Caspar addressed the dog by name, adding a few coaxing words, and in an instant Fritz was by his side.
“How shall we manage? Leave him to himself?” inquired Caspar.
“I fear he will stand still, and not attempt to go ahead of us,” replied Karl.
“We can try him.”
And as Caspar made this suggestion, all stood silent and listening.
They stood a long while to give the dog a fair trial, but he knew not what they wanted, and he remained patiently beside them without manifesting any disposition to leave. The experiment was a failure.
“Now,” suggested Karl, “let us urge him forward and follow after—perhaps he will lead us in that way.”
Fritz was now commanded to advance, and obeyed the command—for they could hear him start off with a slight whimper; but to their chagrin they found that they could not tell in what direction he had gone. Had he been running on the scent of some animal, his occasional baying would have served to guide them, as it had done while they were chasing the bear. Now, however, the dog ran without noise; and although they could hear an occasional scrape of his claws, yet it was not sufficiently frequent or continuous to guide them. The experiment again failed, and Fritz was whistled back.
But it was not without result. Like many other failures, it led to reflection and a rearrangement of the machinery. A better plan soon offered itself to the quick wit of Caspar; and Ossaroo had been thinking of something similar when he cried out—
“Tie string to ee tail!”