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Page 21
Betty always said she had no earthly reason for christening her
black-and-gray pup Jan; but that, somehow, the name occurred to her as
fitting him from the moment at which she first saw him endeavoring to
stand up and growl at her pony, Punch, at the vixen, and at the world
generally on the Downs. From that same time Jan seemed to every one else
to fit his name; and it was clear he had taken a great fancy to Betty
Murdoch ever since she had wrapped him in her jacket and carried him
home triumphantly on her saddle-bow from the cave on the Downs.
If the season had been winter instead of midsummer, the orphaned Jan
would doubtless have missed greatly the warmth of his mother's body. As
it was, the harness-room stove was kept going at night to insure warmth
in the stable; and a large box, too deep for Jan to climb out from, and
snugly lined with carefully dried hay, was provided for his use o'
nights. Just at first, the deeply interested Betty tried feeding her new
pet with warm milk food in a baby's bottle. But Jan soon showed her that
though only a month old he was much too far advanced for such childish
things as this. He needed little teaching in the matter of lapping up
milk food from a dish (especially as he was allowed to suck one of
Betty's rosy finger-tips under the milk for a beginning); and as for
gravy and meat and bones, it might be said that he tackled these things
with the enthusiasm of a practised gourmet.
As a matter of fact, Desdemona did sorely miss Jan for a couple of days,
despite the comforting society of her mate; but Jan did not miss her a
scrap. At present there was not an ounce of sentiment in his
composition. He was kept warm, he lay snugly soft, and his stomach was
generally full. He had great gristly bones to gnaw and play with, and
Betty Murdoch, with a little solid-rubber ball, played with him also by
the hour together. Beyond these things Jan had no thought or desire at
present. He grew fast, and enjoyed every minute of the growing.
The Master's intimate knowledge of puppy needs caused certain mixtures
to be introduced into Jan's food from time to time, which saved the
youngster (without his knowing anything about it) from the worst of the
minor ills to which puppy flesh is heir. The same carefully exercised
knowledge, born of long practice, introduced other specially blended
elements into the pup's food which made for rapid bone and muscle
development. In a variety of ways the resources of man's civilization
and skill were made to serve Jan's welfare; and it must be admitted that
in most respects he gained considerably by losing his mother and the
life of the cave.
With Desdemona matters were somewhat different. For a little while she
was moodily conscious of the loss of her pups; and, too, missed the wide
open freedom of her cave life on the Downs. But, physically, she was in
some disorder, and the treatment now meted out to her was very helpful
and soothing in that direction. The fomenting of her sore and badly
scratched dugs was most comforting. The cleansing, healing medicine
given her was helpful. The gradually increased generosity of her diet
was gratifying; and at the end of a week her coat began to shine once
more under the application of Bates's grooming-gloves.
It is to be remembered that Desdemona, so far from being a creature of
the wild, had centuries of high civilization behind her. Her little
excursion into wild life was chiefly due to the inspiration of Finn's
society; and Finn himself, despite occasional attacks of the nostalgia
of the bush, was none the less a product of civilization; a deal more
subtle and complex in many ways than the native folk of the wild.
XII
SOME FIRST STEPS
The phase upon which little Jan now entered A was as jolly and enjoyable
as any form of sheltered dog life could well be. There were no kennels
at Nuthill, and it must be admitted that kennel life is never the
happiest sort of existence for a dog, though in some establishments it
is so organized, as to be a very healthy one.
Jan speedily became an object of affectionate interest for every member
of the Nuthill household, and was, from the first, the special and
well-loved prot�g� of Betty Murdoch, a privilege which, of itself, would
have insured his well-being. For Betty was an eminently sensible girl,
besides being a kindly, merry lover of animals and outdoor life. And in
her aunt and the Master she had perhaps the best sources of doggy
information to be found in Sussex.
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