Just minutes after disappearing from the porch, Mjolnir returned, dragging with him a vile smelling bone he had retrieved from the shallow pit Duke thought he had cleverly hidden it. The taste in his mouth was revolting, How could dogs enjoy gnawing on what was essentially carrion?

With great relief he dropped the bone fully in view of the old hunting dog and hunkered down, pretending to gnaw on the decidedly unappetizing object, infuriating Duke.

As Mjolnir had known it would - the sight of a *cat* usurping Duke's favorite bone nearly drove the dog berserk. Duke threw his weight against the screen door, belling loudly at the feline's audacity. In the quiet air of the holler his cry, voiced at full hunting timber,rolled out from the porch and echoed from the surrounding hills, even as the dog continued to throw himself at the door.