"He won't hurt us, Nurse," the boy declared and put his hand on the
dog's big head. "I don't care whether he's dirty or clean, he's a bully
fine dog, and I wish he belonged to me and sister!"

"Oh, if they will only stay with me!" hoped Jan. "Maybe they would
understand and some day take me back to the Hospice."

The boy smiled into Jan's eyes, but he did not know what the dog was
trying to say.

"Come, children, we must go," one of the women spoke. "Now, you have
seen a dog that cost over a thousand dollars and is being taken to live
in California, where oranges grow and there is never any snow."

Jan turned quickly. He remembered all the dogs at the Hospice had talked
about the place where there was never any snow.

"How can a dog save lives where there is no snow?" he asked; but the
women and children, as they turned away, thought he was whining because
they were leaving him alone.

With miserable eyes Jan lay staring into the dark, wondering how he
could be like his father and Barry in a country where there was no snow.




Chapter IV