"
"I'm glad of that. I'll have t' tie that dog up, I guess," and he
threw a little clod of earth at the now cringing animal, not hitting
him, however.
"Oh, don't hurt him," pleaded Betty.
"Hurt him! He wouldn't do that, miss!" exclaimed the hired man, who now
had to defend himself from the over-zealous affections of the dog. "He's
too fond of him. Nero isn't a bad sort generally, only some of the boys
worried him."
The girls, with the farmer and his man in the lead, walked toward the
house, the woman hurrying on ahead to set more places at the table.
"I'm afraid we're troubling you too much," protested Betty.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all," the farmer assured her. "And I owe you
something on account of my dog's actions."
"But really, ought we to stay?" asked Grace. "It's getting dark, Betty,
and your aunt--"
"Say, young ladies!" exclaimed the farmer, "I'll fix that all right. As
soon as you have a bite to eat I'll hitch up and drive you over to
Rockford, to Bill Palmer's."
"Oh!" began Betty, "we couldn't think--"
She stopped, for she did not know what to say. Truly, it was quite a
dilemma in which they found themselves, and they must stay somewhere that
night.
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