"Why, Nokomis!" Joy exclaimed, "how did you get this awful cut on your head! We must attend to it immediately! Chester, won't you go in and get me some water and some salve? Leah will give them to you."
When I came back she was sitting on the ground with the dog's head on her lap. Nokomis' deep brown, soft eyes looked up gratefully while the wound was washed and dressed. The tears actually came to my eyes at the sight. The scene of yesterday, when these two were arrayed against each other, seemed impossible. It should go without saying that I made no mention of it to Joy, for it was evident that she had no idea of Edna's treatment of the collies.
"Now, Nokomis," Joy said, getting up and shaking the dust off her skirt, "listen! I want you to go in the house and get my golf-jacket, and bring it to me." She spoke very distinctly, accenting the important words. Nokomis trotted to the kitchen door, barked sharply, and was admitted.
"I'm educating her," Joy explained to me. "I want to see how far I can get her to understand what I say. This is rather a test, for there are at least three related ideas, the house, the jacket and bringing it back. But she's extraordinary at picking up words; she has really quite a vocabulary. Of course, you hear a good many stories of the intelligence of collies, but I've never heard of their being systematically trained except in a utilitarian way. I'm experimenting with more and more complex ideas. I hate the ordinary dog tricks; they're undignified and unworthy. I'm tremendously interested in animal psychology. Queer, isn't it, when I can't even handle my own!"
Nokomis appeared, in a distressed frame of mind, and whined.
"Well, Noko, what's the matter! Can't you find it?"
Nokomis barked, ran a few steps towards the house, and returned.
"All right, we'll go in and see what's the matter."
So we followed her into the house. The red golf-coat that Edna had worn yesterday was hanging upon a hat-stand in the hall. Nokomis went to it, shook it with her teeth, turned round and whined. It was as near talking as a dog could do.
"Oh, I see," said Joy. "You got the house and the coat all right, but you thought I meant just to come back, did you? No, bring, Nokomis, bring, bring, bring!" As she spoke, she placed the jacket in Nokomis' teeth and showed her what was meant. "Next time you'll know, won't you?" she said.