th its two horses had been
destroyed,--he led the Big Gray back to the pump, washed his head,
sponging his eyes and mouth, and housed him in the big stable. Then he
vanished.

Immediately on leaving the Big Gray, Cully had dodged behind the stable,
run rapidly up the hill, keeping close to the fence, and had come out
behind a group of scattering spectators. There he began a series of
complicated manoeuvres, mostly on his toes, lifting his head over those
of the crowd, and ending in a sudden dart forward and as sudden a halt,
within a few inches of young Billy McGaw's coat-collar.

Billy turned pale, but held his ground. He felt sure Cully would not
dare attack him with so many others about. Then, again, the glow of the
smouldering cinders had a fascination for him that held him to the spot.

Cully also seemed spellbound. The only view of the smoking ruins
that satisfied him seemed to be the one he caught over young McGaw's
shoulder. He moved closer and closer, sniffing about cautiously, as a
dog would on a trail. Indeed, the closer he got to Billy's coat the more
absorbed he seemed to be in the view beyond.

Here an extraordinary thing happened. There was a dipping of Cully's
head between Billy's legs, a raising of both arms, grabbing Billy around
the waist, and in a flash the hope of the house of McGaw was swept off
his feet, Cully beneath him, and in full run toward Tom's house. The
bystanders laughed; they thought it only a boyish trick. Billy kicked
and struggled, but Cully held on. When they were clear of the crowd,
Cully shook him to the ground and grabbed him by the coat-collar.

"Say, young feller, where wuz ye when de fire started?"

At this Billy broke into a howl, and one of the crowd, some distance
off, looked up. Cully clapped his hand over his mouth. "None o' that, or
I'll mash yer mug--see?" standing over him with clenched fist.

"I warn't nowheres," stammered Billy. "Say, take yer hands off'n me--ye
ain't"--

"T'ell I ain't! Ye answer me straight--see?--or I'll punch yer face in,"
tightening his grasp. "What wuz ye a-doin' when de circus come out--an',
anoder t'ing, what's dis cologne yer got on yer coat? Maybe next time ye
climb a fence ye'll keep from spillin' it, see? Oh, I'm onter ye. Ye set
de stable afire. Dat's what's de matter."

"I hope I may die--I wuz a-carryin' de can er ker'sene home, an' when
de roof fell in I wuz up on de fence so I c'u'd see de fire, an' de can
slipped"--

"Wh