He tried to swim faster, fearing the waves might wash the little
creature off, for at times the water covered the raft and Jan's head,
too. He gained the shore and dragged the wreckage far back to safety.
Jan sniffed at the kitten. Its eyes were shut and it did not move. He
knew that most cats are afraid of dogs, so he went off a little way and
sat down, waiting patiently for it to wake up.

After many minutes Jan went over and pushed it gently with his nose. It
did not stir. Then he sat down and looked at it thoughtfully,
remembering that when the dogs of the Hospice found a traveller in the
snow whom they could not waken, they hurried for help. His mother and
Bruno had told him that, and Jan had never forgotten those lessons, nor
the days he and Rollo had been trained by Brother Antoine.

His tongue licked the wet fur, but the kitten's eyes stayed shut. Jan
lifted his head, gave a loud bark and raced away through the sand,
kicking it with his fast-flying feet so that it formed tiny, yellow
clouds.

Into the little sitting-room he rushed, leaving a damp trail across the
floor. The captain looked up in surprise and stopped lighting his pipe
when the dog, dripping wet, stood in front of him and barked loudly.

"What's the matter, Jan?" he questioned. "I never saw you so fussed up!
And you're dripping wet, too!"

Jan danced around, barking, then dashed to the gate but there he stopped
and looked back, wagging his tail.