"O ma!" he began. "Have you seen Tony, and my handkerchief? and your thread is lost, too!"
Half crying, he told his mother what had occurred, at the same time running from room to room in search, for the dog.
Mrs. Colvin was soon convinced that Tony had been stolen. She told Frankie to sit down and cool himself; and then she sent Edward to a neighbor, who was a constable, to ask him what they should do.
Unfortunately the man was not at home; and they were obliged to wait until night, when Captain Colvin returned from the city.
Poor Frank cried until his head ached, and could not eat a mouthful of dinner. He kept saying, "Oh, I wish I hadn't gone down the lane! I'm afraid they'll kill Tony, or starve him to death."
Captain Colvin accompanied the constable to the lane, where there were a number of shabby tenement houses; but nobody had seen the dog, or knew anything about her. At a late hour, he returned home, and found Frankie had cried himself to sleep.
The next morning, advertisements were put up at all the principal stores, at the post-office, and the depot; but that day and the next passed without any news of poor Tony.
"I know she's dead," said poor Frankie, who now looked really ill. "I know I shall never see her again."
A fresh burst of grief prevented him from saying more. He laid his arm on the table and cried as if his heart would break.
His mother tried to soothe him, when suddenly she heard a feeble whine at the gate.