Maggie & Oliver or a Bone of One's Own by Valerie Hobbs

Author:Valerie Hobbs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Well, one happy dog and one not so happy.

They came to a bridge, an arched span black against a starry night sky. When they’d gone halfway across, Daniel stopped. Leaning his elbows on the rail, he tore off a chunk of meat with his teeth and began to chew. “I like to watch the boats at night,” he said. Only it came out “Ilimptptowacbosneye” because his mouth was full. “I’m going to stow away on one of them boats and go to Australia,” he said.

Maggie stared at her bone. She thought about Lucky. She would save the bone for him. But first she had to eat some of the meat. She had to, or she would starve to death.

It was awful, the thought of starving to death. Worse than the thought of chewing meat that somebody else had chewed on first.

She took a little nibble, then a bite, her stomach urging her on. She stopped when she was not quite full.

“What’re you doing with that?” said Daniel, as Maggie tucked the bone inside her pouch.

“Saving it for Lucky,” she said.

“For the stupid dog?” he said. “Here, let me have that!” He grabbed the pouch from Maggie and turned it upside down. Out fell the bone along with Maggie’s locket. She dove for the locket, but Daniel came up with it first.

“Holy Mother!” he said, with a low whistle. “We can get a good penny for this!”

“It’s mine!” cried Maggie, making a lunge for the locket that Daniel held over his head. “Give it to me!”

Daniel swung the chain back and forth, dangerously near the open water. “If we’re going to be partners, you can’t hold out on me,” said Daniel.

“Please give it to me,” said Maggie, hopping up to grab the locket that was just beyond her reach. “It was my mother’s.”

Daniel peered at the tiny gold heart. Then he tried opening it, but it slipped from his greasy fingers back onto the bridge.

This time, Maggie was quick.

“It’s mine,” she said, snatching up the locket. “You’re not to touch it again.”

Daniel sniffed. “Well, I guess that means we ain’t partners, then. Too bad.”

Maggie’s head, as usual, filled right up with questions. “Why?”

“’Cause I know where the treasure is.”

“What treasure?”

“You don’t know?” he said. “You don’t know about the treasure? Where you been livin’? On the moon?” He chuckled at his own joke.

“You don’t know about any treasure,” said Maggie.

“Oh, no?”

She bit her lip to stop the rest of the questions pushing to come out. Was it in a chest? Were there jewels? Did it come from a pirate ship?

“If you know where there’s treasure, why don’t you just go and get it?”

“I need help,” he said. “I need somebody littler than me.”

“Why?”

“Just because,” he said. “You with me or not?”

Maggie thought, but not for long. Daniel knew things she didn’t, about the city, about where to find food, even if it was out of a garbage can. Maybe he didn’t really know where there was treasure, but he knew a lot about how to survive on your own, and she could learn from him.

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