And, even in
sleep, the old dog felt justly chagrined at the way his loveliest
present to the Mistress had been received.
It was so hard to find out what humans would enjoy and what they
wouldn't!
CHAPTER X. The Intruders
It began with a gap in a line fence. The gap should never have
been there. For, on the far side of it roamed creatures whose
chief zest in life is the finding of such gaps and in breaking
through for forage.
The Place's acreage ended, to northward, in the center of an oak
grove whose northern half was owned by one Titus Romaine; a
crabbed little farmer of the old school. Into his half of the
grove, in autumn when mast lay thick and rich amid the tawny dead
leaves, Romaine was wont to turn his herd of swine.
To Lad, the giant collie, this was always a trying season. For
longer than he could remember, Lad had been the official watchdog
of the Place. And his chief duties were to keep two-footed and
four-footed strays from trespassing thereon.
To an inch, he knew the boundaries of the Master's land. And he
knew that no human intruder was to be molested; so long as such
intruder had the sense to walk straight down the driveway to the
house.
Pages:
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331