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The womankin's lips parted, and I
saw a flash into Graves' face and the
steely eyes softened. It was evident
that she was very fond of him.
"Rum sort of a pet," said Graves.
"What?"
"Rum?' I said. "It's horrible it
isn't decent it it ought to be taboo.
Don's got it sized up right. He he
wants to kill it.
"Let me ask you one thing what
would Miss Chester think?"
"Oh, that doesn't worry me," said
Graves. "But I am worried worried
sick. It's early shall we talk now,
or wait till after lunch?"
"Now," I said.
"Well," said he, "you left me pret
ty well enthused on the subject of
botany, so I went back there twice to
look up grasses "for you. The second
time I went up a deep sort of valley
where the grass is waist high, and
that place was alive with things that
were frightened and ran. I could see
the directions they took by the way
the grass tops acted. There were lots
of loose stones about and I began
to throw 'em to see if I could knock
one of the things over. Suddenly all
at once I saw a pair of bright little
eyes peering out of a bunch of grass
I let fly at them, and something
gave a sort of moan and thrashed
about in the grass and then lay still.
I went to look, and found that I'd
stunned, HER. She came to ' and
tried to bite me, but I had her by
the scruff of the neck and she
couldn't. Further, she was sick with
being hit in the chest with the stone,
and first thing I knew she keeled over
in the palm of my hand in a dead
faint. I couldn't find any water or
anything and I didn't want her to
die so I brought her home. She was
sick for a week and I took care of
her as I would a sick pup and she
began to get well and want to play
and romp and poke into everything.
.... You see how it all happened,
don't you? Might have happened to
anybody."
"Why, yes," I said. "Take her back
where you found her, and turn her
loose."
"Well and good," said Graves. "I
tried that, and next morning I found
her at my door, sobbing horrible,
dry sobs no tears. . . ."
A week beforel Miss" Chester's
steamer was due the situation had
not changed., Graves's pet was as
much a fixture of Graves' house as
the front door. And a man was never
confronted with a more serious prob
lem. Twice he carried her back into
the grass and deserted her, and each
time she returned and was found sob
bing horrible dry sobs on the
porch.
Well, a day came when Graves, who
had been up since dawn, saw the
smoke of a steamer along the hori
zon, and began to fire off his revolver
so that I, too, might wake and par
ticipate in the joy. I went ashore.
"It's her steamer," he said.
"Yes," said I, "and we've got to de
cide something."
"About Bo?"
"Suppose I take her off your hands
for a week or so till you and Miss
Chester haVe settled down and put
your house in order. Don't say a word
to Bo just bring her out of the
schooner, and leave her."
In the upshot Graves accepted my
offer, and while Bo, fairly bristling
with excitement and curiosity, was
exploring the farther corners of my
cabin, we slipped out and locked the
door on her.
Miss Chester was everything that
her photograph said about her, and
more too, so that the trick he had
played Bo was very soon a negligible
weight on Graves' mind.
If the wedding was quick and busi
nesslike, it was also jolly and roman
tic. The oldest passenger gave the
bride away. All the crew came aft and
sang "The Voice That Breathed O'er
E-den That Earliest Wedding-Cay"
to the tune called. "Blairgowrie."
They had worked it up in secret for
1 a surprise. I was best man. The cap-
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