Puppy Pie by Sam Jasper

Racing downstairs Harry grabs his boots on the way out and jumps into the old orange truck.
    Useless wakes up suddenly and yelps: Ma has given him a quick bite. Goaded by her, Useless jumps onto the back of the truck as Harry takes off following the tracks left by yesterday’s work. Then he climbs down from the truck and stands at the edge of the hemp, scratching his head.
    â€˜What the …’ Harry bends down and takes a long stalk between his fingers. ‘Not broken,’ he confirms as he examines the unharvested hemp lying limply on the ground. Useless jumps down from the back of the truck and begins to sniff at the flattened hemp.
    â€˜Looks alright,’ Harry says to Useless who wags his tail. ‘But how do I harvest a crop that’s lying down? Hang on,’ he says suddenly, ‘I started harvesting Bill’s little pocket yesterday and I thought I’d finish it up today, seeing he’s next door. I wonder if his crop’s still standing?’
    With his heart pounding, Harry jumps back into the truck and heads off for the farthest corner of his farm. Useless runs along behind barking happily. He jumps three fences on the way, eager to catch up with the speeding truck. Within minutes, Harry is standing in front of Bill’s crop.
    â€˜Only a bit left to do, Useless,’ Harry sighs, ‘and it’s all flattened.’ As before, he bends down and examines the tall stalks. ‘It’s like mine – just lying down. Not even broken. Useless,’ he says to his panting dog, ‘what’s going on? Come on boy. Get in. We’d better go back. I’ll ring Ted and Jimmy and get them to come over. If it’s only here, I can manage. But,’ he says pausing, ‘if it’s anywhere else, we’re in big trouble, Useless, really big trouble. Come on, back in the truck.’
    Sensing the urgency, Useless jumps straight into the back, barking all the way home. Even faster than the journey out is the journey home. Skidding the truck to a halt, Harry dashes into the kitchen and picks up the phone. Within twenty minutes, the other two farmers are standing staring in disbelief at the fallen crop.
    â€˜It looks fine,’ Ted says as he rolls a stalk between his rough hands.
    â€˜Still attached to the ground and healthy,’ Jimmy nods.
    â€˜I’m going back out to old McDonald’s today. Might just nick out a bit earlier,’ Ted says calmly, his slow drawl hiding his feelings, his heart racing.
    â€˜Good idea,’ Jimmy nods. ‘Might do the same with Bailey’s.’
    Just then, Ted’s mobile sounds, the dulcet tones of a lovesick cow. ‘That’ll be Shirley wondering where I’ve got to,’ he tells them as he puts the mobile to his ear. ‘Yeah. Oh? Oh! Aagh! Right! Yup!’ Ted clicks off the mobile. ‘Guess you heard?’
    â€˜Couldn’t help. He was yelling fit to burst,’ Jimmy says.
    â€˜Yep,’ Ted nods. ‘About half of his crop’s down, he reckons.’
    Just then, Jimmy’s mobile rings. He grabs it up. ‘Right. Yep. Gotcha. On my way.’
    â€˜Bailey’s?’ Harry asks wincing.
    â€˜Yep,’ Jimmy nods. ‘About the same, half of what’s left is down on the ground. And I’m probably half-way through.’
    Ted says, ‘But there are a lot of farms we haven’t even started on.’
    Just then Harry’s mobile rings shrilly. ‘Oh, yeah, Bill? Yeah, I’ve been over. We’re working on the problem now. No, no, the hemp’s all right. It’s just lying down, having a nap. No, no, I know it’s no time for joking. I’m just trying to think …’ Finally, Harry, walks back to Ted and Jimmy. Harry says, ‘If this spreads, we could lose…’ The three men stand silently calculating the loss to the district.
    â€˜â€¦ almost half the crop,’ Ted says very quietly.
    Suddenly the three