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Show FRITZ IDENTIFIED HIMSELF. Irtoapllihmratf that a (at t'eaad I'aefel Ifkr Two Trare of Aberare. Fritz Heath is tbo noble son of a worthy mother and lives in Syracuse, N.Y Fritz is a large gray and white tiger cat FriU and his mother. Gyp, are the proteges of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Heath. Both are cats of unusual un-usual size and beauty, that of Friu being only marred by a ragged rent in his right ear, incurred in some slight youthful disagreement Friti Is an amateur acrobat of considerable ability, abili-ty, and will roll over, jump through a hoop, and turn somersaults at word of command. He also has the trick of jumping to catch the edge of the table ta-ble top with his paws and swinging suspended while he surveys the prospect pros-pect of a good dinner for Fritz. Two years ago there was mourning in the house of Heath. FriU hud suddenly sud-denly disappeared. At night Gyp came into the house, sniffed at the basket she nnd Fritz bad occupied together to-gether since the latter's kittonhood, and walked disconsolately away.JThe Heaths thought that perhaps thoir pot had been carried across the canal ewd could not get back, so they wandered in Finegun avouiio and the purlieus of the Fourth ward and searched diligently, dili-gently, but he could not be found. Time heals broken hearts, and as tho months passed by all but Gyp forgot the missing member of the household. She could not be induced to go near the accustomed bed still kept for her by the fire, and refused to bo comforted. com-forted. A little more than two weeks ago she jumped iuto the baskot for the first " J I " J time since FriU's disappearance aud, lying down, began to purr contentedly. contented-ly. A few days afterward, last Sunday Sun-day week to be exact the Journal says, Mr. Heath and his wife returned from an evening call. A cat which they in the darkness supposed to be Gyp, was crying on the doorstep, and as they opened the door it ran into the hallway hall-way and out again as quickly. Later in the evening Mrs. Heath heard the crying at the door, and, being possessed pos-sessed with a tender heart toward suffering suf-fering animals, proposed going down to bring in the poor thing which had proved not to be Gyp nnd give it something to eat As she opened the door the cat darted into tho hallway and up the stairs to the Heath apartments. apart-ments. When it came into the lighted sitting room Mrs. Heath cxclaimodj "Why, Tom. It's Fritz!" Hearing his name FriU bounded into in-to Mrs. Heath's lap, from hers to her husband's, turned somersaults, rolled over, and performed all the tricks bo had been taught, as if to thoroughly identify himself or to express his joy at getting home. "It surely is Fritz," thought the rejoiced Heaths, and they examined tho cat's right ear. It was split! There was little doubt then of its being Fritz, but to make assurance doubly sure, a small stick was thrown down the stairs into the dark hallway. "Go get it, Fritz," said Mr. Heath, nnd tho cat darted down stairs, returning return-ing instantly with the stick triumphantly triumph-antly balanced in his mouth, a trick, by the way, common enough with retrievers, that few cats have ever been taught to perform. After a good supper the reclaimed Fritz went straight to the basket behind the stove and cuddled down contented. Gyp gave the intruder a smart rap with her paw, but seeming at once to recognize recog-nize her prodigal son, fell on his neck and kissed bim. Fritz now stays very closely at home. His two years' absence seems to have given him an increased regard for the shadows of the family roof tree. A strange question and ono which should Interest psychologists is this: Did the old cat receive some telopathio information that Fritz was about to return, which dispelled her aversion to the basket? Had she seen him prowling around the house for two or three days, not daring to come back, or was it simply a coincidence? |