“Hi, Rover, good dog, fetch them out!” cried the old sailor, at the same moment throwing off his coat and preparing to go into the sea, too, if need be. “Fetch ’em out!”
But, there was no necessity for this appeal to Rover, who did not require any orders or directions as to his duty.
The dog, like the Captain, was quite aware of the perilous position of his young master, and had already determined in his own mind what was best to be done under such circumstances.
Master Bob having come down flop on top of him as he was trying to clamber out, had in the first instance somewhat obscured his faculties; and the subsequent appearance of Dick on the scene, as he was just recovering from this douche, did not tend to make matters clearer to the retriever, whose eyes and ears were full of water, besides being moreover tired out by his previous exertions.
Any hesitation poor Rover might have felt, though, barely lasted an instant; for, the sight of two figures battling for life in the sea there under his very nose, and the knowledge that one of these was his young master, brought in an instant all his sagacious instincts into play.
He did not need the Captain or anybody else to tell him what to do. Not he!
Giving his head a quick shake to clear his eyes and uttering a short, sharp bark, as if to say, ‘Hold on, my boys, I’m coming to help you!’ the dog appeared to scramble through the water by a series of leaps, rather than to swim, towards the spot where the two unfortunates were struggling.
Reaching the pair, he at once gripped Bob’s collar in his powerful teeth and proceeded to tow him to land, Dick hanging on behind; and Rover’s muzzle was already turned shorewards, dragging his double burthen astern ere the Captain’s cry of encouragement came to his ears, although on hearing it the noble animal redoubled his efforts.
It was, however, a terrible ordeal; nay, almost a hopeless one!
Had the boys been conscious, Rover would have had comparatively easy work of it, as then one of them might have held on to his collar and the other to his tail, and he could have pulled them both out without much trouble; as it was, now, they clung so frantically to each other and to him that they retarded in lieu of assisting his gallant attempt to save them.