Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1883-09-05
From the Atlantic N1onthly.]
BY THE nSAR

From the Atlantic Monthly.l
ANNEXED BY THE HSAR
BY WILLIAM O. STODDARD.
He was huge dog, and be stood by
the kennel, in old DR.. Gorham's back
yard, in an attitude Of deep meditation.
There was one subject for dog-tbough,
lying right before him, and the other lay
only yard or SO beyond the first.
The one was an empty ''muzz!e" that
lay upon the grass, close by the couple
of wen-picked bones. The second was an
equally empty steel collar, with strong
chain attached. The end of the chain
was hooked into staple at the side OF
the kennel door.
Tsar was dog 10 look twice at. His
father was a Siberian bloodhound and
his mother au English mastif, and DR..
Gorham would have trusted him to pull
down wild bull or to ring a church bell,
if he could once have seized with his
massive jaws the nose of the one or the
ringiug-rope of the other.
Tsar made no audible remark, but
there was no difficulty at all in divining
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. It is a
sad state of affairs to which I am not
accustomed at this time of day. If there
were another bone with meat on it I'd
know exactly what to do"
He put out a great paw and turned
the muzzle over. Then he walked for
ward and smelled of the helpless collar.
Then he p cred solemnly into the ken
mel. There was a mystery about the
whole matter, and it seemed to suggest
a visit to the front gate. That, too, was
wide open as witness to the haste re.
CURED by the summons of the last pa
tlent, and Tsar could therefore walk out
and look up and down the shady road
for an explanation of his own case. He
could not see any, at first. for there was
nothing to be learned from 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 q moment in memory of his
muzzle, and turned fora lock at the gate.
There it was, with very dingy old tin
sign on one post, whose faded letters
read: CDR. Heber Gorbam," and with a
very new tin sign on the other post,
whose bright, fresh gliding announced
CDR. Heber Gorham, Jr ''as also ready
for patients.
That was all right, and 1t occurred to
Tsar that a walk would be good for his
health. He acted on the suggestion
promptly enough, but with d,gnisy, as
became dog of his size; and no voice
from the house recalled him, as he
marched away from the road toward the
sea. A sniff of salt air would be Just the
thing tor his digestion, after the hearty
dinner be had eaten at the kennel.
The sun was getting very low toward
the horizon, and yet, away down there
on the rock at the head of the cove @
curly-headed young lady of 10, or there.
abouts, was still seated, bending over q
portfolio spread across ler lap. From
tine to time she cast anxious chances
FROM the lines the traced upon the 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. cit looks
bigger than the boat, now, but it isn't
big enough for the tree. I 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 al
the waves for a few minutes. eff ]
had time, I'd try to put in the sunset.
Dear me, how late it is It will be al
most dark when I get home. It gets
dark SO quickly, nowadays, after it once
begins"
She rose little hastily, but she gave
the island a very long last look, as she
closed her portfolio-long enough for q
bystander to have read her name. in
gilt letters. on the leather cover,
"Percie Lee." But no one was there
to read, for q lonelier spot than that il
would have been hard to find, however
we'll adapted it might be for the making
of marine sketches.
Percie was in the road in half q 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 I won'i
mind it from that to the village. I dc
hope I shall not meet Heber Gorham
I will not speak to him, if I do. ]
won't even see him. He has not called
since be came back from Europe and
hope he never will again. I detest
him."
She said it was needless energy, and
then she began to walk briskly onward.
She tried hard, too, to persuade herself
that she was only wondering whether, il
her sketch, she had made the horns O
the COW near proper proportion to thu
upper branches of the tree on the island
She was really almost thinking sincerely
of the COW, and the COW alone, whe1
she suddenly felt called upon to ex
claim:
"Oh, that dog!''
To be sure, that dog. Tsar was OF
the other side of the road, and he dit
not seem to be taking any particular no
tice of her, but thus Percie truly re
marked of him:
"He is perfectly enormousl''
She forgot about the COW in an in
slant, but she did not speak her opinion
directly to the dog. Neither did sh,
think OF sketching him, although he wa,
certainly worth it. She seemed hard],
to care to look at him.
Tsar, on bis part, had taken o goot
look at Percie Lee. He was not mis-
taken about her for one moment.
every nice girl Well dressed