Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1895-12-13
LOST AT SEA.

AuNA0 AN AAI III AA0 tNAAAaAAAANf a HAAAA
black, noble animal, with his work in
this world done. 1 was standing at his
side looking at him when my friend
came up and Joined me.
"Are you trying tomake friends with
our old Brutusi'' he said to me. "Ah,
no doesn't care much for making new
friendsnow. He would only like 60 find
the old friends again hat no buried long
g in that mysterious past of his.
Ny friend stopped as he spoke and
stroked the great, soft head. Poor
Brutusa" he said. Poor, old faithful
dogf'
Il was not much of a story, yet it was
rather ouriouB. About five years ago my
friend and his family wero staying dur
ing the surllne at a little seaside town
on the north coast Of France. 1t was a
quiet and rather dull place, except that
it's harbor was always lively with the
coming and going Of fisher boats and
collier briggs and such like craft, the
Watching Of which wns quite an endless
delight to tho children, who, indeed,
spent every moment they could steal
from morning to night down at the
quay, staring with all their might, and
as often as they could doing more than
staring, at all that went on there.
1t was a fine, great open sea, that
ever in summer was pretty rough at
times, coming tumbling often in great
waves over tho beach and covering all
the pier with showers Of spray. Charlie
and Willie were always in a state Of
hugo delight whenever those big waves
came rolling landward. They used ov-
cry morning, as soon as they went out
of bed, to run to their bedroom window,
with little shoeless feet and bare legs,
to see whether the white crests were
there.
OF course they never thought of any
thing-for they were very small crea-
tures-but Of the fun hat it was to zee
the lcaping and rolling water, and Of
the delight of being sent scampering up
the beach when some bigger wave than
all the rest would run after them as it
broke upon the sands, as il it were re-
solved to catch them and wet their
stockings and shoes at leant, lot their
little legs fly as fast as they would. "It
must DO rough at sea, F" their father and
mother used to say sometimes in their
hearing, especially during ono week
when the north wind blew with a
strange, wild roaring and down about
the pier the fishermen stood looking
through their glasses out tosea, anxious
IL shaking their heads now ard then,
but Willie and Charlie only grew mer-
rier as the wind blew stronger. They
thought that to be out upon the beach
when they could not keep their footing,
and when the very air was white with
spray, was the finest fun that they ever
had in all their lives.
~ wish it would blow like this for
eYerl" Charlie would say.
And then Willie, who was the youn-
gest, and who never liked to be outdone,
would cap Charlie's speech and cry with
enthusiasm, II wish it would blow ten
times harderP'
One bright, warm summer morning,
with just wind enough to make a little
curl upon the waves and to fill the sails
as the fisher boats put ont, there were
vessels coming in this morning as well
as leaving the harbor. Several brigs
that had been expected for some days,
una IuuN Il6 hNDIn nuu ht4aNEug kUi
into port today. But there was one espe-
cially that among all the rest attracted
the boys attention. 1t wal an English
collier, standing on whose deck, as she
came near, they saw a great, black,
noble Newfoundland dog. The creature
was standing upon his four feet, taking
no notice of any one, but slowly moved
his head from side 10 side, as if he were
vainly looking for something that hC
could not understanding quite still, sC
passive that even when the boat touched
the quay, and people came up anC
stroked and spoke to him, he merely LEI
them do it and never moved so much al
the tip of his tail in answer to them.
The children had caught sight Of him.
with a shout of delight. "Oh, see what
a big dogl' Willie had cried, and clap
ping their joyful little hands they start
cd forward to got rs near to the brig "a
they could. They saw several people
gather round tho creature presently, ant
upon that they pushed their way int
the boat, too, squeezing in cleyerly be
tween the sailors legs, till they got quit
close to where the dog was, with tn,
Ahhhtef NA thh uAlk hNAilAAhk ny ND saw
and telling this sad little story;
Ia the gray Of the summer morning
he was saying, almost as the Frenci
roast was coming into sight, n Of tn
crew of the brig had seen a little blacl
speck dancing ON the water far away
They could not tell what it was-it wa
too indistinct for that-but they knew
Il might be a drowning man, so thel
lowered their little boat at nce anC
made for him as hard as they coulC
pull But IL wal no man. When thel
came near, they found nothing but thi
poor lost dog, floating ON a bit OF wreck
the spar Of some vessel that had prob
ably foundered in the storm and gonI
silently down with her crew. They tool
him into their boat and brought hin
back With them. This was all his story
Here he stood now, dazed, hal
starved, bewildered, looking will
strange eyes at each strange face abou
him. dumb through Il all. As the mas
YER Of the collier told the little storl
h0o than one plying hand was pa