12 BRUNO 



shoulder, as close to me as he could get, his 

 eyes full of tears, the picture of woe. 



*' You see Bruno is crying too," said Julius. 



As soon as Bruno saw me look up, he threw 

 back his head and wagged his tail as if to 

 say, 



" Come now, that 's better, much better." 



My tears still fell, but they were no longer 

 bitter. There was something about the sym- 

 pathy of that dumb creature which touched a 

 chord not to be reached by anything human. It 

 was so unlocked for and so sincere. 



It was wonderful how he entered into all our 

 feelings. In those days I was very much 

 afraid of thunder-storms. In some subtle way 

 Bruno divined this and kept the closest watch 

 for clouds. If the heavens began to be over- 

 cast, he would go from window to window, 

 noting developments, coming to me every few 

 minutes to look into my face and wag his tail 

 reassuringly. 



When our fears were verified and the storm 

 broke, he would come to rest his head on my 

 knee, wincing with me at the thunders and 

 flashes. When the worst was over, and big 

 scattering drops showed the end of the storm 

 to be near, he would drop at my feet with a 



