rats have got him." She wiped her eyes with her apron.

"He's a bad kitten, Cousin Tabitha; he made a cat's cradle of my best
bonnet last time I came to tea. Where have you looked for him?"

"All over the house! The rats are too many for me. What a thing it is to
have an unruly family!" said Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

"I'm not afraid of rats; I will help you to find him; and whip him too!
What is all that soot in the fender?"

[Illustration]

"The chimney wants sweeping--Oh, dear me, Cousin Ribby--now Moppet and
Mittens are gone!"

"They have both got out of the cupboard!"

[Illustration]

Ribby and Tabitha set to work to search the house thoroughly again.
They poked under the beds with Ribby's umbrella, and they rummaged in
cupboards. They even fetched a candle, and looked inside a clothes chest
in one of the attics. They could not find anything, but once they heard
a door bang and somebody scuttered downstairs.