"Have you a parrot, too?" asked the ragged sailor, in surprise.
"No, that's Haw-Haw, my tame crow," answered Rick, who still stood close to Ruddy, as though guarding his dog.
"A—a crow!" the sailor exclaimed. "I didn't know they could talk."
"Haw-Haw can't talk very much," answered Rick. "But he whistles a lot. He whistles like I do, and—and you must have whistled like me or my crow once!" he went on, and fear began to come into his eyes. "You whistled like Haw-Haw and Ruddy went out and——"
"Yes, I know," said the sailor. "That's what I came back about."
"Do you mean about my dog—about Ruddy?" asked Rick and there was a catch in his voice. "Have you come back——"
"Yes, I came back about your dog," spoke the sailor.
"Are you—are you going to take him—away?" asked Rick in a low voice. He remembered how he had come to own Ruddy—the dog who had suddenly appeared out of the sea, after he had prayed one night. Now here was the sailor, looking as though he were going back to the sea, for, besides the parrot, he had a satchel. Was he going to take Ruddy to the ocean? That was the thought in Rick's mind.
And then the sailor smiled—he smiled in a way that, better than words could have done, told Rick everything was all right. And even Ruddy seemed to understand that matters were going well for him, as he thumped his tail on the ground. And that always is a sure sign with a dog—a sign that he is pleased, happy and knows that he is with his friends.
"Yes, I have come back, but not to take your dog away," said the ragged sailor. "He's your dog—he did belong to me once, but I know he'll be happier with you. I don't want him now."