Dog Trust by Bernard Capes (1912)

Name: Dog Trust
Author: Bernard Capes

Richard Le Shore, though entirely acceptable as a suitor to Molly Tregarthen, prefers the excitement of secrecy to a straightforward proposal. At Tregarthen he arranges a moonlit meeting in a wood, but Molly does not come. Caught outside when the household has gone to bed, he encounters George Hissey, the formidable butler, who admits that he prevented Molly from keeping the tryst. Hissey orders Richard to meet her openly and ask her father for her hand, though he then helps the locked-out guest enter through a window. Richard complains to Molly’s father, Mr. Tregarthen, about the servant’s insolence. The indolent, philosophical father explains that Hissey is a former burglar who has served the household for eighteen years and acts as Molly’s devoted guardian. When Molly was three, a fire consumed the house while her nurses deserted her. Hissey, then a cracksman robbing the house, heard the child crying, rescued her through the burning building, and protected her as he rolled from the roof. Arrested after the rescue, he was forgiven through Mrs. Tregarthen’s intervention and taken into service. Before her death, she entrusted Molly to his care. Since then he has faithfully guarded her interests, while her father yields much of his parental responsibility to him. Richard tells Mr. Tregarthen that he and Molly are engaged and receives his formal consent, but is told that Hissey’s practical approval is still necessary. Richard declares that he has her father’s authority and offers to take over Hissey’s trust by bringing him into his own household. Molly affectionately embraces the ex-burglar, and Hissey, moved by Richard’s abandonment of clandestine “moonshinin’,” agrees.

By Bernard Capes · First published 1912 · Genre: Literary Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Domestic Fiction · 4,664 words

First lines

There was no reason why Richard Le Shore should not have made a straightforward appeal for the hand of Miss Molly Tregarthen to her papa. His credentials-of fortune, condition, and character-were unexceptionable; the girl's kind inclinations were confessed; the father himself was an unexacting, indulgent, and ease-loving Democritus. It was but a question of those two and of Mr. Dicky, their favoured, their intimately favoured, guest.

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Genres

Literary Fiction — The story is driven by polished, highly stylized prose, ironic narration, psychological observation, and character interplay rather than by plot alone.
Romantic Comedy — Richard and Molly's engagement, Richard's contrived desire for clandestine romance, and the eventual approval of both father and guardian give the tale a comic courtship structure.
Domestic Fiction — Its central conflict concerns household authority, guardianship, marriage, parental responsibility, and the unconventional family-like bond between Molly and Hissey.
Crime Fiction — George Hissey's history as a professional burglar, his break-in during the fire, and his continuing criminal instincts provide a significant crime-centered backstory.

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Dog Trust is listed on Textopian as a short story by Bernard Capes, dated 1912 CE.

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Work type: Short story
Author: Bernard Capes
Date: 1912 CE
Language: English
Genres: Literary Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Domestic Fiction, Crime Fiction, Redemption Fiction
Length: 4,664 words
Structure: 1 section, 68 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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