The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-12-20

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the fathers and mothers of the child
rem. They knew that Nip would sa
taken to the pound before morning,
and that unless s. was raised before
the following evening the lightin Nip's
eyes would be quenched forever and
the eloquent wag of his tail would be
stilled. And so Roger Doolan took
upon himself the Office of collector.
He canvassed the whole block before
he went to bed, and many dime which
had been laid away for household ne
cessities found its way into his pocket
The dog and its deformed owner were
as well known in the locality as the
children, and each householder con-
tributed cheerfully toward the object,
reserving some very strong language
for the dog catchers. And while the
collection was in progress Johnnie
tossed uneasily on his pillow. He
missed the familiar dog which always
slept on the quilt beside him. When
he dropped into a fitful slumber he
awoke with start when he found that
Nip was not in his accustomed place,
and his grief was renewed like tidal
wave with each awakening.
| When the mist rolled up from the
East river, Roger Doolan started for
the pound and Johnnie went down up
on the walk to await his return with
feverish anxiety. The sun rose higher
and higher until Johnnie was obliged
to retreat into the alley to avoid the
sitting heat But his white face turn
ed ever toward the way along which
he knew we'll Roger would have to
come on his return. There were vari-
Gus youthful pickets also on the watch,
boys who cared nothing for the heat of
the sun, and at 10 o'clock one of them
came rushing into the alley out of
breath and gasped out:
''Here comes Roger, an he's got de
purp in his arm!''
Sure enough, Roger was coming with
the tread of a conqueror. A crowd OF
eager children logged his footsteps as
he swung around the corner of Roose-
welt street into Cherry, and eager
questions saluted him, such as:
''Is ye got i'm, Roger?" lis he
hurted?" did We kill the dog catcher
wot clutch imp"
But Roger only smiled and walked
rapidly on, we'll knowing that to John
ME the minutes were freighted with
lead. At last he reached the alley and
placed the little bundle in the boys
arms. Did ever a child's fingers
tremble more violently than those of
Johnnie Murphy at that supreme
moment of Joy and fear?
Slowly the bundle was unro lied and
twenty pairs of eyes watched the pro-
cess as the folds fell away and dis
closed the dogs apparently life
less body. The eyes were closed
in utter WEAKNESS. Nip had evil
IDENTIFY been injured by the dogs
confined with him in the dog -catcher's
wagon, for there were fresh wounds on
his neck and blood stains upon his
shaggy coat. Aud while sympathetic
group stood around with pale faces
and plying eyes, Johnnie bent down
over the dog as it lay on his lap and
VIII ispered huskily:
| 81 say, purp, are We much hurted?"
Nip feebly opened his eyes, and a
look of glad recognition came into
them. The stumpy tail moved little,
a very little. 1t was not such hearty
wag as that with which Nip was wont
to testify his joy. The tired head was
lifted for a moment from Johuuie's
arm and a low whine, but an echo of
that which had saluted the boys ears
yesterday, greeted him. Johnnie sat
for a while dazed and uncertain, then
an inspiration came to him.
''I'll fix him boys" said he exulting-
ly. as he felt in his pockets. The
children watched his movements ca
gerly. When his inquisitive fingers
invaded the coat pockets they evident
/ ly touched something, for Johnnie's
face lit up once more with light of
hope as he brought small brown pa
per parcel to view. Unrolling the pa
per he disclosed a soup-bone to which
chung some fbres of meat,
"Here, Nip!' said Johnnie, snap
ping his fingers and whistling softly.
''stand up and tackle the bone. saved
it for YEP
But no bone that was ever encased
in flesh, and no steak, however rare
and appetizing could make those nos
trils dilate. Hunger was swallowed
up in pain and weakness.
ats no use to give the dog strong
grub like that now" said Roger. He
can't tear it. You leave him to me.