The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-12-09
Obedience to Command.

The other day stopped in to inquire
after the well being of my farmer
! friend, who, heard, had met with an
accident when out moving with his
| team and dislocated both shoulders.
/ found him on the front lawn, one
arm bandaged to his side; the other
guided the grazing of a beautiful gray
mare. They made very pretty picture.
The calm of the scene, however, and
the poetry of it, speedily disappeared,
as all the dogs, Bruce, Lassie and their
five pups, came racing down the lawn
10 full chorus. The uproar was some
thing TO be remembered. We simply
stood still and laughed. 1t seemed
useless to attempt to make ourselves
heard.
Suddenly voice from the house rose
above the noise, clear and decisive-a
blind was flung open and sweet-faced
little woman stood framed in green
vince.
"This is entirely too much of a good
thingl Pupsl Be quietl Max, Jean,
Sandy, Dickens, Gypsy Stop your
noiser
That settled them. l looked around.
Every pup had struck an attitude on
his tail, facing her, ears pricked up,
Eyes shining, sides painting, and red
tongue ltlling out out from between
the small cleaning teeth, but abso-
lutely silent as if carved from stone;
and presently they were curled upon
the grass fast asleep.
How in the world do you manage
to make them mind like that, Lena?"
l asked, in sheer surprise.
"By keeping at it," she tersely re-
piled.
Haven't you had to whip them?"
Neverl"
"Well, but don't see how you do
it,"
81 tell them to stop, every time they
get going when I'm around, and after
a while they understand what want of
them, and then they do it. They are
willing little things when they know
what is required of them"
But look at thatl and l motioned
to the small mounds of slumbering fur.
"When one thinks of the racket five
minutes ago, the transformation seems
little short of miracle"
"Oh," she replied, with character
istic shrug and laugh, " they're all
tired out now. When they get rested
they'll whoop it up again."
81 suppose" and 1 gazed at the pups
thoughtfully, "they are like Will Pear
sons Max. He said of him, Max
means all right, but he forgets awful
quick Dogs are very human after
alll'"
She nodded and there fell silence
between us, broken by the gray's Bit
ing off the short grass.
"Tell me about that shoulder,
Fred" at last l asked. 81 see you
have only one injured. How did it
happsn2"
Dor and drove into blind ditch. When
flying out Of the seat l called out to the
team to stop. l fell in front of the
knives. When got out from among
them I found both shoulders had
slipped from the sockets. unhitched
the horses and drove them to the house.
Just before we reached there one shout
del. slipped back into place. We sent
for the doctor and he gave me ether
and when the muscles had relaxed he
got tho ether one in"
He ended, and moved trife to &C.
commdate the mare. His wife never
took her eyes off his face. 1 seemed
intuitively to live over with her in men
til retrospect those few moments of
deadly peril and their awful possibili-
ties, and caught glimpse of lonely
meadow, maddened team, and -.
l turned sick. If that one single
I" Whosl' had been disregardedl
Erred" said at last, ats a pretty
good thing 10 have horses obedient, as
we'll as dogtl"
He bowed his head very soberly, but
made no audible reply. Bruce came
up and snuggled his nose in his mas
ter's hand. The dumb heroism of the
situation was most impressive. The
bald narration of facts, between the
lines of which could be read the suffer
ing, the bravery and the nerve; the
man himself, with his splendid ply
sique, like Sampson, shorn of his
strength; his wife, the gray, the dog
all the elements of tragedy were be-
fore us. One little mechanical act
alone prevented its bt coming such.
Will any farmer say that time and
money are wasted in the purchase and
training of such animals? say, Buy
the BEST" give it your best, and you
will have the best; and the best always
piys.-F. e. Wheeler in Ohio Farmer.