"You think it's my mistake, then; excuse me, Tony."
Then the dog jumped on her master, and wagged her tail as if she were very much pleased.
Before the voyage was over, Captain Colvin and Colonel Jameson had become such good friends that the captain insisted the other should go home with him.
At first, Frank was afraid of Tony, but in a day or two, he grew to like her so much, that he was not content unless he could have her to play with him.
It was surprising how quickly the dog learned to like her new home. Her master could not now, as when he was on shipboard, feed her from his plate at dinner; but after one or two meals, she submitted very quietly and allowed Frankie to feed her from a plate in the kitchen.
When company came in, Tony had to be dressed up as well as anybody. I forgot to tell you that every morning her master gave her a bath; and then she lay in the sun, and licked herself dry.
Colonel Jameson was not an officer now; but he had saved a piece of his uniform, which was bright-red broadcloth, and a lady friend of his had made it into a coat for Tony, and trimmed it with the gold cord of which the epaulets were made.
Frankie laughed merrily when he first saw Tony sitting in a chair with her coat on. She looked so prim and funny, as if she thought herself very fine indeed.
The next day, he begged his mother to give him a collar, which made the dog look funnier than ever.
I don't think Tony liked the linen collar, which was starched very stiff; for she kept turning her head from one side to another, and uttering a low kind of a growl. I think she wanted to say,—