But the dog did not hear, or would not mind.  Straight at the cat he rushed, and pussy, seeing a strange dog coming, and pulling a soap-box cart in which were two boys—­pussy, seeing this strange sight—­arched her back and made her tail get as big as a big bologna sausage.

CHAPTER XXIV

THE OLD COAT

“Bang!”

That was the soap-box cart hitting against a tree.

“Tunk!  Tunk!”

Those were the soft sounds Russ and Laddie made as they were spilled out on the grass near the lumberman’s cabin.

“Bow-wow!”

That was Zip barking at the cat.

“Hiss-siss!”

That was the cat making queer noises at Zip.

“Wow-ow-ow-Yelp!”

That was Zip howling because the cat scratched his nose.

For that’s just what the cat did.  Zip rushed at her so fast that he banged the cart against a tree, and turned it over on its side, spilling out Russ and Laddie.  And Zip, not seeming to care what happened to his little masters, kept on after the cat.

But pussy was brave, and she didn’t run and climb a tree, as most cats did when Zip chased them.  She just stood, arching her back, making her tail big, and sissing queer sounds until the dog came near enough, when she darted out a paw, and the sharp claws scratched Zip on the nose.  Then Zip howled and sat down to look at the cat.  And the cat stayed right there looking at Zip.

For a moment or two Russ and Laddie didn’t know just what had happened.  But they scrambled to their feet.  Then they saw Zip and the overturned cart and the cat, and they understood.

“He chased a cat,” said Laddie.

“Zip, you’re a bad dog!” cried Russ, and he shook his finger at the pet.  “Didn’t Grandma Bell tell you not to chase cats?”

This was true.  Grandma Bell had told Zip that, but, like boys and girls, he sometimes forgot.  Zip wasn’t a bad dog, and he never bit cats.  He just liked to chase them once in a while.

“Are you hurt, Laddie?” asked Russ.

“No.  Are you?”

“Nope.  Say! but didn’t Zip run fast, though?”

“Terrible fast.  Faster than when he chased the rabbit.”

There were a few red spots on Zip’s nose where the cat had scratched him.  The dog licked them away with his tongue, and looked rather silly.  It wasn’t very often a cat stayed to fight him.

Russ and Laddie started for the overturned cart, to set it up on the wheels again, when the door of the log cabin opened and out came a red-haired man, whose clothes were quite old and ragged.  He wore a pair of boots, into the tops of which his trousers were tucked, but he had on no coat.  Russ and Laddie looked particularly to see if he had a coat, but he had none.

“Hello!  What’s going on here?” asked the man.

“If you please, our dog chased your cat,” said Russ, “but he didn’t hurt him—­I mean our dog didn’t hurt your cat.”