THOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 89

THOR.

By C. A. Yotutg.

Vhot was the best friend I ever had. | Iroe as life, and faithful as death, he re- j -mains a memory ever present. He cost j me three guineas, and I thought him dear I fct the price, but, could I have him again in life, three thousand guineas would not purchase him. He was only a dog, and a mongrel at that, for though he was called a collie he had the beautiful markings of the Gordon setter. j -He had the fine characteristics of both ; varieties, though, for he could take a j -flock of sheep through' a most intricate : cctantry, nor permit himself to be beguiled ' by ' Kaare or rabbit on the way, tempt ' they never so .closely, while out with tho ' qua he <was as keen a- sportsman as any f Uofdon setter Glenboig ever bred. He was a highly - educated dog ' ibtefore- he came iZ roe, and the | men of the regiment ' soon found this , out. In course of time they taught him , many tricks, which frequently got him i and his master into trouble. An innocent , old gentleman, suspected of wearing a ' wig, , might be passing the barrack gate, c when one of Thor's soldner friends would i point a finger, and immediately the dog would be seen gaily careering _ over the. barrack square, a tall -hat .with* a wig ' attached in b*> mouth, pursued by an irate ! old gentleman, whose, language *was pro- J fuse and — . A message scribbieJ on a scrap of ' paper, which he was told" to take home, > would " bring him back in " haste with anything forgotten. ., A sticky 'kerchief, ' or any article dropped by design or accident in our walks abroad, he could be relied upon to find when sent back for; • and sometimes — as once when a valuable document which his master was taking , to deposit at the" bank, it dropped out of his pocket on the way — Thor would be found demurely following at heel with ! something in his mouth his master was ' not aware he had -lost. | He slept at his master's bedside, and •would "hardly stir at night for fear of [ ■waking him, . and in the morning his de- j light was -extreme, when bis master re- ' turned to him from the land of dreams. ' Eis habit was to visit the cook foT his ' morning 'drink of milk, then trot up the j coun-try road to meet his friends the pesi- i man, who, as a matter of course, banded j over .to him the house letters. These he j brought to the -person -who opened the | bag and sorted the letters, and, h : s 'master's being given him, he would convey j them to the .bedroom. Hat, stick, or ( sliopers lie would find anywhere when le- | quired, and one morning he was foundt , dragging -his master's overcoat to him. j -The only 'place to which he was not • ' permitted to accompany bis master was j i-jmrch, and "he knew when Sunday came, j and hated^it. He" "was the only dog ever | known- to .dive under^ water ancT search for I something his master . had! thrown^ in — j ,-UKb, indeed, pages could be fitted with Thor's numerous -accomplishments. i Be was a most lovable dog^- very, lend of, and patient with,-^children;- and sorely was his temper tried with the littie mite.i rofling over him and puling his hair, ears, ' etc. • ' j He -was a gseh en' faithful tyk© > " As ever lap a skfugh'dr dyke. His honest eon tie, baws'nt face Ay git him friends in ilka piece. His Dr«ast wes white, hie tenzie back - "Wee! clad wi' coat o' gloesy black; Hie grncle tad! wi' upward curl . Hung o'er his hurdies wi' a swirl. Retrievers and pedlars were his pet aversions. He had been grossly insulted when a puppy by one of the former, and J the latter class he distrusted on principle ; i and much trouble and expense these i weaknesses brought upon his master. ! Ultimately they led to his banishment, and { great was the weeping and wailing among ■ the young folk of the household when [ this at last became inevitable ; for with j the advance of age his weaknesses became ' a public nuisance, and so the fiat went j forth and he was banished. ' It so happened that a officer, eerving with the depot battalion of the i county regiment, had for some time [ wanted, a house dog. The barracks at \ L n are walled round-, the grassed ' parade ground -*scr enclosed forming an oblong of three-quarters of a mile by j half a-mile, with only a narrow gateway j for egress and ingress, before which a \ sentinel was posted day and night? This , was consideied a suitable and honourable ' retiring asylum for Thor, and he was j therefore transferred for duty at the depot of his regiment. His name was put on the j gate roll with those of bad characters confined to barracks, and the sergeant of the quarter-guard was by this measure held responsible that friend Thor did not leave barracks unless when under control. :This was satisfactory .to -everybody concerned except the poor dog, who for long j after hie .transfer drooped and fretted for • lus former playmates. He broke out of < . barracks twice and found his way back [ to his old home 30 miles away, but in tune became reconciled to the separation. and, occasionally visited by his old friends, and becoming attached to his new ones. , he settled down in time and was happy , again. | My friend's family were grown up, and j Thor attached himself very affectionately I and intimately to the youngest of two i daughters still left in the paternal nest, I a bright and beautiful maid of 17 years. I The dog, in fact, took charge of his young mistress, and it was really beautiful to observe the sense of responsibility which was upon him at all times when he was j accompanying her. She acquired great I Eower pf control over him ; he would obey j er - slightest command or sign, and so r it became safe for her to take him out | of barracks to accompany her in her ' walks abroad in the country. I Time passed, and Thor kept out of trouble as well as he could, just occasion- ! Ally indulging himself •" when a stray ',

retriever paid a visit to the barracks ; but it was curious to observe that when his friends the fox terriers in barracks _took on the job — which they were always willing to do — Thor held himself aloof in haughty dignity, unless, as sometimes happened, only one or two terriers were | available, and they seemed to have taken l on a job they could not see through, then — why, then it was bad for the visitor, for Thor saw what was left of him out of the barrack gate. My friend did not understand dogs — few people do; and none of us can suffi- ! ciently appr-eciate the wealth of affection j our canine fellow creature is prepared to j expend upon us until we do understand I and sympathise with him. The heart of j i a man op women who has not won the i I love- of a dog is the poorer in all that | [ makes life lovely. When I see a poor, ] emaciated dog, stricken with disease, fur- ( tively slouching along the streets,' driver from every door where he may pitifull/ have paused in the hope of a crust or j f of finding & resting-place, I think of the i careless owner, and pity him or her, for I Car beneficent Creator of all animals will i ; surely exact a reckoning for such cruelty (to His creatures. The love and sym1 f.athy of the do? passeth man's under- < , standing. When that which we thought ( gold becomes tarnished in the wear of ' 1 life, when friends whom -we may have i disappointed fall away from us, then the | ! lonely heart finds sympathy in the affec- j , tion of the dog, who, faithful as our own j nature, remains true till death. His love ] and faith are never made a question of . ethics. " j '• Parents, do not give the puppy to your . children merely as a toy to pull about, \ but as a creature to love and care for. j Teach the chHd to love all other dogs for the sake of his playmate, and your child j j wilJ be amply rewarded through all his j , after life; for every dog he meets will j . come to him in trust and faith, as if j recognising him instinctively as" a friend. ' It is a great thing to win the trust and j fsith of animals, and those who possess ! | it are never found to be cowards. | I Well, my friend did not understand , t dogs, so when Thor developed a habit I . of barking during the night, and so dis- j J turbing the rest of. the household, my ' iiiend wrote asking if that was a habit j . with the dog. I knew immediately i there must be sufficient and serious cause, I I and suspected some midnight visitor, so I j 1 replied that I would pay an early visil | ' and talk*the matter over with him. ! | The very next morning, on opening my ! newspaper I read that there had been a i number of daring burglaries in I- 1 { Barracks, one of them at my- friend's i house, .and that he had nearly lost his | life in a struggle with one of the burglars I I took the first train to L n, and j j found my friend's household in greatr ' | distress. j j His quarters were in a row" of build- I j ings, but no person resided near him, the ' I quarters at either side, for some distance ' j being unoccupied at "night. Behind . this ' j row of buildings, at a distance of some , 30 yards*, was the barrack wall. On- en- ' i iering at the front- door of his house, immediately to the right was the drawingroom, to the left the dining room, passing • these half tbe passage led along to the 1 kitchen, etc., the other half, on the right, j j leading by stairs to the bed -rooms on | the first floor About half-way up tlie ' stairs turned, and at this turning was a window, which was about 20 feet above tha lane at the back of the house. Further i up the stairs, some six steps more to the landing, one bed-room door was im- ! mediately in- front, anoth' • within reach, of the right hand. The bed-ioom to the j ; right was occupied-by my friend's youngest ' daughter, Thor's young mistress ; the one ! in front by my friend ; and inside the ' rooms a door led from one to the other. ■ Both father and daughter had the heads ' of their beds towards each other, so that ; each could reach the handles ot the door j of communication. 1 After the household had relired to rest tbe previous night — Thor being left in pos- j | session of the door-mat inside the hall door — the dog awoke them by barking ; and presently, .«o persistently scratched \ and whined .it his mistie?>>-"s bedroom door | that s-li-e had to rise and let him in. For ; some lime all was silence, except that Thor I was very uneasy under the bed, and «the , sympatlietic distress of his young mistress permitted her but a disturbed sleep. Well into the night she awoke, alert, 1 and at once wjs conscious that some per- I ! son was in tlie room. She listened for ! Thor ; not a sound came from the dog, I i and in silence she lay quaking in fear, j , the excited pul.-ations of lic-r heart almost > j audible, and vith e\ery sen=e pretornat- ' urally acute. Should she call her father? ( Why was the dog so quiet ? These -were thoughts that occurred to her, but some ' instinctive feeling presented her breaking t the silence. Tho drawn window-blind.s ' enclosed the room in total darkness, and , | the tension of suspense became at length [ bo painful, that in the climax of her ; terror a scream had almost escaped her, j when she heard the click of the handle ' of one of the drawers of her dressingtable. This dispelled all doubt and her : nerves at once came under control. She ; was now certain someone was in the room i rifling her jewellery. Quietly she moved. 1 so that a spring would place her within > reach of the handle of the door of com- J munication to her fatlver's room.. Even as she placed her hand upon his shoulder, he was awake. An old soldier, long ex- j perienced in Indian border warfare, he ! had acquired the dog's habit of sleeping J so that on awaking every sense was instinct j with life. " j His daughter's hand upon his shoulder! I Someone moving outside his room ? His I quickened comprehension grasped the situation, and in a flash he was outside his | bedroom door in time to see the figure of a man trying to escape by the window i at the bend of the stairs. One spring, j and he had gra-ped the ankle of the escaping burglar, and pullins him back on '

[ to- the stairs, a deadly struggle ensued for mastery. My friend was a strong and sinewy man, but he had met his match. In the struggle they rolled down the stairs, and when the daughter looked over the balustrade from above, this was the picture she looked upon: Through the glass panel above the hall door the moonbeams fell upon t<he struggling figures at the bottom of the stairs — her father on' his back on the flooT with the burglar astride on his chest, his left hand clutching her father's throat, his right grasping a knife with which he was endeavouring to administer the coup-de-grace. Her father, fortunately, had been able to seize with his left hand his enemy's knife hand at .the wrist, while with his right he was trying to tear the burglar's left hand from his throat. This trial of strength was agonising to the daughter, but she was a soldier's child, inheriting the courage of her race. She saw she must act at once to rescue hex father, or his opponent would prevail. So, nerving herself, she swiftly descended the stairs, stepped over the legs of the contending figures as she passed into the dining-room, and was back in an instant I with a poker in her hand, which, grasping ! in both hands, she brought down with all j her strength tipon the exposed head of I the burglar. ' Frenzy had lent her strength, j and two such- blows brought the contest ;to an end ; the burglar's grasp relaxed I from her father's throat, and he sank un- | conscious on the figure beneath him. A j moment later, and her help had been too late, for her father had fainted. ! Thinking the burglar had accomplished | his purpose, and that her father was dead, the brave girl's nerves at last gave I way. and opening the hall door just as she was, in her night-dress and bare feet, 6he rushed screaming over the snowcovered grass to the quarter-guard. Arrived there, she could only turn and point back to her home, when she sank to the ground unconscious. Leaving two of their number to attend , the unconscious girl, the guard rushed to the house, nnd while some assisted my poor friend back to consciousness, others I secured the burglar. By this time the whole barracks was in I an uproar, as it was found burglaries had J occurred at various places. It afterwards ! transpired that an organised attempt had ! been mode by a gang of London burglars to rob the regimental canteen, the officers' mess, and all the officers' quarters simulI ta-n-eously. Their modus operandi was to enlist as recruits, make themselves ac1 attainted with the situations of the places they intended to rifle, and gain informaj tion by making love to the female servants of the married officers. Most of the I biirsrlarL&s had been successfully accomI plis-hed. but, the alarm having been given by my brave little heroine, the burglars had escaped in the night. Nearly all the "swasr" was afterwards recovered in sacks, where it had been thrown over the 'barrack wall. ! The gentleman put hors de combat by j th-e poker. t*> ably wielde-Vby Thor's young mistr&pr. appeared ip_ due course before a jury of his countrymen, who considerately provided him with lodgment at the expense of his s countrv for a period of 10 years. The affair excited considerable interest throughout Ensland. Our heroine's portrait appeared in all the London illustrated papers, her brave conduct was eulogised by the press generally, and our late good Queen honoured her with an autograph letter complimenting her upon her courage. And Thor? Thor was found under his youne mistress bed — dead. His false friend the cook had poisoned him, so that her burglar lover — with whom she was to clope — could rob her master's house undisturbed. Thor's- young mistress kneels upon a mat made of the fur of his coat everr nisht when ?he thanks the Creator for Hi* many nrereies, and she knows that her heart is bTOMsrht nearer the Throne of O^ace by the memoiy of her friend Thor.