Ned often looked behind with a pleased face, and I felt so proud to think I was doing well; but suddenly I got dreadfully confused when he turned around and said, “Hie out!”

The Morrises all used the same words in training their dogs, and I had heard Miss Laura say this, but I had forgotten what it meant.  “Good Joe,” said Ned, turning around and patting me, “you have forgotten.  I wonder where Jim is?  He would help us.”

He put his fingers in his mouth and blew a shrill whistle, and soon Jim came trotting up the lane from the street.  He looked at us with his large, intelligent eyes, and wagged his tail slowly, as if to say, “Well, what do you want of me?”

“Come and give me a hand at this training business, old Sobersides,” said Ned, with a laugh.  “It’s too slow to do it alone.  Now, young gentlemen, attention!  To heel!” He began to march around the garden again, and Jim and I followed closely at his heels, while little Billy, seeing that he could not get us to play with him, came lagging behind.

Soon Ned turned around and said, “Hie out!” Old Jim sprang ahead, and ran off in front as if he was after something.  Now I remembered what “hie out” meant.  We were to have a lovely race wherever we liked.  Little Billy loved this.  We ran and scampered hither and thither, and Ned watched us, laughing at our antics.

After tea, he called us out in the garden again, and said he had something else to teach us.  He turned up a tub on the wooden platform at the back door, and sat on it, and then called Jim to him.

He took a small leather strap from his pocket.  It had a nice, strong smell.  We all licked it, and each dog wished to have it.  “No, Joe and Billy,” said Ned, holding us both by our collars; “you wait a minute.  Here, Jim.”

Jim watched him very earnestly, and Ned threw the strap half-way across the garden, and said, “Fetch it.”

Jim never moved till he heard the words, “Fetch it.”  Then he ran swiftly, brought the strap, and dropped it in Ned’s hand.  Ned sent him after it two or three times, then he said to Jim, “Lie down,” and turned to me.  “Here, Joe; it is your turn.”

He threw the strap under the raspberry bushes, then looked at me and said, “Fetch it.”  I knew quite well what he meant, and ran joyfully after it.  I soon found it by the strong smell, but the queerest thing happened when I got it in my mouth.  I began to gnaw it and play with it, and when Ned called out, “Fetch it,” I dropped it and ran toward him.  I was not obstinate, but I was stupid.

Ned pointed to the place where it was, and spread out his empty hands.  That helped me, and I ran quickly and got it.  He made me get it for him several times.  Sometimes I could not find it, and sometimes I dropped it; but he never stirred.  He sat still till I brought it to him.

After a while he tried Billy, but it soon got dark, and we could not see, so he took Billy and went into the house.