LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE AND SANDYBy Harold Gray, 1933CHAPTER 9 – Sandy Gets BetterThe next morning when Doctor Dose came to see Sandy, he had good news for Annie. “Annie, Sandy is much better today,” he said, as he was leaving. “He has wonderful vitality. Most dogs would not have survived half as much.”“Most dogs wouldn’t have had you to take care of ‘em, Doc,” said Annie gratefully.Then the doctor continued: “By the way, Annie, you must have a pretty good idea who it was who tried to kill Sandy. What do you plan on doing about it?” But Annie would not tell, not even to a friend as good as the doctor was.“Sure, I’ve got my ideas. But I’m not goin’ to do a thing, ‘till I have proof. When I know who it was, I’ll do something and I’ll do it personally.” As soon as he was gone, Annie returned to Sandy’s bedside. “I know you must hurt awful, Sandy, and you’re going to be laid up for a long, long time. But you’re going to pull through, Doc says. And if you’re real careful and don’t try to walk too soon, you may not be even lame.”In the meantime, Mr. and Mrs. Futile were wondering about the hit-and-run driver. “There must be some law to punish a person so mean,” said Mrs. Futile. “Why, there’d be no justice, otherwise.”“I know, Mother,” said Mr. Futile. “But you must catch a criminal first before you can punish him. I imagine that whoever it was will have plenty of punishment from his conscience.”Annie overheard him. “Well, if you ask me, any bird who’ll pull a trick like that hasn’t any conscience to bother him.”When Annie left the house she was still thinking about what Mrs. Futile said. Would it be possible, she wondered, to punish the person who had injured Sandy so badly? “There’s Pete Pincher now,” she thought. “Guess I’ll ask him.”When she did, the constable shook his head. “No,” he said. “You couldn’t do much to whoever hit Sandy, even if you could prove it on him. Oh, you could sue him for whatever Sandy is worth, but you’d have no case to speak of.”“Hit-and-run drivers are hard to catch,” continued Mr. Pincher with sadness in his voice. “It’s impossible sometimes. They’re the worst cowards there are. So many times they slink away without leaving a single trace . . . . but usually they leave plenty of sorrow behind them.”Annie thought then of Mr. Pincher’s little boy, Augustus, who was lame and always had to use a crutch. “Gee, Pete,” she said. “Nobody ever found out who hit your little boy so long ago, did they? I didn’t mean to make you think of that.”Mr. Pincher laid a hand on Annie’s shoulder. He knew that Annie was almost the best friend his little boy had. “Don’t mind me, Annie,” said Mr. Pincher. “I hope we find out who hit Sandy. I’ll be on the lookout for clues.”Annie was on the lookout for clues herself. She had gone over the ground again, and again, but now she tried once more. She searched under bushes and went over fences, but she found nothing else but marks of the auto, and the faded spots of Sandy’s blood. “Not a witness, not a lost button or a piece o’ torn coat on a nail – nothin’. But that’s OK. It’s not brains that count so much in catchin’ criminals. It’s seein’ everything and never giving up.”
davidf42 over 13 years ago
LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE AND SANDYBy Harold Gray, 1933CHAPTER 9 – Sandy Gets BetterThe next morning when Doctor Dose came to see Sandy, he had good news for Annie. “Annie, Sandy is much better today,” he said, as he was leaving. “He has wonderful vitality. Most dogs would not have survived half as much.”“Most dogs wouldn’t have had you to take care of ‘em, Doc,” said Annie gratefully.Then the doctor continued: “By the way, Annie, you must have a pretty good idea who it was who tried to kill Sandy. What do you plan on doing about it?” But Annie would not tell, not even to a friend as good as the doctor was.“Sure, I’ve got my ideas. But I’m not goin’ to do a thing, ‘till I have proof. When I know who it was, I’ll do something and I’ll do it personally.” As soon as he was gone, Annie returned to Sandy’s bedside. “I know you must hurt awful, Sandy, and you’re going to be laid up for a long, long time. But you’re going to pull through, Doc says. And if you’re real careful and don’t try to walk too soon, you may not be even lame.”In the meantime, Mr. and Mrs. Futile were wondering about the hit-and-run driver. “There must be some law to punish a person so mean,” said Mrs. Futile. “Why, there’d be no justice, otherwise.”“I know, Mother,” said Mr. Futile. “But you must catch a criminal first before you can punish him. I imagine that whoever it was will have plenty of punishment from his conscience.”Annie overheard him. “Well, if you ask me, any bird who’ll pull a trick like that hasn’t any conscience to bother him.”When Annie left the house she was still thinking about what Mrs. Futile said. Would it be possible, she wondered, to punish the person who had injured Sandy so badly? “There’s Pete Pincher now,” she thought. “Guess I’ll ask him.”When she did, the constable shook his head. “No,” he said. “You couldn’t do much to whoever hit Sandy, even if you could prove it on him. Oh, you could sue him for whatever Sandy is worth, but you’d have no case to speak of.”“Hit-and-run drivers are hard to catch,” continued Mr. Pincher with sadness in his voice. “It’s impossible sometimes. They’re the worst cowards there are. So many times they slink away without leaving a single trace . . . . but usually they leave plenty of sorrow behind them.”Annie thought then of Mr. Pincher’s little boy, Augustus, who was lame and always had to use a crutch. “Gee, Pete,” she said. “Nobody ever found out who hit your little boy so long ago, did they? I didn’t mean to make you think of that.”Mr. Pincher laid a hand on Annie’s shoulder. He knew that Annie was almost the best friend his little boy had. “Don’t mind me, Annie,” said Mr. Pincher. “I hope we find out who hit Sandy. I’ll be on the lookout for clues.”Annie was on the lookout for clues herself. She had gone over the ground again, and again, but now she tried once more. She searched under bushes and went over fences, but she found nothing else but marks of the auto, and the faded spots of Sandy’s blood. “Not a witness, not a lost button or a piece o’ torn coat on a nail – nothin’. But that’s OK. It’s not brains that count so much in catchin’ criminals. It’s seein’ everything and never giving up.”
Dkram over 13 years ago
Boo Boo and the Fed, I like it.
Would not like to be the hit ‘n’ run guy.
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COWBOY7 over 13 years ago
Good Morning, Annie Fans!