"Bloodhounds ain't any good, outside of novels. If beef got
scarce, them Greasers would steal the dogs and eat 'em." He added,
meditatively, "Dog ain't such bad eatin', either."

"Have you tried it?"

Mr. Law nodded. "It was better than some of the army beef we got
in the Philippines." Then, in answer to her unspoken inquiry,
"Yes'm, I served an enlistment there."

"You--were a private soldier?"

"Yes'm."

Mrs. Austin was incredulous, and yet she could not well express
her surprise without too personal an implication. "I can't imagine
anybody--that is, a man like you, as a common soldier."

"Well, I wasn't exactly that," he grinned. "No, I was about the
most UNcommon soldier out there. I had a speakin' acquaintance
with most of the guard-houses in the islands before I got
through."

"But why did you enlist--a man like you?"

"Why?" He pondered the question. "I was young. I guess I needed
the excitement. I have to get about so much or I don't enjoy my
food."

"Did you join the Maderistas for excitement?"