Evening journal., 1897-05-11
FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH.
by MARIE LOUISE PooL.

A rough, brown dog sat at the very |
edge of the tumble-down breakwater.
He was looking steadily seaward. He
was evidently old, and he was Scared
by many fights; but his sunken mouth,
from which he had lost many teeth,
showed that he would not fight again
victoriously.
He was gaunt from a lifetime of in
sufficient food, but yet he had the air
of dog who is loved.
Sometimes he turned from his gaze
at the sea and glanced behind him at
the child who was sitting in a wheel
barrow few feet away. Every time he
glanced thus he slightly wagged his
stump of a tail, and the child smiled or
she said in a soft voice:
"Good Boss!"
And then Boss wagged harder; but
he could not give much attention to his
companion, for his whole heart was
with that bent old woman who was up
to her waist in the water by the outer
most ledge. 1t was there that the Irish
moss grew, and at low tide the woman
could gather it. She thrust her arm
/ QOMn 10 lllt HnOu4ANA N4NAA AAAAt AeA 49,
handful of moss. She was wet, sodden
wet, save for a small place across her
back.
She had n mans straw hat fastened
by a small rope tightly under her chin.
Her face looked a hundred years old, 1t
was in truth 7O-old, scanned, and leath-
cry; and it was a face you loved TO look
at.
Every few moments she raised her
head and put her dripping hand up over
her eyes as she turned toward the land;
she was at first dazzled by the glare Of
the water. When she looked up thus
the little girl in the wheelbarrow al
ways waved her hat; then a dim, beau
tiful smile would come in the faded eyes.
cts Jest n doin' of her lots of good" D."
she would say aloud. Pm awful glad
1 wheeled her down. wish now I'd
brought her down oftener this sum
mer"
Twice as she looked shoreward she
called out shrilly:
''Boss, you take care of her; won't
you, Boss?"
Then Boss priclled up his ears and
shook his tail, and the girl laughed and
said she guessed she'n' Boss could git
along first-rate.
"We're use't to it; ain'twc, Boss"
When she said this the dog got up
came to her side, gave her a swift licl
across the face, then hurried back ane
sat down on the edge of the plank'
again.
Once the woman. out in the watei
slipped and fell splashing, and Boss
jumped up, whining in apiteous quiver
and would not be comforted even wheI
the child said soothingly;
"Never mind, old fellow!"
But when the woman floundered t.
her feet again and cried: "All right
the dog sat down. Still he frequentl!
gave a little whine under his breath. H'
was thinking that this was the frs
summer when he had not gone out moss
e ing with his dearest friend, and he coul'
e not understand why he was 50 still an'
9 clumsy that he was unable to run owe
the slippery rocks and keep close to heI
nosing the moss size picked up. polSini
over Holsters and crabs. ;lnd seeing tina
nothing happened to her Something
, was the matter with his legs. and wit
, the whole of him, somehow, and h
I could not get over the rocks. Was
a the same thing that Kept hi n froI
J gnawing bones? And he liked ther
Just as we'll as ever. He noticed tina
the young dog who lived down tie roa
could crack bones without any trouble
It was all very mysterious.
When helay in the sun nearwhere tn
q moss was drying, doing and snappin
8 at the flies, he often looked as If he wer
= thinking Of an these things.
And what did the girls greu dmothe
i mean only yesterday wheDshe stroke
his head and said:
Poor old Boss, You're gi.ttin' ol'
o jes' s I be- 'Twon't be no kind Of plac
o round this house 'thout Boss" He ha
e nuzzled his head under her hcnd whe
g she had spoken thus, but he didn't III
/ derstand-
u How pleasant this bright day wa
withitssunny, gentle east wird-a win
tlRt broughtsweet, salt smells from IL
> ocean.
The child shifted the embracing ode
and stretched out her hands. smilir
happily.
To be sure. she could not walk, b'
y granny often wheeled her to the breal
If water, where she could see the mo-
r gathered.