The dog looked up at her with his intelligent eyes to see what his new
mistress wished. She threw her arms about his neck and kissed him.
"Don, I love you, I love you. You're my dog now. Harvey has given you
to me."
Harvey felt a little jealous to see lavished on a dog caresses, such as
had been given to him only once. He tried to distract Beth's attention.
"Say, Beth, you just ought to see him in the water. He loves the
water."
"Does he? Let's go down to the river."
This was just what Harvey wished, and therefore he readily consented.
The two started ahead. Don followed majestically.
Mrs. Davenport saw them from the window, and stopped them.
"Where are you going, Beth?"
"Down to the river with Harvey, mamma. Just see what he gave me."
Beth led Don up to the window where her mother was.
"Why, you nice dog, you. He is a beauty. Where did you get him,
Harvey? He must be a very valuable dog."
Thereupon the history of Don's discovery was repeated to Mrs. Davenport.
"Harvey ought to keep him himself," she declared.
"But I wish Beth to have him, Mrs. Davenport. Father said I might do
what I wished with Don, and when I told mother I was going to give him
to Beth, she thought it a very nice idea."
"You are very generous, Harvey, and both Beth and I appreciate your
present. I love dogs almost as much as Beth does, but I don't know how
we can repay you."
"Mother says that you more than repay me by letting Beth play with me.
You know I haven't any sisters."
"Well, you and Beth must be careful not to get into mischief. She may
play by the water this morning, but I don't care to have her go rowing.
The river is too rough to-day."
"We won't go rowing, mamma."
Thereupon they hurried with Don down to the river.
The wind was quite high, which made the water choppy. The waves were
white-capped in many places.
"Now, Beth, you just watch and see Don perform."
Harvey held in his hand a good-sized stick, which he threw as far as
possible out into the water.
[Illustration: Harvey. (Illustration missing from book)]
Away bounded Don after it. He easily breasted the waves, and returned
in triumph with the stick.
He did this time and again, much to Beth's delight.
"Say, Beth, let's try him from the end of the wharf. I wonder if he
would dare jump in from there."
"I don't like to try. He might drown."
Harvey laughed the idea to scorn, and took a stick out to the end of
the wharf. Beth and Don accompanied him. Don seemed anxious to have
the stick thrown, for he watched it with glistening eyes. Harvey threw
it. Don immediately jumped after it, and succeeded in swimming to
shore with it. By this time, he was probably tired, for he did not
return to the children, but lay down on the bank for a rest.
The boat had been left outside the boat house, tied to a stake of the
wharf. Harvey eyed it longingly.
"I wish we could go rowing, Beth."
"So do I, but mamma said I couldn't. You wouldn't have me disobey her,
would you?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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