236 My Dogs in the Northland 



efforts to get along on one fore and one hind 

 leg. And others are just as amusing in 

 their efforts to try to convince Martin, the 

 driver, that it. would be the height of ab- 

 surdity to think of harnessing up such poor, 

 helpless, worn-out dogs as they are. How- 

 ever, Martin has seen such tricks before and 

 so now he heeds them not. All he wants is 

 a train of four good dogs with which to take 

 his master over for an evening's service at 

 the Fort. 



" Astum (come) Pompey! Astum, Black! 

 Astum, Nero ! Astum, Muff ! " 



Only one driver ; only one train ; and the 

 instant that train is called and each dog's 

 head is in a collar, behold again the trans- 

 formation among the other dogs: Caesar's 

 spinal column is instantly all right and his 

 hind legs are as lively as his front ones. 

 Koona, as suddenly, finds it easier to get 

 around on four legs than on two, and so he 

 is dashing around at a great rate. And thus 

 it is with the others. They were clever 

 enough to try the sympathy dodge, but it 

 was one that could be easily seen through 

 and was quietly ignored by the driver in ma- 

 king his selection. 



Koona, like Rover, was a great coward. 



