“Shoot them dawgs an’ ye won’t git fur from here,” the other snarled throatily. But he paused, and at the cessation of his steps the brutes also stopped. The woman still stood in the corn.
Just then the white horse and its white-haired driver came jogging around a bushy turn. The old man sat up with sudden energy, involuntarily jerking at the reins. The horse stopped.
One swift survey the old man took. Then his right hand shot to the whip-socket, and with awkward speed he clambered out into the road.
“Nat!” he yelled explosively. “Git them dawgs in or I’ll give the hull pack o’ ye a-hidin’! Shoot ’em if ye want, stranger—they ain’t none of ’em no good!”
Douglas, his finger already tightening on one trigger, held his fire and flicked a glance sidewise to see what sort of man was coming. He found the old fellow running nimbly toward him, reversing his whip so that its heavy butt was foremost. At that instant the man Nat, his eyes glinting viciously, hissed at the dogs.
“Look ou-u-ut!” yelled the oncoming driver.
In the nick of time Douglas turned his eyes back—just as a dog left the ground in a fang-grinning leap. The other two were crouching. The blond man jerked his gun a little downward to meet the rising body. The dog’s breast struck against the muzzles. Teeth clashed in a fierce snap. From the gun burst a muffled roar. The dog was blown backward.
Under the impact of dog and powder-recoil Douglas staggered. But he gave no ground and lost no time. His second finger released the other hidden hammer at an upshooting shape. In a crashing flare another hairy form whirled over and flopped to earth.
At the same instant teeth stung his left side. A sudden weight on his shirt yanked him almost off balance. Under his arm he found the wicked face of the third hound. Then a black streak appeared on that dog’s head, a resounding thwack hit Douglas’ ears, and the beast dangled limp, held up only by its teeth, which were caught in the cloth.
“I told ye, Nat—I told ye!” panted the old man, whose whip-butt had knocked out that third dog. “I been tellin’ ye right ’long—— Git back, ye yeller hound!”