Vet in Harness Read online

choking fumes into my brain. I felt terrible and I knew for sure I would

  get rapidly worse.

  Granville, fresh and debonair as ever, leaped out and lead me into the

  house "Zoe, my love!' he warbled, embracing his wife as she came through

  from the kitchen.

  When she disengaged herself she came over to me. She was wearing a

  flowered apron which made her look if possible even more attractive.

  "Her-lo!' she cried and gave me that look which she shared with her

  husband as though meeting James Herriot was an unbelievable boon.

  "Lovely to see you again. I'll get lunch now.' I replied with a foolish

  grin and she skipped away.

  Flopping into an armchair I listened to Granville pouring steadily over

  at the sideboard. He put a glass in my hand and sat in another chair.

  Immediately the obese Staffordshire Terrier bounded on to his lap.

  "Phoebles, my little pet!' he sang joyfully. "Daddykins is home again'.

  And he pointed playfully at the tiny Yorkie who was sitting at his feet,

  baring her teeth repeatedly in a series of ecstatic smiles. "And I see

  you, my little Victoria, I see you!'

  By the time I was ushered to the table I was like a man in a dream,

  moving sluggishly, speaking with slurred deliberation. Granville poised

  himself over a vast sirloin, stropped his knife briskly then began to

  hack away ruthlessly. He was a prodigal server and piled about two

  pounds of meat on my plate then he started on the Yorkshire puddings.

  Instead of a single big one, Zoe had made a large number of little round

  ones as the farmers' wives often did, delicious golden cups, crisply

  brown round the sides. Granville heaped about six of these by the side

  of the meat as I watched stupidly. Then Zoe passed me the gravy boat.

  With an effort I took a careful grip on the handle, closed one eye and

  began to pour. For some reason I felt I had to fill up each of the

  little puddings with gravy and owlishly directed the stream into one

  then another till they were all overflowing. Once I missed and spilled a

  few drops of the fragrant liquid on the tablecloth. I looked up guiltily

  at Zoe and giggled.

  Zoe giggled back, and I had the impression that she felt that though I

  was a peculiar individual there was no harm in me. I just had this

  terrible weakness that I was never sober day or night, but I was~'t such

  a bad fellow at heart.

  It usually took me a few days to recover from a visit to Granville and

  by the following Saturday I was convalescing nicely. It happened that I

  was in the market place and saw a large concourse of people crossing the

  cobbles. At first I thought from the mixture of children and adults that

  it must be a school outing but on closer inspection I realised it was

  only the Dimmocks and Pounders going shopping.

  When they saw me they diverted their course and I was engulfed by a

  human wave.

  "Look at 'im now, Mister!' "He's eatin' like a 'oss now!' "He's going'

  to get fat soon, Mister!' The delighted cries rang around me.

  Nellie had Toby on a lead and as I bent over the little animal I could

  hardly believe how a few days had altered him. He was still skinny but

  the hopeless look had gone; he was perky, ready to play. It was just a

  matter of time now.

  His little mistress ran her hand again and again over the smooth brown

  coat.

  "You are proud of your little dog, aren't you Nellie,' I said, and the

  gentle squinting eyes turned on me.

  "Yes, I am.' She smiled that smile again. "Because 'e's mine.'

  Chapter Twenty-nine.

  There is plenty of time for thinking during the long hours of driving

  and now as I headed home from a late call my mind was idly assessing my

  abilities as a planner.

  I had to admit that planning was not one of my strong points. Shortly

  after we were married I told Helen that I didn't think we should have

  children just at present. I pointed out that I would soon be going away,

  we did not have a proper home, our financial state was precarious and it

  would be far better to wait till after the war.

  I had propounded my opinions weightily, sitting back in my chair and

  puffing my pipe like a sage, but I don't think I was really surprised

  when Helen's pregnancy was positively confirmed.

  From the warm darkness the grass smell of the Dales stole through the

  open window and as I drove through a silent village it was mingled

  briefly with the mysterious sweetness of wood smoke. Beyond the houses

  the road curved smooth and empty between the black enclosing fells. No

  .. . I hadn't organised things very well. Leaving Darrowby and maybe

  England for an indefinite period, no home, no money and a pregnant wife.

  It was an untidy situation. But I was beginning to realise that life was

  not a tidy little parcel at any time.

  The clock tower showed 11 p.m. as I rolled through the market place and,

  turning into Trengate, I saw that the light had been turned off in our

  room. Helen had gone to bed. I drove round the yard at the back, put

  away the car and walked down the long garden. It was the end to every

  day, this walk; sometimes stumbling over frozen snow but tonight moving

  easily through the summer darkness under the branches of the apple trees

  to where the house stood tall and silent against the stars.

  In the passage I almost bumped into Siegfried.

  "Just getting back from Allenby's, James?' he asked. "I saw on the book

  that you had a colic.'

  I nodded. "Yes, but it wasn't a bad one. Just a bit of spasm. Their grey

  horse had been feasting on some of the hard pears lying around the

  orchard.'

  Siegfried laughed. "Well I've just beaten you in by a few minutes. I've

  been round at old Mrs Dewar's for the last hour holding her cat's paw

  while it had kittens.'

  We reached the corner of the passage and he hesitated. "Care for a

  nightcap, James?'

  "I would, thanks,' I replied, and we went into the sitting room. But

  there was a constraint between us because Siegfried was off to London

  early next morning to enter the Air Force - he'd be gone before I got up

  - and we both knew that this was a farewell drink.

  I dropped into my usual armchair while Siegfried reached into the

  glassfronted cupboard above the mantelpiece and fished out the whisky

  bottle and glasses. He carelessly tipped out two prodigal measures and

  sat down opposite.

  We had done a lot of this over the years, often yarning till dawn, but

  naturally enough it had faded since my marriage. It was like turning

  back the clock to sip the whisky and look at him on the other side of

  the fireplace and to feel, as though it were a living presence, the

  charm of the beautiful room with its high ceiling, graceful alcoves and

  french window.

  We didn't talk about his departure but about the things we had always

  talked about and still do; the miraculous recovery of that cow, what old

  Mr Jenks said yesterday, the patient that knocked us flat, leapt the

  fence and disappeared for good. Then Siegfried raised a finger.

  "Oh, James, I nearly forgot. I was tidying up the