a tail, and the comical dignified plucky look of the 

 odd puppy would all come back to me. The thought 

 of how he had licked my hand and twiddled his tail 

 at me, and how he dabbed me on the nose, and then 

 the manful way in which he had struggled after me 

 through the grass, all made my heart go soft to- 

 wards him, and I fell asleep not knowing what 

 to do. 



When I woke up in the morning, my first thought 

 was of the odd puppy how he looked to me as his 

 only friend, and what he would feel like if, after looking 

 on me as really belonging to him and as the one person 

 that he was going to take care of all his life, he knew 

 he was to be left behind or given away to any one who 

 would take him. It would never have entered his 

 head that he required some one to look after him ; 

 from the way he had followed me the night before 

 it was clear he was looking after me ; and the other 

 fellows thought the same thing. His whole manner 

 had plainly said : " Never mind old man ! Don't 

 you worry : I am here." 



We used to make our first trek at about three 

 o'clock in the morning, so as to be outspanned by 

 sunrise ; and walking along during that morning 

 trek I recalled all the stories that the others had told 

 of miserable puppies having grown into wonderful 

 dogs, and of great men who had been very ordinary 

 children ; and at breakfast I took the plunge. 



" Ted," I said, bracing myself 

 for the laughter, " if you don't 

 mind, I'll stick to The Rat.' " 

 69 



