She darted first at one and then at another,
snapping wildly, and meeting with many a kick and blow in return.
The neighbours began to look out at their shop-doors and their windows;
for the boys, rapt in the excitement of the sport, no longer laid any
restraint upon their cries. Andrew Constable, the clothier, from his
shop-door; Rob Guddle, the barber, from his window, with his face
shadowed by Annie's curls; Redford, the bookseller, from the top of the
stairs that led to his shop; in short, the whole of the shopkeepers on
the square of Glamerton were regarding this battle of odds. The
half-frozen place looked half-alive. But none of the good folks cared
much to interfere, for flying stones are not pleasant to encounter. And
indeed they could not clearly make out what was the matter.--In a
minute more, a sudden lull came over the hubbub. They saw all the group
gather together in a murmuring knot.
The fact was this. Although cowardly enough now, the brute, infuriated
with pain, had made a determined rush at one of her antagonists, and a
short hand-to-teeth struggle was now taking place, during which the
stoning ceased.
"She has a grip o' my leg," said Alec quietly; "and I hae a grip o' her
throat.
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