With a whimper of joy the noble animal licked her hand, her face and neck, wagging his bedraggled tail with intense satisfaction, winding up this demonstration by lying down by her side as closely as he could get, and giving a long breath, which in a human being would be called a sigh.
The act moved the coarse bargewoman to tears, while the men turned away to hide their emotion.
The silence was profound,—the testimony of a sentiment too deep for mere words.
The police agent was the first to come to the practical point in the situation. The violence phase of the case made him consequential. It would invite the attention of his superiors. It would get his name in the daily journals.
"What is your name, child?"
The intended victim of police interrogatory closed her eyes without answering.
"You were thrown into the river. It is necessary for us to know the name of the person who committed this outrage. If you do not know, it is our business to find out. The miscreant must be arrested and punished. Where do you live?"
No answer.
"Speak, my child! Speak up!"
She had reopened her eyes and now looked at him steadily, stonily, but without a word. He was nonplussed.