Beautiful Joe by Marshall Saunders (most important books of all time txt) 📕

time of night, to have your own dog and a quiet

minister's spaniel dog a chasing you through the street?"

 

Jenkins began to swear and would not tell them anything. There was a

house in the garden, and just at this minute some one opened a window

and called out: "Hallo, there, what are you doing?"

 

"We're catching a thief, sir," said one of the policemen, "leastwise I

think that's what he's been up to. Could you throw us down a bit of

rope? We've no handcuffs here, and one of us has to go to the lock-up

and the other to Washington street, where there's a woman yelling blue

murder; and hurry up, please, sir."

 

The gentleman threw down a rope, and in two minutes Jenkins' wrists were

tied together, and he was walked through the gate, saying bad words as

fast as he could to the policeman who was leading him. "Good dogs," said

the other policeman to Jim and me. Then he ran up the street and we

followed him.

 

As we hurried along Washington street, and came near our house, we saw

lights gleaming through the darkness, and heard people running to and

fro. The nurse's shrieking had alarmed the neighborhood. The Morris boys

were all out in the street only half clad and shivering with cold, and

the Drurys' coachman, with no hat on, and his hair sticking up all over

his head, was running about with a lantern.

 

The neighbors' houses were all lighted up, and a good many people were

hanging out of their windows and opening their doors, and calling to

each other to know what all this noise meant.

 

When the policeman appeared with Jim and me at his heels, quite a crowd

gathered around him to hear his part of the story. Jim and I dropped on

the ground panting as hard as we could, and with little streams of water

running from our tongues. We were both pretty well used up. Jim's back

was bleeding in several places from the stones that Jenkins had thrown

at him, and I was a mass of bruises.

 

Presently we were discovered, and then what a fuss was made over us.

"Brave dogs! noble dogs!" everybody said, and patted and praised us. We

were very proud and happy, and stood up and wagged our tails, at least

Jim did, and I wagged what I could. Then they found what a state we were

Mrs. Morris cried, and catching me up in her arms, ran in the house

with me, and Jack followed with old Jim.

 

We all went into the parlor. There was a good fire there, and Miss Laura

and Miss Bessie were sitting over it. They sprang up when they saw us,

and right there in the parlor washed our wounds, and made us lie down by

the fire.

 

"You saved our silver, brave Joe," said Miss Bessie; "just wait till my

papa and mamma come home, and see what they will say. Well, Jack, what

is the latest?" as the Morris boys came trooping into the room.

 

"The policeman has been questioning your nurse, and examining the

dining-room, and has gone down to the station to make his report, and do

you know what he has found out?" said Jack, excitedly.

 

"No--what?" asked Miss Bessie.

 

"Why that villain was going to burn your house."

 

Miss Bessie gave a little shriek. "Why, what do you mean?"

 

"Well," said Jack, "they think by what they discovered, that he planned

to pack his bag with silver, and carry it off; but just before he did so

he would pour oil around the room, and set fire to it, so people would

not find out that he had been robbing you."

 

"Why we might have all been burned to death," said Miss Bessie. "He

couldn't burn the dining-room without setting fire to the rest of the

house."

 

"Certainly not," said Jack, that shows what a villain he is."

 

"Do they know this for certain, Jack?" asked Miss Laura.

 

"Well, they suppose so; they found some bottles of oil along with the

bag he had for the silver."

 

"How horrible! You darling old Joe, perhaps you saved our lives," and

pretty Miss Bessie kissed my ugly, swollen head. I could do nothing but

lick her little hand, but always after that I thought a great deal of

her.

 

It is now some years since all this happened, and I might as well tell

the end of it. The next day the Drurys came home, and everything was

found out about Jenkins. The night they left Fairport he had been

hanging about the station. He knew just who were left in the house, for

he had once supplied them with milk, and knew all about their family. He

had no customers at this time, for after Mr. Harry rescued me, and that

piece came out in the paper about him, he found that no one would take

milk from him. His wife died, and some kind people put his children in

an asylum, and he was obliged to sell Toby and the cows. Instead of

learning a lesson from all this, and leading a better life, he kept

sinking lower.

 

He was, therefore, ready for any kind of mischief that turned up, and

when he saw the Drurys going away in the train, he thought he would

steal a bag of silver from their sideboard, then set fire to the house,

and run away and hide the silver. After a time he would take it to some

city and sell it.

 

He was made to confess all this. Then for his wickedness he was sent to

prison for ten years, and I hope he will get to be a better man there,

and be one after he comes out.

 

I was sore and stiff for a long time, and one day Mrs. Drury came over

to see me. She did not love dogs as the Morrises did. She tried to, but

she could not.

 

Dogs can see fun in things as well as people can, and I buried my muzzle

in the hearth-rug, so that she would not see how I was curling up my lip

and smiling at her.

 

"You--are--a--good--dog," she said, slowly. "You are"--then she stopped,

and could not think of anything else to say to me. I got up and stood in

front of her, for a well-bred dog should not lie down when a lady speaks

to him. I wagged my body a little, and I would gladly have said

something to help her out of her difficulty, but I couldn't. If she had

stroked me it might have helped her; but she didn't want to touch me,

and I knew she didn't want me to touch her, so I just stood looking at

her.

 

"Mrs. Morris," she said, turning from me with a puzzled face, "I don't

like animals, and I can't pretend to, for they always find me out; but

can't you let that dog know that I shall feel eternally grateful to him

for saving not only our property--for that is a trifle--but my darling

daughter from fright and annoyance, and a possible injury or loss of

life?"

 

"I think he understands," said Mrs. Morris. "He is a very wise dog." And

smiling in great amusement, she called me to her and put my paws on her

lap. "Look at that lady, Joe. She is pleased with you for driving

Jenkins away from her house. You remember Jenkins?"

 

I barked angrily and limped to the window.

 

"How intelligent he is," said Mrs. Drury. "My husband has sent to New

York for a watchdog, and he says that from this on our house shall never

be without one. Now I must go. Your dog is happy, Mrs. Morris, and I can

do nothing for him, except to say that I shall never forget him, and I

wish he would come over occasionally to see us. Perhaps when we get our

dog he will. I shall tell my cook whenever she sees him to give him

something to eat. This is a souvenir for Laura of that dreadful night. I

feel under a deep obligation to you, so I am sure you will allow her to

accept it." Then she gave Mrs. Morris a little box and went away.

 

When Miss Laura came in, she opened the box, and found in it a handsome

diamond ring. On the inside of it was engraved: "Laura, in memory of

December 20th, 18--. From her grateful friend, Bessie."

 

The diamond was worth hundreds of dollars, and Mrs. Morris told Miss

Laura that she had rather she would not wear it then, while she was a

young girl. It was not suitable for her, and she knew Mrs. Drury did not

expect her to do so. She wished to give her a valuable present, and this

would always be worth a great deal of money.

 

 

 

 

 

       *       *       *       *       *

CHAPTER XV (OUR JOURNEY TO RIVERDALE)

 

Every other summer, the Morris children were sent to some place in the

country, so that they could have a change of air, and see what country

life was like. As there were so many of them they usually went different

ways.

 

The summer after I came to them, Jack and Carl went to an uncle in

Vermont, Miss Laura went to another in New Hampshire, and Ned and Willie

went to visit a maiden aunt who lived in the White Mountains.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Morris stayed at home. Fairport was a lovely place in

summer, and many people came there to visit.

 

The children took some of their pets with them, and the others they left

at home for their mother to take care of. She never allowed them to take

a pet animal anywhere, unless she knew it would be perfectly welcome.

"Don't let your pets be a worry to other people," she often said to

them, "or they will dislike them and you too."

 

Miss Laura went away earlier than the others, for she had run down

through the spring, and was pale and thin. One day, early in June, we

set out. I say "we," for after my adventure with Jenkins, Miss Laura

said that I should never be parted from her. If any one invited her to

come and see them and didn't want me, she would stay at home.

 

The whole family went to the station to see us off. They put a chain on

my collar and took me to the baggage office and got two tickets for me.

One was tied to my collar and the other Miss Laura put in her purse.

Then I was put in a baggage car and chained in a corner. I heard Mr.

Morris say that as we were only going a short distance, it was not worth

while to get an express ticket for me.

 

There was a dreadful noise and bustle at the station. Whistles were

blowing and people were rushing up and down the platform. Some men were

tumbling baggage so fast into the car where I was, that I was afraid

some of it would fall on me.

 

For a few minutes Miss Laura stood by the door and looked in, but soon

the men had piled up so many boxes and trunks that she could not see me.

Then she went away. Mr. Morris asked one of the men to see that I did

not get hurt, and I heard some money rattle. Then he went away too.

 

It was the beginning of June and the weather had suddenly become very

hot. We had a long, cold spring, and not being used to the heat, it

seemed very hard to bear.

 

Before the train started, the doors of the baggage car were closed, and

it became quite dark inside. The darkness, and the heat, and the close

smell, and the noise, as we went rushing along, made me feel sick and

frightened.

 

I did not dare to lie down, but sat up trembling and wishing that we

might soon come to Riverdale Station. But we did not get there for some

time, and