Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1898-08-19
Old Ginger's Cllor0f1rn.
Bs MANTLE L. HUNTER.

81 guess before the seasons over"
said Farmer Jones, I'm have to shoot
old Ginger; he's nigh unto twelve
years old and so crippled up that he
amt good for shucks."
Ginger, when he heard his name
mentioned, thumped the floor with his
stumpy tail in lazy recognition; but
when the shooting part came he rose
to a sitting posture and his battle-
fringed ears pointed attention. :"
Shoot himl Ginger! The dog that
for ten years had barked the rats and
weasles nway from the chicken coops
and freed the corn-thieving coons for
the farmer and his boys? 1t was in
credible! His age-dulled hearing must
have played him false.
''It seems too bad to shoot the poor
old fellow" said Mrs. Jones. IF
there ever was faithful dog he's been
one. But he's so crippled up sup
pose it would be mercy to put him
out of the way; but II l were you, I'd
chloroform him instead OF shooting
him."
II expect that would be better
way to get rid Of him." replied her
husband. "When Igo to town in the
morning I'll get the chloroform and
put him ont Of his misery tomorrow. I"
Ginger got onto his feet with I'M
usual nimbleness and skunk off into O
corner behind the stove, where he
could mediate unseen. Put him out
Of his misery indeedl Did Farmer
Jones think becausea dog was old and
had few rheumatic twinges he didn't
enjoy sleeping on piece OF old car
pet beside the warm stove, where he
could blink at people and sniff the
savory dinner odorsp Would he want
some one to put him out of the way
when he got so old that he couldn't
chop wood or milk the cows? And
then to be chloroformed! What the
awful thing was he hadn't the faintest
idea, but he was sure it was some in
genious, newfangled way Of executing
criminals.
He had heard the children read out of
their histories about the French guillo-
tine, and Mr.. Jones often read aloud
about men being hanged on the gal
lows, and electrocuted in q terrible
chair; but chloroform was O new con-
trivance. He wouldn't mind so much
going out amid the fash and thunder
Of q gun, surrounded blythe smell and
smoke OF powder, as he had seen many
brave coon and timid rabbit do; but
to leave this pleasant earth by some
awful unknown route--the very
thought sickened him with terror.
He crouched down on the floor too
utterly miserable to notice the chill
dren when they romped in, or to sniff
the blue smoke from the fryingpan, as
he usually did, to see whether 1t was
beefsteak or pork that was on the fire
for supper. When Mrs. Jones gave
him his plate Of scraps-and they
were unusually good because it
happened to be chicken that she had
been frying-he hadn't the heart to
taste them. Mrs. Jones noticed this,
and said:
''Poor old dogl guess it's time he
was CuiOIOioIlnCttS hio tOCtA hSNO 6Os
so poor that he can't eat bite"
Thereupon Ginger fell to with such
voracity to vindicate his teeth that lie
choked and came near ending his
troubles by the strangulation route,
which caused Mrs. Jones to say:
"Just see, he's trying to swallow
his food without chewing it. Father,
don't you forget the chloroform in the
morning"
That night as Ginger lay on his
piece of carpet in the darkened kitchen
his heart was sore troubled. Only
that night in which to listen to the
tick, took OF the big old wooden clock;
only that night in which to watch,
through the round, mica covered holes
in the front Of the stove, the glowing
embers die down to little specks OF
light and then flicker out; only the
coming morning in which to listen for
the first cheep :of the canary in its
cage over by the east window; only
one noon more to watch for the chill
dren and to greet them when they
came from school.
Surely he could count on life until
some time in the afternoon; Farmer
Jones always had little gossiping to
do around the store stove, so it would
be quite noon before he got back
home with that awful thing. Think
ing thus, the tears creeping from
under the lids Of his bleary old eyes,
sometime after midnight he dozed of
into troubled sleep. Even then be