The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-07-20
living the situation = moments study

that sheep deserved consideration-my
monkey grabbed up the end Of his string
dropped stealthily from the floor Of the
veranda. and went sagging gently of over
he Ground toward the doctors ram. Evil
jcntlv goingto monkey a bit. thought;
,lso coniectured that lie didn't half
know the fourth part Of what he had to
leal with. | ventured this much even
before | guessed the suicidal extent 70
which the prank was to be carried
IF monkey may be tied up. nice
monkey at that, why not this sodden, stu
pid creature
But wait bit Which end of that
cord are YOU going to use, you little crab?
That theory, like your string, has right
and wrong end. and if you get hold of
the wrong one, you are lost. Exactly
what are you going TO tie that sheep TOT
In this way sat silently questioning and
Specializing while the misguided little
thief hoped nearer and nearer Nan Ord.
Once alongside he dropped the end Of the
cord over Donalds upper hind leg, hshed
il out below, and set earnestly 10 work TO
make it fast How gentle and silent he
was in and out, up and down back and
forth he pushed, pulled, twisted and
fouled that linel Not a sound did he make
or utter until he had succeeded in accom-
plishing that which, if it would not level
MP with any known knot was yet good
tangle This finished, with a shrek OF
delight which demonstrated that his
wicked little heart was being destroyed
with glee, the unwarned founding of the
forest made dash for his original posi-
ton. Once there he proposed, presume,
to wind himself up in the fun afforded by
the situation.
Yes, he had tied up Nan Ord, but al
ready the quality of satisfaction originally
achieved had dwindled until it graded up
rather badly. As we have seen, there was
"A mistake. and pretty predicament my
nice monkey was in Poor little Humbug
Sin had already named him so-he
found himself safely caught in the blight
of trouble. and the glec snuffed out, just
AS the mrth went out of Graham the night
he put his hand ON black cobra's coil.
Whang' went the taut line Baa' Pit
Pit blew Donald, as he sprang to his feet
and stamped an angry inquiry.
momentary glare on the part Of the
Hammerer, quick dash dodge, and
period of mutual contemplation filled the
first half minute
One, two, three, scoot Then followed
the most cheerful occasion of my life
Surely mortal man never beheld the like
before. Around and over, hither and
Won, few little Ilumbug with tll' ram
finishing a good second at every tulI. II
was my monkey and Graham sheep
United States against Caledonia. ana
blue day for Uncle Sam Around they
went, and back they came, Donald doing
his best TO score a hit, and taking his
shots quarter or straight away. just
as they came. and the monkey straining
every fiber 10 keep up system of vanish
ing targets Ii was "A tumbling match, "A
bull fight, "A swift chariot race, and III
apiece. Sometimes the ten feet of cord
would foul and shorten, so that for the
moment it looked as If Donald was going
to come aboard. Theft it would reel off
again, and the dance take up its furious
measure once more Now and then
brief cessation Of hostilities would tran
spiro which occasions both parties filled
in with earnest inquiries as to the
exact shape of the next evolution, espc
cially did little Humbug seem anxious to
keep track Of these little details. Per
haps he thought it vital iOr him to know
in time to get up some sort of makeshift
counter that would last him around the
ring and back again Then, with rush
and Il snort, Shrek and wild leap. the
two would 60 revolving and whiriing
about like chain shot once more, one of
them trying TO slack the line, and Ito
other to haul it taut. The Hammcrer's
eyes got to blazing like head lights, while
the troubled victim of his own native
smartness went yawing, heeling and
tumbling about like a spider fight
Plainly my side was getting the worst of
II. but somehow | was given the grace to
bear it. seemed to have no end Of
courage, and am glad it happened 50.
for just along where we were then it had
begun to look like the saddest time of
all the year. mother" Evidently, if things
held up as they were going, our name was
mud As saw it, either that line had 10
part, the sheep to ravel out like cast off
stocking, or else my monkey must take
the alternative Of getting rammed beyond
recognition, or OF flying into bits like hen
feathers in furry by force Of his own
eXertiOns.
But just as things began to look dark
est for Us something flashed by and
whizzed into the house. 1t was or side.
The tie had failed, and we were free
No, it isn't every bit OF string that will
DO to tie to every sheep You find lying
around. In some cases yOu might as well
hitch up to Il pestilence and be done
with IT,
Now after this blunder in the matter of
Il hitch the confusion Of hitcher and
hitchee, and the consequent unwholesome
aspects Of things generally, 1t would seem
that my monkey would pick him out
good place in which To sit down and square
up experiences; that he would graduate
his progress toward experiments inyOlv-
ing string or anything else. / thought
50, but | was ignorant went 10 a win.
dow, drew the print curtains slightly
apart, and became wiser. Tor there was
my unterritied, unrepentant little beast
Dottering about the room just as indus
triously and as blithely as if be had not
but just narrowly escaped being butted
out as fiat as gun wad by a sheep. The
room was Graham's, and was used as
combined medicine shop, study and bird
stuffery. Truly a bad place for such III