Night after night that week from the house opposite a tenor voice
apostrophised some peerless she. But never again did Jane-Anne go to
the window, and Gantry Bill laid his head sideways on his paws, his ears
flopped forwards, and snored gently, while his master, at the top of his
voice, proclaimed "the thousand beauties that he knew so well."
He was a patient dog, Gantry Bill. More patient than his master who,
by-and-bye, gave it up as a bad job—and went out. He occasionally
attended lectures, too, whither the dog could not accompany him. Then
would Bill sit on the window-ledge watching the passers-by with a wise
reflective air, or sleep in that pathetic abandonment of attitude
habitual to the bull-terrier.
Jane-Anne sometimes crossed the street, spoke to him, caressed him, and
peeped into the empty room behind—a most untidy room.
"Poor doggie," she said, one Saturday afternoon, "alone so much; would
you like to come and play in our garden, Gantry Bill? It’s much cooler
than over here. The master’s out, and you’ll not bother anybody."
Gantry Bill looked at her, and evidently was tempted. In fact, a pretty
girl in a white frock on a hot July afternoon is always a pleasing
apparition.
Very slowly, like a stiff old gentleman, Gantry Bill arose and stood on
the window-ledge. He smiled at Jane-Anne, and playfully took her hand
into his mouth and mumbled it, in token of his approval.
"He’s gone to the boats, he’ll be hours and hours," she said. "I saw
him rushing up the street in those awful little short knickerbockers,
and you left all alone to mope, poor dear! Why shouldn’t you have a
little amusement, too?"
This appeared a sound argument. Gantry Bill dropped from the
window-ledge into the street, and followed Jane-Anne across the road.
Into the garden she took him by devious ways that did not challenge the
observation of Mrs. Dew. She fetched him water in a pie-dish and
presented him with a chocolate biscuit, then she sat down under the
apple-tree to mend her stockings. But Gantry Bill hadn’t come out for
the afternoon to watch people mend stockings.
He spied a hockey ball lying on the path, seized it in his mouth, and
galumphed heavily towards Jane-Anne, laid it at her feet, barked and
made a series of short rushes at her in token that he desired to play.
"Hush," said Jane-Anne, holding up a needle in her finger and thumb,
"you mustn’t bark, else aunt’ll hear you and come out. What do you
want?"
Another short rush, another "wouf," and an eager head, ears cocked
forward, eyes beseeching Jane-Anne.
"You want me to throw it, do you?"
This was exactly what Gantry Bill did want, and for twenty minutes he
kept Jane-Anne very busy indeed. Then, hot and exhausted, they both sat
down under the apple-tree, and she was permitted to mend her stocking.
This was the first of many meetings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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