Sitting on the porch of his family's home with his head in his hands and tears rolling down his face Jimmy was reminiscing over what had just taken place. He had taken part in the demise of a poor little terrier dog.
"It's only a worthless mutt." shouted the old man. "Take it down to the river and shoot it." Chance seemed to agree with his father as he went into the house for the rifle.
Jimmy was quiet, A lump came into his throat. He didn't want to be a part of this. Nor, did he want to be considered a weakling or coward. If he didn't go along with Chance on this, all the kids of the town would hear about it.
The boys were only ten years old. They had lived in this small farming town for several years and they had witnessed animals killed before. Mostly livestock butchered for food. This had been a way of life. That was not a problem.
Once a mad dog was shot to protect the people of the town. Jimmy never witnessed the actual shooting so he could put that out of his mind quickly. But being a witness to this would be unforgivable. It would be murder. This little terrier dog had not harmed anyone.
The dog had just shown up in town a few hours ago. He came up to the boys wagging his tail, looking for a hand out they figured. He was thin and his hair was matted down like he had been on his own for several days.Jimmy and Chance played with him for a while before continuing on down the road. The terrier jumped and ran around the boys as they walked.
Jimmy ask "You think we could find something for him to eat, Chance?""Maybe, if my dad isn't home". He answered.
They were not far from Chance's dad's house. His dad and mother had separated several years earlier. His mother lived in the same town with her second husband. This gave Chance two homes to reside in.
The boy's hurried on down the dirt road toward the house. Chance went in. but it wasn't long before he returned empty handed. His father was behind him yelling
"No one in town can afford to feed that worthless mutt." He continued muttering "some so and so just pushed it out of the car in this town so he wouldn't have to feed it."
The boys didn't say anything. The old man finished his speech as he went back in the house letting the screen door slam behind him. "It's only a worthless mutt, do as I tell you, and take it down to the river and shoot it." Shortly, Chance came out of the house with the 22 caliber rifle. He stopped by the pile of wood, next to the out house. There he picked up a short rope that laid on the ground.
The dog was still with them. Chance put a noose over the dogs head and preceded to the river. He loaded the gun with out saying anything. Jimmy felt that Chance was as unwilling to shoot the
