The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-25

acknowledge the possibility OF his own
dog killing sheep, but it must be
neighbours dog. He was close-fsted
farmer a rather cross one, and he at
once made up his mind that it was
Tige who had killed his sheep. Angry
and excited he took his gun and ran
to the fence, where he saw his neigh
boris boys.
"See here you fellows-I an going to
shootyour hound, you are always try
ing to make him fight. Didn't
I see you the other day doing
your level best to make your Tige
fight my Butch, and Butch is
the best tempered dog in the town
ship? You boys are always up to mis-
chief, and making Tige so hungry to
eat up other peoples dogs has got him
to slaughtering my poor sheep. Three
sheep, that's $50 out of my pocket,
and am going to take it out of Tige,
so stand aside while put a load of
buckshot in him"
Tige, hearing the loud sound of the
mans voice, had cooked up his ears,
and stood in front of the boys.
"You can't deny that you were sick
ing your dog onter mine the other
day." said the farmer, cooking his
gun.
1t came so straight home to the
elder boys that they couldn't reply.
All they could do was to look angry
and try to get Tige in the background.
But Tige, scenting row ofsome kind,
stood manfully to the front. The two
big brothers began to hallow at him,
but Tige would not bulge. Then the
little fellow walked up to the fence and
said:
at isn't so. There was no fight. I
wouldn't let 'em fight. Your Bucthis a
mean dog anyways, and a good deal
more likely to kill your sheep than
Tige."
"It's a pack of lies. Now stand out
of the way. l amt going to allow no
fooling about here. That dog ofyours
is bound to be shetland am going
to kill him." cried the farmer.
Then the little boy called to Tige,
who for the first time minded the voice
of the one he loved best ane came and
stood behind his little master.
"Now you must shoot me-" said the
little boy, "and then you will get hung
for murderer" he added, cody, and
he stood there just as quiet as ecould
be. More than that, he sat down, and
held Tige in his arms.
That action of the little boy s seemed
to enrage the farmer SO much that he
lost all control of himself. He put his
single barreled gun against the fence,
jumped over it and made for Tige and
his master. He was a rather fat old
fellow, and not SO very active. The
little brother saw him coming. Then
he hallooed out to Tige, $50 home, "
and Tige obediently scampered across
the field, but as all dogs will do, he
would stop occasionally to look after
his young master. Seeing the dogrun-
ming, the farmer bounced back over
the fence for his gun, and trained it
shoot. Then quick as could be, the
| little fellow jumped up too, and just as
the farmer thought he had sighted the
running Tige, the barrel OF the gun
was showed away UP lin the air, so that
when the old fowling piece did go of
the buckshot ratified in heleaves and
boughs of neighboring tree. Then
the little fellow walked away quietly
enough towards home, though it must
be said that his big brothers ran just
| as last us they COulQ.
That night when the family were as.
sembled nobody SAID anything about
the incidents OF the day, and of course
Tige was silent, for he did not know
what narrowescape he had had.
Presently one of the farm hands
said: s'Old Jones's back>is up about
having had sheep killed. His Butch
is a mighty mean dog. I know ths
stock that dog comes from and some
of that breed is always killing sheep
it's natural to them.'
The boys never let on a word
| That night, when the boys went tc
bed, ore of the big brothers said to the
yoI nger one:
-You are pluck; We never are goins
to Gala you Baby or Sweetness,
again. You're bigger fellow than We
are You wasn't a bit afraid
| Then the other brother said: -~Bub
you are grit. He's a mighty rougf
man, and If it hadn't been for you ole
Tige's hide would have been riddled
See here TIM going to buy you thu
best knife can find at the store, pro
viding you DON'T tell anybody how W.
ran away while you stood up ant
faced a man with loaded gun.
Two or three days after that th'
neighboring farmer came to the hous
and asked to see the lads. Though h.
was a mighty gunpowdery kind Of al
old fellow, there was some spank o
justice in Hmm
"See here, boys" he said, ri cam
mighty near making a fool of mysel
the other day, all along about you
dog. never suspected Butch-bu
me and one of my hands sot up tn
other night and we heard the sheel
arracing like mad, and we turned out
and there was that Butch of ourl
just a-tearing ait "a sleeps throat
There wasn't nobody near to save tha
ours life, and don't miss dog twiaa
The long and the short of it is, thai
there aint no Butch just aG present, "a;
least to speak of. So, bows, l amt tos
proud to axe your pardon5, but thai
little chap is as brave a boy as | eve
came across, and if he don't make !;
man we shall proudabout,I IN mucl
mistaken" So they .aal shock hands
! around, and that was the end of it.
My story would be without point i