appointment to me," he said, trying to look
disappointed, but his back _would_ wriggle. "This chain business--silly
of us not to have known--well, well, we shall be wiser another time. Now
let's go home."

Poor old Chum; I _had_ known. From a large coat pocket I produced a
chain.

"_Dash_ it," said Chum, looking up at me pathetically, "you might almost
_want_ to get rid of me."

He was chained, and the label tied on to him. Forgive me that label,
Chum; I think that was the worst offence of all. And why should I label
one who was speaking so eloquently for himself; who said from the tip of
his little black nose to the end of his stumpy black tail, "I'm a silly
old ass, but there's nothing wrong in me, and they're sending me away!"
But according to the regulations--one must obey the regulations, Chum.

I gave him to the guard--a delightful man. The guard and I chained him
to a brake or something. Then the guard went away, and Chum and I had a
little talk....

After that the train went off.

Good-bye, little dog.

THE TRUTH ABOUT HOME RAILS

Imagine us, if you can, sitting one on each side of the fire, I with my
feet on the mantelpiece, Margery curled up in the blue arm-chair, both
of us intent on the morning paper. To me, by good chance, has fallen the
sporting page; to Margery the foreign, political, and financial
intelligence of the day.

"What," said Margery, "does it mean when it says----" She stopped and
spelt it over to herself again.

I put down my piece of the paper and prepared to explain. The desire for
knowledge in the young cannot be too strongly encouraged, and I have
always flattered myself that I can explain in perfectly simple language
anything which a child wants to know. For instance, I once told Margery
what "Miniature Rifle Shooting" meant; it was a head-line which she had
come across in her paper. The explanation took some time, owing to
Margery's preconceived idea that a bird entered into it somewhere;
several times, when I thought the lesson was over, she said, "Well, what
about the bird?" But I think I made it plain to her in the end, though
maybe she has forgotten about it now.

"What," said Margery, "does it mean when it says 'Home Rails Firm'?"

I took up my paper again. The Cambridge fifteen, I was glad to see, were
rapidly developing into a first-class team, and----

"'Home Rails Firm,'" repeated Margery, and looked up at me.

My mind worked rapidly, as it always does