Laura walked towards the man. "It is terribly cold," she said
"Colder than ever," the man said. "Now tell me what the hell you want." He staredat Laura for a few seconds, and then grinned, "Maybe you'd like to come inside andwarm up.
"No. No, I don't want to come in." She took a deep breath. "I just wanted to know if you're interested in selling your dog.-
"That worthless mutt?" The man pointed to a dog in the yard and laughed for a few seconds, then suddenly stopped. "I was just joking about the worthless part. He's a pretty good dog. ~eah. I might be interested."
"Well. he's the kind of dog I'm looking for. and it doesn't look to me like you're too fond of him. I mean he' s tied up outside. I don't see any food or water."
"You just wait a minute. I take good care of that dog. The guy I got him from said he was a trainedguard dog. Trouble is the stupid thing doesn't even bark when strangers come around. But then I guess that wouldn't matter to you. You' re probably just looking for a pet, huh?"
"Yeah. well here's your chance to get rid of him. [' 1i give you twenty dollars,"
Be snorted . "You expect me to sell a purebred guard dog for twenty dollars? Fifty dollars. That' s my price. You bring me fifty dollars, honey, and you got yourself a dog." The man smiled. "Sure you don't want to come in?"
Laura shook her head. "I'll be back with the money." Breakfast forgotten, she searched for and found a cash machine four blocks away. I can't afford this, she thought as she punched the numbers into the machine. The dog will need a vet and where am I going to get the money for that? Her fears faded as she pictured the dog, curled up, not outside on the cold. hard ground, but in front of a glowing fireplace.Blue ceramic bowls filled with food and water sat in the corner of the kitchen, and she saw him, head held high, matching her stride on their daily walk With the money in her purse she hurried back to the man's house.