t have the satisfaction of seeing Finn again and, secondly, in
order that he might try the effect of a substantial money offer in
the matter of regaining possession of his Wolfhound. And so now
while Finn was thinking of him, in the heart of the wildest part of
the Tinnaburra country, three hundred miles away, the Master strode
up the hill overlooking the city and the harbour, strongly hopeful
that he might soon have the great hound he had bred trotting by his
side.

Mr. and Mrs. Sandbrook were both away from home, but one of the
daughters of the house explained to the Master how, after "sulking
desperately for two whole days," the Wolfhound had basely deserted
his luxurious new home, and never been heard of since. She showed
the Master an advertisement offering a reward of five-and-twenty
pounds for Finn's recovery, and was at some pains to make clear the
indubitable fact that her father had paid very dearly indeed for
the doubtful privilege of possessing for two days a Wolfhound who
had "treated everybody as if they were dirt under his feet." The
Master expressed sympathy in sentences which were meant to be loyal
excuses for Finn; and then he turned and walked back to the city,
heavy at heart for the loss of the great Wolfhound whom he had
loved, and feeling vaguely that the money he had made was not such
a very precious thing after all. He placed the greater part of it
at the disposal of the Mistress of the Kennels, and went back to
his fellow-prospectors.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XIX

THE DOMESTIC LURE

As Finn drew closer to the camp-fire, the savoury smell of the
stewed mutton the man by the gunyah was eating came sailing down
the breeze into his nostrils, emphasizing his hunger to him, and
reminding him strongly of the days in which carefully cooked foods
had been his portion every day. But the Wolfhound's desire for food
was nothing like so keen a thing as his dread of renewed captivity,
and his approach to the camp-fire was an illustration of the
extreme of animal caution. His powerful limbs were all the time
gathered well under him, prepared for instant flight.

Suddenly and simultaneously two things happened. A log on the fire
broke in half, allowing a long tongue of flame to leap up and light
the ground for fifty yards around, and the kangaroo-hound turned
its greyhound-like muzzle sharply to one side and saw Finn. In the
next instant three things happened together: the man's eyes
followed