Evening star., 1925-04-12

winged may0leS that tormenteQ the
monsters brookside cud-chewing. Nc
| bull could keep up a race with Bobby
Bruce's flying white paws. No bull
could wheel or maneuver fast enough
to catch him in a corner. The fence
bars were wide enough apart to lei
Bobby wiggle through to the safety
of his masters land whenever the
chase waxed too hot or too annoying.
!; *
"WELL have another outsider be.
w sides Bobby next time we &c
walking" said Ruth one evening as
Melvern was starting for home. Dad
wrote me that he is sending Loris
here tomorrow morning He says the
poor fellow is dreadfully bothered by
the heat, in town"
Dick was not at all interested in
Loris. except as the borzoi was a part
and parcel of Ruth F'errors whims
And an hour later he had forgotten
that the dog was coming to the
! country.
In the morning his idle steps led
him, as usual after breakfast, in the
general direction of the Hathaway
place. Skirtfng the bull-infested
meadow, with Bobby Bruce gamboI-
ing in front of him, he breasted a
leafy ridge to one side of, the field
|
abrupt halt, shifting the windy air
Deep in his throat he growled softly
| At the same time there came to
Dick the sound of cracking bush es
! in the little glade just beneath him
He paused beside the smiling dog and
| looked down. There, a hundred yards
away and moving briskly along
| through knee-deep Spring under
| growth. was Ruth Ferrol She was
! xK-oI Iii ~ a., =
| that Dick loved. The huge Russian
wolfhound was trotting proudly along
at her side. The two made a strik-
ingly pretty picture against the back
ground of pale green foliage, the sun
| in their faces, the Spring wind in
their eyes.
Dick Malvern's convaiescent heart
! began to beat with new irregularity
| at the sight. Bobby Bruce, less ro-
mantle, growled again, this time in
gruff challenge to the approaching
borzoi.
The wind bore a faint echo of the
| growl to Ruth. She paused in her
swinging walk and glanced upward.
Then, catching sight of the two fig
ures silhouetted on the skyline above
her, she waved a greeting.
Like dog to the whistle. Dick
broke into run and came down the
slope at full speed toward the girl.
Loris, seeing the tempestuous ad-
vance of the man and beholding the
collie frisking along in front, show ed
all of his AZ white teeth in a snarl of
menace Dick did not heed the warn
ing. But Bobby Bruce needed it
The collie checked his own gay
canter and came TO a stiff-legged trot,
head down, ruff a-bristle Then, not
ing that his slower gait was making
him drop behind the running man and
that Dick must thus come unde-
Tended upon the threatening borzoi,
Bobby flashed into a squirt of whirl-
wind speed that brought him to the
foot of the slope, we'll ahead OF NAL
vern and directly between him and
Loris.
Down" Ruth was chiding her
wolfhound. quiet, Loris."
The borzoi at the terse command
dropped back to his mistress side
But his eyes were not friendly as they
followed the advance Of the two on
corners, and his long lips were
wrinkled into something that locke d
like a smile but which was not a
smile.
ORIS was not in the best of humor
- today. His restoration to his
mistress, it is true, had relieved him
from the city life he loathed, but it
meant the return, too, of discipline.
Mr.. Ferrol and the servants had not
cared whether he minded or dis
obeyed. He had been left to do pretty
much as he might choose. No one
had been sufficiently interested in him
to enforce obedience. Today all was
unpleasant1y different. Ruth had a
habit of insisting on obedience-a
habit that CALLED Loris. He had seen
little of her and he had not yet
learned to love her. But she had
managed to make him understand she
by personality and quiet firmness, not
by beatings. Which made the lesson
all the more effective.
Sulkily he watched while Ruth
greeted Malvern and while the man
and the girl exchanged an eager vol
ley of talk. Then his sullen glance
strayed toward Bobby Bruce
The collie at a brief word from
the running Malvern had relaxed his
poise of armed defense and had
dropped back to his masters side. He
stood there now with his plumed tail
interestedly awag and his upturned
eyes fixed invitingly on the face of
the girl. He was waiting for her to
notice his presence, as usual, by a
word or a pat.
The tall wolfhound also interested
Bobby. The collie did not like the
CLEAN in the borzoi's eyes, nor that
glimpse of white teeth beneath the
upcurled lip. Indeed. he did not like
anything at all about the beautiful
Loris. But a curt word of command
from Malvern had been enough to
make him leave the unfriendly
stranger alone. Wherefore, Bobby