Max crouched in his kennel waiting for darkness. He had to take the dog biscuits to Girl, make sure she was all right, and then find Gus.
He could think of nothing but the fact that he’d run away and left Gus on his own. If anything happened to Gus, it would be his fault. It was urgent for the man next door to realise Gus wasn’t coming home and it was up to him, Max, to make him understand. He lifted his head and howled. He barked and whined, then howled some more. He let everyone know what had happened to Gus.
The man and the woman were perplexed. “What’s wrong, Max?” They searched the house and the garden looking for clues. “If only you could tell us what’s the matter.”
Max ground his teeth in frustration. “I am telling you! Why can’t you learn to understand?”
Gus’s owner looked over the wall to find out why Max was making such a noise.
“Look, old chap,” he said, “I can see something’s wrong, but what is it? Is it Gus – he doesn’t seem to be around.”
The woman came out of the house. “Did you say Gus is missing? That must be what’s upsetting Max.”
Upsetting me, thought Max, I’m desperate!
“I wonder if animal control have picked him up?” she suggested.
Max barked loudly. “Yes! That’s it! That’s it!”
Calls of support came from all over the neighbourhood.
“Don’t do anything rash,” barked Lulu. “He’ll be back tomorrow.”
It’s all very well for you, thought Max. You haven’t let your best mate down. I can’t leave him to face this alone. He strained his ears for barking from the dog prison but he heard nothing.
To make matters worse, the sky was getting darker. It felt wintry even though it was only the end of summer. Sudden gusts of wind drove leaves across the lawn in rattling flurries.
“Nasty night coming,” said the man when he brought Max his dinner. “I think we’ll bring you inside. You know what you’re like in storms.”
“Oh no!” gasped Max. How would he get out? He had to take food to Girl, and he had to find Gus. He called Girl immediately.
“Girl! Girl! I’m going to be shut in the house tonight. I mightn’t be able to bring you anything to eat. Don’t go out.”
He didn’t expect to hear back. Girl never barked – she was too afraid of anyone knowing she was there.
As the first splats of rain hit, the man hurried Max inside. They’re going out, he thought, as he sniffed the scent on the woman – it swamped everything else. How could she bear it? At least it meant he wouldn’t have to wait until they went to sleep. He curled up in his basket and watched them put on their coats. Don’t shut any inside doors, he implored silently.
“Don’t like leaving you in a storm, old pal,” said the man. “Get stuck into your chew.”
Max heard the key turn in the door. He waited till the whine of the car faded. Right. He had to find a way out. He checked the windows – all shut tight. Next, the outside doors – firmly closed. The inside door to the garage, he suddenly thought – they hadn’t closed the garage door when they went out. He trotted to the door opposite the laundry, but it was closed.
Max sat on the mat and thought. He listened to the raindrops being flung against the window. In a tiny corner of his mind he hoped he wouldn’t be able to escape – he knew it would be frightening out in that weather and he wasn’t sure where the dog prison was. He watched the newspaper under his bowl moving in the draught. But nothing’s open, he thought, so why is that happening? Then he remembered. At the bottom of the laundry door was an old cat door; but sitting in front of it was a carton full of bottles.
No matter how much Max scratched and nudged the carton, he couldn’t move it. He tried backing into it and pushing with his rump, but the carton stayed put. There was only one thing for it. He gripped a bottle by its neck and lifted it out. It forced his mouth open wide and hurt his teeth. He grabbed the next one. Before he got it to the ground it slipped out of his mouth and clattered to the floor. By the time he’d emptied enough bottles to move the carton, his teeth and tongue were very sore. And that was the easy part, he thought.
He nosed open the cat-flap and dust blew into his eyes as the wind whistled through. It’s much too small, thought Max. He poked his head out but his shoulders were too big. If I can get them through, the rest of me will follow. He wriggled his shoulders around, twisting to one side then the other. His head was plastered by the rain. He pulled it back inside and shook.
I’ve tried to get through, he told himself – or was he really talking to Gus? Gus – my best friend, whom I love most, and whom I deserted. Max looked at the cat door again and decided to try rump first. He managed to get his hind legs through the hole. He wriggled backwards until he reached his shoulders. They still stuck. The back of him got colder and colder. He tried to twist his shoulders sideways but it made no difference. I’m stuck, he thought.
Suddenly there was a clap of thunder. He jerked with terror – his shoulders popped through and he fell backwards. The flap banged shut. He yelped loudly – it was so painful he felt as though he’d left his skin behind. But he was out!
There was no time to lose. Pushing against the wind, he ran to his kennel and crawled in. He grabbed the dog biscuits and went back out into the wild night. He fought his way through the hydrangeas and along the tracks to the shed, while leaves and twigs hurtled through the air.
He pushed through the leaning door.
Girl was crouched at the back. Water dripped through the roof and the walls shook in the wind. The shed won’t survive the night, thought Max. He dropped the dog biscuits beside her and she wolfed them down.
“You can’t stay here,” he shouted, “it’ll collapse!”
Thunder rumbled round the sky. Max whined in fear and Girl nudged him. The shed groaned and shuddered.
“You’ll have to shelter in my kennel,” Max shouted, and the two dogs squeezed out of the shed and made a run for it.