Cat and Dog | Page 8

every moment expecting the one
who had tried to curry favour with me, for I had an instinctive
assurance that I had not seen the last of him. Night drew on while I was
still on the look-out, and yet he did not appear. The rest of the family
went calmly to bed, taking no notice of my disquietude; but nothing

could have induced me to curl myself round and shut my eyes. I was
sure danger was near, and it was my part as a faithful guardian to be
prepared for it. So I alternately paced cautiously round the court, or sat
up in my kennel with my head out listening for every sound. By
degrees the returning parties of revellers dwindled to now and then a
solitary pedestrian; and the hum of voices gradually subsided, till all
was silent, and the whole country seemed asleep. Still I watched on,
with unabated vigilance, deep into the night. At last I thought I heard
outside the wall a very cautious footstep, accompanied by an almost
inaudible whisper. I pricked up my ears; the footstep came nearer, and
a hand was upon the lock of the courtyard-gate. I sniffed the air; there
was no mistake; I smelt the very man whom I expected. Others might
be with him, but there was he. Without a moment's delay, I set up an
alarum that might have wakened the whole village; at any rate, it woke
our whole house. Down stairs came my master in his dressing-gown;
down came old John, lantern in hand, and red nightcap on head. Lily
peeped out of her bedroom window, with a shawl over her shoulders;
and seeing her papa in the court, ran down to help him,--as if she could
have been any help against robbers, poor little darling! The servants
assembled in such strange attire, that they looked to me like a herd of
animals who had got into each other's coats by mistake. But the maids
had kept their own voices at any rate, for they screamed almost as loud
as I barked. It was a proud moment for me; and the greater everybody's
fright, and the more noise and confusion they made, the prouder I was.
It was all my doing. It was I who had called them all in the middle of
the night. Their confidence in me was such, that at the sound of my
voice they had all left their beds, and assembled in the courtyard in
their night-gowns. How clever and careful they must think me! And
how clever and careful I thought myself! I danced round Lily, and
bounded about in all directions, till I knocked down the sleepy
stable-boy, and got into every body's way. I never was in such glee in
my life. But my master and John were quiet enough, and they examined
the gate, and the footsteps outside, and decided that there certainly had
been an attempt to break into the house, but that the robbers had been
frightened away by me.
"It has been a narrow escape for them, sir," said John; "for if they had

succeeded in getting in, the dog would have pinned them."
"Captain has done his duty well," said my master, "and no one can call
him useless any more."
"It is a good thing no one was hurt," added Lily; "but I am glad they
were frightened. Perhaps the fright will cure them."
After this adventure I was treated with great respect. By night I
watched the house, and by day I was Lily's constant companion. We
were allowed to take long rambles together, as her father knew she was
safe under my care. I learnt to carry her basket or parasol for her, and to
sit faithfully guarding them while she scrambled up banks or through
bushes, looking for flowers. I was also an excellent swimmer, and
could fetch sticks which she had thrown to the very middle of the
stream. I could not make out why she wanted the sticks, as she never
took them home with her; but we were quite of one mind about
fetching them out of the water. Often I accompanied her to the village,
and lay at the cottage-doors while she paid visits to the people inside.
Then the little children used to gather round me, and pat me, and pull
my ears; and even if they pulled a little too hard, I scorned to complain,
or hurt them in return; and when Lily came out, I was rewarded by her
praise of me as the best and gentlest dog in the world.
At other times she used to establish herself to read or work under a tree
on the lawn, while I lay at her feet, or sat upright by her side. I