Pausing only long enough to lick the hand of the sailor who had thus been so good to him, Ruddy, with a low whine of delight, sped away in the darkness of the night.
CHAPTER XIX
A BARK IN THE NIGHT
Ruddy, the brown setter dog, free from the rope which had held him to the cellar door of the old, tumble-down house, ran swiftly off through the night.
"I hope you know which way to go," softly said Sailor Jed, as he turned to go back to the kitchen where the others were. "Yes, I sure do hope you know how to steer a straight course back to your friends. I won't tell Matt I cut you loose, then he won't come after you until morning. Maybe, by then, you'll be safe at home."
And so, as Ruddy ran on through the darkness, the good sailor went back in the old, ramshackle house.
"Is the dog all right?" asked Matt.
"Yes, he's all right," and Jed smiled, but not so Matt could see him. "I hope he'll be more all right than he would be with you," he thought to himself.
And now we must follow Ruddy for a while, until we see what happens to him.
Ruddy's nose was as keen on the scent as ever, in fact more so, for now he was eager to get back to Rick, the boy master whom he loved so well. And, though it was dark, Ruddy had hopes of finding Rick.
As I have told you dogs can not see very well, and they can not hear as well as can some other animals. But their sense of smell is wonderful, and it was on this that the setter depended to take him back to home and Rick.