Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-07-30

interest, and when tn. entire family
came out to get into the wagon, old
Bose was close at their heels, and nei-
ther coaxing nor threats could induce
him to remain behind when the wagon
started.
Evidently he thought that another
journey across the plains was to be un-
dertaken. and though much preferring
to lie in the sunshine and keep the
chickens out of the front yard, to any
more laborious service, he would vet
have undergone any torture rather than
be separated from the family, and a
look of pain and mortified pride came
into his honest eyes when told by his
master that he must remain and watch
the house, and instead of obeying he
crept close to their feet and looked
piteously up as if begging them not to
leave him behind, now that they were
going away, never to return. And so
they patted him on the head and called
him good fellow and ''brave old
dog" and told him he should 90 if he
wanted to. Then his whole demeanor
changed. He gave great bark and
showed his teeth in an attempt to laugh,
which can not be said to have been an
entire failure, and endeavored in every
possible way to express his thanks and
assure them that he was the proudest
and bravest dog on the Pacific coast,
and ready and able for any service that
might be required of him.
Then he started on ahead of the
wagon, looking back every few rods to
make certain that he was leading in the
right direction; but before they We're
half way to town he had dropped back
to the side of the wagon; then he fell
into the rear. and finally. looking back
and seeing how nearly the poor old fell
low was tired out and how piteously he
begged with his great eyes not to be
! left behind, the wagon had been
brought to a stop and Erastus had got
out and lifted him in with the rest of
the family" where the girls and Mrs.
Parsons had had some difficulty in in
ducing him not to show his gratitude
in too demonstrative manner. When
they descended from the wagon and
went on board the steamer he was so
fearful of being left that he kept in
front of them and under their feet until
several members of the family came
near falling over him; but when Erastus
turning to 90 called to him to follow,
he went willingly. evidently satisfied
that after all he was mistaken and this
was only holiday excursion.
And now he sat upon the seat with
Erastus in perfect contentment and
with a slight air of importance, as if he
felt consciousness of having proven
anew his devotion to those he served,
and had received a recognition of his
value.
Ordinarily the presence of the dog
might have prevented any feeling of
loneliness in the man had he been dis
posed to it: but to-day, although he did
feel that the dog was company in a
sense, vet his very presence, being unu
sual, served to remind him that the
house to which they We're returning
was desolate, and somehow things took
on an unreal look, and when he turned
into the barnyard and saw the chickens
and turkeys scratching in the straw or
wallowing in the dust, he was not quite
certain whether they were chickens and
turkeys or Just the ghosts of those that
were wont to scratch and strut there
before all other signs of life had ceased
and such an unnatural and oppressive
! stiffness had settled down over the
|
place.
After taking the gears from the horses
and feeding them he started to the
house TO get his dinner. The thought
of cooking his own meal was not quite
so pleasant now as he had thought it
might be. and he was half inclined to
90 without it or take a cold snack and
wait until night before cooking any
thing. Then his appetite began to re-
turn, and he concluded to at least fry q
couple of eggs and make cup of cof-
fee.
He entered the house by the back
way, and stood for moment looking
about him. The fire was out in the
kitchen stove; the chairs stood. stiff
backed and unsociable, against the
wall; the room had lost its air of cheer
fulness, and his football had lonely
kind of sound as he stepped on the
bare kitchen floor.
He-threw open the door which opened
onto the kitchen porch and let in flood
of sunshine. The old dog had pre-
ceded him to the house and taken his
accustomed place upon the porch and
was resting. When Erastus opened the
door. the dog opened one eye sleepily
and half raised his head as if to inquire
if he was wanted for anything, and then
stretched himself to sleep again. Every
thing seemed asleep or dead, and he
cooked and ate his dinner with feel
| ing as if he was cut off from all human
| society by a thousand miles of desert
| When he had eaten his own meal he
called Bose in and set down a plate
with scraps on it for him to eat.
| Then. not knowing exactly what to do
| with the remainder of the food which
he had cooked, he set that down for the
| dog also, and took his hat and went out
! to work.
! Several times that afternoon he Won
| dered to himself that he had never be-
fore noticed how still it was out there
in the orchard, and whether it was al
ways so perfectly quiet on the farm any
how: and if the geese swimming about
! in the little pond made for them by
means of II low dam across the creek,
| always moved around without making
! any more stir in the water: or if their
occasional "honk' when one rose up
in the water and Tapped his wings was
always pitched on that particular lone
some key.
As night approached he returned to
the house and fed the teams and the
pigs and the poultry and then went in
| and got his own supper. At dinner he
had said to himself that he would wash
all the dishes after supper, when he
should have nothing else to do. but
after eating his supper he found that he
had no hot water, and decided to defer
the job until morning; so he let Bose
l Oh tha off 0f hon 81 ta1