THE COUNTRY BOY 93 



he left them there at a safe distance and came 

 to see you, and so perhaps renew his love, and 

 there he lies ; and if you never commit another 

 murder I hope this one will punish you to your 

 grave. Some murders can he explained to the 

 dead one's relatives, but you can never explain 

 this one and I want to show you his right wing. 

 I think it was that one that we used to treat." 



I didn't want to see his wing, but father was 

 determined, and as he lifted the feathers at the 

 middle joint, we saw a scar, a knot in the bone 

 where it had healed. 



Everybody is a criminal more or less, and 

 some of the crimes are done by stupid people. 

 Thus I console mvself in a way over the death 

 of the Hutchins goose, that perhaps I am a 

 murderer through stupidity and not by pre- 

 meditation. 



John Wolf ard, who kept and still keeps the 

 biff store in Silverton, had an old hairless ter- 

 rier dog. I can't remember when he wasn't 

 "Old Bob." He wasn't like other dogs much, 

 perhaps on account of being hairless. The rest 

 of the dogs hardly recognized him as even a dis- 

 tant relative, but he was. No telling what 

 breed he was and I never remember hearing 



