I HAD learned more about theatres now than I had known at first, and I had learned the names of a great many things about it.

The bright lights in front of the stage were called footlights. Then at each side of the stage were places called “boxes,” and they had chairs in them where people could sit, if they wanted to be very near the stage. When they sat in the boxes they were so near it was almost as though they were on the stage with us. Often there were a lot of children there, and I liked that because they laughed so loud and clapped their hands so hard when we did our tricks. But I didn’t pay so very much attention to anyone but Mr. Bonelli when I was on the stage. None of us did. We had to watch him and his little whip all the time if we were to do the right things.

This evening we had come with just our collars on, and we ran downstairs to the room where Mrs. Bonelli was and she dressed us, and we stayed down there with her until it was time for our act. Then Mr. Bonelli called us. We all ran upstairs together and out on the stage, wagging our tails. It was all just the way it had always been before, but somehow I felt different, and all excited. I kept sniffing and sniffing, and I felt as if Tommy was somewhere near.

We jumped up on our chairs, and Mr. Bonelli spoke to the people and they clapped, and then he came over and turned me round, and I kept turning back just the way I always did, until he said, “All right, Master Grineo, suit yourself then!”

At that I turned and faced the people, just as I always did, and grinned, and right then I heard Tommy’s voice. He was there in the box beside the stage, and he called out, and his voice was shrill,—“It is! It is, mamma! It’s Muffins!”

When I heard that I forgot everything. I jumped down and ran over to the box where Tommy was sitting, and jumped up against the side of it and barked and whined and tried to get to him; and he leaned down over the side of the box to get at me and reached down his hand to pat me, and I caught his hand in my mouth, I was so glad to see him.

Then the next thing Mr. Bonelli called to me sharp and quick, and came over toward me and made his whip whistle through the air.

I was scared and ran back with my tail between my legs and jumped up on the chair again.

The people in front began to talk and then the music struck up, and Mr. Bonelli went over and talked to Tommy. I didn’t hear what he said, but presently he turned to the people and held up his hand for the music to stop, and said, “My little clown dog found an old friend he had not seen for a long time. He forgot himself, but now he prays for you to forgive him, and he is ready to act again,” and all the people clapped.

So we went on. Graceful jumped, and we played ball and turned somersaults, and we rolled the barrels and did all the rest of the things, but I didn’t do very well, and once I fell off the barrel, and once I missed the ball. Mr. Bonelli kept smiling, but he came close to me and spoke to me in a low voice, but very sharp, and touched me with his whip, and then I did better.

At last It was all over. Mr. Bonelli bowed and the people clapped, and he bowed and bowed, and then we ran off the stage, and there, waiting for us, were Tommy and his father.

The father talked to Mr. Bonelli, and Tommy was down beside me patting me, and he kept saying, “Can’t I have him back, father? Can’t I?” until his father told him to be quiet.He talked to Mr. Bonelli for a long time, Tommy’s father did; then he called Tommy to come, and I heard him say to Mr. Bonelli, “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Tommy didn’t want to go, but he had to. He kept looking back at me, and when I saw he was going I wanted to follow him, but Mr. Bonelli wouldn’t let me. He put on my collar and strap, and I had to go home with him and Mrs. Bonelli and the other dogs.

But that wasn’t the end of it. The next day Tommy and his father came to Mr. Bonelli’s house. I was sitting on the sill of the front window looking out, and I saw them coming.

I jumped down and ran out into the hall to meet them.

When they came in I whined and barked and wagged my tail and jumped up on Tommy, and he was just as glad to see me as I was to see him.

We went into a room and Tommy and his father and Mr. Bonelli sat down and talked. I wanted to get up in the chair with Tommy, but Mr. Bonelli wouldn’t let me. He took me up on his knees, and all the while he was talking he kept smoothing me and gently pulling my ears.

At last Tommy and his father stood up, and Mr. Bonelli, too, and I scrambled down and ran over to Tommy, and Tommy caught his father by the arm and cried, “Can’t I take him now? Please!”

But his father shook his head. “You’ve heard what Mr. Bonelli says; he’ll have to train a dog to take his place before he can let him go.”

Then he and Mr. Bonelli shook hands, and Tommy said good-bye, and Tommy and his father went out and shut the door after them.

I wanted to go with them, but Mr. Bonelli held me back. When he let me go I ran to the door and scratched and whined, but I couldn’t get it open, and at last I sat down and howled, but all my howling did not bring them back.It was not long after this when Mr. Bonelli brought home another dog to the house. He was a little brown dog just about my size. At first I thought he was a strange dog, but when I went up and sniffed at him he smelled like a friend. Then he began to wag his tail, and frisk in front of me, and all of a sudden I knew who he was. He was little Fido from the dog shop.

I was so glad to see him I whined, and he seemed just as glad to see me.

“Ah, my Grineo, so you remember your little friend from the shop,” said Mr. Bonelli. “I had forgotten that you were there together.”

I was very happy that Fido had come there to live and to learn to be a trained dog. I knew he would like it.

Right away Mr. Bonelli began to teach Fido the same tricks that I had been doing. He worked and worked with him. He taught him everything I knew except to grin and to throw the ball. Fido couldn’t learn to do either of those things. He and I worked together, and he used to watch everything I did, and try to do it the same way. I don’t know just how long it took him to learn, but not so very long. He was a smart little dog, but not as smart as me. I heard Mr. Bonelli say to Mrs. Bonelli, “Ah, yes; he is quick, but not quick as is my little clown dog. There is but one Grineo, and I was foolish when I promised to sell him.”

And Mrs. Bonelli said, “But it is much money.”

Then one day, after Fido had learned all the tricks he seemed able to learn, an automobile came to the door, and in it was William sitting in front, and Tommy sat up beside him.

Tommy came in and I ran to meet him. At first he just spoke to me and patted me, but I jumped up at him and barked and yelped until he took me up in his arms, and then I hardly knew what to do, I was so glad.

Then Mr. Bonelli came in, and Tommy put me down and gave Mr. Bonelli an envelope. “Father said to give you this,” he said.

Mr. Bonelli opened the envelope and took out a piece of paper and looked at it, and Mrs. Bonelli looked at it, too, and they both seemed pleased, and Mr. Bonelli said, “That is all right; and please thank your father for me.”

Then they both said good-bye to me, and Mrs. Bonelli took me up and kissed me, and I licked her cheek, but I was so happy I barked and squirmed, and she had to put me down, for now I somehow knew that I was to go with Tommy, and be his little dog again, and I wanted to be down where I could jump on him if I chose, and follow close at his heels.

I was close at his heels when he went out to the automobile again, and when he opened the door I jumped in before he did, I was so afraid I might be left behind.

William seemed glad to see me. He said, “Hello, Muffins! So you’re coming back to us, are you?” And I barked and barked till Tommy told me to be quiet.

Everyone seemed glad to see me at home, too, and even the maid smiled and stooped to pat me, and Bijou came up and put his nose to mine and sniffed at me in a friendly way.

There had been great changes in the house since I was there. Prince Coco was gone, and Fifine was gone. Bijou told me what had become of them. Prince Coco had eaten so much that he got sick, and had been sent away. He always had eaten too much. And Fifine had had five little puppies, so she had been sent away to the gardener out in the country.

So now Bijou and I were the only dogs in the house, and Bijou was very friendly with me all the time. He said he had wanted to be friendly before, and to play and have some fun with me, only he was ashamed to before the other dogs.I couldn’t play with him so very much even now, though, because when Tommy was home I had to play with him the most.

I didn’t know that I would ever see Mr. Bonelli again, but I did. He came to the house several times. What he came for was to show Tommy how to put me through my tricks.

The first time he came he brought a little whip just like his own for Tommy, and he brought a little barrel striped red, white and blue, and it was my own little barrel that I used to act on. There were one or two tricks I couldn’t do at home because we hadn’t the things, like the jumping-board act and the fire act, but Mr. Bonelli showed Tommy how to put me through almost all the others. Tommy was pleased, and so was I. I grinned and grinned.