"Tom Jonah is going with us," Agnes said, promptly. "Did you suppose we'd leave him all day alone, poor fellow?"
When they started Tom Jonah showed his delight at being included in the girls' outing by the most extravagant gyrations. As they went up the shaded lane toward the auto-stage road, he chased half a dozen imaginary rabbits into the woods in as many minutes.
It was right at the head of the lane that they met the man. He was not a bad looking man at all, and he was driving a nice horse to a rubber-tired runabout.
He drew in the horse, that seemed to have already traveled some miles that morning, and looked hard at Tom Jonah.
"Well," he said, cheerfully, "there's the old tramp himself. How long have you girls had him?"
The four Corner House girls stood stock-still, and even Ruth was smitten dumb for the moment.
"Tom Jonah, you rascal!" said the man, not unkindly. "Don't you know your old master?"
At first the dog had not seen him; but the moment he heard the man's voice, he halted and his whole body stiffened. The plume of his tail began to wave; his jaws stretched wide in a doggish smile. Then, as the man playfully snapped the whip at him, Tom Jonah barked loudly.
"Where did you get him!" the man repeated, looking at the Corner House girls again.
Tess and Dot were clinging to each other's hands. Agnes stared at the man belligerently. Ruth said--and her voice was not quite steady:
"What do you think yourself, Miss?" responded the man, rather gruffly. "I guess there's no mistake about whether he knows me and I know him."
"No, sir," said Ruth, bravely. "But lots of people may know him."
"Do you mean to put in a claim for the dog?" interrupted the man, quickly.
"Tom Jonah came to our house in Milton," began Ruth, when again the man interrupted with:
"Of course. He was on his way home to me. I sold him to a man who lives forty miles beyond Milton."
"Then you do _not_ own him?" Ruth said, with a feeling of relief.
The man looked at her steadily for a minute. Ruth had recovered her self-possession. Tess and Dot were now on either side of Tom Jonah, with their arms about the dog's neck. Agnes was very angry, but remained silent.
"I raised that dog from a pup, Miss. I owned his mother. I raised him. I put his name on his collar. He has it there yet, hasn't he?"