The Blue Barbour

By Malcolm Desborough

The heavily frosted ground sparkled in the moonlight, and the view across the valley was stunning; if only Margaret had remembered her camera. She couldn't resist pausing to admire the breathtaking landscape while her two yellow Labradors, Daisy and Dolly, searched in the undergrowth. Apart from their snorting as they clawed at the bushes and the occasional call of a bird in flight, there was total silence.
It was time to move on, so Margaret gave three sharp blasts on her whistle; however, the normally obedient dogs did not respond. She blew another triple blast, to which Daisy returned and sat obediently, awaiting a treat. Dolly, however, continued her investigation. Margaret was now growing irritated, as Dolly was usually the more responsive of the two.
The brambles were thick and tough to get through, offering no clear way to the field where her dogs were so mesmerised. Eventually, Dolly returned and, as she had been trained, sat in front of Margaret, wagging her tail eagerly. In her mouth was a dark blue Barbour cap, heavily stained with mud and dog saliva. Dolly barked and tried to go back to the spot where she had found the cap, but despite Margaret's commands, she disappeared deep into the brambles, where she started barking again. Margaret sensed that something required her attention.
Instructing Daisy to stay, Margaret followed the path for another hundred yards, where the brambles were less dense. Carefully navigating through the prickly growth, she spotted Dolly's tail wagging, her head buried in the tangled foliage. Daisy dashed to rejoin her four-legged friend and plunged back into the impenetrable undergrowth. Eventually, Margaret arrived and called the dogs to her. As they emerged from the thick foliage, she raised her hand to her mouth; well-hidden, she saw a leg. It was pale and lay at an unnatural angle, with a bright orange sock partially covering the right foot.
She called the dogs, and this time they obeyed, joining her on a grassy mound about twenty-five yards away from their dreadful discovery.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FJR6RHPM
• ISBN13: 9798292804383
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 8.0"