t our governess hated dogs, and we were expressly forbidden to so much as
pat the head of any stray canine that thrust an inquiring nose between the
bars of her gate. Therefore, it was with sad foreboding that we watched the
bun disappear. The Scotty held it between his forepaws and bit off decent
mouthfuls, without sign of greed or haste. By his bearing and by his
shining silver collar we knew that he was, or had been some one's cherished
pet.

The bun had cheered him wonderfully, for, as we moved homeward, he leaped
playfully at his leash, and catching it in his teeth, worried it in an
abandon of glee.

We made no plans. We had no hopes. We merely were drawn by habit and
necessity to the place where, we knew, desperate trouble awaited us. At the
gate we halted.

"We might take him into the yard to play for a little while," I said.
"P'raps we could carry him upstairs wrapped in my coat, and hide him under
the bed. Maybe he'd get so awful good he'd live under the bed, and we could
save our food for him, and get up nights to play with him."

As if to show his appreciation of the plan, the Scotty raised himself on
his hind quarters, paddling the air with his forepaws in excited appeal,
and giving vent to sharp, staccato barks.

The next instant the front door was thrown open, and Mary Ellen, her cap
askew, dashed down the steps to meet us.

"Wheriver have ye been so long?" she ejaculated. "An' have ye been tould
the news? 'Tis hersilf has taken a tumble, an' put her knee out so the
doctor says. I'd jist been clanin' up the panthry shelves, an' _she_ got up
on a chair to see whether I'd maybe missed the top one, an' I must have
left a knob of soap on the chair, for the next thing I knew she was
stretched on the flure, an' I had to fetch the doctor, an' he says she'll
have to kape to her room for a fortnight or more, an' the lord only knows
how I'm to wait on her an' manage the three av ye, wid yer pranks an' all!"

The Seraph turned a somersault; then I turned a somersault; then Angel
turned two; then the Scotty sat up, paddled the air with his forepaws, and
sneezed twice.

Mary Ellen was genuinely shocked.

"I do belave," she said, solemnly, "that you've stones in your breasts
instid av hearts--but you're jist like all men folk--if they think there's
a good time in sthore for them, the women can suffer all they like, more
shame to them." She was so worked up that she did not notice that the
little dog had follow