l take a poor kitty
by the neck, that hasn't done any harm, and tries to chastise the
poor thing with a trunk strap, ought to be looked after by the humane
society. And if it is cruel to take a cat by the neck, how much more
cruel is it to take a boy by the neck, that had diphtheria only a few
years ago, and whose throat is tender. Say, I guess I will accept your
invitation to take breakfast with you," and the boy cut off a piece of
bologna and helped himself to the crackers, and while the grocery man
was cut shoveling off the snow from the sidewalk, the boy filled his
pockets with raisins and loaf sugar, and then went out to watch the man
carry in his kindling wood.

CHAPTER XXXV.

HIS PA AN INVENTOR THE BAD BOY A MARTYR--THE DOG-COLLAR IN
THE SAUSAGE--A PATENT STOVE--THE PATENT TESTED!--HIS PA A
BURNT OFFERING--EARLY BREAKFAST!

"Ha! Ha! Now I have got you," said the grocery man to the bad boy, the
other morning, as he came in and jumped upon the counter and tied the
end of a ball of twine to the tail of a dog, and "sicked" the dog on
another dog that was following a passing sleigh, causing the twine to
pay out until the whole ball was scattered along the block. "Condemn
you, I've a notion to choke the liver out of you. Who tied that twine to
the dog's tail?"

The boy choked up with emotion, and the tears came into his eyes, and
he said he didn't know anything about the twine or the dog. He said
he noticed the dog come in, and wag his tail around the twine, but he
supposed the dog was a friend of the family, and did not disturb him.
"Everybody lays everything that is done to me," said the boy, as he put
his handkerchief to his nose, "and they will be sorry for it when I die.
I have a good notion to poison myself by eating some of your glucose
sugar.

"Yes, and you do about everything that is mean. The other day a lady
came in and told me to send up to her house some of my country sausage,
done up in muslin bags, and while she was examining it she noticed
something hard inside the bags, and asked me what it was, and I opened
it, and I hope to die if there wasn't a little brass pad-lock and a
piece of a red morocco dog collar imbedded in the sausage. Now how do
you suppose that got in there?" and the grocery man looked savage.

The boy looked interested, and put on an expression as though in deep
thought, and finally said, "I suppose the farmer that put up the sausage
did not strain the dog