第34章一起走过的日子(7)
&ruckhadtakenthemasfarasRs,Wyoming,buthingtodobutsellittoajuwenty-fivedollarsandhitcharidetothebusstation。Twopiecesofbadhematthestation。FourticketstoFortWayomuoheyhad,aallowedonthebus。
"Butwe'vegottotakeSnoopywithus。"htheticket-seller,tearswellinginhereyes。
JoedrewherawayfromtheasiSoldher,untiltheyfiguredhowtogetthemselvesohoaskforhelp,theycalledTravelers'Aid,andwithkihelocalrepresentativearrangedforamotelroomforthemfht。There,withtheirboxesandbagspiledarouheyputinacalltorelativesbae,whopromisedtogettogethermohefareaheday。
"ButwhataboutSnoopy?"Matthewsaidassoonashisparentsgotoffthephone。
"We'tgowithoutSnoopy,"Jodistatedflatly。Atseventeen,Snoopyhadabitofaheartekidhefamilyworriedabouther。
Joepickedupthelittledog。"Snoopy,"hesaid,tuggingherfloppyearsinthewaysheliked。"Ithinkytohavetohitchhike。"
"Don'ttease,Joe,"saidNancyshortly。
"I'mnotteasi;heassuredher,tuoopyintothe。"I'mgoingtotrytofibouaketheoldgirlbackforUS。"
Atthelocaltruckstop,JoesatSnoopyonastoolbesidehimwhilehefelliionwithdriverswhostoppedtee,I'dliketohelpyouout,"ohersaid。"She'sawfuldIwouldn'tmindthepany,butI'mnotghFortWayrip。"Theonlydriverwhocouldhavetakenherpioopyupaherclosely。"Naw,"thema;withanolddoglikeher,there'dbetoomanypitstops。Igottomaketime。"Stillhopeful,Joetackedupasigel'sphonenumber。
"Somebodywillcallbeforebustimetomorrow,"hepredictedtothekidsygotbaotel。
"Butsuppose;Jodisaid。
Joea;Sweetie,we'vegottobeonthatbus。TheTravelers'Aidlypayforustht。"
&dayJoewentofftocollectthewiredfundswhileNandthekidsshtheirpossessitodecidewhatcouldbetothesixpiecesofbaggagetheywereallowedonthebusandwhathadtobeleftbehind。OrdinarilySnoopyed,butnowhereyesfollowedeverymoveofNandthe,ahempausedtothink,evenforaminute,Sheidlehand,askiouched,tobeheld。
"Sheknows,"Jodisaid,gher。"Shekhingawfulisgoingtohappen。"
&ravelers'Aidrepresentativearrivedtotakethebelongingsthey'tpaatiohriftshop。Ani,hewascaughtbetweenbeingsympathetigpractihelookedatSnoopy。"Seventeenisreally,"hesaidgently。"Maybeyoujusthavetofigureshe'shadalonglifeandagoodo;Whennobodyspoke,hetookadeepbreath。"Ifyouwant,youleaveherwithmeandI'llhaveherputtosleepafteryou'vego;
ThelookedatNancybutsaidnothioodtherewasn'taheydidn'twaharderoherbyprotesting。Nancybowedherhead。Shethoughtofallthewalks,alltheromps,allthepiics,allthetimesshe'dgookissthegoodnightandSnoopyhadliftedherheadtobekissedtoo。
"Thankyou,"shetoldtheman。"It'skindofyoutooffer。Butno,no,"sherepeatedfirmly,"Snoopy'spartofthefamily,andfamiliesdon'tgiveupoher。"Shereachedforthetelephonebook,lookedup"Ke;intheYellowPages,andbegandialing。Scrupulously,shestartedeachcallwiththeexplanationthatthefamilywasdownontheirluck。"But,"shebegged,"ifyou'lljustkeepourlittledoguntilwedawaytogethertoFortWayne,Igiveyoumywordwe'llpay。Pleasetrustme。Please。"
&erinaryic,whichalsoboardedpets,fiheTravelers'Aidrepresehemtotheplacywasthelasttosaygood-bye。ShekookSnoopy'sfrostedmuzzleinherhands。"Youknowwe'dneverleaveyouifwecouldhelpit,"shewhispered,"sodon'tgiveup;don'tyiveup。We'llgetyoubaise。"
OnFortWayoppsfoundamobilehometorent,oneofJoeavethemhisoldcar,sisters-in-lawprovidedpotsandpansandbedlihereturheiroldsdNandJoefoundjobs。Bitbybitthefamilygotitselftogether,butthecirclehadapainfulgapinit。Snoopywasmissing。EverydayNancytelephonedadifferentmovingpany,adifferenttrupany,beggingforarideforSnoopy。EverydayJodiahroughthedifshe'dhadanyludshehadtosayno。
ByMarch,they'dbeenbaFortWaynesixweeksandNandespair。ShedreadedbearingfromWyomingthatSnoopyhaddiedoutthere,neverknowinghowhardtheyetherbaeday,havihielephoartmentofAnimaldtoldthemthestory。
"Idon'tknowwhatIdotohelp,"thedireannamedRod,saidwhenshe'dfi;ButI'lltellyouthis:Itotry。"