with his stick
behind his back, advanced persuasively. He was furious at the laughter
of the onlookers, but muffled his rage in soft words. "Come on, old
fellow, come on!"

"Don't believe him!" shouted an English sailor. But it was too late.
Joergen had hold of one of the long ears. The dog howled; Joergen must
have pinched hard. Mary called in French: "Don't beat him!" Joergen
struck--not hard; but the terrified puppy yelled piercingly. He struck
again--not hard this time either; it was done chiefly to annoy them all.
The dog howled so pitifully that Mary could not bear to look in that
direction. Gazing into John Ericson's good, kind eyes, she said: "These
blows have separated you and me, Joergen!"

Instantaneously he let the dog go and stood up. He saw her eyes flame;
her cheeks were white; she held herself erect and faced him--above her
John Ericson's head.

A moment later, and she had turned her back on him and was walking
quickly away, with light, glad steps--the dog following.

The onlookers laughed, the English sailors derisively; Joergen started in
pursuit.

But when Mary saw that the dog was following her and not him, and that
the creature's eyes sought hers to learn what she intended to do, the
fear she had felt before turned into wild exhilaration. Such revulsions
of feeling were not uncommon with her. She clapped her hands and ran,
and the dog sprang along at her side, barking. The spell was broken, the
disgrace was cast from her! Farewell to Joergen and all his ways!

"That's what we are saying, my little rescuer, eh?" The dog barked.

She looked round to see Joergen. He dared not hurry, for the sake of
appearances.

"But we two dare, don't we?" Again she clapped her hands and ran, and
the dog ran with her, barking.

Then she slackened her pace, and played with him and talked to him;
Joergen was so far behind. "You ought to be called 'liberator'; but that
is too long a name for a little black puppy. You shall be called
John--be named after him who looked at me and gave me courage." Off she
and the dog ran again. "You follow me and not him! Well done, well done!
That is what he whom you are called after did. He would have nothing to
do with the slave-drivers; his friends were those who set free!"

Now they were round the corner. Joergen was not visible. When he came to
the hotel, he was told, though he had seen Mary go in, that she was not
at home. He said that she had his dog. The waiter profes