“Yes, yes,” I said hastily, “I’ve boxed the compass, as far as owners go.”
He burst into a hoarse laugh. “I guess the human race ain’t got any string on you.”
“Well,” I said modestly, “I know considerable about men and women.”
“And children?” he said.
“No,” I returned. “It isn’t so easy to follow them. They’re so clever, so very much more unexpectedly clever than the grown-ups.”
“It’s a doll-fashion now to kow-tow to young ones,” he said crossly. “I don’t like ’em myself, except a few.”
I suppressed a yawn. I was powerfully hungry, and so far, not a word had been said about dinner.
Suddenly my new friend trembled. “Down on your knees,” he whispered. “Waller in the straw. Keep cool——” then he filled up the kennel door with the stout, muscular breadth of his body.