human
Isn't Hank going to eat, and the mules, too? asked Dot, as she finished and took her
gpt
Alice-doll
human
Oh, yes. Mrs. MacCall will see that he gets what he needs, and Hank, as you call him, will feed the mules,
gpt
Do you think we ought to call him Hank? asked Tess.
human
It seems so familiar.
gpt
He's used to it, answered Neale.
human
Everybody along the canal calls him that. He's been a driver for years, before he went to traveling around, and met men who knew my father.
gpt
Hum! That just reminds me, said the lawyer musingly, as Dot and Tess hurried from the table.
human
Perhaps I ought to question Hank about the two Klondikers who inquired about the Stetson flat. He may know of them. Well, it will do to-night after we have tied up.
gpt
Where is Hank going to sleep?
human
He will sleep on the upper deck. I have a cot for him, said the lawyer.
gpt
The mules will be tethered on the towpath. It is warm now, and they won't need shelter. They are even used to being out in the rain.
human
Alice-doll,
gpt
Oh! Oh, Ruth! gasped the little girl.
human
Somebody's in there!
gpt
In where?
human
In there!
gpt
Some one in there? repeated Ruth.
human
Well, that's very possible. Mrs. Mac may be there, or Neale or--
gpt
No, it isn't any of them! insisted Dot.
human
I saw everybody that belongs to us. It's somebody else! He's in the storeroom, and he sneezed and made a noise like a goat.
gpt
You ridiculous child! what do you mean?
human
You probably heard one of Hank's mules hee-hawing,
gpt
Mules don't sneeze!
human
You come and see!
gpt
What's up?
human
Oh, Dot imagines she heard some unusual noise,
gpt
I did hear it! insisted the younger girl.
human
It was a sneeze and a bleat like a goat and it smells like a goat, too. Smell it! she cried, vigorously sniffing the air as she paused on the threshold of the storeroom.
gpt
Don't you smell it?