erry had become a raging little demon. Fired by all his
wrongs, from the bloody day on the _Arangi_ and the loss of Skipper down
to this latest tying of his legs, he was avenging himself on wild-dog for
everything. The owner of wild-dog, a return boy, made the mistake of
trying to kick Jerry away. Jerry was upon him in a flash scratching his
calves with his teeth, in the suddenness of his onslaught getting between
the black's legs and tumbling him to the ground.

"What name!" Bashti cried in a rage at the offender, who lay
fear-stricken where he had fallen, trembling for what next words might
fall from his chief's lips.

But Bashti was already doubling with laughter at sight of wild-dog
running for his life down the street with Jerry a hundred feet behind and
tearing up the dust.

As they disappeared, Bashti expounded his idea. If men planted banana
trees, it ran, what they would get would be bananas. If they planted
yams, yams would be produced, not sweet potatoes or plantains, but yams,
nothing but yams. The same with dogs. Since all black men's dogs were
cowards, all the breeding of all black men's dogs would produce cowards.
White men's dogs were courageous fighters. When they were bred they
produced courageous fighters. Very well, and to the conclusion, namely,
here was a white man's dog in their possession. The height of
foolishness would be to eat it and to destroy for all time the courage
that resided in it. The wise thing to do was to regard it as a seed dog,
to keep it alive, so that in the coming generations of Somo dogs its
courage would be repeated over and over and spread until all Somo dogs
would be strong and brave.

Further, Bashti commanded his chief devil devil doctor to take charge of
Jerry and guard him well. Also, he sent his word forth to all the tribe
that Jerry was taboo. No man, woman, or child was to throw spear or
stone at him, strike him with club or tomahawk, or hurt him in any way.

* * * * *

Thenceforth, and until Jerry himself violated one of the greatest of
taboos, he had a happy time in Agno's gloomy grass house. For Bashti,
unlike most chiefs, ruled his devil devil doctors with an iron hand.
Other chiefs, even Nau-hau of Langa-Langa, were ruled by their devil
devil doctors. For that matter, the population of Somo believed that
Bashti was so ruled. But the Somo folk did not know what went on behind
the scenes, when Bashti, a sheer infidel, talked alone now with o