FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   >>  
s if it would kill me to think of him lyin' ovah there all cold and stiff, with the blood on his lovely white and yellow curls, and know that he'll nevah, nevah again jump up to lick my hands, and put his paws on my shouldahs. He'll nevah come to meet me any moah, waggin' his tail and lookin' up into my face with his deah lovin' eyes. Oh, Miss Allison! I can't stand it! It's just breakin' my heart!" Burying her face in Miss Allison's lap, she sobbed and cried until her tears were all spent. It was a subdued little party that rode back to the Valley, a few hours later. Not only sympathy for Lloyd kept them quiet, but each one mourned the loss of the gentle, lovable playfellow who had come to such an untimely end after this week of happy camp life with them. * * * * * Under the locusts that evening, just as the sun was going down, came the tread of many marching feet. It was the tramp, tramp of the soldiers who were bringing home the Little Colonel's Hero, All the men who had been most interested in his performances the day before, had volunteered to follow Colonel Wayne, and the long line made an imposing showing, as it stretched up the avenue after him. Lloyd watched the approach from her seat on the porch beside her father. All the camping party were waiting with her, except the four boys who rode at the head of the procession, Ranald and Malcolm first, then Rob and Keith. Lloyd hid her eyes as Lad and Tarbaby came into view behind them. "Look," said her father gently, pointing to the flag-draped burden they drew. "How much better it was for Hero to have been shot by a soldier and brought home with military honours, than to have met the fate of an ordinary dog--been poisoned, or mangled, by a train, as might have happened, or even died of a painful, feeble old age. The Major would have chosen this? so would Hero, if he could have understood." There was more comfort in that thought than in anything that had been said to her before, and Lloyd wiped her eyes, and sat up to watch the ceremony that followed, with a feeling of pride that made her almost cheerful. On they came to the beat of the muffled drum, halting under a great locust-tree that stood by itself on the lawn, in sight of the library windows, like a giant sentinel. There the boys dismounted to lower Hero into the grave that Walker and Alec had just finished digging. Then the coloured men, spreading the sod quickly ba
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   >>  



Top keywords:
Allison
 

Colonel

 

father

 

military

 

brought

 
honours
 
Malcolm
 

procession

 
poisoned
 

ordinary


Tarbaby

 

gently

 
burden
 

Ranald

 
pointing
 

draped

 
soldier
 
understood
 

library

 

windows


muffled

 

halting

 

locust

 

sentinel

 

coloured

 

spreading

 

quickly

 

digging

 

finished

 

dismounted


Walker

 
chosen
 

feeble

 

painful

 

happened

 
waiting
 

ceremony

 
feeling
 

cheerful

 
comfort

thought
 

mangled

 
Little
 
breakin
 

Burying

 

lookin

 
sobbed
 

Valley

 
subdued
 

waggin