Niger wagged his tail at her, then looked out the window.
“My darling dog,” she cried, “companion of my travels, how I have missed you!”
Niger looked up at Daisy and me and at Sister Susie, who was sitting on the top of our cage, and winked.
“Do you know, Cousin Annie,” said our Missie, “that this is the dog that was stolen from us?”
“Not possible,” she said.
“Yes, and he ran back last night and got into Mary’s bed. First, he was afraid of her—he thought she was scolding him for leaving her; he is very sensitive, you know—then, when she left the room, he got in her bed.”
“Only fancy!” exclaimed Third Cousin Annie—“I’m so sorry to take him from you.”
“But you’re not going to take him,” said our Missie firmly.
“But he’s my dog. I gave the man ten dollars for him.”
“And we, prior to that, gave another man five dollars for him, because Mary had taken a fancy to him.”