he at length raised the gate-latch. He called out, "Holloa, here!" in as loud a tone as his fatigue permitted. His only answer was the dog's leaping forward through the shrubbery from a nook under one of the trees. But this canine warder proved to be all bark and no bite. At the sight of Philip unlatching the gate his objections subsided to a growl, his bound ended in a trot, and his tail suddenly began wagging eagerly.
"Good fellow!" exclaimed Philip, walking up the path and holding out his hand. "Changed your mind, have you? You don't think I look like a thief, eh? I should think I did—very much."
The dog jumped on him, whining curiously. He pursued the path toward the front porch, which was shaded with roses, carefully trained. The asters and geraniums on all sides showed recent care, and on a strip of grass near the porch lay a row of clean pans; and two white aprons lay bleaching, and several fat hens were scratching comfortably together under a lilac-bush. The front window-shutters, with the exception of the furthest one—faded gray-green affairs, all of them, with half-moons cut
