club, and whacking that terrible critter. Talk to me
about being able to stand punishment,---I never before saw a dog that
could come up fresh every time you keeled him over. Most curs would run
away, howling like mad, but he just set his teeth, and took a fresh grip.
Whew! I'm sure glad it's all over."

"Either of you get nipped anywhere?" asked Colon, anxiously.

"I hope not," Fred replied, "it's a dangerous thing to have a dog bite
you, because you never know what's going to happen. Often the scratch
from the claws of a tiger or a lion is followed by blood poisoning,
because they tear their prey, you know. I was sent over once, and seem
to have a few scratches on my shins, but they came from the stones and
thorns. How about you, Bristles?"

"I kicked one of those smaller runts that tried to bite me, but I don't
think he got his teeth in my leg. Those blood marks are scratches, where
I ran into the thorn bush while I was jumping around so lively. Oh! it's
all right, and no damage done, boys. Everything's lovely, and the goose
hangs high!"

"But what does all this rumpus mean?" Colon wanted to know. "Whose dogs
were they, and what had you done to make the push mad?"

Bristles undertook to tell him, passing on some of the information which
he had received from Fred.

"Now I'm posted. I seem to get a grip on the business," Colon confessed,
"and I want to tell you I'm mighty glad I made up my mind to follow
after, and see if I couldn't come up before you got back home again."

"And believe me we're happy to know you did, Colon," Bristles assured
him, "because there's no telling what sort of a hard time we'd have been
up against, with that pack trying their level best to pull us down. We
might have had to climb up in a tree, and sit there all night, for all we
know. But Fred, what'd we better do about it now?"

"About what?" asked the other.

"This dog here," continued Bristles, pointing down at the animal that
looked so fierce even in death.

"I was just thinking," Fred told him, "whether we had better lift him
into the fork of a tree, so he could be found if we let the farmers know
about it, or try to drag him along to the tollgate house."

"It can't be so very far away, I should think," observed Colon, "and I'd
be willing to take my turn at dragging him there."

"Nothing like showing the proof, when you tell a whopping big story,"
declared Bristles, "and I know a lot of fellows who'll like as