d, even in sleep, the old dog felt justly
chagrined at the way his loveliest present to the Mistress had been
received.

It was so hard to find out what humans would enjoy and what they
wouldn't!

CHAPTER X. The Intruders

It began with a gap in a line fence. The gap should never have been
there. For, on the far side of it roamed creatures whose chief zest in
life is the finding of such gaps and in breaking through for forage.

The Place's acreage ended, to northward, in the center of an oak grove
whose northern half was owned by one Titus Romaine; a crabbed little
farmer of the old school. Into his half of the grove, in autumn when
mast lay thick and rich amid the tawny dead leaves, Romaine was wont to
turn his herd of swine.

To Lad, the giant collie, this was always a trying season. For longer
than he could remember, Lad had been the official watchdog of the
Place. And his chief duties were to keep two-footed and four-footed
strays from trespassing thereon.

To an inch, he knew the boundaries of the Master's land. And he knew
that no human intruder was to be molested; so long as such intruder had
the sense to walk straight down the driveway to the house. But woe to
the tramp or other trespasser who chanced to come cross lots or to
wander in any way off the drive! Woe also to such occasional cattle or
other livestock as drifted in from the road or by way of a casual
fence-gap!

Human invaders were to be met in drastic fashion. Quadruped trespassers
were to be rounded up and swept at a gallop up the drive and out into
the highroad. With cattle or with stray horses this was an easy job;
and it contained, withal, much fun;--at least, for Lad.

But, pigs were different.

Experience and instinct had taught Lad what few humans realize. Namely,
that of all created beasts, the pig is the worst and meanest and most
vicious; and hardest to drive. When a horse or a cow, or a drove of
them, wandered into the confines of the Place, it was simple and joyous
to head them off, turn them, set them into a gallop and send them on
their journey at top speed. It took little skill and less trouble to do
this. Besides, it was gorgeous sport. But pigs--!

When a porker wriggled and hunched and nosed a space in the line fence,
and slithered greasily through, Lad's work was cut out for him. It
looked simple enough. But it was not simple. Nor was it safe.

In the first instance, pigs were hard to start running. Oftener than
n