phere about him was thrilling just now to
waves of stark excitement. With the delightful vanity which is a part
of the collie make-up, he realized that in some manner he himself was a
prominent part of this excitement. And he reveled in it.

As Wefers pulled back his imperiled arm, the Mistress stepped forward,
before the Master could speak or move.

"Even if it were true that he could get rabies by a bite from a rabid
dog," said she, "and even if that dog, yesterday, were mad, that
wouldn't affect Laddie. For he didn't bite Laddie. He never got the
chance. Lad pinned him to the ground. And while the mongrel was
struggling to get up, you shot him. One of your bullets flicked Lad's
foreleg. But the mongrel's teeth never came within twelve inches of
him. I can testify to that."

"He was fighting with a mad dog!" reiterated Wefers, fumingly. "I saw
'em, myself. And when a dog is fighting, he's bound to get bit. I'm not
here to argue over it. I'm here to enforce the law of the sov'r'n State
of Noo Jersey, County of P'saic, Township of--"

"But the law declares a prisoner innocent, till he's proved guilty,"
urged the Mistress, restraining the Master, by a light hand on his
restless arm. "And Lad's not been proved guilty. It isn't proved he was
bitten, at all. I can testify he wasn't. My husband washed the scratch
and he can tell you it wasn't made by a bite. Any veterinary can tell
you the same thing, at a glance. We can establish the fact that Lad was
not bitten. So even if the law lets you shoot a bitten dog,--which I
don't believe it does,--it doesn't empower you to shoot Lad. Why!" she
went on, shuddering slightly, "if Lad hadn't sprung between that brute
and myself, you'd probably be wanting to shoot ME! For I'd have been
bitten, terribly, if Lad hadn't--"

"I'm not here to listen to silly nonsense!" announced Wefer, glaring at
the watchful dog and back at the man and woman, "I came here in p'soot
of my sworn dooty. I been balked and resisted by the two of you; and my
pistol's been stole from me and a savage dog's been pract'c'lly sicked
onto me. I'm an of'cer of the law. And I'm going to have the law on
both of you, for int'fering with me like you have. And I'm going to get
a court order to shoot--"

"Then you haven't a court order or any other authority to shoot him?"
the Master caught him up. "You admit that! You came over here, thinking
you could bluff us into letting you do it, just because you happen to
wea