ing Bruno, surely.
What in the world can be the matter?"

There was an iron railing to the left of the hockey field which
enclosed the hockey ground itself from the neighbouring meadows. The
girls in front were running hard towards this railing, still shouting
their words of warning to the approaching girls. This time they were
near enough for Muriel to catch what they were saying.

"Mad dog! They're shouting out 'Mad dog!' Quick, make for the
railings! Bruno's gone mad!" she cried to her companions.

She turned round and ran back towards the oncoming school, shouting out
her warning. Alice and Monica followed her, and, seizing a bunch of
small girls just behind, urged them towards the railings. The rest of
the school had taken alarm by this time, and were making a wild dash
for safety, but of the two or three hundred girls who were pouring down
from the field, it was obvious that many of them could not be got out
of the way in time. Besides, there was nothing to prevent Bruno from
altering his course and making for the railings too. The men chasing
the dog were too far behind to risk a shot with so many children about.
If they should miss the dog, they could not fail to hit one of the
girls when so many of them were in the direct line of fire.

All these thoughts rushed through Muriel's mind as she tried to hurry
the girls towards the railings, assisted by such of the mistresses and
prefects as were near at hand. There had been many reports in the
papers lately of dogs that had gone mad and bitten people, and the head
girl was well aware of the terrible results that might follow a bite
from an animal suffering from rabies. She knew that a mad dog bites
and snaps at everything that comes in his way--and how could they hope
to get all these children out of the way in time!

Very much the same thoughts had come into the mind of somebody else,
too! Gerry had been seized with panic when the cry of "Mad dog!" had
reached her ears, and her first instinct had been to dash towards the
railings out of Bruno's way. It was not until she was nearly half-way
to safety that it had dawned upon her that none of her three companions
were with her, and she stopped for a moment to look round and see what
they were doing.

She saw Alice and Monica hurrying some of the smaller children into
safety, she saw Muriel running to warn the girls behind. Then she
looked at Bruno, who was near enough for her to see him plainly no