THE END OF THE LONELY ROAD
There had been no arrangement made for Ready’s supper, as the Eagle had
expected him to be home by dark. At first Ready was so relieved to be
alone and have no one to delay him, that he gave no thought at all to
supper.
It was wonderful to be free, to have no animal or bird to entertain, to
be able to go on and on rapidly along a straight road.
But after a time, this going on and on grew a little difficult.
Thoughts of supper would keep coming. Little side roads kept beckoning
to him and whispering, “This way for food.” Then he commenced to feel
the pain in his leg, but did not dare to stop and rest for fear he
would be too lame to get up again.
So on through the darkness little Ready ran, keeping his eyes straight
before him, never stopping a moment, so great was his fear of losing
his head or falling asleep.
“I must try to keep the courage that dear old Shaggy Dog has given me,”
he said to himself.
Then there came to him these lines:
“Instead of a moan, say ‘Soon I’ll be home’.” Much to his surprise he
found himself adding:
“I shall keep on the run
Till the journey is done.
I shall not once stop
Until I just drop
On Master Dick’s bed
In the small cottage red.”
Ready felt wonderfully proud of himself to have made up this verse,
and decided to have it published some day in the _Dog Biscuit Weekly_,
which was considered the very best dog magazine.
Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes, and _an enormous black dog
appeared_. He was not a pleasant dog to look at or talk to. Any dog of
good standing could feel that at once.
He went up to Ready and said, “Come with me, and your fortune is made.”
Ready did not even slow up as he answered coldly, “I have no time to
make my fortune. I must get to my Master Dick to-night.”
The black dog came nearer.
“Do not let such a chance go by,” he whispered. “It means bones for
months and liver as long as you live.”
“Oh, why did he mention liver?” thought Ready. He was so hungry and it
was his favorite food!
But something sang to Ready,
“I shall keep on the run
Till my journey is done.”
So he turned sharply toward the black dog, saying, as he ran:
“Go away at once. Do you suppose I would let you keep me from seeing my
master to-night?”
“Suppose I _make you come_?” said Black Dog, in an ugly voice.
Ready looked at the Black Dog. He looked at him from head to foot, and
then, with a growl, he made a step towards him.
[Illustration: In spite of his large size he was a coward]
Do you know what happened? The Black Dog turned and ran away as fast as
he could. You see that in spite of his large size and big voice, he was
a coward. Many large-sized big-voiced things are.
It was growing late now. Even the stars were getting sleepy, and Ready
was the weariest little dog in all the world.
He had come now to a village, and he began to look anxiously for the
red cottage with the pine tree in front of it.
On and on he went, past brown houses, white houses, green houses, past
everything. Oh, where was it? _Now there were no houses left._
Ready felt the tears coming to his eyes. He had been looking so long
and so eagerly; his legs ached terribly. How could he keep on? Then
something sang to him,
“Instead of a moan,
Bark, soon I’ll be home.”
There was a sudden turn in the road and there, right before him, it
stood--
THE RED HOUSE AND THE BIG PINE TREE!
And yes, oh yes, there was a light in the window! He had reached his
journey’s end!
They were home! Ready suddenly felt very strong and happy, and not at
all tired. He came softly up to the lighted window. There sat Master
Dick’s father and mother.
The father was saying, “How’s the little fellow to-night?”
The mother answered, “He’s trying very hard to be brave, but he can’t
forget little Ready. Do you know, he insists upon having the window
nearest the bed _always_ open? Poor little fellow, I fear that he cries
himself to sleep after I leave the room.”
Ready didn’t wait to hear another word, but ran at once to that open
window. In the dark room lay a little boy with wet eyes.
“I’m not being a soldier,” he was whispering to himself, “but I can’t
help it. Oh, Ready, Ready, if I could just have you for a minute!”
Then there were three little barks, and a waggy tail was on Master
Dick’s nose.
There was a cry of joy from a little boy and a bark of delight from a
little dog.
Then a happy child’s voice was heard all over the house calling,
“_Mother, father, everybody, READY’S COME BACK!_”
[Illustration]
Transcriber’s Note:
Spellings have been standardized.
Known changes have been made as follows:
Page 59
TONIGHT changed to
TO-NIGHT
Page 76
tonight changed to
to-night