Collie -- Juvenile fiction; Dogs -- Juvenile fiction; Short stories
Bobby crouched the closer to earth and his lips writhed back from
murderous white teeth. The man called again; in the same friendly,
coaxing voice. Then he began to crawl forward a foot or so. Behind him
the excited boy was blocking the only way out of the den.
The Lochinvar Bobby of ten months ago would have cowered whimperingly in
his corner, waiting for capture. He might even have pleaded for mercy by
rolling over on his back.
The Lochinvar Bobby of to-day was quite another creature. He laid out
his plan of campaign, and then in the wink of an eye he carried it into
effect.
With a rabid snarl he charged the advancing man. As Jamie braced himself
to fend off the ravening jaws, the dog veered sharply to one side and
dashed for the opening. Instinct told him the boy would be easier to
break past than the man.
But it was not Jamie Mackellar’s first experience with fighting or
playing dogs. As Bobby veered, Jamie slewed his own prostrate body to
the same side and made a grab for the fast-flying collie. His fingers
closed and tightened around Bobby’s left hind leg, just below the hock.
With a snarl, Bobby wheeled and drove his jaws at the captor’s wrist; in
a slash which might well have severed an artery. But, expecting just
such a move, Jamie was ready with his free hand. Its fingers buried
themselves in the avalanche of fur to one side of Bobby’s throat. The
slashing eye-teeth barely grazed the pinioning wrist. And Bobby thrashed
furiously from side to side, to free himself and to rend his enemy.
Mackellar’ s expert hands found grips to either side of the whirling
jaws, and he held on. Bit by bit, bracing himself with all his wiry
strength, he backed out; dragging the frantic beast behind him.
Five minutes later, at the expense of a few half-averted bites, he had
the muzzle tight-bound in place and was leading the exhausted and
foaming collie toward Midwestburg. Bobby held back, he flung himself
against the chain, he fought with futile madness against the gentle
skill of his master.
Then shuddering all over he gave up the fight. Head and tail a-droop, he
suffered himself to be led to prison.
“It’s Lochinvar Bobby, all right!” the wondering Jamie was saying to his
son in intervals of lavishing kindly talk and pats on the luckless dog.
"The collar and tag prove that. But if it wasn’t for them, I’d swear it
couldn’t be the same. It’s—it’s enough to take a body’s breath away,
Donald! I’ve followed the dog game from the time I was born, but I never
set eyes on such a collie in all my days. Just run your hand through
that coat! Was there ever another like it? And did you ever see such
bone and head? He’s—Lord, to think how he looked when that Frayne crook
sawed him off on me! It’s a miracle he lived through the first winter. I
never heard of but one other case like it. And that happened up in
Toronto, if I remember right.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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