Part 15

"Ten years ago, when thousands of readers were following Lad’s career as told by his owner, Mr. Terhune, an interesting event took place at Sunnybank. Of all the puppies that had or have come to Sunnybank, that group of newcomers was the most mischievous. Admittedly, Lad was properly proud, but readers will remember his occasional misgivings about one of the pups. The cause of parental concern was Wolf. He was a good puppy, you know, but a trifle boisterous; maybe—yes, he was, the littlest bit inclined to wildness.

"In 1918 Lad passed on; and the whole country mourned his departure. Wolf succeeded his famous father in the stories of Mr. Terhune. The son had long since abandoned his harum-scarum ways and had developed into a model member of the Terhune dog circle. Wolf was the property and the pet of Mrs. Terhune.

"He became the cleverest of all the collies. One could talk to Wolf and get understanding and no back talk. One could depend on Wolf and get full loyalty. One could like Wolf and say so; and the soft cool nose would come poking around and the tail would begin to wag till it seemed as if Wolf would wag himself off his feet.

"Wolf constituted himself warden of the Sunnybank lawns and custodian of the driveways. When motoring parties came in and endangered the lives of the puppies playing about the driveways, Wolf, at the first sound of the motor, would dash importantly down into the drive and would herd or chase every puppy out of harm’s way.

"Each evening it was the habit of Wolf to saunter off on a long ‘walk.’ Three evenings ago he rambled away and—

"Down in the darkness at the railroad station some folk were waiting to see the Stroudsburg express flash by. It was a few minutes late. A nondescript dog, with a hunted, homeless droop to his tail, trotted onto the tracks.

"Far down the line there came the warning screech of the express. The canine tramp didn’t pay any attention to it, but sat down to scratch at a flea.

"The headlight of the express shot a beam glistening along the rails. Wolf saw the dog and the danger. With a bark and a snap, the son of Lad thrust the stranger off the track and drove him to safety.

“The express was whistling, for a crossing, far past the station, when they picked up what was Wolf and started for the Terhune home.”

All dogs die too soon. Many humans don’t die soon enough. A dog is only a dog. And a dog is too gorgeously normal, and wholesome to be made ridiculous in death by his owner’s sloppy sentimentality.

The stories of one’s dogs, like the recital of one’s dreams, are of no special interest to others. Perhaps I have talked overlong about these two collie chums of ours. Belatedly, I ask your forgiveness if I have bored you.

ALBERT PAYSON TERHUNE.

_“Sunnybank,” Pompton Lakes, New Jersey_.

Transcriber’s Note

‘Field-mouse’ appears with and without the hyphen. Both are given here as printed. ‘Hand gallop’ also appears as a single word, unhyphenated. Both are retained.

Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original. The following issues should be noted, along with the resolutions.

21.1 first one should[d]er and then the other Removed. 22.25 without bird dog or rabb[b]it hound Removed. 32.17 a ten-foot clif[t/f] Replaced. 153.24 L[i/o]chinvar King that day clove his path Replaced. 170.8 He found nothing[.] Added. 181.18 with a truck of my own[.] Added. 182.5 spring o[r/f] ribs Replaced. 211.4 and deposit them there[.] Added. 214.11 No expert trainer [w/a]s worked more skilfully Replaced.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Heart of a Dog, by Albert Payson Terhune