The fire had roused him from his
snug lair and had driven him ahead of it with a myriad hornets of
flame, in a crazed search for safety.
At sight of the formidable monster, Lad realized for the first
time the full extent of his own helplessness. Tethered to a rope
which gave him scarce twenty-five inches of leeway, he was in no
fit condition to fend off the giant's assault.
He wasted no time in futile struggles. All his race's uncanny
powers of resource came rushing to his aid. Without an instant's
pause, he wheeled about; and drove his keen teeth into the rope
that bound him to the post.
Lad did not chew aimlessly at the thick tether; nor throw away
one ounce of useless energy. Seizing the hempen strands, he
ground his teeth deeply and with scientific skill, into their
fraying recesses. Thus does a dog, addicted to cutting his leash,
attack the bonds which hold him.
It was Lad's first experience of the kind. But instinct served
him well. The fact that the rope had been left out of doors, in
all weathers, for several years, served him far better.
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