To his broad collar was fastened a red lamp. Nobody had taken it off, for both the train men and the passengers were excitedly discussing what his presence here might mean; and some of them seemed afraid of the great fellow.
But Ruth had been used to dogs, and this noble looking fellow had no terrors for her. He seemed so woebegone, his great brown eyes pleaded so earnestly, that she could only pity and fondle him.
"Look out, Miss; maybe he bites," warned the anxious conductor. "I wager this is some boy's trick to stop the train. And yet—"
Ruth bent down, still patting the dog's head, and turned the great silver plate on his collar so that she could read, in the light of the lanterns, that which was engraved upon it. She read the words aloud:
"'This is Reno, Tom Cameron's Dog.'"
"Cameron?" repeated some man behind her. "That Tom Cameron lives just outside of Cheslow. His father is the rich dry-goods merchant, Macy Cameron. What's his dog doing here?"
"And with a red light tied to his collar?" propounded somebody else.
"It's some boy's trick, I tell you," stormed the conductor. "I'll have to report this at headquarters."
Just then Ruth made a discovery. Wound about the collar was a bit of twisted cloth—a strip of linen—part of a white handkerchief. Her nimble fingers unwound it quickly and she spread out the soiled rag.
"Oh, see here!" she cried, in amazement as well as fear. "See! What can it mean? See what's drawn on this cloth—"