But the darkness, even though there were lights here and there, bothered Lightfoot. He soon became lost. He did not know which way he was going. Once, as he crossed a green lawn in the park he saw, standing under a lamp, a policeman with a club. Lightfoot did not know what a policeman was but he knew what a club was used for—to beat goats.
“But he sha’n’t beat me,” thought Lightfoot, so he kept in the shadows and got safely past. On and on he wandered, trying to find his way back to the rocks where he had spent so many happy months. But he could not find them, and at last he became so tired that he crawled under some bushes and went to sleep.
It was morning when Lightfoot awakened. He found he was in a strange place. It was a place of many streets and with big cars running back and forth on shining rails. But they did not run as did trolley cars. Instead a big engine pushed them and pulled them. Though Lightfoot did not know it, he was near a railroad yard.
He came out from under the bush to look for something to eat. He saw an empty can with a piece of paper on it that he knew was covered with paste. He wanted that paper very much. But as he crept out to get it a boy picking up coal from the tracks saw him and cried:
“Oh, fellers! Look at de goat! Let’s chase him!”
And chase after Lightfoot they did, shouting and throwing lumps of coal. Lightfoot had no mind to be caught, so he ran across the tracks. The boys shouted at him, the men in the railroad yard yelled at him, and when he crossed the tracks the engines tooted their whistles at him. Altogether Lightfoot was very much frightened.
On and on he ran. Some of the boys were getting closer now, for Lightfoot could not run over the shiny rails as easily as they.
“I’m going to get that goat!” cried the boy who had first seen Lightfoot.
Lightfoot heard the boy’s shout, though he did not understand the words. The goat knew he must run faster and faster, and he did. He came to a place near the line of the railroad tracks where he could see some water. He knew what water was, for he drank it, and also, when it rained hard, there was a little pond and a stream that formed on top of the big rocks, so he was used to seeing large puddles.
[Lightfoot ran close to this water. The boys, racing after him], saw, and one cried: