e slough! I've worked five years here,
and 'cepting the first year, every single year has piled interest on the
mortgage. Every year we've had less clothes to wear and poorer stuff to
eat, and it's been mend instead of buy, and we've had more debts and
more worries every year. I tell you, Mr. Robbins, I thought it would
_kill_ me, once, to come on the county. I'd 'a' said I'd starve first;
but you can't see your wife and children starve. I went in last winter,
and asked for relief. I'd that old hound dog of mine with me; you knowed
him. He'd been a good dog. He come with us when we come here, running
under the wagon. All the children had played with him. I took him into
town, and I asked every one I knowed would he have that dog for a gift;
I showed off all his tricks, feeling like I was dirty mean deceiving
him, for I done it so somebody would be willing to take him home and
feed him and take care of him, for it's God's truth I hadn't enough for
him and the children too. But nobody wanted him; he was pretty old, and
he wasn't never handsome. And one store I was in, as I went out I heard
a drummer that was trying to sell goods say, 'I saw that feller at the
Relief, but I notice he's able to keep a dog. Lets the children go
hungry ruther'n the dog, I guess.' I kinder turned on him, then I turned
back again, and I whistled to Sport, and I looked at him and saw how his
ribs showed and his eyes was kinder sunk. He wagged his tail and yelped
like he used to, seeing me look at him; and then I went straight to that
drug-store Billy used to keep--Billy Harvey. He moved away last year;
he was a good friend of mine. I said to him, 'Billy, you got something
that would kill a dog in a flash, so he'd never suffer or know what hurt
him?' And Billy--he understood, and he said he had. 'You jest put it on
his tongue and he'd never know what killed him.' Billy was sorry for me.
He gave it to me for nothing, and he gave me some bones and corn bread
and milk; so Sport had a good dinner. And he come right up to me and
looked me in the eyes, wagging his tail. His eyes was kinder dim, but
they was just as loving as ever. And he was wagging his tail when he
dropped. Then I went home, and the children asked me where was Sport,
and little Peggy cried--oh, Lord!"

"It was awful hard on you, Wesley," said Robbins gently.

"I suppose it wasn't nothing to what some men have suffered. There was
poor Tommy Walker, give up his farm when it was foreclos