Arriving back at Gull Cottage just in time for Sunday dinner, Sister Kathryn went upstairs to freshen up and change into a more practical habit, and joined the family back downstairs. Captain Gregg was nowhere to be seen—or felt—however.
"Where's Captain Gregg?" Jonathan asked. "He came home with you, didn't he?
"Yes, most of the way, but he left me in sight of the house. I imagine he'll pop in, in a little bit."
Suddenly Scruffy, who had been lying in the foyer, yipped, jumped up, and ran to the front door, where he began scratching frantically. He began barking in earnest, so Jonathan hurried to let him out. The little dog scampered out onto the porch, where he barked ferociously, then abruptly stopped with a questioning whine.
"What the heck is that all about?" exclaimed Carolyn.
"There's a big dog in the yard," Jonathan called from the door. "Come and see!"
All three women, as well as Candy, went to the door, and peered out, one by one. Just as Jonathan had said, a large, grayish-brown dog with a rough coat sat in the middle of their front yard facing the house with his tongue hanging out, and looking for all the world as though he was laughing at them.
"Ah!" said Sister Kathryn. "That is no dog—that is a coyote! I had no idea you had coyotes this far east, Carrie."
"Neither did I," said Carolyn, in surprise. "Are they dangerous?"
"Not so much for humans," Kathryn said, "but they definitely are for small animals like Scruffy. You'd better get him inside!"
At that, Jonathan hurriedly went out, picked up the squirming dog, and brought him in.
"Unfortunately, this means that you won't be able to let Scruffy out unleashed, anymore," Sister Kathryn continued. "He's just the right size for a coyote's dinner!"
At this point, Captain Gregg appeared behind them and growled, "Well, I will just have to do something about that animal, then!"
An explosive crack of thunder, accompanied by a brilliant flash of lightning, made the embodied humans shake where they stood inside the doorway, but the coyote in the front yard did not even flick an ear. It just sat there, still giving each of them the distinct impression of laughter. If anything, its wolfish grin was even wider!
Sister Kathryn eased to the front of the group, suddenly feeling the need to get a better look at the creature. "You know, it really looks an awful lot like Grigio!" she abruptly said, in a bewildered tone.
"Who?" asked Martha, but Kathryn did not answer. Instead, she called softly, "Grigio?"
The coyote stood up and wagged its tail, still grinning. The woman cautiously approached it.
"Kate!" Carolyn called out in alarm. "What if it has rabies?"
"Grigio! What are you doing here?" Kathryn said to the coyote, incredulously, having gotten close enough for a positive identification. She looked up at the family on the porch in astonishment. "This is a coyote from the reservation!"
"You mean, the reservation in New Mexico!" Carolyn exclaimed. "Are you sure? How on earth did it get here?" How on earth, indeed, wondered the captain.
"I have no idea," Kathryn said, mystified. "But here he is!"
"Okay, so what are we supposed to do with him, then?" asked the ever-practical Martha, walking out onto the porch, herself.
Kathryn looked at Martha, then at Carolyn. "Well . . . if we feed him, he might not be so interested in Scruffy . . . ."
"But if we feed him, we'll never get rid of him," protested Martha. "Do you feed him at the mission?"
"No," Sister Kathryn admitted. "The Navajo are . . . um . . . uncomfortable concerning coyotes, I'm afraid. In the tradition of the Southwest tribal peoples, Coyote is a trickster, and must be treated with great caution . . . and utmost respect. So, of course, we don't want to encourage the presence of coyotes around the mission. People wouldn't come to church, and parents wouldn't allow their children to come to school."
"So, how do you know this particular coyote, then?" asked Carolyn, in a calmer voice. She sensed a story, and her interest was piqued. "You've even named him?"
She noted that Grigio had sat down, again, right next to where Kathryn was still standing on the lawn, his tail curved around the back of her feet. Carolyn was curiously struck by how protective this simple, canine gesture seemed.
"Tell us later," Martha interrupted. "Right now, our dinner is getting cold. Are we going to feed the animal, or not?"
Carolyn looked at Captain Gregg, who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout this exchange. He pensively returned her gaze, and shrugged, still saying nothing.
Kathryn looked down at Grigio, and, oddly, as though speaking to another human being, she asked him, "If they feed you, do you agree not to bother my family's dog?"
Greatly to everyone's astonishment, the coyote raised his right paw, and placed it in Sister Kathryn's hand, which she had solemnly stretched out to receive it.
"That looks like a deal to me!" declared Martha. "Let's eat!"
