ring, head and tail both
carried low, and heard a tall, clean-shaven man in a kennel-coat
bid forty-eight guineas for her.

"Forty-eight!" echoed the auctioneer. "This magnificent Irish
Wolfhound bitch, the dam of many winners and two champions, is
positively going for forty---- Why, gentlemen, she'd be worth that
to the Natural History Museum!"

"Forty-nine!" cried the Master, with a tightening of his lips.

And then he saw the mean, ferrety face of a well-known low-class
dealer thrust forward from among the crowd. This dealer was
notorious for keeping a large number of big Danes and Newfoundlands
in the miserable backyard of a cobbler's shop in the East End of
London. He had been ordered out of show rings before that day for
malpractices. He had never owned a Wolfhound, but he was a shrewd
business judge of the values of dogs. He nodded to the auctioneer,
and that gentleman nodded responsively before taking up his tale
afresh.

"Fifty guineas only is offered for the celebrated Irish Wolfhound
Tara, by the famous Champion O'Leary. Fifty guineas only is
offered, and the time is running merrily on, gentlemen, all the
time. Fifty guineas only is offered--and one. Fifty-one
guineas--Thank you, sir. Fifty and one guineas is my last bid for----"

The auctioneer babbled serenely on, and the Master followed his
words, rather pale in the face now, for fifty-one guineas was a
great deal more than he could afford to pay at this time, for such
a purpose.

The ferret-faced dealer raised the price to fifty-three guineas,
and the Master bit his lip and made it fifty-four.

"May I say fifty-five for you, sir?" said the auctioneer to the
clean-shaven man in the kennel-coat.

"If you'll just wait one moment, sir; I must just ask my----" The
clean-shaven man was edging his way towards the back of the crowd,
where several ladies and gentlemen were seated at a table just out
of sight of the ring.

"Time and tide and auctioneers wait for no man, sir," continued the
auctioneer. "The hammer is very near to falling, gentlemen. The
magnificent St. Bernard dog--um--er----The magnificent Irish
Wolfhound Tara is going for fifty-four guineas only; for fifty-four
guin--and one----Thank _you_, sir"--this to the ferret-faced
dealer--"at fifty-five guineas only, this noble animal is going for
fif----Why, gentlemen, what has come over us this afternoon? Her
record alone is worth more than that. You must know that if this
animal were sold