Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1881-04-28


birds so much"
Birds !" said Aunt Clarice, with an
indescribable .intonation. bat | do
mind BIRDS very much-such birds as
this; birds that walk on four legs and
wag their tails and make grabs at your
ankles"
"Aunt Clarice," / cried Sits Hero
that you mean-Jack's great, horrid
dog. Do you mean to say that he is in
the parlor? Oh dear what shall do?
Jack says that there is no harm in him,
but he always dances AM grins at us
50. How shall we ever get him out.
for neither Jane nor | dare touch
him ?"
Aunt Clarice had relaxed slightly
when she found that | had nothing to
do with Hero's presence in the parlor,
and now she began to laugh.
"Don't'rouble yourself about getting
him out" she said "He is safe enough
there, for | shut the door upon him.
He kept quiet until Jane had gone, but
as soon as / was left quite alone and
unprotected, he tioundered out from
under the very sofa that | was sitting
upon, and danced ard grinned' at me,
until / fairly took to my heels. Now
I'll go upstairs and take my things Off"
Jack only laughed when / complain
ed to him of Hero's escapade, said that
as my pet had the run of his study it
was only fair tina. his should have the
run of the rest of the house. He posi-
lively refused to chain him, or even to
keep him in the yard or cellar, as
implored him to do, if only on Aunt
Clarice's account
"No, no." he said, my relations
have had their turn; 1t is time that
yours took their share now"
OF course when Hero had once found
his way upstairs, there was an end of
everything Nothing would induce
him to stay down after that; he had
found out some way of worming him.
self through keyholes, for no amount
of locking and barring would keep him
out The worst of it was he took a
violent liking to Aunt Clarice. Or
rather am inclined to think that he
found her irresistibly teasable, and was
deep and artful enough to pretend a
! firm confidence in her fondness and
admiration for him. At all events,
wherever Aunt Clarice vas, Hero was
sure to be somewhere near If she
sat down upon a sofa Hero wrigglecl
out from under it; if she entered a
room Hero bounced at her from be-
hind the door; nay, he even secreted
himself under her bed at night, for the
express purpose of coming out in the
small hours and Weakening her by the
contact of his cold nose and his warm
wet tongue, After she had twice
aroused the whole household by her
wild shrieks at his uncanny visits,
Aunt Clarice mildly but firmly an
nounced her determination,
"My dear Madge," she said, 81 am
very fond of you; am fond Of Jack,
too; but really man who keeps such
wild beast about his house is fit only
for Bedlam. | can't expect you TO turn
him ont for me, so l have decided &c
turn myself out for him. am not
quite ready to go home yet, so | have
taken board for few weeks where
shall be quite comfortable"
Jack only laughed, and said, cit fol
tat" when he heard of Aunt Clarice's
departure. He laughed still more
when, on comparing notes, we found
that she and Uncle Philip were inhab
itants of the same boarding house in
Ninth street--a curious coincidence
certainly, but not worth going into hys
terics about. 1t really seemed as i
Jack would never get over it. Every
now and then, during the whole even
ing he would suddenly throw himself
back, kick up his heels in the most I'm.
dignified manner, and roar. When
asked him his reason for such behav
ior, he would only say, "Uncle Philip
and Aunt Clarice.-ho. hol no" And
for many days the mention of either
name would bring most absurd and
diabolical grin to his face, which was a
handsome enough one in general