ore. This
time he showed his teeth but submitted, only twitching the ear back and
forth a time or two when she relaxed her hold.

"Come in," repeated Gregg.

She canted her head to one side and considered him with fearless blue
eyes.

"I want to," she sighed.

"Why can't you, honey?"

"Munner says no."

He attempted to turn further towards her, but the pain in his right
shoulder prevented. He found that his arm was bandaged to the elbow and
held close to his side by a complex swathing.

"Who is your mother?" asked Vic.

"Munner?" she repeated, frowning in wonder. "Why, munner is--my munner."

"Oh," smiled he, "and who's your pa?"

"What?"

"Who's your father? Who's your dad?"

"Daddy Dan. You ask a lot of things," she added, disapprovingly.

"Come on in," pleaded Vic Gregg, "and I won't ask nothin' more about
you."

"Munner says no," she repeated.

She employed the moment of indecision by plucking at the hair of Bart's
shoulders; he growled softly, terribly, but she paid not the slightest
heed.

"Your mother won't care," asserted Vic.

"I know," she nodded, "but Daddy will."

"Spanking?"

She looked blankly at him.

"What will he do, then, if you come in to see me?"

"He'll look at me." She grew breathless at the thought, and cast a
guilty glance over her shoulder.

"Honey," chuckled Gregg, weakly, "I'll take all the blame. Just you come
along in and he'll do his lookin' at me."

He thought of the slender fellow who had rescued him and his large,
gentle brown eyes, but to a child even those mild eyes might seem
terrible with authority.

"Will you, true?" said the child, wistfully.

"Honest and true."

"All right." She made up her mind instantly, her face shining with
excitement. "Giddap, Bart." And she thumped the wolf-dog vigorously with
her heels.

He carried her in with a few gliding steps, soundless, except for the
light rattle of claws on the floor, but he stopped well out of reach of
the bed and when Vic held his left hand as far as he could across his
chest, Bart winced and gave harsh warning. Vic had seen vicious dogs in
his day, seen them fighting, seen them playing, but he had never heard
one of them growl like this. The upper lips of the animal twitched
dangerously back and the sound came from the very depths of his body.
It made the flesh crawl along Vic's back; one rip of those great teeth
could tear a man's throat open. The child thudded her heels against the
ribs of