Page:Castlemon--Joe Wayring at Home.djvu/145

 short work with us if we had been exposed to its fury."

"Were there men on shore opposite the place you struck?" inquired Tom.

"Certainly. If there hadn't been, who would have tied the line to the dog's collar and told him to take it out to us?"

"I should think they would have gone to your assistance in their boats," replied Tom.

"So they would, under ordinary circumstances; but no boat that was ever built could have lived a moment in the surf that was breaking over the bar when we ran on to it. I don't understand to this day how Mars managed to get through it. I have seen him swim a good many times since that day, and in smooth water he doesn't seem to be any better than any other dog. It is when the wind is blowing and the white caps are running that he shows what he can do. Uncle Joe was so well pleased with the dog's performance that as soon as he could find his owner, he offered to buy him. Of course the man didn't want to sell, but he was poor, and when he thought of the comforts that the