“Run away? I didn’t!” cried the silky poodle. “I went out on the front steps to get a breath of fresh air this morning, and when I stood there a bad boy came along, picked me up, and ran off with me. He wanted to take me away, and sell me. I’ve often been stolen that way,” said the poodle. “I’m a very valuable dog, you know.”
“You really have been stolen, and carried away?” asked Don, in surprise.
“Oh, yes,” answered the poodle. “Then my little mistress, or her father, would put an advertisement in the paper, saying that whoever had taken me away could have some money if I were brought back, and I would then be taken home.
“So when this boy grabbed me up off the stoop I thought I was stolen again. But a policeman saw the boy take me, and the policeman ran after him. So the boy dropped me and ran, and I got lost, trying to find my way home again. Then the dog-catcher came and took me in his wagon. Oh dear! It’s too bad. Were you ever taken away like that?” he asked Don.
“No,” answered Don. “I ran away.”
“Ran away!” exclaimed the poodle. “Why did you do that? Didn’t they treat you kindly? Did they whip you?”
“Oh, no,” said Don. “My master, Bob, was very kind to me. I was never whipped. But I wanted to have some adventures, so I ran away.”
“Did you have any adventures?” asked the poodle, whose name was Rex.
“Many of them,” replied Don. “This is one. I wonder if we shall ever get out of here?”