"Oh! A lamb!" grunted John, who was combing his hair at the wash-basin in the corner. "I thought it was a buffalo calf." "Don't be stupid!" cried Judith. "Of course, you're no judge of dogs, but Peter says he's just like Sister was at two months, only bigger." Mary Spencer looked him over critically, coffee-pot in hand. "Isn't he awful homely, even for a mongrel, Judith?" she asked. "Mongrel! What is the matter with all you folks?" exclaimed Judith. "He's no more mongrel than anybody else! Come here to your missis, you precious!" and she gathered the great pup into her lap, where he sat complacently, his legs in a hopeless tangle. "What's his name?" asked old Johnny, mildly. "Wolf Cub. And you wait till I'm through with him! You'll see the best trained dog in the valley, like Sioux will be the best trained bull and Buster the best trained horse. O, look, Doug!" as Douglas came in. "See what I've got!" "I dare you to name its pedigree, Doug!" chuckled John. Douglas lifted the pup to the floor and ran his hands over its skull, along its back, and down its erratic legs. "Some dog, Judith! You'll have to muzzle him by the time he's six months old." Judith smiled triumphantly. "No, I won't! Wait till you see how I train him." "You get that from your mother, Judith. She was always gregus smart with critters," said old Johnny. Judith laughed skeptically. "She was!" The little old man nodded his head. "I remember. I deponed that same thing to Peter the other day. How Mary could break anything when she was a girl, like you." "Well, but Mother won't touch anything that isn't broke now!" exclaimed Judith. "Just what I deponed," nodded Johnny. "John broke her just like he broke old Molly horse, so she lost her nerve. I deponed just that. An awful rough breaker. I deponed just that." "O dry up, Johnny!" grunted John, drawing his chair up to the table. "I've put up with an awful lot of drool from you, and I'm getting sick of it." Old Johnny was always most explanatory when he was most frightened. "I wasn't drooling, John. I was just deponing. Any one can do that, can't they? And Mary did used to be like Judith." "Will you shut up!" shouted John. The puppy, startled, gave a sudden loud howl. "Put that thing out and come to supper, Jude! If he howls to-night, I'll shoot him." Judith left the house indignantly. "No, you won't, Dad," said Douglas quietly, as he buttered a biscuit. "If you're going to give me back talk, young fellow, you leave the table now, before I lose my temper." "I'm not giving you any more back talk than you deserve," replied Douglas. "Any man that would threaten to shoot a pup because it howls deserves something more than back talk. Let's forget it. Johnny, how about this stunt of Mother's breaking horses?" Old Johnny gave John a timid glance. "I don't remember," he muttered. Mary laughed. "What's the use of a woman breaking horses when she's got a man to do it for her?"