“I thought perhaps you had a dog here—”
The professor folded his arms.
“Very well!” said he. “I have. And what of it?”
“If you’ll let us see the dog—”
“Aha!” said the professor. “I see! A blackmailing scheme! You wish to see my dog. You will then cause this child to identify the dog as the one which bit him, in order that you may collect damages. A ve-ry pret-ty little scheme, I must admit!”
Anderson had had a singularly trying day, and he was very weary of this quest, anyhow.
“Nothing of the sort!” he said curtly. “If you’ll be good enough to let us see your dog—or if you’ll give me your assurance that the animal is perfectly healthy—”
“Don’t you give him a penny, Joseph!” cried a quavering female voice from the dark depths of the hall.
The professor laughed ironically.
“Ve-ry pret-ty!” he repeated. “But you may as well understand, once and for all, that I absolutely refuse to allow you to see my dog, or to give you any assurance of any kind whatsoever.”