oo?" questioned Jan.

"Good gracious, no! I travel around with my folks and we live in hotels,
and they make me wear a collar. I manage to get away without my collar,
sometimes, and some one always takes me to the pound, and my family come
there for me as soon as I am lost. They'll be here for me before long.
I've been in lots of pounds."

[Illustration: "'_You must be crazy! this is the pound!' snapped the
tiny creature._"]

Without further remarks, the spoiled pet curled itself into a dirty
ball and was fast asleep when the door opened and two young ladies
rushed in and grabbed up the blinking rascal. He yawned in the face of
the girl who held him; then, petted and scolded, he was carried away.

With hopeless eyes, Jan watched them pass through the doorway. He
understood now, that Elizabeth had not sent for him, that nobody cared
what happened to him. He lay down and shut his eyes and tried to shut
his ears to the misery of the other dogs, but he could not sleep. Jan
kept thinking how he had wanted to do what was right and how hard he had
tried to remember what his mother had taught him. In this strange land,
with no snow and no work to do, he had failed; and now, he would die in
disgrace after a useless life that meant dishonour to his father and
Barry, and the other dogs who had lived and died doing their duty as St.
Bernards.

Through the long hours of the night, though darkness shut away the sight
of the other dogs, Jan could hear restless movements and choked
whimpers, so that he could not forget where he was, and at last, when
morning broke, he lifted his head slowly and looked at the dogs around
him. Then he remembered that morning at the Hospice when he had wakened
early, waiting impatiently for his first lesson on the trail. But these
dogs around him, now, were pitiful things, cowering and shivering; the
eyes that met his own were dull and hopeless, and the ears all drooped
dejectedly.

The dogs started nervously as a key scraped in the lock of the door.
Then the old man came into the room and went from one dog to the other,
patting each in turn as he placed clean, freshly cooked meat and a pan
of water within easy reach. The poor animals shrank back, but as they
saw that he did not threaten any of them, the ragged tails flopped and
the eyes that followed him were less timid. When he reached Jan, the man
stood looking at him and shaking his head slowly. The dog, still
suspicious of every human being, b