@@@@@In America he can become anything you want 94
@@@@@In America he can
become anything you want him to be Early in September Scarlett
held a stoically silent Cat in her arms to wave goodbye to Billy and
his mother as their ship left Kingstown harbor for AmericaBilly was
crying; harriet's face had the radiance of resolve and hopeHer eyes
were cloudy with dreams
Scarlett hoped at least part of the dreams would come trueShe had
written to Ashley and Uncle henry hamilton, telling them about harriet
and asking them to watch out for her and help her find a place to stay
and work as a teacherShe was sure they d do that much at least
The
rest was up to harriet and circumstances"Let's go to the zoo, Kitty
CatThere are giraffes and lions and bears and a big, big
elephant
"Cat likes lions best
"You might change your mind when you see the baby bears They
stayed
in Dublin for a week, going to the zoo every day, eating cream buns in
Bewley's coffee shop afterwards, then the puppet theater followed by
high tea at the Shelbourne with silver tiers of sandwiches and scones,
silver bowls of whipped cream, silver trays of eclairsScarlett
learned that her daughter was indefatigable and had a digestive
system
of cast ironBack at Ballyhara she helped Cat turn the tower into
Cat's private place, to be visited only by invitation
Cat swept the dried cobwebs and droppings of centuries out of the
high
doorway, then Scarlett pulled up bucket after bucket of water from the
river and t?" two of them scrubbed the walls and floor of the room
Cat and splashed and blew soap bubbles while she scrubbedIt re
Scarlett of the baths when Cat was a babyShe didn't mind at that it
took them over a week to get the place cleanNor did mind that the
stone steps to upper levels were missingCat - have liked to wash the
tower all the way to the top
They finished just in time for what would have been Nome in a normal
yearColum had advised her not to try and a celebration when there
was nothing to celebratehe helped distribute the sacks of flour and
meal, salt and sugar, potatoes cabbages that came to the town on
wide
wagons from all the suppliers Scarlett had found
"They didn't even say 'thank you,'" she said bitterly when ordeal was
o
