Bertie laughs, and answers back, "Don't scold! don't scold!"
This puts Poll in the very best of humor. She turns up her eyes, tries to look smart, and screams back at the top of her voice, "Thieves, thieves! Call the police; call the police!"
Then Dora comes in, and finds uncle Frank gone. She tells Bertie she has something to show him. He follows her out through the kitchen, and up a long pair of stairs, to an attic. There is a large box in the attic. Dora calls it a chest. It is painted blue, and has a lid to it. The lid is made of woven wire.
Dora goes on tiptoe and looks over into the box. Then she softly raises the lid, and lifts Bertie up so that he can see into it. "Oh, what funny cats!" cries little Bertie.
"Indeed they are not cats," Dora says, smiling.
"Then they must be little puppies. But what red eyes they have! and such straight bodies! How funny they do look!" Bertie says.
"No, my little man, they are not puppies. You will have to guess once more," says the good-natured housekeeper.
"Are they rabbits?" asks Bertie.
"No, not rabbits, either," is the reply. "Guess again."