Having thus made up his mind to do something that, perhaps, the chair might not like, at first, Thump just went ahead and did it. He sniffed at the tracks and started off on a run, barking loudly.
"Come on!" shouted Rodney, who knew, by these signs, that his dog was "on the trail," as it is called. "Thump will lead us just where the chair went! Now we'll find it!"
"And Grandma's glasses, too, I hope!" murmured Weezie, as she and Addie followed the two boys.
Thump ran quite fast, and so did Nat and Rod. The girls tried to keep up with their brothers, but it was hard work. Once Addie fell down, and bruised her knees, but she got up again, without crying, and hurried on. And once Weezie's dress caught on a bramble bush and was torn. But Rodney happened to have a safety pin in his pocket, so the dress was mended, after a fashion, and the chase kept up.
The children, led by the dog, reached the top of the hill, down which Racky had coasted. Here the trail was so faint that the children could not see it on the grass. But with Thump along, to sniff at the track left by the chair, they were able to follow.
Down the hill, and up to the cottage of the Singing Girl, Thump led the way. The dog was barking loudly and the Singing Girl opened the door.
"Oh, hello, Children and Dog!" she greeted them, pausing in her song. "What do you want?"
"We are after a runaway rocking chair," answered Nat.
"Have you seen it?" asked Rodney, politely taking off his cap, which Nat did, also, a moment later.
"Oh, yes," replied the Singing Girl. "Yesterday I found a brown rocking chair outside our door. It came sliding down the hill, and I lassoed it with a towel and took it inside."