Jonas on a Farm in Winter | Page 7

must go on with our work."
At a little distance farther on, they saw another track. It was larger than
the first, and not so regular.
"What sort of a track is that?" said Josey.
"I don't know," said Oliver; "it looks like a dog's track; but I shouldn't
think there would be a dog out here in the woods."
They found that this track followed the road along for some distance.
The animal which made it, seemed sometimes to have gone in the
middle of the road, and sometimes out at the side; and Jonas said that
he had passed there since they went down with the first load of wood.
"How do you know?" said Oliver.
"Because," said Jonas, "his track is made upon the broken snow, in the
middle of the road."
They watched the track for some time, and then they lost sight of it.
Presently, however, they saw it again.

"I wonder which way he went," said Oliver.
"I'll jump off, and look at the track," said Jonas.
So saying, he jumped off the sled, and examined the track.
"He went up," said Jonas, "the same way that we are going. It may be a
dog which has lost his master. Perhaps we shall find him up by our
wood piles."
Jonas was right, for, when the boys arrived at the wood piles, they
found there, waiting for them, a large black dog. He stood near one end
of a wood pile, with his fore feet upon a log, by which his head and
shoulders were raised, so that he could see better who was coming. He
was of handsome form, and he had an intelligent and good-natured
expression of countenance. He was looking very intently at the party
coming up, to see whether his master was among them.
"Whose dog is that?" said Josey.
"I don't know," said Oliver; "I never saw him before."
"I wonder what his name is," said Josey. "Here! Towzer, Towzer,
Towzer," said he.
"Here! Caesar, Caesar, Caesar," said Oliver.
"Pompey, Pompey, Pompey," said Jonas.
[Illustration: "He was looking very intently at the party coming up, to
see whether his master was among them."]
The dog remained motionless in his position, until, just as the boys had
finished their calls, and as the foremost sled was drawn pretty near him,
he suddenly wheeled around with a leap, and bounded away through
the snow, for half the length of the first wood pile, and then stopped,
and again looked round.
"I wish we had something for him to eat," said Jonas.

"I've got a piece of bread and butter," said Josey. "I went in and got it
when you and Oliver were unloading."
So Josey took his bread and butter out of his pocket. There were two
small slices put together, and folded up in a piece of paper. Jonas took a
piece, and walked slowly towards the dog.
"Here! Franco, Franco," said Jonas.
"He's coming," said Josey, who remained with Oliver at the sled.
The dog was slowly and timidly approaching the bread which Jonas
held out towards him.
"He's coming," said Josey. "His name is Franco. I wonder how Jonas
knew."
"Franco, Franco," said Jonas again. "Come here, Franco. Good
Franco!"
The dog came timidly up to Jonas, and took the bread and butter from
Josey's hand, and devoured it eagerly. While he was doing it, Jonas
patted him on the head.
"He's very hungry," said Jonas; "bring the rest of your bread and butter,
Josey."
So Josey brought the rest of his luncheon, and the dog ate it all.
After this, he seemed to be quite at ease with his new friends. He staid
about there with the boys until the sleds were loaded, and then he went
down home with them. There they fed him again with a large bone.
Jonas said that he was undoubtedly a dog that had lost his master, and
had been wandering about to find him, until he became very hungry. So
he said they would leave him in the yard to gnaw his bone, and that
then he would probably go away. Josey wanted to shut him up and keep
him, but Jonas said it would be wrong.
So the boys left the dog gnawing his bone, and went up after another

load; but before they had half loaded their sleds, Oliver saw Franco
coming, bounding up the road, towards them. He came up to Jonas, and
stood before him, looking up into his face and wagging his tail.
CHAPTER III.
FRANCO
Franco followed the boys all that forenoon, as they went back and forth
for their wood. At dinner, they did not say any thing about him to the
farmer, because they supposed that he would go away, when they came
in and