"All right, Master! I'll go home! I'll go get help! But I just wanted you to know that I wasn't going to run off and leave you all alone. I'm going to help you, but I can't do it if I jump down there with you."
Giving a last bark, as if to tell Rick to keep up his courage and not to worry, Ruddy sprang away, and raced up the hill toward home.
Rick had a final glimpse of his dog as the animal drew back from the top of the well-like hole in the snow. Then Rick decided to try to do something for himself.
"I wonder why I can't get up and dig my way out?" he asked himself. "I can use my sled for a shovel."
But when he tried to move he felt such a sharp pain in his leg, and his head pained him so, and he felt so dizzy, that he had to stop. The night seemed to be settling down now, blacker than ever. Rick could see no stars now, but he began to feel a warm glow coming over him, as though he had drawn near some blazing fire.
Somehow Rick remembered reading that travelers, overcome in the snow, felt this warmth before they lost their senses and froze to death. And he tried to fight off the drowsiness.
"I must wake up! I must wake up and dig my way out of here!" he said to himself over and over again. But each time he tried to move he was unable.
And then for a time he knew nothing. He just lay there, all crumpled up at the bottom of a deep hole in the snow.
The next thing Rick knew was that he heard voices. At first they seemed to be a long way off, but they came nearer. Then he felt himself being moved, and he opened his eyes to see lights gleaming. He saw his father bending over him, lifting him up, and he heard his father's voice saying:
"Well, Rick, my boy! Ruddy did you another good turn! He brought us to you! Now you're all right!"