Page:O'Higgins--The Adventures of Detective Barney.djvu/296

 roulades in the distance, and its song gave an interpretative voice to the grave and limpid beauty of the evening; and the scene held that song in its setting as harmoniously as the pale green sky above the sunset held the sparkle of the first star. Nothing could have looked less like the hiding place of a criminal mystery.

Darkness had settled down on peace, and the moon was rising on it, when Barney issued unexpectedly from the bushes and began to scuffle noisily up the road again to attract the collie. He had his coat over his arm, and when the dog came barking at him he swung the coat at it, and retreated trailing it, and flicked it into the dog’s mouth when it pursued him. As soon as the collie had a fighting hold on it, he began to yell shrilly: “Here, you! Lea’ me alone! Here! Leggo, will you? Here, you! Call off yer dog!” He pulled, and the dog pulled, backing into the gate; and when a man came running from the house to see what was the matter, the case against the