the night he must go again, probably to die in the cold. But Jeremy,
the least sentimental of that most sentimental race the English, was too
intent upon his threatened sneeze to pay much attention to these awful
possibilities.

He took off his slippers and began to climb the stairs, the dog close
behind him, very grave and dignified, in spite of the little trail of
snow and water that he left in his track. The nursery door was reached,
pushed softly open, and the startled gaze of Mary and Helen fell
wide-eyed upon the adventurer and his prize.

III

The dog went directly to the fire; there, sitting in the very middle of
the golden cockatoos on the Turkey rug, he began to lick himself. He did
this by sitting very square on three legs and spreading out the fourth
stiff and erect, as though it had been not a leg at all but something of
wood or iron. The melted snow poured off him, making a fine little pool
about the golden cockatoos. He must have been a strange-looking animal
at any time, being built quite square like a toy dog, with a great
deal of hair, very short legs, and a thick stubborn neck; his eyes were
brown, and now could be seen very clearly because the hair that usually
covered them was plastered about his face by the snow. In his normal day
his eyes gleamed behind his hair like sunlight in a thick wood. He wore
a little pointed beard that could only be considered an affectation; in
one word, if you imagine a ridiculously small sheep-dog with no legs,
a French beard and a stump of a tail, you have him. And if you want
to know more than that I can only refer you to the description of his
great-great-great-grandson "Jacob," described in the Chronicles of the
Beaminster Family.

The children meanwhile gazed, and for a long time no one said a word.
Then Helen said: "Father WILL be angry."

But she did not mean it. The three were, by the entrance of the dog,
instantly united into an offensive and defensive alliance. They knew
well that shortly an attack from the Outside World must be delivered,
and without a word spoken or a look exchanged they were agreed to defend
both themselves and the dog with all the strength in their power. They
had always wanted a dog; they had been prevented by the stupid and
selfish arguments of uncomprehending elders.

Now this dog was here; they would keep him.

"Oh, he's perfectly sweet," suddenly said Helen.

The dog paused for a moment from his ablutions, raised hi