62 DOGS I HAVE KNOWN 



keeper came and asked me if I would mind waiting 

 by myself, as everything was locked up and my 

 cousin could fasten the outer door himself (as in 

 fact he often did). I had no objection, so all the 

 gas but one small jet was turned out. Very shortly 

 after the office-keeper left, the door was opened very 

 softly, and soon a man put in his head, and not dis- 

 covering me in the gloom, as I purposely made no 

 noise, came in; and a very ill-looking customer he 

 was. Discovering me, he started, and said some- 

 thing about an appointment, advancing as he 

 spoke. Directly the man got near, with one 

 bound Wallace was on him and had him down on 

 his back on the floor. He tried to draw some- 

 thing out of his sleeve, but Wallace instantly 

 seized his throat — gently, it is true, but enough to 

 give him a foretaste of what he could do. I 

 shouted to the man to lie still or the dog would kill 

 him, and rising up and going to him found he had 

 an iron jemmy in his hand, which I took — warning 

 him that if he moved the dog would throttle him. 

 I went and called the police ; they came and 

 secured the fellow, who turned out to be the head 

 of one of the most daring set of burglars in the 

 north. Besides the jemmy he had a brace of 

 loaded pistols in his pocket, and would most un- 

 doubtedly have murdered me, if it had not been for 



