And he was
engaged in this groping when Lad came in view, around a bend.
The big collie saw the basket standing there, unprotected and, so
far as he knew, ownerless. Gravely he stepped forward, lifted the
heavy receptacle by the handle and turned about with it; still
moving with dignified slowness. The table-setters were busy; and
the car was between him and them.
By the time the other member of the party succeeded in finding
the things he was seeking under the rear seat, Lad had rounded
the bend and was out of sight. To this day, none of the motorists
has the remotest solution to the mystery of the vanished lunch.
Lad had not stolen the basket. He would have suffered himself to
be cut in three, before sinking to theft or to any other sneaking
act. He had found a basket standing alone in the highroad,
several feet away from the nearest humans. He had no way of
guessing it belonged to them. So far as he was concerned, this
was as much a lost article as had been the gorgeous parasol. He
had been praised to the skies for bringing the parasol and the
thermos case to the Mistress.
Pages:
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308