d to see a young colt.
He was laughing heartily as he watched its frisky antics, when from the
lane that was on one side of the field, a big black retriever appeared,
barking furiously.

Bobby was not accustomed to dogs. 'The House' kept none, and with his
heart in his mouth he turned and fled. The retriever pursued him,
evidently showing by his gambols that he wanted to play. Somehow or
other Nobbles slipped from his grasp as he ran, and in an instant the
dog had seized hold of him and, bounding over the hedge, carried him
away in his mouth.

This awful tragedy brought Bobby to his senses. He was panic-stricken
no more, but scrambled as fast as he could into the lane. He was the
pursuer now; the big black dog was trotting slowly up the road, and he
trotted as hard as he could go after him.

It was of no use to call after the robber. Once Bobby did so, but the
dog only turned his head to look at him, and then began to trot faster
than ever. Bobby's short legs did not make rapid progress. Soon he
began to feel dreadfully tired. Up the lane, out on the highroad, up
another side road, and finally through some big iron gates towards an
old red-brick house that stood in the midst of bright flowerbeds and
green lawns. The big dog led his pursuer deliberately on, and Bobby,
heated and footsore, had no thought but to follow.

There was a lady sitting at tea under some shady trees upon the lawn.
The retriever made his way straight to her, and dropped the stick at
her feet. Bobby came shyly forward, and the lady looked at him in
surprise. She was dressed in deep mourning, and had a very sad face,
and, though she looked young, her hair was as white as snow.

'Who are you, little boy; and what do you want?'

'I'm Bobby, and that dog took away Nobbles. I've runned after him
'bout twenty miles!'

He picked up his beloved stick, kissed the ugly little smiling face,
then produced a very small handkerchief from his pocket and began
wiping Nobbles all over very carefully.

The lady looked at him with a puzzled smile.

'You look hot and tired,' she said; 'sit down, and I will give you some
strawberries and cream.'

Bobby's eyes brightened. He sat down on the grass and looked up at the
lady.

'Is that dog yours?' he asked.

'Yes; his name is Lucky. That's a funny name, isn't it? It was very
naughty of him to run away with your stick. I must punish him by not
giving him any cake.'

She shook her head at Lu