"Okay, Woofie, so are you sure you're up to the task?"

     "Sure am, Buck. You know I miss Rag, too."

     "Ohhh!"

     "Sorry, Bucky, I didn't mean to mention him. I know what it does to you."

     "I can't stop crying, Woof, and I can't get over the SCREAMS! Ohh, they haunt me all the

time."

     "I know you two had a good thing going. You just tell me when you want me to do it, and

I'm on it."

     "You have no qualms about this?"

     "Zip."

     "Great. Do it tonight at midnight. Hank goes to bed at eleven, so he should be fast

asleep by then."

     "Gotcha. By this time tomorrow, Mop will be history, Buck! Woo hoo! But you know

this won't bring Rag back, right?"

     "WOOFIE!"

     "Sorry, sorry. Not thinking straight today, not thinking straight."

     "You better think straight tonight, Woof, or I'll be forced to come up with another course

of action."

     "No! Don't do that. I promise I won't let you down. You and me, we go back a long

way, right?"

     "That's right. Good thing you're a Doberman, too. Big teeth! I don't know whether a

poodle could pull this off as well as you can. Just don't tell B about this. Revenge doesn't sit

well with him."

     "I promise, Buck, I'll keep my mouth shut. I'll even sharpen my teeth on that nice, tasty

bone that Hank gave me."

     "Good, good."

     "So where should I get rid of Mop after I'm done with him?"

     "Bury him in the park a block away from here, and then cover him up with the grass and

soil. I doubt anyone will see you at that hour. If you do it in the backyard, then Hank will

know it was you. I don't want you to get in trouble and wind up at the pound."

     "Yeah, and then I'll wind up in doggie heaven...or maybe doggie hell."

     "That will never happen, Woofie. Now, if only I could concoct an excellent plan to get rid

of Hank, too. That's going to take a lot more ingenuity and strategic planning."

     "Eliminating Hank." Woofie shook his head. "I don't know, Buck. That's tricky. Without

him, what would happen to us?"

     "Exactly."

     "And we can't brainstorm with B, since he doesn't have the stomach for this stuff."

     "Pity, isn't it?"

     "Don't worry, Bucky. We'll put our heads together and think of something."