STUBBY TELLS WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM
"Well," said Stubby, "my story isn't much to hear. You will have a
good laugh over it, I suppose, though I can assure you what happened
to me was no laughing matter.
"When we left here, Mr. Noland drove straight out into the country,
and you must know he is a fast and reckless driver. I nearly bounced
out of the car two or three times, for when he comes to a bad place in
the road, instead of driving slowly he puts on more power and goes
through lickety-split. As for turns and curves, I fell over on his lap
every time he went around a corner. But the worst of it is he is very
impatient if there is anything in the road that he can't pass. And it
seemed to me I never saw so many pigs, chickens and slow-going farm
wagons before. He would toot his horn, and the old farmers would not
pay the slightest attention or give him one bit of the road, but just
keep right on in the middle and jog along, giving us their dust. Mr.
Noland would drive up close to their wagons and toot his horn until he
would nearly break it. Then he would try to pass and nearly upset his
machine in the deep ditches that bordered the road. But he always made
it on two wheels, if not on four, and as he passed he would call out
all sorts of things to the stupid old drivers. His favorite
expressions were, 'Say, do you think you own the road?' and 'If you
want to sleep, you better drive your old hayrack and rattling old
bones to the side of the road,' or 'Now take a little of _my_ dust and
see how _you_ like it!' And all the time he was growing madder and
madder.
[Illustration]
"Consequently when we came to some cows with one of them lying
straight across the road and several others blocking the way as they
stood about, I hopped out to drive them out of the way. But an old cow
with a calf instead of running away from me as I supposed she would
do, took after me and I was so busy dodging her that I did not notice
another cow until I ran right into her. And she quickly lowered her
head and hooked me out of the road and over the fence.
[Illustration: It was Stubby's and Button's frantic efforts to
escape that had caused all the fun and laughter.
(Page 62)]
"Now in this field was a flock of sheep quietly sleeping in the
shade of a tree, an old ram with immense horns watching over them. I
landed in the midst of the flock, which woke them up in a hurry and
they jumped up and ran off, frightened almost to pieces at a strange
dog falling in their midst. And the stupid things, instead of waiting
to see if I was going to hurt them or not, all jumped up and ran
baaing in all directions. This probably made the old ram, their
leader, disgusted at them for being so foolish as to be afraid of so
small a dog as I, and equally angry to think they had no more
confidence in his ability to protect them from harm. And as they had
all run off, so he could not vent his spite on them, he took it out on
me and as I was looking for a place to crawl through the barbed wire
fence he came up behind me and kindly butted me over.
"I must have made a funny picture hunting for a place to get through
the fence, all unconscious of the old ram coming toward me and then
being lifted over by a big butt. Anyway, when I landed in the middle
of the road, I heard Mr. Noland laughing as if he would split his
sides. And he called out, 'Excuse me for laughing at you, my little
stubby-tailed dog, but I never saw anything so funny in my life! Hope
you are not hurt, for I should hate to have you hurt when you were
trying to do a favor for me. If another contrary old cow gets in the
road, I'll run into her and boost her off the road myself.' Which he
did later on, and this is what happened.
"He ran his car right into a cow in such a way that she sat on the
bumper of the machine and he pushed her over on the bank. She slipped
and fell back on the car and broke off one of the lamps. My, but he
was mad! He threw stones at her and made me chase her for half a mile,
calling out to me to bite her leg, bite her leg! This I did two or
three times, but I only snipped her a little as I did not care to take
any chances of being kicked sky high after having been butted twice in
quick succession. My sides were still aching from the imprint of the
cow's and the ram's horns.
[Illustration]
"When we were again on the road and going along nicely, Mr. Noland
said, 'Stubby, this seems to be a disastrous drive for us this
morning, doesn't it?' He had scarcely gotten the words out of his
mouth when bang! went a tire. Well, I would not like to repeat what he
said. Now if there is anything he dislikes to do it is to put on a
tire or fuss with the car in any way. He always manages to have either
his son or the hired man do it. But here he was thirty-five miles from
home on a road where few people passed.
"'I bet I haven't any inner tube to put in!' he muttered to himself,
'and even if I have, it is a mean job to fix it. I would run on the
rim but if I do my whole wheel will be ruined. If I wait for some one
to come and help me, I may wait until doomsday as this is a side road
and little traveled.'
"He took off his hat, scratched his head and thought a minute. Then he
climbed the fence at the side of the road and waved to a farmer he saw
plowing in a field half a mile away. After many attempts he succeeded
in attracting the farmer's attention, and he left his horses and came
toward us. When he was within speaking distance, Mr. Noland called
out, 'Mornin', Hiram! I am sorry to bother you, but I am in trouble. I
have a busted inner tube and I can't fix it myself. Could you come and
help me? The two of us can do it in a short time but it is an
everlasting job for one to tackle. If you will help me, I'll give you
a peck of that Golden Bantam seed corn you like so much the next time
you are in town.'
"This corn was something Hiram had long coveted, as Mr. Noland's
Golden Bantam corn is the envy of all the farmers as it is extra fine
for table use. So Hiram jumped over the fence in a jiffy and the two
set to work with a will. In twenty minutes the wheel was fixed and we
were on our way.
"'That delay will make us reach our destination about dinner time, so
we will have to ask them to keep us. I am right glad as Farmer
Greenbush's wife is noted for her guinea pot pies, and perhaps if I
hint around and flatter her, she _might_ make one for our dinner. I'll
just speed up a little until we get to the big Molkie Hill after which
we can't make much time as the road is bad,' said Mr. Noland.
"For the next fifteen minutes we drove as fast as the little Ford
would take us. Soon we were at the foot of the celebrated Molkie Hill.
It is known far and wide as being the steepest and the most difficult
hill for autos to climb for miles and miles around.
"'I'll just take it on a run,' said Mr. Noland to himself, and he put
on full speed and we mounted to within a few feet of the top, when his
engine stopped short and before he could put on his brakes we were
running backwards down that hill at a terrific speed. When he did put
on the brakes we were going so fast they did no good. Instead of him
paying attention to his steering and keeping us in the middle of the
road, he turned his head to see where he was going. I guess he lost
his head and turned the steering wheel the wrong way, for we shot to
one side of the road, hit the corner of the bridge at the bottom of
the hill and turned upside down in the water. We knocked the top off,
but otherwise we did not injure the car in the least."
"What became of you when the car turned over?" asked Button.
"I fell out as it went over and the current of the stream carried me
from under it so I was not hurt. And Mr. Noland escaped too as the
car caught in such a way on some rocks that it kept the body of the
car from crushing him. As I swam out of the stream on the other side
of the bridge, I saw him crawling out from under the wreck."
"Well, I should say you had had a very exciting morning," said Billy.
"And how did you get home at last? I bet you lost your guinea pot pie
though!"
"After Mr. Noland wiped some of the mud and dirt off himself, he sat
on the bank a long time and did not say a word. I was beginning to get
worried and was afraid he was hurt when he pulled out a memorandum
book from his pocket and began to write in it. Presently he tore out a
leaf and called me to come to him.
"'Come here, little dog. I want you to do something for me. I know you
will if I can only make you understand what I want. Understand, only a
very smart dog could do what I am going to ask you to do. Here is a
note I want you to take to the store that is a mile from here over the
top of this hill. You carry it in your mouth--or no, I'll tie it
around your neck in my handkerchief. You take it to the storekeeper
and bark. Then pull at the handkerchief with your teeth. He will think
it is choking you and when he unloosens it he will find my note. After
reading it he will hustle around and come to my rescue, bringing you
back with him.'
"'Well, of all clever stunts to think of, this beats them all,' I
thought.
"He placed the note carefully in the handkerchief and tied it around
my neck. When it was fixed all right, I took a drink of water and
started up the hill, while he called after me, 'Good luck, little dog;
good luck!'
"In less than half an hour I was at the store, as it was easy to find.
As I ran into the store, I found five or six big farmers loafing about
or buying groceries or getting their mail. It was not hard to
distinguish the storekeeper, as he was the only man without a hat and,
besides, he stood behind the counter.
"Gee! It did smell good behind the counter for I was hungry and there
were boxes of gingersnaps, crackers, Bologna sausage and all sorts of
good things there. But I paid no attention to them as I wished to
deliver my message. The storekeeper was a big, good-natured man, and
he nearly stepped on me. In fact, he _did_ nip my toe and I barked
with the pain. This made him first look down and notice me.
"'Heigho! Here is a stray dog. I am sorry I stepped on you, but don't
you know that customers are not allowed behind the counter?'
"Right here I rolled over on my back and began pulling the end of the
handkerchief.
"'Mercy on us! The poor dog is going to have a fit! That handkerchief
must be tied too tight. I'll just untie it. I wonder to whom he
belongs? I thought I knew every dog for miles around.'
"He stooped down, and then, 'Bless my soul, there is something tied up
in this handkerchief! I wonder what it can be?'
"When he found the note and had read it he called to the men in the
store and read it to them.
"'Who brought the note?' asked one man.
"'No _person_ brought it. This little dog carried it folded up in this
handkerchief that was tied around his neck.' And he lifted me to the
counter so all could see me.
"'Who but Noland would have thought of sending word in that way?'
laughed another of the men.
"'Let's get a move on and all go to his rescue,' proposed a third.
"This they agreed to do, and soon five farmers were jogging along,
ropes, pulleys and chains in the bottom of their wagons to help haul
the wrecked car out of the stream.
"I was just about to jump off the counter and follow them when the
storekeeper called out: 'Here, little dog, you must be hungry. Stop
and eat a bite before you go back. You can easily overtake them.'
"He gave me a big lunch of sausage and a handful of crackers with
butter on them, and three or four gingersnaps. I can tell you I
blessed that good-hearted man for giving food to me. So few people
ever seem to think that animals get hungry and thirsty, or they give
them just a little piece of cake--not enough to stay the hunger of a
tiny mouse. I licked up every crumb and wished as I did so that I had
a pocket in my side so I could take Mr. Noland something to eat.
"'Say, little dog, do you suppose you could carry a sandwich or two
back if I tied them on your back instead of around you neck? They
would be too heavy to tie around your neck,' said the storekeeper.
[Illustration]
"I barked and shook my head yes.
"'Well, I declare I believe this dog can almost talk, as well as
understand all that is said to him!'
"Then he made two big sandwiches, one of Swiss cheese and the other of
Bologna sausage, wrapped them in paper and tied them on my back with
string and the handkerchief in which I had brought the note. Then he
set a pan of nice cool water on the counter for me to drink. After
this he put me on the floor by the door, where he stood watching me
until I was out of sight.
"I can tell you Mr. Noland appreciated those sandwiches as much as I
did the luncheon he had given to me. And he said to the farmers who
were helping him, 'There is a good-hearted man and from now on I shall
buy all I can at his store. He deserves to be helped.' To which all
the farmers agreed and one and all said they traded with him
altogether as they had found he never cheated on his weights or gave
short measure.
"With the help of the farmers, the auto was soon up on the road and
hitched to the back of one of the farm wagons that was going our way.
Mr. Noland and I were in another wagon that was going the same way.
"In this manner we reached home just before dark. I tell you what;
give me an auto in preference to a horse! My back fairly ached from
trying to push those slow horses and it took hours to go over the road
we had traveled in minutes by automobile.
"I am pretty tired, so I guess I will bid you both good-by and go to
bed. Au revoir until to-morrow!"
"Not so fast!" said Button. "I am tired too, so I will turn in when
you do."
"I am not feeling any too spry myself," said Billy. "So if you two are
going to bed, I will also."
And presently the three Chums were fast asleep under the trees, living
over again in dreams their experiences of the day.