The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-09-07
ANNEXED BY THE TSAR.


ton. There was one subject for dog
thought lying right before him, and
another lay only yard or so beyond
the first.
The one was an empty "muzzle'
that lay upon the grass, close by a
couple of well-picked bones. The sec
ond was an equally empty steel collar.
with a strong chain attached. The
end of the chain was hooked into u
staple at the side of the kennel door.
Tsar was a dog to look twice at.
His father had been Siberian blood
hound and his mother an English mas
tiff, and DR.. Gorham would have
trusted him to pull down a wild bull
or to ring church bell, if he could
once have seized with his massive
jaws the nose of the one or the ring
ing-rope of the other.
Tsar made no audible remarks, but
there was no difficulty at all in divin-
ing his meditations.
"They have fed me an hour before
shutdown, for some reason, and now
they've gone off and neglected me. No
muzzle, no chain, no master around,
and all the country left open to me.
1t is state of affairs to which 1 am
not acoustic ned at this time of day.
If there were another bone with meat
on it, I'd know exactly what to do"
He put out great paw and turned
the muzzle over. Then he walked for
ward and smelled of the helpless col
lar. Then he peered solemnly into the
kennel. There was a mystery about
the whole matter, and it seemed to
suggest visit to the front gate.
That, too, was wide open, as a witness
to the haste required by the summons
of the last patient. and Tsar coull
therefore walk out and look up and
down the shady road for an explana-
ton of his own case. He could not
see any, at first, for there was nothing
to be learned from a flock of geese,
three hens and one stray calf. The
very pig that was roofing under the
walnut tree paid him no manner of at
tention.
Tsar shrugged his broad shoulders
to make sure about the collar, paved
his nose for a moment in memory Of
his muZzle, and turned for look at
the gate. There it was, with a very
dingy old tin sign on one post, whose
faded letters read: CDR. Heber Cor
ham" and with very new sign on the
other post, whose bright, fresh gliding
announced Or. Heber Gorham, Jr.,"
as also ready for patients.
That was all right, and it occurr ed
to Tsar that walk would be good for
his health. He acted on the suggestion
promptly enough, but with dignity, as
became dog of his size; and no voice
from the house recalled him as he
marched away down the road toward
the sea. A sniff of salt air would he
just the thing for his digestion after
the hearty dinner he had eaten at the
kennel
The sun was getting very low toward
the horizon, and yet, away down there
on the rock at the heal of the cove
curly-headed young lady of nineteen
or whereabouts was still seated, bend
ing over portfolio spread across her
lap. From time to time she cast
anxious glances from the lines she
traced upon the green sheet of bristol
board under her hand to the more and
more shadowy island out there in the
mouth of the cove.
"That will do" she said. at looks
bigger than the boat, now, but it isn't
big enough for tree. 1 must make
the tree smaller; the cows back, too
it's half as long as the island. There
is always something dreadful the mat
ter with my waves" She worked at
the waves for few minutes. eff
had time, I'd try to put in the sunset.
Dear me, how late it is 1t will be
almost dark when get home. 1t gets
dark so quickly nowadays after it
once begins"
She arose little hastily, but she
gave the island very long last look a
she closed her portfolio-long enough
for bystander to have read her name,
in gilt letters, on the leather cover
"Percie Lee" But no one was there
to read, for lonelier spot than that
would be hard to find, however well
adapted it might be for the making Of
marine sketches.
Percie was in the road in half min
ute more, and she could but see that
the shadows were frightening rapidly.
She reflected: at is lonely for little
way beyond DR.. Gorham's, but l won t
mind it fir, m that to the village. do
hope shall not meet IIeber Gorham.
/ will not speak to him, if 1 do. !
won't even see him. He has not
called since he came back from Europe
and l hope he never will. detest
him"
She said it with needless energy, and
chen she began to walk briskly on
ward. 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 pro-
portion to the upper branches of the
tree on the island. She was really al
most thinking sincerely about the COW,
and the COW alone, when she suddenly
felt called UPON to eXclam:
"Oh, that dog"
To be sure, that dog. Tsar was on
the other side of the r adj and he did
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