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Show the laughter of the Arabs would be behind them, everything would be different. . Julia gasped. The sound of it made the blood in Philip's face stop running. "Christ be merciful," said Jonathan; and Philip watched as the ex-monk's hand reached out to inscribe a cross in the thick, ozone-charged air. They all watched as the dog, in the middle of the party now, turned in a slow and painful pivot away from the ex-monk's gesture, away from Tia and Molly, away even from Paul and the chicken leg, to face him: Philip. Watched as the big red dog took a clumsy step forward, revealing the great flap of raw meat hanging at its flank; took another step and stopped. The broken chain swung freely at its neck, not quite sweeping the ground, flashing white and silver in the light. Its bloodshot eyes were pools of silence. "Must have been hit by a car," moaned Tia. "Or gotten in a fight with a badger," said Jonathan. "That's more likely." "It's in shock," said Paul. Philip stared at the dog, the wet open mouth, the red hanging tongue. It was not afraid, he could see that; could see that the animal had accepted this thing which had happened and was now only |
