One morning in late August when a single small maple along the river burned a lone fire of the season turning, the doctor Dodge drove in unannounced, his setter bitch sitting upright on the passenger side. Jamie stood on the step with a cup of coffee and watched as his boy and the pup Lovey ran outside, the puppy galloping and barking excitement, dancing around the motorcar. Foster, Jamie knew, spoke to Dodge time to time over the telephone. Dodge got out, wearing knee-high gumboots and wool trousers, a green and black checked woodsman’s shirt. Jamie walked over, the sand cold and damp under his feet. The setter bitch jumped over the side of the door and nosed her puppy, then swarmed her with an attack of teeth and savage snarling. Lovey cried and crawled away a dozen feet, peeing as she went. She stopped there and turned to crouch and watch. The doctor was tamping a pipebowl of tobacco. The bitch lay at his feet, her eyes on the men. The doctor was talking to Foster as he got his pipe going.

“You’ve had her out?”

“Most every day.”

“Got her quartering for you?”

“She works back and forth pretty good. I haven’t had to do much.”

“How far out?”

“Depends on where we are. Thick woods she stays in close enough most of the time. The pastures and orchards she’ll get out of sight on me.”

“Uh-huh. She’s young. You worked on that Whoa business?”

“No sir. I couldn’t figure out how to do it.”

“It’s easy enough. Teach her around the house. Before you open the door to let her out, before you let her eat. That sort of thing. Teach her when she’ll do it because she wants to. That’s the best way to learn. She’ll still bust birds but it’ll sink in after a time.” Then to Jamie, “You look healthy, Pelham.”

“I’m all right.”

“What I thought, you didn’t mind, I’d take this boy off your hands for a day. See if we couldn’t scare up some young partridge. See what kind of a dog she’ll make for him.”

Jamie looked at Foster. Without need he asked, “How’s that sound?”

“Sounds good.”

“You behave yourself. Pay attention to what the doctor tells you.” Dodge said, “He’ll be fine. I’ve got a sack of lunch made up. You have boots, boy?”

“Yes sir.”

“Well go get into them. It’s best we start before all the moisture goes off and takes the scent with it.” Then with Foster run off to the house, Dodge turned to Jamie and said, “He needs something, might as well be this. Somebody got me started once. Some debts are long.”

“I don’t know what kind of summer he’d have had, it wasn’t for that pup.”

Dodge nodded. “I ran into Estus Terry the other day. Asked after you. Told me I ran across you, for you to come see him.”

“How is Estus?”

“He’ll outlive me.”