Die Like a Dog Read Online Free

me.’
    â€˜Judson isn’t back from town. He took my wife.’ He thought better of the wording. ‘He gave her a lift and they’re – she’s not back. The police ought to be told.’ She raised her eyebrows. ‘Those are guard dogs,’ he went on. ‘They’d kill a child – or an adult if it comes to that.’
    His hand hovered over the receiver but he didn’t pick it up.
    Miss Pink said meaningly: ‘Then there is no time to lose.’
    â€˜Er – no.’ He dialled, talking meanwhile. ‘The trouble is: you’ve got to have protection these days, or that’s what Judson says; so much vandalism, arson, burglaries – why, there’s hardly one holiday cottage round here that hasn’t been broken into. And it’s not all nationalism by any means – oh no, that’s only the excuse; some of it’s kids certainly, but I maintain – I always have and I always will – that a lot of it is grudge crimes. And they’re put down to nationalism – there: number’s engaged.’ He crashed the receiver back on its rest. ‘Always the same in an emergency, isn’t it?’
    She strode up the road to its junction with the highway where the public telephone box stood beside the Post Office. She was quite sure that either he’d dialled the wrong number or hadn’t given the person the other end time to answer. His gabbled monologue had drowned all sounds on the line. He was afraid of offending Judson. He welcomed trouble but he preferred that someone else should be the instigator.
    The Post Office was also a general store. A dumpy woman with mild eyes was behind the counter stacking jars of jam. Yes, she said in astonishment, there was a Mrs Judson, and gave Miss Pink the number.
    The telephone rang for some time before it was answered by a woman.
    â€˜Mrs Judson? My name is Pink. I’m staying at the Bridge Hotel. I saw a black Alsatian running loose on the Nature Reserve about half an hour ago.’
    â€˜Oh dear. That must be ours, I’m afraid.’
    â€˜I was going to ring the police but there’d be a delay before they could get here, and if you could deal with it yourself –’
    â€˜No, don’t call the police. I’ll go up there now.’
    â€˜Is it safe? I mean, will the dog attack you?’
    â€˜Of course not; it’s never attacked anyone.’ As if it had occurred to her that there was always a first time she added hurriedly: ‘At the hotel, you said? I’ll get in touch ... Thank you so much – please excuse me –’
    The receiver was dropped on its rest. Miss Pink went back to the store. A thin man with a drooping moustache and angry eyes stood beside the dumpy woman. They had the appearance of waiting. She satisfied their curiosity; the more people who knew that there was a savage dog loose, the better. Their heads turned as one and they stared through the shop window at the hanging woods receding into the early evening haze.
    â€˜I knew it,’ the man said. ‘I always told you, didn’t I? We’re going to have a killing in this valley with them dogs –’
    â€˜Ssh!’ The woman was tense, her eyes – no longer mild – darting to Miss Pink. ‘He’s exaggerating,’ she said.
    â€˜I am not exaggerating!’
    Miss Pink decided that it was high time to introduce some common sense into this matter of the dogs.
    â€˜Why aren’t they kept under restraint?’ she asked.
    â€˜Oh, they are –’
    â€˜They get out –’ Both spoke at once, and stopped.
    â€˜Have they ever done any harm?’ Miss Pink asked.
    â€˜Not yet.’ The man was grudging. ‘They will unless –’
    â€˜Sydney!’ It was a warning. Suddenly the woman became confiding – wheedling was more like it, Miss Pink thought: ‘We love this valley; the people are so kind ...