstration, tried to effect an unnoticed retreat, and in doing so backed into the pickle-dish, which fell to the floor with a crash.
6 The cat, who had been a puzzled observer of these unusual movements, jumped up into Zeena's chair, rolled itself into a ball, and lay watching them with narrowed eyes.
7 The cat had jumped from Zeena's chair to dart at a mouse in the wainscot, and as a result of the sudden movement the empty chair had set up a spectral rocking.
8 When he raised himself again he saw that she was dragging toward the stove the old soap-box lined with carpet in which the cat made its bed.
9 The table had been as carefully laid, a clear fire glowed in the stove, the cat dozed in its warmth, and Mattie came forward carrying a plate of doughnuts.
10 In the kitchen Mattie was sitting by the stove, the cat curled up on her knees.
11 The cat rubbed itself ingratiatingly against her, and she said "Good Pussy," stooped to stroke it and gave it a scrap of meat from her plate.
12 The cat had sprung to Zeena's rocking-chair, and the heat of the fire was beginning to draw out the faint sharp scent of the geraniums.
13 Zeena, after feeding the cat, had returned to her rocking-chair by the stove, and Jotham Powell, who always lingered last, reluctantly pushed back his chair and moved toward the door.
14 Her nerves taut with suspense, she turned on him as swiftly as an angry cat, hot words bubbling to her lips, but he stopped them with a gesture.
15 But I won't go to Macon and stay with that old Burr cat.