The Judge, The Dog, and the Mystery of the Missing Pet

Judge J. Flinger has ever fondled and now finds that his fondness for his pet grows fonder still. A few afternoons since, it being warm and pleasant, the judge, as his wont, betook him to the rear of his store, boiled out his favorite arm chair and sat down to read the latest news. The balmy breeze wafting through the open door, the music of the birds twittering in his yard, and the gentle splash of the waves on the bay near by were forces combined to lull him into a light slumber.

While clad in fancy dress an especial point of his was an intelligent terrier which he had sent 14 months before by the steamer Edna to Port Discovery as a present to a friend. It had been the custom this terrier to lie at the judge's feet while he read the papers on the afternoon referred to. Time wore on and the judge awoke. He moved and his foot touched something; he looked, rubbed his eyes to be sure he wasn't asleep and at last was sure he beheld sitting at his feet and calmly sleeping again his long absent pet.

The judge has not yet found a way to explain how that dog found his way back to Port Townsend and promptly took up his old habits but to attempt to convince him that canine intelligence could surpass human would be useless.