nt to know; but he always does object
to letting dogs take a piece out of his legs, and that's why he carries
that ammonia gun with him most of the time."

"Oh! I thought I had seen him before, but I wasn't sure," she observed,
nodding her head; "but then I should have remembered so remark--that
is, such a good-looking boy. And I'm going to begin delivering eggs at
his house on my very next trip to Carson, too. That's queer, isn't it?
Clarence, shake hands with me, and excuse me for seeming to be angry. We
have tramps come here so often, and they always shy stones at Carlo, so
that when I heard him howling I thought some of that tribe had hurt him.
I can let you have all the eggs you want, just laid, and the richest
Jersey milk you ever saw. Come up to the house, both of you."

It was all smooth sailing now, and Bandy-legs was glad he had stood up
for his rights. He would never have held his own respect had he allowed
that beast to get a nip at him while able to fight against it, no matter
whose dog he might be.

Once at the farmhouse and they were treated like honored guests. Mrs.
Ketcham, as though desirous of making amends for her first outburst,
insisted on their accepting a bumper glass of fresh buttermilk each; and
this was accompanied by several real home-made doughnuts such as the
boys had seldom tasted before.

She loaned them a covered pail so that they could carry the milk from
her prize Jersey herd of cows back to camp; while several dozen snowy
white eggs from Leghorn fowls were placed in a basket, and so guarded
that they could not be broken by any ordinary little jolt.

It was just as well that these precautions were taken, Max thought; for
he knew some of the failings of his chum, and one of them was in the
line of making frequent stumbles, when there was the least reason for
tripping over roots or stones that might lie in the path.

When Max and Bandy-legs finally started back to camp their pockets
fairly bulged with winter apples that had been kept over in the cool
cellar belonging to the farm, where fruit and vegetables were held in
stock through the cold months of the winter.

"Turned out a lucky day after all, didn't it?" remarked Max, laughingly,
as they both walked along, each with one hand free to take care of the
apple they were munching at the time.

"You're right it did," his chum replied, with fervor, and then he sighed
as he continued; "but there was a time when I thought I'd tumbled