“‘I can,’ said the General. ‘That goat recognized my car, thought I was after him and lit out. He has done it before, and I doubt if any of us will ever see him again. I tell you he is sharper than the devil, whose cloven hoof he has!’
“‘General, will you kindly do me the favor to wait till I blow my dog whistle? That is the signal for all the dogs to gather here. We will see if Billy does not come running with them.’
“The General waited. The cook blew his whistle repeatedly but no dogs showed up. Then the cook ran to the barn and around it, looking in every known hiding place the dogs had, but no goat or dog did he see. And he came back to the General and said, ‘Well, General, I shall have to give up beaten. He has gone and, what is more, he has taken every dog with him that is not confined to a hospital bed. I can’t find hide or hair of any of them, but I am so mad that I am ready to devote months, if need be, to finding that tricky goat. And when I do I will return him to you even if I bring only his hide, horns and tail!’
“‘Well, here is luck to you, but I hope you will bring him alive, and not in pieces for I could make use of a live goat, but I would be hard pressed to know what to do with a dead one!’
“Then with a hearty laugh all around, the General and his staff got into their auto and whizzed out of the lane, and I scurried back here to tell you all this.”
CHAPTER IV
THE GENERAL RECAPTURES BILLY
THANK you, Miss Rosie de la France, for finding out so much for me. You certainly did have a narrow escape when under that davenport and you sneezed for you might have had your legs cut off by that officer’s sword. So the cook is going to catch me and bring me to the General, alive or dead, is he? I can tell him right now that he will never be able to give so much as one hair of my beard to him!”
“Here comes the cook now!” exclaimed one of the dogs. “We better scoot!”
With that they all jumped up and ran in different directions, Billy choosing a long, circuitous course that would bring him out on the Paris road. Then and there he gave up the idea of returning to the war and entering the army again with the Red Cross dog.