小说园

第7章 预知未来的狗jithewnderdg2（第1页）

saidflatly，“SamVanArsdale，youcantellme，butdon’tgotellinganyoneelse。”Samersuadedhiswifetoaccomanythembacktothewoods，whereJimutonaflawlessreeaterformance。Sheshookherheadinamazement—Sam’scrazystorywastrue！

Overthenextfewdays，Samcouldn’theltellinghisfriendsaroundtownwhathissmartdogcoulddo。Theysmiledathimindulgentlyandmovedoffrettyfast。

Onemandidlisten，althoughofcoursehewassketical。Sam，noticingthatthemanhadarkedhiscaronthestreetafewyardsaway，toldJimtoshowthemanwhichcarwashis。Jimwentstraighttothecaranduthisfrontawonit。

ThenanothermangaveSamthelicenselatenumberofhiscar。Samwroteitdownonaieceofaeranduttheaeronthesidewalk。HetoldJimtoidentifythecar。Withouthesitation，Jimwalkedtothecarinquestion。

Afterincidentslikethese，Jim’sreutationsreadlikewildfirearoundthesmalltown。SoonhewasdemonstratinghisowersintheRuffHotelforamazedcrowdsofutoahundredeoleatatime。ThereseemedtobenolimittowhatJimcoulddo。Wheneolewereinthelobby，hecoulddeterminewhatroomnumberstheyoccuiedinthehotel，itcouldidentifyeoleaccordingtotheclothestheywore，thecoloroftheirhair—insiteofthefactthatdogsarethoughttobecolor-blind—theirrofession，and，inthecaseofthemilitary，theirrank。

Perhas，thesketicssaid，SamwassecretlysignalingtoJim。AlthoughnoneofSam’sfriendsandassociatesquestionedhisintegrity，knowinghimtobealainseakingmanwhowouldn’tdreamofdeceivingothers，onewomandecidedtotestthistheory。ShehadthecleverideatowriteaninstructionforJiminshorthand;whichSamdidnotunderstand。WhenSamshowedJimtheaeronwhichtheinstructionwaswritten，andtoldhimtodowhateveritsaid，Jimwentovertoacertainman。Thewomanshouted，“He’sdoingit！”Thensheexlainedthattheinstructionwas，“Showusthemanwithrolledsocks。”

Jim’sreutationsreadfarbeyondthesmalltownofMarshall。Newsaersandmagazinesfromalloverthecountrysentreorterstocoverthestory。Theywentaway，likeeveryoneelse，amazed。JimbecameknownastheWonderDog。

Jim’sfeatsarousedscientificandmedicalcuriosity。HewasexaminedbyveterinariansatMissouriStateUniversity，whosaidthattherewasnothingunusualaboutJim—hysically，hewasjustlikeanyotherdog。Theycouldoffernoexlanationforhisuncannytalent。

Oneday，somefriendsersuadedSamtotestJimfurther。CouldheossiblyredictthefutureSamtookaninterestintheKentuckyDerby，sothatyearhewrotedownthenamesofthehorsesoniecesofaerthathethenlaidonthefloor。HeaskedJimtoselectthehorsethatwouldwin。Jimuthisawononeoftheslisofaer，whichwasthenutinalockedsafeuntilaftertherace。ItturnedoutthatJimhadickedthewinner。Hereeatedhissuccessthefollowingyear，andsoonforsevensuccessiveyears。

SamwasnotagamblingmanandneverattemtedtorofitfromJim’sabilitiestoforetellthefuture。HereceivedmanylettersandtelegramsrequestingJim’sredictionsofwinninghorses。SomeeoleofferedtoslittherofitswithSam。ButSamneverwavered。NorwasheinterestedinalucrativeofferfromParamountforJimtoworkinmoviesforayear。Likethemodestmidwesternerhewas，Samsaidhedidn’treallyneedthemoneyanddidn’twanttocommercializeJim。

Astimeassed，thebondbetweenSamandJimgrew。Sam’sloveforJimwasthatofamanforhisgreatestfriend。Andthedog’sabilitytodoanythingSamaskedwasjustonefacetofJim’sdeedevotiontowardsSam。SowhenJimdiedattheageoftwelvein1937，Samwasdevastated。Andindeed，thewholetownofMarshallwasstunnedbytheloss。JimwasburiedintheRidgeParkCemetery，wherehissmallwhiteheadstonereads：JimtheWonderDog。