The Slum Cat 
How could she take a back track that she 
never saw? There is in all animals some sense 
of direction. It is very low in man and very 
high in Horses, but Cats have a large gift, and 
this mysterious guide took her westward, not 
clearly and definitely, but with a general im- 
pulse that was made definite simply because 
the road was easy to travel. In an hour she 
had covered two miles and reached the Hudson 
River. Her nose had told her many times 
that the course was true. Smell after smell 
came back, just as a man after walking a mile 
in a strange street may not recall a single fea- 
ture, but will remember, on seeing it again, 
“Why, yes, I saw that before.” So Kitty’s main 
guide was the sense of direction, but it was her 
nose that kept reassuring her, “ Yes, now you 
are right—we passed this place last spring.” 
At the river was the railroad. She could 
not go on the water; she must go north or 
south, This was a case where her sense of 
direction was clear; it said, ‘‘Go south,” and 
Kitty trotted down the foot-path between the 
iron rails and the fence. 
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