“If we only had a string on the boat, Bunny, we could pull Tom right to us.  We could stand on shore and pull him in, just as we did with your little sail boat.”

“That’s right—­we could!” cried Bunny.  Then he called: 

“Tom, has you got a rope on your boat?  If you has throw it to me and Sue, and we’ll pull you in by it.”

Tom looked in the bottom of the boat.

“There’s a rope here,” he said, “but it isn’t long enough to reach to shore.”

He held it up so the children could see.  Certainly it was not half long enough.  It was the rope by which the boat had been tied to the tree.

While Bunny and Sue stood there, wondering what to do, there came a rustling, cracking sound in the bushes back of them.  They quickly turned, and saw their dog, Splash.  He had been roving about in the woods, and had now come back to camp.

“Oh, Splash!” cried Bunny.  “You can do it, I know you can!”

“What can he do?” asked Sue.

“He can swim out to Tom in the boat, and pull him back to shore.  Go on, Splash!” cried Bunny, pointing to poor Tom.  “Go on and get him!  Bring him back!”

Splash bounded around and barked.  He looked to where Bunny pointed, but though the dog could understand some of the things Bunny said, he could not tell just what his little master wanted this time.  Tom was watching what was going on, and now he called: 

“I know a better way than that.”

“What?” asked Bunny.

“If you had a long cord, you could tie one end to a stick, and give it to Splash to bring to me.  Then I could tie it to the boat, and you could pull me to shore.”

“Oh, yes, we can do that!” cried Bunny.

“Have you got a long cord?” Tom asked.

“Yes, one I fly my kite with.  I brought the cord along, but now I haven’t any kite.  I’ll get that.”

Bunny ran to the tent where he kept his box of playthings.  He soon returned with a stick, on which was wound a long and very strong cord.

“This will pull the boat,” he said.

He looked around for a stick to tie onto the end of the cord, and when he had done this he gave the stick to the dog.

“Take it out to Tom!” ordered Bunny.

But Splash only barked and dropped the stick.  He wagged his tail, as if he were saying: 

“I’ll do anything you want me to, little master, but I don’t know just what you mean.”

Once more Tom called across the water.

“Throw the stick into the lake, Bunny.  Then Splash will bring it to me.  He knows how to jump in after sticks you throw into the water; doesn’t he?”

“Oh, yes, Splash knows that all right,” Bunny said.  “Here, Splash!” he called.

Into the lake Bunny tossed the stick to which was fastened one end of his kite cord.

“Get it, Splash!” cried the little boy.

With a bark Splash sprang into the water.  But instead of swimming out to Tom with the stick and string, he swam back to shore.  That was what he had been taught to do, you see.