Chapter 4 The Pup
They landed on hot sand.
"Where are we, Bogg?" Jeff asked glancing around.
Bogg too looked around quickly, thinking about the wild dogs at their last landing, "well at least we're alone this time." He opened the omni, "Engle, New Mexico, 1917, red light. Ring any bells?"
"Nope. But I think we'll have to find some people in order to solve the red light," Jeff said jumping up.
As if in answer to his statement, a dog suddenly appeared near the road.
Bogg shuddered, but the dog wagged his tail and trotted over to Jeffrey who bent down to pet it. Suddenly the dog darted away playfully, and Jeff and Phineas started to follow it.
"He looked a little like Ralph," Jeff said with a smile.
"I hate to tell ya kid, but more like Raphaela," Bogg told him. As they the rounded a corner, they could see the main street of the small town. The dog was in plain view, "see, a nursing mother," Bogg explained as they watched the dog trot across the street, her large teats in plain view.
Jeff smiled, "okay, SHE looks like Ralph then." But as they watched, a wagon swerved quickly around the corner and hit the dog with a sickening thud. They watched as it was caught underneath the wheels.
Bogg stopped and looked at Jeff in shock. He wanted to go back in time and spare him this horrible sight. That the dog had looked like Ralph added to the misery.
Jeff's mouth was open in a shout that he never made. The accident had happened so fast. He stood in shock, staring at the dog's body, lying too still in the street. After a moment, he straightened up and turned away, "let's go deal with this red light," he said in a harsh tone as he started to walk down the street.
Phineas watched him go, then looked back at the dog's body. He hesitated, then followed. "That was horrible," he said, keeping his eyes on Jeff.
Jeff looked at him and scowled, "one dog, more or less isn't gonna change history," he answered with a hard edge to his voice.
"I thought you liked dogs?" Bogg asked him.
"Thought you didn't?" Jeff answered.
A high pitched squeal made Bogg stop and peer inside an alley between two buildings. He walked in and paused to let his eyes adjust. A puppy sat in a bundle of burlap on the edge of the alley. "Hey, Jeff?" Bogg called as he bent down to pick up the pup. It looked like it was just barely old enough to be apart from its mother, it looked a bit like Ralph and apparently was now an orphan.
"What?" Jeff answered as he backtracked and entered the alley. He stopped when he saw Bogg holding the puppy. "What're you doing?"
Bogg held the pup out to Jeffrey, "he's too young, someone has to take care of him for another week or so," Bogg said.
"I don't want it," Jeff said, pushing the pup away.
"Well, I don't know anything about dogs," Bogg lied. He actually knew a great deal about dogs, and hoped he'd be forgiven for telling this small lie.
"We can't stop the mission to take care of a stupid dog!" Jeff yelled, backing away.
Bogg watched his young charge with concern. He knew that Jeff would ordinarily have loved to take a break from their missions to care for a puppy. Something was definitely bothering him. "I'm not leaving him to die. He can't fend for himself yet," Bogg said. "We saw that accident for a reason, and since I don't know anything about dogs, you're it." Then he plopped the puppy onto Jeff's shoulder and let go so that Jeffrey had to put his arms around the pup to keep him from falling to the ground.
Jeff shook his head in anger. "All right, but I don't want to."