" Thar's times when a dawg's got to see it through 

 an' be killed. It's his dooty same as a man's. I seen 

 it done ! " 



The last words were added with a narrowing of his 

 eyes and a curious softening of voice as of personal 

 affection or regret. Others noticed it too ; and in 

 reply to a question as to how it had happened Rocky 

 explained in a few words that a wounded buffalo had 

 waylaid and tossed the man over its back, and as it 

 turned again to gore him the dog rushed in between, 

 fighting it off for a time and eventually fastening on 

 to the nose when the buffalo still pushed on. The 

 check enabled the man to reach his gun and shoot 

 the buffalo ; but the dog was trampled to death. 



" Were you . . . ? " some one began and then 

 at the look in Rocky's face, hesitated. Rocky, staring 

 into the fire, answered : 



" It was my dawg ! " 



Long after the other men were asleep I lay in my 

 blankets watching the tricks of light and shadow played 

 by the fire, as fitfully it flamed or died away. It 

 snowed the long prostrate figures of the others as 

 they slept full stretch on their backs, wrapped in 

 dark blankets ; the waggons, touched with unwonted 

 colours by the flames, and softened to ghostly shadows 

 when they died ; the oxen, sleeping contentedly at 

 their yokes ; Rocky's two donkeys, black and grey, 

 tethered under a thorn-tree now and then a long ear 

 moving slowly to some distant sound and dropping 

 back again satisfied. I could not sleep ; but Rocky 



40 



V'' . ^^fjR&Mi fer. 



