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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 1905)
47 FOX TERRIER GOT EVEN WITH THE COLLIE A Portland Story of Two Dogs Guilty of an Old Crime, by Katharine F. Brcrctoiu How They Kept Their Santa Claus THE SUNDAY OREGOKIAX, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 10, 1905. IT was the noon hour of a perfect Juno day. John, the hired man, hadjjeen busy all the morning mowing the lawn, and had now gone to his dinner, leaving the grafts he had cut In several heaps, ready to bo carried away In the wheel barrow. The perfume of the flowers In the well-cultivated .beds mingled with that of the cut grass, and the only sound to be heard in the garden was the humming of the bees as they darted hither and thither in their search for pollen and honey. The beauties of Nature, however, were evidently wasted on Dan, the Scotch col lie, and Ted, the young fox-terrier, who both lay fast asleep under the old apple tree on the lawn. Suddenly out of the. henhouse vin the yard back Of the garden came. the speckled lien. "Cluck-cluck-cluck-clahooi" she cried. That was the way she lot the world In general know she had laid an egg. Dan raised his head and pricked up his ears. Then he yawned.' "Ted!" he said, addressing the terrier near him. "What Is It?" sleepily. "Did you ever taste a raw egg?" "No," said Ted, getting up slowly and stretching his shapely, delicate logs. "Well, I'll show you the proper way, but you must promise to do exactly "what J tell you." Ted was now wide awake, and his bright black eyes looked -straight into Dan's shifty brown ones. "How and where do you get the eggs?" ho inquired, suspiciously. More than once he had got into serious trouble by fol lowing the older dog's advice. "Out of the henhouse, of course," said Dan. "But suppose you got caught?" Dan sniffed scornfully. "Oh, if you are afraid you can stay here. I'm going to have an egg or two," and ho licked his chops in anticipation of keen enjoyment as he strolled oft In his majestic manner towards the henhouse. For a momont led hesitated. .Then the fear of being called a "cowardly pup" by Dan was too much for him. and he fol lowed his tempter. He found Dan in the henhouse with a broken egg on the ground before him. eagerly lapping up its contents. He looked up for a second as Ted entered. "There Is a beautiful brown one in that nest near the door," he said, "1 left Itt purposely tor you. wetter hurry and eat It before, airy ono comes." and he calmly commenced on his second egg. Jle had finished his third by the time Ted had the brown egg out of the nest and lying, still unbroken on the ground. "Hurry up, youngster!" cried Dan. Im patiently. "How do you break them?" inquired Ted. timidly touching tho egg with his paw. "Go at It with a rush," said tho older criminal. "Don't sit and look at It, silly. Givo It a good hard bite" Ted. thus encouraged, "went at it with a rush." Tho next moment ho was outside tho henhouse, coughing and sneezing himself black In the face. Tears ran from his eyes, and he howled with pain. "Oh, oh, oh!" ho groaued and sputtered. ''It had red pep-pepper In it!" The noise he made brought his master to the scene. "So you no the egg thief, are you?" said the latter. "I see you have got hold of the egg I purposely prepared for you. It serves you right. Master Ted." Poor Ted looked around for Dan to share his disgrace, only to find that worthy had disappeared. When the two dogs met again later in the day behind the barn, Ted's eyes were red and his nose and mouth smarted pain fully from the effects of the red pepper. "You are a nice-looking fellow!" ex claimed Dan, very much amused at Ted's appearance. "And you arc a cowardly dog!" retorted Ted, Indignantly. "Why did you go off and let me take the blame for eating all the eggs. Now they think I have been stealing for a long time and you get off scot free. And that red pepper was awful!" "Well, now'. you will know a peppered egg when you see It, Ted. I had to learn the same way." "Do you mean to say that you knew all the timo the brown egg had red pepper in It?" "Of course I did." said Dan. scornfully. lt had a hole at one end. Young dogs will never know anything till thev learn from experience," And Dan walked off wagging his tall. You are a horrid old hypocrite." growled Ted. "I'll get even with vou for this; sec if I don't!" ''No." said Annie, the cook, that even DAN. TED AND ing, when Ted sat up before her In the kitchen and begged to bo let Into the dining-room, where his master and mis tress were at supper. "No, Indeed, Ted, you cannot go In there. You've been stealing eggs, and all you will get for your supper will be a piece of bread. No bones for you tonight, you naughty dog!" Poor Ted! He felt he had been very badly treated as he sat out In the garden behind tho hollyhocks with the piece of bread Annie had given him lying on the ground before him. Ho remembered that the butcher had brought a piece of mut ton to the house that morning, and he adored mutton. Of course that wicked Dan was in the dining-room, getting plen ty of nice tit-bits and all the bones. However, not having had any dinner thay aay, una naving a ravenous appeuie in I spite of his troubles, Ted mude up Js f mind to eat hi bread, dry and unlnvi'ng though it certainly was. Just as he was about to commence, he heard a pit-a-pat along the garden path leading from the house, and the next, mo ment Dan came Into sight, carrying a largo -bone In his mouth. Ted kopt very quiet,, and hidden as he was by the holly The Stoiy of THIS Is the, story of a Christmas tree that saved the life of seven of us on a bitter December day. I had bought a schooner in Portland, Me. ono of those fine New England built craft that can outstay almost any storm and outrun the shops of almost any other country. My object was to load her In New York with all sorts of stuff clocks, medicines, cotton cloths, cutlery and a little of everything else and go trading down the San Bias coast and along the north coast of South Africa. When we got ready to start, there came a chance to do a little business in the way of Christmas trees a bolated lot that had been detained In tho woods by a railroad wreck. Owing to their late arrival In the port, they were practically worthless, for most of the dcalors had filled their ordors and no one wanted to touch therm In this predicament the owner came to me and said: "Sec here, captain. You are going to New York empty. Your vossel is fast, and with anything like fair weather, you should make port two days before Christmas. Now If you will carry my lot of trees you may sell them for what ever they will bring and send me half. Thus I will be saved from a total loss and you will make something for your trouble." That suited me first rate. We hurried, the trees aboard and set sail in one of those beautiful late December after noons, when the sea lies as still and smooth as a mid-Summer ocean. It was WITHIN TWENTY MIXtTES WE SAW THE GRACEFUL BOAT OF VSCVE SAM'S rXFKSAVKRS CXXStB OVER THE KWELXK. FLOSSIE. hocks, Dan did not' see him. A little farther on he laid down the bone. He sniffed around for a moment, then quickly dug a hole In one of the fiowcr beds, dropped the bone Into it. covered It up nastily, and fcampered off to the house.6 ow xea was a ongnt mue ternor, ana he took In the situation at once. "He does not want to miss the cake and pudding scraps," he thought, "and has burled the bone till he has time to enjoy It, Well, Master Dam, you can have my bread, and ril have your hone. 'Exchange Is not robbery! " An hour passed away, and It com menced to prow dark In the garden. Ted was still lying behind the holly hocks, and before him lay the well chewed remains of Dan's bone. He was waiting to see what Dan would do when he found his treasure gone. When Dan finally came trotting down the path. Tod was not .a little aston ished to see htm followed by Flossie, the beautiful white spitz, that lived In the next house. Wicked delight filled Ted's heart. Dan was evidently smit ten with the fair Flossie's charms, and had brought her here in order to pre a Life-Saving Christmas Tree bitter cold; however, and the light wind that drew from the northwest was cut ting as a whip. That night It continued to grow cold er and with the dawn the wind arose, till presently we were snoring through green seas' and carrying such a bone In our teeth that It was a delight to watch the vessel with the white seas cas cading on her bow continually. She proved all that I had expected of her. All day long, though the wind be came greater and greater, she bored her way steadily on. and even when the breeze had risen to half a gale she re mained so stiff that we carried every thing until sunset. . Every sail on-her.wiis stiff as a board and we overhauled and passed a Clyde built steamer o fast thttt bofore dark tho fellow's smoke could hardly be seen astern. Shortly after supper, however, the weather .got worse. It was half a gale no longer, but a full one, and we put reefs in and took in some of our top canvas. Despite this precaution, tho seas became so violent that at mid night they smashed two of our life boats, tearing thom boldly from tho davits and leaving only a few splint ered timbers hanging to the falls. Lat er a sea came abeam and carried our only remaining boat, a dinghy that was lashed on deck, clear from Its fasten ings and stove It against the main mast. However, with such a good vessel under us we didn't mind the loss of the boats much and we pushed right on. Well, we did so well that we raised the Long Islarid coast a full halt day ahead of our best calculations; and sent her with a large mutton bone. Ted could hardly restrain from rolling' ocr and over with joy. Dan -and he were quits Indeed! "Miss Flossie," said Dan, in his. lord ly way, "if you will sit down and wait, ril dig it up for you." Flossie did as requested, her fair face lighted up with eager anticipation. She liked mutton bones. The expression on Dan's face was a very comical one when he dug up a piece of dry bread instead of what he expected to find. "Well, I never," was all ho could say. It was only Ted, however, who en joyed tho humorous side of the affair. Flossie's disappointed appetite affect ed her temper. Without a word to the discomfited Dan. she curled her beautiful tall' well over her shapely back, tilted hr aristocratic nose high in the air, and trotted home. When Ted crept quietly away from behind the hollyhocks. 10 minutes later, he left Dan still sitting In front of tho hole In the ground, gazing with a sorrowful, mystified air at the piece of bread. then all at once a white sea fog shut down. It was not the kind without wind. Although the .gale had gone, there was breeze enough and to spare. For five hours we drove through It blindly. From my station on the aftcrdeck I could not sec tho lookout at the bow, and I could see our foremast only as a vague shape. ,. . k.cpt the horn Eoing faithfully, and listened sharply for the idirfcii nr nth.. vessels. Several tiroes we passed ships """"" wiuiout seeing them, but "o ttiia wuuues ioia us tnat they i were a' safe distance off Th.n denly wc heard a blast right ahead of us. erea me neim hard down Instantly and the good schooner answered It as quickly as a high-strung hOrsc would. But It was too late. A dim mass loomed over 'us, and th- next Instant wc heeled, while our main topmast came down with a smash a tramp steamer had hit us full and fair on the port quarter. The vessel backed off again Immedi ately, but not before T had spied the name on her bow. Even while 'the top hamper was still rattling down and com ing about our ears. I shouted to the steamer to stand by; but there was no answer except a confused shouting and then the sound of her screw got fainter and fainter as she ran off. Quickly wc got a tarpaulin over the rent In our side and so checked the In rush of water temporarily, till wo could clear away the wreckage that threatened to beat another hole In our side. But It was only too plain that our schooner was done for. While part of the crew labored at the pump and others chopped the topmast and gear loose and let it drive off In the sea, I pointed the vessel straight toward the Long Island beach. According to my calculation we should have been about abreast of the Fire Island light when wc were struck, and I hoped that wo could get close enough Jn to attract tho attention cf the llfc-savers our only hope since our boats were gone. ' "Well, she sank fast, but despife It she still sailed wonderfully welL Just before dusk, the weather cleared and wo could see the beach, very far away. I ordered the signal gun to be fired at once, but to my horror discovered that It had been carried away when the mast went. By this time the schooner had settled so that her rail was awash, and we all had to climb up on top of the cabin. The cold soon began to overcome us, for we had all been well soaked dur ing the work of clearing the wreckage. I realized that no one would be likely to sight our sunken hull, and as the cold was getting worse and the sea was rising again, I knew that we were in a desperate case. Then a lucky idea came to me. Our first mate had saved a big Christmas tree and lashed it on the cabin ton to take home to his children. I gave orders to tie It to one of the ropes of the main mast and then set fire to It. As soon as It burned up well we hoisted It to the top of the mast, and It made a mighty flare in the darkling sky. Well, within 20 minutes we saw the beautiful, graceful boat of "Cncle Sam's llfesavers climb over the swells, and be fore 7 "o'clock that night we were in the station, safe and sound. And I made that steamer pay me for that schooner and the Christmas trees, too. PHRlsbcd. Ther was a boy who Mid: "There Is No Saata. Gisi ax all And Krhca the ret of u cot tftt. Why. h cot aoxft at all! MARGY was crying and the Boy looked serious and dismal indeed. "She said she said." Margy sobbed, "that there wasn't any Santy Claus at all. and that our fathers and mothers sot all our presents for us. and that Santy was all humbug, just a sort of xnakebelieve, to fool the little tadd. And-she said Sara Pickett, did. that you and me was to old to b'lleve in such nonsense." The Boy grew soberer and. soberer. "Margy," he said, after a long time of thinking. "It we . gottcr give him up. we just gotten But first lets ask. father. He's coming pp the lane now. with a load of pumpkins. Father came In from the bam and up the steps like a boy. He whistled as he : took off his Jumper and put on his coat. Ho whistled as he came down the hall way. Then, as he caught sight of the j two solemn faces at the door of tne i sitting-room, one of them swollen and tear-stained, he stopped his whistle. "Hullo, youngsters; what's up? Mar gy. Margy, you'll never be u. man it you cry." Father picked her up tenderly in his strong arms and right away the ache at her heart filt better. "Sara Pickett said there wasn't any Santy Claus. and we wis Jus foolish to think so. Only babies believed In him." The smile died out of father's .face. He said: "So Sara Pickett said that, did she? Poor Sara Pickett! Let's go In by the fire and talk it over." With Margy on his arm and the boy holding to his free hand. they, went Into the cosy sitting-room, where the wood fire was snapping and crackling, and the flames were leaping and making Jolly shadows In the corners where the "Win ter dusk, bad begun to creep. "Let's see." jtald father, as he settled Into the big armchair with a child on cither side. "Let's see. We were talk ing about Santa. Claus. Shan I tell you a story?" "Ob, yes. father." "Well, long, long ago there was a good huhop. and his name was Nicholas, and he lived In a far-away country. He loved children with all his heart, and the little girls and boys used to follow where he went on his walks through the town, and the littlest ones he would carry, and the bigger ones would hold onto the skirts of his gown In a ring around him. and he" would talk with them and laugh with them and teach them songs to sing. "Then sometimes he would find a sunny corner In the square, and the youngsters would cluster all about him, and he would tell them wonderful stories. The children would poke around In his pockets and find candy and things. "Always on Christmas day ho would put on a special coat, very big and long and full of pockets, and every pocket would be full to the brim with all the things that children love." "Dolls?" said Margy. "Skates and rifles?" asked the boy. "All the things," said father. "Maybe no rifles, because that was before they were Invented. But. anyway, he was funny-looking, all knobby and bunchy. The Great 0 NE day early In December a band of peddlers drove through Tinkle- town with crates full of geese. "Fine Christmas birds! Fine Christmas birds!" shouted they, and when the people ran from their houses to see. they praised the geese and told all the folk how good they would be to cat, till evcrybody bought some. The people of Tinkletown immediately began to feed the geese with everything that was nice, and soon the birds gut big and fat. so that every day the burgo master and the beadle and the school master and the town clerk would shake hands with each other and say: . "How smart wc were to buy these Christmas birds! How our mouths water at the thought of the splendid roast3 that they will make!" But one week before Christmas the weather got very warm indeed so warm that the ice melted from the ponds all around Tinkletown. When tho geese were let out that morning they waddled and flew, cackling like anything, to the water, jumped Into It and began to swim around In joy. All the peoDle of Tinkletown who saw it began to lament and weep, and they rushed to the house of the Mayor and cried: "Tho Christmas birds are trying to drown themselves! The Christmas birds are trying to drown themselves!" "Goodness!" said the Mayor. "You would better ring the lircbcll and call out the volunteers." The volunteers came running, dressing themselves In their uniforms as they ran. This made It somewhat awkward for them to hurry, because the tailor, who was the fire chief, got tangled up in his coat so that it was all around his face, and thus he happened to run Into the shoemaker, wlio was the second assistant flrepnil carrier, and the two fell down. The butcher, who was carrying a ladder, fell. on top of them, and by the time everybody was straightened out the geese had swum to the very middle of the pond and did not pay any attention whatever tn the town gooseherd. who stood on the bank, crying kindly: "Here. Christmas birds! Here, sweet Christmas birds! If you get wet ftet you may get sore throats, and think bow "SO SARA MCKETT SAID THAT. Ho wouldn't say a word, but just walk around to the sunny corner of the square. All the poor children who had no Christ mas at home would come running and call: " Tather Nicholas! Have you a gift for me? And he. always had-. "One Christmas a little girl who was so poor that she had to go barefoot In the Winter, found a pair of beautiful shoes In one of his pockets. She slipped them on, and then looked up with a shining face and said: " 'I think you must be a saint. Father Nicholas. "And after that they called him St, Nicholas. "When the grown people asked why he spent his money In such, a foolish way, he would say. very grave- and sober: i " 'I do It In the name of the Christ Child. "Well, at last good old St. Nicholas, died, and all the children cried, and all the fathers and mothers cried, toe. Be fore the next Christmas came around tho grown-ups put their. heads together and said: " 'The body of St. Nicholas Is gone, but we must not lot his soul go from us. Let us keep his spirit In our hearts, each of us. Then he can never die. Christmas Bird bad sore throats will be with necks as long as yours!" The geese, however, did not look at him at all.. "Thank heaven you are here!" said the gooseherd to the volunteer firemen. "Now you can save them!" "How so?" asked the tailor, indignantly. "What do you mean by sending for us? There is no Are around them and wd can not do anything In the matter." "What you need." said the shoemaker, "is a life-saving .crew. If you bad more learning you would know that without being told." "You are right." said the schoolmaster, who had arrived by this time. "If our burgomaster had taken my advice long ago we would have one now and we could save the poor Christmas birds.'. The burgomaster scratched his head and said: "But you never advised me to get up a life-saving crew." "Of course not," said the schoolmaster. "You would not have taken the advice anyway, so it Is your fault just the same." "That Is right," said all the people. "If only our schoolmaster's advice had been followed!" Just then three men from Nickletown came along, and when they heard and saw what had happened they said- to the people of Tinkletown: "You may well consider yourselves lucky that these birds are out In the water where they cannot barm you. Have you not noticed that lately they have been Inclined to hiss at you when you ap proached them?" "Yes." said all tho people. "Well." said the three men of Nickle town, "that Is because they always go mad at this time of the year. It Is this also which makes them so pale. If they were healthy they should be a fine glossy black, like the birds which wc have in our sacks." And with that they opened their three great sacks and showed the people of Tinkletown a huge number of crows which they had caught in the fields and were transporting to Nickle town, where they would fetch 5 cents each for their feathers. "Goodness me!" groaned the burgo master. "What shall we do?" "Seeing It Is you." said the three men of Nickletown. "we will catch your Christmas birds because we have had experience in those things, and may be able to do so without being killed: and "SAVE THE TOOK CKXI5TXA5 BIRDS." n A DID SHE? TOOK SARA PICKETT!" "So from that time, every Christinas, the spirit of St. Nicholas comes round and knocks at the doors of the hearts of all the people and says: " 'Remember St. Nicholas, and let his soul live through yours." "Now Santa Claus is just the Dutch name for St. Nicholas a kind of pet name, because they loved him so. And so, you see ' although the body -of " St. Nicholas died, his soul lives on and on always In the hearts of the fathers and mothers and aunts and uncles and cou sins, and even brothers and sisters. And you can tell that to Sara Pickett." Margy and tho boy looked up with happy eyes. The story made things so plain and true and lovelier than the old way of believing. But a new thought bad struck the boy. "Will he live In our hearts, too, father Margy's and miner "He surely will. If you let him." "Margy," whispered the boy, as they lay In 'their beds and all the lights were out; "let's you and me earn, some Christ mas money and be a Santa Claus' spirit to father and mother." "Let's," said Margy from her corner of the room. And" they both went wandering In the Land of Pleasant Dreams. of Tinkletown we will tako them with us and you may have these fine healthy black ones to show that we are neighborly." "Isn't that splendid?" cried all tho peo ple, and they immediately fell nn tt crow3 and carried them off, leaving tho cunning men of Nickletown to wait till the geese swam ashore, when they hastily drove them off, chuckling, and all Nlckle-' town went mad with delight when it' heard the story. Tho people of Tinkletown were so ovcr lC!d,at SetUnS Hne healthy Christmas birds in exchange for bad ones that they invited the Grand Duke and all his re tainers to have Christmas dinner with them. On Christmas morning all the great guests arrived, hungry as bears, for the Grand Duke had given orders that no one should eat a thing, in order to preserve a fine appetite. Everybody's mouth watered when the roasted birds were brought In, but at the first bite the Grand Duke jumped" up. sputtering and spitting, and shouted wrathfully: "To horse! To horse! I am poisoned!" The people of Tinkletown fell -on their, knees, and the Grand Duke and his re tainers galloped away and did not draw rein until they had arrived at Nickle town. Hero the Grand Duke said to the Bur gomaster, who had come to welcome him: "For goodness sake.don't talk! Have you anything to eat?" "Certainly," said the Burgomaster of Nickletown. giggling. "We have some very tine geese from Tinkletown." And then while all the people of Nickletown' laughed like anything he told how tho cunning men had exchanged crows for geese. The Grand Duke's brow furled more and more, and when the story was done ho roared: "So I am indebted to you for nearly being poisoned, eh? Seize them guards!" The guards seized all lb. rwnnt r -Nickletown. and then, at the Duke's or ders, tney packed up all tho roast geese and hurried to Tinkletown with the pris oners. Here the Grand Duke told the people of Tinkletown what they had done "Now." said, he. "I find it hard indeed to forgive you for nearly poisoning me, but if you will tell me something very wise to do to the people of Nickletown I will grant you pardon." The Burgomaster of Tinkletown laid his finger alongside of his nose. "This is Christmas." said he, "and w should love one another at this season. Let us overlook bygones and invite th good people of Nickletown to sit down to dinner with us.' And in proof of the fact that there Is perfect good feeling among us we will let them have all our niceli roasted crows, and we will, help youi Royal Highness eat up their geese." "That Is truly a wise' Idea." said th Grand Duke, "and I will see that the people of Nickletown eat up every scrac of crow." T AnoVso they had to, and it did not pleasr them at all. St. Nicholas. In some parts of Europe the .children have a feast of presents before Christ- mas, -because the people celebrate a das that they call St. Nicholas day, which is on December 6. On the night of December 5, the chil-, dren clean their shoes and palish them tin they shine. Then they put -them on a table or Into the'chlmney corner, and oats or hay are put Into each shoe as food for the white horse that St. Nicholas rides when he goes from chimney to chimney. Next morning the children hurry to their shoes to find to their joy that the horse has eaten all the food and" that good St, Nicholas has filled the" shoes with cakes, candies and toys. If. If little boys could only buy A rubber stocking- on the sly. How happy they would be. because It would please dear old Santa Claus! - If little boys could only make Their tummies so thcr would not ache. Then they could cat with much more hast And no good food would so to waste. , If little boys could only est - - . The clfts on which their hearts are yet. They would have things both bis and. sSaall That now they sever set at all. 4.