Chapter Six (The second Chapter Six-EC) He looses a Battle But Wins the War (Ok, so there are two titled Chapter Six. Remember, he was about 75 years old when he wrote this so just over look the duplication-EC) My cousin, Jack Stinecipher, had a very large young dog that would fight anything that came along. His name was "Tige" and he followed Jack one day when he came to visit me and it wasn't long until he and Carlo met. We were near the gate that leads from the house to the barn. According to my recollections, Carlo was on the side next to the barn and Tige came in the front of the yard and to where Jack and I were just opening the gate, and Carlo came through and met Tige just inside, and started to quarrel in their dog language. Which was deep coarse "hair raising" growls, as they slowly stepped closer together. We scolded them and tried to stop them, but they could not hear us for their fierce growls. All at once they both jumped at each other with full force, growling, barking, and snapping, coming together with tremendous force and rearing up on hind legs whirling this way and that way, until Carlo, whirling around, struck something which knocked his feet our from under him causing him to fall. Tige took advantage of his fall and was on top of him before he had time to rise and was trying to get Carlo by the throat, but Carlo had a very thick neck which was hard to get hold of and he was struggling hard to rise but couldn't quite make it, when Jack saw a chance to jump in and catch Tige by one of his hind feet and pull him away. Carlo was up and at him and Jack had all he could do to hold Tige. Then I jumped in and caught Carlo around the neck and held on to him. He tried hard to break away from me, but I managed to hang on until we got them quiet. Then Jack pulled Tige along toward the front gate cuffing him with his hand then shoved him through and drove him home. That was not the end of it. Tige got to running around of night doing depredations but no one had positive proof on him. He had been seen around our place and depredations had been committed but no one saw him in the act. Jack didn't think it was him doing them and made dire threats as to what he would do if anyone killed him. Tige got to coming quite often to our place and killing things of nights; anything he came across, just to be killing. He never ate them for he was well-fed at home. This all went on for a month or more and I told Jack someone would kill him if he didn't keep him tied or fastened up. But he couldn't believe it was Tige, and he did try to keep him home by typing him, but Tige nearly always got loose and when he did, there would be something killed. It might be a pig, goose, duck or chicken, and Tige would be back at home in the morning lying on the porch looking innocent and Jack wouldn't believe he had done anything wrong, although he was loose from his chain. Well, this went on for sometime and Carlo and Bonny would chase after him, making the welkin ring with their barking when ever he was around, making it hard for us to get any sleep and every time I would tell Jack about it he would say, "I try to keep him tied up but the chain won't hold him, and I don't believe he does the killing. I think it is something else that does the killing and he gets blamed for it." Well, it went on for a while longer and people put up quite a howl, most everyone but Jack thought it was Tige doing the killing, but could not convince him that it was. Then one morning I got out of bed and came down the stairs just as it was getting light enough to see good and stepping off the porch into the yard, at the front of the house, I noticed something lying on the ground a few steps away. I approached closer so as to better see, and to my great surprise I discovered it was the dog, Tige, and he was dead and stiff. While I was standing there looking, mother came out from the other side of the house very quietly and came up close to me and spoke low to me. After she had looked at him, saying, "Your Pa will come and help you get rid of it." I never asked any questions of her, nor made any remarks, just waited and Pa came out. Mother had gone back in the house. Pa only said, "Let's take him to the mire hole in the swamp." We took hold and he was so heavy we had to stop a few times to rest on the way, the mire hole was at the foot of a little hill at the edge of the swamp and we stood at the edge and threw him in as far as we could and watched him sink in, out of sight then threw in some brush over the place, then went back to the house without any comments and ate our breakfast. The rest of the family never knew anything about what had occurred that morning and never was told. (p.s. Jack never learned) Chapter Seven Old Billy _______ One day Carlo was lying on the porch facing toward the road that leads down to the house. Mother was working nearby doing odds and ends, small jobs before commencing to prepare dinner, when she heard Carlo make a noise something between a bark and a grunt, then a very low growl. She looked around to see what Carlo was doing. He got up on his feet slowly and walked out toward the gate, all the time looking up the hill. She raised her eyes and looked up the road and saw some one coming down toward the house but could not tell who it was until he got about fifty yards from her, then she discovered it was Old Billy _______ (name deleted to protect the innocent-EC). He was one of the fellows that you can find in most any neighborhood who makes a nuisance of themselves by going around to people's homes when they are busy and bothering them when they want to get something done. He made it a point to get there just before meal time so that he could get a square meal. Mother did not want to be bothered with him anytime, and especially then, for there was no one there but her and it was hard for her to prepare dinner and talk to him at the same time, and furthermore he would take little things that did not belong to him if he was not watched. She kept out of sight and watched Carlo to see what he would do when Old Billy came to the gate. Carlo just stood inside the gate until Billy came and placed his hand on it. Then he pulled back his lips and showed his teeth. Billy hesitated, then attempted to unfasten the gate. When Carlo showed his teeth again and gave a very low growl, Billy stopped and stepped back. Carlo just stood still and looked at him. Billy got nervous, took a step like he was going to go away, changed his mind, turned around, looked toward the house and yelled out "H-e-l-l-o, h-e-l-l-o." Mother took her time going out as she was so amused at him and Carlo that she could hardly keep her face straight. She spoke to Carlo and he just stepped off the walk and let Billy pass and fell in behind him and when Billy raised his foot to step on the porch, Carlo took him by the hell and pulled back and made him set it back on the ground. Billy looked down and saw that it was Carlo and jerked his foot up quick but Carlo was quick too and caught his hell again and made him set it back on the ground. Mother could hardly keep from laughing, it was so funny the way Billy squirmed and twisted around. She says, "Carlo, be ashamed of yourself." She couldn't scold him, she was enjoying it too much to scold. Carlo then let him go in on the porch where he sat down in a chair where Carlo walked around him sniffing. Old Billy squirmed and twisted drawing his feet and arms making himself as small as possible watching Carlo all the time, so nervous that he could not sit still; while mother was so amused she could hardly speak without laughing. Finally Billy spoke and when he did he couldn't keep from stuttering. He said, ":When I go-got to-to the ga-gate, Ca-Caro-Carlo shu-shu-showed his teeth and I wa-was afr-fraid to op-open the ga-gate, and I was afraid to start away for fear he would jump the fence and bite me and I called out for someone to come and keep him from biting me. I have been here before and he ought to know me, but he wouldn't let me come in." He sat there in misery for a few minutes while Carlo walked around him sniffing some more and watching him until Mother got sorry for him and told Carlo to go lie down. He walked away a few steps but did not lie down, but stood and watched Billy. Billy sat there and could not think of anything to say for some time. Then he said, "I will have to go now, will you keep Carlo from biting me as I go out?" Mother told him not to be afraid the he would not bite him. "Can't you stay and rest before going?" He said no, that ht must go, and gets up and starts for the gate and Carlo follows a little way behind him to the gate and watches until he goes out of sight, then comes back and lays himself down with a sigh of relief where he was laying when Old Billy first appeared. Carlo never would allow him to come inside the gate until someone came out and told him to stand aside, then he would do so reluctantly and stay close to him and watch him all the time until he left and appeared relieved when he was gone. Old Billy did not come so often after Carlo watched him so closely that time and we were saved several meals that he would have eaten had Carlo not been watchful. Chapter Eight Finds a Congenial Dog Friend - Leaves Home To be continued with Chapter Eight in next email. Edna Clack