Tess pointed. There was Tom Jonah at the screened door of the van.
"That's him," she said. "He never did anybody any harm. These men just stole him."
That was pretty strong language for Tess Kenway to use; but she was greatly overwrought.
"You mean they took him out of your yard?"
"They took him off'n the street," said Sammy. "But he'd only jumped the fence because he saw us comin' home from school."
"He isn't muzzled," said the man.
"He—he don't bite," wailed Dot. "He—he ain't got any teeth to bite!"
He was an old dog as the superintendent could see. Besides, he knew that his men were more eager to secure the fines than they were to be kind or fair to the owners of dogs.
"How about this, Harry?" he asked the driver of the van.
"The dog's ugly as sin," growled the man. "Ain't he, Bill?"