“Will you tell us what you haven’t done, Mr. Billy Whiskers?” asked Pinky.
“I could not; it would take too long. Well, in the first place,” he continued, turning to Button, “I thought unless a better plan offered, I would go straight to Paris and from Paris to the seacoast and get on the first boat sailing for America. I had not decided on any special port to sail from. I just left that to chance, for probably we would have to try many before I could sneak on board. But the hardest part of the trip will be from here to Paris, as we are known by the soldiers around here, and we run the risk of being carried back to the army any minute. If we leave the main highway that leads to Paris, I am afraid we may lose our way and go a long, roundabout route and possibly we might fall into the hands of the Germans.”
“Billy, I’ll tell you what I will do,” spoke up the Red Cross dog. “I’ll leave going back to the army long enough to show you the way to Paris and across that city. You could easily find your way to Paris, but I doubt if you could find your way out. It is a big city, and the roads out are all well guarded now by soldiers who might recognize you, capture you and send you back. I know every step of the way, and we could slip out at night or swim the river Seine where it runs out of the city. After I had accompanied you to within sight of the sea I could come back. I need a vacation and the trip would be one for me.”
“Thank you, my dear Duke,” for that was the name of the Red Cross dog. “I will accept your offer. But I cannot allow you to carry out one part of it, and that part is to leave us and go back into the army. They have plenty of Red Cross dogs and police dogs, too, so they can spare you now. As you have expressed a desire to see America many times, why not continue on with us and visit our fair land?”
“Just the thing!” exclaimed Button. “You may never have such another chance to visit our country in such good company as a goat, dog and cat of world renown—a-hem, a-hem!”
At this they all laughed and Pinky said, “Why, yes; why don’t you go, Duke? I only wish I had the chance.”
“Well, you have!” said Billy. “I extend my invitation to all here.”
“Oh dear! Oh dear! Much as I should love to go, I dislike the hardships of travel too much, and I know I should be seasick. I was when I crossed the Channel once to go with my mistress to visit some friends in London. But I should dearly love to go as far as Paris with you and see the surprised face of my mistress when I came trotting in. You know she sent me here so I would be safe when they began to bombard Paris with those extra long range guns. Besides, she said she had so much Red Cross war work to do that she could not take the time to look after me properly and see that I had my walk in the Boulevard or in the Park every day. And it would be unkind of me to run away to America and leave her when she has been so kind to me.”
“I must go back to my mountains,” said the big St. Bernard, “as soon as I am able and help find the travelers that get lost in the heights and would die of starvation if it was not for me.”
So none of them accepted Billy’s invitation to go except Pinky and even she was going only as far as Paris.