342 TO THE ME MOBY OF SQUOUNCER 



round the hall, Squouncer's tongue never leaving it as 

 long as the tiniest scrap remained to eat. When it was 

 as bare as Mother Hubbard's cupboard, he left it lying 

 where it was, and pushing the retriever (who was taking 

 his dinner in a polite and gentlemanly manner) rudely to 

 one side, he began the same game over again. The 

 retriever was so astonished at this behaviour that he meekly 

 stood back, and before he had collected his senses, the 

 second plate was as bare as the first. Then Squouncer's 

 master thought it was time to interfere, and took the 

 retriever off to the kitchen, where he might eat his food in 

 peace. 



This success was very bad for Squouncer, for it made 

 him despise his new companion, and think he could treat 

 him as he chose. For several days he continued to 

 swallow his own dinner with the same noise and indecent 

 haste, so as to secure the best part of Negro's. He did 

 not even take the trouble to be pleasant to him between 

 whiles, and when one afternoon, after a huge meal, Negro 

 detected him secretly burying some pheasant bones under 

 a tree till he should have recovered sufficient appetite to 

 eat them, the retriever's temper gave way, and he resolved 

 he would stand this sort of thing no longer. 



So the following day at two o'clock, when the plates 

 were put out for dinner, and Squouncer's tin plate was 

 heard as usual rattling round the hall, pushed over the 

 tiles by that long, greedy tongue, Negro cocked his ears 

 and made ready for battle. Suddenly the noise ceased, 

 and a second later he was almost thrown down by a 

 violent push as Squouncer advanced to the charge. What 

 occurred next was never clearly known to any one ; bat 

 a frightful shriek brought every one into the hall, where 

 a black and yellow ball was rolling about wildly. The 

 black half was uppermost, and was hauled off by his 

 master, and then Squouncer's leg was found to be broken. 

 Poor Squouncer ! he never recovered the shock and the 

 shame of that fight. He was so unhappy at the sight of 



