and even to nibble at a crust of soaked bread. Link was ashamed of his
own keen and growing interest in his find. For the first time he
realized how bleakly lonesome had been his home life, since the death
of his father had left him solitary.

There was a mysteriously comforting companionship in the dog's
presence. Link found himself talking to him from time to time as to a
fellow human. And the words did not echo back in eerie hollowness from
the walls, as when he had sometimes sought to ease his desolation by
talking aloud to himself.

He was embarrassed by his general ignorance of dogs, and by his
ignorance of this particular dog's name. He sought to learn what the
collie had been called; by trying one familiar dog name after another.
But, to such stand-by cognomens as Rover, Tige, Fido, Ponto, Shep and
the rest, the patient gave no further sign of recognition than a
friendly wagging of his plumed tail. And he wagged it no more
interestedly for one name than for another.

So Ferris ceased from the effort, and decided to give his pet a
brand-new name for such brief space as they should be housemates. After
long deliberation he hit upon the name "Chum," as typical of the odd
friendship that was springing to life between the dog and himself. And
he planned to devote much time to teaching the collie this name.

But, to his surprise, no such tedious period of instruction was
necessary. In less than a single day Chum knew his name,--knew it past
all doubt.

Link was amazed at such cleverness. For three solid months, at one
time, he had striven to teach his horse and his cows and a few of his
sheep to respond to given names. And at the end of the course of
patient tutelage he had been morbidly certain that not one of his
solemn-eyed pupils had grasped the lessons.

It was surprisingly pleasant to drop in at the kitchen door nowadays,
in intervals between chores or at the day's end, and be greeted by that
glad glint of the eye and the ecstatic pounding of the wavy tail
against the floor. It was still pleasanter to see the gaze of wistful
adoration that strengthened daily as Chum and his new master grew
better and better acquainted.

Pleasantest of all was it to sit and talk to the collie in the
once-tedious evenings, and to know that his every word was appreciated
and listened to with eager interest, even if the full gist of the talk
itself did not penetrate to the listener's understanding.

Link Ferris, for