Keineth had to ride on the street-car a very long way before she reached the address which the card gave. Then she found herself before a great iron fence and had to ring twice before the big gate in the fence opened. It opened quite by itself and it clanged shut behind her, startling her with its noise. There seemed to be a million steps leading to the big bronze door and her feet moved like tons of lead! She had to ring again. The door swung back and a sour-faced man in dark livery faced her.
"Is--is Mr. Grandison at home?" she asked in a voice so strange that she scarcely recognized it herself.
The sour-faced man looked very hard at her.
"Who is it, miss?" he asked wonderingly, as though few people came to that door for Mr. Grandison.
"I'm Keineth Randolph. I must see him, please!" "He never sees anyone, miss, but you can go in. Only I wouldn't advise you to bother him very much because he's bad this morning with his rheumatism!"
He was telling her this in a whisper as he led her through the long hall. Keineth thought it quite the longest, widest hall she had ever seen and she walked very fast past the big doors that opened into dark empty rooms that looked like great caverns! If a giant, bending his great head, had leaped through one of the heavy door-frames she would have thought it quite to be expected!
The servant drew back a door and Keineth saw a long room full of books. At the other end, close to a table, sat an old, old man. Then she saw something move suddenly and Pilot dashed at her from a corner and leaped upon her with great whimpering, licking her hands and face and even her shoes.
"What's this? Come here, Jacky! Who are you? Who let you in here?" roared the old man, glaring at Keineth.
Keineth, terribly frightened, advanced slowly towards him, one hand on the dog's head. "I live at the bees' where you found Pilot. We all miss him so terribly, especially Billy, that I came to buy him back!"
"You did, did you? Well, nobody has money enough to buy him."