The old dog whisked out from between the wheels and frolicked about Johnnie. He didn't act at all guilty.
"Well, I never!" said Farmer Green. "I certainly shut the barn door after I shoved him inside."
Spot gave a few short, sharp barks, as if to say, "Yes! But you forgot the window that was open."
He had scrambled through the window and overtaken the carryall before it reached the gristmill.
Well, what could Farmer Green do? They had come too far to send Spot back home.
"We'll have to take him with us now," said Johnnie Green's father, "though he'll be a nuisance because the village will be crowded to-day."
As soon as the bays had had their drink the party started on again. And old dog Spot was content. He did not mind the dust that the bays' heels kicked up as he followed beneath the carriage. And the faster they trotted, the more they pleased him; for he was as anxious as Johnnie Green to get to town and see the crowds and the fun.
Once a surly dog ran out from a farmhouse and tried to reach him. That made Spot somewhat uneasy.
"I don't want to stop to fight this fellow," he thought. "If I do, I'll be left behind."
Luckily Farmer Green cut at the strange dog with his whip and bade him be off.