Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1901-12-27
HECTOR
A Story ir Which q Dog Plays the
Principal Part.

y htr taNe aAb hAeahe ''tef'o " WV
small woman. A magnificent masti1
Is Hector. as brave and bold. not TO say
rs gallant and noble. as many hero
with two legs less. As for dogs not be.
Ing able 10 think. any one who can en-
terrain such an idea deserves To live IN
"A chill condition Of doglessness" 90 tie
end OF his days. will tell you about
Hector. and you may judge for your
self.
Having been suddenly thrown upon
my own resources. as so often befalls a
girl brought up In luxury In this swift
~ whlrllng maelstrom OF our American
life. determined to cultivate the only
decided talent possessed. tina. for
painting. Dresden was recommended
to me as a place both cheap 60 live In
| and Offering unusual facilities for art
study. accordingly went there. With
out chaperoni Certainly. was to be
n person OF Affairs. and what was
business woman TO do with so costly.
not 10 say inconvenlent. an appendage
rs a chaperoni All winter I studied
and copied in the gallery. and when
summer came took the little steam
boat which runs up and down the Elbe,
bowling its smokestack 30 deferenually
20 all the bridges. and hunted up pic
turesque castles 10 sketch.
"Ileben.felsen" was the beautiful old
schloss fell specially In love with. so
I finally persuaded an old couple who
lived near q TO take me to board for a
few weeks. They had rather a nice lit
tie house and garden that sloped
down TO the waters edge. There, under
the overhanging trees. used to sit for
hours gazing up at the massive towers
lust on the other side OF the castle
wall Now and then feeling OF lonell-
ness swept over me. and my heart
yearned for some OF the pleasures Of
my joyous past.
One morning I asked my landlady II
any OF the numerous German laws
would be infringed IL ! should go In
swimming. At FIRST she declared l
would drown Immediately. but when
assured her that had known how 90
swim since n child she finally consent
ed. with a protest as TO the general un
usualness OF American behavior.
How refreshing II vast What hap
pIness to plunge fearlessly Into the
cool. clear water! Not a living soul
was 20 be seen. not a sound to be
heard. Suddenly a great splash star
tied me. l felt my bathing dress seiE-
ed between the shoulders and myself
dragged vigorously out OF the water
upon the bank. was thoroughly ter
rified. but. fortunately. made no re-
sistance As looked up an enormous
head appeared. and large pair Of eyes
gazed inquiringly into mine.
had always loved dogs. but this
monstrous disturber OF my peace was
so formidable that | dared not move.
He. too. was motionless. and I read on
his collar the name Hector. Az last |
raised my hand very gently and patted
him on the neck. and. TO my Infinite
relief. perceived slight vibration In
the tip end OF his tail. Just as | was
wondering how far dared presume
upon that friendly symptom he Tapped
his rough tongue all over my face.
Then / sat up and laughed. and he
jumped and frollcked. as large as
young lion. as gentle as kitten.
Presently tried to go back into the
water. but 10 this he forcibly objected.
and was obliged to submit. When |
returned to the house, he accompanied
me. TO the terror OF my hostess "IIe
belongs up nj the schloss," she explain
ed. The young graf Is always travel.
Ing. and almost all the servants are
afraid Of him"
poor fellowF' | thought lie has
been lonely too. That Is what we read
I'm each others eyes. After that Hec-
tor and were inseparable. lie came
every day. and we explored all the sur
rounding country together. ! am sure
he thought-yes. thought Just as much
as you or | can thlnk-that he saved
my life and consequently ought 10 APP
point himself my guardian. To me he
seemed like living link 20 the bcautl-
ful old castle. n protector and faithful
friend.
one morning as we were returning
from a long walk saw advancing that
always novel sight 10 American eyes. n
woman and a dog harnessed together.
dragging n cart In this instance the
cart was full Of vegetables. II was eyi.
IDENTITY market frau taking produce to
town. Now. Hector was a true knight.
valiant, loyal and gentle but be pos
sessed also that other characteristic OF
knighthood he brooked no intruders.
and no sooner did one OF his kind APP
pear than he challenged him to combat.
| knew this and trembled. but hoped
for the best
Unlucklly. however. that plebeian dog
ms he approached presumed to give a
defiant bark. which settled his fate. In
stantly Hector gave one spring and.
SELLING bis boastful adversary. shook
him out OF his harness In less time than
Il takes TO tell Of II. overturnlng the cart
and scattering the vegetables In every
direction. was distressed beyond
measure and called Rector In the most
tones 1 could assume