The Freemason's Daughter: A Novel — page 207: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

200 THE FREEMASONS DAUGHTER. The foam upon the muzzle of the animal was also streaked with blood. Catching up a sharp knive which he used for cutting bacon and bread for luis customers, Flin laid the head of his intended victim upon the edge of the table, partially disengaging his hand in order to get at his neck more easily. Pepper made a last exertion to free himself: by a great effort stretched out his neck, and in an instant his sharp teeth met in the fleshy part of the villain’s left hand, who dropped him, with a yell of pain. The next moment Pepper was again under the bed. Furious with disappointment, Flin seized a stick, and began striking at random at the animal, whose agility easily enabled him to avoid the blows, barking, at the same time, furiously. “ Curse him,” said the man; “ but I’ll unkennel him yet.” Seizing the under-beam of the bedstead with both hands, he dragged it to the other end of the room; but Pepper sagaciously retreated with it, so that his persecutor had only his trouble for his pains. It was curious to mark the instinct—the almost human intelligence—with which the faithful little crea- ture avoided every attempt of his enemy, either to drive or cajole him from his retreat: it would have been a pity the ruffian should have succeeded, for the dog was by far the nobler animal of the two. While Flin was meditating how to proceed, a violent COniiclooecl SS (SO