That is positive. So please let's say no more about it."
The man was staring at her with under jaw ajar. Her sharp air offinality grated on his every nerve. Her ultimatum concerning Chum lefthim dumfounded. But he forced himself to rally to the defense.
This glorious sweetheart of his did not understand dogs. He had hopedto teach her later to like and appreciate them. But apparently she mustbe taught at once that Chum could not be sold and that the collie mustremain an honored member of the Ferris household. Marshaling his factsand his words, he said:
"I never told you about the time I was coming back home one night fromthe tavern here at Hampton, after I'd just cashed my pay check from thePat'son market. I've never blabbed much about it, because I was drunk.Yes, it was back in them days. Just after I'd got Chum. A couple offellers had got me drunk. And they set on me in a lonesome patch of theroad by the lake; and they had me down and was taking the money awayfrom me, when Chum sailed into them and druv them off. He had folleredme, without me knowing. In the scrimmage I got tumbled headfirst intothe lake. I was too drunk to get out, and my head was stuck in the mud,'way under water. I'd 'a' drowned if Chum hadn't of pulled me out withhis teeth in the shoulder of my coat. And that's the dog you're wantingme to sell?"
"You aren't likely to need such help again, I hope," countered the girlloftily, "now that you have stopped drinking and made a man ofyourself. So Chum won't be needed for--"
"I stopped drinking," answered Link, "because I got to seeing how muchmore of a beast I was than the fine clean dog that was living with me.He made me feel 'shamed of myself. And he was such good comp'ny roundthe house that I didn't get lonesome enough to sneak down to the tavernall the time. It wasn't me that 'made a man of myself.' It was Chummade a man of me. Maybe that sounds foolish to you. But--"
"It does," said Dorcas serenely. "Very foolish indeed. You don't seemto realize that a dog is only an animal. If you can get a nice home forthe collie--such as John Iglehart will give him--"
"Iglehart!" raged Link, momentarily losing hold over himself. "If thatmangy, wall-eyed slob comes slinking round my farm again, makingfriends with Chum, I'll sick the dog onto him; and have him runIglehart all the way to his own shack! He's--! There! I didn't mean tocut loose like that!" he broke off at Dorcas's shudder of dismay. "Onlyit riles me something terrible to have him trying to get Chum away fromme."
"There is no occasion to go losing your temper and shouting," reprovedthe girl. "Nothing is to be gained that way. Besides, that isn't thepoint. The point is this, since you force me to say it: You must getrid of that dog. And you must do it before you marry me. I won't setfoot in your house until your dog is gone--and gone for good. I amsorry to speak so, but it had to be said."
She paused to give her slave a chance to wilt. But Link only sat,blank-faced, staring at her. His mind was in a muddle. All his narrowworld was upside down. He couldn't make his brain grasp in full thesituation.
All he could visualize for the instant was a shadowy mental image ofChum's expectant face; the tulip ears pricked forward, expectant; thejaws "laughing"; the deepset brown eyes abrim with gay affection anddeathless loyalty for the man who was now asked to get rid of him. Itdidn't make sense. Half under his breath Link Ferris began to talk--orrather to ramble.
"There was one of the books over to the lib'ry," he heard himselfmeandering on, "with a queer story in it. I got to reading it through,one night last winter. It was about a feller named 'Fed'rigo.' A wop ofsome kind, I guess. He got so hard up he didn't have anything left buta pet falcon. Whatever a falcon may be. Whatever it was, it must'abeen good to eat. But he set a heap of store by it. Him and it waschums. Same as me and Chum are. Then along come a lady he was in lovewith. And she stopped to his house for dinner. There wasn't anything inthe house fit for her to eat. So he fed her the falcon. Killed the petthat was his chum, so's he could feed the dame he was stuck on. Ithought, when I read it, that that feller was more kinds of a swinethan I'd have time to tell you. But he wasn't any worse'n I'd be if Iwas to--"
"I'm sorry you care so little for me," intervened Dorcas, her voicevery sweet and very cold, and her slender nose whitening a little atthe corners of the nostrils. "Of course if you prefer a miserable dogto me, there's nothing more to be said. I--"
"No!" almost yelled the miserable man. "You've got me all wrong,dearie. Honest, you have. Can't you understand? Your little fingermeans a heap more to me than ev'rything else there is--except the restof you--"
"And your dog," she supplemented.
"No!" he denied fiercely. "You got no right to say that! But Chum'sserved me faithful. And I can't kick him out like he was a--"
"Now you are getting angry again!" she accused, pale and furious. "Idon't care to be howled at. The case stands like this: You must choosewhether to get rid of that dog or to lose me. Take your choice. If--"
"I read in a story book about a feller that had a thing like that putup to him," said poor Link, unable to believe she was in earnest. "Hisgirl said: 'You gotta choose between me and tobacco.' And he said:'I'll choose tobacco. Not that I value tobacco so all-fired much,' hesays, 'but because a girl, who'd make a man take such a choice, ain'tworth giving up tobacco for.' You see, dearie, it's this way--"
"You'll have that dog out of your house and out of your possession,inside of twenty-four hours," she decreed, the white anger of agrave-eyed woman making her cold voice vibrate, "or you will drop myacquaintance. That is final. And it's definite. The engagement isover--until I hear that your dog is killed or given away or sold. Goodnight!"
She left the room in vindictive haste. So overwhelmingly angry was shethat she closed the door softly behind her, instead of slamming it.Through all his swirl of misery Link had sense enough to note thisfinal symptom and wonder bitterly at it.
On his way out of the house he was hailed by a highpitched baby voicefrom somewhere above him. Olive had crawled out of bed, and in herwhite flannel pajamas she was leaning over the upper balustrade.
"Link!" she called down to the wretched man at the front door. "Whenyou and Dorcas gets married together, I'm comin' to live wiv you! ThenI can play wiv Chummie all I want to!"
Link bolted out to the street in the midst of her announcement. And, sooccupied was he in trying to swallow a lump in his own throat, hefailed to hear the sound of stifled sobbing from behind a locked doorsomewhere in the upper reaches of the house.
As the night wore on, the sleepless girl sought to comfort herself inthe thought that Link had not definitely refused her terms. A night'sreflection and an attitude of unbending aloofness on her own part mightwell bring him to a surrender.
Perhaps it was something in Link Ferris's dejected gait, as he turnedinto his own lane that night, perhaps it was the instinct which tells acollie when a loved human is unhappy--but Chum was at once aware of hismaster's woe. The dog, at first sound of Link's approaching steps,bounded from his vigil place on the porch and frisked joyously throughthe darkness to meet him. He sent forth a trumpeting bark of welcome ashe ran.
Then--fifty feet from the oncoming man--the big collie halted and stoodfor an instant with ears cocked and eyes troubled. After which heresumed his advance; but at a solemn trot and with downcast mien. As hereached Link, the collie whined softly under his breath, gazingwistfully up into Ferris's face and then thrusting his cold noselovingly into one of the man's loose-hanging hands.
Link had winced visibly at sound of the jubilantly welcoming bark. Now,noting the sudden change in the collie's demeanor, he stooped andcaught the silken head between his hands. The gesture was rough, almostpainful. Yet Chum knew it was a caress. And his drooping plume of atail began to wag in response.
"Oh, CHUM!" exclaimed the man with something akin to a groan. "You knowall about it, don't you, old friend? You know I'm the miser'blest manin North Jersey. You know it without me having to say a word. Andyou're doing your level best to comfort me. Just like you always do.You never get cranky; and you never say I gotta choose betwixt this andthat; and you never get s
ore at me. You're just my chum. And you'refool enough to think I'm all right. Yet she says I gotta get rid ofyou!"
The dog pressed closer to him, still whining softly and licking theroughly caressing hands.
"What'm I going to do, Chummie?" demanded Link brokenly. "What'm Igoing to do about it? I s'pose any other feller'd call me a fool--likeshe thinks I am and tell me to sell you. If