Beth, not waiting to put on anything over her night-dress, rushed down-stairs and opened the door for the dog.  At once, she noticed an ugly gash on the front of his chest.  The Davenports could not imagine how he received it, but they doctored and petted him to his great delight.

Soon after breakfast, Mr. Brown again appeared, very indignant over Duke’s truancy.

“I’ll make the ugly beast pay for all the trouble he has caused me,” he muttered, flourishing before the cowering dog a riding whip which he carried.

“You shan’t whip him,” declared Marian, her eyes blazing.  “I’ll—­I’ll have you arrested if you do.”

Beth looked as if she would like to hug Marian for her boldness.  The man laughed.

“I ain’t going to whip him.  It wouldn’t do no sort of good.  But I’ll outwit the ugly beast yet.  It seems as if I couldn’t keep him from you, but I’ll get the better of him yet.  Last night I locked him in a room in the barn where all the lower sashes are barred with iron.  He kept me awake howling most of the night.  Not till morning was he quiet.  I thought I’d conquered him, but when I went to the barn my dog was gone.  I found the upper glass in one of the windows broken, and saw that he must have jumped and escaped that way, though it seems incredible.”

“That’s the way he cut himself,” declared Marian, giving Duke a parting love pat.

That day, Mr. Brown, by means of a heavy chain, led Duke down to one of the river boats.

“Keep an eye on this dog,” he said to the captain; “I’ll chain him up well here.  At Silver Lake a man’ll come aboard for him.  I’m sending him there because he runs away.”

Duke howled so pitifully that after the boat was well under way from Jacksonville one of the sailors took pity on him and unloosed him, supposing him perfectly safe aboard boat in midwater.

However, Duke was not to be hindered by obstacles.  With one bound, he leaped to the side of the boat and jumped overboard.

“Well,” the captain muttered, “I don’t know what Brown’ll say, but it can’t be helped.”

Duke swam immediately to shore.  There one of the wharf hands saw him as he landed, and exclaimed: 

“Why, that’s Brown’s dog.  Perhaps he’ll give me something if I take him home.”

So the wharf hand caught Duke and took him up to Brown’s home at noon.  Brown, who had been drinking and was in a very unpleasant mood, was struck with amazement at sight of the dog.  He gave the wharf hand some small change, and, when he was gone, took Duke into the back yard and beat him.  Next, he tied the dog with an extra heavy chain.

“There,” he exclaimed, “you’re stronger than I think you are if you break that.”

Ill-usage had thoroughly aroused Duke.  When Mr. Brown was out of sight, he struggled so vigorously that the collar around his neck worked into the raw flesh.  Undaunted, however, he struggled on until he again broke his fetters.  Away he bounded over the four miles to the Davenports’.  Needless to say, the children were overjoyed to see him.