The Republican journal., 1912-05-02
THE CONVERTED CAPTAIN.

The Captain did not like dogs. He had
not liked them in his native England.
He did not like them in India. For thirty
or forty wears he had gone on not liking
dogs; nor did any dogs, from poodles up
to giant spotty Danes, like him
II don't like dogs" the Captain used
to say.
used to say in their own Esperanto.
:. At last there came day when Captain
H. watched a polo-match in Southern
India. The bali flashed from point to
| point. and horses and riders flew like
spirits of the storm.
A cold nose suddenly thrust itself into
the palm of Captain H., and, glancing
down, he beheld a very ragged, dismal
dog. a dog that would be called pariah,
or, for short, ''pie" Here was an ami
NAL whom nobody loved. Here was a
wretched ''pie" wandering about South
ern India in search of a friend; and whom
should it choose but this very English
man who had so often declared: II don't
like dogs"
He had a cane in his hand, and he
might have slashed it across the head of
the pariah. But he was an officer and
gentleman, and had not the heart to
strike 'pie" that stood so innocently
on the edge of the polo-feld, among the
well-dressed English crowd, caring
neither for polo nor for the crowd, but
only dumbly begging for cordial under
standing with Captain in the British
Army.
Captain H. bent and patted the out
casts dusty and ugly coat. The pie"
gowed with joy. This was wonderful
~ bod
rade. Somebody liked it; somebody pat
ted it in kindly welcome; somebody kept
on patting.
When the last blow was aimed at the
ball, and the tired and jolly players rode
off the field, Captain H. whistled. Never
before had he whistled to ''pie," or,
indeed, to any dog at all.
A very handsome, smart gentleman
was the officer. People looked curiously
at the two companions, the highly pol
ished Captain and the scarecrow pariah.
Let people look and say as they pleased.
The dog liked the man, and the man liked
the dog. Of course, the dog must have
name now. Tim was its name. 1t liked
to hear itself called, and the Captain
liked to hear it reply in its own noisy
Esperanto.
Besides name it must have a collar,
not common collar, if you please, but a
precious metal one, silver band, gleam-
ing round the neck of its proud owner,
and inscribed with the Captain s name,
and the name of the Captain s regiment.
When the officers horses were bridled at
dawn, and sailed out in the cool air for
riding exercise, they wore coverings of
white and blue cloth, and as they gal
loped along the hill roads and saluted the
rising sun there ran with them the little
"pie, and he wore the uniform; he also
had coat of white and blue. Under the
coat was smooth, clean skin. The pa
riah was groomed as carefully as horse.
He was one of the household.
At night he lay down and slept at the
soldiers feet. By day he ran at the
soldiers side. When Captain H. must
sail for England to visit the old birth
land for year, Tim also must go; Tim
was accounted a freedom Briton.
And strange thing was that Captain
H. never more said Il don't like dogs"
And another strange thing was (but
was it strangely that dogs-other sorts
besides ''pies' would now come up to
Tins master as if they liked him.
F. J. GOULD.
NoTE.-I have adapted this story of Tim
from most interesting work, Mrs. M. A.
Handley's "Roughing it in Southern India
published by Edward Arnold in 1917, book
characterised by humane and catholic spirit.