Huldah Jane liked her , and Ismay , in spite of her declaration that she would have nothing to do with her , looked after her comfort scrupulously . She even used to get up in the middle of the night and go out to see if Fatima was warm . Max came in every day and , being around , gave us good advice . Then one day , about three weeks after Aunt Cynthia 's departure , Fatima disappeared -- just simply disappeared as if she had been dissolved into thin air . We left her one afternoon , curled up asleep in her basket by the fire , under Huldah Jane 's eye , while we went out to make a call . When we came home Fatima was gone . Huldah Jane wept and was as one whom the gods had made mad . She vowed that she had never let Fatima out of her sight the whole time , save once for three minutes when she ran up to the garret for some summer savory . When she came back the kitchen door had blown open and Fatima had vanished . Ismay and I were frantic . We ran about the garden and through the out-houses , and the woods behind the house , like wild creatures , calling Fatima , but in vain . Then Ismay sat down on the front doorsteps and cried . `` She has got out and she 'll catch her death of cold and Aunt Cynthia will never forgive us . '' `` I 'm going for Max , '' I declared . So I did , through the spruce woods and over the field as fast as my feet could carry me , thanking my stars that there was a Max to go to in such a predicament . Max came over and we had another search , but without result . Days passed , but we did not find Fatima . I would certainly have gone crazy had it not been for Max . He was worth his weight in gold during the awful week that followed . We did not dare advertise , lest Aunt Cynthia should see it ; but we inquired far and wide for a white Persian cat with a blue spot on its tail , and offered a reward for it ; but nobody had seen it , although people kept coming to the house , night and day , with every kind of a cat in baskets , wanting to know if it was the one we had lost .
`` We shall never see Fatima again , '' I said hopelessly XXXXX Max and Ismay one afternoon .
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