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Show i y i An Artist and His Dog BY CARL JENKINS (Copyright, 1911, by Associated Literary Press.) It was known to the Sheffields, the Durhams, the Chattertons and all other country families for five miles around that the little farm known as Roselands had been sold to some one In the city, but the name of the buyer had not transpired. Roselands had been owned and occupied by an old recluse for years. His hobby was growing roses, but he would never sell or give one away. They simply budded, bloomed and faded. On two occasions Miss May Sheffield, Shef-field, who was by all odds the best-looking best-looking young woman who drove past Roselands had stopped and tried to melt the old maa's heart, but it was In vain. Had she been red-headed and cross-eyed, and had a big mouth and a nose tilted up at the end, he could not have been more surly with her. Neither praise, flattery, smiles or cash would melt him. Red roses pink roses white roses roses enough for a duke's wedding, and yet the passersby could not have one of them. When It was known for certain that the old recluse had departed, and that the buyer was coming down from the city in a few days to take possession, Miss Mary put on a determined deter-mined look and said: "Well, I'm going right over there tomorrow afternoon and get some cuttings from those rose bushes. I don't believe the buyer will care. At any rate I'll chance it." "He's probably a married man," said the mother, "and you don't know what his wife may say about It." "If Bhe's mean enough to say anything any-thing I'll offer to pay. Why, we've given away cuttings and roots and bulbs by the cart cload." At two o'clock next afternoon, after a walk of a mile. Miss May arrived at Roselands. She had brought a knife along, and she lost no time selecting the bushes and making her cuttings. When she had bundled them up she took a look Into the cottage through & window, and was amazed to find that a lot of new furniture had been moved In. Weeds and grass had also been cut down, and It was evident that the buyer was ready to take pos- She Lost No Time In Selecting the Bushes. session. If the trespasser had delayed a single day longer And then she heard the chug of an auto, and lost It as the machine stopped at the gate, and there came the sounds of men's voices and the barking of a dog. The buyer of Roselands Rose-lands was at band! Should the girl walk out with that bundle of cuttings under ner arm, and her chin held high In defiance? No, of course not Should she go without the cuttings? Should she break her way to the fields In the rear through the rank grass and weeds? A shed with vines climbing over It, and the door standing stand-ing half open caught her eye, and a few seconds later she was concealed. A good looking young man, talking with his chauffeur, came up the path and unlocked one of the doors and entered. Half a dozn trips were made by the two, and when they came to an end the hiding girl knew that the chauffeur had driven away alone, and that the master and his dog were seated on the doorsteps within 15 feet of her. She scented the smoke of a pipe, and she heard the man say to the dog: "Well, old fellow, we are here at last. Wonder If we are going to be lonesome? We'll put In a few days cleaning up Roselands and then we must to our canvasses." "An artist, eh? That's what Miss May had thought as she peered at the man's face through a crack In the shed. He had brought the last of his effects, and was going to stay right there. Now, then, was she to get out unseen? "No rain for a week, and everything around here wants water?" continued the man. "We must put the hose on and wet down. You look out for tramps and I'll take care of the roses. And say, Carlo, be a little careful as to the dogs you get acquainted with around here. They must be up to the mark. They say a man is judged by his dog. Something In the shed there? Go and see." The dog had scented the trespasser, and now he ran down and stuck his head into the shed and barked an alarm. "Only a cat, old boy," said the man, "and you needn't drive her away. We want a cat to make it seem home-like. May be a coon or a rabbit, from the way you bark. I'll come down and help you rustle it out. Here " "You needn't put yourself to any great trouble," said Mls3 May Sheffield Shef-field as she appeared in the open doorway. "T thunder!" exclaimed the artist," art-ist," as he fell back in amazement "Sir," said the haughty girl before him; "you called me a cat!" "I I by no means." "And you called me a coon!" "But I I never meant to." "And you called me a rabbit!" "Yes, but you see " "And you ordered your dog to hustle hus-tle me out!" "But I didn't know" "And when I am hustled out you swear at me!" "But my astonishment my surprise sur-prise " "And now I am expecting a blow from a club!" "Miss young lady my dear " "But as you haven't hit me, I wish to thank you for your clemency and bid you good afternoon!" And with head held high and the gait of a duchess, the girl Bwept the fluttering man aside and walked to the gate and up the road. The dog followed her for a few paces in a wondering way, and then returned to his master, to be addressed with: "Carlo, have we had a pipe dream, or have we actually seen the queen ol her sex for 50 miles around?" Carlo went down to the shed to see If anything more like that was lingering linger-ing around, and finding nothing returned to be asked: "But who In the devil can she be, and what In the devil did she want here? Came on foot and went away the same way. Can't live so very far off. No roses out yet. Was she after cuttings? Let's take a look. Why, here's a bundle of them! We came home just In time. She heard us and went Into hiding. Must have known she was a trespasser and a thief, and yet how she stood up to me! Wasn't that an awful bluff, old man? Well. Well! There are a few things to be found before we settle down." Mr. Tikins was only a day or two finding out what he wanted to know, and then he appeared at the Sheffield's, Shef-field's, not as a caller, but as a bearer of burdens. He had three rose bushes. They were, as he explained to Miss May, partial repayment for calling her a cat, a coon and a rabbit If she still felt aggrieved she might send father and brother over and dig up all, but a single bush. He had exclaimed ex-claimed "thunder!" at the sudden sight of her, but there were lilies and tulips and pinks at Roseland, and would she take them and forget the word? Miss May's chin came down by degrees, but it came down. One evening In the late fall the dog Carlo wasn't so very much astonished to hear his master say, after coming home at a late hour: "Well, my old friend, we'll be going go-ing back to town for the winter soon, but next spring Roselands will sure have a mistress. It was you that discovered her, and I want to tell you how much obliged I am. Heigho! How she did stand here and bluff!" |