“Perhaps he has gone so far he can’t hear you this time,” said his mother. “Come, we’ll go into the house. It’s getting late, and you children must go to bed.”
“But we want Skyrocket!” cried Janet.
“I know, my dear. But we can’t find him, and there is no use hunting in the dark. We’ll leave the shed door open, and if he comes back, as I’m sure he will, he can go in to his new carpet bed. In the morning when you wake up, he’ll be ready to play with you.”
There was nothing else to do, and so Teddy and Janet went into the house, after one last, lingering look at the shed where Skyrocket slept at night.
“Oh, dear!” sighed Janet. “Nothing will ever be any fun if Skyrocket is gone!”
“Oh, but he isn’t gone, I’m sure!” said Mr. Martin, in as jolly a voice as he could speak. “I think he’ll be here in the morning, though it certainly is queer about the window being open. But now trot off to bed, Curlytops! It’s long past your time!”
“Don’t feel so bad,” said Mrs. Martin. “I don’t believe Skyrocket is lost. Haven’t you something pleasant to tell them, Daddy? What was that you started to say about our summer vacation?”
“Oh, yes!” exclaimed Mr. Martin. “I have picked out a place for us to go. It’s a new place. I have bought some property there, and I expect to spend part of the summer there looking after it.”
“Oh, where is it?” asked Ted, and already he and Janet were feeling not quite so sad over the lost dog—they had something new to wonder over.
“The place where we shall spend the summer vacation is at Silver Lake,” said Mr. Martin. “It isn’t very far from here. We can go by train or in an auto.”