But
the last was not to be, for the night before it should have
taken place the coon managed to slip its bonds, and nothing
but the empty collar and idle chain were found in the
captive's place next morning.
These things were in the future however. Rolf was
intensely excited over all he had seen that day. His hunting
instincts were aroused. There had been no very obvious
or repellant cruelty; the dog alone had suffered, but
he seemed happy. The whole affair was so exactly in the
line of his tastes that the boy was in a sort of ecstatic
uplift, and already anticipating a real coon hunt, when
the dog should be properly trained. The episode so
contrasted with the sordid life he had left an hour before that
he was spellbound. The very animal smell of the coon
seemed to make his fibre tingle. His eyes were glowing
with a wild light. He was so absorbed that he did not
notice a third party attracted by the unusual noise of the
chase, but the dog did. A sudden, loud challenge called
all attention to a stranger on the ridge behind the camp.
There was no mistaking the bloated face and white
moustache of Rolf's uncle.
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