Cats Cowgates and Castles

Forby was quiet much of the next morning, and Crank - playing
the role of running gillie, moving easily inside and out -
reported to all the yard that his majesty looked haggered and faint.
Forby was fatigued for sure, but he felt an immense worry like never before.
He had not seen Brody this morning,
and he crawled grim faced into his bed beneath the endtable and
curled into a ball as if to hug his knees.  He was just drifting off to sleep when he heard the loud yells of the older dog nearby. He lifted his head and rubbed his face on the side of
his fluffy bed and waited for his eyes to focus. It was a bright and cloudless day and he felt like he was staring
directly into the giant yellow sun. But there was no mistaking
that voice, nor that trotting back and forth at the glass
doors. Forby lay there a few seconds longer while his eyes
continued to adjust, then sprang free from his bed as if jet
launched and began trotting along side his friend, his higher pitched yips
adding to the canine choir.


"What is it Brody, Brody?" Forby panted, having now barked for
some unspecified time without having actually seen a target,
"is some evil interloper invading our perimeters, Brody, Brody?"


Brody suddenly stopped and reigned up short, and Forby charged
headlong into the elder dogs haunches for which he got a
weighted glare, "It was bad cat," Brody said thickly,
"He came right up onto the porch, and was getting too
close to cat Scrappy and cat Finster."


Forby gasped, then suddenly filled with energy did a short
Tae-bow sequence to demonstrate how he would take care of bad
Cat if he ever came around again.

Brody looked at him skeptically, "Forby, you know he is going
to come around again, and that little "Swan Lake" rountine, or
whatever it was that you just did is NOT going to get rid of
him, that is...unless he ruptures a major organ laughing."


Forby frowned."What's wrong with my routine? I taught it to my
troops! We have sufficiently driven off the specs from the yard
and surrounding field."


"Maybe," Brody said somewhat cynically, "but they leave this
time of year anyway."

Forby fell back on his haunches perplexed, "Brody why are you
being mean to me?"


Brody fell silent and gazed out the glass door. He had no good
excuse, only an explanation which he did not know if Forby
would understand. He watched cat Scrappy slink from the porch
toward the bushes, with cat Finster close behind. He wondered
why they were not out in the field mousing and moling with the
other cats. He did not have all the answers for sure. Why did
he feel so bad all the time lately? Why did his joints ache so?
Why was it so hard for him to breathe sometimes, and why did he
have to take that awful pill?


"I'm sorry Forby," he said finally, "I think that's a fine idea
for getting at bad Cat. If it worked on all those specs it will
surely work on one dodgy feline."

Forby cheered instantly, without any hesitation or lingering
hurt, "Do you really think so? I mean it drove the specs from
the yard, I mean..." He suddenly straightened up and held his
head high, "We drove the specs from Douglasdale all the way to the borders.
Now my troops are on watch for cattle rievers."

Brody strained not a few muscles stifling a grin, "I think that
is a good idea. You don't think this is too early to watch out
for these, ummm...cattle rievers?"

"Ah yes, it is early. We shall be the first armed force at
Cowgate, but what really is TOO early?" Forby emphasized that
word to let Brody know he had thought it through.

"Excellent," Brody coughed, "we should be at play outside don't
you think? Our fort needs a new parapet walk, drawbridge and
portcullis.

"Can we really Brody?" Forby's eyes went absolutely round.

"Yes I know that it is a covert operation, but we will have
your troops outside to warn us of any sudden hostile activity
in the area."

And so the plans were made, and the next time the door was
opened to the outside, the two rapscallions scampered off to
continue  their clandestine mission.