“We can make a game of it—like hide the thimble!� cried Dick.
“I don’t want my Sawdust Doll made into a game!� exclaimed Dorothy, who was feeling sad.
“It is only in fun, and make believe,� said Mother. “That will be a good way to find your pet, my dear. Come, children, look for Dorothy’s doll.�
The Sawdust Doll was not the only one Dorothy had, but as it was her newest toy she wanted that just then more than any of the others. So she helped her boy and girl friends look in the different rooms for the missing doll. The maid said she had not taken the Sawdust Doll away, and no one could imagine where she was. And the tears came into Dorothy’s eyes as minute after minute passed and the new toy was not found.
And now we must see what is happening to the Sawdust Doll. For some time, after going to the door of the kennel to look out, she lay quietly in the straw. It kept her warm, for there was no fire in Carlo’s house, as there was in the house where Dorothy and Dick lived.
After a while the Sawdust Doll heard some one walking toward the kennel. She knew the sound of human footsteps, for she had often heard them in the department store. And she knew it was not the Bold Tin Soldier or the Calico Clown coming toward her now.
“I wish it were one of my friends,� thought the Sawdust Doll; “but it cannot be. This person walks just like the watchman in the store. I wonder who it is.�
And then a loud but pleasant voice spoke, and a man said:
“Well, well! I almost forgot about putting some clean straw in Carlo’s kennel! That straw he has must be all wet with the snow. I’ll rake that out and put in fresh for the dog. It will keep him warmer to-night.�
Something long and black, with sharp iron teeth, was thrust into the kennel, and the next moment the straw was raked out, and the Sawdust Doll went with it. Out she came in the midst of the straw.