The Slum Cat 
not without ambition, in a weak, flabby, once- 
in-a-while way, and he sometimes wished to 
be known as a fancier. Indeed, he had once 
gone the wild length of offering a Cat for ex- 
hibition at the Knickerbocker High Society 
Cat and Pet Show, with three not over-clear 
objects: first, to gratify his ambition; second, 
to secure the exhibitor’s free pass; and, third, 
“well, you kneow, one ’as to kneow the valuable 
Cats, you kneow, when one goes a-catting.” 
But this was a society show, the exhibitor 
had to be introduced, and his miserable al- 
leged half-Persian was scornfully rejected. The 
‘Lost and Found’ columns of the papers were 
the only ones of interest to Jap, but he had 
noticed and saved a clipping about ‘breed- 
ing for fur.’ This was stuck on the wall 
of his den, and under its influence he set 
about what seemed a cruel experiment with the 
Slum Cat. First, he soaked her dirty fur with 
stuff to kill the two or three kinds of creepers 
she wore; and, when it had done its work, he 
washed her thoroughly in soap and warm 
water, in spite of her teeth, claws, and yowls. 
Kitty was savagely indignant, but a warm and 
36 
