Her face
also shone white in the wintry dusk, but her actions denoted unwavering
resolution.
"Now!" she said; and, since he would not move, she flung the icy water
without compunction over the dogs and him also.
"Damnation!" he cried violently. But she broke in upon him. "Quick!
Quick! Now's the time! Grab your dog! I'll catch Mike!"
The urgency of the order compelled compliance. Almost in spite of himself
he stooped to obey. And so it came to pass that five seconds later,
Caesar was being mercilessly thrashed by his enraged master, while the
real culprit was being dragged, cursing breathlessly, from the scene.
It was a brutal thrashing and wholly undeserved. Caesar, awaking to the
horror of it, howled his anguish; but no amount of protest on his part
made the smallest impression upon the wielder of the whip. It continued
to descend upon his writhing body with crashing force till he rolled upon
the ground in agony.
Even then the punishment would not have ceased, but for a second
interruption. It was the woman from the Vicarage garden again; but she
burst upon the scene this time with something of the effect of an
avalanche. She literally whirled between the man and his victim. She
caught his upraised arm.
"Oh, you brute!" she cried. "You brute!"
He stiffened in her hold. They stood face to face.
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