The Jewish Dog (24 page)

Chicken soup and potatoes weren't the only things cooking in camp
.
Nearly every evening
,
a man from the village appeared to relay information
.
Molotovski paid him generously
.
The picture was becoming clearer
,
and the commanders
,
who used to spend their evenings sitting by the fire singing
,
now sat planning maneuvers
.
They would make piles of dirt to convince their friends that their plan was feasible
.
The commanders would place empty matchboxes between the dirt mounds and call them “Germans.” They referred to the carefully placed pebbles as “the ambush,” “the attack team,” or simply “us.” I liked sitting near them and listening to the battle plans
.
One said they should ambush from the right
,
and his friend said the left
.
The first said they should open with a grenade
.
The second countered that a machine gun would be twice as effective
.
At times
,
when they'd reach an impasse
,
one would turn to me
.
“Well
,
Caleb
,
tell everyone that I'm right.” I would reply with a loud bark
,
and everyone would burst out laughing.

No doubt about it
,
we Jewish dogs were blessed with a wonderful sense of humor.

CHAPTER 31

A
pale mist drowned the trees of the forest
.
The birds were silent
,
and even the sound of our footsteps over the fallen leaves was barely heard
,
thanks to a coat of early morning dew
.
We had an hour before the dawn broke to reach the road that connected Stryi and Lanivka and conceal ourselves for the ambush
.
We didn't know exactly what time the supply convoy would pass
.
We were supposed to wait for Molotovski to signal to us with a flag
.
Molotovski settled in position at the observation point that overlooked the entire road
.
Joshua and fourteen other partisans took their place near the point where the road crossed the train tracks
.
That was where the German supply trucks would be delayed
.
The first driver
,
according to our extensive observations
,
would step out and remove the barrier
.
That would be the moment for Joshua and his friends to open fire.

The sun had risen
,
but the fog had not dissipated
.
The clouds sat heavily above
,
and light showers came and went
.
Joshua rose from our hiding place and headed silently to the observation point
.
I accompanied him
.
The path from the ambush to the lookout was arduous
.
First we had to climb over rocky barricades
,
then we walked through a muddy wheat field
.
A creek flowed at the edge of the field
,
and after crossing it
,
we had to climb over a tangled
,
thorny hedge.

“I fear our plan will fail,” Joshua said
,
as he cleaned mud off the bottom of his boots
.
“The fog is thick and we won't be able to see the signal flag.”

“Maybe we have to postpone the mission for a clearer day
 . .
 .” Molotovski thought out loud
.
He sounded hesitant
.
Joshua's face also revealed that he wasn't happy with that option.

“On the other hand,” Molotovski said with more hesitation
,
“we don't have much food left
,
and I don't know when the convoy will pass again. . . 
.
Maybe the moment I see the convoy I'll run to join you. . . .”

Joshua shook his head
.
“It took me fifteen minutes to get here from our ambush location
.
Besides
,
if the villagers see you running
,
they may suspect something.”

Molotovski frowned and nodded slowly
.
A sense of gloom dampened their spirits
.
It seemed that there was no choice but to reschedule
.
A large butterfly fluttered between Joshua and Molotovski
.
I leapt up and tried hopelessly to catch it in my mouth
.
The failure frustrated me and I barked twice
.
My barks inspired Joshua
,
and he said decisively
:
“We don't need to abort the mission – I have an idea
.
Caleb will be the sign!”

“Caleb?”

I wanted to ask the same question – Caleb?

“I'll leave him here
,
tied beside you
.
The moment you spot the convoy
,
release him
.
Caleb will come running to us
.
The distance that would take us fifteen minutes to cross will take him two
.
We'll be ready on time.”

“Do you trust him? Are you sure he won't suddenly stop to chase a butterfly? Are you sure he'll run straight to you?”

Joshua chuckled
,
almost scoffing
.
“I'd bet my life on it.”

“You're betting all of our lives!”

Joshua shook Molotovski's hand and said
,
“I'm not gambling with anyone's life
.
He'll come running to me
.
I'm one hundred percent sure.”

Joshua returned to the partisans waiting by the barrier.

Molotovski sighed and sat by my side.

“You should have known Sukhoi
.
I think you two would have gotten along
.
It was so many years ago
,
way before you were born
.
Some dog decided to give birth in our yard
.
My father
,
he doesn't play any games
.
He wouldn't allow dogs in the yard
.
He took all the puppies and threw them in a barrel of water
.
They all drowned
.
All but one
.
Sukhoi.”

I was waiting to hear how the plot unraveled
,
how Sukhoi finally became a member of their household
,
but three German supply trucks appeared
,
raising pillars of dust as they lumbered along the horizon.

CHAPTER 32

I
am Caleb – faster than the wind
.
My paws barely touched the ground
.
I cut through the high stalks like an arrow
.
I leapt over the thorns like a gazelle and crossed the creek like an otter.

I reached Joshua short of breath
.
I knew that I mustn't bark.

“Good job
,
Caleb!” He petted my head and addressed his friends
.
“Wake up
!
Everyone on the lookout
!
The trucks will be here any moment.”

My belly
,
which was pressed to the ground
,
could already feel the rumble of the nearing trucks
.
My muscles were as taut as violin strings
.
I looked at Joshua to see if he too felt the moment was imminent.

The trucks slowed down
.
As expected
,
the driver of the first truck disembarked to move the barrier
.
It seemed he intended to call to his friends in the trucks behind his and tell them that the barrier was tied
,
but he never had the opportunity
.
Valovanchik's knife sliced through his carotid artery
.
Valovanchik took the driver's machine gun and removed a magazine with twenty-five bullets from the driver's pocket
.
He had never used this model of machine gun
,
but having often watched the Germans in Treblinka use theirs
,
he more or less figured out how it should be done
.
He lowered the safety catch
,
hid near the truck
,
and signaled to Joshua to throw a grenade
.
The grenade hit the door of the third truck and fell to the ground without detonating
.
The truck driver
,
who must have suspected that something had gone wrong
,
climbed out of his truck with his weapon drawn
.
Valovanchik appeared before him and pressed his trigger
,
but the gun refused to fire
.
The truck driver leaned his back on the truck
,
cocked his gun
,
and started firing in a broad circle toward Valovanchik and the rest of us
.
The two Germans in the middle truck jumped out with loaded guns
.
The partisans in the ambush opened fire
.
One of the Germans fell
,
injured
,
before he even shot a single bullet
.
His friend
,
terrified
,
fled.

The driver of the third truck felt around in his pocket
,
searching for a new magazine
.
“Charge
,
Caleb!” Joshua shouted
,
and slapped my back
.
He and his friends rose to battle alongside me.

I don't want to give myself more credit than is due
,
but I swear upon my tail
,
two fingers from the driver's hand were left in my mouth
.
He fell on his back and tried to shield his face
.
The poor man begged for his life
,
but my ears were deaf to his German pleas
.
His distinguished Aryan blood stained my whiskers
.
Then I chased the fleeing driver
.
The victim's scent of fear inflamed my senses
.
The driver tried to look back as he ran
,
lost his balance and fell
.
I bit his face again and again
,
like a mad dog
.
I chewed through him like an eagle picking at a snake.

Within a few minutes
,
Joshua and his friends joined me
.
Joshua grabbed my collar and pulled me back.

“Come
,
Caleb,” he said
.
“Enough
!
There's nothing more to bite
.
You've turned him into a meatball!”

We returned to camp heavily laden with goods.

When we arrived
,
we laid out the plunder
.
Hundreds of boxes of canned goods
,
smoked sausages
,
flour
,
oil
,
vinegar
,
and many kilograms of cabbage
.
The partisans that had remained in camp under the command of Sergei
,
the cook
,
looked at the three newly acquired machine guns and the pile of ammunition that was added to our inventory
,
and shook their heads in disbelief.

“Quite the raid you guys had,” Sergei said with obvious envy.

“Yes,” Molotovski admitted
,
“it was a very successful raid
.
And we couldn't have done it without this amazing dog!” He leaned toward me and petted me with paternal love.

“Comrades!” he boomed
,
and everyone fell silent
.
Joshua listened twice as carefully
,
because he understood that Molotovski was about to say something about me.

“Comrades
!
There isn't a dog in the world as smart and brave as our Caleb
.
I am giving him my medal
.
From this day on
,
this dog will be called Comrade Caleb.” Everyone laughed
.
Sergei placed before me a smoked sausage longer than my tail.

“Comrade Caleb is
,
from today and forever
,
a partisan with equal rights in our camp
.
What can I say? When this dog barks
,
the convoy stops
!
Oh boy
,
does it stop!”