Not till this minute had it dawned on him that his dog had followed. Had he loitered on his way, or even glanced once behind, he must certainly have seen Stranger stealthily tracking him. But he had done neither; and now as he stared in vexation at the animal, his commonsense told him that he must take him home before Lord Bentford or his gamekeepers had a chance of seeing him.
This, however, was not to be. For no sooner had Dick determined to retrace his footsteps than a heavy hand was laid on his shoulder, and an angry voice demanded,—
"Have you had permission to bring that dog of yours here?"
"No," returned Dick, "I haven't."
It was Lord Bentford's head gamekeeper who had put the question.
"I've only this minute seen him. He must have followed me without my noticing. But I'm going to take him away at once. He hasn't done any harm.—Stranger, old man, come on."
But for once, in a way, the retriever was pleased to be disobedient. He had caught sight of a couple of Lady Bentford's collies scampering across the frozen lake, and with a bark of delight had set off to join in their play—behaviour that filled his young master's heart with dismay and humiliation.
"Let me catch the lawless brute as much as looking into one of the plantations and I'll shoot him, as sure as my name is what it is," cried the exasperated gamekeeper, turning angrily away.
Dick trembled at the threat, and set off after his wayward property. But the ice was slippery, and he fell once or twice and hurt himself badly. He had just picked himself up, when a piercing shriek rang through the air, and was followed by a woman's scream of alarm and a man's loud shout for help.
The refreshment tent was deserted, and every one made a dash for the spot whence the cries had come. Even disheartened Dick and his retriever followed.