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Animal Factory

Page 10

by Philip Caveney


  He turned and walked slowly out of the field, feeling the cold gaze of Kurt upon him as he did so.

  When he saw Henrietta later that day, he tried hard to look and sound positive, but it was hard work. All around Henrietta were those condemned to die and he knew he could not tell her about that. Neither did he want to mention what had happened to Jonah.

  Henrietta looked even worse than when he had last seen her. The bald patches on her head and neck had got worse and he noticed that she was limping badly.

  ‘What happened to your leg?’ he asked her.

  ‘I caught it in the wire fence,’ she told him and her voice was flat and toneless. ‘It’s not too bad, just a strain, I think.’ But the leg looked twisted as though it might be fractured.

  ‘Perhaps I should ask Farmer Morton to send for the vet,’ suggested Ralph.

  ‘There’s no need for that, my dear.’ Henrietta looked at Ralph and he could see that she knew something about what was going to happen. ‘There are terrible rumours flying around in here,’ she said. ‘Do you know what they are saying?’

  Ralph shook his head.

  ‘They are saying that the new building is a place of death . . . and that we are all to be sent there.’

  Ralph stared back at her. ‘Oh, I . . . I’m sure it’s just a rumour,’ he said quietly.

  But Henrietta shook her head and gave a little cluck of laughter. ‘Ah Ralph, you could never hide anything from me, not since you were a tiny puppy. Your face always gives you away. It’s true then. Oh well, I do not fear it. Anything will be better than being packed into this awful place.’

  Ralph stepped closer to the wire and leaned close to whisper. ‘You are not to worry,’ he said. ‘Farmer Morton has told me that you are to be spared.’

  Henrietta considered this news for a moment. ‘And do you really think we can trust anything that man says?’ she asked. ‘After everything that he’s done to us?’

  ‘He promised me!’ insisted Ralph. ‘He said you could be . . . a mascot. A reminder of how the farm used to be.’

  Henrietta looked wistful. ‘And what a place it was, Ralph. It’s hard to believe it’s changed so much, so quickly.’ She looked forlornly around her. ‘This isn’t something I want to belong to any more,’ she said. ‘It was once such a lovely place. Now it is something else entirely. And we all know who is responsible, don’t we?’ She pressed closer to the wire. ‘Ralph, promise me one thing. Promise me that you will do everything in your power to bring Kurt and the other Dobermans to justice.’

  ‘But . . . what can I do?’ Ralph asked her. ‘I am only one dog. Nobody else here would stand with me, I know, I asked them. Only Jonah . . .’ At this his voice trailed away and Henrietta nodded.

  ‘So it’s true then. Jonah has gone. A couple of chickens told me they saw Farmer Morton leading him on a rope, just after dawn, taking him up to the new building. But I told them they must be mistaken. “Jonah has been here as long as I can remember,” I told them.’

  Ralph could not look at her. ‘He was the only one who agreed with me,’ he said, in a small voice. ‘He spoke against the Dobermans and they killed him for it.’

  ‘They are getting rid of the oldest and wisest,’ observed Henrietta. ‘First poor old Fred. Now Jonah. Soon, I will be gone.’

  ‘No!’ protested Ralph. ‘I told you what Farmer Morton said. You are to be spared.’

  ‘We’ll see about that,’ said Henrietta. ‘The truth is, Ralph, I am but one chicken. What happens to me is not important. But what happens to all of my brothers and sisters in the days to come, that is crucial. You are a good dog, Ralph, you always have been. So I hope you will do everything in your power to bring the reign of the Dobermans to an end. Promise me you will try.’

  Ralph considered for a moment. ‘I’ll do my best,’ he told her. ‘In the end, that’s all I can do.’

  ‘Then I am happy,’ said Henrietta. ‘And whatever comes, I shall meet it knowing that you have made me this promise.’

  He left her then, standing by the fence, surrounded by the crush of flapping, pecking chickens. He did not have the first idea what he might do to help him keep his promise to her. He only knew he had to try.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Day Of Reckoning

  Two days later Ralph woke to the sound of an engine roaring into the farm. He went to the door of the barn and saw that a big coach had pulled into the farmyard, and as he watched, groups of men and women climbed out and stood around in small groups, smoking cigarettes and chatting amongst themselves. They were dressed in the oddest outfits he had ever seen, close-fitting, hooded suits made from what looked like white plastic.

  The door of the farmhouse opened and Farmer Morton stepped out, flanked on either side by the sleek black shapes of the Dobermans. He spent a few moments talking to one man who seemed to be the leader of the group of strangers and then he led them towards the new building. He unlatched the gates and the white-suited people wandered inside. Ralph could see that they were taking up positions at various places amidst the jumble of machinery inside.

  Then Farmer Morton came out again and walked back to where the Dobermans were waiting for him. He spoke to Kurt for a moment and Kurt barked an order. The Dobermans, both adults and pups, split into two groups and formed themselves in two lines on either side of the chicken run gates.

  Kurt walked between the lines, looking to his left and to his right like a general inspecting his troops. When he reached the gate he stopped and turned back. He waited a moment to ensure he had everyone’s attention and then he spoke.

  ‘Brothers and Sisters,’ he said. ‘Today is a historic day for Morton’s Farm. Today the future begins. Today we begin the important task that has always been our destiny. The Animal Farm is dead. Long live the Animal Factory!’

  At this there were barks and yelps of encouragement from the other Dobermans. Kurt regarded his followers for a moment.

  ‘This is a day that will live in history,’ he said. ‘When people look back and remember this day they will recall our names with pride. For we are the ones who decided to shape a brave new future for us and our descendants. Remember this day with pride, my brothers and sisters.

  ‘Hail, glorious leader!’ cried the Dobermans with one voice.

  Kurt bowed his head, accepting their acclaim. And then he spoke. ‘Let our work begin.’

  He moved aside and now Farmer Morton walked between the lines and unlatched the gate. He went inside, pushing his way through the tightly packed chickens within until he had reached the far side of the enclosure. Then he turned back and began to herd the chickens out through the gate.

  The chickens, blindly seeking escape from the crush within, scrambled madly out between the lines of Dobermans, who immediately began to snap and growl, lunging at any chicken that tried to get past them. There was only one way for the chickens to

  go . . . forward, towards the open doors of the new building.

  Ralph hurried forward, trying to spot Henrietta in the crush, but all he could see was a mass of brown feathers, a sea of jerking, bobbing heads, as the frightened birds were harried towards their final destination. And then he caught sight of her, in the very midst of the crush. She looked calm and she was limping forward with the rest, her gaze fixed on the open doorway ahead.

  Ralph tried to push through the nearest line of Dobermans but Fritz barked a command at him. ‘Stay back, mongrel. This is not your business!’

  ‘But Henrietta’s in there!’ cried Ralph. ‘Farmer Morton says she is to be spared.’

  Fritz grunted. ‘Nobody has said anything to me about it,’ he snapped. ‘Now stand back!’

  Once again Ralph tried to push past him, but Fritz lunged at him, his sharp teeth tearing at Ralph’s shoulder and the sheepdog fell back with a yelp of pain. The sea of brown feathers moved rapidly past him towards the dark, open doors of the animal factory.

  Ralph ran further along the line, trying to spot a place where he might intercept He
nrietta but every Doberman he came to seemed intent on keeping him out and he began to run around in circles, yelping helplessly. He saw Farmer Morton at the rear of the flock and he ran back up the line, calling to him. Farmer Morton looked in his direction.

  ‘What’s wrong with you?’ he yelled.

  ‘Henrietta!’ gasped Ralph. ‘Don’t you remember, you said that she wouldn’t be harmed? You promised me!’

  Farmer Morton scowled. He looked into the crush of creatures that even now was starting to move into the shadow of the Animal Factory. He spread his arms in a gesture of defeat.

  ‘I forgot,’ he said. He looked helplessly through the crowd. ‘I can’t even see her.’

  ‘She’s there!’ protested Ralph. ‘There, in the middle of them. We’ve got to get her out, we’ve got to get her out!’

  ‘Calm down and stop making such a fuss,’ said Farmer Morton. ‘She’s just one chicken, Ralph. I’ll find you another one to keep as a pet.’

  ‘That’s not what she is,’ cried Ralph. ‘She’s my friend.’

  ‘You should choose your friends more carefully,’ snapped Brigit, who was standing nearby. ‘Friends like that could land you in trouble.’

  Ralph ignored her. He ran back up the line and saw that now the flock were moving in through the open doors and white-suited figures were snatching them up as they entered, hanging them by their feet from two horizontal metal rails that ran along either side of the factory.. The rails were moving and the captive chickens kicked and struggled as they were taken deeper into the mass of machinery. Now the lines of Dobermans were moving together into a semi circle behind the last few chickens and they were herding the last of them forward. Ralph caught a glimpse of Henrietta as she limped in through the open gates and then an arm, sheathed in white plastic, grabbed her and lifted her into the air.

  Ralph tried a last desperate rush through the line of Dobermans, but was driven back by an onslaught of savage jaws. As he fell back before them he was horribly aware that the doors of the animal factory were closing and that Henrietta was trapped inside with all the others.

  ‘NO!’ he howled. The Dobermans were moving away now, and they seemed amused by his antics.

  ‘Looks like the mongrel is in a bit of distress,’ observed Manfred.

  ‘Yes,’ said Anna. ‘I always said he was more chicken than dog.’

  ‘What’s wrong, mongrel?’ asked Fritz. ‘Would you like to join your friends in there?’

  Ralph ignored their taunts. He ran around the side of the building, desperately looking for some way in, but there was nothing, not a door or a window. From within the factory came the worst sounds he had ever heard; a dull grinding of machinery, mingled with the shrieks and squawks of terrified chickens. And then he became aware of another sound – a series of dull thuds, one after the other, as though a giant fist was pounding on a wooden door.

  He reached the back of the factory and saw a big, high-sided vehicle parked there. Its doors were open and two men dressed in white were standing on either side of it. Ralph saw there was a high, open doorway in the back of the factory and that a moving conveyor belt was leading down from it to the truck. It must have been very cold inside the truck, because vapour was billowing and swirling around the two men. It looked as though they were standing at the gates of hell.

  Ralph looked at the conveyor belt, wondering if he could leap up onto it and run as hard as he could through the doorway beyond. But even as he was pondering this, something came down the conveyor belt, the first in a whole series of objects, a pink shape wrapped in glistening plastic. For a moment, Ralph didn’t understand what he was looking at. Then a feeling of dread struck him as he realised that it was a chicken. It had been plucked and decapitated. Its feet had been removed and it had been tightly wrapped in plastic. As the line of chickens came down the conveyer belt, the two men began to grab them and stack them in plastic trays, which they then carried into the truck for storage.

  Ralph stood there in mute shock. It was hard to believe that in a matter of moments the chickens had been killed and transformed into these anonymous pink shapes. It would have been impossible to recognise Henrietta from any of the other birds. She was gone and there was nothing he could do to help her. He moved a little closer and saw that each of the chickens had only one thing that was different to the next – a row of printed numbers on the plastic covering.

  One of the men grinned down at him. ‘Looks like somebody’s hoping for a few scraps,’ he observed. ‘Sorry, lad, there’s nothing for you here.’

  Ralph stared up at the man for an instant. He experienced a sudden urge to attack him, to leap up at him and tear at his flesh, but just as quickly he told himself that it was not this man’s fault. He was just one of many doing this awful work. No, if he was going to attack anyone, then he should direct his anger at the one who was responsible for all this.

  He turned and walked purposefully back around the side of the building. He saw Kurt, standing near the chicken run and he noted that even now, another lorry was pulling into the farm, carrying crates of fresh chickens to take the places of those who had just died. Kurt was chatting to his followers, looking pleased with himself. Ralph walked straight towards him, his head low; his tail between his legs.

  ‘You!’ he snarled. ‘I need a word.’

  Kurt glanced up in surprise. He looked at Ralph, noting the way he slunk forward with deadly intent in his eyes. ‘Oh dear,’ he said. ‘Looks like Ralph has come to the end of his tether.’

  ‘You murderer,’ said Ralph. ‘You vile killer. First Fred, then Jonah and now poor Henrietta. Somebody should have stopped you ages ago.’

  Fritz stepped forward to intervene, but Kurt stopped him with a glance.

  ‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘Ralph is just feeling a little emotional.’ He took a step closer. ‘Ralph, I did warn you to choose your friends more carefully,’ he said. ‘Now, don’t be stupid. Surely you can see my followers are all around me. Do you really think they’ll let you–?’

  That was as far as he got because in that instant, Ralph threw himself forward and went for Kurt’s throat. At the last instant Kurt wrenched himself to one side and Ralph’s teeth sank into the side of his neck, but the howl Kurt gave showed that he was in real pain and Ralph rejoiced at the sound of it. Kurt went down sideways, thrashing his long legs and Ralph fell on top of him, his teeth locked in position. He heard Kurt yell something and then the pack of Dobermans, frozen by the suddenness of the attack, came to life and threw themselves onto Ralph. Teeth sank into him in half a dozen places and his impulse was to howl, but he didn’t intend to let go of Kurt. He ignored the others and hung grimly on until Fritz brought his immense power to bear. He pulled Ralph away and tossed him across the ground. He skidded across the cobbles and now he did cry out with the pain of his wounds, but he was back on his feet in an instant and ready to throw himself back into the attack. He was met by a chaos of black bodies, all intent on ending his life and in an instant he was dragged to the ground, held by several pairs of jaws. Fritz’s ugly face was poised above him, ready to tear out his throat.

  ‘Wait!’ bellowed a voice and Fritz hesitated, looked over his shoulder. It was Farmer Morton. He was hurrying across the yard and he looked genuinely concerned.

  ‘Leave him!’ he shouted. ‘Get away from him.’

  ‘Are you mad?’ snarled Kurt. ‘He attacked me.’ Blood was pulsing down Kurt’s neck in a crimson stream. ‘He tried to kill me.’

  ‘That’s as may be,’ said Farmer Morton. ‘But he’s a working sheepdog. Can any of you do what he does?’

  There was silence as the Dobermans looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

  ‘I still have sheep that have to be herded twice a day,’ Farmer Morton told them. ‘So I need him in one piece, thank you very much.’ He stooped down and gathered Ralph up in his arms. ‘You’re not to attack him anymore,’ he told the Dobermans. ‘That’s an order.’

  Kurt looked at him
challengingly. ‘You’re saying it’s all right for him to attack me?’

  ‘I’m not saying anything of the kind. I’m saying he’s needed. And as far as I’m aware, I’m still the owner of this farm.’

  There was a silence then. Ralph lay in Farmer Morton’s arms and he could see that the Dobermans were asking themselves whether they agreed with that statement. Clearly, Kurt was beginning to think that his word was law around here. But after a few moments, Kurt lowered his head in a show of obedience.

  ‘Of course you are,’ he muttered. ‘But tell that mongrel he had better keep out of our way in future. If he so much as pokes his nose where it’s not wanted, he will answer to us Dobermans. Agreed?’

  Farmer Morton shrugged.

  ‘Agreed,’ he said. He turned away and carried Ralph across to the old barn. Once inside, he put him down in his usual place.

  ‘What got into you?’ he asked. ‘Have you taken leave of your senses? Going up against Kurt and the others, that’s just plain madness. Why did you do it?’

  Ralph looked up at Farmer Morton. ‘Henrietta,’ he murmured.

  ‘For goodness sake, Ralph, that’s ridiculous! One old chicken doesn’t count for anything. It’s certainly not worth getting yourself torn to pieces over.’ He stood up. ‘I’ll send Agnes out to tend to those wounds,’ he said. ‘Make sure you keep away from the Dobermans from now on. I won’t be responsible if you stir them up again.’

  Ralph lay there, looking up at Farmer Morton, aware that the pain from all those bites was beginning to pulse through his body. ‘Can’t you see what they’re doing?’ he cried. ‘When you said that you still owned the farm, Kurt was thinking otherwise. He thinks it’s his now. He thinks everything belongs to him.’

  ‘What nonsense!’ Farmer Morton shook his head. ‘At the end of the day, Kurt is just an animal like all the others. Oh, a very special animal, I’ll grant you that. But when push comes to shove, he’ll do as he’s told, just like the rest.’ He frowned. ‘I’m sorry about Henrietta,’ he said. ‘I did mean to leave her out of it. But in all the excitement, it just slipped my mind.’ He turned away. ‘I’ll send Agnes out to you. Whatever you do, keep out of sight until the Dobermans have calmed down a bit.’

 

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