e sees me she yells the dogs be
hafter 'er, and I says to 'er that they thinks she his goin' to feed
'em, and she says she thinks they his goin' to heat 'er. Hi tells 'er to
come down, and she comes, and when we gets hinto the 'ouse she says,
'Tom, you take them dogs right hover to Skipper Zeb's,' and so Hi brings
the honcivil beasts hover."

Tom chuckled at the recollection of his wife's fear and her appearance
on the scaffold the evening before. When he was through he said he must
return at once, or Martha would think the dogs had eaten him. Toby
suggested taking Skipper Tom home with dogs and komatik, but Skipper Tom
declined on the ground that it was just a wee bit of a walk, and he
would rather walk and look for partridges along shore as he went. The
ten mile walk to Lucky Bight was no hardship to Skipper Tom.

The coming of the dogs was an exciting incident to Charley. They were
big, handsome creatures, though with a fierce, evil look, and a sneaking
manner that made Charley feel uncomfortable when they were loosed from
harness, and had liberty to prowl about at will.

"'Tis a wonderful team," Toby declared proudly. "They comes from
Nuth'ard dogs, though we raises they all from pups. Some of un has wild
wolves for fathers. Tinker there is one, and so are Rocks and Sampson.
They comes from the same litter. That un over there is Nancy. I names
she from a schooner that calls at Pinch-In Tickle every spring. That un
next she, with the end of his tail gone, is Traps. Whilst he were a pup
he gets the end of his tail in a trap, and loses the end of un. I
remember his howlin' yet! Nancy and Traps be brother and sister. Tucker
and Skipper and Molly are the names of the others. We gets un from the
Post when they's just weaned and are wee pups. They tells us they has
wild wolf fathers too, but I'm not knowin'."

"That man that brought them told me, when I went to pat one of them on
the head, that they were bad, and not to touch them," said Charley.

"You can't trust un," admitted Toby. "I knows un all, and I plays with
un when they's pups, but if I were trippin' and fallin' down among un
now, I'm not doubtin' they's tear me abroad."

"After you raised them from pups, and always had them, and feed them and
everything?" asked Charley, horrified at the suggestion.

"Aye, they has no care for man, and whilst they'll mind me a wonderful
sight better than they'd be mindin' a stranger to un, they'd be tearin'
me abroad if th