“It is the little dog!  O brother, let us follow and see what becomes of him!”

The strange curiosity to see the burying place, which tempted only too many to their death in those perilous days, was upon Joseph at that moment.  He desired greatly to see one of those plague pits, and to watch the emptying of the cart at its mouth.  Forgetting their father’s warnings, the brothers ran quickly after the cart, which was easily kept in view, and soon saw it halt and turn round at a spot where they could discern the outline of a great mound of earth, and the black yawning mouth of what they knew must be the pit.

Half terrified, half fascinated, they gripped each other by the hand and crept step by step nearer.  They took care to keep to the windward of the pit, and were getting very near to it when the air was rent by another of the doleful cries which they had heard before, but which sounded so strange and mournful here that they stopped short in terror at the noise.  It seemed even to affect the nerves of the bearers, for one of them exclaimed: 

“It is that cur again, who has left the marks of his teeth in my hand.  If I could but get near him with my cudgel, he should never howl again.”

“I thought we had rid ourselves of the brute, but he must have followed us.  A plague upon his doleful voice!  They say that it bodes ill to hear a dog’s howl at night.  Perchance he will leap down into the pit after his master.  We will take good care he comes not forth again if he does that.”

With these words the rough fellows turned to the cart, which was now at the edge of the pit, and finished the rude burial which was all that could in those days be given to the dead.  Every now and then one of the men would aim a heavy stone at the poor dog, who sat on the edge of the pit howling dismally.  The creature, however, was never hit, for he kept a respectful distance from his enemies.

Their work done, the men got into the cart and drove away, without having noticed the two boys crouching beside the pile of soil in the shadow.  The dog began running backwards and forwards along the edge of the pit, which being only lately dug was still deep, though filling up very fast in these terrible days of drought and heat.

The boys rose up and called to him kindly.  He did not notice them at first, but finally came, and looked up in their faces with appealing eyes, as though he begged of them to give him back his master.

“Touch him not, Ben,” said Joseph to his brother, who would have taken the dog into his embrace, “he has been in a plague stricken house.  Let us coax him to yon pool, and wash him there; and then, if he will go with us, we will take him and welcome.  It may be he will be a safeguard from danger; and it would be sorrowful indeed to leave him here.”