Shiloh By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

The Beagle The story starts off with a boy named Marty Preston who found a young beagle in the hills behind his home in West Virginia.

Judd Travers Marty finds out that the beagle that he named Shiloh belongs to Judd Travers who drinks too much beer and has a gun. Martys dad returns Shiloh to Judd. Judd punishes Shiloh for running away by starving him until hunting season. Judd says they hunt better when theyre hungry. Marty just cant stand the thought of Judd Travers treating Shiloh bad. So he asked his dad for advice on how to earn some money to buy Shiloh from Judd Travers. His dad suggested to collect bottles and cans and then take them in to the deposit.

The Escape Marty comes across Shiloh once again. He promised that he would return Shiloh to Judd but he just cant stand the thought of returning Shiloh to mean Mr. Travers. So Marty decides to make a little hide out for Shiloh by the big pine tree and bring him leftovers from dinner to feed him. Then Judd pulls up to Martys house. He wants to know if they have seen Shiloh, but Marty refuses to tell the truth. On his way out the door he says he is going to break the dogs legs when he finds the dog.

Something is wrong Mr. & Mrs. Preston are starting to wonder what has happened to Marty because he is lying to his mom, sister, and Judd Travers. He is also not eating much at all because he hides half of his food in his pocket to feed Shiloh, but his parents dont know that.

Help, Help As Marty laid down to sleep he heard a terrifying yelp and growling coming from Shilohs hideout. He quickly ran as fast as he could to Shilohs hideout with his dad right on his heels. As they approached the hideout they saw a german shepherd attacking Shiloh. The german shepherd quickly leaped the fence and dashed away. Marty started crying. Dad just looked at the bloody rip in Shilohs leg.

Uh Oh Dad hurried to the jeep. Marty scooped up Shiloh and gently put Shiloh down on the back seat. They were both silent. They arrived at Doc Murphys house. Doc Murphy seemed to be asleep. But he knew this was an emergency when he heard all the noise. Doc took one look and knew this was serious. He grabbed a clean towel and removed most of the blood. Doc told them that he would have to keep Shiloh there for one or two days.

Davids Coming Over Marty could not sleep much because the thought of Shiloh dying frightened him. The next day David Howard, Martys best friend, came over. David was excided to show Marty the brand new kite he bought, but Marty just felt empty headed. All he could think about was Shiloh and if hed be okay. Marty and David took the kite up on the hill, away from the hideout. David ran into the woods with the kite, even though Marty was trying to keep him away from Shilohs pen.

The Story David finds the hideout and sees blood everywhere. So Marty explains the whole story.

Shilohs Back Marty sees a car pull up. Marty dashed as fast as lightning over to the car. Immediately Marty knew it was Shiloh and hollered Shiloh. The whole family gathered around. Shiloh was all patched up. Doc Murphy was explaining what Shiloh could and couldnt do. Dad was the only one listening because everyone else was too busy putting their hand out for Shiloh to lick. Now the whole family loves Shiloh!

The Whole Family Loves Shiloh Dara Lynn, Beaky, Ma, and Dad give Shiloh belly rubs and they feed him their scraps from dinner.

Judds Back and Angry One day Shilohs tail went right between his legs and he crawled further and further into his box. Then a truck door slapped shut. Mean Mr. Travers came in steaming mad. Someone said you have my hunting dog, he said.

Time to Tell the Truth Dad said that Marty had something to do with this. Then Marty spoke up. Marty told Mr. Travers the whole situation. Now he was honest with everyone and told the truth. At the end of the discussion, Marty got to keep Shiloh until Sunday.

BANG! It was Saturday night and Marty couldnt sleep. He got up early Sunday morning. He decided to not give Shiloh back without a fight, so he went to Judds house without Shiloh. Marty heard a bullet fire. A doe fell to the ground. Thats when Judd came up to the doe while bragging, Whooeee. According to the law its illegal to shot doe and its not even deer season either.

Blackmail Marty popped up behind Judd. Marty refused to give Shiloh back to Judd. Judd became mad and angry when Marty said that theres a $200 fine for shooting doe. Judd couldnt believe that Marty was trying to blackmail an adult.

The Deal When Judd made a deal that Marty would have to pay $40 to get Shiloh. Marty was thinking how he was going to get all that money. Marty said he doesnt have that kind of money so Judd was going to pay him two dollars an hour for working for him. Marty wanted the papers for the beagle too.

I Can Do It It was going to take 20 hours of work to make Shiloh his. They agreed that Marty would have to keep the shooting of the doe a secret. Marty was very happy with the deal and he knew it was going to take a lot of hard work but now Shiloh would be his.

A New Family Member When Marty got home his mom and dad were wondering where he had been. Marty told the whole story except for Judd shooting the doe. His mom was so proud of him for standing up for Shiloh like that. Dara Lynn and Beaky were getting out of bed. They seemed sad because today they thought they had to give Shiloh back. Then Marty told them that they could keep Shiloh. Then everyone was happy and mom made waffles for everybody including Shiloh.

Work and More Work Marty started work. The first day of work he had to stack all the wood. Then Judd came back from work to check on Martys stacking. Judd said that the little logs had to be in one pile and the big logs to be in another pile. Marty was thinking that Judd would make a job for him and then just add more work when he is done.

All For Nothing Marty did 20 hours of work in one week. The first day of the second week Judd said that a paper with his signature doesnt prove anything – you also need a witness. Judd started laughing as Marty kept working. Marty was sweating so much that the sweat was like rain drizzling down a car window. Today Marty got a glass of water. The day was over. The next day Marty was back at it again.

Finally hes Mine Judd said that he wasnt going to pay me one more cent. Marty and Judd started talking about Judds hunting dogs. At the end of all this hard work for nothing. As Marty was leaving for the day Judd told him to stay there for a while and he went into the trailer. He came back out with a collar. Then he explained that this was his granddads hunting dogs collar that was the best in the state and told Marty to take good care of Shiloh.

The End Mom baked chocolate cake for everyone that evening. When Marty was sitting on the porch with Shiloh on his lap he was thinking about what he would have done if Judd wouldnt have shot the doe. He was so happy that the dog was his.