About a month later I was in the shop again to get some of Rosies favourite liquorice all-sorts and the picture was the same-Geoffrey smiling and booming, Alfred in his place, following every move, the pair of them radiating dignity and well-being.
As I collected my sweets, the proprietor whispered in my ear.
Ill be closing for lunch at twelve noon, Mr. Herriot. Would you be so kind as to call in and examine Alfred?
Yes, of course. I looked along the counter at the big cat. Is he ill?
Oh, no, no but I just feel theres something not right.
Later I knocked at the closed door and Geoffrey let me into the shop, empty for once, then through the curtained doorway into his sitting room. Mrs. Hatfield was at a table, drinking tea. She was a much earthier character than her husband.
Now then, Mr. Herriot, youve come to see t'little cat.
He isnt so little, I said, laughing.
And indeed, Alfred looked more massive than ever seated by the fire, looking calmly into the flames. When he saw me he got up, stalked unhurriedly over the carpet and arched his back against my legs. I felt strangely honoured.
Hes really beautiful, isnt he?
I murmured.
I hadnt had a close look at him for some time and the friendly face with the dark stripes running down to the intelligent eyes appealed to me as never before.
Yes, I said, stroking the fur which shone luxuriantly in the flickering firelight, youre a big beautiful fellow.
I turned to Mr. Hatfield.
He looks fine to me. What is it thats worrying you?
Oh, maybe its nothing at all. His appearance certainly has not altered in the slightest, but for over a week now Ive noticed that he is not quite so keen on his food, not quite so lively. Hes not really ill hes just different.
I see. Well, lets have a look at him.
I went over the cat carefully.
Temperature was normal, mucous membranes a healthy pink. I got out my stethoscope and listened to heart and lungsnotothing abnormal to hear. Feeling around the abdomen produced no clue.
Well, Mr. Hatfield, I said, there doesnt seem to be anything obviously wrong with him. Hes maybe a bit run down, but he doesnt look it. Anyway, Ill give him a vitamin injection. That should buck him up. Let me know in a few days if hes no better.
Thank you indeed, sir. I am most grateful. You have set my mind at rest.
The big man reached out a hand to his pet. The confident resonance of his voice was belied by the expression of concern on his face.
Seeing them together made me sense anew the similarity of man and cathuman and animal, yes, but alike in their impressiveness. I heard nothing about Alfred for a week and assumed that he had returned to normal, but then his master telephoned.
Hes just the same, Mr. Herriot. In fact, if anything, he has deteriorated slightly. I would be obliged if you would look at him again.
It was just as before. Nothing definite to see even on close examination. I put him on to a course of mixed minerals and vitamin tablets. There was no point in launching into treatment with our new antibioticsthere was no elevation of temperature, no indication of any infectious agent.
I passed the alley every dayit was only about a hundred yards from Skeldale Houseand I fell into the habit of stopping and looking in through the little window of the shop. Each day, the familiar scene presented itself; Geoff bowing and smiling to his customers and Alfred sitting in his place at the end of the counter. Everything seemed right, and yet there was something different about the cat.
I called in one evening and examined him again. Hes losing weight, I said.
Geoffrey nodded. Yes, I do think so. He is still eating fairly well, but not as much as before.
Give him another few days on the tablets, I said, and if hes no better Ill have to get him round to the surgery and go into the thing a bit more deeply.
I had a nasty feeling there would be no improvement and there wasnt, so one evening I took a cat cage round to the shop.
Alfred was so huge that there was a problem fitting him into the container, but he didnt resist as I bundled him gently inside.
At the surgery I took a blood sample from him and X-rayed him. The plate was perfectly clear and when the report came back from the laboratory it showed no abnormality. In a way, it was reassuring, but that did not help because the steady decline continued.
The next few weeks were something like a nightmare. My anxious peering through the shop window became a daily ordeal. The big cat was still in his place, but he was getting thinner and thinner until he was almost unrecognisable. I rang the changes with every drug and treatment I could think of, but nothing did any good. I had Siegfried examine him, but he thought as I did. The progressive emaciation was the sort of thing you would expect from an internal tumour, but further X-rays still showed nothing. Alfred must have been thoroughly fed up of all the pushing around, the tests, the kneading of his abdomen, but at no time did he show any annoyance.