Jewel gazed at the dog. "If anything could be too good to be true, he'd be it," she said slowly.
Mr. Evringham's pleasure showed in his usually impassive face.
"Well, isn't it a good thing then that nothing is?" he replied, and he kissed her.
CHAPTER XVIII
TRUE DELIGHT
When evening came and put a period to that memorable birthday, Topaz was a dog of experiences. If he was a happy discovery to Jewel, she was none the less one to him. He was delighted to romp in the fields, where his coat vied with the goldenrod; or to scamper up and down the beach, barking excitedly, while his friends jumped or swam through the cool waves.
Jewel was eager that her horse and dog should become acquainted; so, when late in the afternoon Essex Maid and Star were brought out at the customary hour, saddled and bridled, she performed an elaborate introduction between the jet-black picture pony and the prince among dogs. Star arched his neck and shook his wavy mane as he gazed down at the golden dog with his full bright eyes. He had seen Topaz before; for the collie had spent the night in the barn, making sunshine in a shady place as he romped about the man in the checked suit.
"Oh, grandpa!" laughed Jewel, as Star pawed the ground, "he looks at Topaz just the way Essex Maid used to look at him when he first came. Just as scornful!"