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Page 45
Diet and equipment and other causes give a German soldier a
markedly different scent, to dogs' miraculously keen nostrils,--
and to those of certain humans,--from the French or British or
American troops. War records prove this. Once having learned the
scent, and having learned to detest it, Bruce was not to be
deceived.
For all these reasons he had snarled loathingly at the man in
white. For these same reasons he could not readily forget the
incident, but continued every now and then to glance curiously
across toward the church.
Presently,--not relishing the rebukes of the friends who had
heretofore pestered him by overmuch petting,--the collie arose
quietly from his couch of trampled earth at the foot of the stone
bench and strolled back across the street. Most of the men were
too busy, talking, to note Bruce's departure. But Sergeant Mahan
caught sight of him just as the dog was mounting the last of the
steps leading into the church.
As a rule, when Bruce went investigating, he walked carelessly
and with his tail slightly a-wag. Now his tail was stiff as an
icicle, and he moved warily, on the tips of his toes. His tawny-
maned neck was low. Mahan, understanding dogs, did not like the
collie's demeanor. Remembering that the nurse had entered the
church a few minutes earlier, the Sergeant got to his feet and
hastily followed Bruce.
The dog, meanwhile, had passed through the crazily splintered
doorway and had paused on the threshold of the improvised
hospital, as the reek of iodoform and of carbolic smote upon his
sensitive nostrils. In front of him was the stone-paved
vestibule. Beyond was the interior of the shattered church, lined
now with double rows of cots.
Seated on a camp-chair in the shadowy vestibule was the pseudo
Red Cross nurse. At sight of the collie the nurse got up in some
haste. Bruce, still walking stiff-legged, drew closer.
Out from under the white skirt flashed a capable and solidly-
shod foot. In a swinging kick, the foot let drive at the oncoming
dog. Before Bruce could dodge or could so much as guess what was
coming,--the kick smote him with agonizing force, square on the
shoulder.
To a spirited collie, a kick carries more than the mere pain of
its inflicting. It is a grossly unforgivable affront as well--as
many a tramp and thief have learned, at high cost.
By the time the kick had fairly landed, Bruce had recovered from
his instant of incredulous surprise; and with lightning swiftness
he hurled himself at his assailant.
No bark or growl heralded the murderous throatlunge. It was all
the more terrible for the noiselessness wherewith it was
delivered. The masquerading man saw it coming, just too late to
guard against it. He lurched backward, belatedly throwing both
hands up to defend his throat. It was the involuntary backward
step which saved his jugular. For his heel caught in the hem of
his white skirt. And wholly off balance, he pitched headlong to
the floor.
This jerky shift of position, on the part of the foe, spoiled
Bruce's aim. His fearful jaws snapped together harmlessly in
empty air at a spot where, a fraction of a second earlier, the
other's throat had been. Down crashed the disguised man. And atop
of him the furious dog hurled himself, seeking a second time the
throatgrip he had so narrowly missed.
At this point on the program Sergeant Mahan arrived just in time
to bury both hands in the mass of Bruce's furry ruff and to drag
the snarlingly rabid dog back from his prey.
The place was in an uproar. Nurses and doctors came rushing out
into the vestibule; sick and wounded men sat up on their cots and
eagerly craned their necks to catch sight of the scrimmage.
Soldiers ran in from the street.
Strong as he was, Mahan had both hands full in holding the
frantic Bruce back from his enemy. Under the insult of the kick
from this masquerader, whom he had already recognized as a foe,
the collie had temporarily lost every vestige of his stately
dignity. He was for the moment merely a wild beast, seeking
revenge for a brutal injury. He writhed and fought in Mahan's
grasp. Never once did he seek to attack the struggling man who
held him. But he strained every giant sinew to get at the foe who
had kicked him.
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