the collie had been called; by trying one familiar dog name after
another. But, to such stand-by cognomens as Rover, Tige, Fido,
Ponto, Shep and the rest, the patient gave no further sign of
recognition than a friendly wagging of his plumed tail. And he
wagged it no more interestedly for one name than for another.

So Ferris ceased from the effort, and decided to give his pet a
brand-new name for such brief space as they should be housemates.
After long deliberation he hit upon the name "Chum," as typical
of the odd friendship that was springing to life between the dog
and himself. And he planned to devote much time to teaching
the collie this name.

But, to his surprise, no such tedious period of instruction was
necessary. In less than a single day Chum knew his name,--knew it
past all doubt.

Link was amazed at such cleverness. For three solid months, at
one time, he had striven to teach his horse and his cows and a
few of his sheep to respond to given names. And at the end of the
course of patient tutelage he had been morbidly certain that not
one of his solemn-eyed pupils had grasped the lessons.

It was surprisingly pleasant to drop in at the kitchen door
nowadays, in intervals between chores or at the day's end, and be
greeted by that glad glint of the eye and the ecstatic pounding
of the wavy tail against the floor. It was still pleasanter to
see the gaze of wistful adoration that strengthened daily as
Chum and his new master grew better and better acquainted.