on 



Here I had to leave Bob and her good friends 

 behind ; but some months afterward my hostess 

 of that winter day told me the concluding chap- 

 ters of Bob's life. 



" Bob disliked to be handled ; though pleasing 

 and irresistibly winsome, she was not in the least 

 affectionate, and always maintained a dignified, 

 ladylike reserve. But with the appearance of 

 spring she showed signs of lonesomeness. With 

 none of her kind to love, she turned to Rex and 

 on him lavished all of her affection. When Rex 

 was admitted to the house of a morning, she ran 

 to meet him with a joyful cackle, an utterance 

 she did not use on any other occasion, and with 

 soft cooing sounds she followed him about the 

 house. If Rex appeared bored with her attentions 

 and walked away, she followed after, and persisted 

 in tones that were surely scolding until he would 

 lie down. Whenever he lay with his huge head 

 between his paws, she would nestle down close 

 to his face and remain content so long as he was 

 quiet. Sometimes when he was lying down she 

 would climb slowly over him; at each step she 

 would put her foot down daintily, and as each 



164 



