Page 32 of The Secret of the Dashing Detective
Matthew no longer followed behind as Juliana took to the alley beyond the butcher shop.
She had been right. There was a pack of four dogs currently fighting over a carcass of a type that Matthew couldn’t actually recognize – and it looked like their quarrel was about to get ugly.
While he had been watching them, he had missed Juliana beginning to rush toward them, likely to stop them – but he had a feeling that she was only going to make things worse.
“Juliana!” he called out, racing after her, which of course alerted the dogs to their presence. One lifted its head and began to growl at them, and Juliana stopped her already slowed stride, which allowed Matthew to catch up to her. He placed a hand on her arm to halt her progress.
“Careful,” he said, and when she nodded her understanding, he realized that she had already been slowing down, knowing how to approach the situation.
“We should go,” he added, but she shook her head.
“Look at that one – it’s limping,” she said, pointing. “And the brown and white one has obviously been in an altercation of some kind.”
She reached into the bag she carried and pulled out scraps, which began to alert the dogs, who lifted their heads and sniffed the air. Matthew held his hand out. “Let me,” he said, and she opened her mouth to argue but he eyed her with a look that told her he would not listen to dissent in this.
“Let me, Juliana,” he repeated. “Then we can accomplish your goal without me having to come rescue you.”
“Fine, you can take the food,” she said. “But I am walking with you.”
“Very well.”
She did, at least, stay one step behind him as he neared the dogs. The two that had been fighting over the bones neared him with interest while the other two hung back much more timidly. Matthew placed scraps in both hands and held them out to the two braver dogs, who had begun to inch forward.
“You’re right,” he murmured to Juliana. “This guy over here – the black one – has something wrong with his leg.”
“I will try to put a splint on it,” she said. “Mr. Livingstone showed us how.”
Matthew didn’t question what a human surgeon would know about treating a dog, but he supposed the man would know more than most other people would.
“Keep feeding him,” Juliana whispered in his ear as she reached out and tentatively stroked the dog. The dog eyed her with some distrust but didn’t back away.
She leaned in and placed the splint next to his leg before she began wrapping the bandage around it. The dog flinched and Matthew was ready to step between him and Juliana, but it didn’t make any move to attack her.
“There,” Juliana said after what seemed like an eternity but was actually only a few moments. “Finished.”
She sat back on her heels, obviously pleased with her efforts. The dog looked down and immediately tried to eat the bandage.
“No, don’t do that!” Juliana exclaimed, but before she could do anything more, the dog trotted away, likely to work at the bandage some more until he had successfully removed it.
The other dog sat there and stared at them as though waiting for more food. He had obviously been through a fair bit in his time, and before Matthew could stop her, Juliana was kneeling beside him and stroking his head.
“You’re a pretty one, aren’t you?” she crooned to the dog who could be called many things, but pretty was not one word that Matthew would use to describe him.
“You might do well to come with us to Father Abbot’s sanctuary. What do you think?”
“What if he belongs to someone?” Matthew asked, but immediately regretted the question at the look Juliana shot him.
“If he does belong to someone, then they are obviously not taking good enough care of him to deserve to keep him. He looks as though he has been used as a fighting dog.”
That seemed to decide it for her.
She slipped the rope around the dog’s neck, and everyone was surprised when the dog obediently walked behind as though he understood that this was the best route for him to take.
Matthew could only follow behind them, ready to jump in if needed.
But it seemed in this, Juliana could fend for herself.
CHAPTER12
