And, for a moment, her fat little body swayed perilously on the brink.
The Mistress and the Master were too far away to catch her in time to prevent a fall which might well have entailed a broken rib or a wrenched shoulder.

But Lad was nearer.

Also, he moved faster.
With the speed of lightning, he made a dive for the tumbling Lady.

As tenderly as if he were picking up a ball of needles, he caught her by the scruff of the neck, lifting her in the air and depositing her at the Mistress's feet.
The puppy repaid this life-saving exploit by growling still more wrathfully and by snapping in helpless menace at the big dog's nose.
But Lad was in no wise offended.

Deaf to the praise of the Mistress,--a praise which ordinarily threw him into transports of embarrassed delight,--he stood over the rescued pup; every inch of his magnificent body vibrant with homage and protectiveness.
From that hour, Lad was the adoring slave of Lady.
He watched over her, in her increasingly active rambles about the Place.