As soon as Mr. Hill let him go, Joe marched off to a quiet corner of the camp. He checked to make sure no one was around, then turned on Dexter. “You’re nothing but trouble!”

“It’s not my fault!” growled the dog. “You should help me!”

“I can’t!” Joe sighed. “Now buzz off! People will think I’m nuts if they see me talking to myself.” He glanced over to the table where the class was lining up for breakfast. He saw Spiker smirking over at him.

“And what’s he looking at!” said Joe, scowling back.

“Who? Snot Shot?” said Dexter.

“What?”

“Snot Shot.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That’s what Brian calls him—he’s got names for all of you! Silly names he uses when he’s not at school.”

Joe’s brain boggled. “Funny nicknames? I didn’t know Mr. Hill had a sense of humor.” Then he glanced over at Spiker again. “So why does he call him Snot Shot?”

But Dexter didn’t need to explain, because right at that moment Spiker stuck his finger up his nose and had a good poke around, before taking out a booger and flicking it at the kid in front of him.

“Come and have your breakfast,” Miss Bruce yelled, spotting Joe hanging back from the group. “Before it’s all gone.”

“Before Hoover Head eats it!” added Dexter.

“Who’s that?”

“Hoover Head—him, over there. That’s what Brian calls him.”

Joe glanced over to see Nick the Stick—the tallest kid in the class, piling his plate high with food.

“Come on, Joe!” called Miss Bruce again.

“Look, I’ve got to go,” hissed Joe to Dexter.

He went to join the others and didn’t look back.

“Hey, Joe, want a cookie?” called Leonie, one of the girls in his class.

“No, he’s already had some,” Harry, Spiker’s best friend, said with a snicker.

There were a few more giggles as Joe got his breakfast and went to sit down next to Matt.

“What’s going on?” Joe whispered.

“Spiker heard Mr. Hill telling you off for taking his cookies,” Matt replied. “And he told everyone about it.”

Joe looked around for Spiker, but he was nowhere to be seen. Dexter had disappeared, too. He just hoped it was for good this time!

“Okay!” called Lizzy. “Gather around and I’ll tell you what we’ve got planned for today!”

Joe cheered up. This was more like it!

“In a few minutes we’ll be starting the aerial adventure. The first part involves tackling the giant climbing wall, followed by a treetops wire walk . . .”

“YES!” Joe breathed.

“When you reach the end, there’s an amazing zip line over the woods!”

The kids whispered to each other excitedly.

“Wait a minute,” said Lizzy. “There’s more! After lunch you’ll be going underground into our tunnel trail for a treasure hunt. And finally, my favorite part.” She beamed as she spoke. “Tonight, we’ll be taking you on a moonlight safari through the woods to see what wildlife you can spot.”

“Like wolves?” Spiker shouted.

“Awhooooooooo!” howled Harry.

“Who knows,” said Lizzy. “But before you go looking, you’ve got to get yourselves up that wall, so come on, follow me!”

“I’ll never get up there!” wailed Leonie, as soon as she saw the climbing wall.

It was more than forty feet tall, with several routes up the side, color-coded for difficulty. Two more counselors, Finn and James, were waiting for them at the wall, and a third, Chrissie, was already at the top.

“I’ll climb first,” said Lizzy, after showing the kids how to put on their safety harnesses. “Then you can follow, one at a time.”

Lizzy was an amazing climber. Joe watched her stay close against the wall, her hands and feet easily finding the holds. She reached the top in minutes.

“I definitely can’t do that!” wailed Leonie. “It’s too high!”

Joe was just about to tell her to put a sock in it when he spotted something even more annoying. Bounding through the trees toward him was Dexter.

“Who’s next?” Lizzy called down.

Spiker shoved Joe forward. “Go on, Superman!” he said sarcastically.

Joe was glad to go first so he could get away before Dexter started bothering him again! But the dog was too fast. He arrived just as Joe was stepping into the harness.

“Are you ready to help me now?” barked the dog, leaping around at Joe’s feet and letting off an enormous fart.

Joe ignored Dexter, but it was impossible to ignore the stink that surrounded him.

“Urghhh!” groaned Spiker, holding his nose. “What’s that smell?” Then he snickered meanly. “Did you poop your pants, Joe? Is the climb too scary for you?”

“Shut up, Spiker!” said Joe, but some of the other kids were already giggling.

“Settle down,” said Mr. Hill sternly. “Come on, Joe! Get going!”

Joe found the handholds easily and in just a few minutes, he was halfway up. Another five minutes and he was pulling himself over the top.

Lizzy beamed at him. “You’re a natural!”

But before Joe could say anything, he heard a howl from the bottom of the wall. He could see Dexter scrambling around, as though he wanted to climb up after Joe, before finally giving up and bounding away.

Ben and Matt were next up the wall, followed by Abby and then Leonie, who was making such a fuss that James had to climb next to her.

Spiker followed soon after, and once a few more joined them, Lizzy and Finn led them onto the treetops challenge.

“The wire walk is a hundred feet long and zigzags through the treetops,” said Finn. “There are ropes to hold on to and a rope to walk along. Ready?”

Joe nodded, but Ben didn’t look excited.

“It’s perfectly safe,” said Finn. “The harness will stop you from falling. I’ll go first.”

“Don’t look down!” Ben said, as he, Matt, and Joe began inching their way along.

Joe didn’t mind heights. He followed the wire, weaving in and out of the tall pines. But then he spotted Dexter again, racing backward and forward down on the ground and barking up at him. “Help me, Joe! Help me!”

Joe tried to ignore him.

“Ready for the zip line?” Finn called, as Joe reached the final platform. “You go first, and Chrissie will be waiting for you at the end, okay?”

Joe nodded, giving his harness a final tug to make sure it was secure.

“Go, Joe!” Matt yelled, as Joe took off, whizzing down the wire.

“Wow!” Joe breathed. The trees whistled past and the ground was a blur—he felt like a character in an action movie . . . until his harness jerked him to a stop at the bottom and he wiggled around in midair, like a fish on a hook.

Chrissie caught him and helped him down. Joe’s legs felt like Jell-O, but he was buzzing from the ride. Then he felt his excitement fall apart like a soggy tissue. Dexter was there waiting for him!

The dog launched himself at Joe, crashing into him and smothering his face in drool.

“Hey! Cut it out!” Joe grimaced.

Dexter’s breath smelled like a sweaty armpit.

“But you don’t understand!” growled the dog. “I can’t pass over until you help me. I’m sick of waiting!”

Joe sighed. It had always been his dream to have a dog, and he would have loved one like Dexter—if he had been alive. “Okay, okay,” Joe said. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

“Really? You’ll help me now?”

“I’ll try. But hurry!” Joe glanced up at the top of the zip line. “As soon as the others get down, I won’t be able to talk to you.” He could see Leonie having her harness attached.

Dexter glanced up, too. “Oh dear, Moanie Leonie is coming.”

Joe grinned. Moanie Leonie must be another one of Mr. Hill’s nicknames—it suited her. “Come on then, tell me what happened.”

But now that he had Joe’s attention, Dexter didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. He scratched his ears and chewed his tail, then jumped up and down and started pacing around. Finally it came tumbling out . . .

“You see, Brian blames himself for the accident,” Dexter explained.

“Why?”

“Because he couldn’t train me. He tried his best. But I’m not that sort of a dog. I like to be free. Run wild . . .”

Dexter suddenly turned his head, and began staring at something in the trees. His ears pricked up. His tail began to wag, and then . . .

“Rabbit!” he yelped. He was about to run after it when Joe made a dive for him.

“Hang on!” said Joe. “You haven’t told me what you want me to do yet.”

“What?” Dexter was straining to get free, his boggle eyes darting left and right, searching for the rabbit he’d spied.

“What do you need me for?” said Joe.

“To make Brian see that it wasn’t his fault I died.”

“What? Mr. Hill isn’t going to listen to me!”

But Dexter wasn’t interested anymore. The smell of the rabbit was too much. He jerked free of Joe’s arms and shot off into the trees like a bullet.