Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-04-10

the man found himself all at once alone
with the dog, while up the path came a
blue-coated, hurrying figure. Clasping
the dog yet more firmly in his arms,
the man turned and walked rapidly In
the opposite direction.
Come, come, what's the meaning OF
all thisf' called the policeman, between
short, painting breaths, as he realized
the shabby mans side.
Nothing" returned the man, laeon-
ically.
But the crowd--what were they do
ingf"
"Stoning the dog-and me-"
"Stonlng you! Been drlnkin'T
"Do l act drunk2" retorted the man,
sharply.
shrewd glance.
Mighty near It," he growled. Then
he tried a new tack.
Whose dog is 1T" he demanded.
"Mine.n There was a ring OF def
ance in the mans voice.
where's Its collar? Got a Iicensef''
probed the policeman.
st will have by this time to-mor-
row."
"Looks to me mighty like the little
devil Of a beast I've been chasin' In
these ERE parts fur the last month. I've
had more'n a dozen complaints Of a
stray dog but I couldn't catch The lit
tie varmlnt.'
You'll not have any complaints of
this dog" said the man, quietly, us he
turned of at one of the side paths.
It was then that existence for DIN.
ders changed yet again. It became
now a thing OF kind words, scanty but
gladly given food. and a bed In one
corner of a sparsely furnished room up
many flights Of stairs. There were the
same walks In the park, only now he
both went and came with the man.
There was the same bottle, and there
was the same cautious tipping of 1t to
the mans lips-but perhaps less FREE
quently now At all events, there ney-
er again came a time when the man
was not fairly erect and In his right
mind as he sat on the bench.
As the summer passed the mans
clothes became more shabby, and his
cheeks more hollow. At first he had
gone away from the room each morn
ing and returned at night climbing a
few loose coins In his pockets; but
now days and days passed when he did
not leave the room until night, appar-
entity preferring to lie for hours on the
bed In the corner with mis- face to the
wall.
where's the useY he would soy
more and more frequently, as Cinders
would leap upon the bed and coax him,
dog fashion, to 60 out for a walk.
where's the use, Weary Willie? II
there was some n to care, I'd quit
It." he went on one day. Perhaps
I'd never even have begun. She cared
once, Weary Willie, she said she did ;
but 1t didn't last-it didn't last she
got tired and skipped-skipped." There
was q long pause, then the voice began
again. you don't blame her, do you,
Weary Willie7 Maybe you'll skip some
day-sh3 She said twas Incompatible
ity, old fellow; in-com-pati-bility. Long
one, isn't it2 But not half 80 long as
the misery 1t holds. S'pose 1t will be
that way with us, old boy-incompati-
bility7"
The dog wnined and leapsd to the
door.
Hal" cried the man. whlmsically.
80 you do want to leave me, sir7 By
Jove, old fellow, / should think you
would" he added, suddenly, getting to
his feet. "Come, let's 90 for "a waikiki
Days passed. Both man and dog
grew thinner, and the nights when the
man came home ~clinking coins in his
pocket grew fewer and fewer. Even
the walks at twilight were not taken so
frequently nov and the man had fall
9 into the way of passing long silent
evenings, gazing blankly into space.
Sometimes there was In his hands a
cleaning thing of polished metal, which
he handled l~ingeringly, almost lovingly.
"Come. let's chuck It, Weary Willie,
you and +" he would say. And when
the dog parked and whined, he would
smile and lay the thing aside with the
laughing reproof "Why, old fellow, It
doesn't hurt! It's all over before You
even know it's begun"
There came a day when Cinders had
J no breakfast, no dinner, no supper. All
day long the man had been tramping
J the room like some wild thing. He,
too, had not eaten, but he had twice
picked up the cleaning thing OF polish
ed steel, only to lay 1t down again.
!, At dusk his Jaws set In sudden stern
lines. With n stride he reached the
? table, clutched the revolver. and raised
1t to his head. Almost instantly there
q came a FRANTIC bark and a sharp report.
The woman coming up the stairs
thought the two had occurred at the
same instant but-the man in the bare
room on the top door knew that the
J, bark had ONE lust II time to startle
. him 30 hat the ball had found a harm
less retins place In the wall across the
s room.
ii "Good Godl can'tyou let q fellow
L~ +EHr.4-LE-