Providence Technical High School - Review Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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74 THE TECH REVIEW 1928 Egbert Ogden Sawyer, ’28 There was a sound of scurrying feet as two large rats chased each other across the floor of the room in which we were sitting. There were seven of us gathered before the fire to talk things over and have a good time. Suddenly Abe, the oldest inhabitant of the village, broke the silence. “This whole gosh dern place is over- run with them consarn animals now,” said he, “but I kin remember the time when there wasn’t a one o’ th’ good fer nothin’ critters, an’ ’twas all due to Egbert. Eg- bert was a big black Tom cat. and was owned by my old pal. Zcb Grant. I re- member the first time I saw Egbert as if it was yisterday. “Me’n Zeb was huntin’ fer patridge in back o’ his house, when we herd this pit- iful cryin’ off to our left. Wal, we looked to see what it was, an’ found this big black cat in a trap with his left forepaw nearly chawed off. Wal, we got the cat out o’ the trap, and took him to Zeb’s house, where we soon discovered that there was little hope for recovery, but Zeb’s kids pleaded so dog gone hard that Zcb an’ me done the bes’ job we could at cuttin’ off th’ foot an’ givin’ first aid. “Wal. in ’bout a month, thet cat was as well as ever ’ceptin’ lie had a hard time hobblin’ around on three feet; so one dav, Zeb’s boy, Joe, thought up the bright idee of makin’ a wooden foot for the poor cat. Now Zeb wasn’t much of a carpenter but he done his best an’ succeeded purty good. “Now thet Egbert had a wooden foot, you’d think everybody would a bin sat- isfied, but after ’bout a week. Joe found out thet Egbert couldn’t ketch squirrels or rats, ’cause ever’time he’d get ready to spring on ’em, thet wooden foot would hit somethin’ an’ make a noise, so what did Joe do but go over to Mrs. Brown’s, who had a baby, an ask to borrow the rub- ber top to a nursin’ bottle. Wal. after he put this on Egbert’s wooden foot, everything was all hunky dory, ’cause the rubber muffled the sound. “Now whatdvcr suppose thet cat did? Why, he’d ketch squirrels or rats, an in- stead of killin’ ’em the way other cats did. he’d hold ’em with his right paw, an’ brain ’em with the wooden foot. He got so good at it thet he killed more rats than cny ten of the neighlxjrhood cats put to- gether. But still thet cat had a longin t’ kill even more, so what did he do but deliberately put his good paws, otic after the other, in three mink traps thet Zeb had stored in the barn, so he had to have wooden feet for all four legs. “Wal, thet cat sure did kill rats right an left an ’twasn’t an uncommon thing t’ sec him jump plumb in the middle of a bunch of rats and kill one with each foot. He killed so many rats thet there wasn’t cny more to kill, an’ this proved to be his undoin’, fer, as he had t’liave some amusement, lie took t’ sailin.’ “He’d walk out on the lake near the house, stick his tail in the air, an go sailin along on his wooden feet as nice as you please. “Wal. one day, Egbert was enjoyin’ himself in this way, when a storm broke suddenly, and kicked up a bit of a sea. Wal, o’ course Egbert couldn’t sink be- cause o’ his wooden feet, but the waves got so high thet he capsized. Now, any other animal would a been able t’ swim

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Page 79 text:

1928 THE TECH REVIEW 75 but Egbert’s wooden feet insisted on float- son in the village attended his funeral an’ in’ an’ bis head, being made o' different y’ never herd sich weepin’ in all yer life, material, insisted on sinkin; so poor Eg- Yes, sir. Egbert was some cat. Pass thet bert jest natcherly drounded. Every per- cider.”