Beautiful Joe [13]
for sale in the town."
"Thank you; I shall be most happy to do so. He shall have his dog. When can you
have him?"
"To-morrow, the next day, any day at all. It makes no difference to me. Let him
spend an afternoon and evening with the boys, if you do not object."
"It will give me much pleasure," and the little lady bowed and smiled, and after
stooping down to pat me, tripped down the steps, and got into her carriage and
drove away.
Mrs. Morris stood looking after her with a beaming face, and I began to think
that I should like Mrs. Montague, too, if I knew her long enough. Two days later
I was quite sure I should, for I had a proof that she really liked me. When her
little boy Charlie came to the house, he brought something for me done up in
white paper. Mrs. Morris opened it, and there was a handsome nickel-plated
collar, with my name on it Beautiful Joe. Wasn't I pleased! They took off the
little shabby leather strap that the boys had given me when I came, and fastened
on my new collar and then Mrs. Morris held me up to a glass to look at myself. I
felt so happy. Up to this time I had felt a little ashamed of my cropped ears
and docked tail, but now that I had a fine new collar I could hold up my head
with any dog.
"Dear old Joe," said Mrs. Morris, pressing my head tightly between her hands.
"You did a good thing the other day in helping me to start that little woman out
of her selfish way of living."
I did not know about that, but I knew that I felt very grateful to Mrs. Montague
for my new collar, and ever afterward, when I met her in the street, I stopped
and looked at her. Sometimes she saw me and stopped her carriage to speak to me;
but I always wagged my tail, or rather my body, for I had no tail to wag,
whenever I saw her, whether she saw me or not.
Her son got a beautiful Irish setter, called "Brisk." He had a silky coat and
soft brown eyes, and his young master seemed very fond of him.
CHAPTER VI THE FOX TERRIER BILLY
WHEN I came to the Morrises, I knew nothing about the proper way of bringing up
a puppy. I once heard of a little boy whose sister beat him so much that he said
he was brought up by hand; so I think as Jenkins kicked me so much, I may say
that I was brought up by foot.
Shortly after my arrival in my new home, I had a chance of seeing how one should
bring up a little puppy.
One day I was sitting beside Miss Laura in the parlor, when the door opened and
Jack came in. One of his hands was laid over the other, and he said to his
sister, "Guess what I've got here."
"A bird," she said.
"No."
"A rat."
"No."
"A mouse."
"No a pup."
"Oh, Jack," she said, reprovingly; for she thought he was telling a story.
He opened his hands and there lay the tiniest morsel of a fox terrier puppy that
I ever saw. He was white, with black and tan markings. His body was pure white,
his tail black, with a dash of tan; his ears black, and his face evenly marked
with black and tan. We could not tell the color of his eyes, as they were not
open. Later on, they turned out to be a pretty brown. His nose was pale pink,
and when he got older, it became jet black.
"Why, Jack!" exclaimed Miss Laura, "his eyes aren't open; why did you take him
from his mother?"
"She's dead," said Jack. "Poisoned left her pups to run about the yard for a
little exercise. Some brute had thrown over a piece of poisoned meat, and she
ate it. Four of the pups died. This is the only one left. Mr. Robinson says his
man doesn't understand raising pups without their mothers, and as he is going
away, he wants us to have it, for we always had such luck in nursing sick
animals."
Mr. Robinson I knew was a friend of the Morrises and a gentleman who was fond of
fancy stock, and imported a great deal of it from England. If this puppy came
from him, it was sure to be good one.
Miss Laura took the tiny creature, and went upstairs very thoughtfully. I
followed her, and watched her get a little basket and line it with cotton
"Thank you; I shall be most happy to do so. He shall have his dog. When can you
have him?"
"To-morrow, the next day, any day at all. It makes no difference to me. Let him
spend an afternoon and evening with the boys, if you do not object."
"It will give me much pleasure," and the little lady bowed and smiled, and after
stooping down to pat me, tripped down the steps, and got into her carriage and
drove away.
Mrs. Morris stood looking after her with a beaming face, and I began to think
that I should like Mrs. Montague, too, if I knew her long enough. Two days later
I was quite sure I should, for I had a proof that she really liked me. When her
little boy Charlie came to the house, he brought something for me done up in
white paper. Mrs. Morris opened it, and there was a handsome nickel-plated
collar, with my name on it Beautiful Joe. Wasn't I pleased! They took off the
little shabby leather strap that the boys had given me when I came, and fastened
on my new collar and then Mrs. Morris held me up to a glass to look at myself. I
felt so happy. Up to this time I had felt a little ashamed of my cropped ears
and docked tail, but now that I had a fine new collar I could hold up my head
with any dog.
"Dear old Joe," said Mrs. Morris, pressing my head tightly between her hands.
"You did a good thing the other day in helping me to start that little woman out
of her selfish way of living."
I did not know about that, but I knew that I felt very grateful to Mrs. Montague
for my new collar, and ever afterward, when I met her in the street, I stopped
and looked at her. Sometimes she saw me and stopped her carriage to speak to me;
but I always wagged my tail, or rather my body, for I had no tail to wag,
whenever I saw her, whether she saw me or not.
Her son got a beautiful Irish setter, called "Brisk." He had a silky coat and
soft brown eyes, and his young master seemed very fond of him.
CHAPTER VI THE FOX TERRIER BILLY
WHEN I came to the Morrises, I knew nothing about the proper way of bringing up
a puppy. I once heard of a little boy whose sister beat him so much that he said
he was brought up by hand; so I think as Jenkins kicked me so much, I may say
that I was brought up by foot.
Shortly after my arrival in my new home, I had a chance of seeing how one should
bring up a little puppy.
One day I was sitting beside Miss Laura in the parlor, when the door opened and
Jack came in. One of his hands was laid over the other, and he said to his
sister, "Guess what I've got here."
"A bird," she said.
"No."
"A rat."
"No."
"A mouse."
"No a pup."
"Oh, Jack," she said, reprovingly; for she thought he was telling a story.
He opened his hands and there lay the tiniest morsel of a fox terrier puppy that
I ever saw. He was white, with black and tan markings. His body was pure white,
his tail black, with a dash of tan; his ears black, and his face evenly marked
with black and tan. We could not tell the color of his eyes, as they were not
open. Later on, they turned out to be a pretty brown. His nose was pale pink,
and when he got older, it became jet black.
"Why, Jack!" exclaimed Miss Laura, "his eyes aren't open; why did you take him
from his mother?"
"She's dead," said Jack. "Poisoned left her pups to run about the yard for a
little exercise. Some brute had thrown over a piece of poisoned meat, and she
ate it. Four of the pups died. This is the only one left. Mr. Robinson says his
man doesn't understand raising pups without their mothers, and as he is going
away, he wants us to have it, for we always had such luck in nursing sick
animals."
Mr. Robinson I knew was a friend of the Morrises and a gentleman who was fond of
fancy stock, and imported a great deal of it from England. If this puppy came
from him, it was sure to be good one.
Miss Laura took the tiny creature, and went upstairs very thoughtfully. I
followed her, and watched her get a little basket and line it with cotton