legs were ludicrously, inappropriately, long and
heavy.

He stood patiently awaiting, evidently, some familiar
note, some reassuring command, in that unintelligible
human clamor. Gordon regarded him
through half-closed, indifferent eyes. "Here, doggy,"
a hoarse, persuasive voice called; a hand was
stretched out to him. But, as he reached it, "Two
hundred dollars!" the voice exclaimed, and the hand
gave the animal a quick, unexpected thrust. The
dog sprawled back, and fell on the point of his
shoulder. He rose swiftly to his feet without a
whimper, standing once more at a loss in the midst
of the inexplicable animosity. He watched them all
intently, with wrinkles in his serious young brow.
When, from behind, another hand thrust him
sharply upon his jaw, he rose as quickly as possible,
swaying a little upon the inappropriate legs. Another
suddenly knocked his hind legs from under
him, and he sat heavily upon his haunches. The
laughter ran renewed about the circle.

The sum of money that had been expended upon
that single dog -- a dog even that could neither hunt
rabbits nor herd sheep -- had, it appeared, engendered
a bitter animosity, a personal spite, in the
hearts of the men on the store platform. They
were men to whom two hundred dollars was the
symbol of arduous months of toil, endless days of

[[157]]

p156 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p157w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p158

v?