“who you s’pose that is?” asked bunny.
“i don’t know,” answered sue. “i hope maybe it isn’t that frenchman come to take his dog back,” she went on, with a look at her father.
“oh, no,” answered mr. brown. “the frenchman will not take your patter back. i made him promise if i took the dog for the money that was owing to me that it would be mine forever. and the frenchman agreed to this. you won’t lose your dog, bunny and sue.”
the children seemed relieved at this, but still they wondered who had rung the doorbell. mary, the maid, had gone to see who was calling, and after patter had marched around like a soldier dog, mary came back in the dining room to say:
[23]“there’s a man out in the hall who wants to see you, mr. brown.”
“what’s his name?” asked the children’s father.
“he wouldn’t say. called himself a stranger,” said mary. “he said he wouldn’t keep you but a minute.”
again bunny and sue looked worriedly at each other. in spite of what daddy brown said, this might, after all, be the frenchman coming back after his trick dog. certainly patter was a dog that any one would want, he was so cute and wise.
“a stranger?” said mr. brown, and he seemed very thoughtful. “i can’t imagine who it can be. but i’ll see him.”
“oh, i wonder——” began mrs. brown, and then she stopped. she was thinking perhaps it might be the old man who, earlier in the evening, had stopped to inquire about a mr. denton who was in the circus business. and, as it happened, while it was not this old man again, the stranger’s visit was about him.
mr. brown went out into the hall, and as[24] he left the door open bunny, sue and their mother could hear what was said.
“you wanted to see me?” said mr. brown, as he looked at the caller who, indeed, was a stranger to him.
“yes,” was the answer. “my name is merton. a little while ago i saw an old man come out of your house here as i was waiting for a friend on the street. do you know who this old man is?”
“no, i don’t even know his name,” said mr. brown. “why do you ask?”
“because he was just now hurt—run down by an automobile,” said mr. merton. “i saw it happen. the police came and took the old man away in the ambulance. no one seemed to know who he was, and i remembered that he had come out of your house. so i told the police maybe you knew him, and if you did i’d find out about it.”
“no, i don’t know him,” said mr. brown. “i’m sorry he was hurt. he’s as much a stranger to me as you are, mr. merton. he came here to inquire about a jim denton who[25] used to be in the circus business; but i know no such man.”
“neither do i,” said mr. merton. “well, i won’t trouble you any further. i don’t suppose much can be done for the old man. he doesn’t seem to have any friends.”
“what hospital did they take him to?” asked mr. brown, for there were two not far from bellemere. “i might go to see him, poor chap!”
mr. merton told what hospital it was and then left, for there was nothing more he could do, though he said he would inquire around and see if he could locate “jim denton,” or any one else who knew the old man.
“poor fellow,” said mrs. brown, when her husband came back into the dining room, where bunny and sue were patting their new trick dog. “i wish we could do something for him.”
“i could give him some money from my bank,” offered bunny.
“so could i!” chimed in sue.
“i guess he doesn’t need money—not as long[26] as he is in the hospital, anyhow,” remarked their father. “i wonder who this jim denton, a circus man, can be. and i wonder why the old man wants to find him.”
“you might ask the frenchman who gave you the dog,” said mrs. brown.
“how would he know?” inquired her husband.
“as he trained this dog to do tricks, he might know some circus people, for they have trained and trick dogs in a circus.”
“we had one in ours, when we played circus!” said bunny.
“but patter is a better trick dog than splash ever was,” added sue.
“yes, patter is a good trick dog,” said mr. brown. “but i hardly think, my dear,” he added to his wife, “that mr. foulard would know anything about circus men. anyhow, the frenchman has gone many miles from here.”
in a way bunny and sue were glad to hear this, for they thought there would be less danger of the frenchman coming back to take away patter.
[27]“well, i feel sorry for the old man,” went on mrs. brown.
“so do i,” said her husband, “and i’ll go to see him in the hospital. i’ll try to find out where this circus man is whom he wants to find.”
the remainder of the evening was spent by bunny and sue playing with their trick dog. patter loved children and was never happier than when performing for them. but even a trick dog may get tired, and mr. brown knew this for, after a while, he said:
“now, children, it is time for you to go to bed, and patter must have some sleep, also.”
“oh, daddy, could he sleep with me?” begged bunny.
“no, i want him to sleep with me—my bed is bigger!” cried sue.
“it is not good for dogs to sleep with boys and girls,” said daddy brown. “i will make a bed for patter in the kitchen. he is used to sleeping in the kitchen, the frenchman told me. later on we’ll make a bed in the woodhouse.”
[28]bunny and sue were a bit disappointed, but they felt that daddy knew best. so, after some good-night pats given their dog, the children went up to their rooms, and patter was put in a bed in a snug corner of the kitchen. his clown suit of red, white and blue was taken off and put away for special occasions.
“we’ll see you in the morning, patter!” called bunny.
“an’ we’ll have you do some more tricks,” said sue.
“an’ i’ll teach you some new ones,” concluded bunny.
downstairs mr. and mrs. brown talked over what had happened that evening since the trick dog had come home.
“patter will be a great pet for bunny and sue,” remarked their mother. “they miss splash so, especially since toby the pony had to be sent away.”
“that reminds me,” said mr. brown, “that i had a letter to-day from the farmer who is taking care of toby. the pony may soon be back.”
“is he cured?”
[29]“yes,” answered mr. brown, and he laughed a little.
“what are you laughing at?” asked his wife.
“at what sue says when she speaks about the pony,” answered mr. brown. “she says he was ‘sent away to cure something he had in his hair that fell out.’ i always laugh when i think of that.”
“yes, it was queer,” said mrs. brown, with a smile. “but it was true—toby’s hair did fall out.”
“the farmer says that is ended now, and that toby is well again,” remarked mr. brown.
“i’m glad, for the sake of the children,” said mrs. brown. “and i do hope you may be able to do something for that poor old man.”
“i’ll try,” promised her husband.
then it was time to go to bed, and after seeing that patter was all right in the kitchen, mr. brown turned out the lights.
early the next morning mr. and mrs. brown were awakened by hearing sue call:
[30]“now stop, bunny brown! mother, make bunny stop!”
“bunny, what are you doing?” asked mr. brown, for sometimes the little boy plagued and teased his small sister.
“i’m not doing anything,” bunny answered.
“yes, he is, too!” cried sue. “he’s putting a cold sponge from the bathroom on my face. it’s a wet sponge! make him stop, mother! make bunny stop!” begged sue.
“i’m not doing a thing to her! how can i when i’m in my own bed?” asked bunny.
and daddy brown, getting up, found that this was so. bunny was in his own little bed. but who was bothering sue? some one must be, for she kept crying:
“stop! stop!”
mr. brown hurried into the little girl’s room, and what do you suppose he found there?
i think you have guessed.
yes, it was the trick dog, patter! he had gone upstairs, and, standing on his hind feet at the side of sue’s bed, he was licking her face with his cold, wet, red tongue.
[31]“oh, patter, i didn’t know it was you!” cried sue, for she had called out about bunny before opening her eyes. “i didn’t know it was you.”
“bow-wow!” barked the trick dog, wagging his tail for joy.
“is patter there?” cried bunny, and he ran into his sister’s room. then he hugged the dog and so did sue until their father told them, early as it was, they had better get up, as he did not like a dog in the bedroom.
bunny and sue dressed quickly and ran out to play in the yard with patter before breakfast. then came the meal, and you may be sure patter had his, a full plate in the corner of the kitchen.
“now i’ll teach him some new tricks,” said bunny, when he and sue were again romping with the dog. “i’ll teach him to walk on his front legs. he walks on his hind legs fine, but i want him to walk on his front legs.”
“that’s harder,” said sue, for they had tried to teach this to their other dog, splash. “maybe he’ll tip over.”
“pooh! it’ll be only a somersault if he[32] does!” laughed bunny. “come on, patter, learn to walk on your front legs!” he called.
he and sue were holding up the hind legs of their trick dog, to make him learn how to walk on his front ones, when a voice from the street called:
“does mr. brown live here?”
“yes,” answered bunny, without looking up, for often delivery men asked that question.
the next moment, however, sue cried:
“oh, toby has come back! toby has come back!”
