Waggit Again

by Peter Howe

  “Let me through.”

  It was the sound of Gordo’s booming voice. Everyone stood back and the immense dog went up to the hole, put one muscled front leg through it, and pulled with all his might. Earth came crashing down, but nothing would deter Gordo from his task. All concerns about getting the dirt out were put aside for the time being, and in an incredibly short time the blockage was gone, reduced to piles of soil and rocks that littered the floor.

  “Waggit,” said Gordo, “it was your idea. You lead the way.”

  Once again the other dogs stood aside and Waggit walked through into the newly revealed section of the pipe. Moving cautiously along and sniffing the air as he went, he led the others to the end. When they got there they found that it opened up into a rocky pool from which the stream ran. On the opposite side of the pool was another pipe, identical to the one they were standing in, but this one was still working, with a steady flow of water gurgling from it. Waggit looked around and felt relief and pride. His idea had worked. Now this was a home where the team could live forever.

  20

  Tashi’s New Team

  The following day was devoted to cleaning up the pipe, and transforming it into a home. Once the dirt and soil were completely removed and all the old newspapers and cardboard taken out, Gordo volunteered to brush the living space out as well as he could using a branch with leaves on it as a broom. It wasn’t perfect, given that Gordo filled up the pipe so much that Waggit worried he would get stuck one day, but it was a miracle that it worked as well as it did. It would have worked a little better had it not been for the fact that, walking backward and moving his head from side to side, the big dog found it difficult to judge where he was. He took a step too far and fell into the pond with a resounding splash, which had the added effect of thoroughly washing out the lower part of the pipe.

  When the cleaning was considered finished, Tazar, Waggit, and Olang did a tour of inspection. Although the pipe was still narrow, the added length meant that the dogs had more space, especially Lady Alicia, whose long, elegant limbs needed a lot of room, and who didn’t like other dogs too close to her. Tazar looked around approvingly.

  “You did the team a good service thinking of this, Waggit,” he said. “I don’t know why I didn’t come up with the idea myself.”

  “Actually, Father, the thought occurred to me also, when I first found the pipe,” Olang claimed, “but what I worried about was that if there was another opening it would mean there would be two places we have to guard. Anywhere we can get out, our enemies can get in.”

  “And you were right to be concerned about that,” Tazar congratulated him. “That’s the kind of strategic planning a leader has to do. As it turns out, though, because the pipe opens up into a pool it’s much less likely that anyone would attack from that end. It’s too deep for any dog to easily make it from the water into the pipe. We will never forget,” he added, “that it was you who found the pipe in the first place.”

  Waggit didn’t think this was the time to bring up the fact that Olang hadn’t found it but had just taken credit for its discovery. When they had completed their inspection and deemed the new, bigger space suitable for canine habitation, they came out and told the team to go and find new bedding, each dog being responsible for his or her own sleeping arrangements. They all agreed that Lowdown would continue to sleep wherever it was that he spent the night—Waggit was still the only team member who knew the location. Lug would stay with Felicia, but the rest of the team would be together in their improved quarters. Out of deference to his son’s comments Tazar reorganized the sentry duty, placing one dog at each end of the pipe.

  Waggit had decided that he should stop sleeping in Lowdown’s tree trunk and stay in the pipe. He had chosen a place near the pond end, and had furnished it with a flattened cardboard box and a layer of newspaper, all topped off with some fern leaves. He tested it out that afternoon, and it seemed comfortable, with a gentle breeze ruffling the sheets of paper. It might not be such a great spot in the winter, but for now it was perfect.

  When darkness fell, however, one of its disadvantages became apparent. The sky was moonless, and although it never got totally dark in the park because of the city’s glow, this was about as deep a night as ever happened. The spot where Waggit had placed his bed was pitch-black. As a result of this, his attempt to get to it was accompanied by a series of growls and squeaks as he trod on various parts of several dogs. Once finally there he turned around a couple of times to get the fern leaves just the way he wanted them and lay down with a sigh of satisfaction. He had no sooner settled when he heard Tazar’s voice at the entrance.

  “Waggit, you down there?”

  “Yes, Tazar,” Waggit answered. “I’m in bed.”

  “Get up here,” said Tazar. “I need to talk to you.”

  Waggit sighed again, this time not in satisfaction, and walked back the way he had come. The return journey was somewhat easier because his eyes had become accustomed to the dark, but there were still a couple of complaints. One of them, predictably, was from Gruff, who said he thought it was about time that the younger generation showed some respect for the limbs of their elders, and that if Waggit wanted to spend the entire night marching up and down he should go on sentry duty.

  Ignoring this, Waggit climbed out of the pipe and into the night where Tazar was waiting for him. The black dog nodded and they both walked to a nearby rock that had weathered into a shallow cave. They sat down, their backs to the rock, facing out.

  “I hate these black nights,” said Tazar. “You only get bad news on nights like this.”

  “And did you?” asked Waggit.

  “Did I what?” said Tazar, whose mind seemed to be on something else.

  “Get bad news?” Waggit repeated.

  “Maybe,” replied Tazar. “It depends on if it’s true or not. I was talking to a loner who said she had heard Tashi’s put together another team, and this one makes the first lot look like petulants.”

  One of Tazar’s great skills was in using the stray dogs who lived by themselves as a source of news. This was not as easy as it sounds, because most of them were too shy or fearful to talk to another dog and would scuttle away as soon as you approached them. If you could get them to talk, what they told you was usually true, because they had no need to lie, exaggerate, or impress you. Because of this the news the loner had given Tazar was not good. Tashi’s followers had been a fearsome group, tough and aggressive, who would bite you in the throat without thinking twice about it, but most of them had been captured in a raid by the park rangers and taken to the pound. Only Tashi and his evil lieutenant, Wilbur, had escaped, much to the scorn of Tazar, who thought that a leader should stick with his dogs to the end.

  “Where do you think he got his team?” Waggit inquired.

  “I have no idea,” said Tazar. “A lot of miscreants turn up in the park. I mean, if you were an Upright living with a dog like Tashi, you’d more than likely get rid of him too.”

  While this was probably true, it made Waggit uncomfortable to think that there was any justifiable reason for abandoning a dog, even Tashi.

  “What shall we do about it?” he asked Tazar.

  “We need to get more information,” the leader said. “I asked this loner to see what else she could find out, like how many there are and where their camp is, that sort of thing.”

  Just then Olang appeared from out of the darkness.

  “Ah, there you are, Father,” he said. “Having a little chat with Waggit?”

  “I was telling him about the situation with Tashi,” explained Tazar.

  “The same situation we discussed several hours ago?” asked Olang, insinuating that Waggit was getting old news.

  “The same,” said Tazar. “We’ve got to devise a plan to handle these new circumstances.”

  “Why don’t I ask Felicia to see what she can find out from the Ruzelas?” Waggit suggested.

  “But can we trust her to tell us the trut
h?” Olang said with a sneer.

  “I don’t see that we have any choice,” said Tazar. “It’s not like we can talk to the Ruzelas ourselves, and the more you know about a situation the easier it is to handle.” He paused and sighed. “I tell you, these black nights are when evil stalks a dog.”

  The following morning after breakfast Waggit took Felicia to one side and explained the situation to her.

  “Well of course I’ll help,” she said, “but I think I’ll go by myself. Better to leave Alona and Lug here.”

  “Whatever you say,” agreed Waggit.

  Alona and Lug went everywhere with Felicia nowadays. They had almost become a team within the team, and it was an indication to Waggit how seriously concerned Felicia was about the state of affairs that she would leave them behind. He also realized how much a part of the team she had become. The Tazarians didn’t treat her any differently than they would treat another dog, and even Tazar himself occasionally asked her advice. No sooner had Felicia left on her mission, however, than Olang, seeing Lug without his companion, crept up behind him. When he was close to the pit bull he let out his loudest, most ferocious bark, which caused Lug to jump in the air and come crashing down. As he was lying quivering on the ground, Olang came over to him and bared his teeth.

  “Oh, Lug,” he sneered. “Did I scare you? I’m so sorry! Please don’t tell your protector, the Upright, because I would hate to upset her. She’s so important to the team—for the time being at least.”

  Waggit, seeing what was happening, ran over and pushed Olang aside.

  “Let him be, Olang,” he growled.

  “Why, I quite forgot,” Olang taunted Lug, “that of course you have two bodyguards, the Upright and the saintly Waggit. What a lucky little worm you are!”

  Waggit ignored him and stood over Lug until he could get back on his feet.

  “Take no notice, Lug,” he said. “Let’s you and I go for a walk.”

  And the two of them left Olang snickering to himself.

  As they walked along Waggit looked at the other dog. It was strange that he was so fainthearted. He was strong and muscular and had a fearsome appearance on the outside. But inside—well, Waggit had seen rabbits with more courage. He stopped and turned to Lug.

  “Why are you so scared of everything?” Waggit asked. “What happened to you to make you so fearful?”

  “I’m scared of pain,” replied Lug.

  “Well, none of us like it,” said Waggit, “but you’re terrified of it.”

  “You know I told you about the Upright at the bar who used to feed me?” Lug continued. “For an Upright he was a decent enough sort of guy. He didn’t have to give me food and water, but he did. Well, early one day, when he was by himself, two men came into the bar. One was holding a metal tube with a handle that he pointed at the man, and it scared him. These two took lots of bottles from behind the bar, and all that stuff Felicia calls money from a drawer in the counter. I had no idea what was happening, so I stayed under a table where they couldn’t see me.”

  “What happened next?” asked Waggit.

  “The two men ran off with all the stuff,” replied Lug, “and then the Upright from the bar spotted me under the table and gave me the most awful kick. I ran out into the open, which was the worst thing I could do, because he came after me with one of the cloths they used to wipe the bar with. It was wet, and when he hit me it stung terribly. He kept on hitting me and hitting me, and when the towel started to dry out he wet it again so that it hurt more. He beat me for so long I thought I was going to die.”

  “Why didn’t you run away?”

  “Where could I go?” cried Lug. “It was a small town, and no one else was going to feed me, that I was sure of. I did leave for a couple of days, but in the end I had to come back.”

  “Did he beat you again?”

  “No. I think the reason he did it then was because he was scared and it was the only way he could get rid of the fear. So, no, he didn’t beat me again, but every time he wanted to shoo me out of the bar he would get the wet cloth and show it to me and it would make me panic. I think he thought it was funny.”

  “I’m sorry that happened to you.” Waggit tried to console him. “It’s the same as me being scared of being abandoned. It may never happen again, but I can’t forget what it felt like.”

  “That’s why I like Felicia,” said Lug. “When I’m with her the scare seems to go away. I’m always happy when I’m with her.”

  They didn’t see any more of Felicia until late that afternoon. Most of the dogs were sitting around nervously talking about Tashi. Only Olang was absent, but since he often disappeared for hours at a time, this wasn’t unusual. When Felicia returned she had a grim look on her face. The dogs’ ears pricked up as she approached, and they gathered around to hear what she had to say. Tazar greeted her.

  “Okay,” he said, “let me guess—you bring us bad news.”

  “I wish it was otherwise,” replied Felicia, “but I’m afraid the situation is grave. There have been three dog attacks in the park that are worrying the Ruzelas—two runners and one cyclist, and one of the runners was badly bitten on her leg.”

  The team remained silent, for they all knew what this meant—every dog not in the company of a human would now be at risk. The park rangers wouldn’t bother to identify which of them had participated in the attacks; from now on any animals by themselves would be considered guilty.

  “It gets worse, I’m afraid,” Felicia continued. “The attack on the cyclist was within a short distance of here.”

  “What’s a cyclist?” asked Gordo.

  “Someone on a bike,” explained Felicia. The blank stares she received meant she had to be more descriptive. “You know, like a car, only with two wheels instead of four.”

  “Oh,” said Cal. “You mean a half-roller.”

  “Why didn’t she say so if that’s what she meant?” said Gruff crossly.

  “Do they know what kind of dogs were involved in the attacks?” asked Tazar.

  “They only know about the dogs that went after the runners. They were led by one that looked like…” Felicia paused. “Well, very much like Lug, actually.”

  “Me,” squealed Lug. “Me! I don’t attack! I don’t even lead.”

  “I didn’t say it was you,” said Felicia patiently. “I just said the dog looked like you.”

  “It wasn’t you, Lug,” said Tazar. “It was Tashi. You look a whole lot like Tashi. In fact the first time I saw you I thought you must be some kind of relative of his.”

  “I know I look like Tashi!” exclaimed Lug. “I’ve been told that before. But we’re not relatives.”

  “Well,” said Tazar, “I have some news too, only it’s a bit better than Felicia’s. I spoke to the loner again today, and she told me that Tashi does have a new team, and a pretty sad one at that. First of all it’s small, fewer than the claws on one paw, and they aren’t ferocious at all. It’s made up of the most broken-down misfits you ever saw in your life. Oh, and another thing, Tashi makes them all let him bite off the tip of one of their ears as a sign of loyalty to him.”

  “Yeeeach,” screeched Alicia, “that’s disgusting. I mean, I’m as loyal as the next dog, but ain’t no one gonna take a piece out of my ear.”

  “Did the loner know where they live?” asked Waggit.

  “Not exactly,” said Tazar. “She knew they were still on the Goldenside, and she thought nearer to the Deepwoods, but she’d never seen their camp herself.”

  “Why, then, would they attack Uprights in this part of the park?” asked Magica.

  “That’s easy,” said Tazar. “Somebody’s told them this is our new realm, and they’re trying to get the Ruzelas up this way so we’ll either get captured or have to move. What they didn’t think of, because Tashi’s too dumb, is that any attack on an Upright is bad news for all the free dogs, not just us.”

  Felicia had a look of deep concern on her face.

  “How will you handle
this?” she asked Tazar.

  “We’ll have to lie low for a few days. The Ruzelas will soon lose interest, providing there are no more attacks. As for Tashi,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone, “we’re going to have to tussle. I should’ve done it many risings ago, but it never happened. Remember, Waggit, when we set it up and there was nobody home, because they’d all been captured?”

  Waggit nodded.

  “Well, this time,” said Tazar, “he won’t slip away. This time it’ll be a fight to the death.”

  21

  Treachery at Silver Tree Bend

  Tazar’s prediction that all would be well if there were no more attacks and they laid low proved to be correct. In fact where the Tazarians lived there was no increase in human activity whatsoever. Felicia brought back daily reports from the section of the park south of the Deepwoods, which Waggit realized no longer played a part in their lives. It was almost as if a pact had been made whereby the Ruzelas stayed in their area and the dogs never left the safety of the woods. The only contact they had with that world was through Felicia.

  “They’re doing sweeps along the Goldenside, but as I understand it not far enough up to get Tashi,” she reported one afternoon. “At least nobody’s been captured yet.”

  “That makes sense,” Tazar remarked, “because that’s where the worst attack was. Any idea if they’re planning to come to our neck of the woods?”

  “None that I’ve heard,” Felicia replied.

  “They’ll never come up this way,” sneered Olang. “They’re too scared. One thing about attacking Uprights, it certainly keeps them away.”

  “Attacking Uprights is dumb,” said Tazar. “It always was dumb and it always will be dumb.”

  “But, Pa,” whined Olang, “you taught us that Uprights are our enemy, and if that’s true then we have to fight them.”

  “No!” growled Tazar sharply. “We do not. I also taught you never to fight unless you’ve got at least a chance of winning—with Uprights that will never happen. If anyone on this team is caught attacking Uprights they will be banished immediately, whoever they are. If you want to fight, fight Tashi.”