“We advertised and put up a bulletin notice,” he heard Mother say, “and we couldn’t understand why no one claimed the dog. It was so evidently a pet, that we knew it couldn’t have been abandoned, and though exhausted by the storm, it seemed so well-fed we were sure it had not been lost very long.”
“I lost him the same day you found him,” explained Mrs. Raymond. “Carlton, the chauffeur, was taking the car up to Draper Inlet to get my husband. That’s twenty miles up the coast from our cottage, and Bon-Bon loves so to ride that he never misses a chance to go in the car. He rode in the back and the hood was down and I suppose he was on top of that, as he often was. Carlton was trying to make the inlet before the storm, and I imagine he drove at a pretty hard pace. Bon-Bon was evidently jolted out going through Nestle Cove, and neither my husband nor Carlton thought of the dog again till they reached home and I asked for him.”
“And of course you didn’t know where he was lost,” said Mrs. Horton sympathetically.
“No, though my husband and Carlton hunted and hunted. But now everything is all right again. Sunny Boy has made me very happy!”
Mrs. Horton walked with her guest toward the door.
“But what I don’t understand yet,” she said, puzzled, “is how you met Sunny Boy and he mentioned the dog. Were you out searching?”
Sunny’s face got very red.
“No, I’d simply stopped in town to get a cool soda before going on to meet Colonel Raymond,” said Mrs. Raymond. “I think Sunny Boy had better tell you all about it. Kiss me good-by, dear. I’m going to send you the very nicest thing I can buy in the city for being so good to my dog. You won’t feel too bad if I take him away now, will you, Sunny Boy?”
“No, I—I guess not,” quavered Sunny Boy uncertainly.
He kissed Mrs. Raymond, and gave Bon-Bon, for we might as well call the dog by its right name now that we know it, a big hug. Then he sat down on the top step while Mrs. Horton walked with Bon-Bon’s owner to the car. They stood there several minutes, talking, and then Mrs. Raymond got in and drove away.