The doctor stopped. Sure enough, in a yard beside a small house, playing with a boy of ten, was Jeff!
Bennie jumped out, ran to the gate, and whistled.
Jeff cocked his ears, looked toward Bennie, wagged his tail, took three jumps toward the fence—and then turned around and went back to the small boy!
“Sure, Bennie, that dog would follow your train all the way to Chicago,” laughed Spider.
“He appreciates you at your true worth,” called Uncle Billy.
“Just the same, he’s my dog, and I’m going to have him!” Bennie said, angrily, laying his hand on the gate.
“Hold on,” said his uncle. “Is he your dog? Where did you get him? Seems to me he has most to say about whose dog he is. He chose you, so’s he could get a trip to the mountains, and now you’ve quit camping, he’s chosen this kid.”
“Well, he chose me first.”
“Come here, son,” the doctor called to the small boy, who came to the gate, Jeff at his heels. “Where did you get this dog?”
“He followed me home from the store last night,” said the boy. “He’s a fine dog. Is he yours?”