Part Five

Allarm

One afternoon Viggo was walking home from school with a bag of books on his back. He marched straight as a stick with a soldierly step, for he was thinking of the time when he should change this bag for one full of cartridges. Old Hans was standing outside the cottage waiting for him, and when Viggo halted and saluted, the old man asked if he could guess what present there was for him at the house.

"How does it look?" asked Viggo.

"It is brown," said Hans. "Now guess."

"Oh, I suppose it is nothing but a lump of brown sugar from Aunt Beate. She never remembers that I have outgrown such sweet stuff," said Viggo.

"Try again!" said Hans, and grinned. "It is dark brown, man, it walks on four feet and laps milk."

"Are you mad? Is it the puppy the Captain has promised me? Is it?" cried Viggo, and forgot all about standing straight and stiff before the Grenadier.

"Right about, you cheater! Of course that's what it is," said Hans the Grenadier.

But Viggo turned a somersault instead of "Right about" and ran to the house. On a piece of carpet close by the fireplace lay the little puppy, and he was beautiful. Viggo could not get tired of looking at him. The body was dark brown, but the nose and paws were light brown, and he had a light brown spot over each eye. He was almost as broad as he was long, and when Viggo sat down on the floor beside him and stroked and patted the soft fur he bent his short, stubby neck and smelled, and then licked Viggo's hand. Soon they had become acquainted and from that time on Viggo watched carefully to see if the puppy grew, almost as carefully as he watched his own nose, to see if it had the proper curve so that he might become a general.

But it went much faster with the puppy. And as he grew Viggo loved him more and more; they were inseparable. In the night Allarm lay by his bed, and in the daytime he sat beside Viggo when he was studying his lessons. The puppy looked at him with his big brown eyes, just as if he would help him when he came to difficult passages, and then he followed him wherever Viggo went or stood. He was not allowed to go along to school, but he met him every afternoon more than half way and barked with joy and wagged his tail when he saw Viggo.

One winter morning Hans the Grenadier and some of the farm hands were going to the woods to haul lumber. Viggo had a holiday that day so he was allowed to go along. He put his rubber boots on and whistled for Allarm. The puppy jumped and barked when he noticed that they were off for the woods, for Allarm's father was a hound, so Allarm wanted to hunt too. But Viggo's father said it would be best to leave Allarm at home, for there were packs of wolves in the woods and their tracks had been seen even in the field close to the farm. Viggo did not like to leave Allarm behind, but when his father said so of course he must do it. He took the strap and tied Allarm to the leg of the sofa. Then he put his old coat on the floor beside the dog, so that he might rest more softly and be comfortable. But you can't imagine how Allarm whined and howled when he understood that he was to be left tied up instead of being allowed to go along to the woods.

He lay flat on the floor and dragged his body to Viggo's feet as far as the strap reached--just as if he begged for freedom and permission to go with him, and he looked at Viggo with sad eyes which seemed to say, "Have you really the heart to go to the woods to have a good time, and to leave me behind, tied up and alone?" No, Viggo had not the heart to do that. He told his father that he could not stand to have Allarm so sad, happen what would, and he begged that he might take him along.

The father smiled and said he was afraid it might be the death of his dog, but if Viggo wanted to risk it and take him along he must take good care of him and not let him out of his sight. Then they untied him, and you may imagine Allarm's joy; he jumped and barked so that the mother had to put her fingers in her ears.

How beautiful the forest was! First they drove for awhile along the main road where there was good driving. The seven horses went in a line, one after the other and Hans the Grenadier and Viggo and Allarm walked behind the first one. On both sides of the road stood tall pines with their yellow trunks reaching out of the snow. Here and there between them stood an old fir with its branches hanging down to the ground. The needles couldn't be seen at all as it was white with snow from top to bottom--there you could see its dark brown leg. And all the young trees on both sides stood bent to the ground under the weight of the snow. It looked as if they had dressed in heavy white robes against the cold and stood there bowing to all who went past. But they made no loud greetings. No, the forest was so still, so still you could not hear the least sound except the horses' hoofs crunching in the snow. Here and there Viggo saw the foot-prints of a wolf beside the road. Then he always told Allarm to keep close by him, and that he did.

But after awhile they left the road and turned into the thick forest. Hans the Grenadier waded in front and the snow came to his knees, then came the horses and the boys, one after the other, and at last Viggo. It was a fine tramp. The snow came sifting down from twigs and boughs, so the men were white like snowmen, and the steam rose in clouds from the horses because the snow melted on them.

After a while they came to the logs and began to hitch them to the horses. Then suddenly Viggo remembered Allarm; he had forgotten all about the dog since they turned away from the road. He looked around him, and just then he heard Allarm whine and howl somewhere in the depths of the forest.

As quick as lightning he grabbed an ax which Old Hans had hewed into the stump of a tree and rushed in through the trees in the direction from which the howling came. It was not easy, he ran over the wild fields, and the snow reached far above his knees, but he noticed nothing, he only feared he would be too late. Once he had to stop a little to draw breath, then again he heard the pitiful wail of the dog, but now it sounded fainter. Off Viggo rushed again, and at last he spied something between the trees. He did not see his dog, but three wolves stood in a circle, heads turned toward the center, the fourth one lay inside the ring and bit something in the snow.

Viggo shouted so that it thundered in the forest, and rushed against the wolves with lifted ax. When he came within seven or eight feet distance from them, the greylegs got frightened and sneaked, tail between the legs, far into the dark forest, but the fourth one, who lay on top of Allarm, hated to give up his prey. It was a large yellow wolf. He looked up at Viggo and showed his bloody teeth. But Viggo only thought of the dog's danger. "Let go of Allarm. Let go of my dog or I'll teach you!" he cried and swung the axe high above his head. Then greylegs thought he had better not try the game and sneaked slowly away after the others. He turned once and howled and showed his teeth, and then he disappeared between the white bushes.

Far down in a hole in the snow lay Allarm. He was so bitten that he could not jump to his feet and, when Viggo lifted him, the blood dripped down on the white snow. His whole body shivered and shook like an aspen leaf, but he licked Viggo's hand.

Just then Old Hans the Grenadier stood by Viggo's side. When he had gained his breath after his hurried run, the old man cried very angrily, "If I did what you deserve I should have to whip you, you little cub. Shame on you! Do you think it fit for a youngster like you to rush against a pack of wolves? If they had eaten you up alive before you had a chance to make a sound, what would you have said then?"

"Then I would have said, 'One thing is a shame, and that is to turn your back before "retreat" is called,'" said Viggo, and looked sharply at the Grenadier.

"Well said, my boy! The nose has not quite the right curve yet, but the eyes are there, and I do believe the heart too," said Old Hans. He took the dog from Viggo and went home with both of them.