on the floor at the host’s left. From the shelter of Joshua Q. Mosely’s bulk appeared the obese police dog, who also had followed into the dining room. He disposed himself in a shadowy space, behind Mrs. Mosely’s chair, where every passing servant must stumble unseeingly over him. “I hope you don’t mind our bringing Petty to dinner with us,” said Joshua Q., as they sat down. “He’s quite one of the family. The wife would as soon travel without her powder rag as without Petty. He goes everywhere with us. Nice collie you’ve got there. I notice you had to speak pretty firm to him, though, to keep[78] him from pestering poor Petty. Collies aren’t as clever at minding as police dogs. Had him long?” [78] “He was bred by Mr. Creede, here,” answered Thaxton. “When Mr. Creede went overseas, he left him at Vailholme.” “And when I got back,” put in Clive, speaking for the first time, and addressing Doris, “Macduff had clean forgotten me and had adopted Thax. So I let him stay on here. Funny, wasn’t it? I’ve heard collies never forget. I suppose that’s another nature fake. For Macduff certainly had forgotten me. At least, he was civil to me, but he’d lost all interest in me.” Then fell a pause. Miss Gregg arose to the occasion by starting the conversation-ball to rolling again. “I think,” she said, “there ought to be a S. P. C. A. law against naming animals till they’re grown. People call a baby pup ‘Fluffy’ or ‘Beauty.’ And then he grows up to look like Bill Sikes’ dog. For instance, there’s nothing ‘petty’ about that big police dog. Yet when he was a—” “Oh,” spoke up Mrs. Mosely, “his name isn’t[79] really ‘Petty.’ ‘Petty’ is short for ‘Pet.’ His real name’s ‘Pet.’ He—” [79] Willis Chase cleared his throat portentously. Leaning far across the table, he addressed the miserable Thaxton. “Landlord!” he began, in awful imitation of the pompous Joshua Q. Mosely. “Landlord, me good man, I—” “Shut up!” snarled Vail, under his breath, glaring murderously. A smile of utter sweetness overspread Willis Chase’s long countenance. “Tut, tut!” he chided, patronizingly. “Don’t cringe, when I address you, my honest fellow! Don’t be servile, just because I am a gentleman and your own lot is
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