Part 2 (1/2)

And in this pleasant fashi+on the two playfellows covered a hundred yards of ground More than once, the man came within an inch of his quarry But always, by the ed to keep himself and his dear satchel froame ended; and with it ended Lad's baby faith in the friendliness and trustworthiness of all hu that the sound of his own stu feet and the interht sleeper in the house, the thief resolved on a daring oat, or whatever it was,--was uncatchable But by sending a bullet through it, he could bring the ani up his bag and running at top speed, he himself could easily win clear of the Place before anyone of the household should appear And his car would be a hborhood could be aroused Fury at the weird beast and the wrenching strain on his own nerves lent eagerness to his acceptance of the idea

He reached back again for his pistol, whipped it out, and, co only to bound over an obstruction in his path, ca pause, not ten feet ahead of his playmate

It was an easy shot Yet the bullet went several inches above the obligingly waiting dog's back Nine ht, aih The thief had heard this old marksman-maxiotten it at the one tiht have been of any use to him

He had fired He had missed In another second, every sleeper in the house and in the gate-lodge would be out of bed His night's as a blank, unless--

With a bull rush he hurled hi Lad And, as he sprang, he fired again Then several things happened

Everyone, except movie actors and newly-appointed policeht, unless he is standing stock still

Yet, as luck would have it, this second shot found a one wild

Lad had leaped the narrow and deep ditch left along the lawn-edge by workers ere putting in a neater-main for the Place On the far side of this obstacle he had stopped, and had waited for his friend to follow But the friend had not followed Instead, he had been somehow responsible for a spurt of red fla racket

Lad was more impressed than ever by the ht entertainer He waited, gayly expectant, for ot it

There was a second rackety explosion and a second puff of lightning fro like a red-hot whip-lash sht hip

The ht so friendly and playful!

He had not done it by accident For his hand had been out-flung directly at the pup, just as once had been the ar a disobedientLad had ever seen And it had stuck, shudderingly, in his uncannily sensitive memory Yet now, he himself had just had a like experience

In an instant, the pup's trustful friendliness was gone The ht, and had struck hionizing lesson that night intruders are not to be trusted or even to be tolerated Within a single second, he had graduated fro

With a snarl, he dropped the bag and whizzed forward at his assailant

Needle-sharp milk-teeth bared, head low, ruff abristle, friendly soft eyes as ferocious as a wolf's, he charged

There had been scarce a breathing-space between the second report of the pistol and the collie's counterattack But there had been ti thief to step into the narrow lip of the water-pipe ditch The momentum of his own rush hurled the upper part of his body forward But his left leg, caught between the ditch-sides, did not keep pace with the rest of hiuish; and the man crashed to earth, in a dead faint of pain and shock,--his broken left leg still thrust at an ile in the ditch

Lad checked hirowl, he hesitated It had seeht and natural to assail the man who had struck hi still and helpless under hienerations of thoroughbreds cried out to hile the defenseless

Wherefore, he stood, irresolute; alert for sign of n And the light bullet-graze on his hip was hurting like the very mischief

Moreover, everyin the house beyond was blosso hu forth

All at once, Laddie stopped being a vengeful beast of prey; and remembered that he was a very small and very much hurt and very lonely and worried puppy He craved the Mistress's dear touch on his wound, and a word of crooning coled with a doubt lest perhaps he had been transgressing the Place's Law, in soht have let hi The Laas still so queer and so illogical!