Rick and Ruddy Part 13

Ruddy had understood there was some need to keep quiet, even as his dog ancestors had known the need of quiet when their masters were hunting in the woods. And so though the days were long and unhappy ones, Ruddy stayed close to his kennel.

Meanwhile the ragged sailor wandered about the town, looking at the different dogs he met. Perhaps if he had found one that he could have picked up and taken away he would have done so. But all the dogs growled at the sight of him, and showed their teeth. Dogs, as a rule, do not like ragged men; though no matter how old are the clothes their master wears, it makes no difference. But that is another story.

"Yes, I lost my luck when I lost that dog," growled the tramp, as he slunk away. "But I guess he never got ash.o.r.e. He was lost in the ocean, I reckon. I'll have to get another mascot dog for luck."

Then he slunk out of town, and, for a time, Ruddy was safe. But Rick did not let his dog run free until after he had talked to the life guard again.

"I guess the tramp has gone away," Sig said. "I haven't seen him around, though I did the first day after Captain White's wife gave him the bowl of stew. I guess he's gone. It will be safe to let Ruddy have a run."

And how glad the dog was to be free once more! To dash into the water and out again, to gallop over the hills and through the woods! And Rick went with him. Every hour that he was not in school Rick spent with his dog and his boy chums. And the other boys--Chot and all of Rick's friends--loved Ruddy as though he was their own.

Ruddy never bothered the swans now. He did not even bark at them as he pa.s.sed them on the sh.o.r.e of Silver Lake. And Ruddy and Sallie kept up their friendship. No more did Ruddy chase the cat, and no more did Sallie arch up her back and fluff out her tail if the dog came near.

One day, when the ground in the forest was thick with the fallen leaves, Ruddy went off by himself to run through the woods. He knew Rick might soon be home from school, and the dog wanted to race about by himself before that. Ruddy was livelier than the liveliest boy you ever saw. He could run twice as far and twice as fast, and sometimes Rick did not move fast enough for Ruddy, who was bubbling over with life and happiness. So it was that the dog often used to get off by himself for a joyous race through the woods, where the dried leaves made such a jolly, rattling sound.

And it was while Ruddy was racing here and there in the woods among the leaves, catching, now and then, the most wonderful smells of wild rabbits, squirrels and quail birds--it was while thus running wildly to and fro, that Ruddy heard a voice calling.

"Mew! Mew! Meaouw!" came the sound, and Ruddy well knew what it was.

"A cat!" he thought to himself, in the way that dogs think, by instinct.

"A cat! and maybe I can have fun chasing her."

Ruddy and Sallie had become friends by this time, living so close to one another, and Ruddy had given up chasing the big, gray tabby. But he was not friends with any other cat. In fact he did not then know any other cats except Sallie.

"Mew! Mew!" came the voice again, and Ruddy knew enough of animal talk to tell that it was a cat in trouble.

He sniffed and smelled his way to where the cat-odor came from until, pa.s.sing around a hollow stump, he saw a sad sight.

Huddled up in a heap among the leaves was Sallie, and the gray cat was in pain. She was caught in something, as Ruddy could see, and at once he leaped to her side, though he did not know what was the matter. All he knew was that he wanted to help a friend, as, very often, animals help one another.

The fact was that Sallie was caught in a steel trap, set to catch some wild animal of the woods.

CHAPTER X

SALLIE IS CAUGHT

Sallie, the big, gray cat, was so huddled up among the dried leaves of the forest that, at first, Ruddy could see nothing of the trap. It was down in a hollow, and Sallie was lying close to a stump.

But Ruddy was a bird dog, and, like all his kind, he was used to nosing around among dried leaves after quail, pheasants or other game, and, seeing Sallie lying so still among the dried foliage, and not getting up to rub noses with him, as she always did since they became friends--not seeing Sallie do this, Ruddy knew something was wrong, even if Sallie had not told him. He began to nose around among the leaves to find out what was the matter.

Once, when Ruddy was a small puppy, his mother had taken him and some of the other small dogs out in the fields, and one of Ruddy's brothers had been nipped on the leg by a large ground mole, that the puppy had caught as it was trying to burrow under the earth and leaves. Ruddy remembered that his puppy brother had howled and had held his paw down among the bushes while the mole clung to it, much as Sallie hid her leg in the leaves now.

"There must be something fast to Sallie's leg," thought Ruddy, in dog fashion. And there was. It was the trap into which Sallie had stepped--a trap hidden under the dried foliage where she had not seen it.

Ruddy nosed among the leaves, much as he would have nosed to find a game bird for which he was searching. And soon he uncovered the trap. He happened to touch it with his nose, and, as he did so, Sallie gave a soft cry. It hurt her leg to have the trap moved.

Ruddy stopped at once. Animals know when one of their kind is hurt, and, often, they do all they can to help. Ruddy wanted to help Sallie now. He wanted to help her out of the trap.

The trap was made of steel, and it had two jaws that opened, being held apart, when the trap was set, by a catch. There was a round, flat piece of steel, about as large as a fifty-cent piece, and on this round bit of metal, called a "pan," whoever set the trap had put some bait. Any animal that touched the pan, in trying to get the bait, would move the catch and the strong spring would snap the jaws of the trap together, holding fast anything that was between them. And it was poor Sallie's paw that was now in the jaws of the trap.

Sallie had been wandering in the woods, among the leaves, for she liked to hear them rattle and rustle, as did Ruddy. Sometimes Sallie caught gra.s.shoppers or crickets in the woods. But this time she was caught herself--caught in the trap before she knew it.

Ruddy looked at Sallie's paw and then at Sallie and then at the trap. He was beginning to understand what had happened. Animals seem to grow wiser once they have been trapped, or see one of their kind held between the steel jaws.

Ruddy was wondering how he could help Sallie. There was only one way, so it seemed to the red-brown dog. He must have known that he could not open the trap. He might have been strong enough, but he did not know just the secret of springing apart the steel jaws. So Ruddy tried the next best thing.

As tenderly as he could Ruddy took hold of Sallie by the loose skin at the back of the cat's neck. Ruddy remembered how, in the stable where he first lived, he had once seen a mother cat carry her kittens in this way, by the back of the neck. So, being careful not to bite Sallie in his teeth, which soon would be strong enough to crush bones, Ruddy tried to lift Sallie up and out of the trap.

But he soon stopped when the cat gave a howl of pain. And no wonder Sallie meaouwed to show that she was hurt. Her paw was pinched in the trap, and pulling her up by the back of her neck, as Ruddy was doing, made the pain worse.

Ruddy let go of Sallie as soon as he heard her cry. He knew the language of pain as well as he knew the cat's talk of friendship. Sallie, with her tongue, began to lick the paw at the part nearest the trap. Doing that seemed to ease the ache somewhat.

Ruddy moved back a little, and sat down among the leaves. He looked again at Sallie, at her paw and at the trap. Plainly Ruddy was puzzled as to what next to do to help his friend.

Ruddy could see a chain on the trap. It was like the chain by which he was sometimes fastened in his kennel. The other end of the chain was fast to a log. If it had not been for this Sallie might have limped off on three legs, carrying the trap snapped shut on her other paw; for the trap was not a large one, being set only to catch rats or mice. Often wild animals drag away with them traps by which they have been caught.

That is why hunters fasten the traps to heavy logs or stumps.

Ruddy knew it was of no use to try to gnaw through the steel chain or steel trap. He could gnaw wood, but not iron or steel. And after trying once more to paw around in the leaves, hoping he might free Sallie from the trap, the dog gave it up.

And then came to Ruddy the right thought. He would go get the Boy--Rick, his master. Rick meant everything, now, in the dog's small world. There was nothing Rick could not do. He could easily open this trap. Ruddy would go get Rick.

As soon as this thought came to him (as it must have come; or why did he act as he did?), Ruddy gave a bark and started off. Sallie uttered a mournful meaouw as she saw her friend leaving. But Ruddy turned and barked at her--barked just once. But there was much meaning in that little bark. It was as if he had said:

"Don't you worry, or be afraid, Sallie. I'm not going to leave you for long. I'm going for help. I can't get that trap open myself. But Rick can! I'm going for Rick!"

And then away leaped Ruddy through the woods, scattering the dry leaves, and looking back once more, as he came to the edge of the forest, to let Sallie see he had not forgotten her.

By leaps and bounds Ruddy hurried through the clumps of trees. He leaped little brooks, and once, coming to a pond that was rather wide, he swam it, rather than lose time by going around. He was in a hurry to get his master to help Sallie.

In a few minutes, so fast did he run, Ruddy was in his kennel-yard, back of the house. Rick was just coming home from school, with his sister Mazie.

"Oh, there he is!" cried Rick, as soon as he saw his dog. "I was afraid the old ragged sailor had taken you away."

Ruddy leaped about his master, who patted him on the head. Ruddy had no time now to think about ragged sailors, if, indeed, he knew what they were. He wanted to help Sallie.

Catching hold of Rick's coat, Ruddy began to pull. He gave two or three tugs and yanks, and then, letting go, ran a little way along the path toward the woods. Then he stopped, looked back at Rick and barked.

It was the first time Rick had ever seen his dog act this way, and he did not know what it meant. He looked at his pet.

"What is it, old fellow? What's the matter?" asked Rick.

"Dear me! Can't you understand? How slow you are!" said Ruddy, in dog language, which, of course, Rick could not hear. "Why when you want me to come with you all you have to do is call me once, and I come. Or you have only to whistle. Now I want you to come with me to help Sallie, and I've got to pull you along and bark and run on ahead and look back and run back--dear me! How slow you are!"

As Rick did not at once come when Ruddy invited him the dog ran back again, once more grasped his master by the coat, and pulled a second time. He did not let go so soon, now, and actually dragged Rick along a few steps.