The Detroit times., 1914-06-29
CHAPTER XVI.
Tankoo.

We'll, l must leave you 10 imagine
what my feelings were as ! looked
down, day after day, on that beauti-
Iuh bloody thing with my bullet In t..
cant tell you-it chokes me up now
anless little story OF Jon and me
would do It.
used to gun a good deal when
WAS young. Once, when I was out
Tor rabbits I found cunning young
one Just couple OF inches long, a
regular little cotton-tail-with no
parents about. | expect, maybe, that
mao killed 'em. II was starving TO
death. I brung II home for JON
anout three or four year old then
well you never saw no better
friends! Jon fed him like a mother
and he took IT, That little bunny
would follow Jon about like they
was brothers. He'd come TO the table
and sit at joins elbow and eat-some-
times out OF the same dish
Jon he made a little funny collar,
out OF some oyster pearls and string
for him. And he called him Tankoo,
because he tried to say Thank you"
when brung II for him. He growed
so fast with all the feed Jon pushed
into him that soon he was a large reg
ular rabbit. But he never stopped
those intimate acquaintances with
Jon.
Then, one morning. in the cunning
season. looks out OF the window and
sees rabbit running about in the
Red Meadow ] grabs my gun and
calls out to Jon to come and we'd
get him" know now that when I
said get him" John didn't think |
meant TO kill him. He looked little
funny at my gun, but we were on the
run to the pasture and he didn't have
time to say anything. When we got
to the meadow the bunny had disap-
peared. But, In minute he runs
straight toward us from behind some
bushes, fires and he falls. When
we gets to him II Is Tankoo.
Little Jon says nothing. only looks
at me, for long gtime. | remember
that look now. How pale his little
face was! How his young blue eyes
blazed accusation at me!
He took Tankoo In HIS arms. all
bloody and ragged-not understanding
not understanding at all--and when
he can't hold his little head up, only
open and close his brown eyes, like
he was tired and hurt, Jon holds him
out to me and shrieks
Fix him! Holes In him; 90 done
it,"
But there was no fixing Tankoo He
put his head under my little boys
arm and died.
look when he drew the head Of the
animal forth and found the eyes
steadily open but In them no sight.
Whan ha understood ba 1pnHod
at me. And I see that look often in
tho nights when think cruel
thoughts.
Betsy said. afterward. that when
Tankoo found us both gone he ran
about like crazy to find u.s. So she
took him TO the window upstairs,
where be could see, then let him go
and he scampered off after us-just
TO love us. she said. and got shot
for II.
In the most remote and beautiful
part OF the garden the little boy
buried Tankoo. Then he made a
small tablet for the grave on which
he got Betsy TO write:
TANKOO
KILLED BY DADDY
JUNE 10th, 1859.
have never killed an animal
since. And only the war made me
raise my gun against my own kind.
But, | think ! never saw a man fall
in battle that that saying OF little
joins didn't come TO me:
Fix him! Holes in him! You
done IT,"
And then I would. often, see that
little tablet Jon had placed at the
bunnys grave:
TANKOO
KILLED BY DADDY
Only, instead OF killed the tablet
I saw read murdered"
And Jon has told me that the same
things have come to him amidst the
dead and wounded on the battlefield.
No! 7 wouldn't kill an animal But
7 would kill my own kind--in that
thing OF murder called war.
And that is what constantly came
into my mind when 7 was with Eve
Ign:
Fix her! Holes in her! You
done IT,"
Next day was uncomfortable for
me. For, besides lying to all the rest,
had TO look ont that there was no
change for the worse In EVELYN. But
she was so happy--even happier than
the night before-that had shot her
that she seemed 10 forget the wound.
II was regular faith-cure.
"why, couldn't get I'M daddy" she
laughs. 'if YOU weren't working 10
make nv haircut convincing"