"Tell us, son," Mr. Lee joined in for the first time.

So Billy stood before them to plead for his dog.

"Jim and I got to the Fair, 'nd he told me to wait outside and he'd
scout around and see if he couldn't find his uncle who had a show
inside, 'cause Jim thought maybe his uncle could get us in for nothing
and we'd have more money to spend. It was awful hot and I went over and
sat under the trees across the road and watched the people come. All of
a sudden I heard a dog cry, and over near one of the other trees was a
man that looked like a tramp trying to make a dog go ahead and kicking
him awful 'cause the dog wouldn't go! The dog would cry and then the
man'd kick him again and swear awful. Well, I was mad--I gave that
whistle that Rex used to know and the dog sort of listened, then I
whistled harder and the dog made a jump and broke his string and ran
like a flash right to me just's if he knew I was a friend! The man came
after him, swearing harder than ever. But I just took the dog and stood
right up and I said to him: 'You don't know how to treat a dog!' I
thought maybe he'd hit me, he looked so mad, but I went on talking real
fast. I said, 'He's a lot like a dog I know--what'll you sell him for?'
Because I'd sort o' decided he'd stolen him and might be glad to get
rid of him, you see! And the man said, 'How much'll you give?' and I
told him I'd give a dollar, and he reached out for the string and said,
'That ain't enough,' and I said, 'That's all I've got,' and just that
minute a policeman came along towards us and he said quick, 'He's
yours,' and I gave him my dollar and you ought to have seen him beat
it!"

Upon the rest of the story Billy touched lightly--how, his dollar gone,
he had had no money with-which to buy his way into the fair; how Jim,