My Dog Skip Page #4

But they gave you

a medal for it, right?

I'd rather have the leg.

Now, look there.

There's an old gray squirrel.

Go get him, boy!

You almost got him, boy.

Hunters. Take a knee.

Real slow.

Hello!

Over here! 3:
00!

Don't move!

We'll come to you!

Was the war like this?

Boys.

Would you look at that?

She's something, all right.

Or was.

Daddy...

She's still alive.

Shouldn't we call a vet or something?

We better get going. Come on.

Come on.

Y'all come by for some

venison chili now, real soon.

Will do.

The seasons in our region ofAmerica

seemed to have minds of their own.

The fields in winter

looked so barren...

...that it seemed nothing

could ever grow there again...

...like the dark sky would last

the rest of the year.

Then, magically, spring would come...

...and catch us

by surprise every time.

And there were

so many surprises that year.

Who'd have thought that my daddy

would ever let me play football?

Who'd have dreamed

that Rivers Applewhite...

...the prettiest girl in town,

would let me hold her hand?

It's a funny book.

It was indeed

a strange and unusual time.

Old Skip had helped me

through the struggles of boyhood.

But his job was far from done.

And now...

...wearing the famous number eight...

...it's Willie Morris!

Morris! Morris!

No, Skip!

This is only an official

regulation uniform...

...like they wear in the bigs.

Haven't seen you around much.

I've been pretty busy.

I'm playing some ball now, you know.

Oh, yeah? That's good.

Right.

Well, see you.

It's opening day.

That's what they call

the first game of the season.

I was sort of wondering if...

I was hoping that maybe...

...you might come.

Yeah, sure, kid. That'd be fine.

Really?

Okay. Great.

Well, I better get on down there.

See you.

Thanks for picking my number.

Come on, Spit!

Dadgum it, Morris!

How many times do I

have to tell you...

...this is no place for dogs?

Now get him out of here!

This isn't a game, you know.

It ain't?

Get him out of here.

Come on, Skip.

Go sit by Rivers, okay?

Hey, Skip. You can sit by me.

Be a hitter now.

Make him pitch to you.

Watch him close!

Morris, you're on deck.

Let's go, Cliff.

Let's go, now.

He's on deck.

That's the way, Cliff.

Watch him close.

Good swing! Good swing!

Willie, you're so dreamy!

Aren't you embarrassed

to be wearing Dink's number?

I know I wouldn't be caught dead

wearing that crazy eight.

- How about you, Henj?

- No way.

Did y'all hear Dink's gonna

play minor-league ball?

Really?

He's gonna be the star runner

for the Memphis Chickens!

Well, let's go, son!

We don't got all day.

Play ball!

Watch the ball, son.

Strike one!

Strike two!

Come on, Willie!

You can do it, honey!

Strike three!

You're out of there!

That's okay, Willie.

Let's go. Next batter.

Swing, batter, batter!

Swing, batter, batter. Swing!

It's all right, Willie!

He's upset. I wish there was

some way we could help.

Get out of here!

We're trying to play baseball!

Time! Get that dog out of here!

Get out of here!

You're supposed to be by Rivers!

Get that dog out of here!

We're trying to play ball.

Skip, get!

Go home! Now!

You're being bad! Now go!

Go home!

Willie, what's wrong with you?!

I'm home!

Skip, I'm home.

Where are you?

Where are you, boy?

Here, Skipper!

Here, boy!

Barney, have you seen Skip?

Well, let me see...

He came in for bologna this morning.

On his way to the ball game,

I believe.

If you see him, can you tell him

I'm looking for him?

Don't you go worrying about him.

He'll turn up.

You know, that dog is

plumb crazy about you, boy.

Junior, how come I end up

carrying all the crates?

Because you're the worker,

and I'm the brains of this operation.

How's that?

Because I can spell my name.

Let's move it.

We got people waiting.

I just wish you'd get us our money.

Just come on now. Come on.

I don't do this for free.

Shut your trap.

I'm sick of your whining.

Shut up and lift. Come on.

Have you seen Skip?

I can't find him.

I wouldn't blame him

if he never came back...

...after the way you treated him!

He was only trying to help.

Please help me.

I just got to find him.

Okay. I'll be right down.

But, Willie...

...I'm not doing it for you.

I'm doing it for him.

Where are you?

Come on home, boy!

Yeah, and school.

The baseball and football fields too.

And the park.

Deserters...

...puppy dogs and now girls.

Guess we were wrong about you, Wilma.

Skip's lost.

We gotta find him.

Won't you help us find him?

"Won't you help us find him?"

Listen, Skip's missing.

We're gonna find him.

You want to help? Fine.

You don't? You can stick it

up your big, fat butt.

Who said I didn't want to help?

Let's go.

Spread out.

Look everywhere, and ask everyone.

Skip been around here?

Not for a couple days.

Here, Skip.

Skip, are you here?

Here, Skip.

Come on home, boy!

Here, Skipper!

Sheriff, Jack Morris.

Well, my son's little dog, Skip,

has gone missing and...

Yeah, they're all out looking for him,

but he hasn't turned up yet.

So I was wondering if you could just

let us know if you see him.

We would surely appreciate it.

Thank you, sheriff.

You bawling like a big baby

because you lost that ball game?

What do you know about it?

You didn't even come, you big liar.

Leave me alone.

That's how it is, isn't it?

You're a hero today...

...and you're a goat tomorrow.

Now, I didn't come, because games

don't mean nothing to me anymore.

It's not the game.

It's Skip.

He's gone for good.

For good?

How you know that?

You some kind of fortuneteller?

I got mad at him and I hit him.

And he ran away.

Just like you ran away.

Skip was never afraid of nothing.

You think I don't know

what folks are saying?

That old Dink's a coward?

Well, I know. And you know what?

They're right.

I got scared. And I ran.

You think it's because

I was afraid of dying?

Because I wished I was dead

plenty of times.

Then what was it?

It ain't the dying that's scary, boy.

It's the killing.

Now, look.

That dog ain't lost. You just

need to know where to find him.

There's gotta be at least

one place around here...

...that you hadn't thought of

to look at, right?

Sometimes he gets mad

and says things he doesn't mean.

He gets it from his mother.

When I got back from Spain...

...I got into accounting.

I figured I could hide this

behind a desk.

I looked down, and I didn't so much

as look up for a whole year.

When I finally did...

...people weren't staring

at me anymore.

I guess they kind of forgot about it.

Well, Mr. Morris,

you got a Purple Heart.

I got a yellow stripe.

You can trust me.

They don't forget about cowards.

Well, folks like

to keep things small, Dink.

Fit you into one pocket or the other.

Give a man a label...

...and you never really

need to get to know him.

My son...

...he looks up to you, Dink.

Not because you can run or throw a ball.

You're his hero...

...because you're his friend.

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