“Just a minute there, Mr. Martin! Just a minute!” called Constable Juke, as he came along the dusty road. “Sorry to call you back,” he went on, as he came nearer. “I heard you were going away to-day, and I thought I’d get over before you left. But I didn’t, and when I saw you going off down the road I called to you.”
“Is it about the burglars that got into Miss Ransom’s store and took the puzzle box?” asked Ted.
“No, it isn’t about them,” answered the constable. “Though I hope to have ’em soon, the rascals! Just wait until I catch my breath and I’ll tell you.”
He sat down on a stone at the side of the road, while Mr. Martin, Uncle Ben, and the others in the automobile waited.
“Is it our dog Skyrocket?” asked Janet.
“Yes, it’s about him,” said the constable.
“Oh, have you found him?” cried the two Curlytops both at once, while Trouble, who heard the name of the pet he liked so much, said:
“Me want Skywocket, too!”
“I’m sorry to say I haven’t got your dog,” went on the constable. “But I ran after you to ask whether he’s black or white. You see, I forgot whether you said white or black when you told me about him, Mr. Martin. And I don’t want to be looking for a black dog, if it’s a white one that’s lost. And I don’t want to be looking for a white dog if it’s a black one that’s lost. Sometimes I had it in mind that it was a black dog you owned, and again it struck me that it was white. I wanted to be sure about it. Now if he is a white dog——”
“Skyrocket is mostly black,” said Teddy.