The Tale of Old Dog Spot

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  THE TALE OF OLD DOG SPOT

  _SLUMBER-TOWN TALES_ (Trademark Registered)

  BY ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

  AUTHOR OF _SLEEPY-TIME TALES_ (Trademark Registered)

  _TUCK-ME-IN TALES_ (Trademark Registered)

  THE TALE OF THE MULEY COW THE TALE OF OLD DOG SPOT THE TALE OF GRUNTY PIG THE TALE OF HENRIETTA HEN THE TALE OF TURKEY PROUDFOOT THE TALE OF PONY TWINKLEHEELS THE TALE OF MISS KITTY CAT

  _SLUMBER-TOWN TALES_ (Trademark Registered)

  Old Dog Spot Teases Miss Kitty Cat.

  _Frontispiece (Page 8)_]

  THE TALE OF OLD DOG SPOT

  BY

  ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

  Author of "SLEEPY-TIME TALES" (Trademark Registered)

  AND

  "TUCK-ME-IN TALES" (Trademark Registered)

  ILLUSTRATED BY HARRY L. SMITH

  NEW YORK GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS

  Made in the United States of America

  COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY GROSSET & DUNLAP

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER PAGE

  I ALMOST TWINS 1

  II TEASING THE CAT 7

  III A WILD DOG 12

  IV THE WOODPILE 18

  V A DEEP SECRET 22

  VI BURIED TREASURE 27

  VII SWIMMING 32

  VIII WHAT RED DID 37

  IX A BUNDLE OF CLOTHES 42

  X DROPPING HINTS 48

  XI MRS. GREEN'S MISTAKE 52

  XII RIGHTING A WRONG 56

  XIII HUNTING 60

  XIV MISSING HIS MASTER 65

  XV A BASKETFUL OF FUN 70

  XVI MRS. WOODCHUCK RUNS 75

  XVII THE DANGER SIGNAL 80

  XVIII A CROWDED HOUSE 85

  XIX OFF FOR THE CIRCUS 91

  XX SPOT GOES TO TOWN 96

  XXI THE CIRCUS PARADE 101

  XXII THE CIRCUS GROUNDS 106

  XXIII SPOT SEES THE SHOW 111

  XXIV HOME AGAIN 115

  ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE

  OLD DOG SPOT TEASES MISS KITTY CAT _Frontispiece_

  SPOT BOLTED THROUGH THE BARN DOOR 16

  SPOT STARTED AFTER FRISKY SQUIRREL 44

  SOMETIMES THE PUPPY WOULD BITE SPOT'S TAIL 72

  THE TALE OF OLD DOG SPOT

  I

  ALMOST TWINS

  Nobody ever spoke of old Spot's master as "old Johnnie Green." Yet thetwo--boy and dog--were almost exactly the same age. Somehow Spot grew upfaster than Johnnie. He had stopped being a puppy by the time his youngmaster learned to walk. And when Johnnie was big enough to play aroundthe farm buildings his parents felt sure that he was safe so long as"old Spot," as they called the dog, was with him.

  Spot thought himself years older than the small boy; or at least healways acted so. If a goose hissed at little, toddling Johnnie Green,old Spot would drive the goose away, barking in a loud voice, "Don't youfrighten this child!" If Johnnie went into the stable and wanderedwithin reach of the horses' heels Spot would take hold of his clothesand draw him gently back out of danger. And if Johnnie strayed to theduck pond the old dog wouldn't leave him even to chase the cat, butstayed right there by the pond, ready to pull his young charge out ofthe water in case he happened to fall in.

  Spot seemed to enjoy his task of taking care of Johnnie Green. It wasn'tall work. A great deal of pleasure went with his duties, for JohnnieGreen never wanted to do anything but play. And Spot wasn't so grown upthat he couldn't enjoy a lively romp. For that matter, he never did getover his liking for boisterous fun.

  Still, there were some kinds of sport that he didn't care for. He wasn'tfond of having such things as tin cans tied to his tail. He disliked tobe harnessed to a toy wagon. He hated to have his ears pulled. Yet therewas only one offense that ever made him growl. When Johnnie Green took abone away from him Spot couldn't help warning him, with a deep, rumblinggrumbling, that he was going too far, even between friends. But he neversnapped at Johnnie. That growling was only Spot's way of teachingJohnnie Green manners.

  Fond as he was of his young master, Spot did not care to spend all histime playing childish games. There were grown-up things that he likedto do--things in which a toddler like Johnnie Green couldn't take part.Around the farmhouse there were always the cat to be teased andsquirrels to be chased into trees. In the pasture there were woodchucksto be hunted; and even if he couldn't catch them it was fun to see thosefat fellows tumble into their holes.

  Then there were the cows. Spot loved to help Farmer Green drive themhome late in the afternoon. He acted very important when he went for thecows, always pretending that it was hard work, though he really thoughtit great sport.

  Sometimes when Johnnie Green wanted to play with Spot the old dogcouldn't be found anywhere. He might be over the hill, visiting aneighbor's dog. He might be in the woods, looking for birds. He mighteven have followed a wagon to the village.

  As Johnnie Green grew older he roamed through the woods with Spot. Andwhen Johnnie's father at last let him own a gun, old Spot was as pleasedas Johnnie was.

  "I've been waiting for this event for several years," Spot told theMuley Cow.

  She did not share his delight.

  "For pity's sake, keep that boy and his gun out of the pasture!" shebellowed. "It frightens me to have him come near me with hisblunderbuss."

  Old Spot gave her a pitying look.

  "It's plain," he said, "that you don't come from a sporting family, as Ido, or you'd never speak in that fashion of a nice new shotgun. You knowI'm a sporting dog. I'm a pointer. I point out the game for thehunters."

  The Muley Cow gave a sort of snort and tossed her head.

  "It's lucky for Johnnie Green," she sniffed, "that I'm not a sportingcow, or he might not have any butter on his bread."

  II

  TEASING THE CAT

  When Miss Kitty Cat came to the farmhouse to live she soon showed olddog Spot that she could fight like a vixen. The first time he corneredher she put some scratches on his nose that he never forgot. And afterthat he always took great pains to keep out of reach of Miss Kitty'sclaws.

  So long as Miss Kitty Cat ran away from him Spot would follow her,yelping madly. But when she stopped, he stopped too, digging his ownclaws into the dirt in order to leave a safe distance between Miss Kittyand his nose.

  He quickly discovered that there were ways in which he could tease MissKitty Cat that annoyed her greatly, while keeping his nose out of harm'sway. Growling always made her tail grow big. Barking made her spit athim. But there was something else that angered her still more. When Spotstood stock still one day, with his tail stuck straight out behind him,and pointed at her with his nose, he made her almost frantic.

  "What are you pointing at with that long nose of yours?" Miss Kitty Catsnarled.

  Spot didn't say a word. For the moment he didn't move any more than theiron dog did, that stood in a yard on the outskirts of the village andnever so much as wagged his tail from one year's end to another.

  Somehow Spot's queer behavior gave Miss Kitty Cat an odd, creepyfeeling along her back. Her fur rose on end. She glared at Spot and spatat him in a most unladylike fashion.

  Spot found it very hard to stand still and never let out a single ye
lp.Once he almost whined. But he managed to stifle the sound.

  "If she swells up much more she's likely to burst," he thought.

  "Go away!" Miss Kitty scolded. "Don't you know better than to stare at alady?"

  Never an answer did old Spot make.

  It was a little more than Miss Kitty Cat could endure. With a yowl thathad in it something of anger and something of fear, too, she jumped offthe doorstep where she had been sitting and whisked around the corner ofthe house.

  With Miss Kitty's first leap Spot came suddenly to life. He barkedjoyfully and followed her. Miss Kitty Cat ran up a tree in the yard andstayed there until Spot went off chuckling.

  "I'm glad I played that trick on her," he said to himself. "It seems tobother her more than anything else I've ever tried."

  Thereafter Spot often pointed at Miss Kitty when he met her, eitherinside the house or about the yard. And she never failed to fly into apassion.

  "Such manners I never saw!" she spluttered when she talked one day witha cat from the nearest farmhouse.

  "I'd soon cure the old dog of that unpleasant trick if he tried it onme," her neighbor remarked.

  "What would you do?" Miss Kitty Cat wanted to know.

  "I'd chase him."

  "He can run faster than I can," said Miss Kitty.

  "When he's pointing at you, jump at him before he can turn around. Ifyou drag your claws across his nose just once he'll be careful afterthat to look the other way when he sees you."

  "Your plan sounds as if it might be worth trying," said Miss Kittythoughtfully.

  III

  A WILD DOG

  Old dog Spot felt greatly pleased with himself. He had told everybodythat would listen to him how he could make Miss Kitty Cat angry just bystanding still and pointing at her.

  "You'd better leave that cat alone," the old horse Ebenezer advised him."Don't you remember how she clawed you when you cornered her in thisbarn one day?"

  "I remember--yes!" Spot admitted, as he looked cross-eyed at his nose,which still bore the marks of Miss Kitty's claws. "I'm careful not tostand too near her," he explained. "I don't try to grab her. I juststare at her. And she gets wild."

  "A wild cat," old Ebenezer warned him, "is a dangerous creature."

  "Nonsense!" said Spot. "She always sneaks away after I've pointed at herfor a few minutes. It's the funniest sight! If you could see it onceyou'd know she was terribly afraid of me."

  "Nonsense!" said the old horse Ebenezer. But he couldn't make Spotbelieve there was the slightest danger in teasing Miss Kitty Cat.

  "She always runs up a tree after I've been pointing at her," Spot wenton.

  "You'd better look out!" Ebenezer cautioned him. "She'll have youclimbing a tree the first thing you know."

  Well, that made Spot laugh. And he went out of the barn feeling evenmore pleased with himself than ever. He was sorry that Miss Kitty Catwasn't in the yard. He felt just like bothering her.

  "I'll go up to the pasture and find me a woodchuck to chase," Spot saidto himself, for he was in such high spirits that he simply had to havefun of some sort.

  First, however, he decided to stop and dig up a bone that he had buriedin the flower garden. So he trotted across the yard. And as he drew nearthe farmhouse he changed his plans all at once. He forgot his bone andhe forgot his woodchuck, too. For he caught sight of something that hadescaped his eye before. Stretched on the ledge outside one of thekitchen windows Miss Kitty Cat was enjoying a nap in the sunshine.

  "Aha!" said Spot very softly. "Aha! Here's a bit of luck." And he turnedsharply aside and hurried towards the house, to come to a dead stopbeneath the window and stand there motionless with his nose pointing atthe sleeping form of Miss Kitty.

  Though Spot didn't make the slightest noise the sleeper suddenly openedher eyes.

  "_Tchah!_" she exclaimed, springing to her feet and glaring at herannoyer.

  If the window hadn't been closed no doubt Miss Kitty would have slippedthrough it into the kitchen. But there was no escape that way.

  "It's a pity," she muttered, "that a person can't take a cat nap withoutbeing stared at by this old dog. I think it's about time I took myneighbor's advice and taught him to keep his eyes and his nose wherethey belong."

  Then Miss Kitty Cat jumped. She jumped off the window ledge straight atold dog Spot, who was still gazing up at her from below.

  When he saw her coming he gave a startled yelp and tried to dodge her.But he was too slow. Miss Kitty Cat landed squarely on his back andclawed him savagely.

  Old Spot dashed half way across the farmyard, then dropped suddenly androlled over and over on the ground.

  The next instant he was on his feet again and tearing toward the barn.Though Miss Kitty had dropped off his back and was already on her way tothe house he did not look around to see what had become of her.

  Spot bolted through the barn door and scurried into an empty stall,where he jumped into the manger and cowered down in the hay that halffilled it, and moaned.

  Spot Bolted Through the Barn Door.

  (_Page 16_)]

  It was the stall next to the old horse Ebenezer's. And that mild fellowpeered over at him in wonder. "What has happened?" he inquired.

  "The cat scratched me," Spot told him. "I was teasing her and she wasn'tat all nice about it."

  "What were you doing--pointing at her?" Ebenezer asked him.

  "Yes!"

  "I suppose it made her wild," the old horse remarked. "And a wild cat isa dangerous creature."

  Spot whined fretfully. He wished he could lick his wounds. But how canone lick scratches when they are behind one's ears?

  "I was a wild dog for a few moments," he groaned. "I never dreamed shewould plump down on me like that."

  "Haven't you ever heard of it's raining cats and dogs?" Ebenezer said."Well, to-day it rained cats."

  IV

  THE WOODPILE

  Farmer Green always had a woodpile in the back yard. Sometimes it wasbig. Sometimes it was little. Sometimes it was mostly made up offour-foot logs. Sometimes the logs were all split and sawed, ready toburn.

  When Farmer Green and the hired man had nothing more pressing to do theyset to work on the woodpile. It was surprising how fast the big sticksgrew into firewood under their axes and saws.

  One day they started sawing and splitting when Johnnie Green and old dogSpot were roaming through the woods. And when Johnnie and Spot cameback home, just in time for dinner, they found a great heap of firewoodlying on the ground where there had been nothing but dirt when theystarted for the woods some hours before.

  Old dog Spot ran straight to the woodpile and began sniffing andscratching and whining.

  If Johnnie Green hadn't been hungry he would have paid more heed toSpot's behavior. But the men had already gone into the house. AndJohnnie hurried after them, leaving Spot to nose about the woodpile ashe pleased.

  "Humph!" Spot growled. "Seems to me Johnnie Green might stay here awhile and help me. I've been chasing woodchucks and squirrels for himall the morning. And I showed him a few birds, too."

  Spot never once left the woodpile while Johnnie was eating his dinner.When Johnnie and his father and the hired man came out of the houselater old Spot began to yelp. He made frantic efforts to burrow downbeneath the pile of firewood, stopping now and then to run up to hisyoung master and bark.

  Now that he had had his dinner, Johnnie Green was all ready for any sortof fun.

  "Spot smells some kind of game in the woodpile!" Johnnie exclaimed.

  "Perhaps he does," said his father. "But I don't see how he's going toget hold of it unless we move the woodpile. And I don't believe we'llquit work to help the old dog catch a chipmunk--or maybe a rat."

  "Come on!" Spot begged Johnnie, as plainly as he could bark. "Move someof this wood for me! There's something under it that I want to get myteeth on."

  "All right! All right!" Johnnie told him. And to his father Johnniesaid, "Do you care if I throw some of the stove wood over on
the otherside of the pile?"

  "If you're going to move any wood--" Farmer Green replied with a wink atthe hired man--"if you're going to move any wood you might as well moveit into the woodshed and pile it up neatly."

  When he heard that suggestion Johnnie Green looked very glum. For aminute or two he thought he wouldn't bother to help old Spot find whathe was looking for. But Spot teased and teased. And Johnnie couldn'thelp being curious to know what it was that Spot was after.

  "Maybe there's a muskrat here," he said to himself. "If there is, I'llhave his skin to pay me for my trouble."

  V

  A DEEP SECRET

  Old Spot wouldn't let Johnnie Green alone. He kept jumping against himand whining, begging him to move some of the wood, because there wassomething very, very interesting beneath it.

  Still Johnnie hesitated. He hadn't intended to do any work thatafternoon.

  "After all," he thought, "I'll have to help carry in this wood sooner orlater. Really, I might as well take some of it into the woodshed now."

  To Spot's delight he bent over and began gathering an armful of wood.

  "Wow! Wow!" Spot howled. "Thank goodness I'm going to get what's underthis pile, after all."

  Johnnie Green carried armful after armful of wood from the yard andpiled it in the shed back of the kitchen. All the time old dog Spot wasurging him with yelps and barks and whines and moans to move faster. Andall the time Johnnie Green was working as spryly as he could.