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Image: Free Wallpaper from http://www.scenicreflections.com/ ~Sephrena.

Author's Note: Thank you Hope for your encouragement and help in editing. Thank you Sephrena for making the post appear professional. Most of all thank you to all who have commented or left Kudos. For those who have left comments, I answer them with what I hope is something witty and appreciated. ~Barbara.

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Chapter 45: Skipper
 
Jesse's grandfather would plant the fields so that each field would grow a different crop each year and would lay fallow the seventh year. Potatoes would follow beans which would follow corn which follow peas which follow tomatoes which followed soy beans. The year the field lay fallow he would plant it with rye and wheat. Each fall every field had a stand of winter rye to keep the soils from washing away. Other fallow fields would be plowed to keep the ground friable and planted with grasses to produce hay to get the hay burning animals through the winter.

With Two Bears help, Gabriel had the horses saddled and ready to ride to the fields where the corn would be planted. If they had time the riders would ride through one or two other fields to see if they needed any supplements such as lime. The white wolf had some sample bags and a trowel to send soil off to the county extension agent to get the soils tested for nutrients. Rotating the crops like her grandfather, she wasn't expecting to add any chemicals. The hard winter killed most of the pests that can plague a garden and a judicious spray of pesticide before the bugs could propagate enough to ruin the fields meant that less chemicals would be used to keep the fields healthy.

The cowhand eased into the room where the two wolves were sleeping and gently kissed the older one to wake her. She smiled at the kiss and stretched to wake up. “Wake up Merry. It's time to go for our ride,” said the older girl as she kissed the young wolf's forehead. Merry rolled over and stretched like Far Wanderer had done. The rancher smiled at the two girls. “What are you smirking at?”

“I watched you two stretch and couldn't help thinking 'like mother, like daughter.”

“I guess that would be a bit funny. Let us wash our face and we'll be right out.”

The sister and teacher were already mounted when the two girls came out. After the older one mounted Big Spot, Gabriel sat the younger girl in front. The horses would walk until their muscles had a chance to warm some. As they started off, Skipper whined to go with them. “Skipper you can come,” the land owner told the dog. The dog's tail started wagging a mile a minute after hearing he got to go with the party. The pace would be easy as they just wanted to enjoy the weather and each other's company more than actually being on an errand.

Once the horses had warmed up, they would let the horses lope a long until Skipper started to lag behind. They would slow to let the old dog rest. It felt like they’d spent hardly anytime riding when they came to the first field. The young man got off his horse to take the soil samples, so that the girls could stay mounted. They rode for another hour to a another field and decided to stretch their legs.
“Merry, don't wander off. There maybe critters around that could bite you.”

“Okay.”

The young couple were holding hands as they walked their horses to a stream to let them drink. Two Bears was teaching them the names of things in the language of the people. Also, he was gathering different healing herbs, explaining their uses. “Nature can be a virtual medicine cabinet if you study and know what to look for.” They had been exploring just a few minutes when they heard Skipper barking in alarm. They looked around to see the little girl running from behind a bush.

She was almost out of breath from the exertion. “A skunk....a skunk tried to.... a skunk tried to bite me. Skipper came running to bite the skunk before it bit me.”

The cowboy pulled his rifle from its scabbard. “Which way did Skipper go?” he asked the girl. She pointed back in the direction from which she came. “I don't like this. Merry doesn't smell of skunk, and if it had sprayed, we would smell it here.” He took Jesse's rifle off her horse and handed it to the old Indian. “Wait here with the girls and DON'T let Merry follow me. A skunk this time of day can mean only one thing.” The young man walked off in the direction that the little girl pointed. It wasn't long until he came upon a blood trail and started to follow it. A few yards down the trail he heard Skipper whining.

The old dog was laying next to a dead skunk licking at a severe bite on his leg. “Oh, Skipper what have you done? Stay here while I go back and get my horse and first aid kit.” He walked back to the others “Skipper killed the skunk, but he has a nasty bite.”

“What are you going to do?” ask his girlfriend. She knew that the skunk was probably rabid. And now, the old dog would be infected. The merciful thing to do would be to put the dog down out here away from everyone, but she didn't have the heart for it, and the old dog was Merry's friend. Even though she studied animal husbandry at college, she didn't know if the rabies vaccine would protect the dog.

“I'm going to put the skunk in a bag and take it in with us. I'll bandage Skipper and put him on my horse. When we get back, we'll run him and the skunk to the vet. Maybe the vet can save the dog.” He walked back to where he left the dog. He took the rifle and shot the skunk to make sure it was dead before he handled it. He took out the first aid kit, put the gloves on that were in it before he wrapped a bandage around the dog's leg and lifted him up onto his horse. Next, he pulled one of the soil sample bags out of his saddle bag and carefully put the skunk in it. He wanted to keep any body fluids off him and his horse. He put the first bag in another bag along with the gloves. He put all this into a third bag to help hold down the smell of the skunk. He tied the bag to the outside of his saddle bag. He came walking out of the brush to find Jesse crying. He wrapped is arms around her to comfort her.

“I thought you shot Skipper. I couldn't keep from crying. I tried not to. I didn't want to upset Merry. Just before we heard the gun shot, Two Bears had Merry on his horse and he and your sister rode off toward the house. I stayed here, because I didn't want to cry in front of Merry. How can I be a good mother if I cry like this over a dog?”

“You're going to be a great mother, because you can cry over losing a friend. He's not dead yet. See I have him on my horse, just like I said.”

“But he will die.”

“Maybe. He is old and lived way beyond most of his kind. You need to pet him and tell him how proud you are of him for saving Merry. Come on.” He led the sobbing girl to the dog.

“Oh, Skipper. I am so proud of you for saving Merry from that skunk.” She buried her head into the dog's side as she cried and stroked the animals ears. Hugging him. She stayed like that awhile until she cried herself out. She cried because the old dog may die, but also, because Merry could have been bitten. She would not have forgiven herself if the little girl had been bitten by a rabid skunk. She should have been paying more attention she berated herself.

“Come on. Lets get him to the vet to see if there is anything that can be done for him. The skunk may not have been rabid. The vet will be able to tell us what needs to be done.”

“Oh Gabriel, I should have been watching Merry closer. I'm such a bad mother.”

“You ARE a great mother.”

“I don't know. How can you say that? If it wasn't for Skipper, Merry may have been bitten.” She started crying again as the young man wrapped his arms around her to comfort her.

“I know that you are a great mother because you love that little girl as if she was your own. You worry about her and would do anything to protect her. You protected her today by letting Skipper come with us. You don't have to do this all on your own. I'm here. Two Bears is here. And my sister was here Everyone of us should have been watching. Little children can wander off when you least expect it. And she wasn't gone very far. There must have been something around that bush that got her attention.”

“Why are being so good to me?”

“One, I Love you, and two, your are going to be the greatest mother in the world to our children.”

“I don't see it.”

“I know, but you will.”

“Have I told you I love you today.”

“You can always tell me again. Come on, lets get this hero to the vet and get him a treat. He deserves it.”

“Okay,” she sniffled.

She mounted Big Spot and waited until Gabriel was on his horse. They rode at a gait that would cover ground quickly without winding the horses. They arrived back at the house just behind the others. Debbie had the little girl in the house as the old shaman waited on the porch.

“I thought you put the dog down when I heard the shot.”

“No. I wanted to make sure the skunk was dead before I picked it up. We're going to run Skipper into the Vet to see if there is anything that can be done to save him. I brought the skunk to get it tested for rabies. Maybe there was some other reason for it to be out this time of day.”

“I doubt it. Debbie and I will watch Merry while you're gone.”

“Let me tend to the horses and then we will leave. Have Merry bring a treat out to the old dog. The vet may want to go ahead and put him down.”

The shaman walked back into the house to get the little girl. “Jesse are you going to be alright. I can take Skipper into the vet and you can stay here.”

“No. I will go with you.”

Merry came out with a sausage left over from breakfast. “SKIPPER,” Squealed as she ran over the animal. She hugged his neck and sat feeding him the sausage. She was talking quietly to the dog as tears began to run down her face. She walked over to the older wolf and said, “Skipper says that you are taking him to a doctor, but he may not come back.”

The older girl sat on the porch and pulled the younger one on her lap. “Why did he say that?”

“He said the skunk was sick and now he may have the sickness. The sickness is very bad and he doesn't think he will have the strength live through it. I don't want him to die.”

“I don't either. He is a very old dog and has lived longer than most dogs of his kind. His father was a wolf. I don't know if it was from our pack, but we can say that it was.” The girls held each other as tears ran down their face.

“I told him that I was glad he was there to protect me from the skunk. He said he will miss us if he dies and to remember him.”

“When I get back, lets ask Teacher if he knows of anything we can do to make Skipper's passing easier.” She carried the girl into the house and sat her next to Debbie on the couch. The little girl snuggled into the sister and quietly sobbed.

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To Be Continued...