“You got your cat in,” she remarked.

“Yes, I suppose you smelt our double tracks.”

“How is she getting on?” Mona asked.

I looked over my shoulder. I didn't want any one to hear me, for Dolly, the other dog, was still in her kennel. So I jumped up on the top of Mona's kennel. That brought me into a little patch of sunlight, and also made me get a little nearer to her big head, for when I sat on the ground, she towered way above me.

“Mona,” I said confidentially, “I am having a dreadful time.”

“Are you?” she replied good-naturedly. “You do look rather worried.”

“'MONA,' I SAID CONFIDENTIALLY, 'I AM HAVING A DREADFUL TIME.'”

“I just can't stand that cat,” I went on.

“Can't stand her. That's pretty sudden. You loved her last night.”