by Peter Howe
There was a stunned silence after Tazar finished talking. Waggit felt the hackles on the back of his neck start to rise, but he knew that getting angry would do him no good, so he tried to calm himself.
“Tazar,” he said when he felt composed, “you are the leader of this team, and because of your good leadership we have all survived much adversity. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here today; I know that and the rest of the team does too. And it is true that like the rest of us I have suffered much at the hands of Uprights. I have been deceived, abandoned, and betrayed, but you’re also right when you say that I believe there must be some good ones among their number. Not all dogs are good, you know that, and I cannot accept that all Uprights are bad. So far Felicia has been generous, kind, and caring. I beg you to reconsider.”
Once again silence fell on the team, not a peaceful silence but one that was oppressive and heavy. Tazar looked down at Waggit from his vantage point and addressed him directly.
“Waggit,” he said in a quieter but still firm voice, “I have loved you like a son. I have watched you mature. I have seen you learn to hunt and become wise in the ways of the park. I have witnessed the close bonds grow that tie you in love and affection to all the members of this team. But you have one blind spot, one fatal flaw. You look for good where there is none; you trust and are repaid with deceit. It is your one defect, and it will bring you down, but I will not allow it to bring down the team as well. If you will not do as I say, then you cannot come back to this team. You must live as a loner.”
“In that case,” Waggit said, his voice trembling slightly, “so be it.”
Tazar’s eyes widened. This was clearly not the answer he had been expecting.
“Are you telling me that you would take an Upright over the team?” he asked incredulously.
“This is not just any Upright,” Waggit replied, feeling more confident as he spoke. “This is an Upright who has shown me nothing but kindness, who loves dogs, in fact, is almost a dog herself. Her generosity has not only benefited me but all of us, including you, Tazar. It is wrong of you to test my loyalty to the team by making me betray my loyalty to her. If you wish me to leave the team, then I will, but it will be your decision, not mine.”
When he finished speaking his heart was pounding. He had just told his leader, and a dog that he truly admired, that he was wrong. But he stood his ground, looking Tazar straight in the eyes. Murmurs of surprise, and what sounded like agreement, were heard from the other team members.
“No, Waggit, it will be my decision.”
Everyone whirled around to see Felicia, accompanied by Lug, come out from the trees where she had been standing. She stood tall and dignified as she looked down on Tazar.
“I will not let this happen,” she continued. “I will not be the thing that separates Waggit from the team. He loves you all, and he belongs here. You are his life; I am merely passing through. I will leave the park today, and you will see me no more, but before I go think of how I could have served you if I had stayed. I understand your language and that of Uprights, and I can find out what is happening in the park and warn you far quicker than you would otherwise know. I can scavenge food from the Dumpsters at the restaurant without attracting attention.” She paused to smile. “I already look like a homeless person anyway, what I believe you call a Skurdie, so nobody would take any notice of me. I have fingers that can remove a burr from a paw. I can do many things, but what I can do most for you is to protect you from my own kind.”
Mutterings of “Well, she’s got a point,” and “It’s worth thinking about” were heard from the team, and then Olang spoke for the first time.
“And another thing you can do for us is tell the Ruzelas where we are and help them round us up and take us to the Great Unknown like they did Tashi’s team. We’ve survived very well without your help, and we don’t want it now.”
Tazar ignored this and turned to address Felicia.
“And why would you do this for us?” he inquired. “Why would you freely offer us these services?”
“Because I like you,” she said. “Because I like all of you. I admire your honesty and your loyalty and the way you take care of one another. I wish my species could live the way you live, and some do, but not many. Because it would be fun to spend time with you, and I have nothing better to do for the moment, which doesn’t mean that I won’t in the future. I am a restless person, and I find it hard to stay anywhere for too long, but for the present I would be happy living here among you.”
“And why,” said Tazar, “should we trust you to not betray us to the Ruzelas?”
“Look at me,” she said. “I’m as much an outsider to them as you are. If they could lock me up in the Great Unknown they would, but they can’t. I try not to break too many of their rules, but I don’t follow them blindly, either.”
Tazar frowned his thoughtful frown.
“I must think about this,” he said.
Olang slid up to his father and spoke to him in a whisper that Waggit could just hear.
“What’s there to think about, Pa? She’s an Upright. You always told me not to trust Uprights, that they’re our enemies. They never change. At least, that’s what I think, for what it’s worth.”
“What you think means the world to me,” Tazar assured him in a quiet voice. “I have hated Uprights all my life, and with good reason, but maybe this could work for us. To have an Upright on our side, one who can move among them and who understands them, one who speaks their language, well, that would be of real value that we could use. It might be worth taking the risk.”
“Well, of course, Father, I will always bow to your judgment,” said Olang. “You are infinitely wiser than me. I merely learn the ways of leadership from your example.”
“You are a good student, my son,” Tazar declared, “and one day you will be a great leader of this team. Your point is well taken, and we will exercise the utmost caution in our dealings with Felicia.”
He then turned back to the assembled team and addressed Felicia, who stood in their midst.
“Felicia,” he said, “Olang and I have discussed this matter further, and we have decided that we may have judged you too quickly. If you are prepared to do as you say, you can be a great asset for this team. You are welcome to live with us for as long as you like. And Waggit, you are a brother, a team member. Stay with us. You would make a very poor loner.”
There were murmurs of approval from the team at Tazar’s pronouncement. Felicia looked him directly in the eye and said:
“Thank you, Tazar. I am aware of the high honor you give me, and I will do nothing to betray your trust.” She turned her head toward Olang. “But then maybe you cannot betray that which you don’t have.”
Olang gave her a look of contempt and turned his back on her. Tazar then gave out the assignments of the day to each member of the team, and they began to disperse. As Waggit was walking away Olang came up to him and hissed in his ear:
“You may have won today, Waggit, but that was just a skirmish. The battle is yet to come.”
Tazar saw the exchange between the two dogs, and he came up to Waggit after Olang had left.
“What is the problem between you and my son?” he asked. “We don’t need discord on the team. It makes everyone join sides, and we become weaker.”
“It’s not just my problem, Tazar,” Waggit replied, dipping into his newfound reservoir of courage. “It’s the whole team’s problem, including yours.”
“And what is this obstacle to harmony that we all share?” Tazar was beginning to sound irritated again.
Waggit took a deep breath. “You remember when you asked me about the team being so down in the mouth?” he asked.
Tazar nodded.
“Well, I didn’t tell you then, but I should have.” Waggit stopped for a second.
“Tell me what?” asked Tazar.
“It’s Olang.” Waggit finally got it out. “They are all fearful of Olang. He’s a bull
y and does terrible things, and nobody says a word because he’s your son and they don’t want to upset you and make you angry, but they’re getting angry as well, and he’s getting worse.”
After this flood of words Tazar sat down and seemed to be deep in thought. He didn’t speak for several minutes. Then quietly he asked Waggit, “What kind of terrible things?”
“Well,” said Waggit, “he steals food and tells you he made the kill on a hunt when he didn’t, and things like that.”
“That doesn’t sound so terrible,” Tazar replied with a smile. “It seems more like a boyish prank or two.”
When Waggit thought about it, they did seem like trivial things to complain about. He wished he could remember some of the other incidents that the team told him about, but his mind went blank.
“You know, Waggit,” Tazar continued, “the dogs are bound to be jealous of Olang. They know how much I love him, and they know that one day he will be their leader. Oh, I know he gets annoyed when he thinks that they’re being lazy or doing stupid things, and he may be a little harsh on them, but he’s young. He’s still learning how to be a leader. He’s going to be your leader too, and he’s going to need your help and your smarts to make this team the best it can be, so let’s have no more of this nonsense. Go make up with him.”
And with that he brushed warmly against Waggit and walked off, leaving him in the middle of the clearing—speechless.
19
Home Improvement
The dogs resumed their usual occupations. Those who hunted went out in search of prey. Tazar was busy organizing everything, with Olang constantly by his side. As a result of this, Olang actually contributed very little to the daily needs of the team, but strutted around looking bossy. Gruff complained, Alicia preened, and Lowdown spent most of the day lying on rocks warmed by the sun, which he said was the best thing for his old body. One day he was doing just that when Waggit came and lay down beside him.
“Don’t tell me your young limbs need warming,” Lowdown said.
“No,” replied Waggit, “but I’ve been thinking.”
“Oh.” Lowdown chortled. “No wonder you need to lie down then!”
“Be serious,” said Waggit.
“Pardon me,” said Lowdown. “You should’ve told me this was going to be a serious conversation. I need warning.”
“What do you think about the pipe?” Waggit asked, ignoring his last remark.
“I try to think about it as little as possible,” Lowdown replied. “It’s not great, but we ain’t found nothing better, and we scoured the Deepwoods looking for something else.”
“It’s cramped, and the rain comes in, but the worst thing is there’s only one way out. If the Ruzelas were standing at the entrance they’d have us trapped. There’s no place to go.”
“You’re right,” agreed Lowdown. “Whenever Olang kept going on about how secure it is I always thought about that. It may be secure but it ain’t safe.”
“So here’s what I’ve been thinking,” continued Waggit. “We know that for whatever reason the pipe broke in two places, and earth trickled in and blocked the ends. Am I right?”
“So far,” said Lowdown.
“But it must’ve gone somewhere at one time, mustn’t it? I mean, Uprights don’t go to the bother of burying a pipe for no reason.”
“No,” agreed Lowdown, “even for them that would be dumb.”
“So what I was thinking was,” Waggit continued, “why don’t we try and dig through the earth at the lower end and see if we can break through to the rest of the pipe? Worst thing is we get more room, and the best would be an escape route.”
“You think you could do it?” asked Lowdown. “What would you do with all the dirt you dug out?”
“We’d need to get Felicia to help with that,” said Waggit. “It’s a job for hands, not paws.”
“You’re right,” agreed Lowdown, “although she could probably persuade the stuff into coming out by itself.”
“But what d’you think of it as an idea? Is it worth doing?” asked Waggit.
“I don’t see what you’ve got to lose by trying,” replied Lowdown, “provided, of course, you don’t bring the whole thing down on your heads. You’d better run it past Tazar before you start.”
“Of course I’d ask Tazar first,” said Waggit. “I just wanted to get your opinion before I go see him.”
“Don’t forget to talk to him about Olang,” Lowdown reminded him.
“I already did,” said Waggit miserably.
“And what did he say?” asked Lowdown.
“He told me to make up with Olang.”
“Didn’t want to hear anything against him, right?”
“Right.”
“Oh, well,” Lowdown said with a sigh. “At least you tried.”
But in his heart Waggit knew he hadn’t tried hard enough.
He saw Tazar later on that day and explained his plan in much the same way that he had described it to Lowdown.
“Sounds like an interesting idea,” was Tazar’s response. “What do you think, Olang?”
“I don’t see what’s wrong with the pipe as it is now,” whined Olang. “I know Waggit doesn’t like sleeping there because he’s used to more splendid accommodations, but I haven’t heard any complaints from the rest of the team, who do stay there every night.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the pipe,” Tazar reassured his son. “It’s the security aspect of this plan that interests me. It would be easy to be trapped there as it stands now. This is good thinking, Waggit. Well done.”
Olang glowered at Waggit when Tazar said this.
When the dogs gathered for the evening meal Tazar cleared his throat and addressed them.
“Listen up,” he announced. “Waggit has come up with a plan that might make our living conditions a little better. Tell them about it, Waggit.”
Although this wasn’t strictly necessary, because Waggit had been enthusiastically telling everyone about it all afternoon, he went through the process again of describing what they would do, how they would do it, and why. When he had finished Tazar said, “I think it’s a good plan. We’ll start tomorrow. Waggit, Gordo, Cal, and Raz will be diggers, Little One and Little Two will take the dirt away, and Magica and Alona will help Felicia get it out of the pipe and get rid of it. Olang will assist wherever he’s needed.”
“That’ll make a nice change,” whispered Lowdown in Waggit’s ear.
Waggit had indeed solved the problem of how to dispose of the earth that the diggers removed. Felicia always carried a piece of blue tarpaulin that she used to put under her sleeping bag when the ground was wet. He had figured out that if she tied a piece of string to each corner and shoved the tarpaulin through the entry hole, Little One and Little Two could then take it to where the diggers would be working. The dogs would scoop the earth and rocks onto the tarp, and when there was enough Little One and Little Two would drag it to the entry hole and take the string in their mouths over to Felicia’s waiting hands. She would then pull the tarpaulin and the earth up through the hole and dispose of it in a suitable location with the assistance of the two females. Nobody had thought to give Lug a job to do, so he just tagged along with Felicia as usual.
Everyone was up early the following morning, eager to start the project. They were all excited about what might be behind the wall of earth, and each of them claimed to have thought about it before but hadn’t said anything to anyone else. Activity always brought out the best in Tazar, and he marched up and down organizing and giving orders, while Olang spent most of his time scowling and muttering under his breath that this was all a waste of time.
There was no room for more than two dogs at the face of the dig, so Tazar decided that the diggers would work in shifts. This had the added benefit of reducing the possibility of injury, because digging too long could result in broken claws or cut pads.
At first it took Little One and Little Two some time to get the tarpaulin in position, m
ostly because the pipe was so narrow that one of them always ended up standing on the material as the other tried to tug it into place. This caused a few growls, but finally it was ready. The next obstacle was Gordo’s enthusiasm combined with his strength. His first attempts at digging were so energetic that the dirt missed the tarpaulin altogether and covered Little One and Little Two from head to paw. When he and Waggit finally got the hang of getting the dirt on the sheet another problem occurred. The entry hole was so small that if there was too much dirt on the tarpaulin it got too big to pull through. Because only a small quantity of earth could be brought out each time, the whole process was slow, but gradually the dirt blocking the pipe became less and less.
Waggit and Gordo were resting above ground while Cal and Raz dug when they heard a howl of excitement from Cal. They rushed into the pipe to find all four dogs who were working down there crowded around the far end. As Waggit ran up to them he could feel a cool breeze of damp, fresh air blowing in his face. The dogs parted to let him through, and there, right in the middle of the earth blocking the pipe, was a small hole through which not only the breeze came, but soft daylight as well. Waggit put one eye to the hole, and he could see that the pipe ran for a considerable distance. At the end he could glimpse filtered sunlight and hear the sound of running water.
