“Good boy!” Peanut said. “Good boy, Mister. Sit down, boy. We’re gonna go home.”

The little Spaniel was shivering, but his huge black eyes were fixed on Peanut in a grateful and trusting way.

Peanut jumped back in the car and instead of turning left to go to the salon, he turned right and drove straight to Miss Earline Woody’s house. He pulled up beneath the portico where her 1980 Chrysler was parked and got out. Then he opened the back door and picked Mister up from the floor of the car and carried him up the steps.

Like Miss Earline, the grand old house had seen better days, but it had good bones, and Miss Earline came from good stock, which is why they were both still standing.

He heard footsteps, and then the door swung inward. He could see the old woman had been crying, and when she saw Peanut standing on the threshold with her missing puppy in his arms, she threw her hands up in the air.

“Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus! My prayers have been answered.” Then she held out her arms. “Mister. My poor little Mister. Come to Mama.”

The little dog whined as Peanut handed him over.

“Oh Peanut, thank you, thank you. He was out beneath the umbrella doing his business when a big old clap of thunder sounded, and before I knew it he was running. I tried to catch him, but the gate was ajar, and I’m not so spry anymore, and he was gone. I didn’t think I’d see him again.”

“You almost didn’t,” Peanut said. “I saw him running on the street in front of Broyle’s Dairy Freeze. Traffic just missed him, but when I stopped and called him, he came back to me and jumped right in the car. I think he was ready to come home.”

“Well, God love, you son. You don’t know how much this little mess means to me. Now I need to get us both cleaned up and dried off. Thank you again.”

Peanut grinned. “You’re welcome. You might want to have that latch on your gate looked at.”

“Yes, yes, I surely will,” Miss Earline said. “You be careful, and I’m sorry you got your nice suit all wet.”

Peanut laughed. “It’s my second one today. All the more business for the cleaners. You take care now,” he said, and closed the door behind him, then ran back to his car.

He drove up to the back of the salon, then got the sack and went inside.

Ruby looked up, saw him all wet, muddy, and bedraggled, and shrieked.

“What happened to you? I thought you were going to change into dry clothes before you went to get the food.”

He handed her the sack and kissed her cheek.

“I did. This is the second set of wet clothes for the day.”

“What happened?” Ruby asked.

“Miss Earline’s little dog, Mister, escaped. I saw him running down the street in front of the Dairy Freeze, and by the time I got him in the car and then back home to her, this is the result.”