Ranger's Apprentice I: Arising Danger

| Chapter VIII

Jenny and I were walking towards a farm where cows and sheep were eating grass. It was a huge farm that was clean from the outside but surprisingly, it smelled. All farms smell, but this particular one smelled bad.
     "This is where Hank lives," Jenny explained. Hank turned out to be the owner of Heidi. Hank is a rich man and possesses many animals. He is well-known in the neighborhood and many people respect him. It's only that I have never heard of him. Mainly because I never attended a market and I've never gotten myself involved in social interactions.
     "And Heidi should be here?" I asked Jenny.
     Jenny nodded her head and looked at the farm. "Hank once told me about Heidi. He said that he uses Heidi for the hard work and that she is always a bad dog, for running away and never obeying to him."
     I frowned. Dogs were such wonderful animals and shouldn't be used for the hard work. They provide happiness to someone and they can brighten up someone's mood. "That's not really nice of him. How do you know Hank? You said "once", so you have seen him earlier."
     Jenny nodded again. "You watch carefully, and you pay attention. You'll be a good Ranger! I am the Kitchenmaster Jenny, remember?"
     Oh, wait, she is the former Apprentice to Master Chubb, and she has taken Charlotte as her Apprentice. My eyes lit up as I said: "Right! Your Apprentice is Charlotte, right?"
     Jenny's face lit up and she said: "That's right! She is good at cooking and she has patience. She'll be an excellent cook!"
     I wanted to ask Jenny how Charlotte was doing and if she thought often about me, but that moment a chubby man stumbled outside. He had a grumpy face and had a sharp jawline. He was in his forties and although he was fat and round, he looked strong. Especially now that I noticed him holding a bat which had spikes and nails at the end. And those spikes and nails were covered with blood, which made me shiver and a sudden cold spider crawled over my spine.
     "What d'ya want?" he asked, unfriendly.
     "We just wanted to ask if you have seen a black dog named Heidi somewhere?" Jenny asked, before I could say something. "This boy has seen your dog and wanted to return her to you," she said, pointing at me. She laid one hand on my forearm, my right forearm without the scratch which was now healing.
     Hank, the fat man, turned to me and suddenly looked really mad. "Don't ya lay one finger on her, ya hear that!" He raised the bat.
     Jenny stepped back, but I refused to. "Oh really? What happens if I lay one finger on her? Hold on. What if I lay two fingers on her?" I challenged Hank to hit me with his bat. Although, this was making me actually nervous. Especially when he stepped closer to me so that I could smell his awful fish breath. "Watch your sharp tongue, kid, I will use this bat," Hank threatened.
     My attention was focused on something else. Because the door went open and a black dog ran outside. Heidi looked around and her eyes were immediately locked on the bat. That moment I realized that the blood on the bat was Heidi's.
     "You heartless bastard!" I yelled. I drew my Saxe and jumped towards the man. He would pay for his crimes. But something stopped me. Or should I say someone? And that 'someone' being Will. I looked behind me at Will and snapped: "Let me go to take care of this cruel man! He will go to the Queen to be locked away!"
     "Calm down, Silver, and let me get Heidi back for you." Then he let me go and stepped towards the man. Without clearing his throat, he coldly said: "Give us Heidi and we'll leave you alone. Neglecting and abusing an animal is strictly against the law and a crime."
     "And who are you to demand me?" Hank asked.
     "Does the name Ranger Will Treaty ring a bell?" Will asked.
     Hank immediately dropped the bat, hurried to the scared Heidi and pushed her towards me. It was almost funny how one name brought so much fear into the eyes of a man twice Will's size.
     I kneeled before the shaking Heidi and hugged her when she ran into my arms. Heidi gave me licks on my face and wagged her tail. "I'll never let you go again!" I whispered to her.
     Heidi's answer were two soft licks on the tip of my nose. I gave her another hug and looked up. I saw Will staring into Hank's eyes. Then he turned around and gestured me to come with him. "Let's go home," he said.
     I smiled and turned to Jenny. "Thank you for helping me!" I said.
     Jenny nodded and said: "I'll tell Charlotte that your heart has brightened even more! Go, Rangers' Apprentice Silver, and may we see you again on Harvest Day!" Then she disappeared out of eyesight.
     I watched as she headed back to Wensley and then turned to Will. I cleared my throat and gave Will a hug. "Thank you for coming!" I immediately felt Will's hands on my back and for a moment, I enjoyed this moment. I let go of Will and asked: "How did you know I was here?"
     Will chuckled and said: "Let me tell you when we get home. What's more important now, is lunch!"

We were sitting and having lunch when I finally got the courage to ask Will about Heidi and Hank. "Excuse me, Will — sir," I automatically said.
     Will looked up and made a gesture, to tell me what's up.
     "So, how did you find me?" I nervously asked.
     Will placed his toast on his plate and cleaned his mouth before answering. "Don't freak out, okay?" he asked beforehand. Then he continued: "When I saw Heidi, my attention was immediately drawn to her wound. Even through the bandages I could see it wasn't a normal wound. Because there were several deep pinches in her flesh. And I concluded that she was hit by spikes."
     I held my breath as I heard that. Now that he mentioned it, I didn't really pay that much attention to the wound. I had assumed it was because she might have tripped. But once I had seen the bat Hank was holding, I knew better. I had hoped that it wasn't true. But it was.
     "So, when I arrived at Hank's farm, my thoughts were confirmed," he said.
     "But that's not the point," I said. "How has it come that you were right on time when I needed you the most?"
     Will chuckled again and replied: "Well, that's a story for another time."
     "Oh, come on!" I said, then throwing my hands in the air.
     Will grinned at me and said: "Okay, fine." He waited again. "After you disappeared out of sight, after I told you to search the village, I had followed you. Of course, you couldn't know it was Hank. So, I went to Hank's house and waited in the bushes near the farm. When you finally showed up, I only had to wait for the right time."
     I frowned and thought about it. But how. . . "How did you follow me, when I was sure nobody was behind me? And besides, you have Tug and Tug was standing nearby the farm too. . ." It just didn't seem to make sense for me.
     "Following someone's footsteps is easy, Silver, especially when that someone runs," Will explained.
     "Wow!" I said. "You track tracks? Do all Rangers do that? Can I learn that? When can I learn that?"
     Ranger Will suddenly chuckled. "Why does this boy ask so many questions?" he asked the ceiling. Of course, the ceiling didn't answer. Well, I suppose asking questions is a good sign? Well, sometimes.