“‘No,’ he said; he knew there wasn’t.
“‘Then will you give me a piece of string?’ she asked.
“He gave her a bit of twine and she hurried upstairs to me. Bending over me, she tied her handkerchief round my neck—that little handkerchief would not go round my fat neck now—then she fastened the twine to it.
“A few minutes later the train came roaring in, and she pulled on the twine, but I would not budge. How could I go near that horrible monster?
“‘Nothing to do but carry you,’ she said, and she lifted me up and took me on the train and sat me down on her lap, and the black patch on my back where the wheels of the train struck me made a grease spot on her coat.
“Now one is not allowed to carry dogs on these trains unless they are in the baggage car, but it was late in the evening and not many persons were traveling, and my new friend did not say a word to the conductor, and he did not say a word to her.
“We passed several stations, then we reached the pretty town of New Rochelle. The two ladies got out of the train and now I was willing to follow, for we were leaving the terrible railway behind us. I ran down the station steps beside my new friend, and when we
got in the street and I felt real grass under my feet, I felt like barking with joy. But my dry mouth would not open, and I just sagged along, a happy feeling inside me, for I knew I should have a drink of water as soon as we reached the lady’s home.
“The lady who was with my new friend was younger and had rosy cheeks and dark eyes. ‘What are you going to do with your lost animal?’ she said.
“‘I think I will put her in the garage for the night,’ said Mrs. Martin.