After
them, Faye heard a peculiar sound, and looking back saw dear Hal on
the ground in a fit much like vertigo. He talked to him and petted
him, thinking he would soon be over it - and the plucky dog did get up
and try to follow, but went down again and for the last time The swift
run and excitement caused by encountering an animal wholly different
from anything he had ever seen before was too great a strain upon the
weak heart.
Before coming to the house Faye had ordered a detail out to bury him,
with instructions to cover the grave with pieces of glass to keep the
wolves away. The skin and head of the cat, which was really a lynx,
are being prepared for a rug, but I do not see how I can have the
thing in the house, although the black spots and stripes with the
white make the fur very beautiful. The ball passed straight through
the body.
The loneliness of the house is awful, and at night I imagine that I
hear him outside whining to come in. Many a cold night have I been up
two and three times to straighten his bed and cover him up. His bed
was the skin of a young buffalo, and he knew just when it was smooth
and nice, and then he would almost throw himself down, with a sigh of
perfect content.
