The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1878-03-07
A Faithful Friend.

That was the dog belonging to the dear
old people with whom, for more than
twenty years, spent the greater part of
my summers - myself and family - in
Conway, N. 1.-THE little intervale farm
was in the town of Albany, but Conway
was our address.
The homestead was one OF the most
delightfully."- quiet and retired estates i'm
aginable, and for variety and grandeur of
scenery, from door yard, l never saw
the view from that door-yard excelled.
On one side of the farm ran Swift river,
turbulent, tumbling, and trouty, with an
orchard of sugar naples skirting it; be-
yond this Old Mote, and Kearsarge, and
the White Horse Lodges; to the north,
dense, deep forest; the same to the south;
aye, and so on every hand; for there was
not another dwelling within more than
half mile, and our little farm, or oasis,
was deity set in perfect frame of forest,
with outlying mountains near and far,
everywhere.
Argus was growing to be very old, and
had become, as we thought, useless. He
would no more 60 to the wood after the
cattle, nor would he drive away strange
beasts from the approach to our premises.
One day the old dog was given to II tin
peddler, who promised to treat him kind
ly-to keep him it he was worth keep
ing-but, if he should be forced to kill
him, he would do it rs humanely as pos
sible.
On the afternoon of the day following,
old Argus came trotting home, and his
delight ut beholding us once more earned
him the privilege of few more quiet
days. At length neighbor called one
day, with his rifle in his hand. He had
been out after fox. One of the boys
laid in with him to take Argus out into
the woods and shoot him. The old dog
was always crazy to follow gun. He lay
in the shed and heard the conversation,
and when, finally, the ritleman called to
followed him around to the rear of the
barn and there disappeared. 1t would
seem that he had understood exactly the
meaning of the compact which had been
framed against his life. at all events, he
disappeared, and for six days we saw him
not, though two or three times we faucied
we could detect his tracks, where he had
been at the swill-tub during the night.
The seventh night of the dogs absence
was the night of Saturday. During the
day soap had been made aud boiled down,
and heavy baking done in the great CID
oven. Somewhere past midnight all
hands were aroused by the barking, aud
bowling, and whining, and scratching of
old Argus. We knew the voice; but we
were determined not to let him in. He
redoubled his cries and his scratching
upon the door. At length the head of
the family, in his wrath, took down a
loaded musket-loaded for hawk-and
threw up window of the sitting room.
No sooner was the sash raised than the old
dog came in at a bound, and without stop
ping to see what his reception was t. be, he
leaped through to the door opening from
the great kitchen out into the wash-room
andwoodshed, where he howled and
scratched like one possessed. John and II
knew that something must be wrong out
side, SO we unfsstened the door, and MS we
opened it the dog bounded out to the
shed, where was great wooden box half
filled with ashes.
But we had no need to go further to
learn what was the matter. The shed
was filled with smoke, and a sharp crack
ing broke upon our ears. The ash box
was on fire from Goals which had been
carelessly thrown in during the afternoon
before and the fire had taken to the dry
pine partition between shed and wash
room, and had made its way almost to the
roof. A smart wind was blowing, and
in ten minutes more the fire would have
been entirely beyond our control; and
those ten minutes, and more, would have
been given to the enemy but for the dog.
AS 1t was, having water handy, We put
out the fire, with only the loss of the ash
box and part of the partition; but the
experience gained was worth more than
that.
Grand old dog He had crept to the
house to satisfy his hunger from the poor
swill bucket fearing death if he were
discovered; but when he found danger to
the family-a danger which he must have
comprehended instantly and completely
- he thought no more of self - To save
those whom he had loved became his sole
object, and how he did it we have seen.
BE sure there were no more thoughts Of
killing that dog, nor of giving him away.
S. c., Jr, in ". Y. Ledger.
A WEST HILL man invented machine
that beats the telephone. 1t would en-
able him to tell whether a man was ly-
ing to him, when the owner of the ma
chine asked for five dollars till Monday.
The first day it was completed, and be-
fore he had time to test it, he thought
Iessly put it in his pocket, and when he