Scout: National Hero by Jennifer Li Shotz

Author:Jennifer Li Shotz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2018-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

11

MATT WIPED THE SWEAT FROM HIS BROW. He looked up and, for a second, couldn’t figure out where he was on the rock. He saw only reddish-gold stone inches from his face and spreading out around him in all directions.

Matt pulled his head back and refocused his eyes, trying to place himself on the curving face of Howler’s. He’d been focusing so closely on every move, every finger and toe, that he hadn’t added it all up.

When he did, he let out a whoop of joy.

He was almost at the top.

He wanted to charge ahead and get there as fast as he could, but his muscles were starting to shake. He stopped for a break.

Matt took a moment to look around. In the distance, tiny cars glinted on a highway that looked like a doodled line on a map. The air wavered in squiggly lines as the day heated up.

He turned his face up, toward the intense blue of the vast sky above him. He felt a soft breeze on his skin, which took the edge off the heat. He smelled the desert brush and dry earth that spread out around Howler’s almost as far as he could see.

Matt allowed himself to appreciate every bit of this feeling—the same feeling he’d had when he was kayaking on the Truckee. This was his favorite place to be: outdoors, alone with just the quiet of nature.

Except there was one thing that was not quiet: the constant stream of barking coming from Scout. The barking was so steady that it had become one continuous sound, echoing off the rock and bouncing back at Matt from what felt like every side.

Scout was really not happy that Matt was climbing Howler’s.

“Scout!” Matt called down. “Shush!”

Scout abruptly stopped barking. The quiet was a relief. But after a beat, Scout started up again.

Matt groaned. He just needed to finish this ascent, then get back down to Scout. That was the only way the dog would stop the racket.

But first, he wanted to enjoy the breeze and the sunshine and the view for just a few seconds more. He turned his face to the sun and closed his eyes, listening to the gentle whoosh of the wind in his ears. It was the sound you only hear when you’re high above the ground.

All of a sudden, Scout went quiet. The absence of sound was so startling that for a second, Matt’s ears rang. Then, as quickly as he’d stopped barking, Scout started whimpering and howling. There was a new, desperate note to his cries.

Scout was directly below him, which made him hard to see. Matt twisted around as much as he dared and tilted his head to catch a glimpse of the dog. Scout stood up, his muscles tensed, his ears raised and rotated forward on his head. His tail stuck straight up in the air. The dog was on high alert. He was staring off into the distance, listening and watching carefully.

And that’s when Matt heard a

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