Let Sleeping Vets Lie Read online

"Why don't you strap up a ... ?"

  At that moment the horse lurched and collapsed quietly on the grass and

  Siegfried came bounding knife in hand from his hiding place like a

  greyhound.

  "Sit on his head!" he yelled. "What are you waiting for, he'll be up in

  a minute!

  And get that rope round that hind leg! And bring my tray! And fetch the

  hot water!" He panted up to the horse then turned and bawled into

  Ginger's face, "Come on, I'm talking to you. MOVE!"

  Ginger went off at a bow-legged gallop and cannoned into Winker who was

  rushing forward with the bucket. Then they had a brief but frenzied tug

  of war with the rope before they got round the pastern.

  "Pull the leg forward," cried my employer, bending over the operation

  site, then a full blooded bellow, "Get the bloody foot out of my eye,

  will you!

  What's the matter with you, you wouldn't pull a hen off its nest the way

  you're going." knelt quietly at the head, my knee on the neck. There was

  no need to hold:

  ~wn; he was beautifully out, his eyes blissfully closed as Siegfried

  worked, usual lightning expertise. There was a mere few seconds of

  silence ~Iy by the tinkling of instruments as they fell back on the

  tray, them 5,o.,ge glanced along the horse's back. "Open the muzzle,

  James." its 'wo Ntion was over. Nob~I've ever seen an easier job. By the

  time we had washed our instruments in the bucket the two-year-old was on

  his feet, cropping gently at the grass.

  "Splendid anaesthetic, James," said Siegfried, drying off the

  emasculator.

  "Just right. And what a grand sort of horse."

  We had put our gear back in the boot and were ready to leave when ~Valt

  Barnett heaved his massive bulk over towards us. He faced Siegfried

  across the bonnet of the car.

  "Well that were nowt of a job," he grunted, slapping a cheque book down

  on the shining metal, "How much do you want?"

  There was an arrogant challenge in the words and, faced with the dynamic

  force, the sheer brutal presence of the man, most people who were about

  to charge a guinea would have changed their minds and said a pound.

  "Well, I'm asking'yer," he repeated. "How much do you want?"

  "Ah yes," said Siegfried lightly. "That'll be a tenner."

  The big man put a meaty hand on the cheque book and stared at my

  colleague "What ?"

  "That'll be a tenner," Siegfried said again.

  "Ten pounds?" Mr. Barnett's eyes opened wider.

  "Yes," said Siegfried, smiling pleasantly. "That's right. Ten pounds."

  There was a silence as the two men faced each other across the bonnet.

  The bird song and the noises from the wood seemed abnormally loud as the

  seconds ticked away and nobody moved. Mr. Barnett was glaring furiously

  and I 1looked from the huge fleshy face which seemed to have swollen

  even larger across to the lean, strongjawed, high-cheekboned profile of

  my employer. Siegfried still wore the remains of a lazy smile but down

  in the grey depths of his eye a dangerous light glinted.

  Just when I was at screaming point the big man dropped his head suddenly

  and began to write. When he handed the cheque over he was shaking so

  much that the slip of paper fluttered as though in a high wind.

  "Here y'are, then" he said hoarsely.

  "Thank you so much." Siegfried read the cheque briefly then stuffed it

  carelessly into a side pocket. "Isn't it grand to have some real May

  weather, ~r Barnett. Does us all good. I'm sure."

  Walt Barnett mumbled something and turned away. As I got into the car I

  could see the great expanse of navy blue back moving ponderously towards

  the house.

  "He won't have us back, anyway," I said.

  Siegfried started the engine and we moved away. "No, James, I should

  think he'd get his twelve bore out if we ventured down this drive again.

  But that suits me - I think I can manage to get through the rest of my

  life without Mr. Barnett."

  Our road took us through the little village of Baldon and Siegfried

  slowed down outside the pub, a yellow-washed building standing a few

  yards back from the road with a wooden sign reading The Cross Keys and a

  large black dog sleeping on the sunny front step.

  My boss looked at his watch. "Twelve fifteen - they'll just have opened

  A cool beer would be rather nice wouldn't it. I don't think I've been in

  this Place before."

  After the brightness outside, the shaded interior was restful, with only

  Stray splinters of sunshine filtering through the curtains on to the

  Ragged floor, the fissured oak tables, the big fireplace with its high

  settle.

  "Good morning to you, landlord," boomed my employer, striding over to

  tile bar He was in his most ducal mood and I felt it was a pity he

  didn't have a silver-knobbed stick to rap on the counter.

  The man behind the counter smiled and knuckled a forelock in the

  approved manner. "Good morning to you, sir, and what can I get for you

  gentlemen?"

  I half expected Siegfried to say, "Two stoups of your choicest brew.

  honest fellow," but instead he just turned to me and murmured bitter, eh

  James?"

  The man began to draw the beer.

  "Won't you join us?" Siegfried enquired.

  "Thank ye sir, I'll 'ave a brown ale with you."

  "And possibly your good lady, too?" Siegfried smiled over at the

  landlord's wife who was stacking glasses at the end of the counter.

  "That's very kind of you, I will." She looked up, gulped, and an

  expression of wonder crept over her face. Siegfried hadn't stared at her

  - it had only been a five second burst from the grey eyes - but the

  bottle rattled against the glass as she poured her small port and she

  spent the rest of the time gazing at him dreamily.

  "That'll be five and sixpence," the landlord said.

  "Right." My employer plunged a hand into his bulging side pocket and

  crashed down on the counter an extraordinary mixture of crumpled bank

  notes, coins, veterinary instruments, thermometers, bits of string. He

  stirred the mass with a forefinger, flicking out a half crown and two

  florins across the woodwork.

  "Wait a minute!" I exclaimed. "Aren't those my curved scissors? I lost

  them a few days ... '

  Siegfried swept the pile out of sight into his pocket.

  "Nonsense! What makes you think that?"

  "Well, they look exactly like mine. Unusual shape - lovely long; flat

  blades. I've been looking everywhere ... '

  "James!" He drew himself up and faced me with frozen hauteur. "I think

  you've said enough. I may be capable of stooping to some pretty low

  actions but I'd like to believe that certain things are beneath me. And

  stealing a colleague's curved scissors is one of them."

  I relapsed into silence. I'd have to bide my time and take my chance

  later. I was fairly sure I'd recognised a pair of my dressing forceps in

  there too ^~, lase, something else was occupying Siegfried's mind. He

  narrowed his - ~o~'-ri into his other pocket and produced a similar

  -^!nter anxiously.

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