a few paces, halted, and then began to follow
again, whereupon Genesis pretended to hurl stones at him; but the animal
only repeated his manoeuver--and he repeated it once more when William
aided Genesis by using actual missiles, which were dodged with almost
careless adeptness.

"I'll show him!" said William, hotly. "I'll show him he can't follow
ME!" He charged upon the dog, shouting fiercely, and this seemed to do
the work, for the hunted animal, abandoning his partial flights, turned
a tucked-under tail, ran all the way back to the alley, and disappeared
from sight. "There!" said William. "I guess that 'll show him!"

"I ain' bettin' on it!" said Genesis, as they went on. "He nev' did
stop foll'in' me yet. I reckon he the foll'indest dog in the worl'! Name
Clem."

"Well, he can't follow ME!" said the surging William, in whose mind's
eye lingered the vision of an exquisite doglet, with pink-ribboned
throat and a cottony head bobbing gently over a filmy sleeve. "He
doesn't come within a mile of ME, no matter what his name is!"

"Name Clem fer short," said Genesis, amiably. "I trade in a mandoline
fer him what had her neck kind o' busted off on one side. I couldn' play
her nohow, an' I found her, anyways. Yes-suh, I trade in 'at mandoline
fer him 'cause always did like to have me a good dog--but I d'in' have
me no name fer him; an' this here Blooie Bowers, what I trade in the
mandoline to, he say HE d'in have no name fer him. Say nev' did know if
WAS a name fer him 'tall. So I'z spen' the evenin' at 'at lady's house,
Fanny, what used to be cook fer Miz Johnson, nex' do' you' maw's; an'
I ast Fanny what am I go'n' a do about it, an' Fanny say, 'Call him
Clematis,' she say. ''At's a nice name!' she say. 'Clematis.' So 'at's
name I name him, Clematis. Call him Clem fer short, but Clematis his
real name. He'll come, whichever one you call him, Clem or Clematis.
Make no diff'ence to him, long's he git his vittles. Clem or Clematis,
HE ain' carin'!"

William's ear was deaf to this account of the naming of Clematis; he
walked haughtily, but as rapidly as possible, trying to keep a little in
advance of his talkative companion, who had never received the training
as a servitor which should have taught him his proper distance from the
Young Master. William's suffering eyes were fixed upon remoteness; and
his lips moved, now and then, like a martyr's, pronouncing inaudibly a
sacred word. "Milady! Oh, Milady!"

Thus they ha