The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-06-07
The YELLOW DOG AT MUD BEND.

H-cAS eti1eh 1aaS, SIT, aue nav, BIZ
from taciturn lips. Even then. when she
said good morning or good evening, she
eiushed furiously and edged away to-
ward ner little galley. a-tremble with en-
D&rrassDsent. She was that timid of men
tbat Enen the crew, which was Pat Sar-
rahS.n. came aboard drunk one morning
anf. saluted her with All. there, Jen-
LIE! the FOR girl ran weeping into her
quarters. and burned the biscuits that
morning for the first time in her life.
The Buttercup wasn't much OF boat.
according 10 modern marine notions, but
UP the little river whose forty miles OF
| nsVigable water cnurned about her ped
dies twice daily from May till November
she was the proudest. prettiest. busiest
most imposing craft that ever huttered
bunting There was no railroad paral-
iehng the tiny, twisting, Iaurmurins
! river, and therefore the Buttercup $
murning and evening visits to the hun
cfeu landings along each bank Of the
stream were events that helped 10 shorten
/ the monotonous days of the natives and
10 remind them OF the busting world be-
yond them. She brought their mail and
ar occasional visitor. She carried on
their letters, the fruits and vegetables OF
! their farms and occasionally some ven
turesome son or daughter OF the soil
whose soul yearned for other worlds to
conquer
Everybody from tidewater to the dam
which ended navigation on the river
knew Captain birmingham, not only by
sight and by reputation" but TO
I speak to- The small boys envied the
men who hailed the captain of the
down out Of his cage-like pilot-house TO
shake hands with the men at the land
ing the boys pulled their forelocks end
said. Mornin', cap'n." In the evening.
with his face toward the setting sun, and
the spolIes of his wheel lodging in and
out of his flowing whiskers as he held
the little packet in her course, Captain
birmingham was an object Of awesome
admiration TO the urchius, who never
failed to see her go by" Every man
and boy, every woman and girl-even the
dogs along the river-kaew Pat, the mate
and crew, knew Terry. the engineer and
fireman, knew Jones, the clerk, steward
and purser, but not one of them all
knew Jennie Hansen. the Swede cook
Most people came to know that she was
in the galley and took her for granted
just as they took the kitchen range. the
upright engines and the Scotch marine
boilers for granted. She was either
thought of as a part of the works or.
more probably. she was not thought of at
all. Those who caught occasional
glimpses of her may have noticed that
she hadn't changed much during the
ten years OF her service on the little
steamboat. But then the impossible
y OGDEN rooster on the top of the jack
staff hadn't changed any, either. Mean
while Jennie saved money. avoided men,
began 10 think that Captain birmingham
was VAR goot mon." and attended TO her
cooking glad enough TO be left alone In
the glories of her galley.
Up at Mud Bend however, Jennie had
a friend. There and only there, she
emerged from her hiding place TO show
her dimpled. radiant. round face to the
world which revolved about the Butter
cup. Nobody can tell now just how Miss
Hansen picked an acquaintance" with
the little curly yellow dog at Mud Bend,
but there he was just back of the corn
crib at the boom every time the Butter
cup wheezed around the. upper or lower
point to take away Tony Fuckers
freight and every time that Pat Car
rahan threw the cable over the stump
and made fast, Jennie would come out
on the cabin deck with painful OF fresh
bones and luscious morsels from the
kitchen for the bright-eyed. frolicking
dog that watched for her on the bank.
Captain birmingham and every man on
the Buttercup knew that Tony Rucker
raised berries. asparagus and onions and
shipped them on the packet, but for years
nobody had seen him. His hired man al
ways shipped the crates and took the
way bills for them and every month
from May 10 October there was a new
man at the landing. From the departing
employees of the mysterious Rucker Cap
tain birmingham had learned that the
farmer was young, honest and prospecting
but that his place was intolerably lone
sume that Tony never said word. that
he was too bashful to look after his own
business with the boat and-well, he was
"a tight wad' they said.
Miss Jennie Hansen must have been
feeding that little yellow dog OF Fuckers
for FIVE years. when. one evening early
iit June. the Buttercup came snorting
and jlngling up to the Mud Bend landing
10 take away some crates of berries she
saw a stalwart. down-cast. brown-haired
farmer leaning against the crib where
the little dog waited. She tossed the
bones down lovingly at the frisking ca
nine. without glancing at the man. but
she was conscious OF the one quick look
n gave her, and when the captain came
aboard with Jones the clerk, she heard
him say That's Tony Rucker himself
Year after year. when the season opened.
and the Buttercup resumed her trips. the
little dog who knew Jennie and Tony
Fucker. his master. whom nobody knew,
would be there at the landing. Some
times she was terrified with the notion
that the man might take her kindness TO
the dog as compliment to himself. one
time she heard him call the dog Fritz
and she suspected that ne was trying 20
tell her the name Of his faur-footed
friend She would have ignored Fritz or
the next trip. but when she saw him
sitting patiently on the bank his bright
eyes searching the boat for her. she
could not resist the promptings of her
loving heart and so. 10 make amends I
-. 49, srs-
him a double portion Of her dsinties-
After that she iavished soft glances /
upon Ter furry acquaintance. and one 4
day. late in the season. when she saw I
Fritz alone at the landing. looking very I
lonesome and woe 8egone. she began 10 4
wonder II there might not be A way IN I
which she could gain possession OF the 4
dog and take him with her on the But 4
tercup. After that. RUckcr came no more 4
10 the landing. There was no fruit 10 4
take away and no letters or freight for /
him, so Jennie was obliged 70 ask Cap 4
tain birmingham 10 stand close BY the 4
landing as he passed IL 50 that she might /
toss rations 10 poor Fritz Pretty soon
tie dog commenced 10 howl each time the 4
heat sped by. Whether IN sorrow over
the discontinued stops or FOR sor1e uys-
terious. reason OF MS osn. none knew and .
only Jennie Hansen guessed but sue
denly the cook began 20 spend much time
r nd toll over long letters. written nobody
knew 10 whom Then letters hfsar 70
come aboard addressed 10 Iony husker,s
Mud Bend. ara again i became neees-
sarv 60 stop the little packet and pit the
letters in the little tin box that was
nailed against Ruckers corn crie oy toe
river The river vas running low an1
the end Of the season Was urt tnres
81 seks OF when Jennie Hansen wno fad
aot lost a day from duty IN ten years
suddenly came. red-faced. - taeiAll
, rri.ehur. and aid ira, sic must have
: vvesi. --vusf wznn wake. 20 lock after