But just across the church the wicked pair of gleaming eyes were
watching the little sparrow from the dark corner. From beneath them
subterranean grumblings and mutterings warned Charles Stuart that Trip
was growing dangerously excited. John Gordon indicated the cause, by a
nod at the sparrow, and the two boys ducked their heads in an agony of
mirth. This was too much for Charles Stuart. Not stopping to consider
the consequences, he leaned down and whispered, "Crows, Trip, crows!"
and clutched the little dog tighter between his legs. Now Trip had
been trained all spring to chase the crows from the corn, and this was
his signal to charge. Not all the boys in Forest Glen Sunday school
could have held him at that moment. The word "crows" changed him into
a raging, squirming, yelping, snarling, exploding little
powder-magazine. With a yell of wrath he burst free and leaped upon
the opposite seat, knocking the moral piece from Silas Pratt's hand and
the spectacles from his nose. With one explosive yelp he hurtled
across the aisles, landed upon Martha Ellen Robertson's seat, slid half
its slippery length, righted himself, and standing upon his hind legs,
with his front paws upon the back of the seat, he burst into a storm of
wild barking. Of course the sparrow was by this time away down near
Lake Simcoe, but Trip still continued his uproar. He did not bark, he
fairly squalled out all his long pent-up rage, leaping and dancing on
his wicked little hind legs, and making noise enough to scare every
bird out of Forest Glen woods.
The consternation was not confined to the birds. Everybody stood up
and exclaimed in horror. Martha Ellen was so alarmed that she screamed
right out loud, and ran across the aisle to Mr. Coulson for protection.
Noah Clegg dropped the collection all over the floor, and Silas Pratt
put on his spectacles again and ejaculated, "Well, well, well, well!"
Even the daring Charles Stuart was rather dismayed at the havoc he had
wrought, and as for poor Elizabeth, words could not describe how rent
and torn she was between shame and terror. Sandy McLachlan was the
only one who seemed equal to the emergency. He arose, exclaiming
explosively, "For peety's sake!" and in two minutes the dog was flying
through the doorway with yelps of terror, followed by several profane
anathemas upon his wicked little head for "pollutin' the hoose o' God."
Noah Clegg gathered up the pennies and took his place upon the platform
as if nothing had happened. Any rare case of insubordination in the
Sunday school was never dealt with there. It was left to home
discipline, which, being of the good old Canadian sort, was always
salutary. So, knowing by the MacAllister's lowering countenance that
dire consequences awaited his son upon his return home, Noah gave out
the closing hymn, with undisturbed cheerfulness:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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