"Brike it open," suggested one.
"Better not."
"Per'aps the key's insoide," suggested another brightly.
William had one of his brilliant ideas.
"Tell you what I'll do," he said eagerly and importantly. "I'll climb up to the roof an' get down the chimney an' open it from the inside."
They greeted the proposal with guffaws.
They did not know William.
It was growing dusk when Mrs. Brown and Ethel and the second van load appeared.
"What is that on the gate?" said Ethel, stooping to examine the part of Jumble's coat that brightened up the dulness of the black paint.
"It's that dog!" she said.