92 My Dogs in the Northland 



with absolute indifference and was not in 

 the least afraid of him. This seemed to hu- 

 miliate him, as most of the other girls had 

 stood in such awe of the gigantic fellow 

 that they had given way to him in every- 

 thing. Mary however did nothing of the 

 kind. She would shout, " Get out of my 

 way ! " as quickly to his mightiness as she 

 would to the smallest dog on the place. 

 This very much offended Jack, but he dared 

 not retaliate, even with a growl. Mary had 

 one weakness, and after a while Jack found 

 it out. It was the spotless whiteness of her 

 kitchen floor. Mrs. Young had promised 

 some extra reward to Mary, if she kept her 

 kitchen neat and clean. So anxious was 

 the girl to win this gift, as well as the ap- 

 proval of her mistress, that it seemed as 

 though she spent all the time she could 

 spare from other duties in scrubbing that 

 kitchen floor. In some way, utterly beyond 

 our ken, Jack discovered this, and perhaps 

 humiliated by the fact that Mary had come 

 out best in some schemes he had already 

 tried, he seemed to take the greatest delight 

 in either marching in with his feet as dirty 

 as he could make them, or with his great 

 body dripping wet from a plunge in the lake. 



