the shelves chuck full of fly paper. Now, when it's hotter than a kittle
of pepper tea, the bulk of their stock is ice picks and mittens. Bah!
However, they're goin' to send the fly paper over when it comes, along
with the dog."

"The dog?" repeated Brown in amazement.

"Yup. That's what I was goin' to tell you--about the dog. I ordered a
dog today. Didn't pay nothin' for him, you understand. Henry G., the
storekeeper, gave him to me. The boy'll fetch him down when he fetches
the fly paper."

"A dog? We're--you're going to keep a dog--here?"

"Sure thing. Why not? Got room enough to keep a whole zoological
menagerie if we wanted to, ain't we? Besides, a dog'll be handy to have
around. Bill Foster, the life saver, told me that somebody busted into
the station henhouse one night a week ago and got away with four of
their likeliest pullets. He cal'lates 'twas tramps or boys. We don't
keep hens, but there's some stuff in that boathouse I wouldn't want
stole, and, bein' as there's no lock on the door, a dog would be a sort
of protection, as you might say."

"But thieves would never come way down here."

"Why not? 'Tain't any further away from the rest of creation than the
life savin' station, is it? Anyhow, Henry G. give the dog to me free for
nothin', and that's a miracle of itself. You'd say so, too, if you
knew Henry. I was so surprised that I said I'd take it right off; felt
'twould be flyin' in the face of Providence not to. A miracle--jumpin'