Jonas on a Farm in Winter. Abbott Jacob
which the great sled runners, following the oxen, ploughed their way. On each side of the track which they had made, the surface was smooth and unbroken, excepting under some of the trees, where masses of snow had fallen down from above. They saw, at length, as they were passing along by the brook, a little track, like a double dotting, running along, in a winding way, under the trees,—then crossing the road, and disappearing under the trees upon the other side.
"What's that?" asked Josey.
"That's a rabbit track," replied Oliver.
"Let's go and catch him," said Josey.
"No," said Jonas, "we must go on with our work."
At a little distance farther on, they saw another track. It was larger than the first, and not so regular.
"What sort of a track is that?" said Josey.
"I don't know," said Oliver; "it looks like a dog's track; but I shouldn't think there would be a dog out here in the woods."
They found that this track followed the road along for some distance. The animal which made it, seemed sometimes to have gone in the middle of the road, and sometimes out at the side; and Jonas said that he had passed there since they went down with the first load of wood.
"How do you know?" said Oliver.
"Because," said Jonas, "his track is made upon the broken snow, in the middle of the road."
They watched the track for some time, and then they lost sight of it. Presently, however, they saw it again.
"I wonder which way he went," said Oliver.
"I'll jump off, and look at the track," said Jonas.
So saying, he jumped off the sled, and examined the track.
"He went up," said Jonas, "the same way that we are going. It may be a dog which has lost his master. Perhaps we shall find him up by our wood piles."
Jonas was right, for, when the boys arrived at the wood piles, they found there, waiting for them, a large black dog. He stood near one end of a wood pile, with his fore feet upon a log, by which his head and shoulders were raised, so that he could see better who was coming. He was of handsome form, and he had an intelligent and good-natured expression of countenance. He was looking very intently at the party coming up, to see whether his master was among them.
"Whose dog is that?" said Josey.
"I don't know," said Oliver; "I never saw him before."
"I wonder what his name is," said Josey. "Here! Towzer, Towzer, Towzer," said he.
"Here! Caesar, Caesar, Caesar," said Oliver.
"Pompey, Pompey, Pompey," said Jonas.
The dog remained motionless in his position, until, just as the boys had finished their calls, and as the foremost sled was drawn pretty near him, he suddenly wheeled around with a leap, and bounded away through the snow, for half the length of the first wood pile, and then stopped, and again looked round.
"I wish we had something for him to eat," said Jonas.
"I've got a piece of bread and butter," said Josey. "I went in and got it when you and Oliver were unloading."
So Josey took his bread and butter out of his pocket. There were two small slices put together, and folded up in a piece of paper. Jonas took a piece, and walked slowly towards the dog.
"Here! Franco, Franco," said Jonas.
"He's coming," said Josey, who remained with Oliver at the sled.
The dog was slowly and timidly approaching the bread which Jonas held out towards him.
"He's coming," said Josey. "His name is Franco. I wonder how Jonas knew."
"Franco, Franco," said Jonas again. "Come here, Franco. Good Franco!"
The dog came timidly up to Jonas, and took the bread and butter from Josey's hand, and devoured it eagerly. While he was doing it, Jonas patted him on the head.
"He's very hungry," said Jonas; "bring the rest of your bread and butter, Josey."
So Josey brought the rest of his luncheon, and the dog ate it all.
After this, he seemed to be quite at ease with his new friends. He staid about there with the boys until the sleds were loaded, and then he went down home with them. There they fed him again with a large bone. Jonas said that he was undoubtedly a dog that had lost his master, and had been wandering about to find him, until he became very hungry. So he said they would leave him in the yard to gnaw his bone, and that then he would probably go away. Josey wanted to shut him up and keep him, but Jonas said it would be wrong.
So the boys left the dog gnawing his bone, and went up after another load; but before they had half loaded their sleds, Oliver saw Franco coming, bounding up the road, towards them. He came up to Jonas, and stood before him, looking up into his face and wagging his tail.
CHAPTER III. FRANCO
Franco followed the boys all that forenoon, as they went back and forth for their wood. At dinner, they did not say any thing about him to the farmer, because they supposed that he would go away, when they came in and left him, and that they should see no more of him in the afternoon. But when Jonas went out, after dinner, to get the old General, to harness him for work again, he found Franco lying snugly in the General's stall, under the crib.
At night, therefore, he told the farmer about him. The farmer said that he was some dog that had strayed away from his master; and he told Jonas to go out after supper and drive him away. Josey begged his uncle to keep him, but his aunt said she would not have a dog about the house. She said it would cost as much to keep him as to keep a sheep, and that, instead of bringing them a good fleece, a dog was good for nothing, but to track your floors in wet weather, and keep you awake all night with his howling.
So the farmer told Jonas to go out after supper, and drive the dog away.
"Let us give him some supper first, father," said Oliver.
"No," said his father; "the more you give him, the more he won't go away. I expect now, you've fooled with him so much, that it will be hard to get him off, at any rate."
"Jonas has not fooled with him any," said Oliver.
"Nor I," said Josey.
After supper, Jonas went out, according to orders, to drive Franco away. It was a raw, windy night, but not very cold. Franco was in a little shed where there was a well, near the back door. He was lying down, but he got up and came to Jonas when he saw him appear at the door.
"Come, Franco," said Jonas, "come with me."
Franco wagged his tail, and followed Jonas.
Jonas walked out into the road, Franco after him. He walked along until he had got to some distance from the house, Franco keeping up with him all the way, sometimes on one side of the road, and sometimes on the other. At length, when Jonas thought that he had gone far enough, he stopped. Franco stopped too, and looked up at Jonas.
"Now, Franco, I've got to send you away. It's a hard case, Franco, but you and I must both submit to orders. So go off, Franco, as fast as you can."
So saying, Jonas pointed along the road, in the direction away from the house, and said, "St– boy! St– boy!"
Franco darted along the road a few steps, barked once, and then turned round, and looked eagerly at Jonas, as if he did not know what he wanted him to do.
"Get home!" said Jonas, in a stern and severe tone; "get home!" and he stamped with his foot upon the ground, and looked at Franco with a countenance of displeasure.
Franco bounded forward a few steps over the smooth and icy road, and then he turned round, and stood in the middle of the road, facing Jonas, and looking very much astonished.
"Get home, Franco!" said Jonas again; and, stooping down, he took a piece of hardened snow or ice from the road, and threw it towards him. The ice fell, before it reached Franco, and rolled along towards his feet, which made him scamper along a little farther; and then he stopped, and turned around, and looked at Jonas,