The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come | Page 8

and the group of five hurried
eagerly down the hill and halted in a half circle about Jack and Chad;
so that it looked an uneven conflict, indeed, for the two waifs from over
Pine Mountain.
The strange dog was game and wasted no time. With a bound he caught
Jack by the throat, tossed him several feet away, and sprang for him
again. Jack seemed helpless against such strength and fury, but Chad's
face was as placid as though it had been Jack who was playing the
winning game.
Jack himself seemed little disturbed; he took his punishment without an
outcry of rage or pain. You would have thought he had quietly come to
the conclusion that all he could hope to do was to stand the strain until
his opponent had worn himself out. But that was not Jack's game, and
Chad knew it. The tall boy was chuckling, and his brother of Chad's
age was bent almost double with delight.

"Kill my dawg, will he?" he cried, shrilly.
"Oh, Lawdy!" groaned the tall one.
Jack was much bitten and chewed by this time, and, while his pluck
and purpose seemed unchanged, Chad had risen to his feet and was
beginning to look anxious. The three silent spectators behind pressed
forward and, for the first time, one of these--the tallest of the
group--spoke:
"Take yo' dawg off, Daws Dillon," he said, with quiet authority; but
Daws shook his head, and the little brother looked indignant.
"He said he'd kill him," said Daws, tauntingly.
"Yo' dawg's bigger and hit ain't fair," said the other again and, seeing
Chad's worried look, he pressed suddenly forward; but Chad had begun
to smile, and was sitting down on his stone again. Jack had leaped this
time, with his first growl during the fight, and Whizzer gave a sharp cry
of surprise and pain. Jack had caught him by the throat, close behind
the jaws, and the big dog shook and growled and shook again.
Sometimes Jack was lifted quite from the ground, but he seemed
clamped to his enemy to stay. Indeed he shut his eyes, finally, and
seemed to go quite to sleep. The big dog threshed madly and swung
and twisted, howling with increasing pain and terror and increasing
weakness, while Jack's face was as peaceful as though he were a puppy
once more and hanging to his mother's neck instead of her breast,
asleep. By and by, Whizzer ceased to shake and began to pant; and,
thereupon, Jack took his turn at shaking, gently at first, but with
maddening regularity and without at all loosening his hold. The big dog
was too weak to resist soon and, when Jack began to jerk savagely,
Whizzer began to gasp.
"You take YO' dawg off," called Daws, sharply.
Chad never moved.
"Will you say 'nough for him?" he asked, quietly; and the tall one of the

silent three laughed.
"Call him off, I tell ye," repeated Daws, savagely; but again Chad never
moved, and Daws started for a club. Chad's new friend came forward.
"Hol'on, now, hol'on," he said, easily. "None o' that, I reckon."
Daws stopped with an oath. "Whut you got to do with this, Tom
Turner?"
"You started this fight," said Tom.
"I don't keer ef I did--take him off," Daws answered, savagely.
"Will you say 'nough fer him?" said Chad again, and again Tall Tom
chuckled. The little brother clinched his fists and turned white with fear
for Whizzer and fury for Chad, while Daws looked at the tall Turner,
shook his head from side to side, like a balking steer, and dropped his
eyes.
"Y-e-s," he said, sullenly.
"Say it, then," said Chad, and this time Tall Tom roared aloud, and
even his two silent brothers laughed. Again Daws, with a furious oath,
started for the dogs with his club, but Chad's ally stepped between.
"You say 'nough, Daws Dillon," he said, and Daws looked into the
quiet half-smiling face and at the stalwart two grinning behind.
"Takin' up agin yo' neighbors fer a wood-colt' airye?"
"I'm a-takin' up fer what's right and fair. How do you know he's a
wood-colt--an' suppose he is? You say 'nough now, or--"
Again Daws looked at the dogs. Jack had taken a fresh grip and was
shaking savagely and steadily. Whizzer's tongue was out--once his
throat rattled.
"Nough!" growled Daws, angrily, and the word was hardly jerked from

his lips before Chad was on his feet and prying Jack's jaws apart. "He
ain't much hurt," he said, looking at the bloody hold which Jack had
clamped on his enemy's throat, "but he'd a-killed him though, he al'ays
does. Thar ain't no chance fer NO dog, when Jack gits THAT hold."
Then he raised his eyes and looked into the quivering face of the