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place into darkness. Panic filled the black. After a minute of scrambling, somebody turned on the lights again. |
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In the cage, however, Rufus was gaping at Jerry. |
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They tried to shout him down. Somebody even shot in the air. But it did not stop Rufus. He had been trained not to be startled by sharp sounds, including gunshots. Jerry Mars had been very thorough. |
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It did not take long. And Jerry did not cry out. His eyes were wide with terrorand something elsea kind of ecstasy. In the brief, hushed reprieve, Jerry dove into the night water of Rufus's eyes and swam until the green flash of his own life flicked out. |
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Then a gunshot found its mark, and Rufus died with his master's neck in his jaws. |
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Amid the noisy confusion someone did spot Matty at the rear of the hall. Guns came out. But in the darkness Matty had unbolted the twelve cages, and before the men could take aim, Matty had unleashed the dogs' minds as well as their bodies and sent them down on the men. In the melée he found the light switch by the rear door and once again threw the barn into darkness, then crashed through the door and into the night. |
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Across the blackened fields he hobbled, his hand and arm halfmangled, his ankle nearly crushed, pushed on by the savage howls of dogs and men. |
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