RECREATION 



Volume XVIU. 



MAY, J903. 

 G. 0. SHIELDS (COQUINA,) Editor and Manager 



Number 5. 



CHUM. 



W. S. CROLLY. 



Every one in the little village de- 

 tested him earnestly. He belonged to 

 the barber, and the barber was unpop- 

 ular. Chum had an abnormal appetite 

 for kittens, the younger the better. 

 Disdaining to argue with their more 

 worldly wise progenitors, either meek 

 Maria or yowling Thomas, this wholly 

 contemptible Scotch terrier recreated 

 himself by unhinging the spines of 

 weak, confiding kittens. Right and 

 left he slaughtered them : a savage 

 rush, a protesting meow, a click, and 

 the furry little feline lay contorting on 

 the ground. Then Chum would 

 scamper off, barking egotistically. 

 Little girls developed sore eyes hold- 

 ing wakes over their pets ; but no one 

 ventured to interfere, or even expos- 

 tulate, for the barber was a powerful 

 lever in the village political machin- 

 ery. So the carnage went on. But 

 eventually Chum overdid the matter. 

 In a particularly jocund mood he 

 massacred Tillie Smith's tri-colored 

 tiger phenomenon on her own door- 

 step. 



While investigating the garbage tub 

 in the rear of Mrs. Smith's yard, one 

 morning, Chum became suddenly 

 aware through the medium of his 

 sixth sense that he was being ob- 

 served. He looked up. 



The kitten, singing like a kettle, sat 

 on the porch watching him with inno- 

 cent curiosity. Hastily bolting a strip 

 of ham rind, he sprang at her. She 

 fled terrified, but he caught her on the 

 threshold. Holding the tiny feline 

 amidships, he shook her like a dice 

 box ; but he failed to disconnect her 

 keel. She squealed lustily for succor. 

 Mrs. Smith burst on the scene armed 



with a broom, which she swung with 

 great strength of arm. "Oh!" she 

 screamed, and chopped at the dog 

 with fine precision. The straw-headed 

 ax descended heavily and flattened 

 Chum to the resemblance of a skin 

 rug. The breath left his body with an 

 expressive woof ! Dropping his victim, 

 he pattered swiftly away. Mrs. Smith, 

 screaming at a high soprano pitch, 

 sent after him an endless variety of 

 feminine threats. Then she. turned 

 her attention to the kitten, noting at 

 a glance that its case was hopeless. 

 The terrier had killed unscientifically 

 that time, crushing in its ribs as little 

 boys with steel teeth crush hickory 

 nuts. A spasm of the limbs, a tiny 

 trickling hemorrhage ; pussy was dead, 

 dead. 



Tillie, returning from school at 

 noon, wept distractedly. Later she 

 mopped her face and went back to 

 school. As she left the house her 

 teeth were set in a most resolute way. 

 Evidently her quick brain was prepar- 

 ing plans for revenge. That very 

 evening the female members of the 

 M. E. Church Infant Class as- 

 sembled in convention at Mrs. Smith's 

 residence to discuss the tragedy 

 and pass judgment on Chum. With 

 entire unanimity they cast their 

 votes : Chum must die ! How to 

 secure this result they did not exactly 

 know. Long they wrestled with the 

 problem, but could think of no 

 scheme. Finally, one little maid, with 

 a larger faith in masculine wit than 

 the others, suggested consulting "The 

 Kid" for advice. The company, weary 

 of argument, approved ; and a com- 

 mittee started to hunt him. 



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