第44章你是我生命中的阳光(14)
&dayJoewentofftocollectthewiredfundswhileNandthekidsshtheirpossessitodecidewhatcouldbetothesixpiecesofbaggagetheywereallowedonthebusandwhathadtobeleftbehind。OrdinarilySnoopyed,butnowhereyesfollowedeverymoveofNandthe,ahempausedtothink,evenforaminute,Sheidlehand,askiouched,tobeheld。
“Sheknows,”Jodisaid,gher。“Shekhingawfulisgoingtohappen。”
&ravelers’Aidrepresentativearrivedtotakethebelongingsthey’tpaatiohriftshop。Ani,hewascaughtbetweenbeingsympathetigpractihelookedatSeenisreally,”hesaidgently。“Maybeyoujusthavetofigureshe’shadalonglifeandagoodone。”Whennobodyspoke,hetookadeepbreath。“Ifyouwant,youleaveherwithmeandI’llhaveherputtosleepafteryou’vegone。”
ThelookedatNancybutsaidnothioodtherewasn’taheydidn’twaharderoherbyprotesting。Nancybowedherhead。Shethoughtofallthewalks,alltheromps,allthepiics,allthetimesshe’dgookissthegoodnightandSnoopyhadliftedherheadtobekissedtoo。
“Thankyou,”shetoldtheman。“It’skindofyoutooffer。Butno,edfirmly,“Snoopy’spartofthefamily,agiveupoher。”Shereachedforthetelephonebook,lookedup“KeheYellowPages,andbegandialing。Scrupulously,shestartedeachcallwiththeexplanationthatthefamilywasdownontheirluck。“But,”shebegged,“ifyou’lljustkeepourlittledoguntilwedawaytogethertoFortWayne,Igiveyoumywordleasetrustme。Please。”
&erinaryic,whichalsoboardedpets,fiheTravelers’Aidrepresehemtotheplacywasthelasttosaygood-bye。ShekookSnoopy’sfrostedmuzzleinherhands。“Youknowwe’dneverleaveyouifwecouldhelpit,”shewhispered,“sodon’tgiveup;don’tyiveup。We’llgetyoubaise。”
OnFortWayoppsfoundamobilehometorent,ohersgavethemhisoldcar,sisters-in-lawprovidedpotsandpansandbedlihereturheiroldsdNandJoefoundjobs。Bitbybitthefamilygotitselftogether,butthecirclehadapainfulgapinit。Snoopywasmissing。EverydayNancytelephonedadifferentmovingpany,adifferenttrupany,beggingforarideforSnoopy。EverydayJodiahroughthedifshe’dhadanyludshehadtosayno。
ByMarch,they’dbeenbaFortWaynesixweeksandNandespair。ShedreadedbearingfromWyomingthatSnoopyhaddiedoutthere,neverknowinghowhardthey’dtriedtogetherbaeday,havihielephoartmentofAnimaldtoldthemthestory。
“Idon’tknowwhatIdotohelp,”thedireannamedRod,saidwhenshe’dfiI’lltellyouthis:I’msuregoingtotry。”
&er,hetoohadexhaustedtheobviousapproaoopywastoofrailtobeshippediedbaggageentofaplane。Aprofessionalanimaltransppahereast。Shippingpaoberesponsiblefupfromhislatestdshookhishead。“Iwishtheold-timePoillience,”heremarkedtohisassistant,Skip。“They’dhavebroughtthedogback。”
“They’dhavepassedheralongfromoher。Itwould’vebeenaPuppyExpress,”Skipjoked。
Rodthoughtforaminute。“Bygolly,thatmaybetheaamapandalistofaersinWyoming,Nebraska,Iowa,IllinoisandIndiaelephoning。CouldheenlistenoughvolutogetheraPuppyExpresstotransportSnoopybystagesacrossfivestates?Wouldenoughpeoplebelieveitmatteredsoforalittleseventeen-year-olddogtobereuhherfamilythatthey’ddriveahundredorsomileswesttopickherupandanotherhundredorsomileseasttodeliverhertothedriver?
&er,RodcalledtheTopps。“ThePuppyExpressstartstomorrow。Snoopy’se!”hetoldNantly。
TheanimaltroloffiRshadvoluobeSnoopy’sfirstdriver。Whesidetheic,thevetbundledSnoopyieraothecar。“She’sgotacold,”thevetsaid,“sokeepherwarm。Medidinstrudthespecialfoodforherkidioheshoppingbag。”
&helittledogoaherhand。Snoopyplacedherpawinit。“You’rewele,oldgirl,”thevetsaid,shakingit。“It’sbeeakingcareofyou。Thebestofluesafely!”