The Case of the Perfect Dog by John R. Erickson

Author:John R. Erickson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: cowdog, Hank the Cowdog, John R. Erickson, John Erickson, ranching, Texas, dog, adventure, mystery, Hank, Drover, Pete, Sally May
Publisher: Maverick Books, Inc.
Published: 2015-05-01T19:26:01+00:00

Chapter Seven: A Bull In Sally May’s Yard

I lowered my voice and spoke to Happy Lab. “How did the bull get out of the corral? Wait. You know those bulldozers and water buffalo I was hearing? It was him, snorting and tearing down the corral fence.”

“Well sir, I sure thought something was wrong, but I didn’t want to do anything foolish.”

I laid a paw on his shoulder. “Hap, there’s nothing foolish about reporting a bull in the yard. You did the right thing.”

He heaved a big sigh. “Boy, that makes me feel better.”

My mind was racing. “We’ve got a big problem here. The first time we went into combat with this guy, we got skunked, but then you showed up with that bird cage on your head. That spooked him.”

“Reckon we ought to look for another bird cage?”

I had to chuckle at that. “There are no bird cages on this ranch. You found the only one in the whole county.”

“Gosh, what’ll we do?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” I began pacing, as I often do when I’m gazing down at the Chessboard of Life and trying to formaldehyde a plan of battle. “If we went over the fence and stormed the yard, he would clean our clocks.”

“Maybe we ought to bark, reckon?”

I paced over to him. “Hap, I’m in charge here. Don’t strain yourself.” I began pacing again. “We must alert the house and, unfortunately, that means barking. That will expose us to danger on two fronts. Number one, the bull might tear down the fence and come after us. Number two, we could face an enraged Loper or Sally May.”

“Who?”

“The people in the house. They don’t always understand the deeper layers of meaning when we bark at night.”

“Huh. You mean…”

“I mean they get really crabby when we wake them up, and, we’re talking about hostile and irrational, hissing and screeching and hurling threats and insults.”

His eyes grew wide. “Wow. Maybe we ought to let it slide.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that. What if the bull is still there in the morning? What if Little Alfred walks out of the house?”

He nodded his big head. “I hear you. We’ve got to protect the kids.”

“Exactly. Hap, a lot of dogs wouldn’t care, but you and I…we’re different. We have a special place in our hearts for the little children.”

A quiver came into his voice. “Yes sir, I get all teary-eyed just thinking about ‘em.”

“Save it for later. There’s a time for tears and there’s a time to bark. This is the time to bark, and I mean bark as we’ve never barked in our whole lives.”

He pulled himself up to full-attention. “I’m ready, let’s do it.”

It was a touching moment, the two of us out there on the field of battle, moments before launching ourselves into combat. But we didn’t have time to think about it. We had a job to do.

I gave the signal and we crept forward. About ten feet from the yard gate, I gave the signal to halt, and it was then that I noticed…the cat.

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