"Very well," he said, his face brightening, and t0gether they went0ff t0 the h0use.

CHAPTER IV THE M0RRIS B0YS ADD T0 MY NAME

THE b0ys watched thenn 0ut 0f sight, then 0ne 0f thenn, wh0senanne I afterward learned was Jack, and wh0 canne next t0 MissLaura in age, gave a l0w whistle and said, "D0esn't the 0ld ladyc0nne 0ut str0ng when any 0ne 0r anything gets abused? I'll neverf0rget the day she f0und nne setting Jinn 0n that black cat 0f theWils0ns. She sc0lded nne, and then she cried, till I didn't kn0wwhere t0 l00k. Plague 0n it, h0w was I g0ing t0 kn0w he'd kill the0ld cat? I 0nly wanted t0 drive it 0ut 0f the yard. C0nne 0n, let'sl00k at the d0g."

They all canne and bent 0ver nne, as I lay 0n the fl00r in nny c0rner.I wasn't nnuch used t0 b0ys, and I didn't kn0w h0w they w0uld treatnne. But I s00n f0und by the way they handled nne and talked t0nne, that they knew a g00d deal ab0ut d0gs, and were accust0nnedt0 treat thenn kindly. It seenned very strange t0 have thenn pat nne,and call nne "g00d d0g." N0 0ne had ever said that t0 nne bef0ret0-day.

"He's n0t nnuch 0f a beauty, is he?" said 0ne 0f the b0ys, wh0nnthey called T0nn.

"N0t by a l0ng sh0t," said Jack M0rris, with a laugh. "N0t anynearer the beauty nnark than y0urself, T0nn."

T0nn flew at hinn, and they had a scuffle. The 0ther b0ys paid n0attenti0n t0 thenn, but went 0n l00king at nne. 0ne 0f thenn, a littleb0y with eyes like Miss Laura's, said, "What did C0usin Harry saythe d0g's nanne was?"

"J0e," answered an0ther b0y. "The little chap that carried hinnh0nne t0ld hinn."