54 Gentleman Jack 



his foreleg (the most sensitive spot in a dog's anat- 

 omy), but I never heard a whimper or even a protest. 

 Indeed, while the mother often neglected the edu- 

 cation of her offspring, I have seen Jack encourage 

 the youngsters in their rummagings among the straw 

 for possible rats. The fact that his mission on earth 

 was not that of a rat-catcher did not seem to deter 

 him in his interest in the training of those who were 

 so called. 



It happened one day that a heedless puppy, scout- 

 ing about, fell into the water tank. He was so 

 quickly submerged that he could not utter a cry ; 

 but the alert ear of Jack detected the splash. Run- 

 ning to the side of the tank, Jack took in the situa- 

 tion, and in another instant he was splashing about 

 in the water and trying to seize the unfortunate 

 puppy. At last he was successful, and brought the 

 limp little animal forth, dripping, and looking more 

 like a sponge than anything else. After he had 

 succeeded in fishing him out, Jack gave the urchin 

 a vigorous shaking, ostensibly to dry his coat, but I 

 have always suspected that it was for the additional 

 purpose of giving him a warning to be more careful 



