Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1896-01-20

Ponto was enamored of a certain
OGDEN ball about the size of a billiard
Ill. In moment of weakness | had
urchased this one day and brought
+ home. Ponto Immediately seized it,
rolled it toward me, and said: Throw
that over there In the rose bushes.
will find it. You see if l don't" So
aid, so done. The ball was thrown,
nd Ponto found it. But he became
ther irksome with his desire to re-
rieve the ball, because his favorite re-
lark to me became: "Play ball" He
had fashion of coming into my study
with brisk air, wagging his tail, with
the ball held in his mouth. Then, plac-
ing his forepaws on the table, he would
put the precious ball in the middle of
the papers, letters and books and say:
"There is my ball. Now toss it out of
the window, and l will go and get 1t.
That will be very much more amusing
than wasting your time on all these
stupid papers and books" would fire.
cuently feign to hurl the ball from the
window, and, like flash, Ponto would
disappear. A few minutes would pass
before Ponto would reappear with the
forepaws at the window and remark:
Say you, you man with the papers, l
don't find anything here. The ball
isn't in the garden. You must have
kept It," Then he would come in at the
door, go shifting around under the fur
niture and in the partly opened desk
drawers, and then, with the air OF
man who smites his forehead and dis
covers something, he would look In
quiringly at you and say: II will
wager that it is on the table," He was
right-with his intelligent eye he had
followed your glance. fyou attempted
then to conceal the ball, there was an
end to the work. He burst into extrav-
agant gayety, jumped after the ball.
followed your least movements and
would not quit you, laughing ener-
eetically with his tail.
Ponto made me sometimes think that
he was one of those men turned into
dogs, of whom we read in the fairy
stories. His eyes were deep, tender and
human, and at times they seemed to
say: what would you2 | am only a
four-footed beast, but have human
heart-a better one than that of many
men. l am u beast, and have suffered
much. l suffer still, because l cannot
express myself in speech and tell you
in those things you call words, my fldel-
ity and devotion. Yes, am yours, and
l love you like dog. Whatever belongs
to you is secure. Just let anybody
touch it, and you will see."
But Ponto and fell out one day. II
was n very unfortunate affair. Only
those people, who, like myself, believe
blindly in dogs, will understand nc. This
is what happened: The cook had killed
two chickens, and had gone into the ad-
joining pantry to get a basket to put the
feathers in as she plucked them. When
she returned to the kitchen she uttered
shriek-one of the two chickens was
gone. Yet she had been absent but a
few minutes.
"Ah!" said the cook, rehectively, "evi-
IDENTIFY some beggar has passed by here
and has taken one Of the chickens
through the window"
She looked out of the door In order
te find the supposititicus beggar, but
there was nobody there. Then for n
moment she thought it must be the dog,
but she was at once seized with re-
morse.
What! Suspect Ponto? Never! He
would not steal. Why, he would watch
over leg of mutton all day without