The Dogs of Boytown

by Herbert Strang

  CHAPTER X

  WILLOWDALE DOGS IN NEW YORK

  There are parts of Connecticut in which winter is likely to be arather moist and miserable season, but Boytown was situated in thehills where it was colder and dryer. It lay in the snow belt, as Mr.Whipple used to say. Consequently, winter was, for these boys, aseason which offered as many opportunities for outdoor sport assummer--coasting, skating, and all the rest of it.

  A favorite pastime with Ernest and Jack Whipple was what they calledsnowshoeing. They wore no snowshoes or skiis, to be sure, but theypretended they did, and they enjoyed trudging off over thesnow-covered fields and through the woods with their dogs, with theireyes ever on the alert for the tracks of birds and wild animals. Itwas Sam Bumpus who taught them how to distinguish these tracks, andwhenever they found an unfamiliar one they took the news to him andlearned what animal had made it. He showed them where a flock of quailhad spent the night in a close circle on the lee of a stone wall or acorn shock and he told them about the quail's interesting lifehistory. He showed them how some birds hop and some, like the crow andthe blackbird and the starling, walk like a man or a chicken. Hetaught them to know the tracks of the squirrel, the rabbit, and thewhite-footed mouse, and even the fox and the raccoon, and one day heshowed them where an owl's wings had brushed the snow when he swoopeddown to catch a mouse whose lacy little trail ended abruptly. Jackthought that was a sad little story for the snow to tell.

  Often they wanted no other object than merely to be out in the open,with the constant possibility of finding rare tracks, but sometimesthey walked with a more definite purpose--to take Romulus up to Sam'sfor a little training to refresh his memory, or, when a longer tripwas possible, to pay a visit to Tom Poultice and the Hartshorns. Theywere always welcome there.

  It was on one of these visits in January that Mr. Hartshorn made goodhis promise to tell them something about the breeds of gun dogs otherthan setters and spaniels.

  "I thought you must have forgotten about that," said he. "Whatmemories you youngsters have--for some things. Well, suppose we seehow much we know about the pointer. He is the dog, you know, thatcontests with the English setter the title of most popular andefficient gun dog. I won't attempt to settle the matter. Each breedhas its loyal advocates, and at the field trials sometimes a pointerwins and sometimes a setter.

  "The pointer is a wonderfully symmetrical, lithe, athletic dog, withremarkable nose, bird sense, and action. Like the setter he has beentrained to point and retrieve. He strains back to hound origin,probably, but was developed as a distinct breed in Europe long ago,doubtless with the help of setter and foxhound crosses. Some pointersare wonderfully stanch. I knew of one who held the same point withoutmoving for an hour and a quarter, while an artist painted hisportrait, and I once heard of one who caught a scent while halfwayover a fence, and hung there by his fore paws till the birds wereflushed.

  "Then there are several varieties of retrievers that are also birddogs. In this country we have the retrievers proper, the Labrador dog,and the Chesapeake Bay dog, though none of them are very common. Theyare all probably of spaniel origin.

  "The Labrador dog is supposed to have come from Labrador, but we don'tknow much about his history before 1850, when he was introduced intoEngland and was trained and used as a sporting dog. The wavy-coatedretriever, called also the flat-coated retriever, became popular amongBritish sportsmen and fanciers about 1870. He has a wavy coat,longer than that of the Labrador dog. The curly-coated retriever, lesscommon in England than the wavy, has seldom been shown here. He ischaracterized by short, crisp curls all over his body, with theexception of the head, strongly suggesting the presence of poodle orIrish water spaniel blood in his make-up. The Chesapeake Bay dogoriginated in Maryland and possesses many of the traits of theretrievers. He probably sprang from Labrador ancestors, crossed withtan-colored hounds.

  "Finally we come to a very interesting dog, one that you would love ifyou knew him--the wire-haired pointing griffon. He is a new dog withus, but an old one in France, Holland, Belgium, and Germany. He is asplendid bird dog, useful for all kinds of game, and a natural pointerand retriever. He is medium-sized, symmetrical, and well built, with awiry coat, and has a face something like an otter hound or anAiredale. And there you have all the prominent gun dogs."

  "What is an otter hound?" asked Ernest.

  Mr. Hartshorn laughed. "You are insatiable," said he. "Some day I'lltell you about the otter hound and all the other members of the houndfamily, but not to-day. You've had enough."

  It was partly the prospect of gaining information of this sort thatmade the trips to Willowdale so attractive to the boys, partly agenuine liking for Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn, and partly the fun oftalking with Tom Poultice and watching the Airedales and bullterriers. But more than all I think it was the homelike, hospitablecharacter and doggy atmosphere of the big house. It was a place whereeverybody loved dogs and took as much interest in them as though theywere people, and where any dog lover was welcome. Consequently, theirvisits there were more frequent than Mrs. Whipple thought was quiteproper.

  "You'll wear out your welcome," she warned. But somehow they didn'tseem to.

  It was during these winter days that they heard a good deal of talkabout dog shows, both from Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn and from TomPoultice. Tom, indeed, was as much interested in the show dogs as ifthey had been his own and he was never tired of talking of theirachievements on the bench and of their possible future triumphs. Mr.Hartshorn owned a string of winners of both his breeds that werefamous throughout the country and that included several greatchampions. Tom, who nearly always took the dogs to the shows andstayed with them, knew every little point about them as well as thepoints of their rivals.

  "Of course, it's a bloomin' gamble," he would say. "So much depends onwhether your dog or the other one is in the best condition. That's whyI've been doing so much fussing over them this winter. You can't betoo careful. An upset stomach may mean a staring coat and may spoil adog's chances. And then again you may run up against a new judge withhideas of 'is own, and then all your reckoning goes to smash. It's agreat game, boys."

  And so they were wont to go out to the kennels and watch Tom groomingthe dogs and listen to his wise talk about points and judging. Thesewere busy days for him, for some of the biggest shows take place inthe winter and the early spring, and he had to keep the dogs inconstant condition.

  It was from Tom that they learned the names of famous dogs of variousbreeds, of instances when great champions had been beaten by unknownnewcomers, and of the rising and setting stars of dogdom, but it wasfrom Mr. Hartshorn that they gained a clear idea of what a dog showwas like. He described to them the crowded halls, the long rows ofdogs of many breeds chained in little stalls on benches, thearrangement of novice and puppy and limit and open classes for thedifferent breeds, and all the rest of it.

  "The dogs are taken to the show ring in classes," said he, "and thejudge for that breed sizes them up, feels of them, examines eyes,teeth, and hair, compares posture and spirit and all the other thingsthat count, figures it all up according to a scale of points, and thenhands out ribbons to the winners--a blue ribbon for first prize, a redone for second, and a yellow one for third. Cash prizes go with theribbons usually. There are also special trophies for special winnings,such as the best American-bred dog of the breed, or the best brace,and there is the contest between the winners of the different classesin each breed. Finally, in some of the big shows, there is a specialtrophy for the best dog of any breed in the show. This contest isusually held at the end of the show, or perhaps before the packs ofhounds and beagles are judged, and it is always an exciting time.Every exhibitor hopes to win one of the specials, but most of the dogsare trying for their championship titles."

  "How do they win a championship?" asked Ernest.

  "A dog becomes a champion," answered Mr. Hartshorn, "when he has wonfifteen points in authorized shows. These points are granted accordingto the size of the show. At the biggest shows t
he winner of a firstprize gets three points; at the smaller shows, where he has lesscompetition, he gets two points or one point. An official record iskept of them all."

  "The New York show is the biggest of all, isn't it?" asked Ernest.

  "Yes," said Mr. Hartshorn. "It is usually held in Madison SquareGarden in February--four days including Washington's Birthday. It'stoo long a time for the dogs to be benched, but there are so many ofthem that it is impossible to get through the judging in less time.Sixteen or eighteen hundred dogs are shown there, worth I don't knowhow many thousands of dollars, and the crowds of spectators are big inproportion. You get an idea at one of those shows how many people areinterested in dogs. The New York show is run by the Westminster KennelClub, and because it's the biggest of all its trophies are greatlycoveted. The dog that is adjudged the best of all breeds at the NewYork show becomes the champion of champions of the United States."

  "Oh, my!" sighed Jack, "I wish I could see a dog show like that."

  "You will, some day," said Mr. Hartshorn. "And who knows but that youmay have a dog benched there and carry away some blue ribbons and asilver cup."

  "Anyway," said Ernest, "you'll tell us all about this next one, andwhat your dogs win, won't you, Mr. Hartshorn?"

  "You may depend upon that," said he.

  When the other boys learned what was afoot they all became mightilyinterested in the bench-show game and in the prospects of theWillowdale entries at New York. One or two of them had subscribed topapers devoted to the dog fancy and these were handed about until theboys had familiarized themselves with the names of some of the oldchampions and the newer dogs of whom great things were expected.Heated discussions ensued, but all were agreed in wishing luck to theWillowdale dogs.

  They were a bit disappointed when they learned that Mr. Hartshorn haddecided to send down only four of the bull terriers and fiveAiredales, but Tom Poultice explained the reason for this.

  "It costs five dollars for each entry of each dog, and wot's the useof entering dogs that don't stand a chance? Ch. Earl of Norfolk isgetting old and 'e's all out of coat, and it wouldn't be fair to 'imto show 'im that way. We've picked the ones we're going to win with."

  When Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn and Tom Poultice started out in the bigcar for New York, with two of Mrs. Hartshorn's Poms on the back seatwith her, they were followed by the envious longings of most of theboys of Boytown. But the boys did not have to wait for their return tolearn about the results of the judging. They bought New York paperswhich reported the show fully, and they devoured every word of thereports. Many of the familiar names appeared among the winners, andthe Willowdale dogs captured their full share of the honors. Even Mrs.Hartshorn's Tip won two red ribbons, while that splendid bull terrier,Willowdale's White Hope, was adjudged the best American-bred dog ofhis breed exhibited by his breeder, and gathered up enough extrapoints to secure his championship title. But the climax in theirrejoicing was reached when they read that the new Airedale, Bingo'sQueen Molly, had gone right through her classes to reserve winners inan entry of over one hundred of the best Airedales in the UnitedStates.

  It was, in short, a great four days for Willowdale. The Hartshornsreturned on Sunday, having arranged for the shipment of the dogs onSaturday, and they graciously invited the whole gang up on thefollowing Saturday to admire the conquering heroes and their shiningtrophies and to learn all about what happened from the lips of Mr. andMrs. Hartshorn and Tom Poultice, who, by the way, wore a grin thatappeared to have become permanent.

  "Didn't I tell you that Molly was the genooine harticle?" was hisfrequently repeated comment.

  It was unthinkable that, after all this, the boys should speedily loseinterest. On the contrary, dog shows remained the foremost topic ofconversation for a month, until one day Herbie Pierson had aninspiration.

  "Say, fellers," he exploded one morning, bursting in upon a group ofhis friends in front of the schoolhouse, "let's get up a dog show ofour own."

  Just then the bell rang, which was rather unfortunate for allconcerned. The teachers found the boys strangely inattentive that dayand preoccupied, and more than one of them had to be reprimanded forwhispering or for passing notes.

  As soon as they obtained their freedom they plunged at once into adiscussion of Herbie's fascinating plan, and in an incredibly shorttime they had arranged the essential details. The Easter recess wasselected as the most fitting time for the Boytown Dog Show and acommittee was appointed, consisting of Herbie Pierson, Harry Barton,and Ernest Whipple, to select a suitable place and make the necessaryarrangements.

  After considerable discussion it was decided that the Morton barnwould make an ideal show hall, provided they could gain Mr. Morton'sconsent. It was one of the largest barns in the town proper and it wasfor the most part unoccupied, Mr. Morton having disposed of his horseswhen he bought his car.

  Mr. Morton was the president of the First National Bank, and aperson of great dignity and importance, of whom the boys stoodsomewhat in awe. But they had set their hearts on getting his barn,and so they screwed up their courage and called on him at his home oneafternoon after banking hours.

  He turned out to be not such a formidable personage after all. Infact, he was amused by the diffidence of the delegation that called onhim, and even more amused when Harry Barton, who had been chosenspokesman, outlined their plan and requested the use of his barn.

  "I'll let you hold your show in my barn on two conditions," said he,after asking several questions. "First, you must promise to clean upthoroughly after it's all over. Second, will you allow me to enter LiHung Chang in competition?"

  Li Hung Chang was the blue-gray chow that followed at Mr. Morton'sheels wherever he went, spent his days at the bank, and never had aword to say to any other dog. To this request the committee granted aready and joyful request. And it gave them another idea--to invite theadult dog owners of Boytown, as well as the boys, to exhibit theirdogs.

  A meeting of the Humane Society was called to receive the report ofthe committee's success and to arrange further details. It was votedto charge an entrance fee of fifty cents for each dog shown andtwenty-five cents admission for spectators, the proceeds to be donatedto the local chapter of the Red Cross of which Mrs. Hammond was anactive member.

  Since there were hardly two dogs in Boytown of the same breed, it didnot seem possible to arrange for classes as in the big shows, so itwas decided to make it a free-for-all contest, with first, second, andthird prizes. Another committee was appointed to obtain these prizesfrom Boytown merchants and to secure the services of Mr. Hartshorn asjudge.

  Mr. Hartshorn, when approached on the matter, quite readily gave hisconsent, and the boys did not have great difficulty in obtaining theprizes when they explained that the show would be for the benefit ofthe Red Cross. In fact, Mr. Pierson, Herbie's father, who was ajeweler, was unexpectedly generous. He promised a silver cup for thefirst prize--not a large one, but real silver--to be engraved laterwith the name of the show, the date, and the name of the winning dog.The boys were so enthusiastically grateful for this that theyexpressed the hope that Herbie's Hamlet might win the trophy himself.

  For six months past Ernest Whipple had been delivering evening papersfor Mr. Fellowes, the news dealer, and had become quite a close friendof his employer's. This was due to the fact that Mr. Fellowes hadonce had a brindle bull terrier that had met an untimely death andwhose memory ever remained fresh in his heart. The dog's name had beenBounce, and Mr. Fellowes found in Ernest a willing listener to histales of Bounce's sagacity, courage, and fidelity. He was a genuinedog lover and enjoyed having Ernest bring Romulus in to see him, forthe boy's dog nearly always accompanied him on his paper route. Mr.Fellowes had become much interested in the activities of the HumaneSociety and had become acquainted with most of the dogs of Boytown,and when Ernest told him about the plan for a show he expressed a wishto have some part in it. Ernest was not a member of the prizecommittee, but when he reported that Mr. Fellowes wished to donate adog collar, it was
unanimously voted to accept it as second prize. Thethird prize was a twenty-pound box of dog biscuit offered by Mr.Dewey, the grocer.