PATTER AND THE CRAB
Patter now seemed to have matters just as he wanted them. He had gotten
his wish--that is if dogs ever wish--for he had the little black cat,
with her four white feet, up on his back. And, once he had her there,
he began marching around. Later on Bunny and Sue learned that this is
just what Patter used to do in the show where the Frenchman exhibited
him.
Down the long room, lined on either side with the church-fair tables,
marched the dog with the cat on his back. Patter seemed rather proud of
what he was doing, and the cat appeared to like it--that is, as much as
cats like anything of the sort. Cats are not as fond of doing tricks as
dogs are. They are, Bunker Blue used to say, “rather stuck-up.”
But, though Whitefeet might seem proud and “stuck-up,” she did not
offer to jump off Patter’s back. Perhaps she had been taught to do this
by some boy or girl where she formerly lived. As I have told you, the
cat was a strange one in the neighborhood of the opera house. None of
the boys or girls remembered to have seen her before.
Perhaps the cat had been trained to sit on some boy’s or girl’s
shoulder and be carried around the room this way, as I once had a cat
do. And after finding out that Patter was not going to harm her, this
cat may have thought she was riding on the shoulder of some one.
At any rate, she did not offer to get off the dog’s back, and those
at the church fair saw the novel sight of Patter parading around with
Whitefeet.
“If we had known he was going to do a trick like that we could have
advertised it,” said Mrs. Jones.
“Well, maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t,” said Mrs. Nelson. “If we
had, Patter might not have done it or the cat might have scratched
him.”
“That’s so,” agreed Mrs. Jones. “Anyhow, Patter was very cute when he
held the basket of tickets.”
“And I think we’d better have him do it again,” said Mrs. Nelson.
“More people are coming to the fair, and we want them to see what we
promised--a dog taking tickets at the door.”
“In that case, we’ll have to get the cat off his back,” remarked Mrs.
Jones.
“And we’ll have to straighten up the cake and flower tables,” commented
Mrs. Watson. “This place is a _sight_!”
Indeed, the once orderly room where the church fair was being held was
now in confusion, especially where the boys were trying to pick up the
scattered cakes. The tossed-about paper flowers had been gathered up,
not much the worse for the accident, except the wreath that had fallen
about Patter’s neck.
The dog still had this gay ornament on him, and was walking along with
one end dragging on the floor while Whitefeet still sat on his back.
People crowded around to look at the odd sight.
Then Whitefeet seemed to have done her trick long enough. For, with
a gentle “meow” she leaped down to the floor, though she did not try
to run away. Patter turned, looked at her and barked a little as if
inviting her to get on his back once more, but Whitefeet would not do
this.
“I’m going to take that kittie home!” declared Sue, as she picked
Whitefeet up in her arms. The kitten did not seem to mind, and as no
one else claimed the pet Sue was allowed to keep her.
“We’ll have her ride around on Patter’s back when we get up our show,”
said Bunny.
“That will be great!” exclaimed Charlie Star. “Lots of people will come
to see that.”
“Bunny, do you think you could make your dog hold the ticket basket
again?” asked Mrs. Jones.
“Oh, yes’m!” said Bunny. “I’ll take these flowers off and----”
“No, leave the wreath on him,” suggested Mrs. Jones. “It looks cute.
That is, if he’ll let it stay.”
“Oh, he doesn’t seem to mind it,” said Bunny. “Come on, Patter,” he
called. “You have to be ticket-taker again.”
Patter seemed to have had enough of riding Whitefeet on his back, at
least for a time, so the trick dog willingly went with Bunny to the
door and again sat up on his hind legs, the wreath of paper flowers
around his neck, holding in his mouth the basket into which people
dropped tickets.
The room, which had been upset by the dog and cat chase, was put in
order, the flower table being prettily arranged again. As for the
cakes--well, some of them were sadly broken.
“We picked up all we could find,” said George.
“And I stepped on one,” said Harry. “I couldn’t help it, but I guess if
you scrape off the top part it’ll be all right. Maybe nobody will see
it.”
“Thank you, boys, for picking up the cakes,” said Mrs. Pallin, who had
charge of that table. “But I don’t want them back. You may have them. I
couldn’t sell cakes that had been on the floor.”
“Come on, then!” cried Harry. “Maybe we can find more.”
Other boys began searching for the cakes, some of which had rolled into
far corners. Luckily most of the dainties had been in baskets, which
had tipped over when the table had upset, and not all had spilled out.
So there were still plenty that were clean and unbroken left to be
sold. The accident was not so bad as had seemed at first.
Order was now once more restored. Patter was at his place, taking
tickets at the door, and Sue and some of her girl friends were petting
Whitefeet in one corner of the room. The church fair was well under way.
“We never had such a success, Mrs. Brown,” said Mrs. Jones to the
mother of Bunny and Sue. “Your children have been very helpful, and as
for Patter--he is invaluable!”
“Even when he chased after the cat?” asked Mr. Brown with a laugh.
“Yes, even then,” said Mrs. Jones. “For it made excitement, and a lot
of people, who wouldn’t otherwise have come in, entered from the
street to see what it was all about. And now we have them here we’ll
make them spend money for the church,” she added, with a laugh. “That’s
what church fairs are for.”
“I suppose so,” agreed Mr. Brown.
After a while, when it was seen that few more were coming in with
tickets, Patter was allowed to give up his basket, for they did not
want to tire him by making him sit up too long. But he had proved a
great “attraction,” as a Bellemere newspaper said the next day.
Bunny and his chums, after eating the cleanest of the cakes that had
been toppled to the floor, went off by themselves into a side room and
began putting Patter through some of his tricks.
“Let’s get the cat again and see if he’ll let her get up on his back,”
suggested Charlie. “If he’s going to do it in our show we’d better have
him practice.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Bunny Brown.
Sue brought in Whitefeet, and the dog and cat resumed friendship at
once, the cat even rubbing up against Patter.
Bunny put the cat on the dog’s back. She curled up there as if she
liked the warm, shaggy coat of hair, and Patter walked around again
with Whitefeet on his back.
“Don’t make her do it too long or she’ll get tired and cross,”
suggested Sue. So they gave her back the little cat, and then the boys
got Patter to do some of the tricks he had often done for them as they
romped through the fields.
As the boys were doing this Mr. Martin, one of the men who was helping
with the fair, looked into the room and saw Patter marching around like
a soldier, with a stick over his shoulder.
“That’s pretty good,” said Mr. Martin. “Will your dog do tricks before
an audience, Bunny?”
“I guess he will, yes, sir.”
“Will you please bring him upstairs to the stage? I want him to do some
tricks on the stage.”
“He hasn’t got his clown suit on,” Bunny objected.
“No matter,” replied Mr. Martin. “He’ll do as he is. That orange and
black suit is fine! One of the performers who was going to sing is
late, and I want to amuse the audience while there’s a wait. Your dog
will just do for that. Bring him up on the stage.”
“He won’t do tricks unless I tell him to,” said Bunny.
“That’s all right. You can go on the stage,” said the man.
“Hurray! Bunny’s going on the stage!” cried Charlie.
“Well, it isn’t the first time,” said George, for they all remembered
the show Bunny and Sue had given.
Up to the opera house proper went Bunny and Patter. Mr. Martin went out
in front of the curtain and explained to the audience that while they
were waiting for the singer, Bunny Brown and his trick dog would amuse
them.
Up went the curtain and out stepped Bunny and Patter. There was not a
very large audience, for many persons were still in the lower room,
buying things at the church fair. But there was enough of a crowd, and
many it in knew Bunny Brown. They clapped their hands when he made his
bow, and when Patter also bowed there was more clapping.
Bunny put his dog through a few simple tricks, and these seemed to
please the men and women. Of course if Bunny had practiced and had
known he was going to give a performance with his dog, it would have
been much better. But it was very well as it was, Mr. Martin said, and
served to make the people laugh and the time pass until the belated
singer appeared.
“Thank you very much, Bunny, for helping us,” said Mr. Martin, when the
boy and dog went off the stage.
“Oh, that’s all right,” said Bunny, with a smile. “Pretty soon I’m
going to give a regular show--Sue and some of the fellows and I. And
Patter is going to be in that.”
“Then I’ll come to see it and bring as many friends as I can,” promised
Mr. Martin.
As the church fair would last rather late and as Mrs. Brown did not
want Bunny and Sue to lose too much sleep, she sent them home with
Bunker Blue at about half past nine o’clock. Patter went with Bunny,
and Sue insisted on carrying Whitefeet to the automobile, in which the
trip home was made.
“Are you going to keep that cat?” asked Bunker.
“Course I am. She’s mine!” declared Sue.
“I reckon she is until some one claims her,” said Bunker.
“Maybe nobody will,” suggested Bunny.
And no one did. Where the dear little black kitten, with her four white
feet had come from, no one seemed to know. She had “just growed, like
Topsy in Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” decided Sue when several days had passed
and no one came to take Whitefeet away.
The church fair was a great success, and Bunny Brown and his sister
Sue, to say nothing of their pet dog, had a large share in it. The
newspaper said so, and that ought to prove it if anything could.
It was several days after the fair that Bunny and his boy chums were
roaming over the fields with Patter.
“Let’s go up Turtle River and catch some crabs,” suggested George.
“Hard crabs are running fine now, and we can sell ’em and make some
money.”
“All right,” agreed Charlie. “But let’s go to my house and get the
lines, some bait, and a net. Can’t catch crabs without a net.”
“I guess not!” laughed Bunny. “Not if you don’t want to get pinched.”
The boys stopped at Charlie’s house, got some strong lines and bits of
old meat, which makes the best crab bait. They also got a long-handled
net with which to lift the crabs from the water and a peach basket in
which to keep the crabs if they caught any.
In fishing for crabs you don’t use a hook on your line. A piece of
meat, dangling on a string, is all that is needed. The crab swims up to
the meat, grasps it in strong claws and starts to eat. Then if the line
is lifted gently from the water the crab is lifted up with it. Slip the
net under him before he lets go, and you have caught Mr. Crab.
Turtle River, into which the salt sea water from Sandport Bay flowed,
was a fine place for crabs, and soon the boys had caught the peach
basket nearly full. The crabs clashed and clattered their hard shells
in the basket, pinching one another and sticking their claws out
through the cracks in the basket. Patter sat on the bank near the
basket, wisely watching Bunny and his chums.
In lifting up one large crab in the net Bunny’s hands slipped and,
before he knew it, the crab had fallen out on the ground near the spot
where Patter sat. At once Patter leaped up and began barking at the
crab, and pawing at it.
“Let that crab alone, Patter!” cried Bunny. “He’ll pinch you. Let it
alone!”
But the warning was too late! With a snap of its claws the crab
fastened on Patter’s paw, and the next moment Patter gave forth a howl
and began rushing around on three legs.