Part 13 (1/2)
”And tell us more anecdotes?” chimed in Jack.
”I promise,” said Mr. Hartshorn.
Ernest, Harry, and Theron were boys of the type that love to collect facts and figures, and they had recently been doing some reading on the subject of the breeds of dogs. They discussed the matter all the way home, becoming quite excited now and then over disputed points.
”Mr. Hartshorn said that Rags didn't belong to any regular breed,”
said Jimmie Rogers as the boys separated, ”but I don't care. There ought to be a breed like him, anyway, 'cause there isn't any better dog anywhere. Rags is good enough for me.”
”That's right,” cried the other boys in chorus. ”You stick to Rags.
He's all right, whatever the books say. Good-by, Rags. So long, Jim.”
CHAPTER VIII
DOG DAYS
By June both Romulus and Remus were in full health again and Mr.
Whipple admitted that they began to look like real English setters.
They were puppies still, full of fun and mischief, but their coats had lost some of their fuzzy, silky character and their bodies had lengthened and filled out. They had gained a greater control over their muscles and in their gambols about the yard they had acquired considerable speed. Sam b.u.mpus came down again to look at them and p.r.o.nounced them likely-looking youngsters.
”They've got some growin' to do yet,” said he, ”but they're gainin'
bone and speed every day, and the first thing you know you'll have two fine bird dogs, or I don't know what I'm talking about.”
They also displayed increasing devotion to their masters and had begun to develop, to a certain extent, the qualities of watchdogs.
It was about this time that Jack Whipple made an extraordinary and alarming discovery. He noticed one day that Remus was having some sort of trouble with his mouth, as though he had perhaps got a piece of bone wedged in his teeth. He worked his jaws in a laughable manner and poked at them with his paw. Then he shook his head, ejected a small white object, and appeared relieved.
Thinking it must be a piece of bone, Jack picked it up and examined it. It was a tooth! He called Ernest, and after poking about in Rome, they discovered another tooth in the sawdust beside the food dish.
They proceeded to examine both dogs, and in Romulus's mouth they found another loose tooth which came out in Ernest's fingers.
”Why,” cried Jack, ”they're losing all their teeth. How will they eat?
How can they do anything?”
Ernest was equally puzzled, and that evening they told their father about it. He also seemed perplexed.
”I'm afraid I can't help you,” said he. ”You'd better consult Tom Poultice or Sam b.u.mpus. Perhaps there's some disease that loosens dogs' teeth. Possibly it's the result of the distemper. I understand there are sometimes after-effects of that, such as deafness, and it may cause a dropping of the teeth. You'd better see about it before it goes any further.”
The boys had been planning for some little time to take the two dogs up to Sam's shack, since they now seemed old and strong enough to stand the journey, and it would be good fun for all concerned. So Ernest sent Sam word that they were coming, and on a bright, warm Sat.u.r.day morning the four of them set out.
The sky was clear and blue, a light breeze tempered the warmth of the brilliant suns.h.i.+ne, and it was a joy just to be alive and out in the open. The boys had their hands full, for Romulus and Remus had never before enjoyed so much liberty, and they did not always answer promptly the recalling whistle. The world, this great, new world, seemed to hold so many sights and sounds and scents to interest a dog that their impulse was to keep going and searching and never turn back. But it was a pleasure just to watch the zest with which they investigated every thicket and hillock. As they trotted along, twisting and doubling and turning, their noses held now high, sniffing the breeze, now close to the ground, they seemed to develop something of that lithe grace of movement that characterized the actions of their mother and old Nan.
When they arrived at their destination, the dogs were at first much excited by the presence of so many others of their kind, but after a little while they were glad to take a long drink of water and to rest on the floor of the shack.
Sam, as usual, was smiling and cordial. ”They're comin' on; they're comin' on,” said he, patting the young dogs and observing their sinewy limbs, their sensitive nostrils, and their soft, intelligent eyes. ”Been teachin' 'em to hunt on the way up?”
The boys were forced to admit that they had made little progress with the vocational training of Romulus and Remus.