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The Old Man And The Hound
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<blockquote data-quote="Leep" data-source="post: 194079" data-attributes="member: 3153"><p>..</p><p></p><p></p><p>After a while it seemed Sam was some better and Tom carried him back to bed, laying him carefully beside him. Sam nestled close to his master, licking his face, finally settling down with a sigh and, in a minute was fast asleep.</p><p>But there would be no more sleep for Tom this night. The extra exertion he had expended getting to Sam and carrying him to the bed had awakened old hurts. This time the pain was crushing in his chest and he could hardly draw a breath. He lay very still breathing carefully and in a few minutes the pain had subsided, for the most part.</p><p>The next morning dawned cold and frosty. </p><p>Tom was too weak to get up and put more wood on the fire. So he and Sam just burrowed under the heavy blankets and kept each other warm. </p><p>By noon both of them felt well enough to get up. </p><p>Tom walked slowly to the stove and opened the door, laying wood inside. He felt all right this morning, but he knew he had to be careful. </p><p>Soon, the coals had caught and after Tom opened the draft, the house quickly warmed.</p><p>It didn't take much to heat the place anymore as he and Sam just lived in the downstairs. Actually, just in the kitchen and living room. He had closed off the other rooms downstairs. </p><p>Hell, he and Sam had more room than they needed with what was left.</p><p>Course, he kept the bathroom door open. It had been a few years since he had to walk out the backyard and sit on that cold seat in the outhouse.</p><p>A man needed some comforts when he got older. Hell, who was he kidding, old.</p><p>Sam was curled up by the fire and Tom just decided to feed him there. Sam looked at his food, took a few bites and turned his head away.</p><p>Tom whispered, "I know just how you feel old buddy."</p><p> Tom sat the day away in the kitchen, thinking hard. </p><p>Just about an hour before dark he got up and rummaged around in the old closet in the hallway. Sam heard the clanging and looked up to see what his master was up to. He was sick still and in a great deal of pain. He hadn't moved much all day, just thumping his tail a little when Tom bent to put more wood in the stove.</p><p>But, when he saw what Tom was carrying, he struggled slowly to his feet, tail wagging, whining softly in his throat.</p><p>Tom had his hands full with his old rifle, his sack and Sam's old leash.</p><p>Sam walked over and smelled the gear Tom was carrying.</p><p>Tom said, "You wait just a minute Sam and we'll go hunting."</p><p>Hearing this Sam perked up and he barked a couple times, tail wagging fast.</p><p>Tom walked over to the desk that stood in the corner and took out a writing pad and a pen. He sat writing for awhile, thinking from time to time.</p><p>Finally satisfied, he put the paper in an envelope and wrote Jack's name on the front.</p><p>Getting up slowly, he hooked the leash to Sam's collar and they walked out the door, onto the porch and into the yard.</p><p>Sam was even pulling a little at his leash, whining in anticipation.</p><p>Tom opened the truck door and helped Sam up onto the seat. He sat right up looking out the windshield.</p><p>"I sure hope this old truck will start," Tom muttered.</p><p>But, after turning over a few times it caught with a roar.</p><p>Tom turned on the lights and they drove down the lane, taking a left turn towards the mountains.</p><p>Tom looked at the gas gauge and saw it was almost empty. He shook his head and said to himself, "well there outa be enough to get there."</p><p>The drive on the main road took only about ten minutes, and then he turned off onto a dirt road. He drove up this road for about twelve miles until he reached a turnoff. He pulled into the parking area and shut off the truck. </p><p>The silence was deafening.</p><p>Sam was sure they were going hunting one more time, but Tom had finally decided he could no longer allow Sam to suffer any more. And, with the troubles he was having, he was damned sure he wasn't going to have a stroke or heart attack and have some stranger put old Sam down.</p><p>He opened the truck door and Sam jumped out and hit the ground with a little thump. He yelped a little as he did and looked over at Tom.</p><p>It's all right old friend, it's all right. Now let's go huntin'.</p><p>He bent and unsnapped the leash and Sam took off up the trail. He stopped and looked back making sure his friend and master was coming along.</p><p>"Go get 'em boy, let's get em."</p><p>Sam grinned back at Tom and took off again.</p><p>"Well he ain't going very fast, but he's going."</p><p>After about an hour, Sam was back beside Tom, worn out and again suffering from his ailments. Tom looked down at Sam and said, "Well buddy, we don't have much farther to go."</p><p>He knelt and picked up Sam and placed him across his shoulders. He soon found out this would not work for very long. He thought about standing his rifle against a tree and going on, but then he remembered why he was carrying it in the first place.</p><p>He stopped from time to time, wiping his brow, Sam whimpering a little when he did.</p><p>"Hold on Sam we only have a little farther to go." </p><p>But, the pain in his chest was growing and he was having trouble getting his breath.</p><p>"We're both a couple of **** old fools, Sam. We outa know better."</p><p>Sam just leaned a little and kissed old Tom on the cheek.</p><p>In another few minutes Tom breasted the hill and there in front of them was the peak of the mountain, standing high against the moonlight.</p><p>With a deep sigh, Tom leaned over and and carefully lay Sam down under the old Fir, one they had sat under many times over the years. He stood his old rifle against the tree and sat down wearily with Sam curled up tightly against him.</p><p>It was getting downright cold now and both Sam and Tom were shivering a little. Tom opened his old coat and Sam snuggled closer with a sigh.</p><p>A coyote yelped down in the valley and Sam growled a little deep in his throat.</p><p>A little later a wolf howled long and mournful on the mountain across from them. Sam bristled and stood up and bayed long and deep, a sound that carried and echoed for a long time.</p><p>The old wolf snarled a little and looked over at the other side of the mountain, and then he turned and loped down the far side, going somewhere else to hunt this night.</p><p>Tom smiled with love down at Sam and his dog satisfied, snuggled close once again.</p><p>Tom sat and gazed over the beautiful country her had hunted almost all his life, sick inside with what he must do sometime tonight.</p><p>He looked over at the rifle shining in the moonlight.</p><p>"I don't know how I'm going to do it, I just don't know how. I love him too much."</p><p>But he also knew he loved him too much not to.</p><p>Sometime later that night, Sam began to whimper, some from the cold, but more from the pain. The walk up here had taken too much from him and he was again in a great deal of pain.</p><p>With tears in his eyes, Tom reached back and fumbled around until his hands closed over the stock of his old rifle. He opened the breech and saw the cartridge gleaming in there. </p><p>He closed it with a snap and slowly turned it around until the barrel was pointed at old Sam's head.</p><p>Tom eared back the hammer and at the slight clicking sound, Sam raised his old head and looked into the eyes of the man he had loved and trusted all his life.</p><p>Tom sat there and looked back at old Sam; tears running freely now down his face. Sam raised himself up with a little whimper of pain and kissed Tom on the face; trying to comfort this man he loved who was obviously in pain himself.</p><p>When that happened, Tom let down the hammer and with an oath threw the rifle as far down the mountain as he could.</p><p>Sam crawled closer to Tom and lay down again, looking up at him.</p><p>Tom said to himself, "I just can't do it, I can't,…. I won't do it….</p><p>A little later, Sam was shivering in the cold and had crawled as close to Tom as he could get.</p><p>Tom was shivering himself by this time.</p><p>Finally at some point, Tom fell asleep himself. </p><p>It was cold, so cold.</p><p>Something had awakened him, he knew not what. </p><p>Looking down at Sam, he could see that he wasn't moving anymore. He wasn't breathing. </p><p>He was gone.</p><p>Tom held him and the tears fell unashamedly.. "Oh, Sam, my dog, my best friend, now what am I gonna' do….?"</p><p>Tom sat up straighter, something had caught his eye. </p><p>The sun was coming up slowly, the light barely touching the top ridge of the mountain. Something was moving towards him. </p><p>Or someone. </p><p>The sun had just made it over the top of the mountain and was in Tom's eyes.</p><p>He stood up and walked towards the person. </p><p>"I wonder who that is up this high… this early." </p><p>Tom felt something nudging his hand and looked down to see Sam, leaning against his side, tail wagging.</p><p>"Sam, he yelled, you're alive."</p><p>Sam jumped up on Tom licking his face. Tom picked him up and held him tight. </p><p>Then he stopped and looked down in the meadow at whoever it was walking towards them.</p><p>"Well maybe we do have a couple more good years in us Sam. I shoulda' listened to Jack."</p><p> When the person got closer, Sam started barking joyously and ran down into the meadow towards the approaching figure.</p><p>"Sam, where you going, get back here."</p><p>Tom walked faster down into the sun drenched meadow and almost fell when he saw who it was.</p><p>"Dorothy,… Dorothy, is it you,…. how can that be?"</p><p>But it was,…. his wife ran up to him and fell into his arms.</p><p>"By God, honey, how can this be?"</p><p>His wife said, "That's how Tom,… by God." </p><p>"Look back behind you."</p><p>Tom looked back up the hill and there under the tree laid old Sam and there he sat, straight and tall, back against the old bark.</p><p>"Now my darling husband, follow me, we're going home and we will never have pain or sickness or worry ever again."</p><p>Tom was shocked, who wouldn't be?</p><p>He followed his wife numbly, occasionally stealing glances behind him to assure himself that he wasn't still sitting under that tree, dreaming.</p><p>But, there he was, and here he was with old Sam running and jumping like he did as a young hound.</p><p>Tom reached and took his wife's hand and followed along silently.</p><p>What next?</p><p>As they walked down the meadow Tom saw the air shimmering a little suddenly in front of him.</p><p>And he and Dorothy and Sam walked right into that waving air and right out into a new world.</p><p>Tom got down on his knees and thanked God right then and there.</p><p>His wife smiled down at him and said, "come on honey, let's you and I and Sam go home."</p><p>And so they did.</p><p>Two days later, Jack pulled into the lane leading to Tom's place.</p><p>He had been worried about the old man more than he wanted to let on. Finally, he left the office on his lunch break, telling Susie he would call her from Tom's place. </p><p>She said" go ahead honey; I'm worried about him too."</p><p>Jack stepped out of the truck and looked at the cold, dark house.</p><p>There was no smoke from the chimney and the place just felt empty.</p><p>He yelled, "Tom…. Tom, where are you?"</p><p>Running up the porch, he tore open the door and ran into the house. </p><p>Silence and cold was all that greeted him.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Leep, post: 194079, member: 3153"] .. After a while it seemed Sam was some better and Tom carried him back to bed, laying him carefully beside him. Sam nestled close to his master, licking his face, finally settling down with a sigh and, in a minute was fast asleep. But there would be no more sleep for Tom this night. The extra exertion he had expended getting to Sam and carrying him to the bed had awakened old hurts. This time the pain was crushing in his chest and he could hardly draw a breath. He lay very still breathing carefully and in a few minutes the pain had subsided, for the most part. The next morning dawned cold and frosty. Tom was too weak to get up and put more wood on the fire. So he and Sam just burrowed under the heavy blankets and kept each other warm. By noon both of them felt well enough to get up. Tom walked slowly to the stove and opened the door, laying wood inside. He felt all right this morning, but he knew he had to be careful. Soon, the coals had caught and after Tom opened the draft, the house quickly warmed. It didn’t take much to heat the place anymore as he and Sam just lived in the downstairs. Actually, just in the kitchen and living room. He had closed off the other rooms downstairs. Hell, he and Sam had more room than they needed with what was left. Course, he kept the bathroom door open. It had been a few years since he had to walk out the backyard and sit on that cold seat in the outhouse. A man needed some comforts when he got older. Hell, who was he kidding, old. Sam was curled up by the fire and Tom just decided to feed him there. Sam looked at his food, took a few bites and turned his head away. Tom whispered, “I know just how you feel old buddy.” Tom sat the day away in the kitchen, thinking hard. Just about an hour before dark he got up and rummaged around in the old closet in the hallway. Sam heard the clanging and looked up to see what his master was up to. He was sick still and in a great deal of pain. He hadn’t moved much all day, just thumping his tail a little when Tom bent to put more wood in the stove. But, when he saw what Tom was carrying, he struggled slowly to his feet, tail wagging, whining softly in his throat. Tom had his hands full with his old rifle, his sack and Sam’s old leash. Sam walked over and smelled the gear Tom was carrying. Tom said, “You wait just a minute Sam and we’ll go hunting.” Hearing this Sam perked up and he barked a couple times, tail wagging fast. Tom walked over to the desk that stood in the corner and took out a writing pad and a pen. He sat writing for awhile, thinking from time to time. Finally satisfied, he put the paper in an envelope and wrote Jack’s name on the front. Getting up slowly, he hooked the leash to Sam’s collar and they walked out the door, onto the porch and into the yard. Sam was even pulling a little at his leash, whining in anticipation. Tom opened the truck door and helped Sam up onto the seat. He sat right up looking out the windshield. “I sure hope this old truck will start,” Tom muttered. But, after turning over a few times it caught with a roar. Tom turned on the lights and they drove down the lane, taking a left turn towards the mountains. Tom looked at the gas gauge and saw it was almost empty. He shook his head and said to himself, “well there outa be enough to get there.” The drive on the main road took only about ten minutes, and then he turned off onto a dirt road. He drove up this road for about twelve miles until he reached a turnoff. He pulled into the parking area and shut off the truck. The silence was deafening. Sam was sure they were going hunting one more time, but Tom had finally decided he could no longer allow Sam to suffer any more. And, with the troubles he was having, he was damned sure he wasn’t going to have a stroke or heart attack and have some stranger put old Sam down. He opened the truck door and Sam jumped out and hit the ground with a little thump. He yelped a little as he did and looked over at Tom. It’s all right old friend, it’s all right. Now let’s go huntin’. He bent and unsnapped the leash and Sam took off up the trail. He stopped and looked back making sure his friend and master was coming along. “Go get ‘em boy, let’s get em.” Sam grinned back at Tom and took off again. “Well he ain’t going very fast, but he’s going.” After about an hour, Sam was back beside Tom, worn out and again suffering from his ailments. Tom looked down at Sam and said, “Well buddy, we don’t have much farther to go.” He knelt and picked up Sam and placed him across his shoulders. He soon found out this would not work for very long. He thought about standing his rifle against a tree and going on, but then he remembered why he was carrying it in the first place. He stopped from time to time, wiping his brow, Sam whimpering a little when he did. “Hold on Sam we only have a little farther to go.” But, the pain in his chest was growing and he was having trouble getting his breath. “We’re both a couple of **** old fools, Sam. We outa know better.” Sam just leaned a little and kissed old Tom on the cheek. In another few minutes Tom breasted the hill and there in front of them was the peak of the mountain, standing high against the moonlight. With a deep sigh, Tom leaned over and and carefully lay Sam down under the old Fir, one they had sat under many times over the years. He stood his old rifle against the tree and sat down wearily with Sam curled up tightly against him. It was getting downright cold now and both Sam and Tom were shivering a little. Tom opened his old coat and Sam snuggled closer with a sigh. A coyote yelped down in the valley and Sam growled a little deep in his throat. A little later a wolf howled long and mournful on the mountain across from them. Sam bristled and stood up and bayed long and deep, a sound that carried and echoed for a long time. The old wolf snarled a little and looked over at the other side of the mountain, and then he turned and loped down the far side, going somewhere else to hunt this night. Tom smiled with love down at Sam and his dog satisfied, snuggled close once again. Tom sat and gazed over the beautiful country her had hunted almost all his life, sick inside with what he must do sometime tonight. He looked over at the rifle shining in the moonlight. “I don’t know how I’m going to do it, I just don’t know how. I love him too much.” But he also knew he loved him too much not to. Sometime later that night, Sam began to whimper, some from the cold, but more from the pain. The walk up here had taken too much from him and he was again in a great deal of pain. With tears in his eyes, Tom reached back and fumbled around until his hands closed over the stock of his old rifle. He opened the breech and saw the cartridge gleaming in there. He closed it with a snap and slowly turned it around until the barrel was pointed at old Sam’s head. Tom eared back the hammer and at the slight clicking sound, Sam raised his old head and looked into the eyes of the man he had loved and trusted all his life. Tom sat there and looked back at old Sam; tears running freely now down his face. Sam raised himself up with a little whimper of pain and kissed Tom on the face; trying to comfort this man he loved who was obviously in pain himself. When that happened, Tom let down the hammer and with an oath threw the rifle as far down the mountain as he could. Sam crawled closer to Tom and lay down again, looking up at him. Tom said to himself, “I just can’t do it, I can’t,…. I won’t do it…. A little later, Sam was shivering in the cold and had crawled as close to Tom as he could get. Tom was shivering himself by this time. Finally at some point, Tom fell asleep himself. It was cold, so cold. Something had awakened him, he knew not what. Looking down at Sam, he could see that he wasn’t moving anymore. He wasn’t breathing. He was gone. Tom held him and the tears fell unashamedly.. “Oh, Sam, my dog, my best friend, now what am I gonna’ do….?” Tom sat up straighter, something had caught his eye. The sun was coming up slowly, the light barely touching the top ridge of the mountain. Something was moving towards him. Or someone. The sun had just made it over the top of the mountain and was in Tom’s eyes. He stood up and walked towards the person. “I wonder who that is up this high… this early.” Tom felt something nudging his hand and looked down to see Sam, leaning against his side, tail wagging. “Sam, he yelled, you’re alive.” Sam jumped up on Tom licking his face. Tom picked him up and held him tight. Then he stopped and looked down in the meadow at whoever it was walking towards them. “Well maybe we do have a couple more good years in us Sam. I shoulda’ listened to Jack.” When the person got closer, Sam started barking joyously and ran down into the meadow towards the approaching figure. “Sam, where you going, get back here.” Tom walked faster down into the sun drenched meadow and almost fell when he saw who it was. “Dorothy,… Dorothy, is it you,…. how can that be?” But it was,…. his wife ran up to him and fell into his arms. “By God, honey, how can this be?” His wife said, “That’s how Tom,… by God.” “Look back behind you.” Tom looked back up the hill and there under the tree laid old Sam and there he sat, straight and tall, back against the old bark. “Now my darling husband, follow me, we’re going home and we will never have pain or sickness or worry ever again.” Tom was shocked, who wouldn’t be? He followed his wife numbly, occasionally stealing glances behind him to assure himself that he wasn’t still sitting under that tree, dreaming. But, there he was, and here he was with old Sam running and jumping like he did as a young hound. Tom reached and took his wife’s hand and followed along silently. What next? As they walked down the meadow Tom saw the air shimmering a little suddenly in front of him. And he and Dorothy and Sam walked right into that waving air and right out into a new world. Tom got down on his knees and thanked God right then and there. His wife smiled down at him and said, “come on honey, let’s you and I and Sam go home.” And so they did. Two days later, Jack pulled into the lane leading to Tom’s place. He had been worried about the old man more than he wanted to let on. Finally, he left the office on his lunch break, telling Susie he would call her from Tom’s place. She said” go ahead honey; I’m worried about him too.” Jack stepped out of the truck and looked at the cold, dark house. There was no smoke from the chimney and the place just felt empty. He yelled, “Tom…. Tom, where are you?” Running up the porch, he tore open the door and ran into the house. Silence and cold was all that greeted him. [/QUOTE]
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