Stranger in his Homeland

Chapter Forty

299 Chapter Forty Antony’s dismissal as “Surveillant General,” and his dejection at Eru’s sad state was made worse by the loss of Argus. It came as unexpectedly as its acquisition. Less than a fortnight after his return from Likume, he was roused from his afternoon rest by a black cat chasing a mouse to and fro the whole length of the roof of his house. He walked out in a fury and immediately picked up a stone and flung in the direction of the cat. It missed hitting the cat but caused the mouse to change direction and flee towards the eaves and fall on to the front yard. The cat plunged to the ground after the helpless mouse that fell not too far from where Argus was tied. Argus barked furiously as soon as the mouse dropped to the ground. Sighting the cat and with the dog before it, the little mouse chose the better of two evils: it dashed between the legs of the dog. As the cat made a show of catching up with it, Argus thought that he was the target of the cat’s aggression. It sprang into the air towards the cat. “Catch’m, Argus!” Antony shouted. Instead of escaping the little harmless-looking cat purred and with all the hairs along its spine on ends it arched its back and stood its ground. “Catch’m!” Antony repeated. In its fury Argus sprang again, cutting itself loose from the chain and charging at the cat which also jumped so that they both clashed in mid-air. Within seconds the combat was over. The cat lay in two trembling, bleeding halves with its intestines lying ungainly, between the severed halves. But instead of a victory song Antony saw Argus spin round and round, throw itself down again with a sustained high-pitched wail of unbearable pain. Ignorant of the dog’s predicament Antony whistled, called its name and beckoned to it to come. Argus did not seem to heed to the call. It did not even seem to know the direction from which the call was coming. Antony managed to reach it and grab it by the piece of chain which hung from the belt round its neck. What he saw drove a pain through his heart. The mischievous 300 Linus T. Asong little cat had, miraculously, implanted its claws in the dog’s eyes, bursting both. Argus, the only creature that understood Antony’s need for company, love and protection was blind. Desperate, Antony attached its chain back to the belt round its neck and let it by the hand to the Veterinary Post, Argus whimpering, wailing and whining at every pace. The Veterinary Post was closed but he knew Musa’s house. Musa was not at home either. Antony decided to wait. After a full anxious hour he decided to leave Argus and note explaining what had happened with Musa’s brother. For two hours he searched in vain for Musa. When he had almost given up he found Musa drinking in a roadside bar. “Argus is blind,” Antony said, almost crying. “You want to buy him spectacles?” the man asked. “You and your dog!” he added. Musa thought Antony had sent Argus to go looking for him and Argus had returned without news about him. “Seriously,” Antony repeated. “A wild cat burst its two eyes.” He shook his head sadly. “Where is it?” “I left it at your place,” Antony told him. They both hurried back to Musa’s house. Argus was no stronger to the compound, but it was nowhere to be found. The wounds and the blood tricking from the eyes attracted flies instantly. The molestations from the flies and the agony it was going through combined to force it to cut its chain and flee. Antony and his friend mounted a fruitless hunt for it. Towards dark when they began to inquire about it, somebody said he had seen a dog lying in a gutter like the one they were describing. He led them there. The dog in the gutter was indeed Argus. They could see right from where they stood that it was not alive! Antony rolled up the legs of his trousers and jumped in. he felt the dog and turned it over. It was already stiff and foaming at the mouth. Its body was filled with scratch-wounds, indicating that it must have been attacked by other dogs who took advantage of its helpless...