Peverishly but vainly I sc anned each farm entrance in Grampton village
as I shot through, and when I saw the open countryside ahead of me
again the tension was almost unbearable. I was tell ing myself that
the whole thing was hOpeless when in the far distance above a row of
trees I spotted the familiar top f kIallock's wagon It was a high,
wooden-sided vehicle and I couldn't mistake it. Repressing a shout of
triumph I put my foot on the boards and set off in that direction with
/~+0 ve' In a oy`TI the fanatical zeal of the hunter. But it was a
long way off and I hadn't travellq~ a mile before I realised I had lost
it. ~ Over the years many things have stayed in my memory, but the
Great Co] Chase is engraver deeper than most. The sheer terror I felt
is vivid to this dat9 I kept sighting the wagon among the maze of lanes
and side roads but by the time I had cut across country my quarry had
disappeared behind a hillside d dipped into one of the many hollows in
the wide vista. I was constantly deceive~ by the fact that I expected
him to be turning towards Darrow by after passing through a village,
but he never did. Clearly he had other business on the way3L The whole
thing seemed to last a very long time and there was no fun in ~ for me.
I was gripped throughout by a cold dread, and the violent swings if.
alternating scents of hope and despair were wearing to the point of
exhaust io.
I was utterly drained when at last I saw the tall lorry rocking along a
straight road in front of me.
I had him now! Forcing my little car to the limit, I drew abreast of
him sounding my horn repeatedly till he stopped. Breathlessly I pulled
up in front~ of him and ran round to offer my explanations. But as I
looked up into the~ driver's cab my eager smile vanished. It wasn't
Jeff Mallock at all. I had beef 1t following the wrong man.
It was the 'ket feller'. He had exactly the same type of wagon as
Mallock a he went round a wide area of Yorkshire picking up the
nameless odds and en of the dead animals which even the knacker men
didn't want. It was a st rang job and he was a st range-loo king man.
The oddly piercing eyes glittere4, ~ uncannily from under a tattered
army peaked cap. - :~ f~.
"Wot's up, guvnor?" He removed a cigarette from his mouth and sp2~:
companionably into the roadway.
My throat was tight.
"I - I'm sorry. I thought you were Jeff Mallock."
The eyes did not change expression, but the corner of his mouth
twitched F briefly.
"If the wants Jeff he'll be back at his yard now, ah reckon." He sp'
again and replaced his cigarette. .* I I nodded dully. Jeff would be
there now all right long ago. I had been ..
chasing the wrong wagon for about an hour and that cow would be dead
an4( hanging up on hooks at this moment. The knacker man was a fast
and skiff' worker and wasted no time when he got back with his beasts.
i~j: "Well, ah'm off 'ome now," the ket feller' said.
"So long, boss." He winked me, started his engine and the big vehicle
rumbled away. - I trailed back to my car. There was no hurry now. And
strangely now the' all was lost my mood relaxed. In fact, as I drove
away, a great calm settled OD ~: me and I began to assess my future
with cool objectivity. I would be drumau' out of the Ministry's
service for sure, and idly I wondered if they had ar, special ceremony
for the occasion perhaps a ritual stripping of the Par~: Certificates
or something of the sort. t I tried to put away the thought that more
than the Ministry would bl~: interested in my latest exploit. How
about the Royal College? Did they strili~ you off for something like
this? Well, it was possible, and in my serene state4 mind I toyed with
the possibilities of alternative avenues of employment. I h~l.
often thought it must be fun to run a secondhand book shop and now
that' began to consider it seriously I felt sure there was an opening
for one~ Darrow by. I experienced a comfortable glow at the vision of
myself sit ting und.
the rows of dusty volumes, pulling one down from the shelf when I felt
liked or maybe just loo king out into the street through the window
from my safe little world where there were no forms or telephones or
messages saying,
"Ring Mi In Darrow by I drove round without haste to the knacker yard.
I left my.
outside the grim little building with the black smoke drifting from its
chim' *.~
~G ~616 ~=}~116
I pulled back the sliding door and saw Jeff seated at his ease on a
pile G. l hides, holding a slice of apple pie in blood-stained fingers.
And, ah yes, the~
I
just behind him hung the two great sides of beef and on the floor, the
lungs | bowels and other viscera the sad remnants of Mr Moverley's
pedigree Ayrshire.
/ "Hello, Jeff," I said.
"Now then, Mr Herriot." He gave me the beatific smile which mirrored
his personality so well.
"Ah'm just havin' a little snack. I all us like a bite about this
time' He sank his teeth into the pie and chewed appreciatively.
"So I see." I sorrowfully sc anned the hanging carcase. Just dog meat
and not even much of that. Ayrshires were never very fat. I was
wondering how to break the news to him when he spoke again.
"Ah'm sorry you've caught me out this time, Mr Herriot," he said,
reaching for a greasy mug of tea.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I all us reckon to have t'beast dressed and ready for you but
you've come a bit early."
I stared at him.
"But ... every thing's here, surely." I waved a hand around me.
"Nay, nay, that's noter
"You mean . . . that isn't the cow from Moverley's."
"That's right." He took a long draught from the mug and wiped his
mouth with the back of his hand.
"I 'ad to do this 'un first. Moverley's cow's still in t'wagon out at
the back."
"Alive?"
He looked mildly surprised.
"Aye, of course. She's never had a finger on 'en Nice cow for a screw,
too."
I could have fainted with relief.
"She's no screw, Jeff. That's the wrong cow you've got there?"
"Wrong cow ?" No thing ever startled him but he obviously desired more
information. I told him the whole story.
When I had finished, his shoulders began to shake gently and the
beautiful clear eyes twinkled in the pink face.
"Well, that's a licker," he murmured, and continued to laugh gently.
There was nothing immoderate in his mirth and indeed nothing I had said
disturbed him in the least. The fact that he had wasted his journey or
that the farmer might be annoyed was of no moment to him.
Again, loo king at Jeff Mallock, it struck me, as many times before,
that there was nothing like a lifetime of dabbling among diseased car
cases and lethal bacteria for breeding tranquillity of mind.
"You'll slip back and change the cow?" I said.
"Aye, in a minute or two. There's nowt spoil in'. Ah never likes to
&n
bsp; hurry me grub' He belched contentedly.
"And how about you, Mr Herriot? You could do with sum mat to keep
your strength up." He produced another mug and broke off a generous
wedge of pie which he offered to me.
i...."No no er no, thank you, Jeff. It's kind of you, but no no . .
not just now."
He shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he stretched an arm for his
pipe which was balanced on a sheep's skull. Flicking away some shreds
of stray t"SSue from the stem he applied a match and settled down
blissfully on the hides.
"I'll see ye later, then," he said.
"Come round tonight and every thing'll be ready for you." He closed
his eyes and again his shoulders quivered.
"Ah'd better get the right 'un this time."
It must be more than twenty years since I took a cow under the TB
Order, `~"But do come in,i she giggled.
"Forgive me for keeping you stan ding on t1: step, but I'm all of a
dither!" n~ T wPnt n~ct hPr intn the '
"Well it's very understandable. It must hav~.~.> . , because the
clinical cases so rarely exist now.
"Ring Mites' no longer has the~ power to chill my blood, and the dread
forms which scarred my soul lie unused and yellowing in the bottom of a
drawer.
All these things have gone from my life. Charles Harcourt has gone
too, but I think of him every day when I look at the little barometer
which still hangs on my wall.
Chapter Nine "Oh Mr Herriot!" Mrs Ridge said delightedly.
"Somebody stole our car last] night." She looked at me with a radiant
smile. ~i F~ I was Iying on my bed in the barrack hut at Wink field
listening to somebody ;~ on the radio adjuring people to immobilise
their cars in wartime when this lady, st range remark bubbled back from
my veterinary days. ~ I stopped in the doorway of her house.
"Mrs Ridge, I'm terribly sorry,."
How . . . ?" P PY.
"Yes, yes, oh I can't wait to tell you!" Her voice trembled with
excitement and ~.
joy.
"There must have been some prowlers around here last night, and I'm
such a silly about leaving the car unlocked."
"I see . . . how unfortunate."
"But do come in,i she giggled.
step, but I'm all of a dither!"
I went past her into the lounge.
"Well, it's very u' been quite a shock."
"Shock? Oh, but you don't see what I mean. It's wonderful!"
"Eh ?"
"Yes, of course!" She clasped her hands and looked up at the
ceiling.
"Do you s: know what happened?"
"Well yes," I said.
"You've just told me."
"No, I haven't told you half."
"You haven't?"
"No, but do sit down. I know you'll want to hear all about it."
..~: ~ ..
. ~: To explain this I have to go back ten days to the afternoon when
Mrs Rid~e ran: tearfully up the steps of Skeldale House.
"My little dog's had an accident," she gasped.
I looked past her.
"Where is he?"
"In the car. I didn't know whether I should move him."
I crossed the pavement and opened the door. Her Cairn terrier, Joshua,
la~ very still on a blanket on the back seat.
"What happened?" I asked.
out a hand over her eyes.
"Oh it was terrible. You know he often plal' -mer's field opposite our
house well about half an hour ago he stat*4 rabbit and ran under the
wheels of a tractor. ~1 ,from her face to the motionless animal and
back again. 'sit ~ lll o outside n, 'r him?"
~s the tears streamed down her cheeks.
Vet ~n a ~S'pin I took her by the arm.
"Mrs Ridge, this is important. Are you absolutely sure that wheel
passed right over his body?"
"Yes, I am quite cert ain. I saw it happen. I couldn't believe he'd
be alive when I ran to pick him up." She took a long breath.
"I don't suppose he can live after that, can he?"
I didn't want to depress her but it seemed impossible that a small dog
like this could survive being crushed under that great weight. Massive
internal damage Would be inevitable apart altogether from broken bones.
It was sad to see the little sandy form Iying still and unheeding when
I had watched him so often running and leaping in the fields.
"Let's have a look at him," I said.
I climbed into the car and sat down on the seat beside him. With the
utmost care I felt my way over the limbs, expecting every moment to
feel the crepitus which would indicate a fracture. I put my hand
underneath him very slowly supporting his weight every inch of the way.
The only time Joshua showed any reaction was when I moved the pelvic
girdle.
The best sign of all was the pink ness of the mucous membranes of eye
and mouth and I turned to Mrs Ridge rather more hopefully.
"Miraculously he doesn't seem to have any internal haemorrhage and
there are no limb bones broken. I'm pretty sure he has a fractured
pelvis, but that's not so bad."
She drew her fingers over the smears on her cheeks and looked at me
wide-eyed.
"You really think he has a chance?"
"Well I don't want to raise your hopes unduly, but at this moment I
can't find any sign of severe injury."
"But it doesn't seem possible."
I shrugged.
"I agree, it doesn't, but if he has got away with it I can only think
it was because he was on soft ground which yielded as the wheel
squeezed him down. Anyway, let's get him X-rayed to make sure."
At that time, in common with most large animal practices, we didn't
have an X-ray machine, but the local hospital helped us out in times of
need. I took IJoshua round there and the picture confirmed my
diagnosis of pelvic fracture.
"There's not much I can do," I said to his mistress.
"This type of injury usually heals itself. He'll probably have
difficulty in stan ding on his hind legs for a while and for several
weeks he'll be weak in the rear end, but with rest and time he ought to
recover."
"Oh marvellous!" She watched me place the little animal back on the
car seat.
"I suppose it's just a matter of waiting, then?"
"That's what I hope."
My fears that Joshua might have some internal damage were finally
allayed when I saw him two days later. His membranes were a rich deep
pink and all natural functions were operating.
Mrs Ridge, however, was still worried.
she said.
"Just look at him he's lifeless."
"Well you know he must be bruised and sore after that squashing he
had.
And he was very shocked, too. You must be patient."
As I spoke, the little dog stood up, wobbled a few feet across the
carpet and flopped down again. He showed no interest in me or his
surroundings.
Before I left I gave his mistress some salicylate tablets to give
him.
"These will ease his discomfort," I said.
"Let me know if he doesn't improve."
She did let me know within forty-eight hours.
"I wish you'd come and see Joshua again," she said on the phone.
"I'm not at all happy about him."
The little animal was as before. I looked down at him as he lay
dejectedly on the rug, head on his paws, loo king into the fireplace.
~ ~ i ~ "Come on, [oshua, old lad," I said.
"You must be feeling better now." I be and rubbed my fingers along the
wiry coat, but neither word or gesture ma any impression. I might as
well not have been there.
Mrs Ridge turned to me worriedly.
"That's what he's like all the time. A you know how he is normally."
"Yes, he's al ways been a ball of fire." Again I recalled him jumping
round me legs, gazing up at me eagerly.
"It's very st range."
"And another thing," she went on.
"He never utters a sound. And you know that worries me more than
anything because he's al ways been such a good little watch dog. We
used to hear him barking when the early post came, he barke, at the
milk boy, the dust man, everybody. He was never a yappy dog, but he Is
know when anybody was around."
"Yes . . ." That was another thing I remembered. The tumult of sound
fron within whenever I rang the door bell.
"And now there's just this dreadful silence. People come and go but he
neve even looks up." She shook her head slowly.
"Oh, if only he'd bark! Just once!
think it would mean he was get ting better."
"It probably would," I said.
"Is there something else wrong with him, do you think?" she asked.
I thought for a moment or two.
"No, I'm convinced there isn't. Not physically anyway. He's had a
tremendous fright and he has withdrawn within himself He'll come out of
it in time."
As I left I had the feeling I was trying to convince myself as much as
Mr Ridge. And as, over the next few days she kept phoning me with bad
report about the little dog my confidence began to ebb.
It was a week after the accident that she begged me to come to the hous
again. Joshua was unchanged. Apathetic, tail tucked down, sad-eyed
and stil soundless.
His mistress was obviously under strain.
"Mr Herriot," she said.
"What are we going to do about him."
I produced stethoscope and thermometer and examined the little animal
again.; Then I palpated him thoroughly from head to tail. When I had
finished I squatted on the rug and looked up at Mrs Ridge.
"I can't find anything new. You'll just hate to be patient."
.. ~L_.~_ I . . . ~
, ."
~uk lllat b wnat you sala ne tore, and I feel 1 can t go on much longer
lilce "Still no barking?" ,<^ She shook her head.
"No, and that's what I'm waiting for. He eats a little: walks around a
little, but we never hear a sound from him. I know I'd sto, worrying
if I heard him bark, just once, but otherwise I have a horrible feel
ins he's going to die. . ."
I had hoped that my next visit would be more cheerful but though I was
greatl' "elieved at Mrs Ridge's high spirits I was surprised, too. J; I
sat down in one of the comfortable chairs in the lounge. ~ "Well I
hope you'll soon recover your car," I said. .;6 She waved a hand
negligently.
"Oh, it'll turn up somewhere, I'm sure." ` "But still you must be very
upset."
"Upset? Not a bit! I'm so happy!
"Happy? About losing the car. . .?"
"No, not about that. About Joshua."
"Joshua ?"
vel ~n a op~n /bl ~Yes." She sat down in the chair opposite and leaned