led, "All right, Jan! Tell them I'm coming!"

Slowly the dog went back to the big dining-room. But Elizabeth and her
mother were not in their accustomed places, either. Puzzled, he trotted
through the hallway and up the wide stairs, following the sound of
murmuring voices in Mr. Pixley's room. Through the half-open door Jan
saw two strange men talking to Elizabeth and her mother. On the bed,
very white and quiet, Mr. Pixley was lying.

"The only chance is an operation by Dr. Corey of London," one of the
men spoke to Mrs. Pixley, and the other man nodded.

"We can cable to London and have him sail immediately for New York,
while we are on our way from here," added the second man to Elizabeth,
who was watching them very anxiously.

"Do you think my father can stand the trip?" she asked.

"It would be less dangerous than losing time for Dr. Corey to come to
California after he reaches New York," both doctors declared.

Jan saw that Elizabeth's eyes were full of tears and he slipped softly
to her and pushed his nose into her hand. She glanced down and tried to
smile at him, but her lips trembled and she hurried to her room. Mrs.
Pixley followed her, and when Jan found them, Elizabeth was crying in
her mother's arms, while Mrs. Pixley, whose own face was wet with tears,
tried to comfort her. After awhile they began talking in low tones, and
Jan edged between their closely-drawn chairs, wishing very hard that he
could understand what it all meant. He would have been as much worried
as they were, had he known that Mr. Pixley's life could only be saved by
the famous surgeon from England, and that even if the operation were
successful it would mean that Elizabeth and her parents would have to be
away from home many months. But Jan was only a dog, so their words meant
nothing to him.

After that hour everything was in confusion. Servants hurried about,
trunks were dragged into Elizabeth's room, and clothes were carried from
closets and packed into the empty trunks. Every once in a while Jan
would look down into a trunk, then watch Elizabeth with his puzzled
eyes.

She saw his worried look and paused in her packing to pet him, then
suddenly she turned to her mother and said, "Oh, mother! What about
Jan?"

"It will be impossible to take him with us, for we will have to stay in
a hotel, and that would be hard on Jan, and an additional care for us,
dear. Then, we may have to go to London as soon as your father is able
to t