Эрл Гарднер - The Case of the Musical Cow

Dr. Dixon stepped forward, felt Rob’s wrist, placed a hand on Rob’s shoulder. Now that Rob was lying down the fit of trembling with which he had been seized became even more enhanced.

“I think,” Dr. Dixon said, “I’m going to get in touch with the ship’s doctor, and make a suggestion... if you don’t mind.”

“Thank you,” Rob said gratefully.

He felt Harvey Richmond covering him with a blanket, then the trembling seemed to get completely out of control. Rob shook as though with a chill. He heard the door open. The ship’s doctor bared Rob’s right arm. There was the odor of alcohol, then the sting of a needle.

A few seconds later, a delicious warmth flowed through his veins. The relaxed muscles ceased trembling. Drowsiness wrapped him in a warm, soft blanket of growing oblivion. He heard whispers as Dr. Dixon and the ship’s doctor tiptoed out of the room. He sighed, and became unconscious in the middle of the sigh.

And, while he slept, Harvey Richmond deliberately and thoroughly searched every nook and corner of the stateroom, every article in Rob Trenton’s hastily packed and utterly inadequate baggage.

It was a full three days before Rob Trenton had his strength back. By that time the ship had passed the Azores and was wallowing through the Atlantic towards New York.

Despite his feeling of muscular insecurity, Trenton had managed to take the huge German Shepherd for regular periods of exercise, and by this time Dr. Dixon had virtually surrendered control of the dog to Trenton. The animal had come to look forward to Rob’s visits, whimpering eagerly when he approached the kennels.

Trenton made it a point always to be glad to see the dog. As he pointed out to Dr. Dixon, an animal’s treatment of you depends very largely on your treatment of the animal. “A dog’s like a person,” he explained. “It’s pretty hard to work up enthusiasm over a person who greets you indifferently, or ignores you entirely. On the other hand, someone who is quite evidently glad to see you makes you feel that you’re glad to see him.”

Dr. Dixon nodded thoughtfully. He seemed to be putting in a great deal of time these days sizing up young Rob Trenton, and was quite obviously interested not only in Trenton’s ideas, but in his experiences.

Harvey Richmond, in the meantime, used his opportunity as cabin-mate to ask innumerable questions, many of which Trenton noticed were about Merton Ostrander.

Ostrander, however, seemed to take but little interest in Richmond, despite several attempts on Harvey Richmond’s part to get acquainted. Ostrander was more obviously interested in the attractive females on the ship than in the male passenger list. For the most part, he devoted his attention to Linda Carroll, monopolizing her as much as possible, to the obvious disgust of some of the other men on the ship, who cut in at dances, squired her around the deck, and tried to inveigle her into shuffle-board, ping-pong and deck tennis. But Ostrander had the advantage of the earlier acquaintanceship and the mutual experiences of a tour through Switzerland. He pressed these advantages easily, naturally, ruthlessly, and, whenever he could, steered her into tête-à-têtes which seemed so close and personal it would have been rude to intrude.

Rob’s convalescence curtailed his social life, but Linda always made it a point to be up on the boat deck whenever Rob walked the dog.

Despite Ostrander’s attempts to break into this schedule, Linda was obdurate and soon Lobo began to look forward to her companionship, his plume waving in friendly greeting as he heard her step.

Later on, as Rob became stronger and was feeling more like himself, he was pleased to find Linda always managed to save some time for him.

The second day before reaching New York, Linda was already in the kennels when Rob Trenton came to get the dog. “It’s simply marvelous what you’ve been able to do with that dog, and in so short a time, Rob,” she said.

Rob motioned the dog to his side. “A dog wants to love and to be loved. A dog is capable of great loyalty. In order to develop his own character to the best advantage, he needs an outlet for that affection, for that feeling of loyalty.”

Linda looked at him thoughtfully. “Isn’t the same true of a woman?” she asked.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been a woman.”

“You’ve never been a dog,” she retorted.

“Well,” he told her, “I’ve studied dogs.”

“All right,” she said, with an amused smile. “You win.”

They swung around the deck together, the dog needing no leash now, but keeping at Rob Trenton’s side.

“What’s going to happen when you get to New York and Dr. Dixon takes over?” Linda asked.

Rob’s eyes smiled at her. “Don’t think I’d be so cruel as to have developed the animal to this point if that was going to happen.”

“What is going to happen?” she asked.

“Dr. Dixon gave the dog to me.”

“Isn’t the dog very valuable?”

“It depends on what you mean by value. A good many people would pay quite a sum for a dog with his breeding, build and intelligence. Most of them would want him fully trained, however.”

“He isn’t fully trained now?”

“Not what I would call fully trained.”

“Dr. Dixon is a peculiar individual. He keeps very much to himself, and yet he’s always very affable. No one seems to know exactly what he does. I understand he specializes in some branch of medicine but no one knows exactly what it is.”

“It’s forensic medicine,” Rob said.

“What’s that?”

“Legal medicine. Medicine as applied to law. The sort of medicine that has to do with cases that come up in court.”

“Murder?” she asked.

“All sorts of cases. However, I don’t know that he cares to talk too much about it. People get the wrong ideas. If he hasn’t told any of the other passengers, perhaps it would be just as well if you didn’t tell them.”

“And when we get home you’re going to plunge into your dog training?”

“I’d like to have you see my place,” Rob said seriously. “I’d like to have you see my dogs, and... well, I hope you don’t walk out of my life. You live in Falthaven...?”

“I’d love to see how you work your dogs,” she interrupted quickly. “I have the address of your place. Would you permit a curiosity-seeker to call?”

“I’d like very much to have you call.”

“Rob,” she said, turning to him suddenly, “do you have a car?”

He laughed. “I have a battered old station wagon that I use to carry my dogs around in, but it is very decrepit.”

“Is anyone meeting you... at the dock, I mean?”

“No. Why?”

She said quickly, “I have just had a wireless. Some friends of mine are meeting me with a car and I’m driving home with them. How would you like to drive home in my car? You could carry all your baggage and...”

“That would be wonderful,” Rob said, “if it wouldn’t inconvenience you.”

“Not in the least. I’ll have the car unloaded and put in the shed so you can get in it and drive off. You’ll have to put gas in it. The tank is empty, you know.”

“And I’ll deliver it to you when...”

“Don’t bother delivering it,” she said. “Just leave it at your place and I’ll come there to pick it up. I’ll be driving by within the next few days. You’ll be there, will you?”

“I’ll make it a point to be there.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t wait around, Rob. Only I...”

She broke off and frowned with annoyance as Merton Ostrander came swinging along the deck towards them.

“Hello, everyone,” he said. “How’s the dog this morning?”