Wully 



the sheep were all there, the whole 374. Now 

 Robin was in a quandary. His order was to 

 hasten on to Yorkshire, and yet he knew that 

 Wully's pride would prevent his coming back 

 without another sheep, even if he had to steal 

 it. Such things had happened before, and re- 

 sulted in embarrassing complications. What 

 should he do? There was five shillings a week 

 at stake. Wully was a good dog, it was a 

 pity to lose him, but then, his orders from the 

 master; and again, if Wully stole an extra sheep 

 to make up the number, then what — in a for- 

 eign land too ? He decided to abandon Wully, 

 and push on alone with the sheep. And how 

 he fared no one knows or cares. 



Meanwhile, Wully careered through miles of 

 streets hunting in vain for his lost sheep. All 

 day he searched, and at night, famished and 

 worn out, he sneaked shamefacedly back to the 

 ferry, only to find that master and sheep had 

 gone. His sorrow was pitiful to see. He ran 

 about whimpering, then took the ferryboat 

 across to the other side, and searched every- 

 where for Robin. He returned to South 

 Shields and searched there, and spent the rest 



282 



