Dragging her to the water barrel, he stood on his hind legs, and with fore paws against the barrel, began barking harder than ever.
She peered within. It was dusk in that corner of the barn, and at first she could see nothing. At last her eyes made out a movement in the water. Peering closer, she saw, just above the water line, which was half way down the barrel, the pointed face of the ring-tail cat. Ring-tail often drank from the barrel, reaching down while she clung with hind feet on the barrel rim. This time she had lost her balance and fallen in. She was swimming feebly. A moment more and she suddenly sank out of sight.
At his sister’s cry, the boy came running, and fished out the drowning animal. Ring-tail’s eyes were shut and her body felt stiff and cold.
Tearfully they carried her into the cabin, where their mother gave her a swallow of something hot and laid her behind the kitchen stove in a warm blanket. Anxiously the yellow pup watched and waited, every now and then giving her wet face a lick, and whimpering inquiringly.
When at last she began to move her claws feebly and to open her eyes a crack, my! how joyously he barked.
“I vow that pup deserves a medal for life-saving,” declared the Ranger, giving Wiggledy a ham bone.
But at that moment Ring-tail, having fully revived, snatched his bone away.—She was certainly feeling better.
CHAPTER XXV
A REGULAR DOG
WIGGLEDY loved nothing better than to go snow-shoeing with the Ranger’s children.