THE COMING OF MOSES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21325, 28 October 1932, Page 4

THE COMING OF MOSES

By ROBERT I*. WILSON

Sandy Muir and Tremain had met squarely in the long cutting 011 the Derwent Road. With a turn of his bridle band Sandy bad been for passing by on his own side, with a curt nod and impenetrable masked face, but. Tremain had turned his liorso across his path, forcing it to draw rein. Silently he waited for tho other to state his business. Tremain's dark, furtive eyes had met Sandy's for an instant and dropped to rovo restlessly, as if takiug in each detail of his gear, and of his mount. He smiled crookedly. " I was wonderin', Sandy, if you'd have any objection to mating Jock with my little black and white bitch ? I reckon your dog's the best heading dog in the North Island, and I reckon that Maid s the best bitch, though there's many'd dispute it, M He lifted bis head and looked across the valley. '* Seem* what lies between us two, there aint much chance of bqryin' the hatchet, but dogs are dogs, and that's different. You know as well as I do that a pup by Jock from Maid could clean, them all up." Sandy allowed himself a cautious " Ay." Taking this for encouragement, Tremain rushed his fences. " Well, what about it?" For a moment the roving eye met the probing steel of the old man's gaze, and fell before it again. " There would bo condeetions, Tremain." " Anything you like in reason. We'd go fifty-fifty in the pups, of course." " An' if there's only one pup? " Tremain flashed a glance across the other's face. " Oh, well, in that case it would he mine, but that's not very likely, is it ? " " A've kenped it," said Sandy dryly. : V But it will bo less likely to happen if ye bring the butch to bide with me for twa months to hao her pupies an' lot them [ graw till weanin. That's my condeetion, j Tremain." | The averted eyes glittered, and the teeth bared for a second before Tremain spoke. " Oh, well, have it your own way, Sandy. I will let you know when it will be. So long," and he rode off. As Sandy rode homewards to his duties of head shepherd at Glen Tui, John ienton's sheep run, he mused on this chance meeting with Tremain —on what, as iremain had said, lay between them, his share in the conviction of Tremain and Tremain's employer, Matthew Skelton, 'for sheep stealing-—and as he turned in the homestead gate he told himself with a . half smile that " dogs are dogs, an' that's d.oeferent." * * * » * Three months later, Sandy, at the Glen Tui gate, took delivery of the little black and white bitch, Maid, from Tremain, and lied hei; carefully on a carefully-inspected chain, in his best kennel. " Ye puir wee butch, a'll get ye tf\e boss' loose box for a hoosc, he does'na use it." And get. it he did next day; for Sandy seldom asked, and Fenton never denied. So in the large, well-lighted airy loose box, with its hard beaten earthen floor, and its pile of sweet hay in the corner, Maid was installed, and the door locked upon her, that no stray intruder might carelessly leave the way free for her escape to Skcltoo's run. » * * * * April was closing. Clutching was ovef, and Sandy felt free to take a week off in Derwent. He had money to bank and shopping to do. Tb'\ owner of Glen Tui had said that it would be quite convenient; so off he went at the week-end, but not before he had loft full instructions with the cowboy to feed his dogs, and especially tho " wee black and white butch." I do not know whether in the ordinarycourse of things, Sandy would have arrived at Glen Tui after his week's vacation, soberly and respectably, for he himself would not have been quite sure; but I do know that the scales were weighed against him with the jovial, generous bulk of Angus MacPherson, the shepherd from Greenhills, plus Angus MacPherson's bagpipes. Luckily he had got his business done before Angus and he found each other in the bar parlour of tho Caledoniau Hotel. It was fortunate, too for Sandy, that at tho next week-end " Big Alec MacFarlane," the Malvern head shepherd, paid a visit to Derwent, for he was the only man in the district whose lead for homo Sandy, in holiday mood, would have followed. , . MacFarlane delivered him at Glen Tui in tho dusk of the Sunday evening, with 5 storm brewing in the bills, and Sandy, having had rather a strenuo is week, went to bed, while outside the storm broke and the rain gusts drowned all other sounds on the sleeping station. In the loose oox Maid was restless. She roamed tlie confines of her prison, sniffing at the moist outer air through the. chinks. At. times she took a stand facing tho door with gaze lifted wistfuly, hopefully. Ou this night of pights she longed as never before for freedom. At times sjie whined, whimperingly. Suddenly she faced the aide of the box, rigid, in an intensity of listening, then reared on her hind legs she clawed the wall, and barked in an ecstacy. Down to her feet again crouched low, straining to squeeze her little sharp white muzzle under the wall. Then in a frenzy she scratched at tho carthern floor where it was soft and loose at tho base of the wall; scratched as if life itself were the issue. At dawn, under Matthew Skelton's woolshed she was snuggled down ill a large packing case, half filled with pieces of wool, licking contentedly a squeaking, squirming, wriggling mass of hungriness. There Tremain sought her at. sunrise, and dragging her, box and all, into tho light of day, clipped a chain to her collar and chained her to a, rail. With evident distaste at the fleas hopping in the wool, ho took the puppies and placed them one by one on the ground, examining them minutely. He selected one made in the image of its mother, and took it back; to her. He lifted the others back into the box and carried it gingerly down to the creek, roaring, swollen with the night's rain. He stood for a moment, the box S cased, and smiled evilly: " There, Sandy tuir, are your pups," and he swung the box far out into the current. It. struck the water right nide up, tilted, tipping the puppies into tho stream, all save ohe, which sl.id back down the side on to the wool, as the box righted itself, and wept sailing downstream. Tremain stood for a moment watching the drowning puppiesMaid watched also, straining at her chain and barking, fitfully ceasing to nose the one left to her. Her master took her to her own kennel, and throwing in gome hay for bedding, put her puppy in with her. H« paused, hesitating before leaving her, then loosed her from the chain, and leaving her seemingly content, went up to the house. And the little blind puppy lay on its back, clawing the air, whining and wriggling, straining to turn over, at last managing to do so, and finding a hollow in tho wool where its sides felt the warmth, its cries gradually ceased. The box whirling in tho eddies, sped on the current and the rain ceased, and a merciful mist came down and cioaked the surface of the stream, making sure sanctuary from the curiosity of swooping hawks,

A NEW ZEALAND STORY

(COPTRIGBTJ

Maid licked and fed her single puppy, and leaving it asleep, sped to the creekside, a sniffing, quivering little mother, with but one aim. Sho travelled down the bank in short runs of a few yards, stopping jerkily, her ears pricked to scan the swirling water, on and on until & bend At Fenton's invitation MacFarlane had stayed the night at Glen Tui, and consented to stay a few days, " because, as Fenton bad said, " you are trie only map who can handle Sandy when he's like this." Fenton had arranged the matter bv telephone with tho Sprott_ Brothers, owners of Malvern. So " Big Alec' stayed. . In the morning by dint of much diplomacy he inveigled Sandy away from his bottle into the fresh air, to go tho ?ound of the dogs. Sandy swayed ab<?ut among them and over them, making mncb of them and they of him. He spent more time with Jock than tho others, and presently it seemed ta Alec that he became quieter, as if striving to remember something. Suddenly he clutched Alec'w arm. " Come, Alec, a'll show ye eqmethip'." He swayed alopg until they halted W. front of the loose box/dooi". He fumbled at the catch. " It's locked," said Alec. " Ay, it's locked. Where's the boy: The boy happened to bo passing snd AleQ §igna,Ued hini. lie unlocked we d.Qor and together they entered. Although A'ec saw at a glance that the box was empty, it took Sandy several rounds of inspection to convince himself that it was »9Alec noted the hole scratched under the wall, and examining the ground outside, found two little square pieces of meat at the edge of tho hole, close to the wall. He guided the old man out and pointed out to him these signs of foul play. Sandy was sober enough to understand, but not to exercise bis normal control, and it took Alec some time to paoify him. In doing so he gradually got him worked away from tho buildings and headed for the privacy of the creek bank, till roundiug a bend the buildings were hidden from them, Thus they wandered on across tho creek flats, Alec tactfully humouring the old man's talk into congenial channels. . The next bend brought tb.em full ;n view of a long stretch of still water, and of a tiny drama that the Fates had chosen to enact at their very feet. A few yard? from the bank, floated a box, aud swim* jning strongly alongside it, her teeth gripping a corner, was ' Maid,' Sometim.es she lost her grip and floundered, but always she persevered, until tho box grounded on the stones nea-r the bank. Alec had gripped Sandy's arm, and by the very intensity of it kept him silent. The "bitch shook the water from her coat, and placing her front paws on the edge of the box, reached in and took the puppy in her mouth. Gently, Alec spoke her name. Sho turned quickly, perceiving them for the first time. She would have fled, taking the puppy with her, but that Sandy spoke in accents of perfect confidence, born of the optimism of alcohol. In his favour also was the fact that he had fed her for some days prior to his trip to Derwent. " Gie us tho puppy yo we c leddy," and he staggered towards her with hand outstretched, and patted her head and took the puppy from her mouth, she all unresisting and gently wagging her tail. " Mon, Alec, ' tis auld Jock over again," and he sat down heavily on the wet ground and held the puppy in his palm while Maid licked it. ''Mon Alec, isna it like auld Jock? It has his heid an' his feet an" his colour. Let's gang hame an' warnn it, the puir wee scrap." He got to his feet with some difficulty, and placed the puppy inside his shirt. " We'll ea' tho littl'n Moses, Alec. 'Tis fittin." " We'll ring that scut o' a Tremain, an' tell him we wull be adoptin it." Alee grinned appreciation. With Maid fussing round them they reached Fenton's quarters and made their way to his office. As they knocked they could faintly hear his voice in what was; evidently a telephone conversation, They entered at his bidding. /" Oh, here is Muir now, hang on,'' he said into the receiver. He turned on the two men. " Tremain is ringing to say that his bitch, Maid, must have, arrived there last, night for be found her under the woolshed this morning with one pup. He saya he is sorry, but, according to your agreement, there will be no pup for you Sandy. But you had better speak to him yourself." " A wull," said Sandy, and he took the receiver. " Guid day Tremain. What is this ye're tellin' us aboot one pup?" Silently, Alec reached for the second receiver. Fenton was smiling uncertainly. Perfect serenity lit the faces of tfce two shepherds as they listened to a recapitulation of Tremain's story to Fenton, Sandy wagged a finger at the elephone. " Noo that's too baad Tremain. What kind o' a pup was it she bad ? A wee butch like hersel, ye say? Weel! Weel! A'ni disappointed. But. the Lord had peety on me an' auld Jock ye ken, for a wee whilie ago we was doon by the creek, Alec an' me, an' there was your wee butch fishin' a bit box oot o* the water, au' Tremain. there was a wee puppy in tho box, cuddled doon in some wool, an,' the butch gied it tae me, an' it was the eemage o' auld Jock. An' ahe wants to adopt the puir little waif, an' so a' thifik a'll just put her back, i' the loose box, but wi" a chain on, ye ken, Tremain, so os she canna be wanderin' roon from station to station creatin' fause impressions. Ye'd best gang to see your wee butch puppy, t'will be cauld, TremainBut before ye go a'd like yo to ken that the wee adopted one wull be called Moses, Mo for shorrt yo ken." Sandy placed tho receiver on the hook, rocking with silent laughter. Late that afternoon the cowboy came to the two sbeperds as they sat by tfoe fire in tho men's sitting room, and handed them a tiny flannel bundle. " Tremain is out at the road gate," he said, " and ho gave me this message for you Sandy. Will you givo this puppy to its mother because dogs are dogs an' that's different! " Sandy smiled. " Tell him. boy, that a'll gie the puppy to its mother, because —it's Jocks."