Page:Edison Marshall--Shepherds of the wild.djvu/306

298 intent. It was enough reward for Shep. His master released him, and he circled round the two of them, barking in mad joy.

And after all they attended to Shep's destinies very swiftly. No wealth on earth could take him from them. And because their thought was clear and their understanding great, they did not even consider banishing him to a life of ease,—a chimney corner where he might doze away the days. Shep was of the world of toil; until his noble spirit departed from his body he would still have his guard of honor over the sheep. He would still know the hard labor, the long grinding hours, the nervous sleep in the firelight beloved of long ago, and perhaps—for reward—a plain meal and a caress at the end of the day.

"And if you're going to stay with Shep," the girl went on, her eyes averted, "it means—that you're going to stay with the sheep?"

He smiled strangely. "Could I ever leave them, Alice?" He groped for words, but none had ever been invented that could reveal the sudden, moving impulses of his soul. "I can't tell you how much it has all meant—how much it will mean in the future. Don't you see, Alice—that this is my rightful place? With the sheep? In the wilderness? I couldn't go—even if you sent me away, I'd have to go into the sheep business on my own account."

"That's right—you could. You could raise money "