140 WAITING IN THE WILDERNESS 



their superior and knew that they felt it. After- 

 ward, whenever he honoured the Mexican quar- 

 ter with his presence, the dogs fawned on him 

 and toadied to him. But Jack paid them not the 

 slightest attention. From his manner it would 

 have been suggested that their presence was un- 

 known to him. 



No one in the village appeared to have made 

 any friendly advances. I was told that Jack's 

 tracks in the dusty road frequently revealed 

 that he wandered off at night. He was often 

 known to have gone fifteen or twenty miles. 



After more than two years of this indifferent 

 life he was seen travelling away from town as 

 though he knew where he was going. Evidently 

 he had to be active, and perhaps, too, he needed 

 companionship either of man or beast. Jack 

 was gone in the wilds for several weeks. Being 

 the only collie in the Arizona town everyone 

 noticed and discussed his absence. But no one 

 searched for him. 



He spent much of the time in the wilds, but 

 occasionally returned to the village for longer or 

 shorter stays. In one of these visits he was at- 

 tracted to a woman who had recently come to 

 Arizona and built a house on the mountain side 

 about a mile from town. Starting home alone 

 one night just at dark she was pleased to dis- 

 cover Jack following her. She spoke to him. 



