STUBBS THE BADGER 211 
looking inside. Stubbs felt himself lifted up and 
carried out. There was much clamour of voices 
and shuffling of feet. 
' Take two to one on Grace's tarrier.' . . . ' Not 
weight enough. Shure, none o' them dogs could 
pull him down.' . . . ' A shilling on Comerford's 
sheep-dog ! ' and so on. 
The barrel was turned upon its side, and Stubbs, 
half blinded by the glare, and wholly terrified, saw 
many men peering at him. The cluster of grinning 
faces all seemed to be part of one awful monster ; 
and he slunk back, growling, with bared teeth. 
' Begob, he '11 put up a fight,' said Micksey 
Bolger. ' Let the dogs come at him wan be wan, 
at first.' 
The first was a medium-sized dog, with prick 
ears, and a woolly yellow coat. He evinced a 
decided desire to fly at the throats of the rest of 
his kind, but this being checked, he advanced 
truculently to the barrel, with his scruff standing up. 
Some one kicked the tub and shouted : ' Git up, ye 
divil ' ; and there was a chorus of yells from the 
bystanders. Stubbs bundled out in a hurry, and 
at the same moment the dog flew at his throat. The 
unprovoked assault restored his wits to the badger. 
At any rate here was a de- 
finite enemy, who fought, 
