The Dogs of Gwyntystorm
The steep street led them straight up to a large market place with
butchers' shops, about which were many dogs. The moment they caught
sight of Lina, one and all they came rushing down upon her, giving her
no chance of explaining herself. When Curdie saw the dogs coming he
heaved up his mattock over his shoulder, and was ready, if they would
have it so. Seeing him thus prepared to defend his follower, a great
ugly bulldog flew at him. With the first blow Curdie struck him
through the brain and the brute fell dead at his feet. But he could
not at once recover his weapon, which stuck in the skull of his foe,
and a huge mastiff, seeing him thus hampered, flew at him next.
Now Lina, who had shown herself so brave upon the road thither, had
grown shy upon entering the city, and kept always at Curdie's heel. But
it was her turn now. The moment she saw her master in danger she
seemed to go mad with rage. As the mastiff jumped at Curdie's throat,
Lina flew at him, seized him with her tremendous jaws, gave one roaring
grind, and he lay beside the bulldog with his neck broken. They were
the best dogs in the market, after the judgement of the butchers of
Gwyntystorm. Down came their masters, knives in hand.
Curdie drew himself up fearlessly, mattock on shoulder, and awaited
their coming, while at his heel his awful attendant showed not only her
outside fringe of icicle teeth, but a double row of right serviceable
fangs she wore inside her mouth, and her green eyes flashed yellow as
gold. The butchers, not liking the look of either of them or of the
dogs at their feet, drew back, and began to remonstrate in the manner
of outraged men.
'Stranger,' said the first, 'that bulldog is mine.'
'Take him, then,' said Curdie, indignant.
'You've killed him!'
'Yes--else he would have killed me.'
'That's no business of mine.'
'No?'
'No.'
'That makes it the more mine, then.'
'This sort of thing won't do, you know,' said the other butcher.
'That's true,' said Curdie. 'That's my mastiff,' said the butcher.
'And as he ought to be,' said Curdie.
'Your brute shall be burned alive for it,' said the butcher.
'Not yet,' answered Curdie. 'We have done no wrong. We were walking
quietly up your street when your dogs flew at us. If you don't teach
your dogs how to treat strangers, you must take the consequences.'
'They treat them quite properly,' said the butcher. 'What right has
any one to bring an abomination like that into our city? The horror is
enough to make an idiot of every child in the place.'
'We are both subjects of the king, and my poor animal can't help her
looks. How would you like to be served like that because you were
ugly? She's not a bit fonder of her looks than you are--only what can
she do to change them?'
'I'll do to change them,' said the fellow.
Thereupon the butchers brandished their long knives and advanced,
keeping their eyes upon Lina.
'Don't be afraid, Lina,' cried Curdie. 'I'll kill one--you kill the
other.'
Lina gave a howl that might have terrified an army, and crouched ready
to spring. The butchers turned and ran.
By this time a great crowd had gathered behind the butchers, and in it
a number of boys returning from school who began to stone the
strangers. It was a way they had with man or beast they did not expect
to make anything by. One of the stones struck Lina; she caught it in
her teeth and crunched it so that it fell in gravel from her mouth.
Some of the foremost of the crowd saw this, and it terrified them.
They drew back; the rest took fright from their retreat; the panic
spread; and at last the crowd scattered in all directions. They ran,
and cried out, and said the devil and his dam were come to Gwyntystorm.
So Curdie and Lina were left standing unmolested in the market place.
But the terror of them spread throughout the city, and everybody began
to shut and lock his door so that by the time the setting sun shone
down the street, there was not a shop left open, for fear of the devil
and his horrible dam. But all the upper windows within sight of them
were crowded with heads watching them where they stood lonely in the
deserted market place.
Curdie looked carefully all round, but could not see one open door. He
caught sight of the sign of an inn, however, and laying down his
mattock, and telling Lina to take care of it, walked up to the door of
it and knocked. But the people in the house, instead of opening the
door, threw things at him from the windows. They would not listen to a
word he said, but sent him back to Lina with the blood running down his
face. When Lina saw that she leaped up in a fury and was rushing at
the house, into which she would certainly have broken; but Curdie
called her, and made her lie down beside him while he bethought him
what next he should do.
'Lina,' he said, 'the people keep their gates open, but their houses
and their hearts shut.'
As if she knew it was her presence that had brought this trouble upon
him, she rose and went round and round him, purring like a tigress, and
rubbing herself against his legs.
Now there was one little thatched house that stood squeezed in between
two tall gables, and the sides of the two great houses shot out
projecting windows that nearly met across the roof of the little one,
so that it lay in the street like a doll's house. In this house lived
a poor old woman, with a grandchild. And because she never gossiped or
quarrelled, or chaffered in the market, but went without what she could
not afford, the people called her a witch, and would have done her many
an ill turn if they had not been afraid of her.
Now while Curdie was looking in another direction the door opened, and
out came a little dark-haired, black-eyed, gypsy-looking child, and
toddled across the market place toward the outcasts. The moment they
saw her coming, Lina lay down flat on the road, and with her two huge
forepaws covered her mouth, while Curdie went to meet her, holding out
his arms. The little one came straight to him, and held up her mouth
to be kissed. Then she took him by the hand, and drew him toward the
house, and Curdie yielded to the silent invitation.
But when Lina rose to follow, the child shrank from her, frightened a
little. Curdie took her up, and holding her on one arm, patted Lina
with the other hand. Then the child wanted also to pat doggy, as she
called her by a right bountiful stretch of courtesy, and having once
patted her, nothing would serve but Curdie must let her have a ride on
doggy. So he set her on Lina's back, holding her hand, and she rode
home in merry triumph, all unconscious of the hundreds of eyes staring
at her foolhardiness from the windows about the market place, or the
murmur of deep disapproval that rose from as many lips.
At the door stood the grandmother to receive them. She caught the
child to her bosom with delight at her courage, welcomed Curdie, and
showed no dread of Lina. Many were the significant nods exchanged, and
many a one said to another that the devil and the witch were old
friends. But the woman was only a wise woman, who, having seen how
Curdie and Lina behaved to each other, judged from that what sort they
were, and so made them welcome to her house. She was not like her
fellow townspeople, for that they were strangers recommended them to
her.
The moment her door was shut the other doors began to open, and soon
there appeared little groups here and there about a threshold, while a
few of the more courageous ventured out upon the square--all ready to
make for their houses again, however, upon the least sign of movement
in the little thatched one.
The baker and the barber had joined one of these groups, and were
busily wagging their tongues against Curdie and his horrible beast.
'He can't be honest,' said the barber; 'for he paid me double the worth
of the pane he broke in my window.'
And then he told them how Curdie broke his window by breaking a stone
in the street with his hammer. There the baker struck in.
'Now that was the stone,' said he, 'over which I had fallen three times
within the last month: could it be by fair means he broke that to
pieces at the first blow? Just to make up my mind on that point I
tried his own hammer against a stone in the gate; it nearly broke both
my arms, and loosened half the teeth in my head!'