as well as not,"
interrupted Mrs. Price, delighted to grant a favor. "Poor departed
'Bijah, he set everything by him as a coon dog. He always said a dog's
capital was all in his reputation."

"You 'll have to be dreadful careful an' not lose him," urged Mrs.
Topliff. "Yes, sir; he 's a proper coon dog as ever walked the earth,
but he's terrible weak-minded about followin' 'most anybody. 'Bijah
used to travel off twelve or fourteen miles after him to git him back,
when he wa'n't able. Somebody 'd speak to him decent, or fling a
whip-lash as they drove by, an' off he 'd canter on three legs right
after the wagon. But 'Bijah said he wouldn't trade him for no coon dog
he ever was acquainted with. Trouble is, coons is awful sca'ce."

"I guess he ain't out o' practice," said John York amiably; "I guess he
'll know when he strikes the coon. Come, Isaac, we must be gittin'
along tow'ds home. I feel like eatin' a good supper. You tie him up
to-morrow afternoon, so we shall be sure to have him," he turned to say
to Mrs. Price, who stood smiling at the door.

"Land sakes, dear, he won't git away; you 'll find him right there
betwixt the wood-box and the stove, where he is now. Hold the light,
'Liza Jane; they can't see their way out to the road. I 'll fetch him
over to ye in good season," she called out, by way of farewell; "'t
will save ye third of a mile extra walk. No, 'Liza Jane; you 'll let
me do it, if you please. I 've got a mother's heart. The gentlemen
will excuse us for showin' feelin'. You 're all the child I 've got,
an' your prosperity is the same as mine."

IV.

The great night of the coon-hunt was frosty and still, with only a dim
light from the new moon. John York and his boys, and Isaac Brown,
whose excitement was very great, set forth across the fields toward the
dark woods. The men seemed younger and gayer than the boys. There was
a burst of laughter when John Henry Brown and his little brother
appeared with the coon dog of the late Mr. Abijah Topliff, which had
promptly run away home again after Mrs. Price had coaxed him over in
the afternoon. The captors had tied a string round his neck, at which
they pulled vigorously from time to time to urge him forward. Perhaps
he found the night too cold; at any rate, he stopped short in the
frozen furrows every few minutes, lifting one foot and whining a
little. Half a dozen times he came near to tripping up Mr. Isaac Brown
and making him