Chapter 41 Summary and Analysis

One morning, while driving through the hills above Darrowby, James Herriot approaches a tanned, fit, pleasant man pushing a rusty tram along the frozen roadway with a big "Lurcher," or greyhound cross-breed inside. They smile, nod and say hello. Herriot drives on until he stops at a farm where he has been called to inoculate sheep. He asks about the man with the pram and dog. The farmer tells Herriot the man is Roddy Travers, the dog Jake, his only family.

Roddy is in itinerant laborer who neither drinks nor smokes cigarettes. His face radiates strength and serenity. The farmer's wife tells Herriot that Roddy usually sleeps either in barns or in the open when he is working in the district, only occasionally coming inside. When he next encounters Roddy and Jake on the road, Herriot notices that the dog is...