The spaniel seemed to understand, for he stood still, wagging his tail and looking pleadingly at his mistress.
“I think it’s a shame to send him off by himself,” remarked Jane.
“So do I,” agreed Mary Louise. “But it’s got to be done. He’d get up on the bed, as likely as not—the way he does at home. And just imagine what Miss Grant would think of that! Her precious bed!”
Turning about, she led the little dog to the cellar, and there, in a box next to the kitten’s, he settled down to sleep. When she returned the girls were waiting for her in Miss Grant’s bedroom.
“How do we sleep tonight?” inquired Elsie.
“Oh, you can have Jane again if you want her,” agreed Mary Louise. “It doesn’t make any difference to me.”
The younger girl was delighted.
“Only,” added Mary Louise, “if you expect to do any prowling around tonight, please shout your presence in the room.”
“I expect to go right to sleep,” replied Elsie. “With Jane beside me, I’ll feel safe.”
Mary Louise smiled and kissed her goodnight. In many ways Elsie Grant seemed like a child to her, in spite of her fifteen years.