The Heart of a Champion

Victor galloped a thousand strides, stopping only occasionally to let out a low, echoing bark, and trotting onward.  Finally stopping on the edge of a wide hollow, looking down at the stream, across to the other side, his view was fantastic.  Surveying the panorama was one of his greatest joys,  some serenity found in casting his sniffs over nature's scene.

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"don't move, i've almost got it"  i told BigFoot, i was on his shoulder changing the lightbulb.

"i could do it, Sam, if i am really gentle, by myself.  there seem to be a few scones missing from the kitchen"

"really?  i have just taken them out of the oven, Squatch"

"it wasn't me, it was Victor"  lied Marvin, his tongue wiping his lips back and forth giving away not only the offender, but also a tall tale teller all at once.

"Victor, huh?"  said Squatch.  "Sam, someone's coming up the drive. It sounds like the Sheriff"

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The Giant Mastiff swung around, heading back to the Colonel's Dale.  With a  relaxed gait, Victor could hear a step, sense a presence ahead of him.  He smelled Marvin, and detected a noise in the woods, as if he were struggling.
As Victor found him, Marvin was scratched about the ears from wriggling thru thistles, panting from his long run, no match at all for Victor.

"And what are you doing out here?" asked Victor.  "You are a mess, Marvin.  You look like the woods have gotten the better of ya!"

"I wanted to follow you, Victor, to be like you...to see where you go all by yourself"  said lil Marv, as Victor licked the tiny dog's wounds, and smiled, just a bit.

"Well, you're  lucky I found you, and one day, we'll go to my special spot,  when there's more time.  For now, I hate to disappoint you, Marvin, but I am already headed home."

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Size 24 and I peered through the curtains.  it wasn't the Sheriff, instead, it was deputy Rollins, his simpleton sidekick.  "Looks like we'll have to put on some tea, Squatch"

As the car door (s) slammed shut outside, i immediately knew there was another person, and the "Oh this is really a beautiful place, Mr. Rollins" sang out, a woman's voice!    Squatch and I went wide eyed.  "You sit on the sofa, and just be normal. Don't do anything weird".  He was petrified.

My door is always flung wide, so we heard the footsteps approach, which sent Size 24 to the sofa.  His legs sprawled into the middle of the room.  "Sam, I brought you a visitor from town. Knock knock"  said Rollins.

As the tall lean Deputy entered, followed by a college aged woman, dressed in jeans, and printed silk shirt, she let out a rather shocked: "OH MY GOD! What is that?"

"What is what?" I replied.

Pointing at Bigfoot, "That?"

Me: "Oh, that's just Bob.  And whom might you be?"

"B..Bob?" she stammered, gathering her wits, "I am.. " i knew, when confronted with the impossibly implausible, we must dare the adversary to accept the improbable.

"I'm Sarah.  The Deputy offered to show me where you lived" she managed.

Rollins grinned big, the hero of the day.

"Well, Sarah you found me! Let's go into the kitchen, shall we?"  she had to step over piles of books and manuscripts scattered about.



As we crossed the entryway, 'Bob' skedaddled out of the burrow, and into the woods, silently and stealthy. 


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Marvin, slowed Victor as they made their way back to the Dale.  Marvin's little strides just wore him out, the scratches started to close up, making it painful to walk at all.  Victor stopped numerous times, patiently, and finally just scooped Marvin up in his giant jaws, and carried him oh so ingloriously, most of the way back.

"Put me down, please"  squeaked the younger of the two.  "Victor, I want to explain...." Marvin wanted to confess about some missing scones.

"Now, now, Marvin, my dear boy.  You don't worry yourself about any of this." As he fluffed up the beagle, and licked at his ears and legs a bit, to get the blood circulating again.

Marvin: "I wanted to tell you about......"

Victor:  "No.  Not now, Marvin, we are going to walk into that dale, and yard, and I'm going to let you lead the way, OK?  So let's go"

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Sarah, Rollins and I after pouring tea, walked into the living room, and she asked, "Where's Bob?"

"Bob who?"

Just as a long howl was heard not far off, and a mighty bark together, two returning hounds. 

The three of us watched from the stoop, as two figures emerged from the woods, and entered the dale.   A huge dog by any standard, Victor inexplicably was behind the  scratched up beat up, worn out Marvin, both heads proudly held high, the Mastiff's as ever, the Beagle's from sheer determination.

"The little one seems to have been through a war" said Sarah.

As they approached, I asked Victor,  "So how are things, Vic?  How'd you find that little rascal?  How is he?"

Marvin fairly beamed as Victor said: "He is a true champion, Sam.  A true champion"

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ever wondered how I found Bigfoot? : http://samuelclemons.blogspot.com/2011/02/i-found-bigfoot.html

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Ami loved Victor so much, I thought I'd recount this story for her, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/museinks