. St. Nicholas [serial]. schief by chewing up theshawl a guest had hung before the fire to dry,his mistress thought him well named. He was certainly a bouncing fellow. Whenthe children were at school, he rode like amonarch on the seat of a coal-wagon, barkingferociously at all dogs afoot. But however farhe was from home, he never failed to meet thechildren at the gate at three oclock. He hada regular engagement, and a marvelous senseof time. As years went by Storm reached the limit ofhis infirmities. He was so crippled that hecould scarcely walk. In his sleep he groaneddismally. One day a fami
. St. Nicholas [serial]. schief by chewing up theshawl a guest had hung before the fire to dry,his mistress thought him well named. He was certainly a bouncing fellow. Whenthe children were at school, he rode like amonarch on the seat of a coal-wagon, barkingferociously at all dogs afoot. But however farhe was from home, he never failed to meet thechildren at the gate at three oclock. He hada regular engagement, and a marvelous senseof time. As years went by Storm reached the limit ofhis infirmities. He was so crippled that hecould scarcely walk. In his sleep he groaneddismally. One day a family council was called,and it was decided that it was cruel to let poorold Storm live longer. All the dog-powders andremedies had been tried. There had been all 1030 sorts of dog-cakes, and finally the family doc-tor hachbeen called in. The mistress declared that Storms groansmade her heart ache, but she hastened to addthat she could not act as executioner. Theboys made excuses to leave the room, and THE KILLING OF HE MARCHED UP BOLDLY TO WHERE STORM WAS LYING. came back coughing ostentatiously. Theneighbors were appealed to, and at last onewith a sufficiently hard heart was was the grown son of a farmer wholived too far away to have known Storm atall well. He came down one morning armed withhis fathers double-barreled ducking-gun. Hemarched up boldly enough to where Storm was lying, but, stranger as he was to the dog, hecould not withstand the pathetic look of appealthat came from the soft eyes of the faithful oldanimal. He lowered his gun and valiantly facedthose few of his friends who had followed himto the yard because they knew his nerve wouldfail him in the end. It was finally decided that poor old Stormshould die by prussic acid. This was chosenbecause it was quick and certain, and the girl-messenger cried all the way to the drug-storeand back. The druggist said that a single dropon the tongue would be enough—so deadlyand powerful was the poison. Stor
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Keywords: ., bookauthordodgemar, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookyear1873
