New-York tribune., 1895-02-17
THE MAN AND THE DOG.

From The Overland Monthly.
once there were two men in love with the same
girl and this Is the story OF how the one was taken
and the other left.
The girls name was Vance-Barry Vance OF the
Vances. who lived Stockton-st. when Stockton-st.
the place to live and even afterward, when II
In this story she shall be little more than
a name. After ALL a name (using the word largely
and face are about all that men ask of girl to-
day. They are not so very far wrong. The best
charactcred girl is the girl with the least character
that s-dont Observation-Disclosures character.
Just the best tempered girl is the one with the
least temper So In this story Barry Vance shall be
simply Barry Vance to the end. which was when
she married one OF the men and changed her name
to his
But the men were OF temperaments sufficiently
marked and were as widely different one could
well ina CINE. They extremes and as II were
Barry the between them.
In the first place. Jack Brunt was a tower OF
leathery muscles and hard. tough sinew and fibre.
and used to crack wanuts in the hollow Of his arm.
He handsome, too. with fine, high coloring.
brown eyes. and dropping brown mustache. He
a self-made man. true son OF the people,
man whom other men. children and some women
liked. although his manners were rather coarse.
He had made his money by hard work. and when
business men spoke OF him they said he "a
good earnest fellow with nonsense about him"
He was in land and real estate. and seemed TO be
forever talking about 'fifty-vara lots on O'Farrell
st." He spoke unrcservedly about his humble ori-
GIN because he not ashamed OF It and because
it made people establish comparisons between II
and himself and forced them admire him for
having raised himself to position 50 far above
that to which he had been destined by fate and
his father. oil Buck Brunt. VINO had the country
store and A NTH interest In little stone quarry
up Tnyo way. The grandfather had been a stone
Perhaps il made no difference between the two
men that Wesley Shotover's ancestors were franz
io1v generally in the days of the Constitution and
the Bonhomme Richard. when Brunts were being
leased to labor contractors to grub and grappe
under the whip with the reluctant colonial soil;
they were both Americans and American born. and
a certain document tina; Shotover had helped 70
draw up told them both that all men were created
free and equal.
Whatever Brunt was you saw at once upon the
surface. but Shotover's cooress face was an un-
girl smooth gutless OF beard. and invariably calm
IL was just saved from efomnacy by certain mas
cheekbone and the angle OF the jaw. There was
catke daintiness about his dress and manner, ana
he had a very happy faculty or saying ana DOING
precisely the right thing at precisely the right time
Women were very fond of him, but the men were
not They said he never would amount TO much.
which America is the very worst thing one man
say of another And shotoyer ne never wond
to so much In the present: as matter OF tact ne
to about m2n ans he na nhde n SS tx a
joy what he had rather than TO get more ne ala
In point OF years he was very much younger than
Brunt and IN point OF morals very much worse;
often doing many things which cannot be noted
here lie was in a fair way TO smoke himself to
death with cigarettes. his chief diet seemed TO be
chocolate nougats and French vernoutn, ana MS
chief occupation when not rendering suit and ser
vice to Barry. appeared to be holding down Market
and Kearny sts during the fashionable time OF day.
which is from to in the afternoon ,,-
old Vance was something dstrustfu OF Shotover.
Hrtint seemed to him TO be OF the stun good hus-
bands are made Of vance used to say arn tina, bTuni n
to he sure. but solid upon his base. steady ana not
70 5e easily moved You could put your nam rhri upon
graceful and pleasant 10 the eye and made up OF
soft curves and harmonious surfaces but uns,ao,e,
preserved the balance OF power between the two
men go well that II would have been nara 10 say
You can still the remnants OF the old Vance
mento. about opposite the Chinese Consulate. bur
the lawn which made the corner is now taken up
The place is practically surrounded by Chinatown
now and the Vances have moved out into the
riddled and honeycombed TO lodge some hundred
Chinamen and the old wine cellars are made INTO
tunnelled and chambered into accommodations for
domino gambling and tan games Even al the time
the Indications OF Chnatown's very near approach
that is Chinese shops and boot stores with the
signs In Engllsh-were only across the street. while
all Hong Kong reeked and wetered within two or
three stone throws OF Barry's tennis courts
one day during the San Francisco Indian summer.
which is the short period coming in between the
end of the winds and ne beginning OF III he , rams, 81
pay tennis with Barry Brunt was already there.
but shotover did not seen TO nIha & mat was wa S sn1, ,h
most exasperatingly indifferent man In the world,
men. Brrnt. because he was as honest with other
people as he with himself never took the least
pains to conceal the fact that he was very much In
love with Barry and was mercuriaily responsive TO
the most trivial variation OF her moods but Shot-
manner. and lust now seemed to take less interest
in Barry than he did in her blue gray; waleyed
yeranda steps in welcome OF his approach. Both the
men were erusively cordial IN their muiua, greet
other Shotover sat down the veranda steps he
lighted a cigarette and gravey blew the smoke into
III I owned Bevis" said he. II would crop his
Revis was about large as an ordinary burro
and was a famous dog. His pedigree was longer
than many Continental nSoIeah ma an% Barry
often took him walking with her leading him I'm ,t Sy
to be sprung upon his broad leather collar This
was lying upon, the u p1rCn s5 even nov" e''S
Nn%Wh "Which." said Brunt lis manifestly wrong Why
should BevIs bring more than very so9d % morse 5ts
ap api' Five hundred or 5000 would not make Bevls
anything better than simply big dog and no s,1s more
nmn nmn no Resides the birdstore man on Kearnyst.
adyrses Great Dane puppies fSp Barry and
that's what makes all the difference OF course. II
he dn PS os or Ss aos
thought she said suddenly. turning to sho!over.
as s y9d dom mSrs he stessy
ming his Sears special as II II were banjo. II
am very well content TO stay here.
mo YOU are not" she cried. getting up. You
are lust dying to show that underhand cut OF
yours and allow me to beat you. And here Is jack
(she flung In the praenomen that Shotover might
worry about ~. "who know Is just expiring with
eagerness line for me-"
Brunt absurdy glad because she had called him
Jack" jumped up. saying that .'Oh. he was only
too glad to do anything that would serve or please
her"
Get up get up" she went on poking Shotover
In the back with the handle OF her tenns-rac9uet.
"Oh. my! what n lazy man. Burns has marked out
the courts fresh and ALL and has been rolling them
since this morning. They're In just splendid cohd'-