slumbrous house. He was not guarding it. He had not the very remotest
idea what it meant to be a watchdog. In all his five months he had
never learned that there is unfriendliness in the world; or that there
is anything to guard a house against.

True, it was instinctive with him to bark when People came down the
drive, or appeared at the gates without warning. But more than once the
Master had bidden him be silent when a rackety Puppy salvo of barking
had broken in on the arrival of some guest. And Lad was still in
perplexed doubt as to whether barking was something forbidden or merely
limited.

One night,--a solemn, black, breathless August night, when half-visible
heat lightning turned the murk of the western horizon to pulses of
dirty sulphur, Lad awoke from a fitful dream of chasing squirrels which
had never learned to climb.

He sat up on his rug, blinking around through the gloom in the half
hope that some of those non-climbing squirrels might still be in sight.
As they were not, he sighed unhappily and prepared to lay his classic
young head back again on the rug for another spell of night-shortening
sleep.

But, before his head could touch the rug, he reared it and half of his
small body from the floor and focused his nearsighted eyes on the
driveway. At the same time, his tail began to wag a thumping welcome.

Now, by day, a dog cannot see so far nor so clearly as can a human. But
by night,--for comparatively short distances,--he can see much better
than can his master. By day or by darkness, his keen hearing and keener
scent make up for all defects of eyesight.

And now three of Lad's senses told him he was no longer alone in his
tedious vigil. Down the drive, moving with amusing slowness and
silence, a man was coming. He was on foot. And he was fairly well
dressed. Dogs, the foremost snobs in creation,--are quick to note the
difference between a well-clad and a disreputable stranger.

Here unquestionably was a visitor:--some such man as so often came to
the Place and paid such flattering attention to the puppy. No longer
need Lad be bored by the solitude of this particular night. Someone was
coming towards the house;--and carrying a small bag under his arm.
Someone to make friends with. Lad was very happy.

Deep in his throat a welcoming bark was born. But he stilled it. Once,
when he had barked at the approach of a stranger, the stranger had gone
away. If this stranger were to go away, all the night