Beautiful Joe [7]
on, let's look at the dog."
They all came and bent over me, as I lay on the floor in my corner. I wasn't
much used to boys, and I didn't know how they would treat me. But I soon found
by the way they handled me and talked to me, that they knew a good deal about
dogs, and were accustomed to treat them kindly. It seemed very strange to have
them pat me, and call me "good dog." No one had ever said that to me before to-
day.
"He's not much of a beauty, is he?" said one of the boys, whom they called Tom.
"Not by a long shot," said Jack Morris, with a laugh. "Not any nearer the beauty
mark than yourself, Tom."
Tom flew at him, and they had a scuffle. The other boys paid no attention to
them, but went on looking at me. One of them, a little boy with eyes like Miss
Laura's, said, "What did Cousin Harry say the dog's name was?"
"Joe," answered another boy. "The little chap that carried him home told him."
"We might call him 'Ugly Joe' then," said a lad with a round, fat face, and
laughing eyes. I wondered very much who this boy was, and, later on, I found out
that he was another of Miss Laura's brothers, and his name was Ned. There seemed
to be no end to the Morris boys.
"I don't think Laura would like that," said Jack Morris, suddenly coming up
behind him. He was very hot, and was breathing fast, but his manner was as cool
as if he had never left the group about me. He had beaten Tom, who was sitting
on a box, ruefully surveying a hole in his jacket. "You see," he went on,
gaspingly, "if you call him 'Ugly Joe,' her ladyship will say that you are
wounding the dear dog's feelings. 'Beautiful Joe,' would be more to her liking."
A shout went up from the boys. I didn't wonder that they laughed. Plain-looking
I naturally was; but I must have been hideous in those bandages.
"'Beautiful Joe,' then let it be!" they cried, "Let us go and tell mother, and
ask her to give us something for our beauty to eat."
They all trooped out of the stable, and I was very sorry, for when they were
with me, I did not mind so much the tingling in my ears, and the terrible pain
in my back. They soon brought me some nice food, but I could not touch it, so
they went away to their play, and I lay in the box they put me in, trembling
with pain, and wishing that the pretty young lady was there, to stroke me with
her gentle fingers.
By-and-by it got dark. The boys finished their play, and went into the house,
and I saw lights twinkling in the windows. I felt lonely and miserable in this
strange place. I would not have gone back to Jenkins' for the world, still it
was the only home I had known, and though I felt that I should be happy here, I
had not yet gotten used to the change. Then the pain all through my body was
dreadful. My head seemed to be on fire, and there were sharp, darting pains up
and down my backbone. I did not dare to howl, lest I should make the big dog,
Jim, angry. He was sleeping in a kennel, out in the yard.
The stable was very quiet. Up in the loft above, some rabbits that I had heard
running about had now gone to sleep. The guinea pig was nestling in the corner
of his box, and the cat and the tame rat had scampered into the house long ago.
At last I could bear the pain no longer. I sat up in my box and looked about me.
I felt as if I was going to die, and, though I was very weak, there was
something inside me that made me feel as if I wanted to crawl away somewhere out
of sight. I slunk out into the yard, and along the stable wall, where there was
a thick clump of raspberry bushes. I crept in among them and lay down in the
damp earth. I tried to scratch off my bandages, but they were fastened on too
firmly, and I could not do it. I thought about my poor mother, and wished she
was here to lick my sore ears. Though she was so unhappy herself, she never
wanted to see me suffer. If I had not disobeyed her, I would not now be
suffering so much pain. She had told me again and again not to snap at Jenkins,
for it made him worse.
They all came and bent over me, as I lay on the floor in my corner. I wasn't
much used to boys, and I didn't know how they would treat me. But I soon found
by the way they handled me and talked to me, that they knew a good deal about
dogs, and were accustomed to treat them kindly. It seemed very strange to have
them pat me, and call me "good dog." No one had ever said that to me before to-
day.
"He's not much of a beauty, is he?" said one of the boys, whom they called Tom.
"Not by a long shot," said Jack Morris, with a laugh. "Not any nearer the beauty
mark than yourself, Tom."
Tom flew at him, and they had a scuffle. The other boys paid no attention to
them, but went on looking at me. One of them, a little boy with eyes like Miss
Laura's, said, "What did Cousin Harry say the dog's name was?"
"Joe," answered another boy. "The little chap that carried him home told him."
"We might call him 'Ugly Joe' then," said a lad with a round, fat face, and
laughing eyes. I wondered very much who this boy was, and, later on, I found out
that he was another of Miss Laura's brothers, and his name was Ned. There seemed
to be no end to the Morris boys.
"I don't think Laura would like that," said Jack Morris, suddenly coming up
behind him. He was very hot, and was breathing fast, but his manner was as cool
as if he had never left the group about me. He had beaten Tom, who was sitting
on a box, ruefully surveying a hole in his jacket. "You see," he went on,
gaspingly, "if you call him 'Ugly Joe,' her ladyship will say that you are
wounding the dear dog's feelings. 'Beautiful Joe,' would be more to her liking."
A shout went up from the boys. I didn't wonder that they laughed. Plain-looking
I naturally was; but I must have been hideous in those bandages.
"'Beautiful Joe,' then let it be!" they cried, "Let us go and tell mother, and
ask her to give us something for our beauty to eat."
They all trooped out of the stable, and I was very sorry, for when they were
with me, I did not mind so much the tingling in my ears, and the terrible pain
in my back. They soon brought me some nice food, but I could not touch it, so
they went away to their play, and I lay in the box they put me in, trembling
with pain, and wishing that the pretty young lady was there, to stroke me with
her gentle fingers.
By-and-by it got dark. The boys finished their play, and went into the house,
and I saw lights twinkling in the windows. I felt lonely and miserable in this
strange place. I would not have gone back to Jenkins' for the world, still it
was the only home I had known, and though I felt that I should be happy here, I
had not yet gotten used to the change. Then the pain all through my body was
dreadful. My head seemed to be on fire, and there were sharp, darting pains up
and down my backbone. I did not dare to howl, lest I should make the big dog,
Jim, angry. He was sleeping in a kennel, out in the yard.
The stable was very quiet. Up in the loft above, some rabbits that I had heard
running about had now gone to sleep. The guinea pig was nestling in the corner
of his box, and the cat and the tame rat had scampered into the house long ago.
At last I could bear the pain no longer. I sat up in my box and looked about me.
I felt as if I was going to die, and, though I was very weak, there was
something inside me that made me feel as if I wanted to crawl away somewhere out
of sight. I slunk out into the yard, and along the stable wall, where there was
a thick clump of raspberry bushes. I crept in among them and lay down in the
damp earth. I tried to scratch off my bandages, but they were fastened on too
firmly, and I could not do it. I thought about my poor mother, and wished she
was here to lick my sore ears. Though she was so unhappy herself, she never
wanted to see me suffer. If I had not disobeyed her, I would not now be
suffering so much pain. She had told me again and again not to snap at Jenkins,
for it made him worse.