morable.

In an adjoining street, there lived a family by the name of Dodson, that
possessed a very large, old, and cross Newfoundland dog, which had, by
its frequent exhibitions of ill-temper, become quite a nuisance to the
neighbourhood. They had often been spoken to about their dog's readiness
to snap at people, but had refused to chain him up, or send him away,
because they had a lively aversion to small boys, and old Lion was
certainly successful in causing them to give the Dodson premises a wide
berth.

One afternoon Bert and Frank were going along the street playing catch
with a ball the former had just purchased, when, as they passed the
Dodson house, a wild throw from Frank sent the ball out of Bert's reach,
and it rolled under the gate of the yard. Not thinking of the irascible
Lion in his haste to recover the ball, Bert opened the gate, and the
moment he did so, with a fierce growl the huge dog sprang at him and
fastened his teeth in his left cheek.

Bert shrieked with fright and pain, and in an instant Frank was beside
him, and had his strong hands tight round Lion's throat. Immediately the
old dog let Bert go, and slunk off to his kennel, while Frank, seizing
his handkerchief, pressed it to the ugly wound in Bert's cheek. Great
though the pain was, Bert quickly regained his self-possession, and
hastening home had his wounds covered with plaster. Fortunately, they
were not in any wise serious. They bled a good deal, and they promised
to spoil his beauty for a time at least, but, as there was no reason to
suppose that the dog was mad, that was the worst of them.

Mr. Lloyd was very much incensed when he saw Bert's injuries, and heard
from him and Frank the particulars of the affair. He determined to make
one more appeal to the Dodsons to put the dog away, and if that were
unsuccessful, to call upon the authorities to compel them to do so.

[Illustration: "With a fierce growl the huge dog sprang at him, and
fastened his teeth in his left cheek."--_Page_ 292.]

Another person who was not less exercised about it was Michael, the man
of all work. He was very fond and proud of the young master, as he
called Bert, and that a dog should dare to put his teeth into him filled
him with righteous wrath. Furthermore, like many of his class, he firmly
believed in the superstition that unless the dog was killed at once,
Bert would certainly go mad. Mr. Lloyd laughed at him good-humouredly
when he earnestly advocated