Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-08-14
THE DUFFER. -
The Pathetic Story OF Only .
Worthless Cur.

What ON earth made you call the
poor brute BY such name as that?''
asked Mr. Bolton, looking down with
a certain contemptuous pity at the nom
descript animal who was imprinting
dirty paw-1parlss upon his new box
cloth CATERS.
well, RELY, SIR" answered Mr..
Markham, the householder, Il don't
'ardly see what else you could call
him. Strayed ere last winter when he
was on'y pup; and as nobody claimed
him KEEP him, thinkin' he might turn
out to be some good for somethin'.
But I'm blessed # I can discover what
the Lord created him for Won't e ght,
won't kill rat, won't earn his keep in
no sort o way. So we called him the
Duffer, and ne answered as trial as
should if you was to sing out Joe
Markham. Give a dog q bad name
and 'ang him, they say. Well, I've
give him his name, and now s'pose
I shall have to do the rest; for can t
afford to pay seven and six a year for
the likes of him in these ard times. "
He doesn't look a well-bred one,''
observed Mr.. Bolton.
'Oh, he's a cur, sir; no need to tell
you that Got bit of the bull in him,
as you see; but what the rest of him is
/ couldn't say, not if you was to put
me ON my hoath. Good-natured Great
ur'', too; it goes agin' me to put him
out O. the way. Seems to have took to
you wonderful, sir Curious amt it.,
how dogs always know gentleman as
understands 'em.
That very smart young gentleman,
Dick Bolton, thought he understood a
good deal about dogs. He also thought
that he understood a good deal about
horses, and was under the impression
that he had just purchased valuabl e
hunter at q great bargain fro m Mr..
Markham. Whether this confidence
in his knowledge and capacity rested
upon any solid foundation may be open
to doubt, but at any rate it suficed to
put him in a good humor, and he said:
'oh, I'LL give the poor beggar a home
If you like. One mere dog among so
many won't make mach difference"
thus it came to pass that, the same
evening, smart Mr.. Belton's smart
groom was requested to take charge of
an animal, amongst whose advantages
Gf he had any) smartpess could hardly
be reckoned.
All the dogs in the stable-yard made
inspection of him: ,sa1d it is lamentable
to be obliged to add that each and all
of them forced him without any diff
Guilty to accept a licking.
After that it was absurd to think Of
changing his name AS his former
owner had said, what else could you
call him?
Slaviss. passionate, demonstrative
love is, alas! never appreciated by its
object in this perverss world, and such
an affection it was that the poor Duffe,
had conceived for Dick Bolton. Now
Mr.. Bolton had to stand good deal OF
chatf about this ridiculous dog. The
Duffer refused to LEAVE him, did not
resent being kicked out of the room,
insisted upon sleeping at his bedroom
door, and when he was out hunting
howled without intermission until his
return. Dick Bolton was a good
hundred fellow, but of course he was
annoyed by a method of treatment
which has been found annoying by all
human beings from the beginning of
time. However, he submitted to it
more or less ancomplainiBgl for a
good many weeks, and doubtless his
patience would have held out even
longer but for a most yexatious Incl
dent which occurred at the very end OF
the season.
In all the world, perhaps, there was
nobody for whom Dick entertained
feelings of deeper generation and es-
loem than he did for Sir Brooke Scat