[CHAPTER IX]
DON AND THE DOG CATCHER
“Look at him run!” cried one of the boys who had tied the tin can on Don’s tail, when the dog was asleep. “Look!”
“He certainly can go!” shouted the other boy. “Let’s see if we can’t catch him!”
But Don was running too fast for any small boy to get hold of him, and those boys were not very large. Don was running as he had never run before, because he was so frightened. Never before had he had a can tied to his tail, and it bumped along after him, making such a noise, and the rope pinched him so that, altogether, Don was very much frightened.
But it was only “fun” for the boys. They laughed and shouted to see Don try to get rid of the tin can.
For, after the first few minutes, Don did try to get rid of that bouncing, rattlety-bang thing that seemed to follow him so closely. The dog sat down, and, turning around, tried to pull the rope off his tail by his teeth. But the boys had tied it on too tightly to allow Don to get rid of it easily.
“Come on! Now we can catch him!” cried one of the boys, as he saw Don sitting down near a pile of shingles.