Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-03-12

| TWIST tnls handkerchief tlght above the place.
That's tourniquet. You showed me your.
self, ma. Now, we'll get it cauterizsd, aud
then you are perfectly safe."
Luckily Apps tiny pharmacy" was 80
near that In ten minutes we had Aunt Eliza
in close carriage with bandaged arm
Arp advised whiskey. "But az for your
making your own mother drunk on whiskey,
Eliza Prescott" said my aunt, 81 won't have
1t. It's disgraceful. No, IL | must be intox-
icated, 1 will take branded peaches and
champagne. Your pa always said there was
nothing like mixture Of liquors. Besides,
| know 1t won't do any good 1 always had a
strong head. remember when your pa and
l climbed to the top Of Milan cathedral
wasn't mite dizzy" When the doctor ar.
rived he found my aunt solemnly devourng
branded peaches, while Lydo cried quietly
in the corner and 1 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 im-
pressed by my reasons.
II reckon the dog was mad at you, said
| he, dryly, 'and that's all the mad about him /;
but you did just right, Miss Lyde and you
keep quiet for few days, Mrs. Prescott,
and you'll not have any more inconven-
isnoe."
There was levity about this way of treat
ing the matter which did not please Aunt Eli
"a 81 Q answered very stifily 1.-The dog
was mad, doctor, know very we'll He was
the perfect image Of mad dog saw once
myself, just the same sizs and color, and his
tongue stuck out the same way. | know my
own dagger perfectly, aud you needn't try to
deceive me; my only chance was to get
drunk, aud Im not getting drunk a mite
Doctor, l wish you'd send a book on hydro
phobia to me- aud ask Mr.. Ray to step in
this evening; | want to alter my will a little.
and ought to be perfectly rational. Lyde,
pass the champagne. Take glass yourself,
doctor, do"
saw the doctors brow contract be had
known my auut ever since their school days
in Kentuckyj he Was aware how obstinate
she could be; but he spoke cheerfully,
Now, don't you go to imagining things,
Mrs. Prescott you're right. Aud don't see
anybody but your sister aud her family and
keep quiet"
Very little good the last injunction did,
though, since l counted fifteen women going
into the house next day. My Aunt Eliza said
that she must see her friends. Precious
friends they we're, too. They described the
symptoms of hydrophobia to the very last
horror. 1t was amazing how many of them
had relatives or friends or friends Of their
friends, who had died Of the disease in aw-
ful agonies, which they described minutely
The few who had no personal e1per enoe
had read newspaper stories to such good pur.
pose that they we're rather more successful
in ghasty way than the others. Worst of
all, old Pirate Haines (Out Of sheer cruelty
and malice, / do believe) shook bis head and
said that the dog had been acting very queerly
OF late
~ don't want no p y for that dog, aid the
old reprobate.
Why the devil didn't You kill the brute,
then p shouted my father.
Il don't say he's mad, - the pirate replied
II don't knows he is l don't knows be
amt | just chained him up to see, an he
broke the chain"
The whole towns sympathy went to Aunt
Eliza, and naturally enough the towns in.
dignation q sort Of twin brother of sympa-
thy bunting for some one to blame, fell
equally on the pirate and me.
Most people thought that ought not TO
have killed the dog. Mad dogs should not
be killed, but captured alive, aud kept in
safe confinement until the doctors can de-
termine whether or not the animal has ra.
bies
They talked as though catching mad dogs
alive was the easiest thing on earth. My
father did not obj-ct to my shooting the dog,
but told me that Was "a fool to scare the
women My mother declared that il all
came from that wicked practice of boys car
rying revolvers. What did want with a re.
volver, anyhow And she promptly confis-
Gated my cherished weapon. Tim really was
sorry for me, but be thought that l ought to
have lassOed the dog Just as We saw the cow
boys doing with the buffalo in the wild west
He would have done that way himself; he
always carried . rope in his pocket. | was
too detected to remind him that, in spite of
shying his lasso at every brute within reach,
be had never succe eded in noosing ANYTHING
but an old blind horse, which ran away with
the rope.
Il was miserable enough those days; in.
deed so we're we all, since Aunt Elias case
had become serious. Any stray hopes we
might have had of moving her, Planchette
extluguished directly.
No, Remington, she said, solemnly, to
my father Il know better. I've been
warned from on high That fatal day con-
suited Plsnchette about sending some things
to Sister Kate in Lexington. ! thought the
message read, Take q quiet drayman' You
know the writing is little indistinct. But
when got home looked at it again, and
there II was, as plain as day, You are in
great danger Since then Eldred himself
has told me that Tm doomed. Everything
Is arranged about my worldly affairs. I've
seen MIR. Ray; I've sent word to Sister Kate
when the funeral is likely to be. so she can
come over and I've engaged Hatchett for
the undertaken Pierce smiles and hens SO
it would disturb me in my coffin, | know.
And I've bought some stout canvas to bind
me"
"Ob, Lord bless the woman :" father burst
out in fury between rage and grief. ELIZA,
you're just imagining yourself mad"
Indeed, I'm not, Remington Prescott
I've read the whole of 'Youatt on the Dog
You are right cruel to talk 80 to dying WON
an"
you're not dying woman"
81 am, too. said Aunt Eliza.
Actually, both growing warm, they nearly
had quarrel on the spot
Lyde begged us in future not to argue with
her mother. You know how firm ma is"
said Lyde. Firm struck me as a flial
word. By this time the doctor was at his
wits end. Promptly upon the ninth day
Aunt Eliza was seized with a shivering ft,
and took to darkened room shifting chloro-
form. symptoms described by sympathiz.
ing friends appeared in force. "See, now,"
said the doctor with a groan, II know she
hasn't anything but lyssophobia; that's a
sort of spurious rabies you understand-just
imaginary. I've watched her, aud she hasn't
any hypeim 'thesia to speak OF, and there
isn't the extraordinary reflex sensbility of
the real rabies. No, sir. But she'll kill her
self just the same. Why, sir, there are cases
where men have gone raVing mad and died
from the bite of a dog found afterWard in
perfect health. 1t is awful about Mrs. Pres
colt. She has ordered a muzze, as sure as
you live. tell you, sir when l heard about
that felt like crying"
1T makes me feel like swearing" growled
my father. Ferris, what do you say ?"
Basil was in New York at the time of the
accident As soon as he heard about it he
came home he had only been home day.
II think, " said BASIL that I'll take a walk
with Rem over to the scene"
He was very kind and forbearing with me,
saying, lyon acted for the best, Rem, and if
the dog had been mad, the sooner they knew
il the better; times money with mad dog
bites" That was the way Lyde had talked
too, but Of course thought a good more of
it coming from Basil, Lyde being only girl
He looked very tall and handsome and deter.
mined as he htrode along. l admired him
immensely, and CLEAN of hope hghtened
my heart perhaps he might think OF some
thing, 1t did not take long to conduct him
TO the pirates field. There was the fence,
not yet mended, the broken rails, and tram
Piled grass Basil examined everything with
growing attention. Finally he called me to
him and showed me a shred of something
black futterpg from projecting nail.
do you see that2' said he, pulling II
away.
saw that it was piece Of black silk, with
bit of Grape on the edge, 81 think it's a