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第19章 飞跃小埃及flightverlittleegyt2（第1页）

$4Thelittledoghadbeenaartofourfamilyforabouttwoyearswhenahoboknockedatthebackdoorandaskedifwecouldgivehimsomethingtoeat。Therequestwasn’tatallunusual。Inthosedays，manyhobosstoedatourcorner。

Motherbroughtalateoffoodtotheorchwherehewaited。Ashesatdowntoeat，weboysgatheredaroundhim。Hebegantellingusallthelaceshe’dbeenandthemanythingshe’dseen。Weweresellboundbyhistales。

Allofasuddenhestoed。Welookedinthedirectionhewasstaring，andtherestoodJacky。Forseveralmomentstheylookedatoneanother。Thenahugesmilecameacrosstheoldhobo’sface。

“Youlittlerascal，”hesaid，callinghimbysomestrange-soundingname。“Whatareyoudoinghere”

Thelittledogbecamehystericalwithjoy。Hewasalloverthehobo，barkingandjumingasifhewouldneversto。Therewasnodoubtheknewthehoboandknewhimwell。AftercaressingandtalkingtoJacky，theoldhoboutteredabriefcommand。Immediately，Jackycontrolledhisenthusiasmandlaydownobedientlyattheoldman’sfeet。

“Boys，wheredidyougetthisdog”askedthehobo。

“Wefoundhimlodgedbetweenthedoorandthescreenduringthebigtornadoof1925，”saidmybrother。

“Yes，sir。Itaddsu，”saidthehobo，“IwaswithacircusinMissouriinMarchof1925。Thatwassuresomeblow。Thebigtentwasriedtoshreds。Everythingwasdemolished。”

“Thisoodlewasthenumber-onetoshowdog。He’ssovaluablehewasinsuredforhundredsofdollars。Luckydog，heis。Blowedallthatdistanceandnotgettinghurt。”

Suddenlythehoboasked，“Doyouhaveabarrelhoo，boys”

“Sure，I’llgetyouone，”saidmybrother。Runningquicklytoanoldbarrel，heliftedoffoneofthesteelbands。Hedashedbackandhandedittothehobo。

Frombeneathhisoldbatteredhatthehobo’sblueeyessarkled。Asmilebrokethroughhisheavygraybeard。

“Watchthis，”hesaid。“Lessyouboysbeentoacircusyouain’tneverseenanythinglikethis。”

Hewalkedoutintotheyardandheldthelooacouleoffeetabovetheground。

“Getready，”hesaidtoJacky，againusingthatstrangesoundingname。Jackytrembledwithexcitement。Oncommandhesrangforwardandleaedthroughtheloo—forward，thenbackward。Ascommandscontinued，hehurledthroughthehoo，turningendoverend。Hedancedonhishindlegs，thenonhisfrontlegs。MybrothersandIstaredinaweastheknowledgeableoldhoboutJackythroughhiscircustricks。

“He’salittlerustyonsomeof，buthesureain’tforgettinganyofit，”saidthehobo。“Sureisgreatbeingtogetheragain。Bringsbackmemories，don’titlittlefriend”hesaidfondlyasheattedJack’shead。

Thenwithaforlornlookabouthim，hestraightenedu。“IguessIbestbegoing，”hemumbledandheadedslowlytowardsthegate。Withouthesitation，Jackyfollowedathisheels。

“Jacky，comeback！”allthreeofuscalled。Butitdidnogood。Tearstrickleddownourcheeks。Weknewwehadlosthim。

Thenthehoboaused。LookingdownatJacky，hesaid，“Ourcircusdaysisover，friend。Overanddone。Andthetraminglife’snolifeforyou。Youbeststayhere。”Jackystood，watchingthehobowalkaway，stilloisedtofollow。

Reachingthegatethemanstoodmotionlessforseveralseconds，thenslowlyturnedaround。“Boys，acircusdogneverforgetsthebigto，”hesaid，“You’dbetterlockhiminthehousetillmorning。I’dhatetoseeyoulosehim。”

Sowedid。Jackylivedwithusformanyyears，andalthoughhewasthesmartestdogweeverhad，wecouldneverersuadehimtoerformcircustricksagain。Wefiguredhe’dtakenthehobo’swordstoheartanduthiscircusdaysbehindhimonceandforall。