restless, twittering life, and then out into a back yard, in which were
two or three rotten old kennels and tubs. "That there's him," he said,
jerking his thumb to the farthest tub; "follered me all the way 'ome
from Kinsington Gardens, _he_ did. Kim out, will yer?"

And out of the tub there crawled slowly, with a snuffling whimper and
a rattling of its chain, the identical dog I had slain a few evenings
before!

At least, so I thought for a moment, and felt as if I had seen a
spectre; the resemblance was so exact--in size, in every detail, even to
the little clumps of hair about the hind parts, even to the lop of half
an ear, this dog might have been the _doppelganger_ of the deceased
Bingo. I suppose, after all, one black poodle is very like any other
black poodle of the same size, but the likeness startled me.

I think it was then that the idea occurred to me that here was a
miraculous chance of securing the sweetest girl in the whole world, and
at the same time atoning for my wrong by bringing back gladness with me
to Shuturgarden. It only needed a little boldness; one last deception,
and I could embrace truthfulness once more.

Almost unconsciously, when my guide turned round and asked, "Is that
there dawg yourn?" I said hurriedly, "Yes, yes; that's the dog I want;
that--that's Bingo!"

"He don't seem to be a-puttin' of 'isself out about seein' you again,"
observed Mr. Blagg, as the poodle studied me with calm interest.

"Oh, he's not exactly _my_ dog, you see," I said; "he belongs to a
friend of mine!"

He gave me a quick, furtive glance. "Then maybe you're mistook about
him," he said, "and I can't run no risks. I was a-goin' down in the
country this 'ere werry evenin' to see a party as lives at Wistaria
Willa; he's been a-hadwertisin' about a black poodle, _he_ has!"

"But look here," I said; "that's _me_."

He gave me a curious leer. "No offence, you know, guv'nor," he said,
"but I should wish for some evidence as to that afore I part with a
vallyable dawg like this 'ere!"

"Well," I said, "here's one of my cards; will that do for you?"

He took it and spelled it out with a pretence of great caution; but I
saw well enough that the old schoundrel suspected that if I had lost a
dog at all it was not this particular dog. "Ah," he said, as he put
it in his pocket, "if I part with him to you I must be cleared of all
risks. I can't afford to get into trouble about no mistakes. Unless you
likes to leave hi