by Peter Howe
“And who would this be?” asked Tazar.
Waggit turned around to see Lug, who had finally ventured out of the tent and now stood there shaking with fear at the sight of so many dogs.
“This is Lug,” replied Waggit.
“Glad to know you, Lug,” boomed Tazar. “Any friend of Waggit’s is welcome here.”
“Well, he’s not exactly a friend,” said Waggit. “We rescued him from some Uprights who were trying to stone him to death. He just sort of tagged along after that.”
“Ah,” said Tazar in his wisest tone of voice. “The Uprights, the perfidious Uprights.”
Tazar sometimes used words that nobody knew. Whether he knew what they meant was something else that nobody knew.
“And talking of Uprights,” he continued, “Cal tells me that you’re traveling in the company of one with remarkable powers.”
“I am,” replied Waggit, “and without her I probably wouldn’t have made it back.”
He stuck his head inside the tent.
“Felicia,” he said, “come and meet the team.”
Felicia unfolded her long body from inside the tent. She was an imposing sight when she stood up to her full height, but this time Waggit could feel she was trying hard to make her aura of peace as strong as she possibly could. As a result most of the team members moved toward her out of curiosity, something they would never have done with any other human being. Only one, Olang, pulled back, growling softly.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” she said in the softest of voices. “My name is Felicia. I know how important you all are to Waggit, and now that I see you I understand why.”
The team seemed pleased to hear this, and none of them appeared to be surprised that she could understand them and they her, so Waggit assumed that Cal had already told them of her ability to communicate with dogs.
“He has especially spoken of you, Tazar,” she continued, “and how you are both his hero and his mentor.”
Upon hearing this Tazar puffed up with pride so that he looked even bigger and sleeker than ever.
“Well, I try to keep them all on the right path, but sometimes they stray,” he said modestly. “Waggit’s one of my favorites. I think of him as a son.”
This clearly did not go down very well with Olang, who growled and bared his teeth. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing and hearing,” he said. “You always told me that Uprights are the enemy, and there isn’t such a thing as a good Upright, and here you are chatting away with one like she was one of us. It’s not right.”
With that he turned tail and disappeared into the woods.
“You must excuse my boy,” said Tazar to Felicia. “He’s a good dog, but he has strong opinions about most things, and it’s true that I usually make sure that none of the team goes near an Upright. But we’ve never met one like you before.”
“There’s no need to apologize,” said Felicia graciously. “I feel honored that you’re prepared to make an exception for me, and you will find that I will never betray your trust.”
“No,” concurred Tazar, “I have an instinct that you won’t. In the meantime you’d better pack up that cloth house of yours. Even though this is the Deepwoods, the Ruzelas still come around here sometimes, and I’ll guarantee they won’t let you keep it there.”
Felicia agreed, and started to collect her possessions, such as they were, and to roll up the tent. When she had done this they all stood around in an embarrassed silence, as if not knowing what to do next. Gordo broke the hush.
“We would invite you all to breakfast,” he said, “only we don’t have any.”
“We had some delicious scurry what I hunted yesterday,” Raz told Felicia, “but it’s all gone.”
“What exactly is scurry?” inquired Felicia.
“You know,” said Cal, “those small creatures with long tails. There’s lots of them in the park. You’d’ve loved the ones Raz caught.”
“I’m sure I would,” Felicia replied, although Waggit could tell from her voice that she was sure she wouldn’t. There was another awkward pause, and then she said, “Is there anywhere that I could put our things so that they won’t be seen until we can find somewhere better for the tent?”
This caused a lot of frowns of concentration, scratching of itches, and smacking of lips, all of which indicated that the dogs were giving the problem their finest thinking.
“What about…?”
“No.”
“Maybe under…?”
“Too open.”
“Hanging on…?”
“You could see it.”
For each dog who had a suggestion there was another to shoot it down until Alona, the shiest dog on the team, said, “Well, I’m sure this isn’t a very good idea, but at the back of Half Top Hill there’s a place where three big rocks come together, and in the middle they form a kind of chimney. The stuff would be out of sight there, only it’s always a bit wet.”
“That doesn’t matter,” said Felicia. “The tent and the backpack are both waterproof. It sounds like a perfect place. Come and show me where it is.”
Alona was shocked that her suggestion had been accepted and even more surprised that she was needed as a guide. The two of them went off in the direction of the hill looking just like any other woman and her dog out for an early morning walk, although both were a little stranger than most.
Waggit looked around at the assorted dogs surrounding him. Although he had never been fonder of anyone, there was something different about them, an unease that he hadn’t felt before. Was it his return that was causing this? If the team was uncomfortable with his homecoming, then he had no home, whatever Tazar had said. The whole point of a team was that its members all worked together; if they didn’t it would fall apart.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
“Oh, sure, fine,” said Raz.
“Are you all right with me rejoining the team?” Waggit continued, believing that it was better to get this out in the open from the very start.
There was a general murmur of approval, which was reassuring. If it wasn’t him, then what else could be causing this awkwardness?
“Do you have a problem with Lug here?” Waggit continued. “He doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“No,” said Magica. “He’s fine.”
“Well, what is it, then?” said Waggit, getting frustrated now.
“Oh, nothing,” mumbled Little One.
Tazar interrupted the awkward conversation.
“You’re welcome. You’re both welcome,” he said. “So no more of this nonsense. I’ve got to go and see where my wayward son’s gotten to, but you all work out sleeping arrangements and duties and so on. I’ll see you later.”
He headed off into the woods, leaving the rest of the team standing around Waggit. The silence continued. Waggit turned toward Lowdown. He knew from experience that he would get the truth from him.
“Okay, Lowdown,” he said. “What’s the problem?”
Lowdown took a deep breath.
“Well, in a word,” he said, “Olang.”
16
Felicia’s Feast
It was as if Lowdown had let a cork out of a bottle. It seemed that each dog had a story about Olang that they were dying to tell but had been too frightened to reveal until now—tales of his bullying and arrogance, and the way that he lied to Tazar, spreading false rumors, and taking credit for kills that someone else had hunted.
“I think he’s horrid,” said Lady Magica, who was the kindest of dogs and never had a bad word for anyone.
“He ain’t just horrid,” Lady Alicia complained. “He’s ugly and he smells bad.”
This was the worst thing she could say about anyone.
“It’s worse than that, Waggit,” said Gordo, who was part Labrador and constantly overweight. “I once caught him hiding food for himself instead of sharing it with the rest of the team, like we are supposed to. He said that if I ever told anyone he would bite my tongue
off while I slept, and then I’d never be able to eat again.”
The thought of this sent a shudder through Gordo’s ample body. It was a threat he had taken seriously, because, as everyone knew, Gordo slept with his tongue hanging out.
Waggit suddenly realized that the reason they were all talking about these things now was that they were looking to him to do something about the situation, but what he was not quite sure.
“If you’re all so upset about Olang, why don’t you say something to Tazar about him?” he asked.
“Tazar’s a great dog and a fine leader,” said Lowdown. “He’s kept this team together through some difficult times, as you know, but like most great dogs he has a blind spot, and his is Olang. He won’t hear nothing bad said about him, and everything the miserable cur says is like law to Tazar. If he said hot was cold Tazar would believe him.”
There was a chorus of agreement.
“If you say anything that is even a little bit critical of him,” said Raz, “he comes back and tells Tazar the most awful lies about you, and even if you’ve got a dozen witnesses what says you didn’t do the thing he says you did, Tazar don’t believe you.”
“And he’s the most awful bully,” said Little One. “He’s always pushing Little Two around and snapping at him.”
“It’s true,” said Little Two shamefacedly.
“So what are you going to do about it?” asked Waggit.
There was an awkward silence again.
“Well,” said Lowdown eventually, “we was hoping you would have a talk with Tazar about it. He always had a soft spot for you, and he listens to what you say. Can’t you tell him that you noticed how unhappy we are, and how we talked about it? If you do it straightaway he’ll know that it ain’t because you’ve got a grumble against Olang, but because you’re worried about the team sticking together.”
The team breaking up was exactly what Waggit was worried about. If this went on unchecked it could split the dogs into two groups, with Tazar and Olang on one side, and the rest of the dogs on the other. Although there were many fine animals on the team, they needed a leader, and as far as Waggit could see, there was nobody among them who could take the place of Tazar. What Lowdown said made a lot of sense, but the thought of confronting Tazar about anything, least of all his illusions about his son, was very scary; even though he was a great dog, he had a fearsome temper. On the other hand, if the team broke up Waggit would truly be homeless, and this was something that was even more frightening than facing Tazar.
“Okay,” he said hesitantly. “I’ll do it—when the time is right.”
“Don’t leave it too long though,” warned Lowdown. “The sooner the better.”
“I know,” replied Waggit.
A surge of relief went through the group when they heard him agree to do this. It was as if the problem was already solved. Although this was gratifying, it didn’t make the task any easier.
“Come on, Waggit,” said Cal, “let’s show you the pipe so that you can choose where you want to sleep. There’s not much room, though, I warn you.”
Lug coughed gently behind them.
“Oh, yeah, you can come too,” said Cal. “I guess if Gordo can get through the entrance you can. I don’t think we’ll ever fit Felicia in though.”
His last comment caused a ripple of chuckles to go through the team.
Cal led them past the place where the tent had been to a big, old maple tree at the foot of a rocky incline. From the side that they were approaching it looked like any other tree in the park, but when Waggit got between it and the rocks he could see a hole in the ground between its roots. It certainly didn’t look big enough for a dog of Gordo’s stature to get through, but according to Cal he used it frequently, although always accompanied by much groaning and panting.
Cal went first, followed by Raz, and then Waggit prepared to push himself inside. Before he did he turned to see whether or not Lug was following. He was standing several feet back.
“S’okay,” Lug said. “You go ahead. I’ll stay here, sort of stand guard. Tell me what it’s like.”
Waggit shrugged, turned toward the hole, and disappeared down it. In the darkness it was impossible to see where he was going, and suddenly he felt the ground drop away from beneath his feet and he tumbled down to find himself on the floor of the pipe. Now that he wasn’t blocking the light with his body and his eyes had become accustomed to the gloom, he could see his surroundings better.
While the pipe was large for a pipe, it was a small place for dogs to live in. Waggit couldn’t see how Alicia would be able to stand up in it to her full height. In fact he was pretty sure she couldn’t. It had obviously been part of a drainage system, of which there were many in this part of the park, where streams ran into pools and small ponds. The pipe had fallen into disuse when it fractured in two places, one where the dogs entered it, and another about twenty feet along where earth had trickled down over the years and now completely blocked it, cutting off any possibility of escape.
The only light came through the shallow entry tunnel, and what it illuminated was not good. Because the floor of the pipe was round, an attempt had been made to flatten it with newspapers and cardboard boxes. Many of these were wrinkled where water had come into the pipe, presumably from the entrance. They were also filthy, and Waggit remembered how scrupulous Tazar had been about keeping the tunnel clean and how frequently he had insisted that they remove all the cardboard boxes and paper on which they slept and replace them with fresh ones. The air in the pipe was damp and stale and smelled strongly of its occupants.
“This is another thing that Olang took credit for,” Cal said. “There was four of us what found the pipe, and he was just one of them, but he ran off and told Tazar about it first so that it looked like he found it all by himself.”
“Why is it so dirty?” asked Waggit. “Doesn’t Tazar say anything?”
“Oh, it drives him nuts,” replied Cal. “But it’s really hard to get boxes and clean paper in the pipe and the old stuff out and, to be honest with you, everyone’s so fed up we can’t be bothered. Olang tells Tazar it’s ’cause we’re lazy, but it ain’t. It’s ’cause we ain’t got any enthusiasm for it.”
“Why didn’t you say something to Tazar about the effect Olang’s having on the team?” asked Waggit.
“You don’t seem to understand,” said Raz, with an edge of frustration in his voice. “You can’t say anything to Tazar that puts Olang in a bad light. He just don’t want to know about it.”
Just then the pipe went dark, and they all looked up to see the unmistakable silhouette of the leader looking down from the entry.
“Well, what d’you think?” Tazar asked Waggit. “Pretty good, eh? Warm, secure, easily defended. My boy found it, you know. Mind you, it needs tidying up a bit, although nobody except for Olang and myself seems to be bothered by that.”
“Tazar,” said Waggit, summoning up all his courage, “can you and I talk?”
“Sure we can,” said Tazar. “You know me. I’ve always got time for a team member. Come on up.”
Waggit scrambled back through the hole, shook the dirt from his coat, and had reached Tazar when Felicia’s voice pierced through the glade.
“Okay, everybody, come and get it.”
Tazar and Waggit turned to see her tall figure laden down with shopping bags, Alona trotting proudly by her side wearing the expression of one who knows a secret.
“Now listen up,” Felicia declared in her most authoritative voice. “I don’t have enough money to do this every day, but I thought that we should celebrate Waggit’s return to the team with a special breakfast.”
The dogs had gathered around, curious to discover what she had in the bags. She opened them up and started to retrieve the most amazing assortment of food that they had ever seen. Even Olang, who had returned after sulking in the woods for a while, moved forward in curiosity. From the deli there was salami and roast beef, hot dogs and different cheeses, and from the p
et store there were rawhide chews, smoked pigs’ ears, and large, crunchy biscuits. As the contents of each package was laid out on the ground all Gordo could say was, “Oh my! Oh my!”
The feast was magnificent, and even Magica’s sensible suggestion that maybe they should save some for a later date was swept aside. This was a celebration, a homecoming; it was not a time to be practical. Tazar took over the distribution of the food and the seating arrangements, and Felicia was wise enough to let him. When all was in place, and each dog sat in front of a pile of food and other goodies, Tazar intoned the prayer that he said every time the dogs ate:
“Remember as you eat, you eat your brother’s food; remember as you sleep, you take your sister’s space; remember as you live, your life belongs to them. You are the team; the team is you. The two are one; the one is two.”
That said, nothing much else was, for the serious task of eating good food demanded utmost concentration. Felicia was given the honor of sitting between Tazar and Waggit. Lowdown sat on Waggit’s left, and Olang on Tazar’s right.
“The food is fine, Felicia,” Tazar said between mouthfuls. “It really is fine.”
“So is your team, Tazar,” Felicia graciously replied.
And indeed, for that moment it did seem as if they were. Waggit looked around at them enjoying themselves and their meal, and the conversations he had such a short time ago seemed to have been with a different pack of dogs. This was the old team, close-knit, fun-loving, a family.
Tazar turned to Waggit.
“You wanted to say something to me?” he asked.
“Later,” said Waggit. “It can wait till later. For now let’s just enjoy ourselves.”
17
Lowdown’s Hideaway
It took the team only a short time to finish the meal. The dogs who had the good sense not to overeat—and believe it or not there were a couple—took their pigs’ ears or rawhide chews off to secret spots to be buried and dug up later. This was not an option open to those who had been seated next to Alicia, whose appetite was legendary.