Swimming to the horse’s side, the man rested one hand upon the broad back, and reached down into the water; but he could not reach low enough to disentangle the seaweed from the hind feet. “Hold on a minute, boys,” he called to the men in the boat. “Steady now,” and with a mighty dive he disappeared beneath the waves. “He’ll be kicked to flinders,” shouted one of the soldiers. “Well, let him, if he’s fool enough to make such a fuss over a horse. I’d see every one of them soaking on the coral reef before I’d risk my neck for ’em.” “Reckon you would, Bill; and the whole boatload of us into the bargain,” was the scornful reply of one of his comrades; “but that younker’s made of different stuff.” By this time the sergeant had come sputtering to the surface, and calling out: “All right; pull ahead,” he rested one dripping arm across the horse’s withers, and began to swim beside him. “Come on into the boat,” called one of the men. “Go ahead; I’m all right,” was the reply, and a moment later they had reached the shore and were scrambling up the beach. “You are a durned fool to get a ducking for that brute,” exclaimed the man who had before spoken disparagingly of the sergeant’s devotion to his horse. “Think so?” was the cool reply. “Well, when you’ve had a friend as long as I’ve had him for one, whether that friend travels on four feet or two, you’d better stick to him, if he proves as true to you as this one has to me. We’ve traveled together nine years now, and in all that time we’ve never been apart a day, and he’s helped me out of many a bad fix, I can tell you.” “He must be nigh about twenty year old, aint he?” asked the man with a laugh. “He is old enough to know a _chump_ when he sees one, and to stick to a friend when he’s got one; and that’s more than some other live critters can do”; and the sergeant walked off up the beach to join his troop. As they walked along, the man who had taken his part in the boat overtook him, and asked: “How long have you had that horse, anyhow, sergeant?” “Well,” he replied, with a queer sort of smile, “I’ve sort of looked upon him as mine ever since he drew his first breath, for his mother was the only friend I ever had. But I can’t say as he’s been my legal property more than three years.” “I thought you said you’d had him nine years? He doesn’t look more than nine now.” “He was nine years old the sixth of last April, and, as I said before, we haven’t been apart a day. I looked after him till he was four years old, and after that he took care of me. Our part of the world got too hot for us about that time, and one dark night we put out; didn’t we, Sonny?” turning to stroke the great neck which was rapidly drying in the tropical sun. Sonny answered with a soft whinny and poked his nose against the man’s face.