A Highland Collie (aka The Luck of the Laird)

Another fun old fashioned melodramatic book by Terhune, this one first published in 1925 under the title ‘Luck of the Laird.’ I don’t want to tell too much on the plot twists so you can enjoy them as they occur. Fortunately no racist references in this book.

In this one our hero, Roy Garth, is in love with the daughter of his boss. Roy works as a secretary of Rufus G. Beldon who raises Collies. Rufus’s pride and joy is his kennels:

‘Here Rufus G. bred and raised for exhibition Some of the most renowned collies in America. Ever it had been his yearning to be known as “The Collie King” as Once his life-model, J. Pierpont Morgan, Sr., had been known.
He had succeeded almost according to his dreams This through no dog-breeding show more genius of his own, but by reason of great good luck in having the services of one Jamie Mackellar, his soft-spoken little kennel manager of Scottish ancestry.’

Unfortunately Rufus loses out to his rival, Willard Ulrich at the dog show and the kennel manager tells him why:

“Besides, it’s your own fault, your own pigheadedness. Mackellar told you, ages ago, that you needed new blood in the kennels and that the old Beldencroft strain was too closely inbred and that it was wearing out. He said Mr. Ulrich was importing the best dogs in Europe to improve his strain, and he advised you to do it, too. I heard him.”

Then the kennel master tells Rufus of a perfect Collie specimen he had seen in his home town in Scottland, but it would be impossible to get it, as to do so would clash with an old myth that the owner and lord of the house would loose the ‘luck of the laird’ if he were to part with the last dog of the line of his house. This leads to the plan to have Roy go to Scottland to purchase the dog for Rufus G. Beldon with the hint that Roy could marry his daughter if he succeeded. In this bit Roy tells her:

“Phyll! Listen, dear! I’ve got my chance. [’ve got it. The kind of knight-errant chance that comes to story-book secretaries who go daffy over their bosses’ daughters. I’m going over to Scotland. I’m going over there right away. It’s a black and solemn secret, and it's my chance. Your dad said so himself. He’s been telling me about it for an hour. And all the time I was crazy to sneak away and tell you. He—”

In the best style I can do to mimic my Goodreads friend Karen-

Will Roy succeed in getting the dog?

Will he marry the boss’s daughter?

Will his rival Brant Ulrich thwart Roy’s plan to get the dog and the girl?

Surprisingly the answer to one of those questions is no! There is a lot of fun twists in this book. It would be a good book to make into a movie. There are some good moments when you think our hero is thwarted and doomed. I like how Terhune likes to comment on his own melodrama as in this example:

“It’s like the dear old melodramas,” mused Roy, “where the hero and the villain struggle on the cliff for the mysterious papers. I’m too much of a dub to be a hero. Well, the other end of the sketch makes up for it with a double portion of villainy.”

At one point a bagpiper is brought in to play in honor or Roy. I liked this bit from the book and will add it to my other quotes on bagpiping:

“I think I know, now,” mused Garth, as the playing and the strutting continued—"I think I know now why a bagpiper always keeps moving while he pipes. It’s to disturb the aim of anyone who may try to shoot him.”

Some of you may be thinking, what other bagpiping quotes does Steve have in his list of favorite quotes? Here are the quotes I have on that topic:

“These are bagpipes. I understand the inventor of the bagpipes was inspired when he saw a man carrying an indignant, asthmatic pig under his arm. Unfortunately, the man-made sound never equaled the purity of the sound achieved by the pig.” - Alfred Hitchcock

“New Rule: Stop calling bagpipes a musical instrument. They're actually a Scottish Breathalyzer test. You blow into one end, and if the sound that comes out the other end doesn't make you want to kill yourself-you're not drunk enough.” - Bill Maher, The New New Rules: A Funny Look At How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass

“Twelve highlanders and a bagpipe make a rebellion.” - Scottish Proverb

"Q. What's the definition of a gentleman?
A. Someone who knows how to play the bagpipe and doesn't" – unknown

Then there was the piper who remembered that he had left his pipes in his unlocked car. Rushing back, he opened his car door to find two more sets of pipes in the back seat.

In addition to bagpipes, there is some good elements to tie Shakespeare’s McBeth to the story. There are nice descriptions of the Scottish countryside. Some may appreciate that Terhune doesn’t do very much try to write the dialogue to sound like a Scottish brogue. (look to Greyfriars Bobby for that.) The book even doesn’t shy away from discussing if Scott’s are stingy.

There was however one-point in the story where Roy is able to escape in a Wizard of Oz way that was very far-fetched but it is easy to just roll with it like our hero does at his extreme good luck:

“Stirling, old friend,” he whispered, the humor of the situation making him hard put to it to choke back a laugh, “this morning I started out to hunt for you. Everything hung on my finding you and then getting safe away with you. Well, by some inordinate luck I’ve found you. Now to get you out of here and on the way to the nearest railroad station before they can lay us by the heels. It’s about fifty to one against, old fellow.”

The collie’s plumed tail wagged appreciatively at Roy’s repetition of his name.

“But up to now it’s been a billion to one against,” continued Roy. “At this rate, pretty soon I’ll be a favorite in the betting. Come along, and don’t make any racket. If we’re to get safe away from this comic-opera villain’s den, we’ve got to do it on tiptoe. If we’re caught, all sorts of things are due to happen.”

If you enjoy melodramatic action and romance with a good story wrapped around a dog, you will enjoy this book. show less

Another fun old fashioned melodramatic book by Terhune, this one first published in 1925 under the title ‘Luck of the Laird.’ I don’t want to tell too much on the plot twists so you can enjoy them as they occur. Fortunately no racist references in this book.

In this one our hero, Roy Garth, is in love with the daughter of his boss. Roy works as a secretary of Rufus G. Beldon who raises Collies. Rufus’s pride and joy is his kennels:

‘Here Rufus G. bred and raised for exhibition Some of the most renowned collies in America. Ever it had been his yearning to be known as “The Collie King” as Once his life-model, J. Pierpont Morgan, Sr., had been known.
He had succeeded almost according to his dreams This through no dog-breeding show more genius of his own, but by reason of great good luck in having the services of one Jamie Mackellar, his soft-spoken little kennel manager of Scottish ancestry.’

Unfortunately Rufus loses out to his rival, Willard Ulrich at the dog show and the kennel manager tells him why:

“Besides, it’s your own fault, your own pigheadedness. Mackellar told you, ages ago, that you needed new blood in the kennels and that the old Beldencroft strain was too closely inbred and that it was wearing out. He said Mr. Ulrich was importing the best dogs in Europe to improve his strain, and he advised you to do it, too. I heard him.”

Then the kennel master tells Rufus of a perfect Collie specimen he had seen in his home town in Scottland, but it would be impossible to get it, as to do so would clash with an old myth that the owner and lord of the house would loose the ‘luck of the laird’ if he were to part with the last dog of the line of his house. This leads to the plan to have Roy go to Scottland to purchase the dog for Rufus G. Beldon with the hint that Roy could marry his daughter if he succeeded. In this bit Roy tells her:

“Phyll! Listen, dear! I’ve got my chance. [’ve got it. The kind of knight-errant chance that comes to story-book secretaries who go daffy over their bosses’ daughters. I’m going over to Scotland. I’m going over there right away. It’s a black and solemn secret, and it's my chance. Your dad said so himself. He’s been telling me about it for an hour. And all the time I was crazy to sneak away and tell you. He—”

In the best style I can do to mimic my Goodreads friend Karen-

Will Roy succeed in getting the dog?

Will he marry the boss’s daughter?

Will his rival Brant Ulrich thwart Roy’s plan to get the dog and the girl?

Surprisingly the answer to one of those questions is no! There is a lot of fun twists in this book. It would be a good book to make into a movie. There are some good moments when you think our hero is thwarted and doomed. I like how Terhune likes to comment on his own melodrama as in this example:

“It’s like the dear old melodramas,” mused Roy, “where the hero and the villain struggle on the cliff for the mysterious papers. I’m too much of a dub to be a hero. Well, the other end of the sketch makes up for it with a double portion of villainy.”

At one point a bagpiper is brought in to play in honor or Roy. I liked this bit from the book and will add it to my other quotes on bagpiping:

“I think I know, now,” mused Garth, as the playing and the strutting continued—"I think I know now why a bagpiper always keeps moving while he pipes. It’s to disturb the aim of anyone who may try to shoot him.”

Some of you may be thinking, what other bagpiping quotes does Steve have in his list of favorite quotes? Here are the quotes I have on that topic:

“These are bagpipes. I understand the inventor of the bagpipes was inspired when he saw a man carrying an indignant, asthmatic pig under his arm. Unfortunately, the man-made sound never equaled the purity of the sound achieved by the pig.” - Alfred Hitchcock

“New Rule: Stop calling bagpipes a musical instrument. They're actually a Scottish Breathalyzer test. You blow into one end, and if the sound that comes out the other end doesn't make you want to kill yourself-you're not drunk enough.” - Bill Maher, The New New Rules: A Funny Look At How Everybody But Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass

“Twelve highlanders and a bagpipe make a rebellion.” - Scottish Proverb

"Q. What's the definition of a gentleman?
A. Someone who knows how to play the bagpipe and doesn't" – unknown

Then there was the piper who remembered that he had left his pipes in his unlocked car. Rushing back, he opened his car door to find two more sets of pipes in the back seat.

In addition to bagpipes, there is some good elements to tie Shakespeare’s McBeth to the story. There are nice descriptions of the Scottish countryside. Some may appreciate that Terhune doesn’t do very much try to write the dialogue to sound like a Scottish brogue. (look to Greyfriars Bobby for that.) The book even doesn’t shy away from discussing if Scott’s are stingy.

There was however one-point in the story where Roy is able to escape in a Wizard of Oz way that was very far-fetched but it is easy to just roll with it like our hero does at his extreme good luck:

“Stirling, old friend,” he whispered, the humor of the situation making him hard put to it to choke back a laugh, “this morning I started out to hunt for you. Everything hung on my finding you and then getting safe away with you. Well, by some inordinate luck I’ve found you. Now to get you out of here and on the way to the nearest railroad station before they can lay us by the heels. It’s about fifty to one against, old fellow.”

The collie’s plumed tail wagged appreciatively at Roy’s repetition of his name.

“But up to now it’s been a billion to one against,” continued Roy. “At this rate, pretty soon I’ll be a favorite in the betting. Come along, and don’t make any racket. If we’re to get safe away from this comic-opera villain’s den, we’ve got to do it on tiptoe. If we’re caught, all sorts of things are due to happen.”

If you enjoy melodramatic action and romance with a good story wrapped around a dog, you will enjoy this book. show less

Another love story that barely involves the dog of the title, except that it's because of the dog that the man and woman meet. This one is not quite as ludicrous as some of Terhune's other love stories, but it does require some suspension of disbelief.

A fairly good story with some unexpected turns and a few plot developments that I saw coming. Worth a read, especially if you like the author's books.

I wish more of the dog's story was included, he's only in a few of the scenes. The original title is The Luck of the Laird, which actually makes more sense considering the lack of collie involvement.