“Hello, pie peddlers.” Will smiled. “What kind of pies are you selling today?”
Jem didn’t answer. His fingers tightened around the handle. He would not punch Will.
Even if he deserved it.
Jem looked at Ellie. Her eyes were as big and round as an owl’s.
“Don’t let mean Will scare you, Ellie,” Jem said. “He’s all talk. Just ignore him.”
He turned the wagon around. “Let’s go the other way.” He started walking fast.
Thump, thump, thump. Will’s shoes slapped against the ground.
He caught up to Jem. “I don’t want a teensy slice today. This time I’m taking a whole pie.”
Jem scowled. “No, you’re not.”
Will grinned. “You can’t stop me.” He yanked the cloth away. “Apple pie! Mmm!”
“No!” Jem shouted.
“Go away!” Ellie’s tears gushed.
Grrr. A low, scary growl came from behind Jem.
Will froze. He dropped the cloth.
The dog shot between Jem’s legs like a golden arrow. His sharp teeth showed. He snapped his jaw and growled louder.
Will backed away from the wagon.
The dog sprang.
“No!” Will yelped.
The dog grabbed Will’s pant leg in his mouth and shook his head. His floppy ears jerked back and forth.
Will shrieked. He kicked out his foot, but the dog held on tighter.
Grrr!
Will’s face turned white. “Call off your dog,” he begged, sobbing. “He’s going to bite me.”
“Here, boy,” Jem called. “Come here.”
The dog let go of Will’s pant leg. Tail wagging, he trotted back to Jem.
Will’s whole body shook. He looked at the dog. Then he looked at Jem.
Jem stared at Will. His thoughts spun. The dog went after Will. He took care of us.
Jem took a step toward Will. “Get out of here, Will, before I tell this dog to go after you again.”
“Go away!” Ellie said. Her tears had dried up.
“This dog will be with us every Saturday,” Jem told Will. “He’ll make sure you never pick on us again.”
Will shook his head. “I won’t.”
He backed up three steps. Then he turned and ran around the corner.
As soon as Will disappeared, Jem started laughing. He bent over and hugged the dog.
Ellie giggled and petted him. “You are the best dog in the whole world.”
Jem and Ellie finished the pie deliveries without one mistake.
All ten pies found their customers. Gold dust and nuggets went into Mama’s small pouch.
The wagon stayed clean. No smashed pies today!
Jem let Ellie and the golden dog ride home in the wagon. It was a lot of work to pull them over all the ruts and bumps.
Jem didn’t care. He was too happy to feel tired.
“Mama!” he yelled when he got close to home. “Guess what happened!”
Mama stopped pulling pies from the cookstove. She stood up straight. “Jeremiah, get that filthy dog out of the wagon.”
She flapped her apron. “Shoo, you—”
“No, Mama!” Ellie hugged the dog. “He—”
“He growled at Will,” Jem said. He scowled at Ellie. “I’m telling this.”
Ellie scowled back. But she kept quiet for once.
Halfway through Jem’s story, Mama’s frown turned to a smile. She looked at Ellie. She looked at Jem.
Then she looked at the dog. “Well, I’ll be. I never would have believed it.”
Jem dug out Mama’s pouch. “There’s lots of gold in here.” He took a deep breath. “And I’m ready to deliver the next wagonload of pies.”
Just then Pa walked up. He was smiling. “Look what I washed out of the rocker box this afternoon.”
He held out his closed fist. “I struck it rich.”
Jem and Ellie peeled back Pa’s fingers. Two nuggets the size of corn kernels lay in his palm.
Ellie squealed. “Gold nuggets!”
Pa ruffled Ellie’s hair. “Yep.”
“The children struck it rich today too,” Mama said.
“Oh?” Pa looked at Jem. “Show me.”
Jem whistled. The dog leaped from the wagon and ran over.
Mama petted him. “He’s a different kind of gold nugget, but just as precious. I could grow to like him.”
“We can keep him?” Jem’s mouth fell open.
Pa wrinkled his eyebrows. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you about it while the children are bathing that animal.” Mama dug through a box and pulled out a bar of soap. “The pies can wait. Scrub him good, Jem.”
“I’ll pick out the burrs,” Ellie said. “My fingers are tiny enough to grab them.”
Mama nodded. “After he’s clean, I’ll find him a bit of leftover rabbit stew.”
“Mama!” Happy tingles raced up and down Jem’s arms.
Pa put his arm around Mama’s shoulder. “It must be a pretty good story if Mama changed her mind about you kids keeping the dog.”
“It’s a great story, Pa.” Jem took the soap. “And I thought of the perfect name for him.”
“What?” Pa, Mama, and Ellie asked at the same time.
“Gold Nugget.”