“Well, well! If there isn’t the gate to the grounds. How glad I am to see it. I’ll crouch down here and ride right in with the family.”
But the flowers on Mrs. Treat’s hat proved his undoing, for they waved so temptingly near, Billy could not resist one little nibble to see if they were as delicious as they looked. Feeling the twitch as his teeth fastened upon them, that lady turned suddenly, and Billy, making a hurried effort to escape her eye, dodged down behind. Unfortunately, he lost his balance and fell into the dust, and it was only due to the fact that the hamper was strapped on securely that he did not carry that along. He rolled over and over in the deep dust of the unpaved roadway until his beautiful white coat was soiled and grimy.
Regaining his footing with a bound, he shook himself to free his coat of the dirt and to express his disgust.
“’Twill never do to let a trifle like this keep me from the Fair. I must gain an entrance somehow,” and he ran as fast as his fleet legs could carry him.
He made a desperate effort to overtake the automobile, now almost at the gate, but just as the machine rolled past the entrance and into the enchanted territory, Billy dashed up, only to be confronted by the gateman, who nimbly swung the wide gate back into place—and Billy was outside!
“Beaten!” he gasped, gazing wrathfully after the fast disappearing automobile. “How can I get inside of that high fence?”
The gateman threw a few stones at Billy to chase him away, and so he sadly and slowly began to patrol the fence, searching for some place that would offer easy entrance. Two or three times he was half way under, squirming his way in like a common dog, but a crowd of boys found him and, taking advantage of his helpless position, threw sticks and stones, and forced him to withdraw.
Coming to a high bluff that overlooked the grounds, he climbed it and lay down for a few moments of rest, to rearrange his disordered plans.
