96 THE COUNTRY BOY 



they kept the bacon and a certain portion of the 

 eggs that are brought to a general store, and 

 the cooking butter. Old Bob was peeking 

 around the chair leg when I said "Rats," and 

 in a second he came grunting through the door, 

 trying as best he could, for a dog that had to 

 walk sideways, to be spry. I went to lift up 

 a big empty coffee sack and old Bob dove into 

 it hunting some rats that weren't there. I 

 thought at the time it was his last rat hunt, but 

 it wasn't. I pulled up my sack and Bob 

 grunted louder as he rolled to the bottom of it. 

 I turned up my coat collar and outside I found 

 a brick they used to block the warehouse door 

 open with. I put that in with him gently and 

 tied the sack and walked across the wet side- 

 walks to the big bridge. Silver Creek was 

 about as high as it ever got; saw logs were 

 running thick and few animals besides ducks 

 or beavers could have swam it. I felt uneasy, 

 still I felt that it was enterprise, and that while 

 Bob didn't know it, I was doing him and the 

 town a favor. So I stood on the first approach 

 of the bridge and swung the heavy sack over 

 the perj^endicular bank, next which the main 

 current of the stream ran. I thought I heard 



