he was going through an outlying street, he came upon a group of
children, who were amusing themselves by teasing a cat; the animal had
been hit in the eye by a stone, and cowered, terrified and blinded,
against the wall of a house. The children formed a half circle round
it, and two of the biggest boys held a young and lively dog by the
collar, inciting it and restraining it, and revelling in the cat's
convulsive starts at each capering bark.

While Maurice was considering how to expostulate with them, Krafft
came swiftly up behind, jerked two of the children apart, and, with a
deft and perfectly noiseless movement, caught up the cat and hid its
head under his coat. Then, cuffing the biggest boy, he kicked the dog,
and ordered the rest to disperse. The children did so lingeringly; and
once out of his reach, stood and mocked him.

He begged Maurice to accompany him to his lodgings, and there Maurice
held the animal, a large, half-starved street-cat, while Krafft, on
his knees before it, examined the wound. As he did this, he crooned in
a wordless language, and the cat was quiet, in spite of the pain he
caused it. But directly he took his hands off it, it jumped from the
table, and fled under the furthest corner of the sofa.

Krafft next fetched milk and a saucer, from a cupboard in the wall,
and went down on his knees again: while Maurice sat and watched and
wondered at his tireless endeavours to induce the animal to advance.
He explained his proceedings in a whisper.

"If I put the saucer down and leave it," he said, "it won't help at
all. A cat's confidence must be won straight away."