d not
have foregone the wonder of seeing the living, burning characters which his
father could not perceive. He longed to open those dusty covers once again.

On his way home that afternoon he met two boys teasing a small brown dog.
Its coat was stuck full of burrs and it tried in vain to escape from its
tormentors. The boys stopped to let Gabriel go by, for they had a wholesome
respect for his strong right arm and they knew his love for animals. The
trembling little dog looked at him in added fear.

Gabriel stood still. "Will you give me that dog?" he asked.

The boys backed away with their prize. "Nothing for nothing," said the
taller, who had the animal under his arm. "What'll you give us?"

Gabriel thought. Never lived a boy with fewer possessions. Ah! He suddenly
remembered a whistle he had made yesterday. Diving his hand into his pocket
he brought it out and whistled a lively strain upon it.

"This," he said, approaching. "I'll give you this."

"That for one of us," replied the tall boy. "What for the other?"

From the moment the dog heard Gabriel's voice, its eyes had appealed to
him. Now it struggled to get free, and the big boy struck it. Its cry
sharpened Gabriel's wits.

"The other shall have a penny," he said, and drew Mother Lemon's coin out
of his blouse.

The big boy dropped the dog, and he and his companion struggled for the
coin, each willing the other should have the whistle. Gabriel lost no time
in catching up the dog and making off with it.

He did not stop running until he had reached a spot by the brookside,
hidden amid sheltering trees. Here he sat down and looked over the forlorn
specimen in his lap. The dog was a rough, dingy object from its long ears
to its tail.

First of all, Gabriel set to work to get out the burrs that stuck fast in
the thick coat. This took a long time, but the little dog licked his hands
gratefully now and then, showing that he understood, even if the operation
was not always pleasant.

"Now, comrade," said Gabriel, at last, "you'll have to stand a ducking."

The dog's beautiful golden eyes looked at him trustfully, and Gabriel,
placing him in the brook, scrubbed him well, long ears and all, and then
raced around with him in the warm air until he was dry.

What a transformation was there! Gabriel's eyes shone as he looked at his
purchase. The dog's long hair, which had been a dingy brown, shone now like
golden silk in the sunshine, and his eyes gleamed with