The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-02-08
Jimmy
Gets a Dog

have dog to play with. Up to that
time they had been able to match his
teasing by succinct and comprehen-
sive moi" But now life was vastly
different
| Every Homecoming of the elder
members of the family, if not greeted
! By "Didyuh bring my dog?" was hailed
with the wall, When kin | have my
! dog?" or Whit kind of a dog is it
I'm going to get?' until the King.
| thornes reacl ed the stage where their
opinion On dogs as a whole was so
! intense that it was wordless.
| The situation led to dissensions also,
for both Kingthorne and his wife &C.
cused the other Of having been the
one who said the fatal word of assent.
| The peace of the family was gone, and
the more they argued the worse it
grew Of the lot Jimmy was the
most injured, for with all the bicker
ing because of dog there wasn't any
dog
You said l could have a dog" he
| invariable ended in the plaintively ac-
cusing tone before which all well
brought up parents shrink.
When the kingthornes had time to
look for a dog they never could find
| an attractive one, and If they did see
a possibility they lacked the time.
Sitting in her living room one after
noon conversing with visitors about
1 green tomato pickles. Mrs Kingthorne
after staring from the window, gave
little shrek
"Just the thing" she cried How
did it get there?'
What" demanded her caller
There aren't green tomatoes growing
out there!"
''Pickles?" repeated Mrs King
thorne, dreamily. mo, it's dog. 1t
doesn't seem to belong to any one,
either.
Everybody looked. The dog was
most apparently youthful, because it
still wabbled slightly when 1t walked,
Or. rather, rolled. For it was fat and
globular, made still more so by a
thick coat of woolly brown fur. From
one end of the brown mass pink
nose stuck out and from the other
end protruded a tiny plumed tail. He
puppy to be quite true.
"There isn't a soul in sight," as
serted Mrs. Kfngthorne. And nobody
would let a puppy like that go for a
walk alone, so 1t must be lost. It'll
get stepped on or stolen or something,
and to own it would send Jimmy into
Mysteries of Joy, so, really, l think it
is my duty to rescue the puppy, don't
your"
Everybody wanted to see the puppy
at close range, so everybody said
Yes" Mrs. Kingthorne went out and
brought the animal in
Don't dogs have germs and
things?" demanded one of the visit
ors. ''It is likely to give Jimmy some
thing, isn't it?''
That was why everybody followed
Mrs. Kingthorne down into the laun
dry to see her give the waif bath
He was very little and the tub was
very big and the soap was exceed
insly fluffy, so it took four of them
to wash and dry him. Afterward he
frisked in front of a CRATE fire and
Mrs. Kingthorne admired herself ex
tremely for finding him.
Jimmy, for some reason, was late
but presently Kingthorne arrived He
seemed a little dazed at the chorus
Of joyful shrieks and the bundle OF
brown wool that was thrust at him
WELL" he murmured in a puzzled
tone. THAT doesn't look a bit like
the one
1.-THE one!" cried Mrs Kingthorne
] What one, and what is it?'
The bell rang just then and King
thorne went to the door. When he
rejoined them he was leading by a
leash an Airedale pup. A grown-uI
Airedale is without doubt the ugliest
dog yet invented, but an Airedale pup
transcends by hundred degrees the
ugliness of the grown-up Airedale
There is no use in trying to tell what
Kingthorne's pup looked like because
If adequate words could be found no
body would believe the description
anyhow.
KingthOrne spoke into the immense
silence almost defiantly. He's a
bench dog" he said. "All my life
I've wanted an Airedale-and I am
sure Jimmy will be crazy about this
one. So will you when you get used
to his looks and appreciate his noble
nature. That brown, woolly thing
hasn't any class, my dear"
We'll, like him," cried Mrs. King.
thorne, Indignantly.
Jimmy slammed into the house just
then. Something slammed in with
him. 1t was an overgrown, ca1flike
creature, all legs and tail and tongue,
with a great ugly head. and its style
of architecture was a combination Of
everything from early Greek down
He's mine!" Jimmy cried, proud
ly. AN ashcart man gave him to me,
an he's goin' to sleep in my room
an everythfn'! An you said I could
have a dog" He gave a passing
glance Of disinterested scorn at the
blooded Airedale and the toy woolly
pup.
q suppose" said Kingthorne. with
a resigned sigh to his wife, that we
can chloroform our dogs!"
It Is always difficult to argue with