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Kipling_ThyServantaDog.txt
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Kipling_ThyServantaDog.txt
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thy servant dog rudyard kipling contents thy servant dog the great play hunt toby dog the supplication of the black aberdeen sea dog his apologies teem treasure-hunter thy servant dog please may come in am boots am son of kildonan brogue champion reserve vhc very fine dog and no-dash parlour-tricks master says except can sit-up and put paws over nose it is called making beseech look do it out of own head not for telling this is flat-in town live here with own god tell there is walk-in park-on lead there is off-lead when-we come-to the grass there is nother dog like me off-lead say name he says slippers he says name say boots he says am fine dog have own god called miss say am very-fine dog have own god called master there is walk-round on-toes there is scrap there is proper whacking master says sorry awfully sorry all my fault slippers's miss says sorry my fault too master says so glad it is both our faults nice little dog slippers slippers's miss says do you really think so then made beseech slippers's miss says darling little dog boots there is on-lead again and walking with slippers behind both own gods long times slippers is not-half bad dog very like me make-fine pair master saysthere is more walkings in park there is slippers and his miss in that place too own gods walk together like on-lead we walk behind we are tired we yawn own gods do not look own gods do not hearthey have put white bows on our collars we do not like we have pulled off they are bad to eat ii now we live at place-in country next to park and plenty good smells we are all here please look count paws there is me and own god master there is slippers and slippers's own god-missus that is all my paws there is adar there is cookey there is james-with kennel that-moves there is harry-with spade that is all slippers's paws cannot count more but there is maids and odd-man and postey and telegrams and pleasm-butcher and people and there is kitchen cat which runs up wall bad bad bad at morning-time adar unties and brushes there is going quick upstairs past cookey and asking gods to come to brekker there is lie-down under-the table-at each-end and heads-on feets of gods sometimes there is things-gived under-table but must never beg after brekker there is hunting kitchen cat all over garden to wall she climbs we sit under and sing there is waiting for gods going walks if it is nothing-on their-tops it is only round the garden and get-off the-flower bedsyou-two if it is wet it is hearth-rugs by fire or who-said you-could sit-on chairs-little men it is always being-with own gods own master and own missus we are most fine dogsthere is tall far-off dog which comes through laurels and looks we have found him by own dust-bin we said come back and play but he wented off his legs are all bendy and wavy ears but bigger than me iii august please sit up will tell you by times and long times each time at time tell good things and dretful things beginning of times there was walk with own gods and basket-of things-to eat-when wesit-down piggies it were long walks we ate lots after there was rabbits which would not stay we hunted we heard sorrowful singing in woods we went look-see there was that far-off tall dog singing to hole in bank he said have been here dretful long whiles and do not know where here is we said follow tails he followed back to own gods missus said oh you poor big baby master said what on earth is kent's puppy doing here tall dog went on tum plenty and said small there was give-him what's left he kissed hands we all wented home across fields he said he were playing with washing-on line which waved like tails he said little old dog with black teeth came and said he would make him grow into-a hound if he went with so he wented with and found beautiful smell old dog said him to put his dash-nose upon-the ground and puzzle he puzzled long ways with old dog there was field full of ware-sheep and beautiful smell stopped old dog was angry and said him to cast-forward but peoples came saying loud he ran into woods old dog said if he waited long enough there he would grow-into hound and it would do-him good to have to find his way home because he would have to do it most of his life if he was so-dash stoopid-as all-that old dog went away and tall dog waited for more beautiful smell and it was night-times and he did not know where home was and he singed what we heard he were very sorry he is quite new dog he says he is called dampuppy after long whiles there was smells which he knew so he went through hedge and ran to his home he said he was in-for proper-whacking one time after that kitchen cat sits on wall we sing she says own gods are going away slippers says they come back at biscuit-time kitchen cat says this time they will go and never come back slippers says that is not real rat kitchen cat says go to top of house and see what adar is doing with kennels-that shut we go to top of house there is adar and kennels-that shut she fills with things off gods feets and tops and middles we go downstairs we do not understand kitchen cat sits on wall and says now you have seen that own gods are going wait till kennels-that shut are put behind kennel-that moves and own gods get in then you will know slippers says how do you know where that rat will run kitchen cat says because am cat you are dog when you have done things you ask own gods if it is whack or pat you crawl on turn you say please will be good what will you do when own gods go and never come back slippers said will bite you when catch you kitchen cat said grow legs she ran down wall and went to kitchen we came after there was cookey and broom kitchen cat sat in window and said look at this cookey sometimes this is thick cookey sometimes this is thin cookey but it is always my cookey am never cookey's cat but you must always have own gods with else you go bad what will you do when own gods go away we were not comfy we went inside house we asked own gods not to go away and never come back they did not understand iv time after own gods have gone away in kennel-that moves with kennels-that shut behind kennel came back at biscuit-time but no gods we went over house looking kitchen cat said now you see we went to look everywhere there was nothingthere is peoples called carpenters come they are making little house inside big house there is postey talking to adar there is pleasm-butcher talking to cookey there is everybody talking everybody says poor little chaps and goes away some more time this night-time shiny plate shined into our kennels and made sing we sang when will own gods come back adar looked out from high-up above and said stop that or i'll come down to you we were quiet but shiny plate shined more we singed we will be good when the gods come back adar came down there was whackings we are poor little small dogs we live in outside places nobody cares for other more times have met that tall far-off dog with large feet he is not called dampuppy he is called ravager-son of-regan he has no own god because he will pass-the bottle-round and-grow into-a hound he lives across park at walk with dretful peoples called mister kent have wented to walk there were fine smells and pig-pups and bucket full of old things ravager said eat hearty he is nice dog ate lots ravager put his head through handle of bucket it would not go away from him he went back-first singing he sang am afraid peoples came running went away wented into dark place called dairy there was butters and creams people came went out of little window sicked-up two times before could run quick went to own kennel and lay down that peoples called mister kent came afterwards he said to adar that little black beast is dam thief adar said nonsense he is asleep slippers came and said come and play rats said go to walk and play with ravager slippers wented people thought slippers was me slippers came home quick am very fine dog but master has not come back vi after that time am bad dog am very bad dog am g'way you dirty-little devil found badness on the road liked it rolled in it it were nice came home there was cookey and adar there was don't you-come anigh-me there was james-with kennel that-moves there was come ere you young pole-cat he picked up and washed with soap and sticky water out of kennel-that moves rubbed into all my hairs there was tieup smelled very bad to myself kitchen cat came said g'way am filfy bad dog am proper stink-pot kitchen cat said that is not your own rat you are bad because own gods do not come back you are like peoples who can not be good without own gods to pat vii other fresh times now am great friend of ravager slippers and me have wented to hunt hen at walk she were angry hen-lady with pups she bit slippers two times with her nose under his eye we all went one way there was pig-lady with pups that way we went other way there was mister-kent peoples with whack-stick that way we wented more ways quick we found fish-head on heap of nice old things there was ravager we all went for play there was cow-pups in field they ran after we went under gate and said they ran away ran after till they stopped they turned round we went away again they ran after we played long while it were fun mister-kent people and more peoples came calling dretful names we said to ravager we will go home ravager said me too he ran across field we went home by small ditches we played rat-sticks on the lawn cowman peoples came and said to adar those two little devils have been chasing pounds off the calves adar said be ashamed of yourself look at em good as gold we waited till peoples were gone we asked for sugar adar gave ravager came through laurels all little he said have had proper whacking what did you get we said sugar he said you are very fine dogs am hungry said will give you my store-bone in the border eat hearty he digged we helped harry-with spade came ravager went through laurels like kitchen cat we got proper whacking and tie-up for digging in borders when we are bad there is sugar when we are good there is whack-whack that is same rat going two wrong ways viii harry-with spade has brought ratlook please please look am rrreal dog have killed rat have slew rat he bit me on the nose bit him again bit him till he died shookened him dead harry said go-ood boy born ratter am very-fine dog indeed kitchen cat sat on the wall and said that is not your own rat you killed it to please god when my legs are grown will kill kitchen cat like rats bad bad bad ix time soon after wented to walk to tell my friend ravagerabout my rat and find more things to kill ravager said there is ware-sheep for me and there is ware-chicken for me but there is no ware-bull for me come into park and play with bull-in yard we went under bull's gate in his yard ravager said he is too fat to run say said bull said ravager said slippers said got under watertrough and said dretful things bull blew with nose went out through fence and came back through another hole ravager said from other side of yard bull spun he blew he was too fat it were fun we heard mister-kent saying loud we went home across park ravager says am true sporting dog only except because of my little legs october bad times dead sit up sit up now tell tell there has been washings and sunday collars carpenter peoples has gone away and left new small house inside big house there is very small kennel-that rocks inside small house adar showed we went to james's house he were gone away with kennel-that moves we went to front-gate we heard we saw own gods very own gods master missus came back we said we danced we rolled we ran round we went to tea heads-on feets of own gods there were buttered toasts gived under table and two sugars each we heard new peoples talking in big house one peoples said angh angh very small like cat-pups other peoples said bye-loe bye loe we asked own gods to show we went upstairs to small house adar was giving cup-o tea to new peoples more thick than adar which was called nurse there was very-small talk inside kennel-that rocks it said aie aie we looked in adar held collars it were very small peoples it opened its own mouth but there was no teeth it waved paw kissed slippers kissed new thick which is that nurse said well-mum i-never both own gods sat down by smallest peoples and said and said and kissed paw smallest peoples said very loud new thick gave biscuit in bottle we tail-thumped on floor but not for-you greedies we went down to hunt kitchen cat she ran up apple tree we said own gods have come back with one smallest new peoples in smallest-kennel kitchen cat said that is not peoples that is own gods very own smallest now you are only dirty little dogs if you say too loud to me or cookey you will wake that smallest and there will be proper whackings if you scratch new thick will say fleas fleas and there will be more proper whackings if you come in wet you will give smallest sneezes so you will be pushed outside and you will scratch at doors that shut-in your-eye you will belong with yards and brooms and cold passages and all the empty places slippers said let us go to own kennel and lie down we wented we heard own gods walking in garden they said nice to be home again but where are the little men slippers said lie still or they will push us into the empty places we lay still missus called where is slippers master called boots you ruffian hi boots we lay still own gods came into yard and found they said oh there you are did you think we would forget you come-for walks we came we said soft we rolled before feets asking not to be pushed into empty places made beseech because were not comfy missus said who'd have thought they'd take it this way poor little men master threw plenty sticks picked up and brought back slippers went inside with missus he came out quick he said hurry smallest is being washed went like rabbits smallest was all no-things on top or feets or middle nurse which is thick washed and rubbed and put things on-all over afterwards kissed hind-feet slippers too both gods said look it tickles him he laughs he knows they're all right then they said and they said and they kissed and they kissed it and it was bye-loe same as kennel-up and then dinner and heads-on feets under table and lots things-passed down one were kidney and two was cheeses we are most fine dogs xi march very many long times after those times both gods have gone-week ends in kennel-that moves but we are not afraid they will come back slippers went up to talk to that smallest and nurse went to see my great friend ravager at walk because see him very often there was new old small white dog outside barn there was only one eye he was dretful bitted all over his teeth was black he walked slow he said am pensioned hunt terrier behave you lap-dog was afraid of his oldness and his crossness went paws-up told about me and slippers and ravager he said know that puppy taught him to grow-into a-hound am more dash-old than royal his grandfather said is it good rat he is my friend will he grow-into a-hound hunt terrier said that depends he scratched his dretful-bitted neck and looked me out of his eye did not feel comfy wented into barn there was ravager on barn floor and two peoples one was all white except his black ends which was called moore one was long proper man and nice which was called m'lord moore-man lifted ravager's head and opened his mouth proper man looked moore said look m'lord he's swine-chopped proper man said pity he's by romeo and regan moore-man said yes and she's the wisest worst tempered bitch ever was proper man gave ravager biscuit ravager stood up stiff on toes-very fine dog moore said romeo's shoulders regan's feet it's pity m'lord proper man said and royal's depth great pity see i'll give you the order about him to morrow they wented away ravager said now they will make me grow-into hound will be sent into kennels and schooled for cubbing-in september he went after hunt terrier came and showed black teeth said what is swine-chopped he said being snipey-about the nose stoopid then moore came and put hunt terrier up on neck same as cookey carries kitchen cat hunt terrier said never walk when you can ride at my time of life they wented away me too but were not comfy when got home nurse and adar and cookey were in scullery all saying loud about slippers and kitchen cat and smallest slippers were sitting in sink bleedy adar turned sink-tap water on his head slippers jumped down and ran we hid in boot-house slippers said wented up to see that smallest he was bye-loe lay under nurse's bed she went down for cup-o tea kitchen cat came and jumped into kennel-that rocks beside smallest said g'out of this she said will sleep here it is warm said very loud kitchen cat jumped out on floor bit her going to the door she hit shook we fell downstairs into nurse kitchen cat hit across face let go because did not see kitchen cat said and cookey picked up said and adar picked up and put me on sink and poured water on bleedy eye then they all said but am quite well-dog and it is not washing-day for me said slippers you are fine dog am afraid of kitchen cat slippers said me too but that time was new dog inside-me were normous f'rocious big hound now am slippers told about ravager and moore and proper man and hunt terrier and swine-chopped slippers said cannot see where that rat will run smell it is bad rat but must watch my smallest it is your rat to kill xii next time after not-comfy kitchen cat is gone away and not come back kitchen is not nice to go in have went to see my friend ravager at walk he were tied up he sang sorrowful he told dretful things he said when were asleep last night grew-into a-hound very fine hound went sleep-hunting with nother hound lemon-and white hound we sleep-hunted normous big fox-things all through dark covers then fell in pond there was heavy thing tied to my neck went down and down into pond till it was all dark were frightened and unsleeped now am not comfy said why are you tied-up he said mister-kent has tied me up to wait for moore said that is not my rat will ask hunt terrier so went back into park were uncomfy in all my hairs because of my true friend ravager there were hedgehog in ditch he rounded up said loud hunt terrier came out of bushes and pushed him into wetness he unrounded hunt terrier killed said you are most wonderful wise strong fine dog he said what bone do you want now snipey said tell me what is snipey-about the-nose he said it is what they kill hound puppies for because they cannot eat fast or bite hard it is being like your nose said can eat and bite hard am son of champion kildonan brogue reserve vhc very-fine dog hunt terrier said know that pack they hunt fleas what flea is biting you said ravager is uncomfy and am uncomfy of my friend ravager he said you are not so lap-dog as you look show me that puppy on the flags so said about ravager sleep hunting and falling in pond which he had told me when he were tied up hunt terrier said did he sleep-hunt with lemon-and white-bitch with scar on her left jowl said he said he hunted with nother hound lemon-and white but he did not say lady-hound or jowels how did you know hunt terrier said knew last night it will be dash near-squeak for ravager then we saw moore on tall horse in park hunt terrier said he is going to the master for orders about ravager run were runnier than hunt terrier he was rude there was big house in park there was garden and door at side moore went in hunt terrier stayed to mind horse which was his tall friend saw proper man inside which had been kind to ravager at walk so wented in too proper man said what's this moore nother hunt terrier moore said no m'lord it's that little black devil from the place that's always coming over to kent's and misleading ravager proper man said no getting away from ravager this morning it seems moore said no nor last night either m'lord proper man said yes heard her moore said i've come for orders about ravager m'lord proper man sat look-not see same as master with pipe were not comfy so sat up on my end and put paws over nose and made big beseech that is all can proper man looked and said what are you in it too you little oddity hunt terrier said outside no dash-parlour tricks in there come on out of it so came out and helped mind tall horse after whiles moore came out and picked up hunt terrier and put him on front-saddle and hurried hunt terrier said rudenesses about my short legs when we got to walk moore said loud to mister-kent it is all right mister-kent said glad of it how did it come about moore said regan saved him she was howling cruel last night and when his lordship looked in this morning she was all over him playing the kitten and featherin and pleadin she knew he didn't say anything then but he said to me just now ravager will be sent to kennels with the young entry and we'll hope his defect ain't too heredity mister-kent untied ravager rolled and said and said and played with me we played were fox-at his-home among-the rocks all round pig ladies-houses went to ground under hen-house hen-ladies said plenty hunt terrier said if he had me for two seasons he would make me earn-my keep but would not like am afraid would be put-in ponds and sunk because am snipey-about the-nose but now am comfy in all my hairs have ate grass and sicked up am happy dog xiii early april most wonderful times we are fine dogs there was bell-day when master comes black-all over and walks slow with shiny box on top and don't you-play with-my brolly that is always bell-day rat nurse put smallest into push-kennel and went for walk-in park we went with and ran and said lots we went by walk all along railings of park ravager heard he said will come my collar is too big he slipped collar and came with that smallest said loud and nice and waved paw ravager looked into push-kennel and kissed smallest on its face nurse shooed and wiped with hanky ravager said why am slobberybeast it is not ware-smallest for me we all walked across park beside push-kennel there was noise behind bushes bull-which we-played with-in yard came out and digged with paws and waved tail nurse said oh what shall do do my legs are wobbly she took smallest out of push-kennel and ran to railings bull walked quick after we ran in front slippers and said lots ravager jumped at his nose and ran bull spun ravager ran behind push-kennel bull hit push-kennel on one side and kneeled-down on ravager jumped at his nose and slippers bit behind me too bull spun ravager ran little in front bull came after to shrubbery ravager said chop him in cover we chopped running in and out then ravager bited and jumped back-with barks before nose it was fun bull got bleedy slippers and me said dretful things bull ran away into park and stopped we said from three places so he could not choose which it were great fun peoples called out from railings round walk there was nursey paws-up on ground kicking feet there was that smallest and own gods holding tight there was mister-kent peoples bull said quite small like cow-pup mister-kent came and put stick at bull's nose and took away on-lead all the peoples on the railing said most loud at us we were frightened because of chasing-pounds off-those calves we went home other ways ravager came with because he had slipped his collar and was in for proper-whack whack opened dust-bin with my nose-like can do there were porridge and herring-tails and outsides of cheeses it was nice then ravager stuck up his back-hairs most dretful and said if am for proper whackings will chop mister-kent we went with to see there was plenty peoples there all bell-day black all over we saw moore we saw mister-kent he was bleedy one side his blacks he blew he said ravager's made proper hash of him look at me sunday-best moore said that shows he ain't swine-chopped to matter mister-kent said dam-all how-it shows what about my bull moore said put him down to the poultry fund for if ever bull cried dung-hill he did with ravager mister-kent said plenty-lots ravager walked slow round barn and stopped stiff his back-hairs was like angry gentlemen-pigs mister-kent began to say dretful moore said keep away he has his mother's temper and it's dash-awkward then moore said nice small things and patted ravager put his head on moore's feets and all his back-hairs lay down and was proper coat again moore took him to kennel and filled water-trough and turned straw on sleeping-bench ravager curled up like small puppy and kissed hands moore said let him be till he sees fit to come out else there'll be more hurt than your bull slippers and me ran away we was afraid we were dretful dirty my nice frilly drawers was full of sticky burrs and our front-shirts were bleedy off bull so we went to our adar but own gods and smallest and nurse thick came and they all said and said and petted except cookey because kitchen cat is not come back there was wonderful things-under table at dinner one was liver one was cheese straw and one was sardine afterwards was coffee-sugar we wcnted up to see smallest bye-loed he is quite well we are most fine dogs own gods keep saying so it are fun just after that times there is no more ravager at walk have wented to see him moore came with tall horse and cracky-whip and took ravager showed very proud dog inside he said but outside frightened puppy he said were his true friend in spite of my little legs he said he will come again when he is grown-into a-hound and will always be his true small friend he went looking back but moore cracked whip ravager sung dretful heard him all down the lane after could see am sorrowful dog but am always friend of my friend ravager slippers came to meet me at rabbit holes we got muddy on tum because we have low clearances so we went to our adar for clean kitchen cat was on wall again slippers said give her cold-dead rat we wented-past under quite still she said am kitchen cat come back silly little pups we did not say or look we went to adar slippers said me now we hunt bulls in parks do not ever say to kitchen cat ever said good rat you are wise dog cookey picked up and said mee own precious pussums kitchen cat said am cat not dog drat you cookey kept on petting then she tied up by basket in kitchen and said now you've had your lesson about going up to the nursery you'll stay with me in future and behave kitchen cat spitted cookey took broom in case we hunted but we went past quite still this is finish to kitchen cat we are fine dogs we hunt bulls she does not hunt real rats she is bad bad bad xiv late april most wonderful times this is me boots three years old am sponsible dog slippers too master says we are sponsible for that smallest he can get out of push-kennel he walks puppy-way between slippers and me he holds by ears and noses when he sits down he pulls up same way he says boo-boo that is me he says see-see that is slippers he has bitted both our tails to make his teeth grow strong because he has no bone at night we did not say he has come into both our kennels and tried to eat our biscuit nurse found there was smallest whack-whacks he did not say he is finest smallest that is he had washings and new collar and extra brush it was not bell-day it was after last-run of-season he walked on lawn we came one each side he held there was horns in park were tingly in all my hairs but did not say too old to make-fool of-myself my time of life master says there was hounds and pinks coming on grass there was moore but he was pinks there was mister-kent but he was like rat catcher hunt terrier said there was nice proper man which was kind to ravager in barn about being swine-chopped there was some more pinks but not friends moore took all hounds to gate by lawn they sat down quiet they was beautiful muddy and seeds in coats and tails and ears bleedy hunt terrier sat in own basket on tall horse when moore put him down he said dretful things to hounds they did not say back proper man said to master and missus we have come to call with brush for that smallest smallest liked because it tickled but nurse thick washed off with hanky quick master-an missus said how did ravager do proper man said as usual led from end to end he wants to talk to you ravager stood up tall at the gate and put nose through smallest stretched out and ravager kissed then moore said over lad ravager overed in one jump and said to smallest two times most loud like bell-day and played puppy very careful and let smallest hold by ears his ears was all made round he spoke me went paws-up because he were so big and dretful and strong he said drop it stoopid member me bein lost member bucket and fishheads member bull member cow-pups and lady-pigs and mister-kent and proper whackings and all those things at walk you are true sporting dog except only because of your little legs and always true friend of ravager he rolled me over and held down with paws and play-bit in my neck play-bitted him too right on jowels all the hounds saw walked round stiff-on toes most proud then hunt terrier wiggled under gate without leave proper man said to missus he is pensioned now but it would break his heart not to turn out with the rest he can't hurt your dogs poor fellow hunt terrier walked-on toes round me and showed black teeth went paws-up because he were old and dretful about knowing uncomfy things he said will let you off this time snipey because you knew about ravager sleep-hunting in dark covers dash narrow shave that now must go and look after the young entry not one-dash hound among em he went away and bitted at an old lady-hound lemon-and white with black bites on jowels she said and wrinkled nose dretful but she did not chop she sat and looked at ravager through gate and said to him like bell-day but more loud proper man said old regan wants her tea fraid we must be going they wented away there was horns and horses and pinks and hounds jumping up and moore saying names loud and ravager overed gate most beautiful they wented all away all all were very small little dog then smallest said boo-boo see-see he took necks by collars he said to own gods look look own ounds own ounds turn on tea ounds the great play hunt please door open door!this is me boots which told you all those things about my true friend ravager at walk and mister-kent peoples and kitchen cat and master-missus and smallest when were almost pup now am sponsible dog rising eight know all about peoples talkings no good saying r-a t-s or w-a l-k to me know slippers too slippers is sponsible for smallest risen seven and half because smallest belongs to missus and slippers too help it is very fine smallest it has sat on tall horse which is called magistrate in front of that white man which was kind to ravager at walk which told you which is called moore-kennel huntsman it has learned to keep hands down and bump and fall off proper and all those things now he has own pony called taffy-was a-welshman he rides with moore and magistrate all-over park we come with and he goes to meet when it is at kennels master-missus say he must not real-hunt just-yet he does not like and says come to meets with james in kennel-that moves because of those dash new hunt terriers speak to my friend ravager from next to steering-wheel where sit he is best-hound ever-was moore says he walks close to near fore-leg of magistrate it is most sponsible place he has nigh-half choked upstart for trying to take it moore says now will tell things and things like rats running first was dash-bad business about smallest in old nursery before brekker there was hard tight collar that new nursey which is called guvvy pinched under neck smallest said about boney old lady-hound guvvy said-and said and shook smallest we shook too one each side her middle dress we did not nip it tore of herself missus came up quick guvvy said all-about all again we wented downstairs quick missus called to master he said come here you two sweeps there was proper whacking with own cutty-whip but we did not nip that guvvy there was whack-whack for smallest too he was put in corner till i-am sorry we went with to sit by same as always with old nursey missus said will not have my son's education perverted by two sreputable curs there was order not to be with smallest all whole day and nothing gived under-table at brekker so we wented to dust-bin which can open with my nose house not comfy because of guvvy saying about us to our adar our adar said p'raps ought to have warned you but now you have had your lesson of course slippers will never forgive you for touching master digby and as for that boots he can bear malice for months after dust-bin said slippers come for walk-about he said own-god master always wants you help him walk-about after brekker said do not want own god did not nip that guvvy-lady hound come with slippers said they have put soap on my smallest's teeth for badwording he is kennelled up in old nursery will stay at home p'raps he will wave me out of window so took myselfs to walk where mister-kent peoples is were nice to mister-kent two frilly smalls which know since they came there was bread and butter and sugar there was run along to school now dearies wented with to take care there was lots more smalls going to school which all knew ran sticks for them there was two pieces gingerbread and two sweeties then wented back to walk because were hungry there was two hen-heads outside ferret kennel box they were nice there was lady-hen in barn hatching eggs they were good there was ben-sheep dog which was tied up because of meddy that morning he had left his bone out too far took away to mice-field where wood's edge comes down behind walk caught four mices by jumping-on through grass there was some of very old rabbit lying about but bad fur so unhad all which was inside me and wented into woods for drink in middle ride and sleeped when unsleeped there was that old fox which ravager calls tags because he has very fine brush he is dash-old but dash-wise ravager says there was steel-trap on near-fore he was biting-out foot he said if am found like this it is finish-for me said there is no meet to day he said every day is meet for that dash-ben cur-dog said ben is tied up he has took meddy tags said then there is chance he bited his foot same as me with thorns he bited off two toes and licked and licked he said serves me right for being dash-fool my time-of life he said it were two-nice kind-ladies long ways off across railway line in cotswold country because tags does not kill at home which took hens to be killed in kennels-that move which had set trap under hen-house floor with chicken which he could see he tried to rake out trap caught two toes he came home with four miles all through the night-times he said he could not kill for himself for long whiles now because of sore toes said there is big bone and four mices in micefield and some of old rabbit he said good enough tell ravager am as lame as trees am two toes short will lie up for rest of season then will go to my-home among-the rocks-in wales if can keep living alive wented back to walk because were hungry again ben said me lots about his bone said back danced kent frilly small came and said there is boots playing so pretty with ben may take him home in case he will lose himself were very nice but first was tea in kent-kitchen with frilly smalls bread and hamjuice then took that frilly back careful to own back-door adar said lost him boots never me dear own gods was at tea but not smallest slippers sat close by door making sorrowful sniffles which own gods do not like helped master said dash-it all if the house is to be run by this blackguard trades union of ours accept it have digby down smallest came down to tea we was all-over him there was tea-cake and two sugars and ginger-biscuits missus said do you think boots spent the whole day looking for smallest master said not if know boots own gods began talking master-missus way we wented to help smallest kennel-up played smelling rats and looking rat-holes in old nursery ran about and growled dretful guvvy did not like because of her feet but did not ever nip that guvvy more than tags ever killed at walk slippers too was dash silly business for me afterwards my time-o life guvvy told missus about rat-holes missus told master master told james to look and stop rat-holes james told old nursery was tight as bottles everywhere adar said me in scullery after boots you come along me wented up with were not comfy adar said now you find those precious rat-holes of yours played looky-sniffy hard but it were play rat-holes went paws-up adar said thought so you little devil she took by collar and rubbed nose hard in corner same as if were pup being taught house were very angry wented under bed she pulled me out by tail she said you black-hearted little villain but love yer for it and she kissed me same as small pup were dretful shamed but did not ever nip that guvvy now tell new things please sit up there was plenty-rides always with smallest and moore in park smallest wanted to real-hunt dretful bad but master-missus said not just-yet awhile moore did not say except to james at meet when smallest tried to quick-up that taffy with safety-pin moore saw he said james my money is on the young entry said ravager all those things which tags had told me about his sore toes ravager said tell tags am dash-sorry for him he has given me as much as could do for five seasons and he was not chickens then hope he will lie-at earth till leaves-on because business is business next whiles was at middle ride told tags what ravager had said tags said his toes was not so sore and if it were early spring he could keep living alive somehow time whiles after that was meet at kennels master-missus said smallest could begin real-hunting at cubbing-times next september smallest was dretful good and talked master-missus and slippers how he would hunt till bedtime told my friend ravager all those things when speaked loud to him next meet before all the hounds he said will show that smallest thing or two when he comes up he is keen-stuff time whiles after that shiny plate got up strong and made-sing adar looked out from high-up and said quiet we played rattle-chain round our kennels adar said drat she came and unloosed like she always does when we do enough we went for walk-abouts in gardens and orchard like we always do when she does it were fun then we heard lost hound like long ways off but not proper singing we said who is come here it said do not know where here is do not see said that is ravager rabbit it we rabbited through orchard there was ravager but he walked side-ways head-twisty very dretful said loud he did not know he said will go quick to kennels but he went round and round he said ware kennel-that moves slippers said it is strange new stemper-dog inside ravager same what cookey gave me egg-an brandy-for ravager said where is my own place on the bench but he bumped trees and twisted we were afraid we came each one side him we came to own kennelshe fell down between we licked his head because it were bleedy after long whiles he said where is this we said this is boots and slippers he tried to go away to kennels he could not lift we lay close and licked and licked till adar pulled back kitchen-curtains for brekker we said she came quick cookey too there was egg-an brandy as-fast as-you can master-missus and smallest came quick after james went in kennel-that moves to get vet-peoples out-of bed by-his hair moore and magistrate came quick too because ravager had not cast-up at kennels last night and upstart had fought egoist for ravager's place on sleepy-bench and kennels was all-of a-nuproar moore said small to ravager but ravager did not say back moore and master put him on potting-bench in shed after harry-with spade had broomed out and got small stove lighted smallest was took away to brekker saying loud vet-peoples did dretful things to ravager's head there was put-him to-bed after moore set away straw same as at kennels ravager tail-thumped two small times we was let lie we licked and we licked his head vet said he had lost one eye for always and not-much chance for other he said it were some-dash motor and ravager were sick dog all those whiles smallest came to sit with cept only when guvvy took away or it was rides in park me too except if master wanted me help him walk-about farms one time saw tags in wood edge told about ravager he said knew it the same night it were that kennel-that moves of the nice-kind ladies in the cotswold country which takes hens to be killed tell ravager am dash-sorry because eyes are worse than legs tell him to come over some day when it is leaves-on and we will talk old runs we are both finished now and no-bad feelings and he said licking is best for cuts look at my toes and he said he was killing again off nice-kind hen-killer ladies which was sending bill to the cotswold and heythrop he said they was prize cockerels but it were dash-difficult to get bellyful these hard late frosts said there is fine dust-bin at our place can lift lid with nose we will not tell tags said me if your legs was good as your heart could not live for three fields in front of you am ashamed my-timeof life to go dust-binning but will come tell ravager not to make song about it if he winds me so he came to our dust-bin all quiet whiles after that ravager was unsick hound again he said he had had thorn in foot at end of that run he turned out on grass to bite it out by gate of nice-kind ladies where tags killed chickens ladies was taking hens to be killed lots-and plenty in kennel-that moves they skidded kennel on grass because they talked they hit him into ditch and he was made into strange blind dog told him about tags and dust-bin he said that is all proper tell him to come and talk me old runs together because we are both out-of it now time whiles after that ravager got down off bench and ate grass he said me will go to my kennels and speak them all there come with because do not see except my near side and dash-little there slippers said it is riding-times for my smallest will wait so wented with ravager put me his off-side in case if he bumped we wented slow up middle of park which he knew by nose kennels was shut moore and magistrate was coming to take smallest for ride proper man were there too with new-four year-old sat down outside because do not like those dash new hunt terriers ravager put up nose and said very long at kennel gates there was dretful noise inside kennels all together one time and stop proper man said moore did not think this would have to happen moore said saw it once when was stable-boy to the marquis me lord proper man said let him in and get it over pity's sake ravager was let go in he went to window looking into hounds sleepy-bench he lifted himself up slow on sill and looked them with his near eye he did not say there was one time more dretful noise inside together and stop then he did say very long same as lost hound then he looked in and was one more dretful cry inside he dropped down he came out said what is he said upstart has my place on bench will go riding with smallest proper man said moore come on but magistrate's girths was slack moore tighted up very careful proper man blew his nose angry and said you are as big dash-fool as your master we wented back to smallest proper man told smallest ravager would not ever come to kennels any more and gave him for very own to keep always master-missus put in old labrador kennels by vegetable gardens with day-and night-bench but never locked so he could come and go like-he felt can open that with my nose too after that was plenty ridings in park because magistrate had thick leg and wanted gentle-summer exercise those times smallest said all about real-hunting same as always moore said if ravager could speak he could show smallest more than master-or me he said all about real-hunts and ravager and romeo and regan and royal and rachel and rupert and ristori which was all ravager's fathers and mothers and foxes and scents and casting hounds and those fine things smallest found small red rumpet in old nursery and played it were horn-on a-fine hunting-morn moore showed how to squeak with ravager showed slippers and me how to answer to horn same as sporting pack it were fun was one time when leaves-was all-on shiny plate came up strong and made-sing we played rattle-chain till adar loosed like she always does we went to see ravager like we always do then was tags outside old labrador kennels down-wind under gooseberries like he does when he comes for talk there was big say-and say about old runs with ravager and tags they did not say same about things slippers said no use worrying dead rats ravager said better worrying dead rats than no rats ever slippers said know good rat make new run by your two selves make run for my smallest ravager said he will come up with the young entry for cubbing in september he will learn soon enough then slippers said but show him run now by yourselves because you and tags are dash-cunning at both ends of the game tags said that looks like sound rabbit bolt him slippers said make my smallest play-hunt up and down wood edge rides that taffy is all grass-belly he cannot jump but he can wiggle through anywhere make play-hunt up and down all wood rides said and across park and plenty checks for me to keep with ravager in case if he bumps ravager said will not bump know every inch of the park by nose will not bump tags said am lame am fat am soon going to brecknock ravager said you are too much dust-bin do you good to have spin in the open before you leave do us both good tags said that is shiny-plate talk but he waggled his brush ravager said what about scent this time-of year slippers said make it point-to point same as hunt races and dash-all scents ravager said but must show our smallest how proper hounds work he must see a-little bit-of all-sorts tags said my toes tell me that when shiny plate sits down this morning rain will come and scent will lie ravager said you ought to know now worry out run for smallest so there were proper worry like all shaking same rat abour line-of country for smallest's play-hunt it were across park from wood's edge rides by cattle lodge and little water to starling wood and saying good-bye to all kind friends at the kennels and finish at made earths by stone wall on county road because tags said that were his back-door to the berkeley country for wales slippers and me helped lots then rain came like tags toes said morning-time was finished raining moore came with magistrate which had thick-leg and smelly bandage only-for gentle-work smallest took rumpet with and own cracky whip same as always ravager ran near side taffy me too we wented up by micefields to middle ride because of soft going moore said in middle ride was tags waiting like he said he would moore said dash his impertininces look at him ravager gave tongue and wented up ride me too smallest sticked hand behind ear and squealed proper tags scuttled limpity but dash-quick magistrate see-sawed like that thing in old nursery moore said old ard you silly summer-fool you come back master digby smallest said hike to ravager forrard on we rabbited down middle ride normous long way tags turned right-handed into cover at keeper's oak so he could slip into park by beech hedge gaps and three oaks like he said he would it were thick cover we took it easy because it were hot keeped beside ravager because he did not see tags said him in cover there is nothing wrong with your legs ravager said sorry if pressed know middle ride by nose that were not bad beginning moore said loud come away master digby you won't see any more of him he'll be through all manner of counties by now smallest said don't you hunt my hounds taffy pecked on ant-hill in fern smallest pitched forward and hit face on taffy's head his nose bleeded plenty he wiped with hand across moore said what will say to your ma slippers said ravager draw down west ride where that taffy can see his stoopid feet ravager spoke and drew down west ride over turf all proper to beech hedge gaps into park by three oaks taffy wiggled through magistrate after he were like bullocks moore was all leafy he bad-worded magistrate tags came out from behind three oaks like he said he would and wented down little water smallest rumpeted moore said he ain't ever going to cross the park or is he dash if make-it out-at all tags went by little water to park dingle he crossed water two times like he said he would and went along from park dingle to larch copse ravager took up scent and worked along little water quite slow to show smallest proper-good work moore said watch master digby you'll never see anything prettier in your life young as you are it were dretful strong scent slippers and me spoke to it loud ravager too when we came to larch copse where tags had doubled like he said he would ravager said stop it stoopids we lose the scent here he threw up head and went back to taffy and smallest and sat down and scratched ear slippers and me too smallest said shall cast them moore said can't have it both ways master digby they're your ounds not mine smallest put finger in mouth and bited like he does when he does not know moore did not say we did not say after whiles we did not say smallest rumpeted and cast back other side little water to park dingle ravager said our smallest is no fool we all worked hard on back-cast slippers said may give tongue now for my smallest scent is strong enough to kill pigs so he were let give tongue me too ravager confirmed tags got out of park dingle like he said he would we all rabbited for cattle lodge in park where once fat bull was which we hunted it were sound turf which ravager knew by nose that were frocious burst led slippers to lodge tags got under yard-gate ravager said me may fly cattle-bars think the top one is down said it is up go under he were dretful ashamed but he did go under we all sat in calf-shed where water-trough is and drinked we were thirsty after whiles moore said to smallest outside what made you cast back at larch copse sir smallest said if were lame fox pushed out of my woods would try to get back moore said eaven be praised you have it in you ave only elped fetch it out tags said ravager it is time left the country was anything wrong with my double did either you little uns give that cub of yours lead about it slippers said did try to help my smallest by edging off but he was angry and told me off proper that back-cast were all his own rat then tags said ravager why did you run so mute down little water young uns are always keen on music you know ravager said sorry that was my mother's fault too on scent she always preferred her work to her company same as me tags said come on then next point is starling wood shall work down old drainage ditch taking it easy and slip in by duck's hollow it will be more little-bit of-all sorts for your smallest tags broke to view behind cattle lodge like he said he would there were scurry over turf to old ditch he dropped in it were deep with brambles we took it easy smallest said loud because he could not see moore said they are working their hearts out for you in there master digby don't press em don't press ravager said tags show bit now and then the young entry are all for blood you know so tags showed up two-three times edge of ditch and smallest squealed and was happy-pup at ditch-end tags said come through duck's hollow quiet and ware new hurdles so we did starling wood was hurdled tight ravager took hurdles flying skew-ways because he saw them little were uncomfy of my friend ravager did not know what he would fall on same as me with lawnmower and the pheasant-bird but it were only thistles he said sorry forgot were blind dog we all sat it were stinky eggy feathery birdy place all sticks ravager said tags moore never puts hounds in here we do not like it and scent don't lie tags said but moore does and foxes cannot be dash-particular moore and smallest came riding outside we sat still moore said he can't be there master digby no fox uses where starlings use the hounds won't look at starling wood smallest said you said hunting is what-can t-happen happenin dash-always moore said yes but he's gone on to make his point across the park come ome and wash your face fore any one sees smallest said and lose my fox moore said then get old of em and cast forward smallest did not say he took rumpet off his saddle and held out to moore moore would not take he wented over all red in his face he said most umbly apologise master digby do indeed slippers said do not know this rat ravager said he is giving his horn to moore because moore knows so dash-well how to find his fox tags said ravager better speak little or moore will lose me same as last season ravager speaked smallest said he is there ravager can't lie you said so yourself get down-wind quick moore wented he hit magistrate proper slippers said why did moore not take my smallest's rumpet ravager said moore is too dash-ashamed of himself for trying to hunt another man's hounds same as that snipey nose-man which the master gave his horn to because he said he was whip to the bathsheba lady-pack tags said slippers come with here is another bit-of all-sorts for your smallest they wented where wood was stinkiest big cub ran out under hurdles at smallest slippers after smallest did not like he said fresh fox ware cub hike back to ravager you dash-lap dog and cut at slippers with cracky whip and hit slippers came back quick he said tags had said him to push-out that-youngster and-see how-smallest took-it moore came round cover smallest said have bad-worded slippers have cut at my own slippers moore said don't take that to heart you can bad-word every one at cover-side cept your own pa-an ma and the-master an-me tags said think will start for fan dringarth to-night this is going to be dash-poor country for cripples next season ravager said have heart stay and keep me company tags said would but have only one brush now next point is made earths at stone wall on county road where go under for dean forest ravager said made earths is tight as drainpipes you cannot get-away out-of till dark tags said drain-pipes heave in frost then badgers work em but first we say farewell to all kind friends at the kennels there will be check at new firs you little uns drop out there and take it easy up to fir knoll till we come back from long dip then join in for rattling finish slippers said that taffy cannot gallop to keep himself warm ravager said but magistrate wants three-new legs we will take care of them now play proper pack get away together tags broke under taffy's nose was most beautiful cry and adar could have covered with sheets after that were not so quick as ravager it were falling ground and sound turf which ravager knew by nose was nice check at new firs like tags said slippers and me dropped out presently whiles tags broke to view down long dip ravager on his brush it were real business slippers and me wented to fir knoll and watched taffy and smallest was littler and littler in long dip moore and magistrate too tags and ravager was littlest farthest ways off by summer kennels yard we heard ravager speak most beautiful outside there was dretful common noises in summer kennels like common dogs which cannot hunt when they want were happy-dog because do not like upstart and egoist nor new hunt terriers slippers too we danced and singed presently after whiles tags came up from long dip to fir knoll dragging brush very limpity he said am sinking fox ravager is lost hound taffy is cooked magistrate is fit-to boil come along little uns and devil-take short-legs we rabbited that were t'rific burst headed ravager for little whiles we came to made earths screaming for blood tags got to ground in front of ravager's front-teeth which was like rat-traps we all wented singing down into the dark we sat tongues-out ravager said top-hole finish tags said not bad our-time of-life that last point was quite mile ravager said make the run four mile from start to finish you are too good for those welshmen keep with us tags said not with that youngster coming on but he is sportsman hark to him was smallest outside and taffy blowing smallest said loud he were lame don't let them get him he are lame call em off moore an we'll look for that dash-cub and he rumpeted plenty moore said we ave done enough for one july day master digby ere's is lordship coming and i'll never ear the last of it tags said ravager think you will be wanted for hunting out of season am going to wales you are true sporting lot and tags backed into made earths which are his road to his home-among the-rocks where drain-tiles was heaved up and badgers helped like he said he would till we could not see his eye-shine any more ravager called after you are best of them all tags but tags did not say back we wented outside there was proper man on tall horse coming slow from kennels ravager said he is not our master now play proper pack we lay down round taffy which was shaking tail and girths-loosed and smallest making-much of ravager did head-on paws and looked smallest did thorn-in foot slippers did burrs-in tail moore did feeling magistrate's thick-leg and brushing leaves out of his front proper man came up slow he took off cap to smallest he said bowfront hunt presume trust your grace is satisfied with amnities of my country smallest said gone to ground but it were spiffing run hunted own hounds listen uncle and he said and he said like he can about things from find-to finish proper man said moore when you have quite done bot'nizing all over your belly p'raps you will let me know moore said my fault me lord all my fault aven't shadow of an excuse was whip to one lame fox one blind ound two lap-dogs and baby and it was the run of me life bit-of all-sorts as you might say me lord laid out as if it was meant to show master digby multum-in parvo so to speak and may never unt again me lord if it asn't made im proper man said let's have every last yard of it moore said and said smallest said and said all one piece mixed proper man asked about tags double and smallest's back-cast and scent and starling wood and all those things lots-and plenty he said it were babes-and sucklings we did not say we tail-thumped when names was said but no dash-parlour tricks we was proper pack middle of say-so kennel-that moves came down county road with missus which had been shoppings she stopped and overed wall in one she came quick she said digby look at your face smallest said oh forgot taffy pecked and pitched me forward she said in you get with me and have it washed off smallest said oh uncle proper man said let him take his hounds home polly he has earned it missus said then will take boots and slippers they don't hunt but we would not she said james said smallest did not say so we would not go in kennel-that moves we wented all across park with ravager and smallest and taffy and moore and magistrate and proper man to own kennels-like proper pack please that is finish for now of all about me-and slippers make beseech toby dog please this is only me-by selfs this is boots which were friend of ravager make beseechi tell but do not understand was time when smallest went to flat-in town for things-in throat which vet-people cut out so he could sleep shut-mouth and not ever catch cold he said he would be dretful-good if we came after so we wented with our adar in dog-box in-train guard people said we was perfect gentlemen flat-in town were stinky smallest were sick-abed times after he lay on couch-by window-at back which looks into garage-place we sat in window because of cats one time was whistle-squeaky noises and frill box with legs under came into garage-place was dog like me and slippers with frilly collar plenty smalls followed-tail we told smallest he came to window in one he said hooray punch-and judy dirty man which was legs came out from under frill box and whistle-squeaked with things in front of teeth frill dog walked with behind-legs and shaked hands with smalls like dirty man told dirty man went into frill box dollies came up on little sleepy-bench in front one were all nose and bendy-back like which smallest took off shiny-tree when he were pup that frill dog came up on bench and bit nose-doll on nose was scrap blue dollie came was plenty scraps nosedoll put string round blue dollie and threw out over sleepy-bench and singed loud was finish dirty man came out from under box and showed his inside-hat to smalls they wented all away he said garn you spend fortuns on the movies you do but when it comes-to drammer you run-like ares he whistle-squeaked and picked up box and wented time whiles after that he came again smallest said james which was up-with the-washing take them down to see near-to we wented on lead and sat in front-row frill dog which was called toby dog did all those dash-parlour tricks for smalls again we was ashamed because he were same-like us we said toby dog said back if weren't on-me job i'd give you something to sing for'james took away quick toby dog said night-night don't choke yourselves lovies time whiles more dirty man came again smallest could not go down because of throat james went and talked him plenty man said it were high-class show-for crowned-edds but he would wash-hisself first james told missus so dirty man came up to flat and was highclass show for smallest and all-us and our adar but toby dog were slow and sorrowful dirty man said missus it were like-master like-man because toby dog wore-hisself out-giving too-much for-money and he wanted rest-and good-kind home that whiles toby dog lay on back and rolled eyes like sick-pup adar said if those three get together they will fight till dawn-o day look at slippers's face missus said did-not know-quite what-master will-say james said he could keep in garage at home so he could-not come-into contracts with any one so was done and toby dog was took down with james to be made well-dog three-four day-times after we'wented down in dog-box train nice guard-people said adar we was fit-for show-as we-stood when we was home we rabbited round borders for bones which we had hid-in case of hungries they was took-all slippers said it are that dash-toby dog c'm with and house-train him we winded him in wall garden we said loud he did not say he made his eyes ringy white round edges he putted his head under his front he lifted up behind he rolled behind-ends over-heads he rolled at us first was whitey-eyes then backends rolling at we had never seen like that it were vile undogful but we did not run when he rolled quite close we went back when he made singings like sick dog we went back more quick to own gods on lawn master said me hullo boots you look as if something had ruffled your self-esteem what's the fuss did not say helped him smoke-pipe like always do harry-with spade came and said was rabbit in vegetable-gardens master got two-bang gun and went we heeled quick toby dog came out of garage full-of his-dash self he said what is slippers said come and see slippers went into cabbages and bolted rabbit which are his complishment master fired over me and killed toby dog went away like-smoke master sent me to back-door with rabbit to give our adar which are one of my complishments we went-find toby dog he were on turn in boot-box where james keeps shiney-feet things he said what was what was we said two-bang business he said cannot do am afraid can not do slippers said you are one dash-common coward-thief skug-dog where are bones toby dog told we digged up and took which was left to old labrador kennel for safeness we told ravager he were pleased of seeing us back toby dog came round corner he said may be skug-dog but am not fool let me in on your game and will let you in on mine ravager said what are your dirty game he said rats and he said he held rat-records at three pubz said what are pubz he said lummy you make me ache and he said pubz were where went after is job slippers said what are toby dog said im-which is-own god said what are job he said what gets you your grub said that are our adar when bell goes for own gods middle eats which are lunch he said you know fat lots you do ravager said no scrappin real-rat to toby dog job is same as business after business is trough and sleepy-bench everywhere slippers said his business is dash-parlour tricks and he said about dirty man and high-class show but he did not say about that in wall garden which we had seen because we was ashamed ravager said do parlour-tricks toby dog walked with behind-legs long whiles he said there was not six-dogs in-the perfession like him he said about rat-records which he held which which were own god made betz-on and he said how james had taken him over to walk when he came down and mister-kent peoples brought plenty-rats to try-out and he killed eight in half minute on barn-floor he said james and mister-kent was dretful pleased and was going-to skin-the village-alive as soon as odds-was right we did not understand slippers said if you are all this dash-fine dog why did im push you off on james and missus toby dog said it is end of london-season for im don't need me awhile so play sick-dog and sells me to nice-kind people for good-ome presently will come along and make whistle-squeak will hear and go back to me job p'raps it will be frill box and dollies p'raps it will be leading blind-man across marble arch ravager said is blind toby dog said blind-enough to get pennies-in my-cup ravager said am as near blind-as makes no-odds am sorry of told how ravager had been blinded by nicekind-hen killer-ladies toby dog said if had been along twould not have happened were dretful angry ravager said drop it stoopid go and eat grass so was walk-about in back-gardens presently whiles james brought cage of rats and tipped out killed one slippers one toby dog killed four which ran all different ways james made-much of and said they would peel-thebreeches off-the village toby dog were full-of hisself slippers said ware two-bang gun rabbit it tripe-hound was big say-and say ravager came up from kennel he said what is silly-row now we told ravager sat and said do not like two bang-guns and my mother regan did not toby dog is not tripe-hound he cannot help himself it's same as you with swimming said we have long hairs and low-clearance james says of course we do not like water ravager said same with toby dog he told us off plenty for rudenesses and went for sleep-in fern near the kennels in park toby dog said after that is one proper-sort that is real true-dog gent which will not ever forget was bell from house which our adar rings for us to help smallest ride with moore and taffy we rabbited toby dog said come with it were first ride after flat-in town was bit-of a-circus with taffy because moore said that bone-idle stable-boy had not exercised enough but smallest's legs was grown and taffy got-no change smallest were bit full-of hisself moore said back don't be too proud master digby seats-and hands is heaven's gifts smallest were dretful shamed because he is champion reserve smallest moore said not but what you've good-right to ravager picked all us up in fern near the kennels moore said ravager has been ailing ever since that motor hit him don't like it ravager whimpered-to name smallest said hush he knows moore said there's not much he don't know and he said ravager had took to lying-out in-the fern after smallest went to flat so he could hear hounds sing on benches at morning-times for old-sake s-sake smallest said has uncle billy found out yet about upstart moore said told you too-much for-your age after our lame fox run ope you don't carry tales betwixt me and is lordship smallest said catch me but cannot ever be proper master fox-hounds less you tell me all what you know moore redded over front-of face he said thank you master digby when your time comes you'll ave to deal with such as upstart he has the looks-of nangel and the guts-of a-mongrel and moore said rosemary did upstart's work for him which was great-grand daughter of regan and ran near-as mute-as the-old lady and he had watched upstart at fault time and again and rosemary whimpering-in his-ear to tip-him the office and he taking-all the-credit and if for-any reason she was not out his second-string was loiterer which was soft tail-hound but with wonderful-tender nose and he had watched upstart at check play thorn-in foot till loiterer came up and put-him wise but he said is lordship was set on upstart going to peterborough which are where hounds go for crampion reserves and the pity was his looks-and manners-made it-a cert he said upstart was born impostor same as usurper his sire which-should never ave-been but is lordship was misled by his looks and would not-listen to-advice and he said umbrage-his ma were real-narsty one on her-side of-things he said plenty-more lots which forgot after pull-up he said now master digby you have known the hounds since you fell into the meal-bin in your petticoats what do you think smallest said could hunt any country in all the world with you and three couple which were let choose and if ravager were well-dog would make uncle billy present of the odd-couple moore redded all fresh over face he said lord love you shall be pushing-up the-daisies long before that but you ave it in you you ave all three in you hound fox and horse but to get those three couple four-days a-week we have to put up with trash-like upstart after whiles was gallop slippers and ravager went with toby dog said me sitting that were rummy rat that man showed about that dash-clever dog tell again so told about upstart which do not like and how he got musketeer help him fight egoist for ravager's place on sleepy-bench that night which ravager did not cast up and choked musketeer after and were glutton at the break-up and-eat which are not proper-game for lead-hounds ravager says and did never go-in for toby dog said it is cruel-ard on perfessional dog to be knocked out of his job for no fault of hisn like that real-old dog gent of yours said you are not half-bad dog he said am perfessional do not tell all can do but will put you up to proper rattings so we wented to walk and ricked round ricks he showed how to chop rats-one chop-one rat and not ever to shake because it loses-time on-the count he said he told about rat-match at pub-in village where he were backed against fuss third hunt terrier which he said were pretty lady-dog which he could give ten rats in the minute and scratch-hisself at-same time then we wented back to labrador kennel ravager was home and told us off proper for shirking-gallop slippers came too because smallest were at lesson he said me he were pleased of toby dog not keeping with smallest because he did not want smallest to care for said that toby dog does not want smallest he is dash-clever dog which does not do more ever than kill his rat leave alone so was done toby dog keeped with james about rats cept when he went rides with smallest and us one time moore made that bone-idle stable boy lay drag to teach taffy jumps and ditches for cubbing-times it were dust-bin herring-tails which knew ravager said drags was stink-pot stuff and wented home me with so toby dog led time after that time smallest took him on lawn and said do tricks toby dog sat and scratched ears smallest smacked head and said you are impostor like upstart toby dog said us after catch me working overtime for any one cept im and your real-true dog-gent he speaked plenty to ravager about hunting and hounds and all those things because he said he were perfessional and wanted to know about ravager's perfession ravager liked and told plenty back and toby dog showed me real rattings and the watch-two while-you kill-one game sat out in fern with ravager which were my true friend since we was almost pups and smallest made taffy jump-like fleas moore said so we was all happy dogs that times then was rat-match in village toby dog said it were cert but he would give fuss look-in for looks sake that were night before bell-day and strong shiny plate slippers and me did walk-abouts in gardens waiting-for result we are not tied up ever now since that man came over garden-wall to see about the broccoli and were nipped on behinds going-back over toby dog came home after match which he had winned by what-you dash-like he said he had winded dirty man outside spotted-hound pub in village we said what rat do you run now he said will need all day to sleep-it off will come to-morrow night am glad because is own god but am sorry because you two and your true-old gent-dog have done me well and ad-oped to pay all fore sloped but is own god when comes go with we said sorry too we all went walk-abouts was hedgehogs and sat next day-time was bell-day and no-silly weekend-visitors smallest said we wented all for middle eats to big house where proper man lives which are called uncle billy only cepting ravager which lay out in fern by the kennels like always toby dog had went to help james collect-debtz out-of that-dash swindling-stable boy about rat match so we did not see at middle eats was master-missus and smallest and proper man and proper missus and my friend butler which like and new peoples which was called jem which was master of some hounds from some-place else was plenty own gods say-and say about hounds-and feet and those things smallest did not say like he does not ever about hounds cept to moore after coffee-sugar my friend butler asked me into laundry-yard to help about rat-in ivy chopped was cheese butler made carrot basket for all-peoples to give tall horses so was walk-to kennels which is always bell-day rat after middle eats picked up ravager in fern he said run along with never go am no hound any more wented into yard with all-peoples was moore which called out hounds by ones to stand for biscuit was plenty more say-and say about legs-and feet smallest did not say but all hounds speaked him small and soft on flags that master jem said why diggy-boy they seem to know you as well as moore smallest said back how vewy odd because he does not like old nursey-thick names casting-up same as me when my adar says bootles missus said small digby behave moore called out upstart quick and so was loud say-and say about looks and manners and belvoir-tans we played fleas-on tum then proper missus put hand-before front-teeth so all-peoples went to see tall horses cept smallest and moore then toby dog came round corner from tall horse kennels all small and dusty-looking he said us out of side-mouth lummy what swine if he don't scare i'm goner head my rat he made his eyes ringy-white all round like in wall garden he putted down his head under and hunched up all his behinds and rolled himself that undogful way which we had seen but worse it were horrabel upstart uphackled but we headed toby dog's rat we singed what is oh we are afraid toby dog made screamy draggly noise like cat-pups and rolled at upstart bolted out of yard same as pup-for cutty-whip and bolted into fern where ravager were we heard plenty yowl-and kai-yai toby dog unringed his eyes and was little cheap skug-dog which walked away all-peoples at horse kennels came back and said loud about what-on earth-was the-matterof upstart moore said seemingly-he had-took offence-at the-terrier s-doings and went-off like-fire works that master jem said it were dretful catching-fits which play-deuce and-all with-packs proper man were angry smallest said won't he be all right for peterborough uncle billy proper man said dash peterborough dash jackal never trust usurper-blood moore warned you at the time soon whiles upstart came back singing snuff-and butter moore said moore did not like and turned him into kennels which did not like because he were beaten-hound and telling-it was big bench-scrap moore went in and rated proper smallest looked through window where ravager had looked when he came blinded he said hooray musketeer has took upstart's place and upstart has loiterer's right at edge by door soon whiles all-peoples went back to tea saying say-and say about fits smallest walked behind with slippers and me time whiles he danced we helped we picked up ravager in fern said we heard did you get ravager said could not help he fell over me like blind dog got him across the loins and wrenched him on his back but he was in hurry what began it told all what toby dog had done to upstart ravager said that is dash-odd little-dog but like him he hunts with his head what was the bench-row about afterwards told how upstart had lost benchplace to musketeer and had been gived loiterer's ravager said good rat to toby dog that place was colder than cotswold when was young un now am happy we wented all in and plenty things under tea-table ravager did not take he sat by proper man head-on knee proper man said what's brought you back to your old legiance old fellow you belong to digby now ravager said soft and kissed hand proper man said queer as his mother before him after lots more say-and say we all wented home cross park smallest danced and singed loud till kennel up we went upstairs to help like always when guvvy lets ravager came with that dash-guvvy said him rudenesses on the stairs adar said her beg pardon miss but no one ever questions the old gentleman's comings-and goings in this house ravager tail-thumped and kissed smallest's two hands at pyjarm-time he went down stairs slow because he never-comes up-to the-top landing he said me now am all-round happy-hound come see me later stoopid i've something to tell you helped master-missus spend-happy evening like do till adar came to take out and give night-bones after went for walk-abouts with slippers because shiny plate were shiny-strong james came and called toby dog which he could not find and dashed and wented toby dog came out behind rhubarb-pots he asked about upstart we told he were happy dog he said he had near-given alsatians-fits that-way he asked if old true-gent dog ravager were pleased of his doings he said he could not go-see him because he were on-dooty expecting im which was own god any minute now and he said he were plenty skug-cur about that two-bang business which were not perfessional we said he were wonderful brave dog about upstart which me and slippers would not have taken on he said fairy ann fairy ann but he were most-happy dog presently whiles was whistle squeak down lane by orchard toby dog said that's im s'long he wented all little through hedge dirty man said outside oh you've come ave yer come orn please that is finish all about toby dog which ravager liked me too slippers went-to bone wented labrador kennel to speak ravager and opied door with my nose like can ravager said who is said boots he said know that but who else came in with said only boots he said there is some one-else more look said toby dog has gone back to im slippers has kennelled-up it is only me-by selfs but am looking was only ravager and me everywhere ravager said sorry am getting blinder every day come and sit close stoopid jumped on sleepy-bench like always night-times he said sit closer am cold curl in between paws so can lay head-onback so was presently whiles he said if this black frost holds good-bye hunting said it is warm leaves-on night with shiny plate and rabbits-in grass he said i'll take your word for it and put head on my back long whiles all still then he said know now what it was meant to tell you stoopid never wrench hound as heavy as yourself at my time of life it plays the dickens with your head and neck and he hickied said sick-up and be comfy he said it is not tum-hickey it is in throat and neck lie bit closer he dropped head and sleeped me too presently whiles he said give me my place on the bench or i'll have the throat out of you said here is all own bench and all own place he said sorry were with the old lot then he dropped head-on me and sleep-hunted with hounds which he knew when he came up from walk heard and were afraid hunched-up back to wake him he said all small don't go away am old blind hound am afraid am afraid of kennel-that moves cannot see where here is said here is boots he said sorry you are always true friend of ravager keep close in case if bump he sleeped more and shiny plate went on across over then he said can see member bucket on my head member cow-pups we was whacked for chasing-pounds off member bull-in park can see all those things stoopid am happy-hound sorry if were noosance so he sleeped long whiles me too next to chest between paws when unsleeped shiny plate was going-to ground and hen-gents was saying at walk and fern-in park was all shiny ravager unsleeped slow he yawned he said small here is one happy hound with nother happy day ahead he shaked himself and sat up he said loud it is morning sing all you sons of benches sing then he fell down all one-piece and did not say lay still because were afraid because he did not say any more presently whiles slippers came quiet he said have winded something which makes me afraid what is said it is ravager which does not say any more am afraid too he said are sorry but ravager is big strong dog he will be all right soon he wented away and sat under smallest's window in case of smallest singing-out at getting-up time like he always does waited till my adar opened kitchen-curtains for brekker called she came quick she said oh my bootles me poor little bootles ravager did not say her anything she wented away to tell sat with in case if he might unsleep soonwhiles all-peoples came smallest master-missus and harry-with spade slippers too which stayed by his smallest and kissed hands to make him happy-pup they took up to orchard harry digged and put under like bone but it were my ravager smallest said dretful loud and they wented away all all cept my adar which sat on wheel-barrow and hickied tried to undig she picked up and carried to kitchen and held me tight with apron over heads and hickied loud they would not let me undig more there was tie-up after what whiles went for walk-abouts in case if p'raps could find him wented to his lie-down in fern wented to walk and wood ride and micefield and all those old places which was he were not there so came back and waited in orchard where he cast up blinded that night which were my true friend ravager which were always good to me since we was almost pups and never minded of my short legs or because were stoopid but he did not come please this is finish for always about ravager and me and all those times please am very little small mis'able dog!i do not understand!i do not understand the supplication of the black aberdeen pray my little body and whole span of years is thine my owner and my man for thou hast made me unto thee owe this dim distressed half-soul that hurts me so compact of every crime but none the less broken by knowledge of its naughtiness put me not from thy life tis all know if thou forsake me whither shall go thine is the voice with which my day begins thy foot my refuge even in my sins thine honour hurls me forth to testify against the unclean and wicked passing by but when thou callest they are of thy friends who readier than to make amends was thy deputy with high and low if thou dismiss me whither shall go have been driven forth on gross offence that took no reckoning of my penitence and in my desolation faithless me have crept for comfort to woman's knee now return self-drawn to meet the just reward of riot theft and breach of trust put me not from thy life though this is so if thou forsake me whither shall go into the presence flattening while crawl from head to tail do confess it all mine was the fault deal me the stripes but spare the pointed finger which cannot bear the dreadful tone in which my name is named that sends me neath the sofa-frill ashamed yet to be near thee would face that woe if thou reject me whither shall go can gift turn thee will bring mine all my secret bone my throwing-stick my ball or wouldst thou sport then watch me hunt awhile chasing not after conies but thy smile content as breathless on the turf sit thou shouldst deride my little legs and wit ah keep me in thy life for fool's show if thou deny me whither shall go is the dark gone the light of eyes restored the countenance turned meward my lord the paw accepted and for all to see the abject sinner throned upon the knee the ears bewrung and muzzle scratched because he is forgiven and all is as it was now am in thy life and since tis so that cat awaits the judgment may go sea dog when that sloop known to have been in the west indies trade for century had been repaired by mr randolph of stephano's island there arose between him and her owner mr gladstone gallop deep-draught pilot admiral retired lord heatleigh and mr winter vergil rn also retired the question how she would best sail this could only be settled on trial trips of the above committee ably assisted by lil mr randolph's mongrel fox-terrier and sometimes the commander of the hms bulleana who was the admiral's nephew lil had been slid into locker to keep dry till they reached easier water the others lay aft watching the breadths of the all-coloured seas mr gallop at the tiller which had replaced the wheel said as little as possible but condescended before that company to make his boat show off among the reefs and passages of coral where his business and delight lay mr vergil not for the first time justified himself to the commander for his handling of the great parrot problem which has been told elsewhere the commander tactfully agreed with the main principle that man beast or bird discipline must be preserved in the service and that so far mr vergil had done right in disrating by cutting off her tail-feathers josephine alias jemmy reader the west african parrot he himself had known dog his own dog in fact almost born and altogether brought up in destroyer who had not only been rated and disrated but also re-rated and promoted completely understanding the while what had happened and why come out and listen said mr randolph reaching into the locker this'll do you good lil came out limp over his hand and braced herself against the snap and jerk of sudden rip which mr gallop was cutting across he had stood in to show the admiral gallop's island whose original grantees had freed their carib slaves more than hundred years ago these had naturally taken their owners family name so that now there were many gallops gentle straight-haired men of substance and ancestry with manners to match and instinct beyond all knowledge of their home waters from panama that is to pernambuco the commander told tale of an ancient destroyer on the china station which with three others of equal seniority had been hurried over to the east coast of england when the navy called up her veterans for the war how malachi michael mike or mickey throve aboard the old makee-do on whose books he was rated as pup and learned to climb oily steel ladders by hooking his fore-feet over the rungs how he was used as tippet round his master's neck on the bridge of cold nights how he had his own special area on deck by the raft sacred to his private concerns and never did anything one hair's breadth outside it how he possessed an officers steward of the name of furze his devoted champion and trumpeter through the little flotilla which worked together on convoy and escort duties in the north sea then the wastage of war began to tell andthe commander turned to the admiral they dished me out new volunteer sub for first lieutenant youngster of nineteen with hand on him like ham and voice like pneumatic riveter though he couldn't pronounce to save himself found him sitting on the wardroom table with his cap on scratching his leg he said to me well old top and what's the big idea for to-mowwow agony told him and bit more he wasn't upset he was really grateful for hint how things were run on big ships as he called em makee-do was three hundred ton think he'd served in coastal motor boats retrieving corpses off the cornish coast he told me his skipper was vet who called the swells fuwwows and thought he ought to keep between em his name was eustace cyril chidden and his papa was sugar-refiner surprise was here expressed in various quarters mr winter vergil adding few remarks on the decadence of the new navy no said the commander the old top business had nothing to do with it he just didn't know that was all but mike took to him at once well we were booted out one night later on special duty no marks or lights of course raining and confused seas as soon as i'd made an offing ordered him to take the bridge cyril trots up his boots greased the complete no mike and stood by in the chart-room pretty soon he told off old shide our torpedo coxswain for being quarter-point off his course he was too but he wasn't pleased bit later cyril ships his steam-riveter voice and tells him he's all over the card and if he does it again he'll be welieved it went on like this the whole trick michael and me waiting for shide to mutiny when shide came off asked him what he thought we'd drawn either dud or diamond says shide there's no middle way with that muster that gave me the notion that cyril might be worth kicking so we all had hack at him he liked it he did indeed he said it was so intewesting because makee-do steered like witch and no one ever dreamed of trying to steer cmb's they must have been bloody pirates in that trade too he was used to knocking men about to make em attend he threatened stay-maker apprentice they were pushing all sorts of shore-muckings at us for imitating his lisp it was smoothed over but the man made the most of it he was bolshie before we knew what to call em he kicked michael once when he thought no one was looking but furze saw and the blighter got his head cut on hatch-coaming that didn't make him any sweeter twenty-thousand ton liner full of thirsty passengers passed them on the horizon mr gallop gave her name and that of the pilot in charge with some scandal as to her weakness at certain speeds and turns not so good sea-boat as her he pointed at square-faced tug or but little larger punching dazzle-white wedges out of indigo-blue the admiral stood up and pronounced her north sea mine-sweeper was ferry-boat now said mr gallop never been stopped by weather since ten years the commander shuddered aloud as the old thing shovelled her way along but she sleeps dry he said we lived in foot of water our decks leaked like anything we had to shore our bulkheads with broomsticks practically every other trip most of our people weren't broke to the life and it made em sticky had to tighten things up the admiral and mr vergil nodded then one day chidden came to me and said there was some feeling on the lower deck because mike was still rated as pup after all his sea-time he thought our people would like him being promoted to dog asked who'd given em the notion me says cyril think it'll help de-louse em mowally of course instructed him to go to hell and mind his own job then notified that mike was to be borne on the ship's books as able dog malachi was on the bridge when the watches were told of it they cheered fo'c sle afloat galley-fire missing as usual but they cheered that's the lower deck mr vergil rubbed hands in assent did mike know mr randolph he did he used to sniff forrard to see what the men's dinners were going to be if he approved he went and patronised em if he didn't he came to the wardroom for sharks and worcester sauce he was great free-fooder but the day he was promoted dog he trotted round all messes and threw his little weight about like an admiral's inspection uncle he wasn't larger than lil there next time we were in for boiler-clean got him brass collar engraved with his name and rating swear it was the only bit of bright work in the north sea all the war they fought to polish it oh malachi was great able dog those days but he never forgot his decencies mr randolph here drew lil's attention to this well and then our bolshie-bird oozed about saying that ship where men were treated like dogs and vice versa was no catch quite true if correct but it spreads despondency and attracts the baser elements you see anything's an excuse when they are hanging in the wind said mr vergil and what might you have had for the standing-part of your tackle you know as well as do vergil the old crowd gunner chief engineer cook chief stoker and torpedo cox but no denyin we were hellish uncomfy those old thirty-knotters had no bows or freeboard to speak of and no officers quarters sleep with your gunner's socks in your mouth and so on you remember em sir the admiral did when the century was young and some pirate-hunting behind muddy islands mr gallop drank it in his war experiences had ranged no further than the falklands which he had visited as one of the prize-crew of german sailing-ship picked up patagonia-way and sent south under charge of modern sub-lieutenant who had not the haziest notion how to get the canvas off barque in full career for vertical cliffs he told the tale mr randolph who had heard it before brought out meal sent by mrs vergil mr gallop laid the sloop on slant where she could look after herself while they ate lil earned her share by showing off her few small tricks mongrels are always smartest said mr randolph half defiantly don't call em mongrels the commander tweaked lil's impudent little ear mike was bit that way call em mixed there's difference the tiger-lily flush inherited from his ancestors on the mainland flared little through the brown of mr gallop's cheek right said he there's heap differ twixt mongrel and mixed and in due time so far as time was on those beryl floors they came back to the commander's tale it covered increasing discomforts and disgusts varied by escapes from being blown out of water by their own side in fog affairs with submarines arguments with pig-headed convoy-captains and endless toil to maintain makee-do abreast of her work which the growing ignorance and lowering morale of the new drafts made harder the only one of us who kept his tail up was able dog malachi he was an asset let alone being my tippet on watch used to button his front and hind legs into my coat with two turns of my comforter over all did he like it he had to it was his station in action but he had his enemies i've told you what refined person he was well one day buzz went round that he had defiled his majesty's quarterdeck furze reported it to me and as he said beggin your pardon it might as well have been any of us sir as him asked the little fellow what he had to say for himself confronting him with the circumstantial evidence of course he was very offended knew it by the way he stiffened next time took him for tippet chidden was sure there had been some dirty work somewhere but he thought court of inquiry might do good and settle one or two other things that were loose in the ship one party wanted mike disrated on the evidence they were the know em sighed mr vergil his eyes piercing the years behind him the other lot wanted to find out the man who had tampered with the the circumstantial evidence and pitch him into the ditch at that particular time we were escorting mine-sweepers every one bit jumpy saw what chidden was driving at but wasn't sure our crowd here were mariners enough to take the inquiry seriously chidden swore they were he'd been through the crystal palace training himself then said make it so waive my rights as the dog's owner discipline's discipline tell em and it may be counter-irritant the trouble was there had been fog on the morning of the crime that you couldn't spit through so no one had seen anything naturally mike sculled about as he pleased but his regular routine he slept with me and chidden in the wardroom was to take off from our stomachs about three bells in the morning watch half-past five and trot up topside to attend to himself in his own place but the evidence you see was found near the bandstand the after six pounder and accused was incapable of testifying on his own behalf well that court of inquiry had it up and down and thort-ships all the time we were covering the minesweepers it was foul area rather too close to fritz's coast we only drew seven feet so we were more or less safe our supporting cruisers lay on the edge of the area fritz had messed that up months before and lots of his warts mines had broke loose and were bobbing about and then our specialists had swept it and laid down areas of their own and so on any other time all hands would have been looking out for loose mines they have horns that nod at you in sickly-friendly frisky way when they roll but while mike's inquiry was on all hands were too worked-up over it to spare an eye outboardoh mike knew mr randolph make no mistake he knew he was in for trouble the prosecution were too crafty for him they stuck to the evidence the locus in quo and so on sentence disrating to pup again which carried loss of badge of-rank his collar furze took it off and mickey licked his hand and furze wept like peterthen mickey hoicked himself up to the bridge to tell me about it and made much of him he was distressed little dog you know how they snuffle and snuggle up when they feel hurt though the question was to mr randolph all hands answered it then our people went to dinner with this crime on their consciences those who felt that way had got in on me through michael why did you make em the chance the admiral demanded keenly to divide the sheep from the goats sir it was timewell we were second in the line how-come and fan-kwai next astern and hop hell our flagship leading withers was our senior officer we called him joss because he was always so infernally lucky it was flat calm with patches of fog and our sweepers finished on time while we were escorting em back to our cruisers joss picked up some wireless buzz about submarine spotted from the air surfacing over to the north east-probably recharging he detached how-come and fan-kwai to go on with our sweepers while him and me went-look see we dodged in and out of fog-patches two-mile visibility one minute and blind as bandage the next-then bit of zincy sun like photograph and so on well breaking out of one of these patches we saw submarine recharging-hatches open and man on deck not mile off our port quarter we swung to ram and as he came broadside on to us saw hop-hell slip mouldie fire torpedo at him and my gunner naturally followed suit by the mercy god they both streaked ahead and astern him because the chap on deck began waving an open brolly at us like an old maid hailing bus that fetched us up sliding on our tails as you might say then he said what do you silly bastards think you're doin he was conolly and some of his crowd had told us ashore that the brolly was his private code that's why we didn't fire on sight sir red conolly not black he told us he'd gone pretty close inshore on spec the night before and had been hunted bit and had to lie doggo and he'd heard three or four big ships go over him he told us where that was and we stood by till he'd finished recharging and we gave him his position and he sculled off he said it was hellish thick over towards the coast but there seemed to be something doing there so we proceeded on the tip conolly gave usoh wait minute joss's gunner prided himself on carrying all the silhouettes of fritz's navy in his fat head and he had sworn that conolly's craft was the duplicate of some dam u-boat hence his shot believe joss pretty well skinned him for it but that didn't alter the fact we'd only one mouldie apiece left to carry on with presently joss fetched sharp sheer to port and saw his bow-wave throw off something that looked like the horns of mine but they were only three or four hock bottles we don't drink hock much at sea mr randolph and mr gallop smiled there are few liquors that the inhabitants of stephano's island do not know bottled barrelled or quite loose the commander continued then joss told me to come alongside and hold his hand because he felt nervous the commander here explained how with proper arrangement of fenders trusty torpedo cox at the wheel and not too much roll on destroyers of certain types can run side by side close enough for their captains to talk even confidentially to each other he ended we used to slam those old dowagers about like sampans you youngsters always think you discovered navigation said the admiral where did you steal your fenders from that was chidden's pigeon in port sir he was the biggest thief bar three in the service cmb's are bad schoolso then we proceeded bridge to bridge chinning all comfy joss said those hock bottles and the big ships walking over conolly interested him strangely it was shoaling and we more or less made out the set of the tide we didn't chuck anything overboard though and just about sunset in clear patch we passed another covey of hock bottles mike spotted them first he used to poke his little nose up under my chin if he thought was missing anything then it got blind-thick as conolly said it would and there was an ungodly amount of gibber on the wireless joss said it sounded like fritz tip-and run raid somewhere and we might come in handy if the fog held you couldn't see the deck from the bridge he said i'd better hand him over my surviving mouldie because he was going to slip em himself hence forward and back his own luck my tubes were nothing to write home about anyhow so we passed the thing over and proceeded we cut down to bare steerage-way at last you couldn't see your hand before your face by then and we listened you listen better in fog but it doesn't give you your bearings said mr gallop earnestly true then you fancy you hear things like we did then mike began poking up under my chin again he didn't imagine things passed the word to joss and minute or two after we heard voices they sounded miles away joss said that's the hock-bottler he's hunting his home channel hope he's too bothered to worry about us but if this stuff lifts we'll wish we were conolly buttoned mike well in to me bosom and took an extra turn of my comforter round him and those ghastly voices started again up in the air this time and all down my neck then something big went astern both screws then ahead dead slow then shut off joss whispered he's atop of us said not yet mike's winding him to starboard the little chap had his head out of my comforter again sniffin and poking my chinand then by god the blighter slid up behind us to starboard we couldn't see him we felt him take what wind there was and we smelt him hot and sour he was passing soundings to the bridge by voice suppose he thought he was practically at home joss whispered go ahead and cuddle him till you hear me yap then amuse him shall slip my second by the flare of his batteries while he's trying to strafe you so he faded off to port and went ahead slow oh perishing slow shide swore afterwards that he made out the loom of the brute's stern just in time to save his starboard propeller that was when my heart stopped working then heard my port fenders squeak like wet cork along his side and there we were cuddling the hock-bottler if you lie close enough to anything big he can't theoretically depress his guns enough to get you mr gallop smiled again he had known that game played in miniature by motor-launch off the bahamas under the flaring bows of foreign preventive boat funny to lie up against big ship eaves-dropping that way we could hear her fans and engine-room bells going and some poor devil with deuce of cough don't know how long it lasted but all that awful while fritz went on with his housekeeping overhead i'd sent shide aft to the relieving tackles had an idea the wheel might go and put chidden on the twelve-pounder on the bridge my gunner had the forward six-pounders and kept makee-do cuddling our friend then heard joss yap once and then the devil of clang he'd got his first shot home we got in three rounds of the twelve and the sixes cut into her naked skin at-oh fifteen feet it must have been then we all dived aft my ewe-torpedo wouldn't have been any use anyhow the head would have hit her side before the tail was out of the tube she woke up and blazed off all starboard batteries but she couldn't depress to hit us the blast of em was enough though it knocked us deaf and sick and silly it pushed my bridge and the twelve-pounder over to starboard in heap like set of fire-irons and it opened up the top of the forward funnel and flared it out like tulip she put another salvo over us that winded us again mind you we couldn't hear that we felt it then we were jarred sideways sort of cow-kick and thought it was finish then there was sort of ripping woolly feel not noise in the air and saw the haze of big gun's flash streaking up overhead at abou thirty degrees it occurred to me that she was rolling away from us and it was time to stand clear so we went astern bit and that haze was the only sight got of her from first to last!after while we felt about to take stock of the trouble our bridge-wreckage was listing us good deal to starboard the funnel spewed smoke all over the shop and some of the stays were cut wireless smashed compasses crazy of course raft and all loose fittings lifted overboard hatches and such-like strained or jammed and the deck leaking shade more than usual but no casualties few ratings cut and bruised by being chucked against things and of course general bleeding from the nose and ears but funny thing we all shook like palsy that lasted longest we all went about shouting and shaking shock suppose and mike mr randolph asked oh he was all right he had his teeth well into my comforter throughout first thing after action he hopped down to the wardroom and lapped up pints then he tried to dig the gas taste out of his mouth with his paws then he wanted to attend to himself but he found all his private area gone west with the other unsecured gadgets he was very indignant and told furze about it furze bellows into my ear that's proof it couldn't have been him on the quarterdeck sir because if ever any one was justified in being promiscuous now would be the time but e's as dainty as duchess"laugh away it wasn't any laughing matter for don miguel beg his pardon how did you settle his daintiness said the admiral gave him special leave to be promiscuous and just because laughed he growled like young tigeryou mayn't believe what comes next but it's fact five minutes later the whole ship was going over mike's court-martial once again they were digging out like beavers to repair damage and chinning at the top of their voices and year no six months before half of em were crystal palace naval exhibits same with shanghaied hands said mr gallop putting her about with nudge of his shoulder on the tiller and some almost imperceptible touch on sheet the wind was rising ran out of that fog at last like running out of tunnel worked my way off shore more or less by soundings till picked up star to go home by arguin that joss ud do about the same waited for him while we went on cutting away what was left of the bridge and restaying the funnel it was flat calm still the coast-fog lying all along like cliffs as far as you could see dramatic too because when the light came joss shot out of the fog three or four miles away and hared down to us clearing his hawsers for tow we did look rather dung-barge signalled we were all right and good for thirteen knots which was one dam liewellso then we proceeded line-ahead and joss sat on his depth-charge rack aft semaphoring all about it to me on my fo'c sle-head he had landed the hock-bottler to port with his first shot his second it touched off her forward magazine was my borrowed one but he reported it as torpedo from the deck of my second in command she was showing blaze through the fog then so it was sitting shot at about hundred yards he thought he never saw any more of her than did but he smelt lot of burnt cork she might have been some old craft packed with cork like life-boat for tip-and run raid we never knew even in that short time the wind and the purpose of the waves had strengthened all right said mr gallop nothin due fore to-morrow but mr randolph under sailing-orders from mrs vergil had the oilskins out ere the sloop lay down to it in earnest then after that said he well then we proceeded joss flag-wagging me his news and all hands busy on our funnel and minor running-repairs but all arguin mike's case hotter than ever and all of us shaking where was mike mr randolph asked as cut wave-top slashed across the deck doing tippet for me on the fo'c sle and telling me about his great deeds he never barked but he could chin like peke then joss changed course thought it might be mines but having no bridge had no command of sight then we passed torpedo-bearded man lolling in life-belt with his head on his arms squinting at us like drunk at pubdead quiteyou never can tell how the lower deck'll take anything they stared at it and our cook said it looked saucy that was all then furze screeched but for the grace god that might be bloody-all of us and he carried on with that bit of the marriage service ree-quire an charge you as ye shall answer at the day of judgment which blinkin hound of you tampered with the evidence re malachi remember that beggar out in the wet is listenin sounds silly but it gave me the creeps at the time heard the bolshie say that joke was joke if took in the right spirit then there was bit of mix-up round the funnel but of course was busy swapping yarns with joss when went aft didn't hurry our chief stoker was standing over furze while chidden and shide were fending off small crowd who were lusting for the bolshie's blood he had punch too cywil it looked to me but couldn't have sworn to it that the chief stoker scraped up knife with his foot and hoofed it overboard knife the shocked admiral interrupted wardroom knife sir with ground edge on it furze had been leicester square waiter or pimp or something for ten years and he'd contracted foreign habits by the time took care to reach the working-party they were carrying on like marionettes because they hadn't got over their shakes you seei didn't do anything didn't expect the two men chidden had biffed ud complain of him as long as the bolshie was alive and our chief stoker had mopped up any awkward evidence against furze all things considered felt rather sorry for the bolshiechidden came to me in the wardroom afterwards and said the man had asked to be segwegated for his own safety oh yes he'd owned up to tampering with the evidence said couldn't well crime the swine for blackening dog's character but i'd reinstate and promote michael and the lower deck might draw their own conclusions then they'll kill the bolshie says the young un no said cmb's don't know everything cywil they'll put the fear of death on him but they won't scupper him what's he doing now weconstwucting mike's pwivate awea with shide and furze standing over him gwinding their teeth then he's safe said i'll send mike up to see if it suits him but what about dawkins and pratt those were the two men cyril had laid out while the chief stoker was quenching the engine-room ratings they didn't love the bolshie either full of beans and blackmail he says told em i'd saved em fwom being hung but they want sardine-supper for all hands when we get in but what's chief stoker doin on the upper deck said mr vergil peevishly as he humped his back against solid douche preserving discipline ours could mend anything from the wardroom clock to the stove and he'd make sailor of anything on legs same as you used to mr vergilwell and so we proceeded and when chidden reported the awea fit for use sent mike up to test it did mike know said mr randolph don't ask me what he did or didn't or you might call me liar the bolshie apologised to malachi publicly after chidden gave out that i'd promoted him to warrant dog for conspicuous gallantwy in action and giving valuable information as to enemy's whaiwabouts in course of same so furze put his collar on again and gave the bolshie his name and rating the commander quoted it self-explanatory indeed but not such as the meanest in his majesty's service would care to answer to even for one day it went through the whole flotilla the commander repeated it while the others laughed those gross laughs women find so incomprehensible did he stay on said mr vergil because knew stoker in the old minotaur who cut his throat for half as much as that it takes em funny sometimes he stayed with us all right but he experienced change of heart mr vergil i've seen such in my time said the ancient the admiral nodded to himself mr gallop at the tiller half rose as he peered under the foresail preparatory to taking short-cut where the coral gives no more second chance than tiger's paw in half an hour they were through that channel in an hour they had passed the huge liner tied up and discharging her thirsty passengers opposite the liquor-shops that face the quay some who could not suffer the four and half minutes walk to the nearest hotel had already run in and come out tearing the wrappings off the whisky bottles they had bought mr gallop held on to the bottom of the harbour and fetched up with sliding curtsey beneath the mangroves by the boat-shed don't know whether i've given you quite the right idea about my people said the commander at the end used to tell em they were the foulest collection of sweeps ever forked up on the beach in some ways they were but don't want you to make any mistake when it came to pinch they were the salt of the earth the very salt of god's earth blast em and bless em not that it matters much now we've got no navy his apologies master this is thy servant he is rising eight weeks old he is mainly head and tummy his legs are uncontrolled but thou hast forgiven his ugliness and settled him on thy knee art thou content with thy servant he is very comfy with thee master behold sinner he hath done grievous wrong he hath defiled thy premises through being kept in too long wherefore his nose has been rubbed in the dirt and his self-respect has been bruised master pardon thy sinner and see he is properly loosed master again thy sinner this that was once thy shoe he hath found and taken and carried aside as fitting matter to chew now there is neither blacking nor tongue and the housemaid has us in tow master remember thy servant is young and tell her to let him go master extol thy servant he hath met most worthy foe there has been fighting all over the shop and into the shop also till cruel umbrellas parted the strife or might have been choking him yet but thy servant has had the time of his life and now shall we call on the vet master behold thy servant strange children came to play and because they fought to caress him thy servant wentedst away but now that the little beasts have gone he has returned to see brushed with his sunday collar on what they left over from tea master pity thy servant he is deaf and three parts blind he cannot catch thy commandments he cannot read thy mind oh leave him not in his loneliness nor make him that kitten's scorn he has had none other god than thee since the year that he was born lord look down on thy servant bad things have come to pass there is no heat in the midday sun nor health in the wayside grass his bones are full of an old disease his torments run and increase lord make haste with thy lightnings and grant him quick release teem treasure-hunter there's gentleman of france better met by choice than chance where there's time to turn aside and space to flee he is born and bred and made for the cattle-droving trade and they call him monsieur bouvier de brie what brie yes brie where those funny cheeses come from oui oui oui but his name is great through gaul as the wisest dog of all and france pays high for bouvier de brie de brie c'est lui and if you read my story you will see what one loyal little heart thought of life and love and art and notably of bouvier de brie my friend the vicomte bouvier de brie nothing could prevent my adored mother from demanding at once the piece of sugar which was her just reward for every truffle she found my revered father on the other hand contented himself with the strict practice of his art so soon as that pierre our master stooped to dig at the spot indicated my father moved on to fresh triumphs from my father inherit my nose and perhaps touch of genius from my mother practical philosophy without which even genius is but bird of one wing in appearance my parents come of race built up from remote times on the gifted of various strains the fine flower of it to-day is small of rich gold touched with red pricked and open ears broad and receptive brow eyes of intense but affable outlook and nose in itself an inspiration and unerring guide is it any wonder then that my parents stood apart from the generality yet would not make light of those worthy artisans who have to be trained by persons to the pursuit of truffles they are of many stocks and possess many virtues but not the nose that gift which is incommunicable myself am not large at birth indeed was known as the dwarf but my achievements early won me the title of the abb\e it was easy do not recall that was ever trained by any person watched imitated and at need improved upon the technique of my parents among the little thin oaks of my country where the best truffles are found and that which to the world seemed chain of miracles was for me as easy as to roll in the dust my small feet could walk the sun up and down across the stony hill crests where we worked my well-set coat turned wet wind and cold and my size enabled me to be carried on occasion in my master's useful outside pocket my companions of those days at first pluton and dis the solemn dewlapped black mated pair who drew the little wooden cart whence my master dispensed our truffles at the white chateau near our village and to certain shopkeepers in the street of the fountain where the women talk those two of us were peasants in grain they made clear to me the significance of the flat round white pieces and the thin papers which my master and his mate buried beneath the stone by their fireplace not only truffles but all other things pluton told me turn into pieces or thin papers at last but my friend of friends my preceptor my protector my life-long admiration was monsieur le vicomte bouvier de brie marshal of bulls whom he controlled in the stony pastures near the cottage there were many sheep also with whom neither the vicomte nor was concerned mutton is bad for the nose and as have reason to know for the disposition he was of race too born as was and so accepted me when with the rash abandon of puppyhood attached myself to his ear in place of abolishing me which he could have done with one of his fore-paws he lowered me gently between both of them so that lay blinking up the gaunt cliff of his chest into his unfathomable eyes and little bad one he said but prophesy thou wilt go far here fenced by those paws would repair for my slumbers to avoid my enemies or to plague him with questions and when he went to the railway station to receive or despatch more bulls would march beneath his belly hurling infantile insults at the craven doggerie of the street of the fountain after was expert in my art he would talk to me of his own breaking off with some thunder of command to young bull who presumed to venture too near the woods where our truffles grow or descending upon him like hail across walls which his feet scorned to touch his strength his audacity overwhelmed me he on his side was frankly bewildered by my attainments but how how little one is it done your business could not convey to him nor he to me the mystery of our several arts yet always unweariedly he gave me the fruits of his experience and philosophy recall day when had chased chicken which for the moment represented to me sufficiently gross bull of salers there seemed possibility of chastisement at the hands of the owner and refuged me beneath my friend's neck where he watched in the sun he listened to my foolish tale and said as to himself these bulls of mine are but beef fitted with noses and tails by which one regulates them but these black hidden lumps of yours which only such as you can unearth that is business beyond me should like to add it to my repertoire and cried my second teeth were just pushing will be driver of bulls little one he responded with infinite tenderness here is one thing for us both to remember outside his art an artist must never dream about my fifteenth month found myself brother to four who wearied me at the same time there was change in my master's behaviour never having had any regard for him was the quicker to notice his lack of attention my mother as always said if it is not something it is sure to be something else my father simply at all hazards follow your art that can never lead to false scent there came person of abominable odours to our cottage not once but many times one day my master worked me in his presence demonstrated through long day of changing airs with faultless precision after supper my master's mate said to him we are sure of at least two good workers for next season and with dwarf one never knows it is far off that england the man talks of finish the affair pierril some thin papers passed from hand to hand the person then thrust me into his coat-pocket ours is not breed to be shown to all and there followed for me alternations of light and dark in stink-carts period when my world rose and rolled till was sick silence beside lapping water under stars transfer to another person whose scent and speech were unintelligible another flight by stink-cart burst of sunrise between hedges scent of sheep violent outcries and rockings finally dissolution of the universe which projected me through hedge from which saw my captor lying beneath the stink cart where large black-and white she bit him with devotion ditch led me to the shelter of culvert composed myself within till the light was suddenly blocked out by the head of that very she who abused me savagely in lingua canina my father often recommended me never to reply to strange she was glad when her master's voice recalled this one to her duties and heard the clickety of her flock's feet above my head in due time issued forth to acquaint myself with this world into which had been launched it was new in odour and aspect but with points of likeness to my old one clumps of trees fringed close woods and smooth green pastures and at the bottom of shallow basin crowned with woodland stood white chateau even larger than the one to which pluton and dis used to pull their cart kept me among the trees and was congratulating my nose on its recovery from the outrageous assaults it had suffered during my journeys when there came to it the unmistakable aroma of truffles not indeed the strawberry-scented ones of my lost world but like enough to throw me into my working-pose took wind and followed up my line was not deceived there were truffles of different sorts in their proper places under those thick trees my mother's maxim had proved its truth this was evidently the something else of which she had spoken and felt myself again my own equal as worked amid the almost familiar odours it seemed to me that all that had overtaken me had not happened and that at any moment should meet pluton and dis with our cart but they came not though called they did not come far-off voice interrupted me with menace recognised it for that of the boisterous she of my culvert and was still after cautious circuits heard the sound of spade and in wooded hollow saw person flattening earth round pile of wood heaped to make charcoal it was business had seen often my nose assured me that the person was authentically peasant and recalled the memory later had not handled one of us within the time that such scent would hang on him my nose further recorded that he was imbued with the aromas proper to his work and was also kind gentle and equable in temperament you persons wonder that all of us know your moods before you yourselves realise them be well sure that every shade of his or her character habit or feeling cries itself aloud in person's scent no more than we all can deceive each other can you persons deceive us though we pretend we pretend to believe his coat lay on bank when he drew from it bread and cheese produced myself but had been so long at gaze that my shoulder bruised in transit through the hedge made me fall he was upon me at once and with strength equal to his gentleness located my trouble evidently though the knowledge even then displeased me he knew how we should be handled submitted to his care ate the food he offered and reposing in the crook of his mighty arm was borne to small cottage where he bathed my hurt set water beside me and returned to his charcoal slept lulled by the cadence of his spade and the bouquet of natural scents in the cottage which included all those was used to except garlic and strangely truffles was roused by the entry of she-person who moved slowly and coughed there was on her speak now as we speak the taint of the fear of that black fear which bids us throw up our noses and lament she laid out food the person of the spade entered fled to his knee he showed me to the girl-person dull eyes she caressed my head but the chill of her hand increased the fear he set me on his knees and they talked in the twilight presently their talk nosed round hidden flat pieces and thin papers the tone was so exactly that of my master and his mate that expected they would lift up the hearthstone but theirs was in the chimney whence the person drew several white pieces which he gave to the girl argued from this they had admitted me to their utmost intimacy and confess it danced like puppy my reward was their mirth his specially when the girl laughed she coughed but his voice warmed and possessed me before knew it after night was well fallen they went out and prepared bed on cot in the open sheltered only by large faggot-stack the girl disposed herself to sleep there which astonished me in my lost world out sleeping is not done except when persons wish to avoid forest guards the person of the spade then set jug of water by the bed and turning to reenter the house delivered long whistle it was answered across the woods by the unforgettable voice of the old she of my culvert inserted myself at once between and little beneath some of the more robust faggots on her silent arrival the she greeted the girl with extravagant affection and fawned beneath her hand till the coughings closed in uneasy slumber then with no more noise than the moths of the night she quested for me in order she said to tear out my throat ma tante replied placidly from within my fortress do not doubt you could save yourself the trouble by swallowing me alive but first tell me what have done that there is my bone was the reply it was enough once in my life had seen poor honest pluton stand like raging wolf between his pierril whom he loved and forest guard we use that word seldom and never lightly therefore answered assure you she is not mine she gives me the black fear you know how we cannot deceive each other the she accepted my statement at the same time reviling me for my lack of appreciation crookedness of mind not uncommon among elderly shes to distract her invited her to tell me her history it appeared that the girl had nursed her through some early distemper since then the she had divided her life between her duties among sheep by day and watching from the first star till break of light over the girl who she said also suffered from slight distemper this had been her existence her joy and her devotion long before was born demanding nothing more she was prepared to back her single demand by slaughter once in my second month when would have run away from very fierce frog my friend the vicomte told me that at crises it is best to go forward on sudden impulse emerged from my shelter and sat beside her there was pause of life and death during which had leisure to contemplate all her teeth fortunately the girl waked to drink the she crawled to caress the hand that set down the jug and waited till the breathing resumed she came back to me had not stirred with blazing eyes how can you dare this she said but why not answered if it is not something it is sure to be something else her fire and fury passed to whom do you say it she assented there is always something else to fear not for myself but for my bone yonder then began conversation unique should imagine even among ourselves my old unlovely savage aunt as shall henceforth call her was eaten alive with fears for the girl not so much on account of her distemper but because of two she-persons enemies whom she described to me minutely by eye and nose one like ferret the other like goose these she said meditated some evil to the girl against which my aunt and the girl's father the person of the spade were helpless the two enemies carried about with them certain papers by virtue of which the girl could be taken away from the cottage and my aunt's care precisely as she had seen sheep taken out of her pasture by persons with papers and driven none knew whither the enemies would come at intervals to the cottage in daytime when my aunt's duty held her with the sheep and always they left behind them the taint of misery and anxiety it was not that she feared the enemies personally she feared nothing except certain monsieur the law who understood later cowed even her naturally sympathised did not know this gentilhommier de loire but knew fear also the girl was of the same stock as he who had fed and welcomed me and whose voice had reassured my aunt suddenly demanded if purposed to take up my residence with them would have detailed to her my adventures she was acutely uninterested in them all except so far as they served her purposes which she explained she would allow me to live on condition that reported to her nightly beside the faggot-stack all had seen or heard or suspected of every action and mood of the girl during the day any arrival of the enemies as she called them and whatever might gather from their gestures and tones in other words was to spy for her as those of us who accompany the forest guards spy for their detestable masters was not disturbed had had experience of the forest guard still there remained my dignity and something which suddenly felt was even more precious to me ma tante said what do depends not on you but on my bone in the cottage there she understood what is there on him she said to draw you such things are like truffles was my answer they are there or they are not there do not know what truffles may be she snapped he has nothing useful to me except that he too fears for my girl at any rate your infatuation for him makes you more useful as an aid to my plans we shall see said but to talk of affairs of importance do you seriously mean that you have no knowledge of truffles she was convinced that mocked her is it she demanded some lapdog's trick she said this of truffles of my truffles the impasse was total outside of the girl on the cot and her sheep for can testify that with them she was an artist the square box of my aunt's head held not one single thought my patience forsook me but not my politeness cheer-up old one said an honest heart outweighs many disadvantages of ignorance and low birth and she thought she would have devoured me in my hair when she could speak she made clear that she was born entirely soof breed mated and trained since the days of the first shepherd in return explained that was specialist in the discovery of delicacies which the genius of my ancestors had revealed to persons since the first person first scratched in the first dirt she did not believe me nor do pretend that had been entirely accurate in my genealogy but she addressed me henceforth as my nephew thus that wonderful night passed with the moths the bats the owls the sinking moon and the varied respirations of the girl at sunrise call broke out from beyond the woods my aunt vanished to her day's office went into the house and found him lacing one gigantic boot its companion lay beside the hearth brought it to him had seen my father do as much for that pierrounet my master he was loudly pleased he patted my head and when the girl entered told her of my exploit she called me to be caressed and though the black taint upon her made me cringe came she belonged to him as at that moment realised that did here began my new life by day accompanied him to his charcoal sole guardian of his coat and the bread and cheese on the bank or remembering my aunt's infatuation fluctuated between the charcoal mound and the house to spy upon the girl when she was not with him he was all that desired in the sound of his solid tread his deep but gentle voice the sympathetic texture and scent of his clothes the safe hold of his hand when he would slide me into his great outer pocket and carry me through the far woods where he dealt secretly with rabbits like peasants who are alone more than most persons he talked aloud to himself and presently to me asking my opinion of the height of wire from the ground my devotion he accepted and repaid from the first my art he could by no means comprehend for naturally followed my art as every artist must even when it is misunderstood if not he comes to preoccupy himself mournfully with his proper fleas my new surroundings the larger size and closer spacing of the oaks the heavier nature of the soils the habits of the lazy wet winds hundred considerations which the expert takes into account demanded changes and adjustments of my techniquemy reward found and brought him truffles of the best nosed them into his hand laid them on the threshold of the cottage and they filled it with their fragrance he and the girl thought that amused myself and would throw throw them for me to retrieve as though they had been stones and puppy what more could do the scent over that ground was lost but the rest was happiness tempered with vivid fears when we were apart lest if the wind blew beyond moderation tree might fall and crush him lest when he worked late he might disappear into one of those terrible river pits so common in the world whence had come and be lost without trace there was no peril did not imagine for him till could hear his feet walking securely on sound earth long before the girl had even suspected thus my heart was light in spite of the nightly conferences with my formidable aunt who linked her own dismal apprehensions to every account that rendered of the girl's day-life and actions for some cause or other the two enemies had not appeared since my aunt had warned me against them and there was less of fear in the house perhaps as once hinted to my aunt owing to my presence it was an unfortunate remark should have remembered her gender she attacked me that night on new scent bidding me observe that she herself was decorated with collar of office which established her position before all the world was about to compliment her when she observed in the low even tone of detachment peculiar to shes of age that unless were so decorated not only was outside the law that person of whom might remember she had often spoken but could not be formally accepted into any household how then demanded might come by this protection in her own case she said the collar was hers by right as preceptress of sheep to procure collar for me would be matter of pieces or even of thin papers from his chimney recalled poor pluton's warning that everything changes at last into such things if he chose to give of his pieces for my collar my civil status would be impregnable otherwise having no business or occupation lived said my aunt like the rabbits by favour and accident but ma tante cried have the secret of an art beyond all others that is not understood in these parts she replied you have told me of it many times but do not believe what pity it is not rabbits you are small enough to creep down their burrows but these precious things of yours under the ground which no one but you can find it is absurd it is an absurdity then which fills persons chimney-places with pieces and thin papers listen ma tante all but howled the world came from was stuffed with things underground which all persons desired this world here is also rich in them but alone can bring them to light she repeated acridly here is not there it should have been rabbits turned to go was at the end of my forces you talk too much of the world whence you came my aunt sneered where is that world do not know answered miserably and crawled under my faggots as matter of routine when my report had been made to my aunt would take post on the foot of his bed where should be available in case of bandits but my aunt's words had barred that ever-open door my suspicions worked like worms in my system if he chose he could kick me off on to the floor beyond sound of his desired voice into the rabid procession of fears and flights whence he had delivered me whither then should go?there remained only my lost world where persons knew the value of truffles and of those of us who could find them would seek that world with this intention and bitterness in my belly as though had mouthed toad came out after dawn and fled to the edge of the woods through which he and had wandered so often they were bounded by tall stone wall along which quested for an opening found none till reached small house beside shut gates here an officious one of us advanced upon me with threats was in no case to argue or even to expostulate hastened away and attacked the wall again at another point but after while found myself back at the house of the officious one recommenced my circuit but there was no end to that wall remembered crying aloud to it in hope it might fall down and pass me through remember appealing to the vicomte to come to my aid remember flight of big black birds calling the very name of my lost world aa or above my head but soon they scattered in all directions only the wall continued to continue and blindly at its foot once she-person stretched out her hand towards me fled as fled from an amazed rabbit who like myself existed by favour and accident another person coming upon me threw stones this turned me away from the wall and so broke its attraction subsided into an aimless limp of hours until some woods that seemed familiar received me into their shades found me at the back of the large white chateau in the hollow which had seen only once far off on the first day of my arrival in this world looked down through bushes on to ground divided by strips of still water and stone here were birds bigger than turkeys with enormous voices and tails which they raised one against the other while white-haired she-person dispensed them food from pan she held between sparkling hands my nose told me that she was unquestionably of race-descended from champion strains would have crawled nearer but the greedy birds forbade retreated uphill into the woods and moved by know not what agonies of frustration and bewilderment threw up my head and lamented the harsh imperative call of my aunt cut through my self-pity found her on duty in pastures still bounded by that wall which encircled my world she charged me at once with having some disreputable affair and for its sake deserting my post with the girl could but pant seeing at last my distress she said have you been seeking that lost world of yours shame closed my mouth she continued in softer tones except when it concerns my bone do not take all that say at full-fang there are others as foolish as you wait my return she left me with an affectation almost coquetry of extreme fatigue to her charge had been added new detachment of sheep who wished to escape they had scattered into separate crowds each with different objective and different speed my aunt keeping the high ground allowed them to disperse till her terrible voice thrice lifted brought them to halt then in one long loop of flight my aunt dumb fury lying wide on their flank swept down with certainty speed and calculation which almost reminded me of my friend the vicomte those diffuse and errant imbeciles reunited and inclined away from her in mob of mixed smells and outcries to find themselves exquisitely penned in an angle of the fence my aunt laid flat at full length facing them one after another their heads dropped and they resumed their eternal business of mutton-making my aunt came back her affectation of decrepitude heightened to heighten her performance and who was an artist also to mock her you wonder why my temper is not of the bluntest she said you could not have done that but at least can appreciate it cried it was superb it was unequalled it was faultless you did not even nip one of them with sheep that is to confess failure she said do you then gnaw your truffles it was the first time that she had ever admitted their existence my genuine admiration none the worse for little flattery opened her heart she spoke of her youthful triumphs at sheep herding expositions of rescues of lost lambs or incapable mothers found reversed in ditches oh she was all an artist my thin flanked haggard-eyed aunt by enforced adoption she even let me talk of the vicomte suddenly the shadows had stretched she leaped with grace should never have suspected on to stone wall and stood long at far gaze enough of this nonsense she said brutally you are rested now get to your work if you could see my nephew you would observe the ferret and the goose walking there three fields distant they have come again for my bone they will keep to the path made for persons go at once to the cottage before they arrive and do what you can to harass them run run mountebank of yellow imbecile that you are turned on my tail as we say and took the direct line through my well-known woods at my utmost speed since her orders dispatched me without loss of dignity towards my heart's one desire and was received by him and by the girl with unfeigned rapture they passed me from one to the other like the rarest of truffles rebuked me not too severely for my long absence felt me for possible injuries from traps brought me bread and milk which sorely needed and by hundred delicate attentions showed me the secure place occupied in their hearts gave my dignity to the cats and it is not too much to say that we were all engaged in veritable pas de trois when shadow fell across our threshold and the two enemies most rudely entered conceived and gave vent to instant detestation which for while delayed their attack when it came he and the girl accepted it as yoked oxen receive the lash across the eyes with the piteous dignity which earth having so little to give them bestows upon her humbles like oxen too they backed side by side and pressed closer together renewed my comminations from every angle as saw how these distracted my adversaries they then pointed passionately to me and my pan of bread and milk which joy had prevented me from altogether emptying their tongues felt were foul with reproach at last he spoke he mentioned my name more than once but always could tell in my defence the girl backed his point assisted with and it was something all that had ever heard in my lost world from the sans-kennailerie of the street of the fountain the enemies renewed the charge evidently my aunt was right their plan was to take the girl away in exchange for pieces of paper saw the ferret wave paper beneath his nose he shook his head and launched that peasant's no which is one in all languages here applauded vehemently continuously monotonously on key which also had learned in the street of the fountain nothing could have lived against it the enemies threatened could feel some prodigious action or another but at last they marched out of our presence escorted them to the charcoal-heap the limit of our private domain in silence charged with possibilities for their thick ankles returned to find my two sunk in distress but upon my account think they feared might run away again for they shut the door they frequently and tenderly repeated my name which with them was teem finally he took thin paper from the chimney-piece slid me into his outside pocket and walked swiftly to the village which had never smelt before in place where she-person was caged behind bars he exchanged the thin paper for one which he laid under my nose saying teem look this is licence-and law all-right in yet another place was set down before person who exhaled grateful flavour of dried skins my neck was then encircled by collar bearing bright badge of office all persons round me expressed admiration and said lor many times on our return through the village stretched my decorated neck out of his pocket like one of the gaudy birds at the chateau to impress those of us who might be abroad that was now under full protection of monsieur le law whoever he might be and thus the equal of my exacting aunt that night by the girl's bed my aunt was at her most difficult she cut short my history of my campaign and cross-examined me coldly as to what had actually passed her interpretations were not cheering she prophesied our enemies would return more savage for having been checked she said that when they mentioned my name as have told you it was to rebuke him for feeding me vagabond on good bread and milk when did not according to monsieur law belong to him she herself she added had often been shocked by his extravagance in this regard pointed out that my collar now disposed of inconvenient questions so much she ungraciously conceded but had described the scene to her argued that he had taken the thin paper out of its hiding-place because had cajoled him with my lapdog's tricks and that in default of that paper he would go without food as well as without what he burned under his nose which to him would be equally serious was aghast but ma tante pleaded show me make me any way to teach him that the earth on which he walks so loftily can fill his chimneys with thin papers and promise you that she shall eat chicken my evident sincerity perhaps too the finesse of my final appeal shook her she mouthed paw in thought you have shown him those wonderful underground-things of yours she resumed but often and to your girl also they thought they were stones to throw it is because of my size that am not taken seriously would have lamented but she struck me down her girl was coughing be silent unlucky that you are have you shown your truffles as you call them to anyone else those two are all have ever met in this world my aunt that was true till yesterday she replied but at the back of the chateau this afternoon eh my friend the vicomte was right when he warned me that all elderly shes have six ears and ten noses and the older the more saw that person only from distance you know her then my aunt if know her she met me once when was lamed by thorns under my left heel-pad she stopped me she took them out she also put her hand on my head alas have not your charms riposted listen before my temper snaps my nephew she has returned to her chateau lay one of those things that you say you find at her feet do not credit your tales about them but it is possible that she may she is of race she knows all she may make you that way for which you ask so loudly it is only chance but if it succeeds and my bone does not eat the chickens you have promised her will for sure tear out your throat my aunt replied am infinitely obliged you have at least shown me way what pity you were born with so many thorns under your tongue and fled to take post at the foot of his bed where slept vigorously for had lived that day till time to bring him his morning boots we then went to our charcoal as official guardian of the coat permitted myself no excursions till he was busied stopping the vents of little flames on the flanks of the mound then moved towards patch of ground which had noted long ago on my way chance of the air told me that the born one of the chateau was walking on the verge of the wood fled to my patch which was even more fruitful than had thought had unearthed several truffles when the sound of her tread hardened on the bare ground beneath the trees selecting my largest and ripest bore it reverently towards her dropped it in her path and took pose of humble devotion her nose informed her before her eyes saw it wrinkle and sniff deliciously she stooped and with sparkling hands lifted my gift to smell her sympathetic appreciation emboldened me to pull the fringe of her clothes in the direction of my little store exposed beneath the oak she knelt and rapturously inhaling their aroma transferred them to small basket on her arm all born ones bear such baskets when they walk upon their own earths here he called my name replied at once that was coming but that matters of the utmost importance held me for the moment we moved on together the born one and and found him beside his coat setting apart for me my own bread and cheese we lived we two each always in the other's life had often seen that pierrounet my master who delivered me to strangers uncover and bend at the side-door of the chateau in my lost world over yonder at no time was he beautiful but he my own bone to me though he too was uncovered stood beautifully erect and as peasant of race should bear himself when he and his are not being tortured by ferrets or geese for short time he and the born one did not concern themselves with me they were obviously of old acquaintance she spoke she waved her sparkling hands she laughed he responded gravely at dignified ease like my friend the vicomte then heard my name many times fancy he may have told her something of my appearance in this world we peasants do not tell all to any one to prove to her my character as he conceived it he threw stone with as much emphasis as my love for him allowed signified that this game of lapdogs was not mine she commanded us to return to the woods there he said to me as though it were some question of his magnificent boots seek teem find teem and waved his arms at random he did not know even then my bone did not know but was equal to the occasion without unnecessary gesture stifling the squeaks of rapture that rose in my throat coldly almost as my father made point after point picked up my lines and worked them his attendant spade saving me the trouble of digging till the basket was full at this juncture the girl they were seldom far apart appeared with all the old miseries on her face and behind her had been too occupied with my art or should have yelled on their scent walked the two enemies they had not spied us up there among the trees for they rated her all the way to the charcoal-heap our born one descended upon them softly as mist through which shine the stars and greeted them in the voice of dove out of summer foliage held me still she needed no aid that one they grew louder and more loud she increasingly more suave they flourished at her one of their detestable papers which she received as though it had been all the trufes in the world they talked of monsieur le law from her renewed smiles understood that he too had the honour of her friendship they continued to talk of himthenshe abolished them how speaking with the utmost reverence of both she reminded me of my friend the vicomte disentangling an agglomeration of distracted and therefore dangerous beefs at the railway station there was the same sage turn of the head the same almost invisible stiffening of the shoulders the very same small voice out of the side of the mouth saying charge myself with this and then and then those insupportable offspring of jumped-up gentilhommier were transformed into amiable and impressed members of their proper class giving ground slowly at first but finally evaporating yes evaporating like bad smells in the direction of the world whence they had intruded during the relief that followed the girl wept and wept and wept our born one led her to the cottage and consoled we showed her our bed beside the faggots and all our other small dispositions including bottle out of which the girl was used to drink tasted once some that had been spilt it was like unfresh fish fit only for cats she saw she heard she considered all calm came at her every word she would have given him some pieces in exchange suppose for her filled basket he pointed to me to show that it was my work she repeated most of the words she had employed before my name among them because one must explain many times to peasant who desires not to comprehend at last he took the pieces then my born one stooped down to me beside his foot and said in the language of my lost world knowest thou teem that this is all thy work without thee we can do nothing knowest thou my little dear teem if knew had he listened to me at the first the situation would have been regularised half season before now could fill his chimney-places as my father had filled that of that disgusting pierrounet logically of course should have begun fresh demonstration of my art in proof of my zeal for the interests of my famille but did not instead ran rolled leaped cried aloud fawned at their knees what would you it was hairless toothless sentiment but it had the success of hurricane they accepted me as though had been person and he more unreservedly than any of them it was my supreme moment have at last reduced my famille to the routine which is indispensable to the right-minded among us for example at intervals he and descend to the chateau with our basket of truffles for our born one if she is there she caresses me if elsewhere her basket pursues her in stink-cart so does also her chef well-scented person and can testify an artist this understand is our exchange for the right to exploit for ourselves all other truffles that may find inside the great wall these we dispense to another stink-cart filled with delightful comestibles which waits for us regularly on the stink-cart road by the house of the gate where the officious one pursued me we are paid into the hand trust us peasants in pieces or papers while stand guard against bandits as result the girl has now wooden-roofed house of her own open at one side and capable of being turned round against winds by his strong one hand here she arranges the bottles from which she drinks and here comes but less and less often dry person of mixed odours who applies his ear at the end of stick to her thin back thus and owing to the chickens which as promised my aunt she eats the taint of her distemper diminishes my aunt denies that it ever existed but her infatuation have told you has no bounds she has been given honourable demission from her duties with sheep and has frankly installed herself in the girl's outside bed-house which she does not encourage me to enter can support that too have my bone only it comes to me as it does to most of us who live so swiftly to dream in my sleep then return to my lost world to the whistling dry-leaved thin oaks that are not these giant ones to the stony little hillsides and treacherous river-pits that are not these secure pastures to the sharp scents that are not these scents to the companionship of poor pluton and dis to the street of the fountain up which marches to meet me as when was rude little puppy my friend my protector my earliest adoration monsieur le vicomte bouvier de brie at this point always wake and not till feel his foot beneath the bedderie and hear his comfortable breathing does my lost world cease to bite oh wise and well-beloved guardian and playmate of my youth it is true it is true as thou didst warn me outside his art an artist must never dream the end