e ruin had taken in several of the blocks
and reached back from the water. It was not a fire; Kitty had seen one
of those things. This looked more like the work of a flock of the
Red-eyed Monsters. Pussy knew nothing of the great bridge that was to
rise from this very spot.

When the sun came up she sought for cover. An adjoining block still
stood with little change, and the Royal Analostan retired to that. She
knew some of its trails; but once there, was unpleasantly surprised to
find the place swarming with Cats that, like herself, were driven from
their old grounds, and when the garbage-cans came out there were
several Slummers at each. It meant a famine in the land, and Pussy,
after standing it a few days, was reduced to seeking her other home on
Fifth Avenue. She got there to find it shut up and deserted. She waited
about for a day; had an unpleasant experience with a big man in a blue
coat, and next night returned to the crowded slum.

September and October wore away. Many of the Cats died of starvation or
were too weak to escape their natural enemies. But Kitty, young and
strong, still lived.

Great changes had come over the ruined blocks. Though silent on the
night when she first saw them, they were crowded with noisy workmen all
day. A tall building, well advanced on her arrival, was completed at
the end of October, and Slum Kitty, driven by hunger, went sneaking up
to a pail that a negro had set outside. The pail, unfortunately, was
not for garbage; it was a new thing in that region: a scrubbing-pail. A
sad disappointment, but it had a sense of comfort--there were traces of
a familiar touch on the handle. While she was studying it, the negro
elevator-boy came out again. In spite of his blue clothes, his odorous
person confirmed the good impression of the handle. Kitty had retreated
across the street. He gazed at her.

"Sho ef dat don't look like de Royal Ankalostan! Hyar, Pussy, Pussy,
Pu-s-s-s-s-y! Co-o-o-o-m-e, Pu-u-s-s-sy, hyar! I 'spec's she's sho
hungry."

Hungry! She hadn't had a real meal for months. The negro went into the
building and reappeared with a portion of his own lunch.

"Hyar, Pussy, Puss, Puss, Puss!" It seemed very good, but Pussy had her
doubts of the man. At length he laid the meat on the pavement, and went
back to the door. Slum Kitty came forward very warily; sniffed at the
meat, seized it, and fled like a little Tigress to eat her prize in
peace.

LIFE IV

XI

This