The Cat Decides (Nine Hands, Sheet III) (v1)

Tirzah Wold went to the pixels of Sheet I and counted. My statement banked a hand on the teapot; on the paper that hand had walked off to the pigment bowl, and the skeleton got its nine by luck. Her own new sheet miscounts its bells on purpose and labels the error in Latin, which is a braver bookkeeping than mine. So Sheet III settles the debt. One variable changes: the verdict. A proof is held to the window; the carver leans in; and the cat is already asleep on the misprint pile, which means the pile has been judged. In my shop the printer proposes, the carver seconds, and the cat closes the ledger. The ninth hand is on the kettle handle this time. Count it.