"Oh!"

"Yes--and you go on irritating him until you have made him quite
savage."

"Which, from what I know of the dog, won't take long," observed my
uncle thoughtfully.

"So much the better. The moment he gets savage he will fly at you."

My uncle agreed that the idea seemed plausible.

"He will fly at your throat," continued the next-door-but-one man,
"and this is where you will have to be careful. _As_ he springs
toward you, and _before_ he gets hold of you, you must hit him a fair
straight blow on his nose, and knock him down."

"Yes, I see what you mean."

"Quite so--well, the moment you have knocked him down, he will jump up
and go for you again. You must knock him down again; and you must
keep on doing this, until the dog is thoroughly cowed and exhausted.
Once he is thoroughly cowed, the thing's done--dog's as gentle as a
lamb after that."

"Oh!" says my uncle, rising from his chair, "you think that a good
way, do you?"

"Certainly," replied the next-door-but-one man; "it never fails."