s beyond words to tell.

CHAPTER X

ZIP'S CURIOSITY IS HIS UNDOING

About a week after Zip's last visit to Miss Belinda's, he was out on one
of his midnight prowls, about which the doctor had scolded him time and
time again. In fact, he had forbidden him to leave the yard at night,
warning him that some day he would be shot while poking around in other
people's back yards, or that he would be poisoned by eating some meat that
had been prepared purposely for stray cats or dogs. But Zip thought he was
smart enough not to get caught, and he did not believe that anyone could
put poison on meat and he not be able to smell it.

So this night he went with a rat terrier, a friend of his, down into a
poor quarter of the town, where they often went to kill rats, just for the
fun of it and to see who could kill the most.

[Illustration]

To-night there seemed to be no rats in sight, and while nosing around to
get on the track of some, Zip smelt meat and soon came upon a small piece
of fresh, juicy beefsteak, which he gobbled down without a thought. As he
swallowed the last bit, he thought he detected a queer taste to it, and
the thought flashed through his mind, "I have been poisoned! I might have
known no one would throw away so good a piece of meat as that without a
purpose. That meat was prepared for some cat, dog or rat to eat and die.
Oh, my! I am beginning to have fearful pains in my stomach now and I feel
myself beginning to swell already! Rats," he called, for that was his
friend's nickname, "I've eaten a piece of meat with rat poison on it, and
I must get home before I swell up so I can't walk at all. If I am able to
get to the doctor, he will help me, I know."

"I thought you had more sense than to eat a piece of meat, cheese or
anything else you saw lying around in places where they have lots of rats.
You might have known it had rat poison on it!" replied his friend.

"I know, but I did not think. For mercy's sake, don't scold me when I am
in such awful pain, but help me get home," wailed Zip.

They made as good headway as they could, though Zip had to roll on the
grass every once in a while to relieve his pain, but he did not dare stop
often for his stomach was swelling so rapidly that he felt it would burst
before he reached his home. At last they reached the doctor's house, but
too late to find the doctor still up. He had gone to bed, so Zip told his
friend to howl as if he was being killed, and the