He lifted his head and howled like a wolf. Kiki was very surprised. She attempted an imitation but an Alsatian’s howl was beyond her. She only produced a curious whirring noise that made the dog cock his big head on one side and listen.
Then the other dogs came up, panting too, their tongues all hanging out. They stood beside and behind their leader, sniffing. They looked very fierce indeed!
“Not a nice sight,” murmured Bill to Johns, who was staring stolidly at the dogs as if he was perfectly used to being hunted by a pack of Alsatians and didn’t mind it at all.
“Keep still,” Bill commanded everyone. “As long as we don’t attempt to move or get away the dogs won’t do anything more than stand there and stare.”
There came the sound of shouts and Meier and Erlick appeared, very red in the face with running. Meier stopped dead when he saw the pack of dogs standing looking in the hole where the stream poured out.
He pushed Erlick behind a tree quickly. It was plain that he feared Bill might have a gun. He shouted out loudly.
“Come on out! The dogs have found you. If you don’t want them to set on you, come on out — and throw any gun you’ve got down on the ground, and put your hands up. We’ve got you covered.”
“Pleasant fellow, isn’t he?” said Johns to Bill. “It’ll be nice to get hold of him. Do we go out, Boss, or don’t we?”
“We don’t,” said Bill shortly. “I doubt if he’ll dare to set the dogs on us. He knows the children are here.”
“Meier wouldn’t stick at anything,” said Jack. And he was right. When there was no answer, and not even a movement from the hole in the hill, Meier began to lose his temper as usual. He shouted out something in a foreign language, then changed to English.
“You heard what I said. You have one more chance. The dogs are ready to pounce. They’ll round you up all right, and I warn you, their teeth are sharp, so don’t resist!”
Still nobody moved. Lucy-Ann shut her eyes. She really couldn’t look at the eager, panting dogs any more. She could see that they were just awaiting the word to rush into the cave and drag them all out.
And then Philip suddenly moved, and before anyone could stop him, he was outside the cave.
“Put your hands up!” called Meier, and Philip put them up. The dogs sniffed at him, and under his breath Philip talked to them.
“Don’t you remember me? I’m Philip. You slept with me up on the rock. Fine dogs you are. We’re friends, don’t you remember?”
The dogs did not understand one word, but they understood his tone of voice. They remembered this boy. They felt his friendliness and his attraction. The leader began to whine a little. He longed to have this boy pat his head. But Philip had his hands above his head, and had only his voice to charm the dogs with.
He went on talking to them in a low voice, while the other children, and Bill and Johns, watched spellbound. They all thought the same. Philip, Philip, what is there in you that makes all creatures your friends? What gift have you got, so rare, so irresistible? “Lucky boy!” thought Bill. “And lucky for every one of us that you can charm these dogs!”
Meier called out angrily. “Where are the others? Tell them to come, too, or I’ll give the order for them to be dragged out!”
The leader dog stood up and put his paws on Philip’s shoulders. He licked the boy’s face. It was a very wet lick, but Philip did not even turn away his face. That was the signal for all the other dogs to come round too. Quite forgetting Meier they milled round Philip, trying to get near him, sniffing at him, giving him a lick when they got near enough.
He put down his hands. Meier would not dare to take a shot at him now in case he killed a dog! He ran his hands over their backs, patted their heads, rubbed their noses, and all the time he talked to them in the special voice he kept for animals.
Meier snapped out an order to the dogs. “Fetch them out! Get them! Bring them here!”
The dogs turned their heads automatically at his commanding voice. They hesitated. The leader looked at Philip. “Come with me,” said Philip. “Come. You will find more friends in here.”
And, to Meier’s everlasting astonishment, the boy actually led all the dogs to the cave, where at least four of them squeezed in to lick Lucy-Ann, Jack and Dinah! They sniffed doubtfully at Bill and Johns, growled at Snowy and Kiki, and then, when Philip laid a hand on Bill’s arm and then on Johns’, they accepted them as friends too.
“Philip! You’re a marvel!” said Bill, in heartfelt admiration. “It’s magic you use — can’t be anything else!”
“What a boy!” said the stolid Johns, allowing his face to change its expression for once and show great admiration.
“Meier’s shortly going to have a fit, I think,” said Jack. “He just can’t understand all this!”
“Fetch them out, I say! I’ll shoot the lot of you dogs, if you don’t obey orders!” stormed Meier. “What’s come over you? Fetch them out!”
The dogs took absolutely no notice at all. Their leader had accepted Philip as master now, and they all followed his decision. What Philip said they would obey. They feared Meier, but they loved Philip.
Meier suddenly fired his revolver in a fury. He did not fire at the dogs, but over their heads. They jumped and growled, turning their heads towards him. Bill judged it was time to do something.
“Philip! Will the dogs obey you? Will they go for Meier and Erlick? If they will — order them to! We’ll give that couple a taste of their own medicine!”
Chapter 29
THE TABLES ARE TURNED!
“RIGHT!” said Philip. He pointed to the tree where Meier and Erlick were hiding behind its big trunk. “See, boys! Fetch them out! Bring them here! Fetch them for me, then!”
Before Meier or Erlick knew what was happening the pack of Alsatians was speeding joyfully to obey. The whole pack flung themselves on the two rogues, and bore them to the ground. There was no chance to use a revolver. In fact Meier’s gun rolled on the ground and was completely lost under the scrambling crowd of dogs.
“Don’t hurt them! Bring them here!” ordered Philip in excitement, proud of his power to give commands to the pack of dogs.
Bill and Johns were now out of the cave, and Jack followed, telling the girls not to come out yet. They didn’t want to! Lucy-Ann clutched Dinah’s arm till she squealed. Both girls watched what was happening, breathless with intense excitement.
The dogs began to drag the two men over to Philip. Erlick, the great ape-like fellow, a real bully if ever there was one, was screaming for mercy, a coward, like all bullies. “Call them off! I’ll surrender! Call them off, boy!”
Meier fought savagely, not seeming to care whether he was bitten or not. He could not find his revolver and was beside himself with amazement, anger and fear.
The dogs were trained not to bite unless commanded, but one or two of them gave him a well-deserved nip — a little repayment for his callousness in dealing with them in their training. The leader got hold of him by the slack of his trousers, and, looking rather ridiculous, Meier was brought to where the boys and the two men were standing watching.
Then Erlick was brought too, trying to stand, almost weeping with panic. He remembered a gun he had in his pocket, and he reached to get it, thinking it was his last chance of escape.
But Johns was on the spot. “Hands up,” he said. “Any funny business on your part, Erlick, and the dogs can have you for all I care. Stand up, Meier, and put your hands up too.”
White with rage Meier put up his hands when the dogs allowed him to find his feet. He glared at the boys and Bill.
“What did you do to the dogs?” he snapped at Philip. “They’ve never turned on me before!” He lapsed into a foreign language again and poured out streams of abuse.
“Shut up,” said Bill, who was now holding his own revolver in his hand. “You talk too much.”
“Wipe your feet,” said Kiki’s voice, and she flew out of the hole and onto Jack’s shoulder. “Pooh! Gah!”
Meier glared at the parrot, recognizing the voice that had puzzled him for so long. If looks could have killed, certainly Kiki would have fallen dead at that moment. As it was she went off into one of her dreadful cackles, and Meier clenched the fists he was holding above his head, wishing that for one moment he could get hold of Kiki.