"He's pulling round, poor little beast! Here we are." He reached for his coat and wrapped the terrier in it, and quite unconscious of the girl's watchful eyes, held the little black-and-tan head to his face for a moment.
"All right now ?" he murmured.

"You've had a narrow squeak for it, old chappie!" With the dog under his arm, he helped Maude Falconer ashore and led the way to the hotel.
"Tea," he said to the waiter; "but bring me some brandy and milk first--and look sharp." Maude sank on to one of the benches in the beautiful garden in the centre of the lake and looked straight before her; and Stafford cuddled the dog up to him and looked impatiently for the waiter, greeting him when he came with: "What an infernal time you're been!" Then he poured a little of the brandy down the dog's throat, and bending over him repeated the close three or four times; and presently the mite stirred and moved its head, and opening its eyes looked up into Stafford's, and weakly putting out its tongue, licked his hand.
Stafford laughed--for the well-known reason.
"Plucky little chap, isn't he ?" he said, with a moved man's affectation of levity.

"He's made a splendid fight for it and won through.

He's a pretty little morsel--a well-bred 'un: wonder whom he belongs to ?" "To you--at least his life does," said Maude Falconer.

"You couldn't have fought harder for it if it had been a human being." "Oh, a dog's the next thing, you know," he said, apologetically.