Waggit's Tale (11 page)

Once everyone was in position, Tazar gave the dogs the order to pull. They did this somewhat overenthusiastically, and Lowdown popped out of the hole like a cork from a bottle and flew over their heads. He landed heavily on the grass and with a cry of “Ow!” let go of the vine, rolled over a couple of times, got up, shook himself, and sneezed, but was happy to be out.

Tazar ordered everyone to cover the hole with branches and rocks, and then they started back to the tunnel. Gordo pushed the crate with enthusiasm, literally slobbering in anticipation of the evening meal. Cal, Raz, and Magica tried to steer it over the ice and snow, but whether they helped or hindered was debatable. Waggit, Tazar, and Lowdown followed their erratic progress, with Alona bringing up the rear, of course, and at some distance.

When they arrived back at the camp they emptied the contents of the crate into their own stash, which was so small compared to the Tashinis' that nobody would get stuck in it however short his or her legs were. Their haul filled the shallow hole to the top, even after taking out some of the meat for that night's
supper. Nobody seemed worried about this, because they all felt they could go back to the cave at any time for more.

Waggit wasn't so sure. It seemed to him that anything in an unguarded hole in the ground in a park full of hungry dogs could never be safe. Even though Alona had helped the Tazarians locate it, the fact of the matter was that it didn't take too long to find it if you had a good nose. And apart from anything else, Tashi and Wilbur knew where it was.

As their stash was being covered up again with branches, Waggit turned to the leader.

“Tazar,” he said hesitantly.

“Waggit?” Tazar replied inquisitively.

“We left a lot of food there just now,” Waggit said.

“Yes, we did,” the leader agreed.

“Well, I was thinking, wouldn't it be better if we moved into Tashi's realm now that it isn't Tashi's realm anymore? That way we could guard the stash, and we'd have the feeder in our own realm when it opened up again.” He was nervous at making this suggestion. “It was just a thought.”

“It was a very good thought,” said Tazar sincerely. He was impressed that Waggit was thinking strategically at
such a young age. “There are two things a team needs,” he continued. “One is a safe place to sleep, and the other is a good food supply. This place”—he nodded toward the tunnel—“took us a long time to find, and the reason it took a long time was because hardly anybody knew it was here, and that's a good thing. You saw what Tashi's camp was like, and it isn't a coincidence that the Ruzelas got his team and not ours. If you can find a place as secure as this on the Goldenside, then we'll move, but until then we stay put.”

“But what about the stash? What about the feeder?” Waggit protested.

“We can always find food somehow,” replied Tazar. “We always have, and we probably always will, but to find a camp like this—that's a once-in-a-lifetime find.”

Waggit felt strange about this conversation with the dog he admired most in this world, and he couldn't work out why. Then the reason occurred to him—it was the first time he'd found himself disagreeing with Tazar. Little did he know that this was because he was growing up.

A
nd then the cold came. It was colder than Waggit ever thought it could be. The weather was clear and bright, with blue skies and sunshine, but the temperatures were icy. A constant, biting wind penetrated even the dogs' thick winter coats. It was so cold that they slept in what they called “rotation.” Instead of each having their own space in which to stretch out, they huddled together in a circle in the middle of the tunnel. Because the inside of the circle was much warmer, the dogs in the center periodically got up and
moved to the outside. This way each dog got a turn at being in the warmest place. The only problem with the system was that you had to climb over the other dogs to get to the outer edge. This was fine if the climber was Magica or Alona, but when either Gruff or Gordo made their way to the outside the other dogs sometimes wondered if the extra warmth was worth the pain.

Even during the day, when they were moving around, it was miserable. There hadn't been any more snow, and what was left from the last storm was now packed down hard and frozen solid. This made going anywhere extremely dangerous, for even long claws could get little grip on the slippery surface. There was always the risk of a broken leg, which is serious enough for dogs who live with people and can get the care of a veterinarian, but for the dogs in the park it could be a death sentence.

The most serious problem was the food shortage. As Lowdown had predicted, the Tazarians' stash was nowhere near enough, and as Waggit had feared, the remaining food in Tashi's stash had been taken, either by Tashi himself or by hungry, scavenging loners. Days went by when each dog had too little to eat or sometimes
nothing at all. The colder it got, the more distracted Tazar seemed to be, and the longer his absences became. The team relied on him to organize hunts, using his experience of the park and of the habits of small animals to know where the best spots were likely to be. Adding to all these problems was the fact that there were now two extra, very hungry mouths to feed.

It had happened during the period that the dogs called the Season of Lights. Waggit first noticed it when he and Lowdown were walking along the edge of the Risingside, close to the road that separated the park from the apartment houses. He suddenly became aware of a number of colored lights in the windows, winking on and off. He had also seen similar ones on the collars of the horses that pulled the carriages around the bottom part of the park, and on the carriages themselves. When he asked Lowdown what the lights were for, the older dog said that nobody knew for sure, but there seemed to be a period during the middle of the winter when human beings liked to decorate buildings and other objects with them. He thought it might be because the days were so short at this time, and the darkness so depressing, that it was their way of cheering themselves up. Both
dogs agreed that human beings were mysterious creatures who did a lot of unexplainable things.

Several days later Waggit and Lowdown were wandering around on a fruitless scavenge when they came across a large, brightly colored box. At first they thought it might contain food, but then they noticed that it was moving and that strange squeaking sounds were coming from it. Cautiously they approached it, circling around a couple of times before going up to it. As they got closer the movement and sounds stopped. Waggit gripped the top of the container between his teeth and quickly pulled it back to reveal a couple of very young and very frightened puppies.

“What are you two young things doing in here?” asked Lowdown in his softest, kindest voice. The two little creatures huddled closer to each other, making sad little whimpering sounds.

“My oh my,” said Lowdown, “I think they may be too young to talk.” But later they discovered that this wasn't so; the puppies were just too cold and too frightened to speak.

“What shall we do with them?” asked Waggit. “We can't just leave them here.”

“Of course not,” agreed Lowdown. “We must take
them back to the tunnel.”

“How will we do that? They're too small to walk.”

“We'll do what their mother would do under the same circumstances,” said Lowdown. “We'll carry them in our mouths, gently though.”

He carefully picked up one of the puppies by the loose flesh at the back of its neck. As he did this they both squealed, fearing separation, so Waggit bent tenderly over the other one and lifted it in the same manner. They moved quickly but carefully back to the tunnel, making sure not to slip on the ice and drop their precious packages.

Their arrival got a mixed reception. Alicia haughtily asked what breed the puppies were, while Gruff complained that nowadays they couldn't get enough to feed themselves, without bringing more mouths into the team, particularly those too young to contribute anything to the food supply. Secretly Gordo was thinking the same thing but was too ashamed to admit it, and his initial feeling was changed by Magica's reaction to the puppies, which was one of uncontrolled maternal joy. She cooed, and licked them, and cuddled them in her fur. As Gordo watched her, he too felt a warmth inside that had nothing to do with the weather or anything
other than his love for Magica. Tazar was also deeply affected by the two youngsters. The thought of them being left in a box in the bitter winter weather seemed to cause him physical pain.

When they had warmed up and had been given what little food could be spared, the puppies told a tale that was strange to Waggit but all too familiar to the rest of the team. Their earliest memories were of being in a store with lots of other puppies, as well as kittens and birds and a host of other animals. They couldn't remember having a mother, although they were sure they must have had one at some time. One day two humans took them away from the store and brought them to a house where they lived for several days. Then they were put in a box, the same one in which Waggit and Lowdown had found them. They stayed in it for some time, scared and unsure of what was happening.

Suddenly the lid of the box was lifted, and two older humans looked in. The puppies saw that they were in a room, which strangely enough had a tree growing in it that was covered in lights, and there were lots of humans also opening boxes and talking their strange talk that the puppies couldn't understand. After a hectic
day of eating and being played with by small humans, the older ones took the puppies in the box to another house, but the following day left them in the park where the two Tazarians found them. They had no idea what had happened and why it had happened to them, but now they felt safe surrounded by their own kind. Soon they fell asleep, nestled in Magica's fur.

Of course nobody questioned that the two puppies would stay and be looked after by the team. Anyone suggesting otherwise would have had to deal with Magica. Unless she was hunting they were always within inches of her. If she felt they weren't getting enough food she would give them hers. In short, she became the mother that they had never known. They were known as Little One and Little Two by the team, and spent their days either playing, and yelping in their squeaky voices, or sleeping for many hours, but always under her protective care.

There was no letup to the bitter weather, and the food problem got worse. It was even difficult to get water. All of the lakes were frozen and the fountains had been shut down at the beginning of the winter. Normally the dogs could take mouthfuls of snow when they were thirsty, but there was none, just hard-
packed ice. They survived by chewing on the icicles that had fallen from the ceiling of the tunnel. Everything was frozen: the water was frozen, the food was frozen, the dogs were frozen. It was miserable.

Misery turned to tragedy one day when Magica suddenly had a spasm of pain in her stomach. At first she thought it was because she had eaten very little lately, and that it would go away. But instead it got worse and more frequent, to the point that she could barely stand. She even growled at Little One and Little Two to leave her alone.

Then Gordo came down with the same symptoms. The team was scared. Everyone had heard stories about how whole packs had been wiped out by illnesses that had been passed from one dog to another. Each waited nervously to see who would be next, checking his or her own body for any signs of sickness. Nobody else appeared to be affected, but the two dogs who were seemed to be getting worse by the hour. Magica was unable to stand at all and would go into convulsions. Although not as severe, Gordo's symptoms were the same.

“This is serious,” Lowdown whispered to Waggit. “Go see if you can find Tazar.”

“Sure thing,” said Waggit. “Any idea which way he went?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” answered Lowdown.

As it turned out, Waggit hadn't gone more than a few hundred yards when he came upon Tazar heading toward the tunnel. He quickly explained to the leader what had happened, and they ran back to the camp. Tazar looked at both the stricken dogs and went over to Magica.

“Lady, tell me what you ate since the last rising,” he said, but she could only look at him with sad, suffering eyes as her body twitched in pain. He moved to Gordo.

“Gordo, what have you eaten lately?” he asked with a determined but kind manner.

“Just stuff,” said Gordo.

“What kind of stuff? I need details,” said Tazar.

“Well, let's see…” Gordo stopped midsentence as he clenched his teeth with pain.

“Gordo, listen to me,” said Tazar. “Did you eat a scurry? You and Magica?”

“We might have,” was the reply.

“Might have or did? It's important,” continued Tazar.

“Well, yes, we did share one.”

“Did you kill it?” asked Tazar.

“Almost.”

“Almost!” Tazar was trying to keep his patience with the sick animal. “How in the name of Vinda do you
almost
kill a scurry?”

“Well, it had only just died. It was still warm, so I thought it would be okay,” said Gordo.

Tazar had a rule that the team only ate what they had just killed. Only freshly killed meat was likely to be safe, and not bring sickness into the tunnel, whereas something that was already dead could be lethal. Rats were particularly suspect, for there were periods when their bodies were seen around the park in mysteriously large numbers. The dogs didn't know it, but this was the result of park workers putting down poison when the rats got to be a problem.

“Why, Gordo? Why did you do it? You know the rule,” said Tazar sorrowfully, his flash of impatience past.

“I was worried about Magica,” said Gordo. “She gives nearly all her food to the puppies. I thought she wasn't getting enough to eat, so I went hunting on my own, only I'm not good at it. I'm so clumsy and slow
that any animal hears me coming a long way off. Are we going to die, Tazar?”

“Yes, we are,” replied Tazar, “but hopefully not for a long while.”

Nobody in the tunnel got very much sleep that night. They put both sick dogs in the center of the rotation and kept them there for the entire night, but what with Magica's sudden convulsions and Gordo's groaning there was nothing to do but stay awake and worry.

In the morning things seemed to have improved somewhat. Gordo was actually able to stand a little, and Magica could lick at a piece of ice, although she still lay in pain.

“It's passing through,” said Tazar. And then, less certainly, “Please let it pass through.”

He sent Alona off with Little One and Little Two so that they wouldn't disturb Magica. The shy, awkward animal seemed to have a connection with the puppies that was difficult for her to make with bigger dogs. The puppies themselves knew that something was wrong, but they weren't quite sure what, and under her watchful eye they played happily beneath some trees just a short distance from the mouth of the tunnel.
Tazar also sent Cal and Raz to scavenge and hunt for food, and the rest of the dogs took turns sitting beside either Magica or Gordo. The worst thing was that there was nothing the dogs could do except to wait and see what happened. Waggit looked down fondly at the big, brown, ungainly dog who was his friend. Gordo lifted his head slightly and looked at him with mournful eyes.

“It was still warm, Waggit,” he said. “How could it've been bad?”

“I don't know,” Waggit answered. “I would've probably done the same thing myself.”

Waggit knew in his heart of hearts that this wasn't true, but he said it to make his friend feel better. It didn't work.

“No you wouldn't,” said Gordo. “You're the best hunter on the team. You're fast and quiet, and nothing gets away from you.”

“But if there's nothing to hunt, Gordo,” Waggit tried again, “it doesn't matter how fast and quiet you are.”

“You'd've found something,” Gordo insisted. Then he moaned. “It hurts, Waggit, it hurts.”

“I know it does,” said Waggit. “I wish there was something I could do to take it away from you.”

Gordo looked toward the sleeping form of Magica, who lay quite still.

“Well,” he said, “at least it seems as if she's not in too much pain now.”

“Yes,” Waggit agreed, “she looks okay.”

“She'll probably be better when she wakes up,” said Gordo hopefully.

The day passed uneventfully. Cal and Raz returned empty-mouthed and were promptly sent out again by Tazar, with instructions not to come back until they had some food. Lowdown fussed around the patients, dragging newspaper over them to try to keep them warm. Even Gruff took his turn at comforting Gordo, and Alicia sat motionless, staring at Magica's sleeping form. Tazar and Waggit took turns on sentry duty. It was during one of the times that Waggit was sitting in the tunnel that the puppies returned with Alona. Each had a huge pinecone in his mouth that was almost as big as he was. Little Two dropped his by Magica.

“Mommy Magica, look what Alona found for us,” he said excitedly.

Magica did not wake.