hen he was told about the missing pocketbook and ring.

"Are you sure, children, that this is the same dog that ran into the
yard that day and made off with my pocketbook?" asked Mrs. Brown of
Bunny and Sue.

"Oh, yes!" declared Bunny. "He runs just the same, and he barks just the
same, and he looks just the same."

Sue agreed with this, and when Mrs. Slater told again what a habit Sandy
had of carrying things off in his mouth it was decided that this was the
animal that had caused Bunny and Sue so much trouble, including the
locking in at Mr. Foswick's carpenter shop.

"How did you get Sandy?" asked Mrs. Slater of Mr. Ravenwood.

"He came to me," was the answer. "I am a sort of carpenter myself," he
went on. "I make things of wood, called patterns. They are for the use
of foundries in casting objects in metal. The box you found is full of
wooden patterns, and that is why it floated away up here after I lost
it."

"How did you lose it?" asked Sue.

"And isn't there _any_ pirate gold in the box?" asked Bunny, much
disappointed.

"No, not a bit of pirate gold, or any other kind," laughed Mr.
Ravenwood. "I wish there might be some real, good gold in it, but such
things don't happen outside of books, I'm afraid," he added. "Perhaps I
had better tell you the whole story," he suggested.

"I should like to hear it," said Mrs. Brown. "That is, unless you want
to go up to our woodshed and make sure it is your box we have found."

"No," was the reply. "I am pretty certain, from your description of it
and from the fact that it has my name on it, that it is mine. Now I will
tell you how Davy Jones, as I called him, or Sandy, as you call him,
came to me.

"I was in my motor boat one day at a dock in Bellemere, getting some
wood to take to my shop in Sea Gate to make into patterns. I was just
about to start off when this big, yellow dog came running along the
pier. He jumped into my boat and made himself at home. I tried to make
him go ashore, but he wouldn't. As I had no time to get out myself and
tie him up, I took him with me back to Sea Gate. He proved to be very
friendly, and though I was sure he was a valuable animal and that some
one would want him back, I had no time then to make inquiries. I just
kept him and took him home with me."

"Did he have a pocketbook when he jumped into your boat?" asked Bunny.

"No, I don't believe he did," answered Mr. Ravenwood. "He had nothing in
his mouth that I recall; though,