The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1877-09-14
Il COLLECTOR'S .STOKY.

Good bye, DEAR | said, after | had
put on my coat and gathered up the reins.
She took hold of my wrist aud detained
me.
wait a moment, john"
Then she called to Mack, my great New
found!aud dog, and he came out of the
house, and. at motion from her, jumped
into the sleigh and cuiied himself at my
feet.
lie was a noble fellow, my brave Mack.
/ really think there never was such another
dog. | had broug ht him all the way from
New hampshire, and we had grown 10 feel
perfectly secure i'll The house with him, so
watchful and faithful was the noble dog
but it never occurred to Inc to take him Oh
this trip, i'll a sleigh.
Belle" L said, ''you are silly girl. The
dog will only be botheration 10 me, aud
ten to one you'll want him here before L
get back"
"Now, John, please do take him-for me!
Please do take him, John-take him, just
because your silly little wife is afraid to
have you 90 without him.
OF course the girl had her way. | vas
never able TO understand how man can re-
sist this kind of persuasion. l never could,
and never expect to. So | kissed her and
chirruped to Chevalier and he bounded
away through the settlement like an arrow.
1t was the depth of winter and an uuusu-
=
roadway to the depth of four feet. There
had been travel enough to pack it hard. SO
that found the seIghing excellent. Chew
alters hoOfs glanced nimby over the SNOW,
aud in two hours | had made more than
twenty miles, and had reached the sub
stantIal log cabin of one of our best aud
most intelligent customers. He received
me with Il hearty welcome, and when told
him what my mission was, he invited me To
make his cabin my headquarters While re-
manned i'll the neigh borlIuod. / thankfully
accepted the invitation, stayed all night,
and the ucXt morning under the guidance
of Dick, my hosts youngest son, clever
boy of thiItecn, | started out to make my
first experiment in collecting. 1t Goes not
concern my story to describe everything
that happened to me during my stay with
our friend, which lasted rather more han II
week.
When began 10 realize that | had col
lected about as much money as my employ
er expected from this trip, | sat down to
count it up. | had been out all day, and it
! was now just at the edge of evening. Sup
! per was almost ready, and l made up my
mind that if my port rlmanteau contained as
| much as | thought. | would only wait to
/ appease my hunger before returning To the
! settlement. | poured out the money on
! the floor and counted it. II was all i'll gold
! and silver for bank-nptcs would have been
! deSpised among us then, and there was the
! sum of eleven hundred and seventy three
T dollars. They were all sorry to have me go,
! and made me promise to come again and
bring iny wife before the winter was gone.
! put on my coat and muifled up my cars,
ana started.
The sleighing was still excellent; the
night was clear anG cold, and the full moon
/ made it as bright day. We SKINNED
/ along for a mile or TWO, my thoughts all the
| 4 D..lI inc q
would have in a little time, when the extra
/ ordinary conduct of Mack attracted my at
/ ten;ion. He had been lying quietly at my
! feet, with the rug which enveloped them
also covering him. He suddenly shook it
off, growing savagely, aud began TO smell
around the bottom of the sleigh.
Had it been sum mer time, really believe
/ | should have thought the animal was go
| ing mad. Never before did see bim be-
/ have thus and his conduct troubled me So
that l shouted to Chevaiicr, and away We
| skinned. About sixty rods ahead | saw
! tall, blasted tree, which had been told Vas
| half way from the settlement Ia MIR. Sci-
| knk' 5, and, pulling out my watch 10 observe
| the time, | saw to my surprise that l had
! been an hour and three-quarters coming
| twelve miles. think was never So aston
! ishcd III my life. The capacities of Cheva-
| lier were SO well known TO noe, ard was SO
sure that his ordinary gait, without the fre-
quent urging | bao given him, would cal1y
| Mack and me mile iii six minutes, mile al
ter mile. that | could not comprehend that
he had been SO slow, willie apparently tIav-
cling fast. | called to him again, and lie
stepped off smartly the dog growleti, and,
| am heartily ashamed to say it kicked
him hard in my unreasonable anger. had
cause to repent of those kicks before anoili-
| Ell ten minu es bad passed.
passed the blasted tIee and eutered up