assist Peggy, the light of battle had again kindled in Hobo's eyes, and
a low, rumbling growl had voiced his objections to any ministrations
from so objectionable a source.

When Peggy's patient was swathed in bandages, till he looked as if he
might be suffering from a severe attack of sore throat, Peggy called him
out into the woodshed, where an inviting bed had been made ready for
him. Hobo stretched himself upon the folded rug with a groan startlingly
human. It was clear that the loss of blood had weakened him, and his
gaze directed to Peggy was full of pathetic questioning and dumb appeal.

"I believe I'll run over to the Coles, and ask them if there is anything
more we can do," Peggy said, looking as unhappy as she felt. "They know
so much about all kinds of animals. I've taken care of Taffy in his
attacks of distemper, and once he had a dreadful fight with another dog,
and came home all torn. But he didn't bleed like this."

"I'll walk over with you," said Graham, only too ready to show his
penitence, and Dorothy, who had an innate antipathy to being left
behind, also proffered her services as escort.

Accordingly the trio set forth, Dorothy declining to follow the path but
circling around the others, like an erratic planet, revolving about twin
suns. Graham, who felt personally responsible for the shadow clouding
Peggy's bright face, lost no time in apologizing.

"Peggy, it's a shame for me to upset things so. You'll all wish that we
had got discouraged over Mrs. Tyler's reception, and gone on without
stopping."

"Why, no, Graham," Peggy protested. "Nobody could have dreamed that
anything like this would happen."

Graham was not in a mood to spare himself. "Perhaps not, but there
wasn't any excuse for teasing poor Ruth almost into hysterics. It's the
kind of fun a red Indian might be expected to enjoy."

Peggy was so inclined to agree with this diagnosis that she found it
impossible to be as comforting as she would have liked. "I often wonder
how it is that we all think teasing is fun," she said. "Girls are just
as bad as boys. In fact, I think their kind of teasing is even more
cruel sometimes. It's queer, when we stop to think of it, that anybody
can get real satisfaction out of making some one else miserable, or even
uncomfortable."

"It's beastly," Graham declared with feeling. "I'm going to stop teasing
Ruth, that's sure. It seems so ridiculous to have her scream and wriggle
if I point my finger a