IV

THE SEARCH FOR CARLO

Frank had a lesson to study every day after dinner in Wallace's room. He was required to spend an hour at this lesson, and he had a table at which he sat near one of the front windows. Wallace had a table on the opposite side of the room next to the fireplace.

Frank went to Wallace's room as usual on the day of the excursion to the woods, and began his work, but thoughts of Carlo came continually into his head and interfered seriously with his studies. At last he turned to Wallace and said, "Cousin Wallace, I wish I had sent Beechnut up after Carlo when we came down. He would have found him, perhaps."

"Yes," was Wallace's response, "that would have been a very good plan."

"May I step out now and ask him to go?" said Frank.

"Yes," replied Wallace.

Frank accordingly left the room, and soon found Beechnut. He gave him an account of Carlo's strange conduct and closed his narrative by saying that he had no doubt Carlo had run mad in the woods, and begged Beechnut to go and see what had become of him.

Beechnut listened till Frank had finished his story, and then exclaimed, "Mad! nonsense! He smelled a fox or some other such animal. That was all. He is so young that probably it was the first time he ever had smelled a wild animal, and he did not know what to make of such an odor. I'll go and get him."

Frank described the place where Carlo had hid under the tree roots, but said that he and Wallace had looked when they came down and he was not there.

"But he is sure to be somewhere near," said Beechnut. "I'll get my snowshoes and go after him at once."

"You don't need the snowshoes," said Frank. "The snow is very hard."

"It was hard this morning," responded Beechnut, "but it is soft now."

This was true. The warm , sun had been beating on the snow and had softened it so that Beechnut would have sunk to his armpits in some places if he had attempted to go over it. He soon started off with the snowshoes in his hands. It was not necessary to put them on until he reached the deep snow. For a considerable part of the way either the ground was bare, or else there was a road where the snow was hard-trodden.

Frank wished very much to go with Beechnut, but he knew that could not be because it was his study hour. He was on the piazza about to enter the house when a village boy named Arthur came into the yard and asked where Beechnut was. Arthur was one of Beechnut's particular friends, and Frank told him about the loss of Carlo and the errand on which Beechnut had gone.

"I will help to find Carlo," said Arthur. "Which way was Beechnut to go after he got into the pasture?• Never mind; I can track him."

So saying, he ran up the pasture road as fast as he could go and soon disappeared. Frank then went back to his lessons. After studying pretty diligently for about a quarter of an hour his attention was arrested by hearing some one softly open the door. He looked up and saw Margaret coming in. He wished to avoid speaking to her about the dog. So he turned his eyes back to his book and appeared to be very busily engaged with it.

Margaret came to the table where he was sitting and stood there a moment expecting that he would look up; but Frank went on studying. "I want to speak to you," said Margaret.

This she said in a very low and gentle voice so as not to disturb Wallace. Frank did not respond, except by shaking his head slightly, and continued to study. Margaret was very much troubled, and she turned toward Wallace intending to appeal to him.

Frank then said, "Here, Margaret, come back. You may speak to me if you wish to."

"I want to know where Carlo is," said Margaret.

"He did not come home with us," said Frank. "He thought he would stay up there a little while. But Beechnut has gone to get him. I brought you a beautiful diamond stone and some moss, and hid them under the piazza. I will go and get them as soon as my studies are done."

"I don't want the diamond," said Margaret. "I want Carlo."

"Well, Beechnut has gone for him," said Frank, "and I expect that they will be here any minute. If you go and look up the pasture road, I dare say you will see them coming now."

"But why did you leave Carlo up there?" Margaret asked.

"Oh, he smelled a fox," Frank replied, "and I suppose he stayed to catch it. Very likely he has caught and killed it by this time. If he has, Beechnut will bring down Carlo and the fox together."

"I don't believe he has killed any fox," Margaret declared despondingly. "More likely the fox has killed him!"

So saying, she turned and went away. Frank attempted to resume his studies, but he was so anxious and uneasy that he found it difficult to command his thoughts. He was constantly looking out of the window, hoping to see Beechnut. At length his study hour was finished. He shut up his books, walked over to Wallace's table, and leaned on it with his arms crossed waiting for Wallace to speak to him.

Wallace laid down his pen and said, "Well, Frank?"

"Do you think Beechnut will find Carlo?" Frank asked.

"I don't know," replied Wallace.

"If he doesn't, I might buy Margaret another dog," said Frank.

"Can you get another?" Wallace questioned.

"Yes," said Frank, "there is another just like Carlo at the place where he came from."

"Have you any money to buy him with?." inquired Wallace.

"Yes," Frank answered.

"How much have you?" asked Wallace.

"I have four dollars and a half dollar and three quarters," replied Frank; "and besides that Beechnut owes me two cents."

Wallace said no more, and presently took up his pen as if he were going to write. So Frank went away.

Beechnut did not return until nearly dark, and then he came without Carlo. He said he had found the tree with the roots torn up, and the very place under it where Carlo had hid, but Carlo himself was not there. He and Arthur had tracked Carlo for some distance on the snow until they lost the tracks on a patch of bare ground, and though they had searched for a long time they did not see anything of Carlo, nor could they 'find the continuation of the tracks.

Frank then told Margaret that he was very sorry he had lost her dog, and that he would go the next day and buy her another, and she might go, too, if his mother would let Beechnut take them in the sleigh. His mother consented, and it was arranged that they should set out on the following morning.

Margaret thought at first she could not like any other dog so well as Carlo; but the pleasure of going in the sleigh to buy the new dog went far toward comforting her.

Whenever Beechnut had anything to do for the children he always contrived to do it in a way that amused them or excited their astonishment. As he was a boy of excellent sense he never adopted a plan that was dangerous, or that would cause Mrs. Henley any uneasiness. On this occasion, when Margaret asked Beechnut, after breakfast, what sleigh he was going to use for them to ride in, he replied that he was not going to take them in a sleigh, but on a horse sled.

"We shall have a carpet on the sled," said Beechnut, "and not only a carpet, but some sofas; and not only some sofas but a canopy. Come into the barn and see."

So the children went with Beechnut to the barn and there they found the sled. Beechnut climbed into a loft by means of a ladder and threw down five bundles of straw. He placed two of these on each side of the sled, and the fifth across the end behind. "There are your sofas," said he.

"I don't like the sofas very well," was Margaret's comment.

"Wait a little," said Beechnut, and he brought three or four buffalo robes, which he spread down on the floor of the sled in such a manner that they extended over the bundles of straw.

The straw was thus concealed from view entirely and the sled presented a very inviting surface of soft buffalo robes, hollow toward the center like a nest. There are your carpet and sofa coverings all in one," said Beechnut.

"Now, I like the sofas very much," declared Margaret. "Let me try them."

"Stop a moment," said Beechnut, "until I place the bearskin for you to sit on."

So he brought the bearskin, and after he had adjusted it, Frank and Margaret tumbled into the nest he had prepared for them, while he went to the shop and got three narrow strips of board about five feet long. Near each of the ends of the strips he bored a hole, and then fitted them on the top of the sled stakes so that they extended across from side to side

Next, he got from the stable a horse blanket which he spread over the strips of board for a canopy. He tied the blanket to the tops of the posts with twine and said, "There, we will call the sled our palanquin."

Beechnut now hitched on the horse and drove around to the door. He placed a box in front for his own seat, and made ready a basket with a cloth tied over it in which to bring the new dog safely home.

Their destination was a farmhouse, two miles up the glen. The day was sunny and pleasant, but as soon as the party had fairly entered the glen Margaret began to feel cool.

So she said she was going to get under the bearskin to keep warm and asked Frank to tell her about everything they passed on the way.

She lay down with her head on a bundle of straw and covered herself entirely, and Frank began to tell her what he saw.

"We are going along the road," said he, "with rocks and a high hill on one side, and woods on the other. Now we are coming to the mill. I can see the big wheel going round and round and hear the water roaring."

Margaret sat up and looked at the mill. It was a sawmill, and there were logs all about the yard. As soon as the sled got opposite the mill she could see, inside, a monstrous saw sawing a log. Margaret soon lay down under the bearskin again, and shortly afterwards Frank said, "We are nearly to the schoolhouse at the corner, and some of the children are looking out of the windows at our sled."

Beechnut drove rapidly onward, and turning at the corner drove down a road that descended into a hollow and crossed a bridge. "I can see the mill pond," said Frank, "only it is covered with ice and snow. There is a man at the far side driving a yoke of oxen. He is driving down on the ice."

"Let me see!" exclaimed Margaret eagerly, and she threw off the bearskin.

The oxen were drawing an immense log which was going to be sawed at the mill. Presently Beechnut and his companions arrived at the farmer's house where they were going for the dog. They drove into a spacious yard surrounded with sheds and barns. A young man was at work in the yard, and Frank called out to him, "We have come to buy Tom. Will you sell him to us for half a dollar?"

"Why, what have you done with Carlo?" asked the young man.

"We have lost him," replied Frank. "He ran off in the woods. I suppose he saw a fox and went to catch it: Will you sell Tom to us?"

"Perhaps so," said the young man; and he began to whistle and chirp, and to call, "Tom, Tom, Tom! Here Tom!"

But Tom did not come. "He is somewhere about," said the young man. "If you look for him, Frank, you will find him."

"All right," was Frank's response. "Margaret, you go with me; won't you?"

In the meantime Beechnut had been hitching the horse to a post, and while the children went to find Tom he stood talking with the young man. Frank and Margaret first visited the barn, and there they looked into the cow stable, and then Frank wanted to go into the horse stable. But the horses were in the stalls, and Margaret was afraid.

"There is no danger," said Frank.

"They are kicking horses, I know," Margaret declared. "They are kicking now."

"No," said Frank, "they are only stamping."

But Margaret turned round and walked away. So Frank followed her. They passed through the barn and came out in a pleasant yard beyond. A girl was walking across the yard carrying a basket of chips toward the house. Frank asked her if she knew where Tom was.

"Yes," she replied, " he is sunning himself on the front steps."

The children immediately ran to the front of the house, and there they found Tom lying at his ease on a great flat stone step. He lifted his head and pricked up his ears when he saw the children, but he did not move otherwise.

"Ah, Tom," said Frank, "why did you not come when we called you? "

"He is not obedient," said Margaret. "I don't like him."

"Oh, you can make him obedient," said Frank. "You can teach him."

"I'd rather have Carlo," said Margaret. "But Tom is exactly like Carlo," affirmed

Frank, "exactly. You would not know the difference."

His reasoning, however, did not satisfy Margaret. Though there might be no difference in the outward appearance of the dogs, Carlo knew her and would come when she called him. Tom was a stranger, and she could not at once transfer her fondness for the one to the other just because they looked alike.

Frank advanced toward Tom and called him. Tom got up, but he did not seem much inclined to come. Then Frank walked backward whistling to him and calling, while Margaret walked behind the dog and attempted to drive him, saying, "Go along, Tom. You must go along!"

In this manner they contrived to get him around into the yard where they had left Beechnut and the farmer's son. Here, after some further conversation, they succeeded in completing the purchase. They gave the young man half a dollar and put Tom in the basket. Tom was very unwilling to go in, and tried to jump out when he was in. Beechnut prevented this by tying a cloth over the top of the basket. They set the basket back on the sled, climbed on themselves, and then turned the horse round and drove out of the yard.

On the way home Margaret sat up under the canopy looking about. For some minutes she watched the basket which contained the dog. Tom struggled a little from time to time in an attempt to escape, but when he found this was of no avail, he became quiet. He was so still that Frank said he believed the dog was asleep.

Just before reaching the bridge they overtook a boy driving a pair of steers, and the steers were drawing a drag which had a barrel fastened on it. The boy guided his steers out to one side of the road so as to make room for Beechnut to pass, and stood looking at the palanquin with great curiosity and wonder. As it came opposite him Frank nodded, and said, "Hello, Andrew, does it run well to-day?"

"First rate," was Andrew's reply.

"Does what run well?" asked Margaret, as they went on.

"The sap," said Frank, "the sap from the maple trees."

He then explained to Margaret that the maples had sweet sap, and told how the people in that part of the country were accustomed to bore holes in these trees and drive in hollow spouts, beneath which they set buckets on the ground. The sap ran out through the spouts and dropped into the buckets. When the buckets were full, the men would pour the sap into a barrel and haul it home on a drag. The sap was then put into a monstrous kettle and boiled till it turned into sugar.

"Look over there," said Frank pointing to the woods on one side of the road; "you can see the buckets at the foot of the trees. Those buckets are full of sap, or getting full — sweet sap."

"Are there any maple trees growing about your house?" Margaret asked.

"Yes," Frank answered, "and we will make some sugar. I can whittle some spouts, and Beechnut shall tap the trees."

Soon after this they approached the schoolhouse and saw the children in the yard at play. "It is recess," said Frank.

Some of the children ran out to the road to look at the palanquin, and in order to let them see it better Beechnut stopped the horse. But most of the children were standing at the side of the schoolhouse and were looking into a hole in the wall under the building. Frank and Margaret wondered what they found there to interest them. A boy was walking along toward the hole with a stone in his hand.

"Joseph," said one of the little girls in the group to this boy, "you shall not stone him."

The girl stamped her foot and spoke very sternly. Another boy was kneeling before the hole, holding out his hand with a small piece of bread in it and calling, "Here, Pompey, Pompey, Pompey! Come here, Pompey! Poor Pompey!"

"It is a dog named Pompey," said Frank.

Just then the dog's head appeared at the mouth of the hole. It was fawn colored, and Frank exclaimed, "I verily believe that is Carlo!"

So saying, he began to call, "Carlo, Carlo!" and sprang out from under the canopy and ran toward the schoolhouse.

It really was Carlo, and as soon as he heard Frank's voice he ran out from the hole and commenced leaping on him with the utmost delight. Margaret was almost as much excited as Carlo at this unexpected meeting. She called to Frank to bring Carlo to her, and as he came along very slowly she wanted to get down from the sled and go to him herself. But the sun had melted the snow by the side of the road where the sled was standing, and the place was wet.

Beechnut, therefore, drove on into the school-yard. Carlo then jumped up on the sled, and curling down as close to Margaret as he could get, he looked up into her face and wagged his tail.

"I am so glad," said Margaret. "I like him a great deal better than Tom."

Frank asked the children how Carlo came to be under the schoolhouse. They said he was lying on the steps when they came to school that morning, and when they tried to catch him he ran under the building. They called to him, but he would not come out, and Mary Bell put some of her luncheon in the hole for him. They found at recess that he had eaten the food, and they were trying to have him come out and get some more.

Mary Bell, who was about twelve years old, was standing back a little way, and Beechnut spoke to her and said, "Mary, would not you like to have a ride in this palanquin? You can take as many of the others with you as you choose to invite."

Several of the girls began to say very eagerly, "Me, Mary, me! me!"

Mary looked around on the children and said, "I would like to have them all go, if there is room."

"Plenty of room," said Beechnut. "I'll leave Frank and Margaret here till we come back."

"Well, stop a minute," said Mary, and she turned and ran toward the schoolhouse.

The children began to dance and caper with delight. "She's gone to ask the teacher," said they, "but the teacher will surely let us go."

Beechnut took Margaret out of the palanquin and seated her on the doorstep. He also lifted out the basket containing Tom. Mary Bell soon came from the schoolhouse and said the teacher was willing the scholars should have the ride. So the girls and smaller boys clambered on the sled, while the older boys clung to the sides, standing on the runners and taking hold of the stakes to keep from falling off. When all was ready Beechnut took his seat on the box in front, and away they went. Margaret on the doorstep, holding Carlo in her lap, watched the party drive off with great interest; and Frank was occupied sometimes in gazing at the crowded palanquin, and sometimes in peeping into the basket to see Tom.

The children on the sled filled the air with shouts of laughter as they left the schoolyard, and with screams, half of fear and half of fun, whenever the vehicle inclined to one side or the other a little, on account of the inequalities of the way, so as to suggest the idea that they might possibly be upset. Presently the road wound into the woods and they disappeared from view.

But in a little while they could be heard returning, and Margaret and Frank saw them emerging from the little opening where the road entered the woodland. Some of the boys had fallen off and were running behind trying to overtake the sled and regain their places. They were, however, laughing so heartily that they could not run very well, and all the children who were on the sled were laughing, too, and calling to Beechnut to drive faster, and clapping their hands.

As Beechnut drew near to the schoolhouse he slackened his horse's pace enough to allow the boys to get on the sled once more, and when he drove up to the door they were all riding. The sled stopped, and the children got off saying they had enjoyed themselves very much.

Frank and Margaret then took their places under the canopy, and Beechnut put the basket on the sled. On the road home, Margaret said to Frank, "I shall not want Tom now. Hadn't we better carry him back?"

"No," said Frank, "I don't suppose they would take him back. I am going to ask my mother to let me keep him for my dog."

This he did as soon as they reached home, and she consented. So, after that, Margaret had her dog, and Frank had his.