“What are you looking for, Daddy?” asked Bunny.
“I was seeing if there were any footprints there that might tell me who had been there in the night,” answered Mr. Brown.
“That’s like detectives do, isn’t it?” asked Bunny, in a thrilled whisper.
“Yes,” agreed his father. “But I guess I’m not much of a detective, for I can’t see anything except marks of the shoes of a lot of you boys.”
“Yes, we were playing around the shed yesterday,” admitted Bunny.
“Will you tell the police?” asked Mrs. Brown, when her husband was ready to go to work, though a little late.
“I think I’d better,” he agreed. “It may be that some strolling band of Gypsies took Patter away, and the police keep pretty sharp watch over these strollers. They’ll know where they camp, and if any are around we’ll go have a look and maybe find Patter.”
But no Gypsy bands had been around Bellemere for some time, the police reported, so it could not have been any of these wanderers that had taken Patter. Of course the dog may have wandered off and joined them, but this did not seem possible. Patter was too happy with Bunny and Sue to want to run away.
“Some one took him—that’s what they did!” declared Sue, sobbing.
“And if I could find ’em I’d have ’em arrested!” threatened Bunny.