The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1883-10-20


She said it with needless energy, and
then she began to walk briskly onward
She tried hard, too. to persuade herself
that she was only wondering whether,
in her sketch, she had made the horns
of the COW bear proper proportion to
the upper branches of the tree on the
island. She was really almost thinking
sincerely about the. cow, and the cow
alone, when she suddenly felt called
upon to exclaim:
''Oh, that dog!''
To be sure, that dog .Tsar was on
the other side of theroad. and he did not
seem to be taking any part cular notice
of her, but thus Percie truly remarked
of him:
HE is perfectly enormousr'
She forgot about the COW in an in
slant, but she did not speak her opinion
directly to the dog. Neither did she
think of sketching him, although he was
certainly worth it. She seemed hardly
to care to look at him
Tsar, on his part, had taken good
look at Percie Lee. He was not mis-
taken about her for one moment
Every nice girl. Well dressed. Pref
ty, too; but she's out late. Most likely
her family are friends of Dr. Gorham.
| must have an eye on that young lady.
1t is getting dark.
That eye was what startled Percie SO
dreadfully moment later; for she hap
pened to look behind her, and there was
that vast creature solemnly stalking af-
ter.
"He is following mer' she exclaimed.
Not doubt of it, and the fact that
he stopped or went on just when she
did hardly seemed to help the matter.
1t was getting darker and more shad-
owy every moment, and Percie would
have been almost willing to run, if she
had not feared that if she did the dog
would run, too. He appeared larger
and larger every time she glanced be-
hind her, until she was afraid to look
again, and her breathing grew little
hurried.
"Nobody's any business to have such
dogM she gasped, in a whisper. cts
awful"
''She seems to be scared about some
thing, Thought Tsar. ''Girls are apt
to be timid. All, see! It's those rag
ged rascals coming down the road. vii
demonstrating vagabonds. If there is
anything in this world that hate, it is
tramp"
That is universal sentiment among
dogs of Tsar's social standing; but the
three ruffians who were now approach
ing were either ignorant of that fact or
did not know that such a dog was so
very near.
''Dreadful menu had been the I'M
| cY1Olyan fbnnnrbt in 4ba v,oirA Of Daro;,
Lee, and it was followed by doubt as
to whether she should ever again dare
to come down to the cove.
81 must sketch the island" she said,
''but will come in the forenoon.
The three men were walking abreast
now, and they were plainly determined
not to turn to the right hand or the left
for Percie Lee. She had just time to
grasp that terrible idea and to feel her
heart jump, when one of them actually
spoke to her.
She never knew what he said, and
her only reply, as she retreated few
steps was an altogether unattended
little scream. 1t was not loud one,
and there was more surprise in it than
fear, but it was followed by remarkable
consequences.
Tsar had quickened his lordly pace,
full twenty seconds earlier, and, for
some reason of his own, he had adj
vanced little under the shadow of the
fence; but his eyes had not wandered
from the human beings in the road be-
fore him. His head and tail were raised
a tritie, and there was very peculiar
expression on his broad, hairy face
| Was r. tt.aTV ivNs ID
all.
"Oh now, we hain't hurt you. You
needn't squall."
That was what the second of those
three ruffians began to say, when an
awful, wrathful, roaring growl, as of
warning, sounded from some deep
jawed cavern among the shadows at the
right of Percie Lee. 1t was followed,
in one long, elastic, power-expressing
bound, by huge dark form that in one
second more was crouching in front of
her.
The first and second tramp upset the
third, and tumbled over him, so sudden
was the retreat they made, while Tsar,
for their special benefit and more at
length, repeated his growl, with a sup
Elementary snarl that sounded fearfully
like the announcement of another
spring forward.
The remarks made by all of those
vagabonds, as they scrambled to their
feet, were in a manner complimentary
to Tsar, although not intended to be
so.
Percie Lee stood behind her protector,
and she could not see, as they did
the white rows of cleaning teeth anc
the fierce green light in the threatening
eyes. She could perfectly understand
however, that there was an enormous
amount of very good dog between hel
and any further approach of ruffianly
insolence. She was almost astonisheC
at the sudden feeling of security which
came upon her and at the entire cas-,
with which she began to breathe again
Tsar did not spring. He did bu
crouch in that picturesque attitude unit
the nearest tramp was fifty yards away
on steady run; and then he stood
erect, sending after his enemies on,
deep, sonorous HWoof-oof, - to keel
them companV