"Well now, you're a heap o' company," he said to the dog. "I've a good
mind ter keep ye. Say, d'ye wan' ter stay, ol' feller?"
The dog wagged his abbreviated tail, licked Tode's fingers, and rubbed
his head against the ragged trousers of his new friend.
"Ye do, hey! Well, I'll keep ye ter-night, anyhow. Le' see, what'll I
call ye? You've got ter have a name. S'posin' I call ye Tag. That
do--hey, Tag?"
The dog gave a quick, short bark and limped gaily about the boy's
feet.
"All right--we'll call ye Tag then. Now then, there's yer bed," and he
threw into a corner an old piece of carpet that he had picked up on a
vacant lot. The dog understood and settled himself with a long,
contented sigh, as if he would have said:
"At last I've found a master and a home."
In a day or two Tag's lameness disappeared, and his devotion to his
new master was unbounded. Tode found him useful, too, for he kept
vigilant watch when the boy was busy at his stand, and suffered no
thievish fingers to snatch anything when Tode's eyes and fingers were
too busy for him to be on the lookout. The dog was such a loving,
intelligent little creature, that he quickly won his way into Nan's
heart, and he evidently considered himself the guardian of Little
Brother from the first day that he saw Tode and the child
together.
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