Pongo, Missis, and Lucky raced through the kitchen and larder, remembering all that had happened there. The Dearlys followed them and saw the furnace for the central heating. Then they all went out to the stables.

These would make fine kennels if they were heated,€ said Mr. Dearly.

Then he looked up and saw the Folly, and both he and Mrs. Dearly took a fancy to it. And they decided then and there to buy Hell Hall and make it into a beautiful house.

Here we will found a Dynasty of Dalmatians,€ said Mr. Dearly.

Missis was insulted. She thought the word meant a nasty din. But Pongo explained that it meant a family that goes on and on.

Mr. Dearly added, And we’d better start a Dynasty of Dearlys, to look after the Dynasty of Dalmatians.€ And Mrs. Dearly quite agreed.

The alterations to Hell Hall were quickly made, and one sunny day in early spring a removal van and an extra large double-decker motor-coach stood outside the house in Regent’s Park. The van was for the furniture. The coach was for the Dearlys and the Dalmatians. The Nannies had already gone down by car, to open Hell Hall, Nanny Butler driving. She had added a smart chauffeur’s cap to her butler’s outfit.

Mr. Dearly came out of the house with Pongo and Missis. Mrs. Dearly followed with Perdita, and with the white cat on her shoulder. (The white cat too was to start a Dynasty at Hell Hall. The Dearlys had promised her a white Persian husband).

Within the next few minutes two surprising things happened. First, just as Missis saw the removal van and said, Oh, there’s a miracle,€ a Staffordshire Terrier flung itself from the van, said, Here we are again,€ to Pongo and Missis, and hurled itself at Mr. Dearly’s chest.

That’s a compliment, if you only knew it,€ said Jim, who was standing by the van.

That’s right,€ said Bill. Old Battering Ram’s fallen for you.€

And I for him,€ said Mr. Dearly politely, rising from a sitting position.

Pongo and Missis managed to quieten the Staffordshire before he paid any compliments to Mrs. Dearly. And then the second surprising thing happened. A large car had drawn up, and the people in it were looking at Pongo, Missis, and Perdita with interest. Suddenly there was a wild commotion in the car, and then the door burst open and out sprang a superb liver-spotted Dalmatian. He dashed up to Perdita. It was her long-lost husband.

His name was Prince. The people in the big car were much touched by his faithfulness to Perdita and at once offered him to the Dearlys, saying they would be glad of a good home for him as they were always going abroad and having to leave him in kennels. Prince was delighted. Apart from wanting to be with Perdita, he knew good pets when he saw them.