The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-07-24

5 ; 5ss | old master genuine sorrow by going out into the woods and remaining absent 1 for days. <.
 When Romey was gone Jake would De, ridiculous in his grief, and would advance all sorts of absurd reasons fol the dogs disappearance. His general conclusion was that a bar had dun eted dat poah critter!' and often would opfne that de white folkses done stole dat cute .dorg,. erl tux him ter NLeans ter put in der show!' 4$s
 "Romey, was never eaten by a bear, nor did his charms tempt one to- be-
 come dishonest; he always turned up, hungry as a wolf, and fully anxious for a good, long sleep. Early one spring Ronaey showed tendency to take to the woods more ven than usual, and, do what he would, Jake could not break him of the wandering habit.
 "The dog would show up at the cabin for his regular meals, but, his appetite appeased, he would gallop away and
 disappear among the trees, at times even remaining out all night. This
 went on for d few weeks, to Jake's surprise, his pet one afternoon, upon being given his dinner, swallowed a portion of 1t hurriedly, took the rest of 1t (half a rabbit in his mouth and ran away to the forest. .s &
 "Romey repeated this queer per- formance day after day, and not only would he carry off half his dinner, but a big portion of his breakfast and sup per as well. Jake concluded that some
 thing was doing, and decided to watch the dog, in an endeaver to see where he went and what he did with such a big share of his meat.
 Jake tried to follow Roney on two or three occasions, but the dog dfdn't want companyat least, not his mas ter's-and would always contrive to
 throw the darky off the trail. Jake had about given up ever reforming his dog, when by accident he discovered the at traction that carried Rorney to the
 woods so often Romey had been fed,
 and had disappeared with half of his dinner, and Jake, on this particular day, went to the woods with his gun on his shoulder to shoot some squirrels I for supper. He was in q very thick bit 1 of underbrush; lying still, with his gun | ready for a shot at two squirrels frtsk- | ing on a tree some distance away, when he distinctly heard the short, ap- pealing bark that Romey generally gave when he was demanding atten- tion or seeking to make friends with some stranger, :: y. ..,...4,t
 Jake listened, and heard the bark again, and his surprise grew into won- der when he heard, mingling with the
 bark, the low, purring meow. of a cat
 What can this mean?' Jake asked him self, and, with the utmost caution and
 stealth, he made a slow course in the direction of the unusual forest sounds
 '"The barking and rowling continu- | ed and grew louder as Jake advanced
 on his careful lay and finally the
 darky reached an opening in. the trees 1 through which he was afforded the
 view of small clearing. The scene
 that met his gaze all but took his
 breath away Before him in the ope1
 was Romey, as frisky and as happy a!
 a young colt, gambolling with gIee
 about full grown wild cat that was
 crouched on the ground gnawing the bones, remnant of the dinner the dog
 had brought him.. The great cat could
 have torn the dog to shreds in Jfffy i but he seemed to be. as anliable ant ! friendly as Romey himself, and, fin