The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1891-11-26
THE MAGIC LINIMENT.

of the East river, but through those canyons
Of brick and mortar, only q stones throw
from the river, not breath of life giving
air was in motion. But when the lights
were lit ON the big bridge, and the sun
went down behind the Goddess of Liberty,
the stars and the children came out to-
gether. From every doorway came a
troop OF little ones who had been shut in
side the tenements all day as If in ovens.
Such scene of joy and freedom ensued as
only the children Of the poor experience
when the night comes, for the moon and
stars are more kind to little children in q
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 doorway and watched
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 exer-
cises, 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 currents Of
his nature were poured out lavishly upon
the dog. Nip and Johnnie were insepara-
BILE. 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 drop, bark for piece of bread
and bring Johnnie his shoes in the morn
ing. Although Nip was mongrel, his eye
was as soft and his tail wagged as elo-
quently as that of the 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.
Johnnie seated himself upon o doorstep,
while Nip made little excursion into the
gutter. After shifting around for awhile
he found section of bone which had once
done duty in the shank of Texan steer.
Lifting 1t to the sidewalk he placed his
fore paws upon it and contentedly gnawed
at it.
In the meantime a wagon had stopped in
the shadow Of tall building about 100
feet away. A young man. who wore no
coat and whose shoes were shod with rub
ber, dropped to the sidewalk from the
wagon and came softly down the street,
keeping close to the buildings and care.
fully avoiding the street lamps. So silent
was his approach that even the sharp eyes
of the children failed to see him. When
within feet yards of Nip he darted sudden
ly 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
way that awakened the echoes in the
street, and Johnnie sprang to his feet cry
ing in frenzy of grief:
"De dog ketchers! oh, de dog ketchers!"
Men, women and children started in q
mad rush after the fleeing man. Hampered
as he was by the swapping and frantic ami
NAL, the dog catcher was unable to run
fast, 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 sur
rounded by a shrieking mob, which he
kept at bay by swinging the dog around
brickbat which grazed his ear, and
backed slowly up toward the wagon. The
women screamed, "Kill hinl Kill himp
and the men swore terrible oaths as they
pressed upon him from every side. With
sudden spring which knocked would
be rescuer upon the cobblestones, the dog
catcher got under the wagon, the trap
door was thrown open by confederate, a
| whip swished viciously upon the horses
back, there was rattle Of wheels, a laugh
of victory, and the dog catchers disappeared
down Pearl street. The enraged dwellers
In Cherry street ran frantically after the
wagon for a block, and then one by one
sorrowfully abandoned the pursuit and
returned to Middle alley to condole with
Johnnie Murphy on the loss of his dog.
The boy was iuconsolahle. He was the
center Of q group of fifty children who tried
TO cheer him with promises of another dog
which each one intended to procure for
him. But none Of these promises gave
Johnnie any comfort. He wanted Nip.
There wasn't another pup In the world as
smart as him." he faltered out between his
sobs. Johnnie was carried up the long,
winding stairs to his bed in the arms of his
father. The play in the street was broken
up for the night, and. one by one the chill
dren entered the tenements, and Cherry
street was deserted.
The incident had aroused so much feel
ting In the shed, however, that an effort was
made to rescue the dog by the fathers and
mothers Of the children. They knew that
Nip would be taken to the pound before
morning and that unless three dollars was
raised before the following evening the
light In .Nip's eyes would be quenched. for
ever and the eloquent wag Of his tail would
be stilled.
And 30 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 necessities found its way into
his3pooket. The dog and its deformed
owIer1 were,as we'll known in the locality
as the children. and each householder con-
tributed cheerfully toward the object, re-
serving 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 fitful slum-
ber he awoke with a 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 upon the walk tC
await his return with feverish anxiety
The sun rose higher and higher. unit
Johnnie was obliged to retreat into the al
ley to avoid the stinging heat. But hi
white face turned ever toward the way
along which he knew we'll Roger woulC
have to come on his return. There wer'
| various youthful pickets also on the watch
boys who cared nothing for the heat Of th'
| sun. and at 10 O'clock one of them CAM