e dog-knew that
they were thinking of him.

Then Jan's ears cocked up, his tail swished gently on the stone floor of
the Hospice, for in his dreams he heard the faint sound of a quavering
voice singing:

"Old dog Tray is ever faithful,
Grief cannot drive him away.
He's gentle and he's kind
And you'll never, never find
A better friend than old dog Tray."

Chapter XVII

JAN'S REWARD

Two years went past and Jan's work at the Hospice brought him great
happiness, for he knew that he was doing the work of his ancestors and
living a useful life.

Often as he travelled the snow trails, he remembered the Land of No
Snow, the warm sunshine, the fragrant flowers and the beautiful trees
laden with golden fruit. But the one thing for which his loyal heart
yearned most was the touch of a wrinkled hand on his head and the sound
of the old poundmaster's voice. No one knew Jan's thoughts, for he was
always eager to do his work the best he knew how, and to teach the
puppies to be proud of the privilege of helping people.

Brother Antoine had left the Hospice and gone down into the warmer
climate of the Valley of the Rhone. His work had been done bravely and
unselfishly, and the monks had asked that he be sent to a place where
sunshine and milder air would give him a chance to recover his strength
and prolong his life. Jan greatly missed this dear friend.

There were cold mornings when Prince Jan rose stiffly, for he had not
been hardened to the trail work from puppy days as Rollo and the other
dogs had been. Five years of warm sunshine in the Land of No Snow had
made Jan's muscles soft and flabby and he felt the cold weather more
than any of the other St. Bernards. Then, too, his long hair made the
work of the trails harder for him because the snow clung to his fur and
when it melted and soaked to his skin, the monks watched carefully to
keep him from becoming chilled. Once or twice he had limped badly after
coming in from his work, and then he had been rubbed and taken into the
Big Room and allowed to stretch before the fireplace, and for a while he
was not sent out with the other dogs.

One day during summer many of the dogs were given a chance to exercise
outdoors. Jan sat watching the youngsters tumble each other about, while
he recalled the times when he and Rollo had played that way and old
Bruno had sat watching them. Then one of the pups began barking, and
soon the others added their