Beautiful Joe [50]
to a cruel man, 'You shall
not overwork, torture, mutilate, nor kill your animal, or neglect to provide it
with proper food and shelter,' we are making him a little nearer the kingdom of
heaven than he was before. For 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap.' If he sows seeds of unkindness and cruelty to man and beast, no one knows
what the blackness of the harvest will be. His poor horse, quivering under a
blow, is not the worst sufferer. Oh, if people would only understand that their
unkind deeds will recoil upon their own heads with tenfold force but, my dear
child, I am fancying that I am addressing a drawing-room meeting and here we are
at your station. Good-bye; keep your happy face and gentle ways. I hope that we
may meet again some day." She pressed Miss Laura's hand, gave me a farewell pat,
and the next minute we were outside on the platform, and she was smiling through
the window at us.
CHAPTER XVI DINGLEY FARM
"MY dear niece," and a stout, middle-aged woman, with a red, lively face, threw
both her arms around Miss Laura. "How glad I am to see you, and this is the dog.
Good Joe, I have a bone waiting for you. Here is Uncle John."
A tall, good-looking man stepped up and put out a big hand, in which my
mistress' little fingers were quite swallowed up. "I am glad to see you, Laura.
Well, Joe, how d'ye do, old boy? I've heard about you."
It made me feel very welcome to have them both notice me, and I was so glad to
be out of the train that I frisked for joy around their feet as we went to the
wagon. It was a big double one, with an awning over it to shelter it from the
sun's rays, and the horses were drawn up in the shade of a spreading tree. They
were two powerful black horses, and as they had no blinders on, they could see
us coming. Their faces lighted up and they moved their ears and pawed the
ground, and whinnied when Mr. Wood went up to them. They tried to rub their
heads against him, and I saw plainly that they loved him. "Steady there, Cleve
and Pacer," he said; "now back, back up."
By this time, Mrs. Wood, Miss Laura and I were in the wagon. Then Mr. Wood
jumped in, took up the reins, and off we went. How the two black horses did spin
along! I sat on the seat beside Mr. Wood, and sniffed in the delicious air, and
the lovely smell of flowers and grass. How glad I was to be in the country! What
long races I should have in the green fields. I wished that I had another dog to
run with me, and wondered very much whether Mr. Wood kept one. I knew I should
soon find out, for whenever Miss Laura went to a place she wanted to know what
animals there were about.
We drove a little more than a mile along a country road where there were
scattered houses. Miss Laura answered questions about her family, and asked
questions about Mr. Harry, who was away at college and hadn't got home. I don't
think I have said before that Mr. Harry was Mrs. Wood's son. She was a widow
with one son when she married Mr. Wood, so that Mr. Harry, though the Morrises
called him cousin, was not really their cousin.
I was very glad to hear them say that he was soon coming home, for I had never
forgotten that but for him I should never have known Miss Laura and gotten into
my pleasant home.
By-and-by, I heard Miss Laura say: "Uncle John, have you a dog?"
"Yes, Laura," he said; "I have one to-day, but I sha'n't have one to-morrow."
"Oh, uncle, what do you mean?" she asked.
"Well, Laura," he replied, "you know animals are pretty much like people. There
are some good ones and some bad ones. Now, this dog is a snarling, cross-
grained, cantankerous beast, and when I heard Joe was coming, I said: 'Now we'll
have a good dog about the place, and here's an end to the bad one.' So I tied
Bruno up, and to-morrow I shall shoot him. Something's got to be done, or he'll
be biting some one."
"Uncle," said Miss Laura, "people don't always die when they are bitten by dogs,
do they?"
"No, certainly not," replied Mr. Wood. "In my
not overwork, torture, mutilate, nor kill your animal, or neglect to provide it
with proper food and shelter,' we are making him a little nearer the kingdom of
heaven than he was before. For 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap.' If he sows seeds of unkindness and cruelty to man and beast, no one knows
what the blackness of the harvest will be. His poor horse, quivering under a
blow, is not the worst sufferer. Oh, if people would only understand that their
unkind deeds will recoil upon their own heads with tenfold force but, my dear
child, I am fancying that I am addressing a drawing-room meeting and here we are
at your station. Good-bye; keep your happy face and gentle ways. I hope that we
may meet again some day." She pressed Miss Laura's hand, gave me a farewell pat,
and the next minute we were outside on the platform, and she was smiling through
the window at us.
CHAPTER XVI DINGLEY FARM
"MY dear niece," and a stout, middle-aged woman, with a red, lively face, threw
both her arms around Miss Laura. "How glad I am to see you, and this is the dog.
Good Joe, I have a bone waiting for you. Here is Uncle John."
A tall, good-looking man stepped up and put out a big hand, in which my
mistress' little fingers were quite swallowed up. "I am glad to see you, Laura.
Well, Joe, how d'ye do, old boy? I've heard about you."
It made me feel very welcome to have them both notice me, and I was so glad to
be out of the train that I frisked for joy around their feet as we went to the
wagon. It was a big double one, with an awning over it to shelter it from the
sun's rays, and the horses were drawn up in the shade of a spreading tree. They
were two powerful black horses, and as they had no blinders on, they could see
us coming. Their faces lighted up and they moved their ears and pawed the
ground, and whinnied when Mr. Wood went up to them. They tried to rub their
heads against him, and I saw plainly that they loved him. "Steady there, Cleve
and Pacer," he said; "now back, back up."
By this time, Mrs. Wood, Miss Laura and I were in the wagon. Then Mr. Wood
jumped in, took up the reins, and off we went. How the two black horses did spin
along! I sat on the seat beside Mr. Wood, and sniffed in the delicious air, and
the lovely smell of flowers and grass. How glad I was to be in the country! What
long races I should have in the green fields. I wished that I had another dog to
run with me, and wondered very much whether Mr. Wood kept one. I knew I should
soon find out, for whenever Miss Laura went to a place she wanted to know what
animals there were about.
We drove a little more than a mile along a country road where there were
scattered houses. Miss Laura answered questions about her family, and asked
questions about Mr. Harry, who was away at college and hadn't got home. I don't
think I have said before that Mr. Harry was Mrs. Wood's son. She was a widow
with one son when she married Mr. Wood, so that Mr. Harry, though the Morrises
called him cousin, was not really their cousin.
I was very glad to hear them say that he was soon coming home, for I had never
forgotten that but for him I should never have known Miss Laura and gotten into
my pleasant home.
By-and-by, I heard Miss Laura say: "Uncle John, have you a dog?"
"Yes, Laura," he said; "I have one to-day, but I sha'n't have one to-morrow."
"Oh, uncle, what do you mean?" she asked.
"Well, Laura," he replied, "you know animals are pretty much like people. There
are some good ones and some bad ones. Now, this dog is a snarling, cross-
grained, cantankerous beast, and when I heard Joe was coming, I said: 'Now we'll
have a good dog about the place, and here's an end to the bad one.' So I tied
Bruno up, and to-morrow I shall shoot him. Something's got to be done, or he'll
be biting some one."
"Uncle," said Miss Laura, "people don't always die when they are bitten by dogs,
do they?"
"No, certainly not," replied Mr. Wood. "In my