The Wall Read Online Free PDF Page A

sombre
    dark face smile. This admission was uncomfortable to her. She knew
    that now she had admitted this to herself she was going to have
    problems acting normally in front of him if she did run into him.
    She slid down the other side of the rise, inwardly disappointed to find
    the sandy expanse empty. Attempting to shrug this away, she briskly
    took off to the sand castle, only to find it half mauled by big paw
    prints. Not half as disappointed at this as she was by the sight of the
    empty beach, Sara studied the remaining erect wall thoughtfully and
    decided that the ruins would look wonderful when sighted and
    aligned up with the setting sun. She immediately stretched out in the
    sand and shot the dark crumbling shape against the blazing orange
    orb with the haze of surrounding red, and felt well pleased.
    A panting sound came to her ears and the gallop of muted feet. Thus
    warned, Sara attempted to roll over with the intent of rising to her
    feet, not wanting to be caught in such a vulnerable position. Before
    she could attempt to gain even her knees, a large dark shape walloped
    down on top of her stomach. There was a ferocious grin, a pink
    lolling tongue and the gleam of wicked white teeth, the pricking of
    interested ears, and Sara decided to remain lying down as she stared
    into the bright dark eyes of a very heavy Dobermann Pinscher.
    She murmured gently, 'What a big boy you are! Sweetheart, good
    puppy. Are you always so friendly? I hope this is being friendly—I'd
    hate to see you unfriendly! Such a pretty puppy! Will you let me
    scratch your ears? Hmm?' Thus adjured, the large, extremely heavy
    monster sniffed inquiringly. Sara put up a very slow and careful
    hand, trying not to think of the sharp teeth just in front of her face,
    and gently scratched behind the dog's ear.
    She was rewarded with a wag from the dog's stump of a tail and an
    appreciative whine. Feeling a little braver and very foolish, she tried
    stroking the sleek black head while still murmuring sweet
    nonsensical phrases to the grinning brute. The dog heaved a gusty
    sigh, put his nose to her shirt to blow noisily, and rolled over to his
    side, which sent him falling off of her chest. She was extremely
    grateful at this and managed to sit up in time to avoid having sand
    thrown on her face by the dog's sudden scrabbling about as he
    scratched his back ecstatically on the sand. This was watched with
    some amusement, then Sara whirled about with a start as a deep
    voice sounded behind her. The dog shook himself energetically and
    pranced over to the man to sit in front of him with an air of
    expectation.
    'I see you've managed to run into Beowulf,' Greg commented mildly,
    taking in the clinging sand on her sweater and the indentations in the
    sand underneath her crouching body.
    Feeling at a loss and quite overwhelmed by his unexpected
    appearance, Sara climbed to her feet slowly, brushing herself off as
    she murmured, 'Beowulf is quite a distinguished name, and so
    appropriate. Is he always so boisterous?'
    'Invariably. I once entertained the hope that he would settle down
    when he reached adulthood, but was doomed to disappointment. He
    didn't get milder, only larger.' Even standing she seemed to have
    forgotten just how big the man was, and she stared up at him, unable
    to dispel a feeling of shyness. Greg looked as powerful as the
    heaving, panting, grinning brute at his feet. She jumped when he
    moved to her, saying, 'Here, let me brush off your back for you. Did
    he hurt you?'
    'No,' she replied with a hint of self-mockery, 'only scared me a bit.
    Had I known that he was such a friendly dog, I wouldn't have been so
    ridiculously frightened. It's just when he sat on my chest and showed
    me those long white teeth that I -'
    'Beowulf is not, I might warn, always so friendly,' he interrupted
    mildly as he took care to brush off her jeans too, holding her in place
    with one large hand to her shoulder for support. She felt like a little
    girl