The boys stood defiantly, waiting for the woman to produce Andy's tallies. "Give him his sticks," called one of them, "or we'll smash every berry in the patch!" "You will, eh!" yelled the woman. "I'll show you!" "Oh, Cora!" cried Bess, but Cora was too much interested in the boys to heed. The woman left the shed and ran toward the house. "She's after the dogs!" shouted one boy. "Come ahead, fellers!" called another, and at that a dozen or more lads ran wildly through the patch; crushing the ripe luscious fruit as they went. Nellie, who was still picking berries, jumped up from her work. She saw the savage dogs tear away from their kennels, their chains rattling as the woman snapped them from the collars. Bess and Belle ran to Cora within the shed. "Here, Nero! Nero!" suddenly called Nellie. "Here Tige! Here Tige!" Wonder of animal instinct! Those two dogs forgot the commands of the woman to "Sic 'em!" and eagerly they ran to Nellie. To Nellie to be patted, and caressed. To Nellie who fed them! What did they care about the woman who would strike them? Nellie was their friend and now they were hers! The woman, having let loose the dogs, ran on toward the house, some distance from the berry shed. CHAPTER IV ARBITRATION Like a heroine in a drama Nellie stood there, one sunburned hand thrust through the collar of each panting dog. The boys saw their advantage and ran like Indians through the patch of berries, tramping the ripe fruit under foot in their unreasoning anger. "Hey! Stop that!" shouted Nellie, "or I'll let them go!" Instantly every boy stood still. "Come on," called Cora to the other two girls, "we must help Nellie." As quickly as they could trudge along the rough pathway, Cora, Bess and Belle hurried to where Nellie stood with the dogs. "Call the boys back to the shed," shouted the girl, "then I can take the dogs to their kennels." "Come here, boys!" called Cora. "Come back to the shed, and we will see fair play!" The words "fair play" had a magical effect on the strikers. They now jumped between the rows, and it would be safe to say that not one of them, in the return, stepped on a single berry. "All right, miss," answered the lad called Narrow. "We goes back to the field, if Andy gets his tally-sticks." "Does this woman own the patch?" asked Cora. "Never!" replied one of the boys. "She's only the manager. The boss comes up every night to pay us our coin." "Then we should see him, I suppose," said Cora, as Nellie walked past with the dogs close beside her, each animal wagging his appreciation for the girl that led them on. "Aunt Delia scares easy," whispered Nellie, almost in Cora's ear. "Just chuck a big bluff and she wilts." Cora smiled. She was happily versed in the ways and manners of those who "had not had a chance." "I am so afraid she will--hurt Rose," sighed Belle. "Oh dear me! What a place!"