CHAPTER IV
IN ROME
Furnishing and decorating the new home of Romulus and Remus proved tobe a most enjoyable task. They took a good-sized box over to theplaning mill and got it filled with sawdust, and dragged it home onErnest's sled. They swept out the old stall carefully and sprinkledthe floor liberally with sawdust, holding the rest in reserve, so thatthere might always be a clean, fresh supply. Housekeeping was thusmade easy by simply hoeing out the old sawdust.
For a bed they set a soap box on its side, put in a thick layer ofstraw, and tacked a piece of old carpet loosely over it so that itwould be soft and yet the puppies could not scratch it out. Theybought two enameled tin dishes, one for food and one for water, forthey discovered that the puppies did not understand the system of eachhaving his own. They nailed bits of wood to the floor to hold thedishes so that they would not be pushed about and overturned. Thepuppies enjoyed all this activity immensely, making laughableefforts to help, and only wailed and wept when their young mastersleft the room.
When it was done, the boys surveyed their handiwork with immensesatisfaction, but Jack would not be satisfied until they had tacked tothe wall several pictures of dogs clipped from papers and magazines,for Jack insisted that the place must be made homelike.
They had read somewhere about the original Romulus and Remus ofhistory, and so they named the apartment Rome. They thought Sam Bumpuswould approve of this since it began with the letter R. Then theynailed an old horseshoe to the door for luck, called it a day, andknocked off.
The next thing to consider was the education of the puppies, and herethe boys felt somewhat at a loss. Romulus and Remus didn't seem tounderstand a word of English, and the boys couldn't speak Latin. Allattempts to secure the prompt obedience that Sam had advised ended inutter failure. Romulus and Remus were very willful and headstrongpuppies. Further advice from Sam seemed desirable.
Furthermore, about the end of the second week, both puppies appearedto be ailing. In spite of plenty of milk they had grown thin, andRomulus appeared to have trouble with the action of his hind legs.Remus seemed to be chiefly afflicted with itching, and had worn a barespot under each foreleg.
Ernest and Jack became alarmed, and their father could not seem totell what the trouble was. Various things prevented the boys frommaking the trip to Sam's shack, and besides they wanted him to take alook at the dogs. They had noticed his free delivery mail box and soErnest sent him this brief summons on a postal card:
DEAR SAM:--
Romulus and Remus are sick and we don't know what to do.
Could you come down some day after school and see them? Also we want to ask you some things about disaplining them.
Yours truly,
ERNEST AND JACK WHIPPLE.
Sam did not fail them. A couple of days later he appeared at theWhipple gate and gave the low whistle that he used with Nan. The boys,humoring his desire not to go into the house, led him at once to Rome.
"Well, now," said Sam, inspecting the puppies' home with evidences ofapproval, "this is quite a palace for the little princes. Some day Is'pose they'll have hot and cold water, electric lights, and adoorbell."
Then he proceeded to examine the puppies while the boys looked onanxiously.
"Hm," said he at length. "Just as I expected. Nothing but worms."
"Worms?" echoed the boys in chorus.
"Sure," replied Sam. "Most all puppies get 'em sooner or later, andsometimes they do a lot of harm if you don't get rid of 'em. But we'llget rid of 'em all right. Get a pencil and paper and write down what Itell you to get at the drug store and the directions."
When they reappeared with the necessary articles, Sam continued:"There's several things that'll take care of worms, but the best andsurest is santonin and calomel. Write that down."
Ernest wrote as Sam spelled the words. It seemed to be much more of anaccomplishment to be able to pronounce and spell such words thanfulfilment or handicraft.
"Tell the druggist," said Sam, "to make you up half a dozen pills withhalf a grain of calomel and half a grain of santonin in each one. Forbig dogs we make 'em one grain each. To-morrow mornin' give the pups alittle milk and then don't feed 'em again till after they've beendosed. About noon give 'em each a pill, and then, a couple of hourslater, give 'em each a teaspoonful of castor oil. A couple of hoursafter that, feed 'em again, and I'll guarantee they'll be all right,though you may have to do it all over again in a couple of months. Bigdogs have to fast longer and have to have a tablespoonful of castoroil."
"How do you give them the medicine?" inquired Ernest, looking at thesquirming puppies doubtfully.
"Easy enough when you know how," said Sam. "I'll show you. Pick him uplike this and take hold of his nose, pushin' his lips between histeeth with your thumb and fingers. He can't bite and he has to openhis mouth. Of course, with a bigger dog it's harder if he don't wantto stand still. Then take a pill in your other hand and put it downhis throat as far as you can reach. Then shut his mouth and hold hishead up till he has to swaller. He'll never know what went down. It'sthe same way with the castor oil, only you'll have to get Jack to holdthe spoon and put it in when you give the word. Put it way down in,Jack, and don't get excited and spill it. Get a spoon and I'll showyou how easy it is."
Jack ran for a spoon and Sam illustrated with a spoonful of water.Then the boys tried it until they felt themselves sufficiently expert.
"There's a way of pourin' medicine into the side of a dog's mouthoutside his teeth," said Sam, "but he's apt to spill some of itbefore he gets through. Besides, he gets the taste of it that way, andmay run from the sight of a spoon or a bottle ever after. I like myway better."
He looked at his watch and announced that he must be going.
"I'll look in on you again one of these days," he said, "but I knowthey'll be all right if you do like I said."
"And you like Rome, don't you?" asked Jack.
"Rome?" repeated Sam.
"We named it that because Romulus and Remus were Romans," explainedErnest.
"Yes, it's a mighty good place for them," said Sam. Then he considereda moment. "Do you expect me to get down and roll in the sawdust andtry to bite things?"
The boys laughed at the idea, though they didn't exactly know what hemeant.
"Why?" asked Ernest.
"Because I've always been told that when you're in Rome you must do asthe Romans do," said Sam, and went away laughing silently.
The boys followed Sam's instructions to the letter, and when he cameagain a week later the puppies were as healthy and lively as crickets.
"Now," said Ernest, "we want to ask you about training them. Weforgot about that the other day."
"You don't expect to go gunnin' with 'em for a few days, do you?"asked Sam.
"No," said Ernest, "but we want them to learn to come when we call anddo what we say."
"Well," said Sam, "all it needs is patience. Keep talkin' to 'em andthe first thing you know you'll find they understand words. Then tryto make 'em do what the words mean. Remember they're only babies yetand be patient with 'em. Keep at it until they answer to their names.Don't be discouraged. Of course, it'll be harder gettin' 'emhousebroken if you don't let 'em into the house, but I'll guaranteeyou'll do it.
"It ought to be about time to cut down to four meals a day now, andgive 'em shredded wheat or puppy biscuits. And now I'm here, I mightas well give you a little advice about feedin' in gen'ral. You'llremember it all later. In another month you can cut down to threemeals and maybe add a little chopped meat and gravy at night. Keepthat up till they're six or eight months old, and then you can beginto feed 'em like grown dogs.
"In feedin' dogs," he continued, "remember they're like humans. Theyought to have meat and grain and vegetables to get all they want tobuild 'em up and keep 'em healthy. Some dogs is very finicky andwon't eat vegetables, but you can learn 'em to eat right if you beginright. A grown dog don't need but one meal a day, near night, butsometimes a do
g gets so hungry that he overeats or bolts his food, andthen it's a good plan to give him a little breakfast, too. Bones theycan have any time. Bones amuse 'em and help keep their teeth anddigestion in good shape. A good rule is to give a dog a little breadand milk for breakfast, a bone without too much meat on it about noon,and a good dinner at night, with all sorts of things in it. Get shinof beef or some other cheap meat at the butcher's and boil it good.Save the bone and the soup. Cut the meat up in small pieces, mix itwith bread or rice and any vegetables left over from thehouse--onions, cabbage, carrots, or anything but potatoes. They ain'tvery good for dogs. Mix the food all up together and moisten it withthe soup, but don't have it too wet. Stale bread is better for 'emthan fresh bread. Never give 'em chicken or rabbit bones that maysplinter and injure 'em inside. Don't give too much pork or fat of anykind. Don't give 'em much candy or sweet stuff. Some folks bake breador cakes specially for dogs, but if you do that, don't use much cornmeal. It's too heatin' in summer and it's apt to cause skin trouble.If anything seems to disagree with 'em, like baked beans, or sweetcorn, or rice, cut it out; you can tell. Last of all, always keepplenty of clean, fresh water where they can get it. A thirsty dog isnever happy."
These and other instructions the boys obtained from Sam Bumpus fromtime to time, and as the days went by they were pleased to see theirdogs growing bigger and stronger. Slowly, too, they began to learn themeaning of things and to obey their masters' voices. Raising dogsproved to be the most fascinating thing that Ernest and Jack Whipplehad ever undertaken.
By February they were very proud of their charges and anxious to showthem off. Consequently they welcomed a visit one Saturday morning fromHarry Barton, a chum of theirs. Harry appeared unannounced andaccompanied by his big, bow-legged English bulldog, Mike. He wentdirectly to the barn, from which issued the voices of the Whipple boysand their dogs, and entered Rome. The unexpected appearance of Mikestartled Jack, and he picked Remus hastily up and held him inprotecting arms. But Harry only laughed.
"What you 'fraid of?" he inquired. "Mike wouldn't hurt a kitten. Helooks ugly and that's what scares tramps away, but he never bitanything. You ought to see the baby walk all over him."
"Come on in, then," invited Ernest.
Mike went slowly up to Romulus and sniffed at him noisily. At firstthe puppy was frightened, but finding that he was not attacked hemade one or two playful little lunges at the bulldog and then stoodoff and barked shrilly at him, Remus joining in the chorus andstruggling to be set down.
"They've got spunk, all right," said Ernest, proudly.
English Bulldog]
Mike sniffed at Remus also, then yawned in a bored sort of way,waddled out of Rome as though his years and dignity forbade hisassociation with such frivolous company, and thumped down on the flooroutside. All three boys laughed.
"Well, what do you think of 'em?" Ernest asked presently. "Some dogs,eh?"
"Oh, they'll prob'ly be all right when they grow up," said Harry,unwilling to concede too much. "They'll have to grow a lot, though,before they know as much as Mike."
"But a bulldog can't hunt like a setter," said Ernest, flying to thedefense of his breed.
"Who wants to hunt?" demanded Harry. "Hunting isn't all a dog's for,is it? A bulldog's a better watchdog than a setter."
Ernest, not knowing whether this was so or not, made no reply.
"But aren't they cunning, Harry?" asked Jack.
"Oh, sure, they're cunning," said Harry, satisfied that he had scoredhis point. "Can they shake hands yet?"
"Not yet," said Jack.
"Mike can shake hands," said Harry, "and take the mail from thepostman, and do lots of things."
"But he can't hunt," insisted Ernest, returning to the attack.
"I'd rather have a bulldog than a setter, any day," said Harry. "Why,the bulldog is one of the best kinds of dogs. It's an older kind thanthe setter. They used them in England for fighting bulls hundreds ofyears ago. A bulldog is brave and faithful, and he sticks to things.He isn't a flyaway kind of a dog."
"But they're so homely," objected Jack, glancing out at Mike.
"Ho," cried Harry, "who ever heard of a pretty bulldog? We don't want'em pretty. Mike's just like a bulldog ought to be, thick-set,muscular, with wide chest, elbows set far apart, and undershot jaw.See?"
It sounded very much as though he were reading it out of a book, andthe other boys were much impressed. Ernest found himself wonderingwhere Harry had picked up his dog lore.
"What do you know about setters?" demanded Harry.
Ernest, in the face of superior wisdom, admitted that he didn't knowvery much.
"Well, you ought to," said Harry. "What's the use of having dogs ifyou don't know all about them?"
"Sam Bumpus has told us a good deal about training and hunting," saidJack.
"Yes, but what do you know about the breed, where it came from and allthat? Do you want to find out?"
"Sure," said Ernest.
"Well, I'll tell you where you can find out," said Harry. "I know aman that knows more about dogs than anybody else in the world, Iguess."
"Who is he?" demanded Ernest.
"Did you ever hear of the Willowdale Kennels?" asked Harry.
Ernest was forced to admit that he had not.
"Well, they're over at Thornboro," said Harry. "They have twenty-eightdogs there. Mr. Hartshorn owns them, but the man that takes care ofthem is Tom Poultice. He's an Englishman, and he used to have chargeof kennels in England once. He knows all about collies and greyhoundsand--and every kind of dogs there are."
"I bet he doesn't know more about setters and pointers than Sam Bumpusdoes," said Ernest, loyally.
"Bet you a hundred dollars he does," said Harry.
"Bet you a thousand he doesn't."
The bidding bade fair to be unlimited, and though the millions andbillions and trillions remained to be called upon, Harry desisted.
"Tell you what I'll do," said he. "I'll take you over there and thenyou can see for yourselves."
Ernest and Jack promptly forgot their controversy with Harry andaccepted his proposal with animation.
"And can we see all those dogs?" asked Ernest.
"Sure," said Harry.
"How many did you say there were?"
"Twenty-four besides four puppies."
"Whew!" Jack exclaimed.
"When can we go?" asked Ernest.
"Why, this afternoon, if you want to. It's over five miles toThornboro, but we can take the 2:10 train and be there in no time. Youcome along by my house after dinner and whistle," said Harry.
"Bully," said Ernest, and Harry turned and walked jauntily out of thestable with old Mike lumbering at his heels.
The Dogs of Boytown Page 4
