\"TakeMr。Gault’scheckandgo，\"commandedMarden，thrustingtheslipofpaperatLink。\"Ithinkthereisnothingmoretosay。I
haveanappointmentat——\"
Hehesitated。Regardlessoftheothers’presence，Ferrisdroppedtoonekneebesidetheuncomprehendingdog。WithhisarmaboutChum’sneck，hebentclosetothecollie’searandwhispered：
\"Good—by，Chummie!It’sgood—by，ferkeeps，too。Don’tyougettothinkin’I’vegonean’desertedyou，norgottiredofyou，nornothnn’，Chum。BecauseI’dadam’sightrutherleaveoneofmytwolegsherethantoleaveyou。I——IguessonlyGawdrightlyknowsallyoudoneferme，Chum。ButIain’ta—goin’tofergetnoneofit。Lord，butit’sgoin’tobeprettyturrible，tohome，withoutyou!\"Hegottohisfeet，winkingbackamistfromhisredeyes，andturningblindlytowardthedoor。
\"Here!\"boomedMardenafterhim。\"You’veforgottenyourcheck。\"