On the end of Tum Tum’s trunk was a sort of finger and thumb. You have seen elephants use them in picking up peanuts. Tum Tum with his trunk now quickly tore the wire off the front of Toto’s cage. In another minute the beaver was loose and out on deck.
“Oh, thank you!” he called to Tum Tum. “Now I am free!”
“Yes, you may go anywhere you like,” said Tum Tum. “Don’t you want to come to the circus and see me and Nero do tricks? We are said to be quite smart, and a man who wrote about Blackie, Don, Mappo and some other animals, has written a book about me and about Nero. Better come and see us.”
“No, thank you,” answered Toto. “I want to swim back to my beaver friends as soon as I can. Thank you for setting me free.”
“Don’t mention it! Glad I could help you!” said Tum Tum, speaking in a rumbly voice, for his trunk was under water just then.
It did not take Toto long to jump off the boat into the river. And, oh! how good it felt to him to be in water again where he had room enough to swim. He knew he had come down stream, so he began to swim up, as his home was in that direction.
I am sorry I have not room to tell you the many adventures Toto had as he swam up the river, and along the other streams that branched from it. How he knew his way back to the beaver dam I don’t know, but Toto did. Cats and dogs find their way back home when they have been taken many miles away, in trains or automobiles, so it is not strange that Toto could find his way back.
It took him more than a week, though, and he had to be careful not to be caught again, for many times he was chased by dogs and boys. But he was pretty safe as long as he kept in the water. And at last, one day, Toto found himself back again in the very woods where he knew he lived.
He swam as near to the pond as he could, and then he crawled out and waddled along through the woods, taking care not to get into any more danger.
Suddenly, as Toto traveled along, stopping now and then to nibble a bit of bark, he heard some voices talking—the voices of men. By this time Toto was quite well acquainted with men’s voices. The voices of Donald and his father were kind, but the voices the beaver boy now heard were harsh and angry.