Billy Whiskers' Travels

by Frances Trego Montgomery

  *CHAPTER XI*

  *BILLY JOINS A HAPPY FAMILY*

  Whoa!" cried a brisk, cheery voice.

  Billy slowly opened his eyes. There on the road above him a prettyShetland pony stopped suddenly and shook his saucy looking head, while aboy a little bigger than Frank Brown jumped down from a little cart fullof grass and ran to the pony's head.

  "Now stand still, Dandy, till we see whether our friend here by theroadside needs any help," went on the boy. "It's a fine looking goat,Dandy, but he looks sick."

  Dandy danced his front feet up and down and rubbed his noseaffectionately against the boy's neck, while a beautiful collie camerushing up and capered and danced around them both, giving little,short, sharp, playful barks.

  "Steady now, King, steady," said the boy. "That's no way to make anoise when there are sick people around. Behave yourself," and pattingthe dog's silken coat with a hearty thump, he turned to see what hecould do for Billy.

  The dog reached the goat first and Billy shivered as he felt the dog'smuzzle touch him. He jerked his head and began to gather his limbs toget up and defend himself, when the dog whined a little and he felt thatthe touch was a friendly one.

  "Why, you poor goat!" said the boy, as he saw the bruised and bleedingleg. "I wonder how you ever broke such a pretty, fine limb as that.Well, old fellow, if broken bones are all, we can fix those."

  He passed his hand gently down Billy's neck to his fore flanks, where itrested for a moment. Billy felt better right away. He liked this youngfellow. He had never heard a voice or felt a touch that seemed to dohim so much good. A tiny little stream ran across the road not farahead, and, taking a bright little pail from his cart, the boy ran tothis stream and came back with some water. He carefully bathed Billy'sleg with his handkerchief and then, wetting the handkerchief thoroughly,he tied it around Billy's leg.

  "That will do for a little bit," said the boy, "and now we will justtake you right home and fix you up properly."

  He stooped down to pick Billy up, and Billy, just as the pony had doneto the boy's neck, rested his nose affectionately on the boy's bare arm.They were strong arms, too, and with but very little trouble they liftedBilly up and laid him in the cart on the bed of soft, springy grass,King barking joyous circles around them all the way.

  "It's lucky for you, old fellow," said the boy, as he gave Billy a lightpat and climbed back to his seat, "that I happened to be out cuttingsome feed for my pets."

  The dog, King, sprang up on the seat beside the boy and sat therelooking as grave as an owl.

  "Get up, you Dandy!" said the boy.

  The saucy little pony stopped to prance for just a minute to show howgood he felt, and then away he darted. The road was smooth, the littlecart was supplied with good springs and the grass kept off the jar stillmore, so that the ride was a very easy one. Just at the outskirts ofthe village the boy sprang down again and opened a wide gate. Billyraised up his head a little to look after this splendid fellow. He worea gray sweater, a pair of overalls, and a straw hat, and he was in hisbare feet. His nose tilted up a little at the end and his face was allcovered with freckles, but he was tall and straight, his yellow haircurled from under his hat and his blue eyes were bright and kind, andBilly thought he had never seen any human being in this world so fineand handsome. As soon as the gate was opened, the busy little ponydarted through it and, without a word from the boy, stopped until hisdriver could close the gate and take his place again. Two other dogscame running down to meet them.

  "Hello, Curly! Hello, Spot!" called the boy, and he patted each of thedogs on the head before he climbed back up on his seat and took thereins.

  Back a little way from the road sat a small, white house with greenvines and bright red flowers clambering all over the wide front porch.The ground in front of the house was glowing with flower beds;everything looked neat and clean, and as if happy, contented peoplelived there. The road from the gate led right past this house, and backby the kitchen the boy stopped with a "Whoa!" A pleasant looking womancame out of the kitchen door, and in her hands she held up a cooky.

  "Just out of the oven, Bobby boy," she said, and came up to the wagon tohand it to him. He reached down and patted her cheek and with the samehand took the hot cooky.

  "Look in the wagon, mother," he said smiling.

  "Well, Bob Sanders!" she cried. "Another animal! I don't know whatyour father will say."

  "Oh, but look, mother!" said the boy, turning round to show her. "Ipicked him up at the side of the road and see, he has broken a leg."

  "Oh, the poor goat!" said Mrs. Sanders, her voice as full of sympathy asBobby's own. Billy liked her voice too. The sound of it seemed to dohim good in the same way that Bobby's voice had. "I'll go right in andget him some milk," she added.

  "No, I'd rather you wouldn't, mother," said Bobby. "I'll give him adrink of water out at the barn, but I don't want him to eat anythingjust now. I have got to set that leg and it's likely to be very painfulfor him. If he ate anything it might make him very sick. After it isall through, I'll make him a little mash and feed it to him."

  "All right, Bobby, you know best," said his mother, and she stood therewatching them until Bobby and his wagon had disappeared through thegates of the barnyard and behind the barn.

  When Bobby jumped out of the wagon, chickens came squawking and runningto him, and clustered around his feet so he could hardly walk withoutstepping on them; down from the gable of the barn whirred some pigeons,which circled about his head and one of them lit on each shoulder, whileanother one tumbled off in trying to get a foothold. Bobby laughed,and, stooping down, stroked the feathers of some of the chickens andthen he reached up and took one of the pigeons in each hand.

  "Go, Flash! Go, Rocket," he called, pitching each one of them into theair as he spoke, and after circling about him they flew back to theirperch under the eaves of the barn while Bobby unhitched Dandy.

  No sooner was that surprising pony unhitched than he ran back to thepump. There was a little water standing in the bucket under the spout,but Dandy upset this at once, and then turned the bucket right side upagain with his nose. There was a leather loop nailed firmly to the pumphandle and, gripping this with his teeth, Dandy jerked his head up anddown until he had pumped a bucket of water, which he drank with greatrelish. Then he trotted into the barn where Bobby presently carried thegoat.

  He gave Billy a drink of cool, fresh water and then, after preparingsplints and bandages and getting everything ready, he set the brokenbone in Billy's leg with cool, firm hands. Poor Billy! It hurt him farworse than it had hurt to break his leg, but after Bobby had put someointment on the leg and wrapped it up in soft bandages and had bound thestiff boards on it to keep it firm while the bone was healing, it felt agreat deal better. Billy's bed was made of some sweet smelling hayright in front of Dandy's stall, just where a cool breeze could blowacross him, and after Bobby had gone away, Billy closed his eyes incomfort. Next to being back on Farmer Klausen's farm with his ownmother, this was the nicest place he had ever been in his life.

  After a long nap, Billy woke up to find Dandy clattering into his stall.

  After a long nap, Billy woke up.]

  "Whew, but I'm hot!" said Dandy. "How do you feel?"

  "Pretty good," said Billy, "only my leg does throb and hurt."

  "No doubt," replied Dandy. "I know when Queen had her leg broken shetold me how it hurt her. You must get around and see Queen and herbabies as soon as you are able, although I expect by that time they willbe in here, tumbling around you. They are the cutest little puppies Iever saw in my life."

  "I shall be glad to," said Billy, "but just now I'm only thinking aboutone thing. I'm hungry."

  "That's good," laughed Dandy, "you'll get something to eat all right.Nobody stays hungry around here. Bobby will be here with something toeat soon. He's the best boy in the world. As soon as you get wellenough, he'll teach you to do
tricks."

  "Tricks?" said Billy in surprise. "I never heard of them. What arethey?"

  "Oh, you'll find out," said Dandy. "I can do a few of them myself. Ican waltz on my hind legs, and stand on my head, and roll a barrel, andnow I'm learning to stand on a globe and roll it backwards andforwards."

  "My, but you are smart!" said Billy. "And does he ever whip you if youdon't do them right?"

  Dandy laughed and tossed his head.

  "No indeed!" said he. "Bobby never had a whip in his hand. We're all ofus glad to do anything he tells us."

  "If you know how, stupid," croaked a new voice, and Billy looked up tosee a tame black crow sitting in the window.

  "Stupid yourself, Tarwings," said the pony, but it was in a friendlytone.

  "You must have good times here," said Billy, sighing as he thought ofall the places of trouble he had seen in his travels.

  "We do," replied Dandy. "Of course it isn't all play. Now I just camein from hoeing the corn."

  "You mean that Bobby hoed the corn while you pulled the hoe," croakedthe crow. "Don't mind what he says, Mr. Goat. He'll make you thinkthat he does it all around here," and then, laughing hoarsely, the crowflapped his wings and flew away.

  Dandy laughed heartily.

  "He thinks he's a great mischief maker, but nobody gets angry at what hesays. He doesn't mean a bit of harm by it."

  Just then Bobby came in with a pail of warm mash for Billy. The goathardly knew whether he liked it at the first taste, but as he ate moreof it and felt it warming him up inside, he began to realize how good itwas, and after he had eaten all that Bobby thought it wise for him tohave just then, he lay very contented and lazy while Bobby rubbedDandy's smooth coat with a cloth.

  Later in the evening a pretty, little red and white cow came into thebarn and turned into her stall beside Dandy's. She was properlyintroduced to Billy, and the crow made so much fun of their politenessthat he laughed until he fell out of the window, where he lay on the haywith his legs sticking up until he was quite through cackling.

  "Yes, I heard all about your case," said Tiny, the cow. "King came outin the pasture to tell me about it. You were very unfortunate, butafter all you were very lucky that you got to come here, where nobodyever even gets cross."

  A sharp yelp behind her heels made Tiny jump half out of her hide, andthen King, laughing at the trick he had played on her, sprang frombehind her and over her stall to inquire about Billy. It seemed strangeto Billy to have a dog come near him without getting ready for a fight,and he could not get over the surprise of being in a place whereeverybody seemed to get along so nicely. He could not understand it atall until Bobby came in again, and then he reflected that all theseanimals were simply trained to the kindness and gentleness that was intheir master. Before he went to sleep that night Billy had some moremash and a few tender mustard plants to eat, and he slept like a topuntil morning.

  Those were tiresome days for Billy. He did long to get out and playwith the other animals, but he knew that he must first let his leg heal,so he stood it as patiently as he could. Bobby came to see him at leasttwo or three times a day and rebandaged his leg as often as was needed.The leg healed rapidly, and at last Bobby said one morning:

  "Well, old fellow, be good two more days to make sure and we'll let youout."

  Those were the most welcome words that Billy had heard in a long time,and he licked Bobby's hand for saying them. After Bobby went away hebegan to wonder how he should put in those two long, long days, butbefore he had time to fret about it he heard a whole chorus of littleyelps, and here came Bobby with King and Queen and half a dozen prettybaby collies.

  "Here, old fellow," said Bobby, "I brought you some playmates. Introducethem, King, and amuse our friend Billy all you can." Bobby took Dandyfrom his stall to hitch him up and go into the village for some lumber,leaving Billy in good company. Such puppies as those were! They nippedat him, they pulled his tail, they clawed his beard, they hung on hishorns, they sprawled all over him and came tumbling down on all sides,little, awkward, white and brown bunches of down. There was no chancefor Billy to get blue or fretful, for those puppies kept him laughingall the time. Their awkward antics would have made anyone laugh. Forthe two whole days that Billy had to stay bandaged up for safety's sake,those puppies kept him amused, and when on the third day his splintswere taken off and he was allowed to walk out-doors with only a clothbandage wrapped around his leg, the puppies scampered out after him.

  Billy blinked his eyes when he got out-doors again.

  My, what a fresh, pretty, green world this was, to be sure! How good itwas to be alive! How good it was to be in such a fine home as this!