AN ARCTIC-CIRCLE TOUCH-DOWN
nothing, and were thrown in only for good measure.
"But at the familiar call Rudolph plunged forward to buck the advancing line, with every other ounce of bear-flesh trailing on behind, with a fringe of paws cuffing at the sides to spoil interference, while Tib and I scuttled along between the two bulky lines. And I was overjoyed to see Maude emulate Rudolph's system and pluck a hostile right tackle out of his clothes with one neat sweep of her hooks.
"Tib and I tried to reach the brutes' close-set ears with expressions of praise, but they were well-nigh deafened by the hoarse clamor of their assailants and forgot for the moment they had been civilized. But that centre-play, sir, brushed all records of strenuous endeavor to the background, and, as Rudolph failed to remember the confines of the corral, we advanced to within two hundred yards of the beach.
"Then, as we thought we were to have a breather and time to quiet our men, that happened which Tib and I had feared from the start. The heathens began to open up, preparatory to running the ends and flirting with us bipeds. The first dash came so near to netting Tib, I decided the pennant was surely lost. You see, the dear, old, furry idiots were again trying to remember our mottoes and maintain a life-
115
