Part 32 (1/2)

It was good to sleep He had just undergone more vehe month And he had earned his rest It eet to doze like this--petted and sung to

It was not well to exercise body and emotions as he had just done Lad realized that, now;--now that it was all over and he could rest Rest!

Yes, it was good to rest,--to be smoothed and crooned at It was thus the Mistress had stroked and crooned to him, so many thousand times

And always Lad had loved it

It ell to be at ho so pleasantly to sleep; here at the Place he had guarded since before he could remember--the Place where he and the Mistress and the Master had had such splendid ti-dead mate, Lady, had romped; where he had played with and trained his fiery little son, Wolf; and where every inch of the dear land was alive onderful memories to him

He had had a full, happy, rich life And now, in its twilight, rest was as grateful as action once had been

Theair arm and it was heavy with flower and field, scents; and with the breath of the forests where so often Lad had led the tearing run of the collie pack and in whose snowy depths he once had fought for his life against Wolf and the huge crossbreed, Rex That was ever so long ago

The Mistress and the Master were co home Lad knew that He could not have told how he knew it In earlier years, he had known their car was bringing them home to him, while it was still a mile or more distant from the Place;--had known and had cantered forth to meet it

He was too tired, just now, to do that At least, until he had slept for a moment or two Always, until now, the Mistress and the Master had been first, with Lad Now, for some odd reason, sleep was first

And he slept;--deeply, wearily

Presently, as he slept, he sighed and then quivered a little After that, he lay still The great heart, very quietly, had stopped beating

Into the driveway, fro car At sight of it, Sonya started up She was not certain how the car's occupants would take her preeently down to the floor, she slipped away

To the barn she went, ignorant that her father had not returned to the orchard She wanted to get herself into aRuloff By experience she judged he would iven hi fast its side door behind her Then, asping stop

Ruloff had risen from a box on the corner, had set down his lunch pail, moved between her and the door and yanked off his brass-buckled belt

The child was trapped Here there was no earthly chance for escape

Here, too, thanks to the closed door, Laddie could not co and sobbing; as the man walked silently toward her