"It must be a sneak-thief," said Miss Fenler.

"It _am_ a sneak-thief," said Marcus, appearing with the small dog in
his arms.

"He stole a slipper, an den sneaked under der bed ter chew on it. Sure,
he am a sneak-thief, but I knows a cullud gemman what wants a dog, an'
I guess he's 'bout the right size. Dey has a pow'ful small house, an'
him an' his wife, an' seben chilluns lib in dem two rooms, so he
couldn't want no bigger dog dan dis yar."

"Why nobody can give that dog away!" shrieked Patricia. "I bought him
yesterday, and paid the man two dollars for him. He's mine!"

"Do you mean to tell me, Patricia, that you bought that dog and
deliberately brought him here, when you knew that it was against the
rules of the school?" Mrs. Marvin asked.

"You kept the cat," said Patricia.

"Because I let the cat remain, you decided that it would be safe to do
practically the same thing again, did you?" Mrs. Marvin's usually kind
voice sounded very cold now.

"He isn't a cat, so 'tisn't the same," Patricia said with a pout.

"We must find an owner for him, Marcus," Mrs. Marvin said.

"I _won't_ let him go!" screamed Patricia.

"You cannot keep him here."

"Then I'll go back to my aunt's house at Merrivale, and take him with
me," said Patricia.

"Do as you like about that," Mrs. Marvin said quietly, "but you must
choose."

"I've _choosed_, I mean 'chosen,'" said Patricia. "I'll go right
straight off, and take the dog with me."

It looked like haste and anger, but for weeks Patricia had been so far
behind the others of her class, that she believed that any day Mrs.
Marvin would send her home with a letter stating that she had been
neglecting study, and must give up her place to some ambitious pupil.
Patricia preferred to go of her own choice, so she rushed to her room,
and began to pack her belongings.

Arabella stood watching her as if not fully realizing that she was
losing her chum.

She was not quite so dull as she appeared. She was sorry to have
Patricia go, and she was not at all sure that she would like her room
all to herself. At the same time she was comforting herself with the
thought that there would be no one to make her eat things that she ate
for the sake of peace and that nearly always made her ill, or to drag
her into mischief that she, herself would never have thought of. When
Patricia's trunk was strapped to the back of the carriage, and she stood
on the porch, her suit-case in one hand, he