Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-06
Garry's Dog.
In Our Animal Friends.

David II. Talmadge Tn Our Animal Friends,
A traveller, unless he be socially inclined,
finds waiting at Benton Junction irksome.
There are but four houses in the place. in
Guiding the depot and excepting the red
shanty In which the section men store their
tools. The unsociable traveller who waits
at Benton Junction is prone to oyerstretch
his mouth in the process OF yawning, and
to wear out his watchpocket in numerous
and futile efforts to confirm the old theory
that time flies. But the sociable traveller
finds Benton Junction rather enjoyable
than otherwise. and leaves the place with
the condition Of his liver considerably Inn
proved.
All travellers who wait at Benton Junction
DO so between the hours of and 8 in the
evening. The morning trains make CLOSE
connections" and the afternoon trains are
freights carrying no passengers. This fact
is important, because Mike Garry, section
freeman, comes on duty at supper time.
and 1t is Mikes habit to smoke the first
and second pipes of the evening on the
depot platform. and he is much given to
conversation. But he will not speak first.
remember that.
The chances are that he will be found
sitting near the freight room door, with a
small. bob-tailed, one-eared dog between
his feet. The dog is good subject upon
which to open relations of cordiality. At
WELL now, I can't just say whether he's
a spaniel or not" said Mike, in response
to a question from this traveller: its me
opinion, though, that his family was
spaniels once. and that they-that they
emigrated."
He glanced affectionately at the dog.
The traveller seated himself upon the
ton.
mo. didn't raise him from pup. Sure.
I doubt sometimes if he ever was a pup.
He reached down. stroking the dogs
head
"Sure, you and me can recognize fine
character when we see 1t, can't we. Bud?
But twas you that recognized 1t first, to
the shame of me own two-legged 1ntelh-
gence."
The dog arose. looking up into Mikes
face Mike returned the look admiringly.
Mind the way he's holdin' his head now!
'Tis because he wants the conversation to
go in at his damaged ear, SO that 1t won't
go straight through before his intellect has
a chance to digest it. Arrah but he has
the great intellect! And his capacity for
gratitude Is big as a June washout. 1t
makes that of the average man look like
thirty small spasms.
while we were Twin at Derryville me
wife and l took the notion into our heads
one day that we could accumulate mil
lion dollars quicker by raisin onions than
by railroadin'. So we rented a lonesome
little farm and made the experiment for
the sake Of our peaces of mind And twas
while we was Twin on this farm that Bud
saved Armies life.
Il was away from home when 1t hap
pened. else it's likely it wouldn't have hap
pened. The girl was alone in her room up
stairs. in bed with broken ankle got in
runaway while she was buggy rid1n' with
Willy Costigan. She's WHY'S wife now,
and WHY'S superintendent Of this division,
and they've a small kid they call Mike for
his grandfather. and every Christmas when
me wife and goes to Derryville, Bud goes
too and nothin' will do. but he must have
a chair at the table, and the superintendent
serves him turkey on plate and addresses
him with great respect.
me wife had took notion into her mind
that she'd cook with gasoline durln the
hot weather. OWN to her bein' afflicted
with prickly heat somethin' terrible, and
she'd started the gasoline stove that day
to boil bit of meat, and she'd gone or 10
the next door neighbours, half mile down
the road. She hustled back, two OF the
neighbor women with her, when she saw
the smoke. The lower part of the house
was mostly afre when she got there. The
stairway was all but gone, and Annie was
standin' on one leg in the upstairs window,
like an angel in a transformation scene,
and Bud was tearin' around in the front
yard barkin at the rate of nifty miles an
hour, includin' stops
ME wife and the neighbor women was
near paralyzed. They hadn't enough breath
left to make a good squeak. But Annie
called to them, and they listened. The
girl knew there was no ladder on the place,
barn. and she told them to get it and throw
it up to her. Me wife got the rope. but
she couldn't throw 1t up. She tried and
tried, and the neighbor women tried. and
the rope tangled about their necks and all
but choked them. You'll have to jump.