The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-29

dogs without their passports than any
other dog-catcher who ever lived in that
city. And once caught it COST quite a neat
bit of money to ransom such a victim.
Bill Boyer, a printer and a statesman,
was a. dog-hancier who for six weary years
suffered at Whimples hands. He whipped
the man thrice, but as the dog-oatcher
was always able to make a fair showing
that he had been inside the lines of the
law, the fines imposed upon Boyer amounts
ed to more than the brides which he was
obliged to pay Whfmple for the release
of his impounded pets. Boyer at last
worked the thing down to a system One
year he would whip Whimple and pay u
fine of $3.50, and the next he would give
the dog-catcher the amount of his claim
for the catching of his dogs-usually about
$40. The former course cost more bur
Boyer calculated that he got at least $S4
worth of satisfaction out of breaking
Whimple's visage. The printing man
would regularly pay the city for his dog
licenses, but as regularly the tags would
disappear in some mysterious manner ana
Whimple would get action.
Boyer at last decided to take extreme
measures in the matter of Whimpfe and
his dogs. one of his finest pointers sick.
ened and died one day, and instead of Civ
ing it the usual respectful and sorrowful
burial Boyer sent the body over the river
to a taxidermist and had it stuffed in "a
most artful way.
Make it. lying down" he said to Col
bert, the taxidermist Lying down, with
its head standing up in the air. And 50
it was fashioned.
Now, then" said Btll, Il want you to
fairly line that dogs hair with little, fine
wires. Make it 50 that there'l be a metal
lie surface to meet anything that comes N
contact with the coat Which was also
arranged
Boyer took his prepared dog home, and,
waiting for the opening of the dog-catch-
ing season, he set about perfecting his
plans. by the time Whimple was due TO
so on his rounds all was ready, and Boyer
took his dog out and set il down on a
rubber mat oil his front porch This was
at night, and early the next morning the
despised Whimple, sneaking along in Boy
ers neighbour ood-for he always made
for the home Of the dog fancier on the
first day of his resumption of business
caught sight or the spaniel in the early
morning semiaight.
That's Dodger," he murmured to him
self. Boyer Il pay $40 out of hand to get
him back once ] catch him And he
looked carefully about to see If he was OBJ
served.
IN get him quick and take the tag off
him before he can give a yelp," said
Whimple, softly, IAN then I'll be ready
barkin' at me as l was goin' by"
Whimple, as has been said, saw the dog
But alas! there was an invisible thing of
which he took no cognizance. And that in
visible thing was the heavy copper wire
which ran from the trolley line 'over to
Boyer's house, and down alongside the
porch, whereon Dodger lay waiting for the
door to open. And. if the man, had seen
it, do you think he would have stoned
to calculate that that dog was loaded with
enough electricity to keep sixteen trains
busily plying between Omaha and Council
Bluffs; that the beasts life and vitality
came not from collection of sesamolds
and temporals and liveFs and lights but
from lot of twenty-ton wheels in a DOW
er house two miles away? Hardly
Certainly he thought nothing of the
KIND But standing on the well-Watered
lawn of Bill Boyer-and oh, how care
fully the man of types and stump speech
es had sprinkled that lawn on the night
before!- he poised his wire moose for ac-
ton and leaning oyer the rail slipped il
gave a quick jerk
The school books used to say that If
man lived on the planet Neptune he would
be able to jump over the Washington
monument or thereabouts
For moment Whimple seemed to be-
iieve that his home was in Neptune. and
that he wanted TO get back there right
away. He gave one leap aloft and turned
a few dozen times like a sort Of a 'day-
fireworks" brand of pinwheel He aHght-
ed on the back of his heck when he came
down, but, being a courageous sort of VII
liam in some ways, and believing that the
dog was stronger than he ever calculated
upon, he hung grimly to the wire and
abused the beasts character while volts
and amperes and time cards and bell
punches and other things connected with
the street car service of Council Bluffs
shot through him. But even as he talked
in strange language he continued in mo-
ton. t.1t
You cussed fool of a bum printers
dog" he shouted, as the stuffed and cleo
trified one jounced over against him.
let go o. my leg! Oh, thunder and light
ning? as an especially heavy jolt struck
him and sent him about forty-two feet up
ward. "Quit bitIn' me! Get -outI Let go!
If I-kick-you-once-y 1.t
To do him justice Whmple was a game
dog-catcher, but at last-which is to say,
after about nine seconds-even he had to
give in. .r
Help! Help!' he cried. "sThIs dog is
eatin' me alive Hel-l-l-pr'
"Let go your wire, you foolrh called
William Boyer from his front window, for
even he felt merciful at last Whimple
loosed his grip on the wire, and the dog
rolled in one direction and he himself col
lapsed against fence post on the other
side of the lot.
The many and interesting things which
Boyer said to Whimple when he came out
upon the lawn are not matters of history
1t was plain enough, even to the dog thief,
that at last he had been caught in fla.
grant trespass, and hi; defiance was gone
He begged Boyer 10 tie him together and
send him home in some kind OF cart so
that he could die peaceably.
''Your dog liked to killed me-" he said
IT never seen such d n savage brute"
Which remark gave Boyer an idea and
he declared with great pathos that Whim-
pie had murdered his best pet and figured
UP is worth, which was, strange TO say,
just equal to the ransoms he had himself
paid I'm the past. And he compelled Whim-
Pile to pay him the amount that day.
That made Whimple and Boyer square,
but the street railway people wondered for
three weeks why the cars had all stopped
for ten inexplicable seconds that busy
morning. ,jrle