CHAPTER III.
FRANCO
Franco followed the boys all that forenoon, as they went back and forthfor their wood. At dinner, they did not say any thing about him to thefarmer, because they supposed that he would go away, when they came inand 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, toharness him for work again, he found Franco lying snugly in theGeneral's stall, under the crib.
At night, therefore, he told the farmer about him. The farmer said thathe was some dog that had strayed away from his master; and he told Jonasto go out after supper and drive him away. Josey begged his uncle tokeep 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, butto track your floors in wet weather, and keep you awake all night withhis 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 goaway. I expect now, you've fooled with him so much, that it will be hardto 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 littleshed where there was a well, near the back door. He was lying down, buthe 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 untilhe had got to some distance from the house, Franco keeping up with himall the way, sometimes on one side of the road, and sometimes on theother. At length, when Jonas thought that he had gone far enough, hestopped. Franco stopped too, and looked up at Jonas.
"Now, Franco, I've got to send you away. It's a hard case, Franco, butyou and I must both submit to orders. So go off, Franco, as fast as youcan."
So saying, Jonas pointed along the road, in the direction away from thehouse, and said, "St---- boy! St---- boy!"
Franco darted along the road a few steps, barked once, and then turnedround, and looked eagerly at Jonas, as if he did not know what he wantedhim to do.
"_Get home_!" said Jonas, in a stern and severe tone; "_get home_!" andhe stamped with his foot upon the ground, and looked at Franco with acountenance of displeasure.
Franco bounded forward a few steps over the smooth and icy road, andthen 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 apiece of hardened snow or ice from the road, and threw it towards him.The ice fell, before it reached Franco, and rolled along towards hisfeet, which made him scamper along a little farther; and then hestopped, and turned around, and looked at Jonas, as before.
Jonas began slowly to turn backwards, keeping his eye on Franco.
"It's a hard case, Franco, I acknowledge. If I had a barn of my own, I'dlet you sleep in a corner of it; but I must obey orders. You must go andfind your master."
So saying, Jonas turned round and walked slowly home. Just before heturned to go into the house, he looked back, to see what had become ofthe dog. He was standing motionless in the place where Jonas had lefthim.
"I wish the farmer would let me give him a bone," said he to himself;and then he turned away, and walked slowly around to the barn, to fodderthe cattle.
That night, just before bed-time, he went to the front door, and lookedout into the road, and all around, to see if he could see any thing ofFranco. It was rather dark and windy,--though he could see the moonshining dimly through the broken clouds, which were driving across thesky. The roads looked black, as they do about the commencement of athaw. Presently the moon shone out full through the interstices of theclouds. Jonas took advantage of the opportunity to look all up and downthe road; but Franco was nowhere to be seen.
The next morning, however, when he went out into the stable to give thecattle some hay, he found Franco in his old place, under the General'scrib.
"Why, Franco," said Jonas, "how came you here?"
Franco said nothing, but stood looking up into Jonas's face, and wagginghis tail.
"Franco," said Jonas, "how could you get in here?"
Franco remained in the same position; the light of the lantern shiningin his face, and his tail wagging a very little. He could not tellcertainly whether Jonas was scolding him or not.
Franco remained about the barn until breakfast-time, and then Jonas, atthe table, told the farmer that he tried to drive the dog away thenight before, but that in the morning he found him in the barn.
"I don't believe you really tried," said the farmer's wife. "_I_ candrive him away, I know,--as I'll show you after breakfast."
Accordingly, after breakfast, putting on hastily an old straw bonnet,she went out into the yard and took a small stick from the wood pile, touse for a club, and then called to Franco.
"Franco," said she, "come here."
Franco looked first at her, and then at Jonas, who was standing in thedoor-way, as if at a loss to know what to do.
"Go, Franco," said Jonas.
The farmer's wife walked out in front of the house into the wind,calling Franco to follow. She then attempted to drive him along theroad, much as Jonas had done. She brandished her stick at him, and, whenshe had succeeded in getting him as far from her as she could, by sternand threatening language, in order to drive him farther, she threw thestick at him with all her force.
Franco jumped out of its way. The stick rolled along the road beforehim. He sprang forward to it, seized it in his mouth, and came trottingback to the farmer's wife, and laid it down at her feet; and then,standing back a few steps, he looked up into her face, with a veryearnest expression of countenance, which seemed to say,--
"What do you want me to do next?"
This very act of Franco's embarrassed the woman considerably. She couldnot bear to take up the very stick, which Franco had himself brought toher, and throw it at him again; and, on the other hand, she could notbear to give up, and let Franco remain. She, however, picked up thestick, and brandished it again towards Franco, and, stamping with herfoot at him, she said,--
"Away with you, dog; get home!"
What the result of this contest would have been, it is very difficult tosay, had it not been that it was soon decided by the occurrence of asingular incident; for, as the farmer's wife nodded her head, andstamped at the dog, the jar or the motion seemed to give the wind amomentary advantage over her bonnet, which, in her haste, she had nottied on very securely. A strong gust carried it clear from her head, andblew it away over Franco, upon the snow by the side of the road beyond.Franco, who was all ready for a spring, bounded after it, and pursued itat full speed. The snow was nearly level with the top of the stonewalls, and the wind carrying it diagonally from the road, it rolled overthe little ridge of stones which remained above the drifts, and thenswept across the field, down a long descent, like a feather before thegale.
Franco pursued it with flying leaps over the snow, which had becomesufficiently consolidated to support his steps. He gained upon itrapidly, and at length overtook and seized it; and then, turning round,he trotted swiftly back, leaped over the top of the wall, and broughtthe bonnet, and laid it down at its owner's feet, with an air of greatsatisfaction.
The good woman took up her bonnet, and threw her stick away, and,turning around, walked back to the house. The farmer, who had beenlooking out at the window, was laughing heartily. She herself smiled asshe returned to her work, saying,--
"The dog has something in him, I acknowledge; go and see if you can'tfind him a bone, Jonas." "Yes, Jonas," said the farmer, "you may havehim
for your dog till the owner comes and claims him."
And this is the way that Jonas first got his dog Franco. He told Oliverthat morning, as he was patting his head under the old General's crib,that the dog had taught them one good lesson.
"What is it?" asked Oliver.
"Why, that the Christian duty of returning good for evil, is good policyas well as good morals."