THE COUNTRY BOY 73 



stunts DuiF did every evening during their 

 few months' engagement. 



One rehearsal was all the dog needed. I 

 doubt if any chorus girl's vanity ever took her 

 to the theatre with more regularity than this 

 dog's pride in his act took him. His part was, 

 at a given signal, to run on the stage and grab 

 Hickey by a prepared pad concealed under the 

 actor's coat tails. Then Duff was swung 

 around and around hanging by his teeth. 



I sat in a front seat every night and ap- 

 plauded. Sometimes Duff would come to the 

 footlights and peek over at me and wag his 

 tail. He turned a few hand springs and 

 jumped rope and never objected as to who 

 came on first. This made him the most popu- 

 lar actor with the stage director. 



In Silverton, before we went to Portland, 

 Duff did more tricks than I could tell you of 

 in a day's talk. He carried in stove wood; he 

 rode up on the hay fork holding to a sack ; he 

 sat on the cowcatcher of the locomotive ; he was 

 the retriever, the bird dog, the shepherd, the 

 clown. He could catcli a coin or a baseball 

 that w^as laid on the top of his nose. He would 



