CHAPTER XIV. AN ARRIVAL. THE next day neither Tip nor I were in a very good humour, for we felt that we had been ill-used, but on talking it over we agreed to forgive and forget if possible, for we felt sure it was ignorance on Miss Kate's part that had made her behave as she had done. We were sorry that she had not been better educated, but that was perhaps more the fault of her parents than her own. We had not seen Bob for a long time, and we felt anxious to pay him a visit, but we remained quietly at home all the morning, as we did not know exactly what might be expected of us, and we were really sensible dogs, and desired to consult the wishes of the humans; but I must say it is not much of a consultation if they expect to have all the talking, and do not listen to what we have to say. Tip told me that there were all sorts of preparations going on, and that there were evidently some little humans coming, for he heard the servants talk about not having enough beds, and that Miss Kate would have to get another small one in Dover. "Why doesn't she make the little human a nice little bed of straw?" I said, "for there is plenty of straw in the stable ;" but Tip said that humans didn't like straw beds, nor for the matter of that no more did he; he much preferred a hairy rug or an old shawl, and he thought probably the little humans did the same. I told him that I thought in these luxurious days that both dogs and humans had become corrupted, and that a nice bed of straw such as I had was far more wholesome; however, I did not venture to give my advice to Miss Kate, as I knew she would not be able to follow my reasoning. In the afternoon we were requested to accompany her into Dover, where Tip said she was going to see about the bed, and he believed she was also going to meet the little humans. On the way into Dover, Tip and I had a great deal of conversation as to what these humans would be like, and whether we should find them an addition to our society or not. Whilst Miss Kate was seeing about the little human's bed, and doing sundry other things, I left Tip in charge, and told him that I should go and call on the little human whose life I had saved some little time back, and whom I had faithfully promised to revisit. I had no scruples about going, for I knew that Miss Kate would not consult me about the little bed, &c., and on the whole, Tip's opinion as to house furniture would be more likely to coincide with her own; so I trotted off down the Marine Parade, and Tip promised to call me if I was wanted. As I got near the jetty I saw my little friend sitting down on the beach with some other little humans, and when I came near them, she ran up to me with the greatest delight, and kissed me and patted me so affectionately, and called me such pretty names that I felt very happy, and I told her so, and added that I would save her again if she would like to fall off the end of the jetty. She did not understand me, which was a pity, for we could have had such a pleasant afternoon together, she tumbling into the sea, and I bringing her out, and repeating this over and over again until we were tired. I sat some time on the beach with her, and she gave me a quantity of biscuits, which I ate, quite as much to oblige her, as for my own gratification. She did not ask me to go into the sea, and I heard her tell one of the other little humans that it was too rough for me. This was not the case at all, but I was so happy with little "Amy" as they called her, that I did not care to leave her during the short time that I could pay her a visit. Miss Kate seemed to me to be much quicker than usual that day over her shopping, for I had not half finished Amy's biscuits when Tip called to me from the Parade, to come away. Amy was very sorry when I went, but I told her that I was the victim of circumstances, and that I would come again when I could. Alas! she only looked perplexed at what I said. It is very trying for dogs not to be understood, for I am sure they speak very distinctly, and their language ought not to be more difficult for humans to learn, than the language of humans is for dogs. The only deduction to be made from this is, that dogs are far more clever, as we have no difficulty in understanding what is said to us. Miss Kate was in a hurry to get evidently not to be met in Dover. home, so the humans were If she had exerted herself as Tip and I did, she would have been home half an hour sooner than she was, but as she only walked at her usual pace she found that her friends had arrived before her. Tip and I were there to receive them, which I was glad of, as people arriving on a visit like to be properly welcomed, and so we did our best to do the honours for Miss Kate. Inside the house there were plenty of humans, including Miss Kate's parents, but Tip followed them indoors, and I expect he paid them more attention than any one else. It was an arrival certainly! There were two little humans called Wilfrid and Cyril, and another called Mary, and a long white thing which Tip thought was another little human, quite a puppy, he said, and which they called a "baby." This long white thing was being carried by a big human, and Tip said, (though he had been in the house with them for two hours,) that he had never seen the long white thing attempt to move, but it made a dreadful noise, very like the noise Polly and Molly used to make, and he did not like it at all. "This will never do," I said; "it cannot be a human, but must be a kind of cat,—what a misfortune! To think that Miss Kate should allow such a thing in the house! It must be put down if it perseveres in annoying us by its caterwauling." Tip quite agreed with me, and he said he would watch it as best he could, but that it had been taken by the nurse somewhere upstairs. "On the roof,-of course," I said. "Oh! this is really very dreadful! If I see it outside I will let you know, and if you see it prowling about inside, you must let me know, and we will then form some plan for its extermination." Tip said he had no objection to make to the other little humans; in fact, he thought we should both of us approve of them. He said they had good manners, and all of them spoke to him when they came into the room. Whilst we were talking, the three little humans came out with Miss Kate, who said, "There Wilfy, and Cyril, and Mary, there are two friends for you; they will play with you, and go out walking with you, and Master Rex will swim into the water for you whenever you like." "That depends!" I said; "I have a reason for everything I do;" but I must say I liked the look of these little humans, and they seemed very pleased with us, and began to coax and pet us at once. Miss Kate left them with us, and as we felt bound to entertain them a little, we took them into the garden, and soon we became very intimate, and ran round and round the garden in fine style. I certainly do like little humans! they are always so pleasant and lively, and they seem to enjoy and appreciate our society, and I really believe they understand our language better than the older humans. That afternoon Tip and I suggested various races and games, and these three little humans quite seemed to understand us, and they ran almost as fast as we did, of course not quite as fast, as they had only a half allowance of legs,— but they certainly ran well, and if all humans were like them we should not have much to complain of. One of the little humans called Cyril got up into a tree, much to Tip's and my astonishment, for we had never seen any humans do that before. Tip said he had probably learnt how to do that at school, for he had heard Miss Kate say the two little boys had just come home for the holidays. I was glad when he came down again from the tree, as I did not see the use of his being up there, and I thought it was rather too much like the ways of a cat. Little humans had far better imitate dogs than cats. |