第7章预知未来的狗JimtheW(2)
Shesaidflatly,“SamVanArsdale,youtellme,butdon’tgotellinganyoneelse。”Sampersuadedhisaothewoods,whereJimputoperformance。Sheshookherheadi—Sam’scrazystorywastrue!
&hefewdays,Sam’thelptellinghisfriendsaroundtownwhathissmartdogiledathimilyandmovedoffprettyfast。
Onemandidlisten,althoughofcoursehetiotigthatthemanhadparkedhisthestreetafewyardsaway,toldJimtoshowthemanwhichcarwashis。Jimwentstraighttothedputhisfrontpawonit。
&hermaheliseplatenumberofhiscar。SamwroteitdoieceofpaperandputthepaperooldJimtoidehouthesitation,Jimwalkedtothequestion。
Afterislikethese,Jim’sreputationspreadlikewildfirearouown。Soonhewasdemhispowersielforamazedcrowdsofuptoahuatime。ThereseemedtobenolimittowhatJimcoulddo。Whenpeoplewereinthelobby,hecoulddetermiroomheyothehotel,ittifypetotheclothestheywore,thecoloroftheirhair—ihefactthatdhttobed—theirprofession,and,ihemilitary,theirrank。
&heskepticssaid,SamwassecretlysignalingtoJim。AlthoughnoneofSam’sfriendsandassociatesquestioegrity,knowinghimtobeaplainspeakingmanwhowouldn’tdreamofdegothers,onewomathistheory。Shehadthecleverideatowriteaninstruinshorthand;whichSamdidand。WhenSamshowedJimthepaperoionwaswritten,andtoldhimtodowhateveritsaid,Jimweoaman。Thewomanshouted,“He’sdoingit!”Thensheexplaiheinstruwas,“Showusthemanwithrolledsocks。”
Jim’sreputationspreadfarbeyoownofMarshall。Neersandmagazinesfromalloverthetryseocoverthestory。Theywentaway,likeeveryoneelse,amazed。JimbeastheW。
Jim’sfeatsarousedstifidmedicalcuriosity。HewasexamierinariansatMissouriStateUy,whosaidthattherewasnothingunusualaboutJim—physically,hewasjustlikeaheycouldofferionforhisunytalent。
Oneday,somefriendspersuadedSamtotestJimfurther。CouldhepossiblypredictthefutureSamtookaheKehatyearhewrotedowhehorsesonpiecesofpaperthathethenlaidonthefloor。HeaskedJimtoselectthehorsethatwouldwin。Jimputhispawoheslipsofpaper,utinalockedsafeuheraedoutthatJimhadpickedthewiedhissuccessthefollowingyear,andsoonforsevensuccessiveyears。
SamwasnotagamblingmaedtoprofitfromJim’sabilitiestoforetellthefuture。HereylettersandtelegramsrequestingJim’spredisofwinninghorses。SomepeopleofferedtosplittheprofitswithSam。ButSamneverwavered。edinaluParamountforJimtoworkinmoviesforayear。Likethemodestmidwesternerhewas,Samsaidhedidn’treallyhemoneyanddidn’twanttoercializeJim。
Astimepassed,theboweenSamandJimgrew。Sam’sloveforJimwasthatofamanfreatestfriend。Andthedog’sabilitytodoanythingSamaskedwasjustoofJim’sdeepdevotiontowardsSam。Sowheheageoftwelvein1937,Samwasdevastated。AhewholetownofMarshallwasstuheloss。JimwasburiedintheRidgeParkCemetery,wherehissmallwhiteheadstoheW。