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

until the pavement was as hot as the
sands of Sahara. A cool breeze ruff
He'd the surface of the east river, but
through those canyons of brick and NOR
Ia. only a stones throw from the
river, not a breath of life-giving air
was in motion. But when the lights
we're lit on the big bridge, and the sun
went down behind the Goddess of
Liberty, the stars and the children
came out together. From every door
way came troop of little ones who
had been shut inside the tenements all
day as in ovens. Such scene of joy
and freedom ensued as only the child
Ten of the poor experience when the
are more kind to little children in a
big city than the fiery sun. Glad shouts
echoed up and down Cherry street as
the little ones raced back and forth
from curb to curb and under the idle
trucks. Meanwhile the parents of the
children sat in the doorways and watch
ed the play. The girls were engaged
In those simple games which their
mothers had played when they were
little, while the boys were busy with
more athletic exercises. when small
hunchback boy came down gloomy
Middle alley, followed by small dog.
The boy snapped his fingers and the
dog began to jump playfully about
him.
Johnnie Murphy couldn't join in the
sports OF boys Of his own age, because
of his deformity, and so all the cur
rents of his nature were poured out
1avishly upon the dog. Nip and
Johnnie were unseparable. Ever since
the boy had found the dog shivering in
the ..alley one cold winters morning.
and had carried the animal up to his
mothers stove, where the half-starved
beast had been warmed and fed, the
two had been always together. The
tricks which Nip could perform were
the marvel of the alley. He would
Jump over chairs at the bidding of his
master, carry pint of milk in an open
pail without spilling a drop, bark for
a piece of bread, and bring Johnnie his
shoes in the morning. Although Nip
was mongrel his eye was as soft and
his tail wagged as eloquently as that of
che finest bred setter.
1t was 10 o'clock when Johnnie and
Nip emerged from the alley into the
street, an hour when the Children of
more fortunate parents were tucked
away in bed for the night. But still
Cherry street resounded with the
shouts of the children at play. John
ME seated himself upon a doorstep,
while Nip made a little excursion into
Che gutter. After shifting around for
q while he found section of bone
which had once done duty in the
shank OF a Texas steer. Lifting it to
the sidewalk, he placed his fore paws
upon it and contentedly gnawed at it.
In the meantim a wagon had stop
ped in the shadow Of tall building
about 100 feet away. A young man,
who wore no coat and whose shoes
were shod with rubber, dropped to the
sidewalk from the wagon and came
softly down the street, keeping close
to the buildings and carefully avoid
Ing the street lamps. So silent was
his approach that even the sharp eyes
OF the children failed to see him.
When within fifty feet of Nip he darted
suddenly upon the dog, grabbed it by
one OF the hind legs and started up
street as swiftly as he could run. Nip
began to "ki-yi" in a way that awaken
ed the echoes in the street and Johnnie
sprang to his feet in a frenzy of grief:
ode dog ketchers! Oh, de dog
ketchersr'
! Men, women and children star ted in
a mad rush after the fleeing man.
Hampered as he was by the swapping
and frantic animal, the dog catcher
was unable to run last, and before he
had covered 200 feet of sidewalk he
was tripped by an agile youth. He
still retained his hold of Nip, however,
but when he regained his feet he was
surrounded by shrieking mob,
which he kept at bay by swinging the
dog around his head. He lodged Just
N time to avoid brickbat which graz
ed his ear, and backed slowly ND
toward the wagon. The women
screamed, 'Kill him! Kill him. an
the men swore terrible oaths as thew
pressed upon him from every side.
With sudden spring which knocked
. would-be rescuer upon the cobble
stones, the dog catcher got under the
wagon, the trap-door was thrown open
by a confederate, whip swished
viciously upon the horses back, there