One by one the winners were placed on the platform by the champion but it needed only a glance at most of them and the judge said, “Take ’em away.” Then master and dog would slink out of the ring. The last dog who went on before Pep lasted much longer than his predecessors had. The judge looked him over for several minutes and even held his head beside the champion’s before pronouncing his doom.
Then he turned about quickly. “Where’s the doctor’s dog?” he said. “He is the only dog in the show that can give the old champion anything like a go. Bring him on.”
Pep mounted to the platform much excited, although he tried hard not to show it. The champion looked at him sleepily out of the corner of his eye. Pep thought his manner said, “So here’s another. Well, they will soon take him away.”
The judge stepped back several feet and looked at them very hard, without saying a word. Then he scratched his head and said, “Well, I’ll be darned. I never expected to be up against it like this.”
“The judge examined them carefully.”
Then he went up and began feeling the two dogs over very carefully. He passed his hand along their backs, and legs. He let their ears slip gently through his fingers. He lifted up their paws. Then put them down.
Pep watched him from the corner of one eye. He could see that the judge was more and more worried.
Then he stood off and looked at them again. He scratched his head and pulled his mustache, then came back and went all over the handling process once more.
Finally he held a muzzle in either palm and laid their heads side by side. His hand trembled and Pep felt that he was much excited.