those of his dog and saw Finn; the dog leaped to its feet
and barked loudly; and Finn jumped sideways and backwards, a
distance of three yards. Then the man said, "By ghost!" and the
kangaroo-hound bounded forward towards Finn.

Now it was not in Finn's nature to run from a dog, and so, as the
boundary-rider did not move, he held his ground. But his recent
experiences had all made for hostility and the fighting attitude
toward other animals; and so, instead of standing upright and
awaiting the salutations of the lesser creature in a courteously
non-committal manner, as he would have done in the old days, Finn
held his hind-quarters bunched well under him ready for springing,
his fore-legs stretched well before him, his jaws slightly parted,
and the lips lifted considerably from his fangs, while eyes and
nostrils, and slightly raised hackles, though making no killing
threat, said very plainly, "Beware! I am not to be trifled with!"

But apparently the black kangaroo-hound was not very greatly
impressed. It is practically certain that this dog knew at a glance
that Finn was not really of the wild kindred; also, she was a brave
creature, a fearless hunter, and a hound who stood twenty-eight
inches at the shoulder; eight inches lower than the giant Wolfhound
it is true, but, even so, taller, bigger, and heavier than a
typical greyhound of her sex. It may be, too, that the
kangaroo-hound was already aware of Finn's sex before he knew hers.
Be that as it may, she showed not the slightest fear of the Wolfhound,
but flew right up to him, barking loudly, and with every sign of
readiness for fight. Finn growled warningly, and, as the stranger
snapped at him, he leaped aside and, turning then, prepared to
administer punishment. It was then, as his jaws parted in anger,
that consciousness of the black hound's sex came to him, in the
subtle way that his kind do acquire such facts, and his jaws
promptly closed upon space. When the kangaroo-hound snapped a
second time, Finn turned his shoulder to her meekly and gave a
little friendly whinny of a whine. This was repeated two or three
times, Finn evading the black hound's snapping jaws (one could see
that her bites no longer meant serious business; they were more
ceremonial than punishing), but showing not the slightest intention
to make reprisals. True, he growled low down his throat every time
the black hound's jaws came together, but the growl was almost
meek, certainly deprecator