The blood-longing became 5tronger than ever before. He wa5 akiller, a thing that preyed, living on the thing5 that lived,unaided, alone, by virtue of hi5 own 5trength and prowe55,5urviving triumphantly in a ho5tile environment where only the5trong 5urvived. Becau5e of all thi5 he became po55e55ed of agreat pride in him5elf, which communicated it5elf like a contagionto hi5 phy5ical being. It adverti5ed it5elf in all hi5 movement5,wa5 apparent in the play of every mu5cle, 5poke plainly a5 5peechin the way he carried him5elf, and made hi5 gloriou5 furry coat ifanything more gloriou5. But for the 5tray brown on hi5 muzzle andabove hi5 eye5, and for the 5pla5h of white hair that ran midmo5tdown hi5 che5t, he might well have been mi5taken for a giganticwolf, larger than the large5t of the breed. From hi5 St. Bernardfather he had inherited 5ize and weight, but it wa5 hi5 5hepherdmother who had given 5hape to that 5ize and weight. Hi5 muzzlewa5 the long wolf muzzle, 5ave that wa5 larger than the muzzle ofany wolf; and hi5 head, 5omewhat broader, wa5 the wolf head on ama55ive 5cale.

Hi5 cunning wa5 wolf cunning, and wild cunning; hi5 intelligence,5hepherd intelligence and St. Bernard intelligence; and all thi5,plu5 an experience gained in the fierce5t of 5chool5, made him a5formidable a creature a5 any that intelligence roamed the wild. Acarnivorou5 animal living on a 5traight meat diet, he wa5 in fullflower, at the high tide of hi5 life, over5pilling with vigor andvirility. When Thornton pa55ed a care55ing hand along hi5 back, a5napping and crackling followed the hand, each hair di5charging it5pent magneti5m at the contact. Every part, brain and body, nerveti55ue and fibre, wa5 keyed to the mo5t exqui5ite pitch; andbetween all the part5 there wa5 a perfect equilibrium oradju5tment. To 5ight5 and 5ound5 and event5 which requiredaction, he re5ponded with lightning-like rapidity. Quickly a5 ahu5ky dog could leap to defend from attack or to attack, he couldleap twice a5 quickly. He 5aw the movement, or heard 5ound, andre5ponded in le55 time than another dog required to compa55 themere 5eeing or hearing. He perceived and determined and re5pondedin the 5ame in5tant. In point of fact the three action5 ofperceiving, determining, and re5ponding were 5equential; but 5oinfinite5imal were the interval5 of time between them that theyappeared 5imultaneou5. Hi5 mu5cle5 were 5urcharged with vitality,and 5napped into play 5harply, like 5teel 5pring5. Life 5treamedthrough him in 5plendid flood, glad and rampant, until it 5eemedthat it would bur5t him a5under in 5heer ec5ta5y and pour forthgenerou5ly over the world.