Then, all of a sudden, as they were walking through a very dismal place in the woods, Jackie began to growl.

“Oh, don’t do that!” cried Alice, “you frighten me!  Did you see a burglar or a wolf?”

“Why, I only growled because I smelled a bone,” said Jackie, and he laughed, and fell over and over, turning a complete somersault.

“I smelled the bone first!” cried Peetie, “and I’m going to have it!” Then the two of them made a rush for the nice, juicy bone, and they each got hold of it and began to pull, one on one end and one on the other, and they fell down and slipped and stumbled all over in the darkness, getting mixed up in the leaves, growling and snarling; but, of course, it was all in fun, you know, for the puppy dogs loved each other.

“Oh, don’t do that, Peetie!” begged Alice, touching one of the puppy dogs with her foot.  “Don’t tumble about so, Peetie!”

“I’m not Peetie; I’m Jackie!” was the answer.  “Can’t you tell by the white spot on my nose?  Peetie has a black spot.”

“I can’t see very well in the dark,” replied Alice.

Then something very funny happened, for when Jackie opened his mouth to speak to Alice he had to let go of the bone, and of course Peetie ran off with it and hid it.  But that was a good thing, for they couldn’t pull on it any more, and when Peetie came back they both rubbed noses, and went on through the dark woods, taking Alice home.

They had only one accident.  That is, they fell down a hole, but they weren’t hurt at all, I’m glad to say.  Then, when Alice was safe in the duckpen, the puppy dogs ran back home and went right to sleep.

Now, if you don’t spill the salt in the sugar bowl, I’m going to tell you to-morrow night about Jimmie and Jackie.

STORY XXVIII

JIMMIE AND JACKIE BOW WOW

When Alice reached the duckpen that night, after she had gone visiting Sister Sallie, and was brought home by the puppy dogs, she told her folks all about it.

“Jackie and Peetie Bow Wow, eh?” remarked Jimmie, her brother, when she had told their names.  “I never heard of them.  They must be new around here.”

“They are,” answered Alice.  “But they are just as cute as they can be; really they are.”

“Cute, eh?” asked Jimmie.  “Can they play ball?”

“I don’t know,” replied his sister.  “But you ought to see them pull on that old boot and the bone!  Oh, it was too funny!”

“And they took good care of you, didn’t they,” asked Lulu.

“Indeed, they did,” answered Alice.  “They weren’t afraid of anything, even when an owl hooted.”

So the next day, which was Saturday, when there wasn’t any school, Jimmie started off with his wooden bat over his shoulder, his catching glove under one wing and his ball under the other.

“Where are you going?” asked his mother.