"It seemed to me Webster was mighty glad to get rid of him and didn't want him back," said Jake. "Guess if he was mine I wouldn't be anxious to keep him either." Frank moved a pace or two nearer the dog, holding out his hand, but speedily retired when it growled at him savagely. After that Jake turned to Harry. "You're fond of dogs," he suggested. "Wouldn't you like to pat him?" "No," said Harry, edging away. "I wouldn't try it for five dollars. What kind of a brute is he?" "Well," said Jake, "I figure that fellow has a considerable mixture of ancestors, though there's a strain of the bull in him. That's where he got his stylish mouth from. He's about as amiable as a timber-wolf, and he has the gait of a bear, while it's my opinion there's more sense in a plow ox than there is in him." "When did you leave Webster's?" Harry next inquired. "Soon as dinner was over," responded Jake dryly. "And supper will be ready soon. What in the name of wonder have you been doing?" Harry looked around at Frank. "It's about three miles." Jake grinned. "Coming along--and resting. This fellow kind of decided he'd sit down every now and then, and I let him. He's a dog that's been accustomed to doing just what he wants." "Did you have to cross the creek?" asked Frank, who noticed that the man's long boots and part of his trousers were wet. "No," said Jake curtly. "The critter took a notion he'd like to go in, and as I couldn't let him loose, I had to go in, too. We splashed around in it for quite a few minutes." Harry broke into a burst of laughter and Jake handed him the club. "I want to get in by supper. Suppose you put a move on him." He stood up and jerked the chain, but the dog bared his teeth again and declined to stir. Harry, getting behind him, tapped him with the club, and he swung round savagely, straining at the chain. "Now," said Jake, "I know how we'll fix him. You make him mad and then head for the ranch while he gets after you, and I'll try to hold him." "No," said Harry decisively, "I don't think we'll try that way. Go on and lead him." The animal moved off at last and shambled toward the house, looking bigger and considerably more clumsy than the largest bulldog Frank had ever seen. He walked into the kitchen docilely, but when Miss Oliver approached him Harry cried out in dismay. "Keep away!" he warned. "He isn't safe." "Loose the chain," said Miss Oliver, and to their vast astonishment the dog walked up to her, wagging his disreputable tail, and crouching down, licked her hands. She patted his great head gently and then turned smilingly to the boys. "I'm afraid Webster has been rough with him," she said. "It's clear that he's a woman's dog." "A woman's dog?" echoed Harry scathingly. "Well, the man who gave that beast to a woman must have been crazy."