And presently, with much crashing of undergrowth, appeared the
rebellious heifer, driven on by Chum. After depositing her, sulky
and plunging, at the bars, Chum vanished again--in apparent
response to another far-off bell jangle. And in three minutes
more he was back at the bars with the fifth cow.

"Lucky one was a heifer an' the other one dry!" commented Link to
the collie, after petting him and praising him for the exploit.
"I'll have to learn you to drive milch cows easy an' quiet. You
can't run 'em like you run sheep an' yearlin's. But apart from
that, you sure done grand. You can lop off an hour a day of my
work if I c'n send you reg'lar for the critters. That ought to be
worth the price of your keep, by itself. Now if I c'n learn you
how to milk an' maybe how to mow--well, 'twouldn't be a hull lot
queerer'n the stunts you done to-day!"

It was perhaps a week later that Link Ferris received his
quarterly check from the Paterson Vegetable Market. These checks
hitherto had been the brightest spots in Link's routine. Not only
did the money for his hard-raised farm products mean a
replenishing of the always scant larder and an easing of the
chronic fiscal strain between himself and the Hampton general
store's proprietor, but sometimes enough spare cash was left over
to allow Ferris to get very satisfactorily drunk.

Since Chum's advent, the old gnawing of loneliness had not goaded
Link to the Hampton tavern. As a consequence, he had a dollar or
two more on hand than was usual at such times. This wealth was
swelled still further by the fact that a boost in vegetable
prices had fattened his quarterly check beyond its wonted size.