ANIMAL RENEGADES. 



I8 3 



safely; only once the groom heard her scratch and fuss 

 around, as if she had got into a tight place, but before 

 he reached the trap all was still, and when he opened the 

 door he thought he saw her skip over the moonlit yard. 

 The lariat was drawn back into the hole, as if she had 

 caught herself and slipped the noose off her neck. She 

 always brought something or other, either game or a 

 choice bone from the pit, and the puppies became so 

 used to their nocturnal banquets that they whined all 

 night whenever she omitted her visit. 



The groom at last concluded to change his tactics. 

 The stable had a loft with a separate door that could be 

 reached by a rough-hewn stair of fifteen or sixteen steps. 

 If the puppies were quartered in the loft, the bitch might 

 try to reach them, and, finding the door locked, would 

 probably dig and scratch, and thus awaken the groom. 

 The plan was tried, and the puppies whined all night, 

 but the perra returned no more. The love of liberty, 

 after all, limited her maternal devotion, and within those 

 limits she had done what she could. 



