ocked a large piece of skin
from it and bruised it badly. Also, the smell of every part of
Finn's prison was revolting to him. But, though with sensitively
wrinkled nostrils, Finn made his examination very thoroughly. And
in the end he decided that he could do nothing for the present.
Three sides of his prison were brick-work, and the fourth, the
door, presented no edge or corner which his teeth could touch. So
Finn sat still, waiting, listening, and watching, with his tongue
hanging out a little on one side of his mouth, by reason of the
horrid dryness which afflicted his throat. And every hour that he
waited brought greater strength to his determination, besides
teaching him something in the way of patience and caution.

Presently, the waiting Finn heard heavy footsteps in the yard
outside, and the muscles of his body gathered themselves together
for action. The door opened, and Finn saw Matey standing there with
a stick and a chain in his hand. Instinct told Finn on the instant
that he must at all hazards avoid both the stick and the chain;
but, more than anything else, the chain.

"Come 'ere!" said Matey. And Finn came. But, whereas Matey had
reckoned on a slow movement, in the course of which his hand would
have fallen on Finn's slip-collar preparatory to fixing the chain
on that, the movement was actually very swift and low to the
ground, and resulted in Finn's passing out scathless into the
walled-in yard.

"Oho! So we don't like our new master, don't we? Haven't forgotten
our blooming gruellin', eh? Better take care we don't get some more
o' the same sort, Mister Wolfhound, if you arst me!"

The walled-in yard was quite safe. Matey was in nowise perturbed,
and, moreover, having slept soundly and breakfasted copiously, he
was, for him, in an amiable mood. Still, he had no wish to waste
time, and he wanted to overhaul his plunder, and groom Finn up a
little before the prospective purchaser arrived. So Matey turned
round, leaned forward with a hand resting on one knee, and tried to
twist his features into an ingratiating expression, as he said--

"Here, then, good dog! Come on, Finn! Here, boy!"

But instinct made Finn's intelligence upon the whole superior to
Matey's in this matter, and, having already satisfied himself by
means of hurried investigation that at present he could not escape
from the walled-in yard, the Wolfhound stood half a dozen paces
distant from the man, waiting, with every nerve and mus