Style, you
either have it or you
don't. And if you have it, you have it
all the time.The Rogue Goes to the Dogs
by Tux Toledo
Page 4
"I'm
glad you could make it, Mr. Churchill." He shook my hand and
looked at James.
"This is my chauffeur, James," I said.
Nick's eyebrows raised like a drawbridge. "Very good," he
said.
"Nice place you have."
He shrugged. He did not want to talk about real estate, he
wanted to talk about dogs. "It's nice to have enough land to
be able to get out and condition them myself," he said. "Al
exercises them when I'm in the City, but no one cares for them like I
do. Al, bring Concorde over here."
The stable boy brought one of the dogs to Nick.
"Named him after the SST," Nick said, scratching the dog's ears.
"Beautiful dog," I said.
"Yes, beautiful and talented. Just watch."
Nick remounted. Al undid the leash and Concorde ran several
hundred yards ahead of the horse and sniffed at the breeze.
Nick's horse trotted at a leisurely pace. Concorde,
unencumbered by the leash, roamed the field. After a few
minutes his motions became forceful. He ran forward then
quickly came to a complete halt, his tail frozen and pointed skyward at
a ninety-degree angle. Nick goaded his horse into a brisk
canter toward Concorde. He dismounted and went to where the
dog pointed. A startled quail launched itself into the
air. Nick pulled a pistol from his side and fired at the
quail. The bird flew on.
"Blanks," James said.
I nodded and watched the bird fly away. Concorde remained
perfectly still until Nick gave him a signal to move.
"Good," Nick said. "Very good." Concorde reveled in
his master's praise.
"Very impressive," I said to Nick upon his return.
"What you have just seen is a field trial," he explained.
"Man and dog working as a team. Did you see how straight
Concorde's tail was? And he didn't flinch at the sound of the
gun. Concorde is first rate, the best dog I've ever had."
"So why aren't you winning?" I asked. Might as well get the
poignant questions out of the way.
His face darkened in the sunlight.
"Let's go to my office," he said.
© 2008 David Biagini