News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-12-20
THE YELLOW DOG,
By JOHN z. M'CANN,

1t would be hard to find happier
man IN New York city, one August
afternoon, four years ago, than Ton
Shaylock, as he walked through Fifty
fourth street from Sixth avenue, on Iii.
way home. He was about TWENTY-FIVE
years old. He, that afternoon. had OBJ
tanned the position he had been in train
ing for from b5yhood up. His father
was retired merchant; he was the an.
pie of his fathers and mothers eve: he
was good enough looking, and in love.
ID afternoon he had put n rather
deiIcate questioa to a certain vo11no
lady he had known for at least two
weeks, and she had murlnured some
thing that couldn't have been "no." as
she melted into his arms.
Iom Shaylock was tho kind of man
women like He didn't try to make
them think that they were goddesses.
he thought they were human, and he
tod them 50. He thought that bad
woman was worse than bad man, and
he told them that. He thought that the
sex could lie like the deuce; that when
God gave man muscle, and Drawn, and
strength, he gave woman cunning,
shrewdness, calculation, flexible
tongue, an elastic conscience and mem
oTy, and the art of a Rachel. With
these weapons, she was fully equipped
to meet man on his own ground, as long
as the world reyolved upon its axis.
Tom thought.
Tom and his dog swung along toward {
home. They didn't have far to go, for I
Toms IaThers house was only four or I
five doors from Fifth avenue, in East
Fiftyfourth street.
Just before Mr.. Shaylock and his four |
footed yellow friend reached the corner
of Fifth avenue, q man of about Mr.. |
Shaylock' age, poorly dressed, tall, thin,
unshaven, with struggling black hair,
and small eyes of the same color, which
swan in two little puddies of venom,
long, thin, hooked nose, with unnatur-
ally large nos,rils, large ears, hands and
feet, frightfully small head and mouth,
and miserable, soft, greasy hat over
all, got before them.
AS Tom came mp, he whiningly put
out an uuclean hand for aims. Tom
dropped a silver dollar into it, passed
on, turned, came back, and said:
"Well -
"Ehl"
"Don't you think that is worth a
thank you p"
''On Cl1Hh you, SueeTluBly.
''Find it pretty hard to say, ehE Rather
foreign to your tonguel Oh, well, you
needn't thank me for it, after all; you
may thank o young lady know"
Where is she, then ?" snarled the
man.
"Oh," answered Tom, provokingly,
''I don't think that 1 will treat her to
look at yo1, my friend. You may thank
her, but not in person.
''I suppose you think / amt good
enough Z" with tightening of the long
lean fingers of his right hand upon the
heavy stick which he carried, and such
a look of hate in his narrow eyes, that
Shaylocks dog got between master and
man, and displayed two magnificent rows
of shark-like teeth.
''Good enough :" echoed Mr.. Shay
lock; "why, my dear fellow, you are
simply perfect"
on that kind of talk, or it'll be the worse
for you. I'll do yOur' he ended, fero-
ciOusly.
All through the above, the dog stood
either at his masters side or between the
two men; and he never took his wild,
red eyes off the man. He weighed be-
tween eighty-five and hundred pounds,
and he had the dirtiest of yellow hides,
from nature, not from the street. He
was a powerful animal, but he wasn't
pretty. He wasn't o favorite, but he
loved his master He was perfectly in
dependent, and cared absolutely for no.
body but his master. He slept by his
masters bed, when his master was Mt
home; and, when he was away, his loyal
yellow friend slept upon his bed. He
used to follow him, not onl ly on his ram
bles, but all over the house.
'tDo you mean to threaten me!" cried
Tom, in white heat. "Pooh = he said,
moving off, "it serves me right for talk
ing with YOU" and he and the yellow
dog disappeared in the brown-stone
house down the block, followed by the
snaky eyes of the man with the stick.
When Mr. Shaylock arose the next
morning, and looked over to the corner
of the avenue from his bay window, he
saw his friend of the evening before
standing there, begging. 1t annoyed
Mr.. Shaylock very much. True, 1t was
none OF his business; but, still, he was
annoyed
He ate his breakfast quickly, and, fol-
lowed by his dog, left the house to go
toward the Sixth avenue Elevated sta
tion, for he was to be in the office of the
aurora BoTealis ut half-past eleven, to
make the final arrangements with the
editor, prior to his departure for Eng
land, where he was to act as London
correspondent.
As he was passing the evil-faced beg
gar, the latter sneeringly said:
fMust have the cur along, eh q
Tom turned. like flash, and shouted:
IF you ever speak to me again, Will
hand you over to the police !"
And the beggar drawled:
Il guess you are coward.
You miserable, beggarly scoundrel -
The man grew hvid; his upper lip
urled until a row of his white, sharp
teeth cleaned; his nostrils dilated; the
stick in his hand quivered, and his beady
eyes snapped sparks; but the yellow dog
was wall he didn't care to scale.
That afternoon Tom walked through
Fifty-fourth street again, with his dog
at his side, and his future wife upon his
arm. He was to present her to his moth
er and father. A vile remark from the