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."
"Don"t you--really?" cried Rick.
"No, I"m not going to take him. That"s what I came to tell you," went on the sailor. "I"m on my way back to go aboard a ship for a long sea voyage, but Ruddy isn"t going with me."
"What is all this, Rick?" asked his mother, coming out to the sidewalk.
She had heard voices, and had seen the ragged man, with the green bird on his shoulder, standing at the gate talking to Rick. And she remembered about the ragged sailor and the junk man. "What is all this?"
she asked.
"I came back, lady," spoke the ragged sailor, taking off his hat and making a bow, "I came back to tell your boy he needn"t worry any more about losing his dog. I am not going to try to get him back, though he once belonged to me. I have another mascot now. I have something else to bring me good luck. Here she is!" and he pointed to the green bird on his shoulder.
"Hip hurray! What ho! What ho! The stormy winds do blow! Do blow!" cried the parrot.
"You mean that you are not going to try to whistle Rick"s dog away again?" asked Mrs. Dalton.
"That"s it, yes, lady," answered the sailor, with another bow. "I did whistle the boy"s dog away, and I"m sorry for it. You see the dog belonged to me, and he was washed overboard in a storm. After that I had nothing but bad luck. Maybe it was because I wasn"t as good to Ruddy as I ought to have been.
"Anyhow when I found out where he was, from talking with some fish men, I made up my mind to have the dog back. So I sneaked around until I found him, and then I whistled for him. I"m a pretty good whistler. I can whistle like some birds. Listen!"
And then such shrill, trilling and sweet piping whistles came from the sailor"s lips that Haw-Haw, the crow, tried to imitate them and answer, and Ruddy barked joyously, while Rick and his mother looked and listened with wonder.
"Say, but you can whistle!" cried Rick. "That was great!"
"Yes, I have a knack that way," said the sailor. "Well, after I took your dog away in the junk wagon I thought I was going to have good luck.
But I didn"t. We went to the old house near the swamp, and there I met another sailor. I wasn"t good friends with him, for once I had played a mean trick on him. And, just to get even with me, I suppose, he went out in the night and cut loose the dog I had tied up."
"Oh, so that"s how Ruddy got loose, was it?" asked Rick.
"That was it; yes," answered the ragged sailor. "At first I was mad at Jed Porter, but afterward I was glad. Then he and I got to be friends again, and he gave me this parrot."
"Pretty Poll! Pretty Poll!" shrieked the green bird.
"She always calls herself that when you mention her," went on the ragged sailor. "Well, as I say, after I had the parrot I began to think she would do me as a good luck mascot, instead of the dog, and she did. I began to do better right away. Now I have a chance to sail on a long voyage aboard a good ship, and I"m going to take Polly with me."
"Over the bounding waves, we sail, we sail, we sail!" shrilled the bird.
"What ho! The stormy winds do blow!"
"Now please keep quiet a minute until I finish," called the sailor, shaking his finger close to the bird"s beak. She opened it but did not bite.
"I"ve taught her not to," the sailor went on. "Well, as I was saying, when I had this parrot for a mascot I felt I didn"t need the dog. So I stopped around to tell you not to worry any more. I"ll never whistle him away again."
"Oh, I"m so glad!" cried Rick. "Now you belong to me forever, Ruddy!"
and he put his arms around the setter"s neck.
"Yes, he"s yours forever," said the sailor. "He was mine, but I give him to you. A dog that could get to sh.o.r.e after being blown overboard the way he was, is a good dog!"
"Yes, Ruddy is a good dog, and we all like him very much," said Mrs.
Dalton.
"And I"m sorry I caused you so much trouble in taking him away,"
concluded the sailor, as he picked up his valise and was about to travel on.
"Oh, we had fun camping out, and I"m going to be a Boy Scout," said Rick. "And Ruddy"s going to belong, too!"
"That"ll be fine!" said the sailor. "Well, now having said all I"m going to, I"ll haul up my anchor and get under way. Good-bye!" he added.
"Good-bye to you, lady, and to you, boy and you, Ruddy, the red dog!
I"ll never trouble you again! I"m off on a long voyage!"
And with a wave of his cap toward Mrs. Dalton, he swung his valise up on one shoulder while, with the parrot perched on the other, he walked slowly down the street.
"Good-bye! Oh, my eye! Ho! Ho! The stormy winds do blow!" cried the green bird.
And that was the last Rick saw of the sailor and his parrot for a long time.
"But now you"re mine, Ruddy! Mine forever!" cried the boy, and then he threw a stick far down the street and the setter raced after it.
Chot came out of his yard with Tom. The two boys saw the leaping dog.
"Ee-o, Ruddy! Ee-o!" they cried.
"Ee-o!" answered Rick. "Oh, fellows! Come here! I have such a lot to tell you!" he added.
And you may be sure Tom and Chot opened their eyes in wonder when they heard about the ragged sailor and his green parrot good-luck mascot.
"Well, I"m glad Ruddy is yours to keep, and that you don"t have to worry about him being whistled away again," said Chot.
"So"m I," added Tom.
"Come on, now, we"ll have some fun!" said Rick, and then boys and dog raced over the meadow toward Weed River.
This was the beginning of many happy days for Rick and Ruddy, and Haw-Haw, the tame crow, shared in them, for, having seen the parrot perched on the sailor"s shoulder, Rick taught his black pet to do the same trick, and also some new whistles.
And on the bright and breezy days of spring and summer you might have seen Rick, Ruddy and Haw-Haw playing about in the fields, or near Silver Lake, whereon the white swans floated. But Ruddy never chased them, now, and so the setter did not have to flee in terror from the big birds.
Ruddy had learned his lesson.