Frankie heard it, too, and ran quickly across the room to open time door. There stood poor Tony, with the lost handkerchief between her teeth. She had grown so thin that she could hardly stand, but tried to crawl forward to her young master's feet.
With a scream of joy, Frankie lay down on the floor by her side and, patting her, covered her with kisses.
Mrs. Colvin rang the bell, and sent nurse for some food for the poor, starved creature.
"We must feed her very cautiously at first," she said, as her boy began to cut the meat from the bones. "Let her eat but a little now, and give her more at the end of an hour."
"I wish Tony could tell where she has been. I'd get the constable to put the people in prison, for treating her so. Look, ma! Here is the rope they tied her with. I do believe the good creature gnawed it off, and ran away!"
Tony seemed to understand what they were saying, for she tried to bark; but she had not strength, and, instead, made such a mournful sound, that Frankie's tears began to flow again. He brought a soft cushion for her to lie upon, and soon had the pleasure of seeing her enjoying a refreshing nap!
Toward the close of the day, cook came into the parlor and told her mistress that there were two boys at the end of the garden, and she had overheard them talking about the dog.
Mrs. Colvin at once sent the hired man to bring them to the house. But the boys saw him coming and ran away, laughing, and shouting loudly, "Catch me if you can."
The man said he knew the boys, and that they were none too good to steal a dog.
When Mr. Colvin came home, he thought it was best to let the constable know that he had found out the names of the thieves. When he reached the gentleman's house, he found out that the two boys had already been detected of crime, having only an hour before been arrested for stealing goods from a store, and were now on their way to the county jail.