They sprang for me as I sprang for the cliff-wall and began to climb.

One of them, a lean and hungry brute, caught me in mid-leap.

His teeth sank into my thigh-muscles, and he nearly dragged me back.

He held on, but I made no effort to dislodge him, devoting my whole effort to climbing out of reach of the rest of the brutes.
Not until I was safe from them did I turn my attention to that live agony on my thigh.

And then, a dozen feet above the snapping pack that leaped and scrambled against the wall and fell back, I got the dog by the throat and slowly throttled him.