If I had fired off a gun under their noses they would 

 have been much less startled. Robbie made a grab 

 for his plate as it slipped from his knees. 



" Don't do that sort of thing ! " he protested 

 indignantly. " My nerves won't stand it ! " 



The others stopped eating and drinking, held their 

 beakers of steaming coffee well out of the way to get 

 a better look at me, and when they saw it was seriously 

 meant there was a chorus of : 



" Well, I'm hanged." 



I took him in hand at once for now he was really 

 mine and brought him over for his saucer of soaked 

 bread and milk to where we sat at breakfast. Beside 

 me there was a rough camp table a luxury sometimes 

 indulged in while camping or trekking with empty 

 waggons on which we put our tinned-milk, treacle 

 and such things to keep them out of reach of the 

 ants, grasshoppers, Hottentot-gods, beetles and dust. 

 I put the puppy and his saucer in a safe place under 

 the table out of the way of stray feet, and sank the 

 saucer into the sand so that when he trod in it he 

 would not spill the food ; for puppies are quite stupid 

 as they are greedy, and seem to think that they can 

 eat faster by getting further into the dish. He 

 appeared to be more ravenous than usual, and we were 

 all amused by the way the little fellow craned his thin 

 neck out further and further until he tipped up behind 

 and his nose bumping into the saucer see-sawed him 

 back again. He finished it all and looked round briskly 

 at me, licking his lips and twiddling his stumpy tail. 



70 



