Part 7 (1/2)

”Oh, go ahead and kill him if you want to,” the other man shrugged his shoulders. ”Let your spite keep you from making a thousand dollars.”

He held out a bottle, ”Here's the chloroform. Go on, finish the job if you're going to.”

”I don't believe you can sell him,” sneered William. ”You just said that because you knew I was going to kill him before I left here.”

”If you didn't hate dogs the way you do,” replied Shorty, ”you'd know that he'll sell for a thousand dollars as soon as he is over the Canadian line. The man I told you about will buy that dog without a question.”

”Some one will recognize the dog before we get there, if the old man stirs things up.”

”Not when I get him fixed,” bragged Shorty.

”There's no time to fool with him,” persisted William, ”We've got to get away quick.”

”Let me alone,” snapped Shorty. ”This is my end of the job. If you stop picking on the dog, I'll have no trouble with him. I never knew a dog from the time we were kids that didn't hate you on sight.”

”Yes, and you're a regular fool over them,” William retorted. ”You take care of him and get the money for him, and I'll look out for the machine and sell that. But you've got to keep that dog muzzled or there'll be trouble coming your way fast and plenty. See?”

Shorty did not answer and William went out. Jan and Shorty faced each other. The dog's muscles were taut, his eyes alert. The man looked at him steadily.

”You're the dandiest, s.p.u.n.kiest dog I ever saw,” he said at last, as though sure that Jan understood the words. ”I like you, old fellow, and I'd turn you loose, if I dared.”

He placed a pan of water in front of the dog and the angry gleam softened in Jan's eyes. He thrust his nose into the pan but the muzzle was too tight to permit him to drink. The dog looked up at Shorty, who reached out his hand. Jan's tail waved, then he felt fingers run lightly along his shoulders, fumble at the buckle of the muzzle and the cruel thing fell to the floor. Before the dog lapped the water that he craved, he stared into Shorty's face and saw a kindly smile that told him this man was a friend. Jan's hot tongue touched Shorty's hand before turning to lap the cool liquid.

”You'll be all right now,” Shorty said as he rubbed the places where the strap had cut deeply. Then when Jan had finished drinking, the man fed him bits of meat.

After the meal was over, Shorty took a pair of clippers and cropped Jan's long hair close to the skin. It did not hurt, so the dog submitted quietly. A sponge and bucket of dark liquid were brought by the man and Jan was thoroughly saturated, until the dye dripped to the floor.

”Got to put on that muzzle, boy, before he gets back,” but this time the strips did not hurt so badly.

William chuckled when he saw the dog. ”Great stunt, Shorty! The poundmaster wouldn't know his own dog if he caught him now!”

He picked up a couple of bundles and a suitcase, while Shorty led Jan by the rope. They were in a deep canon, where no sound of the ocean could be heard. Jan did not know the place. He had never been away from the noise of the surf since living in California. A big, black automobile stood under a tree. William tossed the things into it and climbed to the front seat with a laugh.

”The police will have as much trouble finding a grey machine as the poundman will have finding a long-haired St. Bernard dog. We'll hit the road lively at night and camp in the day. There's just one thing you've got to remember. If I see you getting stuck on that dog I'm going to kill him. I'm taking him along because you said you could sell him, and I'm not going to stand any nonsense about it.”

Shorty's only answer was to open the back door of the machine and motion the dog to jump. He obeyed and curled on the floor. Shorty sat in the back seat while William drove.

Jan did not sleep during the long, dark hours they sped over the road.

He kept wondering what the captain would think, and hoping he could get back home some way. Once in a while he lifted his head as a flash of light showed another automobile pa.s.sing. At daybreak William turned into thick brush and drove over rough ground until they stopped beside a shallow stream.

Still muzzled, Jan leaped from the car and followed Shorty, but he watched William closely. The dog was tied after he had been allowed to drink at the creek. William loafed while Shorty made coffee and cooked a meal, which the older man ate, grumbling all the time. Then he threw himself on the ground and dragged his hat over his face.

Shorty fed Jan, and after clearing away the breakfast things, moved closer to the dog. Jan's tail rustled the dry leaves and twigs, as Shorty, with a boyish smile, stretched on the ground beside him. A hand touched one of Jan's ears and pulled it gently, but the hand was friendly and the dog's eyes showed he understood. Then, tired from the long ride, Shorty and Jan slept soundly.

At dusk another meal was prepared and eaten, and they started again on their journey. For two more days and nights they travelled in the dark and camped in hidden places during the day, so that no one could see them. The muzzle was never taken again from Jan's nose, for William watched constantly and repeated his warnings several times. He did not know, however, that Shorty eased the strap so that the wire and leather could not cut, and in this way he made Jan as comfortable as was possible.

The night of the third day there was a full moon, and dim shadows were cast by scattered trees near the road. It was very warm and Jan's muzzle worried him; then, too, he was stiff from lack of the exercise to which he had been accustomed. Shorty noticed the dog's restlessness and leaned down. His fingers slipped under the strap and wires, then touched the buckle at the side of the head. Jan squirmed nearer and wagged his tail.