The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-16
RAB AND HIS FRIENDS.


how, OF why.
When we got to the top of the street, and
turned north, we espied crowd at the Iron
Church. "a dog-fght!' shouted Bob, and was
off; and so was 1, both of all but praying that
it might not be over before we got up! And is
this not boy nature, and human nature too! and
don't we all wish house on fire not to be put
out before we see it? Dogs like fighting; old
Isaac says they delight in 1t, and for the best
of all reasons and boys are not cruel because
they like to see the fight They see three of the
great cardinal virtues of dog or man-courage,
endurance and skill-in intense action. This is
very different from love of making dogs tight,
and enjoying and aggravating and making gain
| by their pluck. boy be he ever so fond him.
self of fighting if he is good boy, hates and de-
spises all this, but he would have to run off with
Bob and me fast enough; it is natural, and not
wicked interest, that all boys and men have in
witnessing intense energy and action
| Does any curious and finely ignorant woman
wish to know how Bobs eye at glance an
| nounces a dog fight to his brain? He did not, he
l*could not see the dogs fighting; 1T was the flash
| of an inference, rapid induction. The crowd
| round couple of dogs fighting is a crowd mas
culine mainly with an occasional active, com
passionate woman, futtering wildly round the
outside and using her tongue and hands freely
/ upon Jn6 men, as SO many DiuutS. IL 10 q
| crowd annular, compact, and mobile; crowd
centrpetal, having its eyes and its heads all bent
| downwards and inwards to one common focus.
Well, Bob and I are up and lind 1t is not OVER
| a small thoroughbred, white bull-terI1er is busy
| throttling a large shepherds dog, unaccustomed
| to war; but not to be trifed with. They are hard
at it; the scientific little fellow doing his work
in great style, his pastoral enemy hghting
wildly, but with the sharpest Of teeth and
| great courage Science and breeding, how
ever, soon had their own; the Game Chicken, as
| the premature Bob called him, working his way
| up, took his final grip of poor Yarrows throat
and he lay gasping and done for. His master,
brown, handsome, big, young shepherd from
| Tweedsmuer would have liked to
have have, knocked p down any man. or would
die for that part, if he had chance; it was no
use kicking the little dog; that would have made
him hold the closer Many were the means
| shouted out in mouthfuls, OF the best possible
| way of ending it. 'Water" but there was none
| near, and many cried for it who might have got
| it from the well at Blackfriars Wynd Bite
the tailn and large vague, benevolent, middle
| aged man, more DESTROYS than wise, with some
| struggle got the bushy end of Yarrows tail into
| his ample mouth, and bit with all his might
| This more than enough for the much-en-
during, much perspiring shepherd, who with
! CLEAN of Joy over his broad visage, delivered a
terrific facer upon our large, vague, benevolent,
| middleaged frend-who went down like shot.
| Still the Chicken holds; death not far off
''Snuff pinch of snuff" observed calm, highly
|
eye. Snuff, indeed' growled the angry crowd,
| affronted and glaring. ''Snuff! pinch of snuf!'
| again observed the buck, but with more urgency;
| whereon were produced several open boxes, and
| from null which may have been at Culloden,
| he took pinch, knelt down and presented 1t at
the nose of the Chicken. The laws of physiology
and of snuff take their course; the Chicken
sneezes, and Yarrow is free!
| The young pastoral giant stalks off with Var
| row in his arIns-comforting him.
But the bull terriers blood is up and his soul
unsatisfied; he grips the first dog he meets and
| discovering he is not dog, in Homeric phrase,
he makes brief sort of amende, and is off. The
boys with Bob and me at their head, are after
him. down Niddry street he goes, bent on mis-
chief; up Cowgate like an arrow-Bob and l,
and our small men, painting behind
There, under the single arch of the South
Bridge, is huge mastif, sauntering down the
! middle OF the causeway, as with his hands IN ms
pockeE he, old, gray, brindled, as big as little
Highland bull, and has the Shakspearian dew
laps shaking as he goes.
The Chicken makes straight at him, and fastens
on his throat. To our astonishment, the great
creature does nothing but stand still, hold him.
self up, and roar-yes, roar; long, serious, re
| monstrative roar. How is this! Bob and are
up to them He is muzzled! The babies had
proclaimed general muzzGng, and his master,
| studying strength and economy mainly, had en-
comprised his huge jaws in homemade appa-
ratus, constructed out of the leather of some an
cient breeching. His mouth was open as far as it
could; his lips. curled up in rage-a sort of ter
| flDle 8Ilui his t6eUn Sledm1uS, T6dQy, lfOul out
the darkness the strap across his mouth tense
as bow-string; his whole frame stiff with indig-
nation and surprise; his roar asking us all round:
''Did you ever see the like of thisF He looked
statue of anger and astonishment done in Aber-
deem granite
We soon had crowd the Chicken held on.
"a knife!" cried Bob; and cobbler gave him
his knife; you know the kind of knife, worn
away obliquely to point, and always keen. |
put its edge to the tense leather it before it;
and then!-one sudden jerk of that enormous
head, sort of dirty mist above his mouth, no
noise--and the bright and fierce little fellow is
dropped, limp and dead A solemn pause; this
was more than any of us had bargained for. L
turned the little fellow over, and saw he was
quite dead the mastiff had taken him by the
small of the back, like rat and broken it.
He looked down at his victim, appeared
ashamed and amazed: snuffed him all over,
stared at him, and, taking sudden thought,
turned round and trotted off. Bob took the
dead dog up and said, John, We'll bury him at
| ter tea" Yes" said l. and was off after the
mastf He made up the Cowgate at a rapid
swing; he had forgotten some engage
ment' He turned up the Candlemaker
row, and stopped at the Harrow Inn.
There was carriers cart ready to start, and
keen, thin inpatient black a-vised little man,
his hand at his gray horses head looking about
| angriy for something.
'Rab, ye thief he said, aiming a kick at my
great friend, who drew cringing up, and avoided
the heavy shoe with more agility than dignity,
and watching his masters eye, skunk dismayed
| under the cart-his ears down, and as much as
he had of tail down too.
What man this must be, thought T. to whom
my tremendous hero turns tail. The carrier saw
the muzzle hanging, cut and useless from his
neck and / eagerly told him the story, which
Bob and always thought, and still think,
Homer, or king David, or Sir Walter alone were
worthy to rehearse. The severe little man was
mitigated, and condescended to say: "Rab, my
| man; puir Rabbie'-whereupon the stump
of tail rose up, the ears were cooked, the eyes
filled, and we were comforted; the two friends
were reconciled. ''Hupp9 and stroke of the
whip was given to Jess, and off went the three
Bob and buried the Game Chicken that night
1--WE had not much of teal in the green back of
his house in Melville street, No II. with consid-
cradle gravity and silence; and being at the time
in the HAD and, like all boys Trojans we called
| him, Hactop of corpsa