The Minneapolis journal., 1904-08-27

temper these southern men have,' said
:, That night Nancy sat down and did
sums. Then she went to the office and
changed her second floor corner room for a
small one on the fourth floor back. She
was paying for a boxstau in the stables.
The hotel was charging her an absurd
| price for dog board. One Of the grooms.
for liberal consideration, had agreed to
look after the dogs general comfort.
The cook, for 81 a week, would keep on
preparing the menu that the Virginian
had laid down for his dog; and Nancy's
own waiter thought, under persuasion,
that he could conscientiously promise to
take three meals a day out to the box
STALL The chaperon grinned. and Nancy's
i compassion for the lovelorn Virginian
waned; but, as she said, one couldn't al
low an innocent dog to die, just because
he came high.
The groom, who knew a good deal about
dogs, and spoke as one having authority,
said that the pup must have exercise; SO
Rex was turned loose and promptly
chewed holes in a valuable Italian grey
hound belonging to a New York million
aire. Only Nancys face prevented
suit for damages.
After that the dogs promenades were
taken at the end Of a chain. but he de-
veloped violent dislike for the groom
III Charge, anu III 1dCI, 1Or, every one on
the premises, except his owner.
She bent her shoulders to the burden
and began taking him for his daily walk.
! There was infinite variety in the per-
formance. incidentally, there was tre-
mendous entertainment for the other in
mates Of the hotel.
Occasionally, slim, pretty girl in
crisp gown walked calmly past the hotel
veranda, leading a huge and tractable
dog. More often. the morning quiet was
shivered by sound Of skurrying, scamp
ering, barking, scolding, protesting; and
by the veranda swept q whirlwind Of
dust. In which might be vaguely seen an
immense, straining, struggling mastiff,
dragging after him, at chainlength, a
breathless, red-faced, stormy-eyed young
woman.
The apparition shot down the drive
2 way and vanished on the road: and there
was a. mighty chuckling on the veranda.s
At the end Of a quarter mile, Nancy
usually dropped off of the chain, and her
amiable love souvenir roamed at large
thrI THE country, while she followed in
his wake thinking desperately of her re-
sponsiblity and of the rack and ruin that
might be laid at her door, i
Rex wasn't really vicious-playful 1ath-
er, but his idea of humorous sport didn't t
find favor in the community. He chased
cats, chickens, children. horses, cows, with
impartial zest. He caused one runaway
. after another, and on one occasion ran
| the luckless German baron into a swamp,
| where his horse stuck hard and fast. But
, dogs were his specially. He was spelling
, for q fight continually, and even an ig-
, noble conquest had it's charm for him.
He would have welcomed foeman worthy
of his steel, but there wasn't dog in
, the place who was more than half his
size, so he had to get what amusement
!, he could out Of smaller fry. Most Of the
,, dogs at the hotel and cottages were of
fbn Ia riotx, To n rIf
who were too precious to be left at home
by travellers. King Charles spanie1s, cock
. . er spaniels, skye terriers, all looked alike
: to Rex, and half the women in the hotel
: froze poor Nancy with gorgon glares and
talked angrily about her in corners, while
: the mems resentment was tempered by
: sympathy.
"Why, oh why" walled Nancy, ''hasn't
some one on the premises a pet bulldog
Swells to burn and not a bulldog among
them. It wouldn't happen once in thou.
4 sand times"
q Indeed. miss, you'll have to have hin
Il shot," chorused the stablemen and the ho-
Q tel proprietor
d "If she had any sense Of decency she't
Il have the nasty brute shot," snapped the
Q women.
r "She'd better have him shot before hi
kills some one" said the men.
g Nancy, being a woman, wouldn't lister
to the suggestion Of violent and sudde1
|, death. Rex was fond Of her in spite o
: his pranks and women are soft hearted
r about brutes.
why don't you send him away?'' In
d quired kindly men.
: Where in the world would send him
q I board in the city," she groaned
''Well, sell him. He's a fine fellow
d but you could afford to take little OF
C nothing for him.
v Sell hin" with desperate scorn
r Don't you suppose I've had every mar
a in the stables trying to give him away
q I'd pay any one to accept him as 6
+ gift
4 well. then, you'll have to have hin
r. shot,
4 1t always came back to that.
h The thing went on for two weeks
a Nancy was becoming thin and hollow
;. eyed, and the harmony of the neighbor
y hood was shattered into bits. Rex wa
a finally and permanently shut in his box
, stall. One Sunday morning he escaped
II Nancy, starting to church in symptom,
i Of pearl and white, heard scuttle,
IL growl, an agonized yelp. She droppet
~ her prayerbook and fled around the cor
r. ner. There was Rex. There, in his jaws
IA was the shivering, hairless Mexican pc
). Of wealthy old dowager. There was tn
n limp but frantic dowager. There were tn
: cook, three walters. one groom and J,
!, crowd OF minor satellites. The Mexican
10 idol yelped, the dowager screamed, tn
y men yelled. Nancy plunged into the fra.
lv and broke her pearl covered parasol owe
~ her dogs head He never noticed IT,
m Save him! Save my darling! shrieke
= the dowager.
d ID Kill him! Kill the brutep' moane
ar Nancy.
= An athletic young man in outing fan
er nels hove in sight around the corner, re
r. moved his. pipe from his mouth, an
e. stared. Nancy looked at him thru stream