Baldy of Nome | Page 5

the firing line."
"That's the kind, ma'am. Mebbe you know Bishop Rowe. That's what
he preaches--jest doin' your best all the time, like you was in some big
race. When he's in Nome I allers go t' St. Mary's. He talks plain an'
simple, an' cheers you up--I guess kinda the way Lincoln talked--jest
like he knew all about people's troubles an' didn't blame 'em fer
mistakes, but wanted t' help 'em t' do better. Sometimes his talks don't
sound smooth, an' made up beforehand, but you never forgit 'em."
"Eloquence of the heart instead of the tongue," murmured the Woman.
"An' last August I went every night fer near a week, when Mr.
Wickersham was talkin' men inter sendin' him t' Washington, no matter
what they felt an' said agin his goin' when he wasn't before 'em."
"You have certainly had a variety of orators, and a wide range of
subjects."

"You kin see I ain't missed a single chanct t' hear any of 'em since I
made up my mind t' be a great man"--and then appalled by his lengthy
burst of eloquence the child colored violently and concluded in
confusion--"an' this mornin' I got so interested in them speeches o'
Daly's an' Fink's, I must 'a' lost all track o' time, fer when I come out it
was noon, an' Baldy was gone."
"You must indeed have been absorbed to forget Baldy. Where did you
find him?"
"One o' the school kids told me the pound-man had got him, so I went
over t' the pound on the Sand Spit as fast as I could run. I explained t'
the man that Baldy wasn't a Nome dog; that we live five miles out at
Golconda--but he said he was gittin' pretty sick o' that excuse. That no
boy's dog ever really lived in Nome, so fur's he could find out; that all
of 'em was residin' in the suburbs, an' only come in t' spend a day now
an' then."
"It's a strange thing," mused the Woman, "that all pound-men are
sarcastic and sceptical. It seems an inevitable part of their occupation.
They never believed me when I was a little girl, either. Then what?"
"He said the only thing that concerned him was that Baldy was in town
when he found him, and hadn't no license. Besides, he thought the dog
was vicious 'cause he growled when the wire was around his neck.
Pretty near any dog 'ud do that ef he had any spirit in him; an' Baldy's
jest full o' spirit."
Both the Woman and "Scotty" looked involuntarily at Baldy who stood,
dejected and uneasy; and then exchanged a glance in which amusement
and pity struggled for expression.
"The pound-man said ef I didn't pay the $2.50 t' git him out, an' another
$2.50 t' git him a license, he'd sell the dog along with a lot o' others he'd
ketched durin' the week. I tuk Mother's money, an' what the cook give
me, an' got Baldy out, an' bought him a license so's he'd be safe nex'
time. Now," sadly, "there ain't goin' t' be any nex' time."

"There really did not seem to be any other way out of it for the
moment," observed the Woman sympathetically.
"No, ma'am, but it wasn't very honest t' use the cook's money, ner
Mother's; it'll take a long time t' pay 'em back, an' I guess Mother won't
have much patience with Baldy after this. I wouldn't mind gittin'
punished myself, but I don't want him blamed. He'd be a lot better off
with you, Mr. Allan; an' mebbe ef you'd feed him up, an' give him a
chanct, he'd be a racer some day. He'd never lay down on you, an',"
almost defiantly, "he's got good legs."
"Scotty" felt the dog's legs, and noted the breadth of his chest. "What
do you want for him, Ben?"
"Would ten dollars be too much?" asked the boy, eagerly.
"Ten dollars would be too little," quickly exclaimed the Woman. "You
see we are getting ahead of all the others who do not know his fine
points yet, and we should be willing to pay something extra for this
opportunity. Do you think that twenty-five dollars would be fair,
considering that we are in on the ground floor?"
"Yes, ma'am, that's lots more'n I expected. But it ain't so much the
money I'm gittin' as the home he's gittin' an' the trainin' an' all."
"Well, that's a bargain, then; come to my husband's office--Darling and
Dean, on Front Street, you know--the first time you are in town, and we
will give you a check; and you can bring Baldy with you then."
"I guess," slowly, "you'd better take him now. It 'ud be easier fer me t'
let him go