only ones of interest to Jap, but he had noticed and saved a
clipping about 'breeding 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 happy glow spread over her as
she dried off in a cage near the stove, and her fur began to
fluff out with wonderful softness and whiteness. Jap and his
assistant were much pleased with the result, and Kitty ought to
have been. But this was preparatory: now for the experiment.
"Nothing is so good for growing fur as plenty of oily food and
continued exposure to cold weather," said the clipping. Winter
was at hand, and Jap Malee put Kitty's cage out in the yard,
protected only from the rain and the direct wind, and fed her
with all the oil-cake and fish-heads she could eat. In a week a
change began to show. She was rapidly getting fat and sleek--she
had nothing to do but get fat and dress her fur. Her cage was
kept clean, and nature responded to the chill weather and the
oily food by making Kitty's coat thicker and glossier every day,
so that by midwinter she was an unusually beautiful Cat in the
fullest and finest of fur, with markings that were at least a
rarity. Jap was much pleased with the result of the experiment,
and as a very little success had a wonderful effect on him, he
began to dream of the paths of glory. Why not send the Slum Cat
to the show now coming on? The failure of the year before made
him more careful as to details. "'T won't do, ye kneow, Sammy, to
henter 'er as a tramp Cat, ye kneow," he observed to his help;
"but it kin be arranged to suit the Knickerbockers. Nothink like