Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-11-06

S;me pleasure to his towns-neon,e
hetm ne a bought a vacant field Vino
f 6;eii~een his garden and the streetsM55
.raversed by a foot-path from time
lmmemorial-andh he guarded foot.nath
ana fleld with his dog. Now nv amt
nao peculiar fondness for roses "nS
sne a heard of a certain new var;atv
H. thsesseu oy the pirate. and fourishing
10 an other rose cultivators. II don,i
E Ii;oVe 1ney are so fine" said my aunt
an ana one day; 1--WE mind to 90 in
anu see We were close by the field
Ave Ave three: Aunt Eliza. Lyde, and 1.
1n"n' hllza insisted that Snap, the dog,
was dead and no new dog had come.
,r,ue was afraid. 1 happened to have
ihy~lrstrevolver, asecret treasure, which
= was carrying to show the bows. so I
sau vallantly that L was not afraid of
anluos. we entered the field, strut
sils anead, with my fingers gripping the
nahole OF my weapon. W. examined
Tue roses without misadventure INV
aunt said their merits had been much
eyaggeratcd) and turned to 90 home.
halfway an ominous sound smotc on
our ears-aloud. deep growl.
IN Ken, it's the new dog!" gasped
lyde: Ely for the fence. Mari
Never you mind. Aunt Eliza" said
l. though my legs were shaking; .I'Il
protect YOU" Out came the revolver
inc faced the dog. He was a great
yellow and brown beast, big as a lion
l thought. quaking, and with a nor.
I1ble mouthful of cleaning white teeth.
he dashed straight after the women
Too excited to take aim, I fired twice.
l ont suppose that 1 came within a
yard of him. The pant ng reature.
with his eyes of fire, bounded past, and
the next second I heard a bark and
a crash. Lyde had dragged Aunt Eliza
to the fence, which they both had
mounted. The fence was frail and
Aunt Eliza was stout; hence, when the
crash came. all that l could see was a
cloud of dust through which twinkled
Cousin Lyde's red stockings, my Aunt
ELIAS black stockings. and the yellow
dogs four legs in the air. A second
later. abreast of the catastrophe, I had
a vision of two gowns tumbled together
on the grass. and the yellow dog be-
tore me. Then it vas that l fired again.
Probably the beast himself was not
more astounded than I. when he leaped
high in the air. rolled over, and was
dead. Half frightened at my own VIC
tory, | approached. him, lying in the
little puff of dust made by his fall. He
lay on his side: flakes of foam dribbled
from his dreadful jaws, his tongue pro-
truded, his dead eyes glared. 1t seemed
to me that l had made a discovery: but
| I cbou1H MT horo hl,r&J -; =
quickly had l not q distinct picture in
my mind of the creature leaping over
the two women.
''I've killed him." I shouted. 81
guess he's mad"
My aunt turned white. 'Oh, laws!,
she screamed, holding out her arm;
''he bit me. Lydc, I'm a dead woman"
There was a Jagged tear in the silk
and Grape of her sleeve; beneath was
the merest puncture of the skin.
''Nonsense. ma" said Lyde, briskly
(but noticed that she was paler than
Aunt Eliza): 'it's only Il scratch. Get
a stick. Rem, and twist this handker-
chief tight above the place. That's a
tourni .uet. You showed me yourself.
ma. Now We'll get it cauterized, and
then you are perfectly SAFE"
LUCKILY Apps tiny pharmacy
was so near that in ten minutes we had
Aunt Eliza in a close carriage with a
bandaged arm.
Arp advised whisky. ''But as for
your making your own mother drunk
on whisky, Eliza Prescott said my
aunt, Il won't have it: It's disgrace
full. No, if l must be intoxicated. I
will take branded peaches and cham
payne. Your pa always said there was
nothing Ike a mixture of liquors. Be-
sides. l know it won't do any good; I
always had a strong head. / 1emem-
Der when your pa and l climbed to the
top of Milan Cathedral 1 wasn't a mite
dizzy" When the doctor arrived he
found my aunt solemnly devouring
branded peaches, while Lyde cried
| quietly in the corner, and I kept Aunt
Eliza company with the peaches. The
first question he asked was how we
knew that the dog was mad; and he
didn't seem particularly impressed by
my reasons.
Il reckon the dog was mad at you,"
said he. dryly, land that's all the mad
about him; but you did just right, Miss
| Lyde; and you keep quiet for a few
days, Mrs. Prescott, and you'll not
have any more Inconvenience"
There was a levity about this way of
treating the matter which did not
please Aunt Eliza. She answered very
stitfly. THE dog was mad. doctor, |
know very we'll. He was the perfect
image of a mad dog l saw once myself,
Just the same size and color, and his
tongue stuck out the same way. l
know my own danger perfectly, and
you needn't try to deceive me; my only
chance was to get drunk, and I'm not
getting drunk a mite. Doctor.
wish you'd send a book on hydropho-
bia to me. and ask Mr.. Ray to step in
this even ng; l want to alter my will a
little, and / ought to beperfectly ration
al. Lyde, pass the champagne. lake
a glass Yourself, doctor, do
I saw the doctors brows contract; he
had known my aunt ever since their
school-days in Kentucky; he was aware
how obstinate she could be: but he
spoke cheerfully: Now don't you 90
to imagining things. Mrs. Prescott.
you're all right. And don't see any
body but your sis ter and her family,
Very little good the last injunction