all but flew
out of it. Farmer Green's wife appeared in the doorway with a broom in
her hand. And with it she helped Miss Kitty into the yard. She helped
her so much that Miss Kitty never touched the broad stone doorstep at
all.

"Scat!" cried Mrs. Green. "I don't want any thieves in my kitchen."

It was quite plain that something had displeased Mrs. Green--something
in which Miss Kitty Cat had had a part. And old dog Spot thought he knew
what that something was.

"Ha!" he barked at Miss Kitty. "So Mrs. Green found you out!" And he
ran at Miss Kitty and chased her into a tree. She sat herself down upon
a limb and glared at him.

"Wow!" he yelped. "You must have sampled that leg of mutton when you
thought Mrs. Green's back was turned. And she must have caught you in
the act."

Though that was exactly what had happened, Miss Kitty Cat wouldn't say a
word. But she _looked_ whole sentences at him.

Soon Farmer Green's wife came to the door again and called, "Come, Spot!
Come, Spot!"

He hurried up to her and caught the piece of meat that she tossed to
him.

It was mutton.

XIII

HUNTING

To please old dog Spot Johnnie Green had only to ask him this question,
"Want to go hunting, Spot?"

When he heard that, Spot would leave anything he happened to be doing,
or give up anything he had intended to do. Perhaps he had expected to
dig up and gnaw a choice bone that he had buried somewhere. It might be
that he had been planning to chase the cat, or tease Turkey Proudfoot in
order to hear him gobble. There wasn't one of those pleasures that Spot
wouldn't gladly forgo for the sake of going hunting with Johnnie Green.

When Johnnie Green's father first gave him a shotgun Spot went almost
frantic with delight. And they lost no time in starting for the woods.
Johnnie Green trudged up the lane with the gun on his shoulder, while
Spot ran on ahead of him, returning now and then as if to urge Johnnie
to hurry.

They hadn't been long in the woods when Spot suddenly stood still and
pointed ahead of him with his nose.

Try as he would, Johnnie couldn't see what Spot was pointing at. So he
took a few steps forward until he came abreast of the old dog. Then all
at once there was a rumbling _whir_ that sounded to Johnnie Green almost
as loud as thunder. A brownish streak flashed from the ground just ahead
of him.

He knew that it was a grouse rising. And he fired.

Johnnie Green missed the bird. It had given hi