through the hospital halls and corridors went bunny brown and his sister sue and their trick dog, mr. brown coming along behind and directing them which way to go, as he had been in that part of the hospital before. in the sun parlor were a number of patients who were able to be out of bed, but who were not yet well enough to go to their homes or elsewhere.
“there he is, over in the corner by himself,” said mr. brown to his children, when he had looked around and had seen mr. stern. and by the very fact that the poor old and ragged man was thus sitting by himself, it showed how much he needed cheering.
the other patients were grouped together, listening to one who was telling them a story and some happenings of his life, it seemed.
[166]“how are you to-day, mr. stern?” asked the children’s father.
“oh, i’m about the same,” was the low-voiced answer. “not much better. i guess i’m never going to get any better. but it doesn’t matter. i’m no good to anybody.”
“you mustn’t talk that way,” said mr. brown cheerfully. “you’ll be out of here soon, and then we’ll see what can be done for you.”
“nothing much can be done for me,” went on mr. stern, in sad tones. “if i could find jim denton he might start me in the show business again. but he’s gone.”
“perhaps i could find work for you at my fish dock,” suggested mr. brown. and just then patter went silently up to the old man and touched a cold nose to mr. stern’s hand.
“eh? what’s that? is that you, tanza?” mr. stern cried, and he seemed to have aroused to new life. for the first time he looked up at mr. brown, and then he looked down at patter.
“oh, is that your dog?” he asked.
[167]“it’s my son’s and my little girl’s,” was the answer. “why?”
“oh, nothing. but for a moment i thought—but it doesn’t matter. nothing matters now.”
bunny and sue, young as they were, felt that something was wrong with the old man—something strange and mysterious, it seemed. and mr. brown wondered what he meant by speaking that strange name “tanza.”
“i brought my children and their dog to cheer you up a little,” went on mr. brown.
“yes, yes! it’s very good of you,” said the old man. he was not ragged, as he had been at first, since he was now wearing some garments supplied by the hospital.
“my dog can do tricks,” said bunny.
“good tricks, too,” added sue. “and once he chased a cat and she had four white feet and she rides on patter’s back.”
“yes, yes! that’s very nice, my little ones,” said the old man, and he smiled at the children—not much of a smile, just a trace, but it showed that he had been aroused from his sad thoughts.
[168]by this time patter in the sun parlor had attracted the attention of the other patients. there was a boy with a broken arm and a girl who had something the matter with her leg and could not walk. and these children were delighted to see patter. nurses wheeled them in chairs close to the dog.
“shall i make him do some tricks?” asked bunny of his father.
“yes, if it’s all right,” mr. brown answered, looking at the nurse.
“oh, yes, we’ll be glad if you will,” she said. “the patients here don’t get much amusement.”
so patter was put through his tricks. he walked on his hind legs and on his front paws. he sat up and then “said his prayers” on the back of a chair.
“oh, he’s a lovely dog!” cried the little girl. “my dollie says her prayers just like that!”
just then patter gave a bark, as he always did when he had finished his “prayers.”
“does your dollie bark like that?” asked mr. brown of the little lame girl.
[169]she looked at him in a shy manner, and then smiled as she answered:
“dollies can’t bark!”
“i know that, my dear!” laughed mr. brown. “i just asked you for fun.”
“well, this dog is fun!” laughed the boy with the broken arm.
then patter did more of his tricks. at the one where he marched around with a stick for a gun, mr. stern smiled and asked:
“did you ever teach him to drive a horse?”
“no, but he can ride on my toby pony’s back,” answered bunny.
“well, if he can do that i think he can drive your pony hitched to the cart,” said the old man. “try it some day. put the dog up on the seat and tie the lines in a loop around his neck. then teach him to put his right paw on the right rein when he wants the pony to turn to the right, and to put his left paw on the left rein, to pull on that when he wants toby to turn to the left.”
“do you think it can be done?” asked mr. brown.
“i’m sure it can,” answered the old man.[170] “when i had my tanza—but what’s the use of talking about that?” and he sighed and seemed more gloomy than at first.
however, bunny and sue did not notice this very much and their father was glad, for he did not want them to see the gloomy side of hospital life.
bunny put patter through a few more tricks, to the delight of the patients in the sun parlor, and then it was time to go.
“i’ll come again in a few days and see how you are,” said mr. brown to mr. stern, when taking leave. “and when you are able to work i’ll see that you get a place.”
“i don’t believe i’m good for much except the circus or show business,” was his reply.
“well, we’ll see about that,” said the children’s father.
“please come again and bring your dog,” begged the boy with the broken arm.
“and maybe i’ll have my doll when you come next time,” said the little lame girl. “then i’ll show you how she says her prayers. but she doesn’t bark like a dog,” she added, with a laugh at mr. brown.
[171]“all right!” he chuckled. “we’ll come again.”
that bunny, at least, knew there was something strange about mr. stern was evident, because on the way home bunny asked his father:
“what did he mean about tanza?”
“i don’t know,” answered mr. brown. “but i’ll try to find out.”
however, the visit to the hospital gave bunny something new to think about—and this was the trick of having patter drive toby from the seat of the pony cart.
“he never can do it!” declared george when bunny spoke of it to his boy chums the next day.
“maybe he can,” said charlie. “let’s try. it will be a dandy trick for the show if he’ll do it.”
