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diff --git a/old/66006-0.txt b/old/66006-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 371ece6..0000000 --- a/old/66006-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3676 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Billy Whiskers Jr., by Frances Trego -Montgomery - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Billy Whiskers Jr. - -Author: Frances Trego Montgomery - -Illustrator: W. H. Fry - -Release Date: August 8, 2021 [eBook #66006] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David E. Brown and The Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BILLY WHISKERS JR. *** - - -[Illustration: HE RUSHED UPON THE TREACHEROUS INDIAN.] - - - - - BILLY WHISKERS JR. - - _AKRON, OHIO._ - _THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING CO._ - _NEW YORK._ _CHICAGO._ - - COPYRIGHT, 1904 - BY - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY. - - - - - THIS BOOK - IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED - TO - MY LITTLE GODSON, - JACK HANSON MICHENER. - - - - -_CONTENTS_ - - - NIGHT GROWS TIRED OF THE FARM 7 - - WESTWARD HO! 14 - - THE COLLISION 21 - - BILLY JR. GETS A TASTE OF THE WEST 30 - - BILLY JR. AS LEADER OF THE SHEEP 37 - - A FIGHT WITH WOLVES 43 - - BILLY LEARNS SOMETHING ABOUT COWBOYS AND INDIANS 50 - - BILLY JR. AND THE FIREMEN 62 - - BILLY, THE CHRISTMAS TREE, AND THE IRISHWOMAN 71 - - BILLY JR. HAS SOME NEW EXPERIENCES 79 - - BILLY JR. AND STUBBY 89 - - SMALL ADVENTURES 96 - - THE MIDNIGHT FIRE 103 - - THE BULL-FIGHT 110 - - THE ESCAPE 115 - - THE VOLCANO 123 - - AN UNEXPECTED TRIP 134 - - - - -_Illustrations_ - - - PAGE - - HE RUSHED UPON THE TREACHEROUS INDIAN _Frontispiece_ - - THERE WAS A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION AND THEY FELT THEMSELVES - BEING HURLED THROUGH SPACE 20 - - HE FELT HIMSELF PINIONED ON A PAIR OF LONG SHARP HORNS 40 - - THE MAN MADE A GRAB FOR THE GREASED POLE AND DOWN HE WENT 60 - - BILLY GAVE ONE LEAP WHICH CARRIED HIM AHEAD OF THE DOG 80 - - IN THE VERY CENTER STOOD LITTLE DUKE 100 - - - - -_Night Grows Tired of the Farm._ - - -Night had not been home more than three weeks when he commenced to get -restless and tired of the quiet life on the farm. It was such a change -from the adventurous, exciting life he had been leading that he did not -know what to do with himself. This going to bed with the chickens and -getting up with the sun, with nothing to do all day long but graze in -the pasture or sleep in the shade, did not suit him; so he whispered to -Day one day: - -“This life is driving me mad. I am going away the first chance I get. I -have it all planned. Come over here by the stream and I will tell you -all about it.” - -“Oh, Night, don’t go away and leave us! It will be so lonely without -you. Why! I think it is perfectly lovely here; it is so clean and -quiet, and then we know we are not going to be hurt or starved one day -and petted and stuffed the next, like we were when traveling.” - -“I know, dear, but you are a girl and like the quiet, while I am a boy -and like adventures. Why! I like to get into scrapes just for the fun -of getting out of them. Besides, there is another reason why you like -it here. You need not think I have not noticed how that handsome goat -with the long hair and curved horns almost as long as my own, makes -sheep’s eyes at you, for I have. And so, Miss Day, you are in love. I -see you are blushing, for the inside of your ear is as red as blood, -and that is a sure sign a goat is in love. Well, how do you like it? It -is nicer than you thought when you took me away from Spotty, isn’t it?” - -“Oh, Night! do forgive me. I never would have done it if I had thought -you felt as I do now. But I did not know then; and I wanted you all to -myself. I know I was selfish and jealous, but do forgive me, won’t you?” - -“Yes, dear little sister, I will forgive you because I did not care so -very much for Spotty. If I had, you could not have kept me from her. I -would have found my way back to Madeira, if I had spent the rest of my -life looking for it. But you see, don’t you? that now you will be happy -and contented; father and mother don’t need me now that they have you, -so I am going out to see some more of the world and try to find another -goat as nice as you are to marry. If I do, I will bring her back here -and we will always live happily forever afterward, as they say in the -story books.” - -“But when and where are you going, Night? Do tell me. And you will -surely wait until I am married, won’t you?” - -“I am going West. I have heard all about the wonderful prairies, -plains, and mountains out there, where there are hundreds of thousands -of sheep, and how each flock has a large goat for a leader. Now it is -my ambition to be one of those leaders.” - -“How in the world will you get there? It is thousands upon thousands of -miles from here, and you can’t walk all the way.” - -“No, my dear, I know I can’t walk it, but I can walk part of the way -and steal rides occasionally, like the tramps do. I will get there -somehow, for I never failed to do anything which I made up my mind to -do if I stuck to it long enough. I can just see those immense mountains -lying so still and solemn, cut by innumerable bridle paths and cañons, -where the sheep seek shelter from the driving storms, protected from -the wolves that sneak down to devour them by their big billy-goat -leader. He gives the signal of danger and with the shepherd drives off -the hungry wolves.” - -“For mercy sakes! don’t talk of going where there are wolves, for they -will tear you to pieces and I shan’t close my eyes until you get back, -I shall be so worried,” said Day. - -“Don’t fear for me, sister mine. No old wolf will get the better of me -while I have two such long, sharp horns on my head as I now have. Why, -a wolf is nothing more than a wild dog, and you know how I treat ugly, -cross dogs.” - -“I don’t believe father will let you go,” said Day as a last resort to -discourage his going. - -“Oh, yes, he will. He was young once and liked adventures as well as I -do now; and mother won’t mind after a few days, because she has you.” - -“Won’t mind. Well, I guess she will. Forty me’s can’t take the place -of you in _her_ mind; she is so proud of your strength and beauty. You -needn’t get conceited, but you know you are very handsome with your -silky black coat and long beard, almost as long as papa’s. Every young -nanny in the pasture has been making eyes at you since you came back. -Why can’t you fall in love with my chum, Belle? I am sure she is pretty -enough for any goat to fall in love with. And then you could live here -and not go away and leave us all again. I feel it in my bones if you go -you will never come back again. Do try to live here, Night, won’t you?” - -“I would do anything for you, Day, that I could, but I couldn’t and -wouldn’t fall in love with that long-nosed, sheepish-looking Belle with -washed-out blue eyes, even to please you.” - -“Oh, Night, she hasn’t washed-out eyes and she is considered a beauty.” - -“Well, I don’t admire your taste. Whoever wants her can have her, for -all of me. Here comes mother and we must stop talking, for I don’t want -her to know I am going away until my plans are complete.” - -Night had grown so much like Billy since he had been away that he was -no longer called Night but “Billy Whiskers Jr.” - -Billy Jr. had taken to spending all his time by the fence that ran -along the roadside, and he was getting thin from watching so much and -eating so little. When his mother noticed this, she said: - -“My dear son, why do you spend so much of your time down by the road -where the grass is dusty and scarce instead of here by the stream where -it is clean and fresh?” - -“Oh, I don’t mind the dust,” he answered. “I stay there so that I can -talk to the horses, cows, and sheep that pass by.” - -“But you are getting thin, and your coat is dirty and shabby from want -of care. And you act as if there was something on your mind. Can’t you -tell your mother what it is that is worrying you?” - -At this Billy Jr. broke down and told her all his plans; how he was -longing to get away and go West; but he could find no one who could -tell him how to get there. All the animals that passed along had been -born and raised in the East and knew no more of the West than he did. -Nannie answered: - -“You are just like your father was at your age. I have been afraid for -a long while that you were dissatisfied here; and though it will nearly -break my heart to have you go, still I will not forbid your doing so.” - -[Illustration] - -So Billy Jr. kept up his watch by the fence and at last was rewarded by -hearing this news: A loose colt from one of the neighbors told him that -a gentleman from away out West was visiting at their place and that he -had brought his horse with him. This horse told them all about the big -West every evening when they were all shut in their stalls; and he, for -his part, was crazy to go. - -“That is just what I am crazy to hear about for I want to go there -myself. Can’t you kick the stable door down to-night so I can get in -and hear what he says?” said Billy Jr. - -“Certainly I can, for my stall is the outside one, and I will do it -when I hear you bah outside.” - -“Thank you very much,” said Billy Jr. “I will be there as soon as the -hired man has left the barn, so he won’t see me and drive me back.” - -And for the first time in many days Billy Jr. ate a good dinner and -rolled and rolled in the clean sand to shine up his much neglected -coat, which, when he had finished, shone again like satin. As evening -drew on he was all impatience for it to get pitchy dark and for every -one to go to bed, so he could be off. At last he thought it was dark -enough for him to try it, especially as his coat was so black it was -not easily detected. - -He jumped the fence where he and Day had jumped it when they had -returned from their travels and, turning down the road, he was soon on -his way to the neighbor’s to hear what the horse had to say about the -West. - - - - -_Westward Ho!_ - - -Billy Jr. soon found himself at the neighbor’s, bleating for the colt -to kick down the door. This was done with two kicks and Billy Jr. -walked in and was introduced to the horse from the West. - -“I am glad to make your acquaintance,” said the horse. “I hear you are -thinking of going West and would like to know something about it and -how to get there. I also heard that you thought of walking and trusting -to stealing rides on the cars if you could not get there in any other -way. Now I hate to discourage you but, strong and brave as you are, you -could not do it. You might get as far as the Great Plains, but these -you could never cross. You would die of hunger and thirst if not with -lonesomeness long before you had got a quarter of the way. Imagine -yourself on a vast prairie without a hill or a tree in sight; the -ground as level as if rolled out with a rolling-pin and covered with -sage brush and short buffalo grass, coarse as straw and dry as chips; -not a living thing in sight but a jack-rabbit or two and a buzzard -flying overhead waiting for your dead body. This buzzard has been -following you for he knows from experience that it won’t be many days -before you are stark and cold in death, either from hunger or thirst. -Or, if the worst should come to the worst, you might be torn to pieces -by a pack of prairie wolves as hungry as yourself. - -“Sometimes cattle stray from the flock and try to cross the plains -alone and get as far as Dead Lake--a lake of alkali water that lies in -the desert. This water is as clear as crystal and looks so tempting to -the poor thirsty cattle that they often drink it, though all around -its margin are the bleached bones of other cattle that have drunk of -its poisoned waters and died. One can’t blame them for drinking, for -it looks so cool and refreshing to them as it lies there clear and -tempting, rippled by the breezes that blow over it. Oh, no! Mr. Billy, -better wait and content yourself here or get shipped through in a car -as I was.” - -All this gave Billy Jr. some things to think about and he went home -feeling blue and depressed and almost ready to give up his cherished -plans. But next morning he awoke with the same burning desire to go, -and he made up his mind that faint heart never got anywhere nor did -anything, and he decided he would start anyway and follow the sun in -its direct course west day after day and see where it would bring him. -If it did not lead him where he wanted to go, it would at least give -him adventures, hardships, and pleasures, and they in themselves were -worth going after. - -About 11 o’clock in the morning, while he was telling Day that his mind -was made up to start the next day at sunrise, he looked up and saw the -horse from the West turn into their lane with a fine-looking gentleman -on his back. He ran over to the fence to see if he could not get a word -or two with the horse. When pretty near to him, the gentleman stopped -his horse and Billy Jr. heard him say: - -[Illustration] - -“My soul! but that is a fine-looking goat. I would give a hundred -dollars to have him West to lead my flocks.” - -“Bah, bah,” bleated Billy Jr., which meant, “You can have me for ten -cents.” As the gentleman rode on, Billy Jr. said to himself, “Oh, why -can’t people understand us as we can them? for then I could plead with -him to take me West!” And he walked off and butted an inoffensive goat -in his anger and tried to pick a quarrel with him. But the goat knew -Billy Jr.’s reputation too well and refused to fight. - -Right after dinner Billy Jr. saw Mr. Windlass and the gentleman who had -ridden into the lane that morning coming into the pasture. He did not -go to meet them because he felt cross and disagreeable, so he stood -staring at them, chewing grass like an old man chews tobacco. However, -they came straight up to where he stood, and he heard Mr. Windlass tell -the gentleman how he and the white goat over there (pointing to Day) -had come to him one morning and he had never been able to learn to whom -they belonged or where they came from, though he had advertised in all -the papers. - -“I had a black and a white kid a couple of years ago, but it is not -likely they could be the same ones grown up and come back.” - -“I don’t know,” answered the gentleman, “goats are queer creatures. -Mr. Windlass, what will you take for him? I have been looking for a -big jet-black billy-goat to lead my flocks for a long time. The wolves -are getting pretty bad out West on the range and a goat makes a good -leader. I want a black one, as his color would distinguish him from -the white sheep immediately. Besides, your goat has other points in -his favor; he is strong, large, a good fighter you say, and has long, -sharp-pointed horns. Name your price and I will take him and have him -shipped West in the same car with my horse when I go. I will charter a -car and put feed in one end of it and have the other partitioned off -into two stalls into which I will put the goat and horse.” - -Billy Jr. failed to hear what Mr. Windlass asked for him, but he heard -the gentleman say: - -“It is a bargain and I will send my man for him to-night, for I expect -to leave very early in the morning for Boston to catch the westbound -train.” - -“Hurrah! Hurrah! Papa Billy and Mamma Nanny, come here and hear what -glorious news I have for you. I am going West to-morrow!” - -Nanny nearly fainted when she heard the news, it was so sudden, and -even staunch old Billy Whiskers shed a tear when he thought of his -gallant young son leaving them, perhaps forever. While for Day, she -just rolled over on the ground and cried, but was soon comforted by a -handsome young goat only a few months older than herself. - -True to his word, Mr. Wilder, the Western gentleman, sent his man for -Billy Jr. just before dark; and when the goats saw him come through -the gate preparatory to leading Billy Jr. off, they all gathered round -to say a last farewell, and old Billy, Nanny, and Day all followed him -to the gate and watched him with streaming eyes through the palings -until he was out of sight. The man led Billy Jr. to the depot, and -there he was put into a freight-car with the Westerner’s pet horse, -Star. - -“Hello, Mr. Billy Jr.! Glad I am to have you as a companion. You did -not expect to have such good luck as this when last I saw you. You will -find this beats walking all to pieces.” - -“It certainly does,” answered Billy Jr. “This piece of luck is beyond -my greatest expectations.” - -Just then the train gave a jerk forward and stopped suddenly, which -sent Billy Jr. off his feet, it was so unexpected, and bumped Star’s -nose against the end of the car. - -“Well, I never!” said Billy Jr. “This is worse than the rocking of a -vessel for knocking one around.” - -“Yes, and the worst of it is you can never tell when it is coming. -If one only could, he might brace himself for it and not get hurt,” -said Star. “I hear you have traveled a good deal by water and that you -were once shipwrecked,” said he. “Won’t you tell me something of your -adventures?” - -“Some day I will, but now I want to ask you questions about the West.” - -After a half-hour’s backing, switching, and jerking, the train at last -moved out of the yards and started on its way for the West, with a -bumpity, bump, bump and a clankity, clank, clank. Once out of the city, -it wound itself in and out among the hills and across country like a -huge, brown snake. - -In this way they traveled for a couple of days. They enjoyed the -scenery of the Horse Shoe Bend in the Allegheny Mountains, which they -crossed; and they both speculated on what would become of them if the -train rolled from the track in rounding the curve and landed them at -the foot of the mountain thousands of feet below. Through the slats -of the car that had been left open they could see the country through -which they passed, and they stood and looked until cinders got in their -eyes and they grew too tired to stand still. - -[Illustration: THERE WAS A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION AND THEY FELT THEMSELVES -BEING HURLED THROUGH SPACE.] - - - - -_The Collision._ - - -Everything went well until about midnight of the fourth day out, -when Billy Jr. and his companion were awakened by a terrific crash, -a bumpity-bump-bump, and the door of the car broke from its hinges -and fell to the ground. At the same time there was a noise as if an -avalanche of snow were scraping and rattling on the top of the car. - -“What do you suppose has happened?” said Billy Jr. - -“I think either we have run into some other train or it has run into -us,” answered Star. - -And the latter is what it proved to be. The freight was behind time -and an excursion train had tried to make the next station before the -freight started out. The consequence was that the excursion train, -running at a high rate of speed, did not notice the freight, which was -behind a deep bend in the road, until it was too late, and crashed into -it. Both engines were thrown off the track and two or three cars of the -excursion train were smashed to splinters, while one was suspended in -mid-air over a deep precipice of the mountain and the only thing that -kept it from going over was the coupling between it and the other car. - -For a second after the crash everything was still; then the cries of -women and children were heard above the noise of escaping steam and -crackling wood, as fire spread from one car to another and added its -horror to the already disastrous wreck. - -“Billy Jr., I smell smoke,” said Star. “You are not tied while I am. -Can’t you jump out and see where it comes from; for if the train is on -fire, what will become of me? I am tied up so tight I can’t possibly -get loose.” - -“Try to pull back and break your strap,” said Billy Jr. - -Star tried, but it would not break. - -“I’ll tell you how; rub your head against the side of the car and try -to slip your bridle over your ears,” suggested Billy. - -Star did this and the bridle dropped off. But he was no better off than -before, for he found himself boarded in his stall away from the open -door. - -“I’ll tell you how you can fix that,” said Billy Jr. “You kick with all -your might and throw your body against the boards and I am sure they -will give way, for they are nailed on loosely from this side. While you -do that, I will jump out and see what is the matter and if there is any -danger of the fire reaching our car.” - -So while Star threw his weight against the boards and kicked for dear -life, Billy ran forward to see how bad the wreck was. - -He came upon a sight weird and appalling to the last degree. The night -was inky black, while the flames, as they licked up car after car, lit -up the landscape with a red glare like some scene at the theatre; while -for a background stood the tall, black mountains silent and still, like -sentinels around a bivouac fire. Running hither and thither were men -and women trying to save their companions from the burning train, and -many acts of heroism were performed, while lives were bravely risked -to save friend or stranger wedged in between the broken seats of the -smoking mass. - -[Illustration] - -Billy waited only to take one look and then he ran back to tell Star -that he must get out as soon as possible, as the flames were spreading -fast in his direction. - -While Star was kicking at his partition with vehemence and Billy was -trying to help butt him loose, there was a terrific explosion and they -felt themselves being hurled through space. The car ahead of them had -contained some gasoline and when the fire reached it, it had exploded, -blowing up the car and the one next to it. - -But, strange as it may seem, neither Star nor Billy Jr. were hurt -seriously. Star got a sprained shoulder and Billy a skinned leg, that -was all. - -The wreck delayed them thirty-six hours, and while they were waiting -for the wrecking train to come to their assistance, clear the track, -and put the engines on again, Billy Jr. and Star had a fine time -roaming around the mountains and rummaging among the debris; or rather, -Billy Jr. did while Star stood off and watched. - -Billy Jr. would nose around among all the broken boxes, packages, -trunks, etc., until he smelt some one’s luncheon; then he would eat it -up, pasteboard box and all, if he could not get the lid off. At last -he came to the remains of the dining-car, and amongst the wreckage he -found some fine apples and pears. He called to his friend, but Star -felt too timid to come at first until Billy persisted, but after awhile -he picked his way to where the apples were, half covered by the broken -pieces of the car. - -While feasting on these the horse felt a hand laid on his mane, and on -looking around to see who it was he heard Pete, the man who had been -sent to take care of them, say: - -“By all that is merciful, how did you and Billy escape from being -blowed to smithereens? I thought ye’s were both flying around the dog -star by now. But it’s mighty glad I am to find ye’s both alive, for me -master’s very fond of ye’s both and I wouldn’t ’a’ had anything happen -to ye’s for worlds while ye’s was in my care.” - -Pete led Star off and, finding a piece of rope, tied him to a tree to -wait until another train was sent to carry them on, while he sat down -and commenced to smoke, too lazy to help clear away the wreckage. He -let Billy roam at will, for he knew he would not go far from the horse, -they were such good friends. - -Presently they heard the purring and blowing of a train coming up the -grade to pick them up and carry them along on their journey. When Pete -heard it he said: - -“It’s mighty glad I am to hear that, for I am as hungry as a bear, not -being able to ate tin cans and raw pertaters like you, Mr. Billy Jr., -and grass and herbs like you, Mr. Star.” - -The train presently reached them, and by the help of many hands, -everything was soon packed on board and they were off for the West once -more. - -They did not have any more mishaps and reached Chicago one raw, windy -morning. As their train pulled into the yard, where it was to lie until -their car was switched on to the Santa Fe train that was to carry Billy -Jr. to the far West, he remarked: - -“So this dirty, flat-looking city is Chicago, the far-famed first -World’s Fair city! Well, I don’t think much of it from what I have -seen.” - -“Oh, but you shouldn’t judge any city by what you see of it from a -train, for remember, the tracks always run through the worst parts -of the city. You should see this city’s boulevards and parks. They -would make you change your mind, for they are among the finest in the -world. I saw them on my way East, for Mr. Wilder stopped here a week -and during that time kept me at a livery stable and every day he took -a horseback ride. In that way I saw all of the city, its handsome -residences, business districts, parks, and boulevards; and I can tell -you there are none finer, not even in your beloved Boston.” - -“Don’t you think I could manage to run away and see it all?” asked -Billy. - -“Not unless you wish to give up your trip West, for if you once left -this car you could never find your way back among all those hundreds of -others in the yard here that look just like it.” - -“I could easily find my way back if that was all,” said Billy Jr., “but -the thing I am afraid of is that they might start West and leave me, or -switch you off to another yard where I could not find you.” - -Their conversation was interrupted here by a man bringing them -something to eat and a bucket of water. - -“I do not see why they did not run this car over to the Stock Yards so -these animals could have been taken out and fed and watered and their -car cleaned in proper shape,” Billy Jr. heard a red-headed man say, as -he pushed back the sliding door that shut them in. “For heaven’s sake! -I thought it was two horses we had been sent to look after and not a -car of goats,” as Billy Jr. appeared at the door. - -“You can have the job,” said a jolly-looking, fat man. “I throw up my -share right here. I had all I wanted to do with goats when I was a boy.” - -“Why, what did they ever do to you that you should take such a dislike -to them?” said the red-headed man. - -“Well, I’ll tell you. The first thing they did to me when I was a -little shaver was to chew my hair off.” - -“Chew your hair off! How in the world did they get a chance to do that?” - -“It happened in this way,” said the fat man, “I went to sleep on a bank -by the side of the road one hot day, and when I woke up my hair was all -chewed off, and the old Billy had commenced on one leg of my trousers. -I stoned him good for this, but he got even a week after when he met -me coming home from one of the neighbors with a basket of eggs in one -hand and a pat of butter in the other. The first thing I knew I was -standing on my head in the pat of butter and the eggs were all broken -beside me with the basket turned upside-down. From that day on that -goat and I were enemies. He would do me a mean trick and I would pay -him back the first chance I got. But somehow or other he always seemed -to get the best of me. And this goat is as much like him as two peas; -and how do I know but what it is the same goat, though that was years -ago? Goats may live to be a hundred for all I know, and I don’t care to -take my chances; so I will attend to the horse and you look after the -goat.” - -[Illustration] - -As these words left his mouth Billy Jr. made a plunge for him and, -landing in the yard clear over his head, ran off and disappeared -behind some freight cars. - -“Now, what did I tell you! He has got us in trouble right off, for most -likely he will never come back and we will have to pay for him. Drat -goats, I say! and double drat this one in particular!” - -[Illustration] - - - - -_Billy Jr. Gets a Taste of the West._ - - -Just outside the car yard fence was a Chinese laundry, and ever -since Billy’s car had been backed into the yard he had been watching -the Chinamen at work at the open door. So now that he was loose he -determined to get out of the yard and see what it was the Chinamen were -sticking their cheeks out with and blowing on the clothes. - -When he appeared at the door it startled one of the Chinamen so that -he let all the water that was in his mouth and which he had intended -to sprinkle the clothes with, fly in Billy’s face. Now Billy thought -the Chinaman had spat in his face on purpose, and if there is one thing -more than another that will make a goat fighting mad, it is to spit or -even pretend to spit at him. - -[Illustration] - -With a plunge forward he butted the Chinaman through a curtained -partition that separated the front room from the back, knocking another -Chinaman that was bending over a washtub into the tub headforemost and -upsetting tub, Chinamen, and all. Then he quietly walked into the back -yard where some nicely starched shirts were hanging out to dry. These -he chewed until the two Chinamen tried to drive him out of the yard by -turning the hose on him. They had only given him one squirt when he -went for them and butted one into a limp heap in one corner of the -room, while the other took to his heels down the street, as if the old -man from the sulphur regions were after him. - -On coming out of the laundry Billy Jr. heard Star whinnying for him in -a distressed, excited voice, and he bleated back, “I am coming, Star. -What’s the matter?” - -Star answered back, “Hurry up or you will be left behind; they are -going to switch our car on to the Santa Fe train.” - -Billy knew he would not have time to go around the way he had come, so -he crawled through a place in the fence where a couple of boards were -off, and gained his car just as it began to back out of the yard. - -“Well, old fellow, where have you been? You look all wet, and you have -nearly given me nervous prostration by your absence. I have neighed and -neighed for you until my throat is sore.” - -“I never heard you,” said Billy Jr., “for I was inside the laundry -seeing to a little washing,” and Billy Jr. commenced to laugh. - -“What are you laughing at?” asked Star. - -“At the funny frightened faces those pig-tailed Chinamen made at me -when they saw me coming for them. I wonder if the Chinaman I frightened -up the street has stopped running yet,” said Billy Jr. - -“Tell me so I can laugh, too,” said Star, “for I know you have been in -mischief.” - -While Billy was telling of his adventure the train started on its way, -westward ho. - -The trip from Chicago to Kansas City was made without any excitement; -and after they had left Kansas City behind and were well on their way -across the state, Billy, who was looking out of his peephole, said: - -“Well, I am glad I took your advice and did not try to walk or steal -rides to the West. I would have been a tired, foot-sore goat by this -time, if I had ever gotten as far as here, which I doubt. The map of -the United States I chewed up never gave me any idea of the distance -between the eastern states and the western. Look quickly, Star, at that -woman with a baby in her arm, coming out of that hole in the ground. -What on earth is she doing there? They don’t bury people alive out -here, do they?” - -Star laughed and said, “No, she lives there. That is what they call a -‘dugout,’ and lots of people in Kansas live in them.” - -“Well, when I have to live in a hole in the ground I hope I shall turn -into a groundhog and be done with it.” - -“Mercy!” exclaimed Billy later, “isn’t it getting hot and oppressive in -here!” - -“Yes, and it bodes no good for us, for I am afraid it is the calm -before the storm and that we are going to have a regular old-fashioned -Kansas blizzard or cyclone. Do you see that black cloud rolling toward -us from the northeast? Well, I think that is a Northeaster, as they -call them, bringing a sand storm with it.” - -“Ugh! how cold it has grown all of a sudden. I feel chilled to the -bone, after that hot, stuffy air we have been having. And see how it is -raining off there.” - -“Off there _now_, but in less than a minute it will be here; only that -is not rain but fine sand that will sting us like needles, blind us, -choke us, and nearly suffocate us before it blows over as suddenly as -it came. I know what they are like, for we passed through one on our -way East.” - -Before Star had stopped talking the first particles of sand were flying -and had already shut one of Billy’s eyes and filled his mouth with grit. - -“Oh, this is terrible! Why don’t some one come and shut our windows so -the nasty sand can’t sift in? I would not live in Kansas if they gave -me the whole state,” said Billy Jr., “if this is the kind of storms -they have here.” - -Two days later they found themselves in New Mexico in sight of the main -range of the Rocky Mountains, and Star said that by three o’clock they -would be at Las Vegas, where their journey was to end. “And I shan’t -be sorry, for my legs ache from standing on them so many days without -lying down.” - -They were met at Las Vegas by Mr. Wilder, who had been very much -worried about them since he heard of the wreck they had been in. But -his fears were laid at rest when he saw them, for both had come through -in fine shape and had stood the trip splendidly. - -The next morning Billy was tied to a wagon filled with groceries and -provisions for Mr. Wilder’s ranch, whither they were bound, while Star -with his master on his back galloped ahead or followed behind as he saw -fit. Once when Star was walking beside him Billy said: - -“Star, do you know I feel lonesome for the first time in my life. When -I look at those great solemn mountains, whose tops are always covered -with snow, I feel about as big as a fly and as if they were trying to -teach me a lesson in patience, and dear knows I need it badly enough. -How do they make you feel when you look at them?” - -“I love them,” said Star, “and the nearer I get to them and the more I -look at them the nearer God seems to get. People think horses, dogs and -other animals don’t know about God, but I guess we feel His presence -more than they do sometimes, though we can’t talk about it.” - -“How much further is it?” asked Billy Jr. “I hate walking behind a -wagon, taking all the dust from the horses’ heels. And this dust seems -to smart so when it gets in one’s eyes.” - -“Yes, I know it does; that is because there is so much alkali in the -ground about here. Don’t you remember my telling you about Dead Lake -and the bones of animals you would see bleaching on its margin had you -tried to walk across the desert? Well, this is not a desert, but we -have to pass a small lake of alkali water, and, small as it is, you can -see the bones of animals lying beside it. There is very little water -out here, no large rivers, and only a few springs or little mountain -streams.” - -“Quick! look off there toward the foot-hills; do you see that grey dog -running with a long loping trot?” continued Star. - -“Yes, what of it?” said Billy Jr. - -“Why, that is not a dog but a coyote or prairie wolf.” - -“It is? I wish I had taken a better look at him,” answered Billy Jr. - -Presently Star called out, “Cheer up, Billy. We are almost there, for I -can see the smoke now rising from the ranchhouse in the distance.” - - - - -_Billy Jr. as Leader of the Sheep._ - - -Early the next morning a small flock of sheep was driven from the -corral, headed by their leader, an old mountain goat, who was always -selected to take out the new flocks for the first two or three times -and to break in the new leaders. And now it was Billy Jr.’s turn to -be broken in and taught how to lead the sheep and give warning of any -danger. - -He found old Long Hair (so named from his exceedingly long hair) a -very agreeable, patient goat and willing to answer all the new goat’s -questions, which were not a few, as he wanted to know all about the -country and the ways of Western sheep. Billy knew he must keep up a -certain dignity or the sheep would never look up to him or have any -confidence in him. Soon he was to get their confidence and a name for -bravery in a way he least expected. - -Old Long Hair had led them from the corral across the mesa and down -into a valley where a little water was to be found in the bottom of an -“aroya,” or deep ditch, which an Easterner would call a gully. It is -made by the water washing down the sides of the mountains and plowing -its way through the soft soil. When the flock got to the edge of this -aroya, Billy noticed that a large ram with immense double twisted horns -walked out of the flock toward him. But as he stood looking down into -the muddy yellow water thinking to himself that it would not be fit -to drink if he took the trouble to climb down after it, he forgot all -about the ram, until he heard a voice at his side say: - -“Well, young fellow, what do you mean by coming along with this flock -without asking my permission? I suppose you know that I am master of -this herd and I don’t need the assistance of any dandyfied goat like -you. When I do, I will select one of my own choosing and not a stranger -and tenderfoot from the East.” - -Billy Jr. laughed in his face and said: - -“Don’t provoke me, old fellow, or I may give you a butt that will land -you in that muddy water.” - -“What! You dare to speak to me like that, you--you impertinent -black-haired goat! If you dare to say another word I will hook you with -my strong horns.” - -“And what do you suppose I would be doing while you were doing that?” -asked Billy. “What do you suppose I would be doing with my own long -horns about that time?” - -“Look here, young impertinence, I don’t intend to stand here and talk -to you all morning, so be off with you.” - -“Neither shall I waste any more time over you, Mr. Puffed-up, so take -that, and that!” said Billy, as he gave the ram two sharp hooks in his -side and sent him rolling to the bottom of the aroya. - -[Illustration] - -When he looked up he found that all the sheep had gathered around to -see how the bully of the herd was going to come out with the slick -black stranger. Billy made a bow to them and said: - -“I would not explain to Mr. Puffer who I am, but I don’t mind telling -you all that I am the goat selected by your master to lead this flock, -and he brought me all the way from Boston to do it. He picked me out -because he thought I was a good fighter and could take care of myself -as well as protect you from the wolves, which he said were bad in these -parts. Now if any one of you thinks I can’t take care of myself and -would not make a good leader, I would like him to walk out of the flock -and say so, and we can fight it out while the rest of you look on and -see fair play.” - -No sheep or goat walked out, and from that day until he left he was the -most beloved and admired of all the leaders the flock had ever had. - -The next day Billy, as the acknowledged leader, determined when he -started out not to stop for water at that dirty aroya, but to push on -to the foot-hills and see if he could not find a nice, cool spring, or -at least some water that was not as thick with yellow mud as that they -had drunk the day before. - -He let the sheep graze as they went, but he always managed to keep -ahead of them a few steps and in this way they unconsciously hurried -forward and by noon found themselves climbing the steep sides of -the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains, which in comparison with the -main-ranges seem like little hills. - -[Illustration: HE FELT HIMSELF PINIONED ON A PAIR OF LONG, SHARP HORNS.] - -Billy left them to graze there while he climbed to the top so he could -get a view of the surrounding country and see what was in the -opposite valley. The sight that met his eyes was beyond description--in -the distance lay the main range of the Rocky Mountains, deep blue in -color with a white cap of snow on their heads; and shading down in all -the intermediate colors between deep purple, blue and pale gray were -parallel ranges of mountains. Directly beneath him a silvery stream -wound its way through a fertile valley, and nestled on its banks was a -small settlement of adobe houses where lived the Mexicans that farmed -the land. - -He had only to turn around and at his back lay an entirely different -scene. This one was grand in its lonesomeness, with its plains and -mesas destitute of trees or life. Out across the barren prairie on a -tableland equally as barren lay Fort Union, now deserted, from which -the soldiers used to ride to fight the Indians. Whichever way the eye -roamed one saw height, space, grandeur which awed into stillness and -made one think of God. It was a silent sermon felt, not spoken. - -Suddenly Billy was rudely awakened from his reverie. There, skulking -stealthily along behind some rocks and bushes, he detected a moving -object that seemed to come creeping, creeping nearer and nearer to his -sheep. He looked again more intently, and yes, sure enough, it was a -wolf he saw making for the flock. In a second the responsibility of his -position, which he had forgotten for a time, rushed upon him, and with -bound after bound he started down the mountain side. Only a moment he -halted to see if the wolf were still coming, and as he did so, a little -white, tender lamb ran on ahead of its mother right into the jaws of -death, for not twenty steps ahead crouched the wolf ready to spring. - -The little lamb came nearer. The wolf crouched on his hind legs a -little more, opened his mouth, and sprang; but instead of his teeth -closing on the tender morsel, he felt himself pinioned on a pair of -long, sharp horns. - -But Billy was also surprised to find on closer inspection that his -supposed wolf was not a wolf at all, but one of the half-civilized dogs -from the placita, or Mexican village. It seems that these dogs will -guard their own flocks from an enemy, but will sneak out and eat up any -young lamb that strays from the fold of a stranger’s flock. - -After this the sheep were more fond of Billy than ever and would go -anywhere he led them without a murmur. - - - - -_A Fight With Wolves._ - - -Several days after this when Billy was out in the mountains he noticed -that it grew suddenly cold and that light flurries of snow began to -blow and swirl through the mountain passes. He climbed to the top of a -peak whence he could get a good view of the clouds and saw, advancing -from the direction of the main range, a terrible black cloud that was -hurling snow and sleet on the mountains and valleys as it came. - -It took him but a moment to decide what to do, for he knew if the young -lambs were caught out in such a severe storm they would be frozen to -death. So he turned back to the flock and told them to follow him as -quickly as they could and not to stop to take even a mouthful of grass. -He led them into the deepest, most sheltered cañon he could find and -told them to stand close together so as to keep each other as warm as -possible and to be careful to see that the young sheep and lambs were -on the inside where it would be the warmest. - -Here they stood while the storm raged and blew over and above the -cañon, but the sheep were so sheltered that scarcely any snow fell on -them, as the force of the wind carried it over. It grew darker and -darker and time to go home, but Billy said: - -“We will have to stay here all night. It will never do to go out in -such a storm onto the open prairie. Half of you would perish with the -cold before you got across the valley.” - -So there they stayed in their little sheltered nook undisturbed until -about midnight, when they were startled by hearing the weird yelping -bark of a pack of prairie wolves coming straight down the cañon. This -threw the sheep into a terrible panic, for they knew that same pack of -wolves only too well; they had made raids on them before and carried -off a baby lamb and now and then an old sheep. - -Now Billy had never met or even seen a wolf in his life, but he had -absolutely no fear of them, as he knew they were too much like dogs to -be afraid of. Still he did not know how he would come out fighting a -whole pack by himself, and from the sound of their voices it seemed as -if there must be at least fifty of them. - -“Now all you rams that have horns make a circle around the sheep, and -if a wolf tries to get through in order to get at a young sheep, fight -for your lives and theirs and don’t give up and run off. While you do -this I will run here and there wherever I think a wolf is most likely -to break through your circle and kill them one by one, for I am not -afraid of any wolf I ever heard of.” - -This stand of Billy’s gave them more courage, but they were so -accustomed to turn tail and run at the approach of danger that Billy -was afraid they would do so now at the first sight they got of the -wolves. - -All this time the wolves had been drawing nearer and nearer, until now -only the bend of the pass separated them from the flock. - -Soon the yellowish light of seven pairs of eyes glared through the -blackness. This was met by the fiery red light in Billy Jr.’s eyes. -The trembling sheep dared not move nor look up. Not so Billy! His -eyes fairly blazed defiance, and with a snort of rage he bounded on -the leader of the pack and killed him before he knew what had struck -him. Billy was so black the wolves could not see him; all they could -see were the red balls of fire that seemed to be here, there, and -everywhere, the most deadly balls they had ever come in contact with, -for wherever they appeared a wolf lay dead the next moment. - -Billy heard a bleat of agony, and looking to where it came from saw a -dark object in among the white, and knew that a wolf had broken through -the ring he had formed for their protection and the old rams were -deserting their post and running away. - -“Come back, you cowards!” Billy cried. “You will only be killed if -you go out alone.” This brought them to their senses and they closed -in once more around the sheep, but left Billy to do all the fighting. -This he did with a vengeance and to such good purpose that the wolves -commenced to slink away, wondering what kind of a leader these sheep -had in the place of old Long Hair. - -[Illustration] - -The next morning Billy Jr. led the sheep home, thinking it would be -better for them in the corral than out on the mountains until the -weather moderated, for they were not used to such storms in this -climate. - -When Mr. Wilder saw Billy leading the flock home he went to meet him on -Star and said: - -“Billy, I was not mistaken in taking you for a born leader. You are -worth your weight in gold. But it beats me where you hid yourselves -last night, for we looked for you and could not find one of you. And -then for you to come back out of such a storm without even a lamb -missing is remarkable. I wonder the wolves did not get after you and -kill some of the young lambs, even if they did not freeze to death.” -And Billy Jr. wondered what he would have said could he see the dead -wolves lying in the cañon. - -Three days after the dead bodies were found by a man from another ranch -when looking for his sheep that had been lost since the night of the -storm and, seeing some small flecks of wool sticking to the side of the -rocks opposite, he knew why his neighbor’s sheep had not been killed -and his had. He immediately rode over and told Mr. Wilder, who rode -back to see where Billy had fought his brave battle and saved so many -lives. From that day on Billy was the hero he deserved to be and no -amount of money could have bought him. - -As the sheep stayed in the corral the next day after the storm, Billy -thought he would try and find Star and have a talk with him. So he -jumped the low wall of the corral and soon found his friend in the -stable-yard chewing some corn husks. - -“Hello, Billy Jr.! I am glad to see you,” said Star. “I have not laid -eyes on you for ages and I am anxious to learn what you think of our -Western country by this time.” - -“Oh, I think it is good enough as far as the country goes for any one -who likes it, but I am tired of it and am going back to civilization.” - -“What, tired of it already, and with all the honors you have had heaped -upon you!” said Star. - -“Yes. I don’t like buffalo grass as a steady diet nor dirty cañon water -to drink. And those sheep are altogether too stupid to suit me. I would -rather live in a city; and that is what I have come to see you about. I -am not ready to go home yet, but I can’t make up my mind whether to go -to old Mexico or California.” - -“Hear him talk, will you! He talks of going to old Mexico or California -as I would of going into the next pasture. But, my dear fellow, how do -you expect to get there? and are you aware that both of these places -are hundreds of miles from here?” said Star. - -“Yes, I know they are, but what of that? If I want to go there I can -get there. All I have to do is to wish for a thing hard enough and I -get it. You know I made up my mind to come West, and here I am.” - -“Yes, you are a plucky fellow, and I half believe that if we had not -brought you, you would have carried out your threat of walking here,” -said Star. - -“You are right, I should,” said Billy Jr. - -“Well, if you want my advice, I would go to old Mexico, as I think -there would be more of interest there for you than in California.” - -“I don’t know whether to follow the railroad tracks or start across -country.” - -“Oh, Billy! You will be the death of me, the way you talk of our great -distances as if they were only a few miles,” said Star. - -“Here comes the man to chase me back to the corral and I suppose he is -wondering how I ever got out. I want to thank you for your kindness to -me and to tell you how much I have enjoyed your friendship, which I -hope nothing will ever break. I trust we will meet again in the East -some day. Good luck to you and good-bye for a time. When I see you -again I will have something of interest to tell you. Good-bye again,” -and Billy bounded over the fence as the man walked in the gate to chase -him out, while Star whinnied his good-bye. - - - - -_Billy Jr. Learns Something about Cowboys and Indians._ - - -One morning three months later Billy Jr. appeared, tired, cold, and -hungry, in front of a ranchman’s door; and was first seen by the -Chinese cook, who opened the kitchen door of the long adobe house to -see what the weather was like. There was Billy by the well, trying to -get a drink out of the almost empty bucket on the well-curb. - -Billy’s first thought when he saw the Chinaman was to run away, -for he had been so illy treated lately--shot at, stoned, and -half-starved--that he had lost some of his assurance and confidence in -people and preferred to look them well over before he got too near. -But the Chinaman appeared so inoffensive that he stood his ground and -stared back when the man rubbed his eyes to see if it really were a -large, live billy-goat by the well; his first thought being that he had -not quite got over his opium pipe of last night. But when Billy Jr. -bleated a good-morning to him, he came out of his stupor, walked to -the well, and drew a bucket of water for the tired, thirsty beast. - -From that day Billy was a fast friend of the Chinaman. Never in his -life had anything tasted so good and refreshing as that cool drink of -water after his long, dusty trip across the plains and mesas. - -For a day and a night Billy Jr. had followed a wagon trail without -passing a human being or habitation, and when he saw this ranchhouse -it was indeed a welcome sight. He was tired, lonesome, hungry, and -discouraged, and he knew that he must go back to the little town by the -railroad, the last settlement he had met with, if he did not soon find -a house and some living thing, man or beast, he could not endure the -dreary solitude another day. - -He preferred the town to this, even if the boys did tie tin cans to his -tail, the women chase him with broomsticks or throw hot water on him -when he tried to steal a meal from their kitchens, and the cow-boys aim -at him to see how near they could come without actually shooting him. -Once, when he stopped to get a drink of water from a trough standing -outside of a saloon, the cow-boys caught him and forced him to drink -some beer, which made him feel dizzy and as if the sidewalk were flying -up and going to hit him in the face. And, oh my! what a splitting -headache he had all the next day! It made him wonder and wonder how -people could drink such nasty, bitter stuff when they could have pure, -clear water instead, and he thought if they had to pay five dollars a -bottle for water, perhaps they would crave it. - -After these experiences, do you wonder that Billy was glad to find a -friend in the Chinaman? - -When the potatoes were peeled for breakfast the next morning, the skins -were given to Billy, and they tasted as good to him, after his long -fast, as fresh turnips did when he was living in plenty. - -Just as the sun lighted the tops of the mountains, the Chinaman rang -a large bell that hung on a high pole near the well, to call the -cow-boys to breakfast, and as its peals rang out on the morning air it -was answered by the barking of what seemed to be dozens of coyotes, -although, in reality, there was perhaps not half that number; a -peculiarity of their bark being that it seems to double itself and to -sound as if coming from twice as many throats as it really does. Billy -did not like to hear the coyotes, for their dismal cries made him feel -both lonesome and homesick. - -Immediately after breakfast the cow-boys rode off to look after the -cattle and as soon as Billy saw them depart he gave a sigh of relief, -for when they were around they were always plaguing him and throwing -lassos or cracking their whips at him. - -“Now, while the Chinaman is busy with his dishes and the cow-boys -are away, is my time to explore the premises and find out what things -look like around here,” thought Billy and, seeing an open door, he -walked through and found himself in a long, low room barren of carpet -or furniture, unless two tiers of bunks, a wooden chair or two, a -washstand with a tin basin on it, and a cracked looking-glass, could be -called furniture. - -This room was in great disorder. Boots were lying around everywhere; -some in the bunks, others sticking out from under them, and still -others strewn about in general confusion all over the floor; and where -there were no boots there were clay and corn-cob pipes with half-empty -tobacco bags beneath them. None of these things surprised Billy, but -what did puzzle him was that between the windows there were a lot of -holes in the walls which were filled with old rags loosely poked in, -while guns of all sizes and descriptions hung on the walls or were -stacked in the corners of the room. - -“This looks like a fort,” thought Billy, “but I fail to see who there -is to fight around here.” But, even as he thought this, he remembered -that Indians lived in this territory, and cold chills ran down his -spine, for although he was only a goat, he had often heard of the -unparalleled cruelty of the Apache Indian dwelling in this part of -the country and he at once realized why this house had been built -with holes in its walls and why all the guns were there. In case of -a siege, the cow-boys barricaded the windows and doors and stuck the -barrels of their guns into these holes, and then they were prepared to -resist an attack and to defend themselves. - -Besides the room in which Billy stood, the house contained a -sitting-room, dining-room, kitchen, and a small room that was kept shut -up except when occupied by the owner during his yearly visits to the -ranch. - -When Billy had reached this point in his explorations, he heard the -Chinaman calling, “Bee-lee, Bee-lee, Bee-lee.” - -“I suppose that means me, so since he makes my name sound so much like -Bee, I will carry out the notion and make a bee-line for him,” said -Billy. - -“Where-ee you been, Bee-lee?” said the Chinaman when he saw Billy -running toward him. “Come-ee long-ee in a here-ee; I have-ee something -good-ee for-ee you-ee,” and he gave Billy a piece of Johnnie-cake that -had been scorched in the baking-and which he did not want the ranchman -to see because of the wasted meal. - -While Billy Jr. was eating, the Chinaman threw himself down upon a -wooden bench in the corner of the room, took two or three whiffs from -his opium pipe and was soon fast asleep, dreaming doubtless of his -almond-eyed sweetheart in the Orient. When Billy saw the pipe fall -from his hand, he took first a smell and then a taste of the powder -that had spilled out of it upon the floor; and soon he felt the most -delightful, drowsy sensation stealing over him, and he, too, curled -himself up by the bench near the Chinaman and was soon dreaming that he -was back in the old home meadow with his father, mother, and Day; but -the meadow he dreamed of was covered with sweeter clover blossoms than -any goat ever ate and the breeze that fanned his face was laden with -sweeter perfume than mortals ever breathed. - -[Illustration] - -Billy was rudely awakened from this beautiful vision by a vigorous kick -and on recovering his bewildered senses, he found the room filled with -excited cow-boys all talking at once. From their conversation he soon -learned that the Indians were out on the warpath and were even now -within sight of the house. - -With wondering eyes Billy watched the boys board up the windows, -barricade the doors, and stick the gun-barrels into the holes in -the wall. Presently, he was driven into the sitting-room and to his -surprise he found that five of the cow-boys’ ponies had also been -driven in here for safety, as the boys well knew that the Indians would -steal them if left outside. He had no sooner entered this room than he -heard a loud bang, and a bullet flattened itself against the doorjamb -just as the Chinaman ran in carrying a bucket of water from the well; -for during a siege, water is a necessity for both man and beast, and -while the boys had been boarding up the windows from the inside, the -Chinaman had been busy filling an old barrel with water from the well. - -“The red devils are upon us,” he heard a cow-boy say, and then the door -was slammed shut and he was alone with the ponies. While the bullets -sped thick and fast, and showers of arrows fell, all of which were -answered by the cow-boys’ bullets as they tried to pick off the Indians -skulking around the house, the ponies told Billy when and how the raid -began. - -An old roan pony that had been on the ranch for years said, “When we -went out this morning to round up and count the cattle, Jim Dowsen, the -man who rides me, said, ‘Something has happened during the night, for -the cattle are frightened and restless,’ and when we got near them we -saw at a glance what was the matter.” And he proceeded to tell Billy -about the last raid of the redskins. - -The Indians had ridden into the herd during the night, had stolen fifty -head of the company’s best cattle, and had ham-strung about fifteen -more out of wanton cruelty, because the savage nature delights in -torture. When Jim saw what had been done he was furious and he rode -off like the wind to find the herder who had been with the cattle. -After riding around the whole herd twice without discovering any trace -of him, he at last found him lying face downward on the ground, his -body without arms, his head minus its scalp. After mutilating him, -the savages had left him for the wolves and vultures to devour, and -then satisfied with their fiendish work had stolen his pony and ridden -away. Billy discovered that the Apache Indians were the most cruel and -fiendish of all the tribes living in the territories. - -During all this time the fury of the savages had increased. - -Before leaving the ranch, the redskins intended finishing their work -of destruction. They wanted pale faces. They wanted scalps. But most -of all, they wanted fire-water (the Indian name for whisky). And so -the attack lasted for three days or more. Provisions were getting low -within the cabin, the fuel to cook the meals with was gone, and the -horses were neighing for fodder, as they had been fed only potatoes -and cabbage once a day, and then as a last resort, straw out of the -mattresses; and still the Indians skulked outside and waited for the -little band of men in the house either to surrender or to starve. - -The third night of the siege the boys began to lose courage. Constant -watching, loss of sleep, little to drink and less to eat had nearly -worn them out, while their enemies seemed to be in perfect condition -and acted as though satisfied to camp outside their door for the rest -of their natural lives. - -At last, one of the cow-boys named Henry Staples said, “I have it, -boys! I know just how we can get out of here; save our scalps and, what -is better still, kill every one of those fiends sitting outside grimly -waiting to see our finish.” - -“Don’t buoy us up with a fairy tale like that, Henry,” they all said, -“for it is too good to be true.” - -“Listen and hear my plan,” he replied. “You remember that can of -rat-poison we bought to kill rats with when in town the last time?” - -“Yes,” they answered. - -“Well, let us take that rat-poison and put it in a keg of fire-water; -next, run up a flag of truce, then set the keg with seven or eight -cups outside. Thinking we are offering it in the place of a peace -pipe, the Indians will not hesitate to come and drink. They are used -to poor fire-water and so will be less likely to detect the poison and -will drink cup after cup until they are stupified, and in the end -the poison will kill them as surely as it would kill the rats. These -Indians are not any better than rats and should be treated as such. -Have they not tortured and killed hundreds of people?” - -“You are right, Henry; we can at least try your plan. It seems the only -feasible way out of our plight, and it can but fail.” So they blew a -horn to attract the attention of the Indians and then hoisted a flag of -truce on the flag-pole at the side of the house where the United States -flag usually floated; and while the Indians were watching it, the -cow-boys set the fire-water outside with the cups on top of the keg; -then, through the peep-holes where the guns had been, they watched the -Indians confer together about coming forward to get a taste of the much -coveted fire-water. - -Presently a big buck, evidently the chief of the tribe, walked boldly -forward and took a drink. He smacked his lips and then drew another -cupful, which he swallowed at one gulp. Upon seeing this, the other -braves ran up to get their share, for they did not know how much or how -little the keg might contain. When they found that it was full, they -commenced to dance around in high glee and they drank again and again -as if they could not get enough. - -“I should like to shoot every one of them as they now stand,” said -Henry. - -“No, don’t,” said the others. “Save your ammunition for live Indians. -These will soon be dead.” - -The chief, who had taken the first drink, was now feeling the effect -of the potion and was becoming quarrelsome. He soon began to fight -with another big Indian and this led to the rest taking sides with one -or the other, and soon all were engaged in a grand melee, flourishing -their weapons in a most reckless and dangerous manner, regardless -of consequences, because the fire-water had gone to their heads. -Presently a young buck, half-crazed under the combined influence of -the fire-water and the poison, started for the door of the house and -tried to batter it down, forgetting all about the flag of truce, and -calling upon the other Indians to follow him and scalp the pale faces, -but, even as their arms were upraised to strike the door, they were -seized with cramps and violent pains. The poison had conquered at last -and soon all were lying around in every possible shape, twisting and -writhing in their death struggles. - -[Illustration: THE MAN MADE A GRAB FOR THE GREASED POLE AND DOWN HE -WENT.] - -In less than an hour every Indian lay motionless and the cow-boys went -out to take possession of their arms and ponies. Suddenly Billy saw an -Indian, supposed to be dead, stealthily rise and creep after one of the -boys who was bending over a dead brave unstrapping his cartridge belt. -For a second he saw a knife glisten in the sunlight and he knew that in -another instant it would be buried in the unsuspecting boy’s back. -With Billy, to see was to act, so without hesitation he rushed upon the -treacherous Indian and tossed him aside as if he had been a paper ball. -The knife dropped from his hand, for he had been killed instantly. One -of Billy’s sharp horns had pierced his heart. All the cow-boy said, -when he realized what Billy had done, was, “Billy, you have saved my -life and for this you shall have a collar of gold, with your name and -a record of your brave act engraved upon it.” The cow-boy kept his -promise, so ever after Billy wore his collar of gold. - -A few days after the siege, Billy felt that he had seen enough of ranch -life and life on the plains, so he decided to return to town and from -there go to some large city as fast as his legs would carry him. “For, -if I stay here,” he mused, “other Indians may come to avenge those who -have been poisoned. They may take a fancy to my horns to decorate one -of their wigwams and may cut my head off, and then where would I be? -Who knows but what they may come this very night? Anyhow I have seen -enough of wild western life and I shall leave this country right now. -There is no time like the present,” and with this soliloquy he started -on a dead run for town by the same way he had come and he never stopped -to say good-bye even to the Chinaman. - - - - -_Billy Jr. and the Firemen._ - - -The next we hear of Billy Jr. he is in San Francisco living, as his -father did before him, with an engine company near the outskirts of -the city. When first we spy him, he and another goat are stealing -vegetables out of the firemen’s garden. This other goat is an old -fellow with a stubby tail and a single horn, and although he eats a -great deal every day, anything and everything, from tin cans to rotten -potatoes, and has a digestive apparatus like an ostrich, he still -looks thin and shows every rib in his anatomy. Whether this lean, -gaunt, hungry look is because of a guilty conscience or the result of -ill-usage, I know not, but I do know that he is the homeliest goat any -one ever looked at. - -Bang! goes a gun and the next minute four pairs of legs are flying over -the garden fence. “There, I told you we could not steal safely in broad -daylight,” said Billy Jr. - -“Oh! I hope you don’t mind a little scare like that,” answered the old -goat. “Why, my sides are full of bullet holes. They are always firing -at me, but I simply caper round and round until they pick the shot out, -for it only goes in skin deep.” - -[Illustration] - -“Well, I can tell you I don’t care to have _my_ sides peppered like -that,” said Billy; “and, too, a bullet might go astray and put out one -or both of my eyes. But here comes that fireman I so detest. Let us -run and hide. I shall get even with him some of these fine days when -he least expects it, for he is always cutting me with that fine-lashed -whip that hangs in the engine-house. I don’t care how much he tries to -club me, for I can fight, butt, and run, besides when he has a club in -his hand he is obliged to come close in order to hit me, so that gives -me a chance to butt him, but a long-lashed whip is a very different -matter. It winds itself about one before he knows what is coming.” - -“I, too, have a grudge against that particular fireman,” said old -One-horn, as the boys had nicknamed the other goat, “and if you can get -even with him I shall be your friend for life, for it was through him -that I lost my horn and you know it is as bad for a goat to lose a horn -as it is for a man to lose a leg. Come and lie here in the shade while -I tell you how I lost my horn.” - -“That fireman,” the old goat continued, “had been persistently mean to -me for weeks; had put red pepper in my food until my tongue was nearly -burned out, had shaken snuff under my nose and on my beard until I had -almost sneezed my head off, had turned the hose on me until I was half -frozen, and had annoyed me in a hundred other petty ways, until I felt -that I could kill him with a clear conscience if I ever got the chance. -He was the largest of the firemen and a champion boxer, but I was not -afraid of that and resolved to watch for an opportunity when I might -catch him alone and then pay him with compound interest for all the -mean tricks he had played on me. One day I was lying here in the shade -half-way between sleeping and waking when I saw him come out of the -engine-house and start to cross the vacant lot you see before you, for -his home is on the other side. He was half-way across when the thought -struck me--_now is my opportunity_. He was alone and carried nothing to -protect himself with, so I jumped up and ran quietly behind him, the -soft turf deadening all sounds of my approach, and he never suspected -that I was near him until I gave him a vigorous butt that was the -master-stroke of my life. It sent him flying six feet or more straight -in the air. When he struck the ground he lay perfectly motionless for -a moment with the breath knocked completely out of him. He was only -stunned, however, for he soon raised his head and, seeing me, shook his -fist and fairly roared, ‘You confounded old goat, I’ll break every bone -in your old carcass for this.’ - -“I intended to let him alone after that, for I thought he had been -punished enough, but when he shook his fist and threatened me, I was -mad all over and I lowered my head and would have butted him again had -he not caught me by the horns, at the same time giving my head a twist -with his great muscular arm, that nearly broke my neck. This made me -furious, and I stamped and kicked and tried to get my horns loose, but -he held me tight, well knowing that it was dangerous to let me go. - -“Well, we rolled and tumbled about in the mud until we were both nearly -exhausted, and at last he loosened his hold of my horns, at the same -time giving me a parting blow on the head that made me see stars for -an instant. In the meantime he started for home on a dead run, and -as a matter of course I lost no time in following him, but I did not -catch up until just as he was entering the front door of his home. -Then I aimed straight for his coat tails, but he shut the door with a -bang, catching my horns between it and the jamb; then he pushed with -all his might and main from the inside, while I too pushed with all my -strength from the outside, hoping to splinter the panel of the door, -but instead, I broke my horn, and that is how I lost it and why I owe -him a grudge.” - -In the back yard of the engine-house stood a pump with a tub of water -under its spout. Billy Jr. went to get a drink from it and, while -quenching his thirst, heard one of the firemen say to two others -standing in the yard, “I’ll bet you can’t do it, though every one knows -he needs it badly enough.” - -“Oh, it’s easy enough to wash him,” they answered, “the difficulty will -be in untying him after it is done, for then he will butt the life out -of the first man he catches.” - -“Let’s draw cuts to decide who is to do the untying,” said a third. - -“All right,” they answered; and before Billy even suspected what they -were talking about, he found himself bound and tied to the pump so that -he could only move his head slightly. - -“So, it was me they were talking about,” thought poor Billy. “Had I -only known, they would have had a fine time catching me, and more than -one man would have had bruises and torn clothes.” - -“Gee whiz!” he thought a moment later, “but this water is cold that -they are pumping upon me, and won’t I get even with them all when I get -loose!” - -“Ouch!” cried one of the men, for Billy suddenly tossed his head giving -him a bump on the nose. Then two of the men began to use brushes, one -on each side, while a third kept the pump going; so, squirm and wriggle -as he might, Billy got a generous supply of water and was drenched and -shivering in spite of his efforts to free himself. - -At last the firemen thought he was clean enough and they stopped -scrubbing, while one of them said, “Well, Billy Jr., how do you find -yourself?” Billy glared at him and shook his head in answer, but there -was murder in his eye. - -Next the men drew cuts to decide who should untie him and, strangely -enough, it fell to the lot of the fireman who was always cracking his -whip at Billy and tormenting old One-horn. When this man found that he -was to untie Billy, he said, “Very well, boys, you all get inside of -the engine-house and shut the big door, leaving the little one open for -me to run through, but be sure to shut it quickly behind me or Billy -will be inside as quickly as I am.” - -“All right,” they answered, and away they went to do as bidden. Then -the fireman who was to do the untying, approached cautiously and first -untied Billy’s legs, leaving his head still tied to the pump; then with -a sharp knife he cut the last cord with one swift slash and ran for the -engine-house. Quick as he was, our Billy was not far behind, for with -one bound he covered half the distance that lay between them while with -another he went bang against the little door through which the fireman -had but just disappeared. - -The door was slammed shut in double-quick time, and had Billy’s head -not been a hard one it must surely have split in two when it struck the -door. However, it was made to withstand hard knocks and so, undismayed, -he backed off to gather impetus for another rush; and then with a last -plunge he split the door from top to bottom and landed in a confused -heap right in the midst of the astonished firemen, who scrambled in -all directions with more haste than grace, thinking only of getting -out of reach of Billy’s avenging horns. One man climbed up on the high -seat of the fire-engine, another ran down cellar, while the third, the -particular one Billy was after, bounded up the stairs that led to the -firemen’s bedroom, in which was an open hole with a greased pole coming -up through the middle for the firemen to slide down when an alarm of -fire was sent in. Billy was up the stairs and into the room almost as -soon as the man himself, who in mad haste made a grab for the greased -pole and down he went, leaving Billy rather doubtful as to what course -to pursue; but quickly seeing the impossibility of a goat’s trying to -slide down either a greased or any other kind of a pole, he bounded -down the stairs again. The firemen had to all appearances disappeared, -but Billy sniffed the air suspiciously and, glancing keenly first in -one direction and then in another, he soon discovered his pet enemy -seated on the hook-and-ladder wagon. This elevated position he wisely -forebore attempting to reach and, instead, took up a position where no -one could enter or leave the engine-house without passing him, and then -he calmly laid himself down and waited. - -But the fates were against Billy Jr. and he was obliged to give up his -position or get run over. Just as he got comfortably settled, the fire -alarm rang out and each well-trained horse rushed to his allotted place -on engine, hose-cart, or ladder-wagon. As Billy saw the engine speed -away with his enemy holding on behind and trying to get into his rubber -coat, he said, “I have been cheated of my revenge to-day, but look out -for to-morrow, you red-faced lubber,” and with this parting threat he -trotted off to find his friend, old One-horn. - -Just as Billy was coming out of the engine-house he came upon an old -German couple leading a dainty little Nanny-goat by a string. Now, it -had been a long time since Billy had met a pretty Nanny and his heart -fairly thumped with joy as he pranced up to make friends with her, but -here is where he made a mistake. In his joy at seeing her pretty face -he had forgotten that he must needs be introduced before approaching -a strange Nanny, and this young thing proved to be unusually timid, -so when she saw a big strange Billy-goat running toward her as if he -had known her since she was a baby kid, she promptly dodged behind -her mistress. Billy, nothing daunted, followed after her. As his head -appeared at one side of the old fat woman, Nanny’s appeared at the -other, and the faster she ran the faster he followed. This they kept -up until the poor woman was wound round and round by the cord, so that -she could not move and, being equally as timid as her little charge, -she at last fainted and fell forward on the walk, knocking Billy off -of his feet and throwing Nanny down upon her knees. When Billy saw the -mischief he had been the cause of, and also saw the old woman’s husband -coming after him with a thick club, he wisely disappeared round the -first corner, pondering in his mind over the foolishness of young kids -in general and of this one in particular. - - - - -_Billy, the Christmas Tree, and the Irishwoman._ - - -The night before Christmas, Billy Jr. was prowling around, feeling -lonely and unhappy and wishing that he were back again with his father -and mother for the holidays at least. Chancing to look through a -window from which the light was streaming, what should he see but a -beautiful Christmas tree! And more wonderful still, who do you suppose -was trimming it? None other than old Santa Claus himself. Billy -quickly stationed himself directly in front of the window and gazed -with longing eyes upon the many attractive gifts being tied upon the -tree. “Oh, my! Just wouldn’t I like to get a nibble at that big red -apple hanging near the very top of the tree. Yes, and there is a fine -cornucopia filled with all kinds of goodies that I could eat if I had -the chance, and without a grain of salt, either.” But Santa Claus -continued his work, utterly unconscious of the greedy eyes blinking at -him from the outer darkness. - -Presently Billy Jr. said, “I wonder whose house this is and how many -children live here.” Almost as if in answer to his question a quick -step sounded on the walk, and to his utter disgust, the hated fireman -ascended the steps and entered the house with his latch key. - -“Well, I declare,” said Billy, “it’s a shame for a man like that to -have such a lovely Christmas tree. I’ll venture to say that Santa Claus -does not know how unkind he is to animals or he would never help him to -trim his tree.” - -As soon as the last gift was disposed of, Santa Claus raised the window -to keep the room cool so that the tree might not wilt, then he quickly -put out the lights; and hark! I hear sleigh bells! Yes, there he goes -with his reindeer over the tops of the houses. Swiftly and merrily -he drives, stopping at every fireside to bring joy and some little -remembrance of his good will to all. - -“Now that he has gone and the window is open, what is to hinder me from -climbing in and tasting a few of the Christmas dainties? I am sure a -few would not be missed and I can see my way clearly, as that electric -light across the street shines straight into the room, making it as -light as day. There is a packing box just under the window that I can -jump upon, and from that I can easily get into the window.” So, without -any more ado Billy climbed in and at once began to eat the dainties he -had coveted. - -The first thing he took was the big red apple, then the cornucopia of -nuts and candies, next he licked a lemon-candy dog, after this he ate -a popcorn ball or two, then he spied a bunch of yellow carrots on an -upper branch. These he _must_ have (not knowing that they were made of -silk and to be used as a pin cushion). So he raised himself on his hind -legs and tried to reach them, but they were _just_ beyond his nose. -He gave a little spring, but missed again, and, worse still, his feet -struck the table which the tree stood upon and over it went, burying -the luckless Billy under it, while tin horns, candies, toy horses, -and all, rattled round him in hopeless confusion. The noise awoke the -fireman, and he and his wife came hurrying into the room, thinking to -find burglars. They did not see Billy, for as they opened the door he -jumped out of the window, and to this day they do not know _who_ upset -the Christmas tree. - -One day when Billy was wandering idly about he saw one of the firemen -walking across lots, carrying a bundle which he knew was intended for -the washerwoman. Having nothing special to do, he followed and soon -overtook him. The fireman gave him a chew of tobacco and was surprised -to find that instead of spluttering, making a fuss, and spitting it out -of his mouth, he chewed it like an old-timer and seemed to enjoy it, -his beard going up and down in that queer way that men’s do when they -are chewing. - -“Well, Billy, how are you, and how has the world been using you since -last we met? Let me see, the last time I saw you, you were trying to -decide whether to come down a flight of stairs or whether to slide down -a greased pole, were you not?” And with such pleasant converse the man -and goat walked along side by side until they reached the washerwoman’s -shanty. She was a jolly, red-faced Irishwoman, somewhat pie-crusty in -temper, but nevertheless an excellent laundress, and all would have -been well had not Billy accidentally tramped with his muddy feet on -some fine clothes that had been spread on the grass to whiten. Seeing -his footmarks upon the dainty pieces with which she had taken such -pains, she snatched up a dipper of hot water and threw it at Billy, -calling out as she did so: - -“You miserable baste, if ye come around here with your dirty fate -again, a-spilin’ my nice, clean clothes, I’ll brake yer ugly neck fer -ye, that I will. Bedad it’s no fun doin’ thim fine petticoats agin. -Sure and it ain’t.” - -Our Billy Jr., having the grace to see that he was at fault, and that -his carelessness had been the cause of making unnecessary work to the -irate Irishwoman, meekly turned away and returned home without waiting -for the fireman. - -The next day Billy thought he would stroll back to the washerwoman’s -place to find out if she were still angry with him, and also to play -some trick upon her (if he could) in return for the throwing of the -hot water. He first peeked through a crack in the fence to see if she -were hanging out clothes, but not seeing her, he crawled through a hole -where some boards had fallen down and, keeping a sharp lookout about -him, he caught sight of her coming from the kitchen. He kept out of -sight until she disappeared within a neighbor’s house, then he walked -straight to the kitchen door, stuck his head inside and, as no one was -about, he boldly walked in to see if he could find what it was smelt so -good. He had not far to look, for just before him stood a table, and on -it was placed the mid-day meal which the washerwoman had prepared for -her husband. - -“My, but it smells good and I am as hungry as a bear,” and Billy, -without a twinge of conscience, helped himself to the nice, mealy -potatoes, cabbage and cornbeef, and the bread, even licking the crumbs -from the plate, and leaving only the empty dishes for the poor hungry -husband. - -Just as he was taking a last reluctant lick at the cabbage plate, he -heard some one coming and, in turning quickly to escape, he upset a -clothes-horse full of clothes so that they fell upon the stove, where -they soon caught fire, and the flames spreading to the woodwork of the -shanty, the whole structure was in a blaze before you could say Jack -Robinson. - -Billy escaped without even singeing a hair and started on a dead run -down the block. When he finally turned to look back, flames and smoke -were pouring from windows and doors, while the poor laundress stood -in the yard wringing her hands in sore distress, and watching all her -earthly belongings go up in smoke. - -“It’s too bad,” said Billy; “I did not mean to burn her home; I only -intended to annoy her and eat her husband’s dinner; but, never mind, -there go the firemen to the rescue. They will soon put out the flames,” -and with a whisk of his tail Billy ran off to look for more mischief. - -Billy was growing tired of the location in which he lived, so he -decided to leave the firemen and seek a more fashionable quarter of the -city, consequently he selected Knob Hill as being quite to his liking. -When the firemen went to feed Billy, one morning, he was nowhere in -sight. They whistled again and again, but there was no response. He -came neither to luncheon nor to supper, but the men thought nothing of -this, as he often absented himself for a day or two at a time, but when -three, four, five, and six days passed and still Billy did not make his -appearance, they felt sure that he had been stolen or had wandered off -and been shut up in some barn. They waited a day or two and finally -advertised for him by nailing up a large red poster illustrated with a -handsome black goat, and offering a liberal reward for his return or -for information as to his whereabouts. - -Billy laughed way down in his whiskers when he saw the gorgeous poster -and the representation of himself, and then he walked up and tore it -off the boards. But while in the act of doing this he was recognized by -a lot of boys as the goat advertised for, and they quickly pursued him, -hoping to claim the reward offered. Need we say that before they had -finished with Billy they wondered who in the world could want such a -goat? As for themselves, they would have been glad to pay to get rid of -him. - -Two boys finally got a rope around his neck and thought themselves -wonderfully smart for doing so, but they little dreamed that our Billy -had allowed them to do it for a purpose of his own. As soon as the -rope was securely tied and the boys had a tight hold of the ends, he -started, and now the fun began. - -Billy was a sturdy fellow, possessed of a certain grim sense of humor, -so in a seemingly guileless, innocent manner he lowered his head -and trotted along at a steady gait, choosing all the rough, stubbly -places in the road, never missing a mud-hole, never passing an ash -heap; through the one, over the other he went, dragging the boys -after him, and when they attempted to hold him back or to stop him, he -simply quickened his pace and went flying through narrow alleys, over -and amongst heaps of rubbish, jerking them to their feet at times, -or upsetting them with scant ceremony, as the case might be, so that -finally rope and boys became hopelessly entangled, and the boys could -not let go if they would, but were completely at Billy’s mercy. But, at -last, the rope got twisted around a lamp-post and then it broke, giving -the boys their liberty very suddenly. By this time they had lost all -thought or desire for a reward and Billy left them with a satisfied -twinkle in his eye and a subtle smile well hidden under his long -whiskers. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_Billy Jr. Has Some New Experiences._ - - -On his way back to Knob Hill, Billy passed a magnificent mansion with -shades down and the gas lighted inside. - -“Now, what in the world is the matter with the people who live there?” -he mused; “are they lunatics that they close the curtains, shut out the -sunshine, and then light the gas at three o’clock in the afternoon? And -what is that long tunnel-like, canopied passage that extends from the -curbing to the front door? I believe they call it an awning. It is not -raining, what do they want it for? I must get nearer and see about it.” -So Billy walked to the side opening in the awning and looked in. The -front door of the house was wide open and he could hear the strains of -a mandolin orchestra from within, while the perfume from many flowers -was wafted to his nostrils. Not a person was in sight. - -“How strange,” thought Billy, “to leave a front door wide open and no -one to watch it! Guess I will walk up and see how it looks inside.” -Accordingly he walked bravely up to the door and looked in. - -Such gorgeousness he had never even dreamed of. There were flowers and -palms in bewildering profusion. There were draperies and furniture of -Oriental magnificence, and hundreds of electric bulbs with shades of -varied colorings which lit up the scene, while soft, dreamy music made -one feel as if he were indeed in fairyland. As in a dream Billy walked -up the broad flight of stairs leading to the second floor and from the -first room to the right he could hear voices and subdued laughter, -while from an adjoining room came the admonition, “Girls, stop -chattering and finish dressing, for your guests will soon be here.” -Then Billy knew that an afternoon reception was to be held here and -that was why the shades were drawn and the gas lighted; for it is not -fashionable to have sunlight at these affairs. Complexions and gowns -look better by gaslight. - -When Billy heard the voices, he turned and walked into the front room. -This apartment was furnished in keeping with the magnificence of -the parlor floor. White woodwork, mahogany chairs and table, a high -four-poster bed with satin and lace coverings, silver toilet articles -on the dresser, silver and cut glass vases everywhere filled with pink -roses and white hyacinths, and again, a multitude of soft-tinted lights -which enhanced the beauty of everything the eye rested upon. - -[Illustration: BILLY GAVE ONE LEAP WHICH CARRIED HIM AHEAD OF THE -DOG.] - -“The scent of the flowers reminds me of the clover in the meadows. I -must have a taste of them.” So Billy tasted and then ate one entire -bouquet, for the flavor was so fine he could not stop at one bite. -Then, beginning to feel the effects of his wearisome escapade with the -boys, and lulled by the warmth, light, perfume, and music surrounding -him, he jumped up in the middle of the beautiful bed, and stretched -himself out on the exquisite pink satin and lace coverlet preparatory -to enjoying a good rest. Nothing was too good for the use of Billy Jr. - -When the first guests entered the room they scarcely glanced at the -bed, going first to the mirror to adjust their hair and repowder their -noses. Suddenly, one of the ladies dropped the comb with a clatter, -her eyes nearly dropping from their sockets and her face blanched with -surprise and fear, for, reflected in the mirror, she saw two long horns -suddenly raised from what she had supposed to be a black fur coat, -and, screaming at the top of her voice, she turned and stood staring -with open-eyed wonder at the sight before her. Her screams brought -the entire household scrambling to the scene. She could not explain -but dropped into a chair, completely overcome. Words, however, were -needless, for there stood Billy in the middle of the great four-poster, -self-convicted, and quite as surprised as any of the onlookers. For a -moment he did not know which way to turn, but finally, seeing a door -opposite the one in which the people all stood, he jumped for that -and from there made his escape into a small room which connected with -the hall. Down the steps he went, upsetting the fat butler with whom -he came in contact on his way down and, without pausing to offer his -apologies, hastened into the street and hurriedly left the neighborhood. - -[Illustration] - -The goat episode was the main topic of conversation that afternoon -among the fair five hundred, and Billy would have been flattered could -he have heard himself described as “fierce-looking as a lion and as -large as a bear.” - -After Billy Jr. left the house where the reception was being held, he -wandered around not knowing where to go. He began to feel lonesome -and hungry and almost wished he had stayed with the firemen and old -One-horn, even if his life with them was a monotonous one. - -Presently, all thought of lonesomeness and hunger was driven from his -mind by the sight of some boys coming around the corner whipping a -large St. Bernard dog that was hitched to a little cart. When they saw -Billy, they cried: - -“Oh, see the dandy goat. Let’s catch him and hitch him up to your cart, -Ned, and have a race. What do you say, is it a go?” - -“You had better let them catch you, stranger,” barked the dog, “or they -will club and beat you when they do get you.” - -“Not until I have given them a chase,” bleated the goat, and with that -he stood as if he were going to be an easy catch, until they tried to -put their hands on him. Then he stood on his hind legs and whirled -round and round like a circus-goat, facing them all the time between -the whirls, so the boys did not know how to get hold of him in this -position, besides they were afraid he would butt or kick them. - -All this pleased the dog immensely and he laughed until his sides -shook. Presently, Billy Jr. heard cart-wheels on the sidewalk and he -knew Ned was returning with his cart. As the boy approached, Billy -Jr. converted his hind legs, which he had been using as stilts, into -kickers. Then with a bleat that meant “Oh, no you don’t,” he jumped -over the low iron fence beside which he was standing and disappeared -round the corner of a big brown-stone house that stood in the middle of -a large yard, while, of course, all the boys came tagging after. Hero, -the St. Bernard dog, forgetting the wagon he was hitched to, jumped -too, breaking loose as he went over the fence. - -As Billy rounded the corner of the house, he ran into the laundress, -who was carrying in her arms a big basket of clothes piled so high that -she could not see what hit her, until she found herself flat on the -ground with her basket overturned beside her. - -“Now, see what yees have done wid yer ugly black goat a-goin’ and -upsetting all me clane clothes, and the missis that particular as never -was. Bad luck to yez. Take him away,” she called, as she saw Billy -coming toward her again. Billy expected to run round the house and come -out on the street, but he was unable to do so, as the opposite side of -the yard was enclosed by a high fence which he could not jump; and here -the boys cornered him. He was going to butt them and get away, but the -St. Bernard barked to him to let himself be caught and then they could -have a race and see which could run the faster. - -When Hero proposed this he, of course, thought he could beat Billy and -not half try, or he would not have suggested it. Billy Jr., on the -other hand, was sure he could beat Hero, so he let himself be caught -and led into the front yard where he was soon hitched to Ned’s cart, -while Hero was re-harnessed and hitched to another by Will, his master. - -Soon the dog and goat were ready for the race and they were led into -the middle of the street, Ned and Will each in their respective carts, -and the other boys standing around ready to follow them when they -started. A boy stood at the head of each animal, letting go when the -word was given. Both the goat and the dog started at such a pace that -the boys lost their hats and came near being thrown backwards out of -their carts. Billy gave one leap which carried him ahead of the dog and -jerked the cart along on its back wheels. Away down the street they -sped, dodging wagons whose drivers stopped and stuck their heads out at -the sides to see the fun. Hero, who was fat and short winded, seeing -that he would have to do his best, ran with his tongue hanging out of -his mouth, panting for breath, while Billy Jr., who was slender and in -fine condition, closed his mouth and ran swiftly as an antelope, coming -out way ahead. - -“Hurrah for you, Billy! I shall take you home with me and keep you, for -I consider you a good friend and you shall have the best supper you -have had in a long while.” Billy Jr. bleated his thanks and added that -it could not be given to him any too quickly, as he was both hungry and -thirsty. “Before I go I want to tell Hero that I would like to have -another race with him some other day when he is in better trim, for I -beat him too easily this time.” - -Hero thought Billy was bragging about his victory, so he said the -reason he had not beaten was because his collar was so tight that he -could not get his breath. “Besides,” he added. “Will is much heavier -than Ned.” - -“Oh, if you think that is the reason,” said Billy Jr., “come out -to-morrow and I will run you a race without any carts for a couple of -miles instead of one, and then we shall see who will win.” - -This was all the conversation they had, for Ned led Billy off, fearing -the other boys might want to take him away from him. They said he had -no more right to the goat than they had, as he was evidently a stray -goat. - -“That’s all right,” said Ned, “but none of you fellows have a wagon, so -I guess I will keep Billy until his owner turns up and claims him, and -I am ready to fight the first boy who meddles or tries to take him away -from me.” This settled the matter, for Ned could whip any of the boys -in that gang. - -Billy Jr. stayed with Ned for about a week and every day they had -a race, or the boys played they were firemen and harnessed Billy to -their hook-and-ladder wagon and made him pull it to where they played -the fire was. After a day or two, Billy thought this was too much like -work; there was no fun in it for him, besides Hero would not speak to -him since he had beaten him in every race they had run, so he decided -to go away and look for another home. - -It was three nights after this before he found a chance to slip out, as -he was shut in the stable every night in one of the box stalls. This -night the coachman forgot to latch the sliding door to his stall, so -when the man went to supper Billy pushed it open and slipped out into -the coach-house where, as luck would have it, he found the door open -into the alley, and out of it he went, not stopping or turning around -until he reached the stable where Hero lived. He would not have stopped -here, but Hero smelled goat as he passed and barked to Billy, “Is that -you, Billy Jr., out at this time of the night? You must be running -away.” - -“You are right, I am running away and I’m never coming back, so -good-bye, Hero; when I see you again I expect you can beat me, for by -that time I shall be so old that any dog can do so.” - -“You impudent goat, I shall not wish you good luck after that remark.” - -Billy, chancing to look back down the alley, thought he saw a boy -running in his direction and, for fear it might be Ned, he hurried on -and turned out of the alley into the first street he came to. He had -gone but a few feet when he saw one of the boys that always played -with Ned coming in his direction, so he dodged into the next alley -and hid behind a garbage box until the boy had crossed out of sight, -then he came out and began to look for some friendly stable that he -could enter. It was beginning to storm and soon the rain came down in -torrents. Vivid lightning flashes were followed by loud rumblings of -thunder, and although Billy was a hardy goat, still he was deathly -afraid of thunder storms. He quickened his pace, passing stable after -stable, but all were closed to keep out the rain and not even a back -yard gate was open so he could run in and get under a wood-shed or -porch. - -It grew darker and darker each moment; the lightning became more -frequent and more vivid, until poor Billy was all in a tremble. -Suddenly he spied an over-turned packing box lying close to a stable, -with just room enough for him to squeeze in between. “Well, this is -better than nothing,” he thought, so he squeezed himself in and was -about to lie down when he heard a low growl, and the next flash of -lightning revealed to him another occupant of the box--a little yellow -dog with a stubby tail and blazing eyes. - - - - -_Billy and Stubby._ - - -“Well, what are you doing here?” said Billy. - -“That is the question I was about to ask you,” replied the dog. - -“I came in to get out of the rain because all the other places were -shut,” said Billy Jr. - -“And I came here because I live here. This is the only home I know,” -answered the dog. - -“Oh, if that is the case I will be going, as I do not wish to intrude.” - -“You are perfectly welcome to stay and share the shelter of my home, -poor as it is,” said the dog, whose name was Stubby. - -“You are exceedingly kind,” replied Billy. “I will gladly stay if only -for your company. I hate being out alone in a thunder storm.” - -After this they became very well acquainted and prolonged their talk -far into the night, exchanging confidences and experiences. - -As you all know Billy’s history, I will not repeat what he told the -dog, but will confine myself to the sad story of Stubby’s life. - -[Illustration] - -Stubby was undoubtedly of common parentage with not a drop of blue -blood in his veins, but he had plenty of good red blood, so he did not -care, only he often thought it would be very nice to be petted and fed -as thoroughbreds were. This wish, however, only came on days when he -had nothing to eat but a piece of mouldy bread from the garbage box -and nothing to drink but water out of a mud puddle. On other days he -would not exchange his lot for that of a King Charles lying on a satin -cushion on my lady’s lap, for what did the King Charles know of real -life or freedom, shut up in my lady’s boudoir, or taken for a walk at -the end of a silver chain? - -No, he would not change his free, roving life and home in a packing box -for all the satin cushions in the world. He felt that he should sicken -and die shut up in a home, fed on bonbons, and only allowed to run to -the length of a short chain. To be sure it must be nice to have for a -mistress a pretty lady who would stroke you with her soft white hand, -or a sweet little girl to romp and play with, but one could not have -these joys without the evils of being shut up in an overheated house, -and that he knew he could not stand. - -He had been born under a barn standing in the suburbs of San Francisco. -His father he had never seen and his mother was a small yellow dog like -himself, only she had a tail that curled in a beautiful manner once and -a half times round, of which she was very proud. His tail had curled in -this same way until some bad boys caught him and cut it off. - -“Oh, I tell you, Master Billy, you don’t know what it is to knock -around the world and be only a poor little yellow cur that every one -delights to kick and stone, although he has done nothing but mind his -own business. You see, though you have traveled a great deal and seen -more of the world than I have, still you have not bucked up against -its cruel side as I have. One reason is because you are so big and so -strong that people dare not hurt you, while as for me, I have been so -small and so homely that any bad boy or man could be cruel to me and -not be afraid of getting hurt for it. - -“I had had my eyes open only for a few days when my mother told my -brothers and sisters and me that if we wanted to get on in the world we -must not look for justice, or bite when we were abused, and she said -that we must endure all things, be patient and return good for evil. I -remember this talk distinctly because it was the last we ever had with -her, for the very next day a boy crawled under the barn and took all my -brothers and sisters and myself in a basket and carried us to the river -bank, where he tied a stone to each of our necks and then threw us into -the water to drown. Somehow, he did not tie my string tight enough, -and when he threw me into the river the weight of the stone untied -the string and let me loose, so when I reached the bottom, instead of -staying down like my brothers and sisters, I came to the surface and -then swam ashore. I never knew I could swim until I found myself in the -river, and then, instinctively, I struck out as if I had been swimming -all my life, just as all animals do when thrown into the water for the -first time. - -“When I reached the shore the boy had gone, for when he saw us -disappear under the water he thought we would never come up. I rested -on the bank in the sun until I got dry, quietly crying for my kind -little mother, for I knew I never could find my way back to her. I saw -a house a short distance away with a barn and barnyard at the back, so -I crept under the fence into the back yard and went to sleep beside a -straw-stack. For supper I had only a little milk that I lapped up from -the ground where the girl had spilled it when milking. Of course I got -more dirt than milk, but I was afraid to go nearer to the house for -fear of being abused. - -“The next morning the hired girl came out to milk the cow and I made up -my mind I would try to make friends with her, so I commenced by giving -a little low bark to attract her attention as she sat milking. She -turned around quickly and said, ‘My goodness, how you scared me! Where -did you come from, you poor forlorn little thing?’ - -“Her voice reassured me, so I ran straight up to her and she patted me -and said, ‘There, don’t look so frightened, no one is going to hurt -you.’ When she went to the house she called to me to follow her, which -I was very glad to do, and she gave me a saucer of nice, warm milk, -which I was very much in need of, being both cold and hungry. - -“Well, from that day until I was stolen by a tin peddler, I stayed -there and was petted and fed as if I had been a dog with the bluest of -blue blood in my veins. But what a life I had of it with that lying, -cheating tinker, until he at last sold me for five dollars to a young -lady who had taken a fancy to me, mostly from pity, I think. From this -lady I learned many tricks and was dressed in a blue blanket and tied -with blue ribbons, which I tried to lose off or else rolled in the -mud with, every chance I got. Some boys stole me from her, finally, -and they cut off my beautiful curly tail, the only thing about me that -was beautiful, although the young lady used to say, ‘Stubby, you have -the loveliest eyes I ever saw in a dog’s head. They certainly look as -if you had a human soul, and you make me wonder what you are thinking -about.’ - -“After the boys stole me, my luck went from bad to worse until I had -to hide in the daytime and only look for food at night. I was stoned -and kicked so that at last I gave up trying to find a good master or -mistress and I hid in alleys, sometimes sleeping out in the rain and -cold without any shelter but the sky or anything softer than a board to -sleep on, so when this old packing box was thrown out into the alley I -hailed it with delight and have lived in it ever since. - -“You see my story is only a pitifully uninteresting tale beside your -life history.” - -“Forget the past,” said Billy Jr. “That is gone, and in the future we -will live together and see what good we can get out of life. What do -you say to leaving the city and going out into the country? It is much -cleaner there, while there is less chance of being abused or of getting -shut up where we won’t be free to come and go as we please.” - -“Very well,” said Stubby, “I am longing to get into the country once -again. What direction shall we take?” - -“South,” replied Billy Jr. “Let us try to find our way to Old Mexico, -where it is nice and warm the year round.” - -“That is a splendid idea,” said Stubby. “I, too, am tired of the cold.” - -“It is too bad that dogs can’t live on grass and the things that goats -can, for then you would not have to go hungry so often. I believe I -could live on old shoes and straw if I could find nothing else to eat, -although I don’t say I should relish them much,” said Billy. - -“Oh, I can live on very little, so don’t worry about me,” said Stubby. - -At the first peep of dawn the two friends left the old packing box and -started on their long journey to Old Mexico. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_Small Adventures._ - - -Six months later we find Billy Jr. and Stubby near the City of Mexico, -on a large stock-farm, where are raised fierce, blooded bulls intended -for the bull-fights that take place every Sunday in the City. - -It would take too long to tell of all the troubles and mishaps the -two friends met with on their long journey from San Francisco to Old -Mexico, but with all their trials they enjoyed it, for both were good -travelers and made the best of things without complaining when matters -could not be helped. - -Once Stubby came very near getting drowned in a fierce mountain stream -that had become swollen from recent rains until it was twice its usual -size. Caught in one of the whirling eddies, he was spun round and -round until, dizzy and sick, he could not open his eyes, and had not -strength enough left to swim against the strong, swift current. He was -just giving up hope when he felt some large object strike his side -and, opening his eyes for an instant, he saw Billy Jr., who swam out to -rescue him. - -“Climb on my back, Stub,” Billy cried, “and I will swim to shore with -you.” Stubby did as he was bidden and soon they were shaking themselves -dry on the bank. - -[Illustration] - -Another mishap, one in which Stubby was the hero and saved Billy Jr.’s -life, occurred one moonlight night out on the plains. They were both -sound asleep when Stubby was suddenly awakened by hearing a peculiar -rattling sound and, looking about, he was horrified to see a snake -just ready to spring upon Billy, who was sleeping peacefully. With a -bound, Stubby had the reptile by the neck and in a second had shaken -him to death. In fact, he had given him such a crack that the snake’s -head nearly flew off. Small dogs have often been known to kill snakes -in this way. Billy Jr. was very much surprised when he awoke and saw -a big snake lying under his very nose. Stubby had dragged it there to -see what Billy would do when he saw it. Had it been alive Billy would -surely have been bitten, for he was too much surprised to move. He -stared at it with blinking eyes to see if his sight was not deceiving -him. When he discovered that it was really a snake he ducked his head -and hooked it away. - -“Did you see that rattlesnake, Stubby? I had a pretty close call, -didn’t I?” - -“Not so very,” said Stubby, “for dead snakes do not bite.” - -“That was no dead snake, for it was not there when I laid down, and -dead snakes do not crawl.” - -“You are right there, Billy Jr., but that snake was dead and I ought to -know, for I killed it and dragged it there just to scare you.” - -“Oh, you did, did you? and where did you find it?” - -“I found it about three feet from your head ready to spring upon you, -so I made a spring first and killed it before it had time to bite you. -After I killed it I put it under your nose for fun.” - -“You are a brick, Stubby, that is what you are; a regular gold brick, -and I will not forget this in a hurry. I hope some day I shall have a -chance to do you a good turn or save your life.” - -“Well, don’t lay awake nights trying to think of some way to help me, -for you have already saved my life once, when you pulled me out of the -whirlpool,” said Stubby. - -One day when they were trotting along the foot-hills of the Sierra -Madre mountains, tired and footsore, hungry and cold, feeling -thoroughly discouraged and as if they should never reach their -destination, they thought they saw a curl of blue smoke rising from the -base of one of the foot-hills in among some tall cacti. - -“Look, Billy, look,” cried Stubby, who had been the first to see it; -“that smoke means some man is building a fire to cook his supper by. I -have seen a little curl of smoke like that before and it always means -that, at this time of the day. Let’s go and see if he won’t share with -us. I am so hungry for a piece of meat I feel as if I could almost kill -some one, if I had to, to get it, and I am so thin, I am sure if you -listened you could hear my ribs rattle. Raw prairie-dog meat and roots -are not very filling food for a dog, and I feel as if the only thing I -had had to eat since we left Frisco was those ground bird eggs I sucked -a week ago. You did not like them and said they were too stale and that -if I waited half an hour they would hatch out and I could then have -birds instead of eggs. You must be just as hungry, for buffalo grass -may sustain life but it is dry stuff to eat, while the cacti leaves -are juicy enough to eat, but the thorns on their edges run into one’s -nose and mouth and make them bleed.” - -While Stubby had been doing all this talking, they had cautiously -approached the spot where they had seen the smoke rising and soon the -delicious odor of juicy steak was wafted to their nostrils by the -evening breeze. - -“Oh, Billy, do you smell that steak? Don’t it smell better than -anything you ever smelt in your life before?” - -“Well, to tell you the truth, I would prefer carrots or turnips. You -forget I am not a meat eater. I am a vegetarian, but for all that I can -appreciate your feelings. Look between those two tall cacti. There is -an Indian as sure as I am alive!” said Billy. - -“By the Great Black Bear!” said Stubby, “you are right and I see my -finish, for if I go nosing around here, they will catch me and make -soup of me in a twinkling.” - -“Have no fear, Stubby. I know the Indians well. They are fond of dogs -and they never kill and eat them unless they are starving. There is no -danger of that now, for from the smell of cooking meat which we get, -they have evidently stolen a stray cow or steer from some herd and are -now cooking it whole over a camp-fire for the entire band. There is too -strong a smell to emanate from a small piece, so if I am right you are -in luck, and likely to have your fill before the night is over. They -only eat the best part of the animal and throw the rest to their dogs.” - -[Illustration: IN THE VERY CENTER STOOD LITTLE DUKE.] - -This proved to be the case and after the Indians had eaten their fill, -they rolled themselves in their blankets and went to sleep. Billy and -Stubby sneaked about and found the dogs at the feast. At first these -dogs were going to protest, but Billy called to them, “The first one of -you that yelps or objects to our helping ourselves I will rip open with -my horns.” As he looked big and fierce enough to carry out this threat, -they thought he meant what he said and so let him and Stubby alone and -fell to eating in silence. - -“Now, go ahead, Stubby, and eat your fill, while I wander around and -see if I can’t find some sweet herbs, for the squaws generally have a -lot hanging outside of their wigwams drying, along with sweet grass -and onions. Oh, the very thought of onions makes my mouth water! so -good-bye for awhile, but if you should want me, give the signal by -three short barks.” - -The next morning the Indians were delighted to find a large black goat -and a smart, little yellow dog. They camped here for some time, making -baskets and blankets, and then started on their way to the City of -Mexico to sell their wares. Billy and Stubby stayed with them until -they passed the stock-farm before mentioned in this chapter, and then -they left, made friends with the people on the farm, and became a -fixture there for some time. - -They had been on this farm three months when the incident I am about to -relate happened. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_The Midnight Fire._ - - -On this farm were large barns where the blooded horses and bulls were -housed at night, each in his own stall, and over all were great hay -mows where the hay and feed for them were kept. - -Billy was fastened in one of these stalls every night, because previous -to this he had eaten all the blossoms off the lemon tree, which was -the pride of the mistress; chewed the bosom out of his master’s dress -shirts for the starch that was in them; nibbled the trailing vines off -the hanging baskets on the front veranda; and chewed the sleeve out of -the cook’s new red calico wrapper that was hanging on a line outside to -dry. Stubby, however, was allowed to rove around at will, but he always -preferred to be locked up with Billy, as it was so lonesome when left -alone outside. - -As luck would have it, on the night of the fire he preferred to remain -outside to gnaw on some bones he had hidden and to have a talk with a -little hairless Chihuahua dog that lived on the farm. Had it not been -for this, Billy might have been burned to death and this story brought -to an untimely end, besides Stubby would have lost the chance of making -himself a hero. - -It was near midnight. His feast and chat with the Chihuahua dog were -over and he was lying asleep just outside of Billy’s stall. Suddenly he -was awakened by something hot dropping on his head and paw. Jumping up -to find out what had hurt him, he saw flames pouring out of the open -windows of the hayloft, and as he looked the frightened faces of two -tramps appeared at the windows and then disappeared, only to reappear -at another window where there was less fire. This window they climbed -into and stood prepared to jump, but hesitated before taking the risk -from that height, until the flames drove them off and they half jumped, -half fell, to the yard below, where they dropped uninjured upon a -pile of straw. They had scarcely landed when Stubby was after them, -barking and biting at their legs, while they took to their heels in -double-quick time, glad to get off the premises. Stubby did not follow -them, for he knew that he must hurry back and awaken the household so -some one would come and unlock the stall door where his beloved Billy -was fastened. He ran back to the barn and commenced to bark, telling -Billy that the barn was on fire. - -“I knew it, Stubby. I have been smelling fire and smoke for the last -half hour, but did not know where it came from. My stall is so dense -with smoke I can’t see, and if it were not for this strong rope around -my neck I would be out of here, for I could easily butt down the door, -but this rope is as tough and strong as iron. I have been chewing it -ever since I smelt the smoke, but it still holds together. I have -pulled until my neck is nearly severed from my body and still it won’t -break or slip over my horns. The horses and cattle are all in a panic -and are snuffing and pawing like mad.” - -“Keep on chewing, Billy, while I run to the house after help. -Everything is quiet there; the night watchman sneaked to the city when -every one went to bed and he has not returned, and at the house all are -fast asleep, never suspecting that their property is being destroyed -and their cattle in danger of cremation. Oh, why did the watchman -leave his post?” And Stubby literally flew to the house and barked and -barked, jumping against the door to make more noise and calling to the -little Chihuahua dog to help arouse the sleeping inmates. - -Every minute the flames rose higher and higher and the blazing building -lit up the landscape for miles around. But the inmates slept serenely. -Stubby ran to the back of the house and upset a lot of milk pails, -knowing they would make a terrible clatter as they rolled about on -the stones, then back again he ran to his master’s door, growling as -before. At last a sleepy voice called out: - -“If you are after a cat, let her alone and lie down; don’t arouse the -whole household with your noisy barking.” - -“At last I have awakened some one,” said Stubby, “and I shall make more -noise than ever,” so he ran toward the barn and back again, barking -furiously all the time, so that his master would know something was -wrong there, then he again went to the door and growled and whined. - -“There must be something the matter or Stubby would not make such a -fuss,” said his master to his wife. “I’ll just get up and look out -of the window,” and as he raised the window shade the whole room was -flooded with the red glare of fire. - -“My God! wife, the barn is on fire and I have been lying here like a -log while that noble dog has been trying to awaken me, and I trying to -drive him off, thinking he was chasing cats!” - -Stubby’s master only waited to step into a pair of trousers and -slippers before he followed Stubby on flying feet to the barn, just -stopping long enough on the way to ring the alarm bell that hung on a -high pole and could be heard all over the farm. This unusual sound in -the dead of night awoke all of the farm-hands, and they came running -along as fast as their feet could carry them, rubbing their sleepy -eyes, wondering what danger menaced them, for this bell was never to be -rung except in case of fire or danger. - -One glance at the blazing barn drove all sleep from their eyes and they -rushed toward the fire; their one thought being to save the horses and -bulls; the bulls that were to fight in to-morrow’s fight and which -had been reared and fatted for this express purpose. Apart from the -great financial loss, it would spoil to-morrow’s sport for thousands -and thousands of Spaniards and Mexicans who were anxiously awaiting -the great event. These men, being Mexicans, did not think it cruel -to sacrifice bulls and horses and men even in these fights, which -are national affairs; but we think if the poor animals knew what was -awaiting them on the morrow, they would not have tried so frantically -to escape death by fire. - -As Stubby and his master were approaching the barn, one end of the roof -fell in--that end where Billy’s stall was, and on seeing this Stubby -gave a howl of despair; but the next second was blinking to see if -his eyes were not deceiving him, for who should come out of the stall -door with a bound but Billy! The goat had at last succeeded in chewing -his rope in two, and, that done, it was an easy matter to butt down -the door. Better yet, the bulls, seeing this opening, had broken out -of their stalls and were following Billy. The roof had caught on some -strong cross-beams and had not fallen on the cattle in the stalls. - -[Illustration] - -Soon all the bulls were out, but to get the horses out was another -matter, for, as you know, horses will remain in a burning building -in spite of everything, unless you can cover their heads and lead -them out, and even then it is a hard matter to get them to stay out. -With the help of all hands, however, they succeeded in saving the -horses, but none too soon, for as the last one was led out, the whole -barn crushed in and a few minutes more was nothing but a red heap of -burning timbers. Stubby’s master was so thankful for the escape of his -expensive horses and valuable bulls that he did not give the loss of -the barn a second thought, and when it was all over he called Stubby -and said: - -“Boys, do you see this little dog? Well, if it had not been for him -all my valuable stock would have been buried under that bed of burning -coals and I should have been a poor man, as all my wealth is tied up -in horses and cattle. It was he who awakened me and gave the alarm -of fire. For this he shall have a collar of gold with this motto -inscribed upon it, ‘_To Stubby for saving forty lives this collar is -affectionately dedicated by his master, Carlos Otero._’ Stubby can -always wear this collar as Billy does his, telling of this brave deed.” - -The night watchman, hearing what had happened through his neglect, -never came back, as he was too ashamed and afraid to face his master. - -Every one wondered how the barn caught on fire; some thought the -watchman had set it on fire, others thought one of the stable boys had -been careless about smoking and a spark from his pipe had set fire to -the hay; but no one but Stubby really knew about the two tramps whose -pipes had done all the mischief. - - - - -_The Bull-Fight._ - - -Two days after the fire all was bustle and confusion at the farm, for -this was the day of the long anticipated bull-fight that was to occur -in Mexico City and for which these especial bulls had been raised and -fattened. It was barely sunrise when the little procession started for -the city; the object in starting so soon being to avoid the crowd of -people anxious to view the bulls before they reached the arena. - -Billy Jr. and Stubby went along as a matter of course--they must see -everything going--and they had no intentions whatsoever of missing the -great fight, particularly as the odds were in favor of their favorite -bull. Our Billy knew thoroughbreds when he saw them and could pick -the winners. To-day’s favorite was strong of bone, supple of joint, -solid of flesh, with a quick eye and a temper like a firecracker. He -was handsome to look upon with his fine, short, glossy black coat and -beautifully curved horns with tips like needles, that could pierce a -horse’s skin and rip him open in the approved Mexican style. His eyes -were large and brilliant and his nose with its sensitive nostrils as -red as the cactus blossom of his native country. And how he could -bellow and paw the ground when mad! Yes, Billy was sure he would win -against all odds. - -After they reached the city, he could hear the big bull stamping around -in his stall and bellowing for his breakfast. His royal highness was -not accustomed to be kept waiting, he was always fed on the dot--just -at sunrise, and here it was twelve o’clock and not a bite, not even a -whisp of hay. Had his master forgotten him? What an outrage after his -long walk in from the farm! What in the world could be the meaning of -such treatment? He little realized that he was being starved for a -purpose. - -“I tell you what it is, Billy,” he grumbled, “if that crazy stable boy -don’t bring me something to eat soon, I’ll toss him over the barn.” - -“Hark! what is that? I hear music. Don’t you? And the rumble of many -feet as the crowd of people take their places in the amphitheatre.” - -“You are right, Billy, the band is playing; it is almost time to begin. -Well, if I don’t get something to eat before very long I’ll give them -some sport worthy the name when I get into the arena. Shut up in here, -treated so badly, and starved to death--I’ll make somebody pay well for -it.” - -“Listen,” said Billy, “they are clapping and stamping, impatient for -the fight to begin.” - -“They can’t begin any too soon to please me,” said Little Duke, which -was the name of Billy’s favorite bull. “There goes Black Jack on his -way to the ring. Billy, just hear the crowd cheer and shout! He must -have stepped into the arena. He is a nasty one to handle when he is -angry. If he gets a chance to dig his horns into one of those toreadors -or horses, the man in the moon pity them and have mercy on them, for -Black Jack won’t! It will be the last fight that man or horse ever -sees.” - -[Illustration] - -Bull after bull passed by their stall on their way to the arena, but -none ever returned; and the band played and the people cheered until at -last some one came for Little Duke, the flower of the flock. He, like -the others, was led into the ring to be teased and tantalized, tortured -and tormented until, crazy with pain and blind with fury, he would rip -horse after horse open in his mad rage to get at the toreador who was -goading him on with pricks from a long spear. And yet the blood-thirsty -Mexicans yelled for more. - -But all things must come to an end; and Billy thought that it was high -time for this particular fight to come to an end right here. He had -heard a bellow of rage from Little Duke, followed by a groan of agony. -This was too much for Billy. When a friend called for help he could not -stay away; so with one bound he was out of his stall and bang! against -the little door that separated him from the arena. This gave way with a -crash, and with a rush and a plunge Billy bounded into the ring. - -The first thing he saw when clear of splinters and dust was a huge -ampitheatre packed from the lowest to the highest row of seats with -people, until the faces made a human curtain. In the arena lay -disemboweled horses and slaughtered bulls. In the very center stood -Little Duke, bleeding from a hundred wounds, but still unsubdued and -defending himself nobly. There he stood with head erect, eyes blazing, -and nostrils quivering, ready to kill the first man or horse that -attacked him. - -In a twinkling Billy took in the situation, and before the audience -or fighters knew what had happened, Billy had tossed one toreador to -one side, nearly breaking his back; had put another to flight; and then -made straight for the horseman who had so cruelly tortured Little Duke. -Just then an attendant opened a door, the man and horse escaped, and -the ring was cleared. - -Billy, going back to see how badly Little Duke was hurt, licked his -nose in sympathy, and told him to brace up, for the fight was over for -that day. This pathetic scene seemed to touch even the hard hearts of -the Mexicans. They began to bid for the ownership of the goat and to -cheer and cheer until they could have been heard many blocks from the -amphitheatre. - -At last Billy, perceived that he and his friend were standing alone in -the centre of the big ring with every eye upon them. The next thing he -noticed was that a little stubby-tailed yellow dog was circling round -and round them, barking in great glee. The fight was over and Stubby -had come to congratulate them. - -Here ends the great bull-fight of the ninth of May, nineteen hundred -and four. - - - - -_The Escape._ - - -An hour after the bull-fight was over, Billy and Stubby could have been -seen running first down one street, then down another, then through an -alley, and lastly through the suburbs, leaving a cloud of dust behind -them. They were running away from their master and his men who were -trying to drive them back to the farm, but Billy and Stubby decided -they did not want to return since all their friends, the bulls, but -Little Duke whose life Billy had saved, had been killed. - -They kept running until they were sure they could not be overtaken and -then they stopped for breath and to decide where they wanted to go -next. While nibbling the leaves from a bush, Billy, chancing to look -up, saw straight ahead of him, looming up above trees and housetops, a -high mountain out of which a column of smoke was curling like a black -plume against the clear, blue sky. - -“Look! Stubby, see what a big bon-fire there is on that mountain.” - -“That isn’t a bon-fire,” said Stubby. “That is a volcano and -its name is Popocatapetl. It sounds as if they were saying, -poke-a-cat-with-a-paddle. I expect someone at sometime poked a cat with -a paddle on that mountain and that is how it got its name, something -after the manner of the Indians who give their children the name -of the first thing the mother sees after they are born. I suppose -the chiefs Blackhawk and Whitehorse got theirs in that way, as for -Mud-in-the-face, some one must have thrown mud in the mother’s face at -the critical moment.” - -“Oh Stubby! You are too funny for anything. Where did you learn so -much?” - -“Oh! from listening to what the people were saying round me when I was -out with my master.” - -“You are a very observing dog and it would be a good thing if more -people followed your example, then they would learn a great deal even -if they never went to school.” - -“How far do you suppose it is to that volcano?” asked Stubby. - -“I’m sure I don’t know. I have given up guessing distances in this -locality or in any mountainous country. That reminds me, did you ever -hear the story of the joke on the Englishman who came to Colorado -Springs and started to walk to the mountains he saw back of the hotel, -thinking he could reach them and return before breakfast? I know you -have for every one has.” - -“Go ahead and tell it. I want to hear it.” - -“These mountains proved to be over a hundred miles away, though they -looked only five. So the next day when he went for a walk, coming to -a little stream, that one could easily step over, he instead sat down -and commenced taking off his shoes and stockings to the surprise of his -friend who was with him who asked what he was doing.” - -“I was fooled on your distances yesterday, but I won’t be to-day. This -may look like a narrow stream, but if I try to step over, it will -broaden out and prove to be a river, so I’m getting ready to wade -across.” - -This story made Stubby roll over on his back and fairly howl with -mirth, not only because it was funny but because he had heard it told -a hundred times and no two people had told it in the same way, and he -wanted to hear how Billy would tell it. - -The cunning Stubby took good care not to let Billy know that he had -ever heard the story before, for good friends as they were, Billy might -not like to be made fun of, besides his horns were sharp. - -Stubby’s rolls and laughter were cut short by hearing a great clatter -of horses’ hoofs on the hard road behind them. - -“Hurry and hide, Billy. It must be a party of Mexicans racing on their -way home from the Bull-fight.” - -Stubby was right. They were Mexican cow-boys out on a lark. When they -saw Billy’s head sticking above the bushes, one said in broken Spanish, -“Now for some fun,” at the same time unfastening his lasso from the -pummel on his saddle where it always hung and with a twirling tongue, -uttered this cry “Cha-r-r-r-ah!” He swung the lasso three times round -his head and as he did so the loop widened and lengthened until with a -hissing sound it descended, encircling Billy’s neck and the next second -he was jerked over the bush he was hiding behind and dragged at a fast -run after the cow-boy who was spurring his pony to catch up with those -who were ahead. - -“Well! Carlos, what have you there?” called one of the boys, when he -saw him dragging Billy behind him. - -“I’ve got a dandy billy-goat. Now you fellows see what you can lasso -and when we get back to the ranch we will raffle off what we catch or -cook them for supper.” - -“Good for you Carlos. That will be sport. There, I see something now -I’m going to lasso,” meaning Stubby, who was following after Billy as -fast as he could, for he would have followed Billy into the jaws of -death, if need be. - -Poor Stubby was very much surprised to feel a rope tighten around his -neck and the next minute to feel himself lifted from the ground to the -saddle before the cow-boy where he was held as they galloped on in -their mad race toward the ranch where the cow-boys lived. - -It is astonishing what some cow-boys can do with a lasso and how expert -they may become in its use. - -Presently, one of the boys spied a big turkey-buzzard sitting on top of -a cactus-plant and with a whoop like an Indian, he was after it. - -Before Mr. Buzzard had time to spread his wings and fly, he felt -something hot twist around his neck, and the last thing he heard in -this world was a merry laugh go up from the cow-boys at the idea of -lassoing instead of shooting birds. - -The cow-boy was going to throw his buzzard away but the others told him -to bring it along as every one was to show, when he got back, what he -had caught with his lasso. - -Soon a terrible squealing was heard just ahead where one of the -cow-boys had ridden, and when the others caught up to him they found he -had succeeded in lassoing a brown and sandy-colored pig. - -“Good for you Jake. Now we will have some roast pork and goat chops for -supper and we will throw the bones to the turkey-buzzard.” - -They did not know then that the big buzzard’s neck was broken. - -They were now so near the ranch, it began to look as though some of -the boys would fail to find anything to lasso, and they had agreed -that those who had not succeeded in getting anything by the time they -reached the ranch should clean and cook whatever had been caught. - -“Well, I’ll be switched if I’ll do that,” said a great, tall cow-boy. -“I’ll find something or die.” - -As he said this, his eyes detected a gray something sneaking away -behind some rocks, so he gave chase, not knowing what it was going to -be. When this gray object heard his pony’s hoofs on the stone, it got -frightened and left its hiding place behind a great boulder and took -to its heels. Whizz! went the lasso, but instead of catching the wolf, -for that is what it was, it coiled around the boulder, and the wolf had -several leaps and strides the advantage. His failure to catch the wolf -the first time, only made the cow-boy the more determined to have it at -all costs in the end, and then the chase began: Over the rocks, round -clumps of cacti, across ditches, the cow-boy steadily gaining, until -with one long, mighty sweep of his arm the lasso stretched out and fell -over the gray wolf’s head and he was captured. - -Then like Billy, he was made to trot along behind the cow-boy’s pony -until they came into the corral at the ranch. Once there, the cow-boys -threw their saddles and bridles up on pegs in the stable and turned -their ponies loose in the corral with a bunch of alfalfa to feed on. -And now for the fun of seeing the boys, who failed to lasso anything, -clean and cook the pig and goat. A coin was tossed to see which should -be killed first. The head stood for the goat and the tail for the pig. -The coin was flipped and up came tail so it was poor piggy’s fate to be -killed first. - -While two of the boys went to get a big iron kettle to boil water to -scald him with, so they could scrape the bristles off, the others -thought they would have some fun teasing Billy, but little did they -suspect that their goat was the same goat they had seen that afternoon -at the Bull-fight, clear the entire ring of horses, riders and -toreadors, or they would not have been so anxious to tease him. - -Billy bleated to Stubby to stay near him as he was going to watch his -chance to jump the wall of the corral and make his escape before they -had time to kill him and cut him up into goat chops. - -“I am going to appear very gentle until they take this lasso off my -neck and then we will see ‘Who is who and what is what.’” - -Stubby barked back “All right, I will watch you and if you get into a -fight, I will help you by biting the legs of whoever bothers you.” - -“Say, Sam, that is too nice a looking goat to cut up into chops. I say -we keep him and turn him loose with our goats on the range. Come here -Mr. Billy and I will take the lasso off your neck.” He walked up to -Billy and slipped the lasso off, giving his whiskers a parting pull. -That settled it. Billy’s docility disappeared in a minute and before -the cow-boy had taken a step he felt something sticking into him as if -he had sat down on two darning needles and these needles were pushing -farther and farther into him and urging him along at a fast trot until -he felt a sudden boost and he found himself sitting on top of the -corral wall, while the black goat landed on the other side followed -by a little stubby-tailed yellow dog and both disappeared down a deep -ravine and were lost sight of, and what is more, no one followed them -or tried to bring them back. - -[Illustration] - - - - -_The Volcano._ - - -As soon as Billy and Stubby were sure they were not being followed they -stopped to rest and to form new plans. - -“Stubby, what in the world are you carrying in your mouth?” - -Dropping it so that he could answer, Stubby replied, “A nice, large -piece of beef.” - -“Beef! Where did you get any beef, I should like to know.” - -“Well, you see I can’t live on grass and roots as you can and as I was -pretty hungry, I took my chance of getting stoned and stole this piece -as we ran by the smoke-house. Didn’t you notice the little house in the -clump of bushes near the side of the corral wall?” - -“No, I did not see it, or know that you were behind me until just now, -for you did not bark, and I expected I would have to wait awhile for -you to join me, but now I see that you had your mouth so full you could -not bark. You go ahead and make a good supper of your steak and I will -make mine of these tender, green leaves.” - -As they ate they talked of their future and Billy said he was getting -tired of Mexico as it had too much sand, cacti and other stickly plants -and not enough water and grass. - -“Now, I say, we get out of it as soon as we can, but how we are going -to do that is a puzzle to me, for it seems to me the further we -travel south from California the hotter it gets, and I say instead of -traveling south as we have been doing, that we change our course and -keep to the west. In that way we will come to the Pacific coast. - -“When we get there we can follow the shore until we come to some -town or city where we can take an ocean steamer and be carried away -anywhere. Who cares where? just so that we get away from this hot, -dusty country. Besides, I am very anxious for another ocean voyage and -always have been since Day and I came from Constantinople. - -“My! Stubby, how I should like to see my sweet little sister and dear -father and mother again. And would it not be strange if we should -happen to get on a ship bound for Boston? I can tell you, if we should -have such luck I would not let the grass grow under my feet until I was -back on the farm again.” - -“I believe you are homesick,” said Stubby. - -“You’re right I am.” - -“Well, I don’t blame you for I, too, would be homesick if I had ever -had a home with a sister and dear parents in it, but you see I have -never known what it was to have a home or any one to care for me.” - -“Just see how that old volcano is smoking now, and what a bright -reflection it throws on the sky above it!” - -“It is due west from here. What do you say to our going to the top of -it and seeing what a volcano really does look like at close range? It -may be our only chance to see one for they don’t have any in the United -States.” - -“Say we do, and perhaps, it is so high, we can see the ocean from its -top. We shall then be able to see how far we have to travel before -reaching the coast.” - -“That is a good idea and we will follow it out. Now let us lie down -here and spend the night and start early in the morning before the sun -gets too hot.” - -Ten minutes later they were both asleep with Stubby curled up under -Billy’s nose. He always got as close to him as possible for company. - -It took our travelers several days to reach the volcano and its summit, -and those days were days of hardships, with little to eat or drink, and -both were looking tired and thin when we met them again within a few -feet of the opening of the crater. - -“Billy, I think sight-seeing is pretty hard work, especially when you -have to walk all the way and nearly die of thirst and hunger. These hot -cinders and hardened lava are burning and cutting my feet all to pieces -and I wish I had hoofs like yours.” - -“Well, if you wish you had my hoofs, I wish I had your short hair, -for I am almost suffocated with my long coat, besides the air in this -altitude is hard to breathe. One gets out of breath so easily and feels -as if there was nothing to the air. Phew! what’s that terrible odor? It -smells as if a whole factory of sulphur matches had gone off at once. -Hark! What is that rumbling noise? It sounds like thunder, but it can’t -be that for the sky is without a cloud and is as blue as blue can be. -Say, Stubby, did you feel the earth shake then? If we were down on the -level I should think it were an earthquake. Gracious! did you hear that -explosion and feel the earth shake again? We had better get out of -this.” - -Just then the smoke rolled away for a minute and they saw they were -within a few feet of the top so they decided they would not give up, -bad as the sulphur and smoke were, until they had taken one peep into -the crater. - -This one peep nearly cost Stubby his life, for just as he had crawled -to the very brink and was looking down, down, down into the very bowels -of the earth where lava was boiling and steam hissing, an extra whiff -of sulphur arose from the boiling, seething mass below which choked -and strangled him so he could not move. - -[Illustration] - -Billy had jumped back barely in time to escape it and was just starting -on a run down the cone away from this dangerous place when he heard -a little whine and saw Stubby drop over on his side as if dead. With -a bound Billy was back, and grabbing him by the nape of his neck, as -a cat carries her kittens, he carried him down the volcano’s side to -safety. - -It took Stubby a long while to come to and when he did so he found his -poor little torn and bleeding feet as well as his nose resting in the -cool sands of a little stream, and all he had to do, if he wanted a -drink, was to stick out his tongue and let the water run through his -mouth. - -“Well, Stubby, are you feeling better?” he heard Billy say when he -tried to open his eyes to see where he was. - -“How in the world did I get here? Can you tell me that? for I had given -up the hope of ever getting off that hot volcano again.” - -“Indeed, I can, for I carried you every step of the way in my mouth, -and when I got here I thought every tooth in my head would drop out, -and instead of the little light weight dog I started with, I thought I -was carrying an elephant, you got so heavy.” - -“Billy, old fellow, you are a brick. That’s what you are.” - -The next day Stubby was all right, and noticing that this little stream -flowed toward the west, they followed it for two reasons. One, because -they thought it would eventually run into the ocean; and the other, -because they were afraid to leave it for fear of not finding any more -water, and it was impossible to travel in this dry, hot country without -having lots of water. - -This little stream proved a perfect godsend to them as it quenched -their thirst, cooled their aching feet and bodies and saved them many a -long climb as it always kept its course and flowed straight on. - -Had they followed the mountain trail it would have led them up hill -and down and over many stones and brambles. Now, when they came to a -precipice that shut off their path by its steep side they took to the -stream and either waded or swam around it. In this way they reached -the seashore days before they had expected to and with happy eyes they -looked over the peaceful, blue bosom of the Pacific Ocean. - -“Stubby, I feel as if I had escaped from prison to get out of that -lonesome country full of insects, snakes and centipedes. Oh! how -refreshing this salt breeze smells.” - -“Yes, but I smell something sweeter to doggie nostrils and that’s the -smell of frying meat. There must be a fisherman’s cottage around that -bend. Good-bye, I’m off for some of it, and I mean to have some, even -if I have to steal it from the red hot stove.” - -“Don’t be in such a hurry and I’ll go with you.” - -“No, you had better stay here. You are so big they will see you, while -I am little and so near the color of the sand that I can sneak in and -not be seen, and after finding out who lives there and getting a piece -of meat, I will come back and tell you all about it.” - -“Very well, but bring me back a bunch of carrots or a cabbage if you -find any for I am as tired of eating leaves as you are of going without -meat.” - -Stubby crept cautiously round the bend and then laid down behind a bush -out of sight so that he could watch and see who lived in the house. On -the doorstep sat a stoop-shouldered man smoking a stubby pipe, while -in front of him on the sand played three or four little children, -bare-headed, bare-footed, with only faded calico slips on. - -Through the open door Stubby could see the wife and mother leaning over -the stove cooking, yes, he knew it by the smell, the selfsame steak he -was longing for. He sneaked cautiously and quietly round to the back -of the cottage and there--Oh, be joyful--he spied the remnants of the -heifer that had been killed so that the family could have a taste of -fresh meat, which was as great a treat to them as to Stubby, for they -generally lived on salt meat and fish, which the father caught, for he -was a fisherman, and took to a little town ten miles up the coast for -shipment to large cities. - -After Stubby had eaten all he wanted of the fresh meat he ran back to -Billy and told him there was a small garden of vegetables back of the -cottage where he could go as soon as it was dark and have a feast. - -The tired, sleepy heads of the fisherman and his family had hardly -touched their pillows when a large, black goat could have been seen in -the midst of a vegetable garden, eating cabbages, turnips and lettuce, -while a little yellow dog sat on a brown speckled rock and licked his -chops after a meal of fresh beef and cold boiled potatoes he had found -just inside the kitchen door, nicely chopped for breakfast. - -Presently Stubby gave a sudden, sharp bark of alarm which made Billy -throw up his head to see what was the matter, when what should he see -but the rock Stubby was sitting on, walk off with four legs with a -queer flat head sticking out from one side. Stubby jumped off in a -hurry and was nearly bitten in two by a quick snap of the jaws of this -queer looking beast, bird or fowl. They did not know which to call it -as they had never before seen or heard of a snapping turtle, and that -is what this was. Stubby had taken its shell for a large stone, as it -had its head and feet drawn in out of sight when he jumped upon it. - -This turtle was a huge one that the fisherman had caught the day before -and was going to take to town in the morning to sell to a hotel-keeper -to make turtle soup of. - -The next morning Billy and Stubby kept out of sight until the fisherman -had loaded his wagon with fish, vegetables and his turtle, and had -started on his way to town. Then they ran out of their hiding place and -followed him, taking great care to keep out of sight and in this way -they soon came to the seaport town and followed him down to the wharf. -When they reached the town they both walked under the wagon so that -people would think that they belonged to the fisherman and would let -them alone. - -When they arrived at the wharf where lay a vessel ready to sail for San -Francisco, the fisherman got off his wagon to unload and then, for the -first time, he spied Billy and Stubby who were still under it and he -was very much surprised to see them there I can tell you. - -One of the sailors said, “What will you take for your goat?” - -Without letting on that Billy was not his or that he had never laid -eyes on him before, he said, “Well! as he is pretty fine, big goat, I -can’t let you have him for less than five dollars.” - -“All right. It’s a go,” said the sailor, who had lots of money at -present, having just received his pay and not having had a chance to -spend it. - -“And what will you take for the dog?” asked another. - -“Well, I don’t know as I care to sell him,” said the fisherman, -thinking if he held off they would give him more money. - -“You can’t expect to get much for him,” said another. “He is too -tarnation homely.” - -“That’s a matter of taste,” drawled the fisherman. “Looks ain’t -everything in this world, and you can’t find a smarter rat dog along -this coast.” - -He threw this remark in for he knew it would catch the sailor as the -ships are always infested with rats. - -“Well, I’ll give you a dollar for him.” - -“No, I couldn’t think of selling him so cheap,” and he climbed into his -wagon, as if he were going off and did not care to part with him. - -“I’ll give you two dollars and a half, and not a cent more.” - -“I don’t care to sell him, but as he has cleaned out all the rats at my -place I guess I’ll let you have him.” - -The sailors gave him the money for the goat and the dog, and he drove -off a happy man, but he did not let the grin show on his face until he -was out of sight of the sailors. - -Now this was a great streak of luck for Billy and Stubby, and was just -what they wanted, so they followed their new masters on board without -giving any trouble and by night their ship had sailed out of port and -was on her way to San Francisco. - - - - -_An Unexpected Trip._ - - -After an uneventful trip, they sailed one day into the beautiful -harbor of San Francisco, called the Golden Gate, and Billy and Stubby -were looking forward to a good time on shore, and planning what they -would do, when, all unexpectedly, after landing, they got mixed up in -a bunch of cattle, and were driven aboard a big boat that was being -loaded with live cattle for Japan, and try as he would, Billy could -not extricate himself from them or avoid the long whips of the men who -were driving them. As for Stubby, he could easily have slipped away, -but he preferred to follow Billy, and that is how our travelers found -themselves bound for Japan without a day’s rest on shore after they -came up the coast from Mexico to San Francisco. - -This was not at all what they wanted, for they were tired of the ocean, -but they were helpless, and what was worse, Billy stood in danger of -being killed and sold for mutton chops, for goat chops are often sold -for such. Stubby was afraid he, too, would be killed and made into -sausage, for he had heard that the Chinese eat dog meat, and if they -did, why not the Japanese? So with heavy hearts they saw the shore -recede farther and farther from them and the Golden Gate sink into the -blue waters of the Pacific, leaving them nothing to look at but water, -water all around them. - -The only thing that varied the monotony of the long trip to Japan was -their short stop at the Sandwich Islands, where Billy and Stubby were -taken ashore for a run by the cook and his assistant, who were both -Japanese and were returning home to fight for their country against -Russia. - -Since starting they had made great pets of both Billy and Stubby and -had often given them meat and apples, and got permission for them -to run on deck once in a while. Otherwise they would have been shut -below with the cattle and the trip would have been unendurable to the -independent, free-roving Billy. - -One dark night as the steamer was ploughing the waters and they were -laying in a little sheltered nook on deck, they heard the captain say -to the mate: - -“We are getting pretty near Port Arthur now and it is going to be -mighty ticklish sailing in these waters; with the two armies, the -Russians and the Japanese, banging away at each other from their -battleships and the waters under us filled with hidden mines and -torpedo boats. I tell you, I don’t like these submarine things floating -around. Who knows but one might get loose, float off and perhaps blow -up the wrong boat.” - -And that is just what did happen, for while the captain was talking, a -terrific explosion was heard, louder than one hundred cannons going off -at once, and for a second, the heavens were lit up with a weird light -in which were seen huge pieces of debris flying in the air like the -eruption from a volcano, while, almost in the same second, they began -falling with a sissing sound into the waters beneath, and all that was -left of the Russian’s battle ship was a few splinters of wood and the -mangled bodies of her officers and men floating on top of the water. - -It had all been so sudden and was over so quickly that it was hard to -realize that such a terrible disaster could have occurred in so short a -time. - -“Now, what did I tell you about the danger of sailing along here? One -of these submarine mines or torpedo boats caused the blowing up of that -war-ship and I tell you what, we had better get out of here as fast as -ever we can or we too may be blown sky high before we know it.” - -Consequently, they cautiously and softly steamed away from Port Arthur -and kept a sharp lookout for every Russian boat that might be sailing -round looking for some boat of the enemies to capture, but they escaped -them all. - -When they landed, Billy’s and Stubby’s friends, the Japs, took them -home with them where they were fed and nicely housed in their back -yard, and while Billy and Stubby were making friends with the beautiful -pheasants that were shut in the same yard, their Japanese friends went -to military headquarters to join the army and when they came back they -were dressed in their uniforms with orders in their pockets to report -at headquarters the next morning. - -For several days after this, Billy and Stubby saw nothing of them but -they were fed and looked after by a pretty, rosy faced, little Jap girl -who wore a pretty flowered kimona and wore her hair in funny looking, -little, smooth puffs with toy fans sticking out of it. - -They had been in the yard about a week and Billy was getting tired of -such close quarters with nothing to see or do, when he heard a military -band marching down the street on the other side of the high fence. The -little Jap girl who had just brought them some water, when she heard -this, dropped her pan and ran to the gate in the fence and looked out -to see the soldiers go by. Of course Billy turned and was through the -gate in a flash with Stubby close at his heels and down the street they -ran in the direction the band had taken, while the poor little Jap girl -ran after them wringing her hands in dismay and calling to them to -come back, but they only ran the faster. - -[Illustration] - -Billy was as bad as any little Irish Paddy about liking to follow a -parade or a band and when he caught up to it he found it was leading a -regiment that was marching to the front. When Billy and Stubby dropped -back to the rear who should they see but their Japanese friends, the -last men of the last ranks. - -When Billy spied them he made up his mind in a twinkle to follow and go -to the war with them. This he bleated to Stubby and of course Stubby -thought it would be great fun and agreed to go, too. - -When the regiment had left the city’s cheering crowds behind, Billy -and Stubby crept up closer to the soldiers and trudged on quietly -after them until Stubby gave a quick little bark which one of the Japs -recognized and turning his head, he saw with surprise Billy and Stubby -marching behind him. - -He tried to drive them back by shooing them and scolding but what cared -Billy and Stubby for a shoo or a scold when they were going to the war. -As the Japs could not break ranks and go for the goat and the dog, -they had to let them follow, which they did, mile after mile until the -regiment broke ranks for the night and went into camp. - -By that time, they had traveled too far to send them back, so that -night when the Japs threw themselves down by their camp-fire, a large -black goat and a little yellow dog lay down with them. - -And for many days and weeks and months they did this, sticking to the -regiment whether it chanced to be in the thick of the fight or waiting -for marching orders, and strange as it may seem, whenever this regiment -was in a fight, it always won and the two Japs had fought so bravely -that they had been promoted until they were no longer privates but -were colonel and captain, and their regiment was known as the “Black -Goat and Yellow Dog Regiment,” while Billy and Stubby had become their -mascots and here we will leave them to enjoy their honors. - - - - -Billy Whiskers Series - -(TRADE MARK.) - -[Illustration] - -By FRANCES TREGO MONTGOMERY - - -BILLY WHISKERS - -Billy Whiskers is a mischievous creature, full of wickedness and folly, -whose antics have furnished fun for a million readers. The child enjoys -every moment after he is introduced to the irresistible fellow. - - -BILLY WHISKERS’ KIDS - -“Recounting the adventures of Day and Night, twin kids of the -nursery-famous Billy Whiskers. This is a stirring tale of travel and -trouble and mischief that will delight the little world.”--_Galveston -News._ - - -BILLY WHISKERS, JR. - -“Night, now grown, is known as Billy Whiskers, Jr. and as he has -all the personal traits which made his father’s career one round of -surprising activity and astonishing adventure, the son will be quite as -well beloved as his sire.”--_Chicago Record Herald._ - - -BILLY WHISKERS’ TRAVELS - -In which the ever active Billy tours Europe, each city in turn -furnishing ample opportunity for fun for sight-seeing Billy. - - -BILLY WHISKERS AT THE CIRCUS - -“Everything goes well enough with Billy until a circus comes to town, -and then just like the small boy, he made up his mind to go come what -might and cost what it would. He made preparations for a week and went, -there to meet with all manner of adventures, becoming so infatuated -with the life that he joined it.”--_Des Moines Capital._ - - -BILLY WHISKERS AT THE FAIR - -In going to the Fair, Billy Whiskers didn’t leave a single prank at -home. He had more fun to the minute than most others have to the hour. -What he didn’t do and didn’t see is not worth relating. - - - Each volume bound in boards, cover and jacket in colors, six full-page - illustrations in colors, with scores of text drawings, quarto, - postpaid, per volume $1.00 - - -THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING CO., AKRON, OHIO - - - - -The Billy Whiskers Series - -TRADE MARK. REGISTERED IN U. S. PATENT OFFICE. - - -DICKY DELIGHTFUL IN RAINBOW LAND by James Ball Naylor - -Dicky is truly a delightful youngster, who ventures over Rainbow Road, -to find himself the guest of Grandfather Gander and Grandmother Goose -in the Land of the Immortals. - -Dr. Naylor knows how to please boys and girls, for the story is -brimming over with humor, rapid movement and lively conversation. - - -THE LITTLE GREEN GOBLIN by James Ball Naylor - -The Little Green Goblin comes from Goblinland in his tiny featherbed -balloon, administers a goblin tablet to Bob Taylor, a dissatisfied -boy. The tablet shrinks him to goblin size, and away the two sail for -Goblinland, which is the place where you do as you please. Upon their -arrival, Bob--but to tell more would be to spoil a good story. - - -WITCH CROW AND BARNEY BYLOW by James Ball Naylor - -Barney fell to wishing down in the haylot, along came a crow and gave -him a magic penny--he would always have that much but no more. Many -strange things then happened--things which cured Barney of that bad -habit of wishing. - - -SQUEAKS AND SQUAWKS FROM FAR-AWAY FORESTS by Burton Stoner - -“Mr. Bull has done some remarkably good work for SQUEAKS AND SQUAWKS, -both in colors and halftones. The color work is superb.”--_Grand Rapids -Herald._ - -Charles Livingston Bull illustrates this charming book of nature -stories, in which the animals speak for themselves. - - -JIM CROW TALES by Burton Stoner - -Jim Crow was the pet of a farmer boy. He was very wise and knew -all about the ways of the beasts and birds, and told them to his -friend--the most interesting anecdotes of the forest folk. - - -TEDDY BEARS by Adah Louise Sutton - -“A fanciful story of the doings of a little girl’s toys, which get into -all sorts of pranks while people sleep. The doings of this interesting -coterie form a pleasing tale for children.”--_Pittsburg Post._ - -“Full of the brand of fun that tickles children.”--_Portland Oregonian._ - - -A LITTLE MAID IN TOYLAND by Adah Louise Sutton - -Eating a piece of magic cake, a little girl becomes diminutive and goes -to live among the dollies in her doll house. One day she steps through -the back door and finds herself in Toyland, and thereafter adventures -come thick and fast. - - -A CHRISTMAS WITH SANTA CLAUS by Frances Trego Montgomery - -Santa carries two children to his home in his wonderful sleigh. They -meet Mrs. Santa, are shown a royal good time, and then Santa brings -them back when he makes his annual trip. - - - EACH BOOK BOUND IN BOARDS, QUARTO, ILLUSTRATED IN COLORS. - Postpaid for $1.00 - -The Saalfield Publishing Co., Akron, Ohio - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BILLY WHISKERS JR. *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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