"My name is Brown, and I've come after Duke."
"But I thought my papa was going to buy him."
The man laughed. "The old fellow did offer to buy him, but I wouldn't sell. I told him I wouldn't take a hundred dollars for the dog. But hurry up, little un, and get Duke for me."
Beth felt more resentful than ever. The man had dared to call her father "old fellow," and herself "little un." Besides, he had come for Duke. There were tears in her eyes, but she brushed them angrily away, and declared defiantly:
"You can hunt him up for yourself. I don't know where he is."
The man swore under his breath, and muttered something about having no use for people who tried to steal dogs. However, he moved on towards the house.
Beth was so anxious about the outcome of his errand that she followed at a cautious distance.
The man met Maggie at the kitchen door.
"Hello, mammy," he said. "Where is my dog Duke?"
Maggie caught sight of Beth's eyes, and intuitively felt the child's solicitude. She was up in arms in a minute.