They were a bit disappointed when they learned that Mr. Hartshorn had decided to send down only four of the bull terriers and five Airedales, but Tom Poultice explained the reason for this.

"It costs five dollars for each entry of each dog, and wot's the use of entering dogs that don't stand a chance? Ch. Earl of Norfolk is getting old and 'e's all out of coat, and it wouldn't be fair to 'im to show 'im that way. We've picked the ones we're going to win with."

When Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn and Tom Poultice started out in the big car for New York, with two of Mrs. Hartshorn's Poms on the back seat with her, they were followed by the envious longings of most of the boys of Boytown. But the boys did not have to wait for their return to learn about the results of the judging. They bought New York papers which reported the show fully, and they devoured every word of the reports. Many of the familiar names appeared among the winners, and the Willowdale dogs captured their full share of the honors. Even Mrs.

Hartshorn's Tip won two red ribbons, while that splendid bull terrier, Willowdale's White Hope, was adjudged the best American-bred dog of his breed exhibited by his breeder, and gathered up enough extra points to secure his championship t.i.tle. But the climax in their rejoicing was reached when they read that the new Airedale, Bingo's Queen Molly, had gone right through her cla.s.ses to reserve winners in an entry of over one hundred of the best Airedales in the United States.

It was, in short, a great four days for Willowdale. The Hartshorns returned on Sunday, having arranged for the shipment of the dogs on Sat.u.r.day, and they graciously invited the whole gang up on the following Sat.u.r.day to admire the conquering heroes and their shining trophies and to learn all about what happened from the lips of Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn and Tom Poultice, who, by the way, wore a grin that appeared to have become permanent.

"Didn't I tell you that Molly was the genooine harticle?" was his frequently repeated comment.

It was unthinkable that, after all this, the boys should speedily lose interest. On the contrary, dog shows remained the foremost topic of conversation for a month, until one day Herbie Pierson had an inspiration.

"Say, fellers," he exploded one morning, bursting in upon a group of his friends in front of the schoolhouse, "let's get up a dog show of our own."

Just then the bell rang, which was rather unfortunate for all concerned. The teachers found the boys strangely inattentive that day and preoccupied, and more than one of them had to be reprimanded for whispering or for pa.s.sing notes.

As soon as they obtained their freedom they plunged at once into a discussion of Herbie's fascinating plan, and in an incredibly short time they had arranged the essential details. The Easter recess was selected as the most fitting time for the Boytown Dog Show and a committee was appointed, consisting of Herbie Pierson, Harry Barton, and Ernest Whipple, to select a suitable place and make the necessary arrangements.

After considerable discussion it was decided that the Morton barn would make an ideal show hall, provided they could gain Mr. Morton's consent. It was one of the largest barns in the town proper and it was for the most part unoccupied, Mr. Morton having disposed of his horses when he bought his car.

Mr. Morton was the president of the First National Bank, and a person of great dignity and importance, of whom the boys stood somewhat in awe. But they had set their hearts on getting his barn, and so they screwed up their courage and called on him at his home one afternoon after banking hours.

He turned out to be not such a formidable personage after all. In fact, he was amused by the diffidence of the delegation that called on him, and even more amused when Harry Barton, who had been chosen spokesman, outlined their plan and requested the use of his barn.

"I'll let you hold your show in my barn on two conditions," said he, after asking several questions. "First, you must promise to clean up thoroughly after it's all over. Second, will you allow me to enter Li Hung Chang in compet.i.tion?"

Li Hung Chang was the blue-gray chow that followed at Mr. Morton's heels wherever he went, spent his days at the bank, and never had a word to say to any other dog. To this request the committee granted a ready and joyful request. And it gave them another idea--to invite the adult dog owners of Boytown, as well as the boys, to exhibit their dogs.

A meeting of the Humane Society was called to receive the report of the committee's success and to arrange further details. It was voted to charge an entrance fee of fifty cents for each dog shown and twenty-five cents admission for spectators, the proceeds to be donated to the local chapter of the Red Cross of which Mrs. Hammond was an active member.

Since there were hardly two dogs in Boytown of the same breed, it did not seem possible to arrange for cla.s.ses as in the big shows, so it was decided to make it a free-for-all contest, with first, second, and third prizes. Another committee was appointed to obtain these prizes from Boytown merchants and to secure the services of Mr. Hartshorn as judge.

Mr. Hartshorn, when approached on the matter, quite readily gave his consent, and the boys did not have great difficulty in obtaining the prizes when they explained that the show would be for the benefit of the Red Cross. In fact, Mr. Pierson, Herbie's father, who was a jeweler, was unexpectedly generous. He promised a silver cup for the first prize--not a large one, but real silver--to be engraved later with the name of the show, the date, and the name of the winning dog.

The boys were so enthusiastically grateful for this that they expressed the hope that Herbie's Hamlet might win the trophy himself.

For six months past Ernest Whipple had been delivering evening papers for Mr. Fellowes, the news dealer, and had become quite a close friend of his employer's. This was due to the fact that Mr. Fellowes had once had a brindle bull terrier that had met an untimely death and whose memory ever remained fresh in his heart. The dog's name had been Bounce, and Mr. Fellowes found in Ernest a willing listener to his tales of Bounce's sagacity, courage, and fidelity. He was a genuine dog lover and enjoyed having Ernest bring Romulus in to see him, for the boy's dog nearly always accompanied him on his paper route. Mr.

Fellowes had become much interested in the activities of the Humane Society and had become acquainted with most of the dogs of Boytown, and when Ernest told him about the plan for a show he expressed a wish to have some part in it. Ernest was not a member of the prize committee, but when he reported that Mr. Fellowes wished to donate a dog collar, it was unanimously voted to accept it as second prize. The third prize was a twenty-pound box of dog biscuit offered by Mr.

Dewey, the grocer.

CHAPTER XI

THE BOYTOWN DOG SHOW

The Boytown Dog Show was scheduled for Wednesday of Easter week, and the days preceding it were busy ones for the members of the Boytown Humane Society. They called on every owner of a dog in town, both boys and grown-ups, and succeeded in obtaining entry fees from a good proportion of them. In the end, they had twenty-six entries, ranging from Herbie Pierson's Great Dane down to Mrs. Peabody's little Peke, and they saw to it that every one of these dogs was benched on the day of the show.

On Monday morning the citizens of Boytown were amused to find tacked to trees, billboards, and telephone poles in different parts of the town a score or more home-made posters announcing the show, and advertis.e.m.e.nts appeared in the local papers. The posters were somewhat crudely done, perhaps, in red and black ink, but they left no doubt as to their import, and it is safe to say that there wasn't a single resident of Boytown who did not soon know of the coming exhibition.

The posters read as follows:

BOYTOWN DOG SHOW!

_Morton's Barn, Henry Street._

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12.

9 A.M. to 5 P.M.

Come and see the finest dogs in Boytown. 26 dogs--21 breeds.

First, second, and third prizes will be awarded to the best dogs. Mr. Merton Hartshorn, proprietor of the famous Willowdale Kennels, will act as judge. Judging will begin at 2.30 P.M.

Prizes will be awarded at 4 P.M.

ADMISSION, 25 CENTS.

The proceeds will be given to the Red Cross.

The question of d.i.c.k Wheaton gave the boys a little trouble. They didn't like d.i.c.k, he was not a member of the Humane Society, and some of the boys thought he ought to be barred out because of his well-known disposition to be unkind to animals. Besides, he had been openly making fun of the whole proceeding. Being divided in the matter, they sought Mrs. Hammond's advice.

"I should let him enter Gyp if he will," said she. "It can't do you any harm, and it may help to get d.i.c.k a little more interested in dogs and in the Humane Society. Besides, it isn't d.i.c.k that's going to be benched, but Gyp, and you haven't anything against Gyp."

Put in that way, it did seem unfair to bar out an unoffending dog, who deserved nothing but sympathy, just because his master was not popular. So Gyp became one of the twenty-six. Mr. Hartshorn refused to consider bringing down any of his dogs, and the boys were rather glad of that, for it would hardly be a fair compet.i.tion if the ordinary dogs of Boytown were obliged to compete with the winners of Willowdale. It was too much like introducing professionals into an amateur contest.

"Besides," said Mr. Hartshorn, "it would be highly improper for a judge to have to judge his own dogs. It isn't done, you know."

So that matter was satisfactorily settled. Mrs. Hartshorn was invited to enter her toys, but she declined on the ground that this was a Boytown show and they were Thornboro dogs. As for Sam b.u.mpus, he said that a shoemaker had best stick to his last, and that a trainer of gun dogs had no business to be mixing up with bench shows.

Meanwhile, the original committee had been busy getting the show hall into shape. Enough boards were obtained from here, there, and everywhere to make two long benches, one along each side of the barn, stoutly built and standing about two feet from the floor. These were divided off by part.i.tions into enough stalls to accommodate all the dogs entered, and a coat of whitewash made the whole look clean and neat.

At the inner end of the barn the amateur carpenters erected a ring of posts, connected by a rope. This was where the judging was to take place. Finally, a cashier's booth was made out of a large dry-goods box and placed at the entrance, and Theron Hammond was elected to stand there and receive the admission fees, as he was the treasurer of the Humane Society. Frank Stoddard, who had no dog to show, but who was as much interested as any of them, was appointed to purchase tins for drinking water and to keep them filled during the show.

The last thing they placed cedar shavings from the planing mill in each of the stalls, arranged hooks to fasten the leashes to, and tacked to the wall above each place a card bearing the name, breed, and owner of the dog that was to occupy it. So far as possible, they arranged the dogs in accordance with their size. When it came to Rags's card, they were a bit puzzled, for Mr. Hartshorn had told them that Rags didn't belong to any recognized breed. But it didn't seem fair to Rags to leave the s.p.a.ce blank, so they invented a name for his breed--wire-haired American terrier.

On the morning of the great show Jack Whipple awoke early and jumped out of bed.

"Ernest!" he cried, and there was gloom in his voice.

"What is it?" asked Ernest, sleepily.

"It's raining," said Jack.

"Oh, dear!" groaned Ernest.

But they hurried through their breakfast, nevertheless, and taking Romulus and Remus they hastened down to Morton's barn. They found that the other members of the society were equally unafraid of a little rain, but they were all a bit depressed. The prospect for a successful show did not seem very bright. However, since all the arrangements had been made, the boys decided that the only thing to do was to go ahead.

Other exhibitors arrived, some of them planning to spend the day with their pets, but it was ten o'clock before Theron Hammond took in a single admission fee. Furthermore, Mrs. Peabody and one or two other timid exhibitors had failed to put in an appearance, and special messengers had to be despatched to fetch them.

It was just as well, perhaps, that the boys had this extra time to put on the finishing touches, for the dogs were not used to this sort of confinement and made a good deal of trouble before they could be quieted. Then a special shelf had to be built for the display of the prizes. The boys were so busy, in fact, that they hardly noticed that the rain had ceased. About eleven o'clock Theron gave a glad cry.