“No, Splash didn’t go with us,” said Bunny.  And this was rather strange, too, for the dog loved water, and played near it whenever he could, dashing in to bring out sticks that Bunny or Sue would throw in for him.

“And didn’t he go down to Nellie Bruce’s with you?” asked Grandma Brown.  She was as fond of Splash as anyone.

“No, he didn’t follow us,” Sue answered.  “We wanted him, too.  But we thought sure he’d be here waiting for us.  But he isn’t,” and again the little girl’s eyes filled with tears.

“Oh, we’ll find him,” said Bunny.

But that was easier said than done.  All about the house and barns in the farmyard, down through the meadows and over the pasture they looked for Splash.  Mother and Grandmother Brown helped search, but Bunny and Sue, with Bunker Blue and Ben Hall, went farther off to look.  It was nearly time for supper, but Bunny and Sue did not want to wash and get clean ready for the meal until they had found Splash.

But Splash, it seemed, was not to the found.

“We’ll have to ask some of the neighbors if they’ve seen him,” said Bunker.  “We’ll go down the road a way and ask everyone we meet.”

Splash, by this time, was pretty well known at the houses along the road where Grandpa Brown lived, for the dog made friends with everyone, and was fond of children.

But Bunker, Ben, Bunny and Sue had to ask at a number of places before they found anyone who had seen Splash.

“Your dog lost; eh?” exclaimed Mr. Black, who lived about a mile from Grandpa Brown’s house.  “Why, yes, I saw Splash this morning.  He was running over the fields back of my house.  I called to him, thinking you children might be with him, and there’s an old ram, over in my back pasture, that I didn’t want to get after you.

“But Splash wouldn’t come when I called to him, and when I saw you two youngsters weren’t with him, I didn’t worry about the ram.  I knew Splash could look out for himself.”

“Did you see him come back?” asked Bunker.

“No.  I didn’t notice.  I was too busy.”

“Then we’ll go over and look for him,” said Ben.  “Maybe the old ram got him after all.”

“Well, maybe he did,” said the farmer, “but I guess a dog like Splash can run faster than a ram.  Anyhow we’ll have a look.”

“Are you going, Bunny?” asked Sue.

“Sure.  Aren’t you?  Don’t you want to find Splash?”

“Yes—­but—­but I don’t want a old ram to hook me with his horns.”

“I’ll take care of you, Sue,” said Farmer Black.  “I’ll take a big stick with me, and the ram is afraid of that.  We’ll find Splash for you.”

They all went over the field where Mr. Black had seen Splash trotting early that morning.  They saw the ram, who, at first, seemed about to run toward them.  But when Mr. Black shook the stick at him the ram turned away and nibbled grass.

“No sign of Splash here,” said the farmer, as he stood on the fence and looked across the field.