rs surrounding them, barking,
howling, snarling, fighting, and scratching. He snatched up a club and
sprang out, while Shorty tottered after. He ran into the midst of the
pack, and began laying about with his strong arms. He broke the backs of
some, brained others, and sent the others yelping with pain and fright,
except two particularly vicious ones, who were so frenzied with hunger
that they attacked him, and bit him pretty severely before he succeeded
in killing them. Then he went around to the end of the crib nearest his
precious hoard, and found that the hungry brutes had torn away his clay
and even the larger of the stones, and nothing but their fighting among
themselves had prevented the loss of his chickens. "What in tarnation
set the beasts onto us," inquired Shorty wonderingly. "They were wuss'n
cats around catnip, rats after aniseed, or cattle about a spot o' blood.
I've felt that me and Si wuz in shape to bring the crows and buzzards
around, but didn't expect to start the dogs up this way."

"I've got four chickens hid under the underpinnin' there for you and
Si," confessed the Deacon. "The dogs seemed to 've smelled 'em out and
wuz after 'em."

He went to the hiding place and pulled out the fowls one after another.
"They are all here," he said; "but how in the world am I goin' to keep
'em through another night?"

"You ain't a-goin' to keep 'em through another night, are you?" asked
Shorty anxiously, as he gloated over the sight. "Le's eat 'em to-day."

"And starve to-morrer?" said the thrifty Deacon rebukingly. "I don't
know where any more is comin' from. It was hard enough work gittin'
these. I had calculated on cookin' one a day for you and Si. That'd
make 'em provide for four more days. After that only the Lord knows what
we'll do."

"Inasmuch as we'll have to trust to the Lord at last, anyway," said
Shorty, with a return of his old spirit, "why not go the whole gamut? A
day or two more or less won't make no difference to Him. I feel as if I
could eat 'em all myself without Si's help."

"I tell you what I'll do," said the Deacon, after a little
consideration. "I feel as if both Si and you kin stand a little more'n
you had yesterday. I'll cook two to-day. We'll send a big cupful over to
Capt. McGillicuddy. That'll leave us two for to-morrer. After that we'll
have to trust to Providence."

"If ever there was a time when He could use His ravens to advantage,"
said the irreverent Shorty, "it's about