Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-02
THE BOY AND HIS DOG

Where New York avenue, losing Its 1den-
tity as a thoroughfare at its western END,
runs into waste of barren common and
disappears like a river that winds up its
course ing!oriousy in sand bars and stag
nant pools is the Washington pound for
dogs and other untagged four-footed stray
ers of the streets. The other afternoon a
small boy sat on little knoll overlooking
| the entrance to the pound. The sun was
| hot. but the boy didn't appear to mind the
| heat. His battered, rimless straw hat was
pushed back from his freckled forehead
and an unruly lock of red hair protruded
through a crack in the top of the hat. The
boy was snub-nosed and homely looking.
| He was barefooted. One blue canvas sus-
pender supported his sieve-iike short pants;
! A raveled piece of clothes line was coled
| at his feet The boy with his elbows
dug into his knees. and the palms OF his
| two hands supporting his chin. He looked
! pretty sad. No sacness of the after years
is equal in poignaEcy to the sadness OF
| boy when he is downright genuinely mis-
| cradle This boy looked downright, gem
timely miserable. He gazed at the entrance
| to the pound longingly. When the gusts OF
| wind bore the yelps and means OF the
| penned-up dogs to his ears with particular
| distnctness. expression of acute pam
| seemed to cross the boys homely face, ana
| he appeared to be fearkening for a partic-
| uiar canine note. Finally he leaned over
| and picked up the bit of clothes line and
| walked TO the pound entrance a pidch
| poundman oticed the boy lowering at the
| gate and trying to peer into the cages
whence the means and yelps proceeded.
What yo' uh-snoopin' uh-roun' heah TO,
| boy?' asked the poundman, who. in the
! absence of the poundmaster, appeared to be
| in charge
The boy. scratching the calf of mis- sun
| Drowned left leg with the great toe of his
| right foot sized the black man up to see if
| anything could be made of him.
| 'Huntin' fer my dawg." he replied.
How yo' know yo' dawg's heah?' asked
| the black man.
"Th' fe.lars told me they seen him gittin'
. swiped las night answered the boy.
What kin o dawg is he alp inquired
| the poundman.
| Jest a mutt said the boy. "Yaler an
black. But 1 raised him from a pup. He
| amt no good t no one else but me. Hes
| all TIL dawg l got
| wy didn yo' git uh tag TO yo' dawg,
| them" inquired the black man.
| Couldn't scrape tn price, answered the
boy. Il made 80 cents. but tn old man got
| mex that l had it an pinched it fer booze.
That put me out o bizness. an I've been
a-hidin' tn mutt from tn dog-swipers
| since. But he broke loose yistiddy. an now
| he's collared. Say, kin l have him? He's
| all tn dawg l got
"Yo got de money t. git him out?" asked
| the black man.
| Amt got nary cent replied the boy.
| But tn mutt amt worth nothin' t no one
but me. Homes he amt. Say. femme have
| him, will you?"
Go way boy. All KANT tuhn dawg
loose fun heah widout de money" said
| the black man. starting to move away.
| The boy looked pretty nervous and des-
perate. Probably he recognized his dogs
voice in the incessant chorus of means,
| bowls and yelps.
! Say" said the boy, calling the black
man back, will yer gimme tn mutt fer
| this?"
| "Fo' WHAT" inquired the black pound
| man. walking over to the boy.
| The boy pulled out from his right hand
| pants pocket possession that was prob
ably very dear TO him. 1t was a battered,
| open-face nickel watch, minus crystal,
| hands and doubtless the bulk of its internal
mechanism. The black man took it in his
| hand, looked at it contemptuously and
| shifted
Dat amt with uh nickel" he said
| handing the watch back to the boy. The
| boy replaced the watch in his pocket with
| a sigh
| 1T b'longed t. me brother that went t.
| Cubey wit tn soiers. an got sick an
croaked there" said the boy. He give
two punks fer it. Give it t me fore he
went away"
| All doan' know nothin' bout dat" said
! the black man. gruffiy. "Yo' got tuh hev
de money tub git yo' dawg out o heah. an
| OATS all dere is uhbout it."
| The boy walked disconsoately back to
| the knoll where he had sat before and
| threw himself down again. After while
ms Jaws came down hard, and an express
| sion of determination crept over his
| freckied face. He walked back with his
| rope to the pound entrance. near which the
| black poundman sat, whiting a stick
! say. | got the money! said the bow
with carefully assumed expression of low
on his faces Gimme me daws.' '0'
The black man. looking up observed the
beautifully forced radiance of the bows
| features. and he suspected no infamy
| Clearly the boy had been home and dug IN
| the money to redeem his dog
| lone pack heah an pick yo' dawg out
| den, said he to the boy: and the how fol
| lowed him back to the cages
| me dog, in truth, was yaller and black
| orhery-iooking and a mongrel When he
to a" ", ehs smail BOY his ''podner." walk up
10 me front OF the cage. the mighty mon
srel heart Of the black-and-yaller mutt
| seemed 10 leap within him. and he sprang
at the steel bars with little yelps and pants
vi 10Y ms tale a-wagging franticaIIy
| Thats him." said the boy and the bl.oL
| man went behind the cage and skillfullv
weeoed that particular dog out from amons
| MS score of prison mates The reIaaS aS
| curr ieaped at his small boy friend, and
! time near bearing the little chan to the
ground in his excess of joy.
| NOV iea,, de money! asked the black
| III a-goin T. give you run fer it,
Come on. Punk shouted the boy and dag
ana BOY were out of the pound Enclosure
| in three jumps and sailing across the cow
| mon IKE a pair of pursued lack rabbits
the black poundman took after the fleeing
boy and dog. He would never have been
| one. two, three in the chase hinssIr th
| boy and dog had gained such lead h,,t
| the fug1tives ran smack into the pound
| wagon, that was just returning from one
| or its trips with a full cargo of captured
| dogs Two men jumped from the wagon
| and they corralled the boy and his dog.
The boy looked like a hunted desperate.
| He also looked like a little man who was
game to the core of him.
| I'd ha made me play stick if it hadn't
| ha been fer youse fellers." said he. pant
| ing heavily from his run. as he followed
the wagon with his recaptured dog to the
pound. ~
Dat devil kid dun try t git away wit
| he dawg widout payin de money" ex-
| planned the excited poundman upon whom
| the trick had been played to the pound
master Git uhway fun heah, yo' boy.
| or All declah Ahll break yo' in two an feed
| yo' t de dawgs"
| But a we!l-groOmed, middle-aged man
| who had come to the pound to redeem his
wife's captured fox terrier had seen the
boys wild break for the liberty of his
dog 'podner." He pulled out his wad and
| paid the poundmaster for the redemption
| of the boys mongrel. Perhaps the scene
| had brought back to his mind old memo
| ries of other days. when he himself was
freckle-faced boy ready to forsake home
| and hreside almost to lay down his life for
| bat-eared common kindly faced cur that
4 haH nod