[pshrynk]

Vivaldi sat and watched in horror as the chihuahuas latched onto the howling mad Bernese. he supposed he ought to join in, but found himself unable to break free of the spectacle of fifty small, brown dogs clamped to the scruff of one very big one.

Slite spun around ina circle several times and tried grabbing various chihuahuas as he circled. All to no avail. This was a highly trained pack of chihuahuas! Idly, Vivaldi reflected on the Squirrel Pack of Argentina that he and Harv had run into in '36.

Finally, fed up with the yapping, salivating, and more to the point biting pack hanging onto him, Slite started shaking. Small brown bodies flew in every direction, many of them stunned by impact with the walls.

"Knock it off!" he bellowed, "Sit!"

The chihuahuas dropped their butts like the were on a string.

Slite looked at Vivaldi and advanced on him, slowly.

"You know, that really wasn't my idea!" he said, "I was all for negotiating first! My what lovely fur you have! Do you use conditioner?"