“You just b-b-bet he did!” exclaimed the other, excitedly. “And s-s-say, I had all I could do to 215 k-k-keep him from knocking me over in a h-h-heap. Lots of t-t-times I cracked him with the b-b-butt of my rifle, and staggered him, but he only c-came at me again full tilt. Oh! but we had a g-g-glorious time of it I tell you!”
“And how did it end?” queried Jud. “Since we find you two here right-side-up-with-care we must believe that in the final wind-up you got the better of your canine enemies.”
“C-c-canine d-d-don’t seem to fit the c-c-crime this time, Jud,” expostulated Bluff. “It sounds so mild. Well, we lathered ’em right and left, and took quite a number of s-s-scratches in return. B-b-both of us were getting pretty well winded, and I was b-b-beginning to be afraid of the outcome, when all at once I remembered that I had other b-b-bullets in my gun.”
“Wise old head, that of yours, Bluff,” commented Jud, with a touch of satire in his voice. “Better late than never I should say. Well, what did you do then?”
“Next chance I got I managed to turn my gun around and grip the stock,” and as he said this Bluff reached over to pick up his repeating rifle to exhibit the dents, as well as the half dried blood spots on the walnut shoulder piece, all of which went to prove the truth of his story as words never could have done. 216
“That was the end of Mr. Mastiff then, eh?” continued Jud.
“Oh, well! I hated to do it,” Bluff told them, “for he was a beaut of a beast, so strong and handsome; but then those shining teeth looked pretty ugly to me, and he was wild to get them at my throat, so there wasn’t really any choice.”
“I should say not!” declared Phil Towns, shuddering at the picture Bluff was drawing of the spirited encounter.
“So I shot him,” said Bluff, simply. “And at that the remaining beast lit out as fast as he could, because with the fall of the leader of the pack he lost his grit. Course after that Sandy’n I couldn’t think of hunting any longer. We figured that we ought to get back home and have our cuts looked after. And Paul, Phil has done a dandy job with that potash stuff.”
“Glad to hear it,” said the scout-master, quickly, “though I’ll take a look myself to make sure. Scratches from carnivorous animals are very dangerous on account of the poison that may cling to their claws. It’s always best to be on the safe side, and neutralize the danger.”