He knew they would come back, soon or late.
They were his gods, his chums, his playmates.

They would no more desert him than he would have deserted them.

It was all right, somehow.

Only, the waiting was tedious! With a tired little sigh, the collie curled up in a miserable heap on the stony ground, the shortness of his tether making even this effort at repose anything but comfortable.

And he waited.
A dog, that is happy and well, settles himself for a prolonged wait, by stretching out on his side;--oftenest the left side; and by dropping off into slumber.