slowly home. Just before he
turned to go into the house, he looked back, to see what had become of
the dog. He was standing motionless in the place where Jonas had left
him.

"I wish the farmer would let me give him a bone," said he to himself;
and then he turned away, and walked slowly around to the barn, to fodder
the cattle.

That night, just before bed-time, he went to the front door, and looked
out into the road, and all around, to see if he could see any thing of
Franco. It was rather dark and windy,--though he could see the moon
shining dimly through the broken clouds, which were driving across the
sky. The roads looked black, as they do about the commencement of a
thaw. Presently the moon shone out full through the interstices of the
clouds. Jonas took advantage of the opportunity to look all up and down
the road; but Franco was nowhere to be seen.

The next morning, however, when he went out into the stable to give the
cattle some hay, he found Franco in his old place, under the General's
crib.

"Why, Franco," said Jonas, "how came you here?"

Franco said nothing, but stood looking up into Jonas's face, and wagging
his tail.

"Franco," said Jonas, "how could you get in here?"

Franco remained in the same position; the light of the lantern shining
in his face, and his tail wagging a very little. He could not tell
certainly whether Jonas was scolding him or not.

Franco remained about the barn until breakfast-time, and then Jonas, at
the table, told the farmer that he tried to drive the dog away the
night before, but that in the morning he found him in the barn.

"I don't believe you really tried," said the farmer's wife. "_I_ can
drive him away, I know,--as I'll show you after breakfast."

Accordingly, after breakfast, putting on hastily an old straw bonnet,
she went out into the yard and took a small stick from the wood pile, to
use for a club, and then called to Franco.

"Franco," said she, "come here."

Franco looked first at her, and then at Jonas, who was standing in the
door-way, as if at a loss to know what to do.

"Go, Franco," said Jonas.

The farmer's wife walked out in front of the house into the wind,
calling Franco to follow. She then attempted to drive him along the
road, much as Jonas had done. She brandished her stick at him, and, when
she had succeeded in getting him as far from her as she could, by stern
and threatening language, in order to drive him farther, she threw the
s