Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-20
DISOBEYED TIE COURT

4
There's certain, old Washington cop.
now standing at one of the main crossings,
to whom feel like lifting my bonnet every
time see him. said man under thirty.
but he doesn't remember me, OF course,
and he'd think me crazy II did that, and
SO, when see him, just take it out in
looking him over with all the good feeling
liz the world, while my memory hanks back
to the big favor that he did for me when l
Has youngster.
Happened about eighteen years ago.
when l was a tad living down on the
Island. Through some devious and compii-
Gated method of exchange known only to
boys l came into possession of a dog. Don't
remember the exact terms OF the deal
whereby accumulated the dog but be-
Heve l gave four taw agates and brass
watch for him. Anyhow, / got him, and
he was all mine, and lavished an Intensity
OF devotion upon that dog such as haven't
experienced for anything living since. The
pup was q bat-eared, brindle bull terrier,
not much more than three or four months
old, and to say that he was the apple OF
my eye magnified about ten thousand
times is to put 1t mildly. 1 ate and slept
with that dog. He was my pal and my
'podner' twenty-four hours day. We were
so thick that the first bitterness my kid life
knew swung along when L had to go to
school and leave that mutt at home.
We'll, one day my dog and I got into
scrape. There was a kid living next door
to me who, jealous of me because 1 owned
taking his envy out on my dog. One of the
forms his badgering of the pup took was to
kick at him with his bare feet when the pup
happened to be lying at the front gate and
l wasn't around.
'One day the envious kid did this thing
too often He was endeavoring to kick my
dogs eyes out with his big toe, when the
pup finally ceased to extract amusement
from that sort of thing. The dog whimper-
ed and whined over the annoyance for
while, and then. goaded beyond resistance,
he snapped at the youngsters foot, sinking
his teeth in the boys great toe. 1t wasn't
such terrible bite, but it was enough to
send the tad beliering into his house. where
his mother took him in hand with the UNI
reasoning sympathy of mothers In such
cases. The boy told his mother that he
had jes been passin by when the dog
jumped at him and bit him, and, of course,
the mother swallowed the yarn whole.
'She came a-running into our house and
told my mother that she was going to have
me arrested for owning a dangerous dog,
and she added.that she was going to see
to it that my dog was killed by order of the
court
This got me to numbering. of course. but
the mother of the envious kid who'd got his
toe bitten was determined, and, sure
went down and had warrant sworn out
for me and my dog. The summons was
served that evening, and | was ordered TO
appear in the Police Court with my pup
MY dad. a working man, couldn't see
any other way cut of II than that | should
obey the summons. and so / went, taking
the pup along with me- The boy and his
mother were in court The boy told his lit
tie yarn, and his mother backed it UP with
details as of an eyewitness of the affair,
although he hadn't seen it at all.
"'Well, the dog will have to be killed
said the judge, briefly. Officer, address
ing the big policeman who had served the
summons on me and my dog, you see that
this boy or somebody shoots the dog at
once
well, that started something with me.
l fell into an instant boo-hooiug that at
first made the judge sore but that at
length induced him to reient. l was sob
bing away that | couldn't shoot my pup
nor see anybody else do it, when the judge
broke in:
But the dogs got to be destroyed some
how. If shooting hims much opposed.
why. let the dog be drowned. officer, you
take this dog out and drown him at once.
Next case
There was no pound in Washington In
those days, If l remember correctly, or the
dog would have been ordered to the keep
ing of the poHndmaster for destruction so
the big cop started out of court with me
and the dog.
THE three of us walked all the way
down to the nth street wharf, me leading
the dog by his string and numbering all
the way.
50 I'm sorry, boy the big cop kept say
ing to me all the way but it's the Judge
orders. and we've all got t. learn how L
obey the court. You can git another dog
can't YOU?
81 told him that could never get another
dog that I'd love much as the one | was
deliberately leading to his death, and the
big cop sort o blew his nose hard at that
oy,1 ISI 70 10 1lI1 -
see whether it was going to rain or not
when we got to the wharf the cop pick
ed up my pup.
Lets see If he can swim or not he
said, and then, while l fairly howled with
all my might, he tossed the pup into the
Potomac.
1.-THE pup figured 1t that we were only
playing with him. OF course he could
swim like a muskrat, and when he came
to the surface he was back around the pier
supports in about six strokes. The big cop
leaned over the water. resting his stomach
and grabbing the pup by the scruff Of the
neck, pulled him. dripping, on to the wharf
Meanwhile, l kept right on hollering like
mad.
THE cop, still holding the dripping dog
by the scruff of the neck, reflected for
down on his feet.
'Aw HI heard him mutter to him
self, I had a mutt meself when 1 was a
kid that 1 was dead stuck on and that
Boy said he to me- "a We know any
place where you can take this mutt t. get
him out O. the sight O. them people that live
next door { you? I'm dsobeyin an order
of the court and 1 don't want t get into
trouble
II blubbered out that I would take the
pup right up to my married sisters house
on Capitol Hill If he. the cop, would spare
the pups life.
Wen, that'll do, all right said the big
cop. You take him right up there now,
and don't let them people next door to
where you live see him. Run along now.
and you pretend to everybody in your
neighborhood that your pups drownded.
See? If ever hear of your giving me away
III break every bone in your carcass
II thanked the big cop on the run, for
I'd already picked my pup up in my arms
and was skiddooing away from there with
all my might. l did take him up to my
married sisters, and she received the pup
and 1 had the ineffable JOY of going up
there every Saturday and seeing him alive
and perky.
THE cops reprieve of my dog was never
found out by the court or by those next
door neighbors, and the mutt lived his days
through, loved and cherished by my sisters
big slew of young 'uns.
II see that big cop, now q grizzled man.
at his crossing every few days, and I al
ways feel mighty kindly toward him
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