brought it to the Doctor to read for him. That's all. He belongs
to a funny little girl called Minnie Dooley, who lives on the
other side of the town. She has pigtails down her back. She and
her brother have gone away to the seaside for the Summer; and the
old retriever is heart-broken while the children are gone. So
they write letters to him--in English of course. And as the old
dog doesn't understand them, he brings them here, and the Doctor
turns them into dog language for him. I think Minnie must have
written that she is coming back--to judge from the dog's
excitement. Just look at him carrying on!"

Indeed the retriever seemed to be suddenly overcome with joy. As
the Doctor finished the letter the old dog started barking at the
top of his voice, wagging his tail wildly and jumping about the
study. He took the letter in his mouth and ran out of the room
snorting hard and mumbling to himself.

"He's going down to meet the coach," whispered Polynesia. "That
dog's devotion to those children is more than I can understand.
You should see Minnie! She's the most conceited little minx that
ever walked. She squints too."



THE TWELFTH CHAPTER

MY GREAT IDEA

PRESENTLY the Doctor looked up and saw us at the door.