I know Laddie. So do you. He is
up there. And he can't get back. He--"
"Nonsense!" laughed the Master. "Why, of course, he--"
"He is up there," insisted the Mistress, "and he can't get back.
I know him well enough to be, sure he'd have overtaken us, when
we stopped all those times to fix the tires;--if he had been left
behind. And I know something else: When we started on, after that
first puncture, we were about half a mile below the knoll. And as
we went around the bend, there was a gap in the trees. I was
looking back. For a second, I could see the lean-to, outlined
ever so clearly against the sky. And alongside of it was standing
some animal. It was far away; and we passed out of sight so
suddenly, that I couldn't see what it was; except that it was
large and dark. And it seemed to be struggling to move from where
it stood. I was going to speak to you about it,--I supposed it
was that black bear of Laddie's,--when we had the next puncture.
And that made me forget all about it;--till now. Of course, it
never occurred to me it could be Lad. Because Barret had said he
was in the truck.
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